Department of Human Resource Development and Performance Technologies Essay

Department of Human Resource Development and Performance Technologies - Essay Example It is anchored on sustainable development strategies which seek to provide a long term solution instead of short term measures of poverty alienation. Sustainability is a concept within the development agenda which refers to ability of people to use various resources without finishing them up for the future generation or use. These international developments have been pegged on sustainable technology campaign and this brings the above dined terms into one umbrella idea. †¢ Provide background information about your worksite and its mission. My worksite is an Islamic Center of Terre Haute which is a religious center that serves diverse roles in nurturing the future Muslim faithful and makes effort to promote peaceful co-existence with other communities from different religious faith. This institution is a learning center with an organized curriculum and the workforce deliver services of high standards (Bargach, 2002). There is a spirited management effort to champion for technologi cal application in learning and execution of various administrative issues in line with the concept of sustainable development. ... †¢ Briefly describe what you did while you were at the worksite. Describe your own thinking, understanding, and learning as your project evolved. My work in Islamic center was to help with cleaning, arranging the books in the library, also arranging the Quran books. These activities provided a great challenge which also served as a lesson to me in view of the wider concept of the society. As the project progressed, I began to reflect on the theories learnt in class and compare with the real life situation. It is worth to note that the theoretical concepts learnt in class give a guideline and appropriate hint on how to handle different issues in any situation. Practical application of learnt concepts requires patience and perseverance as they don’t automatically fit. In arranging the books in this institution for instance, there are some cases where the books have erroneous coding and their search process in the database may as well not help. At this point, critical thinki ng is required to advance book search methods. When it comes to cleaning, the effect of the litter and dust on the compound should be seen to be an environmental threat beyond the limits of the institution and this explains the need to place litter bins in places of higher population concentration. This is a sustainable approach that promotes environmental care and a perfect precedent for the future generation. †¢ Identify what was puzzling, problematic, engaging, exciting, etc. about your project. My project entail cleaning and arrangement of books which attracted several problems and equally puzzling situation. Despite my attempts to put litter bins in the

Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act Research Paper

Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act - Research Paper Example In addition, the team conducted a research of former attempts that have been made in addressing the issue in question (Payne, 2015). The subsequent part of the essay covers the stakeholder analysis where issues related to them have been discussed. The section also provides the stakeholders who are adversely affected by the problem associated with the Act. The stakeholders have different objectives that are with policies that are implemented by the relevant institutions. Conversely, the section discusses how stakeholders are affected by the implementation of the Act. The next section provides alternative solutions that can be used to resolve the issue related to the Indiana Religious Act. In addition, an evaluation of the possible outcomes of the alternatives has been provided. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the alternatives given to mitigating the problem that arise from the application of the policy in the business environment. Lastly, the last section provides the anticipated future trend of the problem (Robertson and Pà ©rez-Peà ±a, 2015). The Act was introduced in Indiana after it was enacted by the Governor of the State. One of the problems that have been widely associated with the Act is that it discriminates certain groups of people in the society. Critics argue that the move to introduce the policy was intended to exclude particular groups such as the gay community in the business sector. In the year 1993, President Bill Clinton signed a law allowing states to have their religious laws. The senators who participated passing the law voted overwhelming in support of the law. However, it was established the Indiana State operated in contrast to the legislation of the federal government. The decision to allow states to come up with their religion created a loophole in the legal system where the state of Indiana legalized gay marriage. The decision to allow gay marriage in State came with negative implications especially to

Effects of FDI in the Dominican Republic

Effects of FDI in the Dominican Republic Introduction Background and purpose The Dominican Republic has done a major shift in its economy, coming from an agricultural economy, to one based on services. An estimate of the sectors contribution to the country are, 60.2% in services (tourism, transportation, communications, finances, others), 15.5% in industry (manufacturing), 11.5% in construction, 11.3% in agriculture, and 1.5% in mining (CIA fact book). As of right now only tourism leads the service industry, but is soon to be challenged by the investment of contact centers. Because of this shift in its economy the Dominican Republic has become home to various foreign investments, but the one this study will focus on is on the foreign direct investment in contact centers, or call centers as they are also known. It is important to explore the advantages the Dominican Republic offers to attract such foreign investment, as well as to analyze the fact that although there are benefits, it could also lack the necessary infrastructure to sustain this rapidly growing industry. Due to the ongoing world financial crisis, many international companies are struggling to keep their business afloat and looking to establish their contact centers outside of their home based countries. Saving money and reducing operational cost are some of the main reason companies move and do foreign direct investment (FDI) abroad. Investing and conducting operations overseas seems to be the answer that foreign contact centers are looking for in order to meet such goals. It can be said that the Dominican Republic offers an answer to the difficulties contact centers companies are experiencing and continue to confront back at home. Some of the solutions given to these companies are a great business climate for foreign direct investment (FDI), incentives and good geographical location, among other compensations. As a result of moving abroad contact centers gain a particular advantage over their competitors. These advantages can range from cheaper operational cost, strategic location a nd skilled personnel, to a variety of options which may or may not be available in the Dominican Republic. But like everything in life not everything is perfect, the country also needs to confront a sad reality, which is that although it offers good things to investors, it also lacks of other good things. This study will provide the key aspects of contact center FDI in the Dominican Republic in order to present some of the weak and strong points the country has on this industry. By doing this the report looks at what the country has to offer to current and future investors in the contact center industry. It will also provide-from the investors point of view-what makes the Dominican Republic an attractive place to invest foreign capital in contact centers, as well as some of the problems encountered throughout the business venture. Although information provided by the governmental institutions in charge of spreading information about this industry say the country is capable, suited and ready to meet all the requirements of international investors, it is a fact that no system is perfect. This is where facts will be laid down in order to show what truly attracts, keep or loses these investments on the island. Based on those previously mentioned facts the study will look at what improveme nts can be made by the country in order to keep a competitive edge on the rapid growing industry. With this information the reader will comprehend the flaws in the system, and what measures are needed in order to correct them and generate a more positive investment climate. Along with this positive investment climate the study will show the impact call center FDI has had in the country. An efficient and effective investment climate can only be produced by pointing out the pros and cons of what the Dominican Republic has to offer to its investors. The conclusion of the study wishes to convey that these improvements can be achieved by taking action upon the recommendations given. Being that this study is based mostly on empirical knowledge, some of the observations made will be presented based on the industry expertise of the writer of over 7 years or working experience in this field. Research questions Is the Dominican Republic a good place for FDI? Have contact centers FDI created a real impact in the Dominican Republic? Research methodology In order to answer the questions mentioned above, this paper we will use a mixture of methodologies in order to analyze if the country is truly a good place for contact center FDI and if the industry has had an impact in the Dominican Republic. These methodologies include interviews, qualitative research and quantitative data. Organization of paper This document will be composed of four chapters, the first one being its introductory part. The first chapter will provide a brief introduction and background of the Dominican Republic and what sectors comprise the FDI in the country, along with the research questions and research methodology. The second chapter will present an overview of foreign direct investment, inflows, trends, performances and investment climate that pertains the country, as well as the promotion agency in charge of FDI in the country. This information will be in comparison with selected economies from the Caribbean, Latin America and others. The third chapter will cover a more in-depth analysis of contact centers in the Dominican Republic, flaws and investor perspective. The study will also look at a specific company from which the study will depict the impact this specific center has had in the country. The concluding and fourth chapter will provide key findings from the study and recommend future improvement s based on those findings. Overview of FDI in the Dominican Republic FDI trends and performance in Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic, like many other developing countries, is actively seeking to attract FDI. They are not only seeking FDI as an important factor in creating employment opportunities and additional source of income, but rather for the reason of potential spillovers of knowledge and technology. The strong public support for FDI in the Dominican Republic is expressed through the creation of the Center for Exports and Investment of the Dominican Republic, institution in charge of all exports and investment, along with other measures taken by the government. Some of these measures include simplification of administrative procedures, aid from the CEI-RD in logistics and information, subsidies, tax breaks, exemptions and other instruments that facilitate FDI. Before addressing the question of whether FDI in the Dominican Republic has led to development, spillovers of knowledge and technology, as well as, if it is a good place for contact centers to establish and invest, the study will provide an overview of FDI inflows and trends in the Dominican Republic. FDI inflows in the Dominican Republic have made a miraculous recovery from 2004 to 2008 according to the data by the World Bank (World Bank, World Development Indicators). As any other developing country, the inflow of foreign capital was affected by the political environment, which reflected in an average loss of almost 200 million dollars per year during the 2000-2004 governmental period. During this period the collapse of a major bank caused financial turmoil and many investors were forced to leave the country. After a change of government and the macro stability was placed back in track by the new authorities, the country received an average foreign capital inflow of 450 million dollars a year, to earn a total of over two billion dollars in FDI inflows (See figure below). This great recovery happened during the 2004-2008 period, as it was first mentioned, and it is still improving as the country keeps positioning itself as a preferred destination for FDI. Although contact centers are not the main reason for this fast recovery in the FDI, the new rapid industry of contact centers are playing a very important role as it continues to evolve into a leading industry in the service field. In President Fernandez first governmental period (2004-2008) the country recovered from the worst financial crisis in many years. During 2005 the country predicted a GDP growth of 9.3% and inflation to be brought under control at 7.3% throughout the 2004-2008 years. By managing these issues President Fernandez said We have rescued the confidence of investors by achieving macroeconomic stability (Leonel Fernandez, 2004). Having achieved macroeconomic stability, the Dominican Republic received US$1 billion worth of foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2005, up 40% from 2004, and U.S. investment accounted for around 40% of the total (CEI-RD, 2006). This led to an improvement of FDI inflows and mechanisms to continue attracting and sustaining this newly found investments. Below are the net inflows of FDI for various Latin American and the Caribbean countries, including the Dominican Republic. Investment climate When one thinks of the Dominican Republic, images of tropical beaches and all-inclusive resorts may come to mind, but this ten million-strong nation, occupying two thirds of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, also has one of the Americas fastest growing economies and diverse scenery in the Caribbean (BusinessWeek, 2006). The briefing paper Foreign Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2008 is one of the latest editions of a series issued annually by the Unit of Investment and Corporate Strategies of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Division of Production, Productivity and Management. This report presents-in a very detail manner-the foreign investment done in Latin American and Caribbean countries, showing their relative differences and investment climate among other indicators. This report also touches on the contact center industry, which has contributed greatly to the ever increasing FDI inflow of the Dominican Republic. Comparing to oth er countries the Dominican Republic shows one of the best FDI inflows by reflecting a relative difference of 83%. What this means is that FDI activities has been constantly growing in the country, thus reflecting good initiatives from the country and a positive improving investment climate (see image below). A good investment climate is not created by simple marketing; it takes hard work, good economic policies and first-class governance on behalf of the government and its Head of State. Because many countries offer desirable investment conditions companies frequently ask themselves, where they should invest their capital. The answer needs to be provided by the country that wishes to be the host of the foreign investments these companies wish to make. The Dominican Republic has characteristics that make it a desirable place to make an investment of any kind, but the question that still lingers around is if the country can really sustain an investment of great magnitude. Offering the right investment climate in the Caribbean is something that the country wishes to achieve, but is not always successful on doing so. With a long history of attracting considerable FDI in a variety of sectors, the Dominican Republic is a regional leader in attracting contact center foreign investment. Longstan ding political stability and a diversifying economy have led many foreign firms to choose the Dominican Republic as an investment destination. Recent success in attracting FDI is due to the countrys investor-friendly legal regime, generous incentives, and infrastructure capable of supporting new technologies, including information technology (FDI Magazine. Financial Times Magazine. August 2005). As mentioned earlier, this success is fairly new and the Dominican Republic still faces the challenge of maintaining and attracting this foreign investments. A great way to see how well positioned is the country and the investment climate it offers is to do a comparison of economies. Doing Business 2010: Reforming Through Difficult Times is the seventh in a series of annual reports investigating regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. The report presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 183 economies, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, over time (Doing business, 2010). Looking at this specialize report the Dominican Republic reflects its ranking in ease of doing business and other important world ranking criterias that foreign investors consider necessary to know before investing in any. Although this report is using specific economies, the data compares the Dominican Republic to the economies of countries around its region, as well as others from a distant hemisphere and much more developed than the island. One basic criterion for investment is the ease of doing business, the chart below reflects a clear weakness for the Dominican Republic in this area by ranking lower than a Puerto Rico and Jamaica. Puerto Rico and Jamaica are much smaller countries, which may contribute to more agile processes, but the fact that they are neighboring countries there should be a bigger similitude among them in terms of how business is handle. This is a clear sign that depending on how a country handles its business will reflect how efficient their mechanisms are, therefore providing a bigger ease of doing business. Another factor that should not be of much importance is the fact that Jamaica and Puerto Rico receive assistance, guidance and at times are regulated by developed countries. This should not be an excuse for why the Dominican Republic is falling behind in such a basic and important principle. (Doing business, 2010). The chart below, which has also been extracted from the Doing Business 2010: Reforming Through Difficult Times Report, touches on another very important factor for investors when they consider making an investment abroad. The ranking given in this chart is compared to the selected economies of Haiti, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Rwanda and others. This comparison is done once again in order to show how the Dominican Republic presents itself as a favorable investment location. Yet again this favorable climate for investors is not providing the best climate because is falling behind to neighboring economies which only advantage seems to be a more organize and efficient system. The Dominican Republic continues to improve, but is weak in its bureaucratic process, which as a result continues to slow down its progress. Dominican Republics ranking in doing business (Doing business, 2010) Once an investment is done, one of the biggest-if not the main concern of any investor-is how secure is their investment in a foreign country, meaning how are they protected from any unwanted situation. The Dominican Republic has recently passed a new legislation which provides a greater protection to its investors, thus providing investors with a contingency plan if anything happens. The graph below shows the global ranking of the Dominican Republic in terms or protecting its investors, which is a great improvement from other areas already mentioned. Although this is a very important concern for investors, it still addresses a post-investment situation. What this mean is that it does not really provide an immediate impact in attracting a foreign investment if the other factors are encouraging, but it does boost investors confidence in the country they plan to invest as well as adding to a better investment climate. (Doing business, 2010) In an interview to CEI-RD Minister Eddy Martinez in the renowned Dominican daily show Hoy Mismo, transmitted by channel 9, he talks about the investment climate in the Dominican Republic and mentions key factors that make the country a great place to invest-compared to other countries in the region. He talks about establishing incentive mechanisms in order to attract those capitals which appraise the value of the investment not only for the amount, but for the impact these investments will have in terms of technology transfer, creation of employment, type of employment, quality of products produced in the country and if they will carry out Research Development activities. Although this mechanism is something the country whishes to implement, it is still not fully incorporated, thus leaving room for error. The institution is still trying to educate and integrate the contact center community so they can share these incentives and goals with other investors who want to do future busine ss based on the country incentive structure. To disseminate this information the CEI-RD has done seminars concerning these incentives, and is moving forward to the implementation of those incentive policies. During the interview CEI-RD Minister mentioned that many investments come through different ministries, therefore many investors are not sure who and how their investment are handle. This reflects a clear disorganization in the governmental mechanisms, which translates into a weakness. Minister Martinez suggests the government creates an integrated mechanism of investment. What this means is that no matter the origin of the investment or ministry, it will end up in a single place. This will allow proper follow up of the investment, and in case a project gets stuck, the institution can determine where being detained due to bureaucracy or lack of project handling. Based on that integrated mechanism the country can increase its FDI inflows by having all projects in a single place, thus providing one more reason to invest in th e Dominican Republic. Promotion agency (CEI-RD) and incentives offered The Dominican Republics government has implemented a liberal framework for attracting FDI. It makes no distinction between foreign and local companies in terms of ownership restrictions and ability to qualify for investment incentives. Foreign investment is permitted in all sectors except those related to public health and the environment (such as storage and disposal of hazardous or radioactive waste), as well as national security. The Dominican Republic government also offers full exemption from all taxes, duties, charges, and fees that affect production and export activities in free trade zones, which it introduced in 1969. The free trade zones aim to attract high-tech manufacturing (including electronics and electrical components) as well as more traditional manufacturing-such as of automotive parts, medical devices and pharmaceuticals, plastics, metals, injection molding, textiles and footwear, jewelry, tobacco and of course contact centers. The incentives offered last up to 25 years for zones on the Haitian border, and up to 15 years for all other zones. In May 2006 there were 59 industrial parks and free trade zones in the Dominican Republic, hosting more than 600 companies, providing over 190,000 direct jobs, and occupying 2.1 million square meters. Although there are no performance requirements for foreign investors, few sector-specific incentives are offered to them. (World Bank Group, MIGA, Snapshot of the Caribbean, 2007) All of the benefits mentioned above and the continuing inflow of investment is happening thanks to efforts from the government and the institution in charge of carrying out FDI promotion. The institution carrying out this very important task is the Dominican Republics Export and Investment Center (CEI-RD), which is headed by Eddy Martinez, as the Minister and Executive Director of this government institution that promotes national strategic export and foreign investment opportunities and works hands-on with local and foreign enterprise to facilitate business activity. Because the institution knows the importance of investment they are aggressively targeting investors through offices in New York, Miami and California, and because of the nations entry into the Central American Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA-DR. The Centro de Exportacià ³n e Inversià ³n de la Repà ºblica Dominicana (CEI-RD) as it is called in Spanish, is the countrys one-stop investment promotion intermediary. It has three main departments: Export Promotion, Investment Promotion, and a Training Center. The CEI-RD aims to strategically promote the valuable conditions that the Dominican Republic offers as an investment destination and foreign trade developer, by pursuing priority areas as defined by the Government, to increase employment, technological transfer and the social welfare of the Nation. The agency organizes and participates in trade missions both overseas and locally as well as provides tools to assist investors, such as an export directory. (World Bank Group, MIGA, Snapshot of the Caribbean) The CEI-RD is the official organization responsible for the promotion of international trade and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). It was created as a product of the fusion of the Center for the Promotion of Exports of the Dominican Republic (CEDOPEX) and the Office for the Promotion of Investments of the Dominican Republic (OPI-RD), according to Law 98-03, effective on June 17, 2003. The CEI-RD is comprised of two main operational areas, export promotion and foreign investment promotion and its functions include many promotions, but some of the more relevant to this study are promotion of the countrys advantages to attract foreign investment, coordination with other government institution related to foreign trade in the interest of achieving an expedient and efficient flow of exports and investments in the country, promotion and development of FDI and business from the CEI-RD offices abroad, currently in Miami, New York and Chicago, participating actively in trade negotiations and ad ministration of resulting agreements, contribute to the improvement of the legal framework and its proper application. Also throughout the Foreign Service network, new offices will be opening soon in Puerto Rico and Silicon Valley The institution services are available for local and foreign companies to facilitate the exports and investments of the country which is an advantage to any investor. Among the services the CEI-RD offers, and which are relevant to this study, they have specialized consulting, technical assistance in meeting the regulations and norms required for the export of goods and services, which is helpful to new investor who are not familiar with the legal framework. They also have validation of certificates of origin, technical assistance relating to trade agreements, recommendations for improving the production process and benefiting from tariff preferences. The new investor can also benefit from visits on behalf of the CEI-RD specialized staff to their companies in order to evaluate the production process under trade agreements and preferential programs. One very important service the CEI-RD offers is that they ensure the correct application of norms relating to export and investment proced ures by administrating Law 84-99 on the reactivation and promotion of exports and Law 16-95 on foreign investment. Other services, although not specific to the industry, offered by the CEI-RD and from which investors could benefit are product profiles and market analysis, business intelligence, legal and economic information, registration of exports and foreign direct investment, facilitation of a network of representatives abroad and foreign trade documentation center. As any other promotion agency the CEI-RD has several promotion programs that make the Dominican Republic attractive for FDI. These programs include National and International Trade shows and expos where it presents companies, local and foreign, can showcase their products. The CEI-RD also coordinates trade missions in order to ensure a successful transaction as well as training programs relating to international trade. In these specific programs-relating to international trade-local companies can get educated and learn how to export their products and foreign investors can learn about the local market and opportunities. Another very important promotion program-and the one of the most significant-is the coordination of business meetings to present what the countrys has to offer, as well as to contact potential investors and exporters. With this two-way program, foreign and local investors will have a mutual gain by making the necessary contacts to get their business started, thus gene rating future FDI. (CEI-RD, 2010) Contact center FDI in Dominican Republic Overview of contact center FDI As it was previously mentioned, this study looks at the pros and cons of contact center FDI from various angles, one been from the host country point of view and the other the investors point of view. From the host country the study takes into consideration a report created by the economist Jonathan Aragonez, from the Center of Export and Investment of the Dominican Republic (CEI-RD), as well as other documentation of contact centers from the CEI-RD. These documents will provide the necessary data to point out the countrys benefit and disadvantages. Do to the lack of published papers that truly criticize or analyze the contact center industry, this study will support many of its facts on three things. These three key contributions are empirical knowledge of the writer, interview conducted to the economist previously mentioned, and interview with a contact center owner who is doing FDI in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic has had strong export services for many years, and as a result there are 40 to 50 call centers registered with the Dominican Call Center Association. Investors currently operating in the country cited skilled workers, most of whom are bilingual, as their main reason for choosing it as their investment location (Dominican Republic Contact Center Association, 2010). The country has a large, well-trained labor force and although Spanish is the countrys official language, investors can find workers that also speak English. Apart from the stable, fast growing economy, attractive cost structure and near shore location, it can be said that people are the primary competitive advantage in the Dominican Republic. Investors in the Dominican Republic always emphasize the Dominicans high learning ability and proficiency in English. (Eddy Martinez, 2006). The countrys large size means that land is available for green field investment-if one was to be done-although most investors opt to rent or lease a work space for their operations. The country also offers great access to all markets being that is one of the six countries in the world that has a free trade agreement with the U.S. and Europe. Some of the other countries that have such a privilege are Israel, Jordan, Chile and Mexico (Office of the United States Trade Representative, 2010). Other favorable investment factors included the countrys well-developed, affordable telecommunications infrastructure which is the only one in the Caribbean with access four international cables through the Americas Region Caribbean Optical-Ring System Cable (ARCOS-1). What this means is that the Dominican Republic connection to the U.S. or any other country is redundant, thus ensuring contact center businesses to always be connected. Contact centers in the Dominican Republic generate 25,000 direct jobs, from the 57 companies registered and operating in the country. In the next two years those centers are expected to create 30,000 additional jobs, which when added to the indirect ones are more than 150,000 in. This information comes from the CEI-RD, which also says almost all of the data and information technology centers have been installed in the country in the past three years, meaning this great progress has been done in record time. This year alone-and not including centers outside of free trade zones-Contact Centers constituted 15% of approved companies in the free trade zones of the Dominican Republic, being matched only by textile companies (Approved companies by the Free Trade Zone and Export Committee, 2010). In previous reports the committee also shows how these companies add to the countrys GDP year after year, reflecting in a steady and secure growth of this industry. Companies approved in 2010 Free Trade Zone and Export Committee, 2010) The contact center industry in the Dominican Republic is one that has maintained a steady and significant growth. By doing so it has provided a great deal of jobs in the Dominican labor market, citing that for the year 2009 the industry counted with 22,000 jobs. Taking into consideration that the growth of this industry will be of about 27% and 36% annual growth during the next five years, it means that by 2014 the number of jobs can grow to an astonishing 150,000 jobs if the average annual growth rate is of only 27%. If the industry grows at an average of 37% annually, we are talking about having 250,000 jobs, which is almost double of the previous projection. (Jonathan Aragonez, 2010) Strengths, weaknesses and investors perspective of contact centers FDI Deciding whether to invest or not in a country is a decision which is influenced by what the country has offered and showed you, and what other investors say their experience has been. Investors will most likely take other investors input as the reality of how business works in a country. With that being said, one of the biggest disadvantages mentioned by investors is that the Dominican Republic doesnt count with a large enough English speaking community to hold growing operations. This statement comes from the interview with Mr. Blake Janover, contact center owner who has experienced the lack of English speaking representatives. He mentions that the Dominican Republic is a great place to invest, but not the best in the world due to some more important flaws than not enough English personnel. The main weaknesses mentioned by this contact center owner are banking, finance, and overall infrastructure, which is why he runs everything through an external company abroad instead of legally constituting a Dominican company. He also says that it takes time to get things rolling in the country, but he likes the Dominican Republic because it offers a huge tax benefit, as the US offers almost none (Blake Janover, 2010). Further details given by Mr. Janover can be seen in the Appendix. As for the interview with Mr. Jonathan Aragonez, an economist for the Center of Export and Investment of the Dominican Republic, he explains that the Dominican Republic offers contact center investors a great deal of benefits. In his interview he mentions some of the exclusivity of Dominican Republic, its treaty and skilled labor force. The most significant interpretation I could gather form the interview was that an investor is usually winning when investing in a contact center. This is an industry that is expected to grow at a steady 27 to 36 percent in average in the next 5 years, so the investor is bound to make a great profit in the business.(Jonathan Aragonez, 2010) Both the investor and the host country agree in one thing, the Dominican Republic offers advantages that many other countries dont have, and that is why the country is becoming a leader in the industry. These advantages are not only extended to the country and the investor, but are also transferable to the workforce. The average starting salaries in the contact centers are between RD$18,000 to RD$22,000 pesos. This amount is three times more than the average salary of RD$6,000 pesos-established by law-for people working office jobs such as law clerk, assistant or financial analyst (Ministry of Labor of the Dominican Republic, 2007). The contact center salaries are only matched by those of Doctors or Engineers in production plants, which is very demanding professional field in comparison with being a contact center agent. Although this is good for an individual whose only skill may be to speak English, it affects other labor markets due to the fact that the salary is so much

Essay --

As children growing up, we tend to imitate and aspire to be like the people we look up to. Looking back at my childhood, my passion for teaching and working with children comes as no surprise. When I was in 5th grade a young boy my age was as others stated to be "different." Teaching him, reading to him on the bus, and just always wanting to get to know him made me realize how much I would like to do this professionally. Seeing how the grown ups interacted, and was so effective with children really amused me. I had been surrounded by children my whole life, and as I got older, I would try my best to lend a hand and help all the other children that has disablities. After my first experience in a school, I grew fond of working with students in a classroom setting. I began looking up teacher development workshops, and graduate courses to expand my knowledge about what possibly would happen if I went into the special education feild, in order to support and apply while teaching at the t ime. After becoming familiar with the different realms of education I became aware of a few things. I ...

Terrorists Groups In The Middle East Essay

What have been the most common tactics/weapons and threats used by terrorists/terror groups in the Middle East since 9/11/01? The most common tactics/weapons and threats used by terrorists/terror group in the Middle East since 9/11 are bombings which can include car bombs, improvised explosive devices (IED’s), suicide attacks and explosives. Next we have rocket and mortar attacks, vehicle based attacks which is when they used any motor vehicle to run over people walking or to ram into vehicles. Other common ones are hi-jacking planes, chemical and biological weapons, nuclear weapons, conventional firearms and secondary attacks which are when they have a second type of weapon go off after the original so as to injure the emergency response team. In your opinion, are these tactics, weapons, and threats successful from a terrorist perspective? Why or why not? Explain in detail. Yes I do believe they are successful because they accomplish at minimum what they set out to do. Placing fear and causing panic among the masses is so apparent for terrorists, because how much media attention there is they can watch and enjoy their terror. They have us on the edge of our seats when chaos takes place. They catch us off guard and that too is part of their plan. What do you see as the likelihood of a terrorist organization either acquiring or building a nuclear weapon? Explain in detail. I see the likelihood of a terrorist organization either acquiring or building a nuclear weapon as pretty high likelihood. I do not think for one minute that they are incapable. I do not believe that our government is honest with who we do business with. They have what is called suitcase nukes and they are so small they can fit into a suitcase. Money talks and can buy you anything besides permanent happiness. If you have enough money you can buy materials for a nuclear weapon. If obtained, what do you think would be the top three types of targets on U.S. soil? Explain. I think that businesses, diplomatic offices, and military institutions are the three types of targets on U.S. soil. The first type of target would be businesses. Businesses account for thirty one and a half percent of frequency of attacks. The second type is diplomatic offices and that takes up twenty six percent of frequency of attacks. Last of the targets are military personnel. The United States armed forces can account for nearly forty three percent of attacks against military organizations. What do you think are the factors working in their favor and against their success to obtain WMDs? Explain in detail and be  specific. The factors that I think that the factors that are working in their favor are that they IED’s that can be constructed out of common materials that are easy to obtain. They have eager and loyal followers that have no problem sacrificing their lives for the cause such as suicide bombings and using children as distractions or bait. It is also hard to dif ferentiate the civilians from the terrorists. What is working against their success is the United States has specialized trained elite forces with intelligence gathering techniques. They also have the latest technologize and weaponry such as drones, night vision goggles, tanks, snipers and much more to work against the success of the terrorists. References Kaplan, E. (2006, Sep). Targets for Terrorists: Post-9/11 Aviation Security. Retrieved November 22, 2013, from http://www.cfr.org/border-and-port-security/targets-terrorists-post-911- aviation-security/p11397 McCann, Joseph T., 2006, Terrorism on American Soil: A Concise History of Plots and Perpetrators from the Famous to the Forgotten, Sentient Publ. (Boulder, CO). Retrieved November 22, 2013, from http://books.google.com/books Sageman, M. (2004). Understanding Terror Networks. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Ch. 5 pp. 158-161. Retrieved November 22, 2013, from http://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book

My Personal Experience As The Victim Of An Injustice Essay

In my life I have been very fortunate that I have not been exposed to confrontational injustice. Nobody directly came to me and told me that I have for instance, not been chosen for a position because of my skin color, my age or any other characteristic of mine that makes me who I am. However, I do know that after 911 individuals, which look like people from the Middle East and or Middle Eastern names are being looked at very differently than before. Before 911 I was commonly referred to as the â€Å"prince of Persia† in my high school. After 911 I was even by good friends jokingly called a terrorist. Growing I have lived next to an airport and used to take my dog to walk around the Hamburg airport in Germany. We went for a walk at all times and I especially enjoyed going there after dusk because of all the airport lights. Lufthansa airlines has a major mechanical facility hanger on the airport. After time I developed a great passion for airplanes. I would read anything and everything about airplanes. I would make my father take me to any air show that would be within reasonable driving distance from us. I have had spent countless hours studying the mechanics of airplanes just so I could start a career as a Lufthansa mechanic. Once I graduated High School in Germany I applied for an internship with Lufthansa. After a while I received an invitation, for a networking event for all internship applicants. Before I arrived I could have not been more ecstatic about finally meeting individuals who were just as excited about airplanes as me. May they have been master mechanics or fellow a pplicants. After settling in I kept on having the feeling that people were staring at me. I didn’t know why but after a while I felt very uncomfortable being there and couldn’t figure out why until I overheard applicants making terrorist jokes about me. Once I brought it up to one Lufthansa employees, he told me that they shouldn’t have said exact those words but that they had made a great point. He went on  to explain to me that I would never stand a chance of becoming an air plane mechanic because I am Persian. 911 just happened but I would have never thought on my own that I would be connected in any way or form to 911. From that moment on I always became very aware of the way I look and what my heritage is. I strongly believe that injustice has been done to me on that day because I did change very much the path I have taken in my life and I stopped pursuing my dream. I don’t think that the offender has had experienced anything negative or will experience anything negative unless someone just suits him. Even though the recruiter may has not been racist and may just sincerely wanted to help me, he made me learn that I could be excluded from things because of things I do not have any type of control over like the color of my skin. I do have to say though that I have grown personally from that experience and do not let anybody stop me from doing anything just because somebody has a wrong opinion about life, like how people from Middle Eastern decent should not be employed by airlines working on their airplanes. I am fortunate enough that I have come to understand this now but while I was younger and just heard that person say that and somehow confirming what he said in blogs it affected me very much negatively. My personal experience as the offender of justice I think that the biggest injustice I have done in my life has been, to adopt a puppy. I adopted Dino when me and my wife first got married in Atlanta and I thought that we would live the rest of our life there. I also thought that I would be able to start my career in Atlanta within the finance industry. Unfortunately nothing worked out as I planned. While my wife and I continued to grow our love for Dino, I continued to search for a job. I finally decided that Atlanta’s job market had nothing to offer and that we had to move to Chicago. Our new landlord would not accept pets and therefore we had to give our baby (Dino) for adoption. My wife and I had many arguments over that decision. Finally, we did move to Chicago and gave Dino up for adoption. My wife has been very much upset about giving up Dino and to this day misses him. Therefore, I believe that I have done my wife a huge injustice by making her give up on Dino. Looking back we didn’t have to move and we didnâ⠂¬â„¢t have to move in to that apartment. We could have had looked longer and maybe even find a place that would have let us keep Dino but my  rush decision prohibited that, which I didn’t comprehend back then. I must say that I have learned from both instances and therefore become a more mature and patient person. I have learned that although I should still base my decisions on logic rather than emotion I should not totally leave out emotions either. It is rather ironic thinking back, that emotions rather than logic has been the reason why I stopped pursuing becoming a mechanic at Lufthansa.

Employee morale Essays

Employee morale Essays Employee morale Essay Employee morale Essay Threat of layoffs 4. Union contracts 5. Nepotism Featherbedding B. Micro 1. No upper management support 2. No authority to make changes 3. Potential scapegoat or bad guy 4. Nonofficial duties clouding Judgment and slowing down progress/motivation II. Causes 1 . Union employees with poorly negotiated contracts 2. Employee resistance to change 3. Inability for cross-training/replacement between clerks and telegraph operators 4. Nepotism/featherbedding 5. Lack of upper-management support 6. Undefined responsibilities and authority for Dave 1 . Structural No HER element in place; too many employees that are incapable of being subs for the other; not enough work for all employees 2. Psychosocial Threat of layoffs affects incomes for most of the employees families; split between those employees that are and are not related; most of workforce has openly demonstrated unwillingness to change; low employee morale 3. Technical Archaic traditions need to be replaced with up-to-date technology; employees unwilling to take on new duties or produce at highest level causing company to lag behind; no cross-training allowed by union contract; clerks are mostly women and telephone operators mostly men 4. Managerial No upper management support; current management has been promoted because of relationship; no work ethic

Religion and Sports

Religion and Sports In the world of sport, man has internalized the concept of supernatural intervention as the basis of success. This success is greatly attributed to intervention by a supernatural being that is believed to be the force behind every victory. In the world of sport; from football, athletics, to indoor events, many participants have displayed deep religious inclination and belief for their outstanding performance. Thus, this reflective treatise attempts to explicitly contextualize ideas and beliefs surrounding religion and its influence on success as claimed by athletes around the globe. Besides, these comments are categorized into themes attributing success to supernatural influence. Reflection on religion as influential in performance and achievement through intervention of a super natural power has existed since the beginning of the ancient world. Reflectively, the Greeks had special prayers to their gods during sporting events such as Olympic which was named after their outstanding at hletes.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Religion and Sports specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Man has always believed in existence of supernatural powers and has established religion to practice the art of worship of the supernatural being (Higgs, 1995). As a matter of fact, irrespective of religion, man has always believed in strong supernatural power to decide the fate during sporting event. Those who win are considered blessed by the supernatural being on their side. Across the globe, the main religions include Christianity, Islamic religion, Buddhism, and Judaism (Forney, 2011). Though these religious inclinations have variances in doctrinal beliefs and approaches to the supernatural force, they all acknowledge powers of the being as beyond human knowledge. In the famous interview of Jonathan Edward, a British jumper and Olympic champion, declined to participate in the World Championship in 1991 because the sport was held on his worship day on Sunday. Later, he confesses of strong belief in God who is the source of his success. Since this event was held on the special day of worship, he believed that participating in the same would jeopardize his faith. Thus, he decided to forfeit a gold medal he could easily win. Besides, the NFL quarterback’s Kurt Warner, advised a fellow team member to seek religious intervention by asserting that the Lord was with the team. Specifically, he points his finger to the sky after every score to appreciate the supreme power. Kurt argues that faith and religion is part of his career and that his team depends on God’s endorsement to flaunt. Interestingly, Warner’s belief worked noting that they won all the matches played during the next four seasons of his athletics career. Nathan Scheelhaase, Illinois quarterbacks, shares same sentiments with Kurt that religion is an identity concept as Tim Tebow. Besides, the former NBA Mutombo Dikembe an d MBL Jeff Kent displayed religious acts when justifying success.Advertising Looking for essay on religion theology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In fact, the former NBA Mutombo had to kneel down in the court before every match and his team to the powers of the supernatural being. In these circumstances, religion has been part and parcel of man’s success in sporting activities. As discovered in the above scenarios, it is apparent that religion is critical in man’s perception of success in sporting events. It helps man to strengthen bonds that exist between him and the supernatural being. In the current global arena, the same practice has been internalized by schools, collages, and other institutions across the larger America in support of the ‘religious doctrine’ and success of man theory. This theory opines that mankind has learnt to appreciate the intervention of the supernatural in t heir lives. Considering sociological perspective, this view supports the social role played by religion in promoting success and discipline in mankind. For instance, when a belief is aligned to norms, the state of anomy is likely to minimize as man appreciates the need to conform to religious clandestine of chosen faith. Moreover, when religion merges with human activities, the aspect of personalized and institutionalization of expected and actual behavior will ensure that contentious and self conflicting beliefs are dealt with as a social and not a personal problem. Since sports attracts a mammoth of fans, it has positively contributed to ‘religious doctrine’ and belief in intervention by a supernatural being. In the coming Olympic Games, it is interesting to appreciate the arrangements that have been made by organizers to ensure the venue is safe and respectful to participants of different religious inclinations. Besides, major religious groupings have been invited to be part of the organizing team. Conclusively, religion has played a critical role in presenting sports as a social event that nurtures discipline and submission to the powers of the supernatural being.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Religion and Sports specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Interestingly, these athletes have internalized the influence of religion and vital part played by supernatural power in their success (Arnold, 2011). As a matter of fact, Edward boycotted a major event since it clashes with day of worship. Besides, Kurt always kneels down in the field before each game and attributes his success to God. References Arnold, P. (2011). Religion and Sports., New York: University Readers. Forney, C. (2011). The Holy Trinity of American Sports: Civil Religion in Football, Baseball, and Basketball. Georgia: Mercer University Press. Higgs, R. (1995). God in the stadium: sports and religion in America. Lexing ton: University Press of Kentucky.

Causing a Furor, Not a Fury

Causing a Furor, Not a Fury Causing a Furor, Not a Fury Causing a Furor, Not a Fury By Maeve Maddox Although furor and fury derive from the same Latin verb, furere, â€Å"to rage, be mad,† when the intended meaning is â€Å"public uproar,† furor is the better choice. Although anger is often one of the emotions expressed in a public upheaval of interest and comment, it isn’t always. Sometimes a furor may be caused by excessive admiration. In fact, the word that Americans and Canadians spell furor and British speakers spell furore, entered English from Italian furore, â€Å"enthusiastic popular admiration.† Here’s an example in which furor is used without the connotation of anger: With the first indication of his appearance, wide-eyed teenage girls gripped the edge of their chairs, stamped their feet in passionate furor and started clutching each other for emotional support. In the following examples, â€Å"to cause a fury† is a poor substitute for â€Å"to cause a furor†: Original: Two cases of Ebola have caused a fury in Texas. Better: Two cases of Ebola have caused a furor in Texas. Original: The first Matisse show in New York  caused a fury  that delighted Stieglitz. Better: The first Matisse show in New York  caused a furor that delighted Stieglitz. Furor conveys the ideas of objection and argument that fury does not. Here are some synonyms to clarify the difference between fury and furor: fury fierceness ferocity violence turbulence tempestuousness savagery severity intensity vehemence force forcefulness power strength furor commotion uproar outcry fuss agitation pandemonium disturbance hubbub tumult turmoil Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Farther vs. Further11 Writing Exercises to Inspire You and Strengthen Your Writing10 Humorous, Derisive, or Slang Synonyms for â€Å"Leader† or â€Å"Official†

Team Creation Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Team Creation Paper - Essay Example Failure to establish these two very important components that should characterise the qualities of the team members will likely to impact negatively on the project. Another consideration when selecting team members is the aspect of availability. This entails that people who are flexible and committed to the project and can be readily available are given preference than chancers. Another consideration in selecting the team members is that they should have something to contribute to the overall project. Team members are selected on the basis of the knowledge and skills they possess about that particular project. In the same vein, these members should show a willingness to get along with the other team members towards the attainment of the goals of the project. Another strategy that can be used to select project team members is through the establishment of the members’ willingness to abide by the rules and the parameters of the project. Those who are not prepared to learn or shar e their ideas may not be capable to be selected as team members. b. Some of the team building strategies are going to be outlined in detail below. First and foremost, a task breakdown is the foundation for team building which helps the project manager to assign the right people to the right project tasks (Morris 2008). This foundation stage of team building is concerned with setting the vision, goals and objectives of the team. This strategy is very important in team building in that it clearly spells the direction upon which all the members of the team should follow towards the attainment of the project goals set. The other strategy in team building involves clarifying the roles of the team members. This helps minimise conflicts and misunderstanding as each and every member of the team will be aware of the role expectation in the project. The other strategy of team building is centred on establishing group norms that will shape the conduct of all the team members. Determining the t ask processes is another strategic factor in building a project team which will promote team cohesiveness. Dynamics related to the team such as issues related to interaction of the team members, communication, decision making process as well measures for conflict resolution are some of the strategies that can be taken into consideration when building a project team. These factors play a pivotal role as they are meant to ensure that the goals of the team are clearly spelled as well as attempting to minimise the chances of conflicts in the team. c. Within a diverse project team, potential areas of conflict may be a result of negative behaviour among members of the team where the members may disagree with one another or the direction of the team (Kerzner 2006). The major cause of conflict in a team is the aspect of diversity which encompasses such factors as age, culture, gender and work values. In some instances, senior employees may attempt to insubordinate their junior by virtue of seniority in terms of age which is a cause of conflict. This can also go hand in hand with the aspect of gender where in some cases women may be looked down upon by virtue of their sex and gender. This is a major cause of conflict where there is unfair treatment of the members of the team on the basis of gender. Cultural factors in a diverse proje

Real estate development Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Real estate development - Coursework Example Pollutants are thus deposited on the land from the water course. Fly-tippers are also a chief cause of the current state of the land. Their illegal dumping activities have further worsened the state of the land. Dangerous materials are as a result strewn all over the land and would be one of the major obstacles in development of the land. An old windmill is also present in the middle of the site which would cause inconveniences during the construction. In addition buried power cables that are at unknown locations in the land are also a possible hazard for people wishing to undertake any activity in the land. The school is the major party involved with the development project and their main objective is the construction of a new sports’ center. The local council which offered land to the school however has a condition that flats as well as commercial use (artists’ studios) should be developed in the land. Due to these two projects, careful planning should be done before the project is started to prevent any complications of construction. The location of the site is the first major statutory issue that is facing the project. As described the land â€Å"is bordered on one side by the river Wandle, a small water course that has become silted up and polluted†. This location is a very unsuitable area for human dwelling. Working in such an area therefore has a multitude of risks which include being in the wrong side of the law according to the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act (1974). The windmill in the middle of the site dates from the mid-19th century and its demolition would be illegal without consultation of the local planning authority according to the Town and Country Planning Act (1990). This is because it is described to appear in the local list as a building of historic interest. Fly-tipping is an illegal activity according to the Environmental Protection Act

Palladium Doors Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Palladium Doors - Case Study Example The cost associated with the chosen alternative has also been shown. The projected Gross Profit and Net Profit figure have also been reflected here. The study will reflect the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the company. It will highlight the analysis of the Political, Environmental, Social, and Technological environment of the operational market in which the company is operating. Problem Statement Palladium Door, Inc. is one of the privately owned producers of different commercial and residential garage doors. In its product line, the company manufactures both insulated and non insulated cables, steel garage doors, supplies, rollers, springs and the side roller tracts. The company wanted to increase the sales by 36 percent in the year 2004. Robert Hawly, the director of sales & marketing, was concerned that whether the present distribution strategy which was used by Palladium would be able to achieve the goal. Although the company has shown a steady growth from p ast 10 years, but the market share of Palladium was only 2.6 percent. The senior executives of the company were made to believe that this sales goal was justified and would help the company in attaining a large sales volume for the preservation of its buying position with the suppliers. During its growth period, Palladium has even exceeded the industry growth. Three new plans have been chosen for the achievement of the company’s goal. There are four different point of views related to the marketing decisions. SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis will help to analyze various organizational issues (Mintzberg et al., 1998; Ansoff, 1965). It is a traditional method for making strategic plans (Dickson, 2002; Glaister & Falshaw, 1999). The SWOT analysis will help in selecting the best strategic option followed by the decision making after understanding the inter relationship between the company and its respective environment (Pahl & Richter, 2009; Ferrel & Hartline, 2010). Strengths 1. When Palladium was in its growth stage, it had a sales growth which was even higher than the industry growth. This is a significant strength of the company which has helped it to achieve a remarkable position in the market. 2. The company has a good partnership associated with the exclusive dealers. The exclusive dealers are responsible for almost 70 percent of the company’s sales. This will help the company to achieve the targeted sales goal. 3. The company is one of the biggest steel door manufacturers. Weaknesses 4. Although Palladium has shown a steady growth from past 10 years but the market share of the company was only 2.6 percent. 5. The company had only 50 additional dealers in previous 10 years. This was counted as one of the weaknesses of the company. Opportunities 6. Palladium has high opportunities by expanding its operations in the North West and West markets, where the houses build are aging. 7. There exists low brand awareness in the market where Palladium operate s. This gives the company an opportunity to attract the customers who are not brand conscious. 8. Palladium has the opportunity to extend the total number of exclusive dealers which

Speech class assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Speech class assignment - Essay Example Audience analysis is essential for gathering situational information. Situational information refers to the context under which a speaker will deliver one’s speech. To begin with, a speaker should know the size of the expected intended audience. This is useful for presentation materials such as visual aids, which the whole audience should adequately see (Hamilton 73). In addition, the speaker should know an audience’s intention of attending a lecture such that one gauges the interest that such people will pay to the speech. Other factors include the audience’s knowledge of a person such that the speaker assesses the trust that one will receive from the audience. In addition, audience analysis is crucial for understanding an audience’s mastery of a given topic. A speaker should be cautious not to overestimate an audience’s comprehension of a subject. This is because the speaker may become too abstract for an audience, which is highly likely to shift attention in case of incomprehensible speech. Such analysis would help the speaker in explaining theoretical concepts entailed in the speech before the actual presentation. On the other hand, presenting a simplistic discussion to a knowledgeable audience may kill its enthusiasm. Audience analysis helps a speaker unravel the demographics of an audience. The demographic factors include ethnic background, age, income status, class, religion, gender, and other related factors. These factors help a speaker articulate a speech in order to address the needs of an audience. It is essential to note that an individual is highly likely to pay attention to a speech that addresses one’s needs. A speaker, however, should be careful not to stereotype an audience because individuals are more complicated than simplistic categorizations. Categorization, therefore, is only important for giving attention to immediate

Christianity between South Korea and Japan Essay

Christianity between South Korea and Japan - Essay Example Japan has a long history of Christianity. The first Europeans from Portugal landed on Kyushu, Western Japan in the year 1542 bringing with them the two historically most important things namely gunpowder and Christianity.Japan has continually rejected Christianity throughout her history. She continues to see Christianity as not only something foreign, but also, as having Western influence. This is especially so because many churches have Western architecture and decor. The hymns sung, and the styles of worship are predominantly Western. Unlike in Japan, the practice of Christianity in Korea has a relatively short history. Catholic missionaries were the first to arrive in Korea in 1784, followed by the American Presbyterians and Methodists Protestant missionaries in 1884. The missionaries used invaluable evangelistic tools during the first two decades of their arrival. Christians constitute approximately 25 percent of South Korea’s total population. Many observers agree that the dynamism of Korean Christianity is an outgrowth of the peninsula's unique history as well as the early role of indigenous leadership. In as far as Christianity is concerned, it is evident that Japan lags far much behind compared to South Korea. From the coming of the missionaries up to date, South Koreans have passionately embraced the faith whereas Japanese seem contented in their traditional religions.

Biology and Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Biology and Psychology - Essay Example The psychological state of anger,fear or ability to understand differs from one being to another (individualistically) yet it does not differ from an organism to another -this depends on how it has from efforts and abilities to react and act according to what it is able to do and unable to do physically. The dimensions of one abling himself to understand what their abilities could be and what he could get from reactions both categorized as pleasant and unpleasant could allow him to fail or succeed in what he wants to do and is able to get from things and objects of pleasurea and desirable to him. The way of receiving and perceiving things makes one able or unable to get thoughts and actions properly fit together to be able to find a way of compromising how to work in a certain frame to be able to get what he wants and push away what he does noit want. Such things exist such as in obesity which occurs when one has a feeding disorder and is unable to stop because the food pleasure is something which takes their mind off something else and is unable to get other pleasures such as attracting the females in his life. This biological defect brings him to seclusion, deluding ideas and inability to communicate in a manner to be able to find the pleasure he would like to have outside the sphere of food. Yet not all people have this problem who are obese. A lot of people are unable to get thoughts out of their minds which help them not work what they want they want which brings them to be dysfuntional in their ability to face the 'fear factor' of refusal,discharge from a job due to lack of beauty,etc. Yet,although this affects a great number of people,alot of obese people live a normal life by adjusting to their desires of food for the fun of eating and loving food and the fact that they are humurous and sociable and a well wished for companion in a party. Another example of thoughts which affect the biology of the person is the fact that they could not think properly and adjust their ideas to fit what they want and are unable to get what they seem to wish for and want due to the fact that they could not keep up with the track of ideas they have in their minds. This occurs due to an inability to face and track the speed of thoughts that occur in the mind and heart from confused feelings weld and yielded by the inability to handle the self and thus results in the fact that they become explosive as a manner of what they think is a relieving of the ideas and thoughts that rush through their veins and ideas and thoughts do not leave but just fester inside and help the person just take up such belief as a habit. Biological factors and differences in hormone diffusions inside the body do not show or work the fact that such physiological differences between man and woman,child and adult have any effect except for the way that they arrange their thoughts and ideas and how they understand themselves and how they frame the meaning of communicating and how they understand the other and what it means to them to face the other and what they need and desire the resulting actions of communications to be with such people. Also,grammatical and lexical meanings in the

Christianity between South Korea and Japan Essay

Christianity between South Korea and Japan - Essay Example Japan has a long history of Christianity. The first Europeans from Portugal landed on Kyushu, Western Japan in the year 1542 bringing with them the two historically most important things namely gunpowder and Christianity.Japan has continually rejected Christianity throughout her history. She continues to see Christianity as not only something foreign, but also, as having Western influence. This is especially so because many churches have Western architecture and decor. The hymns sung, and the styles of worship are predominantly Western. Unlike in Japan, the practice of Christianity in Korea has a relatively short history. Catholic missionaries were the first to arrive in Korea in 1784, followed by the American Presbyterians and Methodists Protestant missionaries in 1884. The missionaries used invaluable evangelistic tools during the first two decades of their arrival. Christians constitute approximately 25 percent of South Korea’s total population. Many observers agree that the dynamism of Korean Christianity is an outgrowth of the peninsula's unique history as well as the early role of indigenous leadership. In as far as Christianity is concerned, it is evident that Japan lags far much behind compared to South Korea. From the coming of the missionaries up to date, South Koreans have passionately embraced the faith whereas Japanese seem contented in their traditional religions.

Effects of Alcohol Essay Example for Free

Effects of Alcohol Essay Alcohol can have some good benefits and then some bad ones, for example when you drink you can encounter yourself having a good time laughing and joking around with your friends, or you can find yourself angry wanting to argue and start fights with everybody. If you’re a â€Å"happy drunk† you probably don’t have bad alcoholism in your family, and you can control your drinking with the attitudes it may drag along. While on the other hand if you’re an â€Å"angry drunk† you may not be able to control what you do when you drink such as the amount of alcohol you consume or the attitudes that may come along with drinking. Alcoholic content in most alcoholic drinks is measured in proof, which is about half of the actual content of alcohol in the drink. An example is a 90 proof whiskey actually only contains 45 percent alcohol. Beer is one of the beverages containing the lowest proof. They range from 2 to 6 percent. Wines have anywhere from 14 percent or less. Fortified wines which have other alcoholic beverages included will be in a higher range. While drinking each of these different alcoholic beverages, each one of them has different serving sizes like with whiskey 1 serving is about half a shot glass, one serving of beer is a 12oz can of beer and the smaller amount of whiskey will get you drunk way faster than beer. When drinking you need to keep track of what you are drinking and at how fast of a pace because if you drink fast you will reach your state of being drunk a lot faster and the buzz be a lot more intense than you may want. But if you are drinking at a slow pace and not drinking those hard alcohol drinks your buzz will come a lot slower and easier to contain. In some of the first steps of alcoholism the image of drinking is no longer to socialize and have a good time it becomes a necessity to cope with life to escape from stress, inhibitions and anxiety. Early in the disease of alcoholism the person with the drinking problem starts to depend on the mood changing aspects of alcohol. Another aspect of the first stage of alcoholism is that a gradual increase in tolerance develops, meaning that increasing amounts of alcohol are needed in order to feel a high or a buzz. When your tolerance goes up you need to consume more alcohol, so might change to stronger drinks which may have different effects on yourself and change your personality severely making people that you once held close in your life to drift away and leave your all alone with only yourself and your drink. The person with the drinking problem starts to avoid family and friends and experiences a loss of interest in activities that used to be fun or important causing them to lose their job and other fun activities forcing them to fall into a deep depression then they may not have anywhere to turn besides the bottle of alcohol so they can deal with life the only way they know how to now. Soon an alcoholic will need to have a drink as soon as possible like when they just wake up in the morning so they don’t have to deal with the true reality of their life, calming there nerves or to lessen the hangover so soon being drunk all day everyday becomes a regular routine in daily life. Coming alone with being drunk that much has some very bad effects like, an increase in failed promises and resolutions to ones self and to others, Frequent violent or destructive behavior, The start of physical deterioration and all this will lead to major problems with the law such as DUIs and jail time which could also bring along thoughts of suicide. Now at this point of alcoholism it is more than likely the person will not be able to hold a full time job like they could have in the earlier stage of becoming an alcoholic because drinking starts earlier in the day and usually continues all day long. Then once the person has come all this way the body is not going to be able to deal with this frequent drinking because alcoholism causes a number of medical conditions and cancers. The noncancerous medical problems with this horrible addiction/disease can include, Harm to the fetus while the mother is pregnant, cardiovascular problems such as high blood pressure, heart failure, and strokes, impaired learning ability, kidney and liver failure, diabetes, alcohol poisoning and sexual problems such as erectile dysfunction and impotence in men are just some of the few side effects with alcoholism. Some of the cancerous problems that may come along are Stomach, Liver, Esophagus, Kidney and Colon cancer. When or if an alcoholic comes to reality and wants to quit drinking if forced by family and friends or medical conditions and can be too late for them because if a person has been addicted to alcohol for a long period of time their body is more than likely dependent on the daily consumption of alcohol and cannot function without. They could have been diagnosed with a cancerous symptom from drinking and need to quit or they will die, but on the other hand they can die from the sudden stop of drinking. Alcoholism is one of the most dangerous addictions’/ diseases’ out there because there is no cure and causes more deaths than a good deal of other drugs and addictive’s. Many studies have concluded that alcoholism is as addictive as or more addictive than heroin or cocaine, therefore before getting stuck going down the dead end road of alcoholism think twice.

Comparing Philosophers Hobbes And Locke Philosophy Essay

Comparing Philosophers Hobbes And Locke Philosophy Essay Social contract is an essential principle applied in most societies in the world. Many nations have elected governments which are tasked with maintaining rule of law. Sovereignty of countries is therefore given to governments in exchange of maintaining order. Social contract therefore forms the legitimacy of governments since they require consent from the governed people in order to be considered legitimate. This is seen as important principle which encourages individual and social order. Some of the most important philosophers who advanced arguments for social contract include Locke, Hobbes and Rousseau. They however held different views on social contract with Locke supporting liberal monarchy and Hobbes supporting authoritarian monarchy. Their arguments have set the framework for development of theories such as liberal democracy, constitutional monarchy, republicanism and others. Their theories have also been implemented in many democracies across the world. This paper will evaluate Lockes and Hobbes arguments on social contract with specific focus on the differences in their approach to the topic. The paper will then take one viewpoint from among the two discussed and explain why it is superior to the other. The discussed issues will be summarized at the end. Hobbes view of social contract Hobbes was of the opinion that authoritarian monarchy is the most effective form of social order in society. In this form of organization, the people submit to the authority or leadership. Hobbes supported leadership where exclusive power was given to leaders or a political class (Adams 2003). This form of leadership has several characteristics which include the concentration of power among leaders and the use of strategies such as exclusion of challengers and political repression to maintain authority. In this form of leadership, Hobbes was of the view that mass organizations and political parties are effective in mobilizing the population around the goals of a political system. He supported this political system since he viewed men as equal and therefore preventing conflict amongst them was impossible. Man fought for basic necessities and material possession which would ultimately lead to social collapse. The authoritarian monarchy was viewed as most effective in stemming this chao s in society. Hobbes supported monarchy since it was difficult for monarchs to disagree with themselves. However, this system of governance features unpopular leadership strategies such as rigging of elections, making of political decisions by the minority as well as presence of bureaucracy. Leaders are appointed by the political class without participation of citizens and there is unregulated and informal use of power. This system also features intolerance for the opposition and deprivation of civil liberties. In order to control political power, the military is often used in states which exercise authoritarian forms of power. Social control is maintained by regulating the civil society and establishing allegiance through use of socialization processes. These forms of leadership are usually weakened by poor performance of the political class with regards to peoples needs. Many collapse due to revolution by the population against leadership. During the Cold War, the USSR governance system is an example of the authoritarian rule in society. Currently, countries such as Chad and North Kor ea adhere to this governance system. Lockes view of social contract Locke supported liberal monarchy which supports equal rights and liberty in governance. This leadership structure supports liberal democracy, constitutions, human rights, free elections, free trade, capitalism and religious freedom (Arnold 2006). It is also known as constitutional monarchy. In this political system, a monarch acts as head of state and derives power from the constitution. In many liberal monarchies, parliamentary systems are applied and these serve the purpose of checking excesses by the executive. In the past, liberal monarchy co-existed with quasi-fascist, fascist or military dictatorship. Liberal monarchy systems believe in going to war in cases of aggression although use of unilateral force is not supported as it encourages cycles of violence. Locke believed that liberal monarchy would best protect private property and encourage liberty; two of the most important amenities enjoyed by humans (Locke 2003). He viewed the human nature as being driven by self preservat ion and survival instincts, which made it necessary to have a supreme power in order to maintain social order. The social contract between people being governed and the sovereign authority achieved this objective. There are various weaknesses which are associated with the liberal monarchy governance system. The first is that although representatives are elected, these are few individuals who make decisions on behalf of the whole system. In essence, power is therefore held by few individuals who have a similar ability to misuse it as is seen in the authoritative governance system. Some critics, especially those who have Marxist roots, argue that this governance system is controlled by the rich as opposed to the majority. It is therefore not democratic as it is class based. The rich have the power and resources to ensure they are elected into power, which defeats the objectives of the system. In such systems, religious and ethnic conflicts are also often seen and this is viewed as a weakness of the system. In authoritarian rule, the government would stem such conflicts and restore social order. Finally, these governance systems are seen to focus on short term objectives as opposed to long term o nes. Since the election of government is held regularly, legislators focus on short term goals which would make them popular with the electorate as opposed to long term ones which may not be visible within short term durations. Current liberal monarchies include Bahrain, Bahamas, Australia, Denmark, Canada, Cambodia, Lesotho, Monaco, Malaysia, Norway, Sweden, UK, Thailand and others. Differences between Hobbes and Lockes approach to social contract theory A major difference between Hobbes and Lockes views on social contract is that Hobbes believes in authoritarian rule where the political power yields absolute power while Locke believes in the power of democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights (Hegel 2001). Locke believed in protecting private property and liberty while Hobbes believed that human beings were incapable of living without conflict unless an authoritarian authority restored order. Another difference between these theories is that Locke views society as possessing power to overthrow governments. Locke viewed society as creators of the government which gave them power to overthrow it. However, Hobbes views the government as a powerful monarch which the people cannot overthrow. Locke is of the opinion that abolishing a government and replacing it with another as upholding the social contract. Unlike Hobbes who viewed the human nature as driven to fight for basic necessities and material possession which would ultimately lead to social collapse, Locke believed that God had created human beings with wisdom which could prevent their greedy nature from taking over. Locke also believed that the social contract between the authoritative monarch and the people would not be fair as two distinctive groups would emerge; property owners and the poor. The poor would then have different contracts from the rich and they would suffer under this rule. Personal opinion on the best social contract approach I believe that Lockes social contract approach is the most effective in maintaining social order in society. Liberal monarchy advocates for equal rights and liberty in governance. This leadership structure supports liberal democracy, constitutions, human rights, free elections, free trade, capitalism and religious freedom. There are several reasons which I will advance for support of Lockes liberal monarchy political system and these arguments will be contrasted against Hobbes theories to prove that the latter is inferior in achieving stable political and social unit. The first reason for support of Lockes approach is political and economic stability. Many countries across the world have enjoyed economic and political stability from democracy over centuries. In fact, most countries of the world follow a structure similar to liberal monarchy which supports equal rights and democratic election of government officials. These countries have enjoyed stability since they make decisions based on the rule of the majority. Democracy is followed in making political decisions and the people participate in political systems through the officials they elect. Due to this, most people support democratic regimes since they stand for what the majority advocates for. However, countries which have followed Hobbes authoritative leadership styles have experienced conflicts and revolutions. This is due to the reason that the leadership goals are not in line with what the people stand for. The fact that oppression and intolerance for opposition strategies are used also reduces public confidence in the political class. Governments which have been overthrown as a result of using this system include Tunisia, USSR, Uganda, Cuba, Germany, France and others. . Another reason why I support Lockes social contract approach is that it upholds human rights. Human rights are the basic freedoms which people enjoy. Some of the rights upheld by this system include the right to own property, right to religious freedom, right of expression and others. Locke supports safeguarding of rights according to the constitution. He advocates for protection of property and justice. However, Hobbes vests power in a few people who make all political decisions. These people in power hold the rights of the society and they make unilateral decisions of what is acceptable or not. This can be seen to be infringement of human rights which everyone should have access to. This makes Hobbes leadership approach unacceptable in the modern society. Finally, history has proven that countries which have practiced Lockes approach have prospered while those which have applied Hobbes approach have collapsed in the long run. Many revolutions such as the French revolution and Cuban revolution as well as the collapse of countries such as the USSR can be attributed to the use of Hobbes authoritarian monarchy leadership system. Current revolutions against countries such as Tunisia and Egypt can also be traced to the use of a similar approach. On the other hand, economically and politically stable countries in the modern world such as UK, US and others have applied the democratic governance system. This shows that Lockes approach is more effective in maintaining social order than Hobbes approach. Summary and conclusion Social contract has been discussed to be a form of gaining government legitimacy through giving governments sovereignty in exchange for maintaining order. Locke and Hobbes are important philosophers who analyzed social contract theories. However, their approaches were different with Locke supporting liberal monarchy and Hobbes supporting authoritarian monarchy. Both approaches have weaknesses and strengths which have been discussed in the paper. The most effective approach to apply in leadership especially in the modern world is Lockes approach which supports liberal democracy, constitutions, human rights, free elections, free trade, capitalism and religious freedom. This approach is consistent with the needs of several societies and it has been successfully implemented in many states. Hobbes approach has failed in several countries due to revolution against the political class which practices authoritarian rule. It is important for leaders to embrace leadership which supports respect for human rights, democracy and protection of property. History has proven that this is the most effective leadership style. Leaders who have failed to embrace democracy have faced revolutions and the current ones in Tunisia and Egypt can be traced to the weaknesses in Hobbes leadership style. When leaders impose their will on the people, there is likely to be resistance since the majority will not have their way. Although strategies such as repression work in the short term, eventually the people lose faith in leadership and a revolution is born. Leaders should therefore follow Lockes liberal monarchy political system and embrace democracy. Once democracy is embraced, human rights protected and the constitution is adhered to, the leadership gains support from the people. This ensures that order is maintained within states and that people live in harmony and peace.

The Great Mosque of Istanbul Essay -- Religion, Islam, Mosque

Hagia Sophia and the great mosques of Istanbul As a city that has played host to not one but two great empires, Istanbul has inherited a number of historical gems. The most apparent of these gems are the sultanic mosques spread across the city. While numerous in number, each mosque tells a different story through its art and architectural elements. They all share, however, triumphs in construction and architectural planning. Through their minarets, pointed arches, and abundance of luxurious building materials, these mosques exemplify the power of the empires they were born out of. The Blue Mosque and other mosques will be mentioned as well. To best present these mosques this paper will look at the Hagia Sophia as a primary example. The mosque, the Islamic location of worship, is similar to the Jewish synagogue or the Christian church in terms of purpose and services. Like other centers of worship they are composed in a very particular fashion. While the architecture of mosques differs regionally, they share the same basic components. The congregation of the mosque prays in the hamam which is a space not unlike the nave of a Christian church. The mihrab, a niche to which prayer is pointed towards, is orientated towards the holy city of Mecca (Frishman and Khan 33-35). The religious leader who carries out prayers does so from the minrab, which is very similar to a pulpit found in a Christian church. Call to prayer is given from the minarets that tower outside of some mosques. Aside from being a place of worship, mosque complexes can contain madrasahs (schools) and â€Å"hospitals, baths, and other inhabitations† (Boyar and Fleet 143). Not all mosques are as grandiose as the ones in Istanbul which were bu ilt not in honor of Islam, bu... ...olorful than the other mosques that it shares the city with, the Blue Mosque posses a warm character that appears to be non-existent in these massive, albeit grandiose, structures. The mosques of Istanbul are much more than places of worship. As initially serving as symbols of power and wealth, they now serve as windows to one of the most powerful empires in history. These mosques allow people to interact more with classical and old-world history than the ruins of the ancient Greek and Romans world can. The Hagia Sophia has transcended its original purposes, while other mosques simultaneously retain their liturgical purpose as well as serving as ambassadors to the Ottoman Empire. As the country of Istanbul pushes further into the modern world, these mosques will grow in importance due to their strong link to a past that attracts travelers to Istanbul initially.

Was the Alliance System Responsible for the Outbreak of WWI? :: World War I History

Was the Alliance System Responsible for the Outbreak of WWI? The importance of the alliance system that developed in Europe in the decades before World War I as a cause for it is still an important topic of debate and argument between modern historians. Some argue that the alliance system was a direct cause of the outbreak of war between all major countries in Europe while other historians prefer to state that the alliance configuration we observe before the war started was simply a symptom of the conflicts and disagreements, fears and envies that had been accumulating since the Bismarck system of alliances collapsed, and even before then. This last opinion is becoming more accepted as the one that describes the true importance of the actual alliance system as a cause of the war. In order to determine the importance of the alliance system as a cause for the war we must first explore the origins of these alliances. We will take high-point of the Bismarck system in 1878 as our starting point as the Franco-Prussian war is a key factor for the dev elopment of this system. The alliance system ideated by the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck kept peace in Europe but its main aim was, however, to forestall the possibility that, in the event of war, Germany would have to fight it on two fronts (basically France and Russia). This was achieved by diplomatically isolating France so that its dream of recapturing its lost provinces of Alsace-Lorraine couldn't be fulfilled. This was done by, firstly, the creation of the League of the Three Emperors or Dreikaiserbund. It was first projected as a meeting of the monarchs of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia in 1872 and confirmed the following year, the 22nd of October 1873. Here, the very general and formless agreement was given a more solid form by military agreements promising to help any country attacked by a fourth party. And all this even though that there was mutual rivalry between Russia and Austria-Hungary in the Balkans. This proved to be a concrete way to isolate France for as E. Eyck mentions, "the League ensured that neither Austria-Hungary nor Russia was available as an ally for France". At this point, Bismarck didn't consider Britain as a potential French ally as they had a long history of rivalry. Secondly, in 1887 the Reinsurance Treaty was signed with Russia in which it promised to support Russia's claims to the strait and to remain neutral in the event of war unless it attacked Austria-Hungary, the same with Russia, who promised to remain neutral unless it attacked France.

Corporate Responsibility and Marketing Strategies Essay

I believe Apple Inc. [mostly referred as â€Å"Apple† in this document] has met the ethical and social responsibility towards general public, employees, customers and shareholders/investors. Apple positions itself to be very environment conscious and continuously working to reduce the foot print of the company and its products on the planet (Apple Inc.). Apple has a recycling program for its used products; it sends gift cards to customers in return for the used products, if the products do not have any monetary value they recycle them responsibly. Apple reports the environmental foot-print of each of its product on their website to show how much energy efficient they are and how Apple is choosing more biodegradable elements in its products, packaging and facilities. Apple has multiple offices and datacenters in United States and as of March 2013 seventy five percent of them are fully powered through renewable energy sources (Kastrenakes, 2013). Apple is continuously trying to improve the situation and aiming to rely entirely on renewable energy sources in future. To improve ethical awareness within its employees, Apple has a business code of conduct published and easily available via intranet website within the company and to its investors via shareholder website (Business code, 2012) which explains in detail on various topics including its well known secretive way of releasing its products. Apple also has a Business conduct helpline available for its employees to resolve ethical dilemmas, report conflicts of interest and seek direction in making ethical decision. Recently Tim Cook, Apple CEO has reminded all employees to review Apple’s business conduct policy via corporate email (Marie, 2013) which shows the  importance Apple gives to Ethics within the company. Apple treats its employees very well; pays pretty good salaries to employees and rates to contractors, Apple’s has a very good benefit program for its employees, even the part-time employees are entitled to benefits at apple (Fiegerman, 2012), it provides shuttle servi ce to many locations from many places in Bay area to campus. Apple products are very safe compared to many other competitor products, Apple pays attention to details, e.g.: To avoid tripping over a charging cable, Mac book charger has a magnet instead of a hard stick in plug as we observe in many Windows PCs. All of its products are well thought and provide lot of convenience and consider customer health and safety, as we see in the case of latest ear phones from Apple, they have the speakers going sideways instead of directly in to ears as most of the conventional ear plugs do, this restricts music directly hitting the ear drum and long term exposure may have adverse impact on the ears. Apple products are well sealed and static resistant, the materials used in production are not cheap and low quality parts, which improves the durability of its products. Apple provides lot of variations in products to choose, to a customer which attracts customers at all levels. There are about ten to twelve flavors of latest iPhone based on color, size of memory and external material. Apple has a very good refund policy, items can be returned online or returned in store, there is about 14-30 days to return items, Apple provides full refund instead of charging for re-stocking fee. If there is a part malfunction, apple product can be exchanged for a new one within one year of purchase for nominal or zero price. Apple considers customer’s complaints and response rapidly by multiple means and aims to delight the customers (Denning, 2011). Apple listens to customers at the stores, online and also via telephone and improvises on its services, customer support and also their products. It is very obvious that Apple takes good care of its shareholders; we can clearly observe that from Apple’s revenues and profits from past several quarters, Apple’s share has gone up five times within past five years. Apple provides all of its quarterly, annual reports along with financial statements and exhibits with SEC and complies with SEC policies. Question 2: Publications of ethics and social responsibility violations of its suppliers, mainly at Hon Hoi Precision, also known as FoxConn had impact on Apple’s reputation and mainly no impact on sales and share value. In 2011 there were fourteen suicides at FoxConn and later on there were many riots, suicide protests by workers against the very long working hours, lack of insurance, workplace safety, horrible facility maintenance , incidents of using Child labor, lack of injured workers compensation, army camp style management and others (McGrath, 2012). Apple has handled things very carefully and assigned right people and started remediation methods, published supplier code of conduct, increased audits in its supplier firms, provided training, to improve situation and reputation; Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple talked about Foxconn and how his company is trying to improve the working conditions for employees and workers in its suppliers’ factories and how seriously Apple is taking t he allegations (Knibbs). Apple’s reputation had an impact during the time of events, created a buzz in media world; Apple got a bad name within its investors and stake holders. Later on, Apple was able to manage out of the situation very well. Overall there is no impact to sales or revenue or Apple’s share value. Apple shares might have taken a small hit for few days when there were publications by media, but overall share value was growing in 2010 and 2011 when all of reports were being published. Apple is still considered the most admired company in the whole world as per Fortunes World’s most Admired companies for 2008-2013; six years in row (Shaughnessy, 2013). Apple products are very well received in the market; there are no aversions or hatred towards Apple’s products based on the allegations. We usually see the drop in sales when there are negative allegations on companies, we have seen this in case of Paula Deen based on her racial comments and also with Duck Dynasty and i ts products when Phil Robertson has made anti-gay comments and cause big dent in their reputation, we have not seen this with Apple. When iPhone 5s was released in September of 2013, stores reported people standing in long lines at Apple and its partner stores to get the first piece. Today there are hardcore fans to Apple products than for any other company. Apple products are growing popularity even in China where the allegations of horrible working conditions have been  reported. Based on my personal observation, Apple stores are among the most crowded stores at local malls. Even with heavy competition for Samsung, LG, Nokia (now Microsoft) and Motorola, Apple iPhones are still most commonly used smart phones in United States. Apple’s App store has more than a Billion applications available to end users. By observing the Apple’s growth pattern, it is safe to say that the impact of supplier violations is minor. Question 3: To improve the working conditions and abide to Fair Law Association (FLA) policies Apple has come up with and published â€Å"supplier code of conduct† (â€Å"Apple supplier,† 2012) for all its suppliers to adhere who provide parts to its products. To ensure that its suppliers adhere to wage and benefits standards going forward, Apple has to strictly enforce the â€Å"supplier code of conduct† and also increase the supervision and auditing of the supplier factories, HR and pay roll systems up to allowed by the local and international laws. Many of the rules and regulations which are illegal in US are acceptable in other countries. As Apple’s suppliers are mainly in other countries than US, Apple can set up strict rules and guidelines more close to US laws in addition to local government policies and Fair Law Association (FLA) laws, as most of its products are used by consumers in US. Apple can also open up complaint/suggestion boxes (online, in factory and via phone) from workers in supplier factories to understand and closely monitor the working conditions and get feedback on wages and benefits. Apple can restrict the number of hours a worker can work in its supplier factories. Apple can create guidelines in its code to have onsite help to talk with workers and understand their problems and work with supplier factories to solve them. Apple can guide its suppliers to setup onsite and close to campus medical facilities for workers working in its supplier factories. Apple can work with local media and government to do surveys from general public about their supplier practices at factory facilities. Apple should request the ethics code of conduct as one of the primary pre-requisite from their suppliers as part of the initial RFP – Request for proposal. Apple should get feedback suppliers’ employees to understand how well the code is  followed by its upper management in the company and should enforce supplier to improve it before renewal of contracts. Apple should stop buying parts from suppliers with tainted reputation, or suppliers with weak or no ethical code of conduct. Apple should compare the working conditions and wages of workers in its supplier factories to competitor factories in the area and pass regulations to improve the wages to meet market standards. Question 4: Apple customers would be willing to pay more for its products to provider better wages and benefits to suppliers’ workers. Apple can make this happen by showing the reasons behind increase in prices, and how additional money will be utilized for worker compensation and benefits. Apple should advertize in TV, publish articles on its website and provide information to Media on how the additional money will be utilized. This is much similar to Ms. Lee Rhodes and her Glassybaby in the case study, Glassybaby gives 10% of its revenues for cancer treatment. Another suggestion that I can make is that, some percentage of increase in salaries for workers should also come from Apple’s profits to show consumers that Apple is not only charging more for products but also taking a cut in their profits to provide better working conditions for workers. Apple and its main founder Steve Jobs do not have very good name as Philanthropist, there is no public record that Steve Jobs has donate d any money (Sorkin, 2011). After Tim Cook took over Apple’s CEO position, he has made some donations but compared with other companies with high revenues and profits; the donations made by Apple are very negligible compared to its revenues and profits (Emerson, 2012). Apple can improve its image and reputation in the world by giving some percentage of profits to suppliers’ workers through multiple programs and incentives. Today Apple’s products are most popular in the market; iPhone is the best selling smart phone out there in market. Apple and its products have huge fan base and many of the competitor smart phones from Samsung or Microsoft are not comparable to iPhone. With such a popularity, increasing a minor percentage E.g.: 3-5% of price will not have any impact on product sales. Most of the Apple products are sold with network connection also known as data plan, the minimum data plan is very expensive and costs up to $40 per month for many carriers. Some of Apple’s iPhone customers take data plan because they are intrigued with iPhone and Apple products. When customers  are willing to pay additional money for seldom used data plan as they stay home mostly where there is Wi-Fi connection as an alternative to data plan. Customers should be willing to spend a bit more money to improve working conditions and salaries for suppliers’ workers. Question 5: Apple has excellent market strategy for its products; Everyone remembers those PC and Mac comparison commercials, which used to portray Apple’ Mac computers as cool and trendy for Generations X and Y and for everyone at home where as Microsoft PC was shown as business computer with bugs. In reality, Microsoft operating system is more flexible and customers can customize and make modifications and create applications relatively easy, where as you need to go to App Store for installing/upgrading any iOS applications. Microsoft or Samsung devices allow users to copy MP3 files, and play them without any intermediary software such as iTunes, a mandatory application for Apple to copy songs in to iOS applications. Even with less flexibility Apple’s products are highly sold in market today due to its design and performance of its products and mainly it’s Marketing strategy. Apple does not really advertize new versions of iPhone releases, rather it keeps it secret, there are no beta releases, and there are no pictures or commercials in the market before a new version iPhone is released. It creates buzz in the market which generates mystery about its product. In addition to its own marketing, Apple’s iPhones are also advertized by other companies such as network providers such as AT&T, Verizon and other companies which make protective cases and other accessories for iPhones. Apple maintains such secrecy before releasing its iPhone products; it has worked greatly for them. Another way Apple products are advertized is by word of mouth. Today many of smart phones in the market from Samsung, LG and Microsoft have similar functions as iPhone, but in my view the secrecy/mystery and word of mouth advertizing for iPhone has helped to maintain its leadership in the market. To improve competitive advantage over global market place, Apple should sell its products more in other countries; expand its base out of US. The usage  of smart phones is at verge of getting saturation in United States, consumers in US are tied to data and voice plans from network providers in US. Until latest generations of iPhones, iphones were sold at a later release dates in Europe, India and China than in United States. There is a lot of fan base for Apple in China and India, Apple should en cash that by making products affordable in those countries. Customers in US do not replace their phones until their contract ends with he network provider, which is usually two years from the contract start date. Most of the countries outside of US are not bound to network/data plans for the phones as they use GSM technology; this provides flexibility to consumers to buy more than one phone in two years. Smart phones are getting more popular in India and china where the population is very high. Population of India and China combined is more than six times the population of United States (CIA World Factbook); if Apple can capture a small percentage of the market in those countries it will have more customer base than it does in whole US which bring higher revenues. Apple should start customizing their products and make them consumer friendly in other countries, such as make menus in native languages, create local custom applications etc. As word of mouth advertizing has proven working for Apple, they should start giving some samples of their products to celebrities in India where the common public trend is to follow the celebrities and mimic their product usage. It has worked for other companies and products; it should also work for Apple. Apple should start thinking about making their products more flexible and easy to customize, Apple is very popular among brand, but more savvy users with computer background started to lean more towards Google Android based phones from Samsung and LG as they have more flexibility and customization options. With computer skills and techniques being very common to kids in Generation Y and Z, Apple should think about concentrating on them and their tastes and Apple products more flexible. Apple should innovate more, there have been some improvements and modifications to its products in past 3 years but there has not been a â€Å"WOW†Ã‚  product release. They should enter new markets, start coming up with new products such as long awaited Apple TV or they should get in to wearable gadgets such as wrist watches, glasses, motion controlled devices, devices with flexible screens and devices which look cool but monitor human body’s current health such as temperature, sugar levels, blood pressure etc. Last but not least, Apple should improve its philanthropist image; they should start donating more to needy and charitable foundations. That usually helps in both ways; it improves the reputation and also works as advertisement. References Apple Inc. (n.d.). Apple and the environment. Retrieved from http://www.apple.com/environment/ Apple supplier code of conduct. (2012, JANUARY). 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Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-what-employees-really-love-about-working-for-apple-2012-6?op=1 Kastrenakes, J. (2013, MARCH 21). Renewable energy now powers 75 percent of apple’s facilities. Retrieved from http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/21/4132402/apple-now-using-75-percent-renewabl e-energy-across-operations Knibbs, K. (n.d.). Apple ceo talks foxconn, tries to mend reputation. Retrieved from http://www.mobiledia.com/news/128273.html Marie. (2013, NOVEMBER 21). Tim cook reminds apple employees to review apple’s business conduct policy. Retrieved from http://mobileorchard.com/tim-cook-reminds-apple-employees-to-review-apples-business-conduct-policy/ McGrath, B. (2012, FEBRUARY 7). Apple’s sweatshop supply chain. Retrieved from https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2012/02/appl-f07.html Sorkin, A. (2011, AUGUST 29). The mystery of steve jobs’s public giving. Retrieved from http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/08/29/the-mystery-of-steve-jobss-public-giving/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0 Shaughnessy, H. (2013, FEBRUARY 28). Apple remains world’s most admired company, followed by google and amazon. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/haydnshaughnessy/2013/02/28/apple-remains-worlds-most-admired-followed-by-google-and-amazon/