The American Government

The protection of civil rights and liberties is bestowed upon the government who enforces their enjoyment through appropriate use of the rule of law. It is this balance between the government as a guarantor of civil rights and liberties and the government as a violator of civil rights and liberties that define whether the citizenry will or will not rise against the political structures to safeguard their inviolable and inalienable natural rights and liberties. The struggle for civil freedom and rights has spanned centuries, sometimes with too much bloodshed.With each passing decade new statutes are passed to safeguard and counteract the new challenges. This paper is a succinct analysis of the government and its role in advancing the visions of human rights and liberties as had been proclaimed by the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. The American Government: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Civil liberties can be defined as those individual rights held and enjoyed over and against the governments. There is no free society that can exist in the absence of civil liberties.This is the basic distinguishing feature between a free state and a totalitarian where an individual is but a subservient to the state. In such regime, freedom of press, freedom of speech, or the freedom of assembly is non existent and any individual who openly disagrees with the system risks arrest, imprisonment and or execution (Walker 2004). In the context of American culture civil rights is applicable in reference to the Black Americans civil rights struggle which fought for equality for ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, women, gay and lesbian people and other minority groups.Due to the prominence of the fight for civil rights in the United States of America; civil rights are regarded differently from civil liberties. However, it is only proper that the concept of civil rights is regarded as a subsection of civil liberties. Civil liberties therefore cover the right of every individual to fair treatment from the government. On the other hand civil rights sometimes called social rights specifically cover the right of each and every individual to fair treatment from other citizenry as well as from the local governments.The beginning of civil liberties and civil rights can be traced to the signing of the Declaration of Independence which stated that â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal. . . † This was the basic blueprint for future statutes that would prohibit any form of gender and racial discrimination from the public and private sphere. The history of the United States of America is adorned by brave individuals who were able to stand against the authorities of the day and proclaim the Declaration of Independence even when the prices they had to pay for such confrontations was their lives (http://www.u-s-history. com). Civil Rights and Liberties Colonial Period Influenced by the developments in ind ividual freedoms in England, settlers who migrated to America had with them the desire to fight for reforms that would guarantee them religious freedoms, give them rights to property ownership and most importantly protect them from the oppressive arms of the government. The signing of historical documents like the Magna Carta laid the foundation for the institution of revolutionary ideals in the new world. These men had fled Europe because they could not be permitted to freely pursue their social, economic and religious lives.It is not therefore surprising that after settling in America, these colonists wrote charters and documents that established the Republic which was explicitly based on liberties. Some of the most important charters that expressed this desire to be liberated and free were the Massachusetts Body of Liberties drafted in 1641, Pennsylvania Charter of Privileges in 1701 and the New York Charter of Liberties of 1683. The intensification of conflicts in England after 1765, made the new colony realize that the systems of government in England was a threat to all liberties and rights that the new colony cherished (Jillson 2007).This meant that the purposeful stride towards the Declaration of Independence had a jealous motive of preventing the brimming over of tyranny as was witnessed in England into the New colony created with the belief that human rights and liberties was of greater importance. Apart from what was practiced in the English Caste system where women had virtually no choice in life and men had no option but to be locked in their fathers social class, the New world provided an experimental ground for the revolutionary ideals.Early expressions of such ideals began to be seen as early as 1735 when in Philadelphia, an Attorney called Andrew Hamilton successfully defended an accused; John Peter Zenger, against seditious libel charges. At that time criticism of the colonial government was unheard of. Through this successful suit, Hamilton was able to establish via his New York Weekly Journal that the punishment of truthful publications disseminating matters of public concern constituted an infringement on the inalienable rights of citizens (http://www. u-s-history.com). During those early years after the formation of the American Republic, the Sedition Act of 1978 criminalized the publication or utterance of anything that was perceived to be false, malicious or scandalous against the government of the day or its officials. It is because of this statute the Federalists imprisoned Republicans during the administration of John Adams. In recent times such laws would be a clear contravention of the constitution. During this time lifestyles between the three colonial regions in the New World varied greatly.In the North, where only extreme whether prevailed, small family farms were more predominant. Since life was difficult lonely those who could endure the climatic hardships settled. The coming of the Dutch led to the foun ding of New Amsterdam. This was later on christened as New York. The Society of Friends (Quakers), who were mainly inhabitants of the Mid-Atlantic colonies moved to Pennsylvania and New Jersey where they continued to enjoy the freedom of worship. The Southern Colonies of Maryland, North and South Carolina, Virginia and Georgia became home to wealthy English Settlers.These settlers imported indentured servants from England to work in their farms. With the increase in the number and size and plantations, slave labor from Africa heightened to meet the labor demand. The Southern colonies had extremely large slave laborers that a society of slaves began to develop. By the writing of the Constitution, slavery as a violation of civil liberties was greatly avoided. By 1800, the number of slaves in the United States had reached a peak of nearly nine hundred thousand individuals which were mainly concentrated in the South.To solve the increasing populations of slave trade, the Three-Fifths Co mpromise was legislated. Because of this statute slavery blossomed for the next 20 years without any hassle whatsoever. Congress came in 1808 to end, slavery and slave trade but the illegal importation was to continue in the Southern States. The Industrial Revolution In the context of civil rights and liberties, the era of industrial revolution acted as an incentive to the formation of organizational entities to fight for the rights of the oppressed laborers.Labor problems began between 1861-1880 with the entry of newly educated women and farmer's sons into the industrial workplace. As was characteristic with the industrial revolution; overcrowding, sweatshops, poor working conditions, child labor, extremely long hours of work were prevalent in the industrializing Northern States. In quest of better working condition and terms, labor unions sprung. By 1869, the Order of the Knights of Labor was created to increase the negotiation powers of workers through the unionization of all Ame rican workers.The period spanning between the 1870s to the 1900s witnessed violent protests against the ills of industrialization. Unions fought for labor law changes, collective bargaining rights, maximum hours in a day’s work and finally minimum wage laws. Even though, there were a variety of unions at this time they did not cater for the rights of blacks due to the occupations occupied by blacks. Moreover, the extent of racial discrimination in these labor unions was so high that even blacks that constituted these unions were unable to improve the working conditions of their brothers in occupations not covered by the labor unions.The formation of National Negro Business League which was then headed by Booker T. Washington encouraged blacks to accept the presence of segregation between them and other races while working towards starting their own business enterprises where they could frequent. Some labor leaders such as Eugene V. Debs, Terrence V. Powdery, Marry Harris Jone s and Samuel Gompers even fought for equal level of civil rights that was accorded to the wealthy union leaders such as Andrew Carnegie and J. P. Morgan.It is this initial insistence on equal rights for all that led to the rising of powerful unions like the Congress of Industrial Organization and consequently the pressure to Congress to pass the labor reform laws like the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act with the main objective of eliminating the labor conditions that were detrimental to maintaining minimum living standards crucial for the health, efficiency and the overall well being of the workers. This was the call touted by President F. D. Roosevelt as one of the most important, far reaching and far sighted labor law reforms.It is this Act that created the maximum weekly hours or work as well as the minimum hourly wage by 1945. as years trudged on, some labor leaders engaged in gross abuse of power hence bridling effort to further increase the workers benefits (http://www. u-s-hist ory. com). Ideas and Movements during the Civil War unto Modern Times It should be understood that the cause towards the full enjoyment of the civil rights and civil liberties trudged on decade unto decade albeit at a much more slower pace even though the Declaration of Independence had specifically spelled out these desires.However, the issue of slavery and whether one state would tolerate the practice of the same in border neighbors created a heated struggle thrusting the civil rights movement into the mainstream of American theater. During the civil war the issue of slavery created a disparity between the Southern and Northern States and with this struggle a new fight for the protection of the rights and liberties of the minorities began. Prior to the Civil War a majority of those living in the Southern regions could not afford the labor services of a slave.For this reason they migrated out of the Southern region in search for better opportunities for themselves. Likewise, owners of large plantations also knew that the provision of cheap slave labor would soon dry out, but instead of moving out or changing the nature of their business enterprises; they struggled to promote the existence of slavery. Moreover, the plantation owners believed that slavery was justifiable because it was only through slavery that the economies of the North and the South could be maintained.Since slavery also guaranteed the lifestyle that was led in the South, Southerners generally held no negative view concerning the impacts of slavery on the well being of workers. This was an opposing view to that held by the Northerners who were mainly traders and small farmers. According to them slavery was supposed to be confined to the Southern States arguing that its spread to other territories was undesirable. They were also of the opinion that its existence in the Southern States should also be abolished.Disregarding the economic consequence of the abolition of slavery, they posited that if that was the case then is it. According to them slavery was immoral and it should be dome away with. Their persistent call through very prominent leaders, created the fuel of secession. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 freed slaves, it was only through the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution that slavery was abolished throughout America. The 14th Amendment ensured that freed slaves became entitled to equal protection by the Federal Law.The ratification of the 15th Amendment ensured that all Americans enjoyed the rights to vote irrespective of gender or race. By 1920, the ratification of the 19th Amendment extended voting rights to women. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation explicitly removed all forms of discrimination, the black population was still subject to discrimination in almost all centers of the economy. They could not even be allowed to play in the National Association of Baseball Players despite their self evident talents. Black players were subjected to murder attempts, bomb threats and hate mails.However, as the century turned, the 19th century presented great opportunities for black integration into the American society and the solving of women’s rights issues. The dawn of the 20th century promised great expansions in civil rights and civil liberties. These expansions were to be the yardsticks upon which a new nation would be formed. The transformation in the 20th century was so rapid and tremendous that powerful civil right activists took the mantle from their forefathers to steer the fight for equal rights and liberties to a new level. Such Leaders included Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr, and Rosa Parks.It is only through years of bloodshed and civil arrest that tremendous gains were achieved. Civil Liberties and Rights in the Modern Era. The purpose of the government as a political governance structure is to secure civil rights and liberties. This power is limited to the powers expressed by the citizenry who delegate such powers to the government. The citizenry is by nature more superior to the government and they cannot cede the governments power. This ultimately means that government’s power is extremely low and incomparable to the inviolable rights that individuals possess.This is the concept behind the possession of natural rights which are pre-existing in each and every individual. Since each and every individual possesses pre-existing natural rights, their expression as civil rights in a society must be in congruence with the principle of equality. Americans by nature of their existence are members of a political society governed by a political governance structure. Through elections, the protection of civil rights and liberties is bestowed upon the government who enforces the enjoyment of these rights and liberties through appropriate use of the rule of law.Since the government enjoys the monopoly over the use of coercion or physical force i n advancing the virtues and values of the society, the protection of the same ultimately rests with the government. It is this balance between the government as a guarantor of civil rights and liberties and the government as a violator of civil rights and liberties that define whether the citizenry will or will not rise against the political structures to safeguard their natural rights. The vision of natural rights and liberties found its expression in the Declaration of Independence and all the other founding documents (Bolick 1996).Since the United States of America is a Federalist system of government, it is not static in operation. The Constitution which lies at the bedrock of the nation itself is flexible as to allow the Congress, the Supreme Court and the President the chance to institute amendments that are in congruence with the issues of modern society. Initially, the proposed Federalist Constitution ignored the protection of the common citizenry. Since this was a direct af front on the existence of a free and democratic nation, the first Congress quickly made a proposal of twelve amendments.These were then transmitted to the States for comprehensive ratification. By the end of 1971, ten states had ratified the amendments and these amendments became known as the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment granted the freedom of religion which specifically prevented the Congress from creating state sponsored religions thus prohibiting Americans from exercising their freedom to worship. Additionally, these amendments also granted equal freedoms of speech, press and assembly (Pate & Napoli 2007).As citizens, who are by their existence members of the political society called a nation, they held some rights, duties and responsibilities. Since the government draws its existence from the people and the Constitution it has the responsibility of protecting the fundamental rights and liberties under the common law. During the ratification of the Constitution, delegates relied on the promise of the Congress to protect the rights and liberties of individuals in the face of a government intent on abusing these inalienable rights and liberties (Strausser 2004).Despite the belief that the Constitution effectively provided for almost everything in the amendments that were to constitute the Bill of Rights, congressional delegates went on and ratified the amendments that form the basis of civil rights and civil liberties. These two are definitively distinguishable but their distinctions are not usually clear cut and a variety of issues affect both hence their erroneous exchangeability.The Second Amendment guaranteed the liberty to store and bear arms as a form of state militia who could be relied upon for security reasons should a state of emergency arise. Currently, this amendment is exhibited by the presence of the National Guard. The 1700s was ripe with troops being stationed in American homes. To safeguard the citizenry from any future hosting of troo ps in homes without personal consent, the Congress passed the Third Amendment which prohibited the stationing of troops in personal homes.The protection of those accused of criminal acts was enshrined under the Fourth Amendment, Fifth Amendment and the Sixth Amendment. The Fourth specifically protects against unwarranted searches by the government. A warrant of search can only be issued by the court to the law enforcement agencies if they satisfy the conditions for the warrant. If a search was done without the courts recognition of a probable cause, then evidences gathered from the search can not constitute prosecutor evidence in the Courts (Strausser 2004).In this post modern era, the preservation of civil rights and liberties remains an important instrument for maintaining our democratic health, particularly under the current threats of national security and patriotism. The government as the main instrument of change must never lose these essential rights as these are democratic t enets that hold American as the greatest nation in the world. Every single citizen has the right to equal legal treatment. All people regardless of the fact that they may not be American citizens have the right to all essential civil rights and civil liberties.America through its government holds the power of ensuring that all nations in the world progress towards an apex of a free and democratic society. In fulfilling this promise, the government may pursue policies aimed at granting all world citizens the rights to fairness and justice based on the presumption of innocence. Rights to freedom and privacy from searches and seizures in the absence of warrants, freedom of speech, assembly and discrimination based on religion, ethnicity, race, national origin, political beliefs or gender.Since the tragic September 11 attacks, America created a new statute; The Patriots Act, which has been instrumental in fundamentally violating civil rights and liberties of citizens and non citizens al ike. That is the reason why, the government and the general citizenry and called upon to engage in worthwhile introspection and stand up with enough courage to uphold age old values of liberty, democracy and universal justice in the face of modern challenges. References Bolick, Clint. (1996).The Affirmative Action Fraud: Can We Restore the American Civil Rights Vision? Cato Institute, p. 27-28 History of Civil Rights in America. http://www. u-s-history. com/pages/h2871. html Jillson, Cal. (2007). American Government: Political Change and Institutional Development. Routledge Press. Pate, S. & Napoli, T. (2004). CSET: Social Science: Social Science. John Wiley and Sons. Strausser, J. (2004). Painless American Government. Barron's Educational Series Walker, S. (2004). Civil Liberties in America: A Reference Handbook. ABC-CLIO.

Penn Foster Journal Enteries

That decomposing bodies can bring disease. Many religions turned such b when church and state were homogeneous. Modern medicinal technology allows for the harvesting of organs from a corpse, and the successful implantation of that organ into a living human being. Why is that worse than letting that same organ decompose? Treating our dead with respect and reverence is a beautiful characteristic of any society. By honoring the dead we are cherishing the memory of our loved ones, following paradigms of our various belief systems, and honoring the radiations of previous generations.None of those are time valued traditions hold their value if we do not put a higher value on our living than our dead. Our societies need to move forward, and let go of archaic belief systems that hinder our society and hold our citizens health hostage. Reflect If feel that my attitude to writing is relatively the same. My knowledge about writing though has increased substantially throughout this process.I fee l a lot of growth has happened as I have made my way through this Journey. I know a little bit more about my writing style. I have also learned many essay writing techniques that will prove invaluable as I continue my academic and professional careers. I think I could improve as a writer, by being more patient and allowing more time for my ideas to form. Some I am very thankful for the educational opportunity the English module at Penn Foster College has provided.

Environment Affects Humans Health Essay

The environment affects human health in many ways in this short passage I will talk about air pollution and polluted waters. Air pollution is everywhere, and no we do not always see it but it is their harming everyone’s health. Why is air pollution bad for children’s health because it harms their lungs and increases the chances or childhood asthma. Air pollution is harmful to children’s lungs, but adults also. Air pollution has been known to cause a number of respiratory problems. Places with a higher rate of air pollution people tend to be at higher risk of heart problems. The reason why is because of the amount of air pollution that they breather every day is not helpful. Big companies that produce lots of air pollution should try to invest some money into their facility’s, so that there is not as much air pollution formed in the area. If the air pollution is toxic is can eventually higher someone’s rate of developing cancer. This means if you liv e in an area with lots of pollution, and can see the thick pollution clouds in the air chances are there is a higher cancer rate in that area because of the pollution the people are breathing in every day. Something has to be done to stop the amount of air pollution that is forming in some areas because it is severely harmful to people’s health, and the people of the companies producing it make it sound as if it is not harmful at all. The truth is that is does a lot more damage to our health than they are telling us.On to polluted waters it is not as bad as polluted air, but it is there. Polluted water is bad for us and can make us sick when we drink it or swim in it. Low danger symptoms that might occur from it are vomiting, diarrhea, skin rashes, and stomach problems. Do not think these are the only types of occurred symptoms that polluted water can cause because they only become worse. Polluted water can also cause developmental and reproductive problems these problems occur when we drink the polluted water for long lengths to time. Air pollution is not the only thing that causes everyone’s nightmare cancer polluted water also can cause it. The same as air pollution and breathing it we would have to drink lots of polluted water before this occurs. Tap water is normally safe to drink, but it is good to drink filtered tap water because water pollution can still travel through our reservoirs where they filter our tap water at. They pollution is normally very little traces of it in tap water, but on occasion they will be a high amount of pollution were the water company has to let us know of the  problem. The environment we live in can affect human’s health in many more ways than explained. We as humans create most the problems with the environment that we are faced with. Unfortunately I doubt that will change anytime soon, maybe in the far future. The two types of environmental problems I discussed were air and water pollutions and the harm that they do to humans.

Locking employees into a box you lose thire ablity to become leaders Essay

Locking employees into a box you lose thire ablity to become leaders - Essay Example There is a tendency towards poor performance from workers burdened with negativity (Evans, 2009). Being ridiculed by other members with poor attitudes worsens the situation. It is difficult to work with an ill tempered team member, slowing down processes and results. On the other hand, positively motivated people put more concentration into work resulting in better service and product delivery. Research has shown that workers’ attitudes, moods and emotions determine their levels of job satisfaction. The study found that affective work behaviors and job satisfaction can be explained by employees’ moods and emotions (Wegge et al, 2006). A high level of job satisfaction equals positive attitudes to the job. Employee attitudes and job satisfaction match each other. People who are satisfied with what they do tend to stay longer and unnecessary turnover is avoided. An employer who rewards and encourages positive attributes from employees gains by retaining productive employees. The study also indicated that health complaints were linked to both emotions and job satisfaction to the equivalent degree. A well motivated workforce is, therefore, likely to have less health complications, hence, putting more time into productive work (Wegge et al, 2006). The amount of negative affect experienced at work frequently leads to withdrawal from duty, absenteeism, malicious dama ge and early exit. Therefore, emotions, personalities, attitudes and moods will have both positive and negative effects on a company. The direction it takes will depend on how individuals manage themselves and handle their colleagues. A company can reflect the Benedictine values of responsible stewardship by proactively including departmental employees in planning the day. This will develop the worth of the departmental workload. Employees also get to have a forecast of challenges in advance and prepare to handle them with

Death in venice long Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Death in venice long - Essay Example How does Aschenbach’s homosexuality slot into the bigger image of Death in Venice and why, in spite of of Wagner’s view on Borgade’s manifestation, could this be hard? Through a study of Visconti’s movie, I wish to illustrate that similar gender attraction in Death in Venice functions to expound more on the states of art and living as associating to the homosexual perspective of the twentieth century era. To perform this, I will foremost investigate the past perspective of both the movie/ manuscript’s plot in the era of twentieth century and its association to the Visconti output of the 1970’s era. How is Viscontis movie and Aschenbach’s similar gender attraction function in the two, the plan’s and the movie’s relevant past sites in time and secondly, the notion of the (gay) performer in Visconti’s movie. How does the thought of the homosexual performer associate to both the fictional Aschenbach and to Visconti him self (Santas 156). Lastly, the examination of the association that the homosexual performer in the past, by Death in Venice, had to ability and living will has review. What importance does aschenbach’s lure to Tadzio have in view of his behavior like a (purposely) unsuccessful, dying performer and how does Visconti apply this to convey his communication. Initially, the past perspective of the manuscript’s plot including Visconti’s 1971 creation shall have consideration. Whereas Death in Venice can function precise like an eternal â€Å"tale concerning longing and fascination†, it is in addition extremely much a â€Å"mise-en-scene of the homosexual state in a particular past epoch†. This past era, if people are to agree Mann’s wife’s accounts concerning their real festival in Venice, which motivated the manuscript, could have been 1911, a decade prior to the manuscript had publication and yet extremely applicable when the manuscript c ould have remained initially read. Not so was the matter with Visconti’s job, which in the era of 1970’s would previously have classification like an era section (Santas 158). By then, Mann’s manuscript and as effect Visconti’s movie could have remained just a â€Å"last holiday of a left†¦ sexual administration†, â€Å"longing and obsolete inside the quickly reforming gay traditional perspective†. In quintessence, Mann’s manuscript’s significance at the start of the 20th century was of a rather varying state than Visconti’s movie was in the back 1970’s. Whereas Mann’s manuscript’s regarded gay matters as they had occurrence, Visconti’s movie reminded people of the manner they used to be and as a result illustrated to the people the way they have reformed. The existence of youthful Tadzio’s behavior, whereas not so jolting in the early 1900’s, created a specific problem in t he back 1970’s, mainly with â€Å"the stiffening bans on pedophilia inside socio-medical-juridical dialogue†¦.and reforming ideas of the economic task and sexual uniqueness of the teenager†. Moreover, Tadzio creates a challenge in Visconti’s movie because of the reality that he had to have visualization and therefore specialized instead of emerging more or less like a protrusion of Aschenbach’s brain (Santas 160). Because â€Å"Visconti lacks time to intimate Tadzio into Aschenbach’s awareness as cleverly and skillfully like the real

Literature Review for Program Design Research Paper

Literature Review for Program Design - Research Paper Example By defining a structure to the program, teachers are engaged into a learning experience that they, themselves, will be reverberate in their respective schools and classrooms. The program also integrates the concept of continuing this learning process in the case of the students. The challenge is to inspire them to continually update their learning with the 5E’s of learning model after it has been imparted by the educator. The program provides a structure that extends to the classroom after the program for teacher-aimed workshops. Students are provided with a more in depth encounter with text books. Text books are then articulated by students in a personal manner which increases possibility of the comprehension of topics in textbooks. This conceptually ends in the students Science exhibit where an application of what has been learned. Literature Reference Overview The following references in this literature review include certain researches and studies that deal with learning t heories and dissertations. It also includes certain resources that expound the concept of the 5E learning method which includes early development of the program, its effectiveness and applications. Other learning theories are also taken into consideration by including their principles in creating a better understanding for the Science Educational Program that is intended to be created. Learning methods are also taken into account as minor references for the literature review of the program. Articles that talk about the need for teachers to improve in their engagement with certain methods of teaching are referred in the writing of this paper. Literature Review Proper As the main point for this review, certain references regarding in depth view for the 5E Learning Model is discussed in Bybee, Taylor et. al.’s Origin, Effectiveness and Application paper of the 5E’s in learning (2006). The 5E’s stand for; Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration and Evaluat ion. According to Bybee (1997), the Engagement part involves how educators are to facilitate discussions for certain academic cases and lessons. This is where educators engage the students to a learning topic by asking questions that have something to do with the students’ previous knowledge of a situation. Knowledge are scanned by teacher so that previous knowledge may be reviewed and assessed by the learners and the educators alike. The Initial knowledge of a topic is discussed to identify certain cliches and information that are known by the learners beforehand. Springboard questions that would be leading the class to relating practical events that deal with the learners’ lives are highly recommended to be an effective learning experience to learners. These recommendations include activities that are indoor and outdoor in nature which leads to the second E of the learning method. Needham, et. Al (1994) also talks about the 5E method wherein The Exploration stage of the learning method invites the learners and the educators alike to embark on hands-on activities that would require beforehand preparation. These aimed to improve the comprehension of a certain Science topic that is due to be discussed. For example, if a topic that will be explored would deal with gravity and motion, an activity that would engage the students into throwing or jumping games can be prepared. This is also the

Human Resource Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

Human Resource Management - Assignment Example HR managers also look after employee motivation and retention through various strategies. Individuals working in organisations suffer from various problems every day. The task of HR managers is to solve these problems in the best possible manner. In the case, a similar problem of employee attrition was presented. In order to solve these, various alternatives were considered. These included innovative strategies for recruitment and interview processes. The candidates interviewed were subjected to various psychical and mental tasks in order to retain the best candidates. After the recruitment plans, successful retention plans were discussed. It was concluded that a small amount of salary hike would not be enough. So the retention plan included various strategies such as regular training and development sessions, certificate programs as well as quarterly meetings. Contents Contents 3 3 Answer 1 4 Answer 2 7 Answer 3 9 Reference List 12 Answer 1 According to organizational psychology, fi rms are successful not only because of sustainable competitive advantage or market realities. Successful organizations have always treated human resources as their most critical and important assets (Martin, 2001). Cognitive aspects of an organization form an important factor while transmission from one stage to another stage of success. It can also be said that human resource capital has the ability to make or break any organization (Legge, 1995; Guest, 1997). Human resource managers take care of various personnel decisions such as hiring, training, compensation, benefits, assignment positioning etc. Majority of company executives rely heavily on the suggestions and recommendations made by HR managers. Although it is important to have physical assets, most companies have realized that quantity and quality of their output is directly proportional to the commitment and quality of the personnel. Human resource managers have the responsibility of creating right matches for team, depart ments and various projects (Bernadin, 2007). A professional working in the human resource department deals with many functions unlike in larger organizations where one HR expert is appointed in each department. This task multiplicity requires strong and effective organizational skills as these individuals are expected to shift from one project to another project and from one topic to another topic in sort span to time (Cascio, 2003). Out of all these the most difficult job for a human resource development manager is handling works such as understaffing, firing employees, reprimanding employees who are irresponsible, maintenance of ethical structure, giving information about non-existent or small bonuses to the employees etc (Gomez -Mejia, Balkin and Cardy, 2006). These tasks are very difficult to handle as the human resource department is expect to support employees all the time. Many times Human resource team are hated or feared for tasks such as these and it becomes very difficult to coordinate with them. The present case deals with evaluating the necessity of HR function in an organisation. According to the operations manager in the case study, there is no need of any HR department in the organisation. However, absence of HR function might result in different lapses and miss-handling of the overall human capital. Thus, it can be said that a full time HR manager is important for the organisation. An HR manager not only performs core human resource functions but also provides added value to the

Social Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Social Security - Essay Example Social Contract (representative governance) This describes a model that typically shows cases and questions the origin of the society and the capability of the authority in place of a State over an individual (â€Å"The Social Contract†). â€Å"Man was born free and he is everywhere in chains†. Jean Jacques Rousseau, was the greatest theorists in the areas of social contract and natural rights. According to the belief of Rousseau, freedom was the best method to be used so as to self-maintain an individual. He tried to understand the freedom a person has and why they would subject themselves to the rule of a government rather than their own (â€Å"The Social Contract†). When related to social security, Social contract can form a basis where individuals of a state have a legal right to have access to their pension plans and are subjected to have an equal share of their stipulated benefits. The State despite being the governing body should have the capability to give those dependent on the plan their due right. As related to what Jean Jacques Rousseau states, â€Å"Man was born free and he is everywhere in chains† ( â€Å"The Social Contract†). b) Classical Liberalism (natural rights) This can be described as a political belief where the aim is securing the freedom of the individual by limiting the power of the state. Classic Liberalism in an economic factor can be related to respecting private property and free markets. Classical Liberalism should not be confused with democracy or American liberalism since an individual can be a liberal and not a democrat and socialism is slightly related to socialism (â€Å"Glossary of historical terms: Classical Liberalism†, 2003) Jefferson's Declaration of Independence, â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men,

Lowe's vs. home depot Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lowe's vs. home depot - Essay Example as become easy for the customers to become aware of the product details including its availability at competitive prices which has precipitated the need to develop a whole new perspective for a new marketing technique. Lowe and Home Depot, both deal into the various aspect of home dà ©cor and accessories meeting all their customers’ home improvement requirements. But the major factor that impacts their sales is the subtle differentiation in the segmented market. While Lowe is more focused towards the needs of its women clients with its accessories for finishing touches on the decorating projects, Home Depot, with its wide varieties of ‘do it yourself’ products caters more to men, contractors and serious DIY customers. Home Depot has a better competitive image primarily because it has wider customer base and more branches spread across region than Lowe. In the current environment of recessive trends and highly competitive business compulsions, it has also realized the need to expand its product line to target extended market segmentation. Indeed, today the markets have been designed to cater to the system as a whole rather than exclusively to the customer. The need has risen so as to accommodate the growing demand from the new market segment that has come up with the advent of new technologies. The inter-dependence of the various elements within the system with its inherent capacity to complement each other has helped establish a market that is sustainable as well as mutually satisfying. While the segmentation helps to create a niche in the market. The mixed segmentation is hugely popular in the contemporary times and gives a big leverage to the companies to plan its market strategy in a more flexible manner and successfully introduce their products in a new market. Customer satisfaction through creative inputs and introduction of people-centric policies and plans that would meet the challenges of the changing social patterns and its changing demands, have

Persuasive Presentations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Persuasive Presentations - Essay Example For most writers, that's presenting information, usually to an audience that's about as knowledgeable on the subject as we are. (Anthony 45-57) For presentations, that's a lethal combination. Factual information presented at a high level of technical expertise not only doesn't persuade, but may actually alienate the reader. For thousands of years, people have tried to figure out the best way to persuade other people to do things. We know that persuasion has been the subject of serious study since the days of classical Greece. Plato worried about the rhapsodes' ability to appeal to citizens' emotions and persuade them to do things that were not in the best of interest of the city or themselves. And Aristotle wrote one of the great treatises on persuasion. (Rasmussen 23-36) Among the Romans the ability to persuade was considered a hallmark of responsible citizenship. Since World War II, researchers have worked particularly hard to identify the elements of persuasion. Why They have some practical motives: improving advertising and marketing campaigns, motivating audiences, influencing the electorate, girding consumers and voters against propaganda, understanding the dynamics of brainwashing, and- yes- writing better presentations. From all this speculation and research, four elements have consistently bee n a vital part of nearly every theory of persuasion: the message, the receiver, the channel, and the source. (Daley 79-83) Giving them some consideration will give us a deeper understanding of the process of persuasion. Message The impact of your message depends in part on whether the receiver is receptive to it to begin with. If the evidence or logic in a particular persuasive message is in line with the audience's basic values, beliefs, or biases, the receiver is more likely to accept it and modify his or her attitudes accordingly. If the evidence runs counter to the receiver's basic beliefs, persuasion is far less likely to occur. Thus, the way you frame your message with regard to your audience's preferences is critical. That may seem circular: You can persuade people to accept only the things they already accept or to do the things they already want to do. But that's not quite what's going on here. (Holcombe 112-24) There is a difference between a belief and an attitude. Someone may issue an RFP for new equipment because he or she believes that production efficiency can be improved by using more modern technology. If you can base your presentation on the same belief and then demonstrate how your equipm ent will introduce labor-saving enhancements, the receiver's attitude toward you as the most suitable vendor will change in a positive way. However, if you send out a canned presentation, one that emphasizes the ruggedness and durability of your machines, instead of their impact on production efficiency, you will be not be addressing the client's basic belief. (Anthony 45-57) As a result, you may not persuade him or her to choose you. This is the fundamental problem in submitting boilerplate presentations. Because customers vary widely in their beliefs and values, using the same text for everybody guarantees that a large percentage of them will find your message irrelevant or unconvincing. Receiver The receiver is a vital component of

Final review --- economics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Final review --- economics - Assignment Example 22. Starting from long-run equilibrium, without policy intervention, the long-run impact of an adverse supply shock is that prices will be permanently higher and output will be restored to the natural rate. 9. In the Keynesian-cross model, if the MPC equals .75, then a $1 billion increase in government spending increases planned expenditures by S.75 billion and increases the equilibrium level of income by more than S. 75 billion Marginal Propensity to Consume (MPC) is an empirical metric that quantifies induced consumption, the concept that the increase in personal consumer spending (consumption) occurs with an increase in disposable income (income after taxes and transfers). The proportion of the disposable income which individuals desire to spend on consumption is known as propensity to consume. MPC is the proportion of additional income that an individual desires to consume. The tax multiplier is the ratio of the change in aggregate production to an autonomous change in government taxes when consumption is the only induced expenditure. Autonomous tax changes trigger the multiplier process and induced consumption provides the cumulatively reinforcing interaction between consumption, aggregate production, factor payments, and income. MPC and MPS have an inverse relationship. Because they add up to 100 percent, as MPS increases, MPC decreases and vice versa. For example, if a company earns an extra $200 per month in income and consumes, or spends, $100 extra per month, $100 per month is saved. The MPS and MPC are both 50 percent. If the business starts to spend $150 per month, only $50 is saved. The MPC increases to 75 percent, while the MPS decreases to 25 percent. 19. According to the theory of liquidity preference, if the supply of real money balances exceeds the demand for real money balances, individuals will purchase interest-earning assets in order to reduce holdings of non-interest-bearing money. 26. An increase in

Putting a Stop to Film Piracy Essay Example for Free

Putting a Stop to Film Piracy Essay Film piracy is one of the most lucrative forms of intellectual property theft in the United States and in the rest of the world. Movies are illegally copied, reproduced, and mass distributed in different ways such as in replicated DVDs or through the Internet for financial gains. Piracy is an act of stealing and it â€Å"includes the unauthorized copying, distribution, performance or other use of copyrighted materials† such as movies and television shows (Motion Picture Association of America). These practices result to negative impacts on consumers, the film industry, and to the whole economy. No matter how enticing are the reasons why people support pirated movies, film piracy remains to be a punishable crime for it is equal to stealing the properties and hard work of other people. Therefore, people who produce and distribute pirated movies for illegal purposes should face the consequences of their actions. Reasons Why People Engage in this Crime There are several ways how to pirate films. These movies are produced either by recording inside the theater, post-production leaks or leaks from an awards screener, stealing film print, stealing legitimate DVD prior to official date of release, or by ripping a legitimate DVD of any protective code (Treverton 37). These stolen copies of the movies are then burned or replicated in more DVDs or uploaded in the Internet without the consent of their original owners and then sold at cheaper prices or distributed for free. Despite being prohibited by law, film piracy is hard to control because many people instantly benefit from it. The people behind the business earn a lot from pirated movies because they do not have to buy the copyrights of the movies or pay royalties. Despite having lower qualities at times, buying pirated movies appeals to consumers because they can get films for free or for a very cheap price. â€Å"The low prices of pirated films compared with the legal ones make the former very attractive to buyers† (Treverton 31). Consumers who have limited budgets would prefer to buy pirated movies or download illegally from the Internet than to spend the money in cinemas. But these are only temporary benefits and in the bigger picture, film piracy causes more harm than good results. How Film Piracy Harms Pirated movies gain support from those who see them as answers to financial burdens. But many people remain unaware of the how movie piracy actually contributes to the sufferings of the whole country’s economy and film industry. These people do not recognize the importance of not supporting the products of piracy. The economy loses a lot of money annually because of the organized crime of intellectual property theft. Each year, â€Å"motion picture piracy costs the U. S. economy more than $20 billion† and because of the illegal reproduction of films, lesser income is earned by the movies and lesser money is contributed by the movie industry to the country’s economy (Grover and Shields). Piracy is also one of the biggest threats to film and music industry. The whole entertainment industry suffers from this crime. â€Å"The global film industry creates more jobs, more entertainment choices and more opportunities for the creative professions† and because of piracy, lesser opportunities are given to film production because budgets for discovering new talents, artists, directors, and production staffs are limited and restrained by the lack of budget (MPAA). There is a big possibility for the value of film making to decline and maybe even completely crash. Consumers will also suffer then because, aside from getting little for the money they invest in illegal products, they are also contributing to the wealth of people who have not really worked hard for the film. When the movie industry loses money to piracy, the costs produce quality and meaningful films and shows also become more expensive. Punishments and Consequences Piracy equals theft. Therefore, it is important to have laws created to protect the copyrights of films and television shows. â€Å"These laws help safeguard the creative works that support the livelihoods of the 2. 4 million Americans who work† together to create quality films for the entertainment of consumers (MPAA). The enforcement of laws makes copyrighted movies valuable and pirating these products makes them known as stolen properties. Many critics of the anti-piracy law and other laws related to copyright violations believe that the anti-piracy bill has harsh repercussions. Critics of anti-piracy laws believe that the punishments for acts related to piracy are too severe at times because lengthy prison terms and huge fines await those who will be caught involved in movie piracy. â€Å"First-time violators can be sentenced to up to five years in prison if the camcording was committed for financial gain or commercial advantage and fined up to $250,000† (MPAA). Critics say that there should be a limitation for the consequences of reproducing materials such as films. But for the industries that are affected by this crime, they need greater enforcement of laws because their lost sales continue increasing as consumers retain access to free music and movies on the Internet (Grover and Shields). Conclusion Reproducing copyrighted materials such as films are prohibited by laws. Piracy is a form of theft and many people profit a lot from stolen works. It has become a problematic dent in the film industry because movie outfits are hurt by this illegal act. Apprehenders are not easily caught and are not always given their rightful punishments. Purchasing pirated movies or getting them illegally from the Internet may seem like a mild offense for an ordinary person. But if this crime is done in volume, the negative consequences of movie piracy are proven to be detrimental to those who are part of the industry of film making because the act already translates into theft and a violation of another person’s rights. Works Cited Grover, Ronald and Shields, Todd. â€Å"Movie-Piracy Websites Shut Down by Raids. † 30 June 2010. Web. 23. Aug. 2010. Retrieved from http://www. bloomberg. com/news/2010-06-30/movie-piracy-web-sites-shut-down-in-coordinated-raids-by-u-s-officials. html. Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). Frequently Asked Questions. 2010. Web. 23 Aug. 2010. Retrieved from http://www. mpaa. org/contentprotection/faq. Treverton, Gregory F. â€Å"Chapter Three: The Shape of Counterfeiting and the Example of Film Piracy. † Film Piracy, Organized Crime, and Terrorism. California: RAND Corporation, 2009. Print. Pp. 27- 38.

Medical Tourism Industry In India

Medical Tourism Industry In India Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Medical tourism 2.1.1 Introduction to Medical tourism The word Medical means treatment of illness, disorder or injuries. In general, Tourism means traveling for pleasure. According to World Tourism Organization(WTO), the word Tourism compromises of the activities of persons traveling to and staying in place outside their usual environment for leisure, business and other purposes. Understanding of word medical and tourism individually is not sufficient to define Medical Tourism. Medical Tourism is combination of various and definite activities and clear understanding of such activities is essential. (Dr Prem, medical tourism) Considering the above sets of definitions, the following can be observed: When a person travels across the border and outside their usual environment, to seek medical service, the travel portion of the trip travel is called medical travel, and upon arrival, such person is called medical tourist, and such activities which includes utilization of medical services by the medical tourist, be it direct or indirect hospitality, cultural exposure or site-seeing, is called Medical Tourism. Hence, Medical Tourism could be defined as The Medical Tourism is the set of activities in which a person travels often long distance or across the border, to avail medical services with direct or indirect engagement in leisure, business or other purposes. Medical travel refers to the international phenomenon of individuals traveling, often great distances, to access health care services that are otherwise not available due to high costs, long waiting lists or limited health care capacity in the country of origin. (UNESCAP, 2007) Five key driving the increased popularity of medical tourism: Technology Technological improvements drive medical tourism, like more efficient global transportation and communication systems. The flattening of the world through the Internet and technology in medical industry are improving the quality of services. Patient access to health information on the Internet has increased knowledge and choices. Electronic communications and exchange of health information are faster and easier. Cost When patients dont have health insurance or their health insurance does not pay for all the care they need, the cost of the care is shifted to those patients with health insurance. This is known as Cost Shifting. The competition in industry is not operating on the proper objectives. The focus should be on providing care to patients, not to gain economy of other countries or build the tourism sector from needy to sick patients. Moreover, the cost of medical treatment in developed countries is extremely high. Hence, private, social and corporate health schemes are very costly. The above pay model is shifting to individuals. Therefore, Cost is another driving factor. Need The emergence of the new consumer needs, like avoiding waiting queues to get medical treatment or the possibility to have the latest medical treatment, requires new solutions which are not available in consumers home country. So, Need is another driving factor. Change Hospitals are adopting the more luxury hotel concept rather than a traditional unexciting general wards. After the surgical procedure, there is the opportunity to engage in attractive tourism, which is certainly a better change for patient. For example, a patient may take a safari trip in South Africa after an orthopedic surgery, a Taj Mahal trip after eye surgery in India, and a Mayan cultural experience after cosmetic surgery in Mexico. Hence, Change is another key factor. Demographics Demographic drivers such as an aging population due to baby boomers causing significant strain on national healthcare system are a driving factor. 2.1.2 Why choose India? Medical tourism or health tourism is on a rise in India. It is starting to be considered as one of the most attractive locations for medical tourism. As per a research report Booming Medical Tourism in India Indias medical tourism industry is going to grow by 27% in the time period 2009-2012. In 2007 alone, India received 450,000 medical tourists and is expected to receive close to 1.1 million medical tourists in 2012. Currently India has 16 JCI Accredited Hospitals across the country. Some of the most sought after procedures by medical tourists in India are alternative medicine, bone-marrow transplant, cardiac bypass surgery, eye surgery, orthopedic surgery, In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) or Infertility Treatment and dental procedures (such as dental implants, veneers etc.) commonly known an Dental tourism. Cosmetic surgery or cosmetic procedures and dental tourism are on a rise in India as well. So what are the reasons to choose India as your medical tourism destination? Country No. of Foreigners treated in (2002) From Strength Thailand 6,00,000 USA, UK Cosmetic surgery, organ transplant, dental treatments, Joint Replacement Jordhan 1,26,000 Middle East Organ Transplants, Fertility treatments, cardiac care India 1,00,000 Middle East, UK, USA Cardiac care, Joint replacement Malaysia 85,000 USA, Develop countries Cosmetic Surgery South Africa 50,000 USA Cosmetic Surgery, Dental Treatment First and foremost is the cost factor. The cost savings are immense. As per the report by Booming Medical Tourism in India, medical tourist can save up to 60%-95% on their treatment cost by getting their treatment done in India. The second most important factor according to me is the technology and international standards. Top Hospitals and healthcare facilities in India have the latest equipment and technology, which is at par with the medical facilities in the developed world. With the rise in medical tourism, more and more hospitals are investing in the latest equipments and getting internationally recognized certifications, such as JCI. As per Deloitte report, India has 10 JCI certified hospitals in 2007, and in 3 years India has added 6 more to the list. The doctors in India have the expertise, which again is at par with the doctors in the developed countries. Today Indian doctors in every field are recognized in the world community for their work and contributions. Most of the doctors working in the big name hospitals have degrees and certifications from US and Europe. Medical tourist get priority treatment in Indian hospitals as opposed to waiting for weeks or even months in their own country. This is a huge advantage as patients wanting to undergo say a hip or a knee replacement will have to bare the pain till they are not scheduled for treatment, which sometimes can take up to 3 months. No language barrier. As English is one of the most used languages in India, medical tourists dont feel lost in this country. Also, if you are from a non-English speaking country, translators are provided to make your stay as comfortable as possible. Due to its beautiful culture, history and increased reorganization and popularization of yoga, Ayurveda and meditation more and more people are flocking to India for mental and physical peace. Andhra Pradesh is one of the most prominent state in India for medical tourism as many of the big name medical centers have opened their facilities in this city. Other cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad are quickly catching up to attract international patients. Andhra Pradesh is considered to be the 5th largest state in India and the largest State in South India. It has a population of 76, 210, 007 and a literacy rate of 45.11% (Andhra Pradesh tourism, 2010). It has become a major IT hub. However its growth with respect to the medical tourism is very slow. Andhra Pradesh is very popular for many non-invasive therapies like Yoga and Ayurveda. Apart from these tow alternative therapy, naturopathy, traditional healing systems also play major role in developing medical tourism in the state. Recently it is competing with other states as some world class hospitals are established in the state. Some of the examples for these are Apollo hospitals, L V Prasad eye hospital, Nizamia general Hospital etc (India line, 2010). It is stressed that the medical tourism is not achieving prospects in Andhra Pradesh when compared to departments, IT and biotechnology. The failure in the medical tourism in Andhra Pradesh is attributed to the lack of synergy betwe en the health and tourist department. It is further noticed that, the number of foreign patients coming to Andhra Pradesh is just not even 1% to that of Bangkok (Hindu, 2010). It is clearly stated by many hospitals directors that the Government has to take necessary strategic approach in order to improve medical tourism in Andhra Pradesh. Apollo, Wockhardt, Fortis Healthcare, Max India, The Global Hospitals Group, MIOT Hospitals and some of the prominent hospitals catering to medical tourists. Apart from this, there are a large number of small clinics such as eye clinics, dental clinics, hair loss clinics, IVF clinics, message and spa clinics that exist across the country that are catering to medical tourist who are interested in elective surgery. (Nikhil Lamba, ClinicsOfWorld) 2.3 Collaboration and Partnership Medical tourism operators can be divided into two groups. First, there are medical  centers such as hospitals and clinics. Medical centers that actively attract international patients are not involved only in the medical procedure itself, but are, in many cases, also responsible for all patient logistics from arrival to departure. Often the hospitals involvement already starts before arrival with the processing of the visa requirements and only ends after departure with patient follow up. The second group consists of medical tourism facilitators who function like agents  and associated service providers. These are often smaller companies with just a few  people on their payroll and most of them have spread their risk by dealing with hospitals and clinics in a number of different countries. Those medical tourist agents which are dealing exclusively with hospitals of only one country or region are exposed to the same risks as the hospitals with whom they work. These facilitators offer global health care options that will enable international  patients, primarily from the United States of America and Europe, to access world  health care at a fraction of the cost of domestic care. By selling a type of medical value travel, they focus particularly on the self-insured patient. Some companies charge clients a flat rate commission or a percentage of the total cost of care. Others do not directly charge customers, but are paid by the hospitals to which their clients travel for care. Health care travel packages can include all costs associated with medical care, air and ground transportation, hotel accommodation, use of a cell phone in the destination country, practical assistance from a local company representative at the health care facility, travel arrangements for a companion, stays in nearby resorts during the post-operative recovery period and side trips to tourist destinations. 2.4 Promotional Strategies Corporate hospitals in Andhra Pradesh brought in five-star facilities and hi-tech medicine. Both the state administration and the corporate sector see the benefits of synergy for profits and have hence evolved separate as well as combined promotional strategies (Qadeer 2009; Gupta 2006). The state is proposing Medical Tourism in its own institutions. It invests directly in infrastructure and tourism to push its policy support to the corporate sector in earning foreign exchange by treating Medical Tourism as a trade. This encourages all the players directly or indirectly involved in Medical Tourism to invest and expand their businesses à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" corporate hospitals, the aviation industry, private tour services, travel operators, the hotel and hospitality industries (Qadeer 2009; Gupta 2006). The state has several interests behind its promotional strategies for Medical Tourism. One is medical diplomacy to strengthen international relationships and friendships with neighbouring countries. Behind this seeming altruism lies the motive of enhancing economic growth, by not only commodifying medical care and supporting the private medical industry but also promoting investments in sectors supportive of MT. These include the Indian Healthcare Federation, private and public insurers, policy institutions, and the industry players mentioned above (CII-McKinsey 2002). Tie-ups within the hospitals, hotels and tour operators are being promoted and are on the rise (CII-McKinsey 2002). Hyderabad, capital city of Andhra Pradesh has opened international airports and now offer direct flights from abroad to ease travel for patients. Yashoda hospital in Hyderabad has an airport kiosk and is planning a helipad on the terrace to airlift their patients (Shaffi et al 2007). Asia has become a prominent destination for global medical tourists. Within it, India has a relative advantage, and Andhra Pradesh is evident from the institutions involved and the services offered as well as the low cost of treatment (Qadeer 2009; Gupta 2006). Its so-called win-win situation however, is based on the assumption that services for the haves and have-nots are totally independent of each other and the disconnect is rational. It is this very assumption that is flawed. In its effort to fill its coffers through MT, the government has underplayed the obvious contradiction between a vast uncared à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" for majority and an unethical focus on profits through MT (Shaffi et al 2007). It has ignored many of the underlying negative implications of MT such as shift of subsidies to the private sector and extremely low inputs in public sector healthcare (Roy Choudhury and Dutta 2004). India has 16% of the worlds population, 18% of the worlds mortality and 20% of the worlds morbidity and our public expenditure on health is still 1% of gross domestic product (GDP). Budget 2010 is no different from the previous years (Bali 2010) (Qadeer 2009; Gupta 2006). Added to this is the incoming evidence of inequity and rising costs of medical care. The huge gap permitted between thesalary scales of public and private professionals has encouraged the movement of personnel from the former to the latter. This is particularly true of the shortage of nurses in the public sector, who are leaving for private and overseas jobs (Shaffi et al 2007). Attracted by the higher scales and an open system of consultancy, experienced specialists too are moving away from public sector. While experienced doctors in the public sector are allowed to work in private institutions that benefit from their experience and fame, the government has no innovative policy to retain competent professionals or to regulate salaries and employment conditions across sectors (Qadeer 2009; Gupta 2006). Marginalising the concept of comprehensive primary healthcare by limiting primary-level care to at best First Referral Units (FRUs) and district hospitals denies tertiary care to the less-privileged unless they are ready to sell off their assets. This is reflected in the burden of debt due to illness treatment, which has increased to 40% of the total debt as per the 52nd round National Sample Survey (2000). Another critical dimension of this growing industry is the probable impact it has on the countries it serves. Already there are concerns expressed in the US. Asian MT is seen differently by different stakeholders. The insurance companies and medical Organizations see its outsourcing potential for lowering their own costs and enhancing profits. The uninsured and those who cannot afford their own private services see it as an opportunity. The state sees it as a mechanism for savings and as a price control mechanism in its medical market (Qadeer 2009; Gupta 2006).

Does Chinas Rise Challenge Us Hegemony Politics Essay

Does Chinas Rise Challenge Us Hegemony Politics Essay Undoubtedly, the rise of China is one of the great dramas of the twenty-first century. China is the worlds second largest economic power after United States. And also it is the worlds largest fast growing economy with the average rates of 10% for the last thirty years (Ho-Fung, 2009). At present china are the largest exporter and the second largest importer in the world. For 2010, inbound foreign direct investment into China surpassed $100bn for the first time, and investment overseas by Chinese companies in non-financial sectors totalled $59 billion. At present, china has the greatest openness to trade of any largest economy. The growth of China is perhaps one of the most discussed matters in existing scholarship on global politics. In adding up, foreigners frequently concern that Chinas quick economic expansion will present a danger to the solidity of the current world order (Ho-Fung, 2009). Because of this, other countries, particularly United States more and more anxious about lo sing its superiority, are often even more outspoken than Chinese pundits in proclaiming the about to happen rise of a Chinese extremity on the global power-map. It is said that the economic rise of china is an unlikely pillar to US economic hegemony. It is big question that, will china become a threat to the economic hegemony of United States. The fear of America comes from its hegemonic status in the world politics and the ideological incompatibility of china with the Western value system. The west believes that the economic growth of china is a matter of fact until china becomes the world super power. But the ideological orientation makes china a revolutionary which is threatening to the many western countries especially US (Kiely, 2008). They fear that the economic growth of china may take away the status of the United States and the global structure. There are mainly three factors which make china threat to America. They are ideological and cultural factors, geopolitical and geo-economics factors and the collapse of china. Once, Napoleon said that when china comes out of their slumbers, it will surprise the world. By the effort of three decades, china has come up to a level of a most important position in international relationships from their powerlessness and the backwardness. It will turn out to be the second principal manufacturer of goods and services, which was anticipated just five years ago to happen only in 2020. It will help them to capture their old historic position as the worlds largest economy and will displace the United States. Americas devaluation of its own political economic prestige has helped china to become the world power and succeed the United States. As the rise of china, the hegemony of America in different fields such as politics and economy is in a great threat. Other states of the world have started to play a major role in determining the word order and status and so a new world order may come into act with in years. In the case of china, it is a fast growing country and has the power to overpower the United States in coming years. As it grows rapidly in every field especially in the economic field, it shows the signs of joining America as one of the worlds superpowers. Experts say that the Chinese challenge to American hegemony is in fact the most significant threat to global peace in the future, and that it is in our international systems best attention for there to be continued American unipolar supremacy of the world, because the transition from one hegemony to hegemony will always end up in wars and conflicts. It will also add fire to the fuel as the US is democratic hegemony and china is the autocratic hegemony. From the middle of the 20th century, America maintains the place of the worlds controlling super power. Our international system may face something similar to what happened during the Cold War, if china to take over the hegemony of the US. There was a bipolar international system during the cold war. So, in order to preserve the peace among the nations, America should continue as the world power. Nevertheless, while it is definitely true that Chinas augment will cause geopolitical chaos; a Sino-American war is not inevitable. Whether such a clash occurs will pivot more on Washingtons tactical choices than on Beijings. From 1980s, chinas economy is growing in a rapid rate of approximately 10 percent per year. And in 2006 the china economic growth was above 11 percent. Chinas extraordinary economic growth is driving its emer ­gence as an immense power and this is a recognizable pat ­tern in worldwide politics (Harvey, 2005). The economic authority of states grows at dissimilar rates, which means that some states are constantly gaining power and some are behind power relative to others. The management in Beijing appreciates the connection between monetary power and geopolitical influence. It understands that, if China can carry on to maintain near-double digit enlargement rates in the early decades of this century, it will exceed the United States as the worlds largest economy. Because of this amazing financial growth, China is, as journalist James Kynge has put it, really shaking the world equally economically and geopolitically. Studies by the US Central Intelligence Agency and others have proà ‚ ­jected that China will be a first-rate military power and will challenge America in global power by 2020 (Harvey, 2005). Of course, throughout the past decade, China has been watchful of its chance in international deal and asset. But this does not justify the US plan of engagement. Chinas present strategy mirrors the reality that, for at the moment, Beijing distinguishes its tactical interest in protecting tranquility in East Asia. Constancy in the region, and in Sino-American rela ­tions, permits China to turn out to be wealthier and to catch up to the United States in relative power. This is the best real po ­litical strategy, buying time for its economy to raise so that the nation can explicitly balance next to the United States militar ­ily and set up its own provincial hegemony in East Asia. Beijing is pursu ­ing a diplomatic policy today in order to make stronger itself to tackle the United States tomorrow. The conviction that a self-governing or more open-minded China would be soothing and collaborative in its outside policies is likewise doubtful. This vision rests on the so called democratic peace theory which is close and valued to many US overseas policy specialists. In detail, the democratic peace theory is another one of those bits of foreign policy conven ­tional understanding that is based on fragile confirmation. The chronological evidence shows that when very important nationwide interests have been at hazard, democratic states have regularly practiced big stick diplomacy against other democracies. In other words, when the chances are highly sufficient, large powers take action like great powers still in their relations with other democracies. Therefore, even if China does experience political liberalization in the future, there is no motive to consider that its overseas policy performance would be basically exaggerated. The competitive advantage of china to become the world power is its vast supply of super-exploitable labour. And its economy is growing with a rapid speed. China has gained increasing influence and leverage as the leaders of the nation has tried their best to make china powerful and strengthen the country in all aspects. But at present, china is also under the pressure of the US imperialism. It is actually a threat to chinas growth and at the same time, chinas growth is a challenge to USs hegemony (Nolan, 2001). In this framework the rulers of china are trying to pursue their own strategies and become the world power. But it is a great challenge for them as they are still in the frame work of the US imperialism. The rise of china as an imperialist power will make many problems in the world such as crises, wars, class struggles in China and the world, and revolutions. It will make many economic, political, and military developments in the world system, including unexpected development s. However the growing strength and the complex dynamic of dependency are shaping chinas development and help to become the world number one in all field (Nolan, 2001). At present china is the second largest economy in the world after the United States. China has a growth rate of 10 percent in gross domestic product over the last two decades. In contrast to other countries, chinas gross domestic product is doubled between 1990 and 2005 ((Kiely, 2008). But still, china is a poor country with the output per person far below that of the advanced capitalist countries. Chinas remarkably far above the ground and continued rate of enlargement and industrialization over the last two decades may well be without example in the olden times of capitalism. More to the point, this constant growth is leading to an enormous build up of productive capacity in China; deeply influencing the route of global capitalist development; and causative to Chinas fast rise as a world monetary power. China has got a major role in contributing to the world economy. Now china is the centre of attraction for the world manufacturing. China is the one of the main destinations for the foreign investment and the place for foreign industrial investment in the world. Now is china is considered as the growth engine for the imperialist world economy. About 20 to 25 percentage of total supply of iron, steel, aluminium, and copper is from china. And for oil, many countries depend on china. As china is deeply involved in the world economy, it is the worlds largest non-US holder of dollars. It is occupied in spirited struggles for raw materials and energy resources in Africa and in other places with the U.S and also with other imperialist powers in the world. China is budding as a rising and ever more self-confident geo-economics force in the world. And U.S. imperialism, for its part, has been more and more aiming China as a possible long-term contestant and opponent. Foreign investment capital is the main medium of chinas rapid growth and it controls chinas leading industrial sectors. Enterprises in which foreign capital is invested account for almost 60 percent of Chinas imports and exports. China is the biggest exporter of electronic and information technology goods to the US especially the computer electronics and the other IT goods. China is the major beneficiary of direct foreign investment in the Third World. Rates of come back on U.S. industrialized investments in China are two times the level of equivalent investments in the European Union (EU) countries, and advanced than in Latin America. Today china is a growing economic power with the strategic goals. In world currency and financial markets china has become a major actor. The United States imports more goods from china than from any other country. In foreign exchange reserves china holds around $1.8 trillion (Kiely, 2007). This is the store of wealth of china which is used as a means of international payments. It comes mainly from the export earnings and the many other investment earnings. As America exporting many goods from china than from any other nation, china has become an export machine. China now has surpassed in foreign exchange reserves and will defeat America in the near future. As America has huge trade deficits, it borrows huge amounts of money to tackle the international financial imbalances. And, united states have to depend up on china to tackle their debts and other problems. China imports a huge amount of fuels and minerals and it results in 40 percent of world market growth for these goods since 1995 (Kiely, 2007). And China is seeking to secure access to raw materials to feed its industrial machine. In Latin America and Africa, China is investing in extractive industries and buying up firms. Chinas foreign direct investment increased from $1.8 billion in 2003 to $16.1 billion in 2006 (Kiely, 2007). About half of this is in natural resource industries. From the middle of 1990s, china has stated to flourish its activities in Africa. And now china is Africas third largest country to trade with them. It has turned out to be a shareholder in Algerias oil manufacturing. And it has been manufacturing its own investments into the oil divisions of Angola and Nigeria. Africa at the present supplies about 30 percent of Chinas oil import needs. Chinese mining firms in search of cobalt, uranium, copper, and other industrial minerals, held up by the Chinese state, h ave been spending in, making bigger monetary aid, and falsifying closer ties with the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. There is significant role for the capital investment in the growth of china, which has made the country more productive. Chinas output has risen due to the more investment in the new machinery, better technology, and more investment in infrastructure. It turns out that it is advanced output that has carried out this latest economic wonder in Asia. Chinese efficiency increased at a yearly rate of 3.9 percent throughout 1979-94, in contrast with 1.1  percent during 1953-78. By the early 1990s, productivitys divide of productivity growth went beyond 50 percent, while the share added by wealth arrangement cut down below 33 percent. Such unstable expansion in output is remarkable, the U.S. efficiency augmentation speed averaged 0.4 percent for the duration of 1960-89 and enviable, since productivity guided development is more probable to be continued. Examination of the pre and post 1978 phases points out that the market oriented improvements assumed by China were significant in making this output explosion (Nolan, 2002). The changes raised financial competence by introducing income inducements to countryside communal ventures, family farms, little private industries, and overseas shareholders and dealers. They also not tied up many enterprises from steady interference by state establishments. As a consequence, between 1978 and 1992, the production of state owned enterprises turned down from 56 percent of national productivity to 40  percent, while the share of group enterprises increased from 42 to 50  percent and that of confidential businesses and combined ventures rose from 2 to 10 percent. The revenue incentives come into view to have had an additional optimistic result in the personal asset market, as industrial unit owners and minute producers enthusiastic to boost profits dedicated more and more of their firms own revenues to getting better business presentation. So in all means, the economic growth of china is a challenge to United States. Though china is only a growing country only, approximately by 2020, china will surpass United States in all fields and United States will depending up on china for their economic needs and existence (Breslin, 2005). China will be completely dominated over United States by 2020. Sin china is a great challenge to the power of America as they are dominating in all fields today. China is the only power in the world that can compete with US today. So the united states have a little fear with them although they are not expressing them. The present US president Barrack Obama admits that china has the power to become the world power. They admit it but at the same time they might have been praying not to happen it because America will use their power, if china becomes the super power in the world. So they have to obey the policies of china in the future. In that way they may not like the leader ship of china. It is true that china will take some more time to become the world power, but no doubt about that. It becomes very evident from their increasing gross domestic product per year. Their gross domestic product is increasing in every year. It helps china to become the worlds super power economically. And by 2020, china will lead the world like America is doing now. Now America has got many debts and they are borrowing it from other countries to sustain their economic stability. Even they are borrowing from china for their economic stability which shows that they are slowly coming under the power of china. China has got a major role in contributing to the world economy. Now china is the centre of attraction for the world manufacturing. China is the one of the main destinations for the foreign investment and the place for foreign industrial investment in the world. Now is china is considered as the growth engine for the imperialist world economy. About 20 to 25 percentage of total supply o f iron, steel, aluminium, and copper is from china. And for oil, many countries depend on china. But in all these fields America is going down at their early stage. So the economic power of America is going down by every year and the power of china is increasing per year. Conclusion Undoubtedly, we can say that china will become the world super power by 2020 and will dominate United States in all means. China is having trade relation with almost all the major countries in the world and many countries upon them for their existence. The present super power America also exports and exports different goods china. It shows the economic growth and the resourcefulness of china. They have got much potential with them which will enable them to be the world super power in the near future. China is the worlds second largest economic power after United States. At present, china has the greatest openness to trade of any largest economy. The growth of China is perhaps one of the most discussed matters in existing scholarship on global politics. It is said that the economic rise of china is an unlikely pillar to US economic hegemony. United States fear that the economic growth of china may take away the status of the United States and the global structure. There are mainly thr ee factors which make china threat to America. They are ideological and cultural factors, geopolitical and geo-economics factors and the collapse of china. The competitive advantage of china to become the world power is its vast supply of super-exploitable labour. And its economy is growing with a rapid speed. China has gained increasing influence and leverage as the leaders of the nation has tried their best to make china powerful and strengthen the country in all aspects. So it is true that the chinas rise is a challenge to the United States hegemony, but when china overcomes the US, it may result in the wars and may affect the world peace.

Mcdonaldization: Health In A Fastfood Society Essay -- essays research

McDonaldization: Health in A Fastfood Society   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  McDonaldization, is the term Ritzer derived from the McDonalds' fast food chain to describe the state of our society. Ritzer claims our social institutions have become completely dehumanized in the form of a bureaucracy. Health care is an example of one institution that is characterized by the four components of bureaucracy: efficiency, predictability, control and quantification.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the past, health care was more simplistic in nature. House calls were no unheard of, and doctors knew all of their patients and their families on a personal level. The doctor who delivered your parents would deliver you as well as your future children. Follow-ups were quite normal; doctors were concerned with your progress for their own peace of mind.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Over time the modern health care system emerged into the bureaucratic organization that it is. All the characteristics depicted by Ritzer are easily seen when one examines health care. From a normal trip to the doctor for a routine check-up or even a specific ailment to rush trip in the emergency room predictability, control, efficiency, and quantification are obvious.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Quantification is easily seen when you first step into a hospital waiting room and a huge sign tells you a number before you are even able to speak to anyone. After waiting a while your number is called, you must give your health card number to the receptionist before continuing. You are then given a file number, which is your only identity for the time you spend within the hospital environment. After seeing the doctor you may come out with a few prescriptions which furthers your nameless ordeal. When you drop nameless ordeal. When you drop into a pharmacy to have a prescription filled the first thing they ask is if you know your prescription number. If you cannot remember it, your actual name is a secondary possibility as a means of identification. Before paying you may have to show your Blue Cross card number or other insurance cards as well, in all it is a very dehumanizing, impersonal process.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Efficiency is another characteristic that is prominent in the hospital situation. To make sure things more smoothly you must call ahead and make an appointment with the reception... ...ike health care workers has come in the face of a demand for efficiency and quantification. It is hard to say who is victimized most by this dehumanization; the doctors who must deny their humanity or their patients who must go to them for treatment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In conclusion when one applies the four components of McDonaldization to our present health care system one discovers that they are aptly applicable. Quantification is seen when one thinks about how our medical identity is comprised of a series of different numbers. Efficiency is supposed to occur with phone-in prescriptions and appointments. Control is assured by a doctor's capacity to make life or death decisions. As for predictability it is common knowledge as to what routine one follows to receive treatment. The irrationality is how impersonal and inefficient the whole system can become through overworked doctors and other professionals. The iron cage is how the patients of these stressed doctors feel from these doctors' ignorance and neglect. In all it is true that the health care system is one social institution that does successfully meet all of Ritzer's requirements for a McDonaldized institution.

Catcher In The Rye- Use Of Lan :: essays research papers

Not many great novels were produced during the post World War II era. Perhaps the greatest novel published was J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. This book, just like all other great works, was met by scathing criticism and unyielding praise. Many literary critics marveled at Salinger’s genius use of language to make Holden Caulfield, the main character, unbelievably realistic. Through Holden’s thoughts and dialogues, Salinger successfully created a teenage boy. Because of that The Catcher in the Rye became one of the few great post World War II works. The language used in The Catcher in the Rye has been a topic of controversy in the literary critic’s realm. Holden Caulfield’s thoughts and comments serve to deepen his personality and provide entertainment. Salinger wanted to create a typical teenager but also wanted Holden to be an individual. Like most teenagers, Holden speaks in trite sentences however he also uses words in places that were then uncommon. Holden often leaves his sentences dangling with words like "and all" and "or anything." Often he uses those phrase to extend some indescribable emotion or action like "†¦ how my parents were occupied and all before they had me" or "†¦they’re nice and all." But many times there is no significance at all to the expressions as in "†¦was in the Revolutionary War and all," "It was December and all" and "†¦no gloves or anything." (Salinger 5-7) Holden has many expressions which appear consistently throughout the novel. Some places, the expressions only serve to make Holden more realistic, other places Holden is trying to reinforce his values. Holden repeatedly comments on his hatred toward phonies. That is one thing that Holden hates more than almost anything. That could be the reason he frequently confirms a statement with "I really do," "It really does," or "if you want to know the truth." He also confirms comments by repeating them twice like "She likes me a lot. I mean she’s quite fond of me." (Salinger 141) or "He was a very nervous guy- I mean a very nervous guy." (Salinger 165) He uses different phrases and styles to give a more factual backing to his comments, thus preventing himself from seeming like a phony. Holden’s speech usually stays away vulgar and obscene. Whenever he says words like "ass," it is merely teenage vernacular for a part of the human anatomy. He doesn’t say it to be offensive.

Walmart Company

Walmart Financial Analysis Prepared for Becca Leland BIJSN 5600, Accounting Theory and Practice Fall 1, 2013 Webster University 1 November 2013 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates approximately 11,047 retail units under 69 banners in 27 countries. It has three segments: The Wal-Mart Stores, The Sam's Club, and International. The Wal-Mart Stores segment includes 4,759 Discount Stores, Supercenters, and Neighborhood Markets in the United States, as well as Walmart. om. It offers apparel for women, girls, men, boys, and infants; domestics, fabrics, and notions; stationery and books; shoes; housewares; hardware; electronics; ome furnishings; small appliances; automotive accessories; horticulture and accessories; sporting goods; toys; pet food and accessories; cameras and supplies; health and beauty aids; pharmaceuticals; Jewelry; and optical, as well as photo processing services.The Neighborhood Markets include dry grocery, meat, produce, deli, bakery, dairy, frozen foods, pharmaceuticals, ph oto processing, health and beauty aids, household chemicals, paper goods, general merchandise, and pet supplies departments. The Sam's Club segment includes 624 stores and comprises the warehouse membership clubs in the United States and samsclub. om. It offers hard-goods, soft-goods, software, electronics, Jewelry, sporting goods, toys, tires, stationery and books, institutional-size grocery items, and selected private labels.The International segment operates 6,288 various retail formats in countries to include Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. This segment operated 261 Canadian Wal-Mart stores and SAM's Clubs, 11 units in Argentina, 150 units in Brazil, 88 units in Germany, 16 units in South Korea, 697 units in Mexico, 54 units in Puerto Rico, and 292 units in the United Kingdom, as well as 48 units in China under Joint venture agreements. The company was incorporated in 1969 and is based in Bentonville, Arkansas. Walmar t employs 2. 2 million associates/employees around the world to include 1. million in the United States alone. Although there are many opportunities, numerous employment opportunities exist in the Accounting arena. Walmart has Finance and Accounting departments impacting business and communities in all 27 countries, under 69 different banners and in every corner of the business, from Enterprise Risk Management to Sustainability. For instance, Global Shared Services aggregates and streamlines much of the financial and payroll services for Sam's Club and Walmart in North America, while Global Internal Audit helps ensure each store operates in the most cost-efficient way.These are Just a few of the many groups within Accounting & Finance, each responsible for vital services that impact the entire company. Projects range from determining the financial impact of mergers and acquisitions to estimating the effect on business when a hurricane hits. Every decision is driven by the mission to save people money and help them live better. The responsibility xtends beyond retail and corporate officials make decisions in partnership with each other.Accounting & Finance is composed of these departments: Accounting, Corporate Corporate Tax (International & Domestic) Treasury & Investor Relations Finance and Planning Walmart U. S. , Walmart. com International Finance Sam's Finance Corporate Strategy Global Shared Services Balance Sheet Assets: Cash and Cash Equivalents – Pertain to liquid assets found on the balance sheet. In essence, cash equivalents can be converted into cash and include commercial paper, treasury bill, money market holdings and short term government bonds. Walmart reported nearly $7. billion in cash and cash equivalents for fiscal year ending January 31, 2013. Of the $7. 8 billion, surprisingly, $5. 2 billion were held outside of the United States in support of foreign operations. All non-cash transactions due from various banks amounted to $1. 3 bil lion. Additionally, Walmart had $715 million in restricted cash in addition to another $876 million of cash that remains abroad and may not be easily transferred to the United States because of local laws. Short Term Investments – Walmart did not report any Short term investments and have not or the previous three years.Receivables – Money that others owe the company. Account receivables are the amounts that a company has a right to collect because it sold goods or services on credit to a customer. Walmart had a variety of receivables for year ending January 31 , 2013 that included insurance companies resulting from pharmacy sales, bank transfers that took in excess of seven days to process, suppliers for marketing or incentive programs and real estate transactions. Its net receivables amounted to nearly $6. 8 billion that included $1. 2 billion from consumer credit roducts alone.Just to name a few, Walmart has the Walmart in-store credit card, Walmart Discover, Sam's Club in-store credit card and the Sam's Club Discover card. Internal Controls – designed to help an organization accomplish specific goals and mostly importantly, in laymen's terms, â€Å"keep everyone honest † . Walmart used t criteria set forth by â€Å"COSO† Internal Control Integrated Framework. This framework primarily evaluates the achievements of objectives in the effectiveness and efficiency of operations, reliability of financial reporting and compliance with laws and regulations.For the year ending January 31, 2013, Walmart's financial reporting was audited by Ernst and Young LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm. Sarbanes-Oxley Act – In July 2002, a corporate reform bill was passed into United States Federal law by the U. S. Senate and the U. S. House of Representatives. This legislation introduced new and amended ethical standards regarding financial practice and corporate governance for all publicly traded U. S. companies, as well as for management and accounting organizations. U. S. Senator Paul Sarbanes and U.S. Representative Michael G. Oxley spearheaded the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act. Just three years, after the bill was passed, in September 2005, a former CEO from Wal- Mart de Mexico sent an email to a high ranking Walmart lawyer that referenced how Wal-Mart de Mexico had bribed foreign officials to expedite permits in an effort to win market control in Mexico. This opened up a formal internal investigation by Walmart that found documentation implicating that the Wal-Mart de Mexico executives knew about the bribes and took measures to conceal them as well.The case was later dismissed. In August 2012, SOX violations resurfaced with Walmart. This time, two U. S. congressmen claimed that they received internal documentation that outlined possible illegal activities that involved tax evasion and money laundering in Mexico. Their concerns were expressed in a letter to Michael Duke, the chief executive at W al-Mart. Inventory Valuation – Walmart values inventories at the lower of cost or market as determined primarily by the retail method of accounting, using the last-in, first-out, â€Å"LIFO†, method for all of the Walmart U.S. segments. Walmart international is valued by the retail method of accounting as well but by using the first-in, first-out, â€Å"FIFO†, method. In contrast, Sam's Club uses the weighted- average cost using the LIFO method. Total Current Assets for year ending January 31, 2013 were $59. 9 billion. Long Term Investments – Walmart did not report any long term investments and have not for the previous three years. Property, Plant and Equipment – A large portion of Walmart's assets come from the property, plant and equipment section of the balance sheet.In fact, of the $203 billion in total assets, property, plant and equipment makes up Just over $116 billion which includes $25 billion in land, $90 billion in buildings and improve ments, $40 billion in fixtures and quipment, $2 billion in transportation equipment, $5. 9 billion in construction in process and $5. 9 billion in property under capital leases for an approximate property and equipment gross of $171 billion. Walmart uses straight-line depreciation and major improvements were capitalized as leasehold improvements were depreciated over the shorter of the estimated useful life.Accumulated depreciation and amortization was $55 billion dollars which resulted in a property and equipment net of $116. 6 billion. Intangible Assets / Accumulated Amortization – Walmart did not report any and have not for the previous three years. Goodwill – An account that can be found in the assets portion of a company's balance sheet. Goodwill can often arise when one company is purchased by another company. Walmart's goodwill is as a result of the acquisition of 147 Netto stores from Dansk Supermarket in the United Kingdom and to the acquisition ot a 5 % owner ship in Massmart, a retailer based in South Africa.Goodwill for this period was $20 billion. Balance Sheet – Liabilities and Equity: Accounts Payable – money owed by a business to its suppliers shown as a liability on a company's balance sheet. At year ending January 31, 2013, Walmart owed Just over 59 billion to its suppliers that are to be paid compared to $56 billion the previous year. Short current long term debt – this includes the long term debt that must be paid within 12 months. Walmart recorded Just over $12 billion. Total Current Liabilities – Year ending January 31, 2013 = $71. billion Long Term Debt – Financial obligations that last more than one year. Walmart recorded around $41 billion. This accounts for loans that Walmart has with several financial institutions. Deferred Long Term Liability Charges – a collection of future obligations on the balance sheet. These sometimes include employee related expenses such as retirement pl ans, 401 k plans and workman's compensation plans is which Walmart currently has Just over $7. 6 billion. Minority Interest – This represents the amount of stock that is not owned by Walmart.Currently, Just over $5 billion is not owned by Walmart. Common Stock – Walmart primarily issues common stock that represents ownership in the corporation. Currently, there is neither preferred or treasury stock, however for year ending January 31, 2013, there $332 million of stock was outstanding. Current Market Value of Stock – The current market value of Walmart's stock is currently $74. 79. Through the last 12 months, the trend has been from $67. 37 – $79. 96 which is primarily because of fluctuating sales/wages.Walmart's stock value has continued to grow over the last 12 months that can be easily contributed to its ability to remain a constant force in the market by providing lower prices, creating Jobs with competitive wages and clearly out-distancing itself fro m its closest competitor. Dividends – As noted below, Walmart last paid a dividend on September 3, 2013 with the next pay out date of January 2, 2014. Record Date Payable Date March 12, 2013 May 10, 2013 August 9, 2013 December 6, 2013 April 1, 2013 June 3, 2013 September 3, 2013 January 2, 2014 The last dividend paid for year ending January 31, 2013 was paid on December 27, 2012 at $0. 975 per share for a total of $1 1. 3 billion. Income Statement Comparison – Walmart's income improved from fiscal year 2012 to fiscal year 2013. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was been able to grow revenues from $447. 08 USD to $469. 28 USD. Most impressively, the company has been able to reduce the percentage of sales devoted to selling, general and administrative costs from 19. 8% to 18. 94%. This was a driver that led to a bottom line growth from $1 5. 7B USD to $17. 0B USD.Extraordinary gains/losses – Perhaps the most important factor that caused Walmart to increase its profits from 20 12 to 2013 was its Non-recurring events. In 2012 alone, Walmart discontinued operations which caused them a loss in excess of $67 million. To its surprise, there was not a lost in year ending January 31, 2013. According to the Management Discussion and Analysis, the present situation it is very much essential that industries need to compare themselves witn the past ears. Analysis of performance ensures the industry get an idea as where they are lagging behind and the short falls which has to be rectified.Walmart has to make progress in improving their performances in the future in order to withstand in the market so that they can compete with the upcoming competitions in the future. Additionally, it has to mainly concentrate to increase the profit rather than increasing the volume of business, so they have to increase their sales and satisfy their customer to withstand in the market. In an attempt to analyze the financial position f the Walmart, it has been revealed that though the turnover of the company increased however the profitability of the company has not increased correspondingly.Overall financial position of the company is satisfactory but however in the long run the company has to take measures to increase its working results in order to keep stay well above its competitors. Financial Statement Analysis: Solvency: Debt to Equity Ratio The company has improved its strength by increasing the working funds. The company should explore the possibility of reducing the operating expenses to increase its profit. Walmart should also take urgent steps to reduce the debtors so as to increase its working capital position.The company should also take steps to reduce the current liabilities and the overall liabilities position. Profitability: It should take steps to increase its working capital base. The company should take steps to make use of the surplus funds in a profitable manner. Efforts must be put in increasing net profit. It is necessary to take steps in improving the growth rating. Competition – Perhaps Walmart's greatest competitor is target. However, Walmart ontinues to prove itself as the world's leading retailer. In comparison to Target, its market cap was at $243. 8 billion while target was at $40. 04 billion. Additionally, Walmart dominated Target in revenue as well. Walmart's revenue was $473billion while Target earned Just $73. 48 billion which generated a net income of $17. 09 billion for Walmart and $2. 71 billion for Target. In conclusion, Walmart continues to be the leading retailer in the industry. It clearly out-distances its closest competitor, however, in order to remain that force, it need to reduce its liabilities. It currently wes suppliers $59 billion. This needs to be reduced significantly.https://finance.yahoo.com/https://www.stock-analysis-on.net/NYSE/Company/Wal-Mart-Stores-Inchttps://www.stock-analysis-on.net/NYSE/Company/Wal-Mart-Stores-Inc/Ratios/Profitabilityhttps://www.stock-analysis-on.net/NYSE /Company/Wal-Mart-Stores-Inc/Ratios/Liquidityhttps://s2.q4cdn.com/056532643/files/doc_financials/2013/Annual/2013-annual-report-for-walmart-stores-inc_130221024708579502.pdfhttp://c46b2bcc0db5865f5a76-91c2ff8eba65983a1c33d367b8503d02.r78.cf2.rackcdn.com/93/a7/ff21a9764702bb5bc8271faacfeb/2012-annual-report-for-walmart-stores-inc_130221023846998881.pdf