Walmart Essay

Alex Manco Professor McEachern English 112 30 September 2011 To the Zoning Board of Trumbull, The Wal-Mart The modern day market has taken some interesting turns with innovations such as the television, the car, and internet. While the moral values of such turns has always been in question, it is no question that every major corporation has taken efficiency to a new level. Corporations like McDonalds, GE, and Bank of America have completely dominated the market with not only their vast resources and effective marketing systems, but by people simply knowing they exist.While most of these businesses have not gotten much more powerful in past decade due to government regulation of competition, there is one business that continues to grow at a dangerous rate: Wal-Mart. It has now become apparent that its growth has reached Trumbull, Connecticut and in no way should a Wal-Mart be built in our community. It is not even a matter of the problems our town would face as much as it is a moral w rong to the world as a whole. Wal-Mart may be â€Å"legal† in our â€Å"free-market† economy, but economics are never that simple and must be treated very carefully.It would not only ruin businesses in the area, but exercise the power of corporations whose business tactics seem unstoppable to modern regulation. The Wal-Mart is not only store, but an inevitable business tactic that will decimate the economy in both the short and long term. Wal-Mart’s rise to power is interesting and uncomforting in how quickly it flourished. The first store was opened in 1962 by Sam Walton in Rogers, Arkansas. By 1970, there were 38 stores, and by 1975, there were 125. In 1983, Wal-Mart had made its eighth year in a row as Forbes Magazine’s 1# retailer.In 1985, 882 stores had already been built, and in the next 10 years would reach a stunning 1,995 stores. Currently, there are 8,970 Wal-Marts; an average of 50 a state, and this number continues to grow. The story of Wal-Ma rt is truly nothing short of business success story, but the speed of its success is slightly unnerving. So what do you think would be the result of building this Wal-Mart in town? I suppose it would open maybe around 60 jobs tops in town, but a majority of the jobs would be minimum wage jobs.Raising the employment rate of your town has nothing to do with the actual quality of the town, and that’s saying that all the people hired come from our town. Also, studies have shown that Wal-Mart generally pay their employees 25-28% less than other retail/grocery stores (Dube, Lester & Eidlin 559). Maybe teenagers will have a bit more money, but the jobs that Wal-Mart creates have little impact on the flow of money. In fact, building a Wal-Mart would only hurt the flow of money in our town. All of the surrounding businesses will not be able to compete. Retail prices typically drop by 1 to 1. % the moment a Wal-Mart opens (Dube, Lester & Eidlin 562). Local grocery stores like Poricelli ’s and Plasko’s can not be expected to compete with a business of such power. If small businesses fall to this Wal-Mart, then the unemployment rate will probably just about balance out with jobs your Wal-Mart will have created. This will destroy the peaceful, small town feel of Trumbull, and replace it with room for corporate siege. Our town would be quite different if we allowed this, but it would also support an economic movement that could tear our economy apart.One thing that must be understood in order to understand the entire threat of Wal-Mart is the causes and effects of a monopoly. The definition of a monopoly by the Merriam-Webster dictionary is, â€Å"Exclusive ownership through legal privilege, command of supply, or concerted action. † Monopolies can be held upon anything, but typically the term refers to a corporations hold on one particular industry. This was more of a problem preceding the great depression. Old corporations such as Standard Oil, U . S.Steel, and at the time GE held what is called a coercive monopoly, which is an absolute hold that can for the most part, can not be beaten without government intervention. These old corporations would dominate by not only controlling their market, but the markets of the related goods and means of production. For example, U. S. Steel would have powerful holds in the railroads so that they may transport there steel to cities free of charge. With such control, the industries were free of competition being that they had the means to set the standard for prices.Some would argue that this is good for an economy because it keeps prices at an all time low, but this typically lowers the quality of the goods they are selling as well as maintain low wages for workers being there very few places of work when one company controls it all. Nowadays, the government has precautions to prevent such dominating businessmen, but the economic order that is currently in place of the monopoly system, i s not all that better. The type of economic system the U. S. currently has is called a monopolistic competition. In order for the U.S. government to deal with monopolies, they had made it illegal to hold such power in one business. Businesses, such as standard oil, were forced to break up into many different businesses so that they may compete with each other. This keeps the market ever changing and not stagnant, allowing for more free choice in a capitalist economy. Now even though there is no â€Å"super power† of the market, there still are businesses that are significantly more powerful forces than others. This is what defines our monopolistic competition of our economy.It is an economy generally guided by larger corporations, but are not so powerful that they snuff out any smaller business below them. So while we have been able to make the â€Å"free market† as â€Å"free† as possible, there is still very much so a hierarchy. Wal-Mart sells everything cheap er than everyone. It has a hold not only over one market, but many. Therefore if factors are left unchanged, Wal-Mart would win the game of capitalism. These factors, as of now, are unchanged. First, Wal-Mart simply needs to be everywhere. With 50 Wal-Marts a state and growing, that goal has clearly been reached.Their numbers are only increasing, this way in the future, anyone can reach a Wal-Mart. This also keeps their employment up. The more jobs they give out, the more control of the standard of wages they have. It also is good for publicity. Second, they need to maintain their influence on the media, other businesses, and government. Commercials and internet make keeping up appearances in media more than easy. Same with other businesses being that they need only to market their products. Government though is trickier, but they exercised this strength of theirs fairly recently.Since 1998, a campaign of women has been trying to sue Wal-Mart for wrongful discrimination. More than 1 00 women have been trying to attack the corporation for many individual accounts of discrimination and finally made it to the Supreme Court in June 2011. Unfortunately, the court ruled in favor of Wal-Mart due to that these individual accounts have nothing to do with the corporation as a whole. This ruling shows that corporations are not held in contempt for the acts of their employees, which makes little to no sense.While this does not quite mean Wal-Mart is above the law, it still shows the type of influence they can hold in the law if need be. Although, even with this power, they can not hold absolute market control unless they maintain the lack of competition. Luckily, Wal-Mart still has competition, especially with those who find shopping their morally wrong, but this lack of competition may soon be at hand. The current debt crisis is continuing out of control, and nobody knows where it is quite going yet, but the outcome that is feared more is a depression.With a depression, m any businesses, big and small, will fall and the economy will be an empty husk. The only people who will seem unscathed in the mist of this chaos are the massive businesses, or Wal-Mart. They will have the resources to conquer an economy that has been wiped clean. Therefore, if there were on in Trumbull during such harsh times, it would be near impossible to open any new business in the area. Without new businesses, an economy is very hard to rebuild, especially on a local level.More importantly, in a time a crises, one of the last things you want is for a majority of the wealth to go to one place as history demonstrates. Having such an economic power exist in such fragile times is perhaps the most danger we have been in for decades. As you can see, it is not very difficult for Wal-Mart to become dangerous, but what does this contrast? Why it contrasts the support for small business. Small businesses create a self sustaining system for the area, rather than an area’s income b eing controlled by corporate conglomerates.The only problem with this is the system of economics. If a small business is successful, it is inevitable it becomes a big business, which could lead to another company to big for our own good. This is a cycle that must happen as a result of capitalism. If we are expected to have such a free moving economic system, we must learn to be responsible with our economy, and not allow businesses, such as Wal-Mart, to spread as rapidly as they do. This is a lesson that will be learned the hard way if a Wal-Mart is built. Wal-Mart is the product of a capitalist economy. While it is simply good usiness, is an example of the inevitability of monopolies in a free market system. Thankfully, we have regulations to hold them back, but you can not count on the government to control the market for you. People need to see this pattern and realize that you can not fall into the lock step of a consumer. Every Wal-Mart that is built just increases the risk of economic domination, and we can not contribute to this. It may be small in scale to the power they already hold, but every movement starts with a step. I hope you see the risk you take in considering this decision. Work CitedAndrew Beatie. â€Å"A History of US Monopolies. † Investopedia. November 21, 2010. http://www. investopedia. com/articles/economics/08/hammer-antitrust. asp Lila Shapiro. â€Å"Walmart: Too Big To Sue. † The Huffington Post. June 20, 2011. http://www. huffingtonpost. com/2011/06/20/walmart-too-big-to-sue_n_880930. html â€Å"History Timeline† Walmart Stores. http://walmartstores. com/aboutus/7603. aspx John D. Ramage, John C. Bean, and June Johnson. Writing Arguments: A Rhetoric With Readings. â€Å"Monopolistic Competition† Basic Economics. http://www. basiceconomics. info/monopolistic-competition. php

Organizational Structure of Walgreens Essay

This week’s learning team assignment focused on the organizational structure and design. Team C will examine the organizational chart of Walgreens and restructure it to make it more efficient and beneficial for the company. The students have decided the CEO of the organization is overwhelmed with departments reporting to him. Therefore, some departments will be consolidated and moved to more specialized officers under the CEO for a more productive company. The officers to receiver these additional departments will be Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) and Chief Informational Officer (CIO). This paper will discuss structural changes, the work to be completed and how this work can be done effectively. Financial Reorganization Currently, the Administration and the Human Resources departments report directly to the Chief Executive Officer. We have proposed a change to the chain of command with Human Resources being combined with the Administration department and have that new, combined department report directly the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Human Capital Management (Human Resources) directly affects the bottom line of an organization through the workforce, benefits costs, training and development and finally employee engagement. The Administration department manages the overall direction of Walgreens. Since the management of the workforce is one of the main driving factors that directly relate to the financial success of an organization, it will be efficient and cost effective to reorganize and combine these departments under the CFO. To accomplish this reorganization, we will use cross-functional teams to address each department’s work specializations, strengths and weaknesses. And then outlay an effective plan of action. The CFO’s financial expertise will be used to analyze the underlying financial  implications of the reorganization as well as the daily cost of business operations. Strategy and Community Management Reorganization The Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) will continue to report to the CEO. To be more efficient in work specialization, we have decided to move the following departments and make them branches under Strategy: Customer Experience, Customer Experience and Daily Living and Community Management. As Walgreens embraces today’s consumer, creating a unique customer experience is apart of the strategy to build their trusted brand and set them apart from the competition. Moving these departments will be beneficial because the leaders in each department can collaborate on strategies and plans that are customer focused. In addition to reporting to the CSO now, the Community Management department will also receive new responsibilities. Currently Facilities Development and Store Operations report to them. In order to create a more efficient department they will now oversee two additional departments; Well Experience and Operations Community. The Community Manager will have Store Operations and Operation Community work as a specialized team focused on lowering operational cost for the company. One of Walgreens key strategies is to create a â€Å"Well Experience† (Walgreens 2014). The Well Experience â€Å"starts with leading-edge store design, new layouts, enhanced product assortments and state-of –the-art pharmacies, including bringing the pharmacist from behind the counter for a greater interaction with patients (Walgreens 2014). They will work with the Community Management department in collaborating together to create a partnership for success in â€Å"Well Experience† initiative. Once the pharmacist is engaged with the customers in their community it creates transparency and trust not only in them but also in the Walgreens’ brand. Information Technology Reorganization The eCommerce and Design departments will be moved under the direct supervision of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) to reduce the direct reports of the CEO. Consolidating these two departments under the CIO will help turn Walgreens into a technology-driven company that has consistent creative across all platforms. These two departments will also benefit from the CIO’s more specialized technical skills. The Chief Information Officer  already oversees the enterprise technology that supports Walgreens operations, including security software. For eCommerce, security is a major concern for Walgreens’ customers. The CIO’s specialization in the information technology will help him better implement the eCommerce tools and keep those tools secure. The Design department produces the creative that is used to promote the Walgreens’ brand. As Walgreens expands its digital presence with an enhanced web experience and new mobile app (Walgreens, 2014), it is important that creative remain consistent and functional across all platforms. Having the Design department working hand-in-hand with Information Technology and eCommerce will produce consistent creative that is technology-focused across all marketing channels. The CIO’s technical skills will allow him to lead the Design department in an every-growing online world. Conclusion The team decided to restructure the organizational chart of Walgreens. Ultimately, taking responsibilities off the CEO and moving those departments to more specialized officers. In doing so, this will allow the CEO to be more productive because his or her workload is more manageable. The reorganization of these departments under the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Information Officer and Chief Strategy Officer, will make these departments more efficient because they will benefit from their specialized skills. References Robbins, Stephen, & Coulter, Mary (2012). Management, 11th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Press. 978-013253894-7 The Official Board (2014). 2014 organizational chart of Walgreens Co. Retrieved from http://www.theofficialboard.com/org-chart/walgreen Walgreens Co. (2014). 2013 annual report of Walgreens. Retrieved from http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/WAG/3514601079x0x709191/5F506D54-9148-47D1-9494-D4E4A4CB95B1/WAG_2013_AR_lo.pdf

How to write an introduction for a dissertation?

The introduction is the starting point of your dissertation. The reason why the introduction for a dissertation is the most difficult part of the paper is that its main goal is to make a reader interested in the subject you have been researching. What is more, you need to prove why your research matters and what you have managed to achieve in regards to the subject under consideration. Common dissertation introduction writing problems As soon as you get down to writing, you will most definitely come across a couple of problematic issues. The thing is that students typically tend to write dissertation introductions that are lengthier than they are supposed to be. The whole point is lost and it becomes harder for a reader to grasp the main idea. Writing a very detailed introduction is another common problem. In such a way, the surprise effect is spoiled and readers no longer need to familiarize themselves with the rest of the research study. In addition, some students come up with introductions that look like they are formula-written. Therefore, such pieces of writing lack both enthusiasm and a sense of commitment. Main parts of the introduction scope; current scientific situation; motivation; theoretical and practical relevance of the research; brief description of the research design; objective of the study; problem statement; dissertation outline. You need to begin with stating the motive for your research. If you have an interesting example to illustrate your point, do not hesitate to do so, as it will immediately draw the reader’s attention. Then, proceed to describe the topic of your dissertation. Define the subject you want to research. Try to choose something unusual or under-researched. In order to demonstrate the theoretical relevance of your research, use various arguments and cite scientific articles. Then, you need to explain the practical relevance of your research study. Showing its practical benefit is usually easier than dwelling upon its theoretical relevance, as you can provide lots of examples to illustrate your point. Do not forget to mention the practical outcome of your research for the whole field or industry. Keep in mind that there is a difference between the objective and the problem statement of your dissertation. Use research questions to dwell upon the problem statement. The objective, in its turn, is the explanation of the reasons why you have decided to study this particular issue. Thus, you will need to describe what you want to achieve with this research study as well as what outcome you expect. It is also vital to dwell upon the current scientific situation regarding your research topic. What you are required to do is present a few scientific articles that deal with similar issues or ones that are related to your subject of study. Briefly explain the gist and the main message of those articles. The reason why this aspect is so important is that it demonstrates that there is a lot of theoretical information on the issue, which means you will not get stuck while working on it. Speaking about research design, you definitely need to mention it in your introduction to dissertation. Provide a brief summary of it. The last part of your introduction should be the dissertation outline. What you are supposed to do is to briefly describe how your dissertation is constructed. Try to summarize the gist of each chapter in one sentence. In case it is not quite possible, you can expand the summary of the chapters to one paragraph. Keep in mind that the outline should not be repetitively ph rased. Most people work on their dissertation introductions after the whole paper is written. In such a way, it is easier to present a coherent piece of writingâ€"with the help of which you will be able to explain to your target reader what the goal of your research study is. Speaking about the length of the dissertation introduction, there are no specific requirements. This means is your introduction for dissertation should not look like an abstract. However, it does not also mean you are supposed to submit a huge document. Make sure you write to the point. Do not repeat yourself. Present useful information to the reader. Here is a checklist of points your dissertation introduction should consist of: the research topic is limited; the practical relevance is explained; the topic is stimulating; current scientific situation in the field is demonstrated; the objective is stated; the problem statement is formulated; the research design is presented; the dissertation outline is added. It is totally normal if you cannot write a proper dissertation introduction on your first try. It takes time, which is the reason why it is important not to stress out much about it. Take a break. The best advice is to get down to the task of writing an introduction for your dissertation when you are finished with dissertation writing. This way, you will be able to organize your thoughts and submit a piece of writing in which all vital points are showcased. Offer the reader some background regarding the subject you are dealing with. Clarify what the focus of your study is. Do not forget that you will also need to explain why your research study is significant as well and what its value for the field or industry is. Make sure the reader understands the aims of your research, as well as what you are trying to achieve in the long run. The more you dwell upon all these aspects in your introduction, the easier it will be for readers to grasp your main idea. Therefore, they will be able to understand what you are working on, what impact it is going to have, as well as what results can be achieved if you are successful in reaching all these goals you have set. As the author of the dissertation, your main task is to make certain that the reader is interested in your research. You need to show your target audience a clear picture of what they are about to receive once they familiarize themselves with the subject of your research study in detail. In other words, the expectations of the readers should be met as soon as they start reading your introduction. Taking into consideration the fact that your target readers are members of a dissertation committee, what you need to do is to get to the point right away. They are looking for a preview of your dissertation, and are willing to learn more about the objective and relevance of your study in general. Begin with outlining the main argument right away. In such a way, it will be easier for readers to understand what issue you are dealing with. Then, dwell upon the methodology you have used. Explain what tools you have chosen and mention why you have decided to use those particular ones. Do not forget to define the key terms of your dissertation. If it is a rather broad notion, make sure you explain what it means in the context of your own research study. It will give readers a better understanding of your goals and the methods you used in order to achieve the desired result (Cassuto). The introduction to the dissertation is one of the most significant parts of such a piece of writing, because this is the first impression the reader gets when they start reading your document. Therefore, it is a great way to impress your target audience and motivate them to keep reading to find out more about the subject you have chosen to research. When you work on the task of writing the introduction, keep in mind that you may not write everything at once. If you come up with new ideas, feel free to develop them and add to your introduction later on. Make sure that the finished version remains coherent. Taking everything into account, writing an introduction for a dissertation is a complex and time-consuming assignment. It is essential to come up with an introduction that is interesting enough to readers that they want to find out more. Follow the steps highlighted in this article and you will be able to write an impressive dissertation introduction that will consist of all the relevant aspects the members of a dissertation committee pay so much attention to. Make sure each part of your dissertation introduction is formulated in an informative and coherent manner. Do not forget that it should be understandable and easy to read. In case you are currently dealing with term paper writing and are desperately looking for term paper help, feel free to take a look at other materials we have regarding this subject. Some of them might come in handy.

MGMT455 U2 IP Employee Empowerment Research Paper

MGMT455 U2 IP Employee Empowerment - Research Paper Example The decision can be demanding or not demanding. It however depends on the degree of power that has been invested in the employee. Training an employee is the initial stage in employee empowerment. The company should also be converted to an empowerment model. Employee empowerment is the aspect of giving workers power to take decisions on their own (Huq, 2010). There are various advantages related to empowering employees. The employees have a high level of ownership in the company. Sense of ownership makes the employees happier than those working in other companies. Employees are more proactive and also have the will to accept change. Employees, who are empowered, are passionate about what they have achieved and also their roles in the company. They are able to control their destinies with enthusiasm. A strong sense of responsibility gets felt by an employee who is empowered. Therefore, he or she will improve productivity in the company. When employees are in charge of their results, they adopt positivity in morale and effects. Employees understand that their ideas matter towards the realization of the company’s success and, therefore, take great interest in the company (Murrell & Meredith, 2000). There are also various advantages associated to the employer. Employee empowerment reliefs stress on the management. When the responsibility of making decisions is vested to employees who are empowered, management is relieved of the worries. The empowerment of employees enables the transition of authority from the management to subordinate staff. When authority is placed to the subordinates, the management can trust the operations on the employees. However, the management requires to get empowered before employees get empowered. The training towards empowerment should begin with management. As a result trusting relationship gets build among the management and subordinates (Murrell & Meredith, 2000). Theory Y in the styles of management is correlated

Leadership and Responsibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Leadership and Responsibility - Essay Example This paper illustrates that the article strives to demonstrate the relationship between historical leadership style and the leadership proposal of Smith, Montagno, and Kuzmenko and highlighting the support offered by the historical record for the proposal of Smith et al. also forms a part of this article. In an order to represent the important concepts like transformational leadership and servant leadership, the author has chosen to use two historical leaders in his article- Xenophon, who was a transformational leader and Chief Joseph, who was a servant leader. The research contained in this article may be considered valuable considering the efficacy offered by adding a historical approach for understanding such intricate leadership constructs as transformational leadership, which is considered to be more appropriate by the author when a definite organizational change is desired. The author stresses on the fact that the importance of contextual factors has increased in the recent yea rs and that they really play an important role in determining the effectiveness of certain leadership constructs. As Smith et al.’s proposal also stressed on using contextual factors for validating transformational and servant leadership, the research work in this article aims at presenting a historical approach for investigating the contextual complications, which is a strategy that never did appear in any management and leadership article before. According to the author, transformational leadership comes into practice when the interests of each individual become united for the overall interest of an organization. A transformational leader should be able to maintain his/her charisma and should provide a unique vision to his/her followers. The author tries to identify in the article that servant leadership style has some definite deficiencies compared to transformational leadership style because its topmost priority is based on serving others and then considering the step to lead others constructively.

Annotated bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 18

Annotated Bibliography Example She further studied at University of Colorado earning a B.S., M.S., and a Ph.D. and has nine honorary doctoral degrees (Watson, 2015). She has worked in various learning and health care institutions. She has written more than twenty books both individually and with her colleagues. Her particular interest is in nursing and human caring as demonstrated in her various publications and career practice (Watson, 2015). Watson’s book Human Caring Science: was originally published in 1988 and later edited in 1999. The book expresses her creative ideas developed through observations and her long time experience in the nursing profession. The tone of the book is earnest and friendly. She believes that human caring begins from the inside of a person and extends outwards to other persons in the community. Her publication has been reviewed by a reader and revised to reflect most proximate occurrence in the real life situation of nursing world. This also implies the book is widely read by people with a diverse professional background. This book was intended to elaborate the theory of nursing to academicians and health care practitioners involved in caring for the patients. Also, her message was intended to reach all people as caregiving is a worldwide task (Watson, 2015). Munhall is a psychodynamic therapist and psychoanalyst certified by the national board. She also provides counseling services. She holds the doctorate degree in psychoanalysis from Columbia university in New York. She has practiced for 23 years as psychoanalysis and psychodynamic psychotherapy (Munhall, 2015). The Family, Health, and Fitness magazine voted her the â€Å"Best of Psychoanalysts this year. She is a full university professor. Her book â€Å"Nursing Research, fifth edition† was published in 2011. She published her first edition in 1986. The book contains broad information based her research findings and long-term experience of dealing with clients of

The best of hiring employee's Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The best of hiring employee's - Essay Example Managers and business owners should not exercise their managerial prerogative without interference from the other actors in the employment relationship because it will violate rights of employees and threaten their freedoms. The main practices which lead to success are careful analysis of personalities and qualification of employees. Managers state that employees should have the same core values, attitudes and aptitudes as the company. Also, they have experience in business and a great desire to work for the company. Even if employees lack skills and knowledge, the company will teach and educate them in order to develop the right person. Workers can address job issues with their employer through direct communication to bring actual and desired conditions closer together. The voice mechanism is superior to the exit one because, as firms address the concerns of their existing labor force, workers are more likely to remain with the firm. Managers and entrepreneurs admit that if there is less turnover of skilled employees so it helps the company to reduce the cost of hiring and training new employees. The organization could hire employees taking into account their analytical and practical skills.

A study on strategic management as a determinant of organization Dissertation

A study on strategic management as a determinant of organization performance.(casestudy of coca cola plc) - Dissertation Example This is where business strategies or strategic management is required. This report, thus, aims to identify strategic management as a key determinant of organizational performance. The main objective of this research is to understand the importance of the strategic management in a business, so that organizations can utilize them for improving the efficiency of the business, as well of its employees. The report gives a literature review on the topic and also explains the rationale of the study. It discusses the studies and opinions of many analysts, who have clearly mentioned in their views the connection of the use of business strategies and high performance work. The research is believed to provide crucial knowledge on the impacts of strategic management as a factor for organizational performance. Interpretive research methodology has been used in the data collection and analysis. The research approach has been qualitative, where the literature review has been used, and case study me thod has been applied. A case study on the Coca Cola Company in Nigeria has been used for the research purpose, which has helped to answer the research questions. Apart from this, interviews have also been conducted, the records of which have been collected and analyzed. During the entire research program, all the ethical issues have been taken care of, and the purpose and procedures of the study have been clearly declared. The dissertation explains all the procedures applied for data collection, the results that have been obtained, and a clear analysis based on the examinations has been provided. Based on the analysis, a view has been provided on the importance of strategic management in business organizations and its role in determining the organizational performance. Acknowledgements Table of Contents Serial no. Topic Page no. Introduction 7 Limitation of the Study 10 The Research in Detail 11 1 Introduction, Aims & objectives 11 1.1 Introduction 11 1.2 Aims 12 1.3 Objectives 12 2 Literature Review 13 3 Research Methodology 23 4 Findings 28 5 Discussions 41 6 Conclusion 44 7 Recommendation 47 References 51 List of Figures Figure no. Topic Page no. 1 Response to Q.1 29 2 Response to Q.1 29 3 Response to Q.6 33 4 Response to Q.6 34 5 Response to Q.8 36 6 Response to Q.8 36 List of Appendices Serial no. Topic Page no. Appendix A Questionnaire 48 Introduction Different types of managers are present in an organization having different skills and capabilities. It is essential to make these skills work simultaneously to deal with various strategic tensions that an organization encounters (Joyce & Woods, 2001, p.3). A strategy is a cohesive and harmonized set of obligations and actions planned to develop core competencies and achieve competitive advantage (Sadler & Craig, 2003, pp.9-13). Strategic effectiveness is achieved when a firm successfully puts together and applies a value-creating approach. While choosing a strategy firms make choices among viable alternat ives. Such alternative courses of actions are accomplished using the strategic management process. A strategic management process is a full set of commitments, evaluations, and measures essential for a firm to achieve premeditated competitiveness and earn more than average returns (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisso, 2009, pp.4-6). It was as early as 1916 when Henry Fayol had suggested that planning should be used as a practice to

Organizational Case Study Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Organizational Case Study - Assignment Example The transformation forces businesses to rethink their methods and offer new products or services in their stores. In the process, such businesses engage in downsizing. During the process of downsizing, Staples Inc reduced its outlet shops by 15%. This made the company realize reduced profits of 72% (Staples, 2013). The decrease in profits was due to charges of restructuring the company. Staples Inc is experiencing a considerable heat from the southern part where online retailing is flourishing. This forced the company to take more than 90% of its products to be sold online (Staples, 2013). Additionally, Staple Canada develops an innovation lab to test new services centered on small-business customers. The lab is piloting meeting rooms and rental office, a self-serve Banner Xpress machine used for printing, Starbucks coffee shop and technology-training center (Straus, 2013). The stores chosen for downsizing are more than 25,000 square feet though they could reach15,000 square feet. So me of the stores have leases which run out within a year. This gives Staple company time to close them at that time (Staples, 2013). Importance of Downsizing Downsizing helps in managing duplication of roles. It is easy to find more than two employees conducting a task that a single person could conduct. Downsizing assists in correcting such scenario (Staples, 2013). Downsizing is also good in clearing ghost workers who earn a salary without working. Secondly, the system allows an organization to recover from its financial crises. This is because the company can lessen operational costs by lessening proportion of employees. Downsizing also enables the managers to manage an organization properly because the organization is reduced in size (Staples, 2013). Additionally, the company can get rid of incompetent employees and hire employees who are willing to serve the company diligently (Straus, 2013). Human Resources Challenges Facing Staple Company Staple Company is not exactly sure of downsizing would achieve the needed purpose. This is because; the remaining employees would ask more payment due to overworking. Secondly, the employees who were sucked must be compensated. This means Staples Company would have to incur an extra cost thus increase its cost of operation. Downsizing is a source of poor morale, guilt and stress on retained employees. As a result, the employees are likely to reduce their productivity that may reduce the company’s output (Staples, 2013). The company experiences low level of productivity from its employee due insecurity of their jobs as a result of downsizing programme. Another challenge is lack of technological skills in their fields. Inadequacy and weakness due lack of basic education to cope with the changing technological and scientific development also contributes to the current problem. Another problem is lack of mechanism to create promotion opportunities amidst employees. This is due to a high number of employees that the organization hires. The company also loses some of its best employees to rival companies that offer best terms of employment and job security. The company is also unable to attract employees with technical talents. Most of employees shun the company due to its downsizing programme that requires it to reduce its employees. Furthermore, the company lacks good engineers or computer experts who can assist in distribution of its resources. To counter this problem, the company is going

Organization Behavior Essay Example for Free

Organization Behavior Essay âž ¢ Anne Mulcahy at the age of 23 she was the director of human resources, head of the Xerox âž ¢ She spent her first 16 years companys fledging desktop computer business, and chief in sales, then eight years in an assortment of management of staff to Xeroxs CEO. âž ¢ She never aspired to run Xerox nor she was groomed to be CEO. In 2001 she became the CEO of Xerox. âž ¢ She accepted the position when the company was in horrible financial shape. It had $17.1 billion in debt and only $154 million in cash. It was about to begin seven straight quarters of losses. âž ¢ Mulcahy felt a deep loyalty to the company. She felt an obligation to do everything in her power to save Xerox. Duty and loyalty compelled her to take a job that nobody else really wanted, despite the fact that she had zero preparation. âž ¢ She didnt know financial analysis. She had no MBA and her undergraduate degree was in English/journalism. So she asked the companys director of corporate finance to give her a cram course in Balance Sheet 101. He helped her to understand debt structure, inventory trends, and the impact of taxes and currency rates. âž ¢ This allowed her to see what would generate cash and how each of her decisions would affect the balance sheet. Mulcahy says now that her lack of training had its advantages. She had no preconceived notions, no time to develop bad habits. âž ¢ She appealed to employees with missionary zeal, in videos and in person to save each dollar as if it were your own. In 2002, for instance, she gave all employees their birthdays an off. The gentle pressure was vintage Mulcahy: Work hard, measure the results, tell the truth, and be brutally honest. âž ¢ After less than two years as CEO, Mulcahy has made startling progress in turning Xerox around. Employees appreciated her truthful and straightforward style. They also liked the fact that she was willing to work shoulder to shoulder with subordinates âž ¢ She was working hard, people felt obligated to work harder too. But Mulcahy is no softy. Shes smart, energetic, tough but passionate. âž ¢ She showed the ability to make hard decisions. For instance, she slashed costs in part by cutting Xeroxs workforce by 30 percent and she shut down desktop division. She oversaw the streamlining of production, new investment in research and development, and restructured the sales force so vague lines of authority became clear. She met with bankers and customers. âž ¢ In 2003, Xerox had had four straight quarters of operating profits. The companys stock was up to $11 a share. And while Xeroxs future was still far from secure, at least it was beginning to look like the company would have future. 1. How did Anne Mulcahy create trust with employees after becoming CEO? âž ¢ We see that Anne Mulcahy is the ultimate loyal employee in Xerox. She represented herself as a Savior who would deliver them from the storm though she didn’t have any vision nor she was trained but she was determined in doing her task. Duty and loyalty compelled her to take a job that nobody else really wanted. âž ¢ Though she didn’t have any knowledge in financial aspects she learned in the short span of time and took initiative to cut costs by using strategies like reducing the work force, which was a smart move of cutting cost, and she restructured sales force, etc. âž ¢ She appealed to employees with missionary zeal, in videos and in person to save each dollar as if it were your own† âž ¢ She believed in these words that it is an era to work hard, measure the results, tell the truth, and be brutally honest. âž ¢ That is how employees, appreciated her truthful and straightforward style. They also liked the fact that she was willing to work shoulder to shoulder with subordinates 2.Did Mulcahy have a vision for Xerox? Explain. Anne Mulcahy had no vision or any aspiration to run Xerox. We can see this as initially when the Xeroxs board chose her as CEO of Xerox. She was neither groomed nor aspired for this position. But she accepted the position with a mixed feeling. She took the position when the company was dooming. She had a deep loyalty to the company and she realized her responsibility to save Xerox although she was not prepared. But she had a determination to save Xerox. 3. What qualities do you think helped Mulcahy to affect the turnaround at Xerox? âž ¢ Charismatic quality: She has an inborn quality to stand in any kind of situation that is a special quality of determination to serve her company. âž ¢ She also had inner qualities like self-confidence, Problem-solving ability. When she took the position of CEO the company was in horrible financial shape. A leader needs lots of self-confidence in such situation, which Anne Mulcahy had. âž ¢ She stood to save her company and sole the crisis. Mulcahy wasnt groomed for the CEO position is a true understatement. For instance, she didnt know financial analysis. She had no MBA and her undergraduate degree was in English/journalism. So she asked the companys director of corporate finance to give her a cram course in Balance Sheet 101. He helped her to understand debt structure, inventory trends, and the impact of taxes and currency rates. This allowed her to see what would generate cash and how each of her decisions would affect the balance sheet. Mulcahy says now that her lack of training had its advantages. She had no preconceived notions, no time to develop bad habits. âž ¢ Passionate: She was passionate in doing her work and also influenced others to follow her and she believed that employees should â€Å"Work hard, measure the results, tell the truth, and be brutally honest.† âž ¢ She also had other qualities like smartness, energetic, tough but passionate 4.What does this case say about leadership experience? Through this case we can see that Anne Mulcahy is a successful leader. Why a leader? Because she was a shepherd to her company leading her sheep’s. And Anne Mulcahy is said to be a leader as she lead her people to follow her. A Leader is an individual person who initiates and implements that is what Anne Mulcahy did. She can be called a Transformational leader as she implemented changes. For instance she slashed costs in part by cutting Xeroxs workforce by 30 percent and she shut down desktop division. She oversaw the streamlining of production, new investment in research and development, an restructured the sales force so vague lines of authority became clear. She met with bankers and customers. Most importantly, she traveled. She galvanized the troops visiting Xerox offices—sometimes hitting three cities a day—and inspiring employees. This is what matters as a leader to influence people to follow them. And she led her company from â€Å"rags to riches†

Comparison of Traditional and Activity-Based Costing Systems

Comparison of Traditional and Activity-Based Costing Systems   Introduction: It is paramount for all types of firms to invest into a costing system. Cost management enables a firm for continued progression to enable its budget to be more vigorous and ultimately more cost effective. This essay aims to outline the framework for the main two costing systems that determine the costs and predict the activities that are consuming the most resources. To retrieve these cost values, a firm can use one of the traditional cost allocation method or the activity-based costing method. Whilst scrutinising each methods opportunities and challenges, its benefits and drawbacks will also be analysed. Traditional Cost Allocation (opportunities and benefits): The traditional cost allocation method has been described as the absorption of production overheads (excluding selling and administration overheads) into product costs for stock valuation (Letza and Gadd, 1994). The premise of this costing method is to calculate the indirect costs of a manufacturing business, with the notion of assisting managers make decisions beneficial for the organisation in terms of both costing and profitability. This is rendered by using only one overhead rate. Commonly, the machine hours or labour costs as these are directly relevant to the units produced, which can be shown by the following equation (Atrill and McLaney, 2015): As there is only one overhead rate, there is an arbitrary allocation of excess costs to its total volume base. The CIMA Technical Services (2001) mentions the traditional costing system relies upon three stages to formulate its costs: 1. Accruing of all the costs within a department 2. Designate the indirect costs to the departments that are functional, from the total costs 3. The indirect costs calculated should then be applied to products and services. These 3 stages allow for the costing system to align itself and be in accordance within the guidelines of the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) (Johnson, 2014). Moreover, for firms that produce only 1 product, this system allows for a quick and smooth implementation process. This is because the total volume allocation base will only cover the volume for the sole product in the firms entire production line (Hansen Mowen, 2006). Flaws of Traditional Cost Allocation inception of ABC: Over time the use of this traditional costing system has had its limitations and drawbacks. Whilst being in accordance with the guidelines of the GAAP, the traditional system for costing omits the costs created by customers. To use the results of costing in external financial reports, it excludes selling and administration overheads. The use of only one overhead rate eliminates many other potential costs associated within a firms entire production line, which can lead to unembellished imprecisions. (Atrill and McLaney, 2015) In the past, the traditional approach in determining product costs has worked reasonably well. Overhead rates were typically of a much lower value for each direct labour than the rate paid to direct workers as wages or salaries. However, it is now becoming increasingly common for overhead rates to be between 5-10 times the hourly rate of pay due to the increased significance of overheads (Horngren et al, 1999). Even an insignificant change in the amount of direct labour worked on a job could massively affect the total cost deduced due to direct labour hours on the overhead cost loading. Moreover, overheads are still typically charged on a direct labour hour basis; overheads may not be closely related to direct labour however. (Atrill and McLaney, 2015) Principles like these in the traditional system reduces the accuracy of the model, questioning the legitimacy of this costing approach. As a result, what arose was the opportunity for an alternative technique to overcome these flaws. This led to the inception of Activity-Based Costing (ABC) Activity Based Costing: The inception of an alternative costing system had been brought about in the early 1980s by Robert Kaplan the first advocator of Activity-Based Costing. It was his aim to use more cost drivers to reduce the inaccuracies and inadequacies of traditional costing systems (Singer Donoso, 2008). Activity-based costing is an accounting practice by which costs are allocated on the basis of a firms activities. The implementation of this costing system is explicated by a chronological, 5 stage template process, which Figure 1 shows. The major amendments made to the traditional costing system are the multiple cost drivers and overhead rates that are identified. Identifying cost drivers holds as the imperative component towards a successful ABC system, for a more accurate and wholly reflective costs within a firm. The cause and effect relationship with activity costs acts as a basis for attaching these costs to a product or service (Atrill and McLaney, 2015). Created to forecast future costing, forward planning places managers in a more prominent position to assess the likely effect of new products and processes on activities and costs, leading to wider opportunities for firm managers (Horngren et al, 1999). Activity-Based Costing Opportunities and Benefits Activity-based costing offers a wide plethora of diverging opportunities. Significantly, the system has been taken on and been made more relevant to service industries. In the absence of a direct material element, a service businesss total costs are more likely to be predominantly composed of overheads. A survey conducted investigating 176 UK businesses (from varying industries) with annual sales revenue greater than  £50 million found overheads represent 51% of total cost for service providers. This is in stark contrast to 25% for manufacturers. These statistics certainly point towards the fact that ABC is an appealing proposition to adopt for firms that sell services rather than products (Atrill and McLaney, 2015). ABC can be used as a powerful tool for continuous rethinking and dramatic costing improvement in not only the services and products, but also market strategies and processes (Jinga et al, 2010). When Chrysler was placed in a period of financial turbulence, it exalted its costing system to ABC in 1991 in attempts to catch up to its formidable competitors, Toyota and Ford Motor Company. Previously, the true costs of Chrysler were made to be 30 times larger than what had been calculated (Meador, n.d.). Post-ABC (after short-term struggle through inevitable transitional difficulty) Chrysler recovered to a competitive standpoint; the automotive firm claimed they have saved hundreds of millions of dollars to date. (The Economist, n.d.) Similarly, the previously publicly-owned Royal Mail endorsed the ABC system to discover the cost of making postal deliveries, they identified 340 separate activities and subsequent cost drivers (Atrill and McLaney, 2015). The implementation of ABC can present a strenuous challenge, but with astute and correct execution, a firm can reap fruitful benefits. Within 5 years of implementation of ABC, Dutch firm Wavin made this system part of its day-to-day management culture, playing a significant role in their management excellence programme. Wavin introduced ABC by linking it to a practical business application profitability management which considered an ideal pilot area for learning about ABC, as well as establishing a deeper understanding for the relationship between product and customer profitability (Horngren et al, 1999). However, by treating ABC as a short-term concept, Wavin ran into trouble. By operating on a day-to-day management culture, they concluded every effort should be made to calculate ABC for all products. The caveat was that their real emphasis should be placed in ensuring the decision-making processes would lead to the accuracy of ABC attributed to both customers and products. Consequently, with its products Wavin used a two-phased approach whereby customers were classified into separate cost drivers. This approach generated an overall cost/customer matrix which was utilised as a foundation for its managerial decisions, representing the most significant part of the companys business (Horngren et al, 1999). Wavins implementation of ABC showed the relative unease for a firm to change its costing system, whereby the system has had many critics on its complex nature. Criticisms/Shortcomings of ABC: In spite of its main objective being to add accuracy and precision into costing schemes, from its inception ABC contained flaws. Analysing multiple overheads to identify cost drivers is time-consuming and costly. The cost of setting up the ABC system, as well as costs of running and updating it, must be incurred. The more overheads and cost drivers that are identified, the greater potential is associated with higher maintenance costs (Horngren et al, 1999). Should the firms operations be more complex and involve many activities and cost drivers, the longer the time spent to maintain this scheme. Thus, higher expenses should be paid towards its maintenance.The implementation of this costing system also presents challenges. Managers need to be taught and prepared to facilitate these new schemes, which comes with external and additional training. Once more, the complexity of mastering the scheme can be taxing in terms of time consumption. Many firms have found it problematic to implemen t ABC to existing, traditional costing systems, where it is argued that it is more manageable for start-up firms to commence with ABC (Horngren et al, 1999). Furthermore, each firm looking to take on this scheme must have all its business components broken down into its discrete components to identify all potential cost drivers. Perfecting the art of this scheme requires prolonged training, which again is an expensive measure (The Economist, n.d.). Comparing TCA to ABC: Traditional cost allocation has been around since the 1870s, where its use as a system has been going for many more decades than its alternative ABC: its inception was in the early 1980s (Ben-Arieh Qian, 2003). Interestingly a study claims that ABC is an additional costing system, not an alternative. When comparing different firms financial situations, it is highly likely that these firms do not have the exact same costing system. Some firms may use a traditional system with only one activity and cost driver associated to it, whilst others using ABC will have multiple activities and cost drivers: adding onto what the traditional system has (Narong, 2009). ABC includes labour or product parts that can be identified whereas the traditional method arbitrarily accumulates salaries, expenses, and depreciations. (Blocher, 2006) For estimating costs, ABC is a more precise system as it nurtures managers in becoming more knowledgeable of the indirect resources which identifies and removes cost drivers that are of no marginal value. It also gives managers an insight into existing parameters that have generated demands. (Jones Dugdale, 2002) The traditional approach sees its overheads as rendering a service to cost units, the cost of which must be changed to those units. ABC on the other hand views overheads as being caused by activities, like operating a store to house the cost units. Since it is the cost units that cause these activities, it is thus the cost units that must be charged with the costs that they cause. A reason for the inception of ABC is within the way overheads are organised. The traditional approach has the overheads apportioned to product cost centres, whereas ABC has its overheads analysed into cost pools, with one cost pool for each cost-driving activity. (Atrill and McLaney, 2015) The intention of ABC was neither to measure short-term variable costs nor provide a day-to-day guidance on process quality. With its forward planning nature, using ABC to predict short-run costs overlooks the fact that costs are the results of spending decisions (Horngren et al, 1999). To its disadvantage, the traditional system, on the other hand, does not present non-financial information concerning the Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs), perhaps displaying a slight negligence (Hilton, 2006). Conclusions: Whilst in theory there are two major approaches to choose from for a firm to undertake its costing decisions, there is no politically correct or preferred choice. Each costing system presents altering opportunities and challenges, where a firm ultimately has to choose dependent upon factors such as the firms industry. There has not been a major swell of manufacturing firms converting to implement ABC. Costing systems in the manufacturing sector are far more complexed, needing to convert materials into work in progress, than finished goods. However, large-scale manufacturing firms such as Siemens, Philips, Volvo and Ericsson made the brave decision in the 1990s to implement ABC. (Horngren et al, 1999) Yet 2 of these firms in Siemens and Philips have in todays climate have lost a significant market share to they once had; whether this is attributed to ABC is another question. It is important to note that the intended objectives of an ABC system at the time of implementation are likely to differ from its resulting consequences. The methodology behind ABC sets a company in a superior platform in terms of precision and accuracy, allowing managers to make more informed and knowledgeable for a firms long-term future. References Atrill, P. and McLaney, E. 2015. Accounting and finance for non-specialists. 1st ed. Harlow [etc.]: Pearson Education, pp.282-306. Ben-Arieh, D. and Qian, L., 2003. Activity-based cost management for design and development stage, International Journal of Production Economics, 83,169-183 CIMA Technical Services. 2001. Activity-based management an overview. [pdf]. CIMA Technical Briefing. Available from: www.cimaglobal.com/technicalreports [Accessed 23 March 2017] Hansen, D. and Mowen, M. 2006. Cost management: accounting and control. Mason, OH: London: Thomson/South-Western. Hilton, R.W. 2006. Cost Management: Strategies for Business Decisions, 3rd Ed. McGraw Hill, New York Jinga, G., Dumitru, M., Dumitrana, M. and Vulpoi, M. 2010. Accounting systems for cost management used in the Romanian economic entities, Accounting and Management Information Systems, 9(2), pp.242-267. Johnson, R., 2014. Traditional Costing Vs. Activity-Based Costing | Chron.com. Available at: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/traditional-costing-vs-activitybased-costing-33724.html [Accessed March 24, 2017]. Jones, T. C. and D. Dugdale. 2002. The ABC bandwagon and the juggernaut of modernity. Accounting, Organizations and Society 27(1-2): 121-163. Letza, S. and Gadd, K. 1994. Should Activityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  based Costing be Considered as the Costing Method of Choice for Total Quality Organizations?. The TQM Magazine, 6(5), pp.57-63. Martin, J. (n.d.). ABC vs TOC. [online] Maaw.info. Available at: http://maaw.info/ArticleSummaries/ArtSumHolmen95.htm [Accessed 28 March 2017]. Meador, D. (n.d.). ABC: Initiating Large-Scale Change at Chrysler The Systems Thinker. [online] The Systems Thinker. Available at: https://thesystemsthinker.com/abc-initiating-large-scale-change-at-chrysler/ [Accessed 28 Mar. 2017]. Narong, D.K. 2009, Activity-Based Costing and Management Solutions to Traditional Shortcomings of Cost Accounting, Cost Engineering, 51, 8, pp. 11-22, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, [Accessed 26 March 2017] Singer, M. and Donoso, P. 2008. Empirical validation of an activity-based optimization system, International Journal of Production Economics, 113, pp.335-345 The Economist. N.d. Activity-based costing. [online] Available at: http://www.economist.com/node/13933812 [Accessed 26 Mar. 2017]. ABC WordPress. (n.d.). Activity-Based Costing (ABC). [online] Available at: https://allearth.wordpress.com/education/cost/abc/ [Accessed 30 Mar. 2017].

Fra Angelico :: essays research papers

Fra Angelico/Beato, was the name given to the Dominican friar and early renaissance artist, Fra Giovanni Guido di Piero for his extraordinary works and personal piety. He was born in Vicchio, Tuscany, and had begun his artistic career as an illuminator of missals and other religious related books in his late teens. In 1417, he was accepted as a member of the Compasniadisan Niccolo, a religious confraternity in the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, which was an implicit recognition of his Christian piety. Here he was prohibited from painting, and therefore resigned from the order and joined the community of San Dominico to become a Dominican friar in 1420, where his brother Fra Benedetto also joined and was ordained as a priest. It was in this place that Fra Angelico had begun his first works on altar pieces and frescoes such as The Annunciation, and had adopted the name Frate Giovanni de' San Domeico da Fiesole (Fra Giovanni of the friars of San Dominico in Fiesole). He was one of the first friars who employed for working on convents other than his own. By the time he was the age of twenty-five, Fra Angelico was already a well known master painter. At the time Florence was the ideal area for Renaissance artwork. So Fra Angelico along with other Fiesole friars, moved to the convent of San Marco in Florence around 1436. In 1445 however, he went to Rome as a request by Pope Eugenius IV. Eventually Fra Angelico returns to his Fiesole, and passes away in March 1455. Unlike many other artists of those times, Fra Angelico used effective artistic techniques such as devout facial expressions, convincing usage of color, motion, deep spacing, usage of a linear perspective, all combined with the influence of the decorative Gothic style of Gentile da Fabriano, which made him one of the foremost painters of the Renaissance. It was also said that his work was inspired by the preaching of another Dominican known as Fra Manfredida Vercelli, and since all his work consisted of Christian relevance, his Christian spirituality is manifested in his art. One of Fra Angelico's more well known piece of work, is the painting of The Last Judgement, which was a piece for the back of a seat for the priest to use at the Mass. It was most probably commissioned by the Florentine church of Santa Maria degli Angeli.

Themes in the Novel and Movie Adaptation of James Cain’s Mildred Pierce

Themes in the Novel and Movie Adaptation of James Cain’s Mildred Pierce In contemporary film making, â€Å"Hollywood-ization† generally refers to the re-creation of a classic work in a form more vulgar and sexually explicit than the original in an effort to boost movie attendance. After all, sex and violence sell. However, from the mid-1930’s to the 1950’s, â€Å"Hollywood-ization† referred to the opposite case where controversial books had to be purified to abide by the Production Code of 1934.[1] This occurred to many of James Cain’s novels as they moved from text to the genre of â€Å"film noir.† As has been said about Cain’s The Postman Always Rings Twice, â€Å"The property, bought several years ago, was kept in the studio’s archives until now because of [Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s] â€Å"inability to clean it up.†Ã¢â‚¬ [2] The sanitation of Cain’s novels greatly took from the strong themes of female emotional and financial independence that were rarely addressed at that t ime as they were adapted for the screen. James Cain’s Mildred Pierce, published in 1941, explored issues that plagued the domesticated woman amidst the social upheaval caused by the Great Depression of the 1930’s and suffered from the rule of the Production Code. As Mildred Pierce’s first marriage with Bert Pierce disintegrates, she is confronted with the responsibility of supporting her two children while creating opportunities for financial independence despite having no skills or education. She becomes a successful restaurateur through the careful manipulation of the men around her only to become the slave to the desires and whims of her eldest daughter, Veda. According to David Madden, the story of Mildred Pierce is â€Å"a powerful and suggestive study of social inequity and ... ...rs, again: The Postman Always Rings Twice,† Literature/Film Quarterly (2000): 41. [3] Madden, David, James M. Cain (Twayne: 1970) 68. [4] Oates, Joyce Carol, Tough Guy Writers of the Thirties (London: Southern Illinois University Press, 1968) 110 [5] Farrell, James, Literature and Morality (New York: The Vanguard Press, Inc, 1945) 89. [6] Madden 148 [7] Farrell, James, 88 Work Cited 1 Encyclopedia Britannica Online www.search.eb.com/bol/topic?eu=119926&sctn=6. 2 Biesen, Sheri Chinen, â€Å"Raising Cain with the censors, again: The Postman Always Rings Twice,† Literature/Film Quarterly (2000) 3 Madden, David, James M. Cain (Twayne: 1970) 4 Oates, Joyce Carol, Tough Guy Writers of the Thirties (London: Southern Illinois University Press, 1968) 5 Farrell, James, Literature and Morality (New York: The Vanguard Press. Inc, 1945)

ICT Package :: ICT Essays

Clear Problem: - Company: Doctors Surgery Relocating: Kingston Needs: To keep all the patients details on a computer data base with appropriate back up system. Real User: Dr Steer Accessibility: This is strictly confident to Dr Steer only Solution: - This is a small but established surgery but has decided to go paperless. We have grown over the years and can no longer rely on our manual papers because they are simply getting too big. The move to new premises means we can set up the ideal ICT package tailor made for our needs. 1. To keep a details of the patients. 2. To enable accurate details on the patient. 3. Easy to access it as well. Objectives: - 1. Create a patient detail list with any long term diseases or medical formalities. 2. I will use access to produce an easy program for the doctor to use. 4. To enable a quick analysis of the total number of hours worked in a week to see for eligibility of a pay rise. 5. The system is legible, we producible and at the end of the tax year can be used to make the company report and tax declaration. Analyse: - Hardware: I recommend any modern and up to date computer technology, such as Dell. They provide reliable machines with easy ability to upgrade and excellent support service. It will need to have a CD-RW and a ZIP drive to enable the data to be backed up. Software: I need a clear easy to use spreadsheet package. I feel the best is Excel. This choice is based on recommendations and research of other software. The advantages are it is simple, easy and reliable. I will use the most up to date version and Microsoft is constantly updating it. Input: The data clerk will produce and update the date every week. The data is entered via a keyboard and an accounting manager will audit the accounts monthly and do reconciliation. Output: The data entered will be shown on a TFT screen and stored to a CD or/and ZIP. This will be printed off using a laser printer and filled in an accounting folder. Back up- Strategy: The accounts will be needed to be backed up every Friday evening. This is to protect the data from being lost due to a power surge. It will be backed up on disk and be stored in a fireproof safe. Design: - Initial Design: I am going to have a sample table to put my data on. I will draw it in rough first (see enclosed) to see if my initial ideas would work. The columns are headed: Employee number First Name

International trade theory Essay

Abstract In this reading a number of international trade theories are explained to help the reader better understand why it is beneficial for a country to engage in international trade, and explains the patterns of international trade that is observed in the world economy. It is understood how the theories of Smith, Ricardo, and Heckscher-Ohlin all make strong cases for unrestricted free trade. In contrast, the mercantilist doctrine and, to a lesser extent, the new trade theory can be interpreted to support government intervention to promote exports through subsidies and to limit imports through tariffs and quotas. In explain the pattern of international trade, the exception of mercantilism, which is silent on this issue, the different theories offer largely complementary explanation. Although no one theory may explain the apparent pattern of international trade, taken together, the theory of  comparative advantage, the Heckscher-Ohlin theory, the product life-cycle theory, the new trade theory, and Porter’s theory of national competitive advantage do suggest which factors are important. Comparative advantage tells us that productivity differences are important: Heckscher-Ohlin tells us that factor endowment matter; the product life-cycle theory informs the reader that where a new product is introduced is important; the new trade theory inform the reader that increasing returns to specialization and first mover advantages matter; and Porter theory states that all these factors may be important in so far as they affect the four components of the national diamond. Introduction International Trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders of territories. In most countries, such trade represents a significant share of gross domestic product also known as GDP. While international trade has been present throughout much of history, its economic, social, and political importance has been on the rise in recent eras. People trade because they believe that they benefit from the exchange. They may need or want the goods or services. Industrialization advanced in technology transportation, globalization, multinational corporations, and out outsourcing are all having a major impact on the international trade system. Increasing international trade is crucial to the continuance of globalization. Without international trade, nations would be limited to the goods and services produced within their borders. International trade is, in principle, not different from domestic trade as the motivation and the behavior of parties involved in a t rade do not change fundamentally regardless of whether trade is across a border or not. The main difference is that international trade is typically more costly than domestic trade. The focus of this essay is to understand the different theories in international trade. First, the discussion of mercantilism, even though mercantilism is an old and largely discredited doctrine that method echoes remain in modern political debate and in the trade policies of many countries. Secondly, the absolute advantage theory by Adam Smith. Smith’s theory was the first to explain why unrestricted free trade is beneficial to a country. Free trade refers to a situation where a government does not  attempt to influence through quotas or duties what its citizen can buy from another country, or what they produce and sell to another country. Smith argues that the â€Å"invisible hand† of the mechanism, rather than government policy, should determine what a country imports and what are exports. His arguments imply that such a laissez-faire stance toward trade was in the best interests of a country. Building on Smith’s work are two additional theories that we shall review. One is the theory of comparative advantage, advanced by the 19th century English economist David Ricardo. This theory is the intellectual basis of the modern argument for unrestricted free trade. As the 20th century approach, two Swedish economists, Eli Heckscher and Bertil Ohlin, who theory is known as the Heckscher- Ohlin Theory, refined Ricardo’s work. The Benefits of Trade The dominant strength of the theories by these economists was that they identify with precision the specific benefits of international trade. Common sense suggests that some international trade is beneficial. For example, nobody would suggest America produce their own oil, due to lack of resources. America could benefit from trade by exchanging some of the products it can produce at a low cost wheat for some products in cannot produce at all oil. Thus by engaging in international trade, China gains wheat and America gains oil. The theories of Smith, Ricardo, and Heckscher-Ohlin go beyond this common sense notion, however, to show why it is beneficial for a country to engage in international trade even for products it is able to produce for itself. This is a difficult concept for people to grasp. For example many people in the United States believe that American consumers should buy products produced in the United States by American companies whenever possible to help save American jobs from foreign competition. The same kind of nationalistic sentiments can be observed in many other countries. However, the theories of the economists give an understanding that a country’s economy may gain if its citizens buy certain products from other nations that could be produced at home. The gains arise because international trade allows a country to specialize in the manufacture and export of products that can be produced most efficiently in that country, while importing  products that be produced more efficient in other countries. The economic argument is often difficult for segments of a country’s population to accept. With their future threatened by imports, American textile companies and their employees have tried to persuade the U.S. government to limit the importation of textiles by demanding quotas and tariffs. The Pattern of International Trade The theories of Smith, Ricardo, and Heckscher-Ohlin also help to explain the pattern of international trade that we observe in the world economy. Some aspects of the patterns are east to understand. Climate and natural resources endowments explain why certain countries export certain products. For example, Ghana exports cocoa, Brazil exports coffee, Saudi Arabia exports oil, and China exports catfish. David Ricardo’s theory of comparative advantage offers an explanation in terms of international differences in labor productivity. The more sophisticated Heckscher- Ohlin theory emphasizes the interplay between the proportions in which the factors of production (such as: land, labor, and capital) are available in different countries and the proportion in which they are needed for producing particular goods. One early response to the failure of the Heckscher-Ohlin theory to explain the observed pattern of international trade was the product life-cycle theory. Proposed by Raymond Vernon, this theory suggested that early in their life cycle, most new products are produced in and exported from the country in which they were developed. As a new product becomes widely accepted internationally, however, production starts in other countries. By the 1980s, Paul Krugman an economist from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) developed the revolutionary theory of trade known as the new trade theory. New trade theory stresses that in some cases countries specialize in the production and export of particular product not because of essential differences in factor endowment, but because in certain industries the world market can support only limited number of firms Mercantilism The main theory of mercantilism was that it was in a country’s best interests to maintain a trade surplus, to export more than it imported. By doing so, a country would accumulate gold and silver and consequently, increase its  national wealth and prestige. Consistent with this belief, the mercantilist doctrine advocated government intervention to achieve a surplus in the balance of trade. The mercantilists saw no virtue in â€Å"large volume of trade.† Rather, the recommended policies to maximize exports and minimize imports. To achieve this imports, were limited by tariffs and quotas, while exports were subsidized. Developed in the sixteenth century, mercantilism was one of the earliest efforts to develop an economic theory. This theory stated that a country’s wealth was determined by the amount of its gold and silver holdings. In its simplest sense, mercantilists believed that a country should increase its holdings of gold and silver by promoting exports and discouraging imports. In other words, if people in other countries buy more from you (exports) than they sell to you (imports), then they have to pay you the difference in gold and silver. The objective of each country was to have a trade surplus, or a situation where the value of exports are greater than the value of imports, and to avoid a trade deficit, or a situation where the value of imports is greater than the value of exports. A closer look at world history from the 1500s to the late 1800s helps explain why mercantilism flourished. The 1500s marked the rise of new nation-states, whose rulers wanted to strengthen their nations by building larger armies and national institutions. By increasing exports and trade, these rulers were able to amass more gold and wealth for their countries. One way that many of these new nations promoted exports was to impose restrictions on imports. This strategy is called protectionism and is still used today. Nations expanded their wealth by using their colonies around the world in an effort to control more trade and amass more riches. The British colonial empire was one of the more successful examples; it sought to increase its wea lth by using raw materials from places ranging from what are now the Americas and India. France, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain were also successful in building large colonial empires that generated extensive wealth for their governing nations. Although mercantilism is one of the oldest trade theories, it remains part of modern thinking. Countries such as Japan, China, Singapore, Taiwan, and even Germany still favor exports and discourage imports through a form of neo-mercantilism in which the countries promote a combination of protectionist policies and restrictions and domestic-industry subsidies. Nearly every country, at one point or another,  has implemented some form of protectionist policy to guard key industries in its economy. While export-oriented companies usually support protectionist policies that favor their industries or firms, other companies and consumers are hurt by protectionism. Taxpayers pay for government subsidies of select exports in the form of higher taxes. Import restrictions lead to higher prices for consumers, who pay more for foreign-made goods or services. Free-trade advocates highlight how free trade benefits all members of the global community, while mercantilism’s protectionist policies only benefit select industries, at the expense of both consumers and other companies, within and outside of the industry. The Flaw with mercantilism was that it viewed trade as a zero-sum game. (A zero- sum game is one in which a gain by one country results in a loss by another.) It was left to Adam Smith and David Ricardo to show the shortsightedness of this approach and to demonstrate that trade is a positive-sum game, or a situation in which all countries can benefit. The mercantilist doctrine is by no means dead. Absolute Advantage In 1776, Adam Smith questioned the leading mercantile theory of the time in The Wealth of Nations. Smith offered a new trade theory called absolute advantage, which focused on the ability of a country to produce a good more efficiently than another nation. Smith attacked the mercantilist assumption that trade is a zero-sum game. Smith argued that countries differ in their ability to produce goods efficiently. Smith reasoned that trade between countries shouldn’t be regulated or restricted by government policy or intervention. He stated that trade should flow naturally according to market forces. Hypothetically, say two-country world, if Country A could produce a good cheaper or faster (or both) than Country B, then Country A had the advantage and could focus on specializing on producing that good. Similarly, if Country B was better at producing another good, it could focus on specialization as well. By specialization, countries would generate efficiencies, because their labor force would become more skilled by doing the same tasks. Production would also become more efficient, because there would be an incentive to create faster and better production methods to increase the specialization. The absolute advantage occurs in the production of a product when it is more efficient than any other country in producing  it. According to Smith, countries should specialize in the production of goods for which they have an absolute advantage then trade these for goods produced by other countries. In Smith’s theory reasoned that with increased efficiencies, people in both countries would benefit and trade should be encouraged. His theory stated that a nation’s wealth shouldn’t be judged by how much gold and silver it had but rather by the living standards of its people. Smith’s basic argument therefore, is that a country should never produce goods at home that it can buy at a lower cost from other countries. According to Smith, by specializing in the production of goods in which each has an absolute advantage, both countries benefit by engaging in trade. Comparative Advantage The challenge to the absolute advantage theory was that some countries may be better at producing both goods and, therefore, have an advantage in many areas. In contrast, another country may not have any useful absolute advantages. To answer this challenge, David Ricardo, an English economist, introduced the theory of comparative advantage in 1817. Ricardo reasoned that even if Country A had the absolute advantage in the production of both products, specialization and trade could still occur between two countries. Comparative advantage occurs when a country cannot produce a product more efficiently than the other country; however, it can produce that product better and more efficiently than it does other goods. The difference between these two theories is subtle. Comparative advantage focuses on the relative productivity differences, whereas absolute advantage looks at the absolute productivity. Let’s look at a simplified hypothetical example to illustrate the subtle differenc e between these principles. Miranda is a Wall Street lawyer who charges $500 per hour for her legal services. It turns out that Miranda can also type faster than the administrative assistants in her office, who are paid $40 per hour. Even though Miranda clearly has the absolute advantage in both skill sets, should she do both jobs? No. For every hour Miranda decides to type instead of do legal work, she would be giving up $460 in income. Her productivity and income will be highest if she specializes in the higher-paid legal services and hires the most qualified administrative assistant, who can type fast, although a little slower than Miranda. By having both Miranda and her assistant concentrate on their  respective tasks, their overall productivity as a team is higher. This is comparative advantage. A person or a country will specialize in doing what they do relatively better. In reality, the world economy is more complex and consists of more than two countries and products. Barriers to trade may exist, and goods must be transported, stored, and distributed. However, this simplistic example demonstrates the basis of the comparative advantage theory. Heckscher-Ohlin Theory (Factor Proportions Theory) The theories of Smith and Ricardo didn’t help countries determine which products would give a country an advantage. Both theories assumed that free and open markets would lead countries and producers to determine which goods they could produce more efficiently. In the early 1900s, two Swedish economists, Eli Heckscher and Bertil Ohlin, focused their attention on how a country could gain comparative advantage by producing products that utilized factors that were in abundance in the country. Their theory is based on a country’s production factors—land, labor, and capital, which provide the funds for investment in plants and equipment. They determined that the cost of any factor or resource was a function of supply and demand. Factors that were in great supply relative to demand would be cheaper; factors in great demand relative to supply would be more expensive. Their theory, also called the factor proportions theory, stated that countries would produce and export goods that required resources or factors that were in great supply and, therefore, cheaper production factors. In contrast, countries would import goods that required resources that were in short supply, but higher demand. For example, China and India are home to cheap, large pools of labor. Hence these countries have become the optimal locations for labor-intensive industries like textiles and garments. Leontief Paradox In the early 1950s, Russian-born American economist Wassily W. Leontief studied the US economy closely and noted that the United States was abundant in capital and, therefore, should export more capital-intensive goods. However, his research using actual data showed the opposite: the United States was importing more capital-intensive goods. According to the factor  proportions theory, the United States should have been importing labor-intensive goods, but instead it was actually exporting them. His analysis became known as the Leontief Paradox because it was the reverse of what was expected by the factor proportions theory. In subsequent years, economists have noted historically at that point in time, labor in the United States was both available in steady supply and more productive than in many other countries; hence it made sense to export labor-intensive goods. Over the decades, many economists have used theories and data to explain and minimize the impact of the paradox. However, for what remains clear is that international trade is a complex and has impacted numerous and often-changing factors. Trade cannot be explained neatly by one single theory, and more importantly, our understanding of international trade theories continues to evolve. Product Life Cycle Theory Raymond Vernon, a Harvard Business School professor, developed the product life cycle theory in the 1960s. The theory, originating in the field of marketing, stated that a product life cycle has three distinct stages: (1) new product, (2) the growth of the product (3)maturing product (4) the decline in the product. The theory assumed that production of the new product will occur completely in the home country of its innovation. In the 1960s this was a useful theory to explain the manufacturing success of the United States. US manufacturing was the globally dominant producer in many industries after World War II. It has also been used to describe how the personal computer (PC) went through its product cycle. The PC was a new product in the 1970s and developed into a mature product during the 1980s and 1990s. Today, the PC is in the standardized product stage, and the majority of manufacturing and production process is done in low-cost countries in Asia and Mexico. The product life cycle theory has been less able to explain current trade patterns where innovation and manufacturing occur around the world. For example, global companies even conduct research and development in developing markets where highly skilled labor and facilities are usually cheaper. Even though research and development is typically associated with the first or new product stage and therefore completed in the home country, these developing or emerging-market countries, such as India and China, offer both highly skilled labor and new  research facilities at a substantial cost advantage for global firms. Global Strategic Rivalry Theory Global strategic rivalry theory emerged in the 1980s and was based on the work of economists Paul Krugman and Kelvin Lancaster. Their theory focused on MNCs and their efforts to gain a competitive advantage against other global firms in their industry. Firms will encounter global competition in their industries and in order to prosper, they must develop competitive advantages. The critical ways that firms can obtain a sustainable competitive advantage are called the barriers to entry for that industry. The barriers to entry refer to the obstacles a new firm may face when trying to enter into an industry or new market. The barriers to entry that corporations may seek to optimize include: research and development, the ownership of intellectual property rights, economies of scale, unique business processes or methods as well as extensive experience in the industry, and the control of resources or favorable access to raw materials. Porter’s National Competitive Advantage Theory In the continuing evolution of international trade theories, Michael Porter of Harvard Business School developed a new model to explain national competitive advantage in 1990. Porter’s theory stated that a nation’s competitiveness in an industry depends on the capacity of the industry to innovate and upgrade. His theory focused on explaining why some nations are more competitive in certain industries. To explain his theory, Porter identified four determinants that he linked together. The four determinants are (1) local market resources and capabilities, (2) local market demand conditions, (3) local suppliers and complementary industries, and (4) local firm characteristics. Factor Conditions). Porter recognized the value of the factor proportions theory, which considers a nation’s resources (e.g., natural resources and available labor) as key factors in determining what products a country will import or export. Porter added to these basic factors a new list of adv anced factors, which he defined as skilled labor, investments in education, technology, and infrastructure. He perceived these advanced factors as providing a country with a sustainable competitive advantage. Demand conditions. Porter believed that a sophisticated home  market is critical to ensuring ongoing innovation, thereby creating a sustainable competitive advantage. Companies whose domestic markets are sophisticated, trendsetting, and demanding forces continuous innovation and the development of new products and technologies. Many sources credit the demanding US consumer with forcing US software companies to continuously innovate, thus creating a sustainable competitive advantage in software products and services. Related and Supporting industries. To remain competitive, large global firms benefit from having strong, efficient supporting and related industries to provide the inputs required by the industry. Certain industries cluster geographically, which provides efficiencies and productivity. Local firm characteristics. Local firm characteristics include firm strategy, industry structure, and industry rivalry. Local strategy affects a firm’s competitiveness. A healthy level of rivalry between local firms will spur innovation and competitiveness. In addition to the four determinants of the diamond, Porter also noted that government and chance play a part in the national competitiveness of industries. Governments can, by their actions and policies, increase the competitiveness of firms and occasionally entire industries. Porter’s theory, along with the other modern, firm-based theories, offers an interesting interpretation of international trade trends. Nevertheless, they remain relatively new and minimally tested theories. Today’s Dominate International Trade Theory The theories covered in this reading explain the evolution of the international trade theory. While they have helped economists, governments, and businesses better understand international trade and how to promote, regulate, and manage it, these theories are occasionally contradicted by real-world events. Countries don’t have absolute advantages in many areas of production or services and, in fact, the factors of production aren’t neatly distributed between countries. Some countries have a disproportionate benefit of some factors. The United States has ample arable land that can be used for a wide range of agricultural products. It also has extensive access to capital. While it’s labor pool may not be the cheapest, it is among the best educated in the world. These advantages in the factors of production have helped the United States become the largest and richest economy in the  world. Nevertheless, the United States also imports a vast amount of goods and services, as US consumers use their wealth to purchase what they need and want—much of which is now manufactured in other countries that have sought to create their own comparative advantages through cheap labor, land, or production costs. As a result, it’s not clear that any one theory is dominant around the world. This section has sought to highlight the basics of international trade theory to enable you to understand the realities that face global businesses. In practice, governments and companies use a combination of these theories to both interpret trends and develop strategy. Just as these theories have evolved over the past five hundred years, they will continue to change and adapt as new factors impact international trade.

United Nations Role in Peace and Security

As we all know the UNO is an international organization of almost 192 member countries of the world and was founded – rather replaced by the League of Nations some 63 years back in October 24,1945 in San Francisco, California, shortly after World War -II. No doubt the tragedy, bloodshed, massacre, hunger and nuclear atrocities by the USA gave alarming feelings to the nations to freeing the world from the possibility of wars in future. However, its successes and failures in achieving this objective are still debatable. The UNO as stated above is a renewed precursor body of the League of Nations. So before reviewing the UNO’s functions, it will be worthwhile to look into the history of the League as the new generation is not much aware of its role. LEAGUE OF NATIONS The League was founded after the devastation, slaughter, disaster and atrocities of the world war-I. It was also an international organization set up in accordance with the Treaty of Versailles in 1919-20 with only 58 members. Its major goal consisted of disarmament, prevention of war and settling disputes between the countries. The harbinger of setting up this organization was the United States President Mr. Woodrow Wilson. But surprisingly the Senate of his own country refused to become its member which was, no doubt, a serious blow to the prestige of the League. However, other great powers like the United Kingdom and France remained its members. It was to fulfil the dream of fundamental shift in the thought from the preceding centuries. Unlike the UNO,the League did not have its own armed forces and was dependent on the great powers to enforce its resolutions and peace-making struggles. It could not enforce its three sanctions as envisaged under its covenant. Therefore after,no doubt, a few notable successes, the following failures resulted in its replacement by the United Nations:- 1. In 1931 Japan invaded Manchuria but no effective sanction was imposed on the aggressor. 2. In 1935,Italy attacked Abyssinia but none of the great powers took any notice of it. . 3. Germany was not allowed to join the League in 1919 as it had started the war. 4. Russia was also denied its membership in 1917 being a communist government to pose fear in Western Europe. Eventually these three most powerful countries could not play their positive role in supporting the league. This sort of plight has been stated by Mussolini in a sarcaustic manner as under: â€Å"The League is very well when sparrows shout, but no good at all when eagles fall out† So the League after the end of the first world war was replaced by the UNO in 1945 having remained in existence from 1919 to 1945. THE UNITED NATIONS ORGANISATION After the closure of the League of Nations, the UNO was established on 24th October,1945 but its first General Assembly comprising 51 member countries was held on 10th January,1946 in London. One can well assess that the brunts and tragedies of both the world wars gave a fillip to the idea of revamping the body of the League to play more effective role anew to restore peace and harmony amongst the states. This idea was elaborated in the Declarations signed during war time conferences held in Moscow and Tehran in 1943. Mr. Franklin D. Roosevelt, the President of the USA proposed its name as UNITED NATIONS. Its charter was drafted by the governments as well as non-government organizations like Lion Club International. To start with 51 nations signed the charter of the United Nations. The charter was later ratified by five permanent members of the Security Council viz: USA, UK, France and China, followed by a majority of the other 40 signatories. As a result of the unanimous votes by the U. S. Senate and the House of Representatives, the UNO’s Headquarter were made in the United States. Accordingly U. N. Headquarters building was constructed in New York city in 1949 and 1950 beside the East River on the land purchased by an 8. million dollars donation from John D. Rockefeller. The land is now considered international territory but apart from some diplomatic privileges and immunities, the laws of the New York city,New York state and the U. S. in general do apply. The UNO is supported by some other organizations like the Security Council, UNICEF, WHO, UNESCO and a few more to resolve conflicts and to maintain peace in the world as well as to eliminate illiteracy, poverty, hunger and to enhance respect for human rights. PAKISTAN’S ROLE IN THE UNO. Pakistan is proud to play its role in the peace-keeping missions of the United Nations. Pakistan became its member on 30th September,1947 i. e. just after one month’s creation of it on the world map as a new country. Since 1960, Pakistan is enthusiastically performing its responsibility in the U. N. peace-keeping missions with over ten thousand troops and observers. Currently Pakistan’s involvement in restoring peace in Somalia, Sierra Leon, Bosnia, Congo, Liberia and East Temore have been commended not by the UNO but the world at large. No other country including any muslim state has been that active to contribute this sort of role in the United Nations. This speaks of the valour and vividity of our armed forces on the global impact. Conclusion The first decade of the 21st century is going to complete with both hope and distress co-existing side by side. Peace and development and concept of democracy and equality are still missing in many parts of the world despite our trumpeted slogan of world getting into a global village. No doubt the globalization has drawn countries closer and closer with reference to their economic relationship, advanced means of communications and regional cooperation etc. But these developments are posing some alarming questions to the general public like local wars, revolutions and conflicts coming up from time to time. The Iraq war and situation between Israel and Palestine witnessing tragedies every day. Similarly wars in Africa entangled with poverty and diseases are still continuing. As a matter of fact after the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan on 6th and 8th August,1945, the possession of nuclear device by some countries created a sense of self-protection and safety. In this way the dream of peace and harmony in the world does not seem to be converted into the reality in the near future. But we are not that pessimist because the UNO is undoubtedly a microcosm of the world and despite so many reservations politically, its role in promoting disarmament for a safer future to the posterity cannot be denied. In the global concept its importance and necessity is gaining momentum day by day. It is now the most acclaimed universal representative and authoritative organization with 192 member countries in its present set up and we do hope that it will progress more in the time to come. Those countries who have not become its members so far, should also come forward to strengthen the UNO in general and the present Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-moon In particular.