Multinational Corporations and Nationality Essay

Multinational Corporations and Nationality - Essay Example The present research has identified that much contrary evidence suggests that even the most global of companies remain deeply rooted in the national business systems of their country of origin. Hu and Ruigrok have argued that MNCs exhibit national characteristics. Very few of the worlds largest companies are production highly internationalized as evidenced by very few Fortune top 100 companies have more than half their production facilities or their workforce outside the country of origin. Even though the home base does not account for the bulk of sales, operations, and employment, the home nation is almost always the primary locus of ownership and control. Board and senior management positions are staffed disproportionately - often overwhelmingly - by home country nationals, strategic decisions tend to be made in the home nation, and innovative activities are also disproportionately located there. The connection between national culture and MNC behavior rests on the academic industr y generated by Hofstede's analysis of `cultures consequences. Wong and Birnbaum, for example, have constructed hypotheses about MNC behavior on the basis of Hofstede's analysis of power distance, that is the perception by individuals of the degree of interpersonal power or influence exerted over them by their superiors in the organization. They found that the acceptance of unequal power distances in the banks home society was highly significant in explaining the centralization of authority in the bank operating in Hong Kong. The analysis using Hofstede’s ideas are said to have inconsistencies that make it unreliable. Hofstede came up with his five dimensions and scores with samples taken only from a single company – IBM. McSweeney points out that generalizing results from IBM employees to a global scale is unthinkable because there are no evidence-based reasons for assuming that the average IBM responses reflected ‘the’ national average.

Gender Portrayal in the Film Bad Guy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Gender Portrayal in the Film Bad Guy - Essay Example It starts by a guy (Han-Ki) spotting a young lady (Sun-Hwa) sited on a bench across the street and decides to sit beside her. His constant glare towards her makes her uncomfortable and she sees it as rude. She moves away from her and runs to greet her boyfriend. The man grabs her and forcefully kisses her, the witnessing soldiers intervene beats up this guy. She demands an apology, but the guy remains adamant. It leads to her spitting on him, introducing the hidden desire for obsession and vengeance in motion. It is revealed later that the impetuous, quiet gangster is a pimp. Later, the young girl in the street is implicated in a cash theft which lands her in a brothel. It would be unwise to assume that the theme of Bad Guy is about revenge; the plot revolves around the escapades between captor and captive and the director Kim seems not to be arriving at a particular theme. The beguilingly and controversial climax of the film leaves viewers with hard questions to ponder. Therefore, Bad Guy can be termed as an enigmatic piece of work displaying the common issues affecting the society inclusive of race and gender themes. Kim Ki-duk is known as one of the prolific directors in Korea. He is majorly recognized as a remarkable movie producer outside Korea with his movies receiving a number of international awards. For example, the film Samaritan Girl (2004) has gotten him a prestigious international award for best director in the Silver Bear awards. It is fascinating that despite Kim Ki-duk’s international identification as a leading movie director in Korea, back in South Korea his reputation is mixed with many controversies. He has many discontented detractors and a small flock of enthusiastic supporters. He is well reckoned for his unreserved and painterly images.

Social Responsibility in Business Research Paper

Social Responsibility in Business - Research Paper Example Generally, a company that takes corporate social responsibility is profitable, and the overall benefits of doing it overweight that of the disadvantages. The key notion in corporate social responsibility is being responsible when it comes to the society a company operates within. Nowadays, human civilization faces multidimensional problems that are impossible to ignore by communities and governments. There is a growing concern in the society of a great number of burning issues that are global in scope. Environmental problems, such as climate change and air pollution, and social issues, such as poverty and soaring level of unemployment, have become persistent trends all over the world. That is why customers tend to pay more to the companies that share these concerns and display a forward-thinking mindset. Today more and more companies are engaging in corporate social responsibility by creating or participating in initiatives that are good to the society and benefit communities (Aramian, 2009). The awareness of social and environmental problems is constantly growing among the people. Both national and local governments all over the globe tend to defer to public demands and push through stricter environmental and social standards, which is another reason why engaging in corporate social responsibility has become increasingly beneficial for companies. The policy of companies that implies consistent and effective self-regulation ensuring compliance with ethical standards and requirements of law is advantageous in many ways. But one of the main reasons for implementation of self-discipline practices and use of corporate social responsibility strategy is that it might help companies avoid unnecessary government intervention in business. For instance, the issue of environmental pollution is a brilliant illustration for this thesis. In order to avoid government intervention, an

Marketing in Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Marketing in Practice - Essay Example Research was done that indicated the student’s use of the online digital library and the data collected showed that many students are not actually using the services of the library and this impairs reaching the objectives of the plan. This report thus gives an in-depth account of social marketing theory and the related secondary materials that were used to understand the situation of the Birmingham library. With reference to this, appropriate objective and recommendation are given in this report to ensure that the students adopt the new provision as expected by the university; it is to be achieved using social marketing for behaviour change (Weinreich 2011, p.45). Action plan for the implementation of the recommendation is also given as well as the controls of the same program in Birmingham library. Introduction The tradition and role of social marketing is to ensure that marketing is applied together with other concepts and techniques that will culminate into the social good of the targeted group of people (Alder 2010, p.24). The difference between social marketing and commercial marketing should thus be palpable, in social marketing; the driving agenda is not finances as the case with commercial marketing, they tend skew their interest to pursue social good (Pintado, 2007: p. 32). Birmingham Library is a university library that houses all genres of academic materials from sciences to humanities, with the population of the student’s numbers increasing every academic intake (Krol 2010, p.38). There is urgent need then to ensure that some of the services that are currently offered physically in the library are decentralized so that students can have access to the information even without visiting the library premises (Lazer, William, and Eugene 2006, p.20). This proposed idea is supposed to use online library services to enable students to access online books using their tablets, lap top computers, and phone while they are outside that university l ibrary (Kotler and Nancy 2008, p.16). This development will not only help in decongesting the library that is currently receiving high level of traffic movement of students but will also be useful in serving the student’s convenience of using library services in various places including within the hostel without having to move into the library (Burcher 2012, p.19). The university thus wants to use social marketing as a way of advising the students on the available options of accessing the library services without having to borrow physical books (Penford, 2011: p. 37). This is deemed to be of social good to the student as they will have the books in soft copy and can use them anytime without having to visit the library every time. On the other hand, the university will also benefit in the sense that they will be able to accommodate the needs of all the students because only those students who want to engage in those issues that cannot be done outside the library will be in at any particular time. The university will also mitigate on the losses that are realized when textbooks are borrowed by the students from the library (Sarki, 2006: p. 12). This move will be highly beneficial to the student’s body and they should be advised to explore this option through social marketing

Has the IMF played a condtructive or destructive role Does it serve Essay - 1

Has the IMF played a condtructive or destructive role Does it serve any purpose in the 21st century - Essay Example The IMF has grown and experienced changes over the last years. Many have embraced this change, while there has been some that have not accepted it. Its members have been increasing, from the initial thirty to over 188 members. This organisation claims to foster financial stability, global monetary corporation and economic stability to its members (Freytag pg 20-30). Its objectives are geared towards promoting international economic, Corporation, creation of employment, establishing sustainable exchange rate and availing funding to its member states. The role of the international fund about the 21st century is addressed by analysing the success and failure rate. Since its debut, this organisation has funded numerous nations, where there has been failure or success. The facts present a concrete factor that present this organisation as failing. Though there are success cases, the failures often lower the impact of these cases. One notable case is the one witnessed in Tanzania. After the IMF stepped in to save this declining economy, its economy lowered. The employment rate decreased and the literacy level dropped. All this occurred within period from 1985 to 2000 (Research Activities of the International Monetary Fund: January 1991-December 1998 pg 26-30) Conclusively, the role played by this organisation cannot be ignored. It continuously helps nations to recover from economic failures. It is lending surveillance police have benefited many and still proves to in years to come. In order to change the faulty image over the years, there must be some adjustments. This adjustment will enhance its role and make it productive as many presume it to

Background and Methodology of the Research Process to Problems in Health Care Essay Example for Free

Background and Methodology of the Research Process to Problems in Health Care Essay Background and Methodology of the Research Process to Problems in Health Care Childhood Obesity HCS/465 August 2, 2012 Donald Steacy Introduction The purpose of the paper is to show how to develop and understand methodology of the research process when pertaining to health care. The process consists of retrieving a peer-reviewed article and applying the research methodology to the article selected. The article selected for the research methodology was Childhood Obesity: A Global Public Health Crisis written by Sameera Karnik and Amar Kanekar written January 2012. Based on the information in the article will help determine the methods of defining the problem, the purpose of the study, research questions, hypothesis, study variables, conceptual model, the review of related literature and the study design of the selected article. Definition of Problem The problem addressed in the article is childhood obesity. â€Å"Childhood obesity is a major public health crisis nationally and internationally† (Karnik amp; Kaneka, 2012, para. 1. ) The concerns for childhood obesity have grown to a government level requiring action to help children to eat healthy and encourage physical activity. One of the causes for childhood obesity is an imbalance between calorie intake and calories utilized. Several factors such as genetics, behavioral and environmental can enhance the chances of childhood obesity. The concerns for childhood obesity have grown as well as the number of children suffering from this condition. The importance to educate parents and children on eating healthy has become vital to children’s health. The urgency to stop the epidemic of obesity is because children can develop long-term illnesses. The illnesses contracted due to childhood obesity are diabetes, heart disease, physical and social health problems. Purpose of Study The purpose of the study is to determine how to tackle childhood obesity at a population level by education, prevention, and sustainable interventions (Karnik amp; Kaneka, 2012). Further education is required for parents and children to help promote healthy eating and provide nutritional facts. Parent education is vital to help parents understand how their practices for healthy eating may not be effective and how to improve parenting skills in nutrition. Educating parents, facilities and children is required to show how to promote healthy eating; physical activity can prevent long-term illnesses. Intervention for parents of those children currently suffering from childhood obesity is vital to help with knowing good nutrition vs. bad nutrition. Intervention will also help parents understand about how to help their children eat healthy, help with physical activity and eliminate the chances of long-term illnesses Research Questions Is childhood obesity about a matter of genetics, poor eating habits, behavioral factors or lack of physical activity? Hypothesis Why is childhood obesity a growing concern for the United States and internationally? a. Childhood obesity can be a genetic issue b. Childhood obesity exists due to lack of physical activity c. Childhood obesity can cause diabetes, heart disease, social and psychological issues d. Childhood obesity exists because of poor eating habits Study Variables The independent variable would consist of the following question: poor eating habits leads to childhood obesity? The dependent variable consists of child hood obesity can lead to diabetes, heart disease, social and psychological concerns. Conceptual Model The meaning of a conceptual model is a type of diagram, which shows the relationship between factors that impact or lead to a target condition or a diagram that shows the theoretical entities and the relationship between them. The conceptual diagram above reflects the relationship between poor eating habits, genetics and poor physical activity that leads to childhood obesity. The contributing factors listed above all contribute to childhood obesity if not properly taken into consideration by parents. Literature Review Childhood obesity has become an epidemic over the years nationally and internationally. The increasingly amount of children suffering from childhood obesity has grown over the years. One or more factors contribute to the development of childhood obesity. Such factors are genetics, behavioral (poor eating habits) and environmental (physical activity). Childhood obesity can cause physical, psychological, and social health problems (Karnik amp; Kaneka, 2012). On the other hand, the most recent strategy used is interventions to prevent and control childhood obesity (Karnik amp; Kaneka, 2012,). The purpose of the article is to discover the factors influencing childhood obesity as well as the use of various interventions and governmental actions addressing obesity while getting an understanding of the challenges for managing the epidemic. Study Design The study design used in the article research was he historical study design. The authors of the article used scholarly articles from Medline, Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) to determine the factors of childhood obesity (Karnik amp; Kaneka, 2012). The authors also collected data from a time span of 1999 – 2011 to further gain details from the selected sources to draw a conclusion of analysis. The utilization of the scholarly resources was used to determine the contributing factors for the epidemic of childhood obesity. If interventions such as school based, family based, community based, play based and hospital based are an effective way to address childhood obesity (Karnik amp; Kaneka, 2012). The authors did not study a particular organization but rather used a variety of sources to further their research method. Conclusion Overall, the research process is very extensive and certain methods are used to help gather information. The process starts with retrieving a scholarly peer-reviewed article pertaining to healthcare. After determining, what topic to use it is important to use these methods gain knowledge of analysis.

The Puritan And Deist Doctrines

The Puritan And Deist Doctrines Many Americans and historians abroad consider The United States founding and independence to be closely associated with religious reasons and purposes. This is true of course, but Protestant and Puritan ideologies were not the only things affecting the newborn countrys independence in 1776. While most of its Founding Fathers were of the Puritan faith and background, some of its key revolutionaries were in fact of a different, often overlooked, religion: Deism. These faiths did not often disagree while on the subject of founding a country, but they certainly did when the notions of God and human nature were concerned. One avid Deist, Benjamin Franklin, repented from Puritanism to Deism and wrote several pieces on his religion. Puritans such as John Winthrop and Michael Wigglesworth also wrote of their faith and how it affected their daily lives and thinking. Puritans and Deists had very different views on the nature of God, human nature and its origins, and the relationship between th e two. One major difference between the Puritan and Deist doctrines was that of the Character (or nature) of God. For the Deists, they believed that God was all-wise, all-good, all powerful (Franklin, 26). One major reason Deists believed and developed this fundamental doctrine was the use of critical thinking or reason. Benjamin Franklin, the major Deist this paper will discuss, had a clear logical thinking path from which he rarely deviated. This logical thinking led him while a teenager to renounce Puritan beliefs. As a boy who sought knowledge in books, he found some who led him to believe in a different God, one who was a Universal God, and not just a Christian God. He wrote A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain, in which he laid out a step-by-step logical argument of why God was good and why evil did not exist: I. There is said to be a First Mover, who is called GOD, Maker of the Universe. II. He is said to be all-wise, all-good, all powerful. III. If He is all-go od, whatsoever He doth must be goodà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. [V.] what He [God] consents to must be good, because He is good; therefore Evil doth not exist (Franklin, 26). Franklin goes on to say that everything God does can only be, and will only be good and that evil, which does not exist, cannot be permitted by God if it did exist: But this [God permitting evil for a wise end] Objection destroys itself; for whatever an infinitely good God hath wise Ends in suffering to be, must be good, is thereby made good, and cannot be otherwise (Franklin, 26-27). Franklin would later on slightly recant this idea, saying that his doctrine of no evil was not very useful (Franklin, 29). Franklins God was universal, the epitome and definition of good, and could not create or tolerate any kind of evil. While Franklin was convinced that the nature of his God was nothing but good, the Puritans believed something quite the contrary. The Puritan beliefs of God can be seen in writings and historical accounts: they wrote and viewed the nature of God as vengeful and wrathful- a Harbinger of justice and punishment. Michael Wigglesworth, who authored the then famous poem, The Day of Doom, wrote that the Son of God came to judge both Quick and Dead (Wigglesworth, 3) on the Day of Judgment. In his poem, Wigglesworth implies that only a few will escape (by grace) the wrath and be united with God, the rest being doomed to eternal judgment and torment in Hell. (This idea of predestination will be discussed in detail later.) John Dane, another Puritan, symbolically attributed Gods wrath to two separate occasions with a bee sting, which symbolized Danes sin and Christ on the cross. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦it struck my finger, and water and blood [symbolizing the crucifixion of Christ] came out of ità ¢Ã¢â €š ¬Ã‚ ¦God would find me out (Dane, 9). However, the Puritans did not believe God was completely bad, since they wrote of his loving care and providence in times of need and spiritual weakness. In her memoirs, Mary Rowlandson recognized Gods blessings through her captivity. She considers the attack and captivity to be Gods punishment, but also sees his protection and help through her survival: the wonderful goodness of God to me, in preserving me soà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ that [I] did not use wicked and violent means to end my own miserable life (Rowlandson, 16). The Puritans view of the nature of God is almost like that of a bipolar father, providing for his children when they most need it, but having indignation for any small error. Similar to his view on God, Franklins view on human nature was that all humans were the incarnation of God created by God. According to Franklins doctrinal logic, since God is good, all of His creations must be basically good; basically we do not have a sin nature (or inheritance) at birth. If a Creature is made by God, it must depend upon God, and receive all its Power from Himà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦because He is Good; therefore a Creature can do nothing but what is good (Franklin, 27). Franklin goes on to refute the idea of concentrating on an afterlife. He argues that because our bodies will experience Pleasure and Pain (complete opposites) in equal amounts in this life, there is no point to having an afterlife, or being able to recall a previous life. But since Pain naturally and infallibly produces a Pleasure in proportion to it, every individual Creature must, in any State of Life, have an equal Quantity of each, so that there is not, on that Account, any Occasion for a future Adjustme nt [afterlife] (Franklin, 28). (This belief is direct contrast with the Puritan thinking that this life is a time of punishment that will soon end with constant pleasure in union with God, if we should be so fortunate to receive Gods grace.) Deists and Puritans had very different views on human nature. For the Puritans, human nature was wretched and unredeemable through good works. For Franklin, humans are good and capable of improvement. He said that life is worthless without improvement. This improvement, or practice of virtues, was an integral part of Franklins daily routine. He concentrated on the practice and retrospect of virtues not only to try to achieve moral perfection, but also to better himself financially: I from thence considered industry [a Franklin virtue] as a means of obtaining wealth and distinction (Franklin, 32). But for the Puritans, human nature was a sin nature, inherited from Adam, and passed down unbroken from generation to generation we had no chance of starting with a clean slate, it was already tainted. The Massachusetts Governor John Winthrop made this very clear to his audience in 1645: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦our nature is now corrupt (because all people are sinners)à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦[our nature] is common to man with beasts and other creatures (Winthrop, 1). The puritans believed strongly, as Wigglesworth explain in The Day of Doom, that all humans were deserving of Hell. They thought of Hell not as their punishment from God, but as their punishment for sin nature, and they thought Gods grace to save some as an unnecessary mercy. Opposite of this belief, Franklin believed that humans were able to achieve a better moral standard. Eventually Franklin even resorted to daily prayer, although Catholic in nature. He thought it right and necessary to solicit his assistance for obtaining it [wisdom]; to this end I formed the following little prayer (Franklin, 34). Contradictory to the Deist view of human nature, the Puritans thought life could not get better, and the doctrine of predestination did not help their morale either. They strongly believed in predestination, the belief that God already knew and commanded that some souls would perish (even the infantile or mentally incapacitated) and some souls would be saved humans had no choice in the matter. There was no hope; God commanded sin and damnation. Salvation was not merit-based, but your bad works would damn you (Wigglesworth, 4). John Dane thought of his nature as being so bad that to end his life [he did not, fortunately] would be better than to continue living in sin: I ought of two evils to choose the least; and that it was a greater evil to live and to sin against God than to kill myself (Dane, 11). Franklin, however, invented many things throughout his life solely for the betterment of mankind, just as he thought a persons life could be improved. He reflected on his attempt at i ndividual perfection: I wasà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a better and a happier man than I otherwise should have been if I had not attempted it (Franklin, 34). For Franklin, the human nature could use a tune up, but was not flawed from conception and things could only get better. The Puritans saw only a lose-lose situation, for all of their efforts of attaining merit were forfeit: living was sinning; and sin is our nature. The Puritans and Deists also had very different views on the relationship between God and human nature. For the Puritans, it was a cycle of wrath and punishment. God was wrathful because the creation he made, mankind, became tainted and sinful through inherited sinful nature. Thomas Shepard, an English minister, said that the human heart (nature) was full of atheism, sodomy, blasphemy, murder, whoredom, adultery, witchcraft, buggeryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Your best duties are tainted, poisoned, mingled with some sin, and therefore are most odious in the eyes of a holy God (Wigglesworth, 4). Since the Puritans believed in this type of sin nature, of course it made sense that their holy God would want to punish and rid them of such bad behavior God was wrathful because of their sin. Deists also believed in a cyclic sort of relationship between God and human nature, but their cycle ran the opposite route. They believed human nature was basically good because a good God created it. It was like a skilled watchmaker letting his work shine without his constant watchful eye and tiny tools; he (the watchmaker) was good, therefore his good work did not need constant assistance it could be released as a well-oiled machine. After viewing the evidence and doctrines of Deist and Puritan views, it is very perplexing to think that such differences could lead to a declaration of independence and constitution, both with a religious backdrop. The Puritans believed in a wrathful God who punished people for their flawed human nature that He created and encouraged (sin caused by God). On the contrary, the Deists believed in an all-good God who let his good creations with a good human nature be out from under His constant control. But we know that even through these differences the men on both sides remained mostly civil and friendly to each other. For instance, Benjamin Franklin was a good friend of George Whitfield. He gave to his ministries on several occasions and vouched for his character even though they had no religious connection (Franklin, 40). However civil they might have been to one another, we still can clearly see that Puritans and Deists had very different views on the nature of God, human nature, a nd their relationship.