Essay --

Introduction Arcor est une socià ©tà © argentine fondà ©e en 1951 par Fulvio Salvador Pagani à   Arroyito, Cordoba. La socià ©tà © est dans l'industrie alimentaire, dans ses produits, nous pouvons trouver de la nourriture, biscuits, crà ¨mes glacà ©es, bonbons et chocolat. Son objectif comme socià ©tà © est d'à ©laborer des produits de qualità © accessibles à   tous les consommateurs dans tout le monde. Arcor est le premier producteur de bonbons dans le monde et la plus grande socià ©tà © argentine avec le plus ouvert marchà ©s, il y a des usines en Argentine, au Pà ©rou, au Mexique, au Brà ©sil et au Chili, l'exportation vers 120 pays sur les cinq continents. Aussi, Arcor fait son propre emballage et il est le premier producteur de cartons en Argentine. Ses revenus sont d'environ 3,300 millions de dollars (C.A) et compte environ 20,000 employà ©s. En 2005, Arcor fait un partenariat avec Danone, ils faisant la plus grande entreprise de biscuits et de cà ©rà ©ales en Amà ©rique du Sud, Bagley Latinoamerica SA. En 2006, une alliance stratà ©gique avec Bimbo au Mexique pour la distribution de chocolats et de bonbons sur le Mexique et le reste du monde a à ©tà © fait. Depuis 2004 Arcor dà ©cidà © participer à   la RSE, et en 2009 ce concept de la RSE passer à   un concept plus abarcative et complà ¨te de la durabilità © et soutenabilità ©. Dans son plan de dà ©veloppement durable Arcor a dà ©fini cinq à ©tapes ils respecter pour rendre leur entreprise, ils sont; 1. Utilisation rationnelle de l'eau. 2. L'efficacità © à ©nergà ©tique et la minimisation des impacts qui contribuent au changement climatique mondial. 3. Utilisation rationnelle de l’emballage. 4. Une alimentation saine. 5. Respect et la protection des droits des travailleurs. Ajoutà © à   cela, les actions groupe Arcor rend les actions plus humani... ...ccà ¨s dans toutes les rà ©gions. En 2012 est effectuà ©e à   la production de cà ©rà ©ales, un marchà © du monde en pleine croissance et hautement concurrentiel. Fournisseurs La relation d'Arcor avec ses fournisseurs est une relation dans laquelle cherche un dà ©veloppement durable et soutenu à   travers d'une relation à   long terme qui supportera ceux-ci à   à ªtre intà ©grà © encore plus à   la chaà ®ne de valeur d’Arcor. Arcor veut porter cette forte relation avec ses fournisseurs à   ses produits pour qu'elle les soit transmise à   ses consommateurs puisque son objectif est d'obtenir l'excellence et la qualità © en ses produits et les services. Le but d’Arcor avec ses fournisseurs dans leurs mots  « Nous avons besoin d'Arcor fournisseurs qui partagent la philosophie de l'entreprise donc cherchà © à   à ©tablir des relations de confiance à   long terme. Grà ¢ce à   une gestion durable de la chaà ®ne de valeur  » Essay -- Introduction Arcor est une socià ©tà © argentine fondà ©e en 1951 par Fulvio Salvador Pagani à   Arroyito, Cordoba. La socià ©tà © est dans l'industrie alimentaire, dans ses produits, nous pouvons trouver de la nourriture, biscuits, crà ¨mes glacà ©es, bonbons et chocolat. Son objectif comme socià ©tà © est d'à ©laborer des produits de qualità © accessibles à   tous les consommateurs dans tout le monde. Arcor est le premier producteur de bonbons dans le monde et la plus grande socià ©tà © argentine avec le plus ouvert marchà ©s, il y a des usines en Argentine, au Pà ©rou, au Mexique, au Brà ©sil et au Chili, l'exportation vers 120 pays sur les cinq continents. Aussi, Arcor fait son propre emballage et il est le premier producteur de cartons en Argentine. Ses revenus sont d'environ 3,300 millions de dollars (C.A) et compte environ 20,000 employà ©s. En 2005, Arcor fait un partenariat avec Danone, ils faisant la plus grande entreprise de biscuits et de cà ©rà ©ales en Amà ©rique du Sud, Bagley Latinoamerica SA. En 2006, une alliance stratà ©gique avec Bimbo au Mexique pour la distribution de chocolats et de bonbons sur le Mexique et le reste du monde a à ©tà © fait. Depuis 2004 Arcor dà ©cidà © participer à   la RSE, et en 2009 ce concept de la RSE passer à   un concept plus abarcative et complà ¨te de la durabilità © et soutenabilità ©. Dans son plan de dà ©veloppement durable Arcor a dà ©fini cinq à ©tapes ils respecter pour rendre leur entreprise, ils sont; 1. Utilisation rationnelle de l'eau. 2. L'efficacità © à ©nergà ©tique et la minimisation des impacts qui contribuent au changement climatique mondial. 3. Utilisation rationnelle de l’emballage. 4. Une alimentation saine. 5. Respect et la protection des droits des travailleurs. Ajoutà © à   cela, les actions groupe Arcor rend les actions plus humani... ...ccà ¨s dans toutes les rà ©gions. En 2012 est effectuà ©e à   la production de cà ©rà ©ales, un marchà © du monde en pleine croissance et hautement concurrentiel. Fournisseurs La relation d'Arcor avec ses fournisseurs est une relation dans laquelle cherche un dà ©veloppement durable et soutenu à   travers d'une relation à   long terme qui supportera ceux-ci à   à ªtre intà ©grà © encore plus à   la chaà ®ne de valeur d’Arcor. Arcor veut porter cette forte relation avec ses fournisseurs à   ses produits pour qu'elle les soit transmise à   ses consommateurs puisque son objectif est d'obtenir l'excellence et la qualità © en ses produits et les services. Le but d’Arcor avec ses fournisseurs dans leurs mots  « Nous avons besoin d'Arcor fournisseurs qui partagent la philosophie de l'entreprise donc cherchà © à   à ©tablir des relations de confiance à   long terme. Grà ¢ce à   une gestion durable de la chaà ®ne de valeur  »

Planning a Birthday

Planning a birthday party may seem like a simple project, but it may be difficult and require a lot of work. In order to plan a successful party, you need to have excellent organizational skills, find a good location, secure a sufficient budget and have plenty volunteers. Beginning the process, you will need to have excellent organizational skills. This comes in handy as you figure out a list of people to invite including, family relatives, friends, and co-workers. You may fill out invitation cards and get them in the mail at least one week before the party. You need to give the guests enough time to R. S. V. P, so you will know how many people will be attending the birthday party. If you have the party at your house you will need to invite your neighbors. Having a party at your home sometimes comes with a lot of noise, your guests may park their cars by your neighbor’s house and you don’t want to trouble your neighbors. After you know how many people will be joining the birthday party, you need to start compiling a list of food, alcohol beverages, soft drinks, and party supplies such as paper plates, plastic forks, cups, napkins, decoration, games and possibly entertainment. Next choose an appropriate location to have your event. Possible places are: restaurants, clubs, hotel suites, ballrooms or your house. Let’s say you decide to have a party at your house. You have an advantage because you do not necessarily have to hire a catering company. Instead you can show off your cooking skills, and impress your guests. Another reason is that most of your guest already knows your home location and it will be easy for your guest to find the birthday party. Also having a party at your home will save some budget as compared to renting a place. If you decide host a party at some type of venue then more goes into preparing your party. For example, you choose your house as the place for the party. On the other hand, if you have a good budget and your home cannot fit a lot of guests, then you probably need to rent a place such as a hall. Final step, you will need to have a budget. One of the worst things that could happen is you plan everything and realize you do not have enough money. A good budget will help you watch your expenses. For example, if your budget is $1,000. 00 dollars for a birthday party, you can spend $600. 00 on food, drinks, and supplies and $300. 00 for hiring a DJ and $100. 00 for decorations. In conclusion throwing birthday parties take lots of planning and time management.

Public Relations Professionals and Educators

As Michael Winkleman described, public relations professionals and educators are currently engaged in a vigorous discussion of the role of ethics within the profession and the means by which ethics can be taught to both public relations students and professionals. According to Winkleman, the rise in concern over ethical issues can be traced to the reaction of the profession to events in the 1980s, which included high-profile instances of insider-trading and covert government foreign policy activities. In addition, the ethical debate is thriving because corporations have realized that they have to pay more attention to social demands and be more responsive to â€Å"stakeholders. † This realization has paralleled the move from theoretical ethics to applied ethics. Winkleman's conclusion is that ethics are crucial for public relations because they will benefit the profession and the companies for which the public relations work. Ultimately, ethics are good for business. In addition, there is empirical evidence suggesting that public relations professionals basing their decision-making and recommendations to management on ethical principles and social responsibility are more likely to have a greater role in management decisions and activities. The result of this concern over ethics in the public relations field has resulted in a vigorous debate over the pros and cons of a universal ethics code. Many writers agree, despite their differences, that not only does ethical decision-making give public relations professionals more opportunities to participate in the management function, but it also assists the development of public relations as a â€Å"profession. † Ethics and social responsibility are also vital issues in public relations because public relations facilitates communication among the company and its many publics, including society at large. As Pratt notes, there are three main points that result from all the empirical research conducted on practitioner ethics. First, â€Å"they underscore the notion that ethics is an important issue practitioners confront. † Second, â€Å"they suggest that practitioners cannot ignore public (and industry wide) evaluation of their professional ethics and that corporate managements need to continually institute ethics in the workplace. † Third, â€Å"they suggest that older practitioners can help set an organization's ethical tone. However, as will be discussed later, Donald K. Wright convincingly argues that ethical behavior is performed by practitioners primarily out of a sense of personal morality and wanting to be respected by his/her various publics, rather than as a result of vague, codified ethical guidelines. Perhaps, what makes the subject of ethics difficult to address from a pragmatic point of view within public relations is the paucity of empirical research and theoretical writing on public relations ethics. This is surprising given that 75% of the educators at a recent AEJMC conference stated that ethics was an important aspect of their teaching and that PRSA members, in a questionnaire, voted the Code of Professional Standards to be the most important member benefit. Many educators are currently urging public relations practitioners to adopt a universal code of ethics. The interest in this topic is evidenced by the special issue of Public Relations Review from the spring of 1993 entirely devoted to the subject of ethics. Naturally, the problem will arise in developing a code that can specifically address each specific morally problematic situation. Possibly due to this problem, some of the writers addressing this issue have been somewhat non- specific in delineating the actual components of an ethical code. However, others such as Hunt and Tirpok have suggested the framework for a code and the strategy for its employment. Kruckeberg believes that increased globalized trade has hastened the need for an international (universal) code of ethics for communicators. In analyzing the functions of transnational corporations, he describes four social benefits these companies provide to Third World countries: â€Å"(1) development of human resources through employment, training, and indigenization†¦ ;(2) strengthening the knowledge base through research and development and the transfer of technology; (3) raising standards of living through the creation of wealth, encouraging local industry and providing consumer goods; and (4) enhancing the quality of life by assisting programs that raise standards in health, housing, nutrition, and education. Given that a transnational corporation is actually able to produce these benefits in Third World nations, they are indeed meeting demands of social responsibility. However, Kruckeberg notes that many corporations have encountered criticism relating to graft and corruption issues, consumer issues, environmental/human safety issues, and political/humanitarian issues. For example, Nestle was embroiled in a controversy surrounding their marketing practices in the Third World of breast milk substitutes. Nestle responded effectively and in a socially responsible manner in 1981 by endorsing the World Health Organization's Code of Marketing for Breast Milk Substitutes the day the measure was enacted and assembled experts to monitor the company's compliance with the Code. Kruckeberg suggests that a code of ethics could be developed that would be â€Å"capable of guiding behavior which attempts to resolve the inherent moral dilemmas [of the four types of criticism previous described] as well as other dilemmas that have occurred or potentially could occur. Many of the codes currently in existence do not take into account the particular responsibilities of transnational corporations. However, despite weaknesses in ethical codes they serve four valuable functions: (1) providing guidelines for practitioner activities, (2) demonstrating what clients and supervisors should expect from practitioners, (3) providing basis for charges of wrongdoing, and (4) providing defense against charges of wrongdoing. The new code of ethics should be developed under the leadership of professional communicators from multinational companies, but there should be input from all members of the professional public relations associations. Hunt and Tirpok extend Kruckeberg's argument and suggest that the public relations profession needs to establish a universal ethics code. In addition, they suggest an actual framework for the code and provide a strategy for its adoption. Hunt and Tirpok believe that a universal code of ethics ought to apply to all communications professions, uniting public relations and journalism in this sense, but that the code must be adaptable to the needs of the individual professions. While journalism's purpose is most often objectivity, public relations' purpose is often advocacy. In this manner, public relations practitioners share the general nature of their purpose with lawyers. Nonetheless, â€Å"all systems and codes of ethics seem to be rooted in the same fundamental principles and similar values. Their suggestion for an actual code is that it deal with first order concerns, such as â€Å"keeping faith with the public† and â€Å"achieving consensus,† not specific communications situations, since no code could possibly address all these situations. The timetable for developing and adopting the code would take six years. The first stage would be organizing and conducting a conference of academics and representatives of professional organizations with the purpose of drafting the code. In the second phase encompassing two years, a task force would visit the professional organizations with the aim of obtaining suggestions for modification, implementation, and dissemination of the code. The third phase would involve the ratification and implementation of the code. In the final stage, the code would be published and publicized â€Å"to inform target publics about the code and its importance to global communication. † There have been objections to the implementation of a universal ethics code on the grounds that public relations cannot be defined, that anyone can practice public relations due to First Amendment-type rights, and that there are differences within the global community as to what constitutes ethical behavior. Kruckeberg dismisses the criticism of cultural relativists who argue against a universal ethics code citing Asuncion-Lande's recommendation that in distinguishing â€Å"between what is universal and what is distinctive in the ethics of different cultures, ethicists should develop an inventory. This inventory of universal ethics would include â€Å"culturally sanctioned rules of ‘proper' interpersonal conduct, i. e. rules which serve to preserve order and to promote social harmony and unity and which provide stability of human relationships in a rapidly changing world. † Complications in Establishing Effective Ethics Programs A significant problem in the functioning of many corporate ethics programs that undermines its success is that fact that many of these programs are so general and short on specifics, as well as not being equipped to address complex problems. An ideal example is Dow Corning. For years Dow was recognized by business educators as leaders in the area of corporate ethics programs. In 1976, Dow's chairman John S. Ludington established a Business Conduct Committee and Dow also set up ethics training sessions for employees and audits every three years to monitor compliance with the company's ethical guidelines. Nonetheless, there were indications as early as 1977 that the breast implants manufactured by Dow were unsafe. The question raised by Eric Schine was why did the audits monitoring ethical compliance not discover this information. His answer is that â€Å"for the most part, ethics programs aren't designed to deal directly with complex problems. Instead, they are there only to help cultivate an overall environment of proper conduct. † Similar problems occurred at McDonnell Douglas despite their extensive ethics program. In the late 1970's and early 1980's, defense contractors were accused of severe overcharging of the government and some of these contractors were required to compensate the government for the overcharging. In addition, the Iran-contra scandal further tainted the image of defense contractors. In 1980, Sanford McDonnell became Chairman and CEO of McDonnell Douglas and established the company's ethics program because of his conviction that ethics must be woven into the decision process at all steps through all levels of authority. In 1983, McDonnell instigated a study to determine the best course of ethics training for MDC employees. The MDC training program developed a conceptual model for defining ethical decision making. More than 75,000 employees took part in the training seminars. Subsequent to the implementation of the program, the company discovered the following: ethics became an acceptable topic for discussion, Sanford McDonnell's personal participation in the videotape sent a strong message, the case study approach highlighted ethical issues with practical benefits, employees found they did not have to face ethical issues alone, an increased sense of pride developed among the employees, and MDC issued a new policy and procedures manual relative to pricing and contracting with the government. Some of the lessons learned by MDC that could be transferable to other entities include: ethics training should be pragmatic and managerial in nature, strong leadership is needed from the top and implementation must be from the top down, managers must serve as role models, there must be a standardized training procedure and workshops should utilize a participative process. Center and Jackson's main point about the MDC case is that â€Å"a track record of exemplary conduct builds slowly. It requires constant tending. An honorable reputation is both precious and fragile. Opponents or competitors are rearmed by infractions. † In 1988, investigations by the Justice Department, FBI and the Navy, showed evidence of bribery, fraud, and kickbacks in defense contracting. MDC was among the 75 companies named in the investigation. According to Donald K. Wright, voluntary ethics codes are largely ineffective because there is no enforcement mechanism and the codes are only as good as the people who subscribe to them. Much of this criticism is directed at codes of the professional associations. He feels that many codes are just filled with â€Å"meaningless rhetoric. Ultimately, public relations practitioners conduct themselves according to ethical principles because â€Å"they believe in themselves and want others to respect them. † Ethical behavior is not the result of adherence to codes, but rather to the individual practitioner's sense of personal morality. Wright conducted a study to examine the ethical and moral values of practitioners with the major premise of the study being that â€Å"public relations never will be any more ethical than the level of basic ethical morality of the people who are in public relations. He found that the structure of moral values of American practitioners is based on socio-economic morality, religious morality, basic morality, puritanical morality, basic social responsibility morality, and financial morality. Some corporations have addressed the problem cited by Wright, namely that ethics codes are often ineffective when they are not accompanied by enforcement mechanisms. For instance, General Dynamics instituted a comprehensive ethics program aimed at situations involving anti-trust, political contributions, international business, inside information, and corporate resources. Crucial to this program is the possibility of sanctions for infractions, including penalties ranging from warnings to dismissals and criminal proceedings. In terms of professional associations, PRSA developed its first statement of principles in 1950 and its code of professional standards in 1959. Between 1952 and 1985, 168 cases were investigated, with only 10 cases resulting in sanctions. However, the chairman of PRSA's Board of Ethics and Professional Standards, Donald McCammond, claims the â€Å"enforcement procedure gives the Code its teeth, makes it a deterrent in addition to a set of guidelines. Greater Opportunities for Participation in Management Policy Decisions A distinctive benefit of improving social responsibility and ethical decision- making among public relations practitioners is that it will enhance their credibility and increase their opportunities for participating in management policy decisions. Judd conducted a study to test the hypothesis that there is a â€Å"positive relationship between public relations recommending socially responsible actions and public relations participating in policy decisions. One hundred members listed in the 1986-87 Register of the Public Relations Journal were asked, â€Å"Are you aware of situations where public relations has recommended changes in what the organization does or what it produces in order to satisfy the responsibility of the organization to society? † In addition, respondents were asked whether responsibility to the client/employer or to society is more important and were asked a number of questions addressing public relations' credibility in relation to other professions and ways in which credibility could be improved. The study did find a significant relationship at the statistical significance level of . 05 that recommendations of socially responsible actions translated into higher participation in policy decisions. Judd connects these findings to Bernays' opinion that feeling more responsible to society and less motivated by financial rewards marks the development of a profession. This increase in involvement in policy decisions also illustrates public relations strong credibility with management in these cases. Hence, the value of Judd's study is that it shows concern for socially responsible actions among public relations practitioners define public relations as a profession, involve practitioners more intimately in management policy decisions, and improve the credibility of the profession. Judd's study also found that 65% of the respondents viewed responsibility to society as more important than responsibility to the client/employer; in effect, they view themselves as a corporate conscience. In this sense then, public relations practitioners, at least those surveyed, view their ultimate purpose as that of a counselor as opposed to the traditionally assigned role of public relations people as advocates. Grunig fundamentally conceives of public relations as a critical element of the management function. Public relations is â€Å"an essential management function because of its contribution to the long-term, strategic management of the organization. In particular, public relations is involved in the planning process in the sense that it enables communication and building of relationships with publics that support or can divert the mission of the organization. As a result of public relations' capabilities to facilitate communication among publics and its intrinsic role within the management function, it has a unique responsibility to act according to social and ethical considerations. In fact, Grunig asserts that adherence to the requirements of this responsibility is the only way in which public relations can be considered to be an important element of the global communication system. If public relations is practiced according to the principles of strategic management, public responsibility and the two-way symmetrical model, it is an important element of the global communication system — facilitating symmetrical communication that helps to build relationships among organizations and publics and to develop policies that are responsible to those publics. † Ethics Code as a Requirement for Professional Status Thomas H. Bivins asserts that professionalism requires autonomy, but that autonomy comes with the expectation of objectivity. This presents a problem for public relations because not all public relations practitioners serve the role of counselor, many fill the role of advocate. Bivins describes how these two different roles result in the necessity for different ethical guidelines, which involve the degree of responsibility or obligation to the client/employer, degree of objectivity, and degree of autonomy. However, as Judd's study showed, public relations practitioners increasingly view their role as that of counselor, given that they feel more bound to social responsibilities rather than client/employer obligations. This will place a more stringent ethical impetus upon public relations practitioners because the responsibilities of counselors are broader in the sense of having to be concerned with both larger and a greater number of publics. â€Å"Although both the advocate and the counselor must practice within the bounds of the truth, good taste and the law, the counselor must also practice within the moral boundaries of, and with ethical consideration for, all concerned publics. Purpose, therefore, becomes a factor which must be decided upon, to a greater degree, by the counselor. † Bivins stresses that it is the move towards professionalism in the field which has actually led to a concern over ethical principles. Center and Jackson similarly connect ethical concerns with the development of a profession. â€Å"The public relations function has sought to fulfill its aspirations by exerting an ethical and moral force as well as technical skill and, by doing so, developing an identity and a professional discipline of its own. As Winkleman noted, the ethical debate began with Watergate and has gained momentum in the public relations community with the scandals involving Michael Deaver (indicted for perjury) and Anthony Franco (insider trading). Despite the lack of substantial empirical research literature on public relations ethics to date, there appears to be an increased interest in the subject of ethics among educators and researchers. For example, Public Relations Review devoted entire issues to the subject of ethics in 1989 and 1993. Regardless of whether the public relations profession institutes a universal code as some are advocating, empirical evidence has shown that practitioners who base their decision-making on social responsibility and within ethical guidelines, whether personal or structural, will be more likely to be involved in policy decisions. In turn, practitioners will enhance their credibility with management and the public at large. Furthermore, observance of ethical principles demonstrate the mark of a profession.

POLICE SUBCULTURE essays

POLICE SUBCULTURE essays Police officers are people the society should normally look up to as epitomes of discipline and protectors of law and order, however police behavior in recent years has been anything but exemplary thus rising rise to extreme resentment and distrust in the public. The public no longer trusts or respects police officers levying all sorts of charges against them. Police behavior is indeed despicable in some cases especially where When we delve deeper into the anthropological and psychological causes of this kind of behavior, we notice that police is influenced by a flawed subculture that profound affects the attitude and behavior of most police officers. On the one hand, this subculture teaches them certain values and beliefs and on the other, it turns the entire police community into a cohesive group that is essentially alienated from the general public. According to Adler, Mueller, and Laufer (1994) police subculture is a "set of norms and values that govern police behavior, brought about by stressful working conditions plus daily interaction with an often hostile public." Police subculture is responsible for giving officers a unique working attitude and mindset. Their character and personality is profoundly altered by the views and values that they learn from existing in this subculture. The one most important thing we notice about this subculture is the idea of insiders and outsiders that lies at the core of all its values. Police officers are constantly reminded of their role as protectors of peace and order which turns them against the general public as they view everyone outside the police department as a potential criminal or suspect. Police culture is also essentially characterized by violence as research indicates that, "Many officers are exposed to a subculture of violence in which they encounter death almost daily. The average citizen generally does not witness in a lifetime ...

Globalization and international joint ventures Essay Example

Globalization and international joint ventures Essay Example Globalization and international joint ventures Paper Globalization and international joint ventures Paper Globalization of businesses and companies are fast growing particularly through international joint ventures in order to take advantage of opportunities in the world market. Thus, IJVs proliferated globally. In this study, the IJVs in the oil and gas industry in Russia would be a good case to evaluate in terms of its implications to economic theories of development as well as considering the strategic importance of Russian oil and gas in the present as well as in the future of the world economy. A strategic alliance is defined as a partnership â€Å"between two or more firms which decide they can better pursue their mutual goals by combining their resources – financial, managerial, technological – as well as their existing distinctive competitive advantages† (Blanchard, 2006, p. 7-3). On the other hand, global strategic alliances involve partnerships between two or more companies located across national boundaries and increasingly across industries. Global strategic alliances may also be formed between a company and a foreign government, or among companies and governments (Blanchard, 2006). A joint venture (JV) thus is a strategic alliance between two or more companies, while an international joint venture (IJV) involves a global strategic alliance between organizations. JVs involve the creation of an independent company by the two or more parent organizations who are the parties to the business agreement. These JVs may be one of two types: Equity strategic alliances, wherein two or more partners have different relative ownership shares (equity percentages) in the new venture. For instance, in a JV involved three parent companies, one may have 50% equity, while the remaining two may have 25% equity each. : These are also called equity joint ventures. Non-equity strategic alliances, wherein agreements are carried out through contract rather than ownership sharing. These are also called contractual joint ventures. Makino and Beamish (1998) identified four distinct forms of IJVs based on the IJV partners’ nationality and equity affiliation. These four types are: 1) IJVs that are formed between affiliated home-country based firms; 2) IJVs that are formed between unaffiliated home-country based firms; 3) IJVs that are formed between home-country based and local firms; and 4) IJVs that are formed between home-country and third-country based firms. Each of these different IJV forms differ in terms of incidence, performance, and likelihood for survival (Makino Beamish, 1998). In his research presentation, Blanchard (2006) outlines the following motivations for global strategic alliances, as executed through IJVs: To avoid import barriers, licensing requirements, and other protectionist legislation. To share the costs and risks of the research and development of new products and processes. To gain access to specific markets. To reduce political risk while making inroads into a new market. To gain rapid entry into a new or consolidating industry and to take advantage of synergies. Blanchard (2006) presents four significant challenges in implementing global alliances. First, while alliances present a faster and less risky route to globalization, in a highly competitive environment however, it is extremely complex to fashion out global linkages especially where many interconnecting systems are involved. These interconnecting systems form intricate networks, and many alliances fail or end up in a takeover in which one partner swallows the other. Second, usually the form of governance chosen for multinational firm alliances greatly influences their success, particularly in technologically-intense fields such as computers, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductors. Cross-border partnerships often become a sort of â€Å"race to learn† wherein the faster learner later ends up dominating the alliance and practically rewriting its terms. In a real sense, an alliance may actually emerge as a new form of competition between the parent organizations involved (Blanchard, 2006). Third, cross-border allies often encounter difficulty in collaborating effectively, especially in competitively sensitive areas. This breeds mistrust and secrecy, which undermines the very purpose of the alliance. The difficulty that these organizations deal with is the dual nature of strategic alliances – the benefits of cooperation versus the dangers of introducing new competition through sharing their knowledge and technological skills about their mutual product or manufacturing process (Blanchard, 2006).

A Traditional Fairy Tale From a Feminist Perspective

A Traditional Fairy Tale From a Feminist Perspective The Big Bad Wolf, Prince Charming, and The Beast: many fairy tales provide images of men varying from the courageous to the very evil. Each tale encodes messages for young girls about men, marriage, or sex as a type of socialization. Charles Perraults traditional version of the Bluebeard tale, which includes morals regarding curiosity and marriage, is no exception. In her book The Bloody Chamber, Angela Carter totally flips the messages of traditional fairy tales, such as Bluebeard, by rewriting them from a feminist perspective. Carter transforms the tale of Bluebeard into a feminist story in her version entitled The Bloody Chamber by placing the mother in the role of savior, allowing the protagonist to participate in her own rescue, and subtracting strength from the secondary male figures. One of Carters most notable adaptations to the story of Bluebeard in an effort to create a feminist tale is her treatment of the protagonists mother. In the traditional version of the fairy tale, Perrault mentions the protagonists mother only briefly as, a respectable lady, [who] had two daughters who were perfect beauties (144). Unlike Perrault, Carter chooses to make the mother a central figure. Whereas Perrault only describes the mother in regard to her lady-like qualities and her role in raising children, Carter depicts the mother as a much more complex and powerful character, which is a key adaptation in her efforts to turn the story into a feminist tale. In the opening of the story, the narrator describes her mother as my eagle-featured indomitable mother who had outfaced a junkful of Chinese pirates, nursed a village through a visitation of the plague, shot a man-eating tiger with her own hand (7). By describing the mother as indomitable, Carter immediately points to the moth ers strength. Likewise, by providing the reader with the mothers unfeminine history, Carter emphasizes the mothers past courage and potential power. Carter also depicts the mother as a source of strength for the female protagonist. When she explores the chamber, the narrator notes, Until that moment, this spoiled child did not know she had inherited nerves and a will from the mother who had defied the yellow outlaws of Indo-China. My mothers sprit drove me on. (28). Carter does not simply depict the mother as brave, but implies that bravery passes from mother to daughter. The passing of courage from female to female, rather than male to male or male to female, is significant in that it shows the power of a strong female role model. The daughter looks up to the mother because of her unfeminine abilities. The history of the mothers courage is not the only way in which Carter uses the mother character to make the story distinctly feminist. Carter expands on this strong female character by placing the mother in the role of the savior, rather than giving such power to a male character. In Perraults version of the tale, the girls brothers heroically rescue her from a violent death at the hands of Bluebeard. Carter, however, replaces the brothers with the mother, thus placing the most power (the power to defeat the villain) in the hands of a female, she raised my fathers gun, took aim and put a single, irreproachable bullet through my husbands head (40). With the mother as the rescuer who kills the husband, Carter changes the nature of the climactic moment of the story. Rather than a struggle between men regarding a female, the struggle occurs between male and female. The wife relies not on men to save her, but on another woman. Cater toys with this power struggle between male and female even more by allowing the protagonist to play a role in her own escape. In both The Bloody Chamber and Perraults Bluebeard, the protagonist attempts to prolong her life by stalling her husband. In Carters version, the narrator walks slowly to her husband to allow her mother time to approach the castle (39). In Perraults, the girl asks for time to say her prayers in attempt to delay her doom until the arrival of her brothers who she hopes will rescue her (146). Both of these examples are passive attempts to simply buy time until another party can perform the rescue. However, Carter provides her protagonist with a greater role in her own escape, as her husband swings what would be a deathly blow. The blade did not descend, the necklace did not sever, my head did not roll. For, for an instant, the beast wavered in his stroke, a sufficient split second of astonished indecision to let me spring upright and dart to the assistance of my lover as he struggled sightlessly with the great bolts that kept [my mother] out. (39) This quote exemplifies the importance of the narrators own action in her salvation. Carters emphasis on what did not happen, followed by the action of the protagonist, allows the reader to see that she does not die because of her own inclination to move out from under the blade. After all, if she does not do so, her husband will kill her before her mother even enters the room. Her assistance is required to open the gate for her mother. The addition of the protagonists action is a key element in her rescue, which is not found in Perraults version of the tale. In his version, the brothers enter, chase, and kill Bluebeard while the girl remains on the ground, Bluebeards wife was as close to death as her husband and barely had the strength to rise and embrace her brothers (147). Whereas Perrault depicts her as weak and incapable, Carter depicts the wife as a powerful individual whose actions are key to her own rescue, thus giving even more power to the female roles. Not only does Cater transform the tale of Bluebeard into a feminist story by empowering the female characters, she also decreases the power of the secondary male characters by removing the brothers from the story and adding the less powerful piano-tuner. In Perraults version of the tale, the only male characters the reader encounters (aside from Bluebeard) are the brothers. Additionally, Perrault depicts the brothers as the very picture of masculinity, the one a dragoon and the other a musketeer (147). His version of the story only contains images of powerful and aggressive males. Carter opts to remove the brothers completely. As a result, the reader associates male power and aggression with evil because it is only found in the husband and is not positively represented. Carter not only removes the powerful and aggressive brothers, but she also adds the less-powerful piano-tuner, Jean Yves, to show a weakened power of men in the story. The narrator first describes Jean with a series of adjectives that lead the reader to picture him as a male without power, he was blind, of course; but young, with a gentle mouth (23). From this description the reader envisions a mild boy with a handicap, which is the complete opposite of the secondary male characters depicted in Perraults tale. Not only does the narrator describe Jean as a weakling in physical terms, she later describes his lack of courage. She states, The door slowly, nervously opened and I sawthe slight, stooping figure of the piano-tuner, and he looked far more terrified of me than my mothers daughter would have been of the Devil himself (31). Carters use of comparison points out the drastic difference in courage between the boy and the protagonist. Carter repeats this theme of comparison of bravery again when the narrator says, When I thought of courage, I thought of my mother. Then I saw a muscle in my lovers face quiver (38). By recalling the image of the powerful mother and placing it next to the quivering face of the lover, Carter reemphasizes the dramatic difference in courage between male and female. In doing so, Carter creates a world in which the only positive strong characters the reader encounters are female. By taking the power out of the hands of the males, and making the secondary male char acter a less powerful assistant to the females, Carter turns the gender-related power issues in the story upside-down. The fact that Carter creates a weak male character for her version of the story is an example of how she twists every aspect to change the traditional tale into a feminist piece. Carter goes beyond empowering the females of the story by strengthening the character of the mother to the point of savior and making the protagonist an active participant in her own escape. Additionally, she strips the story of all positive powerful males, leaving only the Bluebeard character, which stands alone as a negative representation of male power.

Preventing Alzheimer's Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Preventing Alzheimer's - Essay Example Alzheimer’s Disease is an acquired disorder leading to behavioral and cognitive impairments that can interfere extremely in social functioning and is the most common form of dementia striking, both, elderly and, on occasion, middle age Americans. It presently is affecting approximately 5.4 million people n this country and is estimated to effect more than twice that number by the year 2050.(Anderson, and Hoffmann) There is nothing more precious to most people than the memories of the lives they have lived, the people they have shared it with, and all the details that make us the individuals that we are. Alzheimer’s and other sever dementia disorders threaten to take all of those things away. This disease does not solely affect the sufferer, but can have a profoundly disturbing effect on the families and caregivers of the Alzheimer’s patient. It can be unbelievably difficult for family members of sufferers to watch someone they care about degrade from the strong i ntuitive people they once were into someone who is a stranger, lost in their own homes and trapped in their own fading memories. Parents that no longer recognize their own children or grandparents that no longer know their own spouse of fifty years can be devastating. That is why understanding, treating, and entirely preventing the development of Alzheimer’s is absolutely imperative. This disease, not only, affects the body it steals your sense of self identity. To be clear, everyone shows a certain amount of decline in memory and cognitive ability as they age. This is a completely natural occurrence. However, there are individuals well into their 80’s that seem barely affected, while others can suffer far greater memory and cognitive loss at a much younger age makes a definitive statement concerning the disorder. Simply put,†...Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of aging.†("The Alzheimer's Research and Prevention Foundation") This condition goes well beyond the normal degradation expected to appear as we age. That said, if it is not a normal, unavoidable part of the human aging, then it must be possible to eliminate it from effecting so many within the population and there must be a cause that can be addressed. Given the seriousness of this condition and its continual persistence within society finding ways to treat and prevent the disease is paramount. Unfortunately there are no current cures available but there are many suggestions as to how to prevent developing the disease. It has been determined that certain people carry a particular genetic mutation that can lead directly to the development of Alzheimer’s, so for a portion of the population prevention may be more difficult.(Kolata ) However, what we learn from these individuals may be a huge contribution into solving its origins and finding potential treatments. For the remaining population, where the development of the disease seems unfortunately random, there are many suggestions that can lower the risks of becoming a sufferer. One can lower the likelihood of developing the disorder by taking the same steps that are taken to avoid heart disease. Studies have shown that the same factors, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, excessive weight, and diabetic issues, which can contribute to poor heart health can, also, lead to Alzheimer’s Disease.("Mayo Clinic") The Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foundation had suggested that there are â€Å"4 Pillars† in the holistic approach to preventing the disorder. Again, they admit there are no guarantees, but following these steps is ideally essential in reducing your risk factor. The first is to, simply, get the proper amount of rest and nutrition on a regular basis. A diet involving large amounts of fruits and vegetables, consuming fish on a weekly basis, and avoiding foods high in trans and saturated fats will help you balance the body’s health.("Time Magazine-Health" 2) The second, involves controlling stress levels. Finding proper