Brave New World and Ethics Essay

Barely peeking over the horizon the barren landscape sparkled as rays of light pierced the darkness driving away the aches and pain from their tired bodies. Straining his eyes he saw the river glowing far in the distance looking so harmless in daylight. Shuddering softly the dark churning waters of the previous night haunted him as he look at the serene form of his wife as she lay in fitful slumber. Turning around he allowed himself one last chance to partake in sweet memories of friends, family, his country, all left behind. As his wife stirred he turned around. He never looked back. Forward they walked towards opportunities untold. Forward they walk towards a new beginning. Forward they walked in America, home of the free. For centuries humans have forsaken the comforts of their current situations in search of a better existence for themselves and their families. From migrating thousands of miles to overthrowing governments humans have a knack for defying the odds successfully in pursuit of their morals and values. Descendant from a primitive apelike people, humans developed over thousands of years morphing into a super species where science is exalted in the quest to dominate nature. In the modern era, scientific and technological advancement are idolized as successes in these fields test the limits of our imaginations. With recent discoveries in genetics and the decoding of the human genome, scientists and politicians today work tirelessly towards complete control of the human body, plants, animals with dazzling results and further successes projected even up to the creation of synthetic life. However, many lines of research have sparked considerable controversy as society moves into an age of untold possibilities. The book Brave New World by Aldous Huxely portrays a futuristic society where humans have been molded into a cast system through chemical mutations, mind altering drugs, and psychological conditioning. With all classic philosophy, literature, and history destroyed as relics of the past, society stands static without any knowledge of a societal reality more primitive or advanced than the status quo. Despite current societal movement towards genetic modification and enhancement, the censorship and elimination of creative perspective present in Huxely’s utopia contradict the individualism and sense of self gave driving society forward. Modern society will never mirror Huxely’s utopia do to the innate spirituality and drive for growth that characterizes human nature. Brave New World depicts a society where humans control their bodies and environment through chemical treatments. Although scientifically impossible, this basic premise of environmental control becomes a reality when utilizing the principles of modern genomics. Over the last two decades scientists have gradually decoded every gene and strand of DNA that allows the human body to function. The gravity of this feat is insurmountable opening the door to limitless possibilities. But despite identifying several the causes of several common polygenic disorders (disorders in which several gene are implicated) and identifying the genes responsible for several Mendelian disorders, the promise of Gene therapy has â€Å"proved nothing but a pipe dream†(Kass). Beyond the elimination of disease, genetically enhanced and altered crops have increased in popularity. Several strains of crops such as cotton, corn, and soybeans have been enhanced with artificial genes that produce insecticides or resistance to herbicides. Furthermore, scientists are attempting to genetically modify plants, insects, and bacteria. Geneticists hope that in the near future genetically engineered plants will have the ability to feed on toxic pollutants. And certain bacteria have already been altered to produce chemicals valuable in manufacturing such as adipic acid, one of the ingredients in nylon, and teraphthalic acid, a component of a specialist polyester (Kass). With the possibilities of producing indestructible crops, plants that eliminate pollutants, and genetically modified fauna to produce chemicals, the economic stability and general prosperity depicted in Brave New World may become a reality in years to come. Furthermore, Huxley’s utopia presented a society where being a mother or father was considered vile and disgusting. Children were manufactured in â€Å"Hatchery And Conditioning Centers† where embryos were designed and enhanced with a complex cocktail of chemical additives in a manufacturing process. Currently modern technology has not developed a method of substituting natural birth conditions and genetically altering an embryo is close to impossible (Kass). But the prospect of genetically modified embryos dubbed â€Å"Designer Babies† lurks in the future. When these techniques develop society will possess the capabilities of genetically determining the capabilities of newborns despite whether artificial birth exists. From an ideological view, the extreme dehumanization in Brave New World may seem difficult to comprehend, but as generation builds on generation, the evolution of cultural practices and values inches society closer a similar state. As science allows society to conquer infertility or improve the genetic makeup of a child, birth moves one step closer to a manufacturing process (Carr). Even when moving beyond the technological transformations, the dominant explanation of organic life is the theory of evolution which directly undermines the value of human life (Carr). Rather than beings with spirits and a divine purpose, society diminishes mankind to nothing more than a meaningless collection of cells whose purpose is reproduction. Regardless of the technological and ideological influences that create a level of symmetry with Huxely’s utopia, our society can never reach the extremes presented in Brave New World because the core cultural values depicted directly contradict those our society ascribe to. Benjamin Franklin once said, â€Å"Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning†. Brave New World depicted such a society where those not in a drug induced coma or suffering from purposeful cognitive damage were confined to a bland meaningless existence. Our society today is designed to award the innovative and talented as all struggle to achieve individual success. Emphasizing individual growth and achievement, our society will never sit static and unchanged as the world depicted in Huxely’s work.

Physical Condition Of Nepal Essay

Nepal is an independent democratic nation. The country is bordering between two big countries like China and India. It is developing country where the socio-economic status of the people is very low. The economic growth of the country has not improved substantially. According to the CBS, 2001. The total population is Nepal 23151423 where (11-587502) 50.06 percent are female and (11563921) 49.94 percent are male. It. means that women constitutes more than half of the population in Nepal. GEOGRAPHICAL MAP OF NEPAL In the national development, women play vital role, male dominated country females are considered low standard and of less value. Literacy rate differs vastly. 42.5 percent women are literate and where 65.1 percent men are literate. According to the CBS report, 2001. But in recent years people have started realizing the importance of women role and participation in the economy as well as social and developmental activities. So without women participation development goals can not be fully attained. Therefore we can say that men and F women are two pillars of the development. In recent world scenario, women have been actively participating in the political and social aspect. The voice of equality for men and women was raised first in the western countries, after the analytical revolution the women of these countries demanded equal rights for them. NATIONAL FLAG OF NEPAL Nepal is a multi language, multi culture, multi religion, and multi parti system country. There are many language and many culture but they believe in every language and culture each other. Tourism is about the movement of people. Tourists are the outside who travel away from their usual environment. They are from different countries, culture, tradition and  interest. Therefore, every tourist brings his own culture with him/her and there is a meeting of more than two cultures in tourism. Since, tourism is the hospitality or service industry, we are expected to behave as per liking, interest and style of the tourists. NEPALESE CULTURE Culture is tourism’s main attraction. Without culture, every place would be seen ironically the same. Without different culture heritage, the places around the world would have little to offer that could attract the purpose of tourism. The cultures of different countries can vary greatly to attract people from a particular country, which is important to know cultural differences. The choices of interest of determined by the age, sex, culture and nationality such as children are interested to play and enjoy, young generations like to be informal and take part in adventure activities where older generations are more disciplined, formal and enjoy cultural tours. An isolated, agrarian society until the mid-20th century, Nepal entered the modern era in 1951 without schools, hospitals, roads, telecommunications, electric power, industry, or civil service. The country has, however, made progress toward sustainable economic growth since the 1950s and is committed to a program of economic liberalization. Nepal has used a series of five-year plans in an attempt to make progress in economic development. It completed its ninth economic development plan in 2002; its currency has been made convertible, and 17 state enterprises have been privatized. Foreign aid accounts for more than half of the development budget. Government priorities over the years have been the development of transportation and communication facilities, agriculture, and industry. Since 1975, improved government administration and rural development efforts have been emphasized. Agriculture remains Nepal’s principal economic activity, employing 80% of the population and providi ng 37% of GDP. Only about 20% of the total area is cultivable; another 33% is forested; most of the rest is mountainous. Rice  and wheat are the main food crops. The lowland Terai region produces an agricultural surplus, part of which supplies the food-deficient hill areas. Economic development in social services and infrastructure has not made dramatic progress due to GDP dependency on India. A countrywide primary education system is under development, and Tribhuvan University has several campuses. Please see Education in Nepal for further details. Although eradication efforts continue, malaria had been controlled in the fertile but previously uninhabitable Terai region in the south. Kathmandu is linked to India and nearby hill regions by road and an expanding highway network. The capital was almost out of fuel and transport of supplies caused by a crippling general strike in southern Nepal on February 17, 2008.[2] Major towns are connected to the capital by telephone and domestic air services. The export-oriented carpet and garment industries have grown rapidly in recent years and together now account for approximately 70% of merchandise exports. Nepal was ranked 54th worst of 81 ranked countries (those with GHI > 5.0) on the Global Hunger Index in 2011, between Cambodia and Togo. Nepal’s current score of 19.9 is better than in 2010 (20.0) and much improved than its score of 27.5 in 1990.[3] Currency 1 Nepalese Rupee (NPR) = 100 paisa Fiscal year 16 July – 15 July Trade organizations WTO Statistics GDP $35.81 billion (2010 est.) GDP growth 4.6% (2010 est.) GDP per capita $1,200 (2010 est.) GDP by sector agriculture (40%), industry (20%), services (40%) (2002 est.) Inflation (CPI) 8.6% (September 2010 est.), 10.6% (October 2011 est. source: myrepublica.com) Population below poverty line 24.7% (2008 est.) Main industries Tourism, garment, food and beverages, metal manufactures, herbs. Ease of Doing Business Rank 107th[1] External Exports $849 million (2009) f.o.b.; note – does not include unrecorded border trade with India (2008) Export goods carpets, clothing, leather goods, jute goods, grain, herbs, tea Main export partners European Union 42.5%, United States 8%, Bangladesh 6.04%, Germany 5% (2009) Imports $5.26 billion f.o.b. (2008) Import goods Petroleum Products, Gold, Machinery Main import partners India 57%, China 13% (2009) Public finances Revenues $3 billion (FY 2010) Expenses $4.6 billion (FY 2010) The Nepali government has decided to bring timely changes to the country’s coat of arms and bring it into force on Dec. 30, the National News Agency RSS reported on Monday. According to the RSS, the new coat of arms is based on the people’s supremacy, the distinguished identity of the nation, national unity and self-pride. It was developed jointly by artists Nabindra Man Rajbhandari, Himayala Gautam and Krishna Shrestha. Approved by the meeting of the Council of Ministers held on Dec. 14, the coat of arms is made up of the national flag, the symbol of nationality; the world’s highest peak, Mt. Qomolangma; green hills symbolizing the hilly region; woman and man joining hands with one another to symbolize gender equality; yellow  color symbolizing the fertile terai region; a garland of national flower laligurans or rhododendron; paddy ears on the top and a red ribbon with the letters in white reading â€Å"mother and motherland are greater than heaven† in the bottom. Nepal is a secular state under the Interim Constitution, which was promulgated on January 15, 2007. The Interim Constitution provides for freedom to practice one’s religion. The Interim Constitution also specifically denies the right to convert another person. The now-defunct constitution of 1990, which was in effect until January 15, 2007, described the country as a â€Å"Hindu Kingdom,† although it did not establish Hinduism as the state religion. The Government generally did not interfere with the practice of other religious groups, and religious tolerance was broadly observed; however, there were some restrictions. The Government took positive preliminary steps with respect to religious freedom during the period covered by this report, and government policy contributed to the generally free practice of religion. The Interim Parliament, through the Interim Constitution, officially declared the country a secular state in January 2007; however, no laws specifically affecting freedom of religion were changed. Nonetheless, many believed that the declaration made it eas ier to practice their religion freely. However, members of minority religious groups occasionally reported police harassment. Authorities limited the location of and otherwise restricted many public celebrations by the Tibetan community, especially those with political overtones. Adherents of the country’s many religious groups generally coexisted peacefully and respected places of worship, although there were reports of societal abuses and discrimination based on religious belief or practice. Those who converted to another religious group at times faced violence and occasionally were ostracized socially but generally did not fear to admit their affiliations in public. Nepal is moving forward to become the newest republic of the world. After more than 200-years-long Monarchy, Nepal is finally becoming the country ruled by the general people instead of the kings and queens. Nepal has always faced political turmoil. This beautiful country, located in Himalayas in Asia, has very unstable political condition. The recent changes that have shaken Kathmandu with powerful voices, the commitment of leaders toward democracy and public right gives a hope that Nepal is finally moving toward democracy after the 200 years of bureaucracy and political turmoil.  The April revolution of 2006 changed the face of Nepal. It was able to end the decade-long guerilla warfare of Maoist and was successful to bring them into peace into this war-torn country. The Maoist was regarded as one of the big parties and was also offered good proportion of seats on the parliament. The parliament which was formed after the revolution deducted much of the power of the king and took away his authority and power over the military and the administration. An interim administration said he must pay taxes, placed the army under civilian control and removed his image from the 500-rupee note, replacing it with Mount Everest. The main purpose of the Maoist insurgents was to overthrow the Monarchy system from Nepal which has been deeply rooted in Nepalese society both culturally and politically making the political view of Mao Tse-tung, the communist leader of china, the communist party, Maoist, came to main political frame and the parliament after the revolution of 2006. On the Constituent Assembly elections conducted on April 10th, Maoist emerged as the biggest party of Nepal securing 220 seats of parliament while the biggest parties of Nepal, Nepali Congress only won 110 seats which shocked the entire nation as well as the whole world. With overwhelming support and che ers, the first sitting of the constituent Assembly collectively declared the country a Republic late on Wednesday night making Nepal the World’s newest republic and making the king a general, ordinary citizen. In the context of implementing a Republic in the country, the CA meeting directs the then king residing at the Narayanhiti palace and the private secretariat structure ordering him to leave within 15 days. A new Government will soon be formed and Nepal will be having its first president ever and as Maoist have won the election it is for sure that the first president of Nepal will be a Communist leader who is supposed to be the chairman of Maoist party of Nepal known as Prachanda. Nepal will have to face many hurdles even though Nepal has revived itself as a Republic country but people still have fear in their hearts about the condtion that will grow when Maoist will have their government and they fear how things are going to be on the coming days. But for the moment, much of Nepal enjoys and cheers for becoming the worlds new-born Republic country. Pokhara is a remarkable place for natural beauty at an altitude of 827 m above mean sea level & 200 km west of Kathmandu. This city is ever known  as a real paradise in Earth. The Valley is filled with swift flowing river and dotted with clear gleaming lakes. It is blessed with the back drop is the most dramatic sceneries in world. A 140km of panoramic Himalayan ranges seem close enough to be touched. But also can be felt. The magnificence of the Himalayas rising behind the lake create an ambience of peace & magic, popular for water rafting, Kayaking and trekking expeditions following the unification of Nepal in 1769. It took a shape of permanent bazaar (small town). Newar migrants from Kathmandu Valley established business and introduced new architecture design of the city. It grew as a catering place to caravan traders with limited infrastructure facilities located at the break of bulk point along the trans-Himalayan trade routes. Pokhara is a very beautiful natural place. It is rich in natural beauty, it is lies in western develop region of Nepal. Pokhara is a very famous city in Nepal. Many foreigner visit Pokhara to see it natural beauty. Pokhara is develop city. There we can get all facility The highest peak of the world Mount Everest is situated in Solukhunmbu District of Sagarmatha Zone. It is known by the name Sagarmatha in Nepal. It is located 27 ° 59†² North latitude, 86  ° 55†² East longitudes. The official height of this peak is 8848 meters. The temperature lies below 0 °c at the summit. Mount Everest was named after Sir George Everest who discovered this peak for the first time. It is very difficult to climb up this mountain because oxygen contained in air becomes lesser as the height increases then it will be difficult to breathe so the climbers take oxygen along with them. Carrying oxygen only also is not enough to climb this peak. You need the special practice that is Acclimatization. In this process a person goes to certain height and come down again so his/her body get used to the reduced oxygen content of the air. It is necessary for the safety climbing. Climbers acclimatize by ascending slowly; resting one day for every 1,000 feet they clim b in one day. On May 29, 1953, Tenzing Norgay Sherpa of Nepal & Edmund Percival Hillary of New Zealand climbed to the summit of Everest for the first time while the first woman to climb it is Junko Tabei of Japan. She succeeded her trip on 16 May, 1975. Chitwan District is one of the seventy-five Districts og Nepal, a landlocked country of South Asia. The district is in the western part of Narayani Zone with Bharatpur, the seventh  largest city of Nepal, as its district headquarters. It covers an area of 2,218 km ² and in 2001 had a population of 472,048 people. Bharatpur is a commercial and service centre of central south Nepal and merger destination for higher education, health care and transportation of the region. The district takes its name from the Chitwan Valley, one of Nepal’s Inner Terai valleys between the Mahabharat and Siwalik ranges, both considered foothills of the Himalayas. Narayanghat, on the bank of Narayani River, is the main town with numerous shopping zones where pe ople come from all over the district and neighbouring districts.

Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen: Perspective on Religion

In the 1920s, the somewhat genteel world of American poetry was shaken to its foundations when the Harlem Renaissance started. During those times, all over the United States, there was an outburst of strong black voices, writing with African-American cadences and rhythms. Moreover, during that period, generally different and diverse subject matters and styles subsisted in poetry. Furthermore, the blues and jazz clubs in Harlem served as an opportunity for the up-and-coming Black writers who wrote to increase the awareness of the Negro people and inculcate pride in their African heritage. Among these writers were Countee Cullen and Langston Hughes. These writers employed the political, religious, and social facets of the African American happenings as springboard for poetic illustration. Nevertheless, these two writers differ in their life influences, style, and language usage. A proclaimed poet of the Harlem Renaissance, Countee Cullen, uses his poem, Yet Do I Marvel, to send a very strong and passionate message. The poem is a first-person monologue in which a Black poet, indistinguishable from Cullen, voices doubt and confusion about the world, about the relationship between God and man, and about this particular poet's place in the world. No audience is addressed directly. The poet begins by professing his belief in a God who is all-good, good-intentioned and almighty. He also affirms that God has reasons for everything that happens in the world, even if these reasons are often difficult for humans to understand. In particular, the poet wonders why such an all-good Supreme Being could allow things like physical disabilities and death. In the two quatrains the poet observes several examples of worldly imperfection. He mentions the blindness of the mole and the mortality of human flesh. He also refers to the never- ending punishments of two figures from Greek mythology: Tantalus, plagued by unquenchable hunger and thirst in the midst of unreachable food and drink; and Sisyphus, faced with the impossible task of rolling uphill a rock which ontinuously slips back to the starting-point before the task is finished. In the sextet the poet wonders whether there is any way to explain the blindness of the mole, the punishments of Tantalus and Sisyphus or the death of human beings and decides that only God has a satisfactory explanation for these worldly imperfections. The ways of God are beyond understanding and human beings are too distracted by the everyday cares of life to see reason behind the migh ty hands of God. The poet does not mention that he is Black until the final couplet. The â€Å"I† at the beginning of the poem is an anonymous human. At the end of the poem this â€Å"I† proudly reveals himself to be not only a poet, but a Black poet. This revelation transforms the poem from a general comment upon the human experience to personal reflection. Of all the incomprehensible actions of God, the most amazing for the poet to understand is that God made him both a poet and Black. The strong mood of religious reflection in this poem stems in large part from the central position of the Christian church in the culture of Afro-Americans. Intensity of religious fervor and a vivid sense of divine anthropomorphism are common themes in the poetry of Black American poets. A second important theme for Cullen is his race. Blackness is a focal point of the poem. It is the last of a series of imponderables in the human condition. On the one hand, the poet's black skin is included in the same category as the blindness of the mole or the punishments of Tantalus and Sisyphus. It is another example of the mysterious ways of a God who inexplicably made humans of different skin color. On the other hand, the blackness of the poet is a source of pride, a gift of that Almighty Creator whose ways are always right. Thus Cullen, a poet of the Harlem Renaissance in the early part of the twentieth century, was asserting the mysterious beauty of black skin long before the Civil Rights movement made Black pride fashionable later in the century. At the same time, Cullen's experience as a Black man is set in the context of his role as a poet. He is a poet made Black, not a Black made a poet. Like his black skin, Cullen's poetic talent is a mysterious source of both pain and joy. This poet who fashions a highly polished poem filled with sophisticated allusion is, at the same time, a member of an oppressed race often denied the opportunity to acquire such erudition and poetic skill. Indeed, Cullen emphasizes the involuntary nature of his poetry. He did not choose to be a poet any more than he chose to be Black. It was God who made him both a poet and Black. It is God who commands him to sing. The poet cannot help himself anymore than he could change the color of his skin. The source of his poetic power is divine and lies outside him. While some poets find this source in nature or in the personal subconscious, Cullen attributes this power to the Supreme Being who dominates this poem. Cullen's insistence upon the divine inspiration of the poet is appropriate in a poem which combines themes from Classical and Biblical sources, for both traditions affirm the ability of supernatural beings to speak through humans. The Greeks called these deities of inspiration Muses while the Biblical God inspires prophets with warnings for humans. A similar God bids Cullen to sing. In the end, the poem offers more than the personal perspective of a Black poet. It speaks not just of the Black condition but of the human condition. All humans feel the irony of a life filled with petty cares, with mysteries, with struggle and with death, but a life brimming with the marvel of God's great deeds, with the excitement of divine inspiration, and with an appreciation for the beauty of a poem well made. Langston Hughes was one of the first black men to express the spirit of blues and jazz into words. An African American Hughes became a well known poet, novelist, journalist, and playwright. Because his father immigrated to Mexico and his mother was often away, Hughes was brought up in Lawrence, Kansas, by his grandmother Mary Langston. Her second husband (Hughes's grandfather) was a fierce abolitionist. She helped Hughes to see the cause of social justice. As a lonely child Hughes turned to reading and writing, publishing his first poems while in high school in Cleveland, Ohio. The speaker in â€Å"The Negro Speaks of River† delivers his claims in a cosmic voice that extends throughout all time and space. This voice includes all peoples. Hughes' ancestry included three major race groups; he lived as an African-American (Hughes referred to himself as â€Å"colored† or â€Å"Negro,† because he was writing before the term â€Å"African-American† was accepted widely); his parents were African-Americans. But Hughes' interests far exceeded racial limitations. He embraced all of life. He suffered the color-line, when racism was strong in early twentieth-century America, but he rose above racial hatred and felt love and compassion for all races. His acceptance is especially evident in â€Å"The Negro Speaks of River† spoken by a cosmic voice that includes and unites all people. The poem begins, â€Å"I've known rivers: / I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the / flow of human blood in human veins. † The river symbolizes the linkage of all human life from the earliest time to the present. He continues naming rivers that represent the history of Western culture. From the Euphrates to the Mississippi, the history of mankind from Biblical times to the period of the American Civil War is represented. The Euphrates is considered the cradle of Western civilization. The speaker of the poem claims to have â€Å"bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young. Thus the cosmic voice begins at the origin of civilization. The speaker then moves westward to the Congo claiming, â€Å"I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep. † Here he focuses on the African experience, as he does in the following line, â€Å"I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it. † Neither claim limits the voice to a black voice, becau se the white and yellow races have lived along the Congo and were among the slaves employed by the ancient Egyptians in constructing the pyramids. Hughes' cosmic voice unites the races in one cosmic person. He highlights the American experience claiming, â€Å"I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln / went down to New Orleans . . . .† Lincoln reminds us of the process of emancipation of slaves, and the Mississippi River symbolizes the human blood of all races. The speaker repeats â€Å"My soul has grown deep like the rivers. † Because the soul is the life force of the body, the stream of energy, the person who recognizes that his soul has grown deep recognizes his own identity. In this poem the river symbolizes the link of mankind as the blood in the body is believed to be linked because we are all children of God, and thus we have the common ancestry originating with Adam and Eve, the symbolical first parents. The cosmic speaker portrays selfhood and recognizes his roots, his identity as a child of not only one set of biological parents but as a child of the cosmos (or of God), and he is linked with all humanity, all races, all creeds for all time through the depth of his own soul. Susan Glaspell lived in a time where the most evident social issue was the inequality between men and women, and that women greatly relied on men in order to live. Glaspell, as a budding writer and feminist, tried to prove them wrong by writing plays regarding the freedom of women against the gender roles that the society dictates. With the help of her husband and friends, she started the Provincetown Players, where they are able to experiment on new plays which explores sensitive social issues like gender inequality. Glaspell’s Trifles is a good example of these plays. This play depicts the role of women in the society during the time it was made. During that time, men are still considered to be superior to women. It is also the time when men usually undermines the capabilities of women, as well as question their decision-making ways . The play showed how women were usually ruled by their emotions and intuitions, which they used to successfully unmask the case . The story revolves around the case of the murdered John Wright, who was strangled with a rope while he sleeps in his farmhouse. The main suspect was his was wife, Minnie Wright, who was already arrested and is not portrayed in the play anymore. The problem of the characters would be to prove whether Minnie Wright was really guilty of murdering her husband. Susan Glaspell was born on the late 19th century, where women are not yet recognized as equals of men. Her writing style is influenced by her Midwestern background. The first career she took after graduation was a reporting job for a daily newspaper. The play Trifles was based on an actual murder case that she has worked on during her days as a reporter. After she quit her work as a reporter, she began writing fiction novels. Susan Glaspell became open to radical ideas when she met George Cook, a married man from Davenport. She was able to work on the traditional gender roles, just like what is being tackled on Trifles. Glaspell and Cook developed an affair, and were married afterwards. With Cook being a nonconformist, Glaspell was able to freely do what society restricts her to do because of her gender and class. It was also through Cook and some of her friends that she was able to exercise her literary freedom and come up with plays that talk about societal issues of her time. Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a self-proclaimed philosopher, writer, educator and an intellectual activist of the women's movement from the late 1890's through the mid-1920's. She demanded equal treatment for women as the best means to advance society's progress. She was an extraordinary woman who waged a lifelong battle against the restrictive social codes for women in late nineteenth-century America. â€Å"The Yellow Wall-Paper†, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, reflects women's role in the Nineteenth Century. Women were controlled by their husbands and other men. Women did not have much social life. Women did not have any. Gilman uses many complex symbols, such as, the house, the bedroom, and the wallpaper to forces on the major theme of the story. The story is an interpretation how women are oppressed by males in society. Gilman attempts to reveal this oppression through her use of male imposed confinement. One woman's struggle with both mental and physical confinement represents the greater battles between women and men. Confinement represents classic male oppression and the woman represents all women and their struggle to break free from male dominance. The significance of the confinement is seen in both the vivid descriptions which symbolize the male dominance and the woman's subsequent reaction to this incarceration. The yellow wallpaper paints a distinct picture of confinement in both the physical and symbolic sense. Physically the house itself serves to lead to feelings of isolation. It represents the classic institution, that part of society which attempts to constrain the individual. Symbolically the narrator being confined to the room by her husband is representative of opportunity to see the oppressive society in its truest light. Within the pattern the narrator sees nursery complete with â€Å"rings and things† in the walls and a bed nailed to the floor. It is in this men had over women, the ability to ensure a woman's dependence on a man through exerting the began to tear down the walls of female oppression that exist to this day. She broke free from the confinement that suffocated her and for a moment showed society its greatest flaw, inequality. Completely in the end as her insanity dominates her, she does begin the process, a process which his wife to the nursery John exercised this dominance over his wife. The story â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† is about a woman who fights for her right to express what she wants, and fights for her right for freedom. The story also shows the uneven balance of power between husband and wife in the Nineteen Century. Gilman uses many symbols to show the readers women's social condition, lives, and all unfair treatment they had in the Nineteenth Century at different level of scopes. By using symbols, Gilman represents the effect of the oppression of women in society in late the Nineteenth Century. This story is primarily existential in nature. Gilman believes that with the fight, she can be free; all women can get freedom from the male dominated world. From her story, she does not agree women have to accept the unfair truth. She believed women can change their own situation. Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois, both early advocates of the civil rights movement, offered solutions to the discrimination experienced by black men and women in the nineteenth and twentieth century. Despite having that in common, the two men had polar approaches to that goal. Washington, a man condoning economic efficiency had a more gradual approach as opposed to Du Bois, whose course involved immediate and total equality both politically and economically. For the time period, Washington overall offers a more effective and appropriate proposition for the time whereas Du Bois's approach is precedent to movements in the future. Both have equal influence over African Americans in politics. Washington's proposal excels in reference to education while Du Bois can be noted for achieving true respect from white Americans. Du Bois urged African Americans to involve themselves in politics. Gaining this power would be essential to immediate beseeching of rights. Political association would prevent blacks from falling behind because â€Å"when the Negro found himself deprived of influence in politics, therefore, and at the same time unprepared to participate in the higher functions in the industrial development which this country began to undergo, it soon became evident to him that he was losing ground in the basic things of life† (Doc I). Du Bois also directly challenged Washington when he stated â€Å"that the way for a people to gain their reasonable rights is a not by voluntarily throwing them away and insisting that they do not want them† (Doc E). W. E. B. Du Bois goes on to criticize that â€Å"that the principles of democratic government are losing ground, and caste distinctions are growing in all directions† (Doc F). All of these political demands are comprehensible but Du Bois desired a radical change; â€Å"Negroes must insist continually, in season and out of season† (Doc E). This is close to nagging, which was surely unfavorable among primarily white politicians. The effectiveness of perpetual complaining would steadily decrease. Washington avoids political involvement which in general is a neutral action neither promoting nor causing defacement of the Negro population. In 1880 the percentage of 5-19 year olds enrolled in school for whites was approximately 60% while the percent of blacks was roughly half that, which was a vast improvement over just thirty years before when black enrollment was around zero (Doc A). Although black students appear to be bettering themselves, it is still quite unfortunate; there may be more black students enrolled but their education system was still below that of white folk. This in effect explains why the illiteracy rate of the white population was at 10% while the percentage of the black population unable to read sky-lined at 60% (Doc B). Both Washington and Du Bois recognized the gap but took completely different approaches to achieve a remedy and also had differing views of what necessary education was. Washington believed that if blacks focused their attention on striving economically they would eventually be given the rights they deserved. To do this, he encouraged attending trade schools like the ones which he worked with. The Tuskegee Institute of Alabama, which he founded, was where â€Å"no time [was] wasted on dead languages or superfluous studies of any kind†. Then he proposed working either industrially or agriculturally since their education would be based on â€Å"what is practical† and â€Å"what would best fit [the] young people for the work life† (Doc G). Du Bois, on the other hand, had grown up well rounded culturally. A historian specializing in the history of blacks and a renowned sociologist, at the age of 93 he became a member of the communist party and exiled himself to Africa. Du Bois had high hopes for the â€Å"Talented Tenth†: after thorough education they could succeed. The fight for first class citizenship could be earned through the university educated Negro through the court systems. Although it is a well thought out solution, the number of black college students enrolled was still quite low at the time. He believed along with others, â€Å"that industrial education [would] not stand [African Americans] in place of political, civil, and intellectual liberty† (Doc H). It is true that being cultured is important but for the time, labor was the necessity and would bring supposed status. W. E. B Du Bois, however, is able to surpass Washington in the area of overall respect and morality concerning white folk. Booker T. Washington made a point that if blacks could prove themselves useful, they could achieve their rights. Washington stated, â€Å"No race that has anything to contribute to the markets of the world is long in any degree ostracized. It is important and right that all privileges of the laws be ours, but it is vastly more important that we be prepared for the exercise of those privileges. The opportunity to earn a dollar in a factory just now is worth infinitely more than the opportunity to spend a dollar in an opera house†. In theory, Washington concluded that in order for African Americans to succeed, it was imperative for them to befriend the white men. Only then would the struggle for blacks end. He continually sounds of begging when stating to the white men: â€Å"Casting down your bucket among my people, helping and encouraging them as you are doing on these grounds and to education of head, hand, and heart†¦ While doing this you can be sure in the future, as in the past, that you and your families will be surrounded by the most patient, faithful, law-abiding, and unresentful people that the world has seen†. All this had been said in his Atlanta Compromise Address in 1895 (Doc D). It was also apparent to everyone African American who did not totally agree with Washington's idea that this was a sign of submission for the black race. The submissive part was, if none else, the fact that we were to accept that black people were going to continue to use their hands as a means to be productive to a white society. Many blacks turned away from such a statement and this is where W. E. B. Du Bois came to relieve them. Although Fortune stated, â€Å"It is impossible to estimate the value of such a man† (Doc G), Du Bois rejected the philosophy of Booker T. Washington declaring that he was â€Å"condemning their race to manual labor and perpetual inferiority†. He argues â€Å"that the way for a people to gain respect is not by continually belittling and ridiculing themselves† (Doc E). The De Facto segregation, such as a separate water fountain â€Å"for colored only† (Doc J) proposed by Washington did alleviate white and black tension but nonetheless was degrading. He presents that â€Å"the wisest among my race understand that the agitation of questions of social equality is the extremest folly, and that progress in the enjoyment of all the privileges that will come to us must be the result of severe and constant struggle rather than of artificial forcing† (Doc D). Barnett criticized that â€Å"[Washington], one of the most noted of their own race should join with the enemies† (Doc H). Such attitudes from Washington could truly be appreciated by Southern whites who in no way would want to be equivalent to a Negro. Although both men approached the topic differently, the advancement of civil rights would not be as far along today if it were not for both simultaneous views. Each needed the other to achieve his agenda. However, the most experienced in dealing with the sensitivity of the prejudices was Washington. He seemingly knew what buttons to push and how far he could push them. Curiously, the year Washington gave his Atlanta Compromise Address in 1895, the number of blacks lynched dropped from 170 the previous year to just above 120. It is also interesting to note that after Du Bois gave his speech about The Niagara Movement in 1905, the numbers began to steadily increase again (Doc C, D, F). Du Bois' approach of â€Å"ceaseless agitation, unfailing exposure of dishonesty and wrong† (Doc F) was not ready for the time where Washington is more rational in his gradual approach.

Resourcing and talent management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Resourcing and talent management - Essay Example butother countries as well soared to an all-time high. In the past few years, the countries have tried to recover from the effects that the recession had on them. This is evidenced by economic growth evidenced in the GDP (gross domestic product) of the countries. In the United Kingdom, the economy has been fluctuating since the recession came to an end (LSE, 2013). However, since the end of 2011, the economy of the country has continually deteriorated much to the dismay of many. Economists have referred to this situation as a contracting economy since it has consistently been decreasing. It is important to note that the drops in the GDP are not very dramatic and range between nought point five to point seven (LSE,2013). Based on this information about the reality in the labour market, it is easy to understand the problems facing GIVE. org. It is a charity organization that was formerly among the best. It merged with other mergers, and this affected the group significantly. The greate st problem they are facing is low employee morale. The productivity of an employee is directly related to their confidence. Reduced drive among employees reflects negatively on the business as the staffs do not do their best at work (Nickell and Quintini, 2002, 35). This is especially dangerous for a charity organization since their work is heavily dependent on the optimism of their personnel. A merger during tough economic times can be either extensively beneficial or harmful to the company in question. It is often useful if the merging company is powerful in terms of its capital, for example, (LSE, 2013). In such a case, the more successful business will be able to pull the other through the hard times. On the other hand, amalgamating a business with not one but two smaller firms that were not doing well was not a wise decision for GIVE.org. The merger lowered the performance of the company which in turn affected the confidence of the employees. This is an example of how the event s in the labour market have affected a particular business in this case GIVE.org. Another problem facing the charity business is that most of its employees are leaving. This is probably due to the deterioration of the business as well as the availability of jobs especially from the private sector. This seems to be a contradiction since the economy and the GDP are decreasing. It expected that the companies should be lowering their workforce since their output is low(Nickell and Quintini, 2002, 35). However, in the United Kingdom, this is the complete opposite; the said companies are still hiring more staff even with their output being low. As a result, the employees are under-utilized since they are not working to their full potential. This trend is fast becoming popular and is known as labour hoarding (LSE, 2013). The explanation behind this puzzling development in the labour market, in the U.K., is that the said companies are acquiring the available labour in preparation of a boom in production which will occur when the country experiences economic growth. Many analysts contest this presumption since the labour hoarding has been going on for many years yet no change in the economy has been witnesses. As such, this cannot be the only reason why the companies are still acquiring new employees during this time (Taylor, 2011, 27). This phenomenon explains why the staffs from GIE.org are leaving. They have probably been offered jobs by the private sectors who in spite of the bad

Managerial Decision Making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Managerial Decision Making - Essay Example t six months our company had a serious problem when we failed to capture the international market in face of stiff competition from rival companies and lack of interest in our products among the international customers. The problem faced by our organization was the prospect of huge loss in our international market as our decision to expand offshore was more of an intuitive one, rather than one being based on a rational decision making process (Thagard P., 2001). We took the success that our products had achieved within the US in terms of popularity and marketability for granted with enough evidence of customer acceptance, backed by our strict quality control division. These factors mislead us to believe that we could achieve similar results abroad, without considering the peculiar cultural, geographical and market practices in foreign countries. The necessary spade work of preparing a customer base and marketing in foreign lands, which should have been done in consultation with pertinent agencies, prior to the venture, was the major mistake we made. After identifying the criteria, decision to redesign international marketing should be made on the basis of rational criteria and available alternatives should be put into practice irrespective of the intuitive opinions of the management. The decision making should be fact based as a rational model is logically expected to lead to an optimal result. All identified criteria are ranked according to the peculiar situation of a country and local help is sought to enable marketing in the traditional way which is common in that country after setting up rational financial goals which are ultimately beneficial for the company. This leads to putting different marketing strategies into practice which are unique for a region or country. As a wide variety of inputs will be obtained while collecting factual information from foreign countries, the interpretation criteria which is still in the hands of the same management may

MBA - Marketing Strategy report on General Motors Research Proposal

MBA - Marketing Strategy report on General Motors - Research Proposal Example With every organization wanting to expand their reach and make an imprint in various markets, there will be enough opportunities for it, to initiate that expansion drive. So, when the organization has enough opportunities, it can set targets and formulate various strategies to achieve those targets and thereby beat off the competitors. Every organization’s survival and success in the light of stiff competition hinges on the success of its main or flagship product. It is the ‘key’ that opens the door of success or profit. So, for an organization to survive in a competitive market, and to increase its profits in an optimum manner, its products have to be marketed optimally. Toeing that line, this report will determine the current marketing strategy of General Motors. Then, the report will evaluate the strategies in view of its existing business environment, recommended improvements that would enable them to compete more effectively. General Motors Corporation (GM), a multinational corporation, was founded in 1908 as a holding company for a firm called Buick, then controlled by William C. Durant. Now, it functions as a conglomerate manufacturing and selling, cars and trucks under the brands of Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GM Daewoo, GMC, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. Each of these brands has a number of cars and trucks under its division or arm. Even though, they are manufactured in one unit, vehicles coming under each brand are most times marketed differentially and some times in unison. Headquartered in Detroit, Michigan (USA), GM manufactures automobiles in 35 countries, capturing a sizeable portion of the world market share. GM was thus acknowledged as the worlds largest automaker, based on global industry sales. GM was able to hold on to this top position for the last 77 calendar years. But, its reign as the top automaker was threatened in the last few years. Apart from the intens e competition put

Google Company Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Google Company - Research Paper Example Google follows people-centric strategies that broadly cater to the varying demands of its users and rely on customer satisfaction. It integrates the use of technology with the business processes in order to optimize productivity. Its business strategy is basically focused on providing free access to information to a diverse populace. Advertising is its major source of revenue. Its three key products and services are AdSense, Google App and Android operating system for mobiles that have considerably contributed to its global sales volume and database of customers. AdSense facilitates advertisements for clients for widening their client base and Google App helps to organize personal and professional lives of users and helps them to communicate effectively. Android was launched in 2011 as a mobile-based platform for developing applications for mobiles which is now used by more than 250 million users worldwide (ar, 2012). Its organic culture and decentralized functioning hugely promote i ts business strategy and goals. It facilitates a constant learning environment for its employees and gives them full freedom to experiment with new ideas. They are highly driven by ethical standard, motivation to innovate and share knowledge across its various stakeholders and shareholders. Google not only offers huge opportunities for growth for its workforce but also for its customers to expand their business interests across the globe. Its state of the art research team is relentlessly working towards the development of creative products.... sements for clients for widening their client base and Google App helps to organize personal and professional lives of users and helps them to communicate effectively. Android was launched in 2011 as mobile-based platform for developing applications for mobiles which is now used by more than 250 million users worldwide (ar, 2012) Its organic culture and decentralized functioning hugely promote its business strategy and goals. It facilitates a constant learning environment for its employees and gives them full freedom to experiment with new ideas. They are highly driven by ethical standard, motivation to innovate and share knowledge across its various stakeholders and shareholders. Google not only offers huge opportunities of growth for its workforce but also for its customers to expand their business interests across the globe. Its state of the art research team is relentlessly working towards development of creative products and services to improve and improvise user experience and meet the challenges of time. Personal opinion With offices in more than 50 countries and providing services in more than 100 languages, I believe that Google has been successful in its mission of providing people with access to critical information cutting across age, gender, class, race, culture and border. Its global values and credibility of well-researched database helps its users to meet their demands timely and efficiently. Its applications and AdSense are very useful for small business, entrepreneurs and corporate houses for advertising business products and services across wider database of customers. They are important mechanisms of exploiting new opportunities of personal and professional growth. Their cloud based applications have also emerged as vital platforms for storing

Using examples of your choice critically examine how ideas about the Essay

Using examples of your choice critically examine how ideas about the nation or national identity have become an important part of contemporary culture and socie - Essay Example Britons constructed their identity in opposition to an â€Å"other†: Catholic France. Gender roles were central to this moderate Protestant national identity. By looking at eighteenth-century British writers such as Sir Walter Scott and by analyzing William Hogarths prints, it was clear how British identity was constructed as strong and â€Å"masculine† while â€Å"others† especially the French, were described as weak and â€Å"feminine† (Taylor, 2000: 63). National Identity as a Part of Contemporary Culture and Society: The diversity, the multitudinous cultural effects and the flexible symbols of the national produce an enormous cultural resource that is a seething mass of cultural elements. Culture, according to this conception, is constantly in the process of developing, of emerging out of the dynamism of popular culture and everyday life whereby people make and remake connections between the local and the national, between the national and the global, between the everyday and the extraordinary. However well established and institutionalised nations may become, they remain elusive, perpetually open to context, to elaboration and to imaginative reconstruction (Edensor, 2002: vi). There are several routes towards expressing identity that exist within this matrix, some branches of which wither, are renewed, and multiple connections which exist between cultural spheres according to Edensor (2002: 1) emerge. Despite the globalisation of economies, cultures and social processes, the scalar model of identity is believed to be primarily anchored in national space. Partly, then, the space in which culture and everyday life operates is indisputably the nation which is a social and cultural construct. Edensor: (2002: 3) states that the position of the state towards already existing cultures is complex, for certain cultures may be eradicated (especially in the case of ethnic or

Outline the main factors explaining news definitions of gender and Essay

Outline the main factors explaining news definitions of gender and assess the evidence that journalism contributes towards the a - Essay Example Moreover, stereotypes of a litany of different origins are likely to pervade the media’s representation of any given topic; and have been proven to exist for as long as the modern media has been in existence (Munoz et al., 2012, p. 385). As a means of understanding this unique dynamic, this particular analysis will consider some of the main reasons why the current, and past media, have marginalized and alienated women and how this impact has in fact worked to compound women’s issues within the context of greater degrees of freedom and societal shift that may have otherwise occurred had the pervasive agenda of the media not been in place. In order to begin to discuss such a topic, it is necessary for the reader to come to a firm and complete understanding of what defines the media and to what extent and for what reasons it remains a dynamic and powerful force in formulating the ideas of society. In order to achieve this goal, the first section of this piece will discuss the role and evolution of the media on the lives of those within Western civilization. So powerful has been the effect of the media on the way in which the world has grown and developed that key historians and social scientists in the 19th century collectively dubbed it the â€Å"Fourth Estate†; an homage to the medieval representation of the three estates of society – the clergy, the nobility, and the commoners. As a means of defining the power that the media holds over society in such a way, the reader comes to the powerful understanding that such a high level of influence is given to this entity that it in and of itself can be counted as a determinant entity within the â€Å"estates† of modern society. Likewise, by limiting the analysis to Western civilization it will be possible to provide a level of focus upon the same media that affected the nations that comprised the early women’s liberation movement of the 1960s and onwards. One such factor that m akes the media of the recent past as well as the present unique is the surprising level of standardization and singular ownership which defines it. Whether one considers the newsprint media, television media, radio media, or media of other forms, a few solitary players control the lion’s share of these forms of media. As such, the range of diversity and the level to which archetypes have been constructed and accepted has reached endemic proportions. For purposes of analysis, the media which will be analyzed involves print, television, radio, and various other types of less popular yet still visible forms of advertising and media that impact on the lives of individuals on a daily basis. With the growth and widespread popularity of television in the years following the Second World War, media saw a sudden shift in the means by which it could interact with the average individual within the developed world (Ferguson, 2012, p. 890). Rather than relying on selling newspapers, magaz ines, journals, books etc, the media now had a cheap and effective way of allowing the advertising budgets of their sponsors to defray the cost that would otherwise be passed on to the consumer and

Environmental Challenges that Sony Faces Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Environmental Challenges that Sony Faces - Essay Example The present research has identified that various changes in the marketplace which particularly should always involve political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors and more. Under political factor, it is always common to look at the government’s conservatism when it comes to dealing with business. One perfect example would be the case of privatization. In every government, there is always a strong stand on controlling the rise of the certain organization. In Japan, for instance, various organizations are faced with remarkable challenges because the government is trying to protect the interest of small organizations in their respective industry. However, the ability of Sony to leverage its core competencies together with other organization is a proof that there is always the right timing in politics. For instance, Sony’s intent to leverage its core competencies with a Swedish telecommunication company in order to beat Nokia resulted in the bi rth of Sony Ericsson. This joint venture is a remarkable proof that finding the right place for each organization is needed in order to enhance its core competencies. This at some point has specifically involved the prevailing political stand of a nation which basically has a great impact on the entire business process of an organization. For instance, a government saying no to privatization may significantly create an impact on those organizations planning to leverage their core competencies through it. With this, it is important to understand politics as a major thing that affects how the entire business should be conducted primarily because of the prevailing government’s stand. However, it is not only in this broad and general illustration how politics essentially affects Sony. In modern situation, politics itself could stand between competitors or even within an organization. This is a proven trend in the whole business industry of electronics. For instance, every profit organization in this industry is simply trying to be a cut above the other by reaching its competitive advantage. Competitive advantage is something that needs to be worked out because it serves as something that will enhance core competencies.

Case study for MGMT306 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

For MGMT306 - Case Study Example nclude hamburgers, milkshakes, cheeseburgers, various types of desserts, chicken, different soft drinks, breakfast items, seasoned fries and French fries. One of the key problems of McDonald is the issue of cultural differences. Being a global company, McDonald focuses on recruiting competent and talented individuals who have the potential and ability of improving on their sales volume. However, the company faces such challenges of cultural differences since its employees come from different cultural backgrounds. Thus, providing an equal training for such employees on how to execute their job roles is challenging for the company. Nevertheless, the company has allocated adequate resources to ensure that it manages the issue of cultural shift effectively. In this, McDonald ensures that it hires labor that is characterized of cultural background of its business environment. Cultural differences among nations also influence how McDonald applies is strategic approaches of attaining business success. Thus, cultural values, which include eating habits, gender perspectives, communication modes, dress codes and religion, dictate how business operations have to be conducted in a given country. McDonald has realized the need of taking into consideration of the cultural values of each business location in order to overcome the issue of cultural shock. As such, the company ensures that it aligns its business strategies with cultural values and practices of the community in which it has to conduct its business activities. Inflation is factor that influences business activities of all international companies. McDonald is one of these companies, which incurs challenges of changing currency rates and inflation in some of its countries where it has established branches. Thus, the company experiences problems in management of its revenues since they shift based on the currency variation among countries. To address this, McDonald ensures that it aligns its pricing strategy with

United States public debt Essay Example for Free

United States public debt Essay The United States deficit, surplus, and debt will always have an impact on taxpayers. In the state of high deficit the government seeks ways to cut and save money for debt payment. The government does this by pulling funding from programs that have little government impact. Increasing taxes also supplies the government with extra income. In addition to the reduction or elimination of certain tax credits, the government analyzes school funding for cost effectiveness. Each step the government takes has a trickling effect on taxpayer’s dollar. The Effects of U.  S. Deficit, Surplus, and Debt When a surplus exists, the government has extra funds to spare and infuse into the economy. This surplus will increase government programs. When the government has a surplus it focuses on its needs by order of necessity, similar to the way individuals do when they have extra money. This can lead to new tax credits for taxpayers. However, when the nation is in debt the taxpayers are also in debt. The government uses tax money to finance their operations. If debt increases taxes go up, if debt decreases taxes lower for most. Effects on Future Social Securities and Medicare Taxpayers are affected by the U. S. deficit when there is a shortfall in revenue, which is the result of the National Debt increasing. Surpluses also have an effect on taxpayers as well. Programs like Social Security and Medicare receive government funding from tax money. Social Security takes contributions made by citizens to accumulate a surplus, which it uses to buy government bonds, which are government debt. These bonds accumulate and eventually mature. The money from the mature bonds helps to pay retirees. As American citizens contribute money into Social Security, the bond purchases mean that the government owes the Social Security program the value of the bonds purchases (Colander, 2010). The debt reported by the government for this purchase, however, is for on-budget accounts, while the U. S. reports unified accounts which include on-budget accounts but also adds off-budgets accounts as well. Like Social Security, Medicare relies on contributions made by citizens. However, Medicare makes use of third party payer markets, which helps people receive services who may be different from those who provide the services. Third party payer systems take contributions to help defray the cost or expense of providing the service while a portion of the services, such as Medicare, are paid by the consumer through the use of a co-payment system. The expenses incurred by instituting a program, such as Social Security, means that the costs of using this program are set against any revenues made for that same year. The cost of running Medicare and Social Security will rise as more Americans reach retirement â€Å"This will require more benefits be paid out than revenues are coming in, thus increasing the expenses and increasing the deficit† (Blahous, 2011). â€Å"The Social Security Administration figures that by the year 2040 the SS trust fund will be used up causing utilization of one of three options: borrowing, increasing revenue, or lowering benefits. The Medicare program is estimated to be much closer to crisis than the SS trust fund. In contrast to current Medicare and Social Security benefits budget of 35 percent, an increase to 60-65% may be necessary as early as 2030† (Colander, 2010). Current legislative discussions by political parties recognize the potential impact on future economic growth that this increasing deficit may have and are seeking ways to address as well as reform programs such as Medicare and Social Security. Unemployment and the Deficit Just as Social Security and Medicare are affected by the United States deficit and surplus, so is the unemployment rate. Increasing unemployment rates increase the deficit thus naturally reducing the deficit decreases unemployment rates as well. According to Ginsburg and Ayres (n. d. ), â€Å"The President and Congress try to outdo one another on who can cut the Federal budget deficit the most. But efforts to reduce the deficit at the expense of necessary social programs are unnecessary and counter-productive. In fact, much of the recent reduction in the deficit is due to the decline in unemployment† (p. 1). With record high deficits within the last years the idea of the government spending to spur the economy that ultimately would help reduce the unemployment level seems near impossible without further affecting the deficit rather than helping reduce it. University of Phoenix Students When students default on their loans, it adds to the national debt. The main problem lies in the fact that newly graduated students can’t find jobs that pay enough to reduce their debt â€Å"Tarah Toney worked two full-time jobs to put herself through college, at McMurry University in Abilene, Texas, and still has $75,000 in debt. She graduated in six years with a Bachelor’s in English and wanted to go on to teach high school† (Jaffe, 2011). Yet the government still requires the students to make on time payments. A surplus allows the government to use more money for grants and loans. The extra money from the budget goes into programs like the Pell grant. This enables more students to borrow or receive money to attend college. A deficit of funds affects students the same way student debt affects the government. To combat debt, cuts to government funding will take place. When the government cuts education funding, programs that fund grants lose money. The United States International Financial Reputation In addition to domestic ramifications regarding the United States deficit, surplus, and debt, international standing can waver due to a weak economy. These topics play an immense part in formulating this nation’s global standing. Maintaining its reputation as a world superpower is arduous during economic crisis. The deficit consists of the dissimilarly in government’s income and its disbursement. Other countries closely watch the deficit/surplus gap. America reputation rest whether it is positive or negative on the amount of the deficit. When the nation spending exceeds the amount it receives, America’s economy seems to be at risk. A surplus in funds strikes a balance to the United States receiving more money than it spends. Hall (2012) states, â€Å"†¦surpluses and deficits result from policy choices about government spending and taxes† (para. 6). If a surplus transpire because of the government not administering funds toward the policies that can help the United States run more efficiently, this can shed a negative light on its globe’s personal image. A Domestic Automotive Manufacturing (Exporter) As an exporter of domestic automobiles, the nation’s deficit, surplus, and debt can impose the prospering or nonsuccess of exporting. An economic strain on funds seeps down and effects American businesses. America prospers from its export and import business. Exporters in the automotive manufacturing lament when the nation’s deficit/debt is high. When America economy is failing, it experiences a lofty volume of automotive imports. American automotive manufacturers languish during economic decline. The automobile industry as a whole continues to be depressed as a result of the global economic depression† (Thompson Merchant, 2010, p. 12). Despite America’s economic problems Japanese manufacturers appear to thrive. Thompson and Merchant (2010) state, â€Å"†¦foreign automakers Toyota and Honda continued to achieve record high revenue levels through 2008 as they increased their market share in the United States† (pg. 12). During a surplus, automotive exports escalate for American manufacturers. A surplus in funds results in the nation’s ability to pay its impounding debt. Lowering debt equals lower interest rates. A surplus makes it easier for manufacturers to safeguard loans to export automotive parts. U. S. Deficit Effect on International Import The economies deficits, surpluses, and debt have an influence on both an Italian clothing design importer and GDP. For example, America can import clothing from an Italian clothing company. If the country has a financial deficit, they must reduce importation and focus on local product. This hurts international trade. A government surplus allows the country to purchase an increased amount of foreign goods. Surpluses, deficits, and debts also affect the nations GDP. As imports increase and deficits and debts increase, the GPD in the nation will decrease as less domestic goods are being sold in the country. When exports increase and a surplus occurs than GDP will increase as well as when there are more domestic products being sold in and out of the nation. Gross domestic product is the amount of products made in the country and sold. These can be both domestic products made and sold here along with exports made and sold elsewhere.

Impact of Culture on International Business

Impact of Culture on International Business Doing business on the international plane presents many challenges because of a variety of factors which differ from one market to the other. These differences are basically informed by the environment of the host country, which is often times different from that at home. One of the environmental factors that present such a challenge is culture. Culture can be defined as complex construct that embodies a peoples knowledge, morals, art, beliefs, customs, laws and other capabilities gathered by a community over time (Clifton, 2004). The culture of the host country strongly impacts on the performance of a firm that engages in international business. Notable aspects of culture central to the conduct of international business include the social structure, religion, language and education. G4S, a company that has established itself in international business has had its fair share of challenges in this area. Social structure has to do with how society is socially organized. It could be looked at from the individual-group dimension, or from the social stratification dimension. Some societies consider an individual the pillar of social organization (Emerson, 2007). This is the scenario G4S encountered when it entered the American and most Western markets. The challenge here was how to instill a sense of teamwork among employees. It was an uphill task for managers who had been socialized to believe in the superiority of teamwork, as individuals compete against each other for results. On the Japanese market however, the firm found that emphasis was on group, rather than individual performance. Though this is said to be the driving force behind the companys success in Japan, it is vilified for imbedding creativity, and is touted as a stumbling block to dynamism. This, indeed, is a challenge the firm has had to deal with. Social stratification has to do with placing members of society in certain classes. There are those in the lower, middle and upper classes. Many times, this is borne out of ones family background, income or occupation. Those from the lower class only hope to move from that class to the upper one through a process called social mobility, which is in most cases done through education and job opportunities. When opportunities for mobility are suffocated, there is likely to be conflict between the classes; and in the job situation, between management and employees. Some societies have room for social mobility, while others do not. A country like Britain has less social mobility (Hill Jain, 2008, p. 66, 67). As a result, there is always simmering tension between management and workers, which the firm has had to deal with from time to time. When industrial disputes become frequent, the firm finds doing business in the country quite expensive. Such a problem is not common in America, where social mobility is easy. G4S operates in countries with various religious persuasions, which have an effect on its operations. In predominantly Christian (protestant) countries such as Britain, America and most of Africa, the spirit of entrepreneurship has helped expand the companys operations and profitability. Protestantism advocates for hard work and creation of wealth for Gods glory, but abstinence from worldly pleasures. Since the resources earned from working cannot be spend on leisurely pursuits, the only other option is to reinvest it in expanding the business (Hill Jain, 2008, p. 70). The Christian ethic, which is a cultural issue, is supportive of the entrepreneurial (capitalist) mindset. Doing business in Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia is rather tricky. In the first place, the Islamic culture frowns upon charging interest on loan. Doing business in such an environment has been very expensive. The fact that adherents of Islam do not work on Fridays goes against the practice in other countr ies, and managers found it difficult making adjustments. The Islamic culture also favors market based systems and when they suspect one is making exorbitant profits, however justified, the establishment begins putting sanctions in the companys ways. This has hindered the company from making maximum profits from its investment, which is the hallmark of the capitalist culture from where the company originates. There have also been problems of negative perception of the company because of the historical West-Islamic conflict, making the firms operations difficult. When tensions between the two sides run high, sometimes the companys property is destroyed, or its products and services shunned by customers. This reduces the companys profitability. Operations in China where Confucianism advocates for individual connections rather than the rule of law have also been problematic. Business ethics have not been adhered to, making the firm lose out on opportunities for lack of connections, refe rred to as Guanxi (Goodrich, 2005). G4S once lost case where a company that had breached a contract was left unpunished because one the companys top executives was a son to a leading politician. Though this would appear to be unethical in most Western countries, it is perfectly normal in China, as the company later came to learn. For the sake of survival, G4S has now been forced to recruit well-connected local executives, and to enter partnerships with local companys belonging to senior government officials. This is normal in order in China. Most of the countries in which G4S operates have diverse linguistic backgrounds. This has posed major problems, especially in Saudi Arabia, where most people speak Arabic. Expatriate managers without the knowledge of Arabic have found it very hard to communicate when marketing the companys products and services. This has forced them to attend Arabic classes so as to make them perform better. Most African countries with a multiplicity of languages also pose problems of multiple cultures, which call for extensive training on the part of managers for these regions. Formal education determines the quality of skill, values, norms and the general socialization of individuals. G4S has had problems operating in countries such as Somalia and Rwanda in Africa, which have no proper system of formal education. In most cases, the firm has had to rely on expatriates to fill top management positions. References Clifton, J. (2004). Culture and International Business. New York: Blackwell Publishers Ltd. Emerson, N. (2007). The Social Dimension of International Business. Beverly Hill: Sage Books. Goodrich, A. (2005). The Dynamics of Global Business. Chicago: Gift Book Publishers. Hill, C. W and Jain, A. K. (2008). International Business: Competing in the Global Marketplace. New Delhi. Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited. Impact of Culture on International Business Impact of Culture on International Business In this essay I am going critically to evaluate the impact of culture on the International Business. Culture is a term which could be defined in many ways. All the people have different attitudes and perceptions so when being asked what is culture for them , the answer will always have different aspects. Despite the we all believe we have impulsive knowledge on what culture mean defining it is more complex. According to Kroeber and Kluckhohns research culture may be defined in more than 160 ways. Best culture descriptions that were found during the research are that culture is. Different aspects of culture help different people to find the best field for them. But theres a case when culture affects the whole society not only individuals. According to Francis Fukuyama the most crucial area of modern life in which culture exercises a direct influence on domestic well-being and international order is the economy. Although economic activity is inextricably linked with social and political life, there is a mistaken tendency (â‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦) to regard the economy as a facet of life with its own laws, separate from the rest of society. The comprehensive cultures impact on international business might be found in every international company as culture affects HRM , International marketing , supply chain , operations management , corporate strategies and especially way of doing business. On the other hand cultures influence may be found mainly in values , beliefs and behavior. We can simply view three cultural differences across values , beliefs and behavior (see Appendix 2) The main summary about culture we can make is that when comparing different cultures we can define 4 key assumptions. Cultures are not homogenous. Within every culture there are subcultures . For example the caste system in India, working class culture. Also place of residence. For example Basque people , French Canadian. Cultural heritage and its interpretation are very individual, so we cant assume that two people from one country will behave in similar way or to have common beliefs. Separation of cultural issues from economic and political is complex as all three factors interact to influence views and beliefs. Defining the degree of differences between cultures is not straightforward because recognition of differences is a subjective issue. As the level of international trade and travel increases cultures become increasingly associated and the cultural diffusion may alter the significance of national cultures. As we saw that culture influences beliefs , values and behavior , its likely that the culture affects also the management style. The variations of what authorizes the management are not different in black and white terms , because theres a cross-cultural understanding of the purpose of doing business and the nature of management task. However there are differences of emphasis , priority and understanding which may create a variety of styles and practice. In fact the differences can be found by separating countries in a cluster. According to Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions there are four kinds of them which are used in order to compare national cultures. Individualism versus collectivism Individual rights and freedoms are fundamental values in individualistic cultures.  Special emphasis is placed on personal career and remuneration.  Collectivistic cultures are built on a foundation of values: harmony between people in the group, the priority of group needs and interests.  Hofstede concludes that all rich countries are individualistic and poor collectivist.  In societies individualistic relationships can be planned and either party to terminate them if they replace them with a good offer from elsewhere.  In collectivist cultures are characterized by relationships of moral and emotional nature. Power Distance Each member of the organization defines different levels of owned by him and other members of the groups organizational status, prestige and level in the organizational hierarchy.  Various are the rights deriving from the hierarchical level.  Subordinates carry out the decisions of superiors in a different way.  Use categories: gender, inequality, privilege, social position, status, power, etc. podchineiie  Studies of Hofstede put Asian and South American countries together with Belgium, France, Italy and Spain in the group of countries with a high index of severity of hierarchical position.  Scandinavian countries and the U.S. have low values of this parametyr, Bulgaria is among the countries that are characterized by the greatest difference between managers and subordinates. Uncertainty avoidance There are societies in which the uncertainty of future worries people, and vice versa.  For those societies are characterized respectively high or low depending on the experts in solving problems as small or large mode of individual consciousness to deal with them.Societies that do not take the risk and fear of tomorrow, develop pluralism of opinions and are willing to deal with individual problems.  In other societies, people are fighting for the future, they are nervous and aggressive.  They feel threatened by the world around them because they avoid the risk.  Hence the characteristics of the crop in their respective organizations: subordinates seek clear instructions and managers, preferring more rules and laws.  Bulgaria is among the countries in which people feel moderately stressed, are more conservative beliefs and value safety. Masculinity v femininity G. Hofstede defines masculinity as the extent to which dominant values in society are considered aggressive, pursuing the goals by all means.  The orientation is towards money and possession of property.  Cultures with a feminine nature, appreciate the relationship between people, caring for others, overall quality of life.   Dimension masculinity femininity is important to determine the methods of reasoning in the job, the choice of approaches to solving nl most complex tasks of conflict resolution.In Table.  5.5.  reflected the consequences for organizations of prevailing masculinity or femininity in the national culture (adapt. 3, 5, 12, 15 and 18). Depending on national cultures are formed organizational value systems and behavior.  Large transnational corporations are constantly confronted with the problem of national cultures, assessed the compatibility of cultures, predict the development of their interaction and assign them (incorporate).   So for every businessperson that is going to deal for a first time with a specific country can easily to look at the clusters (see Appendix 3 , fig 1) and to get an idea whit what kind of culture hes facing and how to deal. These clusters show that theres a level of cultural attraction between groups of nations so its easier to make a general understanding of management practice. But there are danger s of making groupings of countries. The detail of how people behave in certain situations must be discovered by own experience and discussions with people who have already worked with the particular country. Although having an understanding of a nations characteristics at a good level is very useful in international business because in different parts of the world theres a different management styles and because each of the main business factors are affected by the culture and cultural differences. When a company is creating its international strategy , it should consider where and what is going to sell , also to evaluate if the product will be accepted , because the future of the products success depends on the cultural understanding of the people who are going to buy it. For example for a company selling pork meat will be impossible to sell in Islamic countries because of the religion restrictions. Also staff should be employed in a variety of adequacy in the foreign locations. So human resource management need to be sensitive to any cultural need that might to individual countries. Similarly if a company wants to establish overseas plants , the culture and cultural difference can easily affect the way of production and content and format of any financial reports produced to report the firms performance. Its important to look how culture affects the operations management , international marketing , human resource management and finance functions. Impact of culture on International Marketing Its clear that the cultural differences across the world offers not only challenges but also opportunities for the international marketing. When being on a business trip its interesting to face products and facts that might be regarded as strange . For example advertisements of well-known brands completely different than those ones at home , or even opening hours for shops. All of those simple facts are of a great importance for marketing managers and pose potential threats for them when developing a strategy. When a company which is going to expand overseas is developing its strategy there are four alternatives for it: selling the product without changes on international markets. modifying products for different countries or regions. developing new products for foreign markets. incorporating all differences in a single product and introducing a global product Having categorized cultural groupings and cultural characteristics , managers are able to seek new overseas markets to expand their firms , to sell more goods , and to raise profits. Even culture might be suggested as a tool for marketing segmentation because if the culture in the target country is similar to the culture in the existing markets , its a precondition that selling the product in the target country might be successful. Products sold on foreign markets are influenced by the local behavior, tastes, attitudes and traditions in each market. The Coca Cola Companys attempt to sell Diet  Coke product on the Japanese market was not successful because the Japanese do not  consider themselves overweight and Japanese women do not want to admit they are  dieters turning to products whose label specifies that. The company was forced to  change the product name in Coke Light, and the promotion emphasized keeping in  shape by consuming the product, and not losing weight. Goods intended for consumers are more likely to suffer changes because they need to be adopted to meet the customers expectation in the target market and to meet the economic conditions of it. There are many examples of international firms that adjust their products to meet the specific expectations of the overseas markets. For example, McDonalds was forced to remove their menus including pork and beef meat and to create menus especially for the Indian market. The company has also developed rice-based  menus in China, started selling beer in Germany, wine in France, and in Japan  the character Ronald McDonald was called Donald McDonald to be easier to  pronounce by the Japanese. Another cultural issue that is effecting the international business is the price because it needs to match exactly the level of economic development in the target country. McDonalds is an exact example of that. When McDonalds opened in India , the company wasnt forced only to remove the beef and pork menus but also to reduce the prices of all goods which were sold in the restaurants. But still despite the fall in prices recent statistics show that McDonalds in India raised their profits by 8,9%. Human Resource Management In every company the HRM Manager is in charge to care for recruiting and training staff , working methods and time. For every company dealing across the world , its very likely to have staff of mixed nationalities which could lead to cultural confounding. When recruiting staff , some cultures will apply more conducted approach. For example the approach will be based on accurate qualification for the job and also test in order to asses the potential ability of the candidates. Other cultures will act differently by applying more easygoing approach. For example this approach is based on education, personal recommendation or employer networks. A main concept that is also relevant to the HRM is Hofstedes concept of power distance. Its relevant because its related to mans attitudes to hierarchy and also the way in which this might be translated into different ranges of pay levels of the highest and the lowest in the company. For example in France which Hofstede defined in the Power Distance group , theres a great gap between lowest and highest paid employee while in contrast the more collectivist and low power distance countries the gap is much smaller. Finance In order a company to pursue its goals and objectives it must be ensured with sufficient funds. Also need to be monitored if funds are used efficiently and correctly , if financial performance is reported to then management and shareholders. These are the main functions of the finance within every business. But elements mainly influenced by culture are sources of finance and reporting practice. Sources that might be used for companies expanding vary between different countries , as sources reflect not only on the political economy of the countries but also on their state of economic and financial development. For example in countries as japan and Germany usual form of sourcing business is by having loan from a bank while in the USA and UK businesses rely more on raising money by selling equity shares on the stock market. In order to expand overseas , companies may choose to find the money from the host or home country or even from third country. For example, when McDonalds decided to open their first restaurant in Moscow in 1990 during the Soviet Union. The company has used a joint venture with the Moscow City Council. Despite all the funds came from the franchisor from Canada and the US headquarters , the deal was to pay to the City Council in order to be allowed to operate in Moscow. So the agreement reflected the Soviet/Russian political system where business and state a re closely connected. So its fair to say that the financial arrangements were partially influenced by culture. Similarly there isnt an unified approach for reporting financial results by annual reports. For example nations as Germany , Italy and France use continental approach and is heavily influenced by tax regulations. The reports information is designed to allow the tax authorities and government to compute and monitor the liability. While Australia , USA and UK use Anglo-Saxon approach. Its assumed that the shareholders are the main users and the information provided in the report allows them to asses the companys performance and their investments performance. These differences are of a great importance for international companies because when they enter the international market and build their branches they will be challenged to agree to the local terms and rules. Also the financial information from all the branches should be combined in addition to create consolidated accounts. Common practice for international companies is to create unified reporting system based on home countrys rules and terms. So then the international branches use this system in order to prepare their financial reports. After reports are finished then the local staff in the international branches reworks the reports in order to meet the local regulations. Appendix 1 shared patterns of behavior (Mead) ; Collective mental programming (Hofstede); A set of base assumptions shared solution to universal problemsâ‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦ handed down from one generation to the next ( Schein) ; The essential core of culture consists of traditional ideas and especially their attached values (Krober and Kluckhohn)

Cost Volume Profit (CVP) Analysis Applications

Cost Volume Profit (CVP) Analysis Applications 1. Introduction The use of Cost Volume Profit (CVP) Analysis depends upon a number of clear assumptions, for its application in resolving problems, simplifying complexities and aiding decision-making in business issues. Areas of application, inter alia, include pricing, calculating contribution, computing costs, deciding sales mixes, estimating breakeven points, assessing profitability, and achieving profits. As a financial tool in the hands of accountants, (professionals who are generally more at home in dealing with simple and linear arithmetic than with the intricacies of statistics and calculus), it is invaluable, brilliant in its simplicity and in its ability for using straightforward calculations to make sense out of complicated business situations. CVP analyses work on certain basic assumptions in areas of sales, in unit price and volume, and costs, fixed and variable, for their simplest and most straightforward applications. However, the irregularities of actual business situations, their proneness to pick up complex variables, and their stubborn refusal to abide by the norms of arithmetical linearity, introduce a number of issues that sometimes make it difficult to apply simple arithmetical concepts like CVP towards their resolution. The simplicity of an analytical tool such as CVP can cut both ways. It can be both its greatest virtue and its major shortcoming. The real world is complicated, no less so in the world of managerial affairs; and a typical analytical model will remove many of those complications in order to preserve a sharp focus. That sharpening is usually achieved in two basic ways: simplifying assumptions are made about the basic nature of the model and restrictions are imposed on the scope of the model. (Guidry, Horrigan Craycraft, 1998) Businesses that do not have a single product sales portfolio, and who, in the normal course of their activities, sell a number of products, sometimes quite dissimilar from each other, face even more difficult and complex challenges in the application of CVP concepts. It is the purpose of this assignment to examine the appropriateness of applying CPV techniques in business environments, wherein companies produce and sell a number of dissimilar products, with particular reference to the specific assumptions needed for such exercises. 2. Commentary In base terms, a CVP analysis deals with sales, costs, contribution and ultimate profitability. Arithmetical manipulation of the relation between unit sale price, total sales, variable costs, contribution, fixed costs and profitability, results in information about breakeven volumes, the implications of both variable and fixed costs on margins and final profitability, thus helping decision making in such issues. a. Sales The first set of assumptions, in this methodology, concerns financial data regarding sales. CVP techniques work on the assumption that product sale prices will remain constant and total sales will necessarily be a linear multiple of the number of units sold. As such, if ‘x’ is the sales price in GBP and ‘a’ the volume in units, total sales will equal ax GBP. In most business situations, factors like volume and cash discounts, as well as introductory offers to new customers, often cause changes in sales prices. It is general practice for accountants, in such situations, to arrive at an average sales price depending upon the business environment, and the needs of the market, and apply it for CVP exercises. This situation could become complicated, if sales prices differ in different geographical areas, and infinitely more complex for analysis, if a company deals with a number of products, each of which may have a range of items, and different pricing policies. Furthermore, the use of average prices becomes patently unsuitable, if not downright silly, in environments where a number of diverse products make up the sales basket. b. Variable Costs Costs, for CVP analyses, consist of two broad categories, variable costs and fixed costs. Variable costs are costs that change directly in proportion to changes in volume. They include the wages of production workers or salespeople, raw materials, electric power to run machines, and the cost of maintaining inventory. While most variable costs are of a direct nature, their movement, in actuality, is never strictly linear and they tend to change somewhat, decreasing with initial volume increases, remaining stable for a substantial period and then inching upwards, after volumes exceed a certain limit. While accountants are aware that costs are never fully variable or fully fixed, this differentiation helps in some exercises, notably CVP applications. Costing and production departments thus try to segregate variable costs to the best of their knowledge and ability. â€Å"Splitting out fixed and variable costs can be a long, time consuming process; and techniques such as the inspection of accounts method really are not suitable if the analysis is to be realistic. At the very least, some kind of statistical or mathematical analysis will have to be undertaken.†(Williamson, 2000) The impact of different sales prices, and variable costs, of different items, for a company that deals in many diverse products, introduces a host of complexities in the use of CVP techniques, which primarily work on the assumptions of single product lines, constant sales prices, variable costs, and linear movements of both, in accordance with volumes. Fixed Costs, another important factor for CVPA exercises, comprise of expenses that do not change in proportion to the level of activity of a business. They can include both overheads, like rent and utilities, as well as direct costs like salaries. It also needs understanding that fixed costs remain steady only within a certain range of activity, and for a definite period. They are quite liable to change with time and with level of activity. c. Multi product Situations CVP exercises make use of all these components, namely sales prices, sales volume, variable costs and fixed costs to arrive at conclusions regarding contribution margins, breakeven points, pricing decisions, minimum volumes that need selling, and similar other financial issues. While CVP analyses progress on the assumption that primary factors will behave predictably, at least for single product companies, the situation in real life business environments is very different and sales prices, variable costs and fixed costs get impacted by developments like changes in pricing policies, needs for special discounts, inflation, and mid term salary increases. All organizations are subject to uncertainties, leading to risks of failing to meet expectations. Even though each organization is subject to distinctive business risks, all of them face uncertainties related to the economic environment. These uncertainties increase manifold in the case of organisations that deal in various diverse products, with differing sales prices and variable costs. Even the treatment of fixed costs becomes complex because some fixed costs would be applicable to specific product lines, (e.g. departmental salaries or rent) while others would be applicable to all product groups like the MD’s remuneration or legal retainer fees. Such business settings lead to violation of basic assumptions needed for CVP exercises. Moreover, this sort of nonlinear behaviour, of both revenues and costs, and the increasing number of uncertainties could affect the assumptions required for CVP analyses and lead to invalid conclusions. In addition, it could be difficult to determine the point of operating activity where operations move into a new relevant range. Any simple and straightforward attempt at resolving CVP issues, even for a company with just ten product lines, each with different revenue and cost cha racteristics could thus fail without the use of mathematical modelling, which at times could become quite unwieldy. Multi product situations, which automatically lead to the emergence of numerous variables and to the violation of the tenets of CVP methods, are inevitable in real life business situations, and it would thus be quite impossible to find problems that satisfy all CVP assumptions. Does this imply that the CVP method is just a simplistic arithmetical tool that is adequate for use in costing textbooks, as well as for simplifying basic cost issues for beginners, but actually of no use in real life situations where (a) the sales baskets of companies always have many products, and (b) costs are not amenable to straitjacketed behaviour? Notwithstanding the meagre probability of the assumptions required for CVP exercises occurring in real life situations, CVP analyses still maintain their relevance in operational and financial decision making, even in multi product situations, albeit with some provisos and modifications. The most widespread application of CVO, in multi product situations happens in the formulation and determination of sales mix. In such situations where there are, for example, five products with differing unit sales prices and variable costs, it is possible to find the contribution of each product per piece, by subtracting the variable cost from the sales price. An analysis of comparative contributions thus provides information about the potential profitability of the different products, and determination of the product mix that will contribute most towards the profitability of the company. The use of a practical example will be of use in illustrating these statements Data relating to hypothetical Company ABC Product A B C D E Sales Price GBP 5 6 8 11 12 Sales Volumes Nos. 100 250 325 25 200 Product Mix % 11 28 36 3 22 Variable Costs GBP 3 2 4 5 7 Contribution GBP 2 4 4 6 5 Total Contribution GBP 200 1000 1300 150 1000 The use of simple CVP analyses makes it possible to come to the following conclusions. Product E, even though it has the highest Sales Price does not give the highest contribution, either per piece or in totality. Product D, even if it has the highest contribution per piece gives the lowest total contribution Product C, which has a medium contribution of 4 GBP provides the highest total contribution to the company Profit optimising activities should primarily focus on (a) increasing the contribution of Product A and (b) increasing the sales of Product E and D. Apart from these conclusions, CVP techniques will be useful in calculating the breakeven point of the company’s current operations, after ascertainment of fixed costs, and by using the weighted average of contributions of the total products, based on the current product mix. In this particular case the weighted average of the contribution of the company’s products, obtained by dividing the total contribution of 3650 GBP by total sales of 900 units works, out to 4.05 GBP per piece. Thus, if the fixed costs of the company are 4500 GBP per year, the company will have to sell (4500/4.05) 1112 units to break even, considering maintenance of the current product mix. Income tax does not come into play until achievement of break-even levels. However, once breakeven levels are crossed, the profit after tax at various levels of sales is easily obtainable by multiplying the sales numbers, in excess of the BEP, with the weighted contribution per unit and obtaining the product of this figure and the post tax percentage. If, for example the company plans to sell 2000 products during a year, and the level of tax is 30 %, the total after tax profits can be worked out by multiplying 882 (2000 – 1112) with 4.05 and then again with 70% (being the post tax income). As such, 882 * 4.05 * 70 %, which equals to 2500 GBP will be the post tax profits at a sale level of 2000 units with the same product mix, sales prices, variable and fixed costs. The use of Excel sheets becomes very useful for such exercises and enables accountants to work upon a number of options with varying products mixes, changes in sales prices and the impact of different factors on variable and fixed costs. It thus becomes possible to forecast a number of situations and engage in a number of sensitivity exercises. 3. Conclusion The use of CVP analysis depends upon a number of assumptions in areas of sales and costs for its proper application. Many of these assumptions get violated in actual business situations, more so when a company deals in a number of products with different price and cost structures. While these factors do lead to difficulties in using CVP techniques, the availability of spreadsheets, particularly the options available with Microsoft Excel make it possible for accountants to use these techniques in different business scenarios with changes in assumptions without great difficulty or tedious and repetitive calculations. In case of situations where the number of variables becomes extensive, the use of probabilistic models helps in CVP analysis. However, the use of probabilistic techniques in normal business situations is quite rare, and the careful and knowledgeable use of CVP techniques, with the aid of spreadsheets, proves adequate in handling many multi product requirements. CPV analysi s also faces criticism because conclusions and recommended decisions, arising out of its use, disregards wealth and risk implications. Nevertheless, its continuous use and adaptability reinforces the robustness of the model and its adaptability to changing business needs. Word Count: 2128 words Bibliography Bhimani, A. (Ed.).,2003, Management Accounting in the Digital Economy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Guidry, F., Horrigan, J. O., Craycraft, C., 1998, CVP Analysis: A New Look. Journal of Managerial Issues, 10(1), 74+. Heymann, H. G., Bloom, R. ,1990, Opportunity Cost in Finance and Accounting. Westport, CT: Quorum Books. Lawrence, C. M., 2006, Cost Management: A Strategic Focus, 3d Ed. Issues in Accounting Education, 21(3), 324+. Mascha, M. F., 2002, Cost Management: Strategies for Business Decisions. Issues in Accounting Education, 17(4), 451+. Riahi-Belkaoui, A.,1992, The New Foundations of Management Accounting. New York: Quorum Books. Williamson, D, 2000, Cost Volume Profit Analysis: Its Assumptions and Their Pitfalls, Fortune City, Retrieved March9, 2007 from business.fortunecity.com/discount/29/cvpassweb.html