Risk Management and Investment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words - 1

Risk Management and Investment - Essay Example From the report, it is evident that the performance of the firm is better than the performance of other investment funds. Additionally, various risks come along the portfolios. Consequently, the recommendations reside on the basis that adding, modifying, and excluding some of the investment funds in the portfolio with improve the performance of portfolio. The investment portfolio is aimed at maximizing income located in the United Kingdom. The investment fund comprises of Greggs Plc., Tate & Lyle, Domino Printing Services, JD Sports Fashion PLC, Bellway PLC, William Hill PLC, Beazley PLC, RPC, Group PLC, Huntsworth Plc, CSR Plc., and cash worth 5 million pounds. From the stock 10 of them are securities and only one is 5 million pounds on deposit, which will earn, one per cent since the date inception (Markon 2010). The investment fund is a type of income whose main purpose is to maximize return with very low risk. Therefore, the investment fund needs to invest in securities having stable income like fixed income securities, blue chips, and deposit receipts. Although the growth of the securities is not stable, they are not exposed to various risks. The report discusses the past performance of the investment fund. Thereafter, the paper analyses the risk of the investment fund, which may hinder the fund from achieving income maximization (Fama 1970). Finally, the paper outline crucial and helpful recommendation for the investment portfolio to make sure that the aim of the fund is satisfied. Before the third section, it is assumed that the date of inception is 1st January 2012 and cut off date is 3rd Februrary. Secondly, the paper ignores the changes effect, inflation rate, trade cost, and commission, which the factors will be nil. Thereafter, the return of the investment fund will be lower that the return of the investment fund. Consequently, the inter-bank lending rate of one year represents FTSE

Customer Relationship Management in Bahrain Investment Banking Arena Essay Example for Free

Customer Relationship Management in Bahrain Investment Banking Arena Essay The banking industry has undergone widespread changes within the operating environment and this involves globalization of markets and technological improvements. These two factors have influenced and encouraged innovative practices within the banking industry that has served to enhance its operational efficiency. The introduction of ATMs and e-banking facilities are some of the major milestones in the banking industry that have revolutionized business operations. The global markets have intensified the competitive environment of the banking industry that has created the need for increased efficiency in operations and increasing customer satisfaction. Customers are the lifeblood of any organization and the banking business too depends on the acquisition and retention of consumers for its profitability. Customer relationship management forms a vital aspect of business strategy driving the company’s market shares and market leadership position. Customer relationship management (CRM) has been defined as a business strategy that â€Å"is a fusion of a series of functions, skills, processes, and technologies which together allow companies to more profitably manage (acquire and retain) customers as tangible assets† (Shanmugasundaram, 2008:98). It is viewed as an interactive process that creates a balance between corporate objectives and customer satisfaction to increase the profitability of the business. Acquisition and retention of customers is one of the vital requirements of business and the effectiveness of strategies driven towards this goal determines the success of business enterprises. The past few years have witnessed growing application of CRM in retail banking and investment banking sectors. The key objective behind such initiatives is to ensure the delivery of superior customer service and to fulfil the needs of consumers. Such practices are effective in enabling organizations to meet the needs of the consumers and provide improved services in comparison to other players in the industry. Competitive advantage and business gains are driven by a proactive approach that focuses on consumer needs and expectations, provision of consistently high quality service, looking into consumer convenience and an effective follow up service to ensure consumer loyalty. A vital aspect of investment banking and any other financial services is the changing consumer mindsets. Owing to the abundance of information easily accessible over the Internet the consumers today are more knowledgeable of the wide range of choices and alternatives available to them. The consumers are equipped with more knowledge related to the banking options available and hence their banking decisions are guided by their well-researched study. This fact holds true for all economic sectors and business operations but forms a critical aspect of banking industries since it caters to a diverse segment of consumers. In nearly all business to business markets in which clients are as large as, or as in this case, often much larger than their suppliers, the latter must respond quickly to pressures from their clients to improve client management processes and systems† (Foss Stone, 2002: 211). CRM in Investment banking sector The short term objective of the marketing department is to acquire customers while the long term objective translates to retaining the old customers through effective customer relationship management (CRM) strategies. Reaching and acquiring a new customer is one thing, keeping the relationship healthy and strong over a long period of time is the mark of the true marketing professional concerned with long term health of the organization† (Dolak, 2009). The increasing competitive market makes it difficult to retain customers over a longer period of time owing to the constant influx of new and substitute alternatives invading the shelf spaces at the local retail shop. This makes the task of CRM increasingly challenging and organizations adopt various strategies to attract old customers back. Retention strategies often employ measures such as consumer behaviour research and product surveys that enable the organizations to assess the needs and expectations of the consumer and enable them to serve better. Customers always appreciate the personal touch that results in building strong relationships. The net today provides numerous effective communication channels that are being used to keep the customer happy. Web based customer relationship management has effectively integrated all modes of communication – web, email, chat, video, voice to serve and support the customers to enhance the total customer experience. Investment banking differs from other forms of banking in the role a few major clients play on the bank’s performance and productivity (Foss Stone, 2002). This form of banking targets a fixed client segment that drives the sales of investment products and services. The efficiency of the banking sector is determined by the types of products and services sold to customers in response to their investment needs and expectations. Customization of products and services are the key to deriving client satisfaction. Identification of the client segment is a vital factor in targeting and reaching out to the desired client population and this process is driven by market research. The changing demographics and intense competitive pressures from global industry players have however made a significant impact on the business strategies of investment banks worldwide. The challenges faced by investment bankers lie in reaching out to target consumers and providing them with increased ease of banking services that serve to retain clients over a longer period of time. Moreover, the increasing demands of consumers and growing expectations have driven the banking sector to adopt technology based innovative applications for meeting consumer needs and expectations. Online banking services and mobile banking applications are some of the innovative means that are being used by investment bankers to reach out to their target consumers. Such applications have served to improve banking services and efficiencies in resolving customer queries and needs promptly through the click of the mouse button. The anytime and anywhere access to banking services have defined new trends in serving consumers. â€Å"Online customization is one useful customer relationship management strategy adopted by e-business to add value and improve sales of their products and services using the Internet† (Khosla et al. , 2003). Investment banking in Bahrain The banking sector in Bahrain is one of the key sectors influencing economic growth and development in the region. The contribution of the financial services and banking sector is second only to the oil and natural gas industry in the country. The country has experienced an economic boom and an upward trend in economic growth and development over the past few decades on account of globalisation influences and opening of trade channels. The banking sector has also opened to multinational corporations establishing their operations in the country to tap the growing number of high net worth individuals in the country. Despite the globalisation of banking operations and increased de-regulation of the financial services sector in the area the country continues to have a significant control and supervision over the regulatory environment. The Central Bank of Bahrain continues to be monitor and control the banking environment in the country. The modernisation of banking services and strategic approaches made by investment bankers in other parts of the globe have not produced much impact in this region owing to the constraints applied by the existing cultural influence. The retail banking scenario in Bahrain is to a considerable extent driven by the culture of the country. The cultural impacts are realised in the conservative approach of consumers towards banking and investment. Various research studies have concluded that while the region is an emerging market for technology applications and innovative practices, user attitudes have limited the scope of technology based business models in the banking sector. The conservative market environment and user attitudes towards the CRM strategies adopted by investment bankers in Bahrain forms the focal point of the research study. The research study will analyse the various perspectives involved in CRM approach by investment bankers through the study of Unicorn Investment Bank in Bahrain. The bank was founded in the year 2004 and has its headquarters in Bahrain. It is an Islamic financial services group that has an international presence in various locations such as Malaysia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and United States. The bank currently has six distinctive business service categories that include asset management and real estate, capital markets, corporate finance, private equity, strategic mergers and acquisitions and treasury. Among the various services offered by the bank the key approach is to deliver the customers with a comprehensive range of investment solutions that are customised to meet client needs and expectations. Unicorn’s integrated product offering and financial engineering skills are closely intertwined with a strong capacity to distribute the Bank’s products and services to a broad client base across the GCC region, the wider Middle East region, Southeast Asia, the USA and the Europe† (Unicorn, 2010). The target customers of the bank include high net worth individuals, business enterprises, financial institutions, corporations, and government agencies and departments. The products offered by the bank are Shari’ah compliant and conforms to the international financial practices (Unicorn, 2010). Issues and challenges â€Å"All major banks have invested heavily in technology and infrastructure over the last 5 and 10 years in this area, but hardly any of them have been successful in actually getting it effective† (Infosys, 2009). The failure of CRM initiatives within the investment banking sector have provided a new ground for research into increasing the effectiveness of CRM applications. There are many strategic implications related to the application of CRM within investment banking sector. This involves the adaptation of normal banking processes and systems to integrate with innovative use of technology based applications and automated query processing systems that require efficient management and handling of issues. Such issues pertain to the efficient use of CRM systems to meet operational goals and integrating the different banking functions to provide a structured application that can be used easily by consumers. Ease of use and convenience are some of the key parameters involved in the development of CRM based banking system. A key challenge facing these areas involves the security and privacy issues that form a major source of concern for consumers using the technology based applications. Technology based business models and CRM strategies enable investment bankers to provide the customers with efficiency in delivery of services, access to relevant information, product details and ease of transactions. Mobile banking and e-banking facilitates the customers of investment banking to a host of facilities that range from product enquiry; access updated rates of interest and market values of the investment products chosen and conducts investment transactions online. Investment portfolios can also be accessed and manipulated according to user convenience from the comforts of their home or office. However, widespread usage of such systems has been restricted on account of user reservations related to security issues and privacy of vital user data and information. Mobile banking and online transactions raise security and privacy concerns among most of the consumers (Barati Mohammadi, 2009). The transfer of sensitive financial and personal information across mobile networks is found to be the prime reason behind the psychological barriers created among potential mobile banking customers (Laukkanen, 2007).

How Does the Body Maintain Acid-Base Balance?

How Does the Body Maintain Acid-Base Balance? It is important to regulate chemical balance or homeostasis of body fluids. Acidity or alkalinity has to be regulated. An acid is a substance that lets out hydrogen ions in solution. Strong acid like hydrochloric acid release all or nearly all their hydrogen ions and weak acids like carbonic acid release some hydrogen ions. Bases or alkalis have low hydrogen ion concentration and can accept hydrogen ions in solution. Acidity or alkalinity of a solution is measured by pH. (1) Regulation of Acid-base Balance Body fluids are maintained within a narrow range that is slightly alkaline. The normal pH of arterial blood is 7.35 and 7.45. Acids are continually produced during metabolism. Several body systems including buffers, the respiratory system and the renal system are actively involved in maintaining the narrow pH range necessary for optimal function. Buffers help maintain acid bases balance by neutralizing excess acids and bases. The lungs and the kidneys help maintain a normal pH by either excreting or retaining acids or bases. (1) Hydrogen ion concentration of body fluids Hydrogen ions are continually being added to the body fluids as a result of metabolic activities. To maintain a constant (H+) in the body fluids, input of hydrogen ions must be balanced by an equal output. On the input side only a small amount of acid capable of dissociating release H+ is taken in with food. Most hydrogen ions in the body fluids are generated internally from metabolic activities. Normally hydrogen ions continually being added to the body fluids from three following sources: Carbonic acid formation. The major source of H+ is through H2CO3 formation metabolically produced CO2. Cellular oxidation of nutrients yields energy with CO2 and H2O as end products. Catalysed by the enzyme carbonic anhydrase, CO2 and H2O from H2CO3 which then partially dissociates to liberate free hydrogen ions and HCO3-. Reaction The reaction is reversible because it can go in either direction, depending on the concentration of the substances involved. Within the systemic capillaries, the CO2 level in the blood increases as metabolically produced CO2 enters from the tissues. This drives the reaction to the acid side, generating H+ as well as HCO3- in the process. In the lungs, the reaction is reversed: CO2 diffuses from the blood flowing through the pulmonary capillaries into the alveoli from which it is expired to the atmosphere. The reduction in CO2 in the blood drives the reaction toward the CO2 side. Hydrogen ions and HCO3- form H2CO3 which rapidly decomposes into CO2 and H20 once again. The CO2 is exhaled while the hydrogen ions are incorporated into H2O molecules. When the respiratory system is able to keep pace with the rate of metabolism, there is no net gain or loss of H+ in the body fluids from metabolically produced CO2. When the rate of CO2 removal by the lungs does not match the rate of CO2 produ ction at the tissue level, the resultant accumulation of CO2 in the body leads to an excess or shortage of free H+ in the body fluids. Inorganic acids produced during the breakdown of nutrients. Dietary proteins and other ingested nutrient molecules that are found abundantly in meat contain a large quantity of sulfur and phosphorus. When the molecules are broken down, sulphuric acid and phosphoric acid are produced as by-products. Being moderately strong acids, these two inorganic acids dissociate to a large extent which releases free H+ into the body fluids. In contrast, the breakdown of fruits and vegetables produce bases that neutralize the acids originating from protein metabolism. Organic acids resulting from intermediary metabolism. Numerous organic acids are produced during normal intermediary metabolism e.g. fatty acids are produced during fat metabolism and lactic acid is produced by muscles during heavy exercise. These acids partially separate to produce free H+. Hydrogen ion generation normally goes on as a result of ongoing metabolic activities. (1) Buffer systems Buffers prevent too many changes in pH by removing or releasing hydrogen ions. If excess hydrogen ions is present in body fluids then buffers bind with the hydrogen concentration which minimizes the changes in pH. The acidity of a buffer is immediate but limited in capacity to maintain or restore normal acid-base balance. The pH of blood plasma is around about 7.3-7.4. The pH of urine is 7 which are neutral but it can be more but certain factors can make the pH of urine go up or down. The pH of mucus can vary from organ to organ with a pH of 6.9 to 9. Lymph has a pH of 7.4 and saliva has a pH of 7.4 (2) The phosphate buffer system Phosphoric acid changes quickly into dihydrogen phosphate (H2PO4-). The dihydrogen phosphate is an excellent buffer since it can either grab a hydrogen ion or reform phosphoric acid or it can give off another hydrogen ion and become monohydrogen phosphate (HPO42-). The figure shows that in an extremely basic condition, monohydrogen phosphate can even give up remaining hydrogen ion. If H2PO4- is in acidic solution, the reaction above will go to the left and if the H2PO4- is in a basic solution, the reaction proceeds to the right. Therefore the phosphate buffer system can accept or donate hydrogen ions depending on the solution it is in. (2) The protein buffer system Protein themselves act as buffers. Proteins are made up of amino acids and amino acids have a central carbon with four groups off of it. These four groups are carboxyl group (COOH), an amino group (NH2), a hydrogen atom and an à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Rà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ group. The carboxyl and amino groups are what enable proteins to act as buffers. (2)aminoac.jpg (21060 bytes) The carboxyl group is attached to the amino acid central carbon; C-COOH. In the figure there is a carboxyl group off to the left. The carboxyl group consists of a double bond to one of the oxygen and a single bond to the hydroxyl group. The important part of the carboxyl group is the hydrogen atom within the hydroxyl group. Round about neutral pH the carboxyl group is actually COO- instead of COOH. If the protein finds itself in a more acidic solution, the carboxyl group will be able to take on the extra hydrogen ions and return to COOH configuration. (2) The amino group is attached to the amino acid central carbon; C-NH2.the amino group is shown at the right hand side of the diagram of the amino acid above. Round about neutral pH the amino group is NH3+ rather than just NH2. It actually tends to carry an extra hydrogen ion at a normal pH. Then if a protein finds itself in a more basic environment, it amino group on its amino acids can actually release their hydrogen ions and return to NH2. Amino acids can accept or donate hydrogen ions making them excellent buffers. Any given proteins typically have hundreds of amino acids so proteins make superb buffers and they are found in high concentration in intracellular solutions. (2)protbuff.jpg (23396 bytes) The carbonic acid system In blood plasma, the carbonic acid and hydrogen carbonate ion equilibrium buffers the pH. In this buffer, carbonic acid (H2CO3) is the hydrogen ion donor (acid) and hydrogen carbonate ion (HCO3-) is the hydrogen ion acceptor (base). Carbonic acid plays an important role as a buffer in maintaining pH in blood plasma. H2CO3(aq) http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/chemweek/arrowdbl.gifH+(aq) + HCO3-(aq) The buffer functions in the same way as the phosphate buffer. Additional H+ is consumed by HCO3- and an additional OH- is consumed by H2CO3-. If pH falls below normal value, a condition called acidosis is produced and if the pH rises above the normal value, a condition called alkalosis is produced. The concentrations of hydrogen carbonates ions and of carbonic acid are controlled by two independent physiological systems. Carbonic acid concentration is controlled by respiration that is through the lungs. Carbonic acid is in equilibrium with dissolved carbon dioxide gas. H2CO3(aq) http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/chemweek/arrowdbl.gifCO2(aq) + H2O(l) An enzyme called carbonic anhydrase catalyses the conversion of carbonic acid to dissolved carbon dioxide. In the lungs, excess dissolved carbon dioxide is exhaled as carbon dioxide gas. CO2(aq) http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/chemweek/arrowdbl.gifCO2(g) (4) The pH Buffer system The buffer systems guard against sudden shifts in acidity and alkalinity. The pH buffer systems are mixtures of the bodyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s own naturally taking place weak acids and weak bases. These weak acids and bases exist in balance under normal pH conditions. The pH buffer systems can work chemically to reduce fluctuations in the pH of a solution by regulating the amount of acid and base. The most important pH buffer system in the blood involves carbonic acid which is a weak acid formed from the carbon dioxide dissolved in blood and bicarbonate ions which is the corresponding weak base. Carbaminohaemoglobin is a compound of haemoglobin and carbon dioxide and it is one of the ways in which carbon dioxide can exist in the blood. 15-25% of the carbon dioxide is carried in the blood this way. When carbon dioxide binds to haemoglobin, Carbaminohaemoglobin is formed which will lower the haemoglobins affinity for oxygen via the Bohr Effect. When there is no oxygen, unbound haemoglobin molecules have a greater chance of becoming Carbaminohaemoglobin. The Haldane effect relates to the increased affinity of de-oxygenated haemoglobin for H+ offloading of oxygen to the tissues therefore results in increased affinity for the haemoglobin for carbon dioxide and H+ which the body wants to get rid of which can then be transported to the lung for removal. The veins which carry deoxygenated blood back to the right atrium of the heart appear bluish due to the distinctive blue colour of carbaminohaemoglobin. How acid-base balance is maintained including the role of the kidney and lungs as means of excreting excess acidic or basic ions The lungs and kidneys are two major systems that work on a continuous basis to help regulate acid-base balance in the body. In the biochemical reactions above, the process are all reversible and go back and forth as the bods needs change. The lungs can work very quickly and do their part by either retaining or getting rid of carbon dioxide by changing the rate and depth of respirations. The kidneys work much more slowly. They take hours and up to days to regulate the balance by either excreting or conserving hydrogen and bicarbonate ions. Under normal conditions these two systems work together to maintain homeostasis. The amount of acidity or alkalinity blood possesses it important. When the level of acidic compounds in the body rises then the body acidity increases to through increased intake, production or decreased elimination. When the level of basic compounds in the body falls through decreased intake, production or increased elimination. The body uses different mechanisms to co ntrol the bloods acid base balance. Role of the lungs: the release of carbon dioxide from the lungs is a mechanism the body uses to control blood pH. Carbon dioxide is mildly acidic and it is a waste product of metabolism of oxygen. Waste products such as carbon dioxide get excreted into the blood. The blood transports carbon dioxide into the lungs where it is exhaled. As carbon dioxide mount up in the blood the pH of the blood decreases which means acidity increases. The brain controls the quantity of carbon dioxide that is exhaled by monitoring the speed and depth of breathing. The amount of carbon dioxide that is exhaled increases the breathing to become faster and deeper. Bu adjusting the speed and depth of breathing the brain and lungs are able to regulate the blood pH minute by minute. (3) Role of Kidneys: the kidneys are also able to affect blood pH by excreting excess acids or bases. The kidneys have some capacity to change the amount of acid or base that is excreted but because the kidneys make these modifications more slowly than the lungs do, this compensation can take several days. (3)

My worse experience Essay -- essays research papers

Some people have incredibly good luck. I do sometimes, but rarely. I could go on and on about all of the bad things that have happened to me, but they are not that big of a deal. There is only one occurrence that stays strong in my mind. One bright, sunny day, everything was going great, then boom, I was hit. Following this incident, many thoughts have passed through my mind. It was a confusing mess. I believe I learned something, but it has changed me in many ways also.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My boyfriend, Justin, and I made plans to take a trip to the mall and to grab a bite to eat. It was a beautiful day, but neither of us wanted to drive, so we decided to take Marta. I had no money at all, so we stopped by my job at the time to pick up my paycheck. After I was finished with that, we went by which we filled with taking pictures of each other with a disposable camera Justin had. The bus pulled up and I took Justin’s hand and proceeded to cross the street. I have not one memory of what happened after that. I awoke in a small room with my mother crying in the background. Bright lights blinded me and I could feel the blood pouring down my face, into my eye, then falling off my chin. I could not move, I just laid there feeling paralyzed and bleeding, barely conscious. A doctor hovered over me, stitching above my right eye. Then I went out again.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I woke up in a dark, dank room with my mother and boyfriend beside...

Kantian Capitalism

Kantian capitalism focuses on the corporation as an individual with rights, the exercise of which is limited to the extent that the rights of others are affected. As such, the corporation and its managers are responsible for the consequences of their actions on others. A utilitarian perspective would present the argument that the liability of corporations in the effects of its actions depends largely on whether or not Kantian capitalism focuses on the corporation as an individual with rights, the exercise of which is limited to the extent that the rights of others are affected.As such, the corporation and its managers are responsible for the consequences of their actions on others. The Stakeholder Theory in Kantian capitalism focuses on a rights perspective however as there is no balancing of rights overstepped and benefits made. There is simply a remuneration of the said rights offended by the company’s acts, regardless of the number of people benefited or the extent of the g ood resulting from such act. A utilitarian perspective would present the argument that the liability of corporations for the effects of its actions depends largely on the extent to which the general public is benefited.The balance struck in this theory is between the rights of the stakeholders of the corporation with the consequences of corporate procedures. There is thus an acknowledgement that the corporation has a responsibility to those of the public disturbed by its actions, thereby placing value in each person and not merely justifying their losses as means to a greater good. The classical look at capitalism would not bother with the outside perspective as it would draw only into itself and its benefactors, in this case the stockholders. Management would then simply protect the claimant privileges of those contributing to the resources of the company, the stockholders and stakeholders. Kantian capitalism however looks beyond these assertive rights and places greater priority o n the rights of individuals outside the corporation yet still affected by its workings.The legal justification for the theory presents the corporation as a judicial person endowed with rights and duties of natural persons, yet not possessing the same characteristics. A judicial person in the form of a corporation begins its existence upon action of its component members yet its existence persists even after such members desist from their commitment, so long as one or more still remain or others should take the place of those who leave. However, being judicial persons, their existence is dictated and constrained by law. The laws clearly establish that the rights of stockholders from gathering their share from the company is secondary to the rights of customers, suppliers, local communities and the like to seek redress for grievances they might have incurred in relation to the company.Economic justification would bring in external factors affecting management capitalism. As the nature of the consumers, the effect upon the locality and the competition in the community converge to work upon the reality of running the company, the need to keep within the bounds of their duties surfaces. To state plainly, no matter the ideal management in capitalism prefers the benefiting of only their own management and patrons, the facts would prefer the practical giving back to clientele, distributors, and the like. There is then a greater benefit to the company’s longevity as result regardless to how such acts may translate to profits for the meantime.There is need to remember that there is a balance that must be sought. So far the playing field has been drawn so as to seem biased towards the rights of outsiders. The balance is struck in that Kantian capitalism permits the use of people as mere means to an end, when these people are conscious of the role that they play and give express permission to be used as such. The rights perspective stabilizes this situation by prov iding these persons must be active parts of decision-making regarding their participation in the company. The prevalent paradigm of respect for others and the preservation of rights will not be defeated then. It is then a joint future that the corporation seeks to address when they formulate plans.This theory, in law and in actual practice in the market substantiates reason. Efficient management would need to answer the company’s liabilities to the community. The externalities should be taken into account to further the progress of the company as ignorance of the same would result in long-term degradation of the quality of service produced. By following the theory of Kantian capitalism, the sting is taken out from the suppressive reign of corporations as costs are not passed onto outsiders but is accounted for by the persons causing them. There is then a redistribution of resources and a striking of market equilibrium.Ideally, markets operate to provide the best product or se rvice to consumers at the cost required by companies to produce such. The idyll of the market place requires the control of externalities not by the community but by the corporation. Thus long-term benefits are taken into account and not short-term profit. Kantian capitalism thus answers for an expanding and growing economy.A more stable economy would thus attract more investors, not just to mean that new corporations and more competitors are encouraged, but that more stockholders are encouraged to contribute to the growth of already existing corporations. The old goal of capitalism, to provide profits to stakeholders, is therefore still addressed. This time, even taking into account the distribution of such profit not just to the oligarchy or to a select few but to a more widely spread out class distribution. The arguments against capitalism and Rightist extremism is, in this way, buffered as the paradigm rotates closer to a central, or a right closer to center perspective.Works Ci tedEvan, W. and Freeman, R. (). â€Å"A stakeholder theory of the modern corporation: Kantian capitalism.† Ethical Theory and Business, 3rd ed. 1988.

Self Awareness Essay Example

Self Awareness Essay Example Self Awareness Essay Self Awareness Essay And moral judgment Attitudes Cognitive style (towards change) Developing adaptability and responsibility Determine information acquisition and evaluation Interpersonal style Determine preferences and interaction patterns (Carbolic 2005) Preserving face Known to self to others Arena know to others Facade Not known to self Blinds Unknown Dwyer (2000) Communication in Business: Strategies and ask Self perception ; Think about the image you have of yourself. Quickly Write the first 6-10 words that come to mind ; Of these words write the words that are in your Arena and those in your facade. ; Give examples Of each Work with partner ; What image do they project? Write the first 4 words that come to mind. ; Discuss your findings. One at a time! Remember ; Any discrepancy between perceptions can serve as a learning opportunity for both ; What have you learnt of your bloodspot or facade? Perceptual distortions Stereotyping generalizing ; Halo effect trait dominates sloppiness ; Central tendency averages everything ; Contrast effects evaluations affected ; Projection ; Perceptual defense called upon to preserve our self-perception (Wilson 2010) In groups concepts used ; Did you mostly use adjectives which tend to be evaluative nouns which tend to be neutral verbs which tend to be behavior oriented ; What have you learnt of your perceptual filters? What perceptual distortion do you mostly use? Lessons to be learned Ones perceptions can never be totally accurate ; Rephrase what is said ; Question your conclusions of others judging others has life implications ; The greater self-understanding the easier not to make extreme judgments.

Semiotic Analysis of selected scenes from essays

Semiotic Analysis of selected scenes from essays Western Films are the major defining genre of the American film industry, a nostalgic eulogy to the early days of the expansive, untamed American frontier and the borderline between civilization and the wilderness. They are one of the oldest, most enduring and flexible genres and one of the most characteristically American in their mythic origins. This indigenous American art form focuses on the frontier west that existed in North America in the 19th and early 20th centuries and are often set in the American frontier during the last part of the 19th century (1865-1900) following the Civil War, in a geographically western setting with romantic, sweeping frontier landscapes or rugged rural terrain. The Searchers (1956) is considered by many reviewers to be a true American masterpiece of filmmaking, and the most influential and perhaps most admired film of director John Ford. It was his 115th feature film, and he was already a four-time Best Director Oscar winner [The Informer (1935), The Grapes of Wrath (1940), How Green Was My Valley (1941), and The Quiet Man (1952)], all for his pictures of social comment rather than his quintessential westerns. The films themes include racism, individuality, the American character, and the opposition between civilization, exemplified by homes, caves, and other domestic interiors and the untamed frontier wilderness. The film begins with a frontier cabin door opening onto the wilderness. The black silhouette of a frontier woman moves from the darkness, with a forward-tracking camera, through the door to the brightly sunlit wilderness outside through which Monument Valley is seen. Moving excitedly to the porch, she notices a man approaching, in the centre of the frame, who slowly rides in from the desert in a mythic entrance - the man is framed between two distant buttes. The scene presents the visual and iconic motif of the framed doorway and the indexical threshold between the two worlds. T...

The Dirty War essays

The Dirty War essays In a country surrounded by economic and political chaos the military decided it was their duty and their right to intervene and restore order. In Argentina in the year 1976, Isabel Pern, who was the President at the time, was toppled by a military coup that was led by Jorge Rafael Videla. Repression and violence followed in the years to come. Some of the worst violations of human rights were committed during the bureaucratic authoritarian regime that lasted from 1976 to 1983. This period in time has been known as the Dirty War. In class we had the opportunity to see a film that presented us with authentic testimonials from this era. The film Sol de noche directed by Pablo Milstein and Norberto Ludà ­n focused on the story of Olga and Luis and their horrible ordeal through this war. The film shows how even today, both the survivors of this war and the nation in general are trying to recapture their identity, but at the same time they still must deal with the memories of a horr ible past that still haunts them. During the rule of Isabel, Argentina found itself in a world of turmoil. Many guerrilla terrorist groups and Marxist-Leninist groups were organized. They were all in a struggle to control the government. On the other hand, the Argentine economy was experiencing inflation and capitol flight. It was all too evident that Isabels government was an ineffective and incompetent one. All the political and economic instability of the time led to the seizure of power by the military. When the military assumed power, their leader General Videla promised to end terrorism, stabilize the economy, and to restore a sense of morality to a society that found itself in disarray. The new political plan proposed by the military was called the The Process of National Reorganization or the Proceso. The military used counter-guerrilla tactics such as kidnapping, torturing, and ...

Steering Commitee Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Steering Commitee - Essay Example . The steering committee is composed of the "critical stakeholder groups (those most impacted by the objectives of the project) in the overall governance of the project" ("Forming a Project Steering Committee"). Once the steering committee had identified the problems, groups and sub-committees can be formed to address the individual issues that face Red Wine. A working group that can address the overall requirements of the system can design an integrated functional and communicative arrangement. One of the problems facing Red Wine is the fact that there are several departments all competing for scarce resources. This has mandated that they take independent actions and have reduced the possibility of maximizing computer resources or the ability to communicate from department to department. It would be the responsibility of the steering committee to alleviate this lack of communication. Once the system is designed as a workable solution, other workgroups can be assigned to take care of the installation and implementation. One consideration is the programming. A workgroup, working under the steering committee, would be responsible for the coding and debugging of the system. In addition, this workgroup would need to make arrangements to see that the implementation was workable from the standpoint of programming. Anoth

CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP Essay

CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP - Essay Example CSM has a global nature which is quite relevant nowadays. Thus CSM doesn’t consider any special aspect of management; it concerns all spheres of management. Diverse perspectives, numerous issues, interpretations of gained management knowledge are important distinctive features of CSM. A period signified by occurrence of CSM is also known as a period of â€Å"post-modernism† and â€Å"post-structuralism† (Rosenau, 1992). This can be explained by changes emerged in Western societies. Thus there is a tendency to flexibility, hybridism and globalization (Sheppard, 2002).The main idea of post-modernism is an excess of instrumentalism in bureaucratic society. As a result creative thinking and perspectives are oppressed. Post-structuralism criticizes oppression of creative imagination as well. Post-modernistic ideas of CSM are directed on the search of diversity and respect of all kinds of beliefs, traditions and nations. Diverse values of modern society should be all equal. The same principles are relevant to post-modern organizations. On the example of post-modern organizations, the main principles of generally accepted managerial and leadership practices are discussed. Moreover, Weber’s theory and his considerations about organization’s st ructures and kinds of leadership are projected on modern practices of the business world. In order to show crucial role of CSM in modern business world, it is relevant to choose a certain theory which is of great importance for historical and modern critics and which is popular nowadays. Max Weber’s Theory is chosen to draw parallels between relevance of his principles in old and current days. In the middle of twentieth century Weber propagated prevalence of knowledge in the process of bureaucratic administration. â€Å"For the sociologist, power is principally exemplified within organizations by the process of control† (Weber, 1947). Max Weber’s theory

G.W. Bush and the Decision to Invade Iraq Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

G.W. Bush and the Decision to Invade Iraq - Essay Example After the attack of the 9/11, the greatest terrorist attack of the world so far, America took many diplomatic plunges and tried to sort out the scores through negotiations at the first and Jimmy Carter’s stand on the war against Iraq as a last resort with more alternatives being sought after initially. President Truman was trying to establish and dictate the American supremacy during the Cold War situation and a threat from the Soviet Block initiated the decision of launching the devastating nuclear weapon on Japan. On the contrary, the decision of invading Iraq by George W. Bush was a very calculated move as patience of America was displayed at the outset through negotiations and diplomacies of myriad types, even when America was passing through very trying times at the wake of 9/11 attacks on the nation. During the reign of Truman, the decision used to get impended on the grounds of exploring nuclear weapons at the closure of the war. With the change of time, now the great and powerful nations along with their highly skilled diplomats and great charismatic leaders need to rethink time and again on the issue of simply raging the war across the borders. All the nations are aware and are equipped with nuclear power and more dangerous chemical and biological weapons as well. A slightest ignorance and reluctance on the issue of using these weapons can lead to the destruction of the entire human race. Therefore, after the explosion of the first and most devastating nuclear attacks, treaties and agreements have condoned the development of nuclear technology and practice across the globe (The White House, â€Å"Multi-front Operation, 2001 Video & Timeline President Delivers State of the Union Address†). â€Å"Multi-front Operation, 2001 Video & Timeline President Delivers State of the Union Address.† State of the Union. The White House, 2002. Web. 16 Jul. 2013.

The Impact of Television on the 2008 Canadian Elections Essay

The Impact of Television on the 2008 Canadian Elections - Essay Example It i a very good mean of entertainment. It i a ource of entertainment for all age group,right from children to the aged. One can watch colorful animated cartoon for children a well a health how and port for adult. One can even watch movie at home and thu the time and train one ha to take to buy ticket or go to the theater i aved. A peron who i worned out from office can come home and relax himelf to watch hi favorite TV program. Televiion can never bore anyone and erve a a good time pa. Televiion i alo a good TV for a peron to be upgraded with the knowledge of what i happening around the world. Televiion or I can ay ' The Fifth Etate ', next to newpaper can tell people of the recent event happening around u. People now can ee the Iraq war in their drawing room through private TV channel like CNN, BBC, FOX etc. hown on TV, which would never be poible without the televiion. Cinema award and important port pogramme are being watched live nowaday by million of viewer through TV. Thi TV can even change the political life and ha changed it in many countrie. People can upgrade themelve about the government epecially during day of election and budget eion. For example,the downfall of Rajiv Gandhi in India due to the Bofor' crii wa becaue of different type of ma TV like the televiion. Through televiion one can know the detail of recent dicoverie,innovation ,invention and achievement viually happening around the globe. ... Hence,apart from telephone and airplane,I feel televiion are an innovation that ha changed our live and i one of the main reaon for making the world a 'global village'. The introduction of televiion and it component into the political proce ha greatly influenced politic. Televiion ha given politician a whole new way to communicate and expre their belief to voter. There are a few ignificant effect that thi form of TV ha had on the political proce. Firtly, televiion tend to make political life more fluid and volatile. Outcome are much harder to predict with campaign now becaue a ingle performance before a huge audience can eaily end or precipitate iue almot intantaneouly. For intance, during the 1988 federal election, John Turner' TV debate performance reurrected the Liberal party and almot made them win the election. If it wan't for the televied debate, the Liberal would have urely been doomed. Televiion alo force much of the backtage machinery of political life to endure extremely heavy expoure, making it much more open than it ued to be. Prior to the TV, politician and their aociate were only known by their public appearance and campaign, leaving what happened outide thee appearance in the dark. Becaue of TV and the candid camera, the politician and the election can be looked at in more depth now. Political party convention and other 'behind the cene' event can now be televied and hown to the general public. The nationalization of politic i alo a reult temming mainly from televiion. Becaue the party leader i the main peron een on TV, politic at the riding level tend to uffer greatly. Voter do not really care about who i running in their riding; they are more concerned about the party

Implantable cardiac pacemaker Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Implantable cardiac pacemaker - Essay Example Its blood pumping role is set at a certain pulse limit below or above which the process becomes abnormal which may be fatal.In this regard, a device called pacemaker which is an artificial pulse regulator was invented for those with malfunctioning heart muscle. It is the comparison between the structure and functions of the device that is taken through critical investigation with the aim of establishing its mechanism of pulsating. The clinical problem that the device addresses, including a brief description of the therapeutic function, and a brief history of the development and deployment of the device The management and caring for patients diagnosed with cardiac problem has been very challenging in the present world owing to the complexity of these infections. Electric pacing is one of the latest medical engineering developments that has gained acceptance as being one of the common prophylactic or therapeutic strategies of managing cardiac problems in patients. In the management of myocardial infections compounded by system injury, temporary cardiac pacing devices often play a significant role (Luderitz, 2012). It is at this point that cardiac pacemaker is deployed in order to help patients suffering from cardiac problems. The primary function of cardiac pacemaker in clinical and medical health is to pace hearts to help in recognizing the presence of intrinsic cardiac electrical activity and to restrain pacing of the heart in the absence of normal intrinsic impulses. This electric pacing device is often implanted in the heart of patients diagnosed with sinus node dysfunction. Only two approaches were commonly employed in the restoration of cardiac arrest (Bernstein, 2002, pp.260-2). This happened years before cardiac pacemakers were advanced. The two methods were intracardial therapy and mechanical simulation. The first successful heart pacing treatment was a case of an Australian baby that used Lidwill’s apparatus as the artificial pacemaker. Irrespect ive of the drugs and medical therapy used in this first pacing case, medical doctors at the New York Beth Hospital attributed the success to the prick needle inserted into the heart. The design was named after the founder, Hyman’s pacemaker, which took place in 1932. Interest in pacemakers (artificial pacemakers) with respect to cardiology rekindled after WWII, this time round, the exercise was spearheaded by Callagan, Hopps, and Bigelow, research experts at the University of Toronto, Canada. After conducting a thoracotomy, John Hopps designed the first artificial pacemaker with the ability to produce impulses at the desired rhythm (Bigelow, 2008, p.841). However, the first case of clinical application of pacemaker happened in 1952. This first successful application of pacemaker involved Zoll’s pacemaker. This occurred at the Boston Beth Israel Hospital when a man aged 75 was admitted to suffering episodes perceived to be Stokes Adams attack (collapse without warning a nd unconsciousness) and heart blockage, a condition that is common among the elderly and is associated with ischemic disease of the heart (Bigelow, 2008, p. 842). The first implantation of the pacemaker took place on October 8, 1958. This involved Mr. Larsson Arne (aged 43) who was found to be suffering from Stokes-Adams attacks and complete heart block. However, following the increase in technological innovation and advancements in the late 1970’

Global Corporate Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Global Corporate Strategy - Essay Example In an example, two airline companies might create a strategic alliance through bringing up their resources together to create a strong advertising website in order to develop a more effective marketing process. Strategic alliance is more effective in companies that have closely related products (Vedder, 2008). One of the major differences between strategic alliance and other joint ventures is that the business that forms an alliance remains independent. Alliances involve transfer of technologies, economic specialization and sharing of different expenses and risks. Types of strategic alliances include; Joint ventures, equity strategic alliances and global strategic alliances (Kleymann & Seristà ¶, 2010). Unlike strategic alliances where businesses involved in alliances remain independent, merging involves dissolution of both businesses’ activities to form a single entity. In mergers, businesses combine their transactions and form a single and more powerful business. With increased level of globalization that is being experienced currently, the level of competition has increased tremendously as multinational companies which have a powerful financial base have been able to invest in different countries. Airline industry has been one of the most hit organization an aspect that has made two or more airline industries coming together to form a strong organization (Kumar, 2012). One of the benefits of merging is increased competitiveness of the organization formed due to increased financial resources, technical resources and human resources. In addition, the level of competition between the companies forming a merger makes it easy for the company formed to make effective decision w ithout fear of intense competition. Some of examples of successful mergers include Pan Am and National alliances and Northwest Airline which merged with Delta to form one of the largest airline industry (Hecker, 2009). Acquisitions on the other hand, involve a corporate action by a

The Impact of Television on the 2008 Canadian Elections Essay

The Impact of Television on the 2008 Canadian Elections - Essay Example It i a very good mean of entertainment. It i a ource of entertainment for all age group,right from children to the aged. One can watch colorful animated cartoon for children a well a health how and port for adult. One can even watch movie at home and thu the time and train one ha to take to buy ticket or go to the theater i aved. A peron who i worned out from office can come home and relax himelf to watch hi favorite TV program. Televiion can never bore anyone and erve a a good time pa. Televiion i alo a good TV for a peron to be upgraded with the knowledge of what i happening around the world. Televiion or I can ay ' The Fifth Etate ', next to newpaper can tell people of the recent event happening around u. People now can ee the Iraq war in their drawing room through private TV channel like CNN, BBC, FOX etc. hown on TV, which would never be poible without the televiion. Cinema award and important port pogramme are being watched live nowaday by million of viewer through TV. Thi TV can even change the political life and ha changed it in many countrie. People can upgrade themelve about the government epecially during day of election and budget eion. For example,the downfall of Rajiv Gandhi in India due to the Bofor' crii wa becaue of different type of ma TV like the televiion. Through televiion one can know the detail of recent dicoverie,innovation ,invention and achievement viually happening around the globe. ... Hence,apart from telephone and airplane,I feel televiion are an innovation that ha changed our live and i one of the main reaon for making the world a 'global village'. The introduction of televiion and it component into the political proce ha greatly influenced politic. Televiion ha given politician a whole new way to communicate and expre their belief to voter. There are a few ignificant effect that thi form of TV ha had on the political proce. Firtly, televiion tend to make political life more fluid and volatile. Outcome are much harder to predict with campaign now becaue a ingle performance before a huge audience can eaily end or precipitate iue almot intantaneouly. For intance, during the 1988 federal election, John Turner' TV debate performance reurrected the Liberal party and almot made them win the election. If it wan't for the televied debate, the Liberal would have urely been doomed. Televiion alo force much of the backtage machinery of political life to endure extremely heavy expoure, making it much more open than it ued to be. Prior to the TV, politician and their aociate were only known by their public appearance and campaign, leaving what happened outide thee appearance in the dark. Becaue of TV and the candid camera, the politician and the election can be looked at in more depth now. Political party convention and other 'behind the cene' event can now be televied and hown to the general public. The nationalization of politic i alo a reult temming mainly from televiion. Becaue the party leader i the main peron een on TV, politic at the riding level tend to uffer greatly. Voter do not really care about who i running in their riding; they are more concerned about the party

Global Corporate Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Global Corporate Strategy - Essay Example In an example, two airline companies might create a strategic alliance through bringing up their resources together to create a strong advertising website in order to develop a more effective marketing process. Strategic alliance is more effective in companies that have closely related products (Vedder, 2008). One of the major differences between strategic alliance and other joint ventures is that the business that forms an alliance remains independent. Alliances involve transfer of technologies, economic specialization and sharing of different expenses and risks. Types of strategic alliances include; Joint ventures, equity strategic alliances and global strategic alliances (Kleymann & Seristà ¶, 2010). Unlike strategic alliances where businesses involved in alliances remain independent, merging involves dissolution of both businesses’ activities to form a single entity. In mergers, businesses combine their transactions and form a single and more powerful business. With increased level of globalization that is being experienced currently, the level of competition has increased tremendously as multinational companies which have a powerful financial base have been able to invest in different countries. Airline industry has been one of the most hit organization an aspect that has made two or more airline industries coming together to form a strong organization (Kumar, 2012). One of the benefits of merging is increased competitiveness of the organization formed due to increased financial resources, technical resources and human resources. In addition, the level of competition between the companies forming a merger makes it easy for the company formed to make effective decision w ithout fear of intense competition. Some of examples of successful mergers include Pan Am and National alliances and Northwest Airline which merged with Delta to form one of the largest airline industry (Hecker, 2009). Acquisitions on the other hand, involve a corporate action by a

Philip II Essay Example for Free

Philip II Essay King Philip II ruled over the western Habsburg kingdom, which included Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and Sardinia. When he got married to Mary I, he then ruled over England and Ireland. There were major challenges that Philip II faced during his reign. Some of the problems were finances and control over some of his countries, such as Spain and the Netherlands. Philip II had many problems throughout Spain since the time it had grown unstable. Philip II had a debt and needed to pay back his bankers and mercenaries. He was able to make some money from the silver from mines in Bolivia. Since there was money coming from the Americas, Europe was able to gain some wealth. Europe also gained an increase in its population. This caused inflation, which was less food and fewer jobs, while still having the population overflow. There was an obviously visible gap between the richer people and the poor ones. Because of a need for money, the unprivileged people of Spain suffered greatly from the harsh taxes of Philip II. Philip II also wanted an efficient bureaucracy and military. He made the lesser nobility into the bureaucracy because if he would have used higher nobles they may try to gain more power. Philip II had to deal with a Turkish threat in the Mediterranean. So, Spain, Venice, and the Pope created the Holy League. In a naval battle, The Battle of Lapanto, they defeated the Turks who had tried to invade Austria. Control had been secured in the Mediterranean and then Spain annexed Portugal. Philip eventually declared bankruptcy and could not pay his soldiers. They became known as the Spanish fury when they attacked Antwerp. While Philip II was dealing with many complications, the Netherlands came along and caused more damage for him. The Count of Egmont and William of Nassau, or William of Orange, started a strong opposition to Spanish overlords. Because of this, Philip II decided that the decrees of the Council of Trent and the Inquisition were to be enforced in the Netherlands. Louis of Nassau led the opposition of Philip II’s decision. This caused Protestants to riot throughout the country. In response to this, Philip sent the Duke of Alba to suppress the people. Alba publicly killed thousands of suspected heretics. This was known as the Council of Troubles, but it was referred to as the Council of Blood in the Netherlands. The Duke of Alba also enforced taxes, such as a ten percent sales tax that caused people to flee the country. Furthermore, Philip II only had one chance left to destroy the Netherlandic resistance, so he called William of Orange an outlaw and even placed a bounty on him. But William of Orange had a speech, the Apology, which called Philip a tyrant, causing the Union of Utrecht to disregard Philip as their ruler. King Philip II went through a lot during his time of reign. He was dealing with many different countries, some under and some not under his rule. Spain had a very bad economy that was not going far. There was an inflation, which made everything even more difficult. Then in the Netherlands, they wanted to be free. They caused trouble for Philip and tried to resist whatever he did. Philip even had to send over the Duke of Alba, and the people of the Netherlands hated him for it. The problems in the Netherlands led to the Twelve Years’ Truce, where the northern provinces gained independence. Later on, their official independence was from the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.

Coca Cola: PEST Analysis and Strategy Plans

Coca Cola: PEST Analysis and Strategy Plans Introduction The battle of the chief soft drink manufacturer has been intense and the coca cola company with its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia has had the largest market share globally. The company has withstood the test of domination globally from its greatest competitor Pepsi Company. Coca Cola has had a large share of the market capitalization but at times the rival company has emerged strong beating it in market share in other financial periods. Its brands have however remained renowned throughout the world and for them to continue dominating they must focus on the customer needs and preference that is the reason they are in business (Milliken, 2007). The company boasts of key success factors in its operations which include; capacity to introduce competitive prices, global extensive distribution, effective customer awareness, a wide range of product choices for customers, effective and timely distribution channels and bottlers, and a global system of operation. The Coca Cola Company has been forced to operate under tight competition in the US domestic markets from Pepsi, Cadbury Schweppes, Cott, and AmBev, but in other markets especially in the developing countries it has established zones of duopoly where it remains the dominant company. Its efforts to penetrate the Middle East and China have been risky since the Pepsi Company continues to dominate the markets there (Milliken, 2007). PEST Analysis of Coca Cola Politics and legal environment In many developing countries there has been ease of entry but the countries face a lot of political unrests e.g. coups and violence which may affect the penetration of market or losses for the already established companies. Other companies have legal barriers that must be addressed before the company establishes itself. The legal showdown of Pepsi and coca cola in India gives a clear view of this fact and especially in the Middle East and Asian markets where Coca Cola seeks new markets. Economic The Company sells consumer products which are sensitive to buyer disposable revenue. The consumers have viewed the drinks as inexpensive and hence its unlikely to forego. Also the disposable income continues to raise hence more purchase to such things as soft drinks. The world currently is going through many financial crises such as the global financial crunch and increasing inflation and companies especially Coca Cola has continued to put in measures such as price adjustments to be able to impact the markets. The strategy of adjusting prices helps Coca Cola to counter the effects of raising costs and hence thus generate enough cash flow that ensures the company productive capability is maintained (Fredrix Skidmore, 2009). Social/demographic Soft drink consumption is inversely related to the age of the consumer i.e. most people take more drinks when they are young as opposed to when they mature. In the current generation average age increases and most of the population is made up of the young this gives an advantage of the increase in the market base of the company. This means that the company has a more potential market to sell the products to and thus a strategic plan should be worked to own the markets. Technological The world is turning to a global village and the age of effective communication gives the perfect atmosphere for business. The world today is easy and convenient to travel, secure and different tastes and preference have emerged (Hannagan, 2002). The powerful brand name of the company becomes a selling point in the franchise of other companies that need to be affiliated to the prestigious brand. Effective communication has also ensured that advertisements and promotions by the company are known world over hence better growth. Rivalry The major rival domestically is Pepsi in the United States. The soft drinks industry has continued to be very competitive and major competitors turn to rivals. The promotion of the brands such as Sprite, Coke, and Fanta in many countries has grown at the expense of the many beverages in the markets (Mark, 2000). The company must implement an effective strategy that ensures advertising, sales, innovations, increased efficiency, brands development, promotional program trade mark development are done efficiently to outsmart the rivals. Suppliers The Company will always need supplies of raw materials such as fructose corn syrup, and sucrose. The availability of this major raw material at numerous sources has made the company dominate the suppliers, however aspartame has not been available in numerous sites and this can lead to problems if production ceases (May, 1998). Buyers The main buyers are individuals who consume the product. The company however deals with local franchised bottlers who deal with the local markets. After effective bottling of the products the consumer/buyer must get the products through chain supermarkets, vending, and fountain sales. The buyers must have the knowledge of the product and be enticed to consume so that he/she can make the purchase (Mark, 2000). Threats of substitutes Many products have emerge to substitute soft drinks e.g. fruit juices and beverages. The company must have attractive offers to ensure that the substitutes introduced in the market dont interfere with the market share of the company. Threats of entrants New companies keep on coming up to compete for a share of the market. The soft drink markets have been mainly dominated by Coca Cola and Pepsi and new entrants find it very hard to penetrate the markets. Internal Environment Operations Coca cola has continued to globally dominate the market and the regional operational strategy that is centralized production system ensure reduced costs. Sales and marketing The area of supermarkets and brand loyalty has played an essential part in the growth of Coca Cola this has ensured profitability and large market share. Distribution The efficient distribution channels i.e. bottling companies has ensured that customers get the product at the right time and conveniently. Automated channel of distribution like the Coca Cola Enterprise that has sales agents and merchandisers in major outlets complement other distribution strategies. Procurement For efficient operations the company has a strategy to own the bottlers operations so that they do it more efficiently to be able to distribute the product properly. The procurement of acquiring a franchise chain is done procedurally to ensure qualified people own the process. Human resources Many people have been employed by the company and they have remained loyal. The company has given attractive remunerations and compensations in order to make them perform effectively and efficiently. Core Resources and competence The factors that favor the companys growth and development plans include; markets, costs, governments, and competition. In the markets they are characterized by homogenous customer needs, global channels and global customer needs, transferable and easy to manipulate market approaches. Cost are favored by learning and experience, large scale and scope economies, high resource and development costs, conducive logistics, and efficiencies in sourcing (Mark, 2000). On the side of the government they are responsible for putting in place inductive trade policies, technology standards that are common and manufacture and marketing regulations that are common and do not favor any party but put a level competing ground for all players. In terms of competition globalization has been favored through presence of interdependent countries that allow competition, and the liberalization of trade in many countries. With the markets giving many incentives to the company to grow then good management policies is all needed to grow and became successful and coca cola has done just that (Kottler, Amstrong, 2006). It has endeavored in its mission to refresh a thirsty world and creating value to shareholders. The company brands have continued to be advertised and image enhanced, where the company has also acquired more franchise networks globally. The systems of the company that are based on organizational structure and timely decisions have continued to make the company succeed. The objectives of the company include; customer satisfaction and creation of a loyal system of customers, community development, effective partnership, and valuable shareholding in the company. The long term goals include increasing cash flow through increased sales, optimizing of profit margins, and global investments expansion in hot spots (Kottler, Amstrong, 2006). The guiding principle is to have an established production, distribution, and marketing system that can support long term growth of cash flow and shareowner value of Coca Cola. The Strategic Choices Available for Coca Cola Product Filling Strategy Ohmae (1990) states that the product line of a firm is lengthened by the addition of more products within the current range; The implications behind this line filling includes; the reach for profit incremental, satisfying the complaining dealers on sales due to the absence of some items in the line, utilizing the capacity that is excess, to try to be the full time company that is leading the market and lastly, to try to plug the holes hence keeping out the competitors. Kogut (1985) starts by explaining that, Coca Cola uses this form of strategy of filling the line of production from time to time; during different seasons as it launches its new products. For example to Zerocoke was launched by Coca Cola at the time James Bond released the movie Quantum of Solace forms part of product filling marketing. The product is presented as if it new. Distribution strategy Coca Cola is globally famous for its distribution channels. In India the Coca Cola distribution channel is a bout 6.5lakh outlets by the year 2000 as compared to its competitor Peps Cos which was 6lakh. The firm has a development of different strategies of distribution strategies for the rural and the urban sectors. The channel of distribution in the Urban adopts the model similar to the direct store distribution, warehouse distribution brokers and vending food services programs according to Ohmae (1990). This methods ensures savings of margins and encourages quick availability of the item to the retailer While in the rural, the Hub and Spoke model distribution channel is applied. Where there is a division of different distributors categories depending on the area they are covering. This model is utilized by to reach the rural market as the program allows the bigger loads to travel long distances while the smaller ones shorter distances as a result the costs are cut down, as stated by Bate and Johnston (2003). Khan (2005) explain the point that through there use of modern technology in the present times Coca Cola is able to improve its distribution and management operations logistics reasonably. There are the options of Chilled DSD System that deals relatively with the methods of distributions that are small. Particularly, it deals with juicy fruits products that can easily go bad. The second option is the Hybrid System, where there is collaboration between the firm and the firm of complimentary good so that its channels of distribution can be used for the selling of the product. In this, the example is collaboration Coca Cola and McDonald. This system is actually benefited by the creation of the synergy by the two collaborating firms. The Social corporate strategy This is where the firm provides the volunteer services in the community. This strategy with the social work assists in position the firms brand name in the minds of the users for the longer time as the brand that is both ethical and social, hence providing the opportunity for the period of growth that is long term. The recent example is the case of Coca Cola social work in India where it has been awarded a golden peacock a ward. Coca Cola has concentrated on water conservation, clean drinking water access and water conservation awareness and other related issues as the firms strategy on the stewardship of water. The Coca Cola Corporate strategy The achievements made by Coca Cola in China are a very strong indicator that patience pays. The firms strategy and management planned vigorously for the success. The market leadership that it enjoys is rooted on strong capability of reacting in time and accurately to the changing market dynamics. Heller Bono, (2006) argued that the firm dominates the market not because it came early in the market but because of brilliant short time moves like the concentration on fanta and sprite. Also success comes because of joint ventures. Early on when the investment in beverage industry was restricted it formed partnership with government bodies but no equal share. Latter, it joined with other ventures with equal control hence gained majority equity. The strategic partnership that the Coca Cola firm was being involved was the strategy of positioning itself for the future. The Coca Cola partner serves the number of firm critical goal. They do share the investment risks in the plant of bottling and it can leverage the political effects its partners to acquire government approvals for the new plants of bottling. The most significant of these new partners allows the Coca Cola management control via the major equal ownership of joint ventures. Pricing Strategy This drastically affects sales in a number of ways. The case from Kogut (1985) of Pepsi provides an example of how pricing strategy can affect the market and sales. The firm gained popularity in 1936 by introducing 12-ounce bottle. The earlier price of 10 cents resulted to slow sales. After slashing the price to 5 cents there was a substantial increase in sales. This was due to the Pepsi ability to encourage the price-watching users to switch the Coca Cola 6-ounces standard bottle for the price of 5cents instead of 12-ounces. Pepsi sold at a similar price. The sales in 1939 a lone was 5 million bottles as the profit doubled as the consumption went higher. The Communication Strategy Dana and Oldfield (1999) say that after looking at the environment that is changing, Coca Cola calibrated its communication strategy in a way that is very innovative. The works of imagery for the carbonated soft drinks, while the work of functionality for the rest of the categories. The example that entrenches imagery is the brand for refreshing; the firm introduces the issue of comfort ability. Brand Development Strategy The strategy that I believe Coca Cola Company should peruse is the brand development strategy. According to Dana and Oldfield (1999) this strategy has far reached and managed to remain in the limelight ever since it started to be good with these that do not take alcohol. The loyalty of the brand is a significant factor to maintain the number one position. Collins (1991) states that Coca Cola Company enjoys the status of being of the biggest non alcoholic beverage firm worldwide its distribution system is unique from other non alcoholic companies. Over years the company has passed many brand enhancement tests and a point is made for the products under the banner of Coca Cola as it invades the minds of the users continually. Hamel and Prhalad (1985)explains that the brand development strategy of Coca Cola should involve the redesigning of its brand development policies and the techniques of keeping up with the set minds of its users that is ever changing. In the beginning this brand believed in affordability, being available and being acceptable. However this Coca Colas brand development should be changed to include the value of price, preference and pervasive penetration. Boutzikas (2000) explains that the issue of building brand of the firm is based on the fact that it wants its users accessibility, which is to be within the reach of desire of the arm. In the efforts of building the brand identity of the firm, many brand attributes for example 20 are to be tested in every month which may involve as much as 4000 users. The strategy of brand development of Coca Cola is very effective as it has been having the capability of constructing, managing as well as maintaining its brand image since many years ago. Another reason as to why this strategy should be used is that the brand has unanimously gained the acceptance all round the world because of the fact that it has shown the capability of relating very well with its users. This signifies the brand loyalty. The loyalty of the brand has been very vital in maintaining the brand picture of Coca Cola. It has believed in shelling out the best as a result the users by default are retained as explained by Boutzikas (2000). The enhancement of the frequency of purchase is one of the techniques of building brand. The firm has also made investments in many campaigns of advertisements always involving the services of theses who are the celebrities around the world. On top of the users, there is another category of users, who usually increases the user foundation and they comprises of the brand collectors. They most of the time indulges in the collection of the old and the logos that are upcoming of the Coca Cola bottles and they literary matter. Collins (1991) says regarding to the development of the brand of Coca Cola zero the firm came out with an advertisement that was some what different from the most common ones. In the concern of this the no calorie beverage, it has given raise to three forms of products that include; the Coca Cola Classic, the Diet Coke, and the Coca Cola Zero. Boutzikas (2000) continues that there are a number of experts who have a believe that these times when Coca Cola the tag of line that states, the real thing, it was really meaning that, however, with the invention of different kinds of categories of coke, the statement the real thing got changed to the statement that reads many things, and the flavor that was there originally is at most times lost. As the result, the building of the brand strategy has to be in such a manner that it will not lead to the peoples confusion and have the capability of retaining users despite the fact that many new manufactures of non alcoholic beverage being on the anvil. Theories And Practice Of Leadership: Nissan Theories And Practice Of Leadership: Nissan When making major changes in a business, efficiency, adaption and human relations need to be considered and the trade-offs between these that might be affected. Efficiency was improved by closing 5 of the factories in Japan and eliminating 21,000 jobs to maximize production and reduce wastage. To simplify the production process Ghosn reduced the number of car platforms by 50% and the number of power trains by 33%. Human relations is always a trade-off when job cuts are made, this was counter acted by Ghosn. He used natural attrition whilst selling subsidiaries or offering early retirement or part-time work at other company facilities all of which would help the morale of the employees that left and the ones that remained so they did not feel so guilty and suffer from survivor syndrome (Daniels, 2006). Reducing purchasing costs by 20% was another way that Nissan improved efficiency; this was achieved by reducing the number of suppliers and making bigger orders. A negative trade off from this was the reduced relationship status with suppliers which is a highly regarded aspect of business in Japan. Engineers were also to blame for making overly specific orders which increased costs unnecessarily as they produced cars to solely improve performance, the trade off was that cars began to be made with customer needs in mind, not performance improvement. Weak distribution was also to blame for the downfall of Nissan; Ghosn reduced dealerships by 10%. Brand loyalty is high in Japan and determined by good customer relations which was a trade off for the reduction in dealerships; this was handled by improving the management in the remaining dealerships so that they become more entrepreneurial than social roles in the business. Design was instigated by engineers and not by the designers; this is why only 4 of the 43 cars in production were profitable. Twelve new cars were to be produced by the designers, to meet customer needs. A trade off of this was poor self-esteem for the engineers but equally designers were given freedom to be innovative and feel more valued by the company. Adaption was improved by correctly identifying the major changes, whilst not dictating them to employees. These plans were all released at once with the explanations behind their needs as to stave of criticism and prejudgments. The trade off for this was in the use of cross functional teams to improve human relations via interaction across departments for them to identify the major changes themselves, therefore then not feeling like they are being dictated to by senior executives. Human relations were improved (for the company, not the employee) by not giving lifetime job guarantees and not adhering to the seniority system that was in place for pay and promotions which lead to the replacing of weak middle management with competent replacements. The trade offs for implementing this was for poor employee relations to occur but this was managed by a merit pay plan, for performance related pay increases and promotions, with employees capable of earning up to an additional 33% of their wage based on performance and gaining stock options. To conclude Ghosn tried to weigh up and counter act the trade offs between efficiency, adaption and human relations well with the use of merit plans, extra innovation and better management. However there was not any strong counter action in relation to reducing purchasing costs, this was evident for the engineers in particular, where as it was obvious how the designers benefited from the changes made. Effective change is essential to the success and survival of a business as 62% of new businesses fail within 5 years and only 2% survive over 50 years (Nystrom Starbuck, 1984). With this in mind effective change management is critical to Nissan and Ghosns success. Ghosn used planned change which has both driving forces and restraining forces that affect the organisations state of equilibrium during implementation (Thomas, 2010). Features of planned change include; Assumption of a stable/predictable environment which Nissan do have. Required change must be identifiable, Ghosn meet this by introducing cross functional teams to identify the problems and changes needed. To move from one fixed change to another, this was done with the permanent closing of 5 factories and the loss of 21,000 jobs. Organisational members must be willing to change; Ghosn increased the willingness to change by creating a vision for the company, empowering employees such as the designers and cross functional team to identify the changes needed which meant they would then be more willing to follow the changes through than have them dictated to them. To have the appropriate tools and techniques available, Ghosn had all the tools available, in most instances it was a case o f reducing them in terms of factories, workers and suppliers. Where he did not have the correct tools he brought them in such as designer Shiro Nakamura. Restraining forces of planned change include (Katz Kahn, 1978) structural inertia, work group inertia, politics and previously unsuccessful efforts. Ghosn changed structural inertia by implementing the cross functional teams to identify and suggest changes for the problems and allowing them to be more adaptive and innovative than ever before. Work group inertia was changed from the design being engineer led to being designer led and customer focused and not performance focused. Politics was addressed by giving more power to the employees via cross functional teams and via the merit pay system were people earned their promotions and pay rises/bonuses. Ghosn managed to implement these changes using Lewins (Lewin, 1947) three step model of change (see appendix 1). In the unfreezing stage of the model, Ghosn had to make sure that employees were ready for change and understood the need for it. This was achieved by using cross functional teams, as the employees would identify the issues and solutions of the company which would lead to higher acceptance for change as the changes were realized and not dictated. Ghosn also offered to step down from his post if the targets were not meet which installs confidence, commitment and belief in the employees that the changes are necessary, realistic and achievable. The change stage of the cycle was used to implement the required changes that Ghosn and the cross functional teams had identified such as the reduction in suppliers, better distribution channels and management, customer focused designs and reduction in production costs. The refreezing stage of the cycle is Ghosns weakest part in terms of delivery. Nothing had been outlined specifically to make sure those attitudes, processes and cultures do not return to how they were before or that similar patterns do not appear again. The incorporation of a vision and plan for the firm can be seen as a retention strategy for changes made, however this area is significantly weaker than previous two stages. In my opinion Ghosn was right not refreeze the changes, the opening statement points to the need for constant change and transformation for a company to keep up with the changing environments that they work within. This therefore would count as criticism of the theory; as Lewin talks about the tactics for change but does not recognize that change should be constant and never ending, which is not the impression you get in his theory with the refreezing of culture which would represent an end to the change. Ghosn was very focused on the planned changes that he had in mind for Nissan, which could be seen as reasonable due to the short term nature of the plan. However with every planned change, the external environment can not be predicted with complete assurances. All companies have to deal with strategic drift (Johnson G, Scholes K Whittington R, 2005) which is when strategies fail to address the strategic position of the organisation, relative to the changing environment. Ghosn had not considered this at all in his plans and therefore had failed to acknowledge the potential importance of emergent change. This could have been critical had there been severe and critical changes to the external environment. For example if the banking crisis that has hit us now had happened ten years ago during implementation, did Ghosn have an alternative plan. Ghosn managed to implement effective change management techniques through the use of planned change and used Lewins three step model of change to rectify problems encountered by the restraining forces. Ghosn managed to minimize the resistance to change through the use of cross functional teams, the merit pay system, empowering employees, offering alternatives types of work for some of the people unfortunate enough to lose their jobs and showing his commitment to the challenge by stating he would resign if the goals were not achieved on time. A trait refers (Yukl, 2002) to a variety of individual attributes, including personality, temperament, needs, motives and values. Skills refer to (Yukl, 2002) the ability to do things in an effective manner and are determined by learning and heredity. The use of good traits and skills will have been used by Ghosn to successfully lead Nissan out of its crisis to meet the goals that he set for the company. Strategic leadership requires a managerial ability to (Thomas, 2010), anticipate and envision change whilst maintaining flexibility and empowering others to manage strategic change if necessary. Effective strategic leaders (Thomas, 2010) tend to be able to manage operations effectively, sustain a high performance, make better decisions than their competitors, and make courageous and pragmatic decisions. They must also understand how their decisions affect the internal systems and respect the feedback from peers and employees about their decisions and visions. The three factor taxonomy of skills shows (Yukl, 1994) that it can be broken down into these sections: Technical Skills, Interpersonal Skills and Conceptual skills. Ghosn shows his technical skills in reducing the amount of power train combinations and car platforms due to his knowledge of the processes required. This shows his strategic leadership in managing operations effectively and sustaining higher performance Interpersonal skills were shown when dedicating cross functional teams to identifying and eradicating the problems in the business. Changing to the merit pay system from the seniority system also showed his good interpersonal skills as by taking one away but replacing the lose with something better and more productive. This was a courageous decision as these strategies have never been contemplated before in Japanese businesses prior to Ghosns arrival. His conceptual skills were proved in his ability to reduce the production costs by as much as 20%, by cutting down on factories, employees, suppliers and dealers and managing to keep a positive spin on these cost cutting initiatives. This showed his ability to make better decisions than his Japanese competitors and therefore be a successful strategic leader. Ghosns personality proved to be charismatic as he holds traits of charisma (Conger Kanungo, 1988) such as being self confident and enthusiastic and willing to take personal risks, such as putting his job and reputation on the line. He challenged the status quo with things such as reducing dealerships and suppliers and introducing cross-functional teams. Ghosn was also innovative and unconventional in relation to how the Japanese operate normally, by instructing designers to produce 12 new cars for construction and changing the whole pay and promotion system in the company. Ghosn has shown a range of skills and traits that are needed to be a successful strategic leader, such as the interpersonal skills to convince people of a new vision and get them committed to the goals through his own strong beliefs and dedication to them. Empowering people was used to enable them to become more innovative and creative and to be able to identify and solve problems themselves. Ghosn managed to improve production efficiency with his conceptualization skills whilst showing the charisma to be able to challenge the status quos in a culture that has a naturally high level of uncertainty avoidance. A transformational leader is (Bass, 1985) someone who identifies the needed change, creates a vision to guide the change through inspiration, and executes the change with the commitment of the followers. An empowering leader is (McLagan, Patricia Nel, Christo, 1995) someone who gives a clear vision, strategy and enabling tool kit. A change-orientated leader is (Tichy Devanna, 1990) someone who recognizes the need for change, creates a new vision and then institutionalizes the change. Ghosn was a transformational leader as he incorporated all of the 4 Is (see appendix 2) into his leadership style (Northouse, 2001). Ghosn managed to gain idealized influence through making a huge commitment to the goals that he set by putting his job on the line. This is a charismatic and confident thing to do that would have firmly set the belief that he was superiorly knowledgeable and capable. Inspirational motivation was clearly set out by Ghosn as he made his targets clear and bold as he released them all at once, whilst managing to avoid leakage to minimize criticism without understanding. The merit pay scheme would have also been motivational to employees as they would now know they could get recognition and promotion for other reasons than besides seniority. Ghosn managed to install intellectual stimulation to his employees through the use of cross functional teams that allowed them to be creative and innovative in their approach compared to their previous roles. He equally gave designers the same freedom to become innovative. Ghosn did also challenge organisation processes with the reduction in suppliers, distributors and the use of power trains and car platforms. Individualized consideration was also covered by the use of the merit pay system and each employee now has the potential to earn an additional 33% of their salary through bonuses. They can also now gain promotion when it was maybe not possible before under the old system. However he could have done more for the engineers as they gained criticism for overly detailed specifications on orders and having too much influence on designers, nothing was outlined on how they would be picked up after these knockdowns. A mentoring or coaching scheme could have been incorporated to help employees reach their personal goals more effectively to improve on this point this further. Ghosn was also a change-orientated leader as he did identify and implement changes but it was already obvious that change was needed, which is why Ghosn was brought to Nissan in the first place. Ghosn was equally an empowering leader as he gave his employees responsibility and roles they had not experienced before but he done so much more for Nissan than just empower employees as he made radical changes himself. These two leadership styles in my opinion are present for Ghosn but are only small parts of his repertoire and the overall picture, which is that they are aspects which feed into being a good transformational leader. Ghosn incorporates all three of the leadership styles but uses change and empowering leadership as tools to direct his transformational leadership style more effectively and to help achieve intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration. With Ghosn making so many changes to Nissan, it was inevitable that some of these changes would affect the culture of the company and the issues that are aligned with them. One of the big cross cultural issues that had to be addressed by Nissan first was the action of reducing the number of suppliers to the company, which was seen as unprecedented in the past. This was because supplier relationships were deemed sacrosanct. Part of the problem was that Nissan was at the time part of the Keiretsu culture in Japan, this is where a large group of companies work with each other to the perceived benefit of one enough. It was seen as a safety net upon which they all owned shares in each other and kept each other safe. If Nissan were to get out of their current crisis bold moves had to be made in comparison to competitors, so moving away from this culture was essential. An equally important cross cultural issue that was changed at Nissan was the belief of having a job for life and promotion and pay based on seniority. When the merit pay system was brought in, this was to motivate employees to push for their promotions instead of simply waiting for them to happen. With the new procedures of accountability measured against the goals of the company introduced this showed the weak middle/upper management that needed replacing. This would have been a shock to the Japanese as their culture has always been to respect your elders; this was no longer the case with the new system in place. In Japanese culture there is a high level of uncertainty avoidance, this is when (Yukl, 2002) people fear ambiguous situations and seek security and stability. Ghosn challenged this culture by immediately putting people into cross functional teams to identify the problems with Nissan. Employees will have felt uncomfortable with this new style that had not been experienced before but will have quickly learned the benefits of working with other department managers and understanding the problems they face on a daily basis. This can be a attributed reason as to why the engineers were aloud to dominate the decision making on supply specifications and design for so long, as confrontation was not part of their culture and therefore no would have questioned their workings. Another cross cultural issue faced is the performance orientation (Yukl, 2002). Prior to Ghosn and his introduction of performance that could be measured against specific goals, the Japanese were very focused on maintaining relationships as they believed it was brand loyalty that would ensure repeat purchase. This can be linked to the sacrosanct relationships which they had with suppliers and distributors as well as their involvement in the Keiretsu culture that created this behaviour. Ghosn changed this philosophy of relying on brand loyalty and brought in the need to meet customer requirements which has made them incredibly more goal focused. The important cultural issues that needed to be changed at Nissan, was the movement away from the reliance of other companies and the relationships built with them to ensure the maximum working efficiency and productivity for themselves. It was equally as vital that employees realized they would not have an easy ride with a guaranteed job and promotion but that they had to work for these things and prove themselves worthy of such rewards; this will have improved efficiency and motivation for the workforce. It was also important for Nissan to move away for a high level of uncertainty avoidance and towards performance orientation, to allow the team to work more effectively and understand each others needs to make a more successful and dynamic team. References: Daniels, K. (2006) Employee Relations In An Organisational context. London. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectation. New York: Free Press. Conger, J.A., Kanungo, R. (1988), Charismatic Leadership: The Elusive in Organizational Settings, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA Johnson G, Scholes K Whittington R (2005), Exploring Corporate Strategy 8th Edition, Harlow: Prentice Hall. Katz, D., Kahn, R. L. (1978). The social psychology of organisations, 2nd ed. New York: John Wiley. LEWIN, K. (1947).Frontiers in group dynamics: concept, method, and reality in social science in Human Relations, Vol. 1(1), pp.5-42. McLagan, P. Nel, C. (1995). The Age of Participation, Berrett-Koehler, San Francisco. Northouse, P. G. (2001). Leadership Theory and Practice, second edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. Nystrom, P. C., Starbuck, W. H. (1984). To avoid organisational crises, unlearn. Organisational Dynamics, Spring, 53-65. THOMAS, G. (2010). Week 18: Leadership at the Executive Level. Birmingham. Aston University: Geoff Thomas. THOMAS, G. (2010). Week 19: Leading Change in Organisations. Birmingham. Aston University: Geoff Thomas. Tichy, N.M., Devanna, M.A. (1990), The Transformational Leader, John Wiley, New York Yukl, G., Gordon, A., Taber, T. (2002), A hierarchical taxonomy of leadership behavior: integrating a half century of behavior research, Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, Vol. 9 pp.15-32 Yukl, G. (1994). Leadership in Organisations. 7th Ed. New Jersey. Pearsons. Are Security Threats Real or Imagined? Are Security Threats Real or Imagined? Giulia Valeri Introduction As far as the discipline of International Relations is concerned, security and threat are highly-contested concepts (Baldwin 1997: 10). Far more often than not, their inner nature has been deeply influenced by the historical context in which the two notions were first moulded. Security threats, whether they be real and objective or imagined and subjective, is still a matter to be put into trial by the academics. In turn, if the issue was to be analysed from a non-scholastic point of view, people would refer to those feelings of insecurity that perturb them and influence their daily action. The spread of the belief that todays world is a dangerous universe, where it is best to play safe and to take all the precautions necessary to avoid the risk of being exposed to threatening situations, is rising consistently. But are there any real threats that can eventually put individuals in a position of danger or is this feeling of self-doubt a mere product of policy-makers cunning moves to ac hieve goals, such as gaining wealth and accumulating their power, while letting the individuals sink in growing uncertainties? In other words, are security threats real and objectively calculated, or are they socially constructed and subjectively perceived? The latter interrogative leads us in another direction. One could, in fact, argue that an answer to this controversial issue can only be formulated in the light of the analytical fragmentation and the subsequent interpretation of two dominant approaches in the field of IR, Realism and Social Constructivism. Being aware of such opposing approaches is not only plausible and reasonable from a logical point of view, but it is fundamental in order to solidly ground our understanding of the issue. In this essay, I will first attempt to give a clear explanation of what is meant by security according to the so-called traditional and critical views. Secondly, I will make a distinction between what counts as a referent object for realist a nd constructivists security policies. Thirdly, I will examine the process that an issue has to undergo in order to be prioritized over the others and to become an existential threat worthy of security measures. I will conclude by using a significant case study to analyse and explain why, in the international system, threats to security cannot be tied to a single approach, traditional or modern, but instead need to be reconsidered as a compromise made up of multiple layers. The ontological conceptualisation of security and the shift in the focus of inquiry. Throughout the centuries, the attempt to define security has been a task of major importance for several IR scholars. However clashing theoretical approaches might be, they all shared a common need, i.e. the conceptualisation of security as an ontological basis for any further argumentation. Notwithstanding this premise, not much attention has been devoted to clarifying this notion, therefore there is a persisting disagreement on what security means exactly and on whether it is desirable to give a definition in the first place. The reason why such disagreement has arisen has proved to be related to the various historical periods in which different approaches have developed. More specifically the Cold War, besides being materialised in terms of an Iron Curtain that demarcated the European boundaries between Capitalism and Communism, also acted as an ideological turning point between Realism and Constructivism. Realists point out that security is about safeguarding acquired values. Arnold Wolfers rephrased Walter Lippmans definition, arguing that security is the absence of threats to acquired values (Wolfers 1952: 485). David Baldwin later portrayed security as the low probability of damage to acquired values (Baldwin 1997: 13), arguing that there is way too much optimism in Wolfers absence of threat (Wolfers 1952: 485). These acquired values are nothing more than national independence and territorial integrity (Wolfers 1952: 489), and thus they objectively correspond to the nation-states selfish interests. In turn, constructivists emphasize that the notion of security is a social construct and, as such, should not be bound to a specific referent object. In his People, States Fear Barry Buzan asserts that the search for a referent object of security has to proceed hand-in-hand with that for its necessary conditions (Buzan 1991: 26). As the reader might have noticed, Security is usually discussed in terms of enumeration of new threats and the identification of capabilities needed to counter them, but there is little examination of the meaning of security as such (Wibben, Human Security: Toward an Opening: ) The clashing tension between the realist theorization and the constructivist approach comes to blows when trying to establish what the referent object of security studies should be. Should it always be the state or should it rather be relative to the questioned sector? This problematic derives from the significant shift in focus that has taken place, alongside a massive change in the balance of history as a result of the end of the Cold War. A realistic perspective: security threats are real and objectively analysed. A traditional approach to security threats has to be considered in the light of an objective assessment of the world out there or as it is. Realists act as an elite of scientists with very fixed conceptions of the surrounding environment. As such, they feel the need to adopt a scientific approach to knowledge (Browning, 2013: 13), meaning that they look at reality in an objective way and they hold a static state-centric vision. Instead of bolstering substantial changes, they pessimistically dictate how to best cope with the world as it is (Browning, 2013: 13). Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the referent object of security studies is the state, and threats to security are all those directly posed to the state, all those menacing the survival of its core values. The nation-state is presented as the guarantor of security and, as such, it has the duty to act in a way that assures the safety of its boundaries. This entails every action to be inextricably tied to the states assump tions. Realists are convinced that the term security is the equivalent of national security interest (Wolfers, 1952: 481). As the US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger put it, how realistically we perceive our national interests is a core security concern (Kissinger, 1976: 182). Exempli gratia, in the international system -which is anarchic- where egoistic and self-interested individuals proliferate, absolute security is irredeemable, and thus states believe that the only way to secure themselves from external military threats is to increase their military forces. Yet by doing so, other states might be led to think that policies of armament are objective synonyms of imminent attacks and, consequently, of real and tangible menaces. In the field of International Relations, this ironic cycle of unintended provocations (Kanji, 2003: 2) is often referred to as the security dilemma, i.e. the belief that increasing ones security means rising insecurity for others as each interprets its own measures as defensive and measures of others as potentially threatening (Herz, 1951: 7). At this point, one could legitimately ask: If everybody claims to perceive real threats, how is one supposed to identify real menaces, if present, with objectivity? Put in another way: Are all military affairs to be considered as real threats or are they real threats only in conditions of international anarchy? As the constructivist Wendt argued anarchy is what states make of it (Wendt 1992: 395), claiming that what is presented as a real threat in international anarchy is not necessarily a real threat in this world. Therefore, can one assume that threats are objectively the same regardless of their political allocation? The constructivist approach: security threats are socially constructed. How the community moulds the concept of securitization. In Wendtianian terms, a security threat is what actors make of it and, thus, by no means can they be objectively assessed. Unlike realists, constructivists act as analysts in charge of presenting how the general public and their leaders mutually construct dangers (Dannreuther 2007: 42), thereby framing our experience of the world. In their Security: a new framework of analysis Buzan, Weaver and De Wilde -prominent members of the Copenhagen School[1] argue that Security is when an issue is presented as posing an existential threat to a designed referent object. The special nature of security threats justifies the use of extraordinary measures to handle them. (Buzan, Waever, De Wilde 1998: 21) Before discussing how an issue, being prioritized over other issues, is presented as an existential threat, it is of essential importance to define what we mean by existential threat in the first place. An existential threat is whatever threatens the safety of somebody or something. As opposed to realists, who unceasingly commit themselves to a scientific state-centric vision, constructivists point out the need for each and every threat to be analysed in relation to the referent object of the sector in question, while sectors have been categorised as military, political, economic, societal and environmental. As for the military sector, the state is the entity that can possibly be in danger. For this reason, however much traditional security studies would try to pass off peacekeeping and humanitarian interventions as menacing in their nature, both might not be regarded as an existential threat to the nation-state. In the political sector, it is sovereignty that is the principle that c an be existentially threatened, so that Brexit, for instance, is the most prominent deterrent to the European Union. In the economic sector, the referent objects are firms, and the threat of bankruptcy may act as an ultimatum for their existence, while collective identities and individual species are respectively referent objects of the societal and environmental sector. One might rightly wonder: What, who and how is an issue transformed into a matter of security or shown to be existentially threatened? Buzan et al. asserts that the answer lies in a key-term, i.e. securitization. Securitization is the process by which a general issue is recognised as an existential threat. Yet this process is built up through consequential steps in which two actors play a key-role, the securitizing actor and the audience. The securitizing actor, alias a political leader, is someone who performs the securitizing move, rhetorically identified as the speech act[2]. The task consists in declaring a state of emergency by recurring to apocalyptic statements, such as If we do not tackle this problem, everything else will be irrelevant (because we will not be here or will not be free to deal with it in our own way). (Buzan, Waever, De Wilde 1998: 21) If and only if the securitizing move raises consensus and it is generally accepted by the audience, the issue is successfully securitized and it becomes an existential threat. Donald Trumps securitizing move, i.e. the Muslim ban, cannot be considered as being successfully securitized because the general public hasnt legitimated the speech act. Contrariwise, war is an empirical example of a successful securitization that, being so recurrent, ends up being institutionalized. Once an issue is securitized, it moves out of the realm of normal politics into the realm of emergency politics, where it can be dealt with swiftly and without the normal (democratic) rules and regulations of policy-making (Taureck 2006: 54; Buzan et al. 1998: 24). The securitizing actor and the audience democratically negotiate and establish what existential threats are under which circumstances. As Buzan et al. underline, security is a self-referential practice, because it is in this practice that the issue becom es a security issue -not because a real threat exists (Buzan et al. 1998: 24). From a constructivist point of view, the realists presumption of assessing threats objectively goes beyond humans means. Threats are in fact inter-subjectively constructed rather than being natural or inevitable (Newmann 2001: 247) since what constitutes a threat for one is not necessarily the referent object for the other (Buzan et al. 1998: 30). How social constructivism has challenged the traditional realistic view. Case study: nuclear weapons are real or imagined threats? almost anything can be a threat CATASTROPHIC, TOO pessimistic and deterministic (timeless and irrevocable)nature of the threats, analysis of the world in itself! assumption: It is out of humans domain to establish which threats are really threatening survival, they are inevitable and there is nothing to do except for facing the crude reality. It is not possible to consider a nuclear weapon in every case a threat. What if the missil tank is a peacekeeping force? At the same time, it is illogical to affirm that a nuvlear bomb of a powerful state is threating whereas a bomb of allies doesnt pose any threat. SELFISH construction of threats: with the excuse of needing to shiftthe focus of enwuiry of the individuals, impact of ideas and values (newmnn, 247). eventually defyning the concept of human security, they ended up prioritizing issues according to the selfish interests of the securitizing actor. For constructivists try to push the notion of human security forward, they somehow end up shadowing the selfish construction of security threats. Both bigo and wibben when experts push for particular forms in which security of humans ought to be prioritized. Bigo showed how the securitizing actor together with the general public has securitized immigration. Issues are prioritized according to selfish interest.   Wibben makes an important point that our conceptions of security come from specific political visions, underpinned by certain ontological and epistemological assumptions. For instance, when experts call for elevating human security as a security concern, they are pushing for particular forms in which the security of humans ought to be prioritised. I Politicians have used the policy of securitization to satisfy their own interests, being legitimated to do whatever through the speech act. Murray Edelman has explained how the social construct of the politicalspectacle works.He has demonstrated how the construction of situations as problems is useful for politicians: the politicians can manage them in order to justify their own authority. It enablesthem, for example, to negate other problems or to transform struc-tural difficulties into easy targets. (Bigo 2002: 68-69) the presupposition that it is possible to control the flow of individuals at the borders of thestate (bigo 1992:69) Murray Edelman, Pià ¨ces et rà ¨gles du jeu politique (Paris: Seuil, 1991),a translation of his Constructing the Political Spectacle (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988), with a specific and important foreword7 Chandler (Security Dialogue, 2008): human security has reinforced rather than challenged existing policy frameworks and is too easily co-opted by political elites. Security is a social construct with the meaning ofsoceurity depending of what is done with it. taureck THESIS Threats are real in the sense that there is sth threating the survival of the individuals, yet this cannot be objectively assessed and it is not deterministically given They are imagined in the minds of the politicians andthen presented as threatening, yet it would be irrational to claim that the speech act has no correspondence to the external reality. . they are mediated by the meaning we ourselves give to nuclear weapons rather than to reality e.g. Constructivist assumption: a nuclear weapon doesnt pose a threat by itself (ARGUABLY YES) Why the US view North Koreas nuclear weapons as a threat and not Britains? UK Prime Minister Tony Blairs securitisation of Saddam Husseins WMD programme for the British public in the lead up to the 2003 invasion is a useful case study here. Depending on our reading of the Copenhagen School, the securitisation of Saddam and his WMD programme may have occurred exclusively through public representations depicting the regime and its WMD programme as imminently threatening, through the vote in Parliament legitimising http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/1232/1/WRAP_McDonald_0671572-pais-270709-mcdonald_securitisation_and_construction_of_security_ejir_forthcoming_2008.pdf 23 Blairs deployment of troops, or even at the point of invasion itself. While the latter might seem the least likely reading, The system is not deterministically given Brhaviors are socially constructed and can therefore change. (newmann, 247). Threats are socially constructed rather than being natural or inevitable: identity and interest derive from the social processes of interaction leading to expectations of costs and benefits attached with different types of behaviour within a system (newmann, 248) Constructivists: Finally, three important constituents of a speech act are: its internal features (the security form, grammar of security, enunciation of an existential threat and so on); social conditions regarding the position of authority of the securitizing actor (how easily would the audience accept the claims of the securitizing actor); and features of the alleged threat (a tank is more threat-like than a comb, for instance; or to use our example above, a North Korea bomb is more threat-like than a British bomb for America because of the institutionalisation of the North Korean threat). Realists: whoever the nuclear weapon belongs to, it is a threat. A foreign tank crossing the border. Conclusion? Threats to security are real and tangible. One cannot deny that whoever is the owner of a nuclear weapon the presence of a nuclear weapon is menacing the international security commission. However, saying that threats are real is misleading and too generic. what each state perceives as a threat is a variable. allocation Rather, it is a blurred misrepresentation of the world out there. This is to highlight the fact that what is regarded as a real threat in anarchy, being what states make of it, is not an objective reflection of the real threats. It is simply a reflection of the dangers out there. , provided that actions are unavoidably bounded to mere states assumptions Is not insecurity of any kind an evil from which any rational policy maker would want to rescue his country? (Wolfers, National Security: 494) The world is not a universe of all against all From a real basis, security threats are developed and constructed according to the will and mis)perceptions of policy-makers. 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[1] The Copenhagen School is a school of security studies, which was established in 1983 by Barry Buzan with his first publication of People, States Fear. [2] The term speech act is rooted in the linguistic philosophy of J. L. Austin and John Saerle and it emblematically represents the rhetorical structure of securitization.