Effects Of Media On Globalization Essay

Media and globalization go hand in hand. Although researchers in both fields may have divergent views on the extent of influence of each on the other, it is evident that the two have a correlation and will always be in tandem. Terhi Rantanen acknowledges that media and globalization are closely interlinked. Whereas most communication scholars focus the role of media in the process of globalization they are opposed to media being relegated to a socio-cultural study. They think media affects all arenas globalization including politics and economics. On the other hand, experts of globalization are in agreement that globalization would be impossible without media and communications As the name suggests, globalization is to make something local go worldwide; to have a reach beyond the borders of one’s locality. Media does extend people beyond their national borders and globalization does affect media. The focus of this paper will be on the effects of globalization on media. It will determine how globalization has changed media in Britain through the: – Modifications in language of media. – Innovation and increased use of new media – Increased and profound focus   on global issues – A closer relationship and shared culture by people from different continents – Increased income and transnational corporations Media in Britain has had to adapt different languages to attract a new international audience. Globalization from a business perspective means leaving one’s country and selling one’s goods and services to another country. Therefore, it follows that one has to adjust to the national language of the people so as to trade. Media is a commercial venture like any other and making profit is the end goal. The audience reach, response and retention have to be massive to realize any benefits, monetary or otherwise. Evidently, the globe is the largest untapped market for British media. To maximise on this new frontier, one has to know and effectively apply the correct vocabulary, intonations and other aspects of language to capture and retain their attention of the prospective audience in a foreign country. The world has 6,912 living languages. It would be impossible to broadcast in all languages but a media institution that broadcasts or prints its information in the major and popular languages of the world has an advantage over a rival entity that only does so in English. Take an example of BBC World Service, the leading international broadcaster that broadcasts in 33 languages including Urdu, Swahili, Chinese, French, Shona, Spanish etc. Why does it do so? It diffuses its message in all these other languages because of globalization. BBC no longer appertains to the British. It is now an intercontinental brand name. Consequently, to boost the audience numbers, the national broadcaster has to present programs which non English speakers can also understand. BBC’s purpose for existence is ‘to enrich people lives with programmes and services that inform, educate and entertain,’ Indeed, if BBC had not started broadcasting 75 years ago in other languages, today it would not be the leading international broadcaster that it claims to be nor would have such universal brand recognition. Globalization has provoked the creation of new production for new media. As the labour costs and other production costs in the West including Britain rise to unprecedented heights, manufacturers of new media apparatus such as computer chips and other components are relocating their business to cheaper assemblage destinations. According to Lievrouw et al. new media is not only the content but also the infrastructure that supports production, distribution and exhibition of this content. They emphasize that institution of satellite broadcasting and telecommunication networks which sustain the seamless content supply, actively supports the globalization of new media. Also these networks encourage the international growth of local, regional and global markets. ‘Communication and new media systems have supported the expansion of business beyond national markets to a system whereby components are developed, manufactured, assembled, and sold far from where corporations (Transnational) exercise control. In short, globalization has encouraged advancement of communications technologies thus improving the quality and quantity of intercontinental information and commerce which has encouraged further globalization. This endless cycle has led to opening of factories in developing countries which benefit from the new income. The British Media has increased the coverage and space of international issues. They are running more in depth programs and writing feature articles on events taking part in other parts of the world. For instance, at the beginning of this year violence broke out in a tiny East Africa country called Kenya that was once a former colony of Britain. During this period Sky Broadcasting Corporation, British Broadcasting Corporation(BBC), the Daily Mail and The Guardian gave us blow by blow accounts of the breaking news. Why did they give so much time to such a story from a far off state? Well, Kenya was of great strategic to Britain. Britons have business interests and some have family members residing there. The world was really compressed because this chaos taking place in Kenya was part of their reality as well. Globalization has affected how Britons and the media understand the world. As the media advances and increases in complexity it is not enough to just listen, watch or read the news. Britons want more than just excerpts. The news, especially international news, are analysed; experts are summoned; explanations and predictions are made. Reuters diffuses political, economic and social news in over 23 languages through its wire services. This information comes complete with historical backgrounds and expert opinion. Globalization has in fact led to Vilanilam writes ‘Reuters main business is not simply transmitting news of daily political events it also supplies the media with news of financial transactions worldwide. . . . In short, the world’s financial transactions and their impact on the immediate and long term interests of its allies are of primary concern to Reuters. ’ Therefore because British media also has an interest in the global information, it has to reinvent itself and broaden its perspective so that it can keep with an audience that has increased consciousness of world around them. Bryn et al describe globalization as a schoolboy who listens in India who eats American cereal, listens to a Canadian pop singer is a schoolboy on a Japanese manufactured MP3 player, wears American Jeans , converses to his parents in Hindi, and goes for English language classes. This phenomenon has indeed has linked between people of different land masses together and in this same way it has helped to propel brand names from western countries to developing countries in the southern and eastern part of the hemisphere. How has it affected media in Britain? The media has played a part in this process and has benefited through transmission of adverts to foreign countries. British Media has extended its programming and publications to the other side of the globe. The Indian boy would get know all this brand names and the MP3 because he saw it in Sky International or BBC Click program. The media in Britain is enhancing the homogeneity of people with different racial, ethnic and political affiliations already began by the process of globalization. Hence, globalization and media have a symbiotic relationship The globalization trend has led to the rise of so called new media in Britain. Bill Jones says that, ‘By 2005, nearly 36 million people or nearly 60% of UK homes, have a PC . . . . ‘ . Globalization has forced Britons to modernize the way they access information. They no longer rely on the old media such as television and radio or newspapers. Nowadays Britons are spending more time at watching news, reading newspapers on the Internet. This is because globalization means that business, politics; society in general has gone global. To keep on top of what the trends, one has to have the fastest media available. The Web contains more information than any source of media. It can be portable and one does not have to be in a fixed place to access the precious information necessary for survival. Apart from the PCs Britons have Ipods to download music from their favourite international artists, MP3 players to watch their favourite UEFA club match. Globalization has brought economic growth to the media industry in terms of the massive annual incomes derived by companies who endeavour to globalize. O’Loughlin et al explain how there are now new entities called ‘transnational’ media corporations which extend beyond Britain. He gives an example of NewsCorp owned by Rupert Murdoch who has multi-million dollar interests in Asia and Britain. These corporations create job opportunities for media practitioners in Britain. This new media market is almost a trillion dollar industry in Britain and it will continue to grow. In conclusion, globalization has changed the media for the better and with time the face of media in Britain will have a different appearance because of influence from globalization. Consequently, globalization and media in Britain are ultimately and inextricable interconnected and symbiotic.

Game Theories Essay

In â€Å"Game theories†, Clive Thomson contrasts the differences and similarities between the real world and that of the gaming world, through his depiction and analysis of the economics in both environments. To further drive Thomson’s insight, As a group we discussed two main points that are integral in understanding his perspective on the matter. One, the idea of an â€Å"economical pure model,† a scenario that is present in the gaming world as all individuals are born equal. Two, corruption- the idea that venality exists, and can exist the same way in the gaming world. The existence of both of these topics solidifies Thomson’s claims and can be explored through various examples and scenarios. As Smith states, â€Å"people inherently prefer a free market and the ability to rise above others,† a market that is non-existent as the world offers no â€Å"truly level playing field. † As individuals, we are born into an unpredictable environment that varies immensely between people. Whether the variation occurs in status, finance or cultural demographic, it’s impossible to create a baseline where we can interpret all as equal. â€Å"Capital was inherently unfair and those with power would abuse it,† thus there is no â€Å"pristine world† that exists. However, the gaming world offers individuals with the opportunity to begin as equals. There is no advantage to birth in this surreal world, and thus creating â€Å"the world’s first egalitarian polity. This ideal world is enjoyed by the millions of gaming fanatics who enjoy the undoing of â€Å"all the inequities in society,† something which can only be dreamt about in our world today. Ironically, the corruption that exists in our reality is also mirrored in the gaming community. Players can create businesses within the game, whether clean or dirty, a player can acquire currency through their endeavours. For example, certain individuals within the highly popular simulation game ca lled The Sims Online, a player developed a chain of brothels which led to sizeable profit in gaming currency. Another created a mafia that had the ability to red flag other players and eventually push them to be blacklisted leaving them isolated from other fellow gamers. Through the gaming worlds creation of an egalitarian polity we are shown the existence of an economic pure model in a surreal environment. Corruption that exists in society today is also equally present in the gaming world, that which is produced by the player. Both of these topics were openly discussed and used to further empower Thomson’s contrast of both worlds.

Income Tax and Corporation Tax Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Income Tax and Corporation Tax - Essay Example Under the finance act 2010/2011, there are three types of rate bands, basic rate, higher rate and additional rate. Every type of income has its own tax rate. These are illustrated in the table below: Basic High Additional Rate Band (?1-?37,400) (?37,401-?150,000) (?150,001 and over) Non-Saving Income 20% 40% 50% Saving Income 20% 40% 50% Dividends Income 10% 32.5% 42.5% If a savings income fall into the basic rate band, then the rate, till the amount of ?2,240 is 10%. Above that the rate of 20% is implied. Any income over and above the individual’s allowance is taxable. There are different kinds of allowances for example personal allowance, old age allowance, married couple allowance, maintenance payment relief, or blind person’s allowance. Personal allowance depends upon the age and income limits, Allowances for the year 2010/2011 are shown below: Age ? Personal Allowance Standard 6,475 Personal Allowance 65 to 74 9,490 Personal Allowance 75 and above 9,640 Income Limi t for age-related Allowances 22,900 Income Limit for standard personal allowance 100,000 The blind person’s allowance is 1,890 pounds for the year 2010/2011, there are no age or income limits, and this allowance is in addition to the personal allowance of the entitled individual. Other allowances like married couple’s allowance or maintenance payment relief are entitled to a couple where both the partners are born before 6 April 1935, or either of the partners or formal partners is born before 6 April 1935, respectively. Married couple’s allowance is ?6,965 for the year 2010/11. Tax Period: The relevant tax period for the year 2010/2011 is from 6 April 2010 to 5 April 2011. All the taxes are computed for this period. Corporation Tax: Scope:... The paper tells that income tax is charged on the income of all UK residents. Income tax is basically charged to all the individuals. That will include employed, self-employed or un-employed individuals. For employed individuals, the basic source of income will be their salaries along with other sorts where as the self employed individuals will be charged on their trading income. Un-employed individuals may have their income coming from savings or investments. There is no maximum age limit for any individual to be exempt from income tax. Corporation tax is payable by limited companies or some other unincorporated businesses, which are UK resident. Such UK resident companies pay tax on their comprehensive income. A company is called a UK resident; if it’s incorporated in UK or even if it isn’t incorporated in UK then it is centrally managed and controlled in UK. In determining where the company’s central administration is positioned, the HM Revenue and Customs wil l focus on the highest level of the company. Especially where the board is located and where all the meetings of the board are carried out. If a company is a non-resident then it is not liable for corporation tax. But if it carries out its trade through a permanent institution like a branch or agency which is a UK resident, then in that case the profits from that institution are liable for tax. From the paper we will see that though rates related to income tax are constantly being increased and the allowances being decreased, no such progressive changes are seen in the corporation tax strategy.

Explaining the FITT principle and how it can be applied to a Essay

Explaining the FITT principle and how it can be applied to a progressive workout plan - Essay Example The overall goal is having all students through self - evaluation, create and implement a personal fitness plan to be carried out over ten physical education classes† (Newshour, 2002). Every element is quantifiable, and can have different tools and activities paired to insure an optimal result. FITT is primarily used for students at the pre-college level and is used for people doing low to medium-rate excercising. But FITT can be applied to an individual person to raise their success. Frequency is an attempt to balance cardiorespiratory and strength elements as well as having a comprehensive strength approach by varying activities from day to day. Cardiorespiratory sessions should dominate, from three to six weekly sessions: More is not helpful. For strength, frequency varies on the goal. If the goal is even development of nurses from all sides and approaches, then thre e to four sessions weekly is a good goal. A good pattern for most elementary schools, then, might be three ca rdorespiratory and two strength tests. FITT teaches the individual working out that cardio is far more important than weight, and even if someone wants to boost weight for whatever reason more than cardio, cardiorespiratory skill is essential to consistently lifting weights and building strength techniques. Flexibility and general endurance are key parts of strength training. Strength should fit between sessions. Ideally, for a person working out for their own health, five cardiorespiratory sessions a week and three strength sessions would be a good balance. This means one day, likely on the weekend, will have a cardiorespiratory warmup and lifting after. The person can either take a break between the two or simply move on to both. Intensity is a measure of how much is being achieved and how hard the work is. Heart rate is the primary indicator for Intensity. Beats per minute is measured simply, by a finger on the wrist, arm or neck. Maximum BPS end up being around 220 – age. The target rate rate is 50-70% of that. Ten year olds, for example, may want to see a heart rate of 105 to 147. Advanced PE classes or sports clubs might go for 70-85 percent. Someone starting out this workout should measure their BP every five minutes throughout an activity. If the measurement is too low, they should increase their pace; if it's too high, they can start ramping down. Changes need to be gradual: Nothing causes inconsistent workouts faster than people overexerting themselves then running out of gas. Meanwhile, intensity can only be determined by the person themselves for strength. Bench presses, leg presses, squats, cleans and jerks, curls, calisthenic weights, resistance weight technologies, pull-downs, handlebars... all of them are going to have different performances. The intensity that should be aimed for is a feeling of dull aching in the muscles, a gentle burning. Some pain and soreness is okay, but if it is serious, feels like a pulled muscle or lasts too lon g, it's time to ratchet back for some time. Once someone gets a feel for how they can lift weights and build strength, the hope is to keep the same sensation as the goal and increase the weight so that there is a clear path of higher and higher weight intensity. Time is the next measure. Cardio training should always aim for about 20 to 30 minutes. Strength training is measured by

Www.hl7.org Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Www.hl7.org - Assignment Example These terms have a special connotation in the HealthCare sector. Certification is essential factor for potential HL7 professionals as it enables them attain industry-recognized levels of knowledge and proficiency. Through tests, potential HL7 professionals are exposed and examine the current trends and emerging issues in the healthcare sector, a factor that augments their adeptness. The slogan â€Å"Unlocking the Power of Health Information† was formulated to harness the support of HIM professionals and everyone towards the elimination of ambiguity heath in information sharing and enhance interoperability and cooperative use of standards. It was also aimed at ensuring that health services are improved beyond the common deficient level. HIM professionals can participate in implementation and improvement of standards by equipping themselves and others with the appropriate knowledge that can help transform the healthcare sector. This can be accomplished by organizing training events, discussion forums and setting realistic

Health Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Health Psychology - Essay Example While the biomedical model is good in gaining a comprehension of the purely medical aspects concerning a patient's health the biopsychosocial is being found to be fundamentally imperative because it incorporates the actual mental states and physical states of the human being. For example, the biopsychosocial model introduces the emotional state, personal issues, family issues, and community issues that might have an affect on a patient's health and medical diagnosis. Therefore the acceptance of this model has stemmed from the fact that medical providers have now come to the realization that the psychological influences in an individual's life can alter the medical care and affect the patient outcome (Borrell-Correlo et al 2004, pg. 577). 2. Investigate Cultural differences in the incidence and prevalence of various diseases, such as HIV/Aids, and Cancer and of life expectancy. What factors do you believe are related to these differences. present, many different cultures approach these based on their religious beliefs, social customs, and over all societal views of them (Martin & Kukall 1996, pg. 993). For instance with Alzheimer's disease, those with a Latino background are more apt to care for their family member at home rather than placing them in a nursing care facility. This is in comparison to how Americans often care for a relative with this medical prognosis. Australian culture follows much the same type of philosophy; with diseases such as AID's, and even Cancer having an influential factor in the life expectancy that might present itself. This is due to the fact that these two cultural bodies carry a collectivist attitude instead of an individualistic one such as Americans have. Therefore, obviously the factors that play a pertinent role in disease and how different cultures relate to it are listed as follows, religion, family bonds, social perception, personal values, societal view, and community support. This clearly shows that some cultures focus more on the psychological aspects of the medical diagnosis; more so than what the actual biological bearing is going to be. 3. What is the Placebo Affect, and why is it often important to include a placebo in health research A placebo is simply an inactive element in medicine that has absolutely no affect on any medical outcome. It is or can be a pill that holds no medicinal qualities, a liquid of the same quality, or even an intravenous fluid that is used in medical studies and other experiments to see if the patient or individual in a study perceives there to be an actual affect. The main purpose is to test the strength of the actual drug and to compare the two too see if the real medicine does promote improved health and destroy cells in the body that can promote more health complications, depending upon what it is being developed for (Hrobjartsson & Gotzsche 2001, pg. 1594). The importance of including a placebo in medical

Transporting Changes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Transporting Changes - Essay Example One of the primary ways in which these changes were brought about was through changes in the city’s modes of transport, from the old days of walking, bicycling, trams and els, to the new mode of individual vehicular traffic and high-speed underground trains. In constructing the necessary amenities for these sorts of changes, it was necessary to break some of the old ways of doing things, either through the destruction of previously apportioned space or through novel approaches to cutting through traffic. Before one can understand how current conceptions of New York were shaped by these changing forms of transport, it is necessary to understand what is meant by the concept of place and then to observe how this concept shifted and changed with each new introduction to the city’s landscape. In his article â€Å"Defining Places† (2004), Tim Cresswell presents a general examination of how the term ‘place’ might be defined in a variety of different context s. Foremost among these is the idea that the term ‘place’ doesn’t simply refer to a specific location but is instead used to refer to a variety of ideas and concepts that are tied up in our conception of place.

TAX Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

TAX - Essay Example The code of ethics is developed by a professional body such as the ICAEW and often, it is monitored and enforced by the body especially where governmental regulations are of little or no effect. Members are, therefore, to follow the code in order to be in good standing with the institution or organization. Ethics is concerned with operations of the organization; thus to handle client relationships, a code of conduct is required in an institution. The code of conduct refers to a practical document of set standards and principles that govern client relationships with staff members in the organization. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) defines a professional code of conduct that accountants are supposed to follow. It is applicable to everyone affiliated to ICAEW, i.e. students, staff members and employees of member firms in professional and business activities. According to the CISI code of conduct, members are required to demonstrate high standards of professional conduct and take into consideration the interests of the general public. Ethical behaviour is essential in gaining public trust in financial reporting and business practice hence to uphold ones accountancy reputation ICAEW outline the principles under which the accountants should operate. Similarly, the Charted Institute of Security Investment (CISI) has a code of conduct that aims at boosting banking finance integrity through raising professional standards of the financial services offered. According to CISI, an essential component of professionalism is integrity that is the effective recipe of knowledge skills and behaviour. In essence, both the ICAEW code of ethics and the CISI code of conduct are concerned with professionalism For CISI, the professionals who operate in the securities and investment industry are obligated to the

Principles of Total Quality Management (TQM) Essay

Principles of Total Quality Management (TQM) - Essay Example Before going into the discussion regarding three major principles of total quality management, let us get a better understanding of what total quality management actually is. Total quality management is an approach towards improving the performance and quality of products and services so that they meet the expectations of the consumers. Quality is of integral importance for a company to achieve success in a competitive market. A company can achieve success only if it integrates all aspects of quality in its business activities and processes. The focus of the total quality management is the customers and products of a company. Total quality management requires continuous improvement in all departments of a company related to manufacturing of the products, such as, quality design and development, quality control, and quality assurance. There are a number of key principles related to total quality management. Three of those principles include customer focus, continuous improvement, and employee involvement. Let us discuss all of these in some detail. Customer Focus Customer focus is one of the primary principles of TQM. A company needs to focus the needs and demands of the customers while developing the products. Customers are the main drivers that ensure success of a company. Without customers, no company can achieve success or gain market domination in any market. Customers always opt for such companies, which provide them with excellent quality and reliability in all products and services.... If a company neglects the integration of quality aspects in a single phase of a product development process, it affects the overall quality of the product resulting in development of a compromising quality product. Therefore, a company needs to work towards continuous improvement in manufacturing and quality procedures in order to bring a high quality product in the market. Employee Involvement This principle of TQM requires continuous involvement and motivation of the top management of a company. Top management needs to motivate the employees towards ensuring quality in all aspects of their job responsibilities. â€Å"Employees should be encouraged to be pro-active in identifying and addressing quality related problems† (Murray). TQM is not just related to the integration of quality in the products and services of a company, rather it also includes all business functions and activities. The involvement of employees is of integral importance in ensuring the implementation of t otal quality management system in a company. Therefore, companies need to encourage their employees to bring improvement in their job related activities in order to ensure success of the company. Performance Measurement Performance measurement means to evaluate performance of the employees and the business processes in order to bring improvement in the organizational effectiveness and productivity. The basic aim of performance measurement is not just to evaluate the employees’ performance; rather it also focuses on increasing the organizational productivity by improving performance of the employees. Performance measurement or evaluation makes the managers of a company know where the company actually stands and what they need to do in

The Game of Life Essay Example for Free

The Game of Life Essay Who can really play the â€Å"game† of life? In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, the main character, Holden Caulfield, states, â€Å"Game, my ass. Some game. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it’s a game, all right? I’ll admit that. But if you get on the other side, where there aren’t any hot-shots, then what’s a game about it? Nothing. No game† (8). This statement is true because it is the people who have success, fame, and fortune that can play the â€Å"game† of life and win in it. So why can only these people play the â€Å"game† of life? A â€Å"hot-shot† is a person of great success. Those on the â€Å"other side† do not have this success and are therefore at a disadvantage. It is the people who have succeeded in life that continue to succeed and eventually win in life. Although success cannot be exactly measured, a person cannot succeed without having prior success. For example, a person cannot be an aspiring artist, singer, or author without having succeeded in that field before. Because of this lack of success, those on the â€Å"other side† cannot play the â€Å"game† of life. â€Å"Hot-shots† do not only have success however. By putting himself on the â€Å"other side†, Holden alienates himself from the rest of society and may therefore mean that those on the â€Å"other side† are as well alienated from society. Those on the â€Å"other side† cannot play the â€Å"game† of life because it is the people who have fame and recognition who are successful. They have support, experience with people, and connections. Because the people alienated from society lack these advantages, they cannot play the â€Å"game† of life. Furthermore, there is another factor which whether a person can play the â€Å"game† of life. People usually associate success with money, or fortune. When a person has great fortune, they have great success. This fortune however is what makes the â€Å"hot-shots† successful in the first place. Fortune is not only defined as money though. It includes any type of resource or pure serendipity. All fortune however makes people successful, either by allowing them an education or opening up opportunities that would not be available without it. People on the â€Å"other side† do not have fortune and therefore do not have the means to play the â€Å"game† of life. So who can really play the â€Å"game† of life? â€Å"Hot-shots† are the one who can play the â€Å"game†. Their access to success, fame, and fortune allows them to play the â€Å"game† of life and win in it. Those on the â€Å"other side† do not have access to these advantages and can therefore not play the â€Å"game† of life and not win in life. It is not until a person transitions into the â€Å"hot-shot† side can they truly be successful in life.

Strategic Management of Tesco: PESTLE and SWOT Analysis

Strategic Management of Tesco: PESTLE and SWOT Analysis Tesco plc is a leading global grocery with its headquarters in Cheshunt in the United Kingdom where it is ranked second in this country in terms of revenues and third in terms of profits. This company has stores in more than 14 countries in the world and has employed more than 326000 employees globally. In the United Kingdom, the food and drink retail sector represents the largest industry offering large employment opportunities to people of the United Kingdom and the whole world in general. In the global competition and companies pictures, it is of great importance for a company to come up with a strategy that will evaluate its competitive advantage. In this case, PESTEL analysis is used by the Tesco plc. This analysis indicates that, Tesco plc has to monitor and respond to uncontrollable forces that are posed by six factors. These factors include; political, economic, socio-cultural, technological, environmental, and legal. In this essence, these forces influence the macro environm ent of the Tesco plc. The other aspect which is of great significance to consider when evaluating the competitive advantage of this company is the SWOT analysis. In this respect, the strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities of this company are analyzed. From the analysis it can be learned that the companys strengths and opportunities neutralize the weaknesses and threats. It can be learned from the analysis that this company has been able to operate a number of stores in the whole world with the major ones being in the United Kingdom. The increased advancement of technology acts as a potential basis for the company to operate online and offer its customers with products from different parts of the world. Introduction Tesco Plc. is one of the largest global groceries headquartered in Cheshunt in the United Kingdom. It is the second largest retailer in the whole world when measured in terms of profits and third largest when measured in terms of revenues. In the United Kingdom, Tesco has a market share of 30% hence becoming the market leader in this country. This company has more than 2318 stores in 14 countries across Europe, Asia, and North America. Tesco plc was founded in the year 1919 by Jack Cohen and the first store was opened in the year 1929 in Burnt Oak. Tesco plc has a flat hierarchical structure where each and every intended action has to pass through the management. There are six levels which are between checkout staff and chief executive. This company has employed more than 326000 employees across the globe where 237000 of them are in Europe where it has its largest private employer. This company has 83 Tesco stores and 447 superstores in the United Kingdom. Tesco plc has been using th e strategy of pile em high, sell em cheap as a way of minimizing production costs. The mission and vision of this company are to offer superior and technical representation and add value to its products and customers by providing highly innovative solutions to their customers design, manufacturing requirements, and procurement. This is usually done by improving the quality, productivity, and services to a competitive edge. The grocery sector where foods and drinks are sold represents the largest industry in the United Kingdom. This sector offers employment opportunities to more than three million people in different levels such as primary production, manufacturing, and retailing. In the year 2003, the food and drink retail sector accounted for about 9% of the countrys gross domestic product. In order to increase its competitive advantage, Tesco plc has diversified its production where it supplies clothing and other non food lines. Its own label products are in three levels which include, value, normal, and finest. In addition to convenience produce, most of the companys stores have gas suppliers hence becoming one of the largest United Kingdom autonomous petrol retailers (Porter 1980: 27). Strategy growth company PESTEL analysis In the process of evaluating the competitive advantage of this company, there are six forces that Tesco has to respond to and which influence its macro environment. These forces include; political, economical, socio-cultural, technological, environmental, and legal factors. In the process of shaping the marketing strategies for the Tesco plc, these macro-environmental factors have been evaluated in both global and domestic markets to successfully penetrate the markets and possess a higher niche in competition (Pearce Robinson 2003: 237). Table 1: PESTEL analysis of Tesco plc Political factors As it operates in a globalized environment with stores across the globe, Tescos performance is greatly influenced by the political conditions of the countries where it has its stores. This is because each and every country has its own political standing which may be different from United Kingdom. Among the important factors that act as productive grounds for this company is the fact that United Kingdom is politically stable and free from corruption. Additionally, most of the countries where it has its stores like; Japan, Turkey, Hungary, Ireland, and Poland among others are politically stable providing good environment for business (Patterson 2002: 251). The United Kingdom government encourages businesses and retailers to offer a mix of job opportunities from centrally located, highly paid, lowly paid, locally based jobs, and flexible jobs. The political factors prevailing not only in Britain but also in the whole world influence Tesco to employ all kinds of people as a way of provid ing employment opportunities to citizens. The aspect of political stability has increased the companys profits as taxation policies in Britain encourage operations of business sector. Economic factors Economic factors as they influence demands, costs, and prices of the products offered are of great concern to this company. The whole globe has experienced economic decline and hence the aspect of purchasing products has been greatly affected in all companies without the exception of Tesco plc. In this respect, the inflation rate of the United Kingdom has dropped from 3.6% in the year 2009 to 2.2% in the year 2010. This indicates that there is an increased value of money hence decreasing the costs of living and the purchasing power increases in return. Since Tesco plc has a number of stores not only in UK but also in the whole world, its business cycles are not heavily affected since there are sales throughout the year. The current economic growth has affected the purchasing power of buyers hence reducing the number of sales made by this company. Additionally, the level of income in the United Kingdom is relatively unequal hence making some people fail to afford the products offered by this company (McLoughlin Aaker 2010: 211). Socio-cultural factors It should be noted that people make up markets in the world and hence there is a strong demographic force in global and local markets. Population growth is one of the interests of marketers especially in cities, urban areas, and towns but this does not necessarily mean that the increased population forms potential markets for the produced goods. This is because one may have a lot of people to feed hence failing to purchase the products offered by Tesco plc. The fact that many people have gone to school has increased customer awareness of their rights and hence they are only buying products that are of high quality (Mazzucato 2002: 58). The concept of ethnicity implies that the United Kingdom is an amalgam of races where different races have different tastes and cultures. In this country more than 90% of the total population are the Whites hence marketers are mostly targeting them. Location is another factor that is usually considered by marketers as most of the potential buyers are f ound in urban areas as compared to rural areas. Tesco plc is strategically located in a place where potential buyers are heavily targeted. Environmental factors Globally, there have been increased campaigns on environmental preservation and many companies are supposed to preserve the environment. This is because most of the pollutions that are done to the environment are caused by industries. As a way of maintaining and preserving environment, Tesco plc usually uses licensed waste disposal services. There are legal requirements that force companies in the United Kingdom to support the aspect of sustainable development and this cannot be done without professional ways of disposing wastes (Lake Powell 1999: 63). Additionally, water that is used in this company is usually recycled in so that it can be reused as a way of preserving the most important resources in the United Kingdom. Globally, consumers are aware of the impacts of environmental pollution and hence are increasingly buying products that have been produced through environmentally friendly means. Legal In the United Kingdom there is competition law that is established under the Competition Act 1998 and the Enterprise Act 2002. This usually affects the behaviours of businesses in this country as there is a manner in which they are supposed to compete. It is a requirement for all businesses in this country to abide with these laws and Tesco plc is not excluded (Kotler et al 2005: 54). Tesco plc is mostly involved in selling foods and drinks and hence has to abide with the Health and Safety Laws in this country. These laws are provided under the Health and Safety Act 1974. Technological factors In the global competition, quality of products or services is highly appreciated by customers and any company that produces high quality products wins most customers. In this case, quality is usually guaranteed by technological advancement and hence Tesco plc has improved its technological innovations. The speed of technology transfer in this company is very fast as employees are learning technological aspects in order to improve their performance within the company. Innovation is highly encouraged in this company and this has helped the company in improving its competitive advantage in the whole world (Jeffs 2008: 68). SWOT analysis of Tesco plc The concept of SWOT analysis usually indicates the competitive advantage of a company by looking at its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Strengths Tesco plc has been able to operate a number of stores in the whole world with the major ones being in the United Kingdom. This has helped it to enter into the global market hence reaching a wide number of customers. Additionally, this company has recently engaged in advertising its products online where customers are in a position to learn and order products online (Rumelt 1991: 172). Through the stores that are located in more than 14 countries globally, customers are able to get their ordered products in time. The products that are produced by this company are usually of high value and quality hence attracting large numbers of customers. By operating in urban areas, Tesco plc has been able to capture most people as these are the highly populated areas globally. This company has been able to compete stiffly with its competitors like Sainsbury, Marks Spencer, and ASDA hence improving its financial strengths. There has been diversification where Tesco plc also supplies clothing and o ther products away from food and drink line. This has helped this company is competing with its competitors (Ireland et al 2007: 37). Weaknesses Tesco plc is using a lot of fossil fuel in its distribution of products especially in transport network. This is because it is not wholly established to have stores in almost all countries of the world. Additionally, this company has only targeted the developed world leaving out the developing and under developed nations which may produce potential customers for their products. The aspect of using internet in advertising its products has been covering only a certain group of people as mostly the youths are the ones who make use of internet. This indicates that those people who do not use internet frequently will not be in a position to know about its products (Human Resource Management 2010). Threats There is a very stiff competition that is posed by Tesco competitors like Sainsbury, Marks Spencer, and ASDA. Most companies worry about taxes in any country and Tesco being no exception worries about taxes in the United Kingdom and the other countries where it has stores. The innovation by other companies is another threat of this company as any increase in innovation will result to a very stiff competition towards this company (Grant 2009: 26). Opportunities The recent advancement in technology offers Tesco plc a great opportunity of using internet in selling its products. In this aspect, internet is the most used technology that is able to reach a wide number of customers even in areas where there are no stores. Additionally, there is an opportunity of forming alliance competitors or suppliers in order to reduce production and distribution costs. Collaborations are very necessary in that companies share resources and hence they do not fear taking risks in any pursuit of development (Coulter 2009: 56). Recommendations In order for the Tesco plc to achieve a higher ground in competition than its rivals it has to do the following; Improve the management in order to make sure that all stores are well managed so that quality services may be offered to customers. The company should encourage employees innovations in order to compete with other companies. The company should increase its target population by opening new stores in other countries in order to target large numbers of customers Conclusion In winding up, competitive advantage of a company can be evaluated using different strategies that are very essential in a company. In this case, the PESTEL analysis of the Tesco plc indicates that this company has to monitor and respond to the six forces that influence its macro environment. These forces include; political, economic, technological, soci0-cultural, environmental, and legal. From the SWOT analysis of the Tesco plc, this company has a number of strengths and opportunities that are able to neutralize weaknesses and threat. Africa: Beyond The Stereotypes Africa: Beyond The Stereotypes In a single day 95 photographers document a wildly diverse continent bursting with energy and promise. Send 95 photojournalists around the African continent on the same day, and what do you get? Pictures and columns that belie the clichà ©d expectations, a prosperous South African family enjoys breakfast in a sparkling kitchen near Johannesburg, denim-clad girls giggle as they walk to class in Cape Verde. Africa, which is bigger than the United States, China, Argentina, Europe, India combined; contains 53 nations, 720 million people and more than 800 ethnic groups who speak more than a 1,000 languages. The 250 photos from each photographer barely even scratch the surface of the continents diversity. (magazine, 2002) Studying Africa If educators had the time to survey their students before engaging students in the study of the continent, they would undoubtedly be shocked by (i) the lack of knowledge about Africa, which is the second largest continent in terms of both land area and population, and (ii) by the images of Africa held by the majority of their students. Africa is probably the least known and the most misrepresented of the continents. This is due to the simplistic explanatory constructs through which the media, government, and educational texts have brought understanding to events (social, economic, political) and practices (social, cultural, religious) in Africa. (Exploring Africa)http://graphjam.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/arbitraryuser.png Common stereotypes  · Africa is the Dark Continent  · Africa is culturally monolithic  · Africa without history  · Africa is pagan  · Africa is uncivilized  · Endemic violence  · Endemic hunger/starvation Behavioral Characteristics- African behavior is determined by primordial drives, Savagery, Tribal loyalty, Superstition determines attitudes and behavior, Weird cultural practices. Many popular images of Africa are based on stereotypes that present fragmented, inaccurate, and at times fallacious, images or representations of Africa. These images and misrepresentations become the basis of knowledge. Given the lack of in-depth knowledge of Africa and the prevalence of generalized stereotypes to interpret Africa, Americans tend to use explanatory constructs to bring meaning and understanding to images and news from Africa. Common examples include the following:  · Tribalism- seemingly endemic conflicts in Africa are explained by primordial tribal impulses.  · Patrimonial structures and practices-African patrimonial structures encourage nepotism, corruption, and economic and political inefficiency. Therefore, they preclude democracy.  · Communitarian orientation- Anti-individualism precludes personal initiative, development, and modernity. (Exploring Africa) Sources of Stereotypes Historical European explorers, colonial officials, and missionaries created representations of Africa and Africans through narratives that were consonant with their beliefs and supportive of their agenda (e.g. Africans as uncivilized incapable of governing themselves). Contemporary News Media cover Africa superficially (crisis driven coverage). Reporters often have no background in Africa. Liberal use of inadequate explanatory constructs. Entertainment Media perpetuates negative images of helpless primitives and evil pagans. The media glorify colonialism and European intervention. Currently, Africa is represented as a place of endemic violence and brutal but ignorant dictators. Animalization of Africa through the many of nature shows on Africa that presents Africa as being devoid of humans. Safari Industry promotes an orientation to animals and exploitation of non-representative African cultures (e.g. Maasai, Pekot, San, etc.). Theme parks in united states that feature African themes. Advertising-industry has built and exploited (and thereby perpetuated) simplistic stereotypes of Africa. U.S Textbooks covering Africa often provide inadequate coverage, and use popular explanatory constructs. Feature pictorial images (predominance of animals and exotica).Highlight social and cultural representations of non-representative groups such as the Maasai and San. (Exploring Africa) African stereotypes- A Reaction from the Public After generally refraining from criticizing media coverage of African news, it has becoming increasingly hard for some people to resist commentary. I suppose one can only read and watch so many stereotyped and misinformed news stories before it becomes too much to bear. Texas in Africa (an African blog spot), the ladies at Wronging Rights, among others have always been quick to stress the problem with bad reporting. For example: A story written by Jeffrey Gettleman on the drought currently plaguing Kenya. Gettleman writes: A devastating drought is sweeping across Kenya, killing livestock, crops and children. It is stirring up tensions in the ramshackle slums where the water taps have run dry, and spawning ethnic conflict in the hinterland as pastoralist communities fight over the last remaining pieces of fertile grazing land. The twin hearts of Kenyas economy, agriculture and tourism, are especially imperiled. The fabled game animals that safari-goers fly thousands of miles to see ar e keeling over from hunger and the picturesque savannah is now littered with an unusually large number of sun-bleached bones. (Gettleman, 2009) There is definitely a severe drought in Kenya and it is indubitably a cause of great concern for Kenyans dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. As Gettleman notes, the drought is also increasing conflict in some parts of the country, with farmers struggling for access to arable land. Such conflict, however, is not ethnic, but rather an instance of basic survival. Aside from this point, what I find most troublesome about Gettlemans piece is his suggestion that the Kenyan economy will somehow crumble as a consequence of the drought. The unknowing reader comes away from Gettlemans piece with an image of a completely impoverished, desert-like country on the brink of disaster a stereotype of a typical African country. While Kenya surely does have its problems Gettlemans imagery is highly misguiding. Technology in Kenya is expanding at a rapid pace, heralding much opportunity for development. Emphasis is also being placed on the countrys private sector as an engine for growth, as well as small-scale manufacturing. One doesnt get any of this from Gettlemans piece. African stereotypes and Social Psychology Research by social psychologists strongly indicates that we as individuals find it difficult to hold conflicting or contradictory beliefs/understandings. Social psychologists call this aversion cognitive dissonance, the discomfort in holding contradictory beliefs or representations. Yet when we are exposed to evidence that contradicts an accepted image, we may not recognize or be bothered by the contradiction (e.g. Africans are primitive but not be flustered when introduced to Africans who are clearly very modern), unless prior representation is challenged. To give a simple example, many Americans believe that Africa is comprised of jungle, sparsely populated savannah, or desert. When shown pictures of modern African cities, individuals may accept that the cities are in Africa; however, if the dominant representation is not directly challenged in attempt to maintain cognitive consonance, students will maintain their prior perception. So in spite of pictorial evidence, many people wil l revert to their prior knowledge and understanding of Africa. Debunking African stereotypes It is important that educators advocate a feeling of understanding and appreciating other cultures and societies. So many people tend to judge other peoples actions and ways of life by their own cultural values. Educators need to steer away from this ethnocentric view. In teaching about Africa, stereotypes and biases naturally creep in. educators should be on guard to not perpetuate the beliefs that seem to come to mind. Words in describing Africa can be altered for example consider the table below. Stop word Substitute word Jungle rainforest Tribe Ethnic group/ people Backward/primitive/savage/native traditional Bush savannah Witch doctor herbalist Costume National attire Juju/superstition faith Also educators should examine materials before hand for stereotypes and biases. Dont show a collection of pictures that only show Africans dressed in little clothing or wearing masks. Urban and rural areas should be represented too. Educator should talk about the people and not just the jungle and its inhabitants. Often, seemingly subtle opinions and failure to represent the real Africa can do harm to the students who look to educators as authorities on something they will probably never personally experience. (Turner, 1995) Works Cited (n.d.). Retrieved 3 23, 2010, from Exploring Africa: http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu Gadzala, a. (2009). China In Africa. Trafficking in African Stereotypes . Gettleman, J. (2009, 9 8). Africa. Lush Land Dries up, Withering Kenyas hopes , p. A1. magazine, s. (2002, 12). Africa. Retrieved 3 2010, from http://www.smithsonianmag.coms/africa.html Merryfield, M. M. (1995). . Turner, D. (1995). teaching about africa. Utah: early elemetary.

Human Fall Detection Using Kinect Sensor Essay -- falls, major risk fra

Falls are a major risk in our society which reduces the quality of the life for various people such as the old aged people who are at a higher risk of fall. This has been supported by NICE stating â€Å"Falling is the leading cause of injury-related admissions to hospital in those over 65. â€Å" For that reason various research has been conducted to discover the ideal solution for the dilemma. A variety of solutions has been produced as well, however the issue is still present. Therefore, this project’s research would be based on how another technology device such as Kinect could be used as a solution to the issue. Consequently, throughout the project, the discussion would be based on how the Kinect could play a role in resolving the problem and how the manipulation of the device can create such a tremendous applicability other than the specified purpose of gaming. Project Schedule Previously, in the project specification, a project timeline had been introduced to manage the time effectively for the delivery of the project on time. The timeline had not incorporated sufficient disruption time for the progression of the project which had an effect on the previous timeline that the project is slightly behind the schedule. The previous timeline is shown in Figure 1. Figure 1: Timeline from project specification. Most of the activity has gone according to the plan or achieved earlier than the allocated date. However, the implementation and testing has not adhered to the project timeline but the progress report has been completed before the allocated date. Implementation and testing has not been started due to the amount of research required for the project in-order to acquire the elementary understanding of how the project should be i... ...astorakis, G. and Makris, D. 2012. Fall detection system using Kinect’s infrared sensor. [e-book] Surrey: Faculty of Computing, Information Systems and Mathematics, Digital Imaging Research Centre. pp. 1-10. Available through: Springer Link http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/704/art%253A10.1007%252Fs11554-012-0246-9.pdf?auth66=1385201938_2821d8c75169ac286da18a72dcc5134c&ext=.pdf [Accessed: 21 Nov 2013]. NICE. 2013. Older patients at high risk of hospital falls. [online] Available at: http://www.nice.org.uk/newsroom/news/OlderPatientsHighRiskHospitalFalls.jsp [Accessed: 20 Nov 2013]. Openni.org. 2013. About OpenNI - 3D sensing Technology for depth sensors | OpenNI. [online] Available at: http://www.openni.org/about/ [Accessed: 21 Nov 2013]. Openni.org. 2013. NiTE 2.2.0.11 | OpenNI. [online] Available at: http://www.openni.org/files/nite/ [Accessed: 21 Nov 2013].

The Sociology Analysis of Food and Food Ways Essay -- Sociology, Comme

Sociology is the study of society and people. Food and food ways are often elements associated with particular societies and therefore, studying such a topic can offer valuable insight into the ways of that society and the people who live in it. Although eating is a vital part of survival, with whom, how and where we eat are not. Studying such ways can illustrate and represent the identity of a person or group. The nature of people and their beliefs can be indicated when analysing their food habits. Who individuals eat with is a particularly revealing factor into gaining an understanding of their identity, culture and society (Scholliers P 2001). For this reason commensality is a term frequently used in sociological research concerning food and food ways. Commensality can be defined as the notion of eating with others. It is the act of two or more people consuming a meal together (Pearsall J 1999). The purpose of commensality is much more than that of allowing survival. It pushes beyond this and becomes a practice of socialisation. Anthropologist Martin Sahlins suggested that not only does it provide opportunities for people to integrate socially, but that it can be the starting factor and maintaining factor in which enables relationships to form and develop. For example, he found that at the beginning of relationship formation commensality tends to involve the sharing of drinks and snacks. As relationships develop the meals become more complex. He claimed that the traditional cooked dinner of meats and vegetables is one mainly shared among families and rarely with friends (Lupton 1996). This suggests that commensality is often used as an expression of closeness and the extent of such closeness can be discovered by looking at ... ...ldhood in Food, the Body and the Self by SAGE publications in London, England Mail Online NEWS (2010) Eating dinner at the table is 'dying out', says survey [online] available assessed 13/02/2012 Pearsall J (1999) The Concise Oxford Dictionary Tenth Edition page 286 by Oxford University Press in Oxford New York, America Scholliers P (2001) Meals, Food Narratives and Sentiments of Belonging in Past and Present and Chapter Two Commensality and Social Morphology: An Essay of Typology Claude Grignon in Food, Drink and Identity Cooking, Eating and Drinking in Europe since the middle Ages by Berg in New York, America Tapper T and Palfreyman D (2010) The Collegial Tradition in Higher Education in The Collegial Tradition in the Age of Mass Higher Education by Springer in United Kingdom

Plutarchs Aims and Achievements as a Biographer Essay -- English Lite

A critical study of a significant aspect or aspects of Plutarch's aims and achievements as a biographer -To what extent does Plutarch achieve his aims for the lives of Marius and Caesar? We are able to establish Plutarch's aims in creating his biographies by looking at his background and influences. Plutarch was born in Greece to a wealthy established family. He was well educated, studying rhetoric in Athens, and then travelled to Rome where he established connections with some important political figures. Despite being an outsider (a Greek), Plutarch accepted Roman aristocratic tradition as well as the moralising of some key Roman figures. This is reflected in the 'Lives' which in effect provide moral guidelines, prescribing how one should live a virtuous life. He viewed himself as an artist or moraliser rather than a historian, believing, "It is not so much history that we are writing but lives."[1] Plutarch was deeply into the platonic approach to ethics, and therefore was also influenced by Socrates. Plato was a pupil of Socrates who claimed that the most important thing in life was to know how one should live; an emphasis on moral conduct was therefore passed down to Plutarch. He is fascinated not only by great deeds and battles but, "often a little matter, like a saying or a joke,"[2] which can be more revealing in terms of character and virtue. Plato's philosophy was about the search for absolute standards of truth and moral certainty and almost all of his works are about ethics, or moral philosophy. His aim was therefore to create a, "revelation of virtue or vice,"[3] intending to "shape the life of each man"[4] in terms of moral not financial or political stature, and hopes the reader gains... ...against him but achieved less (although still a few) of his aims in the 'Life of Caesar'. --------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] Plutarch, Fall of the Roman Republic, Alexander, 1.1-3, Penguin [2] Plutarch, Alexander, 1.1-3, [3] Plutarch, Alexander, 1.1-3, [4] Plutarch, Alexander, 1.1-3, [5] Russell, p105 [6] Russell, Plutarch quote, p80 [7] Plutarch, Alexander, 1.1-3 [8] Plutarch, Marius [3] [9] Plutarch, Marius [7] [10] Plutarch, Marius [9] [11] Plutarch, Marius [2,5] [12] Plutarch, Marius [10] [13] Plutarch, Marius [45] [14] Plutarch, Marius [46] [15] Plutarch, Marius [7] [16] Plutarch, Marius notes by Robin Seager [17] Plutarch, Alexander, 1.1-3 [18] Plutarch, Marius [6] [19] Plutarch, Marius [46] [20] Plutarch, Caesar [1] [21] Cicero [22] Plutarch, Caesar [69]

Moldova’s Relations with European Union

In 1538, the principality became a tributary to the Ottoman Empire, but it retained internal and partial external autonomy. In 1600, inhabitants of the Romanian provinces saw for the first time their dream of reunification as reality. Michael the Brave leaded simultaneously the Romanian principalities of Wallachia, Moldova and Transilvania for one year. In 1812, despite numerous protests by Moldavan nobles on behalf of their autonomous status, the Ottoman Empire ceded to the Russian Empire the eastern half of the territory of the Principality of Moldavia along with Hotin and Budgeac.The next 106 years, Romanians from Basarabia were under continues Russification and Romanian language was gradually removed from official and religious use. Basarabia proclaimed independence from Russia on February 6, 1918, and on April 9, 1918 united with the Kingdom of Romania. In August 1939, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and its secret additional protocol were signed, by which Nazi Germany recognized Ba sarabia as being within the Soviet sphere of influence, which led the latter to actively revive its claim to the region.On June 28, 1940, the Soviet Union, with the acknowledgement of the Nazi Germany, issued an ultimatum to Romania requesting the cession of Basarabia and northern Bucovina, with which Romania complied the following day. The Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic was established and Moldova became a tiny part of the â€Å"Evil Empire†. During the Soviet period, deportations of locals to the northern Urals, to Siberia, and northern Kazakhstan occurred regularly. Other forms of Soviet persecution of the population included 32,433 political arrests, followed by Gulag (in 8,360 cases) or execution and collectivization.In 1944-53, there were several anti-Soviet resistance groups in Moldova; however the NKVD and later MGB managed to eventually arrest, execute or deport their members. Official Soviet policy asserted that the language spoken by Moldovans was distinct from the Romanian language (â€Å"Moldovenism†). To distinguish the two, during the Soviet period, Moldovan was written in the Cyrillic alphabet, in contrast with Romanian, which was written in the Latin alphabet.On August 27, 1989, the Popular Front of Moldova organized a mass demonstration in Chisinau, that became known as the Grand National Assembly, which pressured the authorities of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic to adopt a language law on August 31, 1989 that proclaimed the Moldovan language written in the Latin script to be the state language. Its identity with the Romanian language was also established. 2. From RSSM to Republic of Moldova The third richest colony of Soviet Union, Moldova, obtained its independence in 1991 and in just 20 years managed to become the poorest country in Europe.After the breakup of Soviet Union in 1991, Moldova found itself in a new reality. In 1990, 5 Moldovan districts with less than 1 million inhabitants, located on the left side o f river Nistru, declared their independence. Tensions between the Moldovan government and the breakaway Transnistria Republic escalated into a military conflict that started in March 1992 and was concluded by a ceasefire in July 1992. Transnistria's sovereignty is not recognized by any member of the United Nations and it has no official diplomatic relations with any of those states.Nevertheless, Russia is great supporter of Transnistria and other self-declared independent territories of the former Soviet Union countries (Abhazia, South Osetia). Transnistria accounts for 40% of Moldovan GDP, the main part of the Moldovan industry is located on the left side of the Nistru, and therefore it is a strategic region for Moldova. Transnistria is still under the control of Russian 14th Army, which constitutes a serious violation of International Public Law and of the 1999 Istanbul Agreements.On July 8, 2004, the European Court of Human Rights stated in a ruling that the Russian army â€Å"s tationed in Moldovan territory [is] in breach of the undertakings to withdraw them completely given by Russia at the OSCE summits in 1999 and 2001. † Even with domestic conflicts and tensions, Moldova had to establish its state institutions and undertake a complex process of social and economic reforms. Moldova established its diplomatic relations with other countries and organizations, including European Union (EU). Despite the relative short period of cooperation between Moldova and EU, these relations were marked by striking â€Å"ups and downs†. . Moldova’s relations with EU For the purpose of this paper, I would like to distinguish between following stages of Moldova- EU relations: 1. 1991-1998 – â€Å"wait and see† period 2. 1998-2008 – â€Å"two steps forward and one back†, 3. 2009-2010 – â€Å"twitter revolution†- turning point in Moldova – EU relations 4. November, 28th 2010 in Moldova will be held the Par liamentary elections which are crucial for Moldova’s European future. 3. 1. 1991-1998 – â€Å"wait and see† period The first framework for EU-Moldova relations was provided by TACIS (Technical Assistance for Commonwealth of Independent States).TACIS was established in 1991 and provided grant-financed technical assistance to 12 former USSR countries, except Baltic countries, to help in their transition to democratic, market-oriented economies. TACIS was not a bilateral agreement between Moldova and EU, it was drawn by EU as a common tool for 12 former USSR colonies aimed at enhancing the transition process. In 1994 Moldova and EU signed first bilateral Agreement, the so-called Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), which entered into force in 1998. While this ramework agreement was passing through a cumbersome ratification procedure by the EU member states, Moldovan President P. Lucinschi expressed, by successive official letters addressed to the President of European Commission and to all EU heads of states and governments, the aspiration of Moldova to become an associate member of the EU. Though no formal answer followed, through different channels it was suggested that before passing to the associate stage a full implementation of the EU-Moldova PCA was necessary. 3. 2. 1998-2008 – â€Å"two steps forward and one back†During this period Moldova-EU relations gained more consistency, but the relations were marked by changing of the power in Chisinau. The communist Party won the Parliamentary elections in 2001 with 50, 07 % and in 2005 with 45, 98 %. From 2001 to 2008 the Communist Government promoted the so-called ‘facade Europeanization’. Moldova had double standard messages for Brussels and Moscow, the promotion of European values and democracy were done just to gain more voters. No wonder all the actions which aimed to bring Moldova closer to EU were undertaken at the end of the first Communist mandate ( 2005).In March, 2003 – EU and USA introduced a visa ban against self-declared Transnistria leaders. After the Eastern enlargement of EU in 2004, EU launched the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP). The objective of the ENP is to share the benefits of the EU enlargement with neighboring countries. ENP was intended to offer a privileged relationship to EU’s neighbors, which will build on mutual commitment the common values principally within the fields of the rule of law, the respect for human rights, the principles of market economy and sustainable development.ENP was intended to be an incentive for Europe’s neighbors to pursue reforms and to import the EU’s values and practice as the candidates states do. In February, 2005, in the framework of ENP, Moldova and EU signed the Action Plan, which initially was intended to be for 3 years, but eventually it was extended by one year more. Among the objectives of the Action Plan, I would like to mention: the stren gthen of the institutions guaranteeing democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights, promoting economic reform, improving living conditions, etc.The Action Plan supported efforts to achieve a lasting resolution of the Transnistria problem. In October 2005, the EU has been invited to join the mediation process as observers in the so-called 5+2 format. Moldova, Transnistria, OSCE, Russia and Ukraine are mediators, while USA and EU are observers. In my opinion this format is not functional and needs to be changed. There is a big question mark whether all of the mediators are engaged in a fair process of mediation and can ensure a resolution of Transnistria conflict and in the same time the territorial integrity of Moldova.The format 5+2 is not balanced, because Russia and Ukraine (officially and/or non-officially) support Transnistria, OSCE is mainly controlled by Russia, EU and US having the status of observers, cannot intervene in the mediation process and at the end of the da y, Moldova does not have the necessary levers to sustain its points during the mediation. This question was recently raised by Kalman Mizsei, the European Union Special Representative for Moldova at the OSCE Summit in Vienna on 16-18 October, 2010.Helping Moldova to ensure full control over its borders and customs territory, the EU has deployed since December 2005 an EU Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM) on the Moldova – Ukraine state border (including the Transnistria sector). Other priorities of EU-Moldova relations include reforming the judiciary system, ensuring respect for freedom of expression and media, cooperating on issues such as migration, fight against trafficking, organized crime, corruption and money laundering, thereby contributing to the long-term objective of sustainable development.Even if the Action Plan provided certain actions that should be fulfilled by Moldovan Government, it did not have a particular and lasting approach from Moldovan side. Governmentâ €™s actions often achieve good results at project level, but have less impact at sector and national policy level partly due to a lack of continuity and coherent long-term sector planning. In spite of all the advantages and benefits of ENP, the 2006 spring (when Russia established embargo for the Moldovan wines) pointed out that ENP cannot be compared with political and economic pressure of Russia in Moldova.In the ENP framework, EU offers immediate and limited benefits and cannot cancel the effects of Russian economic blockade. This is one of reason why EU decided to double financial assistance in Moldova for the period 2007-2010, thus Moldova became the second beneficiary per capita of the EU assistance, after the Palestinian Authority. EU has provided about 210 million euro of assistance to Moldova through European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument. The ENP and Action Plan brought new dynamics in the relations etween Moldova and EU; extended their cooperation opportunit ies; specified and detailed co-operation process between parties; updated the areas of dialogue [†¦] However, this is not say that everything went smooth in the implementation process of EU-Moldova Action Plan. While performing quite well on the economic dimensions of the document, Moldovan authorities proved an obvious lack of administrative capacities and unwillingness to promote fully-fledged reforms in crucial areas, such as respect of human rights, freedom of the media, the rule of law, fight against corruption and business environment. . 3. 2009-2010 – â€Å"twitter revolution†- turning point in Moldova – EU relations The next period of Moldova-EU relations is directly linked to the events of April 2009 and the so-called â€Å"twitter revolution†. On April 5th, 2010 in Moldova were held the Parliamentary elections. For the 3rd time in a row the Communist Party won the elections with 49, 48 %. The opposition parties and civil society organizatio n accused the Communist Party that they rigged the elections.On 6th and 7th of April, 2009, around 30000 people went into streets to protest against the results of the elections, the number quickly increased due in large part to new technologies and social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Odnoklasniki, etc. A large group of protesters stormed the Parliament and the Presidential Palace vandalizing both buildings and leaving the Parliament in flame.The Government reaction to the storms was severe, thousands of students were arrested and there were credible reports about mistreatment and torture of detainees, three fatalities were reported in connections with demonstrations and detentions. However, the Communist Party lacked one vote to elect the President and in July 2009 new Parliamentary elections were held. A new government formed by a fragile alliance of liberals and centrist was established after the elections. There was no coincidence in naming the coalition the Alliance for Eur opean Integration.These events brought Moldova back on the EU agenda; the new government started a diplomatic offensive to charm EU capitals and created high expectation in Moldova, especially for the educated, young electorate which tends to see the EU as an opportunity to bypass isolation and poverty. The events in Moldova coincided with the launching of EU Eastern Partnership – an institutionalized forum for discussing visa agreements, free trade deals and strategic partnership agreements with the EU's Eastern neighbors, while avoiding the controversial topic of accession to EU.Among the main provisions of the Eastern Partnership: new association agreements including deep and comprehensive free trade agreements, for those willing and ready to take on the far-reaching commitments with the EU that these entail; a conclusion of â€Å"mobility and security pacts†, allowing for easier legitimate travel to the EU while at the same time stepping up efforts to combat corrup tion, organized crime and illegal migration. These pacts would also cover the upgrading asylum systems to EU standards and the establishment of integrated border management structures, etc.The ultimate long term goal would be full visa liberalization, on a case by case basis, provided that conditions for well-managed and secure mobility are in place; the Commission will study possibilities for labor mobility with aim of further opening of the EU labor market; enhanced energy security in the partner countries themselves and with the European Union, including through support to investment in infrastructure, better regulation, energy efficiency and more efficient early warning systems to prevent disruption of supply; enhanced cooperation on environment and climate issues, etc.The new Government quickly engaged the country on the pro-European way. The Government gathered support for a new and very ambitious project, called â€Å"Rethink Moldova†. The EU, USA, IMF, WB and various EU member states took part in this action and in total $ 2,6 billion are scheduled to help Moldova for 2011-2013. In 2010, the financial assistance from the international organization increased 4 times. The table below describes the EU member’s states position versus Moldova: Table 1: EU Member states position versus Moldova Category| Member states| Description|Unconditional and active supporter | Romania | Romania traditionally supported a membership perspective, even when Bucharest had cold relations with former Moldovan Communist Government. Bilateral agreement were signed for agriculture, environment, education, in which Romania will offer assistance to fulfill EU criteria | Supporters | Poland, Sweden, Hungary, Baltic States, Bulgaria | Countries that offer support for Moldova’s EU ambitions, although fully aware that this is not a short-term option | Reluctant supporters | Czech Republic, UK | Open for discussing for EU embership if some other MSs would put the i ssue on the table. Both reluctant on visa. | Good willing skeptics| Germany | High level contact between Chisinau and Berlin brought encouragements, but Germany expects substantial reforms before any discussion on membership | Indifferent skeptics | France, Spain, Italy, Netherland | No clear position on Moldova. It seems not to be on their agenda. Italy is positive on visas. Netherland seems to focus on human rights and minorities treatment | Indifferent but visa skeptics | Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg | No position on membership, opposing visa liberalization |The unconditional supporter of Moldova â€Å"Europeanization† is Romania. On November 13th, 2009, Moldova signed the Agreement on Small-Scale border traffic with Romania, which went into effect on February, 25th, 2010. The Agreement permits people who have been residents in the border area of either country for at least a year, to travel in the neighboring state’s border zone without a visa, for 3 months. Anothe r achievement of the pro-European Government from Chisinau is the beginning of negotiations for the Association Agreement and Deep and Comprehensive Trade Agreement with EU.There were four rounds of negotiations in 2010. Currently, Moldova and EU negotiations focus on four working groups addressing issues that relate to foreign policy, security, justice and economic cooperation. Regarding the â€Å"economic cooperation† were closed already 18 of the 22 chapters which have been negotiated. After the last negotiations held in October 2010, Gunnar Wiegand, the head of EU delegation, Director for Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia, mentioned that:†This year [2010] has been enormous progress in EU-Moldova relations†.The European official said that after the conclusion of the fourth round of negotiations, the EU will provide some key recommendations for Moldova, concerning the creation of free trade area. After Russia imposed the second embargo on Moldovan wine i n 2010, which had catastrophically consequences for Moldovan wine industry (which constitutes 25 % of Moldovan GDP), EU doubled the quota for Moldovan wine. In March, 2010 Moldova joined European Energy Community, which will contribute to the diversification of the energy sources in Moldova.In just one year, Moldova became a champion in negotiations with EU. Since November 2009 to November 2010 there have been 5 EU Commissioner Visits in Moldova (from 1991 to 2008 just 4 visits). During September – October 2010 Moldova hosted 16 high EU missions. 3. 4. November, 28th 2010 in Moldova will be held the Parliamentary elections. These elections are crucial for Moldova’s future. Moldovans have to choose between continuing the course toward European economic integration or live with the past and the shadow of Soviet Union. 4. Current issues of Moldova – EU relations Watch out, Moldova joins EU through the back door†. During the summer of 2010, many Europeans news papers as Der Spiegel, The Daily Telegraph, Daily Express, Il Giornale, Le Figaro expressed their concerns about Romania giving â€Å"too many† citizenships to Moldova’s inhabitants. I would like to address this issue from Moldovan perspective. In 1940, when USSR by force occupied Moldova, they changed the nationality of the Moldova’s inhabitants from Romanian to â€Å"Moldovan† and none of them were asked if they wanted to become Soviet Moldovans.The political decision of Moscow to create a new identity – â€Å"Moldovan†, a new language with Cyrillic alphabet – †Moldovan† was a continuation of the process of Russification that was started in 1812. But what Soviet Union did not take into account is that, they could not erase a memory of a nation. After the 1991 independence, a lot of Moldovans refused the â€Å"Moldovan† identity (written in their ID) as their nationality and sued the Moldovan Government for admitti ng of the false information in the documents.All in all, the Romanian citizenship offered by Romania comes as a rehabilitation of historical injustice made to Romanians from Moldova. The process is named re-gain of the citizenship, which means that once, because of the historical circumstances the citizenship was lost but without their will. More than 70 % of the Moldova’s inhabitants could be eligible for Romanian citizenship. There is no statistical data, but unofficially around 300 000 Moldovans have double citizenship: Romanian and Moldovan and there are around other 1 million applications for Romanian citizenship.The procedure of re-gaining the Romanian citizenship is tough and time consuming (more than 4 years), there is a list of around 20 documents that the applicant has to provide, including certificate of birth of grand-parents, certificate of marriage, criminal records from Moldova and Romania, etc. The applicant has to prove that his grand-parents were born Romani ans and he is their descendent.Moreover, Soviet Union Rusificated the Moldovan’s name by adding the Russian endings like† –va† and â€Å"- vici† to the Romanian names and in order to be eligible for Romanian citizenship, the applicant should embrace a bureaucratic and costly process of correcting his name and his parents’ name. A lot of concerns were raised to the number of Romanian citizenships offered to Moldovans, but as we can see in the following table, Romania offers much less citizenships than other EU member states: Table 2: Citizenships offered by selected countries of the EU in 2008:Another key issue in Moldova – EU negotiations is liberalization of visa regime with EU. I would like to point out that Moldova almost fulfilled the technical requirements for liberalization of visa regime without being asked to (Ukraine did it in 3 years). There were a lot of fears concerning the liberalization of EU-Moldova visa regime, most of t hem related to illegal immigration. But, a logic exercise of the Moldova reality would show that these fears are not realistic. Moldova has around 4 million inhabitants (including Transnistria).According to migration studies, the potential migrants are between 20 to 49 years old. In 2009, in Moldova there were 1,677,616 inhabitants between 20 to 49 years old. Therefore, if there was free visa regime between Moldova and EU 1,677,616 of Moldovans would become potential immigrants. Taking into account that around 30 % of Moldovans (~1 mln) already left the country for EU, US, Russia, etc. , the fears of illegal immigration disappear. Moldovans are already in EU, a big majority of them working for 2, 5 and even 8 years without getting a chance to visit their families.An interesting fact is that just 14 % of Moldovan immigrants plan to settle abroad. The free visa regime between Moldova and EU will improve and legalize the situation of Moldovans who work in EU and also would decrease the illegal immigration (some Moldovans pay 4000 Euro to get to EU). 5. Which way further? An actual question is which way further will Moldova go? Will it stick to its past or it will try to build a European future? It is certainly a question which answer we will found after November elections.One issue is obvious, the changing of the power in Chisinau brought Moldova back on EU agenda and the international circumstances are very favorable for solving the Transnistria conflict. On 4-5 June, Russia and Germany signed the Meseberg Memorandum. The document proposes creating an EU-Russia Political and Security Policy Committee, to be chaired by the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Policy Catherine Ashton and Russia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov, for high-level consultations and decisions.The committee’s mandate would include â€Å"setting ground rules for joint civilian and military crisis management operations by the EU and NATO,† as well as â⠂¬Å"working out recommendations on various conflicts and crisis situations, to the resolution of which the European Union and Russia may contribute within appropriate multilateral forums. † On these definitions, the EU-Russia Committee would be vested with greater powers than those of the NATO-Russia Council. It would also institute an EU-Russia policy coordination mechanism, such as the EU does not have with the United States or with NATO.The German government has identified the conflict in Moldova’s Transnistria region as the issue most likely to demonstrate that the EU can work one-on-one with Russia on European security. In Berlin’s view, Russia should ultimately withdraw its troops from Moldova’s territory and allow Moldova to reunify with Transnistria. In return for cooperating to settle this conflict, Russia could receive a major role in European security affairs, with access to EU decision-making processes via the proposed committee. The German ini tiative can generate a positive dynamic in the negotiations on Transnistria.It can also help raise this conflict high on the EU-Russia agenda. After the French-Russian-German summit in Deauville on 18-21 October, 2010, the Russian President, Dmitri Medvedev, for the first time in last 20 years, talked about including Romania in Transnistria negotiation process. Some analysts would argue that this propose is related to the invitation of Romania to participate in South Stream project, instead of Nabucco project. On October 21, 2010, the EU Parliament adopted a Resolution concerning EU-Moldova relations.The resolution stresses the substantial progress in EU-Moldova relations over the last year and calls on the Commission to swiftly adopt a visa liberalization plan for Moldovan citizens. Parliament also approved the recent initiative launched by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Dimitri Medvedev to create an EU-Russia Security Committee to discuss regional issues suc h as a settlement of the Transnistria conflict. In addition to German support, Moldova also received positive signals from Central East European countries and Baltic countries, as Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Estonia, etc.In September 2010, Moldovan Prime-Minister had a bilateral meeting in Budapest with Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban. The next month, the Hungarian Prime-Minister visited Moldova and reiterated the Hungarian support for Moldova’s cause. At the beginning of November, the Polish economist Leszek Balcerowicz, famous for his â€Å"Shock Therapy† (a method for rapidly transitioning from a communist economy, based on state ownership and central planning, to a capitalist market economy), visited Moldova at the invitation of Moldovan Prime-Minister and expressed his will to share with Moldova Poland’s experience concerning economic transformations.In conclusion, one issue is evident, the so-called Moldova twitter revolution had changed the Eu ropean agenda concerning Moldova. Not so long ago, Moldova was seen as a lost country, â€Å"black hole of Europe†, â€Å"the poorest European country†, â€Å"a grey zone under Russian influence† and no one expected the quick change that would bring Moldova in the headlines. The change came from inside the country, from young Moldovans and students, from the so called â€Å"twitter generation†, who does not accept a totalitarian regime and wish for a better country to live in.

Ceremony of marriage in Islam Essay

In Islam, marriages are a very important event most Muslim weddings are arranged, in order for an arranged marriage to take place both the boys/girls side must give consent, with arranged marriages both families make sure that the boy’s/girl’s (and their family’s) reputation and history is accepted in society and that they have no flaws which would bring a bad name on their family all this is checked before the husband/wife enters into their family. A Muslim boy/girl have to choose their partners very carefully as it is an arranged marriage and they are expected to spend their whole life with a stranger they have to get to know them and know all their ways of living and habits etc†¦ before they agree to marry them although sometimes the parents of the girl/boy are very strict and may not allow this to happen they may just decide for their son/daughter to get married to someone without asking their opinion this may be a problem sometimes as the married couple may not get along or there may be other problems, another problem with arranged marriages is that if the parents of the Muslim girl/ boy agree to the marriage without the daughters or/ sons consent then it is like they are deciding the fate if their child without the child having a say in it, but mostly this is not the case and the girl/boy is asked their opinion about the person they are going to marry because Muslims believe that a marriage which is forced is doomed t o failure. In Islam getting married to a member of your family whether its intermediate or distant family is very common. The majority of Muslim marriages are arranged although there are a few love marriages but in the Muslim community love marriages are not really an option and it seen as a very dangerous thing to do sometimes muslims regard being under the influence of love’ as a intoxicating state of mind that could easily cloud judgement. Parents are thought to find good compatible partners for their children and sometimes they do no agree to give consent to love marriages. Muslims are encouraged to have an arranged marriage although sometimes people have a mixed marriage this is allowed as long as it is a Sikh, Indian, or a Christian person. If an Muslim gets married then the wife has to follow the husbands religion and convert the children have to follow their fathers religion but it is preferred to get married to another Muslim because this way their community expands and Islam as a whole expands. When the marriage is decided upon (arranged) before the wedding many other celebrations and ceremony’s have to take place. Such as the engagement where both the girls and boys family gets together and have an engagement ceremony where the bride and groom get together and exchange rings the other event is the Mahr (dowry) The Mahr is the dowry paid by the husband to the wife. It is a sum negotiated by the husband and wife, which she can keep when or if they later get divorced, if the wife wants to get divorced without the consent of her husband she can but only if the mahr is returned. It is against, the sunnah of the prophet to demand high dowries or not give to give a dowry at all or pay the brides father in compensation for his daughters services at home. After this follows the actual Nikah (wedding) the Nikah is a simple affair the ceremony is plain and simple consisting of readings from the Qur’an and vows are exchanged in front of witnesses. There are also a few prayers recited for this happy occasion the imam is present and no religious official is necessary. The bride does not have to be present as long as she sends her ‘wali’ or marriage representative and also two witnesses of agreement to the wedding and she can be at home. The signing of the Nikah (wedding) contract’s can be changed the original date by weeks or even months or years just like with the prophet and his wife Aishah. If the girl is at home they declare three times that she accepts the wedding. Nikah is not considered to be a sacred contract or ‘made in heaven’ but is a binding contract giving the husband and wife both equal rights and responsibilities. Due to the fact that ‘ love’ is not necessarily present at the time a bride can include into the contract certain conditions that would help her if she later wished to have a divorce she could also make it clear that she does not give permission to allow her husband to have a second wife. After the Nikah follows the Walimah this is the actual wedding party the bride may not dress up for the Nikah but she will certainly dress up for the Walimah. The walimah usually consists of the actual wedding feast it can take place within three days of the couple living together. Presents are usually given presents given are usually money. It is a tradition to have huge expensive parties in some societies but this is not religious or part of Islam, the prophet disapproves of lavish especially if it causes problems between the husband and wife.

World economy and global competitive strategies

The services sector industry is among the more active sectors in every economic unit growing at a faster rate than the rest of the components in every economy. The financial and professional services component for one are among the more strategic professionals tht provide clients with strategic analysis, focused direction, competitive market positioning and portfolio assessments across all segments of an economy. This sector, being one of the most active economic drivers in recent memory, has the in-depth industry resource, experience and clout in bringing the hands-on knowledge of making economic investments and positioning decisions in a dynamic and highly competitive manner in the markets. The services sector has grown by leaps and bounds during the last twenty years, integrating deep knowledge and proficiency of every markets they serve, international and national clout and influence in the major corporate management decision making in the primary industries specifically in the capital and labor intensive financial services sector, energy, property, communications, technology and tourism areas aligning strategies and projects, providing clients with forward-looking market analysis and scenarios which model both demand from every market and supply from competitors. With the intensive use of technology and knowledge-based proprietary databases and the dynamic, interactive analytical models of the globalization phenomena, the services sector is able to analyze and project the directional details of the markets, competition, capacity, risks and uncertainties of the global economy. Developing innovative strategies based on a detailed knowledge of demand, technology and competition in all sectors of the economic value chain, the unprecedented growth of the services sector ironically characterizes its own periodic collapses triggered by the sheer heavy weight of its strategic competitive responses to every demand emanating from the other sectors, primarily the agriculture and the manufacturing components. It is not to be underestimated that the influences of the services sector in the two other areas are significant, pervasive and encompassing and this alone has driven the globalization of the services industry to an extent never before imagined. For example, the influences of the professional services of big auditing and consulting firms in the services sector contributed and assured much to its stable growth during the last fifty years that this services area became one enabling force for globalization not only of its own sector, but the entire economic drivers from the agriculture and manufacturing territories. The series sector advise and consult with corporate and business unit executives to evaluate corporate performance; optimize resource and equity portfolios under different future scenarios and uncertainties and risks; assess competitive behavior, outcome and economic implications; and measuring business strategies against overall corporate objectives at the micro level and economic goals at the macro level. This paper therefore analyzes the world economy and makes a strategic competitive economic scenario forthcoming. In the process, this paper seeks answers to the following issues: 1) What are the tell-tale signs that are predictive of favorable and unfavorable global economic and financial scenarios? (2) What new competitive models are tempered by the new forms of economic and financial framework? (3) What is the sustainability of these models in face of the appurtenant risks and uncertainties of the emerging economic environment? (4) What relevance are these emerging strategic competitive models are to the concept of strategy mapping and in the realm of the balance scorecard? Scope and delimitation This study aims to cover the emerging global competitive scenarios and strategies in the services sector and does not include analysis of the agriculture or manufacturing sector. Likewise, this discussion limits itself to the current economic scenario of the first stage of post-2008 global meltdown and their implications towards the succeeding uncertainties of the ongoing turmoil in the financial sector. In addition, discussion extends to every financial market as Britain and Europe, United States, Australia, Singapore, Tokyo and Hongkong and even the emerging capital market in the Middle East. Similarly, discussions aims to center on the major economic drivers that dominate the competitive market place mentioned earlier. Significance of the study This study aims to analyze the economic, political, environmental, social, technological and legal viewpoints that impact the strategies prevailing in the competitive markets. Thus, this paper is determined to clarify the inputs that enable political units to craft economic policies aimed at stabilizing and enhancing the growth of the business sector. Business modeling is a sector that helps clarify the forces that create a phenomenon. Thus, this study will enhance the descriptive relationship among models and seeks to gather enough documented models to help predict phenomena . Thus, this will help allow optimization and maximization necessary to address a continuing environment of competition and the other problems that impacts upon every market phenomenon. Because of the increasing importance of the services sector in the global marketplace, this study will provide a synthesizing prediction of the emerging models of competition in the face of the growing complexity of every economic activity. The services sector and its unique contribution to global economic fundamentals The services sector provides the intangibles that characterize the qualitative directional guide and radar for all other sectors. These services are unique in the sense that corporate judgments and decisions are based on the cost-benefit analytical models that guide entrepreneurs and every unassuming captain of every industry to effective alternative options. When decisions are made, they are tempered with the competitive factors that mitigate or eliminate the risks while enhancing the success rates of choosing the most appropriate solutions. Examples of advisories and consulting projects distinct in the services sector include: (1) integrated corporate strategy development and financial modeling of old and emerging business issues; (2) market analysis and forecasts; (3) project concept optimization and advanced financial modeling; (4) capacity and value chain analysis; (5) risk management systems; (6) global marketing; (7) technology modeling; (8) educational technology, accreditation and certification; (9) quality assurance; (10) logistics planning and management; (11) reengineering consultancy; (12) off-shoring, outsourcing and multi-sourcing; and, (13) economic forecasting, strategic planning and strategic human resource management, among others. These services are the products of the competitive environment in the highly volatile knowledge-based sector and are expected to create greater economic impact moving into the next millennium as the services sector becomes tempered more with tightening capital and equity base as globalization gives way to a more complex type of globalization. Globalization at this point, shall have become more efficient but predatory. The unending shift of the markets in favor of those companies that are heavily underwritten by the services sector will continue to pervade every market making it even more sensitive and uncertain. Just like the appearances of the recessive depressions of the 1930s, the 1997 Asian financial crisis and 2008s, the unpredictability of the services sector is always a warning to its adherents – that the potentials of this sector is as open and lethal as the crises that are spawned by its abuses. Among the industries: manufacturing, services and agriculture, the services sector appears to have pervaded more the impact of the other sectors in the same way the GATT and WTO, the Asia Pacific Cooperation (APEX) agencies and the NAFTA that have influenced the markets of the developing countries in the process of protecting the interests of the developed states. Understandably, this protectionist groupings is expected to bring and create a leveling of the playing fields in business, but at whose terms? †¢ This sector advises many companies and economic units as well as governments on the implications of geopolitics and economic development for global and regional industry investments, whether foreign direct capital or the portfolio type that characterize television game showed. Our economic analysts combine a rigorous analysis of country, regional and global political and economic factors with in-depth understanding of how the markets operate. There is the assessment and impact modeling on companies and markets of economic importance and change, the sensitivity impact of OPEC decisions, economic developments and global supply/demand patterns. The services industry is an industry leader in understanding the dynamics of the energy sector. Using a unique methodology and framework to predict country and regional developments, there are provided commercially-relevant scenarios which enable clients to evaluate risk, assess opportunities and plan strategy accordingly. Examples of advisories and other consulting projects include: (1) assessment of the long-term investment risk in a new country compared with other assets in an independent's portfolio basis; (2) formulation of a global competitive strategy for every small and medium sized international company; (3) development of future political and economic scenarios and implications for every industry giving the accurate and genuine investment opportunities for a major players in the economy; and, (4) development of a regional access strategy for every major integrated company. The services strategies group offers advisory and consulting services primarily as well as real time online membership services to meet the needs of clients. The services industry is highly dependent on global competitive costs and demands explanations and implications from the services analysts. The business sector cannot afford not to know every economic driver? For more than two decades, 25 years to be exact, The service s sector’s economic and political risk experts have woven their deep understanding of the energy sector into a keen understanding of geopolitics. Thus, unique insights are provided into the economies of major economic producers, their development strategies and the sustainability of those strategies. The sector is responsible for advising many clients on business opportunities and entry strategies in emerging markets, leveraging their understanding of political risk and country politics. Thus, the services sector have benefitted from the importance it has given to the following industries: aerospace and defense, automotive and transportation, banking, chemicals, construction consumer products, energy and utilities, financial services, government, industrial manufacturing, insurance, metals and mining and pharmaceuticals The expertise of the services sector goes well beyond consulting and financial services. Using a unique methodology and framework to predict country and regional developments, the sector provides commercially-relevant scenarios which enable clients to evaluate risk, assess opportunities and plan strategy accordingly. Thus, competition in this area continuous to become stiff, hence extremely important. Thus, built with a combination of regional politics, economics, markets and global trends and technology, this analytical study is applicable to the business environments of the diverse industries and clients that benefit from their advisory system. Similarly, the sector’s and market experts provide clients an integrated approach to country, regional, local and global market trends resulting in probabilistic scenarios that help them manage the value of such undertaking. There is a need to combine the in-depth knowledge of the every sector with the ability to build and construct vertical and forward-looking geopolitical and economic risk models, such as the political and economic analysis of key producing markets, the wide and extensive power-mapping of key economic and political decision makers in the strategic sectors of the economy, getting insights into energy-intensive, value added sectors of the economy, national development goals, plans and capabilities, unconventional wisdom regarding complex markets, innovative approaches to interpreting country risk and identifying under-explored opportunities Strategic Competitive Functional Practices of the Services Sector The service industry, while still comparatively young compared to the other sectors will continue to grow and expand as the global economy gradually makes progress in the midst of the global financial turmoil which has stalled all momentum towards expected growth. The complexity and importance of their services to the business sector will determine the competitiveness with which this sector grown by leaps and bounds. To name a few, the business process outsourcing and offshoring sectors expands at a dizzying pace than before as corporate organizations continue to adopt reengineering measures to reduce cost to remain competitive. The fluidity of the professional services sectors in the health area represented by the nurses and other health experts have pervaded the manpower market all over and remains an extremely bright prospects for sustainability of countries with a high degree of services training to its people. Mutual regional agreements for the practice of professionals beyond borders are relevant issues being considered by regional economic summits and groupings such as Apec, Asean, Nafta and follows the pattern advocated by the GATT and the WTO. Thusm advanced form of services will replace traditional schemes: (1) global coverage with regional expertise where the services team of regional experts offer in depth expertise and collectively create an integrated, global perspective; (2) energy dynamics which helps maintain relationships with key sector delegations and provides insight into the effect on markets and local sectors by the services component; (3) industry leadership in understanding the dynamics of the energy sector. Using a unique methodology and framework to predict country and regional developments, the sector provides commercially-relevant scenarios which enable clients to evaluate risk, assess opportunities and plan strategy accordingly. In addition, its industry players are considered the strong backbone of the sector as they have steered the industry from nothing. Experience-wise service experts have previous background experience in the government and provide clients with insight on United States foreign policy formation, future policy directions and economic impact on various industries. Somehow, the framework of global competitiveness for the sector will continue to be governed by technology-based innovations and cost-efficient systems sustainable over the long term. Here, the impact of an important consideration as Climate Change Policy, our understanding of climate change policy that stems from the broad expertise in national and global regulatory regimes, and the interaction of long-term trends in politics, economics and technology. Regional Issues for Investors in the Services sector In Africa, the services sector provides consulting and advisory services to companies and governments on African geopolitics, political risk to investments, market strategies and competitive positioning in the region. Likewise, it also offers assessments of key linkages between Africa and other regions and the resulting implications to the economic environment prevailing. In Asia, the industry provides an on-the-ground expertise to clients focused on the region itself along market risks and strategies, competitive issues and regional geopolitics. In Europe, where the services sector is among the fastest growing component, the series sector maintains consulting advice with companies and governments on regional politics, the impact of regulatory changes and policies, market strategies and competitive issues. In Latin America, the services sector focus on tourism ands draw from their extensive knowledge of politics, economics and regulatory trends as well as on-the-ground experience to help clients anticipate policy shifts and improve strategic planning. Latin America's largest markets also offer major asset-liability resource-holders and grounds for clients to benefit from recognized expertise in geopolitics, economic markets, US foreign policy as it relates to the region and in-depth knowledge of the primary economic drivers of the industry. In providing integrated risk assessments and laying out future scenarios, the role of the services sector is to assist its clients to devise robust coordinative and competitive strategies unique for the region. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the strategic focus is more on the uniqueness of the Middle East which recognizes services technology experts for the region. The market in Bahrain allows for greater interaction with clients in the MENA region along geopolitics, the economic impact of US foreign policy, the developmentalist strategies of the Gulf States and investment opportunities and political risks which are considered high in the region as they become more volatile in terms of strategy. A special emphasis of the services sector in the area is the government consulting efforts that is directed towards sustainable development and one that will allow governments to leverage their natural resources, diversify their business ventures and enhance human capital. In North America, the services sector continue to dominate the economic landscape at enhancing extensive knowledge about the impact of US energy, economic, climate change and foreign policy, allowing clients to benefit from our interaction with key government officials. In Russia and the Caspian area, the services sector which are heavily technology-based, experts write, consult and speak on regional oil and gas developments; regional energy strategies; economics and politics; M&A trends in the Russian oil sector; US foreign policy as it relates to the region; entry strategies; competitive trends and other associated issues that impact investments in the region. Service consultant and advisors regularly participate in senior-level delegations with representatives from both US and regional governments and private industry but mostly oil companies. Methodology The study requires a primarily qualitative approach of the descriptive types that brings and illustrates scenarios that accurately depict the answers the questions and issues earlier propounded. The first statement of the issue on the tell-tale signs that are predictive of a favorable and unfavorable global economic and financial scenarios require am inventory of the manifestations of market indicators that may likely result to either scenarios. The predictive validity of indicators is the subject of analysis and correlation. In the second statement, on what new competitive models are tempered by the new forms of economic and financial framework, the methodology explores specific or merging theories that explains and clarifies the new relationships of marketing, competitiveness, quality, pricing, technology and the buyer’s behavior. In the third statement on what the sustainability of these models are in the face of the appurtenant risks and uncertainties of the emerging economic environment requires the analysis of the stability of the models presented and their sensitivity to the changes occurring in the environment in the form of risks and uncertainties and are expressed in terms of low or high degrees in a scale of five. On the fourth issue on what relevance these emerging strategic competitive models are to the concept of strategy mapping and in the realm of the balance scorecard, require the matching of the competitiveness models with the functional models currently prevailing such as the Kaplan and Norton (2004) concept of strategy maps and balanced scorecard. Thus, the findings are expected to explain the competitiveness, the prospects of growth and the emergence of a new globalization model of the prevailing services sector. Documentary and situation analysis, economic cause and effect relationships, financial modeling and analysis are likely to show cause for explaining the competitive scenario for the service industry. Key informants, representing authorities in the area of economics, competitiveness and marketing contribute to the analytical processes that zeroed in on the phenomenon. An in-depth analysis is required to link instances with growth, emerging manifestations with symptomatic issues. Findings and Data Analysis The issue statements are again enumerated below to determine the results of the study as well as the implications and conclusions being propounded and established. Here, the research questions are reiterated and provided with analytical findings that support current economic theories. Telltale signs Tell-tale signs that are predictive of favorable and unfavorable global economic and financial scenarios are those manifestations that are likely to result in bullish or bearish market sentiments and may provide upbeat optimism or gloomy pessimism towards the future. Favorable economic scenarios are manifested by the following factors: (1) price stability of the product or services which implies a good balance of demand and supply of such product and services. This further explains the general stability of the supply chain applicable to the services sector such as the availability of an adequate number and quality of labor matching the industry needs. For instance, the outsourcing and the off shoring services sectors are steadily growing at a rate indicative of the normal growth in gross domestic product. These should be supported in addition by manifestations in the other areas of the supply chain such as political order and situation is a major supply area such as the Asian continent which are primarily the supply market for the services sectors especially the BPO manpower needs. In the professional services sectors, the availability of nurses, engineers, accountants, doctors, teachers, hospitality industry workers, IT programmers and web designers and other professionals is a significant factor in stabilizing the long-term prospect of the services sector. Thus, the participation of the educational sector especially the higher education institutions are critical in maintaining the steady and balanced flow of manpower to the industry in terms of quantity and quality provided. Any form of imbalance is likely to create a demand and supply gap that is likely to translate into price differences and either to the advantage or disadvantage of the employer and employee. Growth areas in the services sector will continue to be dominated by the BPO industry which includes back office services provided by the accountants and financial services providers, health care workers, hotel, restaurant, tourism and culinary experts. Geographically, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is likely to become a prominently rich areas for the services sectors tempered only by sporadic issues of conflicts between and among the native Arab constituents which will concentrate the services sectors in the more politically stable Arab nations such as the Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt which are becoming the favorite destinations of service professionals due to its lucrative compensation packages. Other growth areas considered include the American services market which serves as the area expect to pump prime and jumpstart back the economic stimulus packages provided by the US administration. In addition, the Australia-New Zealand market is likely to dominate the Asian region next to India primarily driven by efficiency factors while India’s competitive advantage is its low-cost technical service providers in the dominant BPO industry. Although China and Korea are fast becoming the hub of pr ofessional teachers and education providers, the Asian market is expected tube the primary beneficiary of its own competent manpower supply. This is similarly the case of Europe and South America which adequately provide and supplies its own service providers primarily in the tourism and professionals sector. The North American market will likely be dominated by the Canadian demand as the country opens up its doors to professionals from all over the world. Nevertheless, off-shoring and outsourcing services are expected to continue its upbeat growth rate over the long-term. However, it is likely that the shifting from outsourcing to the off-shoring area will be more pronounced as labor costs offer competitive advantage to a host country. Nonetheless, the primarily considerations for the BPO industry is similarly shifting from the cost factor to the quality factor. Emerging Competitive Models The new competitive models tempered by the new forms of economic and financial framework are expected to be along the cost-quality market factors. Traditionally, cost considerations have been the primarily competitive factor in the services sector. However, the growing matching of cost and quality character of providers is becoming the defining standard in the competition. It appears here, that the cost considerations are slowly becoming a secondary option for buyers of services as the industry shifts its priorities towards the quality dimension. Thus, the Asian services market has slowly adopted the cost-quality model which is attributed to be factors in further stabilizing the services. On the other hand, the cultural factors of manpower providers are slowly gaining adherents in the industry considering the ability of the cultural dimension to enhance or denigrate the quality dimension in the delivery of services in the sector. Thus, certain preferences have started to be a consideration in terms of hiring. Filipinos, for instance, are becoming favorite preferences for teachers in China and Korea because of their cultural background in the languages that enabled them to become the fourth largest English speaking country in the world. India so far has dominated the BPO industry because of its technology-driven educational sector that is consistently being developed by the government. Sustainability versus risks and uncertainties Risks and uncertainties similarly will characterize all moves in the competitive services market. The cost-quality-culture model of competitiveness is likely to dominate during the medium to long-term as markets start developing their niche in the services sector. Incidentally, the services industry has been primarily driven by the ability of the providers to integrate the values of their culture with the value-needs of the sector. Slowly, the cost-quality-culture model is being enhanced and made more marketable by the cross-cultural and social migration factors that gradually demands the quality of immigrants or permanent residents admitted in a host country like Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the MENA region. Other emerging models indicate the growing preferences for the language and skills qualifications of professionals as they are slowly absorbed by the host country. However, the risks and uncertainties faced by the services sector include the factor of cultural resistance as migrants and overseas workers assimilate themselves into the society of the host country. Formal ethnic groupings are likely to increase which will likewise increase the racial tensions and discriminations inherent in the host country. Thus, the social cost of the services sector is likely to cause short-term cultural irritants especially for ethic groups with high militancy backgrounds. Relevance of Models vs Strategy Maps and the Balance Scorecard The emerging strategic competitive models and the concept of strategy mapping and the balance scorecard principle (Kaplan & Norton, 2004) are heretofore being matched to create relevance and purpose in the models emerging in the economy. The balanced scorecard and strategy map concepts appears to be where the services sector is heading form refinement. These concepts defines strategies along four perspectives: the financial, which assures corporate profitability for shareholders; customer satisfaction which assures clients on the quality of the services; learning and growth, which provides investments in training and development to the human capital; and the internal business processes that demands the use of appropriate technology processes in providing services. Here, the prospects of the models have the making of an extremely positive framework for rendering services in the industry. The stakeholder concept of management and decision making demands that business decisions be tempered with the interests of all stakeholders in mind, such that no sector or perspective becomes underserved and neglected. Fairness and impartiality is paramount and immortal. These models, perhaps is the best road map the services sector can design and sustain. The services sector is likely destined to become a very potent sector in the next generation employing a large majority of the working age population at the least and the highly intellectual sector at the most. Henceforth, this economic component stands to be the most productive resource in any economic unit. The fluidity of the world economy will always welcome new shifts in thinking as well innovation in the way services are being delivered. In due time, the delivery services will concentrated through information technology processes that may reduce the physical component of the industry, that is, investment in physical assets will shift to the burden of the worker as services are rendered from home areas and no longer from fixed buildings and offices. In fact, off-shoring is virtually an outsourcing done away from the country. The situs of work is becoming mobile. This implies the intensive use of technology as man opts to become more multitasking and productive in the most feasible ways than ever. Although many sectors in the service industry will continue to be in the actual place of business, but the change in the configuration of how services are delivered in some areas will likely create a new industry or a form of industrial revolution that allows doctors to treat their patients miles away, accountants analyzing clients’ financial statements from another country, bank clients interacting with their banks in all financial transactions that virtually makes use solely the ATM equipment, nurses automating and teleconferencing with in-patients and outpatients on home care, call center agents investing in their own VOIP and serving the company in the comfort of their homes, teachers using high-end technology in virtual contact with his or her students through teleconferencing in a virtual room, engineers designing and monitoring projects through rooms filled with LCD monitors projecting all possible angles of the project, or computer programs and website developed in the worker’s own laboratory. All these components of the service industry realigning to form a new form of services sector that are home-based or away from the usual work sites—called the offsite services sector. The potentials of this emerging sector becomes tremendous when one considers the effects in terms of less manpower and capital expenditures outlay on the part of the company and less personal expenses in moving to and from work such as gasoline, clothing, meals, work stress, travel risks and more of family time, leisure and quiet healthy decision making processes away from the chaos of the company premises. The services sector has a unique characteristic, and that is the substance of the services is intellectually conceptualized, hence there is no need for physical presence. The other half of the services sector definitely requires physical presence like the tourism and the hospitality industry, the traditional hospital and medical care services, accountants on actual hands-on supervisory work, managers that physically supervises handling of the movements of logistics and resources, etc. Conclusion The potentials of the services sector are one that virtually creates unlimited prospec ts for the economy. The industrial revolution expanded man’s opportunities that practically opened new doors for other industries to be born, such as the technology revolution, the knowledge age, the atomic era, the period of corporate social responsibility as an inescapable perspective in the conduct of business. Managing the world economy through the next generation is one gigantic responsibility that demands a new form of working with tasks and people. The sensitivity of every stakeholder in the conduct of business similarly demands impartial attention to their expectations which should not be left to the corporate background and be given lesser priority. Likewise, managing the services sector of the economy demands investments in the human capital and the peripherals of services. Thus, considering the high degree of volatility and fluidity of the services sector, the future of the industry remains as upbeat as any optimist can be. Man’s responsiveness to the emerging models of the services sector should enable him to reconfigure his thinking, shifting not simple paradigms but merging those old thinking with innovative components that not only redesigns old ideas, but keeps them to create balance between technology of the past and the emerging innovations of the present. Man is not likely to stop reinventing himself. The services sector is the vehicle of that reinvention. Thus, it is the core of this thesis that the various industries, the services sector especially, need to reconsider currently existing models such that these gradually matches man’s need for identity, relevance, dignity and immortality in terms of innovation gratitude.