International Business and World Markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

International Business and World Markets - Essay Example In their pursuit of international expansion, companies must overcome barriers such as language differences, currency differences, cultural differences, legal and administrative differences, and skill levels differences. International business is the process of integration and interaction among people and advancing of connectivity and interdependence of businesses and markets. Many small and growing companies have unearthed lucrative new markets abroad and are receptive to franchising, joint ventures or technology transfer, and licensing (Czinkota 2008, p.229). Globalization Drivers Several factors (internal and external) can be outlined as driving the development of a global marketplace. The factors can be outlined as market, environmental, cost, and competitive factors. Parallels within demand conditions across a number of countries facilitate the establishment of single global strategies. For instance, markets such as Europe, America, and the Far East manifest consumer groups that share matching educational backgrounds, lifestyles, income levels, aspiration, and utilization of leisure time. Cost Factors The avoidance of cost inefficiencies and duplication of efforts shape two of the most prominent globalization drivers. In most cases, a single-country population are merely not sufficient for a business to attain meaningful economies of scale Environmental Factors There are diverse factors that affect firms operating on the international scene. These factors can be delineated as incorporating political, economic, technological, and sociocultural factors. The selection of international market involves the interplay of both organizational and environmental factors. Environmental factors may entail opportunistic approaches, local market complexities, and domestic competitive pressures (Czinkota 2008, p.230). Environmental factors such as technological advances allow businesses to leapfrog over phases of economic development. Competitive Factors Global strategies are frequently necessary to safeguard competitors from attaining an undue advantage in both domestic and overseas market. In the event that a competitor manufactures on a global scale and thus attains global economies of scale, this may undercut prices in the home market. Discussion The principal factors that prompt both small and medium-sized forms to make their moves into overseas markets can be categorized as proactive motivations, or factors that explain why companies go global and reactive motivations that elaborate on why the firms have to do so. Expansion within a â€Å"demand-driven† paradigm demands a more intricate, active, and ongoing overseas commitment compared to â€Å"supply-driven† initiatives that highlight the optimization of supply chains (Anne 2007, p.184). The eclectic theory was an intellectual response to the rising role of international production and the multinational corporation within the world economy. There are three factors that outline th e international activities of multinational enterprises: ownership advantages, location advantages, and internalization advantages (Rugman 2010, p.1). Multinationals usually develop competitive advantages at home and then transfer the advantages to certain countries via foreign direct investments, which allow the multinational enterprises to internalize the advantages (Rugman 2010, p.2).  

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

Marketing in Fashion - Essay Example The essay "Marketing in Fashion" concerns the fashion marketing. Marketing research is a primary strategy used by marketers to assess the market environment and the customer-mix and to learn the customers’ needs. A shop-window provides 24-hour advertising and creates and identity for the shop. Using celebrities as models has also been a successful marketing strategy. Advertising has always been an effective marketing strategy for fashion clothing. Creating and using catchy terminology to describe fashion apparel is a recent and effective trend in fashion marketing. PR events such as press and commercial events play a significant role in fashion marketing communications. Meeting sociological needs of the people like overweight, age and utility is an emerging trend. An example is the marketing of designer clothes for plus-size women. Building customer relationships can help create new customers and keep the old ones. A well-recognised brand name is the most valuable asset of any business. This can increase customer loyalty in the short term as well as retain substantial value long term. Lastly and most importantly, assuring employees that the organisation values their input is important for the success of any campaign.Marketing fashion is a process that ensures that the products, from the producers’ hands, reach the consumers’ hands by motivating the consumer to buy the products. However, marketers cannot coerce customers into buying and this is especially true for the fashion industry as evidenced.... Lastly and most importantly, assuring employees that the organisation values their input is important for the success of any campaign. FASHION MARKETING: A CONTEMPORARY REVIEW 1. Introduction Marketing fashion is a process that ensures that the products, from the producers' hands, reach the consumers' hands by motivating the consumer to buy the products. However, marketers cannot coerce customers into buying and this is especially true for the fashion industry as evidenced by the failure of the Woolworths womenswear retail chain (Bohdanowicz & Clamp 1994, p.2). Marketers of fashion will have to consider all factors that influence the industry to ensure successful reception of products. While consumer preferences and utility would be the main factors to be considered while marketing fashion, with the increasing popularity for green products, social marketing strategies will have increased significance in fashion marketing in the coming decades. This report aims to analyse all marketing issues including those relating to the market environment, consumer behaviour and consumer relationships, marketing research, promotions like shop-window dressing, advertising, fashion shows , using celebrities as models, advertising, advertising jargons, creating brand equity, PR events, etc., sociological needs and staff involvement. Marketing tools like brochures, catalogues, press kits, look books, etc. have not been included in the report as they are routine and general, and do not have any specific use in fashion marketing in particular. 2. Market environment In the fashion industry, the external environment poses several challenges to marketing, which can be classified as

Greek Mythology Essay Example for Free

Greek Mythology Essay Odysseus was considered to be the epitome of what a Greek man should strive to be. He was a courageous and clever warrior who earned arete through his feats during the Trojan War. The ancient Achaean male modeled themselves after great men like Odysseus, but the real question is who do Greek woman model themselves after. Clytemnestra’s plight and eventual death is a perfect example of how married women were expected act compared to married men. Also, women like Penelope in The Odyssey were criticized for being untruthful, but men like Odysseus were praised for exceptional cunning in the same epic poem. Calypso is a goddess who is aware of these double standards and makes an eloquent plea to the gods of Olympus, but her speech falls on deaf ears. Essentially Ancient Greek culture had staggering gender inequalities that led to females being confined to the whims of males. Many tales demonstrate how differently married women were expected to act compared to men. When King Agamemnon departed from Mycenae to siege Troy he tricked his wife, Clytemnestra, into sacrificing their daughter to the gods. During the ten years Agamemnon was gone Clytemnestra plotted with her lover, Aegisthus, revenge. Once King Agamemnon returned, he was murdered by the duo, but the gods deemed this act unacceptable. If Clytemnestra were a man the tale would have most likely ended here. But Apollo and Athena hid Orestes until he was of age and convinced that he should follow with the worst crime any Greek could ever commit, matricide. After the murdering his mother, Orestes was haunted by the Furies (who were known for pursuing particularly heinous criminals and exacting revenge, Chiekova, 10/23) until nearly succumbing to madness. Eventually Orestes was given trial, and Athena’s deciding vote expunged his horrible deed. A woman taking a lover was disgraceful in Achaean culture, and a women killing her husband simply unheard of. Women were viewed as objects than could be possessed or traded like Helen of Troy was, and so Clytemnestra needed to be punished. On the other hand married men like Zeus had dozens of affairs (including deceiving Clytemnestra’s mother Leda by appearing as a swan Chiekova, 10/23) while Hera remained faithful to him. The tale of Aphrodite and Hephaestus is another prime example, in which Aphrodite was shamed before all the gods for laying with Ares. The examples of similar myths can be listed ad nauseam, but essentially Greek women were forced to be loyal and obedient while the men took whatever lovers they so desired. Another example of gender inequalities in ancient Greek Culture can be seen in Penelope’s tribulations with the suitors. As Odysseus left for the Trojan War and did not return with Nestor and Menelaus, some assumed he was dead. Under the pretext of courting Penelope, the suitors proceed to spend their days at Odysseus house and feasting on the livestock. They disrespected and abused the traditional host-traveler relationship and yet still Penelope was left to be the antagonist (Chiekova, 10/26). If she agreed to marry a suitor, she would be dishonoring Odysseus but the longer she did not pick a suitor the more damage they caused. In Richmond Lattimore’s translation of The Odyssey the suitors verbally attack Penelope, â€Å"For she holds out great hope to all, and makes promises to each man, sending us messages but her mind has other intentions. And here is here is another stratagem of her heart’s devising (The Odyssey, Book 2, page 41, lines 90-93). † The suitor goes on to describe her cleverness; Penelope declares she will marry a suitor once she finished knitting a funeral shall, but every night she would secretly un-wind the threads, effectively stalling the suitors. These suitors claim that Penelope is being disrespectful for not choosing one of them to marry and call her a liar for supposedly leading them on but never choosing a man. In the same epic poem commended Odysseus for outsmarting and escaping the Cyclops, evading the sirens, and eventually killing the suitors. Both Odysseus and Penelope were incredibly intelligent but because of Achaean double standards, Penelope was portrayed as a liar (at least to the suitors) and Odysseus a hero. Calypso seems to be the only individual aware of, or at least concerned with the mistreatment of Greek women. When Odysseus retells his time spent with Calypso, he adjusts the story to give the perception that he was held prisoner and bemoaned every moment on the island. However, Homer gives insight of how Odysseus actually felt and writes, the nymph was no longer  pleasing to him, (The Odyssey, Book 9, page 92, line 150). † This statement implies that at some point Odysseus did enjoy himself with the goddess on the island, but has become bored with her. After seven years Odysseus finally decides that he should return home, but Calypso insists that he should stay and enjoy the extravagance of immortality with her. This is against the ideals of Homeric Greek women as she displays a dominant and manipulative side, which threatens male supremacy. Eventually Zeus sends Hermes as a messenger to command Calypso to allow Odysseus to return home. Calypso retaliates by making a passionate plea, â€Å" You are hard-hearted, you gods, and jealous beyond all creatures beside, when you are resentful toward the goddesses for sleeping openly with such men as each has made her true husband, (The Odyssey, Book 9, page 91, lines 118-120). † Calypso continues to give three examples of past goddesses being chastised for taking a lover, but ultimately her speech does nothing. She is forced to yield Odysseus or risk angering the all mighty Zeus. Calypso embodied the struggle of Homeric women and pleas with the gods to see the double standard Greek culture imposed. Ultimately she is viewed as an object of physical pleasure and must yield to Zeus and Odysseus’s wishes, further stigmatizing women as being inferior. Analyzing Homeric culture through the lens of a woman provides a stark contrast to the life of a man. Women were subjugated to the commands of men, with little or no personal freedom. The females who broke the culture mold, paid the price. Clytemnestra eventually was murdered by her own son for exacting revenge on her deceitful husband, Penelope was ridiculed for using intelligence to navigate her way through a difficult situation, and Calypso was bullied into giving up the man she loved. Ultimately Achaean women were meant to be objects of desire that exist to satisfy men and the Homeric myths only propagated this idea. Works Cited Chiekova, Professor â€Å"Introduction to Greek Mythology† Lecture. Bliss Hall. Ewing. 10/23, 10/26, . Oral. Lattimore, Richmond, trans. The Odyssey. New York: Harper and Row Books, 1967.

Impact of Increased Temperature on Delosperma Cooperi Pollen

Impact of Increased Temperature on Delosperma Cooperi Pollen Eunice Oh The Impact of Increased Temperature due to Global Warming on Pollen Germination of  Delosperma  Cooperi Introduction: There is an ongoing crisis that is beginning to influence ecosystems throughout the world,  which may lead to large  scale  natural disasters due to the rise in temperature from global warming. According to NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space studies,  0.8 °C  have increased around the world since 1880. In addition, the rise in temperature is pervasive and  is  increasing at a faster rate in the last two decades (SITE1). This warming phenomenon can disturb ecosystems  and  lead to extinction in extreme cases.  Such ecosystems are dependent on plant growth and proliferation to sustain itself.  Therefore, an experiment to  observe  the  effects of  a significant  rise in temperature on pollen germination was conducted to predict the adaptability of  Delopsperma  cooperi,  a  common species of  iceplant  grown around the world, to  this phenomenon  . T  Delosperma cooperi  (trailing iceplant) was compared to  Tulbaghia violacea  (society garlic)  to obtain a broader view of how different plants from the same environment would react to a distinct change in temperature.  An increase of 10 °C was chosen as the variable to perform  analysis with the Q10  temperature coefficient.  Pollen is a fine powder that contains microgametophytes of seed plants and produces male gametes. When pollination occurs, the pollen grain  germinates and a tube is produced  as a conduit to transport the male gametes from the stigma to the pistils  of the ovule in flowering plants  (SITE2).   In nature, germination occurs  when the stigma is hydrated from  water  sources (e.g. rain)  . can also be induced  in vitro  using  a  germination media and  the  hanging drop method (SITE 3).  Three replicates were observed the were  analyzed  with  statistics  to  measure the significance of the variable   (via a T-test, and Dixon Q).   The plant’s temperature dependence was quantified with the Q10  temperature coefficient. It was predicted  that the increase in temperature would result in  a significant improvement of  pollen germination rate  and longer pollen tubes than the control  due to  Delosperma  cooperi’s  adaptive traits (quote). Materials and Methods: Germination of  Delosperma  cooperi  was induced in basic germination media, composed of  1mM KCl, 0.1mM CaCl2, 1.6mM H3BO3, 10% glucose,and distilled water. Standard lab  equipments were  used: light  microscope,  garden  gaskets, depression slides, slides warmer, petri dish,  and micropipettes. The light microscope was used under the 10x objective to track the germination process and measure the elongation of pollen tubes. To  accommodate  for  a large sample volume (50 µL  transferred using micropipettes), garden gaskets were employed to extend the capacity of the depression slides.  A  slides warmer  was used to maintain the high temperature environment (37 °C  )  and  wet  petri  dishes were  utilized as germination chambers. The hanging drop method consists  of several steps.   A gasket was placed on top of the slide in order to create an area for the hanging drop to be intact with the cover slide  and held together with grease. The slides were placed in the humidity  chamber to  allow germination and  prevent drying. Two sets of the hanging drops were prepared, one for the higher temperature (37 °C),  and another for the  positive  control  (27 °C  ). The negative control was prepared by observing the pollen without any germination media. Statistical analysis methodology: The  germination  elongation rates were recorded  by sampling five  pollen  tubes from each slide in 30 minutes  intervals, up to 150 minutes.  This data was analyzed  using biostatistics.  A  Dixon  Q test was performed to identify and remove outliers.  The  Dixon Q test  was calculated using the equation, Q= (gap)/(range). The gap refers to the absolute difference between the outlier and the closest number to the outlier  and the range is simply between the smallest and largest values  (CITE). After the elimination of outliers from the Dixon Q test, a student T-Test  (with a 95% confidence interval)  was performed to determine whether the variables were statistically significant in the difference of their elongation rates  using P values  (SITE).  Finally, a  Q10  value was determined from the mean of  elongation  rates.  It was calculated by using the following equation: Q10  = (R2/R1)10/(T2-T1).  Q10  is a unit-less measur ement that  quantify  the change of a biological system  due to temperature change. Results: The purpose of the experiment was to  measure the  elongation rates after every 30 minute interval, 32 points of data were obtained and analyzed.  Overall, the elongation rate  of  Delosperma cooperifor the high  temperature variable was as much as three  times faster  compared to the control  temperature  (0.686  Ã‚ µm/min vs.  0.278 µm/min)  in trial three. The percent germination was  also  noticeably better for the  high temperature variable  versus the control, where  it was  approximately 60% compared to 20%  after 120  minutes from initiation. From the list of data, the  Dixon Q-test result indicated the data point 0.780 µm/min of the higher temperature control as an outlier  with a 95% confidence level. The mean elongation rate for the room temperature was 0.314 µm/min and 0.454 µÃ‚  m/min for the higher temperature control. The student T-Test  yielded  a P value of 0.0447, which indicates  that the result is statistically significant at a 95% confidence interval.   The  Q10  temperature coefficient  for   Delosperma cooperi  was calculated to be  3.59, categorized as a temperature dependent biological system. Figure 1.  The graph shows the average  elongation  rates of  Delosperma  cooperi  at two different  temperatures. The tubule elongation rate was  0.314 µm/min  for the control and  0.454 µm/min  for the variable. Error bars denote one standard deviation  (0.152 µm/min  and  0.177 µm/min, respectively)  above and below the mean. Figure  2. The graph shows the average elongation rates of  Tulbaghia  Violacea  at two different  temperatures. The tubule elongation rate was  17.4 µm/min for the control and  3.00 µm/min for the variable. Error bars denote one standard deviation (1.95 µm/min  and  0.279 µm/min, respectively)  above and below the mean. Discussion: The results appear to support the hypothesis, where  Delosperma  cooperi  was positively affected by the increased  temperature  by approximately  a 0.140 µm/min  and 40% germination  improvement.   The result shows that the higher temperature yielded in an improvement in both percentage germination and pollen tube length growth  at a significant level (P10  value is higher than 2. Q10  is a unit-less measurement that establish a temperature coefficient  that correlates a system’s change to temperature difference  (of 10 °C)  (SITE 4) In addition,  the  higher percentage germination was observed from the higher temperature control  correspond to an article  in which  Delosperma cooperi  is more adapted to a higher temperature environment  due to  increased metabolic rate under temperature stress  (SITE 5). The results of  Delopserma  cooperi  were compared with  Tulbaghia  violacea  and suggest that the increased temperature had the opposite effect on  Tulbaghia  violacea, where  pollen germination percentage and pollen tube growth were more effective in the room temperature control.  Tulbaghia violacea  is known to be better suited in the colder environment  while high  temperatures  restrict their germination (SITE 6). However, the data was determined to be not significantly significant.  (P>0.6).   A possible future experiment includes testing a greater variety of indigenous  flower pollens  under more temperature variances. The experiment provided a glimpse into how certain plants would respond to  the consequences of  global  warming  and more studies are needed for a more comprehensive overview.   References Leistner, O. A. (ed.). 2000.  Seed plants of southern Africa: families and genera. Strelitzia10. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria. Mozaffar Ebrahim Edmund John Pool (2010). The effect of  Tulbaghiaviolacea  extracts on testosterone secretion by testicular cell cultures.  Journal of  Ethnopharmacology  132(1): 359–361 Reyes, A.B.,  Pendergast, J.S., and  Yamazaki, S. 2008. Mammalian peripheral circadian oscillators are temperature compensated. J.Biol. Rhythms 23: 95-98. â€Å"Global Warming Facts.† 2007. National Geographic.  http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1206_041206_global_warming.html Raven, Peter H.; Ray F. Evert, Susan E. Eichhorn (2005).Biology of Plants, 7th Edition. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company Publishers. pp.504–508. Pfahler PL (1981).In vitro germination characteristics of maize pollen to detect biological activity of environmental pollutants. Health Perspect.37: 125–32. Reyes, A.B.,Pendergast, J.S., and Yamazaki, S. 2008. Mammalian peripheral circadian oscillators are temperature compensated. J.Biol. Rhythms 23: 95-98. Rinnan  R, Steinke M,  McGenity  T, Loreto F. Plant volatiles in extreme terrestrial and marine environments.Plant Cell Environ. 2014 Mar 7. http://autocite.durkmed.com/

The Giver :: essays research papers

The book The Giver by Louis Lowry is a very interesting book that everyone should take time to read. This book takes you through a community of people where everything has to be perfect. The story line is based around a boy named Jonas. Everyone in the community is assigned a job when they turn twelve and its Jonas turn to step up and get his job. This book is interesting because everything has to be perfect, Jonas gets the best job, and the adventure Jonas has to go through to save a new born child named Gabriel. In the book everyone and everything has to be perfect. If someone made a mistake they bring shame to there family and are released or kicked out of the community. One pilot had read his coordinates wrong and flew over the part f the community he wasn’t supposed to. The author states, â€Å"Needless To Say, He Will Be Released,† (2) This shows how strict the community was. Later on it the book Jonas receives his job as The Receiver of Memory. Since the community is perfect they never feel pain, pleasure, or can see any colors. Jonas’ job allows him to do all of the above and more. He must also keep the memories of the past. The author states, â€Å"Such a selection is very, very rare,† (60) which shows that getting that job is the community’s most honored position. Jonas after feeling the pain of death does not want Gabriel to die so he runs of with him. Jonas finally can see colors and knows what snow is and stuff like that. When he and Gabriel leave the community they are being searched by planed that detect body heat. To lower there body temperatures he used his memories of snow to cool them down. The author states, â€Å"Together they became cold; and when the planes were gone, they would shiver, holding each other, until sleep came again.

A View on Perspectivism :: Philosophy Philosophical Essays

A View on Perspectivism Perspectivism is the doctrine that most or all large philosophical questions have many proposed answers, and many views on how to judge between those proposed answers, and that intelligent people of good will are likely to continue to have differing perspectives on these large questions of philosophy indefinitely. There are both historical and theoretical reasons for embracing this view. Historically, it is manifest that though philosophers have often attained views which are highly satisfying to themselves personally, few perspectives have won a con sensus even in their own times, and none have won a consensus over time. (I refer here to a consensus on some positive view; a consensus on the falsity of views, usually older ones, may be commonly found. But even long rejected views are liable to unexpected resurrections.) In any case, even agreement of near miraculous extent would not prove any thing anyway and would amount to just a widely accepted view with widely accepted count ers to arguments against it. We may note certain alternatives to and variations on the perspectivist's thesis. There is first of all what we might call the standard position, namely, that there may be many perspectives on a given question, but all but one of them are wrong and can in principle be shown to be so. There is classical skepticism holding that there is a true view but we can't get it and wouldn't know it if we did. There are also the relatively more recent views that large philosophical questions are meaningless (as in positivism) or illusory (as in analytic philosophy). There is what we might call the existential view that there are many views and we may appropriate one according to our own free decision or freely selected standard of evaluation. There is the pragmatic view, that there are many views and many of them are of personal interest and many may indeed be considered true in varying ways and degrees and for varying purposes and persons. Then there is the view that the perspective we a ppropriate tends to become true in varying ways and degrees, at least for the subject, so that we create our world in varying ways and degrees. Finally, there is the view that we do not so much search for a view, find a view, choose a view, but rather that our views arise in us more as a consequence of our culture, temperament, or character than of our reasoning powers.

City Demographics and Crime Profile Essay

Houston is the largest city in Texas and the fourth largest city in the United States. According to 2009 census, the city had a population of approximately 2. 2 million people and the city occupies a space of 600 square miles. Houston is a multi-cultural state due to the fact that the city is a host to many academic institutions and many industries. Houston city has large number of young population and this has been contributed to by an influx of immigrants in the state. More than 90 languages are spoken in Houston (Miller, and Larry, 2008) The city is ranked third among the cities with large number of Hispanics and Mexican-American in the United States. The city scores high number of Hispanics in the state of Texas. The city also has high numbers of illegal emigrants who mostly reside in the Greater Houston area. Houston has the largest number of Nigerian-American population in United States and they constitute more than 2% of the population. The city a median household income of $36,616 where as the median income for a family is 40,443. emales have a median income of $27,371 while men has a median of $32,084. 16 percent of families and 19 percent of the population live below the poverty line. The city is home to many emigrants from Asia with more than 30,000 emigrants in 2007. Crime in Houston increases as one goes to the outer highways. It is therefore advised that people walk with care when taking highways in the outskirts of the city since harassment tend to be more common in areas that are outlining Interstate Hig hway 45from Southern Beltway to the northern belt. Crimes in these areas include shootings, muggings, and robberies. Many people in Houston tend to ignore threats but people are mostly advised that some to accomplish their threats. The most notorious district that people are advised to avoid is the Westchase which consist of Hillcroft past Westheimer and Daury Ashford. Mission Bend is safe and all is required is caution. Richmond and the West Oaks area hwy 6 all the way to 1 Stebner Airline is generally safe (Miller, and Larry, 2008). Staying in Hotels near Williowbrook, Tombal, Cy-Fair, Spring and the surrounding area is relatively safer since there are fewer panhandlers as compared to areas around Galleria. Bellaire and West University are also good areas but people are advised to avoid Beechnut, Chimney Rock and 610. The more one moves from town, the it becomes risky to walk at night. Areas such as Wards, Gulfton, Fondren South West and Sharptown are risky at night and it even advised to walk with caution during the day. Houston was ranked 46th city in United States in murder cases as per 2005 and the rate of murder per capita rate is 16. 3. The murder rate for the city is ranked third among cities in the United States with a population of more than 1,000,000. Even though cases of murder have been on the increase, non-violent crimes have significantly reduced by 2% in 2005. Some media sources have attributed the increasing crime rate on the aftermaths of Katrina. Houston is also one of the major drug hubs in the United States; traffickers use the city to supply marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and MDMA to distributors in other cities in the United States. Houston is in top position in state of Texas in auto-theft. In 2007 alone, 31,000 motor vehicles were stolen in the metropolitan area of Houston (Wallman, 2006) Due to the mix in population in the city, there is high rate of crimes and this has given the police department to control crime. Illegal emigrants in Houston makes crime rates hard to control.