MULTINATIONAL CORP-EVOL & CUR ISSUE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

MULTINATIONAL CORP-EVOL & CUR ISSUE - Essay Example (GOOG), Amazon (AMZN) and PowerShares QQQ Trust Series 1 (QQQ). This report entails a transaction involving 500 quantities of Google shares, 10000 quantity of Amazon and 1,000 quantity of PowerShares Trust Series 1. Google Inc. is a global technology company that mainly focuses on areas such as advertising, operating systems and platforms, enterprise and hardware products. Its main source of revenue is online advertisement. By the close of business on April 06, 2014 @ 3:59:59 PM, 500 shares of Google Inc. were selling at $545.25. This resulted to an amount of 573,000. The buying price of Google Inc. equity was $545 at a currency/exchange of USD/1.00. It is worth noting that price paid is quoted in the currency of the security’ exchange while the buying powers change and transaction amount are quoted in the currency of the portfolio. As per the start of the business day 7th April 2014, the share price for Google Inc. stood at $539.31 representing a price change of $-5.94 (-1.09%). At the current market price, buying 500 shares of Google Inc. will cost me 272,500. Selling the same quantity will get me a reward of 273,135 hence making a profit equivalent to $635. The profitability nature of the Google’s shares make motivated me to buy the portfolio. Amazon.com serves consumers through its retail websites and focus on selection, price, and convenience. It offers programs that enable sellers to sell their products through the company’s websites. Amazon offers its customers the lowest prices daily product pricing and shipping offers. The last buying price for Amazon.com is $320.22 as opposed to the current price of $320.52. The 52-week high is $408.06 while the 52-week low is $245.75. Going by the previous price, the estimated cost for 10,000 shares will be $ 3,203,310.00. The last selling of Amazon stock is $320.68 representing 187,268 volumes. Considering this selling price, the estimated cost stands at 3,197,090.00. This represents an income gain

Global warming Essay Example for Free

Global warming Essay Global warming is the process by which several gases known ‘green-house gases’ (such as carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, nitrous oxide, etc) are accumulating in the earth’s environment (as a result of human activity and pollution) and are trapping the sun’s energy resulting in a rise in the planet’s temperature. Some of the largest sources of green house gases include power plants, automobiles, etc. The hypothesis statement in this case is â€Å"Carbon Dioxide is not the only the largest contributor to Global warming, it is in fact the only contributor†. A recent study conducted By the US-DoE in the year 2000 clearly suggests that about 99. 5 % of the gases that cause global warming is carbon dioxide (NRDC, 2007, Eco Bridge, 2008, University of California, 2002). Carbon dioxide is emitted from several human activities. About 40 % of the carbon dioxide emitted in the US is from power-plants that emit the gas from burning coal. Even when LPG and natural gas is burnt, it produces huge quantities of carbon dioxide that contribute towards global warming. About 33% of the carbon dioxide is produced from vehicular emission. Vehicles that have poor mileage contribute larger quantities of carbon dioxide that ultimately result in global warming. About 3. 5 % of the carbon dioxide released in the atmosphere is from aero planes. The upper layers of the atmosphere are damaged as a result of air traffic. From building and domestic use, about 12 % of the total carbon dioxide content is contributed (NRDC, 2007, Eco Bridge, 2008, University of California, 2002). The other gases that can contribute towards global warming is methane (0. 47 %), nitrous oxide (less than 0. 1 %), water vapor and CFC’s (less than 0. 01 %). In actual fact, water vapor contributes towards 99. 99 % of the global warming. However, release of water vapor into the environment is by a natural phenomenon and hence it cannot be considered as a result of human activity. Several studies have demonstrated that effect of water vapor is increased by the presence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Another group of thinking is that water vapor ultimately results in cloud formation, resulting of reflecting back the energy waves of the sun into the atmosphere. Besides, water vapor present in the atmosphere is released back onto the ground, thus helping to cool down the planet (NRDC, 2007, Eco Bridge, 2008, University of California, 2002, Hieb, 2003 University of California, 2002). Since the time of James Watt, the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been rising. IN the US, an average the per capita emission of carbon is about 5 tons every year per head (one of the highest) and in Sweden it is about 2 tons (One of the lowest). Carbon dioxide molecules trap the heat rays that are radiating from the atmosphere and cause and increase in the air temperature. In cities and in areas having high levels of carbon dioxide at the ground level, it is found that the air temperature is comparatively higher. Whereas in forests, the air temperature is lower as the carbon dioxide is converted to oxygen. Over the last 100 years the temperature of the earth has risen by about 1. 5 to 5 degrees. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increased from below 280 ppm to above 360 ppm (Hieb, 2003 University of California, 2002). By just doubling the levels of carbon dioxide in the air, the temperature has increased significantly. The levels of methane and other green house gases have fairly remained constant over the years, but global warming is becoming even more severe. Hence, it can be considered that carbon dioxide is not just the largest contribute to global warming; it may as well as be considered the only contributor (University of California, 2002). References: Eco Bridge. â€Å"Causes of Global Warming. † 2008. Eco Bridge. 6 Apr.2008. http://www. ecobridge. org/content/g_cse. htm Monte Hieb. â€Å"Water Vapor Rules the Greenhouse System. † 2003. Geo Craft. 6 Apr. 2008. http://www. geocraft. com/WVFossils/greenhouse_data. html Natural Resources Defense Council. â€Å"Global Warming Basics. † 2007. NRDC. 6 Apr. 2008. http://www. nrdc. org/globalWarming/f101. asp University of California. â€Å"GLOBAL WARMING: The Rise of CO2 Warming. † 2002. University of California. 6 Apr. 2008. http://earthguide. ucsd. edu/globalchange/global_warming/03. html

A Comparison of Othello and the Movie O Essay -- Movie Film comparison

A Comparison of Othello and the Movie O When Shakespeare composed the tragedy Othello televisions were not. Along with no televisions, life in the late 1500s had many different qualities than it does today. This time period had no war on drugs and no high school shootings. Peer pressure was not an issue. The audiences of Othello in the 1500s did not face the circumstances that we, American high school students, face today. With these significant differences in daily life, come the attempts of movie creators to help prevent our modern day tragedies. The movie "O", released on August 31, 2001, is a retelling of Shakespeare's Othello set in a college prepatory school. This movie, shelved over two years due to the epidemic of high school shootings in the late 1990s, is an attempt to take in hand these disasters caused by peer pressure and jealousy (Kurnit). "O" is an effective restoration of Shakespeare's Othello in this day and age as it addresses issues that are imperative and dangerous to its audience. Jealousy is a dominating factor in both the modern day and Shakespearean Othello. In Othello, the jealousy develops from Iago, who thinks he has been overlooked as his flag officer and as Othello's loyal best friend. In "O", Hugo is jealous of his father's relationship with Odin. Hugo's father, Duke, is also the basketball coach of the team both Odin and Hugo play for. Odin is the team captain and receives the "most valuable player" award which he shares with his "go-to guy," Mike--not Hugo. Hugo believes that he is the M.V.P. of the Hawks and is filled with jealousy when his father gives the award to Odin and says, "I'm very proud to say this publicly, I love him like my own son" ("O"). I've ... ...ence more reasoning to the jealousy of the characters and the actions they take. With the changed setting come many differences: drugs and alcohol, peer pressure, violence, and different sources for jealousy and hatred. These issues are the dilemmas we, as teenagers in this new millennium, are faced with day to day. "O" addresses these new era evils without abandoning the original themes and major issues of Shakespeare's Othello. The audience can relate to a story written down hundreds of years ago and benefit from it. Works Cited Hartnett, Josh. Interview following "O". 23 March 2010 Kurnit, Scott. "O" movie review. www.romanticmovies.about.com 20 March 2010 List of School Shootings. www.abcnews.com 20 March 2010 Nelson, Tim Blake. Interview folloing "O". 23 March 2010 "O". dvd. Dir. Tim Blake Nelson, Lions Gate Films, 2001 Â  

ID Personal statement for Dental School Essay

Since I was a little child, I always dreamed of being a medical doctor or a dentist. This is probably because my parents modelled the desire in me, for both of them were working in a hospital. Although none of my parents was a physician or a nurse, spending times in their offices and noticing the doctors who were working in the hospital was the first glimmer in my mind to become a doctor. What exacerbated the desire is the situation I went through at the age of fifteen. My father was diagnosed with kidney failure at that time. It was the start of the three hard and unforgettable years in my life. This is the time and the situation that greatly influenced my desire for working in a medical field. Before that time, I just saw physicians, and this was the first time that I was experiencing the living with a patient. My father’s disease was harsh, and for the first three or four months, different specialists to make him ready for haemodialysis visited him. Then, for the rest of his life, he had to go to the hospital three times a week and each time for three hours to be dialyzed. During the first months of my father’s disease, noticing different patients with different kind of diseases and all the pains that they were suffering from, made me to think more about being a doctor. I wondered if I could help those patients, or if I was good enough to become a doctor. During last three years of my father’s life, I was always with him. Leaving in a country with well equipped hospitals but poor patient hospitality services, my mother and I had to take care of everything ourselves. During those years, I had the opportunity to observe different departments of hospitals, different physicians, and patients with different disease. All these things made me more serious about my decision to work in a medical field. When my father died, I promised to myself to put all my effort to become a person who can help the patient like my father to have a better and less painful life. Being a dentist therefore offers me the opportunity to get in touch with a diversity of peoples and help them to ease the pain and suffering they get from one the worst pains in human body, which is toothache. I believe that dentistry is a kind of art and a dentist has to have skilled hands. It is just like an art of playing the guitar or making jewellery. Just as it took me time to learn the guitar and I ended up being a very good player, so is my determination in becoming a dentist. I picture it as a very precise art that needs a combination of expertise skills and enjoyment to serve a patient to make them finally happy. Just as the jewel artist is careful to go through a process of skill and expertise application, with the motivation of coming up with a beautiful ornament, so a dentist should in having his or her final product – a happy patient. In all this, I therefore look forward to joining the dental school to pursue this career. My education background is thus as follows: I graduated as an honor student, with high GPA from a high school in Iran. I there after graduated from Northern Virginia Community College as an honor student with GPA of 3. 957(Associate Degree in Biology). Arriving at USA in 2005, community college gave me the opportunity to study and work at the same time. Without my family, it was hard for me to afford to go directly to the university. I was therefore left with this only option. I proceeded to George Mason University where I am a senior student. My Current overall GPA is 3. 3; Program GPA is 3. 95 and I Major in Biology. I have enrolled to Biology honor program and I will be graduating as an honor student in this major. Vested with great responsibility for excellent performance, I am inquisitive and of an analytical mind. Moreover, I am ready and quick to learn, a team player, self-driven and result oriented. In that respect, I am a member of George Mason university pre-dental society and Tau Sigma national honor society. I have pursued the opportunities presented to me to advance my understanding of the subjects I have studied. For instance, I enrolled for the honors program at George Mason University. In the course of my honors program, which was general genetics, I have researched about cancer and telomerase activity. I believe, however, that the pursuit of deeper scientific understanding is not limited to the classroom. I have used my shadowing opportunities not only as practical learning experiences, but also as a chance to ask questions from the dentist I have shadowed. Whenever I heard a word or saw an unfamiliar procedure, I asked about it.

Evualiating strategies of Inter Continental Hotel groups Essay

1. Introduction This report will evaluate strategies of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) in China and how they rose to being the biggest and most successful hotel operator in China. What strategies were formed and implemented to get to position. Then this report proceeds to define strategy and apply the SWOT, Porter’s diamond forces model and Porter’s five forces to IHG in China. 2.1 Company Profile – InterContinental Hotels Group InterContinental Hotel’s Group is one of the world’s leading hotel companies having 679000 in over 4,600 hotels in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world. IHG operates nine brands which are InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Crown Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites Hotels, Candlewood Suites Hotels, EVEN Hotels and HUALUXE Hotels. This portfolio includes everything from luxurious upscale hotels in the world’s major cities and resorts to reliable family oriented hotels offering great service and value. So guests travelling for business or leisure, honeymoon or a family holiday, IHG will have a hotel that’s right for them. 2.1.1 Goal: To grow by making their brands the first choice for guests and hotel owners 2.1.2 Strategy: To build the hotel industry’s strongest operating system focused on the biggest markets and segments where scale really counts. 2.1.3 Operating System: IHG’s operating system is made up of all the things they do to drive demand for their brands. This report will look at this in the next section. 2.2 Driving Demand This includes; Hotel distribution: 4,600 hotels in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world. When people travel, they look for familiar brands they know from home, increasing the demand for hotels that operate under their brands around the world. IHG’s Advertising and marketing campaigns: Annual fund totalling $1.2bn through a central fund where their franchisees pay a fee into, used on their behalf for marketing and promotions to generate demand for their hotels. Web/Mobile presence: Websites operating in 13 different languages and IHG have 6 different language apps for smartphones. IHG Rewards club: The world’s largest hotel loyalty scheme with over 76 million members. Reservation systems: Their 11 global reservation offices (call centres) are available to take hotel bookings from guests 24 hours a day in 11 different languages. Sales force: A global sales force of more than 17,600 professionals throughout the world, talking about and selling the booking of hotels under their brands to individuals and companies. Food and beverage: Over $4.6n of food and beverage revenue and over 4,500 outlets worldwide. Focusing on the biggest markets where their scale really counts ensures that IHG concentrate their resources on the opportunities that will provide the greatest return. 2.2 IHG Business Model IHG operates hotels in 3 different ways – as a franchisor, as a manager and on an owned and leased basis. Their business model focuses on managing and franchising hotels, whilst their business partners own the bricks and mortar. Below is the breakdown of IHG business: Franchising This is the largest part of IHG business: 3,955 hotels operate under franchise agreements. Managing IHG manage 689 hotels worldwide. Owning IHG owns 9 hotels worldwide (less than 1% of their portfolio). Source: IHG, 2013 2.3 IHG’s winning ways These are a set of behaviours based on IHG’s values helping them to become one of the very best companies in the world. These winning ways provide a strong sense of shared purpose, and are critical to driving their business performance forward, as well as making them a great, enjoyable place to work. These are: Doing the right thing Showing care Aiming higher Celebrating difference Work better together These winning ways make IHG a high-performing organisation that helps deliver their company’s core purpose – ‘Great Hotels Guests Love’. 3. Chinese culture and Chinese Hotel Industry Introduction of the Open Door Policy in 1978 opened the door to what would become decades of unprecedented economic growth in China’s history. Riding along the waves of new found economic liberty and the freedom to partner with foreign investors, China’s hotel investment community seized the opportunity to welcome outside investment. The hotel industry in China quickly developed from 137 properties in 1978 to 14,237 properties in 2009. One of the main catalysts of the rapid development seen in the hotel industry has been the expansion of multinational hotel groups into China (Guillet et. al., 2011). China is poised to become the number one international tourist destination in the future. Tourism in China, both domestic and international, has exploded in recent years along with the booming economy and foreign hotel companies are racing to fly their flags in key markets in China and capture a portion of the rapidly growing tourism market. China’s hotel industry is different from that of other countries due to ï ¬ erce competition, multiform ownership and management systems, coupled with China’s unique culture society (Kong and Cheung, 2009). The hospitality industry is one of the forerunners in economic development and privatization in China (Chan & Yeung, 2009). A strong local loyalty program is key to winning visitors as upper middle class Chinese are influenced by them when choosing a hotel (A.T. Kearney report, 2013). There are four barriers to hotel chain development in China, which are economic and political systems, hotel ownership, management capability and resources, and competition between local and foreign chains (Pine and Qi, 2004). Additional hurdles MHG’s may encounter when developing in China are: establishing a successful loyalty program, navigating the unpredictable government environment, understating the role of guanxi, finding skilled labour and dealing with high pollution levels (Chan & Yeung, 2009). 3.1 I HG’s strategies in China InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) entered China in the mid 1980’s. They were the first U.S. based MHG to focus on growth in China. IHG opened 8,084 new rooms in China in 2011 alone, bringing their total room count in China count to an astonishing 55,182 rooms. The new IHG hotel openings included four of their flagship luxury InterContinental. Hotels and 11 Crowne Plaza Hotels, which cater to the much sought after business travel segment. IHG reported 17.4% RevPAR (revenue per available room) for the year in 2011, which was a 10.7% increase over the previous year (HMA Staff, 2012). China is IHG’s second largest market after the United States and is likely to surpass the US to become their largest by number of rooms by 2025. IHG directly manages almost all its Chinese hotels and is currently the largest employer among all international hotel companies in the region, with nearly 60,000 employees working at its corporate office and hotels across over 70 cities in the country. IHG in December 2013 announced plans to recruit more than 110,000 employees between 2013 and 2015. IHG has a highly ambitious development strategy which includes deepening penetration in key cities such as Beijing and Guangzhou and targeting Tier 2, 3 and 4 cities. In 2012, IHG launched HUALUXE Hotels & Resorts, a new hotel brand specifically designed for Chinese guests, th e first of which is scheduled to open in 2014, with 21 hotels currently in the pipeline. The English name Hualuxe translates as â€Å"China luxury,† while the Chinese name reads Hua Yi. Hua means Chinese, and Yi stands for a city or a capital. Yi is also often associated with cognac, which is a sign of luxury in China. Positioned between the company’s upscale Crowne Plaza and luxury InterContinental brands, Hualuxe will focus on China’s second- and third-tier cities and is geared to please business travellers from domestic companies, state enterprises and government. IHG has confirmed 20 Hualuxe properties in destinations including Zhangjiajie, Changsha and Lijiang. â€Å"[The new China brand is] going to Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou in time, but not until [it’s entered] tier-two and tier-three cities because that’s where the future opportunity is,† Keith Barr, IHG Greater China’s CEO, told CNN travel. All figures as of 30th September 2013. Source: IHG website All figures as of 30th September 2013. Source: IHG website In China, IHG sees the greatest opportunity for growth of any single country and their strategy has been to enter the market early, to develop their relationship with key local third party owners and grow their presence rapidly. They also formed strategic alliances with large property developers with the benefit of getting multiple projects and the security of working with a reputable developers who have solid financial background (Fei, 2006). In a country with 659,000 branded hotel rooms, IHG is the largest international hotel company with over 61,000 rooms and more than 50,000 in the planning phase or under construction. This rapid pace of openings for IHG has been in anticipation of increasing demand for hotels, driven by a large, emerging middle class and growing domestic and international travel. Their approach is to find the right hotel owner as a means of benefitting from local knowledge. IHG then manages the hotel on the owner’s behalf, ensuring brand standards are consistently delivered. The owners, in turn, are keen to operate under the group’s well-established international cachet. IHG focuses on franchising and management of the properties. Typically, the senior management of the hotel such as the general manager and the financial controller are IHG employees with the third-party owner employing all other staff. (IHG, 2013) 4. What is Strategy? Strategies are the means which enable organisations to achieve their objectives in a changing environment through the configuration of its resources and competencies with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations (Johnson & Whittington 2009). Strategy is a plan into future, a pattern that is consistency in behaviour over time for e.g. a company perpetually marketing the most expensive products in their respective industries pursue what is commonly called high end strategy like Apple and Zara. Strategy is position namely the determination of particular products in particular markets and strategy is perspective that is vision and direction (Mintzberg, 2001). 4.1 Business level strategy A business level strategy is an integrated and coordinated set of commitments and actions a firm uses to gain competitive advantage by exploiting core competencies in specific product markets (Volberda, et. al., 2011). Every business must design a strategy for achieving its goals, consisting of marketing strategy and compatible technological strategy and sourcing strategy (Kotler & Keller, 2006). To identify rivals in the international hotel industry, current practice is to use price, segment and proximity (Matthew, 2000). The main competition strategy research related to the hospitality industry has concentrated on competition interaction (Baum & Haveman, 1997) (Baum & Ingram, 1998), critical success factors, (Brotherton, 2004) (Geller, 1985), global strategy and marketing strategy (Whitla et. al., 2007). 4.2 Theoretical Framework 4.2.1 SWOT analysis Swot stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and summarises the key issues from the business environment and the strategic capability of an organisation that are most likely to impact on strategy development (Johnson, et. al., 2008) At this point, the author will like to do a SWOT analysis of IHG in China. Strengths Leading competitive positioning and broad geographic reach– IHG is the largest hotel operator in China with 65,239 hotel rooms in 198 hotels across key Chinese cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Guangzhou along with entering 2nd and 3rd tier cities like Dalian, Tianjin, Wuhan and others. Diverse brand portfolio – The company operates a diverse portfolio of brands across multiple economic segments which cater for multiple price segments from the upper upscale (5-star) segment focusing on the international business traveller, to the upscale (4-star) segment catering both to the business traveller and the leisure traveller down to the midscale (3-star) targeting both domestic business and leisure travellers. Early entry – IHG’s timely entry in China has led them to establish a strong brand presence in the country and consolidate its competitive positioning. IHG’s Holiday Inn is the second most important hotel brand in the country, with 90% of its customers being Chinese. Pipeline Development – As of 30th September 2013, IHG has 179 hotels in pipeline for China. This represents an enormous competitive advantage to the company as it further consolidates its global presence and capitalises on booming travel and tourism industries in China. IHG Academy programme – China faces massive skills shortage in the hotel industry and IHG is winning the war on talent by opening its own academies to attract and groom talent for non-supervisory level positions, leading to the industry’s largest talent infrastructure It now has 29 programmes in operation in China alone, with approximately 5,000 participants taking part in 2011. IHG were the first hotel group to introduce this type of training programme, Today IHG boats of a highly engaged work force. Loyalty programme – In order to create value for Chinese guests, InterContinental introduced a paid membership program called Priority Privilege, which was exclusive to China. Priority Privilege will help create brand preference for IHG hotels among consumers throughout China and is offered alongside IHG’s global loyalty programme which is the largest loyalty programme in the world. Strong strategic partners – Through key strategic alliance IHG have developed its relationship with real estate developers, government and key local third party owners and grow its presence rapidly. A new hotel brand HUALUXE specifically designed for Chinese guests focussing focus on China’s 2nd and 3rd tier cities. Weaknesses Luxury focus – IHG might have avoided mid-range hotel sector in china for too long focussing only on luxury market and big cities which might have led to competitors taking over lion’s share of the mid-range hotel sector in China Opportunities Strong economic fundamentals – Robust GDP growth and continued urbanisation will drive sustainable economic development leading to new cities and create new markets and better link existing ones tremendously conducive to long-term hotel growth. Domestic travellers on the rise in china IHG could target this segment which it has started to slowly address now. Threats Potential of over supply with the number of hotels in pipeline as some newly developed cities reported problems of occupancy Local Chinese hotels already established in the mid-range hotel sector will provide competiveness along with other Multinational hotel companies entering china. Pollution in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai could affect the number of tourists coming to China Unpredictable government policies which could impact operations Global economic slowdown effecting china. The booming hotel industry in 2012 did report somewhat a slowdown for a brief moment before regaining momentum. Outbreak of diseases like SARS in 2003 and Bird flu and swine flu. Human resource shortage for the hotels in pipeline for 2nd, 3rd and 4th tier cities as labour is likely to be less skilled here coupled with risk of competitors seeking employees leading to shortage of skilled labour. Fluctuations in foreign currency can affect hotel operations Change in consumer taste can hurt IHG and its pipeline projects 4.2.2 Porter’s Diamond The conceptual framework that links structure, strategy and performance is Porter’s diamond which suggests that there are inherent reasons why some nations are more competitive than others, and why some industries within nations are more competitive than others (Johnson, et. al., 2008). In his framework, he suggests that national competitiveness will anchored along four dimensions: A nation’s factor conditions, Demand conditions, Firm strategy, structure and rivalry and Related and supporting industries (Porter 1990) Source: Johnson, et. al., 2008 Michael Porter’s model illustrated above describes the factors contributing to advantage of firms in a dominant global industry and associated with a specific home country or regional environment. 4.2.2.1 Applying Porter’s diamond to IHG in China The first dimension in Porter’s diamond refers to factors of production, the inputs necessary to compete in any industry – labour, land, natural resources, capital and infrastructure (Volberda et. al., 2011). Factor condition advantages at a national level can translate into general competitive advantages for national ï ¬ rms in international markets (Johnson, et. al., 2008). IHG entered China soon as it opened doors to FDI and economy has been booming since having excellent infrastructure. The population in china is exploding meaning there will never be shortage of people finding work however in Multinational companies’ cases they may need to spend on training them to their standards. China is technologically advanced allowing IHG to reach customers in innovative ways The second dimension is demand conditions characterized by the size of buyers need in the home market for the industry’s goods or services. As seen from above section, China has been a fav ourite travel destination over the years and in a few years will become the number one tourist destination in the world. There has been emergence of domestic Chinese travellers due to the booming economy creating a new market. IHG has used these to competitive advantage by opening hotels catering to different segments. Related and supporting industries is the third dimension. Local ‘clusters’ of related and mutually supporting industries can be an important source of competitive advantage. These are often regionally based, making personal interaction easier. China has excellent transportation and travel links with more and more upcoming high speed train projects. Chinese food is the favourite amongst most international travellers and IHG operates the best restaurants in its hotels Firm strategy, structure and rivalry make up the final dimension. The characteristic strategies, industry structures and rivalries in different countries can also be bases of advantage. In China, IHG’s strategy has mainly been to partner and develop relationships with owners that want to build properties and have their branding over them and also by investing in people. Its initial strategy was to targ et upscale luxury hotels and as it anticipated demand for other segments it catered by having hotels across different cities catering to different segments. Part of IHG strategy is they determine which hotel brands go into which city, along with where exactly they want to be in the city to achieve maximum growth (IHG, 2013) Their structure is a mix of as a franchisor, as a manager and on an owned and leased basis. IHG faces competition from both local and foreign hotel operators in China. 4.2.3 Porter’s five forces This is a framework for assessing and evaluating the competitive strength and position of a business organisation. This theory is based on the concept that there are five forces which determine the competitive intensity and attractiveness of a market. Porter’s five forces helps to identify where power lies in a business situation. This is useful both in understanding the strength of an organisation’s current competitive position, and the strength of a position that an organisation may look to move into (Johnson et. al., 2008). These five forces can be seen in fig Source: Johnson et. al., 2008 4.2.3.1 Applying porters five forces to IHG Threat of substitute goods In the hotel industry there is usually another hotel just round the corner, as in the case of Chinese hotel industry. Many international chains have raced to china to start operations making it an extremely competitive industry. For IHG the challenge will be to get the guest to choose their hotel over competitors like Marriott or Hilton. Some domestic Chinese hotels offer luxury at reasonable prices thus being attractive to the domestic travellers in china. Bargaining power of buyers As more and more customers become technology savy, it is now really simple to go online and book a hotel eliminating the role of intermediaries like travel agents or corporate travel consultants. Customers are finding price comparison websites like cleartrip.com or expedia.com which will negotiate or discover bargains for them. All this means high service standards have to be maintained by IHG at all times to get customers to stay at their hotels again instead of losing them to competitors. Competitive rivalry Rivalry among competitors in the Chinese hotel industry is likely to be fierce. IHG’s immediate rivals in China are JW Marriot hotels, Hilton hotels, Starwood Hotels and Hyatt hotels. There is likely to be price war amongst these hotels as competitors might attempt to gain advantage over others. Barriers to entry It will be very difficult for new competitors to match IHG’s already established operations in China. IHG was the first in china and today is the biggest international hotel company by number of rooms. Quanxi is considered very important to do business in China, it gets developed with time as you do business in china. It will be very difficult for new entrants to immediately develop quanxi and get things done. IHG offers differentiation in the sense that it caters to different segments including a hotel exclusively targeting Chinese. It will be difficult for a new competitor to match this differentiation. China is not an easy place to do business and IHG over the years through key strategic alliances and partnerships have developed expertise which again will be difficult to match by new entrants. Bargaining power of suppliers There is human resources challenges and shortages for the hotel industry in China. There are fewer qualified people to fill up service industry jobs. Trade unions exist in china which play a major role and sometimes might exploit the employers. IHG tackles this war on talent by running various programmes at its IHG academy’s in China building a talented work force all proud to be working at IHG (IHG, 2013) 5. Strategy formulation In many perspectives to strategy formulation, it is usual to define the purpose for the organisation and then develop a range of strategy options that might achieve the purpose. After developing the options a selection is made between them (Lynch, 2000). Gary Hamel (1997) ‘‘The dirty little secret of the strategy industry is that it doesn’t have any theory of strategy creation.’’ The complexities associated with the process of strategy formulation are generally thought to be overwhelming, and, as a result, many people believe the process of strategy formulation cannot be structured or formalized. It is useful to consider strategy formulation as part of a strategic management process that comprises three phases: diagnosis, formulation, and implementation. Strategic management is an ongoing process to develop and revise future-oriented strategies that allow an organization to achieve its objectives, considering its capabilities, constraints, and the env ironment in which it operates (Mitchell, 2005). 5.1 Diagnosis includes: Performing a situational analysis (internal environment analysis) including identification and evaluation of current mission, strategic objectives, strategies, and results, plus major strengths and weaknesses Analysing organisations external environment including major opportunities and threats. Identify major critical issues that require high priority attention by management. 5.2 Formulation The second phase in the strategic management process, produces a clear set of recommendations, with supporting justification, that revise as necessary the mission and objectives of the organization, and supply the strategies for accomplishing them. In formulation objectives and strategies are modified to make the organisation more successful. This includes trying to create â€Å"sustainable† competitive advantages, although most competitive advantages are eroded steadily by the efforts of competitors. It is important to consider â€Å"fits† between resources plus competencies with opportunities, and also fits between risks and expectations. There are four primary steps in this phase: *Reviewing the current key objectives and strategies of the organization, which usually would have been identified and evaluated as part of the diagnosis *Identifying a rich range of strategic alternatives to address the three levels of strategy formulation outlined below, including but not limited to dealing with the critical issues *Doing a balanced evaluation of advantages and disadvantages of the alternatives relative to their feasibility plus expected effects on the issues and contributions to the success of the organization *Deciding on the alternatives that should be implemented or recommended. 5.3 Implementation Strategies must be implemented to achieve intended results. Final stage of the strategic management process involves developing an implementation plan and then doing whatever it takes to make the new strategy operational and effective in achieving the organization’s objectives. 5.4 Strategic decision making profile The strategic decision making profile is a very important profile in an organisation. It is to do with strategic leadership which is the ability to anticipate, envision, maintain flexibility and empower others to create strategic change as necessary (Volberda et. al., 2011) It starts at the top management level but includes a much wider range of potential actors, from strategic planners and consultants to middle managers. The conventional view is that strategy is the business of top management. In this view, it is absolutely vital that top management are clearly separated from operational responsibilities, so that they can focus on overall strategy. The chief executive ofï ¬ cer is often seen as the ‘chief strategist’, ultimately responsible for all strategic decisions. CEOs of large companies typically spend one thirds of their time on strategy. However there are some dangers. First, centralising responsibility on the CEO can lead to excessive personalisation. Organisations respond to setbacks simply by changing their CEO, rather than examining deeply the internal sources of failure. Second, successful CEOs can become overconï ¬ dent, seeing themselves as corporate heroes and launching strategic initiatives of ever-increasing ambition. The overconï ¬ dence of heroic leaders often leads to spectacular failures (Johnson et al 2008). The top management team, board of directors and divisional general managers are other commonly recognised strategic leaders. In truth, any individual with the responsibility for the performance of human capital is a strategic leader (Volberdo et. al., 2011). Strategic leaders have substantial decision making authorities that cannot be delegated. 6. Conclusion As seen from the above sections, Chinese economy and hotel industry both are booming. IHG took advantage of this and entered China at the right time thus working its way towards the biggest hotel operator in China. Its strategy mainly has been differentiation at the start where it just focussed on 5 star luxury hotels and as the economy kept going upwards new markets were created and by bringing all of its brands to China IHG today caters to all segments in china in all major cities. It is also targeting upcoming cities by having major projects in pipeline. IHG operates in an extremely competitive environment and has made use of all opportunities by working on its strengths but must not get complacent and always be vary of threats while continue to eliminate any weaknesses it might have. The author concludes by summarising IHG’s strategy’s key points. IHG’s winning strategy Broad portfolio of strong brands in key locations Longest established loyalty programme The deepest relationships with key strategic partners The most focused development strategy Only international hotel company with dedicated, standalone region reporting directly to the CEO Largest people infrastructure – IHG is winning the talent war in China by 1st fast-track scheme for non-hotel talents, 1st Academy to attract and groom talent for non-supervisory level positions. A managed model with minimal capital expenditure. Management contract focus (98% of system and pipeline) – Ensures consistent delivery of guest experience, Imbeds operational capability, Preferred by owners with limited operating experience, Potential to franchise Holiday Inn Express given the more standardised operating model. Contract terms – Base fee = 2% gross revenues, Incentive fee = 6% – 8% of gross operating profit, Length of contract: 10 – 15 years, No fee discounting, No requirements for guarantees Use of capital expenditure -To date no capital expenditure requirements The most established relationships with key strategic partners 30 years of building relationships in China, (Guanxi) Strong connections to the government (Guanxi) Excellent partnerships formed with leading real estate developers Almost half their hotels are with multi-unit owners Signed more portfolio deals than any other international operator REFERENCE LIST 1. A.T.Kearney Report (2013) China’s Hospitality – Rooms for growth. 2. Baum, J. A., & H. A. Haveman H.A. (1997). Love the neighbour? Differentiation and agglomeration in the Manhattan hotel industry. Administrative Science Quarterly, 42(2), pp. 304-338. 3. Baum, J. A., & Ingram. P (1998). Survival-enhancing learning in the Manhattan hotel industry. Management Science Journal, 44(7), pp. 996-1016. 4. Baum, J. A., & Mezias, S. J. (1992). Localized competition and organizational failure in the Manhattan hotel industry. Administrative Science Quarterly, 37(4), pp. 580-605. 5. Brotherton, B. (2004). Critical success factors in UK budget hotel operations. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 24, pp. 944-969. 6. Chan, B., & Yeung, S. (2009). Hotel development in China: The hoteliers’ perspective. Journal of China Tourism Research, 5(2), 210-223 7. Chon, K.S., Cunill, O.M. (2006): The growth strategies of hotel chains: Best business practices b y leading companies, The Haworth Press, p. 6 8. Clark, J. & Guy, K. (1998). Innovation and competitiveness: A review, Technology Analysis & Strategic Management journal, 10(3), pp. 363-395. 9. Fei Chang Tai, 2006, , Vol. 5, p78-80 10. Guillet, B., Zhang, H., & Gao, B. (2011). Interpreting the mind of multinational hotel investors: Future trends and implications in China. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 30(2) 11. http://travel.cnn.com/shanghai/life/travel-new-gold-mine-china-centric-hotel-brands-918730 12. http://www.ihgplc.com/index.asp?pageid=2 13. http://www.the-financedirector.com/features/featureintercontinental-hotels-group-high-growth-markets-expansion-china-tom-singer/ 14. Johnson G., Scholes K. and Whittington R. (2008) Exploring Corporate Strategy, England: Pearson education limited, 8th edition 15. Johnson, G. and Whittington, R. (2009) Fundamentals of Strategy, Essex: Pearson Education. 16. Kong, H. and Cheung, C. (2009) Hotel development in China: Review of English Language Literature, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 21 (3), pp. 341-355 17. Kotler, P, Keller, K.L, (2006) Marketing Management, New Jersey: Upper Saddle River 18. Lynch R. (2000) Corporate Strategy, England: Pearson education limited 19. Matthews, V. E. (2000) International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 12(2) pp. 114-118 20. Mintzberg, H. (2001) the rise and fall of strategic planning, Essex: Pearson Education 21. Mitchell, R. C., (2005) â€Å"Strategic thinking† 22. Pine, R. and Qi, P. (2004), â€Å"Barriers to hotel chain development in China†, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 16 No. 1, pp. 37-44. 23. Volberda H., Morgan R., Reinmoeller P., Hitt M., Ireland R. and Hoskisson R. (2011) Strategic Concepts and Cases Management: Competitiveness and globalisation, Hampshire: Cengage learning EMEA 24. Whitla, P., P., Walters, G & Davies, H.( 2007). Global strategies in the international hotel industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 26(4), pp. 777-792 25. Zhang, H., Guillet, B., & Gao, W. (2012). What determines multinational hotel groups’ locational investment choice in China? International Journal of Hospitality Management, 31(2)

Mr. Pumblechooks house Essays

Mr. Pumblechooks house Essays Mr. Pumblechooks house Paper Mr. Pumblechooks house Paper Write a commentary on this passage (pg 54- 59), which explains the reasons for Pips distress at the end. This passage is a crucial section of the book, as it is here that Pip realizes how coarse and common he is and where he first feels dissatisfied with Joe and realizes him not to be an idol. At the end of this section, Pip breaks down in tears and kicks the walls. Here I attempt to analyze the reasons for Pips distress at the end. To begin with, Pip is disinclined to go to Ms. Havishams house and play. He has never met Ms. Havisham but regards her as a peculiar, reclusive woman. He spends the night at Mr. Pumblechooks house and leaves for Ms Havishams after a weary morning of arithmetic. Thus he arrives at the house dreading the visit and annoyed with Mr. Pumblechook. The following events further Pips anger, irritation and lower his self-confidence, which results in him breaking down. An arrogant but stunning young girl, Estella, who is about the same age as Pip, haughtily admits Pip into the house. The house is dark and eerie. Sunlight has not entered it for many years. Estella leads Pip through the dark passages of the house before instructing him to go into a particular room. She talks to Pip in a condescending manner and treats him like a child. Pip enters the room, as instructed and encounters Ms. Havisham, who is dressed in her wedding clothes and is adorned with magnificent jewels. He is immediately overcome with fear on seeing her and compares his trepidation with prior frightening incidents he had experienced. The room seems to be stuck in time. The clocks have all stopped working and remain at twenty to nine. Ms. Havishams clothes have faded and are yellow. Pip later notices that everything in the room is worn out. He compares Ms. Havisham to a corpse. Pip is terrified of Ms Havishams peculiar personality. He compares his fear when she touches his heart to that when he encountered the prisoner in the graveyard. Although Ms. Havisham is undoubtedly a queer person, Pips initial attitude towards her is not one of perplexity or surprise but that of fear. This is primarily because he has heard rumours about her eccentric idiosyncrasies, which cause him to dread her even before he has set eyes on her. When he realizes that she is indeed weird, Pip becomes terrified of her. Ms. Havisham then tells Pip that she has sick fancies and asks him to play. Pip feels unequal to this task as his fear of Ms. Havisham and the gloomy atmosphere make him cringe at the very thought of playing. However he is worried that Ms. Havisham will complain to his sister and he will be upbraided.

Environmental Crisis essays

Environmental Crisis essays The Environmental Crisis is it real? IN the section The Environmental Crisis is it real? the author Barbara Ruben tries to explain why media coverage of the environmental situation has been skewed. In the early 90s there was an environmental backlash in the media that tried to downplay the environmental situation. Some articles and books would twist science to their advantage proving their point, using phrases like some scientists say or experts agree to support their claims. But environmental groups did not help the situation when they didnt use the whole truth in their arguments, and in doing so had to be regarded with the same amount of skepticism as politicians. In the medias haste to offer balanced coverage of both sides of the issue, journalists would use any opposing source regardless of its scientific credibility. At times on some issues such as the ozone layer it was so bad that newspaper readers in different cities would be told opposite reports. These reports ranged from: the problem is not that bad, to the problem will fix itself, to the problem is not a problem at all, to the problem is a problem. Some of the obvious flaws if the research of these problems lied in funding. Some of the scientists that claimed other things such as CO2 were damaging the ozone layer, were funded by some of the largest utility trade associations. Such a factor would obviously bias the results of the scientists. Possibly the worst thing about the confusion on environmental issues is that by the time the debate is resolved, it may be too late to fix the problem being disputed. Environmental conditions are deteriorating In this article, adapted from a speech by Al Gore, he sites examples of two major reasons for the degradation to the environment. The first factor he points out is overpopulation and the fact that the pop ...

Theories of the Origin and Evolution of Human Language

Theories of the Origin and Evolution of Human Language The expression language origins refers to theories pertaining to the emergence and development of language in human societies. Over the centuries, many theories have been put forward- and almost all of them have been challenged, discounted, and ridiculed. (See Where Does Language Come From?) In 1866, the Linguistic Society of Paris banned any discussion of the topic: The Society will accept no communication concerning either the origin of language or the creation of a universal language. Contemporary linguist Robbins Burling says that anyone who has read widely in the literature on language origins cannot escape a sneaking sympathy with the Paris linguists. Reams of nonsense have been written about the subject (The Talking Ape, 2005). In recent decades, however, scholars from such diverse fields as genetics, anthropology, and cognitive science have been engaged, as Christine Kenneally says, in a cross-discipline, multidimensional treasure hunt to find out how language began. It is, she says, the hardest problem in science today (The First Word, 2007). Observations on the Origins of Language Divine origin [is the] conjecture that human language originated as a gift from God. No scholar takes this idea seriously today. (R.L. Trask, A Students Dictionary of Language and Linguistics, 1997; rpt. Routledge, 2014) Numerous and varied explanations have been put forth to explain how humans acquired language- many of which date back to the time of the Paris ban. Some of the more fanciful explanations have been given nicknames, mainly to the effect of dismissal by ridicule. The scenario by which language evolved in humans to assist the coordination of working together (as on the pre-historic equivalent of a loading dock) has been nicknamed the yo-heave-ho model. Theres the bow-wow model in which language originated as imitations of animal cries. In the poo-poo model, language started from emotional interjections. During the twentieth century, and particularly its last few decades, discussion of language origins has become respectable and even fashionable. One major problem remains, however; most models about language origins do not readily lend themselves to the formation of testable hypotheses, or rigorous testing of any sort. What data will allow us to conclude that one model or another best explains how language arose? (Norman A. Johnson, Darwinian Detectives: Revealing the Natural History of Genes and Genomes. Oxford University Press, 2007) Physical Adaptations - Instead of looking at types of sounds as the source of human speech, we can look at the types of physical features humans possess, especially those that are distinct from other creatures, which may have been able to support speech production. . . . Human teeth are upright, not slanting outwards like those of apes, and they are roughly even in height. Such characteristics are . . . very helpful in making sounds such as f or v. Human lips have much more intricate muscle lacing than is found in other primates and their resulting flexibility certainly helps in making sounds like p, b, and m. In fact, the b and m sounds are the most widely attested in the vocalizations made by human infants during their first year, no matter which language their parents are using. (George Yule, The Study of Language, 5th ed. Cambridge University Press, 2014) -   In the evolution of the human vocal tract since the split with other apes, the adult larynx descended to its lower position. Phonetician Philip Lieberman has persuasively argued that the ultimate cause of the human lowered larynx is its function in producing different vowels. This is a case of natural selection for more effective communication. . . . Babies are born with their larynxes in a high position, like monkeys. This is functional, as there is a reduced risk of choking, and babies are not yet talking. . . . By about the end of the first year, the human larynx descends to its near-adult lowered position. This is a case of ontogeny recapitulating phylogeny, the growth of the individual reflecting the evolution of the species. (James R. Hurford, The Origins of Language. Oxford University Press, 2014) From Words to Syntax Language-ready modern children learn vocabulary voraciously before they begin to make grammatical utterances several words long. So we presume that in the origins of language a one-word stage preceded our remote ancestors first steps into grammar. The term protolanguage has been widely used to describe this one-word stage, where there is vocabulary but no grammar. (James R. Hurford, The Origins of Language. Oxford University Press, 2014) The Gesture Theory of Language Origin - Speculation about how languages originate and evolve has had an important place in the history of ideas, and it has been intimately linked to questions about the nature of the signed languages of the deaf and human gestural behavior in general. It can be argued, from a phylogenetic perspective, the origin of human sign languages is coincident with the origin of human languages; sign languages, that is, are likely to have been the first true languages. This is not a new perspectiveit is perhaps as old as nonreligious speculation about the way human language may have begun. (David F. Armstrong and Sherman E. Wilcox, The Gestural Origin of Language. Oxford University Press, 2007) - [A]n analysis of the physical structure of visible gesture provides insights into the origins of syntax, perhaps the most difficult question facing students of the origin and evolution of language . . .. It is the origin of syntax that transforms naming into language, by enabling human beings to comment on and think about the relationships between things and events, that is, by enabling them to articulate complex thoughts and, most important, share them with others. . . . We are not the first to suggest a gestural origin of language. [Gordon] Hewes (1973; 1974; 1976) was one of the first modern proponents of a gestural origins theory. [Adam] Kendon (1991: 215) also suggests that the first kind of behaviour that could be said to be functioning in anything like a linguistic fashion would have had to have been gestural. For Kendon, as for most others who consider gestural origins of language, gestures are placed in opposition to speech and vocalization. . . . While we would agree with Kendons strategy of examining the relationships among spoken and signed languages, pantomime, graphic depiction, and other modes of human representation, we are not convinced that placing gesture in opposition to speech leads to a productive framework for understanding the emergence of cognition and language. For us, the answer to the question, If language began as gesture, why did it not stay that way? is that it did. . . . All language, in the words of Ulrich Neisser (1976), is articulatory gesturing. We are not proposing that language began as gesture and became vocal. Language has been and always will be gestural (at least until we evolve a reliable and universal capacity for mental telepathy). (David F. Armstrong, William C. Stokoe, and Sherman E. Wilcox, Gesture and the Nature of Language. Cambridge University Press, 1995) - If, with [Dwight] Whitney, we think of language as a complex of instrumentalities which serve in the expression of thought (as he would sayone might not wish to put it quite like this today), then gesture is part of language. For those of us with an interest in language conceived of in this way, our task must include working out all the intricate ways in which gesture is used in relation to speech and of showing the circumstances in which the organization of each is differentiated from the other as well as the ways in which they overlap. This can only enrich our understanding of how these instrumentalities function. If, on the other hand, we define language in structural terms, thus excluding from consideration most, if not all, of the kinds of gestural usages I have illustrated today, we may be in danger of missing important features of how language, so defined, actually succeeds as an instrument of communication. Such a structural definition is valuable as a matter of convenience , as a way of delimiting a field of concern. On the other hand, from the point of view of a comprehensive theory of how humans do all the things they do by means of utterances, it cannot be sufficient. (Adam Kendon, Language and Gesture: Unity or Duality? Language and Gesture, ed. by David McNeill. Cambridge University Press, 2000) Language as a Device for Bonding [T]he size of human social groups gives rise to a serious problem: grooming is the mechanism that is used to bond social groups among primates, but human groups are so large that it would be impossible to invest enough time in grooming to bond groups of this size effectively. The alternative suggestion, then, is that language evolved as a device for bonding large social groupsin other words, as a form of grooming-at-a-distance. The kind of information that language was designed to carry was not about the physical world, but rather about the social world. Note that the issue here is not the evolution of grammar as such, but the evolution of language. Grammar would have been equally useful whether language evolved to subserve a social or a technological function. (Robin I.A. Dunbar, The Origin and Subsequent Evolution of Language. Language Evolution, ed. by Morten H. Christiansen and Simon Kirby. Oxford University Press, 2003) Otto Jespersen on Language as Play (1922) - [P]rimitive speakers were not reticent and reserved beings, but youthful men and women babbling merrily on, without being so particular about the meaning of each word. . . . They chattered away for the mere pleasure of chattering . . ..   [P]rimitive speech . . . resembles the speech of little baby himself, before he begins to frame his own language after the pattern of the grownups; the language of our remote forefathers was like that ceaseless humming and crooning with which no thoughts are as yet connected, which merely amuses and delights the little one. Language originated as play, and the organs of speech were first trained in this singing sport of idle hours. (Otto Jespersen,Language: Its Nature, Development and Origin, 1922) - It is quite interesting to note that these modern views [on the commonality of language and music and of language and dance] were anticipated in great detail by Jespersen (1922: 392-442). In his speculations about the origin of language, he arrived at the view that referential language must have been preceded by singing, which in its turn was functional in fulfilling the need for sex (or love), on the one hand, and the need for coordinating collective work, on the other. These speculations have, in turn, their origins in [Charles] Darwins 1871 book The Descent of Man: we may conclude from a widely-spread analogy that this power would have been especially exerted during the courtship of the sexes, serving to express various emotions. . . . The imitation by articulate sounds of musical cries might have given rise to words expressive of various complex emotions. (quoted from Howard 1982: 70) The modern scholars mentioned above agree in rejecting the well-known scenario according to which language originated as a system of monosyllabic grunt-like sounds that had the (referential) function of pointing at things. Instead, they propose a scenario according to which referential meaning was slowly grafted upon nearly autonomous melodious sound. (Esa Itkonen, Analogy as Structure and Process: Approaches in Linguistics, Cognitive Psychology and Philosophy of Science. John Benjamins, 2005) Divided Views on the Origins of Language (2016) Today, opinion on the matter of language origins is still deeply divided. On the one hand, there are those who feel that language is so complex, and so deeply ingrained in the human condition, that it must have evolved slowly over immense periods of time. Indeed, some believe that its roots go all the way back to  Homo habilis, a tiny-brained hominid that lived in Africa not far short of two million years ago. On the other, there are those like [Robert] Berwick and [Noam] Chomsky who believe that humans acquired language quite recently, in an abrupt event. Nobody is in the middle on this one, except to the extent that different extinct hominid species are seen as the inaugurators of language’s slow evolutionary trajectory. That this deep dichotomy of viewpoint has been able to persist (not only among linguists, but among paleoanthropologists, archaeologists, cognitive scientists, and others) for as long as anyone can remember is due to one simple fact: at least until the very recent advent of writing systems, language has left no trace in any durable record. Whether any early humans possessed language, or didn’t, has had to be inferred from indirect proxy indicators. And views have diverged greatly on the matter of what is an acceptable proxy. (Ian Tattersall, At the Birth of Language.   The New York Review of Books, August 18, 2016) Also  See Where Does Language Come From?: Five Theories on the Origins of Language Cognitive Linguistics  and  Neurolinguistics

The United States in World War I Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The United States in World War I - Essay Example Later in 1917, America joined the war as they declared war against the Germans. This paper will discuss how the United States joined the war and how it participated in the war. Participation of United States in World War One Since Wilson was a peaceful man, he speedily announced that the United States was neutral in the war, and that it was to remain that way. However, it became very hard and complex for the United States to follow this path of neutrality. In this regard, the Americans could not ignore the development of the war even before joining it officially1. Even though the United States did not join the war immediately it commenced, it is evident that it had prepared for the war early in 1914. In this case, one of the largest ammunition merchants based in the United States, Bethlehem Steel, ordered millions of armoury from the British government. These included millions of weaponry shells, in addition to ten 500-ton submarines. Bethlehem continued with the construction of such alien vessels though they were against the law2. This armoury development continued through to 1915, where the U.S. armoury industry continued to develop, with support form western allied nations. In the meantime, Germany and Britain acted against the operations of the United States, which greatly angered the then president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson3. ... This is one of the operations that the Germans carried out in which president Wilson highly tolerated the Germans and acted with much patience and restraint. Most people believed that the president would declare war on Germany due to its constant attacks5. The Germans continued upsetting the Americans and on January 31, 1917, they resumed unhampered submarine conflict. This operation by the Germans saw the sinking of several U.S vessels, which angered Wilson further. Due to this, President Woodrow pushed for a declaration of war against Germany on April 2, 1917. This was the first time during the war period that United States officially joined the war and the house of Congress approved the move speedily6. After the declaration, most Americans did not receive and embrace the move. Few weeks following the declaration, out of a pool of ten million people, only 73, 000 men volunteered to join the army for the preparation of the war7. By the time the United States joined World War in Apri l 1917, the warfare had been intense in Europe for almost three years. The first instance when the United States contributed to the war was in Marshal Foch’s Allied counter-offensive commenced in July 1917. In this encounter, the Americans played a very significant role. Later in September the same year, the U.S first army of approximately 20 segments won a major victory in the St Michael salient8. The American Expeditionary force (AEF’s) was the major force employed to handle the operations of the First World War. This force first displayed the American flag in May 1917 to indicate that America was fully part of the war. Once, these forces

Health Care Law and Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Health Care Law and Ethics - Essay Example The hospital has duties that it owes to the patients as well as the general public. These responsibilities are obtained from the regulations as well as principle of law that are developed by the court system. The duties are also governed by the internal rules of the organization. This means that in case a corporate fails to honor its duty as per the law, it also carry the liability of the injured party (Westlaw, 2015).. Corporate negligence is a policy that requires hospitals to be liable in case it does not exercise its duty of care to the patients that involves patient safety as well as their well-being in the hospital (Hall et al. 2003). Therefore, corporate negligence happens in the event a hospital fails to do the duties that it owes to the patients and the general public. In the event, the duty is breached and the patient is injured due to that breach, the organization will be responsible for that mess (Hall et al. 2003). Liability is also extended to the nonemployees who work in the hospitals to offer care to the patients. Duty to care The physician in the health care has a duty to provide care to the patient and failure to perform that duty he can be taken to court for legal measures (Picard, 1996). For example, in U.S a person is not required to assist any injured person without a defined relationship such as doctor-patient. In the event, a doctor is at a market and assists a person suffering from heart attack, he will be liable for any injury that the person might have during the assistance.

Assisted suicide Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Assisted suicide - Research Paper Example In physician-assisted suicide, the physician prescribes the lethal dose, knowing the patient intends to end their life. The argument in favor of euthanasia usually justifies itself by citing compassion for the pain and suffering of terminally ill or respect for â€Å"patient autonomy.† (Hendin, 2004). The online Medical Dictionary defines â€Å"patient autonomy† as: â€Å"Patient Autonomy: The right of patients to make decisions about their medical care without their health care provider trying to influence the decision. Patient autonomy does allow for health care providers to educate the patient but does not allow the health care provider to make the decision for the patient.† These two bases are often made ineffective. The physician may have the best intentions in their heart for the patient and yet harm the patient unknowingly. And on the other side, patient autonomy is useless if the patients are not made aware of the options available to them by a physician who is trained to do so. Although it might be true that the concerned physician is indeed compassionate to his or her patient’s needs, it is also possible that the physician does not know best. It has often been seen that due to lack of experience or skill, the physician has misdiagnosed the patient’s illness and perhaps sent someone who could have been cured to his or her death. This argument is meant to be an assertion of the patient’s right to choose death over life. But can any member of society, one who is inextricably connected to other members of the society, really be allowed to exercise their freedom of choice in any manner they choose? If that was true, it would be completely acceptable for us to say, murder our neighbor just because we chose to. In its favor, Peter Rogatz in â€Å"The Positive Virtues of Physician-Assisted Suicide† states that human dignity is often at stake for patients. Even if they are not terminally ill or are not suffering from

Freedom of Association in Hong Kong, Great Britain and The United Essay

Freedom of Association in Hong Kong, Great Britain and The United States - Essay Example The paper tells that in Hong Kong, the principle piece of legislation which details the country's position on Freedom of Association is the Societies Ordinance. This ordinance is concerned with the registration of societies, and the rights of societies, so it implicates Hong Kong's Freedom of Association. In order to fully understand the impact of this piece of legislation, it has to be broken down in pieces and analyzed in this manner. First of all, Section 5 of this law states that societies within Hong Kong must register with the Societies Officer within 1 month of the formation of that particular society. The application form for registering must include the name of the society, along with the society's purpose. That said, societies may be exempt from the registration requirement if they are to be established for the benefit of a religion, a charity, or social and recreational purpose. The Societies Officer may refuse to register a society if the Office believes that refusing to register the society is in the interest of the people or the government, in that the society somehow implicates national security, public safety, public order, or the rights and freedoms of others. Furthermore, the Societies Officer may refuse to register a society which has connections with the government of Taiwan, or has a connection with a political organization in Taiwan. The Societies Officer may also cancel the registration of a society, or the exemption from registration for a society, for the same reasons why The Societies Officer may deny an initial application. ... l its case to the Chief Executive in Council.8 If the society appeals, then the society may function during the period of time that the Chief Executive in Council is considering the appeal.9 If the Societies Officer cancels a registration, the society has a right to appeal this as well.10 What the effect is of not being able to register with the Societies Officer, or having a registration cancelled, is draconian – that society would have to cease operations, and if they do not, the officers of the society are subject to fine or imprisonment.11 Moreover, â€Å"triad,† or criminal, societies are automatically deemed to be unlawful.12 Discussion Hong Kong In looking at this portion of the Societies Ordinance, it becomes clear that there is not truly freedom of association in Hong Kong. A number of elements in the ordinance stand out. First, the Societies Officer appears to have a great degree of power in deciding who gets registered as a society and who does not. The Socie ties Officer must only decide that national security, public safety, public order, or the rights and freedoms of others is implicated by the formation of a particular society, and this is deemed as a reason to deny that society the benefits of registration.13 These exceptions are vague and overly broad, and seems like a great number of legitimate societies could somehow fit into one of the categories above. For instance, if a society is deemed to infringe on the rights and freedoms of others, what does that mean? What rights? What freedoms? Also, how does the Societies Officer determine if public order or public safety are implicated? National security may seem obvious, in that if a society is formed which is in opposition to national security goals, then this society may not be registered, but even

Module 3 and Module 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Module 3 and Module 4 - Essay Example Various activities in the organization such as coaching and developing a team, implementation of a new software system as well as helping with strategic planning requires changes. The ultimate goal of most business consultants is changing something for the better when conducting fact-finding and training as well as evaluating programs (Brooks & Edwards, 2014). Changes process in the organization is more emotional-laden, and, therefore, professional consultants are required to ensure it takes place efficiently. Change process is never an easy task. Most clients are always opposed to having their worlds reordered in manner that is out of their control and influences their well-being. Although the change is often done for the better, initiating it in a business organization requires the commitment of the consultancy department. Studies have indicated that negative emotions in response to the ongoing change process in the organization are often linked to negative perceptions such as an insecure future, inadequate working condition and inadequate treatment by the organizations. The impact is likely to be employee withdrawal, as well as employee trust (Brooks & Edwards, 2014). It is the work of a consultant to ensure that employees gain confidence in the change process, as well as the executives. Change is considered a challenge to the human brain by the various psychiatrist and neuroscientists. For a change to take place, the action center of the brain has to be activated. The human brain has to process forces against change, as well as forces for change. Resistant to change is often associated with the missing emotions and rarely an absent thought process. People tend increase the values of their choices after developing them. The reward center of the brain is often activated in favor of the decisions that have been made by individuals rather than those that have been rejected. In addition, the

Outline and explain the consumer buying decision-making process and Essay

Outline and explain the consumer buying decision-making process and its influencing factors - Essay Example The foundation of consumer behaviour is based up a relationship that is established with the provider of a product or service. The level of that relationship, of course, is dependent upon the type of product or service and the connection between the consumer and the product that is linked within the transaction is central to understanding consumer behaviour. 2. Consumer Behaviour Relationship marketing is intended to create a trust between the consumer and the brand which will in turn help the marketer to develop a better understanding with of the consumer’s wants and needs. The marketer can then create a more substantial response to the consumer’s need, thus creating a mutually beneficial relationship (Raju 2009, p. 27). Much of the relationship marketing that is done is not based upon rational concepts such as quality and value, but on emotional concepts. In Western countries, as an example, convenience foods that are served quickly have become a part of the cultural landscape, their part within the Western diet an integral addition in food consumption and consequentially, as an example of consumer behaviour that is often based upon brand loyalty associated with emotional context over other more rational factors such as quality or good taste. For emerging nations, the shift from traditional to global cultures is happening at an advanced rate, thus creating a bit of confusion within socio-cultural understanding as Western concepts of aesthetics push the consumer to participate with the event of purchasing foods from these sources with the relationship developing at a different pace (Raju 2009, p. 27). McDonald’s in the U.K. (Daily Mail Reporter 2009) Rational factors, such as awareness, price, and income, are key factors that consumers will consider when making a purchase based on economic decision making processes. Brands become a source of comfort in reducing buyer anxiety when the assessments that are insinuated upon a product by the co nnotation of a brand mythology create ease of the unknown within the consumer. The concept of the brand will allow the consumer to make a decision based upon the attributes that are conferred upon the product (Heding, Knudtzen, and Bjerre 2009, p. 33). Most products are developed with branding that will reach beyond the rational and attach to the emotional needs of the consumer. In the brand-consumer exchange relationship, the exchange has the primary goal of achieving the transaction, a onetime event in which a good is purchased based upon consumer perception of the economic rationale for the value of the transaction (Heding Knudtzen and Bjerre 2009, p. 34). There are four major categories that can be used to determine the factors that affect consumer behaviour. These can be broken down into social, personal, psychological, and situational (Drummond and Ensor 2005, p. 289). These categories can be combined in various different ways in order to explain consumer behavior. Some factor s will have a social, psychological set of elements, where another set of factors will include social personal elements. However, there are distinct characteristics that will influence behaviour in regard to these four categories. 2.1 Social Social factors will include elements such as culture, subculture, social class, reference groups, family and roles and status (Durmmond and Ensor 2005, p. 289). Culture can be identified by a series of elements that are associated with values, ideas, attitudes and other

Module 3 and Module 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Module 3 and Module 4 - Essay Example Various activities in the organization such as coaching and developing a team, implementation of a new software system as well as helping with strategic planning requires changes. The ultimate goal of most business consultants is changing something for the better when conducting fact-finding and training as well as evaluating programs (Brooks & Edwards, 2014). Changes process in the organization is more emotional-laden, and, therefore, professional consultants are required to ensure it takes place efficiently. Change process is never an easy task. Most clients are always opposed to having their worlds reordered in manner that is out of their control and influences their well-being. Although the change is often done for the better, initiating it in a business organization requires the commitment of the consultancy department. Studies have indicated that negative emotions in response to the ongoing change process in the organization are often linked to negative perceptions such as an insecure future, inadequate working condition and inadequate treatment by the organizations. The impact is likely to be employee withdrawal, as well as employee trust (Brooks & Edwards, 2014). It is the work of a consultant to ensure that employees gain confidence in the change process, as well as the executives. Change is considered a challenge to the human brain by the various psychiatrist and neuroscientists. For a change to take place, the action center of the brain has to be activated. The human brain has to process forces against change, as well as forces for change. Resistant to change is often associated with the missing emotions and rarely an absent thought process. People tend increase the values of their choices after developing them. The reward center of the brain is often activated in favor of the decisions that have been made by individuals rather than those that have been rejected. In addition, the

States Pursuing Empires Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

States Pursuing Empires - Essay Example political control by some political societies over the effective sovereignty of other political societies and that it can be achieved by force, by political collaboration, by economic, social or cultural dependence. (19) There are numerous reasons why states pursue empire-building. Economic motives however is the most applicable among these. The case of Western Europe, for instance, highlights this with the intensified political, economic, and military competition among rivals for resources, which by nature were scarce at any given time in any given place. (Deng 1999, p. 207) Here, European states and chartered companies such as the British East India Company and the Portuguese Estado da India, among others, sought new sources of wealth, which resulted to the sudden unleashing of market power, the spectacular growth in trade and the continuous expansion of overseas colonies. In addition, a number of great thinkers endorse empire-building as a means defending a country’s economic and political interests. Notoriously, even Karl Marx agreed in The Communist Manifesto that the gun is the best way to make the point when capitalism encountered â€Å"barbarians†. (Marx & Engels 1963) Machiavelli’s notion of necessita in his Discourse, also fundamentally supports empire building or the expansion of territories as necessary once its dominion had been extended beyond a certain scope. For him, it is important to expand – so much so that, as is well known, Machiavelli measures the quality of different possible constitutions for cities by how suitable they are to this end. (Bock, Skinner & Viroli 1990, 37) In his discussion of the Roman Empire, Machiavelli has argued that expansive government is pushed forward by the dialectic of the social and political forces of the Republic. There are those who criticize empire building including its modern version – imperialism. Hobson, for example, in Imperialism: A Study, wrote that empire-building denies many traditional

The Economic Reform of China Essay Example for Free

The Economic Reform of China Essay In the late 1970s, China initiated a full-scale economic reform in rural and urban parts of the country, because of the economic reform China has transformed itself from a centrally planned economy to an emerging market economy and at the same time its economy has achieved nearly a 9.5 percent average growth rate. The pace of China’s growth is not unique — Korea, Singapore and other economies in East Asia grew as fast in the 1970s and 1980s. What is unprecedented historically is its scale. The size of China’s population, market and geography, and the dynamism that flowed from economic reform and transformation are what define its impact on the rest of the world. Despite a still relatively low per capita income, the sheer size of the Chinese economy has made China a significant player in world production, consumption, trade and increasingly international finance and the environment. The historic decision on â€Å"reform and opening-up† made at the Third Plenum of the CCP Eleventh Party Congress on December 18-22, 1978, marked the beginning of China’s reform era. At the time, China had a clear desire to increase productivity and raise living standards by reforming its economic system and structure, but it did not have a clear objective of what the new system would be like. Furthermore, the reform did not have a well-designed strategy or policy measures. China’s economic reform was often distinguished from the market reform of the Soviet Union and many former socialist countries in Eastern Europe. First, unlike the case of the Soviet Union, China did not change its political system and was able to maintain political stability. Second, China’s reform process did not have a blueprint. Each step was taken after drawing the experience of the previous step. As Deng put it, the process was like a person walking across the river by feeling the rocks in each step. This characteristic was necessitated by the lack of knowledge of what kind of market economy was suitable for China on the part of the leaders. They had  to learn by experimentation. Secondly, experimentation helped convince the party members of the validity of the new institutions. The slogan â€Å"to build an economic system with Chinese characteristics† was introduced in the early 1980’s and remains in constant use in the early 2000’s. â€Å"Chinese characteristics† mean the results of experimentation that are shown to work for China. This slogan also implies that the Chinese leaders are pragmatic and not confined to a set of old Communist ideology. Recall Deng Xiaoping’s famous statement, â€Å"it does not matter whether a cat is black or white as long as it catches mice.† Pragmatism over ideology is an important trait of China’s reform process. China’s reform measures that resulted from experimentation include the â€Å"household responsibility system† in agriculture, autonomy and the †contract responsibility system† for state industrial enterprises, the free economic zones as experiments for foreign trade and investment policies, and the introduction of share-holding companies in Jiang Zemin’s report of September 1997 partly as a result of the successful experience of some small and medium sized state enterprises that was initiated by the individual enterprises themselves. One advantage of China’s economic condition over that of the Soviet Union at the early stage of reform was that the Chinese farmers knew how to farm as private farmers. Collective farming was introduced under the Commune System only in 1958, twenty years before the reform. The farmers still remembered how to farm and they also had some practice in 1963-1965 during the president of Liu Shaoqi who introduced some elements of private farming after the economic collapse of the Great Leap Forward Movement of 1958-62. On the other hand collective farming had been introduced in the 1930’s, sixty years before the reform of the Soviet economy in the early 1990’s. Russian farmers did not know how to farm as individual farmers. The large increase of agricultural productivity in China served as the basis for further economic growth and reform. In 1977, Deng Xiaoping made it clear that performance should be the main consideration in the economic and social advancement of individuals. In  other words, professionalism and results should count. Furthermore, he emphasized the importance of academics and scientists for the future of the economic development and the international standing of China. He thought that this should be more widely recognized by the Chinese people. During 1978, Deng Xiaoping’s reform philosophy gained growing support in the CCP and its desirability was accepted in December 1978 at the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee. This session proved to be a turning point in the direction of China’s policies for its economic and social development. It was decided at this meeting that the system and methods of economic management in China would be transformed; economic co-operation with other countries would be expanded; special efforts would be made to adopt the world’s advanced technologies and equipment; and that scientific and educational work would be greatly strengthened to meet the needs of modernization. The importance of the four modernizations (modernizing agriculture, industry, national defense, science and technology) was emphasized. 2.0. Meaning of reform 2.1. Agriculture Beginning in 1978 several major institutional reforms have been undertaken. First is the adoption of the household responsibility system in agriculture. Collective farming under the Commune system introduced by Mao in 1958 in the Great Leap Forward Movement was being practiced. Farmers worked as a team consisting of some forty persons. A farmer could not get extra reward by working harder because all members of the team would share the additional output due to his additional labor. Chinese farmers deserved credit for initiating reform in agriculture. Some farmers realized that if they farmed separately the team could produce more in total and still delivered the same amount of output required by the procurement system for government distribution of agricultural products in the economy. The Commune system was changed as the team was reorganized by distributing its land to individual households to farm separately, each getting the additional reward for additional labor after delivering a fixed amount of  output to the team for delivery to the government procurement agencies. Such practice was introduced and spread in many areas of the country. In 1978, Deng recognized its beneficial effects and adopted it as a national policy and called it the â€Å"household responsibility system.† Agricultural output increased rapidly in China. The farmers became richer. The success of reform in agriculture served as the foundation of reform in other sectors not only by increasing the supply of food but also by changing the ideological thinking of Communist Party members in support of a market economy. 2.2. State-owned Enterprises Reform of Chinese state enterprises is an example of a gradual approach to economic reform through experimentation. The first was to give state enterprises some autonomy in production, marketing and investment decisions rather than simply carrying out the decisions under a system of central planning. The experiment began in late 1978 with six enterprises in Sichuan Province. By the end of June 1980, 6,600 industrial enterprises that were allowed to make such autonomous decisions produced about 45 percent of the total output of all state industrial enterprises. The second was to make them financially independent, allowing them to keep the earnings as their own profits after paying taxes to the state, rather than as revenue belonging to the government. The third was to introduce a responsibility system similar to the household responsibility system in agriculture, first to selected parts of the enterprise under the important reform Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party in October 1984, and later to an enterprise in 1987. Under the responsibility system, a part of an enterprise was allowed to keep the remaining profit after surrendering a fixed amount to the enterprise controlling it. In 1987, further reform of the state enterprises was carried out under the â€Å"contract responsibility system.† After paying a fixed tax to the government having jurisdiction over it, each state enterprise was allowed to keep the remaining profit for distribution to its staff and workers and for capital investment. Within one year in 1987, almost all state enterprises were under the new â€Å"contract responsibility system.† The idea of such a system sounded appealing to the economic officials who designed it, as witnessed by the  author who participated at meetings with these officials. However, the incentives provided under the system turned out to be less impressive than expected. First, the so-called fixed levy to each enterprise was not really fixed but was subject to change depending on the profits of the enterprise. The tax was increased when the profits were higher than expected. This partly destroyed the incentives provided by a fixed levy, which would not interfere with the optimal marginal cost and benefit calculations of the enterprise. Secondly, the additional revenue was not put into good use. The managers could not receive sufficient compensation because a high salary to management was socially and ideologically unacceptable. When profits were high the workers received additional compensation in the form of durable goods such as color TV sets and refrigerators because money wage had to follow a fixed scale nationally. The additional reward was not dependent on additional effort. Third, investment policy might not be optimal in the sense that risk taking by a manager was not sufficiently compensated. Forth, the quality of the managers was poor in general because they were not trained under a free market system. Bureaucracy and personal connections determined the selection of manager to a considerable extent. Significant steps on state enterprise reform were taken in the late 1990’s as stated in the important report of Jiang Zemin to the Congress of the Communist Party in September 1997. China government was to give up ownership and control of small and medium sized state enterprises while keeping the control of large enterprises. Shares were issued for a small or medium enterprise, to be purchased by its managers and staff. The state would give up most of its shares. This would help an infusion of capital to the enterprise. In many instances, the incentives provided to the workers who share a part of the profits were significant. The large enterprises can be transformed to various forms depending on the circumstances, but most of these enterprises were to become shareholding companies of one kind or another, with the state controlling the majority shares. From my point of view, changing the form of ownership on paper alone could not and does not make the enterprise efficient. First, the management itself may not be improved. The lack of qualified managers of modern corporations in China cannot be resolved by such reform. Second, many managers were still selected  by personal connections under the Chinese bureaucratic system. One manager told the author that the new system did not change the supervision and authority his former bosses. These same people now became members of the board under the new system. Some managers also complained that the time spent on committee and board meetings increased under the new system. In some instances, the government was willing to sell the entire enterprise to a foreign investor, especially a person of Chinese decent living in Hong Kong or a South Eastern Asian country. There are examples of successful transformation of large state enterprises. 2.3. The Banking and Financial Sector When the planning system was being changed from â€Å"compulsory† planning to â€Å"guidance† planning as stipulated by the October 1984 Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party a macro-economic control mechanism was to be introduced which required a more modern banking system. Before economic reform, the People’s Bank was a mono-bank that had branches to accept deposits from the public. Its other functions were to issue currency and to extend loans to state enterprises according to the need specified and approved by the planning authority. It had no authority to decide on these loans. Commercial banks did not exist in the sense of being able to extend credits to enterprises according to the criterion of profitability. In 1983 the People’s Bank was nominally transformed into a central bank. Specialized banks, including the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China and the People’s Construction Bank of China, were established and given some autonomy in the extension of credits in the early 1980’s in the same way that state industrial enterprises were given autonomy to make production decisions. This led to the rapid increase in the supply of currency in 1984 by 50% and an inflation rate of 8.8% by the overall retail price index in 1985. Reforms of the banking system to serve a market economy (as the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party declared China’s economy to be a socialist market economy in October 1992) progressed gradually in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. In November 1993, the Third Plenum of the 14th Central Committee of the Communist Party decided to accelerate reform of the financial sector by giving more independence to the People’s Bank as a central bank and transforming the specialized banks to  commercial banks. Two significant dates are March 18, and May 10, 1995, when the People’s Congress passed respectively the Law on The People’s Bank of China and the Commercial Banking Law. Although there the provisions of these laws were not actually carried out in practice, the laws provide a blueprint for the banking system and serve as a convenient framework for us to understand the working of the system. Banking reform is one important example to demonstrate the rule that institutions cannot be changed by legislation alone. Besides the banking system, other financial institutions were changed. In 1981 the government formed the China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC) to attract foreign capital. Similar investment trusts under the sponsorship of provincial governments followed. Stock markets in Shanghai and Shenzhen were established in the early 1990s. As pensions were provided under a new social security system, pension funds became an important source for savings and investment. The domestic insurance business, after being suspended for over twenty years, was reopened. Foreign insurance companies have been allowed to operate in China. The financial sector can be expected to expand further as foreign companies enter under the provisions of the WTO. 2.4. Education system Concerning the education system, while China had a combination of private and public schools at all levels before 1949, the education system was drastically changed in the early 1950’s. All schools were brought under government control, with private schools and universities taken over by public educational organizations. Higher education was modeled after the Soviet education system. Universities were broken up into colleges specializing in technical training. The special technical schools were administered by the government units requiring the services of their graduates. The operation of the education system was seriously interrupted by the Cultural Revolution, with many colleges and universities closed and school enrollment drastically reduced. Ever since economic reform started China’s educational system quickly returned to normal and began to improve. Universities were opened after the interruptions of the Cultural Revolution. Students were given opportunities to take examinations to enter universities and graduate schools. Intellectuals who had been criticized and mistreated were restored to their previous status and given due respect. People were eager to learn. Students seized upon their educational opportunities and studied diligently. The population as a whole wanted to absorb new ideas and knowledge from the outside world since they had been deprived of such knowledge when China was closed to the outside world. Foreign scholars and professionals of all kinds were invited to China to lecture, in schedules so full that even enthusiastic lecturers became exhausted. The Ministry of Education and the State Education Commission from 1985 to 1998, sponsored programs to cooperate with foreign educational institutions to improve education in China. At the same time individual universities were given the freedom to invite foreign scholars to lecture and they did so effectively. Students were sent abroad to study, and were permitted to go abroad by their own initiatives. Modern textbooks were adopted in university courses. Efforts were made to translate modern texts into Chinese and to write new texts in Chinese. As time went on, the skill in modern languages especially English improved rapidly and texts in English began to be adopted. 3.0. Conclusion In summary economic reform consisted of changes in agriculture system, reform of state enterprises, reform of banking and financial sector, and education system, which the changes taking place step by step depending on the results of and experience gained in previous steps. Many shortcomings of the China’s economic reform remain, but rapid economic growth continues. China’s economic development cannot be understood without taking into account its historical, political and cultural background. Based on the above discussion, we may learn seven major lessons from Chinese economic reforms. First, the most important principle for a successful transition from a planned economy to a market economy is pragmatism. Second, the incremental approach generates the momentum from earlier reform success and thus provides a political basis for the further reforms. Third, successful reforms rely on political support, which in turn depend on delivering tangible benefits to a large majority of the population. In addition, there are high international hopes that China will continue to be an engine  contributing to global economic growth for some time to come and signs of economic recovery in China have strengthened global economic confidence in recovery from the current economic recession.