Designing for the Future Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Designing for the Future - Essay Example According to Professor David Leon, epidemiologist of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, WHO (World Health Organisation) Health for All Database, and the Human Mortality Database, statistical analysis of the UK’s life expectancy and lifespan change is the research topic of relevant epidemiological studies. Mortality data reveals â€Å"†¦Britains are living longer than ever before. Average life expectancy has increased to eighty years old – eight years higher than the 1970s† (Leon, 2011, p. 1). The ageing population of Western Europe, including the UK, has experienced steady increases since the 1970s. â€Å"One reason for the increase and change in lifespan and life expectancy is the decline of deaths due to cardiovascular disease. However, there has been an increase in obesity† (Leon, 2011, p. 1) The Foresight Ageing Population Panel is a collaborative of the voices of the businesses, government, and the sciences that address the threats and opportunities that the UK may face over the next ten to twenty years. â€Å"Foresight is about being ready for the future. The future is shaped by the decisions we make today†¦we will encounter old age†¦it is important to be concerned. If we wait for the future to happen to us, the UK will miss out on opportunities for wealth creation and better quality of life† (Foresight Ageing Population Panel, 2000, p. 6). Over the span of thirty years, the UK’s population will change significantly. â€Å"The postwar baby boom generation will age first into middle age and then into older age. Rapid changes in lifespan and life expectancy of the ageing population means that successive generations of older people are living much longer† (p. 6). There are advantages in acknowledging the opportunities and challenges of changes in lifespan of the UK ageing population. By planning for demographic change of the population, economic, social,

The McLawsuit Essay Example for Free

The McLawsuit Essay FAST FOOD INDUSTRY OVERVIEW McDonald has spread across the globe, and emerging markets are one of the fastest growing areas in the industry. But the fast food industry is facing its challenges, especially in the United States. From rising food costs, economic recession and changing perceptions about health, many fast food franchises have been under great pressure. Despite of the challenge, the rise in disposable income of middle class consumers and the demand for quick bites in emerging economies are expected to drive the demand for fast food. In addition, increasing number of workingwomen and their changing lifestyles is another factor contributing to the growth of this market. The fast food industry has been adopting new practices and offering new products. There is plenty of demand for a quick bite at all times of the day in modern society. However, fast food contains high amounts of trans-fats and saturated fats, which consequently hamper human health as they lack nutritional value. This factor is expected to have an adverse effect on the growth of the market. Thus, an amplifying demand for healthy fast food such as salads is expected to open the new opportunities for the fast food market. Fast food is expected to rapidly gain market in Asia Pacific and Europe due to its affordability, easy accessibility and huge investment in promotional activities by leading players of the industry. Currently, burgers constitute the largest fast food segment and are expected to maintain their escalation in the upcoming years. Some of the key participants in fast food industry include McDonald, KFC, Bugger King, Pizza Hut and Dominos among others. In addition, a large number of local fast food vendors are present worldwide. CHALLENGES There are challenges for the fast food industry in recent years that have been pressuring profit margins. The industry as a whole has proven robust enough to withstand these challenges, though some players have done better than others. Over the last decade there has been increased focus on the quality of food served in fast food restaurants. Typically highly processed and industrial in preparation, much of the food is high in fat and has been shown to increase body mass index (BMI) and cause weight gain. Popular books such as Fast Food Nation and documentaries like Super Size Me have increased public awareness of the negative health consequences of fast food. Fast food  companies have responded by adopting healthier choices and have had some measure of success, but the shadow of bad press still hangs over the industry. Rising commodity prices have also significantly crunched many fast food franchises. With food and beverage inputs making up approximately 33% of costs, higher prices for livestock, corn, wheat and more have seriously shrunk margins over the past decade. In such a fiercely competitive space it is impossible to force a price increase on customers, so profit margins are often south of 10%. The recent economic recession did lower commodity prices, but the recession brought on its own complications, and now prices for commodity inputs are on the rise again. Fast food had been thought to be largely recession proof, and indeed the industry did not suffer nearly as much as other discretionary spending sectors. In fact, there was some increase in consumer visits as people choose cheaper fast food options over fast casual or traditional restaurant choices. But overall, the recession hurt spending, and consumers overall purchased less with each trip. Fast food franchises fared reasonably well but still felt some pain. Market saturation is also a relevant issue in the fast food industry today, at least in the U.S. There is a McDonald franchise is in almost every town, and it usually sits in a row with several competitors. With so many competitors who offer similar products there are fewer customers per location. Increasingly fast food restaurants are also losing market share to fast casual, a relative newcomer in the restaurant space. OPPORTUNITIES Busy citizens still need quick meal options, and fast food restaurants are fighting these challenges with gusto. Now offering healthy choices to battle the stigma of unhealthy food, some quick service restaurants now focus on fresh or organic products. From franchises focused solely on salads or healthy wraps to the lower calorie options offered at traditional burger franchises, consumers are able to make better choices. Fast food franchises are also focusing on expanding into new product lines, such as the coffee initiative in the McCafe. Intended to offer competition to Startbucks, McDonalds is luring customers back into their stores, hoping they will purchase food as well. Many franchises have been exploring other meal times such as breakfast and the mid-afternoon snack for growth opportunities and to increase real estate utilization. The industry is most effectively  battling saturation within the United States by creating a much more diverse range of offerings so that there ar e many more types of quick service restaurants than ever before. The fast food industry is still a large and diverse industry with plenty of opportunity. Challenge is being answered with innovation, and fast food franchises are responding with new offerings, pricing and strategies to lure consumers back in. Non-traditional fast food franchises are springing up and gaining traction, and more creativity will always be welcome! Consumers are now on the look-out for new ways to eat fast and healthy. And as the industry continues to evolve and the economy strengthens, fast food franchise profitability will continue to grow. Regulatory environment A study recently suggests government regulation of fast food could slow or reverse the damaging effects of the obesity epidemic, if government steps in to regulate global marketing of fast foods such as burgers, chips and sugar drinks like soda, in a report to be released Monday according to Al-Jazeera America. Unless governments take steps to regulate their economies, the invisible hand of the market will continue to promote obesity worldwide with disastrous consequences for future public health and economic productivity. ­ There have been pressures that call for governments to do more to prevent obesity from occurring initially, rather than risking the high human and economic costs of treating the health effects of obesity such as diabetes, heart diseases and cancer. The public also urges governments should regulate fast food to prevent and hinder obesity by developing policies that include economic incentives to growers to sell healthy fresh foods, and disincentives to industrie s that develop and sell highly processed foods and soda. Furthermore, the public suggests governments should reduce subsidies to farmers, growers and companies who use excessive amounts of fertilizers, pesticides, chemical and antibiotics. Also, fast-food advertising geared to children and youth markets should be regulated. GOVERNMENT ESPONSE In the United States, there are employment and labor laws that govern all businesses when it comes to the treatment of employees. The U.S. Department of Labor prescribes regulations to protect workers’ rights, specifically those who are young or those may become victims of discrimination. There are  several laws that regulate employers in the U.S. The law that are most important to businesses in the restaurant industry are the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The lack of public awareness illustrates the challenge workers face in building wider support. Workers participating in the strikes represent a tiny fraction of the industry. And fast-food jobs are known for their high turnover rates and relatively young workers. The steps of interventions by government might be regulating unhealthy food marketing; limiting the density of fast food outlets; pricing reforms to decrease fruit/ve getable prices and increase unhealthy food prices; and improved food labelling. The most commonly supported pre-selected interventions were related to food marketing and service. Primary production and retail sector interventions were least supported. The dominant themes were the need for whole-of-government and collaborative approaches; the influence of the food industry; conflicting policies/agenda; regulatory challenges; the need for evidence of effectiveness; and economic disincentives. .

How has management theory advanced over the past hundred years

How has management theory advanced over the past hundred years Are the structures and ideas of management theorists of the past still analogous to the work done by modern managers of today? Management theorists of the past have labeled three clear categories to help define the job description of a manager. These are management functions, roles and skills, which were identified as being highly influential to the success of the manager, defined as someone whose primary responsibility is to carry out the management process. This essay looks at the work of three management theorists, Henri Fayol, Robert Katz and Henry Mintzberg and how their work compares to todays modern day managers. Henri Fayol, a French industrialist, believed that management could be taught and was therefore always looking on improving the quality of management. In 1916 he wrote the book administration industrielle et gà ©nà ©rale which presented his views on the proper management of organisations and the people within them. This is known as administrative management, which is a style of management that focuses on managing the total organisation. Fayol believed that there were five management functions in which a manager must employ on his business to achieve success. These five functions were planning, organising, commanding, co-ordination and controlling. This is the functional view of management as it is on a day-to-day level. It describes the functions that a manager must carry out on a daily basis, which Fayol realised when working as a successful managing director of a mining company. He saw there was a need for managers to be trained due to the increasing complexity and growth of orga nisations over the world. The Planning function looks at the managers ability to look ahead, taking into account the operating environment, forecasting what is possible and provide direction for the firms employees. Secondly the organising function is a key management function that is defined as the process of assigning tasks, allocating resources and arranging activities to implement plans. Managers have to group and deploy resources, either human resources such as employees or equipment resources such as machines, in the best possible way to achieve the goals of the organisation. Thirdly Fayol identified was for a manager to command, which is to lead, select and evaluate to get the best work towards the plan. Managers are required to do these tasks as it helps them to achieve the task that they had planned. The fourth function Henri Fayol identified was coordination, which is to fit diverse efforts together and ensure information is shared and problems are solved. Finally, Fayol i dentified the fifth aspect of management functions as controlling, which is the process of measuring performance and taking action to ensure desired results. The manager has to ensure that the functions of planning, leading and organising take place in such a way hat they are controlled through timely, accurate and valid feedback based on a transparent measurement strategy. Fayols management functions are focused on the key relationships between a businesses personnel and its management. Harvard Scholar Robert Katz classified three essential skills for managers of a firm, technical skills, human skills and conceptual skills. Technical skills is the ability to use a special proficiency or expertise in you work, for example skills learnt through a formal education such as University or TAFE and then further development through on the job training. These skills are very important in low-level management where the manager is still hands on in the business. Human Skills is the ability to work well in cooperation with other people, this is highly important at all levels of management as it shows a spirit of trust, enthusiasm and involvement in interpersonal relationships. An important concept of human skills is emotional intelligence, which is the ability to manage ourselves and our relationships effectively which Katz identified as influential to a firms success due to the high interpersonal nature of business. Finally, there are Conceptual skills, which is the ability t o think analytically and solve complex problems. Katz identified this skill as part of the three essential skills of managers as all good managers have the ability to view situations broadly and to solve problems to the benefit of everyone else. Managers with conceptual skills have the ability to break down problems into smaller parts, which is important for top level managers but is relatively unimportant for low lever managers. Katzs three essential skills of management are a requirement for business that want to be success in modern day society. Management theorist Henry Mintzberg in his book the nature of managerial work (Mintzberg, H 1973, The nature of management, New York) written in 1973 offers an observation of corporate chief executives. He says there was no break in the pace of activity during office hours. The mailà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ telephone callsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and meetingsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ accounted for almost every minute from the moment these executives entered their offices in the morning until they departed in the evenings (Mintzberg, H 1973, The nature of management, New York). In todays modern era of technology this would add email to the list of preoccupations a manager deals with on a daily basis. Mintzberg had realised the importance of how a manager uses his controlling powers and he recognised three important managerial roles in which a manager must successfully perform in order for the manager to be able to run the business at its most efficient level. The three roles in which Mintzberg recognized were int erpersonal, informational and decisional roles which can be further split into ten more specific roles. Interpersonal roles are how a manager interacts with other people, both within the business like employees and external to the firm like customers. Interpersonal roles for managers can be further separated into whether the manager is a figurehead, leader or liason in the firm. Informational roles are how a manager exchanges and processes information which the managers role is then to either monitor, disseminator and spokesperson for the firm. Finally, decisional roles which is how a manager uses information in decision making and the managers role is then to be an entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator or negotiator depending on the scenarios at hand for the manager. The roles of management are all interconnected and all managers must be prepared to perform the in order to see the best from their business. These management theorists however wrote their management functions, roles and skills in the 20th century, so are they still relevant in our 21st century business environment? An internal endeavor made by Google, the worlds largest search engine, looked at what the eight most important traits for a manager to have to be successful. The use of the article 8 traits of stellar managers, defined by googlers, written by Judith Aquino helps to link the management theories of Henri Fayol, Robert Katz and Henry Mintzberg to modern day managers of the 21st century. The article, written on the 15 of March 2011, brings a modern day link to the management theorists of the 20th century. The importance of managers having technical skills in the workplace is seen by its inclusion in the 8 traits of stellar management. It is important for managers to have these skills as they then have the ability to understand the different challenges and help their employees solve the problems that they are facing. This important trait for managers is linked to Robert Katzs management skills. Katz believed that one of his three essential skills for managers were that they had technical skills. This is seen as an important trait for managers of the 21st century as employees want to be managed by someone who knows what they are doing and is able to give them advice on how to solve the various problems that they are likely to face in the day to day life of the business. With the survey showing that Katzs technical skills are still an important trait which is admired in the business workplace makes me wonder whether the three management theorists, Robert Katz, Henri Fayol and Henry Mintz bergs work is still relevant in a 21st century business context. Former CEO of General Electric, Jack Welch said good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision and relentlessly drive it in competition. Google employees have recognised the importance of the business and its manager having a clearly outlined vision and a strategy for the employees. The manager is required to lead the employees by keeping all staff involved and working towards the teams common goals and business vision. When looking at the management theorists of the 20th century we can see that they all have their opinions on a businesses vision and strategy. Henry Mintzbergs leadership principle is related to the ways in which the firm looks to achieve its vision. Without a manager who is willing to lead his employees they will lack direction in their work, increasing the chance of mistakes being made by misled employees or the firm moving away from its corporate vision. Henri Fayols planning function is also related more to the firms busi ness strategy than the vision as it looks at how the business will enter its business strategy into the business environment to help reach its vision. These two theories are still relevant in todays business environment as shown by their relevance to a managers ability to have a clear vision and strategy. Career development is an important aspect of a managers roles when running the business as employees want to feel like their efforts are being noticed and that their hard work is furthering their careers. A good manager is a man who isnt worried about his own career but rather the careers of those who work for him. Managers should make it known to their employees that they are a valued member of the business and that the work the employees do for the firm will pay of with promotions and pay rises in the future. Helping employees is linked to the management theories of Mintzberg and Fayol as it is both a role and a function that the manager must undertake in order to successfully manager their employees. The fifth most important trait recognised by Google employees was the ability for their managers tot be good communicators and willing to listen to ideas from all employees. It is important for managers to listen to others as well as sharing their opinion as then the opinions and concerns of your employees are heard and can be looked at more closely by the manager. Henri Fayols commanding function shows the importance of being a good communicator and listener for managers as the function requires them to lead, select and evaluate the workers to get the best out of them. This function recognises the importance of employees ideas in the success of the business and the manager therefore needs to evaluate proposed ideas to get the best from the team. American businessman Lee Iacocca said on communication you can have brilliant ideas, but if you cant get them across, your ideas wont get you anywhere (Croce and Lyon 2004, p.69). Henry Mintzbergs interpersonal roles are the managers respons ibility when dealing with employees and their ideas. Robert Katz provides two management skills on the communication with employees and their ideas. Google recognising the importance of communication in the organisation as one of the three essential skills a manager must have to be successful shows Katzs theory of interpersonal skills. Katz also provides a more precise skill in which managers should have, this being communication skills, defined as the ability both to convey ideas and information to others effectively and to be receptive to ideas and information from others. This skill that Katz states as being important to managerial success is what Google employees hold in high regard from their managers as shown by its inclusion in the 8 traits of a stellar manager. Henry Mintzbergs informational roles, which is the processing of information, is recognised in Googles survey where they admire managers who are productive and results orientated. Mintzbergs informational role accepts the need for managers to focus on helping the team achieve its goals by prioritizing work and removing obstacles. Robert Katzs decision-making skills, defined as the ability to recognise and define problems and opportunities correctly then to select an appropriate course of action to solve problems and capatilise on opportunities, shows that his theory looks at how the business can be more productive and achieve their results through eliminating any problems and taking advantage of any opportunities the firm may encounter. Employees feeling that they belong as an important part of the business success is one of the key tasks a manager must undertake when running the firm. Ensuring that new employees feel welcome and get to know your employees. Robert Katzs interpersonal skills are linked to this trait recognised by Google employees as it involves the relationships between employees and managers, both working and outside of work relationships, to make the employee feel a part of the team. Henri Fayols Controlling function is also interrelated with taking interest in your team members success and well-being as managers need to make sure everything happens according to plan, with corrective action in place. Fayol however has a more minor point in the controlling function, which is feedback, and this shows the employees that their input is important and taken into consideration when they offer ideas to the managers of the firm. At number two, Google employees decided that a managers ability to empower your employees and to not micromanage was a trait that they respected in their managers. Giving employees the space to tackle problems on their own but still be there for advice is something that employees admired as it provides them with a feeling of responsibility and importance in the firm. Katzs time management skills is important when not micro-managing as the ability for the manager to delegate work to his staff and then empower them to complete these on their own. Mintzbergs decisional role is also important for managers as it involves how they allocate their resources (employees) to job certain jobs that are required. Finally Fayols Organising function is important as the manager is required to provide and mobalise resources, which can be human resources such as employees, to implement the plan. The most important trait in stellar managers defined by a survey done by Google says that being a good coach is what they admire most in a manager. A manager who can provide specific feedback through regular one-on-one meetings with employees, as well as offering solutions that are tailored to each employees strengths. John Wooden said, make sure that team members know they are working with you, not for you. Relationships are the best way for employees to feel as though they are on an equal level to manager, which is therefore why Henry Mintzbergs interpersonal roles theory is highly important to becoming a successful manager. Robert Katzs interpersonal skills are also applicable to being a good coach, as they are required to communicate with, understand and motivate both individuals and groups. These two management theories along with communication skills are the most influential management theories in being a good coach to their employees. The work of management theorists of the past is still admired and applicable to modern managers in the 21st century. Googles survey shows a list of the most important traits seen in a manager in the 21st century, and I have shown that there are many links that can be drawn between the work of management theorists Robert Katz, Henry Mintzberg and Henri Fayol and modern day managers of the 21st century.

Witches :: essays research papers

Witches American history has few subjects as interesting as witchcraft, because it confronts us with many Ideas about women. It confronts us with fears about women, the place of women in society, and with women themselves. Also, it confronts us with violence against women and how the problems of society were often blamed on women. Even though some men were executed as during periods of witch hunting, witches were generally thought of as women and most who died in the name of witchcraft were women. In the United States, witchcraft took place among too educated of people to dismiss it as mere "superstition." (P.10) The first person that was executed, as a witch, in America was Margaret Jones, in 1648. Jones was a midwife and lay healer, who was accused of several different practices. Minister John Hale, who witnessed Jones's hanging in Boston when he was a boy, later said that she "was suspected partly because that after some angry words passing between her and her Neighbors, some mischief befell such neighbors in their Creatures, or the like: [and] partly because some things supposed to be bewitched, or have a Charm upon them, being burned, she came to the fire and seemed concerned." (P.20) Hale included neither of these charges in his list of the evidence presented against Jones, but suggested that the crimes had to do with her medical practice. She was accused of having a "malignant touch," Hale noted, and her medicines were said to have "extraordinary violent effects." When people refused to take her medical advice, he added, "their diseases and hurts continued, with relapse against the ordinary course, and beyond the apprehension of all physicians and surgeons."(P.21) Hale also mentioned that Jones was believed to possess psychic powers: "some things which she foretold came to pass accordingly; other things she could tell of ... she had no ordinary means to come to the knowledge of."(P.20) John Hale pointed out that several of Jones's neighbors tried to get her to confess and repent. One of them, he said, "prayed her to consider if God did not bring this punishment upon her for some other crime, and asked, if she had not been guilty of stealing many years ago." (P.22)Jones admitted the theft, but she refused to accept it as a reason for her conviction as a witch. Hale's writings, on the other hand, showed that stealing, and other crimes such as fornication and infanticide, were regularly associated with witchcraft, by both the clergy and the larger population . . . " (p. 22) This first account, in Karlsens' study, brings to the surface some of

Consumer Preference of Brighton & Hove Teenagers on Organic Food Essay

There have been many studies investigating the influences on consumer purchasing and consumption of organic foods. It has a Journal of the Human Environment that argues that parts of researches have frequently taken the form of asking consumers directly about their reasons for purchase or nonpurchase of organic foods rather than seeking which types of beliefs and attitudes are actually related to purchase or consumption. (Shepherd, Magnusson, & Sjoden, 2005) In recent year, other researchers have examined what beliefs and attitudes predict consumption. (Shepherd, Government office for Science, 2011) In several studies, a majority of the customers have a preference for and an interest in organic food. However, â€Å"the proportion of regular purchasers of organic food is low†. (Shepherd, Magnusson, & Sjoden, 2005) So, this phenomenon showed a discrepancy between consumers’ attitudes and behavior, which is most of Consumers’ attitude are positively for organic foods, but not often to buy them. It seems the consumers not have a concerned the organic foods become an important purchase criterion. Since the 1920’s, the organic food has first appeared in Europe. (Baourakis, 2004) Until now, even the organic foods not take big market share, but in recent years, according to the British Food Standards Agency said ‘identifies the role that organic food plays in providing choice for customer. ’ (Food Standards Agency, 2011) Lampkin & Padel (1994, cited in Baourakis, 2004) researched that consumer demand for organic food increased rapidly, thus, the number of famers increased reasonably, this phenomenon is not only in Europe, but also is in the United States. Problem Statement The problem to be explored is the purchase behavior of teenagers toward organic food in Brighton & Hove. As mentioned before, the sales of organic food are increasing in UK. Nevertheless, Non-organic food still dominates in the food market. In addition, while there has some consumers who are already familiar and know with the organic food. It still has many consumers who are not yet know about them. Because of organic food produced without using any artificial chemicals, pesticides or fertilizers, which is better and fresher taste than other nonorganic foods. (Georgiou, 2002) There are different reasons why consumers tend to prefer to buy organic food. To discover the teenagers of Brighton & Hove behavior on organic food, these are some of the variables that will be taken into account when do the research, which can separate to extrinsic factors and internal factors. External factors are environment influence, like education level influence, cultural influence, and family influence. Internal factors are product attributes, which are benefits of organic food, like environmentally friendliness, good for animal welfare, taste good and personal health. These may influence consumer buying decision. Research aims and objectives This research aims to explore teenagers’ behavior of Brighton & Hove on organic food consumption in their daily life. This research will provide richer and deeper understanding of teenagers’ preference on organic foods and work to specific ages, thus the levels of education and collect the information about why they care about organic food. These research questions to be answered are: †¢Do the teenagers like to buy organic food in Brighton & Hove? †¢Do the teenagers choose organic food influenced by environment (i.e. education level, cultural influence or family influence) in Brighton & Hove? †¢What causes the teenagers care about organic food (i. e. the environment concern, animal welfare, personal health, taste) in Brighton & Hove? In this particular case, it becomes more interesting to be more the teenager maybe will be influence by place cultural. Because Brighton & Hove are famous resort which near the sea. Brighton and Hove is the UK’s healthiest city that reason is its residents’ lifestyles, such as cycling to work, do yoga practice, and eating green food according to a study for Sky Travel. (University of sussex, 2010) The intention explore is the future development of organic food in Brighton & Hove by asking questions and interview. This paper will propose use deductive way for research on specific consumer behavior on organic foods in Brighton & Hove. Anticipated contributions Organic food is green food, these benefits lead to the market share of food were influenced, so, this academic research discuss about purchase behavior of teenagers on organic food consumption in Brighton & Hove. Because teenager is our future, from their behavior, we can see the organic food development of Brighton & Hove in next 50 years. Until now, it has some research about customer behavior on organic food, however, since there is lack of data for specific group people, like teenager. In this case, Kardes, Cronley, & Cline argued that one of the contributions for study consumer behavior is that educate consumers and help them to make a better decision, also can understand make products for consumers actually needed and wanted. This becomes a marketing strategy, this research proposal discovers and satisfies customer needs and wants effectively and beneficial manner, while profiting the long-term interests for business. (Kardes, Cronley, & Cline, 2011) Also this research proposal will investigate customer behavior information by primary research and secondary information, analysis the consumer’s performance, which showed the market tendency and understand the rival. It can help companies can get the market share of organic food in the future. Brief Review of Literature Wright & Crea (2007) pointed that the UK organic food market rise approximately 10% annually with a value of 2 billion dollars, already become third largest in the world. According government statistics, the multiple supermarket retailers accounted for the major marketing share to the consumer with approximately 73 % of sales. The independent retailers and parts of farmers accounted for consumer 27 % of sales. The box schemes and internet order made up 8 percent. (dardni, 2010) Base on data, organic food is preferred by all age groups because of its health friendly benefits. These contained old people, adults and children. According to statistics, 70 % of the costumers are women, while 30 % are men. 57. 3 % of organic food consumers have job, while 23. 2 % do not have job. (Damin, 2011) Food standards Agency demonstrates that to eat â€Å"organic food is a way to decrease consumption of pesticide residues and additives. † (Food Standards Agency, 2011) Organic procurement reflects consumers are not only care about economic, but also concern with food production link to personal, social and environmental effect. (The Open University, 2006) Lockie argues that no artificial chemicals is one of the key point cause the sale growth of organic product around the world, which reflects people are more interested in personal health and family health, also care about the animal welfare, tradition, environmental protection, food traceability and sustainability. (Lockie, 2006) Food Standards Agency, â€Å"if they think they’re buying food with extra nutritional quality or extra safety. † (Food Standards Agency, 2011)) Stringer and Dennis argued that in UK recent research showed 21 percent of housewives ranked taste over other facts in what they ate in 1998s, while 14 percent of housewives because of health concern for their family and themselves in 1998s. (Stringer & Dennis, 2000) According to ACNielsen research, the consumption of organic baby food jumped about 16 percent over the year before in 2005, it nearly double increasing of total organic food consumption. (Working Mother, 2006) In 2008, the Ferrell and Pride searched the mother behavior and investigate the age range from 25 to 40, are more prefer to buy organic food or clothing for their children no matter what their income. (Pride & Ferrell, 2008) Mamatha & Sarada revealed that child rights attitudes and participation in activities were influenced by their mother. (Mamatha & Sarada, 2009) Brozina argued that culture can influence the consumers’ motives for organic food consumption. (Brozina, 2009) Samli argued that consumer behavior was influenced by social class, which related to not only economic well-being, but also other factors, such as education, family background and occupation. Secondly, it influenced by hierarchy of needs, which is more likely to be observed as different degrees of economic development, culture, and social psychology. Thirdly, it influenced by interpersonal influences from group member, like social consumption phenomenon and consumer want to buy luxury make a good impression on others. Fourthly, it depends on affective influences, like emotion. At last, cognitive will be influence the consumers choice, which is how much they know about that product. (Samli, 1995) While consumer express positive perspective on organic food, but it is not likely to expand beyond this niche market in the future, the major reason is premium prices, unless low-input can be made recognisable to consumers. . (Oppapers, 2011) Handlechner argued that organic producers are still only occupying a niche market now. Nevertheless, organic food may be having a larger potential in the future. (Handlechner, 2008) Hypotheses Hypothesis1. I expect that the teenagers in Brighton & Hove may be having positive perspective on organic food due to Brighton & Hove is a healthiest city. Hypothesis 2: I expect that the teenagers in Brighton & Hove might concern about environment issue, animal welfare, and personal health, so they choose the organic food. Hypothesis 3: It is also my prediction that teenagers in Brighton & Hove may not interested in organic food due to they do not possess economic income. Hypothesis 4: Maybe they like to buy the organic foods, but for teenager are too expensive that they do not possess enough money to pay for them. Methodology This research adopted the deductive way because the aim proved by separate several research questions that mentioned earlier before. This research design is exploratory due to this research proposal intends to explore the teenagers’ behaviour on organic food through survey in Brighton & Hove. This study will consider descriptive because this proposal focus on survey the characteristic of certain group, teenagers. Accordingly, some writers in a journal demonstrated that descriptive study is the researchers are interested to survey a group such as education level, income, age or gender in some situations. (Kumar, Deb, Sinha, & Sinha, 2001) The research is also adopt cross sectional because of this study will study in a particular phenomenon and particular time. It has time limited. (Scribd, 2011) Research method Primary research This research can either be qualitative or quantitative. Nevertheless, quantitative research may cover a larger number of populations, which will give generalized statistics results by questionnaire. This qualitative research intends to collect an in-depth understanding of teenagers’ behaviour and the reasons why they have that behaviour. This qualitative research is a non-numerical data collection by interview. Moreover, the qualitative and quantities research method inquires the how and why of decision making by teenagers, not only where, when, what. So, this easy chooses these methods on this particular case studied in order to seek empirical support for this research hypothesis. This research proposal will base on quantitative research due to it will give statistical evidence of data, which can be summarize teenagers behaviour specifically. Questionnaire is my first choice. Concerning the print cost, the questionnaires will be surveyed through email in the internet. The questionnaires will include an introduction that gives clearly explanation of purpose of this study. Furthermore, the questionnaires also will include clearly instructions that give a well-guided to the teenagers. Moreover, it will give clearly question which is easy to teenagers. More specifically, writing the letter to school headmaster get the permission in Brighton & Hove. This questionnaire will be taken in the Junior high school and high school in 11th July 2011. This study will be randomly survey 1000 students in junior high school, 500 boys and 500 girls respectively. Other parts are 1000 students in high school, 500 boys and 500 girls. This will be more easily and faster when make analysis the data based on different education level and gender. Also, it will adopt anonymity, in order to keep the private information for teenager. This research proposal also will accord to qualitative research due to it will be get more detail with deeper conversational interview. It will not have predetermined questions are asked, because it can remain more open and adaptable get useful information due to nature and priorities of interview. It can directly get the exactly information for this research. More specifically, the interview will be taking at the school supermarket in Brighton & Hove in 19th July 2011. More closely interview the staffs in supermarket in order to understand teenagers’ behaviour by real consumption. Moreover, the interview will be doing at teenagers’ home in 30th July 2011 and in order to have chance to understand their behaviour by face to face talking. It wills choice 10 families in high school, 10 families in junior high school. It could be though this interview can prove whether the teenager preference on organic foods influenced by their family background and mother. Secondary research â€Å"The value of using the secondary data for market research has been substantial throughout history, continues today, and promises to grow in the future. † (Patzer, 1995) Secondary research contains the collation, brief and synthesis of existing research that data is already done by government, company, organization or personal. When this research proposal chooses the secondary data source, it would be have a critical thinking and concern the academic source. Government research data is the good choice for this research. Moreover, Base on the books and journals, summarize others studies and result. It will filter information and get the clearly results. Another research approach would be reputation organization and news website. What is more, May be I can get record data form staff in school supermarket, for instance, it could be get the sales of every year or month in the school. Using the other cities’ secondary data compare with the primary data in Brighton & Hove in order to know whether the Brighton & Hove culture will influence the teenager behaviour on organic foods. Data Analysis â€Å"Thematic analysis focuses on identifiable themes and patterns of living or behaviour. † (Aronson, 1994) So in this case, the thematic analysis will be used to gather data and analyze them in interview. Moreover, another analysis is the content analysis, which will use in the interview, too. The questionnaire will be collect data by software for statistics, like Excel. Do the diagrams would be use the software, like word. Time chart JuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovember Research for Literature review Formulate research strategy, design and select methods Questionnaire Interviews Field Work/ Data collection Data Analysis Write up Conclusion. This research expects to explore the teenagers’ preference on organic food in Brighton & Hove, which can get exactly information to answer the research question. I hope the teenagers will more concern their health and environment and animal in order to develop a sustainable society. The organic food company may take this kind research forward, which will bring long-term benefit if they grasp customer behavior and attitude. Maybe they will not only survey the teenager, but also research the householder behavior and psychology due to they have economic power. Bibliography Aronson, J. (1994). Nova. Retrieved 6 8, 2011, from A Pragmatic View of Thematic Analysis: http://www. nova. edu/ssss/QR/BackIssues/QR2-1/aronson. html Baourakis, G. (2004). Marketing trends for organic food in 21st century. World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. Brozina, S. (2009). EuroMed Journal of Business. Cultural influences on motives for organic food consumption , p. 185. Damin. (2011). dissertation. Retrieved 6 5, 2011, from Consumer behavior and organic food dessertation: http://www. dissertation-helper. co. uk/consumer-behavior-organic-food-dissertation/ dardni. (2010). Agriculture and Rural Development. Retrieved 6 5, 2011, from The market for organic products: http://www. dardni. gov. uk/ruralni/index/bussys/organic_production/organic_business_management/marketing. htm Food Standards Agency. (2011). Safe food,better business. Retrieved 5 28, 2011, from Organic food: http://www. food. gov. uk/foodindustry/farmingfood/organicfood/ GeorgiouDunnElisha. (2002). Everything you need to know about organic foods. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. Handlechner, M. (2008). Grin. Retrieved 6 7, 2011, from Organic Food: http://www. grin. com/ Kardes, R. F. , Cronley, L. M. , & Cline, W. T. (2011). Consumer Behavior. Cengage Learning. Inc. Kumar, R. , Deb, K. J. , Sinha, B. N. , & Sinha, V. K. (2001). Lithium Toxicity. A descriptive study , pp. 52-57. Lockie, S. (2006). Going Oorganic: mobilizing networks for environmentally responsible food production. London. Mamatha, T. , & Sarada, D. (2009). Child rights: ICDS programme. Discovery Publishing House PVT. LTD. Oppapers. (2011). Oppapers. Retrieved 6 6, 2011, from Consumer Attitudes and purchase intentions in relation to organic food: http://www. oppapers. com/essays/Consumer-Attitudes-And-Purchase-Intentions-In/307542 PatzerL. Gordon. (1995). Using secondary data in marketing research: United States and worldwide. An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group,Inc. Pride, W. M. , & Ferrell, O. C. (2008). Marketing. Yaga Mamas: Today’s Choosy Mothers , p. 134. Samli, A. C. (1995). International consumer behavior: its impact on marketing strategy development. An imprint pf Greenwood Publishing Groups,Inc. Scribd. (2011). Scribd. Retrieved 6 7, 2011, from Research Proposal on â€Å"TheConsumer Behavior On MP3Players†: http://www. scribd. com/doc/54718736/Research-Proposal-on-the-Consumer-Behaviour-of-MP3-s Shepherd, R. (2011). Government office for Science. Retrieved 6 8, 2011, from Societal attitudes to different food production models: http://www. bis. gov. uk/Foresight Shepherd, R. , Magnusson, M. , & Sjoden, P. -O. (2005). AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment. Determinants of Consumer Behavior Related to Organic Foods , pp. 352-359. Sheth, N. J. (1985). Historical Perspective in Consumer Research: National and International Perspectives. HISTORY OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR: A MARKETING PERSPECTIVE , pp. 5-7. StringerMichael, & DennisC. (2000). Chilled foods: a comprehensive guide. Woodhead Publishing Limited. The Open University. (2006). Language of Food Politics. Retrieved 5 29, 2011, from Research Report: The Discourse of Organic Food Promotion: language, intentions: http://creet. open. ac. uk/projects/language-of-food-politics/documents/4_organic_food_report. pdf University of sussex. (2010). Sussexsport. Retrieved 6 3, 2011, from Healthy Articles: http://www. sussex. ac. uk/sport/1-4-9. html Working Mother. (2006). Is Organic Food Worth it? Working Mother , 88. Wright, S. , & Crea, M. D. (2007). The International Market for Organic and Fair Trade Food and Drink. Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Overseas M&A of Chinese Enterprises Essay

The purpose of this article is to summarize the problems related to the overseas M&A of Chinese firms and to propose suggestions on its corresponding improvements. It firstly describes the brief history of China’s overseas M&A in three phases and its current status including the growth trend, the location preference and the sector distribution ; iand illustrates one succesussfulrvived case of Lenovo and two failed cases of Chinalco and SAIC. Then Seondly it analyzes the factors contributing to the success: economy growth, exchange rate, foreign currency reserve and proper management; points out the reasons of failure: political resistance, strategy error, integration difficulty and cultural difference. After that it refers to the practice of Japanese enterprises on image making, strategy selection, management localization and relation maintaining. Finally it provideoffers recommendations to improvebetter the execution of China’s overseas M&A including regarding public relationship, strategic thinking, management enhancement and cultural communication and ; draws a conclusion that whether the overseas M&A is ‘cake’ or ‘trap’ depends on what we choose to do. Overseas M&A of Chinese Companies: Cake or Trap? Introduction On 26th February 2013, China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) announced in Beijing that it successfully completed the 15. 1 billion US$ acquisition of a Canadian oil and gas company Nexen Inc NXY. TO, which was China’s largest-ever foreign takeover. This was exactly the epitome of the ‘Great Leap Forward’ of overseas M&A of Chinese companies. Along with the economic boom in more thanof 30 years, encouraged by the ‘go-out’ strategy of the government, Chinese companies have madeseen robust strides in international investment markets. However, wereas most M&A cases closed as successfully as the case of CNOOC’s acquisition of Nexon? The answer must be negative should you pay attention to many failures such as Chinalco1’s acquisition of Rio Tinto2. Did every successful starting reach a happy ending? Neveror the answer would be affirmative since the bloody costs Chinese companies have paid in overseasabroad m markets. The aim of this article is to raise a critical question to the overheated enthusiasm on international acquisitions of Chinese enterprises: would it bring a worthy return or rather a bottomless pit? Serving this purpose, the article will firstly draw a brief portrait of the history and the present situation of China’s overseas M&A and summarize its characters, experiences and lessons. Then it will analyze the reasons for the successes and failures and compare China’s performance with the practice of its international peers. FinallyIn the end, t, he authorit would like to propose some recommendation on the improvement of the M&A operation of Chinese enterprises. Status quo The overseas M&A of Chinese enterprises started in the 1990s and could be roughly divided into three phases. The first phase was from the 1990s to the year 2001, when Chinese enterprises just entered the international market and tried to ‘cross the river by feeling the stones’ and to discover acquisition opportunities. The annual amount figure of transactions at that time was below 0. 1 billion US$. The second stage was after China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001 when the volume of overseas purchase takeovers reached 1 billion for the first time and till 2005 when the amount climbed to about 5 billions. The third period was fromafter 2006 till now especially after 2009 afterwardswhen global financial crisis seriously grilled struck the world’s major economies. During this period, the scale of China’s abroad overseas acquisitions exploded and each year it saw a total deal of tens of billions of dollars. In 2010, it was up to the height of 38 billion dollars, occupying 11% of the world’s transactions amount of that year3. There were some trends underlying the wavesis of overseas acquisitions waves. In terms of the quantity of deals, it was climbing climbed constantly with a number of 27 in 2003, 45 in 2005, 61 in 2007, 97 in 2009 and arrived at the record-breaking 147 in 20104. Meanwhile, the size of one transaction increased remarkably and the significant example was the abovementioned takeover of NEXON by CNOOC in 2013, a single deal of 15. 1 billion US$, overpassing exceeding the annual total of many previous years. With regard to the areas where China’s enterprises invested, American,USA Europe and Asia were their top 3 priorities, making up 27%, 21% and 15%5 respectively of the abroad acquisition volumes in 2010. About the sectors where they were interested in, the energy and mining fields were undoubtedly their first choice since 65%6 of the transactions occurred in this industry in 2010. Nonetheless, compared with the general traits, the individual cases are worth researching more carefully. A perfect example is the caseTake the story of China’s giant PC producer Lenovo7 as example, i. In December 2004 Lenovo acquired the PC department sector of IBM at the price of 1. 75 billion US dollars. After almost 10 years’ development, it was impressive that IBM became a super brand of business laptops and PCs and Lenovo had successfully enhanced its brand value and market share during the integration of two firms. It was this deal that made Lenovo a world PC giant. Conversely, the majority of Chinese buyers tasted the bitter flavor of defeats. According to the statistics of Mckinsey8 published in 2010, in the past 20 years, the success rate of international M&A was less than 50% while the failure rate of China’s overseas acquisitions was more that 67%9. In 2008, the total loss of China’s multi-national deals was nearly 35 billion US$10. For instance, in June 2009, Rio Tinto Group unexpectedly announced to breach the acquisition agreement with Chinalco and although Rio Tinto paid 0. 195 billion US$ break-up fee to Chinalco, the latter had to must pay multifold btimes of breaching compensation to China’s state-owned commercial banks and assume tremendous losses resulted from the dropping share price of Rio Tinto. Another perfect example is the case SAIC Motor11 took over SsangYong Motor12 which illustrated a failing integration after a triumphant acquisition. SAIC invested 0. 5 billion US$ to buy 48. 92% shares of SsangYong Motor in 2004 and increased its to 51. 33% in 2005. However, a smooth deal did not forecast a disaster of cultural integration. Neither SAIC achieved the aim of technology importation nor the new management team solved the annoying strikes and salary disputes so that the new enterprise staggered till 2009 when the local court approved the bankruptcy protection of SSangYong Motor, indicating the death of this acquisition. Analysis Based on the facts and cases revealed in previous chapter, we could can not help wondering that what was inside the box? In other words, what experiencepoints we can summarizecould summarize from the successful cases and what lessons we should learn from the failed ones? On one hand, the significant development of China’s overseas M&A might be generated by the following contributing factors. Firstly, the rapid economy growth drove solid requests forof the raw materials such as oil, gas or mining but subject to the limited domestic resources, Chinese enterprises turned their attention to global markets by active merging and acquiring. Secondly, since the exchange rate reform starting from 2005, the Chinese Currency RMB was appreciating gradually, for example the rate of US$ to RMB was 1: 8. 2 in 2005 but is 1: 6. 1 in 2014. In addition, the global financial crisis resulted from the subordinated debts storm in the USA remarkably dropped the share prices of listed companies in global capital markets. Both factorsThis change considerably lowered the costs of international acquisitions in recent years and created realistic opportunities for Chinese companies. Thirdly, holding the massive foreign currency reserve, for instance, 3820 billion US$ in the end of 201313, the central government of China broadened the control of foreign exchange and launched a ‘go-out’ policy to stimulate the internationalization of domestic enterprises, creating a relatively loose macro surroundings for Chinese companies. Fourthly, some Chinese companies were playing games in global markets more and more expertly. They adopted correct strategy to obtain global assets and products, executed it in accordance with international conventions, gained the advanced technology and sales networks, expanded the market share, established competitive edge and moved forward to the aim of multi-nationalization. On the other hand, it is indeed necessary to figure find out what caused the noticeable failure of Chinese acquirers. From my point of view, the reasons could be explained in four aspects. Political resistance:Political factors bear the brunt of the failure of China’s overseas acquisitions. Most Chinese enterprises engaging in international M&A were state-owned enterprises, which in the westerners eyes were regarded as the representatives of Chinese government. Although they emphasized the independence status and commercial orientation when doing business in other countries, the host governments were as prone to link them to the Communist Party of ChinaChinese government. Even if they were not state-owned, the public media often mislabeled them as Chinese SOEs because it was hard for the foreigners to distinguish the nature of one Chinese firm from the other. This was truly an extra risk of Chinese firms and constituted one fundamental obstacle toof China’s overseas acquisitions. Unfortunately, in most cases, Chinese firms had no say and did not know how to communicate with the local government or the public, only to accept the destiny of defeat. For example, the government of USA denied the 18. 5-billion-dollars acquisition of UNOCAL14 by CNOOC for the reason of state security. The failure of Chinalco’ acquisition of Rio Tinto was also attributed to the concern of economic safety of Australia. Strategic error:The core value of enterprise M&A probably is increasing the critical competitive advantage and sustainable development capacity thorough obtaining the essential resources of acquired firms, which requires thorough and appropriate strategies. Nevertheless, most Chinese enterprises, when operating international M&A, did not have a complete and clear strategiesy or did have a strategiesy but lost control of the operation and could not survive the ever-changing global markets. Some of them failed to properly evaluate their overall strengths and to completely understand the rules of international acquisitions therefore executed rush transactions blindly just catering for the individual preference of the boss or following the ‘going-out’ fashion of ‘going-out’. TheA lack of strategiesy must not realize an anticipated results. After a series of losses in international acquisitions, TCL15 admitted that the insufficient strategic preparation was the major reason contributed to its failure16. Another relevant case is the bidding for Hummer17 by Tengzhong18. Although had published an official industrial planning aiming at developing new energy vehicles in 2009, Tengzhong announced a bid for Hummer, the producer of large displacement vehicles, which completely contradicted its strategy of energy saving and emission reduction. Integration difficulty:After applause, flowers, champagnes and wines in the signature ceremony, the real challenge just starts because of the integration or management difficulties of Chinese firms. Though more and more Chinese enterprises enlarged tremendously in recent years, for example, 100 Chinese firms were listed on the Fortune Global 500 Rankings 201419, taking up one fifth of the world’s biggest companies. But compared with international giants such as Exxon Mobile, BP or Shell, Chinese firms are weak on management issues such as corporate governance, business operations, management communication skills, international reputation and marketing channels and internal integration etc. Multi-national acquisition and integration is so complicated that Chinese companies are short of not only managers who could communicate professionally with their counter-parts and standardize the operation with global horizon but also experts who are familiar with international market operations from legal, financial or managerial background20. Take TCL’s acquisition of Thomson21 for instance, after the deal was done, in less than three years, all the former executives of Thomson left the ‘new’ company22 and it fell into a crisis of management resulting in huge profit losses in the following fiscal years. It was truly a failure of team integration due to managerial incompetence. Even worse, Chinese firms were used to manage the integration after acquisitions with domestic management styles and most of them were caught in serious internal frictions, causing which caused productivity declining and profit dropping. Moreover, Chinese firms were merely accustomed to employ Chinese workers no matter where they were doing business, which exerted extensive concerns in the host country. For example, when Chinese firms acquired a local mining, a railway or harbor construction project in Africa, thousands of Chinese workers were hired to work there. It maybe impressive for many when we watched TV that more than 30,000 Chinese workers retreated from Libya after the civil war following the collapse of the Gaddafi regime in 2010. In the countries with tight policies on foreign labors, the employment patterns of Chinese acquisitions were controversial. Culture difference:Cultural is an indispensible influential factor in international M&A yet ignoring its significance is a common failing of Chinese acquirers. Many host countries complained that Chinese firms were mining robots or money machines, developing business simply on their own without incorporating themselves into the local communities and respecting the unique cultural backgrounds. The failure of SAIC’s acquisition of SsangYong, discussed mentioned in previous episode, could cast light on how the culture conflict ruined a takeover. It seems that the primary reason was SAIC’s insufficient acknowledgement of culture difference. Korea is an island country and its people have tremendous national pride therefore when SsangYong was acquired by SCIA which is from an undeveloped country of China, its employees were reluctant to accept the reality of control change and to co-operate well with the new boss. That was why they behaved negatively in the integration and apparently SAIC failed to figure out a proper strategy to deal with this issue. Moreover, SAIC underestimated the power of Labor Union and the complexity of labor disputes while paid more attention to enhance the relationship with the governmental authorities, which is anan exact reflection of Chinese culture, not suitable in Korea. The result of ignoring it was remarkable. Comparison After the analysis of what caused Chinese firms’ poor performance, before giving advice on how to improve it, it seems necessary to catch a glance at how the international peers did their M&A deals. Japan, one neighbor of China, is a perfect model we could refer to. Similar as today’s China, Japan is a country short of natural resources, from the 1960s when Japanese economy began to soar, Japanese enterprises invested massively in overseas markets to pursue a steady resource supplies. In the 1970s and 1980s, they also encountered various barriers and obstacles but Japanese firms gradually diminished the hostility and cautiousness and successfully took initiatives in global investment sectors23. Image-making:Japanese firms laid emphasis on image-polishing via the ‘think tank’ and the news media. In the 1980s, in response to the increasing hostility, Japanese firms implemented diverse strategies to turn them acceptable to the American society. Since most official critics were from the Congress, major Japanese companies established or enlarged the representative offices in Washington, DC. They tried to create the mainstream opinion via the cooperation with the think tanks, journalists orand former governmental officials and in return the think tanks held periodically forums on Japanese investments and published reports arguing that Japanese investments were beneficial to the USA economy. In most cases, Japanese firms sponsored or funded the researches or cooperated with the scholars in this field. Sustainable strategy: Japanese firms focused on a long-term effect of investments, pursued a resource-preferred acquisition strategy and did not deviate from the aim easily even if confronting temporary losses or missing profitable opportunities. As a result, the investment terms of Japanese firms were longer than those of Chinese firms. In addition, Japanese companies coordinated well with each other and avoided internal malicious competitions (which often happened among their Chinese peers) to maximize their coalition strength. Differing from Chinese acquirers in Australian market, Japanese companies were used to form an acquisition group of 3-4 firms to optimize the bargaining potential and profit margin. Local management: Unlike Chinese companies which preferred to appoint Chinese executives in overseas subordinates, Japanese investors trusted localAmerican managers and appointed them as executives. Besides, they tried to localize material supplies as much as possible. According to the report published in 2002 by the Bureau of Economics Analysis24, USA, from 1982 to 2002, the number of American suppliers of Honda25had climbed from 40 to 55026. Likewise, when negotiating with partners for acquisition deals, Japanese companies seldom requested to participated in the business operation so that they could avoid the employment, salary or land disputes, which considerably reduced the management risk and integration failure. Community relation: When investing in overseas countries, Japanese firms endeavored to integrate themselves to local culture and contribute to the construction of local communities. For example, sponsoring a baseball team or funding a cancer research center, Japanese firm had donated millions of dollars for local charity. All of these merits of goodness conveyed the information that Japanese firms respected local culture and put high value on local development. This is a sharp contrast to Chinese firms’ behavior in that they were only keen on making money but were indifferent to the lives of local residents. Recommendation Corresponding to the problems figured out discussed and the comparisons analyzed above, I would like to share my view on how to improve the overseas M&A operations of Chinese enterprises. Firstly, we should reduce the role the state plays in international acquisitions and create effective communications with stakeholders. To be honest, many overseas M&A cases illustrated the economic targets of Chinese government, which is the most controversial issue and the biggest concern in foreign markets. As the government, it must be aware of its duty and the boundary of public power, decrease the interference to micro economic operation and liberate the creativities of Chinese enterprises in overseas markets. On the other hand, Chinese government should provide necessary supervision and guidance of overseas acquisitions, reform improper and complicated formalities of abroad transaction and facilitate the currency flow by loosing strict exchange control. However, to eliminate political obstacles, the majority of the tasks are at the shoulder of Chinese enterprises themselves. It shouldmay be necessary for them to put public relationship management top of their agenda. For example, learn to communicate with the public media and the local communities in the language and style they could understand, find spokesmen in think tanks and sponsor local research academies or educational institutions are all constructive measures to enhance the soft powerimage of Chinese enterprises. In principle, we must try to let the host country, the local public, the local staff and other stakeholders believe that Chinese acquisitions are not only a business but also a kindness, not a threatens but an opportunitiesy, to all of them. Secondly, it is essential to break the spell of speculation and to adopt strategic thinking. Acquisition is not gambling but rather implementation of strategy, hence before initiating offers Chinese buyers must set up definite targets and strategies. In short, what do we exactly want? Every overseas acquisition case must have a clear strategic demand: to enhance the buyer’s weight in the value chain; to extend the brand reputation; to expand the production line or to extend the market share? We should not launch an acquisition merely because the target company is cheap or the acquisition is an eye-catching advertisement. Nothing would be more surprising than the news that a Chinese Millionaire Chen Guangbiao, whose business is recycle resourcing, announced a plan to buy New York Times. After the aim is set up, Chinese enterprise should establish and hold a firm strategy, draw an feasible plan in details to implement the strategy step by step and unless the market surroundings changes fundamentally, do not give up the fixed strategy easily. Thirdly, it could be urgent for Chinese firms to substantially enhance their management strength to survive the integration difficulties after takeovers. It is desirable for the acquirer to keep the previous management team of the acquired firm as much as possible and to pursue a ‘win-win’ target by satisfying both the requirements of the buyer and the demands of the seller as well asand its employees. Plus, they also should build a thorough management systems in accordance with international convention, enhance overall managerial strengthability, perfect internal corporate governance and establish rational incentive mechanism, to achieve a smooth integration and a sustainable development. Fourthly, it is not exaggerating to say that the failure of an overseas acquisition is actually the failure of cultural communication, which reminds Chinese buyers to take care of the cultural difference. Currently, most of the targeted firms are matured western enterprises which have built their own tradition and culture and hope to maintain rather than change it. In the contrary, Chinese firms have not developed a systematic and matured cultures. That is, China buyers have to absorb the advanced elements of the existing cultures and mix them in the formation of a new culture. Under some unique circumstances it is necessary to give up or reform the unreasonable parts in our own cultures that iare s unacceptable to the host country. Conclusion To summarize, overseas M&A is an effective way for Chinese enterprises to realize the hyper-normal development in global markets. But every opportunity could also be seen as a crisis and vice versa. It is a cake or a trap merely depends on what areis our choices. Friendly market, clear strategy, efficient management and proper communication may bring you a bright perspectives while hostile surrounding, blind expansion, poor administration and cultural conflict could catch usyou in a deep traps. For the better preparation to survive international M&A competitions, it is high time for Chinese enterprises to sum up the successful experiences and to learn from the costly lessons. If this article could provide some advisable suggestions on this topic, it would be my greatest pleasure.

In the late nineteenth century, a select few Americans separated themselves from the rest by fulfilling the American Dream.

In the late nineteenth century, a select few Americans separated themselves from the rest by fulfilling the American Dream. In the late nineteenth century, a select few Americans separated themselves from the rest by fulfilling the American Dream. William H. Vanderbilt attained wealth as a successful railroad executive when he joined the family railroad businesses and eventually succeeded his father as president. Andrew Carnegie became one the richest people through his domination of the steel industry. John D. Rockefeller intuitive business practices in the oil industry resulted in his addition to the history books as one of the wealthiest tycoons ever. To a large extent, it was fair to characterize the industrial leaders of the late nineteenth century as either "robber barons" or "industrial statesmen" because of their harsh business practices, philanthropic efforts, and opinion of the general public that were commonly seen in men of such economic stature.Harsh business practices often resulted in successful industrialist being labeled "robber barons" because their success entailed others failure. Compe tition as Andrew Carnegie saw it was a double edged sword; he said, "The price which society pays for the law of competition, like the price it pays for cheap comforts and luxuries, is also great; but the advantages of this law are also greater still."Andrew Carnegie Signature(D. #C) John B. Weaver took note to the corruption entangled in trusts which several industrialist took advantage of. (D. #D) Mr. Weaver stated, "The main weapons of trusts are threats, intimidation, bribery, fraud, wreck, and pillage." (D. #D) Russell H. Conwell, an American Baptist Minister, the founder and first president of Temple University, and a lecturer pleaded the "industrial statesmen" label for most of the industrial rich. (D. #E) He went as far as to say, "ninety-eight out of one hundred of the rich men in America are honest. That is why they are rich." (D. #E) The illustration in document F clearly breaks down...

Free Essays on A Clean, Well-Lighted Place

, there are two different attitudes toward the problem of old age: loneliness and communication between old and young people. The older waiter represents the older generation, and the younger waiter represents the younger generation. The older waiter is as lonely as the old man , they are in the same boat; that why older waiter understands the client’s feelings like his own. Even though he has only one cl... Free Essays on A Clean, Well-Lighted Place Free Essays on A Clean, Well-Lighted Place The â€Å"Generation Gap† the relationship between the young and the old people. One would think that nothing could break the harmony between the parents and their children. The relationship between parents and children sometimes causes a conflict . A long time ago children used to follow the track of their parents. However, with the appearance of new technologies and the relationship between cities and countries, children get more free doing in choosing their own tracks in life which are different from those of their parents. For example, in the United State of America, family is most important and valuable . Parents try to provide all the necessary conditions for the safe and modern development of their kids. Both the parents and the system of education since early childhood develop independence in making decisions and their actions in the children . The story â€Å"A Clean, Well-Lighted Place†, written by Ernest Hemingway shows the reader the problems between the young and old the generations. The story tells about an old man who sits in the cafe very late every night and drinks alcohol. The old man likes to sit outside the cafe rather than inside. He wants to have company; he tries to escape from loneliness. Maybe once he had family, but now he has only a niece who visits him quite seldom. He feels desperate and sad to stay alone in his apartment. The old man feels like a dead person, and helpless. The old man is only a subject, a passive figure; furthermore, he is the reason for the dialog between two waiters. In other words, there are two different attitudes toward the problem of old age: loneliness and communication between old and young people. The older waiter represents the older generation, and the younger waiter represents the younger generation. The older waiter is as lonely as the old man , they are in the same boat; that why older waiter understands the client’s feelings like his own. Even though he has only one cl...

Analysis of Mrs Hayward from the Novel Spies by Michael Frayn

How is the character of Mrs Hayward developed throughout the opening 3 chapter of Frayn’s ‘Spies’? Mrs Hayward is a contradictory character who is established through Stephen’s fragmented memory to be both a character of smiling perfection and a broken woman, sitting in the dust weeping. She is both the embodiment of a perfect British wartime wife and a character of suspicion; a spy, a traitor, the epitome of deceit and the focus of two young boys’ overzealous imagination. When the reader is first introduced to this character it is through the listing of three declarative clauses in one of Stephen’s long, complex sentences. It is here that his fragmented memory is emphasised by the fragmented syntax where only glimpses of Mrs Hayward are shared with the reader. She is ‘in the long-lost green summer shade, her brown eyes sparkling, laughing at something Keith has written. ’ Through his use of the verbs ‘sparkling’ and ‘laughing’ Mrs Hayward is portrayed as a friendly and happy character who clearly takes delight from time spent with her child. The use of the adjectives ‘blue’, ‘green’ and ‘long-lost’, help to coat the memory with a sense of vibrancy and suggest that these memories, and characters, are positive, fun and safe; they belong to a lost time that was happy. This is further reflected in the use of pathetic fallacy as the memory, and Mrs Hayward, are in the ‘summer shade’, a time of year and image associated with freedom and enjoyment, suggesting this is a character who is pleasantly remembered and much-liked by the narrator. However, as Mrs Hayward is in the shade this could subtly suggest to the reader that there is an element of darkness to the character as she is shaded, half hidden and perhaps that her motivations and intentions are not always as clear as first imagined. The reflective, gentle tone of Mrs Hayward’s introduction is shattered by the use of the short simple sentence ‘Then the laughter’s gone. ’ indicating to the reader that the memory of her is tainted by events that are still unclear to the reader, events that leave her ‘sitting in the dust in front of [Stephen], weeping’. The antithesis of ‘weeping’ and ‘laughing’ highlight to the reader how Mrs Hayward is a character who evokes feelings of both happiness and shame in Stephen, due to her respective actions and emotions. She is a fragmented and incomplete character who is portrayed to the audience through an anaphoric series of present tense memories, which make her actions, and consequent responses of the narrator, seem immediate and continual. She is a character who evokes an emotional response in our narrator almost sixty years after unknown events have occurred, suggesting to the reader that she is going to be central to his journey down ‘memory lane’. When Mrs Hayward is next introduced to the reader it is through elderly Stephen’s third person account of what would have happened if young Stephen had asked Keith to play at his house for the afternoon. This hypothetical pondering of the narrator occurs after a substantial amount of description has been dedicated to Keith’s home, room and father, suggesting to the reader that these male characters were the main objects of focus for young Stephen, Keith because he idolised his friend and his father because Stephen clearly feared him. Mrs Hayward then appears with her ‘perfectly plucked eyebrow’ while she is ‘reclining on a sofa’ and ‘looking up from her library book’. Frayn has positioned Mrs Hayward in the domestic sphere of the house and then used stative verbs to show her lack of movement and action. This is further highlighted when Keith asks if he can go to Stephen’s house and Stephen knows ‘precisely’ that her response will be to tell Keith to ‘ask Daddy’. Here Mrs Hayward establishes herself as having a typical female role within a traditional patriarchal family. She is contemplative, rested and motherly, she does not make decisions; she is not the dominant person in the relationship and she defers decision-making to her male counterpart – not unlike Stephen in his childhood relationship with Keith. Keith’s mother is referred to in the opening chapters using either the pronoun ‘Mrs Hayward’ or ‘Keith’s mother’, both name link her clearly to the males in her life, showing their dominance as her identity is always linked to them. She is not given her own name or identity and this emphasizes the position that she is in within the family; she is the wife and mother. She is surrounded with the semantic sphere of tranquility and passivity, she is ‘unhurried’, ‘calmly smiling’ ‘reclining’ or ‘looking’ and the only time we ee any use of dynamic verbs is when she is ‘shopping’ or fetching things for Aunt Dee. Mrs Hayward is clearly enclosed within the domestic sphere and has a clear role within her family, even her diary entries revolve around ‘Ted’s parents’, ‘Ted to OH dinner’, ‘K’s term starts’, ‘K’s sports dayâ€⠄¢. Each of these entries foregrounds one of the men in her life and shows their overwhelming importance to her daily routines; this is not unfamiliar of a war-time lady of leisure in Britain but it does highlight how she is trapped and isolated from both the world and society. Mrs Hayward is clearly a character that on the surface is shrouded in an air of tranquility and domesticity. She is the image of perfection and is clearly held in an idiolised position, along with everything associated with Keith, according to Stephen and both his adult and child-like perspective. She is a character who appears rested and calm but underneath this facade there is a secret that she is keeping, it may not be that she is a German Spy like the young boys think but all is clearly not as it seems and Stephen’s ‘perfect’ account of her suggests in itself that maybe she is too good to be true.

Managing Global Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Managing Global Economy - Essay Example Non-economic rationales for government interventions on trade commonly identified as providing a suitable foundation for regulation are the promotion of fairness and the fostering of community ideals (Cheffins 1997, p. 126). The legal regulation of market transactions can be justified on a number of grounds. One basis upon which this can be done is that outcomes which are unfair require a response from the government. On the protection of community ideals, state intervention can perhaps correct the corrosive impact market forces allegedly have on society. Correspondingly, support exists for the proposition that lawmakers should take action when markets threaten to undermine key community ideals. Nontariff barriers include quotas, voluntary export restraints, voluntary price restraints, import licensing, customs procedures, exchange controls, domestic content requirements, "buy national" policies, discriminatory trading agreements. These barriers involve direct import control measures. Nontariff barriers affecting exports indirectly include standards, distributor practices, and financial controls (Hilke & Nelson 1988, p. 8). The static effects of economic integration have their most obvious and profound influence in the period immediately following the creation of, for example, a customs union. Gradually, after several years of adjustment, the dynamic effects will increase in importance and become dominant. These effects push further technological constraints and provide the group with an additional integration-induced 'growth bonus' (Jovanovic 1998, p. 40). 6. What are foreign exchange markets and the exchange rate Vanek (1962) defines foreign exchange market as all places where foreign exchange is traded. There are two useful sets of classification of the foreign exchange market. In the first place, there is not one but a large number of foreign currencies. Second, the total supply and demand of foreign currency is derived from different types of transactions, which provides a convenient classification for the study of the market for exchange (p.56). 7. Discuss how companies use foreign exchange. A foreign exchange is being used by companies for purchase/sale of foreign currency that operates outside the legal financial system of a country. It is an illegal source (or use) of foreign currency that buyers and sellers choose to utilize for various reasons -- from tax evasion to operation of a contraband business to escape from onerous and sometimes conflictive government regulations (Grosse 1994, p. 1). 8. List and define the categories of exchange rate regimes. 9. Discuss purchasing power parity (PPP) and the short-run problems that affect PPP. The first equilibrium theory, time-honoured, is purchasing power

The islm model-finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The islm model-finance - Essay Example In the article Sir John constructed a diagram and a system of equations that represent the goods market and money market equilibrium conditions. Eventually this IS-LM model has become a famous framework for teaching, policy analysis and econometric modelling for both closed and open economies (Dimand 324). Mishkin points out that Keynes considers the total quantity demanded of an economy’s output (or aggregate output that is equivalent aggregate income) is the sum of four types of spending: (1) Consumer expenditure (C) – the total demand for consumer goods and services; (2) Planned investment spending (I) – the total planned spending by businesses on new physical capital (machines, computers, raw materials, factories, etc.); (3) Government spending (G) – the spending by all levels of government on goods and services (government workers, red tape, aircraft carriers, etc.); (4) Net exports (NX) – the net foreign spending on domestic goods and services, equal to exports minus imports (536). Aggregate demand (Yad), according to Keynes, is: Yad = C + I + G + NX and when the total quantity of output supplied (aggregate output produced) Y equals quantity of output demanded Yad: Y = Yad, so it is possible to say that equilibrium occurs in the economy (Mishki n 537). So, the Keynesian framework enables economists to analyse how aggregate output depends on changes in its constituents: autonomous consumer expenditure, planned investment spending, government spending, net exports and taxes as well. Hicks suggested his interpretation of the Keynesian model, taking into consideration three aggregate markets (money, capital and goods) (156). Hicks asserted that â€Å"in the short period the market of labour as well as price changes do not play a significant â€Å"active† role, so the model can be introduced as follows (Vercelli 4-5): where L is the aggregate demand for money (equal to

Transcending Neoliberalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Transcending Neoliberalism - Essay Example Popular and state mandated huge wage increase resulted to inflation compounded by unchecked inflation in the 1980s. These economic policies also resulted in huge foreign debts amounting to three fourths of its national output. It worsened when the state forced the peso to be equal to the dollar. The country bottomed out and defaulted on its debt in 2001 causing its President Adolfo Rodriguez to resign. Various economic policies were then adopted to resuscitate the economy from debt restructuring to expansionary monetary and fiscal policies to checking inflation. To check inflation government held back exports. In 2012, Argentina restricted its import and adopted a tighten foreign currency control. Brazil’s economic policy on the other hand adopted an inward-oriented economy that boosted its global competitiveness. It adopted policies of sustainability and economic liberalization that further boosted its national competitiveness. It maintained a controlled inflationary rate, adopted a floating exchange rate and disciplined fiscal spending that further boosted its economy. Hall, Patrick and Hall, John. Argentina’s Economic Policy: Failing to Learn from History. Web. April 21, 2014

The Passion of the Christ Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Passion of the Christ - Essay Example There are various characters that make a huge impact on the development of the plot and the overall message of the film; first is Jesus who is introduced as a representation of righteousness, holiness and sacrifice throughout the film, second is Peter, a loyal disciple who fights for Jesus at Gethsemane but later betrays him due to the fear of death. Another character is Judas who is a representation of betrayal; he was a disciple of Jesus but he betrayed him to the Chief Priest and the Pharisees for thirty pieces of silver. Another prominent character is John, the disciple, Mary the mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, both who stood by Jesus through the whole process of capture and crucifixion, a show of unconditional love. Pontius Pilate, Herod Caiaphas and the chief priests are represented as figures of authority with Pilate and Herod representing political authority and Caiaphas representing the Jewish religion, which is depicted as loathing Jesus for blasphemy (The Passion of th e Christ, 2004). Other characters who assist in developing the theme of the movie are Simon of Cyrene who carries Jesus’ cross, Veronica, the woman who wipes Jesus’ face with her cloth on the road to Calvary, the Roman soldiers that depict the system as being crude and violent towards criminals, and the veiled woman who represents Satan (death) – she appears every time death is imminent. Pilate’s wife is also a key character who influences Pilate’s decision, and she later offers Mary and Mary Magdalene a piece of cloth to wipe Jesus blood from the place where he is chastised. Throughout the film, we see betrayal, redemption, hatred, violence and absolute submission; however, some of the most evident aspects of eucharistic are those of love, hope, faith, and forgiveness.

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

Decision-Making Process Paper - Essay Example Hence the steps that I will undertake in the wake of the decision-making process are reliant on how well I think through the different areas and how aptly driven my understandings are at the end of the day. The decision-making process that I have applied is exactly in line with the decision-making process that is present within the text. My methodology is much the same as has been outlined in the text and this makes for an interesting debate nonetheless. I have envisioned that the proper format for comprehending the decision-making process is to follow the very basics and this has been done properly through the textual instance which is provided to me in essence. There is absolutely no difference between my decision-making process and the one outlined in the text and hence there is no reason why the comparisons should come out in the open. The steps that have been taken are thus reliant on getting the job done which is indeed a better understanding of how to reach a decision in the f irst place. The decision-making process is a difficult one and it takes a lot of hard work and toil on the part of the person who ultimately reaches upon a decision. Therefore it would be viable to suggest success for an individual who wishes to give time, adequate analysis regimes and a comparison of the shortcomings within the entire decision-making process in entirety (Castellan, 1993). If the mistakes are taken care of and are removed essentially, then this will mean that the decision-making has been done correctly. It is important that the decision once reached upon is adhered to across the board as there is no analysis of a decision which has been wrongly made. However, it is a good measure to tackle a wrong decision within the decision-making process early on within this process. This can mean that the individual can put back the decision that has been done on his part on some of the occasions but the guarantee is not a must under such scenarios. The decision-making

Transcending Neoliberalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Transcending Neoliberalism - Essay Example Popular and state mandated huge wage increase resulted to inflation compounded by unchecked inflation in the 1980s. These economic policies also resulted in huge foreign debts amounting to three fourths of its national output. It worsened when the state forced the peso to be equal to the dollar. The country bottomed out and defaulted on its debt in 2001 causing its President Adolfo Rodriguez to resign. Various economic policies were then adopted to resuscitate the economy from debt restructuring to expansionary monetary and fiscal policies to checking inflation. To check inflation government held back exports. In 2012, Argentina restricted its import and adopted a tighten foreign currency control. Brazil’s economic policy on the other hand adopted an inward-oriented economy that boosted its global competitiveness. It adopted policies of sustainability and economic liberalization that further boosted its national competitiveness. It maintained a controlled inflationary rate, adopted a floating exchange rate and disciplined fiscal spending that further boosted its economy. Hall, Patrick and Hall, John. Argentina’s Economic Policy: Failing to Learn from History. Web. April 21, 2014

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

Decision-Making Process Paper - Essay Example Hence the steps that I will undertake in the wake of the decision-making process are reliant on how well I think through the different areas and how aptly driven my understandings are at the end of the day. The decision-making process that I have applied is exactly in line with the decision-making process that is present within the text. My methodology is much the same as has been outlined in the text and this makes for an interesting debate nonetheless. I have envisioned that the proper format for comprehending the decision-making process is to follow the very basics and this has been done properly through the textual instance which is provided to me in essence. There is absolutely no difference between my decision-making process and the one outlined in the text and hence there is no reason why the comparisons should come out in the open. The steps that have been taken are thus reliant on getting the job done which is indeed a better understanding of how to reach a decision in the f irst place. The decision-making process is a difficult one and it takes a lot of hard work and toil on the part of the person who ultimately reaches upon a decision. Therefore it would be viable to suggest success for an individual who wishes to give time, adequate analysis regimes and a comparison of the shortcomings within the entire decision-making process in entirety (Castellan, 1993). If the mistakes are taken care of and are removed essentially, then this will mean that the decision-making has been done correctly. It is important that the decision once reached upon is adhered to across the board as there is no analysis of a decision which has been wrongly made. However, it is a good measure to tackle a wrong decision within the decision-making process early on within this process. This can mean that the individual can put back the decision that has been done on his part on some of the occasions but the guarantee is not a must under such scenarios. The decision-making

Gay Marriage Outline Essay Example for Free

Gay Marriage Outline Essay In early times, same-sex marriage was not considered taboo and in many cultures, it was encouraged. Random History (2011) explains that in the early civilizations of Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt, the union between couples of the same-sex was recognized by the kingdom. During Greek’s early years, attraction between a man and another man was normal and was considered an expression of love. â€Å"The main considerations in same-sex relationships in early history were often love, beauty, and excellence of character rather than gender† (Random History, 2011, p. 1). Same-sex marriages were often believed to be more pure than a heterosexual marriage. Marriage was believed to be the union of two people based on love. A marriage consisting of two males or two females, if women had the right to get married, was not frowned upon. It was not until the rise of Christianity that a negative attitude towards same-sex marriage became introduced. The belief that marriage was based on procreation and any relationship that was non-procreative began to increase in many societies. Random History’s 2011 research describes how Eastern religions varied in their views about homosexual marriages. Japanese Buddhism records the most tolerant attitude toward homosexuality, praising it for its mystery. Today, there are no religious or political limitations on homosexual behavior in Japan. Sexuality is considered a private matter and lacks any restrictions. â€Å"The sacred texts in the Hindu tradition, the Vedas, did not restrict homosexuality, but rather viewed it as perverse† (Random History, 2011, p.1). Other things, such as mixed race relationships were considered more offensive than homosexuality. Random History (2011) also explains how in the thirteenth century, the first laws banning sodomy were introduced and were strictly enforced. Through the next centuries, homosexual behavior became deviant and was punished. Due to the belief that homosexual behavior was wrong, the belief that heterosexual relationships were normal became popular among the majority of countries. By the nineteenth century, heterosexuality became the most believed standard for relationships. Although the debate for same-sex marriage became noticeably public in the late twentieth century, it was not until 1993 during a Hawaiian case, that the issue became national news. The ruling of the case stated that the restriction of marriage and its benefits to  opposite-sex couples were unconstitutional. â€Å"The Defense of Marriage Act, which was introduced in 1996, was almost a direct response to the Hawaiian case, declared that no state would be required to recognize a same-sex marriage from another state, and also defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman† (Axel-Lute, 2002, p.1). By that same year, a majority of states passed laws prohibiting same-sex marriage. Since then, states have defined their own definition of marriage. Despite the fact that the debate over same-sex marriage is relatively new in the United States, five states have made same-sex marriage legal, as well as Washington D.C. According to the Florida’s Domestic Partnership (2010), currently, there are only two states that recognize same-sex marriages, New York and California. In California, the marriage is only recognized if it was before proposition 8. Ballot Pedias 2008 research explains how proposition 8 is a statewide ballot proposition in California. The people of California voted for the illegalization of same-sex marriage. Though some people are against same-sex marriages for religious reasons, not allowing same-sex marriages is discrimination. Same-sex marriages should be legalized because the discrimination same-sex couples receive is emotionally traumatic, and unfair. The most influential reason against same-sex marriage is based on religion. Many people believe that procreation is the ideal reason for marriage. Their belief is that same-sex couples do not have the capability to produce children which is the basis for marriage. However, when two of the most influential religious icons dis cussed marriage, child bearing was not a reason for two people to get married. â€Å"It is highly significant that Jesus and Paul, while both referring to the creation story, never once mention procreation or physical sexual difference in their teaching about marriage† (Sullivan, 1997, p.79). Both men stressed how the quality of a relationship was the most important aspect for marriage. If marriage is reserved for having a child, then same-sex marriages are not an issue. â€Å"There are countless ways to ‘have’ a child. Not all of them amount to doing the same thing† (Meilander, 1996). Many same-sex couples employ artificial insemination to conceive a child. Liz Tracy’s 2011 article interviews Maria and Vivian, a lesbian couple who were married in New York last year. The two have a 21 year old daughter by artificial insemination. During a marriage ceremony, the church’s only engagement is to  give its blessing. â€Å"The church does not, in fact, marry anyone. People marry each other. The state, not the church, defines the nature of legal marriage† (Sullivan, 1997, p.68). Sullivan (1997) also states how the church has blessed fields when crops have been planted, MX missiles, new houses, and warships whose sole purpose is to kill and destroy. There is no reason the church should not bless a relationship in which two people vow to be faithful and love each other for all eternity. Supporters of same-sex marriage believe the bill to allow same-sex marriage should be crafted in a specific way that will help win votes from people of faith. â€Å"The measure would not force religious organizations to grant marriages to same-sex couples, a move that would make the government benefits of marriage equal for gay and straight couples but still allow the sacrament of marriage to be defined by churches† (Groeninger, 2012, p.2). If the bill was written and carried out in a certain way, the church would not have any association with same-sex couples getting married because the process would be carried out in a courtroom. The American gay rights movement, which became heated in the 1970’s, defined marriage as oppressive, sexist, and a heterosexual institution, according to the National Organization of Women’s 2012 studies. By the government prohibiting same-sex couples from getting married, they are denying them rights that every other American has. â€Å"Marriage is a unique legal status conferred by and recognized by governments all over the world. It brings with it a host of reciprocal obligations, rights and protections† (National Organization of Women, 2012, p, 1). There are numerous rights and responsibilities that are associated with marriage. Same-sex couples are being discriminated against because they are not allowed any of these rights. The National Organization of Women’s 2012 research details many of the 1,138 federal rights, protections and responsibilities that come along with marriage, which same-sex couples are denied. Social Security benefits upon death, disability or retirement of spouse, as well as benefits for minor children, workers compensation protections for the family of a worker injured on the job, exemptions from estate taxes when a spouse dies, exemptions from federal income taxes on spouses health insurance are all denied to same-sex couples. The discrimination and denial of marriage and its benefits of same-sex couples can be emotionally traumatic at times. â€Å"Because literally hundreds  of important legal, economic, practical, and social benefits and protections flow directly from marriage, the exclusion from this central social institution wreaks real harm on real life same-sex couples everyday† (Sullivan, 1997, p. 129). Same-sex couples are denied the right to make decisions regarding their partner’s health or medical treatment. Sullivan (1997) also explains how same-sex couples are not allowed to adopt their partner’s children or how lesbian mothers are often denied custody of their children. One of the most common arguments against same-sex marriage is society’s image of the ideal family. â€Å"The public acceptance of homosexuality subverts the stability and self-understanding of the heterosexual family† (Sullivan, 1997, p.146). Conservatives believe that the ideal family includes one father and one mother. Both of the parents influence their children in a certain way. Many believe that a same-sex couple cannot raise a child properly because the child is not raised with both fatherly and motherly qualities. However, Sullivan (2012) also discusses how even though some parents may be disappointed that their child will not produce a grandchild, they would still prefer to see their child find someone to love and live with and share his or her life with. If a child is surrounded by two parents who love them, they will develop and grow as any other child would. Many states have legalized civil unions since 2000. Although civil unions provide legal protection to same-sex couples, they are only recognized at the state level. Many believe legalizing same-sex marriage is not an urgent issue because civil unions are becoming legal in more states. â€Å"Giving same-sex couples the right to visit a loved one in the hospital, make end of life decisions and inherit property through civil unions was considered the middle ground† (Groeninger, 2012, p.1). There is a vast amount of differences in a marriage and civil union. Debatepedia’s 2011 research explains how civil unions are separate and unequal because people in a heterosexual relationship have access to civil unions, yet same-sex couples do not have access to marriage. Civil unions are unequal because they are not recognized state to state. A same-sex couple in a civil union is denied the all of the rights that come with marriage. Also, civil unions do not receive any federal benef it. â€Å"Because the federal government does not respect civil unions, a couple with a civil union will be in a kind of limbo with regard to governmental functions  performed by both state and federal governments, such as taxation, pension protections, provision of insurance for families, and means-tested programs like Medicaid† (National Organization of Women, 2012, p.1). The debate over same-sex marriage will forever rage until it becomes legalized. Same-sex relationships have been a part of history since the ancient times. Not allowing same-sex marriage is discrimination. Couples are denied financial benefits heterosexual couples receive. Same-sex marriage should be legalized so couples will have the right to make decisions regarding their partner’s health and medical treatment as well as allowing them to adopt one another’s children. Designing the bill a certain way will enable to church to stay uninvolved, since religious reasons are the most common reason fo r people being against same-sex marriage. Legalizing same-sex marriages will create equality for all people in a relationship and defeat the injustice among same-sex couples.