Beckett vs Satre Essay Example for Free

Beckett vs Satre Essay Samuel Beckett’s vision of two lowly tramps in the middle of a derelict environment can be placed in direct contrast to the claustrophobic and eternal nightmare presented by Jean-Paul Sartre , but each playwright possessed objectives for their respective audiences and each shared a valued opinion on the theories of existentialism which can be established in the plays Waiting for Godot and No Exit. Beckett introduces the audience into a world of questioning and surrealist virtues and encourages the spectator to actually discuss the play and find the answer within. Sartre, however, presents his play as a placard for the virtues of existentialism and attempts to prove that â€Å"hell is other people†. When being asked about the sources for his ideas or advocating him as a pioneer for the Theatre of the Absurd, Beckett’s replies were often curt or dismissive. The Theatre of the Absurd was a term conceived by the critic Martin Esslin to describe the various playwrights who gave their artistic interpretations believing that human existence is futile and without meaning. According to Beckett himself the Theatre of the Absurd was too ‘judgemental’, too self-assuredly pessimistic: I have never accepted the notion of a theatre of the absurd, a concept that implies a judgement of value. It’s not even possible to talk about truth. That’s the part of the anguish. Sartre, however made his existentialist philosophies quite apparent. With his own theories he collaborated with the Dadaists and Surrealists after the Second World War and achieved to create his own ‘humanist’ way of thinking but with a prominent atheistic outlook. Sartre quoted rather proudly â€Å"L’homme est condamne a etre libre†¦l’homme est liberte. † Loosely translated he proclaims that â€Å"Man is condemned to be free†¦man is freedom. † Sartre firmly believed that man is nothing except his life and that consequently he is fully responsible for his actions. In Sartre’s existentialist world, man is committed to choose his own destiny without the help of any religion whether he wants to or not and he made this philosophy apparent in all of his works, unlike Beckett who used a more cryptic or absurd stance in his plays. With or without the use of absurdist ideals and other forms of the genre Beckett certainly portrayed the human values in his characters and considered the ideas of social conditioning and the existentialist notion of absolute freedom. Of all the ideologies written or philosophised over , existentialism seems to lend a lot of its virtues to Waiting for Godot. Ronan McDonald argues that absurdity and existence are fundamental to Beckett‘s work: There may be more affinity with another association of existentialism and Beckett’s beliefs, namely the idea of ‘absurdity’, though here (too) caution is advised. Without any grounding, without any reason for our being in the world, a certain strand of existentialist thought concludes that life is absurd, disordered and meaningless. The ‘absurd, disordered and meaningless’ which McDonald mentions is evident in the dialogue used in Waiting for Godot. Conversations between the two main characters of Estragon and Vladimir are often erratic and pointless and never seem to resolve at a natural climax. They bounce off each other instigating a retort which is unexpected and prompts an audience to laugh at the scenario with confusing intrigue. The dialogue in No Exit, on the other hand is logical and justified as it relates to the actual settings and situations of the characters. Beckett’s erratic streams of consciousness that materializes from his characters sometimes make no sense and compared to the confronting and direct speech in Sartre’s work, can sometimes be slightly confusing. Sartre’s characters all have a back story which can be deduced and discovered by the dialogue as opposed to the lack of any character history in Waiting for Godot. The audience can conclude that Estragon, Vladimir and Pozzo, although having different character traits, are all just waiting for Godot but do not know for how long or for what reason. Garcin, Estelle, and Inez in No Exit all have different traits, as does Beckett’s characters, but their characters are shaped from past despairs, sexuality or previous happenings in their lives which have evidently placed them in the hellish scenario in which they find themselves. Because of the situation in Sartre’s play, the audience can relate themselves to the characters on an empathetic level and create stronger opinions and less questionable virtues than that of Beckett’s enigmatic trio. The despair and degradation towards many civilians during the Second World War became an established influence in both Sartre and Beckett’s works during their most prolific period of writing after the conflict. The persecution of the Jewish people by the Nazi’s occupying Paris and Beckett’s personal actions within the French Resistance seemed to have spawned a firm principle and an underlying subtext within his plays. McDonald makes this apparent when he says: In his post-war career, though his work became ever less connected to a recognisable world, one could say, paradoxically, that it became more political, more shaped by exploitive power relations, edicts handed down from above, secrecy and inscrutability and descriptions of human torment. Many of these influences are indisputable in the relationship between Pozzo and Lucky throughout the first act in Waiting for Godot. During Act I of the play the abhorrent abuse Pozzo extends towards Lucky and the dismissive way in which he converses with the two slightly passive tramps creates a clear power divide between the characters. Beckett reverses the divide when in Act II Pozzo finds himself in distress and the power is redirected to the two tramps. As Pozzo is struggling helplessly on the floor like an up-ended beetle the two tramps, reminded of the chicken bone they received from him the day before, explain: VLADIMIR: He wants to get up. ESTRAGON:Then let him get up. VLADIMIR:He can’t. ESTRAGON:Why not? VLADIMIR:I don’t know. [POZZO writhes, groans, beats the ground with his fists. ] ESTRAGON:We should ask him for the bone first. Then if he refuses we’ll leave him there. VLADIMIR:You mean we have him at our mercy? By using Pozzo as the one in need and the two tramps as the one’s who can help, Beckett creates a pessimistic vision of human needs in a deliciously black pratfall. McDonald agrees when he says: Beckett’s work is notorious for it’s intense preoccupation with pessimism and human suffering, notwithstanding its bleak beauty and darkly acid comedy. Power and conflict can be found aplenty in Sartre’s hellish hotel room as all three characters seem to find themselves guilty of contraventions which have rendered them no better or worse for conscience in the eyes of the audience. Whereas Estragon and Vladimir use repetition and slapstick to form the basis of comic moments, Sartre’s characters use no such implements and keep the play solemn throughout. Garcin is the forlorn sadist, Estelle shrugs off her murderous past by being the conceited love-starved damsel and Inez stalks the room as the inert lesbian. Each character submits their own tales of woe and it is evident that none of them has the patience or understanding to cope with the others because as soon as a bond occurs between two characters, the third intervenes. Having one man and two women in the room (one of them being a lesbian with a keen eye on the other) sexual frustrations boil over to create various power struggles and along with the inept attempts to befriend or belittle and vexed attitudes on their morbid incarceration, the atmosphere becomes a tense hot-bed of conflict with each character in turn venting their grievance towards another. In Frederick Lumley’s New Trends In 20th Century Drama, he states; No love is possible in the presence of the third, no end is possible since the three must be together for eternity , â€Å"neither the knife, poison, rope† can enable them to escape this fact. With this fact constantly put forward by Sartre; the trio’s future looks bleakly endless and this inevitable outcome contributes to the rise in tension and conflict. Lumley continues; The play presents an endless repetition, a study in monotony which, far from being monotonous, is in fact intensely dramatic and most seducing. Beckett’s characters in Waiting for Godot all have their own motives and opinions but all seem to be quashed by the ever present threat of Godot appearing. The characters’ vivid streams of consciousness and erratic conversations take the audience along a confusing and often pointless narrative but Beckett seems to relish this as it makes the spectator question the morals and whole raison d’etre for the piece. Is Godot some sort of religious deity? Are the characters dead and living a life in endless purgatory? Is the story a tale of class and the power struggle that ensues from it? Beckett’s aims can be discussed and divulged for years to come and I believe that there is no one conclusive answer, but Eric P. Levy sums up his plays excellently when he says: â€Å"Beckett explores human experience as he finds it today: denied any explanations but desperately needing them. † I believe this to be the perfect description of what Beckett‘s aims were for the audience; being denied any explanation from Beckett himself and desperately wanting to know who or what Godot is. In stark contrast to Beckett’s surreal settings and arbitrary dialogue, Jean-Paul Sartre holds no blows when delivering his existentialist piece No Exit. The set itself is more representative of the hellish circumstances in which he has placed his characters as opposed to the stark emptiness of Beckett’s setting. The setting is just one room with no windows so characters and spectators alike have no sense of what time of day it is and a claustrophobic awareness is supported further by keeping the whole play within one act. In Waiting for Godot we observe all of the action in a sparse wilderness with just one solitary foliage-free tree as a visual representation of the outside world. The only hint of time passing is when the characters mention the previous days events or when the tree shows a mere sprouting of greenery in the second act of the piece. Along with the scenery the title of the play, No Exit, precedes dialogue and induces drama by giving a sense of inescapability and hopeless struggle to the play. Frederick Lumley describes the set beautifully in saying; †¦with it’s barren walls, it’s bricked up windows excluding daylight so that night and day are alike, the space where a mirror once hung (for in eternity one must look at others, not oneself anymore), is all part of a masochistic nightmare where continuity becomes an endless symphony of torture worse than any physical torture. With these points in mind it is evident that Sartre relied more on the situation in which his characters were based rather than the frivolities of Beckett’s characters and his absurdist approach. Although Beckett and Sartre shared the same philosophical outlooks on existentialism and the nature of human behaviour, Sartre used the theatre as his soap-box to create and present his philosophical views and tended to show the drama in the situation rather than the character based approach which Beckett utilized in most of his plays. Sartre himself states; As a successor to the theatre of characters we want to have a theatre of situation. The people in our plays will be distinct from one another not as a coward is from a miser or a miser from a brave man, but rather as actions are divergent or clashing, as right may conflict with right. Sartre uses the situation in No Exit to create the dramatic conflict and tense atmosphere whereas Beckett uses the theatre of absurdity with sparse and stunning dialogue to create some form of dramatic tension in Waiting for Godot. Conclusively this makes Beckett’s play very much more ambiguous compared to the out and out existentialist views portrayed in No Exit. The characters in Sartre’s piece all seem familiar to an audience who after witnessing the play have no quandary in deciding where the play leads or where it leads from and the content from it’s start to it‘s twisted and violent conclusion definitely advocates Sartre‘s theory; â€Å"Hell is other people. † Waiting for Godot, however, leaves the audience perplexed at the outcome and offers various questions as to the origin of it’s characters along with their motivations and mundane existence. With the erratic lines of action and the surreal and often pointless conversation, the audience can derive that the whole point of Waiting for Godot is; there is no point. But is this correct? Only Samuel Beckett could have revealed that answer. Bibliography Beckett. S. Waiting For Godot. Chatham: Faber Faber. 2006 ed. Sartre. J. P No Exit and three other plays. Vintage International. 1996 ed. McDonald. R. The Cambridge Introduction to Samuel Beckett. Cambridge: CUP. 2006. Levy. E. P. Beckett And The Voice Of The Species. Dublin: Macmillan. 1980 Knowlson. J McMillan (eds. ) The Theatrical Notebooks of Samuel Beckett, vol I: Waiting for Godot. London: Faber Faber, 1994. Unwin. S Woddis. C. A Pocket Guide To 20th Century Drama. London: Faber Faber. 2001. Lumley. F. New Trends In 20th Century Drama. London: Barrie Jenkins Ltd. 1972 ed. References Styan. J. L Modern Drama in Theory and Practice2 (Symbolism, Surrealism and the Absurd) Cambridge: CUP 1998 Lenny Love 2007 [ 2 ]. Knowlson, Damned to Fame, p. 178. [ 3 ]. New Trends In 20th Century Drama, Ch10 p139 [ 4 ]. Cambridge Intro to S. Beckett [ 5 ]. Cambridge Intro to S. Beckett Ch2, p22 [ 6 ]. Cambridge Intro to S. Beckett ch2, p23 [ 7 ]. Levy. E. P. Beckett the Voice of Species. p. 3. [ 8 ]. New Trends In 20th Century Drama. Ch10, p150 [ 9 ]. New Trends in 20th Century Drama. Ch10, p141.

Solar Power The trends and future of solar power generation Essay Example for Free

Solar Power The trends and future of solar power generation Essay Solar power is being increasingly conceived as a possible alternative to traditional energy sources, given the rise in costs associated with traditional energy sources. Although it had for long, been considered as highly uneconomic; this notion has been changing with the improvement in technologies. It should be noted here that generation of solar power is currently highly dependent on government subsidies. These subsidies are very essential for projecting solar power as an alternative to electricity from traditional fuel sources. However the cost of manufacturing and installing solar power generation system has been considerably decreased during the last two decades, during which the installed capacity too rose phenomenally. This scenario is in stark contrast to electricity generation from traditional sources where the generation costs increased with the rise in natural gas prices. The need for more power plants to meet the increasing consumption needs, the need to cut emissions and adopt other pollution control measures, only keep pushing conventional electricity prices further and further. The global solar capacity is anticipated to be about 20 to 40 times its current levels, by 2020, growing by 30 to 35% each year. The solar power generated today would correspondingly rise from 10 gigawatts to 400 gigawatts by 2020. However, despite the prospects for solar power, the solar power generation field is in its early stages; such that even if the estimated capacity level reaches the said 20 to 40 times its current level, it would only account for 3 to 6% of the electricity generation capability or 1.5 to 3% of the total output in 2020. It is now anticipated that in three to seven years from now, unsubsidized solar power should be available to the end customer at costs compatible to electricity produced by fossil fuels or other alternatives to solar. Parts of US and Italy, Japan and Spain are expected to see the equalization of solar and traditional power costs due to favorable trends and encouraging factors prevailing in these regions. Currently unsubsidized solar power costs about 36 cents per kilowatt-hour. This is expected to be around 12 cents per kilowatt-hour by 2020. The current solar technologies used are silicon-wafer photovoltaics, thin-film photovoltaics and concentrated solar thermal power. Each of these technologies have certain advantages with regard to particular usages. Through innovations and cost cuttings, the technologies strive to be more efficient, with enhanced applicability. The power conversion efficiency is the amount of electricity generated by the solar radiation corresponding to the surface of the photovoltaic cell, for a particular time period. Efficient systems are directed towards weighing less, with a smaller radiation collection surface, low cost transportation and installation. Photovoltaic refers to the solar panels which convert solar energy to electricity. The photovoltaic material is mainly formed of pure silicon, which emit electrons when subjected to solar radiation, thereby producing an electric current. While basic photovoltaic cells are used in calculators and wrist watches, more higher versions are used for powering water pumps, communications equipments and several other off-grid requirements. Photovoltaics are increasingly used as an additional or alternative for utility purposes already serviced by electric grid. More and more people increasingly opt for photovoltaics for several reasons like environmental, economic, emergency requirement, rising electricity costs etc. The silicon-wafer photovoltaics account for about 90% of installed solar capacity. It is particularly used in rooftop applications associated with space restrictions. Although these are doubly efficient compared to thin-film photovoltaics, their installation is costly. The solar panels themselves are costly too, requiring larger quantities of silicon photovoltaic material compared to thin film photovoltaic solar cells. Another disadvantage is that the theoretical efficiency limit of the photovoltaic single-junction silicon wafer cell, set at 31%, has been neared by several companies already. Although the limit of 31% can be extended by advanced techniques, these could lead to increased production costs. The commercially produced thin-film photovoltaics have only been recently proved to reach efficiency levels of about 10%. The lower efficiency levels with respect to silicon-wafer photovoltaics is achieved by very low usage of materials, requiring only about 5% or lesser than that needed for silicon wafer photovoltaics. The manufacturing costs associated with thin-film photovoltaics is almost half that for silicon-wafer, with tremendous prospects of increasing the costing gap in the long run. Thin-film photovoltaics are more used in large area installations, flat rooftops etc. While silicon-wafer based photovoltaics are capable of providing high output even for a quarter of a decade, the longevity of thin film are uncertain. Cadmium telluride is perhaps the most prospective thin film technology that have been developed commercially. However, the toxicity levels associated with cadmium and the availability of telluride are worrisome factors. The concentrated solar thermal power technology converts solar radiation to heat using mirror arrangements. These are then converted to electricity through heat conversion methods. The concentrated solar thermal power is appropriate for village requirements of 10 kilowatts as well as for grid applications involving several hundred megawatts (SEPA, 2008). These can be installed at the vicinity of the customers, thereby lowering transmission and distribution costs. Although these are the lowest in terms of associated costs, they require plenty of open space and very demanding solar conditions. The concentrated solar thermal technology mostly uses the usual components like reflectors and pipes, and therefore the prospects of costs reduction are less. The challenges confronting the advancement of solar power are those that are relevant to any upcoming or emerging sector. Given the intense competition, companies involved in manufacturing of solar power generation equipment must slash their costs by improving their manufacturing process of solar cells. The spurt in solar power activity has brought in funds from venture capital and private equity firms. An amount of $3.2 billion invested in the year 2007, saw new players in the solar power generation, who contributed to excess supply and falling prices. Early entrants like Dow Corning and Wacker as well as component developers like First Solar and SunPower saw high margins. At May end this year, the Abu-Dhabi based Masdar announced its entry in the manufacturing of thin film photovoltaic products. With an investment of $2 billion, the company expects to produce the state of art thin film modules, through a three phase strategy. (Ghelfi, 2008). On the previous day to this announcement, Q-Cells, the German solar cell manufacturer, announced an investment of $3.5 billion for developing a production center in Mexico, for manufacturing thin film modules. According to First Solar Inc., a company involved in manufacturing of solar modules, its average manufacturing cost for solar module in 2007 was only about $1.23 per watt. The company attributed the low cost to its thin film semiconductor technology compared to crystalline silicon modules, manufactured traditionally. The company expects to become the first solar module manufacturing company to provide non-subsidized solar electricity at retail electricity rates by 2010. A single manufactured solar module is about 2ft by 4ft, employing cadmium telluride as the absorption layer which provides high conversion efficiency with very little semiconductor material. From 2005, there had been an increasing demand for silicon from the solar module, solar cell and solar wafer manufacturers. Due to the insufficient supply of crystalline silicon, the solar modules and cells manufacturers’ utilization rates fell. The utilization rates fell to 70% in 2005 from 86% in 2004. With the demand increasing considerably, the German cell manufacturer ErSol Solar Energy reduced its 2007 expectations from 70 megawatts to 55 megawatts, due to fall in wafer supply. The supply shortfall led to a huge hike in silicon prices. The price of the silicon raw material shot to $45 a pound in 2007 from $20 in 2003. The higher prices in turn brought many companies into the business of silicon manufacturing. Silicon production rose by 14% in 2007 and is expected to rise by 43% in 2008 and by 50% in the each year 2009 and 2010. By 2010, the supply shortage and the resulting high prices would be taken care of. According to investment columnist Jim Jubak, rising prices of natural gases, slow developments and cancellations associated with nuclear and coal plants respectively, are pushing the price of solar stocks. Solar cell companies too are highly dependent on technology just as any other computer chip makers or cell phone one or television manufacturers. A bill seeking to extend the existing tax break for another six years have been passed by the House Ways and Means Committee. Jubak estimates that with everything looking in favor of solar power, the revenues in the solar industry are very likely to increase phenomenally (Jubak, 2008). Lux Research projects revenues to climb 27% annually, on a compounded basis through 2012. Another estimate from Clayton Securities suggests 17% annual compounded revenue growth through 2016. Â  REFERENCES Solar Electric Power Association (2008) Solar Electricity Basics [Electronic Version] Downloaded on 29th June 2008 from http://www.solarelectricpower.org/index.php?page=basics Jubak J., (2008) 3 high powered solar stocks [Electronic Version] Downloaded on 28th June 2008 from http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/JubaksJournal/HighPoweredSolarStocks.aspx Ghelfi C. (2008) Masdar getting into thin film solar business Electronic Version] Downloaded on 27th June 2008 from http://media.cleantech.com/2904/masdar-getting-into-thin-film-solar-business-abu-dhabi Lorenz P., Pinner D. Seitz T., The economics of solar power. The McKinsey Quarterly [Electronic Version] Downloaded on 27th June 2008 from http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/my_profile.aspx

Business Strategy Of Wal Mart In Japan

Business Strategy Of Wal Mart In Japan Globalisation is described as a process of world wide integration of culture, technology, social, political and economic factors. It is all about the creation of a world unified market and this can be observed with the growing levels of global trade (Luthans and Doh, 2009). Globalisation is evident in the shift of Multinational companies (MNCs) and economies from a world of isolation as a result of trade barriers to a world of reduced trade barriers and more inter related businesses and economies (Hill, 2009). MNCs now, expand from both developed countries, developing countries and emerging countries and vice-versa. There is therefore increasing competition among nations (The Economist, 2008). The global expansion of businesses over the years into different international markets have helped these businesses to increase their sales, competitiveness, reduce their cost of production and expand out of their saturated home markets (Root, 1994; Hill, 2009; Daniels et al., 2009). Retailers are not exceptions to this global expansion. This article will evaluate the internationalisation strategy of Wal-mart in Japan. Wal-Marts internalisation strategy in Japan is of particular interest because it recently pulled out of two of its international markets; Germany and South Korea. Its success in Japan is still questionable especially as Japan has proven to be a difficult market for many foreign retailers. International companies such as Carrefour, Boots have pulled out from the Japanese market after facing business challenges (Luthans and Doh, 2006). The literature review will analyse the Integration- responsiveness I-R framework as well as culture. These frameworks will be used for the evaluation of Wal-marts internationalisation strategy into the Japanese market in comparison with its international competitor Tesco Plc. The use of these two frameworks is to show the extent to which Wal-marts strategy responds towards Japanese local tastes and preferences in achieving a successful internationalisation. Conclusions and recommendations will be drawn from this analysis. BACKGROUND OF WAL-MART Wal-mart was founded in 1962 by Sam Walton and opened its first discount store in Rogers Ark, USA. In 1969, the company incorporated to become Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Wal-mart stores feature general merchandise such as electronics, clothing, and home appliances. It also has complete groceries units. The company employs more than 2.1 million associates, serving more than 176 million customers a year. In 2009, it ranked first among retailers in Fortune Magazines Most Admired Companies survey and is also the largest retailer in the world (Wal-mart, 2009). As a result of the saturation of the American retail market, Wal-mart started its international expansion into foreign markets in the 1990s first into Mexico and subsequently expanded into thirteen other countries including Japan China, Canada and Great Britain (Wal-Mart, 2009; Hill, 2009). Today it has about 8,424 stores and club locations. The companys most successful foreign venture is in its Mexican market (Hill, 2009). This is as a result of the fact that they adjusted their international strategy to meet local demands. Their everyday low price strategy was also successful in Mexico which is a developing country. However, these strategies are not always welcomed by consumers as revealed in their German and Korean market expansions where they failed and had to pull out. Wal-Mart is still struggling to succeed in the Japanese market where it has already invested $1 billion (USD) (BBC, 2007). Nevertheless, Wal-marts international expansions of Wal-Mart has allowed it to develop economies of scale, increase Its customer base and develop more ideas such as their new shop layout (Hill, 2009; Wal-mart, 2009). LITERATURE REVIEW INTEGRATION-RESPONSIVENESS(I-R) FRAMEWORK According to Prahalad and Doz (1987, p.18) the Integration-Responsiveness (I-R) framework is a way of capturing the pressures on a given business . This framework is based on the pressures for global integration and local responsiveness on a business as perceived by the managers of the company (Rugman, 2002). Pressures for global integration are industry forces which drives companies into the standardisation of their products, policies and procedures in order to reduce their cost of operations across national boundaries while pressures for local responsiveness are forces which drive businesses into being locally sensitive to differences in culture, preferences, tastes, and general behaviour of each international market in their internationalisation strategies (Rugman, 2002; Daniel et al., 2009; Luthans and Doh, 2009). According to Luthans and Doh (2009), the understanding of culture and its diversity is important to an international companys successful internationalisation in any country. This is because it impacts upon work force attitudes, managerial ideology, technological transfers, business customs and practices as well as consumer behaviours. The I-R framework was developed by Prahalad and Doz in 1987. They classified international strategies into Global strategy (global integrated, centralised management and move for cost reduction), Multi-focal strategy (an integration of global coordination and local responsiveness) and locally responsive strategy (customised and localised product and services). The adoption of any of these strategies is dependent on the dominant pressure on an MNC as well as its main focus which could be cost reduction or customer satisfaction. Bartlett and Ghoshal (1989) further developed this framework and classified MNC strategies into four categories which can be compared with that of Prahalad and Doz. Their four strategic classifications are: Global strategy, International strategy, Transnational and Multi domestic strategy. Companies with global strategy (high Integration- low Responsiveness) focus on standardization and cost reduction with tight global control, those with International strategy (Low Integration-Low Responsiveness) usually introduce their existing competence and expertise into the new market while Transnational companies (High Integration and High Responsiveness) are flexible and integrate equal levels of global integration and local responsiveness into their business. The multi-domestic companies on the other hand (low Integration and High Responsiveness) respond more towards product customisation (Daniel et al 2009). It is however worthy to note that the adoption of one strategy may lead to the negl ecting another. Figure 1, shows the diagrammatic representation of the strategic classifications by both authors. CULTURE The understanding of culture and its impact on international market expansion is imperative to the success an MNCs strategy in a foreign country (Luthans and Doh, 2009). The degree of pressure for local responsiveness is reflective of the degree of influence of culture upon consumers. Differences in cultural match between companies and employees or consumers can often result to struggle for success in an international market (Holstein, 2007). Hofstede (1980, p.21), defined culture as the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another. Just as personality defines the identity of an individual, culture defines the identity of a group. According to Luthans and Doh 2009 p.96, culture is the acquired knowledge that people use to interpret, experience and generate social behaviour. This acquired knowledge often manifest into peoples attitude, values, behaviours and general ways of life. Many researchers have argued that culture can be lea rned, shared, symbolised, patterned, adapted and transgenerationalised. Hill (2009) further argues that values and norms form the basis of a culture. These values could be attributed to collective responsibility, social obligations, loyalty and so on and are often times emotionally important to the group. Norms on the other hand are social codes of conducts which dictate peoples behaviour towards each other. The Japanese for instance, can be seen as a group of people with similar values and norms and related culture. Several researchers have studied cultural differences and its impact on different national behaviours. Hall (1973, 7976) cited in Paliwoda and Ryans (2008), categorised culture into High and Low context. High context cultures like Japanese and Arabic, prefer implicit or unspoken messages and slow business discussions with emphasis on personal relationship and trust while Low context cultures like North America, United Kingdom, Germany prefer explicit, written or spoken messages with more emphasis on expertise, performance and efficiency. Hofstede (1980) undertook a study of the impact of culture on values in a workplace. He categorised culture into four main dimensions: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism -collectivism and masculinity-feminity. A fifth one confucian dynaminism also referred to as long term or short term orientation was later developed. Power distance shows the extent to which people perceive inequality. High power distance nations (cultures) emphasise on the inequality of power, its workforce follow their superiors orders while low power nations or cultures minimise this inequality to minimum thus the work force follow superiors orders as a procedural requirement. Uncertainty avoidance on the other hand is the extent to which cultures avoid uncertainty. High uncertainty avoidance cultures shy away from risks, while low uncertainty avoidance cultures see risk as a part of life. Individualism versus collectivism is the degree to which people look after themselves as individuals or work in groups. Masculinity is often compared with feminity. Cultures with emphasis on success, money were referred as more masculine by Hosftede while a culture with emphasis on quality of life and caring for people are seen as feminist ( Hill,2009; Luthans and Doh,2009). The table below shows the Work-related values for 5 countries adapted from Hofstedes study. In as much as Hofstedes work is well accepted and has provided the basic characterisation of different cultural or national groups, these are not definite because culture cannot be easily classified and also culture is gradually changing with the increase in globalisation and integration of the world at large (Luthans and Doh, 2009). WAL-MARTS EXPANSION INTO JAPAN. Wal-Mart initially made a failed entry into Japan in the mid 1990s when it entered the market through selling its products in local supermarkets, however sales were disappointing (Yoffie and Wang, 2002). The initial failure could be associated to slow market drive by the local super markets as Wal-mart had little or no control over them. This can be seen as a major disadvantage of indirect exporting (Root 1994). However, in 2002 Wal-mart made a second attempt into Japan (BBC, 2006). Japan is one of the wealthiest and developed economies in the world. It has the second largest consumer market (Haddock-Fraser et al., 2009). Wal-marts entry into Japan was through partnership with Seiyu Ltd which is Japans fifth largest hypermarket and was in financial distress at that time (Yoffie and Wang, 2002). It was a deal which was done in phases as agreed by both parties. Wal-mart was to initially acquire 6.1% of Seiyu shares and gradually increase its stake by acquiring up to 67% of Seiyu in 200 7 (Yoffie and Wang, 2002). Sumitomo Corp a leading trading company in Japan also had a 15.6% stake of Seiyu (Luthans and Doh, 2009). In 2005, Wal-mart increased its acquisition stake making Seiyu a Wal-mart subsidiary and increasing Wal-marts control over Seiyu. In 2007, Wal-marts stake was again increased to 95.1% (Wal-mart, 2009). This partnership deal was meant to help Wal-mart minimise its risk of internationalising in Japan where there is strong domestic competition, price wars and strong suppliers and also help its entry and expansion in the market (Yoffie and Wang, 2002; Luthans and Doh, 2009). ANALYSIS OF WAL-MARTS STRATEGY IN JAPAN. Companies like Wal-mart, adopt international strategy for global expansion as suggested by Bartlett and Goshal because they have core competences which they can capitalise upon especially if its difficult for their rivals to match them. Companies with International strategy have important part of their value chain such as decision making, expertise, new products and international operations being controlled or decided from their headquarters. However such centralised decision making can often impede upon the abilities of the subsidiaries to respond to local demands (Hill, 2006; Daniel et al., 2009). Wal-mart has a cost efficient operating system with an expense structure that is among the lowest in the industry (Shah et al, 2005). Its price of food was estimated to be 20% lower than its competitors in the United States (Yoffie and Wang, 2002). Wal-mart is therefore trying to replicate this successful American strategy and core competence of Everyday Low Price (EDLP) in the Japanese international market. Though this strategy has been success in some of its international markets such as Mexico and China, the results in Germany and Korea were so poor that Wal-mart withdrew from those countries in 2006. Once again the success of this strategy is still questionable in Japan. Japanese consumers associate low price with low quality as they are willing to pay high price for high quality products (Holstein, 2007; Strategic Direction, 2008; Boyle, 2009). The perception of customers towards low price signifying low quality is particularly high in its clothing segment (Brunn, 2006). This low price strategy was adopted by Wal-Mart in its entry into Japan in 2002, especially because it was at a time when the country was just emerging from a prolonged recession and consumer income was low (Luthans and Doh, 2009). In order to erase this image of Low Price signifying Low Quality from the minds of their customers, Wal-Mart has introduced, more expensive products for the customer segment that prefers high cost while still maintaining some low cost variants. For example, it has jeans for $10 and $ 35 option as well (Business Week, 2005) this however may further confuse its customers who may not understand the basis for such price disparity. Japan is a country with a high context society and collectivistic way of life (Paliwoda and Ryans, 2008). They have strong ties to families and groups and great emphasis for quality and prestige (Hofstede, 1980). As a result of these strong social ties, Wal-Marts sacking of 25% of Seiyus work force including 1500 managers and employees in 2004, was wrongly perceived by the Japanese people. Wal-mart opens its stores for 24 hours a day, this is seen as stressful by the employees and generally seen as an infiltration of the American culture into Japan. Its introduction of American, Canadian and British managers who act on headquarters decisions rather than employing Japanese managers who understand the market better further portrayed them in a negative light to both the employees and the general public. This consequently led to the loss of some of its customers (Holstein, 2007; Strategic Direction, 2008). Another core competence which Wal-mart introduced into Japan is its technology-focused inventory replenishment system which is linked to their suppliers. It helps them monitor and manage their inventories. However, because the Japanese people prefer personal interaction when doing business (Hofstede,1980), the implementation of this Information technology strategy has not been easy, especially as Japan has several layers of distribution network which are closely networked and difficult to penetrate. It thus makes high volume discounting difficult and merchandising more expensive (Brunn, 2006; Holstein, 2007). Wal-Mart is however trying to eliminate the middle-man in order to successfully implement its low price strategy (Luthan and Doh, 2009). Wal-marts response to local tastes, preferences and general way of life is perceived as low in its international strategy as It tends to implement its competences into international markets with little considerations to what the local demands, preferences, expectations are and this has led to its struggle to survive in Japan (Brunn, 2006). Comparing Wal-mart with Tesco Plc in Japan, the following differences can be drawn from their strategy. Tesco Plc which is the biggest retailer in the United Kingdom entered Japan in 2003 through the acquisition of a domestic retailer just as Wal-Mart did. While Wal-mart acquired Seiyu which is a hypermarket, Tesco Plc acquired C Two-Network stores which has small discount supermarket stores (Tesco, 2009). Haddock-Fraser et al., (2009) have argued that large supermarket (hypermarkets) of the western cultures are not viable in Japan, rather small supermarkets, convenience stores with fresh and quality products are preferred by the Japanese consumers. Thus the strategic move of acquiring a discount supermarket chain by Tesco was aimed at meeting the local demand of the Japanese consumers who prefer to shop daily for fresh food in small quantities with convenience. This shopping behaviour makes them to patronise convenience stores and discount supermarkets which are more accessible than out of town hypermarkets. Tesco, with its small store format, experienced overall sales growth in 2006 unlike Wal-mart which has been making loss for four years (Haddock-Fraser et al., 2009). Upon acquiring C Two-Network, Tesco retained the management team of the company to oversee its operations in Japan, because Tesco realised that these managers have better understanding of the Japanese employees, consumers and suppliers (Food and Drink, 2003). Japan, being a country with high collective behaviours, (Holfstede, 1980) perceived this as a good move. Tesco Plc tries to localise its products and services in each of their international markets, recognising that each market has unique preferences. This higher degree of local responsiveness in their international markets emphasises the reason why Tesco retains its foreign managers and limits its control from headquarters (Tesco, 2009). Figures 3 and 4 below further shows the differences in the sales contribution of the international markets to the total revenue of both companies. Wal-Marts international markets contributed 24.6% of the companys 2009 financial income while Tesco Plc has 53% of its 2009 financial income being generated by its foreign markets with Asia alone generating 30% of this value. It can, therefore, be concluded that Tescos response to local responsiveness has a positive impact on their financial performance internationally. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Wal-Mart is very successful in its domestic market and also some foreign markets such as China and Mexico where it had to adjust its strategy in order to respond better to local pressures. It is therefore recommended that Wal-mart should further develop its strategy in Japan and respond better to the countrys local demands and preferences through the opening of convenience stores in order to capture that market segment and offering more fresh local products to meet the local demand. Wal-mart should also employ Japanese managers who understand the market better. These measures will help Wal-mart to succeed better in Japan where the pressure for low price by customers is not emphasised rather high quality is preferred. Wal-mart can still maintain its international strategy with a little more responsiveness to local demand as there is no one best strategy to adopt. This move will save Wal-mart from withdrawing from the market where it has already invested $1 billion USD. Wal-marts low s ales value from international operations in comparison with Tesco reveals that the retail market is still a viable industry for Wal-mart to exploit.

Trees :: essays research papers

Trees Trees are woody plants with a distinct stem, or trunk. They are usually the tallest of plants, and their height and single main stem differentiate them from shrubs. Trees are perennials that live at least three years. Some tree species are extremely short but others may reach a height of more than 367 feet. The General Sherman Tree, a giant sequoia in California’s Sequoia National Park, has a height of 275 feet and a diameter of 37 feet. The largest trees are not always the oldest. The bristlecone pine, for example, grows to a height of only 30 feet but one specimen has been dated to be at least 4600 years old.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are two general types of trees, angiosperms and gymnosperms. Angiosperms are flowering plants that have a seed. They include maples and oaks, which are dominant species in Kentucky. Gymnosperms, on the other hand, do not bear flowers. Their seeds lie exposed in structures such as cones or fleshy cups called arils. This group includes conifers, gingkos, and cycads. Trees grow throughout the world, from the icy regions near the Arctic to the steaming tropical regions near the equator. They may grow along steep cliffs, in swamps and deserts, and on mountaintops at even the highest of elevations. Although trees can grow alone, most grow in strands, which consists of one species or a mixture of species. A forest is a plant community that is made up of the trees, shrubs, and herbs that cover an area. Forests provide many social, economic, and environmental benefits. Forest provide wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities, prevent soil erosion and flooding, and help to provide clean air and water. Forests are also an important defense against global climate change. Through a process known as photosynthesis, plants exchange the oxygen that is necessary for life with carbon dioxide, the chemical most responsible for global warming. By decreasing the amount of carbon dioxide forests may reduce the effects of global warming. In the United States, forests are threatened by extensive logging, called clear-cutting, which destroys much of the plant and animal habitats and leaves the landscape bare. Until the 1990’s, the U.S. Forest Service was directed by Congress to maximize the amount of timber harvested in order to provide jobs. In the late 80’s and early 90’s, environmentalists sued the government for violating the National Environmental Policy Act. As a result, the amount of timber harvested was reduced and foresters were directed to follow a policy known as ecosystem management.

Wedding Toasts - Best Man, Brother of the Groom Essay -- Wedding Toast

Wedding Toasts - Best Man, Brother of the Groom Good Evening! I’m standing up here tonight, pretty boastful I have to admit, of my brother, Bobo, and his bride Twiggy. I have come to sing their praises, and if I happen to embarrass either one of them in the process, I apologize right now! On behalf of our family, we want to welcome each of you to the wedding today. It is a true testament to Bobo and Twiggy that you have taken time from your busy schedule to come and witness their marriage. I have never seen a more beautiful bride than Twiggy, and my brother looks just plain button busting proud, doesn’t he? Bobo and Twiggy do not come lightly into this marriage. They have each led successful lives up to this point, and each is a wonderful individual alone. However, as wonderful and unique each of them is, together they make the perfect couple! Bobo, a man of patience,...

David Livingstone :: essays research papers

David Livingstone is a Scottish missionary and physician. He spent most of his life exploring Africa. He helped Europeans learn a lot about the continent of Africa. Livingstone was born in Scotland. His parents were really religious so David followed his dad’s footsteps. David is a really hard working person, the reason why he would want to go to Africa was because he knew that there weren’t a lot of Christians there; he also knew that not many people there knew about Christ. At age ten he began working in the local cotton mill, he had to work long hours and he got too little pay for what he was doing. When he didn’t work, he would just stay at home to study, and in 1836 he entered Anderson's College in Glasgow. He was mainly interested in theology and medicine. In 1838 the London Missionary Society accepted him as a candidate, and two years later he received a medical degree from the University of Glasgow. The First War between Britain and China ruined his hope s of becoming a medical missionary to China, but the missionary society arranged a new placement for him in southern Africa. He was supposed to be preaching in the southern part of Africa; however, due to the fact that he wasn’t successful, he went to the north. While he was there, he worked with an individual named, Robert Moffat. Later on he married his daughter, Mary Moffat. For the next 15 years, Livingstone was constantly moving into the African interior. He was strengthening his missionary determination he was also responding entirely to the delights of geographical discovery; he was building for himself a Christian, a courageous explorer, and a fervent antislavery advocate. As a missionary, David Livingstone quickly believed that what he was supposed to do is to not remain in one spot, preaching the gospel to the few local people willing to listen. Instead, he should keep on moving, reaching new groups and extending to them to be more familiar with what God wanted them to do with Christianity. Eventually he would expand this idea into a belief that his role was to open up Africa's interior to broader influences from Western civilization. Once that occurred, he would work hand in hand to end slave trading and uplift African peoples. Such motives drove Livingstone. He worked really hard as a missionary but he still had the desire to keep on exploring.

Internal Accountant’s Report to Management Essay

Introduction Since our company is preparing for an upcoming government contract bid, management has decided that a full Financial Status Review (FSR) prior to the release of the bid is essential. This report is to provide supporting information prior to the bid in order to evaluate if any irregularities with regard to fraud and/or abuse of the company have taken place and if so, to what effect. The report is divided into four sections, which will cover information on the effect of potential occupational fraud and abuse on the company. It will also discuss U.S. government oversight of accounting fraud and abuse and its effect on the company. Section three will provide potential corruption schemes to be aware of in the company. Finally, some recommendations will be given of types of accounting evidence and methods of gathering evidence to support the FSR and to provide reasonable assurance that no irregularities have occurred. Occupational fraud and abuse According to 2009 Global Fraud Survey organizations lose about 5% of its gross revenues to all forms of fraud and abuse in the workplace. Moreover, having to report fraud is very unhealthy for the company and its stakeholders. It can result in some negative effects like remunerations and salaries, employee base, employee benefits, but also morale and profits. Also occupational frauds and abuses usually have an adverse effect on the reputation of the company. In case of a very significant fraud it may even lead to bankruptcy. U.S. governmental oversight of accounting fraud and abuse There have been many significant accounting scandals, like Enron, Computer Associates, Xerox, Adelphia, WorldCom and Royal Ahold, that have had extensive press coverage and, despite the fact that some of them are already some years in the past, they are still being discussed. Since then many new, different and strict accounting regulations and rules have been created in order to prevent or defer fraud, abuse or waste. Many of the frauds were with regard to revenue recognition, which has led to many improvements by now. Noticeable changes have been made in the way firms from particular industries book revenues as a result of the heightened SEC scrutiny of revenue accounting; companies have become more conservative when it comes to the timing of the revenue recognition. Particularly many Internet companies have reduced the total amount of the revenue being recognized compared to the situation before the heightened scrutiny. According to a survey in FORBES, less fraud cases have been reported recently. Enforcement cases and prosecutions over the last decade were very well publicized which had a positive effect on the attitude of many companies’ senior management. Also it is said that government’s enforcement efforts have had a deterring effect. Moreover, additional requirements imposed by Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) made senior executives more concerned about the financial results reported and on which they have to sign off. It is clear that the US financial reporting environment has changed and based on the positive current events, constantly improving reporting requirements, rules and regulations, even greater changes are expected in the future. Corruption schemes Corruption has unfortunately been a very common phenomenon in the work environment throughout the years. It is defined as  ¨an intent to gain particular personal advantage at the cost of organization ¨ he/she represents. Corruption schemes are usually divided into 4 main categories: * Bribery and Kickbacks * Commercial bribery is the offering, giving, receiving or soliciting of anything of value to influence the outcome of a business transaction * It usually involves the submission of invoices that are overpriced or fictitious * Is usually undertaken by employees such as purchasing agents * Economic Extortion * Money extortion from a potential purchaser or supplier * Example: a corrupt purchasing officer demanding a payment in exchange to make a decision in the vendor’s favor * Conflicts of Interest * The situation occurs when an employee, manager or executive has an undisclosed personal or economic interest (with a negative effect on the company) * For example, the victim organization is not informed that its employees have divided royalties * This scheme includes the exertion of the insider’s influence to the detriment of the entity * Illegal Gratuities * This type of scheme is similar to bribery schemes. The only difference is that there is an intent to reward a business decision, rather than influence it * A common example is when purchasing agents are promised expensive vacations, etc. after a vendor’s contact is approved Accounting evidence and evidence gathering methods Gathering accounting evidence is a very common activity in auditing. Accounting evidence is being collected using investigative and auditing practices. For investigations, this is the evidence that lawyers and government officials can rely on for very important and high profile cases. For more routine reviews as the FSR prior to the bid, it is the type of evidence that we can rely on to give reasonable assurance that no irregularities have occurred. In both situations, the accounting evidence should be based on the following important qualities: * Relevance * Materiality * Competency The types of accounting evidence we are referring to include: * Physical evidence * Third-party representations * Documentary evidence * Computations * Data Interrelationships * Client representations * Accounting Records Since this is a FSR and not an investigative procedure, I recommend the following auditing methods to gather evidence that will provide reasonable assurance that no irregularities have occurred and that our financial statements are relevant and have been compiled in a competent manner and contain no material misstatements: * Compliance testing – to ensure that we have an adequate internal control system and that it is working effectively; an adequate level of transaction testing will have to be performed to provide this assurance * Substantive testing – a. Test of detail – for the purpose of the FSR I recommend these only when and where the internal control system does not provide the assurance we desire b. Analytical testing – I recommend these to provide further assurance that our financial statements adequately reflect the financial position of our company References: Wells, J. (2011). Principles of fraud examination (3rd ed). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Singleton, T. W., Singleton, A. J. (2010). Fraud auditing and forensic accounting. (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Online Source: http://safeside.ch/safeside.info/index.php/fraud-schemes/corruption/224-corruption-schemes-