Hinduism and Buddhism in the United States Essay

This paper intends to compare the origin and basic beliefs of Hinduism and Buddhism. It also aims to state the roles that Hinduism and Buddhism played that contributed to the American Culture, both in the past, as well as, in the present. Last but not least, the paper will briefly discuss the effect/s that Hinduism and Buddhism have on the future American culture, as well as, how that particular culture impact these people. Origin and Basic Beliefs of Hinduism and Buddhism No particular name of prophet or any religious person for that matter is related to the foundation of Hinduism while Buddhism is said to be established by Buddha (Hinduism versus Buddhism, n. d. , n. p. ). Furthermore, followers of Hinduism believe in the Vedas and that there is only one â€Å"Supreme Being†, on the other hand, the advocates of Buddhism believes otherwise (Hinduism versus Buddhism, n. d. , n. p. ). Moreover, those people who practice Hinduism believe that their objective is to show faith in their God; collect material things, as well as, their desires and passion; and attain salvation (Hinduism versus Buddhism, n. d. , n. p. ). On the other hand, those who practice Buddhism has only one objective in life and that is to put an end to their sufferings (Hinduism versus Buddhism, n. d. , n. p. ). Roles that Hinduism and Buddhism Played that Contributed to the American Culture Hinduism in the United States is not yet very well known; however, because they are the most edified if compared to all the rest of the religions in the United States, they managed to share their beliefs to some of the Americans who delightedly converted into their religion (Rood, 1994, n. p. ). Also, the spiritual practices and other cultures that they possess became a fundamental part of the American culture because they have been given the freedom to do so in the United States (Rood, 1994, n. p. ). On the other hand, since, there are millions of Buddhism’s followers, the aforementioned became an integral part of the American culture as well (Rood, 1994, n. p. ). It began when an officer who fought during the Civil War became interested in the writings/scriptures of the aforementioned religion (Rood, 1994, n. p. ). Actually, it is because of the interesting beliefs and practices of both religions that’s why both have been and are still currently a part of the American culture (Rood, 1994, n. p. ). Effect that Hinduism and Buddhism have on the Future American Culture Hinduism and Buddhism will surely have an effect on the future American culture since both have already impacted the culture of the Americans then and now (Hinduism versus Buddhism, n. d. , n. p. ). Most likely in the future, there will be more schools that stress on the beliefs and practices of Hinduism and Buddhism (Hinduism versus Buddhism, n. d. , n. p. ). In addition, more American people will incorporate the beliefs of such religions in theirs because of great interest in the beliefs of those religions (Hinduism versus Buddhism, n. d. , n. p. ). Meanwhile these cultures will impact the American people greatly, they may be able to find ways to change their personality and may even attain their ultimate goals – happiness and salvation (Hinduism versus Buddhism, n.d. , n. p. ). References Hinduism versus Buddhism. (n. d. ). Retrieved April 23, 2008 from http://www. experiencefestival. com/a/Hinduism_vs_Buddhism/id/54137 Rood, R. (1994). Hinduism. Retrieved April 23, 2008 from http://72. 14. 253. 104/search? q=cache:R-6zli9PVKEJ:www. probe. org/index2. php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26do_pdf%3D1%26id%3D692+Desire+for+Liberation+from+Earthly+Existence+%2B+Hinduism&hl=tl&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=ph&client=firefox-a

Aztec and Inca Dbq

Aztec & Inca DBQ The Aztec and Inca were two very advanced cultural societies for being on of the early civilizations of Central America. These Empires maintained a high level of cultural development due to their social, architectural, and religious aspects. Additional documents that would have aided the explanation of these cultures would be from a priest and his role was a significant part in the community as well as from an architect or constructor, to describe some of the obstacles they needed to surpass in order to erect the magnificent buildings and temples.The social effects of the Aztec & Incan Empires clearly emphasized the superb cultural development that occurred there (documents 1,6,7,8,10,11). The Mendoza Codex exhibits the daily activities and customs of the Aztec realm (doc. 1). It depicts the type of work depending on gender roles, in which men performed more of the hunting activities and the women were taught how to work with crafts. The picture also shows how the ol der generations taught their young the new techniques and traditions. (Insert authors’ pov/bias here). The page from the Codex Mendoza shows the advanced marketplaces they had because of the great variety of goods (doc. ). The numerous manufactured wares also show the type of work and materials that were needed to be done in order to produce the items. (Insert authors’ pov/bias here). In the memoirs of the conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo, he describes the quality and vast amounts of goods sold at the Aztec marketplace (doc. 7). He takes not of how the items were displayed and the policies that enforced order throughout the market. However, he does show bias because he compared the Aztec marketplace to that of Portugal, and is truly only interested in gold, silver and slaves.He was also surprised by the way the slaves were able to walk around the city without being restrained. The photograph of the Chinampa system shows the importance of the agricultural method as well as how the geography of the area promoted its use (doc. 8). From the lake dredged islands, much force needed to be exerted by the workers in order to harvest the crops. Although a laboring job, the fields reaped great benefits since they produced seven crops per year. This amount contributed to a mixed diet, which led to better health and a greater population. (Insert authors’ pov/bias here).The picture of the Incan bridge shows the intercommunication between people from different parts of the area to do so with ease (doc. 10). The bridges not only encouraged communication between peoples, but also to aid them form gathering crops from one side of the area to the other, and to increase trade between the two parts of the Incan Empire. (Insert authors’ pov/bias here). The picture from the First New Chronicle and Good Government, illustrated by Felipe Guanan Poma de Ayala, depicts the wide use and dependence on quipu to govern the Incan Empire (doc. 1). This mneumon ic device allowed for rulers and imperial officials to keep track of various statistics including agricultural products, and debts owed by the people. (Insert authors’ pov/bias here). Architecture also contributed to the stimulation of culture in the central American societies (documents 2,9,10,13). The photograph of the carved glyph on the Tenayuca Pyramid in Mexico City exhibits the skill and precision that architects had in constructing a building (doc. 2).Although all these sculptors had were rocks to carve into the rock, they did so in a way that was very proficient and showed their expertise in architecture. (Insert authors’ pov/bias here). The twelve cornered stone, shows the great amount of skill and effort the Incan architects had and needed in order to make such reliable and dependable walls (doc. 9) . The walls are of quality strength because they have lasted from the day they were built up until now without the use of any mortar, just the precise aligning o f carved rocks. (Insert authors’ pov/bias here).Apart from architecture, the Incan engineers built reliable bridges, just like the one that still stands today (doc. 10). This shows the expertise in bridge – making as well as how the bridge could have helped architects build their structures, by using the bridge to cross over the chasm and retrieve rocks that could be used as carving rocks or as building materials. The photograph of Machu Picchu shows the great amount of effort and skill required to create a society that could be depended on and maintained in the mountains (doc. 13). (Insert authors’ pov/bias here).The Incan architects truly show their might with this one, all buildings and structures were put together from hand carved rocks without the use of mortar. The builders also had to create a way for the city to not fall down, which also took much thought and skill. Lastly, religion was a great supporter for the cultural development in the Aztec and Inca n Empires (documents 3,4,5, 12). The civil calendar used by the Aztecs shows the sophistication and complexity of activities throughout the course of the year, and how they paid close attention to religious ceremonies and the agricultural cycle (doc. 3).In this society the gods needed to be worshipped in order to produce great and bountiful harvests, so the veneration of goods was a necessity. (Insert authors’ pov/bias here). The chart describes the rituals that were associated for each month of the year and how it coincided with the Aztec calendar (doc. 4). The chart shows the intense religious devotion of many gods through ways of sacrificing people of certain age groups for each month. (Insert authors’ pov/bias here). The photograph from the Florentine Codex by Friar Bernadino, exhibits the great sacrificial society of the Mexica people (doc 5).This document shows bias because to the people of Central America, human sacrifice is part of their religion and way of wor shiping their gods and giving their offerings, while to a Franciscan monk who is a Christian begger, these ways are seen as heretic and the citizens are considered savages. The first new chronicle and good government by Felipe Guaman Panade Ayala exhibits the great devotion of Incas and their leaders to their sun god (doc. 12). They were strictly believers of the sun god and many other gods and since the document was written by someone who is of Incan descent, it shows bias.He sees the kings rejection to the Christian missionary Fray Vincente, as an act of great courage, loyalty, and devotion to his god, and is seen as a religious figure to other followers of the sun god. All in all, despite some of the Aztec's and Inca's outdated technology methods, and tools, they were at quite an advanced level of cultural development. Together the social, architectural, and religious aspects contributed to these successful societies. This essay receives a score of 9! It covers all requirements.

Quiz Questions for Chapter 9

Quiz Questions for Chapter 9 1. A truck was purchased for $25,000. It has a six-year life and a $4,000 salvage value. Using straight-line depreciation, what is the asset’s carrying value (book value) after 2 1/2 years? a. $8,750. b. $12,250. c. $14,583. d. $16,250. 2. On January 1, 2003, Superior Landscaping Company paid $17,000 to buy a stump grinder. If Superior uses the grinder to remove 2,500 stumps per year, it would have an estimated useful life of 10 years and a salvage value of $4,500. The amount of depreciation expense for the year 2003, using units-of-production depreciation and assuming that 3,500 stumps were removed, is a. 2,380. b. $1,750. c. $1,700. d. $1,250. 3. The sale for $2,000 of equipment that cost $8,000 and has accumulated depreciation of $6,700 would result in a a. gain of $2,000. b. gain of $700. c. loss of $700. d. loss of $1,300. 4. Underestimating the number of tons of a mineral that can be mined over a mineral deposit’s life will result in a . overstated net income each year. b. overstated total assets each year. c. overstated depletion expense each year. d. no effect on total assets each year. 5. A copyright is obtained for what becomes a very successful book.The publisher expects the book to generate sales for 10 years. The copyright should be amortized over a. 2 to 4 years. b. 10 years. c. 40 years. d. the author’s life plus 50 years. The following information pertains to the next two questions. Z Company purchased an asset for $24,000 on January 1, 2004. The asset was expected to have a four-year life and a $4,000 salvage value. 6. The amount of depreciation expense for 2006 using double-declining-balance would be a. $2,000. b. $3,000. c. $6,000. d. $12,000. 7. Assume that Z Company uses straight-line depreciation.If on January 1, 2007, Z Company sells the asset for $10,000, the statement of cash flows would report a a. $1,000 cash inflow from gain on the sale of the asset in the operating activities section. b. $10,000 cash inflow from an asset disposal in the investing activities section. c. $9,000 cash inflow from an asset disposal in the financing activities section. d. a and c. 8. On January 1, 2006, Fulsom Corporation purchased a machine for $50,000. Fulsom paid shipping expenses of $500 as well as installation costs of $1,200. Fulsom estimated the machine would have a useful life of ten years and an estimated salvage value of $3,000.If Fulsom records depreciation using the straight-line method, depreciation expense for 2007 is. a. $4,870. b. $5,170. c. $5,270. d. $5,570. 9. Hickory Ridge Company purchased land and a building for $920,000. The individual assets were appraised at the following market values: Land $614,400 Building $345,600 Recording the land in the accounting records would a. increase land by $588,800. b. increase land by $614,400. c. increase assets by $920,000. d. Both a and c. 10 Penny Lane and Associates purchased a generator on January 1, 2006, for $6,300. The generator was estimated to have a five-year life and a salvage value of $600.At the beginning of 2008, the company revised the expected life of the asset to six years and revised the salvage value to $300. Using straight-line depreciation, the depreciation expense recorded in 2008 would a. decrease assets and equity by $1,140. b. decrease assets and equity by $930. c. decrease assets and equity by $1,005. d. decrease assets and equity by $1,500. 11 Which of the following statements about goodwill is true? a. The amount of goodwill is measured by subtracting the amount paid for assets from their fair market value on the purchase date. b. The amount of goodwill is recorded as an asset. . Recording impairment of goodwill reduces the amount of net income. d. All of the above. 12 XYZ Company paid cash for a capital expenditure that improved the operating efficiency of one of its assets. Which of the following reflects how this expenditure affects the company’s financial statement s? a. b. c. d. 13 Assets = +- +- – n/a Liab. n/a n/a n/a n/a + Equity n/a n/a – n/a Rev. – n/a n/a n/a n/a Exp. n/a n/a + n/a = Net Inc. n/a n/a – n/a Cash Flow – IA n/a – OA n/a KLM Company experienced an accounting event that affected its financial statements as indicated below: Assets = – Liab. n/a Equity – Rev. – n/a Exp. + = Net Inc. – Which of the following events could have caused these effects? a. recognizing depreciation. b. paying cash for a capital expenditure. c. amortizing a patent. d. none of the above. Cash Flow – OA 14. Which of the following correctly matches the type of long-term asset with the term used to identify how that asset’s cost is expensed? Building Oil Reserve Copyright a. Amortization Depreciation Depletion b. Depletion Amortization Depletion c. Amortization Depletion Depreciation d. Depreciation Depletion Amortization 15. Which of the following is true? . The book value of an asset is its estimated market value. b. The primary purpose of recording depreciation expense on the income statement is to reduce income tax expense. c. Recording depreciation expense decreases the book value of the asset in the year it was used to produce revenue. d. The accumulated deprecation for an asset provides the cash needed to replace the asset at the end of its useful life. Quiz Questions for Chapter 10 The following information pertains to the next seven questions. On January 1, 2003, XYZ Corporation issued a $5,000 face value bond that sold for 90.The bond had a five-year term and paid 10 percent annual interest. The company used the proceeds from the bond issue to buy land. The land was leased for $600 of cash revenue per year and was sold at the end of the 5th year for $4,200 cash. 1. The carrying value of the bond liability on January 1, 2003, would be a. $4,600. b. $4,500. c. $5,000. d. $4,000. 2. The amount of interest expense reported on the 2003 income sta tement would be a. $450. b. $400. c. $500. d. $600. 3. Interest expense reported on the income statement over the life of the bond would a. ncrease by $100 each year. b. decrease by $100 each year. c. be the same each year. d. equal the stated rate of interest. 4. The carrying value of the bond liability on December 31, 2007 would be a. $4,500. b. $5,000. c. $4,900. d. $4,600. 5. The sale of the land on December 31, 2007, would a. increase retained earnings by $300. b. increase equity by $4,200. c. reduce net income by $300. d. have no effect on retained earnings. 6. The total amount of liability associated with the bond issue would a. increase each year as a result of the amortization of the discount. b. ecrease each year as a result of the amortization of the discount. c. remain the same each year. d. always be equal to the face value of the bond payable. 7. The amount of the cash outflow for interest expense in 2005 would be a. $600. b. $400. c. $500. d. $ 0. Use the following in formation to answer the next three questions. On January 1, 2003 , Keynes Company issued a $20,000 face value bond that sold for 110. The bond had a ten-year term and a stated annual interest rate of 8 percent . 8. The carrying value of the bond liability on January 1, 2003, would be a. $20,000. . $22,000. c. $21,800. d. $20,200. 9. The amount of interest expense reported on the company’s 2003 income statement would be a. $1,200. b. $1,400. c. $1,600. d. $1,050. 10. The amount of interest expense reported on the company’s 2004 income statement would be a. $1,400. b. $1,600. c. $1,800. d. $2,000. 11. If a bond sells at a discount, which of the following is true? a. The market interest rate at the time of issue is greater than the stated interest rate on the bond. b. The market interest rate at the time of issue is less than the stated interest rate on the bond. c.The market interest rate at the time of issue is the same as the stated interest rate on the bond issue. d. The market interest rate is expected to increase above the stated interest rate on the bond. 12. On January 1, 2003, Ink, Inc. borrowed $100,000 cash from the Fidelity Bank on a note that had a 6 percent annual interest rate and a five-year term. The loan is to be repaid in annual payments of $23,741. 69 on January 1 each year. The amount of the January 1, 2004, payment applied to interest and to principal would be a. $6,000 / $94,000. b. $17,741. 69 / $94,000. c. $4,935. 0 / $82,258. 31. d. $6,000 / $17,741. 69. 13. Indigo Company can borrow up to $50,000 on its line of credit at the state bank. The company agrees to pay interest monthly at 2 percent above prime. Funds are borrowed or repaid on the first day of each month. Month Jan. Feb. March Amounts Borrowed or (Repaid) $15,000 $ (5,000) $30,000 Prime Rate 6 percent 5 percent 4 percent The amount of interest to be accrued on the March 31 is a. $225. 00. b. $100. 00. c. $133. 33. d. $200. 00. 14. XYZ Company experienced an accoun ting event that affected its financial statements as indicated below: Assets = Liab. + + Equity n/a Rev. – n/a Exp. n/a = Net Inc. n/a Cash Flow + FA Which of the following events could have caused these effects? a. A bond issued at face value. b. A bond issued at a discount. c. A bond issued at a premium. d. All of the above. 15. A bond will sell at a premium if: a. The market rate of interest is equal to the bond’s stated rate. b. The market rate of interest is greater than the bond’s stated rate. c. The market rate of interest is less than the bond’s stated rate. d. The bond is convertible into common stock. Quiz Questions for Chapter 11 1.The ZZ Corporation had the following shares of stock outstanding at December 31, 2003: Common Stock, $50 par value, 40,000 shares outstanding; and Preferred Stock, 6 percent, $100 par value, cumulative, 10,000 shares outstanding. Dividends for 2001 and 2002 were in arrears. On December 31, 2003, ZZ declared total cas h dividends of $250,000. The total amounts payable to preferred stockholders and common stockholders, respectively, are: a. $60,000 / $190,000. b. $120,000 / $130,000. c. $125,000 / $125,000. d. $180,000 / $70,000. Use the following information to answer the next four questions.The Kramer Company was started when it issued 200 shares of $5 par value common stock at a market price of $20 per share. The company repurchased 10 shares at a market price of $15 per share. Later the company reissued 5 shares at a market price of $20 per share. At the end of the first year of operations the company’s equity included $1,200 of retained earnings in addition to its contributed capital. 2. The entry to record the original issue of 200 shares of stock would a. increase cash by $4,000 / increase common stock by $4,000. b. ncrease cash by $4,000 / increase common stock and paid-in capital in excess of par value by $1,000 and $3,000, respectively. c. decrease cash by $4,000 / increase common stock common stock by $4,000. d. increase cash by $1,000 / increase common stock by $1,000. 3. The entry to record the purchase of the 10 shares of the company’s own stock would a. decrease assets / decrease equity. b. decrease assets / increase equity. c. decrease assets / increase treasury stock. d. both a and c. 4. What effect would reissuing the 5 shares have on the company’s paid-in capital from treasury stock transactions account? . No effect. b. Increase additional paid-in capital by $100. c. Increase additional paid-in capital by $25. d. Decrease additional paid-in capital by $75. 5. The total amount of stockholders’ equity at the end of the first year would be a. $5,150. b. $5,200. c. $1,200. d. none of the above. 6. Which of the following is an advantage of the corporate form of business organization? a. double taxation. b. amount of regulation. c. limited liability. d. entrenched management. 7. Jan Irving started a proprietorship on January 1, 2007 w ith a $1,000 cash contribution to the business.During the first year of operations the company generated $5,000 of cash revenue and incurred $2,000 of cash expenses. Also, Jan withdrew $500 from the business. At the end of 2007 the balance in the Jan Irving, Capital account was a. $1,000. b. $3,000. c. $3,500. d. $4,000. 8. ABC Company is authorized to issue 100,000 shares of common stock. The company issued 60,000 shares of common stock and later repurchased 15,000 shares of its own common stock. How many shares are outstanding? a. 60,000. b. 45,000. c. 100,000. d. 40,000. 9.An 8 percent stock dividend on 12,000 shares of outstanding preferred stock with a par value of $20 per share and a market value of $60 a share will have what effect on the accounting equation? a. Increase preferred stock by $57,600. b. Increase cash by $38,400. c. Decrease retained earnings by $19,200. d. Decrease retained earnings by $57,600. 10. Which of the following statements concerning a two-for-one stoc k split is true? a. The number of shares outstanding will decrease. b. The market price of the stock would be expected to increase. c. The company’s equity will increase. d. No journal entry would be necessary. 1. EFG Company paid cash to purchase treasury stock. Which of the following reflects how this event affects the company’s financial statements? a. b. c. d. 12. Assets – +- – +- = Liab. n/a n/a n/a n/a + Equity – n/a – n/a Rev. – n/a n/a n/a n/a Exp. n/a n/a + + = Net Inc. n/a n/a – – Cash Flow – FA – OA – FA – OA ZGAR Company distributed a stock dividend. Which of the following reflects how this event affects the company’s financial statements? a. b. c. d. Assets – n/a – n/a = Liab. n/a n/a n/a n/a + Equity – +- – +- Rev. – n/a n/a n/a n/a Exp. n/a n/a + n/a = Net Inc. n/a n/a – n/a Cash Flow n/a n/a – FA – FAQuiz for Chapte r 12 1. Which of the following cash transactions is classified as an investing activity on the statement of cash flows? a. Cash borrowed. b. Cash received from issuing stock. c. Cash received from revenue. d. Cash collected on a loan. 2. A building costing $55,000 with $16,500 of accumulated depreciation was sold for $40,000. How would the cash flow from the sale appear on the statement of cash flows? a. $1,500 in operating activities and $38,500 in investing activities. b. $40,000 in financing activities. c. $38,500 noncash financing and investing activities and $1,500 in operating activities. . $40,000 in investing activities. 3. The owners of X Company invested $2,000 in the company. X Company used the cash to invest in Y Company. On X’s statement of cash flows these transactions would be classified, respectively, as a. an investing activity and an investing activity. b. a financing activity and a financing activity. c. an investing activity and a financing activity. d. a financing activity and an investing activity. 4. Issuing a note for the purchase of land is an example of a. an investing activity. b. a financing activity. c. a noncash investing and financing activity. d. transaction that would not appear on the statement of cash flows. 5. The sum of the three major components (operating activities, investing activities, and financing activities) on a statement of cash flows will add up to a. the ending cash balance. b. the change in the cash account balance between the beginning and ending of the period. c. the amount of cash inflow for the period. d. net income for the period. Answers: Chapter 9: D, B, B, C, B, A, B, A, D, B, D, A, D, D, C Chapter 10: B, D, C, B, C, A, C, B, B, A, A, D, D, D, C Chapter 11: D, B, D, C, A, C, C, B, D, D, A, B Chapter 12: D, D, D, C, B

Review on the readings below Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Review on the readings below - Essay Example At full capacity of its pipeline, Azerbaijan’s revenues rose to $20 billion, growing by a third every year (De Waal 171). In 1994, the government signed a $10 billion contract with nine foreign companies, which created the Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC). From these contracts, Azerbaijan used oil to become a politically visible country. Until present times, Caspian energy remains a strategic tool in the political decisions and foreign affairs of the U.S. in the region. Thomas de Waal is a British journalist and a writer on the Caucasus. He is a valid source on the Caspian issues because he has written several books and articles on them. What is most interesting in the chapter is how oil has become the center of political battlefield in Azerbaijan. The familiarity with such issues is only in the Middle East, but it is clear that the South Caucasus also presented the same political-economic nexus. The chapter is relevant to the course because it shows how widespread the oil war is, both economically and politically. Chapter 7 narrates the rise of modern Georgia, its Rose Revolution and other internal and regional conflicts. The Rose Revolution of November 2003 aimed to establish a democratic society and to enhance human rights and living conditions. At the same time, it wanted to decrease corruption and improve the national economy. Corruption was most prominent in 1999, under President Eduard Shevardnadze. Dismal economic conditions lasted until 2003. The Rose Revolution was initiated by the military to generate political and economic changes. However, conflicts continued afterwards because of the failure of the new government in addressing reforms and the remaining tension between Georgia and Russia. Chapter 7 provides a good example of a government that was changed from within through military intervention and not through any other popular

International marketing management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

International marketing management - Essay Example is report aims at understanding the various definitions that have been set down by the various authors in the past and to analyse whether the statement by Markides (1999) has significance in the true sense. The following section will deal with the various definitions that have been developed over the years. Strategy includes a number of different aspects that it is associated with. Firstly, a strategy is normally long planned. This is in a hierarchical system of goals and objectives. A strategy is a combined effort to create a blend between the external environment, internal resources and the capabilities of the resources within the business (Bernus, et.al, 2003). â€Å"Strategy is the direction and scope of an organisation over the long term, which achieves advantage in a changing environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations† (Johnson, Scholes & Whittington, 2006, p. 9). According to Johnson et.al, (2006), there are six major elements that strategic decisions are made out off. It is essential to understand that strategic decisions are normally long term directions of organisations, which include the scope of the organisation. Also this includes to a great extent gaining advantage over the competitors and addresses the changes that happen within the business environment. Strategies that are developed, try to develop the resources and try to improve the capabilities of the people within the organisation. These strategies are also expected to be based on the values and expectations of the stakeholder. According to George Steiner, strategy has become a part of the management literature as a mode to compare and counter the competitor’s actual or possible moves. He also highlights in his works that there is very little people who agree to the meaning of strategy in the real business world. He uses a few different definitions to explain strategy: According to Henry Mintzberg, strategy can be

Proposal for a dessrtation about (Company analysis and valuation) Essay

Proposal for a dessrtation about (Company analysis and valuation) - Essay Example 1.6.3 Sampling Technique Due to the nature of data to be collected, which are mostly secondary data, there shall not be any sampling techniques in place. Rather, the researcher shall use purposive sampling technique to select four petrochemical companies as well as to select the sources of data. Purposive sampling is when the researcher selects participants according to his discretion. It is a non-probability sampling technique. It will be useful in this situation to give the researcher access to his preferred companies and sources that he deems contain the most appropriate data he wants to work on. 1.6.4 Data Analysis There shall be both qualitative and quantitative data analysis of data collected. Quantitatively, figures from documents and websites shall be analyzed using tables, cross tabulation, percentages, pie charts and bar charts. There shall also be qualitative data analysis of the discretional views and interpretations made by the research on the data collected about the fo ur companies. Editing Process 1.6.2 Types and Sources of Data The major type of data to be collected will be valid and official financial statistics and statements of the companies. These shall be sampled from sources such as audit reports, financial statement, financial reports, error logs, and business plans of the companies. Useful and authentic internet websites such as websites of the World Bank, IMF and other authoritative business sites such as MarketLine and Global Insight shall be used. Because the researcher may not have direct interaction with the companies because they are spread abroad, he shall use financial database such as Euromonitor, Datamonitor, Datastream and OSIRIS to gather official data about the companies. 1.6.3 Sampling Technique Due to the nature of data to be collected, which are mostly secondary data, there shall not be any sampling techniques in place. Rather, the researcher shall use purposive sampling technique to select four petrochemical companies as well as to select the sources of data. Purposive sampling is when the researcher selects participants according to his discretion. It is a non-probability sampling technique. It will be useful in this situation to give the researcher access to his preferred companies and sources that he deems contain the most appropriate data he wants to work on. 1.6.4 Data Analysis There shall be both qualitative and quantitative data analysis of data collected. Quantitatively, figures from documents and websites shall be analyzed using tables, cross tabulation, percentages, pie charts and bar charts. There shall also be qualitative data analysis of the discretional views and interpretations made by the research on the data collected about the four companies.

Construction & Diagnostic of Recombinant DNA Plasmid Research Paper

Construction & Diagnostic of Recombinant DNA Plasmid - Research Paper Example The experiment established that the competency of cells increased greatly.   In the next experiment, running PCR provided me with an amplified His3 gene which is used in subsequent steps to transform haploid yeast. Transformation occurred through homologous recombination. The experiment proved that specific integration does occur although cases of non-specific integration are rampant. In the next experiment, I constructed a sub-clone of the HIS3 gene and inserted it into a plasmid pSP72 making a recombinant plasmid which I used to transform bacterial cells. In order to determine whether the integration was successful, I extracted the plasmid to analyze if the inserted gene was present. However, I established that integration had not been successful. Introduction One of the laboratory techniques that help in understanding the basics of knocking out genes is the standardized procedure of replacing the ADE2 gene responsible for adenine biosynthesis with HIS3 that is responsible for on e of the steps in histidine amino acids. The procedure involves production of a hybrid polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as the first step. The hybrid product constitute of the vector DNA template and the primers of choice. Running of the PCR major steps produces the hybrid product. Agarose gel electrophoresis helps in determining whether PCR amplification occurred. The next step involves the transformation of yeast cells with the hybrid PCR product. The last step involves analysis of r4esults and morphology of transformed yeast cells. Other experiments involve transforming competent Escherichia coli cells with the use of a plasmid as a vector. This transformation follows the recombinant DNA technology protocol. The general procedure starts with digestion of plasmid DNA and template DNA of interest with restriction enzymes to generate DNA fragments with sticky ends. The second step involves ligation of the DNA fragments using DNA ligase, forming a recombinant plasmid. The next step in volves insertion of the recombinant plasmid into the competent bacterial cells. The final step involves plating on appropriate media and selection of transformed cells. In addition, performing a backward procedure of isolating the plasmid from the transformed cells verifies insertion at the right locus. Laboratory 1: Transformation of Competent Bacteria Objective: Introduction of Plasmid DNA into E. coli cells and determination of transformation efficiency Materials and Reagents: Plasmid DNA Gene of interest SOC media LB-amp media Procedure: The protocol preferred was the High-Efficiency Transformation Protocol. However, a variation occurred with 2 µl of plasmid DNA. The high efficiency transformation protocol requires thawing of competent cells in ice for about ten minutes. The next step involves transfer of 50 µl of the cells to a transformation tube using a micropipette. Adding of 2 µl of plasmid DNA into the tube followed. The next step involved placing the mixture on ice for 20 minutes. Next, exposure of cells to heat shock at 42?C occurs, a process lasting 35 seconds. Following this was adding the right amount of SOC media to the cells. After this, incubation at 37C? for 40 minutes and subsequent vigorous shaking followed. Plating of the cells in LB-amp media and overnight incubation at 37?C was the last step. In the first experiment, plating of the concentrated cell mixture without dilution occurred. In subsequent trials, there was dilution of cell solution at different dilution ratios.

The Great Escape Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

The Great Escape - Assignment Example This project has been in the research field for many years trying to make some improvements pegged on the technological status of the world. This project also gets its boost financially from SETI Institute of Mountain View USA. This institute has been funding this project from the year of its publication, which is February 1995, leading to a great change and advancement of their research methods. The financial stability of this project has really boosted and triggered some of the inventions they carry out in relation to technology (Basalla, 36). This project was first started by Parkes radio telescope which is based on the South Wales in Australia. Initially, before the SETI Institute started funding this project, the Parkes radio telescope institute, who also happened to be the introducer of this project, was responsible for all the findings that the project might have needed during those days. This project conducts a thorough research technologically basing some of its analysis and references to the scientific principles. Since its year of establishment, the project has really grown and undergone a lot of advancements leading to the expansion of various branches and subsections. Aims of the construction project As a technological project, it is always aimed at improving the technological status of the world. Moreover, it exposes some of the hidden scientific principles and knowledge to people. Although it scans the whole sky for messages, it also bases its facts and actions in a simple manner that favors human understanding. Due to the fact that SETI Institute is responsible for the balance of financial stability of this project, all the processes or activities involved in the project are, therefore, fully controlled by this institution (Sclove, 92). The aims of the project are also based on the institution’s goals and targets. The SETI Institution is one of the world-recognized institutions that deals with the transmission of signals, especially those of the radio. The project also searches for signals that are as narrow as 1 Hz lying between 1000 to 300 MHz. The Phoenix research is very broad as compared to any other research project. Though the SETI researches tend to be advanced, they still rely on the Project Phoenix for their stability pegged on research cases. Findings of the Construction Project Based on signal researches that the project has been carrying out for years, there is a clear indication that some of the projects researches work out. This can be proved by the narrow signals that the project invented. Many other research organizations have not yet reached the limit to which Phoenix project has reached today. This project also focuses its research up to about 800 stars with a light-year range of 200. Due to this research, the project announced its failure in finding extraterrestrial signals within the 800 stars that happened to have been in their list of research (Abbate, 28). This failure made the project manage r, or leader, Peter Backus to make a remark that people live in a quite a neighborhood. Significance of construction project to SETI programs Phoenix project is one of the research projects being of great importance to some of the SET programs. Due to this significance that it holds for SETI, it is, therefore, funded by the SETI institution to enable them advance in more signal researches. Though SETI also carries out researches, it still gets some bits of support from Phoenix project as that is their main reason for funding Phoenix project. The programs

Global health priorities Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Global health priorities - Coursework Example This spreading dissatisfaction will certainly hamper hospital administration as it attempts to implement solutions to the nursing shortage (Buchan and  Aiken 2010). The current global nursing shortage will also increase a gap between current healthcare administration solutions and efforts nurses believe hospital administrators are making. Prioritized solutions on the medical staff’s list will differ more with those on the hospital administration’s list. This difference will occur in spite of research attempts to understand and close this gap. One way to entice future students to consider nursing professions is to prioritize personal time over compensation as nurses today value personal time more than pay (Buchan and  Aiken 2010). Dynamism at work and home is another solution, as students would not want to spend more time in one role over the other. Future nursing students can be told of almost assured promotions in the profession that leads to an emerging superclass of hospital workers. Incorporated personal and professional lives are aspects of future nursing that students can learn about and admire because they lower the stress of overseeing one’s professional and personal life (Buchan and  Aiken

Crime analysis and investigation 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Crime analysis and investigation 2 - Essay Example Such an environment is most favorable for criminals and morally weak employees can make a lot of unjust money. The criminals can be experienced and trusted employees. One such story of crime is narrated in this paper. (Actors are Mr. X and the client). Mr. X has been working as a Marketing Manager for ABC company for over 5 years. He is responsible for earning the company new contracts. ABC company has been performing services in the Construction Industry for quite a while and has managed to gain the satisfaction of clients. Often, a client would directly approach ABC company for the execution of a new project. Therefore, the clients make negotiated contracts with ABC company. Mr. X makes all correspondence with the client on behalf of ABC company. One day a client calls him since the client wants ABC company to perform the services of a contractor on his upcoming project. Mr. X and the client exchange words. The client told Mr. X that he wants ABC company to construct a plaza for him. He says that he wants a lump sum contract with ABC company and gives Mr. X a set of drawings and the contract documents. Mr. X does not discuss about the offer with the owners, and tells the client an exaggerated price on behalf of the ABC company. He does that so that he can convince the client that he should instead choose Mr. X for his new project instead of ABC company. He tells the client that he is ready to complete the project at a much lower price than that of ABC company. The client accepts the offer and selects Mr. X to perform the services of contractor for his project. Thus Mr. X commits the crime of betraying his company and meets the clients for personal

Rice and Beans Essay Example for Free

Rice and Beans Essay Rice-and-beans, the staple of Belize Cuisine. Although originally considered primarily a Creole dish, today it’s eaten daily by all and is simply called Belizean rice and beans. Ingredients 1 cup red kidney beans 1 cup thick coconut milk 1 garlic clove (optional) salt pepper 2 cups rice 1 onion, sliced 1 piece of salt meat (cut into small pieces) Preparations 1. Soften beans (soak first) with garlic. 2. Boil until tender and whole, adding salt meat (previously boiled to soften) when almost tender. 3. Add the milk, onion and seasonings. 4. Wash rice, then add to the beans. 5. Cook over gentle heat until liquid is absorbed. 7. Stir gently with a fork, and add a little water from time to time until rice is cooked. Serve hot with a meat dish. (Some favorite meat dishes with rice and beans are: stuffed baked chicken, stew chicken, stew fish, fried fish or meat balls). Yoana Alvarez Period 2.

Lasting Legacies Essay Example for Free

Lasting Legacies Essay The impact of Confucianism in East Asia continues to mold and shape individuals’ actions so they can lead better lives that will have a positive effect on society. This can be achieved once the individual reaches a better understanding about their mutual obligations – that a proper society is revolved around give and take. It is the individuals who keep the lasting legacies of Confucianism through their patterns of knowledge and belief by understanding how the world actually works. The lasting legacies of Asian political thought and practice are also seen through moral reasoning and moral values, political thought and action, the economy and the self. Patterns of knowledge and belief are critical in explaining ontological independence, rationality as balance, sacred reasoning, and human nature. Ontological interdependence illustrates how events are linked with other events and people with other people. Everything that exists is interdependent and nothing is separate. In general, it means the theory of reality. The concept of yang and yin shows interdependence because they are forces in the cosmos that only gain reality through interdependence. Although there are misconceptions that yin and yang contradict each other, but instead, they are complimentary. Complementarity, then, implies mutuality and reciprocity, â€Å"therefore exerting some constraints on the degree of hierarchy† (Yee, 316). Anything that is real can only be understood through its interdependence. Nothing can develop or exist alone, such as the government and society. This idea can pose a challenge because it is dealt with accountability. An example of this is accountability in governance and how it should act in order to properly lead a society knowing that their decisions will have an impact on their people because every event and action are linked to each other. In terms of institutions, accountability describes a relationship between accountable and accounting parties so that â€Å"accountable† parties are accountable to accounting parties (Mo, 57). Political theorists have thought that good government is one that is kept under control and that accountability indicates the degree to which power is domesticated or subject to the rule of law (Mo, 57). This idea remains as the basic framework of the lasting legacies of Asian political thought and action. Another contributing idea that contributes to how people understand how the world actually works is through rationality as balance. According to East Asian philosophy, human beings are rational and that rationality involves balance. Being rational means having the ability to balance interests and time as well as finding balance between others and ourselves. Knowing how to balance between our own interests to the interests of others. Balance is a characteristic that is extremely important in a political leader. They need to know the balance in short term and long term needs of society. They also need to know how to balance the interests of self and others because they will fail if they don’t think of self and others. It is the key to have the ability to make public policy. Balancing of interest places high value on harmony and cooperation. Furthermore, sacred reasoning also helps to explain the patterns of knowledge and belief. It has been understood in East Asian terms of synergism and interpenetrating boundaries. This means that we combine different religious ideas to be powerful. Synergism means interaction, and the East Asian tradition has been a tradition trying to reconcile doctrines even if it may be illogical to do so. Interpenetrating boundaries can also be observed in East Asia because one will find that people who are deeply religious tend to move from one religion to another and this would not be a violation of principles. The boundaries of different religions are fluid. An example of this would be combining ideas of Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. The goal is not to reject one idea or another but to integrate the ideas together in order to get a better understanding of how others view the world. In East Asian tradition, one does not just simply reject an idea, but to tolerate it and incorporate into their tradition. This is simply the idea of interpenetrating boundaries because setting boundaries is to set one’s own limits. Human nature is also an aspect that helps humans to understand the patterns of knowledge and belief. According to East Asian traditions, they believe that human nature is not fixed at birth but a potential that could be developed. Our human nature is only a tendency, at best; we are improvable so it cannot be taken for granted. Humans are improvable through self-cultivation. Self-cultivation consists of will and sincerity. Humans must have to have the will and sincerity to improve themselves. Without sincerity, one will simply fail. This poses a political debate that if humans are cultivated and rational, then what should the role of government be in unlocking human nature. Whether government should be strong in its role or weak in terms of allowing its citizens to control and organize their own lives. It is inarguable that only a government with proper order can facilitate the development of human beings into self-cultivation. To be human, one must start with the personal cultivation of one’s own character, and then be in harmony with others by extending one’s virtue to others (de Bary, 179). Lasting legacies of East Asian thought and action continue with moral reasoning and moral values. It is about mutual obligations, which is the idea of give and take. Mutual obligation is the root for moral life. In terms of moral values, it can be seen through justice, harmony, ecological family, and a good life. Justice as reciprocity is the belief that justice is about proper share, which results in equality. Justice doesn’t emphasize equality first. It concentrates on proper shares, which means giving people what they out to get, and reciprocity, which is not just doing something for somebody else, but also about paying of proper shares. There is the idea of shared costs and benefits and it is something that people use in judging government to judge whether it is just or unjust. In terms of harmony, East Asia argues that conflict should be minimized. They believe that optimizing differences should be a moral root in everyday life and that conflict is unproductive. Harmony is the balancing of differences and it also comes from abiding by natural laws. Scholars have emphasized that Heaven did not create harmony but only provided the conditions for humans to be in harmony â€Å"and that a harmonious relationship between humans and their environment is conducive to their well-being† (de Bary, 177). The ecological family is emphasized as the ecology and it is which all civilization value. Family is the core foundation of any institution and it is also where values and morality develop. It is well known that Confucianism places a â€Å"great deal of importance on the institution of the family† (Chaibong 341). Family is a source of happiness and the formation of human being from education to  politics. It is the basis of everything. The ecological family is the root of humanization and education. It is not fixed at birth but a tendency. It means the basis of education is in the family itself as they learn how to deal with other people. It has a role that is unusual because if the family is where human beings are shaped first, it is more than a unit of happiness and marriage. The role of mothers is extremely vital in shaping humanization because the teachings start with them. The ecological family also helps to shape humans through self-cultivation because people depend on their capabilities that begin first in the family. They discover what they can or cannot do. Self-cultivation is involved in the family because it teaches humans how to be respectful and follow obligations. The ecological family also teaches self-fulfillment that leads to happiness. It is happiness that humans get their whole lives because they have a sense that they have contributed to something bigger and better than themselves. It is happiness that is genuine and not counterfeit. Leadership also starts in the family. People who become leaders outside of the family are people who know how to lead in the family themselves. Families cannot survive without leadership. From the Confucian point of view, it is not authoritative to have a family leader. The family is always talked as the root of leadership. If an individual is a good leader within the family, they are likely to be a good leader outside of the family. Aside from the ecological family, living a good and flourishing life is an illustration of moral values. Human beings must know the separation of right and wrong, and understand the differences between material and moral in order to lead a flourishing life. Material and moral aspects can be achieved when there is proper order. The more proper order a government has, the more conducive it has to helping its citizens to build their lives. A flourishing order balances material and moral life. Human beings often lose sight of this and often emphasize on material. Political thought and action also helps to understand the lasting of legacies of East Asia in terms of proper order, politics as methodology and management, leadership and hierarchy, and ritual. Proper order is striking a balance between government and civil action. The role of government is to create a certain conditions so that the popular people can live without constant insecurity. Confucian scholars say that politics and government is an extension of the family and personal ethics, and political conflicts must be dealt with according to the same principles used in a family context. Scholars also say that a state is nothing other than an â€Å"enlarged form of family and the relations between the ruler and the subjects, and those between those who govern and those who are governed are equivalent to the relations between parents and children† (de Bary, 184). Given that government should play the role of the family, they should act in ways to provide proper order even though ordinary people are seen as rational beings. East Asians will respond that good politics should be primary. Politics is also about methodology and management. This aspect is about creating a good life. The essentials of managing affairs is a principle for Confucian learning that requires one to â€Å"stand square on what is right, do not scheme for what is profitable; clarify the way, do not calculate the honours† (de Bary, 212). In this context, politics is necessary and it is there for the benefit of the citizens. It is there to overlook and organize society so that citizens can live a good life. Politics is about methodology because it helps to understand how politics is a reflection of Confucian learning and it explains the complicated relation between the Confucian Way and Chinese practices. In terms of leadership and hierarchy, it is said that hierarchy is reciprocal, just, and beneficent. A proper order society requires some level of leadership and hierarchy. Hierarchy exists in all institutions and it is the government’s job to make it good. Hierarchy is not something that can be destroyed or be escaped. To create a beneficent hierarchy, the government bases the rules on reciprocity. A ruler benefits his citizens through a policy and the citizen pays respects to the ruler. Reciprocity is dimed negatively in East Asia. What a ruler should do is not calculate what he does for others so that they can do for him. Instead, he shouldn’t do to others what he doesn’t want others to do to him. Confucius emphasizes do not do to others what you do not want done to you. Another characteristic of political thought and action is ritual. The Confucian traditions recognize that human emotions need to be directed into life-sustaining channels and life ornamenting expression (de Bary, 344). Whoever controls ritual has the real political key towards political power. An attempt to destroy ritual is unacceptable and is extremely frowned down upon. According to the Confucian root, ritual is a part of life and it is intrinsic. Ritual isn’t something that is hardwired but it is something that can be learned. It is part of culture and tradition. Ritual is something that displays both sameness and differences. It shows how differences fit together. Some characteristics that show the conceptions of ritual are seen through collective action and it is rule bound. It is rule bound because rituals have rules, it is not simply just made up. It has a beginning, middle, and an end. A good ritual shows what we share as human beings. An example of ritual is seen through marriage and that there must be mutual respect in order for the marriage to be held together. Some components of ritual are seen through the text, which is either written or oral. It can also be seen through institution context like in the family or religious groups. Another component of ritual is performance, and the audiences are the performers. The types of ritual are symbolic, causal, and cognitive. A symbolic ritual symbolizes something beyond the ritual act such as flag ceremonies or religious ceremonies. Causal rituals are rituals that cause outcomes and trial jury. Cognitive rituals according to the East Asian tradition is the learning by doing and by doing, changes are made. There are different life rituals that relate to the cognitive rituals. These life cycle rituals involve birth, marriage, death, ancestral sacrifice, politic rituals, and social season rituals such as New Years. Encompassing all these ideas, ritual is then see as the â€Å"complex term detonating the basic principles of the universe which underlie all the laws, codes and rules of the natural and human world† (de Bary, 191). The lasting legacies of East Asian thought and action are seen in the economy. The economy ties in virtuous achievement, ethic of savings and investment, education ethic, team-production ethic. For virtuous achievement, one must choose to achieve for self and others and they choose to achieve because it’s an obligation. Hard work goes beyond the satisfaction of ends. In terms of education ethic, it is seen both inside and outside the family. It opens up opportunity and self-cultivation. It inspires people to succeed and do service or help families and be fully good human beings. In team-production ethic, people work together to achieve a goal. Ethic is seen as norms and as values in action. These four ethics have a profound effect such as trade leisure for work, and solve problems through teamwork. The economy is extremely important and it is vital that there are ethics involved in order for the economy to prosper. It is said that economic considerations play an important part in political conflict because poverty leads to discontent and discontent leads to contention and conflict (de Bary, 185). Therefore, there are approaches to ways to prevent economic backwardness. The self and the lasting legacies of Confucian thought lies within individuality and self-cultivation, and service ethic. These aspects show the limits of globalization. It continues to be limited because it makes humans aware of how they differ, which is an attempt to reassert tradition. Individualism is a Confucian idea that humans are â€Å"individuated† as a complex of constitutive roles and functions associated with their obligations to the various groupings to which they belong (Ames and Hall, 135). Individuality is inarguably the consequence of the transactions that determine eon’s personal focus. An individual is defined as being not a thing, â€Å"but an event, describable in the language of uniqueness, integrity, social activity, relationally, and qualitative achievement† (Ames and Hall, 141). These characteristics of individuality and self-cultivation as well as service are the lasting legacies of Confucian thought. The lasting legacies of East Asian thought and action continues to have a huge impact not only in East Asia, but around the world. These lasting legacies are seen through the patterns of knowledge and self, moral reasoning and moral values, political thought and action, the economy, and the self. These legacies help humans to have a better understanding of how the world actually works. It explains that our actions are linked with each other and that we have mutual obligations. It explains that proper order is balance between government and civil action and that good politics should be primary. Confucianism and East Asian traditions continue to have a huge impact in modern civilization. Bibliography Bell, Daniel, and Chae-bong Ham. Confucianism for the Modern World. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 2003. Print. De, Bary William Theodore, and Irene Bloom. Sources of Chinese Tradition. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. New York: Columbia UP, 1999. Print. Magagna, Victor. Conceptions of Human Nature† Price Theater, La Jolla. 01 Oct. 2012. Lecture. Magagna, Victor. Family Forest or Ecological Family† Price Theater, La Jolla. 03 Oct. 2012. Lecture. Magagna, Victor. Proper Order? What Is Proper Order? Price Theater, La Jolla. 05 Oct. 2012. Lecture. Magagna, Victor. Paradoxes of Rationality† Price Theater, La Jolla. 12 Oct. 2012. Lecture. Magagna, Victor. Confucian Government in Action† Price Theater, La Jolla. 15 Oct. 2012. Lecture. Magagna, Victor. Self Cultivation† Price Theater, La Jolla. 26 Oct. 2012. Lecture. Magagna, Victor. Ritual: Components† Price Theater, La Jolla. 07 Nov. 2012. Lecture. Magagna, Victor. Lasting Legacies† Price Theater, La Jolla. 12 Dec. 2012. Lecture. Yao, Xinzhong. An Introduction to Confucianism. New York: Cambridge UP, 2000. Print.

Nursery School Business Plan

Nursery School Business Plan This business plan is about opening a nursery school in Madinat Bin Mohammad Zayed in Abu Dhabi. A business plan shows the compatibility of the business with various positive and negative points. There is a need for opening a kids nursery school. As far as the need for this business to set up is concerned, the population of the city is increasing at a very high rate. The reason behind this is the high per capita income of this city. A huge development is taking place in the city in all the terms. People from all over the world are trying to shift their job or their business to this city. Hence there has to more and more nursery schools for providing them the best early education to build their future. The biggest concern for any one living in Abu Dhabi is the education because usually the Muslim countries do not give that much an importance to educational system. This concern of the people living in the city should be knocked out of their mind by providing them the best nursing educa tion. Little Angel Kids Nursery School will provide all that is required. 1.1 OBJECTIVES The main goals and objectives of Little Angel Kids Nursery School are as follows: To maintain friendly, secure and motivating surroundings that excites and gives confidence to the charm of knowledge. To care for every child in the School society as a personality, appealing their assistance and activities. To build up a nice atmosphere of interaction among all the kids and jointly advance the excellence of knowledge. 1.2 MISSION Our mission is to make every child live with a confidence and with a kind self respect in him or her and make them very well prepared for the long term race of life which will provide a proper self satisfaction to the parents as well to us. 1.3 KEY to Sucess Critical success factors for any company are the factors which make the company succeed in a long term race. Critical success factors for Little Angel Kids Nursery School are as follows: Success factor 1: A concerned and associated educational society. Success factor 2: A capable and attractive curriculum-based study Success factor 3: A supple and sustainable educational surroundings. 2.0 COMPANY Summary ABC group is a company which will soon be in the market of Abu Dhabi with its first launch as Little Angel Kids Nursery School. At Little Angel Kids Nursery School, we will ensure a sense of laughter and creativity among the kids along with the best studies possible which will build these small kids for the future in a best possible way. Little Angel Kids Nursery School will provide them the best possible services to the kids to make them perform very well in the their educational prospects as well as in their co- curricular. 2.1 COMPANY ownership The Company is being solely owned by the owner Mr. X. But for starting up the business or opening a nursery school in Abu Dhabi, one or more venture capitalists are needed who will invest money in the project. Hence the school will be owned by Mr. X, Mr. Y and Mr. Z. where all will own an equal amount of share of 33% each. This means that this is a joint proprietor ownership. The reason for enrapturing this form of ownership is that Abu Dhabi is a city which involves huge investment if any business is to be started. For such a huge amount of money there should have somebody who can have the capability to invest in the business. As the city is highly expensive it requires lots of money to purchase or take a land on rent. As we have decided to purchase the land, hence any bank will not obviously give money for entire requirements to be fulfilled. Hence we need venture capitalists in our business. 2.3 Location and Facilities We have planned to open up our school in Madinat Bin Zayed. This is a very popular place of Abu Dhabi. We will have to take up a building in this place which can fulfill our desired requirements. There will be some physical requirements of the location for the opening the school: Amount of space: amount of space needed for the fulfillment of our requirements would be such that we need the followings: For school Six class rooms One staff room One principal room One meeting room One Dean room One small swimming pool for kids Two big halls for playing One auditorium 4 toilets For hostel/ day boarding Two big halls 4 toilets 1 mess Type of building: type of building should be such that if in the future we want to extend our nursery section then we should have some space for our future plans as well. Building or land to be taken should not be at all residential because we are going to use it for the commercial purpose. A good parking lot should also be there. A good facility of power should be there. 3.0 Services Little Angel Kids Nursery School is a mixed curriculum school for children between the age group of 1 year to 4 years. Here by mixed curriculum, we can depict that there is no particular curriculum that is followed in the school. It will be a nursery school with features of the entire curriculum in one, be it a British Curriculum, Arab curriculum or Indian curriculum. We are a quality service provider. Hence the main aim of the school is to satisfy the parents of the small kids by a stream lined flow of education provided to the kids. 3.2 Competitive Comparison Core competencies explain the types of competition that we will be facing in the market. Basically there is only one type of competition that we will be facing in the market. There will not be much of indirect competition but there will be only direct competition among several nursery schools in Abu Dhabi. There are some very good schools those will give us a solid fight. They are Stepping Stones Preschool, Humpty Dumpty and first step Nursery. 3.3. Fullfillment There are very less number of kids nurseries in Abu Dhabi. The government is not supporting the opening of public schools in the city.  [1]   There are more and more expats that are coming from all over the world. The credit goes to high development of the city that leads to the huge outsourcing of the high level employees. 4.0. Market Summary Analysis Demographic profile of Abu Dhabi According to the demographic profile of the city, there are more than 120,000 children which are below the age group of 10 years. This is around 14 per cent of the whole population. With the arrival of more and more people coming to work in the city or setting up a business in the city, there is an increment in the requirement for more and more nursery schools in the city. 4.1. MARKET Segmentation Report 1 We have just depicted that there are only around sixteen good nursery schools in the city. And more over there is an arrival of more and more foreign families to this city. This has led to an increase of the overflow of the nursery students in a school. Obviously, if there is more student than the seats available then it would be a problem for both management and for the parents as well. The situation is that the students overflow has seen a record length. This has made the parents make their children sit at home. This is really a matter of frustration for the parents as there are really less number of nursery schools in the city. This makes the parents as well as the government of Abu Dhabi worried.  [2]  If the owners of these nursery schools are asked, then they have a view that it is really difficult to open new nurseries by them or to extend the existing nurseries as it would not help the situation improve. According to the owners of several schools, this is the worst year i n the history of their lives as far as the admission for the nursery students are concerned. This report suggests that there is a huge requirement of the nursery schools in the city and as far as the facilities are concerned in the school, it is obvious far better to have extra ordinary facilities in the school so as to attract the parents towards the school. 4.2. SERVICE Business Analysis Report 2 The rush of the students admitting for nursery schools are that much high that there are large numbers of waiting lists for intake of the students and still schools are ignoring their admissions because they do not have the seats available with them. Following is the list of some highly reputed schools with their waiting list for admitting the students. Because of the above effects, several parents have decided to make their children stay at home and learn at their place only till they are not eligible for the primary schools. There is a huge fight for getting the admissions in the nursery schools in Abu Dhabi. This report easily suggests that there is a big requirement for nursery schools in the city and we can also take the fact that parents are dying to admit their children in the nursery schools and they are not getting the chance. So this can be kept in mind and several advantages can be drilled out of that. Report 3 Abu Dhabi is the most expensive city of UAE as far as owning the land or taking it at rent is concerned. 3 Various schools are unable to expand their institution or build up a new branch of the existing school because the rents of the building are really high that according to them opening a new branch or expanding the school would be non profitable. We can see from the above graph that there is a remarkable increase in the rates of both rents and owning a property in Abu Dhabi. Ms Shaban, head mistress of Bright Beginnings thinks that it would be better to buy the plot and built it to run the school. That would be a deal that can make them give profit. But after some time she realized that it is a difficult task as there are several government complications that would come in between. But there is a different perspective of owner of Humpty Dumpty Nursery school. According to him renting is no longer a long term process and hence he is keen interested in opening a new branch of Humpty Dumpty in the city. The above report shows us a negative factor for opening up a nursery school in the city. The only problem that will come is the money because there will be a huge initial investment in this business as the rents of buildings are really high and owning a building is not at all an easy task. 4.2.1. BUSINESS Participants As far as the present scenario is concerned, size of the market is very much restricted. There are very low numbers of nursery schools in the city as compared with the population of children of age group 2 to 4 years. With the reference to the size of the market, we mean two things, the population of the kids in the city and the number of nursery schools to admit them. The population of the kids are around or more than 100,000 and there are very less number of nursery schools in the city. Demand for more nursery schools in the city is directly proportional to the more and more increase in the expats coming to the city. Abu Dhabi is a city which is developing at a very high rate. More and more people from all around the world are coming to get settled in this city. This has been increasing the demands for more number of nursery schools. The fact that there are large numbers of expatriates is making several countries believe that there is a need for more international schools in the city so as to fulfill the needs of these expats (Business Times, 2007). 4.2.2. DISTRIBUTING a Service All the services described in the service description will be distributed to the little kids. 4.2.3. MAIN Competitors ABC Nursery Asian International Nursery and Kindergarten Bright Beginnings Nursery and Pre-school Eduscan Nursery and Day care First step Nursery Future Nursery 5.0. STRATEGY and Implementation Summary As we have formulated our niche as well, now we will have to outline a marketing strategy that will be suited for our marketing plan and will be according to our niche. On the basis of the trends we have seen from the above marketing, we can derive several marketing strategies. They are as follows: 5.1. MARKETING Strategy There are different types of marketing strategies needed, like Pricing strategies Promotional strategies 5.1.1. Pricing Strategy Method of setting up the prices or in our case fees of the students is obviously a determining factor for the customers. Though we have depicted in the marketing analysis that the competition in the market for the nursery schools in Abu Dhabi is really low, still we can say that pricing is an important factor for the customer. In our case the main reason for it to be significant is the financial crisis of 2008. This is biggest reason that we now have to very carefully take care of the pricing strategy. Our school will have a maximum capacity of 150 students in all. This is not at all a big number. Hence we can say that our pricing that we have depicted in the marketing analysis is absolutely correct because ours is not a big business. We are just starting with a low scale business hence a very small price will obviously affect the business and incur huge amount of losses. Hence we have kept a pricing strategy of the average price or a bit low than the competitors. Pricing includes very less fees amount of the kids that will be studying in the afternoon shift. Basically, kids from lower middle class will come to this place. 5.1.2. Promotional Strategy Promotion means that how can we make the kids know that we are coming to the market with some product for them. Here, in case of Little Angel Kids Nursery School, we will need to promote our school before we open up our school in order to realize the parents know that some excellent nursery is coming in the market so that they can wait for us before putting their kids to some other nursery. There can be several techniques by which we can promote Little Angel Kids Nursery School. These are as follows: Advertisements: Advertisements are very much necessary to start up a new project. The main reason for the advertisement is that when ever a new business is to be started like in our case opening up of Little Angel Kids Nursery School, it is very much necessary to gather attention of the local population. This could only be possible when they will know about us and the only way to make them know about us is the advertisements. We can have advertisement in the following ways: Television Newspapers Electronic advertisements Public Relations Several promoting Events Alliances NEWSLETTERS CATALOGS 5.2. SALES Strategy Sales forecast is determined under sales strategy 6.0. Management Summary 6.2. MANAGEMENT Team Management and organization will describe about whom all will be there in the business. This means that what will be the human resource structure of the school which means that who will be the employees in the school. As far as the main position of the school is concerned, there will be a dean of the school who will the chair person of the school and under whom all the day to day management of the school would be held. Obviously, the dean of the school is going to be one or all among the three main partners of the business, Mr. X, Mr. Y and Mr. Z. In case of the incapacitation of the dean, there would be a signing authority but most of the major decisions would be taken in presence of the dean. 6.3. MANAGEMENT Team Gaps There are several gaps between the team members: Language barrier Income 7.1. GENERAL Assumptions Sales of the Nursery school is kept constant for the entire year Effect of recession is not taken into account 7.2. Key Financial Indicators There are mainly four key financial indicators: Break even analysis Profit and loss statement Cash flow statement Balance sheet

The Challenging Triad of Access to Technology: Resources, Strategies…and Acceptance :: Technological Essays

The Challenging Triad of Access to Technology: Resources, Strategies†¦and Acceptance Access is the breeze through the window of interest. --Richard Saul Wurman (21) In his extremely provocative book, Information Anxiety 2, Richard Saul Wurman provides the definition of access as â€Å"the breeze through the window of interest†. (21). I really like this definition in a number of ways, particularly since it evokes a more dynamic approach toward understanding the role of access in the cosmos of technology. While his other thoughts in that book are not comprehensive in terms of our interest in pedagogy and technology, he does manage to put his finger on the spot that hurts: that â€Å"access signifies the ability to do what everybody else can do and to make use of what everybody else can use; access means the liberty to take advantage of resources.† (21) Yes, there it is: the point that has caused so much angst and pain in the supposedly glittery world of modern technocracy. At a time when we have the need for the widest, most open public access to experience and information that might, as Wurman says, â€Å"giv[e] people new ways to look at their environment and their lives,† scholars like Bertram Bruce, Charles Moran, and Lester Faigley are also warning us about a number of obstacles that can restrict access. (Bruce, Moran, Faigley) Since I had major roles (writer, editor, Interim Media Services Coordinator) in preparing the first action plan for technology at Washtenaw Community College, I was again astonished, in this discussion, by just how complex the issue of adequate access remains. To my mind, the kind of access that Wurman and the others have in mind depends on a triad of resources, strategies, and, what shall we call it, acceptance. Wurman is able to point toward the complexity of understanding what access represents when he also provides a graphic designed by Nathan Shedroff called â€Å"An Overview of Understanding† (see Figure 1). (27) This graphic captures the dynamics of how information can move, as it is shaped by producers and consumers, from being data to wisdom—or, to put it in other terms, from research creation/gathering/discovery to contemplation/evaluation/interpretation/retrospection. (27) What might make all this possible? You guessed it: adequate access. Perhaps the easiest portion of the triad to define is the scope of the resources. The Challenging Triad of Access to Technology: Resources, Strategies†¦and Acceptance :: Technological Essays The Challenging Triad of Access to Technology: Resources, Strategies†¦and Acceptance Access is the breeze through the window of interest. --Richard Saul Wurman (21) In his extremely provocative book, Information Anxiety 2, Richard Saul Wurman provides the definition of access as â€Å"the breeze through the window of interest†. (21). I really like this definition in a number of ways, particularly since it evokes a more dynamic approach toward understanding the role of access in the cosmos of technology. While his other thoughts in that book are not comprehensive in terms of our interest in pedagogy and technology, he does manage to put his finger on the spot that hurts: that â€Å"access signifies the ability to do what everybody else can do and to make use of what everybody else can use; access means the liberty to take advantage of resources.† (21) Yes, there it is: the point that has caused so much angst and pain in the supposedly glittery world of modern technocracy. At a time when we have the need for the widest, most open public access to experience and information that might, as Wurman says, â€Å"giv[e] people new ways to look at their environment and their lives,† scholars like Bertram Bruce, Charles Moran, and Lester Faigley are also warning us about a number of obstacles that can restrict access. (Bruce, Moran, Faigley) Since I had major roles (writer, editor, Interim Media Services Coordinator) in preparing the first action plan for technology at Washtenaw Community College, I was again astonished, in this discussion, by just how complex the issue of adequate access remains. To my mind, the kind of access that Wurman and the others have in mind depends on a triad of resources, strategies, and, what shall we call it, acceptance. Wurman is able to point toward the complexity of understanding what access represents when he also provides a graphic designed by Nathan Shedroff called â€Å"An Overview of Understanding† (see Figure 1). (27) This graphic captures the dynamics of how information can move, as it is shaped by producers and consumers, from being data to wisdom—or, to put it in other terms, from research creation/gathering/discovery to contemplation/evaluation/interpretation/retrospection. (27) What might make all this possible? You guessed it: adequate access. Perhaps the easiest portion of the triad to define is the scope of the resources.

How Clarice Influenced Montag in Fahrenheit 451 Essay examples -- Ray

Guy Montag is a fireman who is greatly influenced in Ray Bradbury's novel, Fahrenheit 451. The job of a fireman in this futuristic society is to burn down houses with books in them. Montag has always enjoyed his job, that is until Clarisse McClellan comes along. Clarisse is seventeen and crazy. At least, this is what her uncle, whom she gets many of her ideas about the world from, describes her as. Clarisse and Montag befriend each other quickly, and Clarisse's impact on Montag is enormous. Clarisse comes into Montag's life, and immediately begins to question his relationship with his wife, his career, and his happiness. Also, Clarisse shows Montag how to appreciate the simple things in life. She teaches him to care about other people and their feelings. By the end of the novel, we can see that Montag is forever changed by Clarisse. Montag never appreciated the simple things in life. He would never walk or drive slow enough to see the colors of things. This bothered Clarisse McClellan very much. She loved to catch raindrops on her tongue, and she always left little presents for Montag to make sure he appreciated these simple things. Through her spirit and her small simple presents, Montag finds the strength to also appreciate these things.â€Å"And then very slowly as he walked, he tilted his head back in the rain for just a few moments and opened his mouth..†(Bradbury 24). Montag begins to see that no matter how hard life gets, he will always have these smaller things that he can enjoy. In the beginning of the novel, Montag thinks he cares about everyone and their feelings. Once Clarisse steps into his life, this changes right away. She shows him that the world he lives in ignores people's feelings .They make games out of kill... ... chin. She tells Montag that this means she is in love. When she rubs the dandelion underneath Montag's chin she has a very different result. There is no powder. â€Å"'What a shame,' she said. 'You're not in love with anyone' 'I am very much in love!' He tried to conjure up a face to fit the words, but there was no face 'I am!'† Montag goes home, and thinks about this. He later realizes that he isn't in love, and would not care if Mildred died. Montag is influenced by Clarisse a lot. And, her impact on him is tremendous. She questions his whole life, teaches him to appreciate the simple things, and to care about other people and their feelings. â€Å"You're peculiar, you're aggravating, yet you're easy to forgive..†(Bradbury 23) Through all Clarisse's questioning, Montag knows that she is trying to help him. Because of her help and impact on him, Montag is changed forever.

Essay --

There were many great composers during the late baroque period, each with their own distinct talents. Each composer played a key role in shaping the baroque period. Arcangelo Corelli was one of those important composers that influenced many people during his time. He lived in Italy from 1653 to 1713. He was a composer, teacher, and a violinist. Corelli was an influential person in the baroque period; â€Å"History has remembered him with such titles as ‘Founder of Modern Violin Technique,’ the ‘World's First Great Violinist,’ and the ‘Father of the Concerto Grosso.’† (Arcangelo Corelli: A Concise Biography). Little was known about Corelli’s early life. Arcangelo Corelli was born in Fusignano, Italy. His mother, Santa Raffini, named him after his father who had passed away a month before he was conceived. Corelli’s mother had to raise five children, including Arcangelo, by herself. However, she was well of because she owned land and was fairly wealthy. When he was thirteen, he began learning about music from Leonardo Brugnol. Corelli studied about the violin at Bologna. Eventually, at age... Essay -- There were many great composers during the late baroque period, each with their own distinct talents. Each composer played a key role in shaping the baroque period. Arcangelo Corelli was one of those important composers that influenced many people during his time. He lived in Italy from 1653 to 1713. He was a composer, teacher, and a violinist. Corelli was an influential person in the baroque period; â€Å"History has remembered him with such titles as ‘Founder of Modern Violin Technique,’ the ‘World's First Great Violinist,’ and the ‘Father of the Concerto Grosso.’† (Arcangelo Corelli: A Concise Biography). Little was known about Corelli’s early life. Arcangelo Corelli was born in Fusignano, Italy. His mother, Santa Raffini, named him after his father who had passed away a month before he was conceived. Corelli’s mother had to raise five children, including Arcangelo, by herself. However, she was well of because she owned land and was fairly wealthy. When he was thirteen, he began learning about music from Leonardo Brugnol. Corelli studied about the violin at Bologna. Eventually, at age...

Cleopatra

She remained In power while constantly straggling with a brother or sister and keeping alliances with Rome at the same time. She held her own even when the first Roman Emperor was coming against her. Her fatal mistake was that she reached too far. She tried to become the ruler of the attention world, along with her lover and her children. Rome just didn't let that happen†¦ Firstly, Cleopatra family may have ruled Egypt, but they were Greek. Cleopatra was the first of her family to learn native Egyptian – bearing in mind her family ruled Egypt for 300 years.She also closely associated herself with the Egyptian goddess, Sis's. This would indicate she had a respect for the people she ruled and understood the importance of being able to relate to them. Therefore she was popular among Egyptians. Her father had a catastrophic reign and when he died, she squabbled with her siblings over who would rule Egypt. She cleverly maneuvered herself Into a good political position – marrying her brother to 1 . )keep her brother's supporters happy, 2. ) keep the Egyptians happy she was going along with tradition and upholding her father's will 3. Pep any male, who opposed female rule, happy. More importantly, she allied herself with Caesar and sealed the deal by producing a son. She gradually edged her brothers out of the picture over time, so much so that it was barely noticed. Rome was of course, the biggest power in the Mediterranean and arguably, the world, at that time. By attaching herself as the consort of It's biggest leader she was gaining the Roman empire as an ally and securing the Roman army. In return, Caesar was gaining the support and wealth of Egypt – It Is Important to note that Egypt effectively fed Rome and was extremely wealthy.We can't know for sure If this was a love match, but It was definitely two political giants Joggling together as equals, when nearly all of Room's allies were subjects paying tribute. When Caesar was killed une xpectedly, Cleopatra was left in both a bad and good position – she made sure everyone was aware she considered her son by Caesar as an heir to Rome. This put her son in a dangerous position, which would later backfire. In a dangerous move, Cleopatra again allied herself with a Roman politicians Anthony.The Roman people increasingly began to see her as a threat to their public – They were very much against Kings and Anthony was effectively King of Egypt. Furthermore, he rejected his Roman wife to be with Cleopatra. This turned Rome against him and Octavia began to establish himself as emperor and true heir to the now deified Julius Caesar. Cleopatra attempt to get a foothold In Roman politics began to backfire on her – her son was now a very real threat to Octavia (later Augustus) Rome needed Egypt around. So in a way she was a good leader, bonding with her people and she showed great political astuteness.However her ambition arguably led to her downfall  œ No doubt you know what append – Anthony and Cleopatra lost against Octavia and her son was killed. She may have understood her own people, but she couldn't have understood Romans very well – she should have known they would never accept her as a consort of Antimony's (Their marriage wasn't recognized in Roman law) that they would never accept her son as a leader Illus Caesar himself knew this and in his will dictated Octavia as his heir), and she should have known the idea of kingship was abhorrent to them. Http://www. Smithsonian. Com/history/who-was-Cleopatra-1513560131? Noise= Cleopatra In the ancient world, male dominated societies, known as patriarchy, prevailed. Men occupied roles of supremacy and power. Those few women, who did succeed In gaining positions of power, marked their place In history. Most notable among them were Hatchets (1508 – 1458 BC), Cleopatra (69 – 30 BC) and Grapping (1 5 – 59 AD). Hatchets was one of the most successful pharaohs, reigning longer than any other woman of an Egyptian dynasty. Cleopatra was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty and was the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. Grapping was a Roman Empress who was once the most powerful woman in Roman Empire.Each had to overcome ingrained prejudices and faced barriers that their male counterparts did not. Their strategies for gaining power in a world of men varied but they were clever, resourceful, ruthless and ambitious. They effectively used the power that men held to their own advantage. Cleopatra was portrayed as a great beauty, who very strategically formed success ful liaisons with men of power, which was a contributing factor for achieving the power she sought. Cleopatra has been a topic of interest throughout history and is seen as a woman of mystery.By all accounts she was an alluring woman who used this to her advantage. Cassias Did, a source of primary evidence and Roman consul of the 1st century AD, wrote, â€Å"She was a woman of surpassing beauty She possessed a most charming voice and knowledge of how to make herself agreeable to everyone† (peg. 42) Plutarch, Greek historian as well as biographer of Roman Emperors reiterates Cassias Ids view on Cleopatra In 75 AD in ‘Life of Antonym (a secondary source), where he wrote â€Å"her beauty, as we are told, was in itself neither altogether incomparable, nor such as to strike those who saw her†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ What ultimately made Cleopatra attractive were her wit, charm and sweetness in the tones of her voice. † (peg. 27) Accounts of Cleopatra also typically present her u sing her charms to influence the most powerful men in the western world. Plutarch writes, for example, that she had â€Å"The power to subjugate everyone, even a love-sated man already past his prime†, Of Caesar conquest of Egypt he wrote, â€Å"Caesar overcame Egypt. He did not, however, make It subject to the Romans, but bestowed it upon Cleopatra, for whose sake he had waged the conflict. (peg. 42-55) powerful men, namely Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony, in times of the supremacy of en, and when the glory of Rome was paramount, that she is characterized in this sexist way as a bewitching beauty by Cassias Did, a Roman official and this is reaffirmed in Plutarch account. In both ancient and modern sources there are sources that represent the ruthlessness of Cleopatra in her pursuit of power. ‘Ptolemy XIV, written by Professor Mallow H.Smith (2008) from Rutgers University and the BBC show ‘Cleopatra: Portrait of a Killer' (2009), reveal the darker side of Cleopat ra. Revelations made include assertions that Cleopatra had Mark Antonym execute her sister Orisons on the tepees of the temple of Artemisia, a violation of the temple sanctuary and an act which scandals Rome. Furthermore, claims are made that Cleopatra had Ptolemy XIV (her second youngest brother and co-ruler as well as husband), poisoned in order to proclaim, Ptolemy XV (Cleopatra son with Caesar), as co-ruler.Although these accounts in the large are not fully substantiated in primary sources, where these incidences are shrouded in mystery and contradiction, they point to a certain brutality in her pursuit of power and provide support for those who would portray her as an evil queen. Cleopatra was more aligned with a Bewitching Beauty rather than an Evil Queen of the East. Certainly she was a woman of considerable allure who was able to use her looks and considerable wits to charm men who would be of use to her.However, rather than bemuse and bewitch, which implies that she was abl e to control people through supernatural means, she was a clever and strategic woman. She was certainly ruthless in her pursuit of power and most probably did perpetrate quite evil acts. According to Cassias Did, ‘In view of Career's favor there was nothing that she could not do. ‘ (peg. 44) To call re evil however, is to discount the times in which she lived where such violence in the pursuit of power was not uncommon. Leadership in Egypt and Rome, for example, was often changed by murder or mysterious disappearances.Caligula or more commonly known as Gauss was a Roman Emperor, is an example of this as he had those he saw as a possible threat executed (Caligula: Gauss Julius Caesar Augustus Germanic). Such men who have performed such acts have in large escaped the label of ‘evil'. Cleopatra actions therefore need to be regarded in this context and her considerable achievements in the face of significant gender barriers even the credit they deserve. Cleopatra and o ther women of power in the ancient world have been reduced to stereotypes because of male bias and patriarchy.The patriarchal nature of the ancient world meant that roles were clearly defined on the basis of gender and women had little access to power in their own right which explains why there were so hard, and within the system of male domination, to Justify their positions. In such a world, extreme positions were taken on these women that helped to explain such anomalies. In turn, scholars today are at the mercy of the sources written by men and influenced by the times in which they lived, which fall into these extreme positions.These stereotypical representations of Cleopatra have persisted and perhaps have even been exaggerated in the name of entertainment to dramatist the truth to appeal to audiences in the mane of entertainment. In many stories, movies and other interpretations of Cleopatra such as Shakespearean play; ‘Antonym and Cleopatra'(1607), Cleopatra is frequent ly portrayed as vain and theatrical. In the more recent film ‘Cleopatra' (1963) directed by Joseph L. Mackenzie, she is portrayed as exotic, luxurious and manipulative.However, taking such stereotypical positions does not help to understand the complex woman that Cleopatra must have been, to have reached such heights of power. Women who became leaders in the ancient world experienced particular difficulties in their quest for power as they contested conventional ideas and standards of the time regarding the traditional role of women. To succeed in a world dominated by men they needed to be clever, resourceful, ruthless and ambitious. Cleopatra was all these things, and like other women of note in these times, effectively utilized the power that men held for her ascendancy into the very echelons of power.

Cross-National Transfer of Employment Practices in Multinationals

cross-national transfer of employment practices in multinationals Abstract This paper argues for the systematic incorporation of power and interests into analysis of the cross-border transfer of practices within multinational companies (MNCs). Using a broadly Lukesian perspective on power it is argued that the transfer of practices involves different kinds of power capabilities through which MNC actors influence their institutional environment both at the ‘macro-level’ of host institutions and the ‘micro-level’ of the MNC itself.The incorporation of an explicit account of the way power interacts with institutions at different levels, it is suggested, underpins a more convincing account of transfer than is provided by the dominant neoinstitutionalist perspective in international business, and leads to a heuristic model capable of generating proposed patterns of transfer outcomes that may be tested empirically in future research. Keywords multinationals; compa rative & cross-cultural HRM; conflict; international HRM; strategic and international management; organisational theory.Introduction Much has been written about the cross-national transfer of management practices in multinational companies (MNCs). A recent conceptual development is the ‘neoinstitutionalist’ contribution of Kostova and colleagues (Kostova, 1999; Kostova and Roth, 2002; Kostova et al. , 2008). In the international business literature, this approach shows signs of establishing a new intellectual hegemony. 1 Given this salience, critical engagement is essential. The neoinstitutionalist approach to practice transfer in MNCs has provided fundamental insights.It argues that MNCs – or to be more precise, their subsidiaries – operate under conditions of ‘institutional duality’, facing both the institutional terrain of the international firm itself and that of the host environment in which they operate. These institutional spheres exert rival isomorphic pressures which come to the fore when practices are transferred from the parent to host operations. Drawing on Scott’s (2008) institutional pillars, Kostova uses the ‘country institutional profile’ tool to characterize parent- and host-country institutions.This provides the basis for assessing ‘institutional distance’ (ID), the divergence in institutional arrangements between the parent country and host. In general, the greater the ID, the more problematic is transfer; and the harder is the ‘internalization’ of transferred practices, that is, their full assimilation to host employees’ cognitive mindsets and normative frameworks (Kostova, 1999). However, neoinstitutionalist positions on transfer in MNCs suffer from a neglect of ‘old institutionalist’ questions about power, coalitions, interests and competing value systems (e. . Stinchcombe, 1997), despite increasing attention to such questions in broa der neoinstitutionalist theory (e. g. Oliver, 1991; Greenwood and Hinings, 1996; Lawrence, 2008; Lounsbury, 2003; Tempel and Walgenbach, 2007). The key concepts of ‘institutional duality’ and ‘institutional distance’ overlook the ability of actors in MNCs to shape institutions to their needs and thus influence the transfer process. There is little sense of what is ‘at stake’ for actors in the confrontation of cognitive, normative and regulative frameworks that arise when practices are transferred.This paper discusses how the analysis of power can be incorporated into an understanding of cross-institutional practice transfer. It builds on recent work concerning MNCs as political actors (e. g. Belanger and Edwards, 2006; Dorrenbacher and Gammelgaard, 2011; Dorrenbacher and Geppert, 2011; Edwards and Belanger, 2009; Ferner and Edwards, 1995; Ferner and Tempel, 2006; Levy, 2008; Levy and Egan, 2003). It argues that power and interests of actors sha pe transfer through processes that draw on institutional resources both at the ‘macro’ level of the host business system and the ‘micro’ level of the MNC.These processes in turn shape the transformations and adaptations undergone by transferred practices. Power, it is suggested, has to be understood in its institutional context, both in that it is deployed by powerful MNC actors to shape, sustain and activate macro- and micro-level institutions – a process that neoinstitutionalists refer to as ‘institutional work’ (Lawrence and Suddaby, 2006); and in that institutional context provides actors with power capabilities with which to facilitate, block or modify transfer.The cross-national transfer of practices in MNCs is complex, with an array of possible outcomes. Transfer has several dimensions: the degree of adaptation or hybridization of practices; ‘internalization’; functionality; and directionality. The first of these refe rs to the fact that transfer is not an either/or issue; there may be degrees of transfer. The transferred practice may be modified in the course of implementation, or it may be ‘hybridized’, that is, combined with host practices (e. g. Becker-Ritterspach, 2009).Internalization denotes that, even where a practice is transferred in its original form, it may be assimilated to a greater or lesser extent to the working assumptions, cognitive understandings and normative frameworks of subsidiary employees and managers. Functionality refers to the degree to which transferred practices perform the function intended for them by powerful HQ actors, or work in ways that these actors would consider to be unintended or dysfunctional. Finally, directionality indicates that transfer does not occur solely from HQ to subsidiary, but also between subsidiaries themselves, or from subsidiaries to HQ.Thus various outcomes are possible, and one of the principal aims of this paper is to provi de a conceptual framework for understanding how power relations in MNCs influence the outcomes of practice transfer between different institutional ‘domains’. The paper illustrates the argument with empirical examples drawn from human resource and employment practices (HR&EP) in MNCs. The rationale is twofold. First, the cross-national dissemination of such practices is increasingly seen in a knowledge-based global economy as key for international competitive advantage (e. . Lado and Wilson, 1994). Second, however, HR&EP are particularly subject to host institutional influence (e. g. Rosenzweig and Nohria, 1994). Moreover, relations between employers and workforces are characterized by a ‘structured antagonism’ (Edwards, 1986) providing the basis for the ongoing exercise of power and resistance in relation to HR&EP; this structured antagonism is carried into the international sphere, on to the ‘contested terrain’ of the MNC (Belanger and Edward s, 2009). The paper first discusses a conceptualization of power in relation to MNCs.Second, it examines power capabilities and interests of different groups of actors within the MNC, in particular at HQ and subsidiary level. Finally, it marshals the arguments on power, interests and institutions to explore different transfer outcomes. Power and MNCs MNCs are powerful actors, driving economic activity in many sectors and one of the motive forces of ‘globalization’. They are also complex organizations, marked by the dispersion of power among groups, functions and operating units (e. g.Belanger and Edwards, 2009; Dorrenbacher and Geppert, 2011; Ferner and Tempel, 2006). In particular, the respective power of HQ and subsidiaries makes for the negotiation of relationships within the MNC (Ferner and Edwards, 1995). MNC actors manoeuvre among ‘institutional contradictions’ that leave considerable scope for praxis (Geppert and Dorrenbacher, 2011). Transfer can be viewed as a specific instance of HQ–subsidiary relations, in which the power capabilities of actors at each level influence outcomes. How are such capabilities to be conceptualized?This paper builds on a ‘Lukesian’ perspective (Lukes, 1975; 2005) that identifies three dimensions of power. Each may be related to the behaviour of MNC actors in the realm of practice transfer. The first concerns the nature of decisions that are made, and the deployment of resources to affect them. The second relates to conflicts around ‘non-decisions’, reflecting the ability of powerful actors to shape the agenda, exclude or include issues, and determine the processes and rules by which decisions are arrived at.The third concerns the way in which powerful actors exercise domination over others ‘by influencing, shaping or determining [their] very wants’ (Lukes, 1975: 27). As Lukes admits (2005: ch3), the notion of power as domination over other actors who may consent to domination requires the imputation of ‘real interests’ to actors (i. e. interests that are masked by the third dimension of power). Given the difficulties of the undertaking, he argues (p148) that ‘what count as â€Å"real interests† [is] a function of one’s explanatory purpose, framework and methods’.Without wishing to get enmeshed in this debate, we would note that the paper is premised on the notion that interests are constructed by MNC actors in ways that are variable and issue-specific, and the process gives rise to bundles of interests that are complex and not necessarily internally coherent (cf. Lukes, 2005: ch3). There may be a hierarchy of interests, with economic security or survival, for example, being a primary and persisting interest for most actors. Beyond that, interests may be more changeable and context-dependent.Such interests may be collective, emerging, for example, around a particular model of teamworking in a subsidiary that allocates particular roles to different groups of employees, supervisors and managers; or individual, deriving notably from personal and biographical considerations to do with career paths and aspirations within the MNC, rather than from organizational or group affiliations (see e. g. Dorrenbacher and Geppert, 2009a). Hardy (1996) has applied a Lukesian model to a business context, and her terminology is adopted here.She labels the first dimension ‘the power of resources’, which concerns power derived from the control of scarce resources, such as hiring and firing, rewards and sanctions, and expertise, in order to influence behaviour in the face of opposition. The second, ‘the power of processes’, resides in ‘organizational decision making processes which incorporate a variety of procedures and political routines that can be invoked by dominant groups to influence outcomes by preventing subordinates from participating fully in decision making’ (p7); equally, new groups may be brought, or force their way, into decision-making processes.The third dimension is labelled ‘the power of meaning’; Hardy explores the way in which organizational groups legitimize their own demands and ‘delegitimize’ those of others through the management of meaning and the deployment of symbolic actions. As a result, H actors may be impeded from exercising agency. As Levy argues (2008; also Levy and Egan, 2003), the control of meaning has important linkages with the Gramscian concept of ‘hegemony’ (Gramsci, 1971), emphasizing that the control of meaning, or the ‘discursive realm’, relates to power relations in the real economic and technological realms.In other words, in the case of MNCs, the power of meaning is built upon the resource power that derives from the primary economic activity of the firm and its constituent parts. This third dimension of power also provides a crucial l ink with neoinstitutionalist analysis, by illuminating in particular how the cognitive and normative ‘pillars’ (Scott, 2008) of institutional arrangements embody power relations and serve the interests of powerful actors, and how such pillars may be susceptible to contestation rather than being seen as external givens.While all three dimensions of power are important for an understanding of cross-institutional transfer, the power of meaning is especially crucial. When institutionalized practices are transferred cross-nationally, this hidden dimension is rendered ‘visible’ (Ferner et al. , 2005) by the collision of two sets of institutional rationalities. Transfer thus creates an important condition for the exercise of agency: that actors become conscious of taken-for-granted institutional processes (e. . Clemens and Cook, 1999; Seo and Creed, 2002). In short, transfer leads to potential conflicts of institutional rationality that are resolved through the de ployment of power capabilities. For example, individual performance appraisal and reward is a norm taken for granted and generally regarded as legitimate in ‘liberal market economies’. Even if disliked, it can only be legitimately challenged on grounds of its failure to achieve its performance-enhancing functions.But cross-institutional transfer allows the shared norms to be laid bare and challenged on grounds of alternative normative frameworks, emphasizing (for example) social equity, solidarity and fairness (e. g. Liberman and Torbiorn, 2000). MNC actors in situations of transfer: Power capabilities and organizational interests To understand transfer outcomes in the context of power relations, two questions must be addressed. First, what power capabilities do actors in MNCs possess?As an initial approximation, we explore the power capabilities of actors at HQ compared with those of the subsidiary. This reflects the thrust of arguments (e. g. Geppert and Dorrenbacher, 2011; Kristensen and Zeitlin, 2005; Morgan and Kristensen, 2006) that the relationship between the HQ and subsidiary constitute a primary axis of power relations within MNCs. Second, what interests are constructed or present in relation to transferred practices? The answer to this question requires a more nuanced analysis of actors at HQ and subsidiary level.It determines whether, given respective power capabilities, the subsidiary acts as part of a monolithic MNC bloc vis-a-vis host institutions, seeking ways of overcoming institutional constraints; or opposes HQ’s efforts to transfer. Also possible is some complex configuration of interests where some groups in the subsidiary support transfer, while others oppose it (and the same may be true of HQ actors). In other words, interests determine how power capabilities are deployed in relation to transfer.We first explore the power capabilities of MNCs as unitary entities with common organizational interests (Morgan, 2011) vis- a-vis the macro-institutional settings in which they operate. We then relax the assumption of unity and analyse separately the capabilities of HQ and subsidiary actors. Finally we examine the array of interests that are likely to be constructed around HR&EP practice transfer. The power of MNCs to shape macro-institutional settings The Kostovian approach to transfer neglects the power of MNCs to shape macro-institutional settings on two key counts.The first concerns the broader systemic context within which institutional duality is played out. Smith and Meiksins (1995) argue that the underlying global dynamics of capitalist development create ‘system effects’ that may be distinguished from institutional variations, or ‘societal effects’. The global economic system, and the associated concepts of ‘globalization’, the world market, competition, and so on, are themselves the highly institutionalized outcome of the active agency (e. g. Campbell, 200 4: ch. 5) of powerful actors, including states, supranational bodies and MNCs (e. g. Djelic and Quack, 2003; Levy and Egan, 2003).As Morgan (2011; also Sklair, 2001) argues, an emerging global managerial elite has assumed an important role in international standard-setting and transnational institution building. MNCs have played an important role in building this context. Sell (2000), for example, shows the role of US multinationals in shaping the rules of international commerce on TRIPS (Trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights) and GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services) (see also Djelic and Quack, 2003). The interrelationship between the global system and national institutional spaces has implications for transfer.In particular, the world economic system is hierarchically structured by the power of national actors (Smith and Meiksins, 1995). ‘Dominance effects’ allude to the influence of practices developed in leading economies, sectors or firms. T hey influence all three dimensions of power. MNCs from dominant business systems have greater resource power by virtue of their economic success. They have power over processes that facilitates transfer. Such power can be at a systemic level through their ability to shape the decision-making rules governing international economic activity.It can also be more immediate, for example through the concentrated presence of MNCs from a dominant economy in a host country, as in the case of the dense networks of US subsidiaries in the UK or Ireland. This presence creates a stratum of organizations familiar with parent-country practices, and a pool of employees and managers with appropriate cognitive and normative expertise. Dominance also shapes systems of meaning as the dominant power becomes ‘hegemonic’. On the one hand, it creates a presumption by actors from dominant countries and firms that their practices have superior efficacy, providing a motive for transfer.On the other , this view may be shared by actors in the host, including policy-makers, subsidiary managers and workforces, and hence increase receptiveness to transfer. Thus transfer is smoothed because practices are accorded legitimacy by a wide range of MNC actors and are regarded as global ‘best practices’ (e. g. Pudelko and Harzing, 2007). One may therefore expect that where the transferred practice derives from a parent country that is dominant vis-a-vis the host, the inhibiting effect of ID on transfer will be reduced. Dominance effects evolve.One illustration of this is that the dominant position of US carmakers in the period immediately after the Second World War had been lost by the 1970s and 1980s, with Japanese firms assuming dominant status. Indeed, the Japanese economy as a whole achieved a dominant position in the 1980s, albeit briefly; with Japan’s ‘Lost Decade’ and major corporate bankruptcies, the US regained a position of dominance, although the conditions that underpinned this renewed dominance, such as easy access to cheap capital, also proved transient (Schwartz, 2009), illustrating the dynamic nature of dominance effects.Dominance, moreover, is felt at sectoral level as well as at the level of business systems as a whole. As the above discussion implies, American MNCs should not be seen as dominant across all sectors. The point that national institutional configurations provide conducive conditions for firms to flourish in some sectors but not in others is central to the ‘varieties of capitalism’ literature (Hall and Soskice, 2001) and also has a long history in economics through the theory of comparative advantage.The success of US MNCs in sectors like IT and pharmaceuticals, together with the relative decline of American firms in sectors like consumer durables and automotives, confirms this. In short, dominance effects, even of the hegemonic economic power, are likely to be particularly strong in the sec tors in which it has a competitive advantage, and weaker or absent in others. Secondly, Kostova and colleagues neglect that MNCs as powerful organizations commonly act as ‘rule-makers’ as well as ‘rule-takers’ (Streeck and Thelen, 2005) vis-a-vis host institutional contexts. Rule-makers’ are actors involved in ‘setting and modifying in conflict and competition, the rules with which [rule-takers] are expected to comply’ (p13). MNCs routinely engage in what Oliver (1991) calls ‘manipulation’ of institutional settings, exerting direct pressures on the sphere of policy-making (e. g. DeVos, 1981, on attempts by US MNCs in Germany to influence reform of codetermination legislation). Sometimes such pressure and rule-making is ‘passive’: in other words, host actors adapt institutional rules to what they see as the preferences of MNCs, without active intervention by the latter.An example is the move by the Irish authorit ies in the 1980s away from the previous policy of encouraging incoming MNCs to adopt post-entry closed shop union agreements and to bargain collectively; the change reflected the desire of policy-makers to promote rules they considered attractive to a new wave of largely US direct investors in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, electronics and IT where such provisions were seen as hampering investment (Gunnigle et al. , 2006). Moreover, MNCs may shape institutions in more bottom-up fashion through their distinctive practice (e. g. Djelic and Quack, 2003).Thus the scope for macro-institutional manoeuvre may exist even in highly-regulated institutional settings such as Germany. MNCs have been able to find space (e. g. Singe and Croucher, 2005; Tempel et al. , 2006) by exploiting weaknesses in formal institutions such as works councils that are quite heterogeneous in their operations (Kotthoff, 1994); and as Streeck and Thelen (2005: 14) argue, there is always ‘a gap between the id eal pattern of a rule and the real pattern of life under it’; thus the rules of codetermination in Germany are characterized by deep ambiguities reflecting the conditions under which they had been drawn up.MNCs’ power to shape processes and structures through which decisions are made is seen in their ability to engage in what Streeck and Thelen (2005) call institutional ‘layering’ and ‘conversion’, whereby existing structures are bypassed, or subtly changed in function. Singe and Croucher (2005) in their synthesis of research on US firms in Germany suggest these firms adopted a dichotomous approach of formal compliance combined with ‘content avoidance’ towards codetermination institutions, deploying power resources to ‘colonize’ works ouncils and exert ‘high levels of pressure on works councillors to divorce themselves from unions’ (p134). US subsidiaries have moved between bargaining jurisdictions to lev erage distinctions in how these operate; in one such firm, the German subsidiary’s deft institutional manoeuvring allowed it to be the first subsidiary in Europe to implement the MNC’s global variable pay model (Tempel et al. , 2006). Even where regulative systems potentially constrain action, regulations need to be invoked and enforced. In Germany or Spain, works-council-style representation has to be triggered by the workforce.There is thus a terrain of action for management to deploy power to avoid macro-institutional coercive pressures. Managers can use power over resources to raise the costs for the workforce of invoking statutory rights; thus the Spanish subsidiary of a US MNC threatened to offer only minimum statutory redundancy pay if the workforce activated its right to union representation during the redundancy process (Colling et al. , 2006). Therefore, actors are involved in a process of deploying power capabilities more or less creatively on a particular i nstitutional terrain.MNCs are able to engage in ‘institutional arbitrage’ (Morgan et al. , 2003), manoeuvring between institutional variations within a given host setting, assembling and reassembling institutional elements in a process of ‘bricolage’ to create new variants. In sectors most exposed to global competition, such as finance and business services (Morgan, 2009), or in periods of institutional instability, MNCs may have greater freedom to create innovative institutional arrangements within the dominant host framework, leading to what Thelen (2009) calls the ‘segmentation’ of business systems.The ability of powerful ‘institutional entrepreneurs’, including MNCs, to shape institutional settings is a key factor in a current strand of comparative institutionalism that questions the monolithic character of national-institutional configurations and emphasizes internal heterogeneity (e. g. Almond, 2011; Crouch et al. , 2009; Lan e and Wood, 2009; Saka, 2002). For Crouch (2005; Crouch et al. , 2009) intra-model variety is the norm rather than an anomaly, hence firms may be less bound by national constraints than much theory suggests.In practice, institutional elements are more ‘loose-coupled’, and the national model less determinant. Heterogeneity has substantial implications for the Kostovian concepts of institutional distance and ‘country’ institutional profile. While multiplicity in institutional settings has been discussed by neoinstitutionalists (e. g. Clemens and Cook, 1999; Delmestri, 2009; Oliver, 1991) and is acknowledged by Kostova et al. (2008: 997), the implications for transfer have not been thoroughly assimilated (cf. Phillips et al. , 2009).Chief among them is that MNCs’ rule-making capacity within institutional configurations may facilitate the transfer of practices – even to institutionally ‘distant’ hosts. The overall ‘country insti tutional profile’ may not be the appropriate level of analysis, and more fine-grained examination of local host arrangements may be needed. An alternative instrument, based on constructing the institutional profile of the subnational variant, would seem to offer a conceptual way forward, although practical problems may be foreseen of access to adequate subnational data on institutional arrangements.Power capabilities of MNC actors Turning now to classify the power capabilities2 of MNC actors in situations of transfer, these capabilities may be derived from the micro-institutional domain of the MNC itself, or from macro-institutional arrangements in the host (and beyond). Crucially, MNCs may use power to shape macro-level institutions, affecting the processes whereby they are established, maintained over time, revised in function or scope, or replaced by other arrangements (e. g. Knight, 1992; Lawrence, 2008; Lawrence and Suddaby, 2006). Agency is not confined to HQ policy-mak ers.Actors in the subsidiary have their own sources of power. Where power capabilities of different kinds are disseminated across organizational levels, groups and individuals within a MNC, pressures to adopt transferred practices are susceptible to deflection, avoidance, negotiation or challenge by subordinate actors (cf. Oliver, 1991). In order to predict transfer outcomes, it is therefore necessary to assess the balance of capabilities between the centre and the subsidiary (Dorrenbacher and Geppert, 2009b). However, while there has been much discussion of the decentred or ‘networked’ nature of contemporary MNCs (e. . Andersson and Holm, 2010) an authoritative central HQ remains the norm. As Egelhoff (2010) argues, network structures provide inadequate ‘vertical specialization’, which is required to perform functions such as providing accountability to shareholders and imposing ‘tight-coupled’ coordination on units where careful synchronizati on of operations is required. Thus, the overall power of HQ positions it as a ‘field dominant’ (e. g. Levy, 2008) in relation to the organizational field constituted by the MNC. The power capabilities of headquarters actors.HQ actors have specific capabilities relating to each of the dimensions of power. The first aspect of HQ micro-institutional power is control of the allocation among subsidiaries of key organizational resources, such as finance, investment, and knowledge and expertise, through budgeting and management control processes. Decisions over resource allocation have critical impacts on the economic security and survival of subsidiaries. HQ also controls career opportunities and rewards of key subsidiary actors; recalcitrance may jeopardize remuneration or career advancement, particularly where aspirations are international (e. . Dorrenbacher and Geppert, 2009a). However, as discussed below, power resources are unlikely to be monopolized by HQ. Moreover, the ‘big guns’ at HQ’s disposal, such as the threat of closure or investment allocation, may be disproportionate weapons for resolving ‘downstream’ conflicts over the transfer of HR practices; and the threat of closure may be unavailable if an MNC’s investment is ‘market-seeking’ or ‘resource-seeking’, rather than ‘efficiency-seeking’. If a subsidiary is performing well economically, it is less likely to be penalized for not adopting transferred HR practices.Conversely, poorly-performing subsidiaries are more vulnerable to pressure from HQ to conform (e. g. Tempel et al. , 2006). Thus there is considerable scope for HQ–subsidiary negotiation (cf. Ferner and Edwards, 1995). Turning, second, to power of processes, within the MNC there is a transnational authority structure that legitimates the exercise of power by hierarchically senior actors (units, groups, individuals, etc. ). Formal hierarchical auth ority shapes the way decisions are made and resources allocated within the firm (cf.Hardy, 1996). HQ’s role as apex of the authority structure gives it the power to determine mechanisms for transferring practices to subsidiaries abroad. In particular, it can specify which actors at which level are able to intervene in decisions, for example on the introduction of a new global HR policy. Decision-making rules frame how practices are codified into policy and transferred to subsidiaries. Generally, HQ can define formal policies for subsidiaries with a prima facie expectation that subsidiaries comply.It can impose enforcement and monitoring mechanisms and benchmark practice across subsidiaries, facilitating transfer. Finally, HQ has power over meaning. It can influence cognitive and normative aspects of the micro-institutional frame of action by shaping corporate cultures, codes of practice and standard operating procedures, which then become institutionalized. This ‘third face’ of power helps shape the mindsets of those in subsidiaries whose job it is to implement transferred policy.Research suggests that formal policies need shared understandings in order to function effectively (Ferner, 2000). HQ actors control the creation of ‘legitimatory rhetorics’ (Suddaby and Greenwood, 2005) concerning, for instance, ‘competitive advantage’, profitability, or site closures (Erkama and Vaara, 2010). This is important where there is ‘causal ambiguity’ about the impact of a transferred practice in the subsidiary (Szulanski, 1996), which may be the case particularly for ‘downstream’ activities such as HR (Boxall and Purcell, 2011).HQ actors can also shape meaning systems in subsidiaries by, for example, recruiting key host individuals whose mindsets are less typical of host norms and more in tune with organizational norms (Evans and Lorange, 1989); this allows them to bypass barriers to ‘internaliza tion’ and helps create alternative micro-institutional settings within the host institutional context. The power capabilities of subsidiary actors Subsidiary actors have the capacity to challenge transfer and protect host institutional arrangements.There has been much work in recent years conceptualizing subsidiaries as active strategizers within the wider MNC (e. g. Belanger et al. , 1999; Bouquet and Birkinshaw, 2008; Dorrenbacher and Geppert, 2009b; Dorrenbacher and Gammelgaard, 2011; Kristensen and Zeitlin, 2005; Morgan and Kristensen, 2006), rather than passive transmission belts for HQ policies and practices. The ability to strategize depends on power capabilities stemming from both the micro-level of the MNC and the macro-level of the host institutional environment.Considering first the micro-political power of subsidiary actors, subsidiaries may achieve power over resources from the competent performance of their productive activities (e. g. Andersson and Forsgren, 19 96). For example, they may generate a substantial proportion of the MNC’s profit,3 offer access to key markets, create competitively significant knowledge or expertise, or perform functions that are critical to the success of the firm’s value chain (Dorrenbacher and Gammelgaard, 2011). Possession of resources allows subsidiaries to negotiate to some degree its relationship with HQ.Power over processes is primarily the province of HQ and the hierarchical authority structure, but not exclusively so. Subsidiaries may use their bargaining power deriving from control of resources to achieve a modification of decision-making processes, with an impact on transfers. For example, in a US engineering firm, HR managers from subsidiaries generating a large proportion of global revenue won a revision of the policy-making process that accorded them a greater role in the definition of global HR policies (Edwards, T. et al. , 2007).In terms of transfer, the exercise of process power i s likely to result in policies that are more sensitive to host institutions, and hence more easily transferable. HQ is also likely to dominate power over meaning, yet subsidiaries again may have some influence at least to contest dominant systems of meaning within the organization. The transfer of practices and their associated meaning systems across institutional spaces makes visible taken-for-granted normative and cognitive frameworks and hence renders them susceptible to purposive action.One example is the transfer of workforce diversity policies to the UK subsidiaries of US MNCs. Transfer exposed underlying discourses concerning the ‘business case’ and ‘equal employment opportunities’, through the collision of very different diversity rationalities in the US and the UK (Ferner et al. , 2005). Another instance is an attempt by an American business services firm to implement a global performance-related pay scheme for professional consultant staff in the German subsidiary.These employees strongly opposed the new system which clashed with normative frameworks of fairness and was seen as leading to culturally unacceptable pay differentials (Almond et al. , 2006: 138-9). MNC’s micro-institutions are beset with ambiguities, complexities and inconsistencies, particularly when applied to real choices in a complex business world. These give actors room for idiosyncratic interpretation of norms and rules. Even if subsidiaries do not have the power to shape micro-institutional frameworks of meaning, they can selectively respond to ifferent parts of a complex configuration. In short, rival micro-institutional norms provide alternative rhetorics legitimating – or de-legitimating – particular courses of action (Suddaby and Greenwood, 2005). Within the HR function, whose activities are largely ‘downstream’, one source of ambiguity is that they may be only partially ‘nested’ within ‘upstreamâ⠂¬â„¢ strategic objectives related to competition, profitability and growth. In other words, they may have ‘relative autonomy’. HR&EP norms may be at odds with upstream norms concerning economic performance, and can be deflected on that basis.Where transferred HR practices are seen as disrupting existing relationships or practices regarded as functional for subsidiary performance, subsidiary actors may deploy what Suddaby and Greenwood (2005) term ‘ontological rhetorics’ asserting the existential incompatibility of economic goals and transferred HR practices. Even within the HR domain, there may be contradictions within highly complex normative frameworks; for example, between principles of pay determination and approaches to union recognition.Thus UK subsidiary managers in one US MNC resisted a global pay freeze on the grounds that it conflicted with a competing corporate norm of favouring non-union employee relations (Almond and Ferner, 2006). In short, s ubsidiary actors can exploit rival appeals to legitimacy within the MNC, and are likely to do so when they oppose transfer. Turning to macro-institutional resources, subsidiary actors derive power capabilities from their status as skilled negotiators of the host institutional context, both of the overarching national-institutional framework, and the subnational niches and variants in which they are located.Where the subsidiary operates essentially as the willing local agent of the wider MNC, these powers may be used to promote transfer. However, where conflicts of interest exist between subsidiary and HQ, the same capacities may be used to block or amend transferred practices. First, subsidiaries derive power resources from the ‘institutional complementarities’ (Hall and Soskice, 2001) of the host business system that generate certain competitive advantages.Given the increasing importance of intra-model variants, subsidiaries’ local embeddedness is often crucial for the generation of resources such as scarce knowledge and expertise of value to the economic activity of the MNC, and that the MNC cannot otherwise access (Andersson and Forsgren, 1996; Dorrenbacher, and Gammelgaard, 2010; Sorge and Rothe, 2011). Almond (2011) points to the significance of locally embedded ‘flexible high-skills ecosystems’ that drive innovation and provide actors with power resources for shaping practice transfer.Second, the regulatory framework of the host gives subsidiary actors some purchase over the ‘power of process’ by exerting coercive isomorphic pressures, for example in employment relations and the workings of the labour market. Thus German codetermination legislation gives employees rights to representation on company supervisory boards, and to set up works councils with statutory rights over a range of work-related issues. Changes to payment systems resulting from transferred pay and performance practices are subject to codete rmination.Even where the MNC deploys resources to mitigate this loss of process control (see above), it nonetheless increases the costs for MNCs of shaping decisions, and necessitates some degree of negotiation with local actors and/or the application of power resources. Thus the power of process provides subsidiary actors with a capability to resist practice transfer. Third, subsidiary actors are able to exploit host institutional settings to challenge dominant actors’ power of meaning in the MNC.In particular, significant macro-institutional capabilities derive from subsidiary actors’ competence as skilled interpreters of the host institutional frame. In other words, they can shape the normative and cognitive understandings of what is possible, desirable and contextually rational. Even the most highly regulated and juridified systems leave spaces for interpretation based on expert institutional knowledge. More subtle and tacit cognitive and normative elements of inst itutional frameworks are even more subject to insider exegesis.While subsidiary actors may use such institutional expertise to further transfer, in situations of interest conflict with HQ, they may equally draw on such capabilities to construct a rhetoric legitimating opposition to transfer. Naturally, subsidiary actors’ interpretations of the viability of transfer are liable to challenge and counter-interpretation, notably by expatriate managers, and sceptical HQ actors may demand that local managers’ claims be thoroughly tested. This may especially be the case where dominance effects are present, notably in US MNCs which may have a strong presumption of the efficacy of HQ practices (e. . Almond et al. , 2006; Tempel et al. , 2006). Again, therefore, the host institutional context provides a ‘contested terrain’ (cf. Edwards and Belanger, 2009; also Geppert and Dorrenbacher, 2011), in which interest groups at different levels within the MNC struggle to fur ther their agendas. A final point concerning the power capabilities of subsidiary actors is that their ‘issue-scope’ of power (Lukes, 2005: 74-5) – the range of issues over which an actor can determine outcomes – is likely to be limited because of the overall power of HQ.As a result subsidiaries are likely to have to prioritize the issues over which they expend capabilities that are scarce relative to those of HQ actors. Moreover, their power is likely (again using Lukes’ terminology) to have a lower ‘contextual range’, to be largely restricted to the specific institutional setting in which they operate; whereas that of HQ is likely to be more ‘context-transcending’, deployable under a wider range of circumstances, especially where dominance effects come into play.A possible exception to this is where the subsidiary is located in a host that is more ‘dominant’ in the global economy than is the MNC’s coun try of origin. This may provide greater context-transcending capacity to the subsidiary, leading for example to additional possible transfer outcomes such as ‘reverse diffusion’ (Edwards and Ferner, 2004) in which practices are transferred from subsidiary to HQ. These arguments are summarized in Table 1. [Table 1 about here] MNC actors and interests in the context of HR&EP transferWe are now in a position to examine HQ and subsidiary interests in relation to transfer. Together with the power capacities of HQ and subsidiary explored above, the constellation of interests will determine the ‘stance’ of subsidiary actors towards transferred practices. Who are the relevant MNC actors in situations of institutional duality and transfer? A first approximation is to divide actors into those associated with the headquarters perspective and those in the subsidiary.In reality, finer-grained distinctions may become necessary to include for example actors at regional or business-unit headquarters with interests and power capabilities distinguishable both from those of corporate headquarters and national subsidiaries. Moreover, HQ is not a homogeneous block but comprises different groupings (e. g. by management function and level) with potentially different interests in relation to transfer. At subsidiary level, a core distinction is between managers and workforce (Edwards and Belanger, 2009).There may be both common and divergent interests. Managers and workforce may both have an interest in the site’s survival, for example. In contrast, particularly where the impact of a transferred practice on the site’s performance is ambiguous or contested, interests may diverge. Depending on the practice, further disaggregation may be appropriate; for example, subsidiary operations managers may see the transfer of practices such as teamworking as useful for efficiency while HR managers may oppose transfer on the grounds that they disrupt existin g accommodation with employees.An important distinction is between managers whose career ambit lies within the host country and those whose careers trajectories and aspirations are international in scope (Dorrenbacher and Geppert, 2009a; Morgan and Kristensen, 2006). The former may engage in ‘subversive strategizing’ (Kristensen and Zeitlin, 2005), acting counter to HQ norms and prescriptions in order to strengthen the effectiveness of the subsidiary; while the latter may have less stake in the site’s survival, and see it as in their career interest to overcome local obstacles to transfer.Nor is the subsidiary workforce necessarily homogeneous. There may be differences of interest between high-skilled workers with core competences and lower-skilled workers with more generic competences, and transferred practices may differentially impact on such interests. Whether subsidiary actors deploy capabilities to resist or promote transfer will depend on how the practices affect existing interests. Resistance or contestation is likely to emerge under conditions of ‘criticality’, that is where the issue is seen as critical to the interests of actors in the subsidiary.For example, resistance may be expected where a transferred practice embodies institutional norms or requirements that disrupt accommodations seen as vital to the effective conduct of the economic function of the subsidiary, and hence to the economic security, rewards and career interests of groups and individual actors in the subsidiary. Where a transferred practice disrupts workforce interests but not those of managers (or vice versa), there is likely to be an ‘internalization’ of the clash of rationalities within the host.In the area of HR&EP, it is more likely that interests in the subsidiary will be differentiated, with say employees and their representatives resisting transfer, while managers promote it. This may be manifested in management–workforc e conflict, or as Tempel et al. (2006) suggest, subsidiary managers may function as a ‘Trojan horse’ for imported practices such as global performance management systems, working to neutralize institutional obstacles. Transferred practices may selectively disrupt interests of particular management groups, or particular workforce groups, or both.In such cases coalitions of support for and opposition to transfer may be complex and cut across the management–workforce divide. However, where transfer disrupts a wide range of subsidiary interests, a subsidiary-wide oppositional coalition may emerge. Power, institutions and transfer outcomes These arguments are now synthesized into a model of transfer outcomes, in which constellations of institutional distance, macro- and micro-level power capabilities, and actors’ interests determine the fate of transferred practices.We argue, first, that there is a need to revise the Kostovian idea (e. g. Kostova, 1999) that MN Cs operate between fairly fixed institutional entities, as implied by the notion of ‘institutional distance’. The impact of ID upon transfer is modified by the power of MNCs in two ways. In the first place, dominance effects, where they exist, smooth transfer by providing MNCs with abundant power over resources, power of process over the rules of the game, and power to manage meaning by reducing normative opposition to dominant-country practices in the host.In the second place, the power of MNCs as active rule-makers, engaging in ‘institutional work’ to construct institutional variants or niches within the host setting, mitigates the constraining impact of institutional distance. In order to incorporate these considerations, we therefore propose that Kostova’s notion of institutional distance, which we refer to as ‘raw’ ID, be replaced by the concept of modified ID, (mID). Here, the predictions of our framework are significantly differen t from those of Kostova’s.Second, transfer outcomes depend on the specific configuration of power capabilities and interests of actors at different levels of the MNC. Where interests of subsidiary and HQ actors are broadly concordant, the power capabilities of the subsidiary are likely to be deployed in a manner supportive of transfer, for example by removing or circumventing host institutional obstacles to transfer. However, where there are strong interests within the subsidiary in conflict with those of HQ, the outcome is likely to be an oppositional stance.This does not necessarily entail overt resistance (cf. Oliver, 1991). Power capabilities may be deployed to resist, modify, neutralize, or ‘quarantine’ the transferred practice through ritual observance that does not affect real practice. Which of these oppositional outcomes occurs is likely to depend on the homogeneity of interests within the subsidiary, and the power capabilities of the subsidiary (or at l east of oppositional actors) relative to those of HQ.An outcome of ceremonial compliance in which nonconformity is masked by a ‘facade of acquiescence’ (Oliver, 1991: 154) is likely where opposition is high due to a collision of normative/cognitive frameworks (e. g. concerning what will promote unit profitability in the subsidiary), but where subsidiary actors’ control of resources and/or processes is relatively low, precluding overt resistance. Alternatively, opposition may lead to adaptation or ‘hybridization’ (e. g. Becker-Ritterspach, 2009; Szulanski and Jensen, 2006) in which the practice acquires elements characteristic of the host setting.In some cases, this may make a practice more effective within the host, or allow it to be internalized by subsidiary employees. Survey evidence suggests that it is common for MNCs to disseminate practices by means of broad framework policies, with local adaptation being expected in HR&EP areas such as perform ance management, variable pay, and employee involvement (Edwards, P. et al. , 2007). This may be termed ‘functional hybridization’. In other cases hybridization may divert a practice from its normal function and hence subvert HQ’s intention.For example, a supposedly standardized employee performance appraisal system in a US MNC operated with major variations in practice: thus in the German subsidiary the works council was able to reject individual assessment, minimize quantification, and reduce the scheme to occasional informal, unrecorded evaluations (Liberman and Torbiorn, 2000). Such ‘resistive hybridization’ is likely where transfer disrupts internal accommodations and/or is seen as dysfunctional for subsidiary performance, and where subsidiary actors have sufficient power capabilities, such as interpretive control of local meaning frames.Third, the three ‘dimensions’ of power are likely to affect transfer outcomes in different ways, other things being equal. Where a subsidiary has significant power of resources, this is likely to facilitate a bargaining process in which the terms of entry of a transferred practice are negotiated between subsidiary and HQ. Where a subsidiary has significant power of process, it may use it to influence how global policies or practices are designed within the MNC, for example by contributing to central policy-making bodies.This provides it with the opportunity to ensure that the transferred practice is from the start compatible with the cognitive/normative (or indeed regulatory) frames of the host. Finally, a subsidiary may be skilled in the management of meaning, whether in highlighting – or concealing – normative/cognitive discrepancies provoked by the transfer of a practice, or by mobilizing appropriate legitimatory discourses within the micro-institutional sphere of the MNC. This power may affect transfer outcomes in different ways.Where the subsidiary’s stance is oppositional, it may evoke host macro-institutional impediments, drawing on its skilled interpretation of ‘institutions-in-practice’. Equally, where its other power capabilities are relatively weak, it may use its skills in managing meaning to construct the ‘ceremonial’ aspects of the practice without impinging on the subsidiary’s core activity. Where the subsidiary’s stance is supportive of transfer, the power of meaning may be brought to bear to secure the ‘internalization’ (Kostova, 1999) of transferred practices.Returning to the outcome parameters outlined in the introduction, we can synthesize the above arguments (see table 2) in terms of typical scenarios, based on differentiation of functionality, internalization, adaptation and directionality. The table indicates that the conditions most conducive for successful transfer in which functional practices are internalized are where: HQ actively wants to transfer pract ices, ID is low, dominance effects are high, institutional space is high, HQ’s power capabilities are relatively strong, HQ and subsidiary interests are concordant and the interests of subsidiary actors are homogeneous (model 1).To take a stylized example, a US business services firm – i. e. an MNC from the hegemonic business system, in a sector in which that business system is internationally dominant – transfers a performance appraisal system to its professional employees in its non-unionized Irish subsidiary as part of the global dissemination of standardized HR policies. Many of the employees have worked for American firms before – US MNCs predominate among foreign employers in Ireland – and have studied or worked in the US.Their cognitive/normative frames are attuned to American performance-management systems, especially since there is a strong values-based corporate culture, and there are unlikely to be discordant interests with regards to th e policy, so the practice is likely to be easily ‘internalized’. There are few macro-institutional constraints to the introduction of such policies and few variant constraints stemming e. g. from the presence of trade unions. This can be contrasted with five other scenarios.As ID increases and capabilities, particularly resources, controlled by the subsidiary grow, the prospect of transfer taking the form of functional hybridization increases (model 2). To illustrate, a US electronics MNC attempts to transfer a performance-related pay system to the more constrained and institutionally distant context of Germany. 4 There is a perceived disjunction between the policy and cognitive/normative frames of employees, i. e. the cross-institutional transfer reveals the cognitive/normative underpinnings of the system.The subsidiary is large, successful and powerful, giving it power over resources with which to negotiate with HQ a modification of the practice – for example, by reducing the amount of pay at risk, to make it more acceptable within the host context (e. g. Tempel et al. , 2006). Where dominance effects weaken, institutional space is more constrained, the subsidiary possesses significant power of resources and process relative to HQ, and has divergent interests from HQ, then the likelihood of resistive hybridization and low internalization rises (model 3).For example, Lindholm et al. (1999) show how performance appraisal systems in Nordic MNCs in China were subverted because the systems provoked extensive clashes with cognitive/normative frames, e. g. with regards to the priority given to performance rather than seniority, and issues around loss of face and around managerial authority in setting targets. If dominance effects are absent, ID is high, and subsidiary interests clash with HQ’s, transfer may fail altogether (model 4).To illustrate, a British MNC seeks to internationalize a policy of outsourcing support functions to reduce labour costs. It pressurizes foreign subsidiaries where the ratio of outsourced workers to internal employees is significantly lower than in UK domestic operations. This is the case in the German subsidiary, one of the largest in the company and with important production facilities for key products.Subsidiary managers are sceptical as to the efficiency of outsourcing and the HR manager uses his detailed knowledge of German employment law to circumvent the need to outsource functions (e. g. Tempel, 2002). Where institutional space is moderate, the subsidiary is not particularly powerful (in resource or process terms) in relation to HQ, and has quite different interests to actors at HQ, the prospects for ceremonial adoption are at their highest (model 5). To take a stylized example, a British MNC attempts to internationalize its comprehensive diversity management practices.In its medium-sized production facilities in Germany, there is considerable scepticism among managers and primari ly male employees as to the business case for diversity management. Lacking power of resources or process to openly block HQ practices, managers go through the motions of introducing diversity management measures, for example by organizing social events under the label of diversity management, but do not implement real changes in recruitment processes to encourage more female applicants or introduce diversity awareness training for employees.Finally, where interests are concordant and where the subsidiary’s power capabilities are considerable – especially when its institutional embeddedness allows it to develop scarce resources of value to the wider MNC – conditions exist for ‘reverse transfer’ (model 6). That is to say, practices operating in the subsidiary are transferred to headquarters (Edwards and Ferner, 2004). These conditions are heightened in situations of ‘reverse dominance’, that is where the subsidiary’s host system i s more dominant than the MNC’s parent system.For example, a German chemical company developed a global system of bonus pay for executives that was modelled closely on schemes already developed in the US subsidiary of the company (Ferner and Varul, 2000). These models are not, of course, exhaustive: other outcomes are possible; and the same transfer outcome may be obtained through different combinations of variables. But they illustrate the heuristic value of the approach. It should be noted that a certain degree of interaction of explanatory variables is likely.For example, MNCs from dominant parent countries are likely to be able to influence subnational variety because of their greater capacity for rule-making rather than mere rule-taking behaviour. [Table 2 about here] Conclusion This paper has argued for a revision of the Kostovian approach to practice transfer in MNCs in two key respects: systematically incorporating actors’ power capabilities, and taking account of how power ‘problematizes’ ID by rendering it more susceptible to the purposive action of MNC actors.We have argued for an analysis of power that incorporates both macro-institutional and micro-institutional capabilities of MNC actors in which these are able to a greater or lesser extent to manipulate and construct elements of the institutional settings in which they operate. The implications of the argument are methodological as well as conceptual. First, there is a need to develop credible measures of the variables in the model. The concept of mID implies the need to assess dominance effects, for example, and these will vary according to the pairs of parent and host business systems in play; dominance may also vary e. . by sector. Much work needs to be done on measuring notions such as institutional space, and to map the dimensions that characterize institutional variants. This has to be accomplished at a disaggregated level: notions of ‘country institutional profile’ may be too crude where MNCs’ power allows them to construct niche institutional ‘micro-climates’. One of the most difficult tasks is to operationalize actors’ power capabilities and to empirically assess different levels of capabilities in relation to resource, process and meaning.Moreover, empirical tools capable of identifying and distinguishing interests are needed, a task complicated by the fact that while some underlying interests may be long-term and durable – for example, around organizational survival – others may well be issue-specific, constructed anew around each instance of transfer. These points suggest a critical role for in-depth case studies. They allow deeper exploration both of the process of transfer and of how transferred practices are implemented in the routine life of the subsidiary.They are more suited than surveys to developing nuanced operationalizations and unpicking the complexities of power, how dif ferent kinds of power capabilities are deployed by different actors in the transfer process, and how configurations of interests are constructed around different transfer cases. They are more appropriate for exploring in depth the way transferred practices operate in reality. Finally, there is the question of the generalizability of these arguments to other areas of management activity.Inasmuch as transfer provokes challenges to existing modes of action and to institutional frameworks, much of the same processes of power are likely to be observed in other areas. The cross-national transfer of technical know-how, for example, exposes underlying cognitive assumptions about how the production of knowledge and development of products should be organized (e. g. Lam, 1997; Szulanski and Jensen, 2006). It is also likely to create conflicts of interest over control of knowledge as a resource, or concerns about the impact of transferred knowledge on the structuring of activities and actorsâ €™ roles in the recipient unit.Beyond that, however, HR&EP may have distinctive characteristics, relating partly to the structured antagonisms between capital and labour (Edwards, 1986). More immediately, as a ‘downstream’ business activity, HR&EP is particularly prone to the normative principles that may be at odds with the prescriptions of upstream strategy, increasing the space for actors to exploit micro-institutional ambiguities between, for instance, directives on growth, profitability or efficiency on the one hand, and principles of employee management on the other. Funding statementThis research was supported by funding from the Economic & Social Research Council, grant numbers R000-23-8350 and RES-000-230305. Notes [? ] According to Scopus, the number of citations for three of Kostova’s articles concerning transfer (as at 15th September 2011) are as follows: Kostova, 1999: 321; Kostova and Zaheer, 1999: 329; Kostova and Roth, 2002: 281. 2 The term â €˜capabilities’ is preferred to ‘resources’ since power over resources constitutes only one dimension of power (one that is the focus of resource-based views of power that predominate in the business literature). Perceptions of profitability in an MNC can be shaped