An Analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility in UK Firms Dissertation

An Analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility in UK Firms - Dissertation Example Other than the research design, studies need to provide an understanding of the research rationale, sample and sampling procedure, data and collection methods, as well as the data analysis process. The following chapter provides a deeper analysis of the methodology employed in conducting this study. Research Design Approach Research studies take the form of qualitative, quantitative, or both. Whereas quantitative designs use numerical data, qualitative designs use non-numerical data and information to make analysis towards achieving the aim of the study. In order to realise the objectives of this research, a combination of both qualitative and quantitative research approaches was employed. On the one hand, the study utilized available research data on the subject of CSR policy and performance among major corporations in the UK. In order to identify a sample space to draw information from, a recent research by Highflier’s Research (2011) on the Top 100 Graduate Employers in the UK for the year 2011 and 2012 was used. Secondary data and information regarding CSR in respect to UK firms provided a good foundation and basis for conducting a detailed analysis hence conclusions and recommendations. Apart from the use of secondary data especially the research study conducted by Highflier’s Research (2011), the study also collected additional information and data from the available literature that addresses the concepts and aspects of CSR with respect to UK firms. Such literatures formed the bigger part of the literature review section. Specific information obtained from the various literatures included the CSR policy frameworks as well as performance of UK firms in respect to the same strategic move. The literatures... The research selects three firms, Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury and uses them to represent the entire population. These firms are UK-based and of late have been seen as very successful in respect to CSR policies and performances. The sampling method that was used was the stratified sampling, which involves selecting specific firms that have heard significant impact, whether positive or negative, on the business environment on the basis of the topic under discussions. The three firms formed the case studies that needed to be analyzed in order to arrive at the conclusion. However, there were information and data required regarding the client’s perception on the firms’ CSR policies and performances. Again, it was difficult to conduct interviews on all the clients of the three firms. Consequently, 150 clients were selected randomly and a semi-structured interview was performed on them identifying firstly the firm of choice and then their views on the CSR policies as well as per formances. As much as we praise the importance of CSR practices to the organisation, the ultimate effectiveness of such practices is best felt by the public. It is true that interviewing senior corporate managers can serve good in understanding the environment underpinning their CSR policies. Nevertheless, this option is both resource consuming and might be subject to faked information as managers strive to safeguard their business secrets. On the other hand however, company clients are more open in airing their views on businesses and their practices

Building an Ethical Organization Essay Example for Free

Building an Ethical Organization Essay The name of my organization is Focus Mental Health and Developmental Agency Focus is an agency that provides help and compassion to people that are going through a mental health issue whether it is needing counseling, support, or medication treatment Focus is your path to peace of mind.  Substance abuse is another issue that we address from helping to get assistance to go into inpatient treatment facility, or outpatient treatment, as well as Aftercare which is a support program for clients being fresh out of drug or alcohol treatment or stopping using on their own. Recovery program that can be provided through Focus for continued success at a productive life for clients. Recovery is a life altering event because the client will be drug or alcohol free for a certain amount of time but will constantly be on a mission to stay free from these addictions. We have case managers who do home visits as well as office visits to stay on top of our clients’ needs before they become a crisis. We promote medication therapy which assists clients in staying on a strict medication regiment for mental health and some substance abuse treatments as well when necessary. Groups for substance and alcohol abuse meet weekly, the meeting are separated in to one for teenagers and one for adults as well as one for narcotics and one for alcohol abuse. Focus also has a team that works in human services call the impact team which do such things as take the clients grocery shopping, or to appointments or out to functions in town and even to visit family members they are up close and personal with the clients. The clientele for Focus will be children starting at age 10 and up through adulthood. The clients are high in number in male and female ratio, meaning we service high numbers of both genders. Clientele for Focus consist of primarily low income clients but is open to all residents of Richmond County. Children and adults that may be going through a turning point in their lives and need some assistance in adapting to the changes and probably have no other place to turn are much of Focus clientele. Within our substance abuse programs many of our clients are repeaters they have had some type of counseling or treatment in the past, the clients are children as well as adults. Much of our clientele is involved in long term care phases with Focus they are in need of support in their lives, medications and usually involved in aftercare or recovery. Mental health issues brings many clients to Focus, they sometimes come straight from the hospital to the offices of Focus they are usually in great need of care. Our clientele is very diverse we have to be prepared for almost anything from getting someone to speak another language to clients to giving a child a hug. Focus is a non-profit organization, but we do bring in an income by charging for services, on a sliding fee scale, services maybe free for those who qualify, or clients can setup a payment plan, but the rates are according to income and ability to pay. Focus has to charge a small fee to cover their bills and overhead to stay in business and grow and continue to service the Richmond County area. Focus is not in business to get wealthy but to make a difference in the lives of our clients and the community. The issue of Focus is to support an issue of private or public interest that does not include a monetary value. Mission Statement: Focus gracefully and respectfully service adults and children that may be at a turning point in their life and are having mental health and/or substance abuse issues, as well as people in any phase of relapse. Focus particularly caters to low income people but all are welcome, we serve the county of Richmond. Our goal is to provide our clients with the knowledge, treatment and support so they can return to a life of independence, good health and wellbeing; and Focus encourages and support clients in their aftercare and recovery as needed. We do not discriminate against anyone needing service for any reason; we are made up of a diverse society at Focus. The mission statement supports the ethical system because Focus not only will treat the clients and bring them around to better health and not only that Focus will make sure that the clients learns the tools they need to stay healthy and recover, and continue on a path to independence again. The mission statement supports the ethical system because it calls for diversity which is a big part of the clients that come to the agency and the staff. The message the mission statement send to the community is that we are here for you, to help you, support you and see that your needs are met. Focus will be with you through your journey and for the long term until you are able to become more manageable in your life. That during your need for Focus services you can count on us and we will teach you how to take the best care of yourself with and without our assistance. Drohan William M, (June 2010) wrote a successful statement becomes a unifying force, a foundation on which to build, and a reference point for everything the association does. Its well worth the time to make sure it is written in such a way that it will serve as a guide and an inspiration for many years to come. Values statement: At Focus we value and treat everyone that comes through our doors with mutual respect and dignity. We will have acceptance of all people regardless if there is any kind of difference between us, we will always embrace diversity. Focus will respect each client’s privacy by protecting their medical records at all times, and allowing only staff directly involved with client care to view records. There will be no room for sexual harassment of clients or staff. Kernaghan, K.(2003) writes, A values statement expressing values that are shared at all organizational levels-combined with the dispersal of leadership roles throughout the organization-provides an especially strong foundation for integrating values into public service. These values will inspire action and influence behavior because it states that you will be treated with mutual respect, so clients will know to be on their best behavior and staff will know that also as well as being professional at all times. By accepting diversity that lets all clients know that they are welcome, important and will be getting equal treatment. The clients will feel protected knowing their medical records are kept confidential and they will not be sexually harassed during their visit. They both call for treating the clients with mutual respect, regardless of any type of differences that maybe. Values and mission statements both state that they are for diversity so it includes people, make people want to come forward and get care. Knowledge and support for the clients is a part of the values statement as well as the mission statement. Long term care is part of each statement which would usually be necessary for Mental Health and Substance abuse treatment. The mission statement and the values statement in different ways states that they want the best for the clients, want them to get the best service or treatment available at Focus, so they can be their best. Code of Ethics All employees will abide by these codes of ethics at all times (except when necessary not to), we will present good conduct ourselves at all times to be a credit to the organization and the community we serve. Yi-Hui, Haung, (2010) states, First, responding to the argument that ethics codes are not an effective indicator of professionalism, I believe that a code of ethics is part of the standards that must be fulfilled for an occupation to be a profession, especially for public relations. 1. All staff should attempt to meet the needs of their clients, including committing to and respecting client rights and maintaining confidentiality at all times, except in special cases. 2. Staff should be knowledgeable in a variety of areas and situations in order to be able to effectively perform their duties in human services. 3. All staff must work well with their peers and should show mutual respect for one another, and avoid negative criticism. 4. All staff must carry themselves in a professional manner at all times and must not let their personal lives interfere with being professional on the job. 5. All staff should work for the benefit of society and make sure that all clients equal rights are protected and have an opportunity for helpful services that meet their need. 6. Staff will not argue with clients or other staff if a situation should come up between either of the two it must be taken to the supervisor and dealt with directly if the situation cannot be handle in any other fashion 7. All staff must vow to speak up if they see or know of another employee that is violating the codes of ethics, the law, or a client these matters must be addressed with your immediate supervisor. 8. The use of drugs will not be tolerated, and the use of alcohol while on the clock will not be tolerated either, if you suspect another employee report it, it is for the safety and protection of the organization. All employees should exercise their power to prevent mistakes or wrongdoing by asking questions at the right time. 10. All staff should respect the property of others, be honest and not take unfair advantage of other employees. The code of ethics inspires a tangible outcome from an employee because they will want to be the best example for the organization and their peers. The code of ethics would cause the employee to check their work more carefully and make sure it is done correctly and by the law as well as dealing with the clients. The code also helps the employees feel protected, because it sets rules and guidelines for the employees and all must abide by them equally. The code of ethics is related to the mission and values of the organization because they are there to co-inside with each other for the direction of the organization, and the protection of the clients and staff. All three are necessary for the good of the organization, the focus and the goal to be effective. Our organization plans on having a relaxing, calm, approachable family oriented culture. The atmosphere will be calming, loud noise will be prevented as much as possible, and we tell our clients to invite a family member if possible to the appointments. Our staff will carry themselves in a professional, plight and clam manner in order to set an example for the clients, so they will not get excited. The culture will institutionalize the organizations values by having them mesh together. When the clients see how the environment of the organization is they will be more than willing to come to their appointments regularly and participate in their treatment and perhaps invite a family member. Even though this will be a change for the clients from an institution staff will do everything to help them adjust. Focus employees will treat everyone with dignity, respect, honest, and kindness this is the type of atmosphere we represent. Identifying my moral responsibility as a leader is of importance, because the workers will be watching and imitating the kind of behavior that I display, the leader sets the mood in the environment in the whole organization. I will be responsible for all action that I take part in, and be honest and truthful in all my actions. While trying to maintain the ethical standard I will be evaluating their performance in six month intervals and on their anniversary date. For the six month if no problems the employee will get a gift card to a store and for the anniversary day they get a raise. I will have a one on one meeting to talk about their performance evaluation and their strengths and weakness and how they can improve during their job. I will keep a record of all evaluation so I can assist workers in being the best employee they can be. I will lead by example. Part of my moral responsibility is to lead the worker to the best of my abilities. I will make sure that I set the same kind of ethical standards that I would like for my workers to follow. Morals have to do with values and values relate to compassion, integrity, and dignity and these are things that I will display while I am in a leadership role. I will maintain Focus ethical standard while measuring the workers performance by treating all employees as individuals and as fair as possible. There will be an ethics committee which will consist of the me, my boss and one employee so the employees will have a voice. The ethics committee will review the evaluations to make sure all rule and guidelines have been followed and the committee will study different methods and organization policy to look for what is right and what is wrong. Other than me leading by example and the ethics committee the workers will follow suit and become loyal employees. The structures I would put in place for oversight is training for employees, evaluate new employees the first six months of employment. In conclusion the mission and value statements and the code of ethics form the core of Focus is something that clients and employees can value in the organization. They serve as a guiding tool for employees so they can give their clients the best service practically every time. Effective leadership is necessary for morale and production in the organization and that comes from a good leader. Performance evaluations will play an important role in the structure of the employee’s positions. Periodical performance evaluations are necessary in order to evaluate the performance of the employees and maintain an ethical standard. The Focus is a place where people with mental health issues and/or substance abuse issues can come for help and get their needs met and feel safe.

Essay examples --

Mary Anne Warren and others argue for a liberal position on the abortion debate. A liberal view of abortion is roughly thought of as an idea that abortions should be able to be terminated at any stage in the pregnancy. In this paper, I will argue a defense of abortion, or a liberal view of abortion, using utilitarianism. I will then respond to a counterargument about the moral worth of the fetus. I will respond to this objection by looking at a strong argument by Marquis. Finally, I’ll conclude that Warren’s is the stronger position. This argument will follow a utilitarian view of the availability of abortion. To examine the ethics of abortion, it is important to first examine utilitarianism. Utilitarianism generally follows the idea that it is important to do whatever the greatest good for the greatest amount of people is. In Michael Sandel’s book Justice, he gives a definition of utilitarianism as â€Å"the highest moral principle will be to maximize utility for the most people† (Sandel, 34). In this essay I will demonstrate how Mary Anne Warren uses this idea to build a solid foundation for her argument in favor of unfettered use of abortions. Similar to Mary Anne Warren, I believe that abortions should always remain legal because there is no stage in fetal development in which a fetus resembles a person. Warren does make the distinction that a fetus may resemble a human being because they have a full genetic code and potential of become a person, however, Warren defines a person as someone with the capacity for rational thought, therefore a fetus might resemble a human but doesn’t resemble a person. (Warren, 11). While it is hotly contested, a fetus doesn’t have rational thought. For the most part, people would not consider a fet... ...oes present an extremely strong argument against abortion, it is not stronger than Mary Anne Warren’s position for the reason that potential beings do not hold rights and thus have no right to a future while actual beings do hold rights and thus should have an absolute right to an abortion. All in all, while there are many views and assessments on the ethics and morality of abortion, the utilitarianism view is clearly the best because it maximizes the utility of actual persons, and because fetuses aren't persons, they don't have to be considered in our utility calculus and can justifiably be aborted at any stage in gestation. Although the conservative view restricting abortions is very strong, it deprives actual persons of their utility in favor of the utility of potential beings and therefore in no way, shape, or form follows the general ideas of utilitarianism. Essay examples -- Mary Anne Warren and others argue for a liberal position on the abortion debate. A liberal view of abortion is roughly thought of as an idea that abortions should be able to be terminated at any stage in the pregnancy. In this paper, I will argue a defense of abortion, or a liberal view of abortion, using utilitarianism. I will then respond to a counterargument about the moral worth of the fetus. I will respond to this objection by looking at a strong argument by Marquis. Finally, I’ll conclude that Warren’s is the stronger position. This argument will follow a utilitarian view of the availability of abortion. To examine the ethics of abortion, it is important to first examine utilitarianism. Utilitarianism generally follows the idea that it is important to do whatever the greatest good for the greatest amount of people is. In Michael Sandel’s book Justice, he gives a definition of utilitarianism as â€Å"the highest moral principle will be to maximize utility for the most people† (Sandel, 34). In this essay I will demonstrate how Mary Anne Warren uses this idea to build a solid foundation for her argument in favor of unfettered use of abortions. Similar to Mary Anne Warren, I believe that abortions should always remain legal because there is no stage in fetal development in which a fetus resembles a person. Warren does make the distinction that a fetus may resemble a human being because they have a full genetic code and potential of become a person, however, Warren defines a person as someone with the capacity for rational thought, therefore a fetus might resemble a human but doesn’t resemble a person. (Warren, 11). While it is hotly contested, a fetus doesn’t have rational thought. For the most part, people would not consider a fet... ...oes present an extremely strong argument against abortion, it is not stronger than Mary Anne Warren’s position for the reason that potential beings do not hold rights and thus have no right to a future while actual beings do hold rights and thus should have an absolute right to an abortion. All in all, while there are many views and assessments on the ethics and morality of abortion, the utilitarianism view is clearly the best because it maximizes the utility of actual persons, and because fetuses aren't persons, they don't have to be considered in our utility calculus and can justifiably be aborted at any stage in gestation. Although the conservative view restricting abortions is very strong, it deprives actual persons of their utility in favor of the utility of potential beings and therefore in no way, shape, or form follows the general ideas of utilitarianism.

Icd Visit at Dadri

About ICD Dadri †¢An intermodal terminal directly connected by road and rail to the seaports. †¢Facilities for storage and consolidation of goods, maintenance for cargo carriers and custom clearance services. †¢Export functions: oReceipt of cargo oIn-house customs examination oCargo aggregation and storage oCargo stuffing under customs supervision †¢Import functions: oMovement of containers from the port oDe-stuffing of LCL (Less Container Load) and FCL (Full Container Load) containers oCustoms examination oWarehousing facilities †¢Around 50 reefers can run at the same time simultaneously for cargos requiring cold storage. Spanned across a huge area, having space allocated on rent for the vendors. Key Learnings †¢The way an ICD operates step by step, from the entry of cargo in the ICD to a cargo being shipped out. †¢Identified how to manage a supply chain in case any of the above links is broken. †¢Understood the concepts of dry and cold storag e. †¢Container and space management specific to vendors. †¢Customs clearance process. About ICD Dadri †¢An intermodal terminal directly connected by road and rail to the seaports. †¢Facilities for storage and consolidation of goods, maintenance for cargo carriers and custom clearance services. Export functions: oReceipt of cargo oIn-house customs examination oCargo aggregation and storage oCargo stuffing under customs supervision †¢Import functions: oMovement of containers from the port oDe-stuffing of LCL (Less Container Load) and FCL (Full Container Load) containers oCustoms examination oWarehousing facilities †¢Around 50 reefers can run at the same time simultaneously for cargos requiring cold storage. †¢Spanned across a huge area, having space allocated on rent for the vendors. Key Learnings †¢The way an ICD operates step by step, from the entry of cargo in the ICD to a cargo being shipped out. Identified how to manage a supply chain in ca se any of the above links is broken. †¢Understood the concepts of dry and cold storage. †¢Container and space management specific to vendors. †¢Customs clearance process. About ICD Dadri †¢An intermodal terminal directly connected by road and rail to the seaports. †¢Facilities for storage and consolidation of goods, maintenance for cargo carriers and custom clearance services. †¢Export functions: oReceipt of cargo oIn-house customs examination oCargo aggregation and storage oCargo stuffing under customs supervision †¢Import functions: Movement of containers from the port oDe-stuffing of LCL (Less Container Load) and FCL (Full Container Load) containers oCustoms examination oWarehousing facilities †¢Around 50 reefers can run at the same time simultaneously for cargos requiring cold storage. †¢Spanned across a huge area, having space allocated on rent for the vendors. Key Learnings †¢The way an ICD operates step by step, from the entry of cargo in the ICD to a cargo being shipped out. †¢Identified how to manage a supply chain in case any of the above links is broken. †¢Understood the concepts of dry and cold storage. Container and space management specific to vendors. †¢Customs clearance process. About ICD Dadri †¢An intermodal terminal directly connected by road and rail to the seaports. †¢Facilities for storage and consolidation of goods, maintenance for cargo carriers and custom clearance services. †¢Export functions: oReceipt of cargo oIn-house customs examination oCargo aggregation and storage oCargo stuffing under customs supervision †¢Import functions: oMovement of containers from the port oDe-stuffing of LCL (Less Container Load) and FCL (Full Container Load) containers oCustoms examination oWarehousing facilities Around 50 reefers can run at the same time simultaneously for cargos requiring cold storage. †¢Spanned across a huge area, having space allocated on rent for the vendors. Key Learnings †¢The way an ICD operates step by step, from the entry of cargo in the ICD to a cargo being shipped out. †¢Identified how to manage a supply chain in case any of the above links is broken. †¢Understood the concepts of dry and cold storage. †¢Container and space management specific to vendors. †¢Customs clearance process. About ICD Dadri †¢An intermodal terminal directly connected by road and rail to the seaports. Facilities for storage and consolidation of goods, maintenance for cargo carriers and custom clearance services. †¢Export functions: oReceipt of cargo oIn-house customs examination oCargo aggregation and storage oCargo stuffing under customs supervision †¢Import functions: oMovement of containers from the port oDe-stuffing of LCL (Less Container Load) and FCL (Full Container Load) containers oCustoms examination oWarehousing facilities †¢Around 50 reefers can run at the same time simultaneously for cargos requiring cold storage. †¢Spanned across a huge area, having space allocated on rent for the vendors.Key Learnings †¢The way an ICD operates step by step, from the entry of cargo in the ICD to a cargo being shipped out. †¢Identified how to manage a supply chain in case any of the above links is broken. †¢Understood the concepts of dry and cold storage. †¢Container and space management specific to vendors. †¢Customs clearance process. About ICD Dadri †¢An intermodal terminal directly connected by road and rail to the seaports. †¢Facilities for storage and consolidation of goods, maintenance for cargo carriers and custom clearance services. †¢Export functions: oReceipt of cargo In-house customs examination oCargo aggregation and storage oCargo stuffing under customs supervision †¢Import functions: oMovement of containers from the port oDe-stuffing of LCL (Less Container Load) and FCL (Full Container Load) containers oCustoms exa mination oWarehousing facilities †¢Around 50 reefers can run at the same time simultaneously for cargos requiring cold storage. †¢Spanned across a huge area, having space allocated on rent for the vendors. Key Learnings †¢The way an ICD operates step by step, from the entry of cargo in the ICD to a cargo being shipped out. Identified how to manage a supply chain in case any of the above links is broken. †¢Understood the concepts of dry and cold storage. †¢Container and space management specific to vendors. †¢Customs clearance process. About ICD Dadri †¢An intermodal terminal directly connected by road and rail to the seaports. †¢Facilities for storage and consolidation of goods, maintenance for cargo carriers and custom clearance services. †¢Export functions: oReceipt of cargo oIn-house customs examination oCargo aggregation and storage oCargo stuffing under customs supervision †¢Import functions: Movement of containers from the port oDe-stuffing of LCL (Less Container Load) and FCL (Full Container Load) containers oCustoms examination oWarehousing facilities †¢Around 50 reefers can run at the same time simultaneously for cargos requiring cold storage. †¢Spanned across a huge area, having space allocated on rent for the vendors. Key Learnings †¢The way an ICD operates step by step, from the entry of cargo in the ICD to a cargo being shipped out. †¢Identified how to manage a supply chain in case any of the above links is broken. †¢Understood the concepts of dry and cold storage. Container and space management specific to vendors. †¢Customs clearance process. About ICD Dadri †¢An intermodal terminal directly connected by road and rail to the seaports. †¢Facilities for storage and consolidation of goods, maintenance for cargo carriers and custom clearance services. †¢Export functions: oReceipt of cargo oIn-house customs examination oCargo aggregation and storage oCargo stuffing under customs supervision †¢Import functions: oMovement of containers from the port oDe-stuffing of LCL (Less Container Load) and FCL (Full Container Load) containers oCustoms examination Warehousing facilities †¢Around 50 reefers can run at the same time simultaneously for cargos requiring cold storage. †¢Spanned across a huge area, having space allocated on rent for the vendors. Key Learnings †¢The way an ICD operates step by step, from the entry of cargo in the ICD to a cargo being shipped out. †¢Identified how to manage a supply chain in case any of the above links is broken. †¢Understood the concepts of dry and cold storage. †¢Container and space management specific to vendors. †¢Customs clearance process.

Compare and Contrast the Marketing Strategies of Li Ning

English Language Centre Cover Sheet | Draft| X| Course Work Submission| Put an X in the box to show whether this is a draft or a credit-bearing coursework assignment Full Name (in pinyin)| | Yinqin Wang| English Name (optional)| | | ID Number| 1101133| Class (e. g. Y2_EEE_A1)| Y2_BAD_A2| Programme| Business Administration| Module Code| EAP105|Assignment Title| Compare and contrast the marketing strategies of Li Ning domestically and internationally| Submission Deadline| 22 October 2012 before 20:00| EAP Tutor’s Name| Jacqueline Banki| Final Word Count| 1057| I certify that: * I have read and understood the University’s definitions of COLLUSION and PLAGIARISM (available on p. 31 of the current Academic Student Handbook of Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University and in the 2011 ELC Student Handbook Appendix 2, 4, and 5).With reference to these definitions, I certify that: * I have not colluded with any other student in the preparation and production of this work; * thi s document has been written solely by me and in my own words except where I have clearly indicated and acknowledged that I have quoted or used figures from published or unpublished sources (including the web); * where appropriate, I have provided an honest statement of the contributions made to my work by other people including technical and other support staff.I understand that unauthorised collusion and the incorporation of material from other works without acknowledgement (plagiarism) are serious disciplinary offences. By uploading my assignment onto ICE, I formally declare that all the above statements are true. Scoring – For Teachers Use (teachers may change descriptor labels below as needed)| Marker| Initials| C| O| G| V| R| Final Mark| First – red pen| | | | | | | | Second – green pen| | | | | | | | Third (if needed)| | | | | | | | For Academic Office Use| Other Penalties|Date Received| Days Late| Late Penalty| Marker Initials| Format (Y/N)| Plagiarism Co de| Collusion Code| | | | 1. | | | | | | | 2. | | | | Compare and contrast the marketing strategies of Li Ning domestically and internationally With Chinese economy developing rapidly recent years and the huge success of 2008 Beijing Olympics, Chinese sportswear market has emerged a blooming scene. Not only the mighty foreign brands such as Nike and Adidas win the favor of Chinese people, which took 10. 5% and 7. % of mainland sportswear transactions respectively in 2011, the domestic brands such as Li Ning and Anta also occupy large market share (China Daily, 2012). Li Ning, the Chinese domestic sportswear brand which bears the name of renowned Chinese gymnastic athlete Li Ning, acts a leading role in Chinese sportswear market. Only secondly to Adidas, Li Ning possesses 7. 2% market share and keeps expanding (China Daily, 2012). Not satisfied with its immense domestic achievement, Li Ning strives for more enormous stage and switches its target to international market since 2011.Not ably, on the one hand, the domestic marketing strategies of Li Ning, such as opening and streamlining numerous retail stores, are somehow quite different from the international strategies like using e-commerce approach. On the other hand, the strategies domestically and internationally also share several similarities like attaching importance to branding. The emphasis of this essay is to compare and contrasts the domestic and international marketing strategies of Li Ning. Although to some extent few of these strategies are alike, Li Ning has largely followed diverse approaches domestically and internationally.To begin with, there are some similarities between the market strategies of Li Ning domestically and internationally, such as investing more in branding to cultivate its long-term competitiveness. Specifically, both domestic and international strategies take steps to sponsor famed athletes or sports team to advertise the high quality and advanced functionality of its products, which aims to make people hold a favorable impression of Li Ning. For instance, in 2012 London Olympics, various overseas medal candidates like Spain’s basketball team were signed with Li Ning (Brandchannel, 2012).Also, Li Ning grasped Chinese top gold medal forecasts in multifarious sports events like ping pong and badminton, which includes Lin Dan and Wu Mingxia who enjoy the high popularity among Chinese people (Brandchannel, 2012). Especially, the athletes who are sponsored by Li Ning are inspired to publicize Li Ning not only by wearing its products. For example, immediately after Lin Dan won the gold though the spectacular final game, the logo of Li Ning at the jersey of Lin was tugged to display a gesture of appreciations, which makes the effect of advertising cracking (Brandchannel, 2012).Furthermore, domestic strategies are also similar to international strategies in targeting young generations. Domestically, Li Ning replaced old logo and slogan to make the brand mor e abut to the generation born after 1990s as well as establishes new â€Å"sixth-generation stores† which attracting young clients (China Daily, 2011). World widely, Li Ning also focuses on young people because they are unbiased to Chinese brands, accustomed to shopping online and generally spend so much time surfing the Internet, which opportunely corresponds to the e-commerce strategy of Li Ning (Ad Age, 2011).Although the domestic and international strategies share some similarities, they nevertheless employ fundamentally different approaches in a number of key areas, such as using different channels to sell products. In other words, the strategies domestically direct to sell inventories mainly in solid shops, whereas the international strategies prefer using e-commerce, event marketing and digital media. In detail, numerous retail shops spread all over China are owned by Li Ning.Also, confronted the cooling Chinese economy in recent times, in order to raise the efficiency of entity sales, the company adopts measures that streamlining the network of the retail stores and entering lower tiers cities to speed eliminating premium brands by merger and acquisition(China Daily, 2012). When it turns to worldwide, to shun retail channels, Li Ning established its appropriative e-commerce sites as the only passageway to its products and released a delicate teaser video heavily on its Facebook page and twitter account (Voight, 2012).Also, microsites and events are relied to induce online buzz (Voight, 2012). In addition, the domestic and international strategies are dissimilar in the slogan and the images they are intended to shape. Domestically, Li Ning created a new slogan â€Å"make the change† to indicate that greatness is not undying, only changes can be perpetual, which not only nettles the slogan of Nike â€Å"Live through your greatness†, but also remodels the impression of Chinese people on Li Ning as a more high-end brand (Brandchannel, 2012).Internationally, the slogan â€Å"straight out of new China† demonstrates that its products leverage its rich Chinese culture and are diverse from the cheap, rough made-in-China goods as old perception considered (Voight, 2012). Furthermore, with regards to new marketing segments need to be expanded, Li Ning focus on Children garment domestically while women market segment internationally. Cooperated with local children garment firm Paclantic to design more attractive children sports and leisure clothing, the clothes could be sold in the franchised stores and affiliated shops of Li Ning in China (Wang, 2012).Nevertheless, the market segment of women who do not need intramuscular figures and desire equal positions with men are attached importance to by the international strategies of Li Ning (Warc, 2011). In summary, this essay has made comparisons and contrasts between the marketing strategies of Li Ning domestically and internationally. The domestic strategies, like th e international ones, have strong sponsor awareness and also aim to attract younger generations.Despite that the international and domestic strategies have to some degree implemented similar strategies; essentially approaches are adopted in crucial areas, such as using different slogans, selling products by different channels and expanding different market segments. Although the e-commerce method ingeniously avoids complex retail channels internationally and the notion to achieve long-term profits domestically seem to be reasonable, Li Ning may ot achieve so many profits as they expected, because its vague brand positioning might cause the confusion and misconstrue of domestic people and its international consumers may despise Li Ning for its imitative logo and slogan which have some resemblance to Nike and Adidas. It is suggested that Li Ning should slow down its expansion and invest more to raise the quality and make some innovations instead of having large inventories discounted as a result of expanding too fast. Also, to have explicit brand positioning is crucial.Nonetheless, as Li Ning keeps adjusting corresponded to the changing situation and creating new products, it is too early to definitively judge whether Li Ning will have a promising future. References list Ad Age (2011). China's Li-Ning Takes on Nike, Adidas With U. S. E-Commerce Site. [online]  New York: Ad Age. Available from: http://adage. com/article/cmo-interviews/china-s-li-ning-takes-nike-u-s-e-commerce-site/231642/. (Accessed 12 October 2012) Brandchannel (2012). London 2012: Success as Li-Ning ‘Makes a Change' in Olympics Strategy. [online] New York: brandchannel. Available from: http://www. randchannel. com/home/post/2012/08/13/London-2012-Li-Ning-081312. aspx. (Accessed: 12 October 2012) China Daily (2011). Li Ning expects business to slow. [online] Beijing: China Daily. Available from: http://www. chinadaily. com. cn/bizchina/2011-01/18/content_11874065. htm. (Accessed: 12 Octo ber 2012) China Daily (2012). China's sportswear brands nurse Olympics hangover. [online] Beijing: China Daily. Available from: http://www. chinadaily. com. cn/business/londongames/2012-07/02/content_15542591. htm. (Accessed: 12 October 2012) Voight, J. (2012). Video Is Lifeblood of Li-Ning's ‘New China' Sneaker Launch. online] Charlotte: ClickZ. Available from: http://www. clickz. com/clickz/news/2166538/video-lifeblood-li-nings-china-snea ker-launch. (Accessed: 12 October 2012) Warc (2011). Li-Ning plans global push. [online] London: Warc. Available from: http://www. warc. com/Content/News/Li-Ning_plans_global_push. content? ID=e7907838-2cd7-4859-ae44-f1695abdbd52;q. ( Accessed: 12 October 2012) Wang, W. (2012). Li Ning rejoins race in children's wear market. [online] Beijing: China Daily. Available from: http://www. chinadaily. com. cn/business/2012-05/12/content_15276320. htm. (Accessed: 12 October 2012) Compare and Contrast the Marketing Strategies of Li Ning Compare and contrast the marketing strategies of Li Ning domestically and internationally With the development of Chinese economy, sports industry has become one of the new industries in china, which has large market size and high growth rate (Qinqin, n. d. ). In Chinese sports area, Li Ning brand, built by famous gymnast Li Ning (Enright, 2012), is the market leader and owns about 8000 hypostatic shops domestically (Zhang,2011). Similar to some international famous brands like Nike and Adidas, Li Ning intends to enhance influence by exploring international market (Sauer, 2012).For this reason, the essay will compare and contrast the marketing strategies of Li Ning domestically and internationally. A close look at the sources available, it seems that the topic could be analyzed from the internal aspect such as sales methods, promotion and the external aspect such as consumption concept and competition. The essay will compare and analyze Li Ning’s marketing strategies by the in ternal and external aspects’ factors. From the internal perspective, there are two main sales strategies should be considered as follows: sales methods and promotion.In regard to sales methods, Li Ning implements entity sales and e-commerce sales at home and abroad simultaneously (Anon, 2011a, Voight, 2012 and Zhang, 2011). Nevertheless, the focus of sales methods might be different considering the contrasting name reputation domestically and internationally. Li Ning, named after china’s gold-medaling gymnast, is very famous in china, especially after the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing (Enright, 2012). As typical local brand with high name reputation, Li Ning chooses entity sales as its main way of sale domestically and there are almost 8000 hypostatic shops in china (Zhang, 2011).Whereas the name Li Ning perhaps unfamiliar in the West. For instance, the marketing firm tested the brand with U. S. customers and the result shows that brand awareness was almost 0% (Enright , 2012). Rather than seeing it as a bad thing, Li Ning sees it as a launch point to â€Å"upgrade the brand image and win recognition from consumers† (Zhang, 2011). What is why â€Å"Li-Ning is planning to concentrate on the new online portal before opening more brick-and-mortar stores† in U. S. market (Anon, 2011a). In order to achieve more name reputation and higher sales, Li Ning fixes much attention n another sales strategy, promotion, as well. Both foreign and domestic, Li Ning has been paying much attention to Olympic Games and sports super stars (Anon, 2011b and Sauer, 2012). At home, since 1992 in Barcelona, China’s Olympic terms have chosen Li Ning as a fixture and the brand still counts on gold-medal terms such as Chinese ping pong, shooting gymnastics and badminton teams (Anon, 2011b). Overseas, Li Ning was the 30th Olympic Games sponsorship in 2012 (Sauer, 2012) and invited NBA All-Star teams players to speak for it (Anon, 2011b).Moreover, according to different national culture, Li Ning even used different slogans to appeal to the nationalist fervor. For instance, where the word â€Å"you† was used by Nike in America, Li Ning chose the slogan â€Å"we can† domestically and â€Å"the moment† for international audience (Anon, 2011b). On the other hand, in external aspect, Li Ning has taken a series of measures to deal with two social problems: target groups and fierce competition (Anon, 2011a, Ranasinghe, 2012 and Zhang, 2011). With the rapid development of internationalization, various views on Chinese goods have been published.In china, instead of praising highly local brand, Chinese customers are worried about the Chinese sports brand’s store quality is not equal to the brand's quantity (Zhang, 2011), preferring internationally famous brands like Nike and Adidas (Ranadinghe, 2012) and transforming the cost from sports to food and beverage (Ranasinghe, 2012). On abroad, although some older consumers usually think of China-made products as fakes or knockoffs, younger consumers do not see Chinese products as second-class or counterfeits (Enright, 2012).Regarding the situation, in recent years, Li Ning has been trying to make the brand more youthful and upmarket (Anon, 2011b). For the new strategy, Li Ning not only created a new logo and new slogans but also launched many new products with a better outlook and quality, which aimed to appeal to domestic and foreign younger generation (Zhang, 2011). Furthermore, Li Ning has managed to expand to different areas at home and internationally as well (Anon, 2011a, Anon 2011b and Wen, 2012).In view of China’s family planning policy, Li Ning has rejoined the battle of children’s garments by cooperated with another company in Tianjin (Wen, 2012). In consideration of the case that many foreign customers have great curiosity about eastern culture (Voight, 2012); Li Ning puts brand international feeling over oriental theme (Zhan g, 2012). For example, in March 2012, Li Ning promoted a pair of men’s basketball shoes with the Chinese dragon pattern which was a limited edition on Facebook, and then the tremendous crowds to Li Ning’s website led it to collapse (Voight, 2012).In addition, Women have become another one of the main target groups of Li Ning overseas (Anon, 2011a). Next, the second problem Li Ning is facing is the large-scale competition with local brands and international brands domestically and internationally (Anon, 2011a et al). The fierce competition â€Å"not only has it been forced to scale back its plans for world domination, but it also now finds itself at risk in its home market against domestic rivals like Peak and 361 °, but also with global heavy hitters Nike and Adidas† (Sauer, 2012).The difference is that language might be the main barrier Li Ning needs to face in international market (Zhang, 2012). With a view to the situation, on the one hand, Li Ning decided to slow the pace of new openings and close some inefficient stores to curtail expense and store energy (Ranasinghe, 2012); on the other hand, Li Ning would enter the second-tier cities to achieve next phase of growth (Anon, 2012). To sum up, in internal aspect, Li Ning chooses both entity sales and e-commerce sales at home and abroad. Different focuses are determined due to large name reputation difference.To achieve more popularity, Li Ning focuses on Olympic Games and sports super stars with different slogans. Furthermore, in external aspect, facing the customers’ different consumption views on Chinese brands domestically and internationally, Li Ning transforms its attention to younger people and set new different target groups both domestic and foreign. Li Ning has been facing increased competition with global names and local rivals, and what is why Li Ning determines to slow the pace of new openings and enter the second-tier cities.In future, Li Ning could make greater br eakthrough by implementing brand strategy, constructing international brand image, developing technology innovation and improving enterprises’ core competitiveness (Zhang, 2012). References: Anon. (2011a) Li-Ning plans global push [online] London Warc. Available from: http://www. warc. com/Content/News/Li-Ning_plans_global_push. content? ID=e7907838-2cd7-4859-ae44-f1695abdbd52= (Accessed: 3 October 2012). Anon. (2011b) China's Li-Ning Takes on Nike, Adidas With U.S. E-Commerce Site [online] New York Ad Age. Available from: http://adage. com/article/cmo-interviews/china-s-li-ning-takes-nike-u-s-e-commerce-site/231642/ (Accessed: 3 October 2012) Anon. (2012) China's sportswear brands nurse Olympics hangover [online] China Chinadaily. Available from: http://www. chinadaily. com. cn/business/londongames/2012-07/02/content_15542591. htm (Accessed: 3 October 2012). Enright, A. (2012) Li-Ning makes its U. S. debut [online] Chicago Internetretailer.Available from: http://www. interne tretailer. com/2012/01/16/li-ning-makes-its-us-debut (Accessed: 3 October 2012). Qinqin, D. (n. d. ) Comparative analysis of Chinese and Western Sporting Goods Enterprises’ Growth Pattern. Wuhan, China: Dept. of Sports Economics & Management, Wuhan Inst. of P. E. Ranasinghe, D. (2012) No Medals for China’s Sportswear Firms [online] US CNBC. Accessed from: http://www. cnbc. com/id/48454835/No_Medals_for_China_s_Sportswear_Firms (Accessed: 3 October 2012). Sauer, A. 2012) London 2012: Success as Li-Ning ‘Makes a Change' in Olympics Strategy [online] London Brandchannel. Available from: http://www. warc. com/Content/News/Li Ning_plans_global_push. content? ID=e7907838-2cd7-4859-ae44-f1695abdbd52= (Accessed: 3 October 2012). Voight, J. (2012) Video Is Lifeblood of Li-Ning's ‘New China' Sneaker Launch [online] New York Clickz. Available from: http://www. clickz. com/clickz/news/2166538/video-lifeblood-li-nings-china-sneaker-launch (Accessed: 3 October 2012). Wen , W. 2012) Li Ning rejoins race in children's wear market [online] China Chinadaily. Available from: http://www. chinadaily. com. cn/business/2012-05/12/content_15276320. htm (Accessed: 3 October 2012). Zhang, D. (2011) Li-Ning sportswear looks to win overseas [online] London BBC. Available from: http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/business-12665597 (Accessed: 3 October 2012). Zhang, X. (2012) ‘Marketing Plan for Li-Ning Product Expansion in UK’, Lecture Notes in Information Technology, Vol(14), Wuhan, China: Dept. of Sports Economics & Management, Wuhan Inst. of P. E.

Memory Retrieval essays

Memory Retrieval essays Some of the most intriguing information we have covered in lecture has involved memory retrieval. I always enjoy finding out that others share the same questions or concerns about any topic, it lends a feeling of validation. I have often wondered why I would repeat a task after just having completed it, or why I would draw a blank when the information should be readily available. I think its almost surprising how much memory is valued in many situations, yet it is known that people have tendencies to distort their memories (Sternberg, 2003). As described in the text, eyewitness testimony is the most serious example of societys reliance on individuals memories. Eyewitness testimony is similar to everyday retelling of stories of events to others. I think people can take notice of when they are losing details of the memory of an incident. For example, the more you tell the story of the car crash you saw today on the freeway, the shorter the story will become, focusing mainly on the action, less on situational details. The next couple of days when you are remembering the accident in your head, you realize you now arent sure exactly where on the road it was, what color the one car was, and whether you had the radio on or not. You recognize that you have lost some details, but you feel confident in your memory because you still can recall the crash itself. The idea of misattribution is very interesting here. It seems as if this is the next memory distortion that occurs after transience. Whereas people are aware of transience for the most part, misattribution seems to be more unconscious. It is in the retelling of the memory that we put the memory into understandable (for others) context. In order to give a full and accurate description of the memory, you give the setting, scene, or situation in which it took place. It seems as if the act of relating a memory to another individual requires cert ...

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Community and Social Structure essays AssignmentIII The idea of people being social in nature can be clearly illustrated by the groups, or communities that one sees all around them. Groups of individuals share a common perspective of what reality consists of, this is known as culture(Charon, 1997). This reality is perceived through our interactions with others in the group and by what our position is within that group(Charon, 1997). The way in which we see the world is in a sense limited by both our position and our interactions. In order to actually fill your position in the group you need to have a working set of ideas and concepts to get the job done(Charon, 1997). This working set of ideas is actually formed by the interactions that you have with other people who have the same position as you. It works for everyone else, and therefore you can t just randomly choose another set of concepts and ideas andexpect them to work, so you choose the ideas, concepts, and means that your peers use(Charon, 1997). For instance, if you are a Chemist, you obtain knowledge and perspectives consistent of your environment, i.e. chemistry, you would not learn a great deal about molecular biology because those concepts and ideas are not useful to you. We don t have a complete picture of everything around usbecause we perceive only the things which fit into our social structure(Charon, 1997). Reality is not a Velcro Nerf dart toss of facts and ideas, but rather a magnetic selection of those facts and ideas which are conducive to our pre-constructed structure. To one man power and riches are the greatest thing to achieve, but to a bum The oiliest thing is to have a warm placeto sleep (Coleman,1982:207). It s unfortunate that these conceptscan be utilized by a dictator to gain control and power for his own ideas and concepts. Hitler was just such a man, he used a social construct known as patriotism, that is, sense of pride and connection with everyone within a society. ...

7 Types of Punctuation Errors

7 Types of Punctuation Errors 7 Types of Punctuation Errors 7 Types of Punctuation Errors By Mark Nichol Each of the following sentences below demonstrates a specific type of error involving internal punctuation, usually involving a problem with a comma. Discussion and revision following each example explains and illustrates correct use of punctuation in the sentence. 1. Misplaced Punctuation This approach requires an effective model risk governance program, and crucially, validation of the model by an independent party. A comma is needed after program only if what follows is an independent clause. In this case, the rest of the sentence is merely the rest of an extended compound predicate. However, crucially is a parenthetical, and a comma is required before as well as after it: â€Å"This approach requires an effective model risk governance program and, crucially, validation of the model by an independent party.† 2. Missing Punctuation Specifically her portfolio did not include the required number of samples. An adverbial introduction must be set off from the main clause by a comma: â€Å"Specifically, her portfolio did not include the required number of samples.† 3. Unpaired Punctuation The survey found increasing demand for customer experiences that are difficult, if not impossible to deliver with legacy systems. Related to the misplaced and missing examples above, this sentence is flawed in that the parenthetical phrase â€Å"if not impossible† is set off only in front, not behind as well: â€Å"The survey found increasing demand for customer experiences that are difficult, if not impossible, to deliver with legacy systems.† 4. Extraneous Punctuation Knowing which sensitive data need to be highly protected, where this information sits within the organization, and what security mechanisms need to be applied, are all key considerations for a sound information security risk assessment. 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Either revise the sentence so that only one pair of dashes is needed, or replace dashes with parentheses, which because the open and close parentheses are shaped differently, clearly indicate what is contained within them: â€Å"Consumers have the right to speak out or complain and to seek compensation (payment or a replacement item) or redress (have a wrong corrected).† (Note, too, that the sole comma is superfluous.) 6. Inconsistent Punctuation Last year a man agreed to give up his drone system and promise not to fly a drone for three years. . . . Last month, the FAA announced there are now more registered drone operators in the United States than there are registered manned aircraft. If an optional punctuation mark is used in one sentence in a piece of content, it should be used in any similarly constructed sentence; see the consistent inclusion of a comma after the short introductory phrase in both sentences: â€Å"Last year, a man agreed to give up his drone system and promise not to fly a drone for three years. . . . Last month, the FAA announced there are now more registered drone operators in the United States than there are registered manned aircraft.† (Note that â€Å"last year† and â€Å"last† month serve the same adverbial function as specifically in the second example, but such brief introductory phrases do not require punctuation, though for consistency, it is recommended.) 7. Incorrect Punctuation One person had to be airlifted off the site after the structure collapsed Monday night, the rest were treated at an on-site medical facility. 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Sociology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

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Architecture Building Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

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Sociology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Sociology - Essay Example The research methods should be realized as means of acting on the environment and their quality can be judged by their ability to yield reliable results. The act of making observations in life is largely dependent on personal fancy, bias, ideological preferences etc. Therefore, the scientific process of building reliability and validity in life is essential and it should be based on the features of discovery and verification. Both discovery and verification are essential components of finding reliability and validity in life. Consequently, the scientific basis of sociology clearly suggests that the discovery process and the issues of verification should be given equal significance in research methods. â€Å"If priority is given to the discovery process, the issues of verification, reliability, and validity become more than technical in nature†¦ If issues of verification are placed above the discovery process, a wedge is driven between the goals and the methods of sociology.â₠¬  (Douglas, 268) In the former case, the quality of research is determined by the public elements, whereas the latter case the goals and the methods of sociology are affected. Therefore, discovery as well as verification should be given equal relevance in finding reliability and validity in life.

Psychology essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Psychology - Essay Example Normally, these performance appraisals tend to be â€Å"tick the box† exercise. This in essence creates anxiety on the side of the management and that of the employees. After the performance appraisal has been competed they should not be shelved until the next exercise but they should be looked at immediately to allow for appropriate review actions. This can help employees improve their performance. In most cases, problematic feedbacks are usually postponed or hidden or sometimes cheated about when filling the performance Appraisal form. Majority of managers do not want to report that those under them are not performing well for the fear of being responsible of their lack of promotion or a pay rise. The performance appraisal should be objective in nature. This is to say that, they should be full of professional perspectives and should not have any personal views. Usually personal views in the performance appraisals are biased and this is very detrimental. The process of perfor mance appraisal should not come as a surprise to the employees. This is because, if all emphasis is placed on the process then, there is a possibility of generating tension at the build up phase. This can also reduce motivation on the side of the employees, which as a result can lead to decreased productivity. Majority of the employees in the organization should be satisfied with the performance appraisal processes. An appropriate performance appraisal should be a truly consented abstract of what has been going on continuously in the organization between appraisals. Surely, if the appraisal process is reviewed twice or thrice annually, all the chances to sustain and direct the workers to get better are missed. This is because managing of people is a continuous process and not a one-time activity. The managers should not put more focus on the process alone as this is very dangerous but they should rather look at the continuing performance management. The managers should place their e mphasis on the reason why the performance appraisals are carried out. The main purpose why appraisals are conducted is to help employees become more effective. They also help the managers manage those under them well. The performance appraisal process should be an exercise that tries to unearth the truth about an individual’s performance on the work function assigned in the organization and therefore it should be realistic and clear. Briefly, a sound performance appraisal should be unbiased and purposely a continuous two way and specific process. It should not be an exercise that brings in fear and embarrassment to the employees but an exercise that motivates them. Part 2 Recommendations about how the success of a new performance appraisal process should be evaluated The success of a new performance appraisal process can be evaluated through various ways namely: Peer evaluations The organization can form a task force of four to seven employees. The mandate of the task force s hould be to set a peer evaluation program. The task force should be to set targets and objectives of the evaluation program and can carry out a pilot program. When conducting the pilot program, participants can be persuaded to offer feedback on whether the performance measurement system is good. This is because pilot program is significant for a new performance

Organizational behavior Essay Example for Free

Organizational behavior Essay Modern management is today gradually approaching to psychology and extrapolating psychological principles onto the framework of organizational dynamics. The paper is designed to define and discuss attitude and psychological contract between manager and subordinate. As Boddy states, attitude is a â€Å"position as indicating action, feeling, or mood† (Boddy, 2002, p. 235). Attitude are always influenced by one’s emotional evaluation of the certain object, event or person, thus it can be positive, negative or neutral. Organizational psychologists distinguish three constituents of attitude: affective response, or â€Å"a physiological response that expresses an individual’s preference for an entity† (Greenberg and Barling, 1999, p. 898) ; behavioral component includes â€Å" a verbal intention of an individual† (ibid); cognitive aspect contains one’s reflections upon the certain characteristics of the target( (Belbin, 1996). Attitude formation is a complex process, which includes both experience and the cognitive evaluation of the past events, as one can assume, attitudes within organization are shaped through the engagement into organizational dynamics. Psychological contract, as Coglister and Schriesheim (2000) hold, is an entity, consisting of the beliefs, perceptions and responsibilities shared among the manager and their subordinates. Shared knowledge (Belbin, 1996) is an important aspect of the contract, since it to great extent enhances and activates the other components: for instance, the knowledge about the nature of the job, which is common for both manager and employee, is a powerful basis for the division of obligations. Furthermore, cognitively processed (‘digested’) knowledge is a main prerequisite of the employee’s conscientiousness, since it allows projecting and drawing the logical relation between certain actions and their effects, or even outcomes – long-lasting influential results. Shared knowledge therefore provides solidarity between the executive and the employee and supports their integration into the team (Boddy, 2002).

What Location Influences Foreign Direct Investment?

What Location Influences Foreign Direct Investment? Chapter 1 Introduction This chapter offers an introduction to the research, with paragraph 1.2 detailing the problem it focuses on, leading to the research question in paragraph 1.3. Paragraph 1.4 discusses the relevance of the research. The chapter ends with an outline of the thesis. The next paragraphs contain the various purposes and the general research design, and finish with the disposition of the study. 1.1 Background Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is an important source of capital and economic growth in recent business. It provides a package of new technologies, management techniques, finance and market access for the production of goods and services. However, attracting FDI is a major challenge for most host countries as they face the challenge of identifying the major factors that motivate and affect the FDI location decision. Nowadays, regions try to attract Foreign Direct Investments to stimulate their economic development (OECD, 2002a). Certain regions consider the ecological issues as well and promote sustainable FDI. Recently, while working at AgentschapNL, an agency of the Dutch secretary of Economic Affairs, the awareness for sustainable investment rose. AgentschapNL promotes sustainable development and innovation, both in the Netherlands and abroad. One region that is engaged in an initiative to attract FDI is the Swedish province Jà ¤mtland. This initiative is called Midscand and it involves stimulating business investments and cooperation (joint ventures, business development, acquisitions, strategic alliances, outsourcing and new start-ups). One of their target countries is the Netherlands. The activities that are discussed are the sectors: cleantech, tourism, mechanical industry, forestry and call centres. The scope of this research is limited to the cleantech sector. This sector deals with sustainable innovations and investments in Jà ¤mtland, with special focus on wind and bio energy. The main goal of this project is to attract new investments from the Netherlands to Swedish regions. 1.2 Problem Indication The literature dealing with FDI can be classified in two main streams, as pointed out by Agiomirgianakis, Asteriou and Papathoma (2003): the first explains the effect of FDI on the process of economic growth, while the second one goes in depth into the study of the determinants of FDI. This thesis focuses on the second part of literature. Among all the factors influencing the location decisions of FDI, the location-specific determinants need particular exploration, since they can help the host governments to attract and increase FDI inflows using several instruments (Chakrabarti, 2001). Location-specific factors will always influence the decision to enter or exit a location for investment purposes (Audretsch and Fritsch, 2002). FDI is a key element of the international economic relations as it is an engine of employment, technology transfer and improvement of productivity, which ultimately leads to economic growth. The need to attract FDI forces governments to provide a favourable climate for business activities (Nordstrom, 1991). The foreign firms can be influenced by the political and economic institutional framework of the host country, which could affect the choice of where to invest their capital (Makino and Chan, 2004). The challenge of this research is to explore which location determinants make a region attractive for FDI. The definition of the problem is: What should Swedish regions do to positively influence FDI? By presenting a thorough overview of FDI and the determinants that could influence the location choice for a company, this research aims to provide a framework, tested in interviews for the applicability of investments. 1.3 Research questions To solve the problem the following research questions are answered: What is FDI? Based on a literature review that provides theoretical information on this phenomenon. What are the location factors? Galan and Gonzales (2007) are used as basis for the location factors. Several other papers on location factors are evaluated and criticized. What does Sweden have to offer? This final question deals with the application of the theoretical framework to Swedish region as case study and the relationship between the factors they possess and the factors they need to stimulate to influence FDI. 1.4 Purpose and Objective The purpose of this thesis is to examine which regional factors influence foreign direct investments. Theories regarding FDI and location-specific characteristics will be reviewed and analysed in the theoretical framework. A thorough overview of the location factors will be part of the framework that can be used by regions, willing to attract sustainable investments. But first of all, the objective as described in the definition of the problem is to give recommendations to Swedish regions regarding the factors they should highlight to attract or influence direct foreign investment. 1.5 Research Design The literature framework is based on relevant papers. According to Ghauri (2005), theoretical data will be used to understand and interpret the research question, and it will help to â€Å"broaden the base from which scientific conclusion can be drawn†. The relevance of the papers will be based on quality. To reach the goal of collection qualitative data for the research question, a phased selection is made. The emphasis of the courses Corporate Level Strategy and Research Methods of Strategy within the master Strategic Management is on testing all data on quality. By examining the relevance, publication form and impact factor of the information, the quality of the paper will be showed. The research is divided into two parts: (1) the literature research and (2) a case study. The first part of the research is explorative, because it is intended to gain more information on the situation and to get familiar with the research area. Qualitative studies -observations and interviews- are used to gain more knowledge of the research topic (Sekaran, 2003). The research mainly relies on secondary data; books and articles by various authors are considered. Literature is compared and new insights are gained. Interviews are conducted for the verification of the interests, which are characterized as primary data. In this research, qualitative data is the main source. The time dimension of this research is cross-sectional, which implies that the research is conducted at one particular moment in time. For useful literature, the data will be collected on acknowledged databases (e.g. ABI/Inform, JCR, Web of Science). The keywords that will be used during the search period are â€Å"FDI†, â€Å"entry modes†, â€Å"choice of country†, â€Å"region†, and â€Å"location determinants†. All literature sources can be found in the list of references. The theory will be examined by a qualitative case study. Case studies are used to understand a specific case under particular circumstances (Patton, 2002). 1.6 Disposition In chapter 2 the contemporary theory that has been evaluated and reviewed is presented. An introduction will be followed by a presentation of FDI and the factors that influence the location choice, followed by the location factors that are important for wind and bio-energy. In chapter 3 the methodology is elaborated and provides a description of the way this thesis was written and the choices that are made. In the second paragraph the data and sample size are explained. Theoretical and empirical frameworks are discussed, as well as the reliability and validity of this study. In chapter 4 the participating respondents are interviewed, which leads to an analysis and concludes the empirical results. Chapter 5 includes the results of the findings and the discussion that compares the theoretical statements that were researched and found necessary for this research presented in chapter 2. The mode of procedure is explained and the model of the empirical results is presented in this part. Chapter 6 includes the answers of this research by modifying the analysis model. The conclusion is based on the discussion in chapter 5. The answers serve as a proposal for further research in a broader context and give an opportunity of generalization. Chapter 2 Theoretical framework The literature review provides the foundation for this research, through discussions of previous studies on FDI and international business. Section 2.2 offers a review of studies regarding FDI. Next, it is essential to identify the location factors that influence that move, as it contains the answer to the second research question: What are location factors? The third paragraph contains a detailed overview of the location factors. An overview of the selected factors can be found in table 1. The list contains determinants to measure the impact on the location factors and their impact on FDI. The last paragraph contains a summary of the findings and a conclusion. 2.1 What is FDI? Modern day literature increasingly concentrates on subjects covering the globalization of markets and the internationalization of companies. Governments contribute to this situation by opening their regulations with the intention to profit from a more open economy (Dunning and Nurala, 2002). The growing number of liberal policies is a driving force for companies to go abroad and make FDI (Galà ¡n and Gonzà ¡lez-Benito, 2001). There are several definitions of a foreign direct investment presented by a number of researchers. A central theme of the definitions available on FDI, with the one illustrated by Moosa (2002) as a typical example, is that the companies undertaking such a venture aspire to gain a controlling stake in the asset or entity purchased. An FDI is not to be confused with an international or portfolio investment, where the aim merely is to diversify the holdings of the firm and make a financially sound investment (Buckley, 1998). FDI is defined as a firm based in one country (the home country) owning ten per cent (10%) or more of the stock of a company located in a foreign country (the host country). This amount of stock is generally enough to give the home country firm significant control over the host country firm. Most FDI is in wholly owned or nearly wholly owned subsidiaries. Other non-equity forms of FDI include: subcontracting, management contracts, franchising, and licensing and product sharing .In view of the above, FDI can be either inward or outward. FDI is measured either as a flow (amount of investment made in one year) or a stock (the total investment accumulation at the end of the year). Outward FDI can take various forms, home country residents can: purchase existing assets in a foreign country; make new investment in property, plant equipment in a foreign country; participate in a joint venture with a local partner in a foreign country (Dunning, 1976). 2.2 Location factors 2.2.1 Introduction There is considerable literature on the determinants of location factors for multinational Corporations (MNCs) when they choose their foreign market location, but very little on the relative importance of the location factors for FDI in a specific country and industry. It is widely believed that the trend towards globalized production and marketing has major implications for the attraction of developing countries to FDI inflows. The relative importance of FDI location determinants have changed. Even though traditional determinants and the types of FDI associated with them have not disappeared as a result of globalization, their importance is said to be on the decline. More specifically, one of the most important traditional FDI determinants, the size of national markets, has decreased in importance. At the same time, cost differences between locations, the quality of infrastructure, the ease of doing business and the availability of skills have become more important (UNCTAD 1996). Li kewise, Dunning (1999) argues that the motives for and the determinants of FDI have changed. Buckley and Ghauri (2004) point to the limited attention researchers have given to the FDI location factors in the literature. They suggest that international business strategy is distinct from main stream or single country business strategy only because of differences of location. Hence, location specifics are essential to the possibility of international strategy having a distinctive content. They, too, suggest that a focus on location, and possibly the question of why locations differ, could be a response to the issue of what forms the next big question in international business research. Dunning (2008) suggests that the more recent lack of attention to location by IB scholars could have arisen from an assumption that the location decision principles are the same for both international and domestic locations. Thus, scholars were either satisfied with existing explanations or as Dunning (1998) points out maybe theywere just not interested. In attempting to determine the relevant set of location factors, Michael Porters (1990) work cited in Hodgetts (1993) offers a valuable starting point. Porter notes that success for a given industry in international competition depends on the relative strength of that industry with regards to a set of business-related features or drivers of competitiveness, namely factor conditions; demand conditions; related and supporting industries; and firm strategy, structure, and rivalry. Government and chance are seen to influence competitiveness through their impact on the above four basic drivers. This framework the drivers of competitiveness has been used in a number of studies of industries and individual economies. Porters competitiveness framework has been the subject of major criticisms. Paul Krugman (1994) specifically criticized the idea that nations, or locations, compete in the same way as firms do, and his wide-ranging critique attacks this concept. Also, the empirical evidence for national competitiveness and the policies that follow are what Krugman (1994) describes as a dangerous obsession. Another criticism is that Porter places government involvement in international business outside of the core determinants. Many authors have claimed that Porters framework pays insufficient attention to relevant specific location factors such as globalization (Dunning, 1993), multinational companies (Dunning, 1993; RugmanVerbeke, 1993), technology (Narula, 1993. Several authors have questioned the validity of the model, and the conclusions drawn from the model, for countries such as Austria (Bellak Weiss, 1993), Canada (Rugman dCruz, 1993), Hong Kong (Redding, 1994) and Mexico (Hodgetts, 1993). A lot of research interested in providing the determining factors for FDI loca tion decisions is seen to be done by managers. Some of the major studies are the following (Dunning, 2000): theories of risk diversification (Rugman, 1979); agglomeration theories (Krugman, 1993; Porter, 1994, 1996); theories related to government-induced incentives (Loree and Guisinger, 1995); and theories of location (Dunning, 1997). All these new theories are certainly insightful, but they are all context-specific, and interested solely in stressing the relevance of certain factors to the detriment of others that may be equally significant. None of them has yet provided a satisfactory explanation of the relative importance of specific factors that lead managers to locate their investments via FDI in a specific country and industry (Dunning, 2008). Dunning (2008) believes that â€Å"it is not possible to formulate a single operationally testable theory that can explain all forms of foreign-owned production any more than it is possible to construct a generalized theory to explain all forms of trade or the behaviour of all kinds of firms.† Cohen (2007) believes that location factors for a specific location and industry that affect the location decision are based on the perceptions of a small group of senior managers, not a scientific formula. Furthermore, Buckly et al(2007) argue that studying a single firm or group of firms in the same industry is the best way to identify the most important factors, because firms in the same industry usually follow a systematic process for location choices, and seek to prioritize certain location factors as they become more internationally mature. Cohen (2007) argues, â€Å"No standard set of attributes, each with an assigned relative weight of importance, exists in the many lists of what matters in location published by business groups, international organizations, and scholars. Determining where to invest is a case-by-case decision†. Cohen (2007) also suggests that no single formula exists because specific strengths and weaknesses of a country or region might receive high priority by one team of corporate evaluators and can be ignored by another, depending on what kind of investment is contemplated, which in turn will determine a subsidiarys objectives and operational needs. Furthermore, individual corporate cultures will assign a different relative importance to what attributes they require in a country, what they would like to see, what negatives they can work around, and what is unequivocally unacceptable. Calculating trade-offs between positive and negative location characteristics is an art, not a science. Galan et al (2007) conducted an empirical research into location factors that has been researched by several theorists. This list provides a detailed overview of the main location factors and sub factors considered by several empirical studies that have examined their positive or negative influence on the location decisions of MNE managers in both DCs and LDCs. All these factors are usually included in the analyses made via the eclectic paradigm (Galan et al, 2007). They recognise that MNE managers motivation to eventually choose either or both groups of host countries will depend on the specific location factors available in them. These location factors are classified in the following categories: Cost factors Market factors Infrastructure and technological factors Political and legal factors Social Cultural factors The order of this list is random. According to Noorbakhshs, Paloni and Youssef (2001), foreign investors are attracted to regions that offer a combination of the location factors. The location factors are discussed separately in the next paragraph. 2.2.1 Cost factors This paragraph contains theoretical information about the cost factor as one of the location factors. The determinants that are criticized are labour costs and cost of materials. 2.2.1.1 Labour Cost The costs linked with the profitability of investment are one of the major determinants of investment (Asidu, 2002) . The rate of return on investment in a host economy influences the FDI decision. Asiedu (2002) noted that the lower the GDP per capita, the higher the rate of return and, therefore, the FDI inflow. Charkrabarti (2001) claims that wage as an indicator of labour cost has been the most arguable of all the potential determinants of FDI. There is no unanimity even among the comparatively small number of studies that have explored the role of wage in affecting FDI: results range from higher host country wages discouraging inbound FDI, to having no significant effect or even a positive association ( Dunning, 1989). Goldsbrough (1979) and Shamsuddin (1994) demonstrate that higher wages discourage FDI. Tsai (1994) obtains strong support for the cheap-labour hypothesis over the period 1983 to 1986, but weak support from 1975 to 1978. Charkrabarti (2001) stated that empirical res earch has found relative labour costs to be statistically significant, particularly for foreign investment in labour-intensive industries and for export-oriented subsidiaries. However, when the cost of labour is relatively irrelevant (when wage rates vary little from country to country), the skills of the labour force are expected to have an impact on decisions concerning FDI location. This is not the case for the investments in this case study, which is more knowledge based than labour intensive. Cheap labour is another important determinant of FDI flow to developing countries. A high wage-adjusted productivity of labour attracts efficiency-seeking FDI both aiming to produce for the host economy and for export from host countries. Studies by Wheeler and Mody (1992), Schneider and Frey (1985), and Loree and Guisinger (1995) show a positive impact of labour cost on FDI inflow. Countries with a large supply of skilled human capital attract more FDI, particularly in sectors that are relatively intensive in the use of skilled labour. 2.2.1.2 Cost of Materials The analysis above leads to two variables that can be measured to determine the importance of the cost factor that is labour cost (wages). The availability of raw material and cheap labour can be of crucial importance in the choice of location. The return on investments is not important for this study, because this is not region-constrained, so it is not an important factor for a location choice. FDI uses low labour costs and available raw materials for export promotion, leading to overall output growth. 2.2.2 Market Factors This paragraph contains theoretical information about the market factor as one of the location factors. The determinants that are criticized are market size, openness of the market, labour market and economic growth. 2.3.2.1 Market size The size of the host country market is a relevant determinant to the extent that the FDI is destined to serve the host market and not merely to set up an export platform. Larger markets should attract FDI because firms face economies of scale as FDI entails sunk costs (for example, in terms of adapting management to local conditions or getting familiar with host country legislation). Market growth should work in the same direction. Nunnenkamp (2002), Chakrabarti (2001) Campos and Kinoshita (2003), Braga Nonnenberg and Cardoso de Mendonca (2004), Addison and Heshmati (2003), Kolstad and Villanger, (2004) all find market size and/or growth to be relevant determinants of FDI. An economy with a large market size (along with other factors) should, therefore, attract more FDI. Market size is important for FDI as it provides potential for local sales, greater profitability of local sales to export sales and relatively diverse resources, which make local sourcing more feasible (Pfefferman and Madarassy 1992). A large market size provides more opportunities for sales and profit to foreign firms, and in doing so attracts FDI (Wang and Swain, 1995: Moore, 1993; Schneider and Frey, 1985; Frey, 1984). FDI inflow in any period is a function of market size (Wang and Swain, 1995). However, studies by Edwards (1990) and Asidu (2002) show that there is no significant impact of growth or market size on FDI inflows. Further, Loree and Guisinger (1995) and Wei (2000) find that market size and growth impact differ under different conditions. Artige and Nicolini (2005) state that market size, as measured by GDP or GDP per capita, seems to be the most robust FDI determinant in econometric studies. This is the main determinant for horizontal FDI. Jordaan (2004) mentions that FDI will move to countries with larger and expanding markets and greater purchasing power, where firms can potentially receive a higher return on their capital and by implication receive higher profit on their investments. Charkrabarti (2001) states that the market-size hypothesis supports an idea that a large market is required for efficient utilization of resources and exploitation of economies of scale: as the market-size grows to some critical value, FDI will start to increase with its further expansion. This is a questionable conclusion, because there are firms who are looking for niche markets for their products and a large expanding market is a disadvantage to them. Concluding the size of the market and the GDP of a region are not important determinants for the location choice. 2.2.2.2 Openness of the Market There is mixed evidence concerning the significance of openness, which is measured mostly by the ratio of exports plus imports to GDP, in determining FDI as well (Charkrabarti 2001). Jordaan (2004) claims that the impact of openness on FDI depends on the type of investment. If the investments are market-seeking oriented, trade restrictions (and therefore less openness) could have an impact on FDI. The reason stems from the â€Å"tariff jumping† hypothesis, which argues that foreign firms that seek to serve local markets may decide to set up subsidiaries in the host country if it is difficult to import their products into the country. In distinction, multinational firms involved in export-oriented investments may choose to invest in a more liberal economy since increased imperfections that accompany trade protection generally imply higher transaction costs associated with exporting. Wheeler and Mody (1992) observe a strong positive support for this theory in the manufacturing s ector, but a weak negative link in the electronic sector. Kravis and Lipsey (1982), Culem (1988), Edwards (1990) find a strong positive effect of openness on FDI and Schmitz and Bieri (1972) obtain a weak positive link. Trade openness generally has a positive influence on the export-oriented FDI inflow into an economy (Edwards (1990), Gastanaga et al. (1998), Housmann and Fernandez-arias (2000), Asidu (2001)). In general, the empirical literature reveals that one of the important factors for attracting FDI is trade policy reform in the host country. Theoretical literature has explored the trade openness or the restrictiveness of trade policies (Bhagwati, 1973; 1994; Brecher and Diaz-Alejandro, 1977; Brecher and Findley; 1983). Investors in general prefer big markets to invest in and they like countries that have regional trade integration, as well as countries with greater investment provisions in their trade agreements. Theory does not give any clear-cut answer to the question how trade barriers affect the level of FDI flows. â€Å"Horizontal† FDI tends to replace exports if the costs of market access through exports are higher than the net costs of setting up a local plant and doing business in a foreign environment. Traditionally, governments have used trade barriers to induce â€Å"tariff-jumping FDI†, i.e. horizontal FDI that takes place to circumvent trade barriers. On the other hand, â€Å"vertical† FDI relies on a constant flow of intermediate products in and out of the host country and therefore benefits from a liberal trade environment. In that case, trade barriers should encourage â€Å"horizontal FDI† and discourage â€Å"vertical FDI† and its effect on the aggregate level of FDI depends on which type of FDI dominates. Empirical studies, however, support a positive effect of openness on FDI. Chakrabarti (2001) finds the sum of imports and exports as a share of GDP to be the variable most likely to be positively co rrelated with FDI besides market size in an extreme bounds analysis. Braga Nonnenberg and Cardoso de Mendonca (2004) and Addison and Heshemati (2003) also find this variable to be positively correlated with FDI. The problem with using trade as a share of GDP as a measure of trade policies is that it reveals a trade policy outcome, rather than trade guidelines. The openness of a market is clearly linked with the policy regulations of the potential market. Pà ¤rletun (2008) finds that trade openness is positive but statistically significant from zero. Moosa (2002) states that while access to specific markets is important, domestic market factors are predictably much less relevant in export-oriented foreign firms. A range of surveys suggests a widespread perception that â€Å"open† economies encourage more foreign investment (Moosa, 2002).Therefore, the openness of a market is relevant to the appeal of a region. Restrictions will decrease the appeal of the region. 2.2.2.3 Labour market Labour is also a determinant for market factors according to Majocchi and Presutti (2009), they investigated whether entrepreneurial culture plays a role in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI). Multinationals are a network of distributed assets that contain entrepreneurial potential and are highly innovative to increase competitiveness (Rugman and Verbeke, 2001). Firms and entrepreneurs are valuable in gaining access to local knowledge. However, entrepreneurial culture may also rely on resources in the local environment, which is not mentioned in particular by Majocchi et al. (2009). In this respect, natural resources are taken for granted. The availability of a cheap workforce (particularly an educated one), personnel policy, female participation and ageing influences investment decisions and in doing so are a determinant that influences the FDI inflow. A negative effect of these determinants will lead to an increase in wages and a decline in the return of investments in the future. Due to the static framework of this thesis, these determinants are not investigated. 2.2.2.4 Economic Growth If the host countrys market has a high-growth rate, it attracts more investors on a long-term basis (Chen, 2007). Economic environment growth in a country serves underlying factors when company decide which country to enter (Erramilli 1991).The role of growth in attracting FDI has also been the subject of controversy. Charkrabarti (2001) states that the growth hypothesis developed by Lim (1983) maintains that a rapidly growing economy provides relatively better opportunities for making profits than the ones growing slowly or not growing at all. Lunn (1980), Schneider and Frey (1985) and Culem (1988) find a significantly positive effect of growth on FDI, while Tsai (1994) obtains a strong support for the hypothesis over the period 1983 to 1986, but only a weak link from 1975 to 1978. On the other hand, Nigh (1985) reports a weak positive correlation for the less developed economies and a weak negative correlation for the developed countries. Gastanagaet et al. (1998) and Schneider and Frey (1985) found positive significant effects of growth on FDI FDI has the ability stimulate economic growth only in the short run while the economy is shifting from one short-lived equilibrium to another. The only source of long-term economic growth is technological progress, which is considered to be independent of investment activities. This factor is discussed in the next paragraph. However, in endogenous growth theory, the diminishing returns on investment can be avoided if there are positive externalities associated with investments (Oxelheim, 1996). If investment brings enough new knowledge and technologies, it can lead to long-term economic growth. As, typically, FDI brings new technologies and knowledge, in accordance with endogenous growth theory it can be viewed as a catalyst of long-term economic growth in a host economy. Economic growth will improve the ability to compete with other regions and this will increase the quality and ability of other location factors. The relevance of economic growth for FDI is not very clear: it depends on the distribution of the new capital. The analysis above leads to four validated variables that determine the relevance of market factors: (a) market size, (b) openness of the market, labour market and (c) economic growth. Market size is the only variable that is less important. The openness of a market and the economic growth are very important, these variables are positively linked with political, infrastructural and technological factors. An open market as well as a positive economic growth will lead to more FDI in a region. 2.2.3 Infrastructure Technologic Can Assassinations Ever Be Justified? Can Assassinations Ever Be Justified? Hitler- one of the most known names in the world even after 65 years. Osama bin Laden, man responsible for attacks on World Trade Centre on 11th of September 2001. Robert Mugabe- president of Zimbabwe form 1987, a very selfish man and instead of improving living conditions in his country, he spends huge amounts of money on himself. In the world full of conflicts and tyrants, can the assassination of one or two men make a difference? If yes, would it be justified? If one person can change the lives of others into hell, is assassination of him justified? If you would have a chance to kill a man in order to save millions of humans, would you do it? Is greater good the only one justification of assassinating someone? Would killing someone not make you as evil as a person youd kill? Even with greater good, is assassination ever justified? Assassination is widely held to mean a planned murder of a prominent of public figure. Its origins can be found in the Middle East. The word is derived from Arabic Hashshashin. It was pejorative name given Nazri Islamis particularly those of Syria and Persia by their adversaries during Middle Ages. The Nazris have smoked hashish before carrying out political killings and thats where the name comes from. Throughout history theres lots of assassinations and attempts, like the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand or the assassination of Julius Caesar. The assassination of Julius Caesar is the first known assassination ever committed. He was killed by his own men on the Ides of March, at a session of the senate. He was stabbed 23 times. Marcus Junius Brutus was one of the conspirators and also a friend of Caesar. In the present day, there have been examples of assassinations and failed attempts on people such as John F. Kennedy, John Paul II, John Lennon or Olof Palme. However, a mo re detailed discussion of assassination is required to address the question of assassination- whether one act of evil can, in fact, be justified. Politics is usually one of the most common reasons why an individual is assassinated. There are always people who dont agree with thoughts of others. People might have their own view on different things but it doesnt necessarily mean that they must kill. Some assassinations such as assassination of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King are clearly unjustifiable. Martin Luther King was American activist and prominent leader in African American civil rights movement. He was assassinated by James Earl Ray- a white man. People believe it was a conspiracy because many white leaders didnt want any black men to have civil rights. John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald. However he denied shooting anyone. There are lots of theories of motives for killing the president. One theory says it was the presidents plans for Vietnam that prompted his murder. The president said that Vietnam was too far away from the United States, that South Vietnams claim to democracy was false, and th at the U.S. had no business sending American troops to fight in what was really a local war. Another assassinated political figure was Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The assassination of this man basically triggered World War I. He and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo in 1914, by Gavrilo Princip, 19 at the time. It was organized by organization called Black Hand. There was also pope, John Paul II. There was assassination attempt by Mehmed Ali Agca. According to Agca operation was commanded by the Bulgarian military Attachà ©. Another example of political assassination is Olof Palme a Swedish politician. The murder is still unsolved and it might never be. He was a controversial politician- it could have lead to his assassination. What about the greater good? Could one act of evil be accepted if it rids the world of suffering? Would assassination on tyrant, such as Hitler be justified if it saved millions of people, which have been killed during World War II? In my opinion it would be justified and worth it even if it was only one man that could be saved. I think that someone who doesnt respect life of other people and kills millions only because of his racist and nationalist thoughts shouldnt be so lucky to live. Utilitarianism says that the moral worth of an action is determined solely by its usefulness. Even if you kill someone thinking about greater good, you still are a killer. Doesnt it mean that you are as bad as he is? I dont think so, if you kill one man in order to save a life, either yours or someone elses it doesnt make you evil. It doesnt really matter who could care of getting rid of Hitler as long as the job was done successfully. There are individuals who assassinate for reasons other than politics or religion. They may simply be deranged fame hungry individuals, such as Mark David Chapman or John Hinckley Jr. Mark David Chapman was a psychopath who killed John Lennon. He was a fan of The Beatles for years especially John Lennons. John Hinckley Jr. was a man who attempted and assassination on Ronald Reagan and according to him, he has done it to impress Jodie Foster. He was obsessed with her. It has developed since he first time watched film called Taxi Driver. I think that if those two would be never psychopaths they would never done those things. In my opinion its not really their fault. People become crazy and they never realize that they are actually obsessed. It is not maybe a justification to what theyve done but helps understand what the motives could be. What about the world today? How could suffering be alleviated now? Is assassination the answer? Would it be better if Robert Mugabe was assassinated? Would it make a difference now- when he has been president of Zimbabwe since 1987? He has not long to live because of his age but I think it would be worth to save people today and not tomorrow. Lots of those people can no longer live to see tomorrow. Mugabe is a selfish man who was ruining country for years and it should be changed. The global superpowers should become more interested and should deal with him as fast as possible. What about Osama bin Laden another terrorist? Is he also the case? He was responsible for attacks on World Trade Centre on 11th of September 2001. However there have been rumors that it was actually done by U.S. Osama bin Ladens whereabouts are unknown. Although he might fight for something he considers to as a right thing, he is a terrorist and he must pay for what hes done. In my opinion those people could b e assassinated because there could not be any other ways for improving the situation. If the death of two men will save thousands of lives worldwide, I think it is enough of a justification. In conclusion, I think that greater good is maybe not the only one, but just now, I cannot see any other as much important justifications for assassinations. In every country on earth there are people that are selfish and are making hell of other peoples lives, but not everyone of those are cases for assassination. Even though there is a lot of evil, assassination is not always the solution, even if suffering of many will be alleviated for a while because of death of a tyrant, you never know who will come after him.