Motivation in the Workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Motivation in the Workplace - Essay Example The university consists mainly of five faculties’ namely engineering, science, humanities, built environment and business school. Deans are at the centres of each of these faculties. The department focused in the case is the engineering department which is composed mainly of the faculties with prior experience in the academics career. Most of the faculties have been in the university for around eight years. Another notable peculiarity of the department is that all the lecturers are males. The department has made notable efforts in creating an industry collaboration and several technology developed by the university has been patented. The protagonist of the case is Anne Henderson who is a notable professional in her industry. Changes in motivational factors are explained with the help of the story of her industrial behaviour and the changes in her career interest. Expansion plans of the university have resulted in them advertising for the post of senior lecturer. The preferred candidate for the post is an expert in the field with good experience in research work, good business contacts and having a willingness to travel. The case ends by referring to the state of mind of Anne Henderson where she comes across the vacancy at Midshires University and makes a call to the university without even looking at the instructions. Anne’s Motivating Factors This case study can be explained in terms of the content and process theories of motivation. For the purpose of the case study, two content and process theories will be considered. â€Å"Content theories explain the specific factors that motivate people. They explain what drives human behavior.† (Ferguson, 2000) Content theories specifically deal with needs and goals of individuals. Therefore, it deals with those factors that motivate individuals. The popular content theories are McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y, ERG Theory, Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory and McClelland’s Th eory of Needs. From the content perspective, Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory and McClelland’s Need theory will be used to explain Anne’s motivating factors. â€Å"Process Theories deal with the â€Å"process† of motivation and is concerned with â€Å"how† motivation occurs.† (Ozgurzan, 2012) This is unlike the materialistic approach of content theory. Process theories state that any particular motivational behaviour of an individual is the result of an activity on the individual. Some of the popular process theories are Victor Vroom’s Expectancy Theory, Goal Theory and Adam’s Equity Theory. Vroom’s Expectancy Theory and Adam’s Equity Theory will be used here to explain Anne’s motivational situation. Herzberg’s theory of motivation states that an individual’s motivation level is influenced mainly by Hygiene Factors and Motivator Factors. Hygiene factors are those factors that are necessary for having a stable motivational level. The absence of these factors can lead to dissatisfaction of employees. But on the contrary their presence is not a motivator for the employees. Some of the hygiene factors are company policy, wages, supervisory quality, working conditions, job security, etc. Now, Anne’s motivation level can be analysed based on this theory. From the case study it can be seen that Anne was provided with an array of hygiene factors by the company. ?80,000 of annual salary, chauffeur-driven car, flat, pension scheme, credit cards and first class air travels were

Legal and Ethical Issues in Management Paper Essay

Legal and Ethical Issues in Management Paper - Essay Example The doctrine stipulates that the manufacturers of drugs prescribed by doctors and other necessary medical devices will perform their duties of caring for their patients through the provision of warnings to the physicians charged with the duty of administering the drugs. The manufacturer is therefore responsible for issuing warnings to the physicians concerning the usage of their drugs by patients. This is mainly because the patients are not able to purchase the products directly from the manufacturers and must go through the physicians to obtain them (Strom, Kimmel & Hennessy, 2012). The majority of the people believe that the rule on learned intermediaries should not apply to adverts that make the patients to become more informed and healthier. They also perceive adverts that include brief summaries which stipulate the risks involved in consuming different types of drugs (Mullner, 2005). However, the inclusion of brief summaries on the risks involved in consuming the drugs has been difficult for the manufacturers since this action would require more time along with spaces in the media. The high costs of attaining the above two factors in the media has made it very expensive for them to comply with the stipulations laid out by the rule (Strom, Kimmel & Hennessy, 2012). For instance, in the case of Perez v. Wyeth Laboratories Inc., in New Jersey, the courts decided that the doctrine on the learned intermediaries since the Norplant implants in the case had been advertised directly to the women consumers instead of the doctors. Since the drugs had been directly mar keted to their customers, the defendants were absolved from any charges that had been brought against them (Mullner, 2005). The dissenters on the issue claim that physicians should convey the relevant information concerning the risks in the drugs to their consumers. They additionally state that physicians are normally at the best position

Expansion strategy of Starbucks

Expansion strategy of Starbucks Introduction: Starbucks as a corporation started its business from the year 1971 in the city of Seattle in Washington. In its early stages Starbucks opened four stores in the city and the business was looking good. (Starbucks Corporation, 1997). After some major changes and alterations the company opened about fifty outlets by 1989. The focus of the company was not only expanding the number of stores but also at the same time educate the consumers .(Starbucks Corporation, 1997). But at that situation the owners were reluctant of entering into the main industry. But in the year 1984, the company management acquired another coffee retailer called the Peets Coffee and Tea. (Starbucks Corporation, 1997). Since then the company adapted many significant changes in order to establish its brand in the international market. Supply Chain and Expansion Strategy: With various competitors the industry is a monopolistic in nature. For that reason a strong player like Starbucks is has to depend on the product mix and strategic locations as the main differentiating factor in order to influence effective consumers demand for their products. For that reason the marketing strategy that Starbucks adapts targets only one particular segment of customers. This marketing strategy for years has yielded great results for the company. Starbucks can be considered as the market leader with over $1.3 billion in sales in the year 1998. Due to the complexity of the network it is important that the management locates the cost centers and allocates the resources accordingly. In order to evaluate the supply chain issues it is important to realize the expansion strategy of the firm. The expansion strategy adapted by the firm is mainly increasing the market share in the retail segment and for that reason t focused on increasing the number of stores.(Berger, Buchman, Chase, Hsu, N.d). It is important to note that Starbucks followed a pattern of store opening strategy in order to form a network. The company adapted a hub and spoke model for its regional expansions. Starbucks at the initial stage selected a large city in the region which will serve the purpose of a hub; and tried to open as many as twenty or more stores in the hub city itself in the first two years. (Starbucks Corporation, 1997). After opening the targeted stores in the hub city the other stores are also being opened in the surrounding areas which are considered as the spoke stores. In the year 1995 alone, new stores opened generated average revenue of US$700,000 in their first year, which is far more than the average revenue figure of US$427,000 in 1990. (Starbucks Corporation, 1997). The growth in the sales was mainly due to the growing brand image of the firm. With the increase in the number of stores the complexity of the supply chain increased and this lead to the various security issues for the firm. For that reason a security team is being introduced in the system which is called the Enterprise Security Platform and it keeps track of the critical facilities , operations at the retail outlets and the also monitors the activities in the international market. This centrally integrated supply chain model helps the company management to keep track of the proceedings and predict demand so that they can adjust their expansion strategy accordingly. Critical Issues and factors affecting import and export: The Company faced some obstacles in the last two years of operation. The global economic crisis has reduced the disposable income of the mass and for that reason the spending in the industry has reduced. (Starbucks Recent Same Store Sales; Implication for future growth, 2009). The store closing has its other implications. The negative sales figure actually got compounded each quarter and it is mainly contributed by the sudden decrease in demand and the increasing cost component as the company focused on sustaining the expansion strategy. (Starbucks Recent Same Store Sales; Implication for future growth, 2009). It has to be noted that about Eighty four percent of the revenue for the company was realized from the retail stores and thus the expansion strategy remained as the core business strategy of the firm. (Berger, Buchman, Chase, Hsu, N.d). Before this drop of the net revenues the company was experiencing a steady increase of 27% per year. In the years 1998-1999 in North America, the company launched about two hundred and ninety three stores was opened and the retail sale immediately went up by twenty five percent. The other segment of business apart from the retail sales also flourished during that period. (Starbucks Company 10K, 1998). The major concern for Starbucks is their cost of sales. It has been noted that the cost of sales is as high as 78.8% of the sales revenues and the problem multiplied as the labor cost increased which increased the operating expense of the stores by 37.6%.(Starbucks Company 10K, 1998). In order to handle this situation Starbucks transited its grocery business to Kraft which automatically resulted in lower of the operating expenses and as a result there was a net increase in revenues in the specialty sales division by 20%. The main strength of the firm is in the specialty coffee market and for that reason it targets a particular segment of the population while at the same time maintaining its niche. The extensive opining of stores has led to market cannibalization in certain regions of the world. The employee training and development program have ensured quality service throughout the globe. There are industry level factors that drive the operations of the firm and there is a constant level of risk which affects the business operation of the company. The lack of ownership in the coffee supplier segment in Central and South America is a crucial factor which affects the import of the company. This makes the variable cost to go up and hampers the net profit. Over exporting and concentration of retail outlets at some regions hampers the sales per store figure of the company. The major exporting countries for Starbucks are Canada and countries in Europe, while the importing countries of the company are mainly countries of eastern Africa like Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia. Qualitative Techniques: The qualitative studies for forecasting will use various sources of data and information in order to ascertain the current position the firm. The two qualitative method used in this study are secondary market research and the Delphi method. Market Research: Coffee as an industry has now great global level demand and all the coffee companies through out the globe provide employment to more than twenty million people. (Coffee in the 21st Century, 2009). It is being observed that coffee as a commodity alone occupies the second position to petroleum in terms of the dollars traded throughout the world. (Coffee in the 21st Century, 2009). A market research results found out that over four hundred billion cups of coffee is being consumed every year. In the country of Brazil itself over five million people are involved in the industry of cultivating coffee beans. The overall sales premium of specialty coffee in United States of America has now reached a multi-billion dollar level. (Coffee in the 21st Century, 2009).But Starbucks particularly does not operate in coffee industry alone but the industry can be identified as the Specialty Eatery Industry. This industry can be regarded as the part of food and beverage industry which occupies the largest segment of disposable income. (Berger, Buchman, Chase, Hsu, N.d). This indicates a huge potential market to capture. The level of competition also increased due to the huge scope available after the year 1990. (Berger, Buchman, Chase, Hsu, N.d). The year 1997 recorded an estimated eight thousand specialty coffee outlets in the United States. According to the industry analysts the beverage industry at that particular point had enough space for about two or three national players, maybe even more. (Starbucks Corporation, 1997). The closest competitor at that time for Starbucks was a Canadian franchisor with many stores in Canada but when compared the size it was less than one-third of the total size of Starbucks. (Starbucks Corporation, 1997). The other national level competitor was Gloria Jeans which was also a franchisor of specialty coffees, and its stores are located in most of the malls throughout the United States of America. (Starbucks Corporation, 1997). T he other rivals did not have more that two hundred and fifty stores, but there were about twenty small local and regional coffee shop chains that aspired to grow into rivals of Starbucks, most notably New World Coffee, Coffee People, Coffee Station, Java Centrale, and Caribou Coffee. These coffee shops together captured a considerable portion of the market and made the competition tougher. (Berger, Buchman, Chase, Hsu, N.d). The company (Starbucks) also faced huge competition from the nationwide coffee manufacturers like the Kraft General Foods, Procter Gamble and Nestlà ©, the company who were known for distributing the coffees mainly through supermarkets. (Starbucks Corporation, 1997). For that reason the market structure thus can be considered to be a monopolistic one as there are several competitors present in the market who are at the same time offering almost similar kind of products and services. This reveals the competitive nature of the market both domestically and internationally. The competitors used certain parameters to gain the competitive advantages. These parameters are mainly strategic store locations, the product mix and most importantly the store atmosphere. The last parameter actually does influences to a great extent in building loyal customer base. Now there are certain other influences which affect the overall industry. Large coffee producers like Nestle and Kraft are constantly being pressed to introduce a voluntary levy on raw coffee beans which is considered as part of a greater move to promote sustainable development of coffee throughout the globe. The Worldwide Sustainable Coffee Fund headed by the members of the coffee industry has put forward a proposal to levy one dollar on every sixty kilograms bag of beans at an International Coffee Organization meeting held in London. (The Future of Coffee industry, 2009). This proposal got informal backing from the seventy per cent of coffee-producing countries all over the world. Delphi Method: A controlled group of executives were interviewed in order to understand the opinions for them regarding the future prospect of the firm. The questionnaire was designed in order to reflect on the opinions of the executives regarding the future and the strategies of the firm. A total of twenty five members were selected for this controlled session. The first statement of the questionnaire stated that the sales revenue of the company will certainly take a positive turn. About forty eight percent of the respondents agreed to the statement. The findings also reveal that there are forty four percent of the respondents who are unaware of the future so provided a neutral view. This may be due to the sudden dip in the sales revenue observed last year, the employees are now not certain of the dramatic comeback. Figure 2: Percentage feedback on question number 1 The statement asked about more of a strategic issue for the firm. The question asked whether the operating expenses of the firm are hindering the performance or in other words controlling the same would improve on the overall turnover. Figure 3: Percentage feedback on question number 2 The feedback suggests that the selected executives of the firm do not accept the fact that the operating cost is the main determining factor which is hindering the process of growth. They consider that due to the complexity of the business model of the company minor variations are observable in the period of economic downturn; otherwise the operating margin is quite satisfying for them. Figure 4: Percentage feedback on question number 3 The response to the third statement is a mixed one. The question was regarding the aggressive store expansion strategy adapted by the company. It is being observed that a major percentage of the employees under the control group are not in favor of the aggressive strategy adapted by the firm. Thus the overall qualitative forecasting using the Delphi method suggests that the closed group considers that the sales figure to go up but does not really support the aggressive expansion strategy adapted by the firm. Reasons for selecting the methods: The two qualitative methods used for the purpose of the study are secondary market research and the Delphi methods. The first one is useful for gathering information regarding the industry and the competitor analysis of the company which are essential parameters for determining the future or forecasting the sales. The second one is the Delphi method where the responses are summarized in order to understand the view of the employees regarding the future. The point of view of the employees is essential as they reflect on the actual picture of the firm. While the market research surveyed the external environment the Delphi analysis helped in realizing the internal point of view of the employees. Time Series Analysis: Apart from the qualitative methods of forecasting quantitative analysis are also required in to estimate and forecast the exact figure of sales that can be estimated. Two time series analysis methods are applied in this case in order to predict the sales figures and also the relationship among the various parameters. Moving Average Method: This method simply takes the average of the previous figures and forecast the next figures. Figure 5: Sales Forecast for the year 2010 and 2011 In this case a span of six years has been taken in order to forecast the sales figure. The forecasted figures for the year 2010 and 2011 come to be 8.2 billion and 8.7 billion dollar respectively. It should be noted that these figures is much less compared to the peak sales figure of 10.4 billion dollar that the company achieved in the year 2008. But due to the certain dip in the market conditions and United States economy the net revenue of the year 2009 also dropped. Due to the late drop in the sales figure the forecasted figures of the year 2010 and 2011 are low and it will take certain time for the firm to achieve the previous level. Though the last trend is increasing as the forecasted revenue for 2011 is higher that of 201 Linear Regression: This method of forecasting is used for determining the causal relationship between predicting parameters and the variable which is depending on the others. Regression Statistics Multiple R 0.9952172 R Square 0.9904572 Adjusted R Square 0.9840953 Standard Error 256.28309 Observations 6 ANOVA df SS MS F Significance F Regression 2 20451290 10225645 155.6865 0.000932 Residual 3 197043.1 65681.02 Total 5 20648333 Coefficients Standard Error t Stat P-value Lower 95% Upper 95% Lower 95.0% Upper 95.0% Intercept -58.491328 663.0271 -0.08822 0.935262 -2168.54 2051.557 -2168.54 2051.557 Operating Income 0.8536555 1.104188 0.773107 0.495786 -2.66036 4.367675 -2.66036 4.367675 No of Stores 0.5670203 0.048045 11.80197 0.001308 0.414121 0.71992 0.414121 0.71992Figure 6: Linear Regression analysis using figures from the year 2004 to 2009 In this particular case the sales revenue is the dependent variable, or the variable which will be forecasted, while the operating income and the number of stores are the predicting variables. The results show that the value of the adjusted R-square is 0.9840953 which means that 98% of the variation of these two parameters explains the variation in the sales revenue. This reflects on the high predictability rate of these two parameters. Now the forecasting equation that is being derived from this analysis is given by Y= -58.5+ 0.85 OI + 0.57 N Where Y is the sales revenue, OI is the operating income of the firm and N is the number of stores. This provides the model with which the future sales figures can be forecasted. This model provides the causal relationship among the parameters. Recommendation: According to the industry analysts Starbucks was a company which can replicate the giants like Nike or Coca-Cola in its own industry segment. In the period 1998 StarBucks was the only company with almost national market coverage in the United States of America. The immediate objective at that time for the firm was to have about two thousand stores in operation by the year 2000 and this target was fulfilled in time. The long term objective was to become the most recognized and respected brand in the world. This goes well with the actual value proposition of the company. The companys efforts to greatly increase its domain were stimulated by the joint ventures with Pepsi and Dreyers and its move to sell coffee in supermarkets. (Starbucks Corporation, 1997). The company was also thinking of a possibility of marketing fruit-juice drinks and candy under the Starbucks label. But prior to any expansion that the firm must adapt, it should consider two crucial aspects. Firstly the cost component being so high the company cannot afford radical product line of store expansion in the given situation. Secondly if the company tries to expand its target customer base, it may dilute it overall brand and the customers as well as the employees (who have been a major asset for the company) may see this as a shift from the overall value proposition of the firm. This is bound to affect in a negative way. For that reason whichever among the two possible options that the company chooses to increase its sales revenue, it must analyze the long term growth and prosperity of the company. Conclusion: The Company must continue on its expansion strategy as it is only way they can increase the sales revenue. Shifting the target base or shrinking the network will cause equal harm for their brand which will again hamper the future sales. Though the threat of competition is huge, still every time the company came out with successful marketing strategy to overcome the situation and it continues with its aim of continuous expansion plans. Quality product delivery along with increasing the network is what the company mainly works on, and for that reason it is expected the company will certainly overcome the current situation and its stock market figures will show positive trend again in the future.

Watching a movie on TV vs. watching a movie in a Theater :: Comparison Compare

The movie of the year just came out, and you are faced with a decision and various questions. Should you wait for the movie to come out on TV? Or should you stay home and wait for the movie to show on TV? Although both seem reasonable choices, watching the movie on TV at home is superior to watching a movie in a theater. The reason is because of commercials, prices, seating choices and availability to see the movie. When you watch a movie in a theater you have the advantage of not having to deal with commercials because they come on at the beginning of the movie. However, that can be a disadvantage as well because if you have to go to the bathroom or something comes up you would have to miss that part of the movie. Also, you will have chance to view the movie on the release date and be able to comment if the movie was or was not worth watching. However, for these services, a theater fee is required. The fee is determined by how good or how comfortable the theater is. Seating will be a something to look forward as well. If you arrive early seating may be more available than if you arrive late, so you would have to seat wherever a seat is available and sometimes that is not to your comfortability or desire. You also do not have choice in what kind of chair you want to sit in, or how soft or hard the chair is which sometimes seems less appealing. On the other hand, when you watch the movie on TV you have to deal with pesky commercials all throughout the movie, sometimes cutting off on the most exhilarating part. The price however, is to your ultimate convenience, it is free. You will also get the seat of your choice like the sofa, the chair, or the floor all according to how you feel. However, you will not be the first to watch it and by the time the movie comes out you would probably have heard all about it. In conclusion, watching a movie at home is much better than watching a movie in the theater.

Lab- a/P Classification of Body Membranes

Classification of Body Membranes Laszlo Vass, Ed. D. Version 42-0010-00-01 Lab repOrt assistant This document is not meant to be a substitute for a formal laboratory report. The Lab Report Assistant is simply a summary of the experiment’s questions, diagrams if needed, and data tables that should be addressed in a formal lab report. The intent is to facilitate students’ writing of lab reports by providing this information in an editable file which can be sent to an instructor. Purpose What is the purpose of this exercise? ?Are there any safety concerns associated with this exercise? If so, list what they are and what precautions should be taken. Exercise 1: The Microscopic Structure of Cutaneous Membranes ObservatiOns Sketch your observations from the microscope slide in the lab report assistant. Indicate the keratinized layer on the sketch and describe the observed structures and cells. QuestiOns A. What is keratin? B. Why is the skin keratinized?Exercise 2: The Microscopic Structure of Mucous Membranes ObservatiOns Draw and describe the structures you observed of the following slides: A. Pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium of the trachea B. Stratified squamous epithelium (non-keratinized) of the esophagus C. Simple columnar epithelium (duodenum) of the small intestine QuestiOns A. Compare and contrast the roles of the three mucous membranes. B. What is the role of mucous in the body?Exercise 3: Observing Synovial Membrane ObservatiOns | Data Table 1: Observing Synovial Membrane |Tissue Types (epithelial/ |Membrane |connective) |Common Location |Functions |Cutaneous |Mucous | Serous |Synovial | QuestiOns A. What i s the function of the synovial membrane? B. Rheumatoid arthritis results in part from an infection and immune response in the synovial membrane. What effect does this have on the ability of this membrane to carry out its functions? C. Complete Data Table 1 under observations.Conclusion Research pleurisy, peritonitis, and pericarditis. What are these conditions and how do they affect homeostasis in the body?Experiment ClassifiCation of Body MeMBranes 86 Â ©Hands-On Labs, Inc. www. LabPaq. com

Taiwan Living Culture

There is an issue comes up when Taiwan talks about culture conservation, which is the conflict between social development and preservation of military dependents’ villages. Taiwan is a place that lived by Holo, Hakka and indigenous peoples. Besides indigenous people, there are many mainlanders who came from mainland China. Those mainlanders came with Kuomintang government for political affairs that happened in China since 1940s. Hence, compare to indigenous people, military dependents’ villages, the places mainlanders were living, is actually a minor culture in Taiwan.Therefore, there are some difficulties for the culture-based workshops when they are trying to protect military dependents’ villages. There is lesser population who insist to protect their culture. Moreover, a number of residents were basically moved out from the villages. In this issue, we could study the issue with our cultural communication knowledge, especially identify the culture element that the issue brought by. Refer to the article title, preserving military dependents’ villages, the article is discussing about how the workshops trying to preserve military dependents’ villages and what are the concerns they are having.Since military dependents’ villages are minority culture in Taiwan, as well as they are not Taiwan’s local culture, we can understand how difficult the workshops’ tasks are. Hence, preserving military dependents’ villages is an issue. This issue was discussed recently. It was being studied since 1990s. We noticed that it was a trend of cultural discussion, which has no certainty beginning and ending. It is generally happened in Taiwan. Those active workshops were operating much in Kaohsiung and New Taipei City. There are some people who involved in this issue.First of all, there is a workshop called Association of Mainlander Taiwanese (AMT). It is formed in 2004. Yang Tsung-rong is one of board of directors of AM T. He is an Associate Professor at National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei too. He said that the workshop recently focuses on conserving the unique villages. The second involved party is Ministry of National Defense (MND). The land of dependents’ villages belongs to MND. There is a law named Act for Rebuilding Old Quarters. It assures MND to have right of demolish the village after the military dependents moved out.They will rebuild new apartments for military dependents. Sometimes, they sold the apartments in accordance with National Property Act to fund the construction of apartments. The third party is Lin Fung-ching, who is a deputy chief executive of Kaohsiung Military Dependents’ Villages Culture Development Association. The workshop was formed in 2007 and operates the Kaohsiung Museum of Military Dependents’ Villages. She agreed that less-is-more strategy which means preserving a limited number of the housing areas is sufficient.She understood the gov ernment’s concern since preserving all 888 villages is a challenge of local development. Nevertheless, she stated that preserving old buildings in a village is not enough. The fourth person is Wang He-ping, who is another chief executive of the Kaohsiung workshop. He supports the preservation idea and aims to preserve Mingde New Village, Zuoying District as a â€Å"living museum† that would see villagers continue to live in the village. Visitors can move into vacant houses to feel their day life culture. He enhanced that preserving the villages is promoting â€Å"green belt† concept.It would add to Kaohsiung’s tourism resources. He said that dependents’ villages are a minority culture, but they are not a minor part of Taiwan’s culture. Wang Ji-xin is the fifth person who involved in this issue. He is a founding board member of the New Taipei City Military Dependents’ Villages Culture Association which formed by year 2007. The associat ion is to preserve approximately 60 houses of Sanchong First Village. He is a former resident of the village too. He mentioned that bulldozers will also remove an irretrievable piece of Taiwan’s pluralistic culture.Sanchong First Village’s residents had move out and into purpose-built apartment buildings in New Taipei City by 2006. They could only make oral histories instead of make a living museum as Mingde does. Basically, Taiwan is a place that highly appreciates traditional culture. At first, they believed and followed the Chinese culture. Since 1990s, Taiwan started to focus on local culture. They appreciate Holo, Hakka and indigenous groups. Even Ministry of Education introduced the program called â€Å"Knowing Taiwan† which focused Taiwan’s history, geography and society instead of centered on mainland China.As the article mentioned, mainlanders who came to Taiwan with Kuomintang government had been allocated in certain places. They thought that st aying in Taiwan was temporary plan. However, the dream of â€Å"retaking mainland† faded and the mainlanders had to stay in Taiwan. According to government’s arrangement in 1980s, 90% of 110,000 households recorded in 1984, the dependents of mainlanders, who were military’s families, have left the villages. Nevertheless, some workshops tried to request to preserve the villages for culture conservation.At last, we found that the workshops perform so well which fight for their culture yet do not ignore the social development. What we learnt in communication and culture, we have no problem to agree that living lifestyle is one of culture definition’s elements. There is a set of pattern preserved and shared human activities among a social group from generations to generations. In this article, the dependents’ villages are recognized culture of what we learnt in class. The military dependents’ villages were brought by mainlanders from mainland of China.They brought their families to Taiwan as well. Hence, they started practice their normal life in Taiwan generations by generations. Moreover, there are pictures of their culture proof. For the first page, we can see a big house built at Mingde New Village in Kaohsiung. It is for higher-ranking officers. The second page has 5 photos. The top one is the narrow alleys in the military dependents’ village. The photo below it shows the mandarin words which means â€Å"Be calm amid confusion†. It would be probably the residents’ value oriented.The other two photos that wrote mandarin words, â€Å"One year to get ready, two years to recapture, three years to clean up and five years to finish the job†. The military has the purpose on recapture the mainland of China when they came to Taiwan. On the following page, there is a photo of some apartments. They are the new apartment buildings for military families such as these in Kaohsiung’s Zuoying Distri ct. We noticed that the villages’ culture had been gone. The other photo in this page shows the military dependents villages’ cultural festival in New Taipei City.The fifth page showed the military uniforms and identity cards at the Kaohsiung Museum of military dependents’ villages. The last page showed the selection of dishes at a Kaohsiung military dependents villages’ food festival in 2011 and a well-preserved living room at Sanchong First Village in New Taipei City. All of them are significant culture. This issue is quite similar to Malaysia’s not to demolish Jalan Sultan case. We noticed that culture preservation is important, especially the historical buildings. We understand social development is important too yet there are some ways to avoid from demolishing cultural buildings.As the photo we saw in fourth page, the original outlook and environment was gone after the rebuilding. It will be happened in Jalan Sultan if we do not fight for the preservation of culture. It is sad if we lost our significant culture on our land. Therefore, we should appreciate our culture and think the other ways to avoid from demolishing our significant culture. For example, Melaka had preserved those culture buildings and items. They then become elements of tourism and improving our national incomes. Hence, we should think twice before we made the cruel decision of demolishing some precious and valuable cultures.

Essay on Julie Bradbury

Essay on Julie Bradbury Essay on Julie Bradbury Julie Bradbury Knowles Court ICO 1 1.1 It is our responsibility as employees to take precautionary measures to help prevent and Control the spread of infection. We must attend all training provided by our employers regarding infection control and prevention. Control of substances hazardous to health (COSHH), Reporting of injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences regulations (RIDDOR) and Personal protective equipment (PPE). Effective hand washing and wearing the correct PPE when assisting clients or dealing with waste which will reduce the spread of infection. We have a hand washing champion who does regular audits on our hand washing techniques to ensure we are doing it correctly. To ensure we clean equipment correctly to avoid spread of infection. Clinical waste goes into a yellow bag. Barrier nursing items for incineration goes in orange bags and black bags for household rubbish. White bin liners are used in the bins in toilets and bathrooms for used paper towels. Yellow cloths and mops for use in kitchen. Red mop and bucket for use in sluice and on body waste. Green cloths and blue mops for use in rooms. All bins are pedal operated so we do not have to manually lift lids. Hand washing before and after tasks. 1.2 It is the duty of the employer to provide a safe work place for staff, clients and visitors. The employer should provide the required personal protection equipment, training and information on Control of substances hazardous to health (COSHH) Reporting of injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences regulations (RIDDOR) and Infection control. Procedures for disposing of rubbish and clinical waste. They should assess risks, and ensure procedures are followed. 2.1 Laws and legal regulations about infection control come under the health and safety at work act 1974 (HASAWA). It is to ensure a safe work place for employees and members of the public and employers by minimizing accidents at work. HASAWA introduced the need for monitoring health and safety, risk assessments, including infection prevention and control. The personal protective equipment act 1992 ensures that suitable PPE is provided to employees who may be exposed to a risk to their health. COSHH regulations act 2002 is the law that requires employers to control substances hazardous to health. RIDDOR regulations act 1979 means it is the duty of employers in control work premises to report certain serious work place accidents, dangerous occurrences and any outbursts of infectious diseases. ICO 1 2.2 Where i work we have policies and procedures on when and how to use personal protective equipment and cleaning routines to follow. This depends on what you are doing. IE cleaning toilet and bathrooms where body fluids are present, disposing of clinical waste, handling laundry which is soiled with body waste. When dealing with dirty laundry we wear disposable aprons and gloves. The clean laundry goes into colour co ordinate bags, white for clothes, green for linen, red for contaminated clothes and linen this then gets tied and placed into another red bag in the sluice. Disposal of household rubbish goes into black bags, yellow for clinical waste or orange for incineration. The local firm which collects these leave coloured lockable bins for us to use. Black bags go into blue bin with black lid. Clinical waste bags go into yellow bin with yellow lid, cardboard boxes go into white bin with brown lid, Orange bags for incinerating go into yellow lockable bin. 3.1 Outbreak of infection can be fatal if care is not taken. IE an outbreak of MRSA that can be resistant to antibiotics. There is consequences for all involved, Ill health, isolation and sickness of staff. The Organisation could be fined with not complying with the law. This is why company’s policy and procedures need to be adhered to. IE hand washing and personal protective equipment, Barrier nursing is used if a patient in known or thought to be suffering from a contagious disease, we use

History of the Black Box aka Flight Data Recorder

History of the Black Box aka Flight Data Recorder David Warren had a deeply personal reason to invent the  flight-data recorder (commonly referred to as the â€Å"black box†). In 1934, his father died in one of Australia’s earliest air crashes.   Early Life and Career David Warren was born in 1925 on Groote Eylandt, and island off the Northern coast of Australia. Gadgets and devices, like the ham radio left to him by his father, helped Warren through his childhood and adolescence. His educational record speaks for itself: he graduated with honors from the University of Sydney before earning a diploma in education from the University of Melbourne and a Ph.D. in chemistry from Imperial College London. In the 1950s, as Warren was working for the Aeronautical Research Laboratories in Melbourne, a few developments occurred to reignite his instincts regarding in-flight recordings. In Britain in 1949, the de Havilland Comet was introduced- only to experience a disaster in 1954 with a series of high-profile crashes. Without any kind of recording device from inside the aircraft, determining the causes and investigating the intricacies of these disasters was a famously difficult task for the British authorities. Prime Minister Winston Churchill himself was quoted as saying, â€Å"The cost of solving the Comet mystery must be reckoned neither in money nor in manpower.† Around the same time, the earliest tape recorders were being introduced in trade shows and storefront windows. It was a German-made one that first caught Warren’s eye, leading him to wonder how much more information the authorities would have during its investigations if a device like this had been in the Comet . Inventing the "Memory Unit" In 1957, Warren completed a prototype- which he termed the â€Å"Memory Unit†- for his device. His idea, however, was greeted with no shortage of criticism from the Australian authorities. The Royal Australian Air Force haughtily suggested that the device would capture â€Å"more expletives than explanations,† while the Australian pilots themselves worried about the potential for spying and surveillance. It took the British- the maker of the tarnished Comet- to appreciate the necessity of Warren’s device. From there, flight-data recorders proceeded to become standard procedure not only in Britain and Australia but also in America and in the commercial flying industry all across the world. There seems to be some dispute as to how Warren’s device came to be known as the black box, considering that the color of Warren’s prototype was closer to red or orange, in order to make the device stand out amidst the wreckage of a crash. However, the black-box moniker has stuck, perhaps owing to the intense steel casing required to protect the box. Warren has never received financial reward for his invention, although he has- after what was initially quite a battle- been officially recognized by his own country: in 2002, he was awarded the Order of Australia for his contributions. Warren died in 2010, at the age of 85, but his invention continues to be a mainstay on aircraft worldwide, recording both cockpit chatter and instrument readings of altitude, speed, direction, and other statistics. Additionally, car manufacturers have recently started installing black boxes in their vehicles, adding another chapter in the evolution of Warren’s originally maligned idea.

Argumentive Essays - Trojans, Mythological Kings, Epic Cycle

The Trojan War I am almost sure that we all know the stories of Greek Mythology. Now for Troy and its war, we may only know the stories implied by novels and movies. Some tails and myths have only part of the story which might seem more exciting then what actually started the fight, and how it really ended. Achilles didn?t really die at the end of the war. He was said to conquer Troy after the war had ended. This war is very popular because it lasted a decade. Achilles was the son of Thetis and Peleus. His mother tried to protect him from a prophecy of early death by dipping him into the River Styx, which would make him invulnerable? However, she held him by the heel so his heel was unprotected. She sent him to hide in the court of the king of Scyros, where he was disguised as a girl and married the princess Deidamia. Odysseus disguised himself as a traveling merchant, and tempted Achilles into revealing himself using a beautiful sword. The Iliad is a story that deals with a small part of the Trojan War. The cause of this war is when Paris, the prince of Troy, sailed to Sparta, seduced and abducted Helen and returned to Troy. When Menelaos discovered that his wife was gone, he gathered a number of Greek generals together to go with him, conquer Troy, and retrieve his wife. However, the Iliad only covers a few months during the tenth year of the war. In this time, many important events took place that could have possibly altered the outcome of this historic event? Two beautiful women whom were enemies of the Achaeans are captured during one of the many raids the army had on Troy. One of the women, named Chrysies is the prize for Ahomemnon (the king and commander-in ?chief of the Achaeans). But Chrysies? father, Chrysies wants his daughter back. Cheresies, whom was the priest God of Apollo, is hoping to go to the Achaean camp and claim his daughter. Unfortunately, this plan did not work out. And because of this, Chrys ies prays to Apollo for help. Apollo did in fact help the old man by spreading a deadly plague through the Achaean army, killing hundreds of them. After days of this, the Achaean?s most honored soldier, Achilles calls a meeting to determine the cause of the plague. A soothsayer of the Achaeans determines that King Agamemnon?s arrogance caused the plague by not returning the woman whom was captured to be his war prize. After finding this out, the woman is returned but Agamemnon takes Briseis whom was the prize captured for Achilles. Achilles is angry and publicly insulted so therefore he refuses to fight for the Achaeans and withdrawals his troops. He then requests to his mother Thetis (a sea nymph) to influence Zeus to help the Trojans defeat the Achaeans. The leader of the Gods promises Thetis that he will help. Zeus sends a dream to Agamemnon that has him convinced he will defeat the Trojans in battle the next day. With the order from Agamemnon, the army prepares itself for attack . The Trojans and Achaeans draw towards each other and Paris challenges one of the Achaeans to a one on one fight. The challenger of this is Menelaos. The winner will win Helen and both sides will agree on a treaty of peace. During the duel, Menelaos wounds Paris and begins dragging him to the Achaean?s territory when suddenly, Aphrodite appears and rescues him. Agamemnon announces to his army that they have won and demands that Helen is given back to them. Goddesses Hera and Athena want a complete destruction of Troy and they ask Zeus if no truce were made. Zeus in turn gives in and grants them their wish. As a result, the fighting soon resumes. As a way to start the war anew, Athena searches for Pandaros, a Trojan leader and tells him to kill Menelaos. Being the type of person Pandaros is he follows through with her advice. But instead of killing Menelaos, he only wounds him. The Achaeans are shocked that the Trojans would do this being that the truce is

Rise of modern state in europe, under international relations and Essay

Rise of modern state in europe, under international relations and politics - Essay Example The most undesirable conditions of military defeats, civil wars and revolution which were prevailing during the origin of the third republic had intense impact on every facet of the life of French men. There have been a lot of scandals during the third republican rule and the State’s relationship with the church was disturbing. In spite of all these issue the third republic succeeded in unifying the feelings of French men towards the state by breaking the regional, linguistic and racial barriers. Origin of the Third Republic of France The living conditions of the French men were disgusting and the rich were becoming richer and the poor were becoming poorer. They were facing food shortage and the terrible after effects of military defeat especially the disastrous defeat at Sedan in 1870 were tormenting the people. All these factors turned the preference of the working class and the upper middle class towards the formation of democratic republic. They demanded a self governing F rance and a government with fairer managing techniques (The Third Republic of France 2004). The republican government of France during the period starting from 1870 until the attack of Germany on France in 1940 is termed as the Third Republic which emerged immediately after the fall of Napoleon III (Bloy 2011). There were sixty governments in France during the seventy years period renowned as the Third republic and Paris Commune was one among them occupying the period from March 18 to May 28, 1871. Certain historians prefer to divide the period in to three sections as the monarchist republic (1870-1879), the opportunist republic (1879-1899) and the radical republic (after 1899). As an outcome of the defeat of Napoleon III at Sedan against Prussia, there was a situation of political confusion. This was a crucial stage and the French emotion was towards monarchy and they were expecting ‘The Comte de Chambord’ or ‘The Comte de Paris’, the former from the Bourb on family and the latter, the grandson of Louis Philippe to rule them. But the monarchists failed to agree on an appropriate candidate, which paved the way for the victory of republicans in several elections. The republican leaders gained public support and constituted a provisional government called as the ‘Government of National Defence’ consisting of 11 members and the government was led by Adolphe Theirs who became the president in 1871. Theirs made a lot of enemies around him by his famous statement â€Å"there is only one throne of France and two men can not sit on it† which resulted in the removal of the moderate republican president and Marshal McMahon representing the monarchist became the president (Anderson 1984, p. 5). The constitutional laws implemented in1875 gave definitions to the Executive power and the Legislative power. They were the laws on Senate, laws on the authorities, and laws on the election of Senators and representatives. The president was elected by the Congress and his tenure was seven years. The Executive power was supposed to be exercised by the president while the Legislative powers were on the Senate and the Chamber. The amendment in 1879 made the constitution more republican in nature. Official establishment and the first ever celebration of the national day in the history of France happened on 14th July 1880 during the period of the third republic (France History - French Third Republic 2011). Social

Hrm Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Hrm - Essay Example The human resource policies help the organizations in demonstrating both externally and internally whether they are meeting the requirements for ethics, training and diversity as well as the commitments associated with the regulations or the corporate governance (Weick, 1995). The objectives of the project is To understand the importance of domestic human resource policies and multinational human resource policies. To evaluate the similarities between domestic human resource policies and multinational human resource policies. To evaluate the dissimilarities between the domestic human resource policies and multinational human resource policies. Definitions National human resource policy frameworks encourage and support the human resource development procedure within the domestic organizations. It enhances the role of the human resource development for increasing the knowledge and skills of the employees thereby developing higher workplace capabilities (Boddy, 2008). It provides framew ork for the complex functioning within the organizations. The policies help in the development of human resource materials for ensuring consistency and high quality performance. These policies are also effective in supporting and creating the required organizational culture. The human resource policies adapted by the multinational companies for expanding the international sales are known as multinational human resource policies (Rao, 2007). The growth of these organizations along with their expansion in the emerging markets includes immense pressure. It is very important for these organizations to recognize their human resources as they are equally important as the financial assets for maintaining sustainable competitive advantage. Most of the multinational companies do not have effective leadership capital that is required to perform with efficacy in the markets across the world. One reason behind it is the lack of the managerial mobility. It is here that the multinational companie s require human resource policies for solving various issues. The human resource policies help in ensuring that the careers of the employees are developed in terms of both employability and profitability. The multinational companies previously lacked the confidence in the functioning of the human resource department in screening, reviewing and developing the employees for the important designations within the organization. The human resource policies have set a systematic framework for the improved functioning of the organizations in all these aspects. The multinational companies have to adjust with the different cultures in various parts of the world. Maintenance of the policies mentioned in this systematic framework would help in the adaptation of different cultures and coordination with different people belonging to different cultures in various parts of the world. Similarities The human resource policies in domestic as well as multinational organizations have many similarities i n their framework as well as functioning. Based upon the goals, objectives and business strategies of these organizations, the human resource policies are framed for ensuring that the human resource has the talent of meeting the performances and objectives of the organizations. The successful companies, both domestic and multinational, hire their employees very selectively by sourcing the candidates from a wide pool of applicants and

Social Context Account Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Social Context Account - Essay Example For one to look back at the past and analyse its effect in life today, the present has to be favourable according to the individual in question. This means that if the past influenced one’s life so badly that the present is damaged, only counselling or other forms of therapy can remedy the situation and enable one to look back at the events of their past.1 Depending on an individual, the social environment one grows in can make or break one’s character. For instance, some people are discouraged by discriminative backgrounds till they psychologically believe they are not worth better treatment. On the other hand, others consider maltreatment as a challenge which if overcome, one emerges not only a stronger, but also a better person. Due to the unpredictable nature of a child’s reaction to the social environment, there are many organizations committed to ensuring that children are protected from harsh social conditions. In addition, many governments have signed tre aties and passed laws to protect young citizens.2 _____________________________ 1 A James, and A Prout (eds), Constructing and Reconstructing childhood: contemporary issues in the sociological Study of Childhood, Falmer Press, London, 1997. 2 R Appignanesi, and O Zarate, Freud for Beginners, Icon Books, Cambridge, 1992. Background information My parents were born and brought up in Bangladesh after which they moved to London, UK. I was born on April 4, 1989 in London where I have lived ever since. The UK and Bangladesh are countries with many contrasting characteristics that are mainly due to their geographical locations, economic, political, and religious practises found in the two countries. Bangladesh is found in southern Asia while UK is situated in northern Europe. Bangladesh is mainly an Islamic country while the most dominant religion in the UK is Christianity. In society, religion plays an important role in how the society operates since it provides a basis for moral and ethi cal standards. In the UK, the church and government are separate entities and that is why the society in London is considered secular and has markedly different characteristics compared to that of Bangladesh where religion determines the kind of lifestyle people live. Comparison between UK and Bangladesh Christianity, mostly Anglican, is the dominant religion in the UK while Bangladesh is mostly Islamic. The cultures of the two countries are composite, having components derived from all over the world. Both countries are members of the UN and have signed the United Nations convention on the rights of the child (UNCRC) which seeks to ensure that minors enjoy basic rights and are protected from unfair treatment. However, the countries differ in the way they enforce these laws since in Bangladesh, children are still recruited into the armed forces among other forms of mistreatment. This means that a child growing up in Bangladesh is likely to be affected by these vices directly or indi rectly. On the other hand, the UK is strict in assuring her citizens of their rights and, therefore, children enjoy more rights and freedoms compared to their Bangladeshi counterparts. 99 percent of the population in the UK is literate as compared to a mere 43.1 percent in Bangladesh. Education has a huge impact on how people relate to each other and their interpretations of everyday phenomena. On the other hand, the educated population in UK is more corrupt at 7.7 perception index compared

Firms in Context to Liberal and Coordinated Market Economies Essay

Firms in Context to Liberal and Coordinated Market Economies - Essay Example However, it is important to explore that because of different types of economies and different systems of governance, the firms all over the world are operating in similar manner or not. For understanding this concept it is first important to describe what are firms or organisations and what are their aims or objectives. Firms or organisations are a collective set of people who are striving to achieve a common goal or target. The main aim or objective of almost every other firm is of maximizing the overall profits and revenues. It is difficult to conclude that firms or organisations are similar in different social setups and economies or not. Different researchers and analysts have presented several theories in order to answer the complicated question that is there any difference in the firms and management across different societies and economies (Dore, 2006). Two most popular categories of theories in this regard are universalistic theories and particularistic theories. According t o the universalistic theories the firms are same all over the world and are subject to same rules and regulations. ... This has given rise to the concept of the international business and globalization. Organisations are composed of different humans, and the basic characteristics or features of human behaviour are same all over the world (Koen, 2005). On the other hand, according to second school of thought, firms and organisations are different across different economies and societies because of the different preferences and expectations of the management. It is important to consider the impact of the history and culture on the operations and organisational culture of the firms. It is not possible to change the basic culture or history of the firms and there is always a certain level of difference among different firms which cannot be disappeared even by globalization (Koen, 2005). In this paper an attempt has been made to explore and investigate that whether firms are same all over the world or not. For this purpose, emphasis has been placed on the firms in liberal and coordinated market economies. Nature of operations of organisations operating in liberal market economies has been compared with the nature of operations of organisations operating in coordinated market economies. In order to better understand the difference and similarities in the firms in these both types of market economies, characteristics of each type of market economies are also explored. Along with this the universalistic and particularistic theories are also further explained and investigated in the process of finding an answer to the questions under study. Finally, the impact of globalization on the firms and organisations has been examined. UNIVERSALISTIC THEORIES: According to the universalistic theories, organisations are exposed to same laws and

Inclusive Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Inclusive Education - Essay Example As per the book title is given (Teaching students with special needs in inclusive setting) it is clear that the authors of this book have made their point clear about teaching students irrespective of whether a student is physically handicap, having disabilities, an elder or aged person or a normal student studying in a same school, in a same class with equal consideration to all the students, it also includes ways and methods of teaching all the students simultaneously through which all the students can be comfortable whether it is a student with disabilities or with out disabilities, which makes this book different from the other books which only includes either ways and methods about teaching students simultaneously in one classroom or either only about discussing about Inclusive Education.The book also includes about the Inclusive education i.e. methods of teaching all the students simultaneously and the ways of making them comfortable with everyone. Inclusive means including eve rything mentioned with in a limit or without respect to a limit and according to the book it means including everyone in the classroom from students with and without disabilities to elderly student. Inclusive can be defined as the stated limit or extremes in consideration or account or including a great deal of thing concerned, according to the book Inclusive means including all the students of different age group, with and without disabilities in one school, one classroom.

Social Context Account Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Social Context Account - Essay Example For one to look back at the past and analyse its effect in life today, the present has to be favourable according to the individual in question. This means that if the past influenced one’s life so badly that the present is damaged, only counselling or other forms of therapy can remedy the situation and enable one to look back at the events of their past.1 Depending on an individual, the social environment one grows in can make or break one’s character. For instance, some people are discouraged by discriminative backgrounds till they psychologically believe they are not worth better treatment. On the other hand, others consider maltreatment as a challenge which if overcome, one emerges not only a stronger, but also a better person. Due to the unpredictable nature of a child’s reaction to the social environment, there are many organizations committed to ensuring that children are protected from harsh social conditions. In addition, many governments have signed tre aties and passed laws to protect young citizens.2 _____________________________ 1 A James, and A Prout (eds), Constructing and Reconstructing childhood: contemporary issues in the sociological Study of Childhood, Falmer Press, London, 1997. 2 R Appignanesi, and O Zarate, Freud for Beginners, Icon Books, Cambridge, 1992. Background information My parents were born and brought up in Bangladesh after which they moved to London, UK. I was born on April 4, 1989 in London where I have lived ever since. The UK and Bangladesh are countries with many contrasting characteristics that are mainly due to their geographical locations, economic, political, and religious practises found in the two countries. Bangladesh is found in southern Asia while UK is situated in northern Europe. Bangladesh is mainly an Islamic country while the most dominant religion in the UK is Christianity. In society, religion plays an important role in how the society operates since it provides a basis for moral and ethi cal standards. In the UK, the church and government are separate entities and that is why the society in London is considered secular and has markedly different characteristics compared to that of Bangladesh where religion determines the kind of lifestyle people live. Comparison between UK and Bangladesh Christianity, mostly Anglican, is the dominant religion in the UK while Bangladesh is mostly Islamic. The cultures of the two countries are composite, having components derived from all over the world. Both countries are members of the UN and have signed the United Nations convention on the rights of the child (UNCRC) which seeks to ensure that minors enjoy basic rights and are protected from unfair treatment. However, the countries differ in the way they enforce these laws since in Bangladesh, children are still recruited into the armed forces among other forms of mistreatment. This means that a child growing up in Bangladesh is likely to be affected by these vices directly or indi rectly. On the other hand, the UK is strict in assuring her citizens of their rights and, therefore, children enjoy more rights and freedoms compared to their Bangladeshi counterparts. 99 percent of the population in the UK is literate as compared to a mere 43.1 percent in Bangladesh. Education has a huge impact on how people relate to each other and their interpretations of everyday phenomena. On the other hand, the educated population in UK is more corrupt at 7.7 perception index compared

Inclusive Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Inclusive Education - Essay Example As per the book title is given (Teaching students with special needs in inclusive setting) it is clear that the authors of this book have made their point clear about teaching students irrespective of whether a student is physically handicap, having disabilities, an elder or aged person or a normal student studying in a same school, in a same class with equal consideration to all the students, it also includes ways and methods of teaching all the students simultaneously through which all the students can be comfortable whether it is a student with disabilities or with out disabilities, which makes this book different from the other books which only includes either ways and methods about teaching students simultaneously in one classroom or either only about discussing about Inclusive Education.The book also includes about the Inclusive education i.e. methods of teaching all the students simultaneously and the ways of making them comfortable with everyone. Inclusive means including eve rything mentioned with in a limit or without respect to a limit and according to the book it means including everyone in the classroom from students with and without disabilities to elderly student. Inclusive can be defined as the stated limit or extremes in consideration or account or including a great deal of thing concerned, according to the book Inclusive means including all the students of different age group, with and without disabilities in one school, one classroom.

Pearl Harbor Essay Example for Free

Pearl Harbor Essay When we were asked to consider a question to answer, which would have been suitable for our personal study, I knew straight away that I would want to structure my question around Pearl Harbor. Since childhood, watching movies about Pearl Harbor always caught my attention. From most movies and books it seemed to me as if the Japanese people were just cruel and evil people, who had no basis to attack America; so was this the reason for the bombing? That they were just cruel people? Or did they have a legitimate reason which had been completely cut out of history by authors and the Hollywood directors? That question was embedded in my mind, and I always thought that I would research it when I had time, or to speak the truth, be motivated to. After sitting a few classes in lower sixth history, which was based upon our personal studies; I had realised that this was the time I was looking for. I could answer a question that really made me think, and not only that I would also be doing it as a little study. This furthered my interest on such a crucial time during World War Two. I went to the library and took out a couple of books regarding Pearl Harbor. Once I had read the books; I assumed I would now know the reason for Japan bombing Pearl Harbor, but the books I read had something in common, it told me how the bombing took place, how many were killed or injured etc, but never once mentioned why this all had taken place. The bombing by a few historians was seen as a focal point in that era, which helped secure a win for the Allies, so why was only half of the story published? In-fact it I possessed the same amount of knowledge on this particular topic, as I had done previously. This was when I decided to take it a step further and took out a selection of books regarding the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and also did some research on the internet. At first it was overwhelming having so much information in front of my eyes and now knowing how I should analysis it all. This was when I decided that I would read each book/site at different times of the day so I did not get confused. After each book or site I had read, I took a notepad and jotted down all the crucial sentences, phrases, and even copied pictures which would give me jump start. Now knowing that the question was answerable, I submitted it to my history teacher. Whilst I was awaiting her acknowledgment, I for some unknown reason had left everything unfinished. It was only during Christmas holidays, did I really start to think about a basic plan for my personal studies. I knew that in total I should be aiming to have at least three chapters (which did not include my conclusion). I would separate them into three separate categories; time leading up to the bombing, the day the bombing had taken place, and finally a key reason for the atrocity following a conclusion to tie up the lose ends. After receiving a conformation on the title, all I had to do was to read my notes which had been previously written a little while before. I would say that making my notes before writing the study had helped me a lot. I did not have to waste my time finding and analysing facts, as I had already done so. By the end of January, I had completed my first complete draft. It seemed to me that I had covered all the relevant issues which had to be mentioned which would help me get an answer. In total my first draft was made up of two-thousand one-hundred words, around a little more than a thousand words short than the maximum allowed. I took advantage of this and decided that I would use this gap to analysis each fact I presented. This was a good idea as I could comment on whether I thought a source was reliable or not. Overall I was satisfied with what I had achieved, in the space of time I had left. In future if I were ever given a similar task as this, I would remember to use the time wisely, and not take it for granted. I am sure if I had done that this time round, I would have been able to go through more sources, which would have given me a much better image to discuss. Another aspect of this study, which I am happy about is the fact it has shown me that I am capable of answering such an awkward question, and can make a sound judgment on what are relevant facts and what are just unreliable. This study also gave me a new perspective on the whole topic surrounding the incident at Pearl Harbor; I got an answer to my question, and had been implanted a new question in my head. Did America provoke Japan into making the first move, which would secure the fate of America fighting the Nazi regime? Who knows, some time in the future when I have the motivation I may be very well be answering that question, and am sure I could to a reasonable job of it due to the skills I have picked up from answering this study. Please Note: The writing in italic is the quote and the writing in bold is my comment on the source. The letter or number beside the quote indicates where I got it from, the list of books and sites can be seen on the last page. Chapter One Events leading up to the attack of Pearl Harbor The Japanese attack on the American fleet based at Pearl Harbor was less an attempt to provoke the United States into a declaration of war than a final admission that war between the United States and Japan was bound to come. Through hindsight I know that this quote is quiet reliable; it shows that there was hostility between the twp nations which had provoked the bombing. When trying to answer the question (above) and you come across such quotes; you can see the jigsaw taking shape. On the other hand, I still have to be cautious as this was written thirty-nine years after the bombing, and could have been exaggerated to make Japan look as if they were ware mongers. This signaled the end of a long period of increasing bitterness between the two nations. The struggle was centered on Japans ambitions for an unchallenged hegemony in the Far East. During the early 1920s the Americans held a conference in Washington. This was in direct result of Japan ceasing Manchuria. The reason America had condemned and refused to recognize the state of Manchukuo (which was set up to replace Manchuria) was solely due to the fact that the Japanese troops had just marched into Manchuria and took it over, as well as the fact that it presented a direct threat to the open door policy. Japan was becoming an increasingly crowded country; Manchuria offered around 200,000 square kilometers of land, which to the Japanese looked as an attractive offer. By 1931 Japan had invested vast sums of money into the economy of Manchuria, which at that time was controlled by the South Manchuria Railway Company. In order to protect the money Japan had invested, they stationed a large army in the South of Manchuria. An explosion on a section of the South Manchuria Railway had given the Japanese an excuse to blame the local population of sabotage and to occupy Manchuria. The Americans in Washington stated that Great Britain, United States, and Japan would be allowed to have the amount of ships in a naval fleet at the ration of 5:5:3. Obviously the Japanese were the ones to pull the short straw. As years went by, there were several more treaties signed and enforced, which furthermore restricted Japan and its naval fleet. The same treaties also had an impact on the United States and Great Britain, but it had a deeper impact on Japan, rather than on the western super powers. In December of 1936 Japan has urged the United States to be lenient and allow them (Japan) to have naval parity, but this was rejected on the grounds of pre-existing treaties. The rejection had given no other alternative, but to withdraw from the London Conference, which was going to be held on January of 1936. Within a year of the withdrawal, the Japanese construction of naval vessels had, exceeded that of France, Italy, Germany and Russia. They were now looking to be a formidable rival to the American fleet in the Pacific. As they were re-arming their forces, they had noticed that many countries in Asia seemed to fear the Japanese. This to Japan looked like a new opportunity for Japan to conquer Asia. Already Japans leaders were declaring a policy of Japanese hegemony over Eastern Asia. When President Roosevelt declared I hate war in a speech in 1936, Japan must have sensed that they would most probably get away with attacking USA. When President Roosevelt said that he hated war, I would say that it had a hidden agenda behind it. Knowing that the only way he could go to war was is someone from the axis would attack the USA; he knew that Hitler was scared to bring in America, so they had to provoke another member of the axis, as Italy was to far, it would have to be Japan. Knowing that if Japan was provoked they would make a rash move, he set out to trap them. First say he hates ware, then secondly move and rename a fleet to the pacific, giving a mirage which showed that American troops were sitting ducks which was not capable of defending itself from an attach. This source is quiet reliable as it has from the President of America during the period it question, and it also had a direct correlations with the study title, as it shows that America was trying to play a cat and mouse game with Japan. In the month of July of the year 1937, Japan had ceased the opportunity and moved its forces to Inner Mongolia, and Northern China. The reason they did this was because they could extend their control of power. The Americans had sympathized with the Chinese and public opinion asked for something stronger to be done, rather than moral gestures put forward. President Roosevelt replied with nothing more forceful than his Quarantine speech of October 1977. The President saw war as a disease and that the best thing would be to stop the contagion spreading. He suggested A quarantine of the patients in order to protect the health of the community against the spread of the disease. The League of Nations in 1932 had condemned the actions that were inflicted by Japan, which violated the Nine Power Treaty and the Kellogg Pact. To show Japan and the entire world, that the League of Nations would not accept such atrocities, they offered to hold a conference in Brussels. As anticipated, Japan bluntly did not attend. Shortly after this, the Americans had decided that they were going to evacuate all their nationals from Chinese territories. The Japanese militarists saw this move as a sign of weakness. To test the ever so fragile cabinet and leader of the Americans, Japan had bombed and sunk Gunboat Panay, on 13th December 1937 in the Yangtze River. The Americans immediately protested, demanding reparations. Japan apologized promptly and paid indemnities. Japan had taken over most of Northern and Central China by 1938. This led America to urge to manufactures to put a moral embargo on the shipments of aircrafts and other ware attributed material. This did not seem to disturb, nor stop the Japanese from invading. By 1940 they had marched to the French-Indo China region, and had taken control. By now, there was sharp disagreement on United States policy towards Japan in American government circles, with the cabinet itself divided. Experienced diplomats and statesmen such as Henry Morgenthal and Henry L. Stimsom said that some sort of ultimatum should have been given to Japan. In mounting pressure Roosevelt issued an order restricting the supply of strategic materials, especially petroleum products to Japan. After much deliberation, he also allowed a naval fleet to re-base itself from San Diego to Pearl Harbor, which was in Honolulu, Hawaii. They were later renamed to the Pacific Fleet. Now tensions between the two nations were going to increase to a new level. The Japanese had to avoid provoking the Americans into war diplomatically, whilst still taking their exploiting their opportunity to the fullest possible.

Finance Essays Tax Havens

Finance Essays Tax Havens Tax Havens Critical Analysis of Tax Havens within an International Context The following paper will offer a critical analysis of tax havens within an international context. Specifically, this paper will argue that there is both good and bad to tax havens and that favourable tax policies can both assist the host country and multinationals eager to optimize their earnings and savings. In particular, this paper will note how tax havens are often accused of creating unfair advantages for companies that are competing for public contracts; at the same time, tax haven policies in Bermuda have made that country a leading destination for e-commerce and technology firms. Moving onward, there is evidence that the offshore financial services offered by these states have given them an unimagined degree of affluence – even if it is true that tax haven status is frowned upon international organizations like the OECD. Moreover, being a tax haven is no guarantee that overseas companies will actually take the time to establish legitimate business activities in the country. Furthermore, the tax haven policies that grant generous tax rates to overseas operations have been accused of depleting the tax base of nations that are seeing their revenues drop as corporations flee for greener pastures; needless to say, this has grim consequences when one pauses to consider just how many social services are dependent upon public money for their survival. There are, of course, additional points that warrant a hearing, as well. Individuals – at least in the United States – who think they will profit from flocking to overseas tax havens may find that the long arm of the American tax code will track them down wherever they may settle; on an even more serious note, the lack of institutional transparency found in tax haven lands not only allows criminals to avoid paying taxes but allows them to carry out their nefarious money laundering schemes. Not least of all, this paper will also take the time to ponder how tax haven policies have facilitated tax avoidance on the part of the wealthy and have directly imperilled social services at the exact same time as they burden the middle class and lower class with a monumental tax burden; similarly, the generous tax policies of developing lands vis-a-vis foreign multinationals can unhappily deprive them of much-needed resources which can be put towards essential social services. Staying with the notion that there is both good and bad to be found in tax haven policies, this essay will embark on a brief discussion of the consequences upon corporations of utilizing the services of tax haven states. On one hand, tax haven states indubitably serve as a means of protecting the savings of corporations during difficult periods; on the other hand, the hidden costs associated with moving from a western land to a third world nation (all because of the tax benefits to be realized) can bear with it unexpected hidden costs that can harm valuation. One last thing this paper wishes to bring to the attention of its readers is that tax havens are not always found in developing lands – and these first-world havens can become the resting places for the savings of individuals who may not always have the best of reputations. In the end, tax havens certainly have a place in the world – but they will function infinitely better once definitive guidelines on their regulation can be drawn up by the international community and enforced rigorously by that same community. Critics of international tax havens often point to the fact that they create unfair advantages for companies competing for government contracts elsewhere. To put it another way, concerns (in the United States) have been raised that these contractors (those who have subsidiaries in tax haven countries) are at an unfair cost advantage relative to their competition insofar as they are able to lower their United States tax liability by shifting income to what is commonly referred to as ‘tax haven parent’. In a real sense, this means that powerful US corporations are shifting income from affiliates in high-tax countries to affiliates (subsidiaries) in low-tax countries so that they can reduce their overall tax burden. In 2002, the GAO revealed that 59 of the 100 biggest publicly-traded federal contractors were incorporated in a so-called ‘tax haven’ country that either did not tax corporate income or taxed the income at a rate below the American rate. Clearly, these countries have tax policies that attract American multinationals – with the technological and human resources they possess – but they also siphon money away from the US treasury at the same time as they give contractors prohibitive advantages during the bidding process. One notable example of how contractors who exploit tax haven policies in other countries have excited the wrath of American legislators can be found by looking at the case of Accenture and its ugly fight only a few years ago with Illinois law-makers. During 2004, at least four contracts awarded to Accenture were attacked by legislators because the company had taken full advantage of a loophole in the Illinois tax code that permitted corporations to shift profits to overseas locations so as to avoid paying taxes in the state of Illinois. The matter escalated in no time at all to the point where the State Comptroller was actually asking the Illinois Procurement Policy Board about the feasibility of blocking all payments to four Accenture contracts adding up to more than $2 million. On an even larger scale, the US House Appropriations Committee approved an amendment to the homeland security spending bill that effectively blocked Accenture from being a participant in the $10 billion US Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology Program. One country that has an excellent tax policy (if you are a wealthy corporation) is Bermuda. The British island dependency has no corporate income tax and is ‘tax-neutral’ in terms of how it treats holding companies. A holding company that is actually incorporated in the United States and which receives cash dividends from overseas affiliates/subsidiaries can see its gross dividends pass directly to shareholders. Because of its generous tax policies, Bermuda is now marketing itself as an e-commerce center that is perfect for international technology companies located all over the world. Not surprisingly, the Bermudan approach to attracting technology firms (and the jobs and expertise they offer) has been picked up in countries like Ireland that are keen on targeting ‘preferred’ firms. The benefits that accrue to tax haven states are sufficiently appealing that the countries employing this practice are extremely reluctant to part ways with it – even if it curries the disfavour of the international community. Most of all, the provision of what are called ‘offshore financial services’ has given these countries a measure of affluence they could not have achieved otherwise; indeed, many small island economies (referred to most commonly as simply SIEs) view the emergence of an Offshore Financial Center (OFC) as a panacea for economic disadvantage – possibly because (though it is not stated explicitly in the articles this writer has encountered) the employment opportunities that become available within the financial sector of the SIE courtesy the arrival of multinationals looking for attractive tax and financial services are undeniable. Because examples give force and vigour to any argument, it is necessary to glance at the case study of Malta. Here, the tiny nation – which does not have an over-abundance of natural or human resources by any means – has become renowned for its status as a tax haven; more significantly, it has parlayed its generous tax concessions to foreign investors and companies into a situation wherein its financial services sector is burgeoning at a robust rate. Specifically, 12 percent of Malta’s GDP was to be found in the financial services sector in 2004 and the sector employed about 6,000 local residents. Another good example of a country that has rescued itself from a troubling financial situation by turning itself into a tax haven is the Isle of Man. Other research reiterates the idea that tax haven policies have a beneficial impact upon a country’s economic health. For example, whilst major tax havens have actually less than one percent of the world’s population (excluding the United States), and whilst they have (as of 2005) only about 2.3 percent of the globe’s gross domestic product or GDP, they nonetheless ‘host’ 5.7 percent of the foreign employment and 8.4 percent of the equipment, plant and property of American companies. At the same time, the per capita real GDP in the tax haven nations grew by a healthy rate of 3.3 percent in the years 1982-1999 – almost 2.5 times the world average. Furthermore, in spite of fears that the combination of small populations and relative affluence in these lands would precipitate the creation of even larger governments, the reality is that the ratio of government to GDP in these locations is fairly reasonable. Possibly prompted by the Bermudan example and by a few other states identified as ‘high priorities’, the OECD set about defining a tax haven in a seminal 1998 paper that continues to reverberate to this day. Most significantly, a tax haven country has a policy of not imposing taxes (or only nominal ones); offers itself or is viewed as offering itself, as a place that permits non-residents to escape taxation in their homeland (or nation of residence); does not have an effective exchange of information with outside parties; lacks transparency; and attracts businesses with no ‘substantial’ activities – these last two criteria, especially, will be touched upon at various points later in this paper. In the defence of these two states, each one does impose indirect taxes; for instance, Bermuda has a fairly hefty payroll tax and also places taxes upon on all goods purchased on the island. Nonetheless, only the most ardent supporter would suggest that these two countries fail to rise to the level of tax-haven states. In terms of attracting foreign multinationals, tax haven policies are difficult to beat. However, critics charge that countries like Bermuda do not simply attract ‘real’ economic investment but also ‘brass plate’ or ‘booking operations’ that are characterized by a lack of actual business activity; in other words, international organizations like the OECD become suspicious when they see companies locating to places like Bermuda (or even Ireland) which do not have a lot of business-related action taking place. For countries that are trying to attract jobs as well as foreign capital, it would seem as though having tax haven policies can be a bit of a double-edged sword in the sense that a) other countries are sharply critical towards their ‘preferential’ taxation practices and b) these policies may not attract the jobs the aforementioned countries are hoping for. In fairness, tax haven policies in the United Arab Emirates (specifically, in the port city of Dubai) have attracted plentiful foreign investment on a scale that has (amongst other things) allowed the city to develop its communication and infrastructural capabilities while simultaneously wooing upscale tourists. One other problem with tax haven policies that offer low or non-existent tax rates is that international organizations like the OECD have asserted that they undermine the tax base (presumably of the countries that are seeing businesses flee elsewhere) and erode public services; in fact, ‘harmful’ tax competition has been compared to competitive devaluations and to tariff wars. To expand on this last point, the OECD (in 1998), released a study which argued that tax haven countries divert large amounts of foreign direct investment and ‘taxable income’ away from OECD member states. The tension between the OECD and tax haven nations has long threatened those lands trying to give corporations and individuals advantageous tax rates as well as the benefits of greater privacy. However, there is some sense that this tension is dissipating as more and more tax haven states belatedly embrace international best standards of practice. Be that as it may, only the most wildly optimistic person would dare say that the current hostility between the OECD and small tax haven states is not problematic; the willingness of the above-mentioned countries to cut multinationals ‘slack’ in terms of what they pay in the form of corporate taxes has raised the ire of the OECD and the powerful western nations which comprise its membership to such an extent that real political and even diplomatic problems could still linger in the future. To get to the heart of the problem, the OECD’s penchant for naming transgressors and then ‘shaming’ them in the court of international opinion has been perceived as bullying in some quarters; certainly, the nations that are targeted – or have been targeted – by the OECD are small, politically and economically weak and burdened with limited economic prospects, save for the financial services and tax breaks they offer to foreigners. One can maintain that a lot of this tension would simply go away if the countries engaging in tax haven policies and practices would cease their current practices – but that ignores the reality that these countries need the financial benefits that accrue from such activities; moreover, it is worth asking what the financial implications will be for multinationals and for the communities in developing lands that benefit – even if indirectly – from their presence. Individual Americans who think that tax havens are the perfect thing for them should give the idea a bit more thought: tax haven nations may be enticing in many respects, but US tax law makes it hard for individuals to spirit money somewhere else in the expectation they will not have to pay. For instance, US citizens are taxed on their world-wide income: the tax breaks found in places like the Caribbean, Luxembourg, or the Caymans do not apply to individual US citizens – just corporations. Furthermore, an offshore partnership aimed at mitigating the tax burden will not work for US citizens: the ‘rules’ simply assume that the private citizen earned so much money each year and do not view any profit from the partnership as being a simple long-term capital gain; as such, interest is added onto the taxes that the private US citizen must pay the government. As if that is not bad enough, the capital gains arising from the partnership is taxed as regular income and not as capital gain – which means higher tax rates in the end. Beyond what has been discussed above, individuals and companies using tax havens to avoid paying taxes may not simply be doing this sort of thing to spare themselves at tax time: money launderers like tax haven countries like the Bahamas because of the fact they disclose little information about the companies or individuals doing business within their environs; additionally, money launderers tend to exploit tax havens to the fullest extent possible. For all intents and purposes, tax haven policies really make life easier (though not trouble-free) for criminals eager to avoid the prying eyes of government. As an addendum, it must be mentioned that the United States government has recently taken action to reduce the ‘pay-off’ for wealthy individuals eager to exploit tax shelters. Remaining with America for just a while longer, the matter of off-shore tax havens has become so important to the United States government that exhaustive legislative hearings on this very matter have become de rigueur in recent years. Yet another challenge posed by tax havens is that they are so difficult to tackle from a legal point of view – something that clearly favours criminals at the same time as it grossly disadvantages law enforcement. To elaborate, at least one noted scholar has commented that it is well-nigh impossible to formulate a universal definition of a tax haven that can be used to effectively combat the fiscal abuses associated with this global phenomenon. Until such time as the international community comes to a universal understanding of the concept of a tax haven, criminals can feel reasonably secure that there will be at least a few places on earth willing to embrace them and their tawdry ‘business’ pursuits. Despite the conceptual challenges posed, the United States – as much as any nation – has decided that it has had quite enough of the tax evasion and money-laundering activities characteristic of tax haven nations with their generous tax avoidance policies. Recent court decisions in the US have expanded the power of US states to tax the income of corporations that do not have a ‘physical lexus’ with the state. In essence, the courts have taken the position that an out-of-state corporations so-called ‘in-state economic presence’ renders the absence of a physical presence (headquarters or office buildings or any kind of physical structure at all) entirely irrelevant as to determining the state’s capacity to pursue that corporation for money. Another problem that tax haven policies bring is that they give the wealthy one more means by which they can avoid paying their full weight in taxes. In essence, tax havens provide tax avoidance options to companies and to wealthy individuals; as a result, the tax burden ultimately ends up being borne (more and more) by the middle class and by those with fewer financial resources. Suffice it to say, as the rich grow richer while the poor grow poorer (courtesy onerous tax burdens), the ability of the poor to invest in education plummets. Over time, this can lead to a general decline in productivity – a decline causing great harm to the country that is unable to keep the rich from exploiting one tax avoidance scheme after another. The grim consequences of tax havens upon nations that are seeing the ‘flight’ of capital resources to far-off places reaches beyond just imposing a greater burden upon those ill-equipped to shoulder that burden; tax havens also imperil social services that are already under attack in an age of neo-liberalism. For example, in early 2005, it was reported that Canada’s top 5 banks shifted about $10 billion to offshore tax havens in the period from 1991 to 2004. According to the academic who headed up the study, the utilization of offshore tax havens and shelters is tantamount to engaging in economic terrorism insofar as the monies lost make it difficult (with the potential to be impossible) for the government to finance social programs that need public funds to survive. Despite the protestations of the banks in question that their foreign-based subsidiaries located in tax-haven lands such as Malta, Barbados and the Cayman Islands are simply a means of taking advantage of the competitive tax policies located overseas, the report stresses the aforementioned dollar figure and the fact that the total number of subsidiaries for the ‘big five’ stood at 73 as of the end of 2004. Nor is the problem of tax avoidance confined just to wealthy western nations that are finding it increasingly difficult to provide appropriate social programs in an era when their populations are aging at an alarming rate: in countries that feature (or have featured in the past) tax haven policies, the government is often unable to collect all the taxes it would like to service all the social programs it would like. For instance, whilst Chile has long been the most attractive country in the world when it comes to mining and direct investment in this field, the world’s leading copper producer also does not charge a royalty on the extraction of its most precious natural resource and its taxes are incredibly low – and sometimes non-existent because of legal accounting loopholes that allow for generous write-offs for things like equipment. Tax haven policies appear to offer many positives and more than a few negatives – something this paper has noted time and again. While it can be argued a number of different ways, one would be remiss not to point out that private equity firms (or maybe any firm) doing business in a country in the midst of a financial downturn can – and certainly have – used offshore tax havens to shelter the profits on their investments; American equity firms, as a matter of fact, did precisely this during the late 1990s to protect their investments in Korean financial institutions. Given what has been described in the last paragraph, it is tempting to say that companies which move their operations abroad to escape paying taxes at home benefit handsomely from the transfer; after all, why leave the technologically-advanced, human resource-rich and affluent west for a small or developing peripheral economy unless (amongst a few other reasons) the organization’s senior thinkers were intent upon saving as many dollars as possible from the taxman? Unfortunately, the expected tax savings do not automatically exceed the non-tax costs associated with the above-mentioned move; if anything, the decision to set up new subsidiaries (or to pick up stakes and move elsewhere) has manifested negative repercussions in the form of hidden and unexpected costs that negatively impact firm valuation. Proceeding along, it is commonly heard – maybe less so than in the past – that tax haven nations are predominantly nations that are less developed than those countries found in the west; the truth, though, is rather more different. Difficult as it may seem, even affluent western nations can properly be described as tax havens – the United Kingdom being the best example. In London in particular, the favourable tax laws are such that many Russian elites – who, in some instances, have reputations that warrant a bit of polishing – have injected vast sums of capital into the local economy. At the same time, London (and the United Kingdom in general) is not alone: Switzerland has also attracted plenty of Russian capital and it seems as though the two are responsible for the staggering flight of roughly $102 billion from Russia between 1998 and 2004. Again, the money that flows out of Russia now is the kind of money that could be directed towards such things as social programs and the like.