Globalization, Locality and National Advantage as the Key Determinants Research Paper

Globalization, Locality and National Advantage as the Key Determinants of Competitiveness - Research Paper Example The British atmosphere is too cold to even think about growing espresso trees, and Jamaica has no oil. Be that as it may, enormous assets of oil exist in the North Sea and espresso trees can without much of a stretch be developed in Jamaica. Britons and Jamaicans could plainly profit by trading oil for espresso. Smith's hypothesis of total bit of leeway - or outright efficiency contrasts - stays valuable in clarifying present-day exchange between comparable nations, for example, France and Germany. The normal expense of utilizing a specialist in Germany is about equivalent to it is in France, and capital moves uninhibitedly between the two nations; thus returns generally equivalent. Thusly, to contend effectively with a cost advantage in the French market, a specific German fare must utilize totally less work and capital when created in Germany than if the indistinguishable thing were delivered in France. Exchange between comparative nations can happen insofar as the preferences and salaries of people inside every nation vary thus long as there are supreme cost contrasts in delivering different merchandise. In this manner, individuals in France and Germany who have humble earnings and require fundamental transportation, and whose hearts are not set on a powerful games vehicle, may buy Citroens made in France. Well off people in the two nations with an energy about superior cars may buy Porsches made in Germany. The taste and salary contrasts among people inside every nation cooperate with explicit total cost focal points across nations and give a commonly beneficial premise to global exchange. Obviously, if all Frenchmen needed uniquely to drive Citroens, and if all Germans wanted Porsches and had the way to get them, the degree for exchange would be limited.

Cubas Government before Communism Research Paper

Cubas Government before Communism - Research Paper Example A few people accepted that to broadcast data that shows that pre-Castro Cuba was precisely an emanant nation was a method of defending the activities of Batista. Actually Cuban headway of the period was fundamentally as a result of the endeavors enjoyed every one of these divisions of the country, as it denoted the 57th long stretches of the republic. In the year 1950, two years before Batista’s were conceded the subsequent believability to control. It was blessed as the Cuban Peso has a similar fiscal incentive as the U.S dollar. Given proposal not just by the approved press inside the island, and furthermore by Radio Havana Cuba, a nationalized-run radio broadcast that transfers data all inclusive in different dialects, and by the approved data association Prensa Latina, the development made exceptional noticeable quality on the monetary misfortune and wretchedness under which the island hypothetically lived. The battle made remarkable accentuation on the monetary wretchedness under, which the island speculatively lived, and on the financial control that the United States had practiced over it. This area of the crusade was intended to help approve the continuation of a socialist writer, whose objectives and desire helped him to revamp the profound changes in the country. These social remodels were named as things of decreasing destitution (Urlich, 99). The individuals who had confidence in the Castroism promulgation had a delineation that Cuba was a country with a 40%literacy level, inside the voracious hands of global US Corporation controlling each part of the national economy. Cuba was a nation that had no enough specialists, laborers of ranchers, because of the significant level of excess, and with places of prostitution and gaming gambling clubs on each corner. Cuba was an immature nation and its assets circulated similarly among all the individuals (Urlich, 100).â

Understanding Operating Leverage (+3 Case Studies)

Understanding Operating Leverage (+3 Case Studies) How are you looking to do more with your business? I know, there is a lot that you need to take care of.There is a need to focus on the right workplace model, having the right tools like Asana or access to more resources.However, if you’re looking to have the adequate cash flow at all times, you need to focus on your bookkeeping too.What if you don’t achieve your sales targets? There can be seasonal changes, depending on the nature of your business.When the sales are higher, you need to ensure that you have more funds to achieve greater efficiency and higher sales.Yet, accounting can confuse the best of us, right?Even if you have an accounting team, are they doing it right?Organizations significantly lean on accounting concepts.Don’t worry, though. Once you are clear as to what you need, you can implement them with ease.Accounting is not only crucial for businesses but in everyday life too.In accounting, two particular terms can be particularly challenging to understand Operat ing Leverage and Financial Leverage. (You flinched, didn’t you?)These topics are difficult to understand but are just as important for students as they are for professionals.To understand them, first, let’s see what the term ‘Leverage’ means in accounting and then we’ll jump to the more complex and dreaded types of leverages.HOW DO YOU GAIN THE RIGHT LEVERAGE?When you use the debt or any amount to purchase assets, operate a company, or gain possession of any other company you are ‘leveraging’ it.It is basically an investment strategy to use borrowed funds to increase the Return on Investment.There are four types of leverages you must know about,Operating LeverageFinancial LeverageCapital LeverageWorking Capital LeverageIt is clear that with lower leverage the effort required is more, but the output that you get is considerably less.Operating leverage is dependent on the cost structure of the company, and financial leverage depends on the capital and investment of the c ompany.The terms Financial Leverage and Operating Leverage are often used in finance, but do you know what they mean?Lower leverage translates to lesser output. Operating leverage is dependent on the cost structure of the company, and financial leverage depends on the capital and investment of the company.But why do companies need leverage?Leverage is essential to measure the operating risk, financial risk, design appropriate capital structure, and increase profits.Measuring Operating RisksCompanies sometimes are not able to cover their fixed costs or operating costs. Leverage plays an important role to manage and measure such risks.Measuring Financial RisksSimilar to measuring Operating risks, this is another application of leverage, useful to measure the financial risks that a firm takes.Helps to Design Appropriate Capital StructureLeverage helps you to manage debts and equity using several strategies. For this, Operating Leverage and Financial Leverage are used simultaneously or in combination.Increases Profit SignificantlyThe firm uses fixed costs to increase profitability and generates better results. Leverage ensures utilizing the maximum of the fixed costs to increase the profit.UNDERSTANDING HOW YOUR BUSINESS BENEFITS FROM THE RIGHT OPERATING LEVERAGEThe terms Financial Leverage and Operating Leverage are often used in finance, but do you know what they mean?These are two different concepts people use synonymously, but they are not the same. When you look at each of them individually, you’ll find out how different they are.Leverage on its own is the difference in one variable because of another variable.Let’s understand these concepts first, based on these we’ll go through some simple examples and case studies to understand the concept of Operating Leverage.WHAT IS OPERATING LEVERAGE?In simple terms, Operating Leverage is the extent of fixed and variable costs in a company.Fixed costs are those who don’t vary based on the income generated by th e company.Variable costs, on the other hand, can be changed and managed with the production rate as the salary of employees, raw materials, and so on.If the sales increase, the percent of profit that increases along with the sales is the operating leverage. Now let’s see what financial leverage is.Financial Leverage vs. Operating LeverageTo understand operating Leverage, you need to know how it is different than Financial Leverage.Definition: The amount of debt in a company intake is directly proportional to the financial leverage of that company.You need to do less to earn more profits here. However, that does not make this strategy better than Operating Leverage. The debt is a fixed cost in this case, with the revenue you must clear this debt. A greater debt isn’t a great sign.The concepts of Operating Leverage and Financial Leverage are essential in maintaining the profit margin of a company.There are differences between these two types of leverages; they are discussed briefl y in the following section.Operating Leverage vs. Financial LeverageWith higher effort, the output or profit generated is lesser in Operating Leverage. Whereas in Financial Leverage the effort you put in decreases with debts, but the profit or output increases significantly.Lower or no debt means higher operating leverage, lower financial leverage and the other way around.One thing that is common in both cases is that the company’s variable cost is directly proportional to sales.For Operating leverage, higher production spreads out the fixed costs among more units reducing the fixed cost of every unit thus increasing the variable cost.But in the case of financial leverage, more units mean more debt thus increasing the financial leverage of the company.DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OPERATING AND FINANCIAL LEVERAGENow, operating leverage and financial leverage have a fundamental difference â€" we will take a look at it below.What they are about?Operating Leverage is about a firm’s fixed cost s on the other hand financial leverage is all about the firm’s capital structure.The Measurement DiffersBoth types of leverages can be measured using various methods but what do they measure?Operating Leverage measures the operating risks of businesses and financial leverage manages financial risks of an organization.Formulas and CalculationCalculating these two types of leverages can be done using different formulas.One formula to calculate Operating leverage is when you divide the contribution or the operations of the firm by the EBIT of the firm.To calculate Financial Leverage, divide the EBIT by the EBT of the firm.Impact of Both the PhenomenaWhen the Degree of Operating Leverage or DOOL is higher, it means that the firm is taking a more operating risk. On the other hand, if the operating risk is higher, it means a greater financial risk for the organization.Preference LevelMany organizations often take financial risks rather than operating risks and so, financial leverage is more preferred by the firms than Operating Leverage.You can further clarify these two types of leverages by case studies and instances. But we will be focusing on Operating leverage and how to understand it better.THE THREE CASE STUDIES TO HELP YOU KNOW ABOUT OPERATING LEVERAGELet’s start with a few simple examples first. After these; we’ll gradually progress to complex case studies.Example 1: Airline’s Operating Leverage It is the simplest and most widely used example to understand Operating Leverage.Consider any airline company.The fixed costs for this company are going to be significantly higher than companies in most other industries.The cost of leasing airplanes, leasing hangars for those planes, and insurance are all fixed.These costs must be paid monthly, quarterly or annually whether the airline company gets customers or not.But the variable costs can be managed like the cost for fuel, refreshments for the passengers, and the salary of the crew (to some extent).This me ans that without customers and take offs the airline company will still have to pay for its aircraft and insurance. However, variable costs like fuel for the aircraft and refreshments for the passengers can be reduced significantly.When the sales increase, the company raises more revenue, and this results in a profit. But with no sale or lower sales, the company still has to pay its fixed cost, resulting in a loss.The DOL or Degree of Leverage, tells us how well a company manages its fixed costs to get the maximum profit.DOL = (Sales â€" Variable Costs) / ProfitWhere Profit can be calculated using the following formula,Profit= Sales â€" Variable Costs â€" Fixed CostsFor example, if ABC airline company’s ticket sale is $4000, Variable Cost is $400, and Fixed Cost is $1100, its DOL will be,DOL = (4000 â€" 400) / 2500 = 1.44If the sales increase by 10% in this case, ABC airline will experience a 14% rise in their profit.However, if the company doesn’t have as many ticket sales, it could lead to a loss.An Operating Leverage magnifies both, profits and losses, based on the economic condition of that industry.Example 2: A Software CompanyConsider a software company; this company will naturally have higher fixed costs.Examples of fixed costs would be the salaries of the developers no matter how many applications or solutions they design.And the variable cost is the cost of the sales that occur; you cannot be sure how many websites or applications the software company will develop for its clients.The Operating Leverage, in this case, would be low and the efforts required to be put in by developers be spontaneous and high.Example 3:Another example would be comparing Google and Walmart.The point at which Google starts getting its profit is after paying the salary of every employee which means that Google has a high Operating Leverage.But with Walmart, the variable cost of the number of goods sold determines the profit or loss.This means that Walmart has few fixed an d more variable costs leading to a low Operating Leverage.Fixed costs remain the same at all time not depending on the goods or services sold or produced. Some examples of the fixed cost would be,Rent.Salary.Insurance.Now that we have a clear picture of what Operating Leverage is, let’s understand the concept even better with case studies.With all the given examples and case studies the concept of Operating Leverage can now be understood in a comparatively better way.There are several confusing explanations for this business phenomenon however, the simplest ones are stated and explained here for you to understand it better.CASE STUDY 1: STUDY OF MANAGERIAL DECISION MAKING LINKED TO OPERATING AND FINANCIAL LEVERAGEThis is a case study taken from Researchgate.net, in which the researchers have studied in detail the effect of Operating and Financial leverages of a Management Company and simultaneously explained the firms Degree of Operating Leverage (DOOL) and Degree of Financial Lev erage (DOFL)For any company, the manager needs to find the right balance between the fixed costs and the debts or equity utilized to maximize profits.In this case study, the researchers have found the significance of a well-balanced operating and financial leverage of a firm.The general understanding of any firm’s capital structure, its leverages and use its equity shares and debt accordingly are essential for the manager.With changes made in fixed costs, the Earnings Before Interests and Taxes (EBIT) or the Operating Leverage gets affected is what the study concluded.The researchers also examined various risks that came with the Operating Leverage.It was observed that as they increased only the fixed operating costs and not the sales quantity, the firm loses its operating profit as the employees have to put in more effort to meet the sales quantity.It is clear if the firm uses only debts and equity then the Operating Leverage or EBIT gradually increases. However, in this case, th e total earnings remain the same for the investors.Similarly, in the case of 50% equity and 50% debt, the Operating profit decreases but the Profits after Taxes (PAT) increases.This leads to an increase in total earnings from the equity and debt investors and enhances the shareholder’s wealth in the future.With mixed capital, it is also observed that the Return on Equity also increases substantially for the firm.In this case study, the researchers conclude that it is better to have both equity and debt capital in their firm’s structure.Now, let’s take a look at a different case study for better understanding.CASE STUDY 2: A STUDY ON CAPITAL STRUCTURE ANALYSIS OF TATA MOTORS LIMITEDIn this case study, operating leverage is defined as the firm’s ability to use operating costs to maximize the effect of the sales before taxes and interest.The formula derived for Operating Leverage here is that it is the sales divided by the Earnings Before Interest and Taxes.i.e. Operating Lever age = Sales / Earnings Before Interest and TaxesAccording to research and fixed costs from annual reports, a rise of 151% and a decrement of 10% has been seen in the years 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 respectively.In the duration that the study was conducted the Operating Leverage shows a fluctuating trend.For this reason, the company (Tata Motors) must make optimum use of their operating costs to meet the cost of changes in sales in the future on its earnings before interest and taxes.Since both, financial and operating leverage play an important role in managing a firm’s ability to manage fixed costs, their sum gives the Combined leverage of the organization.This value can be positive or negative based on financial and operating leverages.It is then concluded for operating leverage that the company must make maximum use of its operating costs to meet the future effects of sales changes.The main aim of any organization is to increase its value and minimize the cost of capital that it requires for it.From the years 2012 and 2016, the operating leverage shows a lot of variations by increasing and decreasing in succeeding years.The result of the study is that equity and debt should be managed carefully and must be sufficient to meet the fixed costs of Tata Motors.Considering this and several other factors it was then concluded that Tata Motor’s Capital structure was satisfactory in those years.CASE STUDY 3: A STUDY OF LEVERAGE ANALYSIS AND PROFITABILITY FOR DR. REDDYS LABORATORIESThe case study for Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories explains leverage and its types with respect to the laboratory’s expenses. It states that leverage means to have a fixed expense for businesses.The two kinds of leverage are,i) Operating Leverageii) Financial LeverageIf a business has fixed expenses, then the leverage is operating leverage.On the other hand, if the business bears funds in the form of interests, it is Financial leverage.Operating Leverage impacts the change in sales and earn ings before interest and taxes.This research was conducted from the year 2010 to 2014 and shows the trends of operating leverage have been rising and falling significantly.Leverage analysis indicates the financial performance in the long run.The research shows that there is a direct relationship between profit and leverage.The average ratio of Operating Leverage maintained by Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories is 1.33; this clearly shows us that the firm does not maintain optimum financial leverage.The debt owned by Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories was 17 percent over its total capital. It shows that the laboratory is heavily dependent on its shareholders for as much as 83 percent of its funding.It is found that the Degree of Operating Leverage is negatively proportional to the laboratories Return on Investment.So, it can easily be said that the Operating Leverage of this laboratory was not in good condition from the study between 2010 to 2014.The suggestion that the researchers presented to Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories is that they manage their borrowed and owned funds in a balanced manner and not be completely dependent on one of them.CONCLUSIONIn simple terms, operating leverage refers to the reaction of the company’s net income to a change in the sales quantity.It measures the proportion of fixed costs in a company’s capital structure to maximize profit.Firms with higher fixed costs and lower variable costs generally have higher Operating Leverage.To conclude, depending on the industry Operating Leverage can be high or low to maximize sales.It can be defined by the organization’s capability to use fixed costs to their advantage and generate better returns.One other way to look at Operating Leverage is by examining that firms can lower fixed costs and increase their profits without compromising their selling price or the number of units that they sell.All 3 of the case studies show that firms often miscalculate their fixed costs and equities resulting in dwindling Op erating costs.It is also one of the most important factors that affect business risks.A company that keeps a high margin to generate sales and low variable costs has high operating Leverage.Operating Leverage must be considered from different firms of the same industry to calculate an average Operating Leverage Rate to set as a benchmark for companies.This makes the calculation process of Operating Leverage more effective.

Global Warming And Climate Change - 1713 Words

Defining the Issue Global warming is defined as the recent increase in the world s temperature that is believed to be caused by the increase of certain gases (such as carbon dioxide) in the atmosphere. There are many different theories on whether global warming is similar or not to climate change. Simplistically, climate change is different because climate change is defined as a change in global or regional climate patterns or, in particular, a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels, having been measured over long periods of time, due to the changes in Earth’s orbit and organic carbon which reflect sunlight. Global warming and climate change are not to be confused because global warming is caused mainly by anthropogenic factors like the emission of carbon dioxide gas and use of fossil fuels whereas climate change is completely natural, however, according to Milan Ra dovanovic, â€Å"it is clear that the anthropogenic factors dominate the increasing temperature and the natural ones have the maximum influence†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Radovanovic). Therefore, â€Å"the contribution to global warming from natural forcings and from natural internal variability is in the range between -0.2 to 0.2 [degrees] celsius over the period 1951-2010†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Radovanovic). Natural factors have had the most effect on global temperature in the past 59 years totaling a 0.4 degrees celsius increase inShow MoreRelatedGlobal Warming And Climate Change974 Words   |  4 Pagesabout global warming, whether it is true or false. Is there evidence to prove that global warming has impacted the climate due to the rise in the earth’s temperature? Climate change is a problem that is worldwide that should be reviewed. The rise in the earth’s temperature has caused some impact to the weather and climate changes to many places worldwide. This rise in temperat ure has the potential of causing drastic changes to the earth in many ways. It is time to view the global warming concernsRead MoreClimate Change Of Global Warming924 Words   |  4 Pages Figure 0.1 shows the different effects of global warming. Global warming is the warming of our planet at an extreme rate. The Earth’s climate has warmed by 7.8OC since 1880. (Quick facts about science, 2015). What causes global warming? The cause of global warming is the carbon dioxide. This acts like a blanket. Protecting the earth, and heating the earth. Sun rays would normally bounce around the earth, but with the blanket, the sun rays heat the blanket which heats the earth. (Petersen ScienceRead MoreGlobal Warming And Climate Change1398 Words   |  6 Pages Global warming and climate change have been frequent topics of discussion over the past several years. Although people tend to focus on the politics, it is important to look past the media aspects of it into the cold hard facts of what our Earth is currently experiencing, and what has caused it in the first place. The cause of climate change includes natural causes, but human causes are what is generating such a rapid global temperature change. It’s time that the ways in which humanity affectsRead MoreClimate Change And Global Warming1060 Words   |  5 PagesClimate change (Klaus) 1000 The terms â€Å"global warming†, â€Å"climate change† or â€Å"greenhouse effect† have become more than just parts of the popular lexicon as they rather are subject of public discussions, scientific research or political debates. Despite the popularity and the ubiquity of these terms, the public’s theoretical and conceptual understanding of them and their causal relations is often based on superficial knowledge and buzzwords or caricatures outlined and depicted in several popular mediaRead MoreClimate Change : Global Warming1194 Words   |  5 PagesDonya Curtis April 19, 2017 English 1001-rough draft Global Warming Global warming is one facet of the broader term climate change. It is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth s surface air and oceans from the mid 20th century and the projected continuation. The Global warming is primarily the consequence of building up greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. Emission rates for most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas, CO2, have increased 120 fold in the past 140 years. WhileRead MoreClimate Change and Global Warming1074 Words   |  5 PagesClimate change and Global Warming are out of control. This means that, no matter what policies, processes or actions are implemented, the Earth as we know it will never be the same again. There is significant evidence to support this hypothesis. The dilemma becomes whether we can limit the damage and adapt to a new status quo or not. Rising sea levels and the damage caused by this phenomenon has irreversible impacts on coastlines worldwide. Damage to sensitive reef systems cannot be fixed. This alsoRead MoreClimate Change And Global Warming1022 Words   |  5 PagesWhat = Climate Change Who = Emma, Aoife, Julia, Rachael, Mariah and Cà ©line What is it? Climate Change is a change in the demographic distribution of weather patterns, and related change in oceans, land surfaces and ice sheets, happening over time scales of decades or longer. It’s the world’s greatest threat. Climate change is the change in temperature over a period of time. It involves the greenhouse effect and global warming. Where is it? It is an issue affecting everyone everywhere. ClimateRead MoreClimate Change And Global Warming1474 Words   |  6 Pagesphenomenon, known as â€Å"smog† became an often daily occurrence in big, urbanized cites across the globe. Also, Al Gore’s book, An Inconvenient Truth, popularized the issue of climate change and global warming as a result of the damage that the modern world has done to the atmosphere. He noted that people resist the facts about climate change due to the inconvenience of changing their lifestyles. But, uninhibited industrialization of several countries has led to intense modernization and revolution of theRead MoreClimate Change And Global Warming928 Words   |  4 PagesThis paper will discuss climate change and global warming on the economy. The paper also gives a description on climate change and global warming. As well as what it hold for future business owners. It will also discuss what the government is doing about climate change/global warming. Climate change is a long-term shift in the statistics of the weather (including its averages). For example, it could show up as a change in climate normal (expected average values for temperature and precipitation)Read MoreClimate Change And Global Warming1630 Words   |  7 PagesClimate Related Threats Global warming will lead to uncontrollable devastation such as famine, war, and economic instability. Climate change will accelerate the dislocation of hundreds of millions of people and the extinction of many species. The negative effects of climate change are obvious on every continent. Professor Le Quere, director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia said, The human influence on climate change is clear. The atmosphere and

The Roots of Colorism, or Skin Tone Discrimination

How does  colorism  play out in America? An old children’s rhyme captures the definition of colorism and its inner workings: â€Å"If you’re black, stay back;If you’re brown, stick around;If you’re yellow, you’re mellow;If you’re white, you’re all right.† Colorism refers to discrimination based on skin color. Colorism disadvantages dark-skinned people  while privileging those with lighter skin. Research has linked colorism to smaller incomes, lower marriage rates, longer prison terms, and fewer job prospects for darker-skinned people. Colorism has existed for centuries, in and out of black America. Its a persistent form of discrimination that should be fought with the same urgency as racism. Origins In the United States, colorism has roots in slavery, because slave owners typically gave preferential treatment to slaves with fairer complexions. While dark-skinned slaves toiled outdoors in the fields, their light-skinned counterparts usually worked indoors at far less  grueling domestic tasks.   Slave owners were partial to light-skinned slaves because they often were family members. Slave owners frequently forced slave women into sexual intercourse, and light-skinned offspring were the telltale signs of these sexual assaults. While slave owners didnt officially recognize their mixed-race children, they gave them privileges that dark-skinned slaves didnt enjoy. Accordingly, light skin came to be viewed as an asset in the slave community. Outside the United States, colorism may be more related to class than to white supremacy. Although  European colonialism has undoubtedly left its mark worldwide, colorism is said to predate contact with Europeans in Asian countries. There, the idea that white skin is superior to dark skin may derive from ruling classes typically having lighter complexions than peasant classes. While peasants became tanned as they labored outdoors, the privileged had lighter complexions because they didn’t. Thus, dark skin became associated with  lower classes and light skin with the elite. Today, the premium on light skin in Asia is likely tangled up with this history, along with cultural influences of the Western world. Enduring Legacy Colorism didn’t disappear after slavery ended in the U.S.  In black America, those with light skin received employment opportunities off-limits to darker-skinned blacks. This is why upper-class families in black society were largely light-skinned. Soon, light skin and privilege were linked in the black community. Upper-crust blacks routinely administered the brown paper bag test to determine if fellow blacks were light enough to include in social circles. â€Å"The paper bag would be held against your skin. And if you were darker than the paper bag, you weren’t admitted,† explained Marita Golden, author of Don’t Play in the Sun: One Woman’s Journey Through the Color Complex. Colorism didn’t just involve blacks discriminating against other blacks. Job advertisements from the mid-20th century reveal that African-Americans with light skin clearly believed their coloring would make them better job candidates. Writer Brent Staples discovered this while searching newspaper archives  near the Pennsylvania town where he grew up.  In the 1940s, he noticed, black job seekers often identified themselves as light-skinned: â€Å"Cooks, chauffeurs, and waitresses sometimes listed light colored as the primary qualification—ahead of experience, references, and the other important data. They did it to improve their chances and to reassure white employers who†¦found dark skin unpleasant or believed that their customers would.† Why Colorism Matters Colorism yields real-world advantages for individuals with light skin. For example, light-skinned Latinos make $5,000 more on average than dark-skinned Latinos, according to Shankar Vedantam, author of The Hidden Brain: How Our Unconscious Minds Elect Presidents, Control Markets, Wage Wars and Save Our Lives.  A  Villanova University study of more than 12,000 African-American women imprisoned in North Carolina found that lighter-skinned black women received shorter sentences than their darker-skinned counterparts. Research by Stanford psychologist Jennifer Eberhardt found that darker-skinned black defendants were twice as likely as lighter-skinned black defendants to get the death penalty for crimes involving white victims. Colorism also plays out in the romantic realm. Because fair skin is associated with beauty and status, light-skinned black women are more likely to be married than darker-skinned black women. â€Å"We find that the light-skin shade as measured by survey interviewers is associated with about a 15 percent greater probability of marriage for young black women,† said researchers who conducted a study called â€Å"Shedding ‘Light’ on Marriage.† Light skin is so coveted that whitening creams continue to be best-sellers in the U.S., Asia, and other nations. Mexican-American women in Arizona, California, and Texas have reportedly suffered mercury poisoning after using whitening creams to bleach their skin. In India, popular skin-bleaching lines target both women and men with dark skin. That skin-bleaching cosmetics persist after decades signals the enduring legacy of colorism. Sources Golden, Marita. Don’t Play in the Sun: One Woman’s Journey Through the Color Complex. Anchor, 2005.Staples, Brent. As Racism Wanes, Colorism Persists. The New York Times.Vedantam, Shankar. Shades of Prejudice. The New York Times.

Laughter and Laugh Charlie Chaplin Free Essays

â€Å"Now is the Time to Laugh† Charlie Chaplin once said â€Å"laughter is the tonic, the surcease for pain. † It is also often that you hear the saying â€Å"laughter is the best medicine,† which is not just an opinion, but has been proven to be true. In this paper I will prove to you that laughter is the best medicine and that one should not suppress their laughter to seem professional or respectful. We will write a custom essay sample on Laughter and Laugh Charlie Chaplin or any similar topic only for you Order Now No matter what the situation, laughter should be welcomed as a natural and enjoyable action that should not and cannot be controlled. The purpose of my paper is not only to prove my point but also to help everyone to appreciate and respect the natural, wonderful experience of one’s laughter and the laughter of others. Norman Cousins said that â€Å"laughter is inner jogging,† which is a good way to put the fact that laughter is actually beneficial for one’s health. Dr. William Fry of Stanford University Medical School compared laughing to inner exercise, he showed that laughing lowers your blood pressure and heart rate, improves lung capacity, massages internal organs, increases memory and alertness, reduces pain, improves digestion, and lowers stress hormones. It also exercises the muscles involved such as your chest and abdominals. A recent study at the University of Maryland Medical Center showed that laughing more and having a strong sense of humor can decrease your risk for heart attack and heart disease. The benefits also include psychological health. It lowers stress and eases anxiety and fear. It also strengthens relationships by bringing you closer to people, helping defuse a conflict, and promoting group bonding. It also helps you think more clearly. Laughter in a relationship is important because it helps you open up more to the person and it brings you closer to them. It can ease the tension during an argument and make one feel more relaxed and comfortable in any situation. Many studies have shown that children laugh around 400 times a day while adults only laugh around 15 times a day. Many professional adults look at laughter as inappropriate and disrespectful. They reduce their laughing while at work and suppress it so they look more professional and sophisticated. School children are forced to be quite and not to laugh ecause their teachers see it as disrespectful and foolish. Lord Chesterfield said that â€Å"frequent and loud laughter is the characteristic of folly and ill manners,† but how can people believe that such a natural, wonderful feeling can be such a terrible thing. There are no reasonable explanations as to why laughter is considered disrespectful. Sure if you are laughing at someone as a way of making f un of them, then that is hurtful and disrespectful, but when people cannot control their laughter, it should not be considered a horrible thing. People don’t find other natural things like sneezing or coughing to be offensive, so why should they find laughter disrespectful. Many people say that this is not the time to laugh, especially at places like funerals, church or a business meeting, but would the person that passed away want you to never laugh in their presence? And would God give you a sense of humor if He didn’t want you to use it? And would anyone want to work with someone who had no sense of humor? Of course not! If anyone ever said they didn’t want to be acquainted with anyone who had a sense of humor and knew how to have fun than they must be lying. God made us the way we are and He made us with a sense of humor for a reason. Sure there are certain times where you should control your laughter but it is more often that you absolutely should not try to control your laughter because it should be completely acceptable in almost any situation. Laughter, love and happiness are by far the best feelings anyone could have and everyone should be able to experience. You wouldn’t say that someone didn’t deserve love or happiness, so why would you say that someone doesn’t deserve to laugh? I personally love to laugh. Who doesn’t? I love laughing with my friends and family and I love to make other people laugh. I believe that a good sense of humor is one of the best qualities you can find in a friend. Everyone deserves happiness and to be truly happy you must be able to laugh in any situation. Most of my close friends are my friends because they know how to make me laugh and I love to laugh with them. As soon as I meet someone who is funny and laughs whenever they want to, I am immediately attracted to them. The number one quality I look for in a friend or boyfriend is an amazing sense of humor and the ability to make me laugh and laugh with me. Everyone knows that no one likes a â€Å"Debby downer† and I think that everyone should be as happy as they can and laugh as much as they can. I believe that true happiness comes from love, and laughter. People should see laughter as one of the best feelings and should welcome it in any situation when it is truly natural. Every day an average person should laugh for at least 15 minutes collectively. As Charlie Chaplin said â€Å"a day without laughter is a day wasted. † How to cite Laughter and Laugh Charlie Chaplin, Papers

Reflective Report Ethical Decision in Relation to a Business Decision

Question: Write the Report on Reflective Report for Ethical Decision in Relation to a Business Decision. Answer: Introduction The ultimate objective of a business organisation is to generate sales and profit so that it can acquire the power to expand its business. In order to fulfil the objective, the organisation has to take certain business decisions, but sometimes these decisions can become controversial, can be right from a business perspective but unethical from the reverse scenario. The presented report is reflective on this topic of discussion. In the report I am going to highlight the decision of Microsoft of 2015 concerning the automatic gradation of Windows 7 and 8 to Windows 10. The issue is, in spite of the earnest sincerity of the organisation regarding the latest version, many users find it hard to get accustomed to the new features of Windows 10, and the high expense is another issue coupled with forced automatic up gradation as per the opinions of some users. In the report I have tried to evaluate the ethical and unethical aspects of this business decision. Automatic up Gradation from Windows 7 and 8 to Windows 10: Microsoft In 2015, Microsoft declares that it plans to popularise its latest version in the market. The company stresses the features of the version and states that the Windows 7 and 8 is going to be upgraded automatically to Windows 10. This announcement has been made to resist the duplicate version of Windows 8. The company promises that the new version offers more features and convenience. In that year, the company stresses that Windows 10 is going to be installed on the hard drives of the customers. along with this, the company will also offer the package of the version. Microsoft states that within the first half of 2017 the company plans to sell more than half of its product (Ford and Richardson, 2013, p.44). The business decision is made by the organisation to with the aim of popularising the latest version among the large population of the users. The company believed that if the users use the new version for the first time, then they are bound to forget the old versions. However, the problem is many people found this decision and annoying. Users who have been comfortable with the old version does not want to use the verse and resisted the change (Certo, 2015, p.5). Impact of the Decision Concerning the Automatic Upgrades of Windows 10 I think the decision of the organisation put the company into a controversy. Although the company declared its goodwill regarding the installation of Windows 10, most of the users were against the entire idea. As per the opinion of the general customers of Microsoft, it is unethical for the company to try to market its market by force. The company needs to consider the customers who find it difficult to adjust with the new version. The expense of this version also became the issue. The companys decision to sell at least half of this version to the people within 2017 took a toll on the customers (Steeleet al. 2016, p.315). It is noteworthy to mention that this business decision made the organisation lose the reputation it has earned throughout its establishment. I opine, after all the particular business decision seemed unethical, especially the approach used by the company to make the Windows 10 popular among its users. The most important thing for the business organisation is to cater the needs and demands of the general population, i.e. the customers. The organisation before selling its product/service to the customers needs to acquire their consent. It is improper and unethical for any organisation to try to force sell its products/service irrespective of the promise of providing good features and utility for bringing a better experience to the people (Ruiz and Martnez-Caas, 2014, p.95). Interconnection Between Corporate Reputation and Ethical Branding: Question of Legality I think in a business organisation, certain business decisions are taken which questions the meanings of ethical branding and corporate reputation and the subtle relationship which exists between these two terms. It is necessary for the organisation to build its corporate reputation in order to enhance the sales and profit of the organisations service/products. The company strives to attain this reputation by trying to attract as many clients and customers as possible. On the other hand, ethically refers to the ethics which are observed while executing the processes of marketing (Guerci et al. 2015, p.342). Ethical marketing sticks to the moral standpoint, the sensible judgements which are necessary to know the difference between right and wrong. One example, forceful selling must not be encouraged. The customer must have the consent or the free will to purchase the product. It is true that Microsoft wanted to encourage the Windows users to use the updated version which promises to offer extensive options for a variety of feature. The company wanted to discard its old versions of Windows, but I feel the approach which the company took was unethical (van et al. 2015, p.190). In terms of earning corporate reputation, the move could have been useful and true the plan of automatic or force upgradation deed succeed to some extent. The problem was it created a negative impact on the company in the long run. The company lost a large section of the customer base. Even some of the loyal customers were angry about the entire matter, stopped using Windows system in the process (Wouters et al. 2014, p.23) Hence, I feel and I strongly believe that a balance must always be maintained between ethical branding and corporate reputation. Earning a market reputation, increasing the stocks and profit rate is necessary but the process of marketing should always be ethical. In this way, in the long run, the company is going to get sure success. I feel that the concept of forceful selling has always been unethical and this should have been considered by the organisation. An organisation cannot sell its product or service to the customer who is unwilling to purchase the product/service. This is wrong. This also violates the right of free choice and thinking. The step of Microsoft also included a monthly subscription, much higher than the normal cost. Instigating forceful purchase can also indicate financial exploitation of consumers to generate sales revenue (Corey et al. 2014, p.7) It should be reported that the angry customers of Windows 7 and 8 who faced forceful upgradation of their system to Windows 10 were totally infuriated about the experience. These customers came together and filed a lawsuit against Microsoft and won. The company had to pay $10,000 to the customers. Future Possibility It is normal that sometimes decisions taken can be erroneous or appropriate. The important part is to correct the mistake and to take responsibility for the matter. Regarding the point, it should be stated that the company acknowledging the unethical method of selling has created the option for the users which enable the users to reject upgradation. The company also wants its users not to use the latest version at all if the customers are uncomfortable or unwilling (Thau et al. 2015, p.98). It is recommended that before trying to launch a product/service, Microsoft can hold conferences and communicate with a selected chosen group of users to generate ideas regarding the significance of the product/service. The company must maintain the concept of ethical branding, it has the power to garner positive customer behaviour and be very beneficial in the long run of business. Conclusion In conclusion, I should state that marketing is necessary and the organisations ulterior motive must be to incur sales and profit, necessary for further expansion and development of the organisation. However, in spite of this, the organisation must consider the ethical factors related to marketing. In the long run, this approach can help the organisation to flourish further. Reference List Certo, S., (2015).Supervision: Concepts and skill-building. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Corey, G., Corey, M.S., Corey, C. and Callanan, P., (2014).Issues and ethics in the helping professions with 2014 ACA codes. Nelson Education. Ford, R.C. and Richardson, W.D., (2013). Ethical decision making: A review of the empirical literature. InCitation classics from the Journal of Business Ethics(pp. 19-44). Springer Netherlands. Guerci, M., Radaelli, G., Siletti, E., Cirella, S. and Shani, A.R., (2015). 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