Sovereign State Essay Example for Free

Sovereign State Essay Evolution of role and meaning of government as social-political institution in common and government sovereignty in particular is one of the most actual topics for discussions nowadays. Fundamental processes in spheres of politics and economics change radically usual positions for role of state and meaning of its formal attribute government sovereignty. It is connected with the fact that in the modern world governments to a greater extent are forced to renounce by part of their prerogatives, being limited in taking political decisions. Studying of processes of â€Å"degradation† and â€Å"devaluation† of status of sovereign government and weakening of centralized institutions of governmental power is actually singled out into independent direction of political science. In this work we’ll examine the principles of sovereign state and will try to understand, can the sovereign state be effective way of organizing its political life. Definition of sovereign state and its main features. Let’s examine what is sovereign state and what are its main features. Sovereign state is politically independent government, which is independent in its internal and external affairs (the word â€Å"sovereign† is from French word â€Å"souverain† – the highest, supreme) – it is politically sovereign state, sovereign object of international rights and international relations. Governmental sovereignty means leadership of the state within the limits of its own borders. It doesn’t allow foreign intervention in its affairs. What are main features of sovereign state? They are as follows: Independence; Free execution of the whole completeness of power at the territory of the country; Integrity and inalienability of territory; Unanimity of territories of the country. Nowadays we can determine the following meanings of sovereignty: Sovereignty of interdependency – ability of government to control movement via their borders; Internal sovereignty – internal delegations of governmental structures and ability to influence effectively on behavior of population; This possibility of government to a great extend depends on loyalty of its citizens. So, in 1999 in the USA 73% of population examined themselves as â€Å"citizens of the world† simultaneously with recognition of US citizenship (http://www.vox-populi.org/digest/america_role2.html#4) West-Fal sovereignty or Wattle’s sovereignty – exception of external sources of power de jure and de facto International legal sovereignty is connected with mutual acknowledgement of governments. (Stephen D.Krasner, P.231-233.) Principle of sovereignty. Speaking about the reasons of re-examination of sovereign principles, we have to focus our attention to complex of processes, which is traditionally noted as â€Å"globalization† (James Rosenau, P.7-8.). In the basis of globalization phenomena lay processes in spheres of finance and economics, which serve as a basis for global political and cultural â€Å"superstructure†. It gives us grounds to consider that practically any sphere of human activity will avoid definite transformation. During those processes â€Å"attack† of government sovereignty principle is made by several directions, and existing concept of governmental sovereignty casts doubt in relation of practically all its main components (Youngs, G, P.71-72.). Modern world economics demonstrates more and more qualities of united system and functions in accordance with unified rules. No other country can exist in conditions of economical self-sufficiency. Leading type of economical practice becomes financial-legal regulation, which consequently subjugates other kinds of economic activities. New concept of geo-economics is determined to reflect the new level of economical development and economical integration. Demands of economical developments contradict with principle of firmness of state sovereignty to that extent in which governmental borders impede economical effectiveness and in common, to social progress. Governmental borders now experience pressure more from inside, than from outside. Separatism became serious problem in different parts of the world. (Joseph A.Camilleri and Jim FalTk, P.24-25.). Being subordinated to dictate of economical expediency, governments open their borders and are exposed to inroad of foreign currency, international terrorists, drugs, flows of information from other countries, sects, societies, etc. All this inevitably decreases effectiveness of functioning of governmental body and forces to find new ways and forms of decision everyday problems. Living picture of global market are transnational corporations, which have their aim to receive profit. Such actions cause misbalances in the modern society (Manuel Castells P.162.). In accordance with researches, they control approximately half of world industrial manufacture and even more in spheres of foreign trade. Constricting sphere of activity of national governments, global market undermines basis of state sovereignty. Global forces (economical, technological and cultural) force governments to re-examine meaning of sovereignty. (Muthiah Alagappa and Takashi Inoguchi (Eds.). P.21) Problems of environment are also assisting in that undermining. (Luc Sindjoun P.222.) The government also looses the meaning of guaranty of preservation of democratic foundations in society. Rules of free market take place, not the rules of national parliaments. Vitally important decisions for the whole country and all its citizens are taken by people, who are actually unknown and who weren’t chosen by way of public procedures of democratic elections and who are often guided by their own interests, but not by interests of other people. The main consequences of globalization processes But from the point of view of problems in state sovereignty, the main consequence of globalization processes is contradiction between increasing economical and political interdependency of countries and nations from one side and reservation of right to decide independently and by its own choice (from the side of government) its own problems – from the other side. Thanks to progressive â€Å"washing out† of borders between national economies, problems which before were considered as definitely belonging to foreign policy, more and more receive internationally-political character. U.N.O. also â€Å"washed out† concepts of state sovereignty and changed opinions for relations between government and their citizens. (D.M.Malone, P.21.) Actions of government of one state can entail serious consequences at the other part of the Earth. In those conditions we can see evident necessity to correspond important decisions, and, therefore, to create corresponding political mechanisms. And, to tell the truth, process of creation of such mechanisms is going quite intensively. If in 1909 there were 37 inter-governmental international organizations, at the end of the century there were already 260 such organizations. Such organizations as EU and other, taking some definite functions, which are delegated to them by separate states, factually limit their state sovereignty. For example, governments – members of European Union – give part of their sovereign right to above-national organs of management. If before it was related only to economical questions, now it relates also to financial-currency questions (for example, it is lead-in of Euro in countries of Euro-zone), in perspective it will touch questions of foreign policy and defense. Although they say that above-national organs of management act strictly in accordance with mandate (its limits are determined by sovereign states, which realize common interests), it is evident that increasing of such practice means â€Å"washing out† of limit between internal policy and foreign policy, where it becomes more and more difficult to tell, what relates to the first and what – to the second. Speaking at annual international forum in Dawos about foreign policy in XXI century, German president proposed to finish with â€Å"anarchy† of politics of national interests and to pass to â€Å"globalized foreign policy as internal world policy†. By other words, he proposed to governments to refuse from their national interests in favor of global foreign policy. Limited character of sovereignty. Taking into consideration all aforesaid, sovereignty is â€Å"weak evolutionally stable strategy, which is chosen by plenty of actors† and which can co-exist with forms, which Krasner called â€Å"neutral mutants† (alternative strategies, which attract definite actors in definite moments) (Stephen D.Krasner, P.231.) Being one of the forms of jurisdiction organization, sovereign national governments always collided with competition from the side of other kinds of jurisdictions. There are jurisdictions, which don’t recognize territorial limitations of their power – such jurisdictions we can conditionally call â€Å"empires†. The most famous example of such institution is USA, which during the last years in an explicit form refused from support of principle of state sovereignty (Anna Leander COPRI, 2.). The main principle of foreign policy, which negates state sovereignty, is doctrine of â€Å"preventive stroke†. G. Bush said that if we’ll wait for the moment when threats will materialize, we have to wait too long. We have to start struggle with our enemy, to destroy his plans – our safety needs that all Americans should be decisive and farsighted, when it will be necessary to defend our lives. (http://www.ndu.edu/inss/strforum/SF200/sf200.htm) Another factor, which determined re-evaluation of state sovereignty principle, became creation of numerous non-governmental associations and organizations, their activity, directed at realization of their own corporate interests, increased spectrum of actual political problems and intensified their dynamics. Appearance of those new forms, probably took place, because civil society don’t see in government the main and irreplaceable instrument of realization of their demands. As a result, procedure of taking decisions by government regarding different problems of foreign and internal policies is more often is guided by coordination of their positions with non-government public organizations and transnational corporations. If we were able to examine the nation or the state in world political space as the one subject, which was outlined only from outside, and what was going inside, wasn’t’ important significally, now more and more often people speak that modern society is society of pluralism interests, which one cannot reduce to a common denominator (Manuel Castells, P.303.). If before we were able to examine government as one-piece formation – a kind of big figure at chess-desk; now we need to make a lot of stipulations. Decrease of role and meaning of government comes as result because civil loyalty is being weakened. For example, in Germany considerable number of young people consider themselves Europeans first of all, and only than – Germans, but not vice versa. Another important factor, which undermines corner stone of state sovereignty – is a principle of non-intervention into internal affairs of sovereign state – and is connected with dissemination and consolidation of universal ideology of human rights. Ways of influence for such countries and regimes, which have world society, first of all, are very limited, and second-of-all, are non-effective – such principle of â€Å"non-intervention into internal affairs† bothers a lot. But what scholars write about state sovereignty? One of them writes: Nowadays the problem of sovereignty is, for social scientists, a dead duck. (Fowler and Bunck 2). There are also debates of sovereign immunity – and its criticism is not new. Even   President Abraham Lincoln declared: It is as much the duty of Government to render prompt justice against itself in favor of citizens as it is to administer the same between private individuals.† (Chemerinsky 1201) All these factors are very important tendencies in the modern society. Taking into consideration all examined factors, we can make conclusion that state sovereignty cannot be really effective instrument to provide effective political life for sovereign country. My opinion is that principle of state sovereignty in modern conditions is ineffective. Works Cited: Stephen D.Krasner. â€Å"Abiding Sovereignty† in International Political Science Review. Vol. 22, No.3, 2001, P.231-233. M.Malone. The Security Council in the 1990s. in Ramesh Thakur and Edward Newman (Eds.) New Millennium, New Perspectives: The UN, Security, and Governance. UN University Press, 2000, P.21. Luc Sindjoun. â€Å"Transformation of International Relations Between Change and Continuity: Introduction† in International Political Science Review. Vol. 22, No.3, 2001, P.222. Stephen D.Krasner. â€Å"Abiding Sovereignty† in International Political Science Review. Vol. 22, No.3, 2001, P.231. http://www.vox-populi.org/digest/america_role2.html#4 http://www.ndu.edu/inss/strforum/SF200/sf200.htm Law, Power, and the Sovereign State: The Evolution and Application of the Concept of Sovereignty Book by Julie Marie Bunck, Michael Ross Fowler; The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995 Against Sovereign Immunity (Journal article by Erwin Chemerinsky); Stanford Law Review, Vol. 53, 2001 Joseph A.Camilleri and Jim FalTk. The End of Sovereignty? Great Britain: Edvard Elgar, 1992, P.24-25. Muthiah Alagappa and Takashi Inoguchi (Eds.). International Security Management and the UN. United Nations University Press, 1999, P.21 Manuel Castells. End of Millennium. Blackwell Publishers, 1998, P.162. Anna Leander. Globalisation and the Eroding State Monopoly of Legitimate Violence. COPRI, 2. Manuel Castells. The Power of Identity. Blackwell Publishers, 1998, P.303. Youngs, G. International Relations in a Global Age. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1999, P.71-72. James Rosenau. â€Å"Governance in the Twenty-First Century† in The New Political Economy of Globalization., Vol. 2., P.7-8.

Changes to the Role of the Management Accountant

Changes to the Role of the Management Accountant Using appropriate academic literature, critically evaluate the argument that the role of the management accountant has changed in recent years from traditional accounting functions to that of a strategic planner and a business partner. Introduction When it comes to the change of management accounting or management accountant, several researchers and scholars have stated the similar view that people cannot describe the management accountants as the bean counter, the scorekeeper or the corporate cop in the contemporary age, their new role are performed as a strategic planner and a business partner within the organization. (Anastas, 1997; Bromwich, 1990; Burns et al., 1999; Byrne and Pierce, 2007; Johnson, Kaplan , 1987; Roslender and Hart, 2002) This essay is aiming to find out how the bean counter, the scorekeeper and the corporate cop become to the internal consultant, the strategic planner as a business partner. Before the main body of this essay, the writer makes a hypothesis that there is an inference procedure that causing the change of the management accountants role. It is widely appreciated that the business environment has greatly changed in the recent years. Thus that the traditional management accounting is not suitab le for the contemporary business, a new management accounting system was generated. Following that there are many new management accounting techniques are required, it directly change the task of management accountants. Finally all these process have caused the change of the role of the management accountant. In the following parts of this essay, the writer will analyze all the parts of this process respectively refer to the other scholars research findings, this is for examine and certify the hypothesis in the last paragraph. The changing business environment It is not deniable that the business environment has already dramatically changed during the last decades, which is toward a more competitive orientation. It includes many external and internal factors. In the general economic area, the globalization is integrating the world into a global market. It could lead it to an increasing competition. Companies have to pay more and more attention on the customer and market orientation. The development of technology is another factor both in the information system and the methods of production with the widespread use of enterprise resource planning systems (ERP). The change of organizational management structure could affect the business as an internal factor.(Burns et al., 1999) The development of digitisation could also change the business environment, for example e-mail has already replaced the traditional postage and fax to a great extent, which is benefit from the wide spread of the internet. It could reduce the cost and enhance the compa nies efficiency. The new technology could also be applied to the monitoring performance area. For instance, factories could profit from the use of beepers and mobile phones to monitor workers performance, while restaurants could benefit from the use of beepers in their operating system.(Zimmerman, 2009) There are also many other elements could cause the market condition changing, such as the commencement of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) could decrease companies cost among Mexico, Canada and the United States. American and Canadian companies may set their factories in Mexico for the lower labour cost. The same situations have also emerged in China, Vietnam and some other developing countries.(Zimmerman, 2009) The new business environment also bring a huge revolution in the other fields, for example the demand of more quality control, customer-focused, the intellectual capital, automation, increasing overheads, decreasing direct labour cost and more emphasis on envir onmental and external issues. The drawbacks of traditional management accounting The traditional management accounting was driven by the external financial requirements but not the internal or actual need. For instance, it fails to compare the cost with the competitors, which is a fatal factor in the business competition. Tends to be too technical Many accountants focus on their contribution only in the financial numbers, but ignore the other useful information which the users may require. (Pierce and ODea, 2003) Most companies still use single overhead allocation base Time Limitation Pierce and ODea (2003) found that most managers complained that the traditional information system cannot provide timeliness information to the users. For example, some managers reflected that even though the financial information could cover almost all they needed, but they cannot use it timely cause the information lag. It could extremely influence their decision making process. Mainly focus on the internal performance of the organization but ignoring the other activities, such as external and social issues. Paying too much attention on the manufacturing but neglecting the high cost post-conversion activities. The change of management accounting A UK research project claimed that management accounting had not changed over six decades in Britain. (Burns et al., 1999) Despite there are some substantial improvement in the technological and environmental areas.(Johnson, Kaplan , 1987) Several studies revealed that the traditional management accounting system and techniques were still valuable and some new management accounting techniques were not widely used as expectation, such as activity-based costing (ABC) and strategic management accounting. (Burns et al., 1999) However, the advancement of information technology could enhance the management accounting into a higher level, which means that managers could have a direct and real time access to the information instead of waiting for the accountants sort it out.(Burns et al., 1999) It could make managers conducting the accountants task by themselves, for instance budgeting, analyze and calculation. (Burns et al., 1999) This change has brought a more significant effect on forecasting rather than budgeting.(Hope and Fraser, 1997) This means that managers could forecast by themselves, while budgeting was accountants traditional work. The commercial orientated gave the British managers a further view on the potential factors which could making profit in a long term.(Burns et al., 1999) It could be considered in the management strategy and interpreting by the non-financial terms.(Burns and Scapens, 1997) It implied that financial information could only provide limited picture, not the whole. Thus there are two possible solutions. The first one is that some new techniques could be used by management accountants to provide a comprehensive view, such as ABC system. Alternatively, the financial information could be kept in a simple way but could be interpreted in the wider background.(Burns et al., 1999) Based on the previous analysis, the form of management accounting has been changed, but there is no huge difference on the management accounting techniques. Strategic Management Accounting The strategic management accounting has already introduced in the accounting literature more than ten years. (Berverley R, 1996)It is defined as The provision and analysis of financial information on the firms product markets and competitors cost and cost structures and the monitoring of the enterprises strategies and those of its competitors in these markets over a number of periods (Bromwich, 1990) The Charted Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) also defined it as A form of management accounting which emphasis is placed on information which relates to factors external to the firm, as well as non-financial information and internally generated information. The majority of literature in the United Kingdom stress that the strategic management accounting extends the traditional management accounting from internal factors to the external competitors information.(Berverley R, 1996)Comparing with the traditional management accounting, it has more external, forward-looking and longer -term orientated and the strategically driven.(Roslender and Hart, 2002) There are three main characteristics of the strategic management accounting were summarized, which are the collection of competitor information, exploitation of cost reduction opportunities and the matching of accounting emphasis with strategic position.(Berverley R, 1996) Some scholars describe the strategic management accounting as a specific form of approach to the provision of accounting information to management'(Roslender and Hart, 2002) The new requirements to management accountants As the previous analysis, the traditional management accounting techniques is still essential skills that management accountants should grasp. However, in the contemporary age, there are several new tasks that management accountants should perform. Before 1980s, the majority of the managers expected the management accountants roles performed as a service staff who can provide the satisfying such managers information.(Hopper, 1980) The requirements to management accountants are not only about becoming an expert in the financial matters, but also having a broad view in business and good teamwork capability with their collegues.(Burns et al., 1999) Pierce and Bernard (2003) have concluded that the management accountants should have the knowledge and skills in three domains. Firstly, they have to be the master of the essential technical knowledge which could make them have the ability to modify information. Secondly, they also need to learn the other business knowledge, such as IT, marketing. Lastly, a well developed interpersonal relationship skills is necessary by the reason that the accountants have increasing number of cooperation with other staff within the organization. Anastas (1997) has also stated that management accountan ts have to handle the new information technology software, achieving an average understanding of the business and fluently express their idea both in writing and speaking in order to interact with their colleagues. Anastas (1997) stressed that to achieve the success in the role of internal consultants; management accountants must improve their interpersonal skills and the knowledge of productivity and administration. The strategic management accounting provides management accountants an opportunity to get a position in the decision making team.(Roslender and Hart, 2002) The strategic management accounting requires management accountants having techniques, such as competitor position analysis, target costing and life cycle costing.(Roslender and Hart, 2002) The role of the management accountant in organisations Management accountants role in an organization has been considerably changed in recent years.(Anastas, 1997; Burns et al., 1999; Byrne and Pierce, 2007; Johnson, Kaplan , 1987; Pierce and ODea, 2003; Zimmerman, 2009) Several literature have stated the same views. In the past, when people were thinking of management accountant, they always associated it with some words, such as the scorekeepers, the bean counters and the corporate cops.(Byrne and Pierce, 2007; Zimmerman, 2009) This is because management accountants were not the decision-makers or decision participants; they always played the role as assistants or financial information providers to the real or actual managers in the decision making process. But in 1999, the situation has changed. Increasing managerial accountants began to help their companies to analyze the business as an interior consultant. With the development of the technology, they do not need to use the majority of their working time for preparing the financial r eports. They therefore have more and more time to explain or translate the accounting information to the people who need to use these within the organization as a member of the decision making team. Siegel (1999) remarked that the role of management accountants has evolved from serving internal customers into being a business partner. Some accountants even changed their title from corporate controllers to business analysts (Burns et al., 1999) A key role of the management accountant is that interpreting the financial information to a more readily comprehensible perception to the internal and external users.(Burns et al., 1999) As it was depicted Information technology is pushing management accountants and financial managers up the ladder as they become advisors or internal consultants to other manager in the company who have access to software manage cost and budgets.(Anastas, 1997) Pierce and ODea (2003) have interviewed many managers with an opened question that sharing their views of the future role of the management accountants. Their responses were highly consistent that management accountants role will be the business partner. Management accountants should interact with management within several aspects, including the raise of their physical location, the requirement of their team work capability and the understanding of business. There will be fewer management accountants but they will be at the higher level of management in the organization as a member of the cross-functional team share their view in the decision making process.(Anastas, 1997) The evolution of the information technology liberated management accountants from the bean counter, corporate cop to a higher level role internal consultant or strategist who make the recommendation to guide the decision making process (Anastas, 1997) CONCLUSION The analysis in the main body reflects the consistency with the hypothesis in the introduction section, but not completely same. To start with, the business environment is changing as the assumption. The business environment is changed to a more competitive, customer-oriented due to the globalization, digitisation and some other changed business conditions. In addition the writer analyzes the disadvantages of the traditional management accounting, which is not applicable for the present system and fulfil the requirements in the new business environment. Following that the analysis of the change of the management accounting shows that although there is a new business environment, but the basic management accounting techniques is still required, it is still necessary. But due to the development of the business, the requirements of the management accountants are not only demand the accountants have the traditional and basic management accounting techniques, but also some new task of the understanding of knowledge in the other business area and a good interpersonal skills for the increasing teamwork opportunities. Hence, the role of the management accountants has been changed from the financial information provider (the basic role) to the internal consultant in the organizations as a business partner. The strategic management accounting system could provide management accountants a higher level to perform their new role to satisfy the new requirements. As Burns (1999) founded that although the role of the management accountants is changed, but they still have to use the traditional management accounting system, some people called it antique.

Charles Dickens :: essays research papers fc

Charles Dickens   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Growing up in the Victorian period, Christmas didn’t have too much of an influence on society, particularly in England, where Dickens’ grew up. This could be why one might possibly find it odd that this man is known so well for his interest in Christmas, and his many stories that reflect that interest. Charles Dickens’ has forever changed the lives of people everywhere by the characters he portrays in his stories. From the innocent Tiny Tim, to the humbug Ebenezar Scrooge, to the mysterious ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Future†¦Dickens’ has a way to look and write about Christmas from the point of view many could not even imagine. He even brought the tradition of feisting on turkey and ham on Christmas Day into our daily December 25 ritual, now how can one not cherish the man for that. â€Å"Money had always been a worry for Dickens when he was growing up, for he was born into a struggling lower-middle class family. His father went to debtor’s jail when Dickens was only twelve years old. Not able to go to school anymore because of his father’s financial problems, Dickens was forced to get a job. This obviously caused him to have a lack of appropriate education, so Dickens began to develop on interest into books. He was later sent back to school when his dad got out of jail, but when his parents could again no longer afford to pay for their son’s education, he found work in a law office, then as a newspaper reporter. It was here that Dickens’ taught himself shorthand,† (www.ucsc.edu/dickens/DEA/ACC/dickens.bio.html, Dickens’ Life and The Carol). This began the writing of the many Dickens’ classics we enjoy to this very day. One particular book being, A Christmas Carol, a well-known holiday classic.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Dickens’ childhood poverty lead to his compassion for the lower class, especially the children. Even in his writings, he portrayed then with sympathy as well as compassion,† (Hromatko, 5). â€Å"A Christmas Carol greatly reflected the life of Dickens’, for just like the Crachit family, he was poor living in a four-room house. The six Crachit children correspond to the six Dickens’ children at that time,† (www.ucsc.edu/dickens/DEA/ACC/dickens.bio.html, Dickens’ Life and The Carol). â€Å"One may also recall a quite mean and miserly man who went by the name of Ebenezar Scrooge; he represents Victorian England at the time Dickens’ wrote the story.

Hybird Cars Essay -- Gasoline Electric Hybrid Automobiles

A hybrid vehicle uses multiple propulsion systems to provide motive power. This most commonly refers to gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles, which use gasoline (petrol) to power internal-combustion engines (ICEs), and electric batteries to power electric motors. Modern mass-produced hybrids, such as the Toyota Prius, recharge their batteries by capturing kinetic energy via regenerative braking. As well, when cruising or idling, some of the output of the combustion engine is fed to a generator (merely the electric motor(s) running in generator mode[1]) which produces electricity to charge the batteries. This contrasts with all-electric cars which use batteries charged by an external source such as the grid, or a range extending trailer. Nearly all hybrids still require gasoline as their sole fuel source though diesel and other fuels such as ethanol or plant based oils have also seen occasional use. The term hybrid when used in relation with cars also has other uses. Prior to its modern meaning of hybrid propulsion, the word hybrid was used in the United States to mean a vehicle of mixed national origin; generally, a European car fitted with American mechanical components. This meaning has fallen out of use. In the import scene, hybrid was often used to describe an engine swap, such as the common Honda B16 engine into a Honda Civic. Some have also referred to flexible-fuel vehicles as hybrids because they can use a mixture of different fuels Ââ€" typically gasoline and ethanol alcohol fuel. A more recent working prototype was built by Herman Wouk's brother Victor Wouk (known as the Godfather of the Hybrid[2]) into a 1972 Buick Skylark provided by GM for the 1970 Federal Clean Car Incentive Program, but the program was killed by the... ... as a 2007 model. It will be built in Kentucky, USA. Also, Nissan announced the release of the Altima hybrid (technology supplied by Toyota) around 2007. An R.L. Polk survey of 2003 model year cars showed that hybrid car registrations in the United States rose to 43,435 cars, a 25.8 % increase from 2002 numbers. California, the nation's most populous state at one-eighth of the total population, had the most hybrid cars registered: 11,425. The proportionally high number may be partially due to the state's higher gasoline prices and stricter emissions rules, which hybrids generally have little trouble passing. Honda, which offers Insight, Civic and Accord hybrids, sold 26,773 hybrids in the first 11 months of 2004. Toyota has sold a cumulative 306,862 hybrids between 1997 and Nov. 2004 and Honda has sold a total of 81,867 hybrids between 1999 and November 2004.[6]

The Warning of Fahrenheit 451 :: Fahrenheit 451 Essays

The Warning of Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 is a novel about a materialistic society that has forgotten social interaction with each other. This materialistic society is where Bradbury believed society today is headed<THE TENSES HERE ARE A LITTLE CONFUSING.>. The materialistic society in Fahrenheit 451 created through Bradbury's cynic views of society<THIS IS A FRAGMENT SENTANCE.> His views of society are over-exaggerated in contrast with today's events, especially in the areas of censorship and media mediocrity. The purpose of media is quite SIMPLY, "a warning signal--information--that alerts the citizens that something is wrong which needs attention and resolution. An aware and informed populace could then influence its leaders to act upon that information in an effort to solve that problem" (Jensen, Project Censored). But Media has often been criticized for promoting a mass mediocrity, because it only tells the public what it wants to hear. The idea of Media promoting mass mediocrity is a reoccurring image in Fahrenheit 451. Such is not the case in today's society. One of the most successful freedom fighting campaign has been the Tibetan Freedom Concert, a rock concert where artists and citizens converge, sharing their views for Tibetan freedom from Chinese oppression. Over the three years of its existence, the concert has generated so much publicity that it has forced President Bill Clinton to step in and try to hasten the negotiation between the Chinese government and the Dal ai Lama. In a Sonicnet Music News article, the Dalai Lama said, "'Through this live show, many, many Chinese will have gained a better awareness of President Clinton's feelings about Tibet, and also President Jiang's feelings, and I think that can be enormously helpful in the long run.'" (Media Inclusion 1) The Dalai Lama expresses the importance of publicity that has first been generated by the Tibetan Freedom Concert. Not only did it create awareness for the Chinese as the Dalai Lama suggested; it also created awareness around the world, especially in North America. Ask any North American teenager,"What they feel towards the idea of Tibetan oppression from the Chinese?", just ask him "Where Tibet is?" three years ago and he would probably look confused and answer by asking "Would you like fries with that?".<THIS MADE VERY LITTLE SENSE.> Ask that same teenager now, and he would likely give an educated response. The Tibetan Freedom Concert is just an example of how powerful modern media is if it can be used properly.

Best Buy Market Segmentation

Best Buy Canada Ltd is a fully owned subsidiary of Best Buy Co. Inc with its headquarter in Burnaby, BC. Best Buy Co. Inc acquired the Canada-based electronics-chain Future Shop Inc in 2001. The company opened its first Canadian Best Buy store in Mississauga, Ontario the following year. 1 Today, with more than 51 stores across Canada, Best Buy Canada has become the fastest growing and the largest retailers and e-tailers of consumer electronics, entertainment products, accessories and services in Canada. 2 There are many reasons to which we chose Best Buy Canada as our research subject. First of all, it is a very well known retailer and can be easily related to. Secondly, the company fits well in our research structure and many of the concepts in marketing applies to Best Buy Canada as well. Lastly, we believe Best Buy Canada is largely an ethical and socially responsible company that has brought positive impact throughout our community. Best Buy Canada’s mission statement and objective is â€Å"To improve people's lives by making technology and entertainment products affordable and easy to use†. The four core values of the company are â€Å"Having fun while being the best†, â€Å"Learning from challenge and change†, â€Å"Showing respect, humility and integrity† and â€Å"Unleashing the power of our people† 4 In addition to being the biggest retailer of consumer electronics like big screen TVs, computers, cameras and entertainment products i n Canada, Best Buy Canada also has many exclusive brands such as Insignia, Dynex and RocketFish etc . covering a wide range of electronic products and accessories. Geek Squad – a 24 hour computer repair and tech support taskforce, enables Best Buy to offer its customers convenient installation and repair services. Since Best Buy Canada itself does not produce any real products, we are interested in the way Best Buy runs its retail business in the consumer electronics market. We are also interest in how Best Buy Canada attracts different groups of people with different needs and analyze its marketing strategy for staying competitive in the market.

Customer Needs and Preferences Essay

DEMONSTRATE THE ABILITY TO PROVIDE INSPIRATIONAL, AUTHENTIC AND PERSONALIZED CUSTOMER SERVICE / IDENTIFYING CUSTOMERS’ NEEDS: Every customer has different needs and wants when they step into the store. As every customer has different preferences, it is essential to personalize the experiences for different customers. To find out what the customers are looking for, we need to ask TED questions. Through the answers the customers give, we will have better insights and understanding about what they are looking for. PROVIDING INFORMATION ON PRODUCTS / EDUCATING CUSTOMERS: Fragrances: As important as sales is, educating the customers is equally crucial. What makes Jo Malone’s colognes so unique is that it is light so it can be layered. They are good on its own but when layered, you will get truly individual effects. Therefore, customers can come up with their own bespoke scents. Candles and diffusers: For every customer that buys the candles and diffusers, our job is to teach them how to use the products. For candles, the customers can only burn for up to four hours and then extinguish it and after burning, the wick of the candle must be trimmed to prevent the candle from tunneling. ASSIST IN DAILY RETAIL OPERATION: Co-ordinate and check merchandise on display: Except for the testers, the products on display are not displayed pieces but actual selling stocks. In Jo Malone London ION Orchard, it often gets busy and customers are always rushing in this fast-paced city so we often do not take the stocks from the cabinets and just sell the products on display instead. During our free time, we will replenish the merchandise on display. By doing so, it would also minimize external theft as we would be able to immediately realize that the product is missing and then report to our superiors and request for them to check the surveillance cameras. By coordinating and checking the merchandise on display, we will also have better insights on approximately how much of each product needs to be reordered. Handle exchanges of merchandise: A lot of the customers that comes to Jo Malone London are customers that are looking for gifts for their family, friends or loved ones. They often do not know what to buy and often purchase the options between our recommendations. To successfully close these deals and not let our potential customers slip out of our hands, we would persuade them to buy by letting them know that we will issue them a sales memo so that the receiver may bring the unused products to exchange for something they like should they not like the gift. DISPLAY PROFESSIONAL IMAGE AND ETIQUETTE: In Jo Malone London, we are required to wear our uniforms, wear formal footwear and put on our aprons and name tags once we are on the sales floor. Grooming is of great importance as it will not only portray our professionalism, our customers will also place their trust in our recommendations when they see how well-dressed we are. What we say to them will seem more professional and convincible to them too. Other than attire-wise, makeup is also required as it would add colors to our face making us look more refreshed and it will also positively affect the perception people has on us. PERFORM DAILY HOUSEKEEPING: As our store is an open layout store with no automatic doors that opens and closes when a customer walks in and out, there is a lot of dust in the store. What adds to the this-this issue is that we have many spotlights in the store which makes the dust a lot more visible. Therefore, it is essential that we wipe the shelves and the tables every morning. On Sunday mornings, we would wipe all products, shelves, and tables. I do not wipe the shelves and tables, it would make our store look dusty, deserted and unsanitary. 2.2 GOOD OR BAD MOMENTS EXPERIENCED GOOD: Seeing the reactions of my customers when I tell them that I am merely an intern. After a few days of the internship, I feel more confident with the amount of knowledge I have which really played a huge part in my ability to persuade customers to purchase. BAD: During our orientation, we were thought to ask TED questions. And then further suggest scents or products to customers based on our insights. But there often are customers that ask what the best sellers are when they step foot in. What makes this situation tricky is the customers because what may be the bestseller may not be what they like. â€Å"May I know what kind of scents you like, miss? Because what may be the bestseller may not be what you would like† would earn me some glares and angry customers that would stomp off. I often encounter such customers and as much as I want to stay unaffected, I really am.