Saturday, January 25, 2020

Examples of Good Globalization

Examples of Good Globalization When attempting to come up with a good example of globalisation, the first things that come to mind are McDonalds and children from third world countries wearing USA t-shirts. Anthony Giddens mentions in his book Runaway World how a friend of his was doing field studies in a village in central Africa. She was invited to a local home to enjoy an evening she thought would be culturally informing; however, the families entertainment turned out to be a viewing of the American movie Basic Instinct, and the movie hadnt even been released in London yet (Giddens 2002). This is merely one of many examples that go to show how the world we live in is undergoing a drastic transformation that is impossible for anyone to ignore. Whether it is noticeable or not, globalisation is affecting every person on earth, in every aspect of our lives and in everything we do. Most skeptics and radicals look at the economic side of globalisation and toss the other aspects of globalisation to the side. Globalisation is technological, political, and cultural, just as much as it is economic. It is modifying and influencing, but not destroying, cultural identities across the globe. No matter what country comes to mind, almost all have a word in their own native language for globalisation. This global trend is impossible to miss, from curry and chips-recently voted the favourite dish in Britain-to Thai saunas, Zen Catholicism or Judaism, Nigerian Kung Fu, or Bollywood films, made in Bombay-Mumbai and mixing Indian traditions of song and dance with the conventions of Hollywood (Burke 2009). This is not to say that we are undergoing global hybridisation or falling to transnationalisation, but rather, that the cultural blending happening all around the globe is helping us gain knowledge of the world through the many means of communication out there. Also, globalisation is not diminishing cultural identities, but rather, it is heightening an individual cultures sense of self. Many believe a World Order is indeed falling upon us, some being for it and some against, but if we were to undergo the transition to a single World/Government Order, we would lose all sense of culture identities and individualism. If we had a global state, what would prevent the leaders of this new order from dictating a world of secularization? Who would want to be forced to be in a World Order where everything is dictated and all are forced to more or less become a puppet to one world government? Whether it is seen as a World Order, a global society, or a world system, its presence is unnecessary in todays world. Emile Durkheim, a sociologist not opposed to World Order and solidarity, states that, any society is motivated by its need to normatize the event of its togetherness by constructing and adhering to common symbols, beliefs, and practices. Those common symbols, beliefs, and practices do not exist, therefore, simply for the sake of their intrinsic value, truth, or logic. In other words, they have no intrinsic essence (Bamyeh 2000). In saying that the societies and cultures in todays world lack intrinsic essence in their beliefs, traditions, and practices, Durkheim is underlying that these societies have no innate feelings for their own cultural identities, and that these identities have been formed out of the necessity to bring people together to form a society. If Durkheim were to simply take into account all the religious and cultural turmoil going on, she would see that a cultures beliefs, symbols, and practices do hold intrinsic essence to the people within. A largely discussed topic pertaining to globalisation revolves around Benjamin Barbers thesis, distinguishing the differences between the forces of McWorld and Jihad. These are two general attitudes in regards to globalisation. McWorld represents global mass culture and the unification by consumerism and transnationalism. Jihad, on the other hand, represents the deterioration of local traditions and histories due to globalisation (Cowen 2002). My idea of how globalisation is shaping the world and cultural identities is a mix of the two. Yes, mass cultural communication is unifying the world is every aspect of our lives, but it is not deteriorating local traditions and histories, nor are the worlds cultures subject to transnationalisation. Globalisation is, if anything, allowing individual cultures to expand their knowledge of other cultures and allowing them to use and share products, ideas, and customs of other cultures in unison with their own cultures. The blending of nations and cultures is going on as we speak. It is at our fingertips every day with global communications and the Internet. These forms of communication due to globalisation are how we can be enriched by other cultures and share what we have to offer, but the main difference is our choice to choose what we want to study, admire and aspire to be more like or what cultures we want to melt into our own. Without falling to the grips of a single World Order or system, and without cultures falling to transnationalism, it is possible for globalisation to continue throughout the world, as we know it. As Bamyeh (2000) proposes, the process of globalisation is beginning to create a common knowledge system, which is being communicated across the entire globe. This common knowledge system is being communicated by means of: international media, through films and music; mass travel, through students studying abroad and backpackers trekking across nations; and the Internet, through Facebook, blogs and chats, and international News websites. All of these forms of communication have aided in the widespread knowledge of the worlds cultures, making way for the adoption of international influences on a freedom-of-choice level (McQuail 2002). Communication is what enhances feelings of togetherness in societies and cultures. It is what essentially started the formation of societies and individual cultural profiles. With the improvement of technological communication over the past few decades, communities that have been isolated from each other have been able to exchange cultural elements of interest between one another (for example, the Basic Instinct movie in the central African village mentioned in the introduction) (Bamyeh 2000). When looking at the overall effects the mass media has had on globalisation, the Western nations control most of the symbolic and cultural aspects of cross-cultural communications through their media products. Though foreign troops may not be deployed, and a foreign government established, the presence of the empire is felt in the everyday presence of Western media products (Macgregor Wise 2008). In this sense, Macgregor Wise is almost saying that the globalisation of Americas media is giving all other countries defensive feelings towards America, and that it poses as a major cultural threat. However, when looking at world music, literature, and visual arts, it is clearly apparent that cultures have benefited from these communal aspects of globalisation, and that America is clearly not a global threat to cultures. These means of mass media have provided a diverse menu of choice for cultures in developing their own cultural identities (Cowen 2002). In developing or maintaining cultura l identities during the processes of globalisation, countries have developed their own unique ways in staying true to their individual identities. This goes to show that the beliefs and practices a culture maintains do indeed have intrinsic essence, as stated earlier, and that a culture can maintain its identity while also absorbing what it freely chooses from other cultures. The worlds wide variety of media products and how countries incorporate them into their own culture is a perfect example of cultures absorbing other cultures while maintaining their own. Canada, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, name the country, and they probably import Western media. Many believe that all the importation from the Wests media markets is leading to Americanisation, but when taking a closer look, it is apparent that these importing cultures put just as much if not more emphasis on their own markets than they do the Western markets. Canada, for instance, subsidizes their own domestic cinema and mandates domestic musical content for a percentage of radio time. Likewise, the French spend billions of dollars a year on cultural matters, aiding in the nourishing and successes of their French culture (Cowen 2002). The fear of Hollywood devouring the markets of other countries is being countered innately by the individual countries themselves. Granted, many of the movies played in international cinemas, in France and Italy for instance, are Hollywood films. The main cultural aspect behind this is that the movies are translated into the countries own native language. This is proof that countries can uphold their own cultural aspects while absorbing those of others. When discussing movies with an Italian and a French friend, we found ourselves talking about the movie titles. The movie Home Alone (1990) to Italians is called Mamma Ho Perso Laereo (which translates to Mom I Missed My Flight). The movie A Man For All Seasons (1967) in France is called Un Homme Pour Là ©ternità ©, which translates to a man for eternity. These small changes to Western media products are only a few examples as to how countries can still maintain a cultural identity. Just because the Western culture is widely disperse d throughout the world does not mean countries are falling to Americanisation, let alone Globalisation. There are always steps being taken by countries and cultures in maintaining their own identity. Many critics of the globalisation ideology refute with the fact that many cultures in the world today have already fallen to the processes of globalisation, namely homogenisation. American Indian communities, for example, have been overshadowed by the entirety of the United States, and these contemporary critics believe these communities are on the verge of homogenization (Lewellen 2002). However, as Cowen stated it best, once these individuals [e.g. the American Indian communities] have been brought into a common pool with well-developed means of communication, however, they sort themselves into more finely grained and more diverse groups (Cowen 2002). With an outlook like this, one can see that, even with the effects of globalisation, communities still find ways to diversify themselves from other closely sectored communities. If a culture is amongst the grips of globalisation, the effects are counter-acted by popular press, interest groups, and social movements who devout great dea ls of attention to these cultural dilemmas. It is the threat of the loss of traditional identities that trigger cultures to look inwards at their own identities. This healthy narcissism that results from the fear of globalisation is what keeps cultural identities alive in the world we live in today (Burke 2009). When cultures begin to look inwards is when they begin to value greatly the differences between their own cultural identities and those of others. A culture thought to be on the brink of distinction isnt on the brink at all. The attention drawn to a troubled culture allows that culture to prevail, and in the process the knowledge and traditions of that troubled culture become known to the public. The world would know very little about, for example, American Indians, or dying languages such as Welsh, Basque, and Yiddish, if it wasnt for the troubles these heritages faced (Cowen 2000). Globalisation isnt simply Black and White, McWorld and Jihad, homogenization or heterogenisation. There is and always will be an in-between area, which is where the world is at now and where I feel it best belongs. With the process of globalisation, there will always be the countering effect. By resting in the middle, through mass communication, people have been able to gain knowledge of other cultures they would have never dreamed of knowing about. The diverse cuisine menus, musical genres, film categories, and traveling opportunities have all made way for the world to gain knowledge of different cultural traditions. The world, as we know it, thrives off of the cultures that cherish and preserve their cultural identities. A world culture which is simply a uniform culture would be no culture at all. We should have a humanity de-humanised. It would be a nightmare (Murali 2010). Why would the world fall completely to globalisation or a World Order when what it thrives on would simply b e destroyed in the process? The absorption of cultural knowledge and traditions through the wide variety of mass communication available to us today truly heightens a cultures sense of self, innately countering globalisation and allowing cultures to continually prevail.

Friday, January 17, 2020

Whirlpool: Maintaining a Sustainable Competition in the Industry

The U.S. appliance market was completely saturated in 1986. Increased pressure from other companies like GE who implemented a $1 billion restructuring project on its appliance division, and Electrolux, a company that just inherited WCI and hence became a huge presence within the U.S., gave the Whirlpool top management concern on how to stay competitive. Whirlpool knew that the three main markets for home appliance were in the U.S., Europe and Japan. The U.S. market, as previously stated was saturated. Most U.S. appliance purchases were replacement purchases, which did not allow for much add-ons. This made the U.S. a battleground for intense marketing and increased pressures to cut costs dramatically. The unsaturated European market had more potential in 1986. Europe had a large market share in 1986 that analysts suspected would last well into 1993. Europe also had more potential for innovation and add-ons as opposed to simply replacement appliances like those of the United States. One concern over Europe, however, was that it was extremely fragmented and hence not easy to achieve economies of scale. Japan, the last player was also a site for potential growth. It was a smaller market than Europe, however, and there was already a strong presence of Japanese appliance manufacturers there. Whirlpool considered pursuing a joint venture with Phillips, an internationally established company. Phillips has an established appliance department, but Phillips wanted to concentrate its efforts on other projects like welding, energy cable and furniture. Phillips was willing to spin-off its appliance division and to give Whirlpool a certain percentage of the new company. Based on the fact that Whirlpool wants to remain a competitive player in the appliance industry, it should pursue international expansion and clench the first mover advantage over GE while increasing pressure on Electrolux. Whirlpool should go along with the Phillips joint venture due to Phillip†s strong international presence and its strong appliance division. Whirlpool should consider concentrating on expansion in Europe. The countries may be fragmented, but there is evidence that there is increased future collaboration amongst the countries and their purchasing decisions. Furthermore, Whirlpool can cut costs by vertically integrating its components and changing only the exterior of the appliances if need be.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Fossil Fuel Divestment An Overview - 1834 Words

Fossil Fuel Divestment The Fossil Fuel Divestment campaign was first launched in 2012. The word divestment means taking out all the money that was being put into that investment for the fact that those investments were not morally right. Different types of divestments have been used previously and have been extremely successful. Some of those other divestment campaigns that were successful were the fight against violence in Darfur and tobacco advertising (Fossil Free, 2012). By November, 2012, over 300 universities and 100 different cities and states have joined this fossil fuel divestment campaign (Fossil Free, 2012). This movement is being called one of the fastest growing movements that has ever happened. Although this movement started in 2012, it is still rapidly growing now, in 2016. The goal of the fossil fuel divestment movement is to make sure that the companies that are profiting from ruining the environment are stopped. This movement is trying to combat the use of f ossil fuels to help with climate change and air and water pollution. This movement wants companies to, â€Å"immediately freeze any new investment in fossil fuel companies, divest from direct ownership and any commingled funds that include fossil fuel public equities and corporate bonds within five years, and end their fossil fuels sponsorship† (Fossil Free, 2016). Companies that are being targeted by the movement to remove their investments in fossil fuels are universities, religiousShow MoreRelatedCompany Valuation Report for Bp20320 Words   |  82 Pagesliquidity in the company to strengthen their balance sheet, implementing a group of effective financial management and investment diversification. 2.3 Global Demand of Natural Gas Consumption Natural gas is said to be the world’s fastest-growing fossil fuel, with consumption increasing 1.6 percent per year from 2008 to 2035 (U.S. Energy Information Administration 2012). 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Merc: Finance Strategic Management 5 MSc Thesis: Valuation of IntegratedRead MoreMultinational Companies and Their Social Responsibilities (Α Case Study of Shell, Nigeria)15078 Words   |  61 PagesCHAPTER TWO 2.0 AN OVERVIEW OF SHELL DEVELOPMENT COMPANY IN NIGERIA 2.1 Introduction This chapter will provide basic knowledge of Shell Nigeria Oil Company and its operation in Nigeria, in particular regarding its ethics, performance, social involvement, contribution to national income and its contribution to keeping the environment green. Since the Rio Conference of 1992 the code of conduct for all extractive industries including crude oil mining companies has underlined the following principlesRead MoreAnz Bank142091 Words   |  569 Pagesrural and remote areas of the Pacific, with our mobile banking application goMoney. At a time when governments around the world are examining the most effective ways to mitigate climate change, some of our stakeholders view our financing of fossil fuel industries as a key risk. While ANZ is not a major emitter of greenhouse gases, many of our large corporate customers are and we are therefore committed to supporting our customers to transition to a lower-carbon economy. I would encourage shareholdersRead MoreMerger and Acquisition: Current Issues115629 Words   |  463 Pagesfirms Expanding firms Competition policy and national champions Conclusion 213 213 214 217 221 228 231 15 A Deal Too Far: The Case of the Killer Acquisition Tyrone M. Carlin, Nigel Finch and Guy Ford 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 Introduction Overview of the focal company A string of acquisitions Exploring a killer deal Conclusion 234 234 236 239 241 244 16 Trends in Chinese MA: A Look at Lenovo’s Acquisition of IBM PC Margaret Wang 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 Index Introduction History

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

The Flame of Life - 807 Words

A single word inserted or removed can change the feeling of a story in an instant; creating tingles that trickle along the length of your spine or even a compulsive movement to put down the piece and never pick it up again. In many cases an author will write and rewrite their tales until they are perfect. Jack London was very much one of these authors, sending his first version of â€Å"To Build a Fire† to a magazine before rewriting it into the masterpiece of which many are more familiar with today. However, only one of the versions strongly exemplifies the hard truth and fight against uncontrollable and unpredictable nature which is realism and naturalism. In many ways are London’s two distinct pieces of work similar, but also†¦show more content†¦So, one man was a physical being, set in stone, while the other was simply a figure of our imaginations per say, molded to our own liking – one merely arrogant, the other simply ignorant. The main character frozen and idiotic, was drastically changed in these two works. The details in London’s works consume us, and wrap us in his vivid, yet simple and repetitive descriptions of the settings of his works. In â€Å"To Build a Fire† the depiction of the bitter cold and the biting frost are what make the reader seem almost cold themselves, and understand how intense and severe it was – a perfect example of realism. The harsh ways in which he wrote – pounding every sense of numbness the man was feeling into the reader – chilled us to the bone in the 1908 adaption. London states in the second variation, â€Å"He did not expose his fingers more than a minute and was astonished at the swift numbness that smote them†¦He pulled the mitten on hastily, and beat the hand savagely across his chest† (486). Meanwhile, the 1902 version simply let us know that it was quite cold and that this man would simply survive even though he may have had to work for it, there is nothing urgent about the piercing frost. Strong cases of Naturalism and Realism are evident in the 1908 version. In the latter adaption, London changed key words and elongatedShow MoreRelatedMoth Smoke, by Mohsin Hamid912 Words   |  4 Pageswith his best friend’s wife, and plummets into a difficult lifestyle. The novel centers on the image of a moth flying around a flame; the closer it gets to what it desires, the more it is burned. Through the juxtaposition of the moth and Darashikoh Shezad, or Daru, as he is referred to, the reader is able to truly understand the situation that Daru has put himself in; the life he desperately wants will only ever harm him. Though the image of the moth is scattered throughout the book, such as the timesRead MoreA Report On Military Worms896 Words   |  4 PagesMilitary worms can also be used for reconnaissance. In, 2012, shortly after Stuxnet, the Russians discovered a virus, later named Flame, which had been extracting and dumping all data from Russian computers. The article, â€Å"Flame: Massive cyber-attack discovered, researchers say† by Dave Lee explains, â€Å"Once a system is infected, Flame begins a complex set of operations, including sniffing the network traffic, taking screenshots, recording audio conversations, intercepting the keyboard, and so on† (Lee)Read MoreThe Ideal Dance I Pick Was A Mixed Of Modern Dance Ballet Dance1206 Words   |  5 Pagesdance I pick was a mixed of modern/ballet dance. I constantly desired to dance like a mystical Firebird called the Phoenix and how they interpret the meaning of reincarnation. How the Phoenix used its feathers to turn it to flam es and able to swirl. It around to engulf itself in flames to get the sun to become as one with the world. The phoenix opens its wings and lift itself to the cosmos as the young phoenix from its old ashes and rejuvenate to a beautiful organism. The song I used is called AwakeningRead MoreInvestigation On Flame Retardant Effect Of Myanmar Banana1347 Words   |  6 PagesInvestigation on Flame Retardant Effect of Myanmar Banana (Musa Sapientum Linn) Pseudostem Sap on Cotton Fabric Abstract: The main aim of this work is to investigate the flame retardant effect of Myanmar banana pseudostem sap on cotton fabric. The objectives of this work are to extract the banana sap , to produce the flame retardant fabric with different concentrations of alkaline BPS (banana pseudostem sap ) ,and to analyse the produced flame retardant fabrics .Firstly the sap is extracted fromRead MoreLab Equipment And Chemical Properties1629 Words   |  7 Pagesconducting various tests. 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Elie Wiesel witnesses this first hand on many accounts and spends his life striving to educate the world about the horrors of the Holocaust. In his Holocaust memoir, Night, he uses the motifs: night, silence, and flames, to develop the idea that evil is part of human nature. The motif flames symbolizes suffering and death of innocent people out evil and intolerance within human nature. The Nazis senselessly follow orders to burn