Economic policy in the USA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Economic policy in the USA - Essay Example United States applied Keynesian approach that supports fiscal policy as the best measure to boost socio-economic growth. Fiscal policy is important in managing economy within the projections of the government (Cohen 67). United States has over time used fiscal policy at national level as the best way to enhance expansionary economic policy. For instance, increased taxation has given the country revenue to fund various sectors and more importantly initiate economic stimulus programme. Such programmes help in creating more jobs which constitute expansionary measures hence boosting the overall national income per capita. The changing socio-economic and political structure of the contemporary society has initiated free-market economy. In this regard, United States uses monetary policy through its reserve bank to regulate inflation and hence boosts its global competitiveness in trade. The theoretical tenet behind monetary policy is the free interaction of forces of demand and supply (Cohe n 120). It is also the basis of capitalism which has seen United States remain consistent in terms of global economic performance ranking. The monetary policy has also been critical to the United States considering the use of its currency as the standard of measure. This means consideration of its foreign policy on trade which depends on the strength of its currency in global market. Fiscal policy remains in force within United States towards welfare of the citizens and particularly towards provision of education and healthcare.

Critical writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Critical writing - Essay Example tion about the negative moves of a government, that owned by the government will present the government in good light in spite of its negative actions. For example, during Hitler’s rule in Germany, newspapers were used to spread propaganda in favor of the government even though the government committed several atrocities. Yet another factor that may lead to different interpretations of similar events is cultural differences. Different cultures interpret different actions or words in different ways. Thus, newspapers owned or controlled by people of different cultures may present different views one and the same event. Students should be wary of bias when relying on newspapers to provide information. They should avoid relying on newspapers that present information in a biased way. Instead, they should rely on newspapers that are objective in their coverage. Critical thinking should be applied to establish whether or not a source is biased. This can be done by evaluating the tone used, the author, their affiliations and what they stand for, and the different points of view presented by the

The Background Of Walmart Marketing Essay

The Background Of Walmart Marketing Essay Introduction International business is where business activities take place in other countries. Business activities include starting a joint venture, shipping, exporting goods and services across national borders. In this essay, I will be selecting Walmart as an international business which had encountered business failure because of the lack of understanding of the national cultural difference in South Korea. Background of Walmart Sam Walton was the founder of Walmart in July 1962 and the first Walmart store was opened in Rogers, Arkansas, offering Lowest Prices Anytime, Anywhere. In 1970s, the company goes national and expands their businesses. In 1980s, the company set up Sams club, attending small businesses and individuals. The first Walmart Supercenter was opened in Washington, Mo., merging merchandise and supermarket to offer one stop shopping convenience. In 1990s, Walmart became the countrys number one retailer and Walmart Supercenter reformulate their multiple services to Every Day Low Prices strategy (Walmart 2012). Walmart.com was founded to offer consumers a seamless shopping experience to shop online, handheld devices or in a store. Today, the company hires 2.2 million associates and have exceeded 10,000 retail stores in 27 countries. In conjunction to that, they also celebrated 50 years of assisting people to save money so they can live better. Problem Identification Walmart goes international to South Korea in 1998. At that point of time, American economy in 1998 had strong domestic economy. The fundamentals of South Korea market were excellent but Asian financial crisis had ruined the exchange value of the Korean won. And as their currency is artificially low and hence, Walmart sees it as an opportunity to expand into Korea. But due to the culture differences and underperforming business in the host country, they had decided to pull out and give up 16 of its South Korea stores to the countrys largest discount store chain, Shinsegae in 2006 after eight years in the market. At the time of withdrawal, Walmart Korea was ranked in the lowest among five major discount store chains in the South Korea (Ramstad 2006). According to the Walmarts spokesman Beth Keck, Walmart Korea earned $787 million of sales in 2005. Following on, they held an interview in Seoul to announce that the company had suffered a loss of $10 million in 2005 (Olsen, 2006). In less than a month, Walmart had become the next western retailer to pull out from South Korea after French retailer Carrefour, sell off its 32 South Korea stores to a local retailer, E.Land Group for $1.8 billion (Choe, 2006). The decision to pull out from Korea is part of its global strategy. Steers and Nardon (2006) stated that global strategy is to focus attention on cost reduction and effectiveness at the cost of local adaption. But as Walmart strive hard on their growth strategy, they still couldnt the reach the stage they desired from the South Koreas market. On May 2006, Walmart joined other reputable firms like Nokia, Nestle and Google under a list of multinational whom had experienced the same outcomes that failed to change the taste of the South Koreas customers (Choe 2006). Causes of the Problem There were many factors that led to the failures of Walmart in South Korea. Walmart failed due to the incapability to identify the shopping patterns of the local consumers and to modify its business model to suit the current culture of the South Koreans. Thus, the profits they earned from stores were very little and despite of large investments, consumers did not choose Walmart as their main shopping destination. Location Preference In South Korea, Walmart had only 16 stores. Just in Seoul, a metropolitan area of 10 million, there is only one single Walmart store. As a result, it couldnt generate enough customer flows as the location is not well located. Therefore, many Koreans have never heard of Walmart. This has resulted in many Koreans shopping at E-Mart, largest discount store chain in South Korea. E-Mart has a total of 79 outlets which are all easily accessible in the centre of the cities. The local retailers, E-Mart, has a more localized approach to suit the local consumers taste and preference. They changed the preference by moving from the open-air market into a well-situated indoors concept in supermarkets. They studied the local consumers preference and focused mainly on food and beverages like local delicacies, seafood as well as their products mix. E- Mart offer low-priced products in smaller quantities and in well-known locations instead of warehouses, having more fresh foods and feature special-in-store events (Coyner 2007). Therefore, most of the South Korean customers do not like the warehouse design of the Walmart. It pulls them off as the tall shelving causes them to use ladders or to stretch for items on higher shelves that were beyond their imagination. They prefer department stores like E-Mart which is clean, neat and have stylish atmosphere. Product expectation The OECD reported that Korea has the highest hours per worker in 2002 (OECD 2004) shown in figure 1. The standard number of hours worked per year in OECD countries is around 1700 and Korea reached 2410 hours per year. Therefore, Koreans work a lot, under huge amount of pressure. Hence, they want every moment when theyre not working or studying to be a luxurious life of living. They have a tendency to choose expensive products and better environment. As a result, Walmart was not very approachable in the host country. Product Mix The South Korean customers might not be interested in the same product categories as the Americans as both of the countries have different consumer preferences based on their cultures differences. Walmart sell dry products, electronics products and garments. Walmarts shoes to sausage product line concept do not go well with the shopping habits of the locals. Freshness of food is very important and in the aspect of the South Koreans and they take it very seriously. They dont mind travelling down to supermarkets or wet markets to buy the fresh food products frequently. Another reason is that they stay at small houses with limited storage and freezing space to store the food, therefore, they have to go for groceries shopping every day. Choe (2006) reported that South Koreans prefer to shop for fresh vegetables and fresh foods rather than buying foreign foods and beverages. In contrast to that, Americans doesnt travel to supermarkets often. They buy products in bulk for longer storage. Therefore, most of the products in Walmart are sold in boxes which do not cater to the Koreans as they prefer smaller packages. A retail analyst Hyundai Securities in Seoul said that Walmart Korea failed to attract customer to the stores (Olsen, 2006). South Koreans are visually-oriented shoppers. They prefer eye catching displays and local retailers were able to present it and grab their attention. Problem Solutions If I am in charge of the Walmarts businesses in Korea, the fundamental aspect to go global is to have an in-depth understanding of what local customers need, want and desire. Some of the business concepts can be easily transferred while others may suit only to particular countries. Walmart go into South Korea sticking to its own culture and sales strategy, ignoring local cultures and buying behaviour and failed to survive in the market at the end (Kottolli 2006). Based on Hofstedes dimensions of culture and Trompenaars cultural dimension, it will be easier to identify the similarities and differences between the Walmarts in United States and South Korea. Therefore, the cultural values are very important in a national culture, it could reflect how the business operate and organise within that country. Hofstedes Dimensions of Culture Figure 2 shows the comparison between South Korea and United States based on the Hofstedes five dimension of culture. They are categorized under Power distance (Power Orientation), Individualism (Social Orientation), Masculinity/ Femininity, Uncertainty avoidance (Uncertainty Orientation) and Long- term orientation (Time Orientation). Power Orientation Power orientation means that the people in the culture hold the power and authority differences in hierarchy levels such as business organisations. There are power respect and power tolerance in the power orientation. Power respect is individuals who have the tendency to accept power based on the position and will respect superiors decision. Power tolerance is those individuals whom often question people in higher authority. Based on the chart shown in Figure 2, under power distance, South Korea scored 60 and United States scored 40. This shows that South Korea is based on a hierarchical society which means that people agree to a hierarchical order based on the position and needs no further explanation. Social Orientation Social orientation reflects a persons beliefs about the relative importance of the individual and the group to which that person belongs (Ajami et al.2006). Under the social orientation there are individualism and collectivism. Individualism refers to the people or countries that look after themselves and their families first. Collectivism refers to people who look after others more than themselves. According to Hodstede (1997), people are integrated into strong cohesion groups which offer protection in exchange for loyalty. Figure 2 shows that South Korea scored 18 and United States scored 91 for the individualism. South Korea is considered a collectivistic society and loyalty in a collectivist culture is importance as it prevails over other rules and regulations. The collectivistic society emphasizes on strong relationship where everybody takes accountability for fellow members of their group. But the disadvantage of the collectivistic society is that wrongdoing will lead to humiliation and loss of face as the employment relationship is perceived in ethical terms (e.g. family connection). Also, hiring or promotion decisions take the employees in- group into account. As for the United States, their employment relationship is perceived via contract. Based on rules and skills, the management will then decide to hire or promote the employees. Uncertainty Orientation Uncertainty orientation refers to the extent to which an individual in the society who feel threatened by uncertain and unknown situations. There are uncertainty acceptance and uncertainty avoidance. People in cultures with uncertainty acceptance have the tendency to be motivated by change and to thrive on new opportunities. On the contrary, people with uncertainty avoidance have the tendency to dislike ambiguity and avoid it. Figure 2 shows that South Korea scored 85 and United States scored 46 under uncertainty avoidance. South Korea is considered to be the most uncertainty avoidance countries in the world and they hold rigid rules based systems. South Korea people feel that there is a need to work hard and have rules and punctuality. As for the United States, they will work hard only when there is a need. Time Orientation Time orientation refers to the people of a culture who adopt a long- term versus a short- term viewpoint on work, life and other issues (Griffin 2011). Figure 2 show that South Korea scored 75 and 29 on the long- term outlook. South Korea has a longer term orientation and people from this society accept the fact that they have to work hard and to have perseverance in order to achieve their goals. As for United States, the Americans will focus on the past and present more rather than the future. Apply Hofstedes theory to Walmart Applying back to Walmart Korea, there is a need to examine the different dimensions of culture based on Hofstedes model shown in Figure 3. South Korea being a collectivistic society, they work hard to achieve their goals and blindly obey the orders of their superiors. Walmart cant simply impart their western culture to the South Korea and to expect them to accept. South Koreans dislike ambiguity and will avoid the changes. Walmart needs to look into the future of the South Koreans living expectation and adopt a different way of approach to keep the customers. They cant just look into the Asian financial crisis and go into South Korea without preparing their business plan for the long term growth in the local market. Trompenaars Cultural Dimensions Another theory that I will apply is using Trompenaars cultural dimensions. Its another alternative to Hofstedes dimensions. Universalism versus Particularism South Korea is more of a Particularistic culture. They believe that circumstances state how ideas should be applied and some things cannot be done the same way as it is. South Korea with high particularism that has legal contract is often amended and they will try to work things out to suit the parties. Likewise for the culture in Walmart Korea, they are under Universalists. They believe that ideas can be applied everywhere without any modifications. Aswathappa (2010) stated that the management under Walmart focus on formal rules and business connections. Specificity versus Diffuseness South Korea is under diffuse countries, which means that their work and private life are closely related. In 1996, Trompenaars observed that the employee turnover rate and the number of invasion in the countries are quite low mainly because of loyalty (Cited in Heidtmann 2011, p. 44). Walmart are based under specific cultures because of its handling by western country. The people are more open and outgoing. Furthermore, their work life and private life are separated so they only share with close friends or associates. Achievement versus Ascription South Korea is considered an ascription- orientated culture. They give certain associates a higher status because of their age, gender and social connection. As for the Walmart in United States, their status is based on their performance and accomplishment. Conclusion To conclude, Walmart needs to plan their operations and strategies before expanding to South Korea. Having a lucrative business in foreign country depends on the market size, culture aspects, current and future wealth of customers. Walmart had their strategic positioning fit in the United States and was able to capture the principles from the customers which helped to boost their profit growth (Kim 2008). But Walmarts attempt to use their business model to the South Korea market leads to failure. As a result, Walmart Every Day Low Prices strategy does not fit in the South Korea country due to the culture differences. In addition to that, Walmart did not come up with an effective localization strategy to indicate how much they are investing and grow in the local market. Therefore, Walmart should apply Hofstede or Trompenaars culture theories to analysis the culture differences first before deciding whether Korea was a strategically key market to go into it global expansion. Word limit: 2363

Point Shaving :: essays research papers

I think that it’s a tragedy to see that many collegiate athletes are involved in gambling situations. It’s hard on the athletes too, because they’re not getting paid to play the game so it’s hard to resist thousands of dollars to only win by a few, in cases on point shaving. When I was watching that movie â€Å"Blue Chips†, which is all about illegal college betting and buying athletes to come to their school, there was a scene involving the coach and the point guard regarding a point shaving incident three years ago. After the student was harassed by the coach he finally confessed saying, â€Å"We won the game, we just didn’t beat the spread. That’s only for those gamblers anyway†. He has a point with what he said but that’s not the point. A lot of young athletes do see point shaving as partaking in an illegal and unlawful event or don’t believe that much in it, morally. So people say that if the college players were getting paid none of this would happen. I don’t know if giving the players a stipend is going end this because unless you’re paying the athletes thousands of dollars a week or a game, the stipend won’t be more than what they’re being offered. I do think that it might help but I’m not sure if that help is going to make a big enough difference. On the same note, if you eliminate spreads, can they be sure that it will make a difference when it comes to gambling. Don’t get me wrong, eliminating the spreads would decrease the amounts of point shaving incidents, but it won’t necessarily stop them. Bookies can make up their own spreads and ask players to shave points regardless of the fact that the spread is not publicized. The bookie has an idea by about how much one team may beat another. I understand that they will probably never â€Å"eliminate collegiate gambling† but they’re t rying to limit and reduce it and I’m all for it too. Unfortunately there is the big issue of the politicians and their campaigning for funds and it’s going to be hard to control that too. I can understand why Congress isn’t closing the Nevada loophole or at least delaying it, but I still don’t agree with it.

Notes on the Ethical Theories Essay

Immanuel Kant (notice that he lived in the 1700’s and people likely had different views back then), a philosopher, believes that using reason, one can make a list of ethical actions. Kant says that one must generalize the certain action he is about to do to see if it is reasonable. For example, you ask yourself â€Å"should I cut the line in the cafeteria?† The way you can answer this question is by asking yourself â€Å"What if everyone cut the line?† Of course, if that happened then there would be chaos, so you shouldn’t cut the line. This also applies to stealing, murdering, and keeping promises. He basically says that everyone is equal and you shouldn’t justify your actions to yourself because you are not special and you wouldn’t want others to do that to you. â€Å"Treat others as you would have them treat you.† Golden Rule. But, if only you do this and no one else does you are going to get eaten up by the world. This may contradi ct a person’s adaptability and may negatively appeal to emotion; you will feel like a B—-. Veil of ignorance- You have two people who love cake. Tell one person to cut a cake in half but let the other choose which half to take. Again, Golden Rule. Kant says there is a difference between objects and people, you can replace objects but not people. Someone broke my computer, I am sad. He buys me a new one, I am happy. I am about to die, my parents are sad. They can clone me, should they be happy? He also says that you shouldn’t kill people for the greater good. But what if they were murderers or rapists aren’t they causing sadness, and their deaths would in fact be for the greater good? Kant sees that a persons intentions that count rather than the final result. But what if I am helping a person, who is bad and corrupt, against a thief who is only trying to feed his family, quite the dilemma. Kant uses only reasoning rather than emotion so that people always do what is right rather than when they feel like it. Consistency is key to his theories. Criticisms of Kant Moral Absolutism – You can’t always not lie. What if a murderer wants to kill your dad? Your dad hides and then the murder breaks in and asks you were he is. If you follow Kant’s ideas, you would tell him where your dad is. There must be some sort of emotion to counteract those who do not follow the philosophy of Kant. But again, Kant is saying that EVERYONE should do this, and this murderer wouldn’t exist in Kant’s ideal world. Rule worship- To blindly follow rules without using your own knowledge. â€Å"If rules can not be bent, then they should be broken.† Conflicts of duty- should you steal the medicine for your dying wife? Should you save your grandmother from the burning house or the doctor who can save many people? Moral coldness- The world would be emotionless and sad. There will be little space for happiness because everything is going to be so constant and emotions will have a very small presence. Utilitarianism- Seek the greatest happiness for the greatest number. What if you could randomly pick 10 people to die and save 100? Would you do it? You can say yes, because it logical, you use no emotion what so ever. That goes against Kant though because he says that people have dignity and you shouldn’t take that away. You can say no, where you are mostly using emotion.

A Critical analysis of The film “Platoon” Essay

The Vietnam War was on everyone’s mind in 1960s and 1970s in our country. It was the center of much of America’s troubles during this time, but only the soldier’s who fought in that war knew the true madness that was Vietnam. Oliver Stone began writing Platoon because the Vietnam War was â€Å"a pocket of our history nobody understands.† (Schuer t24) Platoon is a movie which should be viewed by everyone, not only for its cinematic qualities but for its historic insight as well. Platoon is an Orion Pictures production, filmed in 1986. Written and directed by Oliver Stone it tells the gruesome story of a Vietnam War not known by the American public. Tom Beringer, who plays the experienced Sergeant Barnes, was nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category along with Willem Defoe who plays Sergeant Elias. Charlie Sheen plays Chris Taylor, an idealistic student who had dropped out of college, joined the army, and volunteered for Vietnam. His idealism and view of war in general rapidly change during the course of the film. The character is based off the director Oliver Stone, who dropped out of Yale to join the war effort. Chris and the rest of the soldiers are unaware of what they are getting into and are given little time to prepare. â€Å"Trapped in the cage of front-line life, living (if they’re luck) from moment to moment, values that apply elsewhere fade out for Barnes and others† (Kauffman 24). While serving his time Taylor experience the war in its full spectrum, from the homesickness and the comradery of the men to the nightmares of battle. Read Also:  Critical Evaluation Essay Topics The enemy is the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong but you rarely view them except as shadowy figures in the jungle or momentarily illuminated by the light of a flare. There are no defined battle lines and the combat scenes lead you to believe that the enemy is everywhere. The line between good and evil is blurred or nonexistent in this film. Sergeant Elias is portrayed as a caring, intelligent leader who escapes reality through the use of drugs. His nemesis, Sergeant Barnes, is portrayed as an efficient fighting machine who will stop at nothing to get the job done. You soon realize that he, too, is just doing everything to ensure his own survival. Platoon shows how the War affected the soldiers, and how none of them felt  that they were fighting for a reason. The film shows the Vietnam experience from the average soldier’s point of view. In the beginning Chris Taylor is very ignorant and his chances of survival are slim. The movie went beyond just showing battles, with the showing of the moral dilemmas that the soldiers faced. The film does not in any way glorify the war in Vietnam. It is a gritty look at what the soldiers endured while serving their country. The men in the platoon come from all walks of life and all over the country. However they all share the same desire to serve their time and get as far away from the fighting as possible. There is not one soldier in the jungle whose mind is not irrevocably warped by the ravages of war. Some critics complain that the character development in the story is weak and there is no plot. J.P. Stern of U S News and World Report states that â€Å"The Central Plot tension – the battle for a young private’s soul between a â€Å"good† sergeant who has retained humanity and a â€Å"bad† sergeant who has become a killing machine is not very tense.† However, the introduction of the entire cast in the film is what sets the film apart from others like it. There are no real heroes in this movie and no real villains. There is just a group of frightened men fighting for survival in their own ways and counting the days until they can leave the country. Nearly the entire film is set in a very thick jungle with tall grass and a beautiful landscape. All of the soldiers are forced to walk through thick jungle with biting insects, and hidden trip wires. The camera is always moving to give a sense of confusion and disorientation. Shots of wounded men screaming and constant gunfire makes you feel like you are in the middle of it all. The violence and paranoia that plagued the soldiers are constantly evident.†Complaints about the violent nature of his work elicit from Stone what might be called the journalist’s defense that’s just the way it is. (Ansen 56) In order to accurately tell the story Stone could pull no punches. Platoon was instantly acclaimed upon it’s release as the first truly authentic look at Vietnam since the end of the war. It was nominated for many academy awards including, best picture, best film editing, best sound, best director, best cinematography, best writing, and best supporting actor. The film won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best film editing, best sound,  and best director. Richard Corliss of Time Magazine states that â€Å"Stone’s film is a document written in blood that after almost 20 years refuses to dry.† Yet behind all of the prestige and awards it was given, Platoon holds an underlining message. â€Å"Charlie Sheen is America in its innocence, and the jungle is the dark, confused mystery that the war remains for us twenty years later† (Evans 78). Platoon is more than just a gory war movie; it is a realistic look at world that we would never want to experience. Works Cited 1. Ansen, David. â€Å"A Ferocious Vietnam Frenzy† Newsweek 5 Jan. 1987: 57. 2. Corliss, Richard â€Å"Platoon† Time Magazine 26 Jan. 1987:54-61. 3. Kauffmann, Stanley. â€Å"An American Tragedy† The New Republic 19 Jan. 1987: 24-25. 4. Schuers, Fred. â€Å"Soldier’s Story† Rolling Stone 29 Jan. 1987: 22+. 5. Stern, J.P.. â€Å"Parable in the Jungle† U S News and World Report 2 March 1987: 78.