Un-Uniquely Oppressive. “The Point Of History Is To Learn

Un-uniquely Oppressive â€Å"The point of history is to learn that our time is not uniquely oppressive.† These wise words rang through Purdue’s Fowler Hall on the night of March 1st*, spoken by famed historian, Rice University professor, and CNN contributor Douglas Brinkley as part of his Presidential Lecture alongside Purdue President Mitch Daniels. During a time where bipartisanship has fallen by the wayside and American politics are in upheaval, I went to Brinkley’s lecture hoping to hear bipartisan messages of hope and gain new insights into American political history and the future. Brinkley began his lecture alongside Daniels by letting the audience know about him as a person, who he was before his work and books gained him fame and†¦show more content†¦Daniels’ next question was extremely pertinent to the events surrounding certain controversial and orange skinned politicians. â€Å"How important is character and virtue in a president? Can you be great without them?† I perked up at this question, this was what I had come here to gain more insight into; are politicians supposed to be paragons of morality or must they simply be able to execute the duties of political office? The reply did not dash my hopes to hear hopeful statements that night. Brinkley stated, â€Å"I used to tell students the best presidents don’t lie. Character is good, but you do things for the public that might be deceptive, but are for the greater good.† While I did not find this answer to be particularly revolutionary, it did have a nice message to it. I believe presidents can’t reveal every state secret to the public, simply for the public peace of mind. Brinley’s next step in his talk was to highlight how people from opposing political parties can be alike, despite ideological arguments, thus fulfilling the expectation that he would give hope in a time of political party conflict. Yet again that night he chose to discuss the two political giants Roosevelt and Reagan. As he highlighted the similarities between the two, audience members nodded and the general atmosphere was quite positive. Brinkley pointedShow MoreRelatedPolitical Violence in Africa8046 Words   |  32 PagesPolitical violence in Africa stains the entire fabric of public and private life. African nations, as they achieved freedom from the colonial system, could claim a sense of control over their own destiny that had never been present until that historical point. For as long as they had been modern nation states in Africa, these states were governed by the same European powers that had set the borders of the African nations to begin with. Before the colonial powers had created a jigsaw of the continent thatRead MoreGp Essay Mainpoints24643 Words   |  99 Pagesrole in science c. Rely too much on technology? d. Nuclear technology e. Genetic modification f. Right tech for wrong reasons 3. Arts/Culture a. Arts have a future in Singapore? b. Why pursue Arts? c. Arts and technology d. Uniquely Singapore: Culture 4. Environment a. Developed vs. Developing b. Should environment be saved at all costs c. Are we doing enough to save the environment? d. Main reasons for environmental problems nowadays 5. Religion a. ReligionRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 PagesBrier, and Roy Rosenzweig Also in this series: Paula Hamilton and Linda Shopes, eds., Oral History and Public Memories Tiffany Ruby Patterson, Zora Neale Hurston and a History of Southern Life Lisa M. Fine, The Story of Reo Joe: Work, Kin, and Community in Autotown, U.S.A. Van Gosse and Richard Moser, eds., The World the Sixties Made: Politics and Culture in Recent America Joanne Meyerowitz, ed., History and September 11th John McMillian and Paul Buhle, eds., The New Left Revisited David MRead MoreBrand Building Blocks96400 Words   |  386 Pages because the vision of the firm is to move beyond traditional steel and automobile business. Linchpin brands: A linchpin brand unlike strategic brand not necessarily represents a meaningful future level of sales and profit but it is a leverage point of a major business area. It indirectly influences a business by providing a basis for customer loyalty. For ex. ‘Park Avenue’, a brand extension of Raymond’s launched in mid-eighties. It is a linchpin brand for Raymond’s because it has extended the

Analysis paper Cleopatra - 1797 Words

A Critical Analysis of CLEOPATRA LIFE: STACY SCHIFF ANTHONY EVERITT: THE LIFE OF ROME’S FIRST EMPEROR AUGUSTUS ANDREA OVERFIELD: THE HUMAN RECORD SOURCES OF GLOBAL HISTORY, VOLUME1 By Susana E Andrade Professor Lorenz History 4A, Sec. 1985 May 2, 2013 1. Based on your selected book, very briefly describe the scope and focus of your historian work, then, state the historian’s thesis/core argument and sub-thesis. Stacy Schiff in Cleopatra: A life present a well detailed historical past of Cleopatra the last of Egyptian queens. She married twice to a brother. She was treated brutal during the Civil war. Cleopatra only had been with two mean, Caesar and Anthony, and had a kid with Caesar according†¦show more content†¦On the contrary, the great force of history comes from the fact that we carry it within us, are unconsciously controlled by it in many ways, and history is literally present in all we do†. Andrea and Overfield they state the religion is the past, present, and future, as a great example of applying the quote as they mention the Christianity and the Islamic will never die. In addition religion are the past, present, and future and as time goes by there are more people involving into this religions. So history can be related and a good way to express something that has made an impact to society and people lives and those believes never die but the increase more and m ore. Like the Islamic the have a sacred book where you learn a lot things about the ways of style of life according to the Quran book. In addition, there are other religion with a lot of popularity which they have so many believer around the world. Furthermore, the Muslim’s has a big influence on us. Because of their life style and provide the perfect models of life. Because they don fallow the precepts of the Quran. Also they have different points of view the world. They think that Muslim religion in correct and true full and that’s what god’s message introduces the way of have a better religious life. 5. Using Augustus you will develop an argument in which you focus on ONE of the following concepts; Historical Causation, or, Historical Periodization,Show MoreRelatedComparison Of Chinese Empress Wu Zetian And Cleopatra1772 Words   |  8 Pages Anthropology 1105 MW3 Research Paper October 14 2017 Compare and contrast of Ancient Female Rulers (china and egypl) In this paper I’m going to compare and contrast two ancient female rulers. My comparative analysis will examine both powerful rulers Chinese Empress Wu Zetian and Egyptian Pharaoh Cleopatra. They both ruled in many different ways, but what I found both interesting in the comparisonRead MoreAn Examination on Sociocultural â€Å"Marking† of Women – Rhetorical Analysis of â€Å"There Is No Unmarked Woman† by Deborah Tanen1835 Words   |  8 PagesNicole Carper Professor M. Keith English 1101, sec. 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Hsc Belonging Peter Skrzynecki and Ben Heine Free Essays

Individuals may feel a sense of belonging to many people and places. This sense of belonging can enrich the individual, becoming a positive influence on his or her life. Ben Heine is the skilled photographer behind the photograph titled ‘Home’. We will write a custom essay sample on Hsc Belonging Peter Skrzynecki and Ben Heine or any similar topic only for you Order Now This photograph uniquely explores ideas about belonging as to provoke thought in regards to the viewer’s perception of what it actually means to belong. Likewise, these ideas surrounding a connection to people and places are expressed in Peter Skrzynecki’s Immigrant Chronicles. Belonging is the central theme throughout the photograph ‘Home’ which is clearly represented through the caricature of a child girl establishing herself in a fantasy world she is depicted drawing herself into. Ben Heine’s image represents reality versus fantasy which could also be viewed as not belonging and belonging. He has accomplished this through holding a pencilled sketch over a section of adjoining photograph to make something real into a distorted fantasy. Unlike novels, poetry or songs, images cannot be expressed using a considerable amount of words. Instead images must display visual techniques to convey ideas. Heine has incorporated numerous visual techniques into his photograph to achieve such complexity in depth and meaning. As the title of the photograph suggests, this image displays images of home, which provokes emotive thoughts towards the people depicted in the image. Within the salient image is a vector where your eyes are drawn towards and then follow a path to where the artist wishes you to look. In the image ‘Home’ Heine has drawn a vector stemming from the centre of the young girl, which is then followed up the girl’s arm where she has written the simple word ‘Home’ as a logo upon the singular house. This provokes thoughts as to whether the child and her mother standing to her left actually have a place to call ‘Home’. In ’10 Mary Street’, it is the house that provides a literal and psychological place to belong. It signifies the Skrzynecki’s’ search for security, identity and safety and is a refuge from the new and strange environment. The family invests too much in its importance, however, and the personification of the house’s ‘China blue coat’ reveals its fragility and that the nature of belonging to a place is transitory. This reveals the poet’s recognition of the position of vulnerability the family are in at the hand of their rigidity and exposes the dangers of relying on a place to belong. In ’10 Mary Street’ the Skrzynecki’s’ have a home, unlike the little girl portrayed in ‘Home’ who has to draw a fantasy which includes a house and family to belong. The entire photograph ‘Home’ depicts reality versus fantasy. The reality in the image is exemplified by the use of colour whereas the fantasy is shown in black and white sketching. The fantasy is a perfect illusion which would easily be concealed as reality if it weren’t for the obvious contrast between the colour palette, and lack of it. The pencilled fantasy is a perfect world however it is clearly a child’s fantasy. The girl’s mother standing next to her seems oblivious to the girl’s imaginative world. She is absorbed in what is right in front of her; reality. This is similar in ‘St Patrick’s College’ as Peter’s mother is oblivious to her son’s wishes. In the last paragraph the poet states â€Å"prayed that someday mother would be pleased†¦ hat the darkness around me wasn’t â€Å"for the best†. The repetition of this negative phrase â€Å"wasn’t for the best† reinforces Skrzynecki’s negative attitude to his mother’s choice of education for him as she was initially merely â€Å"impressed by the uniforms of her employers sons†. It implies some c riticism for his mother’s choice of school based on the ideas and attitudes of others and perhaps not on what is best for her son’s personality and happiness. The God-like hand stemming from the right hand side of the image ‘Home’ is holding the sketch. It is as though he is giving the girl opportunities, foresight into what her life could be like, a guiding hand making dreams come true. In the fantasy is a simple home and at its base lays a car, happy smiling people united by held hands. It is a wealthy area which is clean, unpolluted and uncrowded. This description is juxtaposed by the reality which is a poor, dirty, polluted, crowded looking area. The people in the fantasy holding hands are a representation of family, happiness, familiarity, safety and acceptance. Interestingly in reality there is just the girl and her mother without a father figure present. However, sketched in the child’s fantasy world there is a family; a mother, a father and a daughter who are united by held hands. This representation of belonging in the fantasy contrasts the reality as in the reality there is a large distance between mother and daughter where the mum and she are separated. This is shown by the tilt of the mum’s head away from the girl. The transition between childhood and adulthood often leads to a distancing between parents and their children. In the poem ‘Feliks Skrzynecki ‘ this idea is evident ‘as like a dumb prophet watched me pegging y tents further south of Hadrian’s Wall’. The simile, ‘like a dumb prophet’ and the metaphor ‘further south of Hadrian’s Wall’ emphasises the gap between Skrzynecki and his father because of different life experiences. Feliks is both dumb and prophetic as he portrays a certain lack of knowledge of the English language; whereas Skrzyneck i’s English grows and Feliks is powerless to speak up about his son’s movement away from him. He is prophetic as he can foresee that his son will come to value his heritage in later years at the expense of his dislocation from it in youth. The image ‘Home’ is like a story. Firstly, you look through the vector into the girl’s fantasy then your eyes are drawn towards the mother who is clearly at peace with her culture and third world. She has accepted her life, unlike her young daughter who is metaphorically represented reaching up for more than what she has. Then your eyes are drawn to the bottom of the picture where both the mum and daughter are being supported by their third world structure. This is a metaphor as they need their country; this is their ‘Home’. They are ‘citizens of the soil. ’ How to cite Hsc Belonging Peter Skrzynecki and Ben Heine, Essay examples

Solutions Manual free essay sample

Horizontal analysis examines how a particular item on a financial statement such as sales or cost of goods sold behaves over time. Vertical analysis involves analysis of items on an income statement or balance sheet for a single period. In vertical analysis of the income statement, all items are typically stated as a percentage of sales. In vertical analysis of the balance sheet, all items are typically stated as a percentage of total assets. By looking at trends, an analyst hopes to get some idea of whether a situation is improving, remaining the same, or deteriorating. Such analyses can provide insight into what is likely to happen in the future. Rather than looking at trends, an analyst may compare one company to another or to industry averages using common-size financial statements. 16-3Price-earnings ratios reflect investors’ expectations concerning future earnings. The higher the price-earnings ratio, the greater the growth in earnings investors expect. We will write a custom essay sample on Solutions Manual or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page For this reason, two companies might have the same current earnings and yet have quite different price-earnings ratios. By definition, a stock with current earnings of $4 and a price-earnings ratio of 20 would be selling for $80 per share. 16-4A rapidly growing tech company would probably have many opportunities to make investments at a rate of return higher than stockholders could earn in other investments. It would be better for the company to invest in such opportunities than to pay out dividends and thus one would expect the company to have a low dividend payout ratio. 16-5The dividend yield is the dividend per share divided by the market price per share. The other source of return on an investment in stock is increases in market value. Financial leverage results from borrowing funds at an interest rate that differs from the rate of return on assets acquired using those funds. If the rate of return on the assets is higher than the interest rate at which the funds were borrowed, financial leverage is positive and stockholders gain. If the return on the assets is lower than the interest rate, financial leverage is negative and the stockholders lose. 16-7If the company experiences big variations in net cash flows from operations, stockholders might be pleased that the company has no debt. In hard times, interest payments might be very difficult to meet. On the other hand, if investments within the company can earn a rate of return that exceeds the interest rate on debt, stockholders would get the benefits of positive leverage if the company took on debt. 16-8The market value of a share of common stock often exceeds the book value per share. Book value represents the cumulative effects on the balance sheet of past activities, evaluated using historical prices. The market value of the stock reflects investors’ expectations about the company’s future earnings. For most companies, market value exceeds book value because investors anticipate future earnings growth. 16-9A 2 to 1 current ratio might not be adequate for several reasons. First, the composition of the current assets may be heavily weighted toward slow-turning and difficult-to-liquidate inventory, or the inventory may contain large amounts of obsolete goods. Second, the receivables may be low quality, including large amounts of accounts that may be difficult to collect. The company’s major problem seems to be the increase in cost of goods sold, which increased from 58. 6% of sales last year to 62. 3% of sales this year. This suggests that the company is not passing the increases in costs of its products on to its customers. As a result, cost of goods sold as a percentage of sales has increased and gross margin has decreased. This change has been offset somewhat by reduction in administrative expenses as a percentage of sales. Note that administrative expenses decreased from 10. 3% to only 8. 9% of sales over the two years. However, this decrease was not enough to completely offset the increased cost of goods sold, so the company’s net income decreased as a percentage of sales this year. Exercise 16-2 (30 minutes) 1. Calculation of the gross margin percentage: 2. Calculation of the earnings per share: 3. Calculation of the price-earnings ratio: 4. Calculation of the dividend payout ratio: 5. Calculation of the dividend yield ratio: The most noticeable thing about the assets is that the accounts receivable have been increasing at a rapid rate—far outstripping the increase in sales. This disproportionate increase in receivables is probably the chief cause of the decrease in cash over the five-year period. The inventory seems to be growing at a well-balanced rate in comparison with sales. Liabilities: The current liabilities are growing more rapidly than the total current assets. The reason is probably traceable to the rapid buildup in receivables in that the company doesn’t have the cash needed to pay bills as they come due. Both of these rates of return are smaller than the return that the company is earning on its total assets; thus, the difference goes to the common stockholders. Exercise 16-7 (30 minutes) 1. Gross margin percentage: 2. Current ratio: 3. Acid-test ratio: 4. Debt-to-equity ratio: 5. Average collection period: Exercise 16-7 (continued) 6. Average sale period: 7. Times interest earned: 8. Book value per share: Exercise 16-8 (20 minutes) 1. Earnings per share: 2. Dividend payout ratio: 3. Dividend yield ratio: 4. Price-earnings ratio: Exercise 16-9 (20 minutes) 1. Return on total assets: 2. Both the current ratio and the acid-test ratio are well below the industry average and are trending downward. At the present rate, it will soon be impossible for the company to pay its bills as they come due. c. The drain on the cash account seems to be a result mostly of a large buildup in accounts receivable and inventory. Notice that the average age of the receivables has increased by five days since last year, and now is 10 days over the industry average. Many of the company’s customers are not taking their discounts because the average collection period is 28 days and collections terms are 2/10, n/30. This suggests financial weakness on the part of these customers, or sales to customers who are poor credit risks. Problem 16-12 (continued) d. The inventory turned only five times this year as compared to over six times last year. It takes nearly two weeks longer for the company to turn its inventory than the average for the industry (73 days as compared to 60 days for the industry). This suggests that inventory stocks are higher than they need to be. e. In the authors’ opinion, the loan should be approved only if the company gets its accounts receivable and inventory back under control. If the accounts receivable collection period is reduced to about 20 days, and if the inventory is pared down enough to reduce the turnover time to about 60 days, enough funds could be released to substantially improve the company’s cash position. Then a loan might not even be needed. Problem 16-13 (60 minutes) This Year Last Year 1. a. Net income $280,000 $196,000 Less preferred dividends 20,000 20,000 Net income remaining for common (a) $260,000 $176,000 Average number of common shares (b) 50,000 50,000 Earnings per share (a) ? (b) $5. 20 $3. 52 b. Dividends per share (a) $1. 80 $1. 50 If investors were willing to pay 12 times current earnings for Sabin’s stock, it would be selling for about $62. 40 per share (12 ? $5. 20), rather than for only $40 per share. Problem 16-13 (continued) This Year Last Year e. Total stockholders’ equity $1,600,000 $1,430,000 Less preferred stock 250,000 250,000 Common stockholders’ equity (a) $1,350,000 $1,180,000 Number of common shares outstanding (b) 50,000 50,000 Book value per share (a) ? (b) $27. 00 $23. 60 The market value is above book value for both years. However, this does not necessarily indicate that the stock is overpriced. The stock’s downside risk seems small because it is now selling for only 7. 7 times earnings to 12 times earnings for other companies in the industry. In addition, its earnings are strong and trending upward, and its return on common equity (20. 6%) is extremely good. Its return on total assets (12. 1%) compares well with that of the industry. The risk, of course, is whether the company can get its cash problem under control. Conceivably, the cash problem could worsen, leading to an eventual reduction in profits through inability to operate, a discontinuance of dividends, and a precipitous drop in the market price of the company’s stock. This does not seem likely, however, because the company has borrowing capacity available, and can easily control its cash problem through more careful management of accounts receivable and inventory. The client must understand, of course, that there is risk in the purchase of any stock; the risk seems well justified in this case because the upward potential of the stock is great if the company gets its problems under control. Net income before interest and income taxes (a) $1,560,000 $1,020,000 Interest expense (b) $360,000 $300,000 Times interest earned (a) ? (b) 4. 3 3. 4 4. Both net income and sales are up from last year. The return on total assets has improved from 5. 1% to 6. 8%, and the return on common equity is up from 4. 9% to 9. 2%. But this is the only bright spot. Virtually all other ratios are below what is typical of the industry, and, more important, they are trending downward. The deterioration in the gross margin percentage, while not large, is worrisome. Sales and inventories have increased substantially. Ordinarily, this should result in an improvement in the gross margin percentage due to fixed costs being spread over a greater number of units. However, the gross margin percentage has declined. Notice particularly that the average collection period has lengthened to 52 days—about three weeks over the industry average. One wonders if the increase in sales was obtained at least in part by extending credit to high-risk customers. Notice also that the debt-to-equity ratio is rising rapidly. If the $3,000,000 loan is granted, the ratio will rise further to 1. 09. What the company probably needs is more equity—not more debt. The company’s current position has declined substantially between the two years. Cash this year represents only 5. 6% of total assets, whereas it represented 10. 5% last year (cash + marketable securities). In addition, both accounts receivable and inventory are up from last year, which helps to explain the decrease in the cash account. The company is building inventories, but not collecting from customers. (See Problem 16-14 for a ratio analysis of the current assets. ) Apparently a part of the financing required to build inventories was supplied by short-term creditors, as evidenced by the increase in current liabilities. Looking at the income statement, as noted in the solution to the preceding problem there has been a slight deterioration in the gross margin percentage. Ordinarily, the increase in sales (and in inventories) should have resulted in an increase in the gross margin percentage because fixed manufacturing costs would be spread across more units. Note that the selling and administrative expenses are down as a percentage of sales—possibly because many of them are likely to be fixed. Problem 16-16 (45 minutes) Effect on Ratio Reason for Increase, Decrease, or No Effect 1. Decrease Declaring a cash dividend will increase current liabilities, but have no effect on current assets. Therefore, the current ratio will decrease. 2. Increase A sale of inventory on account will increase the quick assets (cash, accounts receivable, marketable securities) but have no effect on the current liabilities. For this reason, the acid-test ratio will increase. The same effect would result regardless of whether the inventory was sold at cost, at a profit, or at a loss. That is, the acid-test ratio would increase in all cases; the only difference would be the amount of the increase. 3. Increase The interest rate on the bonds is only 8%. Since the company’s assets earn at a rate of return of 10%, positive leverage would come into effect, increasing the return to the common stockholders. 4. Decrease A decrease in net income would mean less income available to cover interest payments. Therefore, the times-interest-earned ratio would decrease. 5. Increase Payment of a previously declared cash dividend will reduce both current assets and current liabilities by the same amount. An equal reduction in both current assets and current liabilities will always result in an increase in the current ratio, so long as the current assets exceed the current liabilities. No Effect The dividend payout ratio is a function of the dividends paid per share in relation to the earnings per share. Changes in the market price of a stock have no effect on this ratio. Problem 16-16 (continued) Effect on Ratio Reason for Increase, Decrease, or No Effect 7. Increase A write-off of inventory will reduce the inventory balance, thereby increasing the turnover in relation to a given level of sales. 8. Decrease Sale of inventory at a profit will increase the assets of a company. The increase in assets will be reflected in an increase in retained earnings, which is part of stockholders’ equity. An increase in stockholders’ equity will result in a decrease in the ratio of assets provided by creditors as compared to assets provided by owners. 9. Decrease Extended credit terms for customers means that customers on the average will be taking longer to pay their bills. As a result, the accounts receivable will â€Å"turn over,† or be collected, less frequently during a given year. 10. Decrease A common stock dividend will result in a greater number of shares outstanding, with no change in the underlying assets. The result will be a decrease in the book value per share. No Effect Book value per share is dependent on historical costs of already completed transactions as reflected on a company’s balance sheet. It is not affected by current market prices for the company’s stock. 12. No Effect Payments on account reduce cash and accounts payable by equal amounts; thus, the net amount of working capital is not affected. 13. Decrease The stock dividend will increase the number of common shares outstanding, thereby reducing the earnings per share. Problem 16-16 (continued) Effect on Ratio Reason for Increase. Payments to creditors will reduce the total liabilities of a company, thereby decreasing the ratio of total debt to total equity. 15. Decrease A purchase of inventory on account will increase current liabilities, but will not increase the quick assets (cash, accounts receivable, marketable securities). Therefore, the ratio of quick assets to current liabilities will decrease. 16. No Effect Write-off of an uncollectible account against the Allowance for Bad Debts will have no effect on total current assets. For this reason, the current ratio will remain unchanged. The price-earnings ratio is obtained by dividing the market price per share by the earnings per share. If the earnings per share remains unchanged, and the market price goes up, then the price-earnings ratio will increase. 18. Decrease The dividend yield ratio is obtained by dividing the dividend per share by the market price per share. If the dividend per share remains unchanged and the market price goes up, then the yield will decrease. Problem 16-17 (30 minutes) a. It is becoming more difficult for the company to pay its bills as they come due. Although the current ratio has improved over the three years, the acid-test ratio is down. Also notice that the accounts receivable and inventory are both turning more slowly, indicating that an increasing portion of the current assets is being made up of these items, from which bills cannot be paid. b. Customers are paying their bills more slowly in Year 3 than in Year 1. This is evidenced by the decline in accounts receivable turnover. c. The total of accounts receivable is increasing. This is evidenced both by a slowdown in turnover and in an increase in total sales. d. The level of inventory undoubtedly is increasing. Notice that the inventory turnover is decreasing. Even if sales (and cost of goods sold) just remained constant, this would be evidence of a larger average inventory on hand. However, sales are not constant, but rather are increasing. With sales increasing (and undoubtedly cost of goods sold also increasing), the average level of inventory must be increasing as well to service the larger volume of sales. e. The market price is going down. The dividends paid per share over the three-year period are unchanged, but the dividend yield is going up. Therefore, the market price per share of stock must be decreasing. f. The amount of earnings per share is increasing. Again, the dividends paid per share have remained constant. However, the dividend payout ratio is decreasing. In order for the dividend payout ratio to be decreasing, the earnings per share must be increasing. g. The price-earnings ratio is going down. If the market price of the stock is going down [see Part (e) above], and the earnings per share are going up [see Part (f) above], then the price-earnings ratio must be decreasing. h. In Year 1 and in Year 2 there was negative leverage because in both years the return on total assets exceeded the return on common equity.

The Five Key Points to Effective Management in a Global Enterprise

Introduction The most critical issue in the contemporary world is how to manage organizations effectively in the wake of the rapid global changes. In global enterprises, technology is changing at a remarkably fast rate and this trend calls for the management to redesign its organization to remain relevant. Competition is increasing in global enterprises as organizations aim at gaining competitive advantage over others.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Five Key Points to Effective Management in a Global Enterprise specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Different enterprises should change their manner of management in order to respond quickly to global changes. The organization needs to change its processes, structures, systems, and personnel from the inflexible modes to ones that can adapt quickly to global changes (Hunsker, Alessandra, 1980, p.54). The transformation of the organization is a crucial step t o effective management and remaining on the lead in the global world. Effective management in a global enterprise involves the use of new management philosophies. The management philosophies start with the top management in the organization. The managers should apply current styles of leadership to lead the corporation. Behavior of management in the workplace determines the effectiveness of employees. The manners in which organizations manage change show the ability of the firm to survive in a global environment. Effective management in a global enterprise is essential to remain competitive. It is necessary to consider various issues in managing a global enterprise. This paper describes five key points to effective management in a global enterprise. These points include workplace diversity, effective communication, employee motivation, ethics, and change management. Workplace diversity It is necessary for managers to consider diversity in the workplace to manage organizations effect ively. A global enterprise faces diversity in the form of â€Å"age, race, religion, job title, training experience, competency, and culture† (Mor-Barak, 2005, p.67). Management should address these diverse issues among employees in the organization to ensure effectiveness.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In a global enterprise, management should aim at achieving unity in diversity at the workplace among employees. While workplace diversity may bring many advantages to the organization, it also has its shortcomings. Therefore, management should take the onus to use diversity in a global enterprise to influence change and enhance the effectiveness. Understanding diversity in the workplace is essential because it enables the enterprise to offer a broad range of services. The collection of different of skills and experiences such as languages allow an enterprise to offer services to customers on a global perspective. An enterprise with a diverse workforce is manageable effectively because employees provide a pool of ideas. The organization is thus able to choose the best alternative from among the ideas for effective management. Enterprises, which encourage workplace diversity, motivate employees to perform to their best level (Mor-Barak, 2005, p.101). In the end, the organization achieves effectiveness. To address challenges of diversity in a global enterprise, an organization should develop a workable plan. This plan should ensure equal opportunities for all employees in the organization irrespective of race, gender, culture, religion or disability. The organization should involve all employees in the plan and include their views on the plan. Consideration of diversity in the workplace is a key step to effective management in a global enterprise. Employees gain motivation if their differences are in consideration. They work towards achie vement of the enterprises goals because they put more effort in their duties. Effective communication A global enterprise comprises of people from different backgrounds and with different viewpoints. Without effective communication, it is not possible to manage a global enterprise. Communication is always an issue in organizations and management should aim at improving it. Communication facilitates many things in the organization from productivity to morale of employees. For effective communication, it is crucial to balance between listening and speaking (Heller, 1999, p.89). Communication is a two way process; hence, listening to the sender or receiver of the message is as vital as speaking.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Five Key Points to Effective Management in a Global Enterprise specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A global enterprise goes through various processes and, therefore, failure to comm unicate instructions effectively may bring disastrous effects. The flow of communication should be clear in the enterprise to avoid misunderstandings between the management and employees. In addition, it is crucial to communicate both the good and the bad in an enterprise for effective management. Sometimes managers avoid communicating unwelcome news to employees in the organization because they are afraid of the reaction (Adair, 2011, p.123). However, hiding this information may have adverse consequences to the organization. With rapid changes occurring in global enterprises today, all information is crucial. Management should find effective ways of communicating different information to employees. Management should encourage feedback from employees after giving information. Communication is often a two way process, and for the process to be effective, information should flow laterally. Therefore, for effective management in global enterprises communication is a key to success. A g lobal enterprise cannot afford to fail because of poor communication. Management should ensure effective communication to stay in the lead in a truly competitive environment. Employee motivation Employees are the main assets in an organization. In a global enterprise, many employees demand attention because they ensure the success of the firm. Without motivation, employees perform poorly, and the result is a failure for the enterprise. In the contemporary society, people have increased skills and knowledge, and thus, if an employee does not feel comfortable in a company, he or she opts to quit. However, effective management aims at reducing the number of employee turnovers. This reduction is only possible through motivating the employees that work in the organization. A global enterprise has to remain competitive, which is possible through motivation. There are various ways of motivating employees in the organization. The prime motivator is financial rewards. These include salaries, wages, bonuses and allowances among other monetary rewards. To motivate employees, these financial rewards should be according to the qualifications and experience of the employee.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In global enterprises, the economy keeps fluctuating, meaning that management should adjust employees’ salaries to fit the economy. In addition to financial rewards, non-financial rewards are also the other motivators for employees. These include factors such as challenging work, career development, recognition, and job rotation among others (Hunsker, Alessandra, 1980, p.101). These factors encourage employees to remain in the organization and improve performance for the overall enterprise. Employees in many global enterprises demand motivation in the form of non-financial rewards. Therefore, for effective management, enterprises should put emphasis on the factors that motivate employees to improve performance. Motivation of the workforce is vital for effective management. It ensures protection of the rights of the major assets of the organization without which a firm fails. Considering the interests of employees in the organization is crucial for effective management. Ethic s Ethics is the moral principles that govern between what is right and wrong in the enterprise. Many failures of organizations occur due to neglect of ethics. Enterprises should practice ethical principles in all their operations for them to be successful. The use of technology in global enterprises has brought substantial decline in individual ethics as well as business ethics. Some enterprises use false information while advertising their products, which is a breach of ethics. Other enterprises pollute the environment from where they operate affecting the people living around them and the environment. Ethics demand that the organization protects the interests of its stakeholders first. These stakeholders include employees, customers, shareholders, creditors and the society. The organization should be accountable for all its operations, which should follow ethical principles. The ethical issues in business are becoming complex because of the global nature and diversity of many ente rprises. The complexity also increases with social, economic, political and environmental factors. Therefore, management has to keep adjusting its ethical principles to remain competitive. To foster a culture of ethical behavior in organizations, management must lead by example (Mor-Barak, 2005, p.67). If employees are expected to follow, the management should practice ethics at the top. Global enterprises rely on management and, therefore, contrary behavior leads to failure from the top to the bottom of the organization. For example, in the case of Enron Corporation, management failed to practice ethics leading to the fall of the whole company. Management from this company used inside information for their benefits and enriched themselves at the expense of the company. This case led to the fall of a global enterprise and consequently, employees and shareholders shared a terrible loss. This case represents the importance of ethics in a global enterprise for effective management. Had the management of Enron observed ethical principles, the company would have avoided the collapse. Change management Change management is crucial for all global enterprises that aim at succeeding in a dynamic environment. Managing change is a key point to effective management. Most changes in global organizations occur because of advancement in technology. Other changes include mission, strategy, operational changes and changes in the attitudes and behavior of personnel. Thus, organizations have to monitor change to remain competitive in the current business world. Organizational change should begin with understanding the current situation to determine the areas that require change and the ability to adapt to change. In managing change, management needs to understand that different people react to change differently. Therefore, mechanisms should be put in place to deal with fears associated with change. Besides, people have various expectations on the change, so management should de al with them. Change also often involves a loss, which management should consider in the process of change (Nilakant, Ramnayaran, 2006, p.94). For example, with advancement in technology, machines have replaced employees in most global enterprises. Employees do not take this replacement kindly, and they may plan to jeopardize operations of the firm. Thus for effective management, it is essential to communicate change to employees in the organization before implementing it. The management should be honest about the facts of the change to employees and give both the good and bad information about the change. Providing personal counseling to the affected employees is critical in effective management (Nilakant, Ramnarayan, 2006, p.73). Where the change requires employees to advance their skills, management should provide training classes to keep employees competitive. Therefore, to manage a global enterprise effectively, change management is a key element. Conclusion Global enterprise s often face challenges in their daily operations. It is vital for managers to find mechanisms to manage organizations effectively in order to remain competitive in a dynamic environment. Workplace diversity is a key point to consider in effective management of global enterprises. Diversity in organizations arises because of the differences in race, age, cultural background, religion or disability. Diversity in the workplace is inevitable, and management should design a plan that ensures equal opportunities for all employees irrespective of their diverse background (Mor-Barak, 2005, p.70). Employee motivation is another point for effective management. A demoralized workforce cannot perform and compete in a global environment. Organizations should motivate employees with both financial and non-financial rewards. Effective communication is vital in effective management. A global enterprise involves a diverse workforce that needs to understand the processes of the enterprise. Communica tion is crucial to pass instructions to avoid mistakes. Ethics is as valuable in organizations for success. Management should be the pioneers of ethics in the enterprise so that others can follow. Ethics involves putting the interests of stakeholders of the organization first. Ethical principles provide a guide for the overall operation of the firm. Finally, for effective management in a global enterprise, an organization should outline the right mechanisms to manage change. Changes in the enterprise are common because of the dynamic environment, especially in technology. Management should communicate change employees to because of the repercussions of the process. Therefore, to manage a global enterprise effectively, management should consider the five key points outlined above. These are workplace diversity, effective communication, employee motivation, ethics, and change management. References Adair, J. (2011). Effective Communication: The Most Important Management Skill of All. USA: Pan Macmillan. Heller, R. (1999). Essential Managers: Communicate Clearly. New York: DK Publishing, Inc. Hunsker, L., Alessandra, A.J. (1980). The Art of Managing People. New York: Simon Schuster, Inc. Mor-Barak, M. E. (2005). Managing Diversity: Toward A Globally Inclusive Workplace. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. Nilakant, V., Ramnarayan, S. (2006). Change Management: Altering Mindsets in a Global  Context. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. 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The Incorporation of Venezuela into Mercosur

The Incorporation of Venezuela into Mercosur Introduction Mercosur (Southern Common Market) initially started with the Asuncion Treaty which was inked by Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay in 1991 to establish a free trade province and finally to establish a common market. In 2007, Venezuela joined the forum. (Tondi 353).Advertising We will write a custom thesis sample on The Incorporation of Venezuela into Mercosur specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The main aim of Mercosur is to offer the probabilities to expand exports, to augment investment and to create a greater economic development among member nations. (Dominguez Oliveira 178). The core objective of Mercosur is to institute a customs union in common and a market place in common between member nations of Mercosur. (www.associatedcontents.com). Mercosur market includes free transportation of products and exclusion of custom duties among members within regions. (Motley 2006). When there was an expansion in Mercosur in J uly 2006, the internal dynamics of Mercosur are being altered. Admission of Venezuela, which is the third major economy of Mercosur group after Brazil and Argentina which aggregates over 250 million population in the regional bloc and an aggregate of a GDP of $ 1.1 trillion. To become a full member, Venezuela is required to implement Mercosur regulations and rules, which include espousal of CET and transpose Mercosur contracts with third nations into its domestic legislation. (UK House of Commons Report 80). Venezuela’s government expenditure and its economy are depending upon its oil income. About thirty percent of Venezuela’s GDP comprises of oil income. Further, oil exports constitute about eighty percent of Venezuela’s export. About 16% of Venezuela’s GDP is made up from its service sector. Though, t he economy of Venezuela is very robust, its entry into Mercosur will help to expand its economy. The main objective of associating with Mercosur is to ex pand its business within the region. (Motley 2006).Advertising Looking for thesis on international relations? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Venezuela became a full member of Mercosur in January 2006. However, Venezuela’s membership is not absolute as there is a midway phase to depart CAN and to synchronize strategies with other associate nations of Mercosur. (Massabie 153). Though Venezuela approved the† Climate Change Convention in March 1995†, but it was the very last Latin American nation to approve in â€Å"February 2005 the Kyoto Protocol. â€Å" For many years, Venezuela declined to approve the Kyoto’s Protocol in consonance with the OPEC as Kyoto Protocol did not acknowledge condition Venezuela as the major seller of oil. (Massabie 153). Mercosur has been deteriorated frequently due to political chaos between its member nations. The admission of Venezuela to the Mercosur in the ye ar 2008 brings a new member with a clearly varied political ideology into the Mercosur and has once again posed a threat to the political decision authority of Mercosur. (Tondl 28). It is to be observed that Venezuela is playing an active role in all Latin American integration mechanisms. Venezuela was an associate of the â€Å"Andean Community of Nations (Comunidad Andina de Naciones, CAN)†. (O’Keefe 99). However, Venezuela said goodbye to CAN in 2005 averring grave divergence with other member nations. In 2004, Mercosur together with Colombia and Ecuador became an associated member of Mercosur. The Protocol of Adhesion stipulates that it will be enforced once it is approved by all five signatory nations of Mercosur. The Venezuelan congress approved the Protocol of Adhesion as early as August 2006. As of January 2009, it is yet to be approved by the Paraguay and Brazil legislatures. Once the Protocol of adhesion comes into effect, Venezuela will have about four-year t ime to espouse the full array of Mercosur norms, which includes CET also. Venezuela’s immediate integration into Mercosur is also hindered by the fact that Venezuela, though it has formally withdrawn from the Andean Community as early as 2006, it is still subject to the Andean intra-regional liberalization scheme until the year 2011. (O’Keefe 99). The Southern Common Market (Mercosur) crossed nineteenth year of formation in 2010. In these nineteen years, the region transformed from a major restricted trade phenomenon to a free –trade province practically, with extra efforts in creating a customs union and moving on to a common market.Advertising We will write a custom thesis sample on The Incorporation of Venezuela into Mercosur specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In spite of these developments, the assimilation process sustained impediments due to varied economic happenings such as Brazil’s currency devaluat ion, Asian financial crisis and later, the uncertainty of economy witnessed by Argentina. Thus, delays to the integration phases generate creditability concerns and could endanger the future of the Mercosur. This research paper evaluates the present magnitude of economic assimilation of Mercosur, the tempo of the phases and the outcome of varied levels of economic integration. It also evaluates the entry of Venezuela, the benefits, disadvantages, the roadblocks witnessed by it to become a full member, how Mercosur has benefited due to ingression of Venezuela and what are all the future challenges to be confronted both by Venezuela and Mercosur in detail. Analysis As a new member of Mercosur, Venezuela is in a transition phase from its earlier Andean Community Association. Venezuela’s integration into Mercosur is a phased one. By 2012, its tariff to Argentina and Brazil are to be removed with privileged access for main imports from Uruguay and Paraguay, which is to be offered instantly and free trade by 2013. Venezuela has to espouse the Mercosur common external tariff within four years. Some sectors like livestock, food, electronic equipment, software and automobiles are protected sectors. Venezuela is now required to implement Mercosur trade regulations and rules, which include the adoption of the region’s Common External Tariff and to swap Mercosur’s agreements with third nations into its domestic laws. Definitely, Venezuela’s entry into Mercosur will transform the course of the region’s development. With Venezuela as a member in Mercosur, there is greater political risk is involved. Recently, another six year term of the presidency was won by President Hugo Chavez for a third term in Venezuela. This has raised an alarm among business and industry that nationalization of various main industries in Venezuela is on the card. Out of 175 ranks, Venezuela has been ranked as 164 by World Bank for doing business. (UK House of Co mmons Report 65). Significance of Venezuela’s Entry into Mercosur Entry of Venezuela into the Mercosur free trade province under the Protocol of Adhesion brings more grand factors than included in ALDI ACE NO.59 which is the present free trade agreement which Venezuela is having with each other Mercosur nations.Advertising Looking for thesis on international relations? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More For instance, under earlier ACE NO.59, many tariff curtailments are not anticipated to be wholly introduced till January 1, 2018 and there are even goods, which are excluded from free trade permanently. On the contrary, both Brazil and Argentina, under the Protocol of Adhesion (POA), as a normal rule, will abolish tariffs on all imports from Venezuela from January 1 2010 whereas Uruguay and Paraguay will eliminate the tariff for all imports from Venezuela from January 1, 2013 and in turn, Venezuela will abolish all tariffs on all imports from Mercosur nations from January 1, 2012. Immediately, after entry into the force of POA, Venezuela has consented to throw open up its market instantly to for a number of Paraguayan and Uruguayan imports. For so –called agricultural products, the protocol contains a provision that permits for a longer phase-out period ending January 1, 2014. The Political Aspect of Venezuela’s Entry into Mercosur The main aim of the Venezuela’ s intention to join Mercosur as a full member is predominantly political. Before joining Mercosur, Venezuela is not a poignant export market for the Mercosur nations. Both Argentina and Brazil, to some smaller magnitude, export some valuable manufactured products to Venezuela, mainly auto parts and also agricultural products and food items in a small quantity. Incidentally, there are few exports to other Mercosur nations from Venezuela. Currently, oil is being imported by Brazil in large quantities from Venezuela and however, these imports by Brazil from Venezuela are of miniscule as compared to global petroleum exports by Venezuela. (O’keefe 100). It serves medium and short-term economic interests to other Mercosur nations by the decision to admit Venezuela as a full member. The Argentines are much fascinated in collaborating with PDVSA, the Venezuelan state owned Petrol Company, which has offered investment capital to develop offshore natural gas and oil fields in Argentina . Brazilian state owned petrol company namely Petrobras which evincing keen interest in joint ventures with its Venezuela’s equivalent to develop and explore oil wells, mainly to explore heavy oil in Venezuela’s Orinoco River Valley, which can be exported to northeastern Brazil. Both Brazilian and Venezuelan oil companies have already invested about US$ 2.5 billion in heavy oil refinery in Pernambuco, which is in the North Eastern side of Brazil. The state petrol company of Uruguay also has a joint venture with PDVSA to establish heavy oil wells in the province of Orinoco and to establish an oil refinery in Uruguay, mainly to refine heavy crude. Further, a natural gas pipeline is being constructed from Bolivia to Paraguay and Uruguay, which is funded by Venezuela. Further, Venezuela is having planned to construct a natural gas pipeline from Venezuela to the Southern Cone of Mercosur. (O’Keefe 100). Mercosur –Venezuela Trade In recent years, there has been a rapid increase of trade flow between Venezuela and Mercosur nations. It reached a record high of US$ 7.2 billion in 2007. This represents an increase of 25% increase of the figures of 2006 and an increase of 34% increase 2003 figures. However, Venezuela’s exports to the Southern Cone bloc nations experienced a moderate increase of 10.8% between 2003 and 2007. It even shrank by 15.3% in 2007 aggregating to US$ 1.1 billion. Due to this, there was growth of US$4.9 billion in 2007 in trade balance in favor of Mercosur. It is significant to note that the trade flows between Venezuela and Mercosur were much more balanced till the start of this decade and in some instances, exhibited a marginal increase in favor of Venezuela, as in 2000, when Venezuelan sales touched the magic figure of US$1.5 billion. (Instituto Para La 56). There has been a substantial increase of exports by the four Mercosur nations to Venezuela, which stood at 60.5% in 2006 and was about 38% during the first six months of 2007. Thus, the four Mercosur nations accounted for 12% of Venezuela’s total imports. The larger drive of sales to this destination as contrasted to shipments the other parts of the world, demonstrates that the Venezuelan market’s capability for the Mercosur products, especially manufactured products like pharmaceutical products, plastics , auto and automobile parts , food , cardboard and paper. It is to be noted that Colombia was the nation which was badly affected due to Venezuela’s entry into Mercosur as it had earlier supplied of above mentioned products under preferential tariff stipulations to other Mercosur nations. Further, Mercosur imports from Venezuela demonstrated strong increase during 2006, which stood at 146.1% but declined towards 9.9% during the first half of 2007. For all Mercosur nations except Uruguay, the significance as a supplier of the bloc is relatively limited. Uruguay is the only country which soaks up almost fifty percen t of the bloc’s imports from Venezuela. Moreover, in terms of energy, Venezuela has become a significant trading partner and its fuel symbolizes almost the whole of imports from the nations in Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay and over sixty percent in Brazil. Source: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2006/september/tradoc_113488.pdf.   http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2006/september/tradoc_113488.pdf. Source: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2006/september/tradoc_113488.pdf. Source: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2006/september/tradoc_113488.pdf. Source: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2006/september/tradoc_113488.pdf. Source: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2006/september/tradoc_113488.pdf.   Source: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2006/september/tradoc_113488.pdf. Source: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2006/september/tradoc_113488.pdf. wto.org/english/res_e/statis_e/its2010_e/its10_world_trade_dev_e.pdf Venezuelaâ €™s financial and capital account behavior is closely linked to the significant current account balance of 15.1 % of GDP during the year 2003-2006. The flip aspect of this high surplus is a debit balance allocated between financial and capital account and the excess in the international reserves. The current account surplus of Venezuela is mainly attributed to the oil exports by the Venezuela’s government oil company namely PDVSA. Venezuela’s government has the decision authority to decide what quantum of this surplus can be transformed into as official assets or international reserves and what quantum is to be earmarked for financial or real investment overseas. Venezuela witnessed a net outflow of capital since 1999 which in 2006 touched 12.4% of its GDP. This balance symbolises both the surge in Venezuelan assets in foreign countries and the fall in the external liabilities. All Mercosur nations except Argentina witnessed accumulation in their international rese rves during 2006 in line with the aim of minimizing external vulnerability in a context of escalating uncertainty at the international level. Thus , Venezuela has reformed its policy towards the accumulation of reserves, which declined August 2007 to US$ 10b as against the US$37b maximum at the end of 2006 mainly because of its reallocation to the National Development Fund namely FONDEN. (Carciofi et al 3) One another advantage of Venezuela in Mercosur is that it promotes investment by Venezuela in other member nations, and investment is also made by other member nations in Venezuela, Thus , this prolonged business cycle will assist to fortify nations within Mercosur.( Bassi 2006), Venezuela will derive advantages from the introduction of total liberalization for the majority of products of interest to it in trade with other individual members of Mercosur. The greatest benefit will be in trade with the Brazil and Argentina as these nations have undertaken to introduce liberalization forward to 2010 onwards. (Carciofi 111). Major advantages may be obtained from elimination of the exception to complete liberalization and of the price band system presently applied by Venezuela in its trade with Mercosur nations. (Carciofi 112). According to Maduro, Venezuela’s foreign minister, there has been an enhanced commercial relations between Mercosur and Venezuela as trade has grown to $28 billion from the just $2 billion. Mercosur will also strive to achieve a common custom’s code to kindle and minimize the cost of commerce among Mercosur nations. Further, there is an effort by Mercosur to remove double-taxation and associated transport holdups on imports that is being transported through one member nation to arrive at another Mercosur member nation. It is estimated that by 2014, there will be complete elimination of double-taxation of imported merchandises and there will be a single Mercosur customs union, unifying terms so that duties on exports and impor ts can be arrived at and exchanged across Mercosur member nations.(IntelliBriefs 2010). Disadvantages From the above table, it is evident that the entry of Venezuela into Mercosur as a new full member has a moderate brunt on the region’s trade and economic profile. Though Venezuela is having a higher per capital GDP as compared to the Mercosur’s mean, the value of Venezuela’s annual import is not very admirable. The chief part in cost-benefit analyses of Venezuela’s admission into Mercosur is the energy capabilities that the Venezuela adds to the region. (Carciofi 101). There are fewer disadvantages for Venezuela’s accession to Mercosur. Member nations are of the view that many agreements and rules framed by Mercosur are of one sided. One another disadvantage is that Venezuela may face that it may be the victim of intellectual property privileges. With more exports of electronic products from Venezuela into other Mercosur member nations may end in copying of ideas of Venezuela’s products thereby resulting in the emergence of grey markets for Venezuela’s electronic products. (Ledesma 2008). Despite advancing the time frames which will usher advantages to Venezuela, it is significant to note that majority of selected goods already have momentous preference margins. The effect will be relatively modest even by advancing timeframe to enjoy the advantages in market access norms. This symbolizes despite there are chances for trade expansion, membership of Venezuela in Mercosur does not symbolize momentous transformation in market access norms for those associated, given the present preference as the trade liberalization deadlines already discussed in ECA 59. (Carciofi 111). External Agenda of Mercosur will be influenced by Venezuela’s Entry One of the major anxieties ventilated by the business sector over Venezuela’s ingress into Mercosur is that it may wield its influence on the external agenda of the b loc. As per National Confederation of Industry, immediately after inking the Membership Protocol, Venezuela will attain the status of inclusion in the Mercosur delegation for negotiating with other nations and blocs. Thus, without going through the transition period, Venezuela may have its articulation in such discussion as one of the framer of the Mercosur’s negotiating programs with the EU and U.S.A. (Carciofi 117). Democratic Clause in Mercosur Among the founding members of Mercosur, democracy was a common value and was visualized as a precondition for integration. It is to be noted that in the preamble either in the constituent treaty of Mercosur or the Treaty of Asuncion signed in 1991 contained democratic clause. The first ever mention about democratic setup is seen in the â€Å"Declaration of the Second Presidential Meeting of Mercosur† of June 1992. Mercosur member nations in July 1996 reiterated the significance of democratic conditionality by sealing the â₠¬Å"Declaration of the Democratic Agreement.† In July 1998, the Democratic agreement was officially instituted into the â€Å"Treaty of Asuncion â€Å"by means of the Protocol of Ushuaia. This protocol specifically provides after a phase of consultation, the rights of a member state of Mercosur can be suspended where the democratic order is in chaos, mainly to deliberate in the institutions of Mercosur. (Hoffmann Vleuten l 180). It will be interesting to follow the effect of the democratic clause, given the polemic circumstances of the democratic credentials of Chavezs government. It is to be noted that decision to include Paraguay in the Treaty of Asuncion was regarded in 1989 only after the end of the dictatorship. (Vaz 126). It is to be noted that no stringent action was taken during the Venezuela crisis other than support expression for a return to a democratic rule by Mercosur nations. It is pertinent to note that Mercosur does not have an adequate explanation on how to handle corrosions of democratic ruling. (Morton, Halperin Galic 109). Chavez’s autocratic style and Paraguay’s Opposition Though Venezuela’s request to admit as a full member of Mercosur was approved in June 2006 in Caracas by the leaders of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, the proposal has to be accepted by the legislatures of the concerned nation also. Both Uruguay and Argentina legislatures were the first to acknowledge the Venezuela’s incorporation as a full member. Brazil’s Senate, after three long years of debate approved the Venezuela’s inclusion in Mercosur in December 2009. Paraguays senate is yet to accord its approval since the Paraguay’s President Fernando Lugo does not enjoy the adequate support and his opponents have raised their voice against inclusion of Venezuela in Mercosur on the ground of â€Å"autocratic practices and style â€Å" of President Chavez, which is in clear opposition to the main slogan of â€Å" Mercosur Democratic Clause.† According to Senator Romero Juca, a senator from Brazilian ruling coalition, Venezuelas role is extremely significant for the economic and social development of South America and hence, Brazil would exert its utmost pressure on Paraguay on the necessity for acknowledgement of Venezuela’s admission as a full member in Mercosur. (Brazil Mag 2010). Paraguayan opposition opposes the political style of the President Hugo Chavez and not the entry of state of Venezuela into Mercosur. They view Chavez as an undemocratic and they are of the opinion that his arrival may harm Mercosur. Some critics are of the view the Mercosur as a mirror of the European Union and lament that their entry of Chavez may injure the trade pact with EU. It is to be observed that Venezuela major imports are foodstuff and Paraguay can benefit from exporting to Venezuela its oil seeds, grains and meats.(UPI.com 2010). Whether Mercosur is a successful and what is its fu ture? Since its start-up, Mercosur has turned to be Latin America’s most elegant integration agreement. However, both Argentina and Brazil were passing through a recession and there was a disagreement on which foreign exchange policy to be perused. This disagreement has become a real threat to the future of Mercosur. (Gillespie, Jeannet and Hennessey 46). The initial success of Mercosur was demonstrated by the truth that international trade among the four nations soared to 200 percent in the 1990s. However, after 1999, trade and commerce were badly impacted due to Brazil’s currency devaluation and its consequent financial crisis and there was default of external debts by Argentina. The economy and trade were affected severely between 2000 and 2002 and especially in 2004. In particular, Argentina flouted the Mercosur access conditions by introducing several protective measures and barriers to free trade. Due to non-coordination between members, the future of Mercosur is now uncertain. (John, Craig Lynk 308). Recent happenings do not seem good for the future of Mercosur. In the year 2006, a dispute between Uruguay and Argentina over whether to permit European companies to establish two paper mills along the river that separates their border was not resolved through Mercosur’s internal dispute resolution mechanism. Further, Uruguay expanded its trade with the U.S.A and even cautioned that it may withdraw from Mercosur commenting that Mercosur is to serve the interest of Brazil and Argentina. Moreover, Mercosur has not resolved trade asymmetries that have arisen within its members, yet to resolve the concern of double tariff on certain imports from outside the bloc, yet to codify a custom code that is common and this has led some analyst to view that Mercosur has turned to be a forum of foreign policy modeling. These beliefs have only been corroborated by recent discussions between the European Union and Brazil regarding the possibility of a bilateral trade negotiation. (Seelke 8). Why Paraguay Has Not Allowed Venezuelas Entry To The Bloc? What Are/Would Be The Consequences It The Country Decides To Finally Admit Venezuela? For Paraguay, in spite of economic advantages derived by Paraguay due to Venezuela’s entry into Mercosur as its full member, the aristocrat style of Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan president elevates the cause of worry for Paraguay. The political style and personality of Chavez is just conflicting to Mendez, the present president of Paraguay who emphasizes moderation. Paraguay is of the opinion that Mr. Chavez’s extreme patriotism will fetch more chaos to Mercosur. Paraguay is of the opinion that Venezuela’s confronts with Colombia will need of redrafting of its stance for Mercosur since Paraguay is of the view that Venezuela’s entry may bring a blockade in the negotiation for creating a trade relations between European Union and Mercosur nations. The adversaries of Chavezâ₠¬â„¢s program for a substitute style of integrating South American economies, which insists issues of social justices which are not restricted to his domestic foes. Both the big businesses from Venezuela and member nations of Mercosur especially Paraguay have a common grumble against Chavez may destabilize the Chavez’s effort of amalgamating the South American nations against Washington. Already, Paraguay is entangled with the heightening brawls with Argentina and Brazil, as the national leaders of Paraguay are questioning the real advantage of awarding full membership to Venezuela. Further, Paraguay is having a legitimate concern over equity treatment that travel back to very first day of formation of Mercosur. For instance, Brazil and Paraguay, which enjoy the gargantuan dam namely â€Å" Itaipu Dam† which is being one of the globe’s biggest hydroelectric energy projects an d Paraguay has raised dispute over dominance of Brazil in the Itaipu project. This has made the Paraguay politicians to allege that Paraguay’s association with the Mercosur is a disgrace since the Mercosur membership does not offer any meaningful advantages to Paraguay. Paraguay is actively engaged in establishing a bilateral trade agreement with the U.S.A which has compelled Chavez to give up his nation’s economic tie-up with the other nations of South American trade group that have followed Paraguay’s FTA with U.S.A and could end in Mercosur fugitives to renounce full membership in the Mercosur. Paraguay is of the view that Chavez main aim to join Mercosur is to shape his counterweight to U-S supported freed trade agreements thereby uttering that admission of Venezuela as indicator for integration of South American economies and a sign of triumph against U.S.A’s colonialist economic strategies for the region. Thus, there is a need on the part of Chavez to stop this encouraging the exit of Paraguay which means fracturing of Mercosur intern al unity which would symbolize a devastating philosophy rout in Chavez’s struggle to keep U.S.A’s authority isolated in the region. If at all Venezuela wants to isolate U.S.A, it should come forward to offer lower tariffs for Paraguayan merchandises well before free-trade regions are concluded for the balance of Venezuela’s inter-Mercosur commerce for the period between 2012 and 2013. This approach will help Venezuela to get the support of Paraguay by helping it to tackle Paraguay’s negative economic scenarios and it will also heighten small economies like Paraguay attitude towards Venezuela as Paraguay may have to weigh the real benefits from Venezuela’s participation in Mercosur. According to erstwhile Paraguayan President Duarte Frutos that if real aim of the Mercosur is to criticize the protectionism of EU and U.S.A, they should practice the same protectionism among the small member nations of Mercosur and if this continue, then these small mem ber nations like Paraguay may decide their concern would be served outside Mercosur. Further, Chavez call to build a common army for Mercosur may kindle Chavez’s economic and political adversaries to join under one roof to retort his action for integration or may spoil hesitant allies to get back their support to Mercosur. (Coha 2010). Paraguay is having strong political disparity but at the same time it is also of the view that Venezuela’s entry into Mercosur is more interesting to it economically. Paraguay opposition is vehemently against Chavez and not against Venezuela as his attitudes are not only undemocratic towards the press and opposition but also Chavez’s meddling in other nation’s domestic business for ever. However, adequate pressure is exerted by Argentina and Brazil on Paraguay to shift its stance against Venezuela which can have considerable impact on landlocked Paraguay given its trade discrepancies and geographic location. One another stu mbling block is that approval of both houses of Paraguay’s congress is to be obtained before the bill for accrediting full membership for Venezuela which is to be inked by Paraguay’s president Lugo. However, since Lugo is lacking majority in any of the houses of congress and hence Logo is compelled to negotiate with the ruling coalition which itself is splintered. (MercoPress 2010). Conclusion It is obvious that membership of Mercosur has not paved the way for change in the replica of economic development. Nor have the assurances of enhanced trade opportunities, larger international profile and access to new markets. Rather than an increase in exports, Mercosur has witnessed a concentration of exports. Economic growth has been disappointing and flow of FDI is rather stagnated. No doubt, Venezuela’s entry into Mercosur will definitely make aligning the bloc’s trade agendas more of a challenge. Venezuela’s foreign trade and productive structure are p oignantly differing to the present member nations of Mercosur, and this will definitely have a say on its trade policy preferences. There are two chief challenges to the future of Mercosur.The first one is the political and economic crisis. The chances of survival are not encouraging without a speedy recovery from the present global economic turmoil. There are three structural deficiencies of the present concept of Mercosur, and they are the lack of macroeconomic coordination, the institutional weakness and the intra-industry trade strategy. (Weintraub, Rugman Boyd 148). The above mentioned deficiencies can be corrected. By fine tuning the relatively demanding theory of a â€Å" Common Market† to the political realities by acknowledging the fact the readiness to share sovereignty and by substituting the greatly personal –decision making measures through a more rule oriented system and By keeping away from macroeconomic doctrines at the national level which intimidate s to generate deformed real exchange rates within the region? To rejuvenate and revitalize Mercosur, it is the need of the hour to reform its productive capabilities following comparative benefits. Mercosur’s structural weakness still remains to be resolved. If this disadvantage is considered seriously, it is obvious that the future of Mercosur must remain in doubt, even if the current economic turbulence can be conquered. (Weintraub, Rugman Boyd 148). Bassi, Raul. 12 September 2006. Venezuela in MERCOSUR. A New Mercosur. 19 October 2010 www.spectrezine.org/LatinAmerica/bassi.htm. Brazil Mag. (April 2010). Brazil to Pressure Paraguay into Accepting Venezuela into Mercosur. 19 October 2010 brazzilmag.com/component/content/article/84-april-2010/12157-brazil-to-pressure-paraguay-into-accepting-venezuela-in-mercosur.html Carciofi, et al. Mercosur. Report Number 12:2006 [Second Semester]. New York: BIDINTAL. Coha , K B. 20 July 2010. Venezuela’s First Meeting as Mercosu r Member Begins Today.5 November 5, 2010 http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/1847 Dominguez Francisco Oliveira Marco Aurelio Guedes de. Mercosur: Between Integration and Democracy.Brasilia: Peter Lang, 2006. Gillespie, Jearnet Hennessey. Global Marketing. London: Dreamtech Press, 2009. Great Britain, Parliament: House of Commons. Trade with Brazil and Mercosur. London: TSO, 2007. Hoffimann Andrea Ribeiro, Vleuten Johanna Maria Van Der. Closing or Widening the Gap? Legitimacy and Democracy in Regional. London: Ashgate Publications, 2007. Instituto Para La Integracion de America Latina Y el Caribe, INTAL. Mercosur Report Number 13:2007, Second Semester -2008. New York: BIDINTAL, 2008. John D, Craig R Lynk Michael. Globalization and the Future of Labour Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. May. (6 August 2008).An Investment Under the Mercosur Trade Centre. 19 October 2010 www.associatedcontentment.com/article/919219/an_investment_under_the_mercosur_trade_pg2_pg2.html? Massabie German. Venezuela: A Petro-State Using Renewable Energies. New York: VS Verlag, 2008. MercoPress. 11 June 2010.Paraguay Admits Pressure from Brazil to Vote for Venezuela’s Mercosur’s Incorporation. 5 November 2010 http://en.mercopress.com/2010/06/11/paraguay-admits-pressure-from-brazil-to-vote-for-venezuela-s-mercosur-incorporation Morton H, Halperin and Galic Mima. Protecting Democracy: International Response. London: Lexington Books, 2005. Motley, La’Sarah-evette Patrice. 6 January 2006. Mercosur –The Southern Common Market. 19 October 2010 associatedcontent.com/article/16507/mercosur_the_southern_commom_market_pg2_pg2.html?cat=3. O’Keefe, Thomas Andrew. Latin America and Caribbean Trade Agreements: Keys to a Prosperous. New York: Brill,2009. Seelke, Clare Ribando. BRAZIL –U.S.A Relations. London: Diane Publishing Company, 2009. Tondl, Gabriele. Trade Integration and Economic Development: the EU and Latin. New York: Springer, 200 8. Vaz, Alcides Costa. Cooperacao, integracao e processo necociador. Brazil: Instituto Brazileiro de Relacoes, 2002. Weintraub Sidney, Rugman Alan M Boyd Gavin. Free Trade in Americas: Political and Economical Issues for Governance. London: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2004. www.associatedcontent.com.(23 March 2010). Advantages and Disadvantages of Mercosur Membership. 19 October 2010 associatedcontent.com/article/2808740/advantages_and_disadvantages_of_mersocur.html www.intelliBriefs.com. (6 August 2010). Mercosur Summit Discusses Venezuela-Columbia Situation. 19 October 2010 http://intellibriefs.blogspot.com/2010/08/mercosur-summit-discusses-venezuela.html. www.upi.com.(6 August 2010). Venezuela Again Stopped at Mercosur’s door. 19 October 2010 upi.com/Top_News/Special/2010/08/06/Venezuela-again-stopped-at-Mercosurs-door/UPI-60711281118533/

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Case Analysis: Tescos Steering Wheel In early 90s Tesco faced a stiff competition from various other retailers in the industry and thus its revenues showed a downfall. At that point Tesco could not differentiate itself from the other  competitors. Later under the leadership of then CEO Ian Mac Laurin it went through an image makeover, and acquired other retailing outlets like William Low; with which it reached just up to the sustenance mark. Later Terry took over as the CEO of the Company and aimed to make the company value driven Tesco in early 70s had acquired a lot of other  retailer companies but faced a problem of integrating them, more over Tesco stores were small and ill equipped. 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