Multinational Corporations and Their Consequences for the Essay

Multinational Corporations and Their Consequences for the International Economy - Essay Example Several studies have reported the expansion of FDI and investigated the effect of such investments on host and home economies. The objective of this essay is to analyze and discuss the consequences of multinational corporations for the international economy. The Multinational Corporation and the International Economy The multinational corporation (MNC), also called international corporation, global corporation, transnational corporation (TNC), and so on, carry out globally all the operations that involve the standing of national states in the international economy (Frieden & Lake 1999, 167). MNCs, with their surplus of inter-firm agreements and huge number of foreign partners, reach almost all forms of economic mechanisms and nations, making it an imposing entity in today’s international economy (Levy-Livermore 1998, 147). MNCs have been expanding and advancing all over the world quite dramatically. Even though these corporations from the highly industrialized nations still co ntrol the global landscape, MNCs from the developing economies are emerging rapidly and increasingly. Thus far, there is no generally recognized definition of multinational corporation. ... Firms that participate in international business, however large they may be, solely by exporting or by licensing technology are not multinational enterprises. As an outcome of the process of liberalization, multinational corporations have been expanding rapidly in the developing economies. Almost all of the foreign partners of these corporations are located in the developing countries. The eager acceptance of national governments of MNCs suggests that these corporations serve a major function in economic growth. They significantly contribute to the improvement of the host countries’ economy, technology, exports, employment, and domestic investment. However, even though the host countries can gain more than a few benefits from these corporations, MNCs create numerous problems especially for the developing economies. They could tear down local companies through disproportionate competition, gain control of the market through acquisition of local companies or other ways (Ravenhil l 2008, 278). The MNCs’ operations and technologies which are geared toward global profit capitalization may not be suitable to the availability of resources, the size of local markets, consumption requirements, and the phase of development of a number of the developing economies. They may bring about rapid exhaustion of volumes of valuable, nonrenewable natural resources in the host country (Frieden & Lake 1999, 165). All these highlight the importance of a code of conduct for these corporations and a binding competition rules in the host economies. In addition, a number of MNCs are suspected of human rights violation and political manipulation.

The Business Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

The Business Environment - Essay Example Businesses also aid in settling economic requirement of more than 70% of Kenyan citizens through the provision of employment opportunities. Through these employments, the government is able to involve the large population in the day to day national economic activities. Business organizations are able to produce significant quantities of goods at reduced cost. The economies of the scale are achieved; business organizations incur lower costs per unit of output because they operate on a large scale thus lower price of their products (Wang, 2009). In fact, large-scale account for over 60 per cent of all the private sector’s production. A substantial output in the gross domestic product (GDP) is thus achieved nationally due to this high percentage. Business has also enhanced economic development through encouraging competitive innovation. It is through competitive innovation that the nature of products and services Improves on a daily basis. A good example is the banking industries , initially they had only over the counter transaction, later came the automated teller machines and now mobile banking that are developments that were brought about by innovation. It is also through this that the consumers get to use the up to standard goods and services. Businesses also give chances to entrepreneurship which greatly help in the development of the economy (Haraf & Willett, 1990). Both for-profit and nonprofit profit has their share of contribution to the economy. The for-profit organizations participate actively through payment of revenues, employment creation, service provision, and production of goods and services that to the public. On the other hand, nonprofit organizations might be exempted from tax payment, but still do play a significant role in a country’s economy through involvement in activities like, provision of education, health services, voluntary provision of professional services like counseling, community services and quite a variety of serv ices essential to the sustenance of the economy. Nonprofit organizations always have it rough when it comes to capital acquisition. This is clearly portrayed by their depend on donors, well wisher and in some cases grants from the government. On the other hand, the for-profit organizations always have more option ranging from selling shares to investors, liquidating of assets, and credit from banks and profit from a business transaction. Another difference crop up when we view how the assets are handled. In the nonprofit organizations, the assets are considered nobody’s property, thus in the case of dissolution, the assets might be considered for donation to another organization of the same nature. Unlike the non-profit organizations, the for-profit organizations have their assets owned by the owners of the business (Doole & Lowe, 2008). Monetary policy can be described as the procedure through which a country control the supply of its currency while fiscal policy can be desc ribed as the use of taxes and expenditures by the government to manipulate the economy. There are majorly two forms of monetary policy programs: expansionary (easy) monetary policy and restrictive monetary policy (Wang, 2009). The expansionary monetary policy lowers the domestic currency exchange rate thus weakening the current account and ultimately improving the financial account. Vise versa

HRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

HRM - Essay Example Most experts say that making proper job descriptions is a good starting point for companies like Crystal Waters Winery. The second phase revolves around effective retention, which involves adequate training where the employees are given room for personal growth and development. Training also has to follow a proper procedure otherwise training may become redundant and the company may not benefit from the training program (Fink, 1992). Crystal Water Winery has to understand that in order to remain competitive in the industry it will have to make a significant investment into its human capital. However, Jacques Terblanche has to ensure that investment is made in the right things. Introduction Crystal Waters Winery is expanding its operations and it wants to be able handle the additional workload that comes with this increase. To effectively manage all this, Crystal Waters Winery will have to hire more people in the HR, management, marketing and viticulture departments. However, they wil l have to go through various steps before actually hiring individuals. This process is known as Human Resource Planning. A human resource plan is a systematic process of matching the interests, skills and talents of individual community members with the long-term goals and economic opportunities in the community. The human resource plan brings out the long term strategic perspective of the organization and how it wishes to expand upon its repertoire within the relevant thick of things. It takes a keen look at the ways and means through which hiring mechanisms could be established and the numerous ways through which the organizational charter is manifested by the employees themselves. Among the various aspects that are covered by human resource planning the most important ones are: Determining the numbers to be employed at the new department/location Determining the functions of the current workforce Retention/promotion of current staff Removing any redundant functions / employees Fu ture outlook Human Resource Planning is important for every company when they want to be proactive and want to manage their human resources to take advantage of any opportunity in the future. The companies understand the organizational fluidity around skills held by the people. One of the major limitations of HRP is that it requires extensive information of the external labor market, data about current employees and how resources work in the organization. Crystal Waters Winery needs to understand the exact duties need that to be incorporated into the company’s operations and where it will get the human capital from. Through HRP Jacques Terblanche wants to find out how he can improve the performance of his company in the long run without drastically impacting profitability or sales. Demand planning is an integral starting point where the company must anticipate future demand for their product (Bertucci, 2006). Only if the demand is sustainable then it should start hiring new e mployees, if however the demand is declining then the management must focus on improvement and streamlining of the business processes. Job Analysis A good starting point for Jacques Terblanche would be to create an effective Job Analysis for all the positions for which he will be hiring. Job analysis is the study of competencies, and the emerging emphasis on considering other work-related about the work itself, the worker, the organization, and the

Principles Of Marketing Management Chocolate in the UK Essay

Principles Of Marketing Management Chocolate in the UK - Essay Example Thorntons' website is a strong source of sales and allows customers to pick and chose chocolates. Thorntors also promotes its new products readily. Unique season based product packages such as wedding favours are also highly demanded. The company provides chocolates of various ranges including Belgian, Winter, Viennese,etc. Chocolates of various types such as milk chocolate, dark chocolate, mint chocolate, etc., are also available for customers This research paper seeks to analyze the current market standing of the company via a comprehensive swot analysis. The findings of this analysis shall be used to frame the marketing and positioning strategies of the company. Thorntors chocolate has been in the UK market for over 100 years and possesses a turnover of 210 million pounds in the year 2008. Along with general retail outlets, Thorntons also sells its products through the internet, mail order and by using other commercial services. Analyzing Thontorns in depth:- Thorntors poses a challenging test to any marketer. The company boasts of its legacy, however, it faces increasing competition from newer entrants that threaten to torment its reign as a top chocolate company. A swot analysis of the company shall help understand aspects that it can rely on and things it needs to work on to cement its position as the top chocolate company.... 6) Premium brand positioning. Weaknesses 1)Retail Outlets’ failure to meet targets. 2)No customized products at retail stores. 3)History of problems with hand finished chocolates. 4)Weak performance by OWN Stores channel. Opportunities 1)Export market potential. 2)Product Innovation to counter economic downturn. 3)Discovery of new ranges such as biscuit desserts can help enhance brand equity. Threats 1)Fluctuating raw material and dairy prices. 2)Rising inflation and affordability issues. 3)Economic downturn and customer’s changing preferences. 4)Failure to address retail sales issue before competitors can gain advantage. Target Market and Seeking new opportunities:- Thorntons is a premium brand of chocolate that has established considerable brand equity over the 99 years of its existence. While the company welcomes and appreciates every walk in customer, there are specific people it targets with each of its innovative products. Kingston Upon Hull is the market that Tho rntons seeks to capure this Christmas. The city is located in the East Riding of Yorkshire and has a population of around a quarter of a million people. Hull is home to around 97% local residents while a small minority group of within 1000 people reside in the entire city. The city boasts a high percentage of people who use personal transport over public transport and the economic conditions of the people are relatively good. There is however, a 6.2% unemployment rate which acts as a threat to potential market. Hull is also home to several types of restaurants, including Chinese, English, French, Italian etc (Hull and East Reading, 2011).The city acts as a busy port and economy is built around trading and seafaring. Considering the company’s premium positioning, it will

Valero Energy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Valero Energy - Essay Example 4. Critically discuss whether Valero Energy has diversified its products and services. Provide 3 recommendations with a timeframe included of how Valero Energy can create better value through diversification of its corporate-level strategy. 5. Critically discuss whether Valero Energy has created and sustained a competitive advantage through its business-level strategy. Provide 3 examples of different environmental influencers that have affected its business-level strategy. [1] Valero is a refiner of oil feedstock. It buys oil from companies that extract them from the ground and Valero turns the stuff into clean fuel and other products like plastics, asphalt, aromatics, etc. that it sells to other companies. Valero’s entrepreneurial philosophy is closer to that of a small family business where all who work for it feel that they have a stake in the success and profitability of the company. In a June 2006 interview with HR Magazine, Valero’s first CEO (who retired in 2005) admitted that the concern of management is basically how to take care of its people so that they improve their operations, increase refining capacity and yield, and help run the company better. Profits usually follow because the people are happy working for the company. Since 1980, the company has taken care of its people – it has not laid off a single employee in the last twenty-nine years – and so has the luxury of getting the best among those who apply for jobs there, rewarding them for their contributions to the company. Process and product innovations at Valero are managed by sharing the R&D expertise of researchers for its four fuel (gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and renewables) and eight specialty (aromatics, asphalt, propane, sulfur, base and process oils, petroleum coke, solvents and natural gas liquids) products following the basic guidelines of being environment-friendly,

Single Importance of Humanity Essay Example for Free

Single Importance of Humanity Essay In the website essay, Special Report: Could Wikileaks Cause World War III or the End of the World? David Gewirtz, the author, discusses about the importance of the bond of trust between the people and their government and also between nations internationally. Although the bond of trust may result in betrayal and pain to others, the bond of trust still have to exist between people to improve the society and to prevent careless mistakes. Gewirtz uses rhetorical strategies such as his diction and organization in his argument to effectively convey his perspective on the bond of trust along with his reasoning and analysis. At the start of the essay, Gewirtz dives into the meaning of trust and its possible consequences in a person-to-person manner by saying â€Å"If you think about it, trust is all that stands between us and terrible circumstance† (Gewirtz). As Gewirtz moves on with his arguments, he also states that â€Å"we have to trust some people† because we cannot simply do everything and it’s definitely â€Å"not possible to do everything yourself† (Gewirtz). From these statements, we can all agree on the fact that no one could do everything on earth himself because then, there is no need for the government and various specialties. To convey this idea to his audience effectively, Gewirtz uses diction that sets the atmosphere into more personal and appealing directly to his audience. Contractions like â€Å"it’s† and â€Å"I’m† lightens the serious atmosphere in the discussion about the gravity of trust and allow the readers to easily follow along. Also, the first-person perspective of this essay allows more attention from greater number of readers since the first-person diction is more personal and less formal, which that eliminates the seriousness and provides easy comprehension for people that does not have any knowledge of politics. Similar to how Martin Luther King Jr. appealed to his audience by using the first-person point of view in the famous I Have a Dream speech. The constant repetition of the â€Å"I have a dream†¦Ã¢â‚¬  statements indicates the strong person-to-person appeal to the audience by providing more thinking through the emotion and moral of his audience. Gewirtz also implements his own opinions of the importance of trust by such extreme word choices such as the term, â€Å"nuclear Armageddon. † The organization of the essay is organized in a way that helps emphasize the word â€Å"trust† by making a separate paragraph with only the word â€Å"trust† in it. Gewirtz utilizes this technique to let his audience know the importance of â€Å"trust† since his main point of this entire essay is about trust. Throughout the essay, Gewirtz also implements his own thoughts and words in parenthetical statements along with his argument in the essay. These include, â€Å"or possibly care,† â€Å"unless, of course, it’s not time to be nice,† and â€Å"yes, pressure† which all of these thoughts are implemented in parenthetical statements along with Gewirtz statements. These implements meant to effectively allow Gewirtz and his audience to â€Å"literally† speak to them face-to-face instead of being formal for the selective fewer audience. Through this rhetorical strategy, reader can conclude that Gewirtz wants his essay to be spoken to the general population and not the selected individuals with the knowledge of politics. At the very beginning and the ending, Gewirtz uses the same format of â€Å"trust† in its own separate paragraph and uses a conclusion that is very similar to his introductory paragraph as his final wrap-up. From this strategy, the reader can infer that not only was Gewirtz tried to maximize his emphasis, but to allow his audience to think differently from when they read his introductory paragraph and what they think about the paragraph at the end of the essay after all of Gewirtz arguments has been made. The arguments made by David Gewirtz strongly appeal to his audience through the use of rhetorical strategies like the diction and organization of his essay. Because of the elaborate use of these rhetorical strategies, the reader can incorporate his or her thoughts into the emotional thinking which Gewirtz purposely intended to do so. Although there are some logos appeals in his essay, he mainly focuses on the pathos approach to fully earn all of the agreements of his audience. Overall, I strongly believe that Gewirtz essay made his audience think twice in another perspective as a means of fully understanding the gravity of the dangers of WikiLeaks and the importance of trust.

The Application Of Clinical Effectiveness In Physiotherapy

The Application Of Clinical Effectiveness In Physiotherapy SCIPS (2006) defined Physiotherapy as a science-based health care profession which emphasises the use of physical approaches in the promotion, maintenance and restoration of an individuals physical, psychological and social well-being through various interventions, supported and influenced by evidence of clinical effectiveness and practitioners may work independently or as members of the health care team. Physiotherapy and rehabilitation services in Oman is still in the young phases where most of our practices follows the traditional method, and evidence based approach involves reading international journals, research papers and attendance to seminars, conferences and postgraduate courses. The services have not been accompanied by a comparable increase in systematic evidence. Few practices have been evaluated either for their efficacy in carefully controlled circumstances or for their effectiveness in typical clinical situations, however to keep abreast with our clinical approach and to attain clinical effectiveness in our services, we need to develop strategies and audits to identify areas of improvement and ways of implementing effective and evidence based care. The essay will demonstrate the action plan by using the quotes of Graham (1996) on clinical effectiveness. The impact of guidelines, auditing and cost- effectiveness will also be discussed within sections of this essay. Clinical Effectiveness NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS 2005) described clinical effectiveness as the extent to which specific clinical interventions do what they are intended to do, i.e. maintain and improve the health of patients securing the greatest possible health gain from the available resources. They further described clinical effectiveness as critical thinking about actions, questioning whether it has the desired result, and about making positive changes to practice. They also continued to describe clinical effectiveness by using the same quotes as Graham 1996. National Health Service (2009) aimed to achieve clinical effectiveness strategy by developing a culture where clinical effectiveness is seen as being integral to the day-to-day provision of clinical care. Furthermore, through the development of an integrated work programme, setting out the structures, priorities, and implementing and monitoring national guidance, standards and policy. Evidence -Based Practice. Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) is the process of systematically reviewing, appraising and using clinical research findings to aid the delivery of optimum clinical care to patients (Belsey J, Snell T(2009). Hospital management.net (2005) in their review of rehabilitating physiotherapy stated that evidence-based practice is currently becoming a basic ethical stand in physiotherapy and other fields of healthcare. The purpose of evidence-based practice is to make any decision-making on diagnosis and treatment proceeds from proven knowledge in the field concerned. Herbert R et al (2005) in their review of practical evidence-based physiotherapy pointed out that research alone is not enough, it is most effective when patients, health professionals and policy makers bring to their decisions a range of values, preferences, experiences and knowledge. Clinical effectiveness as quoted by Graham (1996) the right persons, doing the right thing, the right way, in the right place, at the right time with the right result The philosophy in this essay involves team members collecting knowledge of the available service, and then using evidence from a wide range of sources to inform the outcome, linked to the priorities facing the profession. Also develop frameworks to guide ongoing development such as competency framework, and an integrated care pathway, through implementation of patient care knowledge. The process for development will be timely and detailed, and will be actively disseminated using strategic planning to promote implementation and later will be evaluated. Success for the development of clinical effectiveness and evidence-based care would be for the team to experience a constructive and enabling process that contributes to their continuing professional development and progression of research knowledge and skills. The following sections will apply the parameters of Grahams quote to the practice of physiotherapy and rehabilitation through clinical effectiveness. The right persons-(competence) Epstein and Hundert (2002) defined professional competence as the habitual and judicious use of communication, knowledge, technical skills, clinical reasoning, emotions, values, and reflection in daily practice for the benefit of the individual and community being served The therapist has to be fully qualified and competent to be able to make decisions for therapeutic interventions, identify and analyse the patients condition, a particular clinical problem, should be able to identify and define standards relevant to clinical work, and have the knowledge of the subsequent intervention that might improve outcome. The right thing (evidence based practice resources) Graham (1996) quoted that evidence-based practice is about doing the right things right, and Muir Gray (1997) supported the emphasis on the process rather than on the result. Evidence can be gathered from a range of resources including published guidelines, journals articles, conferences, books, peer reviews, client feedbacks and other recourses from libraries. In order to attain the evidence based practice resources the social value must be identified and the impact of provider values on access to services and quality of care should be understood. Rebecca Broughton (2001) stated that clinical guidelines are systematically developed statements designed to help practitioners and patients decide on appropriate healthcare. It stated that guidelines reduce unacceptable or undesirable variations in practice and provide a focus for discussion among health professionals and patients. Furthermore, Van der Wees P and Mead J(2004) in their study on framework for clinical guideline development in physiotherapy concluded that clinical guidelines are a valuable resource for effective clinical practice and are important tools for clinical effectiveness and evidence based practice, and has the potential to improve the quality of patient care. The right way (skills and competence) The team will work collaboratively to deliver a new policy as per the needs through an evidence based approach system and evaluate new policy in the context of local and national priorities and critically review the nature of evidence in the context of the working environment. The right way to develop skills and competence and the necessary step will be observed such as; time to develop the services, required post training for the therapists, duration of training and resources such as current equipment, the evidence based researched journals and the financial implication. Protocols or specification must be developed and updated by ensuring staff development such as participation in Continuing Medical Education (CMEs) and ensuring confidence of current knowledge and skills through evidence based practice. Patients dignity and privacy must be equally maintained in all contexts of intervention. The right place (location of treatment/services) This will involve team work to audit and identify the geographical regions that need developing and observe the clinical practice, thus includes identifying priority areas of work to deliver the strategy, The performance will be audited to measure the quality of care the patient experienced including the effectiveness of implementing the best available evidence and then benchmarked against pre-set standards, changes will then be implemented where needed. The clinical audit process seeks to identify areas for service improvement, develop and carry out action plans to rectify or improve service provision and then to re-audit to ensure that these changes have an effect. (Wikipedia). The right time (provision of treatment/services) The team will determine and assess the clinical needs of care and interventions so as to develop the appropriate delivery of services as per the requirements and assess the cost effectiveness of the service delivery. The status of the current services, the type of patients, clinical intervention, time process, duration of treatment and location should be reviewed. Hurley et al (2009) in their study on effectiveness and clinical applicability of integrated rehabilitation programs for knee osteoarthritis showed that correct integrated rehabilitation programmes involving exercise and self-management are more clinically and cost effective and may be the best way of managing the large and increasing number of people suffering chronic knee pain. Another example from Santos et al (2004) in their project implementing clinical evidence in the management of coronary care provided a foundation for the development of a management strategy by using a multidisciplinary team approach, involving updating guidelines and resources. A positive outcome of the project was a reduction in hospital admission. An example in our local services was seen in a study of rehabilitation and management of elderly individuals following stroke which required an integrated approach from a multidisciplinary team. This minimised readmission of chronic cases and proved cost effective. Cost-effectiveness analysis should be done to address and ensure the efficient use of recourses and compare the financial costs of therapies whose outcomes can be measured purely in terms of health effect. (Alan Haycox 2009). Ceri. P. (2001) stated that one such method for measuring the extent of health gains is the quantity adjustment life year (QALY). The right result (clinical effectiveness/ maximising health gain) The results should be identified and reported to assess the benefits and patients satisfaction. The appraised research has to have valid and relevant information in the overall results that could be of clinical benefit safe, effective, cost beneficial and when used on the general population will make a difference. Hence health care authorities should develop appropriate use of evidence-based, standardized processes and centers of excellence to support easy reach of health care through a multidisciplinary care team of physiotherapy and rehabilitation. CONCLUSION This essay has discussed the mechanism of clinical effectiveness and evidence based practice in the context of physiotherapy and rehabilitation service. The essay has reflected on the needs and future expectations in the provision of a safe and effective care on a national scale. It has been found that in the context of providing effective rehabilitation, the implementation of up-to-date guidelines, auditing and cost evaluation are all paramount for the assessment of clinical effectiveness. In conclusion, clinical effectiveness in physiotherapy and rehabilitation services uses an integrated approach and can be thought of as the sum of the right person; as being the competent skilled therapist, backed with the right evidence, protocols and guidelines (the right way). In addition, an efficient well equipped environment. An ongoing review of such intervention and approach is required to evaluate and further improve the results of the provided service.