A Journal opinion article and address an economic issue of current

A Journal opinion and address an economic issue of current interest to Wall Street Journal readers - Article Example This has been faced by anti- austerity protests in these countries as common citizens suffer from the harsh effects of these measures (Navarro 345). This has left people wondering whether the austerity measures are really the way to go about the debts or whether does it just escalate the problem. Austerity measures were instituted in order to make it possible for the economy to recover in the long run. This comes with a major price: reductions of government spending results in increase in current unemployment rates, reduction in personal income and lowers the standard of living of the people. This is done with the hope that when the governments are able to overcome the debt problem and boost the economy, it will thus be possible to create more jobs and improve the standard of living of the people. The measures have been seen to work in some countries such as in Greece which has been able to achieve spending cuts of about 53% in the first half of this year. Although these measures may be seen to be working now in reducing spending their questions whether it will be possible for the countries to recover from the effect of these measures in the longrun. Experts say that the western economies have reached their peak of growth (Lynn, 345). If this is true, then it means that the economies are now on the down slope and it would not be possible for them to get back to the top. This means that the austerity measures would only make the living standards of the citizens of these countries deteriorate without any hopes for recovery. Take for instance the Greek strict measures that they have taken in the recent past. The Greek government has now announced that there will be no Christmas celebrations in this country (Anon, 230). This is based on the fact that peoples spending increases in times of celebration as people spend more on clothes, food and gifts rising the normal spending to

Absorption and Marginal Costing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Absorption and Marginal Costing - Assignment Example This technique of costing is also known as the full-cost technique (Sikdar, 2008). In reality, the technique of marginal costing takes into consideration the behavioral features of costs by segregating the costs into fixed and variable elements. The segregation is done because per unit variable cost is fixed and total costs are variable in nature but actually total fixed costs are fixed and per unit fixed cost is variable in nature. In addition, variable costs are handy in nature, whereas total fixed costs are unmanageable in nature. Short term planning makes use of the Marginal costing technique. Control and decision making in particular reference to the production of multi-products also uses marginal costing (Sikdar, 2008). The contribution in marginal costing technique is computed after taking away variable costs from sales value. This is the way in which the total share of all products/services incurred towards the total fixed costs by the business is also taken into account. Since the fixed costs are dealt with as period costs they are subtracted from total share to compute net profit (Sikdar, 2008). From the perspective of cost for a product/service, an absorption costing regards a share of all costs incurred by a business with regard to each of its products/services. Costs are segregated based on their functions under absorption costing technique. Apart from this costs which are incurred with reference to other business functions are subtracted to compute the net profit. Thus we can infer that absorption costing is a better info give to price products since it takes into account both variable and fixed costs (Sikdar, 2008). The costs that fluctuate with a resolution should only be included in decision analysis. For many decisions that engage comparatively small fluctuations from accessible practice and/or are for comparatively restricted periods of time, fixed costs are not applicable to the decision.  

A Successful Global Strategy

A Successful Global Strategy Executive Summary: This Report outlines how Walt Disney did successfully in global strategy. We found that the root issues include the need to expand into new markets and/or industries. We used a Porters Five Forces analysis to develop the alternatives. The alternatives that we proposed were to expand globally and enter the China makret. We analysed how the alternatives fit with Disneys corporate culture if the alternative would provide a competitive advantage. Upon the completion of our analysis, we recommend that Disney should expand globally in order to capitalise on unrealised markets in order to alleviate its root issues. 1. Introduction The Walt Disney Company, also known simply asDisney, is the largest media and entertainment conglomerate in the world. (http://money.cnn.com) The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise with four business segments: Media Networks, which includes the companys television and Internet operations; Parks and Resorts that featuring the companys theme parks,cruise line, and other travel-related assets; Studio Entertainment, which includes the companys film, recording label, and theatrical divisions; and Consumer Products, which produces toys, clothing, and other merchandising based upon Disney-owned properties. (http://corporate.disney.go.com) A strategic analysis of The Walt Disney Company will be conducted to explore the globalisation aspects of strategy within the organisation. Relevant theoretical frameworks and empirical information will be used to assess the viability of Disneys current global strategy and recommendations will be made if any appropriate changes should be considered. The Five Forces Model will be used in the report to analyse the competitive advantage of Disney. The Walt Disney Companys objective is to be one of the worlds leading producers and providers of entertainment and information, using its portfolio of brands to differentiate its content, services and consumer products. The Companys primary financial goals are to maximize earnings and cash flow, and to allocate capital profitably toward growth initiatives that will drive long-term shareholder value. (http://corporate.disney.go.com) It is influenced Disneys strategy towards making the company works globally. The following findings will analyse how Disney using taken a global approach in order to expand the business and will highlight areas of improvement and apply them into theoretical frameworks. And the issue will mainly focus on the plan of building a new Disneyland in Shanghai China 2. Findings 2.1 Current Strategy The current strategy of Disney is mainly depends or influenced by their mission statement that mentioned above: Be one of the worlds leading producers and providers The success of Disney is obvious, but how and why it was able to achievethat success is not as plain. The biggest strength of Disney as acompany, is really the firms `share of mind and it is also thecompanys strongest competitive advantage, or its economic moat. Toillustrate this, each one of us, after hearing the name `Disney willautomatically have something in mind an animated film, perhaps, or acharacter, or a theme park. No matter what that is, the association ismost likely a very positive one: One of entertainment, imagination, andperhaps a family setting. In contrast, the mention of Columbia Picturesor Universal Studios will not evoke the same type of response. However, their main global strategy is really in public eyes: building another theme park in Shanghai China. The Chinese government has approved plans for the Walt Disney Company to build a theme park in Shanghai, its first in mainland China. (http://news.bbc.co.uk) According to the Disney Annual Report (2009), they will remain focus on advancing their strategies objective of building the Companys position as a leader in the creation of high quality branded content and making Disney an even more prominent and successful provider of entertainment globally. 2.2 International composition and expansion According to Bob De Wit and Ron Meyer (2004), international composition is an international firm operates in two or more countries. When a firm starts up value adding activities in yet another country, it is called internationalisation. Disney is actually doing this to meet their goals. In 2005, Disney has opened the fifth theme park and it is located in Hong Kong China. It can see that there is a trend of Disney wants to do business in China. Disney has won approval to build a theme park in Shanghai after nearly 20 years of courting the Chinese government. l International Scope As everyone knows China is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, is a huge potential market for any foreign brand aiming to expand abroad. Shanghai, arguably the most international and diverse city in China. It will allow Disneyland to utilise the largest tourism resources in Eastern China for example sightseeing spots, tourism infrastructure. On the other hand, the world recession and other difficulties in the industry, Disneyland hasnt been doing well in recent years. Seeking a more profitable market is essential, and it is estimated that Shanghai Disneyland will attract 30 million visitors every year. (http://business.globaltimes.cn) l International distribution The international composition of firm also depends on how it has distributed its value-adding activities across the countries selected. In some firms, all national subsidiaries carry out similar activates and are of comparable size. For example RD, and production concentrated only in few countries. (Porter, 1986) At the moment, Disney and build 5 theme park in the world and they distributed in different part of the world. The cultural differences will affect how Disney works for the business. Mention about how to establish the foreign subsidiary, firm can work independently or joint venture with local player or foreign partner. This could refer to the theme park as a joint venture company the cost of inputs, the investment is not just for theme park, the park also includes a variety of capital costs, land costs, environmental costs, part of the regional transport infrastructure costs, relocation costs. And the joint venture partner for Shanghai Disney is the State-owned enterprises L ujiazui Group. (http://www.chinafinancialdaily.com) 2.3 Porters five forces framework of Disney Disney has a favourable marco-environment. Its microenvironment will be examined using Porters five forces model (Porter, 1980). This model seeks to measure the competitiveness of a company by reference to five forces: competitive rivalry; buyers; suppliers; potential entrants and substitutes. In the case of Disney, most of the major things bought such as the rides and buildings are one-off purchase. The suppliers that affect daily operation are food and beverage, fireworks etc. All these are replaceable and will not directly affected Disney competitive advantage. Secondly, the bargaining power of buyer is determined by the concentration of buyers and how much customers can impose pressure on volumes and margins. Lets take Hong Kong Disneyland as an example; their customers have relatively low bargaining power because the theme park is differentiated in its industry. So the threats from buyers are low. There is a direct competitor for Hong Kong Disneyland, Ocean Park. Most teenagers will prefer Ocean Park as the entry fee for Disneyland is almost US$24 more than Ocean Park. That is why Hong Kong Disneyland has steadily lost money since opening in 2005 (http://www.businessweek.com) However, there is a dilemma happen to Disney: there will be a greatest threat or opportunities for Disneyland overall as mention above, the proposals for the second Disneyland in China. This new Disneyland will be eight times bigger than the one in Hong Kong (Subler, 2008). So Disney faces a same brand competitor within Asia and competing in the same market. And the substitutes would affected by other leisure and retail industries. It is because in China, shop normally close at 10pm rather than 5/6pm in western countries. Customers might have other alternatives instead of theme park. Overall, the microenvironment analysed by Porters five forces has revealed that Disney has a competitive environment. 2.4 Localisation or Globalisation? When the Hong Kong Disneyland was under construction, it was reported that the design plan of this park had been reviewed by Feng Shui experts to bring prosperity and good luck. Now, Disney will set up its second theme park in China. Will Shanghai Disneyland contain more Chinese features? Should Disney stick to internationalised and standardised route or positively adopt the localisation strategy? According to the report from The Times (http://business.timesonline.co.uk), Disney said that Shanghai Disneyland will be a fantastic world with Chinese characteristics, including the Chinese food and the suggestions from Feng Shui experts in the design of the park.To address this possibility, the spokesman of Disney made this official statement: Shanghai will feature a Magic-Kingdom style, in keeping with its cousins in Asia, the U.S. and France. It will also have Chinese characteristics as a part of the localization process that is a part of the deal. 3. Conclusion After analysing the Walt Disney case, the current strategy for Disney is being one of the leading producers and providers of entertainment and information, using its portfolio of brands to differentiate its content, services and consumer products. And other strategy is made looking forward to build the sixth theme park in Shanghai China. They will need to consider how they work successfully in order to avoid making the same mistake of Hong Kong Disneyland. Though it is not a big mistake, the issue they need to concern would be how they operate the new Disneyland. Would they stick the Chinese feature in the theme park? Is localisation or globalisation better suit for the new Disneyland? Also, the Porters five force Model has shown that Disney has a competitive advantage to the microenvironment. No matter how they operate, the Walt Disney still has a high reputation in everyone heart. 4. Recommendation In order to make a better improvement for Disney in doing business globally, there are several points I would like to focus on and help Disney works efficiently. The managers of Disney are believed to have made up their minds between globalisation and localisation. But like the saying Disneylands construction will not be stopped if there is space for imagination, numerous guesses will haunt Shanghai Disneyland before it is finished.I would say localisation is not a bad thing. Disney should integrate the Chinese features into Shanghai Disneyland. Even the theme park can be called Disney Oriental Park. However, on the other hand for using the idea of globalisation, the special cultural characteristics would makes Disney become what it is. And too many local elements may exert negative influence upon its attraction power.Therefore, Both localisation and globalisation should focus on transferring the cultural elements into something needed by the industry chain. Also, for even more expansion, as everyone knows, the size of Hong Kong Disneyland and Paris Disneyland is relatively small comparing to other Disneyland. They still have room for further expansion. Such as Hong Kong, it is a right decision to expand the theme park further for the preparing of new opening of Shanghai Disneyland. Once they expand, they would not lose the competitive ability against the rival or internal competitors. Therefore, in my opinion, Disney has successful expand globally in order to capitalise on unrealised markets in order to alleviate its root issues. But there are still unforeseeable potential for Disney. So in short term, a carefully formulated brand strategy will be the key for Disneylands China dream to come true. 5. References: The Walt Disney Company Fiscal Year 2009 Annual Financial Report Bob De Wit and Ron Meyer (2004) Strategy, Process, Contentm Context, An international perspective, 3rd Edition, South-Western Cengage Learning Porter, M.E. (1980)Competitive Strategy, Free Press, New York, 1980. Company Overview http://corporate.disney.go.com/corporate/overview.html (Accessed: 10th Feb 2010) Why Disney wants DreamWorks http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/09/news/companies/disney_dreamworks.fortune/?postversion=2009020914 (Accessed: 21st Feb 2010) Disneyland approved for Shanghai http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8341570.stm (Accessed: 19th Feb 2010) Shanghai Disneyland on the Way http://www.gotoread.com/mag/13136/sarticle_32571.html (Accessed: 17th Feb 2010) Hong Kong Disneylands Future Is in Danger http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/mar2009/gb20090317_923737.htm (Accessed: 22nd Feb 2010) Mickey Mouse prepared to be Shanghaied as China opens up http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/leisure/article3498733.ece (Accessed: 15th Feb 2010) Disney Shanghai to gamble? http://www.chinafinancialdaily.com/financial/news/2009/12/10/11836/interpretation-of-the-disney-shanghai-suction-gold-journey-tourists-spend-about-600-yuan-per-capita-1.html (Accessed: 15th Feb 2010) Subler J. (2008), Shanghai applies to build its own Disneland: mayor, Reutoers, Online News 6th March 2008 Available from: http://www.reuters.com (Accessed: 17th Feb 2010)

Why Are There So Few Men In Nursing? Essay -- Nursing

Among twenty leading female-dominated professions, registered nurses (RN’s) are the second most occupation that employed women in 2006 ¬. Similar to many traditionally female professions, the percentage of male in nursing is small. In fact, male nurses only comprised eight percent of RN’s in 2008. Although much effort has been made to recruit more men into nursing, many contributing factors have driven them away from this profession. Those factors include poor nursing image, negative public perception, low economic status, and gender stereotypes. One of the most significant factors that deter men from entering the profession is stereotypes. Research shows that men might be more likely to encounter stereotypes than discrimination; however, gender discrimination throughout the society still exists, which may discourage them from entering the profession. Gender segregation has separated male nurses into the minority group that faces many obstacles within the professio n, in which negative stereotypes are the primary obstacle for men who want to enter the nursing force. Although women historically have been the majority in the nursing workforce, the earliest record of male nurses known to perform nursing duties was between the fourth and fifth centuries. The first removal of men in nursing noted in the sixteenth century due to the destruction of many monastic institutions . In the mid-nineteenth century, Florence Nightingale initiated the idea of nursing as an exclusively woman’s profession. Nightingale believed only women had the capability to do nursing work because it was natural to them. Her vision caused the complete dissolution of male workforce in nursing . Only until 1955, for the first time, the military allowed men to se... ...ity Indianapolis, 2005), pp. 51, 52, 65. Web 12, April. 2012. https://scholarworks.iupui.edu/handle/1805/1675 â€Å"What is Behind HRSA's Projected Supply, Demand, and Shortage of Registered Nurses?† Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA, 2004). Web 22, April. 2012. http://dwd.wisconsin.gov/healthcare/pdf/behind_the_shortage.pdf Williams, Christine. â€Å"The Glass Escalator: Hidden Advantages for Men in the ‘Female’ Professions.† Social Problems (1992), pp. 227-240 â€Å"Women's Bureau (WB) – 20 Leading Occupations of Employed Women.† U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (2006). Web 22, April. 2012. http://www.dol.gov/wb/factsheets/20lead2006.htm â€Å"Women’s Bureau – Quick Facts on Registered Nurses (RNs).† U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (2007). Web 22, April. 2012. http://www.dol.gov/wb/factsheets/Qf-nursing-08.htm

City Living and Social Interaction

City Living and Social Interaction How much are we affected by the environment we live in? Based on the ideas on Georg Simmel the way we think and comprehend the things around as can all be effected by the region we live it. â€Å"The Metropolis and Mental Life† by Georg Simmel is a essay stating how each individuals are effected by where they are positioned in our society. He explains the difference in the lifestyles of people living in urban cities compared to people living in rural cities. Georg Simmel believes that by living in a urban city we are forced to play a supporting role to the many things going on around us.Because of the busyness of the city we are dominated by the objectivism and we forget subjectivism. Simmel believes that as humans live in urban cities that are forced to only pay attention to the things that are essential to our lives. For example in a rural region one may stop and communicate to the people through out the area, but in a urban city you do not have time to communicate with everyone. Over time we start to view these people who we do not acknowledge less and less until they are seen as objects. Man's nature, originally good and common to all, should develop unhampered. In addition to more liberty, the nineteenth century demanded the functional specialization of man and his work; this specialization makes one individual incomparable to another, and each of them indispensable to the highest possible extent. † (Georg Simmel, pg 392) â€Å"The Metropolis and Mental Life† states that by living in a city our mind begins to act intellectual, not emotional. This causes us to only focus on the thinks that that important to get through our own life and we lose value in the little things.Simmel describes this as â€Å"blase† means that we become uninterested and unconcerned by the things around us because of over exposure. Simmel believes that although urban life can cause us to unappreciative the smaller element of our lives. Although rural life may allow you to value the smaller details in life,Urban life allows us to have more freedom and to understand ourselves. Simmel’s ideas can play a factor at both a global and a local level it can be the different between if you thank the bus driver or play apart in much bigger global issues. An example of Simmels theory on our society is the way e all grow up. As kids we have very little to worry about and because of this our interactions with others occur frequently. We are friendly and socialize lots with our peers. As we grow older we have more to worry about. We become more absorbed in our own lives and pay less attention to the people and things going on around us. This is the same thing that happen in urban cities compared to rural environments. In an urban city we barely communicate with anyone who not directly connected to ourselves, but in rural environments are are constantly chatting and talking to the people around us.This is why it is more common for people in rural cities to know their neighbors where in urban cities neighbor connections are more rare. Overall urban life causes individuals to pay less attention to what is going on around then as they are absorbed in managing their time and money. Works Cited Simmel, Georg. â€Å"The Metropolis and Mental Life. † Seeing Ourselves: Classic, Contemporary, and Cross-cultural Readings in Sociology. By John J. Macionis and Nijole V. Benokraitis. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998. 392-97. Print.

McDonald’s in British

The UK is the largest European market for fast-food, probably because the market is more developed than in other European countries. McDonald's first British unit opened in Woolwich, London, in 1974. Its growth from the first restaurant was dramatic. At the end of 1999, it had over 1,000 outlets in the UK, of which 302 were run by franchisees. McDonald's employed over 48,000 people; a further 16,500 worked in its franchises. The total sales from both its company owned restaurants and its franchised outlets reached  £400 million and it catered for 2.5 million people a day. By the end of the twentieth century, McDonald's logo was no longer confined to the high streets but extended to leisure centres and retail parks as well as airports and cross-Channel ferries. McDonald's has gone beyond this by opening its own motorway service station called McDonald's Services which it opened on the M5 in Devon in 1999. In February 2001 McDonald's bought a 33 per cent stake in Prà ªt à   Manger. McDonald's dominates the chained fast-food sector both in terms of company and brand terms, taking a share, by value, of 52 per cent n 1999. Together McDonald's and Burger King had 73 per cent of the market in 1999. In a busy world where one does not even have time to change out of his work clothes to spend â€Å"quality† time with his or her daughter, McDonald's is there to help. The food is necessary to have the fun and companionship, but what the food consists of is irrelevant. Love (1995) points out that as McDonald's started to expand in the late 1960s it realized that to cultivate a national mass market, it needed to develop a media campaign that focused on the family rather than the product and price. When McDonald's returned to their complete American menu, altered their buildings to be more similar to their American architecture, and modified their ad campaigns to â€Å"food, folks, and fun,† – the myths of hard work and leisure, Americana and American culture and consensus – did their work. In Britain the McDonald's ads proclaimed,   â€Å"The United Tastes of America.† In the UK, adverts were aimed in the middle of the biggest market, the family segment. If children wanted to have fun at McDonald's, their parents would take them, and they would be McDonald's customers for life. From my perspective, the McDonald's success is based upon its ability to tell a story, a story that does not make sense from a logical perspective but rather from an aesthetic one. The story has coherence and fidelity and helps one solve his or her problem through the purchase and possession of commodities. McDonald's is successful not through the components of a rational system that includes efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control, but through its advertising campaign that hails each of us to come in and buy its product of â€Å"food, folks, and fun,† to come in and fulfil our American dream. Although most Americans would not consider McDonald's to make the â€Å"best† hamburger in their home towns, McDonald's is hugely successful on an international basis. One does not go to McDonald's expecting the best hamburger in town. One goes to McDonald's expecting the image. McDonald's success is due to their creation of a narrative that is not necessarily true but rather provides us with a sense of personal identity, a sense of community life, a basis for conduct, and explanations of that which cannot be known. Labour shortages encourage fast-food employers to alter their work systems in ways that minimize the demand for labour through reorganization or technological change. Subway Sandwiches supplies franchisees with pre-portioned sandwich ingredients from centralized food preparation plants; McDonald's has experimented with robotic french fry makers, automated touch-screen ordering machines, and automatic electronic payment systems for cashless drive-through service. McDonald's also expects its new â€Å"Made for You† food preparation system to reduce employee turnover and provide some labour savings. Before the imposition of the minimum wage McDonald's employees worked in the regions under 18 started on  £3.25 per hour and those over 18 started on  £3.50 per hour. In the UK McDonald's has three separate pay ‘scales' for inner London, outer London and the provinces and it has both under-18 and over-18 starting rates. In fact McDonald's increased its UK pay rates again by a flat rate of 10 pence on 28 March 1999 to bring the over-18 starting rate to  £3.60 outside London. Something like 70 per cent of McDonald's UK employees are under 21, and approximately 30 per cent are under 18. In October 1999 McDonald's was the last of the leading fast-food chains to remove the youth rate for under 18s. In 2000 McDonald's increased its minimum rate outside London to  £3.75, once again probably in response to the small increase in the minimum wage for that year of  £3.70. Figures from IDS (2001) suggest that McDonald's does not pay the lowest wages in the sector: it actually appears somewhere in the middle compared with other companies. However, its dominance in the market place undoubtedly has a constraining effect on wages amongst its competitors. The evidence at the McLibel trial also confirms this. Vidal (1997:312) states that the judge commented that: â€Å"the British McDonald's operation pays low wages and it depresses wages for other workers in the industry.† Of course McDonald's has been increasingly involved in the acquisition of other companies in recent years. In the UK the purchase of the Aroma coffee chain and more recently Prà ªt à   Manger may signal a new corporate strategy. In any case the relatively small number of restaurants in Europe compared with that in the US suggests that the European market is likely to experience a lot more expansion in future, although McDonald's is already the market leader in the UK. The UK McDonald's is, as in many other countries, expanding rapidly and becoming an increasingly important feature of modern employment. Although the majority of outlets in the sector are independent operations, it is the chain operations often owned by large multinationals which are the most profitable and which are driving growth. It is a highly competitive industry and labour costs are a large percentage of the overall costs of the business. It is hardly surprising therefore that there is likely to be a continual and persistent downward pressure on wages and conditions in this sector. Bibliography IDS. 2001, â€Å"The national minimum wage in pubs and restaurants†, Incomes Data Services, March: 1-8. Love J. F. 1995, McDonald’s: Behind the arches. New York: Bantam. Vidal, J. 1997, McLibel: Burger Culture on Trial, London: Macmillan.