The Body Shop: Corporate Governance

The Body Shop: Corporate Governance Management System Corporate Governance The management system and governance of each and every organisation is accountable for the maintenance of the organisation’s strength and survival in the stiff competition in the business world. The role of the governance imposed by the organisation as a whole should always be open minded for the occurrences of changes in order to adjust and cope with the tremendous development that are happening in the internal and external environment of the organisation. With the constantly changing environment, many people especially those in the working organisation find themselves normally adapting. This is because change can bring many improvement and development in different aspects of competency. In many ways, change can make work easier, pave the way for future innovations or generally improve people’s lives. Similarly, change has been adapted by various work organisations for varied reasons. Important changes in the understanding and management of corporate governance and its impacts on businesses have been developed in the past 10 to 15 years. Various researchers, practitioners and policymakers now acknowledge that corporate governance and its impacts on businesses can be conceptualised from a functional perspective and that appropriate interventions involve the development of alternative measures to cope up. It was also noted that the establishment of a conducive environment for learning and training as an integral component of corporate governance have served effectively in implementing organisational change strategies for transformation. At present, this philosophical shift has extended to various settings, including multinational companies and organisations. Directors here have recognised that some employees do not have the skills and behavioural repertoires necessary to cope with the many expectations and challenges of corporate governance. Hence, these employees m ay have the tendency to remain contented with their mediocre performances as their alternative way of mitigating these expectations. Corporate governance pertains to the set of policies that are established in order to make influence in the manner in which an organisation or company is managed, governed or operated. The execution of corporate governance leads to the efficient and effective implementation of the policies and tasks necessary to satisfy a firms customers, employees, and management. It also focuses on the careful management of the processes involved in the relationships among all the stakeholders involved (Bhattacharya, 2000). More often than not, small companies dont really have the capabilities to implement corporate governance. Instead, these companies engage in activities that various schools of management typically associate with the implementation of corporate governance. These activities include the establishment of rules, policies for decision-making, monitoring and evaluation. However, corporate governance deals with all operations done within companies and organisations. Activities such as the management of responsibilities, the control of operations, logistics and evaluations are often related with corporate governance. A great deal of emphasis lies on the efficiency and effectiveness of processes. Therefore, corporate governance includes the analysis and management of internal processes. The Body Shop will be the model business entity that will be used in this research based on their history in corporate governance. Company Background A known British chain of cosmetic stores called â€Å"Body Shop† which is found almost all over the world shows tremendous success in previous years is also the company The Body Shop International plc. Actually, The Body Shop agreed to a  £652 million takeover offer by a French cosmetics group LOrà ©al on 17 March 2006. The Body Shop was founded by Anita Roddick, distinguished for selling its own line of products not tested on animals, and produced in an ecologically sustainable approach (wikipedia, 2006). The Body Shop aims for sustainable growth as a broad market leader in cosmetics as well as for segment leadership. In both cases, the brands of The Body Shop will play a crucial part. The Body Shop is able to establish its broad leadership usually by merging with other strong cosmetics companies and their products, which are then combined into a new, larger company. Offering training to its employees, improving the company operations, and the introduction of new beauty products and technologies then reinforces the positions of the various products of The Body Shop. This practically results in economies of scale that is able to create a distribution network for both its local and international products. If a market is already in the control of other companies, The Body Shop devotes its attention towards the development of a premium segment with its various beauty products. Discussions Any business organisation fundamentally exists because it has certain responsibilities to fulfil for the people in the community as well as the various entities comprising it. The organisation has its human entity ranging from the staff, to the managers, board of directors, stakeholders, suppliers and so forth. All these groups have their own set of functions that contribute to the determination of the business goals, the delivery mechanisms of goods and services, and the operational patterns within the organisation. Furthermore, business organisations are part of the larger society where the markets and consumers are targeted and derived. The complexity of the internal and external surroundings of the business necessitates crucial deliberations and decisions in order to ensure the effective and continuous affairs of the organisation. The overall management of the internal and external affairs of the organisation is what basically forms corporate governance. Basic Definitions 1) Corporate Governance pertains to the set of policies that are established in order to make influence in the manner in which an organisation or company is managed, governed or operated (Bhattacharya, 2000). 2) Company Performance can be measured in terms of the efficient and effective implementation of the policies and tasks necessary to acquire the essential goods or services at the best possible total cost of ownership, leading to the overall satisfaction of a firms customers, employees, and management (Booms, 1981). Role of Executive Directors Executive directors have the primary role to make specific identifications of all the possible sources of evaluation information which includes company performance. This is because aside from the observations of the immediate supervisors, company performance evaluation information can still come from a variety of other sources, including the employees, subordinates, and work products (Einsestat, 2001). For example, whenever The Body Shop utilises company performance information from individuals other than the immediate supervisor, the management informs the employees of the possible sources at the start of the company performance cycle, where they receive their company performance plans. In addition, these executive directors are the people who develop their company’s performance plans. The plans are signed by the employees and then passed on to the management for approval. They make sure that company performance plans are complete and adequate before signing the forms (Gonzalez, 2003). Executive directors also discuss the company performance plans with the employees in a clear and organised manner. Generally, discussions are conducted within 30 days of the start of the company performance cycle. Role of Non-executive Directors Non-executive directors document their company’s performance and provide feedback to the executive directors from time to time throughout the company performance cycle. Documentation normally occurs in the form of memos, and these are retained in the non-executive directors’ confidential files. Actually, these directors also have the authority to determine substandard or unacceptable company performance (Galpin et al. 2002). They normally address minor or marginal company performance issues through company performance counselling and coaching. The Body Shop’s Corporate Governance It can be said that the company has a very good framework that has been established in order to deal with different corporate matters. In fact, there is usually a properly structured program that is further reinforced by company policies and other procedures for the proper guidance of the directors in their daily duties. Consequently, the company has a clear reference guide to its business operations and corporate governance. The Board of Directors which oversee the businesses and the decision-making routines as well as the financial aspect of things, keeps watch. In addition, this includes the maintenance of the standards with regards to corporate governance in the corporation’s different sectors. The Board is made up of ten directors; two are executive while six are non-executive. Because of this, there is a fair division of responsibilities and other tasks among them. And while the non-executive directors are independent from the others, they are still able to contribute their experience and knowledge during Board discussions. Without a doubt, The Board is in-charge of caring for the company’s operations, assets, and its shareholders. All-in-all, the board aims to work with these factors in the hopes of maximising performance. Because of this, it is The Board that is responsible for the finalisation of budgets and strategic plans. And in order to ensure the firm’s competent operations, The Board conducts a monthly review of the company’s businesses in relation to its financial movements. Furthermore, there is a company law that obliges The Board of Directors to carefully prepare each year, a financial report that would have to be accurate and reliable reflecting the true state of the company. All things considered, The Board of Directors is the one that is responsible for the proper safekeeping of accounting statements and to ensure that these records are precise and truthful. In addition, the board is in-charge of guarding the company’s other assets as well as making the necessary steps in order to prevent complications such as fraud and other types of risks. Aside from the board of directors, the company also has other committees as part of their corporate governance. Just like the board, other committees have a well-established reference guide which also discusses their duties and their scope of authority within the corporation. Composed typically of independent directors who are non-executive, the remuneration committee handles the outline for the company’s remuneration policy which would eventually be reviewed by the board. Moreover, this group is also responsible for the various remuneration packages that are given to executive directors. On the other hand, there is also a nomination committee which is also made up of mostly non-executive directors. The responsibility of this group is to recommend to The Board on which people should be appointed as directors. There is also a group known as the audit committee. Compared to the other two, the members of this committee is purely composed of non-executive directors. This group’s duty is to make proper recommendations with regards to the company’s accounting policies as well as overseeing financial control within the corporation (Sternberg, 1998). For this reason, the committee usually receives and reviews financial reports and other statements delivered to them. Then, they make a comprehensive report before they submit it to The Board. Of course, there is also the group’s evaluation of the risks involved which has always been done to assist with the company’s next business move, and have further control of the corporation’s different operations. Apparently, The Body Shop has a clear code of ethics and all employees must affirm their acceptance of this code. The code of ethics includes a conflict of interest policy to ensure that key corporate decisions are made by individuals who do not have a financial interest in the outcome separate from their interest as company officials. The company also actively monitors compliance with the law and the global financial policies and practices over critical areas. These areas include internal controls, financial accounting and reporting, fiduciary accountability and safeguarding of our corporate assets. A major factor involved in the improvement of The Body Shop involves the establishment and utilisation of company performance measures or indicators that in turn measure their customer’s satisfaction. These measures or indicators are measurable characteristics of products and services that the company typically utilises in order to study and improve company performance. The indicators that will be chosen should be able to represent the essential factors that are crucial to the improvement of operational and financial performance. Through the analysis of accurate information brought about by the tracking processes, the measures or indicators themselves can possibly be analysed and improved to support such goals. Effects of Governance to The Body Shop’s Business Ethics and Purpose The Board has been able to attain complete control of all matters regarding the company. Their self-perseverance and obligation to their duties and finally, their obedience to the company laws all contribute to the development of the corporation. As such, The Board constantly believes that all the data pertaining to financial information and other facts regarding to their operations that are currently being used is reliable. The Board’s authority is clearly recognised within the company. And because of this, it is able to have a solid grip on the corporation’s actual operations, stakeholders and its financial concerns. Needless to say, because of the corporation’s proper structure and its commitment to the stakeholders and to the community as well, the board of directors has proven that it can efficiently handle both its ethical and legal responsibilities. Furthermore, the company is currently maintaining good relations and open communications with its investors. As a matter of fact, shareholders are regularly invited by the corporation whenever there are gatherings to discuss trade updates. Moreover, whenever there is an annual general meeting, investors get the chance to meet The Board members themselves. And of course, for private investors, they can also access the company’s website for various shareholder services. Undoubtedly, the company has good consideration for all of its stakeholders; past, present and future. There definitely seems to be a very well planned framework in the firm’s corporate division. It has good policies and procedures with regards to financial matters and operational concerns. Its procedure of assessing the different kinds of situations that come up is certainly a good move on their part. Not to mention, they have maintained good relations with their stakeholders. And finally, The Boardâ€⠄¢s authority is unsurpassed. Clearly, these facts prove the strength of the company’s corporate governance structure. The weakness on this case however, is the fact that it cannot always be assured that there are no losses or other errors which may result from mistakes and inconsistencies by one of the committees or employees involved. In addition, having diverse populations, there can be a possibility of having internal problems between members who have different culture and beliefs. In addition, some problems occur in terms of giving value to the companies’ shareholders. There are times that the shareholder is not given the enough information about the status of the company, specifically that shareholder which have a small part in the business. This happens when the board of directors does not give value to their shareholders. Other negative aspects include the imperfection of financial reporting procedures which may definitely result in ineffective corporate governance. Why it is of interest to diverse stakeholder groups? The occurrence of corporate governance systems within diverse stakeholder groups reflects the growing difficulty in the management of organisations that require the effective use of valuable resources such as money, materials, equipments, and people. And there is no exception to these. This is the reason why corporate governance systems are being implemented within diverse stakeholder groups in order for them to determine the most effective ways to coordinate these resources through the application of analytical methods derived from fields of studies (Jobber, 1998). Through this process, group management problems are solved in different ways and alternative solutions are then relayed to the group’s management. The management then selects the appropriate course of action in line with their goals. More often than not, corporate governance systems are concerned with complicated issues such as top-level strategy, resource allocation, designing of production facilities and systems, pricing and the analysis of large databases. For example, the company governance strategies of Heineken are focused mainly on driving the growth of its brands and improving the company’s financial performance. These company governance strategies have also helped them secure significant acquisitions and partnerships. And more importantly, these campaigns have led to the release of the potentials of the company’s employees, thus building a quality performance- based culture. On the other hand, Alliance Boots, Europe’s leading pharmacy-led health and beauty group came into being with the merger of Alliance UniChem and Boots Group.  The merger recognises and strengthens the existing strategies of both entities by combining complementary businesses and strengths to create an international force in pharmacy-led  health and beauty while maintaining the Company’s commitment to the independent pharmacists through enhanced wholesale distribution and retail services. The company’s ultimate aim is to deliver products that make people look and feel their best. In order to do so, the company values performance and continuously strives to fulfil promises to shareholders through setting high standards of practice that are recognised by all internal and external stakeholders. It intends to lead the pharmacy and beauty industries with its products while demonstrating expertise in conceptualising, marketing, selling and distributing its brands (c ited in the Alliance Boots website 2006). From these examples, we may say that corporate governance should set a proper example of good intent, and provide for those lower in corporate hierarchies the clear message that it is â€Å"do as I do† as well as â€Å"do as I say† (Francis, 2000). Middle and lower management find it hard to be ethical when it seems that the top of the corporate hierarchy have no commitment. The message of sincerity will always filter down, and no amount of deception will foster the view that a board is ethical when it plainly is not. Additionally, the commitment to ethical corporate governance by a board will enhance the prospects of an ethical infrastructure within the organisation. That ethical infrastructure is a manifestation of the commitment, a means of preventing and resolving ethical problems, and an impressive demonstration of sincerity. Conclusion As a person with knowledge of corporate governance systems, the author has always brought up to his superiors the viability of strategy formation regarding the analysis of this topic and at times fails to understand the reasons or logic behind certain strategic implementations imposed on it. By delving into this project paper, the author intended to have better insights into how corporate governance systems are thought up, formulated and then imparted down into the subsidiaries of the company or organisation. The author hoped to have an in-depth understanding as to how the corporate governance systems of companies and organisations are able to compete effectively and profitably in this era of internationalisation where competition is extremely intense. In order to reinforce the learning objectives, two key focal issues were focused upon i.e. innovation and diversity. Innovation was discussed with regard to corporate governance systems of companies and organisations where they were renowned for their developmental capabilities to constantly innovate. Diversity came under strategic thinking and formation as the author considered the diverse culture, political climate, economic surroundings, social environment, technological settings, government policies and legal systems in order to better understand the issues being discussed. The results of the analysis carried out on the corporate governance systems of The Body Shop indicated very significant effects, even amidst the threats of unrest. Therefore, we could conclude that the corporate governance systems of The Body Shop could still be expected to improve faster than average. The review of the capabilities and resources of the corporate governance systems of The Body Shop revealed very little inconsistencies regarding its strategies. This is coherent with their traditional inside-out approach. However, the need to reconcile both the inside-out and outside-in approaches becomes imperative now for The Body Shop. The analysis among the cosmetics industry environment as well as the corporate governance systems of The Body Shop and their capabilities revealed certain gaps, most of which are biased towards the industry environment. However, these gaps paved the way towards determining a number of recommended strategic options to secure the competitiveness of The Body Shop. Also, The Body Shop has to find a balance between adherence to internal forces within the management and to the changing forces of the environment in order to implement such strategic options. References: Allianceboots 2006, Alliance Boots Website and location of Annual Report 2005, Available at: http://www.allianceboots.com, Accessed: November 2006. Bhattacharya, C. B. 2000, Relationship Marketing in Mass Markets, Handbook of Relationship Marketing, Thousand Oaks: Sage. Booms, B. H. 1981, Marketing Strategies and Organisation Structures for Service Firms, in Marketing of Services, J. H. Donnelly and W. R. George, Eds. Chicago: American Marketing Association. Eisenstat, R. A. 2001, Organisational Dynamics, pp. 6-14. Francis, R. 2000, Ethics and Corporate Governance: An Australian Handbook. Sydney, N.S.W.: University of New South Wales Press. Galpin, T, and Murray, P. 2002 HR Magazine, issue # 5, pp. 16-20. Gonzalez, M. 2003, Journal of Business Strategy, issue # 5, pp. 9-11. Grà ¶nroos, C. 1994, From Marketing Mix to Relationship Marketing: Towards a Paradigm Shift in Marketing, Management Decision, 32 (2), Jobber, D. 1998, Principles and Practice of Marketing (2nd ed.). London: McGraw-Hill Publishing. Sternberg, E. 1998, Corporate governance: accountability in the marketplace. London: The Institute of Economic Affairs. The Body Shop 2006, Available at: http://www.thebodyshopinternational.com/. Retrieved: December 7, 2006. Wikipedia 2006, The Body Shop, Available at:www.wikipedia.com, Accessed: November 2006. APPENDIX The Body Shop’s Corporate Government The Board of Directors and management of The Body Shop believe that sound principles of corporate governance are critical to obtaining and retaining the trust and respect of stockholders, employees, other stakeholders and the public. The board serves at the discretion of stockholders and works to represent their interests by enhancing business strategies and practices for the creation of long term stockholder value. Governance Summary The board consists of three standing committees: Audit Committee, Compensation Committee and the Nominating and Governance Committee; A majority of board members are independent of the company and its management; The Audit Committee of the board has established policies consistent with the newly enacted corporate reform laws for auditor independence; The independent members of the board meet regularly without the presence of management; The charters of our board committees clearly establish their respective roles and responsibilities; The company has a clear code of ethics and all employees must affirm their acceptance of this code. The code of ethics includes a conflict of interest policy to ensure that key corporate decisions are made by individuals who do not have a financial interest in the outcome separate from their interest as company officials; The company actively monitors compliance with the law and the global financial policies and practices over critical areas. These areas include internal controls, financial accounting and reporting, fiduciary accountability and safeguarding of our corporate assets.

Eulogy for Grandmother :: Eulogies Eulogy

Eulogy for Grandmother The phone call came at 6:45 on the evening of the 16th. At 8:58 I sent out an e-mail message to friends about my Grandmother's death. Many of those friends are former and current church members of congregations I have served as pastor. By the next morning I was receiving e-mail messages back. The ones from former and current church members had a common theme. In addition to expressing their sympathy they all said that they felt they had known my grandmother: "We remember your grandmother from the stories you would tell us of her." That is the nature of memories. They can be collective, shared, or private. They may be special moments - remembrances of her as a sister, a wife, a mother, or a friend. But, when we share those memories they become a part of someone else. The memories become the possession of others. When the Bible tells us to be kind to foreigners in our midst because we were once slaves in Egypt it assumes we have made that memory our own. We were once slaves in Egypt. The sacred memory has been passed down to us. Today, I want to share just a few memories of my Grandmother. She was a determined woman. Yes, she was a woman who could be patient, but that was restricted by the limits of her determination. When I was small she decided it was time to clean the attic. She had asked my Grandfather to place the wagon underneath the attic window so she could drop the stuff she wanted to be rid of. Well, my Grandfather was busy with other things. One day she decided she had waited long enough. She went to the attic and opened up the window and began to hurl items from the window. Imagine my surprise to items raining from the sky. Imagine my Grandfather's surprise upon his return. Then there was the time she was after my Grandfather to clean out the chimney. My Grandfather was up working in the fields when a chimney fire broke out. I was still a baby and my mother picked me up and went running next door to Aunt Mid's house. My Grandmother called the fire department (instead of calling for my Grandfather). My grandfather saw the fire trucks coming up the road from town - followed by cars of just about everybody who lived along the way! My Grandfather saw to it that the chimney stayed clean after that. Eulogy for Grandmother :: Eulogies Eulogy Eulogy for Grandmother The phone call came at 6:45 on the evening of the 16th. At 8:58 I sent out an e-mail message to friends about my Grandmother's death. Many of those friends are former and current church members of congregations I have served as pastor. By the next morning I was receiving e-mail messages back. The ones from former and current church members had a common theme. In addition to expressing their sympathy they all said that they felt they had known my grandmother: "We remember your grandmother from the stories you would tell us of her." That is the nature of memories. They can be collective, shared, or private. They may be special moments - remembrances of her as a sister, a wife, a mother, or a friend. But, when we share those memories they become a part of someone else. The memories become the possession of others. When the Bible tells us to be kind to foreigners in our midst because we were once slaves in Egypt it assumes we have made that memory our own. We were once slaves in Egypt. The sacred memory has been passed down to us. Today, I want to share just a few memories of my Grandmother. She was a determined woman. Yes, she was a woman who could be patient, but that was restricted by the limits of her determination. When I was small she decided it was time to clean the attic. She had asked my Grandfather to place the wagon underneath the attic window so she could drop the stuff she wanted to be rid of. Well, my Grandfather was busy with other things. One day she decided she had waited long enough. She went to the attic and opened up the window and began to hurl items from the window. Imagine my surprise to items raining from the sky. Imagine my Grandfather's surprise upon his return. Then there was the time she was after my Grandfather to clean out the chimney. My Grandfather was up working in the fields when a chimney fire broke out. I was still a baby and my mother picked me up and went running next door to Aunt Mid's house. My Grandmother called the fire department (instead of calling for my Grandfather). My grandfather saw the fire trucks coming up the road from town - followed by cars of just about everybody who lived along the way! My Grandfather saw to it that the chimney stayed clean after that.

Planet Of The Apes Satire Essay -- essays research papers

The setting of the movie compared to the setting in the book makes Planet of the Apes one of the greatest satires. In the movie, the setting takes place on earth in the future where apes deny and are afraid of the past, whereas the setting in the book is on a different planet where apes are civilized and technologically advanced, and the humans were primitive creatures. The orangutans in the movie prevent what happened to the humans from happening to the apes. Orangutans, such as Zaius went to great work as destroying the cave where the evidence of the humans reigned is revealed and removing Landen’s memory. In the book civilization of humans on Earth is equal to and may even surpass the civilization of the apes on Sorror. The point of view in the book is through Ulysees’ mind. He is clam and patient. Taylor in the movie is an impatient angry man who is never satisfied and is outraged by the fact that apes are running the planet and have locked him up. In the movie Tayl or is a misanthrope who is hot-tempered and not respectful to the apes. He calls them "Bloody Baboons!" Taylor left Earth to find a better place and ended up where he started. In the book, Ulysee is kind and respectful towards the apes, and he was granted citizenship to their civilization and begins to assign apes human features. Ulysee was granted citizenship because of the speech he made before them. He gave that speech with respect and loyalty towards the apes for acceptance. The tones in the boo... Planet Of The Apes Satire Essay -- essays research papers The setting of the movie compared to the setting in the book makes Planet of the Apes one of the greatest satires. In the movie, the setting takes place on earth in the future where apes deny and are afraid of the past, whereas the setting in the book is on a different planet where apes are civilized and technologically advanced, and the humans were primitive creatures. The orangutans in the movie prevent what happened to the humans from happening to the apes. Orangutans, such as Zaius went to great work as destroying the cave where the evidence of the humans reigned is revealed and removing Landen’s memory. In the book civilization of humans on Earth is equal to and may even surpass the civilization of the apes on Sorror. The point of view in the book is through Ulysees’ mind. He is clam and patient. Taylor in the movie is an impatient angry man who is never satisfied and is outraged by the fact that apes are running the planet and have locked him up. In the movie Tayl or is a misanthrope who is hot-tempered and not respectful to the apes. He calls them "Bloody Baboons!" Taylor left Earth to find a better place and ended up where he started. In the book, Ulysee is kind and respectful towards the apes, and he was granted citizenship to their civilization and begins to assign apes human features. Ulysee was granted citizenship because of the speech he made before them. He gave that speech with respect and loyalty towards the apes for acceptance. The tones in the boo...

The Trouble with Working It Essay -- Unemployment Jobs Careers Essays

The Trouble with Working It Alison Hooker is a bright young woman. She is a middler communications major at Northeastern University and performing well in her classes. She has experience as a waitress and recently finished her first co-op at a broadcasting company in her native Chicago. She is friendly and outgoing, and carries herself with a confident, yet approachable demeanor. In all regards, she appears to be a capable and collected individual. Despite all these positive attributes, however, Hooker has been unable to find a job in Boston. â€Å"I’ve applied so many places,† said Hooker, who has been persistently searching for work since returning to Boston in January. â€Å"It takes a lot of time to go out and apply to a lot of different places, and it’s even harder when you have classes all during the day. I can’t even remember every place I applied to, probably because a lot of them never even called back.† Hooker isn’t alone in her sentiments of frustration. Within the past few years, finding a job has become increasingly difficult for people across the nation. Unemployment rates have, with few exceptions, been steadily climbing, and that trend is reflected in many discouraged would-be workers. In Boston alone, average unemployment rates more than doubled in the past four years, from 2.9% in 2000 to a full 6% in 2003, according to statistics from the Massachusetts Division of Employment and Training (MDET). Finding and maintaining employment has been difficult for white-collar professionals, let alone unskilled college students that are only available for part-time hours. On the rare occasions that unemployment rates have declined in recent months, many analysts dismiss the seemingly positive statistic as a sign of the ... ...re hoping that things will soon be looking up for the average campus dweller. The statistics vary and the interpretations contradict; for Alison Hooker, however, all that matters is whether all this economic debate will lead to her finding a paycheck. â€Å"It costs a lot of money to go to this school, and it would be really nice to be making some back,† she said. â€Å"I am not all that concerned about getting a real job after school. I think that the job contacts I’m making through co-op will help a lot with that,† said Hooker, who has plans to return to her previous co-op at a Chicago broadcasting corporation in June of 2004. â€Å"I’m not even looking for anything all that great right now, just something part-time. And I just feel like, I made it into college and am getting through all this higher learning- should it really be more difficult to get hired at Starbucks?†

Assess the postmodernist views of the mass media Essay

PM argue mass media are central to the PM theory, as the decline of traditional communities, time-space compression and flexible production – all derived through the media. PM argue the global society is media-saturated, making it harder to distinguish between reality and hyper-reality, and making culture fragmented and unstable. PM challenge viewing audience as passive and easily manipulated, as they use media images to construct individual identities. The major criticism of PM is that their argument is based on abstract concepts and a lack of empirical evidence. Marxists criticise PM for ignoring inequalities in media access, and that the media messages can mislead the audiences, as the main effort behind them is maintaining profit for capitalists. PM argue the society today is media-saturated. BAUDRILLARD argues the media messages dominate and distort the perception of the world. People live media-led virtual lives, spending time on social networks (eg. Twitter) or playing such video games as Second Life. Media-saturated society had created increasing uncertainty in the world by making it hard to discern reality from fantasy. BAUDRILLARD notes people are bombarded with the mass media daily. As a result, the media define our sense of reality and self-perception. To support, BAUMANN suggests people live in a liquid modernity, where we base our identity around consumption, and pick n mix identities. BAUDRILLARD agrees that identity is driven my media-created pressure to consume. However, Marxists argue capitalism is behind media-created pressure to consume, and the growth of consumerism represents the success of capitalism rather than diverse media messages. Nonetheless, BAUDRILLARD still argues that identity is formed by media images, rather than class and imposed values. PM argue the media actively create reality. BAUDRILLARD argues media images have replaced reality to such an extent that we live in hyper-reality, i. e. reality structured by electronic communication. In turn, the media present simulacra (artificial copies of real events), which is hard to differentiate from reality. There is no longer separate reality for things like TV programmes, highlighted by media stories about fictional characters. TUCKLE notes that the lives of TV characters have become more real to the audience than actual communities. For example, people felt so strongly about TV show Cheers that they created Cheers bars in America, similarly to creating Central Perk coffee shops after popularity of Friends. Moreover, the media can create realities of such major events as wars. BAUDRILLARD argues that the First Gulf War was a simulation created by the media, noting that ‘the war only happened on TV’. While not denying the existence of conflict, he criticised its portrayal in western societies. However, the impact of hyper-reality and simulacra is uneven between social groups. They are only significant to those who can access them. PM are criticised for ignoring that media images can increase perception of inequality. More importantly, PM ignore concerns over concentration of media ownership and ideological function hyper-reality may perform. Marxists suggest the RC may create the hyper-reality to reinforce their ideology, whereas Feminists suggest some aspects of hyper-reality, particularly games like GTA, reinforce patriarchy and misogyny. PM highlight the increasing importance of popular culture promoted by the media. STRINATI notes the mass media have caused a breakdown of distinction between high and popular culture, making popular culture dominate the way people define themselves. Popular culture has more influence on our lifestyles than social structures, as opposed to Marxist view that the media owners influence the media output thus influence our identities. However, PM are criticised for not being able to empirically prove the link between popular culture and creation of identities. PM conducted small scale ethnographic research, as they reject possibility of discovering objective truth about social world. However, it severely undermines their argument. In support of PM, however, neo-functionalist PUTNAM found empirical evidence to highlight the breakdown of the real world social interaction and declining social capital due to the influence of the media, and especially new media. In conclusion, PM view of the media is influential in drawing attention to the impact of the media on creation of identities and how consumption influence people’s ability to create their identities themselves. However, the major limitation of PM theory is reluctance to recognise the significance of the market forces and concentration of media ownership in understanding the media impact on the society. Moreover, PM do not acknowledge the media’s role of promoting and exacerbating inequalities among audiences.

Action Plan Essay

There are so many other food businesses around here that are competition, in order for us all to keep this restaurant open we are going to have to step up our game. First we will get new signs, next some of us are going to have to put of fliers around the town, and thirdly we are going to have to come up with a reason for people to want to come to our restaurant. HMM why do people come to places that they have never been before? Why do people go to other peoples restaurants? What is this place known for? What can we change? why do people go? People go to places, restaurants, stores, and other things because of what they have been told, we have a good reputation here but let us go beyond this town. In stores people go into the store because of the display on the outside. People go to things because of appearance, what they have been told, and who has gone. Our place is well fixed up and we have a good reputation in this town and the mayor has been here as well. The real question is why aren’t people coming here? How do we? How do we get people to become attracted or drawn to come buy our food? What is there to do here in this town? There is the movies, arcade, stores, mini golf, and the theater; why don’t we have one of the stores or other fun places donate something and we have a drawing or we give out gift certificates, it would be free advertising for them and get us costumers. Tuesday’s kids under 12 could possibly eat free or maybe kids under 12 could get a free dessert. People love free stuff and people will be drawn to seeing something that has a free on their sign. I know as a small child the restaurant Denny’s had a children eat free on a specific week day and my grandmother would take my sister and I there and order food and what not because she liked the idea of free food for her kids. Having hand out gift certificates will have them build business and have people try our food, like our service, and every single moment of it and then they will come back for more. When we do the raffling off items it will seem like we are having a second grand opening with the publicity from the newspapers, signs, and fliers.

The M/S Milad Nor Company Essay

1) Read chapters 1 – 5 and review the PPTs we covered in class. 2) Expect 5 or 7 short-answer questions General Questions – 1. In class we reviewed three firms in three different countries. The M/S Milad Nor Company in Afghanistan, Caritex in Bulgaria, and Obod in Montenegro. Each company was faced with different problems and issues. Please briefly summarize the similarities between the firms and their individual issues. How do the problems faced by these firms compare to problems faced by similar firms in more developed countries? 2. Your stock market simulation calls for you to invest in securities with a significant presence outside the US – debt, equity, commodities, currencies, derivatives†¦ In researching equities trading on exchanges outside of the US what similarities/differences have you found compared to firms trading on exchanges in the US? Chapter 1 1.The term globalization has become very widely used in recent years. How would you define it? 2.What does an MNE need in order for it to create value through the globalization process? 3.How does the concept of capitalism actually apply to the globalization process of a business, as it moves from elemental to multinational stages of development? 4. Define and explain the theory of comparative advantage 5. Key to understanding most theories is what they say and they don’t. Name four or five key limitations to theory of comparative advantage. 6.Why have Eurocurrencies and LIBOR remained the centerpiece of the global financial marketplace for so long? * These are domestic currencies of one country on deposit in a second country * The Eurocurrency markets serve two valuable purposes: * Eurocurrency deposits are an efficient and convenient money market device for holding excess corporate liquidity * The Eurocurrency market is a major source of short-term bank loans to finance corporate working capital needs (including export and import financing) * LIBOR is the most widely accepted rate of interest used in standardized quotations, loan agreements, and financial derivatives transactions * 7. Which assets play the most critical role in linking the major institutions that make up the global financial marketplace? * The linkages are the interbank networks using currency. Without ready exchange of currencies the market is hard-pressed to operate efficiently. Chapter 2 1. How does ownership alter the goals and governance of a business? Public ownership may be wholly state-owned or partially publicly traded. State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) are created for business purposes rather than for regulation or civil activities. Private firms may be publicly traded (stock) or privately owned by partners or family. 2.Why is this separation so critical to the understanding of how businesses are structured and led? 3.Explain the assumptions and objectives of the shareholder wealth maximization model. 4.Explain the assumptions and objectives of the stakeholder wealth maximization model. 5.Define the following terms: a.Corporate governance b.Agency theory c.Stakeholder capitalism 6.In Germany and Scandinavia, among other countries, labor unions have representation on boards of directors or supervisory boards. How might such union representation be viewed under the shareholder wealth maximization model compared to the corporate wealth maximization model? 7.In many countries it is common for a firm to have two or more classes of common stock with differential voting rights. In the United States the norm is for a firm to have one class of common stock with one-share-one-vote. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each system? 8.What are the key differences in the goals and motivations of family ownership of the business as opposed to the widely held publicly traded business? 9.It has been claimed that failures in corporate governance have hampered the growth and profitability of some prominent firms located in emerging markets. What are some of the typical causes of these failures in corporate governance?p34 10. Do markets appear to be willing to pay for good governance?p36 Chapter 3 1.Under the gold standard all national governments promised to follow the â€Å"rules of the game.† This meant defending a fixed exchange rate. What did this promise imply about a country’s money supply? 2.If a country follows a fixed exchange rate regime, what macroeconomic variables could cause the fixed exchange rate to be devalued? 3.What are the advantages and disadvantages of fixed exchange rates? 4.Explain what is meant by the term impossible trinity and why it is true. 5.Fixed exchange rate regimes are sometimes implemented through a currency board (Hong Kong) or dollarization (Ecuador). What is the difference between the two approaches? 6.High capital mobility is forcing emerging market nations to choose between free-floating regimes and currency board or dollarization regimes. What are the main outcomes of each of these regimes from the perspective of emerging market nations? 7.On January 4, 1999, eleven member states of the European Union initiated the Europe an Monetary Union (EMU) and established a single currency, the euro, which replaced the individual currencies of participating member states. Describe three of the main ways that the euro affects the members of the EMU. 8.Why did the fixed exchange rate regime of 1945–1973 eventually fail? 9.How did the Argentine currency board function from 1991 to January 2002 and why did it collapse? DEAD Chapter 4 1. Business managers and investors need BOP data to anticipate changes in host country economic policies that might be driven by BOP events. 2. From the perspective of business managers and investors list three specific signals that a country’s BOP data can provide. 3. What are the two main types of economic activity measured by a country’s BOP? 4. Why does the BOP always â€Å"balance†? 5. If the BOP were viewed as an accounting statement, would it be a balance sheet of the country’s wealth, an income statement of the country’s earnings, or a funds flow statement of money into and out of the country? 6. What are the main component accounts of the current account? Give one debit and one credit example for each component account for the United States. adjust 7. The US dollar has maintained or increased its value over the past 20 years despite running a gradually increasing current account deficit. Why has this phenomenon occurred? Chapter 5 1. What were the three major forces behind the credit crisis of 2007 and 2008? 2. Why were LIBOR rates so much higher than Treasure yields in 2007 and 2008? What is needed to return LIBOR rates to the lower, more stable rates of the past? 3. What were the three key elements of the package used by the U.S. government to resolve the 2008-9 credit crisis? 4. Why are the sovereign debtors of the Eurozone considered to have a problem that is different from any other heavily indebted country, like the United States? 5. Why has the case of Portugal been termed a â€Å"case of contagion† rather than a sovereign debt crisis? 6. What are the three primary methods which might be used individually or in combination to resolve the European debt crisis?