Political Science Middle Eastern Politics Essay

Political Science Middle Eastern Politics - Essay Example Whatever the reasons, the establishment of Israel infuriated the Palestinians who deemed the Jewish state as occupation of their homeland including that of their second most important place of worship, the Aqsa Mosque. The most revered place of Muslim worship is the Ka'aba in Saudi Arabia. The Palestinians and Arabs felt that it was a total injustice to ignore the rights of the majority of the population of Palestine. The Arab League and Palestinian institutions rejected the UN partition plan supported by the United States, and formed volunteer armies that infiltrated into Palestine beginning in December of 1947. Thus the formation of Israel in 1948, laid the foundations of a conflict which took the lives of thousands of Palestinians and Israelis but even more devastating was the diaspora of Palestinians who took refuge in neighboring Arab countries fleeing the conflict and the associated socio-economic problems. While Israel was recognized by the United Nations as a sovereign state with rights to self-determination, the Palestinians remained a tribe without any rights. "The Arab-Israeli conflict has been a persistent source of tension for decades, for example, but it has taken on new dimensions in the aftermath of the failed Oslo process and the recent explosion of violence that shows no signs of abating." (Bensahel et al, 2003) In fact, no sooner was the Jewish state announced that the region was engulfed in a war: as the British left Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and Saudi Arabia declared war on Israel. Egyptian, Syrian and Jordanian began to invade the newly declared country. An armistice was soon reached with the mediation of the UN, but as the dust settled, Israel had conquered double the land it was originally allowed under the UN Partition Plan. In 1964, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was formed under the leadership of hardliner Yasser Arafat with the aim of destroying Israel. The Palestinian National Charter called for the liquidation of Israel. Three years later, Israel conquered the West Bank from Jordan and Golan Heights from Syria. UN Resolution 242 called for Israeli withdrawal. This was followed sooner by the Yom Kippur war involving the Egyptians, Syrians and Israel. The signing of a peace accord between Israel and Egypt in 1979 ushered in an era of relative peace . But three years into this era, Israel attacked neighboring Lebanon and conquered most of its land in pursuit of wiping out PLO fighters. In 1993, the Oslo Declaration signed by Israel and the PLO called for mutual recognition. Two years later, the Palestine Authority was established. In 2005, Israel evacuated Gaza and parts of West Bank occupied in 1949. In the wake of the September 11 attack, Israel and Palestine Authority reached a peace accord but it was never implemented. The Arab countries as well as the former Soviet Bloc, the Non-Aligned

Business law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Business law - Assignment Example The two cases include breaches of contracts by the High Street phone shop and Nokia Phone Company. In the hotel case, the rule of liability applies where a management distances itself from responsibilities. In the phone case, customers and the dealers breach the contract. The customers have made a deal with the company and it denies. This piece of work comprehensively discusses the two cases with reference to business law. Relevant issues For any case to be filed in a court there must be relevant issues. The issues form basis for the court proceedings. In this scenario, a customer of a hotel has filed a complaint for her stolen valuables. The court must use relevant laws that are applicable to business. The customer is right to claim her properties. Though the management put a notice distancing itself from any responsibilities, the court must reconsider this provision. The goods disappeared in the hotel premises and the customer has the right to claim them or file a suit against the hotel. Freda had an important issue to attend to that gullies hotel must consider. The rule of good ethics can apply in this situation because any organization must be responsible for whatever happens in its premise (Young 2009, p.1). For sure, the customer’ valuables may have fallen into the hands of room service. The hotel is therefore compelled to explain the behaviours of its staff and it makes them responsible for the customer’s loss. Rules of law applicable to the facts of the problem The rule of legal liability applies to this case. It is defined as â€Å"obligations under law arising from the civil actions (torts) or under contract† (Antoine 2008, p.440). The courts make decisions even if the parties have decided to settle the case out of the court trough mutual agreement. Liability insurance covers torts originated liabilities and not contractual obligations. The law of that applies in this case is â€Å"duty to guest† (Scwenzer, Hachem & Kee 201 2, p.128). A common law binds innkeepers to bear responsibility if a guest looses a property while at the premise. The requirements are often contained in the innkeeper’s statute (Antoine 2008, p.510). This statute lies where the management and its staff can easily access it. It is a law that makes the hotel avoids paying liabilities to customers. However, the law can be reviewed when the court applies it to Freda’s case. For any lost property, there must be a claim. If the court decides against her, then it must also consider the future behaviour of the hotel. The management might make it a habit of not absconding responsibility to ethically wrong practices in its premise. The claimant is right to claim her belongings and the hotel must pay them. In summary, the law of guest property applies in the hotel industry but is subject to consideration if the situation implies that the management is irresponsible. The customer has suffered a loss in the hotel while attending to another important duty. In this case, a business meeting that needed her presence. May be in the process of attending the meeting, she forgot all her belonging or it would be improper to carry them to the place. The hotel is therefore responsible for the stolen property and must make payments. It is advisable for Freda to file the case in court. The hotel industry is same as hospitality industry. It should show some hospitality to customers. If Freda is does not receive compensation then it will bring a bad reputation to the whole industry. Customers closely

Organizational Behavior Essay Example for Free

Organizational Behavior Essay The official language of Japan is Japanese. The official religion is Buddhism. A meal always has rice, even breakfast. White rice is called gohan. Meals often consist of gohan, a bowl of pickles called tsukemono, a bowl of soup, and a variety of other dishes like fish, meat, and vegetables. This is called okazu. Since Japan is an island country they consume a lot of seafood including squid, crab, octopus, shrimp, whale, lobster and seaweed. Slurping your soup or noodles shows the Japanese that you are enjoying your meal. When doing business men should wear dark and conservative attire. Shoes should be easy to remove as this will be done often. When using a bathroom in someone’s home, you will be required to wear a specific pair of slippers before using it. Women should wear low heeled shoes to avoid being taller than men. Pointing is considered rude. It is custom to arrive late, punctuality is not expected. Money is not openly displayed, use an envelope. The number fourteen is bad luck, it sounds like the Japanese word for death. Business and personal gift giving is very important and should be done at the end of the visit. Business cards should be printed in your home language on one side and in Japanese on the other. A bow, not a handshake is the proper way to greet. EGYPT In Egypt the predominant religion is Islam. Foreigners are expected to dress modestly, do not wear Egyptian clothing. Jackets and ties are required for men, women must also dress modestly. Egyptians stand very close to each other, moving away from them is seen as an act of aloofness, however, opposite sexes stand further apart than we do in the United States. Showing your shoe sole is considered an insult to the other person you are meeting, do not cross your legs during your meeting. Smoking in public is very common, present and offer your cigarettes. Arabic is read from the right to the left. Books begin on what Americans consider to be the last page. Business cards should be printed in Arabic on one side of the card, and in English on the other side of the card. BRAZIL In Brazil, Portugese is the official language, although others speak Spanish, Italian, and other languages. No official religion is listed, however most Brazilians practice Roman Catholic. Brazil is the world’s fifth largest country in population and landmass. Half of Brazil’s population is under the age of twenty. When conducting business three piece suits should be worn by men and women, and women’s nails should be manicured. You should avoid wearing the colors green and yellow together, as it is the colors of the Brazilian flag. The okay hand signal is considered rude; to express appreciation you should pinch your earlobe between your thumb and forefinger. Schedule all appointments at least two weeks in advance, to them, time is money. Never discuss business before your host does. Brazilians entertain business cliental in a restaurant, never in their homes. Gift giving is not required. When sending a bouquet of flowers, avoid the color purple as it used for funerals. Tipping in Brazil is very common and is usually about ten percent. When greeting, handshaking for men is very typical while women exchange kisses by placing themselves cheek to cheek and kissing the air. When greeting the other person using titles are very important to them. When you are trying to strike up a conversation with them good conversation topics are soccer, their families and children. Conversation topics to avoid are politics, religion, and the rain forest. After reviewing these three countries and there cultures I would have to say that Japan would be the country with the most employment satisfaction. Although very populated, Japan passed a constitutional law just after World War II that gave women the right to choose their occupation. Since that law, more women have gone into the workforce and received the education and training possible to hold high end executive jobs that were once held by man alone. Even though Brazil and Egypt have higher levels of women in the workforce most of the jobs are domestic, like cleaning and cooking. References http://www.cyborlink.com.[Retrieved] January 14, 2013.

Analysis of Japans Economic Structure

Analysis of Japans Economic Structure The Japanese economic structure has always been perceived to be both stable and reliable. Despite periods of difficulty, the rules and regulation surrounding the Japanese banking industry have always attempted to deal with any potential problems and to manage them both on an international and national level. However, there is an argument that the stringent nature of the regulation in itself has caused some problems for the sector, with many banks finding themselves in distressed positions having followed the approaches advocated by the central Ministry of Finance. Prior to the difficulties faced in the 1980s, which will be discussed in greater detail later, the Japanese banks largely followed the guidance of the Ministry and felt safe in the knowledge that there was a safety net in place should they fall into financial difficulties. Japanese banking, as a whole, was not particularly profitable and instead operated a cautious, yet extremely stable service. Despite this approach, the Japanese banking sector hit a substantial crisis in the 1980s, shocking not only those within the Japanese banking system, but also those involved in banking arond the globe. By studying the events that caused this period of difficulty and looking more specifically at the activities of one banking group, in particular, it is hoped that lessons can be drawn from the scenario that will prevent similar events happening again. Background to Japanese Banking The bursting of the bubble in the 1980s did not just come from nowhere; in fact, when the banking system within Japan is studied, for many decades before the bubble burst, it is clear to see that the foundations for this difficult time had been laid some considerable time in advance of the events themselves. Post war Japan took a very segmented and internal approach to banking. Very few transactions were conducted internationally, with almost all financing products being offered to Japanese corporations. This worked in the main due to the mentality of the Japanese people; they were keen savers, therefore, the banks in Japan had a steady flow of funds available to offer financing to Japanese corporations. As a general rule, city banks offered financing to larger corporations, whereas regional banks offered financing to smaller and more local businesses. In fact, international trading was so low down on the agenda that the government used the Bank of Tokyo in the 1950s and 1960s to deal with the foreign exchange needs of the country and to act as the main foreign representative. Banks within Japan worked together, with the long term credit banks offering completely different services to the commercial banks. The banks were very customer orientated, offering financing at incredibly cheap rates to stimulate the economy, often at the expense of the banks’ profitability. All elements of the banking sector were managed closely by the Ministry of Finance which was largely responsible for all rate setting and banking relationships. Mergers between banks rarely happened and when they did they were often unsuccessful due to the segregated nature of the different banks, thus making it difficult for companies to merge successfully in terms of culture, administration and ethos. Stability and low costs were the cornerstones of the Japanese banking sector and in this context Japan slowly became recognised on the international capital market radar due to the low cost of borrowing and the large amount of funds available. For example, when RJR Nabisco was taken over with a financing package of $25 billion, Japanese banks were central to providing the necessary funds. Increasing global involvement led to six out of the ten top banks in the world based on asset size being Japanese, in the early 1990s. Bursting of the Bubble Despite what seemed to be an extremely solid and stable banking system, the Japanese banking system suffered a terrible shock in the 1980s and 1990s, which resulted in a widespread financial crisis[1]. Prior to the 1980s, the banking system in Japan was relatively insular with little international exposure. As the Japanese banks began to deal more and more with other countries, they became increasingly attracted to different financial innovations and instruments, many of which were higher risk than previously undertaken. Not only did the influx of international finance encourage new innovations, but it also led to the Ministry of Finance having to loosen its grip on the regulation of the Japanese banking sector. Deregulation became necessary so that foreign banks were able to enter the Japanese market. There was a large amount of pressure placed on the Japanese government to ensure that deregulation took place, as it had a substantial trade surplus with other countries (i.e. it was exporting more goods than it was importing, meaning that it relied on good relations with these countries to maintain its trade position). The European banking system was also undergoing radical change and, as such, there was a growing need for other countries such as Japan to offer EU institutions equal treatment. The combination of these factors led to the Ministry of Finance finally accepting that both domestic and international banks had to undergo a period of deregulation[2]. A combination of a loose financial policy and deregulation led to the increase in the supply of money and the decrease in the interest rate. Cheap lending rates and greater availability of credit led to many individuals and institutions taking speculative positions and making much riskier investment than had previously been undertaken. Japan also found that property became a major issue, during the economic downturn. As Japan is a particularly mountainous country, land is at a premium and has always maintained a reasonably high value. For this reason, land was often used as collateral on debts and as a seemingly solid investment. Land and equity prices continued to escalate; however, in 1989, the Japanese government decided to try and control these spiralling prices by raising interest rates[3]. These increases in the interest rates led to a massive financial crisis with huge falls in the stock market and many of the previously entered into debts turning bad. Many banks began to flounder and a series of governmental bail-outs and mergers took place as the country struggled to regain control over the economy. Credit became difficult to obtain which, in turn, brought capital investment to an abrupt halt, further slowing down the economic performance of the country[4]. Zaitech Financing One of the main innovations in terms of investing opportunities that entered the Japanese banking arena, during the 1980s period of deregulation, was that of the Zaitech. Quite simply a Zaitech is a form of financial engineering which allows the banking institution to invest its surplus funds for a return. At the safest end of the scale, the Zaitech involves taking any corporate excesses and investing them in bank deposits. At the other end of the scale, a Zaitech could involve borrowing in the Eurobond market and using the finance to conduct speculative investments in bonds or property. It is this latter approach that many of the Japanese banks took during the period immediately after deregulation. The combination of low interest rates and high values of land encouraged the banks to borrow at the low interest rate and invest in property, bringing in a healthy return. Furthermore, many Japanese companies recognised that they could easily raise funds by issuing convertible bonds to the public. Between the years of 1984 and 1989, it was estimated that Japanese corporations issued a total of $720 million in securities, of which it was thought that around 80% were equities[5]. Japan also had the principle that corporations were not required to state how they invested liquid assets. This made it difficult for analysts to make sensible judgments in relation to the risks that a certain company was undertaking in the form of financial investments. This led to greater speculations and difficulties and caused the stock market values to plummet further still when interest rates were increased and the value of property began to slide. Background to the Sakura and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Case All of the turmoil above led to the eventual merger of Sakura with Sumitomo, in April 2002. Sakura bank really suffered, during the early 1990s, largely due to increasing costs, rising interests rates and falling profit margins. Its risk asset ratios, as required by the international body BASEL, were also substantially lower than is considered desirable and it continued to find it difficult to meet the capital adequacy rules. As much of the difficulty was perceived to be down to higher costs, Sakura set about reducing its costs by integrating staff function and information system technology, where possible. Although this had a positive impact on the company, ultimately the main problem came from the increasing number of bad debts that the company had in its portfolio. The Ministry of Finance had traditionally been unwilling to allow banks to write off bad debt as this would not have given a positive view of the banking sector. Companies such as Sakura were not concerned about this as they simply followed the guidance of the Ministry of Finance, safe in the knowledge that it was protected by the government. However, as the financial climate worsened, there was growing concern that these bad debts would have to be written off. This took time, and during the early 1990s, the bad debt simply mounted as institutions (Sakura included) were reluctant to admit to the failings within their debt profile[6]. Sakura’s segment in the banking sector was very much focussed on the retail banking end of things, with high numbers of mortgages being given to domestic lenders. As property prices fell and interest rates rose, this factor also led to a substantial increase in the amount of loans that were defaulted on and yet more bad debt was accumulated[7]. Worse still, Sakura was competing largely against the Japanese Post Office with its retail banking offerings; the Post Office had the advantage of being hugely subsidised, of having certain tax relief advantages and not having to seek approval to make changes such as opening branches. These advantages have made it particularly difficult for Sakura to offer customers competitive options. Recognising the difficulties facing the banks, the Japanese government offered a substantial bail-out to several banks, Sakura included, which helped to raise the amount of capital available to these banks which, although it was successful, did little to assist the economy, as a whole, as banks were still reluctant to lend any funds to consumers, causing yet further economical difficulties[8]. The Merger Despite the difficult times, Sakura did have some positive movements during the 1990s. One of its most successful ventures was the 50% involvement in the consortium Japan Net Bank which successfully opened an internet and ATM based banking offering. Sakura realised that it needed to form a strategic alliance with another bank, if it was to be able to compete with the other mega-bank structures that were being developed across Japan. It also needed to ensure that it had sufficient capital strength within the market. Discussions were entered into with several large banks and in April 2001 (a whole year ahead of schedule), an agreement was reached between Sakura and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group[9]. This merger was interesting for several reasons. Firstly, the two companies did largely different things; Sakura was a commercial bank and Sumitomo was a money centre bank. Although Sumitomo was highly regarded amongst its peers, all money centre banks were generally underperforming. Prior to the merger, Sumitomo had established itself (through a joint venture with Daiwa Securities) as a bank that would substantially increase its offerings in relation to investment banking. In contrast to this, Sakura had particular power in relation to retail banking, particularly with the new area of internet banking that it had recently entered into. Unlike other mergers, the one between Sakura and Sumitomo was done through traditional avenues with Sumitomo effectively taking over Sakura and renaming as Sumitomo Mitsui. In doing so, the merged company was then managed by a unified board of 30 directors. Operations were largely merged, which resulted in a large amount of cost saving and economies of scale were enjoyed across the whole company. In completing the merger, the newly formed Sumitomo Mitsui became the third largest bank in the world. The merger was not all plain sailing and many staff left the company, some voluntarily and some through redundancy. There were also cultural clashes as two rival firms merged and had to accept external interference in their work, which had traditionally been kept very segmented[10]. Over time, the merger has allowed the bank to become much more stable and to meet the Basel requirements, partly through diversification and partly through cost saving. Current Financial Crisis The situation facing Japanese banks in the 1990s is not entirely different from that currently facing the US, the UK and much of the rest of the world. The similarities are stark; the US, in particular, has been mounting up bad debts, backed on overpriced property in exactly the same way as Japan did in the 1980s and early 1990s. Despite the seemingly similar issues that have led to the crisis in the US, as happened in Japan, there have been some differences which may allow the countries affected by the widespread credit crunch to avoid such a prolonged period of recession as the one that was experienced in Japan[11]. There are several reasons for this belief. Firstly, the US government reacted much more quickly and decisively when the emerging problems were first identified. In Japan, the Ministry of Finance attempted to maintain an approach of perceived stability for some time after a crisis became evident, allowing banks to store up bad debt for a considerable period of time. Also, other countries (and in particular the US) have much higher consumer spending, traditionally. One of the main reasons that the Japanese economy took so long to recover was due to the reluctance of individuals to spend any money that they had; this is not likely to be such a large factor in the current crisis. However; the health of the Japanese economy prior to its crisis should not be ignored. When Japan entered the period of decline in the 1980s, it was in a much more robust economic position than those countries being affected by the current credit crunch. It had a trade surplus, no borrowing and cash reserves. The US, on the other hand, had debts of around 190% of the gross domestic product when it entered the credit crunch period. Japanese individuals were also keen savers and could, therefore, reduce their saving ratio to mitigate the impact of the recession. This approach is not as readily available in the US and UK. Conclusions There are stark lessons to be learned from the situation that Japan faced in the 1980s and 1990s. Whilst, on the face of it, the parallels drawn between the current financial crisis and that faced by Japan are worryingly similar, it should be noted that a large part of Japan’s problem came from a reluctance to accept that there ever was a problem. With quick reactions from the government and strategic mergers, such as the one discussed above, the lessons learned from the Japanese crisis can truly be put to good use. Bibliography Allen, Roy E., Financial Crises and Recession in the Global Economy, Edward Elgar, 2000. Amyx, Jennifer Ann, Japans Financial Crisis: Institutional Rigidity and Reluctant Change, Princeton University Press, 2004. Ardrey, William J. IV, Pecotich, Anthony J., Ungar, Esta, Structure, commitment and strategic action for Asian transitional nations’ financial systems in crisis, International Journal of Bank Marketing, 19, 1, 2001. Arestis, Philip, Baddeley, Michelle, Mccombie, John, What Global Economic Crisis? Palgrave, 2001. Brewer, Iii Elijah, Genay, Hesna, Kaufman, George G., Banking Relationships during Financial Distress: The Evidence from Japan, Economic Perspectives, 27, 2003. Browne, Lynn Elaine, Does Japan Offer Any Lessons for the United States, New England Economic Review, 2001. Fiedler, Robert, Brown, Karl, Moloney, James, Liquidity risk: what lessons can be learnt from the crisis in Japan’s banking system? Balance Sheet, 10, 1, 2002. Friedland, John H., The Law and Structure of the International Financial System: Regulation in the United States, EEC, and Japan, Quorum Books, 1994. Hall, Maximilian J.B., Supervisory reform in Japan, Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance, 7, 3, 1999. Hall, Maximilian J.B., The sub-prime crisis, the credit squeeze and Northern Rock: the lessons to be learned, Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance, 16. 1, 2008 Herbig, Paul A., Palumbo, Fred, A Brief Examination of the Japanese Innovative Process, Marketing Intelligence Planning, 12, 1, 1994. Hickson, Charles R., Turner, John D., Banking instability in South East Asia: causes and cures, European Business Review, 99, 3, 1999. Howe, Christopher, China and Japan: History, Trends, and Prospects, Oxford University Press, 1996. Ichimura, Shinichi, Economic Growth, Savings and Housing Finance in Japan, Journal of Economic Studies, 8, 3, 1981. Kang, Myung-Koo, Japans Financial Crisis: Institutional Rigidity and Reluctant Change, Pacific Affairs, 79, 2006. Kashyap, Anil K., Sorting out Japans Financial Crisis, Economic Perspectives, 26, 2002. Katada, Saori N., Banking on Stability: Japan and the Cross-Pacific Dynamics of International Financial Crisis Management, University of Michigan Press, 2001. Kelly, Dominic, Japan and the Reconstruction of East Asia Book, Palgrave, 2002. Khoury, Sarkis J., The Deregulation of the World Financial Markets: Myths, Realities, and Impact, Quorum Books, 1990. Lindgren, Carl-Johan, Financial Sector Crisis and Restructuring: Lessons from Asia, International Monetary Fund, 1999. Liou, Kuotsai Tom, Managing Economic Development in Asia: From Economic Miracle to Financial Crisis, Praeger, 2002. Llewellyn, David T., Lessons from recent banking crises, Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance, 6, 3, 1998. Mera, KÃ…Â ichi, Renaud, Bertrand, Asias Financial Crisis and the Role of Real Estate,  M.E. Sharpe, 2000. Mikitani, RyÃ…Â ichi, Posen, Adam Simon, Japans Financial Crisis and Its Parallels to U.S. Experience, Peterson Institute, 2000. Miller, Marcus, Luangaram, Pongsak, Financial Crisis in East Asia: Bank Runs, Asset Bubbles and Antidotes, National Institute Economic Review, 1998. Nakajima, Chizu, Japan: Recent Failures in the Japanese Banking Sector, Journal of Financial Crime, 3, 1995. Picard, Robert R., Groth, John C., Japan’s journey to the future, Management Decision, 39, 4, 2001. Rugina, Anghel N., A country and/or international organisation faced with a big disequilibrium: The case of the crisis in Southeast Asian area during 1997-1999, International Journal of Social Economics, 28, 1/2, 2001. Schroeck, Gerhard., Risk Management and Value Creation in Financial Institutions  By Gerhard, John Wiley and Sons, 2002. Sawabe, Norio, Accounting for the public interest: a Japanese perspective, Accounting, Auditing Accountability Journal, 18, 5, 2005. Sharma, Shalendra D., The Asian Financial Crisis: Crisis, Reform, and Recovery, Manchester University Press, 2003. The International Financial Crisis, Challenge, 42, 1999. Valentine, Tom., Ford, Guy., Readings in Financial Institution Management: Modern Techniques for a Global Industry, Allen Unwin, 1999. Wolfson, Martin H., Financial Crises: Understanding the Postwar U.S. Experience, M.E. Sharpe, 1994. Wolgast, Michael, MAs in the financial industry: A matter of concern for bank supervisors? Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance, 9, 3, 2001. Yamazaki, Shozo, A Japanese Way for 2000 Beyond the Bubble Crash, Pacific Accounting Review, 11, 1/2, 1999. Footnotes [1] Khoury, Sarkis J., The Deregulation of the World Financial Markets: Myths, Realities, and Impact, Quorum Books, 1990. [2] Allen, Roy E., Financial Crises and Recession in the Global Economy, Edward Elgar, 2000. [3] Miller, Marcus, Luangaram, Pongsak, Financial Crisis in East Asia: Bank Runs, Asset Bubbles and Antidotes, National Institute Economic Review, 1998. [4] Nakajima, Chizu, Japan: Recent Failures in the Japanese Banking Sector, Journal of Financial Crime, 3, 1995. [5] Amyx, Jennifer Ann, Japans Financial Crisis: Institutional Rigidity and Reluctant Change, Princeton University Press, 2004. [6] Hall, Maximilian J.B., Supervisory reform in Japan, Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance, 7, 3, 1999. [7] Mera, KÃ…Â ichi, Renaud, Bertrand, Asias Financial Crisis and the Role of Real Estate,  M.E. Sharpe, 2000. [8] Valentine, Tom., Ford, Guy., Readings in Financial Institution Management: Modern Techniques for a Global Industry, Allen Unwin, 1999. [9] Ardrey, William J. IV, Pecotich, Anthony J., Ungar, Esta, Structure, commitment and strategic action for Asian transitional nations’ financial systems in crisis, International Journal of Bank Marketing, 19, 1, 2001. [10] Kang, Myung-Koo, Japans Financial Crisis: Institutional Rigidity and Reluctant Change, Pacific Affairs, 79, 2006. [11] Mikitani, RyÃ…Â ichi, Posen, Adam Simon, Japans Financial Crisis and Its Parallels to U.S. Experience, Peterson Institute, 2000.

The History of Religious Conflicts in America Essay -- Essays Papers

The History of Religious Conflicts in America Throughout its history, the United States has characteristically remained a country of two things: a country of immigrants, and a country of unmatched religious diversity. And yet when compared with the rest of the world – where these two very factors alone have so often engendered horrible religious wars and decades of enduring conflict – the history of religious conflict in the United States seems almost nonexistent. That is not to say the United States has been immune to its share of conflict explicitly rooted in religion. This paper explores the various manifestations of religious conflict throughout the history of the United States, from the Revolutionary War to the attacks of September 11th and their fallout. A distinction is drawn between religious intolerance, which is not the focus of this paper, and outright religious persecution or violence. Similarly, the paper reflects efforts made to de-conflate religious conflict from ethnic and racial conflict, which has been much more prominent throughout the history of the United States. In examining the history of religious violence, intolerance, discrimination, and persecution in the United States, we arrive at some possible explanations for why the United States has seen such minimal religious conflict despite being so religiously diverse. The Revolution It has been said that the United States is a nation founded on religious conflict. The colonies were settled by those escaping religious persecution in Europe. There is even some evidence that religion played a major role in the American Revolution and that revolutionaries believed it was willed by God for the Americans to wage war against the British.[1] As the Church ... ...bits/religion/rel03.html [2] Ibid. [3] Encyclopedia of American Religious History, Revised Edition, Vol. II. â€Å"Religious violence.† Edward L. Queen II. Page 601. 2001. [4] Ibid. [5] Queen, 602. [6] Emily Eakin. â€Å"Reopening a Mormon Murder Mystery.† The New York Times, section B, page 9, Oct. 12, 2002. [7] Queen, 605. [8] â€Å"Antisemitism in the Depression Era (1933-1939),† Leonard Dinnerstein. Religion in American History, A reader. Page 413. 1998. [9] â€Å"Religious Liberty.† American Civil Liberties Union. http://www.aclu.org/ReligiousLiberty/ReligiousLibertyMain.cfm [10] â€Å"Geographic Distribution of Religious Centers in the U.S† Committee on the Study of Religion. Harvard University, Jan. 2002. http://www.plurarlism.org/resources/statistics/distribution.php [11] â€Å"Foreword.† Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/01hate.pdf

Essay --

Disability is a parent in disguise that nurtures and fosters a child through sometimes crippling, but always meaningful pain. One's impairment guides him or her to independently to fend for life's basic necessities. Much like a parent, it is responsible for a person's physical, emotional, and mental development. The novels The Bite of the Mango and A Long Way Gone narrate two different children's traumatic experiences during the Sierra Leone's Civil War and its aftermath. In the two books, disabilities are generally perceived as negative. Nevertheless, both autobiographies illustrate how a girl's and a boy's contrasting disabilities raised them to mature at a younger age without their parent's guidance. Both The Bite of the Mango and A Long Way Gone present each character's disabilities; however, Kamara's diverse disabilities made her stronger than Beah. Kamara's emotional disability from witnessing gruesome murders has strengthened her to plant a positive change in the world. Both characters made a difference in society, but Kamara channeled her strength after seeing, feeling, and hearing pain. Beah physically sees deaths in his own hands from killing others but he is desensitized to murder. Beah is brought up to accept that murdering is a norm and that there is no sympathy in killing people. During the war, he does not have the emotional disability that impaired Kamara. He is unable to rationalize taking innocent lives and therefore, cannot gain moral strengths. In contrast, Kamara is not numbed to this atrocity. Her strength comes from seeing the harsh reality that ignites her desire to change society. Kamara optimistically stated, "We had an important purpose: to help raise awareness of my country's problems" (Kamara and McC... ...ng Way Gone highlight disabilities in each characters, Kamara's disabilities transformed her into a stronger individual. Beah's emotional, physical, and financial disabilities, are not as greatly underlined as the various disabilities in Kamara's novel. Beah ignores much of his disabilities through drugs. As a result, many of his internal problems are temporarily painless. Unlike Beah, Kamara felt the sickening pain of the three main disabilities over the course of the war. Kamara's strength is rooted from accepting her flaws in order to move on in life. This is the main reason that makes her strong. As a replacement of parenthood, disabilities in each character had given them strengths to survive on their own. Disability is a like parent in a way that children may temporarily hate it; and through the journey realize and accept it; and at the end they forgive it.

E Business

ELECTRONIC COMMERCE MANAGEMENT ITECH7606 Case Study Report Student Name Kuruppu Dilshan Rodrigo Student ID 30094858 1 ELECTRONIC COMMERCE MANAGEMENT 30094858 Executive Summery In this case study i am critically evaluates all aspects of an Coles Pvt Ltd that engages i electronic commerce or electronic business and communicate these key issues though this report base on under mention topics.Brief introduction about Coles and infrastructure, current implementation of the internet in Coles group, description about an impact has made internet on this organization and also different business models which they use to improve their turn over and customer relationship. Identification of value chains and i am going to discuss some of the problems that specifically might encounter electronic supply chain management , identify suppliers, make payments, check availability of supplies, automatic reordering of supplies through shared systems, track order progress, collaborative demand planning and forecasting.I have mention about few implementations which regards to e procurement and activities. Different types of e-marketing method which coles use to compete with other retain giants such as Woolie , different techniques have been used in my selected organization and how electronic communication to differentiate products and services. Finally some of the change management issues that they have faced during past years. 2 ELECTRONIC COMMERCE MANAGEMENT 30094858 Index Page No Introduction 03 Body 04 Conclusion 15 Reference 16 3 ELECTRONIC COMMERCE MANAGEMENT Introduction 30094858 In 1985 G.J Coles, primarily a Melbourne-based supermarket chain, merged with Myer Ltd, an upmarket Melbourne department store, becoming Coles Myer Ltd. The merger was brought on by an expectation of significant cost savings from sharing services and overheads such as purchasing, warehousing, information technology and property. However these benefits never occurred. Coles Myer was burdened with poor ma nagement, bad strategic decisions, and internal conflict. Their share price was faltering, and lagging behind their biggest competitor Woolworths, and profit had been stagnant for three years.In September 2001 the board appointed John Fletcher as chief executive, well known for his part in turning Brambles into a successful international company. Fletcher’s first priority was to do something about Coles Myer’s share price, however he recognised that to be able to change it he must first deal with the company’s strategic and structural problems. This analysis of organisational design and effectiveness will discuss the issues experienced by Coles discussion of theories related to the these problems and possible solutions, an examination of what is being done, and what else could be done to improve the situation.The implementation of common ,centralised IT and processes throughout the Coles Group would play a significant role in their future success. Using common s oftware and procedures will increase communication and coordination, and reduce organisational complexity. A centralised system is well suited to the Coles Group, and it will enhance control and monitoring; important processes in a machine bureaucracy. Leifer (1988) asserts that effective performance of centralised computer business information systems requires rules and policies that match the tasks of the machine bureaucracy organisation, supporting this statement.Moving to a centralised system would appear to be a significant change, however Rockart and Scott Morton (1984, cited in Leifer 1986 p 66. ) believe implementing a centralised system in a machine bureaucracy requires few changes on part of the organisation†. 4 ELECTRONIC COMMERCE MANAGEMENT 30094858 While online shopping in the grocery and liquor market represents only a small proportion of total food and drink sales in Australia it is growing significantly. Coles Online saw a doubling of sales in 2010. Coles sells liquor online through our Liquorland Direct and Vintage Cellars Wine Club.We have experienced growth in sales in the online liquor market as we have seen in groceries. In the more mature online grocery shopping markets, such as in the UK, online shopping represents about 4 per cent of the food and drink market, and it is expected to grow to 12 per cent by 2014. 2 Coles does not anticipate material employment impacts in its business from the growth in online retail. The growth in online retail has lead to an increase in employment to service the online market. Online purchases are picked from the existing supermarket shelves and require drivers to delivery groceries.When Coles first started online sales, distribution centres were used to pick and deliver groceries. Now, Coles online operates out of selected supermarkets Presently every organization has great impact on internet; quite a lot of businesses merge into online business. coles group introduce their first web page long time ago, due to rapidly changing technology and challenges they move out and implement according to overcome and withstand modern word technical challenges too at the moment coles web page run by aspx which is provide dynamic web rather than static web pages which is display only information to customers.Fig 01 5 ELECTRONIC COMMERCE MANAGEMENT 30094858 Above fig 01 show how dynamic web page work technically. Even though it seems to be quite easy but there are number of information technology master minds work at back stage 24Ãâ€"7 to provide secure and reliable service to customers. Coles implemented rich interface page using latest web development technology to provide wide range of facilities to their customer. Online shopping through the Coles Online brand began in 1999 with delivery across the Sydney and Melbourne metropolitan areas.The service was initially restricted to the Sydney and Melbournemetropolitan areas as the service was run out of a distribution centre in each capital city. The online service moved out of distribution centres into six stores across Sydney and Melbourne in 2008. In 2010, our online service expanded to all States and Territories in order to respond to customer demand. Now Coles Online services over 85 per cent of Australia’s population with delivery in all capital cities and major towns. Coles online businesses offer four types of services †¢ Home delivery: Delivery to your doorstep or kitchen bench via refrigerated van Business delivery: Delivery to offices and a wide variety of other organisations requiring groceries †¢ Remote delivery: Delivery to remote areas of the NT, WA and far north Queensland. Remote customers of Coles historically ordered via telephone or fax with their own courier arrangements in place (road, rail, barge or air). This has been transitioned to full visibility of a virtual supermarket on the internet with significant benefits all round †¢ Collection: Customer collection of groceries ordered online – either at a designated Coles Supermarket or another location with chilled storage facilities . ELECTRONIC COMMERCE MANAGEMENT 30094858 Coles Online features †¢ A huge range of all popular supermarket items (covering 22,000 SKUs) †¢ Online exclusive specials †¢ Weekly catalogue specials †¢ Unique product offers such as ‘Fruit & Vegetable Boxes' and ‘Create Your Own Hampers' †¢ Personal account areas to manage your orders and create custom lists †¢ Express Shop search functionality †¢ Fresh and easy recipe ideas †¢ Seasonal product range †¢ Detailed product information and nutritional information †¢ A convenient range of delivery time slots †¢ FlyBuys points.You can continue to collect 2 standard FlyBuys points for every $5 you spend with Coles when you register your FlyBuys number in ‘My Account’. 7 ELECTRONIC COMMERCE MANAGEMENT 30094858 The Internet can help companies create and capture profit in new ways by adding extra value to existing products and services or by providing the foundation for new products and services. The Internet Business models are abstraction of what and how the enterprise delivers product or service, showing how the enterprise creates wealth by taking advantages of the Internet's rich communication capabilities.They provide the customer with a new product or service; They provide additional information or service along with a traditional product or service, or they provide a product or service at a much lower cost than traditional means. How do these organizations' business models affect the way they market themselves? How does the target market learn more about this site? Coles online have business models that rely entirely on internet transactions. They need to create volume sales as efficiently as possible. Therefore, they have done everything they can to direct consumer traffic to their sites regardless of their product.Through r eferral sites, online advertising and most importantly web services, they have been very effective at this goal. They have expanded via third parties to increase their web presence. Consumers learn more about both of these sites almost automatically if they search for a product on the web.. AZ is not a revenue targeted site, but they probably prefer more AZ consumers using their online services. I have seen links to their site on other web sites, primarily AZ newspapers online. Identify benefits of this site to the organization and to the site's visitors.The benefits of Amazon's and EBay's sites to their respective organizations should be obvious from the other answers. These businesses are entirely web-based, so they would be non-existent without the site and its visitors. All of their revenue, brand recognition and global presence comes from their sites. Unlike hybrid retailers like Walmart or Target, you will likely never see an Amazon physical bricks and mortar store. The benefi ts to the consumers of Amazon and EBay are the wide array of products that can be 8 ELECTRONIC COMMERCE MANAGEMENT 30094858 purchased and shipped directly to their home.Used products, unusual products, competitive pricing, the power of database searching and one stop shopping are also benefits of both sites. With AZ, the benefits to the organization are mostly in servicing costs. It is much cheaper for Arizona government if everyone in Arizona renews their driver's licenses online. Also, Arizona wants to grow, both in number of residents and number of businesses. By providing a central site for prospective residents and business owners, the AZ site might attract some more residents and businesses. The benefits of AZ to consumers is the ease of performing Arizona services online.Using myself as an example, I seek to do anything possible online, rather than drive to or call a service center. I have renewed my drivers license at the AZ site as well as downloaded tax forms and applied f or duplicate vehicle titles. When we look at this organization as a whole , i would be able recognize there two different business models involves in their business process such as B2C business to customer – It applies to any business or organisation that sells its products or services to consumers on the internet for its own use. About one fifth of e-commerce takes place between businesses and consumers.B2C is of greater interest to the public, because most of the online buyers are people (in millions) and not organisations. On the other hand B2B business to business It involves companies buying from and selling to each other, on the internet. In other words it is commercial activity between businesses. Online B2B is growing fast in both horizontal and vertical markets. In a horizontal market, companies in one industry sell to companies in other industries, whereas in a vertical market business takes place among companies operating in the same industry in a sequential supply chain.Under the B2B process, a higher level of collaboration between retailer and supplier is required. In particular this will affect both Coles and supplier’s IT systems and business processes. Trading via B2B results in these three outcomes ? Cost effective Administration 9 ELECTRONIC COMMERCE MANAGEMENT ? ? Timely Outcomes Reliable Processes 30094858 In its simplest form, B2B documents follow this approach All orders placed by Grocery Holdings Pty Ltd (GHPL), the wholesale operation servicing our retail Brands, will be transacted this way. Currently the following are out of scope for the B2B program ? Direct to store deliveries ?General Merchandise Cross-dock deliveries to GHPL ? Deliveries of Fresh Fruit & Vegetables and Fresh Fish ? Random Weight items The Benefits to suppliers of moving to B2B 10 ELECTRONIC COMMERCE MANAGEMENT 30094858 There are many benefits for both suppliers and Coles by moving to B2B trading processes. Though not all may apply to every supplier he re is a list of the more commonly known benefits: Electronic messaging is a fast, accurate and versatile way for passing information between trading partner’s systems enabling better business decisions to be made. The speed and accuracy of the scan packing process leads to a reduction in pick errors.This results in a reduction in claims for incorrect delivery quantity that occur when a manual picking process is used. The introduction of the electronic invoice (eI) means that the occurrence of lost ‘paper’ invoices ceases. This, in turn, improves the average days outstanding of supplier invoices. GHPL DC’s prefer to deal with compliant suppliers because of the labour savings B2B generates. DC’s have cost budgets too, and it makes sense for them to schedule deliveries at the cheapest times to process them (i. e. during standard business hours, wherever possible).The B2B process enables information such as batch codes and use-by dates to flow from syst em to system easily and accurately, and this helps ensure customers consume goods at their freshest. Moving to B2B with Coles means suppliers will trade using a single, uniform process across all Coles brands. Suppliers who already trade with other retail business (e. g. Kmart, Target or Officeworks) will be familiar with the B2B process, as these businesses have been using B2B exclusively for many years. The web-based TPM system enables suppliers to view their PO, ASN and ADM, in real time, day or night.B2B improves sales for both Coles and suppliers because the POA enables Coles National Inventory Team to order additional stock for items not fully supplied on previous orders. 11 ELECTRONIC COMMERCE MANAGEMENT 30094858 Faster truck turnaround time occurs because DC’s ‘scan receive’ the stock into their systems, as opposed to the old manual process. B2B compliant suppliers are already talking to their transport Six Steps to Implementation The following steps outl ined in the following pages have been designed to help you implement a B2B eCommerce solution.Auditing your current internal processes will help you determine how much work is required to prepare you for the B2B process. You may have already partially completed some of these steps, which can be discussed further with your eCommerce Implementation Team member, to confirm your requirements. The 6 steps are: 1. Project Initialisation 2. Research and Plan 3. Install and Test 4. End-to-End Validation and Accreditation Testing 5. Cut Over and ‘Go Live’ 6. Monitor Step 1: Project Initialisation As a supplier to GHPL, you may have been approached directly by Coles to participate in the B2B eCommerce program.This approach may have taken the form of: . . A request for a one-on-one meeting Direct mail and follow up We will discuss the B2B requirements, operational processes and the steps needed to implement the B2B process. Specific business objectives and required timelines will be detailed. 12 ELECTRONIC COMMERCE MANAGEMENT 30094858 If a face-to-face meeting or conference call is organised consider bringing the following participants ? ? ? Account Manager(s) Technical staff (internal or consultants) Supply Chain staffStep 2: Research and Plan Once you've agreed to implement a B2B eCommerce solution, you need to think about how you will implement it and what you need to do to set up your solution. This step is very important and you should spend the time necessary to get it right for your business. Research involves: . . . . Assessing your current processes, systems and overall direction Evaluating potential solutions (if none have previously been implemented) Scoping, costing and selecting a final solution Familiarisation with the planning and testing functionality provided by the CMT.Understanding the change management requirements within your business given the required process changes to implement B2B Preparing an implementation plan that establishes yo ur readiness to trade electronically in the required timeframe. 13 Step 3: Install and Test This step will vary greatly from supplier to supplier depending on your size, type of merchandise, solution provider and current infrastructure. Typically during this phase you will: Install any additional or upgraded hardware and software. Test communications and all the B2B documents as part of your systems development cycle.Define, confirm and test re-engineered processes from receipt of order to despatch. All document validation will be facilitated via the use of the CMT. When you've completed this step, you will be ready to undertake a complete set of End-ToEnd test scenarios (from electronic order to eI) with Coles prior to being accredited. Step 4: End-to-End Validation and Accreditation Testing During this step several test scenarios will be performed commencing with an electronic test order and ending with an eInvoice. You will be required to receive and process a test order as if it were a real order.Contents of the order must be validated prior to picking and packing All suppliers are required to respond with a POA for every PO on the day it is received. The packing process must result in SCM Logistics labels and ASN(s) being generated. You will not be required to deliver the stock ordered on your test orders. The ASN is transmitted to Coles and the SCM Logistics labels are sent to the eCIT for verification. 14 ELECTRONIC COMMERCE MANAGEMENT The eI is transmitted to Coles. An ADM will be sent to the supplier to advise that NIL stock was receipted. 0094858 B2B accreditation is achieved when you have successfully completed all the steps in the CMT. Step 5: Cut Over and Go Live Your eCIT team member will guide you through a comprehensive ‘Go Live’ Checklist as the final check that all elements of your change to B2B have been understood and considered. Commencing on the agreed ‘Go Live’ date, Coles will expect all orders to be processed using the B2B process. The eCIT will advise relevant Coles receiving locations of the date you expect to commence live B2B deliveries.Step 6: Monitor This is an ongoing process. Coles will randomly check and monitor your delivery performance to ensure that integrity requirements are maintained. Detailed checking will initially be quite intensive until the system has established your process integrity. 100% integrity will result in less checks being performed, however, deliveries with errors will increase the level of checking. Increased checking will slow processing down considerably and increase processing costs proportionately. 15 ELECTRONIC COMMERCE MANAGEMENTConclusion 30094858 Finally, adopting e commerce to Coles has done huge impact on whole organization in various ways, letting more opportunities to interact with customer, receive feedback and record data by using Flybyes then introduce customised range of products according to sessions and personal interest of the year. Usi ng high technical business system to make life easier for top to bottom management and smooth run of organization to provide better customer satisfaction on the other hand increase their productivity and revenue.Bargaining power of buyers To strengthen the relation between buyers and suppliers using high software investments were things in the past. Modern technologies allow forward and backward incorporation in the value chain. Coles is one of the challenging competitor for all other retailer ,i believe Coles is top in the Australian retail industry. 16 ELECTRONIC COMMERCE MANAGEMENT References Books ? 30094858 Burton, R. M. , Lauridsen, J. ; Obel, B. 1999, ‘Tension and Resistance to Change in Organizational Climate: Managerial Implications for a Fast Paced World’, Retrieved April 26th, 2007 from Wood, J. ; Chapman, J. ; Fromholtz, M. ; Morrison, V. ; Wallace, J. ; Zeffane, M. ; Schemerhorn, J. ; Hunt, J. ; Osborne, R. 2003, Organisational behaviour: a global perspecti ve, 3rd edition, John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd, Milton Qld ? Leifer, Richard 1988 ‘Matching Computer-Based Information Systems with Organizational Structures’, MIS Quarterly, Vol 12, no 1, pp 66. ? Rockart, J. and Scott Morton, M. 1984 ‘Implications of Changes in Information Technology for Corporate Strategy’ Interfaces, Vol 14, no 1, pp. 84-96, cited in ?Leifer, Richard 1988 ‘Matching Computer-Based Information Systems with Organizational Structures’, MIS Quarterly, Vol 12, no 1, pp 66. Journals ? Simpson, Kirsty 2006 ‘Coles drops Kmart, Bi-Lo’, The Age, August 1st, 2006, Retrieved April 26th from ? Robbins, S. P and Barnwell, N. S. 2006, Organisation Theory: Concepts and Cases, Prentice Hall, Sydney 17 ELECTRONIC COMMERCE MANAGEMENT Websites ? www. theage. com. au/news/business/coles-drops-kmartbilo/2006/07/31/1154198073979. html ? 30094858 www. lok. cbs. dk/images/publ/Burton%20og%20Obel%20og%20Lauridsen%20tensio n%202000. pdf 18