Organizational Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 8

Organizational Behavior - Essay Example , is to rollout the new features that enhance the user experience, including but not limited to more accurate content that the given user might be interested in, but crucially allow users to opt out of the features that track information. Personally, I am very wary of this information tracking issue, and I for one would not entertain the idea that businesses use my information, which I consider private, without my consent to push products/services and target my friends. However, this does not mean that I am willing to stop using social networks, rather I would like to be given control over the amount and type of information about me gets shared and the purposes it might be used for. Normally, these concerns are not adequately addressed hence leaving the public with nothing to imagine the worst. One could argue that the fact these companies do not provide solution to these queries is clear indication of lack of a solution. In addition, it could be speculated that there is a fishy agenda with this decision. The delicate part is that one’s personal information such as the cell-phone numbers are required. As a result, this becomes not only a privacy issue but a security one as well. Frankly, the privacy issue on these online sites is a real concern and a solution ought to be provided without further procrastination. Clearly, the CEO of Facebook engaged in first political influence tactic mentioned in the chapter – consultation. This influence tactic states that it is â€Å"used to gain the users support for a course of action by letting you participate in the planning of the action† (Ivancevich, Konopaske, and Matteson p.350). This is clearly mentioned in the case study: â€Å"Zuckerberg announced that the company would work on a major revision of the terms and invited users to provide ideas on its website†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Basically, customers are being engaged in order to develop a mutually beneficial solution to the problem of privacy Whereas, this move is overwhelmingly

Organizational Behavior Essay Example for Free

Organizational Behavior Essay With the advancement in technology the operations and scales of most business have become global in nature. Aside from this the target market of the corporations has also increased to include regional as well as international customers. This has requires the culture in most multination enterprises to change and adapt to diversification. Corporations have as a result invested in a diversified workforce that represents the various types of customers it targets and help create a much better understanding about the constantly changing and evolving target market. With the changing market dynamics the companies have also had to change their management styles. The most apparent trend for corporations has been to create a value based culture where the values are derived from the customer and business point of view the procurement training of employees is based on this value system. The best way to do this is by hiring people who have the desired talent and values required by the company. This reduces the cost of training and development for the company in the initial stages and contributes to a much better workforce which is intone with the organizations objectives and value system. However in most cases the new employees do require formal orientations where they are specifically informed about culture in place ion the organization and how the business conducts its operations. Yet again hiring people who share similar values as the organization does provides more harmony and direction for the workforce. Organization and Culture: Before establishing on a code of conduct of devising a formal culture for the organization, it is essential to define what organizational culture is. The culture at any organization is how the operations are performed in the entity and how the employees perform their specific jobs. Whenever the company is formally writing the essence of the culture it is acknowledging the core values of its operations and the company itself. As a result the culture should be representative of everyone in the organization and the values derived from it should benefit the company and its stakeholders as a whole. Therefore it is critically important for organizations to fully comprehend and understand the organizational culture in place in their organization before defining the values for the company or hiring personnel depending on their shared values with the business. Cameron and Quinn have designed a framework for the culture based on competing values. This framework identifies that there are essentially four kinds of cultures in an organization and any company can have either one of them or a combination as their organizational structure. These cultures have been specifically identified as the market culture, hierarchy culture and the adhocracy culture and the clan culture. Companies who have a clan type of a culture are organizations that operate based on their loyalty and relationship with others. Tradition and loyalty count as high priorities here and as a result employee commitment is a strong factor. Examples of organization that have this type of a corporate culture are the Japanese Companies. The market culture is characteristic of supermarkets and those companies operating in the retail sector. These kinds of organizations are result oriented and focus on getting the job done. The people usually employed in this company are competitive and goal oriented. The new hired sought by the company are leaders who can be tough and respond to the demanding nature of the organization. The company deems the pricing policies and intense competition as integral to the business. The vision of such organizations is to attain a large portion of the market share. Another form of an organizational cultures the hierarchy culture which is formalized in nature and structured according to rank and priority. The leaders in the organization are responsible for getting the work done and there is an essence of pride amongst the employees about their positioning the company. These companies are relatively predictable and they focus on hiring employees who are dependable and committed to long term employment in the company. The perfect examples of such organization are government organizations and public institutions. The last type of culture identified in the framework is the adhocracy culture which features entrepreneurship and creativity in the workplace. Organizations have this kind of a culture are usually dynamic and harbor innovation. They seek employees who are risk takers, creative and can be focus on the long term productivity and growth of the organization. The essence of this culture is innovation and commitment to change and diversification. An example of such a company is Google. Discussion: The main hotspots for cultural integration and diversification for Multinational Enterprises exist in the European, Asian and Middle East regions. A recent study was conducted to analyze the cultural orientation of the workforce and the similarities and differences for a multicultural workforce in Oman. The data for this research was conducted from about 700 employees employed in 6 large firms in Oman. â€Å"The results demonstrate a clear link between value orientations and preferences for particular HRM policies and practices. Group-oriented HRM practices are preferred by those who scored high on collectivism and being orientations, and those who scored low on thinking and doing orientations. Hierarchy-oriented HRM practices are preferred by those scoring high on hierarchy, subjugation and human nature-as-bad orientations, and those scoring low on thinking and mastery orientations. Finally, preference for loose and informal HRM practices was positively associated with being, and negatively associated with thinking, doing and harmony orientations. (Aycan, (et al), 2007) The HR employment policies and the recruitment process comprises of job identification and job design. When the specific characteristics of the job have been identified it becomes easier to document the requirements for the job. In market oriented firms companies seek prospective employees who are competitive and willing to embrace the values of the company. Colin Shaw conducted a research in association with the Marketing forum about employment in marketing. The research showed that â€Å"71 per cent of business leaders see customer experience as the next competitive battleground to be fought in a commercial marketplace — yet few are doing anything about it. Seven out of 10 customers say that emotions count for more than half of their customer experience. But most companies have not even thought through the emotions they are trying to evoke and will, therefore, struggle to recruit people who are able to evoke the positive emotions the company has identified. †(Shaw, 2002) Aside form simply managing diversity in the work force by creating a value based culture in the organization and hiring personnel on the basis of their value characteristics, the companies in multinational sectors can also develop relationship with their strategic partners, suppliers and affiliates on the basis of their organizational values. This is formally termed as Supply Relationship Orientation. Using this approach the organization can target a much diverse target market more efficiently and can also internalize most of its operations. The internal and external integration leads to strategic advantage for the company therefore further creating barriers to entry in the industry and making the organization more competitive. Job satisfaction is highly dependent upon the values that the employees have. These values can be cultural in nature or those endorsed by the organization. A study concerning the impact of cultural diversity on the employed job satisfaction showed that it is possible for people from different backgrounds and regions to have different values and work environment expectations. This specific study studied the Chinese nd Taiwanese organizations and depicted that â€Å"Integration, Confucian Work Dynamism and Human-heartedness are significantly different between Taiwanese and Chinese employees, while Moral discipline is not; Taiwanese employees have higher ES than Chinese employees; Taiwanese employees view career planning is the most important, while Chinese employees think management system is most important; For Taiwanese employees, Salary and benefit, Working load and Management system have effects on ES; Age and Education have effects on Chinese employees† (Chuan-Cheng Yu-Chen, 2007) Some cases of prominent organizations taking sides on their HRM and recruitment policies are depicted in the following examples. â€Å"Sears, for example, developed a strong culture based on its successes through the 1960s that kept later CEOs from making radical changes that were needed to respond to shifting consumer preferences. On the other hand, Wal-Mart, which was less restrained by its past, prospered during the same time period. † (Powell, 1998) When hiring new employees the bottom-line is to make way for a cohesive organization which is diversified in nature and its workforce yet is united in its structure, values and objectives. This is what has been termed as a model organization with an effective organizational perspective. Essentially the organization has two roles for an employee when it is hiring prospective personnel. These are that the organization needs employees who can help the organization grow and follow what is already in place in the organization. This is required to bring continuity into the business. However the other goal of the organization when recruiting new employees is to hire those candidates who are entrepreneurial in nature, risk takers and innovative, i. e. are willing to do what has never ever been done in the market or sector. In such situations the company needs to identify what are its core values and how it can attain both of its goals simultaneously. This requires identifying which values of the company fit the personal attributes of the company, and fit the situation the company is in. Then it needs to hire those employees which are suited to the values, goals and the job description in the company. â€Å"Searching for reinforcing fit on pivotal values is a good way for an organization to preserve the key elements of its culture. In fact, adherence to similar process values such as mutual respect, openness, participation, and consideration of alternative points of view facilitates a multicultural approach to diversity. On the other hand, searching for either reinforcing or extending fit on peripheral values seems unnecessary. Employees need to be allowed to express themselves as they wish, as long as they exhibit the pivotal values that support the organizations mission. † (Powell, 1998) Another view regarding value based recruitment of personnel is that the diversified and multinational corporations can invest in both kinds of employees by hiring those which are essential for the continuum of the organization as well as hiring those who fit the organization’s values and goals. This will enable corporations to have variety in the workplace and will aid in management of the diversified workforce by the use of actions teams. Aside from this there is another view which states that it may not be in the best interests of any organization to invest in the same values and culture over a long period of time. This is because the external and internal environment for the business is constantly changing and this requires the culture, and values of the organizations to also reflect change with the passage of time. â€Å"To be ready to play fundamentally different games at short notice, organizations need to keep themselves from being overly committed to one particular strategy. † (Powell, 1998) One way of adopting diversity in an organization and building a value based culture to sustain objectives is through the sequential process. The reason for using this process for managing diversity is due to the fact that the external environment is in a continuous change and the main stakeholders of any company are also facing similar changes in their lives. This makes the purchase decisions to be made on the basis of the vales of the company and therefore the employees and people in the organization are also required to work in accordance with the values of the company. An article by Steve Schuller in 2005 stated that merging diversification and value based culture the organization requires the company to adopt a focused hiring policy. This means that the company should strive to hire like minded people who share the values of the company. This can require employing on traditionally recruiting methods which can take the form of partnering with similar organization or organizations having similar technology and objectives. â€Å"Hiring is only the first step. Educating employees to understand and appreciate cultural differences and providing them with guidance about what diversity means to the organization is the most effective way to create an inclusive culture. Timing is critical. Dont make the mistake of marketing to diverse groups before providing your employees with the support and training they need to service these guests, who might have unique needs. Doing so could create negative guest experiences or hurt your efforts in the community. (Schuller, 2005). This text provides answers to the question whether only hiring personnel who share the values of the company is sufficient or should they be trained or not. The article states that even for newly hired personnel who share the values of the company it is essential for the business to provide them with orientation, mentoring and customer service training for leadership development according to the business ethics and the organizational culture in place in the company. Aside from this it is also important to communicate the values of the business and the company to the customers as well as to the employees. â€Å"Values are communicated to employees via overt internal communications, the ripple effect, senior management example/involvement, HR activities and external communications. While for consumers, values are communicated via their holistic experiences of the brand, interactions with employees, external brand communications and the tangible elements of the service offering. (De Chernatony, Cottam Segal-Horn, 2006) Conclusion: It can be derived from the above illustrated discussion that in order to manage diversity in the workplace and in the operations it is best to manage the company according to its salient nd existing value structure. This is the best recommended method for managing diversity as it does not contain any bias and conforms to the legal laws of the state and the personal values of the employees and the staff in the organization. The best way for establishing a value based organization culture is to first identify the culture for the organization and highlight its main points. The key values which give the company a comparative advantage and a competitive edge can be focused upon and these values can be derived top establish a new culture which is adaptable, innovative and in accordance with the changes taking place in the internal as well as the eternal environment of the business. Most companies seek to retain and manage the value based culture of the organization by hiring those individuals who share the commitment and the values of the organization. However it should be realized that even like minded people can end up having conflicts and as a result a base period of training has to be established in the organization for successfully managing the organization and its human capital.

Film Noir in The Maltese Falcon and Double Indemnity

Film Noir in The Maltese Falcon and Double Indemnity Midterm Paper Film Noir Style in The Maltese Falcon and Double Indemnity What elements of a movie make up a film noir? According to many cinematographers, a film noir is a term used to describe Hollywood crime dramas, with emphasis on sex and violence. Never before in Hollywood had directors defied social norms to take a step towards the raw post-Depression American society. It was not until after the Second World War when Hollywood films began to portray the dark slick city streets, crime, and corruption of society. In early film noir cinemas, directors such as John Huston, of The Maltese Falcon, and Billy Wilder, of Double Indemnity, both incorporated different styles and elements to define the cinematic term that changed the film industry across the globe in the early 1940s-mid50s. The two films, with respect to different plots, both used similar cinematography ideals to create a new sense of film genre, better known as film noir. Films began to be painted black mainly due to the great influence of German Expressionism. Female characters changed from untarnished beauties to devilish divas smoking cigarettes and cocking a gun. Both Double Indemnitys and The Maltese Falcons screenplays were top notch, and took the audience on a non-stop thrill ride of deception and lies, and the acting of both films were nothing short of remarkable. In Double Indemnity, director Billy Wilder doesnt hesitate to bring drama and suspense immediately upon the audience. The film was the first of its kind that used film noir for what it in essence stood for, and became a hit from the day it was released. The movie begins with Walter Neff, a successful insurance salesman for Pacific All-Risk, first seen walking into his Los Angeles office. Walter, who is wounded, begins to record his story of his tragic downfall. The story starts with Walter meeting Mrs.Dietrichson to converse about life insurance. After deciding to purchase a Double Indemnity Clause, which ultimately pays the widow twice the normal amount if her husband was to die for whatever reason, Walter begins to realize that Mrs.Dietrichson plans to murder her husband for the clause. Phyllis then persuades Walter to be her associate in killing her husband. Their relationship becomes more than just work-related, as the lust between the two turn to an affair. When Mr.Dietrichson is found dead alongside the train tracks, everyone except investigator Barton and Lola, Phyllis daughter, accept it as an accidental occurrence. The daughter comes to Neff, and reveals to him that her mother had died suspiciously when Phyllis was her nurse. He then learns about Phyllis relationship with Lolas boyfriend and confronts her. She tells him that she only saw the boyfriend to provoke him into killing Lola. In a rage, Neff attempts to shoot her, but is shot first. Phyllis then gives her gun up to Walter, who shoots and kills her. Walter flees the scene of the crime to his office where he is seen at the beginning of the film. Walter tells Barton that he is going to flee to Mexico and escape a death sentence, but only manages to make it to the elevator where he suddenly collapses to the floor and dies. The Maltese Falcon opens with Sam Spade, a detective for the Spade and Archer Detective Agency in San Francisco, working in his office. A client, who goes by the name of Miss Wanderly, comes to Sam and asks him to follow Floyd Thursby, who supposedly has her younger sister. Later that night, Spade is informed that Archer, his partner, has been shot to death while following Floyd. Sam is soon an alleged suspect when the cops soon find out that Floyd has also been killed. The next day Spade is offered $5000 by Joel Cairo, if the detective can get hold of a small sculpture of a falcon. After a brief tussle in his office, Miss Wanderly (Brigid) contacts Spade, and mentions to her that he is with Cairo. Soon after, the three of them held a brief meeting, where they told Sam about â€Å"The Fat Man,† and how he is a danger to them all. The next morning, Sam is confronted by Casper Gutman, an extremely obese man, who wants to offer a large reward to Sam for the capture of The Maltes e Falcon. Following the story of the falcon, Sam blacks out (unknowingly drugged by Gutman) and only wakes up later to a mortally wounded Jacobi with the falcon. Afterward, Sam presents the falcon to Gutman, only to find out that its a fake. Casper then demands his reward money back, only to receive nine of the ten thousand dollars, and tells Sam that he is going to leave to further search for the falcon. Immediately following the conversation, Sam informs the police of Gutman and Wilmer, the men connected to the murder of Jacobi and Thursby, and Brigid, the murderer of Archer. When the police arrive, Brigid is arrested, and Sam is informed by the police of Gutmans recent homicide. The movie concludes with Sam handing over the leftover reward money and falcon to the police as evidence. Before analyzing both movies, one must be able to fully grasp and understand the defining elements that make up film noir, which ultimately drew upon a reservoir of different film techniques. During the era when film noir was most popular, directors often associated their movies with a low-key black-white visual. Many of the lights portrayed in both Double Indemnity and The Maltese Falcon were hung low and floor lamps were infrequently high off the ground. Moreover, light tended to enter the rooms in jagged and odd shapes in due course creating a sinister motif and ideology. This could be rooted back to German Expressionism. Moreover, the key ideas in these films were derived from the raw school of crime fiction that emerged during the early 1900s when the Depression tore apart America. Film Noir, or â€Å"Black Film† in French, had started out as melodramas, but eventually became a distinct genre of its own. While this term encompassed a range of plots, the main figures of th e films typically included the detective or private-eye (Sam and Walter), police, slum portion of the city, law-abiding citizen gone corrupt, femme fatale character (Brigid and Phyllis), and victim. Both Double Indemnity and The Maltese Falcon associated with many classic noir ideologies such as the small town just outside of the city, dark lighting, the detective, and the sex-driven femme fatale woman. During this period of filmmaking, sex was often symbolized through the use of cigarettes. Throughout both Double Indemnity and The Maltese Falcon, scenes that appeared to be action packed or romantic were often followed by either character satisfyingly smoking their cigarette. While noir films typically incorporated and were identified by their visual styles, movies commonly associated as film noirs revolved around genres such as the gangster film, gothic romance, or melodrama. Double Indemnity and The Maltese Falcon both contain issues of fate, moral laws, and destructiveness which are the basic characteristics of a film noir. Nothing is more petrifying than a femme fatale character. The females raw outer beauty that covers her devilish thoughts and personality often seduces the most strong-willed of men. Private investigator Sam Spade and successful insurance salesman Walter Neff, both fell victim to the utter terror and attractiveness of femme fatale characters Brigid OShaughnessy (Ruth Wonderly) and Phyllis Dietrichson. In Double Indemnity and The Maltese Falcon, the femme fatale characters used sexual innuendos to seduce and control Walter and Sam. For example, when Walter Neff first stepped into the Dietrichsons stylish home in San Francisco, he was immediately welcomed by flirtatious Phyllis Dietrichson. As they conversed about insurance: â€Å"Phyllis (in a robe): Im Mrs. Dietrichson. Is there anything I can do? Walter Neff: The insurance ran out on the fifteenth. Id hate to think of you getting a smashed fender or something while youre not†¦ fully covered. Phyllis (with a little smile): Perhaps I know what you mean, Mr. Neff. Ive just been taking a sun bath.† It is quite apparent that Phyllis was trying to gain control upon first introducing herself to Walter. Clearly, Phyllis flirted with Walter after he said how she and her husband needed to renew their insurance or something threatening may occur to them. She immediately related not being covered by insurance to herself and how she wasnt clothed because she had finished a sun bath. An example of seduction in The Maltese Falcon, con artist Brigid OShaughnessy fakes her identity to use Sam Spade to apparently find her lost sister. Eventually, Sam learned about Brigids lies and confronts her: â€Å"Brigid OShaughnessy: Help me. Sam Spade: You wont need much of anybodys help. Youre good. Chiefly your eyes, I think, and that throb you get in your voice when you say things like be generous, Mr. Spade. Brigid OShaughnessy: I deserve that. But the lie was in the way I said it, not at all in what I said. Its my own fault if you cant believe me now. Sam Spade: Ah, now you are dangerous.† †¦ â€Å"Sam Spade: All weve got is that maybe you love me and maybe I love you. Brigid OShaughnessy: You know whether you love me or not. Sam Spade: Maybe I do. Ill have some rotten nights after Ive sent you over, but thatll pass.† In those scenes, Brigids failed attempt to manipulate and seduce Sam was due to his awareness of her lies and con artist personality. In the end, the femme fatale character in both Double Indemnity and The Maltese Falcon could be recognized by their personality traits that made them dangerous to any man that got in their way. Their sexy personality clouded the perception of many characters, including Sam and Walter. But by the end of each film, their ego and evil personalities led to their downfall. Furthermore, the most associated elements that draw the audiences emotions out arent always the acting, rather the setting and background components. In Double Indemnity, the eerie background music was what greatly affected the overall tone of the film. While in certain scenes, the music was perceived as cheery and fast-paced, in darker settings, such as the introduction to the film, the heavy violin along with the drum and trumpets added much depth to the actual film, where the injured Walter Neff is seen limping ever-so-close to the audience. Not even a minute into the film, the viewer senses the pain coming from Walter as he struggles his way into his office, duly to the dark and heavy violin playing in the background. The music clearly added depth not just to Double Indemnity, but also to The Maltese Falcon. In one of the beginning scenes where Archer was seen walking down the street, the relatively soothing background music immediately changes to fast paced horror as hes shot t o death. The scene then transitioned to Sams house, which is shown engulfed in darkness, where he was seen sat down in his chair by his telephone. The music playing creepily in the background coincided well with the scenes tone as Sam is shown picking up the phone to be told the news of Archers death. While acting plays a key role in film noir, music and other background components play vital roles in creating the raw emotion and thrill of film noir. In conclusion, the film noir style has made Double Indemnity and The Maltese Falcon one of the most highly respected films of our lifetime. The usage of dark lighting and heart pulsing music is just a fraction of the elements that portray film noir in the two films. Both Double Indemnitys and The Maltese Falcons screenplays were top notch, and took the audience on a non-stop thrill ride of deception and lies. Moreover, the acting of both films was nothing short of remarkable. Film Noir has earned its spot in history as a life changing genre.

The City of Londons Financial Services and Markets :: Essays Papers

The City of London's Financial Services and Markets 1. The City of London’s financial Services and Markets: The City of London is one of the world’s three leading financial centres, along with Tokyo and New York, and is by far the largest in Europe. While New York and Tokyo rely on very large domestic economies to fuel their business, London’s success can be attributed to its international business. Major financial institutions and markets in the City include the Bank of England, the London Stock Exchange, Lloyd’s insurance market, and the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange. 1.1 Facts and figures of Britain’s financial services industry: ï‚ · There are more overseas banks in London than in any other city in the world: 555 branches, subsidiaries and representative offices at the end of February 1999. ï‚ · Financial services account for almost 7 per cent of Britain’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). ï‚ · Net overseas earnings of Britain’s financial sector reached a record  £25,200 million in 1997. ï‚ · The London Stock Exchange is the largest market in the world for trading foreign equities, accounting for 63 per cent of global turnover. ï‚ · London is one of the world’s three major international bond centres. Some 70 per cent of international bond trading in the Euromarket take place there. ï‚ · It has by far the biggest foreign exchange market in the world, handling about 32 per cent of worldwide dealing, and with an average daily turnover, which is more than that of New York, and Tokyo combined. ï‚ · It is one of the world’s largest international insurance markets, with a leading share of aviation and marine insurance. ï‚ · It is the largest fund management centre. ï‚ · It is the world’s most important centre for advice on privatisation. Supervision and regulation 2. Financial markets: 2.1 The Stock Exchange: This is one of the world’s oldest marketplaces for the buying and selling of shares, but its advanced trading systems mean it is also one of the most modern. It is the world’s leading marketplace for international shares – more international companies choose to list in London than on any other exchange. It therefore plays a vital role in maintaining London’s position as a major financial centre. The main market is where most British and international shares are listed, while the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), established in 1995, is for younger and fast-growing businesses.

What Motivate People to Vote?

What Motivate People to Vote? Voting is often inconvenient, it is personally costly. You have to take time to register and to learn about the candidates, and in the election day you may need to take time of your work to stand in long lines possibly in a bad weather , all that knowing that perhaps your vote will note make a difference among all the millions votes. So why do millions of people expend their own time, energy, and money to cast a vote that will not make any difference in the electoral outcome?According to The American Psychological Association: Psychologists and political scientist have many theories: * Some research suggests that people are motivated to vote because they want to â€Å"fit in. † Bruce Meglino, PhD, of the University of South Carolina's Moore School of Business, sees voting as an example of a behavior included in social admonitions–things people are supposed to do–such as working hard when no one's watching or helping a stranger they'l l never see again.Given that voting is an activity with more costs than benefits for the individual, Meglino thinks that highly rationally self-interested people probably don't bother to vote. * Some people, of course, vote because they believe their vote will make a difference, a psychological mechanism called the â€Å"voter's illusion. † According to a study published by Melissa Acevedo, PhD, of Westchester Community College, and Joachim Krueger, PhD, of Brown University, in  Political Psychology  (Vol. 25, No. 1). Basically, people just think their vote makes a difference, and have this mistaken belief even though statistically it's not the case,† Acevedo says. * Voting may be just plain habit for some people, according to Wendy Wood, PhD, a social psychologist at Duke University and co-director of the Social Science Research Institute. Also according to the website â€Å"Psychology today†, another reason for voting, offered by political scientists and la y individuals alike: is that it is a civic duty of every citizen in a democratic country to vote in elections.It’s not about trying to affect the electoral outcome, it’s about doing your duty as a democratic citizen by voting in elections,  they believe that voting is not just a responsibility, it is more a source of power. Another reason that people often offer for voting is â€Å"But what if everybody thought that way? †Ã‚   The reasoning goes that, if everybody thought that voting was irrational and a waste of time, nobody would vote and democracy would collapse. In this last presidential elections, Barack Obama won by 51% verse 48% for Romney.And according to the exit polls President  Barack Obama  won the Hispanic vote by a whopping margin of 71 percent to 27 percent and the Asians voted for Obama by 73-26. By cons, Romney appear as the candidate for the rich and white people, who wants to lower taxes for millionaires and relax banking regulations for Wall Street that is why he won among all voters making more than $100,000 a year by a margin of 54-44. These statistiques can be explained by the fact that Democrats are multiracial with a laissez faire attitude toward religion and spirituality.Instead, the Republicans are in general overwhelmingly white and tenaciously Christian; they are more conservative than the Democrats. As stated by The Christian Science Monitor, there are other factors that played a big role in the victory of Obama: †¢ Obama and his family remained personally popular. †¢ Obama’s status as the first African-American president. †¢ Romney never seemed comfortable discussing his career at Bain or his vast wealth, so he was always seeing as the rich white gay who can not relate to all Americans especially in those tuffs economics times. There is also the part of the role of Charisma. Romney never developed a comfortable style on the stump, in contrast with Obama’s ability to deliver rousing speeches. On the other side, and according to the â€Å"New York Times†, there were some social and economics factors that played a role in why people did choose Obama instead of Romney. Like on the matter of health care, Romney’s virulent attacks against the Obama care law, which provides healthcare to all Americans and prohibits insurers from denying coverage to people with pre-existing illnesses, drew alarm bells among most Latinos.The fact that the world’s biggest industrialized country wasn’t providing health care to 45 million people before Obama’s law was seen by many Latinos as scandalous. Or the fact that Romney’s embrace of the ultra-right wing of the Republican Party, which includes anti-immigration zealots who support show-me-your-papers laws that could turn all Hispanics into automatic suspects of being illegally in the country.

Free trade, protection, liberalizations and the main methods used by governments to protect domestic industries.

Free trade, protection, liberalizations and the main methods used by governments to protect domestic industries. Free trade occurs when goods and services flow freely between economies without governments imposing restrictions in the form of trade barriers. Protection occurs when governments attempt to give domestic producers an artificial cost price advantage over its foreign competitors. Free trade is based on the principle of comparative advantage. In the 19th century the economist David Ricardo attempted to show that countries should specialize in the production of those good /services in which they have a comparative advantage.According to David Riccardo's theory of comparative advantage, country A should specialise in producing machines and country B should specialize in producing food and then each country should engage in international trade and exchange their surpluses. Ricardo attempted to show that the world would achieve an optimum allocation of resources and thus the global output of goods and services would be maximised. This process is known as international specialisation, it al lows faster rates of economic growth, but world recessions are increasingly possible as a result of interdependency between nations.Logo of Singapore 2006Ricardo's theory is unfavourable if globalisation discontinues, eg from war, as countries would not be sufficient in providing all goods and services for themselves.The Ricardian theory of comparative advantage was further developed by the economists Heckshler and Ohlin who attempted to explain the basis for comparative advantage. They claim that it is the level of factor endowment that determines comparative advantage. It is also the supply of these factors that will then determine the cost of the factor. The Heckshler/Ohlin model explains the pattern of trade between Australia and China. Australia has large amounts of high quality, low cost natural resources while China has large amounts of high skilled, low cost labour. Thus Australia specialises in those industries that use little labour but a large amount of natural resources, eg mining, and...