Impact of National Culture on Organisational Principles

Discuss the impact of national culture on organisational principles and behaviour in TWO of the following: China, Japan and/or India. What do you consider to be the most important differences with the West? National culture can be classified as â€Å"the collective mental programming† of a society (Hofstede, 1980). The culture will have great repercussions on the way the way organisations and the different sectors within them are run. Managing them and controlling the human resources will also be dealt with according to the specified culture of the country.It is vital for organisations to understand the culture of different countries that they may be dealing with internationally or have multinational corporations within. This is because the collection of beliefs, habits and traditions within other nations may vary drastically from their own. The Japanese have a strong national culture that affects the way organisations behave and the different principles within them. The natio nal culture is important as it helps structure the culture of organisations. People then know what is acceptable, certain ways to behave and values. They have a number of laws to abide by and for this reason it is very important to follow the culture. A competitive advantage can also be gained as the culture is different to other nations. Children are encouraged to work very hard and it is not about the degree they get but rather how they use what they have learnt and put it into practice that counts. As they are given employment for life in a certain organisation, rather than moving from company to company, they are very hardworking and dedicated. Body postures show respect and bowing for reeting people is common along with gift giving for good effort. If a mistake is made, one does not get in trouble for it as the Japanese simply believe it is a lesson that has been learnt and honesty is key. Teamwork is vital for the Japanese. Countless managers in Japan feel their employees are motivated by working as a team. This is because as they are all working towards the same goal they share many responsibilities and get along well with each other, hence enjoying their job. This is a characteristic of Ouchi’s Theory Z when they are satisfied with their input towards the organisation. Japanese managers believe in consensus and cooperation and use the ‘bottom-up’ rather than the ‘top down’ structure in the decision making process. The hierarchical structure cannot easily be seen as everyone cooperates hugely within the decision making process and dealing with tasks. Managers highlight the need for information to flow throughout the entire organisation be it top or bottom and feel the need for everyone in the organisation to participate. They should be available at all times and readily be enthusiastic to sharing information with the rest of the organisation. The Japanese have been practicing upon many techniques in their organisations which help them in their everyday working lives. Samuel K. M. Ho’s 5-S practice is a procedure which is used to institute quality within the workplace. These five words when translated into English mean organisation, neatness, cleaning, standardisation and discipline. The people of Japan feel if they preserve this quality, it can be used as a good promotional tool. Another well known practice carried out by the Japanese is something called ‘kaizen’, which simply means ‘continuous improvement’. Kaizen is a strategy that aims to involve everyone in the workforce by getting them to think of any improvements for the business frequently. It is a Taylorist approach which helps employees feel recognised and gives responsibility. This is done by carrying out tasks in teams, providing personal discipline and improved morale to the workforce. Quality circles are carried out in which employees give opinions and suggest improvements. The ‘Just In Time Production’ theory is something the Japanese use which is very efficient. It focuses on getting the right material at the right time, at the right place and in the exact amount (Authorstream). This is done in order to save manufacturing costs and has many advantages one of which is it helps prevent stock going out of date as the right amount is produced. So overall, in Japan the national culture affect the organisational principles and behaviour greatly. Organisations expect loyalty, commitment and hard work from the workforce in return for good pay. The culture determines the way in which people are brought up, who is chosen in which organisation and the way people do things in their everyday lives is due to the specified culture. The culture of China varies from region to region within it but overall the culture is homogeneous. The government have been a considerable influence to the culture in organisation as it changes views to suit their needs. There was a cultural revolution from 1966 to 1976 which slightly changed the culture of China because of economic reasons. The previous system hugely converged on philosophy, literature and history but now the national culture has become more open with the world. The main factor of the Chinese culture is politeness. In everyday life, in and out of the workplace politeness determines an individual’s personality. Organisations usually select those who have the best attitude and family are usually giving priority before anyone else. As with Japan, lifetime employment is also the case with China and the organisation become like family to the employee. Respect is very important and the Chinese must ensure they give this at all times in order to prevent the ‘loss of face’. Once someone in China loses face, they are regarded as untrustworthy and lose their dignity along with their self respect. Greetings in China are usually made with the face and the Chinese depend on facial expressions and tone for reputation and respect. As with Japan, teamwork is vital in China as this guarantees good cooperation within the organisation. Gifts are given as recognition of hard work and appreciation and are also used for motivation. Long term relationships are also much more valued rather than quick transactions as the Chinese find it easier to function when they have contacts. This is a more family way of working and is part of Guanxi. Guanxi literally means any type of relationship (Chinese-school) and a favour is usually done for a favour in return. However, he difference from the Japanese culture is in China there are clear levels of hierarchy and people are usually judged according to their status. The seniors will always be given priority and no decisions can be taken upon without their consent. If mistakes are made in China it is regarded as a huge weakness. Confucianism has largely influenced the Chinese. It is a ‘complex system of moral, social, political and religious codes’ (Smith, 1973). It is unequal and values men more than women. There are fewer women in the workforce and they are regarded to have less importance than men. Overall, there are many similarities in both eastern countries, Japan and China, with only a few differences. Every nation has their own culture which makes them different and gives a competitive advantage over others. The people in these nations abide by the certain cultures sustaining them throughout generations. There are many differences in the way national culture impacts organisational principles and behaviour in China and Japan than in the West. In Japan, hierarchies are not so clear whereas they are very clear in China. In Western countries, company structures change depending on which industry is being looked at but the overall hierarchies will still be of importance. In both Japan and China, social relationships mean a lot and people usually get given employment due to family and friends and build them up from there. Once they receive employment within a firm, it is usually lifetime employment and they treat the firm like family. However in Western countries, people are given jobs according to their degree and on a professional level. People switch from company to company and their role moves up if they are top performers. Western countries unlike the Eastern are only concerned with employees on a work basis. This is different to Eastern countries that are judged on both home and work and actions outside the workplace can be severe. Men and women are not looked at differently in the Western countries but in Japan and China are given a lower status and fewer women have top positions within the workforce. When a mistake is made in a Western country it is usually overlooked however in Japan it is counted as part of the learning process and in China it is regarded as a weakness. In Japan, decisions are made by groups of up to one hundred people whereas in Western countries they are finalised by only about ten people. Regardless, decisions are still usually made quicker in the East than they are in the West. Corruption is something that occurs widely in China which causes certain decisions to be taken that benefit the rich making the rich richer and the poor poorer. This does not occur much in Western countries as in the UK, such Cartels exist to reduce corruptive actions. There are many similarities and a few differences between both Western countries, Japan and China that have been listed above. The main difference in culture is the East usually treats their nations more as family and actions inside and outside the work place are something they have to account for. The differences are become fewer though, as these Eastern countries are slowly being influenced by the West because of internationalism.References http://chinese-school.netfirms.com/guanxi.html http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/Nguvananh_07b-311673-time-product-business-english-3-finance-ppt-powerpoint/

English Rhetoric Essay

I find it really rewarding to be in the medical practice. Choosing to care for patients, for people who are unable to take care of themselves or lack the knowledge on how to get over their own sickness is something that nurses can be proud of. To care for someone you don’t even know is a profession that is suppose to encourage people to join in medical profession. To ease the pain of cancer patients should serve as an incentive for nurses to help them combat such disease. However, in the 1report released by the America’s AIDS Commission, nursing shortfall points to the state’s funding failure. The report is trying to point out that there has been financial deficiency in nursing education which is the reason why the state is somehow hard up in combating the AIDS epidemic. The report which says’ â€Å"federal funding for nursing education has remained constant instead of increasing†, and â€Å"financial aid for nursing education is a patchwork for scholarships†¦Ã¢â‚¬  seem to be less reliable. There were no data to support the statement. There were no survey results, no research and study figures to prove that the state’s funding failure is the main reason for the continuing decline of the supply of nurses. The report failed to look into the other reasons for the shortfall-cultural and social issues could be reasons. It could be that the younger generation of America is more interested in careers related to finance and marketing. It could be that the entertainment and tourism industry has better advertising technique in encouraging students to be part of the profession. Yes, financial concerns could have been a factor but to prove it right, there should be figures to support the argument.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With regards to the nurses’ knowledge and skills on the care for AIDS patients, the same article, â€Å"AIDS Update†, points to the need of nurses of 2â€Å"continued updating about the disease.† The report made its point-adequate information and continued education about AIDS. It is just that the recommendations seem to be redundant to get to the main point. The first recommendation says â€Å"the health care community mount a coordinated effort to ensure that all its members are adequately informed about AIDS†. The other recommendations call for the health care providers, professional organizations, hospitals and other health care facilities and nursing organizations. If the reader has to analyze the statements, they could be sum up into the first recommendation, thus seemingly made one recommendation. If the author is trying to point out there are many ways as solutions to what they call â€Å"knowledge gap†, I found only one base on my analysis on the article.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the article entitled â€Å"Patient Teaching: Food Safety Tips†, a July issue of the Nursing Journal, I found a simple yet practical food safety tips for AIDS Patients. The tips are presented on the nurses’ perspective but point to the do-it-yourself instructions for patients. Instructional materials must as clear and concise as this one. The patients themselves can understand and follow the instructions with the nurse’ minimal supervision. This way, the AIDS patients are encouraged to care for themselves. Their morale and self-esteem could at least be lifted because they will realize that they can do something to fight against their disease. They could at least prove that they are not that of much burden to their nurses since there are things that they can do for themselves. What was so striking in this article is that the author has paid attention to the anticipated questions of the reader. The use of the if–and-then sentences has been used to answer such anticipated questions. The use of the word â€Å"should† on every instruction was so important to denote that such action is required. It also means that the instructions offer no alternatives to it. Also, that it must be followed to the least detail, no more no less.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   AIDS patients and HIV positive individuals deserve care not only by their nurses and doctors but also from the community. In fact, they need extra care because of their special conditions. They are prone to emotional distress, frustrations and self-pity. They are more likely to be loners and hesitate to associate themselves with others. These are the reasons why they need support from the people around them. This is the only way they can have the courage to go on with their lives. It helps when someone in the group of these patients go out into the world to campaign for support and to disseminate information about the disease. It matters to people that facts would come from someone who have experienced or is experiencing the same disease. If a well-known or respected individual speaks of AIDS, he could somehow catch attention and his testimony could somehow be credible to people. When Earvin Johnson decided to be part of this campaign, there arouse certain level of energy from the victims. Solomon Herbert said, 3â€Å"Johnson opted to retire from basketball†¦and decided to use this opportunity to help others rather than maintain a low profile about his condition.† Whether we like it or not, it is not common to person to strive for something without inspiration. It is but common to look up to somebody for role model, for inspiration. Johnson has won the hearts of many, not only the AIDS victims but also the possible victims-the younger generation. â€Å"I decided to do the book because education-especially for young people is our best weapon in the battle against AIDS† (Johnson). Helping is a matter of giving time and inspiration for the victims. Money doesn’t matter much, rather emotional investment is of much importance the way Johnson and the other did. Caring for AIDS victim doesn’t have to be in way that someone should not be in a way that they will feel that you pity them. Caring, like Johnson did, has to focus more on time. Like Johnson, investment has to be on emotional aspect, not on financial. Like Johnson who has shared his talents, his energy and love for others, AIDS victims and non-victims must have the spirit of sharing. It pays to invest more on love for others rather than for material investments for yourself because it investing on love is more profitable. Like Johnson, people have loved him not merely because of basketball but because of the heart he has for the young ones and the people, who like him is an AIDS victim. REFERENCES Herbert, Solomon J., Magic Johnson: He’s Got Heart, Black Collegian Sep/Oct92 Vol.23 Issue 1, page84, 5p, 2c A.I.D.S Update, More Nurses Needed, Says the President’s A.I.D.S. Commission, Nursing88, May Issue, pages 30-31 A.I.D.S. Update, Patient Teaching: Food Safety Tips, Nursing93, July issue, page 22

Becoming Wonderful; Leaving Wonderland

Telling stories of Alice’s greatadventures, I stand in my ninth grade english classroom, a desolate young girl whose only passion is to be a writer, yet here she stands performing someone else’s work. The desks sit in a broad semi-circle, taking much inspiration from a greek theatre and I stand at the center of it all, performing a Lewis Carroll poem. My voice shakes sending shivers down my spine as I preform. The timid, tiny thirteen year old I was wanted nothing more than to show my class that I was a writer and somehow, I thought I could convey that by reading someone else’s work. Nonetheless, when my teacher asked who wanted to compete in the school wide poetry competition, I couldn’t even raise my hand. I just let my ambition slowly cease out. That was one of the few opportunities I had to express my passion for writing and literature in my first two years of high school. However, it wasn’t the lack of opportunity that shook me, it was the fact that opportunities wouldn’t be handed to me, it was the first time I realized that if I wanted something to happen, I had to go for it. For a while, I let this tsunami of self-doubt forecast in my life, throwing me briefly off course. As I felt myself sinking further done a rabbit hole of loneliness and disparity. I slowly seemed to find myself crying an ocean of tears that I would soon drown in. I didn’t want the inevitable to be true. Thankfully, I quickly realized there are two ways out of this rabbit hole: 1. I stay, still, where I am, never expressing my writing, waiting for opportunity or 2. Express my writing, take each opportunity and run with it, get out of the rabbit hole with self-determination. With this realization, I shifted my point of view, to option two. I wrote my pain into sonnets and stories that, in tenth grade,I was finally able to preform in front of my class with no shivers just utter confidence. I took the lessons I had learned in freshman and sophomore year, and thoroughly applied them throughout my junior year. I began submitting stories to competitions, I applied for newspaper, and tried out for slam poetry. I did things that would never have happened to me in the ninth grade because I didn’t wait for them to happen — I made them happen. Now, I can say: I am a writer. I am not just a girl too scared to perform someone else’s work or a girl whose work is filled by her pain; but a girl whose pain inspired her work, whose fear only pushes her farther out of her box. Out of that box and on to a stage, I stand, the theater seats filled to it’s brim with almost 400 hundred people, I approach the stage, the bright, white lights nearly b lind me but I don’t let it deter me. Now I can’t see anyone’s face but even if I could I don’t think I would shake. Today, I can stand, in front of a microphone, in front of a much larger audience. Not performing someone else’s poem. I am preforming my own work.

Prosecution of the Early Church Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Prosecution of the Early Church - Essay Example Prosecution only strengthened ideas and dogmas promulgated by the early church leaders and became a driven force of church expansion and developments. The period of the Early Church covers the periods when the books of the New Testament had been written. (100-4010 AD). The main record of the Church's earliest expansion depends on two divergent, but necessarily complementary literary sources; the Christian apologists and the pagan authors. The outline of the picture presented by both is remarkably consistent, though here and there details may be hazy and liable to more than one interpretation, very rarely however in matters of substance. A further feature of Christian history is its continuity from the first century down to our own day; indeed it may be said of the Church that no other institution of comparable antiquity is so completely documented. The amount of original manuscript that survives is naturally infinitesimal in quantity compared with the volume of works preserved for us by generations of copyists; yet where it does exist, it rarely contradicts, and nearly always confirms the literary and historical tradition. Inscrip tions form an important body of original material, but in an era of insecurity, and sometimes of actual persecution, purely Christian sentiments were more often not openly expressed. Historians suppose that persecution of the Early Church has a great impact on its expansion and proliferation of its ideas to other territories and countries. The Early Days of the Church In the earliest years, the Romans saw Christianity as a sect of Judaism. Suetonius, in his life of Claudius, records the expulsion of the Jews from Rome, who 'continually created disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus'. Suetonius apparently did not even realize that Chrestus, or Christ, was not a living Jewish leader of that time2. The Jews themselves reacted strongly enough against the new religion which they regarded as striking at the very foundations of their law, and their opposition would have been far more formidable than in fact it was, had they not been temporarily annihilated politically after the destruction of the Second Temple by Titus in 70. There is only a thin line dividing religious from political persecution, since the former is so often a pretext for the latter; thus, Pelikan is chiefly concerned with the relations of Christians with the civil power, and first and foremost with the civil power of Rome3. It would be wrong to lay any but the ultimate responsibil ity for the martyrdom of St Polycarp and a few others at the door of Antoninus. In general he followed in the relatively humane policies of his predecessors Hadrian and Trajan, whereby Christians were not to be hunted down nor, if charged, condemned, unless they could be proved to have broken the laws--an escape clause which included refusal to sacrifice to the Emperor as a god. A long period of comparative peace for the Church was abruptly ended by the accession of Antoninus' adopted son, Marcus Aurelius (161-180)4. The Period of Marcus Aurelius A

Article Review Cell Transfer During Pregnancy Essay

Article Review Cell Transfer During Pregnancy - Essay Example The main point in the article was that cells’ crossing the placenta is an established fact (microchimerism) but that new research is suggesting that these same cells can result in health or illnesses in both the mother and the child for a considerable time after the sharing occurred. Also that these cells can persist for an indefinite period of time and can become part of the body’s organs. There are instances when microchimerism can cause an immune attack in some individuals, but in some cases the body can actually be helped to heal through the same interplay of cells. Two examples in the paper showed an example of this. Firstly mothers who have rheumatoid arthritis can often have an improvement in their symptoms when they are pregnant, but that the condition returns after birth. This was initially considered to be because of higher levels of Cortisol in the blood of the mother, but because this phenomenon is not consistent in all cases (it doesn’t work for some women) this idea as discounted. Studies are now considering the disparity in Class II HLA’s as a possible reason for the decrease in symptoms during pregnancy. The second example was juvenile dermatomyositis. In this case transferred immune cells (mother to foetus) can result in an attack on the child’s body tissues. Another case in children is scleroderma and neonatal lupus. In both of these cases the adopted cells can cause the host body to attack the affected body tissues. The final point in the article was that this transfer could be harmful for some, and a helping aid in others. The reasons why this is the case seems to differ from case to case and more research is needed to determine how and why this happens. The transfer of cells between foetus and mother has been well documented especially in studies relating to negative impacts the mother can have the on the babies health through the ingestion of alcohol and other harmful substances. The foetus is basically plugged

Assessment and decision analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Assessment and decision analysis - Assignment Example She also stated that the government toughened the penalties for the companies, which violate the rules of dangerous goods transportation. According to Rite, the government is implementing thorough control over the situation. However, such statements did not seem convincing. Thus, Canadian Senate committee insists on the reconsideration of the state’s policy concerning the transportation of dangerous goods. Meanwhile, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada is paying special attention to the possibility of implementing strict and corresponding control of the railway system of the country. Canadas Standing Senate Committee considers it is important to implement the thorough inspection of the country’s railway system, the main principles of its regulation standards, the norms and practices. The main goal of a new report called "Moving Energy Safely: A Study of the Safe Transport of Hydrocarbons by Pipelines, Tankers and Railcars† is to improve the safety of railway transportation in Canada. The report under consideration includes thirteen advices on safety transportation and the request to take into account all these advices. The report also contains a call to Transport Canada to provide railway companies with advantageous condition of insurance so that they may cover all the expenses connected with possible unhappy accident. It became clear that Canadian railway system is far from ideal and needs to be re-examined and modernized. One of the investigators, Kirby Jang states: "in Canada, we have a system called centralized traffic control, which provides visual signals, but there is no automated stopping or slowing of trains if the train crew were to exceed the limits of their authority†. He also insisted on the introduction of new safety system: â€Å"we believe that theres a risk of serious train collisions and derailments if

Reflective write-up Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Reflective write-up - Essay Example retention is a process â€Å"in which the employees are encouraged to remain with the organization for the maximum period of time or until the completion of the project.† This was the exact weakness of the organization because measures were not put in place by previous managers to ensure that employees stayed at post till as long as their services were needed. The absence of employee retention, a situation known as employee turnover occurs. In the view of Clint (2011), â€Å"Employee turnover occurs when employees voluntarily leave their jobs and must be replaced.† To this effect, my services was employed to take charge of the recruitment of the organization for the year 2010 to ensure through my duty that employees were retained. The need to have someone playing the role of a recruitment manager as an attempt to ensure employee retention was in the right direction because one of the factors that has been identified to be the cause of employee turnover is poor recruitment. Explaining what recruitment is, Stevens (2010) assert that â€Å"Recruitment is the process of having the right person, in the right place, at the right time.† It is therefore logical to assume that if the right people are not put at the right place, they would surely leave. In this direction, The Missouri Business Journal (2011) advice that in recruitment, it is always important to hire â€Å"the people that are a good "fit" with the culture of the organization — meaning that their values, principles, and goals clearly match those of the company†. Most often than not, managers loss site of their role in using recruitment to ensure the long term. I was therefore called upon to play this all important role of a manager i n charge of recruitment. The task that was assigned to me was more of an opportunity than a merit because I was still a subordinate worker of the organization. For this reason, I became extremely excited about the appointment. In relation to leadership or managerial style, I felt

Management problem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Management problem - Essay Example ce, revolves around discrimination based on religion, and in order to advise the Chief Executive, the first thing that will need to be established is whether the court will treat the employee in question as an employee under the legal definition of the term. This argument is substantiated by the recent case of Autoclenz Ltd v Belcher (2011) when Lord Clarke held that work must be exchanged with wage and that intentions of parties did not hold as much importance as the ‘reality’ did – making the test an objective one instead of subjective. Moreover, under the Employment Rights Act 1996, a ‘worker’ is somebody who has a contract for employment and personally performs the work, rather than being the owner of a business or organization. The Housing Services Director asked the Jewish employee to remove the hat he wears as a customary sign of his religion, calling it a ‘skullcap’. This can be considered direct as well as indirection discrimination, subject to the tribunal/court’s interpretation of the matter. Direct discrimination is self-explanatory through its name; suggesting discriminatory practice against an employee for characteristics provided under the Equality Act 2010. Although there is no general defense awarded to the defendant in this case, but an exception is the excuse of a genuine requirement of the occupation that the employee be of a certain age/sex/religion. The test to establish this is an objective one, as can be seen in the case of Shamoon v. Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary [2001] where the HOL overturned a tribunal decision where it had found gender discrimination. However, the success of this test may be limited since it is a stringent one – a fact supported by the case of Etam plc v Rowan [1989] is when a man was rejected from the working at a clothing store for women. The Chief Executive can argue that wearing of the hat is genuinely harming the business as it is not only giving a negative impression to

Thesis On E-Government In Jordan Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 20000 words

Thesis On E-Government In Jordan - Dissertation Example E-government is the short form of electronic government, also known as the â€Å"e-gov† and has a number of other names in digital government, the online government, and even transformational government. E-government discusses the manner in which government makes use of the exchange of information and services that are pertinent with regards to the citizens, individual businesses, and other governmental agencies to name a few. E-government thus takes care of information and communications technology, which in this paper we will call as ICT. All these processes are carried out to ensure that there is improvement within the processes, efficiency is achieved, public services are better managed and delivered and there are plenty of tasks that are done in the right manner as far as processes of democratic governance are concerned. Thus to add to the same discussion, we see that the E-governments encompass a number of different models including the Government to Citizen, also known as the Government to Customer, Government to Business and lastly Government to Government. However, to coin the most significant of these activities that E-government does in the related scheme of things, we see that E-government increases efficiency between the tasks ensure there is convenience all around and there is a better accessibility factor related to the provision of basic public services. Hence the interaction between the private sector and that of the public sector is also improved as a result of the very same.

Upton Hall School Essay Example for Free

Upton Hall School Essay The purpose of a trailer is to persuade the viewers to go and see a specific film that it is advertising. A trailer is an overview of a forthcoming movie due for release at a cinema, DVD or video, which attracts the audiences attention. The trailer for Moulin Rouge is targeted at audiences over 12. This age certificate is set by the British Film Censors Board. It persuades people to go to watch the film as awarding actors, actresses and film director are in this movie. For example Baz Luhrmann the director has directed many other accredited movies including Rome Juliet and Strictly Ballroom, therefore Moulin Rouge will appeal to Baz Luhrmann fans (synergy). The genre of this film is a musical love story set in late 19th century Paris at the Moulin Rouge, meaning it is a fast and exciting trailer which creates tension and suspense for the audience. The main characters in the trailer for Moulin Rouge are Satine (played by Nicole Kidman) the courtesan and main protagonist for both the passionate filled playwright Christian (played by Ewer McGregor) and the lovelorn Duke (played by Richard Roxburgh). Another character shown in the film is Zidler (played by Jim Broadbent) the master of ceremonies at the Moulin Rouge. Besides the main characters of the film, also present in the trailer are performances by dancers, jugglers, and acrobats at the fabulous sensuous nightclub Moulin Rouge. The Moulin Rouge trailer shows the films potential through the film language used. It uses sound, lighting, colour, editing and camera movements to its advantage so the audience wants to see this film. This moving romantic journey is set in and around the mesmerising extravagance of the Moulin Rouge. It is set in the late 19th century in Paris, a time of change and excitement. The director has chosen to set this film in Paris as it compliments the story. Paris is known as the city of love and romance paralleling the theme of the film. By setting the movie in a familiar place it adds to the affect as the audience can relate more to the story. In the 5th shot of the trailer it shows a view of Paris including the Eiffel Tower and the Moulin Rouge. This allows the audience to be able to become more involved in this trailer by this use of clever imagery of the city. This persuades the viewers to go and see the film. Baz Luhrmann, the director has chosen to use Mise-En-Scene (costume, hair and make-up) as a major part of this film all of which are, bright, colourful and eye-catching drawing the audience to the excitement and passion of the Moulin Rouge. Each character has their own individual style which represents their personality and beliefs; Satines period costume hair and make-up are very sensuous and revealing drawing the audience to her. The colours used in the costumes are all dramatic e. g. red, black and purple which convey a strong and mysterious character. These colourful bright costumes are set against Satines pale translucent and vibrant red hair, giving her a very dramatic appearance. In contrast Christians costumes are very plain ordinary clothes of the late 19th century period. The Duke although wearing similar clothes to Christian his clothes look more expensive and he wears a top hat. He has waxed moustache and like the archetype villain, he strokes his moustache when he is being particularly evil and malvolant. By using the difference costumes for each character the audience quickly develop relative feelings and perceptions towards them. This is a very persuasive piece of film language the director has chosen to use, as this makes the audience more interested in the film trailer so they will want to go and see the whole movie. Another part of Mise-En-Scene in this rapid montage of shots is how props are used to persuade the audience to watch the movie. Trapeze swings and dance choreography are all part of props which are used to interest the audience, conveying the excitement and energy inside the exotic nightclub. In the 13th frame Satine is suspended on a trapeze swing as she performs to the men below. As she performs not only does this create excitement and enjoyment for the male audience below but it creates tension and excitement for the audience watching the trailer arousing their interest. This use of props are used to persuade the viewers to go and see the full blockbuster hit. The film maker has chosen to use body language to create relationships between characters. Characters who like one another have their bodies closer together, for example Satine and Christian are lovers meaning their bodies are closer and the shot is more intimate. The audience are made to feel extra comfortable around the couple where as between the Duke and Christian this shot is more aggressive and powerful. Satine is very confident when performing and when she is with Christian but when she is featuring in a shot with the Duke, she is timid and turns away from him. This shows to the audience her true feelings about the Duke. Christian is less confident and timid but as the trailer continues his confidence grows, as his love for Satine develops. The audience can develop relationships with characters depending on the characters actions. If relationships between the audience and characters can be formed in a 3 minute trailer, it is more likely the audience will be persuaded to go and watch Moulin Rouge at the cinema. The lighting and colour the director has chosen to use is very atmospheric and creates a feeling of tension and excitement for the viewer throughout this trailer. The lighting and colour reflects the characters personality, action and feelings, which influence the audience into a feeling a certain way. The trailer consists of around 120 shots all of which are in colour. Almost all the shots are set inside the Moulin Rouge where the lighting is from above showing down on those people below. This lighting effect is known as high key lighting. The Duke is always set in low key lighting as this creates harsh shadows over his face. In one frame in particular part of the Dukes face is in shadow whilst the other half of his face is in a spotlight. By using harsh lighting when the Duke is in the frame it adds to the effect and conveys to the audience he is an evil and dangerous character. When Satine and Christian are together lighting is soft and intimate to reflect their loving feelings for each other. High key lighting is used here as it looks natural. This is achieved with filter lighting. The lighting conveys a loving and caring mood compared to the evil and aggressive Duke. In trailer there are two main types of sounds; diegetic and non-diegetic sound. Diegetic is sound which is part of the film world which the characters can hear. This can be in the form of dialogue, music, or sound effects which come from a source in the movie. This can occur on or off screen: the audience can see what is making the sound (on screen) or they cannot (off screen). Non-diegetic is sound which the characters cannot hear. This can be background music, voice over or narrative. Only the audience hear non-diegetic sound. In this trailer for Moulin Rouge diegetic sound is used; dialogue between characters, gun shot and music. In the 30 second shot Satine is singing in the play but then this diegetic sound turns into non-diegetic sound, as different frames continue whilst the singing (which the characters in this frame cannot hear) continues. This is what makes the trailer more unique and appealing for the viewers. Another example of diegetic sound used very often in the Moulin Rouge trailer is dialogue between character for e. g. Satine and Zidler appear on one shot together where they are discussing the Duke. Having a variation of diegetic sounds persuades the audience to go and see the film. Non-diegetic sound is used in the Moulin Rouge trailers. Examples of non-diegetic sound are the narrator, Christian (the second main narrator) and background music, all of which are sounds the characters do not hear. Non-diegetic sound is sound which the viewers do not recognise as part of the film world. In this case popular non-diegetic sounds are the narrators. Christian is a character in the film but he is also a main narrator. He occasionally speaks over shots giving the audience a short synopsis of the storyline to arouse their interest, so they will want to go and watch the full length feature film. An example of narrative speech Christian says is this story is about love. at the Moulin Rouge.

Rapid developments in technology

Rapid developments in technology Global trends and technological development and their effect on strategy and technology on organisations, with a focus on the Sony Corporation. Abstract In recent years there have been rapid developments in technology which have lead to the opening up of a global market. This has brought both opportunities and challenges to enterprises. Enterprises that want to operate globally have to plan appropriate business strategies. When formulating these strategies they have to consider the importance of the domestic and global situation of the enterprise. This study examines the effect of technological progress and global changes, with a particular focus on how they have affected the Sony Corporation. There is a discussion of Sonys business strategies and their strong points and shortcomings. The study ends with suggestions as to how Sony could resolve some of its recent problems. Introduction In recent years the phenomenon of globalization has taken place. This has come about because of rapid progress in technology and communications. Now the world has become one marketplace and goods and services which were available only in one place in the past can now be bought almost anywhere in the world. This has many advantages for industries as it has expanded their market, but it has also brought many challenges. Among the challenges which must be dealt with by companies wishing to enter the globalization are tariffs and international competition, particularly from newly industrializing counties (NICs) such as Malaysia, China and so forth. This has lead to many enterprises formulating global strategies and many of them have achieved success in the global market. However, to succeed in the global market it is not sufficient to have good global strategies; it is also necessary to be able to use these strategies in a balanced manner. The domestic market and the local culture are ke y elements which must be carefully taken into account in global strategies. Many enterprises look to the example of Japanese companies when determining their global strategies, as it is generally considered that their global strategies have been very successful and have permitted them to enter and succeed in many international markets. The principal focus of this study will be the Sony Corporation. There will be a discussion of Sonys management of new technology and globalization. Examples will be given of Sonys global strategies, and the advantages and disadvantages they have encountered due to these strategies will be presented and discussed. Globalization Every firm should understand the implications of globalization in order to develop a global strategy successfully. The term globalization signifies the increased mobility of goods, services, manpower, technology and worldwide. Globalization may be described as a process by which countries all over the world are joined in a worldwide interdependent community. This process is driven by a combination of economic, technological, socio-cultural and political factors. Raskin (2002) defined globalization as the worldwide integration of economical, cultural, political, religious, and social systems. He added that globalization, through the increasing integration of economies and lifestyles worldwide, leads to similarities in production and consumption patterns, and hence cultural homogenization. From an economic perspective, globalization signifies the convergence of prices, products, wages, rates of interest and profits towards standards of developed countries (Ismail, 2003). Similarly, Theodore (1983) argued that the main factors driving economic globalization of the economy are movement of labour force; international trade; movement of capital; integration of financial markets; cross-border transactions; and free movement of international capital. Basic components of globalization are the globalization of markets and the globalization of production. The former signifies a move away from a system in which national markets are separate entities, divided by trade barriers and barriers of distance, time and culture, towards the merging of national markets into a single global market. The latter, globalization of production, refers to a tendency by individual companies to spread their production processes over various locations around the world in order to benefit from differences in cost and quality of elements of production (Hill, 2007). Drivers of globalization The principal driving forces that facilitate or support the extension of globalization are the following. Advances in transportation: A reduction in the cost of transporting goods and services from country to country assists in bringing prices in the country of manufacture nearer to prices in the export market. Developments in transport technology have lead to a reduction in the cost of transport as well as to an improvement in the speed and reliability of transporting both goods and people. This has meant that it has become cost-effective to access new and expanding markets, thus enabling companies to extend their business further than would have been feasible in the past. Technological advances: The huge reduction in the cost of transmitting and communicating information in recent years has played a vital role in the global growth of enterprises. This phenomenon has been called the death of distance, and is particularly noticeable in the growth of trade in knowledge products through the Internet. De-regulation of financial markets: The process of the de-regulation of financial markets has lead to the abolition of capital controls in many countries. Capital markets have opened up in both developed and developing countries, facilitating foreign direct investment and encouraging the flow of money across national borders. Avoidance of import protection: Many enterprises seek to avoid the tariff and non-tariff barriers imposed by regional trading blocs in order to gain more competitive access to rapidly-growing economies such as those in the emerging markets. Economies of scale: Many economists take the view that there has been a rise in the estimated minimum efficient scale (MES) related to particular industries. Technological changes, innovation and invention in various markets have been factors contributing to this increase. An increase in the MES means that the domestic market may be considered as not being large enough for the selling needs of these industries, making expansion into overseas markets essential. The effect of globalization on international business In recent years, companies have been required to deal with business issues in an international context due to the move towards globalization and internationalization as well as the nature of competition. The principal aspects of global business environments are the following. The forces of globalization Every aspect of the global business environment is affected by the drivers of globalization. Although globalization increases business opportunities, it also leads to an increase in competition. Companies must be aware of the basic and often sweeping changes in both society and commerce resulting from globalization (Wild, Wild and Han, 2008). National business environment Although globalization has initiated a process of homogenization among different cultures, political systems, economic systems, legal systems, and levels of economic development in different countries, many of these the differences remain marked and enduring. Any enterprise wishing to expand overseas must be aware of these differences, and be able to formulate and implement appropriate policies and strategies to deal with them successfully (Hill, 2006). International business environment The international business environment has both a direct and indirect effect on how firms carry out their operations. As can been seen by the long-term movement to less rigid national borders, no business can remain entirely isolated from occurrences in the international business environment. As globalization processes lead to the increasing interrelation of the flows of trade, investment, companies are required to seek production bases and new markets at the same time. Firms must monitor the international business environment closely to determine the impact it may have on their business activities (Wild, Wild, and Han, 2008). Management of international companies The management of a completely domestic firm is not at all the same as the management of a transnational one, as market rules differ and forms must take these differences into account. Thus, it is national business environments which define the context of managing an international firm (Wild, Wild and Han, 2008). Competitive Advantage in the Global Market In the global marketplace, it is vital for companies to sustain competitive advantage. The term competitive advantage was used first by Michael Porter of the Harvard Business School in the U.S.A. Basically, it means the place a company has in relation to its competitors in the same industry. Firms seek to obtain a competitive advantage and then to sustain it. According to Porter (1998), there are three ways that a firm can do these things. The first way is by cost leadership, which means that a firm will have cost advantage is it can offer the same goods or services as its competitors, but at less cost than them. The second way is differentiation. The differentiation advantage refers to when a company can offer better goods or services than its competitors, but for the same price. This company will then become a leader in the industry. The third way is focus. This means that a company can concentrate on a narrow part of the market, which is known as a market niche, to obtain competit ive advantage. Some of them may focus on cost and some of them may focus on differentiation (Porter, 1998). However, it is not easy for a firm to gain competitive advantage and it is even more difficult to keep it (Passemard and Kleiner, 2000). This is because if a company has a differentiation competitive advantage, soon another company will find how to make the same product with the same quality. If a company has a cost competitive advantage, then other companies will look for ways to make their products as cheap (ibid). However, there are several factors that contribute to a firm obtaining competitive advantage. One of these factors is having good resources. Another factor is having a skilled work force. Countries governments also can affect firms, as taxes vary much from country to country and some governments may offer tax incentives or subsidies to companies (Passemard and Kleiner, 2000). The advent of globalization has offered companies with markets all over the world. This has offered many opportunities to expand, but it has also faced them with challenges. According to Ari (2008), globalization is a process of increasing interconnectedness, integration and interdependence among not just economies but also societies, cultures and political institutions. He adds that a result of globalisation is that the borders between countries lose their significance and can no longer deter trade and communication. Regarding business and economics, globalization means that there is liberalisation of trade and creation of world markets (ibid). However, it also means that global industries are competing with all industries in the world. There are many strategies industries can use to obtain and keep competitive advantage in the global market. According to Porter (1998), companies should make their strategy on a basis of strong analysis of the industrys structure and nationally or internationally there are five forces that they should consider carefully, as follows: The threat from new firms in their industry. The threat of products that could replace their products. The bargaining power of suppliers The bargaining power of customers. Competition between companies in the same sector Segal-Horn (1996) points out that companies must be very careful when they are planning global strategy because some strategies which are effective in one country are not effective in another country. Companies have to decide if they want to have one product and marketing strategy for every country or if they have to adapt their strategy for different countries. Adaptation is more necessary for some industries than for others. For example, requirements of steel are more or less the same globally, but there will be large differences for consumer products and food and drinks. Companies have to consider this very carefully. For example, if they can use the same advertisement all over the world it is much cheaper for them, but the advertisement may not be effective in some countries, so they would lose money (ibid). To make such a strategy it is necessary for companies to have very good information about the country they want to sell their products in, which is called market intelligence (ibid). They have to be careful not to miss the differentiation advantage in any country (ibid). To have such information, they must do much market research. Many companies find that it is useful to have a joint venture with a local company in the country because that company already has good information and expertise about the market there. De Toni et al (2008) state that In global industries, competitive advantage derives in large part from the integration and co-ordination on an international scale of various activities. According to Ward et al (1990) companies in a global market should have five competitive priorities, which are cost; delivery performance (dependability and speed); quality; flexibility (product mix and volume); and innovativeness. If companies are looking for cost advantage there can be many benefits to them from globalization. This is because the can choose to buy their supplies from the cheapest supplier in any country in the world and they are not limited to suppliers in their country, as they were in the past before globalization facilitated communication and transport (Ari, 2008). In addition, they can choose to produce their products in a country where labour costs are less than in their country (ibid). Moreover, they can also sell their products through the Internet and reach millions of customers that were impossible for them to reach in the past Sony Corporation Profile Sony was founded in Japan just after the Second World War by Ibuka and Morita and was known initially as the Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Company. At first their business consisted of radio repairs and manufacturing voltmeters in small quantities. However, Ibuka and Morita were interested in innovative electronics products and were also aware of the importance of international markets. They developed Sony into an international brand, expanding their business first into the U.S.A. and then into Europe. The companys name was changed to Sony Corporation in 1958. Currently, the Sony Corporation employs more than 150,000 people worldwide. It is one of the largest media conglomerates in the world and has six operating divisions, which are electronics, games, music, films, financial services and miscellaneous. Sony Electronics is one of worlds foremost makers of electronic products for both the business and individual consumer markets, while its games division produces, among other products, Playstation, and its music division is the second largest such company in the world. Sonys film division produces and distributes films for the cinema as well as for TV and computers and its financial services segment includes savings and loans. Under the miscellaneous division, Sony is involved in advertising and Internet-related business. For the financial year 2007-2008, Sony reported combined annual sales of  ¥8,871.4 billion with a net income of  ¥369.4 billion. Historical background The Sony Corporation has long been in the forefront of technological innovation and has devoted a considerable portion of its budget to research and development (RD) in order to obtain and keep its competitive advantage. Some of Sonys main developments were the following: In 1949 Sony developed a prototype for a magnetic tape recorder prototype in 1949 and introduced paper-based recording tape a year later. In 1955, the company introduced Japans first transistor radio and was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The Sony Corporation of America (SONAM) was subsequently set up in the U.S.A. and the worlds first direct-view portable TV was introduced in 1960. Also in that year, Sony Overseas S.A. was set up in Switzerland; while a year later Sony became the first Japanese company to offer shares on the New York Stock Exchange in same year. Further technological innovations followed throughout the 1960s, including worlds smallest and lightest transistor television and the Trinitron colour television. Since then, the Sony Corporation have developed and produced the worlds first personal cassette player, the Sony Walkman, which was introduced in 1979, the worlds first CD player, launched in 1982. More recent innovations include the home-use PC VAIO in 1997, Blu-ray Disc drive Notebook PC in 2006 and the OLED television in 2007. The Sony Corporation also expanded into the mobile telecommunications business in 2001 with the establishment of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, while a year later it acquired one of its rival companies, Aiwa, through a merger. Sonys Global Strategies The World Marketplace In the 1950s Japanese products suffered from a poor reputation. In an effort to overturn this, one of its founders, Mr. Morita, went to the United States travelled to U.S.A to learn from companies there and with a view to introducing his companys products to the American market and beyond. In 1958, having obtained the licensing right to the transistor patent from U.S. company ATT, they developed the worlds smallest transistor radio, which they launched in both Japan and the U.S.A. It was at this point the decision was taken to change the companys name to Sony, as it was short, easy to pronounce and memorable. The intention was to make Sony an internationally recognised brand, and in this they have succeeded, as, according to Richard (2002), Sony has become one of the most widely recognized brands in the world (Richard, A. 2002). Global marketing and operations According to Kikkawa (1995), only nine major Japanese companies Sony; Toyota; Honda, Nippon Steel; Toray; Teijin; Sumitomo Chemical; Shin-Etsu Chemical; and Matsushita. Kikkawa argued that these companies succeeded in the international marketplace by supplying products globally and/or carrying out global operations. Sonys products have been developed to fulfil the requirements of consumers worldwide; therefore, the corporation can offer the same products all over the world. One instance of this is the Sony Playstation, which appeals to consumers in every country in the world. In its ability to anticipate and fulfil the requirements of consumers Sony has gained an advantage over its rivals. The strategy of innovation Masaru Ibuka, one of the founders of the Sony Corporation, stated that the key to Sonys success was never to follow the others. In effect, the companys central strategic advantage in its global strategy has always been continual innovation. Global expansion and market selection As far as global expansion is concerned, Sony has always given careful consideration to operating in markets they considered to be important and where they had reason to believe the companys products would be most in demand (Richard, 2002). This lead to the initial decision to expand first to the United States, where they could market their products while at the same time learning from U.S. technology. The rationale behind this was that it would easier to expand to other markets once they had established a strong brand name in the United States. This in fact proved to be the case and expansion to European markets soon followed, as mentioned previously. Advantages of Global Strategy Reducing costs Sony has used several elements global strategy to its advantage. For instance, every Sony factory is able to produce at full capacity due to Sony products being sold all over the world; this results in a reduction in production costs. In addition, although Sony has numerous product lines, they are standard worldwide. This means that Sony does not have the expense of producing several versions of a single product to suit various markets. Worldwide recognition As Sonys products are known, sold and serviced all over the world, brand recognition among consumers is extremely high. This results in increased sales, as consumers feel secure about purchasing Sony products. Enhancing competitive advantage In addition, in recent years Sony has been an enthusiastic participant in the Sustainable Energy Europe Campaign, making efforts to produce energy-efficient products. The corporation is also involved social and environmental concerns through its active and high-profile Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme. These activities have contributed greatly to Sonys ability to increase their competitive advantage over its rivals. Sonys CSR programme Sony developed their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme in the awareness that the corporations business has direct and indirect effects on society and the environment in which their business is conducted. The programme is concerned with the interests of all the corporations stakeholders, such as shareholders, customers, employees, suppliers, business partners, and local communities. This has contributed to the improvement of Sonys corporate value. The European Commission awarded Sony a Sustainable Energy Europe Award in early 2007, in acknowledgement of Sonys efforts towards increasing the energy efficiency of its products and its participation in the Sustainable Energy Europe Campaign. By 2007, Sony had modified all their TV sets to consume less energy than the market average. This was a result of their research and development and lead to Sony TV sets increasing their market share. In this way, consumers can be satisfied that their television viewing is consuming a good deal less energy than previously, other stakeholders such as shareholders and suppliers are satisfied by the increase in sales of Sony TVs and electricity consumption also decreases. Another element in Sonys CSR programme is its improvement of its system for its employees to take leave to look after their children. Sony modified this system in the spring of 2007, with the aim establishing a working environment in which taking child care leave was facilitated. They also attempted to encourage fathers to become more involved in caring for their children. This modification has lead to an enhancement of the work-home life balance of Sony employees. It can be seen from these examples that Sony has made use of the advantages of globalization in its CSR programme to achieve a competitive advantage over its rivals. Disadvantages of Global Strategy While global strategy offers many advantages for international enterprises, it also brings with it certain disadvantages. These consist mainly of costs related to greater coordination, reporting requirements, and added staff. In addition, international enterprises must be careful to avoid the pitfall of allowing over centralization to lead to a reduction in the quality of management in any country, as this can result in quality toward individual country can be reduced due to which damaging the motivation and drive of local employees. There is also a risk inherent in offering standardised products, as such products may prove to be less appropriate in some countries than in others. Similarly, use of standardised marketing strategies may not always be successful, as, without cultural adaptation, certain strategies may be inappropriate in specific countries. Finally, the over-use of global strategies may also result in unnecessary or inefficient expenditure. In the case of Sony, a considerable portion of the corporations budget is spent on in RD to fulfil international requirements and this may have led Sony to over-diversify. In order to compete with global competitors, Sony has a finger in every pie, so to speak, and this may have led the corporation to stray too far from its core competency which is electronics product expertise. Moreover, the possibility exists that over-diversification may result in clouding consumers perceptions of the brand. Currently, Sony is facing a challenge to its market supremacy from the Samsung Company. In contrast to Sony, Samsungs global strategy consists of limiting its diversification and focusing its resources on a small number of dominant businesses. This strategy has so far proved very successful for Samsung. Recommendations Although the Sony Corporation has succeeded in building one of the most widely recognised brand names in the world, its market dominance appears to be based on increasingly unsteady ground. This is indicated by the fact that Sonys net profit for the third quarter of 2006 fell by 94% to  ¥1.7 billion, compared to  ¥28.5 billion for the same period in 2005 (Benson, 2006). This dramatic fall in profits may be attributed to the crucial strategic concerns confronting Sony. Sonys manufacturing process is in need of restructuring, as the quality of some Sony products has declined. This has resulted in damage to their reputation and a consequent decrease in the competitiveness of their products. For instance, Forbes magazine reported in October 2006 that 9.6 million Sony laptop batteries has had to be recalled as they were prone to overheating and were therefore dangerous. In addition, Japanese consumers expressed their dissatisfaction with the new system of the Sony PS3 (Wonova, 2006). It would appear from these examples that Sonys quality control system is not always as efficient as it should be. Apart from quality control issues, Sony has shown itself unable to respond rapidly and effectively to changes in market demand and its competitive advantage is therefore compromised. One example of this is the delay in the European launch of PS3 because of manufacturing problems (BBC, 2006). Sony was unable to satisfy the market demand, leaving the way open for rivals in the field such as Nintendo and Microsoft to increase their market share. Moreover, Sony did not respond as quickly as certain other television manufacturers to the increasing demand fro plasma television and therefore allowed their competitors to gain a head start on them in this market. Mintzberg et al. (1999) pointed out that the first mover may gain advantages in building distribution channels, in tying up specialized suppliers or in gaining the attention of customers, adding that the first product of a class to engage in mass advertising tends to impress itself more deeply in peoples minds than the second, third or fourth. Hence, Sony forfeited its competitive advantage and a considerable part of the market share in the games and television market. It is evident that Sonys operational strategy is deficient and requires improvement. In order to address these issues, Sony is putting into practice strategies from both the inside out resource-based perspective (Hamel and Prahalad, 1990; Barney, 1991) and outside in positioning perspective (Porter, 1980; Mintzberg et al., 1998), also known as the market-based perspective (Finlay, 2000). It has been suggested that combining these perspectives can optimise an enterprises capabilities and result in achieving and maintaining greater competitive advantages (Finlay, 2000; Thompson and Strickland, 2003; Johnson et al. 2005; Lynch, 2006). According to Hatch (1997) competitive strategy necessitates the exploitation of a companys existing internal and external firm specific capabilities and the cultivation of new capabilities. Sony should determine appropriate methods for managing external changes in the constantly shifting business environment, and also determine how to make full use of their existing capabilities and resources to respond effectively to this environment. Mor eover, Sony must be attentive to potential threats in the future and put in place the mechanisms required to neutralise these. Conclusion It can be seen that globalization brings both advantages and disadvantages for businesses. On one hand, they can sell their products in almost any country in the world, while progress in communication and transport means that they can choose cheaper suppliers and make their products in countries where labour costs are lower. On the other hand, it brings disadvantages in that they also have competitors from all over the world. Appropriate planning and implementation of global strategies within the constantly evolving environment of technology can provide enterprises with opportunities for survival and expansion in an increasingly competitive market. However, inappropriate global strategies which are not well-conceived or well-implemented can result in losses. Several factors could contribute to such losses including increased costs due to additional staff and insufficient attention to the requirements of the local market. It is vital that enterprises find an appropriate balance between over-globalisation and under-globalisation, although there are no precise guidelines for determining such a balance. Among the keys to obtaining and sustaining competitive advantage in a global market is careful planning and strategy, which includes obtaining detailed information about the target country and focusing on cost or differentiation advantage . References Ari, A. (2008). Globalisation. Online at http://www.geocities.com/anil.ari_global/index.html# Accessed on 10th August, 2009 Barney, J. B. (1991), Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage, Journal of Management, Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 99-120. Barney, J. B. (2001), Is the resource-based view a useful perspective for strategic management research? Yes, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 26, No. 1, pp. 41-56. De Toni, A., Filippini, R. and Forza R. (1999). Interational Journal of Operations and Production Management. Vol.12, No. 4, pp. 718 Passemard, D. and Kleiner, B.H. (2000) Competitive Advantage in Global Industries. Management Research News. Vol. 23, Issue 7/8, pp.111-117 Finlay, P. (2000), Strategic Management: An introduction to business and corporate strategy, Prentice Hall. Hamel, G. and Prahalad, C.K. (1990), Capabilities-Based Competition, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 70, No. 3. Hamel, G. and Prahalad, C.K. (1994), Competing for the future, Harvard Business School Press. Hatch, M.J. (1997), Organization Theory: Modern Symbolic and Postmodern Perspectives, Oxford University Press. Hill, C.W.L. (2007), International business: competing in the global marketplace, Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Johnson, G. (2005), Exploring Corporate Strategy: Text and Cases, 7th Edition, Prentice Hall. Kikkawa, T. (1995), Growth in cluster of entrepreneurs: The case of Honda Motor and Sony Lynch, R. (2006), Corporate Strategy, 4th Edition, Prentice Hall.<

Powerful Parallels and Deep Divides: Pluralism in The Poem of the Cid a

Both The Poem of the Cid and The Song of Roland were written in a time period where great new developments were occurring in Europe, but none more crucial than the beginning of the Crusades and the ethnocentric viewpoint they propagated and were propagated by (Quinn). Of great interest is the manner in which both works deal with the nature of pluralism in European history. For the sake of this essay, pluralism will be defined simply as a state of more than one. Both works, written at approximately the same time (1130-1170 for The Song of Roland and approximately 1207 for The Poem of the Cid, as per the book's forewords) have astonishing similarities and stark contrasts, which when put in context are incredibly revealing of their respective author's/culture's attitudes about economic, cultural, and religious pluralism. An often overlooked place to begin evaluating these stories lies in their depictions of economic systems. The Song of Roland depicts a system that is primarily based on the giving of tribute, namely exotic gifts and treasure; clearly shown when Blancandrin counsels Marsilla to achieve peace with Charlemagne by promising him â€Å"bears and lions and dogs, 700 hundred camels and a thousand moulted hawks† (Burgess, page 30). However, it is important to note that the concept of paying with money is not entirely absent from the novel, â€Å"you will have enough gold bezants to pay your mercenaries well† (Burgess, page 33). In The Song of Roland we see our first evidence of a plural economy. The dominant system is the giving of lavish gifts in the form of tribute to one's betters or equals like Marsile to Charlemagne; which is followed by the less important/common payment of money to one's inferiors a la Charlemagne to his mercen... ...rfully with The Poem of the Cid and its multi-cultural and relatively accepting Spanish ideal of â€Å"convivencia† (Kahf) that embraced diversity in its many forms. While both works contain strong similarities due to the proximity of their geographic and temporal origins and the struggles that were occurring there, namely the Crusades; subtle nuances and seemingly minor differences between the two works reveal two very different views on pluralism. Bibliography: Burgess, Glyn S.  The Song of Roland. London, England: Penguin, 1990. Print. Hamilton, Rita, Janet H. Perry, and Ian Michael.  The Poem of the Cid. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1984. Print. Quinn, William. "The Crusades 1&2." 8 and 13 March 2012. Lecture. Quinn, William. â€Å"Cantar del mio Cid Campeador.† 3 April 2012. Lecture Kahf, â€Å"Medieval Spain, Competing Narratives.† 27 March 2012. Lecture

The Cold War Continues: From Joseph Stalin to Vladimir Putin Essay

"Nobody and nothing will stop Russia..." -- Vladimir Putin In March of 2014 Russia invaded Ukraine, unleashing a maddening flurry of concern across the world. Originally the concern was how to defend Crimea Ukraine from Putin’s forces, however, the concern has since changed. Seemingly overnight, Putin managed to worm his troops into Crimea, and dominate part of Ukraine. But where does this expansion of power end? Trying to delegate and monitor a power-hungry politician is now the focus of nearly every government in the Western world. In an article written by The Guardian’s Ian Traynor, it states that Putin has declared that if he wanted to, â€Å"Russian forces could conquer Ukrainian capital in two weeks.† This amount of confidence is highly unnerving considering Russia’s track record on simply showing up and invading a country seemingly out of nowhere. That specific action and behavior has been associated with Russian leader Joseph Stalin during the Cold war, and now is a continuous and growing concern with Vlad imir Putin. Vladimir Putin’s aggressive actions toward the western world, specifically Ukraine, is inspired by the steps Joseph Stalin took during his rise to power by developing a cult mentality, using brute force to invade countries such as Greece and Turkey, and issuing threats to all countries who disagreed with his expansion of power and communism during the Cold War. It was Stalin’s increasing aggression towards Europe and the United during the Cold War that made him one of the most feared and unpredictable individuals at that time. Today, Putin is exhibiting identical behavior by following in Stalin’s footsteps and is issuing threats in addition to ignoring what Europe and the United States has to say. At the ... ...5788398/2D5751C189D04504PQ/10?accountid=14902 Ian Traynor, â€Å"Putin claims Russian forces ‘could conquer Ukraine capital in two weeks.’† The Guardian, September 2, 2014. Web. 5 May 2015. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/02/putin-russian-forces-could-conquer-ukraine-capital-kiev-fortnight Julie A. Cassiday, Emily D. Johnson, â€Å"Putin, Putiniana and the Question of a Post-Soviet Cult of Personality,† The Slavonic and Eastern European Review 88 (2010): 680-707. Kennedy-Pipe, Caroline. Stalin’s Cold War: Soviet Strategies in Europe, 1943 to 1956. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1995. Robert Skidelsky, â€Å"In Ukraine, Putin may be accelerating his own demise.† The Daily Star Lebanon, September 3, 2014. Web. 5 May 2015. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Commentary/2014/Sep-03/269383-in-ukraine-putin-may-be-accelerating-his-own-demise.ashx#axzz3COhHc9EU

Appeasement Essay -- essays research papers

The 1920s had a good outlook towards peace, but near the end of the decade and throughout the 1930s signs of war were forming. Leaders arose in countries that were unsatisfied with the results of World War I. Germany, Italy, and Japan took aggressive actions, and neither the League of Nations nor the democratic countries were stopping them. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain suggested the policy of appeasement towards Hitler to keep peace. Europe moved closer to war as these actions were made. World War II had propelled with the lack of judgement by the League of Nations by continuous appeasing Hitler. September 3, 1939 was when the world plunged into World War II. The main reason for the cause of this war was the policy of appeasement. Before the war started, In October 1935, Mussolini ordered a massive invasion of Ethiopia. After Italy attacked, Haile Selassie, leader of Ethiopia, asked the League of Nations for help. In document 2, Haile Selassie, requested the League of Nations help stop the invasion and when the League’s response was ineffective he said, â€Å" God and history will remember your judgement†¦It is us today. It will be you tomorrow.† By now, Hitler came to power and was leading the Nazi’s in the Third Reich. They had also became the largest political party. In March 1935, the Fuhrer (Hitler) announced that Germany would not obey the restrictions of the Versailles Treaty. The League of Nations only issued a mild warning for the rebuilding of Germany’s a...

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner Chapters 2

When the second body was empty, my throat felt better. There was a lot of blood in my system. I probably wouldn't real y burn for a few days. Diego was stil waiting, whistling quietly through his teeth. When I let the body fal to the ground with a thud, he turned back to me and smiled. â€Å"Um, thanks,† I said. He nodded. â€Å"You looked like you needed it more than me. I remember how hard it is in the beginning.† â€Å"Does it get easier?† He shrugged. â€Å"In some ways.† We looked at each other for a second. â€Å"Why don't we dump these bodies in the sound?† he suggested. I bent down, grabbed the dead blonde, and slung her limp body over my shoulder. I was about to get the other one, but Diego was there before me, the pimp already on his back. â€Å"I got it,† he said. I fol owed him up the al ey wal, and then we swung across the girders under the freeway. The lights from the cars below didn't touch us. I thought how stupid people were, how oblivious, and I was glad I wasn't one of the clueless. Hidden in the darkness, we made our way to an empty dock, closed for the night. Diego didn't hesitate at the end of the concrete, he just jumped right over the edge with his bulky burden and disappeared into the water. I slid in after him. He swam as sleek and quick as a shark, shooting deeper and farther out into the black sound. He stopped suddenly when he found what he was looking for – a huge, slime-covered boulder on the ocean floor, sea stars and garbage clinging to its sides. We had to be more than a hundred feet deep – to a human, it would have seemed pitch-black here. Diego let go of his bodies. They swayed slowly in the current beside him while he shoved his hand into the mucky sand at the base of the rock. After a second he found a hold and ripped the boulder up from its resting spot. The weight of it drove him waist-deep into the dark seafloor. He looked up and nodded to me. I swam down to him, hooking his bodies with one hand on my way. I shoved the blonde into the black hole under the rock, then pushed the second girl and the pimp in after her. I kicked them lightly to make sure they were in, and then got out of the way. Diego let the boulder fal . It wobbled a little, adjusting to the newly uneven foundation. He kicked his way out of the muck, swam to the top of the boulder, and then pushed it down, grinding the obstructions flat underneath. He swam back a few yards to view his work. Perfect, I mouthed. These three bodies would never resurface. Riley would never hear a story about them on the news. He grinned and held up his hand. It took me a minute to understand that he was looking for a high five. Hesitantly, I swam forward, tapped my palm to his, then kicked away, putting some distance between us. Diego got a weird expression on his face, and then he shot to the surface like a bul et. I darted up after him, confused. When I broke through to the air, he was almost choking on his laughter. â€Å"What?† He couldn't answer me for a minute. Final y he blurted out, â€Å"Worst high five ever.† I sniffed, irritated. â€Å"Couldn't be sure you weren't just going to rip my arm off or something.† Diego snorted. â€Å"I wouldn't do that.† â€Å"Anyone else would,† I countered. â€Å"True, that,† he agreed, suddenly not as amused. â€Å"You up for a little more hunting?† â€Å"Do you have to ask?† We came out of the water under a bridge and lucked right into two homeless guys sleeping in ancient, filthy sleeping bags on top of a shared mattress of old newspapers. Neither one of them woke up. Their blood was soured by alcohol, but stil better than nothing. We buried them in the sound, too, under a different rock. â€Å"Wel, I'm good for a few weeks,† Diego said when we were out of the water again, dripping on the end of another empty dock. I sighed. â€Å"I guess that's the easier part, right? I'l be burning again in a couple of days. And then Riley wil probably send me out with more of Raoul's mutants again.† â€Å"I can come with you, if you want. Riley pretty much lets me do what I want.† I thought about the offer, suspicious for a second. But Diego real y didn't seem like any of the others. I felt different with him. Like I didn't need to watch my back so much. â€Å"I'd like that,† I admitted. It felt off to say this. Too vulnerable or something. But Diego just said â€Å"cool† and smiled at me. â€Å"So how come Riley gives you such a long leash?† I asked, wondering about the relationship there. The more time I spent with Diego, the less I could picture him being in tight with Riley. Diego was so†¦ friendly. Nothing like Riley. But maybe it was an opposites-attract thing. â€Å"Riley knows he can trust me to clean up my messes. Speaking of which, do you mind running a quick errand?† I was starting to be entertained by this strange boy. Curious about him. I wanted to see what he would do. â€Å"Sure,† I said. He bounded across the dock toward the road that ran along the waterfront. I fol owed after. I caught the scent of a few humans, but I knew it was too dark and we were too fast for them to see us. He chose to travel across rooftops again. After a few jumps, I recognized both our scents. He was retracing our earlier path. And then we were back to that first al ey, where Kevin and the other guy had gotten stupid with the car. â€Å"Unbe liev able,† Diego growled. Kevin and Co. had just left, it appeared. Two other cars were stacked on top of the first, and a handful of bystanders had been added to the body count. The cops weren't here yet – because anyone who might have reported the mayhem was already dead. â€Å"Help me sort this out?† Diego asked. â€Å"Okay.† We dropped down, and Diego quickly threw the cars into a new arrangement, so that it sort of looked like they'd hit each other rather than been piled up by a giant tantrum-throwing baby. I grabbed the two dry, lifeless bodies abandoned on the pavement and stuffed them under the apparent site of impact. â€Å"Bad accident,† I commented. Diego grinned. He took a lighter out of a ziplock from his pocket and started igniting the clothes of the victims. I grabbed my own lighter – Riley reissued these when we went hunting; Kevin should have used his – and got to work on the upholstery. The bodies, dried out and laced with flammable venom, blazed up quickly. â€Å"Get back,† Diego warned, and I saw that he had the first car's gas hatch open and the lid screwed off the tank. I jumped up the closest wal, perching a story above to watch. He took a few steps back and lit a match. With perfect aim, he tossed it into the smal hole. In the same second, he leaped up beside me. The boom of the explosion shook the whole street. Lights started going on around the corner. â€Å"Wel done,† I said. â€Å"Thanks for your help. Back to Riley's?† I frowned. Riley's house was the last place I wanted to spend the rest of my night. I didn't want to see Raoul's stupid face or listen to the constant shrieking and fighting. I didn't want to have to grit my teeth and hide out behind Freaky Fred so that people would leave me alone. And I was out of books. â€Å"We've got some time,† Diego said, reading my expression. â€Å"We don't have to go right away.† â€Å"I could use some reading material.† â€Å"And I could use some new music.† He grinned. â€Å"Let's go shopping.† We moved quickly through town – over rooftops again and then darting through shadowy streets when the buildings got farther apart – to a friendlier neighborhood. It didn't take long to find a strip mal with one of the big chain bookstores. I snapped the lock on the roof access hatch and let us in. The store was empty, the only alarms on the windows and doors. I went straight to the H's, while Diego headed to the music section in the back. I'd just finished with Hale. I took the next dozen books in line; that would keep me a couple of days. I looked around for Diego and found him sitting at one of the caf tables, studying the backs of his new CDs. I paused, then joined him. This felt strange because it was familiar in a haunting, uncomfortable way. I had sat like this before – across a table from someone. I'd chatted casual y with that person, thinking about things that were not life and death or thirst and blood. But that had been in a different, blurry lifetime. The last time I'd sat at a table with someone, that someone had been Riley. It was hard to remember that night for a lot of reasons. â€Å"So how come I never notice you around the house?† Diego asked abruptly. â€Å"Where do you hide?† I laughed and grimaced at the same time. â€Å"I usual y kick it behind wherever Freaky Fred is hanging out.† His nose wrinkled. â€Å"Seriously? How do you stand that?† â€Å"You get used to it. It's not so bad behind him as it is in front. Anyway, it's the best hiding place I've found. Nobody gets close to Fred.† Diego nodded, stil looking kind of grossed out. â€Å"That's true. It's a way to stay alive.† I shrugged. â€Å"Did you know that Fred is one of Riley's favorites?† Diego asked. â€Å"Real y? How? † No one could stand Freaky Fred. I was the only one who tried, and that was solely out of self-preservation. Diego leaned toward me conspiratorial y. I was already so used to his strange way that I didn't even flinch. â€Å"I heard him on the phone with her. â€Å" I shuddered. â€Å"I know,† he said, sounding sympathetic again. Of course, it wasn't weird that we could sympathize with each other when it came to her. â€Å"This was a few months back. Anyway, Riley was talking about Fred, al excited. From what they were saying, I guess that some vampires can do things. More than what normal vampires can do, I mean. And that's good – something she's looking for. Vampires with skil zzz.† He pul ed the Z sound out, so I could hear how he was spel ing it in his head. â€Å"What kinds of skil s?† â€Å"Al kinds of stuff, it sounds like. Mind reading and tracking and even seeing the future.† â€Å"Get out.† â€Å"I'm not kidding. I guess Fred can sort of repel people on purpose. It's al in our heads, though. He makes us repulsed at the thought of being near him.†

A key choice writers Essay

A key choice writers make is how they name or refer to characters in their stories. Write about the significance of the choices writers have made in naming or referring to their characters in the three texts you have studies. In the three texts I have studies the writers all name and refer to their characters in different ways. For example in The Road the characters are not given names and in Small Island all the characters are named and referred to in detail. Firstly mc McCarthy doesn’t give his characters names throughout his narrative he only refers to them as, the man, â€Å"papa† and the boy which shows they are father and son and that is all the detail McCarthy reveals. The significance of this is to create the effect that this dystopia they live in could happen to absolutely anyone. McCarthy has also done this to create a statement that names are no longer important since the world has ended and all civilisations have been wiped out. The only important this is surviving. McCarthy mentions the boy was born into the post apocalypse s so maybe the boy hasn’t even been given a name through the fact he doesn’t need one since there is no civilisation and there is a nil chance of survival, therefore there is no one to give your name to. McCarthy could also be revealing that maybe the parents didn’t think it was important in naming the boy because they wouldn’t survive. In Small Island Levy names her characters very stereotypically through their personalities. Queenies christened name is Victoria â€Å"I was christened victoria† like the late queen, but forever been called Queenie, which is what her mother wanted to christen her as but the vicar wouldn’t allow it as it was a common name so he suggested Victoria. Levy chose this name as it reflects Queenies character very well as she is very well mannered and â€Å"posh† like the queen. Gilberts name reveals that he is half white through the fact that Gilbert Joseph is a common white man name. Levy also reveals that his father is white by referring his to as â€Å"light skinned†. Hortense’s name reveals that she is not English however it also reveals that she is wealthy and higher class through the fact that Hortense is a French name which automatically stereotypically reveals Hortense’s character is going to be higher class which she is. Levy also refers to her characters in racist ways by addressing and describing the black characters as â€Å"darkies† and â€Å"niggers† the significance of this is to show when the novel was set â€Å"1948† when being racist was common and most English people were, in which Levy has took advantage of to make her narrative realistic. Finally in Rossetti’s poetry, Rossetti refers to men in different negative ways. For example in Goblin Market Rossetti refers men to a Goblins she has done this to reveal her emotions of men implying that they are all vial and evil. However, the word â€Å"Goblin† could also mean gold which could be implying that all men are rich which is true because in the 19th century it was only men who had money, so she could be implying that men are rare and rich. However, still men in Rossetti’s poems are shown to be negative which is interoperating that wealth isn’t all that good. Rossetti also gives her characters common names such as â€Å"Maude Clare†, â€Å"Laura† and â€Å"Lizzie† the significance of this is to make her poems still mysterious and open for interpretations which she does in all of her poems. Rossetti also refers to her characters through social class and skin tone she does this as it was a main importance in the 19th century. To compare all the writers I have studies both Levy and Rossetti refer and name their characters through social class in some way. However, McCarthy doesn’t mention social class or interpratate it in any way. He has done this because there is no longer any social class unlike in when Small Island and Rossetti’s when it was highly mentioned with the time they are set in. In conclusion in all the texts I have studied the writers all texts I have studied the writers all name their characters in different ways for different significance and to create different effects to their narratives. But also to affect the reader differently for example McCarthy doesn’t give names to his characters to give the narrative lack of information as it could be happen to anyone but also to give the reader no emotional connection to the novel.

Cinematography in Lawrence of Arabia Essay

Said to be one of the greatest films of all time, Lawrence of Arabia, a 222-minute movie directed by David Lean released in1962, achieved numerous accolades from popular award-giving bodies, among them the award for Best Cinematography. Through its cinematography, the desert was transformed into a character and major motivator of the film’s narrative, which was achieved through numerous ways. In the initial portions of the film, the desert was featured as calm, quiet, vast, mysterious and beautiful, which was why Lawrence expressed much excitement towards his assignment as an English army soldier. The extraordinary shots of the desert sunrise, and the extreme long shots of Lawrence (and his army) with the desert as its backdrop were breathtaking as they seemed like still photos from postcards. Pan shots from left to right denoted their journey, which were all skillfully captured on film. As the movie further unfolds, however, the desert assumes a different character as it shows its less appealing side – how it can be harsh, ruthless and merciless, without giving much preference to who or what it desires to take. This is shown during the times when Lawrence and the soldiers are having difficulties crossing the desert without water supply, and when one of Lawrence’s helpers is taken under a quicksand. Despite the bleakness of the circumstances, the sequences were still deftly shot and presented to the viewer. And then again, it changes further later on when it becomes the venue for bloodshed, as Lawrence stages wars and succeeds in conquering more territories. In some way, the desert seems like the love interest of the main character in the film because quite noticeably, there are no female characters in the film’s entirety. It was also expressed by Lawrence himself that he liked the desert because it was clean. Somehow, it seemed like Lawrence saw the desert as directly contrasting his character because although his actions may have been glorified by the Arabs, Lawrence knew that he was just a pawn in the power play of those who were in authority. The desert provided Lawrence a way to be a hero for others, which is the rationale for his decisions to go into battle.

Am a Filipino, a Proud One Essay

The Philippines. The Pearl of the Orient Seas, a country full of wonderful places, places being visited of tourists from different countries. A great country with great people called Filipinos. Filipinos, people with such nice traits. Tan, the color of their skin, the color that makes many foreigners envy them. They have rich black hair that flows naturally. Twinkling eyes some have black ones, some have hazel brown. They have such lovable characteristics. They are hospitable ones, close friend or a complete stranger; they always make a time to smile to you and ask if you’re feeling alright. Cheerful, they are, and talented too! Reciting poems expressing the appropriate feelings, singing to the top of their lungs, dancing so gracefully that you want to join them. They are hard-working, industrious they are. They are also religious of course, they surrender all to God. There are lots of traits of the Filipinos that are to be proud of. And I am one of them, one of the â€Å"They†. I am a Filipino, a proud one. And you, I suppose, are one too. I just can’t think why we, Filipinos are not proud of our nationality, our country. Why we, choose other products than ours, because in our mind things made locally are ‘CHEAP’ which is totally not true, we are makers of world class items. We should be proud of our country. Don’t you know that we, Filipinos, are admired by people around the world? They love the Philippines AND the Filipinos. There is nothing, absolutely nothing to be ashamed of being a Filipino. Neither our physical traits, nor our characteristics should be ashamed of. So, how do we show our love to our country? Easy. Simply choose our own products instead of the imported ones. This will also help our country arise in terms of economy. Learn about our country, this will also help you love our country more. We shouldn’t be ashamed of our beloved country.

Earthquake Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Earthquake - Essay Example After a few hours the earthquake reached the city that I went to. It was very strong and devastating as it measured 4.1 on the Richter scale. Blood was everywhere; within houses, towers and malls – all of them were destroyed. Children were walking and shouting for their parents, dust was covering the place, people were shouting and screaming as the view was terrifying. I didn’t know what I should have done as I was very shocked. An earthquake is a vibration of the Earth produced by a rapid release of energy (Tarbuck 1996). The main features include the focus, the location within the Earth where the earthquake rupture starts, and the epicenter, the point on the Earths surface directly above the focus. Earthquakes have a greater effect on society than most people think. These effects range from economical to structural to mental. Earthquakes come without warning, and often cause massive devastation, resulting not only in the loss of property but also of lives. Many of the survivors suffer from intense and lasting psychological trauma. This essay covers the experience of recent earthquakes in China, Indonesia, and India. It discusses what has been learnt (and what we have failed to learn) in the process of managing the aftermath in each case. This includes immediate medical attention, long-term mental health care, and the reconstruction of housing and infrastructure in both rural and urban areas. The effects of earthquakes on society reach farther than the destruction that these cause and the fear that they place on the population (Patel, 2009). As a result of the fear that they cause, society has come up with a number of ways to protect against the damage that is possible during earthquakes. Warning systems, research, and advances in engineering have done an amazing job of giving people the resources necessary to survive an earthquake. Warning systems and research are often found in the areas that are most prone to