Investment Basics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Investment Basics - Research Paper Example Time frame; the investor will determine the time horizon for his or her investment. Risk capital; the investor will determine the amount of money he or she is willing to invest. Investment experience; the investor will describe his or her individual investment experience. The investor may choose one of the following statements; first, the client has never invested any cash in any financial instrument. Secondly, the client is comparatively a fresh investor, implying that he or she has invested for merely few years. The investor may also consider that the client has invested some of his or her cash through various pension and retirement plans for some time, and he or she prepared to establish extra investment plans. The client has invested for some time, and he or she has the capability to make sensible investment resolutions (Reilly & Brown, 2011). The client has invested cash for several years and has explicit knowledge of how capital markets operate. The client understands his or her investment goals; this involves determining the principal goal of the investment capital. The objective may be for preservation of capital, for current income for growth and profits, for long term growth, or antagonistic growth. Finally, the client will determine the actual investment he or she is considering. The actual investment will involve financial asset allocation among stocks, bonds and cash (Reilly & Brown, 2011). Bonds investors receive a fixed interest rate; therefore, bonds may provide a regular source of income. Bonds investors may fall under conservative, conservative to moderate and moderate risk categories depending on investors risk tolerance. Most investors invest in bonds to earn a fixed income; therefore, their risk category is conservative to moderate. Stocks may assist an investor to build long term growth of his or her investments. Stocks are deemed to be more risky investment than cash and bonds. Stocks may fall under moderate to

Case Study- Kindle Essay Example for Free

Case Study- Kindle Essay This case study focuses on how Amazon has utilized digital technology to reach out to more customers as it realises the importance of convenience for its readers. Its product the Kindle is an e-reader that offers an alternative to hard copy books. The Kindle offers readers the mobility and efficiency when purchasing and reading books. Amazon has also furthered its opportunities by partnering with certain companies namely Apple, Penguin and Lonely Planet. Although the Kindle is the market leader in the e-book market, it has strong competitors i. e. IPad. Rather than viewing Apple as a competitor, Amazon took this opportunity to reach out to more of its customer base, namely through Apple users. By offering the free Kindle app to Apple and Android products, Amazon has widened its access to potential readers. Amazon has partnered with publishers Penguin and Lonely Planet who are vital suppliers to e-books. In order to appeal to readers, the Kindle has to offer its customers a variety of books to choose from. To do this they require digital books that can only be supplied in large quantities by big publishing companies who have a variety of books they’ve published and can offer to the Kindle. Thus by forming the right relationships with other businesses, Amazon has be able to position itself well in the e-book market and to penetrate into other digital markets too. By understanding the changing needs of the market, Amazon has identified the appropriate product that can satisfy its customers. Reading is a hobby for many people and many desire to do so but find it impractical carrying books around and find they have little time to read them. Thus by digitialising books, they have given customers the ability to read anywhere and everywhere. By offering the free app to smart phones, this is especially convenient as most people use smart phones every minute of every day and thus this encourages more people to read as they are now given a bookstore in their fingertips. Kindle now has further plans to expand its customer range by offering books of different languages. Thus this will enable millions of people in the world to gain access to virtual books in their hands without feeling the weight of them.

Terrorism And Globalization

Terrorism And Globalization Defining terrorism The terrorist phenomenon has a long and varied history, punctuated by lively debates over the meaning of the term. The term itself has always been a difficult one to define. This is partly because the term has evolved over the years and in part because it is associated with an activity that is designed to be subjective. Generally speaking, the targets of the terrorists are not the victims who are killed or injured in the attack. The terrorists hope to engender a reaction such as fear, repulsion, intimidation, overreaction, or radicalization. Terrorism is intended to be a matter of perception and is thus seen differently by different observers. The problem of defining terrorism has hindered analysis since the inception of studies of terrorism in the early 1970s. One set of problems is due to the fact that the concept of terrorism is deeply contested. The use of the term is often polemical and rhetorical. Even if the term is used objectively as an analytical tool, it is still difficult to arrive at a satisfactory definition that distinguishes terrorism from other violent phenomena. Generally speaking, terrorism is deliberate and systematic violence performed by small numbers of people, whereas communal violence is spontaneous, sporadic, and requires mass participation. The purpose of terrorism is to intimidate a watching popular audience by harming only a few, whereas genocide is the elimination of entire communities. Terrorism is meant to hurt. Terrorism is preeminently political and symbolic, where as guerrilla warfare is a military activity. Repressive terror from above is the action of those in power, whereas terrorism i s resistance to authority. Yet in practice, events cannot always be precisely categorized. A few generalizations can be made about terrorism that differentiates it from the states use of force. First, terrorism always has a political nature. It requires the occurrence of outrageous acts that will lead to political change. Second, it is the nonstate character of terrorism that differentiates it from the many other uses of violence that are inherently political such as war among states-even when terrorists receive military, political, economic, and other means of support from state sources. States obviously employ force for political ends: When state force is used internationally, it is considered an act of war; when it is used domestically, it is called various things, including law enforcement, state terror, oppression, or civil war. Although states can terrorize, they are not defined as terrorists. Third, it is generally the innocent that become the target of terrorism. This also distinguishes it from state. In any given example, the latter may or may not be seen as justified but this use of force is different from terrorism. Finally, state use of force is subject to international norms and conventions that may be invoked or at least consulted. Terrorists, on the other hand, do not abide by international laws or norms. In fact, in order to maximize the psychological effect of an attack, the terrorist activities have a deliberately unpredictable quality. Thus, generally speaking, terrorism can be said to have the following characteristics: a fundamentally political nature, the surprise element (use of violence against seemingly random targets), and the targeting of the innocent by nonstate actors. Even within the terms of these general characteristics, the practice of terrorism is highly diverse. The conceptual category of terrorism encompasses a wide variety of phenomena, ranging from kidnappings of individuals (in order to pressure governments to agree to specific political demands) to indiscriminate mass-casualty bombings of high-profile symbolic targets. Terrorism occurs in widely different cultural settings. Origins Terrorism is as old as human history. Modern terrorism, however, is generally considered to have originated with the French Revolution. The term terror was first employed in 1795, when it was coined to refer to a policy systemically used to protect the French republic government against counterrevolutionaries. Modern terrorism is a dynamic concept, from the outset dependent to some degree on the political and historical context within which it has been employed. Although individual terrorist groups have unique characteristics and arise in specific local contexts, an examination of broad historical patterns reveals that the international system within which such groups are born does influence their nature and motivations. A distinguishing feature of modern terrorism has been the connection between political or ideological concepts and increasing levels of terrorist activity internationally. The broad political aim has been against (1) empires, (2) colonial powers, and (3) the U.S.- led international system marked by globalization. Thus it is important to understand the general history of modern terrorism and where the current threat is within an international context. David Rapoport has described modern terrorism as part of a religiously inspired fourth wave. This wave, according to him, follows three earlier historical phases in which terrorism emerged in relation to the breakup of empires, decolonization, and leftist anti-Westernism. Rapoport argues that terrorism occurs in consecutive if somewhat overlapping waves. The argument here, however, is that modern terrorism has been a power struggle along various scales: central power versus local power, big power versus small power, modern power versus traditional power. The key variable is a widespread perception of opportunity, combined with a shift in a particular political or ideological paradigm. Thus, even though the newest international terrorist threat, emanating largely from Muslim countries, has more of religious inspiration, it is more accurate to see it as part of a larger phenomenon of anti-globalization and tension between the have and have-not nations, as well as between the elite and underprivileged within those nations. In the nineteenth century, the emergence of concepts such as universal suffrage and popular empowerment raised the hopes of people throughout the western world, indirectly resulting in the first phase of modern terrorism. In Russia, for example, it was stimulated not by state repression but by the efforts of the czars to placate demands for economic and political reforms, and the inevitable disappointment of popular expectations that were raised as a result. The goal of terrorists was to engage in attacks on symbolic targets to get the attention of the common people and thus provoke a popular response that would ultimately overturn the prevailing political order. This type of modern terrorism was reflected in the activities of groups such as the Russian Narodnaya Volya (Peoples Will) and later in the development of a series of movements in the United States and Europe, especially in territories of the former Ottoman Empire. The dissolution of empires and the search for a new distribution of political power provided an opportunity for terrorism in the nineteenth and twentieth century. It climaxed in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914, an event that catalyzed the major powers into taking violent action. World War I, the result of the assassination can be said to have ended the first era of modern terrorism. But terrorism tied to popular movements seeking greater democratic representation and political power from coercive empires had not ceased. For example, the Balkans, after the downfall of the former state of Yugoslavia. A second, related phase of modern terrorism is associated with the concept of national self-determination. It can be said to have developed its greatest predominance after World War I. It also continues to the present day. These struggles for power are another facet of terrorism against larger political powers and are specifically designed to win political independence or autonomy. Terrorism achieved an international character during the 1970s and 1980s, evolving in part as a result of technological advances and partly in reaction to the dramatic explosion of international media influence. International links were not new, but their centrality was. Individual, scattered national causes began to develop into international organizations with links and activities increasingly across borders and among differing causes. The 1970s and 1980s represented the height of state-sponsored terrorism. Sometimes the lowest common denominator among the groups was the concept against which they were reacting-for example, Western imperialism- rather than the specific goals they sought. The most important innovation, however, was the increasing commonality of international connections among the groups. After the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre of eleven Israeli athletes, for example, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and its associated groups captured the imaginations of young radicals around the world. AN EARLIER WAVE OF TERRORISM While globalization is for many a causal variable generating backlash and resistance, there also have been earlier waves of globalization. If terrorism and globalization appear together today, it is possible that terrorism and globalization co-appeared during an earlier period that ran from the 1880s to 1914. Associated with the idea of propaganda by deed, Russian, Italian, Spanish, French, American, Serbian, and Macedonian terrorists were involved in a period of assassination and bomb throwing from the Russian and Ottoman Empires to the east through the Austrian Empire and Western Europe to the United States in the west. In Serbia, there was the Black Hand; in Russia, Narodnaya Volya, or Peoples Will; among Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs, the Young Bosnians and the Narodna Obrana, or the Peoples Defense. Terrorists from one country also killed people from another. While the contemporary period is known as one of international terrorism, there are clear grounds for considering the anarc hist period as one that also had international or global aspects. Some scholars have made comparisons between figures like bin Laden and late 19th-century Russian terrorists. Similarities in the political religion of their ideologies, the diasporic-or transnational-nature of both sets of terrorists who often resided and planned attacks abroad, and the similarity of global political economic conditions at the end of the 19th and 20th centuries have been noted. If al-Qaeda is a reaction to American empire, as few scholars argue, then one could see earlier terrorist resistance in the form of pre-1914 terrorist groups attacking the empires of their day (the Serbian Black Hand versus the Austrian Empire; Inner Macedonian Revolutionary Organization versus the Ottoman Empire; and the terrorists of Narodnaya Volya versus the Tsarist Russian Empire). In the case of fundamentalist Islamic terrorism, a comparison with the Sudanese revolt of the Mahdi in the 1880s against the British Empire and bin Laden against the United States has been made. Some note a sim ilarity between the hatred of London as the financial center of world capitalism at the end of the 19th century and the hatred by fanatical Muslims today of the dominance of Wall Street and the Pentagon. Since the September 11 attacks, the world has witnessed the maturation of a new phase of terrorist activity, the jihad era, spawned by the Iranian Revolution of 1979 as well as the Soviet defeat in Afghanistan shortly thereafter. The powerful attraction of religious and spiritual movements has overshadowed the nationalist or leftist revolutionary ethos of earlier terrorist phases (though many of those struggles continue), and it has become the central characteristic of a growing international trend. Religious terrorism is not new; rather it is a continuation of an ongoing modern power struggle between those with power and those without it. What is different about this phase is the urgent requirement for solutions that deal both with the religious fanatics who are the terrorists and the far more politically motivated states, entities, and people who would support them because they feel powerless and left behind in a globalizing world. Thus if there is a trend in terrorism, it is the existence of a two-level challenge: the hyper religious motivation of small groups of terrorists and the much broader enabling environment of bad governance, nonexistent social services, and poverty that punctuates much of the developing world. Al-Qaeda, a band driven by religious extremism, is able to do so much harm because of the secondary support and sanctuary it receives in vast areas that have not experienced the political and economic benefits of globalization. There are four types of terrorist organizations that can said to be currently operating around the world, categorized mainly by their source of motivation: left-wing terrorists, right-wing terrorists, ethno nationalist/separatist terrorists, and religious or sacred terrorists. All four types have enjoyed periods of relative prominence in the modern era, with left-wing terrorism intertwined with the Communist movement, right-wing terrorism drawing its inspiration from Fascism, and the bulk of ethno nationalist/separatist terrorism accompanying the wave of decolonization especially in the immediate post-World War II years. Currently, sacred terrorism is becoming more significant. Although groups in all categories continue to exist today, left-wing and right-wing terrorist groups were more numerous in earlier decades. Of course, these categories are not perfect, as many groups have a mix of motivating ideologies-some ethno nationalist groups, for example, have religious characteristics or agendas-but usually one ideology or motivation dominates. NEW TERRORISM Following incidents such as the bombing of the WTC in 1993, U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998, and the attacks on the Pentagon and WTC in 2001, the conventional belief of researchers and commentators on terrorism was that the world had entered a new phase since the 1990s that departed dramatically from what had gone before. It variously was called the new terrorism or spoken of as involving new types of post-cold war terrorists or a new breed of terrorist or new generation of terrorists; or terror in the mind of God or a clash of fundamentalisms or simply a new wave of terrorism. In these analyses terrorism seemed to be changing in some of the following ways. Several recent works focus on a new terrorism that is motivated by religious belief and is more fanatical, deadly, and pervasive than the older and more instrumental forms of terrorism the world had grown accustomed to. This emerging new terrorism is thought to differ from the old terrorism in terms of goals, methods, and organization. The comparison goes roughly as follows. Whereas the old terrorists sought short-term political power through revolution, national liberation, or secession, the new terrorists seek to transform the world. Motivated by religious imperatives, they are thought to lack an earthly constituency and thus to feel accountable only to a deity or to some transcendental or mystical idea. Conventional left-right ideological distinctions are not applicable. Because they do not want popular support, they are unlikely to claim public credit for their actions. Also, new terrorists are thought to be more inclined to use highly lethal methods in order to destroy an impure world and bring about the apocalypse. The strategies of the old terrorists were discriminating; terrorism was a form of communicating a specific message to an audience. In the new terrorism, unlimited ends lead to unlimited means. Thus the new terrorists seek to cause high numbers of casualties and are willing to commit suicide or use weapons of mass destruction in order to do so. Finally, whereas traditional militants were linked in tight, centralized, structured conspiracies, the organization of the new terrorists is decentralized and diffuse. Adherents are united by common experience or inspiration rather than by direct personal interaction with other members of the group and its leaders. Institutions and organizations are less important than beliefs. An earlier and more violent historical antecedent of the conception of a new terrorism is anti-Western terrorism originating in the Middle East that is linked to radical or fundamentalist Islam. This concern dates from the 1980s and terrorism attributed to the Shiite Hezbollah action in Lebanon. Alarm over the emergence of radical Islam (which is a small minority of the Muslim world) was heightened by a combination of factors: the resort to suicide bombings in Lebanon and Israel, a general willingness to inflict mass civilian casualties, and anti-Americana and anti-Western targeting patterns. The bombing of th e World Trade Center in 1993 as well as the bombings of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 further increased the American sense of vulnerability. Trends in Modern Terrorism By the late 1990s, four trends in modern terrorism were becoming apparent: an increase in the incidence of religiously motivated attacks, a decrease in the overall number of attacks, an increase in the lethality per attack, and the growing targeting of Americans. Statistics show that, even before the September 11 attacks, religiously motivated terrorist organizations were becoming more common. The acceleration of this trend has been dramatic: According to the RAND-St. Andrews University Chronology of International Terrorism, in 1968 none of the identified international terrorist organizations could be classified as religious; in 1980, in the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution, there were 2 (out of 64), and that number had expanded to 25 (out of 58) by 1995. Another important trend relates to terrorist attacks involving U.S. targets. The number of such attacks increased in the 1990s, from a low of 66 in 1994 to a high of 200 in the year 2000. This is a long-established problem: U.S. nationals consistently have been the most targeted since 1968. But the percentage of international attacks against U.S. targets or U.S. citizens rose dramatically over the 1990s, from about 20 percent in 1993-95 to almost 50 percent in 2000. In addition to the evolving motivation and character of terrorist attacks, there has been a notable dispersal in the geography of terrorist acts-a trend that is likely to continue. Although the Middle East continues to be the locus of most terrorist activity, Central and South Asia, the Balkans, and the Transcaucasus have been growing in significance over the past decade. International connections themselves are not new: International terrorist organizations inspired by common revolutionary principles date to the early nineteenth century and complex mazes of funding, arms, and other state support for international terrorist organizations were in place especially in the 1970s and 1980s. Terrorism Becoming Global Newer terrorist organizations seemed to have moved away from the earlier model of professionally trained terrorists operating within a hierarchical organization with a central command chain and toward a more loosely coupled form of organization with a less clear organizational structure. Similarly, whereas from the 1960s through the 1980s groups more clearly were bound nationally (German, Japanese, Italian, Spanish, Irish, Palestinian, and so forth), more recent organizations like al-Qaeda have members from multiple nationalities and organizational sites outside the leaderships country of origin. The identities of terrorist organizations have become more difficult to identify. Terrorist organizations also seem to identify themselves or to claim responsibility for specific acts less often, such as the bombing of the U.S. embassies in Africa or the events of September 11, which while purportedly organized by bin Laden and al-Qaeda, never clearly were claimed by that organization. This is in contrast with earlier terrorist organizations, which were much clearer in taking responsibility for their actions and defining who they were, often with elaborate radical political ideologies. Terrorist ideologies have become more religious. What has been called the new religious terrorism or holy terrorism reflects the increasing prevalence of religion in the ideology of terrorist organizations, with the most notable being Islamic fundamentalism, or political Islam, and also including Christian fundamentalism or the religious sect Aum Shinrikyo, a Japanese terrorist group that released poisonous gas in a Tokyo subway in 1995. There also seems to be an increase in groups with more vague and religious ideologies than earlier radical groups such as the German Red Army Faction, the Italian Red Brigades, or the Japanese Red Army. Terrorist violence becomes more indiscriminate. Along with a geographical dispersion of targets, there seems to be a move away from specific targets, for instance as when hundreds of civilian Kenyan and Tanzanian embassy employees and passersby were killed to achieve the objective of bombing the U.S. embassy. The 1993 and 2001 attacks of the WTC were also examples of more indiscriminate targets, as opposed to earlier skyjacking of a national airlines plane in order to attain specific demands or the kidnapping a particular politician. On reflecting upon these changes, many of them suggest the process of globalization raising the question of whether terrorism, like other economic, cultural, and political aspects of life also is globalizing. Arguments about a growing dispersion and indiscriminateness of terrorist violence also express a disregard for national boundaries and, as such, a growing global, as opposed to national, character of terrorism. GLOBALIZATION AND TERRORISM Some scholars interpret the link between globalization and terrorism in a causal fashion: globalization generates a backlash or resistance that can take the form of terrorist attacks on national powers in the forefront of the globalization processes. In this regard, some see terrorism as a defensive, reactionary, movement against global forces of cultural and economic change. Industrialization then and globalization now involve integration into a larger web of economic transactions that threatens local authority and sense of place. The result is defensive, reactionary mobilization, manifested in European food riots then and Middle Eastern terrorism now. In their article, International Terrorism and the World System, Albert J. Bergesen and Omar Lizardo have formulated a number of theories and bring forth the links between globalization and terrorism. World-System Theory While world-system theorists normally are concerned with questions of development and underdevelopment, they have advanced similar ideas regarding globalization and terrorism. Chase-Dunn and. Boswell in Transnational Social Movements and Democratic Socialist Parties in the Semiperiphery speak of the reactionary force of international terrorism as an anti-systemic element or globalization backlash; M,Jurgensmeyer in Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence links the disruption of globalization with defensive reactions that often take a religious character, and when that reaction is terrorism, it can take the form of fundamentalist Arab-Islamic terrorist organizations. World-Society/Polity Theory While world-society theorists have not addressed the issue of international terrorism directly, they have documented the continued expansion of Western originated cultural models of rationalized action and universal standards during the same period that a rise in international terrorism has been observed. To the extent that there is a possible causal relationship, world-society theorys top-down model of the intrusion of the world-politys global standards, expectations, norms, and definitions of reality also might generate defensive backlash that might, under some circumstances, take the form of international terrorism. It would seem that the growth in world society provides a generalized empowerment for international action on the basis that social existence is global existence and that social problems are global problems. The expansion of global society should empower action across the globe as a distinctly glob logical effect, which means that individuals in Latin America suffering from the side effects of economic globalization should feel just as globally empowered to engage in international backlash terrorism as those of the Arab-Islamic Middle East. But this does not seem to be the case; there is not as much international terrorism emanating from Latin America as from the Middle East, yet both are or should be globally empowered (world-society effect) and angry (globalization creates resistance effect). But the anger seems to be turned inward in Latin America and outward in the Middle East. What accounts for differences of response? Relative openness, democracy, representational institutions, and levels of functioning intermediary social organization may absorb, channel, or somehow provide outlets for the tensions and anger set off by globalization. Their anger is channeled into electoral politics, demonstrations, social move-mints, and domestic terrorism; in the more autocratic Arab-Islamic regimes, dissent is suppressed more often, and there are fewer o pportunities for its expression within the institutionalized political opportunity structures of those states. As a result, given the same level of global empowerment, the anger is turned outward to take the form of international terrorism more often than in Latin America. There is also no doubt something of a curvilinear effect with linkages to world-society. They empower and, given grievances, would have a positive effect upon contentious acts like international terrorism. But continued linkage into world-society also would seem to have an integrative effect and thereby would dampen terrorism rates, yielding an overall curvilinear relationship between linkages to world-society and rates of international terrorism Blowback Theory M.Crenshaw in Why America? The Globalization of Civil War argues that terrorism should be seen as a strategic reaction to American power, an idea associated with Johnsons blowback thesis. In this view, the presence of empires-both at the end of the last century and today-and the analogous unipolar military position of the United States today provoke resistance in the form of terrorism. Johnson notes that the Russian, Ottoman, and Habsburg Empires-which controlled multiple ethnic, religious, and national peoples-led to a backlash, or blowback, by Serb, Macedonian, and Bosnian terrorist organizations . By analogy the powerful global position of the United States, particularly in its role of propping up repressive undemocratic regimes, constitutes something of a similar condition with Arab-Islamic terrorism as a result. The Center for Strategic International Studies (2002) attempts to precisely define globalization, calling it a process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations, a process driven by international trade and investment and aided by information technology. Some aspects of globalization facilitate terrorism. At its basest meaning, globalization means internationalization. Something is taken from a national setting and projected across the world. Certain nations adopt this, others reject it. When most nations do accept it and adopt it, globalization is taking place. A K Cronin in Behind the Curve suggests that terrorism cemented itself as an international phenomenon in the 1970s and 1980s, evolving in partà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ in reaction to the dramatic explosion of international media influence. At this point in time, news media was truly becoming international in scope. Many broadcasting companies maintained correspondents or sister stations in other nations, sharing information back and forth. This would lead to the first visions of terrorism for many peoples who had never seen it. Presently, the media can be responsible for perpetuating the climate of international terror. Another aspect to this concept is that the media can be used by terrorists for their purposes. Osama bin Laden released his now-infamous recorded statements using instruments of globalization. Many have seen video of bin Laden on American media outlets even though it was originally released to regional network Al-Jazeera. International media certainly is not the main byproduct that facilitates terror. Perhaps the main facilitator stemming from globalization is communications technologies. There are many devices taken for granted in Western society that changed the way terrorists operate, especially digital communications device. Clansmen fighting Americans in Somalia in the early 1990s used digital phones that could not be tapped. The internet, mobile phones, and instant messaging have given many terrorist groups a truly global reach. Leading up to the September 11 attacks, al-Qaeda operatives used Yahoo e-mail, while the presumed leader made reservations online and other members researched topics such as using crop dusters to release chemical agents Perhaps even more troubling is that these technologies can be used to disperse terrorists to different locations yet stay connected. Cells can stay in touch through internet communications while websites spread ideologies. It is estimated that al-Qaeda op erates in over sixty countries now as a result of using technologies inspired by globalization Globalization makes CBNR weapons increasingly available to terrorist groups. Information needed to build these weapons has become ubiquitous, especially through the internet. Among the groups interested in acquiring CBNR (besides al-Qaeda) are the PLO, the Red Army Faction, Hezbollah, the Kurdistan Workers Party, German neo-Nazis, and the Chechens. Globalization has enabled terrorist organizations to reach across international borders, in the same way (and often through the same channels) that commerce and business interests are linked. The dropping of barriers through the North American Free Trade Area and the European Union, for instance, has facilitated the smooth flow of many things among countries. This has allowed terrorist organizations as diverse as Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, and the Egyptian al-Gamaat al-Islamiyya to move about freely and establish cells around the world. Movements across borders can obviously en-able terrorists to carry out attacks and potentially evade capture, but it also complicates prosecution if they are apprehended, with a complex maze of extradition laws varying greatly from state to state. The increased permeability of the international system has also enhanced the ability of nonstate terrorist organizations to collect intelligence. States are not the only actors interested in collecting, disseminat ing, and/or acting on such information. In a sense, then, terrorism is in many ways becoming like any other international enterprise. Terrorist organizations are broadening their reach in gathering financial resources to fund their operations.. The list of groups with global financing networks is long and includes most of the groups identified by the U.S. government as foreign terrorist organizations. Sources of financing include legal enterprises such as nonprofit organizations and legitimate companies that divert profits to illegal activities and illegal enterprises such as drug smuggling and production. Websites are also important vehicles for raising funds. Although no comprehensive data are publicly available on how lucrative this avenue is, the proliferation of terrorist websites with links or addresses for

Free Essays on Homers Odyssey: Death and Rebirth :: Odyssey essays

Odyssey Death and Rebirth in the Odyssey The Odyssey, by Homer, is a classical piece of Greek literature. Throughout The Odyssey, the Blind Bard makes use of many literary techniques in order to lend meaning to the poem beyond its existence as a work of historic fiction and aid his readers in the comprehension of the tale. One of these techniques is the use of motifs. A motif is a recurring theme that is used throughout the work. In The Odyssey, Homer makes use of many motifs including eating/drinking, Odysseus's anger, bathing, and disguise, just to name a few. However, perhaps the most important of Homer's motifs is the symbolic death and rebirth theme. This motif is used throughout The Odyssey to emphasize the growth and enlightenment of the characters. The first example of this motif occurs with Telemachos early in the text. Telemachos, in book I, is visited by the goddess Athena in disguise. In their conversation, Telemachos reveals the pain and suffering that he is experiencing as a result of living without knowing the status of his father, fearing that he is dead. ". . . and he left pain and lamentation to me. Nor is it for him alone that I grieve in my pain now (The Odyssey, Latimore, I. 242-3)." Symbolically, at this point in the text, Telemachos is dead. He is willing to take no action to save his home from the suitors or take any initiative to determine the status of his missing father. However, his symbolic death is not without a rebirth. Athene, disguised as Mentes, brings Telemachos back to life. She convinces him that he must take action to preserve his household and determine the fate of his father. This prompts Telemachos to take over his father's role in the household and journey forward to gather information about his missing father. His rebirth is further carried out in the story when he is reunited with his father; together, the two act to regain control of their household from the derelict suitors. The next example of the death and rebirth motif occurs with our introduction to the story's main character and hero, Odysseus. Homer introduces Odysseus on the Kalypso's island. On a purely literal level, Odysseus's stay with Kalypso

Formal Letter to a Producer Arguing About the Acceptance

Dear Producer, I address you on behalf of the committee on what should be done about the book ‘World Wonders’. The committee would like to revoke the book from stores, but as you can see the committee has perplexed feelings about the matter as when interviewing the editor, he supplied us with the intentions for creating the book. The following letter contains a dispute on which you, Sir, decide to put your faith in. The views of the interviewer are as follows; the educational message is misleading as well as feeding an un-presidential thrust for this kind of precarious information.Children and adults who are engorged in these books tend to do out of the ordinary stunts to get in the book and get famous. Often this leads to danger on one’s self and others which include animals and other personals. Sometimes these records lead to death, heart diseases, obesity, anorexia and other diseases that can inflict the body in some way. Most records that require skill and ris k are underestimated for those which have been won by no effort and have been treated equal. The editor stressed out his argument that his book is acceptable in society as an educational material.He defines that the book has an educational motive as there is not many resource materials of that sort. He also states that it recognizes the human endeavors and their limits. Records that inflict human life leading to an unhealthy or life threatening consequences are immediately stopped before any damage is done. As for the records that focus on human endeavors are recognized greater than others as a team of professional judges trial the records to see if they fit the criteria and if not they are not published in the book.In addition to his argument, the editor states that the book could serve as the perfect gift as it holds great educational references. In all I favor the option of keeping this humanitarian resource in the market as information will be taken as knowledge and without know ledge there will be no future. Human development should be remarked to state the limits of mankind and what are our weaknesses as well as our strengths. Please state your decision as soon as possible. Regards, Bob Hatfeild

Course Note on Organizational Behaviour Essay

DEFINITION OF ORGANISATION According to Gary Johns, â€Å"Organisations are social inventions for accomplishing goals through group efforts†. This definition covers wide variety-of groups such as businesses, schools, hospitals, fraternal groups, religious bodies, government agencies and so on. There are three significant aspects in the above definition, which require further analysis. They are as follows: Social Inventions: The word â€Å"social† as a derivative of society basically means gathering of people. It is the people that primarily make up an organisation. Accomplishing Goals: All organisations have reasons for their existence. These reasons are the goals towards which all organisational efforts are directed. While the primary goal .of any commercial organisation is to make money for its owners, this goal is inter-related with many other goals. Accordingly, any organisational goal must integrate in itself the personal goals of all individuals associated with the organisation. Group Effort: People, both as members of the society at large and as a part of an organisation interact with each other and are inter-dependent. Individuals in themselves have physical and intellectual limitations and these limitations can only be overcome by group efforts. MEANING AND DEFINITION OF ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR Organisational behaviour is concerned with people’s thoughts, feelings, emotions and actions in setting up a work. Understanding an individual behaviour is in itself a challenge, but understanding group behaviour in an organisational environment is a monumental managerial task. As Nadler and Tushman put it, â€Å"Understanding one individual’s behaviour is challenging in and of itself; understanding a group that is made up of different individuals and comprehending the many relationships among those individuals is even more complex. Ultimately, the organisation’s work gets done through people, individually or collectively, on their, own or in collaboration with technology. Therefore, the management of organisational behaviour is central to the management task—a task that involves the capacity to â€Å"understand† the behaviour patterns of individuals, groups and organisations, to †predict'† what behavioural responses will be elicited by  various managerial actions and finally to use this understanding and these predictions to achieve â€Å"control†. Organisational behaviour can then be defined as: â€Å"The study of human behaviour in organisational settings, the interface between human behaviour and the organisational context, and the organisation itself.† The above definition has three parts—the individual behaviour, the organisation and the (interface between the two. Each individual brings to an organisation a unique set of beliefs, values, attitudes and other personal characteristics and these characteristics of all individuals must interact with each other in order to create organisational settings. The organisational behaviour is specifically concerned with work-related behaviour, which takes place in organisations. In addition to understanding; the on-going behavioural processes involved, in ‘their own jobs, managers must understand the basic human element of their work. Organisational behaviour offers three major ways of understanding this context; people as organisations, people as resources and people as people. Above all, organisations are people; and without people there would be no organisations. Thus, if managers are to understand the organisations in which they work, they must first understand the people who make up the organisations. As resources, people are one of the organisation’s most valuable assets. People create the organisation, guide and direct its course, and vitalise and revitalise it. People make the decisions, solve the problems, and answer the questions. As managers increasingly recognise the value of potential contributions by their employees, it will become more and more important for managers and employees to grasp the complexities of organisational behaviour. Finally, there is people as people – an argument derived from the simple notion of humanistic management. People spend a large part of their lives in; organisational settings, mostly as employees. They have a right to  expect something in return beyond wages and benefits. They have a right to expect satisfaction and to learn new skills. An understanding of organisational behaviour can help the manager better appreciate the variety of individual needs and’ expectations. Organisational behaviour is concerned with the characteristics and behaviours of employees in isolation; the characteristics and processes that are part of the organisation itself; ‘and the characteristics and behaviours directly resulting from people with their individual needs and motivations working within the structure of the organisation. One cannot understand an individual’s behaviour completely without learning something about that individual’s organisation. Similarly, he cannot understand how the organisation operates without; studying the people who-make it up. Thus, the organisation influences and is influenced by individuals. ELEMENTS OF ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR The key elements in the organisational behaviour are people,, structure, technology and the environment in which the organisation operates. People: People make up the internal and social system of the organisation. They consist of individuals and groups. The groups may be big or small; formal or informal; official or unofficial. Groups are dynamic and they work in the organisation to achieve their objectives. Structure: Structure defines the formal relationships of the people in organisations. Different people in the organisation are performing different type of jobs and they need to be (elated in some structural way so that their work can be effectively co-ordinated. Technology: Technology such as machines and work processes provide the resources with which people work and affects the tasks that they perform. The technology used has a significant influence on working relationships. It allows people to do more and work better but it also restricts’ people in various ways. Environment: All organisations operate within an external environment. It is the part of a larger system that contains many other elements such as government, family and other organisations. All of these mutually influence each other in a complex system that creates a context for a group of people. NATURE OF ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR Each individual brings to an organisation a unique set of personal characteristics, experiences from other organisation, the environment surrounding the organisation and1 they also possess a personal background. In considering the people working in an organisation, organisational behaviour must look at the unique perspective that each individual brings to the work setting. But individuals do not work in isolation. They come in contact with other individuals and the organisation in a variety of ways. Points of contact include managers, co-workers, formal policies and procedures of the organisation, and various changes implemented by the organisation. Over time, the individual, too, changes, as a function of both the personal experiences and the organisation. The organisation is also affected by the presence and eventual absence of the individual. Clearly, the study of organisational behaviour must consider the ways in which the individual and the organisation interact. An organisation, characteristically, exists before a particular person joins it and continues to exist after he leaves it. Thus, the organisation itself represents a crucial third perspective from which to view organisational behaviour. NEED FOR STUDYING ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR The rules of work are different from the rules of play. The uniqueness of rules and the environment of organisations forces managers to study organisational behaviour in order to learn about normal and abnormal ranges of behaviour. More specifically, organisational behaviour serves three purposes: What causes behaviour? Why particular antecedents cause behaviour? Which antecedents of behaviour can be controlled directly and which are beyond control? A more specific and formal course in organisational behaviour helps an individual to develop more refined and workable sets of assumption that is directly relevant to his work interactions. Organisational behaviour helps in predicting human behaviour in the organisational setting by drawing a clear distinction between individual behaviour and group behaviour. Organisational behaviour does not provide solutions to all complex and different behaviour puzzles of organisations. It is only the intelligent judgement of the manager in dealing with a specific issue that can try to solve the problem. Organisational behaviour only assists in making judgements that are derived from tenable assumptions; judgement that takes into account the important variables underlying the situation; judgement that are assigned due recognition to the complexity of individual or group behaviour; judgement that explicitly takes into account the managers own goals, motives, hang-ups, blind spots and weaknesses. IMPORTANCE OF ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR Organisational behaviour offers several ideas to management as to how human factor should be properly emphasised to achieve organisational objectives. Barnard has observed that an organisation is a conscious interaction of two or more people. This suggests that since an organisation is Ihe interaction of persons, they should be given adequate importance in managing the organisation. Organisational behaviour provides opportunity to management to analyse human behaviour and prescribe means for shaping it to a particular direction. Understanding Human Behaviour Organisational behaviour provides under ­standing the human behaviour in all directions in which the human beings interact. Thus, organisational behaviour can be understood at the individual level, interpersonal level, group level and inter-group level. Organisational behaviour helps to analyse ‘why’ and ‘how’ an individual behaves in a particular way. Human behaviour is a complex phenomenon and is affected by a large number of factors including the psychological, social and cultural implications. Organisational behaviour integrates these factors  to provide* simplicity in understanding the human behaviour. Interpersonal Level: Human behaviour can be understood at the level of interpersonal interaction. Organisational behaviour provides †¢ means for understanding the interpersonal relationships in an organisation. Analysis of reciprocal relationships, role analysis and transactional analysis are some of the common methods, which provide such understanding. Group Level: Though people interpret anything at their individual level, they are often modified by group pressures, which then become a force in shaping human behaviour, Thus, individuals should be studied in groups also.. Research in group dynamics has contributed vitally to organisational behaviour and shows how a group behaves in its norms, cohesion, goals, procedures, communication pattern and leadership. These research results are advancing managerial knowledge of understanding group behaviour, which is very important for organisational morale and productivity. Inter-group Level: The organisation is made up of many groups that develop complex relationships to build their process and substance. Understanding the effect of group relationships is important for managers in today’s organisation. Inter-group relationship may be in the form of co-operation or competition.

Free Essays on ODI Case Study

ODI Case EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In an attempt to reduce cannibalization among chickens on chicken farms, ODI a new company, was formed to market an agricultural innovation – (Contact lenses for chickens). ODI intends on marketing their new product to chicken farmers who are not familiar with the product and have been using the same method of de-beaking for 50 years. I recommend that ODI perform the following tasks to determine if they can market these contact lenses successfully: 1) Define the target market, market segmentation, size and characteristics. 2) Perform business analysis including Break Even Units and Break Even Sales to determine whether marketing the lenses will be profitable. 3) Develop a marketing strategy plan to introduce these lenses to the target market. 4) Identify the characteristics of the consumer adoption process to determine how they can attract early adopters. PROBLEM DEFINITION Once ODI determines that this product will be profitable they need to determine HOW to market these contact lenses to chicken farmers. There is currently no competition because the lenses have been recently developed, however, marketing this product to the chicken farmers will be difficult. ANALYSIS ODI wants to directly sell their new product to chicken farmers, their target market. Managers at ODI see the market as consisting of three segments- small farms (10,000 of few birds), medium farms (10,000-50,000 birds), and large farms (over 50,000 birds). Because Garrison, president and CEO of ODI, believes that a farm would have to have at least 10,000 birds to be profitable, the market segment should be limited to the medium and large farms. Mr Olsen, marketing V.P. of ODI, has decided to enter the market via region-by-region roll-out beginning in California. This was a good decision for Mr. Olsen because it is estimated that by the mid 70’s eighty percent of the chicken population would be on three per... Free Essays on ODI Case Study Free Essays on ODI Case Study ODI Case EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In an attempt to reduce cannibalization among chickens on chicken farms, ODI a new company, was formed to market an agricultural innovation – (Contact lenses for chickens). ODI intends on marketing their new product to chicken farmers who are not familiar with the product and have been using the same method of de-beaking for 50 years. I recommend that ODI perform the following tasks to determine if they can market these contact lenses successfully: 1) Define the target market, market segmentation, size and characteristics. 2) Perform business analysis including Break Even Units and Break Even Sales to determine whether marketing the lenses will be profitable. 3) Develop a marketing strategy plan to introduce these lenses to the target market. 4) Identify the characteristics of the consumer adoption process to determine how they can attract early adopters. PROBLEM DEFINITION Once ODI determines that this product will be profitable they need to determine HOW to market these contact lenses to chicken farmers. There is currently no competition because the lenses have been recently developed, however, marketing this product to the chicken farmers will be difficult. ANALYSIS ODI wants to directly sell their new product to chicken farmers, their target market. Managers at ODI see the market as consisting of three segments- small farms (10,000 of few birds), medium farms (10,000-50,000 birds), and large farms (over 50,000 birds). Because Garrison, president and CEO of ODI, believes that a farm would have to have at least 10,000 birds to be profitable, the market segment should be limited to the medium and large farms. Mr Olsen, marketing V.P. of ODI, has decided to enter the market via region-by-region roll-out beginning in California. This was a good decision for Mr. Olsen because it is estimated that by the mid 70’s eighty percent of the chicken population would be on three per...

Do Left and right-handed people have roughly the same reaction time with their dominant hand Essay Example

Do Left and right Do Left and right-handed people have roughly the same reaction time with their dominant hand Essay Do Left and right-handed people have roughly the same reaction time with their dominant hand Essay Hypothesis 1 I predict that left and right-handed people will have roughly the same reaction time with their dominant hand. Plan In order to prove my hypothesis I am going to use stratified random sampling, so that I get a fair sample to conduct my study. I will find both the average and the range to see if my hypothesis is correct. Stratified Random Sampling I am going to use 30 pieces of data for my sample. I sorted the data excluding any that did not say what hand they used or used both hands as their dominant. Firstly I must find the ratio of left handed people to right: There are 300 pieces of data in total. There are 32 left handed people. And 268 right handed people. In order to find the ratio I have to divide the number of left handed people with the total number of people, and then I have to multiply the answer by 30. I have to do the same to the right. Left= 32 / 300 x 30 = 3.2 Right=268 / 300 x 30 = 26.8 The ratio is 3.2 : 26.8 (left : right) Because we are dealing with people we can use decimals so we have to round the decimals. The ratio comes to 3:27 This means we have to choose 3 left handed people and 27 right handed people (the ratio should add up to 30). Because we are using stratified random sampling we cannot just pick the data ourselves, we have to use a calculator. You type in Ran# (number of sample, which in this case is 30). In order not to get decimals you must put it on fix mode. My stratified random samples are numbers: Left; 3, 9 and 8 Right; 181, 150, 226, 110, 120, 89, 169, 132, 98, 109, 95, 47, 5, 105, 113, 195, 191, 193, 149, 214, 9, 221, 258, 51, 189, 185 and 247. Averages In order to find the averages you have to add up the first, second and third attempt, then divide by number of attempt, which are 3. Left handed averages with dominant hand (samples): 0.64 seconds 0.27 seconds 0.27 seconds Right handed averages with dominant hand (samples): 0.25 seconds 0.18 seconds 0.25 seconds 0.30 seconds 0.38 seconds 0.19 seconds 0.42 seconds 0.33 seconds 0.39 seconds 0.50 seconds 0.25 seconds 0.25 seconds 0.39 seconds 0.28 seconds 0.25 seconds 0.47 seconds 0.24 seconds 0.41 seconds 0.22 seconds 0.31 seconds 0.20 seconds 0.39 seconds 0.27 seconds 0.29 seconds 0.25 seconds 0.33 seconds To find the total average for the left / right hand you have to add up all your results and divide by number of results. Total left hand = 1.18/3 = 0.39 Total right hand =7.41/27 =0.27 From this I can see that right handed people have a quicker reaction time with there dominant hand than left handed people do. Range To find the range between the total right hand and the total left I must take the smallest one away from the biggest. Range = 0.39-0.27 =0.12 Although right handed people have quicker reaction times than left handed people do, it is not by much, there is only 12 hundredths between them. Conclusion From my study I can conclude that right-handed people are faster than left. But I think that my hypothesis is correct because I predicted that left and right-handed people would have roughly the same reaction time with their dominant hand and the difference between them is only 12 hundredths of a second. Hypothesis 2 I predict that if you have a fast reaction time with your right hand you will have a fast reaction with your left and vice versa. Plan In order to prove my hypothesis I am going to do a random sample, using 50 pieces of data. I will draw a scatter graph to see whether my hypothesis is true. In order to draw my scatter diagram I must take both left hand and right hands averages and plot them against each other. For example if my right hand average was 0.63 seconds and my left was 0.54 I would plot 0.63 across the right hand axis (which we could say would be x) then from 0.54 I would go up and plot 0.63 across the left hand axis (which would be y). from this graph I hope to see whether there is negative/positive correlation or if there is none. Random sampling In order to random sample I will have to use my calculator. To do this you have to type in Ran#(total data-300) My Random samples are : Left hand average Right hand average 0.32 0.57 1.04 0.36 0.95 0.25 0.40 0.31 0.50 0.33 0.30 0.33 0.33 0.33 0.31 0.38 0.39 0.33 0.36 0.33 0.22 0.19 0.28 0.28 0.33 0.36 0.33 0.28 0.22 0.25 0.28 0.25 0.33 0.33 0.27 0.41 0.33 0.39 0.39 0.3 0.88 0.69 0.25 0.44 0.25 0.41 0.22 0.18 0.62 0.273333333 0.24 0.253333333 0.28 0.5 0.28 0.25 0.22 0.25 0.28 0.33 0.31 0.296666667 0.28 0.24 0.27 0.22 0.29 0.253333333 0.31 0.276666667 0.22 0.18 0.22 0.22 0.23 0.203333333 0.64 0.2 0.29 0.293333333 0.28 0.25 0.31 0.29 0.27 0.22 0.31 0.28 0.14 0.27 0.31 0.39 0.27 0.27 0.89 0.49 0.23 0.22 Scatter Graph From my graph I can see that there is little correlation. Although after looking at it for a little while I have come to the conclusion that you can see the majority of the points that are quick with there left hand are also quick with there right, but there are still a number of exceptions. Conclusion I have come to the conclusion that my hypothesis is not fully correct although, I can see that for the majority it is (the majority being roughly 60%) that it is correct.

The Globalisation of McDonalds and the Role of Management Essay

The Globalisation of McDonalds and the Role of Management - Essay Example McDonald’s Conquers the world. Fortune, October, 17, 103-116. 12 VIGNALI, C. 2001. McDonald’s:â€Å"think global, act local†Ã¢â‚¬â€œthe marketing mix. British Food Journal, 103, 97-111. 12 WATSON, J. L. 2006. Golden arches east: McDonald's in East Asia, Stanford Univ Pr. 12 Executive Summary McDonalds is a widely known brand that is recognised throughout the world. It was begun by Ray Kroc who saw potential in a small drive-in restaurant ran by two brothers. Through his passion and leadership the company grew to its current standing and continues to grow. This report focus on four aspects, first it examines what traits made Ray Kroc and James Cantalupo good leaders and good managers for the company. Following this it examines the elements of business strategies for the company and how they increase the business. Then it considers the fast food industry as a whole and finally looks at changes in organisation to make it more globalized. Introduction McDonalds is a multinational corporation that spans the globe, and is often considered one of the most successful business empires. The franchise was originally born from a drive-in restaurant named McDonald’s Bar-B-Que which began in 1940. In 1948 the restaurant was shut down for alterations and reopened as a drive-in restaurant, selling a total of nine items, the most important of which was the 15 cent hamburger. The big change to the business came when salesman 52-year old Ray Kroc visited McDonalds and takes a position as a nationwide franchising agent for the company (McDonalds, 2011). Following the introduction of Kroc to the company McDonalds become connected to many of the icons and symbols that it is associated with today. The first restaurant had red and white tiles as well as the now famous Golden Arches which... McDonalds is a multinational corporation that spans the globe, and is often considered one of the most successful business empires. The franchise was originally born from a drive-in restaurant named McDonald’s Bar-B-Que which began in 1940. In 1948 the restaurant was shut down for alterations and reopened as a drive-in restaurant, selling a total of nine items, the most important of which was the 15 cent hamburger. The big change to the business came when salesman 52-year old Ray Kroc visited McDonalds and takes a position as a nationwide franchising agent for the company. Following the introduction of Kroc to the company McDonalds become connected to many of the icons and symbols that it is associated with today. The first restaurant had red and white tiles as well as the now famous Golden Arches which were designed for the brand. Within the space of ten years more than 700 McDonald’s restaurants had opened across the United States. McDonalds expanded internationally in 1967 by opening restaurants in Puerto Rico and Canada. In the present day, the corporation has restaurants in 117 countries worldwide, with the total restaurant number totalling over 32,000. McDonalds faced many challenges with its worldwide expansion. An example of this was its expansion into India. In 1996 it opened its first restaurant in New Delhi, where it drew substantial criticism for the sale of beef I its other restaurants, even though it was not offering beef products in New Delhi.

Leadership (Task oriented and People oriented) Essay

Leadership (Task oriented and People oriented) - Essay Example People-oriented leadership is quite different from task-oriented leadership, involving a focus on interpersonal relationship development between leader and subordinates. There is an emphasis on team-building and facilitating an open system of communications in order to motivate employees. People-oriented leadership works to create positive psychological or sociological connections with employees, a type of transformational leadership, with much more human resources-based policies and practices designed to gain commitment and ensure that there is no resistance to change. Having defined both task-oriented and people-oriented leadership styles, there are several circumstances where each would be applicable. Task-oriented leadership would be most relevant within an organization where there are strict quality standards and performance expectations. For instance, Toyota, a leader in quality, would be concerned with compliance to specific rules and regulations associated with production and achievement of quality outputs. A task-oriented leader would develop rigorous schedules in order to produce quality results. In this type of production environment, there would be established important quality expectations that are expected to be met, creating a system of rewards or punishments for failing to produce quality products along the production system. The task-oriented leader at a company such as Toyota would have strict deadlines in place to ensure timely delivery of quality products and then working to monitor and evaluate whether the employees have met with delivery and performance expectations. A people-oriented leader would be relevant within an organization where service delivery is highly important for ensuring business profitability. This people-oriented leader would begin emphasizing training importance and working as a coach to help individuals in the organization become self-actualized, the achievement of their maximum potential. It is about building a positiv e organizational culture where focus is placed on building self-confidence, better inter-organizational relationships, and where social belonging is an important part of building a team necessary to carry out positive customer service models. To develop this type of culture, the manager must be visible throughout the organization, role model positive behaviors related to service delivery, and open effective and regular lines of communication for shared decision-making (Fairholm 26). Task-oriented leadership is also found outside of the workplace, such as in academics when students are granted opportunities to coordinate and lead a team of study or in special academic projects. Many universities establish strict deadlines by which a team is expected to return a positive end result after collaborating with one another. A task-oriented leader would develop specific job roles required to achieve a group project, such as delegating research efforts, conducting market research, and the ac tual writing of the project to different members. It would then become a step-by-step process with clearly defined roles and then establishing a system by which to monitor and control activities to ensure maximum productivity. People-oriented leadership is also relevant outside of the workplace and an appropriate example of this would be when working as a grief counselor at the local charity. Individual staff members

Loyalty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Loyalty - Essay Example Marketing has become one of the most important disciplines in business administration. The level of success an organization achieves depends on its ability to satisfy the needs of the customers by providing products and service they seek at reasonable prices that add value. A strategy that many multinational corporations have pursued for many create a brand image that will help companies achieve customer loyalty. Customer loyalty can be defined as a deeply held commitment to re-buy or repatronize a preferred product or service in the future despite situational influences and marketing efforts having the potential to cause switching behavior (Kotler, 2002, p.294). This paper examines the concept of loyalty in order to evaluate the statement there is no such thing as customer loyalty anymore. Customer loyalty is key business strategy utilized to increase the levels of customer retention within a firm. A high customer retention rate adds value to a company because these customers represent future stream of revenues that the company can achieve with minimal marketing investment. There is a basic marketing rule that states that 80% of a company’s sales come from 20% of their customers (About, 2009). This implies that building a solid foundation of customer is extremely important for the long term success of a company. The stronger the sense of loyalty a customer feels towards the product of a company, the less likely this individual will purchase the goods or services from a competitor. A marketing quantitative analysis performed by Hughes (2009) of Fast Lube Corporation revealed that the longer a customer is retained the more the person spends annually with the company. One of the basis reasons marketing exist is to help a firm increase its sales totals. The sales of a company increase if the company is able to growth its customer base or if the

Compare and Contrast the Courage Theme in The kite runner and The life Essay

Compare and Contrast the Courage Theme in The kite runner and The life of Pi - Essay Example The Kite Runner is a story revolving around family, friendship, betrayal, and salvation.  This is a story of a young boy, Amir, who moves to America together with his father Baba after their servants- Ali and his son Hassan- left their home. Baba tries hard to make life possible in America. After his father falling sick for some time and dies, leaving him married and forced back to Afghanistan by a family friend where he realizes that Hassan is his half- brother, a secret kept from him by his father. During massacre, Hassan and his wife died leaving a son who lived with Amir and his wife in America later on. In this paper, the courage theme in both the Life of Pi and the Kite Runner, exploring how the two stories relate is my major concern. Seeking redemption, love and tension between father and son and the persistence of the past are the major themes in the Kite Runner. Themes in the life of pie are the nature of religious belief and the will to survive. The two stories relate in various ways especially when comparing the themes. For instance, the religious factor is inevitable in the two stories. In the Kite Runner, one of the courage themes is search for redemption. This is evidenced by Amir’s departure to America in order to start a new life with the aim of being born again, to leave behind sins and suffering and find a life full of freedom and finding forgiveness. Hassan’s death has really affected him and he thinks that this is the only way to let go off his past. Similarly, in the Life of Pi, religion is a common aspect. Pi was born in Hinduism. According to BookCaps, BookCaps Study Guides Staff, Pi does not forget about religious beliefs when he survives from the boat as he â€Å"modifies his rituals to work for him in his current state† (Life of Pi 7). This implies that, all his life since childhood, he gave religion first priority and will stick to it always no matter what difficulty comes his way. The aspect of the â€Å"survi val for the fittest† also characterizes both stories. Pi’s survival from the lifeboat was so miraculous because he was stuck there with a tiger, zebra, and hyena. The time he spent in the lifeboat was very strenuous and had to come up with proper strategy in order to survive. Although he was a vegetarian, the only way he had to adopt in order to survive and move on with his journey was to feed on what was available, which was fish. Pi also had to restrict himself to the safest places of the boat (â€Å"BookCaps, BookCaps Study Guides Staff,† Life of Pi 6). Sobra is also a survivor. After his parents’ death due to massacre, he manages to escape narrowly from the massacre and in the end finds a safer place to stay with his stepfather, Amir. There is the father- son relationship in both stories. Pi’s father developed a good relationship with his two sons. BookCaps, BookCaps Study Guides Staff states that they were taught zoo keeping since their father was a renowned zookeeper in India. He loved and cared for them so much and they left India together as a family to Canada (Life of Pi 6). Additionally, BookCaps, BookCaps Study Guides Staff narrates that Amir loved Baba even though they sometimes had differences with him and he thinks that he lives his life to his father’s expectations. After father’s death in America, he came back to Afghanistan but he finds life challenged by his pas deed and so he decides to leave again to America where he also fathered Hassan’

Is Competition Good Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Is Competition Good - Essay Example In any case to adequately support competition, authorities must comprehend when competition itself is the issues reason, not its cure. Market competition, while hurting a few members, frequently profits public opinion. Anyhow does competition dependably profit public opinion? (Stucke, 2103) In business, competition prompts innovation. If youre the player in your field, it could be troublesome to progress. And in case youre working in a packed business, you wont succeed by doing what other a person does. Sound competition supports change which will recognize your organization from others through technology, item adjustments or by enhancing the client experience. (Forbes, 2014). Moreover, customer services are enhanced due to competition because as one of a few organizations offering a comparable item, an organization is compelled to vie for clients. Enhancing client administration enhances the chances of customer retention. (Forbes, 2014). Competition also shakes off complacency. In the event that an association is reliably attempting to advance and better itself, their workers will be urged to inspire themselves. (Forbes, 2014). Competition encourages an organization to concentrate on their core customer and target audiences. On the off chance that an organization is f ocusing on a particular geological area or demographic, market challengers sway them to better understand that setting. In doing in this way, they will have the capacity to better accommodate that target demographic/setting. (Forbes, 2014). Seeing what one’s rivals do well can show you things about one’s own business. Their practices may well furnish an organization with profitable knowledge into the state of the business sector, and help demonstrate to them; what works – and what does*3not. (Forbes, 2014) The Late Franklin D. Roosevelt once said: â€Å"Competition has been shown to be useful up to a certain point and no further, but

Loyalty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Loyalty - Essay Example Marketing has become one of the most important disciplines in business administration. The level of success an organization achieves depends on its ability to satisfy the needs of the customers by providing products and service they seek at reasonable prices that add value. A strategy that many multinational corporations have pursued for many create a brand image that will help companies achieve customer loyalty. Customer loyalty can be defined as a deeply held commitment to re-buy or repatronize a preferred product or service in the future despite situational influences and marketing efforts having the potential to cause switching behavior (Kotler, 2002, p.294). This paper examines the concept of loyalty in order to evaluate the statement there is no such thing as customer loyalty anymore. Customer loyalty is key business strategy utilized to increase the levels of customer retention within a firm. A high customer retention rate adds value to a company because these customers represent future stream of revenues that the company can achieve with minimal marketing investment. There is a basic marketing rule that states that 80% of a company’s sales come from 20% of their customers (About, 2009). This implies that building a solid foundation of customer is extremely important for the long term success of a company. The stronger the sense of loyalty a customer feels towards the product of a company, the less likely this individual will purchase the goods or services from a competitor. A marketing quantitative analysis performed by Hughes (2009) of Fast Lube Corporation revealed that the longer a customer is retained the more the person spends annually with the company. One of the basis reasons marketing exist is to help a firm increase its sales totals. The sales of a company increase if the company is able to growth its customer base or if the

Is Competition Good Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Is Competition Good - Essay Example In any case to adequately support competition, authorities must comprehend when competition itself is the issues reason, not its cure. Market competition, while hurting a few members, frequently profits public opinion. Anyhow does competition dependably profit public opinion? (Stucke, 2103) In business, competition prompts innovation. If youre the player in your field, it could be troublesome to progress. And in case youre working in a packed business, you wont succeed by doing what other a person does. Sound competition supports change which will recognize your organization from others through technology, item adjustments or by enhancing the client experience. (Forbes, 2014). Moreover, customer services are enhanced due to competition because as one of a few organizations offering a comparable item, an organization is compelled to vie for clients. Enhancing client administration enhances the chances of customer retention. (Forbes, 2014). Competition also shakes off complacency. In the event that an association is reliably attempting to advance and better itself, their workers will be urged to inspire themselves. (Forbes, 2014). Competition encourages an organization to concentrate on their core customer and target audiences. On the off chance that an organization is f ocusing on a particular geological area or demographic, market challengers sway them to better understand that setting. In doing in this way, they will have the capacity to better accommodate that target demographic/setting. (Forbes, 2014). Seeing what one’s rivals do well can show you things about one’s own business. Their practices may well furnish an organization with profitable knowledge into the state of the business sector, and help demonstrate to them; what works – and what does*3not. (Forbes, 2014) The Late Franklin D. Roosevelt once said: â€Å"Competition has been shown to be useful up to a certain point and no further, but

Food and beverage Management Essay Example for Free

Food and beverage Management Essay I have read and understood the London School of Business and Finance Regulations and Policies relating to academic misconduct. I declare that: This submission is entirely my own original piece of work. It has not been submitted for a previous assessment in LSBF or any other institution. Wherever published, unpublished, printed, electronic or other information sources have been used as a contribution or component of this work, these are explicitly, clearly and individually acknowledged by appropriate use of quotation marks, citations, references and statements in the text. I understand that penalties will be incurred for late submission of work. STUDENT SIGNATURE: Ahonou Rosalie DATE: 21/09/2014 NOTE – Please complete the details below Have you submitted any Reasonable Adjustment Requests? Yes / No Date of submission: TASK 1 Understand different food and beverage production and service systems LO1. 1. 1 The characteristics of food production and food and beverage service systems INTRODUCTION Food production and food and beverage service systems is about an area where menu is planned, raw materials are purchased and received. It is also about Food service where Food and beverage are provided to the guests included a wide range of styles and cuisine types, all alcoholic and non- 1 / 3 alcoholic drinks. To make a successful Food and Beverage Service, you need to develop well interpersonal skills, product knowledge skills to buy raw material. Food and Beverage Production I am going to explain some methods: Traditional Partie Method: the majority of food is buying condiments or raw. It is easy to provide the receipt and store goods, the preparation, cooking, holding and service of food and there are dishwashing facilities as well. That method is good for the staff because the staff can move quickly from their place to the service counter (the distance is short). The communication link-up is necessary for the department and food flow is systematic. There is easy access to raw food materials from storage areas. Centralised Production Method: centralised production methods explain how the separation of the production and service components of the food flow system work or operate by place or time or both. So food that is centrally produced is distributed to the point of the point of service in batches or pre-portioned. It could be transported in a ready-to-eat box or in a ready-to-serve state, for example hot or frozen food. I give some advantages of centralised production methods â€Å"the introduction of a storage stage between production and service allows the production unit to work to maximum efficiency and with a better utilisation of staff and equipment† and â€Å"energy consumption can be reduced by careful scheduling and by a continuous run of single products†. Here is a disadvantage of centralised production method â€Å"hygiene problems or food contamination could have big repercussions than a problem in an individual kitchen. Cook-Freeze Production Methods: the word cook-freeze involves a catering system which is based on the whole cooking of food and followed by quick freezing. That food is stored in a controlled low temperature of -18 degree Celsius or less then is followed by subsequent complete reheating close to the consumer, prior to prompt consumption. The process involves raw food, food storage, pre- preparation, cooking, portioning, blast freezing, cold storage, distribution, regeneration. Cook-Chill Production Methods: it is the same process with Cook-Freeze production. The only different are that the cooking of food is stored in a controlled low temperature, but just above freezing point and then between 0 degree Celsius to +3 degree Celsius. Therefore it has a short shelf life compared to cook-freeze of up to five days including the day of production, distribution time and regeneration. The process involves raw food, cooking, portioning, blast chilling, chill storage, distribution, regeneration. The benefits of Cook-Chill and Cook-Freeze to the employers: there will have a portion control and a reduced waste, the production will be adjusted, the staff time will be fully utilised, no more weekend work and overtime. To the customers: the variety and selection of food will increased, the standards will be maintained with a quality improvement and the services can be maintained at all times even no staff. Sous vide methods: the sous vide system involves the preparation of quality raw foods, pre-cooking when necessary. You put or placed the raw foods into special plastic bags and you vacuum the air from the special plastic bags and then you seal properly the bags. After sealing you steam cooking to pasteurisation temperatures. From then the food product can be served direct to the customers at this stage or can be chilled quickly to +1 degree Celsius to +3 degree Celsius and stored between 0 degree Celsius to +3 degree Celsius for a maximum of twenty-one days. That method increases the potential shelf-life of normal coo-chill in three ways: when you remove the air from the plastic bags the growth of bacteria is restricted. Because the food is cooked at pasteurisation temperatures that helps the destruction of most microorganisms and finally because the food has been sealed within the bags is protected during storage any regeneration from any contamination. Different services of Food and Beverage systems Table d’hote menus: this type of menu contains the popular type dishes and is easier to control because the price has already been fixed for whatever the customer chooses, that setting depend on the main dish chosen. The characteristics of a table d’hote menu are being a restricted menu, offering a small number of courses (three or four), limited choice within each course, fixed selling 2 / 3 price and all the dishes are being ready at a set time. A la carte menus: a la carte menu is a larger menu than a table d’hote menu and offer a variety choice. The menus are listing under the course headings and then the establishment could prepare all the dishes. Those dishes will be prepared to order and each dish will also be priced separately. A la carte menu is more expensive than a table d’hote menu because it contains often the exotic and high cost seasonal foods. Table service: the customer enters in the restaurant and takes seat, he/her makes the order from the menu and the Staff brings it to him/her. After finish dinning the staff clears the table. Sectors where there are food service industry: Bistro, Brasserie, Coffee Shop, First Class Restaurants, Cafeteria, Fast-food outlets and Licensed Bars. For all those sectors, the main aim is to achieve customer satisfaction, for that everything you do should meet the customers’ needs physiologically, economically, socially, psychologically and convenience. The Staff should have knowledge or experience in Food and Beverage service. The restaurant should have service methods and necessary staff skills. They should have a higher level of cleanliness and hygiene; have an idea of value for money or price and also the atmosphere. The staff should know how to make the preparation for service (Mis-en-place), take customer food and beverage order, clean for hygiene, and make the bill. They should control the atmosphere in order to satisfy customers’ needs. 1. 2 The factors that affect recipes and menus for specific systems The restaurant should establish a clear list of menu to inform customers what is available to them. The Staff provides a general presentation of the menu on the course headings that should be attractive, clean, and easy to read for language, price, sales mix with accuracy, show the size and form, layout of the menu, nutritional content, health and eating, and special diets (inform people who are allergic, diabetic, have low cholesterol and low sodium). Also the cultural and religious dietary influences can affect recipes and menus as well. Example Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Roman Catholics, Vegetarians. 1. 3 Comparison of the coast and the staffing implications POWERED BY TCPDF (WWW. TCPDF. ORG).

Illegal Immigration Immigrants

Illegal Immigration Immigrants Running Head: Illegal Immigration in the US: Is it hurting us or helping us? Introduction For years, the debate on unauthorized immigrants has been a hot topic in the United States. Although it is an issue that has been a part of our society for a long time, it is a very difficult issue to study. The amount of illegal immigrants that have made the country their homes is not an actually known number. Many of the illegal men, women, and children that we have living in the US have not been observed or accounted for making it hard to distinguish just how big the problem is. In addition to this issue of unaccountability, the nation has yet to develop a census that asks members of our society of their legal status in the US. This has been an ongoing debate and it seems as though, despite the many departments established and bills passed on this issue, we will never find a common ground. Should we continue to spend money and time trying to fight the illegal migration of unauthorized immigrants in the US or are their presences helping to build a stronger nation? Illegal immigration in the US is a complex issue for several reasons. There has been a history of attempts to control the illegal population in the US, but yet and still, we have no answer. The number of immigrants that we have living in the US is not precisely known making it hard to determine how large the issue is and how wide spread is it affecting our nation. Where do we start if we dont know where they are? The complexity of the issue is one that needs to be observed more than the prevalence of the issue because no one on this side of statistical research and the analysis of our population has proven that this is indeed a problem for our economy and the society we live in. Some of the nations economist and business owners have determined that the American economy depends on illegal workers because they except low-wage jobs, pay taxes and spend money, all of which expands back to our national economy. On the other hand, there are illegal immigrants that are in the US to take advantage of the services that our federal government provides to the less fortunate. States such as California, Texas, Florida and Arizona are concerned with the large amounts of unauthorized immigrants in their jurisdictions and are seeking government assistance to provide education, health care and other social services that the state is required by law to provide to every person that abides in that state. Looking at the issue from this perspective would cause one to think that the cost of providing a â€Å"better† life to an unauthorized immigrant is too high. This review of the effects of illegal immigration is not something we can devote one field of study or one discipline to. The problem is so complex that when you look at the issue from one perspective it eliminates the chances of finding a common ground due to the biases of the research. The fast growth of our population can take effects on our government policies, education system, work force and job availability, health care system, and the amounts of crime that any one city may face. With an increased number of people there are to take care of, there is a decreased amount of resources to provide to any one individual or family. This issue lacks the simplicity of a right or wrong answer. Illegal immigration is an issue that needs to be research based on an interdisciplinary perspective based on the premise that, devoting one discipline to the study leaves out so many important factors and arguments that are for or against this issue. The number of disciplines that have taken an interest in this subject can range from government to the institution of the family but in this paper we will focus on the disciplines of Economics, Sociology and Political Science. These three disciplines have been proven to provide analysis of this issue on a wide spread basis. The study of economics includes the study of labor, land, and investments, of money, income, and production, and of taxes and government expenditures. According to the Gallop Poll, 66% of Americans believe that illegal immigrants are costing taxpayers too much money by using up government services such as public education and medical programs, rather than becoming productive citizens. At the same time, 74% of the people surveyed insisted that illegal immigrants in the US are helping the economy because they are willing to take low-paying jobs that most Americans are not willing to take. The problems that an illegal worker can cause on the economy are apparent in many of the scholarly studies on this issue and common ground seems far from being discovered. Sociology is the study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behavior. Sociologists investigate the structure of groups, organizations, and societies, and how people interact within these contexts. Illegal immigration is obviously one of those issues that are affecting our society as a whole. Every year the size of the population living illegally increases by as much as 500,000 people. This flow of people is exploited by criminal structure involved in the smuggling of people and trafficking of illegal documents across the border. Illegal immigration has become a drain on social services and because of the conditions in which illegal immigrants work and live, many have found it difficult to follow the law and are at risk of becoming under-class and the source of social conflict. Political science is the study of governments, public policies and political processes, systems,  and political behavior. The government in the US has attempted to reduce illegal immigration mainly by making use of two immigration policies: border patrol and employer sanctions. Each year the border patrol makes more than a million apprehensions of aliens that violate our nations laws by unlawfully crossing US borders. Such entry is a misdemeanor, but, if repeated, becomes punishable as a felony. In addition to sneaking into the country in violation of the immigration law, others enter with legal documentation and overstay their welcome. Political Science is at the heart of this debate because the government is the sole source of the policies and procedures that we must follow. The purpose of this paper is to identify the negative and the positive effects of illegal immigration in the United States and come up with a valid answer to the question†¦is the illegal immigration population in the US helping our nation or hurting it? So much time and effort has been spent on this issue and there is still no common ground. The policies and the procedures that have been set aside to regulate this mass of migration have failed to do so in several ways and with each year that passes by the issue of illegal immigrants prove itself to be uncontrollable. Should we establish a comprehensive effort to end illegal immigration once and for all or should the people of our nation accept the fact that there is no answer to the problem and move on to other important issues that are affecting us? This paper will establish an answer to just that. Background The United States holds the prestige of being the best country in the world to live in. It is the land of freedom with endless opportunities. It is understandable why citizens of poorer, foreign countries are flocking to the US. America give immigrants the opportunity to receive higher wages and an increased amount of employment options. It is an opportunity for them to have a better life and provide a better life for their families. America in its simplest form can be considered a melting pot of all different kinds of people. There are hundreds if not thousands of different race groups, ethnic groups, and religion living on one common ground. Generation after generation people from all over the world have com e to America to start a new life. Some of these immigrants follow the rules of entrance and others do not. We not only share our land and country with Americans, we also share with a very large population of illegal immigrants. Often times when Americans think of illegal immigration, the first thing that comes to mind is the crossing of Mexicans illegally across the US border. The truth is, Mexicans are not the only illegal immigrants that we host in our country. An illegal immigrant is any foreign national that has resettled in the US in violation of immigration and nationality laws (White). There are a number of people from all over the globe that have illegal entered America and others that have overstay ed their welcome according to these same laws. Illegal immigration in the US is not a problem that is new to American people. It is one of the issues that we have dealt with for a very long time. Illegal Immigration reform can be dated back as far as 1891, which is when the first laws on immigration was established in the United States. At this time legislators were given the right to deport people living in the US with illegal status. The act also put a tax on immigrants landing on US soil. Immigrants would have to pay a 30 to 40 cent fee and the monies collected went towards things to help the town that the immigrant has landed in. This was the beginning of the citizens starting to notice the impact illegal immigration had on the country. Although the issue was recognized legislation didnt do so well. At that time illegal immigration was not seen as a big problem as many see it today. As years went on, the American government used different tactics in order to regulate the excessive amounts of foreign nationals entering the country. There were quota systems which limited the amount of people that could reside in the US from one particular country. In a way, one can say this system used prejudice tactics because members of the committee decided which ethnic groups of people were most and least desirable to live in the US. In 1952 the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) was put into place. This act was basically our way of governing citizenship and immigration in the US. The INA gave authorities the right to deploy illegal immigrants once apprehended and questioned. The act also prohibited the entry of citizens from certain countries into the US. This act, also known as the McCarran-Walter act, is the basis of immigration law enforcement today. The INA relied on a national origins quota system also with a preference system for Eastern Hemisphere immigrants, and wa s concerned with excluding and removing subversives and communists (Weissinger). Since the INS was first established, several amendments have been established in an attempt to put the illegal immigration crisis at ease. This paper does not go into detail on each of the legislations but it is apparent in research that the road to a perfect policy on immigration is a long one. By 1954, illegal immigration was perceived as so serious that the US Border Patrol launched â€Å"Operation Wetback† during which more than a million undocumented Mexican migrants were rounded up and deported back to Mexico (Espenshade). Within 5 years the number of illegal immigrant apprehensions dropped by 95% to fewer than 50,000 in 1959. This was a good start to correcting the problem but it wasnt a permanent fix which brings us to the Immigration Act of 1965. It was established after the Immigration and Nationality Act and it repealed the national origins quota system. This gave people of all nations the right to migrate to the United States regardless of their country of origin. In 1986, the Immigration Reform and Control Act was signed into law by President Reagan. It included amnesty for aliens who could establish residence in the United States by January 1, 1982. It allowed over 4 million immigrants to rightfully stay in the US. The act also allowed employer sanctions aimed at removing the lure of employment and gave a special exception for those aliens working in the field of agriculture. The IRCA is a very detailed description of the policies that are supposed to be enforced by immigration regulatory agencies. A strong emphasis was put on the employment of illegal immigrants. It made it unlawful for employers to hire an immigrant knowing of his or her illegal status and it also made it illegal to employ a person without receiving documents required to prove that persons citizenship. Before this act, employers were getting involved in hiring undocumented worker but once the act took place, it made the penalties for this much higher causing the numbers of employers that were not in compliance to fall. Another issue related to illegal immigration is crime. Having an increased amount of people in the country that then, because of the Immigration Reform and Control Act, cant work, increased the amount of crimes throughout American cities. The Immigration Act of 1990, which actually took effect in 1992, attempted to remove illegal immigrants with aggravated felony convictions (Weissinger). As far as the removal and deportation of criminals was concerned, the Immigration Act was successful but other stipulations within the act allowed for the number of visas provided to foreigners for employment-based immigration to more than double. The focus on removing criminal aliens continued with the addition of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA). This act attempted to apply retroactivity to aggravated aliens felons in the United States. Over several years over 5,000 Border Patrol agents and 300 interior enforcement agents were added to the tasks force. The IIRIRA and all of the various amendments to immigration reform are under continuous judicial review which makes it difficult for all of the different agencies regulating this to get on one accord. A major player in the difficulty of regulating illegal immigration in the US is the fact that the actual number of illegal immigrants we have living in the US is not a known number. In addition to the number of illegal immigrants entering the US not being observed, there is also no census or other federally sponsored survey asks respondents of their legal status. Basically, we can guess how many illegal immigrants are living in the US but we will never reach an actual number. The Immigration and Nationalization Service only documents the number of illegal immigrants that have been apprehended. It does not count the number of illegal immigrants that have actually made it into the US. The Immigration and Nationalization Service is the main source of immigration reform. The two major functions of the INS include service to the public and enforcement. There is a right and a wrong way to enter the country and for those trying to obtain legal status in the correct way, the INS is there to help. The service provided involves processing applications for benefits such as lawful permanent residence and citizenship. In order for the strategies of the INS to work successful, interior enforcement must be the most important factor in controlling immigration. Interior enforcement includes investigations, deportation, and inspections. These are all separate units within the INS. Critics of the INS claim that much more time is spent on border control than on the investigations. Based on the national census in 2000, the US Census Bureau puts the estimate of illegal immigrants at 8.7 million. Since then, United States immigration officials have said the number has grown by as much as 500,000 every year. It is apparent why illegal immigration is an issue for most Americans but it is difficult to find a solution that really works. Many scholars from fields such as political science, economics, geography and social science have studied and suggested their theories and beliefs on illegal immigration in America. The issue is however too complex and the window is way to big to see it from one view. Integration is needed to get a clear understanding of the effects and future of this phenomenon. References Political Science Wessinger, PhD, George (11/7/2003).The Illegal Alien Problem: Enforcing the Immigration Laws. New York Institute of Technology. CIBC66-327, 1-9 Orrenius, Pia (2001). Illegal Immigration and Enforcement along the U.S.-Mexico Border: An Overview. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, 1, Retrieved 2/1/2008, from www.frbd.com Woodland, Alan D., Yoshinda, Chisato (7/2004). Risk Preference, immigration policy and illegal immigration. Journal of Development Economics. 81, 500-513. Sociology Knickerbocker, Brad (5/16/2006). Illegal Immigrants in the US: How many are there?. The Christian Science Monitor, 516, Retrieved 2/1/08, from www.csmonitor.com/2006/0516/p01s02-ussc.htm Chapman, Stephen Birth Control: Another Assault on Immigration. (4/8/2006). The Chicago Tribune, p. A14 Judis, John (2/13/2008). Phantom Menace: Americas Immigration Hysteria. The New Republic, 4, Retrieved 2/1/2008 Espenshade, Thomas (1995).Unauthorized Immigration to the United States. Office of Population Research. 21, 195-216 Economics White, Deborah (2/7/2008). About.com. Retrieved February 9, 2008, from About.com: Illegal Immigration Explained-Profits, and Poverty, Social Security and Starvation Web site: www.usliberals.about.com/od/immigration/a/IllegalImmi.htm?p=1 Lecker, Tikva (2000). Foreign Aid as a Discipline on Illegal Immigration. F22, 571-577. Jacobe, Dennis (3/27/2007). Investors Believe Illegal Immigration is Hurting the U.S. Economic Climate. Gallup News Service, Retrieved 2/1/2008 Jacobe, Dennis (9/14/2006).The Real Impact of Illegal Immigration. Gallup Management Journal Dula, Giora, Kahana, Nava, Lecker, Tikva (2004). How to partly bounce back the struggle against illegal immigration to the source countries. J Popul Econ. 19, 315-325