This work is about Geopolitics of Energy subject so please look Essay

This work is about Geopolitics of Energy subject so please look assignment criteria for topic - Essay Example However, in 2008 the notions of the impeding scarcity had a reverse effect with the producers wanting to make a large profit before the reserveswere depleted. This saw the prices rise continually. At that rate the country would be spending many billions of dollars on importation of petroleum and natural gas. This would create a distress in the economy because of the increased trade deficit. It is true that Asia is the new ground zero for growth of energy consumption.it is also true that Asia will be responsible for 85% of the energy consumption growth on the planet in the next 20 years. This has seen Russia try to form ties with the east to establish a proper market for its hydrocarbon exports3. The obvious deduction from this would be that Russia would wield more geopolitical power in the next few decades, which is not likely to be the case4. The current technological advancements have enabled rapid expansion of the shale gas industry in the US. In a decade, the industry has grown dramatically with the product now in abundant supply,seeing drastic reduction in prices. The policy debate has snow shifted to how much of the nation’s energy resource should be exported. The strengthening of the US’ geopolitical strength due to the shift in paradigms of the global energy market has greatly hindered China’s attempt to be the global leader. The best way to counter this influence would be to weaken the alliances that the US has with states in the region. The result has been the heightening of maritime tensions in the region with the East China Sea conflict providing a good illustration5. Both China and japan lay claim to a number of geographical features found in the sea. The features that comprise of a few islands and territorial waters could provide energy reserves and fishing grounds6. However, this is not the only reason behind the conflict. The key issue is that the waters are important choke

Reading report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reading report - Essay Example These fields are the information and communication field, and the health provider field. As far as these two fields are concerned, a concerted and fused background could be given in relation to the study that was undertaken, without having to give a separate background to the two fields of study. This is because, over the years, there has been great talk of the need to modernize the health sector to make it have its fair share of the technological advancements that are happening all around us (Gardener, 2009). Indeed, there have been both national and local sector reforms that have over the years ensured that health care delivery was improved and that the fulcrum of improved service was with the use of technology. If for nothing at all the digital health record system can be mentioned as a long term intervention that is being used by the health directorate to achieve improved results. There has also been the digitalization of database systems in the healthcare sector. These sector re forms indeed favor the position of IBM as an information and communication company to have a good business marriage with the health sector. The study was conducted following the qualitative method of research whereby the author made use of a lot of secondary data as compared to primary data. This is to means that the author, who also acted as the researcher of the study, did not have to depend on data coming directly from the field of study that were collected by the researcher. Rather, as part of the provisions of qualitative research, the researcher collected data from existing sources that could be trusted as reliable, authentic and empirical. To this effect, there could be several references made to people who have given different versions of accounts to how IBM strategized itself into become a global giant and surmounting the wind of economic turbulence that blew all across the globe. There exist several managerial implications of the current study. Most of these

Financial Accounting Theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Financial Accounting Theories - Essay Example ..that are taken for granted in current accounting research". Political Economy Theory (PET) is divisable into two broad streams of thinking. One being the Classical Political Economy Theory, the other, Bourgeois Political Economy Theory. For the purpose of this writing the Classical Approach will be the main focus. Classical Political Economy Theory follows the basic ideas of P.E.T, but goes further in its bid to highlight and scrutinise structural conflicts and inadequacies within society. The followers of the Classical approach are of the strong opinion that within society even in these modern and seemingly liberal times, a class divide is still very apparent. This theory is based around the works of such philosophers as Karl Marx and therefore opposes the very basis of the Capitalist system. In the writing of Howieson (2006) it is stated that "a Classical Political Economy places structural conflict, inequality and the role of the state at the heart of the analysis". The Critical Perspective is a branch of the Classical Political Economy Theory. ... Critical theorists do not simply question which methods of accounting should be used, instead they investigate the role accounting as an entity takes within society and cast doubt upon the very underpinnings of the profession. In order to understand the critical theorist's view of unregulated corporate disclosures, the bigger picture of their theory must be investigated. The basis for most of the Critical theorists judgements is based upon the idea that "most rights, opportunities and associated power resides in a small (but perhaps well defined) elite," Deegan (2000). They believe that power is not spread evenly throughout society and is not something one can easily acquire but is instead controlled by this so-called "elite". Included in these elite are those who are already in power and who use this power to remain in such a position while also keeping those without power in a position where they will not be able to achieve power. The Critical view is that these elite will inevitably wish for their own good to maintain the status quo, which is already in existence and is to their benefit. If these powerful individuals were to work towards giving more opportunities to those without power it would decrease their own power level, and, in effect, their social standing. The only people who would benefit from the radical reforms, which would be entailed in the re-distribution of power throughout the various social levels, are those who do not have the ability to bring about those changes. The elite comprises of, the state, those who hold a large capital share in the economy, accountants, accounting researchers, large corporations etc. These groups of powerful people may seem very separate, but, are in fact interlinked in their control of power

Inventory management. Amazon Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Inventory management. Amazon - Research Paper Example The competitive advantage possessed by a company is also determined by similar factors. Efficient management of logistics allows a company to focus on other activities such as adding value to existing products, etc which indirectly increase the productivity of the organization. However, in today’s business scenario, the retail market has evolved and efficient logistics management is no longer just an advantage, it is the norm. Companies have found several different ways in which to achieve this, usually in alignment with their business models. The use of IT technologies has been one of the main factors that have hastened this process since companies are now able to communicate between offices regardless of the distance that separates them (CILTUK, 2007: 10-11). In order to understand the practical issues concerning inventory management, we examine the case of Amazon in the below report. Aims and Objectives of the research The following case study which examines the case of Amazon reflects on the growth of the company with respect to various theories associated with logistics management, in particular with the subject of inventory management. It attempts to relate the issues faced by the company and its subsequent successes to the research available in the field. It also explores the alternatives available for the company that might help it grow further. With the above information, the study also attempts to predict the future direction of the company based on the current status of the company and available business scenarios. Literature Review Company and market overview Amazon was setup in 1994 by Jeff Bezos as an online book store. Similarly, it was established in Europe as a book store in 1998. As a result of its successes, it was launched in other countries as well. Amazon International consists of a number of subsidiaries such as Amazon Japan and its operations in Europe. Its Europe operations ha ve needed an improvement to match its expected growth rate. In particular, its distribution strategy has been looked at more closely and an attempt has been made to emulate the American structure. Due to advancements in technology, Amazon has been able to enter a number of markets. However, technology, coupled with the opening up of new markets across the world has also led to an increase in the number of competitors in the field. Lessons from American Distribution strategy Reducing the costs incurred due to the purchase and holding of inventory or stocks is one of the main challenges for a retail store. However, the challenges faced by an online store are unique. Amazon was setup at a time when most of its competitors, other book stores, were brick and mortar stores or mail – order catalog businesses. The challenge of maintaining a low cost for stocks, at the same time satisfying customer demands is magnified for an online store. Amazon initially tackled this problem by hold ing minimum stocks while relying of wholesalers to satisfy most of its demand. This helped reduce the holding cost of stocks. At the same time, Amazon also tied up with publishers so that the unit cost of stocks would also decrease (Waters, 2003: 52). A combination of the two helped the company's capacity grow from 1 million book titles to 2.5 million book titles in the early years. This also helped ensure that orders were completed

EPS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

EPS - Essay Example All in all, Pinterest provides a healthy, interactive platform where buyers and sellers interact via pictures which are indeed more powerful than words. Also, the team at Pinterest can get a hands-on understanding of the customers who use it which it can use in future to generate useful customer insights for businesses. It can, therefore, become a powerful customer database where customers’ tastes, preferences, buying habits, lifestyle and personality can be examined through the content they upload (Falls). The next potential big thing is Dropbox. The reason why it is considered the next big thing is that they are profitable. The company started by the provision of a paid cloud storage service and with the growing number of subscribers, it is increasingly likely that individuals will surpass the storage limit which shall enable the company capitalize on its premium paid service (Barret). A major reason why it is likely to become a big hit is that it is enabling users meet their storage needs in today’s multi device world. Considering how devices have become disposable and users switch to a new device each year, it allows customers to have a wireless, virtual, safe backup of all their data. Finally, the new virtual marketplace – TaskRabbit, according to me, shall also be a big hit. The platform allows time starved consumers to get people to work for themselves through just a few clicks. The company is gradually expanding its market in order to avoid the chicken and egg issue. It will be particularly useful for organizations that do not have a minute to spare for daily errands. TaskRabbit’s system is very well organized which is demonstrated by their targeted city-wise marketing

Internet Auctions in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Internet Auctions in China - Essay Example Though E-commerce is thus still in infant stage in China there has been a continuous growth in the business. "Already, some 6 million people a day shop on the internet in China. The vast majority are young people living in large cities. There are now 43 million registered online shoppers, and their purchases may total US$6.4 billion in 2007, a year-on-year leap of more than 60 percent" (Daniel 2007) China Center for Information Industry Development Consulting (CCID Consulting) has presented a report which estimates the total online transactions of China at US $ 14 billion amounting to a growth of 51 percent over the 2005 year volume of business. The report also indicates that about 99 percent of the business undertakings of China belong to Small and Medium sector and out of these only 3 percent deal through internet. This is the kind of volume of business and market EBay and Taobao are contesting to share. With this background this paper envisages presenting a detailed report on the functionalities of EBay and Taobao being the major competitors in the ecommerce business in China. The paper also analyses the differences between such functions and the qualities of services being provided by both the contenders. When alternative choices exist the customers would obviously prefer one over the other. In this case also the paper analyses the reasons for the preference of Taobao than the EBay. 2.0 Evolution of Online Business in China: Although online business is in existence in China even from the year 1998, its growth was rather sluggish. This was mainly due to the lack of trust among the purchasers and sellers and the absence of an effective payment settlement system. It has been the tradition of China that the buyer before completing the online transaction would like to meet the seller, check the quality of the product, pay the money in hard cash and take delivery of the products. Ironically enough the outbreak of SARS in China had discouraged people going out of their homes and meet strangers. This has reduced the chances of the buyers meeting the sellers and thus SARS had removed the Trust barrier in the online business. Normally eBay was handling the US and European markets which were highly developed and were nearing the saturation point. EBay even persuaded corporate customers to off load their excess inventories in their website. However the situation in China when EBay entered was totally unregulated wit h the buyers and sellers consisting of individuals with lack of trust on each other. With the passage of time the online business developed very well with the sellers finding it interesting to offer their products to the foreign buyers as they see it as an opportunity to increase their profitability. The modus operandi is to buy the cheaper products from large local factories, use marketing techniques like AdWords Google or other search engines and get the products listed in the EBay to sell

Economic Impacts Essay Example for Free

Economic Impacts Essay The Attack on the World Trade Centre in Manhattan had happened on September 11, 2001. The attack had led to the destruction of numerous buildings and lost of lives. This had greatly affected not only the citizens of the United States. The incident had also affected the economy of the country. According to the report of Mr. George Kahn (2001) , the vice-president   and economist of Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas, US economic growth had already slowed dramatically. Based on the experiences in the year 1996 to 1999, a growth in the GDP has been experienced. It is only logical to think that GDP will continue to rise in the next few years. However, Real GDP has slowed to a 2.8% rate of growth last year. Unemployment had moved down from 3.9% in th year 2000 to 4.9% in August. The slowdown in the economy had led to unexpected increase in energy prices and re-evaluation of the prospects for corporate earnings. Prices in the stock market have been affected, and consumer spending began to slow down. In early September, prices on energy began to stabilize and consumer spending had hold-up. Although manufacturing activity continued to decline but in a slower rate as compared to what happened in the early part of the year. However, this has all changed after the attack in September 11. 2001. Looney (2002) has used categories to differentiate the different economic impacts of the attack in the United States. His categories were based on two types. First is the nature of the impact and second is the length of time the economy has affected the country. In this paper, the author would use the length of time the impact has on the economy. These effects would be divided into three parts: The short-term impact, the medium-term impact and the long-term impact. Short-term impacts of the economy can be further categorized into two. These are the immediate short-term direct impact and the immediate short-term indirect impact. Looney (2002) had enumerated several short-term impacts after the September 11, 2001 attack. For the immediate short-term direct impact, it was stated that Lower Manhattan of New York had lost an approximate of 30% of its office space because of the attack. Reports stated that an estimate of 200,000 were destroyed or relocated out of New York City. Estimated cost of destruction of physical assets in businesses amounts to $ 14Billion for private business, $ 1.7Billion for the local and state assets and $ 0.8Billion for federal enterprises. Rescue, cleanup operations and other cost related to these two is approximately $11 Billion. Total direct costs as computed by Looney (2002) in the article, is estimated to be at around $27.2 Billion. However, Mr. Alan Hevesi, had considered other factors that was not included in the article of Robert Looney. Hevesi (2001) considered the lost of human capital which is estimated to be at $11 billion. These are the lives of the workers who had been killed during the attack. This figure is based on the expected earnings during the personâ€⠄¢s remaining work life. Indirect short term impacts of the attack are the following: Consensus forecast for the GDP growth of the US economy is lowered by 0.5 percentage points in the year 2001 and 1.2 percentage points in the year 2002. Implied projected cumulative lost from the attack up to the year 2003 is estimated to be half a trillion dollars. Private sector investments went down the same with their inventory levels. The attack had shown the government that an additional investment is needed for the security of the country. It is estimated that an increase of 9.25% in defense spending was used by the government. Firms such as security and information technology had increase in demand. Federal Reserve had lowered the price of credit and and temporarily liquidated their assets to safeguard the integrity of the financial system and save businesses from bankruptcy. Aside from the impacts stated above by Looney (2002), Hevesi included factors such as disabilities and trauma to be at $3Billion, business interruption, training and liability losses to be at $21 Billion, Net Lost Rents of $ 1.05 Billion from both the damaged and destroyed buildings and Lost wages which amounts to $9.6 Billion In the medium term, Looney had defined several sectors that had been affected by the attacks. Five areas were highlighted on his report and these are the Insurance, Airlines, Tourism and other service industries, Shipping, and Defense. Losses of the Insurance industry are estimated to be at $30 to $58 Billion. These losses are the highest record in the history of the country. Primary insurers have increased their premiums and dropped their coverages for terrorism related risk, this in turn had affected other key industries. Strongest impacts of the insurance were seen in the aviation, tourism, transportation, construction and energy generation sectors. Commercial property and liability insurance rates have been raised by 30% on the average. The terrorist had used airplanes in order to trigger the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. This had lead in putting the aviation industry in a weak position. An estimate of 20% decrease on the service orders had been ecperienced by airlines. Government support and airline passenger traffic was below normal and an estimate of 100,000 layoffs has been announced. Employment opportunities which were normally up in October and November fell by 80,000 or an estimate of 8% from the expected. Another sector that has been greatly affected is the tourism and service sector. These include hotels, tours, automobile rentals, travel agencies, and civilian aircraft manufacturers. As stated by Looney (2002), hotels have reported higher vacancy rates and employment in the sector as a whole fell by 58,000 in October and November. Relative Equity Values declined by 15%. Preliminary report of Fiscal Policy Institute in New York (2001) included attendance of people in the Broadway theatres had also decreased.. The Shipping sector was in a way affected by the attack, Maritime shipping rates had increased from 5 to 10 percent on average in the two weeks after the attack. Relative stability of freight rates ,despite the decrease in fuel costs and under-utilized capacity of the ships implied that transportation cost had increased because of the attacks Defense sector had experienced a significant increase on security-related programs in the budget for the year 2003. An additional budget of $48Billion was proposed for national defense. Homeland security budget was also increased from $20 Billion in 2001 to $38 Billion in 2002. An enhancement on the training of first responders which are the fireman, police and rescue workers were done, total preparation amounted to $8 Billion for domestic defense spending. The Fiscal Policy Institute or FPI (2001) included in their report losses on advertising because after the attacks commercial runs on television networks were cut down. FPI (2001) had estimated that there would be a 1,000 reduction in advertising employment and a 3% drop of revenues would be experienced by the advertising sector. Looney (2002), enumerated five effects in the   economy. These effects are higher operating costs, higher level of inventories, higher risk premium, Shift of resources t the military defense, and the shift away from globalization. As stated above, several increase in spending for defense had been experienced by the country, and higher insurance premiums were also done in the industry.   The attacks and also led to longer wait for time activities because several sectors and consumers are already cautious. These three reasons had led economist to say that higher operating costs maybe experienced by the industries in the country. Since businesses had been interrupted because of the attacks, several companies were not able to resume immediately. Businesses may be required to hold larger inventories at scale for fear that their suppliers may not be able to give the materials that they needed on time. An evidence on these was shown in the article of Looney wherein the auto industry production was interrupted because availability   of components were not immediately shipped out because of the delays in the crossing of the US-Canada Borders. The attack may have lead investors to avoid risking their money in businesses. As a result, higher risk premiums may be passed on to businesses in the form of higher interest rates, and lower equity prices. This could also lead to lower equity prices, business investment lowering and smaller capital stocks. The attack had been a terrorism activity. In response to this issue, the government would most likely divert their attention in strengthening the country’s defense through the military. Many resources may be diverted to military use. Research and Development Resources can be also shifted to concentrate on the development of new devices to thwart terrorism activities. Since there had been interruption in the cross-borders of the country, investors may think twice in investing abroad and concentrate on domestic investments. During this time, the â€Å"anthrax† scare is already being shown in the media. Several investors and the government may have taken this into consideration as such higher cost could be experienced because the businesses and the government would closely inspect items going in and out of the country. In the Chicago GSB magazine, the authors have included economic recovery for the country. According to Kevin Murphy, part of the debate team, expected recovery of the economy may occur within 15 months after the attack. Measured loss in the economy is estimated to be at 0.6% of the total asset of the country. Judging from the percentage of economic loss, the percentage shows a very minimal figure. Gary S. Becker, another part of the team had also stated that the country had retained basically all the human capital prior to the attack and because of this, the US economy would recover fully. It has been 6 years since the attack of the terrorist in the United States. Prior to the attack the economy of the country is already in the decline stage and this had been accelerated by the attack in the World Trade Center. Although the attack had greatly affected the economy, it is necessary to think on the before situation of the country because that situation had also affected the impact of the attack. The economy of the United States had already recovered since then, however, same security measures are still being by the country to address the issue of terrorism.