Strategy of international business pressures

Strategy of international business pressures The strategy of international business involves analysing the progression of globalization in the worlds economy and how a company responds and what measures it takes, strategy-wise to compete effectively beyond national borders. It involves business transactions crossing national borders at any stage of the transaction; it also involves dealing with many different cultures and extensive field experience. 2.1 GLOBAL EXPANSION There are many advantages for firms who expand globally which include increasing their profitability and higher growth of profits. Most basically it creates a larger market size. It allows firms to reduce their costs through differentiation. Global expansion helps realize location economies, recognize higher cost economies and earn a higher return by exploiting any valuable skills from foreign actions. 2.2 COMPETITIVE PRESSURES. The competition in the market place is not easy for the firms. Firms in the market place usually face two types of pressures. 2.2.1 PRESSURES FROM COST REDUCTION. One type of pressure is the one they receive due to pressures for cost reductions. In response to this companies try to lower the costs of their value production. Ways a firm may do this could include mass producing standardized products in a location where it is most optimal to do so and realize economies of scale and location and/or outsourcing certain functions of the job to foreign suppliers that cost less so as to reduce costs. Most companies face difficulties distinguishing commodities since differentiating non-price factors is complex. 2.2.2 PRESSURES FROM LOCAL RESPONSIVENESS. The second pressure they face is that from local responsiveness. Such pressures arise from varying differences in traditional practices, infrastructure and customers preferences and tastes. To respond to this, firms need to differentiate their products in each country to take into account all these factors. 2.3 CHOOSING A STRATEGY. Differences in the strength of pressures for cost reductions versus those for local responsiveness affect the firms choice of strategy. Firms typical choose among four main strategic positions when competing internationally. These can be characterized as a global standardization strategy, a localization strategy, a transnational strategy, and an international strategy. The appropriateness of each strategy varies given the extent of pressures for cost reductions and local responsiveness. 2.4 PROCTER GAMBLE. Procter Gamble was founded in 1837. It is one of the worlds most international companies. PG sells over 300 brands including tide pampers, Crisco and IAM pet food. Nowadays PG is a large global consumer product business that has sales of over $50 billion. Most of these sales are generated outside the United States in Canada, Britain, Western Europe, Japan and other Asian nations. These expansions led to growth opportunities, created value by transferring its business model to foreign countries and preempted other retailers that were also starting to expand globally. However the company started facing some issues and had to rethink their strategies of expanding globally. 4.0 PG REORGANIZATION. Procter Gamble, as observed were initially following an international strategy, which was possible since they had low pressures to reducing costs and low pressures on local responsiveness. However their costs were rising and in 1993, in response to the increase of costs, they initiated a major reorganization. During this they closed down thirty manufacturing plants worldwide and fired about 13000 employees. In addition to this they focused their production on lesser plants so that they could reach regional markets and achieve better economies of scale. It is apparent that PG are moving towards a global standardization strategy from their previous international strategy. 4.1 GLOBAL STANDARDIZATION STRATEGY. This strategy is appropriate if the cost reduction pressures are high but the pressure on local responsiveness stays low. Under this strategy the products are standardized worldwide. They undertake a low cost approach on an international basis. They rarely try to differentiate their product offering because often their costs increase when customization is undertaken. As a result of this strategy, PG reduced their costs by about $600 million but it still was not enough. Their profits were still not favorable and sales were slow as ever. 4.2 ORGANIZATION 2005. In 1998, PG tried yet again to control these increased pressures and embarked on its second reorganization. They named it Organization 2005. The company hoped to change the ways in which their products were being innovated, manufactured and marketed. The strategy consisted of modifying the structure of the organization, culture and work processes comprehensively. It including laying off 17000 employees within the next 3 years and it changed its organizations structure by breaking up their four geographic business units and focusing it on 7 global business units (GBUs). These units were derived according to product categories ranging from food products to baby care. Each unit was completely in charge for generating profits from their products and also their own marketing, production and product development. Their focus shifted to only few large plants, trying to build global brands where possible so as to remove differences in marketing among countries. It also intended to speed up th e developing and launching of new products. It is evident that PG is now moving towards a transnational strategy because they are faced with high pressures to cost reduction as well as high pressures to local responsiveness. The international and global standardization strategies failed to be effective since PG didnt take into account the falling barriers to trade and customers abilities to trade internationally and therefore increase in demand for variety of goods. 4.3 TRANSNATIONAL STRATEGY. A transnational strategy is one where companies try to keep their costs low while simultaneously differentiating the products they offer across national borders and fostering a flow of skills across different subsidiaries in their operations network worldwide. This strategy is difficult and involves the company in balancing the local markets demands for consumer products whilst concurrently aiming to save their costs. PGs seven units are called global business units, but function on a very decentralized way. They develop their strategies locally or regionally and implement them. In other words their product development, delivery and marketing are conducted locally whereas the background functions of finance, payroll and human resource management is carried out on a worldwide basis. 4.3.1 BENEFITS AND RISKS. There are many benefits for pursuing a transnational strategy. It enables firms to gain scale economies as well as location due to the increase in sales in global volume. It also helps transfer distinguishing competences and skills. The home country may hold many different competences and it is only right to share it with other countries as well. In addition it simultaneously lowers pressures on local responsiveness. However one risk they face is trying to differentiate the product to respond to local demands in different geographic markets raises costs, which run counter to the goal of reducing costs.

Liam McCormicks Church Architecture

Liam McCormicks Church Architecture Fig 1 Photograph: St Aengus, Burt ________________ Word Count: 2,439 Liam McCormick is one of the most recognised architects in modern Irish church architecture. He has introduced design principles in his buildings, which were not only innovative and unique, but were somewhat radical in Ireland at that time. One of the most famous churches that he designed was St. Aengus Church, Burt that was built over the period of 1964-67. When examining Liam McCormicks work at Burt we can see similarities between his ideologies and design principles that other famous architects have also employed in their architectural work. However, the question is, who and what helped inspire him? What are the ideas, materials and methods behind the overall design? All these questions culminate in the construction of this remarkable church. McCormick carefully selected a site, which lies directly below the ancient fort of Grianan an Aileach. The land itself stretches down to Lough Swilly below and benefits from the impressive views of the surrounding countryside. What I find most interesting is McCormicks distinct ability to read a site and produce remarkable buildings from that. This alone sets him apart from many of his Irish church architectural peers. It is obvious that when he designed Burt Church he had taken inspiration not only from other architects but also from the surrounding context in which the church integrates itself. With the site being located adjacent to the Grianan an Aileach fort, McCormick has taken the fundamentals from its historic design and implemented them within his modern church concept. By doing so he has blended historic precedent with the functional and aesthetic requirements of what he believes a modern church should have. There is no doubt that Grianan is the inspiration behind the circular form of the church at Burt. The idea of a circular church was radical and it had not been attempted in Ireland before.[1] With the church being integrated with the surrounding landscape, McCormick has ultimately made the church and the land at one with each other. This has a religious signification of the church being part of Gods Earth. This allows the feeling that the parishioners can be closer to their faith, or feel more at home within this type of church. McCormick himself commented on the church and how it integrated with the land and also the great attention to detail that was employed by all that worked on the building. It is not often that a building is found, such as the little country church, which speaks so clearly of the loving care which has been lavished on it by the architect, builder, client, artists, craftsmen and everyone connected with it. This is as perfect an example of integration with its magnificent site, as it is, probably possible to achieve.[2] McCormick has created a romantic relationship of form and material with the historic fort, which lies above Burt church. McCormick has sensitively merged the church into the site, by choosing to use natural stone for the walls and copper for the roof. In utilising these materials McCormick has helped blend the church into the ground in which it resides. The church has been cleverly designed so that you can approach it from both sides. There is a path from the car park directly opposite and gentle rising steps from the road below which congregate at a cobble edged circle outside the entrance to the church. In a way McCormick is using his design to symbolise bringing people together from all directions of life, something that both religion and the church have aimed to achieve. However, they might not have succeeded successfully in this venture. Fig 2 Photograph: Church approach from roadway  and car park. St Aengus, Burt. When you first approach the church you feel like you are setting foot into another world, or have simply stumbled on to some hobbits dwelling from Lord of the Rings. Though as you climb the steps you get a feeling that it is filled with delightful architectural moments, humble and honest in their appearance, but cleverly resolved in the craft of their creation. McCormick achieves a sense of arrival with this skilfully designed approach. His approach leads you to a concrete canopy where a pair of solid doors covered with beaten cooper with glazed side panels lie below. The low-ceilinged entrance lobby emphasises the height and size of the circular body of the church. McCormick has carefully thought through every little detail of this building and how each element will affect the appearance, feel and flow of the building to its recipients. The buildings circular plan has a clever second internal circular wall, which is placed loosely to the exterior; this in turn creates not only the circular external faà §ade but a circular internal layout disguising the auxiliary accommodation for the church, discretely from the congregation. Fig 3 Plan: St Aengus, Burt. The circular form of Burt means that there is no distinctive front or rear elevation; it also means there are no hidden external areas. Walking around the building reveals details that are both clever and subtle, and which contribute to the creation of a building that is at once vernacular and innovative. The external stonewall is constructed with a barrel like profile (inspired by Grianan an Aileach). A band of brightly coloured stained glass runs the entire circumference of the church on top of the inner circular wall. The outer circular stonewall carries the secondary glazing through which light penetrates the stained glass allowing the chapel to be flooded with coloured light that gives an almost kaleidoscopic effect. With the ring of glazing being positioned between the roof and the external walls there is an impression that the roof is floating, this is amplified during the hours of darkness when the lights are on. Similar to Le Corbusiers work at Ronchamp, although comparing the two would be like comparing Salisbury Cathedral to the Notre Dame. The sculpted copper roof is perhaps the most remarkable element of the building, which climaxes in an asymmetrically placed spire. The position of the spire is dictated by the location of the altar inside the church, the glazed lantern in the spire brings natural light down into the church over the altar resembling something out of a film. McCormick has purposely designed this in order to create dramatic effect within the church. The light from God so to speak, giving a very religious feel to the church. If the lantern had lit the entire church, the same effect wouldnt have been possible. This is also similar to Le Corbusiers design in Ronchamp. McCormick made the roof part of the overall composition, a piece of art in which to attract people. With the roof being visible for miles in the surrounding area, he created a roof, which took a sculptural form, with expression in material. Within the church there are a number of structural pillars placed throughout which a appear to be not in contact with the roof by making them thinner and darker at the top, this also makes the roof appear to float, as there are no lines linking the glass to the roof. To the exterior the metaphors continue, there are a number of pools strategically placed around the building to catch the rainwater from the roof that is distributed via concrete spouts placed above the stonewall. It is Christian belief that water is a blessing and with this in mind it is as if the church is being blessed when its raining. Which as many know is quite often in Ireland, some say we are born with webbed feet! This is yet another incorporation of religion within the overall design. Fig 4 Photograph: Detail of circular pool and  rainwater spout. St Aengus, Burt. McCormicks handling of rainwater demonstrates the thought process that went into making sure each detail was correct. He also took great care and consideration when selecting the materials to be used, he salvaged cobblestones locally to use for the perimeter of the church, which is paved with granite cobblestones. McCormick felt that his churches should be socially correct, that the church should reflect the society in which it was to serve both by means and nature. In other words, if the society was mainly lower class, there was no point in building a church that portrayed wealth that would make the societys congregation feel both uncomfortable and unwelcome, not to mention standing out like sore thumb from the surrounding area. McCormick carefully put forward an argument for modernism within the Irish Church architecture, he used authentic materials, which would be familiar to the community that the church would serve, and also suitable to the climate in which it was to withstand. He used modern structural techniques without becoming alien to the craftsmen employed to carry out the construction. After all, he wanted to create a piece of art and architectural beauty that was fitting to Donegal at that time, and in doing so he required excellent craftsmanship in order to achieve his masterpiece. McCormicks design of Burt demonstrates an enthusiasm to develop a modern church architecture appropriate to the Irish context. McCormicks masterly use of materials and high quality of workmanship, with the attention to detail evident in the construction of the building, are remarkable and were ground-breaking at the time. There is an essence from his designs that he draws extensively on things, which interest him outside of his architectural design. He obviously has a great love for the Irish landscape and what elements make up such landscape; the stones, rocks and the rain! Liam McCormick manages to invoke an emotional reaction from those who experience his church. In some respects its seems like he is playing God with architecture. People respond emotionally to his buildings, which is the rarest and highest praise any architect can receive.[3] It is clear McCormick was a collector of ideas. He studied and visited European works, it was the backbone of his modern approach to design; he was enlightened with architectural ideas and solution from abroad.[4] He then brought this forward thinking approach to Ireland within his church designs. His process of originality and thinking is what created the architecture that Liam McCormick produced, and what sets it aside from other architecture, in particular the tradition of Hand-me-down church architecture in Ireland.[5] Although many of his ideas where of original nature, he took great influence from other architects and allowed some of their ideologies and design principles to influence his own work. Corbusier, Gropius and Alvar Aalto were among McCormicks stated influences. He particularly admired Aaltos sense of scale, location and economy.[6] McCormicks architecture can be seen as somewhat a conversion to Functionalism.[7] His buildings are not only functional for the job they are intended for but also embrace an organic architecture that can be compared to ideologies of Alvar Aalto. To everything its proper place, a setting dictated by its owns demands, its own aesthetic. And everything should be connected with the community served by the town [8](Aalto 1924:20). In Aaltos own words: Nothing does a town greater honor than a well-developed public life and functional public places [9](Aalto 1924: 20). Both Alvar Aalto and Liam McCormick share the unprecedented idea that society lives and survives by the architecture that is created. In Aaltos article the Humanizing of Architecture[10] he examines how human beings react to forms and construction. McCormick also believes in creating architecture that pulls on the emotions of the occupant, just as Aalto designed The Paimio Sanatorium, he tried to emphasise the environmental qualities of where his architecture was to reside. Also like Alvar Aalto, McCormick believed in a total work of art, creating a picture as a whole, he was a great believer in incorporating art within his buildings and this is notably present at Burt, with prominent Irish artwork included. Even though McCormick took influence from other Architects, this did not make his work any less original. The concept that being influenced by a person or piece of work can lead to either imitation or a piece of work that to some extent can be taken to a different level. This is debated prominently in the Anxiety of Influence, of how influence doesnt necessarily have to be a bad thing nor does it mean that the subsequent piece of work will be better for it. But poetic influence need not make poets less original; as often it makes them more original, though not therefore necessarily better.[11] McCormick has not only managed to create an original piece of Irish church architecture but has also managed to avoid the pressure of influence, which could have made him imitate previous architects work. As a result he has created a lasting piece of modern architecture that has added value not only to its landscape but also the local society. The design of Burt Church actually helps enhance the religious message in which the church bestows on to its patrons. In conclusion, even the most creative of people whether they are architects or artists, all take influence from others work. In some respects, it is a degree of respect/admiration of previous work, in others it is simply a way to generate further ideas or take an idea further than before. McCormick certainly has done this with Burt Church, with his clever use of material and form to blend the church with the surrounding landscape but yet give a hint of pleasure and intrigue which the use of the sculptured roof alludes to. He has managed to not only create a radical new Irish church architecture but has developed ideas from others such as Alvar Aalto, in order to create a complete masterpiece of work. Bloom, Harold, The anxiety of influence: a theory of poetry, New York; Oxford: Oxford University Press, c1997 Larmour, Paul, and Shane Toole. North by northwest: the life and work of Liam McCormick. Dublin: Gandon Editions for Irish Architecture Foundation [and] Irish Architectural Archive, 2008. Pollard, Carole, and Liam McCormick. Liam McCormick: Seven Donegal churches. Co. Cork: Gandon Editions, 2011. Websites http://archiseek.com/2009/1967-st-aengus-church-burt-co-donegal/ Accessed December 12th 2016 http://www.culturenorthernireland.org/features/heritage/liam-mccormick Accessed December 12th 2016 The Functionalist Awakening of Alvar Aalto, Alvar Aalto Museum http://www.alvaraaltoresearch.fi/files/4213/6033/3603/AAM_RN_Quecedo.pdf Accessed December 12th 2016 http://archistory.korea.ac.kr/archive_110919/Articles/09%20Aalto_and_Humanizing_(JAABE_200905).pdf Accessed December 12th 2016 List of Illustrations Fig 1 Photograph: St Aengus, Burt http://www.inchhouse.com/reviews Accessed December 12th 2016. Fig 2 Photograph: Church approach from roadway and car park. St Aengus, Burt. http://imma.gallery-access.com/intl/en/tour.php?a_id=12Accessed December 12th 2016. Fig 3 Plan: St Aengus, Burt Pollard, Carole, and Liam McCormick. Liam McCormick: Seven Donegal churches. Burt: Gandon Editions, 2011. Fig 4 Photograph: Detail of circular pool and rainwater spout. St Aengus, Burt. https://herdesignjournal.wordpress.com/2013/08/06/st-aengus-burt-chapel-by-liam-mccormick/ Accessed December 12th 2016 [1] Paul Larmour, An Architectural life North by Northwest, (Gandon Editions, 2008) P.49. Taken from RIAI Yearbook 1972 (RIAI Dublin), P.23 [2] Paul Larmour, An Architectural life North by Northwest, (Gandon Editions, 2008) P.49. Taken from RIAI Yearbook 1972 (RIAI Dublin), P.23 [3] http://archiseek.com/2009/1967-st-aengus-church-burt-co-donegal/ Accessed December 12th 2016 [4] Tracy recalls McCormicks use of literature and magazines. with his almost encyclopaedic mind. Referencing, the architectural review, Domus, LArchitecture dAujourdhui, Architectural record, Bouw and werk. Joe Tracy, Forty Years with Liam North by Northwest, (Gandon Editions, 2008) P.220 [5] McCormick describing the tradition of hand me down copies of transitory fashion comparing Ireland to the vernacular traditions of Finland by Aalto. Liam McCormick, remembrance of things present North by Northwest, (Gandon Editions, 2008) P.18 [6] http://www.culturenorthernireland.org/features/heritage/liam-mccormick Accessed December 12th 2016 [7] The Functionalist Awakening of Alvar Aalto, Alvar Aalto Museum http://www.alvaraaltoresearch.fi/files/4213/6033/3603/AAM_RN_Quecedo.pdf Accessed December 12th 2016 [8] IBID [9] IBID [10] http://archistory.korea.ac.kr/archive_110919/Articles/09%20Aalto_and_Humanizing_(JAABE_200905).pdf Accessed December 12th 2016 [11] Harold Bloom, The anxiety of influence: a theory of poetry, New York; Oxford: Oxford University Press, c1997, P. Introduction 7.

Benjamin Harrison :: essays research papers

President Harrison's single term fell between the two terms of Grover Cleveland, a Democrat. Cleveland was popular with the people but unpopular with political leaders. Harrison was popular with neither. There was indeed something of a mystery in his being elected at all. He was serious and dignified, not a hand-shaking politician and not a leader of men. On July 1, 1862, Lincoln called for more troops. Harrison went to the governor, who asked him to recruit a regiment. On his way back to his office, he bought a military cap and hired a fifer and a drummer. Then he put a flag out of his office window and began recruiting. When the regiment was complete, the governor commissioned him a colonel, and Harrison set off with his troops. By day he drilled his men; at night he studied tactics. Always he looked after his soldiers' needs. They called him Little Ben. General Harrison went back to his work at the Supreme Court and his law practice. He also took over again his large Bible class in the Presbyterian church, where his wife taught Sunday school. In 1876 Harrison ran for governor of Indiana. The Democrats called him "cold as an iceberg" and nicknamed him Kid-Glove Harrison. The Democratic candidate, nicknamed Blue Jeans, won the election. Four years later the Indiana legislature elected Harrison to the United States Senate. He served from 1881 to 1887 and won the good will of veterans by supporting the many private pension bills that came to him. Great was the confusion in the Republican nominating convention of 1888. Senator James G. Blaine, the leader of the party, had been defeated by Cleveland in 1884 and refused to run against him again. The field was therefore open. Harrison was finally nominated with Blaine's support. Levi P. Morton, a New York banker, was named for vice-president. Harrison kept aloof from Congress and left lawmaking to its leaders. First on his list was the Dependent Pension Act. This provided money for Civil War veterans who had a disability, no matter where or when they got it. Extravagant appropriations were made also for the Navy and for rivers and harbors. The 51st Congress was the first to spend a billion dollars in peacetime.

Free Essays - No Innocence in Catcher in the Rye :: Catcher Rye Essays

No Innocence in Catcher in the Rye Probably the greatest irony of the novel is the fact that, despite his love of "childhood innocence," Holden is and acts far from innocent himself. In fact, he is its antithesis. He acts that way for many reasons. First of all, he has so many responsibilities. Second, he never fits in with the crowd, and finally, he never gets any real help for the problems that he deals with. Holden does have a love for "childhood innocence" as seen across the book. For example, on page two hundred and one "Somebody'd written ' Fuck you' on the wall. It drove me damn near crazy. I thought how Phoebe and all the other little kids would see it, and how they'd wonder what the hell it meant, and then finally some dirty kid would tell them-cockeyed naturally- what it meant, and how they'd all think about it and maybe even worry about it for a couple of days. I kept wanting to kill whoever'd written it... But I rubbed it [The 'fuck you' written on the wall] out anyway." Another example is on page two hundred and eight, "'So shut up.' It was the first time she [Phoebe] ever told me to shut up. It sounded terrible. God, it sounded terrible. It sounded worse than swearing." There is one more outstanding quotation from the novel which is found on page two hundred and thirteen. "I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way old Phoebe was going around and around [the carousel]." All these examples clearly show that Holden appreciated "childhood innocence" to a great extent. Yet Holden acts the opposite. The irony in this novel is Holden's behavior, which is far from being innocent. He smokes, drinks, always depressed, thinks about suicide, thinks about going embarking to a far place, and has people tell and act in many weird ways. There are three main reasons why he acts this way. Firstly, Holden being only sixteen years of age already has so much responsibility. He has to get money for food and travel. When he travels he has to make sure he doesn't get lost, and actually gets there. He has to make sure that he doesn't flunk school.

Immigration Needs to be Restricted in America Essay -- Argumentative P

Immigration Needs to be Restricted in America Illegal immigration will cost the United States $280 billion dollars from 1995-2004. And that only counts for the immigrants that enter this country illegally. What of the legal immigrants that come to the United States and find it harder than they thought it would be? Most of these immigrants just go on welfare. Legal immigrants participate in 20.7 percent of all welfare programs while native citizens only participate in 14.1 percent (Borjas). This costs the American public millions of dollars every year. At the turn of the century 40 percent of immigrants that came through Ellis Island had to go home. If the immigrants can't handle the work force, there is nothing for them to do but fall back on welfare (Lind). Opposing statistics show that Americans use welfare more than immigrants do. This argument doesn't work for the simple fact that most immigrants haven't been in this country long enough to qualify for Social Security. Therefore we must use the other data which clearly shows that immigrants use welfare more. Another problem that has risen from immigration is crime. In 1986, 28 percent of the arrests for drug possession were illegal immigrants (Stacy). This may not seem like an overwhelming number, but just think if the United States could drop drug trafficking by 28 percent this would be a tremendous step forward. The immigration problem has gotten so bad on the Mexican American, border, that the border patrol have what they call " War Wagons" which are armored vans with bulletproof windows. Guarding a border of a nation that we are at peace with should not be that big of a problem. Most immigrants that enter the country both legally and illegally are trying to fin... ...osing Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven Press. Inc. 1998 pp. 84-88. Lind, Micheal. "Legal Immigration Harms American workers" Bender, David L. Immigration: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven Press. Inc. 1998 pp. 79-83 Borjas, George. "Immigrants Abuse the Welfare System." Bender, David L. Immigration: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven Press. Inc. 1998 pp. 97-102 Stacy, Palmer & Lutton, Wayne. "Illegal Immigrants Cause Crime." Bender, David L. Immigration: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven Press. Inc. 1990 pp. 90-95 Martinez, Roberto. "Illegal Immigrants Are Victims of Crime." Bender, David L. Immigration: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven Press. Inc. 1990 pp. 96-99 Lamm, Richard D. "The U.S. Should Limit Immigration." Bender, David L. Immigration: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven Press. Inc. 1990 pp.105-112

What Is Meant by Appropriate Technology, and Why Is It Important for the Less Developed Countries to Adopt It?

Science and technology is a critical and greatly improving area in most countries if not all. However, as it requires large amounts of man power and materials, a great deal of money is required. Governments provide a substantial amount of this money, and therefore they often make decisions regarding the direction and quantity of the money that should be placed into certain technologies. It is also the government’s role to decide which technologies will be used, and how (Bridgstock 1998:12).During recent times the science and technology field has dramatically changed. For example, stunning developments are being made by the Third World and science and technology has become more focussed on the government’s short-term economic goals. These developments by the Third World are due to the technology transfer from more advanced, industrialized countries. The Third world is only able to use appropriate technologies, which makes their choices limited, but offers many benefits a nd opportunities (Bridgstock 1998:12).Appropriate technology was created as a way of enhancing national independence by encouraging people to use local substitutes rather than imported resources, and is aimed at improving technologies that already exist in the Third World. By making small adjustments to existing technologies the Third World only has to create variations of technologies they are familiar with. This ensures that Third World countries work within their capabilities (Bridgstock 1998:223). Appropriate technology is the idea that lower level technologies, using local resources are more appropriate than higher level technologies that require imported resources.This idea has been used unsuccessfully by England, where inventors tried to sell their new product, based on the Third World’s local resources they were selling to. An example of this was an Englishman who tried selling his new cooking stove in Kenya. The cooking stove was more wood economical than others at t he time and could be built from clay found in Kenya. A total of 250 stoves were sold. Whilst these stoves were being sold in Kenya, a kerosene stove from Japan was also introduced into the market. However, the kerosene stove did not use local resources and as a result the kerosene was imported.A massive 10,000 kerosene stoves were sold via normal commercial channels, which is 9,750 more sold than the wood stove. Before it can be said that appropriate technology does not work, there are some potential reasons that the kerosene stove sold better than the wood stove. Firstly, the kerosene stove was cheaper, which makes a product dramatically more appealing in a country with very little money. Secondly, the kerosene stove was advertised through commercial channels and the wood stove was not advertised at all. Thirdly, the way in which the idea of appropriate technology was presented, did not appeal to the Kenyans.Finally, appropriate technology focuses largely on the organization of dis tribution and construction, which is usually the weakest area of Third World countries (John McCarthy 1996). Less developed countries should learn from and use appropriate technologies and ideas that have been successful in other countries. However, due to less developed countries having fewer people with a talent for organizing or industrial experience, introducing new technologies tends to be harder and a more complex process than in other, more developed countries.A solution to this problem is for less developed countries to adopt appropriate technologies and become more talented and experienced in them. After a period of time the country will become richer as it is able to export these technologies/goods to countries needing them. The money gained from exporting these technologies/goods can then be placed into training people to become more experienced in industries, allow individuals to gain an ability for organizing and raise the average wage. These factors will increase the a mount of technologies appropriate for their country, and the process can then be repeated.When people hear the words ‘technology transfer’ often the first thing that will come to mind is the trade of technology from an advanced country to a Third World country. This interpretation is incorrect as there is much more to technology transfer than exportation and importation. The process also includes an understanding and ability to perform methods and procedures that are required to create the desired result (P. F. Basch 1993:353-358). When the Third World first began transferring technologies from industrialized,Western countries back to their own countries, problems arose due to different resources and machinery available. The Third World did not realise that Western technologies were specific to the conditions of an industrialized country (Bridgstock 1998:216). According to Bhalla, A (1994) this is preventable if industrial countries keep in mind the different requiremen ts of the Third World whilst designing technologies that will be sold to these less developed countries. However, evidence indicates that the industrial world’s research and development (R&D) system is doubtful of responding to any concerns.Less developed countries need to adopt appropriate technologies as these technologies will ensure less developed countries can manage and have the specific resources required. If underdeveloped countries do adopt appropriate technologies, they will be able to increase profits, increase the amount of technologies appropriate for their country, increase the level of their R&D and possibly change their countries status as underdeveloped. However, if underdeveloped countries do not undertake appropriate technologies, they will unfortunately be unable to move forward as a country.

The Great Depression

9. 04 The Great Depression A. Heading: * Address (imaginary) * City, State (imaginary) * Date (Month, Day, Year in the 1930s) B. Greeting: Dear ________: C. Body Your letter should focus on the following aspects of your life: * Paragraph 1: In the introduction to your letter, identify two causes of the Great Depression. Utilize the web sites in the Resource section. Explain how the Great Depression has affected you and your family. Use specific details from the web sites (For example, how did Black Tuesday affect your family or relatives? What is your standard of living? * Paragraph 2: a. Describe your family. Who are your brothers, sisters, relatives? What do your parents and relatives do for a living? b. Choose one of your relatives that has a job set up by FDR's New Deal. (For example, an uncle might be employed by the WPA). Choose a specific program within the New Deal—do not simply reference the New Deal in general. Describe the job with details. What is the purpose of th e organization? * Paragraph 3: c. Describe your school, classes, and teachers. Who are your friends? . Describe the town where you live. Who are your neighbors? Describe important celebrations, events, and people. Where do you like to hang out or play? * Paragraph 4: e. What is happening in the nation politically and economically? Look carefully at the date of your letter. Include specific details from the resources. f. What is happening in the nation's culture? Tell about music, radio programs, movies, sports. (Minimum of two specific details from the timeline according to the date of your letter. ) * Paragraph 5: a. What are your dreams for the future? b. What do you think the world will be like? c. How do you think the events of the Great Depression will affect you? | 76 Fort Street Johnston, West Virginia January 15, 1936 Dear Home Owner, My name is Frank Rollins and one day you will find this letter in my old house as part of a time capsule to be opened in the year 2007. It will hopefully help you and others understand what life is like for the people living through the tough economic times of today and hopefully will help you appreciate the many things that you may have. It will help you understand that standards of living can change very rapidly in times of economic turmoil and that what was once taken for granted can just as easily slip through your hands as if it wasn’t there. It will also hopefully help you understand just how quickly things change. Most importantly, I hope this letter helps you appreciate that the people in your lives are so much more important than the things. I am writing this letter as one final activity in this wonderful home where we have lived for 12 years. I am 33 years old, married to a beautiful woman, and we share 5 children between the ages of 5 and 11. We bought this house as our first home and thought that we would live here to raise all of our children. It is a wonderful neighborhood and the people here are friendly and kind. We have made friends that we will have for life and our children have too. Today is a very sad day for my entire family and for the friends that we have made. Unfortunately, we have to move because we can no longer afford to pay for the house that we treasure so much. Times are tough in this country and although we thought we would make it, things have changed. I was once the manager of the town’s bank and I made a very good living. We have been able to live in this affluent white collar neighborhood, be part of the country club and send our kids to private school where they were around other kids with the same standard of living. I worked hard to earn the wage that I did and I moved up the ladder in a meticulous manner so that I could maintain stability and growth. I wanted to provide my wife and children with the best that life has to offer and I was successful until October 29th, 1929, Black Tuesday. That was a day that changed my future and my destiny. It was the day that the stock market crashed and that people lost much of what they had. It was the day that caused panic for everyone, but bank managers in particular were in a predicament that was not too pleasant. Money just seemed to disappear and everyone blamed us. What they didn’t understand is that a bank is a business and somehow we had to pay our bills too. We had lent money and lent money and lent money and now, as people couldn’t pay it back, we were really in a pickle. It was a tough day followed by a rougher few years. I saw people’s houses be taken from them and people were just crushed. I was not able to help because the bank didn’t have any more money to lend. Roosevelt had placed a temporary close on banks to figure out who could legitimately stay open and who had to close for good. My bank stayed open for a while, but the time came 3 months ago when the doors had to close. You see, what happened is that people got really comfortable spending their money and other people’s money. Borrowing started, lots of borrowing, and people no longer lived with debt. It became a way of life. Then, people wanted more and more stuff. This was all in the 1920’s by the way when all of these new things were being manufactured and people were in awe of the new technology. As people bought it, more stuff was made until there was too much stuff on the store shelves. People had started to smarten up a little bit and they stopped buying. Production continued and the businesses were paying the price for that over production. When businesses have to pay, they cut costs somewhere else. In this case, it was in laborers. So people got laid off and were now out of work. The whole thing spiraled out of control and devastated the entire country. At the time, Hoover was our President and although he gets blamed for a lot of this stuff, it wasn’t really him who was to blame. He could have been more alert to what was happening I guess, but it was hard for anyone to see. He lost the election last year when Roosevelt was brought in with the promise of the New Deal. The New Deal is the promise for everything to be put back together financially in the country. It is the promise for jobs and for businesses to get back on their feet and for the country to become prosperous again. Will it work? It is hard to say becuae we are in the beginning phases of it. Roosevelt is definitely doing what he can to help the American people though. He has puts programs in place that are funded by the federal government that will insure that another Black Tuesday doesn’t happen. He has the FDIC which insures people’s banks deposits, the Works Progress Administration to offer jobs building new highways, the Social Security Administration to help people who are elderly or retired and about 12 other programs beyond that. They are all there to offer education, work and insurance that people’s money is safe. I think it will be several years before we know what will come of all of this but we will keep our fingers crossed that things get better. I will actually benefit from Roosevelt’s new deal as I begin my job as a highway builder next week. It will not provide the private school education that my kids are used to, or the continuation at the country club, but it would be unfair if it did. It is not the government’s job to provide me with anything but I am really happy that it will help me provide food to my family. Right now, every little bit helps. I look at this opportunity as a way to appreciate what I had and to look forward to gaining it back one day. I will do that as things get better and people get more in touch with the realities of what they have. It will be a while before banks are trusted and there are some people who still hold me personally accountable for their losses. That is the worst feeling in the world because I pride myself on honesty and integrity. The highway building will be a good respite and a way for me to get in better touch with what I will do in the future. My children will begin in the public school on Monday too. It will be the beginning of our new life with all kinds of changing happening next week. They will go to a one room school instead of a school where each grade is separated. Their teacher seems so nice though and I think they will benefit from their time learning together instead of apart. They will go from 8am til 12 pm and return home for lunch and to do their homework, chores and play. What my wife and I have stressed to them is how lucky we are to have each other, good health, and grandparents who have a home big enough for all of us to stay in. There are many less fortunate than us who don’t have a place to go and they don’t have food to put on their table. That is the ultimate tragedy really, isn’t it? We will still have a radio to listen to and we will continue to dance the way that we used to at night after listen to Roosevelt’s fireside chat. We dance in hope that the promises he is making will come true and we dance to celebrate life. Some nights we listen to the baseball games and root for Babe Ruth. He is the ultimate baseball of all time. We also read together so that our minds can keep growing and as a way to entertain ourselves. Sometimes we act out the stories in our family just for fun. One of my daughters has a flare for the dramatic and she loves to be an actress. She loved going to the movies when we could afford it, and I can’t wait to be able to take her again when times are a little better. The other kids like to play baseball in the yard with the kids in neighborhood, climbing trees and swimming at the country club. I suppose we will have to go to the river to swim for the time being and the new experience will be a great one for all of us. What I want you to know as you read this letter is that times are tough and in history, people should be aware of how tough times are for some people and how they got that way. I hope that you cherish the people in your life more than the things that you can have and that you make sensible choices when spending money that you have worked hard for. I believe that people should try to live without debt for the trivial things in life. Clothing, cars and things of that nature should be paid for without using someone else’s money. I understand that houses are very expensive and that in normal circumstances people must borrow money for them and that one expense is the only one that should leave you owing someone else money. There will temptations in life and pressures from others to spend money you don’t have, but I beg of you not to do it. I am giving up my home tomorrow and I am thankful the most for the wife and children. The things we have accumulated are only reminders of how I could have saved that money and been paying for my home right now. Be grateful for health and cherish the smiles that you see as people pass you by. Maybe one day, I will rebuy this old home of ours, and maybe it will be one of my grandkids who opens this time capsule letter. That would be the ultimate gift, but for now, I can only hope that the people who move in here enjoy it as much as we did and that they have good fortune and prosperity. And 70 years from now, in 2007, I hope that all of Roosevelt’s new programs have worked and that we, in the worst of financial times, have made it right for future generations. Change is not a bad thing, it lays the groundwork for new and better times. Best wishes to you and your family. I hope that you enjoy our home as much as we did. Sincerely, Frank Rollins The Great Depression 9. 04 The Great Depression A. Heading: * Address (imaginary) * City, State (imaginary) * Date (Month, Day, Year in the 1930s) B. Greeting: Dear ________: C. Body Your letter should focus on the following aspects of your life: * Paragraph 1: In the introduction to your letter, identify two causes of the Great Depression. Utilize the web sites in the Resource section. Explain how the Great Depression has affected you and your family. Use specific details from the web sites (For example, how did Black Tuesday affect your family or relatives? What is your standard of living? * Paragraph 2: a. Describe your family. Who are your brothers, sisters, relatives? What do your parents and relatives do for a living? b. Choose one of your relatives that has a job set up by FDR's New Deal. (For example, an uncle might be employed by the WPA). Choose a specific program within the New Deal—do not simply reference the New Deal in general. Describe the job with details. What is the purpose of th e organization? * Paragraph 3: c. Describe your school, classes, and teachers. Who are your friends? . Describe the town where you live. Who are your neighbors? Describe important celebrations, events, and people. Where do you like to hang out or play? * Paragraph 4: e. What is happening in the nation politically and economically? Look carefully at the date of your letter. Include specific details from the resources. f. What is happening in the nation's culture? Tell about music, radio programs, movies, sports. (Minimum of two specific details from the timeline according to the date of your letter. ) * Paragraph 5: a. What are your dreams for the future? b. What do you think the world will be like? c. How do you think the events of the Great Depression will affect you? | 76 Fort Street Johnston, West Virginia January 15, 1936 Dear Home Owner, My name is Frank Rollins and one day you will find this letter in my old house as part of a time capsule to be opened in the year 2007. It will hopefully help you and others understand what life is like for the people living through the tough economic times of today and hopefully will help you appreciate the many things that you may have. It will help you understand that standards of living can change very rapidly in times of economic turmoil and that what was once taken for granted can just as easily slip through your hands as if it wasn’t there. It will also hopefully help you understand just how quickly things change. Most importantly, I hope this letter helps you appreciate that the people in your lives are so much more important than the things. I am writing this letter as one final activity in this wonderful home where we have lived for 12 years. I am 33 years old, married to a beautiful woman, and we share 5 children between the ages of 5 and 11. We bought this house as our first home and thought that we would live here to raise all of our children. It is a wonderful neighborhood and the people here are friendly and kind. We have made friends that we will have for life and our children have too. Today is a very sad day for my entire family and for the friends that we have made. Unfortunately, we have to move because we can no longer afford to pay for the house that we treasure so much. Times are tough in this country and although we thought we would make it, things have changed. I was once the manager of the town’s bank and I made a very good living. We have been able to live in this affluent white collar neighborhood, be part of the country club and send our kids to private school where they were around other kids with the same standard of living. I worked hard to earn the wage that I did and I moved up the ladder in a meticulous manner so that I could maintain stability and growth. I wanted to provide my wife and children with the best that life has to offer and I was successful until October 29th, 1929, Black Tuesday. That was a day that changed my future and my destiny. It was the day that the stock market crashed and that people lost much of what they had. It was the day that caused panic for everyone, but bank managers in particular were in a predicament that was not too pleasant. Money just seemed to disappear and everyone blamed us. What they didn’t understand is that a bank is a business and somehow we had to pay our bills too. We had lent money and lent money and lent money and now, as people couldn’t pay it back, we were really in a pickle. It was a tough day followed by a rougher few years. I saw people’s houses be taken from them and people were just crushed. I was not able to help because the bank didn’t have any more money to lend. Roosevelt had placed a temporary close on banks to figure out who could legitimately stay open and who had to close for good. My bank stayed open for a while, but the time came 3 months ago when the doors had to close. You see, what happened is that people got really comfortable spending their money and other people’s money. Borrowing started, lots of borrowing, and people no longer lived with debt. It became a way of life. Then, people wanted more and more stuff. This was all in the 1920’s by the way when all of these new things were being manufactured and people were in awe of the new technology. As people bought it, more stuff was made until there was too much stuff on the store shelves. People had started to smarten up a little bit and they stopped buying. Production continued and the businesses were paying the price for that over production. When businesses have to pay, they cut costs somewhere else. In this case, it was in laborers. So people got laid off and were now out of work. The whole thing spiraled out of control and devastated the entire country. At the time, Hoover was our President and although he gets blamed for a lot of this stuff, it wasn’t really him who was to blame. He could have been more alert to what was happening I guess, but it was hard for anyone to see. He lost the election last year when Roosevelt was brought in with the promise of the New Deal. The New Deal is the promise for everything to be put back together financially in the country. It is the promise for jobs and for businesses to get back on their feet and for the country to become prosperous again. Will it work? It is hard to say becuae we are in the beginning phases of it. Roosevelt is definitely doing what he can to help the American people though. He has puts programs in place that are funded by the federal government that will insure that another Black Tuesday doesn’t happen. He has the FDIC which insures people’s banks deposits, the Works Progress Administration to offer jobs building new highways, the Social Security Administration to help people who are elderly or retired and about 12 other programs beyond that. They are all there to offer education, work and insurance that people’s money is safe. I think it will be several years before we know what will come of all of this but we will keep our fingers crossed that things get better. I will actually benefit from Roosevelt’s new deal as I begin my job as a highway builder next week. It will not provide the private school education that my kids are used to, or the continuation at the country club, but it would be unfair if it did. It is not the government’s job to provide me with anything but I am really happy that it will help me provide food to my family. Right now, every little bit helps. I look at this opportunity as a way to appreciate what I had and to look forward to gaining it back one day. I will do that as things get better and people get more in touch with the realities of what they have. It will be a while before banks are trusted and there are some people who still hold me personally accountable for their losses. That is the worst feeling in the world because I pride myself on honesty and integrity. The highway building will be a good respite and a way for me to get in better touch with what I will do in the future. My children will begin in the public school on Monday too. It will be the beginning of our new life with all kinds of changing happening next week. They will go to a one room school instead of a school where each grade is separated. Their teacher seems so nice though and I think they will benefit from their time learning together instead of apart. They will go from 8am til 12 pm and return home for lunch and to do their homework, chores and play. What my wife and I have stressed to them is how lucky we are to have each other, good health, and grandparents who have a home big enough for all of us to stay in. There are many less fortunate than us who don’t have a place to go and they don’t have food to put on their table. That is the ultimate tragedy really, isn’t it? We will still have a radio to listen to and we will continue to dance the way that we used to at night after listen to Roosevelt’s fireside chat. We dance in hope that the promises he is making will come true and we dance to celebrate life. Some nights we listen to the baseball games and root for Babe Ruth. He is the ultimate baseball of all time. We also read together so that our minds can keep growing and as a way to entertain ourselves. Sometimes we act out the stories in our family just for fun. One of my daughters has a flare for the dramatic and she loves to be an actress. She loved going to the movies when we could afford it, and I can’t wait to be able to take her again when times are a little better. The other kids like to play baseball in the yard with the kids in neighborhood, climbing trees and swimming at the country club. I suppose we will have to go to the river to swim for the time being and the new experience will be a great one for all of us. What I want you to know as you read this letter is that times are tough and in history, people should be aware of how tough times are for some people and how they got that way. I hope that you cherish the people in your life more than the things that you can have and that you make sensible choices when spending money that you have worked hard for. I believe that people should try to live without debt for the trivial things in life. Clothing, cars and things of that nature should be paid for without using someone else’s money. I understand that houses are very expensive and that in normal circumstances people must borrow money for them and that one expense is the only one that should leave you owing someone else money. There will temptations in life and pressures from others to spend money you don’t have, but I beg of you not to do it. I am giving up my home tomorrow and I am thankful the most for the wife and children. The things we have accumulated are only reminders of how I could have saved that money and been paying for my home right now. Be grateful for health and cherish the smiles that you see as people pass you by. Maybe one day, I will rebuy this old home of ours, and maybe it will be one of my grandkids who opens this time capsule letter. That would be the ultimate gift, but for now, I can only hope that the people who move in here enjoy it as much as we did and that they have good fortune and prosperity. And 70 years from now, in 2007, I hope that all of Roosevelt’s new programs have worked and that we, in the worst of financial times, have made it right for future generations. Change is not a bad thing, it lays the groundwork for new and better times. Best wishes to you and your family. I hope that you enjoy our home as much as we did. Sincerely, Frank Rollins The Great Depression The Great Depression was caused by not just one event, but by a combination of factors that led to the Great Depression. These included the stock market crash of 1929, the failures of nine thousand banks, drought conditions in the Mississippi valley, also known as the Great Dust Bowl, in 1930 and American economic policies with Europe, including the Smoot-Hawley Tariff in 1930, which reduces trade with Europe and contributed to an overall reduction in purchasing of durable goods. The stock market crash of 1929 was the event that sparked everything off. On September 3, 1929, the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a high of 381.2, a record high at the time.At the end of the market day on Thursday, October 24, the market was at 299.5, this was a twenty one percent drop in just under two months. In November of the same year, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 199. By the time 1932 was over, the market had lost over ninety percent of its value. Banks, at the time, were also largely unregulated and often loaned out more money than they had on hand. Brokerage firms would lend out none dollars for every dollar, their investors had deposited. This was called buying on a margin. When the market failed, these loans were called in and the investors had no way to pay.This was worsened when many loans could not be collected on and depositors demanded their money back. There was no such thing as the FDIC back then, and the banks depositors lost their entire savings when a bank failed. The dollar was also decreasing in value while the debit people had stayed the same. This caused banks to decrease lending, which in turn, disrupted businesses, causing job losses as these businesses failed as well. It was a vicious cycle made worse by runs on the banks. Bank runs are when people rush to withdraw their money from banks for fear of losing it if the bank was in financial trouble. When people were unemployed and fearful of the banks, they tried to withdraw money that simply w as not there.The Decline in the Supply of MoneyAs we have discussed, a chain of events led to the great depression one of those was a decline in the money supply. The table below will help understand better the status of the money supply before and after the great depression years. (Watkins, 2013) M1= The sum of currency in circulation and the level of demand deposits M2- The sum of M1 plus time depositsThe Money Supply and Consumer Price Index (CPI) Before and During the Great Depression Years Demand Currency Consumer M2 M1 Deposits in circulation Price Index YEAR ($bill) ($bill) ($bill) ($bill) (1947-49 =100) 1926 43.7 26.2 22.2 4.891927 44.7 26.1 22.1 4.85 74.2 1928 46.4 26.4 22.5 4.80 73.3 1929 46.6 26.6 22.7 4.75 73.3 1930 45.7 25.8 22.0 4.52 71.4 1931 42.7 24.1 20.0 4.82 65.0 1932 36.1 21.1 16.2 5.70 58.4 1933 32.2 19.9 14.8 5.72 55.3 1934 34.4 21.9 17.2 5.37 57.2 1935 39.1 25.9 21.1 5.57 58.7 1936 43.5 29.6 24.3 6.24 59.3 1937 45.7 30.9 25.3 6.45 61.4 1938 45.5 30.5 25.0 6.46 60.3 1939 49.3 34.2 28.1 7.05 59.4 1940 55.2 39.7 32.0 7.85 59.9 1941 62.5 46.5 38.1 9.61 62.9 1942 71.2 55.4 43.8 12.38Political DebateDuring the Great Depression, the political parties had some heated debates between each other to try and solve the crisis. Essentially the debates among parties during the great depression are not unlike the fiscal debates that have gone on since the parties’ inception. Fiscally conservative and liberal parties both have good points and have both been proven successful in the pas t. The problem is that both theories have also shown examples of failure. FDR originally took a fiscally conservative approach during the recession but soon adopted a new strategy.In April 1938 he took advice from Harry Hopkins and other advisers who believed that government spending on  relief and public works would revive the economy, even if it produced larger deficits. The idea was that the depression was the product of under-consumption and that giving consumers more money (â€Å"priming the pump†) would stimulate consumer spending and fix the economy’s recession. FDR asked Congress for a $5 billion relief program, which passed in the spring and summer of 1938. But it didn’t really have an effect because although this was an aggressive approach to the recession, it was still too conservative. The amount of $5 billion was too little to provide the necessary stimulus.