Puerto Rico Essay Example for Free

Puerto Rico Essay The most magnificent place I’ve ever been is Puerto Rico. With its breath taking landscapes and the calm serenity of the ocean; Puerto Rico is one of the most relaxing and gorgeous places I’ve ever been. The mixes of several different Latin styles play a huge role in not only the music and dancing of Puerto Rico but, also the style of the wardrobe. The best part of Puerto Rico though is the amazing experience and adventures I’ve been on. Puerto Rico has some of the most beautiful landscapes I’ve ever seen. In San Juan P.  R, there are many under water caves. The cave are hidden by the green plants and leaves that stretch from the grown to the top of mountains and, surrounded in brown and green furry moss. The fresh water sparkles in the spots of light from the top of the cave. The water gives the clearest reflection like a mirror. When you look above all you can see are scattered rays of light and snake like veins hung like icicles along the cave roof. There are an array of fresh water fish that dance along the bottom of the river. The caves are almost as beautiful as the beaches in Isabella P. R. The only thing you can hear along the beach is the sound of the waves crashing toward the shore. The waves merge to the shore line as the ocean water flows back and forth, rocking along the shore. The water fades from a clear blue to a heart of the ocean sapphire blue. Billions upon billions of black and brown grains and minerals are spread throughout the beach. The view is something you have to see to believe. The sounds of bongos and brass instruments echo throughout the night. Puerto Ricos unique mix of Caribbean and south American sound turn into Puerto Rico Own music and dance called salsa. The sound hits the heart of people everywhere with its smooth jazzy sound and its upbeat dance. Salsa dancers and there partners dance the night away in the streets of Puerto Rico. The women dress in stunning traditional dresses. Wearing all white floor length dresses with hand sewn beats across the bodice and, hand sewn designs along the train of the dress. There hair is neatly tucked into a ballet bun with a red rose on the side. The men are dressed in all black. As they begin to dance throughout the Streets they bow to there partners with grace and elegance. There feet move at 1,000 steps a minute as there face remains the same. You can see the pure passion and enjoyment in there faces as they glide down the streets never looking down once. They are as graceful as gazelles but as energetic as a child. Never breaking a sweat they dance until the sun comes up. The only thing thats better than the gorgeous scenery and the amazing and unique sound of Puerto Rico is the exciting activities. In Puerto Rico Ive went deep sea diving, para sailing, and hiking. When I went deep sea diving all I saw was clear blue water and gorgeous yellow and blue striped fish. There was sponge like coral. The sea went on for miles but looked like it was only a few feet deep. Para sailing was both frightening and exciting. I felt like a bird flying through the sky. The wind flew through my face as my feet glided across the water making huge ripples in the water. Hiking and sight seeing was the most fun of all. Hiking in the forest of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico was an amazing experience. The forrest was covered in green leaves reaching the sky, there were stunning white and red flowers. There was no cell phone service and all I heard in the forrest was the sound of coquis singing at night. Puerto Rico is the most magnificent place Ive ever been. The caves and beaches created a calm place to gather your thoughts and be close to nature. The music and dancing were an amazing way to view the culture of Puerto Rico and the activities are as exciting as can be.

Effect Of Plagiarism In University

Effect Of Plagiarism In University Plagiarism is to use someone elses words or idea without acknowledging the source. With the development of globalization process, more and more students choose to study aboard. Different education background precipitate plagiarism becoming more serious. Since the diploma from international university has become more valued by most people, resulting in a large number of people to study abroad is not in order to acquire knowledge, but in exchange for a diploma. This lead to a lot of students who are at the low foundation choose to study abroad, but limited academic competence and can not be independently completed the task of assignment, then they would use plagiarism complete it. According to that plagiarism is becoming more common in university. Another reason of plagiarism is that some students lack of understanding on foreign universities plagiarism discipline, therefore during the process of finishing the assignment the mistake may be happened. In short, plagiarism is a very serious issue in the academic writing. To avoid plagiarism, students must complete understand what the plagiarism is, and the cause of plagiarism. Only understanding the cause and effect could prevent it. There are many reasons for the cause of plagiarism. Moreover it has several negative effects on students and education system. Causes Do not understand plagiarism First of all, sometimes students do not realize that they are plagiarizing, because sometimes the inaccurate language can be regard as plagiarism. There is one way to avoid plagiarism is using the quotation marks around the copy words, and also need to add the authors name and publish year. But improper quote is a kind of plagiarism. When a direct quote is used, the quotation mark must be put in. If not, even if the reference is provided. This situation could cause the writer be accused of trying claim another persons work as his own (http://library.leeds.ac.uk/tutorials/plagiarism/). Even the quote is completely correct; overuse of direct quotations can lead a poor mark on the assignment. So its not a good choice to use too many quotations. That is why students need to use paraphrase and summary in academic writing task. An unfortunate thing is for the international students, especially the students from the non-English speaking countries. English as their second language they can not use it as well as their first language, so paraphrase and summary may make trouble in their writing. Students may use some sources full of complex sentence structure. To paraphrase those sentences is hard to organize words as well as the original one. That may make some students thinking their own work cannot compare and they may choose to copy the original source or just change some words of them, but use its primordial structure. (Kuhn 1957) To avoid plagiarism when paraphrasing, not only should the original words be changed, but also the sentence structure of the newly paraphrased text must be different from that of the original ( Roig, 2001) . According to that, students do not really understand it maybe plagiarizing. Inaccurate referencing In addition, inaccurate referencing could also cause the plagiarism. It includes five forms. (http://www.uea.ac.uk/plagiarism/understanding_plagiarism). Firstly reference must be clear to readers exactly which parts of essay draw on which scholars work. Simply including a bibliography at the end of assignment does not help the reader to distinguish which is own work and which is drawn from other scholars. Secondly using misleading reference is not allowed. Students can not forge references or include ones that they have not read. When students do not read the original but find it quoted in others article, it must indicate both the original text and the one they found. If only the original was acknowledged which is falsification. Third one, the ideas, theories, findings, etc of others are failed to attribute. Even there is no exact words quoted, it is still another scholars work that need to be acknowledged with a reference. Fourth one, the images, diagrams, tables etc should be also referenced in the same way as words. Even if the information in the presentation has been reworked, it also should be acknowledged where the data come from. The last but not least, on occasion students use some source without reference because they think it is a common knowledge, but sometimes the assuming is incorrect and it must actually be ascribed a certain individual or individuals. All in all, incomplete or inaccurate references can lead to plagiarism. Students need to check all references thoroughly when proofreading to ensure that no errors have been made. All references should be complete so that they can be traced by the reader. ( http://www.uea.ac.uk/plagiarism/plagiarism_forms5) Pressure According to famous research (Patrick G 1998), pressure is the strongest factor lead to possibility of plagiarism or cheating. The main kinds of pressure are grade pressure, time pressure, and task pressure. These three kinds of pressure are not isolated, for example, in many conditions without some time restraint the likeliness of feeling task pressure was reduced. (1) Grade pressure means academic pressures to a certain extent. When the students study in a university, they will face this pressure. Getting a degree is not a simple thing. To finish the assignment is quite a hard work and sometimes may get a low mark or even worse after a long period effort, after that student perhaps feels awful. Moreover going to study with an awful feeling can not achieve a satisfactory result. Then students will find themselves in the cycle. (https://www.york.ac.uk/students/support/health/problems/academic-pressures/) When students in this situation probably choose plagiarize to get a better mark to avoid it. (2) Time pressure -Students are often juggling conflicting constraints on the time they allocate to study due to working part-time or an active sporting or social life. Spending a significant amount of time undertaking paid employment whilst studying at university can present challenging situations which are likely to cause students to resort to plagiarism. Although there is no causal link between plagiarism and students being employed, evidence has found that students face increasing pressure to work whilst studying full time, putting them at risk of academic dishonesty or intentional omission of references as they make choices between allocating time between study and work.(Powell. L 2012) Time pressure maybe a excuse for students but it does exist. (3) Task pressure Task pressure relates to the number and types of assignments a student is struggling to complete during a given time period.(Patrick G 1998) Sometimes students will be given many assignments by different tutors but need to finish them in a short time. There is one more pressure need to be statement. The whole education system pressure The number of undergraduate and graduate students has been growing in almost every country around the world and those who enter the system stay for a longer time. (Just consider how much time it takes to get a Ph.D.) The personal investment is greater, as is the competition. In addition, there are more countries trying to move into the big leagues of academia, which adds even more pressure to the whole system.(Ivan Pacheco 2011). This pressure provokes the plagiarism in the academic field. more:http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/the_world_view/is_academic_corruption_on_the_rise#ixzz24z8KBAk9 Negative attitude Final cause is the negative attitude. Personal attitudes determine success or failure. The students with negative attitude could effect their academic motivation. If the academic motivation went to the negative part, students will lose their learning interests. When students lose it they will cost more time on enjoying college life, such as go parties or anticipate other activities, and when they pick up books they would feel sleepy. It is necessary to consider how these students can pass the exam? The majority of students may choose cheating in the exam or even pay someone to write the essay or just copy and paste others work then add a reference list at the end. Besides the student, even the professors are drawn into cheating issues. A professor at Columbia Universitys Teachers College who was propelled into the national spotlight when a noose was found on her office door last fall has been found to have plagiarized the work of a former colleague and two former students, the college has announced. (KAREN W. ARENSON and ELISSA GOOTMAN 2008 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/education/21prof.html?_r=1adxnnl=1pagewanted=alladxnnlx=1346065286-naQLgtFv9vk7661DOblX1Q). Academic research is tough and endless. If the professors feel too eager to succeed or finish the tasks given by university, they may choose a closer way to succeed by plagiarism. To sum up above mentioned, plagiarism include two main types, Unintentional plagiarism and intentional plagiarism. Plagiarism is not allowed whatever the reason is. Effects Respect The first effect of plagiarism is this behavior is disrespectful to the original author. It is so rude to use anothers idea without referencing. Taking the exact words of another person without attribution is just like stealing a car from another person (Janice Moulton and George Robinson, Smith College, 2002). Michelle Langley (2010) claims that A student who has copied the work of another person is not showing respect for his own creative and intellectual potential. It also shows that he does not care about maintaining personal integrity. (http://www.ehow.com/facts_5472037_effect-plagiarism-students.html#ixzz24md4DHE4) Worsen academic environment Plagiarism tarnished the academic purity. When many students cheating in university, the whole learning environment will be affected then make the situation worse. When one student pass the assignment through plagiarism successful, and people around him know this news, they may try it. Then more and more students will find it is easy to finish assignment by plagiarism. That will make the number of people who plagiarism rise continue. That is minority students plagiarize cause plagiarism rife. It is certainly effect the whole academic environment in the university. Even in the famous university Oxford can not avoid it Plagiarism could threaten the value of a degree from Oxford University as students increasingly copy large slabs of work from the internet and submit it as their own, the university has warned.(Alexandra Smith 2006 http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2006/mar/15/highereducation.news) That is plagiarism produce plagiarism. Academic corruption The third effect is plagiarism make academic corruption on the rise. (Ivan Pacheco 2011) Plagiarism is one main part of academic corruption. (Michael Agelasto, 2004). According to that, when plagiarism is becoming more serious , it will be accompanied by the academic corruption. The fact is that the number of students in the UK who plagiarized is rising. (BBC news) That leads to academic corruption become more serious. For example, China now is experiencing the most serious academic corruption in recent years. In Chinese university, students finish the course work in the selected course by copy and paste from internet will not receive a punishment. And if one student finishes his/her assignment, the others will copy his/her work. Also it will be not a big deal in Chinese university. Those things make situation worse. Punishment Students will receive a stiff penalty when they were caught in plagiarism. In educational institutions, particularly universities and colleges, treat plagiarism as a serious problem of academic purity. They admonish their students of serious results for plagiarizing the assignment of others. Maybe different colleges and universities have different discipline on plagiarism. There are four common penalty always be used by Our Lady of the Lake College. (1)Lowering a students grade on the assignment (2)Giving the student a failing grade on the assignment (3)Lowering the students overall course grade (4)Giving the student a failing grade in the course (http://www.ololcollege.edu/archive_material/plagiarism_project/Penalties_Plagiarism1.html) Loss of Degree or Job University students who were accused plagiarism College students who commit plagiarism face the loss of their degrees upon discovery of the offense. College faculty members who plagiarize the work of other scholars face serious consequences as well. Professors who commit plagiarism may lose tenure and face even if being the loss of their jobs and damaging reputations. An academic found guilty of plagiarism faces the permanent loss of her credibility as a scholar. Plagiarism also may damage the reputation of schools as places of learning and intellectual inquiry. Damaged Relationships Plagiarism poisons the relationship between students and teachers by undermining the mutual trust that is an important element of the learning process. Widespread incidents of plagiarism, such as students taking work from the Internet and presenting it as their own, force teachers to act as police investigators, constantly searching for wrongdoing. All students become suspect in such an environment, and learning becomes impossible. Suspicion and mistrust replace intellectual curiosity and trust. Plagiarism also damages relationships between students who plagiarize and those who earn their grades honestly. Lack of Critical Thinking When students or instructors present others work as their own, they fail to develop and use critical thinking skills, which are necessary for learning and success in life. Financial Aid Continued receipt of federal financial aid is based upon a certain percentage of successfully completed course work. Students who receive Fs or who are suspended for entire semesters will likely be affected in financial aid eligibility. Private scholarship eligibility could also be affected. Reputation Schools maintain student records, and instructors share information informally. Students who are caught plagiarizing may develop reputations as cheaters. Teachers will likely scrutinize students with reputations more carefully than other students. All in all, effects of plagiarism can conclude into two main parts. Effects on education and students. Conclusion

Orson Welles The Magnificent Ambersons Essay examples -- Movies Films

â€Å"The biggest mistake we have made is to consider that films are primarily a form of entertainment. The film is the greatest medium since the invention of movable type for exchanging ideas and information, and it is no more at its best in light entertainment than literature is at its best in the light novel.† - Orson Welles Orson Welles was passionate about film. By the young age of 25, he had directed, produced, and starred in what is today considered by most to be the greatest movie ever made, Citizen Kane. About a year later, Welles began work on his next film project, The Magnificent Ambersons. Based on the novel of the same name by Booth Tarkington, The Magnificent Ambersons tells the story of a falling aristocratic family in a small midwestern town during the late 19h century. It depicts the sad, rapid industrial growth of the Midwest. Welles, who grew up in Kenosha, Wisconsin and later in Illinois, understood what life was like in this part of the country and the novel allowed him to delve into his roots and examine his personal past. Surviving many risks and crises, this film is still revered today, almost 60 years later, as yet another great work of art by Orson Welles. After finishing up Citizen Kane, Welles’ search for a second film to fulfill his contract with the Hollywood studio RKO radio pictures was a hard one. He first wanted to make The Pickwick Papers with W.C. Fields, but someone else was already under contract to make the film with another studio. He also considered trying Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness but RKO considered the project too experimental, and he finally decided to write a script based on Booth Tarkington’s novel, which had won a Pulitzer Prize in 1919 (McBride 53). It had been film... ...ugh The Magnificent Ambersons had a poor track record at the box office, it was still admired by many. A July 20, 1942 Time Magazine review called it â€Å"a great motion picture, adult and demanding. Artistically it is a textbook of advanced cinema technique† (Variety Film Reviews). It was also nominated for several Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Art Direction, Best Black and White Cinematography and Best Supporting Actress (Agnes Moorehead) (O’Neil). Moorehead won the New York Film Critics Award for her performance as Fanny Minafer (O’Neill). â€Å"Agnes Moorehead gave a brilliant and thoughtful portrayal in the somber and murky Orson Welles picture The Magnificent Ambersons† (Variety Film Reviews). There has been speculation that the film would be widely regarded as Welles's best work and possibly the greatest film ever made had an original cut been available.

Playstation2 Arrives! :: essays research papers

Playstation2   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Late this summer, Sony will release its brainchild product dubbed PlayStation2. This is a follow up to its predecessor PlayStation1. If you are familiar with the video game entertainment market, its usual that a company releases a new console every 4 to 5 years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Playstation2 is expected to revolutionize the video gaming industry in ways never imagined before. Who would have thought we would be able to watch DVD's on our video game player? Soon this summer we will be able to. How about connecting to the net and going online to play a buddy or just any competitor in California? Feel like downloading some mp3's? The new PlayStation2 will let you do all these things and more.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  PlayStation2 will offer a variety of different ways of using their machine. Not only can you play revolutionizing games, but you can shop through your computer. Sony will offer in 2001 a connection to the Internet in which you can just surf the web. As I have mentioned, Sony has formatted the PlayStation2 to able to play DVD videos along with its games. One of the greatest things about the PlayStation2 is that you can play all your old Playstation1 games on it! Finally! After years and years of this backwards compatibility being in the dark, it is now possible with the PlayStation2. Not only your old games, but even your old controllers, memory cards and wires are going to be fully compatible with the system.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The PlayStation2 is expected to beat out its predecessor in every way including the books. Playstation1 accounted for 40% of all of Sony's profits in 1998. As of the first weekend of sales in Japan, Playstation2 had sold 980,000 units. All in one weekend! The lone fairly new competition that will be on the market before Playstation2 is the Sega Dreamcast. This was released in 1999 and has sold 4 million units since its release. Figure 4 million units in 52-weeks and then look at PlayStation2's numbers in Japan on one weekend.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Playstation2 will be extremely succesful because of it almost cult like following. In a recent study, a conclusion was made that 1 in four homes have a Playstation. That is close to 25 million units sold in the US alone. This all adds up to the 70 million units total sold in the world. And now the product is just more sellable with the DVD, Internet, and backwards compatibility available.

The Enron Implosion and the Loss of Respect for the Accounting Professi

The Enron Implosion and the Loss of Respect for the Accounting Profession On the surface, the motives behind decisions and events leading to Enron’s downfall appear simple enough: individual and collective greed born in an atmosphere of market euphoria and corporate arrogance. Hardly anyone—the company, its employees, analysts or individual investors—wanted to believe the company was too good to be true. So, for a while, hardly anyone did. Many kept on buying the stock, the corporate mantra and the dream. In the meantime, the company made many high-risk deals, some of which were outside the company’s typical asset risk control process. Many went sour in the early months of 2001 as Enron’s stock price and debt rating imploded because of loss of investor and creditor trust. Methods the company used to disclose its complicated financial dealings were all wrong and downright deceptive. The company’s lack of accuracy in reporting its financial affairs, followed by financial restatements disclosing billions of dollars of omitted liabilities and losses, contributed to its downfall. The whole affair happened under the watchful eye of Arthur Andersen LLP, which kept a whole floor of auditors assigned at Enron year-round. In 1985, after federal deregulation of natural gas pipelines, Enron was born from the merger of Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, a Nebraska pipeline company. In the process of the merger, Enron incurred a lot of debt and, as the result of deregulation, no longer had exclusive rights to its pipelines. In order to survive, the company had to come up with a new and innovative business strategy to generate profits and cash flow. Kenneth Lay, CEO, hired McKinsey & Co. to assist in developing Enron’s business strategy. It assigned Jeffrey Skilling to the task. Skilling, who had a background in banking and asset and liability management, proposed a revolutionary solution to Enron’s credit, cash, and profit worries in the gas pipeline business: create a â€Å"gas bank† in which Enron would buy gas from a network of suppliers and sell it to a network of consumers, contractually guaranteeing both the supply and the price, charging fees for the transactions and assuming the associated risks. Thanks to the young consultant, the company created both a new product and a new paradigm for the industry—the energy derivative. Lay was so impressed with Skilling’s ... ... excellence stand in satirical contrast to allegations now being made public. Personally, I had referred several of our best and brightest accounting, finance and MBA graduates to Enron, hoping they could gain valuable experience from seeing things done right. These included a very bright training consultant who had lost her job in 2000 with a Houston consulting firm as a result of a reduction in force. She has lost her second job in 18 months through no fault of her own. Other former students still hanging on at Enron face an uncertain future as the company fights for survival. The old saying goes, â€Å"Lessons learned hard are learned best.† Some former Enron employees are embittered by the way they have been treated by the company that was once â€Å"the best in the business.† Others disagree. In the words of one of my former students who is still hanging on: â€Å"Just for the record, my time and experience at Enron have been nothing short of fantastic. I could not have asked for a better place to be or better people to work with. Please, though, remember this: Never take customer and employee confidence for granted. That confidence is easy to lose and tough—to impossible—to regain.†

International Politics Essay

Transformation—is one of the few words which could be used in order to define and describe the current situation of the international community. In every parts of the world, transformation is currently occurring from the simple acquisition of one product to another. Such situation could be one of the few examples of the changes which are present in the current society. In the modern society, boundaries and limits had now been erased due to the technology including the issues facing most states in the global community. The past limitation of states in surpassing territorial boundaries of their own state is now removed. Such hindrances are not a concern any longer. The gaps in which divides states are now being linked therefore making each and everyone of us connected. The far away lands of Africa or Europe could now be reached through one click of a button. The then complicated processes of communication as well as the process of international relations had changed due to globalization. The process of globalization became a significant change in the relations of states. In addition, states are not only the actors in the international community. The active participation of non-state actors had been highlighted in the past events which had recently occurred such as wars, conflicts and environmental phenomenon. In the past such as the events of the World War I, nations were the only actors in the war. Decisions were only influenced by the leaders of the states involved. Although international organizations were present in providing aid to the victims of the war, they were not equally involved in the decision making process. But as these events unfold, it is evident that international organizations are similarly participating with the political issues at hand. In the principle of realism, the main actors were only states however; in the view of the liberalism theory, other actors such that of international organizations, trans-national organizations, multinational corporations and the likes. In the book of Baylis and Smith, the authors stated that in â€Å"Realists emphasize states’ ruthlessly self-interested search for territorial, military and economic resources† (Baylis and Smith, 2008). On the other hand, Liberalism or Idealism pursues to promote internationalism during the inter-war period (Baylis and Smith, 2008). The theory of liberalism’s main idea is to attach government together with good governance which will create a connection between states and the societies of the global community. Liberalism promotes the need for the world to unite and commune with the issues of the international community equally. However, unlike the liberalism, realists approach the view of internationalism is translated as anarchy. (Baylis and Smith, 2008) Evidently, the world is already shifting and adopting another form of ideology other than realism which was mainly utilized in the past. In the inter-war years, the liberalist theorists started to promote their perspective in which advocates that international institutions should encourage the values of having order, justice, liberty and toleration within the relationship of states. It was believed in such theory that the conflicts between states could not only be resolved through the use of force and warfare. International institutions or organizations much act as mediators when conflicts are at hand. In addition, such international institutions must be the area of discussion for the reason that it could create other actions in resolving disputes in a much objective manner. Therefore, the liberalists were able to influence every state in creating an international organization which lead to the creation of the League of Nations in which became the fundamental foundation of the United Nations. Although the ideas of the liberalists were idealistic, each state must be a member of the organization in order to fully accomplish and pursue the goals of the international organization. (Baylis and Smith, 2008) In our changing world, the past conflicts and issues of a state are realized to also be affecting the world. The recent war on terror had been actively participated by different states in order to deter the effects of terrorism. After the war on terror, many states changes their view point which such situations—following the chief state which proclaimed the war. The war on terror became a global issue due to the involvement of different states. Additionally, international organizations became a great factor in such war. The war in Afghanistan for example, the United Nations became one of the main decision maker and supporter of the war. The United Nations launched protocols and written agendas in order to promote action against the cruel ruling and the storage of the weapons of mass destruction of Saddam Hussein. In the incident given, the United Nations played a great role in encouraging and promoting in the issue against terrorism. United Nations became one of the main actors is countering against terrorism unlike in the past. (Bredel, 2003) Another issue which is currently in debate until this day is the issues concerning the global environment—climate change. This issue is one of the most controversial and debated issues because it is one of the problems of the world which passes the boundaries of states. Climate change not only affects the climate and the environment but also the politics and economics of each state. One of the few very specific problems under climate change is pollution. Pollution had been a great problem for different states for the reason that it encompasses the boundaries of states. It is known that most industries or factory excretes smoke which turns out to be air pollutants due to the machineries used to create products and the likes. Water pollution also has the same situation for the reason that it flows although out different forms of water and continuously flow to the water of other states. The problem obviously passes through the limitation of the international law and protocols available. The problem becomes a trans-national issue that requires states to cooperate and coordinate with each other in order to solve such crisis. With the issue of climate change, trans-national entities are the most reliable organizations in laying down such issues. Trans-national organizations provide states a much immediate and larger picture of the issue. Due to the personality of trans-national organization, different organizations that aim for the same goals as others come together to be able to solve the dilemmas at hand. With the issue of climate change, the main agent which is very much focused is the United Nations. The international organization created a branch which focuses on the issues of environment which is the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The branch of United Nations provides answer to the needs of each state in order to address the problem. The UNEP together with the states and other organizations with the same advocacy such as Green Peace and other local organizations with in the various states to be able to provide answer to the issue. The role of non-state actors and trans-national networks had become significant in the international community due to the promotion of international organization during crisis. The power given to non-state actors as well as trans-national networks enable these agencies to freely interfere with the conflicts of states and within states. Therefore, these groups provide their own view points, influencing states and individuals with their perspective. Most of the time, such organizations changes the civil society which then results to the change of the government. One example that could be cited is the pursuance of NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) in Asia to promote change in the civil society, therefore promoting development within the society. It is stated by Harriet Bulkeley and Michele Merrill Betsill (2005) in their book that â€Å"the international, regional, national and local interact â€Å"with actors influencing the activities of different levels simultaneously† (cited in O’ Riordan and Jordan 1996). With the statement given by the authors, it is evident that the role of non-state actors as well as trans-national organization is equally important as the responsibility of states. Therefore, the international order is changed due to the additional actors that are also acting in the international community. Currently, the international community is evidently reliant to non-state actors as well as to the trans-national networks due to the important role that it is undertaking with conflicts and decision making processes of a state. Non-state actors and trans-national networks had become one of the main components of international relations whether it may be in conflict resolution or in times of celebration. Such groups empower and support positive ideology due to the idealistic nature of most non-state and trans-national networks. The usual â€Å"state-only† theory had now been changed into a new form of relations of states which brings together actors that has the same goals to attain making the relations of states peaceful. Although most non-state actors and trans-national networks aims to create a united international community, there are also groups alike that promotes otherwise. One well known group is the Al-Qaeda which seeks to promote terror and violence from the eyes of most states. Although Al-Qaeda is seen as an extremist group in promoting change, it is also considered a trans-national network for the reason that it encompasses the boundaries of its home state and promotes their ideology to the world. The group creates networks in different parts of the world while maintaining a balance relation with other networks associated to the group. Due to the negative effects they such trans-national network is creating; it definitely changes the order of the international community. Not only it brings terror to the whole global community but the group promotes division and conflict within the global society. (Pearlstein, 2004) In conclusion, the issues that the international community is facing are now crossing the boundaries of states such that of the terrorism and climate change. There is a need for states to get together and resolve such dilemma. Therefore, trans-national networks and non-state actors play a vital role in resolving such problems. The non-state and trans-national networks are the best area for the resolution of such conflicts because objectiveness within the situation is achieved. The international community sets the non-states actors and trans-national networks as the one of the numerous vital actors in the global community. The participation of such actors promotes the unity of the whole international community in times of crisis or triumph. References Baylis J. , Smith S. , & Owens, P. Eds.(2008). The Globalization of World Politics: An introduction to International Relations. New York: Oxford University Press. Bredel, R. (2003). Long-term Conflict Prevention and Industrial Development: The United Nations and Its Specialized Agency, UNIDO. Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. Bulkeley, H. , and Betsill, M. M. (2005). Cities and Climate Change: Urban Sustainability and Global Environmental Governance. London: Routledge. Pearlstein, R. M. (2004). Fatal Future? : Transnational Terrorism and the New Global Disorder. Texas:University of Texas Press.

International Business in Japan

Abstract Capitalist and mostly single family centered, Zaibatsu led to a static system with weak competitive forces resulting in what is known as ‘cordial oligopoly’. (Niciejewska, 2007, pg 17) Keiretsu networks on the other hand, with its cross stockholdings is more dynamic and provided a more competitive business economy that continued to drive the Japanese economy during the post war period. The high cohesion that existed between the participating firms in the vertical keiretsu resulted in production and operational efficiency that gave Japanese manufacturers significant advantages in international markets. The impact of information technology and the internet in particular enabled the western countries implement modular production strategies and improved value chain management with setting up of contracted production centers across the globe. The japans keiretsu firms struggled to fight the American companies that specialized in single core functions leading to what is known as the mega competition. Keiretsu networks are unsuitable under modern, globally competitive, and technologically advanced market conditions. There is definitely a shift towards a more western centric business organization. Introduction Japanese corporate governance has undergone a lot of change since the Meiji restoration in 1868. It was during this time that the industrial revolution flourished across the world. The Zaibatsu originated when the Meiji government sold out certain government undertakings to a select few private and influential families namely Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Yasuda and Sumitomo. These government controlled firms slowly developed into different industries that helped Japan grow economically strong. During this period Japan practiced a closed economic system and foreign technology was totally shunned except in areas concerning domestic development (Thorson & Whitney, 2003). The Zaibatsu which could be loosely translated as monopolies emerged as the corporate structure that underlined the Japanese economy from this time till the end of the Second World War. In particular, the Zaibatsu or the industrial and financial conglomeration of the Japanese empire controlled a large percentage of the national economy during the first few decades of the twentieth century. In the aftermath of the World war 11 and the occupation of Japan by American forces, the Zaibatsu system was broken down and this gave rise to what is what is known as the Keiretsu system which is nothing but a group of companies with cross shareholdings and preferential business practices. Though the American government was bent on totally destroying the protectionary policies that the Zaibatsu system represented and proceeded with the dissolution of many Zaibatsu such as Asano, Furukawa, Nakajima, etc they stopped short of complete dissolution owing to fear of the intrusion of China’s communist practices into Japan. The formation of Keiretsu was an attempt to democratize the Japanese economy and to eliminate the restrictive policies (Thorson & Whitney, 2003). A brief overview of the firm structures in the Keiretsu and flourishing of Japanese economy between 1950-90, and its implications to the current Japanese economy would be discussed in this paper. Zaibatsu (Upto 1945) As briefly mentioned above, the Zaibatsu promoted a strong monopoly with holding companies at the top of the pyramid controlling all the operations between the various enterprises within the pyramid. Holding companies typically enjoyed the majority of the stocks of these businesses and more than 50% of the overall stocks of all the small companies that constitute the Zaibatsu were owned by its members (Thorson & Whitney, 2003). Stock options were never sold out to any third parties not connected with the zaibatsu making it a totally closed economic structure. The Zaibatsu was in short, a government led economic drive with strategies as well as resources provided for by the government. Japan’s industrial growth witnessed a rapid upswing under the Zaibatsu system. Buoyed by it success at home, the Japanese government forced the Zaibatsu system in Korea when it colonized the country (Shim & Lee, 2008, pg 49). The Zaibatsu enjoyed complete domination with Mitsui, Sumitomo and Mitsubishi, enjoying as much as 28% of the assets in Japanese companies by 1929. Just when the World War II was about to finish the Zaibatsu had 22.9% of the Japanese company stocks. Thus a handful of Japanese families had control over a vast majority of the Japanese enterprises under the Zaibatsu system. The structure of the Zaibatsu changed very quickly and soon there was intense diversification. For instance the single Mitsubishi Corporation rapidly diversified its business in to mining, shipping, insurance, trading, etc in a very short period of time and soon transformed into a holding company that was at the top of the Pyramid controlling a range of individual yet affiliated businesses. The Iwasaki family owned and controlled the entire business network of Mitsubishi (Lincoln & Shimotani, 2009). Keiretsu Keiretsu represents a cluster of enterprises that are linked to each other by way of cross shareholdings and preferential trading practices creating mutual interests in the business progress. Keiretsu are basically divided into two main types’ namely Vertical keiretsu and horizontal keiretsu. However there are also other keiretsu such as the distribution keiretsu that relate to the distribution networks of big manufacturers. For instance the distribution networks of Matsushita, Fuji Photo Film, etc come under the distribution Keiretsu (Shimotani, 1995). Keiretsu emerged as a protective response to the dissolution and distribution of the largely family owned stocks of the Zaibatsu. When hostile companies were taking over the zaibatsu firms the three main Zaibatsu leaders convened and arranged a solution of cross shareholding and preferential trading policies that enabled them to retain the overall control of the enterprises among themselves. For instance the Mitsui, Sumitomo an d Mitsubishi zaibatsu formed this strategic pact of cross shareholdings to maintain their stronghold in the business. This is how the Keiretsu emerged from the Zaibatsu. Soon by the 1960’s a few big financial institutions in Japan such as Dai-Ichi Kangyo, Fuji and Sanwa joined with the Mitsubishi, Sumitomo and Mitsui to constitute what was popularly known as the six horizontal Keiretsu (Lincoln & Shimotani, 2009). Periodic meetings between the president’s council (shacho-kai) members and executive exchanges and cross share holdings formed the glue between these six Keiretsu. The horizontal Keiretsu is centered around a large bank. On the other hand, the vertical Keiretsu are the large manufacturing companies and supply chain companies, the distributors etc. Unlike the Horizontal Keiretsu there is no president’s council in the vertical Keiretsu but the groups of suppliers of a manufacturing firm represent that role (Miwa and Ramsayer, 2006). Similar to the horizontal Keiretsu, the firms in the vertical keiretsu are also linked together by share holdings across firms and preferential business policies. In vertical Keiretsu there is improved knowledge sharing by way of business transfers including exchange of experts and technical staff members across the vertical network. Overall, vertical Keiretsu promotes improved cohesion among the network firms. In fact, the increased dependence of main firms on the supplier firms in the vertical Keiretsu even lead to large scale investments by these ancillary Japanese firms in US following the footsteps of the Japanese automobile manufacturing firms setting up their FDI in that Country (Banerji & Sambharya ,1996). In technology intensive industries of Japan vertical Keiretsu has greatly improved their international competitiveness by facilitating rapid knowledge sharing across the partnership firms. Empirical studies that measured the effects of such knowledge sharing across the firms in the vertical Keiretsu clearly suggest positive productive gains (Branstetter, 2000). One of the important advantages of the vertical keiretsu is the improved coordination between the suppliers and the assemblers. In the keiretsu automotive industries the suppliers receive plenty of support in products manufacturing , processing and people management. This is distinctly different from the US approach where the suppliers and the assembly line operate entirely independently. This model of operation facilitates both the parties as it helps to reduce the overall risk for either party. (Lincoln & Shimotani, 2009) Thus the Keiretsu improved knowledge transfer among t he networked firms, improved productivity, reduced risk for the firms and gave the Japanese companies clear advantage in the international market. Furthermore, Gerlach (2004), also notes that the Keiretsus were particularly important due to their one-set principle and networking. For instance, synergies were achieved in input and output, especially in the case of manufacturing. Centralized systems and departments were used in conducting basic support operations, which helped all subsidiaries in cost savings (Lincoln & Shimotani, 2009). Also, profit-trapping mechanisms were used in place, by distributing them effectively through subsidiaries (Lincoln & Shimotani, 2009). Cross shareholdings were also particularly important as it helped avoid takeovers, encouraged risk taking amongst companies, and had a long term outlook on strategy (Sturgeon, 2006). One of the important examples of the vertical Keiretsu is the Toyota group. In fact, Toyota has a unique distinction of being both a horizontal keiretsu as well as a vertical keiretsu. They key difference is that the massive size of the Toyota organization makes it possible to exist without being controlled by a central bank as is the case with horizontal keiretsu. Toyota with more than $72 billion in annual revenue has the financial might to stand for itself without the dependence of any major funding source. However, it is associated with the Mitsui group horizontally. Toyota is also widely diversified like a horizontal keiretsu company with its firms representing industries as varied as real estate, computer development, aircraft development, nonlife insurance, etc. The disintegration of the Keiretsu (Why keiretsu failed?) The keiretsu system started to decline slowly by the early nineties and one study by Gerlach (2004) that analyzed the cluster networking pattern of 257 Japanese organizations between 1978 and 1998 found clear evidence indicating this shift away from the Keiretsu. Analysis of cross shareholdings further confirmed the decline of the keiretsu structure (Lincoln & Shimotani, 2009). By the late nineties many major banks that were previously the core of the Horizontal keiretsu had already sold off major portions of their shares to international financial institutions (Ahmadjian and Robinson, 2001). Several Bank mergers further shook the keiretsu structure. Starting with the Mitsui and Taiyo-Kobe Bank merger in 1990 to the 1998 merger of Industrial Bank of Japan, Fuji and Dai-ichi Kangyo bank the largescale mergers of Japanese financial institutions led to consolidation of the related keiretsu firms (Lincoln & Shimotani, 2009). Globalization and technological changes further led to the withering of the Keiretsu. The numbers of board of directors were reduced and many foreign personals took up the position. International investors further demanded the selling off of the stocks in supplier firms and other affiliate firms. Furthermore, the global shift towards modular production system and the production efficiency that it gave rise to, along with a degree of independence between the firms that are involved, kind of eroded the production line advantages that Japanese firms specialized in mass production under the keiretsu system had enjoyed for a long period. The growth of information technology and the adaptation of computer simulation technologies in production testing and experimentation and swift data exchange between the firms reduced the need for physical communication (which was key in Keiretsu) and drastically improved value chain management.(Sturgeon, 2006) Modular production is propelled by ease of systems integration facilitated by information technology. By the 1990’s modular production system was already in place in the US electronic industry with its contract manufacturers spread across the globe. While the American firms capitalized on the internet enabled modular production systems and dominated the electronics industry and related computer hardware industry, Japanese electronics industry was still sticking to the ‘components plus products’ strategy. Cisco systems for instance enjoyed total domination in the network routers market enjoying as much as 80% of the market share while simply outsourcing its device production to contracted producers such as Solectron and Flextronics. Often the production centers are located in low cost regions such as China giving a distinct advantage for the modular production strategy. This contrast between the modular production strategies of the American firms and the in house à ¢â‚¬Ëœintegrated production system’ of the Japanese keiretsu firms gave a clear advantage to the American firms. In other words, the Japanese keiretsu firms could not handle the ‘mega competition’ from the American firms which specialize in single core functions or narrow core competencies. The following figure 1 illustrates the loss suffered by the Japanese keiretsu electronic industries in the early years of the new millennium. (Sturgeon, 2006) Another factor that accompanied global trade is the fluctuation of the exchange rates and its influence on the profit margin. Furthermore, the expansion into international markets and the associated transportation costs motivated many of Japan’s manufacturing firms to move their production facilities abroad as a cost effective solution. Though some suppliers too moved and invested in these new countries, in most cases the central firms such as Toyota started building trust and relationships with the local suppliers. Furthermore, changes in Japanese economic reforms including the Tax policies did not tolerate risk sharing measures as they used to before which clearly undermined one of the key Keiretsu principles. Conclusion The Large capitalist and mostly single family based zaibatsu companies flourished during the early twentieth century creating industrial monopolies that were closely controlled by the government. Zaibatsu led to what is known as a static system as most of the stocks are retained by the family that controls the business. Furthermore Zaibatsu promoted weak competition leading to what is known as ‘cordial oligopoly’.) Keiretsu on the other hand with its cross stockholdings is more dynamic and provided a more competitive business economy that continued to drive the Japanese economy during the post war period. The high cohesion that existed between the participating firms in the vertical keiretsu resulted in production and operational efficiency that gave Japanese manufacturers significant advantages in international markets. However, the Keiretsu principles of ‘preferential business’ affected foreign companies from entering the Japanese markets. Globalization and increasing pressures from international organizations to sell off stocks in affiliated firms affected the cohesion that previously existed between the participating firms in the keiretsu network. Furthermore, the successful integration and mass production strategies of the keiretsu networks that helped Japanese manufacturing firms flourish were soon affected by the shift in global production strategies. Particularly, the concept of modular production where product design could be isolated from its manufacture and the shift towards outsourcing in the western world created a dent in the Japanese manufacturing sector which was still stuck with the ‘in house production’ policies. The impact of information technology and the internet in particular enabled the western countries implement modular production strategies and improved value chain management with setting up of contracted production centers across the globe. The japans keiretsu firms struggled to fi ght the American companies that specialized in single core functions leading to what is known as the mega competition. These fundamental shifts in organizational structure and strategies in the West have made the Keiretsu networks unsuitable under modern globally competitive and technologically advanced market conditions. There is definitely a shift towards a more western centric business organization. Bibliography Ahmadjian, Christina L and Patricia Robinson. (2001). Safety in Numbers: Downsizing and the New Political Economy of Structural Adjustment and Globalization, New York: M.E. Sharpe. Jae Seung Shim & Moosung lee, (2008), The Korean Economic System, Ashgate Publishing Ltd. England. James R Lincoln & Mashiro Shimotani, (2009), Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, Working Paper series, [online] University of California, viewed Mar 9th 2012, Katharina Niciejewska, (2007) The Influence of Social networks in Japanese business. Keiretsu as a Japanese Network. Auflage , Germany. Kunal Banerji PhD & Rakesh B Sambharya, (1996), Vertical Keiretsu and international market entry: The case of the Japanese automobile ancillary industry, Journal of international business studies. Vol 27, No 1. Lee Branstetter (2000), Vertical Keiretsu and Knowledge Spillovers in Japanese Manufacturing: An Empirical assessment, Journal of Japanese and International Economies , Vol 14, Issue 2, pg 73-104 Miwa, Yoshiro and J. Mark Ramsayer. 2006. The Fable of the Keiretsu: Urban Legends of the Japanese Economy. University of Chicago Press, 2006. Thayer Watkins, The Toyoto Group: The One and Only Horizontal and Vertical Keiretsu, [Online] San Jose State University, viewed Mar 9th 2012, Timothy J Sturgeon, (2006), Modular Productions Impact on Japan’s Electronic industry, MIT, IPC Working papers series. Viewed Mar 10th 2012,