The History About Saudi Arabia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The History About Saudi Arabia - Research Paper Example During its earlier stages, Saudi Arabia came up with strategies such as legalizing international scholarships in besides allowing foreign workers into the nation (Denman & Hilal, 2011). It was due to this move that saw the nation rise to become one of the most developed states in the Middle East. The discovery of oil in the nation was one of the main reasons the Saudi Arabia quickly developed economically despite its located in a desert. The essay will relay more information on the history of Saudi Arabia in terms of its kingdom and culture. This is Saudi Arabia’s ruling family whereby studies contend although it comprised of thousands members, the most influential of all was Saudi Arabia’s kings, who were normally descendants of Muhammad bin Saud. Studies show that the House of Saud is the translation of Al Saud, whereby the latter implies â€Å"family of† hence referring to the kingdom’s founder, Muhammad Bin Saud (Saudi Arabia, 2013). To date, the term Al Saud is a common reference carried by any descendant of Muhammad bin Saud or his brothers who are Mishari, Farhan and Thunayyan. The other family branches of Al Saud the reference is â€Å"Cadet Branches† and its members, just like those of Al Saud, hold high positions in the government. The only difference between Al Saud and cadet branches is that whereas the Al Saud’s are in a position to succeed the line of throne, Cadet Branches do not stand a chance (Saudi Arabia, 2013). Al Saud and cadet members have been close to one another to the extent that they intermarry in a move to reestablish their lineage hence continue wielding influence in the government. Studies contend that Mani’ibn Rabiah Al-Muraydi was the first ancestor of Al Saud, he alongside his clan, Mrudah, settled in Diriyah. For decades, the Mrudah ruled al-Diriyah, which rapidly prospered to become an important settlement for the Nadji. Gradually as the clan grew,

Wars and Interest Rates in the United Kingdom, Essay

Wars and Interest Rates in the United Kingdom, - Essay Example The classical approach takes investment to be a function of interest rate directly whiles the Keynesians economists note this relationship to be a product of multiplier effect (Mankiw 73). There is significant evidence that the UK economy in the 1920s was emphatic on the desire to maintain the value of Sterling at its pre-war level of $4.86. This political move survived during the war but at the end US dollar gained prominence leading to significant inflation. It is explained that inflation affects interest rates since it raises general prices of goods and services. The case of United Kingdom during the specified period that was marred with war gives a clear picture of the influence of interest rate in the aggregate economic direction of the country. Macroeconomic policies on fixed exchange rate policy indicated that fiscal instruments are at play. Mankiw generally discusses the significance of interest rate in determining level of investment and subsequent rate of economic

The Brief Introduction Of Globalization Cultural Studies Essay

The Brief Introduction Of Globalization Cultural Studies Essay Globalization is something that has been with the human race ever since the world has begun. From local to global, we could attribute this to the result of human innovation and technological progress. Globalization from the word global means spreading throughout the world, in other words spreading world-wide. The aims of having a globalized community is to have interdependence of the entire world and its people from each other with concern for the rest of the world at the expense of national self-development and self-interests. Globalization became world-wide popular about 1992, when most people talked about it mainly in the field of economy. But today, it has been spoken of as a fashion word, and it attracts much attention from he academic scholars. The reason is that globalization has been an unstoppable world trend which changes the whole world so greatly that no countries and nations can be separated from it. But what is globalization? Before answering this question, we have to admit that there is no universal definition about it. This is because the concept of globalization doesnt come into the form at the very beginning in human history. It develops into the present being through a long historical process. Widely speaking, it refers to the exchanges and utilizations among different resources and production factors, and the interactions, conformity and coordination of human activities and their achievement. Therefore, it includes at least two essential factors: firstly, the activity in space must overstep one area or one nation, at the same time it has to show the trend of continuing development. Secondly, the participants should be related to each other, not being isolated. B, The constitution of globalization ¼Ã¢â‚¬ º Besides, the constitution of globalization involves many fields of human society, including economy, politics, culture, ideology and so on.. Dating back the history of globalization, it began from the economic expansion, and it was Europeans that lift the curtain of globalization when they established colonies beyond their own counties. And then follow the expansion of culture, civilization, region or ideology, etc. 2 Some main features of globalization and the according reasons of them. A, Integration of world economy First of all, globalization is mainly drived by the profit of economy. From the above introduction, we know that globalization started by the expansion of colony, from which colonists gained a lot of money , in other words, they build their treasure by doing so. Therefore , today the integration of world economy is regarded as the foundation, main cause, motivation and symbol of globalization. It is first shown by the internationalization of manufacturing systems. The world production has undergone a historical transformation since the 2oth century, under the influence of development of technology and the promotion of technological revolution as well as the application of mass production factors. Many big companies of developed countries build their companies or factories in overseas countries where they could make full use of the native labor force and other resources by paying lower cost. Whereby the could form huge multinational corporation which greatly promotes international pro duction. Economic integration through trade, migration, capital flows and communication flows has been officially around since 1870. This new concept could noticeably profit if based on D. Ricardo economic theory of comparative advantage. The latter theory states that each country should produce those products/services, which they can produce/provide with the lowest opportunity cost and total production cost. Hence, allowing all countries to produce and trade in the most efficient way so that the highest attainable welfare for all countries is reached. Nowadays, multinational coporations have overspreaded among more than160 countries in the world. They take 40 percents of the whole worlds total output value; 90 percents of the world market shares, 80 percents international economic trade, 90 percents of the international technological trade. In 1996, the number of the multinational corperations reached over 44000. They invested their capitals to overseas to make s greater profit. With the furthering opening of the market and the expansion of the trade scale, the world manpower and material and technological resources are all absorbed into the world production systems, in which they are interdependent and impartible with each other. Besides, a huge mount of financial capital move at a high speed in the range of whole word. Since the World War11, drived by the market demands and investing interest, a large mount of money has been use beyond the issuing countries. With the exploration of overseas business and production and development of technologies, financial capital finally broke from the constraintion of national boundaries and practical tools which made become real international citizens. A study shows that the current financial capital market in the world has reached 35000 billion dollars, and the overseas capital reached more than 1000 billion dollars. The sum of international financial capital is not only large in amount but also move at a fast speed. Owing to the modern science and technology, the treasure activity with a huge sum of money can be conducted by a call or whatever fast means. With the huge treasure accumulation high movement of the international financial capital, the pace of the integratio n of world economy has highly been accelerated. Whats more , the formation of world market also offers a good environment for the integration of world economy. World market refers to place which provides a room for world- wide exchange of products, servers and technologies. It originally started between the 16th century and the 18th century and underwent a fast development in the 19th century, and came into the form in 1970s. The current world market is a veritable global universal market, whose main symbols shown in the way the sharp expansion of the exchange scale, the unification of the market rules and the expansion of market capacity and overseas business. Globalization, no matter as a phenomenon or an economic trend, deeply affects every country in the world. Economies of every country are becoming more related. They infiltrate, influence and depend on each other more and more. Globalization has become an inevitable fact and trend that will not change with peoples will. It brings challenge as well as opportunity to each country. Every country are active to get into the way of globalization by adjusting their economic and diplomatic polices. B, Integration of world culture; Culture and economy interdependently support each other, because they often develop hand in hand. With the global application of production factors, global capital flows and the formation of world market, different cultures from various nations and areas are surely to exchange, conflict and integrate each other in the range of globe. The conflict and collision of different cultures help to speed up the metabolism of a new culture and form a mechanism for developing the superior and weeding out the inferior and initiate the ideological trend of parochial nationalism and cultural hegemony but cannot result in the homogeny and unification of the cultures, which is bound to result in a harmonious situation through such conflict and integration and finally reaches a state where balance is kept. The reason for this phenomenon lies in that the cultures reserved through a long history reflect the thought, ideology, ways of thinking and living of humans. They bear some unusual values and the existence of themselves has certain special meaning. It is of the same importance to keep cultures in diversity as we do to different biology, because the diversity of culture lays an essential foundation for the sustainable and sound development of human society. People with the competence thinking rationally and reflections are surely to realize that the ruin of the diversity of culture means to the ruin of our humans spiritual home and the cultural resources , which could push human beings to an abyss of unsustainable existence and development. Therefore, it is vital important for us to carefully protect our cultures in diversity as we do to animals and plants and keep them from ruin. The integration of global culture refers to different cultures coexist and intergrow harmoniously under the same sky. As an important content and symbol of globalization, culture is the magnification of the integration of globalization in all directions. Geographically speaking, it includes the conformity of the west and east cultures; seeing from national perspective, it includes the integration of the cultures of both native and foreign areas; considering form different levels, it includes the integration of both individual and collective cultures, and folk and official as well as academic cultures; viewing from the essence of culture it includes the integration of the scientific culture and the literary culture; from the connotation of culture perspective it also includes those aspects on sense of value, ways of thinking, structure of knowledge in different counties and areas. All these aspects provide a vital foundation for the integration of global culture, and it also serve as an important precondition of the realization of economic globalization. However, Globalization is sword with two blades. For one thing, it helped to highlight a nations culture, draw on the srength of other cultures and contribute the cultural diversity. For another, some small countries native culture are being challenged. Their distinctive cultures are driven towards extinction. For them, to preserve national identity is a must. Anyhow, it is an unavoidable for a country to take part in globalization. or else, it will be kicked out of world competition sooner or later. So, what merits our special attention is how to keep and promote native culture under globalization. The priority is to enhance the cultural awareness of native people, make them cherish and glory in ones countrys culture. When the native people take initiative to protect and promote their own culture, no matter what influence globalization exerts, native culture will not be replaced. Inclusion, globalization has gi ven rise to a greater sense of nationalism in many countries and therefore has helped people to realise and protect their own national identity including their culture from these outside forces. Therefore although globalization is changing the way a lot of us behave/eat/dress and even speak it has also helped to highlight aspects of our own cultures. C, Intergrowth of world ecology; Human activity is an exchange of material, energy, and information process with the natural world which can result in intensive ecological effects. With the speeding up of the integration of world economy, humans production scale and consuming ability are largely expanded and increased, which has seriously affected the ecological environment on the earth and it has greatly changed the world from its content to its magnification. ecological integration refers to the intergrowth of human and nature to reach a common prosperity in the same ecological system. And it also means that the whole humans existence and future development deeply rely on the quality of our ecological environment. However, the improvement of the environment condition requires our human being to raise our consciousness of protecting it and demands our common efforts to reserve it. As an important part of the globalization, the intergrowth of world ecology is mainly shown by the flowing aspects: Firstly, human beings and all living things coexist on the same planet, in other words , we share the same living space. We are just a part of this world, and existence and development deeply rely on the other parts of the world. People from different nations and areas are interdependent each other, and the world is our common home for all of us. We all have the obligation to take care of the ecological environment so as to get the room for a better future development. Although we are born to have the right to make full use our space and land where we live and belong to, we have no right infiltrate that of others, not mention to the ruin of the whole ecological space that belong to all human beings. Secondly, the ecological resources are possessed by all human beings. It includes such factors as air, water, sunshine, land, temperature and so on, which are absolutely indispensable for people to live on this planet, which also change the peoples activities and enable them to make a large amount of achievement by taking advantage of them. Seeing from the present condition, the serious pollution of environment is caused by people partially persrue economic growth and leading a consuming lifestyle , but concerning the pollution-maker, it is some individual coporations who make huge profit at the cost of environment that are main responsible for such matter. As peoples environmental protection consciousness gradually raise, they begin to take actions to fight against pollution, defend and maintain their environmental right, and ask to punish those who contribute to environmental pollution. Their behaviors lead to the formatiom of a trend of environmental protection. Thirdly, the global resources are shared by people around the word. Humans as a part of living things, we cannot do without consuming different resources offered by the nature. However, the resources on the earth are not inexhaustible, besides they belong to everybody, so they should be allotted fairly among people of different areas and generations. Therefore, any country and any generation shouldnt meet its own interest at the cost of that of other countries and generations. We dont have the right to impair the interest and potential development of others or our future generation. Peoples idea about sharing resources among areas and generations leads to the raising consciousness of defending their right in sharing the common resources in the range of globe, which helps to lay a theoretical basis for the application of a sustainable development. At the fourth place, human beings are confronted with the same problems and disasters. We have no choices but to live in the same ecological environment on this planet. We are faced with the same disasters as severe air pollution, deterioration of water quality, desertification, acid rain, ozone hole, etc. All these problems have seriously affected peoples living environment and their life quality. According to the study of the World Health Centre and American Disease Controlling Centre, each year, air pollution has made a negative effect on peoples heath of about 4-5 billion, and 40% of the world populations deaths are caused by air pollution and other environmental problems. Their conclusion is that humans activities improper behaviors on the earth are ruining themselves. At the fifth place, all human beings are responsible for the ecological environment. Human could do nothing without the support of earth, which provides essential materials for us. Since many of environmental problems that the earth facing are caused by human activities, thus to resolve such issues, it needs the common efforts of all people around the world. As a member of the world society, we have the full reasons to take part in the social activities to protect our common ecological environment, to keep the global ecology in balance and to beautify our common homeland. D, Mutual recognition of people in the world; Men are the center and main part in the process of globalization, so the development of globalization is out of mens sense of global view and the increase of their mutual understanding each other in certain degree. However, on the other hand, the essence and magnification of globalization stimulate mens practice and enhance the mutual recognition and understanding. In other words, peoples mutual recognition around the world can both be regarded the cause and precondition of globalization as well as the content and magnification of it. These two aspects are interdependent and mutual reliant in the process of globalization. But what does peoples mutual recognition refer to? It means that peoples mutual understanding and recognition of different countries and areas air highly increased. The interaction of their sense of value and way of thinking are also strengthened. The reason for this firstly is due to the expansion of the communication scale and the acceleration of human source exchange. Todays world is a widely opened society, with more and more people participating in such activities in business, economic trade, cultural exchange, and touring, etc, which take place in different countries and regions. The all-direction exchanges and interaction are sure to strengthen a better communication and understanding. However, Globalization itself is a process that is completely ,uncertain and keep changing, which make it hard for people to come to consist in views of globalization because of different knowledge background, even we have had lots of consistent conclusion. Difference in knowledge and value orientation may cause different ideology, even inside of capitalism and socialism. All that difference come out all kinds of globalization theories with different ideology. Theory comes from real world and will serve the real world, so those different globalization theories will also affect the globalizations natural progress. Thats the ideological problem during the process of globalization, itself or implied. But such ideology difference doesnt hold the main trend of mutual complementation by frequent contact under the help of modern communication tools. The communication and understanding between people in different region are transformed via the way of information exchange. Under the help of the modern communication technology and the increase of the input information, people can have a better international view toward the world. Nowadays, we have entered a society of knowledge economy, the main feature of such society is shown by taking information technology as the essential technology, and treating information industry as the leading industry. By the end of 1998,over 100 million computers had put into use by internet, and more than 500 million people become net citizens, the main page of internet amounted to over 130 million with the sharply increasing trend by 100 thousand pages and 20 million new words around the world each year. As for other communication means, such newspapers, it increases 5 times as fast as the previous year, and list will go on. The highly developed communication technology and information industry has fa cilitated the communication of people around the world and provided a sound precondition for a better interaction. Peoples mutual recognition is firstly shown by the increase of the level of peoples recognition of the present mutual understanding. Before the modern times, owing to the backwardness of communication means, people of different counties and nations were isolated from each other, so communication between people in sun situation seldom happened, not mention to mutual understanding. Nowadays, people of different areas can get contact with each other in a more direct way, under the help of modern communication technology, by a close intercourse. The popularization and attachment to the education of the world history and world geography greatly strengthen peoples understanding of the world theoretically. At the same time, the modern technology of media and the development of traffic tools has shortened the distance of people in different areas and deepened the communication between people living far away. Peoples mutual recognition is also shown by the emulation and assimilation of their way of thinking and behaving. For example, people tend to pursue a more proper and sound lifestyle. They are likely to leading a life in which they could realize their value. In the production field, the industry means begins to mode from extensive form into intensive form in order to reach a more environmental growth and a sustainable development. In the way thinking, people are likely to change from a closed way to a more open way, from reserved manner to a more original manner, and unilateral to multilateral. Besides, peoples mutual recognition is also shown in the way of infiltration and assimilation of peoples sense of value. The sense of value is the essential part of human culture as well as the guidance of peoples action. The trend of globalization can be accepted by the people around the world, because they share some common concepts such as in culture, politics, way of economic development and especially in the way of thinking. Its hard to imagine if people dont share the simmilar ideology on these aspects, what the world be like. 3 Summary In conclusion, with the rapid development of globalization, we are living in a global village, and it has allowed a better communication flow amongst More Developed Countries (MDCs) and Less Developed Countries (LDCs). It has enabled trade to grow, capital and education flows to increase and a better allocation of resources to be met around the world. There are many gains from globalization for companies around the world, some Multi-National Enterprises (MNEs) that locate themselves in LDCs bring along growth and development, like for example employment, technology knowledge, profit reinvestment among other factors to host countries. Nevertheless, there are several negative aspects about globalization as well. For instance, MDCs have a tendency to profit from globalization in various ways when negotiating with LDCs. MNEs that go to LDCs for example, gain from cheaper labor force, cheaper land and tax rates. In the end however, some MNEs end up negatively affecting the host countrys economy by taking all profits back home, socially, by polluting the environment and finally also politically by paying bribes to the local governments to reduce tax rates or other fees. In spite of its controversial position in different regions, some countries like the Asian tigers or the Asian New Industrial Countries (NICs) have gained incredibly from globalization in the past 30 years. Other continents however, have proved themselves not yet ready for such a change. An example of the latter is Africa and South America, where due to different factors like corruption, low education level, weak political policies and poor transport infrastructure globalization hasnt been able to benefit them in a high rate like in Asian. It is therefore up to each county to decide and control Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and gain from it or not. Summing all of the above, globalization is a long time process of in the humans history. Though we couldnt give a definite definition to it, observing from it main constitutions and the features of them, we can have a overall idea about it. It features is firstly shown in the economic field, because the globalization is basis on the development economy which provide the essential precondition for globalization. Then follows the feature in culture. Culture is the carrier of any human civilization, therefore it is another important constitution of globalization. Just like the integration of world economy, people can also benefit from the integration by learning from each other. However, while we bear the diversity of different cultures we should also keep our nationalism. We also talked about the intergrowth of global ecology, because ecological system is very vital for human beings existence. It provides the basic material for our life, in other words, without the support of ecology, we can do nothing. While we are enjoying various resources that the nature offers to us, we also have to bear the obligations to preserve it from ruin. At last this paper also mentioned the mutual recognition of people involved in the globalization, because this is another precondition of globalization, as well as an important factor for mutual understanding. With the mutual recognition and understanding globalization can be achieved and can have a better development. It is true that there may be some negative effects of globalization, however, with its more merits , we have to admit that the trend of this tide will continue.

diamond industry Essay -- essays research papers

The value of diamonds lies on their physical properties that make them suitable for many applications. Natural diamonds are only of high value if they are scarce in nature. Realizing this, De Beers Consolidated Mines was formed to control the supply of diamonds from mines across the world. The diamond market is influenced by mine production, rough diamond distribution, preparation/cutting, and retail markets. The project will be concentrating on the retail markets for diamonds and other high end jewelry. Jewelry purchases are highly discretionary because they are heavily affected by adverse trends in the general economy and are measured by disposable consumer income. The first half of fiscal 2003 can be described with a lackluster economy, lower consumer confidence and an unstable geopolitical environment. However, general economic conditions and consumer confidence improved in the second half of fiscal 2003, resulting with increased sales. Since the economy has taken some major strides towards recovery, the jewelry industry represents a bullish market. Large and small retailers are evaluating expansion opportunities outside of the traditional regional mall venue. With this in mind, it is the intention of this paper to assess the comprehensive strategies of the cyclical retail jewelry industry. In this highly competitive industry which is extremely sensitive to the level of discretionary consumer income and the subsequent impact of the type of good purchased, competitors include foreign and domestic guild and premier luxury jewelers, specialty stores, national and regional jewelry chains, and department stores. To a lesser extent there exist catalog showrooms, discounters, direct mail suppliers, televised home shopping networks, and jewelry retailers who make sales through internet sites. It is a highly fragmented US market estimated at approximately 54 billion dollars. The breakup of the industry is accordingly: mass merchants representing 10%, chain jewelers with 100+ stores as 14%, chain department stores representing 12%, TV home shopping with 4%, independent jewelers taking the largest share at 36% and other (general, misc.) accounting for 24%. (Please refer to exhibit E) The specialty retailers with the highest sales are Zale Corp ($2.2Bn), Signet US($1.7Bn), Tiffany ($.8Bn) other players include Friedman’s ($.4Bn) Whitehall ($.3Bn), and Samuels ($.1... ...d consignment terms have become the norm for wholesalers to extend to their retail partners. A good proportion of the inventory costs are transferred to wholesalers through these consignment purchases. Since jewelry is not a perishable good such as the garments and shoe industries, it still works as an asset even if the retailer returns the merchandise back to the wholesaler. The amount of power that a retailer has is directly correlated to the size of their operation. Only a few companies command extensive volumes. To fill the capacity present in most factories owned by wholesalers they require these volumes to remain profitable. Due to these factors, the major chain stores are able to leverage better financing, costs, and payment terms than the rest of the industry. The largest percentage of jewelers can be categorized as independent jewelers accounting for 36% of the overall market. Their ability to leverage power comes from their financial credibility in the market. Jewelry, being a luxury good and furthermore having high costs leads to great losses in the cases of defaults. Thus, the financial strength of these companies dictates the amount of power they have in the industry.

Sustainable Quebec

In a world in which we are always depleting our natural resources further and further every day, countries need to develop ways in which they can heavily reduce, or eliminate, their dependence on these limited resources. Studies show that the world's supply of conventional oil will only last another 42 to 93 years; we need to develop plans to eliminate our dependence on this fossil fuel before we run out. In order to accomplish this task, a country needs to find ways to create, harvest, or discover new sources of energy that can be used to power our communities. Along with using new technology to create new sources of energy, we also need to work towards cutting back on current energy usage. One great way to figure out such a plan is to look at cities that are already on their way to accomplishing this task. One such city is Quebec, Canada. Quebec, Canada is the 7th largest city in Canada. It's population as of 2006 is 715,515 residents. It's located just over 500 miles north of New York City. Quebec is one of the most sustainable countries in all of North America. This is primarily due to one of its largest companies; Hydro-Quebec. Hydro-Quebec is an electric company that primarily relies on hydropower to create its energy. It has managed to accomplish an amazing feat by reducing its dependence on fossil fuels. Hydro-Quebec is a big believer in environmental sustainability. They have considered all aspects involved, including air quality, water quality, vegetation control, bio-diversity, eliminating contamination, improving the quality of life, managing electric and magnetic fields, managing nuclear power, using resources wisely, overseeing environmental initiatives, and ensuring environmental acceptability, all while still striving to be as independent as possible from the use of fossil fuels. I will be talking about just a few of these in order to convey their efforts and dedication to the environment. Hydro-Quebec has accomplished something remarkable. Quebec's main source of power is hydro-power making up a whopping 94% of its total energy supply. Only 4% of Quebec is powered by oil, 1.8% by nuclear power, and 0.2% is powered by other means of energy. This is simply amazing as hydro-power is a completely renewable source of energy. The way that water is used to create electricity is a very simple process. Hydro-Quebec has made good use of many of its surrounding rivers. Turbines are placed along these rivers which use the constant flow of the water to turn them. The turbines are hooked up to a gear system which through the turning of these turbines create energy which is then fed into the power grid and delivered back to businesses and households. One may think that this would create eyesores at all of Quebec's rivers, but in all actuality Hydro-Quebec only uses 2% of all of Quebec's rivers in order to produce this electricity. Now that you know how Hydro-Quebec creates its energ y, let's look at how it ensures sustainability. Air quality is one of the biggest issues when it comes to sustainability. Almost every form of power generation emits green house gases (GHG). These gases destroy our air quality and contribute to destruction of the Ozone layer, and an increase to global temperatures worldwide. By using hydro-power, Hydro-Quebec has cut their GHG emissions by a great deal. Every resident of Quebec produces one-half the GHG emissions of the average Canadian citizen, and one-sixth of Alberta's citizens. When comparing Hydro-Quebec's atmospheric emissions to that of its neighboring systems (New England, NY State, Ontario, and New Brunswick) it is drastically lower. Using the measurement of tons per terawatt hours, Hydro-Quebec emits 16,104 of carbon dioxide (CO2) compared to the neighboring system with 366,660. When it comes to sulphur dioxide (SO2), Hydro-Quebec emits 75, with the neighboring system emitting 1,271. And finally for nitrogen oxides (NOx), Hydro-Quebec emits, 29 compared to the systems, 455. These results clearly speak for themselves and show Hydro-Quebec's dedication to promoting high air quality. Another very important aspect of achieving sustainability is bio-diversity. With the use of natural rivers and streams there is obviously the risk of affecting aquatic wildlife. Hydro-Quebec has made valiant efforts to ensure minimal impact on these plants and animals. To operate their company Hydro-Quebec must build dams, generation stations, power lines, and substations, and in doing so wildlife protection must be considered. This is why Hydro-Quebec has taken measures to build and maintain their facilities in a way that has the least impact on fauna, flora and habitats. They also carry out initiatives to preserve biodiversity on their properties. Specific examples include creating solutions to benefit the following animals: Bald Eagle, Brook Trout, Eels, Lake Sturgeon, Mayapple, Shad, and Water Fowl. By protecting, and promoting the growth of these animals, Hydro-Quebec is playing a major part in increasing its city's bio-diversity, and getting just one step closer to a fully sust ainable city. Now that we have discussed how Hydro-Quebec is leading the way in Quebec to sustainability, we need to look at what the rest of the city is doing. Quebec's government as a whole is also doing their part to ensure the success of their future. Plans are in the works with Transportation-Quebec to improve all public means of transportation while ensuring public safety and convenience. Quebec has also partnered with the World Tourism Organization (WTO) to promote eco-tourism amongst its visitors. Along with their transportation industry, Loto-Quebec (Quebec's lottery program) is also doing their social part of having sustainability plans in place. There are many more companies, and organizations within Quebec that contribute to their sustainability, however I would have to go on for days in order to touch bases on all of them. It is rather apparent that Quebec has sustainability high in their priorities. Between running a full scale hydro-powered electric plant, and through organizing numerous projects with every aspect of Quebec's government and businesses, as a city, they are one of the most sustainable in North America. Considering all their results and performance, other cities looking to further their sustainability, should look to Quebec for ideas, guidance, and motivation.

Abstract on Marketing Intelligence System for a Media Company

Marketing Intelligence Database Management at Manipal Media Network Limited A project by * Abhishek Gupta * Aishwarya Shetty * Nikhil Modi * Nikita Patel * Pritish Prabhu * Rahul Dara * Reshma R * Rishi Gupta * Sudip Ray * Vaibhav Goswami OVERVIEW OF MMNL Manipal Media Network Limited is a subsidiary of Manipal Group which specializes in printing and publications. Udayavani, the flagship publication of the MMNL is a leading daily Kannada newspaper. Its subscriptions reach most cities of Karnataka including Mangalore, Bangalore and Gulbarga.Its first issue was in 1971 and it continues to grow daily reaching more than 300,000 houses. BUSINESS STRATEGY MMNL has always tried to maintain the values of its shareholders and customers against its competition. MMNL strives to be a Multi-media Corporation, making its presence felt across several platforms including print, e-papers among others delivering local news and entertainment solutions. IT STRATEGY The strategy of the IT team of MMNL is consistently aligned with the overall strategy of the company.This is done by the higher management who believe that IT plays an integral part in proving a competitive advantage. The IT team has provided MMNL with various solutions ahead of its time such as iTunes’ first Kannada Application, the first Kannada News Android App and has entered into partnerships with media leaders such as Yahoo and Newshunt. The IT team has also ensured that MMNL is a leader in delivering news on online platforms such as Android, IOS and Web. Along with this, it has developed internal MIS systems and also worked hand in hand with companies like 4CPlus for successful ERP implementations in numerous areas.By implementing Market Intelligence Database System which will help us in storing the data in a structured format and providing management with quality information which will give them a better insight for efficient decision making. Strategic Alignment Model * Alignment of business and IT strate gy: * The overall business strategy of MMNL is to be a multi media corporation with presence across platforms delivering hyper local news and entertainment solutions. The IT team works in alignment with this overall strategy and strives to provide cutting edge technology solutions that are ahead in time, however keeping the cost aspect in perspective. Some of the results of their effort is – ITunes first Kannada App, First Kannada News App on Android, Partnership with global leaders like Yahoo and Newshunt. Since many readers today have access to internet and spend a lot of time on it, the industry feels that there might be a shift from traditional newspaper to online platforms. * However, this should take a decade's time or so. MMNL being a leader in coastal in Karnataka sees this as an opportunity to be leader on online platforms as well like Android, IOS, Web. Alignment of business and IT capabilities: * In order to align the business capabilities with IT capabilities, we have provided a suggestion to use IT capabilities in order to improve business processes and using IT tools to promote customer loyalty. The marketing intelligence system proposed by us is a step towards accomplishing this objective. * Alignment of business strategy and business capabilities: * In order to align the business strategy with business capabilities, social architecture tools can be formulated.The existing resources and capabilities should be fully utilized in order to implement the business strategy. * Training and motivating the workforce and incentivizing the workforce on successful completion of strategic objectives and goals are the means towards achieving it. * Alignment of IT strategy and IT capabilities: * When it comes to internal strategy, the IT team has developed internal MIS system and also engaged with an external agency for ERP implementation which has been done successfully in many areas.This proves that the current IT capabilities are quite robust and can be further utilized to drive business growth. * Alignment of IT strategy and capabilities can be achieved by having a cross-functional team of managers with expertise is IT knowledge and business knowledge so as to leverage the full potential of its IT capabilities. COMPETITION The major competitors to Udayavani are Prajavani, Vijay Karnataka, Kannada Prabha, Sanjevani among others. This leads to major emphasis being placed on gathering and use of market intelligence as the competition is cut throat.MARKET INTELLIGENCE Marketing Intelligence includes everyday information relevant to a company, collate and analyze the obtained information for subsequent decision making in determining market opportunities, risks and strategies. The system is to be designed for usage by the management of the company and can be viewed by all the employees of the company. This specifically enables the management to see current key performance factors in real time and analyze trends, rather than wait for analysts to deliver periodic reports.Market Intelligence is a subset of Business Intelligence which is a set of methodologies, processes, architectures, and technologies that transform raw data into meaningful and useful information. INFORMATION GATHERING Market related data reaches the company through various sources. The lower level of the organisation consists of executives and trainees who visit distributors on a daily basis. The sources of information could be by a company employees or special agents and the mode of information is mainly through phone calls, SMS, email or through other market sources.The bulk of the information is however gathered by these lower level executives from the distributors and hawkers usually during the early hours of the morning. The information consists of competitors strategies with respect to: * Advertising space, * Insertions of pamphlets, * Change of content in existing publications (page design) * Emergence of new newspapers (VRL publication) * Distributors margins * Expansion by competitors in new territories * Subscription rateManipal Institute of Communication conducts yearly market research on behalf of MMNL which gives them insight into the new trends and expectations from customers and distributors. STORAGE OF DATA MMNL presently maintains individual excel sheets for each of its competitors. The assistant managers are tasked with collating and compiling the data given to them by the executives. This data is maintained according to: * Date and division * Edition * Geographic area and edition * Source of information and context * Findings * Employee entering data and * Employee validating the dataThe data is validated through multiple sources in different regions and also through cross verification. Example: Data collected in Mangalore will be cross checked with similar repeating data from Udupi and Manipal. Due to such disparate sources, data comes in various formats, due to which collation of data is very difficul t. Also, it is difficult to comprehend this data and bringing it into a common platform may distort it. Since information is not properly structured, it may get distorted while sharing between various departments and its interpretation could be different by different people.PROBLEM The problem faced by MMNL is on three levels. 1. Lack of structure- Data reaching the company is unstructured and in fragmented form. It makes the data difficult to comprehend. Since data is of strategic importance, it could have high impact on company’s future strategy or decision. 2. Transfer of data – The data leakage during the transfer of data is the biggest problem faced by MMNL. The executives at the lower level who pass the data to the managerial level use their discretion and pass the data what they feel is important instead of all the data gathered.This leads to loss of data which may turn out to be important. 3. Accessibility – MMNL has data of the past 8-9 years which is s tored using excel sheets. A separate excel sheet is maintained for every company. Whenever the company has to check some data it has to go through all the files which is a cumbersome process. 4. Acceptance – When a new system is implemented people may not be ready to accept it. They may be anxious about what the change may lead to. RECOMMENDATIONS Few options that are present to address the issue of data leakage faced by MMNL are: 1.Toll-free number – The company can acquire a toll free number on which the executives will call and/or SMS the data which will be recorded through an automated system. If this is implemented the executives will not have to take extra efforts to pass on the data to their managers which in turn it will minimize any data leakage. The costs associated are: * BSNL – Cost is Rs. 1. 60/minute. * Initial Cost: Rs. 13000 (Rs. 10000 refundable) * Fixed monthly cost: Rs. 1000 * Tata – Cost is Rs. 2. 39/minute * Initial Cost: Rs. 30000 (R s. 25000 refundable) Fixed monthly cost: Rs. 3000 * Reliance – Cost is Rs. 2. 20/minute * Initial Cost: Rs 13000 (Rs. 10000 refundable) * Fixed monthly cost: Depends on usage 2. Incentives – Keeping the existing system of personally reporting the data to managers in place, incentives can be provided periodically based on quantity and quality of data. This will ensure that executives are encouraged to pass on every piece of available information. If the toll-free system is implemented by MMNL then it can provide incentives to executives who report the data.The problem of unreliable data will not arise as the data will be validated from sources in different regions. 3. Training and development – MMNL can perform training and development programs which are imperative to mould the staff in accordance with the company’s strategy. A company’s sales force is very crucial for the intelligence gathering activity as they can provide excellent data about the current trends in the market. They are also a very credible source for acquiring confidential data about competitors, consumers, suppliers etc.For sales force outside Manipal and Udupi, a trainer can be made to tour different parts of the country. 4. Network Externally – In order to keep a tab on its competitors, measures should be taken to track how competitors are performing. For this, purchasing the competitor's products, checking their advertising campaigns, the press media coverage, reading their published reports, etc can be done. This process is called Competitive intelligence which is the broader discipline of researching, analyzing and formulating data and information from the entire competitive environment of any organization. . Collect Competitive Intelligence through customer feedback – Customer feedback is an important aspect for any company as it is the customer who purchases the product. Online platforms like chat rooms, blogs, discussion forums, custome r review boards etc can be used to generate customer feedback. This enables the company to understand its customer’s view about the product. For this, a structured system can be applied by the company to obtain the relevant data. Manipal Institute of Communications does yearly surveys to find out changing customer perceptions regarding MMNL. . For the issue of accessibility MMNL can implement a database. * The centralised database will be in the following format: * The basic cost for a database system is around Rs. 1. 5 lakhs but depending on the different features needed by MMNL the cost can vary. * The database form can be opened at any time by the employees. A static link will be provided. * Our centralized database system will be decided into 2 main categories: * Internal Data * External Data * Internal Data * The employees can enter the intelligence acquired on internal matters in this section. The data entered here will be like delivery problems, supply chain problems e tc. * There will be a form asking them what are the issues and the department it relates to. * External Data * This section will again be divided into 2 parts: * Competitor data * Advertising Data * Competitor Data * In this form the employee will have to enter intelligence pertaining to: * Name of the company * News Acquired * Source of News * Advertising Data * In this form the employee will have to enter intelligence pertaining to: * Name of the company * News Acquired Source of News * The database will also have a verification code. * Every employee will be given a unique code which he has to enter before submitting the intelligence data. * This will secure the database and will also eliminate the possibility of anyone entering data wrongly under the name of any other person. * The problem of acceptance can be addressed in the following manner: a) Involvement of employees (i) Executives: Involving them in regards to the various incentives on offer will help reduce the anxiety to change; this will also help in building loyalty. ii) Employees: The employees can be involved through inputs about the functions needed by them in the database system. b) Workshops – MMNL can conduct workshops in the initial months after the implementation of the database system and the toll free number. * Representation through GRIDS QUICK WIN SUSTAINABILITY RISK IMPLEMENTATION RISK DUMB IDEA NEW SYSTEM at MMNL SIZE OF OPPORTUNITY ABILITY TO EXECUTE (PG. NO. 34, CHAPTER 1,CORPORATE INFORMATION & STRATEGY MANAGEMENT) MMNL has a very good track record in implementation of new technological systems.Whenever the company has implemented a new technology system the implementation took place glitch free. The company has implemented Kannada news app on android and also it has tie-ups with Yahoo and Newshunt. The company is also in the process of implementing an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. The implementation of this is going smoothly. This leads us to believe that abi lity to execute a new system will be high at MMNL and thus the new system will fall in sustainability risk. But, whenever a new IT system is implemented there is always an implementation risk ecause there might be social and technological problems. Social problems which can arise are that employees may be anxious about the new system. They may be anxious about the fact whether they will be able to use that system properly or not and if not then will they be fired from their jobs. Technological problems that may arise are compatibility problems with the legacy systems and maintenance problems. Thus, we say that the new system will be in the implementation risk of the strategic grid. PROBABLE IMPACT ON STRATEGY PROBABLE IMPACT ON BUSINESS OPERATIONSCurrent position Position after implementation (pg. no. 37,chapter 1,Corporate Information & Strategy Management) The marketing intelligence gathered from various sources is currently passed around in the office informally through Word of M outh and excel sheets. This leads to the data being fragmented, lost and getting distorted. As a result of this it is not accessible to everyone and does not provide the correct point of view. Due to this lack of accessibility, management is not able to take any timely strategic decisions.This also does not help the company much in its business operations. We can say that current system of MMNL is in the SUPPORT quadrant of the McFarlan’s Grid. This is because the system does not impact the business operations as well as its strategic decisions. After the Marketing Intelligence database system is implemented, the data will be stored in one centralized location. This will help in easy accessibility of the data. The company officials can then access this data at anytime and use it to take strategic decisions.Since the data is about competitors and the market which will help in taking important strategic decisions. The implementation of the system will not lead to any change in the business operations of the company. Thus, the system, once implemented should move from the current support position to the TURNAROUND quadrant of the McFarlan’s Grid. * BENEFITS FROM DATABASE Implementation of Market Intelligence Database System at MMNL will not lead to any tangible benefits as the decisions taken by management on the market intelligence acquired cannot be known at the moment.The implementation of the system at MMNL will only lead to intangible benefits. The benefits that arise will be: 1. The data will all be present in one place which will help the management to take better decisions. 2. The company employees will save a lot of time if the data is present in one place with options of search. 3. It will give company a competitive advantage as very few media networks have such a system present at the moment. 4. The storage of data will help the company in making a wide database which can be used for analytics in the future.