Country Risk and Strategic Planning Analysis Essays - Free Essays

Country Risk and Strategic Planning Analysis Essays - Free Essays Country Risk and Strategic Planning Analysis Country Risk and Strategic Planning Analysis MGT 448 November 11, 2013 Country Risk and Strategic Planning Analysis Globalization is more of a necessity than an option in certain markets because of the potential for growth, but before investing abroad, the associated risks need to be known and understood. A country risk analysis can be used to avoid making a decision to expand an organization into a region that may result in financial disaster. Risks that need to be considered include but are not limited to political, legal, regulatory, social, cultural, and technological. Market risks also need to be addressed. After measuring the risks, the planning begins. Regardless of the level of risk, strategic planning is a key component to the success of every organization rather operating domestically or abroad. The foundation of strategic plans involve defining the mission and objectives, performing a SWOTT analysis, choosing a strategy, selecting and justifying a suitable mode of entry for the global product or service, controlling and evaluating performance, and devising a contingency plan. After asse ssing the risks and devising a plan, the next logical step would be taking actions towards global expansion. Political, Legal, and Regulatory Risks Taiwan is considered a low risk in accordance with a country risk analysis, it is seems predictable and transparent in the legal system, and business infrastructure, and their financial system meets the necessary regulatory requirement for a global economy (Economist, 2013) as shown in table 1 Risk Rating. Taiwans relationship with China is considered low risk from a political view. The Taiwan government has privatized and deregulated much of the economy in seeking improvement with it relationship with China, where in China would greatly improve Taiwans economic projections (AMB, 2013). RISK RATINGSCurrentCurrentPreviousPrevious RatingScoreRatingScore Overall assessmentA20B22 Security riskA11A11 Political stability riskA20A20 Government effectiveness riskB29B29 Legal & regulatory riskB22B22 Macroeconomic riskA15A20 Foreign trade & payments riskA18B21 Financial riskB25B29 Tax policy riskA12A12 Labour market riskB32B32 Infrastructure riskA19B25 Note: E=most risky; 100=most risky. The risk ratings model is run once a quarter. (Economist, 2013) Exchange and Repatriation of Funds Risks The exchange and the repatriation of funds risk is denominated is U.S. dollar. The performance is affected in the movement in the exchange rates between the currencies that are held in assets and U.S. dollar. Those exchanges that are control by regulations have caused difficulties in the repatriation of funds. The Taiwans dollar may have shown gains on the speculation of the exporters in converting overseas revenue, but has seen little progress in government bonds (Wong, 2012). Competitive Risk Assessment The global recession that has affected many countries in Southeast Asia. Taiwans competitive risk is still in fluctuation due to the drop in export demand for the United States and other major trading partners. The tradeoff is Taiwans well-educated workforce and pro-business government. This continues to be an attractive region for investors due to low labor costs, natural resources, and the continual growth of it infrastructure (AMB, 2013). Taxation and Double Taxation Risks Taiwans companies continue to expand their operations on global scale. Taxation is greatly influence or control by China. Mainland China has amended their corporate income tax law, where there is a reduction in tax incentives offered to foreign organizations operating locally in Taiwan. Essentially, added income tax withholding on outward-bound earnings fee for the investment structure design. China has adopted different tax policies to be used to help balance trade with countries like the United States, for example, export rebates, and non-tax measures on bond payment of material (Go, 2013). What the outcome is foreign income from Taiwans companies is taxable in that country with double taxation being relieved or forgiven by foreign tax credits. Market Risks (Four Ps) The market risks involve the four Ps, which include product, price, place, and promotion. The products Apple continues to push are the iPad and iPhone. The products must be carefully crafted to appeal to a mass audience especially with the amount of other competition such as Samsung, Google, and Microsoft. Apple continues to stand out in the technological market and stand behind its quality products. The price of Apples goods could be a possible barrier. They are quite expensive because of their standard of quality. However, discounts are made available when the purchase is combined with a wireless carriers telecommunications contract. The place Apple sells its products is worldwide for

How can visual illusions illustrate top down processes in perception Essays

How can visual illusions illustrate top down processes in perception Essays How can visual illusions illustrate top down processes in perception Paper How can visual illusions illustrate top down processes in perception Paper There are many different types of visual illusions, many of which can be shown to illustrate different mental processes in perception. Types of illusion including those involving ambiguity, distortion and fiction can be seen to be processed using varied mental methods and can be categorised into physical, physiological, and cognitive illusions. Physiological, or bottom up processing is directly affected by the stimulus input (Eysenck, 2004) as supported by Gibson, where as cognitive or top down theory is a constructivist approach upheld by those such as Bruner and Neisser, stating that processes are influenced by the individuals expectation and knowledge rather than simply the stimulus itself (Eysenck, 2004). Both methods of processing however can be illustrated through the explanation of certain visual illusions. Top down processing is a high level and secondary form of perception and is affected by our expectations and beliefs as well as being hypothesis or expectation driven. Visual illusions can be used to illustrate this type of perceptual processing in a number of ways, one of which is in illusions which involve ambiguity. One example in which this can be seen is the Necker cube (see figure 1). This optical illusion was first published in 1982 in Switzerland by Louis Albert Necker. It has an ambiguous nature as it can be interpreted in more than one way. It the intersection of the two lines, it is unclear which is in the front therefore meaning that it can be understood in two different formats consequently using multi-stable perception. Upon seeing two different images when looking at clearly only one visual stimulus it can be concluded that the difference in perception has to be attributed to another source. This can be seen to be a result of top down processing as it is the context that the illusion is in and the previous experiences in the same area that mean that the viewer sees more than is really there. The illusion can also be proved top down by the fact that they are somewhat under conscious control in that the perception can be altered by choice. Supporting this approach is Constructivist theory, in which advocates Bruner, Neisser and Gregory all insist the emphasis of the role of top down processes as the one of prominent importance in perception. This theory of indirect perception follows the principle that perception is the end-product of hypotheses expectations and knowledge (Eysenck, 2004). These ideas have been proven for example Palmers kitchen scene experiment in 1975 where items were identified correctly more often if put into their context. When this approach is applied to visual illusions, it supports the top down theory for the explanation of them in that context and previous experiences are used, deceiving people into seeing something that is incorrect. There are however several criticisms of using constructivism to prove top down theory in illusions. One way in which is that one of the main principle of constructivism is that perception reached by hypothesis is prone to error, however in everyday life it can be seen that this is not the case. In addition, many of the experiments that prove the constructivist theory are artificial and inconsistent with normal life. Visual illusions can also be explained from a bottom up perspective. This primary form of cognition is low level and uses serial processing as one process is completed before the next begins (Eysenck, 2004). This form of perceptual information processing is frequently data driven and is predominantly involuntary, not being influenced by context or hypothesis. Visual illusions can be used to explain this type of perceptual processing in a number of ways, one of which is in illusions which involve fiction. One example of which is the illusion of the Mach Bands (see figure 2). This illusion was created by Italian psychologist Ernst Mach and can be seen practical terms in medicine when examining x-rays. Mach Bands is a fictional illusion as the eye tends to interpret either a bright or dark vertical band near the area where there is a strong gradient change in the color, when in fact none exists. This is supposedly due to lateral inhibition of the receptors in the eye however it can also be attributed to the statistical strategy of visual perception (Lotto, Williams, Purves, 1999). This illusion can be explained through bottom up perception processes and constasts sharply with top down theory as it does not use previous knowledge or context to delude the viewer, it is purely an automatic, low-level mechanism without hypothesis or expectation. An argument which supports this approach is the theory of Direct perception, maintained by the American psychologist James Gibson. He claimed there is information available in sensory stimulation (Eysenck, 2004) and his main principles include structured light contains visual information from the environment, and that this provides information about the layout of objects also that perception involves picking up this information with little or no information processing being involved (Eysenck, 2004). These principles were proven by Gibson in 1950 using his pilot experiment in which he observed the pilots processing information from the environment with little or no expectation or hypothesis involved in relation to factors such as direction speed and altitude. When this approach is applied to visual illusions, it supports the bottom up theory for the explanation of them in that it shows visual information being absorbed without considering context. However there are several criticisms of Gibsons direct theory of perception, one of which being that processes are more complex than stated in his experiments, and another that his principles apply much more to some aspects of perception than to others. He also was incorrect in disregarding the use of internal representations to understand perception (Eysenck, 2004) for example memory which was later proved erroneous by the work of Menzel.

The Trial in To Kill a Mockingbird Essay Example

The Trial in To Kill a Mockingbird Essay Example The Trial in To Kill a Mockingbird Essay The Trial in To Kill a Mockingbird Essay Essay Topic: To Kill a Mockingbird Boring, slow and pointless are what many people think of the first 15 chapters in the novel ‘To Kill A Mocking Bird’. Well, I have news for you, without the first half of the novel we would not have been introduced and shown all the little details about Maycomb and the people in it. The novel introduces all the different themes needed in order to carry on into the second half of the novel. We explore key themes including race, determination, compassion, tolerance, respect, empathy and equality. All of which are carried on throughout key events in the rest of the novel. Chapter 3 explores the themes of tolerance, respect, and empathy.Which are all vital to the rest of the novel. In this chapter Scout learns valuable lessons about tolerating and respecting people and their ways, no matter how different or how much you disagree with them.This is shown in the quote, ‘He ain’t company, Cal, he’s just a Cunningham -‘ ‘Hush your mouth. Don’t matter who they are.’† Here Scout learns that is doesnt matter who a person is, you should always respect them, she tells Calpurnia that Walter is just a Cunningham, making him not company, but Calpurnia tells Scout that is doesnt matter who he is, he is still company. This is important as this is then carried on into the rest of the novel, as it changes Scouts view on other people and changes her way of thinking. She also learns to have empathy for other people and not judge people. As shown in the quote â€Å"You never really understand a person until you see things from his point of view until you climb into his skin and walk around in it† This example is a key lesson in the book. This lesson is putting yourself in someone else’s shoes, it teaches Scout to look past the surface and really understand who the person is and what they really are before judging them. This lesson is important as it again changes Scouts view and thinking, which therefore influences the course of e

Various Methods of Electricity Production Essay

Various Methods of Electricity Production - Essay Example Even though these early humans had no understanding of electricity, the movie depicts them looking for lightning to reignite their fire! It is clear in the film that the first fire available to mankind came from electricity in the form of lightning (Cook 7). It seems that electricity was the first real power used by man. Long before the lever, the wheel or the windmill mankind was reaping the benefits of fire created by the natural electricity of lightning. Man made electricity has earlier roots than one might suspect as well. Evidence has been uncovered that the ancient Egyptians used crude batteries to produce electrical charges (Mythbusters, 2005). The Egyptians fashioned clay pots as containers and filled them with high acid citrus juice. They then connected primitive cables made of copper to the clay jars. On the popular Discovery Channel series Mythbusters the cast recreates the Egyptian battery to test if this notion of early batteries is fact or myth. Much to their surprise the primitive invention does in fact produce a very small electrical charge. They speculate that Egyptians might have used this electricity to amaze and frighten pharos's subjects. By hooking the batteries up to statues of the pharos and other deities the ancient Egyptians gave their pharaoh a little help in the "powerful and mystical" department (Mythbusters, 2005). We will likely never know the whole story behind these ancient batteries but it is interesti ng to consider how early mankind was experimenting with electricity. Since ancient times many forms of electricity generation have been discovered and utilized. But first, in order to understand these various sources it is important to understand the history and development of electricity as a primary source of energy. The Rise of Electricity The ancient Greeks, Romans, Chinese and the Persians all experimented with crude inventions to harness electricity with very limited success. Even the explosion of science during the Middle Ages in Europe added little to the understanding electricity (Dell & Rand,125). In 1214 Roger Bacon experimented with the properties of amber and lodestone but electricity was primarily used to "amuse and frighten the ignorant" (Canby,12). Like the Egyptians, European scientists of the Middle Ages viewed electricity as a "parlor trick" and it's usefulness was deemed limited (Dell & Rand, 125). It wasn't until 1600 when William Gilbert, physician to Queen Elisabeth, wrote an impressive paper on magnetism, that the scientist of Europe began to seriously consider scientific study of electricity (Canby,13). The De Magnete written by Gilbert was widely read by the educated class of Europe and interest in electricity surged. Gilbert also created the first list of elements that contain electric and magn etic properties (Wikipedia,2007). In 1660, Otto van Guericke built the first machine to produce an electrical charge (Canby, 18). The glass globe had a sulfur ball inside and created a lightning like charge that amazed the people of Guericke's day. During this time advances in the understanding of electricity was painfully slow and it wasn't until 1709 that the next big discovery was made. In England, Francis Hawkenbee built an improved version of the "glass globe" and conducted many other useful experiments. Next, in 1729 Steven Gray of the Grayfriars School in England discovered

Instructional planning and design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Instructional planning and design - Essay Example While no textbook is perfect, how do teachers go about deciding if a proposed textbook will be chosen? What makes a particular instructional material adequate? One of the most important criteria is design. If the textbook in question does not align with the standards being addressed, then what use can it be? Textbooks that actually help achieve these standards must also be free from errors with documented sources that can be referred to if a question of accuracy arises. This is especially important in subjects such as geography where place names and maps change over time. Textbooks must also address both the desires of teachers and students in order to be effective. It is here that design tends to overlap with the criteria of clarity, efficiency and procedure. Teachers wish to have a book that emphasizes important points. Actual text should provide enough information in a grade/age appropriate manner but also facts that can assist in initiating discussions. While students should be challenged to go beyond the basics of the standard being addressed, they do not need to be overwhelmed with irrelevant information. Teachers want a sufficient number of questions to reinforce the topic being studied but not so many that students take one look and panic. Activities should provide practice of the basic skill but also encourage students to stretch a little and engage their critical thinking skills. While many teachers have created their own assessments over the years, some may want to be able to use the prepared assessments that come with new textbooks. If the teacher has to make major revisions to the prepared assessments in order to use them then the textbook may not be adequate. In addition, teachers want to be able to train students to use the textbook as an aid in the individual learning process. Once this training has been completed, the instructions for textbook activities should be such that teachers can use them

Economic Concept and Its Implications in Our Life Research Paper

Economic Concept and Its Implications in Our Life - Research Paper Example Economics is useful in each and every aspect of life. Economics mainly deals with choice and decision making. Understanding of economics concepts is helpful for our lives and existence in today’s world and to understand the functions of the business world. Here we will discuss the economic concept and its implications in our life. The law of demand defines that when the price of product rises and every other thing remains constant then the quantity demand of the product will fall. It means when the price rises then the quantity demanded declines. Every other remains constant is known as â€Å"Ceteris Paribus† assumption. It means that wealth; income, population, preferences and price of other goods are constant and remain the same. Shifts in Demand or change in demand happens at the time when any one of the components of demand changes other than the price. It can also be said as a shift in demand occurs when the situation is not ceteris paribus. The Law of Supply defin es that when the price of the product rises and every other thing is constant (Ceteris Paribas situation) then the quantity of product supplied will also increase. It means that when the price of the product is increasing then the quantity of supply of the product is also increasing. Shifts in Supply or changes in supply happen when any one of the components of the supply changes other than the price. It means when ceteris paribus doesn’t occur. The concept of demand and supply is also applicable to our daily life. For example- Rice is the staple food in most of the Asian countries.

Arts & Creativity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Arts & Creativity - Essay Example Painting is a one-time performance, any repeat performances are just copies. More often than not, it is an individual effort, and in rare cases a group effort that carries out a single person's instructions. There is no written way to express a painting like there are notes to a music or playwriting for a theater. Paintings do come from different from schools and movements, the proponents of which follow similar techniques of expression. The techniques of expression include the use of light, color and imagery. They also include the use of various mediums from water soluble to oil, to acrylic and a host of others as well as methods of wielding instruments like brushes, knives, fingers and many more. On the other hand the techniques that express music lie in the lyrics, the symphony, rhythm and the instruments or voices used to produce them. Lyrics are a straightforward way of conveying the concept, but even without them, music achieves universal communication, and conveys emotions irrespective of linguistic and cultural barriers. It claims the auditory senses, and from there goes on to move, inspire and titillate. It can be written down in notations, and performed repeatedly, even in different versions by different people at separate instances but still retains its originality. Theater as an art form is able to convey its message through dialog and plot as the primary instrument.