All about russia

Every society in the world with its embolic powers of coexistence with the nature’s upheavals and society’s turbulence is always on the move towards growth and development for assuring the maintenance for the generation next. This typical feature of the Society is its Character by which it is recognized. This Character is further determined by the interaction of traditional culture, its Land and its social and political tendencies, which since centuries are digging deeper roots in the consciousness of the citizens and their intellectual attitude towards life and society.In 989 when St. Vladimir accepted Christianity, Russia took its first step forward to take over the heritage of Constantinopole. Again in 1453, when New Rome of Constantinopole had fallen to Turks, Moscow emerged as a â€Å"Third Rome† and the Soviet Union after taking its own course became a new synthesis of the dialectic of history and its Duke became the â€Å"Tsar of All the Russians†. The history of Russia begins with the East Slavs, an ethnic group, which was eventually split into Russia, Ukrainian and Belarusians.This group emerged from the Vikings who were the barbarian tribes and illiterate pagans indulged in the activity of raping and pillaging, but they were technologically quite advanced and had stable organizational set up. These Vikings entered the Black sea through the Russian river systems known as â€Å"Varangians† (from their name in Slavic, now Varyag in Russian), but when they settled in the area, they came to be known as Rus. Primary Chronicle even says that, â€Å"These particular Varangians were known as Russes. † (Ross, Successors of Rome: Russia, 862-Present, Grand Princes of Kiev, Para.1). Kievan Rus was the first East Salvic state that was converted to Christianity in 988(Online, Russian Church Architecture) and they brought with it the Cyrillic alphabet, which got authenticity by the Soviet Union along with the other unrelated languages like the Turkish of Central Asia. Poland and the Baltic States brought Latin alphabet characteristic of Francia and the Jews of Poland wrote Yiddish in the Hebrew alphabet. And with the passing time, the small nations of the Caucasus like the Armenians and Georgians started using their own alphabets.(Ross, Successors of Rome: Russia, 862-Present, Introduction, Para. 2) After the 13th century, Moscow became the vast cultural centre and by 18th century, the Grand Duchy of Moscow formed the huge Russian Empire, stretching from Poland towards the Pacific Ocean. By 19th century, development in the Western Countries created an incredible influence on the Russia, which led Russian regime to make the way for reforms for the overall growth and development. As a result, Russian serfdom was abolished in 1861 but it proved to be fruitless for the peasants that led to the building of revolutionary pressures.With the abolishment of Serfdom and the beginning of World War I in 1914, Russ ia saw numerous changes in the economy and politics. The most prominent reform was the reform of Stolypin agrarian reforms, which transferred the archaic obshchina form of Russian agriculture towards more progressive and capitalist oriented form of agriculture, giving private ownership rights to the farmers, second was the First constitution of 1906 which was also known as fundamental laws and was enacted on April 23rd, thirdly there was the establishment of State Duma.A State duma constituted one of the several representative assemblies of modern Russia. These reforms brought about numerous changes in economy and even in the politics of Russia, but still the autocratic rule of the Tsars did not vanish completely and the result was the Russian Revolution in 1917. There were two revolutions in Russia: First Revolution was the overthrowing of the Tsar and formation of the Provisional Government and the other was the October revolution in which Bolsheviks overthrew the Provisional Gove rnment.The life in Russia during Revolution saw the immense change and uncertainty. On one hand cities and industries were mushrooming whereas on the other hand there was great level of uncertainties. Rural population began to migrate more and more towards the Industrially centered areas, middle class of white-collar employees, businessmen, and professionals like doctors, lawyers, teachers, journalists, engineers, etc. were on the rise. Nobles too were undergoing through different stages, finding ways to adjust themselves in this changing economy.Two types of classes emerged- proletarians and capitalists, who were divided along the lines of status, gender, age, ethnicity, and belief. There was emergence of different groups- migrating peasants, worker intellectuals, gentry professionals etc. which changed the whole texture of the life of people inculcating themselves into the world of materialism. This rapid industrialization led to the over crowding of the urban areas and poor condi tions for urban industrial workers.A new proletariat was formed between 1890 and 1910 due to the increase in the population of the St Petersburg and Moscow from 1,033,600 to 1,905,600. Thus there was unrest everywhere which was the ground enough for the Russian revolution to fuel. The Russian revolution brought the coalition of liberals and moderate socialists to power on the one hand and then Communist Bolsheviks on the other. Between 1922 and 1991, there was the beginning of the new era in the history of Russia when Soviet Union came into existence, a union that held the roots of ideological thoughts and perceptions.The beginning of the post-Stalinist in 1919’s saw the growth of media and intervention of TV and radio programs in its vicinity, which led to the real awakening among the Russians in all the social, political and economic spheres. Stalinism with this Marxism and Leninism approach replaced the New Economic Policy (NEP) in the year 1920 with Five Year Plans of 192 8 and collective farming, which by the end of 1930 led the Soviet Union to be emerged as the major Industrial power in the world, but this had adverse effect on the peasants due to the collective policy and the repressive measures of the Government.The repressions and political, social and economical upheavels led to the â€Å"era of stagnation† in the 1980s. But by the late 1980s, the weaknesses in the economic and political structures led the Communist leaders to embark upon the major reforms, resulting in the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the Russian Federation. By the mid of 1990 when Yeltsin came to power he adopted most unpopular Yegor Gaidar’s shock therapy for putting an end to the price controls, cutting in state spending, and starting of the open foreign trade regime in early 1992.These reforms were the blow to the living standards of most of its citizens, especially for the groups who were enjoying the benefits of Soviet-era state-control led wages and prices, state subsidies, and welfare entitlement programs and consequently Russia suffered an economic downturn much more severe than the United States or Germany had undergone six decades earlier during the Great Depression. On the other hand these economic reforms opened the doors of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, for the largest and fastest privatization in the world.The big enterprises were acquired by the old managers, leading to criminal mafias and Western investors, and at the bottom level there was inflation, unemployment, prostitution, and crime. Tax revenues had collapsed and Russia's economy was further plunged into the Financial crises in 1998. Russian Economy again recovered in 1999, due to the increase in the world price of oil and gas. (Wikipedia Encyclopedia, Russian Federation, para. 5) By 2000, Yeltsin gave his resignation, and gave the reigns of the government to the Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin.The whole of the character of th e Russian Industry was dependent on the combined efforts from the various spheres of economy. Russia did not rely on the European powers but leaped towards the development on its own efforts, the separate branches made tremendous progress, which rose with extraordinary speed especially between the first revolution and the war and made the Russian historians say, â€Å"We must abandon the legend of backwardness and slow growth. † When the war was at its peak the tzarist Russia had prospered to considerable degree; as for every one hundred square kilometres of land, Russia had, at the time of war, 0.4 kilometers of railroads, Germany 11. 7, Austria-Hungary 7. (Trotsky, Peculiarities of Russia’s Development, Para. 17). The Financial Institutions had also developed in Russia to implement the growth of Industrial Revolution but the heavy industries such as metal, coal and oil were all under the control of foreign finance capital, which had created auxiliary and intermediate system of banks in Russia, and it was true for light industries also. The other nations were holding 40 per cent of the stock capital of Russia, but in the leading branches of industry this percentage was much higher.The Russian industry even influenced the social character of the Russian bourgeoisie and its political physiognomy and the concentration of the industries meant that there was no hierarchy of transitional layers between the capitalist leaders and the popular masses, but the ownership of the foreign hands led to un-stability. All these factors along with the concentrated oppressions of tzarism led the Russian workers towards the revolutionary thoughts. Russia at the onslaught of the twentieth century had a population of about 150 million, out of whom more than 3 million were in Petrograd and Moscow, from which emerged social differences.From the artisans and independent peasants of the army of Cromwell and through the sansculottes of Paris – to the industrial pro letarians of St. Petersburg, the revolution deeply changed its social mechanism methods, and its aims. (Trotsky, Peculiarities of Russia’s Development, Para. 24). Thus this Russian Revolution made the tzarism to fall and the bourgeoisie became economically more powerful. In the beginning, the Russian revolution was called as the democratic revolution but caused the problem of political democracy.Once Vladimir Lenin says, â€Å"If you have no opportunity to implement the proclaimed slogans, revoke them! And in fact the Bolsheviks lacked the skill to do that† (Birshtein, Russian Character In The Aspect Of Reflexive Comprehension, Para. 27) Russia’s character now lies in its perusal of regional policies for nationalistic, strategic and for the development of economic resources, but there never emerged the need for reducing regional and income disparities in the standard of living of the people.Even Lenin said once, â€Å"Russian Empire was a â€Å"prison-house of nations† but so was the Soviet Union and so is the Russian Federation of today†. (Watkins, Economy of Russia, para. 1) Russia by now is not just a geographical space but its citizens by inheriting their ancient traditions have cultivated new behavioral and spiritual moulds. The number of Billionaires has grown up-to 53, which makes Russia in the third place of Forbis list with billionaires of the world. Russia is also the second biggest Oil manufacturer after Saudi Arabia. The estimated growth rate of Russia is 6.6% in 2006 and now above 6%. Its foreign debt is totaled 8% of the GNP but it is also true that majority of the Russian population is crushing under the poverty line, there is hindrance in the expression of civil liberties, centralization of power and decline of all societal values. (Stanfel, Social Unrest In The Land Of Billionaires, Para. 6) On one hand there is an upsurge of Billionaires whereas on the other hand for common citizens, life in Russia is a stru ggle. Even though there is a considerable reduction of the inflation rate it is still on the higher rate, which goes up-to nine percent a year.The average salary of the citizen amounts to half the average salary in Croatia. Russian peasants are below the poverty line whereas Billionaires are using expensive yachts to cross the rivers because of the slow traffic on the roads. (Stanfel, Social Unrest In The Land Of Billionaires, Para. 8. ) Looking at the social life in the 20th century, and with the advent of the new technology in Media and cultural affairs it was analyzed by the Intellectuals that the role of Media could exert a negative impact on the social ideologies and evolution of human beings in capitalist and socialist countries.The advocates of the socialist ideologies consider that the penetration of western social ideas and artistic values into the minds of Soviet people can lead the Soviet youth towards the violence and pornography of bourgeois pop-art which has started sp reading like wild fire and is taking the rich culture of Russia in its vicinity. As expressed by Ashin: â€Å"one who approaches the analysis of `mass culture' predominantly from the assumption about its content and social functions is compelled to deny it in the conditions of socialism†.(Yerofeyev, Youth and The System of Cultural Reproduction: Rethinking the Critique of Mass Culture in the Soviet Union†, Para. 6) Thus, in the past ten years, the life of Russia has considerably changed in all the economic, political and cultural spheres. The contemporary younger generation Russians are growing up in a pluralistic, westernized society and does not recognize themselves with the totalitarian government and are following the free market rules in all their business activities.The biggest group of Russians participated in the democratization and glasnost movement. The oldest group are finding themselves outplace and with communism enshrined in their blood, they are more cons ervatives and are finding very difficult to adjust to the fast pace Russia. The changes in the business arena also are going on at a rapid pace but there is no clear-cut rule. Younger generation is not allowing the rule of central planning and bureaucratic structure to enter in economic field and on the other hand the older generations are against capitalist way of thinking.Though it is a Patriarchy society, women are making their mark felt in the economic development in the large numbers though they have to involve themselves in the domestic chores. They can work, own property and sign contracts. The soul of Russia is hospitality of its people. Their openness and friendliness with which they welcome the strangers cannot be forgotten in the generations ahead. (Olga Ivanova-Nuss and Katrin Franz, People and Life in Contemporary Russia, Para. 8-10).Thus the character of Russia as said by classical philosophical thinker Nikolai Berdyaev (1874-1948), who was persecuted in Soviet Russia and was emigrated in 1922 to Berlin and then to Paris said that the spiritual structure of the Russian people is their attribute towards the Westernization, basically Russia is the Christian East. â€Å"This contradiction-filled nature of the Russian soul was determined by the complexity of the Russian historical destiny, collision and antagonism of the Eastern and Western elements in it†¦.Among the Russian â€Å"the nature† is a spontaneous force stronger than among the Western people†. (Birshtein, Russian Character In the Aspect of Reflexive comprehension, Para. 20) WORKS CITED 1. Birshtein I. B â€Å"Russian Character In The Aspect Of Reflexive Comprehension† Internet (2003) Available: http://72. 14. 235. 104/search? q=cache:P-QWqYb3dXMJ:www. reflexion. ru/Library/EBirshtein2003. doc+development+of+Russian+character+through+ages&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=in&ie=UTF-8, April 26, 2007 2. Ivanova-Nuss Olga & Franz katrin, â€Å"People and Life in Contemporary R ussia,† Internet Available:http://216. 239. 59. 104/search? q=cache:lTkoqb_4BF8J:www. culturalawareness. com/Newsletter-2002-04. pdf+Social+life+of+Russia&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=in, April 26, 2007 3. Kaboub Fadhel â€Å"A Rising Tide Cannot Lift All Boats† Internet (February 2001) Available: http://f. students. umkc. edu/fkfc8/RisingTide. html, April 26, 2007 4. Reuters, Javno. com â€Å"Russia-Berezovsky: Tycoon Stands by Threat to Topple Putin† Internet Available: http://www. javno. com/en/world/clanak. php? id=35911, April 26, 2007 5. Ross L. Kelley, â€Å"Successors of Rome: Russia, 862-Present† Internet (1999) Available:http://www. friesian. com/russia. htm, April 26, 2007 6. Stanfel Nikolina, â€Å"A New Revolution? † Internet (March 11, 2007) Available: http://www. javno. com/en/world/clanak. php? id=25573, April 26, 2007 7. Trotsky Leon, â€Å"Peculiarities of Russia’s Development† Volume One: The Overthrow of Tzarism, The Histo ry of the Russian Revolution ONLINE VERSION: Translated by Max Eastman, 1932, Transcribed for the W. W. W by John Gowland (Australia), Alphanos Pangas (Greece) and David Walters (United States) 1997 through 2000 Internet (Updated:15. 4. 2007) Available: http://www. marxists.org/archive/trotsky/1930/hrr/ch01. htm, April 26, 2007 8. Watkins Thayer, â€Å"The Economic History and Economy of Russia† Internet. Available: http://www. sjsu. edu/faculty/watkins/russia. htm, April 26, 2007 9. Wikipedia Encyclopedia, â€Å"History of Russia† Internet (Last Updated: 24 April 2007) Available: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/History_of_Russia, April 26, 2007 10. Yerofeyev Sergey, â€Å"Youth and The System of Cultural Reproduction: Rethinking the Critique of Mass Culture in the Soviet Union† Internet Available: http://lucy. ukc. ac. uk/csacpub/russian/yerofeyev. html

Business Psychology Essay

In this era of globalization, every organization must design its own strategy in terms of running its business at excellent level to survive and stay in competition. Trigger factors of higher demands that addressed to organizations are; emergence of free market which means that competitors are not only from the local market but also come from organizations all over the world, technological advances that developed rapidly over time also has role in higher demands that has been exposed to organizations in determining that everyone inside the organization must be compatible with the rapid development of technological advances at their workplace. Intense competition environment as already mentioned above certainly lead to tendencies for organizations in emerging innovations, creativities, enhancement of added value, service excellences, competitive prices and acceleration of process business plot as an objective to be â€Å"the winner† in competing with other organizations. A paradigm shifting in the design of the organizational strategies is necessary to be developed by organizations in order to survive in spite of the free market enforcement. One of the strategies that can be applied is building an effective team in the organization, the transformation in working method from individual to team work as the main focus must bring psychological effects for every individual in the organization. Every member in the organization is forced to be part of their team, regardless to their preference to work as individual or as a team. This phenomenon also brings the â€Å"domino effect†; each member in the organization will be evaluated not only for their field competencies related to their job performance, but also personal competencies related to perform effectively as a team member (team work competencies) will be evaluated by the organization. In the realization  of forming an effective team, more than one strategy related to competencies in team building, which are parts of the business psychology area, must be combined in a synchronous way. Business psychology can be use as a source in designing and implementing an organizational strategy, especially for the accentuation in understanding individual behavior and self improvement basis when they are put and work together in a team. There some business psychology focuses that can be used in designing a strategy which at the end also can be used as references in building personal competencies needed in order to perform as an effective team. These are the beneficial focuses: 1. Perception and personal reality Every individual has cognitive limitation in responding to information that they received, as a result of that phenomenon, they are forced to pick information selectively regarding to which received information associated as valuable and which is invaluable, which data that will be taken to the next level of information process. Related to selectivity process, individual tend to use heuristic process, an information processing which characterized by incomplete usage of given data, only based on general issues and experiences, and all those information processed quickly. This information processing form has potential in bringing biases, misunderstanding, and inaccurate result in processing information. Based on the implementation of information processing above, in interacting with other individual, stereotypes and expectations emerged. Stereotyping is a judgment processing of someone that made only based on perceptions to the group where they can be categorized. Expectations from each individual not always positively responded by the other party where they are interacting with each other. Expectations also correlate with communication styles that will be used in interactions. 2. Team ship In building an effective team, many approaches must be used and collaborated in a synchronous way. Defining roles in each team member is an important aspect for balancing the roles of team members in order to optimize the team’s outcomes and coherence. One of the models that can be used in describing team roles in details is â€Å"team roles model† by Belbin : An effective team, in the process basis is characterized by these indication processes; active listening, sharing leadership, taking turn-not interrupting, positive reframing, rescuing eac other’s views, spontaneous and open praise and elaboration of ongoing ideas. In terms of their task performance, an effective team is characterized by these indication processes; analyzing, focus on results, reflecting, open rejection-goal oriented, open rejection-based on data, seeking opinion, seeking clarification and closure. There are some important key behavior in an effective team, such as: open communication, mutual respect, shared output responsibility, agreement through consensus, active disagreement, clear individual responsibilities and roles, subordinate own goals to group objectives, engender high team morale, receptive to new ideas and change, and constructive and supported feedback. There are two applicable models that can be useful in order to design the strategy for establishing an effective team, and they are: Jungian model and Tjosvold model. a. Jungian Model b. The Ideal Team System by Tjosvold Sharing organizational expectations, business strategies and visions, core  values, organizational cultures and organizational objectives, can be defined as envisioning. Showing interest about team member’s visions, task clearances, valuing intercultural differences, and transferring the idea of the team ship’s paradigm importance are efforts in uniting the team. Bringing out loyalties, responsibilities, knowing potential of team members and assigning them based on that, and motivate them when they need motivation are characteristics in the empowering step. After being empowered, exploration in discovering problems and focusing on finding solutions can be established, diversities can be managed in finding the best solution, and all that will raise the team’s awareness to the importance of learning over time to have the upper hand in the market competition. After the best solution is reached, reflecting what the team has been through at every step of the cycle above can be very important as the source of any plan or step that needs to be revised on the next period in order to perform as an effective team. 3. Conflict resolution There are some causes of conflicts that usually appear in organizations: competition, scarcity of resources, interdependence/dependency, conflict in objectives and tasks, differences of opinion and of influence, differences in status, cultural differences, change, misperception, miscommunication, different ways of seeing things, personal preferences, pace of response, range of response and form of response, individual differences and emotional defenses. Traditionally, from all causes of conflicts that mentioned above, individual differences and emotional defenses are the main issues in organizations. In dealing with conflicts, there are three natural reactions that are usually expected from the individuals involved: striking back (leads to escalation, potentially damaging the relationship), giving in (usually results in poor outcome, can be seen as rewarding bad behavior), and breaking off (sometimes can be beneficial, often very costly, hasty and regretted). Regarding to conflict resolution, application of negotiation competencies can be very useful. There are five stages in negotiation process; orientation, position taking, search for solutions, crisis/deadlock, settlement and finalization. It is important to each team member to identify their position in those stages that are related in optimizing conflict resolution process. By knowing and sharing their each position, they can build the same perceptions in finding the best conflict resolution scheme. Principled approach is a combined technique in negotiation from soft and hard style of positional bargaining. In this approach, participants are problem solvers, the goal is a wise outcome reached amicably and efficiently, people and the problem must be separated, must be soft on the people and hard on the problem, independent of trust is proceed, the focus is on interests not the positions, interests are being explored, having a bottom line is avoided, options for mutual gain are invented, multiple options are developed, the use of objective criteria is insisted, a result is reached based on standards independent of will, there is tendency to be open to reasons and yield to principle, not pressure. Conflicts can lead to project delays, missed market opportunities, confused communication, inconsistent information, teams fail and difficult to retain good staff. Considering the effects of unresolved conflict, there are three category : first order effects (quantifiable) can be counted by employee replacement cost, including termination costs and recruitment, second order effects (harder to quantify) which can be observed by increased supervision or management activities , and third order effect (impossible to quantify) when its already revealed in passive aggressive behaviors. Look more:  problem focused coping essay There are two types of conflict; task focused, which is characterized by differences of views and opinions, based on facts and reasoning, and related to intellectual matters. The other type is relationship focused conflict, characterized by anchored in personal differences, influenced by history/assumptions, and related to feelings and emotions. There is a model by Thomas Kilmann which explained deliberately about correlation between  assertiveness and cooperativeness in dealing with conflict. 4. Decision making There are two types of decision making process that people tend to implement, they are: width (diverging) and depth (converging). Diverging type is characterized by some points; seeking options/strategies, works with multiple perspectives, requires more options, considering new ideas, combining options/lateral ideas, and creative suggestions. On the other hand, converging type is characterized by: seeking consensus, seeking clarification, seeking structure, review based on new information, analytical, making inferences, assess consequences based on data, strong defense of viewpoint, clear decisions and outcomes. The usage of both types can be based on the situation that the decision making processes is taking place in the organization. Combination of width and depth are expected and can be the best option in decision making process.

Income Tax and Corporation Tax Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Income Tax and Corporation Tax - Essay Example Under the finance act 2010/2011, there are three types of rate bands, basic rate, higher rate and additional rate. Every type of income has its own tax rate. These are illustrated in the table below: Basic High Additional Rate Band (?1-?37,400) (?37,401-?150,000) (?150,001 and over) Non-Saving Income 20% 40% 50% Saving Income 20% 40% 50% Dividends Income 10% 32.5% 42.5% If a savings income fall into the basic rate band, then the rate, till the amount of ?2,240 is 10%. Above that the rate of 20% is implied. Any income over and above the individual’s allowance is taxable. There are different kinds of allowances for example personal allowance, old age allowance, married couple allowance, maintenance payment relief, or blind person’s allowance. Personal allowance depends upon the age and income limits, Allowances for the year 2010/2011 are shown below: Age ? Personal Allowance Standard 6,475 Personal Allowance 65 to 74 9,490 Personal Allowance 75 and above 9,640 Income Limi t for age-related Allowances 22,900 Income Limit for standard personal allowance 100,000 The blind person’s allowance is 1,890 pounds for the year 2010/2011, there are no age or income limits, and this allowance is in addition to the personal allowance of the entitled individual. Other allowances like married couple’s allowance or maintenance payment relief are entitled to a couple where both the partners are born before 6 April 1935, or either of the partners or formal partners is born before 6 April 1935, respectively. Married couple’s allowance is ?6,965 for the year 2010/11. Tax Period: The relevant tax period for the year 2010/2011 is from 6 April 2010 to 5 April 2011. All the taxes are computed for this period. Corporation Tax: Scope:... The paper tells that income tax is charged on the income of all UK residents. Income tax is basically charged to all the individuals. That will include employed, self-employed or un-employed individuals. For employed individuals, the basic source of income will be their salaries along with other sorts where as the self employed individuals will be charged on their trading income. Un-employed individuals may have their income coming from savings or investments. There is no maximum age limit for any individual to be exempt from income tax. Corporation tax is payable by limited companies or some other unincorporated businesses, which are UK resident. Such UK resident companies pay tax on their comprehensive income. A company is called a UK resident; if it’s incorporated in UK or even if it isn’t incorporated in UK then it is centrally managed and controlled in UK. In determining where the company’s central administration is positioned, the HM Revenue and Customs wil l focus on the highest level of the company. Especially where the board is located and where all the meetings of the board are carried out. If a company is a non-resident then it is not liable for corporation tax. But if it carries out its trade through a permanent institution like a branch or agency which is a UK resident, then in that case the profits from that institution are liable for tax. From the paper we will see that though rates related to income tax are constantly being increased and the allowances being decreased, no such progressive changes are seen in the corporation tax strategy.

Fundamental of Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Fundamental of Finance - Essay Example In our case, proposal A takes 4 years to recover the investment and proposal B takes only 3 years for the recovery of such investment. Accordingly the proposal B is ranked above the proposal A. The limitation in this method is that it does not consider time value of money. Net present value is a discounted cash flow approach to capital budgeting. â€Å"If the present value of future cash flow is greater than the initial cost, the project is worth undertaking. On the other hand, if the present value is less than the initial cost, a project should be rejected because investor would lose money if the project were accepted.†(Angelico A. Groppelli and Ehsan Nikbakhat, page 159)ii Assessing from this point of view, both proposal have a positive net present value. But as the net present value of proposal A is more than that of proposal B. Accordingly NPV method ranks proposal A ahead of proposal B. There are various shortcomings in methods of evaluation of capital projects that do not consider time value of money. It is generally felt that discounted cash flow methods provide a more objective basis for evaluating and selecting investment projects. These methods take account of both the magnitude and the timings of expected cash flows in each period of project’s life. Internal rate of return, like net present value method, is such a method that uses the discounted cash flow criteria to evaluate different capital projects. â€Å"The IRR for an investment is the discount (interest) rate that will make the present (or discounted) value of the cash flows from the operation equal to the initial outlay of the investment. An IRR above the minimum rate of return specified by management (called hurdle rate) is considered acceptable. When mutually exclusive projects are being compared, the project with highest IRR will be preferred.† (Ralph S.

Nando's Opening Restaurant in Hong Kong - Business Plan Essay

Nando's Opening Restaurant in Hong Kong - Business Plan - Essay Example In certain countries, Nando's has other savor selections like Mediterranean or mango and lime. This paper looks at the 9-steps business model for Nando’s Opening a restaurant in Hong Kong, China. Destination Introduction – Hong Kong Contemporary Hong Kong has a primarily service-centered economy (Hong Kong Census, 2007),  plus restaurant industries serve as a chief economic provider. With the third-thickest population per square meters in the whole world plus harboring a populace of around 7 million (Hong Kong Statistics, 2007),  Hong Kong is host to a restaurant business with powerful competition. Because of its small geographical proportions, Hong Kong comprises a great number of restaurants per unit area. The target clientele of the Nando’s is people from all walks of life. ... Business receipts in record chief service industries increased in worth in the second quarter for year 2008 over the same passe last year. Restaurant business receipts propagated 15.3%, while those for blanket retail, plus import and export line of work, up surged 14.3% and14.1% (www.news.gov.hk). Franchising in Hong Kong Hong Kong is a perfect destination for Nandos’. Private surveys and social networking web sites reveal that a huge number of people in Hong Kong are want Nando’s to start in Hong Kong as the ‘Peri Peri’ taste of chicken is traditional of Nando’s. The notion of franchising has been rising in Hong Kong for the preceding decade. More than 80% of the franchise maneuvers in Hong Kong have foreign basis. Home-grown franchises have also established, particularly in catering (Li, 2010). Location Target location to open the Nando’s restaurant in Hong Kong is at Wellington Street right besides Stanley Street, Queens Road. Nando’ s first branch will be right beside the ‘Kee Club’ (Please click the link in the references section to view the location). The purpose for choosing this spot is that offers a perfect location to start a chicken restaurant business. It has empty apartments for new entrants as well as full-functioning restaurants. Another attraction for choosing this location is ‘Yung Kee’ restaurant, which has the specialty in cooking goose and ducks. Our project, Nando’s is a master in chicken and its products. ‘Yung Kee Restaurant’ will serve as a supplement for our business – they will be serving ducks and goose and here in our restaurant, we will be serving chicken and its related products and sauces (Google Maps, 2011). Other restaurants on the opposite side of the road include Tsui Wah

Rhetorical Situation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Rhetorical Situation - Essay Example So, different writers write best in different environments. However, there are some similarities among these writers. They are acquire new ideas for writing. Moreover, they are also good readers of their own work especially when revising. Through these, they shape their writing styles and gain more experience as well. I different writers work best in different environment and time They say all writers write with a thought in mind that somebody will read their work. Experienced writers normally consider audience as one of the most crucial factors when compiling their works. They do this by keeping the audience in their minds and using language and tone accordingly. Inexperienced writers, on the other hand, write as if they do not expect other people to go through their work. When talking of audience, there are two types; an individual whom the writer may or may not know and a group that may include several people whom the writer does not know. The two audiences are particular audience and universal audiences. I say audience is a crucial factor for any writer. This is the motive or aim that a writer always hopes to accomplish through writing. Some of these aims are: amusing people, discovering oneself, conveying information, exploring ideas and evaluating something. However, the primary aim of all writers is to persuade readers. Writers normally begin with one topic and narrow it down. For instance a writer writing about abortion may narrow it down to effects of abortion. This is meant to give the readers more detailed information concerning some parts of the topic. Entering into a conversation is whereby a writer reads about a certain topic, understands the concepts and controversies that relates to that particular topic. The writer then becomes aware of a large communication going on. Therefore, he or she begins to see his or her own place in the conversation. He discovers his own ideas and stance on

Comment of article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Comment of article - Essay Example Knowing that the master received a lot of money for his skill and the drug he illegally sells, the writer expected a man well-dressed in some fancy clothes, well fed and has respectable looks. However, when the author finally met the master, he observed that he was skinny and very poorly dressed. He did not seem to be rich at all, with his house in a similarly poor state. When he witnessed how the master indulged in opium like a hungry pig, the writer noted that in such a situation, the one who probably suffers more of the consequences of the opium production and use of the master is his wife who looked skinnier. Indeed, there is nothing good that opium brings. Even the rich opium master has been stripped of his wealth and pride, the luxuries money can bring him as well as the family that became victims themselves. This is the reason why it is not legal and leaders around the globe have been wise enough not to make the drug easily available. Nevertheless, much has yet to be done in o rder to minimize or even eradicate the production and use of the said

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

Fedex - Essay Example FedEx has market competitors who provide similar services. These include TNT, DHL and United Parcel Services as the main competitors. However, FedEx has a substantial market share despite the stiff competitiveness. FedEx has diversified to provision of printing services, which mainly targets organizations that have bulk of work that requires to be printed. In addition, the company targets professionals and organizations in producing their documents, providing information technology services and doing any other work within the organizational mandate. One of the largest markets of FedEx is found in the supply chain. Companies and organizations that supply goods are a target market for FedEx since they constantly transport goods from one place to another, both locally and internationally. In the supply chain FedEx provides an array of services including transportation, keeping inventory of goods, and transportation management. From a broad perspective, the market for FedEx is very broad. Individuals, small businesses, professionals, large corporations, governments, and other organizations provide market for FedEx. However, the largest market is taken up by the individuals and organizations in the supply

Innovativeness according to company size Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Innovativeness according to company size - Essay Example panies, all employees contribute, which ensures that there are no freeloaders and slackers, which can be combined with rewards for the best innovators. In small companies, it is also easier to identify, utilize, and nourish innovative talent. Since it easier to recognize creative talent at smaller companies, it is easier to motivate them. Finally, small company founders are more accessible and can talk constantly about objectives of innovation, which helps them hammer home the message (Leifer, 2009). Big companies also have advantages when it comes to innovation. First, creation of new categories of products is the best way to achieve total control of innovations and, as such, only the big companies like Google and Apple have the capital to do so (Leifer, 2009). Secondly, big companies are able to do better in the international market place where innovation has now shifted. Larger companies also possess the scale for them to deal with big problems such as the environment, healthcare, and education where a lot of innovation is taking place. These big companies also possess the resources to attract and retain the best talent. In addition, some of the big companies presently had grown from small companies at a ferocious pace and remembered their roots. Finally, these companies have learnt to be more nimble and porous (Leifer, 2009). Current trends in America and Western Europe have seen legislation of new patent laws that mark a fundamental change in patent protection to first-to-file rules and away from first-to-file (Cohen & Merill, 2011). This shift favors the bigger companies that possess resources for broad research and increased capabilities. These companies can file patents faster compared to smaller companies without funds, and thus, no way to protect their inventions. Most small entrepreneurs initially did not take filing of patents, as a priority and especially not before fundraising since they knew that they had an invention and had a way of proving it.

What are some of the reasons given in the article for the achievement Essay

What are some of the reasons given in the article for the achievement gap in education in the United States what do you think could solve the problem discussed in the reading - Essay Example According to Robert Reich, a professor of public policy at the University of California and the author of ‘Beyond Outrage’, the average SAT-type tests between children in the richest ten percent and the bottom ten per cent was about ninety points on an eight hundred point scale thirty years ago. This has nevertheless increased to one hundred and twenty five points today a scenario which depicts the increasing achievement gap between the children coming from the two backgrounds. Are there ways of averting this and ensuring everyone gets quality education? There are various ways that can be used to narrow the achievement gap. They are discussed in the following section. Before addressing the problem, it is good to understand what is causing the gap increase. It is evident that the children coming from rich families are taken to the best schools which have the best facilities and they have the requirements that enhance their learning environment to ensure that they succeed or make it in education. On the contrary the children coming from the poor families hardly have the money and so they will end up in the schools offering poor education and having poor facilities. According to Reich this can be solved by harmonising the standards of education offered. The best way to address the problem is therefore to make sure that all the students get quality and same education. Robert looks at the teacher: student ratio in the schools serving the two groups and realizes that though the ratio is closely the same, the funding per student in the wealthy owned schools is very high and among the highest across the improved countries being analysed. If the government could intervene and increase the student funding then that would mean that the children from the poor families will also have an opportunity to have good facilities and boost their learning. The lack of quality facilities is a major drawback

The Benefits of Hybrid Cars Essay Example for Free

The Benefits of Hybrid Cars Essay There was once a time when you could turn on the news and not hear about the terrible state of the environment or the impending doom that is global warming. That time has become part of the past. The standard automobile can be blamed for a large portion of the conflict. Today’s large gasoline engines spew harmful emissions into the air every time we drive. Of course as a result, the United States government has started to resolve these problems. As a result, the United States government has been attempting to solve the environmental problem. One such solution is the hybrid electric car, which can save resources by giving off less emission. And my claim is one of the ways to assist the environmental situation is using hybrid cars. First of all, what do we know about the hybrid car? HEV’s or hybrid electric vehicles differ from standard vehicles by their source of power. According to Michael Westbrook, who is recently retired as the manager of technological research with the Ford Motor Company, â€Å"any vehicle that has more than one power source can be classified as a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV)†(142). The first-ever hybrid cars appeared in the middle of the nineteenth century. These primitive constructions sped up no more than 10 km/h (Westbrook, 11). The main energy that propelled vehicle was steam source. In 1905 Belgian, Henry Pieper, invents and patents a hybrid chart for a car. Ferdinand Porsche developed the idea of the Belgian inventor. A car carried the name Lohner Porsche and was very popular at that time. Company Lohner Porsche produced a few varieties of hybrid cars of the most different orientation: freight, automobile, busses, fire trucks and ambulances. But unfortunately, in 1906 production of hybrids of System Lohner Porsche was stopped from their unprofitability as compared to cars on petrol. A new wave of interest in the hybrid vehicles emerged after 40 years, in the early 60’s, last century. But it was just the beginning of an interest in hybrid vehicles (Westbrook, 20-21). Permanent price advances on oil and gas in the late twentieth century, and also strengthening of requirements to ecological descriptions of cars, have compelled developers again to take up developments of ecofriendly and economical motor vehicle. (Westbrook, 23) After a long time, the forgotten ideas of hybrid auto were needed designers. In 1997, Toyota began selling the Prius. Below is the example of two hybrid cars from different manufacturers. (Siler) After two years, another Japanese company Honda produces a hybrid vehicle, which is called Insight. This car satisfied not only the Japanese market, but the US too. But already in 2000, The Toyota Prius went on sale begins to expand to foreign markets, primarily in the United States. It was a huge success. According to the magazine Forbes The Toyota Prius enters in the ten cars that changed the world and also as the most sold hybrid car in the world (Westbrook, 26-27). In the meantime, due to the progress of hybrid cars and due to the high standards to automobile companies the situation with air pollution significantly changed. The chart below shows six major air pollutants and in the first place is carbon monoxide, which is emitted by vehicles, then nitrogen oxides, then volatile organic compounds, etc. (Cooper) But we should mention that comparisons from 1970 to 2002, the carbon monoxide in the air is so much decreased, and the reason for decreasing carbon monoxide is the hybrid car, because as we remember from the history of the hybrid cars in these years were the main progress in the development of hybrid cars. (Cooper) According to Nurretin Demirdoven’s investigation, which is the professor of Engineering System Division at the MIT, comparing the energy potency of hybrid and fuel cell vehicles, as we have with combustion engines, showed that fuel cell vehicles don’t provide more important benefits than hybrid-powered vehicles in urban vehicles in urban driving settings. There are other pros of using hybrid electric vehicle, such as: 1. Cost effectiveness. Hybrid car uses less fuel, as is able to move only the electric range by battery power. 2. Ecological compatibility. Intermittent use of ENGINES is ensured, while the electric motor does not produce harmful emissions into the atmosphere. Toyota Prius to 85 percent less polluting than the class car with traditional power installation. 3. Low noise. Electric motors are virtually silent. Hybrid car has its drawbacks: 1. High cost. For modern technology, environmental friendliness and cost efficiency car buyers have to pay the price for its purse. 2. The complexity of repair and insufficient development of a network of service centers in selected countries. 3. Potential danger to pedestrians who often just dont notice because they are hybrids of noiselessness. (YouManitoba) Hybrid cars are good for the environment. Hybrid cars are one among the promising types of new generation cars. Hybrid cars are more reliable than electric cars from what we are seeing to date and they have gasoline as an alternate fuel. Hybrid cars are currently more expensive to buy than conventional cars. So, we may pay more now but we should see great gains and thus yields is solving our current and long term energy needs when it comes to our people mover desires. Hybrid automobile technology has been accepted as an answer for the car pollution issues of the day. And in the end, I would like to conclude by quoting Gandhi: à ¢â‚¬ If you want to change the world, start with yourself.† Let’s change the world! Works Cited Cooper, Mary H. â€Å"Air Pollution Conflict.† CQ Researcher 14 Nov. 2003: 965-88. Web. 2 Nov. 2012. Demirdà ¶ven , Nurettin, and John Deutch. â€Å"Hybrid Cars Now, Fuel Cell Car Later.† American Association for the Advancement of Science. 13 Aug. 2004: 974-976. Web. 2 Nov. 2012. Siler, Wes. â€Å"By The Numbers: 2010 Toyota Prius Vs 2010 Honda Insight†. Jalopnik. 13 Jan 2009. Web. 6 Dec. 2012 Westbrook, Michael H. â€Å"The Electric and Hybrid Electric Car.† London: SAE International and Institution of Electrical Engineers, 2001. Print. YouManitoba. â€Å"What Are The Advantages Of Hybrid Electric Cars?† YouTube. 19 Oct. 2010. Web. 20 Oct. 2012

The Economics Of International Business Economics Essay

The Economics Of International Business Economics Essay Myanmar was formerly known as Burma located in Southeast Asia Country. The country has been under military rule for 49 years since 1962 to 2011. It situated between India, Thailand, and China. Even though country located its strategic location, but Myanmar still is the poorest countries in Asia because with almost a third of its population estimated to be living in poverty (U.S State Department, 2012). In 1989, the authorities Burmese officially changed the country name from Burma to Myanmar. But in 2010, the Myanmar country became the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. After Myanmar independence from Britain, the country became one of a member in many international organizations such as the United Nations (UN), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) (U.S State Department, 2012). As a leading multinational nutrition Nestlà © Company, before starting business in Myanmar, there are five elements should understanding their: a) Political Economy b) Economy Systems c) Legal System d) Culture e) Religion Political Economy Myanmar is a sovereign country and also is a specialist country which had different political compared to other country. Myanmar is a religious country because majority is Buddhism. However, the political system of Myanmar is different from other country. The political system of Myanmar can be dividing into three stages in the timeline from independence to the current. According to the timeline provided by BBC News Asia-Pacific (2012), Myanmar was independence at 1948 from Britain. During that time, the political of Myanmar is more toward to the democratic. Normally, they had general election on their country and the party who was wined in the general election will automatically practice the government and the leader will become the prime minister of the country. However, the practice of democratic political system did not last for a long time. According the timeline provided by BBC News Asia-Pacific (2012), the democratic political system only practice until 1962. During year 1962, Myanmar starts turn their political system from democratic to the military or totalitarianism. The first person who practices the military political system is Gen Ne Win and he abolishes the federal system and form the socialist or totalitarianism country. He had officially launched The Burmese Way to Socialism in 1962, which is meant the nationalizing the economy, that is, resources owned by government and only government have the power to govern the country in Myanmar. The socialism of the Myanmar had been continues for more than 48 years. During the socialism, Myanmar had become a sovereign and military country. The economy of the Myanmar is worst and only had limited range for economy to grow. The main reason of Myanmars economy became worst is Myanmar switched the political system from socialism to the right-wing totalitarianism. After the military take over the country, Myanmar is started slow down their economy even turn the economy back to last economy section with the slow grow. Myanmar decrease their trade with others country and started limit the economy activities in the country. Besides that, the governments also try to take over the economy activities and control all the trade so that there is limited freedom for their citizen or business. In addition, according to the report from Asia Report N °231(2012), Myanmar is related to the country that has similar political system and economy system, such as China, Thailand, and Vietnam. Myan mar is strongly related to those countries because they believed that work together with the countries that have similar political system and economic system will obtain more benefits. For this reason, the businessman from these three countries is very easy to start their business in Myanmar and will force less trouble during the business activity. However, not all of the business activity can be done in their country. The main reason is not because of the military or totalitarianism political system but is the religion. This is because the citizens in Myanmar, either army or politician are very respect to the Buddhism. Therefore, there are some business activity which is opposite the Buddhisms rule is not allowed to run in Myanmar. Furthermore, due to the strong religion faith, Myanmar trading with the others country decreased and more toward to self-economy system which is only produce enough goods for self country. Although Myanmar is rich in natural resources, but they did not u se their natural resources for international trade in order to boost-up their economy. During these few years, Myanmar is started changing their political system because they believed the military or totalitarianism does not provide benefits and human right for them. Besides that, the military political policy also make Myanmar became the poorest country in the world and unable to keep up with the development of its neighborhoods country like Thailand and Vietnam that is now developing faster and becoming very rich. In order to develop the country from poor to rich, Myanmar started regulates the democratic policy on year 2010 (BBC News Asia-Pacific, 2012). Myanmar try to convert their government from military to the civilian government because they believed the citizen play an important roles in the help of develop their country. After the democratic policy is regulated, Myanmar quickly organizes a general election in the country. According to the BBC News Asia-Pacific (2012), the Union and Development Party (USDP) won the election and the junta had said the election i s the process of transition from military rule to a civilian democracy. After the election, Aung San Suu Kyi who is taking part for forming the democracy government is been released from house arrest after a long time arrested by military government. The released of Aung San Suu Kyi can be determined as Myanmar start moved toward to human right country and can protect businessman when they are do their business activity in the country and had more chances for international trade done at Myanmar. The democracy political system is giving many benefits to Myanmar. The first of the benefits is the chair of ASEAN in 2014. According to Nehru and Endowment (2012), ASEAN sent a message to Myanmar, said Myanmar need to focus more on human rights and democracy in order to chair ASEAN in 2014. If Myanmar successful becomes a chair ASEAN, there will have many benefits for them. The first benefit is they can do their trade with others ASEAN country easily and organizing activities events at Myanmar and more people will know more about Myanmar. The second benefit is ASEAN is a free agent for advertisement because after joining the ASEAN, Myanmar wills easily attract the potential investor to invest their business to its country. Although Myanmar open more chances for other country for doing business in their country, there are still not enough to prove that Myanmar is a good place for doing the business. This is because Myanmar still had the limited on doing business in their country and the policy for protect the investment and business is still very weak and some is not really useful. Myanmar still does not had a good policy for the business section and some rules for the business is very tight and make the business less potential for development. Besides that, not all area of Myanmar is acceptable to the current government and immigrants citizen, some of the area still had the fight with the government so the safety of that area is negative. Furthermore, the costs of implementation the factory in Myanmar is very high because need pay more (bribe) Da loong u mean bribe? to the federal government and local government. Besides the costs, the process for getting approved of doing business in Myanmar is taking long time, so this will affect the profit and effectiveness of the company. According to the Asia Report N °231(2012), Myanmars political transition and economic reconstruction is interrelated. Asia Report N °231 (2012) also mentioned that there is hard for imagine a successful political transition unless the government ensure the economic stability and improvement of the development of the country and needed of the citizen. So, Myanmar is a very challenging country if start a business in the country although Myanmar had a rich on natural resources. When Myanmar compared to the United States, both country had different political system at the beginning but similar in these few year. Both of the country is democratic country whereas U.S. is stronger than Myanmar and more stable in the political situation when compare to Myanmar which is new to democratic. In economic system, United States is more effectiveness and better then Myanmar. This is because U.S. government had provided a lot of policy or art for the trade or business activity such as Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and others (Feinberg, 2003). For Myanmar, they only have few acts or policy to protect the trade and the business activity, so its risky and costly to invest the factory or business in Myanmar. However, there is a particular thing that the Myanmar had more advantages than United States, thats Myanmars resources rich than U.S, so when implement the factory in Myanmar, the cost f or the material will be cheaper and easily to get compared to United States. Therefore, there are had risk when implement business in Myanmar by the view of political economy. Economy Systems According to McEachern, there will have three key questions when come to economy: 1) what goods and services are to be produced? 2) How are they to be produced? 3) For whom are they to be produced? Economy systems can explain as the way that one country used to answer this three key questions. Every country in the world will under at least one type of economic systems. For this reason, to expand our business to Myanmar we must first know what economy system Myanmar under. The three basis types of economic systems that generally recognize by the economists are market economy, command economy and mixed economy (Hill, 2012). Now, lets discuss them one by one before we look at economy system of Myanmar. Traditional economy system In addition, there was an old economic system known as traditional economy system, society that under this system answers the three key questions according to their ancestors act, customs, rituals, beliefs and rituals. (Mxcastro, 2010) In short, they copy the ways that did by their previous generations. Traditional economy system was used in the past but now still will exist in the countries that are farm-based or rural. For an example, Native people of Brazils rain forest, the crops they planted, way to harvested, and the goods distributed to who were decided by their past generation and remains unchanged (Tucker, 2010). Therefore, this system decreased the rate of disputes among members but its restricted individual initiative, so will unable to produce advanced goods, new technology and then slow down the economic growth. So then, expand our business to the country that under traditional economy system is not recommended because a countrys practice may differ greatly from a countr y. Market Economy Furthermore, market economy is a system that allowed an individual to make decision of economic. In market economies, interaction of the force of supply and demand determines the prices and the prices are used to answers the 3 key questions. That is, what to produce is based on the popular trend and profitable, the producers will produce a product more when the demand for a product exceeds supply because the price of a product will rise and result in higher profit. The question of how to produce is depend on the producers choices, if the price and demand for a product is high, producers may use machine to produce in order to save the labor cost because machine can produce more in lower costs. The question of for whom they produce is based on the need or wants of the buyers and the price the buyers willing to accept. In addition, under pure market economies, intervention of government is absent. A pure market economy is also referred to as pure capitalism because both of the systems a re market answers the three key questions. Moreover, in pure market economy, mean of production is owned by private, buyers and sellers can make decision or choices as well as free trade for their deals. Also, according to Adam Smith, a countrys resources can be use efficiently and have better economic performance under market economy because its provided incentive for each individual to pursue his or her self-interest, known as invisible hand. However, pure economy system has some flaws such as people would suffer if without resources, stronger producers may eliminate the competition to monopolize the markets and people no incentive to produce public goods. Command Economy In command economy system, the three key questions are not answered by market force but government or people with central authority. In more specific, production, distribution, prices and others decision is controlled and regulated by government. In addition, state that under pure command economy owned all the business, there is no private ownership. Also, pure command economy emphasizes on collective goals more than individual goals, so sometime called communism or socialism. Furthermore, pure command economy also has some flaws such as resources do not use efficiently or wasted, absent from cost control, unable to meet the needs or wants of consumer because these resources owned by state, so people have no incentive to do so. Mixed Economy In mixed economy system, both market and government answers the three key questions, so this system involved both capitalism and communism. Government regulated only some of the markets in mixed economy system and resources in this system are owned by private ownership and public ownership. In addition, government normally take over the things is important to nation in this system such as provide national defense, birth cert recording, highway construction. Most of the people in the world will agree or accept these things to control by government. Also, government may take over the private firm that is failing if the private firm considered important to nations economic, for example, firm that have many employees, the government will take over the firm in order to prevent the increase of unemployment rate. Thus, mixed economy system provides the advantages of freedom without the need of government to give up its power. Myanmar Economy Systems Since year 1988, Myanmar has adopted the market-oriented economic (Aung, nd) with little government regulations which has replaced the centrally planned economy command economy. So that, the three key questions is answers by market force and each individual can make the economic decision. After adopted the market economy, the initial step that Myanmar takes is promoting and develops the private sector. Now in Myanmar, private activity has about 75%, mainly in light industry and agriculture and has about 25% of activity controlled by state, mainly in foreign trade, heavy industry and energy (WebWhacker, nd). Since Myanmar has adopted the market economy system which allows individuals to make economic decisions, so expand our business to Myanmar may be considered because as a multinational company, we has a lot of experiences of making economic decisions in many different country. Furthermore, foreign direct investment is allowed after Myanmar adopts the market economy system and the Union of Myanmar foreign investment law allows foreigner to fully owned company at there or can be joint venture with a state-owned enterprise, a private company or any Myanmar people, (DPS, 2006) so that we can easily set up our business at there. Moreover, in order to be line with the market economy, private individuals or enterprises are permitted by Ministry of Commerce to implement import and export business which was monopolized by the state in the past. (Aung, nd) For this reason, we can produce our goods at Myanmar with lower costs and export our goods to others country with higher prices. Also, others reason to expand business to Myanmar such as enough of labor force and low labor costs. Economic Condition Myanmar v United State United State Unit Myanmar Unit GDP (purchasing power parity) 15290.00 Billion USD 83.74 Billion USD GDP real growth rate 1.7 Percent 5.5 Percent GDP per capital (PPP) 49,000 US dollar 1,300 US dollar Labor Force 153.6 Million 32.53 Million Unemployment rate 9 Percent 5.5 Percent Exports 1497.00 Billion USD 8.21 Billion USD Imports 2,236 Billion USD 5.98 Billion USD Population 313.847465 Million 54.58465 Million Inflation rate 1.7 Percent 5.8 Percent Source: http://www.indexmundi.com/g/rank.html http://www.tradingeconomics.com/united-states/indicators Legal System In the past, Myanmar was reported having the worlds worst legal system for doing business. According to The Economics Time (2012), a British risk analysis group, Myanmar was offering the least legal protection for foreign companies. But during the recent reforms of Myanmar, new laws are enacted, and the legal practices are changing rapidly. Technical assistance and training which include investment and finance law reform, foreign exchange controls, and the simplification of trading are giving a hand for Myanmar to improve the legal system. The first legal act for foreigners investing in Myanmar are two types of foreign investment defined: 1) a sole proprietorship wholly owned by a foreign investor supplying 100% foreign capital, and 2) a joint venture in the form of either a partnership or limited company, in which the foreign capital invested must be a minimum of 35% of the total equity capital (Chandler Thong, 2012). Foreigners who interested to invest in Myanmar are required to invest through a local incorporate company which shareholders and directors are controlled by them, not through the use of local nominees. The invested company will be blacklisted if the Foreign Investment Law is not accorded. Besides that, foreigners are forbidden to buy land in Myanmar. The second are the relaxations of international sanctions. Investment in Myanmar was restricted by sanctions implemented by the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, Canada and Australia since year 1997. CITATION? In 2012, the sanctions are relaxed. CITATION? United States has authorizes the new investment in Myanmar, but subjected to certain requirements and limitations; United Kingdom has suspend the restrictions of some key industries and assets freeze on approximately 500 people; CITATION? European Union has lifted all the sanctions except the arms and equipment embargo; Canada has allows import, export, investment and financial transactions to Myanmar; and Australia has remove the travel bans on Myanmar citizens but weapon trading is still prohibited. Furthermore, general laws of doing business in Myanmar. The general business law of Myanmar must be complied by the foreign investors and also domestic investors. First is the Myanmar Companies Act (1914). CITATION? A Myanmar investor who wants to build a business through a limited company may register under this act, but foreign shareholder and foreign director is prohibited. Meanwhile, a foreign investor who wants to build a business in Myanmar through a locally incorporated limited company may register under the Myanmar Companies Act too, but the company must be incorporated under the Special Companies Act (1950) CITATION? and be approved by the Foreign Investment Law. In addition, Special Companies Act (1950) is an act that governs all companies in equity share capital. CITATION? Besides, the labor laws that existing in Myanmar which include: Employment and Training Act (1950), Employment Restriction Act (1959), Employment Statistics Act, (1948), Factories Act (1951), Labour Orga nization Law (2011), Leave and Holidays Act (1951), Minimum Wages Act, (1949), Oilfields Labour and Welfare Act (1951), Payment of Wages Act (1936), Social Security Act, (1954), Shops and Establishments Act (1951), Workmens Compensation Act (1923) and the new enacted law, Labor Dispute Settlement Law (2012) (QuickMBA, 2010). *****Please do citation and change the sequence for those law to avoid plagiarize.**** The laws above deal with all labor related problems like working hours, holidays, annual and sick leaves, wages and overtime, social welfare and more. Citation? Moreover, minimum wages are provided for workers in certain fields like agriculture and more. Comparing to the United States, this has a more stable legal system because Myanmar is more challenging and risky to be invested in but also provides a higher return than United States due to lesser competitions. Furthermore, Myanmar has seen to be a potential investment place with its improving legal system and few advantages like rich natural resources and young labor forces. Lastly, United States could be a safe place to invest, but if as a profit seeker, Myanmar could be a better choice to invest in. Culture Myanmar is a hundred ethnic groups country; each has their own distinctive cultural traditions. Many of the tribal groups have produced the excellent handicrafts, dancing and musical performances. Myanmar culture which is non-tribals has been significantly influenced by the Buddhism. The unique thing about Myanmar culture is that it is free from racial or sex discrimination from childbirth throughout their lifetime. Everyone is allowed to equal rights, opportunity and treatment whether at work or at court. Regarding the Myanmars history, in traditional Western societies, women played a stronger role than man. From early on they could have own property and were independent in economic activities. Myanmar women enjoy the same status with their male counterparts and do not necessarily have to keep their surnames (JourneyMart.com, 2001). For American, their culture is Western culture, which based on British culture with influences from other parts of Europe, the Native American peoples. American Culture is known around the world are the films, shows, and musical performances. Furthermore, the most popular cities in American culture are New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Florida, and Las Vegas (Frost, 2004) Food in Myanmar Basically, Burmese food is very appetizing such as blend of Chinese and Indian foods. The basic food of Myanmar is mainly rice and curry. Some of the curries are spicy and often served with salad, vegetable soup and fish paste cooked in various ways. Among the favorite food is mohinga (rice noodles with fish gravy) which is eaten at any time of the day. Another popular dish is ohn-no- khaukswe, which is a chicken curry based on coconut milk served with plain boiled rice or eggs noodles. Therefore, desserts that they commonly eaten include sanwin-ma-kin (Myanmar sweet cakes made of semolina, sugar, egg, butter and coconut), Myanmar-style banana cakes, and kyaukchaw such as sea weed jelly (JourneyMart.com, 2001). In Myanmar towns, Chinese restaurant can be easily found there. They serve Cantonese and Hokkienese style Chinese food. Indian food like kebabs and briyani are also popular among the Myanmar. European food is available only at restaurant in the hotels. Chettyar food is also popular among the Myanmar. For Myanmar country, meal usually incorporate soups and curries are often finished off with fresh fruit such as sugarcane juice. Thus, most restaurants will close by 10pm although some tea and coffee shops will still open. Language Burmese or Myanmar is the main language in Myanmar. However, English is widely spoken. The largest of the population are using this language, indeed there are so many ethnic groups in Myanmar, and it is difficult to amazing that the country has a number of other languages and dialects. Each country has its own dialect, the most common dialect in Myanmar are Kachin, Chin, Karen, and Shan dialects. The Karen is renowned for the custom of women wearing heavy brass coils around their necks, starting from the age of five. In fact, such ornamentation reveals them to be Padung, a sub-ethnic group of the Karen (Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, 2008). English also one of the languages that usually used in urban areas. Religion Myanmar is a primarily Buddhist country which the Buddhists stand for 80 percent of the population. Citation? Today, the most common form of Buddhism in Myanmar is Theravada Buddhism. Besides that, excluding Buddhism; there are other religions that have followers in Myanmar such as Christians, Muslims, Hindus and some Animists, but this entire four are minority religions (JourneyMart.com, 2001). Theravada Buddhism is the more traditional of the two major divisions within this religion, such as it believes itself to be closer to the original teachings of the Buddha. According to Woodward Hopfe (2009), for Theravada Buddhism people must achieve enlightenment for themselves without reliance on the gods. Religion plays an important role in a typical Myanmar Buddhists life that his or her routine cannot be separated from Buddhist rituals. There is also a Buddhist lent on Myanmar calendar which lasts for three months in the rainy season, from around July to October, during which fasting i s preserved, marriages and moving home is generally set off. However, in United States, the main religion is Christianity. Naturally, a religion that encompasses so many people contains a great variety of beliefs and practice. Christians share a common belief in the uniqueness of Jesus of Nazareth, that he in some way provided for the redemption of humankind by his death and was himself resurrected from dead (Woodward Hopfe, 2009). In Christianity, Roman Catholic is the largest denomination. When Myanmar compared to the United States, both country had different religion whereas Myanmar is more familiar in Buddhism, but United States their largest religion is Christianity. Conclusion In past decades, Myanmar was known as poorest country in Asia and many investors do not dare to step-in and start their business because they predict their business will not gain any profit, so they instead of choose neighborhood countries like Thailand, Vietnam, and China to expand the business. With the recently released of house arrest Aung San Suu Kyi, the country human right re-born again because Aung San Suu Kyi fight for human rights for the citizen, so this can give more opportunities to all foreign investor to do their business in Myanmar easily. As many investors rather choose neighborhood countries to expand the business, this proves that in Myanmar business environment have very few competitors to compete each others to gain for the purchasing power from the consumer. So, with fewer competitors in market, we can easily dominate the Myanmar market before other foreign investors does. Therefore, Myanmar is an ideal country to expand the business because due to the country rich in natural resources, low costs, and fewer competitors. As the goods produce in Myanmar and export to others country, or even to our home country it will gain profit in the shortest time. By comparing to United States, its require take lots of time to gain profit and cover back all the costs to produce the goods.

The concept of national identity

The concept of national identity In recent years, due to the expansion of modernism and modernisation on a global scale, there have been developments at cultural and structural levels, resulting in a change in national identity and making the study of nationalism and national identity an important topic in social science. These studies are often concerned with the complex and contradictory nature of cultural identities and the role of communications media in the development and reconfiguration of those identities. This essay will attempt to define the terms nation and national identity and discuss how far these concepts relate directly to geographical location and/or political boundaries. It will look at the relationship between the media and national identity and explore its extensiveness and what it means for the concept of national identity itself. Additionally, the issue of whether national identities are real or perceived will be addressed as well as whether the concept, or indeed, the experience of national identity is a media-dependent phenomenon. Other issues that will be discusses include the elements that may contribute to an individuals sense of national identity and what an absence of (national) media would mean for the concept of national identity and the sense of belonging to a particular nation. Many scholars would agree that the concepts of nation, nationality and nationalism have all proved difficult to define and analyse. Anderson (1991) notes that while nationalism has had significant influence on the modern world, plausible theory about it is conspicuously meagre (p.54). Seton-Watson (1997) concludes that while no scientific definition of the nation can be devised, the phenomenon has existed and exists (p.5). Even Nairn (1975) remarks that the theory of nationalism represents Marxisms great historical failure. But even this confession is somewhat misleading, in so far as it can be taken to imply the regrettable outcome of a long, self-conscious search for theoretical clarity (p. 3). Although there is little consensus regarding the forces responsible for its manifestation, most theorists on nationalism believe it to be an essentially modern phenomenon, appearing in the late eighteenth century in Europe and North America. Three theorists stand out in the genealogical debate over nationalism. Hobsbawm (1990) defined nationalism as the popular realisation of political rights in a sovereign state. A populace linked itself to a limited national territory and was embodied through a centralised government, an event he believed first occurred during the French Revolution. If nationalism was a modern invention, so were nations: the nation-state was the result, rather than the origin, of a nationalist discourse (Hobsbawm, 1990, p.28). Gellner (1983) adopted an economically reductionist approach, deeming nationalism a necessary function of industrialisation. He argued that because industry required skilled labour, a common vernacular, and high rates of literacy, the need developed for a national high culture promoted by a state run educational system. Simultaneously, the old agrarian order faded away and societal anonymity replaced provincial distinctness, facilitating the creation of a homogeneous national cul ture. Like Hobsbawm, Gellner sought to dispel teleological notions of the nation as eternal and reiterated that national was a modern invention, created in response to the needs of a new economic system, even it represented itself as a natural, historical phenomenon. The theory of the nation as invention was taken further by Anderson (1983), who saw nationalism as a process of imagining communities. Nation-states are imagined because members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each live the image of their communion (Anderson, 1983, p.15). He argued that the decline of universal religious paradigms and the rise in print capitalism allowed for this cultural construction to flourish in eighteenth century. The mass consumption of newspapers and novels enforced a common vernacular, linked a populace to urban centres, and encouraged common participation in a shared imagined culture. Anderson (1983) implied that the reformation of the printing press did more to encourage nationalism than did the advent of industrialisation. Despite their differences, all three of these prominent theoreticians identified nationalism, and by association the nation-state, as a phenomenon of the last few centuries. It has therefore been suggested that time, is not the most useful tool for categorising nationalism or national identity. While nationalism is dependent on a variety of historical factors, it has been noted that national identity cannot be labelled as embryonic nationalism because not all national identities function within nations. Estel (2002) describes national identity as a special case of collective identity: This does not mean an objective, i.e. systemic, connection built by human beings, but its interpretation by the members of that collective hence it must be socially shared, the binding knowledge being the key factor. National identity then means a socially shared and binding knowledge in the form of an officially prevailing conception of itself in a certain nation being imparted through certain institutions (p.108). As many have asserted to, the concept of national identity is complex, and its intensity, character and origins vary with time and place. Smith (1991) argues that identity operates on two levels, the individual and the collective which are often confused in discussions of ethnic and national identity. Collective identities are composed of individual members they are not reducible to an aggregate of individuals sharing a particular cultural trait. Similarly, from a description of the elements one cannot read off the probable actions and dispositions of individual members, only the kinds of contexts and constraints within which they operate (p.130). He adds that the broadest subtype of collective cultural identities is the ethnie or ethnic community. Connor (1993) agrees: If we look at todays countries, many of them seem to build their perceived internal similarity on a premise of shared ethnicity. A subconscious belief in the groups separate origin and evolution is an important ingredient of national psychology. This belief in the groups separate origin and evolution is the basis of ethnic identity, and ethnic identity seems to constitute the core of nations (p.377). Ethnic communities are characterised by a perception of similarity among members, stemming from a perception of kinship (a blood relationship), and a simultaneous perception of difference from other ethnic communities (Eriksen, 1993, p.12). They have a common collective name, a collective historical memory, common cultural traits, a homeland, a myth of common descent, and a strong sense of internal solidarity. This element of fictive kinship, which is at the heart of ethnic affiliation, is also at the heart of feelings of nationhood (Smith, 1991, pp. 21-22). As Connor (1993) suggests, it is not what is but what people perceive as is which determines the extent of national feeling. The nation-as-a-family metaphor is not a rational feeling, but rather an emotive one; it is a bond beyond reason appealing not to the brain but to the blood (Connor, 1993, p.384). Das and Harindranath (2006) suggests that even in the absence of an ethnically homogenous population, nations rely on the idea o f an over arching ethnic bond to emphasise the difference from non-members and to join all members into a national community (p.11). National identity, to whatever degree it exists, is constituted by the interlacing forces of history and collective choice (Parekh, 1994). It is a dynamic structure of affiliation, with strong foundations in the past but susceptible to change in the future. Nations base their claim to statehood on assumptions of a shared cultural heritage, which are in turn most often based on assumptions of shared ethnicity. The latter assumption has less to do with a reality of common ethnicity than with a myth of common ethnicity which is cast over multi-ethnic communities to turn them into politicised national communities (Das and Harindranath, 2006, p.12). Most modern nation states are multi-ethic, making it difficult to define one unified conception of national identity among all members. Throughout the early modern period, the character and intensity of national identity varied widely from place to place. The idea of the unity of a nation-state could come either from its cultural or political unity. Sixteenth and seventeenth century Europe was the location of the formation of nation states. In England, France, Spain and Sweden, the dominant ethnic community incorporated outlaying regions and ethnicities into a dominant ethnic culture through the use of bureaucratic, centralised state machinery. Employing fiscal, judicial, military and administrative processes it welded together often disparate populations into a single ethnic community based on the cultural heritage of the dominant core (Smith, 1991, p.68). This is what Smith (1991) identifies the dominant ethnie model which is present in countries like Burma where the dominant Burmese ethnic community has heavily influenced the formation and the nature of the state of Burma (now known as Myanmar), rather than the Ka ren, Shan or Mon ethnic groups. Other cultures continue to flourish but the identity of the emerging political community is shaped by the historic culture of its dominant ethnie. The construction of the nation here becomes a process of reconstructing the ethnic core and integrating the culture with the requirements of the modern state and with the aspirations of minority communities. Non-dominant cultures are then relegated to the position of minority cultures (Smith, 1991, pp.110-111). Smith (1991) also notes that there are some multi-ethnic states where discrepancy in inter-ethnic power is marginal enough to allow for a state along the lines of the supra-ethnic model, where the emphasis is on political rather cultural unity (p. 112). However, Das and Harindranath (2006) states the success of this model is debatable as representative examples are few and far between (p.13). Such cases might include the Nigerian case, where the attempt to build a supra-ethnic state resulted in the concentration of power in the hands of three major ethic groups (out of the existing 250 groups) rather than any one. As Connor (1993, p.375) argues, a people who are politically and culturally pre-eminent in a state (even though other groups are present in significant numbers) tend to equate the entire country with their own ethnic homeland, and to perceive the state as an extension of their particular ethnic group. Oommen (1990) suggests that once a multi-ethnic or poly-ethnic state emer ges it becomes a reality-in-itself. The coexistence and interaction between the different nations or ethnic groups produce certain emergent properties which give a new meaning and a collective self-identification to the constituent units (p.35). This collective self-identification of a people with a nation-state according to Das and Harindranath (2006) is their national identity. Tying a nation together is a deep network of common institutions: a military, a common economy, a common legal system, a common administrative infrastructure, and a variety of shared institutions transport, communications, public utilities and banks among others. At a more visible level are the overt makers of national identity, the political symbols that set one nation-state apart from others: a name, flag, national emblem, national language, common currency (p. 16). These are invented traditions which soon acquire the feel of antiquity but are in fact usually of recent origin (Hobsbawn and Ranger, 1983). The formation of such identification involves dimensions of unity and permanence (Melucci, in Schlesinger, 1991, p.154). The latter suggests that the nation has to be seen as persisting through time, well into the past and future; it has to be seen as beyond time (Connor, 1993, p.382). Such an imagining of the nation as beyond time, according to Das and Harindranath (2006) takes national identity partly into the realm of non-rational, making it an emotional identification rather than an intellectual one. The issue of creating certain uniformity within nation-states and the process of nation-building then comes to the forefront and most nations look to the media to play its part in the construct of a national culture and a national community. Why the media? Das and Harindranath (2006) explains that considering how much of our knowledge of the world comes from mediated communication, either through people or through the mass media, this is likely to be a primary source of influence on our structures of identification since we cannot accomplish very abstract levels of identification (as with a nation-state) by exclusive reliance on our own direct lived experience or face to face communication of others (p.18). Media have typically been institutional products of nations and, as such, play a fundamental role in their maintenance (Anderson, 1983, pp. 24-25). In most countries national broadcasting in the early forms (especially before its commercialisation, when it could not afford the str atification of its audience), has made possible the transformations of individual activities (dramas, performances, etc) into fictions of collective national life for millions of individuals who may never interact with one another. It is a fact that nation-states must have a measure of common culture and civic ideology, a set of common understandings and aspirations, sentiments and ideas that bind the population together in their homeland. The major agencies through which this socialisation is carried out are the mass education system and the mass media (Smith, 1991, p.11). Das and Harindranath (2006) notes: National identity has been an underlying theme in communications research since the 1950s, when new technologies were linking the world with their ever-increasing reach into diverse global populations. At that time, these technologies were held up as a panacea for the ills of underdevelopment researchers such as Schramm and Lerner eagerly endorsed the view that judicious deployment of Western media products in the Third World would help bring to them the benefits of western progress and development (p.18). Sreberny (2008) points out, this idea and model of development was criticised for equating development with the West. The media/cultural imperialism theory, which gained impetus from such criticism, argues that the excessive flow of media products from West to East of from North to South leads to the erosion of national cultures in the non-Western world, resulting eventually in a homogenised world in the image of the west. Melucci (1989) disagreed with this theory as well: To simply be aware of something is not to identify with it; identification comes from the making of an emotional investment, an investment which enables a group of people to recognise themselves in each other, and to feel a similarity with other members of a group. In addition to being aware of the existence of nation-states therefore, I must also be aware that there are many of them, that the one I live in is different from the others, and that I belong to a particular one because of my similarity with others of that nation-state. I can then be said to possess a national identity. My identity is therefore not just Indian but equally not French, not Thai (p.17). Today, national media are participating in the two processes of national identity building. Firstly, as tellers of national myths, (especially in times of crises, rapid social change or external threat), as engravers of national symbols upon the nations memory, and presenters of national rituals (elections, celebrations, etc), they work in the direction of emphasising the similarities among the group members. For media producers, the prominence of national identity in the media content is encouraged by the knowledge that they are constructing news for a national audience with which they share national membership (Entman, 1991; Rivenburgh, 1999). Secondly, as a primary domain of the public sphere, the media produce and reinforce the relational opposition of us and the others. One of the areas of media content to which such nationalist discourse today is very high, is news and especially the coverage of foreign affairs. Comparative international news research shows the significant role of the media in perpetuating a world view that consistently favours the home nation perspective on world affairs (Rivenburgh, 1999). Discrepant perceptions of world affairs largely emanate from different cultural and political values held by groups with different national identities enhanced by national media coverage (Rivenburgh, 1991, p.1). The media play a significant role in collapsing the experience of distance by creating a global simultaneity, rendering events across the world into nightly news broadcast into our living rooms. Media coverage of crisis events may not only affect public opinion but may increasingly provide policy makers with vital information to determine lines of foreign policy and diplomatic initiatives (Sreberny, 2008). Additionally, At the start of the 21st century, more and more people lived in mediatised societies where our understanding of local, national and international political, economic and cultural issues is framed by and through the media and other cultural industries. While we need to be wary of collapsing cultural issues into technological developments, it is nonetheless true that the global spread of media has raised a host of new questions about our identities, about our relations with others and about our understanding of the world (Sreberny, 2008, p.10). One prominent pattern that emerges in the images of nationhood is the definition of national and anti-national by the media, the normal and abnormal, the good and the bad. Such delineation is important especially in nation states characterised by diversity (Das and Harindranath, 2006, p.19). Scannell and Cardiff (1991) illustrate such a definition in the British case showing how the BBC treated British music as essentially synonymous with English music while the music of Scotland, Wales and Ireland was marginalised. This case clearly illustrated how the media contribute to the articulation of the identity of the dominant ethnic group in a multi-ethnic nation-state. New forms of communications and media such as the internet have made it possible for those individuals living outside of their respective nations to still maintain a sense of national identity. The internet can be a very important vehicle for the transmission of ideas concerning a national identity, particularly for those people who have lost or left their homeland. The internet provides a special type of community with a very strong common feeling national communities without a nation. People scattered all over the world regardless of they are from still have succeeded in maintaining a national identity without a nation state. While this used to take place in physical places, the internet and other forms of new media offers different possibilities for these communities, for they can now organise worldwide, reach new members and communicate with these members more often. The websites visited and used by these communities form more than a virtual nation. Their aim is to construct a true nation and it is done by presenting users with sites that are as complete and historic as possible as all varieties of news and information can be found on the internet. The mass media thus engender a we-feeling, a feeling of family, among the community, providing continual opportunities for identification with the na tion. The media enable entire populations to participate in the everyday life of a country-wide community, uniting individual members of the national family into a shared political and cultural rubric (Chaney, 1998, p. 249). It is equally important to note that agencies of socialisation such as the media can also be harnessed to divisive purposes which might have the consequence of impeding the construction of a national identity or of undermining the force of one or more elements of the symbolic repertoire of nationalistic ideology (Das and Harindranath, 2006, p.19). In some cases, nationalist views and provocative views have provoked some of the worlds worst massacres. One such example is when RTLM (the Hutu radio/television station in Rwanda) played an inciting and aggravating role in the massacre of the Tutsis by repeatedly broadcasting messages in which Tutsis were slandered and ridiculed and depicted as despicable. On another continent, media in former Yugoslavia have played a significant role in creating an environment of ethnic hate and xenophobia that contributed towards the pre-conditions for savage ethnic wars. While these may be extreme cases, the simple fact of establishing the homogenising tendency of national media is not an adequate base from which to conclude that audiences are homogenised and that advocacy does not always med acceptance. In cases where the national image promoted by the media is not accepted it does meet with resistance from sections of the populations. While some resistance is severe as in the cases of Rwanda and Yugoslavia other populations use organised forms of resistance where the groups in a nation state who are not part of mainstream culture find peaceful ways of asserting their own identities. One such example is the Ernabella Video and Television (EVTV) project in Australia. It was established by leaders of the Ernabella aboriginal community in 1983 as a video project intended to record the local culture, which was fading away with the decline of their previously nomadic lifestyle. It was also a reaction to outside media which local leaders saw as a negative influence on their community. EVTV developed into a television channel by which aboriginals recorded and rediscovered their culture, and it simultaneously enabled them to construct a pan-aboriginal identity among the dispersed aboriginal populations of Australia. It was the discovery and assertion of ethnic aboriginal identity which they actively used to reduce the pote ntial homogenisation influence of mainstream Australian culture depicted on national television (Batty, 1993). Another form of resistance is through readings where the argument here is that media audiences interact with media texts in extremely complex ways. Studies have uncovered significant differences in the way audiences from different backgrounds produce diverse readings of an episode of a soap opera, suggesting that social identities affect interpretation of media messages (Ang, 1990). Media texts can therefore no longer be thought of as binding each member of the audience evenly into a particular interpretation; the meaning of the text, rather, is open to negotiation between the text and the viewer. Differences in interpretation are not, however, the result of a failure of communication, but are rather the results of differences in the lived experiences and mental words of audiences. Where cultural realities are different, there is a likelihood of different interpretations (Jensen, 1987, p.31). In conclusion, although the established literature lacks firm evidence of individual level media effects it nevertheless suggests with some confidence that there is a strong, positive tie between media consumption and individual level national belonging. Drawing largely on historical and textual analysis methods, the claim has been established that the media have been foundational over the past three centuries in the shaping, distribution and institutionalisation of identities. The classic texts on nationalism repeatedly argue that the media have played a key role in nation building and that the idea of a one-culture-for-all does not work and attempts at enculturation of diverse people into a mainstream culture are inevitably resisted through social movements at the peripheries of the mainstream (Das and Harindranath, 2006, p.21). Martin- Barbero (1993) further suggests that communication is a field in which these battles over identity are fought out. The media is therefore the site where states explore routes to uniformity within their nations and are simultaneously the site which assists non-mainstream groups to explore and announce their distinctiveness.