Globalization and cultural diversity Essay Example for Free

Globalization and cultural diversity Essay The forces of globalization are actually encouraging creation and promotion of cultural diversity to avoid enclosing oneself in a boring single type of culture. Today the products of cultural diversity in the global world are universally enjoyed by all peope. The arguments given by prominent critics like Thomas Freidman shows that there is no dominant culture under global jurisdiction though the aspect of globalization is derived from the American culture. In economic sector firms in company have attempted to sell their products in abroad nations without necessarily affecting the culture in their homeland. In the process the countries involved benefit by buying of ideas and materials from each other and shape them to suite their culture. Cultural diversity has helped a lot in borrowing of good aspects which steer growth in the country engaged in trade. Globalization has led to cultural diversity where life is conceptualized as composed of four issues which include dedication to learning, contribution to the society and family, reflection on what has been learned and then conceptualize it spiritually. Globalization has been driven about by forces of trade and capitalization in pursuit and economic development in home country, which in turn yields good paying jobs or improved living standards. There is curiosity among young people who wishes to know more and more about life in the global world to accept and be accepted and to be informed more of what they really don’t know. In the process of globalization, it is also evident that our cultural ethnic and societal diversities are put to the extreme ends because we want to perceive a unipolar vision of the world around us (http://www. newint. org/issue172/keynote. htm). Background information about Unilever Company Unilever is a multinational corporation formed to offer the greatest percentage of consumer products in form of foods beverages cleaning agents and other personal care products. This company has created job opportunities to more than 180,000 people in the whole world. Although in each branch there is a manager, Unilever Company has the same directors and effectively operate as a single business. Currently the chairman of Unilever Company and affiliate companies is Michael treschow, with Patrick Cescan being the group chief executive. Its products are sold widely in the whole world and their shares are listed on the world’s stock exchange markets (http://www. amazon. co. uk/review/product/1403944539? showViewpoints=1). The creation of Unilever Company is traced back in the year 1930 through merging of two companies, that is, British soap maker lever brothers and Dutch margarine producer which became as a palm oil company and maintained the importation of both margarine and soaps in large quantities. Its new ventures were launched in Latin America. Unilever Company grew bigger and purchased many companies which were in the line with the products which they were purchasing. In the year 1996, Unilever bought Helen Curtis industries which gave it a high boost as a powerful company in United States shampoo and deodorant market. In 2000 the company absorbed American businesses, best foods hence strengthening their ties in the market in North America and extended its food brands. Today the company has opened many branches in different countries and has continued to grow widely in the market industry. Recently the company has started a five year vitality company initiative to improve the products in maturity stage which are declining in terms of their sale in the market. Today unilever has ventured in various fields including agricultural sector and tea products. In the year 2008 it was honored at 59th annual technology and engineering. Emmy awards for outstanding achievement in advanced media because of creative nature of giving interactive commercial advertising delivered through digital set up top boxes for its programs axes (http://www. newint. org/issue172/keynote. htm). Corporate governance Unilever has a body and chief executive headed by Patrick cescan which is supposed to steer the organization towards maximization of profit and improve the image of the company like any other profit making organization. Unilever Company is engaged in making sure that it operates at its lowest costs and earning the highest revenue. Unilever Company has got also a chairman who is the head of all the brands in the company. There are also other officers including managers in different brands. Still in its jurisdiction there are other staff officers who are concerned with the welfare of the company in larger community. Today the company owns about 400 brands which are found in local countries which fall in the category of food and beverages home and personal care which are almost found in the whole world. Cultural diversity in the unilever company Just like any other multinational company unilever company uses aggressive policies to market their goods which is reflected in the public image. It prefers to remain largely anonymous hiding behind the hundreds of brand names and products they sell. Unilever uses television and other prominent Medias to advertise their products so that people can get to know their presence. Unilever Company has element of destroying cultural diversity and make the world more uniform. The tactics used in making profits include centralization of production and sell the same products across the nation boundary. Regardless of whom you are whether an African American Indian unilever has greatly improved the world’s tastes and their goods are replacing the organization in different countries who find rough to compete with Unilever products. The effects of unilever company on the worlds economy are experienced in south ail London when it closed it closed its branches whereby many employees we’ve rendered jobless hence the is a tragic outcome Multicultural societies across the border face a formidable political task to turn racial religious and tribal differences into strength . even in the countries experiencing strong political wrangles and clashes that has been recorded a high rate of promotion and cultural diversity. Some of the multinational companies which have established good ties sin the economic sector like IBM, GE and unilever use cultural diversity as one of their key elements in success in business are aimed at finding means and ways of harmonizing it (http://www. kmtalk. net/article. php? story=20070103041059823). One of the most important aspect of globalization is ability to boost economy in third world countries by investors from developed countries investing in those developing ones. unilever companies has developed various packs in their products which are marketed in different countries. The marketing of these products helps the government in the state to earn revenue from the abroad countries. For instance unilever has developed a program called Trumbull tax abatements which has managed to pull off several major changes of its own in different countries. One of its major changes is to boost financial position in local services. The Trumbulls boost up the local property tax by bringing expansion in the continent city. Unilever has also put numerous knowledge management initiatives in place across the border. This is meant to identify new opportunities for investment by first considering the market structure and consumer needs in every state. Unilever Company has put in place a communication strategy in personal, informal and more structured in organizational level. For the purpose of ensuring community success Unilever Company through knowledge management group. (CMG) has put in place a more formal frame work to help ensure the effective and efficient operation of the firm’s communities of practice. The community framework in unilever advocates for certain principles within which the company coops operates in order to ensure added advantage to the business value. The principles under which it works can be classified into four. This includes deliverable people operations and leverage. To strike the difference between communities of practice is defined around knowledge domain and this is where the company laid its production basis strategy. The identified deliverables should contribute to the expected results. The deliverables can be knowledge wise, Such as improved insights, training program and good practice. While business deliverables can be specific innovations, safety improvements and the like in the business (http://www. amazon. co. uk/review/product/1403944539? showViewpoints=). The people pillar concerns about roles and responsibilities of the cop members to the communities. They are experts who are recognized as such both inside community. They should effectively represent both the geographical and local versus cooperate resources. There are also activists who are supposed to continually review the roles of community for the members to fill. The people pillars address the other stakeholders and sponsors apart from the community who are necessary to validate resources for the members. The operation pillar is centered on community functions. This forms a platform for free expression of members to effectively express themselves every group is free to set its rules itself. The organization has also developed guidelines for activist training. This training is aimed at creating awareness of the importance of the community in building understanding of cooperative activities. The training offers knowledge on communities practice and ways of sustaining these communities. Unilever organization has recognized the effects of its products on to people and the diversity in cultural background. They place people at the centre of the business and everything they do. The organization has also majored a lot in the area of environmental and society growth especially in agricultural sector nutritional hygiene and personal care on the production in creation which care of different tastes and preferences and also in the sector of science and technology in making their products. Having recognized customer income differences from different countries unilever has packaged their goods in different quantities to enable them reach all consumers in different income levels. Unilever has been also received critics from different countries due to harm caused by their production either through consummation or advertisement. For example in India unilever has been accused of climbing contaminated toxic mercury in tourist sites and the surrounding . protected nature reserve and pambar ,shola in timilnadu and southern India this spills from the industry leads to health hazards which inturn can cause a lot of health problems (http://www. newint. org/issue172/keynote. htm). In UK it has been accused of misleading advertisement on cholesterol lowering margarine and flora proactive. this has a lot of negative impacts on the linage of the company when it failed to do so. All in all unilever has got advanced communication channels and is always to change from the accusation put on it. Multicultural societies across the border face a formidable political task to turn racial religious and tribal differences into strength even in the countries experiencing strong political wrangles and clashes that has been recorded a high rate of promotion and cultural diversity. One of the most important aspect of globalization is ability to boost economy in third world countries by investors from developed countries investing in those developing ones.unilever companies has developed various packs in their products which are marketed in different countries. References Information on Unilever Company, available at: http://www. newint. org/issue172/keynote. htm, accessed on July 10, 2008 Cultural diversity in the Unilever Company available at: http://www. amazon. co. uk/review/product/1403944539? showViewpoints=1, accessed on July 10, 2008 Cultural diversity and success in business, available at: http://www. kmtalk. net/article. php? story=20070103041059823, accessed on July 10, 2008

Big Brother is Watching: Get Over It! Essay -- essays research papers

Big Brother is Watching: Get Over It!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In George Orwell’s book, 1984, the very existence of every person is scrutinized by their form of government called the Party. The main character, Winston Smith, is constantly monitored throughout his daily life by the telescreen, â€Å"an oblong metal plaque like a dulled mirror† (1), placed strategically so that it can see and hear everything that is going on around him. In America society today we are seeing a movement that can be classified as â€Å"Orwellian† as it relates to this very subject of surveillance, the Internet. The similarities between the telescreen and the free access of the Internet cannot be ignored and as our country is dealing with terrorism, we must be willing to endure some lose of independence that we have gained through the World Wide Web.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One similarity easily noted between the telescreen and the Internet is that they both can not be turned off. The telescreen â€Å"could be dimmed, but there was no way of shutting it off completely† (2). On the other hand, you may think that you are turning off the Internet when you shut down your computer, but in fact it stays on twenty-four hours a day. They are both viewed through a monitor, whereas the telescreen is forcibly two-way where you can be seen and heard, the computer gives you a choice. Some people invite others into their homes via the internet with the use of webcams, cameras that are attached to your computer and...

Main Users of financial Reports and Their Conflicts Essay

Identify the main users of financial reports, explaining to what use(s) they may put such reports. To what extent is there a conflict between different uses? How far are these conflicts resolved in a single set of annual accounts? The financial reports are profit and loss account, balance sheet and cash flow statement. There are many users /parties interested in the accounts of a company /organization. These include the following: The owners / shareholders The directors / managers The employees The creditors, i.e. suppliers of goods on credit The tax authorities Lenders, such as banks or other financial institutions Government The users want the accounts for a variety of purposes, for example: The owners/shareholders are mainly concerned of the profitability of the business and they therefore use them to see if they are getting a satisfactory return on their investment, and also to assess the financial health of their company/business. They may also use financial statements to assess the performance of the managers and decide the pay of managers who are employed to run the business for owners, which is part of the stewardship role of the accounting. The directors/managers are the ones to conduct the day-to-day operations and decision-making of the business and they are, arguably, the most important users of the business because they require much more information in great detail on a more frequent basis than any other users. They normally use them for making both internal and external comparisons to evaluate the performance of business. They may compare their own financial analysis of their company with industry figures (competitors) in order to ascertain their company’s strengths and weaknesses. Management are also concerned with ensuring that the money invested in the company / organization is generating an adequate return and that the company / organization is able to pay its debts and remain solvent. The creditors want to know if they are likely to get paid, and look particularly at liquidity, which is the ability of the company / organization to pay its debts as they become due. They are also concerned with the viability of business. The tax authorities use them for value added tax, and income and corporation tax purposes. They are probably the one who concerned most with the genuineness of the financial statements as an underreported profit would reduce the amount of taxes being collected and the public would consequently be suffered as the money of government will have fewer funds to spend to improving the public transportation, pensions, reforms, etc. Prospective lenders use them to assess whether or not to invest their money in the company / organization. Government may wish to check whether the profit of the utility company are too excessive and thereby increasing the owner’s wealth too much while reducing the spending power the consumers in a whole. And the contractors of government’s profit shall be checked upon to see if they exaggeratedly quoted their prices during tendering and monitoring the progress of the contract being conducted. As having being identified above, different users have different concerns of  the financial aspect of the business and it would be listed as follows: The owners / shareholders: profitability & viability The directors / managers: profitability & viability The employees: viability The creditors, i.e. suppliers of goods on credit: viability: The tax authorities: profitability (net profit to be taxed) Lenders, such as banks or other financial institutions: profitability & viability Government: profitability & viability Owners / shareholders needs the generation of the profit on their investment and they expect a good return of their money they put in the business. And they also concerned with the viability because they want their business or business they invested to grow, to earn more money, instead of losing money, or going to liquidation (they may consequently loss all their money invested in the business!). The directors / managers because their pay may be linked to the performance of the business and the more profit they earned for the business, the higher their salary is likely to be. The viability is also important to them as they want to keep their current job as they are also employed by the business. Employees, if not shareholders of the business, are employed by the management to work for the business for various purposes. Their salary will be treated as an expense against gross profit so management may try to minimize this expense by employing an efficient worker who are reasonably paid and reducing the number of employees while at the same time add more  responsibilities to the remaining employees. Therefore, as long as the business remains, they could keep their job and secure their pay as a financial security, which is of great important to common employees. They would be happy to see the business grows via looking through the financial statements so that they would know that the can continuously work for the business. Creditors are concerned with the viability of business because they would like to know if they are likely to be paid by the business before too long. As long as the business has sufficient liquidity to pay them, they do not care and are not very interested in how much profit the business generated. Tax authorities always keep a keen eye on the profitability of the business because they want to the profit of the business to be taxed. They want to detect any underreported profit by examining the financial statements and attempt to discover any dubious items to be enquired and demanded details. Lenders, who provide long-term loan to the business, secured or unsecured, concern about the profitability and viability of the business as they want to know if they can be repaid in the schedule designated. Government may want business to sustain and therefore create more employment opportunities for the society. They would like to know the profitability of the business so as to impose regulations to keep the profit of business in a reasonable range to make it more afford and therefore increase the spending power of people and reduce the inflation. Although different users have different interests in business, the conflict can mainly be solved by the general-purpose and standardized format of financial statements. Because it is very costly and impractical to produce a different financial reports to each and every specific users, it is widely accepted that a general-purpose financial statements be produced to satisfy the most needs of the all users. Standardized format would provide a easier way to make comparison of the business with its competitors as well as with the past reports of the business itself.

Perserverance-Reflective Essay - 1218 Words

English Reflective Essay Name: Jean Faulkner Ever thought about giving up? Ever felt life wasn’t worth living? Ever have events happen in your life that make you want to throw up your hands and say â€Å"I can’t go on†? I know I have, many times. I had to learn that one of life’s most valuable lessons was about success through perseverance. One event that happened caused me to lose my eyesight. In the late 70s a strike had shut down the majority of the truckers in the U.S. Many rigs were not moving either in support, or fear, of the strikers. The strike had finally been settled with everyone but the Teamsters Union outside Pittsburgh and that’s the area where we found ourselves. There was a huge full moon that night as†¦show more content†¦Nice shot! shouted my husband. Thanks I whispered. My knees were shaking, my heart was pounding; I had done it. Not only did I shoot and kill my first deer, I bagged the only deer in my household that season. It was at that moment that I realized just how important perseverance was. The endless hours of practice that began with me not hitting anything taught me the skills necessary to hit my target. I knew this same perseverance would be required to eventually fulfill my goal of pursing higher education. I had a full time job and a family; but deep inside I wanted more. I knew that the only way was to further my education, so I enrolled in the local community college. â€Å"No ma’am I can’t afford to be a full-time student, can I enroll and take one or two courses a semester?† I asked. â€Å"Of course!† the counselor responded, â€Å"let’s talk about which courses you should begin with.† That day I went home feeling good about myself; I had taken the first step in a journey that I knew could change my life forever. I had a long road ahead of me, but I wanted it so badly I could almost taste it. That day, however, I had no idea of all the obstacles I would have to overcome to fulfill my dream. It all started with my father, a man that had never really been a part of my life, telling me that I was just wasting time and money. â€Å"You’re nothing now and you never will be,† he said. Of course that just made me more