Information Safeguard Assurance in Firm

The necessity for information assurance Information as any other organizational asset needs to be safeguarded against destruction, manipulation or exploitation by the firm’s competitors or criminals. The process of information assurance is aimed at addressing these particular threats (Blyth Kovacich, 4). The information can be the key to the company’s competitive advantage, its excellent operational performance, technological secrets and so forth. Besides, one has to remember about such confidential data as bank accounts, emails, telephone numbers, or addresses.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Information Safeguard Assurance in Firm specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These data cannot be made accessible to the outsider or any other person who can use it for criminal purposes. The company I would like to refer to is SABIC (Saudi Basic Industries Corporation); it manufactures plastics, metals, chemical s, and fertilizers (SABIC, unpaged). The information that is of the greatest value to this company is the data about manufacturing processes, financial and operational performance, and the information about their investors. Thus, the importance of information assurance should not be underestimated because information can be one of the most valuable assets of the company. Overall, the process of information assurance consists of several elements such as classification of informational assets, identification and evaluation of various threats, search for hypothetical vulnerabilities of the protection system, and development of strategies. These are the key components of this process. Risk management and information assurance In order to map out effective information assurance strategies, one should identify and assess possible threats, the organization is exposed to. The main goal is to estimate their impact and probability. The most common threats are as follows: Unauthorized intrusi on into the website; Leakage of information that occurs mostly due to the carelessness of employees; Physical destruction of data. It is very difficult to evaluate these risks in terms of their impact but as it may depend upon the type of organization, its size and structure. These problems can be caused by cyber attacks, piggy-backing, impersonation, virus attack, lack of security measures, etc (Blyth Kovacich, 14). By identifying and estimating these threats, the company can single out the weaknesses of their security system and close loopholes that can be used by the intruders. The company’s policies, relevant to information assurance There are several policies of the companies that can affect the process of information assurance. The first one is organizational policy. In this case, we need to speak primarily about workplace hierarchy and accessibility of the information. The management of leading companies spends much time determining what kind of information should be made available to various employees, and how they should get access to it. In flat organizations[1], the employees have more or less equal access to the information, whereas in bureaucratic organizations, the level of access depends upon the status of the employee (Information Resources Management Association, 761).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In flat organizations the risk of security breach is generally much higher. This is an example of how organizational policies may impact information assurance. Technological policies are also crucial for this process. For example, the security officer has to determine what kind of technologies the company is using and whether they are vulnerable to such threats as cyber attacks, power cuts, or viruses. Finally, the term management policy includes several elements; one of them is the relations between the executive officers and the ir subordinates. For instance, managers, who adopt autocratic style, usually avoid sharing information with the employees. This minimizes the security risk, but leads to other problems such as lack of initiative. In turn, the managers, preferring democratic style, may share certain data with his/her subordinates, but this also increases the possibility of a security threat. Works Cited Blyth Andrew Kovacich Gerald. Information assurance: security in the information environment. London: Springer Science Business. 2006. Print. Information Resources Management Association. International Conference, Mehdi Khosrowpour. Challenges of information technology management in the 21st century: 2000 Information Resources Management Association International Conference. NY: Idea Group Inc. 2000 Print. Saudi Basic Industries Corporation. The Official Website. 2010. Available at: https://www.sabic.com/en Footnotes Those, which have few levels of workplace hierarchy. This essay on Information Safeguard Assurance in Firm was written and submitted by user Paula M. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Analysis of the Anti-Hero in the movie Blow essays

Analysis of the Anti-Hero in the movie Blow essays Why is it that in life we come across so many people who we know that we shouldnt care about, but we do any way? They could be committing the most horrible crimes but there is something that still draws us to them. We can identify with them, they mystify us and we do care, we dont want anything to happen to them. In movies, when we see this type of person on screen, we distinguish them by calling them the antihero. Their image is created by numerous good and bad qualities that make them who they are. In the movie Blow, the main character, George Jung, played by Johnny Depp is considered to be the antihero. George Jung is an only child coming from a lower class family. His father works extremely hard to provide a proper life for his son and wife. However, no matter how hard he works, his wife is never happy. George has a rough childhood. He has to constantly watch his father and mother fight. His mother takes everything for granted while his father struggles to keep the family surviving. George continues to become more distant from his mother and develops a strong relationship with his father. George takes sympathy for his father and hates how they have to live. He vows to his father that when he gets older, he never wants to be poor. His father replies to him that he never would, but also tells him that money doesnt matter. This will come to be one of the biggest and hardest lessons that George learns the hard way. George grows up and realizes he needs to get out of the suburbs where everything went wrong for him and his family. George has a good heart and is very friendly, but he has one major downfall. This is the fact that he is very lazy. He wants money but he doesnt want to have to work for it. This is how everything gets started and is how he gets involved with dealing cocaine. George creates a whole new life for himself and has numerous close friends. He is having the...

History of Psyhiatric Threatment in United States Essay

History of Psyhiatric Threatment in United States - Essay Example Before looking to present efforts to mental illness, it is important to look to the history of the historical efforts to challenge this issue in the United States. Before World War 2, people with mental illness in the colonial America were taken care of by their families or secluded caregivers. Those who were not taken care of by either of these were taken care of by the native community. According to McKenzie, Pinger, and Kotecki, population growth in the 1700s led to the institutionalization of people with mental illness (2011). Although they began institutionalization, the houses they were housed in were exceptionally dilapidated. The conditions deteriorated in the end of the 1700s and 1800s due to growth in populace, which led to increase in number of people with mental illness. This resulted in the building of Pennsylvania mental infirmity hospital by Doctor Thomas Bond in 1751 as an effort to disconnect these people according to the type of the disability (Niles, 2010). The con ditions in this institution were inferior because the caregivers were unable to reinforce patients for self-control, and this resulted to physical restrictive practical. Susceptible funding by the government to these institutions discouraged their health workers; therefore, treatment and care of the mentally ill became nearly non-existent. However, by 1940, population growth in the states’ mental institutions declined funding by the government and few workers resulted to only survival care being provided to people suffering from mental illness. To solve these problems, there was an introduction of electroconvulsive therapy and lobotomy treatments (Portal, Suck and Hinkle, 2010). In electroconvulsive treatment, convulsions were produced in the patient by use of electric current which is in use to date due its convenience, whereas, in lobotomy the nerves fibers of the brain are detached by surgical cut (Sundararaman, 2009). However, it was after Moniz won the Nobel Prize that t he lobotomy practices became famous, though, it was made irrelevant by the introduction of antipsychotic and anti-depressive drugs in 1950s. After World War 2, several factors led to government involvement in mental illness care. National hope for mentally ill people, military experts and civilian testaments led to passage of act of National mental health, which established NIMH. The reasons why the NIMH was established were to nurture and assist investigation associated to the cause, analysis and neuropsychiatric illnesses (Wendy, 2007). To provide training and give grants to people who were working in mental institutions, and, to assist the government on deterrence and handling of people with mental illness. This era was still characterized by deinstitutionalization of people who were suffering from mental illness that resulted to less care being taken to them. According to Wendy, in 1950s, the public got involved in the conditions of mental ill people and this led to new approach es of attending to mentally ill people (2007). These improved the treatment of mental ill people because many organizations emerged and later merged to work as one in funding their treatments. In 1980s, augmentation of poor homeless people in US resulted to an increase in populace of the mentally ill. This was solved by passage of parity legislation, which gave mental ill people equal coverage like any other person. This was

Cell Components Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cell Components - Essay Example In many ways, plant cells are similar to other eukaryotic cells. They have (usually just) one nucleus, organelles, a plasma membrane, and (almost all of them) share connections to adjacent cells. Cell walls and chloroplasts are the major plant cell distinctive features (Bowes, 1996). Protein synthesis occurs at tiny organelles called ribosomes. Ribosomes are composed of a large subunit and a small subunit. Ribosomes can be found alone in the cytoplasm, in groups called polyribosomes, or attached to the endoplasmic reticulum (Bowes, 1996). The cytoplasm is a jellylike substance. It contains the nucleus and other cell structures (organelles). The cytoplasm contains enzymes, and most of the chemical reactions take place there. Cytoplasm operates as a "molecular soup" that binds together all of the cell's organelles, and separates the organelles within the cell. Cytoplasm is believed to be the origin of cytoskeleton. The cytoskeleton supports movement of the cell as well as its anatomy through the cytoplasmic streaming. This occurs when the cytoskeleton moves to press the cell membrane it is then when the cytoplasm moves and occupies the empty space (Francis, 1996). Work Cited Bowes, Bryan.G. (1996). A Color Atlas of Plant Structure. London, UK: Manson Publishing. Francis, Dennis. (2001). The Plant Cell Cycle and Its Interfaces. London, UK: CRC

Thomson company Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Thomson company - Assignment Example Thomson operates in UK from more than 650 stores. Thomson Airways which is part of the company is the largest charter airline in UK and was founded in the year 1962. Thomson operates its services from around 23 airports of the country (Thomson, 2012). Aspects of Development Tourism is a valuable sector and is fast growing into a major sector worldwide, contributing significantly towards world economy. Tourism is greatly affected by the economic crisis, political instability, terrorism, etc. which altogether have a negative impact on a country’s economy (Ryu, n. d). Tourism influences lives of many communities around the globe. There are both perceived and real fears associated with the tourism industry and can be related to ineffectively managed ventures of mass tourism. As far as economic activity is concerned, tourism can also have negative impacts on the economy along with the communities residing in that particular country. These negative impacts are required to be measure d and analysed to develop a solution in order to yield a positive result. Aspects of development in context to tourism are important but may also lead to the loss of cultural identities by destinations in order to meet the demands of global customers (Gawler.Sa, n. d, p. 1). Sustainable development is related to the factors such as environmental, economic and social, which greatly impacts the tourism industry. Tourism that addresses the needs and preferences of the communities, environment, visitors and industry can be said to be on the path of sustainable development. In order to attain sustainable development; Thomson needs to consider various aspects of tourism industry such as economic, socio-cultural and environmental. This will not only ensure a good opportunity for the company to develop itself into a global player but will also contribute in attaining large market share. The sustainable development for Thomson will not be restricted to particular destinations but will have a broader application to different forms of tourism such as niche tourism and mass tourism. Thomson is also required to establish a balance between economic, socio-cultural and environmental aspects to attain longevity in sustainable development. Thomson Sheraton is required to ensure that: 1) It should make best use of resources related to the environment as it forms key component in development of tourism. 2) Value the socio-cultural legitimacy of host communities. It should preserve their traditional values and cultural heritage. 3) Ensure long-term and viable economic procedures, providing benefits to stakeholders. The company must look towards opportunities of earning income and contributing towards the welfare of host communities. The aspects of development for Thomson would further require monitoring of impacts of tourism and accordingly taking the taking right measures to deal with the problems associate, if any. Sustainable development should also deal with the customer sati sfaction while ensuring a great experience to customers (Sdt.Unwto, n.d). Positioning in the Global Tourism Market Positioning can be defined as the way a company or a product is positioned in the minds of the consumers. It is can be noted that the product of company may be created in the factory but the brand of the company is created in the consumer’

The Benefits Of Bilingualism Toward Career Advancement English Language Essay

The Benefits Of Bilingualism Toward Career Advancement English Language Essay Being fluent in more than one language has not been popular until this past decade. Since the Internet has made our world smaller, more and more businesses have become global and have a lot of branches all over the world. They hire both local and international personals. When the demand of bilingual workers is higher, being able to communicate more than one language has become a better choice for students and adults. Nowadays, there are many skills that can make your job application and resume stand out from other competitions. The ability to communicate a foreign language is very valuable in many career fields, such as teachers, government officials, or social workers. Bilingualism attracts international employers, helps to better understand diverse customers, and has more financial perks. First of all, being bilingual attracts international employers. Since more and more businesses become interconnected, with companies establishing branches abroad and hiring from local people, it is important that employees in the states increase their marketability. In Foreign Language Needs of US Businesses, William Kordsmeier, Joe Arn, and Betty Rogers explore how US multicultural firms are in need of foreign language speakers. The authors study which language is the most in demand language by the US businesses, and how the firms prefer an applicant with two or more fluency in foreign languages. They also show that foreign language fluency is the initial reason to hire someone for a multicultural firm (169-71). Similarly, in Cultural and Linguistic Ambidexterity, Peter Galuszka explains that employers in a global economy look to hire bilingual and multilingual students as soon as they graduate from the University of Texas at El Paso, also known as UTEP. Galuszka shows that UTEP is situated near the US-Mexico border, and it has economic appeal in itself. Plus, the students who attend UTEP are from both the US and Mexico, so most of them speak both English and Spanish (29-31). Both articles foreground the idea of international firms are interested in hiring more bilingual or multilingual candidates. To emphasize that more businesses look to hire more bilingual personals, Kordsmeier, Arn, and Rogers cites Inman who states Proficiency in a foreign language is highly desirable in the marketplace. Whereas many fields seek employees, who possess foreign language proficiency in addition to expertise in the particular disciplines, the field of business places the greatest emphasis on both foreign language capability and knowledge of a specific subject area. (169) The authors are suggesting that more businesses prefer employees who are able to communicate in another language, in addition to other skills that those employees already possess. Similarly, Galuszka cites Michael Hissam, a Delphis regional director for communications in Mexico, who says work starts at 5 a.m. so specialists can be in touch with other Delphi teammates across the world, from Asia to Europe, to the United States (30). This means that Delphi is an international business and has divisions all over the world. Because of how they have to communicate with every part of the world, they need staff that can at least speak two or more languages. As you can see that both articles emphasize how important it is for a global business to have efficient bilingual or multilingual personals. Secondly, being bilingual can help the company to better understand the need of diverse customers. If the company is in an area with a diverse population, being bilingual has a big advantage. In Cultural and Linguistic Ambidexterity, Galuszka states it might sound like a no-brainer that being bilingual or multilingual helps students planning a career Whats more, being able to go beyond mere language ability and understand cultural distinctions are extra advantages (29). This shows that not only understanding the language is important, but to have deeply knowledge of the culture of the spoken language is also even more significant. Similarly, in Fluency in a foreign language can translate into a world of professional possibilities, Sonja Brown Stokely writes about an experience of an African-American man named Edward Harley, who teaches English in Japan. In order for Harley to be able to teach English, he is required to be fluent in Japanese and understand Japanese culture. Harley is currently working in New York City as a copy editor. He handles all clients from Japan for the company and makes sure that everything goes smoothly with no misunderstanding between cultures (126). As you can see that both articles emphasize that bilingual can help the company to better understand the need of diverse customers, it opens the connections between the firm and the customer. Understanding the culture is also a factor of earning customers loyalty to the business. Lastly, bilingualism has more financial perks. As a bilingual employee, you have the benefit of being able to negotiate a higher salary because the business with bilingual staff can also attract more diverse customers. Therefore, the more bilingual acquaintances, the more money you earn. To support this claim, in Fluency in a foreign language can translate into a world of professional possibilities, Stokely says In some careers in the US, the ability to speak and write languages such as Spanish, French, or German is looked upon as having a specialized skill. And employers are willing to pay for that skill. For example, in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, California, police officers and fire fighters can make an extra 5% to 10% on their salaries if they are fluent in Spanish (126). Stokely is suggesting that being fluent in another language can help you earn more in your career. Her article is full of examples of a few people who succeed because of being a bilingual. Another support for the claim is about a sales position, which is also where the second language skills are in high demand. A sales person is able to speak Spanish and he earns from commission. He is the only salesman who can speak Spanish at that company, therefore he handles all the Spanish customers. So, he is the only one that earns the highest commission (128). Similarly, in rewarding workplace bilingualism, Amado M. Padilla explores the economic gain of being bilingual. He asks a series of questions to different fields of business. The overall result is that bilingual gets paid more than their peers. To support the claim, he writes A hotel manager or a customer-service representative who knows English and Spanish or English and Korean may look much better at promotion time than one who knows only English (21). This shows that being bilingual adds a chance to being considered to get promoted and advance further in your career. Both articles foreground the idea that being bilingual has more financial perks and adds a chance to get promoted easily. In conclusion, being bilingual or multilingual has benefits toward career advancement. It helps your application or resume stand out when you apply for a job at a global company that has many divisions around the world. Being bilingual can also help you reach further for customers in a diverse society, as you understand more of their cultures. This leads to gaining more clients for the company and therefore earning more salaries and promotions toward you.

A Digital Nation :: Internet Technology Technological Essays

A Digital Nation Have you ever heard someone say that we live in a digital nation? Do you know what a digital nation is? Well you should know because you are living in one. Our nation revolves around the use of computers. Can you go through a normal day without using something computer related? I don't think so. Many everyday things that you take for granted are computer based, such as: ATM's, credit cards, grocery check outs, and gas stations to name a few. I support Jon Katz's article The Netizen: Birth of a Digital Nation. Our nation would be a totally different place today if the computer was never invented. Computers have evolved incredibly in the past few years. Programs on computers help to make schools more organized and are used many times a day. Today most of the student's records are kept on a computer instead of in filing cabinets. Such as records of shots, attendance, grades, test scores, any problems the child has, and many others. With computers you can pull up a child's file within seconds instead of having to find the file in a cabinet, which could take several minutes. Computers keep all the files organized and make finding things easier for teachers, which helps them to get more things done in their busy day. Many teachers when assigning papers require them to be typed. Typed papers are a lot easier to read then hand written ones. Having a typed paper cuts down on the time needed to grade the papers and makes reading them a lot easier. Before computers, the time teachers needed to grade twenty papers was maybe four hours and now they can grade them in about two hours. Computers allow us to communicate with people all over the world. Thanks to the Internet you can talk with people from other counties and get a response within a few seconds. Instead if you had written a letter you might not get a response for weeks. The Internet also allows people who don't know each other to meet and become friends. Being able to connect to the Internet allows families to stay in touch even though they live thousands of miles away. The capabilities of being online makes things so much easier and faster, which we need, in order to keep up with the fast paced world we live in.

A Study of Globalisation Essay

Executive Summary This paper attempts to make sense of globalisation from a social and business perspective. Initially I will talk briefly about globalisation within our community and the different stand points those communities and individuals have taken; for and against globalisation. I will then talk about the multinational companies that have made the phenomenon of globalisation possible and these companies various impacts on societies and local communities around the world. The topic is further analysed by using multinational food retailing companies in Latin America as a case study. Displayed to the reader through this case will be a clear indication of how local communities and in particular their farmers are affected by globalisation and multinational companies. There are many different views on globalisation; and those against it oppose many different aspects of it. One of the countless reasons why there are anti-globalisation activists is due to the following: Multinational food retailing companies, the backbone of what is known as ‘globalisation’ within the supermarket industry, have in many cases entered small farming communities around the globe and destroyed a way of life for many of the farmers and labourers around them. Within Latin America these farmers have been forced to flee their homes to find refuge within the slums of the urban sprawls within their cities or even to cross borders into the USA. Introduction to Globalisation Definition: Globalisation can be defined as ‘ the intensification of worldwide social relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa’ (Giddens 1990). It has also been described as ‘ process which embodies a transformation in the spatial organisation of social relations and transactions – assessed in terms of their extensity, intensity, velocity and impact – generating transcontinental or inter-regional flows and networks of activity’. (Held, et al 1999) In relation to Latin America (the major area of discussion of this paper) globalisation can be defined as a practice or system that has affected several of the continents most persistent problems. Such problems would be the diverse extent of economic exploitation and social disparity that has branded Latin America ever since it’s European colonisation in the sixteenth century. (Harris & Halebsky 1995) Pro-globalisation: Free trade fosters prosperity and has an extremely important characteristic that affects our way of life. This characteristic is actually it’s tendency to be able to prevent war. Extensive research has shown that trade promotes peace both directly, by reducing the danger of military divergence, and indirectly, by promoting prosperity and democracy (Weede 2004). Globalisation and free trade in the 20th century and beyond can be compared with the 19th Century expansion of empires (like the British Empire). These empires built an infrastructure in developing countries; railways, ports and beautifully constructed colonial buildings were just some of the benefits these developing countries could take advantage of. Even though these commodities weren’t built for the benefit of the developing country (they were built for British trade) they still ultimately increased these countries abilities to trade and to become technologically independent. In the 20th Century infrastructure, technology, health and education systems implemented by the world powers, in developing and developed countries, has improved the overall quality of life for people worldwide, this does not include Africa. The average GDP for all countries except Africa has gone up; however the downside is; the difference between the rich and poor countries has also increased. The reason for this is that the countries introducing themselves to the developing countries are actually gaining a much more significant benefit. Anti-globalisation: This term is more commonly attributed to the political standpoint of certain people, groups and organisations that are in opposition to certain facets of globalisation. Those in resistance often oppose large multi-national company’s dominance of global trade agreements and trade-governing bodies like WTO (the World Trade Organisation) (Graeber 2002). Otherwise known as a social movement, anti-globalisation represents its participants in their opposition to large corporations who endeavour to attain and ‘have’ attained political power. Political power can be put into effect via international trade agreements, anti globalisation activists scrutinize these agreements, stating that they quite often undermine ‘the environment, labour rights, national sovereignty, the third world, and other various aspects of our everyday lives as human beings’ (Graeber 2002). It is common knowledge that globalisation and free trade can affect developing countries negatively, however, the worlds most developed countries and the people who live within them are also affected negatively. Globalisation forces job opportunities from these developed countries to other countries around the world and low skilled workers in developed countries lose their jobs. This increases the difference between the rich populace and poorer populace in that country. The following quote, from the United Nations, backs this statement up and shows us why there are anti-globalisation activists. ‘The richest fifth of the world have 80% of the world’s income and the poorest fifth have 1%; this gap has doubled between 1960 and 2000’ (United Nations 1999) largely due to the impacts of globalisation. As displayed above, multi-national corporations play a substantial role within the theory and practice of globalisation, these corporations are powerful by nature and currently account for over 33 per cent of world output, and 66 per cent of world trade (Gray 1999). These organisations even though considered to be global companies are still heavily ‘nationally embedded’ in terms of their business activity (Hirst and Thompson 1996). Despite this; multinational corporations still have considerable economic and cultural power. The next section of this paper will talk about these companies, their branding and how they affect communities around the world. Globalisation & Multinational Companies Social Impact (How do they impact our local communities?) Branding: The main driving force for the growth of multi-national companies and the globalisation of their impact is in their brand (Klein 2001). In the mid-1980s a management theorists came up with a seemingly harmless idea that successful corporations must primarily produce brands, as opposed to products. This idea led to the exorbitant expansion of wealth and cultural influence we see in multinational companies today and over the past fifteen years (Klein 2001). ‘Brand builders are the new primary producers in our so-called knowledge economy’ (Klein 2001). Modern multinational companies have used a strait to the point yet brutally honest approach to branding over the past fifteen years. This approach is that companies should not disburse their limited capital on factories that will require physical maintenance, on equipment that will decay or on workers who will undoubtedly age and perish. As an alternative, they should focus that capital in the processes used to build their brands (Smith & Smith 2002). Multinationals: Multinational corporations are in actuality weak and vague organisations that generally display the corrosion of everyday values that afflict practically all late contemporary social institutions (Gray 1999). Diverse communities around the world are impacted and exploited by these multinational companies. They continually create or contract business in countries where they can profit from cheaper wages and assets. As discussed earlier this ‘can’ mean added wealth and infrastructure for that community. However, it quite often means increased levels of unemployment in the city/country where the industry was located beforehand. Not to mention that the wages payed and work environment in the communities where the operations are implemented are usually relatively poor (Smith & Smith 2002). Below are a few examples that articulate this situation perfectly: * ‘The numbers of people living on less than $2 per day has risen by almost 50% since 1980, to 2.8 billion-almost half the world’s population. And this is precisely the period that has been most heavily liberalized’ (World Bank 2000). * ‘The world’s poorest countries’ share of world trade has declined by more than 40 per cent since 1980 to a mere 0.4 per cent’ (UNCTAD 1999). This has been precisely the period in which the majority of multinational companies have grown exponentially, and is obviously a large factor resulting from their growth. Multinationals apart from affecting whole economic systems of countries and communities also attempt to create new markets within these communities. They search for new markets which have not yet been exploited in order to increase sales; it is typically carried out by creating new desires among target groups. The easiest target market for multinational companies to create new desires for is the child and youth market. Prized not only for the influence they have over adult spending but also for their own escalating spending power, the youth of today are one of the most profitable and influential markets (Kenway and Bullen 2001). Despite all this negative hype about multinational companies; they ‘have’ played a very significant role in the growth of globalisation. Around the world individuals and communities are linked much closer to each other and information and money flow quicker than ever before. Globalisation and it’s creation of multinationals has resulted in making goods and services in one part of the world increasingly available in ‘all’ parts of the world. International travel and communication is also much more frequent. In all globalisation has made life easier for those who can actually afford the luxuries of travel and international business. (Sourcewatch 2006). The Food Chain; Survival of the Biggest A case study of Latin America and the detrimental effects globalisation and multinational food retail companies have had on it’s local farmers. ‘Commodity prices have fallen dramatically, by some two thirds over the past 30 years, so that farmers have had to triple production just to maintain their incomes. One example among many: in just the last three years, Tanzanian farmers experienced a decline of 50% in the price of coffee.’ (OXFAM 2001) ‘While farmers earn less, consumers have been paying more.’ (O’Neill 2001) Although, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation, Latin America produces four times the amount of food needed to feed the population, 58 million people are still malnourished. Introduction: During the 1980’s a transformation within Latin America began; this transformation was one that would shape the future of farmers all over the continent for decades to come. For some it would be a positive change, however a large majority found it to be the opposite. The transformation I talk about is opening up of trade barriers within Latin America in order to allow food retailing companies access to the regions ‘un-commercialised’ and fertile lands. During the 1990’s the revolution in food retailing within Latin America accelerated extraordinarily as countries unbolted their economies to suit conditions for financing from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. As Latin America’s overall FDI significantly increased; multinational food retailers bought out local chains and entered joint ventures with the obstinate ones. The greatest fears for farmers in the region were realised when the multinational companies introduced unfair trade rivalry from American and European growers with weighted financial backing. Small farmers are constantly left to compete with the biggest world players as these food retailing chains (products of globalisation) move from large cities to smaller towns and from economically sound countries to ones still developing their economic and social systems (Dugger 2004). These chains are now the prevailing force in the trade of processed foods and they’re produce sales are growi ng to a similar reputation. When global food retail companies dominate a market, there are scenarios whereby it can be seen to be advantageous for all the citizens within that community. Such a scenario would be when the economy, of the region being taken over, is growing energetically and spawning decent jobs for globalisations losers, because in spite of everything the chains ‘are’ creating cheaper, cleaner and safer shopping environments for these societies. Samuel Morley, a visiting research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), has written extensively on inequality and labour economics in Latin America, he stated that â€Å"It would be an appealing transformation of the sector if alternative jobs could be made available,† however these scenarios never seem to materialise in Latin America and other developing countries/continents around the world as they do not have economies of great strength. As Latin America’s population grows its economic situation trails further and further behind. In Latin America, 220 million of the total regional population of 500 million people are poor. The case study that I will shortly talk about outlines just how bad the situation in Guatemala is, Guatemala is actually one of Latin America’s ‘better off’ regions, with supermarkets controlling 10-15% of grocery sales. Therefore the case gives you an indication of what the more unfortunate farming communities, in Latin America, must have to endure. For example in Argentina supermarket chains control 30% of this industry and in Brazil; 50% (Dugger 2004). Rural markets shrink throughout the continent, even though the victims of globalisation are pushed to trade within them, these rural markets are slowly but surely lost in the black holes that we call multinational companies. Within a single decade Latin America’s farming communities have been transformed by food retail giants such as Ahold and Walmart. These multinational goliaths have transfigured food distribution by offering low prices, a range of choices and convenience; they are now also changing the face of food growing (Dugger 2004). This could seem positive to some, however it is far from that; there are thousands of Latin American farming communities who have been devastated by the unforseen and overwhelming challenges that these companies bring (Dugger 2004). The major visible impact that these changes have had within the farming communities over the past decade is the great increase in the number of, now penniless, farming migrants entering the urban slums of their own countries and crossing the American border to seek refuge from their new ‘corporately governed’ country side. Guatemala’s Local Farmers Suffer (Case): Within the serene confines of the extraordinarily fertile and incredibly poor Guatemala, supermarket giants have crushed farmers to the point where they are no longer able to maintain operations within the land they once called home. Guatemala was once, not long ago, a place where people swapped produce for service and service for produce, money ‘was’ required to sustain they’re everyday living, however, life was effortless and uncomplicated up until the multinational giants arrived on Latin American shores. Guatemalan man Mario Chinchilla would inspect his field of sickly tomatoes on a daily basis; he would labour all day trying to meet the requirements of the new supermarkets which had opened up in town, however no amount of labour could possibly turn his crop into the stout, flawless product that Guatemala’s leading supermarket chain offered to it’s customers (Dugger 2004). A better product at a cheaper price, it seems good all round doesn’t it, but at the end of the day it has ruined many people lives. The chain I talk about is a giant Dutch multinational company named Ahold (Worlds 3rd largest retailer). The Chain is so large it includes names such as Bi-Lo and Stop & Shop under its ‘assets’. For some time Mario headed a farmer’s cooperative that was managing to sell produce to the chain however this proved to be an ephemeral opportunity whereby the multinational chain ran away with the locals hopes and dreams, leaving them to sit in their unsold crops of rotting vegetables. The reason for this was because the multinational retailers require farmers who encompass the proficiency and capital to invest in modern farming technologies such as; ‘greenhouses, drip irrigation and pest control’ (Dugger 2004). â€Å"They wanted consistent supply without ups and downs,† said Mr Chinchilla. â€Å"We didn’t have the capacity to do it† (Dugger 2004). Inequality, rebellion and violent repression within Latin America has been a recurring problem for many decades, during the 1990’s there was already a gap between rich and poor and the supermarket chains have simply added to this gap. This time Latin America has tried a different (non-violent) approach. In order to fight for their right to live comfortably in their homeland farmers joined forces; there are rare success stories, however many (like Mario Chinchilla and his Co-op) have suffered a more common fate. In Guatemala there is a tiny farming community named Lo de Silva; more than 300 farmers who originally belonged to Mr. Chinchilla’s co-op, ‘the Association of Small Irrigation Users of Palencia’, were from this village (Dugger 2004). Out of those 300 farmers there are only 8 still enduring the torment that globalisation has brought them. These remaining farmers aren’t even able to sell to the supermarkets they sell their product to middle men for severely discounted prices; to top this off the only product the middlemen will accept from them is salad tomatoes. Mr. Chinchilla’s case is an ideal example that demonstrates how the opportunity of success for small farmers is a remote prospect to most. Small farmers are simply getting left behind due to their lack of market pull and marketing/operational techniques (Dugger 2004). A ‘survival of the biggest’ situation has been created – ‘only the big can serve the big; the small need not apply, as global companies wipe out local distinctions in establishing a level economic playing field.’ (Hannaford 2006). During the 1990’s food retail conglomerates went from controlling between 10 and 20 percent of the Latin American market to totally dominating it (Economist.com 1997). During this period, in Guatemala specifically, the quantity of supermarkets has more than doubled; as their share of food retailed has reached 35 percent. The smaller shops and open air markets still remain and retail a great deal of fruits and vegetables in Guatemala. For customers to leave these historically enriched and characterised markets and enter the newly opened supermarkets in the region, is to leave behind Guatemala and enter a commercialised shopping centre that could reside in Hong Kong or London, with it’s marked down jumbo packages and symmetrical fruits in plastic trays. None of this, however, matters unless the bottom line is understood. The bottom line is that the rules of the World Trade Organisation are actually taking second place in importance to the privately set standards of the food retail giants. Also pressures from the I.M.F. and the World Bank to allow greater foreign investment into Latin America were proposed to formulate more competitive economies for them; however it is obvious that this model didn’t have a community element at its centre. Hardships have come from; not only what I described previously (the fact that the farmers must sell they’re produce at much cheaper prices, better quality and in a more convenient matter) but also from the fact that that they are now competing with the rest of Latin America, the United States and even the world because trade borders have been opened to allow almost ‘anyone’ import and export capabilities. Rigid opposition from internationally renound growers is now a reality for Central and Latin American farmers; at a distribution centre, for a subsidiary company of Ahold in Guatemala City, shipments of ‘apples from Washington, pineapples from Chile, potatoes from Idaho and avocados from Mexico’ are brought in (Hannaford 2006). Conclusion Globalisation has positive and negative affects on our society. This paper has outlined in great detail the negative affects of globalisation and multinational food retailing companies on Latin America’s and the world’s small farmers. The reason for this is due to the fact that there were; only on occasion, very rare and unusual success stories to be found about smaller farmers succeeding in their sales to companies such as Ahold and Walmart, within Latin America. After researching farming communities’ around the globe, it can be deduced that Latin America is not alone in this battle to produce food and sell it at competitive prices, while still maintaining some sort of meaningful social existence. Asian, African and Indian farmers; have been heavily exploited. Even farmers within more developed countries such as Australia have had to sell their products at severely discounted prices in order to satisfy multinational company standards. Farmers world wide, are however, not alone. Traditional strategies of help to farmers that feel the hardships of globalisation, such as providing fertilizers and improved seeds, are no longer enough to enable them to sustain their businesses. Professors and agronomists are banding together to document trends and develop new methods of help that will allow the fleeing farmers of Latin America, Africa and Asia to compete with others in selling products to the multinationals. In the midst of the these methods a few techniques stand out, such as; regulations put upon the multinationals that require farmers be paid promptly, laws that restrain these companies from dominating entire markets (such as mergers of supermarket chains) and enhanced hygiene and convenience through technology at open-air markets. After reading this paper I hope you too can conclude it is important that societies living within the limitations of this amazing world are given the chance to experience life’s pleasures and break out of the chain of inevitable failures that multinational corporations have brought to them. Being given the chance to make an honest and fair living, is only basic compassion and mercy; two marvellous characterises that any individual can encompass. If multinational food retail companies and global companies in general were able to, in some way, display this, then Anti-Globalisation would be a much less used expression. References * Dugger, C. W., (2004) Foreign Desk Late Edition – Final, Section A, Page 1, Column 1, New York Times – December 28, Tuesday. (http://www.nytimes.com) * Economist.com, (1997) Survey: Business In Latin America – Back on the pitch, The Economist print edition. * Giddens, A., (1990) Consequences of Modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press. * Graeber, D., (2002) New Left Review 13, January-February issue, ‘The New Anarchist’. * Gray, J., (1999) False Dawn. The delusions of global capitalism, London: Granta. 262 pages. * Hannaford, S., (Last updated 2006) Small farmers versus oligopolies: No contest, (http://www.oligopolywatch.com). * Harris, R. L., Halebsky, S., (1995) Capital, Power, and Inequality in Latin America, chapter: â€Å"The Global Context of Contemporary Latin American Affairs†, (Boulder. CO., Westview Press.) * Held, D., McGrew, A., Goldblatt, D. and Perraton, J. (1999) Global Transformations – politics, economics and culture, Cambridge: Polity Press. * Hirst, P. and Thompson, G., (1996) Globalisation in Question. London: Polity Press. * Kenway, J. and Elizabeth Bullen, (2001) Consuming Children: Entertainment, Advertising and Education, Open University Press. * Klein, N., (2001) No Logo, London: Flamingo. 490 pages. * O’Neill, B., (2001) What’s eating Us? OXFAM News. (http://www.oxfam.ca/news/WorldFoodDay/Whats_eating_us.htm) * OXFAM. (2001) Briefing Paper No 9, November. (http://www.oxfam.org.uk/search?SearchableText=Briefing+Papers&submit.x=19&submit.y=8) * Smith, M. K. and Smith, M., (2002) ‘Globalization’ encyclopaedia infed. (www.infed.org/biblio/globalization.htm) * Sourcewatch 2006 Globalisation, (Centre for Media and Democracy) http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Globalization). * UNCTAD. (1999) Conference on Least Developed Countries. (http://www.unctad.org/Templates/Page.asp?intItemID=3073&lang=1) * United Nations. (1999) Human Development Report. * Weede, E., (2004) The Independent Review, Volume 9, number 2, ‘The Diffusion of Prosperity and Peace by Globalisation’. * World Bank. (2000) Global Economic Outlook Report. Washington: World Bank.(http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/DATASTATISTICS/0,,menuPK:232599~pagePK:64133170~piPK:64133498~theSitePK:239419,00.html)

Dorthea Lange essays

Dorthea Lange essays This report is about Dorothea Lange. The main reason I choose her was because, she was a women and I thought I could probable wright better about her for that reason. Dorthea was born in 1895 and died in 1965. Dorthea's first photographic job was as a commercial portrait photographer in San Francisco in the 1920's. Her first independent work was taking pictures of native American's in the southwest with her first husband Maynard Dixon. In the early 1930 Dorthea got tired of the working in the studio so she decided to head to the streets. By this time the Great Depression was underway. She was living in California and had access to a lot of out of work people. Now she was with her second husband Paul Schuster Taylor, documenting the struggles of all the people in need . Dorthea would take the pictures of the people and Paul would write essay's to go with them. She took pictures of family's migrating west to look for job that didn't exist, she took pictures of the dust bowl and of other numerous thing's. Thing's that showed the truth of the Depression, what was really happening. During this time she took what is probably her most famous picture "Migrant Mother" this picture was a recognized symbol of the migrant life style. Her pictures showed a urgent need for government assistants in America. If you think about it, if the Great Depression would of never happened then I probably wouldn't be doing a report on Dor thea Lange because that s what really set her career off. So, I guess that would be a major event that influenced her in her work. The beginning of WW II brought her to a new turning point in photography. During the war Dorothea took very vivid pictures of the forced relocation of Japanese American citizens, they were placed in internment camps. She also took pictures of minority's and women workers in the shipyards. This showed that everyone could work equally so ...

Karate Essays - Shrin-ry, Tatsuo Shimabuku, Isshin-ry, Free Essays

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Linguistics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

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Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 120

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