Evaluation Of Effectiveness Of Combating Music Piracy Thesis

Evaluation Of Effectiveness Of Combating Music Piracy - Thesis Example Reduced music sales impact not just the industry but the country economy as well. It has also resulted in lower wages and job losses while impacting each of the numerous stakeholders in the industry. Several institutions and organizations have been formed and policies devised to combat music piracy. Many studies have been conducted to evaluate consumer behavior which promotes online piracy. However, no study has exclusively been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies adopted to combat music piracy. Combating piracy has become critical to the survival of the industry and hence this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies. With this aim, three objectives were stated in the first chapter. After extensive literature review the research strategy was explained. All three objectives have been achieved. The study finds that consumers find the prices of legal CDs and downloads high. If the music products are reasonably priced it could enable the common c onsumer to pay for it because high prices encourage them to engage in piracy. Legalizing file-sharing, educating the consumers, and collaborating with ISPs are strategies that have been found to be effective to some extent in combating music piracy. ... of the study 3 1.6 Limitations to the study 4 Chapter II Literature Review 2.1 Introduction 5 2.2 Piracy 5 2.3 Effectiveness 6 2.4 Piracy in music industry 6 2.5 Consumer behavior and piracy 9 Chapter III Methodology 3.1 Research Philosophy 12 3.2 Purpose of the research and phenomenon 12 3.3 Epistemology 12 3.4 Research strategy 13 3.5 Data collection 13 3.6 Justification for secondary data 13 3.7 Data analysis 14 Chapter IV Findings & Discussions 4.1 Findings 16 4.2 Piracy and music piracy 16 4.3 Consumer behavior 16 4.3 Effectiveness of policies and strategies 17 4.4 Recommendations for the industry 23 Chapter V Conclusion and Recommendations 5.1 Conclusion 26 5.2 Recommendations 28 References 29 Charts Chart 2.1 Staggered sales 9 Chart 4.1 Legalization has an impact 20 Chapter I Introduction 1.1 Background The digital age has many advantages but brings with it some disadvantages too. While digital music has become popular it is has also encouraged music piracy. Music is an art an d has been a part of human life from before the time of Jesus Christ (Bonner & Higgins, 2010). Music is basically a collection of sounds that generate rhythm. Over time the method has evolved and it is now possible to create music electronically. Music is creatively assembled by individuals or a group of individuals for the sole purpose of invoking rhythm. However, the music industry has changed drastically with the proliferation of the Internet. In fact the internet has destroyed the standard business model that has been in practice for decades. While earlier people used to purchase music from their local or favored store now it is possible to download music at the click of a button. Illegal downloading of music has become a business issue for management of music companies. Advanced

Multinational Enterprises Essay Example for Free

Multinational Enterprises Essay The needs to fulfill market demands and find new revenue well have driven many corporations in the world to conduct their expansion strategy. One famous way out is to expand into foreign markets while enhancing the brand value in local market. The situation refers to internationalization or globalization in which many companies take the ways in order to boost sales. The situation occurs since nowadays a business operational coverage does not restricted by national boundaries since they can sell their services over the internet under B2B (business-to-business) or B2C (business-to-consumers) schemes. Many factors encourage companies to conduct internationalization; they include the belief that their products are unique and distinctive by any measures, have recognized brands; and possess worldwide distribution channels, technological leadership, and better product value. However, the corporations, often called Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) or Multinational Companies (MNCs), may overlook several considerations when performing internationalization, which in turn prevent the companies to reap the benefits of their foreign market presences. This situation suggests that amidst the attractiveness of providing services or selling products in foreign markets due to their well-recognized brands, companies need to pay attention to external and internal forces in the market since they determine the success of the companies’ international operation. The forces do not only include the technical issue or market knowledge but also supporting issues such as human resources management, cultural issues, and financial issues, to name a few. Concerning business expansion into foreign countries, this paper will discuss several issues relating to marketing Chinese electric bicycle to Perth (Australia). Several issues include economy, technology, legal and political, human resource strategy, and cultural assessment and negotiation, to name a few. 2. Background The background is about the Electric Bicycles that we take from China, import them, and sell the products in Perth (Australia). We also have our own website that we can sell online to people and ship our bicycles to any where in Australia. 3. Economy In CIA Factbook, Australia is regarded as an example of a prosperous Western-style capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP at the level of the four dominant West European economies. Since Australia has many natural resources, the country becomes a major exporter of agricultural products, minerals, metals, and fossil fuels. Commodities account for 57% of the value of total exports, so that a downturn in world commodity prices can have a big impact on the country’s economy. In addition, the report from CIA also notes that Australian government is pushing for increased exports of manufactured goods, but competition in international markets continues to be severe. While Australia has suffered from the low growth and high unemployment characterizing the OECD countries in the early 1990s and during the recent financial problems in East Asia, the economy has expanded at a solid 4% annual growth pace in the last five years. Below is economy figure of Australia.

Brexit: Causes and Reactions to the Vote to Leave the EU

Brexit: Causes and Reactions to the Vote to Leave the EU United Kingdoms Exit from the European Union Abstract This paper discusses the recent decision and vote in the United Kingdom (UK) to break from the European Union (EU) after being a member for over 40 years.   Many factors went into the people’s decision to leave the EU and even then, the vote to leave was very close, with the majority winning by a relatively slim number.   Those who voted to leave think it is the correct move for the UK, just as those who voted against the separation think there could be negative effects. Even though the majority of voters voted to leave the EU, it will still take years before the process can be completed due to legal aspects that must be adhered too.   This does not include that fact that no country has ever left the EU, so there are some areas of uncertainty as well.   Even then, there is still a possibility that the British Prime Minister may over rule the vote and decide to remain in the EU, even if against voters’ wishes. United Kingdom Exit from the European Union When it comes to politics, everyone has their own opinion on what is best and what is not.   To each individual, they feel that their views are correct, and often times the other side is incorrect in their way of thinking.   Now imagine taking that to a much larger scale and instead of just having a difference of opinion in politics and what political party should run a country for the coming years, include the actual fate of a country.   This is exactly what the United Kingdom (UK) did in June 2016.   They held a vote for what direction the UK would take for the years to come.   This vote was to determine whether or not to remain a part of the European Union (EU), which they had been a member of for over 40 years.   As with any major decision that impacts a country, there are those that feel the move to break away was the right decision and the UK will be better off, since they will not have to abide by the rules that have been imposed by the EU.   Just as there are those that feel that leaving the EU is a major mistake and feel that the break from the EU will be disastrous.   This exiting of the United Kingdom has been called Brexit, which is essentially short for Britain and exit.  Ã‚   Being part of the EU has many advantages for those living in the UK.   It is not just financially advantageous or beneficial to have strength in number to being a member a of the EU.   According to Occupytheory.org (2014), six advantages of being a member of the EU are: Low prices of goods – there exists a ‘Single Market’ for all member countries wherein products are low-priced and there are no charges when it comes to custom tax; custom tax is usually charged when goods are transported or sold between states/countries but this is not applied among member countries.Citizens are free to move from one member country to another – citizens can freely travel, study, work, or live in any European country of their choice.More jobs are generated – more or less than 3.5 million jobs have been generated over the years.Development of deprived regions – some member countries of the EU are economically deprived and through the ‘European Structural Funds’, deprived regions are developed.Louder voice – the EU is able to ensure that all their concerns are taken seriously and heard internationally since it speaks in behalf of millions of people.Workers are protected – this is made possible through t he European Working Time Directive; the directive includes regulations regarding holidays, working hours, breaks, etc. Essentially, the EU is what is known as a single market.   What that means is that members of the EU have free roam of all EU nations.   They can free travel between countries without having to have a passport or other travel documents required by people from outside the EU.   It also allows for people to more easily work and live outside of their home country.   It also helped with trade among EU nations as they did not have to pay tariffs for trade amongst each other. Just as there are advantages of being a member of the EU, there are also disadvantages.   According to Tejvan Pettinger (n.d.), six disadvantages of being a member of the EU are: Cost.   The costs of EU members to the UK is  £15bn gross (0.06% of GDP) – or  £6.883 billion net.Inefficient policies.   A large percentage (40%) of UE spending goes on Common Agricultural Policy.Problems of the Euro.  Ã‚   Members of the EU doesn’t necessarily mean membership of the EURO.Pressure towards austerity.   Since 2008, many southern European countries have faced pressure from the EU to pursue austerity – spending cuts to meet budget deficit targets, but in the middle of a recession these austerity measures have contributed to prolonged economic stagnation.Net migration.   Free movement of labour has caused problems of overcrowding in UK cities.More bureaucracy less democracy.   It is argued that the EU has created extra layers of bureaucracy whilst taking away decision making process further from local communities. When it came time for the referendum, or vote, for whether or not to stay within the EU, nearly 30 million people voted, which equated to an approximate 71.8% voter turnout.   Once the votes were in, the margin of victor was relatively small.   The percentage of votes to Leave was 51.9% and percentage of votes to stay was 48.1%, which means that the Leave vote only won by only 3.8 percent.   It was not just Great Britain that was voting and would be impacted by the UK leaving the EU, due to the UK being made up of three other countries as well:   Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.   With the exception of the vote in Scotland, votes from the other three countries taking part in the UK vote were fairly close.   The over breakdown was â€Å"England voted for Brexit, by 53.4% to 46.6%.   Wales also voted for Brexit, with Leave getting 52.5% of the vote and Remain 47.5%.   Scotland and Northern Ireland both backed staying in the EU.   Scotland backed Remain by 62% t o 38%, while 55.8% in Northern Ireland voted Remain and 44.2% Leave.†Ã‚   (Hunt & Wheeler, 2017).     Ã‚   Considering the vote, why did the vote to leave the EU come about in the first place?   For years, the UK Independence Party has campaigned to leave the EU.   They felt that the UK was being held back by the EU due to the rules and restrictions that were placed on businesses.   There was also the matter of the amount of money that the UK paid annually to be a member of the EU.   They were paying billions of pounds each year, but they did not feel that they were getting enough in return for what they paid.   Border control was another issue that was used as part of the Leave campaign.   Due to EU borders rules, the UK was limited on what they could do in regards to controlling their border and the amount of immigration.   Since members of the EU had open borders to other EU nations, people from poorer countries wanted to move to richer countries to live and work, thus creating a influx of people.   There was also concern that this influx of people was taking needed res ources and jobs from those already living in the UK.   This in turn took away jobs and added to the welfare system.   The members of the Independence Party and their supporters are not opposed to immigration, that just wanted to be able to control the numbers and who came into the country and they were unable to do that under EU rules.   When it came to the Leave campaign the Independence Party had support from other public officials.   They had approximately half of the Conservative Party Members of Parliament (MP) and some of the Labour Party MPs.   One other group that was significant was the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) out of Northern Ireland.   Although Northern Ireland voted to Remain, the DUP most likely helped to keep the vote closer then it could have been, similar to how the vote went in Scotland.   There was also a concern that the EU was trying to create more a single country, similar to the Untied States of America.   This would then take away indivi dual countries identities, as they would be unified.   â€Å"One of the major sticking points in the conversation has been immigration concerns, as some Brits worry that the countrys employment market and social services will drown under the weight of too many new residents. Theres also the worry that upper-crust elites and Brussels bureaucrats are pushing for a continental identity that diminishes the U.K.s own sense of self.†Ã‚   (Rosenfeld, 2016). When it came for the campaign to stay in the EU, there was no real added bonus, besides remaining a member of the EU.   The argument was that being a member of the EU helped economically due to single market trade.   They tried to battle to immigration fears by saying that the people that were immigrating to the UK where helping and were not creating a burden, since they came to work which in turn helped the economy.   The strongest argument to Remain was that they are more powerful in numbers.   The UK on its own does not have as big a voice, since they would be a single entity, as opposed to being one of 27 other countries who could stand together as one, thus making them more powerful due to numbers and economics. Although the exact numbers are not known on what demographic voted the most and whether or not they voted for Leave or Remain, there is an idea due to polling that was conducted after the referendum.   â€Å"The results found that 64% of those young people who were registered did vote, rising to 65% among 25-to-39-year-olds and 66% among those aged between 40 and 54. It increased to 74% among the 55-to-64 age group and 90% for those aged 65 and over. It is thought that more than 70% of young voters chose to remain in the EU.†Ã‚   (Helm, 2017).   What this shows is that the highest voter percentage turnout was from the older generation, increasing with each age group.   What was the most surprising though is the high number of voter turnout for young voters, with young voters being between the age of 18-24.   There was even some speculation as to what would have happened if 16-17 year olds had been allowed to vote due to that being a possible 1.6 million additional vote rs, which could have made the referendum a lot closer.   Even with these numbers, there is no way to know if it would have been enough to sway the vote to Remain. Since the outcome of the referendum has been determined and the UK will leave the EU, what are the steps for this to take place since it is not as easy as just not being part of the EU one day?   The uncertainty of it all is that this has never been done, due to   Article 50 only came into existence in 2009.   Article 50 is what created a way for a member country of the EU to leave. To start, it will take at least two years for everything to be negotiated for its withdrawal from the EU.   During this time the UK will still abide by EU rules, but they will not be able to take part in any decision-making process.   According to Hunt & Wheeler (2017), as posted on BBC News, the following are the steps needed for the UK to leave the EU, to include a legal challenge to invoke Article 50: November 2016:   Legal challenge to government’s right to invoke Article 50 without consulting Parliament succeeds.   MPs approve bill in March 2017.Two year time limit begins.29 March 2017:   UK invokes Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union.Remaining 27 EU countries meet 29 April to discuss withdrawal.Negotiations begin between UK and EU.Draft deal put to European Council (27 members).Needs approval from at least 20 countries with 65% of the population.Ratification by European ParliamentUK introduces Great Repeal Bill to revoke the 1972 European Communities Act.After two years, negotiations can be extended if all 27 countries agree but if not EU treaties cease to apply to the UK.The UK leaves the European UnionGreat Repeal Act comes into force, copying EU laws into UK law, to give time for UK to amend or repeal them. Besides the political and bureaucratic process that has to be completed by the politicians, as well as questions they need answered, there are still questions from the voter as to what happens next and these questions will need to be answered during the two year exit process.  Ã‚   Some people are worried about the safety of their products, but this is unlikely to change due to creating two items.   Others are worried about their health care and if they will be able to continue with their health care if they live abroad.   That in of itself is another question.   What happens to the people from the UK that already are living or working in another EU country or those from another country working in the UK.   For UK citizens working outside of the UK and non UK citizens working in the UK, most likely nothing will change.   They will be able to continue working where they are.   For those planning on retiring outside of the UK, that could be another question and will have to be part of the decision making process for all those involved within the UK government and the EU, since this type of movement was under the freedom of movement that was allowed as a member of the EU.   People are concerned about the housing market being impacted.   There has been a slight decrease in the housing market from June to December 2016.   Business owners are worried about having to pay tariffs once Brexit takes effect, since they have not had to pay tariffs as part of the EU.   This is another situation that will have to be negotiated during the exit process between the UK and the EU.   â€Å"People are also worried about the economy itself. The U.K.s Treasury itself reported that its analysis showed the nation would be permanently poorer if it left the EU and adopted any of a number of likely alternatives. Productivity and  GDP  per person would be lower in all these alternative scenarios, as the costs would substantially outweigh any potential benefit of leaving the EU (Rosenfeld, 2016).   Some people even think that the economy will become weaker due to reduced contributions from immigrants.   The Internationla Monetary Fund, along with the Bank of England, have said that there could be long term economic impacts. Besides the EU, it is possible that the financial impact to be felt globally. â€Å"In Europe, the EU could run into economic trouble for a couple of reasons. The lengthy and as-yet ambiguous exit negotiations could cripple investment, as mentioned above, but they could also lead to  more exits.†Ã‚   (Rosenfeld, 2016).   With the EU being a single market when it comes to trade, it has been advantageous for businesses due to no tariffs when crossing European country lines.   However, businesses are concerned that due to the UK’s exit, they channels of free trade could go away, thus making it more expensive to ship goods in and out of the UK.   This may make companies want to leave the UK for other European countries who still are in the single market.   This could impact billions of dollars.   Brexit could also end up impacting the U.S.   â€Å"In the U.S., billions, if not trillions, of dollars could be called into question by a British exit: In 2014, Ame rican direct investment into the EU totaled about 1.81 trillion euros, and about 1.99 trillion euros flowed in the opposite direction,  according to the European Commission.†Ã‚   (Rosenfeld, 2016).   It is not just Europe and the U.S. that have these fears, but multiple other global companies that do business with the UK and the EU.   Just like with the stock market, when something bad happens in one country, it can be felt in various forms across the globe, due to the would be more globalized and working together.   With many of those that voted to Leave, they are not concerned with global corporations or investors in these companies that are looking at the bottom line, not what people think is best for their country. Based on how a member of the UK voted, Leave or Remain, it is fairly easy to determine what they thought about Brexit itself.   However, with the UK exiting the EU and the potential impact it can have on other EU countries, gauging how they feel could either help or hinder the transition and negotiation process due to emotions.  Ã‚   â€Å"A 16-country poll by Ipsos Mori showed that almost half — 48 per cent — of respondents from Sweden said they were dismayed by the UK’s decision. It was a different story in France, where only a quarter of respondents said they were sad about Brexit.† (Mertens, 2016).   The US and Russia were also polled on their feelings of the UK leaving the EU.   Of those polled, in the US, approximately 20% said they were dismayed and the UK’s decision.   In Russia, only about 6% of Russians polled were dismayed, with 54% thinking that the UK deciding to part ways with the EU was a good idea and in their own best inte rest.   However, â€Å"a majority of respondents in most countries felt that Brexit would be bad for the UK economy.   Japan was especially gloomy, with more than two-thirds of respondents expecting Britain to experience an economic downturn.† (Mertens, 2016).   Polls that were conducted can give a general idea of what the common people thought of Brexit, but there were also mixed and neutral thoughts from world leaders.   The following quotes from world leaders, as posted on BBC news Brexit: World reaction as UK votes to leave EU (2016), are just a few of the world leader reactions. This is a painful choice and it is deeply regrettable both for the UK and Europe. But this choice is theirs and we must respect it, accepting all the consequences.† Francois Hollande, French President We take note of the British peoples decision with regret. There is no doubt that this is a blow to Europe and to the European unification process.Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany The people of the United Kingdom have spoken, and we respect their decision. The special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom is enduring, and the United Kingdoms membership in Nato remains a vital cornerstone of US foreign, security, and economic policy.†Ã‚  Barack Obama, US President Victory for freedom! The British people have given to Europeans and to all the people of the world a shining lesson in democracy.Geert Wilders, Dutch Freedom Party leader Its an explosive shock. At stake is the break-up pure and simple of the union.  Now is the time to invent another Europe.Manuel Valls, French Prime Minister Depending on who one asks, there is a difference of opinions on whether or not the UK can survive Brexit.   Tom Campbell (2017) quoted the research director at the Centre for London as saying â€Å"Brown agrees that London will retain its dominance – even if terms are less favourable: â€Å"London has an unrivalled agglomeration of financial and other service firms. Some may relocate, some may choose to expand elsewhere, but many will remain in London.†Ã‚   Just as Richard Brown thinks that the UK will be ok after Brexit, others still hold a different opinion and feel that Brexit will be detrimental for the UK.   Direcctor of World Cities Cultural Forum, Paul Owens, is one of these peole that feels Brexit was bad.   He stated â€Å"There’s no doubt the decision to leave the EU poses a threat to London’s creative economy. The sector has prospered on diversity, free movement of artistic talent and international supply chains. London’s cultural assets are considerable, but it is likely to be diminished over the next decade unless there is a suitable policy response.† (Campbell, 2017).   Ashoka Mody is another believer that the UK will survive Brexit and even points out that much of the UK’s trade is outside of the EU.   â€Å"Following Brexit, productive British trade with the European Union  will survive just fine  wherever it is based on long-lasting economic gains and social relationships. At the same time, the shift toward trade with the faster-growing United States and Asia will continue.† and â€Å"Almost all new British trade is being created outside of Europe.†Ã‚  (Mody, 2016).   So even if members of the EU are initially upset with the UK and make trade difficult initially, the UK still has other sources of economic stability.   Another aspect of why the UK will survive is literally about money. â€Å"As Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman points out, the U.K. has a significant advantage compared to other nations:   they have the British pound.† (Tepper, 2016).   Even with some people thinking that the UK leaving the EU could ending up irreversibly harming the UK, there are still others that have a good understanding of what is going on and understand that although there may be some set backs, thing will not be as bad as some would like things to appear at face value. There are also those that look at whether or not the EU will be able to survive the UK’s departure.   Realistically, those that think the EU can’t not survive without the UK, do not know history, since the UK was not initially part of the EU.   Plus, there multiple other counties that want to the EU.   A potential issue with the countries that want to join, and may be the reason they have not been allowed to join yet, is these countries are poorer countries.   Due to this they would most likely not provide as many resources to into the EU as they would receive.   This is part of the reason the UK voted to Leave, paying more into the EU then they received back.   â€Å"The EU can certainly survive without Britain – but it cannot survive without buy-in from the public. Without a substantial change in how the EU communicates to the people in member countries, there will be a much greater threat to the EU than Brexit – and that threat is the EU it self.† (Can the EU survive after Brexit?, 2017).   Even though the some people do not feel that the future of the UK is a bleak as others would have people believe, they still have an up hill battle ahead of him.   Especially when it comes to to having to renegotiate trade deals within the EU, since the other 27 countries that the UK just divorced are likely to not be overly happy about their departure.   With the EU being the more powerful entity, they may have an upper hand when it comes to the negotiating table.   In an opinion poll that was conducted in 2016, French, German, Swedish, and Finnish feel that when it comes to post-Brexit negotiations, the UK should not receive any favors.   â€Å"Germans and the French were the most opposed to offering Britain a generous deal that pays tribute to Britains role as a neighbour and important trading partner, according to the YouGov survey.   In both countries,  53 per cent of respondents  said it should not expect any favours, compared to  27 per cent who said the EU should offer Britain a generous deal†. (Sims, 2016).   One the flip side of that, people are willing to take a softer stance if the UK is still willing to continue with the free movement of workers and to keep with the pre-Brexit agreements about letting EU citizens to work and live in the EU.   Although that could potentially alleviate some of the Brexit negotiation headaches, at the same time it goes against one of the big reasons that many people wanted to vote Leave.   That is the free movement of people into the UK and not have control of their own border. No matter how it is looked at, the topic of the UK wanting to leave the EU is a hot topic item.   People on both sides of the fence have strong opinions of whether to Leave or Remain, and rightly so considering the referendum was and probably will be one of the most impactful decisions they will see in their life.   It is also hard to say which side is correct in their way of thinking.   One could look at it as the older more experienced generation, choose to leave due to what they have seen and experienced in their life time and tend to have more of a nationalistic point of view.   Just as the younger generation tended to vote to remain, although they do not have as much life experience or have seen as much, they tend to have more of an open mindset of how things should be.   When it came to the vote to leave and the two sides were campaigning for what they thought was right, there seemed to be two main reasons.   The first was the immigration issue and not having conrol of their own borders.   Whether or not the huge influx of immigrants actually took many jobs or economically taxed the UK systems, could be a matter of opinion, depending on how the numbers were spun and ones point of view.   Some even cited the immigration issue as a threat to society due to not border control, so extremists could more easily travel and hide within EU contries.   The other main topic was that many people felt that the EU was holding the UK back due to their rules and regulations.   They felt that it restricted business and did not allow them to thrive they way they felt they could. No matter what the reason, a big concern for many people is whether or not the UK can survive Brexit.   The answer is yes.   Will they be as strong or globally powerful as they were when part of the EU, that is yet to be seen as only time will tell.   However, the UK is still an economic power with many resources and the UK failing would spell global disaster.   So even with the EU being upset up what is going on, it is not in their best interest for the UK to fail.   This does not mean that it will be an easy road for the UK during the two years leading up to their actually departure date.   There are a multitude of negotations that much be completed, with the UK possibly having to not get as good of deals as they would prefer.   There are also many laws within the UK that will need to be looked at and either used, amended, or be thrown out based on what is in their best interest.   All in all, the situation is overcomeable and there will not be any major catastrophi c outcomes that topples a government, although some would believe that is the case.   However, a very real possibility, based on how the transition for the UK goes from being a member of the EU to not being a member of the EU, is if other EU countries will follow suit.   As it is very possibily that the UK could be paving the way for others to follow.   After all, Article 50 came about in 2009 and it only took eight years for an EU member country to use it.   Whose to say that once this divorce of the UK and EU is done, someone else doesn’t follow suit.   That is the EU’s biggest fear. References Advantages and Disadvantages of the European Union. (2014, October 09). Retrieved April 22, 2017, from https://occupytheory.org/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-the-european-union/ Brexit: World reaction as UK votes to leave EU. (2016, June 24). Retrieved April 24, 2017, from http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics.eu.referendum-36614643 Campbell, T. (2017, January 23). Can post-Brexit London survive as Europe’s cultural and financial capital? Retrieved April 24, 2017,   from https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/jan/23/post-brexit-london-economic-self-sabotage Can the EU survive after Brexit? (2017, March 23). Retrieved April 24, 2017, from http://www.thenational.ae/opinion/comment/can-the-eu-survive-after-brexit Helm, T. (2016, July 10). EU referendum: youth turnout almost twice as high as first though. Retrieved April 23, 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/09/young-people-referendum-turnout-brexit-twice-as-high Hunt, A., & Wheeler, B. (2017, March 30). Brexit: All you need to know about the UK leaving the EU. Retrieved April 23, 2017, from http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-32820887 Mertens, R. (2016, August 5). This is what European countries think about Brexit. Retrieved April 23, 2017, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/08/this-is-what-european-countries-think-about-brexit Mody, A. (2016, July 04). Don’t Panic. Britain’s economy can survie just fine outside the European Union. Retrieved April 24, 2017, from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/don’t-panic-britains-economy-can-survive-just-fine-outside-the-european-union-a7118736.html Pettinger, T. (n.d.). Disadvantages of EU Membership. Retrieved April 23, 2017, from http://www.economicshelp.org/europe/disadvantages-eu/ Rosenfeld, E. (2016, June 24). Brexit 101: What just happened, and why it’s import for regular Americans. Retrieved April 23, 2017, from http://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/21/uk-brexit-what-you-need-to-know.html Sims, A. (2016, July 08). Four European countries reject ‘generous’ Brexit deal with UK, poll finds. Retrieved April 24, 2017, from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/four-european-countries-reject-generous-brexit-deal-with-uk-poll-finds-a7128001.html Tepper, T. (2016, June 29). Why Brexit Won’t Destroy The UK Economy | Money. Retrieved April 24, 2017, from http://time.com/money/4383549/british-pound-brexit-european-union/

Gay Men Should Be Allowed To Donate Blood :: essays research papers

â€Å"A man who has had sex with another man within the last five years, whether oral or anal sex, with or without a condom or other form of protection, is not permitted to donate blood and must please not do so.† This was the statement issued last Thursday by a spokesman from the South African National Blood Service (SANBS). This statement had caused a huge dispute between the SANBS and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance (GLA) Every newspaper has headline after headline about this new topic, every news update on all radio stations, every news program on the television, everybody is talking about this latest disruption in our some-what peaceful lives. The GLA states that on Friday, the day after the statement was made, they donated gay blood, some newspapers claim that 120 units were given, another says over 600 units were donated, all the stories are very conflicting, which one, if any, are we to believe? A big question everyone is asking is that if they did donate gay blood, why did they if they were clearly asked not to, and when they did, it means they lied on the forms about their sexual activities. What good is this going to do anyone one may ask, but if you were in that situation, would you not do something about it to? If they suddenly decided that any white female is forbidden to donate blood, no matter what your HIV status is, would you not retaliate and cause a rebel? This causes us to think, (for once), what the gay men did was wrong by donating their blood, but we cannot point fingers and judge them if we would have done the same. What the SANBS is totally wrong, discrimination of any kind is against the law and yet they are blatantly doing it in front of the whole country, and world. Way back when HIV and AIDS was first discovered, the gay men were the only ones that seemed to be infected with this disease, so at that time it was a reasonable rule to ban them from donating. But now we are in 2006 and every single gender, race, religion and group has been infected with HIV so to only ban gay men is unacceptable.

Liz Claiborne: Leadership Analysis Essay

Liz Claiborne was a revolutionary in the fashion industry. She overcame failures in her childhood and early adulthood to become a leader in the business world. Determined to find her place in the fashion world, she wanted to a design company with her own vision. She wanted to empower her customers with quality clothing at an affordable price. In 1976, Liz Claiborne, along with partners Art Ortenberg and Leonard Boxer, created Liz Claiborne, Incorporated. As a designer she was programmed to be task oriented. Because she was task oriented, her leadership skills main weakness in her leadership style. Nevertheless, because she was a role model and supporter of career driven woman, Liz predominantly portrays the transformational leadership style. Liz was able to create a company and a vision that moved milestones for women in the professional world and created higher standards for the fashion industry. The company made $2 million in sales its first year and went public in 1981. (need cita tion-Fortune 500?) Liz Claiborne, Inc. became the first company founded by a woman to make the Fortune 500 in 1986. (need citation-Fortune 500?) II. Biography Anne Elisabeth Jane â€Å"Liz† Claiborne was born March 31, 1929 in Brussels. Her parents were descendents of Louisiana ancestry. Liz was the youngest of three. The family returned to New Orleans in 1939 at the beginning of World War II. Years later, the family relocated to New Jersey. Liz attended primary and secondary schooling, only reaching her sophomore year. When she was teen, Liz was inspired by an art history teacher. (Ortenberg, page 25-27) A man of the times, Liz’s father did not encourage her education. He did, however, approve of her ambition for art. He deemed it â€Å"a proper activity for a woman.† (Ortenberg, page 27) With her father’s approval, she immersed herself into the art world. Liz Claiborne won the Harper’s Bazaar design contest the year of 1949. The prize included a trip to Paris for ten days. After a year in France studying art, Liz returned to America. (Ortenberg, page 28) Soon after, on a trip with her parents, she announced her choice to begin a fashion designing career in New York. Without emotion, her father handed Liz a fifty dollar bill and her suitcase. He wished her, â€Å"Good luck,† got back into the car, and drove off. (Ortenberg, page 30) Liz did not speak to her father for another twenties years. Determined to find her way, Liz worked the Harper Bazaar opportunity and landed a job interview. Although she did not get the job, she did get a date and later on married the interviewer, Ben Schultz. Liz’s marriage was short lived with Ben, but did produce her only son Alex. Through the next handful of years, Liz worked through her apprenticeship and raised Alex. Liz Claiborne was becoming the women she would later design for, a career driven woman. One year after Alex was born; Liz met her future husband Art Ortenberg. Art was department head of the dress department at Juniorite, a junior sportswear company. Liz was a new designer. Liz and Art were both currently married. When the company found out about the affair, Art was fired. Liz stood by Art and quit. The two began a relationship that led to marriage in July of 1957. Art Ortenberg and Liz Claiborne were married for forty-nine years. (Ortenberg, page 245-247) Over the next fifteen years, Liz Claiborne waited patiently to pursue her dreams fully until her son was able to support himself. She had found job security as a designer at Youth Guild for those fifteen years. In 1975, Liz passed on an opportunity to break off and develop Youth Guild separate from its mother company, Jonathan Logan. She new it was time to begin a design company with her own vision. In the seventies, the working woman was making a name for herself. Liz was there to dress her. Liz Claiborne, whom was also career driven, understood what her customer needed. As a woman, she new the daily insecurities females face. She wanted to empower her customers with quality clothing at an affordable price. In 1976, Liz Claiborne, along with partners Art Ortenberg and Leonard Boxer, created Liz Claiborne, Incorporated. Liz would head the design team, Art would be in charge of operations, and Leonard would work the production side. In the beginning, Liz was the salesperson for the company. Looking for feedback, Liz would present merchandise and sketches to potential and experienced buyers. She wanted the truth. She found it: price. (Ortenberg, page 247-251) The foundation of Liz Claiborne, Inc. would be created upon the idea of comfortable, easy-to-match separates. Although a simple concept â€Å"women should not have to spend a fortune to look good,† (Hayes) the notion revolutionized the way woman presented themselves in the workplace. The company made $2 million in sales its first year and went public in 1981. (need citation-Fortune 500?) Liz Claiborne, Inc. became the first company founded by a woman to make the Fortune 500 in 1986. (need citation-Fortune 500?) Liz Claiborne had her own sense of design, but she also had her own theories on management style. Liz emphasized equality in the workforce. According to Hayes, she thought with the team in mind and fostered their enthusiasm. (Hayes) Liz was also geared to teach techniques. She loved to teach through demonstrating. She thought of her work force as family. She believed good teachers and good programs involved good parents. According to Ortenberg, Liz and Art thought of themselves as the parents of the company. (Ortenberg page 37) Towards the end of her reign in 1989, Liz felt she was too far away from the actual process and could not make accurate management decisions. Therefore, she resigned as manager in 1989. Liz Claiborne was highly regarded in the fashion industry. Her success was marked in 1990 and 1991 with many awards and recognitions, including induction into the U.S. Business Hall of Fame and the Marketing Hall of Fame. She also received an honorary doctorate from the Rhode Island School of Design. (Ortenberg page 145-152) According to Ortenberg, this was the â€Å"highest point of Liz’s professional life.† (Ortenberg page 147) In her life after the company, Liz was an avid conversationalist. She took part in and donated too many wildlife-conservation groups. To date, Liz and Art’s foundation has given away $40 million to wildlife grants. (Johnson) In 2007, Anne Elisabeth Jane â€Å"Liz† Claiborne, fashion icon and industry revolutionary, lost her ten year battle to cancer. Following her death, she was awarded a plaque on the Fashion Walk of Hall of Fame in 2008. Liz was a leader that understood the beauty behind the design of her clothes. More importantly, Liz Claiborne understood the beauty behind the design of life and the people we share it with. III. Analysis of Leadership Liz Claiborne had her own sense of design, but she also had her own theories on management style. In the following section, the leadership approaches Liz Claiborne used will be discussed. In addition, the least descriptive and the most descriptive theory will be outlined and supported. A. Skills Approach The skills approach is the idea leadership is based upon capabilities that can be learned and developed. The skills based concept describes what a leader does. Skills are important because leaders must be able to communicate their vision and effectively accumulate and structure information to facilitate problem solving and performance. Mumford, Campion and Morgeson (2007) examine leadership based on cognitive, interpersonal, business, and strategic skill. In addition to the four capabilities, different levels of management require different levels of skill. For example, upper level management positions require more strategy skills than lower level management. (Kalargyrou) As Liz took an upper-level position of power within the company, she grew out of her task oriented comfort zone. Liz thought as a designer, â€Å"The further one removes oneself from the actual work, the less value one adds to that work.† (Ortenberg, page 151) Towards the end of her management days, Liz had come to a point where she was not gaining more knowledge and developing herself as strategic partner. The company was developing into a new environment around her. It was not the family size that she had once known. When she realized the weakness in her leadership approach, she retired from the upper level management position at the company. B. Style Approach Leadership can be separated into two types of leadership behaviors: task behaviors and relationship behaviors. Task behavior focuses on the production factor of the organization. Task behaviors are also concerned with the technical aspect of how duties are performed. Relationship behavior is geared towards the social awareness of the organization. It is the concern for the people of the organization. By combining different levels of each of the styles, various leadership styles can be formed. In The Relationship Between Paternalistic and Leadership and Organizational Commitment: Investigating the Role of Climate Regarding Ethics, the geru takes in a chela that is helpless and dependent. The guru recognizes it is his goal to nurture and develop the chela into a confident teacher. He encourages the chela to ask questions. By empowering the chela, the guru leads his disciple to success. Much like the guru, Liz Claiborne took on a nurturing and guiding role within in company. In this aspect, Liz takes on a paternalistic/maternalistic view of leadership. She considered her team a family, where she and Art Ortenberg were the parents. (Ortenberg) Liz encouraged her team to ask questions and lent her experience to help develop them into better designers. Liz used task behaviors to teach her subordinates and relationship behaviors to cultivate a learning and family-like environment. C. Contingency To effective lead subordinates, a leader must have the appropriate styles contingent upon the situation. The effectiveness is dependent upon the leader’s style and how it interacts in situations that are favorable to the leader. (Cruz, Nunez & Pinheiro) Leaders are primarily motivated by the tasks and relationships. Fiedler’s theory takes those motivations and applies them to situational variables. (Cruz, Nunez & Pinheiro) Three key components to the Least Preferred Coworker Scale (LPC) are the leaders/members relationship, the task structure, and the position of authority. (Cruz, Nunez & Pinheiro) Liz Claiborne had close relationships with her subordinates when she first started up the company. She had hired Nancy, a pattern maker. Nancy respected and had confidence in Liz’s position. Liz was the only designer at the time and had full control over the task structure in the beginning. Liz had maximum influence over her company. Therefore, she was task oriented and had a low LPC. As her company grew and her lack of control over the design process diminished, Liz Claiborne should have molded herself into a stronger, relationship-oriented leader. Because she did not adjust her leadership style based on the situation and of the company and what it need for growth, Liz Claiborne was not as an efficient leader towards the end of her time as CEO of Liz Claiborne, Inc. An important stressor is that the contingency theory allows for a leader not to be effective in all situations. (Northouse 2007) Liz was more efficient she was working in a one-on-one, task oriented environment. When Liz was taken away from a task oriented environment, she lost the structure that made her the career woman she started out as. D. Transformational Leadership Transformational leadership is a process between the leader and follower. Leaders motivate followers to strive to a higher level of achievement. In doing so, the follower is transformed. The first component of transformational leadership (TFL) is idealized influence. (Phipps, Prieto, Verma) Liz Claiborne inspired women through her leadership. She was a role model that many women could look up to. The second component of TFL is inspirational motivation. (Phipps) Liz had fought through adversity growing up and had still com out on top. She wanted to empower woman through clothing. Being designers and customers, many of her followers believed in her vision. The third component of transformational leadership is intellectual stimulation. (Phipps) According to Hayes, she always encourages employees to challenge themselves. Liz would conduct weekly meetings to spark new ideas. She loved to teach, and in doing so encouraged the promotion of many female designers. (Hayes) The fourth and final component of TFL is individualized consideration. Liz individualized the followers’ needs and would focus on their personal development. She loved to teach, and in doing so encouraged the promotion of many female designers. Was a transformational leader in and out of the business. Transformational leadership is most descriptive of Liz’s leadership style. She used transformational leadership in her company to promote organizational performance and employee motivation. She met upheld the standards of the components of the theory. It is the author’s belief that the transformational leadership approach Liz Claiborne took with the company led to her success as a business leader. IV. Conclusions Liz Claiborne’s determination and life experiences as an early adult and child helped shape her into a great business leader. Thanks to the encouragement in the development of her love and eye for art, she had the drive to follow her dreams to be a fashion designer. Struggling to reach the top as a single mother, made her a great leader because she could later on relate to her demographic of consumers and the followers she would one day lead in her company. Liz had her leadership ups-and-downs in the latter part of her management, but she knew when she was out of her scope. As a strong and determined woman, Liz Claiborne’s legacy will live on in the fashion industry as a leader who transformed the industry of women’s fashion design.

Performing a Business Impact Analysis for an IT Infrastructure Essay

Overview Answer the following questions, specific to the creation and focus of Business Impact Analysis as well as BCP documentation. Lab Assessment Questions & Answers 1 What is the goal and purpose of a BIA? To identify which business units, operations, and processes are crucial to the survival of the business. 2 Why is a business impact analysis (BIA) an important first step in defining a business continuity plan (BCP)? BIA identifies what is crucial which sets the path for what will be included in the BCP. 3 How do risk management and risk assessment relate to a business impact analysis for an IT infrastructure? Risk Management/Risk Assessment identify risks/vulnerabilities to the 7 domains of an IT infrastructure. BIA is basically doing the same thing but at the entire organization level. 4 True or False – If the Recovery Point Objective (RPO) metric does not equal the Recovery Time Objective (RTO), you may potentially lose data or not have data backed-up to recover. This represents a gap in potential lost or unrecoverable data. False 5 What questions would you have for executive management prior to finalizing a BIA report? What is the Maximum Acceptable Outage of a specific server or service? What are some critical business functions? What are the recovery objectives? 6 How does a BCP help mitigate risk? Mitigates risk by ensuring the organization is better prepared for disasters. 7 What kind of risk does a BCP help mitigate? Â  It is mitigating the risk of disaster that either destroys the server or building the server is in. 8 If you have business liability insurance, asset replacement insurance, and natural disaster insurance, do you still need a BCP or DRP? Why or why not? Yes you still need a BCP/DRP as insurance will reimburse you money to help rebuild, but they cannot provide you company data and that is what is needed for survivability. 9 What does a BIA help define for a BCP? Defines what systems and services are critical to the survival of an organization. 10 Who should participate in the development of BCP within an organization? IT Personnel and top level management. 11 Why does disaster planning and disaster recovery belong in a BCP? BCP ensures that the entire business can continue to operate in the event of a disruption, this includes disaster planning and recovery as loss of systems or services affects the organization. 12 What is the purpose of having documented IT system, application, and data recovery procedures and steps? So in the event something happens IT is not scrambling to try and figure out what to do. They set clear guidelines and instructions on what to do and when. If this is not clearly documented the RTO could be impacted which will result in UNHAPPY management and possible loss of revenue. 13 Why must you include testing of the plan in your BCP? Having a BCP is great but testing it proves that it works. You would not want to be in a situation when you need to failover and it is not working and this could have been resolved prior to the actual outage if it was tested. 14 How often should you update your BCP document? This should be updated at a minimum annually, semi-annually is probably a better target to shoot for.