FIFA World Cup Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

FIFA World Cup - Essay Example The global supervision body chose Uruguay as the host state for celebrating the FIFA competition for men. However, it is only the year 1942 and 1946 whereby the FIFA was not held because of the WWII. Although Sir Thomas Trophy is at times recognized as the First World Trophy; the 1930 World Cup is one of the certified football competition recognized as the First World Cup. The earlier host countries for FIFA World Cup were given to those countries that participated in the FIFA congress, but choosing the location had disruptive issues. Although the first international football team was played first in the year 1872, in Glasgow, Jules Rimet came with the ideas of FIFA World Cup in 1928; hence marked the first written international football tournament. The historical background for World Cup can be traced back in 1928 when Jules Rimet, the president of FIFA decided to establish the global football competition for men. Although the first international football team was played first in the year 1872, in Glasgow, Jules Rimet came with the ideas of FIFA World Cup, hence marked the first written international football match (FIFA World Cup, 2013). The first FIFA began in Uruguay, which was chosen as the host nation; thus, the final competition of only thirteen teams played for the final World Cup. The world Cup has qualified effectively since the first edition of the international football events. This international football team has significantly attracted many nations; thus, there are currently 32 teams in the final tournament. These squads have proceeded by a two-year qualifying method that involves almost 200 teams from across the globe. Scotland and England became the earliest national football teams to participate in the worldwide football tournament that occurred in Glasgow, in the year 1872. However, the events rarely took place outside the Great Britain during this period. The

System Evaluation Essay Example for Free

System Evaluation Essay Netflix is an internet TV company that produces the highest quality TV shows and movies for its viewers. Given that it contains hundreds and even thousands of movies and TV shows on its server, how does it remain to be one of the fastest? Netflix is using a cloud based system that has drastically changed its organization over the years. Netflix is by far one of the biggest cloud based services in the IT field. In the past, Netflix has used some of its services with Amazon. It was using different servers and it was quite primitive. Finally, Netflix decided to contact Amazon and decided to move its entire technology system to Amazons Web Services. Netflix migrated from a primitive SCM based library management system, to a system that only requires a small team to manage a giant pool of data. The business requirements that drove the systems initial development is to improve the availability and reliability of the data in Netflix. Netflix mission is to always find a problem of any outages and to make sure the roots of them are found and fixed. Detecting issues before customers find them and fixing them automatically. The purpose for Netflix is to deliver a fast paced and reliable service. According to Kevin McEntee, who is Netflixs vice president in engineering, Netflix switched to a cloud computing system in order to focus their innovation around finding movies, rather than building bigger data centers. Netflix needs a systems that can deliver high quality streaming videos to customers all over the world. Cloud computing is a low cost system that doesnt need different servers to work on. With cloud computing, there is no need for waiting weeks on a server to be delivered. Netflix was able to update their system within under six months. This system allows hundreds and even thousands of servers to be used within minutes without having to talk to administrators. With Amazon Web Services, it gives Netflix the ability to bring massive amounts of capacity online in a small amount of time. In this system, it has a set of cloud  computing services that helps to build applications as well. These include Web/Mobile Applications, Big Data, Backup/Storage, Enterprise Applications and more. Some of the tools that Netflixs system includes is the Simian Army. The Simian Army is a series of tools that tests the cloud deployment by taking down certain systems. This system is bringing Netflix a new name in the technology world. It is inventing an entire new field of computer science in order for people to watch movies and TV shows on their TV or devices. The system brings the company benefits by having other companies using Netflixs products in their own cloud computing systems. With the cloud computing system, this will allow Netflix to deliver television-style programming over the internet and develop more technology to support its big System Evaluation 3 transition. In the upcoming years, Internet TV will replace regular TV. It is going to grow increasingly over the years and Netflix will be the leading company. Netflix has many plans in the future for developing its cloud based system. Adrian Cockcroft, Netflixs cloud architect, wants to explore the use of other clouds. Although nothing compares to Amazons Web Services, he still continues to explore all options. His goal in the future is to run Netflix completely from a cloud computing system. Netflix plans to expand its system so it can provide its customers with content and the service will get better. In conclusion, Netflix is using this cloud computing system to ensure that their customers receive the fastest and highest quality of videos. This system is low cost and saves the company a significant amount of money in the long run. It gives a massive amount of capacity online for the company in which gives more resources and flexibility to the consumers. This system is by far a fast paced server that uses many other servers within minutes. It also allows the team working with the system to work on it more frequently. Amazon Web Services brings Netflix into an entire new ball park and is leading the company into the upcoming years as the biggest and most successful cloud based system. References http://www.zdnet.com/the-biggest-cloud-app-of-all-netflix-7000014298/ http://www.linkedin.com/jobs2/view/7164182?trk=jobs_search_public_seo_page http://aws.amazon.com/what-is-cloud-computing/ http://www.itworld.com/cloud-computing/355844/netflix-revolutionizing-computer-just-serve-you-movies

Point of View in Eudora Welty’s A Visit of Charity Essay -- Visit Char

Point of View in Eudora Welty’s A Visit of Charity   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Every now and then point of view is worth writing about, because only every now and then is point of view actually seriously considered. In Eudora Welty’s â€Å"A Visit of Charity,† the third-person limited point of view of the little girl, Marian—her self-consciousness, descriptions, and fear—exactly portray what a little girl might experience in a nursing home.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To Marian, this is probably the first time in a nursing home. She is there simply because she wants to gain points; when asked who she would like to visit, Marian simply states, â€Å"any of them will do.† She brought flowers simply because they added a point, and hid her apple outside rather than have it accidentally considered to be a gift. Marian is a very self-conscious girl; she is deftly aware of all the point values associated with the visit and is wearing the same cap that â€Å"all the little girls were wearing that year.† While actually visiting the ladies, she is very afraid, as a young girl might be in a strange place, but is still mindful of her own affairs ...

Hellen Nellie Mcclung: A Canadian Feminist :: essays research papers fc

Hellen Nellie McClung: A Canadian Feminist Helen "Nellie" Laetitia Mooney was born October 20, 1873 in a log cabin on Garafraxa Road, two kilometers from Chatsworth, Ontario. She and her family moved to Manitoba when she was six years old. One of Nellie's best influences was her mother. Her family's influence was no doubt the reason she became an activist. Her mother thought that every child had the right to an education, and her whole family encouraged her to learn all she could. (9, Wright) Nellie at age ten, went to school at Northfield School. This is where her education started. Nellie's dream was to be a teacher like her sister Hannah. Teaching was one of the few jobs open to women. She started her 'voyage' at age fifteen by passing the Second Class Teachers' Examination. She went on to earn a higher teaching certificate at Winnipeg Collegiate in 1893. She went on to teach at Hazel Public School near Manitou, Manitoba. We study Nellie McClung because she was an internationally celebrated feminist and social activist. Her success as a platform speaker was legendary. Her earliest success was achieved as a writer, and during her lengthy career she authored four novels, two novellas, three collections of short stories, a two- volume autobiography and various collections of speeches, articles and wartime writing, to a total of sixteen volumes. Two of her most famous books are: Clearing In The West and The Stream Runs Fast. All this served as a "pulpit" from which McClung could preach her gospel of feminist activism and social transformation. She was convinced that God's intention for creation was a "Fair Deal" for everyone; and that Canada, particularly the prairie West, was a perfect place to begin to bring that about. Women's suffrage, temperance and the ordination of women were keystones in the battle - engaged. In contrast to contemporary stereotypes, with a wit and compelling humor that won over enemies as it delighted her allies. Nellie was a curious girl, she was always asking questions. This was not commonly seen among girls in her time. As a small child she would want to participate in sports with the boys, although she was always told she wasn't allowed. "I was hoping there would be a race for girls under ten, or that girls might enter with the boys. But the whole question of girls competing in races was frowned on. Skirts would fly upward and legs would show! And it was not nice for little girls, or big ones either, to show their legs."(2, Wright) As many great philosophers do, Nellie would always ask: Why?

Banking System of China Essay

The Chinese banking system is said to be undergoing some tremendous change in the wake of the emergence of China as a major player in the global economy. This is so after several years of state ownership and communism that was so prevalent in the country. The reforms in the Chinese banking system commenced in the 1980’s to date. The structure of the Chinese banking system initially was monolithic with the People’s Bank of China being the only bank allowed to do banking business in the country as its Central Bank. But this changed in the early 1980’s when the Chinese government allowed some state owned banks that were specialized to start doing banking businesses and taking deposits. The banks licensed included: Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. This were the pioneer specialized banks in China and in 1994, there was the establishment of new banks whose purpose was policy specific lik e the China Development Bank, Export Import Bank of China and the China Development Bank CITATION Cla14 l 1033 (Claessens & Kodres, 2014). These banks have a varying ownership degree by the public that was done through the initial public offers but despite this, the majority shareholder of these banks is still the Chinese government. Several joint stock commercial banks and city c commercial banks have been licensed to operate in China. The government of China has also licensed banks that are dedicated to develop the rural centers of China. Foreign banks have also been allowed to operate in China. As of 2010, the total of the assets of the Chinese banking system were 14 trillion dollars. The four specialized banks in China at that time controlled 48 percent of these assets. The main regulatory body that controls the banking system is the CBRC (China Banking Regulatory Commission) that is charged with the responsibility of making rules and regulation of China banks CITATION Loo13 l 1033 (Looney, 2013). The CBRC is in charge of oversight and collects banking statistics to be used in the process of approval of bank expansion. It also goes a long way in solving the potential solvency and liquidity issues that might trouble banks. This People’s Bank of China while acting as China’s Central bank has quite an authority over the Chinese banking system. This includes the typical role played by the central bank of representation on international monetary forums and maintenance of monetary policy. Its other roles are the reduction of risk and promotion of financial stabilit y of the system. The PBC is also responsible lending regulation and the exchange of foreign currency between banks. It supervises settlement and payment system in the country. The Chinese banking system does not consist of a deposit insurance where the depositors are protected from the loss of their funds in case the banks get wound up. However reforms are underway to ensure that Chinese depositors are able to get insured for their deposits. In the beginning of 2009, the Chinese government encouraged a large credit boom in order to offset the possible effects of the global financial crisis. The larger part of this credit was used to finance infrastructure and construction of real estate which helped China to grow by forty five percent between 2008 and 2013. At the same time, the International Monetary Fund’s credit reports increase to 200 percent with much of it coming from bonds, loans and non-bank financing equivalent to 13 trillion dollars. Out of the 200 percent increase, non-bank financing accounted for two thirds of the total CITATION Loo13 l 1033 (Looney, 2013). This meant that the flow of credit was not from regulated Chinese banks but from Chinese financial institutions. The Chinese shadow banking system which has evolved over this period comprises of several layers which include capital markets, non-banking financial institutions and the informal sector. Review of Literature Globalization is a multifaceted term and deals with all the social, political and economic issues in the developed and developing world. The world has seen many changes in the form of innovation, technological advancements and economic prosperity. One of the major shifts in the current era has been the creation of a world with no boundary. This has resulted into integration of technology and modernization of production and working methods. This paper presents an in depth analysis on determining who have benefited from globalization in China. The term ‘globalization’ has been a concept which has integrated in the world of current times. Globalization pertains to the growing relationships of people, culture, and economic activity on the global level. The term is often utilized to refer to the perspective of economic globalization: it is the production and distribution of the services and goods on the global platform and takes place with the help of the reduced obstacles of international trade. These trade barriers include the export fees, tariffs, and import quotas, and also comprise of the free movement of investment and capital in the entire world. There are many ways countries that have benefited from globalization in China CITATION Cla14 l 1033 (Claessens & Kodres, 2014). The impacts of trade brought by globalization could be seen by the diffusion of the art of glass making in China from Western. Religious ideology spread quickly in all directions through globalization. Mercantilism for instance spread fro m the West to the East through globalization. The easy flow of ideas, art and culture resulted in economic, cultural and social vibrancy that was unmatched anywhere else in the world. Globalization has made China’s economy the fastest growing economy with an average of 9 percent of growth in the last three decades. China has the largest volume of goods imported and exported throughout the global market. Provinces at the coasts of China are more industrialized and developed than those in the hinterland. It is for this reason that China has a substantial influence on the world economy because of the large volume of trade. The most valuable sector of China’s economy is industry and agriculture CITATION Moo99 l 1033 (Moore, 1999). The Agricultural output has been adversely affected by erratic and sporadic weather of East Asia. The industrial sector in China has advanced more than the agricultural sector in China because of incomes, technology and labor productivity. The differences in the two sectors of the economy are the reason for the social, economic and cultural disparity between the urban and rural areas. China is the leading producer of mineral an d industrial products like coal and oil. According to statistics, China has achieved a growth level of 10.9%, which is quite a massive growth. With this rapid growth, people are now quite able to achieve higher living standards which can be observed in China where people can now be more luxurious in the goods they buy over the inferior ones CITATION Loo13 l 1033 (Looney, 2013). The government of China can now provide timely and more efficient services for everyone’s wellbeing. This is as a result of more people being able to pay their taxes as there are more employment opportunities. The availability of more revenue has enabled them to improve on the medical healthcare facilities and education. This not only has private benefit, but a healthy population can be more productive due to the increased life expectancy. With increasing globalization, Western Europe established favorable for trade and entrepreneurship through its educated workforce working in China. The development of infrastructural linkages in China favors trading in the region. This process has enhanced the rate of international trade of different services and goods. The production processes have been broken down into various stages separated by the geographical boundaries and is conducted on large scale. Moreover, an enormous expansion in the manufacturing exports has occurred from many developing countries. All these factors have created new opportunities and possibilities for the developing regions of the world.   For instance, during 1900s, the Japan and China experienced an increasing market share while the rest of the world witnessed the export share to be decreasing. China’s globalization has also enhanced the participation of the developing world in FDI expansion. Due to the boosting of financial expansion in the industrial world, the developing nations have also obtained a platform to give their contributions in the financial world and enjoy the advantages of modern concepts CITATION Cla14 l 1033 (Claessens & Kodres, 2014). Globalization in China has encouraged increased flight of capital and ideas to other countries like Korea and Japan which have increased their inventiveness and expertise through the hiring of fresh and innovative human resources from the developed nations. Moreover, they are able to avail the opportunities of investing in the developed regions of the world as well as attracting newer investments from other parts of the world CITATION Yen14 l 1033 (Yen, Lai, & Wang, 2014). China’s globalization has in turn influenced the neighboring countries. India for instance has picked a few lessons from China and has adopted a more open economy in the process. This has in the process transformed the nation as regards to development and creation of opportunities in the global scale for most multi-national companies. Globalization in China has resulted in an increased level of trade of China with other countries that are in different parts of the globe. Its recent growth has led to the revi val of Japan’s economy and in the process saving them from recession thus averting a serious global downturn. With the huge population figures in China, it has provided markets for American companies and their products. This has led to the flow of income from the U. S to China. The exported cheap products that are produced in the US has resulted in the increase of job opportunities thus an improvement of the living standards of the Americans and other countries nationals who are in active trade with China. With globalization China has been able to export some of its products to markets like the U.S thus managing to keep the level of inflation and interest rates down in the process prolonging the economic boom in America CITATION Cla14 l 1033 (Claessens & Kodres, 2014). The success of globalization in China has led to decreased cases of wars and conflict in the globe. China is often a quiet participant in global conflict and its lack of interest in conflict has been beneficial to the global stage. With globalization it has managed to steer away from instances of tug of wars with the other global super powers. It does not sponsor insurgencies in conflict prone areas like the Middle East Asia and Latin America unlike other superpowers. It has by all means through globalization supported the global financial institutions like the IMF in assisting the poor CITATION Moo99 l 1033 (Moore, 1999). As a result of this, third world countries have benefited the most from China’ s generosity as regards to funding and sponsoring of development projects in their countries. In recent time China has been an active participant in the African scene f infrastructure with most of the projects in these countries being sponsored and conducted by China. This in esse nce shows Africa as the direct benefactor of globalization in China. China has been able to provide loans to these countries and in the process has strengthened ties with these nations. The concept of globalization has also proven to be a friend to the developing world by providing it the chances to stand in the line of competitors and thus, aim on attaining efficiency and competitive advantage Methodology The non-banking financial institutions constitute the larger part and they are subject to regulatory oversight. The oversight involves various degrees that include direct loans for surfeit funds from companies to trade credit or other borrowers, wealth management products and trust companies, pawn shops, micro credit providers, over 3000 private and equity providers partly funded by private investors, consumer credit institutions, and financial guarantors to finance companies. The capital markets allow institutional investors and insurance companies to by debt and equity securities. The informal sector poses as a major risk for the Chinese economy because it involves direct lending between secretive and individual lending which is often conducted by illegal loan sharks like back lane bankers and unrestrained capitalists who offer loans at high interests to small business enterprises. What drives this tremendous growth of the Chinese shadow banking system is the regulation and structu re of the country’s financial system. China’s credit markets is dominated by four major banks that are controlled by the state and focus on lending to government associated firms , enterprises owned by the state and projects with official sanctions. This makes it quite difficult for other businesses to gain access to bank credit which triggers shadow banking to fill this gap. This exemplifies a popular saying in Chinese culture which asserts that’ countermeasures come from below while policies come from above. There is immense risk that is associated China’s shadow banking system which questions the longevity of the Chinese financial welfare. Although it may be difficult to ascertain the exact size of the Chinese shadow banking system, it is evidently growing rapidly and accounts for approximately 70 to 100 percent of the country’ GDP CITATION Yen14 l 1033 (Yen, Lai, & Wang, 2014). A major problem is that most of the financial guarantors and trust companies of the Chinese shadow banking system often lack enough capital. This forces them into an average leverage that is twenty times their worth given that most of the investments are of high nature. More so, the detail as to what exactly the investor will use the funds for is not clear. There is ambiguity regarding how to enforce security interests and due diligence by the investment enterprise or sponsor and the rights if the investor and borrower. The controls and oversight of the shadow banking system are weak since it operates with regulations that are limited. Main Issues/ Findings The share of lending by Chinese banks has now decreased from ninety percent over the past ten year to fifty percent showing how much the Chinese economy now relies on the shadow banking system as a vital financial source. This has mostly affected the local governments, small and medium sized enterprises and property companies. This interconnection between conventional banking systems and the shadow banking system lead to the creation of moral hazards and additional risk based on regulatory reasons CITATION Loo13 l 1033 (Looney, 2013). The banks often use the shadow banking system when shifting loan assets from their window financial statements and balance sheets for investors and regulators. For example, when Chinese banks are not able to lend funds at high interests to companies, they use Wealth Management Products and Trust Companies. They also create products of investment for investors looking for higher returns thereby acting as an intermediate between borrowers and savers Chine se banks has thus used shadow banking investment products like Security Brokers and Trust Companies to maintain the earnings and market share through the commissions and fees from the products. Currently, there has been an increase on the number of Wealth Management Products issued by Chinese banks has increased from roughly 100 billion dollars to 3 trillion dollars CITATION Kuh12 l 1033 (Kuhn & Yang, 2012). Shadow banking has caused uneven credit quality of many borrowers in the market. This is because of the variability in collateral used to secure loans. Although most of the wealth management products are invested as bond markets, interbank deposits and money markets whose large proportion is secured through real estate. The problem with real estate is that the investors are highly vulnerable to losses because property values fluctuate every now and then. This exposes them to high negative risk. There are also other risky forms of collateral in shadow banking which include invaluable commodities and industry machinery and other exotic forms like graveyards that also expose businesses to risk. Most importantly is the fact that the collaterals pledged may not even be in existence CITATION Cla14 l 1033 (Claessens & Kodres, 2014). A good example is that of Wealth Management Product the Golden Elephant Number 38 which was secured by a deserted housing estate located in rice filed within th e Jiangxi Province of China. This Wealth Management Product offered 7.2 percent to its investors on an annual basis. The collaterals used also entail substantial mismatches whereby long term assets are financed by short term funds that do not generate any income. This poses a liquidity crisis for the financial system and the conduit vehicles which face constant periodic payments and other refinance requirements. This is evidenced by the huge 660 billion dollars’ worth of trust products that have matured as of 2014. The linkages between bank and shadow banking system in China are quite complex in nature. There are different transactions between the different shadow banking institutions. China growing concern over the debt accrued is complicated by the fact that there has been an increase in the rate of borrowing by most of its local government and the important role the shadow banking system plays in this economy. This is quite undermines the Chinese entrepreneurial spirit and highlights the huge problems in China’s system of finance. The relaxation measures taken by the central government in the wake of 2007/2008 financial crisis led to increased government expenditure in an endeavor to increase economic activity. The legal limitation is that the local governments in China are not allowed to ask for any form of funding or rather borrowing. This was after the creation of Urban Development Investment Companies (UDIC) that was allowed to ask for any form of funding the local government need. Ideally, UDIC’s are allowed to ask for funding from banks but the recent action by banks to reduce on loans led them to borrow from the shadow banking system. This has thus resulted in the local banks being left in the dark as there are disputes on the exact figure of borrowings made despite the growing level of scrutiny revolving the issue CITATION Loo13 l 1033 (Looney, 2013). There has been an increased rate of borrowing, misappropriation of funds and servicing of debts due to prices of property increasing in China. The growing concern by the lenders is more likely to reduce the availability of credit and as a result leading to a restrained cash flow. It can be said that the rise of the shadow banking has emerged from the structured financial system that is regulated. The limited access to funds and credit in bank has led to the emergence of shadow banking as the alternative solution to access credit. The regulation by the government in terms of deposits and interest rates has contributed majorly to the growth of shadow banking. The loss of purchasing power by consumers has led them to opt for the high interest rates offered by shadow banks CITATION Cla14 l 1033 (Claessens & Kodres, 2014). The Chinese central government has been on the offence through curtailing of expansion of credit through making reduction in loan quotas thus to a large extend limiting lending to certain sectors in the long run encouraging the growth of shadow banking. The shadow banking system is multi-faceted where there is lending in the informal sector say between individuals and underground lending through shylocks who offer high rates of interest on loans to small businesses. This can be seen as some form of harassment to the small businesses where they incur the high costs of interest rates charged to them by this shadow banking system. The problems by this shadow banking system are aggravated by the fact that this shadow banking system in China is made up of non-banking financial institutions like leasing companies, finance companies and guarantors that are supposed to be regulated. The dominating products in the non-banking institution sector are wealth management products. These trust companies thrive in financing riskier transactions and borrowers who banks cannot do business with because of the strict regulations that come with them. These companies raise money from investors who then invest in securities and loans. The attractions of such investments are the high returns in comparison to bank deposits. The financing of local government projects of infrastructure come from trust funds because of the reluctance of the Central bank to limit the local government financing. A common feature of China’s shadow banking is the working relationship they have with banks. The banks act as an agent in loan from one financial institution to another. Short term government debts interest is administered by the respective Central bank of that particular country. This is so because the sole role of the Central government is the maintenance of economic growth and price stability CITATION Yen14 l 1033 (Yen, Lai, & Wang, 2014). With lower interest rates then there is economic growth this is because of the affordability of credit as the people are able to service their loans and debts at low costs. From Statistics of the Chinese Central Bank, there has been a steady decline and rise in the interest rate in China for the last decade. This could be attributed to the public outcry in the country calling for effective and efficient monetary policy measures by their respective departments of finance. These measures have thus maintained the interest rates to a bare min imum thus enabling the stable economic growth in China. The GDP growth rate figures are an indication of the wealth produced per capita in an economy. This then determines the levels of foreign direct investment that are attracted to an economy. A high GDP and growth rate like that of China shows a growing economy thus a high attraction rate for investors in the country CITATION Loo13 l 1033 (Looney, 2013). The high inflation rate in China erodes the purchasing power of the consumers. The inflation rate of China serves as an economic indicator of the economic direction of the country except for special global cases like Japan that despite low and negative inflation rates show no growth rate. ConclusionFrom this analysis therefore, it is clear that the economic policies and issues of the Chinese economy is determined by various economic variables provided by the Central Bank of China which plays a vital role to ensure the full realization of the economic vision. The central bank’s monetary role and the governments’ fiscal policy role determine the economic development. With a proper and effective economic policies then the economic development agendas can be easily arrived atCITATION nte06 l 1033 (International Monetary Fund, 2006). Shadow banking has grown in China and it is now rivaling conventional banking systems and this has made the country a focal point regarding macroeconomic attention. There is a lot of speculation as to whether or not China’s economy will slow down and eventually cause critical financial upshot as a result of shadow banking CITATION Cla14 l 1033 (Claessens & Kodres, 2014). Consequently, this has become a serious issue that has gained global concern. In the beginning of 2009, the Chinese government encouraged a large credit boom in order to offset the possible effects of the global financial crisis. The larger part of this credit was used to finance infrastructure and construction of real estate which helped China to grow by forty five percent between 2008 and 2013. References Claessens, S., & Kodres, L. E. (2014). The Regulatory Responses to the Global Financial Crisis: Some Uncomfortable Questions. New York: International Monetary Fund. International Monetary Fund. (2006). Progress in China’s Banking Sector Reform: Has Bank †¦, Issues 2006-2071. Kuhn, R. L., & Yang, L. (2012). China’s Banking and Financial Markets: The Internal Research Report of the Chinese Government. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Looney, R. E. (2013). Handbook of Emerging Economies. New York: Routledge. Moore, T. G. (1999). China and Globalization. Asian Perspective, 65-85. Yen, J., Lai, K. K., & Wang, M. (2014). China’s Financial Markets: Issues and Opportunities. New York: Routledge. Source document

A Brief History of Venice, Italy

A Brief History of Venice, Italy Venice is a city in Italy, best known today for the many waterways which criss-cross through it. It has developed a romantic reputation built upon by countless movies, and thanks to one startling horror film has also evolved a darker atmosphere. The city has a history dating from the sixth century, and once wasnt just a city in a larger state: Venice was once one of the greatest trading powers in European history. Venice was the European end of the Silk Road trade route which moved goods all the way from China, and consequently was a cosmopolitan city, a true melting pot. The Origins of Venice Venice developed a creation myth that it was founded by people fleeing Troy, but it was probably formed in the sixth century C.E., when Italian refugees fleeing Lombard invaders camped on the islands in the Venice lagoon. There is evidence for a settlement in 600 C.E., and this grew, having its own bishopric by the end of the 7th century. The settlement soon had an outside ruler, an official appointed by the Byzantine Empire, which clung onto a part of Italy from a base in Ravenna. In 751, when the Lombards conquered Ravenna, the Byzantine dux became a Venetian Doge, appointed by the merchant families who had emerged in the town. Growth Into a Trading Power Over the next few centuries, Venice developed as a trading center, happy to do business with both the Islamic world as well as the Byzantine Empire, with whom they remained close. Indeed, in 992, Venice earned special trading rights with the empire in return for accepting Byzantine sovereignty again. The city grew richer, and independence was gained in 1082. However, they retained trading advantages with Byzantium by offering the use of their, now considerable, navy. The government also developed, the once dictatorial Doge supplemented by officials, then councils, and in 1144, Venice was first called a commune. Venice as Trading Empire The twelfth century saw Venice and the remainder of the Byzantine Empire engage in a series of trade wars, before the events of the early thirteenth century gave Venice the chance to establish a physical trading empire: Venice had agreed to transport a crusade to the Holy Land, but this became stuck when the Crusaders couldn’t pay. Then the heir of a deposed Byzantine emperor promised to pay Venice and convert to Latin Christianity if they put him on the throne. Venice supported this, but when he was returned and unable to pay/unwilling to convert, relationships soured and the new emperor was assassinated. The Crusaders then sieged, captured, and sacked Constantinople. Many treasures were removed by Venice, who claimed a part of the city, Crete, and large areas including parts of Greece, all of which became Venetian trading outposts in a large empire. Venice then warred with Genoa, a powerful Italian trading rival, and the struggle reached a turning point with the Battle of Chioggia in 1380, restricting Genoan trade. Others attacked Venice too, and the empire had to be defended. Meanwhile, the Doges’ power was being eroded by the nobility. After heavy discussion, in the fifteenth century, Venetian expansion targeted the Italian mainland with the capture of Vicenza, Verona, Padua, and Udine. This era, 1420–50, was arguably the high point of Venetian wealth and power. The population even sprang back after the Black Death, which often traveled along trade routes. The Decline of Venice Venice’s decline began in 1453, when Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks, whose expansion would threaten, and successfully seize, many of Venice’s eastern lands. In addition, Portuguese sailors had rounded Africa, opening another trading route to the east. Expansion in Italy also backfired when the pope organized the League of Cambrai to challenge Venice, defeating the city. Although the territory was regained, the loss of reputation was immense. Victories such as the Battle of Lepanto over the Turks in 1571 did not halt the decline. For a while, Venice successfully shifted focus, manufacturing more and promoting herself as the ideal, harmonious republic- a true blend of nations. When the pope placed Venice under a papal interdict in 1606 for, amongst other things, trying priests in a secular court, Venice won a victory for secular power by forcing him to back down. But across the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Venice declined, as other powers secured Atlantic and African trade routes, maritime powers like Britain and the Dutch. Venice’s seaborne empire was lost. End of the Republic The Venetian Republic came to an end in 1797, when Napoleon’s French army forced the city to agree to a new, pro-French, ‘democratic’ government; the city was looted of great artworks. Venice was briefly Austrian after a peace treaty with Napoleon, but became French again after the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805, and formed part of the short-lived Kingdom of Italy. The fall of Napoleon from power  saw Venice placed back under Austrian rule. Further decline set in, although 1846 saw Venice linked to the mainland for the first time, by a railway, and the number of tourists began to exceed the local population. There was brief independence in 1848–9 when revolution ousted Austria, but the latter empire crushed the rebels. British visitors began to speak of a city in decay. In the 1860s, Venice became part of the new Kingdom of Italy, where it remains to this day in the new Italian state, and arguments over to how best treat Venice’s architecture and buildings have produced conservation efforts that retain a great sense of atmosphere. Yet the population has fallen in halfsince the 1950s and flooding remains a problem.

Facing the problem of market positioning for Qatar Airways bran

Facing the problem of market positioning for Qatar Airways bran Introduction Statement of the problem The current research addresses the problem of positioning of corporate brand of Qatar Airways through strategies for improving customer satisfaction. This problem is significant since brand development and brand management encompass one of the important aspects for making an organization gain global competitive advantageAdvertising We will write a custom report sample on Facing the problem of market positioning for Qatar Airways bran specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Purpose of the study and delimitations Purpose of study The purpose of this study is to aid in resolution of the problem of determining ways of positioning the corporate brand of Qatar Airways through strategies for improving customer satisfaction. It seeks to draws knowledge from the body of literature on techniques of marketing research and their applications in solving marketing problems and formulating marketing strategies in helpi ng to resolve likely marketing problem of positioning the corporate brand image for Qatar Airways Limitation and delimitations In the quest to achieve this concern, this research has a major limitation since it uses a small sample size (34 respondents). However, this limitation is countered by random distribution of questionnaires to persons of different demographical characteristics so that the responses to questionnaires reflects general customer views about Qatar airways Theoretical perspective Research findings such as Wirtz and Chung Lee (2008) and Yelkur (2007) contend that customer satisfaction comprises one of the most important aspects for incorporation in the marketing planning strategies for organizations considering global growth plans as a measure for securing competitive advantage. Qatar airline is one of such companies Research hypotheses It is hypothesized that Qatar Airways has poorly positioned its corporate brand Image by building strong local customer relationshi ps, but insufficient customer relationships to global clientele. Various factors and variables may affect satisfaction of consumers depending on the industry within which a business operates. For the airline industry, it also hypothesized that independent variables such as product (which include services, quality and brand image) offered by Qatar Airways affect perceived satisfaction and hence customer satisfaction. Literature review Research on the best strategies for positioning cooperate brand of an organization has yielded huge body of literature on organizational brand inventories and brand elements to induce customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is a critical element of retention of existing clients for an organization coupled with attraction of new ones (Yelkur, 2007). Customers possessing good organizational reputation share it with other people. This aspect creates the urge amongst potential customers to experience the service or product offered by an organization. B rand inventories are aimed at availing comprehensive profile of the manner in which products coupled with services that are sold by a given organization are branded and marketed.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Hill and Ettenson (2005) note that profiling a product or a service â€Å"requires marketers to catalogue visually and in writing various products or services sold, the names, logos, symbols, characters, packaging, slogans, or other trademarks used† (p.86). Outcome of any product profile requires accuracy, high precision, comprehensibility, and reflective of the status of a product or service brand for a given organization. Brand inventories should highlight the brand elements utilized to build brand loyalty and the manner in which this goal is accomplished coupled with how it is reflected on any necessary marketing program. Qatar Airways’ com petitive brand profiling is done to unveil the probable points of difference coupled with points of parity. In these extents, brand’s inventory is valuable at Qatar Airways, as it helps in determining the platforms anchoring customer perceptions. A brand identifies and distinguishes an organization from other organizations even though two or more organizations offer similar products or services. Organizations not only sell products or charge for their services, but they also sell their brands (Hill Ettenson, 2005). A number of elements including the brand name, logo sounds, tagline, tastes, and scents among others identify brands (Hill Ettenson, 2005). The Qatar Airlines protects its brand name consisting of ‘Qatar Airways’ with the symbol (logo) of the Arabian Oryx. People living within the Arabian region are highly familiar with the animal. Any attempt to use a brand name possessing the Arabian Oryx symbol and the brand name ‘Qatar Airways’ amoun ts to a legal challenge by the organization. In a bid to enhance its brand identification and association, Qatar Airways uses the slogan ‘World’s 5 Star Airline’. The recognition of the extent to which an organization meets satisfaction of its customers is critical in aiding to channel the efforts of employees to meet the anticipated needs and perceptions of services provided. In this extent, marketing scholars such as Yelkur (2007) and Farris, Neil, and Pfeifer (2010) perceive customers’ satisfaction as entangling the dominant business strategy that may affect the profitability of an organization positively if it is cutely developed. Given this merit, it is significant for an organization to be in a position of developing metrics of measuring customers’ satisfaction and determine the marketing factors that help to induce the same (Farris, Neil, Pfeifer, 2010).Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Facing the problem of market positioning for Qatar Airways bran specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Some metrics measure customers’ satisfaction, but the applicability and appropriateness of any metric depend on the industry of operation of an organization. One of the metrics entangles the number and frequency of the complaints raised by clients (Farris, Neil, Pfeifer, 2010). However, this research does not adapt its research methodology to measure customer satisfactions for Qatar Airways via this way; rather, customers’ surveys through responses to questionnaires act as a resourceful way of measuring customers’ satisfaction. The focus of this research is not on measuring customers’ satisfaction. Rather, the measures are used to establish factors that may influence customers’ satisfaction. Marketing mix comprises one of such factors. After the establishment of an appropriate brand, the next phase of corporate brand positioning entails it s supporting. Holt and Quelch (2009) support this assertion and further add that for success of any brand, a means of supporting it to ensure that its preferences among customers do not fall when new competitors in the same industry emerge should be created. For Qatar Airways, brand promotion is a central component for supporting its brand. Promotion is done through various ways such as sponsorships. The main aim of collaborating with Barcelona FC in the 2013/2014 Spanish premier league season is to create a global image for the existence of the Qatar Airways brand. Through this partnership, Qatar Airways endeavors to display passion for its brand as being the best in the airline industry tantamount to that of FC Barcelona in the football industry. In the effort to access the perception of customers on the brand of an organization, brand exploratory is important. The concept refers to any research executed by an organization to garner information, which upon analysis, helps to give an indication of the manner in which customer feel or think about a given product or service and their associated classes of brand equity sources (Hill Ettenson, 2005). Conducting brand exploratory requires the execution of a number of preliminary activities. One of such activities entails conducting an interview to an organization’s personnel to acquire an understanding of manner in which they think coupled with determining their beliefs and perceptions about the brand (Hill Ettenson, 2005). Opinions accruing from the above interviews are normally diverse and they serve several functions in determining the manner in which consumers of a given product or service may be feeling or thinking about the same. Among such functions includes the generation of vital and informing ideas about products from an organization’s perspective and providing likelihoods for understanding any preconceived internal misconceptions and on inconsistencies on the way people internally percei ve the products and services (Hill Ettenson, 2005).Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This exercise is necessary since customers think about products that they consume depending on how the communications personnel within an organization portray the products (Farris, Neil, Pfeifer, 2010). However, even though it is important to unveil an organization’s internal inconsistencies and misconceptions about products, such an endeavor is not adequate to develop brand explorations fully. Conducting additional research on customers is necessary to establish how their own experiences with the products or services of an organization shape their thoughts and feeling about the products. This aspect is the central concern of brand exploratory, as a component of successful corporate brand positioning strategy at Qatar airlines addressed in this research. Methodology Research design A research can be designed as one of four main approaches, viz. qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods (pragmatic approach), and emancipator approach (participatory or advocacy approach). In thi s research, pragmatic approach is utilized. Freshwater, Sherwood, and Drury (2006) posit, â€Å"Pragmatic researchers grant themselves the freedom to use any of the methods, techniques, and procedures typically associated with quantitative or qualitative research† (p.295). The freedom of choice of method depends on the researchers’ perception and evaluation of methods that best suit the particular kind of research they are conducting. The best choice is the one that utilizes methodologies that complement one another. This aspect forms the basic logic for designing this research to use pragmatic approach deploying aspects of both quantitative and qualitative research. Population, sample, and participants Thirty-four (34) copies of questionnaires were distributed without selection of certain demographic characteristics of people that received the questionnaires. Rather, the respondent was required to indicate these characteristics in the questionnaires. The entire sample (34 people) answered all the questions in the questionnaires promptly. Hence, no questionnaire was rejected. Data collection instruments, variables, and measurements The research used questionnaire as the primary data collection tool. The independent variable was the impact of positioning of the Qatar airline product and services. Independent variable was customer response and prevalence to the positioned brand as is an indication of customers’ satisfaction, which is measured from the context of quantitative number of Qatar Airways’ customer perceptions and preferences on the product and services. Some questions requiring qualitative information were also used to help in the provision of data on specific perceptions about the products and services offered by Qatar Airways. Ten (10) questions were used to capture the aspects of customer satisfaction with the company’s product and services as shown in appendix 1 Data analysis procedures Data was analyzed through computations of percentages of responses for each question in the questionnaire. These results were then used to conduct an analysis of the brand positioning challenges likely to be encountered by Qatar Airways, which helps in the identification of areas that pose challenges in the positioning of the Qatar brand to correspond to its global growth strategy. Validity and reliability Quality research should possess several characteristics, which include credibility reliability, use of rigorous methods, and verification (Cohen Crabtree, 2008), validity, clarity, and coherence in reporting (Yardley, 2000) among others. Validity can both be internal and external. Validity entangles the â€Å"best approximation to the truth or falsity of proportions† (Rolfe, 2006, p.307). Validity and reliability in this research were enhanced by the choice of primary method for data collection (questionnaires) as a tool for ensuring that the research findings add significant knowledge to the body of knowledge (market research) that the research seeks to amplify. However, the sample was too small. The demographic characteristic of the sample are perhaps not exact representation of the population seeking service from Qatar Airlines, which poses challenges to the reliability and validity of the research. Nevertheless, given that the sample was small, it was possible for the researcher to administrate the process of filling the questionnaires so that ambiguity of the question was addresses. This move helped to improve both reliability and validity of the responses and hence research findings Data analysis, findings and discussion Table 1 below shows the findings obtained on administration of the questionnaires. Table1: Results for questionnaires for a sample of 34 respondents Responses Questions A B C Total response Gender 8 26 34 Age 26 4 4 34 Nationality 26 2 6 34 2- used Qatar airways 32 2 34 3- if yes 2 14 16 32 4- if the answer c 12 2 2 16 5- if other Turkish 1 6- depend on 5 2 2 7- depend on 6 0 8- raise concern 12 20 32 9- responses 6 6 12 6 6 12 4 4 8 Many routes, great schedule 4 10 30 4 34 Ninety-four percent (94 %) of the respondents had used Qatar Airways while 6% percent had not used it. While only one person (3%) prefers Turkish Airlines, 3% did not cite their preferred airline. This aspect indicates that some people are undecided on their preferred airline brand. It also shows that Turkish Airlines may become the biggest competitor. While deciding on the most appropriate strategy to position Qatar Airways to win these people, gender preferences and tastes for airline services play a significant role because most people who have used Qatar Airways are more likely to be women (76%) as opposed to men (24%). Nationality is another important demographic factor to consider when choosing brand-positioning strategy for Qatar Airways. Although the company seeks to grow its global courier capacity, the adaption of brand promotional strategies to meet local tastes should not be abandoned. Most people using the airways are Qatari (76%) compared to other people of the Middle Eastern nationality (6%). The low number of people from other Middle East nations using Qatar Airways suggests that the airline should position its brand as a regional courier. This strategy also needs to extend to global platforms as the company seeks to become a global courier as suggested by the low percentage of people from other nations (18%) using the airline. This positioning reflects well on the strategy of the company to position itself on a global scale through partnership with Barcelona FC in the 2013/2014 season. As at the time of conducting the research, the results show the ability of Qatar Airways to position its brand to young people, 18-28 year (76%) as compared to 29 -39 (12%) and 40 and above (12%). This aspect means that the company needs to adapt its services and produc ts to meet the needs of all customer age groups while attempting to become the world’s best courier. Customers are also more interested and satisfied by good flight experience (50%) and easiness of accessing booking and tickets (44%) than the cost of travelling. This realization explains why Turkish Airlines may not become the Qatar Airways’ near future competitor, as customers prefer it only on low cost basis, which is not an important factor in positioning an airline brand seeking to compete with Qatar Airways. Indeed, customers are not interested at all (0%) with flight experience. Customers define flight experience to encompass good entertainment (75%), as opposed to seating arrangements (12.5%) and on board customer experience (12.5%). This element means that Qatar Airlines will face the problem of marketing itself as the global best onboard entertainer. A major problem for Qatar Airways encompasses convincing its customers to express their concerns on areas where the company may need to improve to serve them better, as evidenced by 37.5% of people who have raised their concerns with the services and 63.5 % of those who have not. The media for collection of customer concerns should be hybrid in nature since 50% percent of persons raising concerns over the services and product of Qatar Airways prefers the Internet while 50 % prefers traditional means such as suggestion boxes and registering their concerns at the customer-service front desk. Customers are also happy when Qatar Airways responds to their concerns since this element may (50%), or may not (50 %) make them alter their air travel company. As the company works hard to positions itself as a customers’ needs and concerns centre Airways, many routes and schedule flexibility are important factors to consider when seeking to enhance customer satisfaction among 100 % of the customers who consider the current response mechanisms of Qatar Airway inappropriate. The establishment of dem otic or popular travel routes and positioning of the Qatar’s brad image as the best global leader in this extent remains the most important driver of Qatar Airlines success and marketing challenge. Recommendations and conclusion Summary of the research problem, objective, findings, and discussion The research’smain problem was the determination of ways of positioning the corporate brand of Qatar Airways through strategies for improving customer satisfaction. The objective encompassed the identification of mechanisms in which Qatar Airways can position and manage its brand to achieve global, regional, and local success. The findings indentified gender, nationality, and age demographic factors as important elements in facing the problem of brand positioning strategies focusing mainly in good on board customer experience (specifically good entertainment) and easiness of accessing booking and tickets while also capitalizing on increasing the number of flight routes and fle xibility in schedules. The discussion of the results treated this challenge to entail facing the problem of enhancing customer satisfaction with the product and services offered by Qatar Airways. Limitations Although the research indicates customers’ perception about the Qatar Airways, the research has some limitations. Questionnaires were administered to a sample of 34 respondents. No scientific method was applied to recruit this sample in a bid to ensure that it demographically reflected the population. A small sample size of 34 respondents also presents difficulties for construing into a perfect technique for marketing research or even a random sample. Ethical issues in the study In collecting primary data, addressing ethical concerns of the respondents is important. Respondents may be concerned about the intentions of seeking information from them. Another concern encompasses whether giving truthful and accurate information on their perceptions about an organization would lead to the victimization or any other unprecedented consequences. These ethical concerns were addressed by providing an explanation of the purposes of the data sought in the questionnaires in the first part of the questionnaire. The introduction and statement of the purpose of the questionnaire explained that Qatar Airways endeavors to develop a global brand by expanding its courier capacity and the number of routes. It also explained that in deriving its marketing planning, the company should get right a number of interrogatives based on its ability to gain competitive advantage in both Middle East domestic markets and global markets. The respondents were further made aware that these interrogatives formed the basis of the questionnaires, which then would be deployed to conduct a research into the problem likely to be encountered by the airways courier in its effort to reach global markets. Recommendations for managers, and for other researchers For Qatar Airways, the customersâ €™ perceptions shaping their satisfaction and preference to the product and services are dependent more on the nature of the product and service experience than the costs of the product and services. To the managers of Qatar Airways, this aspect implies that even though some airline companies elsewhere in the world have successfully positioned themselves as low costs couriers, in the context of the operational environment of Qatar Airways, such a positioning strategy might not work. The research suggests the existence of a correlation between positioning strategy for an organizational brand and the degree of customer satisfaction in the airline industry. However, the exact correlation coefficients were not determined. Therefore, research opportunity exists in which regression analysis can be deployed to determine the correlation coefficients between brand positioning and customer satisfaction. Amid, the view that the research has not considered to determine the correlation coeff icient within its scope, the hypothesis that independent variables such as the product (which include services, quality, and brand image) offered in the airlines industry affect perceived satisfaction. Hence, a relationship between brand positioning and customer satisfaction has been confirmed. The first hypothesis was unconfirmed since although the main clients of Qatar Airways studied were Qatari, a significant number of customers from the global market have developed loyalty to airline’s services. References Cohen, D., Crabtree, B. (2008). Evaluative criteria for qualitative research in health care: controversies and recommendations. Criteria for Qualitative Research, 6(4), 331-339. Farris, P., Neil, P., Pfeifer, D. (2010). Marketing metrics: The definitive guide to measuring marketing performance. New Jersey, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. Freshwater, D., Sherwood, G., Drury, V. (2006). International research collaboration: Issues, benefits and challenges of the global ne twork. Journal of Research in marketing, 11(4), 295-303. Hill, S., Ettenson, T. (2005). Achieving the ideal brand portfolio. Sloan Management Review, 2(1), 85-90. Holt, A., Quelch, T. (2009). 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