Cultural Attitudes Toward Prolonging Life Essay

A 25-year-old woman is dying of cancer. She has asked the â€Å"no extreme procedures be used to prolong life.† She is now comatose and can be kept alive only with machines. How would you decide whether her will should be respected? This question was given in class and the majority of my group responded that they would not go to any extreme measures to keep the 25-year-old woman alive. The majority of the group reasons were that it was her will and if that what she wanted then that’s what should happen. Another reason my group decided to go along with the woman’s will is the fact that medical procedures are very costly. One more reason my group decided to go along with the woman’s will is because she is suffering from an illness and it would be in her best interest not to have to suffer anymore. Although the majority of the group decided no to go to any extremes to prolong her life, I decided not to give up on life. I know that it might sound selfish on my part but life is a very special gift. My grandfather was a victim of cancer and he, despite all of the suffering he endured, wanted to stay alive for as long as he could. He wanted to remain a strong influence on how is family viewed life. Through the radiation treatments and constants visits to doctors he never gave up on his life. I can remember him saying â€Å"Baby I’m sick but I’m here with you and it makes the pain seem a bit more bearable.† Through this I learned never to give up on life even when it seem like there is no hope left.

Statement of Purpose Physiotherapy

I am an Occupational Therapist passed out from Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Institute for the Physically Handicapped, Delhi University (Ministry of Social justice and Empowerment, Government of India). My professional Qualification (B. Sc. (Hons. ) Occupational Therapy is recognized by World federation of Occupational Therapy and Validated by Association of Occupational Therapy, Ireland, Department of Health and child. Presently I am associated with the Health care segment of the largest business group in India, Medybiz Private Limited, New Delhi (India) as an Occupational Therapist and Counselor. There was already an inherent desire to enhance the horizon in my career and I was on the lookout for options. In my understanding, your esteemed university provides a suitable ground for me to sharpen my skills by application of previously acquired knowledge during my working days. I was associated with Rajkumari Amrit Kaur child Study center and The Enabling Centre, Department of Child Development, Lady Irwin College (Delhi University, India) as an Occupational Therapist and Counselor from 1st July 2003 to 28th February 2006 where I was responsible for providing Individual as well as Group Therapy to the age group 0-18 years for Children with Special needs. My experience with this age group, and where so in this field has become a basis for applying to your university for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) MSc. After having gone through my profile, I am quite hopeful that you will give enough precedence to my case and offer me the desired course. I am also keen to receive the 30% scholarship, which will help me fulfill my dreams of studying in the UK. With the knowledge gained I would be able to return to my home country and do honours to the field of Occupational Therapy in India.

Discuss the appeal of ‘The Crucible’ Essay

English Literature Coursework: ‘The Crucible’ by Arthur Miller Discuss the appeal of ‘The Crucible’ to its audience ‘The Crucible’ is a 20th century play that focuses on the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692. These events led to mass hysteria over the persecution of those who, allegedly, participated in acts of incantation. Over-exaggeration, emotion, tautness, suspense and the eradication of characters (due to their alleged involvement in witchcraft) are the main themes of the play throughout the four volatile scenes of ‘The Crucible’. The audience observing would be enticed by the mood swings of characters and their persecution for such crimes in the theocratic village, where interrogated citizens in the dense society were forced to name other possible witches. If they failed to produce names of others, they would be hanged ruthlessly. The inhabitants of Salem believed in witches and the Devil and that the Bible had instructed them that witches must be hanged. A feeling of inequity is sensed here. The events of the play, first performed in England in 1954, are analogous to the McCarthy era in the USA , where anyone suspected of criticising the government or its direction was to be brought before a court to respond to the charge of ‘Un-American Activities’. The opening scene in ‘The Crucible’ immediately gives the audience a feeling of a sinister and lifeless atmosphere: A candle still burns near the bed †¦ The roof rafters are exposed, and the wood colours are raw and unmellowed. Reverend Parris is discovered †¦ , evidently in prayer. His daughter †¦ is lying on the bed, inert. (Act One, p1) The candle beside the bed indicates a slight source of light, perhaps hope that Betty will wake. The environment around is silent. The rafters are bare, and the wood is: ‘raw’. The Reverend is peacefully in prayer and his daughter is lying, as if lifeless, on the bed. A prayer is a silent act which emphasises the mood of the room. The imagery illustrates a dark, dull and demoralising sector of the Reverend’s home. The description of the stage in the opening scene creates a false impression for the audience as the majority observing the play would now expect a lethargic plot, with limited excitement and monotonous dialogue with little emotion, but actually it is a play full of overdramatic behaviour and emotion.

How Puerto Ricans Migrated New York Research Paper

How Puerto Ricans Migrated New York - Research Paper Example For this particular paper, I will be concentrating on the history of one of the largest immigrant cultures ever to come aboard the American shores. This paper will shed light upon how the Puerto Ricans migrated to New York City. The paper itself will divide the migration history of Puerto Ricans into the United States into 2 parts. The first part will cover the 20th century migration era and the latter part, the 21st century migration experience of Puerto Ricans to New York. However, in order to understand the reasons for the migration, we must first understand how Puerto Rico happened to become a part of unofficial U.S. territory in the first place. The relationship of the United States and Puerto Rico is one that is hard to define, little understood, and even more little known than to a select circle of historians who have documented the strange, symbiotic relationship of America and Puerto Rico. Though not listed as a part of the American territories, Puerto Rico still enjoys a sp ecial type of status privilege with America. As a protectorate state, the Puerto Ricans are neither truly Americans nor truly Puerto Rican. Rather, the people of Puerto Rico are known as â€Å"non citizen nationals†. Enjoying a unique kind of migrant status in the country in the process. Before the Spanish-American war came to an end, Puerto Rico was a part of Spanish occupied territory. One year before the war officially came to an end, Spain thought it in the best interest of Puerto Rico to grant it independence. However, before the finalities to independence could be applied, Spain had lost the war and in the process of surrender, had given Puerto Rico to the United States as part of an armistice between Spain and the United States. Puerto Rico officially became part of the United States roster of countries under its protectorate on October 18, 18981 Having enjoyed a protectorate relationship with the United States for more than a century, Puerto Ricans are technically â⠂¬Å"American citizens† with an independently functioning homeland ever since 1917. Falling under such a description, Puerto Rican nationals who go to the United States automatically carry United States citizenship the minute they step onto the U.S. mainland. As such, Puerto Ricans are not technically perceived to be immigrants to the United States but rather a migrant population 2 Due to the occupation of Spain and eventual turn over to the United States, Puerto Rico was never able to create a stable economy for itself. The country was mired in a high rate of poverty and economic depression. Puerto Ricans who understood the technicalities of their country's relationship with the United States chose to migrate rather than face the continuous hardships that beset their country. This time of migration came to be known as the Great Migration from Puerto Rico and resulted in a great number of Puerto Ricans entering the United States through Ellis Island in New York. Throughout time , there would be a steady influx of migrants from Puerto Rico into the United States using New York as their port of entry. The existence of good work opportunities in New York at the time of their arrival signaled that these migrants would be calling New York City their home for the time being. 3 The passing of the Johnson Act in 1921 was meant to help ease the burden of lack of job opportunities for Puerto Ricans in the United States due to competition from European immigrants. The passage of the act ensured a stream of available jobs for Puerto Ricans

The Role of Recreational Literacy in the Knowledge Acquisition of a Ho Essay

The Role of Recreational Literacy in the Knowledge Acquisition of a Hotel Manager - Essay Example The average person has so many options to choose for in terms of upgrading his knowledge about specific events that are relevant to his or her life. Due to this, literacy is not restricted only to the traditional classroom learning or the supervisory systems where institutions controlled the flow of information to different parts of the society. This the existence of recreational literacy as an alternative source of enlightenment has affected different units of the society including the hotel industry. Recreational literacy is defined by Mackey as â€Å"engagements with texts of all kinds that are undertaken entirely for their own sake, for the pleasure of the engagement and not for any utilitarian outcome† (2007 6). Thus it refers to reading and update of information by individuals without a view of getting a qualification or some recognition from it. The whole idea of idea of recreational literacy refers to the acquisition of knowledge by self-motivated individuals mainly through unconscious efforts. This influences the way an individual thinks, although it might not be in a very structured system. Due to the unconsciousness and the gradualist system, recreational literacy affects the way people think and perceive organizations. Due to this, recreational literacy affects the way a hotel manager goes about his/her work. Since I desire to become a hotel manager, I will examine the literacy practices of the hotel management industry and attempt to find out the rate at which recreational literacy has had an influence on the sector. In effect, the paper will examine how recreational literacies are currently transforming learning and communication in hotel management. The paper will proceed by first examining the concept of recreational literacy into greater depth. It will go on to examine the main literacy structures in the hotel management industry. From there, it will explain how the hotel industry is being changed by recreational literacies by interviewing a resource person who has first-hand knowledge of these trends in the industry.     Ã‚  

Jet Blue Key Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Jet Blue Key - Case Study Example Jet Blue Was the best ever funded airline n the aviation history of U.S.The aim was to bring humanity back to air travel. Also the airline aimed at having a paperless airline .the company focus was efficiency and service. The company thinks of them as advocates of their customers. David Neelman was the founder of Jet Blue Airlines. Neelman with his experience and new ideas gave jet blue a new look and setup a target market where they could bring back humanity to air travel jet blues top management team was a virtual team in many respects . The geographical dispersion of the top management team reflected the diverse lifestyles and preferences of Jet Blue's top management. They intended to take the best from all airlines and apply it to Jet Blue. Rhoades emphasized on defining values and making them comprehendible to the team at jet Blue. Rhoades believed values were that drove the other activities around in an organization. All was going well with the airlines but now Rhoades was thinking how they would sustain this level of performance where they ere looking to serve airline travelers low fares, but high quality service. The case summary stated above gives us a brief outlook but yet entails all aspects of the case being discussed. Jet Blue Airline is new in the airline industry; it has already had one successful year of operations. The management consists of the most reputable, and experienced individuals of the aviation industry. We observe high capitalization has been done for the project. The aim of the top management is to offer low fares to people yet give them the best flying experience (i.e. the best quality of service ) we would making a few recommendations with reference to the key issues identified above . In order for jet Blue Airlines to be able to develop a value based high commitment culture along with rapid growth it is vital for organization's management's to understand the meaning and importance of an organization's culture, how it affects the performance and productivity. As we are aware that by definition culture is a set of norms, beliefs, and expectations. In order for organizations to be successful they need to consider what are the factors that influence an organizations culture. The management at Jet Blue Airlines needs to consider also that the external environment which most importantly consists of the competitors effect the culture. Here we are looking at a high performance culture. in order to achieve this the employees at jet blue airline have to plan and conceive

The Disillusionment of College Sports in America Essay

The Disillusionment of College Sports in America - Essay Example This paper will depict the fact that college sports are disillusionment as they seek to benefit the colleges and not the college athletes. The film, â€Å"Hoop Dreams† depicts the lives of two African-American teenagers, William Gates and Arthur Agee as they pursue their dreams of becoming NBA stars. Indeed, they want to use basketball as a leeway to their financial and social woes. Fortunately, a scout from St. Joseph High School, which has a magnificent basketball program and great basketball alumni, like NBA. However, the film negates the idea that college athletic is a game by asserting that William strived to please everybody’s expectations when his knee is shot just when he had immense passion for the game. Notably, St. Joseph High School did not give the two teenagers full sponsorship but partial scholarships because they wanted to relate the sponsorship with the benefits that the double will bring to the school. Ideally, William was more gifted than Arthur a they joined different basketball teams in the school. Indeed, Pingatore, the coach compares William with Isiah Thomas, the NBA star who was al so a recruit of the same school. Notably, Arthur was both slow in class and on the court. As a result, the coach drops Arthur from the squad where he consequently lost the scholarship. This manifests the disillusionment that the school wanted to accrue benefits from Arthur and had to drop him since he could not advance to a perfect basket baller. Indeed, Arthur had to go back to public school. Unfortunately, he would still not graduate in the public school without transfer credits from St. Joseph's who had already withheld his credits due to accrued tuition arrears. In fact, had the school not offered him a scholarship, there would not be any arrears and hence the schools did not seek to benefit Arthur recruiting him to their basketball program. Indeed, it is clear that the school was only looking for looking for a basketball player and not for tuition fees. We can thus ascertain that the school did not aim at helping worthy students but at finding good basketball players who they d rop if they fail to make the target. At the same time, the article by Taylor Branch, â€Å"Shame of College Sports,† defines college sports as a real scandal aimed at generating financial revenue for the for universities and private companies as the college athletes earn nothing. Indeed, the article presents the case of a civil-rights historian seeking for the payment of college athletes. Indeed, the film portrays the lack of concern for the scholars after suffering injuries that jeopardize their progress on the court. However, the two lads survived the setbacks and continued with their pursuit where colleges recruited them. Actually, some college athletes suffer lifetime injuries and do not earn anything for that. The article claims that commercial interests buy schools and buy coaches to the disregard of the college athletes. In fact, Sonny Vaccaro told a closed hearing at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., in 2001 that they seek to put their materials on the athleteâ⠂¬â„¢s’ bodies by buying their school or their coach. Specifically, the Knight Foundation has interest in college athletics where it guards the interests of the likes of Vaccaro. Moreover,

Thread #4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Thread #4 - Essay Example e that Subway is the undisputed leader in fast and healthy food because they offer easy to prepare sandwiches which are â€Å"made to order-right in front of the customer - using freshly baked breads, select sauces and a variety of delicious toppings† (Doctors Associates, Inc., 2011). And the third reason which is very important is the continuous support network that it offers its franchisees. Subway’s support system includes training, product development, advertising, purchasing cooperative and field support (Doctors Associates, Inc., 2011). The total investment in starting a Subway franchise is somewhere between $84,300 to $258,300. This amount includes the franchise fee, on-going royalty fee, start-up cost, equipment, payroll and inventory (Entrepreneur Media, Inc., 2011). This means that a franchisee must also consider looking into the possible financing options open to him to fund the total investment to be made. Aside from these costs, a business experience is needed to own a subway franchise. The manpower needed to run the franchise will be around six to ten employees. There should also be a total commitment from the franchisee because Subway does not allow absentee ownership and the terms of agreement is for 20

Bullfighting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Bullfighting - Essay Example After that the local public took it as a sport and since they could not afford it, they started bullfighting on bulls and the tradition still continues. Bullfights or corrida takes place in the presence of the president and the local audience in Spain. First of all the paseillo happens in which all the participants of the bullfight introduce themselves. Two participants called alguacilillos enter the ring and ask for keys to the gate behind which are the bulls. The doors are called puerta de los toriles. When the bulls come out the main show starts. The bullfights takes place in three parts called tercios. In the first part, the bull's ability to move his head is hampered by lances used by two picadors who are riding on blindfolded horses. In the second part, three people called banderilleros make the bull chase them around and use sharp colored sticks called banderillas and stab it in the body of the bull, specifically his back. Finally the third and the last part includes the killing of the bull by the matador. In my view, this is a very cruel sport and a symbol of inhuman behavior. Usually in this sport, the bulls are made weak by putting sand bags in their backs. They are also made weak by drugging the animal or to cut the horn of the bull which hamper coordination. Sometimes the weak and placid bulls are selected for the fight so that the win is easy. The game is not only cruel for the bull, but there are other victims as well.

Principle of Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Principle of Accounting - Essay Example The responsibility of developing marketing strategies for GM with the objective of increasing the product sales lies with the sales and marketing division of the company. This department of the company has been performing well recently. However it has failed to implement required modern marketing strategies to be able to successfully tap many of the unoccupied markets worldwide. The services related to testing of products of the company are carried on by its quality assurance department. This department has not been successful in developing good relationship with rest of the departments of the company in relation to the reduction of mishaps caused due to inferior vehicle quality. However, it has always been promised to the customer regarding high quality of the products. This problem can be reduced through proper coordination of the quality department with the other departments of GM. The accounts department of the company is held accountable for all the finance related activities carried on by the firm. Recently, few financial problems have crept up in the company which has contributed towards it being bankrupt. The major weakness was the top post of the department being two in number. However this issue has been resolved considerably through reshuffling of those positions in the company (Canis, & Yacobucci, 2010, p.27). Similarly, the company can take the help of other financial consultancy firms so as to boost the accountability of the department. GM was reported to have some issues related to its bankruptcy recently in the year 2009 and it came up in news as well (Economist, 2009). It is mainly attributed towards the alteration of the financial results of the company which paved the way for the department of accounting of GM to represent false picture of its financial position. This misrepresentation of the financial figures in the financial statements of the firm along with other errors in accounting that were present in the company records

Artemis Sports Wear Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Artemis Sports Wear - Case Study Example Basically outsourcing means that products and operations are conducted to outside vendors that have expertise in a particular area. The aim may be to reduce costs by saving on personnel benefits, reduce personnel, or to be able to reassign employees to other tasks that are more important. It enables firms to focus on its core competencies and let outside firms do what these firms can do best. Outsourcing has become cost cutting approach to several firms yet it sometimes does not meet its expectations. Consultants often promise 20-40% savings but the average savings are about 9% (Byrne, 1996). Companies like Apple computer Inc. has outsourced its system and network engineering, telecommunications and help-desk services to Canadian firm. GM, Chrysler, Proctor & Gamble and lots of companies are outsourcing their operational processes to Latin America, china, India and other emerging nations. ASW is thinking of long-term growth and augment value to shareholders. So it has to develop long -term relationship to its service providers who are now present globally. By outsourcing IT services of Global service provider results in cutting cost considerably. To outsource the billing system and communication system ASW has to include it within IT services because both the operations are predominantly information orientation and easier to be included in the initial phase. This step considerably cut cost of operations for ASW. Basically billing is a tedious job and needs more and more information exchange between company and customers and one has to track the information, which ultimately need more and more people. After outsourcing the whole process ASW could concentrate on other operations and surplus employees could be retrained and redeployed to other productive activities. ASW also needs to outsource its production process to global service providers from the emerging economies where the skilled labour force is predominantly cheaper. Cheaper labour force cut the cost cons iderably. ASW has proposed to outsource its other activities like customer services and HR activities in near future. Though outsourcing of HR activities affect employees considerably and cut the workforce by 54% and it has the potential for employee resentment and affect productivity as well as motivation adversely. That's why ASW proposed to outsource it in the last. Apart from outsourcing the different operations, ASW has to study different various methods to improve productivity like Value engineering, Total Quality Management (Puffer and McCarthy, 1996), and lean manufacturing (Womack, Jones and Roos, 1990). There is a downside to outsourcing. A company may be locked into a contract and may become too dependent on contractors. Where the unions are strong in sourcing could take place as in several organizations like VW (Volkswagen) and General Motors. So before moving to outsource the operational processes, ASW has to analyze the whole situation and should take a holistic view. It should not follow the trend blindly. ASW has the main aim to cut the cost and provide best to their customers and value to shareholders not at the employee expense. So it must analyze the whole situation and outsource its operational processes carefully, systematically and wisely. References: 1. Byrne, A. John (1996) "Has outsourcing gone to fat" Business

American history Essay Example for Free

American history Essay In the course of American history, the American people have been confronted with different threats to its politics, economy and way of life. At present, the continuing threat of international terrorism and the unceasing wave of Anti-Americanism are constantly putting the lives of simple Americans towards fear and uncertainty, notwithstanding all the different social issues they face each passing day, such as gay marriage, abortion, and stem-cell research, among many others. These threats had their own counterparts in previous years, and it is worthy to note that different side of the American political fence all had their own positions on various matters of serious concern then, and seemingly, those old issues remain as hotly debated up until this moment. The paper will examine the actual threats and pre-conceived threats by Americans through the different decades such as racism, immigration, government regulation, evolutionism, and many other issues and social questions that have made the United States the brimming democracy of ideas it continues to be until today. Evolution and the Origin of Man and the Earth In the twenties, a most important concern has been the continuing discourse on evolution vis-a-vis fundamental Christian preaching on the ancestry of human beings. In Reverend Dixon’s Sermon on the Evils of Darwinism and Evolution, he is clearly mistaken for lumping the theory of evolution per se, with the racist theory of social Darwinism of Herbert Spencer. He is clearly mistaken in doing so, because never had the theory of evolution posited that evolution is merely a matter of survival of the fittest, thus, the weak may necessarily be oppressed, thus, may be destroyed in the conduct of human evolution. (165) Such a position is clearly misinformed, because what the theory of evolution merely suggests is that humans, as per the evidence culled in the development and evolution of other species, may have descended, not from the biblical Adam, as many fundamental Christians believe, but from apes and monkeys. The trouble with Reverend Dixon, and all other purveyors of the biblical interpretation on the origin of man is that their answers to the scientific question on evolution was never based on a scientific reply itself, but merely on a reassertion of Bible verses that never could man have descended from apes, precisely because he descended from God himself. Then and now, the reason why creationism remains absolutely discredited among scientific circles is the basic fact that no scientific reply has ever been posited to the Darwinian challenge on the origin of man. The evolutionary scientists are no less Christian by continuously asserting their Darwinian position. Defense Attorney Darrow’s interrogation of Prosecutor Bryan during the Monkey Trial is helpful in better understanding the fundamentalist Christian views of the day, which permeates much in the evolution debate of today. Darrow’s line of questioning clearly seeks to debunk the literal biblical interpretation of fundamentalist Christians, which in this case might be Prosecutor Bryan. While Bryan asserts that the creation of the world occurred six-thousand years ago, Darrow insists that the Chinese civilization had been in existence thousands of years more than that, and rightly so, but Bryan remains unfazed with such statements, firmly believing, in mocking fashion, that the truth is on his side. (167) In the discourse of the origin of man, and the creation of the world, fundamental Christians have remained unfazed, in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence, especially on the age of the earth, that the truth as stated in the Bible is the only truth that needs to be believed by any God-fearing person. Such a position is dangerous, because it creates a faith that is blind and dogmatic, and obscures believers from the well-intentioned truth provided by science in determining previously unknown facts about humans and the natural world in which they exist. Unfortunately, this position remains the subject of intense debate until today, with creationism advocates appealing School Boards and lobbying Capitol Hill to cut funding for the instruction of evolution, and/or to provide equal educational exposure to creationism and its corollary theory, Intelligent Design. White Supremacy and Racism Another threat during the twenties was the rise of white supremacy in the face of a nascent anti-racism and black civil rights movement as represented in the literary works of Langston Hughes and F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Klan treatise on Americanism is nothing but empty rhetoric on the need to assert white supremacy in all corners of America, through patriotism, Protestantism and the glorification of the white race. (171) The trouble with their position on Americanism is that much of their assertions are based on their normative conception of the world and its history, without due regard to other history narratives on the founding of America, the role of Protestantism in exposing the excesses of Roman Catholicism, and the absolute poverty of a discourse based on the mere historic successes and failures of races. It is clear, however, the Klan remains stuck on their unrepentant Southern position on the continuing subjugation and slavery of African-Americans to be treated like chattel, and the relegation of other colored races as mere secondary citizens to American whites, precisely because the conflicts and contradictions that occur in this world is race-based, instead of class-based. It is a successful racist position though, because rich whites American obfuscate the apparent class contradictions between peasants and landowners, regardless of race, in order to completely gain the trust of poor white Americans against the hapless African-American who remains to exist as chattel in the racist eyes of the white supremacist. On the other hand, the Klan’s position on Protestantism is without any causal connection to their white supremacist cause, except for the assertion that without Protestantism, there would have been no America. (171) Sadly, it is based on this simplistic formulation on Protestantism vis-a-vis Americanism that the Klan discriminates against whites who do not share their same belief system, in much the same manner that, precisely because other races are non-white, they deserve to be discriminated, ipso facto. Nonetheless, such simplistic and flawed logic is also the reason by which the Klan has only remained and self-degenerated in the poorer, uneducated sections of the American South, and never really expanded into the large coastal cities where racial prejudice is much less because of continuous racial intermingling and higher levels of educational attainment. It must be stated, however, that despite the apparent rise of white supremacy in the American South, the seeds of the black civil rights movement of the fifties and the sixties had been planted as early as the twenties, through the prose and poetry of Langston Hughes. In his poetry, One-Way Ticket, it laments about the situation in the American South, and the persona would rather be in the cosmopolitan cities where African-American are better respected and given their fair share of human dignity, in comparison to the lynching and ridicule of the South. (173) It is a good thing, nonetheless, that the struggle between white supremacy and black civil rights had been quite successful for the latter, not only from Brown v. Board of Education and desegregation, but until today, with the election of Barack Obama, African-American, and 44th President of the United States of America.

The Changing Smartphone Industry Marketing Essay

The Changing Smartphone Industry Marketing Essay Research in Motion (RIM) is a Canadian wireless device company, best known as the developer of the BlackBerry smart phones. The company, in its early years, was known for its enterprise-focus, rapid product innovation and its commitment to security. Its latest smart phone offering in October, 2010 was a significant failure. Overall, it lost 5% market share in the US smart phone market during the period between October, 2010 and January, 2011. Its latest tablet offering, named the Playbook, announced right after Apples first tablet, iPad1, is yet to be launched, while Apple is already selling tens of thousands of units of its second tablet, iPad2. And more recently, RIM decided that its new tablet, the Playbook, will support applications created by its competitor, Google. Given this background, we analyzed the industry, RIMs strategy, its product and processes and their alignment with strategy. In that light, we propose that the firm do the following: a) Support the Android Application Platform on its smart phones too (not just the tablet), while setting new rules in the Blackberry Application Store to incentivize developers further. b) Focus on enterprise-based product offerings via strategic acquisitions that allow complementary product offerings to establish high switching costs and product-bundling opportunities. c) Forge new partnerships with unique content providers, telecom companies and cloud firms to keep the firm unique and differentiated while maintaining its strategic continuity. Mobile Handset Industry Market Dynamics The global mobile handset industry is one of the fastest growing sub-industries in wireless sector. This industry was valued at approximately $133bn in 2009, a decrease of 6.7% over 2008, largely owing to the weakness in the global economy. However, as the global economy recovered, this industry saw huge shipment growth announcements from vendors in 2010. Based on industry forecasts  [1]  , this industry is expected to ship 1.4 billion handsets in 2011, up 19.2% from 2009 levels and is forecasted to grow with a CAGR  [2]  of 7.8% during the period 2009-14 to reach 1.7 billion by 2014 (refer : Appendix Figure 1). This growth is largely driven by the high smart-phone growth rates, declining smart-phone prices, increased adoption of 3G technology and the high subsidies given by vendors. Product Segmentation The global handset market consists of two product segments Feature phones and Smart-phones. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Feature phones (or mobile phones) are used for basic mobile communications such as voice, text messaging and data transfers, over a standard GSM mobile telecom network. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Smart-phones are handheld devices, offering advanced capabilities in addition to those provided by a feature phone such as e-mail, social networking or Internet access. Based on market research  [3]  data, we anticipate that during the period 2009-14, the Feature phone segment will decline at a CAGR of -15.5%, while the Smartphone segment will grow at a CAGR of 37.8%. The tremendous growth in the Smartphone market is primarily due to booming consumer demand and the recent industry trend of convergence between hardware, software and services. As consumers increasingly prefer technologies that help them to stay in touch with family, friends and their workplace while they are on the move, the demand for smart devices which are content-rich and support features such as e-mail and social networking applications (apps) will also increase. Market Drivers Most of the growth in mobile handset industry has been fuelled by developing countries. Apart from this, the increasing Smartphone usage is fuelling mobile handset market growth. Another major driver for the handset industry is the huge growth in mobile broadband revenues and subscriptions. Mobile broadband adoption is increasing due to the strong growth of Smart-phones, connected laptops and tablets, coupled with the rollout of high speed networks. Current Trends in Smartphone Industry Shift to Applications Apple, RIM and Google have transformed the Smartphone market into a software based environment, transferring value from hardware to software and content. In 2010 Apple dominated the Smartphone app market, offering over 225,000 apps (refer: Appendix- Figure 2). Its strict control over approval of apps has allowed it to maintain quality. Apple has already sold more than 150 apps from which it generated $2.4bn in revenues. Nearly 5bn apps were downloaded from its App Stores. While RIM offers 10,000 apps, Symbian offered only a mere 6,118. Android on the other hand offered 140,000 apps to its users to take up second position in the apps market. The Android Marketplace does not have the same kind of restrictions as Apple, and while this allows for a certain amount more freedom for both developers and users, the quality and compatibility of apps cannot be guaranteed in the same way. Video Communications Smartphones and other mobile devices (e.g. tablets) are transforming the communication industry, resulting in exponential growth in mobile data traffic. Based on an estimate from Cisco, nearly 66% of the mobile data traffic will be for video consumption by 2014 (refer: Appendix Figure 4). Mobile video is expected to grow at a CAGR of 131% between 2009 and 2014. Emerging Markets new growth engines Many handset manufacturers are turning to emerging markets to drive growth against the backdrop of the financial crisis in mature markets. In Asia, India and China are considered the fastest growing markets in the world for handsets. Compared to mature markets such as North America which had only a 2.5% share of global net subscriber additions in 2010, Asia-Pacific takes a much more significant share, accounting for 68.4% of total subscribers added. Low cost manufacturers affecting industry dynamics Inspired by the success of established players such as Samsung, many smaller handset vendors are entering the market to take advantage of the low entry barriers. Local handset manufacturers such as ZTE and Huawei in China and Taiwan and Micromax in India are challenging the established players, driving down prices and profits. These local companies have their own research and development divisions and design their own phones. The Value Chain Smartphone Industry The current value-chain of the smart phone industry is highly operator-centric; the network operators have a high degree of control over the device manufacturers they collaborate with, the technology operators they employ, and the content delivery entities with which they align (see Appendix Figure 3). Smartphones and intense competition in the mobile handset industry have only emphazised this trend. A snap-shot of the key players in this value chain: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Network operator: Serves as an intermediary for delivery of content and services. Examples: Rogers, Bell, Mobilicity. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Technology enabler: Provides backend technology required for delivering content. These include providing platforms and apps. Act as a mediator between operators and content publishers. Examples: Apple, Google, RIM. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Content Provider: Publish content from various sources or develop original content. Examples: iOS, Yahoo, Google. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Smartphone manufacturers: Manufacture handsets and other related devices. Examples: RIM, Apple, Samsung. However, these boundaries are blurring and there are no longer any demarcations of roles, with each actor stepping into the others domain. For instance, Apple and RIM are device manufacturers, technology enablers and also content publishers. Similarly, Google is a technology enabler and content provider. As roles increasingly overlap, the result could be a radical change in the value-chain and revenue sharing models. In the current business model, the operator (e.g. Rogers) receives 60-80% of data revenues while technology-enabled receives 10-20%, the content aggregator receives 10-15% while the remaining 5-10% is shared with the content owners as shown in Appendix (Appendix figure 5). Research in Motion Based in Waterloo, Ontario, Research in Motion (RIM) is the most widely recognized Canadian technology success story. RIM has perfected the BlackBerry solution a mobile solution that combines device, wireless data and voice access, a network operating centre and an operating system (OS) into a vertically integrated single offering and now considered the de facto standard for enterprise mobile solutions. Beyond the enterprise, RIM has been making inroads in the higherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ volume consumer market, most notably with the successful launch of the BlackBerry Pearl and Curve. RIM has developed the BlackBerry platform with the needs of both end-users and IT managers in mind. End users look for small device sizes, longer battery life, and ease of use (i.e., intuitive user experience, alwaysà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ on connectivity, and low latency). On the other hand, IT managers look for security, reliability, compatibility, manageability, low cost of ownership, and integration with existing corporate applications. The BlackBerry platform provides IT managers with centralized management and provisioning capabilities, giving them full control over all aspects of the platform, including applications and configuration (e.g. mandatory use of a password to gain access to the handset, overà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ theà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ air locking and erasing of the data on devices, and the capability to disable unwanted features such as Bluetooth or cameras). All told, this has made RIM one of the most trusted providers of data communications. RIM has been extremely successful in monetizing its enterprise email subscriber base. RIM has positioned its BlackBerry as a carrier-friendly platform that enables content/services to be delivered by the operators. Time will tell if this positioning leads to any long lasting preferred vendor status at the carriers because every OEM understands how critical a flexible business model, where carriers share in the revenues/ profits, is to keep them involved. Core Competencies of RIM Highly encrypted and secure email system RIM has a very strong RD division RIM provides the capability for third party companies to develop and provide software applications that run on the RIM hand held devices and they do that by supplying the application Programming Interface Strategic Analysis of RIM The current strategy of RIM focuses primarily on the Enterprise market with a smaller footprint in the consumer market though low cost smart-phones. The company is also targeting both enterprises as well as consumer market for its upcoming tablet Playbook. The advantages as well as disadvantages of RIMs current strategy are mentioned below- Strengths in current strategy RIM has a significant focus on enterprise market which offers a number of advantages to RIM. The enterprise Smartphone market is growing rapidly and it is expected that further growth will be driven by convergence of fixed and mobile telecommunication. Understanding this future technological trend, RIM introduced the BlackBerry Mobile Voice System (MVS) as a voice convergence solution which converts desktop phones/cellular phones to Blackberry devices. With MVS and the PBX integration, Blackberry devices are now equipped with all the features of an enterprise desktop phone (5à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ digit calling, call forwarding, visual call management etc.). This strategy helped to increase the penetration of RIM blackberry devices in enterprises. Another advantage for RIM is its strong relationships with many independent software vendors which provide RIM many enterprise applications beyond email. For instance, RIM enabled SAP applications to run on the BlackBerry platform. This software incorporating SAP support represents a key difference for RIM customers and will enable customers to access SAP applications from BlackBerry applications such as the address book, inbox and calendar. The current strategy also focuses on the non-enterprise consumer segment. While Apple and Nokia are delivering applications and content (that operators could also be delivering), RIM has positioned the BlackBerry as a carrier friendly platform that on the one hand drives ARPU (average revenue per user) for the carriers through its BlackBerry email (and pays RIM between $3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ $5 per subscriber per month) and on the other, provides a high performing platform that helps operators further monetize the consumer opportunity. By optimizing hardware, software and network services in a vertically integrated offering, RIM BlackBerry platform offers the carriers demonstrable advantages in spectrum efficiency, battery life and latency. Also, RIMs platform is significantly more efficient than competing platforms for email and browsing. This efficiency stems from higher compression rates achieved with the BlackBerry platform. Higher compression reduces download times (lower costs to carriers) and ultimately provides a better experience for users (lower latency, longer battery life and better connection stability). RIM offers its consumer email through its BIS (BlackBerry Internet Service). The BIS provides pushà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ based email as well as attachment viewing and Web browsing with the same optimized wireless efficiency as that found in the enterprise offering. Weaknesses in current strategy In the consumer market, Apple is the market leader with its user-friendly interface and application offerings. One of the weaknesses of RIM in this market is the lack of applications offered by its Blackberry App Store. The Blackberry App Store is an online retail store where consumers can download certain apps that are targeted at increasing productivity (spreadsheet managers, note-taking applications, social network connectivity, etc) or providing recreation (another aspect of social network connectivity, games, etc).   Blackberry apps have been an in-house closed platform operation until now, i.e. RIM and only RIM has been developing these apps for download, and the platform on which these apps are built is closed to external developers. In contrast, the app store for the explosively popular iPhone is open for developers from anywhere in the world to build apps for the general public to download. As a result, iPhone apps number around the 350,000 mark, while the Blackberry app s tore has approximately 7000 apps. These apps often form a key differentiator for the layperson looking to invest in a smartphone. As a result, RIM is poised to be edged further out of the market, unless they can take a quantum leap with their app offerings. In our recommendations section, we examine the prospect of a partnership that RIM can forge to rival Apples app store. Another weakness in RIMs current strategy is the delay in its entry in handheld tablet computing market through its upcoming tablet -Playbook. The company has announced the launch of this tablet in mid 2010. However, the launch of the device has been delayed until mid 2011 following a number of issues in manufacturing, unavailability of touchscreen displays due to absence of any long term contract with manufacturers. The company has also spend considerable amount of time in application development which could have been offered after the launch of the product through the Blackberry App Store. (For more details: refer Appendix Figure 6) Competitive Landscape Apple with its twin offerings of the iPhone and the iPad, along with the Apple App Store compete directly with RIM on all fronts. Google with its Android O/S (operable on multiple handset makers devices) is another (and rapidly growing) player in this landscape, with their open source platform that allows developers to write Apps that users can download, much like Apples model. In order to perform a competitive analysis, we further divided the market into two categories, that of Enterprise (corporate) users and that of non-Enterprise (consumer) users. Competitive Analysis in Enterprise Market As mentioned earlier, RIM took advantage of an early head-start in marketing their devices to large MNCs, many of whom now have deep, entrenched relationships with RIM. This was due in part to a first mover advantage, and also due to the enhanced security that RIM offered for email sent to its devices. The easy integration with existing email systems made the Blackberry phone the device of choice for a majority of corporations looking to equip their staff with mobile email units. The cost of switching from RIM for Enterprise users is essentially that of the legacy systems they have invested in (handsets, servers, trained personnel) and contractual commitments. With Apple beginning to offer enhanced security and a push towards productive applications for the corporate workforce, several younger corporations are either starting their staff with iPhones (and iPads) or looking to make the switch from their existing RIM contracts. Under the circumstances, there is an urgent need for RIM to offer additional value to keep these customers anchored, while also remaining a relevant option for new enterprise customers looking to decide for a mobile email-phone provider. RIM needs to follow the concept of Strategic Intent  [4]  and structure of Ambidextrous Organizations  [5]  to be competitive with other players in Smartphone industry. Competitive Analysis in Non-Enterprise Market This segment of users includes both the casual consumer as well as the professional consumer. While the former looks at a plethora of criteria for selecting their handsets and tablets, the latter is focused on devices and phone plans that offer enhanced professional productivity minus the baggage (like firewalls, disabled applications, etc) that accompanies enterprise-provided devices. For both sub-segments, two key decision-making criteria are the processing power of the devices, and the choice (as well as usefulness) of the applications available for download. In this regard, as stated before, RIMs BlackBerry and Playbook are at a disadvantage because they are coupled with the ill-performing, sparsely populated shelves of the BlackBerry App Store. In comparison, the iPhone and iPad, both very competent devices in their own right, are backed by Apples App Store and iTunes websites, the latter offering a large selection of media downloads, such as songs and movies. (For comparative analysis with various manufacturers: refer Appendix Figure 7) For RIM to succeed in this segment, it is key for them to compete directly with Apple on their availability and choice of Apps for download. RIM: Strategic Options Based on our analysis of RIM and current trends in smart-phone industry, we see the following options for RIM: Leverage Android App Platform and Set New Rules in BlackBerry App World Deepen Enterprise Product Range Strong Marketing in BRIC Nations Forge Tactical Partnerships Assessment of RIMs Strategic Options Option 1: Leverage Android App Platform and Set New Rules in BlackBerry App World RIMs App Store strategy must be to increase incentives for its rapidly-dwindling Blackberry App -developer community by offering them higher pay-offs. Additionally, it must monetize a pre-approved Android App store on its phones, just as it did on its tablets. If it can open the Playbook to Android, then it should also open up the BlackBerry phones to Android. Advantages of Option 1 If RIM is leveraging Android App Platform for its Blackberry Smartphones, then it will allow the company to increase its available application base from 10,000 to a close to 150,000 (Appendix: Figure 2). This will make the blackberry phones more appealing to Android buyers (i.e. phones based on Android Operating System). Another advantage of this approach is that the sales of Android applications through Blackberry App world will ensure a guaranteed cash flow for RIM coming from application sales. Additionally, this option will free up internal company resources currently involved in the development of Blackberry applications and help the company to concentrate on the companys core competency build high-quality smart phones and tablets that run on cutting-edge software. This option will also increase consistency between the PlayBook and BlackBerry smart-phones. Disadvantages of Option 1 While there are many benefits of this approach, there are few concerns as well in this direction. First of all, the shift to Googles Android applications for Blackberry smart-phones will further increase the market power of Google. This will make RIM vulnerable to Googles business decisions such as introducing a significant charge for offering Android Apps through Blackberry App world. Another source of disadvantage is related to the security of Blackberry smart-phones. Currently, these phones have applications offered by RIM which are tested thoroughly for interoperability and security. The Android based applications might compromise the security of Blackberry smart-phones due to their lower security standards. Option 2: Deepen Enterprise Product Range Via Strategic Acquisitions One of the biggest barriers to enter the enterprise market segment is the relationships that a firm possesses with enterprises and their corporate clients. If RIM is to retain and expand its enterprise client base- both in the short-term and longer time horizons it needs to expand its offering via tactical and strategic acquisitions. Our suggestion is to do so by acquiring and integrating an enterprise video communication company such as Polycom which is a global leader in Enterprise Video communications, and shaping it around RIMs existing offering via integration and bundling. To beat the Innovators Dilemma that the firm is entrenched in, it has to go after acquisitions that are aligned with its high-level strategy and within the same space, those that can be integrated with the company in a short time-span. Advantages of Option 2 There are a number of advantages of pursuing the acquisition of an enterprise video communication firm such as Polycom. First of all, this option provides quick access to technology and creates a high switching cost for enterprises due to deeper penetration of RIM in enterprise video which forms an important part of enterprise communications. It also creates a huge opportunity to cross-sell complementary product offerings to the existing and non-existing customers. Additionally, RIM can leverage various Polycom offerings such as telepresence  [6]  in its upcoming playbook. Apart from non-enterprise users, RIM should offer its Playbook initially to the existing Polycom customers. This will help the company to see adoption by Early Adopters. Once the Polycom customers like the product, the RIM will be able to Cross the Chasm  [7]  and reach the Pragmatists. (refer: Appendix- Figure 8) The acquisition of Polycom can also create an opportunity to offer video content and generate revenue through live video streaming on Blackberry/Playbook. Based on our financial analysis, we also saw that Polycoms current valuation provides an opportunity for RIM to capture value and to create value through cost and revenue synergies. (refer: Appendix-Figure 9, 10) Disadvantages of Option 2 One of the possible disadvantages with this option is related to the risk involved in any acquisition- cultural and management clashes -which can hamper the growth prospects of RIM. The acquisition will involve approval from regulatory bodies which will require major efforts from RIMs management. There is a possibility that competitors of RIM could also provide a counter bid to an acquisition (e.g. Polycom) and make it difficult for RIM to acquire the firm. Option 3: Strong Marketing in Emerging Markets According on the smart-phone industry forecast  [8]  , Asia-Pacific market will be the largest smart-phone market during 2009-2014, recording a CAGR of 30% in that period. As a result, an option for RIM is to gain a huge market share in emerging markets through strong marketing efforts. Advantages of Option 3 If RIM can capture a strong market share in Emerging Markets, then it will allow the company to increase its revenue many-folds. Another advantage of this approach is the competitive advantage RIM will have over Apple since Apple does not have a strong customer base in the emerging markets due to high price of iPhone. RIM on the other hand, offers a variety of smart-phones which satisfies the need of price sensitive users as well as business users. Additionally, the marketing costs are far less in emerging markets as compared to North America and Europe. Disadvantages of Option 3 First of all, the shift to emerging markets will expose RIM to competitive pressure from local handset manufacturers such as Huawei whose generic strategy is cost leadership. Another source of disadvantage is related to the security of Blackberry smart-phones. The secure email facility offered by RIM is encrypted and there has been security concern in many countries regarding the encrypted nature of these mails which can become a method of communication of for terrorists and criminal organizations. Option 4: Forge Tactical Partnerships Just like RIM has large partners like Microsoft in the enterprise space, it should strive to aggressively partner with other large companies that create content, mobile networks and cloud platforms. For example, it can forge ties with Amazon to get access to valuable content and services like its new cloud player; it can tie-up with gaming companies to create exclusive gaming on its tablets and blackberries, that appeal to its user base games that would appeal to its enterprise-oriented clients. Additionally, it must use exclusive contracts with mobile network companies, when appropriate in order to maintain its exclusivity and security. Advantages of Option 4 Tie-ups with large partners would be a game-changer, and would set RIM a notch above its competition and allow it access to unique content providers. Additionally, it will also provide quick access to cutting-edge technologies to RIM without diverting its focus from its core competencies. Disadvantages of Option 4 One possible disadvantage is that this option exposes RIM to the risk of exposing its intellectual property to partners. As a result, the company might lose its core competencies due to imitation by partners. Future Recommendations for RIM After analyzing the firms core competencies, its current product portfolio and resources which are unique and inimitable, future options we recommend that the firm should return its focus on its original capabilities within the enterprise markets and corporate customers. The high-level strategy for RIM should be to: speed up product development, enhance security and function to appeal better to enterprise/corporate customers and increase its product range through strategic acquisitions and partnerships. RIM possesses a critical mass in its relationships with enterprise segment/corporate clients and the best lever to protect that is enhance its product offering, security and functionalities, and align them to its existing product portfolio and quicken product development. This should be done after the market has been tested enough through small, rapid experiments. In a fast-changing smart-phone market (Figure 6), where the firm virtually had highest market share once, the best bet for the company is to slightly change its strategic position by making new trade-offs and make speedier product iterations, to remain differentiated. More specifically, we recommend the following three key steps to implement the strategy for RIM on a short and long term: 1) Leverage Android App Platform and Set New Rules in BlackBerry App World 2) Deepen Enterprise Product Range via Strategic Acquisitions 3) Forge Tactical Partnerships Additionally, we analyzed what our strategy would look like in the growing emerging market segments, and we believe that the above strategy of rapid product development, broader product offerings and unique partnerships with content providers/networks would be applicable to those markets as well, where RIMs strategy should maintain exclusivity and security and remain enterprise-oriented. We do not see aggressive marketing in emerging markets (option 3) to be a promising option for RIM going forward. In conclusion, there is still a significant enterprise/corporate market that demands high-quality, sophisticated and secure products. RIM, with its strong commitment to security, loyal user base and time-tested partnerships should deepen its focus on this customer base and remain unique and differentiated. Appendix Figure1. Global mobile handset shipments (m), 2009-14 Year 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 CAGR Unit Shipments(m)  [9]   1234 1373 1485 1602 1697 1796 7.80% Growth% 11.3% 8.2% 7.9% 5.9% 5.8% Figure2. Smartphone Apps Market Platform Symbian RIM Android Apple iOS Number of Applications  [10]   6118 10000 140000 225000 Figure3. The Value Chain Smartphone Industry Figure4. Market Share: Video Communication Source: Cisco Figure5. Revenue sharing model Source: Business Insights Figure6. RIM SWOT Analysis Strengths Weaknesses Strong market presence in the enterprise segment is driven by its flagship BlackBerry device. A weak content strategy coupled with a poor ecosystem is impacting on the companys competitiveness. Robust profits continue to shield the company from competitive threats. RIM derives a substantial 63.1% of its revenues from North America. Concentration of revenues from a single region could expose the company to considerable risk. Opportunities Threats The company is targeting the youth segments in emerging markets by offering social networking and multimedia featur

PESTEL Analysis of the Chinese Economy

PESTEL Analysis of the Chinese Economy There is no doubt that nowadays globalization brings opportunities for companies to expand their business activities easily to take advantages of other countrys growth through investing activities. However, before investing to overseas, a company should make a careful examination of the country they are intending to invest in especially the industry related to their investment. Examining the relationship between risks will help to measure the risks the company has to encounter and the information is actually helpful for company in decisions making. Based on factual country information and financial analysis, this assignment will point out main factors that will impact Soundtech Technologys general business activities when it starts business in China producing low cost sound system for budget cars called Superaudio. This assignment will start with China background information and then six factors in PESTEL model these include political, economic, social, technology, environment, and legal will be presented. In addition, Soundtech Technologys financial overview that includes financial factors as well as sensitive analysis will be conducted based on the data given. Lastly, some recommendations will be make to help Soundtech Technology in making investment decisions. 1. China background informations Area: 9,596,961 sq. km Population (July, 2010): 1,330,141,295. Annual growth rate: 0.494 % Ethnic groups: Han Chinese is 91.5%, ethnic minority and other nationalities are 8.5%. Religions: Officially atheist, Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian is about 3%-4%, Muslim is approximately 1%-2%. Languages: Mandarin is also called Putonghua is the main language in China, plus many local dialects. Government: Communist party-led state. GDP is $4.814 trillion (2009) Per capita GDP is $3,678 (2009) GDP real growth rate (2009): 8.7% Natural resources: mineral is plentiful including coal, petroleum, mercury, iron ore, natural gas, tin, tungsten, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, antimony, aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium. Moreover, China is the worlds largest in hydropower potential. Agriculture: China is one of the worlds largest producers of rice, wheat, potatoes, corn, peanuts, tea, millet, barley; commercial crops include cotton, other fibers, apples, oilseeds, pork and fish; produces variety of livestock products. Types of industry: China is focusing on mining, ore processing and others mineral such as iron, steel, aluminum, and other metals. Consumer product is one of the nation strongest industries. Transportation, electronics, telecommunications equipment as well as commercial space are major sectors. Trade: Exports (2009) $1.194 trillion: electrical and other machinery, including data processing equipment, apparel, textiles, iron and steel, optical and medical equipment. Main partners (2008) United States 17.7%, Hong Kong 13.3%, Japan 8.1%, South Korea 5.2%, and Germany 4.1%. Imports (2009) $921.5 billion: electrical and other machinery, oil and mineral fuels, optical and medical equipment, metal ores, plastics, organic chemicals. Main partners (2008) Japan 13.3%, South Korea 9.9%, Taiwan 9.2%, U.S. 7.2%, Germany 4.9%. Undoubtedly, the electronics is the one of the leading industry in Chinas manufacturing sector. Sales revenue from Chinas electronics and IT industries (not including software) is estimated approximately $772.8 billion in 2008, reaching a growth of 28.3% over 2007. According to a statistical report by Chinas Ministry of Information Industry (MII), sales revenue of Chinas electronic information industry from January to April 2008 increased by 20.5% over the same period of last year. EE Times-China and ESM-China Market Research Dept predict that from 2006 to 2008, Chinas electronics industry will maintain a CAGR of 25.5% (global sources.com). 2. PESTEL analysis An analysis of Chinas Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, Legal factors is essential to the strategic management and implementation of the project. The positive and negative effect on the projects initiation and development will be pointed out through the analysis of the external factors. 2.1 Political factors 2.1.1 General information Currently, China Government is ongoing to promote rule of law. After the Cultural Revolution, a legal system to restrict of official authority and revolutionary excesses has been developed. In 1982, the National Peoples Congress issued a new state constitution that emphasized the rule of law under which even party leaders are theoretically held accountable. Since 1979, when the drive to establish a functioning legal system began, more than 300 laws and regulations concerned about economic areas have been promulgated. In the 1990s Legal reform became a government priority. Legislation designed to modernize and professionalize the nations lawyers, judges, and prisons was issued. The Chinese constitution and laws provide for fundamental human rights, including due process, however in practice these are often ignored. In addition to other judicial reforms, the Constitution was modified in 2004 that include the protection of individual human rights as well as the legally-obtained private property, but it does not clear about how some of these provisions will be implemented. Since this modification, there have been new promulgations in bankruptcy law and anti-monopoly law, and modifications for both company and labor law. Although additional safeguards to citizens have been provided in new criminal and civil laws, previously debated political reforms, including expanding elections to the township level beyond the current trial basis, have been put on hold. 2.1.2 Recent political events Since Tiananmen, 13 rounds of human rights dialogue between the U.S and China has been conducted. In May 2010, the most recent round was taken placed; topics were turned around religious freedom, the rights of labor, freedom of expression, rule of law, the discrimination of race, and multilateral cooperation as well. A foundation to continue these rounds in the future was adopted by The U.S. and China leading to unanimous approval for the next round of dialogue in China in 2011. The meetings in Lhasa on March 10th 2008, marking the 49th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising turned violent, and led to protests and unsecure state throughout Tibetan areas and others surrounding provinces. The army and police force monitored strictly Tibetan areas for the safety of the 50th anniversary in 2009 and 51st in 2010 and security was tightened in the border with Nepal. Armed uprising was ongoing when ethnic violence broke out in Urumqi in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region on July 5, 2009. Security control significantly increased in Urumqi and its surrounding areas and as the result some mosques in Xinjiang were closed. As of early 2010, Urumqi was still under a heavy police control and most Internet and international phone communication were totally cut off. In recent years, riots have been happened in China that has created the unstable condition for foreign companies investment in China. However, China Government has taken strict measures to prevent and stop this situation that creates safe environment for foreign investors. 2.2 Economic factors Chinas economy has been reformed and opened since 1978. A more pragmatic thinking on many political and socio economic problems has been approved by the Chinese leadership and therefore the role of ideology in economic policy has been partly reduced. China has transformed its economic into the market-oriented that positively impact not only on China but also on the world. These economic reforms China has implemented over the past 2 decades have profoundly affected both individual initiative and entrepreneurship. As the result the poverty has been significantly reduced and the average income has reached to highest level ever seen. At the beginning of 2010China is ranked as the second-largest economy in the world after overtaking Japan to capture this position. An average economic growth has been sustained over 9.5% for the past 26 years. In 2009, its economy reached to $4.814 trillion was about one-third the size of the U.S. economy. The high economic growth along with higher nationa l income growth may boost demand for Soundtech Technologys products this is big opportunity for the firm to develop its business. In the 1980s, the combination of central planning with market-oriented reforms were tried to implement in order to increase productivity, living standards, and technological quality but not lead to negative effect on inflation, unemployment, and budget deficits In addition, Chinese Government pursued agricultural reforms, dismantling the commune system and introducing a household-based system that provided peasants greater decision-making in agricultural activities. Besides that nonagricultural activities like village enterprises in rural areas were also encouraged. Similarly, the government promoted more self-management for state-owned enterprises in order to increased competition in the marketplace, and create opportunities for Chinas domestic enterprise directly contact with the foreign ones. On 20th June 2010, Chinas central bank set the Yuan exchange rate at higher level after committing to increase the flexibility of exchange rate of its currency. Reference exchange rate of the day was set at 6.7980 Yuan on USD 1 its strongest level since September 2008, up 0.43% compared with the level of 6.8275 Yuan on 21st June 210. A stronger Yuan would make Chinese exports more expensive, help redress trade balances and bring some reliefs to foreign manufactures struggling to complete. The increase of Yuan exchange rate creates disadvantages for Soundtech Technology when they export their products to overseas markets because it raises the price in term of foreign currency. Especially, in recent years the cooperative relationship between China and Singapore have been improved within related global and regional organizations such as the ASEAN plus China, Japan and South Korea, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). At the same time, both China and Singapore have conducted beneficial cooperation and put efforts to offer training sessions to a third country and to help their companies or enterprises explore and exploit the world market. The 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic corporation between China and Singapore is marked in year 2010 as well as the event of Chinas participation in the ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA). By taking advantages of all the opportunity from the partners, China is ready to work with Singapore to lift bilateral relations to a new level and bring more substantial benefits to the citizens of both countries. For this reason, China Government always makes the best condition to welcome Soundtech Technology to invest in China. 2.3 Social factors With a population officially over 1.3 billion and an estimated growth rate of 0.494%, China is very concerned about its population growth and has attempted with mixed results to implement a strict birth limitation policy. The governments goal is to stabilize the population in the first half of the 21st century, and 2009 projections from the U.S. Census Bureau are that the Chinese population will peak at around 1.4 billion by 2026. It can be said that China has huge population that supply to the market a profuse workforce which is an opportunity for Sountech Technology to expand its business in China. Another affecting factor that can be considered is the trend of employment with relation to the unemployment level. The current unemployment rate in China in January 2010 is 4.3% which demonstrates that this project would help the society and in turn the economy by creating positive job opportunities. Source: tradingeconomic.com Recently, China Government has increased the minimum wages. On 1st April Guangdong increased the provinces minimum wages by an average 13%. Moreover, the southern China province produces about 13% of Chinas economic output, the most among the countrys 32 provinces. Minimum wages in the capital city Guangzhou reached to 860 yuan increased $120 per month from 780 yuan, Wages of other cities in the province would also get a boost, with those in some inland cities up nearly 18%. China Government has increased the minimum wages that is a challenge for Sountech Technology because they have to paid more for labor costs that will decrease business profit. 2.4 Technological factors Chinese science strategists realize Chinas greatest opportunities in technology fields such as computers and biotechnology, where creates a chance for China to make innovation in these areas. It cannot be denied that a dense network of trans-Pacific contact have been built by most overseas Chinese students that will boost the cooperation between U.S. and China scientific in coming years. The U.S. space program is regarded as the standard of scientific modernity in China is held annually. Chinas small but growing space program is national pride of China when its third manned orbit was totally successful in September 2008. Technology Agreement is the model for bilateral cooperation between The U.S and China in science field. In April 2006 the Science and Technology Agreement was extended by a 5-year agreement was signed. The agreement which includes approximately 60 protocols, memoranda of understanding, agreements, and annexes, is considered as the longest-standing between U.S.-China accords. The agreement encompasses cooperation between U.S. and China in variety fields like marine conservation, renewable energy, and health. Besides the U.S China also has close relationship with Japan and the European Union in science and technology cooperation. Based on the data supplied by the State Development Planning Commission, during the Ninth Five-year Plan period from1996 to 2000, China has significant technological development. 50,000 projects have been set up under the Spark Plan. Started in 1986, these projects were actually a technological program in order to enhance the IT level in rural areas. Since 1996 a total of CNY192.9 billion has been invested in the Spark Plan in which CNY3.5 billion was from the Governments Funds, CNY41.9 billion were from loans of banks and CNY147.5 billion from private and other social sectors. Since 1996 the Chinese government has invested CNY3.19 billion in the industrial sector to develop technical innovation projects. In addition, since 1999 the government has been focusing on technological innovation of State-owned enterprises by spending CY19.5 billion worth of treasury bonds A number of districts for high-tech development have been established for researching and developing technological purpose. For example in 1996 the Silicon Valley was built with an CNY101.5 billion investment in the infrastructure construction. Up to now there have been approximately 17,000 high-tech enterprises operating in those districts, with the employees more than 2.2 million. 2.5 Environmental factors Undoubtedly, along with Chinas rapid industrial development are the serious negative impacts on environment these include increasing pollution and decreasing natural resources as well. In 2007, China became the worlds largest emitter of carbon dioxide and other gases leading to greenhouse. WTO conducted a report on the quality of air in 272 cities worldwide, pointed out seven out of the ten cities that are the most polluted in the world were in China. In addition based on Chinas own evaluation, two-thirds of the 402 cities which have been air polluted two-thirds of them moderately or severely so. According to environmental report, there is water polluted in almost all of the nations rivers to some degree and half of the population is lack of clean water for daily life. By some estimates, there are approximately 300 million people have to use contaminated water for drinking every day. Water scarcity also is considered as an issue; taking severe water scarcity in Northern China as an example that is actually a serious threat to sustained economic growth. Thus, the government has been working on a project for delivering a large-scale of water from the Yangtze River to northern cities, including Beijing and Tianjin. Some research estimate pollution costs hold the Chinese economy from 7% to 10% of GDP per year. Currently, like any Government, Chinas leaders are increasingly paying attention to environmental problems in the country. Realizing the important of environmental protection, The State Environmental Protection Administration was officially upgraded to a ministry-level agency, the Ministry of Environmental Protection in 1998. Recently, Chinas environmental legislation has been strengthened and some progress in stemming environmental deterioration has also been made. China took part the Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development in 2005, which unites industries and government to implement common strategies together that reduce pollution and global climate change. Campaign about pollution control was great invested that a factor contributing to a successful Olympic Beijing 2008, though some of the benefits were just temporary in nature. Thanks to these campaigns the quality of air in some cities has been improved recently. It can be said that China is participating actively in climate change talks as well as other multilateral environmental negotiations, especially discussions about how developed countries deal with serious environmental issues that help developing countries to a greater extent. China has signed the Basel Convention about transporting and treating hazardous waste; the Montreal Protocol about the Ozone Layer Protection and other major environmental agreements. As long as China is huge country thus water scarcity is regarded as a big issue that also is the projects disadvantage. Besides that, climate change is considered as one of the major systematic risks for Soundtech Technology because climate change is affecting how companies operate and the products they offer. 2.6 Legal factors 2.6.1 Laws support foreign investors In order to encourage foreign companies to invest in China, China Government has gradually set up a relative complete law system. In 1979, The Law of the Peoples Republic of China on Chinese-Foreign Equity Joint Ventures was published. 20 years later, the Chinese government has promulgated and issued a series of laws and statutes about the establishment, operation, termination and liquidation of foreign-invested enterprises. The main laws and regulations include the three basic laws à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ The law on Chinese-Foreign Equity Joint Ventures, The Law on Chinese-Foreign Contractual Joint Ventures, and The Law on Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprises; detailed rules for the implementation of the three basic laws; The Company Law of the Peoples Republic of China; The Income Tax Law of the Peoples Republic of China for Enterprises with Foreign Investment and Foreign Enterprises; Interim Provisions for Guiding Foreign Investment; Industrial Catalogue for Foreign Investment; Interim Pro visions Concerning the Investment within China of Foreign-invested Enterprises, Provisions Regarding the Merger and Separation of Foreign-invested Enterprises, and Liquidation Measures for Enterprises with Foreign Investment. These provide legal bases from which to guarantee the independent operation rights of foreign-funded enterprises and to protect the legitimate rights and interest of both domestic and overseas investors. Currently, the Chinas government is considering its existing laws and statutes in accordance with the model of the WTO. It has abolished certain obsolete laws and regulations, and will gradually revise the laws and regulations that are incompatible with the rules of the WTO. 2.6.2 China Tax Regime Tax law is one of the most important issues that SoundTech Technology needs to understand as the tax regulations have a direct impact on STs business activities. China is known as one of the most attractive incentives packages in Asia. Tax incentives and other facilities for the manufacturing sector are provided for in the Promotion of Investment. The data below demonstrates the tax that a medium-size company must pay or be withheld in a given year, as well as measures of the administrative burden in paying taxes. These measures include the number of payments an entrepreneur must make; the number of hours spent preparing, filing, and paying; and the percentage of their profits they must pay in taxes. 2.6.3 Procedures to starting new business in Malaysia When foreign investors want to set up business in China, they have to wait for approval from the Government for a long time. The challenges of launching a business are shown below which include the number of steps entrepreneurs can expect to go through to launch, the time it takes on average, and the cost and minimum capital required as a percentage of gross national income (GNI) per capita.

Chromatography of Dyes :: Chromatography Experiments Dye Essays

Chromatography of Dyes An extremely common technique by using two chemicals and filter paper can give you sufficient information. A well-done Chromatography of dyes will provide you with enough data to determine if a liquid mixture is heterogeneous or homogenous . In a learning activity you can separate and possibly identify food dyes in some drinks mixes and food colors. The effect of solvent polarity or the ability to separate and elute compounds will also be demonstrated. In this experiment you will need to use the equation Xcm/Acm=RF value. The length of A, is the length of the longest line of the food dye or food coloring. The Length of X is the length of all the other variables. In the experiment the lengths will be measured in Centimeters. Experimental Procedure You will need to obtain a piece of standard filter paper approximately 10*15 cm. Use a pencil to draw a line parallel to one of the longer edges, about 1 cm from the edge. Make 10 dashes on the pencil line, be sure to have them evenly distributed. At this point you will spot each of the 5 standards on separate dashes. Be sure to write down which liquid is at which dash. Then choose two food colors and two drink mixes, and spot them on the remaining four dashes. Curl the filter paper into a cylinder, make sure colors out, and staple the edges together. Do not allow the edges of the filter paper to overlap. Add approximately 10 ml of a 7:3 isopropanol:water mixture to your 600 mL beaker, then carefully place the chromatogram into the beaker the colored spots must be higher than the solvent. Be sure to cover the beaker, remove, lay out to dry then measure when the solvent is 1 to 2 cm from the top. Repeat all the above steps but use 0.1% NaCl in the place of the 7:3 isopropanol. By comp aring the colors of the spots in the standards and the unknowns, and the distances the spots moved, you should be able to tell what compounds are present in the food colors and drink mixes. Some of the food colors and drink mixes may contain only one dye, and some may contain more than one.

Racism In The Movies Essay -- essays research papers

Spike Lee’s, Do The Right Thing is a comtemporary look at racism in a ordinary city urban neighborhood. The movie is seen through the eyes of the main character, Mookey, we are shown the multiple relationships and often typical stereotypes of racial groups. This movies is filled with symbolism and imagery that feeds to the story’s plot. Throughout the movie, the scorching heat is always being refereed to. As the movie goes on , the heat rises. I think this is done to represent the increasing racial tension within the neighborhood. The movie uses many situations to paint a picture of the racial tension and inequality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main plot of the movie involves the relationship that a black neighborhood has with an Italian owned pizzeria and a Korean owned convenience store. There is a conflict that occurs when one of young men from the neighborhood enters the pizzeria and demands that the owner, Sal, include on his wall of famous Italians, famous Blacks as well. Sal refuses, telling the man that it is his pizzeria and he can have whomever he wants on the wall. The man leaves feeling even more frustrated than before and decides to organize a boycott. To his dismay, he is only able to recruit a single person.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another conflict occurs between Mookey and one of of Sal’s sons. Sal’s son is an outspoken racist, or so it seems. He is always urging Sal to try to sell the business and leave the neighborhood to get away from â€Å"these† ...

Are Women Slaves to Fashion and Beauty? Essay -- Feminism Feminist Wom

Are Women Slaves to Beauty?      Ã‚   What does it take to feel beautiful? Perhaps a little bit of time, make-up, and a breathtaking dress; or at least that's what we have been programmed to believe.   Without a doubt, all of the magazines, advertisements, and make-up beauty tips have influenced women’s beliefs about what it means to be beautiful. An artificial image of beauty has been imposed on each and every woman in our culture.    I would like to begin with the fact that women have always been known to dedicate their time to beauty. Those who are devoted to their appearance most often believe that beauty brings power, popularity, and success. Women believe this, because they grow up reading magazines that picture beautiful women in successful environments; not to mention they are popular models and world famous individuals. Beautiful women are no longer just a priority for most advertising, but we have become a walking target for the working class employers. It is documented that better-looking attorneys earn more than others after five years of practice, which was an effect that grew with experience (Biddle, 172). We cannot overlook the fact that it is always the most popular and most beautiful girl who becomes homecoming-queen or prom-queen. While these are possible positive effects of the "beauty myth," the negative results of female devotion to beauty undercut this value. These effects are that it costs a lot of money, it costs a lot of time, and in the long run, it costs a lot of pain.    First, women spend huge amounts of money to improve their looks. So here we are unable to escape the reality that we can never be flawless or blemish free; moreover, as long as women have the belief that all greatness de... ...take pleasure in making yourselves up "is like telling you to stop enjoying food, sex, or love" (Newsweek vl127, 68). Just don't let it run your life, and stop feeling that beauty should be valued by what is seen on the outside. Now go out, buy your Prom dress, and do it for fun. Not for who or what you should be.    Works Cited Biddle, Jeff E & Hamermesh, David S. (1998). Beauty, Productivity, and Discrimination: Lawyers' Look and Lucre. Journal of Labor Economics, 16(30). 172. Morin, Carole. (1997). Dead Glamorous. UK: National Publishing Company. Malkin, Carole. (1990, February), True Colors-Make-Up That's Tailor-made for You. Working Woman, 104. Schmid, Wendy. (1994, August). Making Up. Vogue, 198. Lieberman, Rhonda. (1995, April). Guys and Dolls. Artform, 21. Springen, Karen. (1996, June). Eyes of the Beholders. Newsweek, 68.   

History of La Cosa Nostra

Running Header: {History of La Cosa Nostra} History of La Cosa Nostra UNK Dr. Neal CJ 380 12. 01. 2011 Envision a world where crime is king; a world where mobsters were more influential than political figures, controlled law enforcement, and ran cities to line their own pockets. They stole from whom they wanted and murdered those that got in their way. While it sounds like something out of a movie, it actually happened here in the United States in the first half of the 20th century. The American Mafia has evolved over the years as various gangs assumed and lost dominance: the Black Hand gangs around 1900; the Five Points Gang in the 1910s and ‘20s in New York City; Al Capone’s Syndicate in Chicago in the 1920s. Since the 1900s, thousands of Italian organized crime figures, mostly Sicilian Mafiosi, have come illegally to this country. The Italian Immigrants crowded into older lower class neighborhoods of American cities, sometimes given names such as â€Å"Little Italy†. These neighborhoods suffered from overcrowding and poor sanitary conditions. Living together in such closed communities created little more than a microcosm of the society they had left in Europe (par. 3, Black Hand). Some criminals exploited this fact, and began to extort the more prosperous Italian’s in their neighborhood creating a crime that would eventually snow-ball into an epidemic known as ‘The Black Hand’ (par. 3, Black Hand). The extortions were done anonymously by delivering threatening letters demanding money, signed with crudely drawn symbols, such as a knife or a skull. People paid the Black Hand extortionists in the fear that American law had no understanding, or power, to help them (par. , Black Hand). Many who fled here in the early 1920’s helped establish what is known today as La Cosa Nostra or the American Mafia (par. 10, FBI). La Cosa Nostra, or the LCN as it is known by the FBI, consists of different â€Å"families† or groups that are generally arranged geographically and engaged in significant and organ ized racketeering activity (par. 30, FBI). The LCN is most active in the New York metropolitan area, parts of New Jersey, Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago, and New England. It has members in other major cities and is involved in international crimes (par. 1, FBI). During the 1920s Prohibition era, when the 18th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution banned the sale, manufacture and transportation of alcoholic beverages, Italian-American gangs along with other ethnic gangs entered the booming bootleg liquor business and transformed themselves into sophisticated criminal enterprises, skilled at smuggling, money laundering and bribing police and other public officials (par 2, History Channel). By the end of the ‘20s, two primary factions had emerged, leading to a war for control of organized crime in New York City. The murder of faction leader Joseph Masseria brought an end to the gang warfare and in 1931 Sicilian-born crime boss Salvatore Maranzano crowned himself the â€Å"capo di tutti capi,† or boss of all bosses, in New York (par 3, History Channel). Two of the most powerful La Cosa Nostra families, known today as the Genovese and Gambino families emerged from Maranzano’s restructuring efforts. Maranzano named Luciano the first boss of what would later be known as the Genovese family. Unhappy with Maranzano’s power grab, Lucky Luciano had him murdered that same year (par 3, History Channel). Charles â€Å"Lucky† Luciano became the new leader. Luciano then masterminded the formation of a central organization called the Commission to serve as a sort of national board of directors for the American Mafia, which by then consisted of at least 20 crime families across the country (par 3, History Channel). New York, which had become America’s organized-crime capital, had been divided into five main Mafia families; everywhere else the Mafia operated, there was just one crime family per city. The Commission’s role was to set policies and mediate disagreements among the families (par 3, History Channel). In 1936, Luciano was sentenced to 30 to 50 years in prison. Ten years later, he was released from prison and deported to Italy, never to return. When he was convicted, Frank Costello became acting boss (par. 49, FBI). Costello led the family for approximately 20 years until May of 1957 when Genovese took control by sending soldier Vincent â€Å"the Chin† Gigante to murder him. Costello survived the attack but relinquished control of the family to Genovese. Attempted murder charges against Gigante were dismissed when Costello refused to identify him as the shooter (par. 50, FBI). In 1959, it was Genovese’s turn to go to prison following a conviction of conspiracy to violate narcotics laws. He received a 15-year sentence but continued to run the family through his underlings from his prison cell in Atlanta, Georgia (par. 51, FBI). The Genovese family went through a succession of bosses until Lombardo, his two captains in prison and his health failing, turned full control of the Genovese family over to Gigante, the man who tried to kill Costello 30 years earlier (par. 56, FBI). Gigante ran the family from behind the scenes while pretending to be mentally ill until he was convicted of racketeering and murder conspiracy in December 1997. Gigante’s odd behavior and mumbling while he walked around New York’s East Village in a bathrobe earned him the nickname â€Å"the Odd Father† (par. 58, FBI). The other powerful New York mafia family was the Gambino Family. The Gambino family was named for its most powerful boss, Carlo Gambino, a smart, cunning individual with a fascination for the works of Prince Machiavelli. His sharp business sense, and traditional values, earned him the respect of his allies. Don Carlo was never arrested during his career as boss, and he died of natural causes in 1976, leaving brother-in-law Paul Castellano in charge of operations. From 1976 until his assassination by John Gotti in 1985, Castellano would come to be known as the â€Å"Boss of Bosses†. Big Paulie Castellano was never a mobster in the classic sense, but rather a racketeer. He didn't even hang out with other gangsters, preferring the company of businessmen, and other â€Å"important† individuals. Castellano had few enemies, but John Gotti believed Aniello Dellacroce should have been made boss, and he had often been chastised by Castellano for dealing drugs and conducting operations without prior consultation. When Big Paulie was arrested by the FBI after bugs planted in the mobsters home had provided several hours of recorded evidence, rumors began to circulate as to whether he would rat out fellow Gambino Family members, John Gotti, now acting in lieu of Dellacroce who had recently died of brain cancer, decided it was time to plan Big Paulie's retirement (par. 1, Gambino Family/Paul Castellano). Castellano was gunned down outside Sparks Steakhouse in Manhatten as Gottie and Sammy the Bull Gravano watched from a nearby car. Throughout the 80s, Gotti earned the nickname, the â€Å"Teflon Don†; for none of the charges brought against him would stick†¦ At least until the early 90s, when he was indicted and tried on a RICO (Racketeer Influenced, and Corrupt Organizations) case; this time facing a prosecution armed with mobster turned informant Sammy â€Å"The Bull† Gravano, who had been Gotti's own underboss, and who provided damning testimony against his former boss, particularly about about the Castellano murder. Gotti was sentenced to life imprisonment, and later made several attempts at a second trial, all of which were denied. John Gotti died of cancer in the Springfield, Missouri federal prison hospital, on June 10th, 2002 (par. 1, Gambino Family/ John Gotti). Another of the five families is the Bonanno crime family, originally headed by then twenty-six-year-old Joseph â€Å"Joe Bananas† Bonanno, Sicilian-born and one of the youngest bosses of all time. The Bonanno War or â€Å"Banana Split† occurred when the Commission demoted Bonanno to underboss, sparking fervent family in-fighting among those who sided with Bonanno and those who sided with the new boss, Paul Sciacca. The fighting continued until 1968, when Bonanno suffered a heart attack and retired, though by this point the Commission had stripped the Bonanno family of its seat (par. 3, Investigation and Discovery). Troubles with the law have plagued the family, leading one newspaper to report that 75 of its 150 members have been indicted on various charges (par. 5, Investigation and Discovery/ Bonanno). The Columbo Family is the fourth of the five families. Following the Castellamarese War of 1929-1931, the family emerged as the Profaci family. It was headed by Joseph Profaci, without much threat to his leadership, until the 1950s. After Profaci’s death, Joseph Magliocco took over for a short time before the family was handed over to Joe Colombo, and the family bears his namesake to this day (par. , Investigation and Discovery/ Columbo). The family has been greatly depleted from its heyday, and continues to be ruled by Carmine Persico, now 73 years old, from prison with help from those family members who remain on the ground (par. 6, Investigation and Discovery/ Columbo). The Fifth Family, the Lucchese crime family, as it is known today, emerged out of the Castellamarese War of 1929-1931 , with Gaetano â€Å"Tommy† Gagliano serving as the appointed boss and Gaetano â€Å"Tommy† Lucchese as the appointed underboss. The family was known for its successful forays into industries such as trucking and clothing. Following Gagliano’s death in 1953, Lucchese took over and successfully ran the organization for many years with an excellent reputation. He never received a criminal conviction in his 44 years in the Mafia (par. 1, Investigation and Discovery/ Lucchese). By the mid-20th century, there were 24 known crime families in America, comprised of an estimated 5,000 full-fledged members and thousands of associates across the country. Prior to the 1960s, some government leaders, including FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, voiced skepticism about the existence of a national Italian-American organized crime network and suggested instead that crime gangs operated strictly on a local level. As a result, law enforcement agencies made few inroads in stopping the Mafia’s rise during this period (par. 6, History Channel). Since its beginnings La Cosa Nostra has been involved in a variety of rackets including gambling, loan sharking, labor union corruption, prostitution, and drug trafficking to name a few. Labor unions provide a rich source for organized criminal groups to exploit: their pension, welfare, and health funds. There are approximately 75,000 union locals in the U. S. , and many of them maintain their own benefit funds. In the mid-1980s, the Teamsters controlled more than 1,000 funds with total assets of more than $9 billion (par. 66, FBI). Labor racketeers attempt to control health, welfare, and pension plans by offering â€Å"sweetheart† contracts, peaceful labor relations, and relaxed work rules to companies, or by rigging union elections (par. 67, FBI). Labor law violations occur primarily in large cities with both a strong industrial base and strong labor unions, like New York, Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia. Senator Estes Kefauver’s Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime did not out rightly expose the complete, brutal reality of the Mafia to the American public. Nor did the Appalachian incident ignite immediate action on the part of the federal government. However, something changed when dozens of Mafia bosses met one 1957 November day at Joseph Barbara’s estate to select Vito Genovese as the boss of bosses. The response by law enforcement of the past had been to try to take down the bosses. But what became evident with the realization of the existence of such a â€Å"syndicate† was that even if Mr. Big were removed, his family would remain intact; it would simply transfer hands, usually resulting in the family being renamed. New legislation would have to be of an entirely different mold in order to be of any use to law enforcement, and such a campaign wouldn’t come into play until after the death of FBI Director Edgar J. Hoover (par. 9, The Mafia and American Law). In 1970, Congress passed the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, this proved to be a powerful tool in the government’s war on the Mafia, as it allowed prosecutors to go after crime families and their sources of revenue, both legal and illegal. During the 1980s and 1990s, RICO laws were used to convict numerous high-level mobsters. Some Mafiosi, faced with long prison sentences, broke the once-sacred code of omerta and testified against their fellow mobsters in exchange for a place in the federal witness-protection program. At the same time, Mafia membership declined as insular Italian-American neighborhoods, once a traditional recruiting ground for mobsters, underwent demographic shifts and became more assimilated into society at large (par. 7, History Channel). References GangRule. com, The Black Hand. (2011). Retrieved 6:52, December 7, 2011, from http://www. gangrule. com/gangs/the-black-hand Italian Organized Crime, (2011). The Federal Bureau of Investigation website. Retrieved 2:32, December 7, 2011, from http://www. fbi. ov/aboutus/investigate/organizedcrime/italian_mafia Mafia in the United States. (2011). The History Channel website. Retrieved 5:25, December 7, 2011, from http://www. history. com/topics/mafia-in-the-united-states. The Five Families. (2011). The Investigation Discovery website. Retrieved 2:32, December 7, 2011, from http://investigation. discovery. com/investigation/mobs-gangsters/five-families-03. html The Gambino Family. (2002). The Gambino Family website. Retrieved 6:52, Dece mber 7, 2011, from http://www. gambinofamily. com/carlo_gambino. htm