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China International Business Analysis

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China International Business Analysis

China Industrial Structure

The Chinese economy was initially under the control of the Chinese government until the year 1978 when capitalist market was introduced (World Economy team 2013, p. 1). The introduction of the capitalist market was the turning point of china’s economy as massive growth has been experienced since then to date. Management of corporations focused more on corporate governance and formulation of policies free of government interference. The focus on the traditional industry also changed. China’s economy was traditionally dependent on agriculture, but with the liberation of trade came industrialization. Manufacturing industry soon developed and would account for a huge percentage of china’s economy. However, this came with its own challenge. The major challenge that China is facing is the pollution of the environment.

China International Business Analysis

Air and water pollution in China has increased significantly so that most of the Chinese water bodies are polluted with waste even as the various firms release fumes of waste gases to the atmosphere. The state of pollution has prompted the government to direct the assessment of industrial projects for social risk before approval (Bradsher 2012, p. 1). This is aimed at reducing pollution in the environment. China has a large rural population that mainly engages in farming. The urban areas are the ones that have the major sources of income for the country due to the development of industries and service sector (Sakamoto 2011, p. 4). To improve on agriculture on the provinces, adoption of the use of machinery in farming is necessary. The majority of China’s labor force is in the agricultural sector that is more than 40% of the labor force, but the sector contributes very little; 10% in 2005 contribution to the economy in 2005 (Sasaki and Ueyama 2009, p. 4). The data reflects inefficiency in the agricultural sector through use of human labor thus the need for adoption of machines.

Macro-Economic Indicators for China

China’s GDP has been increasing over the past 10 years as evident in the chart below.

China International Business Analysis

Accessed from: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/china/gdp

The GDP is an indicator of the total amount of amount of output of a country as it measures the total expenditure on the total goods and services produced by a country. The growing GDP of china is an indicator of a growing economy through increased economic activities. This may be majorly attributed to the increasing exports by the Chinese in the recent years. China’s share of total world exports exceeds 9.6% making it one of the world’s major exporters (Enderwick 2012, p.35). The current account balance of china was growing from the year 2004 only for it to drop in 2008 following the world economic recession. Efforts to revive the BOP have borne little fruits as the BOP has continued to decrease further recently.  The outflow of capital has exceeded the inflow thus creating a deficit. This I an indication that china’s economy has been slowing down compared to the past where this economy was growing rapidly.

Accessed from: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/china/current-account-balance-bop-us-dollar-wb-data.html

Most of china’s wealth is concentrated on few wealthy individuals due to the capitalist nature of the country. These wealthy individuals in most cases have access to insider information on the economic conditions of the country thus a move by these investors to relocate their wealth to other nations is an indication of a looming danger in the economy (the economist 2012 p.1). A report by the China’s State administration of foreign affairs further indicates a falling BOP with the country recording a negative BOP for the first time since the year 1998. More money is leaving the country than that which is entering thus creating the deficit. This implies that the imports have exceeded the exports.

Despite the falling BOP, china has managed to control its rates of unemployment over the years. It is measured as a percentage of the work force in the country. Statistics show that the rate of unemployment in china stands at the rate of 4.1%. The highest figure recorded was in the year 2009 with a rate of 4.3 being recorded. Prediction of the future rate of unemployment still stands at 4.1 up to the year 2018. China is therefore maximizing on the available workforce. The upcoming industries are also playing a major role in ensuring that they provide more jobs for the active job seeking population thus maintaining the rate of unemployment constant. The high rate of population growth is a reason for the constant unemployment rate instead of a reducing rate. As more industries come up, there are more people seeking jobs. The country engages in both export and import trade. The increasing demand for containers for transport of exports has favored china’s economy since it is the world’s major exporter of containers. China is the main exporter in the world and the world’s second largest importer (EW World Economy Team 2013, p. 1). In the year 2011, china was the largest exporting partner for 32 countries, while it’s the largest importing partner for 34 countries. Thus, there is growing importance of China in the world trade. It also engages in intra-industry trade, for example through importing electronics from Japan while it is still an exporter of electronics.

Foreign direct investment is also a macro economic indicator of international business that affects China as a developing economy. FDI can either be inward or outward in nature. Foreign direct investment in China is majorly Greenfield investment from firms wanting to be part of the economic revolution in China. Measured in hundred million dollars, in 2004 china’s FDI was slightly above 600. This figure has grown over time to the highest point being 1200 recorded in 2012 and January 2014 (trading economics 2014, p. 1). The figures indicate a growing economy that is receiving many foreign investors. Any growing economy attracts investors both local and global who hope to benefit from the growing trade in the country. China also engages in foreign direct investment. The surge for OFDI has been on in china since 2000. The most interesting part of it all is that it is not only the private investors carrying out OFDI but the Chinese government is also part of it. This government has invested in many foreign projects abroad (Ritchie 2013, p. 1). With the growth of the Chinese economy after the industrial revolution, a surplus was created thus the need to invest the surplus somewhere else. Thus china has become a participant in many economies through outward foreign direct investment.

Investing in Developing Economies by Developing Economies

Emerging markets carry out investment activities in each other’s country due to the mutual benefit that can be derived from these investments. There are two main reasons why countries trade with each other. Difference of the countries is one of the reasons. No country is exactly the same with another. There are different natural resources in every country that makes them unique. The geographical location can also be an added advantage to a country due to the different weather conditions in the various countries. Climatic conditions are in most cases a determinant of the agricultural activities that a country undertakes. Using artificial means to create the conditions for growth of crops is expensive compared to the use of the natural climate of a region.

The other reason for trade between countries is their comparative advantage that different countries have. By virtue of being endowed either with capital or labor force enables countries to undertake production efficiently using the resources at their disposal. Making use of the comparative advantage gives rise to specialization of countries in production. Specialization ensures that countries produce only what they are best at producing. This encourages international trade. For any meaningful development to occur in developing countries, trade must occur both locally and cross border. Specifically investing in other developing economies is a benefit to the country.

First of all, most developing nations are situated within the same geographical area. Therefore, investing in another emerging economy will enable regional development of the region where the country is situated; resulting in regional integration of the area. Through investing in Taiwan, china has been able to benefit from a reciprocal investment in china by Taiwan. China has been able to grow its economy through the use of the resources at its disposal locally and from Taiwan. The outcome of this integration is the establishment of manufacturing industries with credible suppliers from Taiwan and locally complementing each other. Regional integration of these two countries is evident in the more than 500,000 Taiwanese living in china, the control of about 70% of china’s IT sector by the Taiwan and China becoming Taiwan number one trade partner (Enderwick 2012, p. 35). China has had much impact on the Asian region due to its trade with other Asian countries.

Investing in developing economies is both extremely risky and stands high chances of a good income. The developing countries carry additional political, economic and currency risk with it. This leads to fluctuation of interest rates and return on investment. However, this should not scare away investors. With the growing nature of the economy, there is increasing cash flow in the country, thus reducing chances of default by the government on debts (Arouri, Boubaker, Nguyen 2013, p. 17). Assurance of payment of debts is a good reason for investing in other developing economies. A high return is assured resulting from little competition in the market and introduction of products that were not there initially (Lynn 2010, p. 18).with increased risk comes increased return on investment. Furthermore, governments of developing economies are welcoming to investments due to the economic benefit the country will gain from the investments. Therefore, the government may provide incentives to these firms willing to invest in various projects to encourage investment. The lower tax rate for development projects is one more reason that emerging economies should invest in other emerging economies. Lower taxes mean lower overhead cost resulting in higher profits.

Insufficient or total lack of natural resources in emerging economies have triggered the move by emerging economy to invest in other emerging economies. Countries undertaking such investments benefit from the natural resources of other countries of their similar economic status. Such investments increase the supply of the much needed resources for the developing economies to grow (Marinov, & Marinova 2011, p. 374). This informs china’s move to invest in various African countries and Latin America. The internationalization of firms from emerging economies to other resource endowed emerging economies is aimed at accessing the much needed economic resources in the growing economy.

The low cost of labor is another factor for investing in emerging economies (Sauvant, Maschek, & McAllister 2010, p. 451). The cost of labor in most emerging countries is considerably low due to the high level of illiteracy thus a high demand for jobs for the laborers. The demand for jobs causes inflation in the country, thus reducing the cost of labor in these developing nations. Therefore, for firms intending to maximize on labor intensive investments, other developing nations is the sure destination for them.

However, such investments are not always assured of success. The risk involved is too much and the turn of economic activities in these economies can lead to major losses. Developing countries investing in risky environment I even worse since they have limited capital to invest thus loosing it will be a big blow to their economy. Moreover, the frequency of change in developing economy, markets is high so that if information is not well analyzed, firms can have a problem in the market preventing their conquest into the new market. The unpredictable political environment is also a factor against foreign direct investment in developing nations. With the political upheavals experienced in these countries, the trading environment is frequently disrupted by unexpected civil war. Wars lead to the loss of value of investments so that investors are not only unable to gain from their investment but also the assets are not disposable. The demand for assets falls significantly almost paralyzing the trade on assets during the war thus the assets are devalued.

Difference Between Investing in A Developed and A Developing Economy

The difference between investing in a developed country and underdeveloped country is the regulations governing the countries and the nature of the two markets. With investment in emerging economies, firms will opt for collaborative investments instead of taking up the investment alone (Freeman, Rammal, &Cavusgil 2011, p. 457). The preference for collaborative investment is aimed at spreading the risk of investment in developing nations. Due to the risk involved in investing in developing economies, firms merge with other firms before entering the developing nation. For the developed nations, there is little collaboration for the purpose of entering the market. The markets are well developed and stable thus little risk is involved in the investment. Furthermore, information asymmetry in the developed nations is a factor for investors to consider before entering into these markets.

Lack of perfect information present a looming danger in these economies, thus the need for extensive research. In developed countries, there is perfect information for investors to refer to thus investment decisions are arrived at quickly. Government regulation on trade is another factor for the developing economies. Most developing nations are opposed to free trade (Chang 2003, p. 1). The resistance to free trade is aimed at protecting local industry from being overtaken by the foreign firms. However, the developed countries argue that the way to development is through free trade thus developing nations should adopt free trade. This creates a difference in the entry into the markets. For the developing economies, firms have to comply with the numerous government regulations before accessing the market; for the developed countries, few administrative processes take place for the purpose of identification and registration of the firms. Thus, it is easier to enter a developed market than to enter a developing market when there is government regulation.

In most cases, investing in developing nations is in the form of greenfield investment. This is because of the absence of well established infrastructure for firms to have been set up in the region thus acquisitions is not possible. Developing nation requires plenty of investment in the economy to boost growth. As a result, governments of these nations are taking steps to ensure they attract as many investors as possible. Protection of local industry is limited to allow them develop and be able to compete thus allowing foreign investments (Globalisation 101 2014, p. 1). This limits government protection of local industries for a given period. Development of infrastructure is also another move to attract investors as well as stabilizing the economy.

Further, firms from developing economies prefer changing their brand name when entering the market in developed countries to avoid stigmatization (Cuervo-Cazurra & Ramamurti 2014, p.290). This is caused by the negative publicity developing countries receive in developed countries. Changing the brand name and relocating a firm’s headquarters to another developed country will see the firm’s products accepted in the developed nation. For other developing economies, products from fellow developing economies are accepted with little (if any) resistance.     

Bibliography
  • Arouri M, Boubaker S, Nguyen D, 2013. Emerging markets and global economy: a handbook. Academic press.
  • Bradsher K. Social risk test ordered b china for big projects. New York Times. November 12, 2012. Accessed from: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/13/world/asia/china-mandates-social-risk-reviews-for-big-projects.html  [2 December 2014]
  • Chang H, 2003. Foreign investment regulation in historical perspective. Global policy forum. Available from https://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/213/45615.html [2 December 2014]
  • Cuervo-Cazurra A, Ramamurti R 2014. Understanding multinationals from emerging markets. Cambridge University Press.
  • Enderwick P, 2012. Undersanding emerging Markets: China and India. Routledge.
  • EW World Economy Team. Economic structure of china. Economy Watch, 4th june 2013. Available from:   http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/china/structure-of-economy.html [2 December 2014]
  • EW World Economy Team. China Trade, imports and exports. 4 June 2013. Accessed from: http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/china/export-import.html  [2 December 2014]
  • Freeman S, Rammal H, &Cavusgil S, 2011. International business: the new realities. Pearson Higher Education AU
  • Globalisation 101, 2014. The role of government. Levin institute. Available from: http://www.globalization101.org/the-role-of-government/  [2 December 2014]
  • Lynn D, 2010. Emerging market real estate investment: investing in China, india and Brazil. John Wiley & Sons.
  • MARINOV, D, M, & MARINOVA, D, S, 2011. Internationalization of Emerging Economies and Firms. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Ritchie D, 2013. Chinese outward foreign direct investment: scale and nature of Chinese OFDI. China Go Abroad. Accessed from: http://www.chinagoabroad.com/en/commentary/chinese-outward-foreign-direct-investment [2 December 2014]
  • Sakamoto H. 2011. Provincial Economic Growthand Industrial Structure in China: An Index Approach. The International Centre for the Study of East Asian Development (ICSEAD): Working Paper Series,Vol. 2011-01, January 2011. Available from: http://www.agi.or.jp/user03/967_196.pdf  [2 December 2014]
  • Sasaki H, and Ueyama S 2009. China’s Industrial Structure and its Changes in Recent Years: An Analysis of the 1997–2005 Input-Output Tables. Bank of Japan Working Paper Series. Available from: https://www.boj.or.jp/en/research/wps_rev/wps_2009/data/wp09e02.pdf  [2 December 2014]
  •  Sauvant K, Maschek W, McAllister G, 2010. Foreign direct investment from emerging countries: the challenges ahead. Palgrave Macmillan.
  • The economist 2012. BoP until you drop. Available from: http://www.economist.com/node/21559949  [2 December 2014]
  • Trading economics. China foreign direct investment. Accessed from: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/china/foreign-direct-investment [2 December 2014]

NASA’s OSIRIS REx Mission to Asteroid Bennu

By
Dani
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0
NASA's OSIRIS REx Mission to Asteroid Bennu

As we move further into the 21st century, NASA scientist continue to look to the deeper parts of the universe for the answer to age-old questions about the existence of life on planet earth. With the development of more advanced technology and scientific theories, it has become possible for them to target one of the closer asteroids to our planet, the asteroid Bennu, for study and observation. The theory being that by taking samples from the asteroid, scientists will be able to mount successful deflection missions should the asteroid pass too close to the earth and, eventually, come to better understand how the earth managed to evolve from being an asteroid to a living planet. Basically, the question being asked by the project, that they hope to answer is “can you go to an asteroid, collect material, and bring it back to earth?” (Algar, Jim “NASA Gets Go-Ahead To Build Spacecraft for Space Sampling Mission”)/  This paper will look deeper into the relevance of the mission to Bennu, the current status of the project, and finally, make conclusions about the possible success or failure of the space mission. This will be done by presenting the latest facts about the mission as taken from the latest news and scientific reports / updates related to the 2016 space mission.

In order to fully grasp the importance of the mission to Asteroid Bennu, the public must first understand the key mission objectives of the project. All of which are crucial to the continued study of planet and life preservation on Earth. These mission objectives are:

  1. Attempting to shed light on basic questions concerning the makeup of the very early solar system and the source of organic materials and water that made life possible on Earth.
  2. Providing valuable information, contributing to NASA’s asteroid initiative, a framework for a future mission, also known as Asteroid Retrieval and Utilization (ARU) mission.
  3. Supporting NASA’s efforts to understand the population of potentially hazardous near-Earth objects.
  4. Characterizing asteroids suitable for future exploration missions (Myles, Robert “NASA’s Asteroid Sample Mission Gets Go-Ahead”)

Having received financing and support from the government to implement the project, NASA has begun to develop the spacecraft that will be used for this unmanned mission. Known as the Origins, Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security-Regolith Explorer, OSIRIS REx for short the unmanned explorer was approved at the Mission Design Critical Review at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company in Ohio this April (Myles, Robert “NASA’s Asteroid Sample Mission Gets Go-Ahead”). With a planned launch date in the Fall of 2016, the craft is expected to rendezvous with the 493 meter asteroid in 2018. OSIRIS – REx will have 5 onboard instruments meant to help with data and sample collection. A task that is expected to last at least one year. The samples and data will then take a 5 year trip back to earth where NASA will collect the samples and other onboard data for long term experimentation, research, and study well into the 2020’s (Myles, Robert “NASA’s Asteroid Sample Mission Gets Go-Ahead”).

NASA's OSIRIS REx Mission to Asteroid Bennu

The task of developing the unmanned aircraft was awarded to the University of Arizona. Awarded the contract to the tune of $200 million, this is considered to be a windfall earning for Arizona and a challenge for the scientists and engineers at the university. Principal Investigator for the mission is Dante Lauretta who explained the importance of the mission in terms of scientific study. He related that; “The asteroid is very important to study. First of all it’s potentially hazardous with a high probability of impacting the earth so we’re going to understand its material properties in the event we need to make a deflection mission” (Overall, John “UA Takes Lead in NASA’s Asteroid Mission”). The University of Arizona has been tasked with providing the eyes of the mission. The 3 cameras that will scan and map the asteroid. Camera development has been tasked to the team headed by Catherine Merrill as the O-CAMS engineer.

The scientists and engineers involved in the OSIRIS – REx project have lofty ambitions for the unmanned craft and its mounted equipment. The expectation is that the spacecraft will return to the earth around 2023 with enough data collected to answer questions such as the nature of our solar system. There are hopes that scientists will also get first hand information about the foundation of organic materials that created a habitable atmosphere on earth, along with the possible asteroid threats that exist to threaten our home planet. Spectoroids that are attached to OSIRIS-REx will be crucial in collecting this information stemming from the measure of light reflecting off the asteroid all the way to the asteroid’s chemical make up. Studies about the Yarkovsky Effect, or the effect of sunlight on Bennu’s orbit will also be observed in relation to its potential to fall to earth (Smith, Brett “Countdown Starts for NASA’s mission to Bennu”).

With all of these expectations riding on the multi-billion dollar mission, the scientific community is already quite familiar with the possible end results of the space mission. However, the lay public know very little about the asteroid itself even though the mission has been taking scientific and news headlines time and again. So what exactly makes the Asteroid Bennu so special? Why was it chosen for this particular mission? Although little information has been released to the public about the asteroid, there actually is available information for those interested in learning more about his mythical asteroid, chosen for this very special mission.

The asteroid itself was named by 9 year old Michael Puzo from North Carolina, the third-grader, who won the contest to name the asteroid, thought that the TAGSAM and solar panels of the OSIRIS-REx resembled the Egyptian god of the same name (Wall, Mike “9 Year Old Names Asteroid ‘ Bennu’ for NASA Mission”).  Additionally, information researched by David Szondy (“NASA’s OSIRIS- REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission Goes to Development”) reveals that:

The choice of Bennu as a target wasn’t just drawn out of a hat. Bennu is a B-type asteroid, meaning that it’s carbonaceous rather than composed of stone or a mix of iron and nickel. It’s rich in volatiles and may contain water and organic    molecules that could provide clues as to the origin of life on Earth. Out of over 500,000 asteroids known, Bennu is one of only five B-types that is of suitable     size and orbit for rendezvous and sample return. In addition, if pure science isn’t enough, Bennu is also one of the most likely asteroids to hit Earth in the next few centuries, so taking a close look has an element of self-interest. 

Aside from the scientific benefits of studying the asteroid Bennu, NASA and other private space companies have a vested interest in the success of the OSIRIS REx mission to collect samples from the asteroid. It has everything to do with the possibility of mining asteroids for resources. It is the belief of NASA that asteroids might, in the future, afford our society a new area of natural resources to access. That is because as our society progresses, we also require more and more natural resources to continue our development. The asteroids in space are assumed to be rich in natural resources that can be mined for the benefit of earth (Steigerwald, William “New NASA Mission to Help Us Learn How to Mine Asteroids”). That is why the OSIRIS REx is being designed to be able to carry out sample collection along with chemistry, mineralogy, and topography data collection that can be compared with telescope based data and on the spot observations that will help NASA make a precise determination of the asteroids orbit (Szondy, David “NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission Goes to Development”).

The critical mission of OSIRIS-REx to steroid Bennu is being undertaken by multiple organizations that are all interested in the further study and exploration of the space rocks and boulders. While primarily a U.S. NASA project, there are also private entities involved in this titanic endeavor. The spacecraft will be built bu Lockheed Martin Space System in Denver, Colorado. Specs will be delivered by the engineers at the University of Arizona. The control of the project remains with NASA though over at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. With such high profile organizations involved with this space exploration mission, it is impossible for this 21st century trailblazing endeavor to fail.

Works Cited
  • Algar, Jim. “NASA Gets Go Ahead to Build Spacecraft for Asteroid Sampling Mission”. Tech Times. techtimes.com. 15 Apr. 2014. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
  • Myles, Robert. “NASA’s Asteroid Sample MIssion Gets Go Ahead”. Digital Journal. digitaljournal.com. 10 Apr. 2014. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
  • Overall, John. “UA Takes Lead in NASA’s Asteroid Mission”. kvoa.com. kvoa.com. 17Apr. 2014. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.    
  • Smith, Brett. “Countdown Starts for NASA’s MIssion to Asteroid Bennu”. Red Orbit. redorbit.com. 10 Dec. 2013. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
  • Steigerwald, William. “New NASA Mission to Help Us Learn How to Mine Asteroids”. NASA. nasa.gov. 8 Aig. 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
  • Szondy, David. “NASA’s OSIRIS – REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission Goes to Development”. gizmag.com. gizmag.com. 17 May 2013. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
  • Wall, Mike. “9 – Year-Old Names Asteroid ‘Bennu’ for NASA Mission”. space.com. space.com. 1 May 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.

Coronary Heart Disease Symptoms and Causes

By
Dani
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Coronary Heart Disease Symptoms and Causes

Coronary heart failure is caused by the accumulation inside the coronary arteries of a waxy material called plaque. The arteries which carry the heart muscle with oxygenated blood. A blood clot will develop on its surface if the plate splits, which will obstruct the flow of blood through the coronary artery that triggers heart failure. Research would highlight the potential triggers and preventive factors of coronary heart disease. Coronary heart disease is one of the diseases that causes most deaths in the city, in line with the research carried out by the national health institute in the Merced country of Carlifornia. Merced is ranked 46th in the amount of fatalities used by coronary heart disease depending on age, the mortality rate for 2006-210, 25 deaths per 110,000 of the population induced by coronary heart disease, in comparison to the quantitative statistics. In comparison, 16,000 persons in Merced County alone have been diagnosed with coronary heart disease, which is 9% of Mercede County’s overall population. In addition, obesity is one of the causes of coronary heart disease, and 29 percent of the overall population of Merced County is also rated top, meaning that there is a greater risk of rising mortality rates induced by coronary heart disease.1 Magnitude of the problem

Any of the study carried out has had a positive effect on the general populace of Merced County. Since the data obtained adequately illustrates the mechanisms of coronary heart disease, and how it can be prevented and avoided at the same time.

Coronary Heart Disease Symptoms and Causes

Literature Review

The literature review coverage, as well as studies on coronary heart disease, shows a substantial association between the actions and lifestyle of the person and the decisions that one makes [related to his health.1 The study showed that certain people may benefit from coronary heart disease, whereas others may not. Since others neglect fitness, uncontrolled diet, weight, family background and eventually do not have connections at a reasonable time to health care facilities.

Coronary heart disease is a disease that causes most deaths in the region, based on studies done by the National Institute of Health in Merced Country, California. Merced is ranked 46th in the amount of casualties used by coronary heart failure in comparison to quantitative statistics. The mortality rate in the years 2006-210 is dependent on age. 25 fatalities are induced by coronary heart failure per 110,000 of the population. In comparison, 16,000 persons in Merced County alone have been hospitalised with coronary heart disease, which is 9% of Merced County’s overall population. In comparison, obesity is one of the causes of coronary heart disease, and 29 percent of the overall population of Merced County is also rated large. Which shows that the rise in mortality rates triggered by coronary heart disease is more probable.2

Social Determinants of Coronary Heart Disease

Unemployment

Security of the job is likely to boost the well-being of an individual, because of the daily commitment, as well as the rewards that the company’s employment.1 On the other hand, unemployment amongst the citizens of any given country will increase the level of stress, which will increase the rate of illness and premature deaths. Health issues related to unemployment that is, both psychological and financial constraints. All will have negative results on the health of an individual more, so the mental and one also is at a higher risk of contracting heart disease more so coronary heart disease.3

Work Stress

Work stress is one of the important determinants of CHD among the working-age group. That is mediated via indirect effects on health behaviors and direct impact on neuroendocrine stress pathways. Exposures included job pressures and, on the other hand, behavioral risk factors were included in outcomes. 7

Low SES

Lower socioeconomic status among the citizens of Merced is one of the sociaeconomic determinants of coronary heart disease. In reference to the above, persons living below the poverty level are unlikely to provide access to sufficient medicine that would enable early disease identification. 2

Addiction

Addiction is another social determinant of coronary heart disease. Individuals who have resorted to alcohol, cigarettes and other substances could experience a lot from the consequences of the drugs in this regard. Addiction to the drugs is a social determinant of coronary heart disease in the sense that, the use of various types of drugs is highly influenced by the wider social setting.3 Therefore, the government should ensure that it has policies to control the availability and the consumption rate of the respective drug cutting down the incidences of people suffering from coronary heart diseases. In addition, a detailed drug policy supported by an adequate framework dealing with economic policy ought to be adhered to by all.

Low Social Support

Lack of support from the family members towards an individual suffering from coronary heart disease can torture somebody psychologically, therefore increasing the intensity of the disease in the body of a person. 4

 Poor Nutrition

Unbalanced diet amongst individuals will also increase the chances of one suffering from the disease. for the body will not be getting the required food that will give the room for sufficient flow and supply of blood to all parts of the body.  An individual will be weak can, therefore, can easily be attacked any disease more so the coronary heart disease.

Poverty

Poverty is another social determinant of coronary heart disease, because individuals who are well off can seek adequate medical attention in time. therefore, controling further effects of coronary heart disease. On the other hand, for individuals who are rated to be below the poverty line that is they are not able to attain adequate medication in time. Alternatively, sought medical attention at an early stage, before the state of their body become worse. Also, they are likely to be swallowed by the disease because the lack adequate finances maintain their health status.7

Health Policy

These are policies laid down by the government of any given country, in order to control the operations of health institutions, as well as the health of an individual. In relation to the above, the government sets rules or the policies that prohibit the consumption of any substance that causes the coronary heart disease. Therefore, health systems in any given country form the social determinants of coronary heart disease. 5 It’s the social responsibility of an individual to ensure that one strictly adheres to the laid rules and regulations that govern health issues of any given country. It is, therefore, responsibility of members to participate in ensuring that the health policy, the procedure is followed to the letter in order to cut down the possible cause of coronary heart disease. 

Smoking

Smoking is a contributor of almost 90% of the entire heart diseases. Therefore, smoking can be termed as a social determinant of coronary disease. The habit of smoking is highly conducted in a social set up, and one can be either a direct smoker or a passive smoker. In relation to this, individuals who hung around the smoking zone are likely to encounter the effects of smoke. Their lungs will be affected and the flow system of the blood in the body, causing coronary heart disease. 6

Health

The health of an individual is the primary responsibility of a person. The health of an individual cannot effectively ensure the safety of his head without ensuring the safety of entire environment t is, therefore, the responsibility of a given community at large to ensure that their health issues are suitable. 3 Therefore, health can be one of the social determinants of coronary disease, for it can for ill sanitary conditions within a given environment can easily lead to coronary heart disease.

Inactivity

Lack of exercise can also be another major social determinant of coronary heart disease.  It is because lack of exercise makes the body in action, and might not function very well. On the other hand, active body that is the body, which is always under exercise, have its openings sufficient and will give the room to flow of blood through the body. Adequate blood to the heart will enable the heart to carry out its biological activities effectively, hence minimizing the chances of one suffering from the coronary heart disease. 4

Stress

Social circumstances can lead to long-term stress. Issues such as insecurity, social alienation, low self-esteem, and prolonged or ongoing distress may quickly contribute to coronary heart disease, contributing to premature death finally.   In this scenario, it influences both the cardiovascular as well as the immune systems. If an individual feel too tense most frequently, they can become vulnerable to various conditions, including high blood pressure and heart attack. However, government ought to ensure that welfare programs have to be addressed in line to both psychosocial as well as the material needs. Thus helping reduce stress that can lead to coronary heart disease. 6

Social Exclusion

High-quality life automatically does increase the lifespan of an individual. On the other hand, things like; poverty, resentment and hardship, discrimination and social exclusion do cost many lives at an early stage. Because of the social exclusion, an individual can easily suffer from coronary heart disease. It is, therefore, the responsibility of any given government to ensure that its citizens are well protected by the minimum wage legislation, minimum income guarantee, as well as access to various services. In addition, policies governing the public heath should remove all the barriers to social services, healthcare, and affordable housing. For it will minimize the incidences of its citizens suffering coronary heart disease caused by social exclusion.

Early Life

To have a good start in life means to have full support from parents to their young ones. Health impact of early development of an individual, as well as education, lasts ass lifetime.  The foundation of adult’s health is generally set during early childhood stage and before birth. Poor emotional support and slow growth raise the long-term risk of poor physical health, as well as reducing cognitive, physical and slow growth in adults. If an individual is brought into, an environment that is health conscious will reduce the chances of a person suffering from many other diseases. On the other side, infants who are abused at an early level will be impacted more by coronary heart disease than by chronic diseases at one point. 4

Defining The Condition and Hypothesis

Condition is a point or state in which an individual is. For instate someone who suffers from coronary heart disease. Hypothesis, on the other side, is a tentative statement that talks about the correlation between two or more factors that the investigator plans to operate on them. In other words, it is a testable prediction in line with the expectation of your study or research. Researchers do come up with the hypothesis of a given particular theory, or they can build it basing on the previous research.  

The Ongoing Interventions Addressed about Coronary Heart Disease

The government of Merced County has in place measures to ensure that in one way reduce the deaths caused by coronary heart disease. Among the services offered include community service and support. In line with hospitalization,  the government reduced the number of its citizens hospitalized that had accrued for 130 days, that’s 18% as compared the previous year. Among the measures taken by the government include introducing juvenile behavioral health court programs that will ensure that individuals do not harm their health by consuming what has en prohibited. Moreover, the government also provided that it properly trains its medical practitioners on how to control coronary heart disease.5

Limitations

The research on coronary heart disease had a lot of downfalls; first, the resources for studying coronary heart disease were carried out by the secondary resources like the journal article and the website. All that explained data from primary and secondary data. Secondly, there was not readily accessible to the readily available quantitative data.

Larger Significance

The research will help the people as well as the government of Merced county on how to control the deaths that are caused by coronary heart disease. Moreover, the study also recommends on the possible activities that an individual ought to put into practice in order to have control over his health. In addition, the study will also help the government of the Merced county in its budgeting process.  It will have the exact figures of individuals suffering from coronary heart disease, hence reduces cases of financial shortfalls in the county. 1

Compared to California and the US, the socioeconomic determinants of the disease in Merced County. Social determinants in the three countries are related in one way or the other. For instance, work stress. It is a determinant factor of coronary disease in both the three countries. In Merced, work has both negative and positive impacts to the health of individuals.  The government of the two countries, both tries to ensure that the working conditions for their citizens are favorable and not stressful. By doing, the government ensures that stressed up in that they can end up suffering from coronary heart disease.

US, Merced and California citizens try to ensure that they secure employment in order to avoid economic constraints that might cause diseases like heart attack and coronary heart diseases.  In addition, the government of the three countries ensures that it provides employment opportunities to its citizens in order to control as well prevent the increasing incidences of coronary diseases.

Addiction is another social determinant of coronary heart disease that the three countries are putting much concern on. The three countries are ensuring that it puts in place policies that will control the act of excessive consumption of drugs. Both countries are trying to ensure that it adequately addresses the side effects of consumption of alcohol, as well as smoking. Countries are also ensuring that they properly equip their health centers to be able handle the rising cases of coronary heart diseases. In addition, all countries are ensuring that they have enough health systems across the entire country in order to control the increasing rate of coronary heart disease. Furthermore, all the above countries have ensured that they have adequate resources and personnel in order ensure that it prevents increasing coronary diseases in their countries. The respective countries also ensure that it provides proper medication to its employees in order to reduce the death rates. Comparison of health outcomes related to the problem.

Health out of any state or country is to ensure citizens are protected against dangerous diseases. Merced suffered financial restrictions, like every other country, to take proper care of its people against coronary heart disease. 4

In Merced City, the ongoing initiatives or services that treat this health condition.Training by medical professionals regarding having to cope more with coronary heart failure than with health conditions. In addition, Merced County has put programs in place in order to reduce and prevent coronary heart disease. Leadership of the nation maintains that its residents are well informed in compliance with health concerns. Exercise is also another factor that is emphasized to make sure that  the health of its citizens is properly controlled. Laying down policies that protect consumption of drugs is also another sector that is highly addressed in order for the citizens of the country to avoid excessive consumption of alcohol and enhance having a healthy nation. A study was carried out to help better understanding of the issue in Merced County, using both qualitative and quantitative data gathering methods. It should concentrate on unearthing the prevalence of residents with coronary disease.

References
  • Coronary Artery Disease. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/coronary_ad.htm. Last updated May 9, 2014. Accessed September 24, 2014. 
  • Heart Disease and Stroke. Healthy People 2020. http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/overview.aspx?topicid=21. Last updated September 24, 2014. Accessed September 24, 2014. 
  • County Health Status Profiles. California Department of Public Health. http://www.cdph.ca.gov/data/statistics/Pages/DeathStatisticalDataTables.aspx. Accessed October 08, 2014.
  • Department of Public Health. Merced County of California. http://www.co.merced.ca.us/index.aspx?NID=82. Accessed October 08, 2014.
  • AskCHIS. UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. http://ask.chis.ucla.edu/main/DQ3/geographic.asp. Accessed October 08, 2014.
  • Gulliksson M, Burell G, et al. Psychosocial factors during the first year after a coronary heart disease event in cases and referents. Secondary Prevention in Uppsala Primary Health Care Project (SUPRIM). BMC Cardiovascular Disorders [serial online]. 2007; 36(7). Available at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2261/7/36. Accessed October 22, 2014.
  • Lazzarino A, Hamer M, et al. Low Socioeconomic Status and Psychological Distress as Synergistic Predictors of Mortality from Stroke and Coronary Heart Disease. Psychosomatic Medicine. 2013; 75(3):311–316. Doi: 10.1097/PSY.0b013e3182898e6d.
  • Pabayo, Roman. Income Inequality between American States and the Risk for Coronary Heart Disease. The 20th IEA World Congress of Epidemiology [serial online]. 2014. Available at: WCE. Accessed October 22, 2014.
  • Richardson S, Shaffer J, et al. Meta-analysis of Perceived Stress and its Association with Incident Coronary Heart Disease. American Journal of Cardiology [serial online]. 2012; 110(12):1711-1716. Available at: http://www.ajconline.org/article/S0002-9149 (12)01929-7/pdf. Accessed October 22, 2014.
  • Nabi H, Shipley M, et al. Effects of depressive symptoms and coronary heart disease and their
  • Interactive associations on mortality in middle-aged adults: the Whitehall II cohort study. PubMed Central [serial online]. 2010; 96(20):1645–1650. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3151258/. Accessed October 22, 2014.
  • Nabi H, Kivimäki M, et al. Increased risk of coronary heart disease among individuals reporting adverse impact of stress on their health: the Whitehall II prospective cohort study. PubMed Central [serial online]. 2013; 34(34):2697–2705. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23804585. Accessed October 22, 2014.
  • Gillespie C, Wigington, C, et al. Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke Deaths — United States, 2009. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC [serial online]. 2013; 62(03); 157-160. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su6203a26.htm. Accessed October 22, 2014.
  • Heart Disease and Stroke. Healthy People 2020. Available at: http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/overview.aspx?topicid=21. Last updated September 24, 2014. Accessed October 22, 2014.
  • Health wise Staff. Depression and Coronary Artery Disease. Kaiser Permanente. Available at: https://healthy.kaiserpermanente.org/health/care/!ut/p/a0/FchBDoIwEAXQE5EvYSFx5xmI0XZDxmHCNLbTxkwg3F5ZvoeIF6LRllbyVI3y34GruZjfVCi7dmJ8cK5NlkR4IiK2L62FEKx2TKxyHvvRBOHzPqF7WhB07_vhMl4xic2PCa2UcSjz_Qc8o8zm. Last updated April 6, 2012. Accessed October 22, 2014.
  • What Are Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors? National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Available at: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/hd. Last updated: February 1, 2011. Accessed October 22, 2014.
  • Saban K, Mathews H, et al. Epigenetics and Social Context: Implications for Disparity in Cardiovascular Disease. PubMed Central [serial online]. 2014; 5(5):346–355. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4173800/. Accessed October 22, 2014.

What are the Pulmonary Effects of Smoking Marijuana?

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What are the Pulmonary Effects of Smoking Marijuana?

Literature Review

Marijuana scientifically referred to as Cannabis sativa is a dry hemp plant material that is often smoked like cigarette. Marijuana consists of an active ingredient called delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol which plays a vital role in the destruction of the lungs and pulmonary systems of smokers. According to Winger et al (2004), delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol is rapidly absorbed from the lungs and quickly bounds to the endogenous cannabinoid receptors within the central nervous system thus leads to psychoactive effects that users seek. Marijuana smoking is the commonest method of marijuana use and can either be rolled cigarette or through water filled pipe.

Studies suggest that it is frequently inhaled by many marijuana patients as intensely hot fumes, typically to peak inspiration, and kept as long as possible before being steadily exhaled. This form of smoking has a stronger influence on the pulmonary system, according to a study by Forrester et al (2012), because it predisposes the lung parenchyma to higher harm than normal tobacco cigarette smoking. Research has been conducted in the past on the consequences of smoking marijuana and has shown that the risk of frequent marijuana smoking is close to that of regular cigarette smoking (Onaivi, 2006). There are several reports on the impact of nicotine on the respiratory system, and tobacco has been profiled and related to several diseases. Nonetheless, few reports have concentrated on the effects of weed on lung function.

Using a series of 10 patients aged between 32 and 50, two women and eight men, Hii et al (2008) studied the impact of smoking marijuana on pulmonary emphysema. Participants were those who recorded new respiratory problems in the respiratory unit over a span of 12 months and those who admitted that they were frequent marijuana patients. In the lecture, the participants also displayed the following signs, including dyspnoea, pneumothorax and some form of chest infection. In this analysis, in the mid and upper areas, high resolution CT reveals variable shaped, asymmetrical emphysematous bullae. However, in four cases, the CT showed normal CXR and in five patients, normal lung function was normal. This research reveals that pot smoking predisposes human users mainly in the usual CXR atmosphere and lung function to asymmetrical bullous disease. The research further showed that these pathological shifts arise at a younger age relative to cigarette smoking up to 2 years ago (Hii et al, 2008).

Current studies show that marijuana smoking is also associated with pulmonary fibrosis and lung bullae. As stated by Phan et al (2005), a case of twenty six years old Caucasian man presented with a history of exertional dyspnoea and dry cough for eight months had been smoking 10 cigarettes per day for 2 years and 10 pipes of marijuana per day for five years. The case report also indicated that the twenty six year old had no history of animal or occupational exposure, medications use or i.v. drugs use (Phan et al, 2005). The examination of this patient showed bilaterally reduced breath sounds that is an evidence of hyper-inflated lungs. This study also revealed that there was no cyanosis or clubbing and was a febrile. A radiograph examination of the patients’ chest also showed that there are widespread of opacities throughout the lungs. This case shows that marijuana smoking results into cystic changes which were particularly large in the lower zones in both lungs. There were extensive interstitial opacities throughout the lungs which included the upper mid and lower zones.

The case presented above shows that marijuana can result into extensive damage onto lungs and the lower parts of the pulmonary system. As stated by Winger et al (2004), smoking marijuana often lead to a number of deformities; radiology, histology and lung function which all are related to heavy marijuana smoking. The combination of advanced pulmonary fibrosis, combination of lung bullae and heavy pigmented macrophage infiltration is unique (Phan et al, 2005). This study reveals the adverse effects of marijuana not only to the lungs but also to the other parts of the respiratory tract system. The destruction of marijuana by toxic chemicals resulting from marijuana is evident among both regular and long to short term smokers of marijuana.

Milroy & Parai (2011) conducted an autopsy study which involved up to 13 marijuana smokers who suddenly died from accidental causes. This study revealed that the pigmented macrophages from marijuana infiltrated into the alveoli and interstitial of the lungs which is related to pulmonary fibrosis, emphysema and eventually chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (ElSohly, 2007). The dose of marijuana also played a vital role in adverse effects that result into patients suffering COPD (Milroy & Parai, 2011). According to ElSohly (2007), the intensity of the infiltration of macrophages was closely related to the doses of marijuana smoked by the affected patients. This is because pigmented macrophages exhibit pulmonary toxicity hence causes tissue fibrosis. Other researchers have also confirmed these findings with very little variations with respect to lung damage. Milroy & Parai (2011) also reported six cases of young men who were significantly exposed to marijuana having lung bullae than those who were exposed to tobacco. In this respect, new findings are linking marijuana to not only severe cases of damage to the lower respiratory tract systems, but also to the pulmonary system (Onaivi, 2006). 

Emerging research reveal that smoking of marijuana is also linked to incidences of tuberculosis.  Thu et al (2013) reported three cases of cavitating disease which were associated with common illicit smoking of marijuana using makeshifts and bong. As stated in this study the total number of positives contacts were 34 and out of 34 cases and among those sharing bong with an index case was associated with a six fold risk of transmission. As stated by, when tuberculosis is detected among young people in Australia, marijuana is most likely to be a possible risk factor. Even though this report is observational, it gives devastating effects of marijuana that includes predisposing individuals to other infectious diseases. While tuberculosis is caused by a strain of bacteria known as mycobacterium tuberculosis, it is important to note that the smoke of marijuana affects the body immunity system thus predisposes the body to other opportunistic infections (Rosenow & Camus, 2008).

Several studies involving in vivo and in vitro research in both human and animal experiments, the smoke of marijuana compromises the natural defense mechanisms as well as the immunity of the body (Bedi et al, 2013). As stated by Onaivi (2006), smoking marijuana affects the tracheobronchial epithelial function thus interferes with clearance of mucus from the trachea. The smokers of marijuana also have their alveolar macrophages’ capacity to phagocytose Staphylococcus aureus compromised hence they produce reduced amounts of tumoour necrosis factor alpha, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor and interleukin-6 (Bedi et al, 2013). It is these deficiencies that that could be predicted to improve the susceptibility to mycobacterial infection. This studies show that effects of marijuana is not only limited to the effects of the smoke itself, but the chemicals could interfere with body defense mechanism thus predisposes individuals to other infectious diseases of the pulmonary system.

The pulmonary consequences of smoking marijuana and tobacco were compared by Gilbert et al (2013) by characterising the relative pressure of insoluble particles and carbon monoxide from smoke to the lungs of the same amounts of tobacco and marijuana. Before and after smoking, 15 men who had habitually smoked cigarettes and weed for more than five years were checked for carboxyhemoglobin levels in their blood. Tobacco and marijuana were inhaled and stored inside the respiratory tract. This research showed that consuming pot, unlike cigarettes, was correlated with up to a fivefold rise in the volume of carboxyhemoglobin in the blood. The findings of this analysis have showed that the volume of tar inhaled and stored inside the respiratory tract has risen threefold. There are major variations in the smoking of marijuana in this respect.

The impact of marijuana on airway epithelium inflammation and atypia, followed by signs of recurrent bronchitis, were examined by Sarafian et al (2006). In this report, the researchers hypothesised that the primary ingredient and psychoactive portion of marijuana, Delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is likely to result in the above findings by impairing mitochondrium activity and impairing cellular capacity. By analysing the particulate samples of smoke from cigarette smoke from tobacco and alcohol as well as placebo marijuana cigarettes, the researchers checked this theory for the impact on the mitochondrial structure of the in vitro A549 cells. The implications of this research show that only weed extracts have killed the mitochondrion. This indicates that pot smoking has an overall impact on the energy of airway epithelial cells, and is likely to have detrimental pulmonary effects (Sarafian et al, 2006). This shows that smoking marijuana can contribute to pulmonary failure and is a health danger to the pulmonary system.

References
  • Bedi, G., Cooper, Z. D., & Haney, M. (2013). Subjective, cognitive and cardiovascular dose-effect profile of nabilone and dronabinol in marijuana smokers. Addiction Biology, 18(5), 872-881
  • ElSohly, M. A. (2007). Marijuana and the Cannabinoids. Totowa, N.J.: Humana Press
  • Forrester, M., Kleinschmidt, K., Schwarz, E., & Young, A. (2012). Synthetic cannabinoid and marijuana exposures reported to poison centers. Human & Experimental Toxicology, 31(10), 1006-1011
  • Gilbert, C. R., Baram, M., & Cavarocchi, N. C. (2013). Smoking Wet. Texas Heart Institute Journal, 40(1), 64-67.
  • Hii, S. W., Tam, J. C., Thompson, B. R., & Naughton, M. T. (2008). Bullous lung disease due to marijuana. Respirology, 13(1), 122-127
  • Milroy, C. M., & Parai, J. L. (2011). The histopathology of drugs of abuse. Histopathology, 59(4), 579-593.
  • Onaivi, E. S. (2006). Marijuana and cannabinoid research: methods and protocols. New Jersey: Humana Press.
  • Phan, T. D., Lau, K. P., & Li, X. (2005). Lung bullae and pulmonary fibrosis associated with marijuana smoking. Australasian Radiology, 49(5), 411-414.
  • Rosenow, E. C., & Camus, P. (2008). Drug-induced and Iatrogenic Respiratory Disease. London: Hodder Arnold
  • Sarafian, T. A., Habib, N., Oldham, M., Seeram, N., Lee, R., Lin, L., & … Roth, M. D. (2006). Inhaled marijuana smoke disrupts mitochondrial energetics in pulmonary epithelial cells in vivo. American Journal Of Physiology. Lung Cellular And Molecular Physiology, 290(6), L1202-L1209.
  • Thu, K., Hayes, M., Miles, S., Tierney, L., & Foy, A. (2013). Marijuana ‘bong’ smoking and tuberculosis. Internal Medicine Journal, 43(4), 456-458
  • Winger, G., Woods, J. H., & Hofmann, F. G. (2004). A handbook on drug and alcohol abuse: the biomedical aspects. New York: Oxford University Press.

Ice Frozen Drugs Storage

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Dani
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Ice Frozen Drugs Storage

Introduction

For a long time, people from emerging coastal areas have been deprived of a consumable ice commodity that could conveniently be used to cool drinks and protect edibles at safe temperatures. Ice is widely used in hospitals as a preservative for medicine and in other sectors such the fish industry and during disasters such as hurricane disasters. The market for the product varies. The market is almost continuous in the corporate world or in hospitals, as it is utilised on a regular basis. But sometimes the demand rises especially when the disaster such as hurricane strikes. In order to set up an ice business, the company should first understand if the catastrophe and the severity of the disaster often affects the region. If such locations are prone to disaster, the manufacturer can store the products in excess so that when the tragedy occurs, they will provide enough goods to meet the additional demand. Approximately 10 lb of ice is needed per person in a disaster. That indicates that 50,000 lb of ice is required if 5,000n citizens are hit by a hurricane. 30 lbs of ice per cubic metre is needed for the preservation of items such as pharmaceuticals or fish preservatives. Such constant demand will maintain production at a steady rate. The organisation should sell the commodity by promoting the product in the media, such as newspapers, advertisements, fliers in rural regions, and TV ads, in order to reach consumers. The organisation can also provide promotions on items offered and marketed at the promotional price at leisure centres.

Ice Frozen Drugs Storage

Ice as a Preservative

Ice frozen drugs are prescription items that can be kept in locations between 20C and 80C, such as vaccinations and temperature responsive clinical research medicines, so that their safety is not affected. During preparation, products produced from plasma and red blood cell components separated from whole blood for transfusion also require extra attention to prevent spoiling them because of high temperatures. In order to ensure the consistency of medicinal goods, all drugs need to be processed and treated according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

In order to maintain adequate safety for refrigerated drugs, the World Health Organisation supports unique storage requirements, such as the requirement for ice retention. In their development, storage and transportation, factories must be driven by sound industrial standards and it is essential that medical facilities treat temperature-sensitive drugs in the developed world as required to provide a patient with a quality product. Unsuitable handling and storage practices of temperature-sensitive medicines may result in probable spoilage of the drugs and consequent financial impact for the medical facility. For example, insulin and products of biotechnology need to be stored in ice-facilitated low temperatures and are generally expensive commodities. Inadequate storage and consequent recycling of these items can have a detrimental effect on the economy and capability of medical facilities in the often economically struggling third world to opportunistically use semen in artificial insemination and vaccinate or treat patients. Ice can be used in storing these high cost medicines and maintaining their quality. This is commercially viable because when medicines are being carried in field, they are kept in ice so that they cannot get destroyed.

Historical data suggests that more than four thousand years ago, ancient Chinese stored fish using salt. Ancient Romans also used natural ice mixed with seaweed to ensure fish stayed fresh. However, with the advent of mechanical refrigeration, ice was made readily available for use in fish preservation. With temperatures of 00C and below, the growth of pathogenic and spoilage micro-organisms reduce, thus limiting the rate of spoilage and doing away with some safety risks. Reduction of fish temperature is the most vital consequence of ice use. Therefore, the faster the ice chills the better. While there have been several records of cold-shock reactions when iced in a variety of tropical animals, with the aid of rapid chilling, other factors are generally outweighed.

Fish is kept moist by melting ice. This mainly reduces weight loss and prevents surface dehydration. Heat transport between ice surfaces and fish is also increased by the melting water. If ice is not used right after the fish is captured for whatever purpose, it also tends to hold the fish moist. While evaporative cooling does not avoid spoiling, the surface temperature of fish below the optimum growth temperature of common pathogenic and spoilage bacteria is actually decreased.

People in developing coastal communities who depend much on fish for their livelihoods should utilize ice to keep their catch moist and safe for distant markets. It is obvious that leaching effect of water may remove color pigments from fish gills and skin. Alternative handling methods can be recommended, based on the severity of the leaching method, consumer conditions and fish species. However, as opposed to other means of fish protection, ice has benefits. Ice has a large cooling capacity which implies that cooling 1 kg of fish will require a comparatively small amount of ice. For instance, 0.25 kg of ice will be required to reduce the temperature of 1 kg of lean fish at 250C to 00C. More ice is required in practice because it’s used to compensate for thermal losses.

Another lucky property of ice is that it is an autonomous mechanism for temperature control. As ice melts around fish, this property is exhibited on all contact points. In the case of electronic or mechanical control systems, control temperature will always be an average temperature.

Depending on the design and volume of these refrigeration systems, varied temperature gradients in chill storage rooms, with very low temperatures in one spot and maybe above 50C in another spot. Compared with ice made of fresh water, seawater ice has a lower melting point. With about 3.5 % of salt content ice made of seawater will melt at about -2.10C.  However, as seawater ice is usually physically unstable, the overall temperature will be lowered during storage due to leaching out of brine. In such circumstances, some salt may be absorbed by the fish muscle, making seawater ice an inappropriate self-contained temperature system.

People always argue that artificial ice is better than natural ice, that ice from one port is better than another, or that ice from seawater is better than ice from freshwater. There are minor variations between various ports of fresh water ice, and those that use ice for fish protection will easily overlook them. Ice made of distilled water has the same cooling magnitude as ice made of tap water, and ice four months old is as better as newly-made ice.

However, one important aspect to remember is that ice loses much of its value once it has turned to water and mixture of ice and water can’t have the same effect as ice alone. Remember weight should be the benchmark for comparing different types of ice as what may appear to be the same weight may only be equal volume. For example, 1m3 of crushed block ice has far much cooling capacity than flake ice of same volume.

Besides ice, there are also other ways of chilling fish. Seawater cooled by addition of ice or mechanical means is a suitable way of quickly chilling large quantities of small fish. Healthy examples include the usage of Cooled Sea Water (CSW) and Refrigerated Sea Water (RSW). Water is very essential for every living organism. However, almost 1 billion people, mainly those living in the third world countries lack access to clean portable water. These regions have been gripped with water crisis, threatening the lives of those who live there. According to Sim, many people lose their lives through water and sanitation crisis in Africa.

The challenges the company will face is that, getting the fishermen who can buy the ice is sometimes quite difficult because of problems such as poor infrastructure and fishermen not willing to buy the product. Some prefer other methods such as drying fish before being taken to the market. Another reason is that some fishermen are not aware of the importance of keeping the fish afresh. This will cost the company to educate the farmers of proper food handle which will incur an extra cost. Lastly, many people in third world countries live in poverty and they cannot to buy ice for preservation. This will lower the selling power of the company and will require the company top setup a small plant before, as the people welfare increases, the company can expand and increase the number of manufactured ice. 

Ice is more portable than liquid water. The main problem concerning water today is not scarcity but rather portability. Over 70 % of earth’s surface is covered by water, yet only a small percentage of that amount can be used as safe drinking water. The supply of safe water in the United States and other developing countries is not an issue. Even though people from these countries do not consume a lot of water there is still significant amount of clean water available. The situation is different in developing economies.

In order to have water in third world countries, women have to go and acquire it as men work to provide money. Some women walk up to four hours a day trying to acquire clean water for their families back home. In developed nations, another tragedy threatening the water problem is that available water is polluted, rendering it non-portable. Piped water systems installed in these countries operates in limited time or is not properly filtered to produce safe water.

Up to date, no organization or person has offered or implemented a working solution to water crisis in developing countries. However, there are several practicable solutions that can assist in the reduction of water related problems. Until enabling people to get water from them, surface water bodies should be handled, good filters should be built in piping networks, and people should still boil water before drinking.

Conclusion

Ice is an important tool as far as medical preservation is concerned. Ice is used to preserve vaccines semen as well as transplant organs for a long time. As far as the fishing industry is concerned, ice protects the fish from pathogens that are pathogenic which spoiling, and therefore helps hold the fish moist. Therefore, even though there are now more sophisticated technologies of chilling fish people from developing world who cannot afford these technologies can utilize ice in preserving fish. Clean water is also another problem which can be solved by educating people on ways of purifying water before they take.

References
  • Andrew Langley and, Grant Sandi: Proceedings of the National Vaccine Storage Workshop Brisbane June 2004.
  • Arjen Y Hoekstra The Water Footprint of Modern Consumer Society Routledge – 2013 .
  • Barnes, Brian: Freeze Avoidance in a Mammal: Body Temperatures Below 0°C in an Arctic Hibernator: American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1999
  • Clucas Justin: Design and trials of ice boxes for use on fishing boats in Kakinada, India. Bay of Bengal Programme BOBP/WP67. Madras, India 1991
  • Kelman, John: Storage of fish in chilled sea water. Torry Advisory Note 73. Torry Research Station, Aberdeen, 1977
  • Nair, Balakrishnan: Studies on the chilled storage of fresh water fish. 1. Changes occurring during iced storage. J. Food Sci. Technol. 11, 118-122, 1977
  • Sebastian Galiani: Water for life: The impact of Privatization of Water Services on Child Mortality: The Journal of Political Economy 2005
  • Steven Jackson: Writing the global water crisis: Technology & Culture, 2008

Tourism Issues and Problems in third World Countries

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Tourism Issues and Problems in third World Countries

Introduction

Travel is also framed by contemporary expectations by interactions that involve airlines, drivers, hotels or resorts, and established activities that have been provided through the growth of tourism. However, travel has not always been a process of environmental conservation. Travel has originated from a historical viewpoint from the urge to switch from one environment to another, or the need to explore the essence of other areas of the planet. Travel, for much of its existence, has been described as threat and uncertain, with only recent history offering a higher degree of protection in terms of travel discovery. Traveling in risky areas has traditionally been an experience of exploration and excitement, and today’s visitors are engaging in journeys of risk, adventure, and discovery in new civilizations, which are not necessarily taken with care to reduce the risk in which they are submerged.

A travel strategy has developed that makes for the same pleasure with the risk that was once part of the core of Western civilization as they expanded their influence and territories to ‘exotic’ places. Exotic and dangerous places still exist across the planet, offering a sense of excitement and difficulty that will provide adventurers with a wealth of knowledge. In contrast, travel to such destinations is so dangerous that it is beyond the hope of a recreational experience and can only be seen for its relevant edification. There are several ways of dangerous travel that can be regarded, and a traveller can assess his or her desire for the knowledge and expertise needed to travel before trying to visit those locations in the world.

Tourism Issues and Problems in third World Countries

Any of these kinds of risky journeys may be seen from physically difficult places. Mountains, lakes, caves and the Arctic should also be considered for the possible dangers inherent with travel to these areas. Skill sets are necessary for a person to partake in the physically challenging nature of engaging the natural environment in these types of locations, thereby reducing the need for such locations for a significant number of citizens. However, this style of travel appeals to many risk-takers and is therefore a common mode of tourism. Eco-tourism is interested in the creation of this form of travel, involving visitors in activities intended to have a context in which nature is faced. Other venues, such as Mount Everest and cave diving, are carried out by self-designed initiatives involving research and self-confidence in the skills needed.

Another type of risky travel may be seen when visiting countries that are not welcoming or are undergoing civil strife. Some nations in Africa, parts of Asia, Latin America and the Middle East may have political conditions that do not lead individuals to a stable and secure climate. In comparison, certain countries have a loss of regulation over violence, producing a more violent area and placing at risk a visitor who is not equipped. Therefore, if you partake in travel that involves another world, it is prudent to recognise what dangers are involved and how best to avoid the possibility of bad experiences. A basic illustration is the myth of not consuming water in Mexico, since there is a bacterium that is unsustainable for the stomach unless one has evolved to drink it. This small risk will alter the essence of travel unless it is planned and aware of its possible consequences. 

Travel to Third World Environments

Travel, according to Mowforth and Munt, is a way of influencing world perspectives, of recognising how diverse societies and ecosystems blend through a global perspective (6). One of the forms in which travel changes one’s perception is through the creation of geographical imaginations. Through inventions that provide a framework for understanding the environment, through age, gender, nation of origin, and through factors that reflect identity, spatial creativity offers a viewpoint on how the world is created. Mowforth and Munt state that “these differing geographical imaginations emphasize the images of the universe are historically and politically built, and there are a range of influences that lead to our perception of the world.” (6).

Part of the problem, however, with geographical imagination is that it is based on impressions rather than experiences. Novels such as When the Going was Good (Evelyn Waugh), Abroad (Paul Fussel), and The Beach (Alex Garland) present a bleak impression of certain areas of the world, thus suggesting that the dangers of travel are far more exotic and threatening than they might actually appear. As literary excursions, they provide a balance between the banality of middle class life and a desire to see and feel violence that exists in a precarious space within the human experience (Huggan 132). However, the reality is both more terrifying and less romantic, thus the traveler may be more essentially unprepared than he or she may believe as they foray into the unknown spaces where philosophical, national, and political differences leave them vulnerable to circumstances that are beyond their experiential understandings of culture and life.

While travel is a wonderful event that allows for experiences and memories to fill the spaces of a life, the joys of becoming acquainted with new cultures enriching one’s own culture, some areas of the world hold dangers that are built upon political oppositions. When a tourist chooses to enter into a zone that is unfriendly with his or her own nation, this can become a dangerous position causing the tourist to be at the mercy of events that she or he may not have expected. Political tensions are sometimes difficult to predict, the result becoming a global problem more quickly than one might expect. Tourism in countries such as Egypt, Colombia, Cambodia, Algeria, Indonesia, India, Peru and Morocco can have hazardous results. In Egypt, in November of 1997, tourists at the Temple of Hatshepsut experienced an act of terrorism that took 57 lives. As a result, tourism revenue in 1998 dropped by 45%, thus creating a cascade of problems from the horrific initial event (Mowforth and Munt 294).

Some of the most dangerous places in the world to travel are Somali, Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti, Pakistan, Sudan, The Democratic Republic of Congo Lebanon, Zimbabwe, and Palestine. Going into these countries can represent a direct threat to one’s safety and are considered high risk areas of travel (Tarabanov). According to Collier, “democracy is a force for good,” and as such brings out problematic tensions because of opposing ideological forces that have not been indoctrinated through the true needs of a state (p. 11). Even though democratic values have emerged in many of these regions, the West has “promoted the wrong features of democracy: the façade rather than the essential infrastructure” (8). This has led to a lack which directly promotes criminal behaviours and responses that lash out against those who may be innocent, but represent an ideology that is failing one faction or another within a state that is still full of internal conflict.

Despite the dangers, however, traveling into these areas can provide one with a sense of the entire global status, the differences in culture and the way that despite these differences, human being still are driven by the same needs. In discovering diversity, one can find similarities on which to break the sense of ’other’ as it is represented in persons from different cultures, and engage in understandings of how human is essentially a familiar state no matter where one goes. Travel in high risk zones has advantages to experience that controlled tourist areas may not provide. In addition, the traveler is contributing to the economic welfare of a nation when spending dollars for tourism pursuits. 

Economics, Environment, and Tourism

Travel has become an economic advantage to many developing nations. With many nations that are underdeveloped having high levels of debt, tourism is one way to sustain their natural resources, while exploiting an industry that is financially lucrative in order to raise funds for citizens and the state (Mowforth and Munt 6). One of the impacts that tourism will have on an area is in participating in destroying the natural environment as the infrastructure required to support the event of tourist activity must be established. However, some regions of the world have been able to preserve their natural resources while creating tourism that panders to those who like risk involved in their travels. Eco-tourism has provided an economic boost to some regions, while providing a natural space of athletic challenge through activities that take advantage of the  natural space within a country.

According to Equations, “some communities resisting development impositions on their lives have also experimented with small-scale, locally controlled and sustainable tourism” (93). However, not all agree that this is a viable possibility. In opening up a natural area to tourism, the area becomes vulnerable to the impact of tourists that can significantly alter the environmental balance, costing the state the advantages of those resources. Examples of this can include pollutants entering water resources and tainting biological systems, thus creating an introduction that controverts sustainability (Equations 93). Therefore, in seeking risk-taking activities, tourists are providing for economic boosts to local economies, while also creating a danger to the environments that are entered through misuse and pollutants that come from Western ideologies of environmental use.

Additionally, areas that promote eco-tourism must also ensure that those who come to participate have the skills to navigate the natural environment and to integrate into the risks in such a way as to know how to negate them. An example of this type of risk can be seen by the American native Timothy Treadwell who took to the Alaskan wilderness in order to live among bears. Treadwell, while not a trained naturalist, lived among bears to prove that they were not an aggressive species. However, at the end of his 13th summer he and his girlfriend were mauled to death, parts of their body found as the evidence of the attack (Lapinski 143). Australian animal expert Steve Irwin was stabbed by the barb of a stingray, causing his death and leaving a world shocked as they saw someone who knew animals killed in an event that was not uncommon to tourists (Irwin 3).

According to Kay Showker in her book  Caribbean Ports of Call: Western Region, one of the authors favorite tourist attractions is the event of swimming with stingrays. The contrast between the death of a known animal expert compared to the tourist attraction might suggest that the tourist event is somehow safer. The average tourist assumes that all events have been designed for their safety, but this is not the case. A risky adventure is such because there is risk. Thus, traveling to exotic locations with eco-tourism attractions and guides must be undertaken with a foreknowledge that it is an adventure because there is risk.

Neth discusses the opportunities for Cambodia and the natural resources that have started to attract eco-tourists to explore the virtually unknown regions. There are a great deal of issues that, if addressed, will ultimately alter the region in such a way to deny its naturalistic attraction. Sanitation and hygiene infrastructure is sorely lacking, thus creating risks through adaptations that tourists must make to accommodate them in these areas. Food safety is non-existent, thus the food that is served is not subject to any kind of regulation that ensures that it is without taint. Travel, in and of itself, to and from the region has hazards which include poor boat maintenance, high incidents of tornados and hurricanes, and environmental disturbances that are sometimes oddly predictable, as much as they are unpredictable (Neth 129). This doesn’t include the dangers presented by criminal behaviors and ideological diversities that allow for aggressions. 

While the dangers of an eco-tourism adventure taken in an exotic, decidedly uncommon tourist center, may seem attractive, the adventure may hold more exoticism than is expected. Though a tourist may read all of the relevant literature and ‘prepare’ through second hand knowledge, there is no way to fully be prepared for the immersion into a culture and environment that is outside of the traveler’s frame of reference. Additionally, the message that can be found through the deaths of experienced naturalists in environments of danger from animal and wildlife suggests that to believe that because an area is designated for tourism, does not mean that the wildlife got the memo. Learning to accept the unknown and the uncontrolled is the only way to begin to prepare for such a journey.

The Greatest Danger

The greatest danger to people as they travel will always be other people. While there will always be tragedies with transportation and accidents within the natural environment, the most common problems will occur when people intend to do harm. This type of harm can come in the form of criminal behaviors, fraud, and aggressions based on political diversities in ideologies. Any parts in the world are not hosting citizens of another region without the possibility for conflict. Many of these places are already experiencing internal conflict, thus it can spill over onto the traveler. It is in these circumstances that the difference between the tourist and the traveler can be noted. A tourist is coming to observe, their experience placed behind the lens of a camera as they gawk at the culture in which they have come to experience. A traveler might be framed as one who embraces the culture, thus creating a connection to its realities and not looking for an expectation of safety, but believing that the underbelly of the culture is simply a part of the experience, thus it must be acknowledged and respected.

 The wise traveler will adhere to some basic concepts that prevent dangerous situations. The first place a person should become geographically aware of is the embassy that represents their nation. Knowing where to go for help can be a tremendous help when trying to discover how best to navigate a situation. Avoiding wearing expensive jewelry and having expensive luggage will keep one’s status off of the radar of those who might notice. As well, answering questions that seem innocent, such as ‘What do you do for a living’ can provide too much information to a person with mal-intent (Lori and Sohanpaul 666). Revealing where one is staying, even in passing, can set one up for a conflict that occurs later. Friendly does not always mean friend. The trick to becoming a traveler instead of a tourist is in blending in as much as possible, downplaying any financial status one may have, and in providing the least interesting or attractive package to those who might interpret the traveler for a  means to an end. The art of the traveler is beyond the skill of the tourist, creating a differentiation that can save a life.

Conclusion

The idea of moving to a place has dangers should never be discouraged, but doing so when proper preparation has not been made is undeniably a bad idea. It might be considered correct to say that one should never be a tourist in a risky environment, whether that environment is natural or man-made conflict, but should always be a traveler. Travel denotes the idea of moving from one geographical space to another, but tourism suggests the fishbowl syndrome, with a tourist looking in at a culture without having taken the time to find out how best to immerse into it. Tourists are very often naïve, believing that because they have entered a space designed for tourists, they have entered a zone that has been made safe for them.

With the rise of eco-tourism, the nature of adventure travel has become both an economic boon for the hosting state, and a space in which the needs of the tourist can be fulfilled for engaging nature in an event or experience that provides thrills and challenges. However, just like traveling to a dangerous nation, entering natural environments require the same type of respect and preparation. A healthy level of trepidation will provide the traveler with enough incentive to build a base of knowledge that will provide recourses for problems that might occur. While visiting nations outside of the common course of travel and risking conflicts in exchange for depths of cultural experience has a great deal of value, traveling to areas that are known for threats must be done with serious contemplation and after a great deal of research on how to best behave and integrate into the surroundings. Being just a tourist can have high costs. 

Works Cited
  • Collier, Paul, Reviewed by Marisa O. Ensor. Wars, Guns, and Votes: Democracy  in Dangerous Places. Journal on African Conflict and Peace Building Review. 1.1 (2011). Print.
  • Equations. Making a Difference: Dossier on Community Engagement on Natural Based Tourism in India. Bangalore: National Printing Press, 2009. Print.
  • Huggan, Graham. Extreme Pursuits: Travel/Writing in an Age of Globalization. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2012. Print.
  • Irwin, Terri. Steve & Me. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2007. Print.
  • Lapinski, Michael. Death in the grizzly maze: the Timothy Treadwell story. Guilford, Conn: Falcon, 2005. Print. 
  • Lorie, Jonathan, and Amy Sohanpaul. The Traveler’s Handbook. Guilford, Conn: Globe Pequot Press, 2006. Print.
  • Mowforth, Martin and Ian Munt. Tourism and Sustainability: Development, Globalization and New Tourism in the Third World. London: Routledge, 1998. Print.
  • Neth, Barony. Ecotourism as a Tool for Sustainable Rural Community  Development and Natural Resources Management in the Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve. Kassel: Kassel Univ. Press, 2008. Print. 
  • Showker, Kay. Caribbean Ports of Call: Western Region. Guilford, Conn:  Insider’s Guide, 2006. Print.
  • Varbanov, Iuri World’s Most Dangerous Countries for Tourists. Travel Web Directory. 2008. Web. 18 May 2011.

Different Facets of Business Globalisation

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Different Facets of Business Globalisation

Introduction

Globalisation has arisen as one of the main realities of today and has affected every part of the lives of billions of citizens around the globe. This paper is an effort to examine the different facets of market globalisation, including the explanations for its development, trade blocs, world trade balance, economies of scale, cultural and social change by globalisation and the other dark hand of globalisation.

Trading Blocs

The trade bloc applies to an arrangement between some nations to eliminate trade controls, tariffs and other obstacles to trade, while at the same time imposing strong trade barriers with other non-Member States. Without any hesitation, trading blocs such as the ‘European Economic Cooperation’ (ECC) and the ‘North American Free Trade Agreement’ (NAFTA) operate because they are of considerable value to member states (Prempeh, Mensah & Adjibolosoo, pp. 98-99, 2004). Second, vast markets provided by trade blocs allow development to take place in bulk, which in turn means that businesses can take advantage of economies of scale. Second, companies within trading blocs are becoming closer to each other, leading to greater competition (Wiarda, pp. 93-98, 2007). More competition, of instance, leads to a higher level of efficiency. Third, when tariffs are reduced thanks to trade blocks, the cost of merchandise is lower and consumers can obtain items at cheaper prices. Fourth, a country may not enjoy the political and economic power all over the globe, yet an alliance of countries will certainly make their existence heard (Rossi, pp. 304-305, 2007). In fact, this remains the greatest potential advantage of trade blocs that cause members to become interdependent, making them less vulnerable to external shocks. Fifthly, exchanging blocs reduce transaction costs for all parties, allowing exchange to take place at lower monetary and time costs (Ervin & Smith, pp. 185-186, 2008).

Different Facets of Business Globalisation

Changes in the Balance of Trade in during 20th Century

Without a question, the world is a radically different place than what it was a century ago. The globe underwent a complete transformation in the 20th century, and the same is true of international exchange. The balance of trade refers to the net volume of exports minus the sum of the country’s imports during that year. The balance of world trade in the last century has changed considerably. In the early days of the 20th century, several countries used it to avoid trade disparities and considered it bad for the economy. The globalisation process was slow, and many markets stayed largely closed. However, as far as the CIA figures for 2010 are concerned, out of the 191 countries on their list, only 61 or 32% of the countries had trade surpluses and the rest had trade deficits. It is quite clear that this relates to the fact that, overall, the balance of foreign exchange is negative, leading to a trade gap. The highest exchange deficit with U.S. economic super-power was US$561 billion (Steger, pp. 74-78, 2010). In comparison, economic powers such as the United Kingdom, India, France, Brazil, Canada and Australia have had deficits of more than USD 35 billion (Steger, pp. 74-78, 2010). However, emerging Asian powers China, Japan, and Germany are at the top of the list with trade surpluses of 272, 166, and 162 billion US dollars (Steger, pp. 74-78, 2010).

Economies of Scale

            Through globalisation and growing foreign exchange, economies of scale have arisen as an increasingly significant element in the growth and development of different sectors. Scale economies apply to ‘a process where cost per unit declines with increased demand’ (Rossi, pp. 304-305, 2007). It helps the business to lower its prices and win more market share, or it can decide to keep the same pricing standard and raise its profit margins in order to make more money. Consider the example of computer industry where with the expansion of computer giants like Dell, HP, and IBM, they have been able to decrease their prices (Rossi, pp. 304-305, 2007). The fast-food industry has benefited from economies of scale by organizing and training their employees in such a way that they can now handle orders with greater efficiency and responsibility. With the growth of the cell phone industry, it has been able to take the advantage of economies of scale by investing more of their retained income in research and development and technological advancements. This has allowed them to introduce new and innovative products more quickly thus increasing the market demand (O’Loughlin, Staeheli & Greenberg, pp. 214-218, 2004).

Globalisation and Organizations Finding Cheaper Resources

            Today, the mantra of the business is to lower costs and increase the profits. This single thought is driving almost all decisions in most of the companies. In fact, most companies today are using their ability to find cheaper resources as their competitive advantage. There are various reasons for the same. First and quite understandably, due to Globalisation, lifting of trade barriers and expansion of markets, firms in every place in the world are now facing more competition than ever in the history (Mishkin, pp. 149-152, 2008). According to the guru of strategic management, Michael Porter, there are now two ways to beat your competition, either to differentiate yourself from others or offer lower prices. Due to all the technology, imitation has become easy; therefore, it all comes to lower cost, which can be achieved by using cheaper resources. Second, businesses in most of the developing countries realize that resources such as land, labor, inputs, and others are expensive in their country; however, the same remains much cheaper in other countries such as China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Vietnam and others. Therefore, many of the manufacturing and even service companies have outsourced their operations to those countries to gain competitive advantage over their competitors (Wiarda, pp. 93-98, 2007).

Deploying Culture for Social and Economic Change

            Companies should follow the example of Merck, which invested millions of dollars, without the support of US government and the United Nations and provided free medicine to the people of Africa and Latin America, which were affected by a deadly disease called river blindness (Robertson, pp. 265-268, 1994). Dell also is investing thousands of dollars in training children from poor and lower-class families to learn computer skills, from which they would remain isolated under normal circumstances (Rossi, pp. 304-305, 2007). In this way, these companies have benefited many people and have initiated a process of social and economic change. The point here is that companies should use their resources in such a way that they could provide some benefit to the economically and socially least advantaged in the society (Ervin & Smith, pp. 185-186, 2008).

            One of the most effective ways to do so so businesses can deploy culture for social and economic change could be through the increased use of corporate social responsibility. This refers to the fact that businesses should try to achieve a balance between their goal of profit maximization and the needs and well-being of the entire society (Collier, Dollar & World Bank, pp. 41-48, 2002). Another way of the same, which is also discussed in length under the latter heading, is the process of acknowledging cultural diversity and opening the gates of the company for all people regardless of their gender, race, color, caste, creed, sexual orientation, and other demographics (Steger, pp. 74-78, 2010).

Cultural Diversity at the Workplace

            Quite understandably, the world has become a global village and it is shrinking everyday. Gone are the days when segregation was possible and allowed. Today, diversity and pluralism have emerged as undeniable realities and the same is true for workplace as well. A business can promote cultural diversity through various ways. First, in order to embrace diversity it will have to train its employees for the same. Embracing and promoting diversity is not an overnight job but it takes time, effort, and energy (Mishkin, pp. 149-152, 2008). Therefore, the company will have to start a rigorous training for the same purpose. Second, the company will also have to include the same in their vision and mission statement to tell the stakeholders that the business is determined for the same (Rossi, pp. 304-305, 2007). Third, the organizational culture processes, and systems will have to flexible and such which could acknowledge the cultural diversity. They may include flexi-time, holidays, leaves, and others. Fourth, consider the example of Colgate, which has associations and affiliations with more than 35 minority organizations for African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, Gays, Lesbians, Women, and others. Fifth, the company will have to acknowledge cultural diversity by introducing separate products or services for different target markets (Steger, pp. 74-78, 2010).

Importance of Globalisation for Employees of Dell

            Globalisation and its impact on a company are of great significance for its employees. Consider the example of Dell, which is quickly globalizing. Its employees will be concerned for various reasons. First and the most important would the due to the fact that Globalisation will allow the company to encounter with different cultures and in order to deal with them, it would be important for the company to have ample information about their cultures (Gannon, pp. 25-28, 2007). For example, in Japanese and Chinese cultures great significance is laid upon the age of the employee which means that an older employee will have to respected even if they are a lower level of hierarchy or even if they are at the wrong side (Prempeh, Mensah & Adjibolosoo, pp. 98-99, 2004). Furthermore, in Middle Eastern cultures, there is a completely different concept of time. In Western cultures, time is viewed as an asset or an important resource, which once lost, is impossible to retain back. Therefore, waiting for someone is equal to disrespect and insult (Collier, Dollar & World Bank, pp. 41-48, 2002). However, the same is not true for Middle Eastern cultures because they do not place importance on time but on relationships. If a guest has kept one waiting, it probably means that he wants to meet after being completely free from other commitments, which is a good sign (Ervin & Smith, pp. 185-186, 2008).

Globalisation, Poverty, and Hardships

            Where Globalisation has transformed the world and improved the lifestyle of millions of people, it has been blamed for increasing poverty and hardships for millions in the world. Critics claim that Globalisation has only benefited the western world and despite all their claims, many countries in Africa and Asia also have a significant number of citizens live below the poverty line (Prempeh, Mensah & Adjibolosoo, pp. 98-99, 2004). It has forced any underdeveloped and developing countries to lift trade barriers and allow those small firms to compete with international business giants, which has ultimately resulted in the loss of jobs and closure of business by many local entrepreneurs and workers (Scholte, 230-240, 2000). Therefore, Globalisation has facilitated competition on an unfair ground where many small and local workers have lost their jobs. Furthermore, by allowing foreigners to exploit the resources of poor countries, it has increased the gap between rich and poor (Waters, pp. 10-12, 2001). For example, in 2000, the richest 1 percent adults of the world owned 40 percent of the world’s assets and the richest 10 percent adults were in charge of 85 percent of world assets. However, bottom 50 percent of the entire population in the world has only 1 percent of the world assets at their disposal (O’Loughlin, Staeheli & Greenberg, pp. 214-218, 2004).

References
  • Collier, Paul, Dollar, David, & World Bank. 2002. Globalisation, growth, and poverty: building an inclusive world economy. World Bank Publications.
  • Ervin, Justin, & Smith, Zachary Alden. 2008. Globalisation: a reference handbook. ABC-CLIO.
  • Gannon, Martin J. 2007. Paradoxes of Culture and Globalisation. SAGE Publications.
  • Globalisation and the human factor: critical insights. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
  • Mishkin, Frederic S. 2008. The Next Great Globalisation. Pearson Education India.
  • O’Loughlin, John Vianney, Staeheli, Lynn A., & Greenberg, Edward S. 2004. Globalisation and its outcomes. Guilford Press.
  • Prempeh, E. Osei Kwadwo., Mensah, Joseph, Adjibolosoo, Senyo B-S. K. 2004.
  • Robertson, Roland. 1994. Globalisation: social theory and global culture. Sage.
  • Rossi, Inc. 2007. Frontiers of globalisation research: theoretical and methodological approaches. Springer.
  • Scholte, Jan Aart. 2000. Globalisation: a critical introduction. Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Steger, Manfred. 2010. Globalisation. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.
  • Waters, Malcolm. 2001. Globalisation. Routledge.
  • Wiarda, Howard J. 2007. Globalisation: universal trends, regional implications. UPNE.

Refund Anticipation Loans Ethical Analysis

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Refund Anticipation Loans Ethical Analysis

Introduction

At this moment in time, individuals who require capital will be searching at options to get the sum they need at the shortest possible time. Today, businesses will take this as an incentive to provide resources such as short-term loans. One of them is what we term the “Refund Anticipation Loan” (RAL). This form of short-term lending is now becoming a choice for certain Americans who are facing monetary difficulties. While this has been provided by several firms for years now, there are many worried customer activists who prevent consumers from patronising it, accusing tax services companies of excessive charging of fees. Despite the high fees associated with RAL, the bulk of those originating from impoverished backgrounds are those who typically apply for RAL. There is a continuing struggle between the administration, customer groups and tax preparers to avoid providing Refund Anticipation Loans.

Part I

Refund Anticipation Loans (RAL’s) Defined

A refund acceleration loan is a type of short-term loan used by a taxpayer who wants an early claim for his tax refund. The balance of the loan would be refunded by the tax refund required by the taxpayer. It can also be referred to as ‘Rapid Refund’ or ‘Instant Capital.’ A contract is created by a financial institution to be signed by a taxpayer which promises that the loan would be refunded by a taxpayer’s tax refund (‘Refund Anticipation Loan Fraud’).

According to the Center for Responsible Loan, common interest rates for RALs vary from 50% to more than 500 percent, depending on the amount of time needed to process the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) tax forms. While this type of loan has been claimed as a way for taxpayers to get their tax refunds early in their wallets, more often than not, it is just a few days or less in advance of the actual date on which the IRS issues the tax refund (“Tax Refund Resources for Consumers”).

RAL helps taxpayers to get their tax refund quicker and to be able to invest the money earlier than to wait a couple more days. Even so, problems occur anytime someone wants to utilise a prepayment loan. Basically, the lender assumes that the money borrowed will be repaid no matter what, so the guarantee is the taxpayer’s tax refund; thus, it is considered to be a stronger type of loan than the other types, yet risking something to get the money quicker seems not to sound nice at all (Pritchard). Refund Anticipation Loans reflect a refund of the taxpayer’s income tax. Many who want to take advantage of this can submit to banks or bonds, unless they may wait for the IRS to administer the tax refunds (“Advantages of Refund Anticipation Loan”).

Refund Anticipation Loans Ethical Analysis

Some Advantages of Refund Anticipation Loan

  • Speed

It would only take a few days for the lent money to enter the creditors’ hands. So for anyone who face some sort of disaster and are in urgent need, a refund anticipation loan is an effective remedy to their issues, instead of applying for weeks or months from the government (‘Advantages of a Refund Anticipation Loan’).

  • Ease

While some people are trying to find businesses that would enable them to borrow money due to poor credit records or failure to pay, RAL’s might not be that challenging. Simply since there is assurance on the side of the investor that the lent money is returned by means of a tax refund, it is not at all complicated to have the loan application accepted (“Advantages of a Refund Anticipation Loan”).

  • Fees

Fees for services provided shall be excluded automatically from the payout from the tax preparer. This may be beneficial for many who are not even willing to pay the rates that reputable tax planning firms demand (Deutch).

Disadvantages of Refund Anticipation Loans

It may be the solution to some people’s financial problem, but still there are things that have to be considered first before finalizing the decision to apply for RAL’s.

  • High Rate of Fees Deducted

The high rate of interest and services deducted by tax preparers is one of the disadvantages. The involvement of third party lending banks contributes to the high interest rates that are being charged (Deutch).

  • Payment of the Exact Amount Borrowed

In the event that the refund received by the bank from the IRS is not enough to repay the loan, then this will make the taxpayer liable for the payment of the excess amount that was not covered by the actual amount of refund (Deutch).

  • The Absence of Loan Education

People’s ignorance results to quick decision-making without even trying to weigh the other possible options available. Like any other financial decisions considering the advantages and disadvantages must be done first before deciding onto something especially when money is not necessarily needed (Deutch). 

  • Tax Preparation Companies

Tax Preparation Companies provide services like refund anticipation loans. It is always important to check the background information of the company that offers someone this type of loan. Due to the urgent need of someone to obtain cash, less effort is spent by tax preparation companies to advertise their services, since there are a lot of people who are in need of loans right now.

One known company that used to offer RAL services is H&R Block. It has branches in the United States, Australia and Canada making it the largest taxpayer services in the country, with over ten thousand offices in key states of the U.S. including South Carolina. The company is proud of their expert taxpayer professionals that have undergone hundreds of hours of training on taxes and tax law amendments. Aside from RAL’s (H&R Block is no longer permitted by the government to offer RAL’s in 2011), various services on tax preparations are offered by H&R Block that have an equivalent amount of fees depending on the chosen type of service (“H&R Block Incorporated”).

Then there is also Jackson Hewitt Tax Service which is the second largest taxpayer services company in the U.S. having 3300 franchised outlets all over the country. They offer services such as free electronic filling, tax preparation training, tax audit representation and tax refund anticipation loans. Not all applicants are qualified to apply for RAL from Jackson Hewitt. In most cases previous taxpayers who have been approved of this service a year ago may not be able to avail of it. This all lies on the decision of the lending bank (“Jackson Hewitt Inc.”).

These two giant companies are having a stiff competition in the taxpayer services industry, despite the many controversies and allegations thrown to them. Their most prominent enemies are the consumer advocates who continue to discourage people from patronizing their services most particularly the refund anticipation loans.

Lawsuits vs. H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt

There was a lawsuit filed by a South Carolina resident that has accused H&R Block of overcharging its rate of interest on the refund anticipation loans. The court has rejected the complainants’ charges saying that H&R Block is not associated to services like tax refund loans. Instead, the court says that the company serves as Beneficial National Bank’s disclosed agent. Now if Beneficial has abided with all federal and state laws, then this means H&R Block Inc, has also abided by those laws. Beneficial is located in Delaware; it has offered tax refund loan services to South Carolina residents who are able to meet the requirements. The court has based the decision under section 85 of the National Bank Act that states the national banking association’s right to impose interest charges on a loan as long as it permitted by the State’s laws.

It further explains that a national bank’s location is determined by its charter address; therefore Beneficial may offer services to South Carolina residents even if rate charges are based on Delaware laws, because its charter address is in Delaware. Under the Delaware law a bank is allowed to charge fees such as loan fees, points, finder’s fees and other charges as long as they are written in the loan documents. Beneficial has given proper evidence that shows the loan documents containing the approval to collect fixed amount finance fees, that led to the court’s ruling that Beneficial’s charging of finance fee is allowed under section 85 of the National Bank Law and the Delaware Law (Dreher, Hayden, and Tomkies 1327).

Last January 31, 2010 Jackson Hewitt Tax Services filed a lawsuit against its rival company H&R, allegedly accusing H&R of conceptualizing an advertising campaign that has slandered the plaintiff’s reputation. The campaign “Second Look” according to Jackson Hewitt Services is being used by the company to drive away consumers from them. There are those who think that since H&R Block can no longer offer refund anticipation loans in 2011 due to federal regulations imposed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) that has not allowed HSBC to offer such loans (HSBC serves as the banking partner of H&R Block), they are trying to avert customers from availing the RAL services of Jackson Hewitt by spreading false information like showing errors on the returns, that are allegedly by the other commercial preparer company that points to Jackson Hewitt Services (Spencer).

Limits to RAL

Some states have formulated regulations that will control RAL activities. The states of Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Carolina are among those who have these regulations. In North Carolina’s law, Facilitators must be able to register with the state, RAL fees must be filed with the state and unreasonable acts are not permitted, fee schedules should be posted, the disclosure should be provided when a loan is being acquired, the fee charged should be It was the same as what was published in the filed and posted fees, and lastly unfair trade practices and violations has to be avoided (Duffy).

In April 2010, JP Morgan and Chase willingly left the RAL market. Last August 2010 the IRS has declared that it will no longer provide the Debt indicator. The Debt Indicator shows the taxpayer’s chances of getting a refund; it was used by tax preparers to serve as credit checks. Then recently The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency OCC has issued a mandate to stop HSBC from offering such loans to the public, thus paralyzing H&R Block’s refund anticipation loan services. This move by OCC has affected the RAL market in a negative way that has earned the praises of the consumer advocates (“End Time for Tax Refund Anticipation Loans”).

Part II

Ethical Analysis of RAL’s

Oftentimes people resort to refund anticipation loans because of the urgent need for money, or maybe they just can’t wait for a few more days from the government’s Internal Revenue Services to deliver the checks. Although this type of loan has helped some people obtain cash at a shorter period of time, but the overcharging of services fee by the tax preparers does not seem to be right.

The primary issue here is whether Refund Anticipation Loans provide convenience to people or not. This topic is now becoming a moral dilemma to the people as to whether it should be or should not be avoided. Impartiality then enters the scene when a decision is made by the person that is influenced by the surrounding environment.

Utilitarians believe that decisions should be based on the happiness of the majority. Utilitarians would say that as long as they are contented and have benefited from the outcome of their actions, then things remain good. So if taxpayer companies are basically enjoying the money they get from the high fee charges that they collect from the poor people who are into refund anticipation loans, then to the utilitarians that is just the right thing to do. Well certainly for the non-utilitarians it is something that is unethical because while those companies are gaining profits from their unfair charges, many are suffering from their unjust services.

According to the famous philosopher, Emmanuel Kant, people have the instinct to distinguish what is right or wrong. Kantians believe in “Doing the right thing for the right reason.” The Consequences are not the basis of their actions; instead, they opt to do what is really the right thing do (qtd. in Macarelli). If the Kantian principle is followed by those who provide RAL’s, then there is a possibility that consumer advocates would slow down their efforts to abolish it. The best thing to do with RAL’s is for it to have conditions that will benefit both the tax preparers and the customers, and so if the unfair practices of tax preparation companies will not stop, then better yet the government must put an end to it.

Proposed Legislations/Restrictions for RAL’s

If given the chance to work for legislations that will regulate RAL’s, then definitely the formulation of regulations that will make RAL’S difficult to obtain will be prioritized, so that companies who offer it will no longer have the capacity to offer such services in the future. When legislations are imposed that will set limits to RAL, it will cause people to seek for safer alternatives of obtaining fast cash. If this happens, slowly tax preparer companies will lose some of its loyal customers and be forced to quit offering refund anticipation loans.      

In order to set limits to RAL there must be restrictions towards its implementation especially to the tax preparation companies. The tax preparer must be a registered company in the state where it is offering RAL’s. Interests and services fees charged by the tax preparers must be known to the person applying for the loan. Overcharging of fees is not allowed as well any unfair act that will be a disadvantage to the customer’s part. The customer must know about the details of the anticipated tax refunds like the actual amount to be received, so that when there is a remaining amount that has to be claimed (when all the fees have been deducted), then the money will be returned to the customer/taxpayer.

Conclusion

Even though companies engage in business with the goal of earning profit and to be known in the industry, it does not mean that they are free to do whatever means they have in mind in order for them to earn their target profit. Proper business ethics must be practiced by companies; this will eventually lead the company to a huge amount of success. It is always improper to take advantage of situations wherein someone is extremely in need of something.

   It is good to hear about legislations that are made by the government and some states that are somehow regulating the Refund Anticipation Loans. This is a sign that people are now aware that it is not a good solution to their financial problems. Despite of the fact that H&R Block can no longer offer RAL’s, there remain other tax preparation companies offering it. Still the fight of the consumer advocates to demolish RAL’s is still in its crucial stage. It’s one down and many more to go. Patience is a virtue and that is one thing that many people should always bear in mind.

Works Cited:
  • “Advantages of a Refund Anticipation Loan.” Loan.com. Internet Brands, n.d. Web. 16 May 2011. <http://www.loan.com/personal-loans/advantages-of-a-refund-anticipation-loan.html>.
  • Loan.com: is an Internet site that provides solution to the frustrations of lenders and consumers. It gives information on the things to be expected during a loan process. It has its Truth About Loans center that provides 75 articles focusing on consumer questions on loans. Loan.com is operated by Internet Brands company that has many credentials.
  • Deutch, Roni. “The Advantages and Disadvantages of Refund Anticipation Loans.” goarticles.com. go articles.com, 2011. Web. 16 May 2011. <http://goarticles.com/article/The-Advantages-and-Disadvantages-of-Refund-Anticipation-Loans/1526878/>.
  • GoArticles.com: It is a dual layered resource offering millions of quality articles and a membership base of over a hundred thousand authors. Their mission is to provide authors, publishers and users the best article database on the Web.
  • Dreher, Darell L., Hugh M. Hayden, and Michael C. Tomkies. “Developments in the Interstate Delivery of Consumer Financial Services: Location, Fees, and Common Law.” The Business Lawyer 49 (2004): 1327. Web. 16 May 2011.  <http://www.dltlaw.com/CM/Articles/ConsumerFinancialServices.pdf>.
  • Business Lawyer: The website is operated by Darell Dreher, Hugh Hayden and Michael Tomkies who are respected lawyers in Ohio. They give advice to consumers regarding lending issues and assist clients with things that deal with financial transactions.
  • Duffy, Daniel. “Refund Anticipation Loans.” State of Connecticut. State of Connecticut, Web. 17 May 2011. <http://www.cga.ct.gov/2004/rpt/2004-R-0346.htm>.
  • State of Connecticut (cga.ct.gov): is the official website of the State of Connecticut General Assembly. The information released are based on the imposed legislations of the state so it is considered as true and credible.
  • “End Time for Tax Refund Anticipation Loans.” Consumeraffairs.com. ConsumerAffairs.com, 2011. Web. 17 May 2011. <http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2011/03/end-times-for-tax-refund-anticipation-loans.html>.
  • ConsumerAffairs.com: it is a private, non-governmental entity that provides a forum for consumer complaints. It also gives expert advice from lawyers who examine if complaints have legal merit.
  • “H&R Block Incorporated.” Fundinguniverse.com. Funding Universe, n.d. Web.16 May 2011. <http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/H-amp;-R-Block-Incorporated-Company-History.html>.
  • Funding Universe: is a company that offers loans and services to entrepreneurs. Their nationwide online network for investors and entrepreneurs is one of the largest with 700 investors and over 20,000 entrepreneurs.
  • “Jackson Hewitt, Inc.” Fundinguniverse. Funding Universe, n.d. Web. 16 May 2011.<http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Jackson-Hewitt-Inc-Company-History.html>.
  • Funding Universe: is a company that offers loans and services to entrepreneurs. Their nationwide online network for investors and entrepreneurs is one of the largest with 700 investors and over 20,000 entrepreneurs.
  • Macarelli, Sarah. “The Ethical Theory of Kantianism.” Associated Content. Yahoo! Inc, 2011. Web. 17 May 2011. <http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/20668/the_ethical_theory_of_kantianism.html?cat=72>.
  • associatedcontent.com: This site is under the copyright of Yahoo Inc. The website allows trusted contributors to publish relevant information on different topics that are useful to researchers.
  • Pritchard, Justin. “Refund Anticipation Loan.” About.com. The New York Times Company, 2011. Web. 16 May 2011. <http://banking.about.com/od/loans/g/RAL.htm>.
  • About.com: About.com has 800 topic sites (Guide sites) that provide solution to the users dilemmas, from parenting to technology to travel and many other topics. It reaches up to 40 million visitors in the United States alone. The website has been operating for over 14 years and has been providing relevant and useful topics to users every single day of the week.
  • “Refund Anticipation Loan (RAL) Fraud.” The SAR Activity Review: Trends Tips and Issues 7 (2004): 15. Web. 16 May 2011. <http://www.fincen.gov/news_room/rp/files/sar_tti_07.pdf>.
  • The SAR Activity Review: is a publication of the United States Department of Treasury. It provides information on the preparation, use and value of suspicious activity reports filed by financial institutions.
  • Spencer, Patti. “Jackson Hewitt vs. H&R Block.” Pennsylvania Fiduciary Litigation.  Spencer Law Firm, 2011. Web. 16 May 2011. <http://www.pennsylvaniafiduciarylitigation.com/2011/02/articles/taxation/jackson -hewitt-vs-hr-block/>.                
  • pennsylvaniafiduciarylitigation.com: Is a website operated by Spencer Law Firm. The law firm is headed by Patti S. Spencer, Esq. a nationally recognized Trust and Estate attorney.  
  • “Tax Refund Resources for Consumers.” Center for Responsible Lending. Center for Responsible Lending, 2010. Web. 16 May 2011. <http://www.responsiblelending.org/other-consumer-loans/tax-refund-resources-for-consumers.html>.       
  • Center for Responsible Lending (CRL): CRL has been protecting consumers from abusive financial practices. The mission of this non-profit community development lender is to establish economic opportunity in undeserved communities through responsible financial services.

Conflict and Security in the Post-Cold War Global System

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Conflict and Security in the Post-Cold War Global System

Old and New Wars

In discussing the difference between “old” wars and “new” wars in his essay “The Transformation of War,” Martin Van Creveld describes the “Clausewitzian” as the essential characteristic of the “old” view of war. (Van Creveld, 1991, p.ix) This view portrays “old” wars as characterized by WWI and WWII, where the entire globe was considered the battlefield for imperial powers, entire societies were industrialized for military production, the greatest advances in mass-production, science, and rationalization were used to create the most violent weapons of mass destruction the world had ever known. The nation-states drafted or enlisted vast segments of the population base to build huge armies, navies, air forces, and nuclear weaponry, and the military command of each nation used this force with unrestrained power, even against civilian populations. The “old” war pattern led to hundreds of millions of individual deaths across the world during the course of the 20th Century.

In a different interpretation focusing on media, Heidi Schaefer writes in “Old Wars New Wars”:

“The famous photograph of a man being executed by a shot to the head by South Vietnam Lt. Colonel Ngyen Ngoc Loan, Saigon Chief of Police… taken by Eddie Adams, in 1968, on a side street in Saigon and later won him… a Pulitzer prize. In Adams’ obituary, the Washington Post wrote on this defining image of the violence of war in the first half of the twentieth century: ‘It was war in its purest, most personal form.’” (Schaefer, 2009)

Thus, in evaluating the definition of “old” wars, it can be stated that on the global or international level, “old” wars operate on the Clausewitzian model of “total war” and mass-mobilization of societies that cause immense amounts of social and economic destruction. On the local level, “old” wars operate as in the Eddie Adam’s photo, the brutality of a man shot in the head, the passion of the scene, the emotions, and desperation are all caught on camera and recorded as a “total history”. In using this understanding to build a conception of “new” wars, these can be seen as “conflicts” that operate on a limited or isolated basis globally, generally in failed States or in surgical military operations led by the hegemonic powers. Where “total war” characterized the old paradigm, “contained war” is symbolic of the new. This may also include increased systematization, de-personalization, and abstraction of violence so as to understand that State violence becomes more “stylized” in the operation of “new” war, as in a “cosmopolitan” police action. Additionally, there is a greater tendency to covert action, marginalized conflicts, lack of media coverage of non-central States, and disappearance of history that suggest in the local operation of “new” war, there is an inherent secrecy or hidden aspect that relates to containment, and can be seen as contrary to the Eddie Adams model. This means the media may not be centrally present in the “new” wars; the violence may not be recorded and broadcast in graphic imagery, but rather masked and stylized by the State in Hollywood manner in order to continue status quo operations with violence contained to the destruction of media-driven stereotypes of “foreign enemies” and “terror”.

Conflict and Security in the Post-Cold War Global System

In reviewing the academic literature on the definition of “old” war and “new” war, there is a consistent theme of scholars writing on the subject to identify the 9/11 attacks as ushering in a new paradigm in the conduct of war. In “Old Laws, New Wars: Jus ad Bellum in an Age of Terrorism,” William K. Lietzau writes:

“At 8:46 on the morning of 11 September 2001, a handful of terrorists propelled the globe into an era of profound change… Whether or not recognized, acknowledged, or asserted, 9/11 and the response thereto brought forth a nascent legal regime that will alter the way nation states apply the rule of law in combating terrorism.” (Lietzau, 2004)

Yet, the war on terrorism, never-ending by definition and likely to create more aspects of what it seeks to eliminate through the use of force than if it were not to engage militarily displays a hidden tendency. The Military-Industrial Complex in advanced economies profits off of the continual conduct of war. This leads to a vast concentration of defence contracts in the hands of private companies with a very small minority ownership in the population. The system of representative government promotes the acquisition and sale of laws by special interests, and the combination of armed coercion, physical challenge and profit creates and disproportionately dominant cartels of political force that dominate power asymmetrically in the “new” war, wage war that is unreported and against the will of its own democratic people. This leads to a new form of politics isolation and suppression of minority interests in society politically, and refers to the context in which the peace process is repressed in Western societies as the regime, unbound by common power, fights a “new” war against old colonial models of foreign policy. The protest aspect of the “Moral Left” can be seen as an underlying element of the “new” wars, and this often contributes to the further stylization of conflict, the concealment of violence by clandestine operations, and the “spinning” of media representations of war in a way distinct from that of classical “old” wars.

It is important to remember, though, that not all academics agree that the “new” conflict is confined to super-states, late-capitalist democracies, and western populations. Instead, one aspect of the “new” war is that it is contained beyond Western economies and is mainly restricted to the world’s super-poor nations as a theatre of confrontation. This is exemplified by Rwanda, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Somalia, Dafur, the Balkans, Sierra Leone and other post-Vietnam conflicts. In “Old and New Wars” (2003), S. Mansoob Murshed, the author has written:

“We are used to viewing war as something that happens between states. Contemporary wars, however, mostly occur between groups within the same country, and primarily within the developing world.” (Murshed, 2003)

While others, such as Murshed, doubt whether it is apparent that these tensions and civil wars might easily be settled through peaceful discussion of problems and appeal to the unfounded existence of conflicts such as Rwanda, the other part of the problem is weapons trafficking to emerging regions and efforts to create international states and national identities from a divided and poverty-stricken local populace. Economic growth continues according to the strategies of the State and the “foreign” global companies in the developed world, and this values little the misery or local voices of citizens in developing countries who are the casualties of the “new” battle. Through this, it can be inferred that the 9/11 attacks violated the containment model of the “new” war that restricted aggression to developed nations and the “third world” arenas, but that the classic or Clauswitzian elements of the “old” war were conditioned or contained in the “police” reaction of the American army. The stylization of violence by enhanced de-personalization can be seen in the growing preference for satellite monitoring, military air strikes, cruise missiles, and predator drone attacks on ‘boots on the field’ as violence is gradually abstracted through technology and connected to the ever smaller minority influence of democratic institutions.

In “New and Old Wars” by Mary Kaldor, the distinction between the “old” wars and “new” wars is most strongly developed. She writes that,

“In the context of globalization… war between states in which the aim is to inflict maximum violence is becoming an anachronism. In its place is a new type of organized violence which could be described as a mixture of war, organized crime and massive violations of human rights. The actors are both global and local, public and private. The wars are fought for particularistic political goals using tactics of terror and destabilization that are theoretically outlawed by the rules of modern warfare. Kaldor’s analysis offers a basis for a cosmopolitan political response to these wars, in which the monopoly of legitimate organized violence is reconstructed on a transnational basis and international peacekeeping is reconceptualized as cosmopolitan law enforcement.” (Kaldor, 1999)

This combination of organised crime, abuse and human rights abuses is a concept that must be extended fairly, as Chomsky and others have pointed out, to Western economic forces and emerging nations. (Chomsky, 2008) Terrorism by militant forces such as al-Qaeda, the PLO, Hamas, Basque separatists, Sri Lankan rebels, Columbian drug cartels and groups such as the Red Army Brigade have contained an “underworld” aspect of illegal crime in the wider context of Western perception. Yet organised crime may often be seen as an intrinsic feature of the Military-Industrial Complex itself, or of the political parties that mobilise state repression and use it as a way of concentrating collective influence and profit. All sides of the “new” conflict include aspects of organised crime, and it is necessary to see “shock and awe” tactics and government reform as a form of state warfare and totalitarianism, as opposed to the ideal of fair and peaceful dialogue between human beings and self-determination as a function of the debate of political problems. (The Chomsky, 2008)

The acknowledgement of the moral problems of war in the broader sense, within the larger global peace movement, is another element of the “new” war that applies to the “old” war. As a paradigmatic illustration of the “old” type of fighting, examples may be offered of how “yellow journalism” is used first to build a feeling of nationalism or patriotism within the people, and then to persuade the crowd to wage war on fervour focused on a one-sided or one-sided framing of issues. The fall of the Lusitania or the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, and also the Pearl Harbor, all carry on this theme of modernism and classical warfare. Post-Vietnam, anti-war and pacifist forces in community became united in the aftermath of the civil rights protests and political campaigns of the 1960s, and these communities combined shape what may be termed counter-culture. After Vietnam, Western states can no longer successfully wage fighting in the old way because of opposition and civil instability. Thus, the domestic dimensions of anti-war protests condition and restrict the state’s reaction theoretically, but do not fully limit it to application, but rather push it through further clandestine acts, greater confidentiality, greater societal differences linked to police power and mass surveillance, and aspects of domestic security that are much more severe than many of the worst elements of modernist.

With the war on terror being fought at the expense of trillions of US dollars to the consumer, business interests barely pay taxes, and the Military-Industrial Complex exerting a dark and controlling impact on government deep inside the corridors of power, as Eisenhower described in his farewell speech, “new” wars are being waged in the atmosphere of “spin” democracy, where the state must at all costs. Victims of conflict in the developed world, such as Iraq or Afghanistan, are somehow always perceived as “other,” less individual, or less important than national identification communities, relatives, and families that suffer locally. The irrationality mentioned in the use of aggression in civil war wars and failing states is still apparent in the super-powers, yet they still seek to uphold the icons of dominance in the media in the operation of the “new” battle. Yellow journalism changes how often war images are staged, war articles are “enhanced” for the newspapers, reporters are “embedded” to provide prejudice and flattering coverage rather than “real” journalism, and objective assessments of facts and truth, such as those leading up to the Iraq war, are overlooked by mainstream media “news” to pursue a stronger relationship with the control of the state. The underlying irrationality of this structure resides in the uneven application of beliefs and principles to individuals around the globe. This affects societal, democratic, economic and human rights. For example, “collateral damage” is regularly and casually acknowledged in developed countries, but it is atrocities and terrorism in the West. (Chomsky, 2008) The divide is focused solely on the failure to enforce the same basic principles fairly across societies, but these divisions may be tracked back to the deepest historical origins of human society in the psychology of war.

What is unusual in several respects in the “new” war is that it is waged in the historical consciousness of the atrocities of the Second and Second World Wars, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, the Holocaust, and some of the worst symbols of the “old” war. As a consequence, late-capitalist, liberal cultures are gradually fragmented traditionally in a way close to that which has existed in America’s segregation or civil rights and women’s suffrage periods. After Vietnam, the U.S., Britain, France, and other developed imperial powers missed the ability to create a traditional hegemony with the popularity of post-WII anti-colonial and anti-imperialist movements that led to the founding of today’s “developing nations” “New” war, applying existing forms of colonialism related to natural resource accumulation to old models, but not fresh ones. In this sense, the spiritual strength of opposition in domestic politics is related to solidarity with anti-colonial movements and developing nations as a way of figuring out the growth above confrontation and building globalisation on the grounds of international peace rather than world conquest. But this remains politically a minority view in Western nations, unrealistic in the media, unrepresented in political parties, and dominated by the usage of domestic police services operating under the same model as the military worldwide. Police impose justice and morals domestically, beyond the prevailing principles of capitalist hegemony, while military police enforce foreign law worldwide by the U.N., NATO, the “coalitions of the willing,” and other ad hoc organisations that are seen as a sign of state control. The paradigm of the police and the reference to authoritative justification in legislation is a central aspect of the “new” battle, but the challenge is still the misuse of control and the growth of the police state.

Hersch Lauterpacht is cited as suggesting that.”…If international law is, in some ways, at the vanishing point of law, the law of war is, perhaps even more conspicuously, at the vanishing point of international law.” (Lietzau, 2004) This is a “old” view of war. In Clausewitz’s “total war” all rule vanishes, whole nations are attacked, ethnic cleansing is systemic, holocaust is industrialised, and cities are flooded with nuclear bombs. In the “new” battle, hegemonic forces, which arose triumphant from the previous round of world wars, and which have a powerful capitalist economy founded on the foundations of hegemony, forced labour, and exploitation of national wealth traditionally in colonialism, all attempt to extend and protect their dominance as long as possible, as well as to broaden this structure of superiority internationally in such a way that it does. The “new” war is completely legitimate, fully justified in the newspapers, in the UN, in international law, even though the records are forged to suit the agenda and there is little democratic oversight of the members. The “new” war of Western imperialism is therefore distinct from the “new” war of intra-state wars in the developed world. The foundation of the decision is that if the super-power has established its national interest in an area linked to political or economic interests, there would be a relative reaction. Where this is still the foundation of the “old” international policy of battle, there is no reform, but the tactics of reasoning and the symbolic reasons change, with conflicts scarcely officially proclaimed in the Constitution, police acts and standing armies perpetually, and, ultimately, a persistent state of war is conducted against an ever-present extremist “evil” in culture, both internally and abruptly.

In “New’ and “Old” Civil Wars: True Distinction? ‘Stathis Kalyvas challenges the foundation of judgement invoked by this interpretation of historical paradigms and indicates that much should be done regarding a shift in the spiritual consciousness of the war communities themselves. For eg, he’s writing:

“According to this argument, ‘new’ civil wars are different from ‘old’ civil wars along at least three related dimensions–they are caused and motivated by private predation rather than collective grievances and ideological concerns; the parties to these conflicts lack popular support and must rely on coercion; and gratuitous, barbaric violence is dispensed against civilian populations. Recent civil wars, therefore, are distinguished as criminal rather than political phenomena. This article traces the origins of this distinction and argues that it is based on an uncritical adoption of categories and labels, combined with deficient information on ‘new’ civil wars and neglect of recent historical research on ‘old’ civil wars. Perceived differences between post­cold war conflicts and previous civil wars may be attributable more to the demise of readily available conceptual categories caused by the end of the cold war than to the end of the cold war per se.” (Kalyvas, 2001)

This critique is significant since it indicates that there might not be a radically new form of war currently being fought, but rather a modified way of perceiving and justifying war in Western cultures after first Vietnam and then 9/11. “Old” and “new” war theories in this context may be related to a change of consciousness connected not only to Vietnam’s anti-war movement and counter-culture, but also to the success of the anti-colonial uprising in people’s liberation struggles across the world, and to the shifting attitudes of the West since 9/11. The legalistic application of aggression betrays the underlying spiritual framework of civilization and, by its very essence, it is the collapse of the democratic process. If civil contact existed or functioned well, there will be no battle. Instead, fighting reflects collective violence, community and societal trends of violence, which can be replicated through time and culture from the early days of stone arms to the iron age, industrial war, and nuclear M.A.D. To a significant extent, the anti-war curriculum, counter-culture, and “Moral Left” movements have contributed to a wider recognition of the ideals of global peace as the ultimate objective of humanity. It might or may not be simpler to mobilise the State to fight, as demonstrated by the post-9/11 invasion of Iraq; the State may continue as directed by domestic political leadership, while it may take influence and control of the institutions. What distinguishes from the “old” and the “new” meanings of battle is the social basis of how wars are justified and “spun” to Western voters and how they are critically evaluated in the media. The internet has as much effect on this as it relates to the free sharing of content on alignment classes in forms that are faster and cheaper than traditional print or mass media connected to concentrated authority.

In “A Violent Peace,” Paul Rogers writes:

“While nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction will be major features of the coming decades, the main methods by which the world’s powerful states, especially the United States, seek to maintain their control of international security are through the appropriate use of conventional forces. Threats are seen to stem from a possible revival of a belligerent Russia, or of an increasingly powerful China, together with the activities of ‘rogue states’ and terrorists and even of ideological or religious movements, especially militant Islam. The western military are making the transition to post-Cold War forces that can keep the lid on threats to western security. Global reach, rapid deployment forces, counterinsurgency, and missile defences all have their role to play, and there is a persistent emphasis on control from a distance, especially if it can involve a minimum of risk.” (Rogers, 2001)

Rogers locates the critical moment for the emergence of the new paradigm in the end of the Cold War, for this changed the ideological justification for militarism in the West as there was no longer an expansionist Socialist-Communist enemy with industrial powers and nuclear deterrent. The new paradigm targets “rogue states” as any major military power that significantly challenges the status quo of the current international order. In this view, hegemony is established in the post-imperial era through international law and the control of international institutions by the dominant economic powers of late-capitalism who seek to preserve their monopolies and any imbalances of power as that leads to a further concentration of wealth and authority in minority status groups locally. “Rouge States” such as Serbia, Iraq, Iran , North Korea, and others are eliminated in a pattern that may have begun with Panama or Grenada post-Vietnam but dates back to “Rough Riders” in Cuba or post-war clandestine operations in Europe and elsewhere to control the free, domestic politics of sovereign nations or institute regime change.

In building a summary from the view that war, State violence, and its organization represents a moral wrong, a breakdown in civil society, and a type of policy that exists in government structures and thus can be changed, there is a critical view that is far different from the Clausewitzian or the Machiavellian principles of modern warfare. It is also possible on this basis to judge the actions of the State in war historically, and apply the same standards of idealism to all sides of a conflict impartially. Yet, because the military industrial complex operates on principles of “realism” that use idealism only in Orwellian terms, the process Rogers describes can be seen as a “violent peace” or characteristic or global hegemony where entrenched late-capitalist powers maintain control and expand through globalization.

Rogers writes:

“Some quite fundamental rethinking of our attitudes to security is necessary. Countering socioeconomic divisions and embracing sustainable development are actually core requirements for stable international security. In one sense this is nothing new and has been a common argument in writings on environmental and development issues for a couple of decades, such as the Brandt and Bruntland reports. What is different is the need to link this to thinking on international security so that the prevailing paradigm of a western elite maintaining its security, if need be by military means, is recognised as not just unsustainable but actually self-defeating. There are many impressive arguments that a polarised and constrained world is not acceptable on the grounds of morality and justice. From a security perspective, it cannot and will not work. An alternative security paradigm is required.” (Rogers, 2001)

In this statement, Rogers recognizes that “new” wars are related to old drives for natural resources and economic expansion into new markets, and that the rhetoric of “democracy” that serves as a justification for this stands on the same basis as the Romans attempted to extend and maintain their empire through the use of symbolic idealism in the popular rhetoric of imperialism to mask the motives of State power. As the age becomes corrupt, so do the values if the fundamentals relating to economic development are not met worldwide, while militarily dominant cultures consume at rates of conspicuous consumption hundreds or thousands of times that of the world’s poorest people. That this pattern of economic consumption cannot be exported globally, that it is unsustainable environmentally, and that it rests on a fundamentally unjust militaristic basis which imposes policy internationally by physical force little different from organized crime on a mass-scale, are just a few of the conclusions that can be drawn from this reading. In recognizing the way that global poverty is related to “new” war in that its victims, living and breathing humans in the developing world with lives, families, hopes, and goals that have no value to the hegemonic military powers and can be seen as “collateral damage” for “shock and awe” policies, there is the inherent characteristic that symbolizes both aspects of “new” war fundamentally.

Where superpowers exert their military force through increasingly de-personalized ways such as predator drones, air strikes, cruise missiles, and the like rather than armed occupation, or when they justify the collateral damage of regime change operations in the developing world, they implement policy on a double-standard that would not be viewed as acceptable, for example, if another foreign State or alliance attempted to implement a similar policy on their own sovereign nations. The hegemonic powers economically do not value the life of the world’s poor, while consuming at levels way beyond what is sustainable environmentally. Militarily, the hegemonic powers do not value the life of the poor in the developing nations, refusing to see their own military actions as terrorism as Chomsky has written. On the contrary, the hyper-reactive media aspects of modern late-capitalist democracies creates a hysteria around every terrorist event that occurs, leading to ever more exaggerated responses by the State, and the introduction of policies that question the civil liberties of the democracies themselves. As Rogers suggests, this is inherently a policy that cannot work, it will fail despite the trillions in collective resources spent on “new” war and police actions against terrorism.

Sources Cited
  • Caparini, Marina, Alexandra, Andrew, Baker, Deane-Peter (2008), Private Military and Security Companies -Ethics, Policies and Civil-Military Relations (London: Routledge).
  • Chomsky, Noam (2008), The Culture of Terrorism, Pluto Press, 1988. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=nhMcEPWTkIMC
  • Duffield, Mark (2001) Global Governance And The New Wars: The Merging of Development and Security (London: Zed Books).
  • Kaldor, Mary (1999), New and Old Wars: Organized Violence in a Global Era, Stanford University Press; 1999.
  • Kaldor, Mary (2010) ‘New Wars’, The Broker; http://www.thebrokeronline.eu/en/Dossiers/Special-report-Who-is-the-enemy/New-wars 
  • Kalyvas S.N. (2001), ‘New and Old Wars: A Valid Distinction?’, World Politics, Vol.54, pp.99-118.
  • Holsti, Kalevi Jaakko (2001), The State, War, and the State of War, World Politics, Cambridge University Press, 2001.
  • Lietzau, William K. (2004), Old Laws, New Wars: Jus ad Bellum in an Age of Terrorism, Max Planck UNYB, 2004
  • Melander, E., Oberg, M., and Hall J. (2009) ‘Are ‘New Wars’ More Atrocious? Battle Severity, Civilians Killed and Forced Migration Before and After the End of the Cold War’, European Journal of International Relations, 15(3): 505 – 536.
  • Murshed, S. Mansoob (2003) Old and New Wars, BICC Bulletin, No. 26, 1 January 2003.
  • Newman, Edward (2004) ‘The ‘New Wars’ Debate: A Historical Perspective is Needed’, Security Dialogue, Vol. 35(2), 173-189
  • Parker, Sara (2008) “New Wars”: The Case of Sierra Leone, APSA Teaching and Learning Conference, San Jose Marriott, San Jose, California, Feb 22,; http://www.allacademic.com//meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/2/4/5/6/9/pages245697/p245697-1.php.
  • Rogers, Paul (2001) A Violent Peace, The Ploughshares Monitor, September 2001, volume 22, no. 3; http://www.ploughshares.ca/libraries/monitor/mons01d.html
  • Schaefer, Heidi (2001) Old Wars New Wars, Leeds Met Gallery 18.9.09-17.9.09, Exhibition essay, 2009; http://www.heidischaefer.net/oldwarsnewwarsessay.pdf
  • Van Creveld, Martin (2001) The Transformation of War, Simon and Schuster, 1991; http://books.google.co.in/books?id=mHLIKApIEA8C

Gym Business Marketing Strategy Analysis in London

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Gym Business Marketing Strategy Analysis in London

Table of Contents

  • Introduction
  • Situation Analysis
  • Target Market Analysis
  • Problems and Opportunities
  • Marketing strategy
    • Product Positioning
    • Marketing mix
  • Implementation and Control
  • Conclusion
  • References

  1. Introduction

As government policy also promotes interest in sports and fitness exercise, Sports Fitness Centres are gaining in popularity. If they are called, leisure centres had little competition earlier, but due to increased health awareness, late demand has increased. A business research will then be required to start a Sports & Fitness Centre in Mayfair, London. As an entirely new company, it would require a plan that would include a strategy for consumer expansion.

  1. Situation Analysis

In every community, general well-being and preparation for wellbeing have become a big concern. The number of individuals being obese and overweight has been growing. Over half of adults in London do not partake in any sort of sport or fitness programme. In order to achieve a healthier weight, the Mayor of London recommends working closely with and motivating a wide number of individuals to become more fit and eat better (Johnson, 2011). In addition to promoting occupational wellness programmes, other initiatives include making sport and healthy leisure opportunities available. In terms of demand, London faces a substantial lack of sports facilities.

Gym Business Marketing Strategy Analysis in London

  1. Target Market Analysis

In the middle of an epidemic in obesity, Britain is (This is London, 2011). At least 60 percent of the population will be obese by 2050, according to experts (London Assembly, 2010). The target demographic is young people and adults of both sexes. According to a survey by the London-based Multinational Obesity Taskforce, 28 percent of boys and 36 percent of girls in the UK are either overweight or obese (Dobson, 2006). A UK government study predicts that 12 million adults and 1 million children will be obese in England by 2010 (Medical News Today, 2006). Adding to the issues is being physically healthy and consuming more junk food. The target demographic for the fitness centre will then be the 16-40 age range of both sexes.

  1. Problems and Opportunities

The residents of Mayfair were not yet aware of the launch of the fitness centre. Individuals should be concerned about the quality of operation, facilities and coaches. However, the potential may be used to enter the market with the correct approach, as demand exceeds supply. Fitness campaigns are also funded by the government and obesity is at an all-time peak.

  1. Marketing Strategy

Customers are searching for value for money and the fitness centre can also recognise the facilities it should offer in return for cash by understanding the target audience to which the services are guided. In the early stages, market growth is the target. Knowing the target audience would encourage the critical elements to be included in the fitness centre. The fitness centre’s key attributes need to be clearly shared. Different considerations in designing the marketing campaign would be taken into account in ABC Health health centre’s brand campaign.

5.1 Product Positioning

A high-growth sector that encompasses wellness, fitness, sports and entertainment facilities is the leisure industry. This field contributes 13.5 percent to the United Kingdom’s overall employment. There are two reasons for the sector’s growth. The awareness of staying fit has grown as health issues have increased, which has increased the need for improved services and spaces for exercise (20th Century London, 2010). In comparison, people have been urged by sedentary lifestyle to search for suitable places to workout. Thus, Mayfair London Sports Fitness Centre should site itself as a fitness and health club.

5.2 Marketing Mix

The essentials of the marketing mix must be analysed in order to formulate the marketing approach.

  • Product Mix

A need or a desire should be fulfilled by the commodity. The need at this moment is to live healthily. Various practises such as participating in athletics (football, basketball, badminton, tennis), bodybuilding activities such as gym aerobics and exercises should be used to achieve healthier living. However, the new age fitness therapies also include yoga and meditation which is equally beneficial. Yoga and meditation help to de-stress the body and are great ways to increase health and total well-being (May, 2011). Yoga and meditation also provide psychological benefit as it makes the practitioner more conscious of the self, makes them aware of their own potential. Meditation lowers oxygen requirement and reduces the respiratory rate. Moreover, squash and badminton have become unfashionable and people look for new age products/services to fitness. This differentiation can come from the inclusion of yoga and meditation as part of the fitness program. Another differentiating characteristic of the centre should be to tailor the product to suit individual needs. The fitness program should have a holistic approach where nutrition guidance is also provided. Nutrition is an important part of weight management. The centre should also include a massage room and spa area. Spa has gained popularity as a means to relax and this could be an attraction.

  • Price Mix

Price is the sum of values consumers’ exchange for the benefits of having or using a product (Briohny, 2006). Pricing is a rigorous process as it has to take into account the specific circumstances into consideration. The pricing objective is to initially make a market penetration. This require taking into account the demand, the costs, the competition prices on offer and the financial status of the people in the vicinity. The consumers would be attracted to the product only when the benefits outweigh the costs. Mayfair is upmarket vicinity but people diverse backgrounds also come to Mayfair. Pricing cannot be universally applicable and would depend upon the activities engaged in and the equipments used. The Centre can engage in differential pricing based on services used. Besides, there could be promotional benefits by way of discounts for the first 100 that register at the Centre. Seasonal discounts could also be offered because products and services would also be tailored for the young adults (16-22). Hence during the vacations prices could be reduced to attract a larger number of students.

  • Place Mix

Mayfair, London is very strategically located and densely populated. Mayfair is an area in central London which is the main commercial district featuring some of London’s best hotels, restaurants and shopping districts (Jeremy, 2011). The area has several sports fitness centres and the competition is intensified as hotels too have started offering fitness facilities to non-residents (Santander, n.d.). The area has easy access through the entire transport system and hence good participation and registration is expected.

  • Promotion

Promotion involves strategies and processes that help the business engage with the target market (Briohny, n.d.). The aim is to develop recognition, separate the product and company from rivals, to explain the advantages of the product, to create and sustain the organization’s general brand and credibility, and eventually to encourage consumers to purchase the service. They must satisfy the needs of the business they are joining. Four different practises include the marketing of goods and services: advertisement, personal selling, promotion of revenue and public relations. The success of the promotion campaign relies on how the marketer is able to connect to the consumer segment about the product/service.

  • Advertising

Advertising in the popular local dailies and the television should start at least a month before the actual opening date. Outside the centre also details of the services offered should be put up and someone should be available to answer personal queries for walk-ins. With prior permission of the principals of schools, advertisements could be put up on school notice boards as the objective is to attract and educate the young children. Flyers can be inserted in school newsletters. These would help to build awareness of the service at Mayfair both among the children and their parents. Since the area also houses commercial centres, flyers can also be distributed through the shopping malls.

  • Personal Selling

This would entail visiting schools and giving presentations on ill-effects of obesity, of the ill-effects of the sedentary lifestyle, of the benefits of keeping fit and the methods that can help them maintain healthy living. Individual attention would be given both at the time of selling the product and when customers come in to register. The fitness chart and the nutrition chart would be tailor-made to suit individual requirements.

  • Sales Promotion

Initially lot of efforts would have to be put in sales promotion. Bulk discounts could be offered to commercial organization, to schools and other institutions in the vicinity. Initially, free registration with skeletal facilities could be offered and when the clients seek higher benefits, membership fees could be levied. At the shopping malls, the Fitness centre could enter into alliance with some retail organization and offer free subscription to the shoppers against volume purchase of the retailers’ product. Once members are active and participate in various activities, to sustain interest, the fitness centre could give away prizes of choice to lose weight and to keep healthy.

New age social networking is an excellent platform to create awareness. Thus spaces like FaceBook should be utilized for this fitness centre. A page can be created and promoted among the residents of London and particularly, those residing or working in and around Mayfair area.

  • Public Relations

 Being a new organization they need to sponsor some sporting events. They could approach some commercial organizations and sponsor their employees’ annual sports, school annual sports. They could even sponsor some charitable events in the locality. They need to have a localized approach because the customer base would be local. Hence local events and functions should be sponsored which would give the maximum mileage to the project.

  • People

People are an important part of service delivery. The right people have to be selected and trained. These are the customer contact people and the delivery of service depends on their psychological well being, merely technical knowledge is not sufficient; they should be able to live up to the image of the organization.

  • Physicals

The ambience of the centre should be soothing in areas such as the meditation room and where people would relax after workouts. However, it should be vibrant in areas where the mood has to be given a push, when they need to be energized to get started with workouts. Colours and lighting should match the process because different colours vibrate at different frequencies and impact the mood of the people (Biopulse, n.d.).

  • Process

Free weight machines, performance training equipment, exercise studio equipment and Easy-Lock flooring must be borne by the centre. They must have the latest, tested equipments and also provide sauna and Jacuzzi. Operators must be well trained in not only using the equipments but also in guiding the clients in its usage.

  1. Implementation and Control

Implementation of this strategy would require identification of the schools and other educational institutions, of the retail stores and shopping malls in the district, of large commercial house in the area. Staff would have to be appointed at least a couple of months in advance for all functions such as marketing, operations and strategy. Those with prior experience in the sector should be taken in operations as this would enhance the image of the centre. In marketing and salespeople with no prior experience should be taken so that new ideas can be generated and originality could perhaps lead to better marketing efforts.

Tie-ups with schools could be demanding on time and hence efforts should start at an early stage. Parents too may have to be convinced to send their children. Press releases should be sent out to local dailies at least a week before the actual opening.

Monitoring and control become challenging for new projects. Hence, a checklist should be prepared listing all activities, complete with dates and responsibilities of each individual. This should be communicated to all involved.

Any venture should be able to meet the legal and ethical parameters. An organization should be able to distinguish between the short-term needs of the society and the long-term benefits (Wiley, n.d.). The centre should think beyond making money and evaluate to what extent they are contributing towards the benefit of the society. Profitability should be integrated with the needs of the society. The society needs awareness on the health issues and hence guidance should be provided appropriately. The organization should not mislead the clients into purchase of some service that is not required by them.

  1. Conclusion

Marketing analysis for a Sports and fitness centre suggests that this centre would have locational advantages as it is in the commercial district. Obesity is an epidemic in London and hence this is the right time to launch the fitness centre. Government too encourages and supports such initiatives. The target segment would be the age group of 16-40 of both sexes. This centre should position itself as Fitness and Health club. To create differentiation products should add meditation and yoga in addition to the standard products offered by most such centres. Initially the price should be kept low to attract and interest the customers. Promotional offers should be launched and schools and commercial organizations should be offered special rates. A checklist would help in effective implementation and control. The project is viable and the marketing objectives can be achieved.

References
  • 20th Century London. (2010). Sports Centres and Health Clubs. Accessed 16 April 2011 http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/server.php?show=conInformationRecord.213
  • Biopulse. (n.d.).  Color Therapy. Accessed 16 April 2011 http://www.biopulse.org/color.html
  • Briohny. (2006). Briohny’s report, Accessed 16 April 2011 http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/writing/business-economics/marketing/3.3.2.xml
  • Dobson, R. (2006). Diet: 700,000 children in UK are obese. Accessed 16 April 2011
  • http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/diet-700000-children-in-uk-are-obese-472453.html
  • Jeremy, K. (2011). Hotels Near Mayfair in London. USA Today. Accessed 16 April 2011 http://traveltips.usatoday.com/hotels-near-mayfair-london-22347.html
  • Johnson, B. (2011). Beating obesity in London. Accessed 16 April 2011 http://www.london.gov.uk/priorities/health/focus-issues/obesity
  • London Assembly. (2010). Major boost for London’s grassroots sports facilities. Accessed 16 April 2011 http://www.london.gov.uk/media/press_releases_mayoral/major-boost-london%E2%80%99s-grass-roots-sports-facilities
  • May, J. (2011). Benefits of Yoga Meditation Relaxation. Project-Meditation.org. Accessed 16 April 2011 http://www.project-meditation.org/a_bom2/benefits_of_yoga_meditation_relaxation.html
  • Medical News Today. (2006). England To Have 13 Million Obese People By 2010. Accessed 16 April 2011 http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/50541.php
  • Santander. (n.d.). Industry Sector: Fitness Centre. Accessed 16 April 2011 https://www.alliance-leicestercommercialbank.co.uk/bizguides/full/fitness/parkes-sector_trends.asp
  • This is London. (2011). Government to beat obesity epidemic by PAYING fat people to lose weight, Accessed 16 April 2011
  • http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23433848-government-to-beat-obesity-epidemic-by-paying-fat-people-to-lose-weight.do
  • Wiley. (n.d.). Scope of strategic marketing. Chapter I. Web. Accessed 16 April 2011 http://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/51/04708498/0470849851.pdf

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