Nike Case Study Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Nike Case Study - Research Paper Example Ballinger was passionate that a company should have a responsibility for its workers even if they are the lowest paid workforce of the company (Spar, 2002). Ballinger was assigned to monitor labor conditions in an Indonesian plant by overseas American companies because he considered that the reason for international companies to prepare a setup in poor countries is to exploit the low-wage labors. This has been true over years that big multinational companies have been shifting their operations to lower wage countries in order to reduce their production cost and collect more profits. The cost of production in America is double the cost of a product which is being manufactured in other countries (Locke, 2002). He claims that Nike has a policy that in order to produce cost effective products, they mistreat their workers and make them work longer hours than required. He believed that even though there were laws for protecting the labor rights, Nike continuously fed the Indonesian governm ent with bribe to overlook their part of misdeed. Ballinger accused Nike that they knew people were dependent on the company and would rarely leave the company, so they mistreated them to get more production with fewer necessities and food provided to the people. Ballinger had strength in his arguments because workers were in a bad situation and when they were interviewed by Ballinger, they agreed with the same (Connor, 2001). Nike’s Response to Ballinger’s Allegations The first response from Nike was clear that their manager said Nike’s not responsible for the actions of their independent contractors. Nike considered that they are not involved in any kind of activity in Indonesia and most likely they would not be responsible for their act. However, Nike asked its public relation officer to draft a code of conduct for its independent contractors (Stoner, 2006). This code of conduct would then be sent to their new contractors in which all aspects of working condi tions of labors, environment regulation and insurance of their workers were addressed. Nike wanted all of their suppliers and independent contractors to agree with all terms that were specified before making any further deal. It was made mandatory that these suppliers would have to give their written consent of their honesty and non-discrimination (Spar, 2002). Nike hired an accounting firm Ernst & Young to conduct an audit of its overseas factories. Auditing would inform Nike with activities of their overseas factories and would identify their problems. But the problem started to mount and criticism had started to rise again with a greater force. Nike denied any act of direct involvement in child labor activity and of worker exploitation. In Washington, Nike was the first company to join Apparel Industry Partnership (AIP) which was aimed to develop reformed labor standards in foreign factories. Nike also included a new department in its company which was known as Labor Practices De partment which role was to monitor labor practices in premises of the factory (Spar, 2002). Recommendations Firstly, Nike should focus on improving its processes in their overseas factories by making strict guidelines and norms for their factories to follow. The company shall motivate their independent

Italian Political Violence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Italian Political Violence - Essay Example ship (1922-1943), Italian history, before and after Mussolini, has been characterized by an enormous volume of political violence† (Leonard & Lee, 1987, p.34). Major violent events have been recorded as occurring at pace of about one every two years from the 1860s until the advent of Fascist rule and then resuming at only a slightly reduced rate in the years. After the World War II, Many of these violent activities came up as a result of workers and peasant strikes, land seizures and factory occupations. Others included bread riots, anti-tax riots and anti-war demonstration. While some events were aimed at the government others were between private groups fighting among themselves. Some scholars have never the less downplayed this past event as being non terrorist and argued that real terrorist activities began in the 1960’s with the bombing of the National Agricultural Bank at Piazza Fontana in Milan and to have subsided with the arrest and eventual prosecution of large numbers of terrorists, after General James Dozier was liberated from the Red Brigade in 1982. Never the less the timeline between these two occurrences saw terrorist organizations (claiming inspiration from either anarchist, communist or neo-fascist doctrines) commit several acts of violence. These activities caused hundreds of deaths, some of which included that of a former prime minister. Thousands of people were reported injured including a pope, and in retrospect, more thousands were sent to prison for committing the violence. All this occurred in a country governed by a democratic political regime, no less and probably somewhat more democratic in 19132 than it was in 1969, with an advanced industrialized economy and having a population noted justifiably for its cultural sophistication and social tolerance. Each of the countrys 94 provinces is said to have been a venue for political violence. For example: Turin, Milan, and Rome. But what were the reasons for this renewed trend of

Multiculturalism in Melbourne

Multiculturalism in Melbourne INTRODUCTION: It is indeed true that the world is getting smaller nowadays. More and more people are moving into different places for a myriad of reason, mostly for seeking greener pastures and finding their luck with hopes that they will earn higher income in places other than where they were raised. With this, more adjustments are necessary as someone who has been new in the place is indeed required to adapt to the new culture and environment in order to establish a living in that particular community. As more and more people are considering the possibility of immigration, more and more adjustments are taken into consideration as well. More often than not, immigrants were able to successfully adapt to the community of their choice because of the help of people around them and on efforts extended by the necessary groups to make them feel comfortable on what they will be considering as their new home for the next chapter of their lives. This paper will discuss briefly the Spanish community in Aust ralia including present demographics and other information which are related into their way of living. THE MELBOURNE COMMUNITY The population at Melbourne is very diverse comprising of different groups of people from a variety of ages and mostly was from different countries with varying tradition and culture. Most of the residents in the city include young professionals, international students, and elder couples who were looking forward into enjoying the city or the rest of time that they still have. In a recent survey conducted in the United Sates, Melbourne is one of the most livable cities in the world outstripping Sydney. This was mainly attributed to multicultural diversity because of the increasing number of expatriates and immigrants residing in Melbourne. Part of the citys population, which was mainly the reason why it was said to be diverse, include multicultural and indigenous communities. The city of Melbourne is said to have been the hub of the worlds most culturally diverse and harmonious nationalities, with residents from more than 140 nations brought about to the city by the four waves of migr ation in the citys history. These waves of migration happened during the European settlement in the 1830s, after the gold rush in the 1850s, during the post-World War II, and lastly during the time that the number of international students increased dramatically. The welcoming city of Melbourne serves as home for international communities such as those from New Zealand, Korea, and United Kingdom. SPANISH COMMUNITY IN MELBOURNE One of the international identities residing along the suburbs of Melbourne, joining other nationalities, are those from Spain forming the Spanish community and is also being influenced by the Australian culture in just the same way that they bring their culture, traditions, and beliefs in the rich heritage which was inherent to Melbourne. The start of the migration of the Spanish community in Melbourne the capital city of Victoria is attributed to the gold rush were seafarers migrated into the place to try their luck. At that time, 80 % of the immigrants are men and it continued to increase over the next years including the women population in Victoria. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there is a significant number of Spanish Australians and the majorities of them live in the area of Sydney and Melbourne and also in Brisbane and Perth but with a significant lower population compared to the first two mention. The statistics also holds that there are 16,114 Spanish Australians which are residing in Melbourne, placing second after Sydney with a total of 29,230 Spanish Australian residents. In Melbourne, most of the Spanish population has been concentrated in Fitzroy, one of its suburbs. In Fitzroy, a number of Spanish establishments can be found which was attributed to the Spanish community living in its suburbs. During the year 1950s, Spanish was even used as a language in schools in Victoria. This goes to show the acceptance of the Spanish community not just in Melbourne, but in Victoria in general. MODE OF LIVING IN MELBOURNE Just like any nationalities, most of which were with greater population in Melbourne compared to the Spanish, they have established their own lifestyle in Melbourne from dining and entertainment to their religion and other personal beliefs. There are a number of Spanish restaurants and clubs which abound the city in order for the Spanish community to experience Spanish living at the very heart of Melbourne. A number of civic organizations have been busy and very particular about putting up events and relevant organizations which will enhance the mode of Spanish lifestyle in the diverse city of Melbourne. There is also a number of Spanish architecture in Melbourne which goes to show that the Spanish community has been in existent for ages, just that it really has no significant population in the community. The erection of the Barcelona Terrace is one example of architecture influenced by the Spanish community. Spanish cultural traces in Melbourne, as of today, has become more evident and obvious especially in the suburbs of Fitzroy with the existence of restaurants, clubs, houses, organizations, and other activities which are showing the rich Spanish culture. The very strength pf the Spanish community in Melbourne is the fact that they have been there, although in very small population, during the very early years of migration history in Melbourne. This gives them the fact that they have exposed their culture for long to gain acceptance from the Australian community. It is evident that because of the relatively small population of the Spaniards living in Melbourne, too little attention has been given in them in terms of civic activities and other activities related to immigrant living. The Spanish community should be more active in establishing their rights as immigrant. Aside from their traditional celebrations commonly done in Fitzroy, they should spread more of their culture and make the Australians more aware of their heritage so that they will establish a better name in the city. Their relatively small population should not be able to hinder their function in the community. REFERENCES: City of Melbourne; Multicultural Communities; Accessed on April 2, 2010 from http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/AboutMelbourne/MelbourneProfile/Pages/Multiculturalcommunities.aspx Exploring Abroad; Living in Australia; Accessed on April 2, 2010 from http://www.exploringabroad.com/australia/living-in-australia.htm Fitzroyalty; The Spanish History of Fitzroy; Accessed on April 2, 2010 from http://indolentdandy.net/fitzroyalty/2009/05/22/the-spanish-history-of-fitzroy/ Museum of Victoria Australia; History of Immigration from Spain; Accessed on April 2, 2010 from http://museumvictoria.com.au/origins/history.aspx?pid=57 Valverde, Estella; Unlocking Australias Language Potential: Profiles of 9 Key Languages in Australia; 1994

The Physics of Judo Essay -- Martial Arts Judo Physics Essays

The Physics of Judo Judo is a martial art that is centered around physics. Even just the concept of throwing somebody is physics. To practice judo and not have a basic knowledge of physics is insane considering that physics is what makes judo possible. Judo is sport that consist of throws, take downs and over all control. Judo without physics is like have a sandwich with just bread, you don’t get much out of it. To understand how physics comes into play with judo we must start with Newton’s laws of motion. â€Å"Newton’s first law: law of inertia, a net or unbalanced force is needed to change the state of motion of and object. In a judo match, two players try to throw each other by first off-balancing the other player, the fitting their body into a position underneath their opponent for a throw, and finally throwing their opponent squarely on their back. The key to throwing the other player in the off-balance. Without first off-balancing your opponent, your chance of successfully completing a throw are slim. You’re also asking to be countered if you don’t off-balance first.†(1) â€Å"The first law of motion is important if you want to successfully throw your opponent in a match. For instance, suppose your opponent makes a move to his right in order to make you move to you left. In the instance that you are moving, you’re temporarily off-balanced. Rather than letting your opponent keep control of the situation you and take advantage of his motion by using Newton’s first law. In this scenario, the statement â€Å"an object in motion will stay in motion† applies. As he is in motion you quickly turn into your opponent enabling you to lift him up with your hips and throw him.†(1) â€Å"Newton’s second law: F=ma, the acceleration of a b... ...other example would be be if he took a step larger than he normally would. While his foot is still in motion, you sweep his foot in the direction of his advance. In doing this, he will drop because gravity will be acting directly on him in downwards direction.†(2) Judo is a martial art that relies on physics to achieve its goals and without physics it would not exist. Everything that judo does consists of physics, such as getting your opponent off-balance, using their momentum to get your opponent moving and using gravity to pull them to the ground. Work Cited 1.Internet Source: http://members.tripod.com/~HappyClould/newton.html 2.Internet Source: http://members.tripod.com/~HappyClould/gravity.html 3.Internet Source: http://members.tripod.com/~HappyClould/momentum.html 4.Physics a world view, fourth edition. Kirkpatrick and Wheeler: copyright 2001

Why Wait for Tomorrow? Why Not Now?

This article â€Å"More Testing More Learning† is written by Patrick O’ Malley. In this article O’ Malley is talking about how to make a students learning more easily than it is. The word more testing and more learning mean that if we test more then it makes easier for us to learn and understand more. In this passage Patrick says that students today are so lazy to study on time, they only study when their midterms or finals are near, which gets them worried about their studies. He said that if one student have got C in his midterm then he thinks that final is the only chance for him to get through his class or it could break him and he could flung in it. O’ Malley has given amazing suggestions in this article which could improve students’ academic and will be helpful for him to learn better. O’ Malley has a strong point, that if teachers could give more in class tests or quizzes after every part or at the end of every chapter, then it would be helpful for its student and will improve in students educational knowledge. It’s true that education has always played an important part in our lives, but studying without understanding ever helps one in its professional life. We have seen a lot of college students including myself like to study a night before our exams, which could give us a result of a failure. Our results are based on our learning power, and if our learning power is lesser then the course material then it will make us feel as if we are in some deep trouble. The problem is not that we are in some trouble of failing the course or getting dropped from class because we can’t make it, but the problem is that our teachers should encourage us and make our course easier for us to understand. How can a teacher do that? As O’ Malley said by give student’s in-class tests, quizzes after every chapter or part of study, and give assignments to do, so that they both know how weak student is in particular subject. Taking these types of exams more frequently will encourage student to change its habit, and develop its learning skills. At the other hand as per the argument goes on between professors that a frequent exam seems to create more problems, therefore there are many other alternate scenarios to achieve the same criteria. First one is to introduce a program which will work on improving students study skills. Whereas this program should teach a student how to be prepared for exams, moreover this might won’t be helpful in getting rid of that worry and anxiety, but it will get through them. The second scenario is to give them in class questions to do. These questions will help them work on their timing. Like for an example, if teacher is explaining a chapter on in present class and ask them some questions about that particular chapter in order to do a revision in next class will help them improving their timing for understanding and memorizing the course material for a big exam. Now the third and last scenario is about how to help student in preparation of their midterm and final exams. Before both exams teacher should provide students with some sort of a guess paper. Like giving some questions and idea of what is coming in exam and where it is coming from, so that it will be easier for a student to learn, because they know what is coming exam and from where. More testing makes us learn more. Everyone has their own ways to learn, some do it at the same time on same day and some delay them until their exams. If I would have to compare myself to this article I would more likely say that I come in students who waits until their exams are near. I have always agreed with the idea that if teacher will make learning easier for us by giving us in class tests, quizzes, by asking some questions on the other day of class to see that if student remembers what they learn in previous class, or by teacher giving a sample exam or they tell us what is coming in exam and what is not. These all ideas make it easier for me it has always worked. I still do have some teacher in present and past classes who always made it easy for me like my intro to business and music class teachers in last semester, and English and computer information teacher in present semester. In the end I would like to say that teachers do help, they always do, but it depends on us how often we understand and learn what is best for us to improve our skills. Like I said earlier that it is true that education is playing an important role in our life, but what’s the use of that kind of education in which we just learn to get rid of it. As a memorable saying by a person to person â€Å"Study what you like, study what you are good at, but study by understanding it not by getting rid of it†.

Bankruptcy Court in Richmond

In the Eastern Edition of Wall Street Journal, an article was published on April 14, 2009 with reports that Circuit City sought the permission of U. S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Virginia to sell the â€Å"Circuit City† and â€Å"The City† brand names and related Web sites, phone numbers, and trademarks to Systemax Inc. , the same company who bought the CompUSA brand name in 2008. This kind of scenario in the business world is an example of acquisition.As defined by the Dictionary of Finance and Investment Terms, the term â€Å"acquisition† refers to a process where: â€Å"†¦one company taking over controlling interest in another company. Investors are always looking out for companies that are likely to be acquired, because those who want to acquire such companies are often willing to pay more than the market price for the shares they need to complete the acquisition† (2006). In this project, the acquiring company is Systemax Inc while the target c ompany for acquisition is the Circuit City. Systemax Inc.(NYSE: SYX) is a Fortune 1000 company and leading retailer of brand name like TigerDirect, CompUSA, MISCO and Global Industrial Equipment, and of private label products including personal computers, notebook computers, consumer electronics, computer-related accessories, technology supplies and industrial products. Systemax sells these products through Integrated Marketing mix such as: branded e-commerce websites, direct mail catalogs, relationship marketers and retail stores. The company also manufactures and sells personal computers under the Systemax logo and computer components under the Ultra Products brand.The company reach extends to a wide range of customers from individual consumers, to small-to-medium sized businesses, to major corporations, to government organizations and to the educational market. On the other hand, Circuit City Stores, Inc. (Pink Sheets: CCTYQ) used to be the second largest U. S. electronics retail er, after Best Buy in brand-name consumer electronics, personal computers, entertainment software, and large appliances. At the time of liquidation, there were 567 Circuit City Superstores nationwide with store size ranging from 15,000 to 45,000 square feet (1400 to 4000 m?), when the company announced total liquidation. When the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2008, an additional 155 stores were closed with the intent of continuing business operations. However, as a consequence of global economic recession during the late 2000s, the lack of consumer spending and overall economic downturn resulted to the demise of the company. When the company shut operation, a small staff remains active at corporate headquarters to complete the company's business such as the termination of its many leases, and the sale of its company-owned real estate and Canadian subsidiary.From the acquisition and take over that happened between Systemax Inc. and Circuit City, we can now see h ow the managers of these two companies strategically implemented their business plans and goals. As for the Systemax Inc, the bankruptcy of Circuit City is a blessing not only because a giant competitor has closed operations, it can now enjoy the existing infrastructures and other stakeholders of the said company. With 14 million dollars cash plus a share of future revenue generated from those assets over a 30-month period, the managers of Circuit City can now address its internal concerns with the employees and customers.The employees can now receive separation payments as deemed by the Labor laws and the customers can now ask for refunds for the defective products sold at Circuit City. References ACQUISITION. (2006). In Dictionary of Finance and Investment Terms. Hauppauge, NY: Barron's Educational Series. Retrieved May 18, 2009, from http://www. credoreference. com. ezproxy. stedwards. edu:5000/entry/barronsfin/acquisition Morath, E. (2009, April 14). Circuit city aims to sell br and name to systemax. Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition), p. B. 6. Retrieved May 18, 2009, from Wall Street Journal database. (Document ID: 1678320131).