Differences in the movie and book of Shawshank Redemption essays

Differences in the movie and book of Shawshank Redemption essays The novella Shawshank Redemption and Rita Hayworth by Stephen King is the basis of the 1994 movie The Shawshank Redemption directed by Frank Darabont. This moving and inspirational film follows the book very closely in relation to the characters and plot, however does include some very significant changes. These range from the atmosphere in which the characters must live, to furthering your understanding of Andys goals and desires, and to examine the idea of redemption. The ways in which this is achieved are very effective and do not detract from the original sentiments or feelings that you get from the book but strengthen the film to make it as powerful a piece that it is. The cruel reality of prison is established straight away by the use of additional scenes and the altering of events that occur. When Andy first comes to Shawshank Prison one of the felons that was brought in at the same time as Andy is reduced to tears on his first evening sleeping in the jail. Due to his insisting that he doesnt belong [t]here Captain Hadley beats him so badly that the prisoner dies later that night from the sustained injuries. This is a major difference from the book and a very significant one. This introductory scene establishes the harsh life in prison, which Andy is going to have to deal with for a long time. There are a lot of unjustified beatings and deaths within the prison that are allowed to happen because the warden or guards are the ones administrating them. When warden Norton is looking for a way to silence Tommy Williams to ensure that Andy remains where he is he, Norton chooses the most despicable thing to do. He has Tommy murdered by one of the guards who shoots him from a watch tower. This enforces the sense of brutality as in the book warden just moves Tommy to a minimum security prison, but the fact that he is shot several times instead, strengthens the over all morose mood of the set...

Taliesin West - Organic Design in a Desert Garden

Taliesin West - Organic Design in a Desert Garden Taliesin West  began not as a grand scheme, but a simple need. Frank Lloyd Wright and his apprentices had traveled a long distance from his Taliesin school in Spring Green, Wisconsin to build a resort hotel in Chandler, Arizona. Because they were far from home, they set up camp on a stretch of the Sonoran Desert near the construction site outside of Scottsdale. Wright fell in love with the desert. He wrote in 1935 that the desert was a grand garden, with its rim of arid mountains spotted like the leopards skin or tattooed with amazing patterns of creation. Its sheer beauty of space and pattern does not exist, I think, in the world, Wright proclaimed. This great desert garden is Arizonas chief asset. Building Taliesin West The early encampment at Taliesin West contained little more than temporary shelters made of wood and canvas. However, Frank Lloyd Wright was inspired by the dramatic, rugged landscape. He envisioned an elaborate complex of buildings that would embody his concept of organic architecture. He wanted the buildings to evolve from and blend with the environment. In 1937, the desert school known as Taliesin West was launched. Following in the tradition of Taliesin in Wisconsin, Wrights apprentices studied, worked, and lived in shelters they crafted using materials native to the land. Taliesin is a Welsh word meaning shining brow. Both of Wrights Taliesin homesteads hug the contours of the earth like a shining brow on the hilly landscape. Organic Design at Taliesin West Architectural historian G. E. Kidder Smith reminds us that Wright taught his students to design in kinship with the environment, admonishing students, for instance, not to build on top of a hill in dominance, but beside it in partnership. This is the essence of organic architecture. Lugging stone and sand, the students constructed buildings that seemed to grow from the earth and the McDowell Mountains. Wood and steel beams supported translucent canvas roofs. Natural stone combined with glass and plastic to create surprising shapes and textures. Interior space flowed naturally into the open desert. For awhile, Taliesin West was a retreat from the harsh Wisconsin winters. Eventually, air conditioning was added and students stayed through the fall and spring. Taliesin West Today At Taliesin West, the desert is never still. Over the years, Wright and his students made many changes, and the school continues to evolve. Today, the 600 acre complex includes a drafting studio, Wrights former architectural office and living quarters, a dining room and kitchen, several theaters, housing for apprentices and staff, a student workshop, and expansive grounds with pools, terraces and gardens. Experimental structures built by apprentice architects dot the landscape. Taliesin West is home of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, whose alumni become Taliesin Fellows. Taliesin West is also the headquarters of the FLW Foundation, a powerful overseer of Wrights properties, mission, and legacy. In 1973 the American Institute of Architects (AIA) gave the property its Twenty-five Year Award. On its fiftieth anniversary in 1987, Taliesin West won special recognition from the U.S. House of Representatives, which called the complex the highest achievement in American artistic and architectural expression. According to the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Taliesin West is one of 17 buildings in the United States that exemplify Wrights contribution to American architecture. Next to Wisconsin, gathering of the waters, Wright has written, Arizona, arid zone, is my favorite State. Each very different from the other, but something individual in them both not to be found elsewhere. Sources Frank Lloyd Wright On Architecture: Selected Writings (1894-1940), Frederick Gutheim, ed., Grossets Universal Library, 1941, pp. 197, 159Source Book of American Architecture by G. E. Kidder Smith, Princeton Architectural Press, 1996, p. 390The Future of Architecture by Frank Lloyd Wright, New American Library, Horizon Press, 1953, p. 21

Enterprise Architecture and Databases - Case Study Essay

Enterprise Architecture and Databases - Case Study - Essay Example The automatic query response system is enabled in the data base which raises alarm when the desired red marked vehicle is traced any place. The reliance on man power and intuition is eliminated. Data bases are far more effective in this regard and hence removed the dependency on manual record keeping. With so many vehicles on the road, without such an integrated system keeping such a large record would be realistically impossible. Computerization has solved many problems. Hassle of manual tracing and without cameras would make the task half effective as now. There is always margin for improvement in every system, same goes for this one. The car cloning idea is seen as possible challenge that stands as obstacle as yet. In this scheme the original license is being put up on the stolen car. This needs solution in coming days. The accuracy of cameras and their presence in different suburbs of the city is a point that can help improving things. There is margin of improving the data bases, in terms of the processing time, the accuracy, and possible tracing of every nook and corner of the city through the use of more cameras since at present all parts of the city might not be monitored by the cameras. Centralization of the data base is another aspect so that the vehicles that are in other parts of the country and in other cities can be traced accordingly. The cloning idea is still a challenge which can be sorted out through investment of other type to ensure mitigation through effective means. Ease of use of data base is another aspect that can be explored for improvement and affectivity. The factor of being able to notice an individual’s activities, notably being alcoholic, being unfaithful to someone, and other habits are easy to determine and trace through this entire concept. However the affectivity of the system cannot be compromised for this purpose since it helps comprehending large number of offenders. In such case a balanced line

English3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

English3 - Essay Example Commemoration of such an event has significant national unity influence as it promote spirit of patriotism among people. There are diverse reasons that support need to celebrate declaration of independence. The colonialists plundered natural resources and repatriated local wealth to their mother lands. This poses a real threat to future economic progress as limited natural input factor dictates level of performance. All nations that were formerly colonized have little resources left which means they have to rely on other economies and pay for what was previously available. Civil revolution has helped many colonies to escape the exploitation trap that was orchestrated by the imperialists. It is therefore worth to note that declaration of independence reminded the society of the dark past characterized with ravaged economy and impoverishment. Taking the case of pre-independence in United States, England dominated economic activity and reaped at the expense of the subjects. The young generation is particularly targeted by the spirit of national integration because if it were not for the forefathers and their relentless effort the fruits enjoyed today would not exist. The welfare of the society is instrumental in gauging level of improvement in the economy. Political policies that recognize the need to initiate gender mainstreaming can be attributed to declaration of independence. Colonial regimes were dominated by patriarchy with limited representation of women in the decision making institutions. The emergence of independence campaign has significantly boosted the recognition of rights of women. On the same note, consideration of local culture is critical in promoting an integrated education system. Colonial systems may not be consistent with the native socio-political structures hence yield setbacks. Some of the other contemporary matters that make declaration of independence concern human rights. Colonial authorities tend to promote

Rabbit Proof Fence Essay Example for Free

Rabbit Proof Fence Essay Alabama† uses literary techniques such as symbolism, repetition and rhyme to express the journey being undertaken by Skynard. Each of these texts explore the notion that it is the journey, not the desitination that is important. The use of symbolism in Rabbit Proof Fence is used to explore the concept that the journey not the distination matters. Symbolism is the use of one object to represent a notion or other object. The inclusion of the spirit bird in the story explores the importance of religion to the girls and the importance of the journey. As mentiioined in an aearlier scene, the spirit bird appears (over the exhausted Molly and Gracie) and awakens them from their sleep. This is used to refer to hope and provides in indication that they will make it home, and will have spiritually benefited from their journey. The use of symbolism lends to the notion that it is indeed the journey, not the destination that matters. Different lighting techniques enable the notion of the journey being the thing that matters to be convery to the viewer. Lighting specific to the mood is used to infer location, time and the changing nature of the journey. The harsh brightness throughout the journey is a portrayal of the unforgiving locale and conditions needing to be overcome in order to reach the destination. The most relevant and important example of this being the pitch black used when the girls are reunited with Maud. This sued of darkness is used to imply the solemn nature of the arrival, and is accompanied by Molly’s statement â€Å"I lost one† which is indicativbe of the importance of the journey, rather than the final destination. Camera angles are used by Noyce to explore the idea that it is the journey, not the destination that matters. The panning long shot of the horizon (used at the commencement of the journey, when the three girls escape Moore River) is used to express the long difficult task at hand, and that in order to arrive home, they must over come a harsh terrain and long journey. The use of such varying camera angles sis indicative that it is the actual journey that matters, as oppose to the final destination. The â€Å"Rabbit Proof Fence† plays two vital roles throughout the journey of Molly, Daisy and Gracie, and is reflective of the importance of the journey. The fence is a representation of a map, as it is a symbol of home for the girls and provides a way in order for them to get home (following the fence). What is later revealed is that the fence has actually proven to be an obstacle, and that they have followed the wrong fence, and must change direction to get home. The ability of the girls to overcome this hurdle, and arrive home is again indicative of the notion that it is the journey – not the destination – that matters when undertaking a physical journey. The growth of Molly throughout the film reflects on the importance of the journey rather than the final outcome achieved. Molly is established from the beginning of the film as a key character, but her growth throughout the journey serves to reaffirm and strengthen this notion. We see her growth into a hunter, a supplier of food and water, and most importantly a maternal figure for her sister and cousin. This is most prominent in the arrival home, with her regretful statement, â€Å"I lost one† The physical journey undertaken enabled Molly to become more empowered, and provided a chance to hone the traditional skills of Aborigines, such as hunting, tracking and finding of water, and for this reason, the journey – not the destination – is what matters from a physical journey.

The Grandmother in A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery OConnor :: Papers

The Grandmother in A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor The grandmother is the central character in the story "A good man is hard to find," by Flannery O'Connor. The grandmother is a manipulative, deceitful, and self-serving woman who lives in the past. She doesn't value her life as it is, but glorifies what it was like long ago when she saw life through rose-colored glasses. She is pre-scented by O'Connor as being a prim and proper lady dressed in a suit, hat, and white cotton gloves. This woman will do whatever it takes to get what she wants and she doesn't let anyone else's feelings stand in her way. She tries to justify her demands by convincing herself and her family that her way is not only the best way, but the only way. The grandmother is determined to change her family's vacation destination as she tries to manipulate her son into going to Tennessee instead of Florida. The grandmother says that "she couldn't answer to her conscience if she took the children in a direction where there was a convict on the loose." The children, the y tell her "stay at home if you don't want to go." The grandmother then decides that she will have to go along after all, but she is already working on her own agenda. The grandmother is very deceitful, and she manages to sneak the cat in the car with her. She decides that she would like to visit an old plantation and begins her pursuit of convincing Bailey to agree to it. She describes the old house for the children adding mysterious details to pique their curiosity. "There was a secret panel in this house," she states cunningly knowing it is a lie. The grandmother always stretches the truth as much as possible. She not only lies to her family, but to herself as well. The grandmother doesn't live in the present, but in the past. She dresses in a suit to go on vacation. She states, "in case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady." She constantly tries to tell everyone what they should or should not do. She informs the children th at they do not have good manners and that "children were more respectful of their native states and their parents and everything else." when she was a child.

Organizational behaviour Essay

An organization is a group of people who work independently towards a common goal. Organization achieves their goals by creating, communicating, and operating the system existing in every organization. To better organize and manage the organization, manager needs to understand the element of the social system, role and role conflict, as well as the culture of the organization. In this assignment, we were asked to study a case regarding the role conflict and culture that were faced by Amir as a management trainee at a well-established organisation which at the same time, he is a husband and a father of two children. Based on the study case, we found out that Amir is facing with inter-role conflict, personal-role conflict, role overloads and role ambiguity. All these role conflicts must be solved professionally as it can affect Amir’s work performance and the perception of the organizational members towards him. In order to resolve these problems, Amir has to study the changes t hat happen in the culture of the organization as he needs to adapt with the new environment. There are two types of cultural changes in organization, that are the cultural revolution and the cultural evolution. In Amir’s case, he is confronted with the cultural revolution. Thus, he needs to know the process of creating back the organizational culture so that he can create a good culture. Look more:  starbucks moorhead essay OBJECTIVE 1. To define organization culture. 2. To describe the factors shaping the organizational culture. 3. To know role and define role conflict in the study case. 4. To know how to resolve the role conflict in organizational. DISCUSSION Question 1 Do you think that Amir is facing the problem of role conflict? If yes, identify the kind of role conflict Amir is facing. Role is when someone understands the relative importance of those tasks, in other words, they know the priorities of their various responsibilities, while role conflict is a situation in which an individual encounters  deviating role expectations. In my opinion, yes, Amir is facing the problem of role conflict that consists of inter-role conflict, person role conflict, role overload and role ambiguity. Below is the explanation about these role conflicts in this case. I. Inter-role conflict Inter-role conflicts occur when an individual occupies more than one role with inconsistent expectations. In other words, certain role with expected of a person are in conflict with the other roles that the person holds. For example, Aminah has a class-mate that wants to lodge at their room for one day but the room-mate disagree because they have their own rule which is not outsiders are allowed to stay in the room. In this situation, Aminah has to faces the conflict on which role should be performed whether as a class-mate or a room-mate. In Amir’s case, Amir as a husband does not know how to manage time between the family and the company. Amir was required to do all kinds of work until he has become a workaholic. In the same time, Amir was not able to give sufficient time to his family as he devoted most of his time working even on Sundays. II. Person-role conflict Person-role conflicts may define when a role holder is required to perform a role that contradicts or violates the role holder’s attitudes, beliefs and behaviors. As an example, when a staff expected to punch card for his friend, indirectly it may contradicts the staff attitude and beliefs where by a staff in the company should not to punch card for the other staff except themselves. Throughout Amir’s case, Amir has to assign with various other roles and was required to coordinate and communicate with diverse groups of the workforce.  However, the team members do not want to give full cooperation in fulfilling the tasks. Indirectly, was scolded by the boss for errors committed by other team members. III. Role overload Role overload occurs when there is a lack of balance or reasonableness in the number or the extent of expectations from a role holder. It also happens when the expectations sent to a role holder are unmanageable and there is not enough time for the role holder to perform all the roles expected of him or her. For example, where a student is expected to study while at the same time expected to do part time job. As a student, they must expect to perform some other roles even though it is impossible to be done in the same time. In this case, it’s similar with Amir which is he was required to do all kinds of managerial task from conducting office correspondence and conducting business meetings to solving the complaints of customers and subordinates. As time passed, Amir became more efficient and performed various roles in increasing effective manner. IV. Role Ambiguity Role ambiguity occurs when there is lack of clarity in understanding what expectations or prescriptions exist for any given role. A role holder lacks sufficient information in performing the role. This results in the role holder feeling unsure on how to act in his or her role. As an example, a new student in second intake was entered in the university and they did not receive complete information regarding the subject or any related activities. Indirectly, the student’s do not sure how to act in his or her role. In this case, the first few months on job Amir have to faced on stress which  is he was entrusted with limited tasks related to his area of expertise as a management. It is because the organization did not explained to him regarding his role as a management trainee. Question 2 What could be done to resolve his problem? For every problem, there will be solutions and ways to overcome. Amir who deals with many types of role conflicts can handle the problems well if he knows how to deal with it. I. Inter-role conflict In solving Amir’s dilemmas of role conflict as a worker and as a head of family members, the best way in dealing with these problems is he must know how to manage his time well. He also needs to understand and distinguish his responsibilities in holding both roles. Amir should avoid working on weekends as that is the only time to have a good time with the family members. This is to make sure that at the same time of being a dedicated worker to the organization, he can spend his quality time with his family members as well. II. Person-role conflict As a former Management Executive, for sure Amir will expect the task of management trainee would involves his area of expertise that is, management. However, different roles were assigned to him. In solving this matter, Amir should confront with his superior and ask for a good explanation regarding his exact tasks that he needs to fulfill. He also should stand for his right if he was scolded for errors not committed by him. In my opinion, even though the tasks given are not in his area, Amir can take the tasks as a new thing to learn. III. Role overload As a worker, the tasks given by the superior is a must to do but, if Amir thinks there is a lot of work to be done in a time, he should suggests his superior an assistant if possible. Amir should not be stressful with the multi tasks given in order to maintain a good quality of work. If the superior could not fulfill his suggestion, maybe Amir could ask for higher pay. Even though money could not promise happiness and could not replace the time that he can be with his family, at least he would feel satisfied and appreciated for the job he done. IV. Role Ambiguity The transfer of information between the sender and the receiver is very important in an organization. Improper communication of information definitely will result misunderstanding between both parties. In solving Amir’s role ambiguity as he was not explained the role as a management trainee, what he should do is get a clear information on his role from his superior. Even though he has a strict taskmaster, he must be brave enough to ask and get the exact information from him. Or else, he should get the right information either from the seniors or other colleagues. Question 3 Comment on the culture of the organization that Amir work in.  Prior to comment further on the culture of the organization that Amir work in, it is necessary to explain briefly on what is the Organizational Culture. Organization are more than a workplace, they are place where people spend most of their time. Thus, the culture of the organization is important for employees to stay and work happily. Organization Culture according to Robbins and Judge is a system of shared meaning held by members that distinguishes the organization from other organization. Organization Culture is a set of assumption, beliefs, values, and norms shared by everyone in an organization. Organization Culture change in two ways, Cultural Revolution and Cultural Evolution. There are two main type of organization culture, and it is called dominant cultures and subcultures. It is appropriate to categories that the type of  culture that Amir works in is subcultures. Subcultures develop to reflect common problems, situations or consequences that are faced by members in a department. However, it is also includes the core values of the organization. Correspondence to Amir situation that can be seen from the case study article, it is said that his role as management trainee is not properly explain, and when he is assigned with various roles that required him to communicate to a different group of workforce, problem started to occurs and these problem starting to put pressure on Amir. A cooperation that is essential in completing a task was not given to him by other members, instead they act rudely to him. And if there is an error made by other members Amir was the person who will be scolded by his boss. We can see here that it is logical to categories that Amir working in a subcultures environment because Amir is facing a problem in his work, and he is the one who received the consequences of others mistakes, and it is clearly that the core values of the organization isn’t quite harmony because of the values and ethics that is being practice by other members in the organization.. Differ with dominant culture, dominant culture are the core values that are shared by everyone in an organization, which can be understand that everyone have a same work ethics that allow them to complete their work efficiently. Cultural change is influence or is shape by several factors, firstly is characteristic of people within the organization, the values, beliefs, and attitudes that is bring by the people inside are shared with each other. If most of them have good values it will influences other to do so and vice versa. Secondly, cultural change is being shape by the nature of employment relationship. This factor comes from human resources policies that is enforced in an organization, for example trying bonuses with performance levels. Employees may take these policies as motivating factors to work harder. Third factors is design of organizational structure, defines as primary reporting relationship that exists within an organization where a division of work can be seen clearly. Lastly, cultural change can be shape by the organizational ethics, it is a moral values, rules and principles outlined to employees on how they should act and behave when it comes to dealing with each other and also with people outside the organization. A suggestion could be shared here, as a top management in an organization, Amir’s boss should be a role-model to his subordinates, he should create an efficient organizational culture in order for them to achieve successfulness. In order to create a prosper organizational culture, Amir’s boss can follow the following steps. First step is formulae a strategic values, which is a basics beliefs about an organization’s environment. Secondly is, develop cultural values, which the values that the employees need to have and act upon in carrying out its strategic values. Third step is, create vision, vision is a picture of what the organization is going to be in the future. Fourth step is, initiate implementation strategies, which is develop action strategies to accomplish its vision. And last step which is the step five is, reinforce cultural behaviors, reinforcement may take various form such as reward system that acknowledged desired behaviors. CONCLUSION Organizational behaviour is concerned with people’s thoughts, feelings, emotions and actions in setting up work. Understanding individual behaviour is in itself a challenge but understanding group behaviour in an organization environment is a monumental managerial task. Role conflict is a situation in which an individual encounters divergent role expectations. This occurs due to different perception and expectations of a person’s role. As we work together in an organization, we should treat people in the organization as a family. In this way, it is easier for us to communicate and interact with each other. The organization itself needs to plant this input in the minds of the workers so that the people that work in the roof of the firm will work happily without any conflicts. REFERENCE 1. Organizational behaviour oxford Sarah Sabir Ahmad 2. Kamus Dwibahasa Oxford Fajar Joyce M. Hawkins

American International Competitiveness

Since the beginning of the 1970s, the United States has experienced a virtual trade revolution. Trade has increased much faster than the economy as a whole. Both imports and exports expanded during the past 15 years. In the late 1970s, imports started outstripping exports by historically large margins. A merchandise trade deficit has been present every year since 1976. Moreover, this deficit has increased dramatically in the 1980s. What economic changes underlie the shift in U. S. competitiveness evidenced by the recent trade deficits?While economists who have addressed this question have employed different approaches, most have examined changes in macroeconomic variables to see if they generated the economic pressures that led to the recent trade deficits. Economists who have employed this approach have generally concluded that macroeconomic changes probably are the cause of the recent deficits. Although macroeconomic theory suggests that trade deficits may be associated with a wide variety of factors, two events in the late 1970s and early 1980s have received particular attention: the rise in U. S.aggregate demand relative to foreign aggregate demand and the increase in U. S. interest rates relative to foreign interest rates. Both may have been spurred by the U. S. government's budget deficit. The excess of spending over income provided a powerful expansionary fiscal policy while higher interest rates had to be used to attract foreign and domestic investors to finance the growth in debt. A relative increase in aggregate demand, whatever its source, is expected to lead to a trade deficit because a country's demand for imports is positively associated with the level of its aggregate demand.In this instance, the theory predicts that U. S. demand for imports will rise relative to foreign demand for U. S. exports as U. S. aggregate demand grows relative to foreign aggregate demand. A relative increase in U. S. interest rates can also lead to trade deficits by incr easing foreign demand for U. S. financial assets. The link between financial flows that respond to interest rate changes and trade deficits is evident in standard balance of payments accounting relationships.The accounting relationships used in defining trade deficits require that a nation's current account (comprised of the merchandise trade balance, the balance of trade on services, and net unilateral transfers) equals in size, but with opposite sign, the capital account. In other words, if there are capital inflows, then there must be a trade deficit. Given this accounting relationship, the inflow of foreign capital that is attracted by relatively high U. S. interest rates must lead to a trade deficit to satisfy the fundamental accounting identities that underlie balance of payments accounting (McCulloch, 1978).While explanations of recent trade deficits that are based on fundamental macroeconomic relationships are attractive to economists, many commentators have advanced alterna tive explanations that are rooted in microeconomic relationships. These commentators believe that the microeconomic characteristics have changed in ways that explain the relatively sudden substantial increases in imports and net imports. In addition, public opinion, for one reason or another, has not fully accepted the power of the macroeconomic explanations for the trade deficits.We shall therefore investigate these explanations that have been offered by various sources. The logical connections between these microeconomic changes and trade deficits have not been clearly drawn. In particular, supporters of these microeconomic-based hypotheses have ignored the fact that (absent macroeconomic adjustments) changes in the exchange rate could compensate for shifts in microeconomic relationships, leaving trade flows in balance (Tarr, 1985). While the link between alleged microeconomic changes and trade deficits is unclear, empirical analysis of the microeconomic explanations can still be very useful.Specifically, if we find that the alleged microeconomic changes in the structure of trade have not occurred, then we will be in a position to reject the microeconomic explanations directly. For advocates of the microeconomic explanations, this approach may be more convincing than one that evaluates the microeconomic explanations indirectly through the use of general equilibrium or macroeconomic models. The microeconomic explanations have focused on identifying three types of microeconomic changes. First, there may be technological changes that alter trade flows.For example, changes in an industry's technology may alter factor intensities so that particular inputs are less important to successful international competition. Second, policy changes may alter trade flows through their effect on the openness of U. S. or other economies or through their effect on the relative cost structure of U. S. manufacturers. Changes in tariff, quotas, or government subsidies clearly can h ave this effect, but other government policies may also be important. Third, the availability of needed inputs may change so that the competitive position of U.S. firms is altered. For example, when abundant mineral resources continue to be key for production, the U. S. position will change as the United States exhausts its relative supply of these needed resources. According to some commentators, any or all of these types of microeconomic changes might lead to growth in the manufacturing trade deficit. As a result, they have received substantial public attention. If changes in microeconomic factors are the source of recent trade deficits, we should observe a recent and major shift in the pattern of U. S.trade, since some industries will be more sensitive to changes in particular microeconomic factors than other industries or experience bigger changes in these factors. For instance, if relative U. S. wage rates have become more important in international competition, we should obser ve a particularly large rise in net imports in industries that employ relatively large amounts of high-cost labor or have experienced particularly large increases in labor costs. In contrast, if macroeconomic variables underlie the recent deficits, this type of structural shift in trade flows is less likely to be present (Drucker, 1985).As a result, we can reject many of the microeconomic explanations of recent trade deficits that have been advanced if we observe that economic relationships that traditionally have advantaged some industries over others in international trade have been stable and that key industry characteristics, such as labor intensity, have also been stable. In the case of U. S. wage rates, if the relationship between wage rates and imports has not changed over time, and U. S. wage rates relative to those in other countries have not changed significantly, then wage rates are unlikely to have contributed to the increased trade deficit.Of course, if we do find that the alleged microeconomic changes have occurred, the growth in the trade deficit can not be attributed to them unless logical causal relationships can be identified that are consistent with international trade accounting identities. Factors associated with U. S. competitiveness in trade appear to have been relatively stable throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. Manufacturing operations located in the States retain their traditional competitive advantage in production that requires sophisticated know-how and continue to experience a competitive disadvantage in production that uses unskilled labour intensively.Moreover, it appears that, to the extent change has occurred, these relationships have strengthened over time (Marston 1986). Yet, as others have pointed out, the competitive performance of many U. S. industries appears to have declined (Landau and Rosenberg, 1986). Can these two observations be consistent? The competitive performance of U. S. industries can decline because of c hanges that do not affect the relationships between trade flows and the industry characteristics. First, the characteristics of particular industries, such as their factor intensities, may have changed so that net imports increased.The higher unionization is associated with more imports, thus if unionization increased and this relationship remained stable, then unionization could be one cause of increased imports. Shifts in the relative competitiveness of an individual industry may reflect adjustments in the characteristics of the industry, within the context of stable comparative advantage relationships. For example, if strong R&D efforts are associated with strong exports, but industries reduce their R&D expenditures, export performance would be expected to decline even though the relationship between exports and R&D was stable.Put slightly differently, when relative factor abundancies are stable, changes in industrial input requirements will be reflected in shifts in the trade ba lance of particular U. S. industries. The rankings of industries with respect to their trade flows have been quite stable. While there have been some shifts in position during the last decade, statistical tests indicate that the shifting has not been substantial. The rank order of manufacturing industries by the level of net imports in 1975 is highly correlated with the rank order that existed in 1984.Industry characteristics available in time series have also been quite stable. The values for industry characteristics in 1975 are highly correlated with their values in 1981. Moreover, the changes in mean values for these variables are relatively small, especially for the variables that are most directly related to the seven proposed explanations of the trade deficits that we analyze. The variables available in time series include the primary variables used in traditional trade models. Simple macroeconomic relationships suggest that the rise in the trade deficit is likely to be associ ated with changes in macroeconomic variables.If this is true, then one would expect that many industries experienced a rise in their trade deficits (Benvignati, 1985). Consistent with this prediction, nearly all U. S. industries experienced declining international competitiveness to some degree between 1981 and 1984. In addition to this general confirmation of the macroeconomic explanations for trade deficits, there is direct support for the view that recent inflows of foreign capital, attracted by relatively high U. S. interest rates, and increases in U. S.aggregate demand relative to foreign aggregate demand are responsible for recent trade deficits. Specifically, exchange rates rose during the period studied and this led to an increase in net imports, as the macroeconomic theory of international financial flows predicts. Also there appears to be a positive association between recent increases in relative U. S. aggregate demand and net imports, as the aggregate demand theory sugge sts. According to the macroeconomic theory of international financial flows, higher U. S. interest rates will attract foreign capital. Since U. S.financial assets are denominated in dollars, this will lead to an increase in the demand for dollars. Because increases in the value of the dollar make U. S. goods more expensive relative to foreign goods, there will be a reduction in the international competitiveness of U. S. manufacturers. This decrease in competitiveness is expected to be reflected in higher net imports, causing the trade deficit to equal the surplus on the capital account. There is empirical support for this argument. U. S. industries appear to have been under severe competitive pressure because of the relatively high value of the dollar.For example, in the automobile industry, it has been argued that about $700 of the roughly $2,000 cost disadvantage of U. S. automobile manufacturers in 1983 was due to the unusually high exchange rate (Detroit Battle, 1983). Similarly , in steel, machine tools, textiles, and many other industries, analysts have pointed to exchange rates as an important source of the U. S. competitive disadvantage. As a result, it is not too surprising that the increase in the value of the dollar between 1980 and 1985 was associated with a decline in the U. S. trade balance.While the adverse effect of the increased value of the dollar on the competitive position of U. S. industries seems to have been quite widespread, the effect has been larger in some industries than others. In particular, it appears likely that the effect will be largest for products where the demand for U. S. exports and imports was quite elastic, since these products are most sensitive to changes in relative prices. For example, estimates of price elasticities by Baldwin (1976) indicate that these elasticities are particularly large (between 3. 20 and 4.4) in the case of metal working machinery and office/computing machines. According to macroeconomic theory, imports are likely to vary positively with the level of aggregate demand, other things being equal. Specifically, as U. S. incomes rise, the U. S. demand for imports is likely to rise. Moreover, if U. S. incomes rise relative to foreign incomes, the U. S. demand for imports should rise relative to the foreign demand for U. S. exports. As a result, macroeconomic theory predicts that, during these periods, U. S. demand for imports will rise relative to foreign demand for U. S.exports and growing trade deficits are more likely. At the end of 1982, the U. S. balance of payments deficit appears to have been reduced by aggregate demand effects, since the U. S. demand was falling relative to foreign demand. However, in 1983 and 1984 the U. S. economy grew relative to the economies of its trading partners (Economic Report of the President 1986). The relatively strong U. S. recovery and the general worldwide recession were associated with a sharp rise in the U. S. trade deficit (Economic Rep ort of the President 1985). There is no conflict between the observation that U.S. trade deficits have risen and the finding that U. S. comparative advantage relationships have been relatively stable over the last decade. Evidently, there have been shifts in macroeconomic variables that have increased the level of imports in most industries, without shifting trade patterns across industries significantly. While other types of changes, such as shifts in omitted microeconomic variables or changes in the magnitudes of included variables, would also make the two observations consistent, these alternative explanations are not nearly as important.Moreover, simple macroeconomic theories and available empirical evidence suggest strongly that macroeconomic forces underlie the growth of recent trade deficits. Changes in most microeconomic variables have either been gradual or narrowly focused. As a result, they are unlikely to generate the large trade deficits that are observed. Only the chan ges in international capital flows (with associated changes in exchange rates) and, for part of the period, changes in the relative levels of aggregate demand, have been large enough and sharp enough to explain the sudden rise in net imports. The growth of direct foreign investment by U.S. firms during the last decade reflects, in part, the exploitation of their advanced technological and organizational know-how. This stability in the fundamental comparative advantage relationships is inconsistent with widely held views linking microeconomic changes to the growth in the trade deficit during the 1980s. Macroeconomic models provide explanations that are much more consistent with empirical observations. We conclude, as have macroeconomists, that changes in macroeconomic factors, rather than any of the many microeconomic explanations that have been advanced, underlie recent U.S. trade deficits. The comparative advantage structure that determines a country's trade patterns changes only s lowly. For the United States, comparative advantage forces have meant, and still mean, that the country is a net importer of commodities that are efficiently produced with relatively large amounts of unskilled labour and a net exporter of commodities that require the relatively intensive use of skilled labour. These basic relationships have not changed significantly during the 1970s or early 1980s.Similarly, the United States continues to be disadvantaged in industries that are energy-intensive, use depleting natural resources, or are heavily unionized. Higher minimum efficient scale requirements and higher R&D intensity continue to be associated with both higher imports and higher exports. Only weak relationships exist between capital intensity or industry concentration and the strength of the U. S. trade position. The relationships between industry characteristics and trade flows are evident despite the presence of tariff and nontariff barriers and other government trade policies. Moreover, the effects of trade policies appear to be weak relative to the economic forces that result from differences in comparative advantage. Nonetheless, trade policies do have identifiable effects. As one would expect, U. S. tariff and nontariff barriers are associated with lower net import levels. However, the statistical findings for foreign trade barriers are less clear. We attribute this to the fact that U. S. exporters face different trade barriers in different countries. It may be the case that strong U. S.exports continue in many countries although these exports face substantial barriers in other countries. In addition, foreign trade barriers and industrial targeting efforts may arise as a reaction to U. S. export successes, yet not be strong enough to make a substantial reduction in U. S. exports in foreign markets generally. Analyses of U. S. imports and exports test the competitiveness of the States as a geographical unit. However, these analyses do not capture fully the competitiveness of U. S. -controlled firms, since many U. S.firms are multinationals. To measure the competitiveness of U. S. -controlled firms, output manufactured abroad using U. S. know-how must be considered (Marston, 1986). Similarly, U. S. output must be adjusted for output produced by foreign-controlled multinationals in the United States. To a large extent, the additional perspective offered by the analysis of the adjusted trade flow data simply confirms the findings based on the unadjusted data. The United States remains relatively strong in the same industries where it was strong in the previous decade.However, when the trade flow data are adjusted to reflect the presence of multinational corporations, some structural changes in trade patterns become evident. Basically, these changes evidence a strengthening of the relationships that have traditionally shaped U. S. trade flows. Apparently U. S. firms have increasingly exploited their more mobile competitive strengths b y investing abroad. There is some evidence that this effort has been undertaken to overcome historical comparative disadvantages associated with producing in the States.Most notably, there is some evidence that this foreign investment is increasingly prominent in industries that are heavily unionized. Together, the analyses of adjusted and unadjusted trade flow data indicate that U. S. firms are not losing their relative competitive strengths. The adjusted data suggest that some changes are occurring in international direct investment, but these changes have not been echoed in changes in the composition of U. S. net imports. The gradual nature of any changes that are occurring highlights the basic stability of the structure of U. S. trade flows.The structural stability that we observe is consistent with the view that shifts in microeconomic relationships are not an important source of recent trade deficits. Absent evidence of changes, there is no reason to believe that these potenti al microeconomic issues contend with macroeconomic factors as the real explanations for the large observed increases in the U. S. trade deficit. Turning to the first two microeconomic explanations (high labor cost explanation and union work rule explanation), traditional relationships between labor market variables and trade patterns still hold.The United States continues to be at a comparative disadvantage in labor-intensive industries. To the extent there has been change, it has been gradual and statistically insignificant. Moreover, the United States appears to be doing well, and has slightly improved its performance, in high-wage industries. Evidently, the advantage continues in industries where human capital is important. While union activities have affected the structure of U. S. manufacturing industries, this impact has been different from that suggested in the second explanation.No change in the relationship between unionization and U. S. trade flows has taken place. However , various studies do suggest that multinational corporations in unionized industries have shifted larger and larger shares of their output overseas. Apparently, this direct investment has added to U. S. -controlled output, rather than entirely substituting for exports from unionized industries located in the States. The third and fourth explanations (foreign government trade practices explanation and OPEC cartel explanation) involve actions taken by foreign governments.Foreign governments do not appear to have uniformly targeted â€Å"U. S. industries†Ã¢â‚¬â€œthat is, industries where the United States has had a competitive advantage. While foreign government interventions are evident, these efforts vary from country to country and do not appear to have a significant effect on overall U. S. trade patterns. This does not mean that particular foreign tariffs, nontariff barriers, or targeting subsidies could not disrupt natural trade flows. However, it does mean that currently t hese effects are limited among our major trading partners (Maskus 1981).Actions by foreign governments that may have supported OPEC's efforts to raise energy prices did not significantly alter the structure of U. S. manufacturing trade, as the fourth proposition contends. The increases in world energy prices during the 1970s were dramatic and clearly had a significant effect on the overall balance of payments. However, only when trade flows are adjusted to recognize the presence of multinationals is there a significant change in the comparative advantage structure across manufacturing industries. Turning to the fifth microeconomic explanation (declining R&D explanation), U. S.firms have not lost their comparative advantage in R&D-intensive products. While U. S. imports of high-technology products have increased over time, so have exports. Moreover, the overall structural relationships that determine U. S. comparative advantages with respect to R&D do not appear to have changed signi ficantly. To the extent change is evident; it appears that the growth of U. S. multinational firms has allowed them to exploit their comparative advantages in high technology through their foreign affiliates. The remaining explanations (inadequate investment explanation and antitrust explanation) involve policies of the U.S. government. According to these two explanations, high taxes on capital formation and overly aggressive antitrust enforcement efforts have undermined the competitiveness of U. S. firms. The notion that relatively high taxes on capital, and resulting lower U. S. investment rates, have led to a growing U. S. disadvantage in capital-intensive industries is not confirmed by the statistical tests. While some earlier studies using 1958 to 1976 data found that the United States had a growing comparative disadvantage in capital-intensive industries, this trend did not continue in the late 1970s and early 1980s (Maskus 1981).The United States was a strong exporter in indu stries where economies of scale (MES) are important. Moreover, we did not find substantial advantages of concentration beyond the levels associated with these plant- level scale economies. There also was no sign of significant changes in the comparative advantage relationships with respect to scalerelated or concentration-related variables. Conclusion Given the stability of U. S. comparative advantage relationships over time, why has the U. S. trade deficit increased by so much?For some industries, the rise in net imports may simply reflect the fact that the characteristics of the industry have changed, so U. S. firms no longer have a comparative advantage. In particular, when the know-how needed to produce a commodity becomes standardized and cheap labour becomes a relatively more important input, we should expect that U. S. manufacturers will lose share to foreign manufacturers. As is suggested by simple macroeconomic models, much of the rise in net imports appears to be attributa ble to macroeconomic forces that have more than offset the advantages that U.S. firms have traditionally had in some industries. In fact, most industries have experienced increased levels of imports, suggesting that economy-wide changes underlie the problem. Examination of macroeconomic variables that could produce this type of shift in trade flows confirms that the rise in interest rates with the associated increase in the value of the dollar and, during some recent periods, the relatively rapid growth of U. S. aggregate demand appear to have stimulated net imports generally.Generally, there has been relatively little shifting in either comparative advantage relationships or in industry characteristics that affect imports and exports. Indeed, the growth in direct foreign investment, which appears to support the most dramatic changes that have occurred, has been associated with the exploitation of traditional U. S. advantages. Moreover, the shift in the overall position of the Unite d States relative to its trading partners has been fairly general, which is consistent with the argument that individual microeconomic explanations are unlikely to explain much of the recent rise in U.S. trade deficits. Given this finding, it is probable that the U. S. recent loss in competitive position is largely attributable to macroeconomic forces. In particular, it appears likely that changes in relative interest rates and levels of aggregate demand best explain most of the recent increases in the U. S. trade deficit. Both of these may be related to large increases in the government's budget deficit. The rise in trade deficits during the 1970s and 1980s led to substantial concern about the competitiveness of U. S. firms.Many of the microeconomic explanations that have been advanced to explain the recent deficits do not appear to be supported by available empirical evidence. Because these microeconomic explanations do not explain the recent trade deficits, policy prescriptions b ased on shifting microeconomic variables are a poor bet to change trade flows fundamentally. In particular, wage restrictions, trade restrictions, subsidization programs, and policies that promote market concentration are unlikely to alter the trade deficit substantially. Indeed, efforts to implement these policies are likely to hurt U. S.competitiveness, as interest groups attach riders to legislation that promotes their special interests at the expense of the broader economy. Focusing the public debate on microeconomic factors rather than macroeconomic factors seems to be, at best, ill-advised. It tends to distract the public from the real, difficult issues of government deficits, international investment, and economic growth. More likely, it provides a convenient cloak in which to wrap the costly protections so fervently sought by special interest groups that ultimately increase costs, retard productivity growth, and harm consumers.Since the strategic use of trade policies can di sadvantage one country at the expense of another, it is better to view findings as indicating that care must be taken in responding to recent trade deficits. Specifically, policy makers must be careful that they are not so caught up in the dramatic deficits that they accede to special interest groups that have inappropriately linked their troubles to those of the economy as a whole (Krugman, 1986). History provides very little reason to believe that such objectivity is possible in trade policy. Failure to exercise caution has its risks.Not only can the improper protectionist policies cause sizeable immediate losses, but they may also lead to longer term losses as well. For example, it may be short-sighted to impose import restraints on products that are key inputs into subsequent production activities, since this can have adverse effects on domestic producers that use these inputs. Indeed, protectionist policies of this type may have long-run adverse effects on the protected industr y, since potential customers may choose to locate abroad and, as a result, not be well-positioned to purchase the input from U. S.suppliers even after protection is no longer necessary. In addition, poorly designed protectionist efforts can trigger trade wars, as foreign governments retaliate to unjustifiable U. S. trade restraints. Indeed, the threat of spiraling beggar-thy-neighbor policies continues to be a key reason for supporting free trade, even in a world that offers strategic opportunities. Reference: â€Å"Detroit Battle: The Cost Gap,† New York Times, May 28, 1983, pp. 35, 37. Baldwin R. , U. S. Tariff Policy: Formation and Effects,† study prepared for the Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U. S.Department of Labor, June 1976. Benvignati A. , â€Å"The Commodity Composition of U. S. Intra-firm Exports,† FTC, unpublished, 1985. Drucker P. , â€Å"Where Union Flexibility's Now a Must,† Wall Street Journal, September 23, 1985, p. 30. Economic R eport of the President, U. S. Council of Economic Advisers. Washington, D. C. : U. S. Government Printing Office, annual editions from 1972 to 1987. Landau R. , and N. Rosenberg (eds. ), The Positive Sum Strategy, Washington, D. C. : National Academy Press, 1986. Landau R. , and N. Rosenberg (eds. ), The Positive Sum Strategy, Washington, D.C. : National Academy Press, 1986. Marston R. , â€Å"Assessing Japanese Competitiveness,† NBER Reporter, Winter 1986/ 1987, pp. 12-16. Maskus K. , The Changing Structure of Comparative Advantage in American Manufacturing, Ann Arbor, Mich. : UMI Research Press, 1981. McCulloch R. , â€Å"Research and Development as a Determinant of U. S. International Competitiveness,† Harvard Economic Research Discussion Paper 609, March 1978. Tarr D. , â€Å"Trade Deficits, Trade Policy and the Value of the Dollar,† paper for conference, Trade Policy: Free or Fair? , November 19, 1985.

Research Paper on Satellite Communications

Research Paper on Satellite Communications 1. Overview The role of satellite networks in global communications is growing at an unprecedented pace. From direct broadcast satellite (DBS) television, to satellite phones, to credit card transactions, to the Internet, corporations and consumers are embracing these new services and placing demands on bandwidth. With this demand have come expectations in terms of basic service costs, hardware costs, and ease-of-use. These expectations have forced the industry to examine its traditional ways of operating in order to make satellite services as accessible and convenient as its terrestrial competitors. Recent current events, such as the World Trade Center tragedy and its aftermath, have demonstrated our need for and how reliant we have become on communication medium. As the World Trade Center lay in ruins, also destroyed were a vast array of communication equipment from transmission antennae for radio and TV stations to switching equipment for phone service. Though throughout all this people were still able to communicate, TV and radio stations were still transmitting their signal. Much of this was a result of wireless and satellite technology. With this paper I plan to explain the ever-growing world of satellite communication. How it is changing the way we perform our daily tasks and how it has effected our lives in general. How different businesses have adapted to and the ways they have begun to utilize these new technologies. Furthermore, we will take a look at what new theories and technologies are on the horizon. How these could effect our lives. When and who is trying to implement them, and to what cost, monetarily and professionally. 2. Satellite Communication at a Glance From the late 1950s with the launches of Sputnik and Explorer I, satellites have become a growing part of our world. From various types of platforms many different applications are run through these satellites. Since the first commercial model launched into orbit in 1965, the communications satellite has become the linchpin of global communications. From modest beginnings the first satellite could only handle 240 voice transmissions at a time the technology has blossomed to the extent that satellites now carry about one third of the voice traffic between countries and essentially all the television signals between countries. The backbone of this system is the geosynchronous orbit satellite (GEO), these are large communication satellites placed in orbit roughly 36,000 kilometers above the same spot on the earth at all times. Because of this high orbit each satellite is able to see about one quarter of the earth, so only four or so are needed for global coverage. Drawbacks to these satellites are that due to the high altitude it takes a quarter of a second for signals to travel to and from the satellite, delaying the responses during a conversation. Also the higher altitude means a weaker signal so larger antennas are needed to maintain overall coverage. The next layers of satellites are middle earth orbit (MEO) and low earth orbit (LEO). MEO satellites are generally placed in orbits above 10,000 kilometers, while LEO satellites are generally below 1,500 kilometers. Of course now with the lower altitude the signals are stronger so antenna size can be reduced, but with this also comes less coverage so more satellites are required. In the case of the LEO satellites at least 50 are usually required for full global coverage. The reasoning behind the orbit spacing comes from the presence of the Van Allen Radiation Belt. Originally discovered by Explorer I, the Van Allen Belt is composed of energetic ionized particles, which could damage solar cells and perhaps other solid state components. The belt spans altitudes roughly between 1,500 and 10,000 kilometers, thus the spacing. VSAT, very small aperture terminal typically refers to a class of Earth stations with a small diameter in the range of 0.95 meters to 2.4 meters. The terminals have both transmit and receive capability. The majority of traditional VSAT users such as gas stations, convenience stores and banks selected the technology primarily to manage transaction-based applications point-of-sales credit authorization and inventory control. 3. Impact on Personal Life You can see the impact of satellite and wireless communications in everyday life as you take a walk down the street. People everywhere using cell phones, pagers, PDAs. We are becoming a society that is instantly accessible. Though even now the mobile phone penetration into the U.S. make stands at only 35% nationwide, compared to European penetration levels of 65%. Thus we are still only scratching the surface for the potential growth in this field. Another application changing our lives is the Internet. This is a technology basically still in its infancy. The Internet has brought many resources to within the fingertips of the population, such as research, publishing, government services, education, entertainment, shopping, and financial services including investments and banking. Though the largest of these resources now made available is e-mail. E-mail was the introductory item that helped users become more familiar with this new medium. As of 2000 e-mail has become a regular or routine part of everyday activity for 80% of all U.S. households. Though as more people start using these technologies and the types of data and files they transmit change, including graphic material and streaming video, the more strain is being put on the carrying capacity. With this information providers of these services now face the dilemma of how to increase their capacity. The answer seems to be through satellite, as in 1998 alone commercial satellite operations included 1,700 payload launches. Though satellites have had a tremendous effect on how we communicate with one another, one other aspect that they bring to the table is a quality of life issue. Many health and emergency response teams, including the American Red Cross have adopted satellite technology within their means of communication in times of trouble, especially in remote areas. In 1995, Hurricane Marilyn devastated communications in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The only reliable means of communication at the disposal of the American Red Cross was INMARSAT satellite technology. Satellite phones were used for voice and fax transmissions, as well as data transmissions and packet switching, primarily for disaster welfare inquiries and contacting people to let them know their relatives were okay. This was also the fact when Hurricane Floyd struck the United States. The Red Cross had to patch together a wide range of technologies, from plain phones to two-way radios to satellite phones. They also had to utilize different frequencies to get the necessary coverage required. As stated by Bob Bavis, director of administration for the American Red Cross, The damage was so widespread that nothing covered the whole region except satellite phones. The mixing of different technologies is nothing new to disaster relief efforts. Due to geographic location, and degree of devastation emergency workers have always had to patch together the best qualities of different technologies to provide coverage to troubled areas. The nature of satellite technology its mobility, ubiquity, and flexibility easily lends itself to humanitarian efforts. The help satellite technology provides in disaster relief isnt only limited to the hardware. Companies like Verizon Wireless, has formed a team called the significant event response team (SERT) to respond to emergency and relief agencies in the communities they serve. The team provides wireless phones to public safety agencies and local police and fire departments to help them coordinate emergency operations. Other ways companies are helping is with free airtime on satellite phones and allocation of satellite bandwidth capacity. 4. Impact on Industry Most industry in America has begun integrating wireless, and satellite technologies into their daily routines. This can be seen in everyday life as FedEx employees use wireless handheld devices to help track packages, and determine sender and receiver information to help organizations conduct business more efficiently. To Hertz car rental employees pulling up driver and car rental information in a parking lot, several hundred feet away from their stationary computers. One of the most notable impacts of satellite technology has been in the news media. Although the video images had been jittery, and the audio sometimes dropped off, CNNs use of a videophone in Afghanistan after the events of September 11th proved that content is the most important element in news. Though initially used as a backup to CNNs more traditional satellite trucks, the videophone stepped to the forefront as getting live pictures out of Afghanistan became more problematic. The Talking Head videophone is about the size of a laptop computer, though twice as deep, and costs roughly $20,000. It can be used with any telephone line, ISDN connection, or satellite phone. For reporting out of Afghanistan, CNN used the worldwide INMARSAT satellite service, which requires a dedicated phone and dish, also about the size of a briefcase. Englands 7E Communications Ltd., the manufacturer of the Talking Head videophone, originally developed a unit that could only transmit at 64 Kbps. This forced CNN to squeeze the picture down to a small insert. The rest of the field was then filled with additional information related to the story. 7E has since developed a way to add a second satellite phone to the compression package, which allows transmission at ISDN rates of 128 Kbps, effectively doubling the quality and allowing for full-frame images to be broadcast. CNN first began using the videophones in December 1999, when correspondent Nic Robertson used an earlier model to broadcast exclusive pictures and sound of a hijacking in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The videophone was also prominent when CNN broadcast the first live pictures of the 24-crew members released from the U.S. Navy spy plane in China when they landed on the Pacific Island of Guam. CNNs chief news executive Eason Jordan states the units are easy to use and due to its portability, allows the reporter in the field to broadcast live TV in a matter of seconds. Other fields of industry, not so prominent, have also benefited from advancements in satellite technology. With more than 80 land and offshore drilling rigs around the world, Helmerich Payne (HP), an energy-oriented company engaging in contract drilling, oil and gas exploration, and production worldwide, needed a way to link all of its facilities across a single, central network. The company leveraged solutions from several companies to build and deploy a high speed, satellite and terrestrial-based network that delivers real-time voice and data capabilities to all HP locations. Prior to establishing the satellite network, HP had utilized a dial-up network, coupled with cellular phones for voice communications. The cellular service along was costing the company more than $3,000 a month per rig. Motorola Multiservice Networks Division (MND), integration consulting group FDDI-AVD, and InterSat Communications worked with HP to design and implement a customized solution to expand its existing network, and deliver a high-speed satellite system to connect the companys rigs and offices. A network-in-a-box was developed by combining routers, satellite and servers into a single self-contained unit. The solution was designed around Motorola Vanguard multiservice network units, which enable the convergence of data, voice, and video, while laying the foundation for wireless/wireline integration. The Vanguard units provide HP with on-demand bandwidth to support a broad range of high-speed transmissions, featuring 247 reliability. A microwave and/or satellite network deployed on each rig and remote location connects the companys offshore drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico with the Tulsa, Oklahoma home office. The network units also offer built-in data encryption and compression features, enabling the secure transmission of sensitive data around the world. By achieving fully integrated field connectivity, HP has improved the companys business operations, offering a host of added benefits, including seamless information exchange, synchronized reporting and reduced telecom costs. Customers on-site can also share the available bandwidth to securely connect with their own internal information systems. Real-time drilling data can also be delivered to the customers regional or headquarter offices, providing them with updated information on each days activities. Some banks are finding that using satellites for data transmission can improve network performance and cut costs as well as provide benefits in staff training and customer satisfaction. Most banks have relied on 56 Kbps landline frame relay services to carry data traffic to and from their branches. But a pronounced increase in traffic, fueled by the explosive growth in Internet-based applications, is increasing clogging these circuits and causing bottlenecks. When reviewing the systems employed by banks in Canada, it was determined that most banks transmit large volumes of data from head office to their branches while branches typically return considerably less data to head office. Telesat, the owner and operator of Canadas fleet of communication satellites, capitalized on this fact to employ a service that uses a high-speed satellite link to transmit data to the branches, and the existing 56 Kbps network then transmits data back to the head office. This service can deliver data speeds of up to 24 megabytes per second more than 400 times faster than a 56 Kbps system. The introduction of satellite technology has also given the banks the bandwidth to offer a comprehensive suite of services to their remote branches that typically lack high-speed landline services. For Canada Trust bank, the service has been utilized to train employees at branches across Canada. Sessions are held at a Toronto studio and broadcast live to 200-300 employees at a time. School systems have also had to beef up their networks to the point where they rival or exceed the capacity of many corporate networks, due to the explosive growth in student Internet usage. School systems around the country have deployed unlicensed wireless networks, tapped the bandwidth of cable television systems and even employed satellite service as a cheaper and more reliable alternative to local telephone companies. The utilization of satellites has also offered the possibility of connectivity to schools in remote areas where they do not always have access to multiple wire-line providers. The University of Alaska, in combination with Starband Communications Inc. has deployed a VSAT satellite service to link 25 communities throughout the state. This deployment was initially designed to test speed and latency, as well as the toll the harsh Alaskan climate takes on performance. 5. Future Developments The telecommunications industry is going to see more technological change in the next five years than it has seen in the past 95 years. Five vital technologies that will contribute to these monumental changes are: Optical transmission Satellite communication Wireless and mobile communication devices Broadband digital technologies Internet resources Each one of these enhanced communication capabilities creates enormous moneymaking opportunities, as well as improvements in cost, speed, quality, and convenience for consumers. Satellite receivers initially were prohibitively expensive, beyond most consumers reach, and the antennas required for receiving signals were so large and unsightly that local governments and homeowner associations barred them from residential property use. Now, dishes measuring about three feet in diameter can be purchased for mere hundreds of dollars. As satellite services continue to improve there will be more encouragement for widespread use of wireless communication. Future advancements in global satellite cellular phone systems seem to be targeting one potential customer the business traveler. Within the business traveler there are two potential markets. First, for those from the developed world who do business in less developed countries where the local phone service may be unreliable, and second, those who need mobile communications in their own countries but travel beyond the reach of terrestrial cellular systems. Several different systems were proposed to handle this project. Two major U.S. based projects are Iridium, a joint venture between Motorola, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon, and Globalstar, a joint venture between Loral Space and Communications, and Qualcomm. The Iridium plan calls for 66 satellites to be launched in six equally spaced orbital planes at an altitude of 780 kilometers. Services to be provided include voice, data at 2.4 kilobits per second and paging. The Iridium voice connection is more robust than other proposed systems, due to the fact that Motorola requires that the handheld unit be usable from inside a vehicle. The complexity of the Iridium system arises from the fact that the satellites are designed to communicate not only with the earth stations but also with each other. This cross-linking of satellites allows the system to use fewer ground stations, thus preventing signal blockage from buildings, trees, and other obstructions. To assure that traffic is routed properly, each satellite carries a set of routing tables from which new routing instructions are chosen every few minutes. The Globalstar venture, like Iridium, will be based on low earth orbit satellites. Though Globalstar will not employ cross-links between satellites. This means that for a subscriber to gain access a satellite in view would also have to be in view of a ground station. So to achieve global coverage approximately 200 earth stations would have to be constructed. For this reason Globalstar is being targeted more towards business travelers in a single country. The Globalstar system will employ 48 satellites organized in eight planes of six satellites each. The satellite orbits will be circular, at 1,414 kilometers and an inclination of 52 degrees with respect to the equator. The use of an inclined orbit concentrates the available satellite capacity at lower latitudes, where the largest populations exist; little or no coverage is provided beyond 70 degrees latitude in either hemisphere. Deregulation of the telecommunications industry in various developed countries is speeding the delivery of new services and prompting the investment of enormous amounts of capital in new facilities. A key factor in this is the explosion of the Internet. To serve this new market, many new satellite systems are planned, but due to the congestion of the frequencies currently being used for fixed satellite systems, these systems will operate in a higher range of frequencies, known as Ku-band. Though much work is still to be done in this area, as one major drawback to Ku-band, whose wavelength encompasses between one and 1.5 centimeters, is the signal is significantly attenuated by rain. For this reason, the use of Ku-band was confined until recently to use in just a small number of experimental satellites. Now U.S. communications regulators are considering an orbital scheme for broadband Internet users via Ku-band satellites that avoids interference with geostationary communications satellites in the same frequency bands by moving the spacecraft into elliptical orbits, phased to give them the longest hang time over the biggest markets. This approach should effectively double the capacity of near-Earth space to handle broadband satellite communications. One company behind this approach is Virtual Geosatellite, under their plan 15 satellites would occupy separate elliptical orbits measuring about 320 miles high at perigee and almost 17,000 miles high at agopee. With each orbit taking about 8 hours. Virtual GEO calculates it could get about 5 hours of operating time per orbit as the satellites approach and leave apogee. The Virtual GEO constellation would also be offset from GEO satellites by at least 40 degrees, relative to the equator. At that angle of separation, the satellites would not interfere with GEO spacecraft in the same frequency. 6. Advancement, but at What Cost While many companies are looking to the future to see what advancements they can develop to their niche in the communications market. The hard reality is that there is only so much money available to fund the research and develop the needed hardware. This combined with the fact that, in most cases, several companies or alliances are competing for the same piece of the market will cause some to be left behind, no matter whose technology scheme might be better. One case in point is the Iridium project, the joint venture between Motorola, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon, who declared bankruptcy in 1999. The project, with a projected cost of $3.4 billion, failed to catch on with consumers. Major reasons being people unwilling to spend approximately $3,000 per unit and up to $7 per minute of airtime. These costs were astronomical to the consumer in an era when ordinary cellular telephone networks rapidly expanding. At the time of the bankruptcy filing, Iridium and its affiliates collectively owed creditors more than $1 billion. If itÐ ±Ã ¶s a risky venture, then why are so many companies spending tremendous amounts of money to try to stay ahead of the field. One simple reason, the potential profit is enormous. Annual revenues from telephone services, high-speed Internet access, and imaging generated by satellites are expected to reach $150 billion by 2008, according to the International Space Business Council. Conclusion As we have seen, satellites have had a major impact on our lives, in both personal areas and in industry. The technology has proven its versatility versus other communication formats with its ability to provide service to areas on the globe that are virtual inaccessible to most others technologies. This function has proven to be instrumental in assisting communities in times of strife and has also helped companies establish better information links with their facilities in more remote areas. As the communications market continues to grow at an astronomical rate, the main focus of the industry will be on how improvements can be made in cost, speed, quality, and convenience for consumers. While satellites have been a leading force in providing solutions in these areas, such as the reduction in size of receiver antennas to three feet or less making installation and usage much easier on the customer. The element that will be key to the future is the ability to give access to remote areas around the globe. While in the United States has many systems, especially fiber optic networks, global telecommunication, in many areas, lacks the internal infrastructure to support even the most basic of telephony services. Satellites are an excellent method to establish access to areas with poor terrestrial infrastructures where capacity is either not available or is cost prohibitive. The Internet is another area where satellites can be utilized to provide increased and enhanced service. While now the majority of Internet content resides in the United States, in the very near future increased amounts of content will originate from Asia, Eastern Europe, and South America. Also, the inherent broadcast architecture of satellites makes connectivity highly attractive to Internet service providers (ISP) who are experiencing bottlenecks and network management difficulties due to the exponential demand for bandwidth. As content providers look to push more audio, video, and animation over the Web, satellites may enjoy a unique advantage in the area of webcasting. While satellites enjoy increased accessibility to areas around the world, fiber optics enjoy a much greater capacity and speed potential. Where available future systems should look to mesh these two technologies together. Though meshing these two technologies together would require the development of gateways capable of optimizing the inherent benefits of each, while addressing the differences between the two. The major issue to be addressed will be accommodating the delay or latency due to the slower speeds by satellite, this will cause packets arriving at the fiber network to be dropped.

Does Content Marketing Help Retain Current Customers

Does Content Marketing Help Retain Current Customers Content marketing is celebrated as an excellent strategy to widen the sales funnel. Producing a variety of content geared toward a prospective customer keeps your brand top of mind, persuading them to move further in the sales process. Rand Fishkin explained it best  when he said that content marketing is at times a long and laborious process of constantly reminding your customers. So its easy to think once that sale is completed, so is the content. This is a huge mistake by marketers- its essentially ignoring and devaluing an individual once they become a customer. Instead there should be a content strategy in place that builds value, strengthens customer trust and increases potential for brand evangelism, upselling and cross-selling opportunities. #ContentMarketing still continues after the sale. It  constantly reminds your customers of you.The After the Close Dilemma After the sale, there is the vital step of keeping your commitments. At its core, it means keeping your customer happy. Did you guarantee your product or service could solve a specific need? Then it had better deliver. In addition to carrying out the agreement, there are natural emotions and hiccups along the way, including: Buyers remorse New influencers and decision makers Resentment or aggression Distrust Failure to build value Ian Lurie of Portent, Inc. describes the post-sale risks perfectly in the following graph: While his example was specific to marketing agencies, every customer goes through a post-sale evaluation of their purchase. Failure on your part to keep commitments and continue to drive home value opens the door for your competition to get the next sale. So what should you be doing to keep the customer? For many businesses, this may mean tailoring content for multiple departments in charge of project delivery, customer service and long-term customer relationship building. Here are recommendations for each of these three key areas, and some examples of companies doing it best. #1 Project Delivery For most business, going back to keeping your commitments falls on the project delivery team. Think of the software, medical or finance industries with a robust sales staff and defined sales process. Often a closed deal is passed to an account manager. And then, unfortunately, a client is often  underwhelmed because the focus is more on the initial sale rather than project delivery. Since most customers have an established and trusted relationship with the sales representative and not the project delivery team, content marketing can help with this sensitive transition between sales and project delivery, helping you  meet a customers expectations and keep them for the long-term. How do you do this? Building Trust With Customers The last thing you want is for your customers to not trust you after youve made the sale. Distrust stems from a variety of circumstances, such as confusion with your service delivery or perhaps a poor experience with your type of business in the past. Content helps lessen any growing  doubt by establishing credibility and initial trust with the prospect. For example, our agency provides our clients with a tip sheet to making web design projects run smoothly. While many of the tips may seem obvious, it positions us as a serious firm that is dedicated to delivering work on time and on budget. It helps customers trust us. Addressing Customer Inquiries How many times have you scrolled through a lengthy FAQ page and never found  an answer? An ideal customer is one that is proactive in educating themselves, so your content marketing should at least  help a customer do that. Free graphic design tool Canva is great at proactively addressing customer questions, taking their help beyond the basic FAQ page. Their DESIGN 101 newsletter guides beginner users on how to create new designs, ultimately drawing them back to the Canva site. While this is a free tool, educating users after their initial sign up keeps the hype alive and more signups coming in. Off the shelf answers like this not only immediately address customer inquiries but save time for the project delivery team. Do more than provide customers with an FAQ. Use email and blog content to help them learn.Does Your Customer Understand The Features? Some of your customers may be purchasing your service or product for the very first time. While the sales process sells the customer on features and expected outcomes, that doesn’t mean that  theyll immediately know how to handle what they just purchased. You will probably have to help them out quite a bit after the sale. For example, You Need A Budget. (YNAB) simplifies their budgeting platform through a library of tutorial videos on how to effectively use their service. Instead of crafting an FAQ and calling it a day, YNAB repurposes many of their customers’ top concerns and questions into video to continue use of the product. If the client does not use the product, they wont see much value in it. Ongoing content ensures continuous usage. Customers purchase based on features and what should happen. They will need help to MAKE it happen.Pointing Out New Needs Upselling is hard, but crucial for service-focused companies  that want to  maintain a viable business. Essentially, you have to be on the lookout to upsell.  A great way to do this is to re-convert existing customers by continuously responding to market demands and creating new product features. For example, when Twitter was rolling out their own advertising platform, Twitter for Business, they partnered with other social media gurus on webinars to educate current Twitter users on social media best practices. By covering new trends in social media, Twitter not only promoted their brand, they upsold Twitter ads. A current customer is still a potential customer. Are you ready to re-convert them to new features?#2 Customer Service In an ideal world, you gathered enough information  in the initial sales process that you’re prepared to react to any client objections, problems or questions. In reality, this isn’t usually  the case. While your established processes, tools, and people have a large impact on the success of customer service, content marketing can also play a role in reducing customer frustration and abandonment. In other words, your content can be that bridge that cross that gap. Addressing Customer Emergencies Customer emergencies are where customer service can either excel or crash and burn. The horror stories of unprofessional and unhelpful customer service departments are shared all over the web. To create a responsive customer service environment, it is important to make sure they have  useful content they can refer to and share with customers. This content might be in the form of informational one-sheets, downloadable help guides, videos or social media that can take some weight off their shoulders when an extraordinary issue arises. A common case study in poor customer service is the airline industry- and the gold standard is Virgin America. Before content marketing was a bonafide strategy, Virgin America’s safety video took a typical safety message  and revamped it for their customers. Delta is doing something similar with their safety videos, too.  I see flight attendants as an interesting mix between safety guards and customer service- this video marries the two in an entertaining way. Solving Common Product Issues Even if you believe your product or service delivery is 100% foolproof, any time  a customer has to handle any part of the execution, chances are theyll run into some issues. Based on how many customers you have, this can become overwhelming for customer service to manage. Similar to creating content internally, many companies are opting to put the content creation in their customers hands. Enabling customers with tools like community forums and knowledge bases is a great way to use content to build customer service (not to mention the SEO benefits). Moz is a perfect example of communities that use  the expertise of their clients to help  new ones. Continuing To Build Trust Remember the importance of building trust during project management? Customer service keeps that foundation secure. Customer mistrust can stem from many occurrences- product recalls, poor media coverage, buggy features, and unsatisfactory delivery–just to name a few. Social media is a perfect tool for a customer service team as long as proper training and processes are in place. Even if you prefer email to handle most of your customers questions, social media can keep you in front of  your followers in a personal way. Dan Norris of WPCurve is an excellent example of continuing to build trust with his potential network. While he lets his service delivery team handle all customer communication, his Twitter followers receive company updates and accomplishments to drive home trust in using WPCurve. Explaining Sensitive Issues Personal concerns and sensitive topics may play out in a business transaction. Its never fun having difficult conversations with a customer, but content can help ease anxieties and keep a project on task. The Vanguard Blog takes the formality and nerves out of personal issues like investment, retirement planning and tax planning through the expertise of Vanguard employees. By publishing blog posts based on common issues and conversations they have with their clients, theyre helping the greater community in handling complex and sensitive issues. #3 Customer Advocacy Within your client base, there are a small percentage of customers who truly love what you do and want to tell people about it. This is a marketers dream, as word of mouth still reigns supreme. Building a customer advocacy base takes a lot of time, but building content that enables your current supporters is a good starting point. Continuing Product Loyalty Once a sale is complete, that doesnt mean your customer is 100% guaranteed to re-purchase when the time comes. Whether it takes days, weeks, months or years for a re-purchase, content can keep your business top of mind when the timing is right. Copyblogger offers membership-only access to third party companies such as New Rainmaker and ongoing discounts to events and training. Their members also receive access to advanced articles, webinars and their community forum for paid members. Continuously providing value after a membership is purchased reminds the customer when theyre ready to renew how invaluable their service has been. Even if your business is not a membership-type business, you can still create a membership feel with exclusive content only available to current or past customers.

Macro11C Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Macro11C - Essay Example The higher the RR, the lower the amount of money lent by banks and vice versa. 3) Federal funds rate (FFR): The FFR refers to the rate at which banks lend each other money overnight in order to maintain the reserve requirement. If the FFR is high, banks would be unwilling to lend beyond the reserve requirement and vice versa. 4) Discount rate (DR): The DR refers to the rate that the federal reserve charges the bank if it wants to borrow money from it in case when the money is not available to be borrowed from other banks. The DR is usually higher than the FFR. The open market operations are the most widely used tool for controlling the money supply in the market. The decisions for these open market operations are made during the Federal Open Market Committee meetings which since 1981 have been held 8 times at regularly scheduled times each year. These open market operations change the money supply without impact the money multiplier. The most powerful tool that the Fed has to control the monetary policy is the Reserve Requirement. Changing the RR not only impacts the money supply but also the money multiplier as it directly influences the bank lending. ... Easy money policy: To fight recessions, the Fed can use its monetary policy tools to increase the growth of money and credit, which tends to lower interest rates and spur growth of the economy. This monetary policy is said to be easy or expansionary. Tight money policy: To restrain inflation, the Fed can use its monetary policy tools to reduce the growth of money and credit, which tends to raise interest rates and slow the growth of the economy. This monetary policy is said to be tight or contractionary. For the easy money policy, first the MS increases which causes the interest rate to decrease which causes the amount of investment to increase. This causes AD to increase leading to a higher real GDP and a little inflation. The implementation in reality is done by the Fed by buying securities from banks and/or reducing the reserve ratio for banks, the FFR and the DR. For the tight monetary policy, first the MS decreases which causes the interest rate to increase which causes the amou nt of investment to decrease. This causes AD to decrease leading to a lower real GDP and a decrease in price levels. The implementation in reality is done by the Fed by selling securities from banks and/or increasing the reserve ratio for banks, the FFR and the DR. Q3: Comment on the theory underlying the use of a monetary rule by the Federal Reserve. Does the use of such a rule seem appropriate under current economic conditions? Explain. The theory underlying the ue of monetary policy by the Federal Reserve is also known as the Taylor Rule. It is an interest rate forecasting model invented by John Taylor in 1992 and described in his 1993 study called â€Å"Discretion Vs. Policy Rules in Practice". In general, the Taylor rule mean that for a 1% increase in

An investigation into Chinese consumers' reasons for purchasing luxury Literature review

An investigation into Chinese consumers' reasons for purchasing luxury brands in the UK - Literature review Example In spite of having such a strong presence and considerable purchasing power, this ethnic minority has not been studied as much as it deserves. Through this research we should be able to establish: Impact of Western Values on Chinese Traditions. The reasons and perception behind making such purchasing decisions. Chinese perception of brands and role a brand name plays Brand Image Journey towards brand management starts with the development of brand identity and concept and determining the way the public should perceive the brand by communicating a distinct brand image and personality (Okonkwo, 2007). According to Scholz (2012), luxury brands focus on the top two tiers of the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs pyramid: Self-esteem and self-actualization. A luxury brand as opposed to a mass brand has fewer versions and products so that the brand can retain its superiority and uniqueness (Fich, 2011). Furthermore, in most cases the luxury brands are manufactured by hand or have a certain element of customization, making it one-of-a-kind product. However, on key feature of luxury brand is the fact that they are always very high-priced and are not affordable by the masses (Schloz, 2012). This fact alone retains the exclusiveness of a luxury brand as it is unreachable by masses and can be afforded by the very few with the purchasing power. In spite of what may be perceived, luxury brands are seldom bought spontaneously. Thus the majority of consumers of luxury brands put significant effort in the buying decision. In other words, the spontaneous buyers of luxury brands represents a small percentage as opposed to 70% of luxury consumers that plan in advance for buying a luxury product (Scholz, 2012). Thus luxury goods cannot be exclusively restricted to price, where the consumer is seeking bargains for convenience goods but is willing to pay a significant sum for luxury product. This is where the concept of Brand Image comes in; brand image involves the marketer to brea the life into an inanimate product, thus creating a perception of human characteristics and distinct personality in the eyes of the consumers (McLoughlin, Aaker & McLoughlin, 2012). Brand image is on the receiver’s side. Image research focuses on the way in which certain groups perceive a product, a brand, a politician, a company or a country. The image refers to the way in which these groups decode all of the signals emanating from the products, services and communication covered by the brand (Kapfere, 2004). Brand image plays a positive role in boosting the product choice when the consumer forms a congruency between their self-image and the brand personality. The marketer’s aim is to create a clear positioning of their brand in the minds of the consumer by means of brand image, thus the brand image is the most powerful tool that can be used by the luxury brand. Luxury Brand Consumers Nicole Fich (2011) in her book Brand Management for luxury goods distinguishes clear ly between a â€Å"product† and a â€Å"brand†, the product can be a car but a brand would be BMW. It is the brand name that makes a huge difference in terms of price that the consumer is willing to pay and the key feature that distinguishes the brand from competition. China and the Europe have a very rich and old civilization, and so is their long relationship. Presently this relationship is strengthened by the