Friday, January 31, 2020

Impact of Globalization Essay Example for Free

Impact of Globalization Essay It has gradually evolved from the 1970s after the advent of different forms of high speed transportation and communication to the age of information technologies around the millennium, to make a single unified community where all the major sources of various social conflicts have disappeared (Scheuerman, 2010 and World Regional Geography, 2009). There are several ways of defining Globalization. As defined by Dr. Nayef R. F. Al-Rodhan (2006), â€Å"Globalization is a process that encompasses the causes, course, and consequences of transnational and transcultural integration of human and non-human activities. The effects of Globalization are manifold. It influences industrial sector, financial sector, labour markets and consumers of a particular country. On one hand it gives rise to more jobs and industries, however, on the other hand, countries are becoming dependant on the other country for a specific product/raw material. Additionally, because of outsourcing jobs from developed economy are being transferred to the developing economy, which has a negative effect on the developed economy and positive on the developing economy. 2. 2 Consumer Packaged Goods and Globalization Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) are sold at relatively low price and are non durable goods like grocery items, soft drinks etc. Large CPG manufacturer has an advantage of strong brands, greater geographical coverage and having major retailers. CPG industry is affected by the change in fashion, fads and consumer preferences, which in turn effects the purchasing decision of a consumer. Therefore, I believe that in the fast and ever changing world of Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) it is imperative to discuss the effects of globalization on this industry. Additionally, there is immense pressure and intense competition between the manufacturers globally to fulfill the demand of consumers. 2. 0 Impact of Globalization on CPG Industry 3. 3 Costs and Benefits of Globalization on CPG Industry There are diverse ways in which globalization impinge on CPG industry. Some are beneficial for the industry and some aren’t. The good side of globalization is explained as follows: a. Profits from emerging markets: Procter and Gamble in year 2006, showed a total sales of US $ 68 billion, out of which US $ 21 billion was from emerging markets. Additionally, from 1992 to 2006, globalization has boosted the American economy by US $ one trillion in Gross Domestic Product (Veiders, 9th July 2007, Supermarket news). b. Consumer’s advantage: The consumer gets the advantage of choosing from wide variety of goods, in addition to the comparative advantage. Additionally, the offshore markets are producing goods at a price which is lower than the domestic production of a particular country. Though this is an advantage to the consumer, this could hamper production and associated profits in some countries (Oline Thompson, 2006, CPG Manufacturing) c. Foreign capital access: Foreign capital access is the main driving force of globalization. This in turn increases the investment power of a particular country to produce better produce economically (13th February, 1996, WTO News (press releases). The other side of globalization illustrates some problems faced by CPG Industry: a. Cultural disparity: A product that might be a necessity in one country might not be even known or used in the other, which would have a negative effect on the CPG industry while trying to encourage its use in a particular country. To cite a salient example, Brazilians usually don’t have breakfast, because they sleep late at night and consumers in China for breakfast eat hot, soft and savoury, while the North Americans love cold, crunchy and sweet breakfast. This was the difference analyzed by Kellogg Company in 2007 (Veiders, 9th July 2007, Supermarket news). b. Global Competition: In this fast paced environment any CPG company have to constantly innovate and differentiate their product, to maintain or increase their market share. Every year large number of new products are being roduced and capture the shelve space of the existing labels and compete with them.

Thursday, January 23, 2020

The Minimum Wage Should Not Be Increased :: Argumentative Essay, Minimum Wage Essays

â€Å"An increase in the minimum wage will boost income for the poorest workers without the danger of creating more unemployment.†, stated President Obama in September 2014. Is this statement about an increase in minimum wage really true? There are two sides to the debate about minimum wage. The minimum wage is a major issue in the world of economics and politics. Political figures often prey on the public’s general ignorance of economics and promise to increase the minimum wage. Economists, on the other hand, view the long term effects and see the damage it can cause. David Card and Alan Kruegur, two economists at Princeton University conducted a study on New Jersey’s 18% minimum wage increase. They looked the impact on the New Jersey economy and compared the results to the state of Pennsylvania which did not make any change in the minimum wage during the period of the study.. David Card and Alan Kruegur measured the change in employment in New Jersey’s fast–food restaurants between February and December that year. Card and Kruegur found that the number of jobs grew in restaurants where pay had to rise, compared with those already paying more than minimum was and compared with restaurants in neighboring Pennsylvania, where the minimum did not change. The study also found no difference between high- and low- wage states. Most people would be delighted to here the above. They would receive more money and their standard of living would increase. But most people do not take into account the negative side effects of increasing the minimum wage. The survey taken by Card and Kruegur was done over the telephone. Fellow economists charge that the questions were vague and errors crept into the numbers. Another study was done using the businesses payrolls found that New Jersey fared far worse than Pennsylvania. Positive effects of the minimum wage can be the obvious; more money for people. They would have more money to spend , the economy would boom and everyone would be happy. Not so; in fact, this would only encourage inflation and increase prices. Money become lesser in value and producers would have no choice but to raise prices in order to make profit. Another negative aspect of raising the minimum wage is unemployment rising. Supply of workers would exceed the demand for workers.

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Discrimination Against Vietnamese Immigrants in America

Vietnamese did not magically appear in the United States, the Vietnam War sparked the immigration of Vietnamese to America. Vietnamese did not virtually exist in the United States until 1975 when the war forced Vietnamese to evacuate (Povell). The war began after Vietminh defeated France and split into North and South Vietnam (O’Connel). In 1956 communist Ho Chi Minh ruled the North Vietnam, and Bao Dai ruled the South, who the United States supported and backed up (O’Connel). The Vietnam War consisted of the North and South Vietnam, fighting against eachother in order to stay two separate countries.The North tried to overtake the South, and the United States sent in troops to assist South Vietnam (Isserman). However, in April 1975 South Vietnam collapsed and united Vietnam as one country (Isserman). The tragic result of the Vietnam War affected all Vietnamese. The effects contained of over four million Vietnamese killed, and over twenty-one million bomb craters ( "The War's Effect on the Vietnamese Land and People. â€Å"). Unbeknownst to most people, the end of the Vietnam War caused the first two waves of immigration (Povell).In fact, from the beginning Americans stood unsure about Vietnamese immigration. â€Å"A poll in 1975 showed a mere 36% of Americans in favor of Vietnamese immigration,† (Povell). This means that 64% of Americans did not favor Vietnamese immigrating to the United States. Vietnamese Americans, often referred to as Boat People, received their name because most traveled by boat from Vietnam to America. Discrimination against Boat People in America began because of living as a burden to society, a lack of job opportunity, and the ability to adapt to the American culture.Vietnamese endured a difficult journey. , As they arrived in America people thought of them as burdens to society. Americans thought of Boat People as burdens as because they had to set up refugee camps. The United Nations helped set up these refug ee camps. However, poor living conditions transpired in these camps. (Vietnamese Americans. ?). These poorly funded camps resulted in inadequate living conditions. Refugees had to put good living conditions on hold until they found a sponsor. In order to not have a sponsor they had to have $4,000 per household member (Li).However, Americans thought Vietnamese should not be refugees, but rather immigrants (Li). Needing support turned them into burdens according to U. S citizens. Also, Americans criticized Vietnamese for taking jobs and being a burden to society ( Li). As Boat People tried to blend into American culture, some people stepped in their way. â€Å"Anglo and African Americans talked of the ‘Asian Invasion' on radio dials and some took drastic measures to reject the newest Americans,?(?The Asian American Experience-Building New Saigon. ?).When they started to find well-paying or high class jobs people saw them as a burden to the job market and a threat to Americans. Therefore rejection occurred frequently. Most Vietnamese arrived in the United States only with the clothes on their back, so when it came to finding jobs they did not have luck on their side. Since most Vietnamese refugees arrived without material possessions or money, they could not afford houses, and found it almost impossible to qualify for home loans even if all family members had jobs (Li). They had few job options and the jobs offered provided extremely low pay.Due to the scarcity of employment, some Vietnamese turned to illegal jobs (such as a prostitute) to provide for themselves (Vietnamese War Reference Library). If Vietnamese could find legal jobs, they would most likely not make enough to support their families. During the beginning of immigration refugees had a 32% unemployment rate compared to 5% of other Americans unemployed (Li). Vietnamese had a higher unemployment rate because they lacked American skill, education, and opportunity. This resulted in Vietnamese thri ving for further education and understanding of American economics.However, in the late 1970s, in Albuquerque, 8. 5% of people remained unemployed. This resulted in fewer jobs available for anyone, and left Vietnamese at a greater disadvantage because they lack English, and skill. Without basic English skills, finding a job, renting an apartment, or even buying food became very difficult. (â€Å"Vietnamese Americans. †). This lead to English as a Second Language programs (ESL). ESL programs would provide the amount of English to find work, but not raise past the â€Å"poverty level† (Li). Vietnamese did receive education, but this only created opportunity to find low-paying jobs.Even with programs like ESL, less than half of Vietnamese Americans (41%) speak English proficiently (Taylor). Boat People who lacked English could not find jobs and found difficulties doing everyday tasks. When Vietnamese began to understand their struggle in the job market, they would try to open restaurants, but Americans would not accept the new flavor of food (â€Å"The Asian American Experience-Building New Saigon†). No business in the restaurants forced them to close, and find work elsewhere. Then the Boat People turned to the fishing industry.At first whites tolerated Vietnamese in the fishing industry because they posed no threat. However, when Vietnamese bought shrimp boats, they became a threat to white’s businesses, and whites began to dislike Vietnamese. (â€Å"Asian Americans†). Some Vietnamese would get extremely involved in the fishing industry, but learned better from violence used against them. Some people went as far as burning down the Vietnamese’s boats (â€Å"Asian Americans†). Outside of the fishing industry employers and coworkers would become frustrated with Vietnamese for working slowly (Li).Vietnamese worked with quality in mind where Americans worked with speed in mind. This caused employers to be impatient wi th Vietnamese, and sometimes cost them their jobs. Even when Boat People acquired jobs, their median annual personal earnings placed them $35,000 lower than the earnings for other Americans. Overall, Vietnamese had a horribly hard acceptance into the job market, however, this would have facilitated had they not had trouble adapting to culture. As Vietnamese immigrated to the United States, they found trouble adapting to the culture.This especially occurred in the medical and education world. The American medical treatment dissatisfied Vietnamese because it does not concentrate on healing (Li). Some people would try to combine western medical treatment with the Taoist concept of balance. Many Vietnamese believed that if they rubbed a coin on skin it would relieve a cold (Li). However, if a mother brought a child to the doctor they would mistake the coin bruises as child abuse, a major misconception of culture. In fact, the majority of Boat People would not enter the hospitals because of white rooms and nurses wearing white (Li).In Vietnam, white represented the color of death. Furthermore, children found adapting to the school system difficult because of them placed by age group, not ability (Li). As well as American schools based off of critical thinking and Vietnamese schools off of pure memorization (Li). This became extremely difficult for Vietnamese students who did not speak English proficiently. Highly disadvantaged with their lack of English, Boat People had an extremely arduous time adapting to the ways of Americans without the ability to communicate (â€Å"Promoting Cultural Sensitivity: Vietnamese Guide†).A misconception between cultures occurred when Vietnamese would show interest in a religion for respect, but no actual interest in converting (Li). The churches may become disappointed in the Vietnamese. Furthermore, traditions of parents embarrass children because the parents had not adapted to the American culture, but hung onto the Vietnam culture. Contrary to the belief that immigration moves like a painless journey, Vietnamese had one of the most tiresome and arduous immigration in American history. Beginning with a war on their home turf, they had to leave their country. The war caused dreadful effects and they lost all their hope.When they stepped on to American soil, they had nothing but the clothes on their backs. Furthermore, their lack of material affected their ability to find jobs. More so they did not speak English, and had little to no education. Although now they had a shred of hope that life could achieve immense success. However, accused for living as a burden to society, discriminated against in the job market, and finding difficulty adapting to the new American culture caused that hope to be terminated. Vietnamese did not deserve the treatment they received, but they endured it with all they had and with the small hope of a new life.