Friday, January 31, 2020

Global Business Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Global Business Strategy - Essay Example This further asserts that liberalism and structuralism dominates and applies to WTO system as an organization that is weaving global influence in world political economy. Liberalism, National Protectionism and Structuralism Liberalism theory is etymologically derived from individual’s love of freedom and democratic principles. Applied to governance, liberalism adheres to liberal democracy which is inclined to more peaceful administration of government. Pluralist liberalism contends that the inequitable distribution of power cause gaps and may result to international conflict while economic liberalism rest on economic interdependence of states to establish peace and cooperation (WTO, 2011). In regulatory processes, liberal policies and foreign relations are driven by the principle of accommodation. Under liberalism, individuals and private groups seek to promote their independent interests within the context of differentiation, individual autonomy and an unlimited competition b y seizing either absolute or comparative advantage (Roy, 2011). It seeks to limit the role of the state in the economic activities. Economic nationalism, on the other hand, refers to the set of policies which regulate the capital generation, economic control, labor management. Capital generation also deals with tariff imposition and some restriction on the movement of labor, goods and capital (The Economist, 2009). It is contrary to globalization, liberalization and unrestricted free trading. It seeks to assert the role of the state in managing national economy. Cross-national trading is consistent to economic protectionism and import substitution. As a consequence of this, economic protectionism extols the imposition of tariff trade to control national involvement in international trading and encourage their local industries to cultivate their business, unions and market for domestic competitiveness (Economist, 2009). Roy (2011) pointed that a country barring economic liberalizatio n would confront problem on decreasing trade relations and poor strategy in trade management. Under mercantile operations, protectionist economy prefer the exclusive trading within a region or country, hence, their raw materials and resources are not exported but are utilized for its own populace. Developing internal competitiveness proved advantageous for them to nourish their independence, inventiveness and innovation in managing domestic markets (Economist, 2009). It’s likewise aimed at stimulating its economy, free from external compulsion and to revolve their finances within. It is against foreign acquisition of national resource for multinational-sourced developments. Structuralism is a theory which focuses on framework or models about how an institution or organization coordinate and interrelate for the full completion of their tasks Structuralism relates to the ties of government and its people in an interrelated social fabric and operation of governance (Balaam & Dil ham, 2010). In trading, this points to the relation of investing countries to host nations in international trading relations. Since structure binds people, the political and economic relations are likewise sensitive to system of social behavior, culture, economic dynamism or political processes. It illustrates some frameworks and policies that are maybe extensive, diverse and sometimes complicated, especially on international market relations between less developed countries and the industrial or

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Puerto Rican Music in the United States Essay example -- Culture cultu

Puerto Rican Music in the United States Music has always been a pervasive symbol of identity. It is a mode of expression that crosses gender, ethnicity and age. One need not understand the lyrics to identify with a musical genre; identification can be found through rhythm, tone of music, as well as other techniques in the music, unrelated to words. For example, most operas are in Italian and obviously everyone that attends an opera, does not speak or understand Italian. However, the audience is moved by the emotion conveyed through tone, facial expressions, and beat of the music. I believe this is relevant to the situation of Puerto Rican forms of music, and its success when Puerto Rican musicians migrated to the United States. Original forms had to be adopted to become popular in the United States, often assuming a heavier dance beat, but when the songs and musicians did become popular, it was not because a majority of Americans understood the lyrics in Spanish. For Americans, it was because the music provided lively back ground entertainment. However, for the Puerto Ricans, it meant much more. The music symbolized their background and struggles, what it means to be Puerto Rican. In New York, Puerto Rican musical traditions evolved in accordance with societal change. This was necessary in a society, as Glasser describes â€Å"where Puerto Ricans lived among a constellation of constantly changing ethnic groups within a protean social environment†(Glasser, 7). In Puerto Rico there are diverse groups, with different traditions of politics, economics, and music. When Puerto Ricans migrate to the United States, they unite under an identity as â€Å"Puerto Ricans† but there is still diversity within. Furthermore, I believe it is the Ameri... ... difficult as Americans commercialized the entire profession and employment became near obsolete for those trained musicians. In the U.S. music serves as a representation of the identity of the Puerto Rican, just as it does for other cultures. Puerto Ricans became disillusioned at the prospect of remaining in Puerto Rico as Rafael Hernà ¡ndez sang- â€Å"Piensa remediar la situacià ³n/del hogar, que es toda una ilusià ³n.† (Glasser, 165) Music provides a socially acceptable way to express disgust and disillusionment with the status quo and communicate one's identity. Bibliography Glasser, Ruth, My Music is My Flag: Puerto Rican Musicians in New York and their Communities, 1917-1940. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996). Oct. 29: Puerto Rican Music Between Rafael Hernandez and Rafael Cortijo. Guest Lecture by Prof. Lise Waxer, Music Dept., Trinity College

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Immanuel Kant on law and justice Essay

To be moral living human beings there must be a guiding action. This action varies depending on the degree of obligation: law, rule or maxim. A law should promote and protect the common good. Above all, a law must be just and reasonable to follow. A rule is a prescribed guide for conduct or action that indicates how we ought to act to behave in certain situations. Rules are not strictly legislated but are nevertheless obligatory guidelines for actions. A maxim is a general truth or rule of conduct. Immanuel Kant’s political teaching may be summarized in a phrase: republican government and international organization. In more characteristically Kantian terms, it is doctrine of the state based upon the law (Rechtsstaat) and of eternal peace. Indeed, in each of these formulations, both terms express the same idea: that of legal constitution or of â€Å"peace through law. Rechtsstaat is a doctrine in continental European legal thinking, originally borrowed from German jurisprudence, which can be translated as a â€Å"legal state†, â€Å"state of law†, â€Å"state of justice†, â€Å"state of rights† or â€Å"state based on justice and integrity†. It is a â€Å"constitutional state† in which the exercise of governmental power is constrained by the law, and is often tied to the Anglo-American concept of the rule of law, but differs from it in that it also places an emphasis on what is just (i. e. a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion or equity). In a Rechtsstaat, the power of the state is limited in order to protect citizens from the arbitrary exercise of authority. In a Rechtsstaat the citizens share legally-based civil liberties and they can use the courts. A country cannot be a liberal democracy without first being a Rechtsstaat. German writers usually place Immanuel Kant’s theories at the beginning of their accounts of the movement toward the Rechtsstaat. Kant’s approach is based on the supremacy of a country’s written constitution. This supremacy must create guarantees for implementation of his central idea: a permanent peaceful life as a basic condition for the happiness of its people and their prosperity. Kant proposed that constitutionalism and constitutional government ought to be sufficient to guarantee this happiness. Kant had thus formulated the main problem of constitutionalism: â€Å"The constitution of a state is eventually based on the morals of its citizens, which, in its turn, is based on the goodness of this constitution. † A Kantian justice system would thus solely focus on what was done, rather than on the character of the person who did it. No excuses regarding a criminal’s genome, upbringing, history of mental illness, or socioeconomic status can exonerate him from receiving punishment for the criminal act. The fact that a man was abused during his childhood does not justify his infliction of similar abuse on others later in life. Many duties are developed into laws because society has deemed them important for the protection of the individual. There are some laws that are written to safe guard the individual and others for the community. All laws must be written to uphold society which includes protecting the rights of all people in both the majority and minority consequently all laws must possess certain common traits. Immanuel Kant believed that all humans are born inherently bad and must try hard to be good. This model of thought is of immense help to understanding what actions Kant saw as necessary for the creation of justice within the real world, since, once again, every individual’s worldview is based upon that individual’s own set of experiences. â€Å"Pure reason is a perfect unity; and therefore, if the principle presented by it proves to be insufficient for the solution of even a single one of those questions to which the very nature of reason gives birth, we must reject it, as we could not be perfectly certain of its sufficiency in the case of the others†. (Critique of Pure Reason, 3) Kant on Contemporary Issues Contemporary Issue: A proposal by the government to legalize theft. According to Immanuel Kant’s theories and views he would try to oppose this law. The general definition of theft is the taking of another person’s property without that person’s permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. Immanuel Kant would consider this an immoral action on the individual’s part therefore resulting in punishment. When someone is punished for something it is because they did something abominable. Humans act not only on impulse as effected by laws of nature, but also out of conscience choice based on principles and these principles tell us how we ought to act. Our conscience as a capacity has a fundamental sense of value and personal responsibility. If theft were to be legalized, it would result in a never-ending chain of people committing evil actions to further their own need. People would become more selfish and greedy. Because Kant believes humans are born inherently bad we must strive every day to avoid temptation which we can only be redeemed by good behaviour and the grace of God. This would also go against Kant’s ideal justice system. â€Å"Nothing can escape our notice; for what reason produces from itself cannot lie concealed, but must be brought to the light by reason itself, as soon as we have discovered the common principle of the ideas we seek. † (Critique of Pure Reason, 5). Kant’s theory is his belief that it should always be possible, within our power, to do the right thing. Kant believes that rational humans are agents, they have plans, and they make deliberate choices. It is this fact about humans that Kant’s ethical theory seeks to enshrine and protect. Human agency should never be sacrificed for anything less valuable and everything is less valuable. Justice has a moral obligation to always do. The first duty of justice is to never treat people as mere means to one’s own ends. But treating a person as an end in themselves is to do more than respect this duty: it is also to assist them in achieving their morally lawful ends. For these reasons Immanuel Kant would not allow to legalize theft. Our government, justice duty and morality would all be altered if such a thing were to happen and that was Kant’s biggest fear that our humanity would be consumed by materialistic things. We need laws and peace in order for us, as people, to be rational human beings. Work Cited: â€Å"Germany. † – Understandings of the Rule of Law – Wikis Der Freien UniversitA ¤t Berlin. N. p. , n. d. Web. 21 Sept. 2013. Kant, Immanuel, J. M. D. Meiklejohn, Thomas Kingsmill Abbott, James Creed Meredith, Immanuel Kant, Immanuel Kant, and Immanuel Kant. The Critique of Pure Reason. Chicago: Encyclop? dia Britannica, 1955. Print. Rauscher, Frederick, Rauscher,. â€Å"Kant’s Social and Political Philosophy. † Stanford University. Stanford University, 24 July 2007. Web. 21 Sept. 2013. â€Å"Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Judgment. † Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Judgment. N. p. , n. d. Web. 21 Sept. 2013.

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Nuclear Weapons And The Atomic Bomb - 1432 Words

â€Å"If the Third World War is fought with nuclear weapons, the fourth will be fought with bows and arrows† Lord Mountbatten. This quotes, by a famous British Naval Officer, summarizes the threats nuclear weapons present to the entire world. With the development of the atomic bomb during the Second World War, a new war was started: the Cold War. The ideology behind this war continues on to this day and has led to many treaties and other attempts to stop the production and potential use of nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons are a scientifically impressive feat; however, they present a difficult situation in terms of the global political system. The first ever nuclear test occurred on July 16, 1945 in Trinity, New Mexico (ICAN, n.d.). This†¦show more content†¦Critical mass is the smallest mass required for chain reaction fission to take place. The implosion type design requires a specialized, sophisticated arrangement of explosives to fire simultaneously from all direction to the pit, or center of the weapon, in this case plutonium (CTBTO, n.d.). However, these designs are not used by modern countries, who instead use thermonuclear weapons of 1,000X the strength in tons. A typical fission weapon has a blast of about 20 kilotons (20,000 tons of TNT), whereas thermonuclear weapons can have a yield up to 50 megatons (Nuclear Weapon Archive, 2007). The first thermonuclear weapons date back to the 1950s. The reason thermonuclear weapons have such a larger yield is due to their 2 part design. The primary part is based off of fission. Plutonium-239 is used in an implosion type fission weapon to start the fusion re action at the center of the plutonium (which is filled with hydrogen gas). The fission part of the weapon then serves to start the fusion part of the bomb. By igniting the spark plug of either plutonium or uranium, surrounding the lithium deuteride (a Lithium Hydride with a deuterium hydrogen), the metal undergoes fission, creating enough heat for fusion to occur in the deuterium (Nelson and Gronlund, 2009). There are numerous different types of thermonuclear weapons, such as the two