Trap-Ease America Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Trap-Ease America - Case Study Example The struggle was proven to be worthy, because it attracted the attention of the people, especially of those in electronic media (my marketing lab). The second issue pointed out is caused by the slow sale rate of the product, which is endorsed on such large scale. The reason of this dilemma is the new design of the product, which customers are not willing to accept readily. Another problem is caused by the unwillingness of retailers to give the product appropriate shelf space, because of their commitment to other old fashioned brands. Also Martha is not able to maintain the prospering relations with large store chains, due to their unrealistic demands. The final challenge is the increasing intolerance of investors regarding receiving a return on their investment (my marketing lab). The fundamental cause of all the issues described, is the unwillingness of customers to accept the new product. The target market for this innovative item primarily consisted housewives, who do not have time to view the electronic media to get the message about a new product, which Trap Ease brought to the market. All of these reasons interact with each other, to cause the downturn in the demand of the product. On the other hand the pressure from investors is causing Martha to find a solution quickly to calm their nerves. But the strategy of the company is not proving to be beneficial (my marketing lab). The company could send the sales force to the homes of the potential customers to demonstrate the usefulness of this product. With the help of this strategy the company could get the feedback from the people about their perception of the product, which will indeed help Martha in understanding the flaws of the product. This method will also assist the company to further modify the product design to improve its performance. Ease Trap can also introduce the marketing strategy emphasizing on the features of the product, which provide safety to the

Should the IMF and World Bank cancel all the debts of poor countries Research Paper

Should the IMF and World Bank cancel all the debts of poor countries C.Q. Researcher, September 28, 2001, vol. 11, issue - Research Paper Example A good example is the oil crisis of 1973 whereby oil prices escalated forcing governments of many developing countries to borrow heavily from the IMF, the World Bank and other creditors to procure much needed oil supplies. Much of this borrowed capital was spent on noncapital generating ventures or was lost through corruption. This means that these countries were mostly unable to channel these borrowed funds into their economies to fuel economic growth that would in the near future generate the capital necessary to pay off the debt (Palley, 2003, p. 83). Review Proponents of debt abolition have been advocating heavily for cancellation of all debts of poor countries. The most prominent of these is the Jubilee Debt Coalition, a UK-based coalition of local groups and organizations calling for the cancellation of heavy debts owed by developing countries. The issue of debt cancellation is important because heavy debts which are not payable prevent the eradication or reduction of poverty i n the third world. The World Bank and IMF are party to the Millennium Development Goals one of the main aims of which is to significantly reduce the number of the world’s people living below the poverty line (Pettifor, 2003, p. 71 – 73). ... xperiences of countries such as Nigeria, Afghanistan and Iraq indicate that this general lack of insecurity provides a conducive environment for the growth of terrorist organizations with a global reach. These terrorists pose a serious threat to the national security of all countries, including developed countries. The arguments proposed by both proponents and opponents of debt cancellation have their strengths and weaknesses. Proponents include organizations such as the Jubilee Debt Coalition, experts such as renowned economists in the US, and policy makers in the US and the European Union. They have put forward a number of good arguments. Firstly, they argue that many of the loan deals have terms that are unfair to the borrowing poor countries. According to Palley (2003) the interest rates are usually set very high because many of the developing countries are desperate and they borrow on short notice (p. 86). For this reason, the loans end up being very expensive, an unfortunate si tuation considering that the developing countries are the poorest yet they often receive loans that are more expensive than those received by developed countries. In fact, many countries have already paid the amounts they owed several times over because the debt grows faster than they can pay due to high interest. Therefore, it is only fair that the World Bank and the IMF cancel these debts while it is working on a solution to ensure that in future, terms of loans consider the state of a country’s economy and its rate of economic development. Secondly, proponents argue that debt needs to be cancelled in order to harmonize goals of the United Nations with those of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The UN’s Millennium Development Goals heavily emphasize the reduction of

The Leader's New Work Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Leader's New Work - Assignment Example Hence, the theories serve as guideline for the organizations and their managerial and marketing staff for their survival and growth in an era of perfect competition. Contemporary business culture has witnessed a tremendous alteration in its nature and scope. Fast increase in business activities at global scale, and emergence of world as a global entity has eliminated the concept of staying isolated from the outer world. People now embark upon business venture and produce goods and services keeping in view the features of the global market. It has also multiplied the responsibilities of corporate tycoons and leaders of multinational organizations, which have to render extra services in order to make their ventures a success. Argyris (2000) has elucidated salient features and responsibilities of the corporate sector during 21st century onward, where he lays stress upon fast and perfect flow of communication in order to obtain complete information of the market scenario (77). He is of the opinion that in olden days, only the owners/directors and managers used to be responsible for the growth and progress of their organization; however, time has tak en drastic turn, because of the new era challenges, and employees and workers maintain equal responsibility for the financial uplift of their work place. Business leaders apply communication tools in order to bring change in strategic schemes. Applying of focus groups, organizational surveys and other communication tools turn out to be helpful in making assessment of the work efficiency of employees, though they do not present an in-depth analysis of the problems they undergo while performing their professional obligations (78-9). He suggests the tools including effective learning, broader empowerment and employees’ surveys as effective methods of assessing the efficiency and performance of the

Measles outbreak Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Measles outbreak - Essay Example The unvaccinated women from California transmitted the virus in theme parks and Airports (Gastaà ±aduy, et al., 2014). The State Health departments from Colorado, California, Washington, and Utah have confirmed cases of an extremely contagious strain of measles. These cases, taken together, they would account for about 12% of all measles cases reported in United States over the last one year. The Centre for Disease Control, (CDC) projects that there are about 220 cases of measles reported per annum (Gahr, et al., 2014). According to the CDC, Measles is the most deadly of all childhood fever or rash diseases. Measles is a virus that inhabits the throat and nose of all the people that are infected and causes a rash, fever, coughing and red eyes. Although, there is a vaccine, an anti-vaccination movement has gained momentum in the United States despite the increased debunking and criticism of the movements claims (Jin, 2015). On January 7th, 2015, the California’s Department of Public Health believes that, in December, the individual infected with measles was residing in Disneyland Theme Park. The person unknowingly infected other people at the theme park (Zipprich, et al., 2015). According to LA Times, at that time, among the people infected with Measles was unvaccinated traveller in her 20s. On 28th December, while at the Theme Park the woman became sick and contagious. From there, she flew from Orange County to Washington State, Snohomish County, and then returned to Orange County, on January 3rd. Four days later, on January 7th, health officials in California announced an outbreak of measles (Jin, 2015). Measles viruses are contagious; they can live up to two hours on the surfaces of the infected people, transmitting it through sneezes and coughs (Whitaker & Poland, 2014). The CDC states that Measles is a highly contagious virus that 90% of the unvaccinated people close to the sick person are infected. Although, over 20 Million

Competition in American Elections Essay Example for Free

Competition in American Elections Essay Elections are a crucial element of representative democracy. They are the direct link between citizens and their representatives in government: if the public approves of their elected officials’ actions, they continue to vote them back into office; if the public doesn’t like how things are going in the government, they vote for other candidates with different ideas. The electorate has to have this choice between candidates in order to effectively express their preferences. However, if the incumbent or incumbent party seems certain to win, a vote for a new candidate would be of little value: the election is not competitive; therefore, the public is hindered from voting into office a candidate that represents their true interests. It is therefore essential to examine the true meaning of what makes an election competitive and to determine whether American elections of various types adhere to this requirement. The literature competitiveness in elections is extensive, but all definitions more or less come down to the question of whether or not someone other than the winner might have won (had circumstances been different, had the opposition campaigned more effectively, had the public been more welcoming to the opposition’s ideas, etc.). A very minimalistic definition of a competitive election is given by Hyde and Marinov (2012) in the form of three criteria: â€Å"opposition is allowed, multiple parties are legal, and more than one candidate competes† (p. 192). Five requirements for determining if an election was competitive are given by Janowitz and Marvin (1955-1956): high levels of participation, political self-confidence and self-interest among the citizenry, effective public deliberation, a media not monopolized by one particular side, and campaigns operating mostly independently of the mass media (pp. 384-393). These criteria are meant to measure the degree to which the election represented a â€Å"process of consent† rather than a â€Å"process of manipulation†. Buchler (2007) defines competitive elections as those in which the candidates have about an equal chance of winning, or when their vote shares are about the sameso, the more the two-party vote for the winning candidate approaches 50%, the more competitive the election is. In their study on the effects of competition on legislator performance, Koninsky and Ueda (2011) define a competitive election as one in which the winner earned 90% or more of the two-party vote (p. 201), whereas Niemi et al. (2006) define competitive elections as those in which the winner received at least 60% of the two-party vote (cited in Koninsky and Ueda, p. 201). Such strictly defined, outcome-based requirements for electoral competitiveness have been criticized for being more or less arbitrary (Buchler, p. 336); however, for the purpose of this paper, such definitions are the most practical choice. The minimalistic definition of Hyde and Marinov is in fact too minimalistic for an examination of electoral competitiveness in America, where an open and democratic political process is an integral aspect of the Constitution itself. Janowitz and Marvins definition will be excluded for practical purposes because while the criteria to allow for analysis of electoral competitiveness pre-election, and therefore do not count as uncompetitive elections in which the opposition simply wasn’t strong enough, this method is much more suited to an in-depth study of a single election rather than a comparison between multiple election years and types because of the normative questions involved (the researchers in question used this method to examine the 1952 presidential election). While strictly statistical, outcome-based definitions of competitiveness are perhaps arbitrarily defined, they are simple and useful in studying electoral competitiveness over long periods. To avoid restraining myself to one statistic, I consider both the 60% requirement proposed by Niemi et al. and the 90% requirement used by Koninsky and Ueda. In order to study competition in presidential elections, I have compiled both the popular vote and Electoral College vote for the presidential elections since 1980. I only included data from the two candidates who received the most votes. I then calculated the percentage of the two-party vote (popular and Electoral College) received by each candidate. The percentage of the two-party popular vote received by any given winner of the presidency never exceeded 60%, and can, therefore, be considered competitive by both the 60% and 90% requirements. However, the results of the two-party Electoral College vote were not always so close. In fact, in seven out of the ten presidential elections held in the past 37 years, the percent of the two-party vote in the Electoral College received by the winning candidate exceeded 60%, and in two of these elections, this percentage exceeded 90%. Therefore, by our most strict definition of a competitive election, most presidential elections in the past th irty-seven years have not been competitive if we use the data provided by the Electoral College votes. This could suggest that the structure of America’s presidential elections (i.e., indirect vote via the Electoral College) compromises the competitiveness of our elections, as all the presidential elections examined were found to be competitive in the popular vote, but the Electoral College votewhich is, in fact, the deciding factor in who will become Presidentwas found to be uncompetitive in most cases. It is clear that the Electoral College does extrapolate the margin of victory of the winner, most clearly evidenced by the elections of 1980 and 1984, when Reagan was elected with a two-party popular vote of 55% and 59%, respectively, but by a 91% and 98% two-party vote in the Electoral College (Woolley and Gerhard 2017). I have employed the same method used for presidential elections to measure competitiveness in statewide elections in Missouri (Governor and United States Senator elections) and the district-based Missouri United States Representative elections (except that the Electoral College factor was not applicable). I have used the past five elections for each type of election; therefore I have gone back to 2000 for the Governor election data, to 2004 for the U.S. Senator data, and to 2008 for the U.S. Representative data. The elections for Missouri governors and U.S. Senators all fall within the 60% requirement off competitiveness. However, the U.S. House elections rarely satisfy this requirement (one out of eight districts in 2014, three out of nine districts in 2010, and one out of nine districts in 2008 had a two-party vote of less than 60% for the winner). None of the elections ever had a two-party vote that exceeded 90%, so these elections are competitive by Koninsky and Ueda’s req uirement (Ashcroft 2017, â€Å"Missouri Election Results† and â€Å"Previous Elections†). However, the disparity is obvious: while U.S. Representative elections are still competitive by the 90% test, they are generally nowhere near as competitive as state Governor, U.S. Senator, or presidential elections. This most likely arises as a result of gerrymandering, defined by Lowi et al. (2017) as the practice of drawing district maps that favor one party or the other based on the partisan makeup of different regions (p. 198). This practice reduces the competitiveness of districts so that the party that drew the map will have certain victory in most districts while allowing their opponents to win in a handful of districts where their party has the clear majority. For statewide and nationwide elections, this is not an option, but for district-based elections, gerrymandering is common practice. In response to a lack of competition in district-based elections, many propose intentionally drawing electoral districts to narrow the margin of victory and encourage more robust competition. There are many reasons to advocate for increased competition. As previously mentioned, the electorate cannot express its true preferences if election results are more or less determined in advance. According to Lowi et al., competition among politicians incentivizes them to reveal more information about themselves and about the other candidates, which in turn makes citizens more apt to pick the candidates that best represent their interests (p. 428). The threat of competition incentivizes elected officials to steer clear of corrupt practices and to remain responsive to their constituency to ensure re-election (Brunell and Clarke 2012, p. 124). This same threat also means that officials elected in competitive elections are more active lawmakers (Koninsky and Ueda, p. 199). And according to Huckfe ldt et al. (2007), while electoral competitiveness does not seem to produce any direct effect on turnout, it still has an indirect effect in that parties and candidates put more campaign effort into competitive elections, which in turn encourages higher turnout (p. 809). Indeed, the word â€Å"competition† often has a very positive connotation in American culture. This is natural, as it is the founding block of the free market system which our country has embraced possibly more than any other country. It may, therefore, come as a surprise that not all scholars advocate competition in the electoral sphere. A fairly intuitive, though the easily disregarded aspect of competition in elections is that as the margin of victory decreases, the number of people who voted for losing candidates increases. Brunell and Clarke argue that these people are more dissatisfied with the outcome of the election and feel that their interests are not being represented in government (p. 125). A study conducted by Bowler and Donovan (2011) suggests that increased competition leads to dissatisfaction in the electorate because people dislike being exposed to politics (p. 159). Janowitz and Marvin argue that high levels of competition divide the electorate and disintegra te more moderate, compromise-oriented groups (p. 400). It would seem that competitive elections, while allowing the public to hold elected officials accountable to their constituents, also lead to less happy constituents in general. Buchler goes on to point out that in order to draw competitive districts, the actual partisan makeup of the electorate must be disregarded, and a smaller margin of victory increases the chances of an error in the declared winner (pp. 333, 336). So when we draw districts to be more competitive, we may end up with representatives who do not actually represent the people to any significant degree. While the arguments for and against electoral competition seem valid, it is important to distinguish which definition of â€Å"competitive† we are actually working with. For example, while the 60% requirement proposed by Niemi et al. judges that nearly all U.S. House elections in Missouri were non-competitive, the more minimalistic model proposed by Hyde and Marinov would classify all of the elections studied in this paper as competitive simply because they were truly democratic elections. At the same time, the broadest definition of a competitive election used, the 90% definition proposed by Koninsky and Ueda, would define nearly all of the elections studied as competitive. I doubt that those who wish for less electoral competition because of its divisive effect on the electorate would suggest that the two-party vote for the winning candidate must exceed 90% every time, just to keep people happy. The obvious gerrymandering that takes place in redistricting maps is not to be t aken lightly, but the solution is not necessarily an effort to draw more competitive districts. As Buchler (2005, cited in Buchler 2007) argues, an unbiased map is the best way to ensure true representation of the citizens of a given region, even if the map is, in fact, uncompetitive (p. 333). Perhaps this is what we should really be working towards the true ideological representationrather than the potentially random results that come from toss-up districts.

Two Kinds by Amy Tan Essay

Two Kinds by Amy Tan Essay Amy Tans Two Kinds is a short story about the relationship between a Chinese-American mother and her American daughter. Two Kinds is a chapter from Tans book, The Joy Luck Club, which is made up of sixteen stories about Tan growing up in America with a mother from ancient Chinese customs (Tan, 189). In this chapter, Tan describes her childhood not with emphasis on cultural differences, but as a girl trying to find herself all the while in constant conflict with her Chinese-American mothers desire for her to become extraordinary. Further research reveals to the reader that Daisy, Amy Tans mother, is her influence for writing. Daisy a child-survivor of Nanjing came to America in 1949 at the age of 18 leaving behind three daughters to escape communism and abuse (unknown, 2010). Daisy raised Tan as a Chinese mother with Chinese customs is expected to by using harsh words of warning to motivate greatness. Tans exposition of the story appears in the beginning with you could phrases that introduce the reader to the mother. You could open a restaurant. You could become instantly famous. You can be best anything (Tan, Two Kinds, 2012, p. 336). The reader is intrigued in the first three paragraphs as it is clear this mother, the static character throughout this story, expects no less than excellence. The first person narrator is the dynamic character of this story, Jing-mei. She is also the protagonist in an ongoing struggle for independence with her mother who is the antagonist. Jing-mei struggles to find who she is. At first, she convinces herself that if she hurries, she can fulfill her mothers expectations and would soon become perfect (Tan, Two Kinds, 2012, p. 336). However, the child-narrator in her coming-of-age attitude sets the tone for the battle-of-wills when she thinks the mother is beginning to give up hope (337). Jing-mei continues this battle determined not to try (p. 338) and determined to put a stop to her foolish pride (p. 339). The mother-daughter climatic moment occurs when Jing-mei selfishly yells You want me to be someone that Im not (p. 339). Tan allows the mother to invoke her position in the relationship with her reply of Only two kinds of daughters. Those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind! Only one kind of daughter can live in this hou se. Obedient daughter (p.339). Tan increases the mother-daughter conflict using dramatic visualization as Jing-mei repeatedly defies the mothers with the use of words like disappointed, failed expectations, I had been sent to hell and I wish I were dead (Tan, Two Kinds, 2012, pp. pp. 337-339). The mothers comments to her daughter because you not trying (p. 337) and only ask you be your best (p. 337) poses a dilemma for the reader of whether to feel sympathy for the mother or daughter. What the daughter perceives as being an unsatisfied and disappointed mother is Tans use of situational irony. It is not until the end of this short story that the daughter realizes that her mother was not controlling or demanding for the sake of Chinese custom, but was only exhibiting a mothers enduring hope that her daughter would be someone great. Tan affirms this near the end as the mother reminds her thirty year-old daughter you could been genius if you want to (Tan, Two Kinds, 2012, p. 340). The pivotal moment of the story occurs in the last paragraph as the daughter for the first time notices the music pieces she rehearsed as a child (Tan, Two Kinds, 2012, p. 340). Tan dramatizes the irony further when Jing-mei, after the death of her mother, notices the two songs on the piano, Pleading Child (p. 340) and Perfectly Contented (p. 340) that are symbolic of the daughters growth from a child to an adult. She realizes the pieces were two halves of the same song (p. 340) just as she and her mother were. As the mothers character was seemingly over-bearing, she and her mother wanted the same thing; both wanted the best in life for Jing-mei. Tans chronological organization of the story allowed the reader to see the conflicts emerge and resolve as Jing-mei grew into an adult. This story was not about the cultural differences between Chinese and Americans as one might expect, but more about a mother-daughter relationship. Tan writes because it is about the meaning of my life (Tan, NEA Big Read: Meet Amy Tan, 2010). When we read this story as a chapter in The Joy Luck Club, Two Kinds completes Tans collection of stories that are about hope and the way she looked at the world (2010). I liked this story because I connected with Jing-mei at first and felt sorry for her. However, half way through the story, I began to feel sad for the mother after Jing-mei began behaving selfishly and defiantly by not trying. As short as the story was, it created a momentary emotional struggle for me. At first I could not understand why the mother would force a child into extracurricular activities of which she had no interest. I thought perhaps the mother, given Amy Tans real mothers tragic history, was living vicariously through her daughter. Later, as a mother of three daughters, I began to see why the mother was trying to convince her child to do something great. It was because she wanted her daughter to be no less than perfect. The story did not change my perspective on mother-daughter relationships because all mothers raising daughters have unique coming-of-age stories. I did stop and reflect upon my own mother and my childhood with her as we had our growing pains. I was adopt ed and my mother was very much like Amy Tans trying to make every perfect. Tan writes brilliantly with passion and I am a newly committed fan. I would not change a thing in this story.

Global sourcing

Global sourcing Question 3 Introduction Global Sourcing is the procurement of goods and services from independent suppliers or subsidiaries from multinational companies which are located abroad and are made for further development of consumption in the multinationals home country or a third country (Cavusgil et al, 2007). International companies are increasingly looking to maintain their competitive advantage in their industry, and are therefore internationalising their supply-chain activities such as engineering, procurement, logistics, and even marketing. The issues For understanding the issues or risks managers face nowadays in global sourcing one has to divide the activities in two main segments, which is the flow of goods and information. The first reason for a company to source an activity of their value chain globally is generally perceived because of cost saving. Trent and Monczka (2003) noted a saving of 15 percent when successfully implementing global sourcing strategies of material cost, comparing to local and regional sourcing practices. Levy (1995) uses the term ‘disruptions for the issues in the global sourcing activities of a firm, and thus within the supply chain. Levy argues that the disruptions in the flow of goods are primarily caused by unstable demand, defective and late deliveries and internal production problems. Furthermore, there are challenges in language, culture, inventory management, lack of technology, trade regulations, currency fluctuations, and quality assurance. All these disruptions result in the extension of costs, which was the reason to source globally in the first place. Cavusgil et al (2007) identifies risks in global sourcing such as environmental factors, weak legal environment, risk of creating competitors, over-reliance on suppliers, and the erosion of morale amongst home-country nationals. Managers of the supply-chain are according to Levy (1995) underestimating the cost of global sourcing, which means they do not include the disruptions when making a decision on to outsource or not. Secondly, managers often view the supply-chain as a static flow of controls instead of a complex and dynamic one. Thirdly, managers tend to outsource when a company is on its maturity but then neglect the demand volatility. And lastly, managers tend to treat supply-chain crises as one-time events instead of part of the instability of the supply-chain. Learning the hard way For example, Boeing is facing major delays in manufacturing its new 787. The aircraft manufacturer is in its never ending race with Airbus to present its new passenger aircraft. Boeing has its suppliers all over the world and with Boeings specific needs and design some suppliers were given a far greater responsibility for design, and there was no control on their work from our side (Weitzman, 2009). Or even a more compelling example of supply-chain failure is the near extinction of Land Rover in 2002 than owned by Ford that almost had to stop production because the supplier of its chassis had gone bankrupt. It said that it needed six to nine months to find an alternative supplier, putting 11,000 jobs at risk. It is mentioned in the Financial Times article that having dual-suppliers will cost around  £12m just for the chassis (Milne, 2008). Critical Success Factors Global Sourcing In the study of Trent et al (2009) the critical success factors of global sourcing were identified. These factors are personnel with the right skills and knowledge, the availability of information, the awareness of potential global suppliers, time, and global capabilities of the supplier, interested in global contracts, global sourcing support, and direct visits. These critical success factors seem logical, and thus a firms global supply chain might seem water proof, but there will always be disruptions. Imagine the sharp fluctuations a firm can come across; when the firm is importing its goods from Singapore for example per ship, and the fluctuations demands the firm to use an air-freight to deliver the goods and meet the demands, the transportation costs can run ten times higher than the sea-freight deliveries, thus totally eroding the cost-advantage of manufacturing the goods in a lower-cost labour country (Levy, 1995). Conclusion Disruptions will always be part of the supply-chain of any firm in any industry. However, a careful planning of every step in the supply-chain should be routine. When sourcing globally, one has to think carefully of what to source and what to keep on board. When sourcing globally just for the cost advantage, one will find a lot of challenges along the way. Global sourcing should be part of the firms strategy, not an emergent strategy, but a proactive attitude. When implementing new supply-chain activities, disruptions should be taken into account, in order to reduce the chance of errors. This should include flexibility of suppliers payment, a back-up for the JIT (just-in-time) deliveries, a well-managed inventory system, excellent training activities for maintaining quality, and continuous improvements to keep the competitive advantage over other firms. Question 4 Introduction Businesses operating in an international context encounter different issues than firms operating solely in their home market, the domestic businesses. International firms enter new economical conditions, different political systems, laws and regulations and different cultures (Cavisgil et al, 2007). Cavusgil et el (2007) note that international firms find themselves in uncontrollable variables factors of which the firm has little control.   Most companies internationalise at a certain stage, the point at which they are going international has several reasons. The motivations can be reactive and proactive. These can be named push-, pull-, and drift factors. Push factors indicate the firms position in a saturated market, meaning declining demand, increasing fierce competition, or products that reached maturity and need a little push. Pull factors are proactive movements of the firm to move across borders because foreign markets promise faster growths, higher profits or less legal re straints and less competition. Drift factors are rather ad hoc or accidental. Firms that operate first solely in their domestic market receive large orders from international firms, which makes them decide to pursue an international adventure. Advantages and disadvantages For domestic firms to go international it means they have to take lots of new aspects into account. The risks are substantial. The commercial risk concerns the risk of weak partners, poor timing of entry and underestimation of the operational scale. Secondly, the currency risk which includes currency fluctuations and taxations. Thirdly, the country risk involves the legal issues, political stability and economical situations. Fourth is the cross-cultural risk, which basically means the lack of understanding each others cultures. These four main topics indentify the risk of the international business, or rather should be taken into account when going international. The advantages are rather attractive as well. The firm can expect substantial increases of sales, market share and higher profits. Also, the firm increases its economies of scale and can therefore expect to reduce their cost-per-units. It enters more diversified markets, and can therefore learn from new markets and adapt and adopt accordingly. By being an international firm, it bolsters itself against fluctuations in the economy and becomes a stronger player throughout their domestic market and internationally. The disadvantage of the firm exporting is the lack of understanding of the foreign markets, fewer opportunities to learn about the new customers, their competitors, and the lack of communication (Cavusgil, 2007). Illustrations of domestic to international business and back Johanson and Vahine (1977, lecture slides) designed the Uppsala Internationalisation model in which stages firms go across borders. This starts from exporting, to licensing production, than to joint ventures and eventually sole ventures, illustration the steps firms undertake gradually. Through this model Wal-Mart, using the push method, entered several markets by jumping to sole ventures, without the necessary research to succeed in a country. In its domestic market, it is a successful concept made for the American lifestyle. When it entered Mexico, it built massive parking lots like in the US, but only to found out later that most Mexicans do not have a car. In Brazil, where most families do their shopping once a month on their payday, Wal-Mart built the aisles to narrow to establish havoc (Cavusgil et al, 2007). These are the examples of jumping, literally, into new markets without understanding of what is going on. Would it team-up by licensing to a local supermarket chain its success rate would have been much higher. In contrast with these Wal-Mart examples Carrefour, a French supermarket chain, spent 12 years understanding the Chinese market just to become the largest foreign retailer with presence in 25 countries; which is a much more gradual entry. In its domestic market, General Motors is facing serious competition and a declining market share which it is losing to Japanese carmakers and others. Its reason to maintain Vauxhall and Opel seems like their lifeline for developing solid competition for smaller fuel-efficient cars in its domestic market. Both Ford and Chrysler now with Fiat have the technology to develop these engines, had General Motors sold Vauxhall/Opel it would have lost its part of its knowledge in small fuel-efficient cars in its domestic markets and its presence in the European Market. On the contrary, Honda, with its sole focus on its engine, entered the US with small cars after the push from a high level of competition in Japan. It started however with export to the US and moved in manufacturing Honda in 1982, being already superior in quality in every auto market segment, better fuel efficiency, and better priced. Honda moved after being ready to move, and had time to study the US-market and it needs. The oil crises in the eighties helped significantly in US customers in persuading buying fuel efficient smaller cars (Klier, 2008). Conclusion Nowadays, the world is getting flatter and flatter (Friedman, 2005), meaning that the worlds resources are within an arm length for nearly all firms, provided they need the right network, skilled labour force and strategy to enter foreign markets. Collaboration between companies is often used to harness themselves against more intensifying competitors, who are obtaining knowledge, and cost advantages as well through collaboration. This continuous cycle makes the world a smaller place to do business in. Eventually all domestic businesses have some international activities, either in exporting, importing or knowledge. The world nowadays is too small to be comfortable in your own market, where you will face saturation and perhaps even decline.