NAFTAs Deceit essays

NAFTAs Deceit essays On January 1, 1994, Canada, Mexico and the United States passed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Promoted to Congress by the Clinton administration, with the assurance that it would give rise to more jobs - exactly how many though, is not precisely known. Yet, according to the Journal of Commerce, the U.S. went from having a $5.5 billion trade surplus with Mexico before NAFTA, to having a massive $16 billion trade deficit today. At the same time, it is estimated that 400,000 Americans have lost manufacturing jobs because of NAFTA within the treaty's first three years, that's about the same number of jobs which have been created in the Mexican maquiladoras. Instead of sharing of the wealth and profit, one might think that there has been a big transfer of wealth from north to south of the border and that Mexican laborers have profited at the expense and torment of their American counterparts. The reality is that working conditions, wage, health and safety standards in Mexico have deteriorated. One American employee for a steering-wheel plan made approximately $10.46 per hour, compared to his Mexican counterpart, who makes about $0.75 per hour. Within the agreement, it stated "...the government of Canada, the government of the United Mexican States and the government of the United States of America resolved to establish a free trade area." In addition, NAFTA also determined to: Strengthen the special bonds of friendship and cooperation among the nations; Contribute to the harmonious development and expansion of world trade and provide a catalyst to broader international cooperation; Create an expanded and secure market for the goods and services produced in their territories; Establish clear and mutually beneficial rules governing their trade; Create new employment opportunities, improve working conditions and living standards in their respective territories; &...

Palazzo Ruccelai essays

Palazzo Ruccelai essays The Palazzo Ruccelai was one of the first works by Leon Battista Alberti. He was an Italian architect, architectural theorist, and universal genius. Albert was the most important early Renaissance architect after Filippo Brunelleschi (Gympel, 44). The "Palazzo" originated in Florence. The monumental private building is derived from "palatium." This Latin word comes from the Roman hill which Emperor Augustus and his successors lived. During the 13th and 14th centuries, many of Italian towns were destroyed during the power struggles. This explains why the exterior of the Early Renaissance palaces were dark, defensive, raw and uninvited (Gympel, 44). Construction on the Palazzo Ruccelai began somewhere between 1455 and 1460. Leon Batista Alberti designed the original Palace to have five bays, the center being where the door was located. Later on, two more bays were added by someone else (class notes 1/19/00). There are three stories on this building. Each story is equal in height and rustication is uniform. This "evenness" is what gives the Renaissance its name. Most buildings made at this time have similar attributes. Each story has its own column capital to it. The ground floor has the Tucson order, the middle floor has Alberti's own design, and the top floor has the Corinthian order. I thought in Leon Battista Alberti's treaty, The Ten Books of Architecture, I would find out what each of the column capitals meant to him, but all I could find is dimension requirements for each order. The Colosseum has similarities with the Palazzo Ruccelai also. I believe some of Alberti's ideas came from at least the columns. It has a similar placement of the columns. They both have the Tucson order on the ground story, and the Corinthian on the top story. Where the Palazzo Ruccelai has the composite though, the Colosseum has the Ionic (Kostof 207). I wish I could find what was on the inside of this building. This could ...

Palliative Care in Cancer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Palliative Care in Cancer - Essay Example Palliative health care services for children in the UK are both organized and delivered differently than adult palliative care in oncology (Price, McNeilly, & McFarlane, 2005). Palliative care will usually begin initially at the diagnosis of an incurable disease and continue throughout one’s life (Shaw, 2011). Palliative care will usually involve a multidisciplinary team approach and coordinators will manage and assist with symptoms and pain management along with the other aspects of medical care along with other basic needs such as financing, transportation, medical equipment, respite services for caregivers, counseling and of course easy transition to hospice services should this become necessary. Frequently palliative care is understood or thought to limit opinions available to families and patients rather than helping them to utilize the optimum clinical knowledge and tools available. Rationale 'Oncology Nurses' Personal Understandings about Palliative Care' The rationale for a literature review in palliative care in oncology is heavily supported by the number of new cases expected to be reported yearly; in 2009 alone 1,479,350 cases were expected in the United States (Mahon, and McAuley, 2010, p142). The ultimate goals of cancer treatment fall directly in line for those in palliative care; minimizing effects and alleviating the burdens of this disease. Advances in oncology treatment now means people are living longer with the disease and longer life spans with the disease previously often meant a reduced quality of life; living with the burden of pain, mental anguish and disabilities. Palliative care is now understood to be very distinct from that of hospice care and should be available to patients independent of the prognosis and diagnosis. Cancer patients live with significant burdens and because complex decisions are usual for cancer patients palliative care should be available commonly and routinely to cancer patients. It has become the standard of care for patients with cancer and serious illnesses. Though deficits remain with oncology there are two trends that heavily influence the oncologist’s nurse’s perceptions about palliative care. Many oncology nurses find it difficult to distinguish between palliative care and hospice care and oncology nurses have the unusual opportunity for being trendsetters in oncology palliative care because of the fact that each cancer patient is a good candidate for palliative care. Analysis of Available Literature on Palliative Care in Oncology 'Oncology Nurses' Perceptions of Nursing Roles and Professional Attributes in Palliative Care' Few research studies have explored the perspectives of nursing roles in palliative care (Pavlish & Ceronsky, 2009). Most research is focused on gaining insights about end of life care. Nursing support in palliative care was found to have six dimensions; connecting, valuing, empowering, doing for, assisting in finding meaning, and ensuring the preservation of the patient’s integrity. Nursing responsibilities in the same study were described as providing comfort, responding during the death scene, enhancing personal growth, reacting to anger, enhancing the quality of life during dying, responding to colleagues and responding and interacting with the family in a supportive and professional manner. It was discovered that many nurses felt the most important aspect in palliative ca

Consumer decision making process on muller rice Essay

Consumer decision making process on muller rice - Essay Example The source of the competitive advantage is in the name of the company and the ability to price its products in a competitive manner. The main challenge that it faces is the increased competition from the other producers. Its opportunity is in the increased awareness in people about the food that they take. The marketing objectives of the company are to penetrate the market and attain the most market share possible. The company also aims at cementing its position in the global arena. The growth strategies that the company can use include the introduction of new products such as new flavours. The company may also expand its cream division since this will be able to utilize the excesses in the capacity (Pride and Ferrell, 2008). The understanding of the customer decision making is important for the company since this is the approach that the company will use to come up with new products. The targeting can be made in such a way that it focuses on the individual needs of the different classes of people (Pride and Ferrell,

Special topics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Special topics - Essay Example While trying to maintain a balance with justice by providing food and medicine sources, peacekeeping and justice cannot work together in these instances. Bratt writes, â€Å"Although we may find that peace can exist without justice, there will never be justice without peace.† Through his extensive list of examples, Bratt proves this point. Justice is entirely dependent on the creation of peace in a state at war and cannot be executed correctly without peace. Bratt calls upon numerous examples to demonstrate his point. For example, the issue with picking a side to punish in the aftermath of war often encourages groups to keep fighting. The side that is punished is the result of a loss, not necessarily the group that committed the most atrocities. This also brings new challenges to justice seeking missions because supplying food, water, medicine, and even arms only perpetuates the desire to fight. Also, the image of imperialism can be seen through peacekeeping missions, especially with the presence of the Permanent Five many of which were once colonizers of areas with internal strife. Peacekeeping then takes on a whole new image and convolutes the issue between justice and peace even more. Bratt’s argument is convincing even though it advocates administering justice after peace. The question of preserving human life cannot be answered solely through the search for justice, but must be supported by a pact of peace between warring fa ctions within a country. The NIEO or New International Economic Organization was a product of the Second World War and the United Nations first attempt to address the issue of world economic inequality. The General Assembly convened in order to study the world economic problems especially the role of wealthier countries in the development or underdevelopment of smaller and economically inferior nations. The western world’s preoccupation with oil was a deciding force in the change of ideology behind the

Educational Coaches Essay Example for Free

Educational Coaches Essay Educational or instructional coaches – also called â€Å"master teachers† – in elementary and secondary education are facilitators who train other teachers to improve instructional practices and generate higher levels of student achievement (Buly et al, 2004). Specifically, they are trained to serve as support for schools and districts experiencing â€Å"market failure;† i. e. , that have large numbers of students unable to meet state and federal achievement standards (Buly et al, 2004). This document is written as an outline to provide qualitative and quantitative evidence (in economic and real terms) that justifies educational managers (elementary, middle and high school principals, superintendents and school board members) utilizing educational/instructional coaches to achieve the following goals: (1) improving aggregate output through schools’ and districts’ overall level of student achievement on state- and/or federally-mandated testing, and (2) improving micro-level behavior through resource allocation, individual classroom management, implementation of learning strategies and instruction of subject matter. The following is a summary of the main points of this document: †¢ Discussion of what educational/instructional coaches are and their estimated microeconomic impact on students’ and teachers’ performances †¢ Discussion of district and schools’ economic costs and factors including fiscal policy, funding sources, overall output and the impact of budgetary decisions such as hiring educational/instructional coaches †¢ An econometric case study: regression analysis of schools in Duval County Public Schools in Jacksonville, Florida that utilize educational/instructional coaches Definition The field of education, unlike some markets, is not perfectly competitive. Individual buyers (students) and sellers (teachers) do have the ability to significantly influence the cost and quality of education. Consequently, educators continuously strive to make the educational marketplace more efficient and productive; i. e. , they search for methods and tools that improve the process of and environment for learning and address the diverse and changing needs of teachers and students. Unfortunately, the field of education is constrained by limits, and the equitable and efficient distribution of income (state and federal funding) and other resources (teachers) remains an issue that managers (educational administrators such as superintendents, school board members and principals) must address annually. In 1989, an educational organization called the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE) developed America’s Choice, a school design model based on high quality instructional materials, technical support and professional development for teachers (NCEE, 2009). Educational/instructional coaches are a central component of America’s Choice (NCEE, 2009). The goal of this paper is to determine whether or not educational managers are making the most fiscally responsible decision when hiring educational/instructional coaches to meet district- and school-based needs. While educational/instructional coaches are an often-used solution in some school districts, managers have other alternatives available to provide support to teachers and students in the classroom. These options utilize different methods of resource allocation. One alternative to â€Å"classroom coaching† is making capital improvements. An example of a capital improvement is upgrading a district’s and/or school’s technological infrastructure. This would involve purchasing computers and/or networks with more memory and larger capacities for data storage and manipulation, increasing the value and useful life of a district’s or school’s technological infrastructure. This could also involve purchasing software such as web-based educational tools for both students and teachers to use. Another option is additional training for teachers through in-service workshops (training provided during the school day) or additional education courses (college and/or university level). A third alternative is realignment of the student-teacher ratio based on aggregate demand; i. e. , the total demand (number of students) for goods (teachers/classes) and services (instruction) in the educational market (classroom). A fourth alternative is awarding financial bonuses to teachers with high or greatly improved student achievement rates. Educational/Instructional Coaches: Their Economic Costs and Factors When evaluating the benefits of using educational/instructional coaches, educational managers must ask themselves, â€Å"What are the accounting and opportunity costs of this decision? † In other words, managers need to determine expenses like salary, benefits, health insurance for the educational/instructional coaches; they also must construct the benefits of other educational options. According to payscale. com, a global, online compensation database, the average salary for K-12 public school teachers in the United States is $42,000 annually for a nine-month school year (Payscale, Inc. , 2009). Educational coaches are often at the top tier for teachers’ salaries and make on average $52,000 each year (Payscale, Inc. , 2009). Thus, the opportunity cost of hiring an educational coach at a school is, on average, $52,000 annually. An educational manager have an additional $52,000 (plus the cost of insurance and benefits) within his/her budget to invest in computer hardware, software, training for existing teachers, or actually hiring a new teacher (thereby reducing the teacher/student ratio). If a school principal hired more than one educational coach – many schools have one for every major academic discipline – the costs would be even greater. Across a school district, the aggregate costs would be much larger. For example, Duval County Public Schools is a school district in Jacksonville, Florida, has 160 schools, and uses America’s Choice, employing educational coaches at all 160 schools (Duval County Public Schools, 2009). At the very least, Duval County Public Schools’ accounting cost for hiring 160 educational coaches would be (on average) approximately 8. 32 million dollars annually, not including benefits and insurance. While educational managers must consider costs, they must also contend with economic factors. There are a wide range of economic factors that affect educational managers’ ability to hire educational coaches. Some of the most important are federal and state government policies, school district management, taxation, and student achievement levels. Before educational managers can make hiring decisions, school districts must meet state and federal approval through accreditation (Duval County Public Schools, 2009). Accreditation is the process by which â€Å"an official body gives authority to something when recognized standards are met† (Lindberg, Ed. , 2004, p. 8). The governing body for public schools in the southern part of the United States is the Southern Association for Colleges and Schools (SACS). In October 2008, SACS awarded Duval County Public Schools full accreditation, which indicates the district complied with meeting state and federal standards for student achievement (Duval County Public Schools, 2009). Schools must be accredited to hire new staff. Thus, the accreditation process was necessary before educational managers could hire educational coaches. Another factor affecting the hiring process is district management. Before principals can finalize hiring any new educators, including educational coaches, the new hires must be approved by the school board (Duval County Public Schools, 2009). The school board is â€Å"a local authority responsible for the provision and maintenance of schools† (Lindberg, Ed. , 2004, p. 1220). In Duval County Public Schools, for example, the school board must vote on whether or not they approve principals hiring educational coaches. Another factor affecting the hiring of educational coaches is funding. Funding for school districts is a fiscal policy issue and comes from a combination of local, state and federal sources (Howell Miller, 1997). Local funding is generally financed by property taxes (Howell Miller, 1997). State financing is generally through sales taxation (Howell Miller, 1997). Both local and state taxation are affected by state policy decisions and voting decisions of the population (Howell Miller, 1997). For example, a governor may issue a proposition to reduce property taxes across a state. If the population votes to accept the tax reduction, the funds available to make hiring decisions are reduced. While federal monies are financed through national income tax, these come to schools and schools districts via an assortment of federally mandated programs, often for at-risk student populations (U. S. Department of Education, 2007). For example, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is the most recent federal education legislation. Enacted in 2001, NCLB is an initiative of former U. S. President George W. Bush and it authorizes the distribution of educational grants for low-income students, textbooks, professional development for educators and more (U. S. Department of Education, 2007). Often a school’s student population determines how much and if that school can receive federal funding (U. S. Department of Education, 2007) Thus, government policy decisions at the local, state and federal levels affect educational managers’ decisions to hire educational coaches. A final factor that determines whether or not educational managers hire educational coaches is actual student achievement. If a school has a significant number of students not meeting state and federal achievement standards, educational managers seek solutions through options like educational coaches. For example, in Duval County Public Schools, William M. Raines High School has a student population characterized by low-incomes and low test scores (Duval County Public Schools, 2009). The school district also contains Stanton High School, rated

Wal-marts foreign entry

Wal-marts foreign entry WAL-MARTS FOREIGN ENTRY IN GLOBAL MARKETS The phenomenon of globalization has determined many firms to spread out to overseas markets. The purpose of this paper is to examine the firms strategies for new market entry and the major issues they need to deal with while entering into new foreign markets and Wal-Mart is utilized as an example. During this expansion, some firms succeeded and some failed also. Wal-Marts entry into the foreign market and its operations in the China and U.K where it was successful are examined and it can be inferred that the cultural differences and the political influences play a vital role in selecting entry mode and setting operational strategies. Also, In order to understand the failure in German retail market amongst many, the following influential factors will be considered that Germany has different culture and consumer behaviour, oligopoly market environment, unfavorable legislation and influential labour union. Additionally, this entry and exit of Wal-mart affected, inevitably, other countries and most of the competitors in many aspects. In the domestic market of U.S, Wal-Mart has a considerable success. Since Wal-Mart began international operations in Mexico in 1991, it has violently expanded foreign investments all over the world, including Canada, Latin America, Europe, and the Far East. Wal-Mart expanded its international operations such as in the United Kingdom, South America and China where its going highly successful, whereas in South Korea and German markets its operations were unsuccessful and it was forced to pull out of these markets mainly due to sustained losses in an incompatible culture and highly competitive market. However, Wal-mart failed to position itself when trying to penetrate the German retail market through replicating its US strategies. Initially, firms should have a clear purpose for expanding overseas. Firms tend to go international for many different reasons, for example, firms may be interested in structuring a global brand image, the home market may be saturated, external initiatives to spread the product, or grabbing more market share etc. Prior to entering a particular foreign market, firms need to look upon the consumer purchasing power, market size, entry barriers, political stability and cultural and language differences. Culture plays an essential role in shaping whether a firm can last in a foreign market. Consumers in different cultures may have different attitudes toward the same product and may value things differently. Therefore, international managers should take into account the cultural factor carefully in decision-making. Furthermore, Psychic distance also requires being carefully addressed in the market selection stage. Psychic distance is defined as factors precluding or disturbing the flows of information between firms and markets in terms of differences in culture, language, political systems, levels of industrial development, etc (Johanson and Wiedersheim-Paul, 1975). Theoretically, firms have a tendency to penetrate the psychically close market to moderate risk. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Wal-Mart) is the worlds biggest American retail corporation in the world. Wal-Mart is a company which is renowned for its influence on US government. Wal-Mart has a friendly legislature and government policy in accordance to its company policies and method which indeed helps them to achieve goal such as limiting port security, the elimination of the estate tax, restricting tariff protections and obtaining lucrative subsidies. According to survey Wal-Mart has received 1.2 billion from US government in form of subsidies, grants and fund. Following are few examples that shows how US government helped Wal-Mart in US: More Than $1 Billion from tax-payer funded Subsidies. A May 2004 report analyzed how more than $1 billion from over 244 taxpayer-funded subsidies status, general grants and job training/recruiting funds is received by Wal-Mart. Millions To broaden the Street to its Headquarters. In2005, to broaden Eighth Street in Bentonville which goes to Wal-Marts corporate headquarters, a federal highway bill was signed by President Bush of $35 million. Employing Teens in Unsafe Conditions. An agreement was signed by the Wal-Mart with the Departments Wage and Hours Division about future child labor conditions that the teens aged 16 and 17 are prohibited to participate in activities Negotiating for Weak Enforcement. The conduct of an audit by the (OIG) of the child labor found an agreement among Wal-Mart and the Department of Labor that prove serious collapses in the WHD [Department of Labors Wage and Hour Division] process for approving, developing and negotiating such agreements. These consequences in the WHD gave substantial concessions to Wal-Mart, while entering into an agreement. In the early 1990s, Wal-Mart was enforced to expand its business into the new foreign market due to critical U.S market conditions. Firstly, In the US it faced market saturation. Wal-Mart comes up with 200 new stores each year and this fast expansion results in the short distance between its old stores and new stores. Further, the retail price difference between Wal-Mart and its key competitors has been lessened so consumers had little incentive to go to Wal-Mart. Therefore, rather than summing up the market share from its competitors, the new stores in fact gained the market share from its old stores. Finally, the progress in demand was declining because of the decreasing family sizes in the U.S. (Kim 2008) . Taking into account, all these factors, the international expansion appears as a prior strategy for Wal-Mart to promote its business growth. Wal-Mart initiated to expand internationally in 1991 with the creation of a joint venture with Citra, S.A. de C.V, Mexicos largest retailer. According to the Wal-Mart they promote its growth internationally because â€Å"We need to be the growth of Wal-Mart some day when the United States slows down† (as cited in Molin, 2004). The company feels the international market as a alternate when there was limited growth in the US. After creating a joint venture in 1991, Wal-Mart came out as a large international player and within one and half decade it expanded its operations in globally in many countries. Wal-Mart did not use single strategy to enter in different countries. They decide on the basis of the business, competitive and economic environments that exist in. Wal-Mart made its presence in local markets by first considering the uniqueness of each market, and then by altering its business model to suit that market. After choosing the country like China, the management makes the decision after analyzing the environment that seemed to be positive in China. The China is a country with a history of tremendous level of 1.3 billion population. In China , the governments liberalization initiative and its open policy increased disposable income of consumers because of limited competition offered by similar business models its high constant economic growth and. The retail sale in China is $1.2 trillion in 2007 and the growth of market is expected $ 2.4 trillion by 2020, which indicates that there is a big opportunity for the company. These factors attracted the Wal-Mart company to research and make their presence in China. In 1996,Wal-Mart entered China and it grew slowly. Some people pointed out on its slow growth, but according to me, the strategy of slow growth helps the Company to examine the environment in a completely different culture with regard to US. Wal-Mart had taken up those merchandising and store designs that suits the Chinese consumer requirements best. The company also tries to adopt the local culture and sourced the products from local manufactures who are familiar with the local taste of the people. Company also met the government trade and business guidelines, by adopting such type of the environment it helped the company to grow and launch its expansion plans in China. Wal-Mart is getting involved in the local community such as by participating in CSR- corporate social responsibility .It is also participating in the society by donating the funds and providing the kind support of $ 8 million over the past 13 years. All such awards achieved by the company itself show its achievement in China. Another issue that contributed to Wal-Marts success in China, was labour unionization. At first, Wal-Mart was reluctant to support the idea of unionization, but the constant efforts of All-China Federation of Trade Union led to formation of union amongst Wal-Mart employees, which has contributed positively to its success. Currently, Wal-Mart carries on 7,873 stores worldwide in 15 countries among which 3,615 stores in the foreign countries and remaining in the US. Moreover its international segment gives 24.6% of the companys total revenue in 2009 fiscal year. (Global Market Direct, 2009) However, even with such enhanced international sales, Wal-Marts international division is still far away from its one-third of total sales goal, which it was essentially expected to achieve by 2005. (1999 Annual Report) If we analyze Wal-Marts international business, we will find out a mixed story. It had substantial success in Canada, China, Mexico and the United Kingdom, but it was unsuccessful to place itself in Germany and South Korea. Wal-Mart was leading retailer and employer in US for last decade. There were more than 5000 stores in US itself. This made easier for the firm in structuring a good brand image in spite of offering cheap products. Due to its knowledge, low pricing, strategic resources, geographical presence, strategic investment, product differentiation and managerial excellence, the firm constantly had an upper edge on its competitors and generally drives them out of the business. Further reasons for Wal-Marts success was its elite relations with bureaucrats and government. Government policies usually were in harmony to Wal-Mart business and strategies. Wal-Mart had many weaknesses and pit holes also despite of being worlds no. 1 company. Wal-Mart was always criticized for poor labour practices by labour unions. In US the average salary per hour is $ 13 where as in Wal-Mart the lowest salary rate is US$ 9 per hour. Employees have prolonged working hours around ten hours a day. Further Wal-Mart is charged for adopting the tax avoidance schemes. It has also build a great reputation for destroying small and medium business. Therefore its never greeted in any society. The main weakness of Wal-Mart has been its international operation. It struggled to create a great mark in international market especially in Germany unlike America. It has been losing money from the year it penetrated German market. It has also been found that in some cases those inferior quality products are being sold because of discounted price. As a result consumers who are not price elastic have a preference over other brands. It also bears the huge labour turnover, about 44% employees leave Wal-Mart every year according to the national survey. These were some major weakness that the firm desires to come up in near future for its survival and sustenance. A number of factors that resulted Wal-Marts failure in Germany are such as different corporate culture, political influence, stiff competition and inefficient management and marketing strategies. Firstly, David Wild CEO in 2004, believed that cultural differences between American and German consumers were considerable challenges to Wal-Mart. Debby CEO in 2006 concluded that German shoppers are accustomed to shop at small scale discount stores such as Aldi and Netto that provides a limited range of products with special offers each week and no customer service, unlike US customers. In addition to different corporate culture, the competition has become gradually more intense between Wal-Mart and domestic retailers. The price difference has so lessened that sometimes even Wal-Mart had a higher price than their competitors. Consequently, consumers had little incentive to visit Wal-Mart Germany because of no obvious price advantage. Some other factors that lead to Wal-Marts failure in Germany were, their strategy of acquiring the top competitor did not work, as the German government did its best to ensure the welfare of the domestic players. Also, due to wage restrictions, Wal-Mart could not practice wage bargaining, as it did back in U.S, this was a huge, uncommon expenditure for the company. Its American strategy of restricting employee freedom and forcing them to work extra hours, brought up problems of high labour turnover and a negative image as an employer. Wal-Mart failed to have an effective management at the top level. Its CEOs changed every year,this in an obvious way effected the companys performance. Wal-Mart constantly ignored the strictness of German laws, and was charged heavy penalties for doing so. One of the most challenging thing for Wal-Mart was capturing the market- share. As per German legislation it was illegal to sell products below cost,because of which Wal-Mart could never achieve the à ¢â‚¬ËœLow price leader tag. It is impossible to smoothly run any organization, until there is co-operation between the employees and the employer. Wal-Mart faced a severe labour unrest,which hampered its brand-image. Kay Hafner,CEO of Wal-Mart reduced the wages to cut cost, this negatively influenced individual behaviour , as an anti-union decision. As suggested by Arndt and Knorr, a firm needs to understand the specifications when indulging in global expansion.Out of all the CEOs, only David Wild has been sensitive to cultural difference.He did bring about changes based on this understanding,which had some positive results,yet not profitable enough to impress investors for future investments. Moreover,as per German legislation their were some specific retail related laws,such as, limited legal working hours (80 hours/week) which were way less than the other European countries and had strict rules governing closure on Sundays and holidays. Wal-Mart repeatedly infringement German laws but were able to do away with it mainly because of global presence and influence on the government of US which played a major role in global politics. Some of incidences where the company broke few laws and was able to get away are summed up below:- ‘unfair trade practices such as selling goods below the cost price was prohibited in Germany but Wal-Mart was found violating these laws as it randomly sold some product below cost. German law required a company to disclose it financial statements annually, Wal-Mart seldom did that and was spared without any fine or legal proceedings at number of occasions. Obligatory Deposit Regulationdings law stipulated the retailer to provide deposit-refund-system on few products like metal beverages, cans etc. But Wal-Mart never followed this law. Thus from the above incidences it can be concluded that Wal-Mart used its global influence to refrain from some of the German laws. However, because German culture is quite different from American culture and because of unfamiliarity with the legislation, it would be difficult for Wal-Mart to make marketing and promotion right. And in fact these difficulties had been proved in Wal-Mart Germany. Consequently, rather than choosing Germany as the gateway to Europe, virtually after two years of operating in Germany it had entered in U.K .Even though U.K is not in the Euro zone and its geographic location is less favorable than Germany, it has a similar culture and legal environment as U.S. which makes it easier to operate the companys business and strategies. It has considerable success in the UK market which is called by as a ‘Wal-Mart-ready market[palmer 2005] .Therefore, the lessons learned from from Germany has proven useful for U.K. In the United Kingdom, Wal-Mart operates under its distinct organizational culture ‘the Wal-Mart Way, where executives act as servants and employees are known as ‘associates. Associates are empowered to adapt to local culture and are encouraged to try out new ideas. Consequently, associate cohesiveness is strengthened, and they are willing to work hard to achieve the best results. In addition, satisfying customer needs is always placed as main goal of the company. The company aims to offer British families the things they need at affordable prices, as well as providing superior customer service and convenience. Needless to say, Wal-Mart did face challenges initially even in U.K. The British Planning Policy(PPS6) has clearly limited the construction of huge retail outlets on the outskirts of a town, which was one of its most effective strategy in the U.S According to PPS6,the local governments were required to do so until there was a call for .Wal-Mart responded to this situation by protesting the restrictive policies to the top government officials. Eventually, Wal-Mart acquired an existing retail chain ASDA, and this proved to be fruitful as it served as the best strategic fit between the companies. In the UK, ASDA was the only operator with a consistent non-food offer and Wal-Marts organisational culture had already incorporated into ASDAs management principles before the acquisition taken place. Based on the above examination of Wal-Mart, it can be concluded that Wal-Mart possessed a great influence on the US government and it used its great influence to get various tax reliefs, subsidies etc and when it entered other countries like UK, China and Germany etc, it followed the same policy to influence the government and capitalize on these relationships. Besides that there were few incidences in which the US government helped Wal-Mart in its international operations and having good relations with the foreign government which brings about the companies involvement in global politics, which is the essence of the report. However,while expanding globally Wal-Mart besides carrying all these good relationships still had to confront with the cultural, political and the other economic factors when it entered in the foreign markets because Wal-Mart to be successful only transports its domestic policy to global markets. No such one strategy or model is applicable which is appropriatefor all the markets. Consequently ,Wal-Marts US model cant be consistently applied in other countries, even in UK whose culture is very alike to that of the US. Hence, adaptation to local culture and familiarity with its legislations is a crucial step for Wal-Mart or any firm while entering to the global markets. Therefore, Firms should always make cultural and political considerations as a part of strategic planning, and locating activities in countries that possess these attributes necessary for competing in these activities of foreign entry. REFERENCES IGO Retail Analysis. (2009). â€Å"Company Summary-Introduction: Wal-Mart.† [Online] Available from: http://www.igd.com/analysis/channel/profile_detail.asp?channelid=1channelitemid=27profileid=1541 [Accessedï ¼Å¡2 November 2009] John Robin, Cox Howard, Grazia Letto-Gilles, Grimwade Nigel, Allen Michael, Finn Edward (2002), Global Business strategy. 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