Eugne Delacroix Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Eugne Delacroix - Research Paper Example He travelled far and wide, incorporating the Oriental culture in his work. He passes down an impressive legacy to his descendants especially the artistic school of the Impressionists and Neo-Impressionists. Eugene de la Croix was contemporary with the Romanticism movement spanning from 1790 to 1850, rose as a reactionary wave against the Age of Reason or Enlightenment. Romantics are characterized by nature, sentimentalism, idealism, imagination, religion, utopia, memory, symbolism, and heroism. All of these attributes are evidenced in Eugà ¨ne de la Croix’s works of art. Romanticism is set apart from other epochs because it asserted the importance of individualism; therefore, romantic writers had the liberty to conform to the ideals of the movement and to detour in a new direction according to their own individual desires. De la Croix himself was described as individualist because despite the heritage of his predecessors like Michaelangelo, he invented himself by his own paintings. Because of Enlightenment’s neglect, Romanticism reasserts nature, feeling, memory, symbolic representation, imagination, myth, and spirituality. One can find all these details in De la Croix a rt work. In Romanticism, nature is lauded as one of the most supreme objects of observation. Feelings and sentimentalism are core aspects of Romanticism since feelings and emotions are the channels through which man expresses thought and creativity. Romantics though that sensory and sensual perceptions also where vital in validating man as a being and not solely the mind as enlightenment intellectuals taught. Memory and imagination are mental transactions which evoke, project, and create images. In memory, anything can happen details can be altered, exaggerated, idealized, and forgotten. Frequently in the romantics’ works, nostalgia and a tender evoking of the past play prominent roles where the romantic’s retrospective vision is viewed in idyllic and

Challenges Faced By General Motors

Challenges Faced By General Motors The United States (U.S) Multi National Enterprise (MNE) General Motors (GM) is one of the worlds largest automakers, tracing its roots back to 1908. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 235,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in some 140 countries. GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 34 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Golden, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saturn, Opel Vauxhall and Saab. In 2006 it sold over 9 million cars and trucks globally in 5 continents with a global market share of 13.5 %. GM has been involved in a range of global ventures aimed at extending their penetration in the carmakers market and has also increased its share of the market as well as sales. GM uses exports, acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic alliances to enter foreign markets based on business considerations. GM has also expanded its capabilities in manufacturing through technological competences. This was achieved by forming subsidiaries, strategic alliances and joint ventures with other automobile companies in different parts of the world. According to (GM Press Release, 2006), the company has been involved in a range of global ventures throughout its history, each of which has aimed at extending its market penetration. Partnering enables GM to rapidly expand its technical fields and brings that knowledge in-house transferring it to multiple levels within the business, even extending it sometimes to corporate issues. Through the various stages of internationalisation, GM was able to enl arge its distribution and provide access to essential materials. Additionally, the company developed and improved its operations, facilities and processes all of which have provided access to new technologies and a rich database of knowledge and new capabilities. The American automobile industry is the biggest in the world in terms of number of cars manufactured and sold. The U.S. automobile market is saturated with the global car manufacturing companies however; the majority of the market share is occupied by domestic and Japanese companies. The outcome of this is a drop in the level of consumption as there are too many entrants competing in the same industry. Because of this decrease in consumption, the automobile industry leaders have been offering attractive incentives and lower prices leading to a loss in profitability. The world-class automakers are gradually expanding into foreign markets, as new emerging markets in China, South East Asia and South America are showing signs of sustainable economic growth. GM overseas operations were a method of diversifying themselves against the risks and uncertainties in their domestic market life cycle, by setting up new operations abroad multinationals can diminish adverse economic downturns. Most MNEs also follow a pattern that has often been laid out in front of them by competitors or similar sized companies that have adopted or mimicked behaviour that has been tested and proven to be success, if the right measures are taken when adopting it. For instance, it has been argued that organizations tend to imitate actions that have been taken by large numbers of organizations, because such practices are legitimized or their success is taken for granted (Fligstein; Haunschild; Haveman; Kraatz; Lewitt). This can also have an adverse affect on an MNE when entering a new market, leaving them less cautious and with a diminished aspiration towards growth, knowing that the chances of that market already being saturated and that the first come first served knowledge is already guaranteed not to be in their possession. This often happens when the specific market they enter does not suit their domain of expertise and experience, resulting in them investing much faster and with a lesser de gree of uncertainty that they would have usually applied. GMs move to internationalise was mainly to reduce costs, attract a larger market and the creation of strategic alliances. The company strategically allied with Fiat in 2000 by acquiring 20 percent of Fiats equity to establish a joint procurement venture. With a split of 50 percent of the capital each, giving them a concentrated purchasing power of about $32 billion per annum, this alliance has the capacity to strengthen their bargaining power as well as reducing the supplier management cost. GM also moved production overseas, as the number of internal competitors grew too high in most of the emerging country home markets. GM needed to find a new incentive to manage a new market while remaining at low cost. GM is a good example of an MNE which underwent internationalization whilst maintaining its position as one of the leading carmakers. It has also followed the theories laid out about internationalisation such as the typical way a company proceeds to penetrate and enter a foreign market. Firstly it will look at the options available and analyse what will be best suited for them considering the high degree of uncertainty and risk associated with entering an unknown market. One such option is licensing but it has to be assessed in a precautious way, due to the fact that they might be risking firm specific advantages by engaging in premature licensing agreements, this is also the least preferred of all three options due to the fact that there is a risk of knowledge dissipation. The only instance when licensing will be considered as a viable option is if the revenue generated from the licensee exceeds the cost of policing it. But also, if they do choose go for an early licensing agreement it may be because their firms specific advantage is hard to duplicate or they have a tight control over the licensee, meaning that they would find it very hard and potentially dangerous to resell any kind of sensitive material to any potential competitor or a third party of any kind. The second option is the possibility that the MNE might only be willing to export at first if the demand of the local market is not high enough for them to want to engage in foreign direct investment and set up an overseas subsidiary, or they may also consider this as a possibly a bit longer down the line depending on the potential growth generated from initial sale patterns and the profitability a larger scale operation would yield. The exporting option also depends on the trade agreements, tariff barriers, taxes, transportation costs and quotas between the two countries involved which sub sequentially determine if the operation will be profitable or maybe another option should be considered. There are two strong examples of how this has been reproduced by GM. The first is the case of General Motors do Brasil, which is GMs third largest operation outside of the U.S after being recently overtaken by China. In the beginning, the activities were in the assembly of vehicles imported from the United States. After five years, GMB officially opened its first plant in 1930 in Sà £o Paulo. Here we can see that exporting lead to the full scale creation of a production facility which was so successful a second one was opened 28 years later, thus resulting in Brasil being the main exporter of GM automobiles in the whole of South America. Breaking out of their domestic market and becoming an exporter themselves in a very short space of time and for such a large operation really does provide evidence that internationalisation does not spread from one point outwards with only one epicentre at its core but rather creates and distributes smaller nodes that in time expand themselves and r epeat the process so on, just as how it is described in the network approach. Once the firm has passed the cultural barriers and had its first experience of foreign operations, it is generally willing to conquer one market after another (Carlson, 1966). The second example is when the Cadillac brand was introduced to China in 2004, starting with imports from the U.S, which then lead to the Chevrolet making its first appearance on the Chinese market one year later. They were then able to move production operations to their Shanghai GM plant which opened as a joint venture with SAIC in 1997, initially created for the Buick brand that is especially strong in China. In this case exporting was clearly used as a testing method for foreign products penetrating the Chinese domestic market, market-specific knowledge and general knowledge are important for firms internationalization (Johanson and Vahlne, 1977). Dunnings Eclectic theory which sets out to explain that foreign direct investment as a theory can be unified as long as the firms applying it consider the ownership, location and internalisation of the process that will produce substantial benefits if applied accordingly. This is also the case if the extent, the form and pattern of international production is founded on the juxtaposition of the ownership to specific advantages that a firms posses when contemplating foreign production. This is reflected in GMs move to manufacture most of its China-market vehicles locally, through its Shanghai GM joint venture, GM also plans to create a research facility in Shanghai for $250m to develop hybrid cars and alternative energy vehicles. Therefore GM follows a path suggested by Dunning to gain advantage in terms of competitiveness and cost by ownership in foreign market and aim to expand. The Network Approach emphasises the industry as a system of networks, each firm within network has relationships with customers, suppliers etc†¦ These relations are important competitive advantages which the Network model also suggests the firm needs to take into account and evaluate not only its own position in the market in relation to its customers, but also the environment of that market in relation to others such as competitors, new entrants etc†¦ GM and Fiat formed a strategic alliance, with GM owning a 20% share in Fiat and Fiat SpA receiving 5.1% of GMs shares in exchange. Production and ownership have both been improved when a recent alliance took place under the form of two joint ventures (owned 50% by Fiat and 50% by GM). The first will conduct purchasing activities, while the second will produce engines and gear equipment which is mainly aimed at cutting expenses. Hence GM has followed the network model to some degree as their joint venture come in terms of rela tions with Fiat. By collaborating they have reduced the cost and the innovation has resulted in new production techniques. Which gave both of them some degree of competitiveness as they have gained purchasing power as well as reduced cost in terms of purchasing from the suppliers.

Political Philosophy Essay examples -- Politics Essays

Political Philosophy Part One (Question 2) Aristotle, Locke, and Hobbes all place a great deal of importance on the state of nature and how it relates to the origin of political bodies. Each one, however, has a different conception of what a natural state is, and ultimately, this leads to a different conception of what a government should be, based on this natural state. Aristotle’s feelings on the natural state of man is much different than that of modern philosophers and leads to a construction of government in and of itself; government for Hobbes and Locke is a departure from the natural state of man. Aristotle’s emphasis is on the city-state, or the political world as a natural occurrence. He says â€Å"every city-state exists by nature, since the first communities do.† (Aristotle 3). Aristotle continually reiterates the notion that the creation of a community comes from necessity; individuals aim at the highest good of all, happiness, through their own rationality, and the only way to achieve happiness is through the creation of the city-state. Aristotle follows the creation of a household and a village to the creation of the city-state in which citizens are able to come together to aim at the â€Å"good which has the most authority of all,† (Aristotle 1) happiness. In turn, this necessity for the formation of a city state comes from the idea of man as a rational being. â€Å"It is also clear why a human being is more of a political animal than a bee or any other gregarious animal†¦ no animal has speech except for a human being.† (Aristotle 4). For Aristotle, human beings are political animals because of their ability to speak, their ability to communicate pleasures and desires, and their ability to reason. Aristotle’s state com... ...ased on their heritage as nobles or the virtues of their fathers. Burke states that â€Å"there is no qualification for government but virtue and wisdom,† (Burke 561). The most compelling argument for Burke against Locke is his idea that â€Å"government is not made in virtue of natural rights, which may and do exist in total independence of it†¦ but their abstract perfection is their practical defect.† (Burke 564). Burke looks at the rights laid out by Locke and Rousseau and scoffs at them, stating that they have no merit in the real world, attractive as they are in principle. He believes that the pretended rights of these theorists are all extremes, and are therefore morally and politically false. Burke believes that â€Å"the rights of men are in a sort of middle,† (Burke 565), and their incapability of definition completely contradicts the extreme rights as defined by Locke.

Sterling Marking Products Case Study

I recommend that Sterling should consider a fully owned subsidiary as an entry mode into the U. K. market. However, we need to ensure U. K. laws permits 100 percent ownership and understand tax incentives applicability. In addition, as an organization we would need to internally develop a strategic road map in terms of our approach to international markets. The objective of the roadmap is to provide Sterling with some guidance and a broad approach to how we conduct business on a global scale, considering recent interest in our product from firms in other countries and possibility of pursuing those opportunities.As an organization, this is much needed to prevent some of the issues we experienced domestically while establishing our branches in Toronto and Windsor, as well as our recent challenges in the U. S. market with Julius Blumberg Inc.My recommendation for a fully owned subsidiary in the U. K. is based on the following: In Europe, U. K. is the only European country where seals ar e legally required for corporations, and the most populous country in that region (exhibit 1), this continues to make U. K.  the most attractive market in Europe for sales, regardless of whether seals might no longer be required in the future. Also, establishing a presence in the U. K. will place Sterling in a position to easily penetrate other European market for future expansion. Based on a qualitative cost & benefit analysis (exhibit 2), a wholly owned subsidiary provides the most advantage to Sterling. Although this requires the most capital and management commitment, the benefits it offers offsets such costs including full profitability as opposed to a shared profit in case of a joint venture (exhibit 3).Also, in terms of the goals, strategy, resources and organizational structure of Sterling, a subsidiary best enables the firm to reach its objectives (exhibit 4). Options open to Sterling with a subsidiary is either to purchase a U. K. seal producer (Jordan) or build a branch as a Greenfield project. Buying out a local producer will allow a speedy market entry and access to local workers. This will also give Sterling access to current customers of the local seal producer. For this reasons, a â€Å"buy-out’’ subsidiary will be preferred over building a new branch.The U.S. market is also one that is in need of a ‘turn around’ in terms of sales and profitability. Once our seven-month contract with Julius Blumberg Inc. is completed, I will suggest we change our method of entry into the U. S. Market. Our trial with Bloomberg sales force shows that a direct sales approach dramatically increases sales in this market, therefore we should continue to export and invest in a sales and distribution team locally in the U. S. to drive sales. This will also allow us to penetrate the market faster and minimize any additional capital cost.In terms of interest shown in our product by other countries, I will suggest we research into sales oppor tunities in Japan for the reasons that Japan has a high population and number of lawyers compared to most of the other countries, geographically Japan also allows us to establish a hub in Asia so that we can establish a footprint in this region. However, deciding on a method of entry into this market will require gathering special information and understanding the Japan market. This research will need to be done prior to deciding a similar method of entry as was suggested for the U. K. market.

Bad Girl Movie as a Spin Off of the Batman Franchise

In bringing out the idea of morality, choice and idealism, script writers of Catwoman and Batman franchise movies delve deep into the character and weigh options on how these ideals can be pragmatically realized to blend well in the film, while highlighting the suspension of disbelief on the audiences on comic book film. The script writers strive to narrate stories in fictitious ways which can at the same time be comprehended as commentary on today’s right and wrong on a morally challenged world.The idea of a bad girl movie as a spin off of the batman franchise is a good one in the sense that it attempts to push for women empowerment unwillingly to be accepted in the patriarchal society today. It was also a bold move to break the monopoly experienced in screens of bad guys depicting male chauvinism in society and opens doors in the sequence of the sexually enticing adversary (Burton 1992). Bad girl character illuminates the female character who uses her charm to disarm, and th rough wit strike the opponents as they are not the type of criminal they are used to chasing.In this case the female audience can relate to or see their other side of the coin while the male audience lust for her entices. The comic movies of the Catwoman, the female character enables the female audience associate with rather than in the classical movies where there is the masculinity theme-woman awaiting the hero to rescue her. Catwoman movies are important in the women empowerment, raising the societal consciousness. In this case the ladies do not have to suppress their potential consciousness in the favour of male characters.As villain in the film the bad girl brings out the element of reality with the wickedness which to viewers may be sweet or awesome and associating with takes the fiction to the level of plausibility (Novi 2004). This is imperative in the contemporary society in the easing the degenerative culture in respect to women and bringing out the role in equality as the bad girl is still capable of such feats as her counterpart in highlighting the evil in society.Through this the bad girl character sums up the problems in the society and fighting these problems is the responsibility of all men and women, and therefore it makes sense to involve all in employing the different tactics in combating the evil. In the film Catwoman produced by Novi (2004) the idea of bad girl is very essential in capturing out the conflict in the plot development in the whole film. Patience in her bid to find out who is responsible for her present form is taunted by the bad girl Laurel Hedare leading to the development of the entire conflict.Her supernatural character makes her more lethal than George. There is that feminine-jealousy-conflict expressed between the criminal Laurel Hedare and Patience and in the struggle to fight for morality has made the two symbols of feminine power where the audience can associate themselves with. Idealism is portrayed in the manner of the human traits expressed, which the audience fall in favour including the determination and wisdom in every move. In the creation of the Bad girl movie along the Batman character traits, there is that imagery of the master criminal lethal and agile in the antagonism force.In reality, the odds are that rough and the bad girl has such a force that has to be overcome with wit and cunning. Indeed it the idea of change is highly eminent is the bad girl character in the Batman franchise as empowerment has brought independence in the women of modern society. The women characters in this case do not have to be rescued by the men but can overcome their challenges and even help others. The audience is now treated to better villains as the protagonist faces deadly and seductive Catwoman (Burton 1992).The audience loath and same time empathize with the protagonist who has to endure all the pain and torture but rejoice on his eventual triumphs over the evil woman-driven by jealousy, hatred and determined to harm all on her way in suffering and torture. In the video Batman Returns directed by Burton (1992) vividly depicts Gotham City as troubled waters with its population threatened with eminent extinction but the audience fears not because the antagonists and protagonists forces are at work and calm must eventually prevail only that suspense play tricks on them.The bad girl movie in follow-up of the batman franchise has been a success in that it has improved its rating as a hybrid of the two ideas. The fight movements’ characteristic of Capoeira martial style of Brazil is more convincing and entertaining than the usual speed in vehicles in action movies, which is mostly used to create excitement. The nocturnal playground in the visual effects creates the grotesque images that build up tension and anticipation among the audience.Occasional lights and music eases the tension releasing the cathartic effects and keeps the audience anticipating for more actions. By bon ding in the qualities and ideas the Catwoman has brought fortunes in the comic industry and set standards for future female actresses. Through the actions of the Catwoman, the Batman is actively in motion countering all her foils, on which we realize his desires and the need to be healed of them. In the comic films, the Catwoman harbors soft spots for the hero’s heart and operate outside the law within her morality code (Burton 1992).The Catwoman prowess is evident in her ferocious femininity that flaunts her intellect as well as constantly teasing the Batman in all his attempts. The in vogue of bad girl movie is credited for rejuvenating the declining sales of comic industry and pioneered in the era of realistic and subtle characters. The antithesis created by the Catwoman’s fear of Batman’s wrath represents the embittered feminist in Gotham streets who has to use all means to survive, symbolically pointing to the harsh realities of women of 1980s had to endure and hence the fight for change (Novi 2004).The adoption of bad girl characters has also been attributed to the development of the Batman movie and the sequential realization of the three successful sequels. The idea of a woman acquiring power in her life and showing the independence was more enterprising on the producers and equally appealing to the audiences hence the positive reception. Selina points her feminist stand when she says, â€Å"Life’s a bitch, now so am I†. She is portrayed as a woman not bound by gender boundaries and a symbol of the end of domestication by societal constructions of the place of the woman.In analyzing the her criminal motives, there is the shift of identities in that Catwoman is sometimes nice and other times portrayed evil in the characteristics of the domestic cat. This is the context representation of the villain capable of anything and defying the gender stereotypes of the contemporary society. The Catwoman is portrayed as a complic ated woman, surrounded by conflicting desires and emotions and flexible to change to suit her mind peace. Although her character is outside the law she doesn’t accept patriarchal punishment, but her delicate will checks her morality.The Catwoman here is created by the script writer as treacherous female who laughs at the social rules which are only possible in the world of comics (Burton 1992). In summary, the bad girl movies have played a paramount role in the development and eventual success in the Batman franchise as have boosted the comic industry to a higher notch. From the feminist perspective, they have been a force to recon with in the role they have played in the empowerment of the women in the contemporary society.The Catwoman has been depicted as influential force in breaking down the social constructions of the patriarchal society that continued to denigrate the place of woman. The mentality portrayed here is not one to be morally accepted in the realistic world b ut only for the feminists to take the cue and drum for change in society. The Batman being the guardian of the society is faced with another daunting task to keep the rebels at bay although he is susceptible to the change itself and hence falls in the traps of emotions.