Forward the Foundation Chapter 9

3 Yet, even so, Hari Seldon could not repress the surge of satisfaction that he felt as he entered his laboratory. How things had changed. It had begun twenty years earlier with his own doodlings on his second-rate Heliconian computer. It was then that the first hint of what was to become parachaotic math came to him in a cloudy fashion. Then there were the years at Streeling University, when he and Yugo Amaryl, working together, attempted to renormalize the equations, get rid of the inconvenient infinities, and find a way around the worst of the chaotic effects. They made very little progress, indeed. But now, after ten years as First Minister, he had a whole floor of the latest computers and a whole staff of people working on a large variety of problems. Of necessity, none of his staff-except for Yugo and himself, of course-could really know much more than the immediate problem they were dealing with. Each of them worked with only a small ravine or outcropping on the gigantic mountain range of psychohistory that only Seldon and Amaryl could see as a mountain range-and even they could see it only dimly, its peaks hidden in clouds, its slopes veiled by mist. Dors Venabili was right, of course. He would have to begin initiating his people into the entire mystery. The technique was getting well beyond what only two men could handle. And Seldon was aging. Even if he could look forward to some additional decades, the years of his most fruitful breakthroughs were surely behind him. Even Amaryl would be thirty-nine within a month and, though that was still young, it was perhaps not overly young for a mathematician-and he had been working on the problem almost as long as Seldon himself. His capacity for new and tangential thinking might be dwindling, too. Amaryl had seen him enter and was now approaching. Seldon watched him fondly. Amaryl was as much a Dahlite as Seldon's foster son, Raych, was, and yet Amaryl, despite his muscular physique and short stature, did not seem Dahlite at all. He lacked the mustache, he lacked the accent, he lacked, it would seem, Dahlite consciousness of any kind. He had even been impervious to the lure of Jo-Jo Joranum, who had appealed so thoroughly to the people of Dahl. It was as though Amaryl recognized no sectoral patriotism, no planetary patriotism, not even Imperial patriotism. He belonged-completely and entirely-to psychohistory. Seldon felt a twinge of insufficiency. He himself remained conscious of his first two decades on Helicon and there was no way he could keep from thinking of himself as a Heliconian. He wondered if that consciousness was not sure to betray him by causing him to skew his thinking about psychohistory. Ideally, to use psychohistory properly, one should be above worlds and sectors and deal only with humanity in the faceless abstract-and this was what Amaryl did. And Seldon didn't, he admitted to himself, sighing silently. Amaryl said, â€Å"We are making progress, Hari, I suppose.† â€Å"You suppose, Yugo? Merely suppose?† â€Å"I don't want to jump into outer space without a suit.† He said this quite seriously (he did not have much of a sense of humor, Seldon knew) and they moved into their private office. It was small, but it was also well shielded. Amaryl sat down and crossed his legs. He said, â€Å"Your latest scheme for getting around chaos may be working in part-at the cost of sharpness, of course.† â€Å"Of course. What we gain in the straightaway, we lose in the roundabouts. That's the way the Universe works. We've just got to fool it somehow.† â€Å"We've fooled it a little bit. It's like looking through frosted glass.† â€Å"Better than the years we spent trying to look through lead.† Amaryl muttered something to himself, then said, â€Å"We can catch glimmers of light and dark.† â€Å"Explain!† â€Å"I can't, but I have the Prime Radiant, which I've been working on like a-a-â€Å" â€Å"Try lamec. That's an animal-a beast of burden-we have on Helicon. It doesn't exist on Trantor.† â€Å"If the lamec works hard, then that is what my work on the Prime Radiant has been like.† He pressed the security keypad on his desk and a drawer unsealed and slid open noiselessly. He took out a dark opaque cube that Seldon scrutinized with interest. Seldon himself had worked out the Prime Radiant's circuitry, but Amaryl had put it together-a clever man with his hands was Amaryl. The room darkened and equations and relationships shimmered in the air. Numbers spread out beneath them, hovering just above the desk surface, as if suspended by invisible marionette strings. Seldon said, â€Å"Wonderful. Someday, if we live long enough, we'll have the Prime Radiant produce a river of mathematical symbolism that will chart past and future history. In it we can find currents and rivulets and work out ways of changing them in order to make them follow other currents and rivulets that we would prefer.† â€Å"Yes,† said Amaryl dryly, â€Å"if we can manage to live with the knowledge that the actions we take, which we will mean for the best, may turn out to be for the worst.† â€Å"Believe me, Yugo, I never go to bed at night without that particular thought gnawing at me. Still, we haven't come to it yet. All we have is this-which, as you say, is no more than seeing light and dark fuzzily through frosted glass.† â€Å"True enough.† â€Å"And what is it you think you see, Yugo?† Seldon watched Amaryl closely, a little grimly. He was gaining weight, getting just a bit pudgy. He spent too much time bent over the computers (and now over the Prime Radiant)-and not enough in physical activity. And, though he saw a woman now and then, Seldon knew, he had never married. A mistake! Even a workaholic is forced to take time off to satisfy a mate, to take care of the needs of children. Seldon thought of his own still-trim figure and of the manner in which Dors strove to make him keep it that way. Amaryl said, â€Å"What do I see? The Empire is in trouble.† â€Å"The Empire is always in trouble.† â€Å"Yes, but it's more specific. There's a possibility that we may have trouble at the center.† â€Å"At Trantor?† â€Å"I presume. Or at the Periphery. Either there will be a bad situation here-perhaps civil war-or the outlying Outer Worlds will begin to break away.† â€Å"Surely it doesn't take psychohistory to point out these possibilities.† â€Å"The interesting thing is that there seems a mutual exclusivity. One or the other. The likelihood of both together is very small. Here! Look! It's your own mathematics. Observe!† They bent over the Prime Radiant display for a long time. Seldon said finally, â€Å"I fail to see why the two should be mutually exclusive.† â€Å"So do I, Hari, but where's the value of psychohistory if it shows us only what we would see anyway? This is showing us something we wouldn't see. What it doesn't show us is, first, which alternative is better, and second, what to do to make the better come to pass and depress the possibility of the worse.† Seldon pursed his lips, then said slowly, â€Å"I can tell you which alternative is preferable. Let the Periphery go and keep Trantor.† â€Å"Really?† â€Å"No question. We must keep Trantor stable, if for no other reason than that we're here.† â€Å"Surely our own comfort isn't the decisive point.† â€Å"No, but psychohistory is. What good will it do us to keep the Periphery intact if conditions on Trantor force us to stop work on psychohistory? I don't say that we'll be killed, but we may be unable to work. The development of psychohistory is on what our fate will depend. As for the Empire, if the Periphery secedes it will only begin a disintegration that may take a long time to reach the core.† â€Å"Even if you're right, Hari, what do we do to keep Trantor stable?† â€Å"To begin with, we have to think about it.† A silence fell between them and then Seldon said, â€Å"Thinking doesn't make me happy. What if the Empire is altogether on the wrong track and has been for all its history? I think of that every time I talk to Gruber.† â€Å"Who's Gruber?† â€Å"Mandell Gruber. A gardener.† â€Å"Oh. The one who came running up with the rake to rescue you at the time of the assassination attempt?† â€Å"Yes. I've always been grateful to him for that. He had only a rake against possibly other conspirators with blasters. That's loyalty. Anyhow, talking to him is like a breath of fresh air. I can't spend all my time talking to court officials and to psychohistorians.† â€Å"Thank you.† â€Å"Come! You know what I mean. Gruber likes the open. He wants the wind and the rain and the biting cold and everything else that raw weather can bring to him. I miss it myself sometimes.† â€Å"I don't. I wouldn't care if I never go out there.† â€Å"You were brought up under the dome-but suppose the Empire consisted of simple unindustrialized worlds, living by herding and farming, with thin populations and empty spaces. Wouldn't we all be better off?† â€Å"It sounds horrible to me.† â€Å"I found some spare time to check it as best I could. It seems to me it's a case of unstable equilibrium. A thinly populated world of the type I describe either grows moribund and impoverished, falling off into an uncultured near-animal level-or it industrializes. It is standing on a narrow point and topples over in either direction and, as it just so happens, almost every world in the Galaxy has fallen over into industrialization.† â€Å"Because that's better.† â€Å"Maybe. But it can't continue forever. We're watching the results of the overtoppling now. The Empire cannot exist for much longer because it has-it has overheated. I can't think of any other expression. What will follow we don't know. If, through psychohistory, we manage to prevent the Fall or, more likely, force a recovery after the Fall, is that merely to ensure another period of overheating? Is that the only future humanity has, to push the boulder, like Sisyphus, up to the top of a hill, only to see it roll to the bottom again?† â€Å"Who's Sisyphus?† â€Å"A character in a primitive myth. Yugo, you must do more reading.† Amaryl shrugged. â€Å"So I can learn about Sisyphus? Not important. Perhaps psychohistory will show us a path to an entirely new society, one altogether different from anything we have seen, one that would be stable and desirable.† â€Å"I hope so,† sighed Seldon. â€Å"I hope so, but there's no sign of it yet. For the near future, we will just have to labor to let the Periphery go. That will mark the beginning of the Fall of the Galactic Empire.† 4 â€Å"And so I said,† said Hari Seldon. † ‘That will mark the beginning of the Fall of the Galactic Empire.' And so it will, Dors.† Dors listened, tight-lipped. She accepted Seldon's First Ministership as she accepted everything-calmly. Her only mission was to protect him and his psychohistory, but that task, she well knew, was made harder by his position. The best security was to go unnoticed and, as long as the Spaceship-and-Sun, the symbol of the Empire, shone down upon Seldon, all of the physical barriers in existence would be unsatisfactory. The luxury in which they now lived-the careful shielding from spy beams, as well as from physical interference; the advantages to her own historical research of being able to make use of nearly unlimited funds-did not satisfy her. She would gladly have exchanged it all for their old quarters at Streeling University. Or, better yet, for a nameless apartment in a nameless sector where no one knew them. â€Å"That's all very well, Hari dear,† she said, â€Å"but it's not enough.† â€Å"What's not enough?† â€Å"The information you're giving me. You say we might lose the Periphery. How? Why?† Seldon smiled briefly. â€Å"How nice it would be to know, Dors, but psychohistory is not yet at the stage where it could tell us.† â€Å"In your opinion, then. Is it the ambition of local faraway governors to declare themselves independent?† â€Å"That's a factor, certainly. It's happened in past history-as you know far better than I-but never for long. Maybe this time it will be permanent.† â€Å"Because the Empire is weaker?† â€Å"Yes, because trade flows less freely than it once did, because communications are stiffer than they once were, because the governors in the Periphery are, in actual fact, closer to independence than they have ever been. If one of them arises with particular ambitions-â€Å" â€Å"Can you tell which one it might be?† â€Å"Not in the least. All we can force out of psychohistory at this stage is the definite knowledge that if a governor of unusual ability and ambition arises, he would find conditions more suitable for his purposes than he would have in the past. It could be other things, too-some great natural disaster or some sudden civil war between two distant Outer World coalitions. None of that can be precisely predicted as of now, but we can tell that anything of the sort that happens will have more serious consequences than it would have had a century ago.† â€Å"But if you don't know a little more precisely what will happen in the Periphery, how can you so guide actions as to make sure the Periphery goes, rather than Trantor?† â€Å"By keeping a close eye on both and trying to stabilize Trantor and not trying to stabilize the Periphery. We can't expect psychohistory to order events automatically without much greater knowledge of its workings, so we have to make use of constant manual controls, so to speak. In days to come, the technique will be refined and the need for manual control will decrease.† â€Å"But that,† said Dors, â€Å"is in days to come. Right?† â€Å"Right. And even that is only a hope.† â€Å"And just what kind of instabilities threaten Trantor-if we hang on to the Periphery?† â€Å"The same possibilities-economic and social factors, natural disasters, ambitious rivalries among high officials. And something more. I have described the Empire to Yugo as being overheated-and Trantor is the most overheated portion of all. It seems to be breaking down. The infrastructure-water supply, heating, waste disposal, fuel lines, everything-seems to be having unusual problems and that's something I've been turning my attention to more and more lately.† â€Å"What about the death of the Emperor?† Seldon spread his hands. â€Å"That happens inevitably, but Cleon is in good health. He's only my age, which I wish was younger, but he isn't too old. His son is totally inadequate for the succession, but there will be enough claimants. More than enough to cause trouble and make his death distressing, but it might not prove a total catastrophe-in the historic sense.† â€Å"Let's say his assassination, then.† Seldon looked up nervously. â€Å"Don't say that. Even if we're shielded, don't use the word.† â€Å"Hari, don't be foolish. It's an eventuality that must be reckoned with. There was a time when the Joranumites might have taken power and, if they had, the Emperor, one way or another-â€Å" â€Å"Probably not. He would have been more useful as a figurehead. And in any case, forget it. Joranum died last year on Nishaya, a rather pathetic figure.† â€Å"He had followers.† â€Å"Of course. Everyone has followers. Did you ever come across the Globalist party on my native world of Helicon in your studies of the early history of the Kingdom of Trantor and of the Galactic Empire?† â€Å"No, I haven't. I don't want to hurt your feelings, Hari, but I don't recall coming across any piece of history in which Helicon played a role.† â€Å"I'm not hurt, Dors. Happy the world without a history, I always say. In any case, about twenty-four hundred years ago, there arose a group of people on Helicon who were quite convinced that Helicon was the only inhabited globe in the Universe. Helicon was the Universe and beyond it there was only a solid sphere of sky speckled with tiny stars.† â€Å"How could they believe that?† said Dors. â€Å"They were part of the Empire, I presume.† â€Å"Yes, but Globalists insisted that all evidence to the effect that the Empire existed was either illusion or deliberate deceit, that Imperial emissaries and officials were Heliconians playing a part for some reason. They were absolutely immune to reason.† â€Å"And what happened?† â€Å"I suppose it's always pleasant to think that your particular world is the world. At their peak, the Globalists may have persuaded 10 percent of the population of the planet to be part of the movement. Only 10 percent, but they were a vehement minority that drowned out the indifferent majority and threatened to take over.† â€Å"But they didn't, did they?† â€Å"No, they didn't. What happened was that Globalism caused a diminishing of Imperial trade and the Heliconian economy slid into the doldrums. When the belief began to affect the pocketbooks of the population, it lost popularity rapidly. The rise and fall puzzled many at the time, but psychohistory, I'm sure, would have shown it to be inevitable and would have made it unnecessary to give it any thought.† â€Å"I see. But, Hari, what is the point of this story? I presume there's some connection with what we were discussing.† â€Å"The connection is that such movements never completely die, no matter how ridiculous their tenets may seem to sane people. Right now, on Helicon, right now there are still Globalists. Not many, but every once in a while seventy or eighty of them get together in what they call a Global Congress and take enormous pleasure in talking to each other about Globalism. Well, it is only ten years since the Joranumite movement seemed such a terrible threat on this world and it would not be at all surprising if there weren't still some remnants left. There may still be some remnants a thousand years from now.† â€Å"Isn't it possible that a remnant may be dangerous?† â€Å"I doubt it. It was Jo-Jo's charisma that made the movement dangerous-and he's dead. He didn't even die a heroic death or one that was in any way remarkable; he just withered away and died in exile, a broken man.† Dors stood up and walked the length of the room quickly, swinging her arms at her sides and clenching her fists. She returned and stood before the seated Seldon. â€Å"Hari,† she said, â€Å"let me speak my mind. If psychohistory points to the possibility of serious disturbances on Trantor, then if there are Joranumites still left, they may still be plotting the Emperor's death.† Seldon laughed nervously. â€Å"You jump at shadows, Dors. Relax.† But he found that he could not dismiss what she had said quite that easily. 5 The Wye Sector had a tradition of opposition to the Entun Dynasty of Cleon I that had been ruling the Empire for over two centuries. The opposition dated back to a time when the line of Mayors of Wye had contributed members who had served as Emperor. The Wyan Dynasty had neither lasted long nor had it been conspicuously successful, but the people and rulers of Wye found it difficult to forget that they had once been-however imperfectly and temporarily-supreme. The brief period when Rashelle, as the self-appointed Mayor of Wye, had challenged the Empire, eighteen years earlier, had added both to Wye's pride and to its frustration. All this made it reasonable that the small band of leading conspirators should feel as safe in Wye as they would feel anywhere on Trantor. Five of them sat around a table in a room in a run-down portion of the sector. The room was poorly furnished but well shielded. In a chair which, by its marginal superiority in quality to the others, sat the man who might well be judged to be the leader. He had a thin face, a sallow complexion, and a wide mouth with lips so pale as to be nearly invisible. There was a touch of gray in his hair, but his eyes burned with an inextinguishable anger. He was staring at the man seated exactly opposite him-distinctly older and softer, his hair almost white, his plump cheeks tending to quiver when he spoke. The leader said sharply, â€Å"Well? It is quite apparent that you have done nothing. Explain that!† The older man said, â€Å"I am an old Joranumite, Namarti. Why do I have to explain my actions?† Gambol Deen Namarti, once the right-hand man of Laskin â€Å"Jo-Jo† Joranum, said, â€Å"There are many old Joranumites. Some are incompetent, some are soft, some have forgotten. Being an old Joranumite may mean no more than that one is an old fool.† The older man sat back in his chair. â€Å"Are you calling me an old fool? Me? Kaspal Kaspalov? I was with Jo-Jo when you had not yet joined the party, when you were a ragged nothing in search of a cause.† â€Å"I am not calling you a fool,† said Namarti sharply. â€Å"I say simply that some old Joranumites are fools. You have a chance now to show me that you are not one of them.† â€Å"My association with Jo-Jo-â€Å" â€Å"Forget that. He's dead!† â€Å"I should think his spirit lives on.† â€Å"If that thought will help us in our fight, then his spirit lives on. But to others-not to us. We know he made mistakes.† â€Å"I deny that.† â€Å"Don't insist on making a hero out of a mere man who made mistakes. He thought he could move the Empire by the strength of oratory alone, by words-â€Å" â€Å"History shows that words have moved mountains in the past.† â€Å"Not Joranum's words, obviously, because he made mistakes. He hid his Mycogenian origins far too clumsily. Worse, he let himself be tricked into accusing First Minister Eto Demerzel of being a robot. I warned him against that accusation, but he wouldn't listen-and it destroyed him. Now let's start fresh, shall we? Whatever use we make of Joranum's memory for outsiders, let us not ourselves be transfixed by it.† Kaspalov sat silent. The other three transferred their gaze from Namarti to Kaspalov and back, content to let Namarti carry the weight of the discussion. â€Å"With Joranum's exile to Nishaya, the Joranumite movement fell apart and seemed to vanish,† said Namarti harshly. â€Å"It would, indeed, have vanished-but for me. Bit by bit and rubble by rubble, I rebuilt it into a network that extends over all of Trantor. You know this, I take it.† â€Å"I know it, Chief,† mumbled Kaspalov. The use of the title made it plain that Kaspalov was seeking reconciliation. Namarti smiled tightly. He did not insist on the title, but he always enjoyed hearing it used. He said, â€Å"You're part of this network and you have your duties.† Kaspalov stirred. He was clearly debating with himself internally and finally he said slowly, â€Å"You tell me, Chief, that you warned Joranum against accusing the old First Minister of being a robot. You say he didn't listen, but at least you had your say. May I have the same privilege of pointing out what I think is a mistake and have you listen to me as Joranum listened to you, even if, like him, you don't take the advice given you?† â€Å"Of course you can speak your piece, Kaspalov. You are here in order that you might do so. What is your point?† â€Å"These new tactics of ours, Chief, are a mistake. They create disruption and do damage.† â€Å"Of course! They are designed to do that.† Namarti stirred in his seat, controlling his anger with an effort. â€Å"Joranum tried persuasion. It didn't work. We will bring Trantor down by action.† â€Å"For how long? And at what cost?† â€Å"For as long as it takes-and at very little cost, actually. A power stoppage here, a water break there, a sewage backup, an air-conditioning halt. Inconvenience and discomfort-that's all it means.† Kaspalov shook his head. â€Å"These things are cumulative.† â€Å"Of course, Kaspalov, and we want public dismay and resentment to be cumulative, too. Listen, Kaspalov. The Empire is decaying. Everyone knows that. Everyone capable of intelligent thought knows that. The technology will fail here and there, even if we do nothing. We're just helping it along a little.† â€Å"It's dangerous, Chief. Trantor's infrastructure is incredibly complicated. A careless push may bring it down in ruins. Pull the wrong string and Trantor may topple like a house of cards.† â€Å"It hasn't so far.† â€Å"It may in the future. And what if the people find out that we are behind it? They would tear us apart. There would be no need to call in the security establishment or the armed forces. Mobs would destroy us.† â€Å"How would they ever learn enough to blame us? The natural target for the people's resentment will be the government-the Emperor's advisers. They will never look beyond that.† â€Å"And how do we live with ourselves, knowing what we have done?† This last was asked in a whisper, the old man clearly moved by strong emotion. Kaspalov looked pleadingly across the table at his leader, the man to whom he had sworn allegiance. He had done so in the belief that Namarti would truly continue to bear the standard of freedom passed on by Jo-Jo Joranum; now Kaspalov wondered if this is how Jo-Jo would have wanted his dream to come to pass. Namarti clucked his tongue, much as a reproving parent does when confronting an errant child. â€Å"Kaspalov, you can't seriously be turning sentimental on us, are you? Once we are in power, we will pick up the pieces and rebuild. We will gather in the people with all of Joranum's old talk of popular participation in government, with greater representation, and when we are firmly in power we will establish a more efficient and forceful government. We will then have a better Trantor and a stronger Empire. We will set up some sort of discussion system whereby representatives of other worlds can talk themselves into a daze-but we will do the governing.† Kaspalov sat there, irresolute. Namarti smiled joylessly. â€Å"You are not certain? We can't lose. It's been working perfectly and it will continue working perfectly. The Emperor doesn't know what's going on. He hasn't the faintest notion. And his First Minister is a mathematician. He ruined Joranum, true, but since then he has done nothing.† â€Å"He has something called-called-â€Å" â€Å"Forget it. Joranum attached a great deal of importance to it, but it was a part of his being Mycogenian, like his robot mania. This mathematician has nothing-â€Å" â€Å"Historical psychoanalysis or something like that. I heard Joranum once say-â€Å" â€Å"Forget it. Just do your part. You handle the ventilation in the Anemoria Sector, don't you? Very well, then. Have it misfunction in a manner of your choosing. It either shuts down so that the humidity rises or it produces a peculiar odor or something else. None of this will kill anyone, so don't get yourself into a fever of virtuous guilt. You will simply make people uncomfortable and raise the general level of discomfort and annoyance. Can we depend on you?† â€Å"But what would only be discomfort and annoyance to the young and healthy may be more than that to infants, the aged, and the sick†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Are you going to insist that no one at all must be hurt?† Kaspalov mumbled something. Namarti said, â€Å"It's impossible to do anything with a guarantee that no one at all will be hurt. You just do your job. Do it in such a way that you hurt as few as possible-if your conscience insists upon it-but do it!† Kaspalov said, â€Å"Look! I have one thing more to say, Chief.† â€Å"Then say it,† said Namarti wearily. â€Å"We can spend years poking at the infrastructure. The time must come when you take advantage of gathering dissatisfaction to seize the government. How do you intend to do that?† â€Å"You want to know exactly how we'll do it?† â€Å"Yes. The faster we strike, the more limited the damage, the more efficiently the surgery is performed.† Namarti said slowly, â€Å"I have not yet decided on the nature of this ‘surgical strike.' But it will come. Until then, will you do your part?† Kaspalov nodded his head in resignation. â€Å"Yes, Chief.† â€Å"Well then, go,† said Namarti with a sharp gesture of dismissal. Kaspalov rose, turned, and left. Namarti watched him go. He said to the man at his right, â€Å"Kaspalov is not to be trusted. He has sold out and it's only so that he can betray us that he wants to know my plans for the future. Take care of him.† The other nodded and all three left, leaving Namarti alone in the room. He switched off the glowing wall panels, leaving only a lonely square in the ceiling to provide the light that would keep him from being entirely in the darkness. He thought: Every chain has weak links that must be eliminated. We have had to do this in the past and the result is that we have an organization that is untouchable. And in the dimness, he smiled, twisting his face into a kind of feral joy. After all, the network extended even into the Palace itself-not quite firmly, not quite reliably, but it was there. And it would be strengthened.

Laptops in Schools

Laptop Usage in Schools The issues of laptops being used in schools are brought up throughout the whole country. Many people think that if we provide every student with a laptop, we will end up spoiling our future generation and turn them into lazy, unimaginative individuals. But with the correct usage, maintenance, and supervision, the laptop proposal can work. For one, the students would have the internet right at their fingertips, making research quick and efficient. Along with the handiness of looking up all their notes with a simple click of a button.The laptop initiative has been proven to be very effective in schools in the United States; it has increased students productivity, accountability, and convenience. Administrators who are against the initiative of laptops argue that they are a waste of money and the schools budgets cannot handle it. They also believe that laptops would be a big distraction towards the student’s education. Some parents are also concerned about their children visiting inappropriate websites, along with having access to obscene material.Little do they know, there are abundant ways in disciplining the opposing view point. It has been proven in schools across the country that if we provide every student with a laptop, the productivity in classes will go up. To guarantee these successful results, both the students and the teachers would have to have the most up-to-date software’s and access to the internet through the wireless networks at school. A laptop is an essential tool, similar to how a pencil is required for class.If everyone shows up with their prepared material, the class can accomplish an increase in quality access to technology, transform quality of instructions, increase student engagement, improve academic achievement and technology literacy, increase economic competiveness, and enhance home-school connections. Along with so many more benefits. For example, if everyone had laptops, the teacher can easily send quick links of recordings or sources that relate to the curriculum. This is a more fun way to learn for most students. This can serve a sounding board for ideas, such as interactive programs, chat rooms, emails, and instant messaging.Judging from my own experience, I would definitely prefer engaging with different resources online rather than listening to my teachers boring lectures. Therefore, if classroom activities are more interesting, than students are more likely to participate. Laptops are a great way to make things more appealing, from all the educational games that are available to enlightening videos on the web. All of these benefits do not only apply to the students, but studies show that they certainly also have a positive effect on the schools when the results of the states test come in.Incorporating laptop usage in classrooms has also proven the development of student’s accountability. Students then have no reason for any papers being lost or not being able to receive an assignment when being absent. Teachers would also have the responsibility to post up all the required materials and objectives of the course, along with frequently updating lectures and assignments. With this technology, it makes it almost impossible for a student to make up any excuse for not doing their work, considering all the information they need to know is online.By using laptops at school, students have the ability to challenge their assumptions by seeking expert advice and researching data. Having that access gives the students the responsibility to have all the accurate answers on a test or an essay. Another advantage of having a laptop as a digital teaching assistant, all of the visual medium, multi-media, and interactive programs, motivate the students to participate because they can work at their own pace while still being challenged to get to the next level.This also forces the students to think critically by examining and analyzing multiple points of vi ew by participating in online debates. Overall, it has been proven that students, who are involved with laptop usage in classrooms, are more liable to get their work done on time and more competent. Laptops, when used correctly can stimulate a different type of learning and be a great convenience for students. No more would we be sitting in class with paper and an overhead.Paper notebooks will be old school and online and internal collaboration between students and teachers will be at an all time high. Getting rid of the notebooks and moving to laptop based study will help in getting rid of text books. No more lugging around 50 pounds worth of paper. Teachers will not have lectures anymore; instead they will have multiple study guides and utilize our Internet resources to find information. Text books will now be online, where students can quickly lookup parts of reading or study guides in a matter of minutes.Notes will be in the form of think bubbles where student will type their no tes and make them so they can truly understand what is being taught. This is extremely suitable for students for the reason that, it can help them simplify complex operations, such as converting numbers to charts by using excel processor, spell/grammar check, and office PowerPoint as a visual aid for presentations. This laptop initiative can expand student’s horizons by exposing them to new concepts and information, such as virtual tours and simulations.Several individuals, who disagree on the whole laptop idea, think that students would take advantage of the internet access by constantly being on Face book, Twitter, or YouTube. In reality, this is no where true. There are already blocks in place to keep students off of restricted web sites, and with these laptops, the tech administrators will know exactly who is using the computer. So there really is no downside to having laptops incorporated in classrooms.In conclusion, the entire world is changing quickly along with the ra pid revolution of technology. Our society is changing as well and people are adapting to it just fine. So schools should immediately get on the laptops in classrooms project because, technology is going to be in our everyday life soon, and we need to start teaching computers and word processing at a young age and incorporate it into everything we do. I mean why not? It has been proven to better our student’s productivity, accountability, as well as their convenience.

Teen in Transition. Impact of a Family Move Essay

Teen in Transition. Impact of a Family Move - Essay Example Experts consider moving to be one of the major stresses in life. Leaving behind friends, familiar places, and activities creates anxiety for everyone involved - parents included. And it's hard work to pack and prepare for a move and then settle into a new home. The reasons behind a move may be upsetting, too, and that can add to the stress. A parent may be forced to take a job in a new town because of company layoffs or staff reorganizations. Sometimes a death or divorce in the family can lead to a move, or the family may have to move to take care of a sick family member, such as a grandparent. Cognitive development refers to the development of the ability to think and reason. Adolescence (between 12 and 18 years of age) marks the beginning development of more complex thinking processes (also called formal logical operations) including abstract thinking (thinking about possibilities), the ability to reason from known principles (form own new ideas or questions), the ability to consider many points of view according to varying criteria (compare or debate ideas or opinions), and the ability to think about the process of thinking. Research by the National Institute of Mental Health suggests that "the brain goes through a dramatic period of development during puberty." (NIMH) During adolescence the developing teenager acquires the ability to think systematically about all logical relationships within a problem. The transition from concrete thinking to formal logical operations occurs over time. Each adolescent progresses at varying rates in developing his/her ability to think in more complex ways. Each adolescent develops his/her own view of the world. It is important to keep in mind in the "family moving" scenario that some adolescents may be able to apply logical operations to school work long before they are able to apply them to personal dilemmas. When emotional issues arise, they often interfere with an adolescent's ability to think in more complex ways. The ability to consider possibilities, as well as facts, may influence decision making, in either positive or negative ways. Like other early adolescents, Hayley has already begun to question authority and society standards prior to our move. She also has begun to form and verbalize her own thoughts and views on a variety of topics, usually more related to her own life, such as: which sports are better to play.; which groups are better to be included in; what personal appearances are desirable or attractive; and what parental rules should be changed. And, yes, also where it would be better for the family to live. Sometimes I long for the elementary school-age version of Hayley, when she had strong ties to her family and want to please her parents. The years between 11 and 14 are a transition between childhood and adulthood, and appropriately adolescents begin to feel the psychological urge to become more independent from their families. This is sometimes seen in an all-consuming interest in friends and teen hobbies. Early adolescents tend to form strong solitary, same-sex friendships. Hayley's friends were always coming over in our old neighborhood - city kids tend to run in and out of each other's homes quite a bit. But things are different here in the rural community where we have moved. Even when Hayley does start to

Public Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 4

Public Law - Essay Example She places a notification about the forthcoming meeting (to be held on  April 7th) in the Jesmond Times newspaper on  April 4th. At the meeting, Joanna is told about the Wilton rabbit that lives in the forest, and so she decides to designate it as a protected area.   (a) The Access to the Countryside Association (ACA), who claim that they should have been consulted and were not; that the consultation process was, more generally, inadequate; and that the Wilton rabbit is found throughout the North East and is not rare. Pursuant to the Protection of Rare Animals Act, the Secretary of State is under no obligation to consult any particular group of people when it comes to decision making. The Act gives her discretionary powers regarding who to consult with prior. However, it is important that ACA looks at the provisions of the Act and consider what it says with regard to the required period of notice and if the proceedings are governed by strict rules of presentation of evidence. If the legislation is silent on those matters, the rules of natural justice require that adequate notice be given and person(s) with special interest in the decision be given an opportunity to be heard. According to American Iron & Steel Institute v. Environmental Protection Agency1, adequacy of notice can be determined by the fact that it fairly notifies any interested parties so that they can have an opportunity to air their views. However, inadequacy of the notice given does not automatically invalidate the final rule on grounds that the final rule adopted is different from the original proposal. This was as held in the above mentioned American Iron and Steel case. If it happens that the decision maker adopts a final rule that substantially differs from the original proposal, the courts will take it upon itself to analyze the adequacy of the original notice in a two part test. The first is whether the final rule can be considered a logical outgrowth

Impact of external debt on fiscal stability and economic development Case Study

Impact of external debt on fiscal stability and economic development. a of Nigeria - Case Study Example Following nearly 16 years of military rule, a new constitution was adopted in 1999, and a peaceful transition to civilian government was completed. The president faces the daunting task of rebuilding a petroleum-based economy, whose revenues have been squandered through corruption and mismanagement, and institutionalizing democracy. In addition, the NEW administration must defuse longstanding ethnic and religious tensions, if it is to build a sound foundation for economic growth and political stability. Despite some irregularities, the April 2003 elections marked the first civilian transfer of power in Nigeria's history. (Country Profile: Nigeria, Cia.gov) Although some gains were made because of this return of revenue to the regions of derivation, the proportions were actually less than 20% of national revenue totals so in fact the regions experienced very little financial or budgetary momentum, setting up an easy move toward hyper-centralisation of the revenue-sharing system during the era of military rule from 1966-1979. (Suberu, 2002). By the early 1980's Nigeria had become very dependent on oil, which accounted for 96% of export earnings, 81% of government earnings and 22% of GDP (Ogbe, 1992). Oil wealth increased dependence on imported goods while local industries were ignored. Consumption of imported goods became the order of the day. The 1981 oil glut cau... The 1981 oil glut caused the economy to suffer from price distortion and an overvalued currency. Heavy dependence on importation left the government unprepared to deal with a prolonged period of depressed international oil prices. The sharp decline in oil prices affected domestic production, leading to deterioration in the balance of payments and government finances. The government financed the shortfalls by borrowing, drawing down on external reserves, and amassing of debts on external trade payments. Chapter 2 Literature Review (Historical View) The president had shown greater commitment to implementing liberal economic reforms in his second and last term in office, but still faces a huge task to if he is to turn around the corruption ridden, heavily indebted and oil dependent economy. Mr. Obasanjo may also pursue controversial reforms, such as constitutional changes, to shake up Nigeria's crisis-prone political system. However, these are likely to be resisted by powerful groups with vested interests in maintaining the status quo. Given the background of ethnic and religious divisions, widespread poverty and political disillusionment, there is a risk that the reform drive could destabilize the country if not properly managed. However, assuming that the president is able to navigate Nigeria's turbulent political waters and achieve some progress with reform-against the background of ongoing growth in the oil and gas sector. Political outlook - Legislation had been presented to the National Assembly seeking to curb the powers of the trade unions. Given the controversial nature of the proposed reform, the government may have opened a battle with the unions that proves difficult to win while diverting energy from

Leadership and Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Leadership and Management - Essay Example ader will show the way by introducing and solidifying processes and systems that ensure that organisational synergy is expended in a manner efficient enough to catalyse maximum production and attainment of organisational goals. In the absence of unfocused leadership, management strategies also become confused or ineffective. This is because it takes sound leadership to introduce and buttress sound policies and organisational practices which promote efficiency, professionalism and healthy personnel welfare. The converse is also true that sound management policies also capture, retain and nurture essential talents and skills by following the principles of sustainable talent management, for instance (Nienaber, 690-1). According to Patti, both personal and professional skills are essential for effective management. Personal skills produce sound judgement and are expended as professional skills. Though punctuality, honesty and seriousness are personal skills, a time conscious and manager is bound to inject punctuality, integrity and professionalism in his management style of running certain or all organisational processes that are under him. So integral is personal and professional skills to effective management that professional skills and effective management cannot exist in the absence of personal skills. This is because virtue and values have to start at personal level before they become organisational values. A manager who lacks personal skills or values cannot inject them into the life and processes of his organisation simply because one cannot transmit what he does not have (Patti, et al, 263). Leadership style impacts effective management and organisational objectives since values that help in the attainment proceed from leadership. Effective leadership styles facilitate, influence, motivate and lead employees to adopt organisational and professional culture and approaches. These approaches are translated into effective management. For instance, leadership

Senior Information Technology Auditor for the consulting firm of Term Paper

Senior Information Technology Auditor for the consulting firm of Comroe - Term Paper Example This paper presents a description of an independent audit conducted on security, governance and business continuity assessment of Adams Brick Communications Company’s Information Technology. Introduction As the Senior Information Technology Auditor, it is my responsibility to ensure that the audit committee undertakes reviews and conduct tests and assessments on Information Technology department of the company that will provide management assurance that the business as a whole is operating effectively. Information Technology audit is basically responsible for reviewing both the operational and technical aspects of existing and planned computer systems in addition to assessing whether the risks they pose are significant or has the ability to add to the anticipated business specific risks. Adams Brick Communications Company heavily depends on Information Technology department in order to meet its goals and objectives as a business entity given that it is a communication company which generates most of its revenue from advertisements. The normal and up to standard functioning of the information technology of the company is therefore considered vital for the company’s survival. ... Â  The corporation is located in the heart of the city, with one satellite office in a nearby suburb. Â  ABC’s primary business is a local newspaper and news website. Â  They also have multiple small niche magazines that support special interests in the community. Â  All of these assets are supported through the advertising division of Adams Brick Communications. The company has its advertising division as its backbone given that it’s the main source of revenue even though its overall goal is to provide services to the community Information Technology governance The Information Technology Group (ITG) is tasked with supporting the endeavors of Adams Brick Communications. Â  It is led by the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and a staff of ten information technology professionals. Â  The CIO reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer, and is on the same level as the other executive officers of ABC. Â   ITG, while being led by the CIO, is split into three groups. Â  A two person networking team, a five person system administration team, and a three person team focused on security. Â  While the security team is responsible for privacy and security matters, it is mostly implemented by the two other teams. Â  The IT governance is handled by the Chief Information Officer. The networking team is responsible for the connectivity of Adams Brick Communications. Â  They are first responsible for ensuring that the business has appropriate bandwidth to support all business operations. Â  As new hosts are added to the network, the networking team must give them the lines needed to connect to the intranet. Â   The system administration team handles the equipment at the host level. Â  They ensure that proper hardware and software has been deployed at each user as needed.

Caveolin protein Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Caveolin protein - Essay Example l of three (3) variants known as the caveloin-1 (CAV-1), caveolin-2 (CAV-2), and caveolin-3 (CAV-3) (Gussak and Antezelevitch 234; Williams and Lisanti). CAV-1 and CAV-2 can be found in most cells whereas CAV-3 can be found in muscle cells of the heart (Yuan, Garcia and Hales 275). Having a complete sequence status, the size of amino acid length of CAV-1 is 178 (UniProtKB). As a 21- to 24-kDa protein, CAV-1 is composed of 16 amino acids longer than CAV-2 and additional N-terminal 27 amino acids as compared to CAV-3 (Fielding 177). CAV-1 has two variants known as CAV-1ÃŽ ± (contains amino acid tyrosin 14) and CAV-1ÃŽ ² (does not contain the â€Å"first 31 amino acid present in CAV 1ÃŽ ±) (Mercier, Jasmin and Lisanti 18). Both CAV-1ÃŽ ± and 1ÃŽ ² can be found in the lungs whereas CAV-1ÃŽ ² can be found in the epithelial cells (Yuan, Garcia and Hales 275). With regards to internalization of the material, Garcia and Hales (275) explained that CAV-1 can be phosphorylated in â€Å"Rab4-labelled, Rab5-labelled or the early endosome antigen-1-labelled compartments which then subsequently move to the Rab11-associated compartment†. Tang, ZhaoLan, Philipp E. Scherer, Takashi Okamoto, et al. "Molecular cloning of caveolin-3, a novel member of the caveolin gene family expressed predominantly in muscle." Journal of Biological Chemistry 271.4 (1996):

Geography Gendered feminism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Geography Gendered feminism - Essay Example Such inner yearnings cause even death of them. (Barbara de Angelis, 1994, pp197). Geologically land is termed feminine. Through time and space, femininity is not given its due recognition. Masochism is construed as a quality of femininity where as the same attitude in men are considered as cowardice or slavery. Millions of clerks of both sexes throughout the world are almost having masochistic attitude only. Painting masochism as the quality of women has added burden to them, leading to a sort of 'gender exploitation' of women. These developments do not have any territorial difference on the earth. However shades of differences in this type of gender exploitation prevails in various manifestations in various lands. In countries like India, there are still many regions where common women cannot occupy an equal status in public places. On boarding a public bus a lady cannot occupy her seat next to a man and nor a man is permitted to sit near a woman. This practice is very slowly fading. People of metro cities are a bit bold enough to break this customary. But small towns and villages are still viewing the scene utterly awkward. In many places the booking counters are provided with separate structural arrangements for eves. The pathetic plight of school going girls, especially those in the verge if puberty who suffer a lot for want of toilets in Ethiopia is a challenge for feministic researchers. The economic and social barriers there are very strong enough to yield to such feministic ideologies. FLUIDITY OF GENDER IDENTITY In fixing identities, unlike other entities like race, color, class and religion, gender occupies a fluid condition. This fluidity in the fixing of gender identity is manipulated in several societies. Thus, geographers find it a bit tricky to fix the gender identity. Wife battering prevails in all countries irrespective of their development and civilization. But the batterer always takes advantage only of the gender. It is the feministic approach that posed question whether such superiority over femininity is natural. To derive an answer to this question, one has to analyze the age-old custom of patriarchy in almost all societies of the world. Geographers all over the world find a healthy tone in such analysis, which tries to evaluate and judge the patriarchy from the viewpoint of both the genders. Eradication or trial to eradicate patriarchy is not a solution. Feminism thus paves way to identify and locate the importance and entitlement of femininity. Feminism in many countries takes its own speed depending upon the cultural and socialistic environments of the nations. Developed countries are fast in this approach. The high speed has led to emergence of gay movement and lesbianism as byproducts. The sex-based lesbianism and gay movements give a picture that male domination or male chauvinism can be countered to some extent. Whether this is true or not is yet to be cleared. Even elite group of societies is not clear in the ideologies of lesbianism and gay movement to such an extent that they can pressurize some political group and governments to legally permit such practices. Homosexuals find it nice to enter into 'civil partnership', which has now been legally permitted in England. Great Britain, which criminalized carnal intercourse during 1860 in one of its colonial regiment, as an act against the order of nature, now permits her gays to get

Yum Brands China Business Strategy Research Paper

Yum Brands China Business Strategy - Research Paper Example Yum Brands Inc. entered the Chinese market in 1987, considering the fact that during this period, the Chinese economy had rapidly grown after its liberalization. The company was one of the early players in the Chinese restaurants’ business, which has enabled it to establish its operations in the Chinese market firmly. The company’s entry into China has provided Chinese consumers with a new and unique dining experience, where they get customized and clean ambiance service. The Yum Brand Inc. business strategies have focused on menus that include both western and local consumables, with focus being directed towards offering customer preferences in each province. Business Strategies The business strategy of Yum Brand Inc. in China encompasses providing a variety of consumables, customer preferences, franchise relationships, and employing locals to key positions of the company. The company focused on strategies of employing locals in its key positions alongside delivering s ervices according to customer preferences, which vary from one province to another. The company also has established franchise relationships and built its own logistics and distributions network. Moreover, the company has been keen on its business strategy of developing new markets through establishing widespread restaurant chains in China division to increase its market share. Apparently, mainland China is Yum Brands’ leading market according to worldwide restaurant development (Enz, 2010, p.945). Internationally, the company has built a vibrant global entity by focusing on key business strategies such as establishing leading brands all over the Chinese market, driving aggressive expansion of the international market, and building franchise value and long-term shareholders for industry needs. The Company has built a unique business culture that is filled with exciting opportunities and energy for both employees and customers. According to executives, the company believes in the people, encourages ideas from all and sundry, and trusts in positive intentions of its people. Through this, the company has been able to bring about diversity in style in its business operations and consumables, considering that customer needs and preferences can be best met through diversity. In a bid to establish a huge market for base in the Chinese market, Yum Brands Inc. in Beijing sought to take over the Little Sheep Group limited, which operates a popular chain in China. This move is among the many global business growth strategies, which have seen the company penetrating and establishing its groping in the largest Chinese market. The Chinese market of casual dining was seen to grow expansively, which befits the Yum Brands move to grow beyond the chicken and Pizza market being concentrated on by Pizza Hut outlets and KFC. The company’s stake holdings in the Little Sheep limited operations have enable massive growth on foodservice operators’ growth. Mergers and take over strategies being put in place by the company have propelled its market penetration in China to greater heights, although government regulatory measures have limited its international bid. The Little Sheep Company has contributed to Yum Brand Inc’s great leap forward in winning in China market due to its widespread operations of the cuisine where patrons are able to cook meat and vegetables themselves. China’s great market embraced such kind of an idea with enthusiasm, and thus enabling Yum Brand Inc. to take root into the market. The market has since grown tremendously, with the company adding up its popularity by introducing consumables such as seafood-topped pizza and fried

Legalizing Prostitution Essay Example for Free

Legalizing Prostitution Essay â€Å"Prostitution may be the worlds oldest profession, and laws prohibiting prostitution may well be the oldest example of government regulation, government sex discrimination and overall government control. Recent research indicates that over one million women in the United States earn their living by full-time prostitution† (The Case for). Over half of the world’s population has experienced, participated or heard of prostitution. This shows that many people, buyers and sellers, are in some way a part of the prostitution profession, so for the United States government to ban prostitution for only a moral reason, and wasting hard working Americans tax dollars on fighting prostitution seems ridiculous and an overall waste of time. Since we live in a free society it makes no sense for the government to be telling people that they cannot charge a fee for harmless services. Such proof is why Prostitution should be legal. For more reasons than one, prostitution is popular in areas where the crime rates are very high, due to these police officers and courtrooms are overwhelmed with prostitution cases; which is very costly. Every other day there is a case about prostitution being brought in front of a judge and what does it do the business? , absolutely nothing. Just think about it, if prostitution were legal, police officers would have less work with trying to â€Å"eliminate† prostitution and more time protecting the community from the REAL crimes such as, murder, rape, and robbery. â€Å"It is estimated that if prostitution were legalized in the United States, the rape rate would decrease by roughly 25% for a decrease of approximately 25,000 rapes per year† (Prostitution and Sex Crimes). Other countries have already figured this out; it boggles the mind to why the U. S. just can’t get with the program. If prostitution were to become legal, it must be looked over and done in safe fashion, not just for the prostitute or employee but for the customer. Due to prostitution being illegal, it has been forced into the streets. Since most of these streets have high crime rates, this puts most of the prostitutes in danger. Prostitution thrives at night, it involves them getting into cars with strangers which is easy pickings for serial killers and other sociopaths who will cause them harm. America can look at European cities for a little bit of inspiration. In many European cities prostitution is allowed designated areas like brothels and areas called red-light districts. People who are interested in getting their â€Å"needs met† can go to one of these places where such acts are permitted. Therefore, the prostitutes can work in safer environments. Many Americans feel that allowing prostitution into society will increase the STD rates in the U. S. But in reality, it may help delete these huge statistics drastically. If prostitution was to be legalized and made a taxable business, there can be health and safety precautions made. Like mandatory STD checks and blood tests run on every single client and employee. This eliminates the fear of catching a disease slim to none. But if prostitution is still going to be illegal, then honestly the rates will continue to rise. Records show that the cities with the highest STD rates are Washington, D. C. , and New York City. â€Å"Prostitution is an institution of male domination and exploitation of women. †(Raymond) Men coming in willing to buy â€Å"favors† from these women means actually puts them on a pedestal. It shows that women still have the say so in society, in life, and in a â€Å"man’s world†. But people seem to forget the males roll in all this. â€Å"Research, programs, and legislation related to sex trafficking are often premised on the invisibility of the male buyer and the failure to address men’s role in buying and abusing women in prostitution. †(Raymond) None of this can be done without a man. But still, it seems that everyone wants to place the blame on the prostitutes who are simply just doing their job. So it’s safe to say that there is some kind of a double standard that is related to this matter. Human beings as a species always want to destroy something that they can’t really understand. The people who are trying to get rid of and/or ban prostitution do not know the person’s situation. This could be all they have left in order to supply for their family. But if the prostitute is willing to face these acts, then let them. It’s their life. A sensitive issue to some, but it’s an issue nonetheless. Prostitution is something that isn’t just going to go away. Why political leaders are trying to ban/abolish it is mind boggling. Since pretty much the beginning of time prostitution has been broadcasted to the world; it was never a secret. But the media describes it as something that is just plain wrong. But the real question is why? Many opinions are based on personal preferences and moral reasons, which shouldn’t be a deciding factor on such a broad and debatable topic. The media shows how media how prostitution is wrong, but little do they know it’s showing why it should be legalized. Prostitution is defined as the engaging in, or agreeing to engage in, sexual conduct for a fee. Women are pushed into entering prostitution for many reasons including lack of education, poverty, and personal choice. Prostitution is currently illegal, but there is much controversy surrounding this issue. â€Å"There are approximately 1. 3 million prostitutes in the United States today. However, there is only an arrest figure of about 100,000 prostitutes in 1995, and the number of arrests has been fairly consistent since then. The General consensus has shown that law enforcement has been generally ineffective in the removal of prostitution from our society. †(Prostitution Policy) There are many people involved in prostitution, seventy percent of which are female, twenty percent male, and ten percent customers. Quite a large amount of citizens are actively fighting against prostitution. On the opposed side, many are fighting to legalize it. â€Å"Legalized prostitution cannot exist alongside the true equality of women. The idea that one group of women should be available for men’s sexual access is founded on structural inequality by gender, class and race† (Argument). This is an example of something that has changed drastically. Nowadays women seek prostitution as an option to provide . Although some are forced into this lifestyle, one has to think of the â€Å"what if’s†. For example, a mother has a child that is starving and finding a legitimate job just isn’t an option for her right now; what is she to do to provide for her child. Well, it seems that the only realistic thing for her to do is to let the child starve. A bit harsh an unreasonable, but so is banning something that just isn’t going away. Different methods have been expressed to find a way to get rid of this â€Å"crime†. But desperate times call for desperate measures. Since Prostitution is single handedly the biggest slap in the face to America, how about we send every single person who knows and/or participated in prostitution to jail for life. Seems legit and fair; these people have done the unthinkable and they should be punished. Now that over a million people is in jail for sex that leaves the police to fight the real criminals. For example, murders, killer’s, thieves, and can’t forget about child molesters. We will leave these people in the streets because they just don’t compare to disgusting and vile life of a prostitute. â€Å"With the new law legalizing prostitution, it would make it easier for the government to regulate. In past centuries, it is not hard to find news about selling women to be prostitutes on the black market or minors stepping into this business before being mature enough to figure their lives out†( The Present Is). Sadly, no one could really stop the problem since all of these actions were taken underground. Setting up new laws regarding the prostitution issue, brothels would have to be licensed which would make it easier for the government to monitor and prevent forced prostitution. It may seem like a wild idea; but think about the jobs that prostitution could bring to the economy, its already booming in the underground world. An extreme alternative but a job nevertheless. That struggling mother could provide for her child or her family or he/she could do it for their own â€Å"personal† reasons, either way it’s their body. Who is America to tell them what they could do with it. It could open up more nursing positions due to the fact that a strict and mandatory STD screening will be given to each customer. It could also open up other secretarial positions because someone is going to have to keep track of who’s doing what with who. Making this a business isn’t â€Å"all† about sex; it can actually provide jobs for people who need it. For the media, prostitution never shows any pros about the matter, but always finds a way to express the cons. In figure number one, you can see a little girl with an aged face lying in a bed next to a grown man. Many would say that this is the exact reason why prostitution should stay the way it is; illegal. But think about it, if allowing prostitution to be legalized then the disgusting sex trafficking â€Å"business† would soon vanish. In figure number two, it shows an American Flag with the words, â€Å"Sex Worker Rights Are Human Rights. † This is obviously an ad that agrees with legalizing prostitution. The American Flag is displayed to show what America stands for; which is for equality for all. If a person decides to sell his/her body for money, then let them. For example, guns are allowed in America, despite what the government is trying to do right now, guns are allowed. Taking that away from users is taking away their human rights and their constitutional rights as well. Same thing with prostitution, a person may feel as if what they are doing is their personal preference which falls into human rights. In other words; let these people live. In conclusion, prostitution is an underground business that isn’t going to go away. It’s something that isn’t going to go away. The government, once again, is trying to control the way we choose to live our lives. Everyone has rights of their own and its up to them to figure out what is right and what is wrong. Prostitution goes back to the ancient times and has still been a thriving business to this day. Nothing is going to change that; nothing.

Challenges and situations Essay Example for Free

Challenges and situations Essay In our day to day activities, we face different challenges and situations that demand our attention. In order to handle such challenges in a morally acceptable manner, without intentionally causing harm to all the partners involved, we have to be well informed about what morality expects of us. Fundamentally, almost all decisions raise ethical questions that demand ethical answers. Knowledge of ethics hence comes in handy, enabling us to deal with such challenges accordingly. These two situations are part of the dilemmas we face that deserve moral attention to address them. Use of drugs at workplaces is not morally acceptable. Being a friends liaison, I would consult the boss at the workplace and propose that testing for drug use be undertaken. Legally, the employers have a duty to provide safe working environments for all (National Conference of Legislatures, 2009) and owing to the fact that the business world be at stake with regard to production and insecurity, she would be willing to undertake the procedure. Use of drugs at the work place has various implications. One of the major one being that it would lead to in appropriate decision making which would cost the company lots of money. Other effects to the individual would include reduced performance at the work place due to sluggishness or absenteeism which greatly lowers production, financial losses as a result of compensations and health complications, increased incidences of violence at the work place and accidents especially if the culprit is operating machines. This poses danger both to the drug user and the other workers. Ethicists do argue that an action or decision is morally right if it has the greatest good for the greatest majority. This clearly shows that drug use is unethical because at the end of the day, it amounts to pain and suffering. Besides, use of drugs in the country is an illegal affair and ethically, it would be wrong to let other people face the legal consequences and suffer while the same would have been avoided. However, testing of drug use may not be so easy because of the ethical concerns involved. Hence, the boss would in conjunction with all the stakeholders involved, agree on the need to conduct the procedure. Several consultative and informative campaigns, meetings and workshops organized for the same and above all, assurance that the results would be confidential would to a great extent contribute to a positive perception and ultimate agreement by all stakeholders. Legally, the National Conference of Legislatures (2009) recommends that a drug test be conducted by all the employers before employment. Further, it permits for random testing of the employees for drug use at least monthly or every week. This would make the drug users avoid the work place. In addition, it stipulates that the results from testing be kept confidential. With this at hand, the boss then has the legal permission to conduct the test to the employees and apparently, the suspect would be apprehended and the required legal procedures undertaken against him or her. The National conference of Legislatures (2009) also gives the employer a legal right to deny the drug using employee all the benefits that come with job termination. Ethics approve of this as it implies justice; any person should be responsible for the consequences of his or her actions. In addition, in an effort to address the problem at the workplace, the law stipulates that all employers should have a written substance abuse policy. Friends and especially best friends are more often than not basically helpful in almost all aspects of our lives. Somebody can only be a good friend if he or she is genuine and mutually helpful, as well as if the person loves and makes as happy and fulfilled in our lives. Then, it would be the highest level of hypocrisy to let a friend suffer in any way, whether physically or emotionally. We often find ourselves going an extra mile to stand up for the friendship shared on several occasions. This then would not be an exception. In that position, I would tell my friend about what I overheard and urge her to move on and take up the offer at my work place. Aristotle (1976) argues that friendship does occur between two people who are good in themselves and do well for the sake of their friends. In this case, telling my friend about the incident would be for her own good because she would venture further in to other options as her promotion in that particular company is elusive. Besides, telling her well in time would psychologically prepare her for what lies ahead and may make her re-evaluate herself and identify the areas that she might not be performing satisfactorily. Then she would be able to improve on the same, all for her own good. Going an extra mile and informing my friend about the present job offer at my work place implies that I truly care about what happens to her, even as her dreams of getting a promotion are shattered. This option, if better than what she was initially getting, will be beneficial to her as it would mean some better pay and consequent improvement in her lifestyle. Besides, waiting a little longer may make her loose the job offer as the position might be taken up by other applicants. Telling her about this in advance would help her make her application in a timely manner. Friendship also demands that we care for each other. Caring for my friend would mean that I become concerned about what happens to her, including her feelings. Aristotle (1976) affirms this by arguing that perfect friendship entails deep concern, sympathy and care for each other, being able to put the feelings of our friends before our own. No where else would this be demonstrated if I fail to warn my friend about what awaits her in the near future. The above situations, however challenging can be well addressed, without hurting anybody, and for the good of everybody, courtesy of ethics. Morality, by helping us solve our problems, not only helps us avoid problems with the legal officials, but also helps us to stay in harmony with each other. Word Count 1074

Small And Medium Enterprises And Their Characteristics Management Essay

Small And Medium Enterprises And Their Characteristics Management Essay In the modern world economy, business transactions can be conducted within the same city, the same country, or even between two countries. The term of internationalization has been adopted by many researchers, for instance Bell (1995): A firms engagement in a specific foreign market develops according to an establishment chain, i.e. at the start no export activities are performed in the market, then export takes place via independent representatives, later through a sales subsidiary, and, eventually manufacturing may follow. Internationalization has become a significant research topic for business academics in the past forty years. A substantial amount of research has focused on multinational enterprises (Dunning, 1973; Markusen, 1995; Kogut and Zander, 2003), with a growing interest in the internationalization of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) (Oviatt and McDougall, 1994). Meanwhile small- and medium-sized companies (SMEs) have been believed to be significant in supporting economics improvement within a country (Mazzarol, Volery, Doss, and Thein, 1999). For example, in the Netherlands, SMEs account 98.8% of all private-sector companies, contribute 31.6% to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and employ 55% of the total workforce (EIM Business Policy Research, 1999). Furthermore, obtaining sales outside their own domestic market is a goal of many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their governments (Economic Development Board, 1993). This thesis will be concentrated on the process of internationalization of SMEs, and especially the barriers of internationalization and motivations for export activities. In fact, SMEs are able to develop abroad since nowadays countries all around the world have become almost indistinguishable in terms of cultures and institutional settings (Johanson and Vahlne, 2003). 1.2 Problem statement According to problem indication, this there for leads to the following problem statement; What are the barriers and motivations of internationalization with regard to small and medium sized enterprises? 1.3 Research Questions The following questions will be posed in order to draw conclusions with respect to the problem statement: What are the characteristics of small and medium enterprises? How do the enterprises internationalize? What are the challenges and drivers of internationalization? 1.4 Research Method and Data Collection 1.4.1 Research Method This thesis will use a literature study as the method of research. To be able to answer the research questions, the research method that shall be used is the literature study. To develop a theoretical framework, exploratory studies are used in this research. It is the most ideal type of research for obtaining a clear understanding of the phenomena of interest (Sekarana, 2003). 1.4.2 Data Colletion Most of the resources used are secondary data which is data that have already been gathered by other researchers in the past (Sekarana, 2010). So far the author has found several journals and articles discussing internationalization of small and medium enterprises as the main source of this thesis. Firstly, literature based on drivers and motivations of internationalization of small and medium enterprises were sought using several search engines such as Google Scholar, and also database such as JSTOR. The following keywords were used: Internationalization, SMEs, Drivers and Motivations. These keywords were used separately and in combinations with each other. Secondly, more literature, articles and statistical data were found from the internet. Google is used as the search engine. Finally, to determine the quality of the literature, it is important to look at the number of citations from other high quality journal included in this literature. Another way to determine if literature is trustworthy is by looking at the references. 1.5 Structure of the Thesis In the remaining chapters the structure will be as follows: Chapter 2 shall review and analyze some of the definitions of small and medium enterprises and their characteristics, referring research question Q1. Chapter 3 will examine the theories and the process of internationalization. In chapter 4, I will investigate the opportunities and barriers to internationalization. In the final chapter, conclusions will be drawn and the problem statement will be answered. 2. SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES 2.1. Definition of SMEs There is no single, uniformly acceptable definition of a small firm (Storey, 1994). However, some definitions are very depending on criteria such as number of employees and turn over. In 1971 Bolton Report (Dawes Haydock in Frank, 1999) attempted to overcome the problem of small firm definition by formulating what it called an economic definition and a statistical definition. Under the economic definition, a firm is regarded as small if it satisfied the following three criteria: they had a relatively small share of their market place; they were managed by owners or part owners in a personalized way, and not through the medium of a formalized management structure; they were independent, in the sense of not forming part of a large enterprise. The Committee also formulated a statistical definition which was designed to address three main issues. The first was to quantify the size for the small-firm sector and its contribution to economic aggregates such as gross domestic product (GDP), employment, exports and innovation. The second purpose was to compare the extent to which the small enterprise sectors economic contribution has changed over time. Thirdly, applying the statistical definition, this allows a comparison to be made among the contributions of small firms in one country with that of other nations. Furthermore, there is a lack of consensus on how to define SME (Gibb, 1993; Curran and Blackburn, 2001) as each country defines SME differently. For example, in the US and Canada, SMEs are generally defined as firms with fewer than 500 employees. In Japan, different headcount ceilings are used for manufacturing (up to 300 employees), wholesale (up to 150) and retail (up to 50). In this thesis we use the classification given by the Commission of the European Communities (2003/361/EC 2003). According to the European Union (2003), an SME is an enterprise with fewer than 250 employees and a turnover no more than 50 million Euros or a balance sheet total of no more than 43 million Euros. Small enterprises employ less than 50 and micro enterprises less than 10 employees. 2.2. Characteristics of SMEs SMEs are always one of the remarkable subjects for the researchers. It may be distinguished from larger firms by a number of key characteristics. Researchers have drawn some characteristic for the SMEs. Characteristics often discussed as typical of SMEs are as followed: Limited resources (Welsh and White, 1981). A small and medium enterprise generally has limited resources, which means they did not have money to purchase the required machinery and to hire many workers. This is extremely true for new starts-up due to an absence or lack of track record on the firm to entice potential investors and bankers. Hence, it is highly dependent on the capability of the owner to generate resources. Informal management style (Kotey, 1999 and Slade, 2005). For small and medium enterprises, the management is usually informal. The owner has to do almost everything and employees are normally expected to be able to duty as generalists as there is no clear division of tasks. Flexibility (Aragon-Sanchez and Sanchez-Marin, 2005). The enterprise has more flexibility to adapt to changes in the environment due to its size and informal structure. It is also vulnerable to grow in the enterprise environment. For example, any changes in government policy or technology might have a strong influence on the firms since instant changes require additional resources or capital. This might become a constraint to the firms to compete and sustain  itself in the market. Dependence on individual decision makers (Feltham and Barnett, 2005). The firms are managed and operated by the owner. The entrepreneurs of the business lead the company and play a role as both employee and employer. The growth of the firms is determined by the owner. Decision making is commonly done by the owner. 3. INTERNATIONALIZATION Different approaches and perspectives have been contributed to the literature firms internationalization (Morgan and Katsikeas, 1997), and these issues have been researched over three decades (Etermad, 2004). For instance, a gradual perspective of SME internationalization is explained in the Uppsala Model, and the Finnish-POM Models (Johanson and Wiedersheim-Paul, 1975; Johanson and Vahlne, 1977). The other perspective is that SME internationalization is explained by an economic view (Dunning, 1977), and another view is described by a network approach (Kenny and Fahy, 2004; Majkgard and Sharma, 1998; Welch and Welch, 1998). The last view is described as the International New Venture perspective (Oviatt and McDougall, 1994; Zahra, Ireland, and Hitt, 2000). All these models are briefly discussed below. Of the gradual approaches, the Uppsala Model initiated by Johanson and Wiedersheim-Paul (1975) and further developed by Johanson and Vahlne (1990 and 1977) is widely used to describe pattern of small firms internationalization (Andersson, 2004). In Uppsala Model, they make the distinction between state and change aspect of internationalization variables. They argue that the present state of the firm is the important factor in explaining future changes and subsequent stages. The state aspects are represented by the firms market commitment to the foreign market and the market knowledge about foreign market and operations. The change aspect is seen as commitment decision and the performance of current business activities. The concept of market commitment is assumed to be composed of two factors: Firstly, the amount of resources committed, for example, the size of investment in the market (marketing, personnel, organization etc.); Secondly, the degree of commitment, for instance, the difficulty of finding an alternative use for the resources and transforming them to practice. Market knowledge is seen as information about markets and operations which is somehow stored reasonable retrieval in the minds of individuals inside the firm, in computer memories or in written reports. International activities require both general knowledge about market operations and market specific knowledge. Current business activities are the prime source of experimental knowledge for the firm. It could be argued that experience could be gained alternatively through the hiring of the personnel with experience or through advice from persons with experience. Commitment decisions depend very much on experience since they are a response to perceived uncertainty and opportunities on the market. Decisions to commit further resources to specific foreign operations will more often be taken if experimental knowledge increases. This implies that additional market commitment as a rule will be made in small incremental steps because its takes time to gain experimental knowledge about foreign markets. The Uppsala model concentrates on the gradual acquisition, integration and use of knowledge about foreign market. According to this model, lack of knowledge is an important obstacle in the development of international operations and such knowledge can be acquired mainly through operations abroad. The gradual acquisition of knowledge increase foreign commitments. The second gradual model distinguishes three dimensions of internationalization (Luostarinen, 1979). First is Product (P), which describes what in terms of the firms goods, services, know-how and systems. Second is the Operation mode (O) which relates to how firms operate such as through agents, subsidiaries, licensing and management contracts. Third is Market (M), which describes where in relation to the selection of markets and takes into account political, cultural and physical differences. The organizational capacity dimension was a later addition to describe organizational structure, resources, finance and personnel (Welch and Luostarinen, 1988). Nonetheless, neither gradual model addresses the issues of networking. The networking view concentrates on non-hierarchical systems where enterprises invest to support and monitor their role in international networks. Referred to as the network perspective, this research draws on the theories of social exchange and resource dependence, and emphases on firm performance in the context of a network of interorganisational and interpersonal relationships (Axelsson and Easton 1992). Such relationships can include customers, competitors, suppliers, private and public support agencies, and friends, family and so on. Organizational boundaries therefore incorporate both business and social relationships. The theory suggests three methods of internationalization: International extension, explains how a company initially establishes connections with networks in other countries; Penetration, the firms develops the relationships that arise from those networks, which is described as the penetration method; International integration, the time when the company integrates the networks in different countries. Based to this research, internationalization determined by on an organizations set of network relationships rather than a firm-specific advantage. Therefore, externalization (rather than internalization) occurs. The network approach offers a complementary perspective to FDI theory given the latter does not account for the role and impact of social relationships in business transactions (Granvetter 1985). Also, internationalization decisions and activities in the network approach appear as patterns of behavior influenced by various network members, while FDI theory assumes coherent strategic decision-making. The network perspective introduces a more multilateral element to internationalization (Johanson and Vahlne 1992, p.12). Interestingly, this perspective has evolved from Johanson and Vahlnes early work, and reflects their ongoing research exploring the management of foreign market entry. For example, their (1992) study of internationalization in the situation of exchange networks found that even if foreign market entry is the gradual process (supporting the Uppsala model), it follow from interaction, and the development and maintenance of relationships over time. These findings support Sharma and Johanson (1987), who found that technical consulting firms operate in a network of connected relationships between organizations, where relationships become bridges to foreign markets and offer firms with the prospect and incentive to internationalize. The International New Venture theory emerged in the mid-nineties in response to the recognition that many firms do not go along with the gradual models in their internationalization process (Etemad, 2004a; Kenny et al., 2004). These firms are called Born Global (Knight and Cavusgil, 1996; Rennie, 1993), whilst Oviatt et al., (1994) identify them as Global Start-ups or International New Ventures (INV) firms. This model focuses on the age and not on the size of the firms and suggests that the INVs retain unique assets and capabilities that enable firms with limited resources to venture faster into foreign markets. Furthermore, Coviello and McAuley (1999) argue the internationalization happens gradually. With his extensive study of internationalization, Gripsurd (1990) points out that there is a three-stage model describing how an organization develops its international business study. First, the organization starts as a potential exporter, where they do not yet have the opportunity to export any of their goods or services. During this stage, the organization is still producing and distributing its products in the domestic market. Moreover, in the second stage, the firm is known as a passive exporter, where it has the opportunity to export its goods or services. However, they only represent upon request; therefore, there is no self-initiative. To continue, in the third stage, the firm is known as an active exporter, when it is increasing export activities abroad. With respect to the explanations, it is clear that Bell (1995) and Gripsrud (1990) mainly focus on the idea that internationalization develops in a number of stages. It happens gradually, not just with a single movement. 3.1 Process of Internationalization There are six steps that have been used for understanding about the internationalization of the small and medium enterprises. This process is not mattered only for the small and medium firms but applied in larger firms as well (Moberg and Palm, 1995 in Jennie and Zetterwall). These steps involved respectively, why internationalization (motives), company situation (SWOT), what (product and service), where (market selection), how (entry modes), and when (point of entrance). 3.1.1. Find out motives for internationalization. When a company goes internationalization it is often driven by certain stimuli or stimulus. Sometimes external and internal pressure such as competition, excess capacity of resources and a small and decline home markets put pressure on the company for becoming international. Other time firms go international because they want to. They have a unique product that is not widely available from international competitors or a technological advance in a special field (Czincota Ronkainen, 1995). 3.1.2. Clearly define the current situation of the enterprise (through conducting a SWOT analysis). To enter a foreign market does not mean new opportunities, but also a totally new situation with new environment and cultures. To find out whether a firm is ready to meet and handle this new situation or not, a complete analysis of the company situation has to be done by using SWOT analysis (Thompson Strickland, 1995, in Jennie Zetterwall). Companys economy, production, personnel, marketing, international experience and language capabilities are some factors those must be analyzed into SWOT analysis (Moberg Palm, 1995 in Jennie Zetterwall). Potential markets and marketing environment have to be analyzed to find attractive opportunities and avoid environmental threats. 3.1.3. Decide on the product or service enterprise wish to integrate in this process. The success of the firm depends on its products offered and on how well the firm is able to differentiate the product or service from what the competitors offer. When a company enters in a new market it should start with a small share of the assortment, mainly quality products or already established products. 3.1.4. Select the right market to penetrate. When firm decides to enter foreign markets, the customers and market conditions are quite different from their home market. That stage firms need to enhance international marketing strategies considering different aspect of the marketing such as product, price, promotion, place, logistics, competition, and so on. The firms strategies decided, whether use to the existing product or develop a new product to serve the foreign market. A firm operating the international marketing should not only identify the product for different markets but should also develop suitable strategies for growth such products. Whether a single standardized can be offered worldwide or a customize product need to be develop for each market is the most significant product decision that firms has to do while operating in international markets. In the international market, decision related to quality, packaging and labeling of product require specific attention and consideration. Product strategy of the firm in in ternational markets is often influenced by cultural context (Joshi, 2005). Therefore, it is a responsibility of the manager/owner to know the taste and preferences of the customer in a target market, and formulate the product strategy according to the marketing conditions. Sometime color, size, and packaging of the product play vital role in the success of the firm (Joshi, 2005). 3.1.5. Decide on mode of entry. After the selection of the market has been done, the company has to decide how to approach the foreign market. A firm can, for example choose to sell directly to the final consumer, to sell indirectly through distributors and/ or agents, or to produce locally in foreign countries. The choice depend on factors such as, resource of the exporting company, the characteristics of the product, the goal of the internationalization, the distribution culture in foreign markets, and the number and demand of the customer (Czinkota Ronkainen, 1995). 3.1.6. Find the right moment to do it. Furthermore, a company has to determine when to enter the foreign market. The company must be sure that market is ready, that the company has enough resources and the right market channel and product for specific market (Moberg Palm, 1995 in Jennie Zetterwall). Meanwhile, Masurel and Montfort (2006) explored the changes between stages in the life cycle of small and medium-sized enterprises in the professional services sector. They distinguish four different, subsequent stages in the life cycle. 1. Starting; 2. Growth; 3. Maturity; 4. Decline. They found that the first three stages represent an increase in diversification in sales, increase in differentiation of labor force, and increase in labor productivity. In the last stage, the diversification in sales, differentiations in labor force, and labor productivity all drop. As growth as one crucial key in this life cycle, SMEs starts internationalization which has become more and more relevant to the competitiveness of enterprises of all sizes. Recently, SMEs that start with a global strategy can change swiftly to take advantage of cross-border activities, which offers chances not only for revenue growth but also the exchange of knowledge and the development of capabilities, thereby strengthe ning the long-term competitiveness of the firm. 3.2. The Models of Internationalization Tookey (1969) developed an early example of modeling progression through various steps, pre-dating the Uppssalla model; this involved the advancement of the firm from exporting, to international marketing and finally international business The behavioural approach of the Uppsala views internationalization as having four stages (Johanson and Wiedersheim-Paul 1975, Johanson and Vahlne 1977) while Bilkey and Tesar (1977) identify six steps, Aijo (1977), Cavusgil (1980) and Reid (1981) identify five, while Czinkota (1982) identifies six. Johanson and Wiedersheim-Paul (1975), Johanson and Vahlne (1977) Stage 1: No regular export activities; Stage 2: Export via agents; Stage 3: Establishment of a sales subsidiary; Stage 4: Production or manufacturing in a foreign market. Bilkey and Tesar (1977) Stage 1: Management not interested in exporting; Stage 2: Management willing to fill unsolicited orders but not effort made to explore feasibility of actively exporting; Stage 3: Management actively explores feasibility of active exporting; Stage 4: Firm exports experimentally to psychologically close county; Stage 5: Firm is now an experienced exporter; Stage 6: Management explore feasibility of exporting to psychologically distant countries. Cavusgil (1980) Stage 1: Firm sells only in domestic market; Stage 2: Pre-export phase, the firm searches for information and evaluates feasibility of starting to export; Stage: Experimental involvement, firm begins exporting to psychologically close country; Stage 4: Active involvement, exporting to more new countries, direct exporting and increase in sales volume. Czinkota (1982) Stage 1: The completely uninterested firm; Stage 2: The partially interested firm; Stage 3: The exploring firm; Stage 4: The experimental firm; Stage 5: The experienced small exporter; Stage 6: The experienced large exporter. Reid (1981) Stage 1: Export awareness, problem of opportunity recognition and arousal of need; Stage 2: Export intention, motivation, attitude, beliefs and exporting about exporting; Stage 3: Export trial, personal experience from limited exporting; Stage 4: Export evaluation, results from engaging in exporting; Stage 5: Export acceptance, adoption of exporting or rejection of exporting. 4. DRIVERS AND BARRIERS TO INTERNATIONALIZATION Drivers of Internationalization There must be some motivations behind the decision to go international. Leonidou, Katsikeas and Percy (1998) determine that organizations are typically willing to market themselves for four reasons. First, it may be due to slow growth in the domestic economy as evidenced by a reduction in the number of the home market opportunities. Consequently, an organization will look for other opportunities by entering new international markets (Chandra, Styles and Wilkinson, 2009). Second, there may be a trade deficit followed by currency devaluation and a number of export restrictions. Third, the world trading system may become more liberalized leading to a minimization of international market entry barriers. Forth, it might be more intensive global competition in the global business environment. All these trends have developed the dynamic of exports. The creation of exports is not only due to the self-initiative of a company, but also by the government. This is also confirmed by Gripsrud (1990) who suggests that the government of a country may believe their firms to think globally by expanding their service areas to foreign markets, due to the expectation of an increasing volume of exports from the country. Thus, it will help the economy of that country. Furthermore, OECD (2009) also analyzed motivations for small and medium-sized internationalization including growth motives, knowledge-related motives, network or stoical ties and domestic or regional market factors. 4.1.1 Growth Motives Growth opportunities associated with international markets were identified as a key driver of firm internationalization in several recent studies (Orser et al., 2008), (Rundh, 2007), (Barnes et al., 2006), (Reynolds, 2007). The possibility of growth in other markets and increased profit opportunities from international expansion were highlighted as key stimuli for exporting. Firms overseas venturing decision also seems to be motivated by a need for business growth, profits, an increased market size, a stronger market position, and to reduce dependence on a single or small number of markets. The growth motives is very closely linked to maximizing returns and minimizing costs in purchasing, production and sales. 4.1.2 Knowledge-related Motives Garvey and Brennan (2006) suggest that knowledge assets both push and pull SMEs into international markets. The push dimension pertains to the importance of managers previous international experience and related management capacity factors. There are also related findings on the internationalization triggering effects of knowledge aspects, including RD investment, innovation capabilities, unique product or technology, and language skills; and firm resource base, as indicated by such proxies as size, age, and experience. 4.1.3 Network or Social Ties and Supply Chain Links Camara and Simoes (2008) have highlighted the importance of network/social ties and supply chain links in triggering SMEs first internationalization step and extending internationalization processes. The research studies particularly reported the stimulating effect on export activity of firms soft assets, including social and network capital, some of which may have accrued through managers immigrant background and associated links. 4.1.4 Domestic or Regional Market Drivers There is also support from recent relevant research (Lopez, 2007), (Staoian, 2006) on the push effects of firms limited or stagnating domestic market on internationalization behavior. The enterprise differed significantly in their export tendency, with export propensity increasing in regions with less favorable domestic conditions, local incentives to export and good export infrastructure. Recent evidence from Chile and Indonesia further suggest a greater tendency to export among firms from sectors characterized by high levels of export intensity and presence of foreign buyers. The Indonesian finding on the importance of foreign buyers presence is significant as it reinforces the earlier observed need to boost SMEs role in global value chains through facilitating their integration into production or supply systems of foreign affiliates of larger firms (OECD, 2008). 4.2. Barriers to Internationalization In order to identify the term internationalization with the main focus of the thesis, Coviello and McAuley (1999) stated that not only large organizations, but also small and medium sized organizations, can become global. In addition, they also state that the international expansion of an SME is certainly useful when it comes to contributing to the economic growth and prosperity of a country. However, one thing that should be remembered is that not every SME is ready to expand into international markets. Despite the fact that they have small or medium sized organizations, there must be some factors and limitations in terms of finding global market opportunities. There have been a number of studies which have focused on the barriers to internationalization (Leonidou, 1995; Campbell 1994; Katsikeas and Morgan, 1994, Morgan 1997). The barriers to internationalization can be categorized into five broad areas: financial, managerial, market based (including both the domestic and international markets), industry specific and firm specific. It is widely acknowledged that barriers to internationalization can exist at any stage in the internationalization process (Morgan, 1997). Furthermore, the perception of the barriers can vary in intensity depending on the degree of internationalization of the individual firm (Burton and Schlegeliclch, 1987; Cavusgil, 1984; Kedia and Chhokar, 1986; Katsikeas and Morgan, 1994). 4.2.1 Financial Barriers Limitations in finance and related physical resources have continued to be highlighted as a leading barrier to the internationalization of SMEs. It including financial barriers in general (Campbell, 1994; Burpitt Rondinelli, 2000), resource availability ( Karagozoglu Lindell, 1998), cost of operating overseas (Bilkey, 1978), and limited access to capital and credit ( Buckley, 1989; Coviello McAuley, 1999). The pertinent evidence include the observed disadvantages faced by enterprises international new ventures or early-stage SME exporters, relative to their more established counterparts, in regard to accessing operating and term loans and the terms thereof. Lack of capital requirements and other firm resources and limited access to key infrastructure were also reported by SMEs. 4.2.2. Managerial Barriers Difficulties arising from limited managerial knowledge base emerge as a top barrier to SME internationalization in several recent surveys. Managerial barriers are including managerial attitudes (Andersson, 2000; Burpitt Rondinelli, 2000), lack of international experience and skills (Karagozoglu Lindell), limited management time (Coviello McAuley, 1999; Buckley, 1989), commitment, and partnership difficulties. Managerial risk perceptions and lac