The microsoft case Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The microsoft case - Assignment Example onopolizing, attempts for monopolization, conspiring or combining with other people with the motive to monopolize part of a  trade  among several States. However, Microsoft was aiming at gaining the monopoly power in the PC market (Economides, 2001). Yes,  I do agree that Microsoft was trying to gain monopoly power in the computer software industry.  Microsoft  mismanaged the opportunity of being the leading market holder in the computer industry, which led to antitrust behavior investigations. The Company had managed to  attain  95% market share through antitrust behaviors (Brinkley & Lohr, 2000). The reports led to the  investigation  for determining whether Microsoft is aiming at establishing a monopoly in the market of the computer software. There have been numerous facts proving that Microsoft was making  efforts  monopolize  the  industry  of software. The creation of Microsoft Office as a package that comprises of packages that are  entirely  assisting the  professional  was a deliberate move to monopolize the market. Microsoft  was also sued  due to developing an operating system that had Windows Media Player; thus, engaging the real media player in unfair competition (Brinkley & Lohr, 2000). In Monopoly markets, Companies have market  power in given segments that  involve  the  production  of commodities. The Monopolies are also the price makers of the products produced. In the case where Government Monopoly  is involved, the government controls accessibility to production. The Government monopoly relates to a monopoly of government cooperation or an agency. However, there are Pros and cons to the natural monopoly. The natural monopoly results due to businesses that require a high start up costs in order to operate in a given business. To the company, monopoly ensures that unnecessary competition is avoided; this results to increased marginal revenue and  strong brand name (Tucker, 2010). Monopoly ensures that an organization enjoys economies of scale

Why has the Palestinian-Israeli conflict been so difficult to resolve Essay

Why has the Palestinian-Israeli conflict been so difficult to resolve - Essay Example This is one reason why the problem has not been resolved. Another reason due to which the conflict has failed to be solved is that both sides are claiming that they own the entire region and are not ready to restrict themselves to their side only (Caplan, 2011). Due to this a religious conflict has taken place. The people in these regions fear that if the other side controls the entire region then their freedom to practice their religion will be taken away from them and due to this each side wants their religion to prevail and want to freely practice their religions. Another issue that is not solving the problem is the ineffectiveness of the United Nations which has developed policies that can solve the problem but has failed to enforce it (Harris, 2013). The failure to enforce such policies is due to the division of the Arab world and the Western world on the conflict. The Arab world supports the Palestinian view and on the other hand the western world, such as the United States sup ports the Israeli view. Harris, D. (2013). Why Israeli-Palestinian Peace Is So Difficult to Reach. [online] The Huffington Post. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-harris/why-israelipalestinian-pe_b_2895228.html [Accessed 11 Dec. 2014]. Yehoshua, A. (2011). Why the Israeli-Palestinian conflict refuses to be resolved. [online] Haaretz.com. Available at: http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/why-the-israeli-palestinian-conflict-refuses-to-be-resolved-1.358095 [Accessed 11 Dec.

Investment Property Essay Example for Free

Investment Property Essay The objective of this Standard is to prescribe the accounting treatment for investment property and related disclosure requirements. Investment property is property (land or a building—or part of a building—or both) held (by the owner or by the lessee under a finance lease) to earn rentals or for capital appreciation or both, rather than for: (a) use in the production or supply of goods or services or for administrative purposes; or (b) sale in the ordinary course of business. A property interest that is held by a lessee under an operating lease may be classified and accounted for as investment property provided that: (a) the rest of the definition of investment property is met; (b) the operating lease is accounted for as if it were a finance lease in accordance with IAS 17 Leases; and (c) the lessee uses the fair value model set out in this Standard for the asset recognised. Investment property shall be recognised as an asset when, and only when: (a) it is probable that the future economic benefits that are associated with the investment property will flow to the entity; and (b) the cost of the investment property can be measured reliably. An investment property shall be measured initially at its cost. Transaction costs shall be included in the initial measurement. The initial cost of a property interest held under a lease and classified as an investment property shall be as prescribed for a finance lease by paragraph 20 of IAS 17, ie the asset shall be recognised at the lower of the fair value of the property and the present value of the minimum lease payments. An equivalent amount shall be recognised as a liability in accordance with that same paragraph. The Standard permits entities to choose either: (a) a fair value model, under which an investment property is measured, after initial measurement, at fair value with changes in fair value recognised in profit or loss; or (b) a cost model. The cost model is specified in IAS 16 and requires an investment property to be measured after initial measurement at depreciated cost (less any accumulated impairment losses). An entity that chooses the cost model discloses the fair value of its investment property. Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. An investment property shall be derecognised (eliminated from the statement of financial position) on disposal or when the investment property is permanently withdrawn from use and no future economic benefits are expected from its disposal. Gains or losses arising from the retirement or disposal of investment property shall be determined as the difference between the net disposal proceeds and the carrying amount of the asset and shall be recognised in profit or loss (unless IAS 17 requires otherwise on a sale and leaseback) in the period of the retirement or disposal.

Kurdish Conflict Regulation

Kurdish Conflict Regulation 1.4. Definitions As Milton- Edwards says, before examining the specific manifestations of the main subject, it is important to outline some of other important related definitions (2008). To analyze and discuss Kurdish conflict regulation in the Republic of Turkey, one needs to define Turkey’s system in relation to the Kurds as an ethnic minority in that country. Ethnicity and its related issues are important enough for scholars to consider it as one of main forces to shape the world. Brass claims â€Å"ethnicity and nationalism, interethnic conflicts, and secessionist movements have been major forces shaping the modern world and the structure and stability of contemporary states† (1991). Zuelow in ‘Nationalism Journals’ like Brass about national identity and its potency says national identity has been one of the principals force shaping the course of history, certainly since the French Revolution† (1999). In addition, he believes that national identity has played a key role in revolutions, wars and state-formation (Ibid). When people of different ethnicity are living in one territory and one group generally has the majority rule on other groups in non-democratic ways, it is the starting point of conflict. Bruce Gilley defined â€Å"ethnic conflict as sustained and violent conflict by ethnically distinct actors in which the issue is integral to one ethnicity† (2004, 1160). In the same source, he uses other terms such as ‘ethnic violence’ or ‘ethnic war’ for ethnic conflict (Ibid, 1155). ‘Ethnic conflict regulation’ is the other term should be defined here. There are many definitions for ethnic conflict regulation in different references. Wolff believes â€Å"conflict regulation comprises three elements: prevention, management, and settlement: Conflict prevention aims at channeling conflict into non-violent behavior by providing incentives for peaceful accommodation. Conflict management is the attempt to contain, limit or direct the effects of an ongoing ethnic conflict. Conflict settlement aims at establishing an institutional framework in which the conflicting interests of different ethnic groups can be accommodated to extent the incentives to non-violent and cooperation condition† (2009, 1). Ilievski Wolff define ethnic conflict regulation through institutional design that conflicts can be resolved via an institutional bargain that establishes macro-level structures through which disputes among the conflict parties can be addressed politically and without recourse to violence† (2010, 5-6). McGarry and OLeary claim, â€Å"The term of ‘regulation’ is inclusive and it covers both conflict termination and conflict management. Eight distinct macro-methods of ethnic conflict regulation can be distinguished into two methods for eliminating differences and methods for managing differences† (1993, 4). The Republic of Turkey was founded on the main principles, or ‘six arrows’, of Kemalism. These principles are republicanism, nationalism, secularism, populism, statism and revolutionism (Los Angeles Times 2014). Kemal Ataturk and his followers have defined Turkey as a pro-Western, modern and democratic country. The two subjects of ethnic minority rights and Islamism, based on two principles of Turkish nationalism and secularism, were taboo for many decades. The Welfare Party in the general election for the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) in 1995 captured the majority of seats. Necmettin Erbakan came to power as the first Islamist Prime Minister in the Republic of Turkey in 1996. Although the age of his Cabinet was just one year, it was enough to break the taboo of the secularism principle as a ban for Islamist political parties. Nonetheless, the years of 1990s and Ãâ€"zal’s speeches about Kurdish people as an ethnic minority in Turkey, can be looked as a s tarting point, at least one decade was needed to start to break the one-nation-one- state idea in Turkey. In respect of Kurdish ethnic regulation in Turkey, the definition of ‘Double Standard’ seems to fit with institutions and constitutional laws in Turkey. â€Å"Double standard is a situation in which two people or groups are treated very differently from each other in a way that is unfair to one of them† (merriam-webster dictionary 2014) or â€Å"a set of principles that applies differently and usually more rigorously to one group of people or circumstances than to another† (QA.com) and (Ibid). Park, referring to Guney (2006-2007) and Uslu (2008a) says, â€Å"a major explanatory factor behind Turkey’s resistance to the adoption of more contrition to the Armenian fate, or a more inclusive embracing of its Kurdish citizens, is the intensity of Turkish nationalism (2012, 23). The ‘Turkish history thesis’ insist that the Turks of central Asia constituted the world’s first civilized people, who had provided the root of all other world civilizations (Park 2012,23). Associated with the history thesis was the ‘Sun language theory’ which claims that â€Å"Turks were the originators of language itself and that all other languages were thus derived from or linked to it (Cagaptay 2002; Arkman 2006)† (Park 2012,24). Security systems, militaristic approaches, economic and human rights conditions in West and Center of the country, or overall for Turks, has been different from non-Turk minorities in Turkey. Kurds, as approximately 20% of Turkeys population, have been forbidden from the basic rights for about one century. In the meantime, supporting the rights of the Turkish language population as citizens of other countries has been one of the main principles of Turkeys Foreign Policies. These types of different approaches can be described as forms of a double standard policy. Sometimes these dual policies have caused conflict for Turkey and have pushed the country from a zero-problem to a zero-friend situation. Park, when defining the Republic of Turkey, refers to Yavuz and Eposito (2003:xx1) in that they claim â€Å"when Ataturk died in 1938, Kemalism was ‘neither democratic nor liberal but Authoritarian, elitist, and ideological† (2012, 13). However, Urrutia and Villellas look at Turkey as a ‘consolidating democracy’ (2012, 2) in their description of Turkey’s system. Gulcan Saglam (2012) looks at Turkey under the rule of AKP as a ‘semi-democratic state’ that may be more compatible with the current conditions in Turkey and useful for this study. A semi-democratic state is defined as a state that has democratic principles and an authoritarian rule in practice at the same time, but they are neither entirely authoritarian nor fully democratic. The semi-democratic state, by Akinola (2013) definition, is â€Å"a state that supports democracy as an idea, but fails to reach the application of its principles.The principles of freedom speech and association, free and fair election as well as transparency in government constitute essential characters of the democratic state†. Saglam says â€Å"in semi-democratic political settings with strong authoritarian actors, political parties that build broad coalitions consisting of various power centers in the society via group specific policy promises will be more likely to shift the balance of power in favor of themselves than actors that lack such connections† (2012, 37-8). He believes â€Å"The AKP is the first Islamist political party in Turkey that pursued this strategy, and it was these group-specific policy promises that eventually helped the Party to repel the Kemalist state structure and shift the balance of power in favor of itself† (Ibid). 1.5. The Problem and Rationale Ethnic identity and ethnic conflict have been the most complicated issues among societies and have remained as double bind ties in domestic, regional and international levels, especially in developing countries. Ethnic conflict has a connection and interrelation with other themes such as gender, political economy and democratization in different aspects (Milton-Edwards 2008, 1). Beavis asserts that â€Å"ethnic conflict studies can be seen as a source for understanding international relations but single book; concept or theory is not able to explain such a complex phenomenon in its entirety† (1999-2012). Ethnic conflict is often considered as a local or intra-state issue, but indeed, it has had effect on both intra-state and inter-state relations. The Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) answers the question ‘How many conflicts were there in the world in 2011?’ (UCDP 2011) and clarifies the number and rank of ‘intrastate conflicts’ in comparison to other kinds of conflict in that year, claiming that â€Å"in 2011, UCDP recorded 37 active armed conflicts†(Ibid). Based on the same source, from thirty-seven armed conflicts in 2011 that took place in 30 different parts of the world, 27 of them were intrastate, nine intrastate with foreign involvement. Cambodia-Thailand (common border) was the only case among them registered as interstate conflict. Turkey was among five Middle Eastern countries having intrastate Kurdish conflict; that it did not introduce to a level of war until 2011. The above chart from UCDP (2013) shows the type and number of armed conflicts from 1946-2012. It shows the extra state conflict just until 1974, interstate conflicts have decreased and internationalized conflicts have had slow increase since 2004. However, the numbers of intrastate conflicts have had significant increase especially from the 1960’s. In comparison with international wars from 1950s, Civil Wars have been more frequent and more durable. Ethnic wars have been main part of civil wars. For instance, 55% in 1970 and 72% in 1991 of civil wars have been ethnic wars. During the 1990s, more than 200 ethnic minorities or subordinate majorities in the world have struggled to achieve their political rights ( Johnson 2008). Caselli and Coleman refer to Fearon and Laitin (2003) in that from 1945 to 1999, the numbers of ethnic civil wars have been 58, equal to 51% of all civil wars in that period; and they believe that more silent and worth noting are the non-violent conflicts (2011). In some countries, ethnic groups compete through overtly ethnic parties, and compete for power, but in others, a dominant group discriminates against and exploits the others (Ibid). â€Å"Esman (1994, 229) believes when an ethnic group gains control of the state, important economic assets are soon transferred to the members of that community† (Ibid 2011, 2). Gilley disagrees with some definitions of the concept of ethnic conflict and looks at it as a critic, but, he accepts the importance and widespread of this conflict in reality. He looks the rise amount of researches and academic studies in this field as a ‘major growth industry’ and he has made reference to the number of published books and online articles in specific periods in comparison with previous periods. He claims that the ethnic conflict issue is a more attractive subject to be studied by new journals and research centers. He announces that the numbers of published books and online articles in the English language under the title of ‘ethnic conflict’ have been 43 books since 1990 in comparison to 17 before that and 249 online academic English-language articles with the title of ‘ethnic conflict’, but just 23 articles under the ‘class conflict’ title for the same years (2004). McGarry and O’Leary refer to deep geo-political changes in different parts of the world, especially in Africa; for instance in Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe and finally in South Africa by extinction of Apartheid regime in the last decades of 20th century. All of them show the power of ethnicity to mobilize populations and create mass movements to redefine the borders. They say, â€Å"The renewed instability of state frontiers is merely one symptom of the global political power of ethnic consciousness and conflict† (1993, 2), and they say, â€Å"a reason why ethnic questions are potentially explosive, and raise the possibility that some people(s) will be tempted to exercise self-determination through secession is simple. Ethnic questions raise relatively non-tradable issues. It is obvious nationality, language; territorial homelands and culture are not bargain-able products (Ibid 1993). Previous explanations and definitions show the importance and role of ethnicity, nationalism and ethnic conflicts and its rank in academic research. Kurdish ethnic conflict is one of the most complex issues in the Middle East. Kurds have struggled for more than one century for freedom and to achieve self-determination in Kurdish regions. The states that have controlled parts of Kurdistan have denied, suppressed and assimilated Kurds. It has brought unfavorable consequences for all sides. Turkey as having approximately 20% of its population as Kurdish minority, basing its state on Kemalism ideology and Turkish nationalism, has been one of the most atrocious regimes against Kurdish political movements. The bloody violence from 1984 between PKK and Turkey’s military has taken place. The consequences of that war have been more than 40,000 deaths, more disabled people, imprisonment and millions forced to be immigrants and refugees. In the past few years, Turkey with PKK and its in jailed leader, Abdulla Ó ¦calan, has entered into peace negotiations. This subject is a new opening in Turkish nationalism. The first sign of change was in the speeches of statesmen about the Kurdish ethnic conflict regulation, back in the 1990’s and Ó ¦zal; who believed in a multicultural society for Turkey. The most behavioral and practical changes have been attributable to Erdogan and the AKP administration from 2002 to 2014. This current issue and its effect on the Kurdish political condition in Turkey and other countries and the democratization process in local and regional realms, has become worthy enough for academic research study.

Ambush :: essays research papers

The short story â€Å"Ambush† by Tim O’Brien is a story about a young American soldier, O’Brien, in the Vietnam War. While on watch O’Brien spots a young enemy soldier approaching his position. He throws a grenade and kills the young man. Years later O’Brien’s is faced with the decision of answering his daughter when she asks him if he ever killed anyone in the war. Not only was killing the man a tough decision, but now O’Brien must answer his daughter. Ultimately he lies to her and I think that is the correct choice in that situation. O’Brien’s daughter is only nine years old when she asks her father that painful question. I believe that the taking of someone else’s life is such a life changing event that it should only be discussed by mature adults. If O’Brien chooses to tell his daughter the truth when she is older, that is okay; that is what I would do. Later in his life O’Brien thinks back and tries to sort out the mixed up issues of the foggy dawn in Vietnam. Sometimes he believe that the young man would have just kept walking and never seen him, but sometimes he believes he did the right thing and forgives himself. Although I don’t know any war veterans, and I have never killed anyone, there was an event in my life similar to the one in this story. When I was in third grade my dad was electrocuted and actually was clinically dead. He was later revived and when my mom talked to him the hospital he told her some far out things. She has briefly mentioned some of them to me throughout my life, but I

Human Resources Management Essay -- Business Management Studies Essays

Human Resources Management RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION 1. Introduction Task 1 1. A report distinguishing between traditional personnel management and the new approach to human resource management, outlining their historical development. 2. The Human Resource department in TD Travel Group. Its role and purpose in the organization. Task 2 1. An analysis of the objectives and the process of human resource planning. 2. An evaluation of the systematic approach to recruitment for NIS Europe. 3. An investigation of the selection procedures used for NIS Europe and TD Travel Group. 3. Evaluation and Conclusion 4. Bibliography Task 1 TASK 2 AN ANALYSIS OF THE OBJECTIVES AND THE PROCESS OF HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING. Human resource planning is the task of assessing and anticipating the skill, knowledge and labour time requirements of the organisation and initiating action to fulfill those requirements. Human resource planning involves a strategy for the:  · Recruitment  · Retention  · Utilisation  · Improvement, and  · Disposal of the human resources of a business. It needs to look at the following factors: * What are the skills and abilities of the current workforce? * What skills and abilities the organisation needs in the future? * Where can the organisation find its future supply of labour? * What are the future objectives of the business likely to be? * How will the business manage and obtain its human resources to meet these objectives? In order to plan Human Resources effectively a business has to undertake considerable research. Here is a table showing the things companies have consider when planning human resources: What is happening now? ... ...by HRM to introduce new employees to the organisation, in all its social as well as work aspects. Stage nine- Review all candidates Review un–interviewed candidates and sort out those that my be kept on file for possible future use. Send standard letters to unsuccessful to applicants and holding letters to those being kept on file. NIS Europe will hold candidates on file for a maximum of one year. TD Travel group do not use this procedure, they would start their informal recruitment process again as and when required. SUMMARY OF THE SELECTION PROCESS FOR TD TRAVEL GROUP AND NIS EUROPE It is evident from the above information that NIS Europe carries out a more formal selection procedure than TD Travel Group. This is down to the fact that NIS Europe have more employees than TD Travel Group, and therefore see it necessary to have a HR department.

Heritage Assignment Essay

My Mother and Father were both born in Villamar Michoacan, De Ocampo Mexico it is a very small town with a population of 15,512 it is in the state/region of Michoacan de Ocampo, Mexico. My Grandfathers were born in Villamar Michoacan as well. My Grandmothers: my Father’s Mother was born in a small town called Venustiano Carranza, Michoacan (San Pedro) it is not too far from Villamar and is a small town as well. And my Grandmother on my Mother’s side was born in El Varal, Michoacan this is also a small town actually this is a smaller town also near Villamar. After both sets of grandparents met and married they lived in Villamar, Michoacan De Ocampo. My Mother and Father were born and raised in Villamar Michoacan, De Ocampo. My parents were fifteen and twenty years of age when they married. In 1974 they came to the United States and lived in Chicago Illinoi. I was born in the United States in 1976, I have one sister who is the eldest and was born in Chicago as well. In 1979 my parents moved to Los Angeles, California and my two brothers were born there. In 1986 my parents and many of my relatives participated in the amnesty and became Residents of the United States. We lived in a Suburban setting all of our childhood years, all of our neighbors were of of some Latino culture. We always went to public school, my primary language growing up was Spanish. I learned to speak English in school, I spoke and read it fluently. I still read and write Spanish fluently. One of the things I remember about learning the Spanish language first was not a pleasant experience. When I got to Junior High (new school no friends), my Mother made the mistake of putting us (my sister and I) in ESL classes. I remember thinking why am I here I speak English, and it was embarrassing only because I was made fun of. As children when we we got ill my Mother did use Western Medicine, occasionally if we had an earache she used some of her cultural medicine on us. Like heating garlic in a cotton ball inside aluminum foil and putting it inside our ear. There were also the lectures about going out with our hair wet or walking barefoot. Growing up I remember aunts and uncles living with us or in our converted garage. Always there was someone living with us mostly my mothers brothers and their children. All of our aunts and uncles lived nearby and we visited each other often, I would say every weekend we gathered at someones house for a Birthday, Baptism, Holiday, Wedding, Quinceanera or just because. We were all very close and we all carried the the original family name, my Fathers last name. We went to church together every Sunday, we were all raised as Catholics and went to Catechism school we were Baptized and received our Holy Communion in a Catholic Church. As an adult I follow the Catholic Religion mostly at home, and through Santeria I believe they are connected in some way. I only attend church on special occasions or to pray, but I do not attend Sunday Mass as I did when I was a child. I believe in the power of prayer, God and the Saints (Santeria). I have statues of Saints and leave offerings weekly. I light a candle pray to my Saints and ask them for good health, clarity and for the health of my children and my family. My husband is Caucasian he is not religious he believes we â€Å"evolved from the monkey† and is very scientific. He has explained why he believes this and has showed me numerous articles and videos of how Religion is all made up. It can be difficult at times because he tries to tell me that Religion is all â€Å"BS†. We now live in an Urban setting where the neighbors are all of a different race and religion. I prepare mostly American meals we are very Health conscious and we watch what we eat. Too many tortillas, rice and fried beans will kill us LOL. Occasionally I do prepare Hispanic meals or I visit my Mom to eat, I mean I did grow up on that food and it is delicious. I very rarely participate in Latino activities the occasional festival or Posada during Christmas time Spanish Book Fair. I try to stay involved. But it it is not at all like it was when I was younger. Our primary language at home today is English my fifteen year old speaks and writes Spanish my four year old speaks and understands it very little. My friends are not all of the same ethnicity as I am, I have friends of several different ethnicities. Russian, Caucasian, Filipino, Chinese, Latino its a giant Melting Pot. But in the end we are all the same. I believe I do identify with my cultural heritage, because I was raised this way, and by keeping some of the religious beliefs I was raised on. Also my participation in family events, attending Baptisms, Quinceaneras, Catholic Weddings being a Godparent at most of these events. Spending time with my Mexican American Family. Although I do not participate 100% in the religious beliefs I grew up on, I feel a kinship towards God. And I believe it is important to have faith in God or whatever God one worships. For me at times it can be difficult because my husband has different beliefs and we do not always agree in one or the others belief. Where Health is concerned I do use Western Medicine for yearly physicals my children are vaccinated and also get yearly physicals. My Mother, Father and Grandparents believe that Mexico has the best Doctors and they frequently visit Tijuana to see a Doctor. I believe they are more thorough but I do not practice this.