Book Review of Robert Klitgaard's Tropical Gangsters Essay

Book Review of Robert Klitgaard's Tropical Gangsters - Essay Example The book tells the story of the author who, equipped with his surfboard and a $10-million-dollar loan from the World Bank, makes an attempt to rehabilitate the ruined economy of Equatorial Guinea, one of the most backward countries in the world. Robert Klitgaard, a Harvard-trained economist, in the story, deals with several important questions which are relevant to much of the world. "As in most other countries carrying out free market reforms, Equatorial Guinea's leaders have not always known quite how to make the new strategy work - or, in some cases, whether they should really try. This ignorance and reluctance, though extreme, are in many ways prototypical, and they raise general questions. How does one go about assessing an economy's strengths and weaknesses How does one go about developing the institutions needed to make free markets work And how can one help recalcitrant, inefficient, sometimes corrupt government move forward" (Klitgaard, ix-x) Apart from these essential quest ions, the author also deals with the important role of international aid which further gives rise to new questions. Thus, the author investigates the creative possibilities and inherent limitations of outside assistance, the tensions between aid and dependency, between benevolence and autonomy, and the possible ways of action in this context. In the context of economic and political changes taking place in Africa, Robert Klitgaard is engaged in a fascinating and compelling account of his two-and-a-half-year adventure in Equatorial Guinea and it provides an insightful explanation of why foreign aid often fails to achieve its goals. In the book Tropical Gangsters: One Man's Experience with Development and Decadence in Deepest Africa, Klitgaard, who is the former head of a multi-million dollar economic development program in the Equatorial Guinea, convincingly gives an account of his struggles against government corruption, capitalist adventures, and bankrupt economic theories. The narrator was sent as an economist-consultant to Equatorial Guinea, a small West African nation which is one of the poorest countries of the world, by the World Bank in 1985. Klitgaard has been highly effective in blending his personal reminiscence and economic analysis in his engaging memoir of his two-and-a-half-year struggle to rehabilitate the local economy. In the background of the modern tendency to move toward the free market across the world, the author suggests how the countries of Africa welcomed free market for economic development. "Africa has been the vanguard of a worldwide movement away from state-controlled economies and toward the free market. For years the prevailing wisdom concerning economic development advocated an interventionist state. Government should be the mobilizers and managers of resources. In contrast, the new movement says that the private sector is the key to economic growth, and downplays the state's role as mobilizer and manager." (Klitgaard, 7) Thus, the author deals with the various aspects of the backward economies of the African countries and he makes exceptional note of lethargy, corruption, and adventurism as the basic issues affecting the progress of these economies. In his analyses of the economic problems facing Equatorial Guinea, Klitgaard focuses on cogent and convincing issues such imports outstripping exports, lack

Research, Writing, and Rhetoric Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

, Writing, and Rhetoric - Research Paper Example The issue of influences of human behaviour is a fundamental area of study in the contemporary society where issues of morality and ethics almost always touch families and professions. A paradigm shift in the societal mindset is required to alter its potential to cause negative behaviours in the population. The power of a situation shapes the character traits of society members. Dawn K.Coutant, author of â€Å"The effect of A Power-Imbalanced Situation on The Cognitive Processing Of Low-Power Group Members† claims that when a child is born, the brain is blank (78). Knowledge is written into the brain from the experiences as one interacts with the environment. A range of factors such as culture, emotions and authority influences the traits of a person and impacts behavior. The socio-economic environment and situations surrounding the environment affects the traits of people more than they know. A person’s friends, family members, enemies, systems and even the media impact on his behavior in very fundamental ways. Many may argue about personality differences, which are inborn and not affected by the environment, but these traits are developed by situations surrounding the environment. There are certain standards and expectations that the society puts on every one of its mem bers. Adam D. Galinsky, author of â€Å"Power Reduces The Press Of The Situation: Implications For Creativity, Conformity, And Dissonance† states that the behavior of the members of the society is a product of these expectations (14). The society tells human beings what to do and how to do it. It prescribes the mode of behavior and conduct. In his book, â€Å"Replicating Milgram: Would People still Obey Today?,† Jerry M Burger explains the findings of an experiment that replicated Stanley Milgram’s obedience studies. His studies allowed for useful comparisons with the

Organizational Behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Organizational Behaviour - Essay Example Practitioners are fast recognizing the benefits that could be reaped in by concentrating on fundamentals of employee engagement. In the meanwhile, challenges that are anticipated to be confronted in this journey make the topic of employee engagement interesting and worth analyzing. Meaning of employee engagement Engagement in layman terms means attached or associated with. Translating it to employee perspective, employee engagement refers to situation where employees are both physically and mentally linked to their jobs (Pati and Kumar 2010, 126). Engagement in job is measured in terms of motivation level, creativity, volunteerism, enthusiasm, absenteeism, customer satisfaction, retention and inspiration (Centaur Communication 2007, 40). Unlike unengaged employees, engaged employees are dedicated to their work and put in their best efforts into the tasks because they love their job. They feel happy and satisfied of their activities, accomplishments and efforts and are always striving to better their performance. An important component in employee engagement is the emotional connection between the employee and the work. In employee engagement, employees always feel attracted towards their work. Success delights them while failure encourages them. Not only time, employee engagement is characterized by heart and mind involvement by employees (Seijts and Crim 2006, 3). Managerial benefits associated with employee engagement The reason employee engagement is being emphasized upon by business and managerial community so aggressively lies in multifarious advantages accrued by this single ideology. Though employee engagement is a concept pointed towards individual behavioral patterns, implications of changes in this individual pattern get explicitly reflected in terms of organizational performance, profitability and productivity. Typically, employees are made aware of their job duties, roles and responsibilities the time they are inducted in the organization. However, clarity of function is one aspect achieved by engagement of employee in his/her work which implies ‘above and beyond’ involvement of employees in their black and white job roles. Nowadays, business and markets are marked by fast paced technology, cut throat competition and urge to be innovative in product and service offerings. In this light, the onus of transforming inputs into outputs with limited tangibles rest on employees. Cost effectiveness and efficiency matter the most now where making optimum use of productivity from employees forms the cornerstone to success. In this light, unanticipated and dynamic business environment pose multiple challenges in front of employees to cope up with decision making, maintaining commitment and motivation levels and be clear of the changing and broadened roles and responsibilities. Employee engagement serves as a tool which infuses interest, understanding and consistency in employee functioning which facilitates aligning individu al goals with that of the corporate objectives (Masson et al. 2008, 56). Optimism is a direct benefit derived from employee engagement which refers to maintaining a positive mind set and feeling good about the processes and outcomes of unforeseen events. Optimism as a psychological term is very crucial for an individual, group or organization. Individually, optimism

Shylock and His Victimacy Essay Example for Free

Shylock and His Victimacy Essay Even thought it seemed like Shylock loved his money more than his daughter, it was still a very cruel thing to do to any one. This is because after harsh words like these you can see why Shylock is so driven to want to kill Antonio. The continuos onslaught of comments towards Shylock, makes him a more sympathetic character. Although this was a cruel thing to do, it was not the worst of the trials that Shylock was put through. After the trial between Shylock and Antonio, Shylock was cheated out of his bond then punished. The party gainst the which he doth contrive shall seize one half his goods, the other half comes to the privy coffer of the state, and the offendertms life lies in mercy(The Merchant of Venice; Act 4, Scene 1; Lines 349-351). Another quote that shows how Shylock was treated was said by Gratiano, O, be thou damned, inexorable dog, And for thy life let justice be accused! Thou almost maktmst me waver in my faith, To hold opinion with Pythagoras that souls of animals infuse themselves into the trunks of men: thy currish spirit governed a wolf, who hanged for human slaughter, Even from the gallows did his feet soul fleet, And whilst thou layest in thy unhallowed dam, Infused itself in thee; for thy desires are wolvish, bloody, starved, and ravenous (The Merchant of Venice; Act 4, Scene 1; Lines 128-138). To really understand Shylock one can not just look at his actions, but it is necessary to see why Shylock did them. Later in the play it is seen that Jessica regrets her decision to leave her father, which shows that it would not have been likely for her to leave without Lorenzo asking her to. My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter! Fled with a Christian! O my Christian ducats! Justice! The law my ducats, and my daughter! (The Merchant of Venice; Act 2, Scene7; Lines 12-17). It should be said that Jessica, Shylocktms daughter, did leave on her own terms and did steal the ducats from her father, but she would not have done this without the persuasion from Lorenzo. No one should have to convert to a different religion, it is a horrible thing to happen to anyone. The way that Shylock is treated makes it clearer why Shylock is seen as the victim. Shylock lost all of his possessions, he was forced to convert to Christianity, and he almost had to plead for his life.

How can we remove causes of hunger today Essay -- essays research pape

Q. How can we remove the causes of hunger in the world today? At the end of World War II public officials and scientists from all over the world predicted that, with advances in modern technology, it would be possible by the end of the century to end poverty, famine, and endemic hunger in the world. Today these optimistic projections have been replaced by hopelessness and resignation as perhaps one-fifth of the world's peoples live in absolute poverty with incomes of less than $700 a year. The United Nations estimates that around 830 million people in the world do not have adequate access to food. An estimated 24,000 people die from hunger or hunger related causes, three-fourths of which are children under the age of five. Moreover, hunger exists not only in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, but also in the richest nation on earth. Thirty-six million Americans do not have enough to eat, and the number is growing. In order to discuss eradication of hunger, we need firstly to identify some true causes. The immediate cause being improper food management; over population, lack of purchasing power, ignorance and unemployment are the issues that worsen the problem. Lot of people in this world is hungry because some people misuse and waste the world’s abundantly available food resources. The first and an obvious solution to the problem therefore is to stop this, and to distribute them among the starving population. World production of grain alone is over 1.5 billion tons, enough...

Five Forces About Fast Food Chains

TETA? 2607Exercise2 PartI:briefintroductionoffastfoodrestaurants The industry I selected is fast food restaurants which are also named as quick service restaurants. As a special type of restaurant, fast food restaurant is characterized both by its fast food cuisine and by its self table service. The majority of fast food restaurants are part of a restaurant chain or franchise operation so that each branch could be provisioned by standardized ingredients and controlled by unified management. Within this industry, several leaders should be identified.Founded in 1940, McDonald’s Corporation is the world’s largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, daily serving around 68 million customers in 119 countries. (mcdonalds. com & burgerbusiness. com) In the year of 2011, the net income has reached 27 billion USD with net profit of 5. 5 billion USD. In the recent five years, McDonald’s revenue kept increasing and the average increase rate was 3. 1 %. ( McDonald†™s annual report,2011). Subway which is owned and operated by Doctor’s Associate is an American restaurant franchise which mainly sells sandwiches and salads.Subway, as the largest single-brand restaurant chain globally, keeps the fastest growing franchises in the world with 37000 restaurants in more than 100 countries. (subway. com) KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is the world’s largest chain of fried chicken fast food restaurants. It is also the second largest restaurant chain after McDonald’s, with over 17,000 outlets in 105 countries. (KFC. com) PartII:IndustryanalysisbyFiveForces In 1979, Michael Porter published â€Å"How Competitive Force Shapes Strategy† in the Harvard Business Review (HBR) which started a revolution in the strategic field.He proposed five competitive forces which could to great extent determine the profitability of an industry and strategy’s formulation. In this part, Five Forces will be utilized to analyze the fast food re staurant industry. [Typetext] Page1 TETA? 2607Exercise2 Threat of Suppliers The suppliers of fast food restaurant mostly are meat producer, vegetable retailers, beverage companies and bakeries food retailers. As meat and vegetable are hard to differentiated, it is difficult for such a supplier to stand out.Also, most of these suppliers are local and small-sized while the quick service restaurants are international and giant; hence, it is easy for the fast food chain to be the dominant player. As for the fast food restaurants, in general, the switching costs are not high if they want to change their supplier of meat and vegetables. However, some supplier brands are quite powerful such as beverage company—Coca cola because their product is unique in the market. It is also possible for a supplier to be integrated forward such like building up corporation relationship with fast food restaurant to enlarge their supply power.To sum up, the supplier power in the fast food restaurant is low relatively especially among non-differentiated good suppliers. Threat of Buyers There are many small operators in the fast food restaurant industry which means buyers have many alternatives to choose the most suitable quick service restaurant. Meanwhile, there is almost no switching cost for customers to change their tastes. Additionally, the buying information is also abundant and available for the customers to select the most satisfactory restaurant. It seems that buyer power in the fast food restaurant is relatively high.However, the volume of each customer generally is not extremely important to overall sales of the companies and hence, each individual customer may not be valued much by the company. That diminishes the power of the buyer to some extent. Also, there is no threat of backward integration which means it is almost impossible for customers to build up cooperative relationship with fast food chains. Hence, buyer power would lowered by lack of possibilities of i ntegration. The concentration of buyers is low which also reduce the power of buyer.As for the fast food chain, the brand identity also helps them to decrease the threats from customers. To sum up, the threat from buyer is at the moderate level according to the above [Typetext]    Page2 TETA? 2607Exercise2 analysis. Threat of new entrants As the threat from new entrants, the first thing to consider is cost. Obviously, the entrance costs are relatively low when compared to other industries such like mobile phone manufacturing and information technology industry. However, the cost of brand building also plays an important role as brand identity is perceived as a significant factor of fast food restaurant’s strategy.In the fast food industry, the existing brands are already powerful like McDonald’s and Burger Kings so it will take time and expenditure for a fast food store to stand out. All in all, the cost of new entrants is not as low as what we assume previously. Sec ondly, the access to supply channels is quite easy because those raw materials for the fast food restaurant are available normal goods. However, there may exist exclusive contracts with suppliers so that it may make hard for new companies to enter this industry. Thirdly, another barrier to enter fast food industry is the access of distribution.Fast food chain always signed exclusive contracts with the college, supermarket, fuel stations and others and hence, it is much difficult for a new entrant to build its own distribution channels. The economies of scale and the access of distribution are major barriers that firms face in this industry. Additionally, it is also difficult to differentiate your product in this industry because the product is fairly similar when we divided fast food into different categories (hamburgers, sandwiches, pizzas). To sum up, the threat of new entrants is moderate as we have to consider from all aspects. Threat of substitutesAlthough the switching costs o f customers are quite low, the threat from substitutes is still at low level. The main substitutes of fast food restaurant are pre-cooked food, mid-range restaurants or supermarket products. However, eating in a normal restaurant is much more expensive and time consuming. Pre-cooked food is cheap while the facilities to warm it up may not be available. Hence, fast food still held [Typetext]    Page3 TETA? 2607Exercise2 advantages no matter from the price or comfort level. Threat of rivalry The number of competitive rivals with similar products and service for the same customer group is high.As mentioned before, the initial expenditure to set up a fast food restaurant is not quite so high and hence, many small scale quick service restaurants may try to enter it. Also, there are no high exit barriers because it is easy to close restaurants as the relatively low fixed costs. Meanwhile, the market growth is limited because the market gets saturated with a certain amount of restaurants , fast food shop or delivery services. It seems that the threat of rivalry is relatively high in the fast food restaurant industry. All the above analysis is summarized in the following diagram. Figure 1) Figure  1 PartIII:Additionaldiscussionaboutcompetitivecondition Apart from the five forces that I have mentioned before, there are still some other [Typetext]    Page4 TETA? 2607Exercise2 forces which also affect competitive condition. In the first place, culture plays a more important part in deciding people’s food consumption than before. According to Maddock’s (2004) research, there is a correlational relationship between the number of residents per fast food restaurant and the square miles per fast food restaurants with state-level obesity prevalence.This result indicates that fast food restaurants do make a significant contribution to the people’s obesity level. The problem of obesity has already raised public’s attention and people concern more about the nutrition of the food rather than price and convenience. In addition, people also realize that fast food restaurant also to a great extent contribute to the problem of childhood obesity. Another research (Harris, Schwartz &Brownell, 2010) also reveals that Teens between the ages of 13 and 17 purchase 800 to 1,200 calories in an average fast food meal, including 30% or more of calories from sugar and saturated fat.As the obesity would threaten human’s health, more and more experts suggest that people especially children should eat fast food as little as possible. Hence, there is an overall trend that the consumer group of fast food is squeezing. As the market is declining, each company within this industry has to compete harder to win more consumers. In this way, external factors like culture, healthy reports also play an important force to decide the competition level of this industry. Another limitation of five force framework is that some companies in the same in dustry are cooperators unlike the original assumption that there are all competitors.For example, KFC, pizza hut and Taco Bell are operated by the same corporation—Yum!. If they are not pure competitors in the market, they increase the entry barrier through reallocating their resource and supply and distribution channels. For example, these three restaurants could share the same logistic center to enhance the efficiency of company and save the cost as well. This kind of corporation within the same industry was ignored by classic Five Force Analysis which emphasis the pure competition relationship between companies. PartIVConclusion [Typetext]    Page5 TETA? 2607Exercise2Let take McDonald’s as an example to analysis the whole industry. Although there is tense competition in this industry that many small fast food businesses fight with each other to improve their customer base, McDonald’s still held the absolute advantage in its customer scale. Just like the abo ve analysis, the enter barrier of this industry is not so high. But McDonald’s own strong brand identity and established network and hence, the new small entrants could not threaten to McDonald’s. The buyers still hold power to some extent as the switching cost is low and the buying information is abundant.However, McDonald’s still have an advantage in location and convenience. As McDonald’s has already established the strong network with suppliers, (e. g. cooperated with Coca-Cola), the threats from suppliers are not so intense. Under the current trend, the down-sizing of customer group is the major problem that McDonald’s has to face. McDonald’s have already implemented some strategies such like launching non-fried product and enclosed the detailed nutrition information of the food. After five forces analysis, McDonald’s still should be favorable in the next several years.However, if a new small business plan to enter this industry, it will face a large number of challenges such like establishing supply channels and distribution channels and building its own brand identity. All in all, fast food restaurant is still saturated and unfavorable for business which wants to entry. Reference: Harris, J. L. , Schwartz, M. B. & Brownell,K. D. (2010), Evaluating Fast Food Nutrition and Marketing to Youth. Fastfoodmarketing. org Maddock, J. 2004. The Relationship Between Obesity and the Prevalence of Fast Food Restaurants: State-Level Analysis. American Journal of Health Promotion: November/December 2004, Vol. 19, No. , pp. 137-143. [Typetext]    Page6 TETA? 2607Exercise2 Porter,M. E. 1978. How competitive forces shape strategy. Harvard Business Review Strategy: http://polisci2. ucsd. edu/snunnari/HBR_on_Strategy_23_41. pdf#page=25 McDonald’s official website: http://www. mcdonalds. com/us/en/home. html Burgerbusiness. com:http://www. burgerbusiness. com/? p=9168 McDonald’s 2011 annual report: http://www. aboutmcdonalds. com/content/dam/AboutMcDonalds/Investors/Investors %202012/2011%20Annual%20Report%20Final. pdf Subway official website: http://www. subway. com/subwayroot/default. aspx KFC’s official website: http://www. kfc. com/ [Typetext] Page7

The Silver Linings Playbook Chapter 12

Failing Like Dimmesdale Did Maybe Puritans were simply dumber than modern people, but I cannot believe how long it took those seventeenth-century Bostonians to figure out that their spiritual leader knocked up the local hussy. I had the mystery solved in chapter eight, when Hester turns to Dimmesdale and says, â€Å"Speak thou for me!† I know we were assigned Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter back in high school, and if I had known the book was filled with so much sex and espionage, I might have read it when I was sixteen. God, I can't wait to ask Nikki if she hypes up the racy stuff in her class, because I know teenagers would actually read the book if she did. I didn't care much for Dimmesdale, because he had such a great woman and he denied himself a life with her. Now, I understand that it would not have been easy for him to explain how he knocked up another man's teenage wife, especially since he was a man of the cloth, but if there's one theme Hawthorne hammers home, it's that time heals all wounds, which Dimmesdale learns, but too late. Plus, I'm thinking God would have wanted Pearl to have had a father, and probably counted Dimmesdale's disregard for his daughter as a greater sin than having sex with another man's wife. Now, I sympathize with Chillingworth – a lot. I mean, he sends his young bride over to the New World, trying to give her a better life, and she ends up pregnant by another man, which is the ultimate slap in the face, right? But he was so old and nasty and really had no business marrying a young girl anyway. When he began to psychologically torture Dimmesdale, giving him all those strange roots and herbs, Chillingworth reminded me of Dr. Timbers and his staff. I realized then that Chillingworth was not ever going to practice being kind, so I gave up hope for him. But I absolutely loved Hester, because she believed in silver linings. Even when that nasty throng of bearded men in hats and fat women were against her, saying she should be branded on the forehead even, she stuck to her guns and sewed and helped people when she could and tried her best to raise her daughter – even when Pearl proved to be somewhat of a demonic child. Even though Hester did not get to be with Dimmesdale in the end – which is a flaw, if you ask me – I felt like she lived a fulfilled life and got to see her daughter grow up and marry well, which was kind of nice. But I did realize that no one really appreciated Hester for who she was until it was too late. When she needed help most, she was abandoned – and only when she offered help to others was she beloved. This sort of suggests that it is important to appreciate the good women in your life before it is too late, which is a pretty good message to give high school kids. I wish my high school teacher had taught me that lesson, because I certainly would have treated Nikki differently when we were first married. Then again, maybe this is the sort of thing you have to learn by living your life – failing like Dimmesdale did, and I guess like I did too. That scene when Dimmesdale and Hester finally stand together in town for the first time made me wish apart time was over already so I could stand with Nikki in some public place and apologize for being such a jerk in the past. Then I would tell her my thoughts about Hawthorne's classic, which would make her happy for sure. God, she is going to be so impressed that I actually read a book written in old-fashioned English.