International Marketing Communications Plan 03062 Essay

International Marketing Communications Plan 03062 - Essay Example tage comes from its emphasis on social responsibility, ethical trade and delivering value to customers who believe in the same values as The Body Shop. The marketing plan proposes to use these values as a pillar to form the marketing strategy which would be directed towards the younger segment that is prone to adopting new trends early. The Body Shop International was set up by Dame Anita Roddick and sells skin and beauty products. The brand combines activism and marketing to encourage men and women to focus on social and environmental issues. The brand operates in 60 markets worldwide and has more than 2500 stores that work on a franchise based model. They also have the new Hemp Body Care line and The Body Shop at Home line as well. (The Body Shop, 2015) The brand believes in fair trade and has set up its own fair trade program called Community Fair Trade. This program involves 30 suppliers in 20 countries and provides 25,000 people worldwide with income to build their future. The Body Shop also sources its raw materials from their suppliers (The Body Shop, 2015). Since 1994, The Body Shop has helped raise funds and awareness for domestic violence. Since 2004, over 4 million pounds has been donated to partners who prevent, support and protect women and children from domestic abuse (The Body Shop, 2015). Protecting the planet is an important value for the Body Shop. They take full responsibility of their carbon footprint and aim to minimize their impact on the planet. This includes plants to reduce energy consumption and waste generation and change attitudes around the world about ecofriendly products (The Body Shop, 2015). The Body Shop does not face competition from well-known brand names like Mac, Sephora or Chanel because its product offerings and target market is different. In China, the competition comes from brands that originate from Japan or Korea like Missha or the Face Shop. These brands have already established a presence in the Chinese market and

Supply chain management and SC partnership Essay

Supply chain management and SC partnership - Essay Example He also believed that companies should own and control virtually every aspect of its business. Late 1970's and early 1980's witnessed the development of the manufacturing strategy paradigm. The thinkers of the time argued that a company should devise a focused strategy, creating a focused factory that performs a core activity that the company is best at. Late 1980's saw the development of quality management for setting international quality standards. The International Organization for Standardization created the ISO 9000 certification standards with this purpose in view. Innovations in the process of operations led to the development of Business Process Reengineering in the 1990's. Companies saw the need to become lean in their manufacturing process to remain competitive and BPR aided by helping them eliminate the non-value added steps in their manufacturing process and computerizing the remaining ones to achieve low-cost and higher quality. Then came the Supply chain Management; applying a total system approach to managing the flow from suppliers through factories and warehouses to the end customers. Internet aided the progression during the late 1990's bringing supply chain management to its current level as an essential element of business activity (Chase, Jacobs and Acquilano, 2004). Supply-chain management (SCM) is a method for integrating a manufacturer's operations with those of all of its suppliers and customers and their intermediaries. SCM seeks to integrate the relationships and operations of several-tier suppliers in meeting necessities such as quantity, delivery and the timely exchange of information (Gunasekaran and Ngai, 2004). Supply Chain Management Supply chain management is the discipline of managing the movement of raw materials into an organization and the finished products out of the organization. SCM is an approach that encompasses every process concerned in manufacturing a product, from source to consumption. There has to be a linkage between the suppliers that provide inputs, manufacturing and service support operations that transform the inputs into products and services, and the distribution and local service providers that localize the product (Chase, Jacobs and Acquilano, 2004). This involves building a network that allows a flow of materials, without a break or hitch, throughout the process of production. This flow is fuelled by co-operation, and co-ordination among the diverse channel partners. Supply chain management thrives on improving efficiency and reducing cost of production by focusing on the core competencies of a company. Functions such as procurement of raw materials and distribution of products are outsourced to companies that are better equipped and more cost-efficient to perform them. Strategic planning is necessary to develop a network to monitor the supply chain so that it is efficient, costs less and delivers high quality and value to customers. Information technology has helped integrate the various components of SCM by building a network that aids in sharing necessary data between all supply chain partners within a system. A company

Pornography and Sexual Violence Essay Example for Free

Pornography and Sexual Violence Essay The class is social psychology. Please use proper headings, double spacing, 12 pt font, one-inch margins, page numbering, and logical flow from topic to topic. Citations may be from the Web, texts, books or scientific journals. Magazine and newspaper citations are generally unacceptable. Please be original with your own views. Being with a strong, creative, original thesis clearly stating what you are trying to show.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Pornography is a term utilized to depict the various sexual practices and desires to arouse the viewer sexually. It should also be clearly distinguished from the term ‘obscenity’.   Obscenity is frequently utilized legally to suggest pornographic material.   This material may be deemed as illegal if it crosses all the social barriers of decency and is liable for criminal punishment.   Sexual images of women can create a positive influence or a negative influence on man.   Women can be portrayed as objects of sex, pleasure, abuse and violence.   This has resulted in degradation of the status of women in the current world. Feminists throughout the world are objecting at the problems pornography has created for women.   During the early 1980’s, pornography became a huge feminist issue.   The political situation in the West was also changing during that period.   People began to feel the need for greater amount of freedom.   Several of the moral issues such as abortion, reproductive rights, sexuality, etc, began to be questioned.   Abortion began to be accepted giving the women greater amount of control over their body.   Today, women should be pure before the marriage and need to be loyal to their husbands during their married life. Marriage is a relationship in which sex is performed only for reproductive purposes and not for pleasure.   If a woman indulged in sex outside their marriage, it was considered to be a form of prostitution.   Frequently, women are forced into getting them photographed for creating pornographic material.   The pornographic industry throughout the world has turned out into a multibillion-dollar industry (about $ %6 billion), providing material in various forms including movies, internet, books, videos, etc (Malamuth et al, 2005, Utah State University, 2007 Webb, 2007). Recently, there has been an increase in the number of cases of child abuse throughout the world.   The exact cause for this has not been understood clearly.   A study conducted by Knudsen does not show a direct relationship between sexual violence against children and pornography.   A thorough assessment was created using laboratory findings and case studies of those who had suffered from child sexual abuse.   It was found that child sexual abuse was only affected to a slight and indirect extent by pornography (Knudsen, 2005).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Frequently, people associate pornography with erotica.   However, there is a lot of difference between these two aspects.   Erotica is a situation of an intimate relationship between humans such that closeness, communication, intimacy and sexual arousal are felt.   Erotica utilize various symbols for communication and the feeling of interaction.   It could be considered to be one system of language or dialect.   Hence, erotica is usually shared between people belonging to close group, culture, religion, sect, ethnic community, etc. People belonging to other communities, sects, group, etc, would be unable to share and communicate with their partner.   Hence, the erotic appeal may not be present in such circumstances.   Erotica cannot mix with brutality.   To some extent erotica can vary from one taste to another.   Many people use the term erotica in order to demonstrate and applaud pornography.   However, both these terms need to be completely differentiated from one another.   Pornography is the misuse of women and children in the name of erotica. This misuse can be considered in two ways.   Firstly, a woman may be abused and forced into pornography through the erotica.   Besides, many of the female pornography material depict man dominating and abusing women and treating them as mere objects.   I do feel that pornography directly and indirectly creates a situation in which the woman is victimized.   This may further the chances of women getting sexually offended (Utah State University, 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Many of the material available today on the internet and the print media has been generated by threatening women into certain acts that have not been expected.   For example, Linda Marchiano was threatened with a gun to perform several sexual acts in the film Deep Throat.   Today graphic material is available on the Internet of women being tortured, raped and victimized for the sake of sexual arousal.   I do feel that this may not create a sense of erotica but instead encourage violence and crime against women (Utah State University, 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Pornography has changed the entire concept of masculinity and femininity.   Earlier, these two genders were considered as complimentary to one another.   A woman was basically made to supplement the needs of man.   However, pornography has spoilt this relationship between man and woman.   Indirectly man is victimizing women in the name of pornography.   Men dominate women and children using pornographic material.   Man would try to conquer other sexually, and women would have to submit to the sexual needs of man.   In a husband-wife relationship, the wife would become the weaker party and the husband would become the stronger one. Once this domination is created, every chance exists for the man to abuse and ill-treat the woman.   Today pornography has been closely associated with male supremacy.   As pornography is becoming more and more common in today’s world, it is having a negative influence on the people.   Pornography touches upon male dominance, sexual inequality and sexual subordination.   Hence, people consider and use violence, force and domination as a part of sex.   This helps to spread terrorism and hatred amongst the population.   Today, people are unable to identify the thin line present between pornography and erotica (Utah State University, 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Pornography may influence the individual to various extents depending on the individual factors, the type of pornographic material, the extent to which the material causes sexual arousal, etc.   Studies have demonstrated that when children and adolescents are exposed to pornographic material, there are chances that these children on becoming adults would have perverted sexual tendencies. They may also perform violent acts in order to gain sexual gratification.   However, some studies have demonstrated that expose of the child or adolescent to a minimal amount of pornographic material during early age would help them to benefit later, as they would be aware of the sexual processes that occur in adults.   However, this area needs to be thoroughly researched further to determine the type of pornographic material and the extent to which they would benefit (Malamuth et al, 2005).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The World needs to change its attitude toward pornography.   To some extent individuals possessing certain characteristics may be exposed to a greater extent than others to pornographic material.   A study conducted by Malamuth et al (2005) demonstrated that men, who were exposed to material containing sexuality and violence against women, accepted these attacks secretly.   The acceptance was much greater in men who were exposed to pornographic material than those who were not.   Men who were exposed to media presentations of material, which glorified sexual attacks on women, developed aggressive attitudes towards women (Malamuth et al, 2005).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thus it can be seen that pornographic material is harmful to the development of cordial relationships throughout the world between man and woman.   The effect of pornographic material varies depending on the culture, region of the world, sect, religion, etc.   Scientists should try to develop a method of determining the direct relationship that exists between pornography and sexual violence against women. The Internet may be a very useful resource for teenagers and students.   However, this resource could also be misused, as activity may be difficult to monitor.   It is high time for the law-enforcement agencies and parents to help control the activity of teenagers and students over the Internet.   The manner in which the child or teenagers utilizes the Internet plays a major role in the development of the personality and behavior later in life (Paul et al, 2005 Bremer, 2005). References: Bremer, J. (2005). â€Å"The Internet and children: advantages and disadvantages.† Psychiatr Clin N Am, 14(3), 405-428. http://www.springerlink.com/content/g074414vx721x677/ Knudsen, D. D. (2005). â€Å"Child sexual abuse and pornography: Is there a relationship?† Journal of Family Violence, 3(4), 253-267. Malamuth, N., Huppin, M. (2005). â€Å"Pornography and Teenagers: The Importance of Individual Differences.† Adol Med Clin, 16(2). Paul, B. Bryant, J. A. (2005). â€Å"Adolescents and the Internet.† Adol Med Clin, 16(2). Utah State University (2007). â€Å"Lesson 10. Pornography, Violence, and the Law.† Retrieved on December 7, 2007, from Utah State University Web site: http://cc.usu.edu/~fath6/Gen5.htm Villani, V. S. (2005). â€Å"Media literacy for clinicians and parents.† Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am, 14(3), 523-553. Webb, E. (2007). â€Å"Pornography or Censorship-Silence or Choice?† Retrieved on December 7, 2007, from DSP Web site: http://www.dsp.org.au/dsp/porno.htm

A comparison between US GAAP and German HGB

A comparison between US GAAP and German HGB A comparison between US GAAP and German HGB By January 2014 Supervisor: PERMISSION TO STORE RESEARCH PAPER IN LIBRARY AND MAKE AVAILABLE FOR USE I, Claudiu Ghiuzan, do hereby irrevocably consent to and authorize the Library of University of Applied Management Studies, Mannheim, to file the attached Research Paper entitled: â€Å"A comparison between US GAAP and German HGB†, and make such paper available for use, circulation, and reproduction by Library users at the University of Applied Management Studies, Mannheim. I state at this time that the contents of this paper are my own work and completely original. ____________________________________________ (Signature) _______________________________________________ (Date) Chapter 1 1. Introduction When the multinational enterprises work with different accounting systems it might be possible to come with different results at the end of the year. This is the case of Siemens AG with the annual report from 2000. The German corporation ´s stock has been traded on the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) and according to their report from US GAAP (General Accepted Accounting Principles) their net income was â‚ ¬8,860 million while on German GAAP based on the same calculations their net income was reported as â‚ ¬7,901 million. This means practically 14% more net income (Bruetsch 2003). HGB and US GAAP are different accounting systems that companies use to organize their financial statements. HGB is primary used for companies in Germany and US GAAP in United States. Basically the financial reports of the multinationals are written according to the financial standards from the country they operate. This research paper will give you an overview of the main differences between the both systems and will help you to better understand the practices used by the two important market leaders in the world. Chapter 2 2.1 Literature review 2.2 U.S. GAAP The accounting standards in United States have been first set by the AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants). In 1939 AICPA created also the Committee on Accounting Procedure and after this in 1959 it was replaced by Accounting Principles Board. In 1984 the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) determined the accounting standards in U.S (PWC.com, 2012). The US GAAP is influenced basically by the Common Law of United states. 2.3 German GAAP Different from US GAAP is the German HGB or Handelsgesetzbuch, a commercial code established first in 1897 and replaced in 1938 conform the European standards. The German accounting system was used also in Austria since 1938 (Investopedia.com). There are many differences between the German and U.S. accounting standards and it seems quite important for the financial employees to know them, mostly when they work in a multinational company. Some of the major differences consist in value-added tax, capitalization of software costs, personnel restructuring, employee share purchase plans, deferred income including derivatives, maintenance accruals, unrealized gains on marketable securities and share offering costs. The following section will analyse this differences and will offer a better understanding of the terms used in German GAAP and U.S. GAAP. Chapter 3 3.1 General Analyses 3.2 Value-added tax In the German GAAP the value-added tax or VAT needs to be depreciated and the VAT recoveries recorded as other operating income. Under U.S. GAAP the capitalized VAT is considered a long-term receivable rather than plant and equipment or property. For that reason the depreciation and operating income are not recognized (Alexander et al. 2004). 3.3 Personnel restructuring Under U.S. GAAP, the estimated cost of employee separation are accrued in the period that the employee accepts the offer of termination while under German GAAP these costs are often financial on the basis of the Company when it announced the intention to reduce its workforce (Alexander et al. 2004). 3.4 Deferred income including derivatives According to U.S. GAAP the income of a company from a basic agreement is to be distributed over the duration of the agreement while under German GAAP this income is to be considered in accordance with the economic useful life (Alexander et al. 2004). â€Å"Under German GAAP, gains and losses resulting from the termination of interest rate swaps are recognized in the year of termination while according to U.S. GAAP, gains and losses on interest rate swaps accounted for as hedges are amortized over the remaining outstanding period of the interest rate swap or the remaining life of the hedged position, whichever is shorter† (Alexander et al. 2004). Under German GAAP, â€Å"the foreign currency forward contracts and options used to hedge against the currency risk involved with a planned acquisition† are accounted as a hedge without affecting net income â€Å"as an offset against the acquisition cost of the investment† while under U.S. GAAP may not be accounted for as a hedge (Alexander et al 2004). 3.5 Maintenance accruals The German GAAP requires that the cost of maintenance associated to the financial year and only the ones incurred within the first three months of the following year have been accrued at every end of the period while under U.S. GAAP, the cost of maintenance is considered in the periods incurred (Alexander et al. 2004). 3.6 Unrealized gains on marketable securities Under U.S. GAAP the marketable equity securities other than investments accounted for by equity method or marketable debt, are classified as either available for sale, or as trading, or held to maturity while under German GAAP they are generally carried at historical cost. â€Å"Securities classified as trading or available for sale are reported at fair value at the balance sheet data and held to maturity securities are reported at historical cost. Unrealized gains and losses on trading securities are recorded in net income while unrealized gains and losses on securities categorized as available for sale are recorded, net of income tax, in shareholders ´ equity† (Alexander et al. 2004). 3.7 Share offering cost The share offering costs are written as extraordinary expenses in the income statement according to German GAAP while under U.S. GAAP are charged against the proceeds of the offering (Alexander et al. 2004). Jà ¼rgen Kirsch, a professor of Finance at the University of Munster explain that the essential differences between German GAAP and U.S. GAAP are seen better at the capital markets and at investors. According to his paper in the financial structure of Germany the capital markets are less important than bank loans while in USA the capital markets are more important than banks. Furthermore the shareholder structure in USA is based on broad distribution of shares while in Germany the private investors are less important (Kirsch 2012). Looking at the basis for tax calculation and distributions we can see that USA has no influence on tax law and in Germany â€Å"tax dictates financial accounting† was abolished. The distribution rules are also different under German GAAP and U.S. GAAP. In Germany building of reserves and distribution constraints are controlled by law, and there are minimum distribution rules based on single accounts. However in USA there are almost no regulations to build reserves. The board determines the distribution and it is based on group accounts (Kirsch 2012). Another significant differences between HGB and US GAAP according to KPMG, one of the biggest professional service companies in the world, are the provisions. The provisions have different recognition criteria, different measurement criteria and different selected specific areas. 3.8 Provisions Recognition criteria Under German GAAP the provisions are based more on the principle of prudent accounting while under U.S. GAAP are recorded for legal/contractual obligations or constructive obligations. The German HGB allows also provisions where no third-party liability exist for example expense accruals, planned repairs or internal costs of the year-end closing. Under U.S. GAAP a liability must exist to a third party at the balance sheet date (KPMG, 2005). Different measurement The measurement criteria are also different. Under U.S. GAAP the amount of provision is based on best estimate while HGB allows greater flexibility and accruals could be substantially higher than under U.S. GAAP (KPMG, 2005). 3.9 Foreign currency translation The German GAAP requires that the financial statements must be recorded in the Euro currency and no other currencies are allowed. Under U.S. GAAP there is no specific currency underlined (KPMG, 2003). 4.0 Tax influences on the Balance sheet According to Grabowski ´s paper under the German GAAP the tax balance sheet and commercial balance sheet are closely connected to each other while under the U.S. GAAP there are no tax influences on the financial statement because the commercial balance sheet is separated from the tax balance sheet (Grabowski, 2012). Chapter 4 5.1 Conclusion This paper provided abroad understanding of the key differences between U.S. GAAP and German GAAP and offered a better analyse of the concepts. Even though both financial systems have some differences in the structure, the basic principles do not differ so much. We can probably say that this differences are influenced by the different laws systems of the countries. Germany for example is based on civil code which has an extensive number of regulations that should be applied to as many special cases as possible and transferred to similar cases while USA is based on common law which implies a limited number of regulations. Here the rules are applied to special cases they were invented for and are decided for individual cases by jurisdiction. After all we can say that U.S. GAAP and German GAAP are simply a combination of dependable standards and due to globalization it become necessary for multinational to understand the both systems in order to operate in this powerful economies. However in the future it might be possible that companies from both countries to report their financial data just according to one financial system. References Alexander, D., Noble, C. (2004), â€Å"Financial Accounting: An International Introduction Second Edition†, Pearson Educational Limited 2004. Available at: http://books.google.de/books?id=_oe7rGbzdBsCpg=PA406lpg=PA406dq=differences+between+hgb+and+us+gaapsource=blots=iKY7Xicu3asig=3jlQYyYW0OxDFP8HJqSepxbhPGghl=rosa=Xei=-SbgUv6gHcLcswagr4HgBQved=0CF8Q6AEwBjgK#v=onepageq=differences%20between%20hgb%20and%20us%20gaapf=true [Accessed at 23 Jan. 2014]. Bruetsch, M. (2003), â€Å"U.S. GAAP and German HGB – A comparative Approach†, Oxford Brookes University, [online]. Available at: http://www.grin.com/en/e-book/14850/u-s-gaap-and-german-hgb-a-comparative-approach [Accessed at 22 Jan. 2014]. Grabowski, P. (2012), â€Å"Die wichtigsten Unterschiede zwischen HGB, IAS US-GAAPâ€Å" [online]. Available at: http://www.petra-grabowski.de/Schulungen/Diploma_Bilanzierung/Bilanzierung-8_Unterschiede_IAS_HGB_US-GAAP.pdf [Accessed at 23 Jan. 2014]. Kirsch, H., J., †International Financial Reportingâ€Å", Institut fà ¼r Rechnungslegung und Wirtschaftsprà ¼fung Westfà ¤lische Wihelms-Università ¤t Mà ¼nster 2012, [online]. Available at: http://www.wiwi.uni-muenster.de/25/content/html_de/studieren/material/11wise_IRL_Kap1.pdf [Accessed at 22 Jan. 2014]. KPMG (2003) ‘Implementing IFRS – Extract from: IFRS compared with US GAAP and German GAAP’ [online]. Available at: http://www.kpmg.com/CN/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/Documents/IFRS-German-GAAP-O-200303.pdf [Accessed at 23 Jan 2014]. KPMG (2005) â€Å"Provisions-Significant differences between IFRS/HGB/US-GAAP† [online]. Available at: http://www.agig.de/53-2.pdf [Accessed at 23 Jan. 2014]. Investopedia (no date available), â€Å"Handelsgesetzbuch-HGB† [online]. Available at: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/hgb.asp [Accessed at 23 Jan. 2014]. PWC (2012), â€Å"AP: similarities and differences- 2012†, [online]. Available at: http://www.pwc.com/us/en/cfodirect/issues/ifrs-adoption-convergence/ifrs-and-us-gaap-similaries-differences-2012.jhtml [Accessed at 23 Jan. 2014]. 1

Risk Taking Behaviour in Adolescence Essay -- Adolescent Behavior

Adolescence is a venerable and unstable time of adjustment in which a child transcends into adulthood (Casey, 2008). During adolescence there are examinable changes in various areas of life. These changes occur physically as the adolescent goes through puberty, as well as psychological changes where high emotional reactivity emerges, and social development is at its height (Casey, 2008). Adolescents are more likely than adults or children to engage in risky behaviour that can subsequently lead to death or illness by drunk driving, carrying weapons, using illegal drugs, and engaging in unprotected sex, which in turn can lead to STD’s and teenage pregnancies (Eaton, 2006). The prior is proof that adolescents do engage in risky behaviour. Through this essay we will explore the various theories of why risky behaviour is at its height during adolescence. An Examination of Adolescence During adolescence emotional reactivity is heightened, and the social environment is changing as adolescents spend more time with their peers than adults (Casey, 2008). To an adolescent, the value of positive information, as well as negative information may be exaggerated which leads to greater emotional reactivity and sensitivity during this growth period (Casey, 2008). This can heighten the incidence of addiction and the onset of psychological disorders (Casey, 2008). There are various theories that attempt to explain why adolescents engage in risky behaviour. One of these theories by Yurgelun-Todd stems from human adolescent brain development, and proposes that cognitive development during the adolescent period is associated with increasingly superior efficiency of cognitive control and affective modulation (Casey, 2008). This theory also suggest... ...odel since some of the studies done may not be accurate. For example, with concern to the study Casey’s discussed concerning delay of gratification study, there was too much variability. Their hunger levels prior to the study should have been recorded, as well as their favourite cookie type because these details may influence how likely the children are to control their impulses. But, overall this model did contribute greatly to the field of adolescent risk taking. Works Cited Casey, B. J., Jones, R. M., & Hare, T. (2008). The adolescent brain. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1124, 111–126. Eaton Reyna, V.F. and Rivers, S.E. (2008). Current theories of risk and rational decision making. Developmental Review, 28, 1–11. Steinberg, L. (2004). Risk taking in adolescence: What changes, and Why? Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1021, 51-58.

A Reexamination of the War in Kosovo Essay

The Clinton Administration, along with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), was not completely effective in both identifying the concrete objectives relating to the Kosovo conflict and applying the military resources that were available to resolve that conflict. There are many reasons for this behind this inefficiency. First, there was the general reluctance to get involved in the conflict, for more or less political reasons. Second, there was the constant infighting and territorial battles being waged within the military structure. Third, there was the heavy need to manage media perception, which was perhaps absent in past wars. Lastly, there was the weakness of the military capability itself, most especially in terms of fighting a war under different weather conditions. The Four Factors The first factor that hampered the efficient execution of the war in Kosovo was the general reluctance of American leaders, both civilian and military, to get involved in the first place. There was a widespread feeling that it was not the time for America to be intervening actively in the affairs of a relatively small and unimportant state in Eastern Europe. After all, what was there to be gained by implementing interventionist policies there? Back then, as now, the focus of many political and military planners was Israel and the Middle East, the hotbed of the world; perpetually in crisis. But there was at least a solid rationale for that preoccupation – the Middle East was by far the largest supplier of oil in the world, and stability there was important to the energy supply and thus the overall growth of the U. S. economy. But what was to be gained in Kosovo, especially since much risk was to be undertaken in terms of the country’s resources, as well as its prestige? American had failed to intervene in Rwanda and had been forced to a humiliating retreat in Somalia, and those bitter memories were still fresh in the minds of most Americans. In the Rwandan genocide, America drew heavy criticism from its allies and the world at large for its inaction; in Somalia, America drew derision for its decision to pull out prematurely. Both the political and military establishments suffered from these events, and they understandably wanted to avoid a similar occurrence from happening again. Getting involved in war in which there seemed so little to gain was anathema to many leaders at the time. The constant infighting within the American military and within NATO was the second factor that hampered the Kosovo operations. General Clark detailed many examples of his daily battles with his civilian superiors, as well as his peers from within the military establishment. These incidents, quite obviously, detracted from the efficiency of the operations themselves. For instance, the example of how the some senior staff generals with political access prevented the effective use of Apache helicopters provides a sickening image of how generals on the ground can be obstructed by those who wield political power. The constant fear that other conflicts might erupt in the Persian Gulf and the Korean Peninsula was also an albatross that hung heavily over the collective necks of those involved in the Kosovo war. Allowing these fears to detract from the efficient prosecution of the war could have led to disaster under certain circumstances. The lack of cooperation was not limited to within the American military itself, but in NATO as well. Commanders of other nations were known to disobey Clark’s commands if these orders were interpreted as not being conducive to their respective strategic national interests. Yet, in a way, this was the least of Clark’s problems, for the other allied nations played a lesser role in the conflict in comparison with the U. S. , with the possible exception of Great Britain. It was the problems caused by infighting within the army, as well as disagreements with Washington, that made General Clark’s tenure as SACEUR truly difficult. This perhaps can be attributed to the reality that political objectives and military objectives are rarely one and the same, and the fact that military leaders at the highest levels are rarely apolitical. The greater role played by the media in American wars was also in full-display during the Kosovo conflict. Ever since the Vietnam War, the U. S. had shown a marked distaste for any number of war casualties (This had driven its research into unmanned and â€Å"smart† technologies. ) So much so, in fact, that the enemies of America had long viewed this is as the primary weakness of the nation’s military power. Indeed, this weakness has provided the most basic strategy of terrorist organizations today. They know for a fact that in terms of raw military strength, they are inferior to the United States. Thus, if they ever come under direct attack by the U. S. , their chances of victory are slim. But if they can inflict just enough casualties (usually through guerilla tactics) and have it broadcast over the broadcast media in dramatic fashion, then public opinion might force U. S. forces to withdraw, as was the case in Vietnam. It was under this same hope that Saddam Hussein stood defiant against the United States in the last Iraq War. Lastly, there was the weakness within the military itself, especially in terms of being an all-terrain, all-weather capable fighting force. Many instances within the book and numerous statements made by General Clark point to the fact that the U. S. military is by no means an effective, â€Å"all-weather conditions† army. In fact, it seems as if the attainment of this goal is still a long way off, as has perhaps been underscored more recently by some of the maintenance problems encountered in Iraq. Also, high levels of weapon technology have brought with them their own special set of problems, which could not have been foreseen but nevertheless need to be addressed as soon as possible. These include, among others, the gathering and timely application of intelligence in order to use these weapons to their maximum effect. A lack of cross-understanding between the various military units also contributes to military weakness. In his concluding remarks in Waging Modern War, General Clark says this: In Kosovo my commanders and I found that we lacked the detailed prompt information to campaign effectively against the Serb ground forces. Most of the technologies we had been promoting since the Gulf War were still immature, unable to deal with the vagaries of weather, vegetation, and urban areas, or the limitations of bandwidth and airspace. The discrete service programs didn’t always fit together technically†¦The officers who operated the programs were not qualified to work across service lines and did not understand the full range of national capabilities. I worried about the nature of Joint skills even among senior officers. Of course, notwithstanding these four factors, the war was brought to a successful conclusion – â€Å"successful† meaning that the combat operations against the forces of Slobodan Milosevic proved effective enough to topple the regime of that ruler, and thereby remove the impetus to the racial killings in that region. However, whether or not America achieved its true aims in the Balkans is more open to question, if indeed the Clinton Administration had a clear vision of what those aims were in the first place. The costs of that conflict, both tangible and intangible, must also be analyzed in order to avoid similar mistakes in the future. An Analysis of the Feasibility, Acceptability, and Suitability of the Military Action in Kosovo The concept of feasibility closely ties in to the question â€Å"Can it be done? † With the benefit of hindsight, we might say with complete assurance that yes, the military action undertaken in Kosovo was feasible. However, even without this particular benefit, the question of feasibility still would have been answered in the affirmative. There was perhaps no other military force in the world that could have undertaken the mission in Kosovo, and done so with success. Even before the campaign began, it was almost a forgone conclusion that American forces would prevail. It was only a matter of time, and though unforeseen setbacks would occur along the way, no one truly doubted the ultimate result. Addressing the question of acceptability is a little more complex, but may also be answered in the affirmative. At the time of the conflict, world opinion was crying out for America to do something about the killings under Milosevic. In many ways, the various nations comprising NATO and the U. N. pushed the U. S. into action. Internationally then, military action in Kosovo was acceptable – some might even say it was warranted, due to the role of the U. S. as the global policeman. The war was costly – what war isn’t? – but it gained for the U. S. a level of prestige and credibility that it very much needed after some decidedly embarrassing political problems. The effectiveness of the air campaign and General Clark’s own philosophy of waging war (which de-emphasizes the use of ground troops) resulted in fewer casualties than might otherwise have been expected. This in itself was a potent testimony to American power and a reaffirmation of the high reputation already earned by the American military in the 1991 Gulf War. If the goal in Kosovo was to stop the genocidal killings and bring Slobodan Milosevic to justice, then we can honestly say that military action was suitable. Some pundits may argue that diplomacy would have been a better choice, but they must be reminded that diplomatic methods were tried before any full-scale operations were conducted – and diplomacy failed. With a hard-boiled tyrant such as Milosevic, who deliberately released wave upon wave of racial hate upon his own country, diplomacy could not possibly have a great effect. Even if diplomatic channels could have been used to stop the killings – and this is doubtful – they would have taken far too long to mobilize and would have probably ended up with little to show for it. Conclusion Despite many problems that were unforeseen (and perhaps unavoidable), the military action in Kosovo ended up attaining its major objectives. Still, the operation could have gone better, and more smoothly. In the future, if similar circumstances should come up, both political and military planners would do well to review the lessons learned in this conflict. First, a good amount of political will should be present, and directed at a clear set of pre-defined goals. Second, bickering and infighting within the military should be checked, reduced, and if possible eliminated. Third, all leaders involved in a conflict should be aware of how to manage media perceptions, especially in terms of obtaining continuing public support. Lastly, the capability of the military to wage war under all conditions should be improved and made the top priority of defense spending. When these four factors are improved to their various degrees, then the prosecution of future wars will decidedly become more efficient and effective.

Hitting a Baseball

It has been a proven fact that hitting a baseball is one of the toughest things to accomplish in sports. In the major leagues if you fail 7 out of 10 times you are still considered to be an incredibly good hitter. That statistic shows how challenging it is even for Athletes at the professional level to produce a perfect swing. In order to achieve this perfect swing there is a series of adjustments that must be made. In this essay I will show how hitting a baseball develops through 3 different stages of learning. When someone is first starting off usually around the ages of 7 to 9 , they do not understand that the way a bat is held effects the outcome of the swing. In the beginning process many tend to place the bat in their palm and grip it extremely tight, without aligning their knuckles. They do not realize that holding the bat this way will reduce the range of motion in the swing, causing slower bat speed. Another key component to hitting a baseball is the hitter’s stance. In the beginning stage many crowd the plate, with their toes pretty much touching the corner of the tip of the plate. The legs are extremely bent and the toes are pointing in two different directions. The hands are then placed right next to the ear with both elbows facing up. The hitters back is usually arched at the top, with their shoulders kinds of pushing in to the neck. As the ball is pitched the hitter does not take a step towards the pitch, instead they keep their feet planted on their heels. When the ball is getting closer they begin their swing by dropping the back elbow and lifting the front one up. As the bat begins to cross the plate the head begins to turn away from the ball, because they are using no hip action. The bat is stopped in front of their body, creating no follow through. There may be little or no contact at this point. As a hitter progresses around the middle school stage, one thing they begin to change is the way they grip the bat. Now that they are a little more informed they begin to align the knuckles and place the bat on the fingers instead of on the palm. The hitter now has more flexion in the wrist along them to better their chances of hitting the ball. The stance of the batter is now gradually changing as well. The batter is now able to get in a position to where they can feel a little more comfortable. The knees are just are just slightly bent still allowing them to have some mobility. The toes are both facing in the same direction but are still planted on their heels. The elbows are now facing down instead of up, and the hands are up just above the shoulders and away from the ears. The back is no longer arched and the hitter is now at a stance where they are not as stiff as they once were. As the pitch comes the hitter now takes a step forward to generate some force, and prepare for his swing to begin. As the pitch is coming the hitter now keeps his eyes on the ball as it is coming in and extends hit arms out toward the baseball but slightly drops the barrel of the bat because of this, the hitter might have a tendency to pop the ball up instead of hitting a solid line drive. At this point the swing has now gotten better but still it has not generated bat speed to its full potential. Once the collegiate level is reached the batter now understands all the key fundamentals to hitting a baseball. With many years of practice and execution the hitter’s swing is now at its perfect state making it much easier to create contact and power. At this point the hitter no longer has any difficulty with the grip of the bat, or stance. Their feet are at shoulder width length allowing them to be at their most powerful position. The hitter is on the balls of his or her feet and is no longer on the heels. As the pitch is coming the hitter shifts his weight from the front leg to the back leg. The hitter is creating negative force by taking a step back, then going forward once again. At this point, weight should be about 70 percent on the back leg, 30 percent on the front leg. This allows the hitter to stay on the back leg to generate the most amount of power possible as they are swinging. While this is happening the hitter must also shift his hand back to generate more power in the upper body as well. The next step is the key essential where many beginners go wrong when trying to hit a baseball. Many believe that the hands trigger the swing, but this is untrue. It is the explosion of the hip that creates the swing. The hips start to open and allow the hands to explode through the hitting zone at a much higher rate of speed than if the hands triggered first and were still inhibited by the body. This has been proven by some of the most respected hitting authorities in the world by using high speed motion detection software to analyze a hitter's swing. Once the hips have started to open, the hands shoot through the zone. The hitter drives the nob of the bat to the ball, and keeps the bat through the zone as long as possible. This makes it easier to hit the pitch no matter where it is thrown. Once the bat has made contact the hips naturally finish their rotation as the hands leave the hitting zone and follow through. The weight shifts forward into contact, and all of the steps come together into a fluid, quick swing. Now the batter can produce hard linedrives or homeruns instead of soft grounders or pop ups.