Thursday, October 31, 2019

How would have Robert Moses reacted to the economic development Essay

How would have Robert Moses reacted to the economic development imperative - Essay Example â€Å"Governance of the city political system involves a complex set of functions around three broad themes: democratic accountability, the delivery of public goods and services and the maintenance of civil harmony.† (Berg 1) The book by Berg talks about the New York City’s economic development in great depth. According to Berg the city’s political environment depends on the elected leaders and their policies. The policies should result in the formation of a sound system that provides goods and services to its residents. Lastly, there should be conflict management in the economy to maintain law and order; all these form the pillars for a political system of a city. Reading this book and comparing the thoughts of the writer with the greatest builder of the New York City gives us an interesting analysis. Robert Moses was responsible for most of the public activities in the New York City in his era. Moses built bridges, expressways, parkways, and housing schemes and expanded the major universities. In his opinion infrastructure was very important for the development of the city and he worked a great deal for the economic development of the New York City by development its infrastructure. He would have reacted to the manufacturing decline by building more cost effective plants rather than take this as a changing economic scenario.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

MTV Arabia Entry Strategy

MTV Arabia Entry Strategy 56 local channels airing Arabian music as well as international numbers by entering into agreements with production houses and other TV networks transformed the Arab culture. One can easily describe Middle East as a region in the process of fast development and cultural change with a rapidly changing political and economic system as stated by Moran, R. T., Harris, P. R. Moran, S. V. (2007). Arabs are Muslims with strong cultural ties with the religion and the holy book, Middle East is way backwards then the west, Arab women wear veils and cover themselves and men wear traditional clothes. Middle East also has politically diverse forms of government, where religion plays the main role in many different ways. Middle East has entirely different cultural ties then the west like shame and honour, family, socialization and trust. Without doubt, Islam is the dominant characteristic of Arab culture and society and is used to define parameters for much of what constitutes the beliefs and actions in Arab Society. Middle East, delineates a number of features of their culture and society with following social characteristics as noted by Leidner, D. L. Kayworth, T. R. (2008): Social Diversity Hierarchical Class Structure Patriarchal relations, particularly in the family Primary group relations Continuing dependency and underdevelopment Some of the salient features of Arab culture: low hypometropia, at least by the standards of developing nations, and very high monumentalism. Arab monumentalism is strongest in the world and comes together with the lowest suicide rates as noted by Minkow, M. (2011). Challenges posed to MTV MTVs worldwide image adds to everything they do special entering a country with strong cultural and conventional ties. As the information provided special projects manager at trends magazine Dubai explains that MTV is known in the market for inclining towards airing controversial program. Also it is an American brand hence carrying Americas liberal cultural values around the world therefore it will be a challenge for the brand to enter a religious and conservative market and air controversial material. Strong anti-American sentiments prevalent among a large section of the population, Issues such as US invasion of Iraq and its support to arch enemy Israel had left many Arabs angry consequently presenting another challenge for an American brand. MTV is a brand of MTV Networks (MTVN) and MTV Arabia launched in 2007 in Middle East was a very challenging step for MTVN, which posed bigger challenges like culturally sensitive environment. The biggest challenge faced was to keep the balance between international quality music and culturally sensitive environment of the region. Also Middle East is a very highly regulated and complex business arena comparing to the western world and companies had to follow more stringent rules and regulations to operate in Middle East. Targeting pan-Arab youth audiences were also another challenge posed to the American brand. Young people represent 65 percent of the population in the Middle East, which was also a challenge for MTVN. This large population of youth attracted other local music channels to start operating in the region, even before MTV Arabias entrance hence these channels had developed a better understanding of the local audiences taste and posed a bigger threat to MTVNs growth in the Middle East. MTV Arabia had to compete with 50 Music Channels operating in Middle East, hence the fierce competition in the market also posed a challenge. Another challenge posed to MTVN while entering Middle East market was its international reputation of airing sexually explicit and provocative programmes. MTVN also had western values attached with the brand and representing an image of open Western culture, opposite to the socially conservative culture of the Middle East was another challenge for MTV to enter Middle East. MTV had to find a balance between explicit music culture and the conservative social culture in the Middle East. Cultural differences among Middle East countries were another challenge posed to MTVN. The cultural ties between the countries in Middles East also differ posing another challenge to MTVN. The American managers interacting with managers from the Middle East might misinterpret the late arrival of a potential business partner as a negotiation play or insult, when it is rather a simple reflection of different views of time and its value in the Middle East as noted by Griffin, R. W. (2011). Also adopting local standards and trying to localize they brand may result in over localization and eventually dilute the brand. Too much localization or personalization can obviously breed logistical chaos and dilute the brand, so customization is usually carried out in clusters using local geographical or lifestyle data as noted by Watson, R. (2010). MTVs strategy in Middle East MTVI had an international strategy of creating joint ventures and contracts with channels already native to a new market. In Middle East MTVN had the same strategy and made a deal with Showtime Arabia as part of the deal Show Time Arabia aired MTV English and Nickelodeon with subtitles in Arabic, which helped introducing the American brand in the market with an already established radio network. After an introduction of the brand, MTVN later on made ties with local partner (Arab Media Group) AMG as part of their strategy to entry the Middle East market. Later on MTV Arabia was launched by the end of year 2006 joint ventured with Arabian Television Network (ATN). According to the information provided MTV Networks (MTVN) launched MTV Arabia on November 17, 2007, in partnership with Arabian Television Network (ATN). The core of the MTV strategy was to provide the region with a platform where Arabs can voice their concerns and it would also be an international music platform. Targeting huge youth populace in Middle East was also one of the main constituent of MTVs strategy to enter Middle East. MTV targeted the youth group of age 12 to 24 and presented itself as a fabric of youth culture. MTV Arabia involved itself in extensive research of the market and data collection which enabled the channel to respond audience diversity and different cultures. Understanding the next generation was also at the heart of MTVN, for which it had to engage itself in continuous market research, which was one of the characters of MTVs strategy in Middle East. MTV also pushed itself as cultural unifying force in a region known for its political tensions. The countries in the Middle East are known for having cross border tensions, MTV Arabia market itself in a way to become unifying force between the Middle Eastern countries with the help of an international platform for music. MTVN had to face competition from approximately fifty music channels operating in Middle East. They had to come up with a strategy to market them self in the market in a way which will help them attract audience. This strategy was being unique and different from the existing music channels choosing differentiation. In differentiation strategies, the emphasis is on creating value through sustainable uniqueness as noted by Harrison, J. S. John, G. H. S. (2010). Even after the launch of MTV Arabia they still carried on conquering the market. MTV-AMG launched Nickelodeon Arabia in 2008, as part of the strategy to build a portfolio of integrated kids businesses across the region. MTV Global Expansion Strategy One of the major steps by MTVN was its first overseas channel in Europe in 1987 and the international arm. International arm MTVI, by the mid-1990s launched a strategy of think globally, act locally and then expanding to MTV Australia, MTV Asia, MTV India, MTV China, MTV Germany and other parts of the world. MTV Arabia was a part of MTVNs global expansion strategy the brands known for its global expansion. The core of the global expansion policy was the same slogan think globally, act locally. This enabled the brand to conquer international markets like China, Australia and Europe, but Middle East posed a bigger challenge. In 2006 MTVI served to an audience of one billion and expanded its operations in 179 countries which included operations in Latin America, Europe and other parts of the world. At one time MTVI operated more than 130 channels, websites along with broadband services in more than 25 languages. By the end of 2007 MTVI had become the major network of Viacom Inc. with more than 140 channels around the world catering to a potential 1.5 billion viewers globally. The following table-1 represents their different websites operated by MTV in different parts of the world: Table MTV Worldwide Websites MTV Worldwide 1 MTV Adria 14 MTV France 27 MTV Malaysia 40 MTV Slovenia 2 MTV Africa 15 MTV Germany 28 MTV MENA 41 MTV Spain 3 MTV Asia 16 MTV Hits UK Ireland 29 MTV Netherlands 42 MTV Sweden 4 MTV Australia 17 MTV Hungry 30 MTV Networks Europe 43 MTV Switzerland 5 MTV Base UK Ireland 18 MTV Idol France 31 MTV New Zealand 44 MTV Taiwan 6 MTV Belgium 19 MTV India 32 MTV Norway 45 MTV Thailand 7 MTV Canada 20 MTV Israel 33 MTV Philippines 46 MTV Turkey 8 MTV Czech Republic 21 MTV Italy 34 MTV Poland 47 MTV UK Ireland 9 MTV China 22 MTV Japan 35 MTV Portugal 48 MTV Ukraine 10 MTV Croatia 23 MTV Korea 36 MTV Romania 49 MTV2 UK 11 MTV Denmark 24 MTV Latin America 37 MTV Russia 12 MTV Europe 25 MTV Latin America Revolution 38 MTV Serbia 13 MTV Finland 26 MTV LIVE 39 MTV Singapore Hence shows the strategic management of MTVN to think globally and act locally, catering their website, TV channel and the music according to the requirements and needs of every market. They take each port of the world locally developing different set of strategies for every country with the same core strategy of think globally and act locally. MTVs localization Strategy A localization strategy could be easily explained as the strategy which emphasizes on increasing profitability by catering the companys products or services so that they provide a product which is catered to the tastes and preferences of the local market as noted by Hill, C. Jones, G. R. (2010). MTV has a different localization strategy for every part of the world, the management at MTV understands the cultural differences across borders and they have a different localization strategy catered to according to the culture of the specific country. The company has different websites for each part of the world they are operating catered to the local culture of the community as shown by table-1. MTVs localization strategy also involved tying up with local channels and learning local culture and differences and then over time acquiring local channels. Like in early 2000s MTV entered Australia and joint ventured with Austereo (commercial radio network in the country and later on acquired Austereo. This strategy is also used in the case of Middle East where MTV used Showtime Arabia before entering the market and aired its reality shows and music with Arabic Subtitle. Later on MTVN joint ventured with AMG to launch MTV Arabia. MTV Arabias localization strategy involves following: English programs with subtitles in the local language Arabic version of International Music and Reality Shows Not to export American Culture Meeting political and government leaders MTVN launched programs with subtitles in Arabic with the help of Showtime Arabia and also used the strategy of meeting political figures and higher authorities as they did in China, Israel and Cuba. This strategy always proved successful for MTVN in all their recent entries to all the different parts of the world. Another major constituent of the localization strategy was not to export American culture helping the brand to fight its American image. To strategically develop products localized to Arab culture MTV Arabia had a decentralized structure with commercial and creative autonomy to the local staff, this enabled MTV Arabia to come up with programs catered to the local culture. MTV Arabias launch team had six members and they were Saudis, Palestinians, Emiratis, Iraqis, and Lebanese. This local mix helped MTV Arabia fight their American image and air globally successful music shows but with a local flavour to suit the Arab mindset. Strategy of providing Mixed Content to the Market MTVs mixed content strategy included airing sixty percent international music and forty percent Arabic music, along with the local version of the channels popular international non-music shows. Producing at least forty five percent of the content locally was at the heart of MTVs mixed content strategy. For the same reason MTV Arabia had a local launch team which produced the local content. MTVN had conducted extensive market research by going to colleges and universities and interviewing higher authorities and parents collecting data vital for the channel to reach its target of producing forty five percent of the content locally. MTV has used providing mixed content strategy in India and China and other parts of the world as well hence the company already had the expertise of producing mixed content. Decentralization provided exactly what was required for the local market and it had all the ingredients for MTV Arabia to be successful in Middle East. MTV and its Success in Middle East MTVs extensive experience in the global market enables them to cater their localization strategy and provide localized material which will certainly help MTV Arabia to be successful in the market as the Middle East market has youth as the major portion of the market. MTV Arabia targeting youth and actively engaging youth by providing them a platform to voice their concerns and to promote Arabian music is all what is required a market like Middle East. Another major reason for MTV Arabias success would be its image in the market, during data collection MTVN discovered that majority of the respondents thought that MTV was an Indian or European brand. Hence brand does not have to work as much as was the gimmick in the market that MTVN is an American brand and it will have to face tough cultural complexities in the market. The local launch team has provided answers to all such questions and now the brand is as localized as it could be. MTVN conducted surveys targeting the 18 to 24 age group and travelling around the Middle East to schools and university campuses for data collection, qualitative data also collected by interviewing figures of authority and elderly people, including speaking to government leaders and parents which will be a major reason for channels success in the Middle East Respecting Arab traditions and showing no disrespect to the local culture also providing a platform for Arab Music and culture is another factor in the success of MTV Arabia. Encouraging education and looking for solutions to problems like unemployment was another factor in the success of MTV Arabia and will help in future. Such initiatives help sending a positive signal about the brand in the market and the audiences starts accepting an relating themselves with the brand, which will be a major factor in success of MTV in the Middle East. All the international programmes which are aired by MTV Arabia are edited to cater cultural needs and requirements, music videos and reality shows are also edited to ensure they are aligned with the cultural ethos prevailing in the Middle East. All these factors helped MTV Arabia to be more localized and exceptive for the Muslim audience in Middle East. Too much localisation can dilute the brand MTV Arabia kept the balance in not to dilute the brand entirely by keeping sixty percent of the content international. This strategy also proved vital and it also incorporated respecting local cultures without diluting the brand. MTV Arabia focused on providing the youth with a platform where they can voice their concerns and also show their music talent was something which will help the brand to be successful in the Middle East Market.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Correlation of the Behavior of Female Waitresses at Sports Bars and the

When we go out to eat or drink at a sports bar, we usually find that a majority of the servers and bartenders are females. Why is this, one might ask. The most obvious reason is that they draw in more male customers to drink beer and eat food. If a male patron were to walk into a sports bar, he would stay longer and spend more money because he would tend to be checking out a server that he considered attractive. Servers usually know this so they tend to expose themselves more and dress accordingly to attract more guys and hopefully to receive larger tips. One bartender interviewed for this project, who works at Buffalo Wild Wings, would climb on ladders behind the bar, to draw attention to herself. She hoped that her actions would result in the customers giving her a larger tip than they would otherswise. Based upon the tips received, this strategy worked. Seeing this interested the writer to look into the topic of how servers use their physical appearance for a better tip . With further research, this was proved true for almost every restaurant investigated. Waitresses go above and beyond from simply applying makeup to changing their hair color, and changing the way they would serve an average customer to fit their needs. The customers also play a role in the tip given, which can usually be determined by the gender, race, age, and connections to the waitress. If customers would tip based on the service provided, then the female waitresses wouldn’t have to flirt or make the guest feel like that need to tip better. Background Review of Literature Many of the sources address the way the waitresses change their physical appearances and the outcomes. However, some also discuss the emotional side of the server or the pr... ... Works Cited Gatta, M. (2009). Restaurants servers, tipping, and resistance. Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, 6(1-2), 70-82. Guà ©guen, N. (2012). Hair color and wages: Waitresses with blond hair have more fun. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 41(4), 370-372. Guà ©guen, N. (2009). Menstrual cycle phases and female receptivity to a courtship solicitation: An evaluation in a nightclub. Evolution and human behavior, 30(5), 351-355. doi: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2009.03.004 Jacob, C., Guà ©guen, N., Boulbry, G., & Ardiccioni, R. (2009). Waitresses' facial cosmetics and tipping: A field experiment. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 29(1), 188-190. doi: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2009.04.003 McCall, M., & Lynn, A. (2009). Restaurant servers' perceptions of customer tipping intentions. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 29(1), 188-190.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Admission Paper in Finance Essay

Every person has his/her story and so do I. I’m writing this statement of purpose to solicit an admission into the prestigious Finance Phd Program. Many people endeavor into PhD to do high-level research and teach but my primary reason for entering is to be my own boss. Not to sound conceited, I have earlier worked in 7/11 from 6 am to 12 pm for many years and under unmanageable coworkers to support my living and schooling expenses as I come from a very humble background. I understand that being one’s own boss or in more euphemistic terms an independent researcher does not come easy, one has to first go through many years of rigors and challenges of academic world. My Masters in Quantitative finance have built the foundation or framework to withstand any challenge that academia will put forth in the near future. Courses that I have taken in my masters include Mathematical finance, real option analysis, Microeconomic theory, Financial Derivatives, Statistics, Econometric s 1, Econometrics 2, Financial modeling, Financial application, and so forth. See more: Homeless satire essay I took few research and quantitative classes because I know they will inadvertently prepare me for PhD . The reason I chose Quantitative Marketing is because the statistics, economics and mathematics that’s involved in it mesmerizes me. In this country the advertisers have known from the beginning that â€Å" The heart rules over the head.† So by allowing the mass majority of people with easy personal and mortgage loans, they have jeopardized the economy. What I would like to research is if this was a zero-sum game or not, and if yes, then who benefitted from it? Because of securitization, the bank did not seem to make any money, and neither the homeowners that lost their home. If banks knew people were going to default, then why did they still offer loans? This whole thing is like a mathematical paradox that is yet to be solved. Marketing is what separates the product from its competitors. In my research I’d like to learn how adverstisers use athletes to add val ue to the product. Nike’s whole business model was based on Marketing. Top sportsman like Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, Kobe Bryant and so on are paid several millions by Nike. Many people perceive that by wearing the same brand as their idol does, he/she could improve their game. But what about â€Å"the Rolex† watch that Roger Federer advertises? How can a watch improve anyones tennis game? Maybe , the ad implies that only â€Å"Winners† or so called â€Å" achievers† can wear it? People looking to lose weight may take up a sport and watch their favorite athlete drink â€Å"Gatorade† to rehydrate or replenish their energy, but fail to realize that the 46 grams of sugar in Gatorade itself is the primary reason that’s defeating their weight loss goal. Ab rockets, Ab lounges are advertised by professional trainers who have spent their life doing sports. It is impossible for a 9 to 5 working person to achieve the same results, yet countless people fall prey to thes e infomercials. It is definitely fascinating to learn more about the profound effect that Marketing has on us. Neverthless, schemes like â€Å" buy one get one 50% off, zero percent down payment for 12 months, buy now pay later† are a sure sell. What begs the question is whether the scheme is benefitting the consumer or the economy. After research the second most important thing for a phd is to teach. Even though I do not have formal teaching experience I have been teaching GRE to students from all walks of life. I definitely do not have a stellar GPA nor a GRE but I do my job well when needed. The fact that I love people makes my job of teaching extremely simple. I can wake up middle of the night and walk an extra mile to give a talk on a topic that inspires me. Having taken immeasurable courses at community colleges and universities, I’ve become very fond of academia. I now dote reading, learning, relearning, and writing. Of course, my past high school and university grades donâ€⠄¢t walk the talk but the fact is I have overcome all of that with my independent learning. A majority of my high-school teachers and family members doubted if I’d ever finish high-school. Not only did I finish high school , I now also have two advanced United States degrees. Much of these didn’t come easy for me. Every parents teacher meeting and every result day from grade 3 to grade 12 was like a doomsday for me. I used to literally pray that we never had a result day or a parents teacher meeting. My dad physically whopped me and my brother together till he injured us for passing our classes with a B or a C grade. It still gives me nightmare just thinking about it. He beat us because he compared us to his wealthier colleagues or brothers kids who were excelling in school while we weren’t. He never realized that each kid is unique and has different talent. Perhaps, his lack of education or short-temperedness made him violent or even so because he could not flaunt to others that his kids have the highest grade . Believe me this is what parents in South Asia are discussing at parties or family gatherings, â€Å"whose kids are getting the best grades.†. Nevertheless, at first it was a big challenge to just learn English, but as time passed, my innate ability taught me reading, writing, and speaking. In fact, English has now become my primary language. Also during undergrad I have written myriad papers and thus writing has become a fact of my life. The writing skills I have acquired during a long period of my stay in the academic world will unarguably be useful during my PhD. If not, at least I like to think so. I choose Lubbock because it’s a small college town and the professor who mentored me during my masters has his PhD in finance from Texas Tech . He in fact referred me to this school. Nevertheless, a small quite town would also enhance a person’s learning since he/she will be free from all distractions. While writing this essay I hold an undergraduate sociology 101 t ext book. According to the book, being a university professor is considered one of the most prestigious occupation in the United States, ranking way ahead than an athlete, Dentist, programmer, Actor, and so forth. The author took the abstract from, â€Å"General Social Survery, 1972-2002. Cumumlative codebook (Chicago national opinion research center.† ) Such findings did stir my up my mind to pursue PHD. I really saw this in my text six years ago as a young teenager . This explains I truly have the passion to be a professor from a long time. The excellent faculty at Texas Tech with their wide variety of research interests , and student placements will definitely make my ambition of becoming a university professor come true. What I like about research is it removes the bias from the illimitable information we have today. Integrating information from google, scholarly journals, publications, magazines, foreign newspapers, and so forth and coming up with my own analysis is something I loo k forward to do. Another thing that I like about research is it’s about finding patterns and relationships that are not obvious to others. My poor undergraduate GPA could be attributed to the fact that I was part of Texas Wesleyan Table Tennis Team. We have won 4 national collegiate championship, having me represented TWU as a varsity player in all four of them. Apart from playing NCTTA tournaments we were obligated to play open tournaments all over America. I did get a chance to play and win several open tournaments in different cities across the US. For winning the national collegiate championship, the United States House of Representative personally awarded me a certificate of excellence. I’ve enclosed a copy of that certificate along with this essay. Nevertheless, team practice and tournaments took up a lot of time and energy; once tired, college and books were the last thing in my mind. Somehow, I still managed to complete my undergrad degree keeping in mind the famous American say ing , â€Å" It doesn’t matter how many times you fail, but it does matter how you finish.† Nevertheless, I realized I have criticized my dad earlier in the essay but this piece of work that I have penned down today could not have been possible without his support. Moreover, I could never make him happy with my low grades, but I always saw him rejoicing each time I won a tournament. Table tennis taught me invaluable lessons in life. When I lost a tournament or an important match I used to feel devastated, but it then made me realize that it’s not the end of the world. By accepting defeat, I learned that I have to train harder and come off strong for the next tournament. Similarly, in business and research only after failing several times did great thinkers emerge. Lastly, I thank the dean, chairman, and admission committee members for taking out their valuable time to read this essay and also for considering my application.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Zimmermann Telegram

Zimmermann Telegram The Zimmermann Telegram was a coded message sent from Germany to Mexico in January 1917. Once the Zimmermann Telegram was intercepted and decoded by the British, the contents were leaked to the U.S. and helped change the tide of American public opinion and brought the U.S. into World War I. The Story of the Zimmermann Telegram The Zimmermann Telegram was secretly sent from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann to Germanys ambassador in Mexico, Heinrich von Eckhardt. The British managed to intercept this coded message and their cryptologists were able to decipher it. Within this secret message, Zimmermann revealed Germanys plan to restart unrestricted submarine warfare as well as offered Mexico territory from the United States if Mexico were to declare war on the United States. On February 24, 1917, the British shared the contents of the Zimmermann Telegram with U.S President Woodrow Wilson, who had been elected to a second term on the slogan He kept us out of the war. The contents of the Zimmermann Telegram then appeared in newspapers five days later, on March 1. Upon reading the news, the American public was outraged. For three years, Americans had prided themselves on safely keeping out of World War I, a war they believed to be contained to Europe, which seemed far away. The American public now felt the war was being brought to their own land. The Zimmermann Telegram helped change public opinion in the United States away from isolationism and toward joining World War I with the Allies. Just a month after the contents of the Zimmermann Telegram were published in U.S. papers, the United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917. The Full Text of the Zimmermann Telegram (Since the coded Zimmermann Telegram was originally written in German, the text below is a translation of the German message.) We intend to begin on the first of February unrestricted submarine warfare. We shall endeavor in spite of this to keep the United States of America neutral. In the event of this not succeeding, we make Mexico a proposal of alliance on the following basis: make war together, make peace together, generous financial support and an understanding on our part that Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. The settlement in detail is left to you. You will inform the President of the above most secretly as soon as the outbreak of war with the United States of America is certain and add the suggestion that he should, on his own initiative, invite Japan to immediate adherence and at the same time mediate between Japan and ourselves. Please call the Presidents attention to the fact that the ruthless employment of our submarines now offers the prospect of compelling England in a few months to make peace.