Heritage Conservation: Collective Memory And Urban Developmen

Heritage Conservation: Collective Memory And Urban Developmen Recently, a well-know movie Echoes of the Rainbow has once again arouse the publics awareness of heritage conservation. The government planned to redevelop Wing Lee Street as a dwelling house in order to advance the urban development. However, after Echoes of the Rainbow was filmed at that street and won the award at the Berlin Film Festival 2010, that plan was discarded. (Apple Daily) This time, the government held the totally different view point than before. Three years ago, in spite of the intense protest, the government still destroyed Star Ferry Pier, Queens Pier and Wedding Card Street for achieving more new developing areas. From my point of view, I strongly think that if the heritages can be well conserved, it can also boost Hong Kong economy. Balancing both our collective memory and urban development are the job of the government and the real purpose of heritage conservation. Preserving the heritage is very important as it has lots of advantages. Firstly, local heritage possesses symbolic meaning to the unity of a society. Undoubtedly, historical heritage is memorable to the local people in a city. (TV programmeHong Kong Story of RTHK). As urban theorist Aldo Kossi says, the city is the collective memory of the people and memory is the basis of self identity (Betty S F Ho, 2000). Local sentiments for the home city bring up self identity and the unity of a society. Destroying historical heritage could mean pulling down unity within a city since the sense of belonging is deteriorated. Keeping the historical heritage can also maintain cultural diversity for the future generations. As suggested by the Conservancy Association, heritage conservation is also a matter of sustainable development and cross-generational equity. We do not have the right to deplete our natural or cultural resource, especially if they are non-renewable, to the detriment of our future generations (The Conservancy Association, 2003). Our education system mainly focuses on logical training but this is not enough. Creativity is important for sustainable development. However, the development of creativity is not just about reading different books, but also to experience in person. We cannot count on imagination only. By keeping the historical heritage, the new generation learns that a society can accommodate different culture and also the development from the old Hong Kong to the new one. In an ecological point of view, heritage conservation is an environmental friendly act. Pulling down old buildings for renewal produces tons of waste. As pollution problem in Hong Kong is getting more and more serious in recent years, we should learn to conserve our resources when they are still useful. Renewal of the old buildings would be better for the earth and cost-efficient than pulling down them. The advantage of urban renewal On the other hand, urban renewal and buildings brings advantages. It definitely provides more land use, and there would be less need for landfill areas, which might further narrow our Victoria Harbour. As a crowded city, a more spacious living environment would improve the living quality of Hong Kong residents. People will be more happy and healthy when their living space expands. Renewal of old areas provides better living conditions for residents. According to the Development Bureau, Planning and Lands Branch of the HKSAR Government, at present there are about 9,300 private buildings in the Metro Area (i.e. Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, Tsuen Wan and Kwai Tsing) which are 30 years old and above. In ten years time, the number of buildings over 30 years old will increase by 50%. The problem of ageing buildings is most serious in older urban areas (Planning and Lands Branch Development Bureau, 2008). Old buildings do not only affect the outlook of a city, they can also be a threat to the residents safety. Occasional accidents caused by old buildings can be a proof of this. Apparently, there is an urgent need to work on this issue to avoid similar accidents. Urban renewal creates a new outlook for Hong Kong as a cosmopolitan city. Pollution problem in dilapidated urban areas in Hong Kong is rather serious, which is a big contrast comparing with the developed urban areas. To build up and sustain the Asias world city image, urban renewal sounds to be a necessary action to be taken. The ways to balance heritage conservation and urban development Heritage preservation and urban development may go hand in hand. The best thing is we can be able to strike a balance between heritage conservation and urban renewal and buildings. For example, more frequent and careful check and renovation can be a way to avoid accidents caused by urban decay. Or we can develop different areas according to their existing unique characteristics, instead of characterize different districts in one style. It is grateful to see the government has been putting more efforts in listening to the citizens voices when executing policies concerning urban renewal in recent years. But its a long way to go, more channels can be opened to collect and encourage more valuable opinions. I believe, with our care and attention, the old buildings can be attractions of the city, but no longer dilapidated areas and buildings. In recent years, the government has been proposing different development plans of the city and many of them involve the areas, where some historical buildings or backstreets are situated, therefore the demolition of the buildings or backstreets become necessary for the plans. For instance, according to the Conservancy Association, the Woodside in Quarry Bay was planned to be pulled down in 2005 for the development of high rise residential uses. Luckily, due to the request of the Conservancy Association and the support of the community, the Woodside was preserved in the end (Conservancy). Another example is the demolition of the Queen Pier. Due to the Central and Wan Chai Reclamation Project of the government in the 1990s, the Queen Pier was planned to be pulled down in 2006. The aim of the project is to extend the waterfront from Sheung Wan to Causeway Bay, so as to improve the traffic in these districts. But it arouses lots of public concern and objection when it came to the step th at the 50-year-old Queen Pier had to be pulled down. As Hongkongers can see that, the government is having different kinds of redevelopment plans in the city so as to boost the economy and competitiveness of Hong Kong. But once these plans are announced or progressed, objection and negative comments come quicker than the ultimate result as all these plans have one common requirement the scarification of the heritage sites. It seems that this is a big problem that all these plans bring along. It is time for the Government and citizens to think about whether economic development and preservation of heritage sites are mutually opposed, or can be mutually beneficial. Economic development and preservation of heritage sites can be mutually beneficial, because historical buildings and backstreets can help boost our tourism industry. As they are all of high historical value and characteristic of our culture, they can, in fact, attract a lot of foreign visitors. The foreigners would love to understand Hong Kong culture and history more through looking at these buildings and backstreets. Some of these buildings and backstreets may even show some of the unique Chinese traditional practices and customs, such as the Wedding Card Street that do business by helping people to design traditional but special wedding cards (Tourism Board). If these heritage sites are successfully restored and much better preserved, they could be converted into more popular and attractive tourists spots, such as the Wedding Card Street, Queens Pier, Ladies Street, etc. In this way, it is an important economic pulse and we would all benefit from it. On the other hand, if the hist orical buildings and backstreets are demolished, the foreigners would then lose the opportunity to understand the culture of Hong Kong and thus they may lose their interest in visiting Hong Kong. Hence, it harms the tourism industry and the economy of Hong Kong as well. A good example about a better policy in preserving the heritage sites so as to make them become famed and attractive tourist spots is Macau, as more than 30% of its economic income comes from the hotel and catering industry (Macao). On the other hand, only around 20% of Hong Kong economic income comes from the hotel and catering industry (Census statistics). According to the Conversancy Association in Hong Kong, the Macau Government has been giving much attention to heritage sites conservation since the 1970s (Conservancy). The authority looking after conservation policy and implementation is the Cultural Institute (Conservancy). In the policy, not only the individual heritage site is preserved, but also the whole district around a central square, or along a street, and all these historical interests are then linked up with pedestrian walkways (Conservancy). In that way, tourists and visitors can check out all those historical buildings or backstreets one by one according to their ow n interest and thus understand more about Macaus background. While Macau and Hong Kong both rely much on their tourism industry, Macau has already proved that preserving its own heritage sites does benefit to the tourism industry and thus help boost the economy. Therefore, Hong Kong Government should really start learning from Macau. While preserving the heritage sites can preserve the history and culture, help boost the tourism industry and thus improve the economy, the demolition of them, on the other hand, brings objection from Hongkongers and some related problems. Hongkongers object to the idea of demolishing the historical buildings and replacing with new developments. They also object to the Governments view, that the heritage sites are of no importance, and that the value of each heritage site can be ignored. The reason why Hongkongers object to the demolition of the historical buildings and interesting backstreets is that the heritage sites are of high historical, cultural and architectural value and importance (Conservancy). They witness the changes of Hong Kong (AMO) and are displaying the history, people behaviour and culture in the past. They represent a bridge between the present and the past of the city. Government House in Central is one of the examples, which is representative in witnessing the p olitical change in Hong Kong. The heritage sites are irreplaceable landmarks that symbolize the image and culture of a city. In other words, they are representing Hong Kong and helping us to build up Hong Kongs image! Apart from the historical and cultural value (Conservancy), these historical buildings and backstreets also help enhance the sense of belongings of Hongkongers. You may be surprised to know that there are lots of historical legacies in Hong Kong and they can be found in nearly every district. For instance, Wong Tai Sin Temple in Kwun Tong district, clock tower in Tsim Sha Tsui, Old District in Tai Po, etc (Tourism Board). Therefore, people living in different districts, are having some special collective memories with different of these heritage sites, which means they share a collection of memories with a common culture about the heritage sites and they would then be able to remember the events related to those heritage sites in the future (Answers). Thus, the historical buildings and backstreets in turn provide people with unique social roots. These built heritage sites also help cultivate peoples culture identities and even record some significant historical events. That is why pe ople would have a strong sense of belongings due to their collective memories with these heritage sites and they also pick up their identities through these memories. By preserving what remains, it can also serve education purposes by giving our next generation chances to experience and explore. Of course, some people, especially the businessmen, entrepreneurs and industrialists, would support the development plans proposed by the Government and think that it is worth to demolish the heritage sites when necessary. The first argument that they would raise is, of course, preservation of heritage sites would hinder the economic development in the city. As a world-class city, Hong Kong should and had better have sustainable economic developments so as to maintain its competitiveness among different renowned trading cities. Yet, as Hong Kong is such a small city with a peculiar and rugged landscape, there are limited places or areas for further economic development. Also, due to the high density of population of Hong Kong, there is a need or demand for more lands. Therefore, these reasons prompt the exploration of lands and development of more high-rise buildings (Conservancy). For certain, historical buildings occupying some potential sites, which are planned to be developed, be come barriers. A recent good and controversial example should be the Fa Yuen Street (South), which is commonly called the Sport Shoe Street. It is located on a potential site in Mongkok which has already been planned for the development of a brand new Sports City. However, once the plan was announced, the shop owners and citizens living around immediately showed their unwillingness to be removed. They objected to the plan due to their collective memories related to the street. For this reason, the project is now hindered and couldnt be progressed smoothly. In fact, the project can be cancelled, because it is not necessary to have this redevelopment plan if the Government wants to boost the economy. Better preservation of the Fa Yuen Street and making it become a more popular tourist spot can also help boost the economy by improving the tourism industry, so do the other heritage sites. In addition to the collision with the economic development, the Hong Kong Government would also argue, that the conservation of these cultural and historical heritage sites makes the burden of the Government even much heavier. As citizens all know, preservation of heritage sites is not an easy or cheap task, it requires loads of money and resources. As there is not adequate outside funding for preservation of the historical buildings and backstreets, the government is in fact paying most of the cost in the conservation process of the historical buildings, including the maintenance fee, repairing fee, restoration cost and management cost. This is, in fact, as well, hindering the development of other aspects in the society, like education or environment protection. While we are talking about spending more on better preservation of those precious heritage sites, there are, as well, inadequate resources available for the development for a better education system, or for better environmen t protection in Hong Kong so as to fight against the global warming. The Hong Kong Government should, therefore, think carefully about what their final choice should be. Yes, it is true that preservation of heritage sites requires loads of money and resources. But if the heritage sites can be converted into popular tourist spots, they can help boost the tourism industry and thus the economy. Then they are no longer the burden of the Government, since the economic income they bring would far outweigh the preservation fee they require. In addition to the businessmen, entrepreneurs and industrialists, some Hongkongers are also opposed to the preservation of the heritages and backstreet. The reason behind is that the living condition of them may be adversely affected due to the heritage sites. In Hong Kong, the land use in the historical areas like Sheung Wan, Sham Shui Po and Yau Ma Tei were not well-planned many years ago. Lots of mixed commercial and residential areas can be found in these urban areas. Problems like over-crowding, serious noise and air pollution are commonly found in these districts and are getting worse gradually. In that way, preservation of the historical buildings in these districts does not favour the efficient urban planning of alleviating the poor living condition. On the other hand, demolition of buildings and redevelopment of these areas seem more important and necessary since more open and green areas, and a better plan of land use are needed. Thus, residents in these districts would sup port the Government proposal of demolishing the heritage sites and redeveloping the area as they would like to have a new and better living environment. While it is necessary to solve the living problems in the urban areas, it does not mean that demolishing the heritage sites for redevelopment is the only solution. Reallocation of the population in the urban districts is a more effective and a win-win solution to the problem, as it can not only solve the problem but also let the heritage sites escape from the fate of demolition. All in all, whether to preserve the heritage sites in Hong Kong depends major on its influence on the Hong Kong economy. And from the arguments mentioned above, you can see that preservation of the precious and memorable heritage sites would not hinder the economic growth in Hong Kong, but in fact help boost the economy by boosting the tourism industry. Moreover, it can help conserve the history and culture of Hong Kongs past. Therefore, the historical buildings and backstreets are really worth preserving and should be better protected. However, in Hong Kong, there is only 85 historical buildings are well preserved now (AMO), when comparing with about 600 in total. It seems that the organizations responsible for this, which include the Antiquities and Monuments Organization (AMO) and the Home Affairs Bureau, are not doing enough. Other countries and cities in the world, such as Macau, have already established their own system in preserving heritage sites and maintaining a balance bet ween the preservation work and the economy. Hong Kong, as an international renowned and world-class city, should catch up with them and start setting up its own system about conserving the heritage sites so as to meet the international standard. Economic development is not the only factor that determines Hong Kong future and status, preservation of historical and cultural heritage sites also counts. They can even be mutually beneficial. Hongkongers should try their very best to maintain a balance between these two key factors. It is hoped that Hong Kong Government would soon realize this and do more on preserving the important parts of Hong Kongs past before it is too late!

Is Wal Mart Good For America Essay

The growth and dominance of Wal-Mart over the years has indeed turned it into an economy all its own. There is no single corporation in the world that has as much impact as Wal-Mart has, save perhaps for oil corporations, on any single domestic or even international economy. The volume of sales which Wal-Mart generates is enough to keep the rest of the world happily employed and is also enough to keep the consumerist population of the United States happy in their spending habits. Every single commodity manufacturer who is interested in surviving must be able to gain the good graces of Wal-Mart. The impact of Wal-Mart is such that it â€Å"has life-or-death decision over [almost] all the consumer goods industries that exist in the United States (Gereffi 2006). † This virtually unbridled power of the life or death of consumer goods industries, however, presents the question of whether or not Wal-Mart is indeed good for America. While it certainly does create jobs and sustains the consumer goods industries of America, it also has the same power of taking such benefits away and perhaps leaving the American economy in a far worse off situation than it is at the present. Wal-Mart has become so powerful that any shift in its purchasing and production policies will certainly result in some imbalance on a certain economy in the world. An example of the power of Wal-Mart is the fact that because of the immense volume of sales that Wal-Mart generates it is able to dictate where goods are to be manufactured in the world despite the fact that it is not a producer but simply a retail-chain. For a retail chain to be able to dictate to suppliers where they are to produce their items in order to be able to sell to Wal-Mart at a lower cost means that the retail chain has either a huge stake in the ownership of the supplier or buys so much from the supplier that it is able to dictate the price that it is willing to buy at and by doing so dictate where such goods are to be produced. In determining whether or not Wal-Mart is good for America, the basic economic principles of any market must be analyzed. Every market is governed by two basic forces, supply and demand. Wal-Mart is able to control both these forces because of the immense size that it has. It controls supply by deciding what items it chooses to retail. It also decides the demand for the item by pricing competitively. In its early years, Wal-Mart provided jobs for most Americans because a majority of the goods supplied were produced in the United States. With globalization and the theory of a flat world, other countries have become more competitive industrially and have now taken those production jobs that were previously held by Americans. The outsourcing of consumer goods industries to other countries can be theorized to have been created by the Wal-Mart demand for cheaper products from their suppliers. The problem with this scenario is that it creates unemployment for Americans who are the main buyers from Wal-Mart. In order to counteract this scenario, Wal-Mart must then reduce prices lower to meet the increasing lower income bracket of unemployed Americans who have lost their jobs because of the global production tilt to other countries. As this trend continues, it may be theorized that Wal-Mart will eventually strangle itself by driving the prices of goods down too much without protecting its major market which is the United States. The status of Wal-Mart, therefore, as either a boon or a bane for the American economy solely depends on whether or not it is willing to protect its major market which is the United States. Wal-Mart not only determines which consumer goods industries are to survive but also which economies are to benefit.

What to Expect From Essay?

What to Expect From Essay? Understanding Essay College essay hooks can be hard to generate, especially when you're still working on clarifying what your essay will say. When you're going to compose your essay, you always make sure you adhere to a particular outline in an attempt to submit a well-crafted paper and get excellent grades. A thesis should be much more specific. At length, it is vague. Essay introduction is your roadmap for the whole essay. Before you start your essay, familiarize yourself with a few of the fundamentals. Lastly the essay is proof read to learn if the job is unique. Research effectively Great essays begin with good research. The Essay Cover Up The essay offers you a chance to reveal how effectively it's possible to read and comprehend a passage and compose an essay analyzing the passage. A persuasive essay has to be well organized. 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Online E-Business Plan - 3643 Words

Running head: ABC Corporation Online e-Business Growth Plan Online e-Business Growth Plan for ABC Corporation Valerian Coutinho Western Governors University Abstract ABC Corporation needs a new strategy to expand market penetration and grow annual revenues. This document details some of the strategies which can be utilized to build upon the current business model. The new e-business model will help the company build on the product differentiation strategy and also enable the company to create value added dependency for the current and new customers. The e-business model can also be used to improve the company’s product branding across the globe and can be used as a stepping stone into moving aggressively into new emerging markets†¦show more content†¦In the Wheel-End market, the competitors are KIC and Webb Wheel. ABC also has independent distributors who would provide additional sales channel to the end users. None of the manufacturing competitors have utilized the web to provide value added services to customers. Their website is setup to provide basic product information to customers in Portable Document Format (PDF) but there is no feedback or collaborative tools to help the customer have a long lasting and memorable experience. Here are some of the current website examples of ABC direct competitors. Most of the competitors have a similar web theme shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3. They do not look at the internet as a medium to increase customer demand or improve the product image and branding. Figure 2: KIC Website Figure 3: Webb Wheel Website. There are independent online part distributors such as truckspring.com which have the capabilities of a modern e-commerce website such as shopping cart, customer service and search capabilities. However, most of them are for automotive and consumer trucks instead of commercial trucking. The commercial trucking components market is in the infant stages of E-Commerce and if ABC will build a good website, they can become the trend setter in the Commercial Vehicle market. The website can be shown at different truck trade shows which will help educate customers on the product lines but also onShow MoreRelatedE-Business Plan - Online Food Orders and Delivery Services2801 Words   |  12 PagesE-Business Plan Online Food Orders and Delivery Services MMU-MBA Group Project for BEL6084 Ââ€" Information Systems and E-Commerce Semester : May 2005 - Jul 2005 Student : OOI GHEE BENG TAN HENG LEE CHAN WENG JUN Student ID : 1051200001 1051200019 1051200028 Supervisor : Mr. T. Subramanian Contents Executive Summary 1 Management Team 2 Product Description 3 Marketing Plan 4 Operational Plan 6 Financial Plan 7 Risk Analysis 9 Future Projections 10 Executive Summary Read MoreE-Business Plan - Online Food Orders and Delivery Services2816 Words   |  12 PagesE-Business Plan Online Food Orders and Delivery Services MMU-MBA Group Project for BEL6084 Ââ€" Information Systems and E-Commerce Semester : May 2005 - Jul 2005 Student : OOI GHEE BENG TAN HENG LEE CHAN WENG JUN Student ID : 1051200001 1051200019 1051200028 Supervisor : Mr. T. Subramanian Contents Executive Summary 1 Management Team 2 Product Description 3 Marketing Plan 4 Operational Plan 6 Financial Plan 7 Risk Analysis 9 Future Projections 10 Read MoreThe Third Artefact For My Portfolio1475 Words   |  6 Pagestitled: Globe Driving Academy Business Plan. Its purpose was to identify a business structure from the strategic plan and multi-year strategic goals and to reflect the potential for growth. 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N (2002), it is a trendy expression that web based business performed in the right on time to the center of the 1990s and quickly turned into a typical term in the business and scholastic world. Internet business (Electronic trade) implies working business electronically which isRead MoreDigital Divide and Internet Usage1543 Words   |  7 Pagesbetween the educated and the uneducated, between economic classes, and, globally, between the more and less industrially developed nations. | |   2. | Question : | (TCO 1) What online research method(s) would you use to test the brand image of an existing product? Why? | |    | Student Answer: |    | Some online research methods that I would use to test the brand image of a product would be using focus groups, and the intercept interview method. The reason why I would us focus groups is that

Appearance Vs. Reality Essay - 1619 Words

In Hamlet, one of Shakespeares greatest plays, the young prince of Denmark must uncover the truth about his fathers death. Hamlet shows a play that tells the story of a young prince whose father recently died. Hamlets uncle Claudius marries his mother the queen and takes the throne. As the play is told Hamlet finds out his father was murdered by the recently crowned king. The theme that remains constant throughout the play is appearance versus reality. Things within the play appear to be true and honest but in reality are infested with evil. Many of the characters within the play hide behind a mask of falseness. Four of the main characters that hid behind this mask are Polonius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and King Claudius. From behind†¦show more content†¦In reality Polonius lies and manipulates people. Polonius helps contribute to the theme appearance verses reality by showing how his appearance is not his true nature; behind the mask there lies someone totally different. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are two of Hamlets childhood friends who, when asked by the king, try to find out what is troubling the young prince. Both help to contribute to the theme by showing their appearance of being Hamlets friends. The pair go to Hamlet pretending to be his friends when in truth they are only there because the king sent them to find the truth. There is some irony within the twins, they are asked by the king to find out the truth by hiding within a lie, by pretending to be his friend. Hamlet knows that the purpose for their visit is to dig into his soul to find the real reason for his actions as of late. As the play continues the twins are asked again by the king to go to Hamlet and try again to find the real reason for Hamlets behavior. Hamlet insults them at every chance knowing they are lying to him about there purpose of the visit. Hamlet Accuses Rosencrantz of playing him like a flute with these lines: â€Å"Tis as easy as lying; govern these ventages with you finger and thumb, give it breath with your mouth†...Act III As the melodrama continues Hamlet goes with the twins to reclaim money that another state owes Denmark. Hamlet is sent by the king to retrieveShow MoreRelatedEssay on Appearance Vs. Reality961 Words   |  4 Pages One of the characteristics of Realism, in American literature at least, is the ironic use of perceptions of â€Å"appearance† vs. â€Å"reality.† With this in mind, Henry James’s â€Å"The Real Thing† and â€Å"The Beast in the Jungle† are two works wherein such characteristics can be shown to operate as James employs cleverly woven twists of â€Å"appearance† and â€Å"reality† in each of the plots. 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Siemens Bribery Case Free Essays

Ian Collins Survey of Global Business Professor Portillo BSAD 113W 18 February 2013 Assignment #3: Siemens Bribery Scandal Before 1999 the use of bribery in Germany was not illegal and could be deducted as a business expense in a company’s taxes. This allowed companies like Siemens to gain the upper hand and have an unfair advantage over their competition in acquiring business deals around the world. Then when the law changed, Siemens still utilized bribery, and employed bribery tactics in other countries where it was also illegal. We will write a custom essay sample on Siemens Bribery Case or any similar topic only for you Order Now In this case study I’m going to analyze the rationale and high levels of corruption that transpired in the Siemens bribery scandal and utilize the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises to illustrate the negative impact of bribery. Siemens use of bribery initially could have been justified by the fact that German laws allowed it and was not illegal until 1999; the issue was that Siemens continued to use bribery even after the law had changed. Corruption was deeply embedded in the business culture. Siemens transferred money into Swiss bank accounts to avoid detection and then hired contractors to set up the bribes. These actions were standard operating procedures for corporate executives who viewed bribery as a business strategy. Senior executives even made certain individuals that were directly in charge of the bribery funds sign compliance forms stating they had not engaged in that kind of activity, bribes were referred to as ‘useful’ money. The punishment Siemens faced involved paying fines totaling $2. 6 billion. In the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, which sets voluntary principles and standards for business conduct, clearly outlines the negative aspects that comes from bribery. â€Å"Bribery and corruption are damaging to democratic institutions and the governance of corporations. They discourage investment and distort international competitive conditions. In particular, the diversion of funds through corrupt practices undermines attempts by citizens to achieve higher levels of economic, social and environmental welfare, and it impedes efforts to reduce poverty. Enterprises have an important role to play in combating these practices. † In defense of the Siemens employees, many of them just believed that was how business was done and had the best interests of the company at heart. It was about keeping the business alive and not jeopardizing thousands of jobs,† if this indicates the intention of the employees then the act is more justifiable than just doing the action out of greed. Siemens is a company that allowed greed to cloud their judgement to use bribery to gain the upper hand, as well as not evolving with the changing laws. You can only speculate as to the real thought process behind the choice to engage in bribery, whether it was done knowingly to gain an unfair advantage or sincerely to protect the jobs of many emplo yees, the action was still committed. A company needs to be aware of the laws, regulations and what is considered acceptable business conduct of the other countries it chooses to do business with and not violate them, including the use of bribery. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. http://lilymayunjue. blogspot. com/2012/06/summary-of-siemens-bribery. html [ 2 ]. http://www. nytimes. com/2008/12/16/business/worldbusiness/16siemens. html? _r=0 [ 3 ]. http://www. oecd. org/daf/inv/mne/48004323. pdf [ 4 ]. Article: Siemens Bribery Scandal How to cite Siemens Bribery Case, Essay examples

Planned and Emergent Approach Finding a Balance free essay sample

The essay will cover the importance the balance between planned and emergent approach through the framework of game theory/ net value and scenario thinking and planning. It would also incorporate the idea of chaos theory and the importance of understanding the market through certain criteria that have been learned in the course. Introduction to each approach Planned approach is a formalized approach to a strategy; it focuses on control formalization, centralization and inflexibility. Mintzberg, 1994) Organisations are subject to rigid control with no chances of improvisation and learning. Nevertheless planned approach helps marketing in the sense of decomposing and simplifying problems, rationalizing and articulating. It also assists in planning marketing by objectives of the organisation. Planned approach coordinates activities that take into account of the future, control and rationalization. Mintzberg does not agree with the 3 major objective of the planned approach which is to de compose, to rationalize and to articulate. Mintzberg argues that the 3 key objectives have flaws, since it creates no room for learning or improvisation, a reductionist view that creates inflexibility and too coordinated activity to engage in a proactive environment. Planned approach is best suited in a ruled based game since in a rule-based games consists of controlling the market whereby there is a reaction to every action. Emergent approach on the hand focus on learning, innovation and observation, which accepts changes and improvisation of plans and strategy to suit the circumstances faces. MacBeth, 2002) The emergent approach involves minimum control over a situation and emphasizes on learning, adjusting, improvising and innovating according to the situations that an organisation is in. Nevertheless in order for the emergent approach to be affective, it requires a clear business vision. Business vision is required to support ideological control and operational independence to maintain balance and prevent time wastage and cost (Hendrickson, L7 Slide 27). Emergent approach does not indicate that there is no control, or that management has no control over the organisation but rather shows the quality of willing to learn, responsiveness and flexibility. The emergent approach is best suited in a freewheeling-game. Incorporating each approach in marketing planning Marketing planning process can be defined as structure of process that links the mission, organized strategy and business strategy to make marketing decisions and actions. In order to incorporate what type of approach is suitable for a market, we need to identify the type of market. There are 5 definitions for market being, potential market, available market, qualified market, target market and penetrated market. (Wood, 2010) To further summarize the type approach that should be used in a market depends on how stochastic the market is. In a slightly stochastic market, a more planned approach should be adopted while in a more stochastic market, more of the emergent approach should be considered. A hypothesis can be made here by saying â€Å"the more stochastic the market behaviour, the more emergent your approach will need to be†. Hendrickson, L7 Slide 22). Stochastic markets are markets where environmental factors are uncontrollable, complex and dynamic, where market industries and economies are driven by change. One of the factors that determine whether a market is more or less stochastic depends on the macro-environment factors, or known as PESTER (political, economic, social cultural, technological, ecological and religious) affects the markets, making its ever changing and either being planned or stochastic. (Hubbard, Rice and Beamish, 2008). PARTS (player, added value, rules, tactic and scope) also show that it can affect the market conditions thus making a market stochastic. (Nalebuff and Brandenburger, 1995) Furthermore, customer demands can also effect market conditions, since demands are ever changing, competing organizations tend to change strategies in order to compete and suit the new demands, thus making the market ever changing and stochastic. In order to fully utilize the emergent or planned approach, the conditions of the market need to be address first, in terms of it being slightly stochastic or more stochastic. The essence of business success lies in making sure you’re playing the right game†. (Nalebuff and Brandenburger, 1995) Finding a balance point between both approaches There need to be a balanced point in using the 2 approach, the planned approach has to be changed and emergent approach should be used on certain marketing plans, this is because the planned approach is design in an ideal s tand still market, where there is no change in internal and external environments. The emergent approach is best use since market are being more stochastic and the emergent approach has the ability to improvise and create a learning environment that could give and organisation an advantage. To further explain how to locate the balance between the approach Nalebuff and Brandenburger (1995) game theory explains two types of games in the industry, this is the rule-based game and the free-wheeling game. Rule- based game organization tend use the planned approach, since its more focus on controlling the market and every reaction by competitor there is action on others. Free-wheeling games on the other hand create innovation and improvisation since everyone contributes to the game, it offers more opportunities to drive the market, and it’s suited for the emergent approach since it has less rules and loose leadership. In a slightly stochastic market organizations cannot aim at a specific future, so they plan on a range of possible alternative future in order to survive. Here an emergent approach towards planning is used, where there is self-organizing, improvising, making mistakes and learning. It incorporates both emergent and planned approach but more towards planned. Here strategies like scenario thinking and planning is used to reach objectives such as organizational learning. Furthermore organizations have to try to work on uncertainty rather than understanding and controlling which brings balance to the mixed approach in a slightly stochastic market. (De Geus, 1988) Furthermore if the market is very stochastic, organization aims will be unclear so the path followed would also be unclear, so controlled chaos can produce positive returns over a long term period. The emergent approach will be applied here to create new ideas but also using data from the past to compare with current situations, in order to create a new idea that will work in the future. Organizations have to maintain strategic business units and liberate intellectual capital, so that it has a holistic view of the market, which is better than a reductionist view. Greenley, Hooley and Saunders, (2004) stated that there are several factors that can close the gap between the prescriptive marketing planning approach and the practical realities of the tochastic markets that can enable post plan improvisation. These factors are proactive management, innovative management, the organizational learning, market orientation, spare resources and competitive aggression. As a conclusion both approach is used in marketing planning and finding the balance is a vital issue, but the balance depends on the type of market whereby in a more stochastic and free-wheeling market emergent approach is u sed, while in a rule based game, or a more deterministic market the planned approach is favoured. Framework of Game Theory and Scenario Thinking The framework of game theory or also known as net value was introduced by Nalebuff and Brandenburger, it is more dynamic since it assumes the industry is in an ever-changing conditions, its explains interdependency on competitors in an industry and 2 fundamental symmetries are identified in business first being between customers and suppliers and second between substitutors and complementors. By understanding these can help managers come up with new strategies to change the game or create new applications to existing strategies. The net value/ game theory frameworks stimulates creative and innovative thinking, since its best suited in an stochastic market, where there is unpredictable external environment and changing of the game and players is always happening. Game theory also helps organization to answer the question of â€Å"where do we want to go? † thus creating a temporary advantage in the market and making the right move in order to better an organisation in the industry. Scenario thinking is an emergent activity, it describes the possible combination of strategically significant factors and imagining what it would be like to operate in the situation. De Geus, 1988) It’s like creating a scenario in a future game and placing the organisation as a player in that particular game. It focuses more on curiosity and supports an exploratory approach to problem finding and requires three crucial marketing thinking, which are creative, critical and reflective. Creative thinking creates informatio n to finding new and different things. Critical thinking is assessing information that is under considerations and reflective thinking is evaluating the information that has been received. Scenario thinking creates imagining, curiosity, investigative approach and creates a perspective as a player in the game. All these qualities show the importance of an emergent approach in a stochastic market. Scenario planning reflects planned approach to strategy but the results is better emergent strategy; it helps create possible scenarios for the future of the organization. It cultivates management to devise strategies and make plans so the organization survives at its best. Scenario planning allows management to question and share their own assumptions about the future and create their own idea and plans to response to change. Effectiveness of framework to find balance Game theory describes the market as volatile and the internal and external environment tends to change, thus shares a common ground as a stochastic market. Game theory takes into account the action it will be able to take in order to create change for the organization to further have a better position in the market. In such a chaotic market it is difficult to make decisions, thus the importance of creating new emergent models, patience and the management role are very highly valuable in a stochastic market. This goes hand in hand with Macbeth (2002), which agrees that old and new models work closely to achieve success, in the short term, old models with have a more successful edge but with the help of management, emergent models are used to contest the chaos and crisis faced by the business. . Thus shows that Game theory can incorporated both planned and emergent approach, if managers can recognize the needs for such crisis in order to move towards a better positioning in the market. By having balance in the planned and emergent strategy through the Chaos theory enables organization to focus on a destination when markets are highly stochastic and uncertain. In conclusion, Game Theory reflects the uncertainty in the market that can change the market to be less or more stochastic, with the application of chaos theory it can handle crisis management by focusing on learning, innovating, improvising and observing which allows accepting changes and improvising plans and strategy to suit the circumstances. Scenario thinking and scenario planning was introduced by De Geus in 1988, which explains that organizations have to try and work with uncertainty rather than understanding and controlling. De Gues believe in the concept of encouraging people to â€Å"play† within certain boundaries to create a boundary for an uncertain future. This approach requires managers to condition and enable new actions to be made in order to cope with changes and provide appropriate feedback. It also creates thinking and learning that builds the core competency of the organization, without controlling management at an operational level. De Gues also believe that through scenario thinking (creative, critical and reflective) and planning it could influence the organizations thinking and put bounds on uncertainty. It is shown here that by having a balance planned and emergent approach with the help of scenario thinking and learning can build core competencies for the company. It cultivates the idea of management to question them and share their own opinion in regards to change. Basically the thinking and planning scenario shows that the planned approach could still be used but it needs to adapt to the emergent approach being to address the changes at hand but in a certain boundary. As a conclusion, this come back to the issue of the type of market an organisation is in to decide which approach should be more focus on. Nevertheless, the ability to improvise towards a suitable balanced strategy involves flexibility of decision making as stated in Greenley, Hooley and Saunders (2004). The balance of emergent and planned approach is very critical in deciding the future of an organisation so factors such as proactive management, innovation management, organizational learning, market orientation spare resources and competitive aggression need to be considered before deciding on a balanced between the two approaches. 2084 words Reference List De Gues (1988) â€Å"Planning as Learning Harvard Business Review March- April pp 70-74 Greenley, Hooley and Saunders (2004) â€Å"Management processes in Marketing Planning† European Journal of Marketing V38, No. . Hendrickson (2013) Lecture 7 â€Å"The emergent Approach to strategy† University of South Australia: Business Marketing Planning Principles Hubbard G. , Rice J. , Beamish P. , 2008 â€Å"Strategic management: thinking, analysis, action† 3rd Edition Frenchs Forest, N. S. W. : Pearson Education Australia, 2008 MacBeth, D (2002), â€Å"Emergent Strategy in Managing Cooperative Supply Chain Changeâ €  International Journal of Operations and Production Management, v22 (7) pp. 728-740 Mintzberg (1994) â€Å"The Fall and Rise of Strategic Planning† Harvard Business Review, 72(1) Nalebuff amp; Brandenburger (1995) â€Å"The Right Game: Use Game Theory to Shape Strategy† Harvard Business Review, July- August Wood, M B 2010,  Essential guide to marketing planning, 2nd edn, Pearson, Sydney MARK 3009| BMPP Assignment feedback. 2. 0| Assignment 2. 0 – major research essay. Student name:| Key Assessment criteria| Performance on these criteria| Comment| | F2| F1| P2 P1| C| D HD| | 1) Describe the two approaches to strategy. | | | | | (10%)| 2) Explain how the two approaches can assist or impede the marketing planning process.. | | | | | | (20%)| 3) Explain why balance between the two approaches is required, and varies depending on the circumstances. | | | | | | (20%)| 4) Describe and understand the two frameworks i. e. Game Theory and Scenario thinking. | | | | | | (20%)| 5) Compare the effectiveness of the two frameworks in assisting marketers to find a balance between the two approaches. | | | | | | (30%)| | Bad| Poor| Fair| Good| Wow! | | The student understands the content of the course lectures and readings | | | | | | | The student has found extra readings and has explained how they â€Å"fit† with the readings and lectures in the course| | | | | | | The student demonstrates understanding of the topic(s) beyond the course material. | | | | | | | Correct citation of references (Harvard style). All sources have been accurately and truthfully acknowledged. | | | | | | | Appropriate references are used, both in text and in the reference list. | | | | | | | Concepts are clearly expressed and logically connected to support an original opinion. | | | | | | Relevant original examples, real or imaginary. | | | | | | | Creative thinking is evident. | | | | | | | Critical thinking is evident| | | | | | | Reflective thinking is evident| | | | | | | The student has answered the question, and convincingly presented an original opinion in their own words. | | | | | | | The student has demonstrated what they have learned fr om this course. | | | | | | | Correct grammar and spelling. Submission format as in course information booklet. | | | | | | | Summary comment:Assignment grade: Marker:|