Caterpillar Company Analysis Using Porters 5 Forces Model

Introduction Porter’s five forces analysis is necessary for Caterpillar Company as it assists in comprehension of the market strengths and weaknesses.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Caterpillar Company Analysis Using Porter’s 5 Forces Model specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Although the Caterpillar Company has been a household name in the global heavy machinery manufacturing industry, there are several players that have limited its competitive advantage in the industry. The five forces determining the competitive advantage of companies operating within the heavy machinery manufacturing industry in the US are discussed below. Potential entrants Economies of scale The current players in the heavy machinery manufacturing industry have been in existence for long and have very large production capacities. For instance, Caterpillar, Deere, Kubota Corporation, Komatsu Limited, and AGCO Corporation have di verse and very big manufacturing plants spread across the US. Therefore, it is easy for these players to lower their prices as a competitive strategy since they directly benefit from economies of scale. Thus, a new entrant is disadvantaged in terms of pricing of its machineries since it will not benefit from economies of scale in the same magnitude as the current industry players (Wright, 2007). Cost disadvantages from other than scale The cost of putting up a single production unit is very expensive for a new entrant since the current players such as Caterpillar, Deere, Kubota Corporation, Komatsu Limited, and AGCO Corporation have breakeven and can easily manage the cost of production with clear market projections. A new entrant will find itself in the mucky waters of trying to manage the cost of producing a single unit of machinery to compete the average industry cost, which may not be practical for a small player (Wright, 2007).Advertising Looking for report on business ec onomics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Product differentiation Players in the industry such as Caterpillar, Deere, Kubota Corporation, Komatsu Limited, and AGCO Corporation have diversified their product as part of portfolio balance strategy. For instance, each of the above players have diversified heavy machinery to serve construction, agriculture, and manufacturing sectors to boost the total revenues each year. A new entrant may not be able to compete with these players since their diverse products and strong brand presence is almost impossible to challenge, especially when the new entrant plans to start small (Johnson, Whittington, Scholes, 2011). Capital requirements The heavy machinery manufacturing industry is characterized by capital intensive ventures since most of the machines are very expensive to product, maintain, and replace. For instance, Caterpillar has a capital worth of 28 billion dollars. It is very difficult f or a new entrant to easily enter this market and breakeven within two to three years since such ventures require a lot of capital in putting up factories, hiring skilled workers, and producing affordable and quality machineries (Johnson, Whittington, Scholes, 2011). Switching cost The cost of switching to different machinery at the production stage is very high since it requires complete overhaul of the previous plant. This is not sustainable in the short run for new player with relatively limited capital (Johnson, Whittington, Scholes, 2011). Within this aspect, switching cost for a new entrant may translate into closing down such a company.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Caterpillar Company Analysis Using Porter’s 5 Forces Model specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Access to distribution channels The players in the heavy machinery manufacturing industry have spread across the nation, opening numerous br anches in all major cities and centers. It would require massive capital for an aspiring investor to outperform their business prowess, in terms of established distribution channels (Wright, 2007). A new entrant will be in a disadvantaged position when attempting to penetrate this industry. Government policy There are stringent rules by the federal government that must be followed by any player in this industry. As a legal requirement, each company in the industry is expected by the regulatory authorities to be tax compliant and meet the minimal threshold in terms of safety, environmental friendliness, labor laws, and other business requirements (Wright, 2007). The approval process is very long and expensive for a new entrant with limited capital. From this analysis, it is apparent that the threat of a new entrant is very low since the switching cost and capital requirement are very high for a new player. Besides, the current players have high competitive advantage as a result of be nefits from brand differentiation and economies of scale. Threat of substitutes Deere, Kubota Corporation, and AGCO pose the greatest threat to existence and business performance of Caterpillar and any other player in this industry. These companies have been in the industry for long period and are well established. The Deere, Kubota Corporation, and AGCO have the same machineries and sometimes offer big discounts to customers. In the US heavy machinery manufacturing industry, loyalty to a brand plays an important role in customer behavior.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Therefore, Deere, Kubota Corporation, and AGCO have the ability to offer an alternative perfect substitute to customers who may be unsatisfied with machineries offered by Caterpillar and other players (Witcher Chau, 2010). Unsatisfied customers have other alternatives from where they can get heavy machinery. However, the threat of substitutes is moderate since changing a brand is very expensive for customers in terms of initial purchasing cost, maintenance, and further training of users. Power of suppliers Suppliers in the heavy machinery manufacturing industry have power owing to the existence of many players and high demand for different raw materials used in the heavy manufacturing plants. As a matter of fact, suppliers may instigate market demand and supply variances since most of the raw materials used in this industry in the US are imported. All the players depend on the suppliers such as the steel companies and engine manufacturers directly for the delivery affordable machin ery parts for assembly. This leaves the suppliers with the power to dictate on proceedings in the industry such as the cost of these parts and their availability (Nexis, 2015). However, through series of partnership agreements with independent manufacturers and vendors, the players in this industry have managed to curtail the power of the suppliers to moderate since there are series of jointly negotiated deals on the cost of these raw materials. Power of buyers Reflectively, the amount of output in terms of turn over sales depends on the buyers’ purchasing power. The higher the purchasing power, the better the turnover in total sales realized over a definite period of time. The performances of Caterpillar, Deere, Kubota Corporation, and AGCO in the US heavy manufacturing industry depend highly on the power of the heavy machinery users. On the other hand, unreliable and weak purchasing power translates into losses and underperformance (Wright, 2007). The players must therefore do everything within their means to ensure that service delivery and quality meets the expectations of customers since the power of the buyers is very high in this industry. Rivalry There are several players such as Caterpillar, Deere, Kubota Corporation, and AGCO operating in the same industry with virtually all of them dealing in a variety of machineries, which can perform similar functions. With many customers looking for good value for their money, durability and affordability of the machineries have remained the main basis upon which customers make their final decision to purchase products in the volatile industry. All the players in the industry are putting measures in place to ensure they attract more customers and therefore expand their market share (Johnson, Whittington, Scholes, 2011). In line with this, the Caterpillar factories are the biggest and busiest in the US. The influence of rivalry is very high due to existence of very many players with the same product brands . Appendix 1: Porter’s five forces analysis Competition Rivalry Determinants of buyer power Threat of Substitution Determinants of supplier power Threat of new entries The Caterpillar Company faces rivalry from both the local companies and international companies. The influence of rivalry is very high in the industry. Customer power is very high in the industry in which the Caterpillar and other heavy machinery companies operate in. The consumers may decide to shift if they feel unsatisfied with the cost, ease of usability, and perceived durability of the heavy machinery brands. The threat of substitute products is moderate in the heavy machinery industry as the cost of switching products for the consumers is quite high since these machines are very expensive and requires specialized servicing teams from the manufacturer. The supplier power in the industry is moderate. The players in the industry have negotiated standard prices of most of the imported materials used in t he industry. The threat of new entrants into the heavy machinery industry is very low. This industry is capital intensive and has very stringent government regulation policies that a small player may not survive in. References Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K. (2011). Exploring strategy (9th ed.). Alabama, Al: Prentice Hall. Nexis, L. (2015). Business and management strategy. Chicago, Ch: Glo-Bus Spring. Witcher, B., Chau, V. (2010). Strategic Management: Principles and Practice, Alabama, Al: Cengage Learning. Wright, P. (2007). A refinement of Porter’s strategies. Strategic Management Journal, 8(1), 93- 101. This report on Caterpillar Company Analysis Using Porter’s 5 Forces Model was written and submitted by user Ishaan T. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

An Essay Analysis Of Learning To Read Essays - Education

An Essay Analysis Of Learning To Read Essays - Education An Essay Analysis Of Learning To Read Summary and Purpose Learning to Read depicts how Malcolm X teaches himself to become more than a street hustler. His mere dislike of his lack of writing ability, and his envy of a fellow inmates(Bimbi) book collection motivates him to become a better writer. Bimbi was his initial motivation. As time passes his love for putting his thoughts and newly found words makes him a powerful talker. Authors Style and Techniques The Authors style and technique ranges from his use of flashbacks when Malcolm talks of the past when he could talk and people listened. He contrasted this to his to his lack of reading ability. Malcolms tone his pretty clear and straight to the point. By showing his dislikes without animosity he displays signs of a truly educated person. Readers Response I believe that Learning to Read is a metaphor for life. It tells how anyone can be at the bottom of anything, but you can get to rise with a little work and dedication. Especially when you come from jail to become as great as Malcolm X, you must be a learned person to get up and make something out of yourself.

Final Exam Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Final Exam - Assignment Example In this regards, one is assured of job security because of knowing another language. Knowledge of another language can be important can be advantageous when one wants to learn and understand cultures of other people. It is utterly impossible to comprehend other cultures if in the first place you do not know the language of those cultures. Lack of knowledge of other peoples’ culture may lead to intolerance and conflicts because behaviors in one culture are expressed differently through language in other cultures. 2. An English language learner (ELL) can be confused for a child with learning disability because both of these scenarios exhibit similar characteristics and behaviors. These two groups of individuals usually share a number of traits and sometimes the line separating them becomes blurred leading to mistaken identities. ELL students may speak infrequently in class and most of the times they make keep to themselves. In other times they may engage excessively in conversat ions using either their first language or English. Others may have poor memory, pronunciation, grammar and syntax, refusal to respond to questions besides refusing to volunteer information. This sort of confusion can be sorted out by the teachers of the students teaming up with other professionals in order to differentiate the problems arising due to learning disabilities and those due to second language acquisition. 3. One of the important strategies of promoting language in English learners is by using questions. Many teachers ask their students questions which to an ordinary student may appear to be redundant and obvious. When questions are asked about the community and other happenings outside the class, students tend to be more assertive and active in class which promotes second language acquisition. Another strategy is use of teaching practices that are culturally responsive in order to create a positive and interactive learning environment. Incorporation of cultural and lingu istic resources in the class occurs through such practices like storytelling and vivid description of past events by the students. Besides these two, a teacher can also use successful practices that ensure that there is promotion of language as a means of sharing experiences, ideas and interests in class. This simply means developing social groups within a class whereby students learn through shared experiences by socialization with peers. 4. Receptive as well as expressive language skills are very important and pertinent to the writing and reading processes. As such, they form a central part of emergent literacy in children since they form important ways in which children perceive and understand their world. Young children like adults usually learn through writing and reading but not in the way adults do because they are still learning their expressive and receptive skills. On the one hand, expressive skills are developed through reading whereas receptive skills come from reading. The combination of these two skills is very important in influencing how emergent literacy on a child will be. Children that have poor receptive and expressive learning usually tend to be poor in emergent literacy which affects their participation in class and their performance. 5. Emergent literacy develops over a long period in students which is depended on the ability of the students to move through different

Controversy of Real Name Policy on Facebook Research Paper

Controversy of Real Name Policy on Facebook - Research Paper Example More so, the Real-Name Policy on Facebook is a measure that has been endeavored to ensure that people know for sure whoever it is that they are connecting with, and in so doing, the whole Facebook community then remains safe, through effectively curtailing cyber-bullying (Meganmeierfoundation.org., 2014). In this respect, Real-Name Policy on Facebook requires that several identity measures should be observed. First, individuals should use the real name that they use in real life, when establishing a Facebook account, without adding numbers, unusual capitalization, symbols, punctuations or repeated characters (Facebook.com., 2014). Secondly, individuals establishing a Facebook account should refrain from adding characters from multiple languages, while at the same time refraining from adding any titles such as their profession or religion (Facebook.com., 2014). Finally, the individuals interested in joining Facebook should also ensure to avoid the usage of words, phrases or nicknames that are not part of their real names, while at the same time refraining from using any offensive or suggestive words, titles or phrases as part of their identity on the networking site (Facebook.com., 2014). This way, it will be possible for the Facebook community to remain safe, owing to the fact that p eople will only interact on the basis of knowing each other authentically, thus avoid the incidences of cyber-bullying that has been a characteristic of the social networking (Gà ¶rzig & Frumkin, 2013). Cyber-bullying has been defined as the application of the information technology tools in order to harass or harm others deliberately (Gà ¶rzig & Frumkin, 2013).  

Should People Be Able To Vote Online Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Should People Be Able To Vote Online - Essay Example the main reason due to which promoters of online voting are favoring the system is that they believe that such a voting system will increase the participation of the youth which forms the majority of the population throughout the world and are even the majority in the case of internet users. Online voting may increase the participation of the youth but may result in a digital divide. This means that only those individuals will be able to case votes online that have access to internet while those who do not have access to this resource will be left behind. Due to this the outcome of the elections will be favoring a few and will become a disadvantage for others. According to Cavanagh, during the period of 2003 a total of only 30% of those individuals who belonged to families earning less than $25k per year had internet access, while more than 90% of those who belonged to families that earned more than $100k had internet access (Cavanagh, 2007, p.65). This means that online voting will benefit only those who belong to higher income earning families. Another reason due to which people are in favor of internet voting is that it is inexpensive as it does not require the government to print ballot papers and hire individuals for the voting process. Government might be able to save money by implementing online voting but at the same time government expenditure will rise as the government will have to spend money on first developing such a system, they will have to spend money on educating people about the system and helping them understand the system. Chapman states that educating the public about the electronic voting system will alone cost  £9million (Chapman, 2011). This is just the cost of educating people, there are various other monetary costs associated with creating and adopting online voting system. The third reason for supporting online voting system is that it will provide accurate results. it can never be appropriate to suggest that online voting system will

Effect of Employee Empowerment on Customer Satisfaction

Effect of Employee Empowerment on Customer Satisfaction Employee empowerment and customer satisfaction is one of those terms that everyone thinks they understand, but few really do. Ask a dozen different people and youll get a dozen different answers to the question, What is employee empowerment? In fact,  research a dozen organizational theorists and youll get as many answers to the same  question. Some writers indicate that empowerment consists of sharing power and  authority. Others say that empowerment occurs when the organizations processes are  set-up to allow for it. If you keep in mind the secondary dictionary definition of to give  faculties or abilities to: enable (Grove, 1971, p.744), with all that this word implies, then  you will be on the right track for the purposes. Employee empowerment is a key feature of the modern management style. Empowered employees are expected to perform more effectively as compared to those working in  traditional or authoritarian organizational cultures. Empowered employees are more  motivated as compared to those who just follow the given lines. Employee  empowerment creates sense of belongingness and ownership towards the parent  organization. Empowered employee feel more confident and try to give their best to  their employers, as a result, service quality improves. Improved product or service  quality generally results into higher level of customer satisfaction. Higher level of  customer satisfaction results into a bigger sales volume resulting into an improved  profitability. Every business aims at earning profits; however profits and customer value  go hand in hand. In order to give maximum value to a customer, the service provider is  required to develop a sound understanding of the customer e xpectations. In the first part of this thesis, the authors will present the background to the problem,  which will then be specified in the second part. Further, the delimitations of this study  will be stated. After reading this first part, the reader will have gained a better  understanding of the research subject which leads to purpose and related research  questions guiding this study. 1.1 BACKGROUND Global markets have built a competitive environment in business. If the organizations  want to remain in the market, they must be inventive in lowering costs and value to  customers. So it is essential for an organization to utilize the full potential of its people. But the employees need power and control to make decisions to fulfill the customers  needs. According to (Cook, 1992) studies shown that people work with full energy when they  feel happy, even they are ready to sacrifice for organizations and give their blood to the  company. But when they feel valued and important. They show their involvement in the  business. (R Maxwell, 2005) Employees in a service organization and particularly, those who have  frequent contacts with the customer usually serve as representatives of both the  Organization and their products or services to the customer at contact point. The quality  of the service and the satisfaction the customer may derive will be an assessment of the  entire service experience. Employees who are empowered in an organization can either  portray a positive or negative picture to the customers. 1.2 PURPOSE STATEMENT The purpose of this survey based quantitative research is to determine and identify the  perception of employees about the employee empowerment in banking sector of  Pakistan. At what extent these organizations are practicing employee empowerment,  and how much this empowerment has impact on service quality and customer  satisfaction. In matters concerning financial commitments, investments and spending customers, not  only need reassurance that their finances are safe, but also that they are valued for  committing their stakes with a particular financial institution. Customers of a bank rely  on the services delivered to them by the bank whether they are saving depositing,  taking loans, cashing cheques or buying funds, they count on the employees  responsible for handling issues relating to them, to deliver high service quality in other  to increase their satisfaction. 1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY This research will provide a deep view to the implications of employee  empowerment to employees, government, employers, students and the general  public who have an interest in the study. The readers will be able to understand new relations between different variables  and conceptual understanding of these variables. They will read new concepts in  the context of banking sector e.g. organizational image, effectiveness and  efficiency and building trust. This research is targeted at the management of organizations within the banking  industry, and industries producing highly intangible-dominant services, as  suggestion regarding employee empowerment, which when practiced can  enhance customer satisfaction and create a good customer- perceived service  quality. 1.4 OBJECTIVES Main objectives of the study is to determine the impact of employee empowerment on  customer satisfaction in banking sector of Pakistan. General objectives: To determine the impact of employee empowerment on effectiveness and  efficiency. To determine the impact of employee empowerment on service quality. To determine the impact of employee empowerment on organizational image. 1.5 RESEARCH QUESTION What is the impact of employee empowerment on customer satisfaction in banking  sector of Pakistan? CHAPTER TWO LITRATURE REVIEW 2.0 INTRODUCTION Inside of todays unstable public and private sectors, external pressures from political,  environmental, social and technological sources require management to seek out,  evaluate and embrace, new planning, organizational and operating techniques to  remain on track in pursuit of their associations mission and long-term goals. Among  the myriad of proposed theories, models and plans submitted in the past decade to the  managerial community for possible acceptance and implementation is the concept of  employee empowerment. Within the spectrum of discussion on employee  empowerment, rhetoric inevitably mentions the relevant success or failure of  empowerment as a viable tool to upper management. According to (Kirkman, 1989) empowerment of employees is continuously growing  today in Europe. Multinationals have a great concern on empowerment of employees. Empowerment increase employee motivation and positive orientation towards his work  role and finally results in higher productivity.(Watson,2003)over the past few years,  traditional management has gone and new democratic approaches has takes its place. Employee empowerment, which came up in 1990s, is known as one of the new  management concepts. (Hanold, 1997) However, when the relevant literature is  analyzed, this concept is understood to have a longer history than previously thought  with its roots Human Rights Movement of 1950 and 1960s, empowerment has rather  closely related to the various concepts and techniques designed to democratize the  work-place. 2.1 EFFECTIVENESS EFFICIENCY (Conger, Kanangu, 1988) management researchers and practitioners have keen  interest in concept of empowerment and related management practices. This interest is  due to several reasons. First studies on leadership and managerial skills suggest that  the practice of empowering subordinate is a principal component of managerial and  organizational effectiveness. Second analyses of power and control within organization  reveals that the total productive form of organizational power and effectiveness grow  with superior sharing of power and control with subordinates. (Mayers, 1987)  employees are effective performers when they are empowered. Because it is the fact  that the employees who have authority to take decisions perform better. And utilize the  resources of the organization efficiently. 2.2 SERVICE QUALITY In banking organizations, the general offering in a particular industry is averagely  similar, even though they may engage in different approaches to achieving a  differentiation from the others, to be able to gain more market share and customers in  the industry. According to (Gooronos, 2001), that almost any retailing bank can provide  an individual with retailing services, but not every bank manages to treat customers in a  way that they are pleased with. Service providers therefore seek to differentiate themselves from their rivals by offering customers higher quality of services than their  competitors, which makes the basis of their competition to be defined by their services. (K.Sen, 2008)The nature of services as being intangible, heterogeneous, perishable,  produced, and consumed at same time makes it peculiar to deliver, and challenging to  organizations to achieve a differentiation from the others. 2.3 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION (Spetz, Butler; 2008)In the past years the competition in the banking sector is  increasing. There is more choice for the customers and thereby the banks have to work  harder to attract customers. (Peter, Waterman, 1982) focused that good organizations  align their strategies and goals to the requirement s of their customers .One way is to  care employees and empower them. (George 1992)There exists an interaction between  the desired results and customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and customer retention. CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH METHADOLOGY 3.0 INTRODUCTION Research methodology is defined as the analysis of the principles of methods, rules,  and postulates employed by a discipline or the development of methods, to be applied  within a discipline or a particular procedure or set of procedures. It should be noted that  methodology is frequently used when method would be more accurate. Methodology  includes the following concepts as they relate to a particular discipline or field of inquiry: 1. A collection of theories, concepts or ideas. 2. Comparative study of different approaches. 3. Critique of the individual methods. Methodology refers to more than a simple set of methods; rather it refers to the rationale  and the philosophical assumptions that underlie a particular study. This is why scholarly  literature often includes a section on the methodology of the researchers. Another key,  although arguably imprecise, usage for methodology does not refer to research or to the  specific analysis techniques. This often refers to anything and everything that can be  encapsulated for a discipline or a series of processes, activities and tasks. Research is the search for knowledge through objectives and systematic method of  finding solutions to a problem. It is an original contribution to the existing stock of  knowledge making for its advancement. It is also pursuit of truth with the help of study  observation comparison and experiment and it is the science of studying how a  research is done. This chapter outlines the various stages of the research  methodology. Namely sampling procedures, data collection methods, questionnaire  design and coding of questionnaire etc. 3.1 RESEARCH STRATEGY For the purpose of this research, questionnaire-filling strategy is chosen. Primary data  will be collected through the survey questionnaire. The required information was  collected from the selected areas of Lahore in Pakistan, in order to have a complete  knowledge and insight about the activities of the banking. The study will involve a sampling of 130 individual customers of banking from a Lahore  in Pakistan. CHAPTER FOUR 4.0 TIME SCALE The following Gantt chart represents the estimated time the researcher plans on  covering the research. November December January February No ACTIVITY 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Submission of proposal waiting 1 for approval 2 Read literature 3 Introduction objectives of study 4 Draft literature review 5 Draft methodology Write questionnaire, send 6 questionnaire 7 Updating chapter 1 2 analysis Draft submission, review of all 8 chapters 9 Conclusion abstract 10 Final review of all chapters 11 Final draft submission 4.1 TIME A time resource, available is approximately 3 months (Beginning from proposal  approval) and its management has been planned as shown in the Gantt chart above,  from the Gantt chart. 4.2 COST The cost of whole research is fully sponsored be researcher. This includes all costs  incurred, inclusive of printing, transport, and communication costs. 4.3 OTHER RESOURCES Other resources that the researcher is planning to use are SPSS version 16.0 for this  analysis and other statistic analytical tools.

chinese religous and ethical systems :: essays research papers

Chinese Religious and Ethical Systems   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It has often been said that the Chinese are not deeply religious. It is true that they have shown a comparative indifference to metaphysical speculation; Chinese culture was perhaps the first to develop an intellectual skepticism concerning the gods.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Confucianism Confucius (Kong Zi) lived from 551 to 479 BC in the state of Lu (in modem Shandong province). He came from a family of officials and his concern was with the restoration of the Way (Dao) of the ancient sages. His teaching was therefore related mainly to society and its government. He advocated strict conformity, and thought that fostering correct behavior, within the context of the family, would produce an ordered society. He was not particularly interested in religion, except insofar as it related to social life. However, in 59 AD during the Han dynasty, it was decreed that sacrifice should be made to Confucius and this began a process that was to make Confucian philosophy into the foundation of the Chinese political order. Confucius himself had only accepted the legitimacy of sacrifice to one's own ancestors, but from now on an official Confucian cult emerged, with its own temples. It gradually became linked with the state cult of the Emperor. From the fifth century AD Confucian orthodoxy retreated before the popularity of Buddhism and Daoism. But a renaissance came during the Sung dynasty when Confucianism responded to the challenge and developed its own metaphysics. This new trend is known as Neo-Confucianism, and its main exponent was Zhu Xi (1130-1200). It subsequently became the main orthodoxy of the scholar officials until the demise of the imperial system in 1912. In contemporary China, the Confucian cult has disappeared, but the Confucian approach to government and society retains a powerful hold on many people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Daoism (Taoism) The origins of Daoism are obscure, but it is first seen as a rival to Confucianism. The teachings of early Taoism are ascribed to Lao Zi in the fifth century BC who is the reputed author of the most influential Taoist text, the Dao De Jing (The Way and its Power). Where the Confucian stressed ethical action, the Taoist spoke of the virtue of Wu Wei (non-action), going with the flow of things. Like the Confucians, Daoists looked back to a golden age. The good ruler, they thought, guided his people with humility, not seeking to interfere with the rhythms of social life conducted within the larger patterns of the natural world and the whole cosmos.

Pervasive Developmental Disorders in Preschool Children Essay

Pervasive Developmental Disorders is the umbrella term for   neuro-developmental disorder exhibited in children which is characterized by language deficits, impaired social skills and abnormal behavior. PDDs include PDD-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), Asperger Syndrome, Autism-, Chidhood Disintegrative-, and Rett Disorder. Increase patterns of autism disorders for the past 15 yrs at England may indicate changes in PDD and the study attempted PPD estimation in a defined geographic region.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Population under case study were obtained from child center developments Stafford, Cannock, and Wightwick in the Midlands, England from July 1998 to June 1999 with a target population of 15, 500 children born on and between January 1, 1992, to December 31, 1995, that were identified as residents for the specified area on June 6, 1998. Case identification for the disease proceeded by four consecutive stages. Stage 1 was primarily concerned with screening by health practitioners and/or pediatricians at 0 wk, 6 wk, 6-9 mo, 18-24 mo, and 3.25-3.50 yr and then their subsequent referrals for the possible children displaying the symptoms for the disease. five hundred seventy-six underwent this stage. The referred children undergo secondary screening, â€Å"Stage 2†, under the trained eye of a child development physician or a child development teamand when they have failed the test, they will undergo subsequent 2 wk assessment conducted by a multidisciplinary team —speech and language therapist, pediatric physical therapist, occupational therapist, dental nurse, nutritionist, and a nurse specialist in PDDs and associated intervention— using 2-hr activity and play to make PDD diagnosis. For stage 3, one hundred three children were diagnosed with PDD and 95 % of them underwent Stage 4. Parents naturally accompany their children during the activities. Strong suspects for the disease were further assessed (stage 4), with Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised algorithm by developmental physicians and those positive for the disease undergo further psychometric assessment— Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence and the Merrill-Palmer—conducted by a senior educational psychologist. Final diagnosis were carried out using DSM-IV diagnostic criteria to classify the PDD type of disorder. To test reliability of the study, blinding of 3 trained raters for the 38 AD-R tapes were carried out and then assessed for intraclass correlation coefficiency ( Ï social interaction=0.82; Ï verbal c. = 0.85, Ï non-verbal=0.87; Ï repetitive behavior =0.59, ÃŽ £=0.86) and personal assements. Results matched perfectly for the original diagnosis. PDD patients were undergo full laboratory chemistry tests as well as gene map, X test, electroencephalogram, and possibly CT and/or MRI scans (for neurologic damage suspects). Comparison analyses were assessed at ÃŽ ¡0.05 using Kruskal-Wallis and one-way ANOVA followed by post hoc Scheffà © pairwise comparisons.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Analysis for the 97 PDD referrals health visitors as having the highest number of referrals (81%) with the children averaging 35.7 mo at the referral time and 41 mo at the time of clinical diagnosis. Pairwise comparison indicates the order of mean age at the time of the referral for the different groups: Asperger Syndrome (47.5 mo )> PDD-NOS (37.2 mo)> AD (30 mo). ANOVA indicates significances at 11.3 mo and Post-Hoc Schaeffer test indicates similarity of order of mean age to that of non-parametric pairwise comparison.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There were no found differences for syndrome proportionality in the 77 males of the sample population. Thirty percent of the sample population was found to exhibit language impairment characterized by repetitive three-word phrases which was directly correlated to AD subtype. Psychrometric test reveals almost 26 % mental retardation. Two childen with CDD and Rett scored under moderate mental retardation. Chi-square test, P

Self-Efficacy Example

Self Self Self-efficacy Introduction Mr. John Stewart is a high school teacher at a local high school. He is a teacher and a head of adepartment in the school. His duties include teaching, setting examinations, marking both books and exam papers and preparing student reports. As a head of a department, he cares for many school resources including books. Additionally, he offers guidance and counselling to his students besides disciplining unruly students. His job is challenging. He must, therefore, possess the appropriate attitude to succeed.Mr. Stewart has a strong self-efficacy. He believes in himself and strives to remain professional. His has ten years of experience and has the professional training. He, therefore, believes that he is a good and experienced teacher. He handles his responsibilities both as a class teacher and as a head of a department effectively a feature that does not only portray his ability but also shows his high self-esteem. The school appreciates his efforts. As such, the school has employed a number of appropriate strategies to motivate him thereby enhancing the growth of his self-efficacy. His promotion to the head of a department was one such strategy. The additional responsibilities proved that the school trusted his abilities. He, therefore, strives to deliver effectively since he believes that he is capable to (Randhawa, 2007).Despite such, the school can employ modern trends in developing greater self-efficacy in Mr. Stewart to improve his productivity. Such trends include sponsoring his subsequent professional training in the form of seminars and workshops, improving his pay and promoting him to administrative positions (Bandura, 1998). Through such, Mr. Stewart would embrace the new responsibilities and enjoy the favors a feature that would encourage him to work harder than he currently does (Karami & Maimunah, 2013).ReferencesBandura, A. (1998).  Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York, NY: Freeman.Randhawa, G. (2007).  Ed ucation and human resource management. New Delhi: A P H Pub. Corp.Karami, R., & Maimunah, I. (2013).  Achievement motivation in the leadership role of extension agents. Newcastle : Cambridge Scholars.

Information and Media Imperialism Essays

Information and Media Imperialism Essays Information and Media Imperialism Essay Information and Media Imperialism Essay New imperialism Information and media imperialism? n Christian Fuchs University of Salzburg, Austria ABSTRACT This article explores whether contemporary society can be characterized as demonstrating a new form of the Marxist notion of imperialism and as informational/ media imperialism. In an attempt to answer this question, I employ Vladimir Lenin’s analysis of imperialism. Paying particular attention to the relevance of media and information, I test Lenin’s theories against macroeconomic statistical analysis of existing data. My analysis is structured according to Lenin’s five characteristics of imperialism: (1) the role of economic concentration; (2) the dominance of finance capital; (3) the importance of capital export; (4) the spatial stratification of the world as result of corporate dominance; and (5) the political dimension of the spatial stratification of the world. The results demonstrate that Lenin’s theories should be reloaded for contemporary media and communication studies. KEY WORDS communication n globalization n Lenin n media n new imperialism Introduction In recent years, the notions of imperialism and capitalist empire have gained importance in critical globalization studies. This discourse forms the background and context for this paper. In the 20th century, the notion of imperialism has been primarily advanced by Marxist theorists, such as the classical theories of imperialism (Nikolai Bukharin, Karl Kautsky, Vladimir Lenin, Rosa Luxemburg, etc. ). Within this context, thi s paper deals with the question: Is the new imperialism an informational imperialism? My goal is to make a contribution to the new imperialism debate rom an information-, media- and communication-studies perspective. The notion of imperialism employed is Lenin’s classical one, so the task becomes to analyse the role of the media in a contemporary reactualization of Lenin’s notion of imperialism. The main section of the paper is structured according to the Global Media and Communication [1742-7665(2010)6:1] Volume 6(1): 33–60 Copyright  © 2010 SAGE Publications (Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC: http://gmc. sagepub. com)/10. 1177/1742766510362018 33 34 Global Media and Communication 6(1) sequence of the five characteristics of imperialism employed by Lenin (1917). Each of these sections discusses the question if a specific quality of imperialism is topical. The interest in Lenin’s theory is analytical and grounded in the recently emerging academic debate on the role of Lenin’s theory today (cf. e. g. Budgen et al. , 2007; Lih, 2005; Zizek 2004a). Contemporary theories of imperialism, empire and global capitalism can be categorized on a continuum that describes the degree of novelty of imperialism. At one end of the continuum there are authors who argue that imperialism no longer exists today and that a post-imperialistic empire has emerged. The stress is on discontinuity (e. g. Hardt and Negri, 2000, 2004; Negri, 2008; Panitch and Gindin, 2004, 2005; Robinson, 2004, 2007; for a discussion of Hardt and Negri see Buchanan and Pahuja, 2004; Callinicos, 2003b, 2007: 345; Laffey and Weldes, 2004; Zizek, 2004b). At the other end of the continuum there are authors who argue that contemporary capitalism is just as imperialistic as imperialism 100 years ago or that it has formed a new imperialism. The stress is on continuity (Callinicos, 2003a, 2003b, 2005, 2007; Harvey, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007; Wood, 2003; Zeller, 2004a, 2000b). A middle ground is the assumption that imperialism has re-emerged and been qualitatively transformed, that through capitalist development and crisis new qualities of capitalism have emerged and others been preserved, and that the new qualities on the one hand constitute a return to capitalist imperialism, but that on the other hand there are aspects of imperialism today that are different from the imperialism that Lenin, Luxemburg, Kautsky and Bukharin described 100 years ago (O’Byrne, 2005; Sklair, 2002). For Lenin, there are five characteristics of imperialism: 1) The concentration of production and capital developed to such a stage that it creates monopolies which play a decisive role in economic life. 2) The merging of bank capital with industrial capital, and the creation, on the basis of ‘finance capital’, of a financial oligarchy. 3) The export of capital, which has become extremely important, as distinguished from the export of commodities. 4) The formation of international capitalist monopolies which share the world among themselves. ) The territorial division of the whole world among the greatest capitalist powers is completed. (Lenin, 1917: 237) Lenin defined imperialism as: capitalism in that stage of development in which the domination of monopolies and finance capital has established itself; in which the export of capital has acquired pronounced importance; in which the division of the world among the international trusts has begun: in which the division of a ll Fuchs New imperialism 35 the territories of the globe among the biggest capitalist powers has been completed. (Lenin, 1917: 237) Lenin gave close attention to the empirical data that was available at his time. He undertook ‘enormous preparatory work’ (Labica, 2007: 223) for his work on imperialism that is documented in his 21 ‘Notebooks on Imperialism’ (Lenin, 1912–1916), which contain notes on 150 books and 240 articles. To re-engage with Lenin’s theory of imperialism today should therefore be an examination and update of his theoretical arguments and the support of these arguments by data in the same empirical rigour that Lenin showed in his own work and that contemporary works unfortunately frequently lack. Updating Lenin can be undertaken by substituting ‘for the data he presented what we have available today’ (Labica, 2007: 232). To repeat and reload Lenin today means ‘to retrieve the same impulse in today’s constellation’ (Zizek, 2004a: 11; see also Budgen et al. , 2007: 1–4). This also means to take Lenin as a theoretical and methodological impulse for contemporary critical globalization studies. The connection of imperialism and the information sector is not specific for new imperialism. So, for example, Boyd-Barrett has shown that already in the 19th and early 20th century the big news agencies Havas, Reuters and Wolff ‘were based in imperial capitals’ and their expansion ‘was intimately associated with the territorial colonialism of the late nineteenth century’ (Boyd-Barrett, 1980: 23). At the time of Lenin, they served as government propaganda arms in the First World War (Boyd-Barrett and Rantanen, 1998: 7). For example, Reuters ‘was for the most part the unofficial voice of the Empire, giving prominence to British views’ (Thussu, 2006: 11). Winseck and Pike (2007) show with the example of the global expansion of cable and wireless companies (such as e. g. Western Union, Eastern Telegraph Company, Commercial Cable Company, Atlantic Telegraph Company or Marconi) in the years 1860–1930 that at the time of Lenin there was a distinct connection between communication, globalization, and capitalist imperialism. The growth of a worldwide network of fast cables and telegraph systems, in tandem with developments in railways and steamships, eroded some of the obstacles of geography and made it easier to organize transcontinental business. These networks supported huge flows of capital, technology, people, news, and ideas which, in turn, led to a high degree of convergence among markets, merchants, and bankers. (Winseck and Pike, 2007: 1) 2 The new imperialism and the information economy In the next five subsections, I will analyse which role information industries play in each of the five characteristics of imperialism today. The sequence of discussion is structured according to Lenin’s five qualities of imperialism. 36 Global Media and Communication 6(1) 2. The concentration of capital in the information sector The enormous growth of industry and the remarkably rapid process of concentration of production in ever-larger enterprises represent one of the most characteristic features of capitalism. (Lenin, 1917: 178) Lenin identified an antagonism between competition and monopoly as an immanent feature of capitalism (Lenin, 1917: 180, 185, 236, 260ff. ). The formation of monopolies and the concentration of capita l are for Lenin not an exception from the rule of competition, but a necessary outcome of capitalist competition. Concentration indicators that Lenin used included: the development of the number of large enterprises; the share of workers in the economy that are employed by large enterprises; and the share of output in an industry that is produced by large enterprises. One way in which industries become more concentrated is through mergers and acquisitions (MA). Figure 1 shows that the finance sector accounted for the largest share of the mergers and acquisitions (MA) in 2006: 24. per cent (1717) of all MA, whereas the transport, storage and communication sector accounted for 5. 4 per cent (379) of all MA and the printing and publishing industries accounted for 2. 0 per cent (142). All of these sectors have experienced dramatic rises in the number of MA, but the largest and most rapid increase is in finance, which is an indication that finance is the most heavily concentrated sector. Figure 1 Total number of mergers and acquisitions in selected industries Source: Author’s figures based on UNCTAD data. Fuchs New imperialism 37 Figure 2 Share of the number of large corporations (gt;250 employees) in total number of corporations (EU27 countries) Source: Author’s calculations based on Eurostat. Within the framework of the study of capital concentration, one can analyse the concentration of information sectors. Large informationproducing companies, which are those firms that have more than 250 employees, make up only a small share of the overall number of information companies in the EU27 countries (Figure 2). In information-producing branches, a small number of large companies accounts for a large share of the total employees, total turnover and total value added. These shares are higher than in industry and services in general for most information branches. This applies especially in the areas of post/ telecommunications and the manufacturing of communication equipment (Figures 3, 4, 5). In post and telecommunications, large companies make up 0. 9 per cent of all companies and account for 87. 8 per cent of all employees, 87. 2 per cent of total turnover, and 91. per cent of total value added. In the manufacturing of communication equipment, large companies make up 1. 6 per cent of all companies and account for 65. 5 per cent of all employees, 84. 1 per cent of total turnover, and 76. 8 per cent of total value added. A high concentration of information industries is not only specific for Europe, but can also be found in the United States (Figure 6). In the entire US media sector, there we re 330 large corporations (gt;1000 employees), which accounted for 0. 01 per cent of all media corporations in 2002, but controlled 78 per cent of all revenues. In the telecommunications sector, 72 large corporations made up 0. 9 per cent of all companies in the industry, but controlled 88 per cent of all sector-wide revenues. 38 Global Media and Communication 6(1) Figure 3 Share of large companies (gt;250 employees) in total employees (EU27) Source: Author’s calculations based on Eurostat. Figure 4 Share of turnover by large companies (gt;250 employees) in EU27 countries Source: Author’s calculations based on Eurostat. Information industries are not the only ones that are highly concentrated. So for example in the EU27 countries, value added is very highly concentrated in the mining of coal and lignite and the extraction of peat (large companies account for 4. 9 per cent of all companies and for 92. 9 per cent of sectoral value added), the manufacture of tobacco products (20% are large companies and account for 93. 7% of value added in the industry), and the manufacture of coke, refined petroleum products and nuclear fuel (9. 9% are large companies and account for 93. 1% of sectoral value added) (data for 2005, Eurostat). Fuchs New imperialism 39 Figure 5 Share of value added (at factor cost) controlled by large companies (gt;250 employees) in EU27 countries. Source: Author’s calculations based on Eurostat. Figure 6 Media concentration in the USA Source: Author’s calculations based on US 2002 Economic Census 40 Global Media and Communication 6(1) Information sectors, such as publishing, telecommunications and the manufacturing of communication equipment, do not form the most concentrated economic sector, but are among the most highly concentrated industries. . 2 Finance capital and information capital [Finance capital] is the bank capital of the few big monopolist banks, merged with the capital of the monopolist combines of manufacturers. (Lenin, 1917: 237) Under imperialism, finance capital commands: almost the whole of the money capital of all the capitalists and small businessmen and also a large part of the means of production and of the sources of raw materials of the given country and of a number of countries. (Lenin, 1917: 190) The banks’ control of the flow of investment money that is used for operating corporations gives them huge economic power for controlling the capitalist economy (Lenin, 1917: 194). Lenin mentioned that banks are influential in accelerating technical progress (Lenin, 1917: 202). Capital concentration and the formation of finance capital are connected developments (Lenin, 1917: 203). Finance capital aims at generating extraordinarily high rates of profit (Lenin, 1917: 210). A finance oligarchy consisting of rentiers would emerge in imperialism (Lenin, 1917: 213). The indicators that Lenin used for verifying the second characteristic of imperialism, included: development of the percentage of total deposits controlled by banks of a certain size (measured by total controlled capital); development of the number of holdings and establishments of certain banks; development of the number of letters received and dispatched by certain banks; development of the amount of capital held by certain banks; development of the capital invested by certain banks in a country; development of the profit rate of certain banks; and development of the total securities issued by certain banks. How important are information companies in comparison to finance corporations in the world economy? In order to give an answer, I have analysed the 2008 Forbes list of the world’s 2000 biggest companies by economic sectors. The results are presented in Figure 7. Finance companies and financial service corporations together accounted for the vast share of capital assets in 2008 (75. 96%). The second largest sector was oil, gas and utilities (5. 82%). The third largest sector was the information sector (4. 3%), comprised (for statistical reasons) of the following sub-domains: telecommunications; technology hardware and equipment; media content; software; and semiconductors. Fuchs New imperialism 41 5. 82% 4. 63% 1. 96% 1. 51% 1. 48% 1. 36% 1. 29% 0. 97% 75. 96% Finance (Banking, Financials, Insurance) Oil Gas Operations, Utilities Information (Telecommunications, Technology Hardware Equipment, Media, Software Services, Semiconductors) Consumer Durables Food (Food, Drinks Tob acco; Food Markets; Hotel, Restaurants Leisure) Conglomerates Materials Transportation Construction Figure 7 Share of selected industries in total capital assets of the world’s largest 2000 corporations. Source: Author’s figures based on Forbes 2000, 2008 list. Information companies are important in the global capitalist economy, reflecting a trend towards informatization, that is, the rise of the importance of information in economy, but they are far less important than finance and the oil and gas industry. Fossil fuels are still very important in the contemporary economy. This is an indication that industrial society is not over, and that we have entered a hyperindustrial area, in which information production, selling and consumption becomes an important factor of the overall economy, but are still no substitute for the economic importance of finance capital and fossil fuels. Financialization, hyperindustrialization and informatization characterize contemporary imperialist capitalism. The data in Figure 8 are for the year 2007. Data for the year 2008 (Forbes, 2000: list for 2009, available online at Forbes. com), which was the year a new worldwide economic crisis started, show that the financial sector suffered tremendous losses. The world’s biggest 176 diversified financial corporations had combined losses of $46. 27 billion, the world’s 92 largest insurance companies sustained losses of $61. 8 billion. Nonetheless, the financial sector still accounted for 74. per cent of all assets of the world’s 2000 largest corporations, oil, gas and utilities for 6. 2 per cent, and the information economy for 4. 6 per cent. These are only minor changes in comparison to 2007, which shows that the economic crisis did not undermine the inner-capitalist hegemony of financial capital. 42 Global Media and Communication 6(1) 2. 3 Capital export and the information industries Under modern capitalism, when monopolies prevail, the export of capital has become the typical feature. (Lenin, 1917: 215) The goal of imperialism is for Lenin the achievement of high profits by exporting capital to countries in which `capital is scarce, the price of land is relatively low, wages are low, raw materials are cheap (Lenin, 1917: 216). Indicators that Lenin used for verifying the third characteristic of imperialism included the absolute amount of capital invested abroad by certain nations and the geographical distribution of foreign direct investment. What are the most important economic sectors in capital export and the outsourcing of production? In which areas is the economy most globalized? What is the role of the information sector? Figure 8 shows that transport, storage and telecommunications has been the fastest growing sector of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the past 20 years (from 1. 6% to 7. 6% of all FDI inflows). Nonetheless, information industries are not dominant; more important in FDI than transport and communication are the sectors of finance, mining/quarrying/petroleum, and trade. Figure 8 Selected sectors of FDI (inflows). Source: Author’s figures based on data from UNCTAD. Fuchs New imperialism 3 A number of authors have argued that global/transnational media organizations have emerged (Appadurai, 1990/2006; Herman and McChesney, 1997; McChesney, 1999; Rantanen, 2005; Schiller, 1991/2006; Sklair, 2002: 164–207; Sreberny, 1991/2006). Herbert Schiller (1991/2006: 297) speaks in this context of ‘transnational corporate cultural domination’. Edward Herman and Robert McChesney (1997 , see also McChesney 1999: 78–118) argue that global media advance corporate expansion by advertising and create an ideological environment for a global profitdriven social order. Neoliberalism and mergers and acquisitions would have resulted in a tiered global media system dominated by a small number of colossal, vertically integrated media conglomerates (measured by annual sales), such as News Corporation, Time Warner, Disney, Bertelsmann, Viacom, ATT (TCI), Vivendi (Seagram acquired MCA in 1995 and Polygram in 1998 to became the Universal Music Group, which became part of Vivendi in 2000), General Electric (NBC), or Sony (Herman and McChesney, 1997: 52ff. , 72–105; McChesney, 1999: 86ff. ). The main feature of the global media system is, for Herman and McChesney (1997: 152), the global implantation of a model of privately owned commercial media. Possible negative effects would be the global spread of consumption as lifestyle, the displacement of the public sphere with entertainment, the strengthening of conservative political forces, and the erosion of local cultures (Herman and McChesney, 1997: 154ff. ). Other scholars are more sceptical, doubt the emergence of global media, or argue that their existence is a myth (Flew, 2007; Hafez, 2007). Terry Flew (2007: 87) lists data on the foreign asset share, the transnationality index, and the foreign revenue share of Time Warner, Disney, News Corporation and Viacom for the year 2005, in order to argue that ‘media corporations are less globalized than major corporations in other sectors’, globalization of media and entertainment is moving slowly, and that News Corporation is the only truly global media company (Flew, 2007: 87ff. ). This analysis is not convincing because inductive generalizations from data for four companies are not conclusive, the indicators are mainly consumption- and not production-oriented (in contrast to, for example, the share of foreign employees), and other information sectors are not taken into account. Not only media content producers are media companies, but also media infrastructure capital and media technology capital (telecommunications, software, hardware) should be taken into account. Also the internet, the computer, and the mobile phone are media. Colin Sparks (2007: 172–4) analyses the foreign assets and sales of News Corporation and Viacom (for 2002) and Time Warner (for 2004) and argues that global media are ‘centred in a single â€Å"home† country’ (Sparks, 2007: 174). 44 Global Media and Communication 6(1) Table 1 Transnationality index of the world’s largest information corporations Year Top 100 average TNI of all included corporations Information corporations’ average TNI N (Number of information corporations in ranking) 2001 55. % 60. 2% 26 2002 57% 55. 0% 22 2003 55. 8% 55. 3% 21 2004 56. 8% 55. 9% 21 2005 59. 9% 59. 5% 20 2006 61. 6% 61. 7% 18 Source: Calculations based on World Investment Reports 2003–2008. I have analysed the transnationality data that is published in the annual World Investment Report by UNCTAD. UNCTAD’s transnationality index (TNI) measures the global dimension of a company by a composite measure that covers the world largest companies’ shares of assets, sales and employees outside of the home country. Table 1 shows the average TNI of the top 100 corporations listed in the World Investment Reports (UNCTAD, 2003–2008) and the average of information corporations. Information/media corporations are in this context defined as all companies from the domains of computer and related activities, electrical and electronic equipment, media, printing and publishing, and telecommunications. Media content capital and media infrastructure capital have a common referent – information – so summarizing these companies under the category of information corporations or media corporations is feasible. The data show that the TNI of the largest information corporations has in the years 2001–2006 been close to the total average and that the information companies covered by the TNI are more global than local in their operations, which casts doubt on the assumption (made by Flew, Hafez, and others) that there are no global media corporations. Table 2 shows further indicators for the degree of transnationality of information corporations: the average share of foreign ssets in total assets, the average share of foreign sales in total sales, the average share of foreign employment in total employment, and the share of foreign affiliates in total affiliates. The values for the 18 information corporations that are included in the 2006 list of the world’s top 100 TNCs are compared to the total average values for all 100 included companies. For calculating these shares, I treated all companies (and respectively information companies) as a totality (what Marx [1867: 344] termed à ¢â‚¬Ëœcollective capital’) so that the shares were calculated based on aggregated values. Fuchs New imperialism 45 Table 2 Indicators of the degree of transnationality of the world’s largest Information corporations (N = 18) Average of all corporations Foreign assets share Foreign sales share Foreign employment share Foreign affiliates share 61. 39% 64. 35% 60. 48% 69. 38% Information corporations: average 62. 50% 64. 05% 58. 36% 68. 15% Source: Calculations based on data for 2006, World Investment Report 2008 Statistical data suggest that the globalization of media/information corporations is not a myth, as claimed by scholars like Hafez and Flew. There surely is not a purely global media system – as transnational corporations are grounded in their respective national economies. But global production in the form of outsourcing, subcontracting and spatially diffused production seems to be an emergent quality of capitalism and therefore also of information corporations. Indicators such as the transnationality index, the foreign assets share, the foreign sales share, the foreign employment share, and the foreign affiliates share allow measuring the degree of transnationality of information companies. Data for the world’s largest information companies suggest that although they are fairly grounded in national economies, they follow the general trend of TNCs to have the majority of their assets, sales, employment and affiliates located outside of their home countries. This is not a uniform pattern, but a general trend. Emergent qualities are additions to old qualities that transform systems, but do not supersede and eliminate them. Transnationality is not something entirely new; instead – it is a degree, measure and tendency. Globalization of the media is something different from fully global media: certain media corporations become more global, parts of production are outsourced to other countries and parts of sales are achieved in other countries. The degree of sourcing, investment, affiliations, employment, assets, sales and profits outside the home country are indicators for the degree of globalization of a media corporation. That the calculated average shares are close to 60 per cent is an indication not for the emergence of fully global information corporations, but for the globalization of the operations of information corporations. These information TNCs are all capitalist in character, each focuses on capital accumulation on national and transnational levels that are interlinked. 46 Global Media and Communication 6(1) Transnationality is an emergent quality of the informational dimension of new imperialism. Transnationality is not entirely global, but an emergent quality in comparison to Fordist capitalism, in which many corporations were either state owned or rather nationally contained by regulation. Concerning the world’s largest information corporations, corporate structures have become global and ever more influenced by media and information. Media globalization then means that corporatism – the structuration of media organizations according to the logic of capital accumulation and profit maximization – has expanded its worldwide scope. Corporatism rules the world, therefore it also rules media and information organizations, which have increasingly been transformed into media corporations in processes of accumulation by dispossession that transform information and technology into commodities or intensify their commodity character. A further aspect of media globalization is that in the 20th century, global communication networks (telephone, internet) have emerged (Thompson, 1995/2000), which today allow communication and the transmission of information in real time over distance by time–space compression. How important are information products and information services in world trade? Figure 9 shows that fossil fuels are the most important goods in the world trade of manufactured goods, followed by media products, and transport vehicles. Fossil fuels and the car have been characterized as being characteristic for Fordist industrialism or for the third and fourth long wave (Boyer, 1988; Freeman and Perez, 1988; Mandel, 1972/1998), whereas microelectronics is frequently considered as ‘post-industrial’. Concerning world trade, the data show that post-industrialism has not superseded industrialism, the information economy and the traditional industrial economy exist together. The only claim that could be made based on this data is that the structure of world trade is characterized by the dominance of a ‘mobilities paradigm’ – the trade of goods that allows ‘the movement of people, ideas, objects and information’ (Urry, 2007: 17). UNCTAD launched the Creative Economy Database in 2008. The creative economy is defined as consisting of the ‘creation, production and distribution of goods and services that use creativity and intellectual capital as primary inputs’ (UNCTAD, 2008: 13). This includes products in the areas of cultural sites, traditional cultural expressions (arts, crafts, festivals, celebrations), performing arts, audiovisuals, new media, design, publishing and printed media, visual arts, and creative services (architectural, advertising, creative RD, culture, recreation). Figure 10 shows the development of the share of creative industry exports in total Fuchs New imperialism 47 Figure 9 Share of specific product groups in total exported goods. Source: Author’s figures based on data by UNCTAD. exports in the years 1996–2005. Related industries cover supporting industries or equipment, such as media infrastructures. The combination of creative goods (3. 2%), creative services (0. 8%) and related industries (5. 5%) accounted for 9. 55 per cent of world exports in 2005. This again confirms that information products and services are important in world trade, but not more important than fossil fuels and vehicles, and therefore not dominant. Finance, mining/quarrying/petroleum, trade, and information are the most important economic sectors of foreign direct investment. Finance is the dominant sector in both FDI and world trade. Figure 10 Share of creative industries in world exports. Source: Author’s figures based on data by UNCTAD Creative Economy Database. 48 Global Media and Communication 6(1) Transnational information corporations do not operate entirely globally. They are grounded in national economies, but a certain degree of their operations, assets, employees, sales, profits and affiliates are located beyond their home economies so that a national–transnational nexus is established. Transnationality is an emergent quality, a measure, degree and tendency. Media globalization furthermore also means the global influence of the neoliberal logic of accumulation by dispossession on media. In world trade, information goods and services are the second most important category, and transport vehicles the third most important sector. The data indicate that capital export and world trade are not dominated by the information sector, but that financialization, hyperindustrialization by continued relevance of fossil fuels and the car, and informatization are three important economic trends of the new imperialism. Financialization is the dominant factor. 2. 4 The economic division of the world and information corporations Lenin argued that under imperialism, big companies dominate the economy. They would divide among themselves spheres of influence and markets and would make use of cartels, syndicates and trusts. Finance capital struggles ‘for the sources of raw materials, for the export of capital, for â€Å"spheres of influence†, i. e. , for spheres of good business, concessions, monopolist profits, and so on; in fine, for economic territory in general’ (Lenin, 917: 266). Lenin used the following indicators for the fourth characteristic: the number of sub-companies of certain corporations, the development of turnover, the number of employees, and the net profits of specific big companies. Whereas the third characteristic focuses more on economic activities that cross nation-state borders and the economic benefits that are derived from it, the fourth characteristic covers the spatial dimension of these activities. This distinction is indicated by the term ‘division of the world among capitalist combines’ (characteristic four) in contrast to the term ‘the export of capital’ (characteristic three). The two characteristics are nonetheless certainly closely linked. Table 3 shows the share of corporations based in developing and developed countries in the industries that constitute the Forbes 2000 list of the world’s biggest corporations. The share of corporations that have developing countries as their home bases ranges between 0 and 20 per cent, which is a low value and corresponds to the general unequal global division of the economy. Information industries and services are no exception from this unequal economic geography. Fuchs New imperialism 49 Table 3 The spatial dimension of the world’s largest 2000 corporations Share of corporations in developed countries (high human development, UNHDR, 2008) (%) 100 80 94. 6 87. 7 93. 4 90. 7 87. 2 89. 7 95 100 91. 9 100 100 96 97 94. 4 79. 8 98 87. 8 98. 6 81. 3 84. 80. 9 80. 6 95. 8 86. 6 92. 4 Share of corporations in developing countries (medium and low human development, UNHDR, 2008) (%) 0 20 5. 4 12. 3 6. 6 9. 3 12. 8 10. 3 5 0 8. 1 0 0 4 3 5. 6 20. 1 2 12. 2 1. 4 18. 7 15. 6 19. 1 19. 4 4. 2 13. 4 7. 6 Industry Aerospace defence Banking Business services supplies Capital goods Chemicals Conglomerates Construction Consumer durables Diversified financials Drug s biotechnology Food, drink tobacco Food markets Health care equipment Hotels, restaurants leisure Household personal products Insurance Materials Media Oil gas perations Retailing Semiconductors Software services Technology hardware equipment Telecommunications services Trading companies Transportation Utilities Source: Author’s calculations based on data by Forbes 2000, 2008 list As world trade is overall stratified, also world trade in informational goods and services is stratified. In 2002, low-income countries accounted for 0. 6 per cent of all exports of cultural products, high income countries for 82. 2 per cent. North America accounted for 21. 4 per cent of book exports, 23. per cent of newspaper/periodicals exports, 18. 5 per cent of recorded media exports, and 7. 8 per cent of audiovisual exports. The shares of Europe were 60. 9 per cent, 70. 4 per cent, 61. 3 per cent and 30. 2 per cent. Asia’s shares were 13. 7 per cent, 3. 3 per cent, 18. 2 per cent and 50 Global Media and Communication 6(1) 50. 5 per cent, the shares by Latin America were 2. 9 per cent, 1. 8 per cent, 1. 3 per cent and 10. 9 per cent, and the African shares were 0. 1 per cent, 0. 08 per cent, 0. 05 per cent and 0. 001 per cent (data: UNESCO, 2004). One can say that theories of media imperialism, communication imperialism and cultural domination (see e. g. Boyd-Barrett, 1977, 1998; Galtung, 1971; Golding and Harris, 1996; Mattelart, 1979: 57–70; Roach, 1997; Said, 1993; Schiller, 1969/1992, 1976, 1989, 1991/2006; Sparks, 2007: 81–104; Thussu, 2006: 46–57; Tomlinson, 1991) have described Lenin’s fourth characteristic of imperialism in relation to media and culture: the domination of the info sphere by large Western corporations. At first, such concepts were focusing on the control of ownership, structure, distribution or content of the media in one country by another country (Boyd-Barrett, 1977: 117) or by the US (Schiller, 1969/1992). Later, they were updated in order to reflect the reality of media globalization (see e. g. Boyd-Barrett, 1998; Schiller, 1991/2006; Thussu, 1998) so that concepts such as transnational corporate cultural domination (Schiller, 1991/2006), global media empire, or Murdochization (Thussu, 1998) emerged. This updated version is suited for theoretically describing Lenin’s dimension of corporate economic domination in the attempt to apply imperialism theory to informational capitalism. The problem with most cultural imperialism approaches is that they do not explicitly embed their theories into classical theories of imperialism. So for example Boyd-Barrett mentions that the concept of media imperialism is ‘indebted to the works of Marx, Lenin and Rosa Luxemburg’ (Boyd-Barrett, 1998: 158), but he does not further outline this connection. The paper at hand is an attempt to contribute to the closure of this analytical gap. The stratified geography of capital export and world trade repeats itself in the sector that covers the production and diffusion of information goods and services, which is, on the global level, dominated by Western corporations. 2. 5 The role of information in the political division of the world Lenin defined the fifth characteristic of imperialism as the ‘monopolistic possession of the territories of the world which have been completely divided up’ (Lenin, 1917: 237). Finance capital ‘strives to seize the largest possible amount of land of all kinds and in any place it can, and by any means’ (Lenin, 1917: 233). Each dominant state would exploit and draw super-profits from a part of the world (Lenin, 1917: 253). ‘Each of them, by means of trusts, cartels, finance capital, and debtor and creditor relations, occupies a monopoly position on the world market’ (Lenin, 1917: 253). Lenin argues that under imperialism, all territories on the globe have Fuchs New imperialism 51 come under the influence of capitalist countries. A re-division would be possible at any time, but not a new seizure. In imperialism, there are not just simply colonies and colony-owning countries, but also a semi-colony, politically independent countries, which are ‘enmeshed in the net of financial and diplomatic dependence’ (Lenin, 1917: 234). Formal dependence would, under imperialism, ‘become a link in the chain of operations of world finance capital’ (Lenin, 1917: 235). Indicators that Lenin uses for the fifth characteristic include: the development of the percentage of territories that belong to the European colonial powers, and the development of the area size and population number under the control of certain colonial powers. The United States certainly is the dominant global military power today and has been successful in imposing its will by military means without much resistance from Europe, Russia, China, or other countries. The difference in military power can be observed, for example, by government expenditures. In 2006, the EU25 countries spent â‚ ¬79,392. 7 million on defence (10. 8% of total government expenditures), â‚ ¬95,005. 1 million on education (12. 9%), and â‚ ¬138,144. 5 million on health (18. 8%). In comparison, the US in 2008 spent $467,063 million on national defence (17. % of the total expenditures), $87,734 million on education (3. 2%), and $306,585 million on health (11. 2%). That the US is a dominant global military power only means that the US has been successful in being hegemonic, which does not mean that it will never again be challenged by others with military means (which it still is, although not by Europe, Russia, China, or other important countries, but by groups like Al-Qaeda and countries like Iran, North Korea or Venezuela that pose potential military threats for the US). There are several competing explanations for the US invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq (see Callinicos, 2003a, 2005, 2007; Harvey, 2005, 2006; Panitch and Gindin, 2004, 2005; Wood, 2003): securing access to oil as an economic resource; securing worldwide geopolitical hegemony; the expansion of US economic power in the face of the deterioration of US economic power in the exports of capital and commodities and the strong position of Europe and China; and the conquest of strategic countries in the Middle East in order to be better equipped for limiting the influence of Islamic nations and groups that challenge the Western dominance of the world or the struggle for the extension of neoliberal capitalism all over the world. It is imaginable that the causes of these wars are a combination of some or all of these elements. No matter which factors one considers important, the wars against Afghanistan and Iraq, global terrorism and potential future wars against countries like Iran, Pakistan, S yria, Lebanon, Venezuela, or Bolivia, shows 52 Global Media and Communication 6(1) that war for securing geopolitical and economic influence and hegemony is an inherent feature of the new imperialism and of imperialism in general. Although investment, trade, concentration, transnationalization, neoliberalization, structural adjustment and financialization are economic strategies of imperialism that do not resort to military means, it is likely that not all territories can be controlled by imperialist powers and that some resistance will emerge. In order to contain these counter-movements, overcome crises and secure economic influence for capital in the last instance, warfare is the ultimate outcome, a continuation of imperialism with non-economic means in order to foster economic ends. Statistical data show ex-post that economic ends could be important influencing factors for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Figures 11 and 12 show that foreign investments have boomed in Afghanistan since 2002 and in Iraq since 2003. Oil is the main economic resource in Iraq. In 2002, 99. 3 per cent of all exports from Iraq were fuels. In 2006, this level remained at a high degree of 93. 9 per cent (data: UNCTAD). In 2006, the value of annual Iraq oil exports was 2. 3 times the 2002 value. Figure 13 shows the increase of Iraq fuel exports in absolute terms. In the same time span (2002–2006) as fuel exports from Iraq climbed, the value of oil imports by the US increased by a factor of 2. 8 and the value of oil imports by the UK by a factor of 3. 8 (Figures 14 and 15). These data suggest that investment opportunities and resource access were important, but certainly not the only factors in the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan by the US and the UK. Figure 11 FDI in Afghanistan Source: Author’s figures based on data by UNCTAD. Fuchs New imperialism 53 Figure 12 FDI in Iraq. Source: Author’s figures based on data by UNCTAD. Figure 13 Fuel export from Iraq. Source: Author’s figures based on data by UNCTAD. In 1988, the annual military expenses of the US were $484 billion. There was a drop in spending after the end of the Cold War (1998: $329 billion). The new wars in Afghanistan and Iraq resulted in a rise to $441 billion in 2003 and $547 billion in 2007 (all values in constant US dollars, source: SIPRI Military Expenditure Database). In 2007, the US accounted for the largest share of world military spending (45%), followed by the UK and China (each 5%) (SIPRI, 2008). Comparing annual US military spending for the years 2001 and 2006 shows a growth of 30 per cent for 54 Global Media and Communication 6(1) Figure 14 Fuel imports by the UK. Source: Author’s figures based on data by UNCTAD. Figure 15 Fuel imports by the USA. Source: Author’s figures based on data by UNCTAD. military expense, 47 per cent for military operations and maintenance, and 58 per cent for research, development, test and evaluation (SIPRI, 2007: 276). In 2006, 41 US companies accounted for 63 per cent of the sales of the top 100 arms-producing companies in the world (SIPRI, 2008). In the period 1998–2007, annual world military expenditures increased by 45 per cent (SIPRI, 2008). These data show that the new imperialism is based on a US military hegemony in military outlays and activities. Fuchs New imperialism 55 The US-led war in Iraq and Afghanistan is the practical validation of the presence of the fifth characteristic of imperialism today. Military conflicts that aim at territorial control and global hegemony and counterhegemony are immanent features of the new imperialism. Lenin (1917: 264) argued that imperialism leads to annexation and increased oppression and consequently also to increased resistance. The attacks of 9/11 and the rise of global terrorism can be interpreted as a reaction to global US economic, political and cultural influence. This resulted in a vicious cycle of global war that creates and secures spheres of Western influence and global terrorism that tries to destroy Western lifestyles and Western dominance. Information today plays certainly an important role in warfare in two distinct senses: (1) psychological warfare with the help of media is conducted in order to intimidate, influence and manipulate enemies and the foreign public; and (2) there are computer-based weapon systems that bring about an informatization of warfare. Both elements have been stressed as important features of warfare in the Iraq war 2003 and the Afghanistan war 2001 (see Anderson, 2006; Artz and Kamalipour, 2005; Bennett, 2008; Berenger, 2004; Brookes et al. , 2005; Conroy, 2007; Dadge, 2006; Fuchs, 2005, 2008: Chapter 8. ; Hoskins, 2004; Katovsky and Carlson, 2003; Kellner, 2005; Miller, 2004; Nikolaev and Hakanen, 2006; Oliver, 2007; Paul, 2005; Rampton and Stauber, 2003; Schechter, 2003; Tumber and Palmer, 2004; Tumber and Web ster, 2006; Thussu and Freedman, 2003; Wheeler, 2007). Information warfare surely is an important feature of warfare in new imperialism. However, the main quality of war is not and has never been that it is informational, but that it aims at destroying and defeating the enemy. Therefore information war is not immaterial, but aims at physical destruction and defeat. Warfare under new imperialism is not immaterial, but very material, as the tens of thousands of casualties in the military conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq show. 3 Conclusion The task of this paper was to discuss the topicality of Lenin’s notion of imperialism with special consideration of the role of media and information. I tested the role information industries play in the new imperialism. The result was that they are important, but not dominant: (1) Capital concentration and information industries. Information sectors such as publishing, telecommunications and the manufacturing of communication equipment are among the most concentrated economic sectors, although finance is the most concentrated sector. 56 Global Media and Communication 6(1) (2) Finance capital and information capital. Information companies are important in the global capitalist economy, which reflects a trend towards informatization, but they are far less important than finance and the oil and gas industry. Financialization, hyperindustrialization and informatization are three important characteristics of contemporary imperialist capitalism. (3) Capital export and information industries. Finance, mining/quarrying/ petroleum, trade, and information are the most important economic sectors of foreign direct investment. Finance is the dominant sector in both FDI and world trade. Transnational information corporations do not operate entirely globally. They are grounded in national economies, but a certain degree of their operations, assets, employees, sales, profits and affiliates are located beyond their home economies so that a national–transnational nexus is established. Transnationality is an emergent quality, a measure, degree and tendency. The data indicate that capital export and world trade are not dominated by the information sector, but that financialization, hyperindustrialization by continued relevance of fossil fuels and the car, and informatization, are three important economic trends of the new imperialism. Financialization is the dominant factor. (4) The economic division of the world and information corporations. The stratified geography of capital export and world trade repeats itself in the sector that covers the production and diffusion of information goods and services, which is, on the global level, dominated by Western corporations. (5) The role of information in the political division of the world. Information warfare is an important feature of warfare in new imperialism. However, the main quality of war is not and has never been that it is informational, but that it aims at destroying and defeating the enemy. One cannot conclude that the new imperialism is a media imperialism or informational imperialism because this would have to mean that media and information are today the most important features of capital concentration, capital export, world trade and warfare, which clearly is not the case. Media and information do play an important role in new imperialism, but they are subsumed under finance capital and the continued importance of fossil fuel, which is a resource that motivates imperialist warfare. Media are characterized by qualities of imperialism such as concentration and transnationalization, which allows us to speak of the imperialistic character of the media within the new imperialism, but not of the existence of media imperialism. Fuchs New imperialism 57 The most significant change of the spatial structure of the world economy in the past 50 years has been the deterioration of North America in the areas of capital exports and commodity exports and the rise of China as an important location for FDI inflows and as an important trading country, especially in exports. Other new qualities of the new imperialism are the divergence of economic and military hegemony, as well as the new importance and new methods of financialization.

WWII & The Holocaust Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

WWII & The Holocaust - Assignment Example During the same period, Jordan captured West Bank. Also, as the British became more intensely aware of the difficulties involved in paying no attention to the Arab situation in Palestine, they began to back off from the political guarantee that the United States, in its comparative ignorance, had come to experience (Christison, 2001, pp. 45-54). This period marked an increasing Jewish immigration to Palestine prompted by Hitler’s German rise to power through the Holocaust. In addition, a commitment to promote Jewish homeland in Palestine became apparent. Roosevelt never committed himself as a Zionist in helping the Jews during the Holocaust. However, his political support for Zionists in Palestine provided significant support and helped speed up the political retreat of Arabs from Palestine. Roosevelt devoted considerable thought to formulating ways of accommodating Jewish control of Palestine by moving the Arab side without any thought for the justice of expelling an entire nation by force. He seems to have had little consideration of the predicament the British encountered in Palestine. The United States Jewish community did not fully support the idea of a Jewish home in Palestine and Zionism. Public knowledge of the Palestine situation increased significantly in the war years. This followed the Zionist activistâ⠂¬â„¢s efforts and heavy coverage given to the situation of Europe’s Jews. Consequently, in 1993, Palestine and Israel signed the Declaration of Principles that called for Palestine’s self-rule in Jericho and Gaza (Zarley, 2007, pp. 69-73). The Muslims denied that the Holocaust never took place, but if it did, it was to a small extent. Some added that the Jews fetched it on themselves against the Palestinians. Merging Islamic and European anti-Zionist and anti-Jewish philosophies together, Iran became the propagator of Holocaust denial in the Middle East and also sponsored Western Holocaust

The Analysis of a Joke Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Analysis of a Joke - Essay Example Although we think of the joke as a cultural constant, it is a form of humor that comes and goes with the rise and fall of civilizations.†1 The joke that was chosen was the following: A doctor walked into a bank. Preparing to endorse a check, he pulled a rectal thermometer out of his shirt pocket and tried to write with it. Realizing his mistake, he looked at the thermometer with annoyance and said, ‘Well thats great, just great... some asshole’s got my pen.’2 The category that this particular joke probably belongs in is the scatological category, because it deals with a reference to the rectum. It’s unsure why, but these types of jokes can be particularly compelling—because excrement seems to be something that humans find very funny. Of course, a simpler way to say that is to just say, â€Å"Poo is funny.† But why? What is so funny about our own feces? Fundamentally, excrement is elemental. If we didn’t have it, there would be no jokes. But why is humor about feces, farts, and, in fact—the entire range of human bodily functions, fodder for jokes? One must wonder. What makes this particular joke funny is that, through a play on words, we imagine the pen being stuck in some patient’s behind. That seems pretty funny that there would be a mix-up like that. Thus, there is a play on words and we find this joke, for the most part, funny—if not at least a bit crude. ... Now, it’s not using very polite language either. This is where the aggressive element demonstrates itself. It’s not a polite joke, and it probably wouldn’t be polite to share in mixed company, unless the mixed company were to be as foul-mouthed as the language used in the joke. Although the joke’s language is not overly offensive, it does say something about the medical profession as well. Doctors are sometimes inept, and it’s easy to make jokes about doctors and lawyers because they both have high-stress professions. Humor can be a wonderful way to deflect problems, as well as provide a platform for expressing one’s personality. This is why comedians like Jerry Seinfeld did especially well with his show Seinfeld, and why, subsequently, comedians like Larry David did so well with his show Curb Your Enthusiasm. Many times, these humorous shows have something in common—they use real-life situations as fodder for something called situatio nal comedy (or a sitcom). Situational comedies bring real-life problems to light. Who could ever forget the following bits: â€Å"Are you sponge-worthy?† â€Å"She’s got man hands!† Pig Man. The Soup Nazi. â€Å"You double-dipped the chip.† â€Å"Serenity now!† â€Å"Give me that, you old bag!† Who will ever forget these classic moments in Seinfeld history? These, and a series of other vignettes in his subsequent spin-off hit HBO comedy series--Curb Your Enthusiasm--were brought to you by none other than comedian, writer, actor, and executive producer Larry David. Larry David was the head writer and executive producer of Seinfeld, winning him a Primetime Emmy Award for Best Outstanding comedy series in the run of the show’s fourth year. Seinfeld made