Sunday, May 24, 2020

Landslide Victory Definition in Elections

A landslide victory in politics is any election in which the victor wins by an overwhelming margin. The term became popular in the 1800s to define a resounding victory; one in which the opposition is buried in an election, according to the late New York Times political writer William Safire in his Safires Political Dictionary. While many elections are declared landslide victories, they are trickier to quantify. How big is a resounding victory? Is there a certain margin of victory that qualifies as a landslide election? How many electoral votes do you have to win to achieve a landslide? It turns out there is no consensus on the specifics of a landslide definition, but there is general agreement among political observers about historic presidential elections that qualify as such. Definition There is no legal or constitutional definition of what a landslide election is, or how wide an electoral victory margin must be in order for a candidate to have won in a landslide. But many modern-day political commentators and media pundits use the term landslide election freely to describe campaigns in which the victor was a clear favorite during the campaign and goes on to win with relative ease. It usually means exceeding expectations and being somewhat overwhelming, Gerald Hill, a political scientist and co-author of  The Facts on File Dictionary of American Politics, told The Associated Press. One generally agreed upon measure of a landslide election is when the winning candidate beats his opponent or opponents by at least 15 percentage points in a popular vote count. Under that scenario a landslide would occur when the winning candidate in a two-way election receives 58 percent of the vote, leaving his opponent with 42 percent. There are variations of the 15-point landslide definition. The online political news source Politico has defined a landslide election as being on in which the winning candidate beats his opponent by at least 10 percentage points, for example. And the well-known political blogger Nate Silver, of The New York Times, has defined a landslide district as being one in which a presidential vote margin deviated by at least 20 percentage points from the national result. Political scientists Hill and Kathleen Thompson Hill and say a landslide occurs when a candidate is able to win 60 percent of the popular vote. Electoral College Of course, the United States does not elect its presidents by popular vote. It instead uses the Electoral College system. There are 538 electoral votes up for grabs in a presidential race, so how many would a candidate have to win to achieve a landslide? Again, there is no legal or constitutional definition of a landslide in a presidential election. But political journalists have offered their own suggested guidelines for determining a landslide victory over the years. One generally agreed upon definition of an Electoral College landslide is a presidential election in which the winning candidate secures at least 375 or 70 percent of the electoral votes. Examples There are at least half a dozen presidential elections that many would consider being landslides. Among them is Franklin Delano Roosevelts 1936 win over Alf Landon. Roosevelt won 523 electoral votes to Landons eight, and 61 percent of the popular vote to his opponents 37 percent. In 1984, Ronald Reagan won 525 electoral votes to Walter Mondales 13, capturing 59 percent of the popular vote. Neither of President Barack Obamas victories, in 2008 or 2012, are considered to be landslides; nor is President Donald Trumps victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016. Trump won the electoral vote but received 1 million fewer actual votes than Clinton did,  reigniting the  debate over whether the U.S. should scrap the Electoral College.

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Egyptian Clothing - What Clothing Did Egyptians Wear

Ancient Egyptian tomb painting and writing reveal a variety of clothing depending on status and activity. There are wrap-around garments for ancient Egyptians made from a length of cloth. These include kilts, skirts, cloaks, shawls, and some dresses. Men might wear aprons — pieces of cloth attached to a belt or band around the waist. Kilts and skirts might be so short that they covered just the hips, or long enough to run from chest to ankles. There are also cut garments, including loin cloths (linen worn by men and women; leather, by men), bag-tunics (worn by men and women), and dresses. They do not seem to be tailored to fit or darted for shaping, although they are sewn together with cords. Meskell suggests that the clingy clothing depicted in tomb painting is more wishful than based on sewing skills. Most clothing of the ancient Egyptians was made of linen. Sheeps wool, goat hair and palm fiber were also available. Cotton only became common in the 1st century A.D., and silk after the 7th century A.D. Color, quality of the cloth, and decoration created more expensive varieties. Worn clothing would be reused since clothing was a valuable commodity. Fine linen could be gauzy and cool. References Lynn Meskells Private Life in New Kingdom Egypt.Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology, by Paul T. Nicholson and Ian Shaw.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Should High School Students Work During the School Year

Should High School Students Work During the School Year? There’s a time in life when teens want to get a head jump into their adulthood. To show that they’re maturing, some teenagers start smoking, while others start dating to show their responsibility and commitments towards relationships, but most of them start working part- time in order to have money to do the things they wish to do. In fact, I got my first job at the age of 15 when I was a freshman in high school. The reason why I chose to work was because I wanted to save some money for college. Although I work to save money for school, many of my friends work to save money for new-fashioned clothing and shoes. As a result of working, my GPA dropped from a 3.83 to 3.55†¦show more content†¦Many people I know get into bad, or shall I say, criminal behavior when they â€Å"hook their friends up† or give away goods. Some would just steal goods and others would steal money from work. For example, I have friends who used to work at Office Depot. I remembered seeing them at school, selling very expensive pens such as the brand Waterman, those that cost $50-$80 each. They told me that they stole them from work. I also discovered that my former co-worker got fired for stealing money out of the cash register. According to national research data and the study of 500 students at four Orange County high schools, â€Å"about 30 % of the youngsters in their 1st time job have given away goods or services; 18% have taken things other than money form work; 5  ½ % have taken money from work; and 17 % have worked under the influence of drugs or alcohol.† This clearly shows that working teens don’t develop responsibility and character, but instead, they develop criminal tendencies. Although some kids work to support themselves or to save money for educational purposes, the majority of teens who work use their paychecks for shopping. 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Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Microsoft’s Internalization in China

Questions: 1. Explain your companys profile as an MNC? 2. Use one theory related to globalisation of business to analyse the status of your company? 3. What is entry strategy performed by the company? 4. What are the key international business challenges for your company? 5. From the UN Global Compact Principles/Sustainable Development Goals, which area that your MNC will need to focus in their current and future business Why? Answers: Introduction: Microsoft Company is a multinational corporation that is headquartered in the United States of America and was established back in1975 under a strong leadership and visionary leaders who saw it grow to the present state of the company. It is incumbent to note that it is among the leading multinational firms in the manufacturing of technology related devices such as computers, gaming, and tablets among a wide range of other gadgets (Chan, 2014). This activity immensely helps to place the product it in a better competitive position with the other rival as well as coexistent companies. In the current context, the Microsofts investment strategies in China have been considered for further evaluation. 1. Analysis of Microsoft: Companys profile as an MNC Ideally, it is in the top position globally regarding developing systems licenses and supporting of wider range software gadgets and the services under their reputable brand. Primarily, it centers on the production of operating systems, desktop, cross-device productivity applications, server management tools, service applications, and another array of tools and services that suit the demand of its market at a particular time of the season (Dempsey, 2017). Nonetheless, being a large company, it does work under different challenges due to its size and other multiple investments it has made in various countries in the world. The significant problem is the high competition level and the fast changing technology and other riskiness that centers it due to its size and further expansion to other areas that are very prone to some influential factors such as insecurity. Notably, the company has devised some clear modus operandi to counter some of the challenges the firm is undergoing through so as to heighten its productivity and efficiency in the market. Dunning Eclectic Paradigm theory This theory primarily states that a country has an absolute advantage if it can meet the demands of its consumers by maintaining the efficiency of the highest order so as to enhance the productivity and mutuality which would in turn work to the advantage of the company (Da Veiga and Martins 2015). The theory further states that when two different countries specialize in various products, there is a higher likelihood of the two nations increasing their sales since the demands of their products would be readily available for consumption due to their variability in products. There are three major factors of Dunning Eclectic Paradigm theory considered at the time of making international business decisions. These factors are Ownership advantage, Internationalization advantage as well as location advantage. Figure 1: Dunning Eclectic Paradigm Theory (Source: Kotabe and Kothari 2016) Microsoft has a significant advantage in the context of ownership in China. For instance Microsoft owns an international research lab in the Chinese market, which is predicted to largest software market in near future. In addition to that, Microsoft has effectively established partnership with the Chinese municipality as well as central government. The most attractive market for information system is major advantage for Microsoft. The internalization of Microsoft in Chinese soil provides a very intense advantage in comparison with the costs associated to the offshore business. For instance, Microsoft sells more than 5 million computers every year in China (Khanna and Palepu 2013). In addition to that, rapid industrialization drive of Chinese government provides an ample opportunity for Microsoft to choose most attractive location. Therefore, we can easily analyses that the Chinese investment is most beneficial for every factor of Dunning Eclectic Paradigm theory. 2. Analysis of China Factors affecting Firms choice Business scholars view a multinational business as one of the most costly and risky endeavors. Therefore, it requires a clear outline of modus operandi so as to prevent havoc which comes with poor planning of one's business. Microsoft Company has operations in the entire world, and thus its entry into Chinese market was influenced by quite some factors in the hosting country such as political, economic, technological, and social issues (Aithal et al. 2015). These factors are discussed below: Competitiveness: The infrastructural development drive has made the Chinese market as most attractive for Microsoft. In addition to that, China is one of the major pool of skilled labor, which was the influential factor for any information system company. The business value chain development in China also helped Microsoft to invest in China more easily (Shaw and Luiz 2017). The employees in China are both skilled as well as low cost, which attracted Microsoft to attain evident competitive advantage. Regulatory Environment: Chinese has been most accommodating to the foreign companies, as the state was in dire need of FDI. The favorable policies and rules significantly encouraged Microsoft to invest in China. In addition to that, joint venture with the other software companies in China enabled Microsoft to have greater customer base. Stability: The political and economic stability has been another major contributor for Microsoft to make decision of investing in China (Da Veiga and Martins 2015). The peoples liberation party has been strongly governed Chinese state for a long time. In addition to that, continuous economic growth has attracted Microsoft to invest in China. Local Chinese Market and Business Climate: The local Chinese market has been focused on modernization. The need of digital technology has been quite effective to make the business climate favorable for Microsoft. The drive of modernization from the government also attracted Microsoft as they have the facility to partner with the municipality and central government. In addition to that, huge population also presented a major scope to attain lucrative growth for the company. Uppsala internationalization theory Uppsala internationalization theory will be utilized precisely due to its wide range of application and because it provides one with valuable knowledge on operations of MNCs. This theory outlines characteristics of the international companies by describing their rudimentary understanding of the market overseas before one commences on the establishment of the business. It states that a multinational corporation should guarantee the host company on the trust and the commitment (Gunnigle et al. 2015). This statement falls under the political scenario since the state regulations such has payment of taxes and adhering to the rules and regulations enforced by the hosting company pertaining foreign investors should be followed. Microsoft effectively followed this theory at the time of expanding its business in China. Microsoft never exported directly to China. It established its representative office in Beijing. It has created its own sales branch in China. It has mainly focused on Chinese language software, Chinese friendly computers as well as training program. Currently, the sales and marketing headquarter of Microsoft is located in Shanghai. The commitment of Microsoft towards Chinese market has increased in such extent that the company is focused on making its products available and simplified to the Chinese (Sisko et al. 2014). In addition to that, Microsoft has announced that it has been committed to increase its investment in the cloud computing sector of China. 3. Foreign Entry Strategy: Chow (2016) alludes that running the business at an international caliber requires a very authentic approach due to the myriad of problems in which one has to face before fully establishing the business. For that case, Microsoft Company was subjected to come up with the wisest idea on how to take technology business elsewhere away from their motherland. One of the major strategies applied was the public policy approach. This tactic was implemented in the majority of their host countries. The main reason for using this method was to protect their intellectual capability in the market. This strategy was profitable since the firms within the regions in which they were trading more so in Europe were not sophisticated as Microsoft. Therefore, it gave this corporation an opportunity to enjoy the accruals which come with monopoly market (Dyreng and Markle 2016). Despite that, they experienced pitfalls as a result of the uprising from different groups who filed cases in the court of law dema nding that Microsoft should withdraw from being a monopolistic association. However, they succeeded since they were supported by the government of the United States in the court battles. Secondly, Microsoft used a strategy of closely partnering with the government in the hosting country. For instance, in China after a long period of unrest and rejection of their products, Microsoft applied this tactic. After an extended period of reviews from the government agencies, they were given an opportunity of carrying out their trading activities. Besides, the government of China and Beijing who had refuted seriously on their products legalized millions of computers from the Microsoft Company to be used in the state offices (Kaynak et al. 2014). This take by the two governments played a key role in ensuring that counterfeit Microsoft products in the country from the companies who were illegally using the Microsoft software were done away with completely. Consequently, Microsoft increased its sales in these countries and also building up of a great relationship between this Bill Gates Company and the government of China. 4. MNC and Its Impacts: International Business Challenges In spite of being the best company in personal computing technology in the world, Microsoft faces many problems. According to Vlcek (2017), Microsoft Company is on the verge of collapsing due to the challenges in which it is encountering despite that it was once an icon company in the world. Struggling PC market has been listed as one of the matters which if not dealt with on time, this company might regret ever joining the business world. The Personal Computing system in the recent years has been outlawed by the emergence of Smartphone and tablets (Chow 2015). Most of the consumers prefer using the Smartphone and the tablets since they are not cumbersome and it offers the same internet services just like the case of the PC. For that reason, the sale of the PC has become a menace to the company since the rate at which the consumers are purchasing them is quite minimal. Additionally, device failure brought forth to a distraught image of the corporation. For instance, in their attempt to use their product Zune to emulate Apple's iPod was faced with massive embarrassment due to crashing and burning of that product (Roggi et al. 2017). Nevertheless, development momentum has shown more favor to the use of the Android and iOS since they are more profitable as compared to Microsoft. The company's intention to center their attention on both hardware and software in the mobile industry is subject to internal business conflicts thus hampering their progress. Such problems have made the international market to retreat on dealing with their products since they have started experiencing a lot of doubts on its standards. The competition menace is facing this company resulting from different companies' competing for the same market overseas alarming. This problem has caused consecutive losses which its recovery is not easy. It is crucial for the management to see k on how they can curtail these matters so as to prevent the entire corporation from collapsing. Areas that Microsoft need to focus United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) are the agendas in which this body came up with an objective of improving the living standards and making the world a better place by the year 2030. The goal of the UN focal point will come into realization with the aid from the established and the upcoming companies and different groups and civil societies in the world. Microsoft need to focus on its cloud computing business more significantly. The demand of cloud computing in China has been growing in an exponential manner. On the other hand, the organizations also have to keep in mind that the Chinese Government is committed to make their own counterpart operating system so that foreign companies cannot dominate Chinese market. This attitude can be a major threat for Microsoft in near future. Moreover, the company also has to check the software piracy. It has been continuously incurred loss for the company. Conclusion: To conclude, Kotabe and Kothari (2016) assert that Microsoft Company should focus on the provision of quality education by sponsoring their employees to learn more about systems so as to help in facilitating innovation. By doing so, Microsoft Company will be in better place to production since the world is fast moving towards sustainable quality education. More so, they should embrace upon corporate social responsibility by sponsoring developing countries in which they are trading in by constructing schools and installing them with modern learning facilities. Reflection I have learnt that this assistance will greatly help in boosting the education standards across the world (Choi Lee, 2016). Microsoft Company can as well ensure that they are responsible for consumption and production. They should devise a mechanism by which they ensure that as they make the PCs its output and the resources used are reasonable enough. Microsoft Company should also come up with products which are environmentally friendly. It is devastating to see how their products such as computers pose a lot of danger to human health due to the emissions they produce. References Aguilera-Caracuel, J., Guerrero-Villegas, J. and Morales-Raya, M., 2015. Corporate Citizenship of Multinational Enterprises and Financial Performance: The Moderating Effect of Operating in Developing Countries. Ethical Perspectives, 22(3), pp.437-467. Aithal, P.S., Shenoy, P. and Neelam, P., 2015. Opportunities Challenges in Starting Software Company in Developing Countries. Chan, L.Y., 2014. Corporate social responsibility of multinational corporations. Choi, E. and Lee, K.C., 2016. Relationship between social network structure dynamics and innovation: Micro-level analyses of virtual cross-functional teams in a multinational B2B firm. Computers in Human Behavior, 65, pp.151-162. Chow, D.C., 2015. How China Promotes Its State-Owned Enterprises at the Expense of Multinational Companies Doing Business in China and in Other Countries. Chow, D.C., 2016. China's Enforcement of Its Anti-Monopoly Law and Risks to Multinational Companies. Santa Clara J. Int'l L., 14, p.99. Da Veiga, A. and Martins, N., 2015. Factorial invariance of an information security culture assessment instrument for multinational organisations with operations across data protection jurisdictions. Dempsey, P., 2017. The Teardown: Microsoft Surface Studio PC. Engineering Technology, 12(1), pp.80-81. Dyreng, S.D. and Markle, K.S., 2016. The Effect of Financial Constraints on Income Shifting by US Multinationals. The Accounting Review, 91(6), pp.1601-1627. Gunnigle, P., Pulignano, V., Edwards, T., Belizn, M.J., Navrbjerg, S., Olsen, K.M. and Susaeta, L., 2015. Advancing understanding on industrial relations in multinational companies: Key research challenges and the INTREPID contribution. Journal of Industrial Relations, Kaynak, E., Mockler, R. and Dologite, D.G., 2014. Multinational strategic management: an integrative entrepreneurial context-specific process. Routledge. Khanna, T. and Palepu, K., 2013. Winning in emerging markets: A road map for strategy and execution. Harvard Business Press. Kotabe, M. and Kothari, T., 2016. Emerging market multinational companies evolutionary paths to building a competitive advantage from emerging markets to developed countries. Journal of World Business, 51(5), pp.729-743. Pitelis, C.N. and Teece, D., 2015. Dynamic Capabilities, the Multinational Corporation, and (Capturing Co-Created Value from) Innovation. Roggi, O., Giannozzi, A. and Baglioni, T., 2017. Valuing emerging markets companies: new approaches to determine the effective exposure to country risk. Research in International Business and Finance, 39, pp.553-567. Shaw, B. and Luiz, J.M., 2017. The Impact of Distance (External) and Organizational Factors (Internal) on the Knowledge Chain of Multinational Corporations: South Africa as a Host Country. Thunderbird International Business Review. Sisko Maarit Lipiinen, H., Ensio Karjaluoto, H. and Nevalainen, M., 2014. Digital channels in the internal communication of a multinational corporation. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 19(3), pp.275-286. Vlcek, W., 2017. Multinational Corporations and the Digital Economy. In Offshore Finance and Global Governance (pp. 43-70). Palgrave Macmillan UK.