History About Ebay In Japan Marketing Essay

History About Ebay In Japan Marketing Essay eBay is an online auction service that has gained much publicity since their inauguration in the September of 1995 by a 28 year old software developer, Pierre Omidyar of Apple Incorporated. A pet project he initially called AuctionWeb, he posted up a faulty laser pointer to test his algorithm in the web application he created, someone actually offered him $14.83 for the faulty laser pointer stating that he collects such items. That incident started Pierre thinking and eBay was formed. Since then, eBay has been expanding their business worldwide. One of the countries which eBay has failed badly was Japan. They had a joint venture with NEC Corporation to form eBay Japan but the final results after 3 long years of fight that has been proven as futile attempts to make a foot hold in Japan, eBay Japan had no other choice but to withdraw because they lost out for not being there earlier, not enjoying a first mover advantage, the rise of the Rakuten Auctions as contender against Yahoo! Japan Auctions further dug eBay deeper into the oblivion against ever seeing themselves as a leader in Japan. Hiring the right country manager makes all the difference, eBay did not ensure the credentials and expertise of their country manager appointed for the task. Apart from that, the typical American style of Announcing their grand arrival even before they could sniff the air in Japan, gave competitors a chance to prepare themselves against anyone trying to steal their piece of the pie in Japan. Introduction of eBay When we hear of the word, Auction we often think of the famous Christie Auction house in England, located at King Street in St. James. The function of an auction house is to showcase rare or prized items that could fetch the highest price through an elaborate process that allows individuals with deep pockets to out-bid one another to purchase these items. Thanks to modern technology, these auctions are being brought on-line via the use of the Internet. Users can buy or sell items online through the same elaborate process, but at the comfort of their room, in front of their computers without the need to physically be at the location. eBay is one such on-line auction service that has gained much publicity since their inauguration in the September of 1995 by a 28 year old software developer, Pierre Omidyar of Apple Incorporated. A pet project he initially called AuctionWeb, he posted up a faulty laser pointer to test his algorithm in the web application he created, someone actually offered him $14.83 for the faulty laser pointer stating that he collects such items. That incident started Pierre thinking and eBay was formed. AuctionWeb became a new focus for Pierre. It occupied his entire domain, www.ebay.com, acronym for Echo Bay (the name of his consulting firm). By 1996, the company was large enough to require professional help to make the concept, even more profitable. Jeffrey Skoll, Stanford MBA graduate, went onboard the profit spinning ship. Meg Whitman, a Harvard graduate soon joined the `crew and together with a formidable business team, created the modern day eBay that we know today. By 1998, the pioneers of the company were billionaires. Entry Strategies Entry Strategy 1 eBay Join Hands with NEC Corporation to enter Japan Market The joint venture with NEC Corporation to form eBay Japan seemed like a great idea. Infact, it is a great idea. Having a localized corporation to enter the Japanese market builds the credibility any foreign company will need. Having a myriad of possibilities from because they could trade with anything. eBay gained exposure through NECs contact with Biglobe, an Internet Service Provider. Much hype was anticipated as the CEO for eBay, Mr. Okawara, looked forward to bringing online auctioning to the Japanese people. However, the Japanese culture amongst the younger generation is to meet at malls, to try out new introductions into the Japanese market. Touch and Feel is what they prefer. Also, its a social norm in Japan that people meet at malls to socialize or just to look at people. What eBay tried to do, was to introduce another cultures norm into Japan. Though a workable and definitely profitable business model in the states and probably even in the western world, they failed to garner enough market sampling to warrant an entry into the Japanese market. Thats just part of the challenge they face. The other factor that had brought forth the early retreat from Japan is the presence of Yahoo Auctions in Japan. Yahoo entered the market in 1996, together with Softbank. The collaboration between Yahoo and Softbank was at the right time where the fad of the internet is still hot. They built the largest portal in Japan which in turn means their presence already had a huge market share from consumers and sellers alike who has loyalty to the company. Japanese people have high level of loyalty to product brandings and service providers. Another thing eBay Japan did not forsee is that, Japanese people, do not appreciate hand-me-downs, second hand goods. Entry Strategy 2 eBay Joins Hands with Yahoo! in Japan eBay has about 83 million users and Yahoo Japan has about 6.6 million registered users. eBay and Yahoo agreed to link their auction sites to facilitate cross-border trading and invigorate the online auction market. This would enable users of Yahoo Auctions Japan to bid for items listed on eBays US site using their Yahoo Japan ID, and eBay users in the US to buy items auctioned on Yahoo Japan using their eBay ID. The plan, which will enable registered users from Japan and North America to participate in a single marketplace. Japanese-language Website sekaimon.com, unveiled by the companies will enable Yahoo Japan users to take part in eBay auctions and is part of a strategy to implement the integration. A reverse setup, enabling North American users to shop for items from Japan under an English-language bidding system. The eBay portal will initially feature Japanese licensed-character goods, comic books, and other collectibles listed on the Yahoo Japan auction site. The integrated marketplace will also offer services to streamline payment, shipping and customs clearance. International users were able to use the US based web site consumers craved trading in local currencies and the ease that domestic transactions presented. Disadvantages of Non-first movers for Auction Disadvantage 1 Unable to garner the interested customers The first disadvantage of not being the first mover to launch the online auction services has caused eBay Japan to lose the opportunity to garner the interested customer base who are first timers that really wanted to attempt the Online Auction services. Being the first mover would have allowed the first timer customers whom are interested to sign up and attempt this online auction services that has never been provided in Japan as many analyst believes that the launch would not have been successful due to the image consciousness character of the Japanese. Therefore, being only the second launching provided, eBay Japan has lost the genuine interested first timer customers as they have already signed up for the online auction services provided by Yahoo! Japan Auction when they launched the service in September 1999, which was five months before eBay Japan. Disadvantage 2 Unable to attract over Yahoo! Japan Auction loyal customer base The second disadvantage is eBay Japan is unable to attract over the loyal customer base garnered by Yahoo! Japan Auction five months before their launch. All the loyal customer base has already been used to the services provided by Yahoo! Japan Auction has got no intention to move over to eBay Japan. In addition, Yahoo! has been an established and best known brand in Japan for other services such as Yahoo! Email, search, etc however, in contrary, eBay has only been known for online auction services and limited to overseas which is outside Japan. Therefore, Japanese, who generally only trust reputable, well-known and established brands, are more comfortable using Yahoo! instead of eBay. Disadvantage 3 Comparison of first and second online auction service launcher The third disadvantage of not being the first mover is being compared to the first launcher. The customers has done a comparison between Yahoo! Japan Action and eBay Japan on the difference in the different areas such as charging listing fees, final value fees, branding strength. Yahoo! Japan Auction has launched the online auction services before eBay Japan with all services free and no any transaction charges at all. Therefore, in comparison, Japanese who are not willing to pay for the service are not willing to sign up for services for eBay Japan. Also, it has also proven that when eBay Japan has stopped the charging the fees as per the usual practice, the customer base and the number of listings has increased. Cultural Misunderstandings Cross cultural understanding simply refers to the basic ability of people within business to recognize, interpret and correctly react to people, incidences or situations that are open to misunderstanding due to cultural differences. If no cultural awareness, cultural sensitive was established before launching into a different culture, itll cause cultural misunderstanding, in long term, resulting in business failure. Misunderstanding 1 Not fully understanding the mindset of a different culture For eBay Japan, during the initial launch into Japan, they had not understood in depth the business dealing ways of Japanese. eBay instead of modifying the American-centric service model to fit the Japanese market needs, they chose to force the Japanese consumers to fit into the current American-centric company service model. eBay charged commissions of up to 5% and required acutely risk-averse Japanese users to submit credit card information on signup. This service model did not go well with the Japanese. Most of the internet savvy people come from the young Japanese who did not own any credit card. Even so, Japan was a largely cash-based society, they preferred to pay for purchases with cash or through banks transfers instead of online credit card payments. This has therefore resulted in the poor sign-up figures after the launch of eBay Japan. Misunderstanding 2 Failing to hire the right person eBay Japan also erred in selecting for country head. In the selection of country manager, the issue of language is overplayed. They can actually hire a bilingual executive assistant, translator, or interpreter for a fraction of what it costs to hire a country manager. Making language skills a key recruiting criterion severely reduces the pool of potential candidates. Rather than focus on language skills, eBay Japan has failed to care about the truly important things, like a country managers strategic thinking ability, his track record managing comparable businesses, industry knowledge, and, ultimately, whether or not he can successfully build and motivate a local team, introduce new products, and gain market share in a highly competitive market. In Japan organization structure, the HR organization in a leading Japanese company is at the top of the hierarchy. In the US, its at the bottom. It has to be empowered, it must have very top people, it must engage with peopleits not about recruiting-eBay Japan had failed to utilize the talents of Japan based foreigners who had many years of valuable experience managing in Japan, as well as relevant industry knowledge and connections, who can help successfully navigate Japan market entry, smoothen interactions between head office and Japan-based operations. Misunderstanding 3 Unprepared for new Culture eBay Japan did something that American companies are notorious for, something that had cost them dearlynamely, they made grandiose announcements about their entry into the Japanese market, well before they had a localized product ready to launch in Japan. While missing the first mover advantage was perhaps eBays Japan single biggest blunder, the lack of traction in Japan for eBay products had too caused the failure of entry. Therefore, with the culture shock, eBay has failed to penetrate the Japan market as eBay Japan was not accepted widely by the Japanese in terms of their entry to Japan and their working style when operating the online auction services. The Current Status of eBay To recap, eBay Inc. tried to open its popular auction service under its subsidiary eBay Japan established in 1999, withdraw in March 2002 after failing to capture significant market share against Yahoo! Auction. Ebay partnered Yahoo! Japan, the Japan biggest portal offering online auction services. Together both companies designed a separate stand alone site, Sekaimon. English meaning for the Japanese term Global Shopping. Sekaimon site is able to translate items listed on eBay into Japanese, help with payments, shipping and customs clearance for Japanese shoppers. The alliance benefits users of both sites. Sellers will be able to reach out to a wider audience for their goods, meanwhile buyers will able to choose from a richer selection of products that are on offer. The impact of the deal will mean more in certain areas. For example, U.S. music fans will be able to easily purchase many of the limited edition CDs that Western artists release in Japan, while Japanese movie enthusiasts will be able to find a wider array of DVDs that are not available locally. Ebay users to have an easier time buying Japanese goods that are popular abroad, such as popular manga comics books, CDs and merchandise that feature Japanese animation characters and mascots. Yahoo! Japan users can login using their Yahoo! Japan ID and purchase translated eBay items with customize Japanese menu and online agent support. Hence, in order to achieve their vision, eBay must overcome various issues such as language barriers, government regulations, internet access and cultural differences. Ebay attempt to deal with the challenge of conducting transactions in multiple languages, where the sellers interact in one language and potential buyers in another.   Sellers using eBays Japanese site, Sekaimon, who want to offer their items on any English language eBay sites will be able to enter descriptions of up to 200 Japanese characters and get them translated within a day for about $12.34. By enabling this translation service, it helps to boost and introduce more Japanese products into eBay sites. Thus, eBay has successfully turned a challenge to its global growth into a new revenue stream while increasing its value proposition. eBay has a significant challenge in dealing with cultural differences, such as high uncertainty avoidance culture in Japan. eBay is dealing with this by structuring strategic partnerships with reliable entity when it struck a deal with Yahoo! Japan, after numerous attempts yet failing to penetrate the market independently.  eBay adopts localization strategy, where it replicates smaller and culturally sensitive portions of its content in specific markets such as Japan and China. By doing so, it value adds towards ensuring easy usage and adaptability in new or low tech markets.   Conclusion eBay made all the wrong moves in their attempt to extend their services to Japan. Not hiring the right people who can competently study the market in Japan to know if it is a viable business preposition to even attempt the creation of eBay Japan. eBay did not understand the culture in Japan. Basic business ventures to a foreign country requires everyone to understand and work with the cultural styles. eBay tried to force their American centric service model upon the Japanese people, it will never work unless they were the first to setup the service in the country where people may just think that, thats the way eBay did not pay attention to the presence of Yahoo! Japan Auctions and went in blind. To make matters worst, they announced their plans and created quite a fanfare to path their way into Japan way before they could even set foot in the country. Its like telling the enemies at war, Were coming from the south island at dawn. Recommended alternatives Conducting a business in any country requires business planners to conduct extensive market research, sampling the market sentiments for products or services that are to be introduced into the country. The people after all, are the sources of income. How can a company sell a product or service to people of a different lifestyle, who have different needs and perception of how they want to be sold a service or product? After identifying what the people want, the company should look into competitors and their position in the market as well. Gauge their own size and see if they are able to go up against on a head-on battle or to find a niche market to carve out a position for themselves and slowly expand from there. Recommendation The most important point among the alternatives that is recommended to eBay during the new set-up is to identify what their target audience wants.It is imperative that the barrier for entries be understood prior embarking on any non-localized businesses. It is very important to understand the culture of the target audience, understand the needs and the wants of the target audience before entering into a brand new market that the organization has never had their presence before. It very important to understand the direction of the target audience before entrance, in which, refers to the current competitors in the market. The current market share of the competitors, the number of competitors in the market and how does the target audience view this competitor. Need be, make a joint venture with existing service provider that has already penetrated into the market in order to leverage on their expertise and also the expertise of local talents and foreign talents living in the country.

oldman and the sea :: essays research papers

The Old Man and The Sea Old Man and The Sea, a great book by Ernest Hemingway, is about a fisherman’s struggle to save his career. This book is very different than any other book that I have read. It is different because this book doesn’t have multiple events that happen in the story. Santiago, an old fisherman, goes out fishing and hooks a giant marlin. The book explains his struggle to kill the fish and bring it back home. The book symbolizes the struggle of the author to write a great book. Santiago is an old man that wasn’t having much luck fishing. One day he decides to go fishing and hooks a marlin. The man struggles to kill the marlin and in the process he is pulled very far out into the ocean. Santiago becomes attached to the marlin and calls it his "brother". Santiago gains strength by thinking about the things he loves and has interests in such as Manolin, a young fisherman, and the New York Yankees(baseball team). Santiago fights the marlin for three days and finally kills the fish. Santiago goes through many of obstacles to achieve his goal of catching a big fish but when he finally gets it, it’s taken away from him by sharks that eat the marlin. The young man, Manolin is the old man’s best friend. Santiago, taught him how to fish. Manolin use to fish with Santiago but then Santiago ran into a streak of bad luck. Manolin started fishing on another boat. Manolin is very attached to Santiago. They get along very well. Manolin understands why Santiago had to go on the 3-day trial fishing to test his luck and admires him for it. Manolin is the person that takes care of Santiago. The marlin is a very noble, big and beautiful fish. Whatever it symbolizes, to the reader it's something worth fighting for since Santiago risks his life battling sharks in his attempt to save the marlin. The marlin is Santiago’s last shot at luck. Santiago knew that this fishing trip would be the last spark of luck he would have for the rest of his life. Although he doesn’t get the whole marlin to shore, he did bring luck with him because he survived. The marlin is also a sign of the author’s quest to write one good book. Like the fisherman wants to catch a great fish before he dies, Hemingway wants to write a good story.

Commercialization of Agriculture Essay

Introduction The British rule had pronounced and profound economic impact on India. The various economic policies followed by the British led to the rapid transformation of India’s economy into a colonial economy whose nature and structure were determined by needs of the British economy. One important aspect of British economic policy was commercialization of agriculture. Commercialization of agriculture which can be defined as a process where peasants start producing primarily for sale in distant markets, rather than to meet their own need for food or to sell in local markets, (Roy, 2007) has taken place at different times in response to different stimuli. In the Indian context though a number of commercial crops such as cotton, tobacco and sugarcane were grown fairly extensively even before the advent of British rule (Habib, 1982), since land revenue had to be paid mostly in cash and the prices of these crops were much higher at that time relative to the prices of foodgrains, however, commercialization of agriculture at that time corresponded only to the requirements of traditional â€â€"revenue economy‘ in which the main form of revenue payable happened to be an indistinguishable mix of tax, tribute and rent (Raj, 1985). No doubt the need to pay revenue in cash was the initial compelling force for the marketing of agricultural produce, the large surpluses so extracted from agriculture, without a flow of goods and services in the reverse direction in exchange, was basically an impediment to further commercialization (Raj, 1985). Thus, commercialization of agriculture in pre-British period existed only in its embryonic form. In true sense, therefore, agriculture of India got a commercial orientation during the British rule. Industrialization in Europe and Commercialization of Agriculture in India The commercialization of Indian Agriculture took place not to feed the industries of India because India was far behind in industrial development as compared to Britain, France, Belgium and many other European countries of eighteenth century. The commercialization of Indian Agriculture was done primarily to feed the British industries that it was taken up and achieved only in cases-of those agricultural products which were either needed by the  British industries or could fetch cash commercial gain to the British in the European or American market. For example, several efforts were made to increase the production of cotton in India to provide raw and good quality cotton to the cotton-textile industries of Britain which were growing fast after the Industrial Revolution in Britain. Therefore, cotton growing area increase in India and its production increased manifold with gradual lapse of time. Indigo and more than that, tea and coffee plantation were encouraged in India because these could get commercial market abroad. It was beneficial to the British planters, traders and manufacturers, who were provided with opportunity to make huge profits by getting the commercialized agricultural products at, throw away prices. The commercialization of Indian agriculture also partly benefited Indian traders and money lenders who made huge fortunes by working as middlemen for the British. This regard they acted as conduits delivering the products from peasants to the British company from where it was taken abroad. Though markets and trade in agricultural goods existed in quite organized forms and on a large scale in the pre-British period but the market expansion in the British period marked a qualitative and quantitative break. According to Tirthankar Roy, there were three main qualitative changes. â€â€"First, before the British rule, product markets were constrained and subject to imperfections, given multiplicity of weights and measures, backward and risky transportation systems, and extensive use of barter. British rule and the railways weakened these constraints. By doing so, it enabled closer integration of global, regional and local markets. Second, from the time of industrial revolution, a new international specialization began to emerge as a result of trade. India specialized, in agricultural exports. Third, in turn, changes in the product market induced changes in land, labor, and credit markets‘ (Roy, 2007). The American Civil War also indirectly encouraged commercialization of agriculture in India: the British cotton demand was diverted to India. The demand of cotton was maintained even after the civil war ceased because of the rise of cotton textile industries in India. The commercialization of India agriculture was initiated in India by the British through their direct and indirect policies and activities. Firstly, the new land tenure system introduced in form of permanent settlement and Ryotwari Settlement had made agricultural land a freely exchangeable commodity. The Permanent settlement by giving ownership right to the zamindars created a class of wealthy landlords; they could make use of this ownership right by sale or purchase of land. Secondly, the agriculture which had been way of life rather than a business enterprise now began to be practiced for sale in national and international market. Thirdly, the political unity established by the British and the resulted in rise of the unified national market. Fourthly, the spread of money economy replaced the barter and agricultural goods became market items and the replacement of custom and tradition by competition and contract. Finally, the British policy of one way free trade also acted as sufficient encouraging factor for commercialization as the manufactured items in textile, jute etc. could find free entry in Indian markets, where as the manufactured goods did not have similar free access to European markets. Impact of Commercialization on Indian Agriculture It is interesting to note that though there is little controversy with regard to the role of British in initiating and promoting the forces which led to the commercialization of Indian agriculture, however, the nature of commercialization and its impact on the Indian peasantry had been very controversial issue, both during and after the British rule. To the nationalists, it was not out of the free will of the cultivators– commercialization of agriculture was forced and artificial (Dutt, 1906). This was so because the high pitch of revenue demand in cash compelled the cultivators to sell large portion of the produce of their fields keeping an insufficient stock for their own consumption. On the other hand the colonial bureaucracy argued that it was the market force rather than the pressure of land revenue that was drawing the farmers into the business of production for the market. The commercial crops were more profitable and this economic incentive led them to produce for sale and export, thus making it possible for them to increase per capita income. Furthermore, the imperialist historiography and the colonial bureaucracy viewed commercialization of  agriculture, the expansion of trade in agricultural products and the rising agricultural prices as an indication of the â€â€"growing prosperity of the peasantry.‘ (Satyanarayana, 2005). On the other hand anti-imperialist historiography (both nationalist and radical Marxist) emphasizing the negative impact of commercialization of agriculture and the integration implied that agricultural production in India was to be determined by imperial preferences and needs (Bhatia, 1967). Moreover, other historians following the neo-classical economic theory or with anti-imperialistic orientations (Marxists and non Marxists) have extended their support to either of the two. The commercialization of agriculture was a forced and artificial process for the majority of Indian peasants. It was introduced under coercion of the British and not out of the incentive of peasantry at large. The peasantry went for cultivation of commercial crops under duress. Most importantly the life of the Indian peasant was tied to the highly fluctuating national and international market. He was no longer a deciding factor in agricultural practices. Further, by making agricultural land a tradable commodity, the peasant lost his security feeling. High land revenue demand forced him to take loan from the money lender at high interest rates. Failure to pay debt in time meant loss of land to the money lender at high interest rates. It led to land alienation and increase in the number of agricultural laborers whose conditions especially in plantation industry was pathetic. He had to pay the land revenue due to the British government in time. Moreover, he had to grow commercial crop on a specified tract of his land under the oppression of planters. Also, Indian money lenders advanced Cash advances to the farmers to cultivate the commercial crops and if the peasants failed to pay him back in time, the land of peasants came under ownership of moneylenders. The poor peasant was forced to sell his produce just after harvest at whatever prices he could get. This placed him at the money of the grain merchant, who was in a position to dictate terms and who purchased his produced at much less than the market price. It also resulted in reduced area under cultivation of food crops. The net result of this change was that Indian failed to produce even that much food  crops which could provide even two square meals a day to its population. The misery was further enhanced became the population of India was increasing every year, fragmentation of land was taking place because of the increasing pressure on land and modern techniques of agricultural production were not introduced in India. While the upper class and British industries benefited-from it, the Indian peasants’ life was tied to remote international market. It affected adversely the poor people of India; it became difficult for them to get even sufficient food. This becomes ample from the fact that ill 1880 India had a surplus of foodstuffs to the extent of five million tons and by 1945 it had a deficit of 10 million tons. George Byn records that from 1893-94 to 1945-46, the production of commercial crops increased by 85 percent and that of food crops fell by 7 percent. This had a devastating effect on the rural economy and often took the shape of famines. Bhatia believes that the earlier famines were localized, and it was only after 1860, during the British rule, that famine came to signify general shortage of foodgrains in the country. There were approximately 25 major famines spread through states such as Tamil Nadu in the south, and Bihar and Bengal in the east during the latter half of the 19th century. Great Depression and Indian Agriculture A global economic depression broke out in 1929. However, the causes were more diverse and multi-pronged, with the decrease in costs and economic deflation of the post-war period being one of the main reasons. This deflation was caused by excessive manufacturing activities during the First World War. As a result, huge stocks of goods were piled up without being used. Wartime expenditure had reduced the countries of Europe to a state of heavy debt (Manikumra, 2003). With the outbreak of the Second World War, India was required to provide the resources for financing the war expenditures, which amounted to nearly 38 billion rupees from 194146. Government attached excessive importance in maintaining war related production, as a result of which a comprehensive system of supplying food to the urban areas at controlled prices was put in place. The rural poor were not viewed as being essential to the war effort and so the main burden of war financing was  passed on to them. With the Great Depression, agricultural prices worldwide started falling earlier than industrial prices. As a result, the manufacturing-agriculture terms of trade turned sharply against agriculture. A substantial redistribution took place from the mass of rural producers to urban classes. Thus the combination of the long term trend of decline in per head production of foodgrains, a rise in per head production of exportable and the effects of deteriorating terms of trade created a set of pre-famine conditions in the sense that any substantial shock to the economic system under these circumstances was almost certain to precipitate famine in the absence of countervailing intervention. Taxes were jacked up and deficit financing by printing money was resorted to and money supply is estimated to have raised five folds in the four years from 1940.As a result there was a war boom and profit inflation. Rice price started an upward spiral from the last quarter of 1941, doubled within a year a nd quadrupled within eighteen months. Also, the colonial government from the beginning strongly pushed exportable production by forcible cultivation of poppy in the early 19th century and export of opium to China, culminating in the infamous opium wars and indigo mutiny. With time overt force became less necessary as the pressure of revenue demand transmitted down to the peasant cultivators as the pressure of rental demand and in the case of landlords paying the revenue; compelled peasants to grow more commercial crops to sell and to commercialize food production itself. Famine: Indian Agriculture strained by commercialization and Great Depression The fall in prices had been higher in India compared to the rest of the world, the price of commodities manufactured in India rose dramatically compared to imports from the United  Kingdom or some other country in the world. The Great Depression had a terrible impact on the Indian farmer. While there was a steady, uninhibited increase in land rent, the value of the agricultural produce had come down  to alarming levels. Therefore, having incurred heavy losses, the farmer was compelled to sell off gold and silver ornaments in his possession in order to pay the land rent and other taxes. Farmers who were cultivating food crops had earlier moved over to cash crop cultivation in large numbers to meet the demands of the mills in the United Kingdom. Now, they were crippled as they were unable to sell their products in India due to the high prices; nor could they export the commodities to the United Kingdom which had recently adopted a protective policy prohibiting imports from India. An ex ante excess of investment over savings was converted to equality through forced savings extracted via food price inflation from the rural population. The consumption of food was then estimated at one and a half pound per individual and in 1945 it was 1 pound. Nearly thirty percent of the Indian population was estimated to be suffering from chronic malnutrition and under nutrition. Thus, the commercialization of agriculture in India by the British was also one of the important causes of the impoverishment of the Indian people. This resulted in a combination of famines and epidemics claiming around 2.7 to 3.1 million lives. The most cited example is that of ―Bengal Faminesâ€â€". Romesh Chunder Dutt argued as early as 1900, and present-day scholars such as Amartya Sen agree, that some historic famines were a product of both uneven rainfall and British economic and administrative policies, which since 1857 had led to the seizure and conversion of local farmland to foreign-owned plantations, restrictions on internal trade, heavy taxation of Indian citizens to support British. The Great Famine of 1876–78, in which 6.1 million to 10.3 million people died and the Indian famine of 1899–1900, in which 1.25 to 10 million people died were the most destructive famines. The Bengal Famine resulted in approximately 3 million  deaths. Generally the estimates are between 1.5 and 4 million, considering death due to starvation, malnutrition and disease, out of Bengal’s 60.3 million populations. Half of the victims would have died from disease after food became available in December 1943. Generally it is thought that there was serious decrease in food production during that time which is coupled with continuing export of grain. However according to Amartya Sen, there was no significant decrease in food production in 1943 (in fact food production  was higher compared to 1941). The highest mortality was not in previously very poor groups, but among artisans and small traders whose income vanished when people spent all they had on food and did not employ cobblers, carpenters, etc. The famine also caused major economic and social disruption, ruining millions of families. Conclusion Since colonial times, opinions would seem to have been divided between â€â€"optimists‘, for whom commercialization marked progress and a growing prosperity for all; â€â€"pessimists‘, for whom it marked regress into deepening class stratification and mass pauperization; and â€â€"skeptics‘ who held that it made very little difference and that its impact was largely absorbed by pre-existing structures of wealth accumulation and power on the land. However, capitalization in the 21 st century is said to create similar impact as colonial times, the only difference being that the later one was forced through oppressive policies, whereas the former would be market driven. The farmer in his choice of crops attached greater importance to market demand and price than o other factors. Capitalism has mixed impacts on Indian agriculture. While it brings about liberalization and globalization that leads to trans-border availability of agricultural products all over the world, it breaks the economic self-sufficiency in India leading to greater dependency on  market forces. Export of food products is one of the major reasons for inflation in India, it reduces the availability of agricultural products in India, increasing the demand and thus escalating the prices. Trade and liberalization has also made Indian agriculture vulnerable to global crisis. However, it provides for a national economy and also brought about regional specialization of crops on an efficient basis. Hence, it is essential to learn from the lessons in the past and formulate policies to mitigate the negative impacts on Indian agriculture while being globally connected and liberalized. References Atchi Reddy, M., The Commercialization of Agriculture in Nellore District: Effects on Wages, Employment and Tenancy. † in Essays on the Commercialization of Indian Agriculture, editors et. al. K.N.Raj, 163-83. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1985. Avineri, Shlomo editor. Karl Marx on Colonialism and Modernization. Garden City: 1969. Barber, William. British Economic Thought and India 1600-1858: A Study in the History of Development Economics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1975. Bardhan, Pranab K. Land, Labor, and Rural Poverty: Essays in Development Economics. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1984. Bhatia, B.M. Famines in India, 1860-1965. New York (1967) Beaud, Michel. A History of Capitalism, 1500-1980. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1983. Bernanke, B.S. Essays on the Great Depression. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2000 Bharadwaj, Krishna. â€Å"A View on Commercialisation in Indian Agriculture and the Development of Capitalism.† The Journal of Peasant Studies 12, no. 4 (1985): 7-25. Chaudhuri, Binay Bhushan. â€Å"The Process of Agricultural Commercialisation in Eastern India During British Rule:A Reconsideration of the Nations of ‘Forced Commercialisation’ and ‘Dependent Peasantry’.† In Meanings in Agriculture: Essays in South Asian History and Economics, Editor Peter Robb, 71-91. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1996. Dutt, R. C. Economic History of India in the Victorian Age, 1837-1901. London (1906). Greenough, Paul R. Prosperity and Misery in Modern Bengal: The Famine of 1943-1944. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982. Habib, Irfan (ed.), The Cambridge Economic History of India, Vol. 1, c.1200-c.1757 New Delhi: Orient Longman (1982). Ludden, David. â€Å"Agrarian Commercialism in Eighteenth Century South India: Evidence From the 1823 Tirunelveli Census.† Indian Economic and Social History Review 25, no. 4 (1988): 493-520. ———. â€Å"The Terms of Ryotwari Praxis: Changing Property Relations Among Mirasidars in the Tinnevelly District.† In Studies in South India: An Anthology of Recent Research and Critical Scholarship, Editor Pauline Kolenda, pp.151-70. Madras: New Era Publications and the American Institute of Indian Studies, 1985. Ludden, David (editor). Agricultural Production and Indian History. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1994. Manikumar, K. A. A Colonial Economy in the Great Depression, Madras (1929–1937). Orient Blackswan. (2003). ISBN 978-81-250-2456-9. Mishra, Satish Chandra. â€Å"Commercialisation, Peasant Differentiation and Merchant Capital in Late Nineteenth Century Bombay and Punjab.† Journal of Peasant Studies 10, no. 1 (1982). Mokyr, Joel editor. The British Industrial Revolution: An Economic Perspective. Boulder: Westview Press, 1993. Naoroji, Dadabhai. Poverty and British Rule in India. 1901. http://www.historydiscussion.net/british-india/expansion-and-commercialization-ofagriculture-during-the-british-rule-in-india/640 (accessed on September 4th, 2014) Raj, K.N. Neeladari Bhattacharya, Sumit Guha, and Shakti Padhi (ed.), Essays on Commercialization of Agriculture in India. Delhi: Oxford University Press, (1985), p. viii. Rajasekhar, D. â€Å"Commercialization of Agriculture and Changes in Distribution of Land Ownership in Kurnool District of Andhra 9C.1900-1950).† The South Indian Economy: Agrarian Change, Industrial Structure, and State Policy, C1914-1947, 78-119. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1991. Ray, Rajat Kanta. â€Å"The Bazaar: Changing Structural Characteristics in the Indigenous Section of the Indian Economy Before and After the Great Depression.† The Indian Economic and Social History Review 25, no. (3) (1988): pp. 263-318. Robb, Peter. â€Å"Peasant’ Choices? Indian Agriculture and the Limits of Commercialization in Nineteenth-Century Bihar.† The Economic History Review XLV, no. 1 (1992). Roy, Tirthankar. The Economic History of India, 1857-1947. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, second edition (2007), p. 124. Satyananarayana A., Expansion of Commodity Production and Agrarian Market. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, second edition (2005), p. 182. Satyasai, K. J. S., and K. U. Viswanathan. â€Å"Commercialisation and Diversification of Indian Agriculture.† Economic and Political Weekly 31, no. 45-46 (1996): 3027-28. Sen, Amartya K. Poverty and Famines: An Essay in Entitlement and Deprivation. New York: Oxford University Press, 1981. Shiva, Vandana. Ecology and the Politics of Survival: Conflicts Over Natural Resources in India. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1991. Tilly, Louise A. â€Å"Food Entitlement, Famine, and Conflict.† In Hunger and History: The Impact of Changing Food Productionand Consumption Patterns on Society, Editors Robert I. Rotberg and Theodore K. Rabb, 135-52. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983. Wakimura, Kohei. The Indian Economy and Disasters during the Late Nineteenth Century: Problems of Interpretation of Colonial Economy. http://srch.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/rp/publications/no10/10-06_Wakimura.pdf (accessed on September 6th, 2014) Washbrook, David. â€Å"The Commercialization of Agriculture in Colonial India: Production, Subsistence and Reproduction in the ‘Dry South’, C. 1870-1930.† Modern Asian Studies 28, no. 1 (1994): 129-64.

Figueroa Surname Meaning and Origin

Figueroa Surname Meaning and Origin The Spanish surname Figueroa is a habitational name from any one of several small towns in Galicia, Spain, named Figueroa, from a derivative of figueira, meaning fig tree. Figueroa is the 59th most common Spanish surname. Alternate Surname Spellings: Figuero, Figuera, Figarola, Higueras, Higuero, Higueroa, De Figueroa, Figueres Surname Origin: Spanish Where Do People With the Figueroa Surname Live? While the Figueroa surname originated in Galicia near the border of Spain and Portugal, according to  Forebears  it is no longer as prevalent in that region as it is in many other Spanish-speaking countries. The Figueroa last name ranks 18th in Puerto Rico, 38th in Chile, 47th in Guatemala, 56th in El Salvador, 64th in Argentina, 68th in Honduras, 99th in Venezuela, 105th in Peru and 111th in Mexico. Within Spain, Figueroa is still most prevalent in Galicia, according to WorldNames PublicProfiler.  In the United States, the Figueroa surname is found in greatest numbers in the states of Florida, Texas, California, Arizona, New Mexico, and New York. Famous People With the Figueroa Surname Francisco de Figueroa - 16th century Spanish poetPedro Josà ©Ã‚  Figueroa - Colombian portrait painterCole  Figueroa - MLB 2nd baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates- Venezuelan television hostPedro de Castro y Figueroa - Spanish viceroy of New SpainJosà ©Ã‚  Figueroa Alcorta - President of Argentina, 1906–1910Francisco  Acuà ±a de Figueroa - Uruguayan poet and writerFernando Figueroa - President of El Salvador, 1907–1911 Genealogy Resources for the Surname Figueroa 100 Most Common Spanish SurnamesHave you ever wondered about your Spanish last name and how it came to be? This article describes common Spanish naming patterns and explores the meaning and origins of 100 common Spanish surnames. How to Research Hispanic HeritageLearn how to get started researching  your Hispanic ancestors, including the basics of family tree research and country-specific organizations, genealogical records, and resources for Spain, Latin America, Mexico, Brazil, the Caribbean, and other Spanish speaking countries. Figueroa Family Crest - Its Not What You ThinkContrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as a Figueroa family crest or coat of arms for the Figueroa surname.  Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male-line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted.   The Figueroa DNA Surname ProjectThe Figueroa Family Project seeks to find common heritage through sharing of information and DNA testing. Any variant spellings of the Figueroa surname are welcome to participate. Figueroa Family Genealogy ForumThis free message board is focused on the descendants of Figueroa ancestors around the world. Search past queries, or post a question of your own. FamilySearch - Figueroa GenealogyAccess over 1.2 million free historical records and lineage-linked family trees posted for the Figueroa surname and its variations on this free genealogy website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Figueroa Surname Mailing ListThis free mailing list for researchers of the Figueroa surname and its variations includes subscription details and searchable archives of past messages. Hosted by RootsWeb. DistantCousin.com - Figueroa Genealogy Family HistoryExplore free databases and genealogy links for the last name Figueroa. The Figueroa Genealogy and Family Tree PageBrowse family trees and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the last name Figueroa from the website of Genealogy Today.References Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Dorward, David. Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998. Fucilla, Joseph. Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Reaney, P.H. A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997. Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Free Essays on Neutral TV

The media is not only a subject of great interest in modern American society, but also of greatly polarized controversy. The film â€Å"OutFoxed† gives a clear opinion as to what the media should ideally be and animatedly professes its objection to â€Å"bias† media and television. The film states that the media functions as the â€Å"nervous system† of our country, and if it does not function properly, then the country doesn’t function properly. The film gave an important example of this by demonstrating the media’s influence on our country’s political elections. According to the film, the media has the responsibility of simply reporting â€Å"news† without bias or opinion. Despite this, the media can, and often does, choose what to show and/or what not to show, thus affecting the opinions of others on various important issues, such as political elections. Thus, if any system of media were to have a fixed opinion or bias about a certain political party/issue/candidate, it could be used as a powerful medium to propagate the respective party’s views. The film focused primarily on the FoxNews program and its method of reporting the news. It portrayed its owner Rupert Murdock to be very controlling and narrow-minded in his beliefs. It said that his networks have a total audience of 4.7 billion people, and that he uses his assets as a way to spread his strong political beliefs. The film made many citations against not only FoxNews, the Fox Network, and Rupert Murdock, but also against right wing-ism, conservatism, republicans, and President Bush. The film gave many factual examples of Fox’s bias towards those things, but all were from former Fox employees or employees from Fox’s competitors. At first, this didn’t really get my attention. The film was obviously anti-Fox, so of course those against Fox will be on the film. Upon further reflection, I began to think about the nat ure of bias and its effect on television. ... Free Essays on Neutral TV Free Essays on Neutral TV The media is not only a subject of great interest in modern American society, but also of greatly polarized controversy. The film â€Å"OutFoxed† gives a clear opinion as to what the media should ideally be and animatedly professes its objection to â€Å"bias† media and television. The film states that the media functions as the â€Å"nervous system† of our country, and if it does not function properly, then the country doesn’t function properly. The film gave an important example of this by demonstrating the media’s influence on our country’s political elections. According to the film, the media has the responsibility of simply reporting â€Å"news† without bias or opinion. Despite this, the media can, and often does, choose what to show and/or what not to show, thus affecting the opinions of others on various important issues, such as political elections. Thus, if any system of media were to have a fixed opinion or bias about a certain political party/issue/candidate, it could be used as a powerful medium to propagate the respective party’s views. The film focused primarily on the FoxNews program and its method of reporting the news. It portrayed its owner Rupert Murdock to be very controlling and narrow-minded in his beliefs. It said that his networks have a total audience of 4.7 billion people, and that he uses his assets as a way to spread his strong political beliefs. The film made many citations against not only FoxNews, the Fox Network, and Rupert Murdock, but also against right wing-ism, conservatism, republicans, and President Bush. The film gave many factual examples of Fox’s bias towards those things, but all were from former Fox employees or employees from Fox’s competitors. At first, this didn’t really get my attention. The film was obviously anti-Fox, so of course those against Fox will be on the film. Upon further reflection, I began to think about the nat ure of bias and its effect on television. ...

T & M wk5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7250 words

T & M wk5 - Essay Example Many of these children that I have seen are actually gifted, but they do not have a way to express their way of learning. Sometimes these placement tests are accurate but other times they are not. Part of our job is to discern what learning disabilities a child has and look for ways to assist them. An ethical issue is that sometimes we are asked to do testing that no one is qualified to do. We do send children out to be tested in these cases but it is difficult when other agencies expect that we can do everything. The role of testing and assessment in small business is important because it is important that all people within a business understand how to work together. It is also important for individuals to take charge of their careers inside a company so that when openings happen they are able to take advantage of them. One of the tests that I would use in business would be the Values Scale. This test gives an understanding of 21 values that are relevant to work and an individuals life roles. I would use this instrument to help the employee understand their own values and to help the employer understand how this individuals values may fit into the organization. I would ask that employees take this test within the first year of their employment in order to help them understand how to shape their values with those of the company. The second test that I would use is the Myers Briggs Type Indicator. I would use this to start a dialogue between employees to help them understand each other better. This is very good with management but it would also be used with other employees. T One challenge to testing and assessment in business is the fact that testing of any kind is controversial because the perception of testing is that it is used to keep certain types of people out of an

Greek Mythology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Greek Mythology - Essay Example This is why a bull is specially remembered when this cult is mentioned because it is thought that it was the assumption of this shape that actually brought down the end so swiftly on Dionysius. It is stated in a legend that Apollo went to the city of Delphic when he was just a four year old boy to kill a huge serpent because it had, according to legend, molested the mother of Apollo and he wanted to avenge the mistake committed by the serpent. The serpent was not any normal serpent in fact it was the son of Gaia and he sent holy verses by means of fissures in a rock, these fissures were inhaled once by the priestess, pythia and this inspired her to let every know what these cryptic verses meant and hence she wrote down the Delphi oracle which gave a voice to these cryptic verses. Since, Apollo killed the great serpent he was able to take his place. Apollo had numerous affairs; at Delphi he learned archery, music and singing and was very good at it. The first temple to Apollo built by the Romans was in 432 B.C.