Should companies routinely Google applicants or look at their Facebook Essay

Should companies routinely Google applicants or look at their Facebook pages as part of a reference check before hiring - Essay Example III. Using Google Search and Facebook, employees are able to assess applicant’s talents. IV. Counter Arguments and Responses a. Opponents argue that the practice leads to invasion of privacy. Refutation: Only employees with questionable behaviors would feel this. b. Opponents claim that the practice is that it drives away talented applicants Refutation: It appropriate when done as the last step in the assessment. V. Conclusion Use of Google and Facebook to assess applicants ensures employers hire suitable employees. Companies Should Google Applicants and Look at Their Facebook Pages as Part of a Reference Check Before Hiring Name Course Tutor’s Name Date Companies Should Google Applicants and Look at Their Facebook Pages as Part of a Reference Check Before Hiring Introduction Although most people consider social networks to be sites for their personal life, the sites are increasingly becoming important in increasing or decreasing the chances of acquiring a job. Most peo ple use social networks in informal settings and tend to share information that could be detrimental to their career life. This is because some employers are increasingly using search engines such as Google and social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to screen applicants. The kind of information that people share on the social networks depicts the kind of people they are. It is thus important that employers check on such information to discern if the prospective employees have underlying interest in the field, they have applied the job. Some employees also use social networks when they have too many applicants and want to narrow down the list. By using social networks, they are able to find reason not to hire some candidates. Additionally, the kind of information people post on social network sites can demonstrate their capability to deal with other people. This essay argues that companies should Google applicants and look at their Facebook pages as part of a reference check before hiring. The employers, particularly the human resource managers spend plenty of time dealing with employee problems. By conducting checks on the prospective employees, the employer can be able to discern the probability of an interviewee being problematic after employment. Using Google, employers are able to find out information regarding previous employment. This helps determine if the candidates present themselves professionally. Additionally this can help the employer understand the kind of a person the applicant is and their capability of coping with the company’s culture. By doing background checks using the social networks and Goggle, employees are able to detect and eliminate candidates with tainted records or a vague past. Some managers argue that they have been able to find reasons not to hire applicants by using social networks. In most cases, the managers felt that the applicant postings such as those against former employer were red flags. A dditionally, some people lie about their qualification on Facebook, which depicts their deceitfulness. This saves the company the large amount of time spent dealing with problems that such employees bring into the company (DiSilvestro, 2012). Another reason why employees should carry out background checks is to determine the capability of the candidates to

Wide Reading Assignment - Sherlock Holmes Essay Example for Free

Wide Reading Assignment Sherlock Holmes Essay This assignment is based on three Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle which are, The Man with the Twisted Lip, The Final Problem, and The Empty House. The aim is to give a full understanding of each story and to give a good idea of why these stories are still as popular today as they were 100 years ago. I will explain this by discussing some of the characters and taking into account the social and historical context. Sherlock Holmes stories are all quite different in their own way because they explore different kinds of crime and characters. Such as in The Man with the Twisted Lip, where they are trying to solve a suspected murder and in The Final Problem they are trying to catch Professor Moriarty for various crimes. These three stories do have some similarities, which are that Sherlock Holmes always solves the crimes and is always the main character. They also involve Dr. Watson, a doctor, who seems to be Holmes companion in solving these crimes. Arthur Conan Doyle has created Holmes character very effectively as in that period in history crime was rife in London and the public were scared and thought the police force were not protecting their community as well as they should. So because Holmes didnt work for the police force and always solved the crimes then he seemed to be like a hero to the public and maybe their fantasy because he kept people safe and they probably wanted so much for him to be real. The readers of Sherlock Holmes in Victorian England showed so much interest that when Doyle tried to end the stories of Sherlock Holmes by killing him in The Final Problem there was a public outcry and Doyle even received death threats because they wanted so much for him to carry on with this character that had caught their attention so vividly. In that time of history there were no televisions or much entertainment at all for the public so that is probably why they got so intrigued by this wonderful character that solved all the crimes. I would describe Sherlock Holmes as a very pompous, confident and intelligent person. He also seems to be quite secretive about his plans such as when he persuades Dr. Watson to go on one of his missions, he doesnt tell him where they are going or what is in store for him and this makes me feel quite anxious for Watson, such as in The Man with the Twisted Lip when he said But Im all in the dark and Holmes answers Of course you are. Youll know all about it presently. I think this is a very significant quality in all of the Sherlock Holmes stories because it gives a sense of mystery for the reader and makes it a lot more interesting. Holmes also has a dark-side to himself, which is displayed when he states: Had I been recognised in that den my life would not of been worth an hours purchase, for I have used it before now for my own purposes.

Ryanair External Analysis

Ryanair External Analysis Ryanair is an airline company which is well known for its low cost airline service in Europe. Ryanair was founded in 1985 by Christy Ryan, Liam Lonergan and noted Irish businessman, Tony Ryan. It has its head office in Dublin Airport in Ireland. The company which was running in loss was restructured in 1991 by Michael OLeary with no-frills, low-cost service which yielded profits to the company. It operates more than two hundred and twenty Boeing 737-800 aircrafts from 40 bases all over Europe, which is the largest airline company that carries millions of passengers every year. Revenue where raised from $231million in 1998 to $843 million in 2003.It showed considerable profits from  £48 million to  £239 million over the due course. The company yielded revenues of  £ 2,713.8 million during the financial year which ended March 2008, which is an increase of 21.3% compared to year 2007.The other revenue provide to Ryanair where car hire, travel insurance, etc which account to 16% of the total revenue. So the major vision of the company is to be the leader in the low fare airlines in Europe. The objective of the Ryanair airline company is to be the number one company in terms of customer service. EXTERNAL ANALYSIS: In the environmental scanning process we are going to see the external analysis. The PESTEL is an macro environmental scanning tool. The PESTEL which is known as Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, Leagal. Let us discuss the factors in detail. (P)olitical Factors: The major political factors that affect the Ryanair are the pressure which is caused from the trade unions especially Pilot trade unions. The act of terrorism is another major political factor which will affect the airline service with increased time delays for security services. The landing charges is another important factor which influences politically. Due to the high landing fee in Stansted, Ryanair has decided to move routes from the Stansted to Gatwick (which is providind lower landing charges). Also the EU which has abolished the sales of duty-free items also causes major impact. (E)conomic Factors: The major economic factor is the unstable conditions in the fuel prices which affects the airline companys growth. Ryanair estimated that fuel bill is set to increase  £732m (in the financial year 2008) to  £1.01bn which had affected the profits down to  £235m between 2008 and March 2009.Further the weakening of the Pound value(GBP) also influences a lot on the growth of Ryanair. The recession and increase in the inflation rates have also affected the growth. The taxation issues are a very important factor which affects the economic growth of the company. (S)ocial Factors: The major social factors is the increase in travelling lifestyles of the people which affects the business of Ryanair .There are a variety of people who will prefer different ways of travelling and comfort. The increasing population which will be focusing on the health and fitness safety measures provided. So this will make the company spend a lot on the security service. Further the ageing population needs more leg space and health safety measures implementations. (T)echnological Factors: The new bigger planes with good modern technologies are required for the huge passenger traffic. So this in turn affects the economy of the company. The other important factor is the internet. The online ticket booking has increased from the year 2001 which made the company invest more on the outsourcing of these operations. Further the new technology planes with less fuel consumption are very important focus to buy in the situation where the fuel prices are increasing. (E)nvironmental Factors: The most important environmental factor which affects the companys revenue growth is the carbon emission and green house issues. So this makes the company to upgrade its existing planes to less carbon emission and less noise producing new technology planes. Further the carbon emission schemes differ between countries which in turn increase the taxing policies, so this also affects the economy of the company. (L)egal Factors: These include the EU regulators and the regulations which in turn reflects in the companys growth. The health and safety measures are also one of the legal factors in which case the passengers might sue the company for any accidents occurred . Further the landing charges varies between the countries which causes the company to pay more for landing in some bases. INDUSTRY STRUCTURE: For the industrial analysis we use the Porters Five Forces. In this picture L-LOW M-MEDIUM H- HIGH Considering this porters five forces the bargaining power of customers and the suppliers will be low because the airfare is already low which is quite reasonable. The threat of the substitutes will be medium which might depend on the relative price and quality of the substitutes. The threat of new entrants and the competitive rivalry is very high. For example the major competitor for Ryanair is the EasyJet airline which offers low price airfare with good customer service. This is described as below Market Segmentation Positioning Of Ryanair: Ryanair targets the people belonging to the middle class. It offers best low airfare with attractive packages. Even Ryanair offered free carriage of skis and snowboards to passengers flying to the Alps on September 2009. This even made people more happy to choose Ryanair for their travel, whereas their rival British Airways stopped their passengers from carrying their skis Positioning Of Ryanair: 1. Premium 2. Premium/ Competitive 4. Competitive 5.Competitive/ Leader 1. Excellent 2. Excellent/ Average 4. Average/ Acceptable 5. Acceptable 1. Original 2. Original/ Customized 3. Customized 4. Customized /Basic 1. Restricted 3. Restricted/ Selective 4. Selective/ Universal 5. Universal 1. Prestigious 2. Prestigious/ Respected 4. Respected 5. Respected/ Functional 1.Comprehensive 2.Comprehensive/ Standard 3. Standard 4. Standard/ Minimal PRICE QUALITY FEATURES AVAILABILITY SUPPORT REPUTATION Resource Resources of Ryanair: The resources are known as the tangible and intangible assets that a firm uses to choose and then implement them in strategies. The capabilities are the skills that the firm uses in order to bring its resources to bear the ongoing things. The Resources of the Ryanair are Physical Resources Ryanair operates a fleet of 232 new Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Ryanair has 41 bases and more than 1100 routes across 26 countries, which is connecting 153 destinations. Even the company has ordered 82 new flights which will be delivered within 3 years of time. This shows the companys rapid growth and expansion. Financial Resources The major financial resource like the number of flights that the company yielded is from the low cost airfare. The financial resources of Ryanair is quite strong when compared with its rival Easyjet which is shown in the table below Human Resources Ryanair currently has a crew of around 7000 people and carries around millon more than 58 million people in the year 2008.   Capabilities Of Ryanair: The capabilities of the Ryanair are the lowest airfares and the quickest turnaround time. Their innovative strategies on the cost reduction and the principle of No Frills are also an added advantage. They also focus on particular segment of market with some clear offers. They also have the large brand awareness. Ansoff Strategic Direction Matrix: The Igor Ansoff direction matrix helps the firms to decide on the possible ways to grow the business in the existing or new products , in the existing or new market. In this way we get four possible combinations. They are: Market Penetration Product Development Market Development Diversification These are describes in the picture below So by using the combinations from Ansoff , the Ryanair company seems to have successfully penetrated into the airline market by offering its customers with a very Low Airfare . Here the product which means the various services offered by Ryanair in the flight . The most significant one is the Low Airfare pricing offered to the passengers. Hence their market penetration is very strong and successful and also their product developed very well because of the low pricing of the air tickets. So naturally this made the company to become the largest low fare carriers across the Europe . This also influenced the development of the company in the airline market with the purchasing of many Boeing aircrafts with modern facilities. Further the company has expanded its routes to more than 1100 in more than 26 countries with 153 destinations. This is the major development in the airline market which attracted more customers. The company recorded the largest passenger carriers with 58 million pass engers travelling during the year 2008. This expansion made them to be more popular internationally which in fact required the divergence of employees and culture. So these have diversified the management and people they operate and made them to successfully unite them together. This is the major factor which made them to further penetrate and result in the product development to the existing and new markets. Hence the Ryanair here maintains B2C which yields them more profits. This also helps them to make a good customer relationship and also give them a reliable low priced air tickets. This makes the company Ryanair to be the leading Low airfare carriers among the European airline companies. Hence the low pricing strategy of Ryanair have targeted on the middle class people but with very basic services. Cost Reducing Strategy: The Ryanair follows the most effective strategies which is the cost reducing strategies. This cost reducing strategies helps the company to achieve the desired targets of low cost airfare. These are achieved by five major aspects. They are: Fleet Commonality Contracting the services to third parties The charges in airport and route policy Managing the staff and productivity costs Managing the marketing cost Fleet Commonality: The Ryanair has only the new Boeing 737 flight models which help the company in reducing the costs spent on maintenance such as obtaining the spare parts and also the training costs .This is the major advantage to the company to maintain single model of the air fleet which even increases the travel line security with new technology flights. Even these will help the company to save the fuel consumption and these flights are more fuel efficient and also maintain good safety. This also helps them in scheduling the fights and assembling the crew members. Contracting the services to third parties: The Ryanair has outsourced the services to third parties. They made deals with Hertz car rentals and hotels. So in this fast moving world people prefer to go for these good services along with their trips in order to save time and money. In this way they earn ancillary revenue of 16% of the profit. Further apart from the Dublin airport where they have their crew members to serve, the remaining airports they have contracted to the third parties to serve the ticket handling. In this way they also escape from the direct exposure of the potential disputes. The charges in airport and route policy: Since the Ryanair sells the tickets on its own, there is no activity of the agents required most often. So there is no necessity for the agent commission. So the company saves upto 15% on the agency commission. In order to reduce the airport landing fees, passenger landing fee, etc the company select the secondary and the regional airports which in turn increases the passenger throughput. Managing the staff and Productivity cost: The Ryanair follows the principle of paying the salary to their employees based on their performance. This is one of the best practices the modern companies are following these days to increase the work force performance and which in turn bring good revenue to the company. Hence they follow the modest salary policy. This in turn increases the productivity. Further most of the pilots are recruited when they are young pilots cadets which makes the company to train and make short term deals with them. Even the cabin crew should pay for their uniforms to be clean. Managing the marketing cost: The Ryanair in order to reduce the marketing costs it makes most of the marketing on its own without the travel agents. So it saves a lot in the agent commissions. Further the company spend a reasonable amount of money in advertising. The advertising tools used are like the newspapers, company website and also television. Porters Value Chain: The porters value chain is a chain with various activities for the company operating in a specific field. It has various varies Primary activities like the Inbound Logistics, Operations, Outbound Logistics, Marketing sales, Service. The other part is the support Activities which consists of administration infrastructure, Human Resource Management, Technology part and the Procurement. These values are very important for the company to maintain its performance and get a good profit in turn. Here the very important value is the no frill service and which makes the company to offer a low cost airfare. The various value drivers and their costs are identified for each of the value activity. Hence here for the Ryanair airline company the following are the identified values using the Porters Value Chain. Porters Generic Strategies: Michael Porter categorised the three general strategies that are to be used by the business firms in order to achieve competitive advantage. Hence these three strategies are defined in two different dimensioned they are the competitive scope and the competitive strength. The various generic strategies that the Ryanair company has chosen are the cost leadership, differentiation, cost focus, differentiation focus. The cost leadership is the major strategies used by the Ryanair which still makes it to the leading airline companies in Europe. The Ryanair maintains the low cost policy which is an advantage for its good market existence. Further it has made the people to choose the option of low airfare even in the existing market competition. Differentiation here is that it made their customers to be more satisfied regarding the low pricing airfare. Hence there it still retained the long run customer satisfaction regarding the airfare cost. The cost focus is mainly targeted on the people choosing low airfare travels. So the company has chosen the no frill strategy which still makes it more profitable in the markets. Even it has very cheap advertising concept which even adds more advantage. The reduced turnaround time and the various corporate partnership offers are also the competitive advantages of the company. The outsourcing of services in various international airports is also helpful to main tain its low cost airfare. Further the Ryanair follows the In-house marketing which also helps it to focus on low cost airfares. Even the company focussed on the narrow customer segment which will be including the Irish and the UK passengers who cannot afford to fly in expensive airlines. So the major goal of the company Ryanair is to provide the people with no frill service and low cost airfare all time. So Ryanair is the only company which has not yet revealed its strategic position. It has tried to mix up the focus and cost leadership together. So finally in 1997 the cost leadership strategy was being chosen by the company. This made the company more successful in its campaign. Hence the cost leadership is the best chosen strategies which make the company to be the leading one in the European airline industries. Hence this is the major competitive advantage the company has pursued. Conclusion: Hence from the above analysis the Ryanair proved to be the low cost airline which is confident of competing with its competitors in pricing. It is recommended that it should increase its services in the web which will yield more revenue these days. The Ryanair will surely make its successful way in Flying people withlow cost airfare. Critical Reflection: From the above discussed strategies the Ryanair airline company has achieved its goal of low cost airfare through no frill services. But still there are some areas that the company still need to improve in the strategic aspect. So based on the analysis we strongly recommend Ryanair to consider the airline expansion which is specifically the atlantic routes which is having the worlds 60% of air travel. Hence if it is moving on to the new market with this low cost airfare with some added services , then it will yield more profits compared to the present level. Further I recommend the Ryanair company to focus more on the following fields to improve its performance and which also yield good revenue to the company. Merging and Acquisitions Better reforms in human resource management Improving the market planning strategies Additional third party services Merging and Acquisitions: The merging and the acquisitions has become one of the major corporate-level strategies in this new millennium. Since the Ryanair is continuing to grow , it should make mergers or acquisitions with the companies in other countries which will rapidly increase its revenue. Even this will improve its capabilities and will also acquire more competitive advantage. Better reforms in human resource management: Since from the moment Ryanair started following its low cost airfare, it has sacrificed all its basic services. The company Ryanair does not seem to be valuing its people. Even it charges for the people for using the toilets. This made the pilots to oppose against this rules. There is a belief that the competitive advantage is also dependent on the human resource of the company. So there should be proper reforms in the human resource management .In this technological world the human resources are the only resources which will be bringing the sustainable competitive advantage. Improving the market planning strategies: The Ryanair should provide good customer services which in turn will yield good revenue to the company. So it should offer good airfare packages and promotions to the customers. This is the best way of improving the Core competence and will maintain its levelling in the competitive advantage. Further the company should also work out in holding the important air routes which will increase the revenue of the company. Further the expansion strategies are more important among the competitors. Further the Ryanair can give good low cost airline packages according to the various passenger population from different countries. This will helps the company to maintain a stable competitive advantage. The company should also provide the onboard entertainment services, Internet services and satellite television services. In online it can also sell some products with its brand name which is a good advertising strategy and also it will generate revenue. It can also reduce the charges imposed on over weight and extra luggages. The advertising strategies also should be made as digital marketing because the usage of internet has increased and people are more interested in booking tickets through online. So this digital marketing should be more effectively carried out which would increase the revenue of the firm. Additional third party services: The Ryanair outsourced the services to the third parties. Even still there are complaints from the passenger for the catering services in the plane. The company doesnt offer food free of cost inside the flight for the passenger. So it can also consider these recommendations to serve the passenger with food at a minimum charge. This will place the company more stable position among the competitors. Further the company can out source this catering service to a third party which also help the company to offer good service to the passengers.

Slaughterhouse-Five and the Psychological Consequences of War :: Slaughterhouse-Five Essays

â€Å"How nice- to feel nothing, and still get full credit for being alive† (Vonnegut 181). In Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five the main character Billy Pilgrim experiences few emotions during his time in World War II. His responses to people and events lack intensity or passion. Throughout the novel Billy describes his time travel to different moments in his life, including his experience with the creatures of Tralfamadore and the bombing of Dresden. He wishes to die during most of the novel and is unable to connect with almost anyone on Earth. The fictional planet Tralfamadore appears to be Billy’s only way of escaping the horrors of war, and acts as coping mechanism. Billy seems to be a soldier with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), as he struggles to express feelings and live in his reality. At the beginning of the novel the narrator proposes his reason for writing the book is to explain what happened in the Dresden fire bombing, yet he focuses on Billy’s psyche more than the bombing itself. PTSD prevents Billy from living a hea lthy life, which shows readers that the war does not stop after the fighting is over and the aftermath is ongoing. Billy Pilgrim’s story portrays the bombing and war in a negative light to readers, as Vonnegut shows the damaging effects of war on an individual, such as misperception of time, disconnect from peers, and inability to feel strong emotions, to overall create a stronger message. Billy Pilgrim time travels to various moments in his life at random, which suggests he has no power over his mind and the memories that haunt him. He â€Å"is spastic in time, (and) has no control over where he is going next† (Vonnegut 43), as he struggles to make sense of his past. Billy’s ability to remember events in an erratic sequence, mirrors the happenings of war. War is sudden, fast paced, and filled with unexpected twists and turns. Billy cannot forget what he experienced during his time as a soldier, and in turn his mind subconsciously imitates this hectic quality of war. This behavior proves that although the war is over, â€Å"psychologically, Billy has never fully left† (Vees-Gulani). For many soldiers, especially those who were prisoners of war (POW), it is inevitable that their mind will not be like it once was (Vees-Gulani).

Global Outlook Global Free Zones of the Future 2012/13

GLOBAL OutLOOk GLOBAL FREE ZONES OF tHE FutuRE 2012/13 Global Free Zones of the Future 2012/13 Winners fDi MAGAZiNE’S SEcONd GLOBAL RANkiNG OF EcONOMic ZONES HAS AwARdEd duBAi AiRpORt FREE ZONE tHE titLE OF GLOBAL FREE ZONE OF tHE FutuRE 2012/13. Grainne Byrne ANd Courtney FinGar REpORt ON tHE RESuLtS 20 www. fdiintelligence. com June/July 2012 GLOBAL OutLOOk GLOBAL FREE ZONES OF tHE FutuRE 2012/13 D ubai Airport Free Zone (Dafza), located in the United Arab Emirates, has been crowned fDi Magazine’s Global Free Zone of the Future 2012/13. It has moved from second place in the ranking two years ago to be awarded the top spot.Dafza, which was established in 1996 and considers itself to be the fastest growing free zone in the Middle East, impressed the independent judging panel for a variety of reasons. It has excellent transportation links and a clear focus on attracting FDI. The zone only registers foreign companies, and has more than 1300 operational presently. Dafza ha s an increasing environmental awareness and is implementing ‘green buildings’ and an Inter national Organisation for Standardisation energy management system. Second position goes to UAE-based Dubai International Financial Centre, a newcomer to the ranking.Chinabased Shanghai Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone (WFTZ), the champion from the 2010/11 ranking, moves into third place. The remainder of the top 10 is made up by Iskandar (Malaysia), DuBiotech (UAE), Tanger Free Zone (Morocco), Freeport of Ventspils (Latvia), The Clark Freeport Zone (Philippines), Chittagong Export Processing Zone (Bangladesh) and Dubai Media City (UAE). As well as being overall fDi Global Free Zone of the Future 2012/13, Dafza takes the top spot in the ‘Best Airport Zone’ category. It is followed by Tanger Free Zone and The Clark Freeport Zone.The top three in the ‘Best Port Zone’ category is led by Tanger Free Zone, with Freeport of Ventspils placed second and Mauritius Freep ort coming in third position. Zones from the Middle East – in particular the UAE – dominated the rankings, with 23 of the top 50 zones coming from the Middle East region and 14 of them from the UAE alone. This is the second such ranking produced by fDi Magazine, with the inaugural Global Free Zones of the Future biennial benchmark being published in June 2010. June/July 2012 www. fdiintelligence. com 21 t GLOBAL OutLOOk GLOBAL FREE ZONES OF tHE FutuRE 2012/13 op 50 FREE ZONES OF tHE FutuRE 2012/13: OVERALL RANK NAme of zoNe couNtRy â€Å"We have made plans for expansion in the future, to [eventually] bring another 1500 companies to the dubai airport free Zone† dr mohammed al Zarooni 22 www. fdiintelligence. com June/July 2012 t 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11= 11= 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37= 37= 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 Dubai airport Free Zone dubai international Financial centre Shanghai waigaoqiao Free trade Z one iskandar duBiotech tanger Free Zone Freeport of Ventspils the clark Freeport Zone chittagong Export processing Zone dubaiMedia city JLt Freezone katowice Special Economic Zone dubai Silicon Oasis Mauritius Freeport Bahrain international investment park khalifa Bin Salman port Salalah Free Zone Lodz Special Economic Zone Bahrain international Airport Aqaba Special Economic Zone twofour54 (Media Zone Authority, Abu dhabi) walbrzych Special Economic Zone dubai international Academic city dubai Healthcare city Rakia Economic Zone dahej Special Economic Zone dubai Studio city El paso international Airport dubai knowledge Village Bahrain Logistics Zone Ras Al khaimah Free trade Zone Montreal port Aqaba international industrial Estate Astana New city Special Economic Zone pomeranian Special Economic Zone klaipeda Free Economic Zone Starachowice Special Economic Zone Sheffield city Region Enterprise Zone industrial Free Zone – togo SEZ Alabuga Free Zone pirot international Media production Zone Zagreb Free Zone dead Sea development Zone & Jabal Ajloun development Zone polaris international industrial park Birmingham city centre Enterprise Zone technological industrial development Zone Skopje 1 & 2 Southeast-Ecka, Zrenjanin Freeport of Riga Rezekne Special Economic Zone Authority ae uAE china Malaysia uAE Morocco Latvia philippines Bangladesh uAE uAE poland uAE Mauritius Bahrain Bahrain Oman poland Bahrain Jordan uAE poland uAE uAE uAE india uAE uS uAE Bahrain uAE canada Jordan kazakhstan poland Lithuania poland uk togo Russia Serbia uAE croatia Jordan Egypt uk Macedonia Serbia Latvia Latvia Secrets of success The world-beating Dafza has set ambitious targets for expansion and diversification and made a point to hedge against potential challenges presented by the global economic climate in the short to medium term. It has also kept a careful eye on the long term. Speaking to fDi in his Dubai offices in January 2012, the Dafza director-general outlined plans to offset the prospects of a slowdown in its core investor markets of Europe and the US, while also increasing the zone’s status as a contributor to the emirate’s GDP. â€Å"The next expansion will be in the next year,† Dr Mohammed Al Zarooni said. We have made plans for expansion in the future, to [eventually] bring another 1500 companies to the Dubai Airport Free Zone, because we have space for that and we can expand. † In the nearer term, the goal is to attract 600 to 700 additional companies in the next five or six years – in line with Dafza’s rate of growth in the 15 years since its inception, which has seen it average 100 new companies each year. With Dafza currently based on a 700,000-square-metre site, it is hoping to expand eastwards this year, with a view to occupying a 100,000-square-metre leasable area. â€Å"We have [already attracted] 1450 companies,† said Mr Al Zarooni. The intention is to further increase that number, w hile keeping an eye on the quality of investments, he added.While keen to uphold the important role of the European companies in Dafza, which account for 37% of the businesses present, Mr Al Zarooni remains aware of the need to diversify the free zone’s economic partners as it expands. â€Å"The majority of our clients are from Europe and they are facing a lot of problems, but that doesn’t mean we are going to stop,† he said. â€Å"We are thankful we brought many companies in last year from Japan. This year our focus will be on the Far East: Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, GLOBAL OutLOOk GLOBAL FREE ZONES OF tHE FutuRE 2012/13 dubai international airport is home to dubai airport free Zone, which achieved first place in the global free Zones of the future 2012/13 ranking, as well as the leading airport zone top five BESt AiRpORt ZONES RANK NAme of zoNe couNtRy 1 2 3 4 5 5Dubai airport Free Zone tanger Free Zone the clark Freeport Zone Mauritius Freeport Salal ah Free Zone Bahrain international Airport uae Morocco philippines Mauritius Oman Bahrain Japan, China and even India, in case we face some difficulty in bringing in more companies from Europe, America and Australia. † Serving a variety The push for diversification is a mark of many of the world’s more successful zones, according to James Ku, managing director of Indev Partners, who served on the judging panel that helped assess the participating zones for the rankings. â€Å"The most successful zones are either diversified zones with scale or highly specialised zones catering to a specific industry,† he says. Large diversified zones have been able to invest in infrastructure and offer a wide range of amenities, such as ready-built factories that provide flexibility to investors. The large size required to attain economies of scale for such developments have meant that most of the top zones are in the rapidly developing Middle June/July 2012 www. fdiintelligence. com East and Asian countries where land is relatively easier to acquire. Specialised zones have been used most effectively in Dubai, where investors can have access to unique amenities such as laboratories or high-speed communications. † Mr Ku sees the free zone model continuing to have relevance, especially in the current economic climate. Almost all of the zones continue to offer significant tax holidays and fiscal incentives. It highlights that even in a time when budgetary constraints and fiscal austerity are at the forefront, it will be hard for governments to scale back such incentives if they wish to remain globally competitive,† he says. Chairman of the World Free Zone Convention (WFZC) Graham Mather, who served on the judging panel, has also highlighted the vital role that free zones can play in helping the global economy through difficult times. Addressing the 11th â€Å"the most successful Zones are either diversified Zones With scale or highly specialised Z ones catering to a specific industry† James Ku t 25GLOBAL OutLOOk GLOBAL FREE ZONES OF tHE FutuRE 2012/13 tanger free Zone is strategically located near to the tanger-med port and is rated the best port zone and sixth best overall free zone top five BESt pORt ZONES RANK NAme of zoNe couNtRy 1 2 3 4 5 tanger Free Zone Freeport of Ventspils Mauritius Freeport khalifa Bin Salman port Salalah Free Zone Morocco Latvia Mauritius Bahrain Oman WFZC event in Shanghai in November 2011, he said free zones â€Å"have much to offer† at a time when the world is desperately seeking job creation, economic growth and development ahead of an anticipated downturn amid a worsening eurozone crisis. â€Å"Free zones are key to the world’s search for growth,† he added.Citing a World Bank study analysing the benefits of free zones, which include the ability to absorb unemployed labour, raise skills and productivity levels, and generate taxes from inception, Mr Mather said these a re among the reasons why many countries are returning to the free zone model or newly embracing it as a way out of economic troubles. â€Å"All areas of the world could benefit from free zones and they all need them,† he said. zonal marking Eastern Europe was well represented in the rankings, and judge John Worthington of IBT Partners was among those bullish on the region’s offerings. â€Å"Having worked closely with numerous European economic zones, IBT Partners can say from experience that the high quality of infrastructure and extensive network of all forms of transportation is something that sets European economic zones apart from those of other regions,† he says. With world-class airports, road, railway and port systems strategically clustered in various hubs across the continent, companies who are looking to expand their logistics network in Europe are consistently impressed with the efficiency and practicality of its transport systems. According to fDiâ⠂¬â„¢s survey, all the European free zones featured in this list are highly â€Å"all areas of the World could benefit from free Zones and they all need them† graham mather 26 t www. fdiintelligence. com June/July 2012 GLOBAL OutLOOk GLOBAL FREE ZONES OF tHE FutuRE 2012/13 the Waigaoqiao free trade Zone in shanghai is ranked third best free zone of the future accessible and possess well developed transport infrastructure. Asia’s zones are, of course, not to be overlooked. â€Å"With the highest average levels of education among emerging economies, Eastern economic zones have at their disposal a labour force with one of the highest skill-to-cost ratios, resulting in massive influxes of FDI into China and s o u t h – e a s t A s i a ,† s ay s M r Worthington. â€Å"At different stages of transition between primary, secondary and tertiary sectors, these are attractive regions for a wide range of industries. India, China, Singapore and the Philippines, in pa rticular, are regarded as zones of fast growth and attraction, which is reflected by the huge increases in employment in he past two years in their respective economic free zones. † African zones, many of which look to the successful Middle Eastern zones as models, have lagged behind but many are now showing promise. The Industrial Free Zone of Togo was the lone sub-Saharan mainland African zone to make the top 50. â€Å"Due to their comprehensive list of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, low levels of regulatory restrictions, and rapidly improving standards of living, African free zones are becoming increasingly attractive FDI destinations. Those in Morocco and Mauritius, in particular, couple this with a stable political and economic structure, making them highly desirable destinations. It is worth men- ioning that the Tanger Economic Free Zone of Morocco boasts an impressive increase of 20,000 employees in the past two years,† says Mr Worthington. A booming region of the world, South America, has been far behind the curve in using free zones as a path to development, as well as in promoting the zones it does have to the world. This is reflected in the poor participation of zones from this region in the benchmarking study. None were cited in the top 50 list. Two North American zones, meanwhile, made the cut. John Hanna, managing director of GDP Global Development, also served on the judging panel, along with fDi editor Courtney Fingar. n October/November 2007 www. fdiintelligence. com June/July 2012 28 GLOBAL OutLOOk GLOBAL FREE ZONES OF tHE FutuRE 2012/13 skandar in Johor, malaysia, is ranked fourth in the global free Zones of the future 2012/13 JuDGiNG pANeL couRtNey fiNGAR Editor, fDi Magazine More than 600 free zones across 120 countries were invited by fDi Magazine to complete a survey requesting both qualitative and methoDoLoGy quantitative data regarding their free zones. The information collected was set under five categories: incentives , facilities, cost-effectiveness, transportation and best FDI promotion. A total of 56 zones submitted details regarding many aspects of their zones and this was judged and scored by an independent judging panel. JohN hANNA Managing director, Gdp Global development JuDGiNG cRiteRiAGeneral inForMation †¢ Totalsize †¢ Totallandavailablefordevelopment †¢ Expansioninlandareainthepasttwo years; and/or plans for expansion in the next two years †¢ Totalofficespaceavailable †¢ Totalemployment †¢ Increaseinemploymentinthepasttwo years †¢ Numberofbusinessesoperatinginthe zone †¢ Totalvolumeofgoodsprocessedinthe zone †¢ Increaseintotalvolumeofgoods processed in the past two years †¢ Percentageofinvestorcompaniesthat expand their presence in the zone †¢ Anyrestrictionsforsettingupinthe zone inCentives †¢ Typesofincentivesoffered †¢ Descriptionoftheincentivesoffered including any requirements for eligibility †¢ Administratives ervicesofferedtoassist investors FaCilities †¢ Keyeconomicandindustrialsectors supported by the zone †¢ Rangeofwarehousefacilities,industrial units, logistics and office spaces available †¢ Amenitiesofferedtohelpinvestors Costs †¢ Annualaveragerentalcostofindustrial facilities, warehouse space, office space, undeveloped land, condominium and others (per m? ) †¢ Averagecostperunitofwatercosts(per m? ), electricity costs (per kw/hr) and gas costs (per m? †¢ Annualaveragecostoflabourfor unskilled worker, semi-skilled worker and highly skilled worker transportation †¢ Presencewithinzoneofairport,port, major motorways, railway or other †¢ Presencenearzoneofairport,port, major motorways, railway or other †¢ Descriptionofanymajorplanned infrastructure projects proMotion strateGy †¢ Website †¢ Digital/webpromotionactivities undertaken to create interest in the zone †¢ Othermarketing,communicationsor promotional activities undertake n †¢ Methodsusedtoidentifypotential investors, and strategy for approaching and engaging them †¢ Thezone’smarketingslogan/brief summary of its appeal †¢ Statementfromzone’schiefexecutive, director or president on his or her vision for achieving the zone full Fdi potential serviCes *asked of services zones †¢ Descriptionofservicesofferedby companies in the zone †¢Telecommunicationandtechnology infrastructure †¢Disasterrecoveryservicesofferedonsite †¢Internetspeedoffered †¢Availablelabourpoolandthe%ofwhich speak more than one language †¢Officespaceavailability †¢Majorplannedprojects JAmeS Ku Managing director, indev partners GRAhAm mAtheR chairman, world Free Zone convention JohN WoRthiNGtoN partner, iBt partners An additional set of information was sought from airport and port zones regarding their facilities and capacity 30 www. fdiintelligence. com June/July 2012

10 Facts for a Dissertation on Business Law

10 Facts for a Dissertation on Business Law Writing a dissertation on business law does not fall within the purview of law students alone. Students studying business administration, commerce, and other financial based disciplines may also find themselves tasked with writing on this broad subject matter. Therefore, if you received a task to write on business law, do not fret for we intend to provide you with enough information and direction on writing a dissertation on this matter. To get this done, we will be making use of three articles which are all part of a series geared towards providing students with enough information to write a dissertation. The first- which you are about to read- will provide 10 salient facts you can use in your dissertation. 10 Significant Facts for a Dissertation on Business Law The law of contract is fundamental to business transactions. Although legislature guides the formation of a company, the law of contract plays a more important role in organizations business dealings. Contract law determines how the shareholders, employees, and employers of an organization conduct business. This law also forms the major frameworks according to which business organizations carry out transactions with external entities. A contract must not be a signed agreement. Contrary to popular beliefs, contracts do not come into effect only when both parties sign the dotted lines. The laws of business state that spoken or written agreements via the phone, e-mails or even social media can be taken as a legally binding contract as long as certain conditions are met. The conditions to be met include: an agreement between both parties on mutual obligations and a remuneration. A regular lease is different from a commercial lease. Businesses looking for property to lease have two options: a commercial lease or a regular lease. Commercial leases put more power in the hands of the owner rather than the business. Taking out a commercial lease means the property owner decides on payment schedules, maintenance and how one can actually use the property commercially. Regular leases give businesses more opportunity and control over how they go about their business in the leased property. A director’s guarantee in terms of leasing is not normal. When conducting business transactions, providing a director’s guarantee for making large purchases, taking out a lease or a loan for the same purposes is illegal. Business law states that providing a director’s guarantee means that you or the director has staked his personal assets against that transaction. It also means the transacting party does not believe in or trusts the business’s liquidity or capacity to payback. Copyright and trademark are different entities in business Law. These entities are backed by the different legislature and business laws. Copyright generally refers to creative work, while trademarks are the peculiar thing that differentiates your product or services from that of the competition. Under contract law, a copyrighted object or subject is not protected under trademark legislations. That is why both entities fall into totally different categories in relation to intellectual property theft. Online and offline advertising are both guided by business law. Contrary to popular beliefs, online advertising is also guided by the same legislature outlawing trademark infringements and the like. The Australian Consumer and Competition Law is just one example of business laws that regulate how business conduct advertising campaigns online. Infringing on established offline or online trademarks lead to consequences and retributions backed by law. A termination agreement is important in contract law. According to business law, a termination agreement between an employer and an employee provides certain guarantees. It is nothing more than legal documentation stating that a contract has ended as well as the terms associated with that ending as specified during the time of employment. This agreement protects both parties. The employee is protected from wrongful termination and the employer is safe in terms of the future lawsuits stemming from perceived wrongdoings from the employee’s perspective. A personal will and a business will are different entities. Under business law, in most cases, a personal will dictating one’s choice on arranging his or her affairs is not enough. This is because business transactions are run through multiple contracts and agreements. Therefore, it is expected under business law that entrepreneurs create separate wills to handle different affairs adroitly. It is important to note that the business will is also a binding contract between all parties involved and it is backed by its own legislation. In the US commercial law is enforced by Congress and state governmental entities. Business law is the province of the US Congress that regulates the commercial and individual legislation in use. Some of these regulations might be adjusted in terms of the local legal acts, but most of them should be used strictly according to the federal law. A general law known as the Uniform Commercial Code has also been adopted with minor changes or modifications by the 50 states in the US. This means that although legislations may differ in certain cases, a contract breaches can be handled through a uniform format regardless of a business’s location in the US. Contract law does not exclude contracted parties from liability to negligence. Business law takes a hard stance on liability for negligence that leads to employee death. According to business law, no party taking part in a contractual agreement can escape liability due to negligence by pointing out terms and conditions included in a contract. Therefore, putting such clauses exempting a business from liability due to negligence will not be upheld in any court. Legislators might however divide the responsibility among parties if an incident to the negligence took place. Here we come to the end of the first article on the series covering business law and writing a dissertation on it. These facts are intended to provide a direction to students and give them the overall understanding of the subject matter. Other materials and tutorials for further reading are also available. We recommend that you go through the article on 20 business law dissertation topics when choosing your topic and read-up on how to write a stellar dissertation on business law when developing a structure for your entire academic writing project. References: Hutter, B. (2011). Understanding the New Regulatory Governance: Business Perspectives. Law Policy, 33(4), pp.459-476. Zwarenstyn, H. (2007). The Importance To The Businessman Of Understanding International Law. American Business Law Journal, 1(1), pp.60-63. Mntysaari, P. (2010). Commercial Law and the Theory of Management-Based Commercial Law. SSRN Electronic Journal. Rojas Elgueta, G. (2013). Understanding Discovery in International Commercial Arbitration through Behavioral Law and Economics: A Journey inside the Minds of Parties and Arbitrators. Taekema, S. (2014). Private Law as an Open Legal Order: Understanding Contract and Tort as Interactional Law. Netherlands Journal of Legal Philosophy, 43(2). Oliveira, N. (2009). The Private Law Society and Contract Law Application. European Review of Contract Law, 5(1). Lurger, B. (2005). The Future of European Contract Law between Freedom of Contract, Social Justice, and Market Rationality. European Review of Contract Law, 1(4).