Free Essays on Loan Processing

Elements of your loan proposal Generally, the loan proposal is comprised of the following elements: 1. Summary: Comes first; written last. This should be clear, concise, accurate and inviting. You want to summarize how the proposed loan will be used, how it will be repaid and how it will benefit your business. Remember, that you are competing with many others, so you'll also want to point out some of the distinguishing features of your business. 2. Top management profiles: The key issue here is who are you? Be prepared to come under close scrutiny. You will need resumes as well as a summary of experience, qualifications and credentials for all owners and key members of your management team. 3. Business description: You don't need to repeat all of the information contained in your business plan, but you do need to present a solid description of your business. Include a brief overview of the history of your business, plus a summary of current activities. Make sure you clearly demonstrate that you understand your markets and industry (current trends and risks). Include literature showing your products or services. It is also helpful to include letters from suppliers, customers and other business references. 4. Projections: Include projected income statements and cash flow statements for two to three years. Your assumptions should be clearly stated and realistic. Generally, you don't need to show "best case" and "worst case" unless the banker asks you to do so. But do be prepared to answer questions (in quantifiable terms) about what happens if some of your assumptions don't come true. For example, if you anticipate obtaining a major new contract or customer as a result of newly expanded capacity, can you estimate the impact on your income statement if that customer decides to take her business elsewhere? 5. Financial Statements: The loan package must include both business and personal financial statements. Make sure th... Free Essays on Loan Processing Free Essays on Loan Processing Elements of your loan proposal Generally, the loan proposal is comprised of the following elements: 1. Summary: Comes first; written last. This should be clear, concise, accurate and inviting. You want to summarize how the proposed loan will be used, how it will be repaid and how it will benefit your business. Remember, that you are competing with many others, so you'll also want to point out some of the distinguishing features of your business. 2. Top management profiles: The key issue here is who are you? Be prepared to come under close scrutiny. You will need resumes as well as a summary of experience, qualifications and credentials for all owners and key members of your management team. 3. Business description: You don't need to repeat all of the information contained in your business plan, but you do need to present a solid description of your business. Include a brief overview of the history of your business, plus a summary of current activities. Make sure you clearly demonstrate that you understand your markets and industry (current trends and risks). Include literature showing your products or services. It is also helpful to include letters from suppliers, customers and other business references. 4. Projections: Include projected income statements and cash flow statements for two to three years. Your assumptions should be clearly stated and realistic. Generally, you don't need to show "best case" and "worst case" unless the banker asks you to do so. But do be prepared to answer questions (in quantifiable terms) about what happens if some of your assumptions don't come true. For example, if you anticipate obtaining a major new contract or customer as a result of newly expanded capacity, can you estimate the impact on your income statement if that customer decides to take her business elsewhere? 5. Financial Statements: The loan package must include both business and personal financial statements. Make sure th...

English words spelled

English Words Spelled with 3-letter /Ä «/ English Words Spelled with 3-letter /Ä «/ English Words Spelled with 3-letter /Ä «/ By Maeve Maddox Among several ways to spell the long i sound in English is the 3-letter combination -igh- as in sight [sÄ «t]. The spelling reflects an earlier pronunciation in which the gh represented a sound made with the soft palate, rather like the ch heard in German ich. The -igh- spelling has persisted in English because it occurs in a small group of high frequency one-syllable words. Its easy to tolerate an apparently difficult spelling when one sees it frequently. Most of the -igh- words end with the /t/ sound and spelling. Exceptions are high, nigh, and sigh, in which igh represents the final sound. The other most common -igh- words are: bright from O.E. beorht, byrht fight from O.E. feohtan flight from O.E. flyht knight from OE cniht, cneoht light from O.E. leï ¿ ¼oht might from O.E. meahte, mihte night from O.E. niht right from O.E. riht sight from O.E. sihth The word delight has come to be grouped with the -igh- words because of association with the word light. Etymologically speaking, delight belongs with sprite and spite. All three words come from the French. delight from Old French delit, deleit, from delitier, deleitier sprite from Old French esprit spite shortened from despite which comes from Old French despit In the 16th century, sprite was often spelled spright and spite was spelled spight. Since then, theyve reverted to spellngs closer to their origins, probably because they are not in such frequent use as delight. In case you havent come across the word sprite as anything but a brand name, Ill define it: A sprite is an other-worldly creature, like an elf or a fairy. The word derives from the same source as spirit, but spirit has a more serious connotation than sprite. A sprite plays tricks. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to use "on" and when to use "in"The Possessive ApostropheEspecially vs. Specially

The Japanese Traditional Structure of Quick Response Assignment

The Japanese Traditional Structure of Quick Response - Assignment Example Light has been shed on how the supply chain structure leads to the success of such a business. Moreover, an analysis of the future effects of the Japan-Korean fashion collaboration in the setting of globalization in the fashion industry is elaborated. Major apparel firms work at introducing new styles every week. This is to be able to meet the demand of the Japanese young women market that is characterized by a fast-moving trend cycle with a great diversity of choices in styles. Studies show that fast fashion has a real effect on the supply chain for the fashion product, but the consumer demand is the main driving force that determines this fast fashion. This contrasts with the previous theories on the supply chain, which have been solely supplying driven aspects. Fast fashion is a phenomenon that is developed as a direct result of changing anticipations and demand from customers (Lea-Greenwood, 2006, p. 266). In addition, there is a tradition among the Japanese people that makes them prefer many varieties and have an interest in the craft. This calls for their fashion styles to be always changing apart from being unique from those of their counterparts. The organizations do not mainly depend on the seasonal collection, but they e nsure that there is a compressed time interval between the moment a product is designed and the moment that is used. This compression is attained either by lumping together selections that are more regular or through an ongoing redesigning and unchanging new production. In other words, the Just - in - Time (JIT) supply chain management theory is upheld. It entails â€Å"having the items of the right quality and quantity in the right place at the right time† (Cheng et al, 1996, p.2).  

Art History Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Art History - Assignment Example There are 5 characteristics of modern. First is capitalism, which created the modern through creating a new economic system of labor and fixed wages, wherein these wages are used to buy more and cheaper consumer items. The second is urban culture, wherein agriculture was replaced by industrialization. The third is technological advances, which created dramatic changes in the lifestyles of people. The fourth is secularism, wherein the traditional religious authority is not as strong as before. The fifth is the optimism of the people, wherein all changes are deemed positive. These changes definitely affected the art audience, therefore affecting the artists themselves. The artists, having a change in their audience, embraced the innovations of the era, and tried to participate in the changing times by merging the new ideas in their art works. The modern artists thus began to acquire new audience from among the modern people who made their money out of these modern changes such as indus trialization, etc. Slowly, modern art is in, and the traditional art is obsolete. It is possible that artists, more and more, began embracing the modern ideas because it is through that that they will have audience for their art pieces. The connection between the avant-garde and the modern is actually quite interesting. Firstly, during the first half of the modern era, there were still some artists who cannot be considered truly modern because their styles still resemble the traditional and conservative ones. Still, modern artists are called â€Å"avant-garde,† which is a term originally used in the military to describe the front liners or point men, similar to any individual who takes the most risk. A Burial at Ornans Gustave Courbet's â€Å"A Burial at Ornans† is a realist art, and it is antithetical to romantic art. First, the painting shows the realistic life, painted with no sugar-coating --- life as it is. Second, it does not aim to evoke ideal feelings or emotio ns, rather, it just shows things from an objective point of view. Third, it can be seen that the full disclosure of even the smallest details are depicted in the painting, and there is no information denied to or hidden from the audience. Fourth, there is the depiction of the everyday, regular individuals that one encounters on a daily basis. Fifth, the setting of the scene is

Wrestling and Reality Culture Essay Example for Free

Wrestling and Reality Culture Essay Live tonight, an Inferno match between the Undertaker and Kane! Plus, an evening gown match, the loser gets stripped down to their panties and bra! What kind of show would produce such insane events? Does America really care to see these events take place? Not only is this type of show acceptable, but it has become a cultural phenomenon. Some people may say That must be some sort of filth found on the Spice channel! However, this phenomenon is known as professional wrestling. Why do Americans accept this form of entertainment, even if they know it is morally incorrect? Currently, professional wrestling among males and females of all ages is extremely popular across America. Wrestling fans participate in the phenomenon when attending wrestling events, live or televised, wearing clothing depicting wrestlers or wrestling organizations, as well as by communicating with other wrestling fans. There are numerous wrestling magazines which a fan can purchase to learn more about the sport spectacle, and millions of various collectibles and toys connected to professional wrestling have been sold since the sport gained tremendous popularity in the mid-1980s. Wrestling fans can even surf the web and find results, biographies, pictures, interviews, and news on all of their favorite wrestlers and organizations. Professional wrestling has always been labeled as entertainment for Rednecks or some obscure group of individuals. People always considered wrestling fake and mindless, suitable for those with simple minds. However, the popularity of wrestling has exploded over the last three years and captivates audiences of all ages. As of late, WWF Raw by the World Wrestling Federation is the most popular show on cable television. If a person were to examine the underlying images that are being portrayed in the programs, they may be surprised to learn just exactly what attracts so many to the screen. The World Wrestling Federation contains life-like storylines that continue for several weeks, very similar to daytime soap operas. The violence, attitudes, language, and sexual material in pro-wrestling are all clearly used to capture the minds of the audience. The World Wrestling Federation takes life-like topics and turns them into angles that involve several different wrestlers. Some of the topics that have been used include a disgruntled employee getting revenge on his boss, a wrestlers obsession with sex, a controversial cancer angle, a wedding turned wrong, a wrestler grabbing the genitals of an opponent, and even drunken old women fighting each other. In my opinion, the angle involving cancer, although a real-life topic, should not have taken place. Too many people have loved ones who suffer with cancer, and it just was not appropriate to portray this on television. Nonetheless, in this angle, the father of a wrestler (The Big Show) is diagnosed with cancer. However, another wrestler (Big Boss Man) does many evil things to make the life of the Big Show miserable. The Boss Man sends a messenger to the Big Show telling him his father is dead, when in reality, he is not. Eventually, the Big Shows father dies, and a funeral is planned. The funeral is held outside, which set up a very disturbing, but strangely funny scene. As the Big Show is mourning the loss of his father, the Boss Man drives a car through the funeral, and hits the Big Show. The Boss Man ties the casket to the back of his car, and proceeds to drive away, with the casket dragging behind. The Big Show gets up and sees this, and jumps on the moving casket. Up until this point, the cancer angle seemed very serious and sad, but having the Big Show casket surfing lightens the mood. Revenge will be sweet, as the Big Show will end up beating the Boss Man to a bloody mess. In reality, none of this is true, but the whole story is extremely shocking, and draws the attention of many. The topics are even more outrageous than an episode of the Jerry Springer show. This type of entertainment has attracted millions of loyal fans, and extremely high cable ratings on Monday and Thursday nights. Professional wrestling ranks second just behind Monday Night Football in the Nielsen Ratings. Although this type of outrageous behavior may upset many people, it is accepted widely and enjoyed by millions of teenagers and adults across America. People in America have become desensitized to sex and violence by having organizations such as the WWF making it appear O.K. on television. Although it is immoral and not yet accepted by society, pornography is rampant in America, with strip clubs and porn shops situated in the same areas as family shopping centers. Violence can be seen everywhere, especially in the evening news. Wrestling takes the two biggest topics of American society, and turns them into a two hour show. Americans accept this and are willing to watch or pay to see the action. Although many wrestling fans such as myself view the show and see it as pure entertainment, there are many more people who believe what they see. Sadly, these type of people make up a large portion of wrestling fans. Because of this, many nations see Americans as ignorant and shallow. Critics claim that wrestling is a Cultural Phenomenon which embodies all of the negative aspects of American culture. People who are willing to watch a man rolling around in feces or someone falling twenty feet from a cage into a wooden table instead of doing something that could be potentially productive does not say much for American society. Opponents of professional wrestling may also say that the direction and values of American culture are quickly deteriorating, in part, due to a cultural phenomenon such as professional wrestling. As long as Americans demand instant gratification and the quick fixes of raunchy entertainment, phenomena such as wrestling will be around to act as mindless distractions from the real world. The critics of wrestling have not stopped its tremendous success across the world. Wrestling can be seen as a form of entertainment, just as movies and sports represent the same kind of enjoyment to viewers. Wrestling is not the cause of societys deterioration, as it is meant to please viewers across America. One form of entertainment is not going to cause American society to crumble. Wrestling used to represent good guy vs. bad guy. Times have changed, and now, everyone cheers for wrestlers such as The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin who portray qualities that the fans appreciate. The Rock is extremely popular, due to his coolness factor. Everytime he gets on the microphone, he promises to Lay The Smackdown on Someones Candyass and things of that nature. He always praises the fans, and considers himself the Peoples Champion. Because of his popularity, it doesnt matter if he wrestles a good guy or a bad guy. Fans like someone they can cheer, but would not cheer someone who appears corny, like a superhero type character. Professional wrestling never has any repeats, and always keeps a fresh, new storyline. That may be the biggest reason why people keep tuning in to this phenomenon. When it comes down to watching either a rerun of Ally McBeal or a live WWF Raw, many people would choose to watch something new, such as WWF Raw. American society is constantly evolving, and over time, all people need to accept the changes that it goes through, whether positive or negative. Work Cited Pioch, Nicolas. Realism. January 1, 1996. http://www.oir.ucf.edu/wm/paint/glo/realism/ (December 16, 1999) Roberts, J.M. The Penguin History of the World. London, England : Helicon Publishing, 1992. Ross, Cilla. June, 1999. Greek Democracy in Practice. http://www.ccla.org.uk/aecd/unit1/ped3.htm (December 18, 1999) Uffizi Gallery. Michelangelo Buonarroti. September, 1998. http://www.televisual.net/uffizi/michelan.html (December 18, 1999)

Critique On Keynes :: essays research papers

History of Economic Thought: The writer begins with an introduction in which it is stated that the schools of thought were contradictory in their theories. What should have been answered is how and from what perspective: Neo-classical or Keynesian? The main points of her paper are the following: "Neo-classicists, such as Friedman, hold that the U.S. failed to provide liquidity to its banks," which caused the great depression; if the government does not intervene, the economy would then head towards full employment. Keynesian economists, on the other hand, believe that the government should intervene actively through means of fiscal and monetary policy to promote full employment and economic growth (with price stability). Moreover, they believe that the cause of the Great Depression was due to the government not intervening as they should have. The writer assumes that the Great Depression could have been resolved by both the Keynesian method, or the Neo-classical, however, does not state the cause of it or methodology. There may be no wrong or right answer, nonetheless, some reason for it should have been drawn; this approach would clarify what the Keynesian or Neo-classical remedies are. The writer does not develop the main points throughout the paper. She goes on restating the ideas by saying that Friedman believes that the economy is "self-adjusting and regulating" and that "Keynesian economists credit good monetary and fiscal policy with getting an economy out of recessions and periods of low growth. I did not get a sense of what side she was advocating, it seems that she may have been neutral. Furthermore, she did not state the two schools of thought’s analysis of th macroeconomy, which led them to think that their methodology was correct (according to them). In reference to the monetarists (especially Friedman) she did not mention how they advocated steady and consistent growth of money stock. In her conclusion, she stated that "human behavior is complex and often hard to predict. Keynesian ans Neo-classical economists are often trying to make sense of the nonsensical".

Should Sikh Children Be Allowed To Wear A Kirpan In School

Despite that they are Sikh and it's their own religion, allot of Sikhs would still argue that they shouldn't bring it in. One Of the reasons is that they do not fully understand what it means and what it is used for, there for they would not weir it. Another reason being that they don't have to bring a knife in to show that they are a part of their religion; they could wear a badge instead. This would show everyone that they are Sikhs without the hassle of bringing a knife. For-non Sikh Non Sikhs that would argue for it being allowed would usually say if its apart f their religion, let them wear it.They also might argue that it is not sharp another to hurt anyone unless used with allot of force. And they say that Sikhs would not even get it out for it to be used. As well as not being used it is also not noticeable to anyone as it is usually hidden away under their cloths. Against-non Sikh Non Sikhs could argue that it is bad for Sikhs to bring a Korean in because it could scare other people. It could also be stolen and then used. Non Sikhs could argue that if Sikhs get to bring knives in for protection other people loud start bringing in knives too.They also think that in schools there is a rule that no knives must be brought into school no matter what, a Korean is a knife Personal opinion personally think that the Korean should not be brought into school because it is a knife and knifes are not allowed in school. If they want to respect their religion they can wear a badge instead. People could also be afraid of the person using it and not want to get on their bad side. Also if it is stolen it could be used to hurt someone with.

German social life between 1933 and 1939 Essay

Using all Sources and your own knowledge, assess the view that the Nazis successfully managed to control all aspects of German social life between 1933 and 1939 [70] The Nazis tried to control all aspects of German social life so that they would support the Nazi party thus giving them more power. This meant they wanted to control who the followers spoke to and who they were friends with. They did this with many different techniques; the main one being propaganda. The Nazis used propaganda to control the beliefs of the German people. The used many different ways to control aspects of a person’s social life to gain popularity and power. These included: radio, music, literature, art, film and festivals. Most of these are aspects of a German’s social life. They also tried to control who the German’s interacted with and who they had relationships with. For example they would portray Jews as ‘bad’ people to stop others from socialising with them, thus pushing them out of society. They did this by showing the Jews as evil and influential to others on posters and other propaganda documents. But some people were not influenced by these techniques and if they didn’t up rise against the Nazi takeover, they just carried with their lives as usual. This is shown in Hitler Youth organisations, many of the children who joined didn’t actually ‘love’ the Furher like they were meant to and did not hope to serve the country; they joined purely because they wanted to have fun and join in with activities they couldn’t do at school. However, once they had joined most of them were indoctrinated and sucked into the Nazi lifestyle. The Nazis knew that a majority of Germans listen to the radio and so gained control over it. In 1934 regional radio stations were removed from the control of the lander and the Reich Radio Company took over. This meant that any music or anything that was played on the radio had been accepted by the Nazis and so was probably Nazi-related. For example the radio was used to transmit Hitler speeches to everyone across the country. This is shown in source B where a journalist reports on the response of Germans to a Hitler speech in a Berlin cafà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. This implies that important things like this were played in local places so that everyone could hear. This is an aspect of a German’s social life because they used cafà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s to socialise with people. The Nazis managed to control this by installing radios and loudspeakers so things such as the speech could be heard. This was successful because Hitler was a very good public speaker and managed to win over masses of supporters with his inspirational talks. In spite of this, source B suggests that this was not very successful. ‘No one else in the crowded cafà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ listened to Adolf Hitler’. This shows that although Hitler was an extremely good speaker, some people did not react to this and so this part of their social life remained uncontrolled. Moreover, to gain control over the German people, the Nazis tried to get through their sub-consciousness. This meant using propaganda through things such as music and film. These were things that the Germans would watch or listen to and take in whatever information that was played, but this was done sub-consciously, as they were not aware of the information they were actually taking in. Source D shows this ‘National Socialist doctrine’ was in ‘every painting, film, stamp†¦, public building†¦, toys†¦, people’s houses, in tales and costumes†¦, songs†¦, poems†¦, in schools’ and ‘even in household goods.’ This source shows that this propaganda was literally everywhere , people could not get away from it. Therefore because it was everywhere the Germans would have sub-consciously taken in all of these things, and started to believe and support the Nazis. Source D also suggests how successfully they did this ‘ everyone played a part. Discipline, obedience, self-sacrifice, loyalty, duty†¦ The penetration of Nazi culture into every sphere of social life never ceased.’ This suggests that this technique worked; everyone was ‘indoctrinated’ by the Nazis and supported them. They did whatever they could for their country and Furher. However this source could be questioned as it was written in 1992, therefore the author: P. Adam, was not there at the time and the information he may have gathered may be false. In contrast to this as it is a book purely on the Nazis: ‘The Arts of the Third Reich’ the author would’ve researched for the book a lot. He would have made sure that all information was from a reliable source and that it was a true as possible. Both source B and D speak about the response to the Nazi propaganda. Yet, they contradict each other; source B talks about how the public showed no response to the speech that was being played in the cafà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. Whereas source D says that the Nazis successfully managed to win over everybody, and these people sacrificed everything for them and their country. Another part of a German’s social life the Nazis took over was a child’s education. Source D talks about how ‘National Socialist doctrine’ was in ‘the songs and poems taught in schools,’ this shows how the Nazis tried to indoctrinate children while they were young. When they are young they are more vulnerable and more influential. This means the Nazis have more chance of making the children support them. This was successful because most children, when they finished school, were true Nazis. The boys became soldiers for their country and were willing to die for it. The girls became the perfect housewives and mothers. Nonetheless most of the children joined groups like the Hitler Youth because they thought it was fun; they could do activities that they wouldn’t usually do at school. This is another example of the Nazis controlling another aspect of a German’s social life. However, the real question is whether this actually impacted on the German population. Source C shows it did; as it shows in the provenance that ‘99% of the 48 million votes cast in Germany and Austria voted in favour’ of the union of Germany with Austria. This shows that the Nazis had successfully completed the task of making people follow them; almost the whole population. However, many of these votes may have just voted for to follow the rest of the country. Moreover, the voters may have felt pressurised into voting which is also shown in Source C. The poster shows a lot of soldiers in uniform saluting. This would make people feel intimidated because of the power the soldiers have over them; if instructed, they have the authority to take away anybody’s life. People may feel pressurised into following them, just to keep peace with the Nazis and just because everyone else is. This shows that although the Nazis were successful in controlling German social life, they were unsuccessful in gaining true followers. In contrast to Source C, Source B speaks how ‘No one else in the cafà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ listened to Adolf Hitler’ when his speech was played on a loud speaker. This shows the Nazis successfully controlling this part of the population’s social life. But it also suggests that some of the public were not swayed but this, and they just chose to go on with their lives a usual, and ignoring the changes around them. In conclusion, Nazis did control almost all aspects of a German’s social life. They did this to gain popularity and more followers. Through controlling a German’s social life they were able to indoctrinate them, with the thought that the Nazi party was the best for the country, and to make them become a follower of them. Furthermore, the more fans they gained the more of the German population would follow their example. Overall the Nazis were successful in controlling all aspects of a German’s social life, which is shown in source D. In which a modern historian describes how ‘National Socialist doctrine’ was in literally every part of German social life. Although this shows they were successful in controlling the social life, it does not show whether this domination actually swayed the public into following the Nazis.

Juan Rodriguez C essays

Juan Rodriguez C essays The reputation of California as being a place to "jettison assumptions and try different things" appears to have originated from its earliest days. By reflecting on the individual who discovered San Diego, we see stamina, determination, and the desire to "continue on," "find success," and to maximize opportunities to their fullest. Back in the 1540s there was a Portuguese explorer and soldier by the name of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo (?-1543). He was known as "a skilled mariner and navigator." Today, Cabrillo famous for being the man who "discovered San Diego Bay" on September 28, 1542. Within the definition of The California Dream, lay opportunities for success, however, there are many ingredients that factor into achieving this Dream. Being willing to accept opportunities, challenges, and ideas (such as Cabrillo accepted when given the command to explore the northwestern most part of Mexico ), the utilization of man-made and natural resources, and time and location, are just a few of the elements that are essential in defining the California Dream. The combination of these ingredients along with the determination for success and lack of fear-of-failure, can sometimes make The Dream-reality. FAMILY NAME APPARENTLY NOT A RESOURCE Cabrillo possessed the necessary ingredients for success. Believed to have been born in Portugal, though it is not certain where, he lived most of his life in the Spanish New World colonies. Dr. Joan Jensen, a member of the Cabrillo Historical Society and former professor of U.S. history at California Western University, visited Portugal twice to see if she could learn something about the birthplace of Cabrillo. The result of her guided two-week trek yielded some significant discoveries, "No one knows exactly where Cabrillo came from or where he got his name-were not able to find any other Cabrillo in Spain in the late 15th century or in Portugal either." Certain places...

The Causes of the Downfall of Communism

The Causes of the Downfall of Communism Communism gained a strong foothold in the world during the first half of the 20th century, with one-third of the worlds population living under some form of communism by the 1970s. However, just a decade later, many of the major communist governments around the world toppled. What brought about this collapse? The First Cracks in the Wall By the time Joseph Stalin died in March of 1953, the Soviet Union had emerged as a major industrial power. Despite the reign of terror that defined Stalin’s regime, his death was mourned by thousands of Russians and brought about a general sense of uncertainty about the future of the Communist state. Soon following Stalin’s death, a power struggle ensued for leadership of the Soviet Union. Nikita Khrushchev eventually emerged the victor but the instability that had preceded his ascent to the premiership had emboldened some anti-Communists within the eastern European satellite states. Uprisings in both Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia were quickly quelled but one of the most significant uprisings occurred in East Germany. In June of 1953, workers in East Berlin staged a strike over conditions in the country that soon spread to the rest of the nation. The strike was quickly crushed by East German and Soviet military forces and sent a strong message that any dissent against Communist rule would be dealt with harshly. Nevertheless, unrest continued to spread throughout Eastern Europe and hit a crescendo in 1956, when both Hungary and Poland saw massive demonstrations against Communist rule and Soviet influence. Soviet forces invaded Hungary in November of 1956 to crush what was now being called the Hungarian Revolution. Scores of Hungarians died as a result of the invasion, sending waves of concern throughout the western world. For the time being, the military actions seemed to have put a damper on anti-Communist activity. Just a few decades later, it would start again. The Solidarity Movement The 1980s would see the emergence of another phenomenon that would ultimately chip away at the Soviet Union’s power and influence. The Solidarity movement- championed by the Polish activist Lech Walesa- emerged as a reaction to policies introduced by the Polish Communist Party in 1980. In April 1980, Poland decided to curb food subsidies, which had been a life-line for many Poles suffering through economic difficulties. Polish shipyard workers in the city of Gdansk decided to organize a strike when petitions for wage-increases were denied. The strike quickly spread across the country, with factory workers all over Poland voting to stand in solidarity with the workers in Gdansk. Strikes continued for the next 15 months, with negotiations ongoing between the leaders of Solidarity and the Polish Communist regime. Finally, in October of 1982, the Polish government decided to order full martial law, which saw an end to the Solidarity movement. Despite its ultimate failure, the movement saw a foreshadowing of the end of Communism in Eastern Europe.   Gorbachev In March of 1985, the Soviet Union gained a new leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Gorbachev was young, forward-thinking, and reform-minded. He knew the Soviet Union faced many internal problems, not the least of which was an economic downturn and a general sense of discontentment with Communism. He wanted to introduce a broad policy of economic restructuring, which he called perestroika. However, Gorbachev knew that the regime’s powerful bureaucrats had often stood in the way of economic reform in the past. He needed to get the people on his side to put pressure on the bureaucrats and thus introduced two new policies: glasnost (meaning ‘openness’) and demokratizatsiya (democratization). They were intended to encourage ordinary Russian citizens to openly voice their concern and unhappiness with the regime. Gorbachev hoped the policies would encourage people to speak out against the central government and thus put pressure on the bureaucrats to approve his intended economic reforms. The policies had their intended effect but soon got out of control. When Russians realized that Gorbachev would not crack down on their newly won freedom of expression, their complaints went far beyond mere discontentment with the regime and the bureaucracy. The whole concept of communism- its history, ideology, and effectiveness as a system of government- came up for debate. These democratization policies made Gorbachev extremely popular both in Russia and abroad. Falling Like Dominoes When people all across Communist Eastern Europe got wind that the Russians would do little to quell dissent, they began to challenge their own regimes and work to develop pluralist systems in their countries. One by one, like dominoes, Eastern Europe’s Communist regimes began to topple. The wave started with Hungary and Poland in 1989 and soon spread to Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania. East Germany, too, was rocked by nation-wide demonstrations that eventually led the regime there to allow its citizens to travel once more to the West. Scores of people crossed the border and both East and West Berliners (who had not had contact in almost 30 years) gathered around the Berlin Wall, dismembering it bit by bit with pickaxes and other tools. The East German government was unable to hold onto power and the reunification of Germany occurred soon after, in 1990. One year later, in December of 1991, the Soviet Union disintegrated and ceased to exist. It was the final death knell of the Cold War and marked an end of Communism in Europe, where it had first been established 74 years prior. Although Communism has nearly died out, there are still five countries that remain Communist: China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam.

The value chain and competitive forces model to eBay Case Study

The value chain and competitive forces model to eBay - Case Study Example In this present case of eBay value is created through the interplay of its various activities such as primary and support activities that ultimately creates value to eBay. Its primary activities includes it inbound and outbound logistics, marketing and sales and its operation. Working together, the interplay of these activities enable eBay to operate as an online auction venue where sellers can virtually sell listed items with description and photographs in an auction where potential buyers could bid on item for sale on a fixed duration of time. The trust among the online community of eBay to transact online also provides value to the organization as transactions can easily be facilitated without the hesitation of being cheated. The interaction of these various activities in eBay’s value chain enables eBay to make profit of 1% to 5% for every item sold online. EBay’s business model and business strategy revolves around the idea that anything can be virtually and bought and sold on a global basis through its online auction platform. The business model has been successful because more and more people prefer to transact online due to the ease and convenience of consummating a transaction by a click of a mouse. In addition, online auction and shopping online proved to be cheaper due to the almost no overhead of the sellers which reflects on the price being sold. The range of items available on eBay is mind boggling that almost anything can be bought from there. EBay’s success however is a product of a deliberate strategic management. The whole business concept and strategy was for eBay to build an online community through its platform where anyone can transact without the anxiety of being cheated. 3. What are the problems that eBay is currently facing? How is eBay trying to solve these problems?   The most common problems that eBay perpetually is facing is the common problem that besets any technology based companies. System breakdowns are mo re precocious in eBay because the system disruption disturbs activities which has economic value such purchases and payment that does not go through due to system breakdowns. The incidence of system outages however are minimized as technology improves and with eBay working together with its partners such as PayPal on how to effectively deal system issues during payments. EBay is not also spared from the unscrupulous activities online. It also has its share of being attacked by hackers where its unsuspecting buyers receives bogus emails pretending to come from eBay only to get information from the unsuspecting buyers. There is no known direct action from eBay on how to address such issue as it assumes that its prospective buyers are sophisticated enough to determine which email comes from eBay and which are those who solicits information from the customers. 4. Are these good solutions? Why or why not? Are there any other solutions that eBay should consider?   Working together with PayPal to effectively address system issues during payments is a solution of the payment part of the transaction. The integrity of its systems however has to be made redundant to make sure that the site is up even during outages and breakdowns to ensure that transactions will not in any way be disturbed. With regard to the unscrupulous activities online, eBay can warn its buyers of such unscrupulous acts online that they may become aware of it hence preventing them from being victimized. The non-action on how to deal with