Case Study on East Meets West: Business Joint Ventures Essay

* Why would a joint venture partner from a planned economy have difficulty understanding that the consumer is king or queen? Answer: Every economy has its own characteristics as both good and bad as well. In any economy, there are rules and regulations fortified in the manner to help the citizens and so that the businesses can get enough revenue from their customers. As we see in today’s world, we can see that only the open economies are getting through the international competition and sustaining in the long run of multitasking operations. As in a planned economy like Soviet Union, Marxism-Lenism had some limitations too. Usually there are not many competitors and whosoever the businesses are; the procedures are controlled directly by the govt. The businesses started to think that customers will have to buy whatever they offer because they have not much of alternative choices. Maybe that can be alright for their country but not sustainable for any other country in this world. On an open economy, businesses understand, they have to satisfy the customers only and customers have a set of choices and alternatives available in the market. If their business can’t offer something much superior or different, there revenues will suffer. That’s why, because of the understanding of the business, they treat their customer as kings or queens. * Could a small business owner tolerate a business deal that had little probability of being profitable within the first 10 years? Answer: Small business owner doesn’t mean the entrepreneur doesn’t have any other businesses or way of earning. But if the business is only the way, of course no one will be able to tolerate this kind of business deal. Usually these kinds of deals are inevitable in industries like real estate, long term investment firms etc. There are not much information here about a planned economy right here and we can’t see how much they appreciated the FDIs is in their land. But in an open economy like most of the economies of this world, there have to be revenues actually. The businesses will have to pay their costs and maintain their operations running at any cause. At least their have to be sales enough to maintain both the variable and fixed costs of the business, If there are not much of profits, the business won’t have to pay much tax rate but if there are loans and financial debts, they will have to pay a certain percentage of their profits and if the forecasted profit s are not enough to pay, eventually they won’t get any kind financial help from any financial institution. As 10 years is a long time to build brand equity to the customers in an open economy, any one of the ventures can be impatient and break the deal. At any cost, maybe not for two years, or 3 years, the profit must come then enough to occupy the market and satisfy the contractors. Usually, for the first years of a business firm, they invest in getting brad equity and setting up customer loyalty and also in understanding the consumer behavior in their current operations. But this is brand management in their long term investment. But eventually, in joint ventures any one of the parties are sustainable and able to run their operations and known to be at least a provider of a certain group of customers. Profits may not come to be a point in these areas of generation but when the venture is formed and ready to serve the market, after calculating the time to build a level a brand equity and CRM, they must obtain profit to run their business enthusiasm. Even of there are big business owners. I suspect if they will be able to deal with such improbability. * Why have few Americans been willing to enter into joint ventures with Soviet partners today? Answer: As the situation provided is due to the environment in mid-1991, there are certain points to consider. We know that, in mid-1991, the recession of US was ended. Thus many companies who was facing a huge amount of loss got their heads up and start their operations again. In the 1990s, Gorbachev’s policy of perestroika offered the people little in substantive, near-term economic improvement, and his policies of demokratizatsiia resulted in rapidly raising their expectations while lessening the regime’s controls over society. As a result, in mid-1991 the Soviet Union appeared to be a disintegrating federation with a collapsing economy and a despairing, confused society. In August 1991, Bush and Gorbachev signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which required the United States and the Soviet Union to cut their nuclear weapons within seven years so that each side would have only 4,900 ballistic missile nuclear warheads as part of a total of 6,000 warheads. The two countr ies had been engaged in the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) since 1982. In another collaborative effort, the Soviet Union voted with the United States and an international coalition of nations to oppose the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, a nation that had been the recipient of substantial amounts of Soviet military advice, equipment, and weapons. There has been a lot of changes in USA and Soviet Union constitutions on that time, maybe the destruction of weapons and an urge of being able to dominate each other’s economy, they came close to get to business relationships. Both of them were two of the most powerful part of the world and maybe one of them was trying to dominate the other but these are political overlooks. The business point of view strategizes the collapse of socialism in Soviet Union and because to the law changes in the field of business policy, there could be alliance powerful enough to understand the multinational consumer behavior of the other countries. Maybe those are the reasons why there has been so much eagerness of these countries to come close in professional relationships and diplomacy. References: 1. Soviet Union, Country Data, http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-12406.html 2. Business for the 21st century by Steven J Skinner and John M. Ivancevich.2003.

Power of the Few Essay

The three articles to be tackled by this essay discuss the presence of a power elite, a term coined by author C. Wright Mills.   The articles talk about how the power elite emerged and existed, who comprises it, and evidence to prove why these people are, in fact, the few who hold power in America.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first article is C. Wright Mills’ The Power Elite wherein he argues that the power of the elite is not derived from their individual attributes but from three societal institutions, specifically the economy, politics, and the military, where power is actually concentrated (332).   To support this argument, Mills points out that there are extraordinary men who are heads or are in command of major social structures and are in the position to make decisions that will have great consequences affecting society (332).     He goes on to point out that even if these men do not make decisions or act for their institutions, such is actually an influencing act in itself (332).   And who are these men who govern the three major institutions of society? They are â€Å"the wealthiest, most celebrated, most powerful†¦[with] resources of men, women, and money†¦and mass media focused on them† (336).     Mills then presents two points of view regarding the existence of powerful elite: those who do not believe that power elite exists and those who believe that it exists only because historical situations show that decisions are being made but the average and ordinary citizen did not make that decision (333).   However, Mills then argues that there are institutions that do in fact unite the decisions made and the historical events that show those decisions (334).   And even if one will argue that society is also ruled by religious, educational and familial institutions, Mills concedes that although these institutions are present and working in society, they are just but the means of the big three[1] to legitimize its power and decisions (334).   In fact, Mills argues that if the smaller institutions do not go about the path laid down by the big three, then the big three can always do something to change the structure of smaller institutions so as to fit their plans and decisions (334-335). In the end, Mills wraps up his article with the conclusion that there are those extraordinary men in the three biggest influential institutions in society that dictate its course and that although they are not solitary rulers (333), it is only through them that power â€Å"can be more or less continuous and important† (336).   And these men are so powerful that their wills are followed and realized even if others resist it (336).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The second article is Diversity in the Power Elite by Richard Zweigenhaft and G. William Domhoff, wherein the authors concluded that â€Å"power elite is more than a set of institutional leaders† (338).     The authors attack the view of C. Wright Mills that society is not pluralistic and that it is controlled only by a handful through a research on whether the three major institutional hierarchies have become diversified over the years since Mills’ theory.   And the answer is yes.   The authors’ research showed that the power elite have been diversified through the presence of more women and minorities (339). The research further shows that although there is diversity in the powerful, there are many things that have not changed.   For one, the core group of the elite is still predominantly Christian white males and many groups that contributed to diversification remain underrepresented (339).   Two, â€Å"high social origins continue to be a distinct advantage† and those who are able to penetrate the major institutions play the game according to the rules that have been followed since time immemorial (339). Lastly, the acceptance of diversity was only a result of   â€Å"pressure from activists and feminists† (339).   The article further discussed that although there was diversification in the power elite, the diversity only ends with the gender or race of the person.   In fact, diversity strengthened the power elite even more because it â€Å"held the same values and perspective as those who are already in power† (340).   In the end, diversification did not disprove the existence of the power elite, as enunciated by Mills, but only expanded its membership.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The last article is by Louis Desipio and Rodolfo O. De La Garza entitled Forever Seen as New: Latino Participation in American Elections wherein it proposes that the growing importance of the Latino electorate in American elections is a result, not of Latino mobilization, but of following an Anglo pattern where the more educated and economically advantaged are the ones who vote (346). The article presents the impediments to a more active Latino electorate: being young, less well-educated, low incomes, and not being American citizens (343, 344).     These impediments have been remedied somehow by the emergence of â€Å"new cadre Latino elites and new institutions† comprised of young and well-educated Latinos (345).   This new cadre exposes Latino issues which enable politicians to address them with more knowledge (345).   As a result, although development in Latino participation will be slow, the new cadre will prove to be influential as it is the voice of the Latino community.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With the three articles read and analyzed side by side, the most and key concept is power elite.   Mills defines the power elite as the concentration of societal power and influence in a few.   It is often comprised of the highly educated and wealthy people who occupy high posts in either the economic, political or military institutions. The article of Zweigenhaft and Domhoff   proves that although there is a move to further diversify the power elite, there is still only a handful who dictate the course of society as the newcomers hardly have proposed major changes, and in fact settle for playing the game the way the power elite has played it ever since.   The article of Desipio and De La Garza is not any different since it discusses the concentration of Latino electoral participation in the young and well-educated.   At the end of the day, Mills’ concept has expanded but not altered in any way.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With the three readings main theme of power in the few, I was awakened to the possibility that there really might be just a few people who are running our country through the economy, politics, and the military.     I realized that family, education and religion are not even major powerhouses but do play some role in putting the power elite in their positions.   Those who are wealthy and had the opportunity to graduate from ivy-league and other elite schools are perceived as the people who know a lot and could probably make the right decisions for the country. As a result of this thinking, they are placed in positions that take the correct actions for their institutions.   But I cannot entirely concede that that diversification has not changed anything in the power elite and that the newcomers have not changed anything in society.   Gender and racial issues are core agenda in society today although it must be noted that minorities are still that: minorities.   It is still the rich, the smart and the popular who are in a state of power and influence.   How else can you justify Arnold Schwarchenegger   winning the gubernatorial seat? [1] Economic, political and military institutions

The Corporate Strategy for China Mobile Communications Literature review

The Corporate Strategy for China Mobile Communications - Literature review Example In relation to the recent financial results, China Mobile (2013) has also informed that the company has been achieving a steady growth with operating revenue of RMB303.1 billion with a growth of 10.4% as compared to the same phase of the previous financial year i.e. 2012. In this context, it is further determined that the telecommunication services of the company have also achieved a growth of 6.8% with an earning revenue of RMB284.7 during the first half of the financial year 2013. During the same period, the data business services of China Mobile had also emerged with a revenue growth of 25.5% i.e. RMB95.4 billion and the growth revenue earned from the telecommunication services increased to 33.5%. Correspondingly, the revenue from the wireless data traffic services was also recorded to be RMB47.4 billion with a growth rate of 62.2% as compared to the results of the first six months of last financial year (1China Mobile Ltd., 2013).According to the interim report of the year 2013, the report of the company has also highlighted that the revenue structure of China Mobile achieved a remarkable growth throughout the last financial year. In relation to the company’s interim financial statement (2013), China Mobile continued to play a leading role in the information and communication service industry in the context of profitability. The attributable profit to the equity shareholders had also been observed to increase up to 1.5% during the similar financial period of the year 2012 to RMB63.1 billion.

Financial Market in Abu Dhabi Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Financial Market in Abu Dhabi - Essay Example The global environments where the strategies have been implemented to develop the financial markets have changed drastically because of the overall financial crisis. But the GCC (i.e. the Corporation Council of the Arab States in the Gulf Region) has a chance to succeed in developing the financial markets and consequently promoting their competitiveness. Economic condition in the GCC market is supported by the region’s wealth due to their high oil and gas supplies. The past few years of financial turmoil have also pointed out the challenges and the necessity to a bigger and more effective and mature financial markets. There are a large number of structural factors which will determine the development prospect related to the financial markets in the Gulf region in the next few years (Deutsche Bank AG, 2012). ... Abu Dhabi: Leading in the Middle East region in respect of the Investors Confidence Abu Dhabi is viewed as an access point for most of the investors because of its location, the economic policies which are business friendly in nature and also the advances in different sectors. According to the investors, they are confident that the financial market of this country is one of the best options where they can make investments. United Arab Emirates is leading the Middle East region in terms of gaining the investor’s confidence. Abu Dhabi has become one of the top destinations for making investment. It will continue to expand because of its positive experience, excellent performances and the attraction of the new investors in investing in its financial market. Abu Dhabi Financial Market United Arab Emirates previously had an informal stock market from the year 1986 with more than ninety listed companies listed in this stock market and traded from here. But the trading was restricted to shares of only 32 to 36 companies because the shares of most of the companies were held by government or high net worth individuals. The informal market of United Arab Emirates existed before the establishment of the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange (ADX) in Abu Dhabi and Dubai Financial Market (DFM) in Dubai in the year 2000. Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange was established on 15th November 2000 by the Local Law No. (3) 2000. It was established as one of the legal entities with autonomous status. Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange has the legal authority of establishing branches and centers outside the Emirates of Abu Dhabi. Currently, ADX has its operations in Ras al Khaimah, Sharjah and Zaayed City and

Does modern music negatively influence children Research Paper

Does modern music negatively influence children - Research Paper Example 77 percent of rap music that was studied referred to alcohol and drug abuse, moreover, girls aged between 14 and 18 that watched these music videos were one and half times more likely to drink and use drugs2. Rap music also makes frequent references to guns and shootings, robbery and violence and revenge gang attacks against rival gangs that tend to influence and promote violent behavior. â€Å"Music also affects children’s sexual development, those who listened to music with lyrics that objectified and limited characterizations of sexuality reported a faster progression in their own sexual behavior†3. This is as opposed to children who are taught to listen to classical music by the likes of Mozart and Mendelssohn, which tend to be more successful and college prepared than those that have not been trained to listen to such kind of music4. The argument about whether or not music negatively affects children is inconclusive because, while some findings suggest music, for example, rap advocate violent behavior some findings suggest that music can be used as an anti-violent tool where rap was used for an anti- violence function in South Bronx, New York neighborhoods in the late 1970s5. Music is also considered a stress and anxiety reliever, it is used to destruct the mind from pain and hence calms the listener reliving them from pain stress (Bel Marra Health)6. Hence, an extensive research should be done to conclude concretely whether music has a negative or positive impact on

Cult Cinema Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

Cult Cinema - Dissertation Example The content is often offbeat or even transgressive, besides being aberrant or challenging. The central themes tend to be far-fetched and uncanny, but still become the centre of audience’s attention. Thus, cult cinema tends to be categorically different from the mainstream cinema; this dissimilarity is revealed by lack of highfalutin artistic exclusiveness, mass consumerism, and political correctness in cult movies. This dissertation will provide a context for defining cult cinema, by delineating the peculiar characteristics that distinguish it from other genres. This dissertation is based upon information accumulated from a vast array of primary and secondary research sources dealing with cult cinema. The chief source was literature comprising of books, journal articles, articles in periodicals specifically aimed at identifying the underlying factors that drive audience towards cult cinema. Since the dissertation is aimed at exposing the factors that have developed a fan following, so analysis of the narrative, literary techniques, characters, and plot is relevant to this study. In addition to that, secondary methods shall also encompass analysis of box office success and commercial business of the top fifty cult films. Secondary resources such as statistical data concerning commercial revenue reveal that cult films were box office hits. Similarly, reviews of most successful movies based on the viewers’ ability to recall showed that many cult films such as Blade Runner, The Shawshank Redemption, Godzilla, Star Wars, Jaws, Scary Movie were the most favourites of all times. Other literature such as journal articles and books define the textual attributes and enigmatic signifiers that appeal to young and middle aged fans. Furthermore, analysis of movies made during the last two decades revealed how audiences’ demand has accelerated the trend of making of the cult films. In the ultimate analysis, the information contained in the following pages will shed light on how cult cinema, despite being bizarre and farfetched has produced some groundbreaking films and developed a huge fan following. Increasingly, audiences are fascinated by the aesthetic elements of cult movies such as enigmatic sig nifiers: mysterious puzzles that provoke thought and engage audiences throughout the film. Lastly, the process of narrative and characters go under an unexpected transformation to deliver ontological shock to audience’s leaves a mark on the audience. Undoubtedly, these aspects make cult movies the centre of fan debate and discussion. Chapter I: Introduction Although motion pictures have fundamentally

Corporate Fundraising Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Corporate Fundraising - Essay Example The Relevant Laws Green Coffee Company Limited a Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance certified company, thus it has earned a significant extent of goodwill over the years (Rainforest Alliance 2013). In this regard, issue offer (sec 706), sale offer (sec 707) of securities need to be disclosed. In case of right issue, disclosures are not necessary (sec 708AA), apart from the disclosures on sale offer under section 707, there are certain sale offer which do not need discloses (sec 708A). Corporations Act 2001 prohibits the organisation which raises funds to execute its endeavour without the proper disclosures of the documents (Section 727) (AustLII n.d.). If an organisation offers 20 issues in 1 year then the publicity and the advertisements for issues will be restricted fir them. Prospectus issued by the company, in this case Green Coffee Company Ltd, will be a very important document relating to investments. Prospectus protects the investors by educating them regarding the investment proposals. Australian Accounting Standards Board continuously closely observes the work of the capital markets and makes amendments on the rules prevailing in the countries whenever necessary. On the other hand, Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) works as a legislator and regulator. With regard to fundraising, Green Coffee Company Ltd needs to disclose various kinds of documents (sec 705). In case of full disclosure made in prospectus, a company needs to include the terms like content (sec710, sec 711, sec 713), procedure (sec 717), liability (sec 728 and sec 729) and defences (sec 731, sec 733); sort form of prospectus only needs to disclose its content (sec 712) (Thomson Playford 2006). Certain other kind of documents includes profile statement (sec 721) and offer information statement (sec 709). Details are given in the website of Commonwealth Consolidated Acts namely â€Å"www.austlii.edu.au†. Disclosures are not necessary when $10 million (includes t he received amount at past) or less is the targeted amount (ASIC 2012). Application of the Law Green Coffee Company Ltd. desires to expand its business in Vietnam. Investment in foreign country involves a substantial proportion of capital expenditure. Capital formation of an organisation includes debt financing and equity financing, which constitute capital structures of the firm. An optimum capital structure provides the firm better results. It is a registered company, for this reason it has to carry out its fundraising activities in consideration with the Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). As it is a public limited company so it has the opportunities to raise funds from the country which helps this organisation in terms of its expansion program. Before the distribution of the prospectus in the market, Green Coffee Company Ltd. has to ensure that it is providing its financial data which are correct from all the ends. The company also needs to evaluate the future earning potentials of the firm in respect of Vietnam. Vietnam’s guidance for the operations needs to be scrutinised. Forecasting techniques for cash inflows and outflows has to be compared. Owing to the reason that Chapter 6D deals with the fundraising activities, thus at the time the preparation of prospectus certain aspects need to be take into

Physical Security Principles Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Physical Security Principles Paper - Essay Example he physical security market in US alone is more than $120 billion alone and with the changing global living ways the market is expected to grow 8 percent annually by the year 2010. (â€Å"The rise of physical security information management†, 2007) The traditional physical security systems such as human surveillance and locks and boundaries are being integrated with the modern IT systems. The modern IT physical security measures such as video surveillance/ closed circuit TV, token based access control systems are becoming much more popular and even small businesses are using these systems. The present research paper deals with some of the traditional physical security system such as building and ground security, access control system and perimeter security. The principles behind these security systems have also been discussed. Some of the possible future physical securities systems have also been covered up. The principle of the building and ground security is to stop the intruder from entering the ground or building area where the intruder can take away or damage the valuables. By the available means, we have to stop the intruder outside the ground or building and at the same time the authorized person or employee should not be de-motivated by the procedure. The traditional method of protecting a building and ground varies and mainly depends on the location of property, its construction and contents inside it, and the crime risk in that particular area and the best physical protection method should be addressed during its construction. (â€Å"Business Crime – Building security†, 2007) The intruders can gain access of the contents of the building through various areas and a well-designed and foolproof construction is best protection method. Further in addition to the strong building walls, doors and windows, we must also ensure that we use the best quality of locks. Digital and electronics locks are more appropriate, but door codes should be frequently changed

Competitiveness and Inventory Management Essay Example for Free

Competitiveness and Inventory Management Essay To be competitive, many fast-food chains expanded their menus to include a wider range of foods. Although contributing to competitiveness, this has added to the complexity of operations, including inventory management. In what ways did the expansion of menu offerings create a problem for inventory management? One form of inventory is safety stock, which is primarily carried by companies to ensure a variety of products is available at all times. However, safety stock ties up capital and hinders cash flow. Using the Argosy University online library resources and the Internet, research safety stock. Then respond to the following: †¢As a manager, what recommendations could you provide to reduce inventories as it relates to safety stock? †¢What parameters would lead you to believe that (a) large safety stock, (b) small safety stock, and (c) zero safety stock would be advantageous for the organization? Be sure to provide examples and data in support. After your initial post, discuss the following: †¢What are some of the ways in which a company can reduce the need for inventories? †¢How has technology aided inventory management? †¢How have technological improvements in products such as automobiles and computers impacted inventory decisions? Write your initial response in 200 to 300 words. Apply APA standards to citation of sources. By Saturday, June 28, 2014, post your response to the appropriate Discussion Area. Through Wednesday, July 2, 2014, review and comment on at least two peers’ responses. Consider the following in your response: †¢Provide a statement of clarification or a point of view with rationale. †¢Challenge a point of discussion or draw a relationship between one or more points of the discussion.

The Impact of Technology on Society Essay Example for Free

The Impact of Technology on Society Essay The contemporary society is characterized by its intensive use of technology in all walks of life. Technology is indeed a broad concept dealing with species usage, knowledge of tools and crafts, as well as the manner in which it influences a species capacity to control its environment and adapt to it. It has aptly been termed globalization’s handmaid (World Economic Forum, 2007). Advances in communication, entertainment, medical treatments and warfare reach the airwaves as technocrats develop faster, more effective technology. Communication is faster, tasks require far fewer steps to complete thus saving time, and it is possible to relive certain experiences just by pushing a button. History has demonstrated that whenever inventions are introduced to a particular society, the society necessarily changes (Arbab, 2008). These changes may be positive or negative, depending on preexisting societal norms, beliefs and cultural practices. This is the crux of the ensuing discussion, with a bias on the world of entertainment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to a study conducted by Forrester Research in the year 2000, the average American dedicates seven hours of their day watching television (Shoff, n.d.). Television is essentially a form of passive entertainment, taking out viewers’ cognitive capacity; everything is processed right in front of their eyes and there is no brain power involved (Borruso, 2005). Herein lies the big debate on the impact of television on children’s development. Their social skills are sacrificed in favor of passive entertainment. They lose out on other useful skills learned only through play and the urge to quench the innate curiosity of a child. Studies on the link between television and obesity indicate the debilitating impact of this form of entertainment on health. The stage from childhood to adolescence and early adulthood demands a high degree of self discovery. It allows individuals the opportunity to determine their talents, strengths and weaknesses. If seven hours are spent in front of the television and anther seven to eight asleep, there is hardly any time left for development. Despite the technological adroitness today’s generation possesses, they do not read, write, dive or add well. Cyber-world appears as a cocoon with these individuals focusing on entertainment.   They ignore key issues affecting mankind, their mental agility, street smarts and intelligence notwithstanding (Bauerlein, 2008). The influence of technology on entertainment has greatly fuelled the fire on instant gratification. It is possible to skip through commercials using applications like TiVo as well as select specific videos via Video on-Demand (VOD). In addition to this, cases of piracy are commonplace. With the technology available today, it is easy to compress large volumes of data and transfer it online. The one-to-many and many-to-many mode of transfer significantly exacerbates the problem of piracy. Should legal redress be sought, which elements of the distribution chain will be found culpable? In addition to this, entertainment material is fresh and plentiful, covering all imaginable genres. People are well aware of copyright laws, but conscientiously ignore them. The impulse-search-satisfaction route is the unstoppable driving force. This goes hand in hand with the ease of access attached to the Internet. Entertainment material is accessible at home, at work and on the road; practically everywhere. Many employees misuse their employers’ resources not only via quenching their thirst for entertainment, but also by misusing bandwidth in downloading extraneous material. This has been the subject of various IT-related policies with section of the public questioning an employer’s right to track employee computer usage. It boils down to the elements of ethics and codes of conduct. The discussion of technology and entertainment cannot be complete without a mention of the iPod. With respect to music, iPods makes shellac discs, vinyl records, video cassettes and compact discs appear as elements reminiscent of the Stone Age. However, these personalized digital players have created the effect of isolating individuals from the rest of the world behind white ear buds. The need to purchase entire albums died with the advent of the iTunes store as peoples could download only the desired tracks (A Technology Society, 2009). As with the every aspect of accessibility comes the question of blue movies. It seems that the billion dollar pornography industry found an efficient channel through the iPod. The Western society’s increasing tolerance of sexuality lays a foundation for pornography to find its way to mainstream media. This issue must necessarily be addressed, considering that in the United States alone, the adult entertainment industry was responsible for the generation of $2.5 billion dollars in 2004. In the month of August that year, 40% of all Internet users visit at least one adult site and 3% of all Internet traffic involved adult sites. Taking the hit rate statistics presented in the preceding paragraph, more so in relation to the speed of technological development, it will become much harder to censor pornographic content. Alex McKay, a Sex Information and Education Council of Canada research coordinator, all attempts at censorship have proved futile (Denomme, 2005). People may argue that adults have the prerogative to get involved whatever type of entertainment they please, but what about young innocent minds in their formative years? It is the society’s moral duty to guarantee proper formation of the youth. A concerned parent vocalized his opinion saying that the mass media of the day is making deliberate attempts to collapse the traditional, liberty, decency, social values that shaped America’s course (McLuhan, n.d.). He takes the argument back to the media bent on selling sensationalism. People cannot afford to ignore that when ethics and professional responsibility are categorically replaced with the yen to secure the greatest amount of advertising dollars, it is members of the public that suffer (McLuhan, n.d.). There is no question about the power the media wields over people via movies and programs. This power must necessarily be harnessed for the right purpose. The impact of technology on entertainment and society is powerful to say the least. The discussion presented indicates the need to establish strict codes of conduct, operating policies, as well as the legal implications of flouting stated procedures. Technology, in response to entertainment or otherwise, is a double edged-sword; it can either contribute to the greater good of society or lead to substantive destruction. This is where the importance of the development of well-laid out ethical standards comes in.   They serve as universal checks and balances with respect to technological operating procedures. Regardless of how powerful technology becomes, it must remain under the class of ‘aids’; human relationships must always rank higher in priority. References: A Technology Society. (2009). Has the iPod changed music? Retrieved April 3rd, 2009, from http://www.atechnologysociety.co.uk/has-ipod-changed-music.html Arbab, A. (2008, January 19). Impact of technology on society. Retrieved April 2nd,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2009, from http://www.ideasdesk.com/2008/01/19/impact-of-technology-on  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   society/ Bauerlein, M. (2008). The dumbest generation: how the digital age stupefies young  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Americans and jeopardizes our future (or, dont trust anyone under 30). Tarcher. Borruso, S. (2005). The art of thinking – chats on logic. Paulines. Denomme, I. (2005). Video iPod a boon for porn lovers: ‘Negligible’ impact on  Ã‚  Ã‚   society, researcher predicts. Retrieved April 3rd, 2009, from  Ã‚   http://www.gazette.uwo.ca/article.cfm?section=FrontPagearticleID=462 McLuhan, M. (n.d.), Impact of computing technology on education and entertainment.  Ã‚   Retrieved April 4th, 2009, from http://pangea.tec.selu.edu/~hgildig/660695/mcluhan.pdf World Economic Forum. (2007). Technology and society: identity, community and  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   networks. Retrieved on April 3rd, 2009, from  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.weforum.org/pdf/summitreports/am2007/technology.htm