Comparing Beowulf, The Wanderer, And The 13th Warrior

Ty DeJames Mr. Neely 4-17-15 One common question in literature that always reappears is What is an epic hero? Or better yet an epic hero in Anglo Saxon culture. I believe there is more to being a hero than just being strong or intelligent. An epic hero in my eyes is oneself who comes to portray the beliefs of the society in which the tale/story is depicted. A few great examples of the Anglo Saxon epic hero are the literary characters in Beowulf, The Wanderer, and The 13th Warrior. These are all outstanding examples of Anglo-Saxon epic heroes because they all came to show the evident characteristics bravery, loyalty, friendship. In the Anglo-Saxon culture and literature, the meaning of to be a hero was to be a warrior and or a strong being. A hero also had to possess the vast characteristics of being strong, intelligent, and courageous. All warriors of Anglo-Saxon culture and literature, had to be willing to face any odds and be willing to be the underdog that chases success. Also they had to fight to the death for their glory and accept their each individual fates. The typical Anglo-Saxon hero was always able to be all of these and still be humble and very down to earth. Out of all literature Beowulf is, arguably, the best example one can use of an Anglo-Saxon hero. But, in The 13th Warrior, Ibn Fadlan (played by Antonio Banderas) similar to Beowulf, also shows many of the characteristics that come to show the qualities one needs to possess to become an Anglo-Saxon

Comparative Essay; Things Fall Apart - 1664 Words

Nicholas Zanon ENG 4U1 Friday November 2nd, 2012 Mrs. Fisher The Dynamic of Father-Son Relationships The parent-child relationship plays a large role in various literary works. The novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, both explore the dynamic of many parent-child relationships. Death of a Salesman regarded the troubling relationship that Willy Loman, an unsuccessful Salesman, had with his two children Biff and Happy. Similarly, in Things Fall Apart it described the life of a man named Okonkwo who had much controversy when it came to his relationship with his two sons Nwoye and Ikemefuna. In these two works, the relationship between father and son plays a large role in the plot of†¦show more content†¦Throughout this work as Willy is determined to make Biff successful he continually gave contradicting advice and gave Biff the false idea of what success is. Willy always focused on Biff’s well being and wanted success for him in the business world. Willy gave his family the idea that he was really successful as a sa lesman but in reality he was not. Willy’s idea of success consisted of being well liked and well known. â€Å"I’ll show you all the towns. America is full of beautiful towns and fine, upstanding people. And they know me, boys, they know me up and down New England† (19). Willy always pushed Biff to conquer the dream that he did not. Biff had continuously shown minimal interest in Willy’s idea of success. Biff saw success, as being on a farm working with his shirt off, not stuck at a desk all day. He grew tired of Willy’s ongoing determination to make him successful. â€Å"Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens? I’ll go in the morning. Put him --- put him to bed† (106). As Willy’s determination started to control the relationship between him and Biff, Biff got tired of hearing the same â€Å"American Dream† which he knew was not truthful. After stating that the dream was a waste of time Biff de cided to leave his father. Willy’s determination to make Biff successful contributed to the failure of this father son relationship. Willy always tried to control his family and to show he was a successful figure to hisShow MoreRelatedThe Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe1451 Words   |  6 PagesAchebe’s Things Fall Apart focuses on protagonist Okonkwo and his desire to live his life as a strong, masculine figure with a title worth showing off. This Nigerian novel provides an inside view of the oppression women faced in nineteenth century Igbo culture and the lengths to which men were willing to go to avoid appearing feminine. 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Personal Professional Development ICT integration

Question: Describe about the Personal Professional Development for ICT integration. Answer: Self-managed learning is a challenging process for an employee. It is crucial for the employee to develop himself/herself through managing personal and professional goals. The organizations can arrange for many self-managed learning trainings. It will help the employees to grow in their career. In this particular assignment, it can be observed that, the authors is appointed newly as an assistant manager in Travelodge Hotelin Ilford.So, this assignment will focus on the self-managed learning and developmental progress of Travelodge hotel and it will also provide the opportunity to a learnerto become an effective and confident self-directed employee. Self-managedlearning refers to various ways, which are utilized by individual to gain the knowledge from their work or their surroundings. As an assistant manager of Travelodge Hotel, Self-managed learning is very necessary, as it will help to gain more knowledge, which is closely related to the goals and needs of the hotel (Moon 2013).This self-managedlearning will not only help theauthor as assistant manager, but also it will help to modifyin developing personal knowledge in his career. For example, Travelodge Hotel is awell-established hotel. So, as anewly appointed assistant the goal will be to increase the sales of the hotel and to make the profit out of it. These skills in self-managed learning will help to achieve the target (Busse et al. 2014). Evaluation of Approaches to self-managed learning: The best way to improve self-managed learning is to notice the present business, analysis the problems and to do the research and competitive analysis of the business environment. There are many approaches associated with this, which are described below (McLeod and Julia 2014): Seminars and Conferences: The management of the hotel should arrange for certain seminars and conferences for the employees. The management of the hotel has to be aware of the fact that all the employees must attend theseseminars and conferences. These seminars and conferences can be based on customer satisfaction, hotel etiquettes, communication skills, leadership principles etc. (Lam et al. 2014). These approaches will help the employees to obtain insight and to gain more knowledge. Internet: The internet is a very crucial tool for the employees, who want to obtain self-managed learning. A versed knowledge could be achieved through the internet since it is a great source of all kinds of material which provide useful information about hotel, travel and tourism industry all over the world. Productive information achieved over the internet, can be implementedandtransferred in the work experiences (Calderhead 2012). Social Networks: Social networks such as twitter, Linked In, Facebooketc.allow the people to communicate freely. There are various people in the social media. These people come from various backgrounds and have various experiences to share. Along with the managers, the employees can adopt the positive attributes through sharing their experiences with different people and they can implement these attributes in their work along with their personal lives (Gamrat et al. 2014). According to author seminar and conferences are the most suitable approach fir the employees in Travelodge hotel. This approach is completely based on learning process(McConnell et al. 2015). Through this approach, the staffs will not only learn new thing, but also they will meet various peopleface to face. It will enhance their work experiences. Proposed ways of lifelong learning: Lifelong learning can be encouraged in personal and professional development through various ways, likeskill assessments, customer feedbacks etc. The management can arrange for assessment tests on newly learned skills among the employees. It will encourage the staff members to know their capability. Through customer feedback system both the management and employees can judge themselves in their learning. As an assistant manager, the author can encourage the professional and personal development of the employees through SWOT analysis (Galvin 2014). SWOT analysis refers to analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of a particular individual or organization.Theopportunities and strengthswill help to ensure the success. The threats and weakness will motivate the employees to improve themselves so that they can give their best service in the future. Based on this, the manager can arrange for Self-reflective learning. It will improve the personal developmental skill and will be beneficial to make the right decision(Pallisera et al. 2013). Evaluation of Benefits: The employees of this hotel will enhance their learning and work experiences through this self-managed learning. Team work will be developed through this learning, so that the work can be done more efficiently and it gives rise to high quality of work. The main aim of the hotel industry is to satisfy the people. So, it is very necessary for the employees to build an effective verbal and non-verbal Communication skill (Gribble et al. 2014). This self-managed learning will help to acquire the communication skill. To increase the business of this hotel, it is also necessary to provide the best service to the customers. This learning process will enhance the knowledge of customer satisfactionfor the employees along with the assistant manager. Self-management learning helps to learn decision making skills. For example, in Travelodge Hotel, many incident may come, where, the assistant manager needs to take urgent decision. In certain cases, the situation may come, when the assistant manage r may not be present. Then the employees should have the capability to take the decision in absence of assistant manager. Automatically, it will improve the image of the Travelodge hotel. Through this training the employees of the hotel can offer batter customer care, which will help to retain the customers and as well as it will attract more customers (ZakareviÄ ius and Ã…Â ½uperkienÄ— 2015). Along with these, the employees and manager will be experienced with high ethics. The work ethics will help to continue the responsibilities of the workers in an accountable and transparent manner. Evaluation of current skills and competencies: Evaluation of personal competencies and skills involves the making of a chart, which audits the capabilities of an individual. So, to evaluate the personal skills, as an assistant manager, the author should maintain the chart. The chart includes certain criterias, like, things that he/she can do well, things that need to be practiced, and things which cannot be done completely (Leong et al. 2014).For example, as an assistant manager the main aim of the author is to maximize the sales, meet the targets and make the profit. So, the author needs to review the past history of the hotel and list out the present facilities of the hotel. Along with the Travelodge hotel, the author needs to focus on other hotels information. From this review, the author can make a chart of the present facilities and drawbacks of Travelodge hotel. The next step is to identify the things, which are need to be modified to a certain degree through the present skills. It also includes new implementation plan of certain projects, which can be profitable for the hotel. For example, after reviewing the author realized that, Travelodge hotel needs to focus on the entertainment activities, like conducting a small tour or dance performance or music performance. Based on that the implementation plan will be prepared, which will be interacted with all other staffs of the hotel. The staff members will be motivated to make this plan successful and alsonecessary changes will be made to structure thisplan (Russell and Korthagen 2013). The last step is the successful implementation of the plan or make a conclusion out of the evaluation. As an assistant manager,it will inspire and motivate the whole team to provide the best services to the customers. Development needs and activities: The activities and the developmental needs, which are required to meet the target are performance and communication skills.For professional perspective, it is very necessary to have good communication skills. Good communication skills refer to both written and verbal communication. It is also important to have problem solving skills in the hotel industry. Problem solving skills will help to save a large amount of profit for the organization and it will also help to maintain the harmony in the work place (McBrien 2015). This problem solving skill will also improve the customer satisfaction services in this Travelodge hotel, which is very necessary for this. As the assistant manager, the author also need to focus on delegation of duties. The perfect delegation will result into completion of a work with minimal time. Assistant manager also has to emphasize on organizing skill. This skill will help to ensure that all the planned tasks should be executed to improve the future of the hotel . Other skills like, innovation and creativity will help the hotel to give a competitivelook (Brody and Hadar 2015). For example, as above mentioned that Travelodge hotel is focusing on implementation of certain entertainment activities. So, to make it successful, as an assistant manager needs to focus on organizing skill, performance skill and communication skill. The major strengths, which will help to achieve these developmental needs are given below: Quick learner: The ability of quick learning will help the author to adjust with the work environment easily and the author can take the responsibility of his new role as an assistant manager (Johnson and Golombek 2016). Self-motivated and Determined: Theself-motivationand determination enable the author to hang on a spirited fight in the face of difficulty because of the burning desire to overcome and succeed challenges. In order to develop himself, this attribute of being determined can enable the author to take advantage of existing opportunities (Cox et al. 2014). Hardworking: The hardworking nature of the author is the greatest asset to achieve the goals (Mitina 2015). The author also needs to excel by giving the opportunities and explore the existing opportunities. Intelligence and Self-confidence: Self-confidence is very crucial especially to explore the unknown circumstances. The key factor of self-development is Self-confidence (Narayanasamy and Penney 2014). To seize opportunities, which are being chased by so many people, self-confidence is very necessary. Team player: The author has the capability to work as a team. Being a team player, the author can get various innovative ideas from his colleagues (Mumford 2013). It will help to perform the work more efficiently. So, moreover the goal will be achieved as a group, not as an individual. Communication skills: The author has effective communication skill, which is very necessary in this industry (Zepeda 2012). As an eloquent communicator, the author can fulfil the desires of the guests of the hotel. The following weak points are: Missing deadlines: The author faces trouble, whole meeting the deadline of any task. It occurs because of excessive workload and underestimation of time required for completing the task. Therefore the author may be victim of planning error. To achieve the performance goals, the author needs to learn time-management skills. While planning workload, one must ensure that they deal with hard task first and leaving easier parts to complete later. It helps save final moment of nervousness and it will enable the author to accomplish the work in the right time. Another approach that can be taken is to set our own due dates before the actual due date. One can also make a resolution to try their best to respect customers deadlines so that customer loyalty is maintained (Albion et al. 2015). Impatience: Another weak point of the author is being impatient in the meeting (Hiver 2013). It is very tough for the author to stay in the meeting for so long hours. Developmental opportunities: The Travelodge hotel has many developmental opportunities. Certain opportunities are supportive management system, great foods, comfortable lodging system, amazing hospitality etc. To meet, current and future needs, it is necessary to advance those systems with the time (Reeves 2012). The main aim of the hotel industry is to satisfy the people. So, it is very necessary for the employees to build an effective verbal and non-verbal Communication skill. It is very important for this hotel to be upto date with the competitors. For, example, the skill which should be developed was modifying the entertainment department of the hotel through arranging some entertaining program. So, to achieve this target, there are many available opportunities which are present inside the hotel, like management, hospitality etc. The outside opportunities are arrangements of good music troop or dance troop, which can entertain the guests of the hotel (Moon 2013). Devising a personal and professional development plan: A professional development plan or apersonal development plan is a documented strategy that specifieson the goals, which will be achieved. It is generally prepared under the guidance of supervisor or a mentor. This plan should have a time frame, in which, the objectives should be achieved.The plan is described below (Busse et al. 2014): The needed skills The way of developing the skills The time to develop intended skills Communication skill Organization skill Leadership skill Time management skill These skills are present in the assistant manager. But to achieve targets, it is necessary to modify these skills. So, these skills can be developed through various training session, meetings and more work performance. These intended skills will be developed at the time of implementation of new project, to achieve the target and overall to make more profit for the organization. The processes and activities to implement the development plan: After making the developmental plan, it is necessary to implement this plan. So, the required activities and precesses are described below (McLeod and Julia 2014): Step 1: Reviewing the required components: The common goal in the professional and personal development plan is to make the growth of the organisation in both cases. As an assistant manager the author can take his past and present work experiences. He also can take the help of his seniors (Lam et al. 2014). Step 2: Clarification of the goals: The author should ensure that the proposed goal should be S.M.A.R.T, means Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. The goal should be specific. For example, in this case, the goal is to implement the entertaining program in the Travelodge Hotel. This proposed goal is measurable, as it can increase the sales by 20% annually. This goal is attainable, because this can be attained easily with the help of the available opportunities and with the help of others(Calderhead 2012). Thearrangement of an entertaining program in the Travelodge hotel is very realistic as per the hotel industry. This goal can be achieved with the proposed duration, so it is timely as well. Step3:The template will be made based on the developmental plan. Step 4:Strategies will be laid down in such an away, that the goal can be achieved easily (Gamrat et al. 2014). For example, in this goal, the strategies will be meetings with the members of the hotel, meeting various dance and musical groups, arranging for their performances etc. Step 5:The goal should be evaluated in presence of all the members of the hotel before the final implementation. In this case, it is known that this goal will increase the sales of this hotel (McConnell et al. 2015). Step 6:After certain period of time, the management should arrange for another meeting to map the progress of the implementation. It will accelerate the overall process (Galvin 2014). Step 7:In the final step, as an assistant manager the author will note done all the accomplishments needed to achieve this goal. Later this note will be shared with the management system and other associates (Pallisera et al. 2013). Documentation of developmental activities: To achieve the gal, the required developmentalactivates are discussed below (ZakareviÄ ius and Ã…Â ½uperkienÄ— 2015): Making a team: First of all, it is necessary to make a team to implement this goal of arranging entertainment program. So, the team will consist the manager, assistant manager, hospitality team, and the entertainment team (Leong et al. 2014). Meeting: Meeting should be arranged in several session in between the team members. It is also necessary to update the managements about the followings of those meetings (Russell and Korthagen 2013). Research: To choose a good singing or dancing group, it is necessary to know the famous brands and groups in that area. So, the research will be done (McBrien 2015). Audition: The singing or dancing group will be chosen based on their performance in the audition. Finalization: At last a performance will be presented in front of the managements and other staff members of the hotel to evaluate or review the performance. Critical analysis: As an assistant manager, the author had the weaknesses in attending meeting and completing the target with in the time. After critical analyzing, the author has realized that, he has improved his weaknesses (Brody and Hadar 2015). The author has learnt many experiences through this achievement. For, example, the author has learnt new experiences to work with a big team in such a big hotel. Problem solving skills will help to save a large amount of profit for the organization and it will also help to maintain the harmony in the work place. The leadership principles helped him to maintain the balance while conducting the work. In this plan, certain circumstances came, where the author used his self-confidence and self-development skills. The author has learnt new skills like knowledge of music or dance in this plan and he is experienced with many cultures(Johnson and Golombek 2016). Updating of development plan: Based on the feedback and evaluation, it is observed that the prepared developmental plan has worked successfully. This self-managed learning will not only help the author as assistant manager, but also it will help to modify in developing personal knowledge in his career.All the proposed skills have worked efficiently to achieve the goal. Only, the time was not manage according to the plan. The opportunities and strengths will help to ensure the success. The threats and weakness will motivate the employees to improve themselves so that they can give their best service in the future.So, the team has to focus on this in the next implementation in the near future(Narayanasamy and Penney 2014). It can be concluded by stating that self-managed learning and personal or professional developmental plan have many positive attributes to offer both the organization and the associated employees. The people, who will be equipped with these skills, trainings and learnings will be successful in their professional and personal life. References: Albion, P.R., Tondeur, J., Forkosh-Baruch, A. and Peeraer, J., 2015. Teachers professional development for ICT integration: towards a reciprocal relationship between research and practice.Education and Information Technologies,20(4), pp.655-673. Brody, D.L. and Hadar, L.L., 2015. Personal professional trajectories of novice and experienced teacher educators in a professional development community.Teacher Development,19(2), pp.246-266. Busse, H., Aboneh, E.A. and Tefera, G., 2014. Learning from developing countries in strengthening health systems: an evaluation of personal and professional impact among global health volunteers at Addis Ababa Universitys TikurAnbessa Specialized Hospital (Ethiopia).Globalization and health,10(1), p.1. Calderhead, J., 2012. The contribution of research on teachers' thinking to the professional development of teachers.Research on teacher thinking: understanding professional development. London, pp.11-18. Cox, E., Bachkirova, T. and Clutterbuck, D.A. eds., 2014.The complete handbook of coaching. Sage. Galvin, S., 2014.Closing the Preparedness Gap Through Leadership and Professional Development(Doctoral dissertation). Gamrat, C., Zimmerman, H.T., Dudek, J. and Peck, K., 2014. Personalized workplace learning: An exploratory study on digital badging within a teacher professional development program.British journal of educational technology,45(6), pp.1136-1148. Gribble, N., Dender, A., Lawrence, E., Manning, K. and Falkmer, T., 2014. International WIL placements: Their influence on student professional development, personal growth and cultural competence.Asia-Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education,15(2), pp.107-117. Hiver, P., 2013. The interplay of possible language teacher selves in professional development choices.Language Teaching Research,17(2), pp.210-227. Johnson, K.E. and Golombek, P.R., 2016.Mindful L2 Teacher Education: A Sociocultural Perspective on Cultivating Teachers' Professional Development. Routledge. Lam, R., Kruger, E. and Tennant, M., 2014. How a modified approach to dental coding can benefit personal and professional development with improved clinical outcomes.Journal of Evidence Based Dental Practice,14(4), pp.174-182. Leong, J., Phillips, R., Giddens, D. and Dickson, T., 2014. Continuing professional development for LIS professionals: Maximizing potential in an organizational context.KIIT Journal of Library and Information Management,1(1), pp.5-14. McBrien, B., 2015. Personal and professional challenges of nurse prescribing in Ireland.British Journal of Nursing,24(10). McConnell, K.J., Delate, T. and Newlon, C.L., 2015. The sustainability of improvements from continuing professional development in pharmacy practice and learning behaviors.American journal of pharmaceutical education,79(3). McLeod, J. and Julia, M.J.M., 2014.Personal and professional development for counsellors, psychotherapists and mental health practitioners. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). Mitina, L.M., 2015. Psikhologicheskiesredstvapreodoleniyatrudnosteilichnostnoprofessional'nogorazvitiyaisokhraneniyazdorov'ya sub" ektovobrazovaniya [The psychological means for overcoming difficulties of personal and professional development as well as health preservation of subjects of education].Moscow: Nestor-Istoriya. Moon, J.A., 2013.Reflection in learning and professional development: Theory and practice. Routledge. Mumford, A., 2013. Planning and Organizing Personal and Professional Development.Industrial and Commercial Training. Narayanasamy, A. and Penney, V., 2014. Coaching to promote professional development in nursing practice.British Journal of Nursing,23(11). Pallisera, M., Fullana, J., Palaudarias, J.M. and Badosa, M., 2013. Personal and professional development (or use of self) in social educator training. An experience based on reflective learning.Social Work Education,32(5), pp.576-589. Reeves, D.B., 2012.Transforming professional development into student results. Ascd. Russell, T. and Korthagen, F., 2013.Teachers who teach teachers: Reflections on teacher education. Routledge. ZakareviÄ ius, P. and Ã…Â ½uperkienÄ—, E., 2015. Improving the Development of Managers Personal and Professional Skills.Engineering Economics,60(5). Zepeda, S.J., 2012.Professional development: What works. Eye on education.

Xerox Argumentative Essay Example For Students

Xerox Argumentative Essay COUNTRY ISSUESCulture, Social, and Demographics:When examining any company and their possible expansion into new markets you must first examine the culture, social, and demographic issues impacting foreign businesses. The Colombian culture has begun to show a bias towards American products as recently as 1998. As written in Carol Caspers New York Times article, There is a lot of interest in U.S. concepts and products; in not only Colombia but also all of Latin America. The interest has caused more American firms to begin to see these developing attitudes and expand their businesses into Latin America. For Xerox to also take part in this expansion they would be able to take advantage of the new interest. Colombians, although, are not welcoming these companies with open arms. There is an interest in the U.S. businesses but as Dianna Jean Schemo reports; it is not uncommon to be threatened by the cartels of Colombia. These cartels want in on the inflow of money and will get involved in kidnappings and murderer if they see it necessary. In 1996, the last year these figures are available, the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported 19,645 homicides while in Colombia there were 26,627. For the fear of being on the wrong end of such instances American businesses need to be extra careful when trying to penetrate the Colombian marketplace. Xerox would not be as impacted by the threat of cartel interference. The cartels become more involved with restaurants and oil companies that have developed in Colombia. They have not developed any interest in the technology industry as of yet. We will write a custom essay on Xerox Argumentative specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Colombia has a population of 37 million Spanish-speaking people. The annual growth rate is 1.7% and 95% of the population is Roman Catholic. In the urban areas a 93% literacy rate was found, as opposed to a 67% literacy rate in rural areas. This is due to the fact that only five years of primary school are offered in rural areas. This information regarding the population is encouraging. Although the rural populations literacy rate is low, the urban rate is quite high for a Latin American country. This rate leads me to believe that for Xerox to expand in this market with its technology/communication equipment would not be a problem. The majority of the targeted population where Xerox would be selling their products could understand the benefits of their product and would want to purchase Xerox products. Political/Governmental Concerns:Colombia has both political and economic stability that is uncommon to Latin American countries. Colombia also enjoys low inflation as compared to other South American countries. The government of Colombia is a unitary republic, made up of an executive branch, National Congress, and Constitutional Court. The government creates economic and social development plans annually. The executive branch of the government is responsible for forming the plans in detail. There is a trade barrier that must be registered with Incomex (official foreign trade institution). Payments of invisible imports such as acquisition of technology must be paid to them. The interaction of the government with economic and social issues will help Xerox to expand into this country. By Colombia having an Americanized government system in place that has become stable, it will greatly help foreign countries to become interested and to invest in this nation. Colombia tries to also maintain and encourage foreign investment. The regulatory climate consists of National Planning Department, Central Bank, Ministry of Mines and Energy, Banking Superintendency, and Securities Superintendency. Foreign investment is permitted in all economic activities except those related to defenses or national security, and dangerous refuse. This lack of restrictions enables Xerox to freely move in and establish itself in Colombia. .u34e0c7e7a6940694a82e8cdfcc0584bc , .u34e0c7e7a6940694a82e8cdfcc0584bc .postImageUrl , .u34e0c7e7a6940694a82e8cdfcc0584bc .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u34e0c7e7a6940694a82e8cdfcc0584bc , .u34e0c7e7a6940694a82e8cdfcc0584bc:hover , .u34e0c7e7a6940694a82e8cdfcc0584bc:visited , .u34e0c7e7a6940694a82e8cdfcc0584bc:active { border:0!important; } .u34e0c7e7a6940694a82e8cdfcc0584bc .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u34e0c7e7a6940694a82e8cdfcc0584bc { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u34e0c7e7a6940694a82e8cdfcc0584bc:active , .u34e0c7e7a6940694a82e8cdfcc0584bc:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u34e0c7e7a6940694a82e8cdfcc0584bc .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u34e0c7e7a6940694a82e8cdfcc0584bc .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u34e0c7e7a6940694a82e8cdfcc0584bc .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u34e0c7e7a6940694a82e8cdfcc0584bc .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u34e0c7e7a6940694a82e8cdfcc0584bc:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u34e0c7e7a6940694a82e8cdfcc0584bc .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u34e0c7e7a6940694a82e8cdfcc0584bc .u34e0c7e7a6940694a82e8cdfcc0584bc-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u34e0c7e7a6940694a82e8cdfcc0584bc:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Black Holes As Future Power Plants EssayRestrictions on goods imported to Colombia are minimal. The process involves preparing a pro forma invoice, effecting an import registration at Incomex, shipping the goods with a final invoice, clearing customs, and remittance of payment on the currency of the exporter or in U.S. dollars through an authorized exchange intermediary. Again the lack of restrictions would allow Xerox to enter the Colombian market with few barriers. Macroeconomic issues :In Colombia there are macroeconomic conditions that could impact Xerox and our decision to expand to the country. Since 1995 Colombias GDP growth percent has plummeted. In 1995 it was 5.7 , down to 2.1 in 1996 and in 1997 it fell further to 2.0. This trend is quite alarming for not only Xerox but also other countries that wish to expand their market to Colombia. Colombia also has an unemployment, which has steadily risen since 1995. The unemployment rate was 9.5% in 1995 then 11.3% in 1996 and finally 12.2% in 1997. This happened while the labor force rose in these years by 366,000. This will help us to be able to find workers but whether or not they are capable employees in the technology industry is yet to be seen. If the employment has occurred in the agriculture rather then in the urban area there is a better chance that the unemployed could be illiterate. Advertising is also an interesting subject. At least 50% of programmed advertising broad cast on television must have local content. It is also required to have use of a Colombian trademark in order to exercise trademark protection in Colombia. These policies seem antiquated as compared to those of the United States and should definitely be addressed. As a company Xerox must determine whether they can get a Colombian trademark first and then whether they can advertise while involving local content. Advertising is a key part of our success in Colombia so these factors are of key importance. Exchange Rates:The Colombian Peso has remained relatively stable in the past few years. This historic stability has been highlighted recently by a strengthening of the U.S. dollar as compared to the Colombian Peso. At the end of March 1998 the period principal exchange rate was 1,358.03 Colombian Pesos equal $1. This number has consistently been increasing since early 1997. This is appealing for us as a potential investor. With our U.S. dollars we can get more Colombian Pesos for our money. From past data it only seems that this trend will only continue so investment with regards to exchange rate issues is promising. FIRM ; INDUSTRY ISSUESFirms Current Financial Condition :As Xerox we have developed from the Copier Company; to the Document Company;. This conversion has taken us into newer and expanded markets. At year-end of 1998 our revenue was $19.4 billion. Of this revenue the United States accounted for $10.1 billion, Europe and other countries accounted for $5.8 billion and Latin America and Canada accounted for $3.5 billion. These numbers show the international interest that Xerox has pursued recently. In this pursuit, however, Xerox has maintained its strategic intent in being the leader in the global document market, and providing document solutions that enhance our customers business productivity. We plan on doing this by providing global document solutions that bring together our leading-edge technology, the widest array of digital hardware in the industry, sophisticated software, services, teams of industry-focused sales representatives and consultants, and a growing network of indirec t sales channels. Demand conditions:Current Competitors in the Industry:Production Costs for the Industry:Tariffs and Trade Restrictions specific to the Industry :Xerox is forced to deal with Colombias trade restrictions if we want to expand to this country. Colombia imposes a 7% tax on products other than foods and basic medications, along with a tax on income unless it stays in Colombia. The blunt of Colombian restrictions on imports, however, lies on the agricultural end. Due to this Xerox after registering with the government can receive relatively little resistance from the Colombian government to invest in the country.