Homework Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Homework - Case Study Example An example of backward vertical integration is when a company producing sugar buys the can farm from which they have been acquiring their primary raw product. In the short term it will solve supply problems since it can guarantee itself a constant supply of sugarcane; should there be a cane shortage, the sugar producer is protected from having to compete with others for the limited cane. On the other hand, it takes control of the cane producing process and safeguards against substandard or poor quality products. Backward integration is a particularly beneficial strategy under the following circumstances; when the supplies serving the firm are not reliable. On the other hand, when the suppliers in the industry are few but there are many buyers, and it’s an industry that keeps rapidly expanding and is characterized with unstable prices of inputs. However, before committing to this line of business the buyer firm must ensure it has sufficient capabilities and resources to manage the new business. The oil industry presents several examples of vertical integration with firms such as BP, while it retrospectively used to outsource for exploration and focus on production, it gradually evolved its production functions and today it handles both functions and this has resulted in considerable success and profitability. Social corporate responsibility is the factor that marks the line between a caring and responsible corporate and a predatory and exploitative one (Porter & Kramer, 2006). While admitting that the primary objective of any business is to make profit, this should not be achieved at the expense of the lives and livelihoods of communities and staff members. If this were the case, then business ethics would be redundant, in the above case study, the firms is faced with a serious dilemma, on one hand there is a predator intent on capitalizing on the firms weakness which in part stem from its tendency to

The Effect of Globalization on Anthropology Essay

The Effect of Globalization on Anthropology - Essay Example This research tells that globalization has been characterized by rapid technological developments (especially in telecommunications and the development of the Internet) that have made it less difficult for people around the world to travel, communicate and conduct business dealings on the global basis. Technology is transforming the world. The market for telecommunications has crossed the $ 1 trillion mark, highlighted by the United States’ $ 150 billion in Latin America. Spurred on by two giant pro-globalization organizations, The World Trade Organization and the World Economic Forum, globalization is becoming a more and more common characteristic of world economics. The effect of Globalization on all areas scrutinized by anthropology, such as lifestyles, religion, language and every other component of culture, has been so profound that, for the very first time in world history, every person in every level of society can observe and experience the strong effect of internation al changes in every walk of life (such as the audio-visual impact of their media, the availability of new and exotic meals, and the revolutionary change in the wide variety of products available for purchase). Perhaps the greatest effect has been the emergence of a global labor pool that is estimated to take in nearly 2 billion workers from developing countries during the next 10 years. Every person in the world today has been touched by globalization – he or she may stand to benefit from it, or may be endangered by it. Globalization does not involve a uniform, even natured characteristic. The U.S, in its role as the â€Å"indispensable nation† in the management of world affairs, and the foremost producer of information products, is the undisputed leader of the globalization process. Some countries (the U.S and Europe) have emerged as bigger players than the others, while poor countries gain very little from it. Globalization demonstrates the Darwinian theory of  "survival of the fittest† whereby powerful countries will survive ‘naturally’ because they are fated to survive, while weak countries are looked upon as undesirable and therefore destined to be separated because of being unable to satisfactorily perform as nation-states.