Kant and Aristotle's Ideas on Morals and Happiness Essay

Kant and Aristotle's Ideas on Morals and Happiness - Essay Example To most of us, there is always a demarcation between the things concerning livelihood and the things concerning our morality.   In fact, most of us agree on the notion that the pursuit of morality often leads to us having to deny our self-happiness.By contrast to these universally accepted views, Aristotle believes that it would be impossible for any man or woman to access true and genuine heartfelt happiness unless the same person is also maintaining the right morals.   Virtue is, therefore, seen as a requirement for happiness.   It is something that is hard to comprehend. One would think that if a person is given sufficient economic power or political power, then the individual could attain happiness without necessarily doing what is accepted as morally right.Kant has a different view of happiness. He believes that it is not possible to have a categorical imperative for happiness.   People are different and they have different personalities. This implies that everybody has his own set of things that make him or her happy. What makes one happy does not necessarily make the other happy. Since knowing the things that make others happy is elusive, Kant believes that we can only use a hypothetical imperative in order to come up with something that will make other people happy (Kant 62).The concept of Aristotle on the morally right is not the same one that most other philosophers have. It is argued that if manners usually teach people good morals, the military will not be using the kind of training they do. There is the biggest concern on who knows who is moral and who is not. There is always the possibility of hypocrisy since outward appearance does not necessarily reflect the internal desires and intentions of a person. Morality is, therefore, thought by others not to be connected in any way to happiness, for instance, Kant (63) argues that morality is all about doing what is accepted in society as the moral thing to do. He believes that morality is all a bout rationalization in order to choose from the right and the wrong in order to end up with a moral decision. Kant further propagates the idea that a moral decision must be consistent with the moral laws and must be done for moral reasons (61).

Community Policing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Community Policing - Essay Example approach it recognizes that crime is a community and not exclusively police problem, so that the effective solutions may be found only in case of the community involvement into the problem solving. It is a long-term process of identifying, analyzing and developing solutions to community problems. Community policing is rather directed at community issues and fear of crime problem than at the actual crime. Besides, crime prevention, the three core components of community policing are community partnership, problem solving and organizational change. They are represented in three major principles: shared responsibility, prevention, increased officer discretion. Shared responsibility means that there is frequent and on-going interaction between the community members and police, built on mutual trust and cooperation. It is recognized that ‘police work is not an isolated activity performed in a social vacuum and even traditional police work, including preventative patrol, rapid respon se, and apprehending offenders, cannot be performed without the regular cooperation of the citizens’ (Bad-Boys Net. 2007). The community members are to be actively involved in crime prevention through timely reporting crimes and organizing volunteer patrol groups. Though traditional arrests are necessary, there are alternative, less traditional ways of effective dealing with crime problem. Currently, these methods are used after the arrest has taken place. Police is to react to all the problems distinguished by the community, demonstrating respect for all residents. An officer is given enough time to get acquainted with the community and participate in community activities. Prevention is directed at diagnosing the problem before the crime has been committed, or analyzing the criminal conditions with the aim of altering them. This presupposes the involvement of police and community, public and non-profit organizations. Increased officer discretion suggests that community polic ing is based

Discrimination and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 Essay Example for Free

Discrimination and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 Essay The South was racially biased for years after the Civil War. The Southern states would create legislation to enact â€Å"Jim Crow† laws upon the black community. Segregation was at its peak in the United States and the black community had been oppressed long enough. Conforming to the segregated South only caused hostility. The government that recognized blacks as members of society ignored them. In fact, the government that could protect the black community from the violence incurred by terrorist groups was often members of the groups themselves. Rebellion was the only and final option. In order for the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to be ratified by Congress, the black community needed to rebel against the â€Å"Jim Crow† laws of the South, the violence invoked by hate organizations, as well as (with assistance from white college students) the hypocrisies of the United States government. Jim Crow became a general term used in the South to refer to the segregation and discrimination laws that affected African-American life. The name originated from â€Å"an 1832 song called Jump Jim Crow by Thomas Rice† (Hillstrom 9). The song may have been named after a slave that Rice knew or from the expression â€Å"black as a crow†. The main purpose of Jim Crow laws was to segregate and disenfranchise the black community. During the Jim Crow era, â€Å"various states passed laws that banned blacks from hospitals, schools, parks, theaters, and restaurants† (Hillstrom 9). In all cases, the facilities marked colored  were noticeably inferior to the whites. Many cities and states would ratify their own specific Jim Crow laws. Some laws such as blacks having to cross the street when a white woman, on the same sidewalk, was walking toward them or â€Å"maintaining a separate building, on separate ground, for the admission, care, instruction, and support of all blind persons of colored or black race† (Bell 4) were absurd. In the summer of 1955, a 14-year-old boy was brutally beaten and killed for allegedly whistling at a white woman. The husband and brother-in-law of the woman were charged with murder but were acquitted of all charges after only sixty minutes of deliberation. In an interview months later, with protection from the Constitutional clause of double jeopardy, both brothers openly admitted, without remorse, to maiming and killing the boy. The quick deliberation and acquittal outraged the country and helped to energize the Civil Rights Movement. The Jim Crow laws were progressively getting worse for the black community. Lawmakers needed to be black, or abolitionists, in order for the laws to change. Rebellion by way of the ballot box was the answer. In The United States, the democratic process is supposed to allow voters a chance to correct social injustices. Citizens within the black community should have the ability to vote black candidates into office. Blacks could elect city council members, mayors, judges, and even state representatives. But in Mississippi the people in power, all of whom were white, denied blacks the opportunity to vote. The white community believed that if blacks achieved the right to vote, they would make up the majority. The black majority would force out the racist whites from power and change the social injustices. Mississippi Senator Eugene Bilbo stated, â€Å"If you let a few (blacks) register to vote this year, next year there will be twice as many, and the first thing you know, the whole thing will be out of hand† (Aretha 20). The black community needed to vote in order to achieve change. Without the right to vote, segregation and the disenfranchisement of African-Americans would cease to change. The southern-white lawmakers created a complicated system to keep African-Americans from voting. â€Å"White local and state officials systematically kept blacks from voting through formal methods, such as poll taxes and literacy tests† (Summer 1964). The literacy test prevented even educated African-Americans from achieving voter registration. The test required voters to â€Å"read and interpret a section of the state constitution to the â€Å"satisfactory† of the registrar† (Aretha 21). This allowed â€Å"white registrars to decide whether or not a person passed. Most blacks, even those with doctoral degrees, failed† (Cozzens 1). Fear was a constant tactic for the racist south. Black applicants â€Å"had to give, under oath, information about his or her address, employment, and family members. This information would then be given to the applicants employer, the KKK, and other organizations† (Let Freedom Ring 149). Having the bravery to rebel against society, by registering to vote, caused many blacks to fear retaliation from the KKK and their employer. In the post-Civil War era many white Southerners resented the changes imposed by the Union. In the years during Reconstruction, terrorist groups sprang up all over the south. The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and the White Citizens Council, â€Å"the uptown Klan†, which was often made up of sheriffs, doctors, lawyers, and even mayors, quickly gain thousands of members across the south. The KKK had four explicit tactics in their war against blacks, â€Å"First was cross burning, second would be the burning and dynamiting of houses and buildings, third was flogging, and the Fourth was extermination† (Watson 143). In 1964, a single Mississippian county had â€Å"37 churches and 30 black homes and businesses were firebombed or burned, and the cases often went unsolved† (Summer 1964). Hate crimes were becoming increasingly common and extremely brutal throughout the South. The black community needed and sought change. After many years of brutality and hatred, many blacks believed they were inferior to whites. To combat the inferiority thought, Bob Moses created â€Å"Freedom Schools† and community centers open to the black community. â€Å"The community centers would offer facilities limited by the Jim Crow system: libraries, arts and crafts, daycare, and literacy classes† (Burner 124). Freedom Schools taught students African-American history and current events. Moses saw the Freedom Schools â€Å"as an opportunity to teach the â€Å"politics of Mississippi† and begin to build a core of educated leadership in the state† (Burner 124). Members of SNCC and CORE believed that rebellion was a necessity, and rebelling with nonviolent methods would allow the nation to see the atrocities inflicted in the south. In order to gain momentum, the black community needed assistance from the federal government and the national media. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) came to the forefront for reform. In 1961, seven blacks and six whites tested the federal law, which called for the desegregation on interstate travel. Called the Freedom Riders, thirteen people â€Å"rode buses into the south, daring the federal government to enforce the law. The Freedom Riders were arrested in North Carolina, beaten by mobs in South Carolina, and saw their buses fire bombed in Alabama† (Watson 24). The thirteen men rode into the south with whites sitting in the back of the bus, the blacks in the front, and would use the same facilities at bus stations as stated by federal law. James Farmer, one of the thirteen riders and the director of CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) stated, â€Å"We felt we could count on the racists of the South to create a crisis so that the federal government would be compelled to enforce the law† (Cozzens 1). The rebellion of the thirteen brave men to ride into the south created the national media attention the activist desperately needed. The national media started to show the country how hypocritical the United States had become. Men of many races fought for their country in a time of war, but came home to a country that was at war within itself. In the early 1960’s, the black community rebelling for equal rights began to capture the attention of Americans across the country. 1964, a presidential election year, was a pivotal time to rebel for the African-American right to vote. For generations the south held a dominant Democratic Party. Rebelling against the injustices set by the â€Å"whites-only† Democratic Party could only be changed by use of the ballot box. Bob Moses, a member of SNCC, decided to send volunteers into Mississippi to register voters. The voter registration drive came to be known as â€Å"Freedom Summer†. Bob Moses outlined the goals of Freedom Summer as to increase black voter registration and to organize a legally constituted â€Å"Freedom Democratic Party† to compete with the whites-only Democratic Party. Moses instructed recruits, â€Å"Don’t come to Mississippi this summer to save the Mississippi Negro. Only come if you understand, really understand, that his freedom and yours are one† (Aretha 41). To achieve the attention of the national media, Moses and other members of SNCC decided to recruit white college students from the north. â€Å"Violence against Northern Whites would at least get Mississippi on the nightly news† (Rachall 173). Children of the dominant social class, rebelling against their parents and the accepted society of the south, in fact attracted national attention. Moses stated, â€Å"These students bring the rest of the country with them. They are from good schools and their parents are influential. The interest of the country is awakened and when that happens, the government responds† (Aretha 30). Rebelling against the hypocrisies of their nation, their parents, and even society, white college students came by the hundreds to volunteer for â€Å"Freedom Summer†. Volunteers went to Oxford, Ohio, currently the campus of Miami University, for a weeklong orientation. Volunteers were not going to be paid and would need to support themselves. They were told to bring money for living expenses, bail, and even medical bills if necessary. The volunteers had to be prepared for death. James Forman, of SNCC, told the volunteers, â€Å"I may be killed, you may be killed, the whole staff may be killed† (Cozzens 3). The students were told that if arrested, go to jail quietly. The authorities would have cause to react violently if volunteers were to resist. The national media and the south would exploit the aggression and discredit the actions of a nonaggressive rebellion. Rebellious college students used Hitler and Mussolini’s ideologies, fascism and the idea of a united master race, as a direct correlation to what was happening to blacks in the South. World War II was only twenty years prior and the Cold War was just beginning. Many Americans still held hostility towards Germany and the idea of racial class distinctions. The spread of communism and Nuclear War were constant backdrops to every evening newscast. If the United States could announce to the world their â€Å"Policy of Containment† then the world should hear about hypocrisy within the United States. The Blacks and volunteers used the memories of the war to prove how fascist ideas were being entertained. Rebelling and protesting would allow the world to see the deceitful ways America. In June 1964 rebellion against hate crimes, voter rights, and the segregation of blacks was underway. A Michigan State student said of their arrival in Mississippi, â€Å"The greyhound bus dropped us off on a residential street, we had no idea where we were. Almost immediately we found ourselves being circled by pickup trucks with rifles and big dogs in the back† (Aretha 47). Jane Adams, Southern Illinois University, stated, â€Å"Mississippi had geared up for war. They saw us as invaders coming in for a complete assault on their way of life. Everybody on both sides expected that there would be a bloodbath. We all expected we could die† (Aretha 47). Two white men and a black man rebelling against southern society were easy targets for police. Two white men, Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman, as well as a black volunteer James Chaney were last seen going to a bombed out church to offer their condolences to the congregation and to offer their assistance with the investigation. The men disappeared after being singled out by the racist authorities. The next day, staff called police when the three men failed to check in at their headquarters. The police, often members of the KKK, often used their authority to invoke fear into both black and white volunteers. KKK pamphlets declared, â€Å"We are now in the midst of the long, hot summer of agitation which was promised to the Innocent People of Mississippi by the savage blacks and their communist masters† (Watson 142). After the disappearance of Schwerner, Goodman, and Chaney, President Johnson and the FBI became involved. The story of the missing, as well as the peaceful rebellion, quickly gained national attention. Two of the men’s skin color became a key factor for the instant media. Rita Shwerner declared, â€Å"We all know that the search with hundreds of sailors is because my husband and Goodman are white. If only Chaney was involved, nothing would have been done† (Rachal 168). The media may have not paid much attention if only a black man went missing. The media told the story of the missing men on nationally televised nightly newscasts and public outcry immediately followed. Finally the south received assistance from the federal government. Lyndon Johnson sent hundreds of men from the military to search for the three men. As the search went on, the Mississippi Governor and a member of the White Citizens Council exclaimed, â€Å"Of course I don’t approve of murder, but those kids were asking for trouble† (Aretha 50). The shot and beaten bodies of the missing men were found after a month. It later surfaced that the local police arrested the three men for speeding. After dark, the police released the men to the KKK. Eighteen men were originally arrested but only a few were convicted and served light sentences. Finally in 2005, 41 years after the murders, Edgar Ray Killen was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to three life sentences, without the possibility of parole, to be served in succession. After the deaths of Schwerner, Goodman, and Chaney was the perfect time for blacks to rebel louder. To achieve the voting rights for the segregated community, the rebellious blacks and whites created a stronger alliance than ever before. By coming together, the black community showed America that the rebellion would not end until equal rights and the ability to vote was achieved. The summer of 1964 became the high water mark for equal rights in America. â€Å"Freedom Summer† along with nonviolent protests across the south lead to the signing of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Voting Rights Act â€Å"prohibits voting practices or procedures that discriminate on the basis of race, color. Discrimination to voting applies nationwide to any voting standard, practice, or procedure that results in the denial of the right of any citizen to vote. Section 2 is permanent and has no expiration date† (Section 2). Rebellion was a necessity to end the disenfranchisement of the African-American community. Rebellion for the black community was not to conform to the racist south, but to consciously do the opposite. Without rebellion and bravery the south may have never changed. Volunteer Bruce Hartford professed, â€Å"We used to say: If you don’t like the history they’re teaching you in school, go out and make some of your own† (Aretha 35).

Competitive advantage and the Dangote Group and MTN Nigeria

Competitive advantage and the Dangote Group and MTN Nigeria The efficiency and effectiveness of any firm is dependent on the activities of other companies, be it a competitor, a supplier of raw materials to the firm or the distributor of its finished goods. In an attempt for a firm to expand its growth and further improve on its performance, it seeks a means of gaining a competitive advantage in the market. As such the firm may want to gain more control of activities that leads to the creation and distribution of its product, delivery of services or the chose to merger with or acquire similar companies so as to curb the threat to which competing firms pose. For the purpose of this research, the study would shed light on the activities of two firms based in Nigeria Dangote Group MTN Nigeria Both companies have impacted greatly on the economy of Nigeria and are leading figures in their respective sectors. These companies have had to employ business Integration methods to further boost the products or services they provide. The primary aim of a firm that chooses to employing vertical, horizontal or conglomerate integration is for the company to grow and gain market power thereby increasing its market share and/or product and service range. The research will explore Integration, the types of integration. It will also provide insight into how the firms were able to exploit the various integration methods furthermore the benefits of integration to the firms and the disadvantages of employing these forms of organising production. Before analysing the various forms of integration adopted by both companies, the work will offer a proper understanding of the following What is Vertical Integration? What is Horizontal Integration? What is Conglomerate Integration? Vertical Integration Vertical integration can be referred to as the process by which a company or firm takes control of the activities that influence the production and/or distribution of its goods and services. This to gain more control of the activities related to production and distribution of company goods, for strategic reasons and also to cut cost by owning the sources to which it relies on for raw materials, intermediate or complimentary goods. At the completion of a product, the distribution of these finished goods to the final consumer in the most efficient and efficient manner is crucial to the company, the company can either delivers the goods to middlemen or retail outlet, it can also rely on the distribution companies such as Inter-Distribution Company in Nigeria. The control of activities for which a company relies on for the completion of its product or service is referred to as backward (upstream) integration, this means that the company tries to gain control of the services provided by its suppliers; these could be raw materials, intermediate goods and complimentary goods. An example of backward integration is when a company that manufactures Chocolate decides to start growing Cocoa. When a company takes control of close to sale post-production activities such as distribution, it is referred to as forward (downstream) integration. An example of this is how the Coca Cola Company distributes its products to numerous outlets. The firm can also opt to engage both backward and forward integration, this is referred to as balanced integration. Horizontal integration Horizontal integration can be referred to as an expansion of a firm either by the act merging or acquiring a business or businesses in the same industry that produce similar products and/or provide similar services. It is a course of action that allows companies that are competitors of the same products or services to come together as one, thereby broadening its activities, scope and market size. An example is the recent consolidation exercise that took place in the Nigerian Banking Industry, which saw Banks being acquired or merging with another Bank in trying to meet up with the N25 billion Naira minimum capital base set by the Central bank of Nigeria. Horizontal Integration can result in a company producing different varieties of the same product or different products that meet the same demand. Horizontal Integration is not without its setbacks, this will be analysed proper with particular reference to MTN Nigeria. Conglomerate Integration Conglomerate Integration can be referred as the coming together of diverse businesses to form as one, providing a wide range of services to different market segments. The businesses that come together are not rivals, as they do not produce the same goods or render similar services. This is in an attempt to create a solid corporate body that is able to reach out into different markets. DANGOTE GROUP The company started as a small cement trading business in 1981 and later diversified into a conglomerate with businesses located in Nigeria, Benin, Ghana and Togo. It is currently engaged in the activities listed below Sugar Manufacturing Refining, Packaging and Distribution Salt Refining, Packaging and Distribution Cement Manufacturing/ Importing, Packing and Distribution Noodles Manufacturing and Distribution Flour Milling, Packaging and Distribution Poly Products Manufacturing Pasta Manufacturing and Distribution Real Estate Logistics Port Management Logistics Haulage Dangote Group in itself is a conglomerate and it has employed the various forms of integration, a relationship exists between these businesses. It should be noted that figures quoted about Dangote Group are related only to their activities within Nigeria and were sourced from the information the firm made available to the public. DANGOTE CEMENT PLC Dangote Cement Plc (DCP) is made up of a combination of six cement terminals and three plants, including the widely publicized Obajana Cement plant, which is the largest cement plant is the sub-Saharan Africa. The company recently merged with Benue Cement Company (BCC), in previous years, the Dangote Cement Plc (DCP) owned shares in Benue Cement Company (BCC). The coming together of these two companies is a horizontal Integration. Cement is produced and imported in trying to meet demand, the transportation of these materials from the sea port to factories and distribution of finished goods is carried out by a company called Dangote Transport (DanTrans). The haulage business is run by Dangote Group and it provides freight services with a fleet of over 5,000 trucks. By controlling the movement of materials and finished goods, the firm has employed vertical integration. It has expanded in a way that it now controls downstream activities. This is also referred to as forward integration. The merger of Dangote Cement Plc and Benue Cement Company has presented enormous benefits. The merger has streamlined the management of both companies, giving the newly merged companies positional advantage which will in turn give the company the power to act effectively, thereby leading to a positive operational and administrative economies of scale. The merger will increase the production capacity, as the company will see its production capacity increase to 20 million metric tonnes annually. Obajana plant alone currently has an annual production capacity of 5.2 million metric tonnes which will increase product capacity by 5 million metric tonnes at the end of the first half of 2011. Benue Cement Company currently produces 3 million metric tonnes and is also expected to increase to four million metric tonnes by the end of 2011. The increase in capacity is made possible because the coming together of the two companies has led to better access to financing. Nigeria cement production is below demand, that is why Dangote Cement Company imports cement, so as to meet demand. A rise in production will see the companys dependence on import reduce which will in turn lead to an increase in turnover, this means that shareholders will reap greater dividend and also gain in share value. The merger will lead to greater operational integration between the two companies, because they will be able to share facilities, inventory and other resources. This is referred to as Synergies. Benue Cement Company will be able to benefit from the superior production technology of DCP and this will significantly reduce the cost of operation. As the company production increases, more profit is made. In line with the companys ambition to expand it will create more jobs, as there will be an increase in the demand for manpower. Dangote Cement Company is the highest producer in the country, it is not without competition. One of its core competitors is the Ashaka Cement Company located mainly in the northern region of the country. With regards to the threat posed by rival companies, the merger will further strengthen the company giving it a wider geographical advantage by the size of its market share. DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc manufactures Sugar and has its refinery located in lagos, Nigeria. It started production in 2000 and currently has an annual production capacity of 1.4 million metric tonnes. Its production capacity is currently being increased to 2.5 metric tonnes a year which will make it the largest sugar refinery in the world. Dangote Group operates a Sugarcane farming, processing and refining plant called Savannah Sugar Company Limited (SSCL) located in Adamawa, Nigeria. This company was established by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 1997 and was acquired by Dangote Group in 2003. Savannah Sugar Company Limited has a current production capacity of 50,000 metric tonnes per annum as such Dangote Sugar Refinery partly relies on the importation of raw sugar from Brazil, it intends to further reduce that dependency with its recent projection of cultivating 18,000 hectares a year, with approximately of 50,000 employees on board at the end of 2010 which will see raw material production increase to 200,000 metric tonnes annually The sugar cane farm is a backward integration supplying raw material to the sugar refinery, and the sugar refinery in itself is also a backward integration. This is because it supplies Dangote beverages (Dansa Food Ltd) with sugar. The company has two categories of customers Super industrial users who are largely blue chip Nigerian companies which account for about 18 per cent of its sales revenue. These include Nestle Nigeria Plc, Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Seven-Up Bottling Company Plc and Nigerian Bottling Company Plc (NBC). The other group is the distributors who service the retail end of the market (i.e. household and micro industrial users). This group trades in wholesale white sugar and are responsible for near 82 per cent of Dangote Sugars sales revenue. Dangote Sugar Plc also enjoys the services of Dangote Transport (DanTrans) for movement of its raw materials and finished goods, this phase of vertical integration touches both forward and backward integration. Some of the benefit s of integration enjoyed by the Dangote Sugar Plc are listed below Growing Sugar has substantially given Dangote Sugar Plc more control over the source of its raw materials, thereby reducing its reliance on importation. Sugar farming has also reduced the general cost of production, this is because internally sourcing for raw materials does not match the cost of purchasing them from suppliers whose choice of profit can affect the company negatively and it does not attract extra charges that come with importation of raw materials. By adopting the services provided by DanTrans, there is better coordination of company activities and also a reduction in the cost of transportation. Dangote Flour Mills Plc Dangote Flour Mills Plc comprises of 3 factories located in Lagos, Kano and Kwara State with a combined production output of 2.7 million metric tonnes a year. The company imports wheat from the US and some of its products are semolina and flour. Dangote Group has two companies that are heavily dependent on the flour mills company, they are the Dangote Pasta Limited and Dangote Noodles Limited. These two companies rely on the flour mills for raw materials; the form of production adopted here is vertical integration which sees the both companies source for its raw materials from within. Dangote Pasta Limited and Dangote Noodles Limited also share various benefits mentioned earlier about other companies which are Lower cost of acquiring raw materials Better coordination of company activities Dangote Agro Sacks Limited A variety of Dangote Products like cement, salt, flour and sugar needs to be packaged before they are distributed, because of the large volume of sacks that will be needed for this purpose, Dangote Group introduced Dangote Agro Sacks Limited. The company produces polypropylene bags primarily for internal use, and is able to produce 500 million 50kg sacks a year. Agro sacks are able to meet the total packaging demand of Dangote Group. By vertically integrating the activities of Dangote Group, it saves the company millions of naira. Dangote Transportation Limited (DanTrans) With a total of 5,000 trucks, DanTrans is able to meet the transportation needs of Dangote group. These activities range from the transportation of bulk cement from terminals, distribution of finished goods like noodle, cement, beverages, sugar, salt and many others; and also the movement of raw materials to factories for processing. Movement of raw materials to factories are not a close to sale activity, therefore it is regarded as backward integration The distributions of finished goods are downstream activities referred to as forward integration, both are forms of vertical integration. Disadvantages The application of the various integration methods in company activities are not without their shortcomings. Trust Issues: The merger was put on hold for several years as properties of Benue Cement Company were vandalized and set ablaze by protesting workers who saw the merger from a religious and regional perspective. Judging that the Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote is a muslim from the northern part of Nigeria and Benue Cement Company is located in Benue State, with a predominantly Christian population in the Central part of Nigeria. A repeat of such an act will have a negative effect on the companys profit and growth forecast. Emergence of monopoly: The merger of Dangote Cement which is an already sound company with Benue Cement Company will put rival companies at risk of losing their share of the market. This is because competing companies will be restricted by their size, technology and borrowing power, this can lead to the emergence of a monopoly. Vertical Integration is Limited: Though Dangote Group has gained so much control of related inter-company activities, it is still dependant on other companies for materials, an example is Doy Packs Limited which packages Dansa Products. Sustenance: The introduction of new activities poses the question as to whether these companies can be sustained. The larger a company is, the more complex it is to manage. With particular reference to Dangote Flour Mills which also sells flour to consumers through middlemen. In trying to compete with other flour products which have established themselves in the market, Dangote Flour Mills give out goods on credit to middlemen with the hope that when the goods are sold, the middlemen will hold on to their profits and pay for the purchase. This is not the case because many middlemen refuse to pay up even after the goods have been sold, a recent attempt to involve the police in debt recovery has seen middlemen threaten to shift to rival products. Little or no competition: Some companies like Dangote Agro Sacks, which manufactures company sacks and DanTrans, which transports finished goods and raw materials primarily exist to satisfy company needs, as such these companies are less efficient in the areas of innovation and management as a result of the lack of competition. This can be seen in the behaviour of DanTrans truck driver who have continued to give Dangote Group a bad image in the eyes of the public by the manner in which the drive. They have been said to be responsible for accidents that have caused the loss of lives, this has resulted in the burning down of 3 DanTrans Trucks by angry sympathisers along lokoja road, Nigeria this year. Additional Expenses: The merger of the two cement companies will see the companies incur higher expense at Annual General Meetings, Board of Directors and Communication with Shareholders MTN NIGERIA MTN Nigeria is a Telecommunication company which got its license in 2001, it is a part of MTN Group. The company has a heavily rooted presence in Nigeria with an estimated 35 million subscribers and offers a wide range of products and services which include voice communication services, video calling, internet services, street cam service and tracking services. MTN Nigeria has made tremendous investments in Nigeria by rooting telecommunication infrastructure in all 36 states of Nigeria, the transmission has reached over 10,000 villages and over 223 cities. Any company which wishes to succeed aspires to grow, the telecommunication industry has been subject to stiff competition as there are other major players like Glo Nigeria, Etisalat, and Zain Nigeria. In trying to gain competitive advantage in the market, MTN Nigeria horizontally integrated by acquiring VGC Communications for 70 million US Dollars. VGC Communications also provided Telecom services such as fixed line and internet services but it was a relatively smaller company which had a little over 20,000 customers. It is a company that was unheard of in many parts of the country and had only established itself solidly in Lagos state. What used to be known as VGC communications is now known as MTN Hyconnect. MTN Hyconnect now provides broadband internet services and landline services, this is with the aim of tackling the poor internet speed that has plagued the country and also to provide voice services. This act of horizontal integration is targeted at homes, offices, small and me dium enterprises; this acquisition has provided MTN Nigeria with some benefits Cost Savings: Though MTN Nigeria paid $70 million to acquire VGC communications, it has benefited by the already existing structures, the goodwill the company had and also the existing customers. It has been able to save the time and money that would have been needed to start a company from scratch. Economies of Scale: MTN Nigeria has been able to provide similar services to a new range of customers by acquiring VGC Communications. By this geographical expansion it has grown in the number of its customers and the type of services it provides. Competitive Advantage: Once again MTN Nigeria has proven to be a pioneer in the Telecommunication industry as rival companies have continued their competitive onslaught by brings out competing tariff packages and lowering call cost. This brilliant move has seen MTN Nigeria venture into a terrain with lots of opportunities to be exploited. Diversification: By the acquisition MTN Nigeria has ventured into another aspect of telecommunication which is fixed network, this has seen the emergence of a new market with the telecommunication industry. Better access to financing: MTN Hyconnect has grown signifacantly in recent years, tthis is because the company now has access to more funds and has been able to grow ever since, MTN Hyconnect now exists in 3 other places which are Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Ibadan. It has not been a situation of smooth sailing all through, as the following disadvantages have emerged from the acquisition Restricted Growth: MTN Hyconnect is still trying to establish a strong footing, this is because companies like Starcomms provide similar services at relatively lower rates. The continues decline in the general standard of living has also seen homes embrace these services at a slower rate as some will see it as a luxury. Takeover of smaller companies: Acquisition of smaller companies has seen these companies vanish, thereby limiting the choices consumers have and also reduces competition in the industry. Another disadvantage faced by MTN Hyconnect is that, it was a small company at the point of acquisition and has left MTN Nigeria with the giant task of reaching out to the whole country, so far, it exist in 3 states and the federal capital, Abuja. For Hyconnect to succeed, it will require large sums and also a lengthy period of time. Summary Vertical, Horizontal and Conglomerate Integration are different forms of organising production which involves a company gain control of the activities of suppliers and distributors, acquiring or merging with companies that offer similar goods and services, and companies that offer totally different goods and services respectively. Dangote Group is made up of different companies that manufacture cement, salt, sugar, sacks, noodles, flour, beverages and over transport services for company use. It has adopted horizontal integration by merging with Benue Cement Company and has employed vertical integration by producing company sacks, transporting the firms raw materials and finished goods, growing sugar cane for the sugar factory, and sourcing flour for the production of noodles and pasta. With integration, Dangote Group has benefited from economies of scale, saved cost, gain more control of related company activities and has as gained a competitive edge. The application of vertical and horizontal integration has brought forward issues of coordinating larger company activities, incurring additional expense, trust issues, reduced competition in the industry and the fear of an emergence of a monopoly. MTN Nigeria provides telecommunication services ranging from voice communication services, internet services to tracking services. The bid to gain competitive edge has seen the company acquire VGC Communication, a fixed network provider which is now called Hyconnect. The acquisition which has seen MTN Nigeria diversify within the same industry has reaped competitive advantage, growth, cost savings, and the economies of scale that comes with a merger or acquisition. Hyconnect has not fully gain footing because of the activities competing companies and the general standard of living, acquisition has seen smaller companies fade away giving consumers lesser choices. Conclusion Adopting the various forms of organising production has seen the companies grow tremendous, it should also be noted that this has positively affects on the GDP of Nigeria. The fear of the emergence of a monopoly is evident, yet this has further strengthened the positioning of Dangote Group and MTN Nigeria in a very unstable economy.

Dmitri Shostakovich Essay -- Musicians

Dmitri Shostakovich was born in St. Petersburg, Russian on September 25, 1906. He was the second child of Dmitry Boleslavovich and Sof†²ya Vasil†²yevna and he had two siblings. At the age of nine, Shostakovich took a piano lesson and discovered that he was musically gifted. When he was twelve years old, he composed a funeral march to honor Kadet Party leaders that Bolsheviks murdered, in 1918. Shostakovich stared to take classes at the Petrograd Conservatory in 1919. However, he did not do well in most of them, but he did extremely well in the artistic classes. Shostakovich composed â€Å"1st Symphony† and premiered it in 1926. Shostakovich worked as a concert pianist after he graduated to earn some money. He also composed at the same time. At the Warsaw International Piano Competition in 1927, Shostakovich met Bruno Walter, a conductor. He liked Shostakovich’s works and he said that he will conduct Shostakovich’s â€Å"1st Symphony† in Berlin. Shostakovich completed his â€Å"2nd Symphony† in 1927, and he started to work on the music for the opera â€Å"The Nose†. When the opera premiered in 1930, the opera did not do well and received many terrible reviews from the audience. Because of this opera, Shostakovich’s â€Å"3rd Symphony† was not perceived well Shostakovich married his first wife, Nina Varzar, in 1932. In 1935, they were separated when Shostakovich had an affair with Yelena Konstantinovskaya. They were later reunited and the born of their first child strengthen their relationship. Shostakovich worked on the opera â€Å"Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District† while he worked at Leningrad Theatre of Young Workers, known as TRAM in Russian acronym, in the early 1930s. When the opera premiered in 1934, the opera were successful. He was praised â€Å"it co... ... and emotions of the characters, and it created the atmosphere for the films, just like how his â€Å"5th Symphony† was able to captured people’s emotions when they lost many people that they know in mass execution. Works Cited "Classical Net Review - Shostakovich - King Lear." Classical Net. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. . David Fanning and Laurel Fay. "Shostakovich, Dmitry." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. 1 Apr. 2012. "Dmitry Shostakovich." AllMusic. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. . "Hamlet." IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. . "King Lear." IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. .

Cartel Theory of Oligopoly Essay

A cartel is defined as a group of firms that gets together to make output and price decisions. The conditions that give rise to an oligopolistic market are also conducive to the formation of a cartel; in particular, cartels tend to arise in markets where there are few firms and each firm has a significant share of the market. In the U.S., cartels are illegal; however, internationally, there are no restrictions on cartel formation. The organization of petroleum-exporting countries (OPEC) is perhaps the best-known example of an international cartel; OPEC members meet regularly to decide how much oil each member of the cartel will be allowed to produce. Oligopolistic firms join a cartel to increase their market power, and members work together to determine jointly the level of output that each member will produce and/or the price that each member will charge. By working together, the cartel members are able to behave like a monopolist. For example, if each firm in an oligopoly sells an undifferentiated product like oil, the demand curve that each firm faces will be horizontal at the market price. If, however, the oil-producing firms form a cartel like OPEC to determine their output and price, they will jointly face a downward-sloping market demand curve, just like a monopolist. In fact, the cartel’s profit-maximizing decision is the same as that of a monopolist, as Figure 1 reveals. The cartel members choose their combined output at the level where their combined marginal revenue equals their combined marginal cost. The cartel price is determined by market demand curve at the level of output chosen by the cartel. The cartel’s profits are equal to the area of the rectangular box labeled abcd in Figure 1 . Note that a cartel, like a monopolist, will choose to produce less output and charge a higher price than would be found in a perfectly competitive market. Once established, cartels are difficult to maintain. The problem is that cartel members will be tempted to cheat on their agreement to limit production. By producing more output than it has agreed to produce, a cartel member can increase its share of the cartel’s profits. Hence, there is a built-in incentive for each cartel member to cheat. Of course, if all members cheated, the cartel would cease to earn monopoly profits, and there would no longer be any incentive for firms to remain in the cartel. The cheating problem has plagued the OPEC cartel as well as other cartels and perhaps explains why so few cartels exist.

Magazine Advertisment Essay

Advertisements are everywhere on TV, the internet, movies, magazines, etc. They are there to get people to buy whatever it is that they are advertising. They do it with color, models, and tricky words. In this case my magazine advertised a lip balm called â€Å"Baby Lips†. This advertisement says that you can, â€Å"kiss dull lip balms goodbye and instead have baby lips† making it so that woman get interested into buying this product because you will have baby lips. The colors that are being used in my advertisement are grey, black, bright orange, and white. What is being suggested in this advertisement is that you should wear the lip balm shown in the magazine because it will give you baby lips. In the article the picture is of a pretty woman whose whole face is grey, except her lips. The rest of the article is in very light colors making it so that the lip balm and the models lips are the two things stand out the most. Both of them are in a bright orange color that makes them stand out more than anything else in the picture. Also in my advertisement there is a model, she is a female, although you can’t see all her body and just her face you can tell that she is pretty just by the way her eyelashes and eyebrows are done. The expression on her face is as if the woman is going to give someone a kiss. She has her eyes closed but she looks like if she’s in the mood of kissing someone and feels good about that. All these little details are made to imply that with this lip balm everyone will want to get kissed by your baby lips. In the picture there is also a before and after picture of someone’s lips but you can’t really tell the difference. Words are a big help in advertising. The words call the reader’s attention and also can sometimes fool the buyer. In my ad it says â€Å"In one week your lips will be visibly renewed.† Although it says that, there is no given proof of it. They don’t provide us with a survey of people or percentage of people who says that. Also the word baby lip is in bright orange to get the viewers attention because it stands out who wouldn’t want baby lips right? There is also a small caption next to the bright orange lip balm that says that it’s an exclusive lip renew formula. Furthermore the model is saying that she wants a clinical strength care with a kick of color to get woman to buy it because not only does it help you care for your lips but it also gives you some color. The intended audience for the lip balm is young woman or any type of woman who want to get baby looking lips and wants to stand out at the same time. The woman who are interested in this lip balm are probably the ones who are looking for non dull lips and instead interested in lips that are more moisturized and lips that stand out. Lastly, advertising helps buyers learn more about the product but it also tricks buyers into buying stuff that most of the time doesn’t work.