Happy Father’s Day!

Hello everybody! karebear22 is here to give another opinion on another statement my SOSE teacher has asked of us. The statement is: ‘Free Topic’ So I chose to do it on Father’s Day!!!

        

 

 So what is Father’s Day? Well here’s a quick definition of it-

• a day of the year on which fathers are particularly honoured by their children. It was first observed in the state of Washington in 1910; in the US, South Africa, and Britain, it is usually the third Sunday in June, in Australia, the first Sunday in September.

Okay lets get a quick history brief on the origins of Father’s Day-

Some scholars suggest that Father’s Day history is much older than we believe it to be, the custom of honouring our dad’s on a special day is over 4,000 yrs old. Scholars claim that this tradition can be traced back to the ruins of Babylon. Scholars recorded a young boy named Elmesu, carved a Father’s Day message on the back of card made out of clay nearly 4,000 yrs old. Elmesu wished his father good health and long life. Though there is no record of what happened to Elmesu and his father, but the tradition of celebrating Father’s Day remained in several countries.

Other Theories of Fathers Day Origin

• There are several theories behind the origination of Father’s Day.
• Some believe that the first Fathers Day church service was held in West Virginia in 1908.
• Others opine that the ceremony was first held in Vancouver, Washington.
• The president of Lions’ Club, Chicago, Harry Meek is said to have celebrated the first Father’s Day with his organization in 1915 to stress on the need to honor fathers. He selected third Sunday in June for celebration, the closest date to Meek’s own birthday. In appreciation for Meek’s work, the Lions Clubs of America presented him with a gold watch, with the inscription “Originator of Father’s Day,” on his birthday, June 20, 1920.
• Some historians honor Mrs. Charles Clayton of West Virginia, as the Founder of Father’s Day.
• In 1957, Senator Margaret Chase Smith wrote Congress that, “Either we honor both our parents, mother and father, or let us desist from honoring either one. But to single out just one of our two parents and omit the other is the most grievous insult imaginable.”
• In countries where Catholic Church holds greater influence Father’s Day is celebrated on St. Joseph’s Day (March 19).

Present Day Celebrations
Father’s Day Festival has gained amazing popularity over the years. The festival is considered to be a secular one and is celebrated not just in US but in a large number of countries around the world including Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Norway and India though on different dates. World over people take Father’s Day as an opportunity to thank father and pay tribute to them. On this day children present Father’s Day Cards not just to their dads but also grandfathers, uncles, stepfathers or any other person who commands the position of a father in their life. There is also a trend to present Father’s Day to dad, most popular of all being  necktie. Other popular gift being roses, the official Father’s Day flower. Many people rue that the trend of presenting gifts to fathers has led to over commercialization of the festival relegating the noble idea behind Father’s Day celebration.

So I hope this gives you an insight into Father’s Day!

I hope everyone has a great day spending their day with their dads or male relatives. It’s always nice to say thank you to them everyday, but I think saying thank you to them today is just extra special. Have fun and do something great for your dad today, it can be big or small or both- as long as you and your dad enjoyed today. Share the love guys ❤ ❤ <3, HAPPY FATHER’S DAY TO ALL THE DAD’S OUT THERE!

                                                

Glote of the day– “My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.” –Jim Valvano

 karebear22 out!

 

The Australian Economy

Hey there karebear22 is here! Okay for this post our teacher wanted us to comment on the statement: “How is Australia’s economy doing?” So for this I looked through the previous work sheets and online, to help answer the statement. 

So here is what I found:

Economy- 

• the state of a country or region in terms of the production and consumption of goods and services and the supply of money.

Australian Economy- 

• AUSTRALIA’S economy can boast more than two decades of uninterrupted annual growth, low inflation and low unemployment. This is largely thanks to structural reforms made in the early 1980s and strong demand from Asia, particularly China, for the country’s mineral and energy resources.

   

  So, to see how Australia’s economy is fairing we need to look at three factors: Inflation, Unemployment and Economic Growth.

   

  Inflation- A persistent and appreciable rise in the general level of prices. Inflation is applied to price increases that occurs across time, and across a range of goods. The inflation rate in Australia was recorded at 3% in the second quarter of 2014. Inflation Rate in Australia averaged 5.23%from 1951 until 2014, reaching an all time high of 23.90% in the fourth quarter of 1951 and a record low of -1.30% in the second quarter of 1962. Inflation Rate in Australia is reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistic- collected from: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/australia/inflation-cpi

   

  Unemployment- Occurs when people who are willing and able to work cannot find a job. Unemployment Rate in Australia increased 6.4 percent in July of 2014 from 6.00% in June of 2014. Unemployment Rate in Australia averaged 6.92% from 1978 until 2014, reaching an all time high of 10.90% in December of 1992 and a record low of 4% in February of 2008. Unemployment Rate in Australia is reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistic. -collected from: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/australia/unemployment-rate 

   

  Economic Growth- Increasing capacity of an economy to satisfy the wants and needs of its population. Determines the future opportunity set of the population. Economic growth also provides jobs for the increasing population/ future children and achieves a higher standard of living and material terms. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Australia expanded 0.50% in the second quarter of 2014 over the previous quarter. GDP Growth Rate in Australia averaged 0.88% from 1959 until 2013, reaching an all time high of 4.50% in the first quarter of 1976 and a record low of -2%in the second quarter of 1974. GDP Growth Rate in Australia is reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistic. -collected from: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/australia/gdp-growth

  So what I’ve collected and have seen, Australia is doing alright in some parts of the sectors. Although we are not on the target, we’re relatively close to it. In all I think Australia is doing fine and that we’d be able to move forward, keeping in mind the decisions we make and how that impacts on our economy.

   

  Glote of the day- “Australia’s economy should be held up as an example of good management….” – Former Special Adviser of US President Barack Obama

   

  karebear22 out!
   

Globalisation Benefiting Consumers!

 

Hello everybody karebear22 is here! So for this weeks blog post our teacher wanted us to comment on this statement: “The benefit of globalisation for consumers”

So I went over my past blogs that I had posted and use the knowledge I collected there, to answer the statement above. Okay since that is done lets do this!

To refresh your minds’ as well as mine lets look back at these 3 simple words: GLOBALISATION, BENEFITS & CONSUMERS.

Globalisation- The process by which businesses or other organizations develop international influence or start operating on an international scale. Globalization is the freer movement of goods, services investment, ideas and people around the world. It can also be thought of as a removal of barriers – a way to communicate and progress.

     

Benefits- An advantage or profit gained from something, something that improves or promotes, something that is advantageous or good (an advantage).

Consumer- An individual who buys products or services for personal use and not for manufacture or resale. A consumer is someone who can make the decision whether or not to purchase an item at the store, and someone who can be influenced by marketing and advertisements. Any time someone goes to a store and purchases a toy, shirt, beverage, or anything else, they are making that decision as a consumer.

Okay so I hope that had channelled some memory somewhere in your brain, (if not, why weren’t you listening, have I been talking to a G-D wall!!!)

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So if you hadn’t notice globalisation is the key ingredient here (metaphor I know, I’m reminiscing of English today we had poems going on ^__^), without this ingredient we wouldn’t be able to make our yum vanilla cake (benefits for the consumer xD). Hence the title of my post as well as the statement I have to answer!!

 

So all you wonderful CONSUMERS are in luck! I can give you an insight of how globalisation benefits you as a consumer!

BENEFITS OF GLOBALISATION-

Consumers now have a diverse purchasing choice thanks to GLOBALISATION movement. The internet has contributed to purchasing choices, as consumers have the opportunity to surf the web in the comfort of their own home (products available from all over the world). Globalisation has changed consumer’s buying behaviour in a new advantageous way, than ever before.

In a consumer-driven economy, people vote with their dollars. The level of U.S. imports is testimony to the consumers’ acceptance of foreign-made goods. While many consumers give lip service to the desire to buy American-made products, most do not. Some consumers express concern about the working conditions of overseas workers. The fair trade movement is the result; fair trade items are produced by workers who receive larger and fairer compensation for what they produce. The internet, of course, is one of the driving forces of globalization. Consumers can bypass the local merchant and search the world to find the products the desire.

*paragraph above is not mine I used it as a reference for this post, the information belongs to the rightful owner.*

1. Cheaper Prices– Consumers can find products at cheaper prices, whether it be online or in stores.
2. Purchase Internationally- Consumers can now by products that are not available to them with their country.
3. Variety- Consumers have the opportunity to buy a range of products, they are not limited to one type of brand.
4. Quality at cheaper $$$- Searching in the right place and the right time, consumers can find the same quality product for an inexpensive price (esp. Boxing Day).
5. Competition- Stores (online/ not online I couldn’t find the word I needed sorry.) compete for you (your $$$) to buy their products at lower prices. Example: Bunnings- If you happen to find a cheaper price on a stocked item we’ll beat it by 10%, Coles- Down, down, prices are down.
6. $aving Your Money- Consumers don’t have to worry about saving their money on things they need or want, as they can find products for low prices practically anywhere. Now you can get out there and buy those new shoes you always wanted!
7. Happy Costumer= Happy Bu$ine$$- Satisfying the needs and wants of costumers ensures that businesses are able to sell you products you love at even greater lower prices.

These are just some of the ways that globalisation has benefited consumers all over the world. If you’d like some more info you can look at the posts of my fellow classmates, as they too have knowledge of this topic as well (don’t be shy go see!).

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I’m not sure if this would be a part of benefiting costumers (I’m pretty sure it is) but there is this craze going on in America called: Extreme Couponing. This show airs on Foxtel channel Discovery Home & Health its such an amazing show and it uses CHEAPER PRICE$ to its ADVANTAGE. This show follows lives of everyday people who have this obsession (no offence, I don’t mean it in a bad way) with couponing and purchasing 1000+ products and paying at least below $100.00.

My sisters and I watch with interesting eyes at how these people are able to purchase so many products and paying less. This show is only devoted to purchasing food products as they are able to obtain coupons for food, however I do not doubt you can do it for other things. And let me tell you it is not easy as it sounds, E. Couponers take a lot of thought, care and preparation into buying bulk on their next shopping trip. Such as: sorting out coupons into categories, what supermarket there from, how much you can purchase from the particular coupon, when and what time does the coupon expire, calculating all the cost of the product to buy and be exact with the amount of the whole total, subtracting that with the coupons and leaving the final amount to pay (that being a very price).

These people do it for numerous reasons such as: buying bulk for their family, groceries going to help food banks, help out their communities (mini mart but they give them away for free), help support their kid’s sport teams and some just love Extreme Couponing. They get to the shop early with their families, clear out the shelves (sometimes), they make sure to get the exact amount needed, they get to the check out with numerous amounts of trolleys with mountain loads of products and they wait for the final total. Then they use all the coupons to slash all the prices to the lowest amount they get, in the end they’re all successful on their shopping trip. It takes them the whole day but they have an endless supply of products at their fingertips whenever they need it.

Its just AMAZING to see how people are so clever to use these small discount vouchers to buy goods they want/need. From watching the show I’m always eager to go and do E.Couponing but, too bad it is not as huge in Australia than it is in America. My family and I would save so much money on necessities and be able to save or buy other goods with that money. In my opinion I believe this show has the true essence of a very beneficial factor for consumers, CHEAPER PRICES as consumers are able to buy, buy and save, save, save!!! If you haven’t seen the show I recommend all to watch on t.v all online!!

Glote of the night- Globalization is simply opening the free marketplace to encompass the entire world. -P.J. O’Rourke

Okay so that wraps up this weeks blog post, hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Have fun at work or school 🙂

karebear22 out!

 

The Impact of M.N.C

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Okay for this weeks (hahah I mean last week’s statement, sorry Ms.F for being very late -__-‘).

So our teacher wanted the class to comment on this statement:

“The impact of multinational corporations”

I thought about the statement above and I split the sentence into half: The impact of / multinational corporations. Well the impact- a marked effect or influence something has on an object, place or thing, multinational corporation- multiple corporations/companies servicing worldwide. So that is my final opinion- the influence multinational corporations have on our society or be whatever it has an effect on.

I surfed around and this is what I found:

multinational corporation

      1.

• The multinational corporation is a business organ- ization whose activities are located in more than two countries and is the organizational form that defines foreign direct investment.

• Multinational Corporations – Columbia Business School

  https://www0.gsb.columbia.edu/…/Chapter_in_smelser-Baltes_2001.pdf

  Multinational Corporation – MNC

   A A A

   

   

  2. Definition of ‘Multinational Corporation – MNC’ A corporation that has its facilities and other assets in at least one country other than its home country. Such companies have offices and/or factories in different countries and usually have a centralized head office where they co-ordinate global management. Very large multinationals have budgets that exceed those of many small countries. Sometimes referred to as a “transnational corporation”.

   Okay so I have here to definitions 1. being a quick summarised definition and 2. a more in- depth look into the whole idea Multinational Corporation aka M.N.C.

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  IMPORTANT! I wasn’t able to upload any images (I don’t know why), so you’ll just have to visualise the brands. I’m really sorry 😦

  Since our world has become highly developed with technology, we have also developed homebound companies into M.N.C. Below is a list of M.N.Cs:

  Allianz-

  German multinational financial services company headquartered in Munich. Its core business and focus is insurance. As of 2013, it was the world’s largest insurance company, the 11th-largest financial services group and 25th-largest company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine, as well as the largest financial services company when measured by 2012 revenue.

  Baskin- Robbins-

  The company is known for its “31 flavours” slogan, with the idea that a customer could have a different flavour every day of any month. The slogan came from the Carson-Roberts advertising agency (which later merged into Oglivly & Mather) in 1953. Baskin and Robbins believed that people should be able to sample flavours until they found one they wanted to buy, hence their famous small pink spoons. The company has introduced more than 1,000 flavours since 1945^]

   

   

  Billabong-

  Billabong International Limited is primarily a clothing company that also produces accessories and skateboard products under other brand names. Founded in 1973 by Gordon and Rena Merchant, the company first traded on the Australian Securities Exchange on 11 August 2000. The name “billabong” is derived from the Wiradjuri word “bilabaŋ” that refers to a “creek that runs only during the rainy season”.^[

   

  Caterpillar-

  Caterpillar Inc., is an American corporation which designs, manufactures, markets and sells machinery and engines and sells financial products and insurance to customers via a worldwide dealer network. Caterpillar is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives.With more than US$89 billion in assets, Caterpillar was ranked number one in its industry and number 44 overall in the 2009 Fortune 500.

   

  Coca-Cola-

  Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines throughout the world. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke (a registered trademark of The Coca-Cola Company in the United States since March 27, 1944). Originally intended as a patent medicine when it was invented in the late 19th century by John Pemberton Coca-Cola was bought out by businessman Asa Griggs Candler, whose marketing tactics led Coke to its dominance of the world soft-drink market throughout the 20th century.

  Facebook-

  Facebook is an online social networking service headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Its name comes from a colloquialism for the directory given to students at some American universities. Facebook was founded on February 4, 2004, by Mark Zuckerberg with his college roommates and fellow Harvard University students Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes. The founders had initially limited the website’s membership to Harvard students, but later expanded it to colleges in the Boston area, the Ivy League, and Stanford University. It gradually added support for students at various other universities and later to their high-school students. Facebook now allows anyone who claims to be at least 13 years old worldwide to become a registered user of the website, although proof is not required.

   

  Okay so I could rant on all night about thousands of M.N.Cs but if you’re interested in more of the many corps here is a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_multinational_corporations

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  IMPACTS OF MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS:

   

  Positives:

  – The worldwide corps. provide wealth and jobs for people around the world. Investments by multinationals offer needed foreign currency for developing economies. They also provide jobs and raise expectations of what is possible.

  – Small local businesses (like McDonalds once were), are now able to expand nation/ international. Raise them to power, fame and fortune $$$$.

  – Multinational corporations are now able to bring in more capital from their business internationally. Over-sea countries buy into the business earning money for themselves and the corp. as well.

  – Their size and scale of operation enables them to benefit from economies of scale enabling lower  average costs and prices for consumers. This is particularly important in industries with very high fixed costs, such as car manufacture and airlines.

  – Ensure minimum standards. The success of multinationals is often because consumers like to buy goods and services where they can rely on minimum standards. i.e. if you visit any country you know that the Starbucks coffee shop will give something you are fairly familiar with. It may not be the best coffee in the district, but it won’t be the worst. People like the security of knowing what to expect.

   

  Negatives:

  – Companies are often interested in profit at the expense of the consumer. Multinational companies often have monopoly power which enables them to make excess profit.

  -Their market dominance makes it difficult for local small firms to thrive. For example, it is argued that big supermarkets are squeezing the margins of local corner shops leading to less diversity.

  – In developing economies, big multinationals can use their economies of scale to push local firms out of business.

  – In the pursuit of profit, multinational companies often contribute to pollution and use of non renewable resources which is putting the environment under threat.

  – MNCs have been criticised for using ‘slave labour’ – workers who are paid a pittance by   Western standards

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  Now the impacts of M.N.Cs on myself-

  I have an abundance of products from a variety of multi-corps, ranging from:

  Apple- phone, ipad, ipod

  Panasonic- flat screens

  Nintendo- Nintendo wii, dsi XL

  Kenwood- microwave, electric beater

  Just some of the products I could think of, off the top of my head.

   

  Its amazing to live in a world where people are so innovative to create small town businesses and see them bloom over several years, into highly sort after, famous M.N.Cs around the world. I’m fortunate to live in a world where ANYTHING is possible, people can imagine something and not only talk about it but commit to it, humans are such intelligent species. Hahhaha! Although there are the + & – side effects to the impact of multinational corps. it always amazes me to see what some famous company has to offer next or what brand new companies have to grab our attention.

   

  Glote of the night- “Large companies are not going to disappear. Multinational companies with tens of thousands of employees are not going to disappear. In fact, many of them are getting larger because they can benefit from economies of scale.”- Daniel H. Pink

   

   – Ka Kite Ano karebear22 out!

   

   

   

   

   

   

Apart of the Global System

Okay karear22 is back with another post!

So the second post is based on the statement our teacher had given us: I am apart of the global system by…….

Well a simple way to look at it, I’m apart of the global system by being a consumer. But lets get into more detail as to how I’m connected to the global system.

    

I searched around for some definitions and I thought this one sum up a consumer perfectly: An individual who buys products or services for personal use and not for manufacture or resale. A consumer is someone who can make the decision whether or not to purchase an item at a store, and someone who can be influenced by marketing and advertisements. Any time someone goes to a store and purchases a toy, shirt, or anything else, they’re making that decision as a consumer.

So from this definition I can take away a few words: decisions, buy products/services, influenced by marketing/ advertisements.

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As a consumer I have the decision to purchase products and services that I like, based on the influence of marketing and advertisements. So I am intertwined into the global system by buying products in stores (food, healthcare, etc.), buying online (you can find what ever you need!), social media (connect and socialise), search engines (we need to research for info), travelling (holidays!) and technology (I don’t know one single person who doesn’t have some sort of tech device) –

              

As you can see in the images above I am a frequent buyer at the large food companies- everyone needs to eat guys, I love to shop online since you can find anything you’d like to purchase especially on ebay and amazon, social media is an enormous impact on everyones’ life in this day and age- we all love to connect and talk to family/friends nationally and worldwide, search engines! Where would we be without them? We wouldn’t be able to attain the information we specifically needed (for research, homework, assignments) thank the Lord and the producers of search engines! I absolutely love to travel my favourite part is on the plane but I love the places I visit too. I’ve been to places in New Zealand, Australia and the Cook Islands- it was so fun and amazing, life is very different in the islands compared to NZ & Australia, it was relaxing, laid back, people were very kind and they seem to live in the moment, enjoy it at most. I loved learning about the culture, spending money at the local shops and swimming in the clear lagoons, (look guys I recommend everyone to go xD). Last but not least technology! I own a couple of tech devices, my phone its a large part of my life, I call, text, send, connect, do absolutely everything with it. It’s just exactly like carrying a mini laptop/ tv/ game device all combined into one. Its amazing how far technology has advanced and what we can do with it.             

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So this was a glimpse (more like a story!!) into how I’m apart of the global system. Since we started the whole Globalisation topic I never really looked into depth what I do or the people or things around me could do to contribute to the global system. It’s always great to learn new things and this topic does catch my interest.

 Glote of the night- “Because we are a globally connected village, we need
to remember that our choices are not isolated. They have
a powerful ripple effect, and that ripple is global.” – Linda Fisher Thorton

I am, you are, we are apart of the Global System.

karebear22 out!

 

Blogging is what’s up

Hey there its karebear22 here, I’ve just recently started this blog thing and it was pretty tricky getting a hang of things.

So to start things off, my teacher has decided to get our class to sign up on word press and blog about new topics we’ll be learning about. We’ll be doing topics associated with ‘Globalisation’ and I hope that this topic is going to be fun. So I think every week or something like that we just write about new things and having to provide factual information (videos. quotes, etc.).

So our first assignment our teacher wants us to comment on: What the term globalisation means to us?

Globalisation- The term globalisation means the process of international incorporation arises from the trading of world views, ideas, products, and other aspects of culture. Globalisation is the movement toward financial, trade, economics and communication integration. Through this process countries and people are able to interconnect and trade goods/services across national frontiers.

Glote (globe & quote combined) of the day- Globalisation will make our societies more creative and prosperous, but also more vulnerable.  – Lord Robertson

karebear22 out!