Argument Between The Theistic And Atheistic Viewpoint

The argument between the theistic and atheistic viewpoint has been and always will be relevant. The relevance of this argument continues to carry over throughout generations because, as humans, we all have the desire to know the answers to the questions presented about life. We all want to be able to answer the hard questions, is God real? If the answer is yes, how did we come to that conclusion? H.J. McCloskey is the author of an article titled, â€Å"On Being an Atheist,† within this article he argues against the theistic viewpoint in hopes of shaking the theists conclusion that there is a divine creator. He answers the questions about God and his relevance to life by saying there is no God. He came to this conclusion by determining that if†¦show more content†¦He does not choose how we respond when faced with the decision of right and wrong because if he did there would be no choice to allow our free will to contemplate. Satan tempts humans by coating sins in the i llusion of happiness. We would not indulge in sin if it was presented to us as toxic as it actually is so Satan manipulates us by making it sound as if it will bring ultimate happiness. However, happiness is temporary and we all have the knowledge to access the sin that is presented in front of us and decide if it is right or wrong. We are given the choice through our free will to choose what is right or what is wrong and it is communicated to us through our moral conscience. William Lane Craig, a cosmological theist, firmly believes that an individual’s sense of morality exist because of God and his convictions. Theists believe that God often communicates His path through an individual’s moral compass, also known as that â€Å"still small voice†. When we choose wrong we allow evil to enter, misusing the gift God has allowed our minds to obtain. To a non-theistic mind McCloskey’s argument may have relevance but when someone who has knowledge on both theism and atheism analyzes the problem of evil the question regarding the worlds need for God without evil has to be considered. If God were to create all humans with the inability to make the mistake of falling into temptationShow MoreRelatedEssay on Right to Religion589 Words   |  3 Pagesparticular focus on the United States of America. The Right to Religion Basically, the right to religion involves the liberty to have as well as practice religion together with principles of one’s selection, encompassing theistic along with non-theistic beliefs in addition to atheistic beliefs. In this case, the right of religion covers freedom to practice one’s religion in terms of adoration, honoring and practice not leaving out teaching. However, this right to manifest a doctrine is contingent uponRead MoreThe And Evolution Between Creationism And Creationism1023 Words   |  5 PagesAmericans consider the controversy between creationism and evolution as existing on a dichotomous scale. This belief is inaccurate which is why the exercise of presenting the Creation/Evolution Continuum is highly successful both in middle and high school as well as universities. The continuum is not meant to change a student s beliefs or exalt one position over another, it is rather to demonstrate that there are many points of view and show the complexity of the argument (Scott, 2000). The continuumRead MorePhilosophical Analysis of a Non-Philosophical Stimulus1956 Words   |  8 Pageselements of his external world: but the photograph is the depiction of how the individual is still infinitely free in his capability to act and react to events: to choose and be responsible for his own actions. There are contradictory philosophical viewpoints, for example Freud might argue from a perspective of psychic determination. As Erich Fromm summarises, Freud might claim that ‘there is this secret, hidden, dissociated personality, and...this personality has a tremendous effect on everything weRead MoreExistentialism vs Essentialism23287 Words   |  94 Pagesor goal. In this sense, humans are free to choose their own destiny.   * is a philosophical term which asserts that there is a distinction between essential and non-essential (contingent or accidental) characteristics of an object. Essentialism assumes that objects have essences and that an object’s identity is its essence. Aristotle distinguished between an object’s essence and its existence. Its essence is â€Å"what a thing is.† Its essence is â€Å"that a thing is.† An object’s essence is the collection

Walmart Global Expansion Free Essays

Wal-Mart’s Global Expansion Introduction Sam Walton established Wal-Mart at Arkansas in 1962. It has grown dramatically over the last 40 years and has become one of the world’s largest retailers with the sales of $401 billion in a year ending Jan. 31st 2009. We will write a custom essay sample on Walmart Global Expansion or any similar topic only for you Order Now Wal-Mart has approximately 7,000 stores globally with 2 million employees. It is the largest private employer in Mexico and Canada with the employee figures hitting around 1. 4 million in this region. It also operates 3,600 additional stores in 16 worldwide markets that include China, Japan, South Korea, India and United Kingdom. Wal-Mart does particularly well in Canada where they have a chain of 314 stores. In 2008, it had 92,284,000 dollars of gross profit. Wal-Mart serves its customers and members over 200 million times per week and ranked first among retailers in Fortune Magazine’s 2009 Most Admired Companies survey. Wal-Mart provides sustainability- focused products. Wal-Mart not only provides jobs for senior citizens and students but also provide opportunities to build careers with competitive salaries. The retailer claims that 75% of its stores management team joined the company as hourly sales associates. Wal-Mart has also got an impressive ethical policy which includes regular use of recycling products and creating almost zero landfill waste. The company also makes vast amount of donations to different local level charitable organizations every year for improving people’s lives, which made Wal-Mart a trusted organization for funding the community programs to address hunger, homelessness, education, job training and other basic needs. International Expansion of Wal-Mart and its Benefits By 1990, Wal-Mart realized that the opportunities for growth in United States is becoming limited because of the saturation of the market and decided to expand their business globally. Their international expansion put a greater impact on international market and has changed the way business is conducted globally. It has also increased the benefits for the consumers as it helps them spend less money on goods they purchase. The company’s relationship with their key suppliers such as General Electronics (For appliances), Unilever (For Food Products) and Procter Gamble (For Personal care products) is very good. All these suppliers are internationally recognized with vast global expansion and because of this Wal-Mart are able to demand deeper discounts from the local operations of its suppliers. Apart from these world renowned suppliers Wal-Mart also does business with more than 2,500 minority and women-owned business enterprises (MWBE). The result of this good relationship with suppliers means they can lower their prices to attract more consumers, gain market share and increase their profit margins in international market. Wal-Mart claims in its data sheet for December 2009 that its international business achieved 11. % rise in sales for the whole financial year. Except the profit and market share another benefit of international expansion for Wal-Mart is the flow of different ideas for example, a double-floor store in New York was opened because of the success of multi-floor stores in South Korea. Other ideas such as the layout of the wine department in Argentina have now been used into th e layouts of company’s stores worldwide. Wal-Mart is also constantly trying to improve its reputation ethically and consistently helping over 100,000 charitable and community-focused organizations by providing financial and volunteer support. Retailer’s policy of buying fair-trade products in the international market is also attracting the attention of many consumers to shop in Wal-Mart. Risks When Entering Other Retail Markets The idea of expanding internationally was initially jeered off and the critics showed that Wal-Mart’s style of trading only suits to an American market, which in other countries is not going to work because of the different market structure, people’s taste and the popularity of already established retailers. But instead of all the critics Wal-Mart went ahead with an idea and in 1991opened their first international branch in Mexico. Expanding business internationally also brought some risks for the retailer as being new in the market they faced problems like bad infrastructure, lack of leverage from their suppliers and no knowledge about consumers taste, which resulted the rise in prices of their products and lack of interest from the consumers. One prime example of this kind of mistake was in Mexico where they merchandised products like ice skates, lawn mowers and fishing tackles which were good sellers in United States but without a surprise didn’t do well in Mexico. Managers had to reduce prices to sell that stock but it was re-ordered because of the automated ordering system. These problems created a large risk to prove the critics right about Wal-Mart not surviving internationally. Diminishing the Risks Wal-Mart learned vastly from their experience in Mexico and after that whenever they entered any international market they took strict measures on not repeating the same mistakes. To avoid risks of making past mistakes they made deals with vehicle companies which means improved and frequent distribution system, adapted local environment and merchandised goods in stores that appealed local tastes. With the grown presence of Wal-Mart in the international market their suppliers built factories near the distribution centers so they could serve the company better, which meant frequent inventory and cutting down the cost to get better market share. These are the tactics that has made Wal-Mart one of the most successful and globally recognized retailer in the world. Entering Mexico via Joint Venture Wal-Mart first entered Mexico through a joint venture with Cifera, because it was the largest local retailer in Mexico which was somehow within the standard as Wal-Mart was in the United States. The other reason it entered through a joint venture was because they wanted to be on the safe side when entering a new market considering they had no previous experience of the market they were planning to enter and hoped the experience from Cifera will help them in making their brand global, which they had planned to do after the market in America got saturated for domestic growth. Financial Aspect of Joint Venture As for the financial aspect of joint venture seems to be that both companies can benefit from the profit as well as share the risk and cost. Get a greater access to resources which both companies can share with each other and also the availability for both companies to a new market distribution. While not to forget the risk of this particular idea for a business is that every company has different objectives on how to move forward with the business. The other risk is the communication flow as one company can be centralized and the other decentralized. Purchase of Joint Venture Partner The major reason believed to push Wal-Mart to buy of their Mexican joint venture partner Cifera. Was that they had gained enough experience working in Mexico which was around about 7 years and during that time they had increased their sales of good as well as made contacts to help them prosper without the help of having a joint venture. After getting exposed and experience within the market they had considered to start their own chain of stores to have a firsthand control rather than having to collaborate with their partner to make certain decisions. The other reason could be considered that is since their deployment in the Mexico during 1991 when goods were being sold at 20 percent more than in the States due to various different conditions such as transport and production of goods. They were able to sort out the problem by at first having a deal in place with a major transport company to bring products from their factory to the stores in Mexico, which later on opted on suppliers to open factories around areas where stores were located which enabled to cut down on logistics cost. Having this in place they were able to provide the same goods in the same price as they did in the States. Difference of Strategy for Dominance Before explaining the strategy that Wal-Mart pursued it would be helpful in understanding the strategies. As per the question four different strategies were provided to consider and show the one chosen by Wal-Mart to match its strategic choice and why. The four strategies are global strategy, localization strategy, international strategy, and transnational strategy. Global standardization strategy is a â€Å"strategy that focuses on increasing profitability by reaping cost reductions from experience curve and location economies† (Hill, 2009). Localization strategy is a â€Å"plan which focuses on increasing profitability by customizing the goods or services to match tastes in national markets† (Hill, 2009). Transnational strategy is a â€Å"plan to exploit experience-based cost and location economies, transfer core competencies with the firm, and pay attention to local responsiveness† (Hill, 2009). Lastly international strategy is â€Å"trying to create value by transferring core competencies to foreign markets where indigenous competitors lack those competencies† (Hill, 2009). Domination The strategy that Wal-Mart used to go global from United States was the global strategy at first in Mexico but after noticing that the strategy has no affect rather than sales going up they had to cut down the price of goods to be able to sell them. This enabled the company to change from global to localization strategy which is to focus on increasing profitability by customizing the firm’s goods or services they provide a good match to tastes and preferences in different national markets. This enabled them to adapt to the local market and provide goods that matched the local environment. As for making sense of this strategy it was a valuable and the right decision considering the outcome from the change. As profit grew so did the hold in the market as well as outsmarting their nearest rival by having more than twice as many stores within the country. Conclusion To conclude, Wal-Mart benefited vastly from their global expansion. It experienced an increase of global market share, reputation and profit margin. It also gained economies of scales. Although, they faced massive problems when they took their business internationally but they quickly learned from their mistakes and adapted the strategies according to different international markets, which benefited them in many ways. Wal-Mart ranked 8th in 2009 Forbes Magazine’s of global companies but 1st in global retailers ranking and if they keep attracting consumers by their business strategies then without a doubt it will stay the top retailer for a long time. How to cite Walmart Global Expansion, Papers

My Three Weeks in the Dominican Republic Essay Example For Students

My Three Weeks in the Dominican Republic Essay As of today at about 2:44 p.m, I will be landing at one of the most beautiful islands in the world, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Hopefully this trip will be a good get-away for me to relax and figure out what I really want to accomplish in my life, all this â€Å"I have to get good grades† has gotten me a bit out of track and a bit confused as well but hopefully this trip is enough. I need get on the plane to Punta Cana at 7:40 a.m. The round trip ticket cost me $442.20 not bad actually, bringing my total of $5000 down to $4,557.8. The trip has one stop in the Philadelphia airport where I will have to wait an hour and 45 minutes, then take the next flight to Punta Cana at 9:50 a.m. I get to the Punta Cana airport at 2:44 p.m but because of security purposes and certain procedures a passenger has to follow I will be leaving the airport at around 3 or so, where a taxi driver is waiting to take me to the Four Point hotel in the Punta Cana resort village. Upon arrival I pay the man in $50 US dollars and book a room for 5 nights costing me $107 a night for a total of $535 bringing down my total to $4,022.8. Crazy how money goes huh? I have spent above a thousand dollars in one day, the first day. I actually have a pretty good impression on my choice of hotel though. I decide to walk up the stairs instead of taking the elevator just so i can get familiar with the hotel and so far so good, I am not regretting anything. Everything seems to be perfect and clean. Just the way i like it. Day 2 Day 2, today is the official day. Hopefully today I will be venturing some cool adventures. It is 8:30 in the morning, not so bad of a morning, it’s pretty chill outside. I head down to the resorts buffet for breakfast, luckily for me I dont have to worry about paying for a plate of food because all meals come bundled with the room. The steaks were pretty good actually, I mean it is a Spanish country right? Honestly from reader to writer, one of the main reasons why I came here, was because of the food and because of that fact that I knew I can definitely got get the extremely needed tan. It is exactly 12:00 p.m just when the sun is hitting the middle sky. Perfect time for tanning. I go back to my room and get my towel and some tanning oil. About 4 hours have passed by and gosh I can already see a difference, well hopefully the lines a under my biking mean a good thing. It is about 4:30 and I just remember I have to visit the car enterprise so i can rent car- seems like paying a cab everyday will probably lead me to my last dollar bill. Day 3 I am actually thinking of going to visit my family, wait, you know what? that is part of my plan now. It is day 3, 6 in the morning to be exact. I kind of want to hit the gym but ill rather go for breakfast and give my family a surprise. Oh man I cant even remember when was the last time I saw them, hopefully they remember my face, i tend to hear a lot that Ive changed over the past years. Hopefully i look better now. It is about 15 of 12 I head to the other side of Punta Cana where most of my family is at. Cant lie, i am pretty excited but nervous at the same. I am already imagining what their reactions are going to be if they actually do remember me. Day 4 You dont understand how amazing this place is, there might actually be a possibility of settling a life here, after college of course, though what if i come to a college here in Punta Cana?. I definitely would not mind. Well, it is day 4, 7:30 in the morning, and todays plans are, to make plans, since i dont have any yet. I am thinking of visiting a lot of different places. I have no idea what places I want to visit but i’ll find out, hopefully with the help of the internet and some locals that i will strangely be approaching today. But first thing is first and that is my stomach. I am currently at one of the local â€Å"Cafe† restaurant in the resort. The coffee definitely tastes different but it sure tastes wonderful. I head down to the â€Å"mini library†, i mean my room is bigger than this â€Å"library†. The research is going good so far, a lot of amazing different sites and lands and historical places and parks and beaches and lakes. God i love this place. Day 5 Day 5, last day at the resort. Tons of packing to do, well not really. If the packing goes well hopefully by 12:00 pm Ill be free. I heard about samba classes that is held by a profession dancing crew that the resort has a partnership with just so they can have a variety of activities for us to do and well, you know, I am definitely in there! It is 12:30 sharp, 30 minutes past my original plan but it’s okay. I head down to the dance studio about a block away from my room. I am definitely ready for this. One thing I know about Dominican Republic. They love dancing. I wish i wouldve found out about this classes earlier though, not the last day ugh. Day 6 Day 6, I am currently on my way West of Punta Cana, to the city of La Romana. From there I exchange some of my USD to the countries currency, pesos. I took $1000 USD and converted it to pesos, each USD is around 43 pesos so I was left with around 43,000 Dominican Pesos. Since I was already in the city I decided to check in the Hotel Frano that was around the area since it was getting late. I pay 2161 for the night, not bad, I mean it is no longer a 4 point hotel anymore but i mean, it doesnt matter because as of tomorrow I will be visiting tons of places, hopefully. Monopoly or is it just phony EssayDay 14 I pack up the supplies and take a personal cab down to the airport of Puerto Plata to pick up the vehicle I reserved. The cab ride was very long and took the majority of the day. When we finally arrived I gave the taxi driver $150 USD leaving me with $1,509.8 USD left. I rent the vehicle for six days costing me a total of $476 USD tax included. This leaves my total to $1,033.8 USD. Im running very low on money so I decide to stay in a cheap hotel called Celuisma Cabarete for three nights which costs $34 per night. This leaves me with $931.8. It is late at night so I park the car and head to my room to sleep. Day 15 I was already in the Puerto Plata area so I decided to check out a swimming place called the 27 Waterfalls of Damajagua which is a free lagoon type thing where anyone can go swim by the waterfall or jump from it if they want. The place is fully inhabited by locals who go daily for a free routine of jumping from waterfall, the lake, and back. I eat what the local merchants sell me, wasting about 200 pesos plus the food I still have from the night on the beach. At the end of the day I drive back up to the hotel, Day 16 Today I left the car in the hotel and was picked up early in the morning for a Dominican Outback Safari tour which cost me $80. The truck took us along dirt roads to the lesser inhabited areas of Puerto Plata. The tour was very educational and fun. It lasted around 7 hours approximately and I got to learn more about the countries history and its rich culture. After the tour the tour truck made a stop to a local restaurant where the meal cost me a total of $80 (minus the $80 for the tour today i spent $160 USD). I figured the prices are so high because this is a large tourist attraction in the city. Today I was left with $771.8 USD. I now have to find a way to stretch that amount for the next five days. Day 17 Today I spent the day around the hotel seeing what it had to offer. After breakfast I went down to the pool area and decided to try out yoga with one of the personal instructors. Later today I stocked up on supplies and went to a personal hiking trip in Pico Isabel de Torres. The trail was 5 miles long and took moderate effort to complete. It didnt cost me anything because it was a natural trail for anyone to use. At the end of the day I book the hotel for one more night ($737.8 USD left) and prepare for sleep. Day 18 From Puerto Plata I drive down to the City of Santiago, arguably one of the more modernized cities of the country. Its an hour trip and I spend about $30 on gas ($707.8 USD left). Upon reaching the city I quickly check into the Hodelpa Hotel which costs $100 USD a night and I book two nights. After the free lunch I go to a baseball field and play some baseball with a friendly group of girls. I spend the whole evening playing and after losing I head to the mall to do some girl shopping. Today has been a very long but enjoyable day, I head back to my hotel room to sleep. Day 19 Today there is a special event taking place in the city called Las Patronales which is a celebration of the countries independence and culture that travels across different parts of the country all year round. I spend the entire day in the hotel and leave at night for the event. Everyday there is a special guest star appearance in the festival and in the Patronales in Santiago it happens to be Romeo Santos. Everyone is having a good time drinking, dancing, going on the rides, and singing that I lose track of the time and head back to the hotel at dawn. Day 20 Today I checked out of the hotel and slowly drove through cities, countrysides, and military bases making my way back to the Punta Cana area. Dominican Republic as a whole is very diverse in its scenery. I check back in the Hotel I first arrived to. I pay the usual $107 ($400.8 left) and I turn the car back in around the airport. Arriving back to the hotel, at night I go to the pool area and bar where I drink some pià ±a colada before heading back into my room. It has definitely been the vacation of my life but I am crazy for a bed right now. Day 21 The complimentary hotel bus takes me back to the airport free of charge. I get on my 1:33 p.m flight and ill be landing in Philadelphia airport again, i’ll then wait 2 hours and 33 minutes. Hopefully by 8:31 i’ll be landing in Boston. Since I have money to spare I pay $25 to upgrade my seat to first class. Bibliography: Flight Ticket hhtps://m.cheapair.com/air/bookflight?sid=1cid=379 Dominican experiences http://www.lonelyplanet.com/dominican-republic/travel-tips-and-articles/76828 Map of Dominican Republic https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Santo+Domingo+Zona+Colonialie=UTF-8ei=T6wKU_n2AcPFsATh9YHYCAved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ Dominican Outback Safari Tour Bus http://www.viator.com/tours/Puerto-Plata/Dominican-Outback-Safari/d795-2476POP_7 Alisei Hotel Rates http://aliseihotelspa.com/rates-reservations/ http://www.adventurerentcar.com/flotilla.php 27 Waterfalls guide http://www.27charcos.com/index.php Dominican Holiday Calendar http://www.listindiario.com/rd_festivos Hodelpa Hotel Chain http://www.hodelpa.com/en/ Few Facts about Dominican Republic http://dr1.com/articles/twenty_one.shtml Dominican Festivals http://www.welcome-dominican-republic.com/Dominican-Republic-holidays.html http://www.sixt.com/php/reservation/offerconfig