European and international business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

European and international business - Essay Example Globalization has accelerated in recent years, a development that have significant implications for the regulation and governance of international business, trade and investment. International business implies no fundamental shift in the underlying principles of trading or business functions but simply more cross – border transactions .In simpler terms it includes all commercial transactions – private and governmental – between two or more countries. Private companies undertake such transactions for profit; governments may or may not do the same in their transactions International Business comprises a large and growing portion of the world’s total business. The world have seen a tremendous increase in the global transactions and foreign trade in the recent years. The main reason behind this is that now more and more countries are getting engaged in trading with each other in order to increase their profit or sales or protecting them from being eroded by co mpetition. The main objectives which are influencing the companies to engage in international business are expansion of sales, acquiring resources, minimizing competitive risk and diversification of sources of sales and supplies (Johnson & Turner, 2003). Besides these there are few other factors like economic factors, cultural factors, technological factors, and social factors which have influenced to a greater extent.Reasons for recent international business growth:-It’s hard to determine just how much international business has occurred at different times in history. ... -> Development of supporting services -> Increase in global competition Expansion of technology: In recent years, the pace of technological advances has accelerated to greater heights and the knowledge of products and services is available more quickly and widely due to communication and transportation technology. By increasing the demand for new products and services, technology has tremendous impact on international business. As the demand increases, so do the number of international business transactions. The recent technological improvement led to the production of high quality products at lower cost. As a result, the domestic countries have entered foreign countries to find market for their products. Liberalization of cross - border movements: Every country restricts the movement across its borders of goods and services and the resources, such as workers and capital to produce both .These restrictions hinder the international trade and thus the government today has imposed fewer restrictions on cross - border movements in order to facilitate trade. With the enactment of the World Trade Organizations (WTO) in 1995, the restrictions imposed on international trade are diminishing. There are many reasons as for why the government has reduced the restrictions. Few among them are: their domestic products will become more efficient as a result of foreign competition, their citizens expressing the desire for better access to a larger variety of goods and services to lower prices and so on (Rugman & Brewer, Nov 2001). Development of supporting services: Companies and governments have developed services which earn international business. For example, banks have developed efficient means for companies to receive

Metals in Sports Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Metals in Sports - Essay Example Metals have gained one of the most diverse applications in sports today. Their qualities make them useful in the process of creating a range of sporting equipment. For instance, metals are used to make goals. Most goal frames are metallic in nature and the reason behind this is that metals possess a high density thus giving them the ability to resist movements, pushes and shoves during the goal hitting process. Metallic goals are common in games such as hockey, soccer, rugby, handball and many more. (Review Centre, 2008) These days, metals are being used to make bats, sticks and clubs. Bats are largely associated with games such as baseball. The latter category is a recent introduction to the game and it has generated a lot of heated debate about the limits and applicability of metals in sports. This is largely because bats are subjected to a lot of movement and are likely to make frequent contact with the respective players. The controversies behind the use of metallic bats shall be examined in subsequent portions of the essay. Certain clubs may be made (in part) of metals. However, most of the time, these clubs are composite items that require the good properties in metal to work hand in hand with other materials. Clubs are usually linked to the game of golf. In close relation to the latter use is the use of sticks in games such as hockey. ... In basketball, the rim that holds a net is metallic in nature. This is necessary so as to provide a strong material that can be used as a support for the heavy players making their pointers. In tennis and badminton, metals are also used as frames to support nets. This is largely because metals are easy to form and can therefore provide a firm shape against which players can play the game. The same qualities can be used to explain why metals are used in volleyball and fishing too. Tackle and rods are also made up of this material known as metal. This is because fishing entails the capture of heavy materials that may only be possible through the utilization of a firm and strong support that can withstand the weight of some of these heavy fish. Metals are particularly useful in the creation of protective sports equipment. Usually, these protective gears may be for the facial area, thighs, shins and many others. Examples of equipment that may be made up of these metals include Cup Thigh pads Shin pads Helmets Mouth guards Interestingly enough, metal can also be found in footwear. This is especially the case in sports that require contact with ice or water. In the process of making boards for surfing, it is common to find this material especially in equipments such as boards for snowboarding and skate boarding equipment. Because the latter materials require a certain level of smoothness and strength that is difficult to achieve with other materials, then the better option to choose in this regard is a metal. Gometals.com (2008) Metals are also particularly useful in sporting events that involve the use of skates. In ice skating and roller skating, metals are used to create the wheels or the skates that are essential for movement