ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Apple Inc.’s commercial success rests on its production scale based on the outsourcing of manufacturing function to Asia. The company’s triumph is paralleled by the rise of the world’s largest electronics contractor—Foxconn. 1 Even though Apple Inc. has repeatedly professed its “ideals of corporate citizenship, environmental, labor, and social responsibility” in its annual reports and codes of professional conduct, it continues to exploit 1.4 million workers in China alone. 2 Large contract manufacturers in Asia that are vertically integrated into the company’s supply chain have to go along with price-setting practices that result in unfair treatment of workers and promote health and safety hazards. 3 These and other practices of Apple Inc. can be viewed as the extraction of dark value from what might be called dark value chains. According to Clelland, the approximate dark value of an iPad amounts to US$1, 077, which is two times greater than its retail price and ten times greater than the company’s operating profit margin. 4 As a result of such value extraction-driven management practices, a wave of employee suicides has swept China. In 2010 alone, 18 factory workers aged 17 to 25 and employed by Foxconn attempted suicide. 5 These suicide attempts were instigated by a harsh production regime characterized by an excessively high production quota, an extremely limited number of breaks, and strict execution of manufacturing discipline. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the real price of Apple’s corporate success. The paper will examine how global commodity chains and globalization have helped Apple Inc. achieve a dominant consumer electronics industry position. It will assess the power dynamics of the company’s supply chain using the framework of global commodity chains and global value chains. The paper will argue that power asymmetry in the industry promoted by buyer-driven commodity chains allows Apple Inc. to pressure its production and logistic service contractors to constantly lower costs. It will also explicate exploitive structural relationships between the tech giant and commodity manufacturers that make possible massive transfers of value added at nodes of commodity chains’ global networks. 6 The paper will maintain that iPad production has become possible due to the following Apple Inc.’s practices: the appropriation of hidden labor excesses, extraction of unpaid inputs, and “surplus extraction through ecological externalities.” 7 The research theme is directly related to the study conducted so far that shows that Apple Inc. has explored a global business model to achieve extremely low production costs of iPad, which is one of its flagship products. Figure 1 presents a map that demonstrates h
Introduction The reasons for the rising of the Chinese economic superpower interested the world community. The Chinese-owned enterprises in Malaysia appeared to be more successful against the backdrop of a crisis than businesses of other ethnic groups. It is known that the Chinese Economic Culture (CEC) is based on the moral values of Confucianism and Taoism. The question of whether the implementation of these principles played a significant role in this success arose. The purpose of this research is to analyze the impact of the moral values of Confucianism and Taoism on the present-day business culture of Chinese enterprises in Malaysia and discuss the opportunities of including them in competitive strategies for Malaysian business. The influence of the Chinese Economics Culture (CEC) on the culture of other ethnic groups will have positive results for the development of Malaysian Economics. Main Body Notwithstanding the diversities in the numerous dialects and nationalities, the Chinese people managed to develop a unique and integrated business culture practiced by the Chinese and non-Chinese worldwide. Menkhoff and Gerke (2004) noted that “The spirit of the ethnic Chinese enterprise is founded in the belief systems” (p. 159). Based on the principles of Confucianism and Taoism, this culture contains eight main elements, such as personal connection (guanxi) and intermediary (zhongjianren), face (mianzi) and endurance (chiku nailao), holistic thinking (zhengti guannian), and thrift (jiejian), social status (shehui dengji) and interpersonal harmony (renji hexie). The element of personal connection (guanxi) means the importance of cooperation with the business partners, the emphasis is put on interpersonal relations. Chuen-Khee (2008) noted that “Personal connection (guanxi) is the mutually beneficial relationship between two or more individuals that provide an ongoing association” (p. 65). The element of an intermediary (zhongjianren) presupposes the involvement of the third parties, such as translators or advisers, which are expected to smooth the negotiation process. The element of “face” (mianzi) means the pride and dignity of the negotiating sides, The Chinese do not like to lose their face and try to avoid the situations, decisions, or responses that could make the opposite side lose their face, it results in their extreme politeness and beating around the bush. Endurance (chiku nailao) means that The Chinese believe hard work to be the key to success; this may result in more thorough preparation for the negotiations or a prolonged negotiation process. The element of holistic thinking (zhengti guannian) means that all the separate elements are interconnect
Introduction Global business has been going on for many decades and is one of the foundation blocks of modern civilisation (Keskinen 2017). It occurs when multiple countries conduct business. The long stretch of time which communities have been exposed to international business has informed the debate regarding its impact on people’s lives. Relative to this discussion, this paper suggests that international business has had both positive and negative effects on people’s lives, but the net effects are largely positive. Positive Effects Global business has had many positive effects on people’s lives. Notably, it has helped communities gain access to goods and services they would otherwise not have had without it. For example, in the last two decades, people have increasingly relied on technology, such as Facebook, Instagram, eBay and Google to undertake different functions in their daily lives. For most people around the world, such technologies were not originally developed in their countries, despite their immense benefits in daily life. However, international business has made it possible to use them. In addition, global trade has enabled people to gain access to quality products at a relatively cheap price because it increases competition, which expands the options for customers to gain access to quality products (Lee 2016). For instance, international trade encourages local manufacturers to increase their product or service qualities because failing to do so would mean a loss in business revenues. Evidence of this fact exists in the hospitality industry, which has witnessed an influx of multinational companies that are forcing local suppliers to improve their product and service standards as a precondition for doing business (ABUCUS 2016). Based on this trend, customers are enjoying improved quality standards. International trade has also helped to increase employment opportunities in different countries. This advantage cuts across both developed and developing countries because both sets of nations have benefitted through increased employment opportunities by exchanging goods and services. For example, in the United States (US), global trade has created more than 11 million jobs (State Point 2016). The US Department of Commerce supports this assertion by saying future international agreements will create even more opportunities (State Point 2016). The creation of job opportunities from international trade has also been complemented by an increase in the net pay for existing jobs. Stated differently, employers are under increased pressure to match local pay with international standards. The growing acceptance of international organisations, such as the International Labour Organization, on global business, has aided in expanding employment opportunities for member countries by easing labour relations among nations (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus 2017). Consequently, there has been increased collaboration in international trade, which has manifested through increased labou
Evaluation Plan Assessing the nurses’ ability to use the skills associated with Interdisciplinary Cooperation (IC) and lifelong learning to determine their ability to meet the set objectives should be seen as the first step toward implementing change. Restating the specified objectives, one should mention that the cognitive ones include nurses’ understanding of the goals of cross-disciplinary collaboration. The behavioral one concerns the nurses’ ability to meet the standards by following the newly designed instructions. Finally, the affective one implies that nurses will consciously select the identified strategies to address the health concerns of vulnerable groups. Therefore, the evaluation plan will need to embrace the nurses’ performance quality, attitudes, and values that guide their decision-making. Measures In the course of the evaluation, the measures on the merit of which the participants will be evaluated will include the ability to cooperate in a nursing setting, the skill of managing interdisciplinary conflicts, and the ability to share information to locate the available solutions and select an appropriate one. As Table 1 shows, the identified measures will need to be specified when introduced into a particular nursing setting. Measurement                                                                                             Expected Outcome (in Regard to the Objectives)                                                                              Open-Ended Question Test : a question aimed at eliciting a response describing IC goals and techniques  Cognitive : knowledge of IC and collaborative learning techniques                                                           Open-Ended Question Test : a question about IC strategies                                               Cognitive : knowledge of communication strategies for IC                                                                    Open-Ended Question Test : a question about choices made in the nursing setting                         Behavioral : ability to engage in collaborative learning during interdisciplinary work                                      Open-Ended Question Test : a question about a conflict in the nursing environment                       Behavioral : ability to adders conflicts emerging during interdisciplinary teamwork                                         Open-Ended Question Test : a question about an ethical dilemma                                          Affective : understanding of the necessity to pursue professional and ethical values during IC                              Open-Ended Question Test : a question
Introduction The ability of one country to influence another economically, politically, and militarily has in the past heavily depended on sea power as the other part of the soldiers and the army were not strategic. In this essay, it will then be important to analyze the interactions of trade and naval power 1 . To discuss how sea power was used to influence national strategies, economists have been using various economic models such as the gravity model of trade and the comparative advantage which controls the geographic, economic, and political factors. Theoretically and in the real sense, military conflicts among warring countries are expected to reduce trade through the established embargoes and disruptions. However, in contrast to the expectations of many, sometimes warring between two nations may not influence international trade if the countries have very minimal global reach (Penubarti & Ward, 2000). Seapower The historical influence that the marines or the navy has had on international trade and the complications in comparing measures of sea power has been issues of discussion in the past. The links between sea power and trade have been an issue and how navy in the past has influenced maritime trade. As we focus on the warring nations, we shall therefore focus on how power projections 2 have affected international trade in the past. The strategies used on the other hand were designed in such a way that they could connect the trading links between the country and her allies and also to her neutral countries. In doing so, this reduced the level of both military and civil goods available to support any of the enemy’s endeavors. The navies were also doing this in order to protect their own trade in a bid to boost trade between their countries and her allies. One of the most known forms of economic combat that has been used by the navy is the strategy of guerre de course. This strategy is usually aimed at raiding and destroying the commerce systems of the enemy country. It
Introduction This text is a full and free example of the essay on “Ceremony” by Leslie Marmon Silko. Silko is a famous American writer and the key figure in the First Wave of the so-called “Native American Renaissance.” She was awarded by the first MacArthur Foundation Grant in 1981. In 1994, she received the Native Writers’ Circle of the Americas Lifetime Achievement Award. Leslie Marmon Silko is the author of numerous novels, poems, and short stories about love and nature. “Ceremony,” published in 1977, is her most well-known novel. Her other publications include Laguna Women: Poems (1974), Storyteller (1981), etc. The free online Leslie Marmon Silko list of works can be found here . Summary of “Ceremony” by Leslie Marmon Silko In her novel “Ceremony”, Leslie Marmon Silko tells a story about Tayo, the main character in the novel. He needs to adjust to his environment after he came home from the war. Tayo experiences numerous problems because he lived as a prisoner in Japan. This affects him bodily and emotionally. Tayo worries about how he will interact with his family in Laguna Pueblo and his mixed culture problems since he was half-White and half Native American. According to Tayo’s family members, they believe that the only solution to his problems is through practicing Native American rituals that will help him to become an average person. Finally, Old Betonie applies various rituals to ensure that the Native American ceremonies give Tayo peace (Silko 2). In Ceremony, different things happen, and Tayo participates in each one, which acts as a manner of getting him back with his Native American culture. The “Ceremony” novel talks about the celebration of separate brief ceremonies, and this describes why the story itself is a ceremony. In the novel’s plots, the author chooses various ceremonies as they either start or end. To Tayo, these ceremonies were a transitional stage since ancient times in Pueblo. The community members performed rituals after the warriors return from fighting because they avoided stains caused by fighting destruction (Walther 9). Leslie Marmon Silko as a Storyteller Storytelling is an aspect that happens to human beings because they are capable of using words to pass information amongst individuals and generations. The concept of storytelling is only possible for people because the trial of teaching non-human creatures failed. According to the Ceremony, the word story refers to factors that contribute to the identification of a story. A story can be either real or fictitious, contains true situations or fantasy. Therefore, a story provides the narrator or writer with the freedom to explore any genre around the world. The analysis shows that the novel “Ceremony” backs this concept because it contains all forms of freedom in telling its stories (Walther 3). In the novel, storytelling focuses on how the Native American traditions used
Introduction Internationalization is vital in business management and operations especially when a company intends to localize production tools such as labor, distribution, language, ethics, and culture. Often, in the contemporary business environment, managers face challenges in line of duty especially when servival of a company is directly affected by unfavorable market swings. In response, several strategies are put in place such as internalization, merger, and other analytical skills to understand the situation and work on modalities that aim at reversing the same. Thus, this reflective treatise attempts to explicitly analyse the aspects of internalization, stereotyping, cultural classification, acculturation of a company, and how culture affects behaviour and responsiveness in the market for products. Besides, the paper is specific on management modalities adopted by two protagonists; Jean-Pierre Courbet and Jaap Harlem, in application of managements skills in different environments in the company. Internalization phases Apprenticeship Foresight is very crucial since it gives a company rough perspective and overview of the future concerning the expected and unexpected changes and challenges (Sinclair, 2010). Therefore, Vechtel had to carefully examine and evaluate their past and endeavor to adopt relevant skil
Introduction Personalities characterizing a particular person depend on such factors as biological and environmental conditions. These factors combined with humanistic factors are quite crucial in the formation and development of particular character traits in a person. People are fond of looking at particular influential figure in the society and try to emulate the person’s specific personality that contributes to their achievement. Ranging from Maslow’s theories to specialized cognitive approaches, personalities have been discussed in many ways that aim at intensively elucidating this topic for the purpose of easier comprehension. Whenever one emulates a particular habit that has not been biologically acquired, he may find it quite difficult to break off just like some other genetic habits. It is imperative for this person to control the humanistic factors that influence the formation of these habits. Change of habit may also be necessary especially if it causes a negative effect to the person’s lifestyle. It is important for a person to analyze their habits and recognize where they belong, that is, either in the cognitive or behavioral theoretical ideologies. Analysis of One of My Habits I started smoking tobacco when I was 12 years for the reason that I was living with my uncle who was a heavy smoker. The other reason why I developed this habit was due to the fact that my uncle was a successful businessman in the transport industry and had many friends who were smokers. He owned several trucks which he hired out for the transportation of petroleum products. My uncle often took me to one of the pubs where he met his friends for leisure and fun. At one instance, one of his friends offered me with $200 only if I finished a whole packet of cigarette. My uncle could not go against it. I took the offer with haste and within an hour I had devoured the entire packet. I was offered the reward of 200 dollars, an amount that I had never owned before. From there onwards, I began smoking so that I would not suffer challenges whenever I was faced with similar kind of offers. Thus my uncle, the people around him, and the availability of cigarettes together with the rewards influenced my smoking habit. I have attempted to stop this habit in vain. A year ago, I tried enrolling in a rehab facility whe
Ethics has a significant role in the public service. Personalities need to emulate and practice proper ethics. Particularly, this relates to those serving in public administrative dockets. Adams and Balfour, (2009), emphasize the need to maintain the society in an ethical state. The two authors propose two basic approaches that may help in preventing the humanity from ethically “coming apart at the seams.” The present changes within the American society are noted. The sociopolitical and economic factors have increasingly transformed within the U.S. Consequently, these have impacted on the state of ethics within the public service. The interconnection between liberalism and individual ethics is obvious. The authors examine the American society from the period of the historical revolution. The ability of liberalism to impose phenomenal ethical challenges within humanity is also indicated. Authority must be exercised in a manner that motivates controlled freedom. However, the effects of globalization on the morality of the society require great precaution (Adams & Balfour, 2009). The authors indicate the significance of systems that avail information and critical decisions to the general public. Such systems are the spring board for public ethics. The nature of mankind and the liberalism of fear interact in a degenerative manner. The authors argue that “putting cruelty first” may not be the appropriate methodology of dealing with situations within the public service (Adams & Balfour, 2009). Emotional approach to situations within the public service only results into a state of administrative evil. The importance of democratic deliberative processes within the general society is noted. Through deliberative processes, individuals seek to acquire a self comprehension (Adams & Balfour, 2009). Additionally, they learn to understand and be patient with others. Application of this methodology enhances transformation processes without ethical disputes within the society. In this process, citizens learn to be become tolerant with one another. Furthermore, there is magnified state of harmony that results into good state of public ethics. The authors also critically examine the general role of the community in enhancing public ethics. An inclusive autonomous society develops the public life as well as its public ethics concurrently. This methodology helps to save the entire community from an ethical crisis. In this methodology, the authors reiterate the significance of the recognition and definition of the public. The definition of the term “public” depicts important implications. For instance, it binds public servants to speak publicly on policy issues (Adams & Balfour, 2009). The recognition and practice of viable citizenship by all public servants is indicative of a good state of public ethics. There is an examination of public ethics dependent on liberalism of fright. This form of ethics originates from a misanthropic perception of human kind. In this context, there is a perception that mankind oug