Introduction.

Globalization is a term, often used as a name for a wide range of different processes and phenomenon in the cultural, social, economical and political life of civilization. That is the reason why it’s very difficult to explain the essence of this term for it very much relays on the context. For example, J. Soros defines it in this way “Globalization is an overused word, which can have very different meanings… we will consider that this term means the globalization of financial markets and the growing dominant influence of the global financial markets and transnational companies on the national economics. In this sense we should distinguish globalization from the free market economy, which doesn’t have such great consequences for particular countries”. This definition concerns only economical side of the problem and in fact it says only that globalization is globalization.

So, before giving the definition of this term, let’s name some of its components of the sense, which don’t depend on the context in which the term is used. First, globalization is a process. Second, this process concerns only the activity of human and the society. Third, as it is obvious from the word “global”, it is an all-embracing process. Forth, the specific aspect of this process is the growth of the number of contacts between people, the products, elements and consequences of their activity.

Putting all this together we can get the idea of the essence of globalization. We will not be able to define this phenomenon when we are faced with it in real life until we analyze it in the context of its influences and effects in the culture, politics, economy, society, ecology, etc. In our main part we will analyze the next points:

1) the premises and the reasons of globalization, most significant effects and its role in economy; 2) the meaning for the culture and the influences of the globalization on the ecology of human omniscience. In the conclusion we’ll summarize the main points and outline the main findings.

The premises and reasons of globalization.

There is a widely spread view that the main reason of globalization as a historical process is a unique development of economical relationships between the countries. This development is a consequence of the innovations and the technological progress of civilization (e.g. the fast means of communication, new informational technologies and the fast transport). Due to this the needs of industry are growing for they require cheaper raw materials. Raw materials and component parts are often transferred through many countries before they turn to the final product. The situation with the energy sources is the same; only few countries have them but the whole world needs them. In a word, a free market tries to involve more and more participants, and in the end it reaches the worldwide level. The specific feature of the globalized financial markets is that they provide the free movement of the financial capital.

All of the above is from my point of view to be defined as the premises of globalization. We shouldn’t mistake the premises for the reasons. For example we can accept the development of the informational technologies as a reason for globalization, though on the other side we can say that globalization creates the atmosphere, were fast means of communication should be developed. So I would say that all the points mentioned above are not the reasons of globalization, but the factors, that create the possibilities for the further movement of globalization process. Moreover the interaction between the process and its factors is mutual.

As for the reasons we can summarize different points of view to the following: globalization is a side effect of the process of forming “an open society”. The more “opened” the society gets under the influence of democratization the less connections it establishes inside, turning into big synergetic system. For example the global financial markets are comparatively young, their development starts from the oil crisis at the beginning of the 70’s of XX century and the invention of eurodollar. At the 80’s, when the ruling persons were Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, the development rates of the global financial markets began to grow, and after the collapse of the USSR at 1989 they became really global. That is to say the collapse of the “close society” of the USSR gave the push to the process of the globalization and immersed the groups of societies into the world community.

What is the role of the national countries in this process? The main danger of globalization is the  destruction of political power in all its forms: national governments, economics, democracy as non-rational system of life governance on the planet. All systems of power were traditionally built up on the human achievements, which can be named in the terms of technical systems: the sense of human life, his values and the aim of his life. People who are deprived of these things can not be the objects of power and do not obey. It seemed at first that the globalization gave the elite the unlimited possibilities for manipulating the mass conscience. But in reality masses found in globalization the possibilities for not obeying the power.

Globalization allows using its instruments not only to those who really created them but also to those who know how they function. So we can make the conclusion that as long as national governments exist they will keep trying to use the effects of globalization for their own aims. This means that political interests will be the reasons in the process of the globalization. It is possible that this process will lead us to appearance of the new forms of political governance.

How globalization effects people.

Let me start with an example, which is a piece of irony, but illustrates the situation in a perfect way.

“Question: What best exemplifies globalization? Answer: Princess Diana’s death. Question: Why? Answer: An English princess with an Egyptian boyfriend crashes in a French tunnel, driving a German car with a Dutch engine, driven by a Belgian who was high on Scottish whiskey, followed closely by Italian Paparazzi, on Japanese motorcycles, treated by an American doctor, using Brazilian medicines!”

Globalization gave us goods, in some sense it made our life more comfortable and convenient. Globalization gave us new opportunities for innovation and enterprise and increased a global economical growth. But globalization does have the negative aspects. First, it is predisposed to the crisises, second, it increases the inequality between the poor and the rich both inside the country and between them, third, it causes the wrong distribution of recourses between private and government interests (effective governance).

The effect of globalization of social and cultural relations lies in the change of the role of the human in the social structure. In the “closed society” one person is connected with a limited group of people and almost has no influence on the other groups, in the global society every single person is more or less connected with all other people at the same time. This also means that the better some people in this society live the worse the other do. But there is a different point of view on this problem: “Personally, I do not believe that those [poor] people are victims of globalization. Their problem is not that they are included in the global market but, in most cases, that they are excluded from it.” (Kofi Annan)

So as we see, in fact globalization itself has no good or bad effect on people. Globalization is just a powerful instrument of influence on other people. So the effect of globalization will depend on how we use this instrument. The problem mainly is that many people are not able to perceive it in an adequate way.

Conclusion.

Let me summarize the main points concerning the definition of globalization and its essence.

1. Globalization is a term, often used as a name for a wide range of different processes and phenomenon in the cultural, social, economical and political life of civilization.
2. Globalization is an all-embracing process which concerns the growth of the number of contacts between people, the products, elements and consequences of their activity.
3. Nowadays there are lots of factors which create wide range of possibilities for the development of globalization, but they are not its exceptional reasons.
4. We can point out the sources of the process of globalization only, but we can hardly explain the reasons of this process in some other way but as a historical necessity within the convenient circumstances.
5. Globalization is a process which can be investigated on the macro levels only.
6. Effect of the influence of globalization on people can not be defined univocally. It lasts only for last 20-30 years so its too early to talk abut some final results and consequences.

From what is known for now, we can distinguish the following effects of globalization:

1. It makes general social system more sensitive to crisises.
2. It leads to the disproportion of the distribution of resources.
3. It requires the change in the human conscience in accordance with the new reality it creates.
4. Globalization can not be defined in a positive or negative way.

Works cited

1. Crafts Nicholas. Globalization and Growth in the Twentieth Century, IMF Working Paper, WP/00/44, Washington DC, April 2000.
2. Friedman Thomas (2000) The Lexus and the Olive Tree. Farrar, Straus & Giroux
3. Globalization: Threat or Opportunity? IMF Staff. www.imf.org
4. Marjorie Griffin Cohen, Laurell Ritchie, Michele Swenarchuk, and Leah Vosko. Globalization Some Implications & Strategies For Women. www.sympatico.ca/truegrowth/womenstrat1.htm
5. Porter Keith. Globalization: Good or Bad? www.globalization.about.com
6. Porter Keith. Poverty or prosperity. Is Either Caused by Globalization? www.globalization.about.com
7. Porter Keith. What is Globalization? New era replaces Cold War and Space Age. www.globalization.about.com

1. INTRODUCTION: History of development of  Management Information Systems

2. MAIN BODY:

2.1. E-commerce in business environment of tourist company “Europe-Group”

2.2. MIS as an effective tool of market competitiveness

3. CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION

Nowadays modern companies, actively participating in business market relations, meet the necessity to implement Management Information Systems (MIS).  Huge amount of paperwork, accounting, interactive mode, work with databases, paperless processing of documents, updating of databases can not be possible without modern computer technologies. (John Ward, 1995) There are many types of information systems used in business environment of leading companies, such as: database processing systems, marketing systems.   Management Information Systems are any systems, which provide people with information and data about business operations carried out by the organization.  MIS is used in business activity of the stuff, top management and clients.  The assistance to all of them if effected through efficient data processing in transactions. (John Ward, 1995)

Management Information Systems are constantly developing. First of them are dated in the 50-th of the twenties century. These systems were designed to effect accounts processing and salary management. It resulted in some reduction of expenses and time for preparation of paper documents. With their further development information systems were capable of making automatic accounting for the organization. Microprocessors and interactive displays were built in modern information systems devices. (John Ward, 1995)

By the end of the 70-th in the offices of any organization there were applied various computer and telecommunication technologies which have expanded a scope of information systems. Text processing, e-mail communication started to be widely used as means of the administrative control, supporting and accelerating decision-making process. (John Ward, 1995)

The new stage in the Information systems development was achieved by the end of the 80-th. Many companies have discovered the strategic power of implementing computer technologies in their activity, which could timely provide necessary information, create new goods and services, find new commodity markets and new partners. All this innovations helped to increase the competitiveness of the company in the market. (John Ward, 1995)

Since the middle of the 90-th plenty of business organizations have started to use on-line commerce. Following large companies, producing software equipment, companies that produce traditional goods started to use e-commerce in their activity. Plenty of shops selling books, CD, food and other products through Internet have appeared during the last years of the 90-th. (John Ward, 1995)

Realizing the essential need for implementing various MIS in order to have market competitive strength, our company, which specializes in provision of tourist services, has been intensively using such means of modern business development.

MAIN BODY

Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is an acceleration of the majority of business processes in which information is transferred directly to the addressee, passing a stage of creation of a paper copy of any document at each stage. (John Ward, 1995) The system of e-commerce in our organization can be divided into two classes: the system of retail trade through Internet and the system of interactions with business partners.

The advantages of implementation of e-commerce in our company are obvious:

-          the efficiency of the access to information, especially in international trade;

-          the cycle of sales is considerably decreased as there is no need to enter received documents each time;

-          costs for information exchange are reduced due to using more cheap means of communication;

-          implementation of Internet technologies and e-commerce gives company the possibility to be more open towards its clients;

-          helps the company in the easy way to inform its consumers of new services;

-          gives the company possibility to use more sales channels, for example through on-line shop. (Parker, Charles, 1993)

The implementation of modern Internet technologies in our business is not only the creation of the web site or electronic catalogue with the possibility of customizing services on-line,  it means using technologies and the collected experience for deep reconstruction of business operations through Internet. Electronic commerce is a process of earning money with use of Internet – technologies. (Parker, Charles, 1993)

The success of building the model of electronic commerce is based on tree main principles:

-          the choice of correct technological platform;

-           the availability of a competitive product;

-          the availability of necessary infrastructure and business processes. (Parker, Charles, 1993)

First of all the implementation of e-commerce is necessary for our company, because we have developed regional partnership network, therefore it can provide for a considerable reduction of costs in ordering process.

Some years ago, when the e-commerce technologies were not so widely implemented in the present business environment it was like a game where there are no guarantees, plenty of players and no one knows whether he is going to remain in the game. However the game field of Internet-commerce has considerably changed, and these changes are irreversible. Recent interrogation of more than 100 companies with staff of more than 500 persons carried out by Zona Research, has shown that about 80 per cent of them use Internet for marketing, and 10 per cent are already engaged in electronic trade. (Parker, Charles, 1993) This research has also shown, that almost 45 per cent  of these companies plan to begin realization of programs of sales through Internet in the nearest years. According to Grthner Group investigations the growth of e-commerce in big companies from 8 per cent in 1996 up to 63 per cent in year 2000. (Parker, Charles, 1993)

Since in our age information is the most valuable asset one can possess, we certainly have considered this information for our company when first started implementing achievements of modern technology.

One of the essential problems for successful e-commerce in our company was the creation of necessary infrastructure. The basic network infrastructure should have been advanced in order to meet rigid requirements of electronic commerce.  Creation or modernization of a server of databases, installation of more powerful sluice or renting more capacious channel should have been demanded with the purpose of increase in throughput.

The possibilities for creation of corporate management systems, implementation of modern information technologies have given a great impulse to the development of these trends during the last years. The role of planning department in the company has increased. It turned to be the analytical and methodological center of project management in the company.  Efficient project management system is the criteria of organization level of the company and the level of its maturity. It gives the following advantages to the company:

-          implementation of  management information systems, uniform methodology, creates corporate culture of project management, basing on the uniform approaches, databases and generalization of the saved up experience;

-          the unified approaches to the project management allow to work not  only on separate projects, but also to work on programs, including  several subprojects and have the “big picture” of all projects of the company, despite the fact that each project is supervised by it’ own manager;

-          “multi-project” management helps to trace the interaction of the projects and manage the company resources efficiently, optimize cash flow of the projects;

-          management information systems can help to analyze the effectiveness of the project, systemize and accumulate experience of its implementation so that this knowledge can be used for carrying out future projects. This is so called “Memory of the company”. (Parker, Charles, 1993)

Today information technologies in our company influence not only data processing but also the way of effecting the work by the staff, the service itself and the competitiveness of the company.  In most organizations information is the basic resource and information processing is the matter of strategic importance.  Our company could not reach appropriate level of competitiveness unless it could provide its customers with the level of service, which could only be possible with implementation of high technologies.

Information systems serve for providing all necessary information to managing staff. In the common case the Management Information System includes four basic subsystems:

-          the system of transaction processing;

-          the system of accounts management;

-          office information system;

-       the system of “support for taking decisions”, which can include information of the manager, expert system.

Our company use  Management Information Systems for various purposes. They increase the labor efficiency, providing for more quick and cost-efficient job doing, taking correct decisions. Management Information System help to increase the service quality for customers and clients, create and update the products as well as fortify the company position in the market. It is as well the way to increase the level of company competitiveness through cost reduction, quality improvement and efficient projects management. (Bentley, Trevor J., 1986)

CONCLUSION

Development and implementation of Management Information Systems in modern business environment helped to provide access to information to all groups of the company staff. The tasks which in the early days could by performed by a highly qualified personnel with the automation of production and management processes became possible to do for  everyone having the slightest computer literacy. Now almost everyone working in the company has access to vital and precise data which he or she had never had before the era of wide computerization.

Management Information System serve and e-commerce have played tremendous role in business progress of our company and helped to accumulate information, protect it and use it in the most efficient way.

Reference List:

1. Ward, John. Principles of Information Systems Management.- Routledge, 1995.
2. Parker, Charles. Management Information Systems: strategy and action.-2^nd ed ,- McGraw-Hill, 1993.
3. Bentley, Trevor J.- Management Information Systems and data processing.-2^nd ed.-Holt Riherhart & Winston, 1986
4. «Network Magazine», №10, 1999
5. «PC WEEK», №6, 1998

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Brief information about the company

Coles Myer Ltd. is Australia’s largest non-government company with the history of more than 100 years old. Its chairman Mr. Richard Allert and Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Mr. John Fletcher operate around 1800 stores of the company in Australia and New Zealand. The company as one of the country’s largest corporate philanthropists employ over 160,000 staff.  Coles, Bi-Lo, Myer, Grace Bros, Megamart, Kmart, Target, Liquorland, Officeworks and Emerging Businesses are the brands which are operated by Coles Myer Ltd. It has over 580,000 shareholders, the majority of whom are non-employee shareholders, “mums and dads”, holding 5,000 or less shares. Coles Myer Ltd is listed on the stock exchanges of Australia, London, New York and New Zealand. Expenses on merchandise and services are around $19 billion which are ordered in over 61,000 suppliers.

PROFITABILITY

The year 2001 demonstrated decrease in profitability of Total group sales from 24,168.0 $M in 2000 to 23,779.6 $M in 2001. Increase in Food & Liquor sales to 14,468.2 $M in 2001  from 14,221.0 $M  in 2000 and e.colesmyer  to 272.1$M  from  195.5$M in 2000 was compensated and reduced with the fall in sales of General Merchandise & Apparel  and from 9,751$M in 2000 to 9,039.3 $M in 2001.

Growth of Actual – equivalent weeks fell from 6.2 % in 2000 to 5.5 % in 2001. Net profit is characterized with the decrease in its rate for both years, but in 2001 the result is less than previous. Thus, it fell from 300.7 $M in 2000 ((25.8)%-decrease) to 150.8$M in 2001 ((49.9)%- decrease).

The situation changed for better in 2002 as Net Profit increased to 353.8 $M which is 134,6% towards the previous year.

CASH FLOWS

Operating cash flow before interest and tax reduced in 2000 from 1,082.5 $M to 941.7 $M in 2001 and increased in2002 to 1,280.4 $M. Distributions received, interest and tax led to the rate of operating cash flow again from reduction in 2001 to 672.2 $M from 729.8$M of the previous year to increase of its rate to 1,118.0 in 2002.

Dividends of the company where 285.3$M in 2002, 365.1 $M in 2001 and 254.2$M in 2000.  Thus, a company improved its situation on dividends in 2001 but lost its position in 2002.

As to shareholder value, ordinary share price it increased in 2002 comparing to 2001 but still could not get the rate of 200.  Their value was $6.45, $6.10 and $6.64 accordingly. Market capitalization demonstrated its continuously increasing rate up to 8,403.2$M in 2002.

Net debt/net debt and equity (capital employed) and Net gearing ratio demonstrated their rate on reduction. First on continued to fell from 38.7 % to 27.3 % and to 17.5 % for three years. The second index of financial strength of the company decreased from 64.5 % to 57.8 % and to 55.4 % for the same three years.

BALANCE

Net assets employed before tax balances was 3,994.2$M in 2002, 4,420.2$M in 2001 and 4,588.7$M in 2000. Employed capital reduced from 4,535.6$M, 4,467.4 $M to 4,009.7 for three last years. Net debt was high in 2002 (8,024.4$M), less in 2001 (8,011.1$M) and 7,876.0 in 2000.  Total Capital Expenditure also fell from 707.6 $M to 701.0$M and to 617.1$M.

Conclusion

Summing up, the year 2001 for Coles Myer Ltd. was worse for investing comparing to 2000. Indexes of liquidity, profitability and financial stability demonstrate that 2002 was better to invest in the company than 2001.

Otto Kernberg’s formulation (1984, 1989) of BPO is psychodynamic and structural. He proposes three main features of BPO [2]:

• Identity diffusion
• Primitive defensive operations
• Intact reality testing

Kernberg posits these features to result from pathological object relations. Which in this instance refer to the internal object world. This theory concerns itself with the internalisation of external relations and suggests that the difficulties experienced by individuals with BPO result from a failure to integrate intrapsychic representations of self and others. [2]

Furthermore, these aspects of self and other are defensively separated into “all good” and “all bad” representations. The individual presents with a chaotic, fragmented two-dimensional view of self and others. Emotional subtlety, sophisticated role-relatedness and psychological depth are all missing from the representational world of the borderline individual. [2]

In the psychotherapeutic relationship, self and object representations may be activated in the transference. The processes of projection and identification will be operating – thus a devalued depreciated self representation will be projected onto the therapist whilst the client identifies with a harsh critical object representation, hence the notion of ‘identification with the aggressor’. The affective link may be anger or fear. Typical self-object representations activated in the transference as shown below. [3]

In working with clients with borderline psychopathology the therapist must be able to tolerate intense, rapidly shifting affect within the relationship. Kernberg (1984, 1989) focuses on transference analysis within a supportive setting, i.e. working in the ‘here and now’ along the transference – counter-transference paradigm. His primary focus via clarification, confrontation and interpretation is the integration the split internal object as it becomes manifest transactionally in the psychotherapeutic relationship. [3]

Otto Kernberg has postulated a theory of BPD based on a phenomenon he describes as splitting. Splitting appears to be the main defense mechanism of the borderline. A borderline perceives people in terms of black and white or as either good or bad objects. The main problem in handling borderlines is to cope with their unrealistic views of other people – and in their attempts to create self-fulfilling prophecies to make the world fit with his or her perceptions. If a borderline perceives you as a good object, he or she will go to great lengths in providing situations or interpretations compatible with this view. [4]

References

1. Kernberg, O.F.; Selzer, M.A.; Applebaum, A.H.; Carr, A.C. & Koenigsburg, U.W. (1989) Psychodynamic Psychotherapy of Borderline Patients.
2. Nigg, J. T., Lohr, N. E., Westen, D., Gold, L. J., & Silk, K. R. (1992). Malevolent object representations in borderline personality disorder and major depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 101, 61-67.
3. Greene, L. R., Rosenkrantz, J., & Muth, D.Y. (1986). Borderline defenses and countertransference: Research findings and implications. Psychiatry, 49, 253-264.
4. Westen, D. (1990). Towards a revised theory of borderline object relations: Contributions of empirical research. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 71, 661-693.

It is important for people to realize that they are not alone. However, generalizing divorces cannot be accomplished, each one is unique.

I am 15 years old now, and a product of  a bitter divorce (when I was only 10). My parents fought – both mentally and physically – in the presence of my sister and I. Although they tried to avoid such altercations when we were near, it was impossible to do so.

Throughout the divorce, both my sister and I gained a substantial amount of weight, making a social life somewhat of a challenge. With problems at home, no child wants to face obnoxious kids at school – they begin to feel like everyone is “out to get them”. Even my weekends were taken with visits to psychologists, family counselor’s, and the judge’s chambers. As a result of my parent’s divorce, our entire family unity was shattered.

When my parents criticized each other, I couldn’t help but think of the imperfect background I had sprung from. That is, until I realized no marriage is perfect. I have learned to remember the good parts of my childhood – vacations without fights, family outings, among other things.

With my life finally back in order, nothing else seems to have evolved at all. My sister still hates my dad, will not go on visitations, and my mom continues to complain about how bad her life has become. Clearly, it is hard to benefit from a divorce. But, that all is decided by how it is handled. I love my parents very much. I refused to listen as each one explained the horrible things that their spouse had done to them. The most important thing for a child to understand is that they must make the difference. Don’t just let everything happen, make what you want to happen really occur.

Today, my father is distanced from the family. I bet there are still times he thinks, if I had only stuck it out, I would have a real family life now. Which, he doesn’t. I still wish that my parents had never divorced. I think it affects kids more than is even realized. It cuts into the development of the children relationship with the world around him/her. If the child is particularly sensitive, it can cause more serious problems, like mental problems and a lot of problems with men. ¹

Five years later, I think I can say I accept their divorce. I don’t agree with it, and I still grieve the loss of my family. Some days I don’t think about it any more, but some days a childhood memory resurfaces and I’m sad all over again.

The bottom line is, parental divorce is a difficult, depressing experience no matter the age of the children involved. And if you’re an adult whose parents are divorcing, and you recognize yourself in any of these words, you’re not alone.

Reference

1. The Children’s Society (1988) Focus on Families. Divorce and its Effects on Children. London: The Children’s Society.
2. Burrett, J. (1993) To and Fro Children: A Guide to Successful Parenting after Divorce. London: Thorson’s.

The following guide is intended to help you learn how to write a literature review for a research paper.

1. Identify the literature.

Everything that is written about your topic can be used as literature. This covers books, theses, dissertations, journal articles, newspaper articles, historical accounts, government records, etc. The important thing is to look for literature that is relevant to your subject of research. Online databases make it easy to search for literature to be mentioned in your study. Begin your search with a general descriptor, altering your search to include results where the descriptor appears only in the title, abstract, review of literature or in all elements of the text. This allows you to find out if your subject is too broad or too narrow and make the necessary adjustments. Take note, however, that findings must be up-to-date. The rule of thumb is to use text published within the last five years. You may also include classic studies but you have to emphasize that these are landmark studies and point out how it influenced the direction of research in the area.

2. Analyze the literature.

Find a way to take organized notes because you will need them when you plan to write the review. You can do it the old-fashioned pen-and-paper way or use a note-taking software such as RefWorks, Inspiration or Excel, whatever works for you. There are several points for analysis to take note of. It is useful to group the texts according to categories first, such as type of literature, objective of the study, research design or conclusion. Define the key terms and note any differences within the texts. Also, highlight any statistics and quotations you might wish to refer to when writing the review.

Be on the lookout for major trends and patterns. These are not usually specified in the texts themselves, but they become apparent towards the end. Note the commonalities and gaps among the texts, but be wary of treating each text of equal importance. You should be able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each text and determine how each conclusion is relevant to your research.

3. Synthesize the literature.

How you write a literature review for a research paper depends largely on the purpose of your study. Create an outline of the review, providing separate headings for separate categories. Within each heading, identify the similarities and differences among the texts and note any gaps in knowledge that need to be filled in. If possible, explain the literatures within the context of a unifying theoretical or contextual framework and discuss the theory is advanced by the individual texts. Always provide summaries for each heading and come up with an overall conclusion for the entire review.

4. Write the review.

There are three parts of the literature review: introduction, body and conclusion. The introduction aims to define the subject of study and point out the general findings that have arisen in previous bodies of work. It also points out how you identified, analyzed and compared texts included in the review. The body is the meat and bones of the review, where you group the texts into categories and analyze them according to various factors. Each category must be clearly delineated from the other by providing clear and straightforward thesis statements.  By the time you reach the conclusion, you should already be able to summarize the significant findings that arose from the body of literature you have studied. Also, point out the major flaws and inconsistencies and identify the “knowledge gaps” that you seek to fill in with your own contributions. The review should be thorough and comprehensive, but always keep the main focus on the subject of your own study.

Capitalism was a global phenomenon from the outset, not only by way of trade but also by way of extraction of resources from the colonies that underpinned capital accumulation in the metropolis.

The development of capitalism in the middle-ages resulted in the saturation of domestic markets especially in Europe, thus necessitating the search for markets and cheap labour abroad, resulting in the pursuit and scramble for colonies and the division of the world among capitalist countries. ¹

The pillage and exploitation of the Americas and the West Indies, and that of Africa by virtue of the slave trade, and, not least, the discovery by Europeans of the sea route to India and the Far East, led to a very rapid growth in world trade by the sixteenth century. It is important to recognise the global character of the colonial enterprise from the outset. The financing of Indo-European trade, for instance, with gold and silver and precious stones was made possible by colonial link of Europe namely the Iberian conquest and exploitation of Latin America that brought about a steady flow of precious metals into Europe. That pattern of exports to Europe of Indian manufactures against payment in precious metals was the reverse of the classical pattern of colonial trade that was to be brought into being not until the second half of the 19^th century. ²

Before the turn of the 19th century indentured slave labour was toiling in colonial plantations all over the world. Twentieth century industrial squalor now began to spread while near slavery in the plantations and mines provided the cheap commodities, raw material and fuel for industry seeking cheap labour. ³

SOUTH AFRICA

The beginning of industrial capitalism in South Africa was part of the global development of imperialism in the last 30 years of the 19th century. Vast amounts of capital were exported, mainly from Britain, to develop industrial diamond and gold mining in South Africa. From small diggings operated by owner-artisans, the mining industry was quickly dominated by vast corporations. Today’s companies like De Beers date back to these early decades. ⁴

Imperialist political domination of the whole South African terrain after the Anglo-Boer war meant that infrastructural development, taxation and, above all, labour regulation could be directed towards the requirements of the mining corporations. ⁵

None can doubt the truth contained in what Comrade Fidel Castro said in 1988 that the history of Africa will be divided into before and after Cuito Cuanavale. So, because the victory of the revolutionary democratic forces in that battle against the bulwark of colonialism, apartheid South Africa, was a deciding factor and tocsin for the ultimate victory of the anti-colonial struggle throughout the continent. ⁶

It will be remembered that the forces of colonialism made their last desperate stand in this Southern region of Africa, where imperialist forces concentrated all their efforts, energy, weapons and human resources to ensure the permanent sustenance of their evil cause. ⁷

On the other hand, the national liberation movement waged the most heroic, daring, stoic battle to rid the continent of the menace of colonialism. On each occasion, people’s struggle did not triumph without guts and blood, and on each occasion, where it was defeated, colonial forces left trails of blood and devastation as they sought to wrest strategic victory and ensure that were free only in form while in oppressed in substance. ⁸

As they lost political power, the colonial forces, accustomed to plundering resources, sought to create client States everywhere in Africa that would basically facilitate this outcome and preserve their economic interests. To deepen dependence on them, as they were wrecking the economies, they were bludgeoning South Africa into an unceasing debt burden that has resulted in massive outflows of capital to the developed countries from Africa that, itself, serves to preserve colonial economic relations. ⁹

Indeed, these client States were to become a prominent feature of post-colonial independent Africa. Leaders of the progressive national liberation movement were assassinated in many countries; there were civil wars, coups de tat and other anti-democratic manoeuvres that were to deny the African people, after many years of fighting for freedom, their political and socio-economic rights. ¹⁰

While they claimed to be democratic, everywhere in Africa imperialists propped up and supported brutal dictatorships so long as they could preclude the seizure of power by the revolutionary democratic movement. ¹¹

In this entire arrangement, South Africa occupied a strategic position as an outpost of imperialism and colonialism. White supremacists thought that they could guard this turf with all their arsenal, disrupt and destroy the Frontline States in order to cut the ANC off from all sources of assistance and eventually to destroy it so that it does not interfere with this set up. ¹²

It was no coincidence that African people throughout the continent joined together in a common effort to defeat the apartheid monster in South Africa. Upon this one fact hinged the most critical questions of the emancipation of Africa as a whole. Africa understood that for as long as the apartheid regime remained intact in South Africa, so long would Africa herself and all her children remain in permanent bondage. The basic fact was that apartheid was incompatible with and antithetical to Africa’s independence. ¹³

CUBA

Cuba has progressed through the stages of colonization, globalization and development differently than any other Latin American country. In Cuba, the occurrence of these stages has been more recent, stable and progressive. Cuba functioned as a colonial state under the overpowering United States government until Fidel Castro’s revolution of 1958. The eventual break in trade relations between the United States and Cuba has caused the unusual evolution of globalization due to the trade embargoes imposed on Cuban exports. The abnormal progress of Cuba in such ways has led to Cuba’s unique state of being a developed, third world country. ¹⁴

In the past 43 years of the Revolution, Cuba’s movement toward development has been exceptional. Castro’s emphasis on the necessity of a developmental infrastructure has led to a highly functioning and educated society. Although Cuba is restrained by extreme economic difficulties that cause (or are caused by) irregularities in the governmental system, the population of the small archipelago is literate, healthy, fed, and housed. This social security has created a rather patriotic civil society, Cuba’s strongest and most admirable quality. ¹⁵

The relative unification and pride that Cubans feel for their country was fostered by the United States colonization prior to the Revolution. During the United States occupation of Cuba, in the beginning of the twentieth century, the development experienced was contrary to that of a sustainable concept. The United States intervention in Cuba caused a dichotomy in the existing cultures; there were those who were privileged with dollars (all too frequently only the U.S. Americans and diplomats) and those who were left out of the raging casino economy, the majority of whom were Cuban natives. Development in this epoch was therefore faulted because benefits only reached a small sector while the rest of the population was left uneducated and obligated to exploitation. The majority was thus a stratified populace, plagued by poverty and stagnancy. Cuba for this reason lacked the ability to develop. ¹⁶

The history of international development has been stained by colonization, a process that applies a standard scheme of imposition and penetration in communities. In the quest for rapid acquisition of wealth, colonization has reaped negative effects throughout the world by understating the individuality of regions. The result of colonization has overwhelmingly left countries in political, economic, environmental and social disarray, which ultimately leaves the unstable countries dependent upon foreign support systems. Therefore, colonization as a development model does not succeed in forming a functional market system wherein “the structural transformation of the economy, society, polity and culture permits self-generating and self-perpetuating use and development of a people’s potential.” ¹⁷

Reference List

1. Bernard S. Cohn. Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge. Princeton Univ Pr; August 19, 1996.
2. Bernard S. Cohn.
3. Bernard S. Cohn.
4. Jean Comaroff, John L. Comaroff. Of Revelation and Revolution: Christianity, Colonialism, and Consciousness in South Africa. University of Chicago Press; June 1991.
5. Jean Comaroff, John L. Comaroff.
6. Jean Comaroff, John L. Comaroff.
7. Jean Comaroff, John L. Comaroff.
8. Jean Comaroff, John L. Comaroff.
9. Jean Comaroff, John L. Comaroff.
10. Jean Comaroff, John L. Comaroff.
11. Jean Comaroff, John L. Comaroff.
12. Jean Comaroff, John L. Comaroff.
13. Jean Comaroff, John L. Comaroff.
14. Peter Clegg, Timothy Shaw. The Caribbean Banana Trade: From Colonialism to Globalization. Palgrave Macmillan; October 11, 2002.
15. Peter Clegg, Timothy Shaw.
16. Peter Clegg, Timothy Shaw.
17. Ania Loomba. Colonialism/Postcolonialism (The New Critical Idiom). Routledge; April 1998.

It is beneficial for students to take a look at introduction essay examples when first trying to write the beginning of an essay. In this article, we take a look at one sound example of an introductory paragraph and flesh out the components that make it effective.

“For more than three hundred years, the throne of Spain laid its claim over the Philippine islands in a bid for global power. Over such a long span of time, the island natives have learned to embrace the cultural heritage brought to them  by the white conquistadores from the West. Not the least of these influences is the Roman Catholic religion, evident in the fact that the Philippines is the only Catholic nation in the predominantly Muslim Southeast Asian region. The spiritual beliefs, practices, customs and traditions of the Filipino people have been shaped by the presence of Catholicism as an institution deeply rooted in the Filipino way of life. As we will see in this paper, religion has permeated every aspect of life in the islands, including its government, policy-making system, education, media, entertainment and family.”

For us to be able to effectively analyze the introduction essay example given above, we must be aware of the objectives of an essay’s introduction. First of all, it should be interesting. It should be able to elicit excitement or curiosity out of the readers for them to read the entire length of the essay. Second, an introduction should tell the readers exactly what the essay is all about. Unlike with creative fiction writing, building up the suspense is discouraged in writing academic essays. The reader should be able to tell how you are going to conclude your essay just by reading the introduction alone. Remember, the purpose of the essay is to present a case and a clear and logical sequence of arguments that supports your case.

There are four components of an essay’s introduction. These are the following:

1. Opening statement
2. Background information
3. Thesis statement
4. Author’s point of view

Let’s examine these components according to the example given above.

1. Opening statement

The opening statement should contain a hook to lure your readers into the essay. There are several tried-and-tested techniques of doing this. Take a look at the following:

1. Anecdotes. They may be personal or otherwise. Be sure to ask your instructor if the use of the first-person ‘I’ is allowed.
2. Facts or Statistics. The example above makes use of this technique. Presenting a fact that is little known by most readers elicits curiosity and fascination.
3. Question. If you begin with a question, make sure to end your essay with a satisfying answer.
4. Quotation. Choose something interesting and pertinent to the topic of your essay. You should be able to explain in your essay why you chose to include the quotation.

2. Background information

Providing brief and relevant background information allows the reader to see your essay in a broader context. In the example above, the introduction provides a short but clear historical context that explains why Catholicism is predominant in the way of life. The first, second and third sentences show how background information can be incorporated in the essay’s introduction.

3. Thesis statement

The most important part of the introduction is the thesis statement, where the writer tells the reader what the essay is going to be about. The thesis statement can be direct or indirect. For beginners, it might help to use introductory expressions such as the following:

• “This paper examines…”
• “This report discusses…”
• “This essay demonstrates…”
• “As we will see in this essay…”

A thesis statement is typically located in the last sentence of the introduction.

4. Author’s point of view

It is generally discouraged to include expressions of personal opinion, such as “I personally believe,” “I think,” or “In my opinion,” in an academic essay. Point of view, however, is indicated when the author of the essay presents his assertion that can be easily supported by the arguments presented in the essay. In the given example, the writer asserts that “the spiritual beliefs, practices, customs and traditions of the Filipino people have been shaped by the presence of Catholicism as an institution deeply rooted in the Filipino way of life” and “religion has permeated every aspect of life in the islands, including its government, policy-making system, education, media, entertainment and family.”

Working for a shoes store on the position of its manager during an internship brings only benefit for any student. As far as getting a job is a great challenge for everyone people have to demonstrate all their skills, experience, knowledge, intention, energy, enthusiasm etc. While applying for any position they realize that there are lots of people like them looking for a job. Employees increase their chances to be hired if they have any experience but for students, because of lack of time, experience and other factors this opportunity is not so high. Therefore, internship becomes a great opportunity for every student finishing their studying to gain experience, develop their skills, communicate with different people, earn money, get promotion and develop as an individual.

Experience

The intern gains experience in the field they are working in as the manager of the shoes store. While being students they get general and wide-ranging knowledge in different subjects, such as: management, marketing, finance, audit etc. In time this knowledge helps during getting an experience in work.

Being the manager of the shoes store means to get the experience how to control and organize work of the personnel of the store; supply the store with the shoes which are required in this season, of definite trade mark and with definite quality; manage the information: what is the demand and what is the proposition of the shoes in the market; organize the structure of the company which enable to increase its sales and profit, outcome; manage finances of the shoes store; control marketing presentation of the store, its publicity and etc.

Such a wide range of tasks has the manager of higher level. As far as students get their first experience while working during internship they get the position of manager of the department of the store. Thus, they get the opportunity to get experience from small commitments to higher with promotion in case of their good results in this position.

Development of the skills

Interns develop their skills on the position of manager of the shoes store. There is no secret that only the student with good skills in the area can be hired on such a position. Skills gained during studying can be continuously developed on this position. All people develop their skills while working and getting experience. Interns are not exclusion. Their energy helps them to obtain and gain new skills which help them work and be promoted. All experience develops people’s skills. Position of the manager of the shoes store enables to develop management and administrative skills how to control work of the store in order to increase to profit.

Communication

Manager of the shoes store experience a lot of communication. Controlling and organizng work of the personnel of the store the manager has to meet employees and communicate in order to choose good staff and to explain their duties. Supplying the store with the shoes the manager communicates with other representatives of the shoes company and its suppliers. Marketing and public relations require lots of communication as in this case the manager is able to regulate the sales of the store and its profit. Good publicity brings benefit both for manager and for the shoes store. Meeting new people manager of the store is able to develop communicational skills, feel free while having conversation with the people of different level and be satisfied with communication generally.

Earn living

Earn living is one more beneficial sides of being the manager of the shoes store. Students or interns are able to earn more which helps them to be independent from their parents who help them with money while studying. Earning money themselves enable to start independent adult life with the help of the position of manager of the shoes store. Financial benefit of work always attracts employees. Interns consider high payment as a good luck as they get not just the benefit discussed before but have money evaluation for their work. Position of the manager is considered to be well-paid, which means the working on this position have only positive sides.

Promotion as the way to climb a career ladder

Energy, enthusiasm, reliance and diligence help to be promoted from the position of the manager of the shoes store. Interns are able to climb the career ladder from the position of the manager of the store. Good career attracts any employee and for interns this position is a great opportunity to develop themselves in the way they choose. Climbing the career ladder with the help of promotion is the way how managers can be satisfied with the chosen way of their lives.

Development of the individuality

Position of the manager of the shoes store helps to develop the individuality of every intern. Communication, duties, experience gained on this positions form not just a strong and highly-professional manager but the individual who is able to start and organize the communication well, who is motivated, respected and confident. This forms an interesting and strong person.

Conclusion

Working as a manager of the shoes store especially during internship is positive from any point of view. “Fresh” understanding by interns of the sales in shoes store will help to increase its profit, which plus for a store. There are a lot of pluses for interns.  Such workers gain their first experience of work which organize them. They learn how to communicate correctly in order to present themselves and the company from the best side. They develop their professional skills from theoretical to practical. They develop as an individuality meeting new people, climbing the career ladder and having interest in their business. And at last they earn money for their work. Thus, working as the manager of the shoes store satisfies academic and career aspirations.

Now you know why going on internship is so important for a student. Learn all about how to write excellent essays!