Thai Food as a Cultural Product Essay Example for Free

Thai Food as a Cultural Product Essay The use of food as cultural products by tourism industry today affects the culinary heritages in negative senses Do you agree with this statement? Please explain and give example. Cultural products as a part of tourism industry have become an influential strategy in modern international trade. Food is one of the distinctive goods, which have popularly been brought to represent the country and the culture of its residents. However, surprisingly, the use of food as a cultural product by tourism industry today no longer fully displays the intellectual inheritance of the nation; on the contrary, it affects the culinary heritages in negative senses. Having become a cultural product, foreign-cuisine restaurants blossom in every part of the world. For instance, Thai food has become internationally popular because of its sophistication and variety. (Global Investment Center, 2008, p. 245) People can experience Thai cultures without practically going abroad through various choices of Thai food, which are available in their own countries. Nevertheless, often times, the food to which they expose is not a real representative of Thai culinary art since it is reduced in terms of cultural accuracy. There generally are some changes in ingredients due to some difficulties such as rare alien constituents, but, surprisingly, the changes in Thai food are usually not by reason of the lack but intentionally made. Thai cuisines served abroad are frequently modified. This does not occur from a misunderstanding of Thai cultures because several chefs in Thai restaurants overseas are from Thailand. Instead, this happens to be more because of customers; in other words, this is an effect of culture shock. Peter Adler describes culture shock as a five-stage educational and developmental process based on work by Kalvero Oberg and others – which are the honeymoon stage, the disintegrate stage, the reintegrate stage, the autonomy stage, and the interdependence stage respectively. Newly exposed individuals experience the curiosity and excitement of a tourist at first before they feel overwhelmed by the new cultures requirements. After that, they will express outer-directed anger and resentment toward the new culture before they gradually gain a balanced perspective of the two cultures and become fluently comfortable at last. (Pedersen, 1995, p. 3) The first two stages give an explanation to the Thai recipe modification case. Like any other cuisine, one dishful of true Thai food can be exciting and appealing while a repetition of it may not be as superb and may later cause to feel uncomfortable. When it comes to business, a dish per person is not adequate; a restaurant needs a regular customer. As a result, a number of Thai restaurants overseas choose to simplify their own recipes to make their diners feel less awkward with their menus so as to keep their visits. Even though, according to Adler’s theory, the culture-experiences will eventually get along with the real Thai food, the business has a tendency not to take the risk as the stake is too high. The loss of some ingredients due to changes in recipes does not only mean the loss of its taste but also the loss of Thai culinary heritages accumulated since hundreds of years ago, for the ingredients do not only flavor the food but have benefits both in terms of medicine and cookery as well. Even though Thailand was not scientifically advanced back in old times, Thais learned how to utilize herbs as medicament and put them in their food. For example, flowers of a Hummingbird tree in Tamarind paste soup can help balance the body systems, relieve a seasonal fever, and deodorize the soup when adding fish. Tom-Yum is another example. A variety of herbs in the spicy soup, apart from seasoning, can help digestion, prevent bloating, release gas, relieve a fever, and control sexual desire and blood pressure. The removal of some components from Thai food in Thai restaurants overseas without the least concern regarding the culinary heritages is, therefore, the neglect of cultures in a cultural product itself. So far, the existence of Thai food abroad as a cultural product has seemingly been disregarded at the same time as other exotic cuisines on account of several reasons. Diners usually do not truly get the essence of the cuisine or even have a misconception about the culinary art. As long as bean sprouts are still seen in Green curry served in Thai restaurants in the Unites States, using food as a cultural product might not be a good idea. Reference: Longrain: Modern Thai Food. Melbourne: Hardie Grant. Christofi, V. , Thompson, C. L. (2007). You cannot go home again: a phenomenological investigation of returning to the sojourn country after studying abroad. Journal of Counseling and Development, 85(1), 53-64. Global Investment Center. (2008). Thailand Country Study Guide. Washington, DC: International Business. Pedersen, P. (1995). The five stages of culture shock. Westport, CT: Greenwood. Smithies, A. (1952). Modern International Trade Theory and International Policy. In The American Economic Review: Vol. 42, No. 2, Papers and Proceedings of the Sixty-fourth Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association (pp. 168-176). N. P. : American Economic Association. Ward, C. , Bochner, S. , Furnham, A. (2001). The psychology of culture shock. Newyork: Routledge.

the videogames industry Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The video game industry has become a huge influence on society and the economy today. It is an industry that is so huge that it is estimated that 70% of U.S homes will own a Video game system by the year 2005, (Cassandra, 2002) Just one year away. But what made it the way it is? Since it is still an industry it has to follow the natural laws of economics. In this paper we will dive into the industry that now has gone beyond movies and recordings in profit.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first is that the video game consol industry is an oligopoly and has to deal with the game theory. It is an oligopoly because it has high barriers to entry such as hardware subsidies and very fierce competition amongst already established firms (Scevek, 2001) Also there are only three major producers of video game consoles: Sony, Nintendo, and the recently Microsoft. Because these three all have personal interests the game theory applies quickly. The most recent example is the releases of the Playstaion 2 by Sony, the Nintendo GameCube, and Microsoft’s X-box. Early in the year of 2001 Sony released its latest Playstation 2 and its profits surged. They had increased 3.1% to 24.8 billion Yen, and 22.t million units sent world wide in the first fiscal year (IGN, 2002). Microsoft and Nintendo however had a different story. They decided to hold off sending of their product until the holiday season of 2001, a well-known purchasing time for consumers. However this induced competition for personal interests and both ended up worse off. While the Xbox had sold 1.4 million units, and Gamecube 1.3 million, Sony had 1.4 million units sold in its fourth quarter (Weintraub, 2002). That 1.4 million was in addition to the millions sold before hand. This unwise release is catching up with Microsoft as the profits for the X-box had halved to 190 million in 2003 compared to the loss of 60 million the year before (Yabedo, 2003), and it may soon be forced to leave the gaming industry. As it stands now the current owning of systems in households is 75% own a Playstation 2, 12% own a X-box, and13% own a Gamecube (yabedo, 2003). While the figures may be small Nintendo is building up slow but steady steam with its big name titles, and domination of the hand-held industry. Its recent release the Gameboy Advance has caused a make up for the loss by GameCube. It had so... ...t (Chmielewski,2002). With this increase investment and demand in human capital it is clear to see that the industry is bound to only continue growing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In conclusion the video game industry is growing, it has been for the last thirty years and will continue maybe for the next hundred. But it is an industry none the less, it has to follow the same laws as any other firm in the game of economics, and in this game there is no save point or pause button. We have seen that because of the game theory the console companies make choices for what they believe to be their best option only to have a worse outcome than if they had released at a different date, that as a compony earns an economic profit other componies will try to enter that area driving down economic profit, as well as examples of their fierce competition to stay on the cutting edge. We have also seen that they follow the laws of demand, and develop only on the desires and tastes of the buyers, the costs that come with producing a game both explicit and implicit, and the externalities that come with the products. And what investments are being made for the f uture in this billion-dollar industry.

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company

The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company was founded by Frank Seiberling in 1898 on the Little Cuyahoga River in Akron Ohio. He borrowed thirty five hundred dollars from his brother-in-law to start the company. The company was named after Charles Goodyear who discovered the rubber vulcanization process in 1839. The company started to build their first factory in 1902 in Akron. In 1903 Paul Litchfield, a factory manager received a patent on the tubeless tire. In 1904 the company became a leader in automobile, carriage, and bicycle tires. In 1909, the company became involved in making airplane tires. Goodyear employs 73,000 people in 22 countries and operates 53 facilities globally. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company’s mission statement is â€Å"To increase the value of our brands for everyone with market driven innovation, delivering the highest quality tires, related products and services, for our customers and consumers†. Strengths Goodyear has evolved as a leader in tire manufacturing and retreading across the globe. The company is the third largest tire company in the world with revenue surpassing twenty billion dollars. Goodyear is the best-selling tire in North America. Goodyear has very strong growth potential in all markets. This is a positive strength because competition is fierce and there is no room for error in the tire business due to the low profit margins on tires. Goodyear remains very profitable despite competition and that has Goodyear in a strong position for future plans and innovations. Goodyear has a strong liquidity position in the market. In the last couple of years Goodyear has advanced their position and had strong revenue streams to bolster their short and long term goals. Over the first three months of 2013 Goodyear’s revue was at a record 5. 5 billion dollars. Goodyear managed to achieve this even when raw materials and weaker demand was present. This demonstrates that Goodyear is financially sound, beating out competition to remain on top of tire industry and also proves its positive leadership and goals are on target in today’s market. Weakness One of Goodyear’s weaknesses is Debit. While Goodyear is seeing a rise in revenue and profits they still carry a large debit from recent years. On April 19th, 2012, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company announced that it has completed a refinancing package of its U. S. credit facilities. These changes include increasing the company’s existing 1. 5 billion dollar existing revolving credit to two billion dollars and the maturity date has been increased to 2017. The company’s pre-existing 1. 2 billion dollar loan was extended until 2019. This is good news for Goodyear but still leaves them with a lot of debit to reduce in the future. They should be able to reduce this debit with the strong earning they are making and with new introductions of tires coming to market at this time. Another weakness of Goodyear is weaker overseas demand. As most of Europe is in a recession and many countries have severe unemployment, tire sales are down. This not just a problem for Goodyear but for all tire manufactures. Goodyear must analyze their overseas market strategy and take new measures to improve sales and remain profitable. Once a strategy can be put in place to remain a strong contender in Europe, Goodyear will see positive gains once again. Goodyear can minimize losses by reducing inventory and plant operation costs to make it more efficient than ever to keep their presence and name recognition at the forefront in the tire industry. Opportunities Goodyear has many opportunities to expand and gain market share worldwide. The Asian market is growing leaps and bounds and more people are able to purchase vehicles than ever before. The opportunities in these markets are quite great, and Goodyear will be there. With a solid global strategy, including manufacturing plants overseas, Goodyear is in a solid position with a large market presence already. Goodyear realizes the expanding market in Asia and is attacking on all sides with marketing and rebate campaigns to capitalize on the growth that is there for the taking. If Goodyear stays aggressive, they will surely reap the benefits. Another opportunity for Goodyear has been their new innovation centers in Akron Ohio and Colmer-Luxembourg. These new centers are developing new tires that are being highly praised and wanted, like the new Goodyear Assurance fuel Max tire that has 27 % less rolling resistance than conventional tires. The new Ultra grip 8 has more and stopping power than any tire on the market. With these new innovations and slim line operational costs, Goodyear is poised to be a market leader and very possibly will move up from the number three position they currently hold, and with the way the company is being run at this point, that is a definite possibility. Threats The highly competitive market is a big threat to Goodyear on all accounts. Bridgestone is the largest tire and rubber company in the world with sales over 35 billion. Michelin Tire Company is the second largest tire company in the world and both of these companies are threats to Goodyear in sear size and operation. There are other tire manufacturers, but these two are Goodyear’s biggest threats today. These large companies have great leadership and facilities to have the positions in the world market that they do and are very competitive in nature. These companies can lower prices to gain market share without making money for a short time and cut Goodyear’s market down, affecting the profits at Goodyear. Has this been done? Well nobody is pointing fingers, but there have been some fierce tire sales to accomplish increased market sales. Other threats that Goodyear faces are the lower cost tire manufactures. Other leading tire manufactures are selling tires at lower prices to gain a foothold in the market. These tires are good tires, but may lack the quality and reliability of a Goodyear tire. However with a tight economy, people sometimes will go with a cheaper tire to save money even if the tire will not give them the mileage and quality of a Goodyear. These companies can affect the over market share and profit at Goodyear. At a time when things are tough, people may choose these lower cost tires over Goodyear’s product, but Goodyear also has lower cost tires on the market to combat this, such as Dunlop and Kelly-Springfield brands. Summary Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company can capitalize in any market for tires, from high performance tires to lower priced economical tires. Goodyear has strong liquidity, multiple manufacturing plants and retreading facilities around the globe to compete in a very competitive market and has done well in the last couple of years in reducing operational costs and offering tire rebates, to place them in a great position for future growth. If Goodyear holds to its mission statement of delivering high quality tires at a great value, Goodyear will continue to prosper. References Goodyear Corporate website (2012). Retrieved from: http://www.goodyear.com/corporate/about/ Cars Direct, (2009, August 17). Retrieved from: http://www.carsdirect.com/car-repair/the-7-best-tire- companies-out-there Ranker, (2012), Retrieved from: http://www.ranker.com/list/world_s-top-10-tire-manufacturers-by-2010-revenue/micksgarage TR & W, (2010) Retrieved from: http://www.tiresrimsandwheels.com/top-tire-manufacturers/ Market Research.com. (2009, December, 31) Retrieved from: http://www.marketresearch.com/map/prod/2532908.html Consumer reports, (2012, April), Retrieved from: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/tires/buying-guide.htm Event Brief of Q1 2012 Goodyear Tire & Rubber Earnings Conference Call – Final Fair Disclosure Wire (2012, April). Quarterly Earnings Reports. Retrieved from: Database: Points of View Reference Center

“the Political Context” - 635 Words

â€Å"The Political Context† Describe how the Founder’s conception of the Constitution (reflected in Madison’s arguments) influenced the evolution of American public administration. In Madison’s arguments he wanted the powers in the departments to be sufficient, flaw less, and have it where the different departments kept each other in their appropriate position. With this being said, Madison believed that his observations would be able to place these powers within the departments into a more proper judgmental structure. In order to properly do this, the Founder’s had to be able to implement the proper foundation for this to be successful. Madison stated that he believe that in order to exercise these powers in the government, each department†¦show more content†¦These two items are going to help the growth in public service in are like sciences, genetics, materials, etc. the public service is going to have to be able to take on t he challenge for learning the new knowledge and technology, but for those in public service they know it will take their services further. The changes that will take place in the future bring more responsibilities and create better opportunities to the people they are helping in public service. Another growth that is seen is the increased globalization with businesses, politics, culture, and environmental concerns. The nation is coming together with all these issue at hand in order to control them. We still don’t see â€Å"eye to eye† on all these issues but progress has been made, and will continue to progress due to the globalization in public service. The diversity allows for growth around the world and allows the public service to gain the new knowledge and better there are of control these growth opportunities are going to be a challenge: however, the public service is looking to improve the conditions in their society, and within the government, laws, groups, and communities. The public service makes and helps change laws that affect the public. The public administration works closely in getting these types of changes made to make the community a better place and toShow M oreRelatedThe Political Context Of Sociology1118 Words   |  5 PagesIn his book, The Political Context of Sociology, Leon Bramson ( analyzes European theories of the mass and mass society. Bramson cites Wihelm Vleugls excretion that â€Å"not only do different authors associate different concepts with the word ‘mass’: often the same author will use the word to designate different concepts (p. 29). 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