Airborne Express case study Essay

Airborne Express, an air express transportation company has succeeded to compete with a few big competitors such as Federal Express and United Parcel Service (UPS) even it does not have funding as much as its competitors. In 1996, it held third position in the industry with 9 percent of the market. Even Airborne is smaller size company compared to its main competitors, it still can survive with the competitive advantage through its resources and capabilities. With some unique resources and core competences, a company may have competitive advantage over its competitors, and this is the way small capital company able to compete with its competitors. Airborne Express is the first and only air express transportation company that owns an airport. Because of the limited control, Airborne has purchased an airline at Wilmington in 1980. Since then, the airport became the hub of the company, and all the operations of the company were conducted here. It is also the biggest privately owned airport in United States. With the ownership of the airport, Airborne is able to control the operations more easily. Besides that, Airborne does not need to pay for any landing or service fees to the airlines company like its competitors. Comparably, Federal Express and UPS own the planes but still need to lease the airport from other party. It helps Airborne to save a lot of costs. Apart from that, Wilmington airport is one of the strategic airports in United States. It means that the place is having a well weather record. For express air transportation industry, weather is a big factor that can affect the daily business operation. If the weather is bad, the shipments will not be sent to the final destination at the promised time. Time is the promise to the customers and it does affect the confidence of a company’s customers. Besides airlines, Airborne also has a complete system of ground transportation. With the establishment of trucking hubs in some places, Airborne able to deliver the shipment that near to the hub using the ground transport. Almost 25 percent of the company’s domestic volume is dealt with ground transport. However, the cost of service by ground transport is not transparent to the customers who assume that the packages are flown. Thus, the charge is same with the air-transported goods. Compare to air transport, ground transportation costs five times lower. From here, the profit margin  has been increased. In the other way, the company also can offer lower price for ground transportation packages. Instead of making more profit, the company can utilize the low cost benefit to compete with its competitors. In 1996, Airborne Express owned a fleet of 105 aircraft. To keep the capital expenditure down, Airborne has purchased only used planes. The planes will be modified to suit its specification for air express transportation. The cost of purchase and modification is $30million lower than purchasing a new plane. Compare to other companies, a big amount of money is being saved by Airborne. Further more, Airborne’s DC-9 and YS-11 aircraft require only two person cockpit crew compared to normal three person crews required in Federal Express and UPS. Labour cost has been saved again. Airborne also have its own maintenance facility in Wilmington. It is the only all-cargo carrier to do so. It can handle most if the maintenance works except major engine repairs. It was estimate that the labour costs of $16 per hour is $49 lesser than the subcontracted labour cost. It was a major source of annual cost savings. Instead of serving all kinds of customers, Airborne decided to focus on serving the needs of high volume corporate accounts. It is because the severe competition and the cost of serving small customers. The company is able to establish scheduled pickup routes and use it as ground capacity more efficiently. Due to this factor, the unit cost structure has been reduced. According to the Airborne executives, their unit cost is $3 lower than its main competitor, Federal Express. Besides that, because of the different consumer behaviors between different groups, the focusing of the service is one of the ways to win a part of market in severe competition. By matching the needs of the groups, the company will have a better chance to win the customers than its competitors. Another aspects that Airborne get competitive advantage is the creation of the only privately certified Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) in United States at its Wilmington hub. In a FTZ, merchandise is tax-free and no customs duty is paid until it leaves. It is a big attraction to the foreign companies. The companies can keep their inventories in Wilmington hub, and the inventories  will be delivered to the destination by Airborne when needed. The local companies that implement Just-In-Time policy will prefer the service very much. It is because the inventories cost will bear by the suppliers that keep inventories in Airborne hub. For foreign companies, not only can satisfy the needs of local customers, but also can save the cost of tax and duty paid. The FTZ is a good factor that will help Airborne to set foot into the international market. However, because of the capital constraint, Airborne still unable to compete with Federal Express and UPS in the international market. Normally, large sizes A-containers are used in the air cargo business. Around $1million per plane is required to install cargo doors to take A-containers. To solve the problem, Airborne has developed C-containers that are six times smaller, and can fit through the passenger doors of the aircraft. The equipment to load the C-containers also about 80 percent less expensive than the equipment needed for A-containers. The shape of C-containers also designed to allow maximum utilisation of the plane space. To prevent other competitors copy the design, Airborne has taken out the patent on the C-containers. Therefore, C-containers seem to be the speciality of Airborne Express. It helps the company to save a lot of costs. It is a long term cost savings because it involves in daily operation. Therefore, it also a long term competitive advantage over the other competitors. Apart from that, through its subsidiary company, Advanced Logistics Services Corp., Airborne is promoting a range of third-party logistics service. It provides customers with the ability to maintain inventories in a 1 million square foot â€Å"stock exchange† facility located in Wilmington hub. The customers can choose to manage the inventories themselves or subcontract to Airborne. In â€Å"stock exchange† service, third party will involve in the instruction for movement of the inventories. It easier the process of the movement of inventories, and also help the customers to minimise inventory holding costs. Airborne is the first and only air express transportation company that provide this unique service. It actually involves a complex system. Therefore, knowledge or human resource is very important in order to develop the system. Since it is the only company, customers who interested  with the â€Å"stock exchange† service will come to Airborne. The unique competence gives Airborne a competitive advantage. Science and technology is developing rapidly in the world. Information system becomes more and more important in the business world. The more developed system a company has, the more competitive advantage it gets. Airborne uses three information systems to help in its daily operation. LIBRA II system is a metering device and computer software that easier the transaction between Airborne and customers. It also lowers Airborne’s operating costs. FOCUS is the main system provided by Airborne and it benefits customers the most. It is a worldwide tracking system that help the customers to track the location their package through Internet link. It increases the company’s reliability and service quality. With the trust on the company, customers will be more confident to give the job. The third system is the Customer Linkage electronic data interchange program. It eliminates repetitive data entry and paperwork by the customers. It also a system that created purposely to benefit its customers. The company also benefits from lowering the costs by eliminating manual data entry. From all the resources and capabilities mentioned above, we could realise that most of the competitive advantages Airborne has over its competitors is through costs reduction. According to Porter’s Generic Strategies Model, Airborne is actually implemented a cost-focus strategy to get the competitive advantage. Because of the lesser capital, Airborne is unable to compete with the giant of the industry, such as Federal Express and UPS. If Airborne can be the cost leader in the industry, it can give a severe competition to the competitors. Besides that, the unique resources such as C-containers and Foreign Trade Zone are also giving core competences to the company. In conclusion, facing the competition from competitors that have powerful funding, Airborne not only can survive, but also get a strong position in the air express transportation industry. A correct and suitable strategy adopted by a company can change the company position. A company, which can fully and smartly utilise its resources and capabilities, it can have  competitive advantage over the other competitors and it really benefits the company a lot.

The Crucible society Essays

The Crucible society Essays The Crucible society Essay The Crucible society Essay Mrs Putnam was jealous of Rebecca Nurse. This was because Rebecca had a large healthy family with all living children whereas all but one of Mrs Putnams children had died. Mrs. Putnam had seven babies that each died within a day of its birth. You think it Gods work you should never lose a child, nor grandchild either, and I bury all but one? said Mrs Putnam who channelled her anger into blaming Rebecca for their deaths as she was convinced that Rebecca used witchcraft to murder them. This eventually lead to Rebeccas death because as Rebecca was Mrs Putnams midwife and seven of Mrs Putnams babies died, Rebecca was wrongly charged with being a witch and that accusation was believed. Abigail wanted Elizabeth Proctor dead. This was because following her and Proctors affair, all she wanted was to be with John Proctor. She hoped that if his wife was out of the way she could have John. Betty accused Abigail saying: You did, you did! You drank a charm to kill John Proctors wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor! Abigails vanity also led her to believe that John Proctor would want her to be his wife rather than Elizabeth. This makes her think that if Elizabeth was out of the way she could have Proctor. She thinks to dance with me on my wifes grave. Also Abigail was found with a needle stuck in her stomach. She accused Elizabeth of using a poppet as a sort of voodoo doll to stick the needle in her. Cheever told Proctor, when Elizabeth showed him the poppet that Mary had made for her earlier that day stuck two inches in the flesh of her belly, he draw a needle out. And demandin of her how she come to be so stabbed, she testify it were your wifes familiar spirit pushed it in. Cheever wouldnt have thought that Abigail would stab herself and that made him believe Abigails untrue story that Elizabeths spirit pushed the needle in and therefore was a witch. Dancing was entirely forbidden and was linked with the Devil. When the girls were caught casting spells whilst dancing they blamed others so they wouldnt be punished. In one scene, all the girls screamed that they had seen other women from the village with the Devil as a diversion that sought to draw the attention away from the girls themselves, I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget with the Devil! People were more that willing to accept witchcraft so were easily able to believe stories told to them. Parris was willing to accept that his daughter Bettys illness was unnatural rather that risk his reputation. The unknown illness was considered linked to the Devil as there was no cure and it followed the night of dancing and casting spells. Pride in his scholarship and his belief in witchcraft makes Hale willing to accept the girls accusations (of innocent women) as genuine. Even though he quite likes the Proctors, the girls have accused Elizabeth of witchcraft, which makes him question the Proctors faith, I thought, sir, to put some questions as to the Christian character of this house, if youll permit me. But in the end Hale does come to question the girls accusations following his interrogations of Abigail and later he returns to the town to try and stop the trials because he becomes deeply troubled, claiming that if Rebecca Nurse is tainted, there is nothing to stop the whole world from burning. The two judges Danforth and Hathorne had so much pride that they couldnt accept that the girls had manipulated them with false accusations. They were too interested in being strict in court and asking question after question until the accused person broke down and confessed to save their own life (or deny and be killed). Even after Abigail had vanished, Danforth and Hathorne found it very difficult to believe that the girls had been lying and they still hung John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse. Danforth cried Hang them high over the town! Instead of believing what Proctor says about the girls being fakes, the judges condemn him to death. However, the judges did begin to doubt the truthfulness of the girls stories when Abigail takes all of Parris money and runs away with Mercy but their doubt came too late to save the life of Rebecca Nurse and John Proctor. Proctors pride also leads to his death as he would not falsely confess to witchcraft to save his own life. Once the girls denounced the women it was very difficult to retract their accusations. This was because so many villagers believed the accusations and the girls were frightened of what the court might do when they were discovered to be liars. When one of the girls, Mary, confessed none of the other girls support her and it back fired because the other girls accused her of witchcraft. In the end the easiest way out for Mary was to withdraw her confession. (Pointing at Proctor): Youre the Devils man! The girls accusations were believed because circumstances in Salem allowed people to have revenge upon others to hide their own wrongdoings, for example, when Abigail shouted I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! This took the focus away from her. Conclusion All these factors in Salem society allowed the girls stories to be believed and taken so seriously that innocent lives were taken. After John Proctor had been imprisoned, Abigail found that it was all too much. She couldnt retract her accusations and she could continue with them so she fled. Parris said My niece, sir, my niece- I believe she has vanished. Once the girls had accused other women in the village of witchcraft and the executions had begun, it was very difficult for those involved to admit that dreadful mistakes had been made. But there are three main reasons why the girls stories were readily believed. One is the fact that there wasnt a really strong leader in the town although Parris was supposed to be a leader. Two, Salems court system seems faulty especially as there was no hearing for the victim, even if they were really innocent they had two choices of either confessing or being put into jail or denial which got them executed. Once they were accused they couldnt win. Land and cattle also became available when people were hung after being accused of witchcraft too. Three, people were not allowed to have beliefs and views that were different. When the girls lied about dancing in the woods, they did it to protect themselves and their families. The girls said that they saw members of the town standing with the devil as they believed they could put the blame on to others and not be held responsible for their own sins. Although Abigail and the other girls started the accusations, the responsibility for the deaths of many innocent people lies with the whole community which broke down.

Change Management in Delta Airlines Research Paper

Change Management in Delta Airlines - Research Paper Example The next portion of the project would be dealing with the diagnosis of the business conditions of Delta Airlines. This part would be discussing the mission and vision statement of the company followed by its objectives and business strategies. The third part of the project would reflect change management within the organization by an implementation of Kotter’s eight-step approach. The Eight Step Model of Kotter is one of the most popular models for scheduling, implementing and finally sustaining a change process. Company Overview As already discussed above, Delta Airlines is a popular American Airline whose headquarter is located in Atlanta, United States (Federal Aviation Administration, 2013). This airline generally operates both international and domestic networks having its service routes in all the continents excepting Antarctica. The company along with its subsidiaries operates more than 5000 flights regularly. The company employs 80000 employees approximately (Delta Air lines, n.d.). The hub is located at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which is one of the busiest airports in the world, in terms of passenger traffic as well as the total number of takeoffs and landings. It is the sixth oldest international airline because of its foundation date. Moreover, it is one of the oldest airways in United States as well. The company is one among the 4 founding members of Sky Team Airline Alliance, the other 3 being Air France, Aeromexico and Korean Air. The company has been declared as the largest airline in the world in 2011and 2012 in terms of the total fleet size and the scheduled passenger traffic (Rediff, 2013). It has also been rewarded for becoming the second largest airline in respect of the total revenue-passenger kilometers carried in the year 2012. The Delta Connection provides regional service to the company. Diagnosis The foundation of the company is based on the reliable and safe air transportation, providing differentiated cu stomer service to the travelers or passengers. Delta Airlines leads in the airline industry for providing the best airline transportation. The company entered into the industry in the year 2013 by further strengthening its business strategies. It is continuing to improve the performance by executing strategic initiatives. While many of the competitors of the company were focusing on the restructuring efforts or the significant integration, Delta Airline undertook the strategy of advancing its market position across the globe. The innovative business strategies of Delta Airlines (including the re-branding technique) have helped the company in strengthening its position in the world. The acquisition of Northwest Airlines proved to be one of the successful business strategies for the company. This strategy helped the company in reshaping the business goals. In past few years, the company has taken various steps in improving its balance sheet, expanding its operations by getting into gl obal partnership, investment in airlines, such as Virgin Atlantic and finally purchasing oil refinery. It increased its flexibility in these two years in order to reduce its flaws and strengthen the market reputation. However, the launch of the company’s song as a low cost airline followed by its ‘codeshare agreement’ with the Northwest Airlines and the Continental Airlines initiated the declining phase of Delta Airways.  Ã‚  

Financial Accounting and Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Financial Accounting and Report - Essay Example different users of financial statements and their needs, the legal and regulatory influences on financial statements, the implication of the regulations for the users, the role of the accounting and reporting standards and how the information needs of different user groups vary. The first category of people who use financial information is investors. Investors who provide capital to a company are concerned about the levels of risk, and return from their investments. They need financial information to help them decide whether they should buy or sell shares of a particular company. They are also interested in information that enables them to assess the ability of a company to pay cash dividend. The second category of people is employees. Employees need to know whether their employer is financially stable. They use this data to evaluate the employer’s ability to implement a fair remuneration package, provide retirement benefits and be able to offer employment chances (Lasher 2008, pp. 64). Lenders use financial information to access the ability of a company to promptly pay both the principal and interest on loans. Suppliers and other trade creditors are interested in financial information to enable them to determine whether the amount owed to them will be paid without default. Customers are interested in financial information to determine the life span of an enterprise, especially when they have a long-term association with an enterprise such as the presenting solutions to both short and long-term problems. Government and their agencies use the financial information to regulate the activities of an enterprise and to determine tax policies. They also use the information to compute national income. Lastly, the public use financial information to determine the trends and recent development activities of an enterprise to help them assess the possibility of a major economic contribution by an organization (Saudagaran 2009, pp. 51-56). To determine the regulatory

Case study of The United Arab Emirates youths (UAEU) between modernity Essay

Case study of The United Arab Emirates youths (UAEU) between modernity and traditionalism - Essay Example To determine the available opportunities for young UAE nationals for the sole purpose of the implementation of processes that aim to replace the expatriate workforce with UAE nationals it is critical to determine their priorities in terms of religious and cognitive values. This is, as a matter of fact, what this study aims to do. 3- What was / were the methods used? The methodology of the study comprised the use of a questionnaire to conduct the research. An instrument of value structure was used to measure the values among UAEU students. Scores of each item took 0 and 3, where a score of 0 represented no choice and higher grades would indicate more choice. The numbers of items used were 60 pairs and they were used to measure individual differences on this instrument. 4- How large was the sample? The sample consisted of 595 students all of who were from UAEU. The selection process for these students was random and approximately 59 percent of them were female students, while the rest were male. Furthermore 81 percent of them were less than 25 years old and 84 percent of them were UAE nationals. 5- Interpretation: what were the results? The results of the study were relatively straightforward. The first priority amongst domains for a UAE national was that of religion; aspects of praying, believing, Quran reading and charity ranking the highest. The second priority was the cognitive domain which comprised of aspects of culture, success and aspiration ranked the most. The political domain came in as the third priority. With nationality, unity and freedom ranked at the top. The forth priority was the aesthetic domain. The students held aspects of elegancy as the most important value in this domain. The Social domain came next with obedience, friendship and forgiveness given the most rating. And the last domain was that of economic values, with productivity being the first priority for the UAEU students. 6- Synthesis: what were the conclusions? As an overall conclusi on of the research paper which evaluates the social values of a UAEU national through the use of a questionnaire the results produced indicate that religious and cognitive values were prioritized by the respondents In order to explore the importance of these socio-demographic factors in explaining the variation of values, multiple regression was used. The results of which display that gender, income, family size and father’s education explain about (11 percent) of social values variation and citizenship, GPA, gender variables explain about (8 percent) of religious values variation. Hence showing that gender, income levels, family size and father’s occupation were the most important factors in?uencing values. 7- Evaluate: how valid do you think the research was? The validity of a research hinges on the fact whether it measures what it sets out to. Looking at the objectives of this study what its sole aim is to appraise the values held by the United Arab Emirates Univers ity students and to assess the influence of socio-demographic factors on their values. That being said once we analyze the methodology, sample and the produced results we can effectively conclude that the research is credible in its findings and hence valid. 8- Evaluate: What is your response to the result? What has it contributed to your understanding? After going through the results I have come to the realization that the priorities of a UAE national hinge more towards the traditional side than the modern. With factors such

Men & Women Age Differently Essay Example for Free

Men Women Age Differently Essay †¢ The average life expectancy is currently 78 years old, but was at 49 years at the turn of the century. †¢ There is a widening age gap between men and women, such that among women who are 65-69, there are 81 guys for every 100 girls in the population. †¢ NY Times stated that the prospects for men are brighter than women. †¢ Men that survive beyond the age of 85 are more likely than women to be in better health and to have more remaining independent life years. †¢ More men than women over the age of 85 are married than women, and women are more prone to disabling effects of chronic condition while men are prone to fatal and chronic conditions. †¢ 23% of women age 85 or older are at poverty level, while men are at 16%. †¢ The nation’s oldest and fastest growing population today is dominated by a disproportionately large number of unmarried women who are likely to be poor and impaired. †¢ Women value friendship more than men, thus when a man is widowed- it is likely that he is alone while his friends are still married. †¢ Men’s income after the age of 85+ seems to be substantially less than the income of women the age 85+. †¢ Men and women approach things differently, where women are more likely to ask for help and men are less likely to ask for help. †¢ So, there is a sample study that was done and the men in this sample study were more likely to be married, and less likely to be physically impaired – in contrast to the women who are more dependent for personal assisted living and closer with their children, where men are not! †¢ 3 Competencies required to adapt to community living such as exercising control over the physical environment, maintaining social integration, and sustaining a sense of well being and motivations.

The threat of globalization for smaller firms

The threat of globalization for smaller firms Globalization has costs and benefits. There are examples of poorly managed economies. (eg when countries opened their economic borders before they had the capacity to respond well) but there are also examples of well managed countries thatengage well with international community. Many governments and supranational authorities have committed themselves to encouraging trade in the world economy and further reducing poverty through the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and are cooperating together to work out smart ways to manage globalization for their smaller firms /countries success in the world economy. Through the evaluation of the strategic management in the global competitive enviroment. The purpose of this report is to evaluate the process of the strategic management of smaller firms by governments and supranationals in the global competitive environment. Introduction and Background What is globalisation? Globalisation can be defined as the greater movement of people, goods, capital and ideas due to increased economic integration which in turn is propelled by increased trade and investment. It is like moving towards living in a borderless world. There has always been a sharing of goods, services, knowledge and cultures between people and countries, but in recent years improved technologies and a reduction of barriers means the speed of exchange is much faster. Globalisation provides opportunities and challenges. Bigger markets can mean bigger profits which leads to greater wealth for investing in development and reducing poverty in many countries. Weak domestic policies, institutions and infrastructure and trade barriers can restrict a countrys ability to take advantage of the changes. Each country makes decisions and policies that position them to maximise the benefits and minimise the challenges presented by globalisation. ( www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au) In a world economy, characterized by a high level of changes over the past few years, we can say that the world does not appear any more like it was in the past. Indeed so many transformations have been done in terms of government regulations, business, telecommunications, technology, research and development, customers needs and tastes, reduction in barriers to free trade and the world with all these factors have led to a great convergence. All these transformations are leading our national economies into a global system or a global economy, i.e. an independent, integrated global economic system therefore a process that we can refer to as globalization. Hence, in the era of the globalization, it has been inevitable for national enterprises to globalize in order to gain for instance some competitive advantage, economies of scales, more market share, better skills. Indeed, nowadays, wherever a company operates, theses products or services would find some foreign competitors. ( Hill, 2006), The impact of globalization on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has received a lot of attention in international markets in the past few years. Today, globalization is a major driver that has impact on nearly every business. One of the reasons for the international focus on SMEs is that these firms make significant contributions to the economy of both developed and under-developed countries. SMEs contribute over 55 percent of GDP and over 65 percent of total employment in high-income countries (UNCTAD, 2004). In Middle and East Asia for example, SMEs are major players in their countries economy; accounting for a higher percent than what it represents in the developing countries. Globalization has that much impact on business forces which have added more drivers to Porters five Forces. One of these new drivers in business life was discussed in an article by Larry Downes in Beyond Porter says that technological progress in logistics and distribution enables nearly every business to buy, sell and cooperate on a global scale. Similarly, customers have the chance to compare prices globally in order to find the best offer. Many SMEs are now looking to go global. The markets are more accessible than ever before. However, most SMEs are finding it difficult to master the art of market entry, resulting in heavy losses. Globalization has increased competitive pressures on firms. Together with rapid technological change it has altered the environment in which SMEs operate. The bottom line is that, in an open and liberalized world, increasing SMEs competitiveness has become a major challenge. Globalization has also expanded competition both geographically and to new areas. Competition between companies was mainly on products and services, at least to the extent that markets were protected from foreign competition. There is a wealth of economic evidence that demonstrates that globalization brings great benefits as well as costs. It offers the opportunity for a higher rate of sustainable growth- growth that translates into longer, healthier lives and improved living standards. But, if we look at another side of picture then it has been proven that some of the competitive obstacles often faced by the little fish in the big ocean. Compared to larger firms, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are generally less well-equipped to face increases in international trade. As a result of their lower productivity, many have found it difficult to compete. Also, given their limited resources, they have found it more difficult to take advantage of the removal of tariff barriers. Global markets are more integrated with more free flow of information, goods and services and migration. As a consequence of globalization we have seen the rise of the influence of large multi nationals, to the detriment of Small and Medium Enterprises. In response to this threat governments and supranational authorities have designed programs to protect and support these small firms to allow for their survival. Threat of globalization The increasing interdependence of countries in a globalised world makes them more vulnerable to economic problems for smaller firms like the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. (J.O Ajiboye, Adeyunke Tella University of Botswana) Smaller firms will find it difficult to compete on the global level as they lack the financial and technical resources that multinationals have. In addition they lack the economies of scale which results in lower cost per unit for the multi nationals. Pricing could be a challenge since the smaller firms are likely to have high costs per unit. Larger firms have the capacity to undercut the smaller firms prices as a consequence of this competition between smaller and large firm would erode margins of smaller firms and some of them would end up making loses and winding up. It would be difficult for smaller firms to attract a highly skilled work force because multi nationals have the capacity to pay better packages as they will have more financial resources. This would pose a challenge for smaller firms to operate efficiently and effectively. High promotional, advertising and branding costs are a barrier to entry for small firms Cultural and religious factors can also affect competitiveness of small firms. For instance, in countries where Islam is a dominant religion in which strict adherence to halaal standards is a requirement, small firms may find it difficult to penetrate the market or to survive in such markets. Import restrictions can also affect small firm competitiveness. For example, in some countries such as Egypt, where there is an import ban on raw materials small firms may find it difficult to penetrate in such markets without a diversified global market base. Smaller firms may find it a challenge on the global market in terms of meeting certain international standards imposed by certain markets. Export restrictions may also pose a problem. In some markets there are restrictive export regulations which, smaller firms find difficult to comply with e.g, small firms in Africa exporting agricultural produce into European markets such as honey or paprika. Membership of a Trading blocs such Common Market For Eastern and Southern Africa COMESA, Southern African Development Community SADC and the European Union EU, inter alia, could be another source of hindrance to smaller firms. Countries that are not members of such trading blocs may find it difficult to trade with member countries. Further other government policies such as high taxes are a disincentive to investment. Small firms are likely to be affected by such taxes. Unlike multinationals, small firms are likely to suffer currency exchange losses. This is because small firms may not have capacity to hedge against such losses. Multinationals, operate in different markets and can easily cushion such effects. Multinationals have the capacity to produce better and cheaper goods as a result of the superior resource endowments such as modern technology and have larger budgets for research and development as compared to smaller firms. Purchase Power Parity is another factor to consider e.g, multinationals can procure inputs in countries where the currency has a higher PPP. Globalization poses new challenges for SMEs by leading them to at least partially integrate the consequent idea of global change in their strategy. The expansion of markets does not mean that only large businesses will be able to profit fully from this trend. There is no correlation between large market and large business. Whatever the cost, to encourage the competitiveness of large national businesses. A fish that has become bigger and bigger in its pond will be eaten when it reaches the sea; it is better to teach it how to fight when it is small so that it can deal with the competition, wherever it is. On the other hand, the internal factors constraining the globalization of SMEs are lack of experience on their part, insufficient resources and an excessive perception of risk. The major external factors are national information networks that are inadequate or poorly connected internationally, deficient complementary regional resources and assistance programs that are maladapted to SME requirements. In a number of countries, the positive factors appear to be gaining ascendance over the negative. The recently completed (1996) OECD study on market globalization and SMEs shows, on the one hand, that the major factors sustaining or accelerating SME globalization are as much a result of the internal dynamics of small businesses as of environmental support. In the first instance, searching for diversified growth, specific innovation-based production, and open-minded management capable of engaging the appropriate specialized resources, go a long way toward explaining the behavior of internationally open SMEs. The case of the environment presumes effective regional consulting, funding and logistical resources to support exports. (Pierre-Andrà © Julien Università © du Quà ©bec à   Trois-Rivià ¨res ) How Governments and other supranational authorities support small firms In order to support the small firms from the threats of globalization governments and other supranational have designed programmes to protect them as stated below. Examples of Supranational institutions that manage such programs are: Governments, COMESA, WTO, World Bank, AU, SADC,UN, ECOWAS, EU etc. Government support: Some of the different programs that must be designed include: Favorable bilateral and multilateral trade agreements which, support positive trade balances must be instituted by governments. This will ensure the growth of small firms thereby contributing to overall country growth. Governments should use their political influence to lobby for relaxed trade. Providing loan guarantees to small firms. Some of these guarantees involve partnerships with private banks or multilaterals such as the World Bank. Such policies help the smaller firm have access to finance. Governments also offer incentives and subsidies to allow the smaller firms compete on the international markets e.g. the Government of South Africa made deals with the Government of Zambia to allow a tax rebate of about five years also the EU also subsidies small scale farmers in the EU. Governments should introduce tax rebates on certain sectors of the industry e.g. in Zambia agricultural inputs are have zero tax to bring into the country to encourage more people engage in to agriculture and overall boost the economy for exports . Governments may devalue its currency to increase export volumes by allowing its exports to be cheaper e.g. China and Japan are practicing this. This should however be done carefully recognizing that it can be inflationary. Government should institute policies that encourage domestic trade through relevant monetary and fiscal policies. Government should encourage policies that support reduction of borrowing costs. Legal enactment of credit acts must be encouraged to protect the consumer. Government should provide grants to economic agents for capital injection. Government should encourage agencies such as the Zambia Development Agency which to provide support to help small and medium businesses become more innovative, efficient and competitive through a national network of services and support for eligible SMEs to access expert, practical advice and support tailored to their individual firms. 4.2 Supranational Support includes: Supranational authorities should introduce grants, loans and funding for small economies to encourage production and trade among countries. Supranational should endeavor to help less developed countries by exposing entrepreneurs to the international markets. Supranationals should facilitate trade expos to stimulate trade. eg traditional indigenous artifacts have found their way to the international markets. Fair trade policies play a bigger role in protecting trade, fair and stable price and institutes like the WTO should encourage this. Forums are another platform that these institutions have introduced to give a voice to the voiceless on issues of economic development e.g. G8 are encouraging world trade by adopting certain polices. Examples of supranational and their impact on globalization: 4.2.1. a International Monetary Fund (IMF) The IMF is a sister institution to the World Bank in the United Nations system. It shares the same international membership and the same goal of raising living standards in its member countries. It works to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth and reduce poverty. 4.2.1. b World Bank(WB) The World Bank Groups mission is to fight poverty and improve the living standards of people in the developing world. It is a development bank which provides low-interest loans, interest-free credit, grants, policy advice, technical assistance and knowledge sharing services to low and middle-income countries to reduce poverty. The Bank promotes growth to create jobs, and to empower poor people to take advantage of economic opportunities. The Bank is strongly committed to the Millennium Development Goals which target poverty. (www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au/.) 4.2.1. c World Social Forum (WSF) The World Social Forum (WSF) is an amalgamation of many political/social movements from around the world. It was created to openly discuss alternatives to the model for globalisation formulated by the World Economic Forum, large multinational corporations, National Governments, IMF, the World Bank and the WTO. It is working to demonstrate that the path to sustainable development, social and economic justice lies in alternative models for people-centered and self-reliant progress, rather than in neo-liberal globalisation. (www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au/.) 4.2.1. d World Trade Organisation (WTO) The World Trade Organization (WTO) is a global international organisation dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the worlds trading nations and ratified in their parliaments. The goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business. (www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au/.) 5.0 Conclusion More and more SMEs are availing themselves of new material and immaterial technologies to increase their productivity. They are innovating to prolong the useful life of their products or to change these products. They are associating with large businesses or working in networks to boost their strike forces. These networks also provide them with international information to prevent them from being outpaced by change. But given the limitations of globalization, some Governments and supranational can have SMEs break away from increased competition by positioning them in specific niches. Globalization can offer as many opportunities for dynamic SMEs as obstacles for those that lag behind in modernizing their production processes or developing these niches which can give them at least temporary shelter from the pressures of new competition. There are social and economic costs to globalisation. Trade liberalisation rewards competitive industries and penalises uncompetitive ones, and it requires participating countries to undertake economic restructuring and reform to help smaller firms. Some countries have been unable to take advantage of globalisation and their standards of living are dropping further behind the richest countries. The gap in incomes between the 20% of the richest and the poorest countries has grown from 30 to 1 in 1960 to 82 to 1 in 1995 (www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au/.). The major economic powers have a major influence in the institutions of globalisation, like the WTO, and this can work against the interests of the developing world. The level of agricultural protection by rich countries has also been estimated to be around five times what they provide in aid to poor countries. Trade liberalization and technological improvements change the economy of a country, destroying the traditional agricultural communities and allowing cheap imports of manufactured goods. (www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au/.) References and Biography www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au www.worldbank.org/ www.forumsocialmundial.org. www.wto.org/ www.ausaid.gov.au/ Michael Porter Johnson and Scholes, 1993