Government shut down Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Government shut down - Essay Example Analysis Looking back to the controversy background, the United States constitution states and requires the United States Congress to pass the bills of government spending approval, and has the power granted by law to fund the entire United States budget. This means that if the congress fails to pass an approved budget by the end of a financial year, a funding gap that leads to government shutdown. Media revelations claim that the 2013 United States federal government’s shutdown is a result of Obama’s refusal to accept the republican demands that requested him to change or delay the Affordable Care Act, which began enrolling patients on October 1st (Weisman and Peters, 2013). However, Obama defended himself against the allegations and claimed that the house speaker John Boehner is the main person who triggered the shutdown. The blame game continues, and a Wednesday meeting held by Obama and the members of his house shifted the blame back to Obama by claiming that he ref used to negotiate leading to no breakthrough. According to Times, swampland dated October 6, another congress meeting took place and the house speaker John Boehner insisted that the chamber was lacking enough votes to pass a â€Å"clean† bill that would raise the debt ceiling (Weisman and Peters, 2013). He further argued that the bill would undergo a breakthrough if the two parties agreed hence; democrats have no choice but to make concession to the republicans, who hold out with an aim of using the government shutdown as a means of defunding or delaying the controversial Obama’s signature health-care-reform law. According to Boehner, the solution lays on the combined efforts of both rye democrats and the republicans because they can pass a measure to reopen and fund the government when the vote gets permission to come to the floor. This meant that the next steps needed to resolve the stalemate remains unclear. A deeper look into the government shutdown reveals that th is is not the usual spending battles. This is evident in the fact that the crisis emerged due to house republicans blocking the budget with an aim of killing or stripping all funding from Obama care (NA, 2013). In this case, they want the democrats to join the wagon of halting the president’s biggest achievement, yet the democrats are not willing to participate. As the stalemate continues, the deadline for a budget bill approached and at the same time, republicans were still holding back to their demands. This makes the government shutdown more critical because the problem does not lay on how to acquire funds but the dilemma is on how to unlock the locked heads between the republicans and the democrats (NA, 2013). As the stalemate continues, the situation of the citizens worsen everyday because at the moment, eight thousand non essential staff working for federal agencies are jobless, while 1.3 million others are required to work without pay. More so, non-urgent tasks are und er shelves until when a deal comes along (Watkins, 2013). The situation will definitely damage the economy, yet the law making process is under paralysis meaning that

The Role of Innovation in Kodak's Dowfall Research Paper

The Role of Innovation in Kodak's Dowfall - Research Paper Example From digital consumer electronics to household trinkets, everything can be sourced out from one part of the globe no matter how remote it may be. He also emphasized that introduction of different communication devices and platform that has increased the rate of information transfer. However, his comments about sustainability of a business in a globally competitive world is true. While consumers enjoy the benefits such as low prices and more options, local markets can also lose their business. Unemployment rises as downsizing occurs since global companies prefer outsourcing services due to a lower rate. Moreover, workers are not the only affected but big companies as well. Even big name companies like Eastman KODAK was not spared from the ugly head of globalization. Only this year, the Wall Street Journal announced the company’s filing or bankruptcy. It was a shock to the public considering that it has existed for 133 years. Yet, this is a glaring example that competitiveness i s the key to survival in a globalized economy. Hence, this paper will cite the main reasons behind the downfall of KODAK. Innovation is the main element for modern businesses to survive the rigors of globalization. The areas mainly responsible in an organization’s drive towards globalization would be marketing and management. Businesslink has stated in an article the necessity of innovation after creating a product or service. More so, when innovation is applied, it can help increase profitability because the value of products or services have increased. Consumers are always on the lookout for better products that go beyond their expectations. Apple is a market leader due to the ingenuity and creativity of its beloved founder- Steve Jobs. If a company fails to improve itself, it will bite the dust just as Kodak suffered. Management gurus like Peter Drucker is one of the most innovative minds despite his age. He has this uncanny sense of seeing how businesses should market the mselves in an evolving environment. In fact , he said that If an established organization , which in this age necessitates innovation, is not able to innovate, it faces decline and extinction. Drucker (qtd. in Trout, 2006) emphasized that Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two--and only two--basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs. Marketing is the distinguishing, unique function of the business." Such words of truth should be the golden mean by companies today; moreover, Drucker emphasized the need to differentiate one’s products from the rest in order to survive the competition. Unfortunately, many businesses focus more on finances and operations and wonder later where they have failed. Although marketing does involve costs (along with innovation), it will be a constant source of revenue as long as the consumers are happy with the products. Innovation is oft en left behind because many managers are busy crunching numbers rather than developing ideas. Plus, innovation is often viewed by many business owners as costs, not as an investment. Innovation involves many creative processes that includes technology transformation as well as introduction of new strategies administered by the management (Shukla, 2009). Likewise, innovation, by itself, can be the main competitive feature of a company to rise