Tragic Hero - 884 Words

Tragic Hero – Okonkwo Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe A tragic hero is a character that performs courageous actions but develops a tragic flaw as they move on with their lives. The effects of the flaw begin to increase and the character usually makes unwise choices. It often leads to his downfall or even death. In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is depicted as a tragic hero. He lived a life full of contradiction. He desired to be successful and achieve everything he wanted but he ended up committing suicide. The author develops a story in which Okonkwo has to make a lot of decisions and sometimes he makes the wrong choices without himself knowing, which eventually causes his own death. He is a tragic hero in the story for the sacrifices†¦show more content†¦He said, â€Å"This meeting is for men† when he saw a man without a title was participating during a meeting. Arrogance is one of the qualities a tragic hero has. At the end of the novel, he killed the messenger in hopes that the tribe will support him in a war. He is impulsive. He acts before he thinks. He often offends the igbo peoploe and their traditions as well as the gods of his clan. When the white man brought Christianity to Umuofia, Okonkwo felt that the changes are ruining the Igbo culture. This is his tragic flaw, the inability to accept change. For him, hard work and effort were the true way of living and if you didn’t have any of those you were not worthy for his acknowledgement. The destruction of Okonkwo was revealed slowly throughout the books. He started to make some poor decisions, which became the beginning of his downfall. He killed Ikemefuna just because he didn’t want to be thought weak. He made unwise decisions to only appear to be strong and manly to others in the village. He did not realize how he lost so much from living that way. When, Okonkwo kills Ogbuefi Ezedu’s son, the real tragedy begins. Other tragic heroes usually have a steadier downfall, but Okonkwo had a direct fall in society due to this event. This puts his family into exile for seven years. After a short period of time, white missionaries arrive to Umuofia. When â€Å"TheShow MoreRelatedTragic Hero1598 Words   |  7 PagesTragic Hero From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia A tragic hero is a protagonist with a tragic flaw, also known as fatal flaw, which eventually leads to his demise. The concept of the tragic hero was created in ancient Greek tragedy and defined by Aristotle. Usually, the realization of fatal flaw results in catharsis or epiphany. The tragic flaw is sometimes referred to as an Achilles heel after the single fatal flaw of the Greek warrior Achilles. [citation needed] Aristotelian tragicRead MoreThe Tragic Heroes Of A Tragic Hero1955 Words   |  8 PagesOedipus Essay Tragic fates and the downfalls of others have always seemed to interest a crowd. Audiences will travel from afar and pay to witness such performances. They listen and sit at the edge of their seats wondering when and how the catastrophe will occur in the protagonist’s doomed life. The reason for this is because almost all of the spectators can relate to the protagonist due to the fact that the protagonists of these tragedies are tragic heroes. These tragic heroes have qualities thatRead MoreHamlet, A Tragic Hero1003 Words   |  5 Pagesmemorable tragic hero’s Hamlet is the definition of a tragic hero. In the book, Hamlet, Shakespeare’s character hamlet is determined on killing his uncle the king. This goal proves to be challenging to him due to his morals. He often struggles with this throughout the book. This proves to be his downfall for not deciding to kill the king until the very end. A tragic hero has to have a fatal flaw that, combined with fate, brings tragedy. This is one of the key characteristics of a tragic hero. He hadRead MoreHonor : A Tragic Hero1399 Words   |  6 Pages19 January 2016 Honor Does Not Lead to Good Things The definition of a tragic hero is perceived as one who is neither wicked nor purely innocent, one who â€Å"is brave and noble but guilty of the tragic flaw of assuming that honorable ends justify dishonorable means†. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Brutus takes the role of the tragic hero. Brutus’s honor, nobility, and self-righteousness makes him â€Å"a tragic figure, if not the hero† (Catherine C. Dominic). As the play opens, Brutus is known as a RomanRead MoreIs Oedipus A Tragic Hero?1167 Words   |  5 PagesLiterature December, 09, 2014 Is Oedipus a tragic hero? Aristotle, Ancient Greek philosopher whom did a lot of philosophizing, he believed in a logical reality. Aristotle’s objective was to come up with a universal process of reasoning that would allow man to learn every imaginable thing about reality. The initial process involved describing objects based on their characteristics, states of being and actions. Aristotle once said A man doesn t become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall†Read MoreOedipus As A Tragic Hero1724 Words   |  7 PagesOedipus is considered a â€Å"Tragic Hero† because of the tragic fate and effect that he had upon his life. My definition of a tragedy is a great loss that has a unhappy ending to which concluded me to state that Oedipus falls under that category. Throughout the book, Oedipus is leading himself to his own destruction when trying to find the killer of the late King Laios. So when a journal article I found published by The John Hopkins University Press stated that a â€Å"tragic hero is a man who fails to attainRead MoreThe Tragic Hero in Antigone1018 Words   |  5 Pagesfirst established during the fourth century in the Poetics, where he defines what makes a tragic hero. Aristotle suggests that a tragic hero is a character who has a high social standing and embodies great nobility in his/her personality. They are neither a villain nor are they entirely good, but a person somewhat like us, raised to a higher position in society. In addition, the downfall of a tragic hero is caused by fault of their own, often through arrogance or pride, as the result of freeRead MoreOedipus the Tragic Hero1390 Words   |  6 PagesOedipus; The Tragic Hero In the Fourth Century BC, a famous philosopher named Aristotle wrote about the qualities that a tragic hero must possess. Ever since that time, there have been many examples of tragic heroes in literature. None of those characters, however, display the tragic hero traits quite as well as Oedipus, the main character from the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. Oedipus is, without a doubt, the absolute quintessence of a tragic hero. His example shines as clear as a sunny summerRead MoreOedipus, A Tragic Hero1648 Words   |  7 PagesOedipus, a Tragic Hero Bob Livingston Liberty University â€Æ' Sophocles presented the world with Oedipus around 2500 years ago. Never-the-less, the story remains among the most riveting of all time. He was, in fact, a man that was driven by a very high internal moral standard. It was that internal moral standard that ultimately entwined him in a sequence of events and circumstances that placed him in the spousal relationship with his mother. Oedipus, in fact, can truly be regarded as a tragic hero as AristotleRead MoreSatan As A Tragic Hero Essay722 Words   |  3 PagesDeRosas 1 Sundi M. DeRosas Professor Julie Roth ENGL.2322.W31C 6 December, 2015 Satan as a tragic hero In the poem of ?Paradise Lost? written by John Milton, Satan is thought of as a tragic hero because he is perceived as a strong leader to the fallen angels and has tremendous importance. He struggles to overcome his apprehensions and choses to dedicate him to evil. He lacks strength to accomplish his goal of corrupting mankind. Satan becomes unable to judge God?s grace and is not able to

Essay on Racial Discrimination - 2256 Words

America has had discrimination against minorities for a long time and it will continue to have it until people treat minorities with respect. Discrimination is when people treat minorities bad because of their skin color, ethnicity and the place they were born. For immigrants, the problems they had to arrive to America were not a good experience only by the struggle to gain acceptance among the population. Most immigrants came to the U.S. to have a better life and give education to their children. Almost all immigrants have experienced discrimination at some point in their life and even some are still experiencing it today. Most Latinos don’t have a choice but to deal with it because they know they are illegal and they can’t say anything†¦show more content†¦They also have to deal with people calling them names because of their skin color or their birth place. â€Å"Americans also accuse Hispanics of stealing their jobs† (Ramos 53) because most Latinos t hat come here have a job. They also face seeing â€Å"racist graffiti on homes or on walls of buildings† (Plunkett 15) and they have to face hate crimes. Plunkett said that â€Å"Latinos sometimes get excluded from white communities† (39) because they are Hispanics. Ramos also said that â€Å"Latinos are blamed for serious problems the country faces† (195) like the fall of the twin towers. There are reasons for Americans to discriminate Latinos and reasons why they shouldn’t discriminate them. The United States doesn’t understand why Latinos really came to this country and they discriminate them without knowing the real reasons. Most Hispanics come to this country for several reasons but the most important one is to have a better life and provide an education for their children. Latinos want their kids to be someone in life and they know they can accomplish it in this country. They also enter illegally because they don’t have the money to enter legally and they know they will get discriminated even if they were legal. The United States would have legal Immigrants if Latin countries weren’t â€Å"poor and if they didn’t have corrupt governments† (Ramos 153). Ramos also said that â€Å"most Hispanic farmers have to come to the U.S. inShow MoreRelatedOvert Racial Discrimination and Institutional Racial Discrimination635 Words   |  3 PagesPrior to the 1960s, discrimination was viewed as a creature of prejudice (Feagin Feagin, 1988). Wha t this means is that the problem of discrimination was viewed as one motivated primarily by individuals (or groups of individuals) on the basis of prejudice or hatred. Implicit in this prejudice-causes-discrimination-model (Feagin Feagin, p. XX) was the assumption that the solution to discrimination was one of simply eliminating prejudice. Thus, the elimination of prejudicial behavior wouldRead MoreRacial Prejudice And Racial Discrimination Essay1347 Words   |  6 PagesRacial discrimination is one of many terms used to express the suppression of a race or many races, but more specifically, it refers to the ill-treatment a person or group receives as a result of differences in their race, color, descent, national, ethnic origin or immigrant status. (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2016). Racial discrimination can be perpetrated by individuals within society, and corporate institutions such as schools, the work force and the government, all of which we have seenRead MoreRacial Prejudice And Racial Discrimination1637 Words   |  7 Pagesreferencing the topic of racism and racial discrimination in today’s society, one of the biggest questions that still remain unanswered is as such: Why does racial discrimination still exist? What factors take place within the human mind that might cause feelings of hatred and bigotry? What can result from an individual using racially discriminating language? From times predating even the most notable case of as much, pre-Civil War United States American slavery, discrimination has existed in many differentRead MoreRacial Discrimination And Racial Profiling1524 Words   |  7 Pages In our society today, racial discrimination and inequality continues to be an issue. Regardless of the advancements we make in our society in terms of race, discrimination is something that can not simply be erased. The conflict with discrimination is evident when we look at the issue of racial profiling. Racial profiling refers to the treatment of an individual based on their race or ethnicity (Statistics of Racial Profiling 1). It is often a tool being used by law enforcement when deciding toRead MoreRacial Prejudice And Racial Discrimination859 Words   |  4 Pageshundred percent accurate. A racial comment would be that African Americans are dangerous coming from the fact that there are more African American in prison that any other demographic. In today’s America, racism is practiced in every sort of way from subtle, aversive, to even â€Å"reverse† racism and, many more. the most common way to racially discriminate against a group is through visual processing, ho wever, what causes this to be the most common mean of discrimination, could it be that this is howRead MoreRacial Discrimination And Gender Discrimination962 Words   |  4 Pagesincreasingly being seen, especially on social media. It s a single word which people are using instead of the longer phrases disability discrimination or disability prejudice. Racial discrimination and gender discrimination have their own single words - racism and sexism - and so those ideas can be expressed a little more easily. Disability discrimination is often complicated and misunderstood. At one end of the scale, buildings with steps instead of ramps may be said to be ableist. Less obviousRead MoreRacial Oppression And Racial Discrimination997 Words   |  4 PagesHuman begins since the beginning of time have understood the concept of racial solidarity but yet decides to ignore it. Racial oppression is a direct consequence of a superior race. Racial oppression is the act of power that causes the sta te of being to feel heavily exploited. There are two types of racial oppression that are not commonly well known of, institutionalized and internalized. Institutionalized oppression is expressed when a group of people based on their race has a different chance ofRead MoreA Brief Note On Discrimination And Racial Discrimination1532 Words   |  7 PagesDiscrimination made its way to planet earth way before it could be documented. Racial discrimination happens all over the world both consciously and unconsciously, destroying lives every day. Racial discrimination can best be described as, when a person is treated less favorably than another person in a similar situation because of their race, color, descent, national or ethnic origin or immigrant status. There are many forms of racial discrimination even if we don’t want to face it. Among the mostRead MoreRacial Discrimination And Its Effects On American Culture970 Words   |  4 PagesIf there is one thing I have noticed dur ing my, admittedly, short sixteen years, it is the racial discrimination and obvious bigotry of the those who are not white. Stereotypes and detrimental comments are slung every which way. Others, rely on subtle jabs while some are oblivious to the offense of the people they are around. It seems to me, that people do not seem to care. I have listened to countless conversations where people would nonchalantly insult their own culture and heritage as if theyRead MoreRacial Discrimination Essay2245 Words   |  9 Pages The purpose of this paper is to examine the causes, consequences and remedies of racial discrimination in the labor market. Understanding racial discrimination in the labor market is of critical importance because of the sever wage differentials between different races in the market. Most of the economic research on racial discrimination focuses on black and white males. Hence this paper will also be focusing on wage and employment differentials between black and white males. I will start by discussing

Network industries - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 32 Words: 9475 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? Network industries differ from regular, competitive markets in that inequality exists naturally in the market. Economides (2004), states that in the case of a network industry with network externalities, the introduction of competition does not significantly alter the structure of the market. The equilibrium of the market is not a competitive one, and prevents perfect competition from developing. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Network industries" essay for you Create order The conditions of free entry imposed on network industries do not alter what Economides calls the incompatibility equilibrium or the extreme inequality in market share. This equilibrium occurs naturally in network industries, and is not sustained through anti-competitive behaviour, so competition laws will not amend this flaw in the market. This market structure results in a natural equilibrium called winner takes most, in which there will always be a dominant firm, preventing a perfectly competitive equilibrium. Economides (2004) warns against the imposition of a competitive market structure, suggesting that the effects of doing so would be detrimental rather than beneficial to the market, and recommends that competition law should be applied, not using a perfectly competitive market structure as its basis, but judging the industry on its individual features. Whilst moving towards a policy of full deregulation within a state owned monopoly, it is common to have a transitional stage when the industry is partially deregulated (Viscusi et al. 2005), as has been seen in the UK public utilities. It is preferable to have a gradual, staged move towards a fully liberalised market to allow firms time to adapt. In the UK, this course of action was taken by industry regulators within the traditional, state-owned network industries, with the allowance of free entry to the markets, yet price controls were maintained. It is common for the regulator to control the prices of the established firm whilst allowing new entrants to set their own prices. This is to prevent predatory pricing from the incumbent operator driving competitors to insolvency. However, this type of regulation is asymmetric, and has been criticised for allowing unfair competition. Asymmetric regulation can result in cream skimming by competitors who are able to gain much of the profita ble custom from the incumbent due to the freedom they have to set their own prices. Network effects or externalities describe the value added to a unit of the good when the number of goods sold increases (Economides 1996). For instance, there is very little value in being the sole user of a telecommunications network, and so the value to the buyer of a telephone would be very low were this the case. The value of having a telephone and connectivity is heightened by the number of your peers who are also connected to the network. Therefore, contrary to normal goods, the willingness to pay for the last unit rises with the number of units sold (Economides 2004). This increase of the number of users also builds up economies of scale, scope and density within the network, which means that the unit cost will drop, theoretically decreasing the price to the consumer. Competition in network industries: Network industries have, traditionally, been run as regulated monopolies rather than competitive markets. There are several reasons for this. Primarily, it was the intention of the government to ensure that all consumers were able to access basic utilities and services. In a competitive market, operators would compete for the profitable routes and custom, whilst the parts of the network where no profit was available would be neglected, or offered extortionate prices to receive the service. Therefore, the state owned monopoly of utilities is a result of market failure. Across many network industries, there is an obligation for the incumbent operator to supply to the entire network at standard, reasonable price level. This is known as the Universal Service Obligation (USO). It is necessary that the national network of industries such as telecommunications and post are non-excludable on the basis of location and price. However, the costs of supplying these services to each individual co nsumer differ greatly. For instance, it costs the operator more to supply to consumers living in rural area, as the population density is not as high as in rural areas, and more resources are used in the supply to these areas. In the UK public utilities sector, this cost difference has led to the practice of cross-subsidisation, which means that profits generated from more profitable products are used to subsidise those goods or services which do not generate much, if any profit for the firm. The result is that the consumers in rural areas pay a below cost price for the services they receive, whilst those in urban areas pay a price which is above the cost of the service they receive. It is these urban users that provide the operator with the large profit margins, which are used to cross-subsidise the loss-making rural operations. It is these urban markets where competition is more prevalent, as these areas provide the largest profits. The market would fail because no company would w ish to supply to the consumers that they make a loss, and without obligation these consumers would have to go without the commodity. These same conditions apply for the other network industries offering a standardised product such as water or gas. Thus, in each of these industries, competition occurs through access agreements, whereby the incumbent operator allows access to their existing network to allow competition to develop in the market. The competitors are charged a flat rate fee by the former monopolist, and in turn are able to provide the same services to their customers as the incumbent. This allows the users of the network to maintain their positive network externalities, whilst competition will in theory lead to a reduction in prices. Telecommunications: Telecommunications in the UK were, until 1980, run by the Post Office. In 1980, the department of the Post Office charged with running the telecommunications industry was renamed British Telecom (BT), and was run as a state-owned monopoly until 1982, when a license was awarded to Mercury, creating an oligopoly. BT was privatised in 1984, when the UK government sold just over 50% of its shares in the company. In 1990, the oligopoly ended when the market was opened to competition. This competition was introduced with a similar access regime that was deployed within the gas industry, and this access is still how competition is formed today. In 2002, Frontier Economics published a report on behalf of Postcomm, examining the effects that privatisation and liberalisation have had upon former state monopolies in the UK. The resultant findings were that productivity and efficiency substantially increased within BT upon the end of the oligopoly period in 1990, with the average number of emplo yees falling by nearly 100,000 in the first five years of competition, whilst employee levels were stable prior to the introduction of the competitive environment. This shows the reactive measures taken by an incumbent to become more efficient when the threat of competition becomes real. The report also notes that the privatisation of BT has led to an average price reduction of 5.1% per annum between 1984 and 1999, and an overall productivity increase of 25.5% to 1999, or 4.8% per annum average. Gas: Since its inception in 1972, British Gas had been a stated owned monopoly. In 1982, competitors were granted access to British Gas network of pipelines and infrastructure, in order to be able offer gas to final customers around the country. This is similar to the competitive environment introduced through local loop unbundling agreements in the telecommunications sector. Simultaneously, competition was introduced in the purchase of gas from suppliers, ending British Gas monopsony in the market. In 1986, the gas market was segregated into two categories; the tariff market, which consisted of low volume gas users, such as households, and the contract market, primarily businesses and higher volume users. British Gas retained a monopoly in the tariff market, which had its prices regulated, whilst there was competition allowed in the contract market. Also in 1986, British Gas was privatised as a vertically integrated monopoly. This differed from the liberalisation process seen in the elec tricity industry, where the incumbent was separated into a national infrastructure, and several regional suppliers (Armstrong Sappington 2006). Several regulatory reforms were necessary to prevent the incumbent from conducting discriminatory pricing by charging higher prices to industrial gas users with no alternative sources of energy available to them, as well as the prices they charged competitors for access to the pipeline network. Other regulations introduced included the limiting of the share of gas allowed to be bought, and subsequently, supplied by British Gas, forcing entry to the market. By 1998, all consumers were able to access a competitive market, and pricing control determinations were removed in 2002. This highlights a gradual liberalisation of the natural gas market in the UK, and this general framework was followed across other former state monopolies, albeit with industry-specific alterations. Electricity: The UK electricity industry is separated into four different aspects. There is the generation, transmission, distribution and retailing of power before electricity reaches reach the British consumer. Until the 1989 Electricity Act, the industry represented a natural monopoly in each region and sector of the industry. The Central Electricity Generation Board (CEGB) owned all of the generation and transmission of electricity for England and Wales, selling power to Boards which each represented an area, which were subsequently responsible for the distribution and selling of the power to the consumer (Newbery 2004). In Scotland, there were two boards, one covering the north and the other the south, each of which had franchises covering all aspects of generating electricity. In 1989, the ECGB was separated into four companies; two for generating electricity, one which became the modern day National Grid plc, and one for nuclear power. Apart from the nuclear aspect, the companies were formed as public limited companies (plcs). The regional area boards were also made into plcs, and the National Grid was placed into the joint ownership of these companies, which were floated on the stock exchange in 1990. The process which has allowed competition to be introduced into the supply sector has been similar to that seen within the gas industry; with users with demand above 1MW able to choose suppliers first, and gradually the limit was lowered, to 100kW, and in 1999 the entire market was opened to competition, as the regional plcs franchises ended. Competition in electricity generation was also able to occur due to the creation of the Electricity Pool, a wholesale electricity market auction through which all generators has to sell their power to suppliers (Newber y 2004). The aftermath of the liberalisation of the UK electricity market in 1990, and the formation of four companies in a competitive structure, there were large increases in productivity. Newbery and Pollitt (1997) estimate that labour productivity increases were around 100%. Both National Power and PowerGen doubled their megawatts per employee capacity between 1990 and 1998 (Postcomm 2002). It is suggested that these increases were largely due to the reductions in the labour forces of the companies, as they became more streamlined. Newbery and Pollitt (1997) estimated that after five years of privatisation in the electricity sector, costs were 6% lower than they were prior to the restructuring of the CEGB, with costs per unit significantly lower. DTI Energy Prices data shows that the price per kWh for the average consumption of 3300kWh per annum in London was 7pence in 2004, compared with over 11.5pence in 1991. Conclusion: The three examples of the liberalisation of state monopolies highlighted show that despite having common characteristics, each industry is different. Each method of liberalisation shown has features which are unique to the individual markets, yet there is a common basis in the approach. For instance, the introduction of competition in each industry is enabled through allowing suppliers access to the already established network. There is a consensus that having two parallel, competitive networks would be inefficient, in terms of cost both for the operators and the consumers. Economies of scale would drop such that unit cost would rise and the cost to the consumer would have to rise, reducing consumer surplus. The form of regulation in each industry is that of issuing licenses to operate for all market segments, a system which Newbery (2004) praises in comparison to the regulatory systems in the European and North American electricity markets. Terms of these licenses include the requir ement for the license holder to provide the regulator with the information that it needs to accurately and knowledgeably monitor the industry. This should allow the regulator to foresee any abuses of regulation and act swiftly to prevent them. All three industry regulators have retained some form of price controls which limit the profit margins of operators of the monopoly networks (Ofcom, Ofgen). Conversely, the methods used in the deregulation of each industry have differed, especially in the case of the electricity market, which created regional monopolies competing for electricity supplies rather than customers. This highlights the importance of using precedents and adapting them to suit the industry in hand. Chapter 3 Postal Services vs Network Industries: The postal industry across Europe is changing in shape. The letters markets are in structural decline across the continent. Other, newer forms of communication have become more prevalent in recent years due to the technological advances of late. A study by The International Post Corporation points out that the postal industry is becoming less of a two-way communication channel, and more of a one-way method of distribution. This opinion is corroborated by Crew and Kleindorfer (2008) who suggest that the plans to reform the market in Europe stem from the declining mail volumes, which are primarily a result of technological advances in other forms of communication which have been assisted by the previous liberalisation of these markets. Specifically, the vast and rapid increases in the use of e-mail and text messaging have led to a cycle of negative growth in letters sent in the United Kingdom and in Europe in recent years. Institutions such as banks and businesses are able to send stat ements, invoices and payments, through more time and cost efficient electronic means of communication. This has resulted in a reduction in the amount of transactional mail sent in the UK. Social Mail, such as correspondence letters between consumers is also on the wane. The emergence of text messages and emails has reduced the requirement for letters, which are a lot slower. Only the use of greetings cards has continued strongly, with most consumers still preferring to send and receive greetings in paper rather than electronic form (Hooper et al 2008), as people still attach value to the personal touch of sending a letter. These factors have led to a continuous year-on-year decline in the volume of mail being sent in the UK. Hooper et al (2008) suggest that Royal Mail lost 500million in operating profit to other forms of communication in 2007-8. On the other hand, the growth of technology over the past ten years, primarily the internet, has led to a large upsurge in the number of parcels and packets being ordered and delivered by Royal Mail and other courier companies. The Hooper Report (2008) places the value of online retail at 42billion annually in 2007, 10% of all retail sales within the UK, with this figure set to rise to 78billion in 2010, 20% of all retail sales in. This will be of benefit to Royal Mail; however, the estimates show that the expected rise in packet volume will not be enough to replace the lost revenue from the declining letters market (Hooper et al. 2008). Effectively demand is changing, and the market needs to adapt to meet this new demand. Natural Monopoly: Viscusi et al. (2005) describes a natural monopoly as an industry where the cost is minimised if the production of a good or service is provided by one firm. This criteria leads to the cost-function of the industry is sub-additive. Sub-additivity is generally obtained if both economies of scale and economies of scope exist. Cazals et al. (1997) finds evidence of sub-additivity in the delivery sector of the postal industry. The study found that it would be 5.2% less costly for one firm to provide the market than if two firms were to equally share the delivery of the existing volume of mail. The sub-additive cost function that is necessary in defining a natural monopoly. Up until point Q, production is showing economies of scale, with a decreasing average cost. This shows that it is cheaper for one firm to supply the market until point Q, and that cost is sub-additive for that range of outputs. However, after point Q is reached, average costs begin to rise. NERA (2004) suggests that finding economies of scale and scope within a specific part of the industry; i.e. the delivery or sorting capacities, is sufficient to determining that a natural monopoly exists. In this regard, Bradley and Colvin (1994) find that a natural monopoly exists within the delivery segment of the postal industry, due to the presence of economies of scale and scope. However, NERA (2004) mentions that the authors accept the conditions are easy to satisfy, and Wada et al. (1997) find mixed evidence on the sub-additivity of the cost function in parcels and letters delivery. Economies of Scale: On the issue of whether or not there are economies of scale within delivery, Cazals et al (1997) and Cazals, Florens, Roy (2001b) found returns to scale ranging from 1.10 to 1.68 for La Poste, the incumbent operator in the French postal market. This means that based on a 10% increase in volume, costs would increase by less than 10%, with these studies estimating that costs would increase by 9% and 5.1% respectively. In a study of the United States Postal System (USPS) conducted by Christensen et al. (1993), there was found to be returns to scale of 1.26, meaning a 10% increase in inputs would provide the capability for a 12.6% in mail volume delivered. Further studies by Bernard et al (2002) (La Poste), Bradley and Colvin (1994) and Cohen and Chu (1997) (both USPS) discovered decreasing unit costs with an increase in volume in the delivery sector of the companies. The decreasing average cost involved in postal delivery even at a market share of 100%, and that economies of scale are in existence. Thus, the graph for Royal Mail never reaches the Q point highlighted in Figure 1, and the cost function remains sub-additive. This shows that it is cheaper for one firm to supply the market than multiple firms, providing one of the criteria showing the existence of a natural monopoly in the delivery segment of the postal industry. Thus, it can be verified that significant economies of scale exist in the delivery of mail, regardless of the conditions and parameters set and used by the econometricians conducting the studies. The parameters set do, however, influence the results in terms of the extent of the economies of scale, as can be seen from the variation in the economies of scale reported for La Poste by different reports. Within the entire postal operation, rather than solely the delivery aspect, the economies of scale reported are lower. Norsworthy et al. (1991) estimates a value for returns to scale of 1.10 in USPS, whilst Wada et al. (1997) returns a value of between 1.03 and 1.06 for Japan. The reason for the lower values is the addition to the calculations of upstream activities, such as transportation and sorting which do not normally contain economies of scale. However, Rogerson and Takis (1993) found that economies of scale vary in transportation, depending on the mode of transport, and whether the journey is short-haul or long-haul. For instance, long distance transportation by road exhibits returns to scale of 1.11, compared with a figure of 1.01 1.05 for long-haul air transportation. Furthermore the existence of economies of scale was evident in short-haul transportation, with a figure of 1.52. It is important that this study was conducted on the USPS, which covers an area multiple times l arger than the area served by Royal Mail in the UK. In that respect, the majority of journeys undertaken in the UK by Royal Mail will correspond as short-haul transportation, thus showing economies of scale will be prevalent in Royal Mails transportation system. There was mixed, inconclusive evidence by the aforementioned authors as to the existence of economies of scale in mail processing operations. The overriding belief is that any economies of scale involved in sorting are insignificant, and do not act as a deterrent to new entrants, as is shown by the number of companies competing with Royal Mail in upstream activities rather than delivery in the UK. Economies of Scope: The Bradley and Colvin (1994) paper also investigated the existence of economies of scope within the postal industry. The term economies of scope refers to what happens to unit costs when one firm produces two or more outputs through the same system or network. In the postal industry, this refers to the co-existence of first class, second class, bulk mail, and parcels within the same Royal Mail network. The results of the study were that economies of scope exist amongst all types of mail, but only to a very small extent for parcels. This means it is cost efficient for all mail with the same destination, to be processed, transported and delivered together where possible, regardless of type (Rogerson and Takis 1993). This may not always be possible due to high volumes of mail, and the requirement for 1st class mail to be delivered with one day. The exception for parcels could be that due to their size, it may be necessary for a separate delivery to take place. This also occurs for Spec ial Delivery items in the UK, which are processed completely separately from one end of the delivery chain to the other. This could result in multiple deliveries occurring to the one address on any particular day, reducing efficiency, and causing diseconomies of scope. Thus, it would appear that even despite econometric studies, the question of the existence of a natural monopoly within the postal industry cannot be categorically answered. It would appear that each report arrives at similar conclusions on the matter. The statistical evidence points to an agreement with the IPC report, in that, strictly speaking, a natural monopoly does not exist in the postal industry. On the other hand, the market contains many of the mannerisms of a natural monopoly, which do act as a barrier to entry for competitors, which corresponds with the opinions expressed by competitors in the survey within the Hooper Report. Network Industry: The major difference between the postal industry and the traditional network industries, as noted by the IPC (2007) is that the postal industry does not incur the vast sunk costs required to establish an infrastructure. For instance, Royal Mails network is one which is made up of a variety of components. The company uses public roads, railways and airways to transport its mail, and so much of its costs are in vehicles. There is no large sunk investment required by Royal Mail to use these public facilities, in the way that British Gas required an expensive national network of pipelines to supply its gas. Also, the costs in the business are predominantly people based. Royal Mails financial accounts for the year ended March 29th 2009 show that 65% of its costs are people costs, including wages and pension costs. Another 17% of costs are in the distribution and conveyance part of the business, consisting predominantly of transport costs. Some of these transport costs will be sunk cost in vestments in new vehicles, whilst some will be fixed running costs in the form of fuel. Thus, more than 65% of Royal Mails annual costs are categorised as fixed costs. This shows that the level of sunk costs involved in the business is relatively low in comparison to the traditional network industries, and this is the criteria used by the International Post Corporation (2007) to reject the suggestion that the postal industry is a network industry in the classical sense. Overview of Industry: The letters business of Royal Mail is divided into five operational stages: collection, sorting into regions, transportation, sorting in delivery offices, and delivery. Mail is collected at least once daily from each of the 115,000 pillar boxes, 12,000 post offices and 87,000 business addresses (Hooper Report 2008). The mail collected is then transported to one of 69 regional mail centres, where it will be sorted into regions; with local mail being sorted and sent to local delivery offices (DO) for delivery, while national mail is taken to one of nine national distribution centres. From here, the mail is transported by air, rail and road to the appropriate mail centre, where it is sorted and transported to each of the 2249 delivery offices. At the delivery office, mail is sorted into walks or duties, and sequenced into order before delivery commences. Competitors of Royal Mail are able to compete in the collection, sorting, transportation and delivery of mail. The industry regulator, Postcomm, has granted licenses to 21 companies, in addition to Royal Mail, allowing them to operate in all market sectors. Therefore full competition regulation has been implemented. However, as of January 2010, the new competitors have opted not to compete with Royal Mail in all market segments, choosing instead to focus their operations on the collection of mail from businesses and sorting, before handing the mail over to Royal Mail at the inbound mail centre stage of the process. From this point, Royal Mail is to deliver the mail across what is known as the final mile to the customer. This arrangement is called Downstream Access (DSA), with Royal Mail charging a fee per item to its competitors for delivery of their mail. This fee is arranged through agreement with Royal Mail and each individual operator wishing access to the network. If agreement i s not met between the two operators, then Postcomm, acting as arbitrator, will set the access price. One important factor is that Royal Mail should be able to break even on the access activities it undertakes on behalf of other operators. The DSA agreement is similar in type to what occurs within the classical network industries in the UK. Under the Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) agreement in telecommunications, competitors of British Telecom must pay a line rental fee to the incumbent network operator. Under the agreement, for a fee, BT must allow their competitors the use of the physical network to provide telecommunications services to their customers. This is the way in which competition was implemented in the telecommunications industry in the 1990s, and similarly it is the method of competition that has proved most popular since the postal industry was opened up to competitors on January 1st 2006. Bulk mailers are also allowed access to the Royal Mail network under a license called Customer Downstream Access (CDSA). This allows the largest mailers sort their mail internally, and avoid paying Royal Mail for collection and sortation, instead putting the mail into the system at the inbound mail centre stage of the pro cess, similar to DSA. Competition in the Postal Industry: The competition which has developed within the UK postal industry has almost entirely been through Downstream Access. There has been very little competition in the final mile delivery part of the market. The justification of the access agreement was to allow alternative operators to build up economies of scale in the upstream part of the business (collection and sorting) that would therefore enable them to establish a delivery network of their own. However, whilst the uptake in the DSA agreements has been rising, with almost 40% of all items delivered by Royal Mail coming from DSA items, as of yet no operator has established its own delivery network. In reality, since the access agreement has been in place, end-to-end competition has decreased. It was suggested by Hooper et al. that the high uptake in the access agreements has dissuaded many operators from introducing their end-to-end networks, in the realisation that the upstream side of the business is less costly than the downstre am delivery side. The delivery, or downstream part of the mail market, is very labour intensive, and is therefore very costly. These costs are generally fixed, as they are necessary for the provision of service to consumers. Royal Mail claims that the final mile delivery represents 44% of the entire costs of the business. In the year ended 5th April 2009, Royal Mail made a loss of 67million on DSA items, despite volumes increasing to 5.3billion items (Royal Mail 2009). It has been suggested by many in the survey incorporated in The Hooper Report that the current access regime could act as a barrier to end-to-end competition, because the margins involved in the delivery side of the business are so low that it is not worthwhile entering the downstream section of the market. However, the majority felt that the prospect of full competition has increased due to the establishment of the access regime because alternative operators have been able to build-up relationships with customers, as well as mail volumes in collection that develop economies of scale. It may be that end-to-end competition will develop in the future, once economies of scale have been developed, or it may not. However, in a recent episode of Panorama, TNT UKs chief executive announced plans to one-day soon begin their own delivery network, and have orange postmen and women on the streets of Britain. Whether or not this becomes viable in a financial or efficiency sense remains to be seen. USO: The Universal Service Obligation (USO) is a law which insists that Royal Mail delivers daily to each of the UKs 28 million addresses. This agreement is in place to ensure that all consumers of the service receive the same services and products at the same cost. Akin to the telecommunications industry, it is more costly for the Royal Mail to deliver in rural areas than in urban areas, due to transportation costs. However, it would be discriminatory for someone to be financially penalised due to where they live. This means that people sending letters or parcels within urban areas, say from one London address to another, are effectively subsidising the letters sent in rural areas, for example from Lands End to the Outer Hebrides. Therefore, those sending letters within London are being charged more than the marginal cost of delivering that letter, whilst those in rural areas are charged less than the costs of delivery. The Hooper Report, published in December 2008 states that the USO is beneficial for society and the economy as it allows access to means of communication, enables trade, and is non-discriminatory towards those who are not regular users of the network and those on lower incomes. The Royal Mail has made a loss in excess of 100million in each of the last two financial years on products covered by the USO (Royal Mail Regulatory Financial Statements 2008-9). Royal Mails competitors are not subject to the provision of the USO, and are able to pick and choose where they wish to collect and deliver to and from. As they are profit maximising companies, there is no incentive for them to compete with Royal Mail on its loss-making routes, and they are free to cherry-pick the more profitable routes within the urban areas, where they can undercut the incumbents subsidising price. Due to the one price for all rule determined by the USO, for a certain amount of mail, Royal Mail has to offer the same price to one company as it does for all other business customers for the uplift and processing of a certain amount of mail. On the other hand, competitors who are not subjected to the USO can treat business customers on an individual basis, allowing them to negotiate a suitable price which can be altered for another customer, even if the specifics of the arrangement are identical. This enables the competitors to undercut Royal Mails prices and take a lo t of profitable business from the incumbent operator. These arrangements were previously used to cover the cost of the USO. The Royal Mail needs the profitable, urban business to business mail to subsidise the losses made on the USO. If the business is unable to compete on price with its competitors then, put simply, it will lose business. If the company has to spread its costs continually while its revenue falls then there will be less revenue available to subsidise the USO. This will lead to a necessity for Royal Mail to either operate at a loss, or increase its prices to cover the costs of running the USO. If Royal Mail is to be run as a profit making entity, then it cannot function with continual losses, and therefore the only option is to raise prices. If this occurs, assuming they are indifferent towards mail carriers, senders of bulk mail will refuse to pay higher prices if they can obtain a lower cost with a competitor, and so the revenue of Royal Mail will fall further. This will result in a cyclical decline in revenues and increase in prices, which can only end when Royal Mails prices are sufficiently high that the USO is no longer running at a deficit, and requires no subsidy. However, by then, prices may be so high that businesses do not use Royal Mail to collect their mail. Also, as Royal Mail prices conti nue to rise, the competitors will be able to increase their prices and still maintain their level of business so long as they are less expensive than Royal Mail and the other operators. This will represent an increase in the level of inefficiency in the market. Regulation in the Postal Industry: Within an industry where competition is being introduced, there are two broad types of regulation that can be applied to prevent anti-competitive behaviour and uphold levels of service; ex ante and ex post regulation. Each has its benefits and drawbacks, and there are conditions under which each is more suitable than the other. Ex ante regulation is a preventative measure which is established before any anti-competitive behaviour occurs, whilst ex post regulation consists of reactionary competition laws which are applied after anti-competitive behaviour has taken place. These powers consist of imposing fines or sanctions on Royal Mail should the company be deemed guilty of anti-competitive behaviour. Ex post regulation provides incentives for companies not to engage in an anti-competitive manner, whilst ex ante regulation prevents such conduct from occurring. Each type of regulation has its implications for the postal market. Ex ante regulation is more restrictive, particularly on th e actions of Royal Mail, whilst offering more security to competitors and consumers that Royal Mail will not employ anti-competitive behaviour. On the other hand, ex post regulation provides more trust in actions of the incumbent operator, giving Royal Mail more freedom, but offers less protection and assurance for competitors and customers, as it is a reactionary measure. Enforcing ex post regulation, and punishing breaches of competition law can be a time consuming process requiring investigations, by which time the afflicted competitor could have been forced out of business by the incumbents continued anti-competitive behaviour. However, under the current regulatory framework, Postcomm has no power to enforce competition law, thus preventing any use of ex post regulation within the postal market, and limiting the industry to the aforementioned ex ante regulation measures. This differs from the other communications industries, which are regulated by a single regulator, Ofcom, whic h has the power to impose competition laws on companies within its control, allowing a combination of ex post and ex ante regulation to develop. However, Ofgem, the energy regulator for the gas and electricity industries, has no power to impose ex post regulation, although the regulator itself wishes to be granted these powers (Consumer Focus 2009). The current way in which the competition within the postal market is regulated has been criticised for the allowance of asymmetric competition. There have been accusations from Royal Mails competitors that the incumbent operators exemption from paying VAT is a barrier to end-to-end competition. However, this is a ruling from the European Parliament covering all state-owned postal operators in the European Union, and can only be revoked by the UK or European Governments. This issue is therefore out with the control of the regulator. A court ruling from the European Court of Justice in April 2009, upheld the VAT exemption due to Royal Mails deliverance of the USO. This has two main impacts for Royal Mail, and its competitors. Firstly, and more evidently, it provides them with a comparative advantage over competitors, enabling them to offer customers better prices than they would otherwise. On the other hand, it also means that the Royal Mail, unlike its competitors, is unable to reclai m the VAT that it pays on goods and services, such as fuel and sorting machinery. This adds to the business costs. Hooper et al. note that Royal Mails VAT exemption has a limited effect on much of the market, due to the ability of most businesses to reclaim VAT charged to them by any competitor for services tendered. However, for those who do not have the ability to reclaim VAT, i.e. charities and financial institutions; Royal Mails VAT exemption gives the incumbent operator an advantage over its rivals. Royal Mail has also submitted several complaints to the regulator regarding asymmetric competition. The main issue is that of the cream skimming of profitable customers by competitors. Under the current conditions of the USO, Royal Mail has to offer its bulk mail services, Mailsort 1400 and Cleanmail products at uniform prices. Thus, as in most products included in the USO, the services with the highest margins will assist in subsidising the services which make a loss. On the other hand, competitors such as UK Mail and TNT can treat potential customers on an individual basis, and alter their prices depending on the costs imposed by that particular contract. This enables them to undercut the Royal Mails prices and still make a healthy profit on the service. With the introduction of competition, those customers who feel they are paying too much for their bulk mailings can negotiate a cheaper deal with Royal Mails competitors. This will result in the USO making a loss, as profitable cus tomers choose to send their mail through another company, and as such the Royal Mail is unable to subsidise the loss making contracts. This could lead to what Crew and Kleindorfer (2005) refer to as a Graveyard Spiral, which occurs when competitors are able to capitalise on cost-pricing misalignments caused by the fixed, universal pricing regime implemented under the USO. If this misalignment is large, i.e. the costs of provision are considerably below the price charged for the service, leading this contract to be susceptible to undercutting from competitors. However, the contract would have been used to finance loss-making services provided under the USO. This would cause unit prices for Royal Mail to rise, which would lead to a price rise, which, in all probability, would exacerbate the problem, and create a cyclical chain of events. Royal Mails half-year accounts for 2009/10 show that one of every three items delivered by the company is through Downstream Access. Other estimates put the figure at 40% (Hooper et al 2008). Precedents of Postal Competition: It is useful to look upon precedents of markets which have been liberalised in the postal industry. The UK, is however the first country in Europe to induce competition to the market under the EU directive for 2008. The UK introduced competition to its postal market three years ahead of the schedule of the time. However, Sweden and New Zealand both liberalised their postal industries in the 1990s. Postcomm (2002) conducted an investigation into the effects that liberalisation has had on postal industries which have already had competition introduced, including Sweden and New Zealand. Sweden: The postal industry in Sweden was fully liberalised in 1993. Prior to the introduction of competition, the incumbent operator Sweden Post had a stable efficiency rate of around 80,000 letters per employee. However, between 1993 and 1999, the letters per employee rate increased dramatically, to around 135,000. Nevertheless, this is only one measure of efficiency. There was also a reduction in the real operating cost per letter, beginning in 1992, from 1.95SEK, to 1.53SEK in 1995, where the figure stabilised. This represents an annual growth in productivity of almost 9%. In spite of the increases in productivity, Sweden Post has seen revenue per letter and profit per letter fall in the years following 1993. Despite this, the company has remained profitable. This suggests that the majority of gains made in efficiency were passed onto the consumer in the guise of lower prices (Postcomm 2002). Sweden Post also posted increases in the quality of service it provided in the period following liberalisation. Next day delivery increased from 95.8% in 1992 to 97.3% 1998. New Zealand: Full liberalisation of the postal industry in New Zealand was completed in 1998, although it had been phased in over the previous decade. The incumbent operator, New Zealand Post, decreased its workforce by 43% in the ten years to March 1997 (Postcomm 2002). This helped towards an increase in letters per employee of between 70% and 112% over the same period, as estimated in Postcomm (2002). The quality of service provided by New Zealand Post improved from 94% in 1997/98 to 95.7% in 2001. From the case studies from New Zealand and Sweden, it appears that in preparation for the liberalisation of the market, the incumbent operator begins to improve their productivity and efficiency. This effect has been mirrored in the UK, where Royal Mail has shed 60,000 jobs since the plans to fully liberalise the market were announced in 2002, whilst there has been a general trend of increases in the quality of service provided (Royal Mail Financial Accounts 2009). The change in market structure ensures that the incumbent has to change from a monopoly service provider to a competitive business. These improvements in efficiency are emulative of those seen in the former state monopolies in Britain post-liberalisation. Boekler (2007) provides evidence for the formation of the industry. After ten years of a liberalised market in Sweden in 2003, the incumbent still had a market share of 92.9%, despite having over thirty competitors. This figure is the lowest of all incumbents in European liberalised postal markets. Andersson and ThÃÆ'Â ¶rnqvist (2007) commented that the monopoly in the Swedish postal market was too powerful to be seriously threatened by new competitors. It is also suggested that the change of the incumbents behaviour to that of a privately-owned, competitive company only served to strengthen its position in the market and prevent effective competition from developing. This provides support for Economides (2004) in suggesting that the market structure has not changed significantly since competition was introduced. In the UK, Europe Economics (2008) foresaw two possible scenarios developing in the postal market: one where competition continues primarily through access and one where e nd-to-end competition develops. The high end estimate of the study was that entrants could attain a combined market share of 8% by 2016. This would leave Royal Mail with a dominant 92% of the market, serving to highlight the aforementioned inequalities in the market structure, even where competition is plentiful. Contrary to the findings of Postcomm (2002), Boekler (2007) states that liberalisation has led to higher prices and a lower availability of postal services in almost all European markets. The paper suggests that there have been very few advantages for the consumer, and complicated regulations have been imposed. The report also mentions that the privatisation of the former monopolist in Germany has had a negative effect upon consumers. This is contradictory to the effects which privatisation and liberalisation have had upon the prices and conditions in the network industries such as the telecommunications and gas industries, where prices fell for consumers in the UK. Chapter 4 Possible Future Reform of the Postal Industry: Crew and Kleindorfer (2008) make clear that there is a challenge facing postal reform, in that whilst the benefits of competition should be exploited, it is necessary that the risks it poses to the vitality of the incumbent operator are minimised. For this to be allowed to occur, it is important to firstly recognise where the reform of the industry may come from. It is necessary to establish and define where the market is today. There is debate as to whether there is a natural monopoly in some segments and indeed the entire industry. Evidence points to some criteria of natural monopoly being met, whilst others post inconclusive results. On the other hand, the International Post Corporation (2007) does not believe that there is a natural monopoly within the postal industry. However, most importantly, the stakeholders of the industry, as surveyed in Hooper et al (2008) believe that the delivery aspect of Royal Mails business represented a natural monopoly due to the large costs that wo uld be involved in creating a network to run parallel to the current one. If the competitors believe that there is a natural monopoly, then they are unlikely to invest in an end-to-end network. It is this belief that provides the barrier to entry, rather than any econometric data or evidence. Thus, it is unlikely that there will be much, if any, end-to-end competition in the postal industry in the near future. It is therefore evident that any reforms will be improvements of the current regulatory and competitive conditions rather than any radical new changes to the market. Changes in Regulatory Regime: It has become clear that there are a number of issues blocking the progress of the regulation of the postal industry in the UK. The regulators lack of power and subsequent inability to enforce competition laws within the postal industry places restrictions on the market as a whole. The limitation of only being able to apply ex ante regulation can be of detriment to the industry. One criticism of ex ante regulation is that it prevents all conduct of a certain type, even if that conduct is not detrimental to competition. Thus, ex ante regulation could potentially prevent behaviour or innovation which is beneficial to the consumer. On the other hand, ex post regulation is designed to only prevent behaviour which is of harm to the social good, ensuring that innovation is not averted as a rule. The introduction of ex post regulation to the industry could only be implemented once the regulator is certain that Royal Mail can be trusted not to employ anti-competitive behaviour to the expense of its competitors and consumers. As recommended by Hooper et al (2008), it would be beneficial for the Postcomm to have the power to enforce competition laws, enabling the establishment of a combination of ex ante and ex post regulation. However, as noted in Crew and Kleindorfer (2008), one of the aims of postal reform in Europe is to create an integrated communications industry. If this is to be realised, then the postal industry, when ready could be brought under the control of Ofcom, the communications industry regulator in the UK. As stated by Hooper et al (2008), Ofcom already has powers to impose ex post regulation, and has more manpower and resources at its disposal than the current regulator Postcomm. Hooper et al. recommend a change in the regulatory regime, and, in time this may be the preferable option for the future regulation of the industry. The IPC (2007) reinforces this view, suggesting that over time ex post regulation, or competition laws will be ideal for regula ting the postal industry, and that artificial limitations on the industry are harmful to efficiency. This signals a move away from industry-specific regulation, which is one step further than grouping the postal industry with the other communications industries under Ofcoms control. Perhaps this is the ultimate endgame, but this should occur in stages to allow a smoother, more gradual transition. Changes to Downstream Access: Royal Mails accounts show that it makes a loss on the DSA items that it delivers on behalf of its competitors. Thus, the price it receives for access to the market does not cover its costs of delivering these items, as it should. There is a consensus amongst industry stakeholders that Royal Mail at least has to break even on the DSA agreement (Hooper et al 2008). Thus, it is recommended that the cost to competitors is raised to prevent any future losses for the incumbent on the access regime. Reforms to the Universal Service Obligation: There are several possible reforms that could be made to the USO in the postal industry. It has been suggested that the obligation of the incumbent to supply the entire market every working day be shifted to a shared responsibility amongst all competitors. It has been suggested that the competitors would pay into a fund that would compensate Royal Mail for the losses incurred in the provision of the universal service, as is due to happen in France and the Netherlands when their markets are opened to competition. There is also the option for the state to incur any losses incurred by the USO, as will happen in Belgium upon liberalisation (Free Fair Post, 2009). However, Hooper et al (2008) declares that any compensation would be detrimental to the incumbents efforts to improve its efficiency, and there is a danger of implementing too many changes at the one time. If when Royal Mail completes its modernisation program and reduces its costs per unit, the USO still makes a loss for the co mpany, then the idea of compensating the business could be a more viable option. However, until Royal Mails post-modernisation costs are established, this would be an unnecessary measure. As the bulk mail market continues to become more competitive over time, it has been suggested that by reducing the ex ante regulations imposed on Royal Mail, competition can become fairer and prevent cream skimming from occurring. As over 40% of all bulk mail volume is now handled by competitors to Royal Mail (Hooper et al 2008), there is the potential for the removal of the Walksort 1400 and Cleanmail bulk mail products from the USO. This would mean Royal Mail would be able to negotiate contracts on an individual basis in the way that their competitors do, allowing the company to compete more ably with other operators on price for high volume mail contracts. The result would be the removal of one aspect of asymmetric competition that exists in the market, and preventing the occurrence of a graveyard spiral through cream skimming, which could threaten the preservation of the USO. The other main aspect of asymmetric competition is the VAT exemption bestowed on Royal Mail, and all other state owned postal operators by the European Union. There have been complaints regarding the issue from competitors such as TNT. However, in April 2009, the European Court decided to that Royal Mail should retain its VAT exemption, due to the fact that the company retains sole responsibility for the USO in the UK (Reuters 2009) essentially, it is the universal service that is to remain exempt from VAT, rather than the company itself. This decision came against the wish of the industry regulator Postcomm. It appears that the VAT exemption will act as Royal Mails compensation for its responsibility for the USO. Privatisation: Hooper et al (2008) recommend that the only way in which Royal Mail can survive is through a partnership with a private sector company. Effectively this would involve part-privatisation of the business. Evidence from the telecommunications industry suggests that the opening of the industry to competition in 1990 had a greater beneficial effect on the incumbent operators operations and costs than privatisation of the company had six years prior. On the other hand, when the electrical companies were transferred from state to public ownership, there was a substantial improvement in their efficiencies, which led to cost improvements for the consumer. In the UK, everyday consumers face prices for stamps which are amongst the lowest in Europe (Boekler 2007), and low profit margins, which have thus far prevented full competition. It would remain to be seen if privatisation of Royal Mail would provide cost advantages for non-bulk mailers. Therefore there are mixed results in the case of priv atisation of state monopolies. With the competitive postal market still in its infancy, and the regulatory controls still requiring much improvement, the decision on privatisation should be postponed until conditions are more stable and less likely prone to change. If the Royal Mail were to be privatised, it would be unclear as to which measure was most effective, the privatisation or implementation of the competitive market. Also, eliminating the market deficiencies such as asymmetric competition will improve Royal Mails ability to compete for contracts with other operators. If, once these market deficiencies are eradicated, Royal Mail is still struggling, then the case for privatisation can be reopened, but these measures have to be given the chance to work. In this respect, this paper is in disagreement with Hooper et al (2008) that privatising Royal Mail is the only chance of survival for the business. References: Andersson, Monica ThÃÆ'Â ¶rnqvist, Christer. (2007) Liberalization and privatization in Sweden Postal Services. PIQUE-Project-Paper, GÃÆ'Â ¶teborg. BBC Panorama: Cant Deliver, Wont Deliver, by Vivian White. Viewed on December 14th 2009. Bernard, S., Cohen, R., Robinson, M., Roy, B., Toledano, J., Waller, J., Xenakis, S. (2002) Delivery cost heterogeneity and vulnerability to entry. Published in Postal and Delivery Services, Delivering on Competition; edited by M.A. Crew and P.R. Kleindorfer, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2002. Boeckler. 2007. Liberalisation, privatisation and regulation of postal services in Europe First international experiences in the run-up to new European regulations. March 2007, Dusseldorf. Bradley, M.D., and Colvin, J. (1994) An econometric model of postal delivery in Commercialization of Postal and Delivery Services: National and International Perspectives, edited by M.A. Crew and P.R. Kleindorfer, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1994: 137-53. Cazals C., Florens J., and Roy, B. (2001b) An analysis of some specific cost drivers in the delivery activity. Published in Future Directions in Postal Reform, edited by M.A. Crew and P.R. Kleindorfer, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2001. Cazals, C., Rycke, M., Florens, J.P., and Rouzaud, S. (1997) Scale economies and natural monopoly in the postal delivery: comparison between parametric and non parametric specifications. Published in Managing Change in the Postal and Delivery Industries, edited by M.A. Crew and P.R. Kleindorfer, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1997, 65-80. Christensen, D., Christensen, L., Guy, C., and OHara, D. (1993) US postal service productivity: measurement and performance. Published in The Regulation and the Nature of Postal and Delivery Services, edited by M.A. Crew and Kleindorfer. Boston, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1993, 237-60. Consumer Focus. 2009. Addressing market power concerns in the electricity wholesale sector Initial policy proposals. Economides, Nicholas. (1996) The Economics of Networks, International Journal of Industrial Organization, vol. 14, no. 6, pp. 673-699. Economides, Nicholas. (2004) Competition Policy In Network Industries: An Introduction, NET Institute Working Paper No. 04-24, NYU, Ctr for Law and Business Research Paper No. 03-10. Europe Economics. 2008. The Benefits of Competition in the UK Mail Market. Free Fair Post. 2009. Is competition developing in the postal market? Comparison study of the French, German, Dutch and Belgian postal legislations Brussels. Hooper, Richard. Hutton, Deirdre. Smith, Ian. 2008. Modernise or Decline: Policies to maintain the universal postal service in the United Kingdom. 16 December 2008. International Post Corporation. 2007. How to regulate the postal industry: an economic approach. Lundgren, A. (2001), Sustainability of USO on a liberalised postal market some empirical insights. Moriarty, Richard. Smith, Paul. 2005. Barriers to Entry in Post and Regulatory Responses. From: Regulatory and Economic Challenges in the Postal and Delivery Sector, edited by MichaelA.Crew and PaulR.Kleindorfer. NERA (2004) Economics of Postal Service: A Final Report A Report to the European Commission. Newbery, D. M. and Pollitt, M.G. 1997. The Restructuring and Privatisation of the CEGB- Was it worth it, Journal of Industrial Economics, XLV (3), 269-303 Newbery, David, M. 2004. Electricity Liberalisation in Britain: the quest for a satisfactory wholesale market design. Norsworthy, J.R., Jang,-Show-Ling, Shi,-Wei-Ming. (1991) Published in Competition and the Regulation of Utilities; edited by M.A. Crew and P.R. Kleindorfer Norwell, Mass. and Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic 1991; 141-68. Postcomm. 2002. The impact of liberalisation on efficiency: a survey. Prepared by Frontier Economics, Published January 2002. Reuters News Agency. EU court: UK Royal Mail services can be VAT exempt. Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLN80022620090423 [Accessed on 21/11/09]. Rogerson, and Takis (1993) Economies of scale and scope and competition in postal services in Crew and Kleindorfer, eds, Regulation and the Nature of Postal Delivery Services, Kluwer. Roy B. (1999) Technico-economic analysis of the costs of outside work in postal delivery in Crew and Kleindorfer, eds, Emerging Competition in Postal and Delivery Services, Kluwer. Viscusi, W. K., Harrington, J.E., Vernon, J.M. 2005. Economics of Regulation and Antitrust. MIT Press, Massachusetts. Wada, T., Tsunoda, C., and Nemoto, J. (1997) Empirical analysis of economies of scale, economies of scope, and cost subadditivity in Japanese mail service. IPTP Discussion paper series, August No.1997-08. Royal Mail Regulatory Financial Statement. 2009. Report and Accounts Year ended 29 March 2009. Postcomm. 2007. The Needs of Users of the Postal Service: Customer Service Report. Crew, Michael A. and Kleindorfer, Paul R. 2004 Regulatory Economics: Recent Trends in Theory and Practice. Armstrong, Mark, and Sappington, David. E. 2006, Regulation, Competition and Liberalization. Journal of Economic Literature, 44, pp325-366. Crew, Michael. A. and Kleindorfer, Paul. R. 2005. Competition, Universal Service and the Graveyard Spiral In Regulatory and Economic Challenges in the Postal and Delivery Sector. Crew, Michael. A. and Kleindorfer, Paul. R. 2008. Competition and Regulation in the Postal and Delivery Sector.

The Fight For Freedom For Equality - 947 Words

Isaiah Maldonado Mrs. Macmillan 30 October, 2015 American History The Fight For Freedom, The Fight For Equality Throughout American History African Americans have been the victims of racial oppression and exploitation. Despite the racial inequality and unjust treatment cursed upon them, African Americans still stood up for their country in times of need. World War II in particular helped pave the way for African Americans to finally begin being recognized as people of equal value, of equal social status and establish post war integration of the military. With that being said African Americans were still segregated when World War II began and still faced hardships regardless of their selfless acts of enlisting and fighting for our freedom. For many African Americans, the war offered an opportunity to get out of the cycle of crushing rural poverty. African Americans joined the military in large numbers, escaping a decade of depression and tenant farming in the South and Midwest. Yet, like the rest of America in the 1940s, the armed forces were segregated. The Army accepted black enlistees but created separate black infantry regiments and assigned white commanders to them. The Army Air Corps black fighter wing was completely separate, training at an all black university at Tuskegee, Alabama. The Navy segregated Negro units and gave them the most menial jobs on ships. And the Marines, at least initially, didn t even accept African Americans. At every trainingShow MoreRelatedThe Fight For Freedom And Equality904 Words   |  4 PagesIt seems like every time a television is on, there is something in the news regarding race relations. The fight for freedom and equality has been a long road involving numerous amounts of peaceful protests, legislation, and preaching. Even with the success of the civil rights movement, racism still exists in our country today and it is the responsibility of legislatures and citizens a like to make a difference. Over the past six months or so there have three extremely hot topics regarding race relationsRead MoreNelson Mandela s Fight For Freedom And Equality1632 Words   |  7 PagesMandela has been described as one of the most influential figures in the fight for freedom and equality in South Africa. Mandela was born in 1918. His farther, Henry Mandela, was a tribal chief of Tembu. At the time South Africa was ruled by white minority, Mandela helped to unite South Africa as it dismantled apartheid, the cruel system of white minority rule. He symbolized for all of Africa a commitment to democracy and freedom. For effective transformative education and transformative leadershipRead MoreAbraham Lincoln : His Fight For Freedom And Equality Essay1308 Words   |  6 PagesAbraham Lincoln: His Fight for Freedom and Equality Throughout history, slavery has been a controversial topic in the United States. There have been many revolts and rebellions, such as Gabriel’s Rebellion or Nat Turner’s Rebellion, fought over the abolition of slavery or for African Americans to be able to receive the same rights as those of white people. Many people have fought for this cause and one of those people is Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which is oneRead MoreEnlightenment And The Great Awakening814 Words   |  4 PagesAwakening changed the idea of freedom for the colonists. The Great Awakening was a time of religious revival in the colonies. Enlightenment was an intellectual movement in the 18th century which emphasized economic and political freedom. American and British tensions grew in this time period due to Britain wanting America to be under the king’s control. Enlightenment, the Great Awakening, the Founding Fathers, and different social groups changed the ide as of freedom and equality. During the American RevolutionRead MoreI Have A Dream By Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.1102 Words   |  5 Pagesserve. In the speech, I Have A Dream by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he elaborates on the fight African Americans have endured and sets the path for freedom and equality while We Shall Overcome by L.B Johnson speaks on providing equality for all Americans. According to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speech, â€Å"I Have A Dream†, we, as nation and as people must demand freedom based on equality and perseverance. Equality and perseverance are the stepping stones towards true liberty and justice for all AfricanRead MoreSlavery1305 Words   |  6 Pagesoften complete their tasks in the early afternoon. With the growing rate of slavery, many slaves contemplated the idea of running away to try and gain their freedom. In 1693 Florida, which at that point was still part of Spain, granted the runaways that freedom stating if the runaways would convert to Catholicism they would be granted freedom. Since South Carolina was so close to Florida many slaves ran away and took advantage of this offer. In 1708 enslaved Indians composed as much as fourteenRead MoreEssay on Fighting for Equality and Freedom1229 Words   |  5 Pagesarose in America’s freedom. The Declaration of Independence stated that â€Å"†¦all men are created equal.† However, the rights for the ‘White Man’ were significantly above all others, and because of this, women and black men lacked the same equality as the ‘White Man’. In WWII, women took up jobs previously held by men, while the African Americans attempted to join the military. They wanted to assist in the war effort and help defend America to gain their freedom. This freedom for America meant toRead MoreNegritude Positive?1108 Words   |  5 Pagestime searching for racial identity, when we could use that time to fight for equality between the races? You tell us, when we find our racial identity what then must we do with it? Continue to be restricted from doing certain things and going certain places b ecause of our racial line? I agree with Du Bois’s argument, that racial identification is a hindrance and that it distracts us from the more important goal of fighting for equality between the races. It limits us from many things such as; educationRead MoreThe Cold War Between Communism And Communism1382 Words   |  6 Pagesstates should play the role as a leader to â€Å"lead the rest of the world to a future of international cooperation, expanding democracy, and ever-increasing living standards (Give me Liberty P952).† They wanted to express the idea of equality, civil rights, and the freedom to the world, and hoped to build an easier world for democracy and capitalism. However, Soviet Union, which was the only power that could rival the United States, claimed that communism could make the world more organized and orderedRead MoreMartin Luther King vs. Malcolm X Essay825 Words   |  4 Pagesto get equality. Martin Luther King Jr. believed in his main philosophy which was non violent resistance. Martin used the teachings from Ghandi to teach African Americans how to use non violent resistance as a way to earn equality. He also believed that blacks should try to find common ground between them and the white community and that this is not war it is just injustice vs. justice. The way that Malcolm x put it into perspective made many blacks want to join his side of the fight for freedom

The Stranger By Albert Camus - 2133 Words

I ask you for a man’s head†¦ and I do so with a heart at ease†¦ Never as strongly as today have I felt this painful duty made easier, lighter, clearer by the certain knowledge of a sacred imperative and by the horror I feel when I look into a man’s face and all I see is a monster (Camus, 1988). â€Å"The stranger† by Albert Camus a creative and deep novel about a human being named Meursault who is a man that makes no normal assumptions about life. This novel deals with the issue of nonexistent belongingness in Algerian society. He is a man without social ambition, no beliefs in religion or meaning of life, and whose only desire is to live a simple life free of any meaning (Gnanasekaran, 2014). He is a man who is living on the earth with no purpose and is indifferent to everything that happens around him. Meursault can simply be seen as a man who has created a sense of isolation for himself from the world. The lack of belongingness is ethnic and politica l, and it is also personal in the sense that Meursault lacks the ability to have meaningful relationships. He is a man who lives his life for himself and no one else, who can be seen as refusing to say more than what he knows, or in other words is a man of few words. He prefers to live within his own mind because that is the only reality that makes sense to him. Meursault can be explained by the existentialist view of psychology which basically has the idea that life has no meaning, it is accidental and there is no purpose behindShow MoreRelatedThe Stranger By Albert Camus1391 Words   |  6 PagesThe Stranger â€Å"The Stranger,† written by the Algerian writer Albert Camus, is a novel about Meursault, a character who’s different and even threatening views on life take him to pay the highest price a person can pay: his life. This was Camus’ first novel written in the early 1940’s, in France, and it reflects the authors belief that there is no meaning in life and it is absurd for humans to try to find it places like religion. The main themes of the novel are irrationality of the universe and theRead MoreThe Stranger By Albert Camus1495 Words   |  6 Pages Albert Camus said, â€Å"Basically, at the very bottom of life, which seduces us all, there is only absurdity, and more absurdity. And maybe that s what gives us our joy for living, because the only thing that can defeat absurdity is lucidity.† In other terms, Camus is indicating that absurdity affects us all even if it’s hidden all the way on the bottom, but it’s the joy that comes from absurdity that makes us take risks and live freely without any thought or focus. 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Camus’ irrational concept is based off the exclusion of any logical reasoning behind the events in the text. Meursault’s first impression given to the reader is that of ignorance and a nonchalant behavior to indifferenceRead MoreThe Stranger By Albert Camus1345 Words   |  6 PagesAbsurdism is a philosophy based on the belief that the universe is irrational and meaningless and that the search for order brings the individual into conflict with the universe. Albert Camus’s novel The Stranger is often termed an absurdist novel because it contains the elements of Camus’s philosophical notion of absurdity. Mersault, the protagonist, is an absurd hero that is emotionally detached and indifferent form society. Neither the external world in which Meursault lives nor the internal worldRead MoreThe Stranger By Albert Camus Essay1591 Words   |  7 PagesThe Stranger was written by the French author Albert Camus, and was first published in 1942 in its indigenous French. 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Internet and Technology on Kuwait Market †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Internet and Technology on Kuwait Market. Answer: Introduction: The government has a strong vision on information and communication technology and makes effort to promote the positive use of the technology. The Commercial Law 68 of 1980 of Kuwait says that no foreign companies can establish any commercial activity in the country if it has no recommendation of local agents or distributors (Kuwait Times, 2018). The distributor promotes, imports, stocks and distributes products of foreign nations. They take huge amount to promote the business that is not always affordable for the foreign companies. Thus, the incorporation of internet and technologies has relieved the foreign companies to influence market in Kuwait. It has been found that 91% people living in Kuwait have access to internet (Abdulla, Naser and Saeid 2014). Thus, people get all information about a product or service through online sources, cloud computing, television, news and media. Therefore, they start buying products of foreign brands that they get through online marketing. Social media usage has also been another marketing strategy for businesses reaching the larger population of Kuwait (Vinerean et al. 2013). Rising demand for particular products and services, enable the distributors or agents to demand lower amount of money from the foreign clients that accelerate the business to enter the Kuwait market. Thus, technologies and internet has been very beneficial to reduce the threat on new entrants to function in the market of Kuwait. Due to the rapid technological advancement, there is a continuous threat of substitutes for the present businesses operational in the market of Kuwait. Digital revolution has led to massive change in both the nature of innovation and increasing pressure for the industries to innovate ideas and methods continuously (Baden-Fuller and Haefliger 2013). This threat to the market has been very effective to promote progress in the market situation of the country. However, such threats have also affected the profit margins for various industries that are bound to provide free services to the customers, which would otherwise get substituted. Due to the use of internet, people are also accessing the online sites through which they are getting their desirables simply sitting back at home. With the use of mobile phones, they are getting access to not only the national market but also the global market (Labrecque et al. 2013). This has also affected many running businesses who are now adapting fr ee home delivery facilities to sustain in the market. The online retailers are continuously engaging the customers by providing sales and discounts that are attracting them. Thus, the Kuwait market is highly threatened by the rapid use of internet and digital technology with an increasing number of substitutes in the market. The rapid use of technology has been promoting an integration of new businesses by reducing the costs spent on communication processes. Thus, there is an increase in competitive pressure for the businesses operational in the market. Due to the growing number of alternatives in the market, the bargaining power of customers is increasing. The buyers switch to other sellers if they get similar products in lower prices. Technology has led to greater innovation that has increased the availability of substitutes in the market (Westerman, Bonnet and McAfee 2014). Customers and consumers have gained greater bargaining power due to the instant access they have to information and insights from social media platforms. They have knowledge of products through the reviews and feedback and get ideas about the low switching costs through the digital channels. Advanced technology has made the customers have an access to substitutes with ease and convenience. Thus, the customers have the power to weak en the sellers to sell their products in a greater price. However, customer loyalty serves to be the solution to many sellers who have the fixed customers who prefer their brands irrespective of the availability of substitutes (Gilaninia, Taleghani and Azizi 2013). Kuwait as a whole has shown a massive improvement with the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) on business innovations. Thus, there has been an increase in mobile subscriptions and mobile coverage in the nation that has elevated the role of the customers to influence markets. Therefore, due to digitalization and growing use of technology the bargaining power of customers has also been increasing rapidly in the Kuwait market. Bargaining power of suppliers: The bargaining power of suppliers has been significantly low for the market in Kuwait. There has been an increase in the number of suppliers for products in the business market. Digital marketing has led to greater scopes for businesses to supply their products through online methods and applications (Chaffey and Ellis-Chadwick 2016). Thus, the suppliers have the fear of getting replaced with new market tools. However, the switching cost from one supplier to another is sometimes very high that makes the businesses to stick to their own supplier. In such cases, there is a significant bargaining power of the suppliers. Considering the entire market scenario of the Kuwait market, the presence of a huge number of suppliers has enabled the companies to choose supplier according to the cost they can invest on them. However, due to internet facilities and technological advancement, the suppliers also have greater access to find out and connect with the emerging companies. Thus, they get the opportunity to choose companies according to the profile. Considering the entire market, it can be concluded that the bargaining power of the suppliers is quite low in the operational markets. The use of internet and technology has led the businesses to have an access to the entire world (Czinkota and Ronkainen 2013). Thus, it has led to the growing trend of international trade according to the demands of the nations. Due to the improved methods, the buyers and sellers of the world has been connected to merge at a point where they are getting desired products at an agreed value. The use of internet has led to greater communication among the buyers and sellers. However, it has led to a massive increase in rivalries among the companies. The use of technology has enabled the emerging businesses along the older ones to operate globally (Laudon and Traver 2013). Thus, the rivalries are on an increase, which simultaneously leads the businesses to take risks in order to stabilize their positions in the market. The industries are bound to spend a huge amount on promotional activities, CSR activities and advertisements to compete with the other companies and attract the customers. Thus, though the digitalization and technologies has brought scopes for industries to expand their businesses globally, it has equally raised the competition among them enormously. Most of the customers do not change their preferences of products with the change in technology. They stay loyal to the old brands and deviates from trying new ones. In Kuwait, the customers lack of interest in new products caused a downturn for the emerging industries or new products in the market, as was manifested in the market of smart phones where people seemed to stick to the use of blackberry phones with barely any switch to the other brands (Doronin 2013). It is very important to incorporate knowledge about the adoption of newer brands in the customers. They must be given free trials and through advertisements and workshops, they must be awakened with the advantages that they can have using the new brands. They must be informed about the updated versions of products that would enable them to accept the new products brought in the market. The industries operating in the Kuwait market have raised their capital investment to a good extent. Competing with them requires the small-scale industries to raise their revenue in such a way that they meet the level set by the existing ones. Thus, there are huge risks for the companies to face huge loss that may ultimately lead to their declination. The new industries thus need to create a good impression among the target customers so that they do not incur loss. They must positively use new technologies and make investments in advertisements, workshops and promotional activities to reach to the customers and create a good customer base to operate successfully in the market (Eid and El-Gohary 2013). Lack of long-term objectives: The small-scale emerging industries lack long-term goals and just try to establish themselves in the market scenario of the country. They make huge investments for that with no proper strategy that ultimately lead to their collapse. They emerge with lack of skills and lack of regulations in the production methods that disrupts the entire company. Thus, it is very important for industries to come into the market with both short and long term objectives set with a good management that serve to be the base. The management must be updating with all the procedures and feedback that the companies get from both the ends of employees and customers that would enable the industries to perform in a collaborated and effective way. The industries must focus on their production and profit goals that are very essential to sustain in the market. New companies do not have the advantage of customer loyalty. Thus, it becomes very difficult for them to occupy places in the preference lists of customers. The consumers do not and cannot trust any company that comes up in the market. Thus, the companies need to take measures to popularize their products and services by offering discounts, keeping low price for similar products that the established companies have for their products, free trials and interesting offers to grow the consumer relations. This would enable them to reach to the population at large and enable them to gradually gain the trust of the consumers. References: Abdulla, A.M., Naser, K. and Saeid, M., 2014. Employability factors of business graduates in Kuwait: Evidence from an emerging country.International Journal of Business and Management,9(10), p.49. Baden-Fuller, C. and Haefliger, S., 2013. Business models and technological innovation.Long range planning,46(6), pp.419-426. Chaffey, D. and Ellis-Chadwick, F., 2016.Digital marketing. Prentice Hall Czinkota, M.R. and Ronkainen, I.A., 2013.International marketing. Cengage Learning. Doronin, D., 2013. Macro-level Market Research of Kuwait. Eid, R. and El-Gohary, H., 2013. The impact of E-marketing use on small business enterprises' marketing success.The Service Industries Journal,33(1), pp.31-50. Gilaninia, S., Taleghani, M. and Azizi, N., 2013. Marketing mix and consumer behavior.Kuwait Chapter of the Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review,2(12), p.53. Kuwait Times. (2018).Door to total foreign ownership in companies opened in Kuwait - Kuwait Times. [online] Available at: https://news.kuwaittimes.net/door-total-foreign-ownership-companies-opened-kuwait/ [Accessed 25 Mar. 2018]. Labrecque, L.I., vor dem Esche, J., Mathwick, C., Novak, T.P. and Hofacker, C.F., 2013. Consumer power: Evolution in the digital age.Journal of Interactive Marketing,27(4), pp.257-269. Laudon, K.C. and Traver, C.G., 2013.E-commerce. Pearson. Vinerean, S., Cetina, I., Dumitrescu, L. and Tichindelean, M., 2013. The effects of social media marketing on online consumer behavior.International Journal of Business and Management,8(14), p.66. Westerman, G., Bonnet, D. and McAfee, A., 2014.Leading digital: Turning technology into business transformation. Harvard Business Press.