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Theories of War Vietnam Term Paper 12 pages history assignment help is it legit: history assignment help is it legit

War: Vietnam

The concept of ‘Realism’ has been one of the most important and dominating theories that has come into force, especially after the World War II. The theory has not only been responsible for guiding international relations but has also been the predominant force behind the formulations of foreign policies. (Theories of International Relations) For most of its history, Vietnam has been under the domination of foreign rule, most of the time by the Chinese. It was in the year 1860 that the French entered the soil of Vietnam, and by the end of the nineteenth century, they had established colonies all over Vietnam, especially around the Gulf of Tonkin. This was the area that the Japanese took complete control over, during the Second World War, until the year 1945 when the Vietnamese took up a bold stand and threw them out.

Afterwards, until the year 1955, the French tried hard to re-conquer their lost territories, but it was of no avail. Their army was completely disorganized, perhaps because the world war had just gotten over, and the troops were barely determined to do their best. The efforts did not pay off, and the French had to accept defeat. The Communist General Vo Nguyen Giap was responsible for the defeat and the eventual withdrawal of the French troops from Vietnam, and left a buffer zone between the North and the South of Vietnam. The leader Ho Chi Minh set up his government in Hanoi, and dissatisfied North Vietnamese fled to South Vietnam where the leader was the notorious Ngo Dinh Diem, who had established the Republic of Vietnam by this time. There was serious in fighting between the north and the south of Vietnam, and from the years 1955 to 1960, the North Vietnamese with the southern Vietcong attacked and tried to take over the government under the President Ngo Dinh Diem, and in the year 1963 these troops succeeded in overthrowing and executing him. (The Vietnam War)

By the year 1964, the North Vietnamese with the help of Russia and China launched an attempt to capture and conquer the entire area of Vietnam. It was at this point that the United States of America, fearing that the Communists under Russia and China would be able to successfully take over Vietnam, began to keep an eye out for the developments in the region. Ho Chi Minh was emerging as a successful leader, and Vietcong was also gaining in popularity. Communism had become a world wide ‘menace’ and the United States of America had the idea of stopping it from spreading even further. This was the time when the Cold War too was at its peak, and the Americans feared that if they were to interfere in the matters of Vietnam, the communists would spread their wings further and manage to create more and more tensions between the people of China and the Russians, which would even lead to another world war. This was what prevented the United States from pursuing a more strict policy, and what eventually led to more tensions. (The Vietnam War)

Furthermore, the cultural differences between the U.S.A. And Vietnam were enormous and quite unbridgeable, because, for example, what was corrupt according to USA standards was not corrupt according to the standards being used by the South Vietnamese. USA was finding it quite a difficult proposition to term the South Vietnamese as being hardworking and honest when corruption was rampant, and dishonesty was the order of the day. What was even worse was that the leaders of South Vietnam were also demoralized, and whatever they did was more for personal gains than for anything else. The U.S.A. soon arrived at a decision seeing that there was nothing that would mobilize the troops and encourage them, and this was to take matters into their own hands. After this decision was made, the Americans started to send out so-called advisory troops into South Vietnam, and soon this became a huge commitment.

The then President Lyndon Johnson formed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that stated that the maintenance of peace and security and protecting the freedom of the peoples in the regions of Southeast Asia was the priority at the time for the Americans. The President did not want to halt the War, however, that was going on between the North and the South of Vietnam and since he did not want to go down in history as the first U.S. President to have lost a War, he handed over the responsibility to Richard M. Nixon, who also could not cope with all that the War entailed. The young men of the troops of America could not hope to survive in such an alien environment, and when it was obvious that the U.S.A. was highly demoralized, the decision was made to withdraw. Ceasefire was established in 1973, and soon the U.S. troops began to leave foe their own homelands. In the year 1975, North Vietnam captured South Vietnam, and the whole of Vietnam became united as one single entity, one single communist state. (The Vietnam War)

In essence, the events that led up to the Vietnam War are as follows: after the Second World War, the Communist Strategy had divided the four countries of China and Germany and Vietnam and Korea. Vietnam was in itself divided into two factions, the North and the South, the north being Communist, and the South being Republican. North Vietnam had fought for many years to overthrow the French government that was ruling it for several years before the world war. When the French were finally overthrown, and the Geneva Accord was signed authorizing the removal of French troops from Vietnamese soil, Vietnam became split up into North and South, and the United States of America sent out her troops to protect the world or at the very least, South Vietnam from being overwhelmed by a communist regime. The U.S.A. stationed her troops in South Vietnam, and this is how the U.S.A. entered the Vietnam War. (Background: www.bergen.org)

The term ‘realism’ is used so often and in so many different contexts that it is virtually impossible to define the term. However, theorists such as Waltz, Carr and Morgenthau state their own definitions of the word, but the problem here is that each person demonstrates their own focus on the particular issue. (Realism in International Relations) The term ‘Realism’ was coined by EH Carr in an attempt to analyze the underlying issues of the onset of the World War II. (Political Science 14 Notes) Realism is often considered to be an extremely complex and complicated theory by the scientists and the researchers who study them. At the core of the principle is the question of whether ‘justice’ must be applied, when carrying out international affairs.

A realist believes that moral principles such as justice must not be forced onto theories of War and the principles involved in maintaining international relations. A realist prefers to state that the issues of power and security must be given more importance that those of morals, and also that a given state must concentrate on developing its own self-interests, and that the world of international affairs is an arena in which to display their own power in a sort of anarchical regime. A realist also believes that the idea that War is in itself an anarchical thought since it involves the entire anarchical world system that relies on national self-interest, where once a war has begun, it is imperative that one must make all the necessary attempts to win the war. (War: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Therefore, during the war, all attempts must be made to keep up one’s own self-interest, and all the other theories that purport justice or uphold theories of international law must be pushed into the background and ignored completely; it is this that would enable one to win the war, and winning the war is the ultimate goal of the war taking place. The fundamental interest in a war must lie in the upholding of one’s own power and security, according to a realist. Some of the most popular realists down the ages are Thucydides, Hobbes, Henry Kissinger, and Kenneth Waltz. In the theory of realism, there are two distinct differences, one being that of descriptive realism, and the other being that of prescriptive realism. Descriptive realism is the theory that states that any state cannot or will not be able to behave in a moral manner, when there is a war. It cannot behave morally because of the severe competition involved in the fighting of a war, and it will not behave morally because it will not find sufficient motivation to do so.

Therefore, there cannot be any sort of moral discourses and discussions on the moral behavior of a state during the war, because it is not practical to do so. The concepts of morality and justice and so on will not matter or make the least bit of difference to them during the war; preserving the national spirit, conserving self-interests, and so on will be the primary forces for the states involved, and if one state is more powerful than the other, then there is no doubt whatsoever what the outcome of the war would be. What must be remembered, say realists, is that a state is not an individual or a person, and therefore, it must not be treated as such. The rules and the theories and principles that guide the moral behavior of an individual cannot be applicable to a state, and it must be remembered that a state belongs to the world, and when the world is taken as an arena where the various players must defend their own territories, then the state must be taken as a participant in the activities of the arena where violence is the natural course and order of things. (War: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

If a state needs to maintain its power and security and provide these for its citizens in the present as well saw in the future, then it will undoubtedly have to participate in all the activities that will take place in this violent arena, and, most importantly, WIN. Walzer, a realist and a proponent of the theory of realism, does not agree, however, to this concept. He says that a state must respond and conform to moral conditions and behaviors, even if eventually, it fails to upkeep the morals that were expected of it. He also says that a state may not be an individual person; however, it is a fact that a state was created by a group of individual persons, and it eventually belongs to that group of individuals. Therefore, it should be able to uphold morality and justice in its actions, and want to voluntarily do so.

Walzer felt that any state that only wanted to upkeep its own self-interest and preserve its own power and security would fail over the years because the people of the state would feel demoralized, and they would feel that they want a deeper sense of commitment and understanding from the state in which they live, rather than living in a powerful state that exhibited absolutely no morals values in its quest for power and dominance. Prescriptive realism is the theory that states that a state must or ‘ought’ to behave amorally when there is a war, in the international arena, where self-regard will gain predominance over the other issues during a war. Therefore, when the state wants to be a smart player in the international arena, then it must leave all its moral values behind and try to concentrate on the various ways and means with which to gain control and power over the others during the war. A prescriptive realist also says that the rules of a war involve theories such as those stating that a war must be fought only for the purpose of countering the aggression being demonstrated by the other state in the war, and that during the war, those who are not directly involved in the war must not be harmed with certain lethal violence methods. (War: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Some of the most important concepts of the Theory of reality are these: international relations are open to objective studies, and all the events that take place during the war can be described according to the various terms used by the Law, and like scientific theories, these laws can be applied anywhere and will remain true at all the places where they are applied. The second fact is that the state is the primary actor in the drama of war, and it can be represented by those supra-national structures of the world like the United Nations, and not by individuals like the Pope. Anarchy will be followed, and the state must not have any divided aims about this issue. The behavior of the state is seen as being rational, and they are often seen to be relying on force to achieve their aims. Ethical and moral issues are ignored, and this is what makes up the basis of Realism in International Theory and War. (Realism in International Relations)

Though the occurrence of a War is statistically rare, it is a fact that it commonly occurs, and must be taken as a recurring phenomenon in international relations. There may be several different kinds of war. One of them is the war where the participants are two different sovereign states, and they have a common problem between them, like for example, a shared border and its boundaries. The second type of war is the war that occurs when other countries interfere in the war that is going on in one country as an attempt to offer humanitarian aid. This is also referred to as a Civil War, or Conflict. The third type of war is the war that is occurring in today’s world, wherein the issue at stake may be terrorism or some such problem that involves international interventions. One example for this is the war against terrorism that is being carried out by the United States of America on certain Islamic factions in Afghanistan after the terrorist attack carried out by them on the World Trade center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2000. (Lecture 10, War)

Thousands of innocent civilians were injured and many thousands suffered a traumatic death on account of these attacks. The Security Dilemma Theory of War explains that when a state tries to increase its own security, it eventually tends to decrease the security of others. Although war is the inevitable result of basic insecurities and a lack of the feeling of power, there is often no upward limit on how much of security would be best for the state. This results in states acquiring and spending more and more resources on the acquisition of more and improved security for their states, and if others suffer because of it, nothing can be done about it, as they must be concerned about their own state first, before showing any moral concern for the others. The result of this is that security may be increased, but the arsenal may be decreased. The fact is that there are two types of states that demonstrate these concepts; one of them being ‘aggressors’, and one of them being ‘defensive’. What make the security dilemma worse are the questions of whether offense or defense is the better option for a war, and can defensive actions be differentiated from offensive actions? These two questions must be addressed by the states that are at war. (Lecture 10, War)

It is the general opinion of certain theorists that if the ideal of the world is that of a totally ‘unified government’, then such an ideal must decidedly be based on a system of anarchy, where self-interest and self gain would become the ideals to base the government on. Both the theory of ‘security dilemma’ and the theory of ‘balance of power’ are the direct results of the system of anarchy that is very much in evidence in the world politics and international relations of today. As far as the United States of America is concerned, there is a general consensus that in the international environment where anarchy is predominant, all the states of the world are fearful of each other, and this is caused, primarily, because of certain innate misunderstandings. This leads to the truth that all states have to be prepared for any sort of eventuality, and this can only be achieved when the issue of security is addressed. Security becomes an issue of top priority, and all the countries try to hike up their security, and also go about the various means of achieving this. (Security Dilemma, the Balance of Power vs. U.S. Policy towards China in the Post-Cold War Era)

Therefore, military security is improved, and self-security is also increased, by the method of spending more money on improving the military system. The problem herein is that when one state improves its security, then it automatically means that the other state would be at a lesser level of security than the first one, and this means that the second state must improve its security to surpass that of the first one. Therefore, the others will quickly and rapidly overtake one state’s military efforts, and this means that attaining ‘absolute security’ becomes highly impossible. This phenomenon is very evident in the Asia-Pacific regions of the world where there is no multi-lateral security regime like the NATO in existence, and these result in the classical condition of the security dilemma, and certain regions like Kashmir and Taiwan have turned into hotspots of trouble.

There are a number of territorial disputes between various states of this region, and the United States of America has entered into these regions with promises of improvement, that will be achieved by the security dilemma, with which the U.S.A. is also attempting to contain China, as it did Vietnam before and during the Vietnam War. Some persons offer the opinion that the U.S.A. has as its basic aim the idea of entrapping China, Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines into major security dilemmas, and continue interfering in all the affairs of these states. The security dilemma theory and the ‘balance of power’ theory came into existence at the same time, and according to the theorist Prof. Kenneth Waltz, all those states that would ordinarily have no rivalry or tensions with each other, would, on account of the security dilemma, lapse into enmity and tensions, because of the factor of anarchy that is an inherent part of the security dilemma. (Security Dilemma, the Balance of Power vs. U.S. Policy towards China in the Post-Cold War Era)

Therefore, it naturally follows that all the states would try to utilize the ‘balance of power’ concept to keep their own security well and safe, and since it is a recognized fact that security dilemma would exist in international politics, it will be at the root and at the end result of the concept of the balance of power. Traditional realists like Professor Hans Morgenthau believed that the balance of power was centered in the reality where a group of countries shared power among themselves. Since the one goal of any foreign policy, the realists felt, was to acquire power, the same theory can be applied as the balance of power among several different countries. This means, in other words, that it is this balance of power that would prevent one particular state from acquiring more power than others, and the others would also ensure that this particular state did not by any means, happen to enjoy more power than them. In the balance of power would lay the benefit for all those involved.

The United States of America has as its foreign policy the concept of balance of power, and this is the theory that is used in her control over any big country trying to challenge her hegemony in the Asia-Pacific regions, over the years. In fact, ever since the nineteenth century, this has been the guiding principle of the U.S.A. In its dealings with the Asia pacific, since it aims to prevent East Asia from being taken over or dominated by one major power. The possibility of a power stronger than that of the United States in the Asia Pacific regions was quite unacceptable for the U.S.A., and the vanquishing of Japan during the World War, and the control of China and of Vietnam after the World War is all a part of this strategy. (Security Dilemma, the Balance of Power vs. U.S. Policy towards China in the Post-Cold War Era)

How are these three theories of ‘realism’, ‘security dilemma’, and ‘balance of power’ applicable to the Vietnam War? It is a fact that it was during the Cold War that realists were able to analyze and detect the strategies that were used by the various warring factions. However, the same realists were not able to analyze the regional or the local crises that were happening in their own domains. This is especially true of the Vietnam War, as there is a lot of discord in the various theories brought out by the realists on this issue. The famous theorists, Hans Morgenthau, the classical realist who believed that the War could have been stopped, and who stated that he thought that the war was ‘irrational, and another famous neorealist, Kenneth Waltz, who stated that the war could have been stopped and that it was for the most part ‘irrelevant’ completely missed the entire reality of the War, in that their theories did not arise from an experience of their regional issues; it rather rose from a mere regional level of awareness of the problem. (Flawed Realism: Hans Morgenthau and Kenneth Waltz on Vietnam– The Case for a Regional Level-of-Analysis)

The Cold War had the distinction of bringing in the study of realism in war into the theories of international relations. With realism came the concerns for one’s own internal security, and the need for the balance of power. Realists became concerned and focused on achieving and attaining military power, and though realists were able to provide a dryly analytical answer to the problem of the war, the nature of the peace and the stability that was supposedly brought about at the end of the war were considered to be doubtful. Morgenthau the realist stated that stability would only be found in an environment like that which was brought about by the Congress of Vienna in the year 1815. This, he said, paved the way to a multipolar international system, and this was the system that was effective. Waltz stated that the Cold War had resulted in the creation of hitherto unseen stability, achieved in the main by the superpower status of the United States of America and the U.S.S.R.

These two powers were able to balance the power that they enjoyed in the vast international arena by being able to balance the power within their own societies, rather than externalizing it. However, both the realists staunchly opposed American involvement in the Vietnam War, while some of the other realists such as Henry Kissinger, who played an active role in the foreign policy of America, supported American involvement in the Vietnam War. When analyzed separately, Hans Morgenthau’s theories on the Vietnam War were extremely complex and sometimes even inconsistent, while the views of Kenneth Waltz were simple but forceful at the same time. Morgenthau even undertook a journey to Vietnam and took part in the anti-war demonstrations in the year 1955, and gave a series of lectures all over the country in his attempt to try to shape up a national policy on the idea. Morgenthau was in essence a multipolarist, and at the time when he was totally committed to the concept of amoralism, he condemned the leader of South Vietnam, Ngoh Din Diem as being unworthy of American support since he was amoral. (Flawed Realism: Hans Morgenthau and Kenneth Waltz on Vietnam– The Case for a Regional Level-of-Analysis)

Most of Morgenthau’s theories were also based on the theory of balance of power, in which all players are actors in the arena of the entire system, and that the policy decided on by the United States of America to completely isolate China was in fact quite impractical and also undesirable and unethical. He was Vietnam as the victim of excessive power, and like Waltz, who also believed in a similar theory, stated that this sort of concentration of power would generally occur in any bipolar system. Both the realists believed that no state must undertake to formulate foreign policies on the basis of universal moral and ethical ideals. However, despite all these statements, Morgenthau finally stated that the power of China did in fact have to be restricted and when it was known that Chinese influence on Asia could not be controlled in the military sense, it could still be contained in a political manner with the help and the intervention of the United States of America. (Flawed Realism: Hans Morgenthau and Kenneth Waltz on Vietnam– The Case for a Regional Level-of-Analysis)

It has often been said that strategic culture is in fact the general variable for the very doctrine and the principles of the military of any country, and strategic culture will also be able to provide a view point through which the enemy’s military strategy involving weapons and operations and so on can be accurately analyzed and assessed by the other party. The theory of realism states that a state will be able to balance this sort of threat to one’s security and power, but has most of the time ignored the ways and means in which culture will be able to affect the very perception of an innate threat to the security of the state. The security dilemma as described by the realists would have a state respond to another state’s increase in security by increasing their own security. (Realisms at War: Robert Gilpin’s political economy of hegemonic war as a critique of Waltz’s neorealism)

However, an analysis of the Cold War demonstrates that it the United States of America and Russia did not actually respond in the exact same manner predicted by the realists. Though it is a fact that the Soviets indulged in a Naval build up, and the Americans indulged in a massive launch of the development of ‘smart weapons’, a lot of evidence points to the fact that the basic cultures of the two states were able to exert plenty of influence on them. This resulted in a lot of misrepresentations of the threat, and there was more underestimation rather than overestimation, as is commonly believed. The threat was perceived as not just the force of the explosion or the number of arms being amassed, or the various other quantifiable military facts, but was based on the idea of whether one’s own weapon would be sufficient enough to meet those of the opposition. (Realisms at War: Robert Gilpin’s political economy of hegemonic war as a critique of Waltz’s neorealism)

To conclude, it can be stated that there are several realists and several theorists, and the realist theorists like Waltz and Morgenthau and Gilpin and Henry Kissinger, though they may offer their own views on the subject, are fundamentally different in some ways and also similar in some ways. While Waltz believes more in the balance of power theory, and takes his analogies from the world of economics, Gilpin believes in the more classical and traditional theory of realism, very similarly to Morgenthau. Realism has been the center of the topic of international relations from the early 1980’s onwards, and it performed a very basic and important function of establishing a discipline for the foundation of international relations. While waltz described War as being caused according to the level on which the susceptibility to get involved in conflicts was based. In the Vietnam War, anarchy could be quoted as the reason for the starting point of the war, in which the United States of America and the U.S.S.R. were basically on the lookout to prevent amassing of power by one particular state. In order to prevent one state from acquiring more power, it was decided that the other would acquire more, and there is no end to such races for power. (Realisms at War: Robert Gilpin’s political economy of hegemonic war as a critique of Waltz’s neorealism)

Therefore, it can be seen that realism and anarchy had a close link, and that realism generally has two results. One is that any serious attempt made to define the boundaries of discipline in war is seen as a threat and an attack on realism. Another consequence of realism is that many individuals see the attacks being made on realism as being actually attacks on the discipline. This was the reason that realists like Waltz conceived of the ‘theory of balance of power’, and Gilpin conceived the theory of a ‘hegemonic war’ that states that a behavior can be analyzed according to the theory of ‘marginal utility’, that a state will naturally seek to expand as long as there is a hope that the expected costs would be lower than the expected benefits. When applied to a state at war, like Vietnam and the U.S.A. And USSR, this theory makes sense. Therefore in conclusion, it can be said that when the theories of realism and of security dilemma and the balance of power are studied and applied to the Vietnam conflict, the reasons and the workings of the war can be comprehended to some extent. (Realisms at War: Robert Gilpin’s political economy of hegemonic war as a critique of Waltz’s neorealism)

References

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http://www.bergen.org/AAST/Projects/Vietnam/background2.html Accessed on 12 December, 2004

Benjian, XIN. Security Dilemma, the Balance of Power vs. U.S. Policy towards China in the Post-Cold War Era. Retrieved From

http://www.uscc.gov/researchpapers/2000_2003/pdfs/secur.pdf Accessed on 12 December, 2004

Dunn, Martin. Realism in International Relations. Virtual War College. Retrieved From

http://www.geocities.com/virtualwarcollege/ir_realism.htm Accessed on 12 December, 2004

Guzzini, Steffano. Realisms at War: Robert Gilpin’s political economy of hegemonic war as a critique of Waltz’s neorealism. Retrieved From

http://www.copri.dk/publications/Wp/WP2002/11-2002.pdf Accessed on 12 December, 2004

Lecture 10, War. Retrieved From

http://artsandscience.concordia.ca/poli205ah/lectures/lecture10_txt.html Accessed on 12 December, 2004

Lomperis, Timothy J. Flawed Realism: Hans Morgenthau and Kenneth Waltz on Vietnam– The Case for a Regional Level-of-Analysis. Retrieved From http://www.townhall.com/phillysoc/lomperisflawedrealism.htm Accessed on 12 December, 2004

Political Science 14 Notes. 5 February, 2004. Retrieved From

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Nike Colin Kaepernick Ad Campaign7 pages apus history essay help

Nike

Executive Summary

Nikes decision to tap into woke culture and turn the out of work former NFL quarter Colin Kaepernick into a brand ambassador has been a controversial one since the sportswear company launched its Colin ad campaign in 2018. This paper discusses the strategic issue underlying Nikes controversial campaign and shows how it was intended to leverage woke culture and gain competitive advantage in an industry that had largely stayed quiet on socio-political issues. This paper provides an external analysis, internal analysis, and financial analysis before addressing the strategic issue. Alternatives are also discussed along with a recommendation and an implementation plan. Before beginning, background information on Nike is provided here below.

Company Vision/Mission

Nikes Vision is to to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. Its mission is to create groundbreaking sport innovations, by making our products more sustainably, by building a creative and diverse global team and by making a positive impact in communities where we live and work (About Nike, 2020).

Company Goals

The goals of Nike are to focus on innovation, sustainability, and form strategic partnerships that will enhance the brand and lead to brand loyalty among consumers (Nusser, Mahle & Ptzmann, 2015).

Company Policies/Values

Core values at Nike are: performance, authenticity, innovation and sustainability. Creating iconic brand campaigns aligns with these values (Storey, 2019).

Corporate and Competitive Strategies

Nikes competitive strategies focus on product differentiation, market niche, and building customer loyalty. Its corporate strategy focuses on diversification, international appeal, and developing partnerships.

External Analysis

Industry/CompetitionFive Forces

Current Rivalry Opportunities

Online sales represent a great growth area, as the shift to e-commerce has caused brick and mortar retail shops to fold in recent years. Nike has an opportunity to leverage its brand equity to draw e-commerce consumers to its website for online sales.

Current Rivalry Threats

Supply chains may be disrupted by Covid-19, and rivals that can leverage supply chains in other parts of the world will benefit while Nike suffers from supply chains being crippled in Asia.

Potential Entrants Opportunities

Nikes brand is dominant across all sports and its partnerships with professional athletes make it difficult for new entrants to break into the market. The Big Baller Brand of Lonzo Ball is an example of how difficult it is for new entrants.

Potential Entrants Threats

Upstarts like Under Armor and New Balance have partnered with star players like Steph Curry and Kawhi Leonard. This takes some of the shine off Nikes dominance. If more stars turn to other brands, Nike could lose its control of the market.

Bargaining Power of Buyer Opportunities

Numerous brands are available, thus brand appeal through star power, image and partnerships has the biggest impact on buyers. Buyers have a handful of brands to choose from.

Bargaining Power of Buyer Threats

The Internet has allowed buyers to have more information about products than ever before. Influencers on social media have a big impact on who makes purchases according to Freberg, Graham, McGaughey and Freberg (2011).

Bargaining Power of Supplier Opportunities

Suppliers can make shoes but the power is in the brand and only major competitors like Nike and Adidas are true brand players at the international level

Bargaining Power of Supplier Threats

The suppliers in Asia are major inputs in the industry and if Asian markets collapse from Covid-19 as is currently happening, major players in the market will be hurt. Suppliers from other parts of the world will have leverage in this situation.

Substitute Products Opportunities

The industry is always growing in multiple directions and opportunities for substitute products grow as sports and exercise culture grows.

Substitute Products Threats

There is no substitute for quality, as the recent debacle of Big Baller Brand has shown. Athletes want footwear that is high quality and they will not accept substitutes.

General External Environment

Economic Opportunities

The economy appears to be growing under the Trump administration, which means consumers have more disposable income to spend on designer products like Nike gear.

Economic Threats

A market recession is forecasted and the effects of Covid-19 spreading like wildfire in Asia could seriously disrupt the global market and cause a downturn in the global economy (Bartash, 2020). This will lead to job losses and to a collapse in disposable income for designer products like Nike gear.

Demographic Opportunities

As the population of the US becomes increasingly diverse, it represents an opportunity for the brand to appeal to more minorities. Developing brand campaigns that showcase minorities may facilitate this action.

Demographic Threats

Making stark socio-cultural shifts in brand development could disrupt consumer bases within the majority population, especially if there is a political bent to ad campaigns. White populations still account for a major percentage of saleshowever, as Neikirk (2019) points out, Nike knows its loyalist consumers and the demographic is in Nikes favor.

Sociocultural Opportunities

More diverse, minority-driven markets, which means by shifting to a minority-driven ad campaign Nike could shore up a new generation of loyal consumers.

Sociocultural Threats

The socio-political image of Nikes brand has been tarnished among white conservatives, who follow Trump and have boycotted Nike. However, as this is only a minority percentage of the population (approximately 20%), Nikes move is not a threat here.

Political-Legal Opportunities

Nike may benefit from the surge in minority-supported Bernie Sanders against the conservative Trump movement. However, Bernie is anti-corporation, so Nike may have problems here.

Political-Legal Threats

If Nike is pressured by either Trump or a Sanders administration to change its business strategies, including how it uses supply chains, the company may face considerable headwinds going forward.

Technological Opportunities

Robotics in productions could be a major opportunity.

E-commerce could represent a further opportunity.

Technological Threats

Proprietary information on design is more commonly dispersed among companies now and there is less advantage among any one brand especially as there are many stars with contracts among different major brands.

Internal Analysis

Strategic Managers Strengths

Philip Knight has been guiding Nike since the beginning. As co-founder and Chairman Emeritus, he still has a strong role in directing the company. President and CEO John Donahoe has experience helming eBay and PayPal and brings e-commerce experience to the company at a time when that experience is really needed.

Strategic Managers Weaknesses

None. The companys managers are among the best in the business.

Corporate Structure Strengths

The company has multiple divisions that handle its various product divisions based on sport and product typefrom footwear to sports gear.

Corporate Structure Weaknesses

The company has not organized itself with a view to an e-commerce method of selling yet, and this is a weakness as commerce is shifting to online consumption.

Corporate Culture Strengths

Nikes culture embraces sustainability, diversity, and inclusivity, all of which are important in todays diverse culture.

Corporate Culture Weaknesses

Nikes focus on progressive values may alienate traditional, conservative workers and possibly consumers and communities.

Production-Operations Strengths

Nike gets great value out of its Asian-based supply chain.

Production-Operation Weaknesses

Because its supply chain is based in Asia, Nikes operations could be imperiled if Chinas Covid-19 outbreak is not contained.

Marketing Strengths

Nike is able to maximize leverage on cultural trends and identify opportunities to create appealing ad campaigns based on issues that matter to targeted consumers.

Marketing Weaknesses

Nikes ad campaigns are directional and appeal to targeted consumers, making others to feel marginalized.

R&D Strengths

Nike spends billions on research and development each year in order to stay at the top of the industry in terms of innovation.

R&D Weaknesses

Instead of spending billions more on share buybacks–$15 billion currentlyNike could be investing that money into R&D (Oyedele, 2018).

Human Resource Management Strengths

Nike offers great health, educational, dental and leave benefits for employees, giving them excellent incentives to come aboard.

Human Resource Management Weaknesses

Nikes production staff is foreign-based and this presents a bad look for progressive values.

Information Systems Strengths

Employees have access to virtual stations, to email, phone communication and other technological resources. Its analytics department is one of the best in the industry.

Information Systems Weaknesses

Nike could benefit from using more Big Data gathered from social media to measure its brand influence and appeal.

Financial Analysis

Nikes NBA sponsorship has put it on the path of financial success and the company is likely to continue to grow its business. However, as Delventhal (2019) shows, the companys sales are not expanding in the US. Sales from overseas are also in trouble due to a potential recession in Asian markets. Nikes market cap has declined in recent months but the firm is still an industry leader.

Strategic Issue

Narrow Target Market

Nike has long led the US market in footwear and apparel but with the US market becoming more competitive and star athletes signing deals with other brands, Nike has looked abroad to expand its growth. However, in the US it has also turned to minorities, which are the increasing demographic, and appealed to them through its Colin Kaepernick ad campaign. The problem with this is that minorities do not have as much disposable income as the white population and if conservative whites are insulted by the Kaepernick campaign, it could lead to fewer sales, as Q1 2019 showed, suggesting blowback to the campaign.

Strategic Alternatives

First Alternative

Nike should seek a politically neutral tone when developing its ad campaigns and focus on sports heroics rather than political theater like that which Kaepernick performs. Kaepernick is known more for kneeling during the National Anthem than for doing anything significant on the field. Nike has always benefitted from highlighting stars like Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Moving to woke culture could damage its brand with fans who like Nike for athletic heroics images.

Second Alternative

Nike could produce ads that target the white culture of America as well and depict athletic heroes who white consumers can identify with. This would allow Nike to please both the minority population and the white population. Alienating consumers is not a good look for any company, especially one concerned with growth prospects as is Nike in todays risky economy.

Recommendations

Nike should abandon its woke culture ad campaign and get back to its original core values of highlighting heroics on the field. Consumers like Nike because it represents the best in people in sports. It is not a brand that has traditionally been associated with activism or politics. Choosing sides in a political controversy has cost Nike loyal consumers and many have taken to social media to voice their displeasure with the brandsome even burning their Nike gear and posting the videos of this anger online. This is bad negative attention for the company and hurts its brand.

Cutting ties with Kaepernick would not hurt Nike. It would help the company to save face with the majority of consumers and it would allow Nike to turn the page and move on from its woke culture experiment. The saying among consumers now is go woke, go broke, and many consumers are boycotting corporations like Disney that seek to promote progressive values that they do not appreciate.

Nike also could benefit from bringing production back to America. This is something the Trump administration has been vocal about and making shoes in America would bolster its image among majority populations.

Implementation

Changes in Organizational Culture

Nikes organizational culture has embrace progressivism in recent years but by bringing back a focus on more traditional values, it could enhance its brand image among workers, communities and consumers and restore its value in the eyes of consumers who were affronted by its latest ad campaign strategy.

Changes in Organizational Structure

Nikes organizational structure relies too heavily on foreign-based labor. Offshoring labor has decimated communities here in the US as they have lost jobs to overseas. Nike could be a Made in America company, which would boost its image and allow it to maintain operations as the virus outbreak in Asia is likely to worsen as the year goes on. By bringing production back to America, Nike will engineer a win-win scenario. It will show that it is an American company and that it embraces American values. It will also be able to reduce the risk of exposure to Asian supply chains.

Nike should also develop a strategy for expanding its brand in other parts of the world by doing culture-based research using Hofstedes model of cultural dimensions and making inroads with power brokers in other regions, such as the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America.

References

About Nike. (2020). Retrieved from https://about.nike.com/

Bartash, J. (2020). Apples Covid-19 warning. Retrieved from https://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-much-will-covid-19-hurt-the-us-economy-its-anyones-guess-right-now-2020-02-12

Delventhal, S. (2019). Nike facing challenging dynamics. Retrieved from https://www.investopedia.com/news/nike-facing-challenging-dynamics-goldman-sachs/

Freberg, K., Graham, K., McGaughey, K., & Freberg, L. A. (2011). Who are the social media influencers? A study of public perceptions of personality. Public Relations Review, 37(1), 90-92.

Neikirk, T. (2019). Nike sales are again way up. Retrieved from https://hillreporter.com/nike-sales-are-again-way-up-following-conservative-boycott-40033

Nusser, S., Mahle, I., & Ptzmann, J. U. (2015). How Social Commerce Communication can support Brand Loyalty: An Analysis of Nikes Efforts in Facebook Community Management. Markenbrand, (4/2015), 48-57.

Oyedele, A. (2018). Nike surges. Retrieved from https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/nike-earnings-q4-2018-2018-6-1027328545

Storey, G. (2019). Nike and the importance of meaningful brand values. Retrieved from https://polpeo.com/nike-and-the-importance-of-meaningful-brand-values/

Humanitarian Aid Armed Conflicts Syria do my history homework: do my history homework

Abstract

War and armed conflicts often create humanitarian crises and strain diplomatic relationships between countries. Diplomatic relations are an important topic to discuss due to the rise in social upheaval throughout the globe. Humanitarian missions give the army a chance to win the hearts and minds of the populace of countries impacted by United States and its various armed conflicts. These missions may also allow less fortunate countries a chance to build up their infrastructure, reducing potential future problems during natural disaster, while allowing American military a chance to employ sound military strategy and logistical might.

Introduction

Armed conflicts bring out the worst in people and promote negative situations for all sides involved. Therefore, it is important for nations to engage in humanitarian efforts to improve strained diplomatic relationships. These efforts, journalists show through the war on terror and how foreign aid and humanitarian effort serve as key aspects in countering ideological support for terrorist organizations. For example, the current situation in Syria led to the deaths of many innocent civilians. What should the United States (U.S.) do to help people like those in Syria during a severe and ongoing humanitarian crisis? Can the processes performed during these efforts lead to improvement within the United States military regarding future humanitarian missions and assistance in natural disasters? The answer is yes. Through the application of foreign aid through humanitarian missions, the United States army improves diplomatic relations with other countries and assist in developing the countrys military regarding natural disasters and aftermaths of armed conflicts.

Countries like Syria exist in Asia, a continent filled with diversity and variety of landscapes, faiths, and religions. The United States plays an active role in the War on Terror, creating a negative atmosphere for parties involved. Natural disasters also play a part in how dire the need of impoverished countries becomes regarding foreign aid. Therefore, developed countries like the United States takes an active role in promoting solutions to existing situations.

Military personnel then use these situations as training scenarios where new recruits may learn how to behave in specific instances. Humanitarian missions solve the problem of improving diplomatic relations with countries the United States engages within in armed conflicts as well as provide training opportunities for military personnel for emergencies. Such a varied and positive action leads to a multi-aspect solution serving both present needs and potential future instances. My contribution pertains to the research applied in examining how the humanitarian missions contribute to positive outcomes and application of these scenarios for military training.

The problem

Many identify the need for humanitarian missions in the ever-evolving world of global conflict. In a report written by Vince Crawley, Crawley understands the need for change regarding terrorism. Like those who believed the government can alleviate the misery from communism through humanitarian aid and action, the same goes for terrorism.

“Recognizing that communism thrives upon misery and discontent, the Army has always been ready to help unfortunate people improve their way of living.”

General Maxwell D. Taylor, U.S. Army chief of staff, speech in Detroit, Michigan, May 8, 1956

Trade the word “terrorism” for “communism” in the above quote, and Maxwell Taylors words remain as true today as they were half a century ago (Crawley, 2007, p. 1).

Terrorist acts as seen in Asia, specifically, Syria, have brought untold suffering to millions of people. Those in power within the United States must take action to alleviate the suffering of those in war-torn countries like Syria. In doing so, the conflicts within these countries lessens and officials will be better able to maintain peace.

According to the report, terrorism exists as a continuous problem suggesting traditional ways of handling conflicts to be ineffective (Crawley, 2007). Furthermore, should the U.S. military provide foreign aid via humanitarian missions, such actions may solve the ongoing problem the U.S. has with other countries regarding armed conflicts, communication, and coordination for natural disasters. Communication and coordination among foreign powers proves difficult due to differences in cultures, languages, and lack of training within military personnel (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2018). The U.S. military continuing their pursuit of humanitarian missions, allows development from training and real-world scenarios, generating momentum needed for solutions for multiple problems. On one hand, military test out military strategies for effectiveness, on the other, they help an impoverished country affected by American armed conflicts.

My idea

When thinking of the possible ways to improve upon the idea of carrying out humanitarian missions, Margessons report details what to consider regarding humanitarian assistance. Factors that may impact decision-making include the type of humanitarian assistance required, the impact of conflict and refugee flows on stability in the region in question, and the role of neighboring countries in contributing to the relief effort (Margesson, 2015, p. 1). Syria needs foreign aid. They have experienced recent problems costing the lives of hundreds of thousands of people during the Syrian Civil War (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2018). Adding its proximity to countries like Iraq, Turkey, and Israel, and potential obstacles solidify in terms of providing humanitarian aid through missions. Taking into account natural disasters like earthquakes, the solution becomes complicated.

The U.S. military must research in which areas countries like Syria feel the most impact. For example, the disasters befallen the country have led to a reduction in agriculture and rural livelihoods. In 2005, 26 percent of the population was employed in agriculture with 38 percent of the poor involved in farming. It is no surprise that suffered a massive loss throughout the conflict (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2018, p. 108). What many consider a devastating armed conflict, morphed into an ongoing agricultural and livestock problem. Should the U.S. military intervene and assist through humanitarian missions, they must take into consideration the agriculture and livestock industry in Syria, especially because many of the poor of the country work in that sector.

Similar to evidence-based practice in healthcare, humanitarian missions should be well thought out and researched. Simply delivering aid to workers or civilians will not be enough to quell the suffering in these war torn areas. Syria reminds the world what can and should be done concerning humanitarian crises. Taking such knowledge like the impact to the Syrian agriculture and livestock industry may shed light on the most effective solution the U.S. military should implement in these kinds of areas.

The details

Aside from acknowledging the aspects of a country facing the greatest turmoil, the U.S. military must also understand the effects of armed conflicts and natural disasters on countries to determine proper strategies. For instance, one of the major consequences of disasters and armed conflicts is population displacement. Population displacement is often a significant consequence in crises resulting from conflict. This may occur within the affected country or because people flee to countries in close proximity (Margesson, 2015, p. 1). When population displacement occurs, the plight of the refugee or the internally displaced person (IDP) brings another complex layer to resolve. Simply giving food and water to an IDP only helps short-term. However, other methods to deal with psychological, economic damage help in the long term.

Because of the various scenarios existing within these complex issues, the definition the U.S. government gives to humanitarian assistance is a flexible one. Congress broadly defines humanitarian activities in an effort to enable the U.S. response to be as flexible as possible to adapt to humanitarian needs. In practice, the provision of humanitarian assistance is typically case and time specific (Margesson, 2015, p. 3). The U.S. military must maintain flexibility in mind when operating in humanitarian missions. If the goal is providing relief for people, thus improving diplomatic relation and improving the experience of American military personnel, flexibility should be implemented as part of any sound military strategy.

While armed conflicts often lead to displacement, so can natural disasters Syria has not experienced a major natural disaster in recent times, but other countries have. These natural disasters cost billions in damage and also lead to displacement.

Related work

Japan experienced a terrible earthquake in 2011 that resulted in thousands of lost lives and thousands of displaced people. Three years after the catastrophe, 136,000 people from Fukushima prefecture are still displaced, and numerous disaster-related deaths have resulted from stress-related illnesses and suicide. Because of the nuclear meltdown, highly radioactive material continues to leak into the ocean (Fukushima et al., 2015). The people affected by such a disaster is just one example of the increasing level of natural disasters occurring worldwide. Most recently, Typhoon Haiyan or as some named it, Yolanda, ripped through Samar and Leyte in the Philippines. The disaster caused 6,000 deaths (Fukushima et al., 2015). The Philippines has witnessed in 2009, Ketsana (Ondoy) another devastating typhoon and Bopha (Pablo) in 2012.

Such disasters prompted the United States military to intervene leading to discontent among the affected populations. Disaster relief has also become part of the justification for increased US troop deployments in the Asia-Pacific regioneven as the new military basing component of the Pacific Pivot has met with strong opposition in Okinawa, Japan and Jeju, South Korea (Fukushima et al., 2015). Although the U.S. military may be stationed there to help in case of another natural disaster, not taking into consideration the feelings of the people affected leads to a decline in diplomatic relations. What seems like a positive move for the U.S. military, becomes a poor choice gauged from the negative reaction of the populace.

The United States needs to assess where the greatest need exists and see if their presence is wanted by the people they wish to help. In the case of Koreans and Japanese, they did not want American military bases set up. Considering so many people from the Fukushima disaster remain displaced or experienced death or illness from the aftermath, what positive effect does the military have in those areas?

Conclusions and further work

In conclusion, humanitarian missions provide the United States military a chance to aid foreign countries in dire need of assistance as well as promote better diplomatic relations following armed conflicts. The missions the military carry out turn into valuable learning scenarios for inexperienced personnel, serving as a multi-faceted solution to several problems. While continued effort must be made to improve foreign relations and help impoverished countries, humanitarian missions serve as a small step towards an overall positive outcome. When countries work together and learn to communicate effectively, such actions lead to better outcomes not just diplomatically, but related to natural disasters. Natural disasters are an ongoing problem that warrant further examination of possible solutions.

References

Crawley, V. (2007). Humanitarian missions as important as combat for U.S. military. U.S. Department of State.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2018). The impact of disasters and crises on agriculture and food security, 2017. Author.

Fukushima, A. I., Ginoza, A., Hase, M., Kirk, G., Lee, D., Shefler, T., & Foreign Policy in Focus. (2015, June 29). Disaster Militarism: Rethinking US relief in the Asia-Pacific. Retrieved from https://www.thenation.com/article/disaster-militarism-rethinking-us-relief-asia-pacific/

Margesson, R. (2015). International crises and disasters: U.S. humanitarian assistance response mechanisms (RL33769). Congressional Research Service.

PEST Analysis of Russia and Mexico Term Paper history essay help

Amazon Web Services Expansion to Russia and Mexico

Executive Summary

While globalization has posed numerous potential opportunities and threats in the international business arena, many of these opportunities and threats are specific to individual countries (Zhuplev, 2016). Therefore, a country risk analysis becomes a crucial element to consider for companies doing business on the international scale. In this view, country risk analysis has been the subject of extensive research in recent times with a focus on a range of opportunity and threat factors such as the economic, political, social and technological environments. The type of institutions involved in these analyses is equally broad ranging from debt-rating agencies, research organizations, political agencies, business entities and international entities like the World Economic Forum. Indeed, comparing countries such as Russia and Mexico as will be done in this study will influence the decision that Amazon Web Services will make regarding the market to invest and expand its services.

Introduction

(a) Statement of Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to diagnose the economies of Russia and Mexico and recommend the most suitable market for Amazon Web Services. For this to be achieved, a comparative PEST analysis of the two countries will be conducted with the aim of identifying the opportunities and threats associated with the markets. This will be followed by a recommendation on the most suitable market having many opportunities and few threats.

(b) A Description of the Company and Industry

Amazon is an American-based e-retailer established in 1994. Its Amazon Web Services is commonly known as cloud computing and platform that offers businesses with content delivery, database storage, and other applications that increase the scalability and growth of companies. Nowadays, the company is not only a leading online retailing firm globally but also an icon regarding online business. The company intends to expand its Web Service business into either Mexico or Russia. However, the selection of the appropriate destination can only be made when macroeconomic, social and political situations in the chosen countries are analyzed and compared.

Analyzing the Environments

RUSSIA: Opportunity, Threat Factors, and Future Trends

PEST analysis is a useful model that can be used when identifying the opportunities and threats that a particular market presents to a company. Some of the important factors related to the political, economic, social and technological environment. They will influence the success of Amazon Web Services in the new market.

Political Factors

The Russian economy is based on an open foreign relationship (Berger et al., 2017). Presently, the country has established official relationships with over 200 countries thereby presenting a good opportunity for the economy and various industry players. Russia is playing a very important part in preserving world peace and safety. Therefore, they have adopted the most recent technologies besides having the biggest store of nuclear weapons and the military that comprises the air force, the ground force, and the navy. The serves to strengthen the position of the country in worlds geopolitical space.

After being defeated in Afghanistan, Russia suffered bad economic and political turmoil, which shuttered the economy (Zhuplev, 2016). Since then, the country has been working hard to regain its financial stability, and the political leaders had to make some of the toughest decisions to recover their political stability. Currently, the national government is stable, and the political system is as per the countrys situation and convention. Although it is a federation, the role of the national government in business cannot be downplayed. Moreover, its judicial system is strong although the citizens lack freedom.

The peaceful and strong relationship that a country has with other nations is an important factor because it influences the growth of its economy and attracts more investors both from within and outside its borders (Berger et al., 2017). The political government plays a key role in running the business of the entire country to maintain the social and economic stability. To attract investors, Russia demonstrates an impression of security and safety including growth opportunities within the country. Therefore, Amazon Web Services will benefit from this initiative if it ventures into the Russian market.

Economic Factors

In Russia, energy prices have become stagnant, and capital and labor are fully utilized making its growth to drop below the pre-crisis rates. Therefore, it faces the challenge of ensuring its economy is stronger and less dependent on the oil industry making it a serious weakness in the Russian economy. While seeking to overcome this challenge, the country needs greater energy efficiency and higher productivity growth all of which must be driven by stronger investment, competition and better skills-job match. Nonetheless, Russia is ranked as the eighth largest economy in the world as per the nominal GDP. Many businesses rely on the countrys two major natural resources such as gas and oil. With advantage associated with natural resources, the country is a perfect investment destination between Asia and Europe. However, its economy cannot be compared to that of Mexico and other European countries because of the overreliance on the oil prices in the market.

Moreover, Russia has an extensive energy and mineral resources. In fact, its natural resource base is the largest reserves worldwide, which make the country the biggest producer of oil and natural gas worldwide. The country is popular for its unrivaled nuclear weapons and has the largest stock of weapons of mass destruction. This has made the country to be highly ranked in the world. Looking at its economic growth rate, Russia is a promising destination for companies that want to expand business and create wealth such as Amazon Web Services. Its resilience can be seen from the way its economy grew despite the natural disasters that it faced in 2010 (Yakovlev, 2014). The country also survived the economic crisis, which affected the trade and economy of all countries worldwide in 2008/9. The graph below shows Russias growth rate over the years.

From this graph, it can be seen that even 2010 was not a successful year for business industries in Russia simply because of the climate and weather issues. However, in the 3rd quarter of the year, the GDP extended to hit 2.7. This differentiated Russia and other economies that play a main role in the global economy and confirms the confidence that investors including AWS will have while entering the Russian market.

Russias geographic location also presents a good opportunity to many companies from the west. With its location between Asia and Europe, its role in connecting two continents shows that the company has direct access to a foreign market, unlike Mexico. This allows companies in Russia to trade easily with countries in Europe and Asia, including North Korea, China, and Japan. This offers a great opportunity for Russia in gaining and exchanging experiences from the developed economies in the European region. Therefore, AWS should capitalize on this opportunity.

Social Factors

Following the collapse of the USSR and subsequent economic recession, the country shifted from the socialist to a democratic society (Cavusgil et al. 2012). With the growth of capitalism over socialism, the citizens tend to spend money on expensive outfits, cars, and other life necessities. The country supports entertainment and social activities, which improve the living standards of the population. Moreover, aspects such as ballet dance, music, literature, and artistry are loved in Russia. This shows the citizens resolve to try new things that come their way. The changing societal structure has led to the changes in peoples mindset and mentality. For instance, people have varying perceptions regarding the family planning. Since the 90s, Russia has been experiencing a remarkable decline in birth rate accompanied by an increase in death rate (Cavusgil et al. 2012). The countrys healthcare system is largely responsible for the death rate. Across Europe, the country among the nations that have been greatly affected by alcohol poisoning and HIV.

Moreover, there is widening aspect of income inequality between the rich and the poor. In fact, the gap between the rich and the poor in Russia is the biggest globally. Probably, the oligarchs snapped up the countrys best assets during the post-Soviet period that made them rich. Most Russians will only stare and envy the super-rich as they drink, smoke, and burn around in their luxurious cars. Economic experts warn that income inequality has increased eight times between the 80s and the 2000s (Yakovlev, 2014). Such a huge gap between the rich and poor has negated all the social and economic achievements that the country as achieves in recent times.

In 1993, Russia experienced a crisis in its constitution. However, the country was declared the federation based on a semi-Presidential system with support from a majority of the population. Tokso?z (2014) talks about the importance of having a constant policy and regime in attracting both internal and external investors. He notes that it is crucial to have policies that offer more advantages and benefits to companies or people who want to do business in the country.

Technological Factors

For the longest time, Russia has been known for its wealth in science and technology with its tradition having been recognized as early as the 18th century (Jain, 2007). Their favorable reputation in subjects such as engineering, science, chemistry, and mathematics all contribute significantly to the advancement of the technology sector. The technological advancements have helped strengthen Russias position in various global fronts. In fact, there is no question that the developments in the technology industry have transformed its business environment, particularly the retail sector. The major developments are those communications-based or Internet-based technologies like web services and cloud services (Berger et al., 2017). Such major developments have enabled companies like NeXT Plc to adopt an online business structure that compliments the traditional brick and motor retail firms. Empirical evidence shows that this growth has been exponential with a rapid approval by consumers of e-commerce in almost all markets including retail.

Since Russian companies are not only using technologies to facilitate online sales, new technologies have opened a range of marketing options for retailers, too. The most important are the technological developments that enable retailers to interact with their clients using web-based networking platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. Nowadays, these technologies have become core ingredients in the creation of effective marketing strategies.

Russia will possibly regain its position of leading in the technology sector because of the many works of science and technology from centuries ago. Global companies seeking expansion such as Amazon Web Services may take advantage of Russias advanced-tech industry. The success of its technology industry has pushed its expansion of trade and industries. It has opened doors to new opportunities for investors, which make the countrys trade to be more active with the market changes. Such achievements will improve the peoples living standards and help it out of inflation (Jain, 2007).

Although this section has largely presented technology as an opportunity, some risks cannot be ignored. There are concerns regarding the massive abandoning of the brick and motor business model as consumers now flock the online business model resulting in the closure of thousands of street shops. This can be seen from the recent case of Jessops, which seems to be falling courtesy of technological advancements. If more street businesses fall victim to this technological trend, the Russian economy may suffer.

Future Trends

The Russian economy is projected to strengthen gradually driven by exports in the natural resource sector, higher consumer spending and as the Russian ruble recovers. The low unemployment rates will spark real growth in wages, which may lead to growth in consumption. Inflation will fall due to increased exports in the natural resources sector. However, as the economic growth picks up, there will be a drop in the inflation as the government manages its public spending. Despite the increased inflation target and utility prices being partially frozen, reduction in interest rates will be inappropriate until a decline in core inflation is registered (Berger et al., 2017). The government has prioritized to strengthen its economic growth by improving its business climate. Furthermore, reducing reliance on the natural resources industry will diversify the countries core macroeconomic factors. For this to happen, Russia intends to remove business entry barriers in its various sectors, improve job-skill matches in the labor market, and support innovation.

MEXICO: Opportunity, Threat Factors, and Future Trends

Political Factors

Mexico has emerged in recent times as one of the most promising emerging economies in the world. However, the 2009 economic downturn affected its economy significantly. As of 2010, the country regained its growth trend, which is expected to bring the nation to compete with other drivers of global economy such as Russia (PWC, 2014).

The Mexican government has adopted a series of reforms to respond to the demand for higher transparency and accountability of companies and to fight corruption. The President has further introduced more structural reforms to promote foreign direct investment and improve the countrys economic competitiveness and the political environment (Jain, 2007). However, the country still confronts various issues, particularly regarding crime and corruption. As shown in the figure below, Mexico ranked 123rd out of 166 nations in Transparency Internationals 2016 Corruption Perception Index.

Mexicos poor ranking comes after a succession of corruption and political controversies (Millett, 2011). There have been negative media reports regarding business people and politicians concerning corruption and clandestine payments to government officials. Politicians have been accused of influencing the award of business tenders to companies. Its ranking demonstrates how little faith investors have in their ability to curb power abuse. The countrys failure to hold people accountable for their wrongdoing also negatively affects the international perception of Mexico. However, it may be a challenge to AWS because it might be forced to act unethically such as bribing if it has to establish itself in the country. The county also records the highest murder rates in Latin America. Such an issue also affects business and investment security. In fact, Euromonitor reported in 2008 that the Mexican government spent 8% of the national GDP on catering for expenses generated by insecurity and crime (Hamilton & Webster, 2012).

Economic Factors

The government debt continues to edge upwards. The recent deficits and moderate economic growth have caused the government debt to rise to 48%. This rise is projected to continue in the coming years. In fact, economic experts warn that the debt will not stabilize as earlier expected. Monetary policies are responding to weak exchange rates. The country had focused on attaining orderly Mexican Peso depreciation via interventions such as foreign exchange (Samford & Gmez, 2014). However, in 2015, the Central bank started raising interest rates and continued to bring the rates further up to 4% as of 2016 (Hamilton & Webster, 2012). Moreover, the central bank shifted from a rule-centered scheme for foreign exchange intervention to a discretionary model. Therefore, the depreciating currency may feed through into greater inflation. Recently, the country has experienced continued inflation, and at 2.9%, the figure is close to the banks 3+-1% target (PWC, 2014).

It is unfortunate that the Mexican economy has been greatly dependent on the US economy because of the 1994 NAFTA Agreement where Canada and Mexico established a strong political and economic partnership (Frynas, 2015). The figure below shows that the Mexican GDP had maintained a constant growth trend since 2001 except in 2009 when it became a victim the crisis that affected the US.

After the decline in 2009, the annual GDP has been grown tremendously. Although though this may allow Mexico to compete with Russia in the G20 ranking, it cannot surpass Russia. Moreover, President Trumps sentiment on Mexico has not been positive. Therefore, AWS would not want to risk investing in Mexico when its market in the US might be affected.

Social Factors

Population growth has been decelerating, and the country is currently facing an aging workforce. Moreover, disposable income and consumer expenditure have been growing well. However, unemployment remains a major problem in this country. Like Russia, there is a growing gap between the rich and poor. Emigration has always characterized the Mexican social environment (PWC, 2014). This has been advantageous to the country because it helped absorb the issue of unemployment while generating an influx of investments and money. However, the recent crisis in the US economy has largely influenced emigration. The Northern America labor market has become unattractive leading to a decline in the net migration. The consumer expenditures and behavior of Mexicans are getting even closer to the American standards making the country even more attractive as an investment destination.

Technological Factors

Technological environment in Mexico represents both potential opportunities and threats for AWS. The technology and communication sectors have been experiencing drastic growth in recent years. Moreover, the influence of the US remains relevant. Currently, Mexico has 39 bilateral trade agreements, which govern the use of radio spectrum at the border with the United States (Rovere, Ozo?rio & Melo, 2015). In addition, there are new border agreements, which cover services such as web services and broadband services.

Future Trends

The future of the Mexican economy relies on what is envisaged in the US, especially the manufacturing sector. Recently, the drop in economic growth was partly because of the impacts of the US economic downturn and unfavorable sentiments from President Trump. Some American companies have ceased operating in Mexico while others that had wanted to invest shelved their plans. Mexicos longer-term growth prospects are low. Reforms in the fields of education, energy, and labor must boost productivity and increase competition. The factors have previously exerted a limit on the countrys growth rate. Nevertheless, the projections for long-term GDP growth are limited mostly due to a rise in fiscal contraction (Hamilton & Webster, 2012).

Some downside risks include a steeper slowdown in the performance of the American economy. However, it would hit the Mexican exports thus put a break on their economic growth because of the threat emanating from the recently announced fiscal consolidation measures. They could have a lasting negative effect on the domestic demand in Mexico. Another risk is the sudden shift in international financial markets sentiments towards a greater risk aversion. In the emerging markets field, the Peso is one of the most traded currencies and reacts faster to any changes in the international market (Samford & Gmez, 2014).

Recommendation

Based on the analysis of the two countries, Amazon Web Services should consider expanding the business to Russia because the political environment in Mexico is unstable. Mexicos poor economic environment is characterized by uncertainties, which may hamper AWS prospects of boosting its revenue earnings and profit margins. Although Mexico presents a few opportunities, they are not worth the consequences that Amazon may incur when operating in the country. However, Russia location allows it to trade easily with countries in Europe and Asia thereby giving the company a wider market. This provides good opportunities for Russia to gain and exchange experiences from the developed economies in the European region. Therefore, it would be wise for AWS to capitalize on this opportunity. With the supportive political environment, Russia is an ideal market that AWS should invest in its upcoming expansion strategy.

Summary and Conclusion

A comparison of the two countries shows that the rate of foreign investment in Mexico is higher compared to that Russia. From an anti-globalist perspective, this may look like a disadvantage for Mexico. However, it can be a huge advantage because it reduces capital costs thus creating a basis for growth and development. In contrast, the greatest economic threat to Russia relates to the high cost of capital outlay, which is further exacerbated by the low rate of foreign direct investment (Berger et al., 2017). The population and growth rate between the countries should also be considered. Although Mexico has higher birth rate than Russia, this should not be seen as an opportunity because it is rooted in the impoverished nature of the Mexican countryside. As for Russia, its low birth rate is a huge risk factor. It has experienced a dramatic decline in the emigration rate while the rate of immigration into the country has increased resulting in population drop. However, it still experiences a net annual loss regarding its population thereby making it a serious factor for any company seeking to invest unlike in Mexico. The latter enjoy the incalculable opportunity of a free trade agreement with the US, which is the largest world economy. The relationship gives Russia with inexhaustible market opportunities for its exports. One of the biggest disadvantages for Russia is trade barriers to a good number of its export products, especially agricultural and steel. Perhaps, Russia should consider having a special trade agreement with North America such as NAFTA.

It must be appreciated that Russia is more industrialized and developed unlike to Mexico. In fact, it has a highly technologically sophisticated and educated population while Mexico suffers from illiteracy. Unlike Mexico, Russia does not depend on oil alone and has a low foreign debt with a highly diversified export base. Although Russia is the second leading exporter of oil, it is true that oil only a quarter of their exports (Berger et al., 2017).

Overall, Russia presents more opportunities, which Mexico must be envying. In fact, the country is a key player in the political and social matters of the world. It is a member of major international bodies such as United Nations (UN), World Health Organization (WHO) and G8. This provides the country with an opportunity not only to contribute but also give opinions for the development of the world as far as economic, political, healthcare and social matters are concerned. Therefore, AWS should choose Russia as the destination for expanding its business based on three solid reasons. First, Russia is strategically located between Europe and Asia. Secondly, its economic policies support both local and international investors. Lastly, the country has a stable political environment, which enables its techno-savvy citizens to thrive.

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