Friday, February 21, 2020

Globalization of China vs. United States Research Paper

Globalization of China vs. United States - Research Paper Example US Steel Corporation, established in the year 1901, is one of the biggest integrated domestically owned steel companies of US. The company’s customer base is diversified in global markets including Central Europe and Canada. It was declared as the 13th largest steel producing company in the world in the year 2010. The globalization of industries in US is expected to increase the profitability of the company in future due to growing demands in the emerging economies such as China. Baosteel, established in the year 1978, was declared as the 2nd largest steel producing company in the world in 2011 and has demonstrated excellent performance in recent years irrespective of slowdown in demand in the global market. From the financial statement analysis of the US Steel Corp. it can be said that US Steel’s production capacity exceeds its total sales leading to unsold inventory. Steel sector is already a cyclical sector in the sense that the demand for the steel products vary in every quarter. Globalization in China in expected to help the company in diversifying its products into other economies. In addition, the company’s mass production will help it to reach economies of scale in future that will further help to export steel at cheaper rates making US domestic steel industry more competitive. The study aims to analyze the financial statements of the two companies and provide a comparative analysis by highlighting key areas of concern, impact of globalization in US and China and recommend steps that should be taken to ensure profitability in competitive environment. Introduction The steel industry is one of the most important industries of the economy and is also considered as an important indicator of economy. It plays a major in the development of overall economy and infrastructure. The application of steel is used in many industries such as construction, automobiles, machinery, transportation, and many others. The global steel output was over 15 47 million tons for the year ending 2012. The most important characteristics of the steel industry are that it is cyclical and highly fragmented. The steel industry has experienced superior growth during the last two decades but after the global financial crisis, the industry suffered sluggishness in demand. In order to manage operating risk, many companies have diversified their operations in emerging economies where the demand of steel was not affected by global recession. Company Analysis Baosteel Group Corporation Baosteel Group Corporation (also known as Baosteel) is one of the iron and steel largest company of China. It was established in the year 1978 and its head quarter is in Shanghai, China. It is the world’s 2nd largest steel producer following ArcelorMittal in terms of aggregate output. In the year 2012, the company was awarded 197th rank in Fortunes Global 500 for ninth consecutive year. It was also rated by Fitch, S&P, and Moody’s as A3, A, and A- respect ively in the same year. Baosteel was also identified one of the most admired company in the world. The company primarily operates in the iron and steel industry and produces high quality steel that adds value to other industries. The main products of the company are stainless steel, special steel and carbon steel. The company reported approximately 44.2 million tons that helped it to earn over RMB 18.10 billion. Hence, it was ranked as the

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

In what ways is Orwell's Keep the Aspidistra Flying a critique of Essay

In what ways is Orwell's Keep the Aspidistra Flying a critique of British values between the wars - Essay Example Even from above you could see that his shoes needed resoling.† (Orwell, 2002) This makes it obvious to the reader that Gordon is a man who is down on his luck. The book can be interpreted in terms of reflecting on the values of the British society especially between the war period. Unfortunately Gordon has some very unattractive qualities which make it difficult for the reader to identify with him. He is a man obsessed with himself and wallowing in self-pity. He has a lot of intellectual arrogance and conceit. He professes to be a budding poet although his book has only sold about one hundred and fifty three copies. He firmly believes that it is only the lack of money which prevents him from turning out a masterpiece. In his own words â€Å"Snooty, refined books on safe painters and safe poets by those moneyed young beasts who glide so gracefully from Eton to Cambridge and from Cambridge to the literary reviews.† (Orwell, 2002) Here Gordon’s contempt for writers w ho do not dare to take any kind of risk but prefer to stick to safe topics is obvious. At the same time a tinge of envy is there in his words. He considers that their moneyed background offers these writers a blanket of security which is conspicuously lacking in his life. Actually through Gordon’s monologue we catch a glimpse of British Society during the post-war period. The British middle class values are also high-lighted in this book. It was a very class conscious society at that time. The British middle class had certain rigid standards by which they lived their lives. Thus at that time you were either a gentleman or an aristocrat. If you belonged to neither of these two categories then you were a member of the lower classes and you could expect to be treated with a certain degree of contempt. Actually here the author has tried to bring to the fore-front the false sense of values which governed the British Society in those days. So we see that although Gordon Comstock ha d no money he was still desperate to keep up appearances. For example in this passage, â€Å"Gordon walked homeward against the rattling wind, which blew his hair backward and gave him more of a 'good' forehead than ever. His manner conveyed to the passers-by--at least, he hoped it did--that if he wore no overcoat it was from pure caprice. His overcoat was up the spout for fifteen shillings, as a matter of fact.† (Orwell, 2002) Here Gordon’s behavior is typical of the class to which he belonged. He did not possess an overcoat and at the same time he was trying to convey the impression that this was just whimsical behavior on his part. There were one or two bright spots in Gordon’s life. One was his girlfriend Rosemary who loved him but refused to sleep with him. The other was his rich friend Philip Ravelston who tried to help him by publishing one of his books through his publishing contacts. Gordon formed the impression that his lack of money was the main reaso n behind Rosemary’s resistance to his advances. Although Gorden claimed to disdain money, at the same time he was obsessed with it. This is apparent from this passage. â€Å"It wasn’t merely the lack of money. It was rather that, having no money, they still lived mentally in the money-world--the world in which money is virtue and poverty is crime.† (Orwell, 2002) Gordon had little or no time for his relatives. Their genteel poverty and their helplessness was a source of