Managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Managment - Essay Example The storm of uprising had comprehensive results across North Africa. The businesses of many multinational companies had been majorly affected. The political volatility and financial breakdown have affected the global supply chain. Many European agricultural and textile companies have been defenseless to counter the uprising in the Middle East and North African (MENA) countries. The political risk in these countries has led to deteriorating financial condition and unavailability of credit. This scenario has brought forward payment risks for multinational companies which are operating in Middle East and North African region. The instability in MENA has created disruption in the oil industry and boosted the prices of petrochemical products. The risk of disorder in those countries has harmfully affected the supply chain and energy production companies (Dun & Bradstreet Limited, 2011). The uprising in Tunisia has increased the business risks. During the protests many business enterprises had shut down their operations. The retailing businesses were affected by raiding and the tourism industry had faced huge losses as travelers escaped from the country. Due to the uprising, the standard capacity consumption in the manufacturing industry reduced to 52.9%. Many banks were demoted by rating agencies and the credit access became limited in the global market (Dun & Bradstreet Limited, 2011). Egypt has followed a path similar to Tunisia. In February 2011, a series of revolutions occurred in many countries of Middle East, and Libya was surrounded by aggressive spiral of protests and it led to civil war. Due to the instabilities in Libya, Egypt and Tunisia the prices of oil reacted quite rapidly. It has been observed that further uprising will increase the price of oil even more and it can affect the business and international economy (Dun & Bradstreet Limited, 2011). Impact of Popular Uprising on Multinational Companies The impact of popular uprising has affected the busine ss and investment of many multinational companies. Libya embraces the most oil funds in Africa and it is the 15th biggest crude oil exporter throughout the world. The losses in Libya had quickly absorbed other countries. Due to the problems related to uprising many Western companies had suspended business operations in these countries. For example, BP vacated its employees and stopped the oil production in Libya. The Repsol–YPF of Spain suspended the oil production in the year 2011. OMV, which is an Austrian Oil related company, minimized their production due to the unrest. Further, the Royal Dutch Shell, Marathon Oil Co., and Wintershall also have started to evacuate their workers (Shanghai Daily Publishing House, 2011). Example of BG Group BG Group is one of the leading companies in international energy and power market. It is a UK based company and its operation is spread worldwide. In Tunisia, BG Group is the biggest producer of domestic gas which is accounted for almost 60% of total gas in Tunisia (BG Group plc, 2011). The uprising and civil unrest in MENA have affected the production of BG group. In the first quarter of 2011, the protestors of Tunisia had cordoned the workers of BG Group and stopped the business operations of the company. The company faced uncertainty due to the long lasting crisis of Tunisia and

How has Robot Technology improved emergency response and will this Research Paper

How has Robot Technology improved emergency response and will this technology impacts the future of search and rescue - Research Paper Example This paper will describe how robot technology has improved emergency response capabilities and how this technology will influence the future of emergency management, as well as search and rescue operations. In the modern world there is an imminent need for humanitarian operations ranging from small disasters to humanitarian tragedies. Some of these emergencies can be classified as natural disasters while others are human made or human induced. The typical emergency situation can also be a combination of any three of the elements listed above. In such situations, the general approach is to utilise search and rescue (SAR) teams and systems. It has to be kept in mind that the budgets being spent on emergency relief efforts especially for search and rescue efforts is increasing manifold every year. For example, the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) spent some 958.7 million Swiss Francs in the year 2005 while it registered a 16% increase in its overall budget since 2000. This is comparable to the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) who saw a budgetary increase of 13% between the years 2000 and 2004 (Ko & Lau, 2009). With these budgetary increases it must also be seen that most sea rch and rescue efforts feature human beings trying to resolve situations that may be out of their control. With the rapid advances in technology especially robotics, it is ironic that most search and rescue operations still feature dogs on leashes guiding human handlers to save lives. The very nature of emergency response is precarious to say the least. The advances in technology have been unable to feature heavily in these scenarios except for the isolated use of positioning systems, communication systems and camera mounted probing systems. The dangerous nature of these operations requires scapegoats that can tread not only further but also faster into emergency areas. It has been suggested that the