Nuclear arms race during the Cold War Research Paper

Nuclear arms race during the Cold War - Research Paper Example 6). An increasing distrust of communism developed among most Americans by the end of the war. Their aim was to ‘hide’ nuclear secrets from Soviet hands. America had a monopoly on nuclear weapons, which ensured that Russia was more manageable from a political point of view. Tension brewed between these two states, and sparked a nuclear arms race. The nuclear arms race was a period where several countries developed and examined the power of a myriad of nuclear technology. They kept buffer stocks of thousands of nuclear weapons with an aim of being ahead of one another. Power was tested by the country with the best technology. This was a dangerous era, since the possibility of an all-out nuclear war between countries always loomed. The 20th century had a fair share of near catastrophes and uneasy international policies (Swift p. 14). The Cold War did not make it into the 21st century. Its history explains a period where nations increased their quality and quantity of ‘tools’ of military power; â€Å"An arms race.† This period was first encountered in the 19th century where Russia and France confronted Britain’s naval superiority. Germany had attempted to outdo Britain’s fleet, and the effects spilled over into World War I. After the war between Britain, Japan, and the United States, an arms-limitation treaty took place at the Washington Conference. The degree of tension among nations was high. Nations were incited to develop and test weapons that would wipe out an entire generation. This regime lasted up to November, 1990, when the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty was signed. The entire generation lived under the shadow of looming catastrophe; the survival of humanity was questionable. Any provocation or misunderstanding could have initiated the extinction of humanity. Stockpiles of weapons were developed to levels far beyond

Sykes Enterprises Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sykes Enterprises - Case Study Example His primary focus has been financial return and he has used finances as the basis for expansion, retraction and other strategies. However, it is necessary for the top management to reconsider some of the strategies from a financial point-of-view so that it can streamline its current operations. It may not be necessary that a call center should require closure if it is not doing well. There can be consolidation of operations as well as optimization of activities that would result in cost-reduction. Initiative by the top management will be the only reason why call center managers would want to look at their operations and search for cost-minimization strategies. The change should come from the top management to the bottom and this would be the driving factor amongst call center managers for cost reduction. Convergys is the largest market holder in the call center and order processing business. Sykes Enterprises scale of operations is only a fraction of the two market leaders in this business. However, this cannot be attributed to any exceptional strategy on the part of Sykes' competitors. Sykes' aggressive strategy has been in terms of the number of call centers and its cost competitiveness. Sykes Enterprises did not see order processing and bill processing as a major industry and thus its corporate clients were always looking for Sykes when they needed a cost-effective solution. Reliability is one of the key features that is missing from the brand positioning of Sykes in the industry. Thus, Sykes needs to re-consider its position in the industry and work towards improving it from just another low-cost solution to a reliable and smart solutions company - that would work at lower costs not just because of low quality but because it has found the key to strategically reducing costs of its operations. Review of Mission and Objectives Sykes' existing mission and objectives are not very much suited to its operational strategy. Instead of focusing on the low-cost attractions to the corporate world, Sykes should focus on a moderate strategy on using its services and quality of operations as the focal point of attracting corporate customers. It should revise its mission and objectives to incorporate these ideas in its mission and objectives. Further, it should make sure that its strategies reflect this mission. 4.0 Strategic Alternatives and Recommended Strategy Strategic Alternatives It is obvious that Sykes can take more than one action to improve its revenues and build a profitable business. The closure of its operations in India have resulted in consolidation of its costs in the United States. The competitors of Sykes have resorted to opening up call centers in South East Asian nations such as the Philippines to counter the high turnover costs and possible wage rises in Indian cities due to growing economies. It is important for Sykes to focus on its costs and revenues. Sykes needs to increase its revenues and reduce its costs. Sykes can focus on increasing the number of services that it offers from its existing call centers so that the costs of the services do not rise, however, there will be a rise in the revenues for the services. Another recommended