Canadian-American Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Canadian-American Relations - Essay Example History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies. Those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder" (U.S. President John F. Kennedy).The cold war further strengthened the friendship between the two nations. Sharing the longest border, the two nations although face modern difficulties such as immigration, environmental concerns, trade disputes and many other issues, the two countries have had significant interoperability within the defense sphere and are today the world's largest trading partners. The United States and Canada expanded their formal military links at the operational level in the post world war period. The PJBD dealt with the political aspects of the defense relationships. A new body, the Military Cooperation Committee (MCC), was instituted to manage joint military planning between the American and the Canadian forces. Careful of surprise attacks after Pearl Harbor and concerned about the power of an increasingly hostile Soviet Union, American and Canadian defense officials used the bi-national planning structure of the MCC to set up the first joint continental defense initiative in 1946 called the Basic Security Plan (BSP). The Canadian Department of External Affairs (DEA) objected to the fact that it was denied access to the BSP working group by reason of its purported secrecy. The BSP was approved by both the United States and Canada in spite of these reservations. The PJBD and the MCC established a precedent of formal relations between Canada and the United States, providing for the coordinated defense of the continent. In 1949, Canada, the United States and their European allies formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Canada and the United States were accorded their own Canada-US Regional Planning Group (CUSRPG) to look over the defense of North America within the larger NATO structure. American planners were eager to get on with this new undertaking. But the Canadian government of Louis St. Laurent was hesitant. At issue for the Prime Minister and his Minister of Defense, Brook Claxton, were the implied costs and sovereignty infringements of a continental air defense expansion. The St. Laurent Liberals had experienced first-hand the American presence in Canada during the Second World War. Any suggestion by the United States of grander defense mechanisms invoked images of American soldiers on Canadian soil - and a corresponding loss of sovereignty. The Canadian military was seen to take a very different perspective. The Chiefs of Staff argued that the American concerns and recommendations were legitimate and Canada's involvement was absolutely indispensable. After the detonation of a massive thermonuclear device by the Soviet Union in 1953, the Canadian military officials implored Claxton and St. Laurent to reconsider their cautious approach. Ultimately, Claxton recognized that Washington's steadfastness left Ottawa with hardly any option. The geography of North America and the nature of Canada-US relations were such that Canadian involvement in an improved continental air d

Individual paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Individual paper - Essay Example In Brazil the owned subsidiary of Wal-Mart is known as Sam’s Club and the in Mexico it is known as Suburbia. Both the subsidiaries have different work cultures as they are situated in two different countries. I have got an opportunity from both Sam’s Club and Suburbia to join as a store’s manager. In the essay I have made a comparative analysis on both the company’s work culture to arrive at a decision for which option to choose. The essay also elaborates the facts about the two countries- Mexico and Brazil, like the living conditions, availability of transportation, cost of living and the multicultural competence in the two countries. 2. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is a multinational retail giant who has dedicated their work for the betterment of the lives of their customers all over the world. The retail giant has acquired many stores all over the world and has increased their assets so as to become the largest chain of departmental stores in the world. The two subsidiaries of Wal-Mart in Brazil and Mexico are Sam’s Club and Suburbia respectively. Sam’s Club in Brazil Sam’s Club is a club which offers membership to the customers and that sells goods to both retail customers and the business customers or the wholesalers. The club sells general merchandise and groceries to their customers in large quantities. The average size of the club is around 88,000 sq. feet. The customers who have not taken the membership of stores can either take membership for one day or pay a surcharge on the price of the products that are purchased. The club also sells gasoline to the customers. It has identified a niche market as a supplier to the small business which is not so well known. The club stores open at the early hours and it has the slogan of â€Å"We’re in Business for Small Business† (â€Å"About Us†). It has recorded the highest sales in 2007 which was $42 billion or 12.1% of total Wal-M art’s sales in 2007 (â€Å"About Us†). The operation of Sam’s Club in Brazil has remained the same over the years which is giving their customers the best quality goods and delivering the goods to them with minimum costs and giving them a very comfortable environment to shop. They have made shopping simple for the customers by bringing products at their door step. Rosalind G. Brewer, the CEO of Sam’s Club, has always focused on the innovation and technology and targeted in expanding their business by opening up new stores. The sustainability goals of Sam’s Club are the following: 1) 100% renewable energy 2) Creating zero waste. 3) Selling products that are sustainable to the environment and people (â€Å"Fact Sheet†). Sam’s Club even organize program like Giving Program to help the small owners of business by providing them with ideas of creating new business and development of vital products which will help them to connect with the c ommunity they are serving (â€Å"Giving Program†). The working culture at Sam’s Club is a unique one. It has the best team members who are all hard working. The departments like the marketing, logistics, finance and human resource are competent enough to make the whole business profitable. The employees are paid above the retail industry average salary. The employees were gives facilities like the medical assistance and also educational assistance for them and their children. Health care assistance is provided to them on an average of $17 dollar per day. The employees also enjoy attractive quarterly bonuses