United States - A superpower in decline Term Paper

United States - A superpower in decline - Term Paper Example Global media is abuzz with news, opinions and predictions on the decline of the US, and there are innumerable ‘foretellers’ assuming the rise of other would-be superpowers, especially China. Theories of world domination by emerging economies have always been around, however, it is yet to be seen if the superpower status of the US actually caves in. Are US powers really declining? The answers to this question are extremely elusive especially in light of the fact that even after severe economic crises in the past, the US has successfully bounced back to stable conditions, retaining its economic and political dominance. This paper attempts to analyze the current status of economic and military power of the US, in order to investigate the ‘assumed’ decline of the power of this nation. The present economic situation in the US, the extreme debt crisis topped with public protests such as Occupy Wall Street demonstrate the gravity of the U.S situation. Most economists worldwide have even gone to the extent of analogizing it to the Great Depression. It is believed that the present crisis will consume the nation and that it is a harbinger of the US downfall from power. Although the US economy is currently under recovery, the percentage decline in median annual household income is greater than it was during the previous recession. The decline in income during the period of recession from 2007 – 2009 was 3.2%, which increased to 6.7% by June 2011 (Berman). Lack of growth in income coupled with the sluggish job growth has marred the U.S’s once enviable job market. It is in fact feared that the US will trip back into another recession. In another major drawback, the US lost its AAA credit rating, downgrading it to AA+ status. As the dollar is under threat and the US debt burden mounts up, it is speculated that within a decade or so, China, with a GDP growth rate of 9.8% as of 2010, will outgrow the US, whose GDP growth rate is only 3.10% (World Bank). The Chinese Yuan may replace the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency. This scenario reminds of earlier predictions in the 1980s when it was foretold that Japan would be a superpower, which however did not come true. This proves the inconsistency and fallibility of such predictions. However, the avowal that the US economic and military power is in decline, stands true, as will be discussed in the following sections. 2. The US Economy Economy is a major determinant of world power and the size of the economy influences its position in the world market. The US economy is analyzed here, in terms of growth, export, import, innovation, natural resources and trade. 2.1 Growth The annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate is a major indicator of economic growth. The US economy is the largest in the world, followed by China and Japan. The GDP growth rate of the US was documented as 1.6% in the third quarter of 2011 (tradingeconomics.com). The GDP growth rate of China is far higher, at 9.1%. The GDP growth rates of other major economies of the world, such as India, Germany, Canada, France, Australia, UK and Japan were 7.7%, 2.7%, 2.2%, 1.6%, 1.1%, 0.5% and -1%, respectively, in the third quarter of 2011. As is evident, China has the highest GDP growth rate and India is not far behind. The US GDP growth rate is despairingly low, falling from 3.10 to 1.6%. Therefore, in terms of economic growth, the economy of the US is seemingly in decline. As for the prediction that the Chinese economy will soon become the world’

Burma Pipeline Case Study Analysis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Burma Pipeline Analysis - Case Study Example Currently, there has not been a legal judgment as to whether or not the company is guilty to any of the perceptions held by accusers. The company has also not come to that stage yet where it has proved beyond reasonable doubt to its accusers that it is innocent. It is some of these factors and form of the current situation that make it nothing more than a controversy. But there remain some key implications that the company might have to deal with for now. Example of this is the possibility that the company will soon be engaged in series of legal battles as there has been a governmental perspective taken on all these controversies. Stakeholders of the Organization The problem and case of controversy that the company is dealing with right now has greatly affected the important players and for that matter stakeholders involved in the company. It would be noticed that the role of stakeholders of any given organization is not a static and robust position that cannot be changed (Cairns, 20 09). Depending on events and happening in a particular company, the stakeholders keep changing. Presently, there are four major stakeholders that can be identified with the company. These are government, the community, financiers and managers/employees of the company. The governments of Burma and United States have become key stakeholders in the company as certain key decisions to be taken by these governments can affect the company in a great deal of ways. For instance, as a shareholder in the company, the government of Burma has a lot of stake in terms of the macro economic policies that are put in place and how these policies affect Unocal (Harvard college, 2000 p. 2). The government of the United States has also become a stakeholder by virtue of the fact that the government holds a firm on all the controversies that are going on. The community, which sees itself as denied benefactor of the company is also a stakeholder. This is because it is for these people that the company wor ks for and it is these people the company expects to patronize their products. The community therefore has a lot of stake in deciding the trend of revenue of the company. Financiers such as shareholders also have a lot of stake in funding the company. Managers and employees also have a stake in ensuring the corporate running of the company is done in a manner that ensures growth and development. Other target groups of the organization Given the present controversy surrounding the company, it could be said that all clients and outsourcers of the company should be considered as important target groups whose actions and decisions would affect the company greatly. The clients of the company must be concertized to come to accept and agree to the present reforms that are being suggested by the company. Though a lot of these reforms would initially come with some level of challenge to clients and perhaps denied them of some initial benefits, it is important that the clients will be made to appreciate the reforms as long term strategies that come with future benefits that will be of importance to not just the company but to the clients as well (Lewis and Heckman, 2006). If this concretization is not done, there is a very high probability that several clients of the company will leave the company in this crisis time that the company needs them most. The role of management and production team Management is expected to be a pool of strategic