Abstract
This paper examines the issues involved in the current debate on the effect that tourism is having on indigenous cultures, especially in the Third World. The paper presents arguments on both sides of the debate and offers some suggestions for a resolution. It concludes that if cultural commoditization is used wisely, it can in fact be a contributor to cultural development.

Outline:
Introduction
Commoditization
Cultural Development
Recommendations
Conclusion

From the Paper
"On the negative side of the debate, the general view is that tourism turns local culture into a commodity, and this changes the meaning of cultural products, eventually rendering them meaningless, while at the same time exploiting local communities both culturally and financially (Cohen, 1988, p. 372, 381). Koster (2009) found evidence of such economic exploitation in her field research among the weavers of Chiapas, Mexico. For example, she discovered that they are often forced to sell their products at one-fifth of their real value, since tourists are not willing to pay high prices (p. 26, 41) and middlemen (who take a sizeable cut of the profits) are often involved in the exchange (p. 16). The commoditization process can be understood in terms of four basic premises: (1) "local culture is capitalized as an asset"; (2) "traditional mechanisms of accumulation, transmission and reproduction of culture give way to new modes [of production]"; (3) "fundamental social and cultural changes take place"; and (4) "a radical shift in community ideology occurs" (George, 2005, p. 2). These changes and shifts in community ideology include cultural dilution and eventually "cultural homogenization" (Greenwood, 1989, pp. 173, 184), as cultural objects and practices are modified to suit "the tastes of the tourists" (Cohen, 1988, p. 381). For example, Koster (2009) found that the weavers of Chiapas began altering their products and designs to meet the demands of tourists (p. 41)."

Tags:Tourism, commoditization, cultural development, indigenous cultures, sustainability homogenization

Abstract
This paper explains that water bottles, designed to hold water and any sort of liquid, come in a variety of shapes, sizes and even methods of use. The author points out that, while water bottles originally may have been developed for athletic purposes, they now have become both a fashion statement and a convenience item. The paper states that the water bottle as a cultural artifact is an important element of a greater cultural development called commoditization. The author suggests that, in analyzing the water bottle as a commodity and as a cultural relic, it is best to rely on a qualitative methodology, which will allow the researcher to approach this topic from an phenomenological perspective rather than a deterministic, quantitative perspective that might obscure the fact that actual people use water bottles in a myriad of ways and for a number of diverse purposes. The paper includes a colored picture of water bottles.

Table of Content:
Description
Substantial Analysis
Content
Formal Analysis
Deduction
Sensory Engagement
Intellectual Engagement
Emotional Response
Speculation
Theories & Hypothesis
Program of Research

From the Paper
"The water bottle is a work of architecture as much as it is an item of convenience. In architecture, form and function are uniquely inter-related and in design related specialties that must pay attention to this relationship, how the designer melds these two attributes is critical to the final appearance and practicality of the item in question. For the water bottle, it can be seen that function follows form. The most important attribute of the typical water bottle is the manner in which it holds water and how easily it can be grasped by the human hand without any form of manual assistance in the form of another individual or a lifting device such as a strap or a handle."

Tags:functionality, commoditization, phenomenological, fashion, athletic

Abstract
The paper begins by introducing Adorno's theories on mass culture and commoditization, which were one of the fundamentals of post-modernism as it appeared in the 20th century. It then looks at how the tango dance is one of the most representative forms of manifestation of the Argentinean spirit and people. Born in the mid-1800s, tango was quickly exported to Europe and became a true success story, until its downfall in 1955. It was reborn in 1983 and has been a success ever since. This paper investigates Adorno's theories and applies them in the case of tango, and looks at whether this is the best example we may choose to argument the truth in Adorno's statements. It explains that, while on one hand, tango can be considered an element of mass culture because, in many ways, it has partly embraced the mercantile character of mass culture that Adorno insists upon, in many other ways, tango is still something in its own, a form of art, a form of expression.

Paper Outline:
Introduction
Adorno's Theory of Mass Culture
History of Tango
History of Tango
Adorno's Theories applied to Tango
Conclusion

From the Paper
"Tango is still too imaginative and too expressive to be assimilated as a product of mass culture and classified as a commodity. If we were to pursue on this theoretical path, we would tragically arrive to the conclusion that feelings, emotions and passion are all for sale. However, there were inspired people, like in any other forms of cultural manifestation, that were keen to partly transform tango into a form of entertainment. As any for of entertainment, it could be sold and profit could be obtained by promoting something that was well received in its audience and segment of consumers. Passion sells, many might say. While this argumentation may work in some occasions, passion isn't always understood and passion only addresses a certain category of people. Passion is not a mass culture product."

Tags:commoditization, expression

Abstract
This paper discusses the increased responsibilities of the Treasury in financial risk management even as it illumines the workings of the financial market, functions of financial institutions, characteristics of financial products, purposes of commoditization, and the past and future trends of financial markets.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Risk Management
Financial Markets
Institutions and Intermediaries
Commoditization
Mark-to-Market Schemes

From the Paper
"Of these financial products, trade in hedge funds is the least popular because of perceptions that these funds are fraught with risks. In fact, China closed its derivatives exchange for hedge funds in 2005 when trade in credit derivatives brought losses to hedge fund holders, after an expected default corrections in the corporate credit markets failed to materialize. As a derivatives instrument, the hedge fund is a financial obligation whose value is derived from an underlying asset, reference and index rates or interest rates, the result of a specific event or the price of an underlying asset such as debt equity or commodities."

Tags:liquidity intermediaries, efficient market, hedge funds, derivatives

Abstract
The paper states that the search engine Google is the epitome of the perfect business in that it delivers significant value at no cost, yet attains profitable sales from advertising revenues. The paper evaluates that which makes Google the epitome of the perfect business. The paper further comments that many scholars contend that Google's primarily advertising-based business model, which is highly profitable, can over time position itself to be immune from commoditization and price competition. This is attained by ensuring that there is a consistent stream of new services introduced globally. The paper notes that research illustrates that the fundamental technologies that Google is based on, serve as a strong foundation to services to compliment AdWords and AdSense, Google's two dominant advertising-related businesses today.

Outline:
The Businesses of Google
Google's Future
Summary

From the Paper
"Google does not charge to use its search engine, yet this is the area that the company invests the majority of its research and development dollars. Search is the foundation for all other services in the company, and also is used as competitive benchmark versus other search engines. Google competes using the measure of how many billions of pages are indexed versus its competitors to further distance itself from Microsoft and Yahoo. "

Tags:losing, control, acquisition, languages, many, sources

Abstract
This paper discusses the product life cycle, the rate of innovation among household products in the 20th century. The author investigates the effect of commoditization on branding. The paper projects the outlook for branding in the future.

From the Paper
"The twentieth century was remarkable for a number of technological changes some of which brought about sweeping social changes as well. During the twentieth century, long distance travel became cheap fast ..."

Tags:brand loyaty, branding, consumer behavior, product life cycle

Abstract
This paper explains that David Harvey's "A Brief History of Neoliberalsim" states that neoliberalism is a means to restore power to the rich and make the poor poorer. The author points out that Harvey believes that, when neoliberal principles conflict with the need to restore power, then its principles are either abandoned or so warped as to become unrecognizable. The paper relates that Harvey believes that the main achievement of neoliberalism has been to redistribute wealth and income through the processes of privatization and commoditization, financialization, the management and manipulation of crises and state redistributions. The paper states that Harvey concludes that neo-conservatism is consistent with the neoliberal idea of elite governance, mistrust of democracy and the upholding of market freedoms; however, it differs in that neo-conservatism tries to create order in the chaos of individual interests and external and internal dangers.

From the Paper
"The manipulation of crises has advanced into the redistribution of wealth from the poor countries to the rich countries. For example, the U.S. loaned money to Mexico and then increased the interest rate so that Mexico had to declare bankruptcy. The U.S. then manipulated the situation so that they could offer to bail them out as long as Mexico took up neoliberal reforms or the liberalization of capital markets, such as privatization and the reorganization of the financial system so that it was more consistent with foreign interests. They also had to open their internal markets to foreign capital, lower their tariff barriers, and create a more flexible labor market."

Tags:neo-conservative, deregulation, elite, redistribution, chaos

Abstract
This paper explains that the multi-module application software, which form an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system helps a business manage product planning, parts purchasing, maintaining inventories, interacting with suppliers, providing customer service, tracking orders, manage finance and human resources, provide supply chain management, customer relationship management and electronic commerce applications integrated with their ERP software packages. The author points out that the major benefit of ERP systems is the elimination of manual processes that cause operational inefficiencies and poor data quality. The paper relates that the ERP market is characterized by massive consolidation with relatively commoditized software, meaning that software evaluations can safely include a short list of the three leaders, SAP, Oracle and PeopleSoft, and perhaps a vertically focused supplier or a SME specialist such as Microsoft.

Table of Contents
Introduction
The Benefits of ERP
The Pitfalls of ERP
ERP Evaluation Criteria
Top Three ERP Vendors
Conclusion

From the Paper
"The ERP vision of one application and one database for everything your company is doable, there are many factors that must be considered before embarking on such a tremendous undertaking. First, ERP systems are extremely expensive and time consuming. AMR, a leading research and advisory firm, advises that moving to a single instance will cost companies $7 million to $12 million for every billion of revenue, and that projects will still take from one to three years. Even after the initial implementation, ERP's are very complex and typically require costly experts to support and maintain."

Tags:commoditized, packages, costs, sap, oracle

Abstract
This paper examines the concept proposed by Carr that information and technology (IT) or information systems (IS) do not matter in a competitive sense anymore to firms. His contention is that such IT and IS systems are largely commoditized and therefore no longer result in differentiation. The author of the paper challenges Carr's supposition, stating that Carr compares IT and IS solutions to previous technological innovations that resulted in real sea-change.

From the Paper
"This research documents discusses the concept proposed by Carr that information and technology (IT) or information systems (IS) do not matter in a competitive sense anymore to firms. His contention is that such IT and IS systems are largely commoditized and therefore no longer result in differentiation. Carr's supposition is completely off-base because he is inappropriately comparing IT and IS solutions to previous technological innovations that resulted in real sea-change. The discussion centers on..."

Tags:centrality, of, it

Abstract
This paper discusses the appliance industry and its major manufacturers and distributors. The paper provides the background on the industry as research material, represented by a series of advertisements of refrigerators and other appliances or appliance manufacturers. The paper shows how the articles discussed reveal an industry and product line that has become largely commoditized over time.

Tags:marketing, research, general