County Government Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

County Government - Term Paper Example Hence, this paper seeks to explore the sphere of county government, and establishes facts on matters of a county government. Brief History of County Government Way back from the early years, a county or shire has already existed and established. A county is a political body or a division within the bounds of particular country. Tracing back to the English about a thousand years ago, counties have been serving a dual function: it acted as the administrative arm of the national government and regarded as citizen’s local government. In addition, along the eastern seaboard of North America, the structural form of the county was embraced and adopted by the colonists; they also acclimated its structure in order to better satisfy the needs of colonies geographically and economically (â€Å"Overview of County Government†). However, in the aftermath of World War I, what strengthened the role and function of each political subdivision are the factors such as suburban development, the government reform movement, and the increase in rate of population growth. In fact, these awesome developments opened the door for post World War II urbanization. Moreover, there were ‘catalysts’ that led in a new era for county government: the great changes in the structure of counties, appreciating revenues, greater freedom or autonomy from the states, and the stronger political accountability (â€Å"Overview of County Government†). Exploring County Government The term â€Å"county† has been widely used all over the world, and has given various definitions. One definition of county is that it is a political subdivision of a state, and power and importance of which varies from one state to another (â€Å"County†). It is created with a purpose and function, and role and objectives, though not all has functioning governments. In the United States, there are 3, 068 counties, and all of which differ greatly in range, population and other aspects. Counties are mechanisms for states to use in order to deliver programs within geographic limitations (DeSantis and Renner). To name some are the Arlington County, Va., North Slope Borough in Alaska, Loving County in Texas, and Los Angeles County in California. In addition, there are only forty-eight among the fifty states in the United States have operational county governments (â€Å"About Counties†). 1.1 Roles of County Government Counties are nothing without purpose and roles. What leads to the development of a country is mainly derived from counties. Where autonomy is given, counties perform several roles (Sellers 6.): county finance (which describes the procedure for the adoption of the budget legal taxes and assessment, and defines allowable debt limits and special funds like capital improvement funds), zoning and land use (which defines county’s authority to obtain, hold, and sell public land or expropriation); in roads, bridges, and transportation (analyzes the system of construction, maintenance, and improvement of road system); in recreation, leisure, and culture (county’s powers in the creation of parks and recreational facilities as well as its function to create facilities empowered by the government). Moreover, in terms of public safety, health, and sanitation (county has the authority to perform procedures about public safety like fire protection, and power to promote public health through construction of health departments, hospitals, and ambulance services). However, the role of a county does not

Marketing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Marketing - Assignment Example Business goods can be distributed in the following manner: producer to consumer; producer to agent to consumer; producer to distributor to consumer; producer to agent to distributor to consumer. Finally, services, because of its nature can only be distributed either directly to consumers or through an agent. Decisions as to which path to take must take into account, among others, the resources available, the market itself whether local or foreign, the price of the goods, and geographical feasibility. Avon and Tupperware, for example, sells its products directly to consumers whilst Procter and Gamble sells through retailers like supermarkets. Insurance and travel industries sell through agents. Producers must also take into account factors such as the most effective distribution channel, the most appropriate level of distribution intensity and degree of channel integration. In the first, considerations such as buyers’ expectations, geographical location and clustering of target consumers, producers’ resources, nature of the goods, and the channels that are being used by competitors are taken into consideration. The second consideration involves the number of channels to be used per area, which may be intensive, selective or exclusive, and should be dependent on the resources of the producer, the image it wants to project and its main priorities. Tyrell Potato Chips, for example, sells only to specialist retailers that gives it an upmarket image and allows it to gain a 35% profit margins not duplicated by its competitors. Finally, the third consideration will depend on how much the producer wants to get involved in the distribution and sales of the goods. It c an opt to choose the conventional methods, franchising such as the practice of McDonald’s, Starbucks, Body Shop and Benetton, or to go all the way by buying all channels involved to