JCC Jennifer Government: Team Advantage

Transcription

TechMUN 2015
JCC Jennifer Government:
Team Advantage
Thomas Jefferson High School Model United Nations Conference
TechMUN 2015
High School Crisis Committee
Czar: Vikram Sardana
Director: Nathaniel Taylor
Chair: Stav Nachum
Chair: Justin Yum
TechMUN at Stuart
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and JEB Stuart High School
Fairfax, VA | April 10-11, 2015
TechMUN 2015
Hi Everyone!
My name is Vikram Sardana, and
I’m
delighted to serve as Crisis Czar for the
Jennifer
Government committee. I’ve done Model
UN
since seventh grade, and I’ve been very
active in
activities. Outside of MUN I enjoy playing
a
variety of sports and games, including chess
and an
online capture the flag game called TagPro
that I
highly recommend.
Our crisis committee is based on the book Jennifer Government by Max Barry. It is one of my
favorite books and is a quick and excellent read about a dystopian world in which corporations hold
almost all the power and the government holds very little (and also the United States controls most of
the world). I highly recommend you read the book before committee and before you write your position
paper, although for your convenience a summary of the book is enclosed in this guide.
I look forward to you guys doing great things this TECHMUN that improve your company’s
standing and profits. If you have any questions, feel free to send me an email!
Sincerely,
Vikram Sardana
[email protected]
TechMUN at Stuart
TechMUN 2015
Dear Delegates,
My name is Stav Nachum and I am a senior at Thomas
Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. I wanted to
start off saying that I am incredibly excited to be chairing at
TechMUN this year. Over my years at TJ, I have spent time in
many different positions ranging from crisis staff to a page or
czar, but now I finally get my chance to chair this year.
When it comes to TechMUN many people always ask
me why I joined Model United Nations. Truth is, I joined on
whim. My friend asked me to be her partner for a mock conference that our school held in preparation
for a national conference and I joined her just to be a good friend. I never in a million years thought that
it would be as interesting and engaging as it turned out to be. Today, I have attended more than twenty
conferences since my freshman year and made countless memories with the other members of TJMUN.
Outside of MUN, I am part of our schools newspaper and literary magazine as well as our
writing center and volunteer for an organization called TOPSoccer. Beyond school, I spend most of my
time playing soccer for FPYC which is one of my favorite pastimes. I started playing when I was only
three years old since my dad was always an avid soccer fan and today I can't imagine spending a single
day without a soccer ball at my feet. My favorite things to do over the weekends are to spend time with
my close friends, watch far too much Netflix and read any of the books on my bookshelf.
I can't wait for TechMUN and I desperately hope that you will all enjoy this conference as much
as I will. Let's make my last TechMUN the best one yet.
Sincerely,
Stav Nachum
TechMUN at Stuart
TechMUN 2015
Dear Delegates,
Welcome to the Jennifer Government
JCC, Team Advantage! My name is Justin Yum,
and I am currently a senior at TJHSST. Model
UN has been one of my favorite activities ever
since freshman year, alongside my other clubs,
Lincoln-Douglas debate and Quizbowl. I also
gained an in-depth interest in economics while
chairing the 2008 Financial Advisory Board
committee at TechMUN last year and interning
in the sales & marketing division of a web
development firm. My packed course schedule
doesn’t leave me much time for leisure, but I do appreciate reading classic literature whenever I can (my
most recent being Utopia by Thomas More). In the long-run, I hope to enter a career in medicine. See
you all in committee.
Sincerely,
Justin Yum
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What is a JCC?
A joint crisis committee (JCC) takes two individual crisis committees with opposing goals and tasks
these bodies with resolving crises surrounding a common time period or event. The two committees
have the ability to communicate with one another and the actions taken by one committee will have a
direct effect on the other committee. Additionally, major crises, events, and the flow of time will be the
same for both committees; however, each individual committee can face specific crises as well. The
ultimate goal is to further the cause and interest of your committee, usually at the expense of the
opposing committee. The additional aspects of a normal crisis, such as written directives, press releases,
and personal directives related to your company’s power, still apply in this JCC.
Book Summary
The novel Jennifer Government follows a set of characters as they navigate a corporate dystopia.
Government has been minimized to a tiny regulatory body barely able to get enough money to operate, while
corporations have flourished under free trade and minimal regulation. The corporate world has separated into
two giant factions, Team Advantage and US Alliance, competing with one another and forming giant reward
organizations to gain customer loyalty. Hack Nike (everyone takes the last name of their employer) is a Nike
employee who is contracted to kill people who buy new Nike shoes in an underhanded marketing attempt to
increase the street cred of the shoes. He subcontracts the killings, but becomes increasingly entangled in bad
contracts, becoming disenfranchised from the corporate world and turning to vandalism to protest the
corporate system. Violet is an unemployed hacker who makes a virus strong enough to take out an entire
corporate system, and is hired by Exxon-Mobil to use the virus to take down the system of a competitor
before they can be taken over hostile-ly. Violet makes the contract verbally, and is uncompensated when the
president of Exxon-Mobil is killed in the ensuing conflict. Buy Mitsui is an employee of the Mitsui stock
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brokerage who is slowly burning out from his job. He is under constant pressure to fill massive trade quotas,
and uses unorthodox insider tips to make his deadline, although he burns out in the process. John Nike is a
VP of marketing at Nike who came up with the idea of killing people who buy the shoes to gain street cred.
He goes on to become the Nike liaison to the US Alliance, and eventually tries to use NRA mercenaries to
destroy Team Advantage and cement the US Alliance as the foremost corporate organization, though he is
foiled by the government agent Jennifer Government and loses of support from other US Alliance liaisons.
Jennifer Government is a government agent who investigated Nike’s slaying of kids, and eventually tracks
down John Nike and brings him to justice, despite facing constant lack of funding. As a result of John Nike’s
actions, including working with the NRA to kill the President of the United States, US Alliance votes at the
end of the novel to work with the government to regulate the market.
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Map of the World
Notice in the map of the world (which is also available on the back of the book) that the United States
Economic Blocs consists of the majority of the world, including almost the entirety of the Americas (except
Cuba), Australia, South Africa, India, Indonesia, Japan, and the United Kingdom. These countries also
operate with the President of the United States as the most powerful figure. Notice that Russia is also
economically affiliated with the United States, but is not, as the map says, “Fully absorbed”.
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Notice that European nations and China are members of non-US affiliated, socialist economic blocs. The
Chinese government engages in massive protectionism of its economy, while the European Union foists
tariffs on many foreign goods. These countries naturally have their own leaders.
In the regions of Africa and the Middle East, markets are fragmented and shoddy. As the map notes, the
nations of Africa are still developing, and the markets are ripe with potential. In the Middle East, the markets
are shaken due to regional violence, and the markets tend to be hostile to those that enter the area. Trading
and operating in this region is certainly possible, and potentially lucrative, but must be done with care.
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Topic I: Government Regulation of the Market
For many years the forces of the market and “capitalizm” ran freely, as the government did not interfere in
the market. US Alliance and Team Advantage operated without government intervention throughout the
world, in a capitalist territory that ranged from the United States to Australia (see the map for more detailed
geographic information).
After John Nike’s attempt at what he called “the greatest business coup ever”, US Alliance member
corporations voted to open dialogue with the government of the United States regarding regulation of the
market. Alfonse US Alliance, the CEO, has been tasked with representing the alliance to the government.
However, in the twelve years since then, there has been little progress made. Although the troubles are wellremembered in the public eye, especially Nike’s role in them, enthusiasm is waning within US Alliance
circles for government regulation. While the majority still support dialogue with the government, with
varying levels of enthusiasm and for a variety of reasons, the minority within US Alliance has grown more
vocal as frustration with the government builds. The US government has had a difficult time determining its
plan for government regulation, as the Senate, House of Representatives, and the President have struggled
with cooperation. The negotiations also stalled as the government sought to recover from the assassination of
the previous president under the orders of John Nike. However, reports have come out that the government is
close to finalizing its plans for negotiations with US Alliance, which prompts immediate US Alliance action.
Team Advantage corporations must determine the alliance’s policy on government regulation, and
must decide on whether they want to approach the government. Team Advantage members need to ensure
that dialogue between the government and US Alliance does not serve to hurt the interests of Team
Advantage companies. Team Advantage members could devise a list of regulations that they would like to
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see, and a list of regulations that they will work to prevent. Team Advantage companies can try to
manipulate the government to inhibit the well-being of US Alliance.
Enclosed in this guide is a list of the stances of Team Advantage corporations on the topic of market
regulation. These policies will help guide the CEOs (that is, the committee members) as they take steps to
accomplish their number one goal, increasing the wealth and profitability of their company.
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Company Positions
ExxonMobil
In the past, the government has tried to reduce carbon emissions through tax incentives.
ExxonMobil was previously known for contributing to research organizations that questioned
climate change, but has since purchased a company that produces natural gas and creates less
carbon pollution than their other products of oil or coal. As a result, ExxonMobil stands to profit
from a future in which carbon emissions are taxed by the government and thus changed their
opinion on the effects of carbon emissions and fully support a carbon tax and government
regulation of their market (Davenport). However, ExxonMobil wants to ensure that it is not held
liable for its violent actions twelve years ago at the Shell headquarters, where ExxonMobil
raided the headquarters and installed viruses on the computers, shutting down Shell’s network.
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola has developed the Alliance for a Healthier Generation with the American
Heart Association and William J. Clinton Foundation as well as several other soft drink
corporations (Sharma). These guidelines serve as a self-regulation tactic for the soft drink
industries as they outline limit portion sizes and set standards for caloric and nutritional content
of beverages sold, especially in schools. This meaningful self-regulation has thus far had an
enormous reach and showcases Coca-Cola’s desire to self regulate and reduce government
involvement and regulation of the beverage market.
Burger King
The fast food industry is a major self-regulatory industry as a result of the Children’s
Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative, which was sponsored by the Council of Better
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Business Bureaus and established specific guidelines to encourage healthier eating among
children. To date, 15 food and beverage companies, including Burger King have pledged to take
part in these guidelines and self-regulate their company according to the guidelines listed. Thus,
similarly to Coca-Cola, Burger King desires to self regulate and reduce government regulation of
the food market.
Apple
Recently, the Chinese government has attempted to increase its regulations of the
technology industry by demanding that all companies that sell computer equipment to Chinese
banks to turn over secret source code and other hardware (Carlson). Many American companies,
including Apple, strongly opposed these new regulations. In fact, Apple has repeatedly spoken
out about how increased government regulations could potentially destroy their company. One
example they provided is that the government could force them to sell iPhones that work on
more than one carrier. Thus Apple adamantly opposes increased government regulations.
Compaq
Governments often undertake courageous spending by offering high-risk financing to
companies at much earlier stages than most private venture capital firms do. This financing
created the company that is today known as Compaq (Eisenach). Then after Compaq was
created, Microsoft sent them a letter stating their intentions to terminate Compaq’s license for
Windows 95 if they did not restore the MSN and Internet Explorer icons to their original
positions. This increased government involvement and led to a structural remedy which once
again saved Compaq. As a result, it is hard not to see that Compaq supports all government
regulation in the market place.
K-Mart
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Over the past few years, K-Mart has not done remarkably well in the media. In the past,
K-Mart paid a $102,422 fine to settle self-disclosed violations of government environmental
regulations. Then K-Mart was charged with making false and unsubstantiated claims that their
paper products were “biodegradable.” And then K-Mart was sued for disability discrimination in
the workplace. With all of their fines and lawsuits over breaking government regulation of the
market and workplace, K-Mart is not a fan of government regulation and prefers self-regulation
or none at all.
Mercedes-Benz
As a key part of Mercedes-Benz’s strategy for meeting old emissions regulations, the
auto company proved that their new start-stop system does indeed cut pollution. The company
was, as a result, rewarded with government credits for adopting this new technology into their
cars. Similarly, over the years, Mercedes-Benz has been meeting new government regulations
head on and earning their benefits and profits through using these new regulations to their favor.
In fact the USA Executive predicted that these regulations set in place by the government,
depending on the extent of the climate change programs and carbon fuel supplies, will lead to a
greater change in the auto industry than ever before. Mercedes-Benz is obviously hoping to
remain ahead of the game and use government regulation to their advantage.
American Express
American Express believes in corporate self-determination and a non-interventionist
Government. They believe the Government should not interfere in a customer’s method of payment and
also that it should not be a party to American Express’s contract negotiations with merchants.
Unfortunately, Government regulations have decreased the basis-point interchange fees for debit and
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thus have made it more attractive for merchants. Furthermore, recent negotiations between the
Government and American Express’s competitors have proposed the Government’s allowing merchants
to steer customers to lower interchange-fee credit cards in addition to debit, cash, and checks (Chenault).
Given American Express’s higher fees, this would only divert consumers to its larger and more
dominant competitors. Such an action would negatively impact the industry’s Herfindahl-Hirschman
Index and thus undermine the competitive spirit of capitalizm.
GAP
GAP objects to excessive Government regulation, particularly any controls or obstacles to
international trade (“Case 11”). Given GAP’s manufacturing activities in non-USA countries (including
socialist China), import restrictions, tariffs, or quotas would hurt its ability to deliver its finished goods
to its USA customers. In general, GAP would like to avoid Government regulations to avoid paperwork
and compliance costs. However, it would oppose any hostile action against the Government, as GAP
would find that a politically unstable environment unsuitable for good business. At the same time, GAP
would like the Government to use its enforcement power to prevent radical demonstrations or criminal
vandals.
American Airlines
Historically, the government heavily regulated the airline industry with price controls and other
practices until the late seventies. American Airlines, in appreciation of its modern-day success and
business autonomy, would heavily object to returning to those days. The Government has repeatedly
interfered with several of American Airlines’s ploys for profit, including overbooking/bumping
passengers and losing baggage. Furthermore, it has demanded that American Airlines recompense its
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passengers for inconveniences such as delays as well as increase fee transparency. American Airlines
argues that given the airline industry’s high elasticity of demand, additional compliance costs hurt its
market significantly and vice versa.
John Hancock
Although John Hancock begrudges the Government’s regulations on short-selling and highfrequency trading, it favors Government regulation to prevent market volatility. As a financial firm,
John Hancock prefers a stable business environment free of unpleasant surprises or crises such as
bankruptcies, corporate restructuring, and credit/liquidity issues in money market mutual funds. The US
Alliance’s experiment in anarchy resulted in a dramatic increase in uncertainty and disorder- John
Hancock welcomes the stabilizing influence of the Government. Furthermore, as a life insurance
company, John Hancock would prefer assurances against murder and violent hostilities to ensure longer
collection periods from its customers.
The Police
In the world of Jennifer Government, the Police have become a privatized institution. Not so
much concerned with enforcing justice as maximizing profits, the Police are not only willing to overlook
crimes, but commit them themselves for a high enough price. They also apprehend criminals, if
sponsored by the Government or the victims’ families, and succeed in doing so eighty-six percent of the
time. The Police maintain significant paramilitary capability and assets and are well-equipped to chase
criminals, engage NRA forces, and break into buildings. They serve well as the armed enforcers of
Team Advantage directives.
Kaiser Foundation Group
Kaiser would like to avoid Government regulation. Increased Government intervention would expose its
oversights in patient care as well as prevent them from arbitrating new profit-maximizing policies, such
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as a wait period for scheduling consecutive appointments or using private patient information for profit.
The Government has fined Kaiser numerous times over medical malpractice, contamination of medical
equipment and supplies, and overbilling patients.
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Works Cited
Barry, Max. Jennifer Government: A Novel. New York: Doubleday, 2003. Print.
Carlson, Nicholas. "Apple Carefully Explains Exactly How It Could Be Destroyed." Business
Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 01 Nov. 2012. Web. 21 Feb. 2015.
"Case 11. Gap Inc." Wiley. John Wiley & Sons, n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2015.
Chenault, Ken. "Card Industry Regulation ." American Express. American Express, 21 Oct.
2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2015.
Davenport, Coral. "Large Companies Prepared to Pay Price on Carbon." The New York
Times. The New York Times, 04 Dec. 2013. Web. 21 Feb. 2015.
"EEOC Sues Kmart for Disability Discrimination." EEOC Sues Kmart for Disability
Discrimination. U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, 5 Sept. 2013. Web. 21 Feb. 2015.
Eisenach, Jeffrey, and Thomas Lenard. "The Microsoft Monopoly: The Facts, the Law and the Remedy." The
Progress and Freedom Foundation. The Progress and Freedom
Foundation, Apr. 2000. Web. 21 Feb. 2015.
Jenkins, Darryl, Joshua Marks, and Michael Miller. "Consumer Regulation and Taxation of the U.S. Airline
Industry Estimating the Burden for Airlines and the Local Impact."
American Aviation Institute. American Aviation Institute, 16 Nov. 2011. Web. 21 Feb. 2015.
"John Hancock Money Market Fund." John Hancock Investments. John Hancock, 1 Aug.
2014. Web. 21 Feb. 2015.
"Kaiser Permanente Pays $1.8 Million over Billing Flaws." Kaiser Papers. Kaiser Papers, 11
Sept. 2000. Web. 21 Feb. 2015.
"Light Duty Greenhouse Gas Standards Compliance Information." EPA. Environmental
Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2015.
Sharma, Lisa L., Stephen P. Teret, and Kelly D. Brownell. "The Food Industry and
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Self-Regulation: Standards to Promote Success and to Avoid Public Health Failures."
American Journal of Public Health. American Public Health Association, Feb. 2010. Web. 20 Feb.
2015.
Wilson, Jenny. "Government Regulations Force U.S. Airlines to Be Nicer | TIME.com." TIME. TIME, 20
Apr. 2011. Web. 21 Feb. 2015.
TechMUN at Stuart

JCC Jennifer Government: Team Advantage

Transcription

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