This paper aims to explore the gender pay gap, taking Google as an example. The study aims to address gender discrimination and wage inequality in the workplace and explore possible ways to address these issues. This paper adopts the case analysis method, takes Google company as the research object, collects and analyzes Google's salary data and corporate environment and other related materials. In addition, this paper also combines the literature survey method to collect theoretical and empirical research on gender discrimination, employment opportunity inequality and social and family pressure to comprehensively reveal the reasons for the gender pay gap. Research shows that women at Google are generally paid less than their male counterparts, especially in technical roles. This pay gap is not due to the lack of ability or experience of female employees, but rather the fact that Google is dominated by men and women are often discriminated against when it comes to promotions and salary negotiations. By analyzing the Google case, this paper reveals several major causes of the gender pay gap, including gender discrimination and prejudice, unequal employment opportunities, and social and family pressures. The findings of this paper show that in addressing the gender pay gap, governments, businesses and individuals need to work together to achieve gender equality in the workplace and narrow the gender pay gap.

This study investigates the transformative potential of blockchain technology in revolutionizing cross-border payments, digital currency development, and mitigating financial risks within the financial sector. The study emphasizes the importance of this technology in addressing the inefficiencies and security vulnerabilities inherent in traditional financial systems, highlighting its significant pivotal role in the academic field of financial technology and blockchain research. To delve into these issues, this study conducted a comprehensive literature review of the latest research results, conducted case studies on the application of blockchain in financial institutions, and compared and analyzed traditional payment systems and blockchain-based payment systems. In addition, the study also utilizes model analysis to understand the influence of blockchain on financial risk administration and the growth patterns of digital currencies like Bitcoin. The research results indicate that blockchain technology greatly improves the security, productivity, and transparency of payments made across borders by decreasing the need for intermediaries and related expenses. Furthermore, the blockchain system facilitates the creation of digital currencies, providing a stable and secure framework. In addition, the Integration of blockchain with financial management processes emerges as a feasible solution to reduce various financial risks, providing a more efficient and secure framework for financial businesses. The results of this study indicate that blockchain technology can serve as a fundamental element for future financial transactions, digital currencies, and risk management, making the financial industry more transparent, secure, and efficient, potentially changing the industry.

This study presents a comprehensive review of how Starbucks transformed from a single coffee house in Seattle in 1971 to an international coffee empire. It reviews the strategic marketing campaign, targeting upscale young adults and professionals, describes how they incorporate sustainability into the Starbucks ethos and examines how Starbucks rules the global coffee market using its 4P’s strategy (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) despite challenges arising from market saturation and changing consumer tastes. It also shows that Starbucks, as a beverage company that has taken the world by storm, has established its uniqueness in social media and pop culture. And the spirit of the company and the pursuit of coffee has gone far beyond the meaning of the coffee shop itself. The recommendations for future expansion involve infusing an art of innovation and sustainability into coffee drinking on such a grander scale that will change consumer expectations and reshape social responsibility in society. The Abstract provided a synopsis of the research background, research purpose, methodology, and exploration findings, while emphasizing Starbucks' approach to strategy, and its influence in the coffee industry and corporate social responsibility.

Sustainable supply chain management is essential in modern corporate operations due to growing environmental concerns and the demand for sustainable development. This study utilises methods of literature analysis and literature review to examine various elements of sustainable supply chain practices, encompassing sustainable sourcing, innovative logistics and operations, and the integration of modern technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain. The investigations in these areas attempt to understand how they collectively contribute to integrating sustainability into supply chains, hence providing strategic advantages to firms. The findings emphasise that sustainable supply chain management encompasses environmental and social responsibilities, as well as serving as a catalyst for innovation, competitive advantage, and long-term economic viability. This study emphasises the thorough incorporation of sustainability into supply chains and highlights the strategic importance of this integration for market competitiveness and business longevity. The research emphasises the importance of continuous innovation and adaptation in sustainable supply chain processes, advocating for a balanced strategy that aligns economic objectives with environmental conservation.

The ability to effectively manage operations is an essential asset for any firm. In addition to ensuring that procedures are efficient, it also guarantees that resources are utilized effectively and that the organization's goals are met. An investigation of operations management serves as the foundation for this paper, which is then analyzed and recorded by a survey of the businesses that were engaged. This paper employs literature review and literature analysis as its research methods and investigates the disparities between company operation management and performance, as well as the means by which competitive strategies can be implemented. The study's findings have facilitated accurate planning and performance for Walmart with respect to operation management, while also establishing the criticality of operation management in the company's growth trajectory. Additionally, it offers a solid basis and guidance for any organization that may have uncertainties and alternative decisions regarding operational management in the coming years.

In the dynamic landscape of China's fashion industry, remarkable growth and transformation have been witnessed, fueled by factors such as a rising middle class, increased urbanization, and changing consumer preferences. With a thriving e-commerce sector, rapid adoption of global fashion trends, and a growing appetite for luxury brands, China has emerged as a key player in the global fashion arena. This essay will take a comprehensive look at Acne Studios' strategic approach in the domestic market. And the study delves into the impact of the Acne Studios brand on the global fashion scene since its inception. On the basis of the brand's own glocalization strategy, a combination of case studies, market analyses and some evaluative data is used to reveal the multiple factors that have contributed to the success of acne studios in China. By detailing Acne Studio's journey into the Chinese fashion industry, this study not only provides insights into the market success factors but also presents valuable strategic recommendations for other international fashion brands seeking to capture the Chinese market, thus connecting them to more international fashion exchange opportunities.

The competence of the national economy depends on the reliability of the financial system, which is an inevitable mechanism utilized in developed market economies. This provides the reasoning, however, that agency problems in the financial system, because of information asymmetries and conflicts of interest, are the root of most financial crises. This paper aims to find out how the delegation problem arises and what financial stability loss in a market economy is from the viewpoint of economics and sociology. This article on inter-relations, influencing components, and the basis of economic agents' delegation debt to the system’s stability is analyzed. Additionally, this article provides for the influence of the agency problems and the financial system stability, including the reasons and implications, as well as how we improve the efficiency and strength of the financial system and optimize corporate governance simultaneously. This research paper integrates economic and sociological schools of thought to examine the agency dilemma in the financial system and the implications of this problem for financial stability. Since the study explains how agency problems affect decision-making, it aims to make the economic system more effective and sustainable.

The purpose of this paper is to conduct an in-depth study and comparison of the status and characteristics of the two major financial centers in Asia, Hong Kong and Singapore, in the international financial market. Research methods of qualitative analysis and quantitative statistics are applied to compare and analyze the geopolitical environment, regional economic background, policy support, international image, and relationship and cooperation with neighboring regions of Hong Kong and Singapore. The study finds that Hong Kong and Singapore each exhibit unique strengths and challenges. Hong Kong holds an important position in terms of the size of the international financial market and trading activities, while Singapore has an increasingly prominent role in fintech innovation. In addition, Hong Kong's close financial ties with Mainland China and Singapore's diverse cooperation with the rest of Asia have earned both places a unique position in the global financial landscape. These findings provide valuable leadership ideas for understanding the dynamics of Asia's financial markets and for policymakers around the world as they navigate their relationship with international financial markets.

Digital finance is a combination of digital information technology and finance. Compared with traditional finance, its development can be more efficient to achieve the improvement of the enterprise. Data from Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies for the period 2011-2020 in China, and matching with 31 provincial data. Regression models were used to analyze the function of digital finance on corporate green innovation and the impact of the senior managers’ background on its mechanisms. Reached the following conclusion: first, digital finance clearly promotes green innovation in companies. Second, according to the upper echelon theory, the executive background in corporate has a regulatory effect. The higher the rate of managers within companies with background abroad or high-level education, the more digital finance promotes green renovation. Then, based on the results of the study, suggestions were put forward.

After the financial crisis of 2008, the United States encountered economic challenges again in 2019. During this time, a large number of problems ensued as a result of behaviors such as mandatory restrictions and voluntary behavioral changes by households and businesses, and the initial wave of COVID-19 infections led to a historic contraction of economic activity. In order to gain the experience and backbone to deal with the economic crisis calmly next time, it is desirable and effective to extract experiences and inspirations from past events. In that case, the troubles brought by major events and the solutions at that time are necessary to be analyzed. The Great Depression of 2008 and COVID-19 of 2019 brought a heavy blow to the economic market, and the different responses of the U.S. in the face of the blows of these two periods provide good examples for the study of monetary policy and fiscal policy. This paper focuses on the differences between monetary and fiscal policies on economic fluctuations in the United States at two important time points, 2008 and 2019. Through comparative analysis, it is concluded that monetary policy and fiscal policy have different manipulators and implementation targets, as well as different efficiency and flexibility in their roles.

As a matter of fact, index volatility has always been one of the key indicators of the state of an index and a reflection of investor confidence and expectations in the market. Among various indicators, the VIX, which is also known as the "Panic Index", has always been viewed by the market as a barometer of the state of the economy. With this in mind, the purpose of this study is to investigate the process of Random Forest, Support Vector Regression as well as XGBoost in predicting VIX volatility and to evaluate their performance. Based on the evaluations, experiments in this study show that XGBoost performs optimally for smaller, low-dimensional time series data. According to the analysis, this study strongly demonstrates the excellent performance as well as great potential of machine learning algorithms in volatility prediction. Overall, these results will provide a feasible solution for volatility prediction with machine learning algorithms.

The stock market, a significant component of the financial market, is essential to the functioning of the world economy. Accurate prediction of changes in stock prices is of great importance to investors, financial institutions, and the economic system. In order to compare the effects of three methods-linear regression, K-nearest neighbor (KNN), and long short-term memory network (LSTM)-in the context of Tesla stock prediction, the goal of this study is to investigate the use of machine learning in the field of stock prediction. Through empirical analysis and comprehensive evaluation, this paper finds that the LSTM model performs best in Tesla stock prediction, with better prediction accuracy and stability. LSTM can better capture the time series characteristics and complex nonlinear relationships of stock prices, thus improving the accuracy of prediction. This research investigates the future development direction of machine learning techniques in stock forecasting, building upon the discovered insights. Subsequent investigations may concentrate on broadening the scope of data attributes, investigating group education techniques, and including attention mechanisms. The explorations and innovations will provide investors with more reliable and accurate decision support and help them make more informed investment decisions in the stock market, to achieve better investment returns. By comprehensively evaluating and comparing the performance of different machine learning methods, this paper can provide useful references and guidance for research and practice in the field of stock prediction.

In the current information-rich digital marketing environment, TikTok is a rapidly growing social media platform, and its user base has exceeded 1.562 billion in January 2024. However, with the over-saturation of brand-generated content and social media advertising, consumers’ attention to brand-generated information has shown a downward trend. Gradually, user-generated content (UGC) has become a mature marketing paradigm in recent years. UGC relies on users' creativity and subjective preference, entirely in contrast to the brand's official content, and can better stimulate consumers' interest and purchasing power. This article describes the forms of UGC and its working mechanism on TikTok and also states several advantages of UGC on TikTok by comparing it with brand-generated content (BGC). The results show that UGC enhances the brand and users’ interaction. It is more cost-effective than official BGC and influencer marketing strategies. Meanwhile, it also discusses the challenges UGC marketing is currently facing. Through a comprehensive analysis of UGC marketing on TikTok, this article provides insights into the dual-edgedness of UGC and how it can be effectively used to drive brand growth and user engagement in a rapidly developing informational social media environment.

While often overlooked, the snack industry is a quintessential aspect interweaved into almost all aspects of American society. Researchers have found that the snack industry is developing in digital media, but there are still research gaps in the industry's development prospects. As such, this essay analyzes Mondelez Food Company, exploring Mondelez Food Company’s current promotional strategy and market position, arguing that Mondelēz Food Company’s highly successful visibility and influence is due to excellent digitalization marketing. Platforms and advertising, as well as the addition of new markets and expansion of existing markets, have helped the company's finances maintain a healthy growth rate. Mondelez’s current strategy includes highlighting the company’s brand image and outstanding digital media presence, both of which have now helped the company serve as a consistent leader in the snack industry. In particular, SWOT analysis shows that Mondelez's advantages lie in its good financial status, brand image and advertising. In contrast, some factors that may potentially cause harm to the company’s future rising costs, fierce industry competition and health problems caused by products. However, this paper will demonstrate that product diversification, expansion into emerging markets and finding lower-cost alternatives could help the company grow further.

The booming relationship between the gaming industry and advertising has fostered marketers' interest in leveraging digital games as a marketing tool. This change is the result of technological advancements, the widespread use of mobile and broadband internet, and the ensuing growth of the gaming sector, all of which have fueled the appeal of digital gaming as a successful marketing channel. Cyberpunk 2077 exemplifies this trend, with the game attracting not only players but also marketers looking for innovative advertising avenues. Through regular social engagement and an immersive gameplay experience, Cyberpunk 2077 has become an engaging medium that can seamlessly convey advertising messages without compromising the consumer experience. As traditional media readership dwindles and there is a shift toward interactive platforms, marketers are increasingly looking to digital games as a cost-effective, measurable and engaging channel to reach their target audiences. This fusion of entertainment and advertising blurs the lines between the two realms, creating a novel form of branded content that resonates with consumers. However, not all game marketing efforts are successful, often due to marketers' lack of understanding of the unique dynamics of game culture and design principles. To bridge this gap, it is crucial to take a comprehensive approach to games marketing, leveraging insights from game research, brand management and advertising strategy. By combining advertising messages with the immersive experiences offered by digital games, marketers can effectively engage audiences and capitalize on the growing popularity of games as a form of entertainment.

Over the past few decades, the wave of globalization has dramatically changed the landscape of production and consumption, including the toy industry. This paper delves into the contemporary landscape of cross-border supply chain management within the toy industry, meticulously examining the principal challenges it faces and the lucrative opportunities it presents. Through a rigorous analysis of the toy supply chain amidst the backdrop of globalization, this paper identifies the pivotal factors that influence both efficiency and sustainability. Based on our findings, we formulate countermeasures aimed at addressing these challenges. The discussion is centered on strategies for optimizing supply chain management and bolstering competitiveness, emphasizing technological innovation, fostering greater transparency within the supply chain, strengthening partnerships, and ensuring compliance with international trade regulations. By doing so, it aims to contribute to the advancement of supply chain practices in the toy industry, ensuring its resilience and success in the global market.

Since the pandemic in 2020, many firms paused or reduced their dividend payout as shifting to a defense strategy. However, the total dividends payout in the second quarter of 2022 by S&P500 firms is 11.8% more than that in the period of 2021 and share buyback spending is 11.7% higher. Thus, the company’s payout policy is still a significant concern for investors. This research summarizes several findings on the interaction of payout policy with corporate governance and with country-level governance and discusses the dependence between these two factors. This research finds that country-level governance is positively related to a firm’s payout policy, and because of the correlation between firm-level and country-level governance, the interaction between firm-level governance and dividend policy varies with legal strength: in weak legal regimes, stronger corporate governance leads to higher dividend payout, and in strong legal regimes, they correlate in the opposite way, as the shock repurchase is preferred over dividend.

The price of gold, as an important precious metal, is highly volatile and uncertain as it is affected by the economic and political situation in the global market. Therefore, forecasting gold price is of great significance for investors, policy makers and economists. In this paper, an algorithm based on nonlinear weight decreasing PSO-SVR univariate time series prediction is proposed for forecasting gold price. The algorithm can help investors, policy makers and firms to understand market trends and price fluctuations and make more informed decisions. The algorithm is based on a nonlinear weighted particle swarm (IPSO) optimised support vector machine (SVM) time series model, which is trained with training set data and validated using test set data. Y-X scatter plots are plotted for the predicted and real values of the training set, and line plots of the predicted and real values of the training set are plotted in the coordinate system, and the results show that the algorithm is able to predict the price of the gold stock well, and the predicted and real values of the price of the gold stock can be very close to each other, both in the training set and the test set. The values of the model evaluation indexes R2, MAE, MBE and MAPE show that the algorithm can predict the gold stock price very well, and the prediction results in the test set do not deviate much from the training set. Therefore, the algorithm can provide useful market information and decision support for investors, policy makers and enterprises.

The prominence of e-commerce in international trade is escalating, marking it as a pivotal sector in China's foreign trade evolution. Cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) China is advancing towards a phase of high-quality development. Nonetheless, the advent of the post-pandemic era and the tendencies towards reverse globalization pose significant challenges to the industry's adaptive capabilities and its sustained growth trajectory. This study employs SWOT-PEST analysis to dissect the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing the industry, against the backdrop of its current status and the overarching macroeconomic environment influencing CBEC China landscape. The analysis reveals that CBEC China benefits politically from an evolving policy and regulatory framework, economically from robust market demand, socially from an increasingly mature cross-border logistics infrastructure, and technologically from advancements in supply chain technologies. Conversely, it faces political challenges from international legal constraints, economic limitations due to inefficiencies hindering economies of scale, a social gap in industry-specific talent, and technological setbacks in international payment settlements. Opportunistically, the "Belt and Road" initiative catalyzes policy-driven economic incentives, digital economy growth presents economic prospects, and the initiative's urban development potential alongside new information technologies offers social and technological advancements respectively. However, threats manifest in the form of anti-globalization sentiments, product homogenization, consumer skepticism towards transaction success, and financial risks exacerbated by currency fluctuation. Through a comprehensive industry analysis, this paper delineates a strategic direction for the future development of CBEC China, aiming to bolster the country's international trade growth.

As the world grows increasingly digitally connected, digital technology is demonstrating its benefits and possibilities in an increasing number of industries. Numbers have a significant impact on the economic sector. As a result, researching the digital economy is essential and will only become more so in the following decades. Using China in Asia and the United States in North America as case studies, this essay first examines the current state of growth of the digital economies in each of these two nations. The policies that China and the US have released on the digital economy are also listed on this page, along with an analysis and comparison of them. Next, the strengths, weaknesses, possibilities, and threats of China and the US in the area of the digital economy are examined using the SWOT approach. In conclusion, this essay examines the opportunities for collaboration and rivalry in the global digital economy, highlighting the significance of candid communication and teamwork in tackling shared issues.