The Ivy Lee Method Experts Recommend for Peak Productivity free essay sample

This is the real story of an American tycoon of the early twentieth century who was the first man in the world to have earned more than a million dollars a year. Maybe today this figure is not so impressive. Its about Charles Schwab, the president of the company Bethlehem Steel. Because of his leadership, this company has become one of the largest companies in the world. Of course, such successes could not be achieved without the correct organization of labor. At the very beginning of the development of the company, Charles Schwab managed to introduce a special method of increasing labor efficiency.He got the idea from Ivy Lee- consultant of productivity. Ivy Lee asks for 15 minutes, and when Schwab agreed, Lee handed him a sheet of paper and offered to write all the things that he must do tomorrow. After that, he suggested that Schwab arrange the cases in order of importance. We will write a custom essay sample on The Ivy Lee Method: Experts Recommend for Peak Productivity or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page And when Schwab did this, Lee said:Tomorrow starts the day with the case at number 1 and do not get distracted by anything until you do it. Next, go to case number 2 and also carefully work on it. Then go to case number 3 and so on.Even if you do not complete your entire list, you will still do the most important things. If you complete your whole plan, and your workday is not over yet, then compose a new list and begin to implement it. All that you have not done, you can move to the list of the next day. He asks him to use this process for every working day. The whole secret of this method is to do these actions day in and day out:? write a to-do list;? assess their importance;? Set priorities;? Work strictly according to plan.All that Schwab had to do at his company was to use this method of increasing labor efficiency every day and introduce it into the work of his subordinates.Lee was so sure of the effectiveness of the method that he suggested testing the system as much as needed. And then pay for his services, setting the price of this system. Schwab decided to use it and a few weeks later Schwab sent Ivey Lee a check for $ 25,000. And then he said that it was the most valuable idea that he ever received.Since the time of these events, more than a hundred years have passed. But the method of increasing efficiency proposed by Ivy Lee has not lost its relevance.Ivy Lee method also suggests that we should not do multitasking. Because the fewer tasks you put yourself, the more productive your work will be.

The Rise And Falls To Modern Medicine Essays - Surgeon, Bloodletting

The Rise And Falls To Modern Medicine Essays - Surgeon, Bloodletting The Rise And Falls To Modern Medicine In the Miller's Tale, Geoffrey Chaucer depicts the parish priest assistant Absolon and his sexual interests in Allison, the miller's daughter. In addition to his religious duties, he also had obligations in hair cutting. He could laten blood, shave, and clippe. This latter term fives rise to the medical treatment bleeding which was performed by most barbers of that era. After the disappearance of medicine during the Dark Ages, a new knowledge surfaced throughout the medical community. During these times there were a great many scientific breakthroughs. The findings of William Harvey proved that blood traveled through veins away from the heart. Claudius Galen, a renowned physician and philosopher, succeeded in explaining the function of nerves, brain structures, and some physiological tendencies of the body. However, he also contributed to the hindrance of medical advancement. He performed dissections on the human body to better his understanding as a physician. His only knowledge of the human anatomy was from that of animals; therefore, the public or medical community did not accept his studies. His incompetence slowed medical process for along time; thus, hie teaching were politely shoved aside so that physicians could search for a scientific basis for medical knowledge. This new direction of medical practices still held onto some of the old mediev al ways. Other than cutting hair, barbers were surgeons attending to small wounds, doing minor surgery, and bleeding. People believed that bloodletting could aside in many diseases though it resulted only in the rapid spread of deaths among people with potential to recover. This renaissance uncovered many discoveries that lead to the use of modern medicine such as the stethoscope, the digestive system, serums, antitoxins, and even hypnosis. The ways in medieval times initiated some of the greatest medical advances in the world, though today's society would probably be more accepting to surgeons acting as barbers on the side and NOT vice versa! Bibliography The Roots of modern medicine. http//noonyide.lick.pvt.k12.ca.us/Lick/courses/intro/h2/med/medm1.html The Roots of Roman Medicine. http://noontide.lick.pvt.k12.ca.us/Lick/courses/intro/h2/med/medr1.html

Now is no time for silence - Emphasis

Now is no time for silence Now is no time for silence Managers are failing to update their staff just when they need to most, it seems. The training manager of a blue-chip multinational was telling us recently how many managers had gone curiously quiet. It seems that their tongues (or their keyboards) have gone west along with the firms profits, just as their teams were looking to them for information and leadership. Lets face it, anyone can lead in the easy times, she said. Its at times like these that managers prove their worth. The problem is, of course, that the managers are just as worried and uncertain as everyone else. But harsh though it may seem, its no good drawing a managers salary if all you can do when times get tough is clam up and hide under the same black cloud as everyone else. If a team cant turn to management for leadership, then they quickly begin to wonder if anyones at the helm at all. These sentiments were echoed recently by the Association of Communicators in Business (CiB), which represents internal communications managers. They warned that organisations should redouble their internal-communication efforts during uncertain economic times rather than putting them on the back burner. They have a point. Internal communication may seem the least of a companys worries when sales are in free fall. But failing to keep your people in the loop can seriously demotivate them. And this effect can last long past the end of the recession, creating a corporate hangover that slows recovery. Worse still, although job security fears could keep them around for now, they may quickly jump ship as soon as the outlook improves. You have to ratchet up your commitment to engage with staff, says CiB chairman Paul Brasington. People are usually mature enough to understand bad news. The worst mistake is to say nothing. Among the steps you can take to improve internal communication in a recession are: explaining the direct impact of the recession on your industry and organisation, and saying what the firm will need to do to weather the storm telling people about job or budget cuts as soon as possible, along with the reasons and timescales keeping up the information flow, and making sure its two way: silence breeds rumours moving quickly to correct inaccurate information making sure employees hear news first, before you communicate it externally. Related links: High-impact writing Effective email writing

Behaviour in Organisations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Behaviour in Organisations - Essay Example The purpose of this report is to analyze how organizational behavior will influence the innovation of the Australian consulting firm. The survey will focus on the process of creating and inventing new ideas into the marketplace as the products and the process in order, to flourish the consulting firm in the market. The innovation of any company lies on the power of ideas and individual initiative that expand the services of organizational to its customers. This will happen if the firm is willing to accept the opportunities and the challenges ideas that help organizational to develop new knowledge that meets emerging needs of the clients. Therefore, organizational behavior involves the study of persons and groups within the organizational, and the study of the internal process and practices as they affect the effectiveness of individuals and the organization. Therefore, organization behavior and innovation of the organizational processes go hand in hand in order to meet the interest o f workers and the executive managers. In general, it helps individuals working together in a difficult market system to create a new product and procedure or work process in organizational. This is ability of the individuals in the firm to access their weakness and the strength, set, and pursues professional and personal goals as well as balancing company work and personal life in order, to engage in new learning activities of well-being of the company. ... In general, it helps individuals working together in a difficult market system to create a new product and procedure or work process in organizational. The self-competency This is ability of the individuals in the firm to access their weakness and the strength, set, and pursues professional and personal goals as well as balancing company work and personal life in order, to engage in new learning activities of well being of the company. Stephen and Timothy (2010, p 224) stated that, for any company to innovate new ideas and products in the market, all individuals should have self-competency that involves abilities to be effective in doing the following: To attain the innovation of the consulting firm, the individuals should understand their own and the customers personalities and altitudes. The working team should understand their own motivations activities and the emotions in the organizational environment in order to respect others ideas. They should take responsibilities for managi ng their own work without any push from the top management. They should perceive, appraise, and interpret their ideas accurately in the organizational environment in order to put the new ideas into productive manner. The innovation of the consulting firm will be entirely on the assessment and the establishment of the workers personal life and the work-related goals. In general, self-competency helps in achievement of an underlying personal attributes that are needed for the successfully innovation of the organizational. The Careers Development The individuals in the organizational should aim at improvement of their careers in different fields so that they can develop new ideas in order to move up the ladder in the consulting organization. According to

Sociology Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sociology - Assignment Example Similarly G.S. Thompson notes that education is how the environment influences an individual to bring about permanent changes in the behavior as well as habits of an individual. Therefore, the term education is a pedagogical process as well as a component that nourishes the body, mind, soul of ignorance. This study focuses on different key aspects as well the as the context of education. This is coupled by objectives and importance of having education in place (Brayl & Murray, 1998). The concept of education This study views education in two aspects. These are the narrow aspect and the wider aspect. Narrow aspect In the narrow education aspect, the field of education is necessary in imparting instructions in schools or colleges. Here, there is direct involvement between the teacher and the student interacting with one another. There is a well stipulated order in which the education process has to be delivered. For instance, the key areas of focus include; objectives of education, cur riculum, teaching methodology, including discipline in the educational process as well as application of evaluation techniques. The narrower aspect of education is purposefully directed to the development of a child through schooling. ... According to Dewey, education is the progressive acquisition of experiences and abilities in which one incorporates throughout his life in the control of environment as well as reaching the limits of possibilities. These two approaches are very important in development of human beings in particular. Generally, the understanding of the concept of education can be viewed in the most appropriate way. There are two concepts of education that are most relevant in the contemporary human development. First, we have the ‘Banking concept’ and then the ‘Modern concept’. The modern concept In the modern concept of education, there is a great emphasis on the shift individual development to national development. Here, education does not only focus on the social change but also on the national development. It is believed through national revolution, there will be realization of economic gains. This is a concept that most countries have adopted and others being encouraged to adopt in order ascertain national development that is now thriving the development process of the modern countries. This has been particularly important in social, economic and political interests of national development. The banking concept The banking concept of education is teacher-student interactive concept. This is the most important in the formal or non-formal modes of education. The teacher is perceived to give or deposit knowledge while the student is the receiver of that particular knowledge. The teacher communicates and gives instructions as the student listens, memorizes and practices the communique of the teacher. Here, the teacher uses evaluation methods to find out if the communicated information was well incorporated by the student. The information that would have been well

To What Extent the East Asian Model Is Transferable To Other Developing Countries1 Essay Example for Free

To What Extent the East Asian Model Is Transferable To Other Developing Countries1 Essay The economic status of East Asia has become one of the most flourishing and positively growing regional economies in the globe in recent times and something to reckon with. The region has turned to be the home of the global significance as well as the most affluent economy consisting of countries such as; Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore South Korea and Taiwan. There have been numerous and major factors that have turned the economic success of the region to be a positive gain to the countries (Chang, 14). Some of the key constructive factors that have contributed to the developments of the positive economic status in the region includes: positive legal and political environments for both commerce and industry, through the plentiful natural wealth of different kinds, to ample supplies of comparatively low-cost, trained, and flexible employment. The success of the regional economic developments can highly be adopted in many other developing countries. This paper looks into the extent into which the model that has been adopted by the East Asian region, and how well is it suited to be adopted by other developing countries globally (the suitability of the East Asian model into the development of developing countries’ economies) (Hira, 21). Literature review The most successful developing countries over the last over the last half a century have come from East Asia. The rapid economic growth of the eight Asian economies which is often referred to as ‘East Asian Miracle’ brought along two major questions; (I) what policies and other factors contributed to that growth? (ii) And can other developing countries replicate those policies to stimulate equally rapid growth? There have been numerous analyses on the success and also based on case studies econometric data, and economic theory, offers a list of the ingredients that contributed to that success (Kwon et al, 32). Researchers have been done, concerning the model deployed by the East Asian economies and how the countries have managed to navigate through economic crises. World Bank and financial institutions, has conducted the applicability of the development model applied by the East Asian countries into the developing countries. The development evidence of the East Asian fin ancial system has been impressive, especially when compared to that of other developing countries. How can such a record be accounted for? What lessons can we draw from it? What has been the role of public policy? These are questions that have aroused heated debate in recent years, especially among the mainstream neoclassical school and the non-orthodox or revisionists (Saggi, 36). According to World Bank 1993, the ‘East Asian Miracle’ model has been a positive gain to the Asian economies which can as well be adopted in the developing countries. In addition, Haggard, 2004 noted that, there is no fixed definition of what is contained in the ‘East Asian model’ of development. How economies grew, how industrial structures were transformed, how governments intervened in solving coordination problems, pursuing efficient policies, making credible commitments, etc. varied depending on time and location (Hughes, 18). Different writers select different characteristics, often depending on what country (or countries) they are studying, and, at times, in function of their ideological preferences. At the clear risk of over-simplification, but so as to maintain the discussion manageable, four major features will be selected that have, arguably, been both common to, and crucial for, the experiences of Japan, Taiwan and South Korea over the periods he re examined (Chang, 26). Introduction The historical, trade and industrial growth in East Asia described as ‘East Asian Miracle’ brought a huge attention into the world and has provided a large literature on the economic development theories since then (World Bank, 1993). The countries, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, followed Japan, which itself was the very first country that succeeded, becoming an industrialized country outside the famous western economy, and achieved similar economic success in the phase of development following the Second World War from the 1950s to the 1970s and named as the four Asian Tigers. Then the three newly Industrializing economies (NIES) of Southeast Asia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia also managed to take off becoming large enough to reach the respective status of middle income countries in the second phase from the 1970s to the 1990s. (Chang 2006, World Bank, 1993, Jomo, 2001).The adoption of the given model led to the adoption of a strategies directed towards t his regional economic development and in turn coming to be a central aspect in development these economics and the model was denoted as the ‘East Asian Development Model (EADM)’. The model has different defining clauses and includes factors such as state control over finance, direct support for state owned enterprises by the government, import substitution industrialization in heavy industry and shift to export-led industry, a high dependence on export markets and a high rate of domestic savings among other practices. The nature of this model EADM was opposed to the protestations of the IMF-led Washington Consensus, model, which itself constitutes principles, and policies that are aimed at global economy work through the act of harmonizing the way that national economy operates. For example, the models work through the act of reducing barriers to international trade such as tariffs deregulation led to reductions in government control with the pushing for free trade practices. However, the World Bank’s influential study, on the East Asian Miracle represents the neo-classical claim in the current East Asian debate by acknowledging that, the frequent use of state intervention in the East Asian development process, but also inefficiency of the intervention. According to World Bank (1993), the intervention was not harmful, though still not helpful. However, it is widely recognized now that the export-push strategies in East Asia are very much linked to selective industrial policy and state intervention actively promoted economic growth in the region. According to Wade (1992), the development of a concept of the governed market theory, explains the East Asian success by three causes; (I) high levels of productive investment. (ii) Relatively an increased investment in certain key industries and finally (iii) exposure of many industries to international competition. It is argued that such economic policies, incentives, controls and risk spreading mechanism allow them to sustain rapid development, which produces different level productions and its huge outcomes in the private sector. This theory emphasizes on capital accumulation rather than resource allocation as per the orthodox theory as the principle source of growth (Nissanke Ernest, 11). It is unrealistic to assume that there is only one development model and it can be mostly agreed that nations have been taking their own or different ways of pursuing the EADM model with diverse development strategies. Hence, this paper will argue based on the World Bank’s famous distinctions of the model; Northeast Asian model; based on the Japanese paradigm of industrial policy and more active state intervention, which refers namely the NIEs countries Southeast Asian model; described that more open and market-friendly regimes, which refers ASEAN-3 countries; Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia It is often criticized that, the re-applicability of the Northeast Asian model by claiming is not possible in the contemporary context, not only because it ignores the importance of the global market, but also owing to the Unique historical context of Northeast Asia and the constraints under the new regime of the ‘WTO’. Therefore, the first goal of this paper is to refute the initial condition argument while addressing analytical shortcomings of this orthodoxy theory; it deals mostly with static concerns and thus has little say about dynamic changes, and also it downplays the social-political dimensions of the economic development, adopting just a kind of ‘economic determinism’ in their approach (Richter, 44). Positives from the East Asian Model Diversity in ecosystem, population, ethnicity, religion, social structure, and political regime Equally great diversity in GDP, per capita income, and economic development High growth sustained over a long period almost throughout the region. Associated with this high growth are high, savings and investment rates, active, but managed external opening, export orientation, industrialization, and general improvements in social indicators. Accomplishments and Characteristics of the East Asian Development Paradigm One of the major achievements of the model is the rapid economic growth of the region. For example, the implementation of the model led to the real income per capital grow four times bigger than it was previously in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea. Another accomplishment of the model was declining inequality. This is whereby; the positive gains and economic developments were evenly distributed throughout the populations. Thirdly, the model led to a quick reduction of the technology gap through massive investment in human capital, importation of foreign technology, export orientation, and the opening of markets for foreign direct investment as a means of introducing advanced technology. Finally, the model led to reduction of poverty rates in the region (Saggi, 51). Adaptability of ‘East Asian Miracle’ into the Developing Countries (To What Extent Can the Model Be Used By the Developing Countries) Less developed, countries or better still developing countries globally are nations denoted by the poor living standard as well as underdeveloped in industrial aspects. Base as well as a low human development index, when compared to other countries. One of the aspects used to differentiate between a developed and an underdeveloped country is the value of the county’s GDP per capita. Less developed nations are countries that have not realized a considerable degree of industrialization in relation to their populations. In most cases, they are said to have medium or poor standards of livelihood. There is a well-built relationship connecting low earnings and high populace growth. Once an expansion strategy is chosen, the proper policy systems will in turn certainly be formed or laid down as the foot print to development, and in turn the outcome of economic growth is, to a greater extent, determined by whether the preferred developmental strategies are right or wrong. If only the m acroeconomic setting and government guiding principles are well thought-out, and not looking into positives and negatives of the given development plan, then a general idea of where the problems lie is impossible. Modification plans thus raised can barely give solutions to problems existing in the wealth of African states (Hughes, 40). The implementation of the East Asian Model in the developing countries would somehow be of great achievement in terms of development. One of the major contributors to the development of the East Asian is the growth driven by trade and investment. For each of the countries in the region, the long term growth path as well as the achievement of industrialization can be tracked by income trends as well as structural shifts in GDP and exports. The exceptional feature of East Asian growth is that it has been achieved through the very existence of East Asia as a powerful arena of economic interaction among its members, and not merely by â€Å"market-friendly† policies or good governance of individual countries alone (Kwon et al, 57). One of the achievement or realization that has contributed to the development of the East Asian regions in terms of economy is the realization of the economic growth through participation in a series of dynamic production network that is generated by pri vate firms. This has been benefited by Linked by trade and investment, a system of international division of labor with clear order and structure exists in the region. Taking this approach into the developing country, the model can be of positive gain to the developing nations. The model also explains the importance of the private sector in the economic development of a nation. This can be adopted in the developing nations as it would lead to the increase of the country’s GDP (Kwon et al, 68). Another point that can be borrowed from the East Asian development model is the interaction among the members of the region. Thus, can be deployed in other regions such as Africa and also becomes a success. This would lead to the formation of powerful arena in terms of economic interactions between different countries. Moreover, good governance should be adhered in order to achieve the benefits from the model implementations. For the developing countries to develop and adopt the model into positive gains, the developing countries, have no choice but to initiate development, and undertake international integration via trade and investment. The East Asia model has also described the need to have well established political, social and economical conducive environment for a better economic development. This van as well be adopted in the developing nations which are greatly denoted by poor political establishments, and deteriorated social and economic aspects (Hira, 71). One of the developing regions or countries is the African states. The biggest question that remains for the African states is: Can African learn from the ‘East Asia miracle’ development model? Yes, the model can be of great help to a number of African nations as majority of them are categorized as developing countries. Since 1970’s all the way to the late 1990’s, East Asia has experienced has embarked on a model that has resulted in an outstanding evidence of high and unrelenting fiscal growth. The model has become a development model to other developing regions as is the case of African states (Chang, 49). One of the major aspects of the model is the East Asian regions embarked on the plan to increase the value and the amount of exported goods and as well reduce the number of imported goods. Through the increase in the volume of exports from the Asian countries, there was an increase in the volume of finished goods and the success in export trade has seen maintenance of high deposition and domestic venture rates. This provides the capital essential for economic expansion. Consequently, reducing the dependence on foreign investment and embark on home trade, investment and in turn increasing the value of GDP (Nissanke Earnest, 63). Following the attainment of independence, the third world countries were faced with the task of identifying the right approaches to build up their economies. This was meant to exterminate poverty as soon as they could. Many of these countries (developing) turned to strategies that targeted industrialization acceleration. This opted choice by some countries brought along an economic system that was an unclear macro policy setting and designed distribution structures for properties and the micro-management need for self-sufficiency. The result of the countries that deployed this approach to develop their economy, were shocked as such economic structures smothered economic growth. In return the economies of these countries which followed such strategies didn’t step forward at all, as some of the nations fell behind development as they were faced with more problems (Chang, 80). In contrast to this scenario, the development plans adopted in the East Asia signified an extra choice and approach to economic development. The region members gave massive contemplations to their resource state of affairs, and in turn they took advantage of their ample labor availability resources which provided them with low costs of labor. This approach allowed them to establish industries that are labor intensive as an economy development take-off. In addition, in order to achieve positive results in their economy development, the countries had to adjust their industrial organization. This approach was deployed in the ‘East Asia miracle’ model, which turned to be a success in the region. However, the approach of the same by the developing countries would be of great benefit to the countries and their regions such as Africa (Richter, 55). Another advantage of the miracle model for the developing countries is that, it teaches the developing economies to sustain a constructive macro-economic situation as well as the correct basic policies. The Asian countries have maintained their debt within bearable limits. One of the factors that has dragged the economic development and prosperity of the developing economies is the massive and inability to control their debts. The countries are heavily indebted to the financial institutions such as the World Bank and IMF, such that, they are unable to control their debts owed to another stable and developed countries. With the inability to control their debts, the developing countries couldn’t control their inflation as well as both their home and foreign debts to a definite extent. Most of the developing countries are agriculture products dependent in terms of their productions. The East Asian models for economic development guaranteed the effectiveness of their policies whic h in turn was to enhance an increase in agriculture production (Jomo, 76). Other positive which can be of great advantage and can also be adapted into other developing countries includes the foundation of fundamental sound development policies. A large portion of economy development in East Asian can be attributed to getting the fundamentals needed correctly. These factors or fundamentals include responsible and disciplined fiscal and monetary policies, which are beneficial in maintaining moderate rates of inflation in the developing countries. Inflation is one of the factors that are a hindrance to economic stability in these developing countries. In addition, the model called for the conducive economic environment for private investment. For the developing countries, it helps realize the vital and the importance of the private sector in the economic development of the countries. In addition to the importance of the private sector in the economic development, the East Asian â€Å"miracle† model also advocated for high investments in education. To th e developing countries, investment in education, such as post secondary education, vocational and technical skill training developed a better educated labor force suited for rapid economic development (Kwon et al, 86). High rising and saving rates were also a practice advocated by the model. The East Asian governments developed a relatively sound and stable financial system. This was achieved through strengthening prudential regulations and supervision of financial institutions and setting limits on competition. They also expanded the financial system network by promoting postal saving systems to successfully increase the accessibility of financial savings instruments to non-traditional savers. Finally, the fundamentally sound development policies included actively seeking foreign technology through foreign licensing, capital goods imports, and liberalization of foreign direct investment. The policies were some of the adaptable policies what would work well with numerous developing countries globally (Hughes, 98). In fact, since the 1970s, Africa nations have continuously explored and re-assessed their development strategies, so as to seek out with a unique development pattern suited to Africa. This exploration is still underway. In this regard, African country can gain some ideas from the experiences of East Asia. A favorable macroeconomic policy environment is needed to support the practice of comparative advantage development strategies. For this purpose, productive factor markets and finished products, markets, which are feasible and fully competitive, must be established, so as to conform to the smooth operation of the market mechanism. Some African countries are making efforts in this direction while adjusting their structure. Meanwhile, they should pay special attention to adjusting policies (Hira, 89). Agricultural policy for agriculture remains the mainstay of the economy in most African countries; the support of the agricultural sector is significantly to economic development. The experiences in East Asia have shown that with the right agricultural policies and a measure, agriculture plays an important role in pushing the national economies forward. Many African countries have improved, to differing degrees, in prices and the circulation of goods, as well as agricultural tax policies. But there is a long way to go. Improving the management of State assets and raising profits in most African countries. State enterprises play a significant role in production and employment. However, poor profits and large losses have become an emerging problem facing economic development. Many countries have proposed the privatization of State enterprises. So far, the process has made little progress and has had little effect. In this aspect they still need to explore new methods of reform (Nissank e Ernest, 78). Defining government functions either under the marketing economy or the planned economy, government plays a very important role in economic development, only differing in its functions. The experiences in East Asia have indicated that the government should intervene only in the fields where it is needed, leaving markets to operate freely. Only in those fields, such as developing human resources, constructing and protecting infrastructure, environmental protection and so on. Where markets are not able to operate, will the government need to intervene? This will create a stable, sustainable and fair environment for the operation of market mechanisms. Choosing suitable development strategies and forming correct policies, this is a precondition for achieving favorable results, but not the full condition for ideal development. An effective and powerful government is a basic guarantee for the realization of the development aim. During the past three years, the African economies have contin ually risen and the overall situation has been improved. But the adjustment of strategies and improvements in external conditions requires time. Africa will be able to step on the path of continuous economic growth only if it undertakes long-term efforts and carries out suitable economic reforms (Chang, 101). Reasons why the development model won’t work with other developing countries Letdown of the East Asian growth Model Despite the progress made by the East Asia region in terms of economic developments, criticisms of the model have been raised as well as the models, adapted to other countries such as the developmental one. In addition, the adaptability and sustainability of the model have been questioned. The path trodden by East Asia has not always been smooth as some nations in the region failing to achieve high growth, and the states were hit by occasional setbacks. East Asia has had its share of hardships in its history, with hot and cold wars, social instabilities and financial crises. In addition, the structural weakness of the model is a posing threat to the adaptability of the system into other countries economy development. Despite the weakness, not a sign of the end of the system, it may instead be a signal that the model in dire need of repair in order to be a success even to other different regions (Nissanke Ernest, 92). Moreover, the East Asian model has evolved over time and adapted to the changes that has occurred in the region such a political, societal and economic changes which have not only occurred in Asia but also in other parts of the world. The fundamental question from this is whether the model can adapt to some of the most significant changes and developments that change the economic landscape of the developing countries such as democratization and domestic economic liberalization, globalization in parallel with regionalization, and the emergence of a new economy driven by information technology. The model can be able to adjust to significant changes in the region, but at the same time fail to adapt to the same changes in other regions such as Africa (Chang, 120). East Asian countries were constantly showing a lot of structural strains and rigidities. The model was hampered by four main failures that affected the credibility and applicability of the model into the developing nations globally. One of the failures is that, the model neglected the differences involving the government mechanism and the elected policy as well as the market liberalization. In addition, the failure to reorganize the financial structure was a stumbling block for the model to be adopted in the developing countries. Finally, the congested and non-transparent corporate sector within the developing countries such as the African states was a stumbling block to the implementation of the model (Kwon at al, 136). Asian Financial Crisis In 1997 Despite the growing status as one of the blossoming economic growth globally, the east Asia economy had to overcome some worrying and threatening financial crises. The Asian region was at some time faced with a severe financial crisis, Fro example is the ‘Asian financial Crisis in 1997’ also known as Asian Contagion. This was a succession of money devaluations that had spread through a good number of Asian markets. This financial menace started in Thailand, and spread to other Asian countries such as Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia and South Korea. The  Asian financial crisis  was a period of  financial crisis  that gripped much of East Asia beginning in July 1997, and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to  financial contagion (Harrold, 66). The currency markets first failed in Thailand as the result of the governments decision to no longer peg the local currency to the U.S. dollar. Currency declines spread rapidly throughout South Asia, in turn causing stock market declines, reduced import revenues and even government upheaval. According to Krugman’s Paul view, the east Asia economic growth had historically been due to the increase of capital investment. However, the total factor productivity of the region had only increased marginally or not increased at all. In the case of long term prosperity, there ought to have grown only in total factor productivity and not capital investment. The collapse of the Thai Baht in July 1997 was followed by an unprecedented financial crisis in East Asia, from which these economies are still struggling to recover. A great deal of effort has been devoted to trying to understand its causes. One view is that there was nothing inherently wrong with East Asian economies, which have historically performed very well. These economies experienced a surge in capital inflows to finance productive investments that made them vulnerable to a financial panic. That panic–and inadequate policy responses–triggered a region-wide financial crisis and the economic disruption that followed. In addition, The weaknesses of the financial sector in the East Asian region were masked by rapid growth and accentuated by large capital inflows, which were partly encouraged by pegged exchange rates (Harrold, 103). Key Root Causes Of The Asian Financial Crisis In summary, the main causes of the financial crises in Asia were: Large current account deficits that left the countries vulnerable to changes in investor confidence and macroeconomic conditions (i.e., slower growth). Overvalued exchange rates that were often pegged to the U.S. dollar, which was, at that time, appreciating quite rapidly. Rapid and unsustainable increases in asset prices, especially stock market and real estate prices. A currency mismatch between assets and liabilities that left banks and enterprises vulnerable to exchange rate devaluations. Inadequate bank regulation and supervision. Implicit and explicit government guarantees that made high-risk projects (including projects which relied upon continued appreciation in real estate prices) attractive to investors. Political instability Lessons learned from the Asian crisis In East Asia, in addition to supporting the International Monetary Funds programs, the Bank provided Structural Adjustment Loans to prop up and re-capitalize on selected banks by supporting bond issues. In addition, the World Bank set up credit lines to help finance imports. The Asian crisis menace came as an eye opener and as a surprise to policymakers, investors, and academics alike, where buy despite majority accepting the menace was expected it would have been controlled and avoided too. This would be of great help to the developing economies such as the African States cases. The recommendations that were passed for the prevention of Asian financial crisis prevention would be of great help to prevent the re-emergence of such a case again. In addition, the crisis was an eye opener to the economies of developing countries as well as the importance of the IMF. These include conditional financing, bail out from the such menaces as well as the structural adjustment package. As seen from the Asian Financial Crisis case, financial intervention from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank played a vital role in reversing the scenario. As a result of the crisis, many nations adopted protectionist measures to ensure the stability of their own currency. Often this led to heavy buying of U.S. Treasuries, which are used as a global investment by most of the worlds sovereignties. Financial and government reforms in countries like Thailand, South Korea, Japan and Indonesia. It also serves as a valuable case study for economists who try to understand the interwoven markets of today, especially as it relates to currency trading and national account management. In summary, of the Asian financial crisis in 1997, the East Asia’s experience suggests that while a classic panic may have played a role, financial sector weaknesses were a major contributor to the recent financial crisis. Such weaknesses appear to reflect the inability of lenders to use business criteria in allocating credit and implicit or explicit government guarantees against risk. This implies that it would be prudent to accompany efforts to spur recovery in East Asia by reforms designed to strengthen the financial system. ‘East Asian Miracle’ Application To African Countries (Kenya) From the early 1970s onwards, the nations of East-Asia, also known as the Asian Tigers due to their astounding growth and expansion economically that demystified the conformist economic theory based on the western model of growth that adopted industrial development as an approach for overall development. Numerous researchers have pointed out that, contrasting the western model, the Asian model is premised on capital build up as well as that of human capital, which are seen as influential in the growth of these countries economies. The Asian economic growth has been very notable such that it has served as a textbook case for strategy makers in numerous Least Developing Countries such as is the case in Africa (Nyongo, 2007). This growth incident has baffled various economic historians as well as geographical experiences recorded so far leading to researchers to argue that, success in Asian countries was based on an updated version of primitive accumulation and that, their success can be a model if only their high savings rates can be replicated. This is in   contrast to African economies such as Kenya, which took off at the same time and indeed rate as the Asian economies. Contlarry of the Asian countries, Kenya recorded dismal and unsatisfactory growth and development over the last two decades prompting a number of scholars to call the incident â€Å"a crisis of proportion. This rather tremendous contrast between the two regions, that so recently shared a similar turbulent past, raises many questions which should be of interest as well as a challenge to policy makers, especially in Africa to discern what went wrong with their policies and policy implementation, against what went right with Asian coun tries. Such questions that beg urgent answers are even more pertinent when one considers that, Kenya was poised to grow faster than the Asian countries considering its resource advantages. For example, at the time of self-government countries such Kenya and Ghana were said to have had a healthier growth prediction than any country among the Asian tigers. According to the world bank, (2003) â€Å"it would be hugely important for African researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to have the opportunity to observe directly the economies of East Asia and Southern Asia themselves to discuss economic policy reform directly with the academics, practitioners and policy makers from the Asian region.† However, one point that should be kept in perspective is that, there are no two nations that are similar so as to assume that expansion and growth in one can be replicated in the other. One point to be noted in cases of development, there are some fundamental factors that must be in place for a country to latch into the development phase and the rest depends on the model the country pursues to sustain the development. Many policy makers and indeed some academics in Kenya, and Africa at large have, for quite some time now, tended to attribute Africa’s poor development record of its historical past, specifically blaming it on her colonial legacy, and later neo-colonial ‘manipulation by western countries’. Such attitude holds no ground when one considers that Asian countries had a comparable historical environment, which limits the extent to which these arguments can be held to justify the poor development record of many African states 50 years on. One point to be noted when it comes to Kenyan case and other African countries is that, African economies at the time, were not capable of creating good governance on their own, nor could they be expected to assemble the human and capital resources necessary to ensure a development process. According to Nissanke (1998), the failure of African states to economically develop like the Asian case, after independence is that, whilst all seemed to have a common goal of accelerating the pace of economic growth and thus development, they tended to diverge on such issues as: the role of the state, the degree of openness that could be accommodated, the desirable partner of investment in social services versus economic services, and the government-private sector relations. The long-standing results obtained   were not dissimilar, suggesting that, failure was the outcome of a wrong mix of policies which are uncoordinated, absence of institutions, external environment, lack of societal prepared ness, which were by and large   constraints overcame by their Asian counterparts. Elsewhere O’Connel (1996) commenting on such failure, emphasized that, African states and especially Kenya, have evolved from a shortage of capital diagnosis of the 1960s and 1970s, to a diagnosis of policy failure of the 1980s and, finally, to a diagnosis of institutional failures of the late 1990s. However, other researchers who, when comparing the source of growth in Asia with those of Germany, UK, USA and Japan, conclude that, by far the most important source of economic growth in these countries is capital accumulation, accounting for between 48% to 72% of their economic growth (Nyongo, 2007). Others have pointed out that, it is rather a combination of both capital accumulation and human capital accumulation (learning by doing) which have been the productive engine behind the unprecedented growth, pointing out that, physical capital critical in the growth process, is rather passive and subsidiary to human capital accumulation. This contrasts to the above group of industrialized nations where technical progress played a vital role in their development, accounting for between 46% and 71% of their economic growth (Aryeetey International Conference). Whereas capital accumulation and indeed human capital development accounts for growth differentials between Africa and Asian countries, it all depended on policy choices each the countries in Asia took, for such development has not been uniform in most Asian economies either. Rather, Asian countries which have recorded unprecedented growth episodes have combined not only right and consistent policies over time, but also their societal preparedness had an even greater role to play to this end. It has thus been pointed out that, countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, and of late Vietnam have all had an element of societal preparedness, which is highlighted in the culture of hard work, drive to succeed, and high propensities to save (Nyongo, 2007). Others even argue that, the Chinese culture (of hard work and their strive for excellence) entrenched in most of these countries in part explains their drive to grow at the rates that far exceed the growth recorded elsewhere. The dismal performance of a number of African economies has also been explained in the context that, factors attendant in the Asian region, were not to be found in African countries, and no wonder that, no one country latched into development phase close to the Asian Tigers (Aryeetey International Conference, 2003). Although many African countries have borrowed a leaf from their Asian counterparts, especially in the areas of human capital development, the new paradigm shift has mainly focused on institutional development. This is even more pertinent considering that, Africa has not been short of capital. Indeed, despite the massive foreign aid and to a lesser extent direct capital flows, African economies have not developed as expected. This reinforces the belief that, capital inflows, whether local or foreign, cannot make an impact in the absence of a conducive environment characterized by transparency, governments, good governance, democratic political economy, conducive economic, social-cultural, and legal environment (Harrold, 96). Findings and conclusions At the turn 21st century, there has much dialogue and discussion about the ‘miracle model’ in East Asia and its effectiveness in the economic development and its sustainability. The East Asian economic development model, which built the hypothetical and institutional structure of growth in the area, is liable along with the rest of what was one time called the East Asian Miracle. In an attempt to give a rich, textured analysis, it’s clear from the paper that, the model can be of positive gain to the developing countries in terms of economic development. Despite the ‘East Asian development model’ a workable option for the developing and less developed countries, it had its own shortcomings. The contributors provide a cohesive review of the East Asian development model, exploring its cultural heritage, the political context through which it arose, its basic assumptions, and its recent failures. In particular, they identify the causes and consequences of the Asian economic crisis, describe the features of economic development throughout the region, and discuss the strategic responses of Asian firms to newly  developing economies of countries such as African states. The sustainable and swift economic growth in East Asia has attracted wide attention in Africa, and they believe the successful experiences of East Asia should be followed to develop African national economy vigorously. It’s clear that the model deployed by the countries in the region (East Asia) was effective in raising the country’s GDP and in turn it was worthy to be deployed in the African countries which are an example of developing states. Despite the growing challenges over the time, the model can be of great help to numerous growing economies. However, the fact that the East Asian model is so attractive to many African countries is bound to have profound implications for development practitioners. Western aid is not the only game in town anymore, and the global development  agenda is no more immune from the influence of a rising Asia than the global economic system has turned out to be. Developing countries can now choose between an ever-growing variety of donors, trading partners, investors and development strategies. Whether or not we agree with the models they pick or even with the idea of a development model at all we would do well to listen to and engage with these views. Therell be no point in trying only to reform and improve western aid if the real debate is happening somewhere else. References Adams, Francis G.  Public Policies in East Asian Development: Facing New Challenges. Westport, Conn. [u.a.: Praeger, 1999. Print. Aryeetey, E., International Conference Asia and Africa in the Global Economy. (2003).  Asia and Africa in the global economy. Tokyo: United Nations University Press. Chang, Ha-Joon.  Rethinking Development Economics. London: Anthem Press, 2004. Print Chang, Ha-Joon.  The East Asian Development Experience: The Miracle, the Crisis and the Future. London: Zed / TWN, 2006. Print. Harrold, P., Jayawickrama, M., Bhattasali, D. (1996).  Practical lessons for Africa from East Asia in industrial and trade policies. Washington, DC: World bank. Hira, Anil.  An East Asian Model for Latin American Success: The New Path. Aldershot, England: Ashgate, 2007. Print. Hughes, Helen.  Achieving Industrialization in East Asia. Cambridge [England: Cambridge University Press, 1988. Print. Jomo, K S.  Growth after the Asian Crisis: What Remains of the East Asian Model? New York: United Nations, 2001. Print. Kwon, Jene K., and Jung Mo Kang. The East Asian Model Of Economic Development.  Asian- Pacific Economic Literature  25.2 (2011): 116-130.  Business Source Complete. Web. 11 May 2014. Nissanke, Machiko, and Ernest Aryeetey.  Comparative Development Experiences of Sub- Saharan Africa and East Asia: An Institutional Approach. Aldershot, Hants, England: Ashgate, 2003. Print. Nyongo, P. A. (2007).  A leap into the future: A vision for Kenyas socio-political and economic transformation. Nairobi: African Research and Resource Forum. Richter, Frank-Jürgen.  The East Asian Development Model: Economic Growth, Institutional Failure and the Aftermath of the Crisis. Basingstoke [u.a.: Macmillan [u.a., 2000. Print. Saggi, Kamal.  International Technology Transfer to Developing Countries. London: Commonwealth Secretariat, 2004. Print. Source document

Ecofeminism- Links the domination of women and the domination of nature

Expanding Feminist Activism Ecological Feminism: local/global activism Ecofeminism- Links the domination of women and the domination of nature. Ecofeminism places importance on our connection as people of one earth and also recognizes how women have been, historically in the capitalist patriarchy, labeled as subordinate in relation to the dominating body. The environment falls into this subordinate category because it continues to be pressed and used to benefit the man machine. It may be hard for participants in the capitalist system to open their eyes and accept an ecofeminist stance when the realms of ecology and capitalism are held in opposition. "Ecofeminists do not support the idea that women's increased economic, political and social participation in the predominant, but also destructive and life-opposing socio-economic system is a good way to freedom" (Littig 15). It is our duty to act in ways that promote a change in the current system. My essay will explore not only the domination of nature and women everywhere by the capitalist system, it will also address the ways in which people are acting to promote ecological a wareness and the breakdown of a dualistic ideology. "We are constantly invited by those dutifully serving the gods of profit and production to turn our attention elsewhere, to downgrade our concerns, and to view the very economic system that has caused the present global degradation of the environment as the solution to the problems it has generated" (Foster 25). We do not have to completely reject the current social order. It simply needs to be infused with a more egalitarian social order. Instead of seeing nature and women as inferior and readily exploitable, their connection should be viewed as a ... ...e in proactive dialogue and know how important the environment is. We are a product of the environment. I suggest that everyone recognize the connection and respect it. Works Cited Cortese, Anthony. "History of Second Nature." (Nov. 2002) :n. pag. Online. Second Nature. Internet. 13 November, 2002. Available: http://www.secondnature.org/ Dale, Ann. At the Edge. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2001. Foster, John Bellamy. Ecology Against Capitalism. New York: Monthly Review Press, 2002. Littig, Beate. Feminist Perspectives on Environment and Society. Harlow, England: Prentice Hall, 2001. Schmandt, Jurgen, and Ward, C.H. eds. Sustainable Development: The Challenge of Transition. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Sherman, Donna. "Gaia Arts." (Nov. 2002) :n. pag. Online. Gaia Arts. Internet. 12 November, 2002. Available: http://www.Gaiaarts.net/

In What Way Can China’s ‘Socialist Market Economy’ Be Regarded as Successful and to What Extent Is It Not Achieving Its Promise?

Question 2: In what way can China’s ‘socialist market economy’ be regarded as successful and to what extent is it not achieving its promise? China is much more than just a mere country. It has been through many ups and downs and exciting changes in the Chinese society, from changes of dynasties to establishing a name under the ‘7 wonders of the world’ with its creation of the ‘Great Wall of China’. Its heritage and history for the past thousands of years have made China of what it is today. Hence, with Deng Xiaoping’s widely quoted phrases: â€Å"crossing the river by grouping for stones†, â€Å"Getting rich is glorious†, and â€Å"seek truth from facts, and not from ideology†, how has China develop and grown over the years? How did China attain its current economic prosperity? How did China seek the truth of its economy transition from a planned economy to a market economy over the decades? â€Å"In a planned economy, government controls and determine business ownership, profits, and resource allocation. The theory behind a planned economy is ‘communism’, which suggests that all property is shared equally by the people in a community under the direction of a strong central government. It is an economic system that involves public ownership of businesses. Rather than entrepreneurs, the government decides what products consumers will be offered and in what quantities. As the main planner, the government establishes trade polices that historically have been very restrictive in allowing foreign companies the opportunity to compete† (Stralser, 2004). China was a planned economy under Mao Zedong’s leadership as he thoughts was mainly equality, where he established nationalization of China’s economy through the control of markets by keeping it free from foreign dominations, price, and production as well as natural and human resources. He also introduced the promotion of egalitarianism and collectivism with little incentives, while individuals’ needs are not being realized. As a result, economic development in China was stagnant and there was not much of an economic progress. In the late 1930s, Oscar Lange started the idea of â€Å"Market Socialism,† an economy in which assets or methods of productions, were owned socially by the communist party or State, but which imitated the supply-demand price adjustment of the competitive market economy. Conversely, Lerner and Lange debated on the issue that the key element that is common to ‘market socialism’ is socialist (i. e. party) ownership and (managerial) control of assets. The key difference is that market-based allocation of goods and services versus centrally planned allocation of goods and services. In China, the ‘market’ element has expanded gradually since the start of the agricultural reforms in 1979 and the introduction of Urban reforms in 1984. In 1992, China publicly stated that its goal is a â€Å"socialist market economy with Chinese Characteristics. † Though China has successfully expanded the scope of the market, â€Å"socialist† (communist) control of factors remains very important. An understanding of these elements is vital to an understanding of the economic performance of China. Thus, China’s transition from a planned economy to a ‘Socialist Market Economy’ started in 1978, after the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, when Deng Xiaoping recognized the need to reform its economy and political structure, as China was experiencing economic and developmental problems under Mao’s leadership. Deng Xiaoping’s thoughts were different from Mao Zedong’s, as Deng Xiaoping believed in prosperity and efficiency for China’s economy. His aim was to raise living standards and introduced the ‘Four Modernisations’; namely the Industry, Agriculture, Science and Technology and Defence, by developing ‘a market economy with Chinese Characteristics’. Moreover, he establishes a contract responsibility system in agricultural areas and revives individual businesses in urban areas to understand and satisfy individuals’ needs. Furthermore, he decentralized a substantial amount of authority in state enterprises and reform the irrational price system due to the high demand and selling in the market. The call for such a change is for the reason that China was under a very centralized planned economy system that has high speed and excessive accumulation of national income at the expense of consumption, but produces a low result and consumptions due to poor planning and economic mismanagement. It led to the excessive emphasis on grain production and the low productivity of commune systems. On the other hand, China sees the need to be modernized and strong, thus establishing what Deng Xiaoping introduces, the ‘Four Modernisations’. In particular, the Industry sector, where overemphasis is placed on heavy industry while the light industry and services are being ignored. In addition to that, the Defence sector has placed too much emphasis on their national defence and lacked efficiency. Too much attention is placed on self-reliance (Riskin, 1987; Hsu,1991). Not forgetting the acknowledgement of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) mistakes in the Cultural Revolution, whereby permanent revolution, class struggle, mass movement and political unrest exist and the rejection of key theories of Maoism that has seriously damaged the Chinese economy (Wei, 2000). From the period when China was under Deng Xiaoping’s leadership till the end of 1998, China’s economic reform has gone through a transition from a planned economy to a market economy. And at present, China portray itself as a â€Å"Socialist Market Economy† or where it is called â€Å"Socialism with Chinese Characteristics†, which means that â€Å"using market forces to improve the efficiency of production while retaining a managed, predominantly state-owned economy and authoritarian control over political activity† (Dorn, 1998). Deng Xiaoping introduced both the economic and political reform program to achieve four major objectives, namely, instituting contract responsibility in agricultural areas such as the labour responsibility system that determines where a person can work legally and where it cannot; reviving individual businesses in urban areas; decentralizing a substantial amount of authority in state enterprises where the banking system has evolved little from a government department where loans are decided on the basis of provincial or national objectives and ability to repay is irrelevant to the variable cost of the capital. And lastly, reforming the pricing system, which simply means that the market rather than the government itself determines the pricing system. Cities or Provinces can and do price land to any buyer at any price. Infrastructure pricing and supply, mainly to foreign invested enterprises, is likewise determined on the basis of national or provincial or city objectives and can vary within the various enterprise. This is also applicable to the limit for some of the output of the State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) that remain subjected to the central department, who are their bosses for orders and directions. As for the economic reform, Deng Xiaoping came up with three propositions that are private ownership has useful place in a socialist economy; market forces should be allowed to influence the allocation of goods and the determination of prices and material incentives should be the principal mechanism for stimulating greater productivity and efficiency, for example, having rewards to set the moods up for the workers so that they would work hard to achieve their rewards and hence, increases productivity and efficiency. According to Virmani 2005, he mentioned that â€Å"in moving from the ‘Socialist’ to the ‘Socialist Market’ Economy, China has borrowed aspects from the â€Å"Nationalist Market Economies† of developing Japan, S. Korea and Singapore. The main purpose of China’s government was to be able to economically draw closer to the advanced countries through fast growth of average income. Consequently, China developed a national consensus to maximize GDP growth. The whole nation was called together to achieve this aim. The simplicity of this purpose of growth, investment and production made China much easier to decentralize its economy structure and ensure accountability at every level including that of the private corporate sector†. Now we move on to the political reform, Deng Xiaoping wanted China to seek a sharper and decisive break from Maoism and the Soviet model; de-maoisation by abolishing class struggle and permanent proletarian revolution; to reduce the role of ideology in political and intellectual life and also reduce Party’s role in making technical and administrative decisions. Therefore, separate the Party’s ideology and administrative competence area and also not forgetting the technical and political areas. Today, China’s ‘Socialist Market Economy’ can be regarded as successful due to the â€Å"high rates of growth China has sustained for the last quarter or a century, with GDP averaging 9% per annum. China’s trade activity, including both imports and exports, has grown an average of 15% a year since 1979† (Eswar, 2004). Its achievements were from political and economic decentralization that consist of the introduction of entrepreneurial autonomy to the Chinese economy, and to the new booming of rural industries, so as to offer higher employment opportunities, income and prosperity to the local communities. With reference to the World Bank research done on fighting poverty, the overall living standards for the vast majority of the Chinese population improved as 400 million people were lifted out of poverty, while business dynamism spread across China's urban and rural areas. As a result, its transition to a market economy system gives individuals a higher share of their earnings, increasing their per capital wealth. Furthermore, Virmani also mentioned, one of China’s most significant market innovations to its socialist economy was the product market (2005). It started with agriculture output markets in 1979 where initially agriculture markets were partially liberalised in a manner similar to that used in India for sugar and other markets in the sixties. This was a ‘Dual pricing and distribution’ system in which part of the produce continued to be handed over to the government at a controlled price, while the rest could be sold freely at the market price. Many of the rules circumscribing small-scale service activities were also abolished or ignored, resulting in a boom in collectively and individually owned restaurants and shops. Labour contracting services also developed in the interior provinces to supply construction workers to urban areas. Dual pricing in industrial goods was introduced by China in 1985-86, with prices on the market channel allowed to fluctuate according to market conditions. At this point, more than half of all industrial goods were still distributed at administered prices. Product liberalisation was gradually extended to the entire manufacturing sector. It has also been selectively extended to the real estate sector and retail trade. One of the recent evidence on China’s success is seen during the Beijing Olympics that showed to the outside world its successfulness, spectacular and advancement, prosperous and modernity is like any other west countries. But there is also the more genuine and in fact improved aspect of China that raised itself up, so to speak, in the earthquake that occurred in May in Sichuan, â€Å"with heroic rescue efforts by government at all levels, the army, and people from all walks of life throughout the country. The resilience and resourcefulness of the Chinese people are the real source of optimism. With a socialist ideal and politically conscious forces to pursue it, true reform is well within China's capacity† (Lin, 2009). However, like any other communist or socialist country, to a certain extent China is not achieving its promise because in China, the single party rule is none other than the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). To paraphrase Perkins (1994), ‘All political power in China is monopolised by the Chinese Communist party, a party that is organised along Leninist lines. Power is centralised at the top and not easily challenged from below. ’ The party is a hierarchy stretching from the party general secretary at the top to the party honcho in the smallest settlement/village. The objectives, broad approach to achievement of these objectives and the parameters within which lower levels can take initiatives, is decided at the top. national to provincial level, and the Metro cities and Town & Village level. Also, with reference to Virmani 2005, in China, all land is owned and controlled by the State, however, due to the historical heritage of cooperative ownership of farmland, the controlling system is slightly different in the rural areas. In many provinces, farming households supposedly have an ownership share in village and farmland, but lose this right if they move to the urban areas to work. Similar to every other Communist country, in this case, China, the Party controlled the labour unions and therefore the terms and conditions of work. Therefore, the overall policy approach to terms & conditions of employment, work hours and wages is decided by the CCP (at an appropriate geographical level or level of government). If the CCP decides to apply different work and pay rules in a particular province, sector, industry or type of enterprise (e. g. foreign invested) from those applied to general domestic enterprises, neither the (so called) labour unions nor the employees can do anything to change it. China’s labour market is also controlled through the Hukou system that determines where a person is entitled to live and work and receive State provided social benefits. Hukou is a resident permit given by the government. It is issued on family basis where every family have a Hukou booklet that records information about the family members, name, birth date, relationship with each other, marriage status, address and your employer. In other words, its legal residence in an area entitles one to access public schooling and healthcare, housing and job opportunities and/or land for farming. Legal change of residence is possible if either a person succeeds in getting a place at a senior middle school and then at a city college by clearing competitive exams for the same, or if the state allows it, say allowing firms in a city to hire permanent workers from nearby rural areas. The Chinese government used the family register system in order to control the movement of people between urban and rural areas. Thus, with Hukou System, it limits mass migration from the land to the cities to ensure some structural stability. Also, it was an instrument of the command economy. Hence, if people move without formal CCP permission, they are in effect illegal migrants with no rights. Chinese government’s restrictions on rural-urban mobility primarily operate through the Hukou system. A worker may live legally in an urban area, without acquiring an urban hukou as a permanent resident on a long-term permit or as a contract worker. Permits for legal residence are neither easy nor cheap to come by, and illegal migration has been increasing throughout the reform period. When the special economic zones were first opened, all labour contracts were with a Chinese labour bureau that is effectively controlled by the CCP’s ‘terms and conditions’ of employment. 100% of capital assets were owned and controlled by the State, that is the CCP. The management of these assets is distributed to different levels of government, which in turn is controlled by different levels of the party. Some are controlled at the National level through the departments of the central government and their CCP bosses. Others are managed or controlled at the provincial, City and Village level. As a result, China’s political system is interlocked and intertwined with the majority of administrative heads being Party members, who still is in today’s China, controls everything. For example, China’s listing could also be solely on the Hong Kong stock exchange or even a foreign exchange. This does not convert them into private enterprises as management control remains with the same CCP boss or his nominee or appointee who represents them. In conclusion, China is trying to establish an entirely diverse conceptual economic system that is neither a traditional socialistic economic system nor a capitalistic economic system. Furthermore, it is not apparent that â€Å"Socialist Market Economy† can be said to be socialism or capitalism. In fact, Deng Xiaoping made it clear that capitalism and socialism are both non-conflicting ideas, as both of them are tools for managing China’s economy. For this reason, China would like to be at the so-called ‘middle mark’ where it is not at the extremes of the both sides but rather in the centre, with a system that makes use of the virtues of both capitalism and socialism. The changes that were brought about by the success of the transition to a ‘Socialist Market Economy’ are that its agriculture system moved from People’s Commune system to the family based ‘responsibility system’ and land has become a commodity. Market prices were from a price fixing system to a dual-price system, where the market determines 80% and the government determines the remaining 20%, so as to strengthen and institutionalized the price system in the market. The banking sector changed its allocation of funds according to the policy to dual system partially making decisions on its allocation. The marketing of goods and services have changed from central planning to allocation to the market’s allocation of goods and services. China’s relation with other countries improved from economic isolationism to a desire to be active in the worlds economy via foreign investments and allowing labour into export production and export to sustain domestic growth. As a result, the national economy showed a fast and constant growth, the overall strength of China expanded evidently, the standard of living of the people improved together with time and distinctive esults have been attained in such activities as science and technology, education, culture, health and physical culture have advanced. The people of China are happier now with such changes in their life. And not forgetting that China’s political system is still governed by the Party, Chinese Communist Party (CCP), that makes China still a capitalist country that controls and determines everything and not achievi ng its promise. References Dorn, James A. ed. 1998. China in the New Millennium: Market Reforms and Social Development. Washington D. C. Cato Institute. Hsu, Robert C. 1991. Economic Theories in China, 1979-1988. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press. Lange, Oscar. 1971. On The Economic Theory of Socialism. New York. : Comparative Economic Systems. Lerner, Abba, P. Economic Theory and Socialist Economy: Review of Economic Studies 1934. Lin, Chu. 2009. The Socialist Market Economy: Step Forward or Backward for China?. Science & Society, Vol. 73, No. 2, April 2009, 228-235. Perkins, Dwight. 1994. Completing China’s Move to Market. Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. , No. 2, Spring 1994, pp 23-46. Prasad, Eswar. ed. 2004. China’s Growth and Integration into the World Economy: Prospects and Challenges. International Monetary Fund, Occasional Paper N 232, Washington DC. http://www. imf. org/external/pubs/ft/op/232/op232. pdf (accessed 04/05/09). Riskin, Carl. 1987. China's political economy: the quest for development since 1949. New York: Oxford University Press, Incorporated. Stralser, Steven. 2004. MBA In A Day: What You Would Learn At Top-Tie. New Jersey. : Wiley & Sons, Inc. Suliman, Osman. ed. 1998. China’s Transition to a Socialist Market Economy. Westport, CT. : Quorum Books. The World Bank, â€Å"Fighting Poverty: Findings and Lessons from China’s Success,† The World Bank Research, http://econ. worldbank. org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTDEC/EXTRESEARCH/0,,c ntentMDK:20634060~pagePK:64165401~piPK:64165026~theSitePK:469382,00 html (accessed 04/05/09). Virmani, Arvind. 2005. China’s Socialist Market Economy: Lessons of Success. Working Paper No. 178. December 2005. Wei, Yehua Denni. 2000. Regional Development in China: States, Globalization, and Inequality. London. : Routledge.

Quiz Questions for Chapter 9

Quiz Questions for Chapter 9 1. A truck was purchased for $25,000. It has a six-year life and a $4,000 salvage value. Using straight-line depreciation, what is the asset’s carrying value (book value) after 2 1/2 years? a. $8,750. b. $12,250. c. $14,583. d. $16,250. 2. On January 1, 2003, Superior Landscaping Company paid $17,000 to buy a stump grinder. If Superior uses the grinder to remove 2,500 stumps per year, it would have an estimated useful life of 10 years and a salvage value of $4,500. The amount of depreciation expense for the year 2003, using units-of-production depreciation and assuming that 3,500 stumps were removed, is a. 2,380. b. $1,750. c. $1,700. d. $1,250. 3. The sale for $2,000 of equipment that cost $8,000 and has accumulated depreciation of $6,700 would result in a a. gain of $2,000. b. gain of $700. c. loss of $700. d. loss of $1,300. 4. Underestimating the number of tons of a mineral that can be mined over a mineral deposit’s life will result in a . overstated net income each year. b. overstated total assets each year. c. overstated depletion expense each year. d. no effect on total assets each year. 5. A copyright is obtained for what becomes a very successful book.The publisher expects the book to generate sales for 10 years. The copyright should be amortized over a. 2 to 4 years. b. 10 years. c. 40 years. d. the author’s life plus 50 years. The following information pertains to the next two questions. Z Company purchased an asset for $24,000 on January 1, 2004. The asset was expected to have a four-year life and a $4,000 salvage value. 6. The amount of depreciation expense for 2006 using double-declining-balance would be a. $2,000. b. $3,000. c. $6,000. d. $12,000. 7. Assume that Z Company uses straight-line depreciation.If on January 1, 2007, Z Company sells the asset for $10,000, the statement of cash flows would report a a. $1,000 cash inflow from gain on the sale of the asset in the operating activities section. b. $10,000 cash inflow from an asset disposal in the investing activities section. c. $9,000 cash inflow from an asset disposal in the financing activities section. d. a and c. 8. On January 1, 2006, Fulsom Corporation purchased a machine for $50,000. Fulsom paid shipping expenses of $500 as well as installation costs of $1,200. Fulsom estimated the machine would have a useful life of ten years and an estimated salvage value of $3,000.If Fulsom records depreciation using the straight-line method, depreciation expense for 2007 is. a. $4,870. b. $5,170. c. $5,270. d. $5,570. 9. Hickory Ridge Company purchased land and a building for $920,000. The individual assets were appraised at the following market values: Land $614,400 Building $345,600 Recording the land in the accounting records would a. increase land by $588,800. b. increase land by $614,400. c. increase assets by $920,000. d. Both a and c. 10 Penny Lane and Associates purchased a generator on January 1, 2006, for $6,300. The generator was estimated to have a five-year life and a salvage value of $600.At the beginning of 2008, the company revised the expected life of the asset to six years and revised the salvage value to $300. Using straight-line depreciation, the depreciation expense recorded in 2008 would a. decrease assets and equity by $1,140. b. decrease assets and equity by $930. c. decrease assets and equity by $1,005. d. decrease assets and equity by $1,500. 11 Which of the following statements about goodwill is true? a. The amount of goodwill is measured by subtracting the amount paid for assets from their fair market value on the purchase date. b. The amount of goodwill is recorded as an asset. . Recording impairment of goodwill reduces the amount of net income. d. All of the above. 12 XYZ Company paid cash for a capital expenditure that improved the operating efficiency of one of its assets. Which of the following reflects how this expenditure affects the company’s financial statement s? a. b. c. d. 13 Assets = +- +- – n/a Liab. n/a n/a n/a n/a + Equity n/a n/a – n/a Rev. – n/a n/a n/a n/a Exp. n/a n/a + n/a = Net Inc. n/a n/a – n/a Cash Flow – IA n/a – OA n/a KLM Company experienced an accounting event that affected its financial statements as indicated below: Assets = – Liab. n/a Equity – Rev. – n/a Exp. + = Net Inc. – Which of the following events could have caused these effects? a. recognizing depreciation. b. paying cash for a capital expenditure. c. amortizing a patent. d. none of the above. Cash Flow – OA 14. Which of the following correctly matches the type of long-term asset with the term used to identify how that asset’s cost is expensed? Building Oil Reserve Copyright a. Amortization Depreciation Depletion b. Depletion Amortization Depletion c. Amortization Depletion Depreciation d. Depreciation Depletion Amortization 15. Which of the following is true? . The book value of an asset is its estimated market value. b. The primary purpose of recording depreciation expense on the income statement is to reduce income tax expense. c. Recording depreciation expense decreases the book value of the asset in the year it was used to produce revenue. d. The accumulated deprecation for an asset provides the cash needed to replace the asset at the end of its useful life. Quiz Questions for Chapter 10 The following information pertains to the next seven questions. On January 1, 2003, XYZ Corporation issued a $5,000 face value bond that sold for 90.The bond had a five-year term and paid 10 percent annual interest. The company used the proceeds from the bond issue to buy land. The land was leased for $600 of cash revenue per year and was sold at the end of the 5th year for $4,200 cash. 1. The carrying value of the bond liability on January 1, 2003, would be a. $4,600. b. $4,500. c. $5,000. d. $4,000. 2. The amount of interest expense reported on the 2003 income sta tement would be a. $450. b. $400. c. $500. d. $600. 3. Interest expense reported on the income statement over the life of the bond would a. ncrease by $100 each year. b. decrease by $100 each year. c. be the same each year. d. equal the stated rate of interest. 4. The carrying value of the bond liability on December 31, 2007 would be a. $4,500. b. $5,000. c. $4,900. d. $4,600. 5. The sale of the land on December 31, 2007, would a. increase retained earnings by $300. b. increase equity by $4,200. c. reduce net income by $300. d. have no effect on retained earnings. 6. The total amount of liability associated with the bond issue would a. increase each year as a result of the amortization of the discount. b. ecrease each year as a result of the amortization of the discount. c. remain the same each year. d. always be equal to the face value of the bond payable. 7. The amount of the cash outflow for interest expense in 2005 would be a. $600. b. $400. c. $500. d. $ 0. Use the following in formation to answer the next three questions. On January 1, 2003 , Keynes Company issued a $20,000 face value bond that sold for 110. The bond had a ten-year term and a stated annual interest rate of 8 percent . 8. The carrying value of the bond liability on January 1, 2003, would be a. $20,000. . $22,000. c. $21,800. d. $20,200. 9. The amount of interest expense reported on the company’s 2003 income statement would be a. $1,200. b. $1,400. c. $1,600. d. $1,050. 10. The amount of interest expense reported on the company’s 2004 income statement would be a. $1,400. b. $1,600. c. $1,800. d. $2,000. 11. If a bond sells at a discount, which of the following is true? a. The market interest rate at the time of issue is greater than the stated interest rate on the bond. b. The market interest rate at the time of issue is less than the stated interest rate on the bond. c.The market interest rate at the time of issue is the same as the stated interest rate on the bond issue. d. The market interest rate is expected to increase above the stated interest rate on the bond. 12. On January 1, 2003, Ink, Inc. borrowed $100,000 cash from the Fidelity Bank on a note that had a 6 percent annual interest rate and a five-year term. The loan is to be repaid in annual payments of $23,741. 69 on January 1 each year. The amount of the January 1, 2004, payment applied to interest and to principal would be a. $6,000 / $94,000. b. $17,741. 69 / $94,000. c. $4,935. 0 / $82,258. 31. d. $6,000 / $17,741. 69. 13. Indigo Company can borrow up to $50,000 on its line of credit at the state bank. The company agrees to pay interest monthly at 2 percent above prime. Funds are borrowed or repaid on the first day of each month. Month Jan. Feb. March Amounts Borrowed or (Repaid) $15,000 $ (5,000) $30,000 Prime Rate 6 percent 5 percent 4 percent The amount of interest to be accrued on the March 31 is a. $225. 00. b. $100. 00. c. $133. 33. d. $200. 00. 14. XYZ Company experienced an accoun ting event that affected its financial statements as indicated below: Assets = Liab. + + Equity n/a Rev. – n/a Exp. n/a = Net Inc. n/a Cash Flow + FA Which of the following events could have caused these effects? a. A bond issued at face value. b. A bond issued at a discount. c. A bond issued at a premium. d. All of the above. 15. A bond will sell at a premium if: a. The market rate of interest is equal to the bond’s stated rate. b. The market rate of interest is greater than the bond’s stated rate. c. The market rate of interest is less than the bond’s stated rate. d. The bond is convertible into common stock. Quiz Questions for Chapter 11 1.The ZZ Corporation had the following shares of stock outstanding at December 31, 2003: Common Stock, $50 par value, 40,000 shares outstanding; and Preferred Stock, 6 percent, $100 par value, cumulative, 10,000 shares outstanding. Dividends for 2001 and 2002 were in arrears. On December 31, 2003, ZZ declared total cas h dividends of $250,000. The total amounts payable to preferred stockholders and common stockholders, respectively, are: a. $60,000 / $190,000. b. $120,000 / $130,000. c. $125,000 / $125,000. d. $180,000 / $70,000. Use the following information to answer the next four questions.The Kramer Company was started when it issued 200 shares of $5 par value common stock at a market price of $20 per share. The company repurchased 10 shares at a market price of $15 per share. Later the company reissued 5 shares at a market price of $20 per share. At the end of the first year of operations the company’s equity included $1,200 of retained earnings in addition to its contributed capital. 2. The entry to record the original issue of 200 shares of stock would a. increase cash by $4,000 / increase common stock by $4,000. b. ncrease cash by $4,000 / increase common stock and paid-in capital in excess of par value by $1,000 and $3,000, respectively. c. decrease cash by $4,000 / increase common stock common stock by $4,000. d. increase cash by $1,000 / increase common stock by $1,000. 3. The entry to record the purchase of the 10 shares of the company’s own stock would a. decrease assets / decrease equity. b. decrease assets / increase equity. c. decrease assets / increase treasury stock. d. both a and c. 4. What effect would reissuing the 5 shares have on the company’s paid-in capital from treasury stock transactions account? . No effect. b. Increase additional paid-in capital by $100. c. Increase additional paid-in capital by $25. d. Decrease additional paid-in capital by $75. 5. The total amount of stockholders’ equity at the end of the first year would be a. $5,150. b. $5,200. c. $1,200. d. none of the above. 6. Which of the following is an advantage of the corporate form of business organization? a. double taxation. b. amount of regulation. c. limited liability. d. entrenched management. 7. Jan Irving started a proprietorship on January 1, 2007 w ith a $1,000 cash contribution to the business.During the first year of operations the company generated $5,000 of cash revenue and incurred $2,000 of cash expenses. Also, Jan withdrew $500 from the business. At the end of 2007 the balance in the Jan Irving, Capital account was a. $1,000. b. $3,000. c. $3,500. d. $4,000. 8. ABC Company is authorized to issue 100,000 shares of common stock. The company issued 60,000 shares of common stock and later repurchased 15,000 shares of its own common stock. How many shares are outstanding? a. 60,000. b. 45,000. c. 100,000. d. 40,000. 9.An 8 percent stock dividend on 12,000 shares of outstanding preferred stock with a par value of $20 per share and a market value of $60 a share will have what effect on the accounting equation? a. Increase preferred stock by $57,600. b. Increase cash by $38,400. c. Decrease retained earnings by $19,200. d. Decrease retained earnings by $57,600. 10. Which of the following statements concerning a two-for-one stoc k split is true? a. The number of shares outstanding will decrease. b. The market price of the stock would be expected to increase. c. The company’s equity will increase. d. No journal entry would be necessary. 1. EFG Company paid cash to purchase treasury stock. Which of the following reflects how this event affects the company’s financial statements? a. b. c. d. 12. Assets – +- – +- = Liab. n/a n/a n/a n/a + Equity – n/a – n/a Rev. – n/a n/a n/a n/a Exp. n/a n/a + + = Net Inc. n/a n/a – – Cash Flow – FA – OA – FA – OA ZGAR Company distributed a stock dividend. Which of the following reflects how this event affects the company’s financial statements? a. b. c. d. Assets – n/a – n/a = Liab. n/a n/a n/a n/a + Equity – +- – +- Rev. – n/a n/a n/a n/a Exp. n/a n/a + n/a = Net Inc. n/a n/a – n/a Cash Flow n/a n/a – FA – FAQuiz for Chapte r 12 1. Which of the following cash transactions is classified as an investing activity on the statement of cash flows? a. Cash borrowed. b. Cash received from issuing stock. c. Cash received from revenue. d. Cash collected on a loan. 2. A building costing $55,000 with $16,500 of accumulated depreciation was sold for $40,000. How would the cash flow from the sale appear on the statement of cash flows? a. $1,500 in operating activities and $38,500 in investing activities. b. $40,000 in financing activities. c. $38,500 noncash financing and investing activities and $1,500 in operating activities. . $40,000 in investing activities. 3. The owners of X Company invested $2,000 in the company. X Company used the cash to invest in Y Company. On X’s statement of cash flows these transactions would be classified, respectively, as a. an investing activity and an investing activity. b. a financing activity and a financing activity. c. an investing activity and a financing activity. d. a financing activity and an investing activity. 4. Issuing a note for the purchase of land is an example of a. an investing activity. b. a financing activity. c. a noncash investing and financing activity. d. transaction that would not appear on the statement of cash flows. 5. The sum of the three major components (operating activities, investing activities, and financing activities) on a statement of cash flows will add up to a. the ending cash balance. b. the change in the cash account balance between the beginning and ending of the period. c. the amount of cash inflow for the period. d. net income for the period. Answers: Chapter 9: D, B, B, C, B, A, B, A, D, B, D, A, D, D, C Chapter 10: B, D, C, B, C, A, C, B, B, A, A, D, D, D, C Chapter 11: D, B, D, C, A, C, C, B, D, D, A, B Chapter 12: D, D, D, C, B

The eNotes Blog How Reading Kafka Can Make YouSmarter

How Reading Kafka Can Make YouSmarter Got a big test coming up? Think youve tried every study tip available? Think again Heres one you likely havent heard of: read a short story by Franz Kafka before your exam and you may come out of it with an improved test score. The short story in question is a surreal work by Kafka called A Country Doctor. It was selected by post-doctoral researcher Travis Proulx (of the University of California, Santa Barbara) and Professor of Psychology Steven J. Heine (University of British Columbia) in their 2009 study specifically because of its absurdist elements. The hypothesis behind their research was that the exposure to a strange and unnerving stimulus would lead the brain to look for structure and order in any subsequent activity. The Method: The method of Proulx and Heines study involved exposing a test group to the surreal stimulus (in this case A Country Doctor) and then administering a grammar test to the group. The test was made up of an artificial-grammar learning task in which [subjects] were exposed to hidden patterns in letter strings. They were asked to copy the individual letter strings and then to put a mark next to those that followed a similar pattern. A control group was also tested; these subjects pre-test reading consisted of a substantially edited version of Kafkas text, which arranged the story in a more straightforward plot structure. Proulx and Heine labeled the surreal stimulus as a Meaning Threatsomething that fundamentally does not make sensewhile the absence of a surreal stimulus was categorized as having No-Meaning Threat. The Results: It was quickly apparent that Proulx and Heines hypothesis was correct; the test subjects who had been exposed to the Meaning Threat (A Country Doctor) not only found more patterns within the letter strings presented to them, but they were also correct in their findings more of the time than the test subjects who were not exposed to that surreal stimulus. â€Å"People feel uncomfortable when their expected associations are violated, and that creates an unconscious desire to make sense of their surroundings.† -Travis Proulx It turns out that the test subjects were so unsettled by the absurdism in Kafkas short story that their brains felt compelled to find order and meaning afterwards, as if to make up for the nonsensical nature of what came before it. So, how can this be applied to your studies? Well, besides reading A Country Doctor before a test, there are a number of other Meaning Threats you could apply to your life. You just have to understand what exactly a Meaning Threat is. You need something that challenges your very nature and the way you innately look at the world. When, for example, we think of fire, we instinctively associate it with heat. Now imagine placing your hand over a flame and feeling an icy coldness, the exact opposite of your expectations. Pretty disturbing, right? Thats exactly what a threat to meaning is. Meaning is an expected association within one’s environment. A Meaning Threat is therefore something that doesnt make sense. When a committed meaning framework is  threatened, people experience an arousal state that prompts  them to affirm any other meaning framework to which they  are committed. Exposing yourself to mind-opening (or mind-bending) works similar to Kafkas will spur you to find patterns and structure in other works. These can include the works of Surrealist painters, or certain movies,  like Blue Velvet by David Lynch or Un Chien Andalou by Salvador Dali and  Luis Buà ±uel.