Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Americanisation is tough on Machoo0 - 763 Words

English 101...129 10/06/13 Americanization Is Tough on â€Å"Macho† There are different countries and cultures in the world. Sometimes when Americans view other cultures’ values the actual truth becomes distorted. In her article â€Å"Americanization is tough on the Macho,† Rose Del Castillo Guilbault examines the concept of macho from both the Hispanics and Americans perspective. The Hispanic view of macho embodies a man described by Guilbault as manly, responsible, hardworking, a patriarch and a person who expresses strength through silence. She describes her father as a man who â€Å"handled most menial task with pride.† In a patriarchal society such as Mexico, the man is regarded as the nucleus of the family. The man represents†¦show more content†¦Minorities have provided labor which has helped to build our economy and made America the economic engine of the world. They have and continue to help lay the railroads and build our cities, pioneer new industries and also he lp to fuel our information age from google to many other technological advancements. For instance, today many Mexicans provide seasonal labor vital to the growth of the agriculture industry in California and many other areas

Monday, December 16, 2019

Solutions for Sat Writing Prompt Essay Samples

Solutions for Sat Writing Prompt Essay Samples Dec 10 ideas to write sat preparation. Though Score Choice permits you to pick which day's scores you send to colleges, you will never be able to send only some scores from a particular test day. Should you do your best following the tips above, you will certainly receive a high score. The initial one is on the ACT's website here. The Secret to Sat Writing Prompt Essay Samples You don't necessarily should read the prompt so as to compose your essay. If you're not yet doing this sort of essay in class, do a couple of practice essays at home. In order to work out which essay is truly best for you, I would suggest trying each essay with the aforementioned points in mind to view how you do. When writing this essay, select a subject of interest. ACT makes it tough to obtain a replica of your Writing essay, but College Board includes it as part of your internet report. It's important that students be knowledgeable about the precise grading rubric of the ACT essay, since this will enable them to create the best usage of their 40 minutes on the essay section. Thus don't assume your students will do the essay. You'll want the passage to follow together with the sample essay below. You already know the simple assignment, so that you may actually skip the very best introduction and dive right into the essay. In your average English class, you know a little about the essay you are going to be writing long before you have the prompt. You should find out the format of an effective essay and the way to complete a comprehensive essay within 50 minutes. Learn more about the way the essay is scored. If you would like to practice the new SAT essay, excellent news! The SAT essay is quite different from any essay you are going to be requested to write in school. It is probably going to feel more familiar to most students. The Hidden Treasure of Sat Writing Prompt Essay Samples In your response, you will need to analyze the argument produced by the author. The clarity of the argument and the shortage of errors stay consistent from start to complete. To acquire a high score for Analysis, you will need to explain and assess the author's arguments. Sample answers with commentary is going to be given in a subsequent post. Among the more significant advantages of working with a Writing and Language instructor is the capacity to find assistance in thinking to be an editor. Reading Shakespeare and studying pure mathematics won't help anyone be effective in any kind of business. Private instruction with a Writing and Language teacher will be able to help you learn to process these kinds of questions quickly and use the ideal info to pick the appropriate reaction. SAT Writing and Language tutoring is also quite convenient and easy to fit into your schedule. Always attempt to keep objective once you return to a more comprehensive reading of your article. You'll be writing about a situation. You may feel as if you will need to get started writing as fast as possible, but be certain you fully grasp the author's argument thoroughly before beginning. Make certain you connect the significance of the activity to a specific experience or story to provide the essay direction. The Ideal Approach for Sat Writing Prompt Essay Samples The very first thing you ought to take note of is how the prompt tells you exactly what sort of elements you should concentrate on to observe the way the author builds their argument. This prompt gives you the chance to speak about your passions and showcase your extracurricular pursuits. Reading process can be finished in many ways, and every one of them has its benefits. Sometimes, one really great case of how the writer builds his argument is sufficient. Knowing that, step one is to choose if you agree or disagree, and compose that at the peak of your pre-writing paper so you maintain it in the front of your mind while you write. You've got to read everything once more and be sure that the structure is worthwhile. The very first step to undertake is to read and work out the prompt. Okay, that previous instance is paraphrased from a song, but you have the point.

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Debut Albums and Friends free essay sample

There are two types of friends, the true friends and the fake friends. True friends are the ones who you can trust, not afraid to tell you how they feel, and will take up for you. Fake friends on the other hand are the ones who wont take up for you, but rather talk bad about you, tell everyone your business, and tell you lies to your face. True friends are hard to find, 4 out of 5 friends are fake and are nice to your face but hate you when you are not around. True Friends can be trusted with the deepest secrets. You can trust them with your life and you know that it will be safe.When they say that they promise they wont tell, you know they are serious. Fake friends want to know your secrets, but cant wait to tell someone about it. Once you tell them something dont be surprised when the next day everyone knows about it. Second, by telling one of my friends that I did not Like her, I displayed my feelings. I did not like her the way she used to react with people. Also, the way she used to interfere in other peoples lives.For instance, I was studying in high school, and as usual all friends used to go out on weekend. One day, during a break, we were making plan where to go on weekend. One of my friends came there and started arguing without knowing anything about our plan. Everyone knew her behavior, so they just left from there. Before I left from there, I told her that no one likes her because of her behavior, and I also do not like it. It might have hurt her feelings, but I think it was good for her to know it what people think about her.Finally, when I see something wrong going on around me or I do not like someone or something doing wrong, I described my feelings. Specifically, my parents used to take out their anger on me because of their fight or some problems they had. I did not tell them anything like why they took out their anger on me even though it was not my fault. I used to think that, if I say something, then they would get angry with me. So I always described my feelings in diary or book because I did not want to tell anyone.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Internationalization and Cultural Implication for Joint Ventures in Saudi Arabia

International business text has paid particular interest to the study of internationalization and entry mode approaches of companies in various segments. However, very little studies that consider cultural implications in internalization have been accomplished. This paper shall review different literatures on internalization and cultural implications for joint ventures in Saudi Arabia.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Internationalization and Cultural Implication for Joint Ventures in Saudi Arabia specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More First, a general explanation of the internalization process shall be presented followed by an in-depth review of joint ventures in Saudi Arabia and the cultural implications of doing business in Saudi Arabia, a nation dominated by the Islam, religion. A conclusion that summarizes the key points shall then be presented. Internalization During the process of internationalization, companies increasingly spread their business functions and activities outside their national borders (Ahmad and Kitchen, 2008). International extension compels companies to construct three tactical decisions including: which target markets to go into, the right time of entry, and the way to penetrate those preferred markets (Hill, 2008). Besides, a firm has to design a marketing plan with guidelines on how to enter the alien market and lay down a control mechanism to keep an eye on its business progress (Hill, 2008). Foreign market choice is a compound process and is separated into four phases including: state recognition, preliminary viewing, thorough viewing and final assortment (Johansson, 2008). To emerge victorious, firms must identify market prospects and discern appropriate foreign markets. Kirzner (2005) reveals that the market can not be at equilibrium due to the gaps amid the demand and supply. Hence, firms should identify these gaps and monitor the markets vigilantly for investment choices. According to Hohenthal et al. (2006), companies face diverse economic, cultural, political and organization’s situation from their home. As a result, firms may choose markets that are related to their state of origin to avoid insecurity in an alien nation (Johanson Vahlne, 2006). Time of entry is another significant decision that influences the cost and profits of investment (Kwon Konopa, 2003; Sivakumar, 2004). Market information plays a very important role in entry timing (Mitra Golder, 2007).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In case a company accumulates adequate information on the economic and cultural surroundings of alien markets; it is fitting to penetrate those markets. Deficiency of knowledge and risk evasion hinders several firms entering indefinite and risky borders (Griffin Pustay, 2007). An essential subject in international extension is that according to the timing of entry, companies face different stages of institutional insecurity, which influences the competence of the entry plan (Papyrina, 2007). Entry manner is a type of strategy and dedication of resources that a company adopts when it settles on entering an alien market. The selection of the best entry mode is amid the vital strategic decisions for companies in the course of internationalization (Nakos and Brouthers, 2004). Assuming appropriate entry modes can help a company to achieve enhanced performance and endurance in alien markets since it involves diverse threats (Ekeledo Sivakumar, 2005). Entry mode preferences are separated into two features: equity and non-equity modes. Equity entry modes incorporate joint ventures and sole ownership (Wild et al., 2008). According to Griffin Pustay (2007), non-equity modes are further separated into market leaning modes and contractual modes. When a company adopts an equity mode, it’s supposed to make a prefer ence among establishing a business from the start, purchasing an established firm, or a blend of both approaches (Griffin Pustay, 2007; Wild et al., 2008). Every entry mode approach has merits and demerits. Companies may pursue a range of criteria to select an appropriate entry mode. To acquire elevated returns from alien operations, companies may necessitate high resource dedication. Nevertheless, this augments the threat of international venture. Hence, companies must exercise superior control over their alien operations and partners (Blomstermo et al., 2006; Ekeledo Sivakumar, 2005)Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Internationalization and Cultural Implication for Joint Ventures in Saudi Arabia specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Theoretical Views of Internalization Internationalization Theory As per the internationalization process theory, companies will pursue a regular process to internationalize their activ ities overseas (Johanson Vahlne, 2006). A company’s deeds during the institution of international extension begin from little resources dedication to a following greater dedication and power. Companies chiefly enter the markets that are well-known and have less paranormal space with their local state. According to Andersen ( 2003), this theory supposes that â€Å"for alien activities, a company moves via four phases starting with no consistent export deals, then export through host state mediators, followed by export via a foreign sales subsidiary, and lastly, foreign manufacture by an entirely owned subsidiary† (p. 57). Several scholars have condemned the internationalization process theory (Root, 2004). The series of phases was constrained to a precise state market (Andersen, 2003). The conjecture also ignored joint ventures and other contractual entry modes (Sharma Erramilli, 2006). Besides, this conjecture is too deterministic in character and is only significant in the premature stages of internationalization as markets turn out to be homogenous and supernatural space decreases (Melin, 2006). Networks Theory The networks method is usually founded on sociology of organizations. As Zacharakis (2005) proposes, the local state networks are initial point for the worldwide expansion of companies. Enduring competitive advantage is acquired via synergy. When a company has an enduring competitive advantage, its potential and resources are long-lasting, hard to spot and recognize, imperfect, transportable and difficult to imitate. The, theory then stresses the impact of firm-specific resources and trade networks on the global tactics of companies. In line with this theory, a system of interpersonal and inter-organizational associations that form the performance of firms to internationalize is the effect of the business and social systems but not via the internalization system of the market (Malhotra et al., 2005).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More While the network theory presents a priceless approach towards the function of systems in internationalization, it fails to clarify the outcome of environmental aspects. Eclectic Paradigm Theory According to Dunning (1988), the eclectic paradigm also known as the ownership, localization and internalization model stresses that a firms’ global extension and entry tactic relies on a company’s resources together with relational and host state factors. Grounded on this perspective, if the local market has a location advantage greater than the target alien market, making sales to other countries is an appropriate entry mode. In case the host bazaar has a position advantage, the contractual entry mode is likely to be considered by companies (Sharma and Erramilli, 2006). In case the risk of agreement with home partners is elevated, foreign direct investments become the most suitable mode; if not, licensing is assumed (Sharma and Erramilli, 2006). This theory extended to joint venture mode (Agarwal Ramaswami (2000). The theory was expanded by considering the abilities and potential of the partners, spatial amalgamation amid positions and joint organizations (Sharma and Erramilli, 2006). Regardless of its experimental support, this conjecture is unable to offer an incorporated view for the elucidation and calculation of entry mode selection. It fails to explain why two companies operating in an identical business and with parallel rights internationalize. The model also disregard the effect of local state and internal aspects like a firm’s assets and manufactured goods character on the preference of entering alien markets. Additionally, it presumes that in absence of market failure, foreign direct investment does not take place but companies are usually implicated in alliances to enhance their competitive pose (Ekeledo and Sivakumar, 2005). Transaction Cost Theory The evasion mode of action in alien markets is low-control modes, although when compa nies experience elevated transaction costs allied to bargaining, supervising and executing a contract, they will prefer high power entry modes. Transaction Cost (TC) theory, argues that when competition is perfect, companies are synchronized and resources can be relocated among companies (Ekeledo and Sivakumar, 2005). Whilst a market is entirely aggressive, the market will control transactions by price system. This theory supposes that in the market where persons are usually investors, information will be unevenly shared among all trading firms, and asset exactness influences the character of the transaction (Cheng, 2006). The TC is not capable of validating the selection of entry mode in the fresh global business scenery. It is not able to balance foreign direct investment (FDI) with exporting successfully as it focuses on market malfunction situations that outcome in FDI. Besides, the theory does not acknowledge that strategic fears can inspire a firm to use a joint entry mode. Al though this theory gives reasons as to why a company may favor FDI as its entry mode, it neglects the function of location benefits (Ekeledo and Sivakumar, 2005). Resource-Based View to Resource-Advantage Theories Barney (2005) deems that companies have a basis of competitive advantage rooted from their priceless resources like assets and abilities. Firms can battle and attain their long-term aims if they have adequate resources and employ them efficiently (Sharma and Erramilli, 2004). The resource-based view (RBV) theory proposes that a company’s achievement in the market does not solely rely on environmental aspects but also on the company’s role and power on the environment (Barney, 2005). This conjecture argues that companies with precious capabilities and resources support high power modes, particularly when it pursues an international strategy (Ekeledo and Sivakumar, 2005). Hunt (2006) built on the thoughts of RBV in his resource advantage (RA) conjecture. He ass erts that since firm resources are varied and comparatively still, a number of firms may benefit from competitive advantage and improved performance. In addition, the specific manner of function in indefinite markets relies on the sort of resource advantage (Malhotra et al., 2005). Though some scholars view the resource based conjecture as the most outstanding clarification for the international development of companies, it fails to account for the selection of some entry mode policies including joint venture. Additionally, gauging some insubstantial assets seems tricky (Malhotra et al., 2005). Factors Affecting Internalization of Firms In general, business organizations do not pursue any exclusive model to internationalize their processes since they face diverse environmental surroundings. They may go into an exacting target market via different entry approaches based on their definite resources, abilities and tactics. Two sorts of factors control the international tactic, market c hoice and the selection of entry mode that is external and internal aspects (Quer et al., 2007). Internal aspects incorporate tactical considerations and firm-specific resources which can be controlled by companies. External aspects like industry factors and country factors are typically outside the power of the company (Ekeledo Sivakumar, 2005). Koch (2004) recommended that market choice and entry mode selection are influenced by several internal features, for instance the tactical concerns, a company’s resources , alien business practice and networking, and external features including latent and risk, target market and comparison amid host and home markets. Joint Ventures in Saudi Arabia Joint ventures are the leading type of multinational business in Saudi Arabia. Besides, joint ventures are commonly favored by most industrial investors in Saudi who are in search for foreign allies. A joint venture in Saudi Arabia normally involves a business amid a company that has super ior business and technical abilities and a company that boasts superior local acquaintance and broad commercial potency (Mababaya, 2002). One of the toughest pleas of joint ventures is that they significantly decrease, by the sum of the partner’s input to the business enterprise, the fiscal and political threats which are the chief barriers to direct foreign investment. Most entrepreneurs feel that the existence of a home partner in a business enterprise overseas safeguards absolute expropriation in the more wobbly nations in the globe. Similarly, some other emerging nations do not allow a subsidiary run by an alien licensor to pay royalties. An additional benefit of joint ventures is that they ease admission into a novel market and access to market data. Joint ventures are also beneficial in pooling the required capital, knowledge and skills, which are feasible amid local and alien partners (Ali, 2009). Jointly, the partners provide capital which either one solely would not afford or fear to risk. With the increasing demand for private investment among other motives, most people believe that the all-inclusive joint business venture will eventually turn out to be the most vital means of private foreign investment in the world. In the emerging world, Saudi Arabia included all types of joint ventures lead international activities (Mababaya, 2002). Actually, joint ventures are employed four times more often in less industrialized nations than in industrialized nations. Nevertheless, all these does not mean that joint venture in the less industrialized nations, counting Saudi Arabia, does not pretense any possible disadvantage. From the stance of multinational businesses, one general problem they encounter is finding suitable partners in the alien nations, who have both administrative talent and funds (Ali, 2009). Some global companies favor totally owned subsidiaries overseas as they are not ready to sacrifice sovereignty of action in their fabrication and marketing actions either locally or overseas. For them, joint ownership means joint administration, takings and control. A number of companies may try to evade joint venture due to the complexities occurring from disparities in cultural values and principles of business, which force them to compromise so as to persist and do well (Ali, 2009). In some emerging nations, joint ventures may equally be negatively affected by detrimental business environment occurring due to substandard communication services, poor infrastructure and bad market projections. Apart from the need to deal with cross-cultural disparities, the abovementioned problems of cross-region joint ventures do not exist in Saudi Arabia. Actually, a joint venture amid an alien entrepreneur and a Saudi partner is deemed the best, in addition to being the most common method of doing business in Saudi Arabia (Mababaya, 2002).Multinational organizations having joint ventures in the territory profit from the accessibility of first-class infrastructure, up to date communication amenities and low-priced public services. Similarly, Saudi Arabia’s strategic position being in the middle of West and East allows it to be an excellent base for supply in the close bazaars of the Middle East and other places. Joint ventures with Saudi partners are as well striking due to the existence of an established economic and political atmosphere; knowledgeable personnel in marketing and administration; good fiscal, credit and borrowing services from banks; as well as tax holidays (Ali, 2009). Fresh incentives to alien investors have additionally been established in the Foreign Investment Act. Under this fresh act, alien investors are permitted have complete ownership of ventures and to enjoy liberty to send back profits and capital (Mababaya, 2002). Similarly, a licensed business venture mutually owned by a Saudi resident and an alien partner or entirely owned by an alien investor shall have all the motivations, ben efits and securities of a national venture consistent with all relevant policies and orders. In every joint venture, the alien partner should be set to realize and consider the desires of his local complements in the business. In fact, practicing a joint venture across state borders requires trust, thoughtfulness, taking several risks, setting-up connections, conciliation skill and tolerance on both parties concerned. Trust is an essential requirement for the collaborating group to fruitfully pursue their joint aims. Equally, partners’ dedication must be there for the joint venture to thrive. Alien companies should also consider investment guidelines of the regime in the host nation. In several Asian states and in many other places, foreign direct investment is permitted but foreign impartiality is limited to less than 49%. In Saudi Arabia, the regime does not bar the institution of a 100% alien controlled company, although pursuing it will deny the global business a chance t o get incentives that are typically given to joint ventures in Saudi Arabia. Generally, joint venture agreement or the wider notion of coalition capitalism is regular with the concept that synchronization is made on an arm’s length center or inside the open market structure. Joint ventures match with liberated private enterprise economies, where harmonization of fiscal activities takes place through non-coercive deliberate collaboration, so that the parties concerned can take lead of the recent science and knowledge. Joint venture in Saudi Arabia is registered as a disconnect joint-stock business, which is take care of just like other home joint-stock businesses with both collaborating firms fairly embodied in the board of executives (Mababaya, 2002). Concerning tenure, decision-making and management, the capacity of the alien colleague to manipulate the joint venture is directly relative to its capital contribution to the enterprise (Ali, 2009)..similarly, the costs of commo dities delivered from the joint venture to the collaborating firms are resolved freely in relation to the market relations of supply and demand. Depending on the contract amid the joint venture partners, experimental prices may be used to ease smooth stream of goods and services amid the joint venture and the collaborating firms. Similarly, experimental prices may be made rigid for the supply of production from the joint venture to some contracted cross-boundary market channels, including associates of any of the two partners. In reality, the experimental prices will later be outmoded by final prices dogged in relation to some pricing formula that is grounded eventually on the open market price method. Following this logic, the survival of joint ventures cannot be explicated via the presumption of international production or internalization theory of multinational activities (Ali, 2009). This is the case since the internalization theory deems the propensity of multinational companie s to internalize a market, for instance through vertical integration, as a way of overriding the price system or the free market system. A joint venture can also be preferred in Saudi Arabia as a subsidiary of the Saudi fiscal counterbalance program. Counterbalance programs are types of counter-trade actions used by growing economies usually in an attempt to decrease the heavy load of contract-founded imports (Mababaya, 2002). The counterbalance scheme amid contracting members may entail joint ventures, skill transfer and goods exchange. In addition, it could also contain foodstuff importation, building projects, arms procurements and supply of administration services. For instance, the Peace Shield I, a pact signed amid Boeing Co and the Saudi government is a counterbalance project. The verdict by any multinational firm doing or preparing to do trade in Saudi Arabia relies on several factors. Generally, these factors consist of: the charisma of the host nation’s location-spe cific advantages, the want to develop market shares and the want to make more gains (Ali, 2009). The organization’s propensity towards shielding and utilizing its personal company-specific advantages, such as the ownership of a relatively advanced techno logy, also manipulates its plans and resolutions to invest in a foreign country. similarly, the strategic powers and core values of a company, particularly the one that merits the title of a futurist firm, pressures the success of its policies, strategies and activities at home or globally. In Saudi Arabia, international business activities cover all types of commercial, value-adding actions outside the boundaries of global production (Ali, 2009). Some of these include: setting up global marketing agencies, appointing managers, comprehending direct import/ export, planning project administration, and seeking certification. In Saudi Arabia, main multinational car manufacturers enter the market through their selected local dist ributors or via opening their individual marketing and maintenance agencies. Car producers such as Chrysler, Mercedes Benz, Ford, Toyota, Nissan and General Motors are all embodied in the Saudi market via their individual sanctioned local agents or brokers (Mababaya, 2002). Famous multinational businesses such as Mitsubishi, Shell and Mobil have chosen to form joint ventures as a way of acquiring shares in the Saudi bazaar and close area markets. These multinational firms do not have their individual manufacture subsidiaries in the realm, despite their personal ownership-specific advantages such as machinery, administration expertise and profuse capital (Ali, 2009). Some multinational firms have diverse sorts of businesses in Saudi Arabia. For example, some firms offer consulting and technology services while still serving as suppliers for government ventures. Key multinational firms have practically no wholly industrialized subsidiaries in Saudi Arabia, since the state policy does not actually support it. What the regime encourages is for alien firms to have mutual business enterprises with Saudi firms or Saudi habitats. In isolation, multinational firms select other business paths other than worldwide production. However, this does not imply that alien companies are banned from having entire subsidiaries in the realm. As revealed before, the Saudi administration adopted the Foreign Investment Act which permits alien investors to have full tenure of ventures and grants them freedom to send back capital and labors. It is important to note that alien firms, covering no direct foreign investment in Saudi Arabia, can typically export their goods to the realm without major hurdles (Ali, 2009). Thus it is quite usual to see key brands of eminent American firms such as Hewlett Packard, IBM and Compaq in Saudi Arabia. These goods are neither formed in Saudi Arabia nor in America, but in South Korea, China or in other places. These firms choose to export their goods t o Saudi Arabia from their subdivisions in other places, rather than internalizing the Saudi souk. In theory, internalization happens only if the profits outpace the equivalent overheads (Janssen Sandberg, 2008).Foreign government rules and boundaries need to be reflected on also while internalizing a market. Internalization is the practice of creating a market inside a company. The interior market of a firm takes alternates for the missing customary or peripheral market. Economic allotment and sharing inside the internal market occurs via executive fiat, together with transfer pricing. The internalization method accounts for the rationale behind internal and domestic fabrication. Also in theory, when the business costs of the usual market are extreme, a strong incentive for firms to make interior markets will come to existence (Janssen Sandberg, 2008). Similarly, firms institute entirely owned subsidiaries across state borders so as to conquer or reduce qualms and instabilities in the provision of expected raw materials. They also wish to reduce transaction costs implicated in looking for and procurement of unrefined resources; to reduce qualms related to post- procurement sustenance; and to reduce overheads of organizing inputs. Global firms can be enticed to invest in an alien state, if the alien state has competitive advantages proportional to other states (Hamilton, 2009). In the instance of Saudi Arabia, competitive advantages include: existence of up to date airstrips and seaports; existence of outstanding inter-city public roads and good road network; and enhanced communication amenities. These benefits are quite inspiring and among the finest in the globe. Actually, Saudi Arabia has many determinants of state benefits. For example, with respect to the factor surroundings, current fundamental industries in Saudi Arabia have in past years attracted key multinational firms to venture in the realm. Big international companies such as, Mobil, Shell and Ex xon formed joint ventures in the kingdom (Johanson Vahlne, 2006). The investment income from these businesses has been extremely good. Plentiful low-cost materials are united with up to date infrastructure and low-priced skilled manual labor supply from Asia and other countries. Concerning demand situation, the Saudi bazaar for consumer and industrial commodities is the leading in the Middle East, and continues to expand every day. There is also the existence of allied and sustaining industries in Saudi Arabia, which are globally aggressive. Similarly, the situation of competition in many consumer goods sold in the whole territory is enough to cause global firms to react competitively and sensibly. In other words, how multinational firms function in Saudi Arabia and in other areas of the sphere is part of internalization practice which takes the shape of worldwide trade and joint ventures allowing entirely owned ventures among other elements (Janssen Sandberg, 2008). It is a pract ice where the groups of actors concerned have to pact with a dynamic atmosphere where the operation of change is the custom, but not exclusion. It also engrosses international co-ordination and combination of actions, if the condition dictates and there is receptiveness to market-specific necessities and circumstances. Global business players require strategic views, tactical positioning and all kinds of appropriate management practices to tackle globalization inclinations and transformations (Hamilton, 2009). They can not fuse to merely one cross-border trade option, similar to that of entirely owned global production. Sometimes, they have to make very hard choices, such as decisions related to: purchases, joint ventures, unions and licensing, for them to endure and developing the modern business environment (Hamilton, 2009). Similarly, the matter of control and ownership of transnational business is a hard decision since it is not regarded as a monopoly. At times, business partner s disintegrate and become rivals while at other times rivals turn out to be friends through joint ventures. Key business players at times fight on the international face by distributing similar goods and services while other times they work as partners through joint ventures which creates and markets similar or different goods. Hence, in the current business globe, it is difficult to come across a global firm that lacks a joint business partner in the vicinity or globally. Joint ventures constantly feature in business news. In prospect, the same tendency may persist, provided that the players find shared satisfaction and gains in their tactical decisions and dealings. Nevertheless, as nations stick to the globalization economies growingly, blockades to foreign investments may all ultimately vanish. If international ventures do not have to fret about alien government intrusion together with host state nationalization force and policy restrictions in prospect, they may be lured to lea ve joint ventures and may turn to entirely owned business procedures ( Mababaya, 2003). This situation may be coaxing, considering that joint ventures are not usually the best alternative for multinationals as it requires hard decisions regarding ownership arrangement, administration constituents and sharing profit. In Saudi Arabia, the joint venture course is still overriding, and is projected to stay so in the near future. Cultural Issues and Implications Saudi Arabia acts as the center for all Muslims in the world, since this is where the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah are located. This implies that Islamic culture and moral values are considered central to be understood by multinational firms doing trade or preparing to venture in Saudi Arabia (Whetherly Otter, 2011). In the business area, multinational firms doing or preparing to do business in alien nations such as Saudi Arabia will have better competitive advantages and will be in a position to improve their competiti ve stances and benefits as they get more acquainted with the Islamic culture ( Mababaya, 2003). On the trade and industry front, Muslims are directed by open cultural principles, which have significant implications to real business existence. Allah instructs Muslims to be honest and not to leave justice in all interactions with people, including trades dealings. Business actions or transactions, particularly but not restricted to those bearing potential executions, are required to be documented into written agreements appropriately signed by them and their observers (Whetherly Otter, 2011). The subjects involved in the business must devotedly abide by the documented contracts and accomplish all commitments they have settled upon (Mababaya, 2003). Like a cost-effective man, committed Muslims exactingly adhere to these basic business-legal principles, and those who transact with them are required to act in a related manner. This must be borne in mentality by those who have business c oncern in Saudi Arabia or in another place in the Muslim environment. Both vendors and buyers are required to be precise in weighing commodities (Mababaya, 2003). Debtors are also compelled to compensate their debts. In case a Muslim passes on, his bequest can only be dispersed to his legitimate heirs upon compensation of any debts.similarly a Muslim lender is expected to be moderate to his debtor. He must give his debtor adequate time to reimburse him. However if he decides to decline the debt and regard it as a donation to him or her, that will be healthier for him. Appreciating the Islamic veto of usury is vital for multinational firms doing or preparing to do trade in the Muslim environment (Mababaya, 2003). Parties implicated in trade must stay away from usury. In addition, the parties concerned in business must shun corruption, hoarding and monopoly (Whetherly Otter, 2011). A few Islamic guiding principles for commerce include: openhandedness of both the vendor and the consum er; evading going into a transaction when someone else is already undertaking the deal; common consent; support of importation of merchandise and restriction to hoarding; censure of taking vows in business; and promotion of income sharing and partnership (Beekun, 2008). Islam forbids theft or burglary and regards it as a capital crime. Islam also forbids land seizure. Betting together with the buying, selling and use of liquors are all banned (Shoult, 2006). Selling of images with animated items is also not permitted in Islam. Selling of liberated individuals to slavery is as well prohibited. Other prohibited commerce includes making prophecies in exchange for money and practicing prostitution (Whetherly Otter, 2011). Islam bans all these and other illegal business dealings as they cause harms, differences and insecurity in the world. They also unlock doors to wicked actions, which make people to commit more sins. When it comes to meeting the essential wants, a Muslim is obliged by Allah to eat just what is legalized and fine. For instance deceased meat, pork and blood are not legalized by Allah the Almighty. In fact, the ban of flesh from swine in Islam is categorical and strictly observed by all practicing Muslims. Muslims should also not consume anything that is used for sacrifice or meat from any animal that is murdered by choking or by being blushed to demise (Beekun, 2008). Muslims are also not permitted to consume anything that undomesticated animals have partially consumed and any flesh alienated by raffling with bullets. Prevention of smoking in Islam is founded on the fact that Allah counsels people not to let their own hands add to their annihilation and not to consume up their possessions in prides (Ali, 2009). A multinational corporation that is conscious of all these restrictions will have the benefit of not hurting the Muslim clients. It will be in a position to shun mistakes and problems that it may encounter in trading with its Saudi ally on a cultural foundation. A global firm can augment its competitiveness by investigating on what the Muslim consumers’ desire (Ali, 2009). Any company that always holds to meeting consumer necessities will be successful in the long term. In fact, these restrictions in Islam have very significant implications to global firms. Conversely, Islam requires people to do what is good and legitimate. It motivates fortification of the environment, planting seeds and trees, preservation of natural resources and the security of individual and other’s possessions (Mababaya, 2003). To pass on while defending possessions is a form of martyrdom among the Muslims. This means that Muslims do not accept unfairness, treachery, scams, deceit, cheating, fraud, and other outlawed business dealings in their economic hunt. Allah expects faithful Muslims to take pleasure in the rewards that He has given them in legitimate ways. Simultaneously, He cautions them not to be profligate or to commit ov erindulgence in their consumption of resources. The law is toward self-control in spending. Islam stresses and pays hard efforts. A person has to labor hard to make his living. Islam also supports donations to the deprived and the disadvantaged. However, Islam dejects begging and stinginess (Beekun, 2008). Begging as vocation is forbidden. Incentive and reimbursement programs must be proportional to worker’s pros, productivity and assistance to the enterprise. Managers are required to pay wages and salaries of workers on time. The importance of time is also a component of Islamic experiences. Muslims are obliged to pray frequently; five times each day. They are also required to give Zakat occasionally in each year. They should carry out fasting and pilgrimage throughout the set periods. Time should be spent sensibly to do good deeds and bond to those who teach the traditions of Islam. Time must never be shattered in unlawful trading. When commerce is carried out with extreme honesty, justice and impartiality, it turns out to be a kind of worship (Beekun, 2008). For Muslims, everything that delights Allah is a type of worship, provided that it is conducted earnestly for Him, and provided that it is conducted in agreement with the Sunnah and the Qur’an. Muslims are required to be vibrant and progressive, as Allah cannot transform their circumstances if they themselves have not agreed to change. Both consumers and vendors have to be precise in weighing commodities and must be solid in avoiding dishonesty. The position of women in the whole Muslim humanity is actually intertwined with Islam (Shoult, 2006). In Islamic religion, sacred and moral responsibilities are similar for both women and men. A small number of exclusions subsist in this respect, although they favor the part of a woman. For example, she is excused from some sacred responsibilities like fasting and prayer during her normal monthly periods. She is too not expected to attend the compu lsory prayers held in the mosque. This happens because Islam religion considers a woman’s key roles to be that of taking care of the family and maintaining the homestead. On the money-making face, Islam does not forbid women from laboring remote to the household setting. In contrast, it has given them the freedom to own and run their personal enterprises (Shoult, 2006). Regarding the matter of women in the Saudi Arabian labor force, a huge number of them are in employment. The regime is also preparing to open the private segment so as to provide work for Saudi women aligned with the kingdom’s plan towards making employment public. In this view, constructing markets and shopping centers that are special for women are a few of the strategies to create employment prospects for women in Saudi (Shoult, 2006). In conclusion, Joint ventures are the leading type of multinational business in Saudi Arabia. A joint venture in Saudi Arabia normally involves a business amid a compa ny that has superior business and technical abilities and a company that boasts superior local acquaintance and broad commercial potency. Among the benefits of joint ventures is that they ease admission into a novel market and access to market data and pool the required capital, knowledge and skills, which are feasible amid local and alien partners. Joint venture in Saudi Arabia is registered as a disconnect joint-stock business, which is take care of just like other home joint-stock businesses with both collaborating firms fairly embodied in the board of executives. In assumption, internalization happens only if the profits outpace the equivalent overheads.Foreign government rules and boundaries need to be reflected on also while internalizing a market. Global firms can be enticed to invest in an alien state, if the alien state has competitive advantages proportional to other states. In the instance of Saudi Arabia, competitive advantages include: existence of up to date airstrips and seaports; existence of outstanding inter-city public roads and good road network; and enhanced communication amenities. Actually, Saudi Arabia has many determinants of state benefits. For example, with respect to the factor surroundings, current fundamental industries in Saudi Arabia have in past years attracted key multinational firms to venture in the realm. Saudi Arabia acts as the center for all Muslims in the world, since this is where the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah are located. This implies that Islamic culture and moral values are considered central to be understood by multinational firms doing trade or preparing to venture in Saudi Arabia. In the business area, multinational firms doing or preparing to do business in alien nations such as Saudi Arabia will have better competitive advantages and will be in a position to improve their competitive stances and benefits as they get more acquainted with the Islamic culture. On the trade and industry front, Muslims a re directed by open cultural principles, which have significant implications to real business existence. For instance, Muslims are expected to be honest and not to leave justice in all interactions with people, including trades dealings. Islam also forbids theft or burglary, land seizure, betting, buying, selling and use of liquors, selling images with animated items, fortune telling and prostitution. When commerce is carried out with extreme honesty, justice and impartiality, it turns out to be a kind of worship. For Muslims, everything that delights Allah is a type of worship, provided that it is conducted earnestly for Him, and provided that it is conducted in agreement with the Sunnah and the Qur’an. A multinational corporation that is conscious of all these restrictions will have the benefit of not hurting the Muslim clients. It will be in a position to shun mistakes and problems that it may encounter in trading with its Saudi ally on a cultural foundation. A global firm can augment its competitiveness by investigating on what the Muslim consumers’ desire. Any company that always holds to meeting consumer necessities will be successful in the long term. In fact, these restrictions in Islam have very significant implications to global firms. References Agarwal, S. Ramaswami, S. N. (2000).Choice of foreign market entry mode: impact of ownership, location and internalization factors. Journal of International Business Studies, 23 (1), 1-27 Ahmad, S. Z. Kitchen, P. J. (2008). Transnational corporations from Asian developing countries: the internationalization characteristics and business strategies of Sime Darby Berhad. International Journal of Business Science and Applied Management, 3 (2), 21-36. Ali, A. (2009). Business and Management Environment in Saudi Arabia. New York: Routledge Andersen, O. (2003). On the internationalization process of firms: a critical analysis. Journal of International Business Studies, 24 (2), 209-231. Barney, J. B. (2005). Strategic factor markets: expectations, luck, and business strategy. Management Science, 32 (10), 1231-1241. Beekun, R. (2008). Islamic Business Ethics. 2nd Ed. Herndon: International Institute of Islamic Thought. Blomstermo, A., Sharma, D. D. Sallis, J. (2006).Choice of foreign market entry mode in service firms. International Marketing Review, 23(2), 211-29. Cheng, Y. M. (2006). Determinants of FDI mode choice: acquisition, Brownfield, and Greenfield entry in foreign markets. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 23 (3), 202-220. Dunning, J. H. (1988).The eclectic paradigm of international production: a restatement and some possible extensions. Journal of International Business Studies, 19 (1), 1-31. Ekeledo, I. Sivakumar, K. (2005). Foreign market entry mode choice of service firms: a contingency perspective. Journal of Academy of Marketing Science, 26 (4), 274-292. Griffin, R. W. Pustay, M. W. (2007). International business: a managerial perspective. 5th ed. N ew Jersey: Pearson Education Inc Hamilton, L. (2009). The international business environment. New York: Oxford University Press. Hill, C. W. (2008). Global business today. 5th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Hohenthal, J. Johanson, J. Johanson, M. (2006) Market discovery and the international expansion of the firm. International Business Review, 12, 659-672 Hunt, S. D. (2006). Foundations of marketing theory. Armonk, NY: Sharpe Janssen, H. Sandberg, S. (2008). Internationalization of small and medium sized enterprises in the Baltic Sea Region. Journal of International Management, 14, 65-77. Johanson, J. Vahlne, J. E. (2006). The internationalization process of the firm – a model of knowledge development and increasing foreign market commitments. Journal of International Business Studies, 8 (1), 23-32 Kirzner, I. M. (2005). Competition and entrepreneurship. Chicago: University of Chicago Press Koch, A. J. (2004). Selecting overseas markets and entry modes: two decision processes or one? Marketing Intelligence and Planning, 19 (1), 65-75. Kwon, Y. C. Konopa, L. J. (2003). Impact of host country market characteristics on the choice of foreign market entry mode. International Marketing Review, 10 (2), 60-76. Mababaya, M. (2002). The role of multinational companies in the Middle East: the case of Saudi Arabia. London: University of Westminster. Mababaya, M. (2003). International business success in a strange cultural environment. USA: Universal Publishers Malhotra, N., Agarwal, J. Ulgado, F. (2003). Internationalization and entry modes: a multi-theoretical framework and research propositions. Journal of International Marketing, 11 (4), 1-31. Melin, L. (2006). Internationalization as a strategy process. Strategic Management Journal, 13, 99-118. Mitra, D. Golder, P. N. (2007). Whose culture matters? Near-market knowledge and its impact on foreign market entry tinning. Journal of Marketing Research, 39, 350-365 Nakos, G. Brouthers, K. (2004). Entry mode choice of SMEs in central and Eastern Europe. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 3, 47-62. Papyrina, V. (2007). When, how, and with what success? The joint effect of entry timing and entry mode on survival of Japanese subsidiaries in China. Journal of International Marketing, 15 (3), 73-95. Quer, D., Claver, E. Andreu, R. (2007). Foreign market entry mode in the hotel industry: the impact of country- and firm-specific factors. International Business Review, 16, 362-376. Root, F. R. (2004). Entry strategies for international markets. Lexington: D. C.Heath Sharma, V. M. . Erramilli, M. K. (2006). Resource-based explanation of entry mode choice. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 4, 1-18 Shoult, A. (2006). Doing Business with Saudi Arabia. City: GMB Publishing Sivakumar, K. (2004).Simultaneous determination of entry timing and involvement level: an optimization model for international marketing. International Marketing Review, 19 (1), 21-38. Whetherly, P. Otter, D. (2011). The bu siness environment: themes and issues. Oxford: Oxford University Press Wild, J. J., Wild, K. L. Han, J. C. Y. (2008). International business: the challenges of globalization. 4th Ed. New Jersey: Prentice hall Zacharakis, A. L. (2005). Entrepreneurial entry into foreign markets: a transaction cost perspective. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 23-39. This essay on Internationalization and Cultural Implication for Joint Ventures in Saudi Arabia was written and submitted by user Jason Mcbride to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

How far had the British Government abandoned the policy of laissez-faire by 1914 Essay Example

How far had the British Government abandoned the policy of laissez How far had the British Government abandoned the policy of laissez-faire by 1914 Essay How far had the British Government abandoned the policy of laissez-faire by 1914 Essay Essay Topic: Claim of Policy 100 years ago 3/4 of the population in Britain were merely working class, 1/3 were living in severe poverty. Life expectancy was short and infant mortality rates were absurd, in Scotland 13 out of every 100 babies would die before they reached the age of one. The government and many rich, prosperous people believed in Self help not State help, many possessed the saying of heaven helps those who help themselves. Overall, in their opinion it was up to the individuals to look after themselves. Many things contributed to the Government finally realising that Britain was at a stage where state intervention was greatly needed. The colossal divide in social classes in the 1800s to early 1900s resulting in many people falling in to great poverty highlighting the lack of efficiency in the Governments laissez-faire ideology. The findings of Booth and Rowntree lead to a national uproar at the high number of people in Britain living without a decent house and enough money to feed a family for a week. By the year 1914, the British Government had abandoned the policy of laissez-faire to a certain extent. David Lloyd George, or otherwise known as The Father of the Welfare State wanted to enforce state intervention to such an extent that it would provide the country with enough help to create a healthy Britain. His initial plan included a state funded National Health Service (NHS), state funded education, unemployment benefit and a state pension. He called this The Welfare State. So why did the British Government resort to abandoning the policy of laissez-faire? The Boer War of 1899-1902 proved the British National Efficiency to be extremely low. Over half of the applicants who seeked work in the army were rejected simply because they were not fit enough. Many people highlighted the fact that if there were no fit or healthy soldiers then there was no protection for Britain as a country or their colonies. Furthermore, if the British workforce were unhealthy then the trade and exports would decrease because of an insufficient output of goods. In January 1906, the Liberal party won 400 seats in the House of Commons, thereby a majority and gaining power. The Liberals strongly believed in state intervention and with Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman in power till 1908 and thereafter Herbert Henry Asquith, they passed various reforms between 1906-1914, which did in a way remove the old laissez-faire ideology. These liberal reforms targeted many areas of society, but in particular one group that was helped a great deal were the children. Between 1906-1914 the Government passed various policies that would help the growing concern in the deterioration of childrens health and education. In 1906 the School Meals Act was passed, this gave the local councils the opportunity to provide free school meals to children who were in need. However, parents able to afford to pay, were expected to do so. A lot of local authorities failed to undertake this idea, consequently in 1914 the government made the provision of school meals compulsory. In regards to their health, the government passed the 1907 Medical Inspection in Schools Act allowing childrens health to be monitored in school, the dejected reports sent in by doctors thus allowed the local authorities to set up clinics in school in 1912, allowing doctors to regularly check on the health of children. These reforms helped the government to help the people and progress gradually from laissez-faire. However, the cost at times was extortionate- it was easy enough to identify the illnesses but providing the medicine needed was costly. By 1908 various people had recognised that the major causes of poverty were low wages, unemployment or irregular earnings. Others recognised that there was a major damage to health through long working hours and the working conditions, and so after 1908 the government introduced various state intervention policies to help those who were employed to have improved standards and in 1908 the working day for a coal miner was cut to 8 hours, in certain sweated trades the trade board set up boards to control wages and working conditions. On the other boat, help was needed for the unemployed and so in 1911 the National Insurance Act was passed. This was the most radical reform of all and was a major break through in social reform. It worked in two parts; (i) the sickness insurance benefits, which entitled workers to 10s. per week for a period of up to 26 weeks for health reasons and medical treatment for free from a selected doctor. Money to provide this service to workers came from 4d a week from workers, 3d a week from employers and 2d a week from the state. So really the majority of money wasnt being provided by the state! ii) The unemployment benefits- a certain amount of weeks had to be worked before you could receive any benefits, again you could only claim for up to 26 weeks and those cyclical workers e. g. house builders were not covered because it was classed as seasonal work. At this stage the friendly societies, which provided help for the poor, were almost put out of business buy the N. I Acts. Although, these friendly societies did eventually recover to help those workers who were not covered by the governments national insurance policy. The Labour exchanges (or job centres) were also set up to encourage workers to look for work. And so, these acts passed to help the employed and unemployed were another sign of the British Government abandoning their laissez-faire policy and taking a step forward to state intervention. In 1908 the old age pension scheme was set up. This policy was yet again another policy that had been influenced by the ideas and findings of Charles Booth. He, alongside others had stressed the importance in the welfare of the elderly people of Britain for many years. When in 1908 the pensions were made available, they were only given to those over the age of 70 and to whom the government means testers felt were the most deserving. Although this scheme was most definitely state intervention and not laissez-faire it was certainly not generous. It cost the British Government i 8 million to provide for 668000 people, which helped to add to the budget crisis of 1909. it was not as successful as the other schemes introduced in other aspects of society as the budget was too low and the age limit too high in accordance to the lower life expectancy at that time. Hence, by gathering all of the policies and acts above, which targeted all areas and problems in British society at the time, the British Government had abandoned the policy of laissez-faire to a certain extent However, the introduction of a welfare state and state intervention, with the abandonment of laissez-faire has not occurred wholly. A welfare state did not fully exist yet and the system was still showing signs of laissez-faire. There were still various problems that did not allow laissez-faire to be fully abandoned. The liberal reforms did not create a full Welfare State, this was because of various reasons. To start with although the government was providing health insurance for sick workers, it still did not provide the country with a National Health Service. Secondly, the services provided to ill workers and unemployed workers did not cover their family and so left them without any benefit whatsoever. Furthermore, the pension scheme was insufficient and didnt target the majority of elderly people in urgent help. Finally, another major problem was that the unemployment did not cover the bulk of problems raised by those in need. The failure to fully abandon the laissez-faire ideology was also partly because of the mixture of opinions within the House of Commons and also the general public. Many people favoured the Liberal Reforms and the desertion of laissez-faire, for example the Labour Party, the working class and the middle class (who shared mixed views). However, there was also various opposition who were in favour, for obvious reasons of laissez-faire. This opposition was the Conservative Party and the upper class that didnt see a problem with laissez-faire as the problem of poverty and ill health did not really ever involve them, and if it did they could afford the doctors bills. The upper classes were also basically excluded from the liberal reforms because most of the policies introduced did not effect their lifestyle. To conclude, the British Government had only abandoned the laissez-faire policy by 1914 to a certain extent. By 1914, I feel that the Liberals had created a series of stepping-stones and foundations on which they could eventually build up a full welfare state. They had introduced various acts that brought state help along to the children, the elderly, the employed, the unemployed, the sick and the needy. However the state help provided by the British Government did not cover everyone in the country, people were excluded from the benefits (the prosperous) and therefore were still living by the old laissez-faire policy. The acts and policies introduced although bringing along various good points and benefits did come with a variety of problems that needed to be solved along with budget problems. And so, overall the British government still had various problems and issues to resolve before they could fully abandon the laissez-faire policy and take on Lloyd Georges long needed ideological policy of The Welfare State.

Friday, November 22, 2019

ACT Percentiles and Score Rankings

ACT Percentiles and Score Rankings SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips What’s the difference between a good ACT score and a great ACT score? One way colleges make that distinction is by looking at ACT score percentiles. ACT score percentiles help colleges compare students with one another, rather than just looking at everyone’s individual score. Learn more about your ACT score percentile so you can maximize both your study time and admission chances. Then, find out your current score percentile using our detailed charts. What’s an ACT Percentile Ranking? Your percentile ranking is a comparison of your ACT score with everyone else who took the test. Specifically, your percentile tells you how many people you scored higher than. The ACT will give you a percentile ranking for your composite score as well as for your four subject-area scores. (For more on how the ACT is scored and how your composite is calculated, check out our guide.) Your ACT score percentile is not like a grade out of 100;rather, it’s a comparison between you and other students. For example, if you get in the 70th percentile, this means you scored higher than 70% of test takers. It doesn’t mean you got exactly 70% of the test questions correct. (In fact, the ACT is tricky enough that if you got about 70% of the questions right, your ranking would be closer to the 75th percentile.) What Are the Current ACT Score Percentiles? Now that you know about percentile rankings, it’s helpful to know what the ACT percentiles actually are, both for composite scores and individual section scores. You can use the following chart to find percentile rankings for your overall ACT composite score and for each section (English, Math, Reading, and Science). To find your percentile, first find your score between 1 and 36 on the left-hand side, and then slide over to the correct subject area or composite to see your percentile ranking. For example, a composite score of 30 has a 93rdpercentile ranking, but a Reading section score of 30 has an 87thpercentile ranking. Here's the most recent ACT percentile data from 2018: Score English Math Reading Science Composite Score 36 100 100 100 100 100 36 35 99 99 99 99 99 35 34 96 99 97 98 99 34 33 94 98 94 97 98 33 32 93 97 92 96 96 32 31 91 96 89 95 95 31 30 90 95 87 94 93 30 29 88 93 94 92 91 29 28 86 91 82 90 88 28 27 84 88 80 88 85 27 26 82 83 77 86 82 26 25 79 78 74 82 78 25 24 75 73 70 77 74 24 23 70 68 66 71 69 23 22 64 63 60 64 64 22 21 59 59 54 57 58 21 20 53 55 49 50 52 20 19 48 51 43 44 46 19 18 44 46 38 37 40 18 17 40 38 33 30 34 17 16 36 29 28 25 27 16 15 30 18 22 18 21 15 14 24 8 18 14 15 14 13 18 3 13 10 9 13 12 14 1 9 6 4 12 1 5 4 1 10 6 1 3 2 1 10 9 3 1 1 1 1 9 8 1 1 1 1 1 8 7 1 1 1 1 1 7 6 1 1 1 1 1 6 5 1 1 1 1 1 5 4 1 1 1 1 1 4 3 1 1 1 1 1 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Source:ACT.org Did you know an improvement of 4 points on the ACT will revolutionize your chances of getting into your dream school? Download our free guide to the top 5 strategies you need in your prep to improve your ACT score dramatically. One important thing to note is thatthere's really no difference in percentiles at the highest and lowest score ranges. At the upper end, anything higher than a 34 composite score is in the 99th-100thpercentiles. Similarly, at the lower end, any composite score between 1 and 8 is in the 1stpercentile. However, things change quickly in the middle. For example, a 3-point jump from 17 to 20 raises your percentile from the 34th to the 52nd- or, from below average to average. To take another example, a 3-point jump from 26 to 29 takes you from the 82ndpercentile to the 91stpercentile. Getting into the 91st percentile is fantastic because it puts you in the top 10% of all test takers. What all of this means is that if you get a lower or middle-range composite score, raising it by just a few points can have a dramatic effect on your percentile ranking and thus your college admission chances. In addition, unless you're shooting for the most elite schools, if you get a 34 composite or higher, you probably shouldn't worry about having toretake the ACT. What About ACT Subscore Percentiles? ACT subscores give you more detail about your performance on the ACT and what specific areas you can improve on. However, as of late 2016,ACT, Inc.,no longer releases public information about percentile ranks for ACT subscores,so the only place you can get information about your performance on subscores compared with other test takers is your own ACT score report. If you haven't taken the ACT and are curious, you can take a look at this sample score reportfor the 2017-18 testing year. Note thatcolleges likely will not look too closely (if at all) at your subscores. When it comes to the ACT, your overall composite score is most important.It's the number most colleges use when reporting admitted student score ranges, and the scoremost often used to determine scholarship recipients. Ultimately, subscores can be used to give more context about your performance, but they're not be-all and end-all numbers. Does My ACT Percentile Actually Matter? Percentile rankings are important because they help colleges compare your ACT performance with those of other test takers. But the ACT score ranges for the colleges you're applying to are far more important than your overall percentile ranking. Colleges have average ACT score ranges for admitted students that usually don’t change drastically from year to year, and they rely on these ranges when making admissions decisions. This range is the middle 50%, or the 25th and 75th percentile scores,of admitted applicants. To find ACT score ranges for a college, search "[School Name] ACT scores PrepScholar." By doing this for all of the colleges you want to apply to, you can come up with a target ACT score. Your goal score will then be equal to the highest 75th percentile score for your schools. The goal is to get a higher than average ACT score for your dream college. Though your target score is most important, ACT percentiles can help you interpret your own scores better. For example, say you got a 30 on Math (95thpercentile) and a 24 on English (75thpercentile). Without percentile data, it would be hard to say exactly how much better you did on Math than on English.But with rankings, you can see that your Math score is excellent and your English score, while strong, could be improved- a 3-point jump to 27 could net you an 84th percentile score. To sum up, percentiles are a very helpful tool, both for college admissions officers looking at your application and for you in your own studying. But rather than obsessing over your ranking, aim for a score that is competitive for the colleges you want to go- this willgive you your best shot at getting into your dream school! What’s Next? Now that you know about the importance of percentiles, learn more about the average ACT score and come up with your own personal target score. Dreaming big? Find out what ACT scores you need to get into the Ivy League. And if you’re aiming for perfection, check out our guide to a perfect 36, writtenby our resident full scorer. Want to improve your ACT score by 4+ points? Download our free guide to the top 5 strategies you need in your prep to improve your ACT score dramatically. Have friends who also need help with test prep? Share this article! Tweet Halle Edwards About the Author Halle Edwards graduated from Stanford University with honors. In high school, she earned 99th percentile ACT scores as well as 99th percentile scores on SAT subject tests. She also took nine AP classes, earning a perfect score of 5 on seven AP tests. As a graduate of a large public high school who tackled the college admission process largely on her own, she is passionate about helping high school students from different backgrounds get the knowledge they need to be successful in the college admissions process. Get Free Guides to Boost Your SAT/ACT Get FREE EXCLUSIVE insider tips on how to ACE THE SAT/ACT. 100% Privacy. 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Thursday, November 21, 2019

Sustainability Written Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sustainability Written Report - Essay Example Originally, geothermal energy was used in hot springs as early as Paleolithic times according to a study made by Cataldi (1993) about the history of hot springs before the Modern Period. Technically, the first geothermal energy harnessed lighted a few light bulbs. The following accounts relate how the world recognized geothermal energy: On July 4, 1904, Prince Piero Ginori Conti tested the world’s first geothermal generator at the Larderello dry steam field in Italy. Merely a couple of years later, this invention was deployed commercially and used to operate drilling equipment. Soon the small town of Larderello was using geothermal power for all its electricity requirements. (History of Geothermal Energy, http://www.economywatch.com) Because of the said event, it is no wonder that Italy maintained the position as being a top producer of geothermal energy for many decades. New Zealand followed suit only fifty-years later. The United States took the risk and invested in the Geys ers Geothermal Field in California which is currently the largest producer of geothermal energy in the world. This location has five power plants and Chevron Corporation spearheads in providing geothermal energy to millions of American homes. Uses of Geothermal Energy Geothermal energy has many useful purposes, with electricity generation as its most widely-known use. Bioeconomicfuel.com cites the 5 different uses of geothermal energy (Stern, 2009): 1. Industrial and Agricultural Uses A good example of which is the role of geothermal energy in drying up timber. In New Zealand, the â€Å"Tasman Pulp and Paper Mill uses geothermal steam in heat exchangers to heat kiln air to 140?C for timber drying†( Stewart, 2009). Aside from timber, crops can also be dehydrated using geothermal energy which makes this type of energy very useful for agriculture. 2. Food Processing The food processing industry can harness the heat from geothermal energy for sterilization process as well as dryi ng. In India, Chandrasekharam (2001) published a paper that advocated the use of geothermal energy in food processing since India’s topography is viable for this type of food processing. However, the United States had already applied that concept way back in 1978 when it opened the geothermal food processing plant in Brady Hot Springs, Nevada. In fact, â€Å"More than 25 million pounds of dehydrated onion and garlic are now being processed annually in Nevada â€Å"(nrel.gov, Oct 2001). This fact just attests to the huge capacity of geothermal energy in providing clean energy at a lesser cost. 3. Electricity Generation The Geothermal Energy Market Report shows that in 2005 alone, the top ten countries used 97% of geothermal energy for electricity generation purpose (refer to Appendix A). According to the International Energy Agency, â€Å"geothermal energy currently supplies less than 1% of the world's total energy demand†. Nevertheless, it has an enormous potential t o mitigate climate changes by reducing the use of carbon fossil fuels. It is a considerable source of renewable energy. In the case of Philippines, (which is second to the United States in using geothermal energy), it has a potential to become one of the world’s largest producer of geothermal energy. Currently, geothermal energy supplies 27% of the country’s electricity (www.philippines. hvu.nl). During the World Geothermal Congress in 2000, it was declared that the â€Å"

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Western Civilization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Western Civilization - Essay Example In reference to the creation of the universe and the formation of galaxies which are found to have taken place under a great deal of time and evolution, one must figure how indispensable a â€Å"first cause† is for according to Aquinas, an infinite series of causes is not possible. Though the universe seems infinite in space with unfathomable mysteries left to be explored, it has its beginning and thus, a cause which is itself not subject to a prerequisite of a separate cause. This proof serves a link and support to the fourth proof which accounts for the statement that God is the â€Å"greatest being†. Scientific efforts have heretofore shown evidence of how vast the immeasurable universe is and that our solar system is merely comprised in the Milky Way galaxy out of the hundreds of billions of galaxies known so far and this fact certainly leads us to imagine how astonishingly immense the Maker is of all these already colossal things. By the fifth proof, the saint argues â€Å"whatever acts for an end must be directed by an intelligent being.† Gravitational pull or force of gravity, as majority are fully aware of, keeps everything in place and puts the universe in perfect order as if it has originated from a thinking source that knows how to calculate, premeditate, and discern the heart of nature with remarkable sensibility. Looking at the symmetry widely present throughout creation within and beyond earth, it is rather difficult to deny that something or someone intelligent is responsible for the orderly structure and state of equilibrium. Otherwise, neither this world nor the overly extensive dimension it is a part of would have survived if it were to emerge from chances at random instead of through God’s intelligence by which logic and beauty alike are preserved. At this stage, it makes all the more sense to declare the third proof with conviction that God, indeed, is

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Kantian and Utilitarian Essay Example for Free

Kantian and Utilitarian Essay Kant believed in an absolute moral law that he called the Categorical Imperative. It is this imperative that determines our duty. (2) Two formulations of this imperative can be used to determine the morally correct action that Alistair should choose. The first formulation, The Formula of Universal Law: Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law [of nature]. (2) Alistair has two possible maxims to act upon. These maxims, if it were universally applicable, are: â€Å"Anyone may lie in order to promote increasing human welfare† and â€Å"Everyone always tells the truth†. The first maxim is contradictory. If people had the option to lie, it negates the system of trust on which the world is built. When, for example, I put my money in the bank, I trust them to keep it safe. If the first maxim was universally accepted, I could not trust without reservation that the bank would keep my money safe because they would be able to give my money away if they felt it would increase the welfare of those less fortunate. If this was the case, there would be widespread mistrust and, ironically, it would have a negative impact on human welfare. The second maxim is universally applicable and is thus, according to Kant, the maxim on which to act upon. The second formulation, The Formula of the End in Itself: â€Å"So act as to treat humanity, both in your own person, and in the person of every other, always at the same time as an end, never simply as a means. †(2) If Alistair were to withhold the truth about the bribery, he denies the rationality of the board and denies that there is any rational action for them to perform. He denies them the option to rationally make a decision on what to do about the situation. In doing this he is using the board merely as a means to ensure the delivery of the medicine. According to Kant, for Alistair to use the board as a means in themselves, he would have to tell the truth. According to Kant’s theory, the action of ignoring the bribe fails the first and second formulation of the Categorical Imperative, thus the right thing to do would be to tell the truth to the board of directors. Utalitarian Theory Looking back at the case study it is clear that, on the one hand, people are receiving inexpensive kits of medicine, the drivers don’t get shot and the reputation of the relief organisation and the director is still intact. On the other hand, the board doesn’t know about the bribery, thus the unethical activity cannot be put to a stop. Utilitarianism is a theory based on consequences, not the action leading to the consequence. This theory holds that we should choose those actions that would result in the greatest amount of good in the interest of the greatest number of people affected by our actions. 1)(4) The â€Å"good† is anything that, directly or indirectly, brings happiness or pleasure. (4) The consequences of each particular action is considered to determine which outcome will best serve the greater good. (3) Act Utilitarianism prescribes that every situation be evaluated independently. The action that leads to the greatest net outcome of utility is then c onsidered to be the correct choice. According to this theory, Alistair should choose the action that will maximise happiness and minimise unhappiness. Alistair has two possible choices with two different consequences. The first is that Alistair tells the truth about the bribery. The possible outcome of his choice are the following: the drivers stop receiving cash and get shot, the contract is terminated and the less fortunate stop receiving their medicine, the director in charge of the contract is fired, and the relief organisation suffers great embarrassment. These are all negative effects and cause great unhappiness. On the other hand, the happiness of the board is increased because they can put a stop to more unethical activity. The second choice that Alistair has to consider is to keep silent and overlook the bribe. This would lead to the situation staying the same (as stated in the case study) and would secure the happiness of the greater good which include: the director, the relief organisation, the drivers and the people receiving the medicine. The board of directors would not know about the bribe, so there would be no unhappiness to consider. Considering the consequences of both actions, the happiness of the greater good is maximised when Alistair keeps silent.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Juvenile Crime Essay -- essays research papers

One of the biggest problems which the United States is faced with is juvenile crime. The reason experts feel juvenile’s commit crimes is because of risk factors when they were younger but experts still have not found the main reason why juvenile’s commit crimes. Some risk factors associated with juvenile crime are poverty, repeated exposure to violence, drugs, easy access to firearms, unstable family life and family violence, delinquent peer groups, and media violence. Especially the demise of family life, the effect of the media on the juveniles today, and the increase of firearms available today have played a big role in the increase of juveniles crimes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The most common risk factor is the demise of the family life and the increase in family violence. Between 1976 and 1992 the number of juveniles living in poverty grew 42% and this caused an increase in crimes by juveniles. Many of these juvenile criminals have been abused or neglected and they also grew up in a single-parent household. Research has found that 53% of these children are more likely to be arrested, and 38% more likely to commit a violent crime as an adult, then their counterparts who did not suffer such abuse. The symptoms of child abuse are â€Å"high levels of aggression and antisocial behavior† and these children are twice as likely to become juvenile offenders. Also improper parental care has been linked to delinquency such as mothers who drink alcohol or take drugs during pregnan...

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Culture and Love Essay

The concept of love is perhaps of the widely defined and yet loosely given that concrete meaning. This is due to the fact that there are many ways that people define what love is in as much as there are many ways that people can show love. One of the strongest influences on love is culture. The way we show love can depend on our culture so that how we reciprocate love is also dictated by culture. Indeed, love and culture has defined meaning to each other and have, in many ways certain connectivity that adds meaning to each other. This is the reason why, the culture of love in many countries differ from each other. There would always be distinct features of love and of culture that define love in these countries. For example, in an article by Nevitt entitled, â€Å"Art and Culture of Love in Seventeenth-Century Holland†, he defined how the culture of love was during the seventeenth century in Holland by examining texts and artworks that described how love was manifested during that time, including courtship and how love is manifested. The concept of courtship is perhaps one that differs from one culture to the other. This is true because as one culture believes in the concept and importance of courtship, others simply do not. Nevitt interpreted these works which according to him show â€Å"how they both reflect and shaped the experience of love†. The thing portrayed in the paintings for example, is taken in the â€Å"context of the contemporary culture of love which manifested itself in the social practices of courtship and in a variety of amatory texts† (Nevitt). These paintings are very significant as it would have no inspiration for its contents if there would be no true meaning to it as shown and seen in the community that shower each other with love. Work Cited Nevitt, Rodney. â€Å"Art and the Culture of Love in Seventeenth-Century Holland. † 24 June 2009 .

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Indian Economic Scenario

GLOBSYN BUSINESS SCHOOL STUDY OF THE INDIAN AND CHINA ECONOMY PRESENTED BY: Learning Group 6 (PGPM-11B) – Vasundhara Kedia – Sourabh Soni – Sudeshna Chowdhary – Niloy Biswas – Sauryadipta Basu – Mandeep Pradhan ACKNOWLEDGMENT The time spent in the making of this project, as a part of our curriculum requirement of PGPM course, is invaluable in terms of learning. The application of concepts to the project added more depth and meaning to the knowledge gained in the classroom. We wish to extend our gratitude to our faculty guide Prof.S Chatterjee, for guiding us through the project with ample patience and understanding. We would also like to thank him for reminding us of the core objectives of the project every time we diverted from it. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract PAGE NO. 1. Introduction 4-6 THE INDIAN ECONOMY 2. Pre colonial, colonial and post-colonial India 7- 15 3. Indian Planning Commission & Liberalisation 16-20 4. India’s Economic Re forms and Currency Devaluation 21- 29 5.The Five Year Plans In India 30- 56 6. Fiscal Policy of India 57- 63 7. Monetary Policy of India 64- 65 8. Impact of Financial Crisis on Indian Economy 66-68 THE ECONOMY OF CHINA 9. Overview of the China Economy 69 10. Fiscal policy, Monetary policy, Inflation 70-73 11. Contrast between India and China’s Economy 74-80 ANNEXURE 1. INTRODUCTION Indian Economy Overview | | | | | |[pic] | | | | | |Indian economy is growing, despite the economic crisis that engulfed the world, stated Mr Anand Sharma, Union Minister for Commerce, | |Industry and Textiles, Government of India, while addressing a session at the 11thPravasi Bharatiya Divas 2013. Mr Sharma further | |highlighted that the national investment rate is around 33-34 per cent, and is expected to increase to 36 per cent by the end of | |12th  Five Year Plan (2012-17). |India has been adjourned the fifth best country in the world for dynamic growing businesses, as per the Grant Thorn ton Global Dynamism| |Index. The index gives a reflection of how suitable an environment the country offers for dynamic businesses. | |Indian tax climate was also considered to be reasonably favourable and India continued to be an attractive investment destination, | |according to a survey conducted by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd (Deloitte). | |Moreover, India was ranked fourth on Ernst & Young's (E) renewable attractiveness index, second on the solar index, and third on the| |wind index, as per the latest  study  by E and UBM India Pvt Ltd. | | |The Economic Scenario | |India is expected to be the second largest manufacturing country in the next five years, followed by Brazil as the third ranked | |country, according to Deloitte. | |Some of the other important economic developments in the country are as follows: | |The HSBC's Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) touched a 12 month high at 57. 5 points in January 2013 as compared to 55. 6 in | |December 2012 | |The net d irect tax collections in India rose by 13. 70 per cent to record Rs 368,322 crore (US$ 67. 6 billion) during April-December | |2012, as compared to Rs 323,956 crore (US$ 59. 77 billion) during the corresponding months in 2011 | |Indian companies have raised US$ 4. 29 billion, through external commercial borrowings (ECBs) and foreign currency convertible bonds | |(FCCBs) in October 2012, to fund modernisation, foreign acquisitions, import of capital goods and onward lending | |The total value of private equity (PE) and mergers & acquisitions (M) deals in November 2012 increased five-fold to US$ 10. 1 | |billion, as per a study by Grant Thornton India. The total value of PE deals in November 2012 rose to US$ 39 billion from US$ 0. | |billion in November 2011, indicating that PE players preferred concentrated exposure to their value investments | |The cumulative amount of foreign direct investments (FDI) equity inflows into India were worth US$ 187,804 million between April 2000 | |to December 2012, while FDI equity inflow during April 2012 to December 2012 was recorded as US$ 16,946 million, according to the | |latest data published by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) | |Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) made a net investment of US$ 68. 46 million in the equity market and US$ 14. 2 million in the | |debt market upto February 18, 2013, according to data released by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) | | | |Growth Potential Story | |The pharmaceutical market of India is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14-17 per cent over 2012-16 and is | |now ranked among the top five pharmaceutical emerging markets globally | |The ready-to-drink tea and coffee market in India is estimated to touch Rs 2,200 crore (US$ 405. 90 million) in next four years, | |according to estimates arrived at the World Tea and Coffee Expo 2013 | |India's IT and business process outsourcing (BPO) sector exports are expected to incr ease by 12-14 per cent in FY14 to touch US$ 84 | |billion – US$ 87 billion, as per National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) | |Indian manufacturing and natural resources industry plans to spend Rs 40,800 crore (US$ 7. 53 billion) on IT products and services in | |2013, a growth of 9. per cent over 2012, according to Gartner. The telecommunications category remains the biggest spending category | |and it is forecast to reach Rs 13,200 crore (US$ 2. 43 billion) in 2013 | |The semiconductor market is expected to grow from US$ 6. 03 billion in 2011 to US$ 9. 7 billion by 2015. In addition, the local demand | |and sourcing is estimated to record US$ 3. 6 billion by 2015 | |The electronic system design and manufacturing (ESDM) sector of India is projected to reach US$ 94. 2 billion by 2015 from US$ 64. | |billion in 2011, according to a report by the India Semiconductor Association (ISA) and Frost & Sullivan | |The luxury car market of India is set for gro wth over the medium and long term, according to Mr Philipp Von Sahr, President, BMW Group| |India. The market is about 30,000 cars a year and is rising steadily, Mr Sahr added | |The FM radio sector in India is expected to touch the Rs 2,300 crore (US$ 424. 35 million) mark within three years of the Phase III | |licences' roll-out, as per estimates by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Ernst & Young.The sector is expected to reach Rs | |1,400 crore (US$ 258. 30 million) with 245 private FM stations during 2012-13 | |The US$ 12 billion Indian foundry industry has lined up investments worth Rs 600 crore (US$ 110. 70 million) over the next few years as| |it expands and adapts environment-friendly measures to garner global market share | |Indian infrastructure landscape would attract investments worth Rs 49,000 billion (US$ 904. 05 billion) during the 12th Five Year Plan | |period (2012-17), with at least 50 per cent funding from the private sector, as per Government's projec tions. | | |Road Ahead | |The Indian economy is estimated to grow at a higher rate of 6. 7 per cent in 2013-14 due to revival in consumption, according to a | |report by CRISIL. â€Å"India's GDP growth in 2013-14 will be supported by the revival of private sector consumption growth aided by higher| |growth in agriculture, high government spending and lower interest rates,† said Ms Roopa Kudva, Managing Director and CEO, CRISIL. | |†The Indian financial markets have witnessed favouritism among the investing diaspora compared to its Asian counterparts such as South| |Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia,† according to a report by Mecklai Financial. | |Exchange Rate: INR 1 = 0. 1845 as on February 19, 2013 | | | |References:  Ministry of Finance, Press Information Bureau (PIB), Media Report, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Indian Economy before Colonial Period | | | |The earliest known evident civilizati on which flourished on the  Indian  soil was the  Indus Valley Civilization. Historians believed | |that this civilization would have flourished between the time frame of 2800 BC and 1800 BC.It is evident from the excavated cities | |and structures that the inhabitants of the Indus Valley practiced agriculture, domesticated animals and had developed trade | |relationships between different cities. They are also known to have developed a uniform system of weights and measures. Also, the | |inhabitants of Indus Valley were one amongst the very first of people to have developed a network of well planned cities with their | |application of urban planning. These planned cities were equipped with the world’s first urban sanitation systems. | |India  had been successful to develop international trade since as early as the first century BC.Historical evidences suggest that the| |Coromandel, the Malabar, the Saurashtra and the  Bengal  coasts were excessively used for the transportation of goods via sea roots from| |and towards  India. In the ancient times,  India  conducted international trade mainly with parts of Middle East, Southeast Asia, Europe | |and Africa. Overland international trade, conducted via Khyber Pass, was also prevalent in ancient  India. | |Later, in medieval times, the  Mughal Empire  gave way to a centrally administered uniform revenue policy and political stability | |in  India  which in turn lead to the further development of trade and unified the nation. During this era,  India  was primarily an | |agrarian self-sufficient  economy  which primarily depended on the primitive methods of agriculture.After the downfall of the Mughal | |Empire, the  economy of India  was primarily governed by the  Maratha Empire  which then ruled over most parts of  India. Later, the | |Maratha defeat in the third battle of Panipat disintegrated  India  into several Maratha confederate states which raised a w idespread | |political turmoil in the country. The  economy of India  turned highly disturbed in most parts of the country during this phase, but | |some areas gained a local prosperity too. Later, by the end of eighteenth century, the  British East India Company  was successful in | |being a part of the  Indian  political machinery, following which there was a drastic change in the country’s economic activities and | |the trade conducted from the  Indian  soil. | | | | | | | | | | | | |Indian Economy during Colonial Period | | | |During the reign of the  British East India Company, there was a drastic shift in the economic activities conducted across the country. | |More stress was laid on commercialization of agriculture. This led to a change in the agricultural pattern across the nation.During | |this phase of the  Indian economy, there was a constant decline in the production of food grains in the country which resulted to the | |mass impoverishment and destitution of farmers. Also, in a short span after this shift of pattern, there were numerous famines raised | |in the country. | |Though, after and during this phase, there was a sharp decline in the  economic  structure of the country, but this was also the phase | |during which some major and  economically  important developments took place. These developments include the establishment of railways, | |telegraphs, common law and adversarial legal system. Also, it was during this era that a civil service which essentially aimed to be | |free from the political interference was established. | | |Post-Colonialism: Definition, Development and Examples from India | | | |1. Post-colonialism in general | |1. 1 Definition | |Post-colonialism is an intellectual direction (sometimes also called an â€Å"era† or the â€Å"post-colonial theory†) that exists since around | |the middle of the 20th  century. It developed from and mainly refers to the time after col onialism. The post-colonial direction was | |created as colonial countries became independent.Nowadays, aspects of post-colonialism can be found not only in sciences concerning | |history, literature and politics, but also in approach to culture and identity of both the countries that were colonised and the | |former colonial powers. However, post-colonialism can take the colonial time as well as the time after colonialism into consideration. | |1. 2 Development | |The term â€Å"decolonisation† seems to be of particular importance while talking about post-colonialism. In this case it means an | |intellectual process that persistently transfers the independence of former-colonial countries into people’s minds.The basic  idea  of | |this process is the deconstruction of old-fashioned perceptions and attitudes of power and oppression that were adopted during the | |time of colonialism. | |First attempts to put this long-term policy of â€Å"decolonising the mindsâ⠂¬  into practice could be regarded in the Indian population after| |India became independent from the British Empire in 1947. | |However, post-colonialism has increasingly become an object of scientific examination since 1950 when Western intellectuals began to | |get interested in the â€Å"Third World countries†. In the seventies, this interest lead to an integration of discussions about | |post-colonialism in various study courses at American Universities. Nowadays it also plays a remarkable role at European Universities. |A major aspect of post-colonialism is the rather violent-like, unbuffered contact or clash of cultures as an inevitable result of | |former colonial times; the relationship of the colonial power to the (formerly) colonised country, its population and culture and vice| |versa seems extremely ambiguous and contradictory. | |This contradiction of two clashing cultures and the wide scale of problems resulting from it must be regarded as a major theme in | |post-colonialism: For centuries the colonial suppressor often had been forcing his civilised values on the natives. But when the | |native population finally gained independence, the colonial relicts were still omnipresent, deeply integrated in the natives’ minds | |and were supposed to be removed. | |So decolonisation is a process of change, destruction and, in the first place, an attempt to regain and lose power.While natives had | |to learn how to put independence into practice, colonial powers had to accept the loss of power over foreign countries. However, both | |sides have to deal with their past as suppressor and suppressed. | |This complicated relationship mainly developed from the Eurocentric perspective from which the former colonial powers saw themselves: | |Their colonial policy was often criticised as arrogant, ignorant, brutal and simply naive. Their final colonial failure and the total | |independence of the once suppressed made the process of decolonisation rather tense and emotional. | |Post-colonialism also deals with conflicts of identity and cultural belonging.Colonial powers came to foreign states and destroyed | |main parts of native tradition and culture; furthermore, they continuously replaced them with their own ones. This often lead to | |conflicts when countries became independent and suddenly faced the challenge of developing a new nationwide identity and | |self-confidence. | |As generations had lived under the power of colonial rulers, they had more or less adopted their Western tradition and culture. The | |challenge for these countries was to find an individual way of proceeding to call their own. They could not get rid of the Western way| |of life from one day to the other; they could not manage to create a completely new one either. | |On the other hand, former colonial powers had to change their self-assessment.This paradox identification process seems to be what | |decolonisation is all about, while post-colonialism is the intellectual direction that deals with it and maintains a steady analysis | |from both points of view. | |So how is this difficult process of decolonisation being done? By the power of language, even more than by the use of military | |violence. Language is the intellectual means by which post-colonial communication and reflection takes place. This is particularly | |important as most colonial powers tried to integrate their language, the major aspect of their civilised culture, in foreign | |societies. | |A lot of Indian books that can be attached to the era of post-colonialism, for instance, are written in English.The cross-border | |exchange of thoughts from both parties of the post-colonial conflict is supported by the use of a shared language. | |To give a conclusion of it all, one might say that post-colonialism is a vivid discussion about what happened with the colonial | |thinking at the end of the colonial era. What legacy arouse from this era? What social, cultural and economical consequences could be | |seen and are still visible today? In these contexts, one examines alternating experiences of suppression, resistance, gender, | |migration and so forth. While doing so, both the colonising and colonised side are taken into consideration and related to each other. |The main target of post-colonialism remains the same: To review and to deconstruct one-sided, worn-out attitudes in a lively | |discussion of colonisation. | | | |2. The post-colonial experience in India | |2. 1 History of Indian colonialism | |In the 16th  century, European powers began to conquer small outposts along the Indian coast. Portugal, the Netherlands and France | |ruled different regions in India before the â€Å"British East India Company† was founded in 1756. |The British colonialists managed to control most parts of India while ruling the key cities Calcutta, Madras and Bombay as the main | |British bases. However, there still remained a few independent reg ions (Kashmir among others) whose lords were loyal to the British | |Empire. | |In 1857, the first big rebellion took place in the north of India. The incident is also named â€Å"First war of Indian Independence†, the | |â€Å"Sepoy Rebellion† or the â€Å"Indian Mutiny†, depending on the individual perspective. This was the first time Indians rebelled in massive| |numbers against the presence and the rule of the British in South Asia. The rebellion failed and the British colonialists continued | |their rule. |In 1885, the â€Å"National Indian Congress† (popularly called â€Å"Congress†) was founded. It demanded that the Indians should have their | |proper legitimate share in the government. From then on, the Congress developed into the main body of opposition against British | |colonial rule. Besides, a Muslim anti-colonial organisation was founded in 1906, called the â€Å"Muslim League†. | |While most parts of the Indian population rema ined loyal to the British colonial power during the First World War, more and more | |Muslim people joined the Indian independence movement since they were angry about the division of the Ottoman Empire by the British. |The non-violent resistance against British colonial rule, mainly initiated and organised by Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, | |finally lead to independence in 1947. | |At the same time, the huge British colony was split into two nations: The secular Indian Union and the smaller Muslim state of | |Pakistan. The Muslim League had demanded for an independent Muslim state with a majority of Muslims. | |India became a member of the British Commonwealth after 1947. | | | |2. 2 Post-colonial development in India | |The Partition of India (also called the â€Å"Great Divide†) lead to huge movements and an ethnic conflict across the Indian-Pakistani | |border.While around 10 million Hindus und Sikhs were expelled from Pakistan, about 7 million Muslims crossed the border to from India| |to Pakistan. Hundreds of thousands of people died in this conflict. Ever since these incidents, there have been tensions between India| |and Pakistan which lead to different wars particularly in the Kashmir region. | |For decades the Congress Party ruled the democratic country which had become a republic with its own constitution in 1950. In 1977 the| |opposition gained the majority of votes. In 1984, after the Congress Party had regained the majority, conflicts with the cultural | |minority of the Sikhs lead to the assassination of the Indian prime minister Indira Ghandi. |Today, apart from the significant economic progress, India is still facing its old problems: Poverty, overpopulation, environmental | |pollution as well as ethnic and religious conflicts between Hindus and Muslims. Additionally, the Kashmir conflict has not come to an | |end yet, while both Pakistan and Indian are threatening each other with their arsenals of atomic weapons. | |Concerning p ost-colonial literature, Edward Said’s book â€Å"Orientalism† (published in 1978) is regarded as the beginning of | |post-colonial studies. In this book the author analyses how European states initiated colonialism as a result of what they called | |their own racial superiority. | |The religious-ethnic conflicts between different groups of people play an important role in the early years of post-colonialism. |Eye-witnesses from both sides of the Indian-Pakistani conflict wrote about their feelings and experience during genocide, being | |confronted to blind and irrational violence and hatred. The Partition is often described as an Indian trauma. | |One example for a post-colonial scriptwriter who wrote about this conflict is Saddat Hasan Manto (1912 – 1955). He was forced to leave| |Bombay and to settle in Lahore, Pakistan. He published a collection of stories and sketches (â€Å"Mottled Dawn†) that deal with this dark | |era of Indian history and its im mense social consequences and uncountable tragedies. | |Furthermore, there are many different approaches to the topic of intercultural exchange between the British and the Indian population. |Uncountable essays and novels deal with the ambiguous relationship between these two nations. One particularly interesting phenomenon | |is that authors from both sides try to write from different angles and perspectives and in that way to show empathy with their | |cultural counterpart. | |The most famous novelist who wrote about these social and cultural exchanges is Salman Rushdie. Rushdie, who won the booker prize | |among various others, was born in India, but studied in England and started writing books about India and the British in the early | |eighties. His funny, brave, metaphoric and sometimes even ironical way of writing offers a multi-perspective approach to the | |post-colonial complex.This can be also seen in his book â€Å"Midnight’s Children†. In the past, Salman Rushdie was also repeatedly | |threatened by Irani fundamentalists because of his critical writing about Muslim extremism in the Middle East. | |Another famous post-colonial novel is â€Å"Heat and Dust† (published in 1975) by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala that contains two plot set in | |different times: One about a British lady starting an affair with a local Indian prince in the 1920s, the other one set in the 1970s, | |featuring young Europeans on a â€Å"hippie trail† who claim they have left behind Western civilisation and are trying to some spiritual | |home among Indian gurus. |â€Å"Bollywood† has become a notorious synonym for the uprising Indian film industry in recent years. Young Indian scriptwriters have | |discovered post-colonial issues as themes for their movies and as a way of dealing with the changeful past of their country. | |Concerning the integration of Western values in the Indian population and culture, one can say that the British influence is s till | |omnipresent in the Asian subcontinent. The reason for this can be also found in the persistence of the English language. | |Many Indians are conversant with the English language, because the British colonialists intended to export their values and culture by| |teaching the Indian population their language.This was regarded as the basic fundament for further education. | |What about the relationship between India and the United Kingdom today? It is a special one, and of course still not without tensions | |between these two nations that refer to the time of colonialism which from our retro perspective is not at all so far away. | |India has managed to become an independent state with its own political system and is still working to find its own identity. The | |longer the process of decolonisation lasts, the more we get the impression that only a middle course between the acceptance of British| |legacies and the creation of a new unique Indian self-confidence will be the righ t way to go for India. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Indian Economy before Liberalization | | | |After independence, till 1991, the  economic policies of India  were primarily inspired by the Soviet  economic planning  under which a | |strong emphasis was laid on increasing the domestic self-sufficiency and reducing the reliance on imports. The  economic policies of | |India  during this phase were primarily protectionist and marked by excessive  economic  interventions and business regulations. Also, | |during this era the major concern of the government was to develop large and heavy public sector industries. |The  economic planning process  during this phase was mainly conducted centrally through the  Five Year Planning process  of the  Planning | |commission. This structure of  economic planning, through  Five Year Plans, was analogous to the  planning process  of the Soviet Union. | |Industries like mining, steel, machine tools, insur ance, telecommunications and power plants were effectively nationalized during this| |era. | |The Government of  India, under the leadership of  India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, along with statistician Prasanta | |Chandra Mahalanobis formulated an  economic policy  which laid a prime focus on the development of heavy industry in country by both the| |public and the private sector.However, despite all its efforts, the  economy of India  was unsuccessful to grow at pace with other | |Asian countries for the first three decades after independence. | |Later, in 1965, the advent of Green Revolution in country, triggered by the improved irrigation facilities, increased use of | |fertilizers and the introduction of high-yielding varieties of seeds improved the economic conditions of the country and enabled a | |better link between industry and agriculture in  India. | | | |The economic policies of the colonial rulers were at the centre of a controversy i n the late 19th century India.Whereas the colonial | |administration sought to project its policies as beneficial to the country, the nationalist writers and sympathetic British | |commentators attacked these policies as exploitative and oppressive. | |Dadabhai Naoroji, R. C. Dutt and William Digby were some of the famous critics of government policies. The economic history of India, | |as we know it, may be said to have begun during this period. D. R. Gadgil, Vera Anstey and D. H. Buchanan followed in their footsteps in| |taking up the economic history of the colonial period. Jaduanth Sarkar and W. H. Moreland wrote about the Mughal economy. | |In the post-independence period, economic history became an established field of study and several studies were undertaken on various | |periods of Indian history covering several aspects of economy.The emergence of economics as a discipline in the eighteenth century | |led in due course to the development of a new branch in history called e conomic history. | |The progenitors of economics were Adam Smith and other classical economists. India was very much in the vision of the classical | |economists, a group of thinkers in England during the Industrial Revolution. They advocated lays faire and minimizing of state | |intervention in the economy. Adam Smith, the foremost classical economist, condemned the East India Company in its new role as the | |ruling power in India. In his view, the Company's trading monopoly ran counter to the principle of the freedom of the market. |Economics underwent a theoretical transformation in the early twentieth century under the influence of John Maynard Keynes, who | |advocated strategic economic intervention by the government for promoting welfare and employment. Keynes, too, thought deeply about | |India while developing his new economic theories, and his earliest major  work. | |Indian Currency and Finance (London 1913), illustrated his notions of good monetary management of the ec onomy. It is also noteworthy | |that the early classical economists, such as Ricardo, influenced the thinking of a group of Utilitarian administrators who set about | |reforming the administration of India in the nineteenth century. | |Above all, the influence of Adam Smith is noticeable in the end of the Company's monopoly by the Charter Acts of 1813 and 1833.Not | |surprisingly, therefore, historians have paid close attention to the connection between the evolution of economic thought in England | |and the question of reform of the colonial administration in India. | |Classical political economy in England laid the foundations for the laissez faire economics of the Raj in the nineteenth century. | |Keynesian economics, on the other hand, contained the germs of the development economics of the mid-twentieth century both types of | |economics affected the state and the economy in India, and stimulated debates in the economic history of India. | |For the colonial period, R. C. Dutt's Economic History was followed by a series of works: D. R.Gadgil, The Industrial Evolution of | |India in Recent Times (1924); Vera Anstey, The Economic Development of India (1929); and D. H. Buchanan, and The Development of | |Capitalistic Enterprise in India (New York 1934). More recently, there has been a collective two-volume survey; Tapan Raychaudhuri and| |Irfan Habib (eds. ). | |The Cambridge Economic History of India, Vol 1, C. 1200 – C. 1750 (Cambridge 1982); and Dharma Kumar, The Cambridge Economic History of | |India, vol. 2 C. 1757 – C. 1970 (Cambridge, 1983). Daniel Houston Buchanan, an American author, was of the opinion that other worldly | |values and the caste system inhibited economic development in India. D. R.Gadgil, who updated his near classic work several times, | |emphasized, on the contrary, more strictly economic factors: the difficulties of capital mobilization on account of the absolute | |smallness of capital resources in respect to the siz e of the population, the late development of organized banking, and the seasonal | |fluctuations of a monsoon economy. | |A dispassionate economist, he did not blame either foreign rule or the Indian social structure for the absence of an industrial | |revolution in India; some of the Western contributors to the second volume of The Cambridge Economic History, on the other hand, | |showed a disposition to challenge R. C.Dutt's vision of the negative impact of colonialism, and they dwelt instead on the | |technological backwardness of the Indian economy. This, in their view, inhibited industrial development and capitalist enterprise | |during the colonial period. | | | THE INDIAN PLANNING COMMISSION HISTORY The Planning Commission was set up by a Resolution of the Government of India in March 1950 in pursuance of declared objectives of the Government to promote a rapid rise in the standard of living of the people by efficient exploitation of the resources of the country, increasing p roduction and offering opportunities to all for  employment  in the service of the community.The Planning Commission was charged with the responsibility of making assessment of all resources of the country, augmenting deficient resources, formulating plans for the most effective and balanced utilisation of resources and determining priorities. Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Chairman of the Planning Commission. The first Five-year Plan was launched in 1951 and two subsequent five-year plans were formulated till 1965, when there was a break because of the Indo-Pakistan Conflict. Two successive years of drought, devaluation of the currency, a general rise in prices and erosion of resources disrupted the planning process and after three Annual Plans between 1966 and 1969, the fourth Five-year plan was started in 1969.The Eighth Plan could not take off in 1990 due to the fast changing political situation at the Centre and the years 1990-91 and 1991-92 were treated as Annual Plans. Th e Eighth Plan was finally launched in 1992 after the initiation of structural adjustment policies. For the first eight Plans the emphasis was on a growing public sector with massive investments in basic and heavy industries, but since the launch of the Ninth Plan in 1997, the emphasis on the public sector has become less pronounced and the current thinking on planning in the country, in general, is that it should increasingly be of an indicative nature. FUNCTIONS The 1950 resolution setting up the Planning  Commission  outlined its functions as to: a.Make an assessment of the material, capital and human resources of the country, including technical personnel, and investigate the possibilities of augmenting such of these resources as are found to be deficient in relation to the nation’s requirement; b. Formulate a Plan for the most effective and balanced utilisation of country's resources; c. On a determination of priorities, define the stages in which the Plan should be c arried out and propose the allocation of resources for the due completion of each stage; d. Indicate the factors which are tending to retard economic development, and determine the conditions which, in view of the current social and political situation, should be established for the successful execution of the Plan; e.Determine the nature of the machinery which will be necessary for securing the successful implementation of each stage of the Plan in all its aspects; f. Appraise from time to time the progress achieved in the execution of each stage of the Plan and recommend the adjustments of policy and measures that such appraisal may show to be necessary; and g. Make such interim or ancillary recommendations as appear to it to be appropriate either for facilitating the discharge of the duties assigned to it, or on a consideration of prevailing economic conditions, current policies, measures and development programmes or on an examination of such specific problems as may be referred to it for advice by Central or State Governments. EVOLVING FUNCTIONSFrom a highly centralised planning system, the Indian economy is gradually moving towards indicative planning where Planning Commission concerns itself with the building of a long term strategic vision of the future and decide on priorities of  nation. It works out sectoral targets and provides promotional stimulus to the economy to grow in the desired direction. Planning Commission plays an integrative role in the development of a holistic approach to the policy formulation in critical areas of human and economic development. In the social sector, schemes which require coordination and synthesis like rural health, drinking water, rural energy needs, literacy and environment protection have yet to be subjected to coordinated policy formulation. It has led to multiplicity of agencies. An integrated approach can lead to better results at much lower costs.The emphasis of the Commission is on maximising the output by using our limited resources optimally. Instead of looking for mere increase in the plan outlays, the effort is to look for increases in the efficiency of utilisation of the allocations being made. With the emergence of severe constraints on available budgetary resources, the resource allocation system between the States and Ministries of the Central Government is under strain. This requires the Planning Commission to play a mediatory and facilitating role, keeping in view the best interest of all concerned. It has to ensure smooth management of the change and help in creating a culture of high productivity and efficiency in the Government.The key to efficient utilisation of resources lies in the creation of appropriate self-managed organisations at all levels. In this area, Planning Commission attempts to play a systems change role and provide consultancy within the Government for developing better systems. In order to spread the gains of experience more widely, Planning Commission    also plays an information dissemination role. India-Liberalization in the Early 1990s Growth since 1980 Increased borrowing from foreign sources in the late 1980s, which helped fuel economic growth, led to pressure on the balance of payments. The problem came to a head in August 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait, and the price of oil soon doubled.In addition, many Indian workers resident in Persian Gulf states either lost their jobs or returned home out of fear for their safety, thus reducing the flow of remittances (see Size and Composition of the Work Force, this ch. ). The direct economic impact of the Persian Gulf conflict was exacerbated by domestic social and political developments. In the early 1990s, there was violence over two domestic issues: the reservation of a proportion of public-sector jobs for members of Scheduled Castes (see Glossary) and the Hindu-Muslim conflict at Ayodhya (see Public Worship, ch. 3; Political Issues, ch. 8). The central government fell in Novemb er 1990 and was succeeded by a minority government. The cumulative impact of these events shook international confidence in India's economic viability, and the country found it increasingly difficult to borrow internationally.As a result, India made various agreements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF–see Glossary) and other organizations that included commitments to speed up liberalization (see United Nations, ch. 9). In the early 1990s, considerable progress was made in loosening government regulations, especially in the area of foreign trade. Many restrictions on private companies were lifted, and new areas were opened to private capital. However, India remains one of the world's most tightly regulated major economies. Many powerful vested interests, including private firms that have benefited from protectionism, labor unions, and much of the bureaucracy, oppose liberalization.There is also considerable concern that liberalization will reinforce class and regional economic disparities. The balance of payments crisis of 1990 and subsequent policy changes led to a temporary decline in the GDP growth rate, which fell from 6. 9 percent in FY 1989 to 4. 9 percent in FY 1990 to 1. 1 percent in FY 1991. In March 1995, the estimated growth rate for FY 1994 was 5. 3 percent. Inflation peaked at 17 percent in FY 1991, fell to 9. 5 percent in FY 1993, and then accelerated again, reaching 11 percent in late FY 1994. This increase was attributed to a sharp increase in prices and a shortfall in such critical sectors as sugar, cotton, and oilseeds.Many analysts agree that the poor suffer most from the increased inflation rate and reduced growth rate. Data as of September 1995 The rate of growth improved in the 1980s. From FY 1980 to FY 1989, the economy grew at an annual rate of 5. 5 percent, or 3. 3 percent on a per capita basis. Industry grew at an annual rate of 6. 6 percent and agriculture at a rate of 3. 6 percent. A high rate of investment was a major factor in improved economic growth. Investment went from about 19 percent of GDP in the early 1970s to nearly 25 percent in the early 1980s. India, however, required a higher rate of investment to attain comparable economic growth than did most other low-income developing countries, indicating a lower rate of return on investments.Part of the adverse Indian experience was explained by investment in large, long-gestating, capital-intensive projects, such as electric power, irrigation, and infrastructure. However, delayed completions, cost overruns, and under-use of capacity were contributing factors. Private savings financed most of India's investment, but by the mid-1980s further growth in private savings was difficult because they were already at quite a high level. As a result, during the late 1980s India relied increasingly on borrowing from foreign sources (see Aid, this ch. ). This trend led to a balance of payments crisis in 1990; in order to receive new loans, the government had no choice but to agree to further measures of economic liberalization.This commitment to economic reform was reaffirmed by the government that came to power in June 1991. India's primary sector, including agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, and quarrying, accounted for 32. 8 percent of GDP in FY 1991 (see table 17, Appendix). The size of the agricultural sector and its vulnerability to the vagaries of the monsoon cause relatively large fluctuations in the sector's contribution to GDP from one year to another (see Crop Output, ch. 7). In FY 1991, the contribution to GDP of industry, including manufacturing, construction, and utilities, was 27. 4 percent; services, including trade, transportation, communications, real estate and finance, and public- and private-sector services, contributed 39. 8 percent.The steady increase in the proportion of services in the national economy reflects increased market-determined processes, such as the spread of rural banking, and government a ctivities, such as defense spending (see Agricultural Credit, ch. 7; Defense Spending, ch. 10). Despite a sometimes disappointing rate of growth, the Indian economy was transformed between 1947 and the early 1990s. The number of kilowatt-hours of electricity generated, for example, increased more than fiftyfold. Steel production rose from 1. 5 million tons a year to 14. 7 million tons a year. The country produced space satellites and nuclear-power plants, and its scientists and engineers produced an atomic explosive device (see Major Research Organizations, this ch. ; Space and Nuclear Programs, ch. 10).Life expectancy increased from twenty-seven years to fifty-nine years. Although the population increased by 485 million between 1951 and 1991, the availability of food grains per capita rose from 395 grams per day in FY 1950 to 466 grams in FY 1992 (see Structure and Dynamics, ch. 2). However, considerable dualism remains in the Indian economy. Officials and economists make an import ant distinction between the formal and informal sectors of the economy. The informal, or unorganized, economy is largely rural and encompasses farming, fishing, forestry, and cottage industries. It also includes petty vendors and some small-scale mechanized industry in both rural and urban areas.The bulk of the population is employed in the informal economy, which contributes more than 50 percent of GDP. The formal economy consists of large units in the modern sector for which statistical data are relatively good. The modern sector includes large-scale manufacturing and mining, major financial and commercial businesses, and such public-sector enterprises as railroads, telecommunications, utilities, and government itself. The greatest disappointment of economic development is the failure to reduce more substantially India's widespread poverty. Studies have suggested that income distribution changed little between independence and the early 1990s, although it is possible that the poor er half of the population improved its position slightly.Official estimates of the proportion of the population that lives below the poverty line tend to vary sharply from year to year because adverse economic conditions, especially rises in food prices, are capable of lowering the standard of living of many families who normally live just above the subsistence level. The Indian government's poverty line is based on an income sufficient to ensure access to minimum nutritional standards, and even most persons above the poverty line have low levels of consumption compared with much of the world. Estimates in the late 1970s put the number of people who lived in poverty at 300 million, or nearly 50 percent of the population at the time. Poverty was reduced during the 1980s, and in FY 1989 it was estimated that about 26 percent of the population, or 220 million people, lived below the poverty line. Slower economic growth and higher inflation in FY 1990 and FY 1991 reversed this trend.In FY 1991, it was estimated that 332 million people, or 38 percent of the population, lived below the poverty line. Farmers and other rural residents make up the large majority of India's poor. Some own very small amounts of land while others are field hands, seminomadic shepherds, or migrant workers. The urban poor include many construction workers and petty vendors. The bulk of the poor work, but low productivity and intermittent employment keep incomes low. Poverty is most prevalent in the states of Orissa, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh, and least prevalent in Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir. By the early 1990s, economic changes led to the growth in the number of Indians with significant economic resources.About 10 million Indians are considered upper class, and roughly 300 million are part of the rapidly increasing middle class. Typical middle-class occupations include owning a small business or being a corporate executive, lawyer, physician, wh ite-collar worker, or land-owning farmer. In the 1980s, the growth of the middle class was reflected in the increased consumption of consumer durables, such as televisions, refrigerators, motorcycles, and automobiles. In the early 1990s, domestic and foreign businesses hoped to take advantage of India's economic liberalization to increase the range of consumer products offered to this market. Housing and the ancillary utilities of sewer and water systems lag considerably behind the population's needs.India's cities have large shantytowns built of scrap or readily available natural materials erected on whatever space is available, including sidewalks. Such dwellings lack piped water, sewerage, and electricity. The government has attempted to build housing facilities and utilities for urban development, but the efforts have fallen far short of demand. Administrative controls and other aspects of government policy have discouraged many private investors from constructing housing units. Liberalization in the Early 1990s Increased borrowing from foreign sources in the late 1980s, which helped fuel economic growth, led to pressure on the balance of payments. The problem came to a head in August 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait, and the price of oil soon doubled.In addition, many Indian workers resident in Persian Gulf states either lost their jobs or returned home out of fear for their safety, thus reducing the flow of remittances (see Size and Composition of the Work Force, this ch. ). The direct economic impact of the Persian Gulf conflict was exacerbated by domestic social and political developments. In the early 1990s, there was violence over two domestic issues: the reservation of a proportion of public-sector jobs for members of Scheduled Castes (see Glossary) and the Hindu-Muslim conflict at Ayodhya (see Public Worship, ch. 3; Political Issues, ch. 8). The central government fell in November 1990 and was succeeded by a minority government. The cumulative impact of these events shook international confidence in India's economic viability, and the country found it increasingly difficult to borrow internationally.As a result, India made various agreements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF–see Glossary) and other organizations that included commitments to speed up liberalization (see United Nations, ch. 9). In the early 1990s, considerable progress was made in loosening government regulations, especially in the area of foreign trade. Many restrictions on private companies were lifted, and new areas were opened to private capital. However, India remains one of the world's most tightly regulated major economies. Many powerful vested interests, including private firms that have benefited from protectionism, labor unions, and much of the bureaucracy, oppose liberalization. There is also considerable concern that liberalization will reinforce class and regional economic disparities.The balance of payments crisis of 1990 and subsequen t policy changes led to a temporary decline in the GDP growth rate, which fell from 6. 9 percent in FY 1989 to 4. 9 percent in FY 1990 to 1. 1 percent in FY 1991. In March 1995, the estimated growth rate for FY 1994 was 5. 3 percent. Inflation peaked at 17 percent in FY 1991, fell to 9. 5 percent in FY 1993, and then accelerated again, reaching 11 percent in late FY 1994. This increase was attributed to a sharp increase in prices and a shortfall in such critical sectors as sugar, cotton, and oilseeds. Many analysts agree that the poor suffer most from the increased inflation rate and reduced growth rateINDIA'S ECONOMIC REFORMS The reform process in India was initiated with the aim of accelerating the pace of economic growth and eradication of poverty. The process of economic liberalization in India can be traced back to the late 1970s. However, the reform process began in earnest only in July 1991. It was only in 1991 that the Government signaled a systemic shift to a more open econ omy with greater reliance upon market forces, a larger role for the private sector including foreign investment, and a restructuring of the role of Government. The reforms of the last decade and a half have gone a long way in freeing the domestic economy from the control regime.An important feature of India's reform programme is that it has emphasized gradualism and evolutionary transition rather than rapid restructuring or â€Å"shock therapy†. This approach was adopted since the reforms were introduced in June 1991 in the wake a balance of payments crisis that was certainly severe. However, it was not a prolonged crisis with a long period of non-performance. The economic reforms initiated in 1991 introduced far-reaching measures, which changed the working and machinery of the economy. These changes were pertinent to the following: †¢ Dominance of the public sector in the industrial activity †¢ Discretionary controls on industrial investment and capacity expansion †¢ Trade and exchange controls †¢ Limited access to foreign investment Public ownership and regulation of the financial sector The reforms have unlocked India's enormous growth potential and unleashed powerful entrepreneurial forces. Since 1991, successive governments, across political parties, have successfully carried forward the country's economic reform agenda. Reforms in Industrial Policy Industrial policy was restructured to a great extent and most of the central government industrial controls were dismantled. Massive deregulation of the industrial sector was done in order to bring in the element of competition and increase efficiency. Industrial licensing by the central government was almost abolished except for a few hazardous and environmentally sensitive industries.The list of industries reserved solely for the public sector — which used to cover 18 industries, including iron and steel, heavy plant and machinery, telecommunications and telecom equipment, m inerals, oil, mining, air transport services and electricity generation and distribution was drastically reduced to three: defense aircrafts and warships, atomic energy generation, and railway transport. Further, restrictions that existed on the import of foreign technology were withdrawn. Reforms in Trade Policy It was realized that the import substituting inward looking development policy was no longer suitable in the modern globalising world. Before the reforms, trade policy was characterized by high tariffs and pervasive import restrictions. Imports of manufactured consumer goods were completely banned. For capital goods, raw materials and intermediates, certain lists of goods were freely importable, but for most items where domestic substitutes were being produced, imports were only possible with import licenses.The criteria for issue of licenses were non-transparent, delays were endemic and corruption unavoidable. The economic reforms sought to phase out import licensing and a lso to reduce import duties. Import licensing was abolished relatively early for capital goods and intermediates which became freely importable in 1993, simultaneously with the switch to a flexible exchange rate regime. Quantitative restrictions on imports of manufactured consumer goods and agricultural products were finally removed on April 1, 2001, almost exactly ten years after the reforms began, and that in part because of a ruling by a World Trade Organization dispute panel on a complaint brought by the United States. Financial sector reformsFinancial sector reforms have long been regarded as an integral part of the overall policy reforms in India. India has recognized that these reforms are imperative for increasing the efficiency of resource mobilization and allocation in the real economy and for the overall macroeconomic stability. The reforms have been driven by a thrust towards liberalization and several initiatives such as liberalization in the interest rate and reserve r equirements have been taken on this front. At the same time, the government has emphasized on stronger regulation aimed at strengthening prudential norms, transparency and supervision to mitigate the prospects of systemic risks.Today the Indian financial structure is inherently strong, functionally diverse, efficient and globally competitive. During the last fifteen years, the Indian financial system has been incrementally deregulated and exposed to international financial markets along with the introduction of new instruments and products. Devaluation of the Rupee: Tale of Two Years, 1966 and 1991 Since its Independence in 1947, India has faced two major financial crises and two consequent devaluations of the rupee. These crises were in 1966 and 1991 and, as we plan to show in this paper, they had similar causes. Foreign exchange reserves are an extremely critical aspect of any country’s ability to engage in commerce with other countries.A large stock of foreign currency res erves facilitates trade with other nations and lowers transaction costs associated with international commerce. If a nation depletes its foreign currency reserves and finds that its own currency is not accepted abroad, the only option left to the country is to borrow from abroad. However, borrowing in foreign currency is built upon the obligation of the borrowing nation to pay back the loan in the lender’s own currency or in some other â€Å"hard† currency. If the debtor nation is not credit-worthy enough to borrow from a private bank or from an institution such as the IMF, then the nation has no way of paying for imports and a financial crisis accompanied by devaluation and capital flight results.The destabilising effects of a financial crisis are such that any country feels strong pressure from internal political forces to avoid the risk of such a crisis, even if the policies adopted come at large economic cost. To avert a financial crisis, a nation will typically ad opt policies to maintain a stable exchange rate to lessen exchange rate risk and increase international confidence and to safeguard its foreign currency (or gold) reserves. The restrictions that a country will put in place come in two forms: trade barriers and financial restrictions. Protectionist policies, particularly restrictions on imports of goods and services, belong to the former category and restrictions on the flow of financial assets or money across international borders are in the latter category.Furthermore, these restrictions on international economic activity are often accompanied by a policy of fixed or managed exchange rates. When the flow of goods, services, and financial capital is regulated tightly enough, the government or central bank becomes strong enough, at least in theory, to dictate the exchange rate. However, despite these policies, if the market for a nation’s currency is too weak to justify the given exchange rate, that nation will be forced to de value its currency. That is, the price the market is willing to pay for the currency is less than the price dictated by the government. The 1966 Devaluation As a developing economy, it is to be expected that India would import more than it exports.Despite government attempts to obtain a positive trade balance, India has had consistent balance of payments deficits since the 1950s. The 1966 devaluation was the result of the first major financial crisis the government faced. As in 1991, there was significant downward pressure on the value of the rupee from the international market and India was faced with depleting foreign reserves that necessitated devaluation. There is a general agreement among economists that by 1966, inflation had caused Indian prices to become much higher than world prices at the pre-devaluation exchange rate. When the exchange rate is fixed and a country experiences high inflation relative to other countries, that country’s goods become more expensive and foreign goods become cheaper.Therefore, inflation tends to increase imports and decrease exports. Since 1950, India ran continued trade deficits that increased in magnitude in the 1960s. Furthermore, the Government of India had a budget deficit problem and could not borrow money from abroad or from the private corporate sector, due to that sector’s negative savings rate. As a result, the government issued bonds to the RBI, which increased the money supply. In the long run,