Barclays Bank PLC Is A Multinational Company Essay

Amenities to attract highly skilled and creative persons at all important levels ? Tradition of closeness to key customers and target customers A business can differentiate itself by performing its existing value activities or reconfiguring in some unique ways. And the sustainability of that differentiation will depend on two things: a continuation of its high perceived value to buyers and a lack of imitation by competitors. There are many alternative strategic directions in which Barclaycard could implement in their current strategy of differentiation. These may include technology innovation or product/ service differentiation. Product/service differentiation Product differentiation occurs â€Å"when, owing to differences in physical attributes, ancillary service, geographic location, information, and/or subjective image, one firm’s products are clearly preferred by at least some buyers over rival products at a given price† (, 1990, ). For firms seeking to make their demand curve less elastic, successful differentiation provides an insulated position against competitors by enabling firms to sell a larger quantity at a given price or by allowing the firm to create brand loyalty in customers resulting in lower sensitivity to price. This uniqueness may build an entry barrier for competitors to overcome (, 1992; , 1980). However, being unique may require a trade-off with investment if achieving differentiation requires costly effort such as extensive research, product design, high quality materials, or intensive customer support. Thus, the firms employing the differentiation strategy cannot ignore costs and risk (, 1980). Horizontal product differentiation focuses on differences in attribute variety among competing brands. It occurs â€Å"when one brand contains more of some attributes but less of some other attributes in comparison to another brand† (). Consumers’ different tastes will exploit differing strong and weak points among brands given identical prices (, 1992). The shift towards consumerism is accelerating with significant implications in many of the markets in which we operate. Fundamentally, our view is that consumerism involves a shift in power from institutions towards consumers. The rapid transformation of the credit card industry – first with the severing of the traditional tie between bank accounts and credit cards and second, with the emergence of credit as a true commodity in the credit card industry – illustrates this so well. Consumers in the past were grateful if they received credit – it was seen as a right granted to a special few by a bank and hence banks held power over individuals. The value proposition was the availability of credit. Technology Innovation In the case of Barclaycard, it is could improve its operations and competitive advantage through real time design data driven tools. This tool would improve their credit limit strategies and increase their interest earning balances. A Fair, Isaac Model Builder for the decision trees may be used as this tool uses historical data to assist in identifying optimal account management strategies. Fair, Isaac Model Builder for Decision Trees is a PC Windows based application designed specifically to support data driven strategy design. It gives lenders the power to rapidly create new strategies in real time using multiple performance dimensions, to process large datasets rapidly so strategies at any point for greater understanding of the portfolio and transfers strategies to and from production application with ease, putting new strategies into production faster. This real time, highly interactive approach dramatically shortens the time between strategy creation and roll out. With Barclaycard objectives of the new strategies to increase interest bearing balances, increase turnover, control bad debt, and address attrition, Fair, Fair Isaac can be a big help for the organization. While the average number of cards in a person’s wallet has increased over the last five years, the value to an individual of having multiple cards will diminish in an environment where credit is a commodity.

Case study Technique Essay

In psychology, cases study is the use of descriptive research and analysis to obtain in-depth information about a person, group, or a phenomenon. Case study is conducted using techniques such as direct-observation of the person, personal interviews, psychometric tests, and use of earlier researches archived (Dunbar, 2005). Psychology uses a case study often in clinical research to explain an unusual occurrences and conditions of the patient. The conditions are contrary to the pre-established principles in the fields of psychology and clinical research. Most of the case studies are single-case design; however, there is multiple-case design where instead of using sampling, replication is the criterion for use. Case study in psychology ought to be valid, and reliable to help in the future psychological research. This paper explains the reasons, disadvantages, and advantages of the case study. Reasons for Using Case Study Case study allows the researcher to examine and gather information about persons in far more detail than if the research was on a large number of people. Although the case study is not a research method, clinical and psychological researchers identifies methods of data collection that is suitable for the case study (Goodwin, 1995). For instance, observation, interviews, personal notes, and officially documented records. The reason for the case study is to investigate into the private lives of persons with the focus of understanding them and helping them in overcoming the problems that they experienced in their daily lives. Advantages and Disadvantages of Case Study Case study allows the researchers to collect detailed information about a person that is useful. The information would not have been obtained by the other research methods. The information obtained during the case study is richer and is greater in depth compared to the other experimental designs. Moreover, the research considers rare cases where large samples of similar people are not available. Scientific experiments on the person done during the process of study are also an advantage (Dunbar, 2005). The process enables the researchers to adapt to ideas and come up with a hypothesis that  will be a point of reference in the future research. On the contrary, the data collected during the case study cannot apply in a wider population. This makes the data not be useful in longitudinal case studies. In addition, some of the studies are not scientific in nature (Goodwin, 1995). They are only a generalization of the scientific principles. The study considers only one individual; therefore, the study is prone to the researcher biases. The bias of the experimenter can influence the conclusions more than in the other study designs. It is also difficult to prove the effect from the psychological case study (Dunbar, 2005). A case study is often prone to be more time consuming than the time used in other study designs. Sources of Case Study Data The case study research generates data from different sources. The researchers use field notes to record data that is already available in stored databases. The use of sampling where one person is examined to represent a wider group is also a method of case study data collection. In addition, questionnaires, observations, and interviewing are other methods used to collect case study data. In conclusion, the study tends to collect qualitative data. The psychological case study is important since it collects unique and in-depth data about a person. Mainly, the rare phenomena and conditions allude to case studies. Finally, it is vital to refer to the recorded data to ensure that the findings are accurate and applicable in the real life situations. References Dunbar, G. (2005). Evaluating research methods in psychology: A case study approach. Malden, MA: BPS Blackwell. Goodwin, C. J. (1995). Research in psychology: Methods and design. New

My Home Town

Belgrade is my hometown which is the largest city in Serbia and the capital. There are several tourists attraction in my hometown, such as Skadarlija, the National Museum, and across from these attractions you can find the National Theatre, Students Square, the Old Palace and several monuments, parks and other museums. The city’s nightlife is wild and exciting for those who enjoy that type of lifestyle. Many young tourists enter the city for the purpose of enjoying the grand nightlife that Belgrade offers.Very often clubs are still operating until dawn in the city and some of the most popular places of interest is the barges that is spread out by the banks of the Sava and Danube Rivers. Belgrade, Serbia is the home of the main head quarters of the national broadcaster Radio-Television Serbia-RTS. They are currently trying to convert this to a public service broadcaster. You can also find the RTS music publishing operation in my hometown. You can find incredible architectural d esigns in Belgrade. There are still Oriental buildings standing in the city spread out over the city.You can also find more modern styles of designs for buildings and homes, which are just as spectacular. Belgrade has a transport system that consists of trams, trolleybuses and regular buses that carry people across the city. Belgrade, Serbia is the twin city to Chicago, Illinois and I guess you can guess that these two cities have much in common. Both cities are extremely busy and offer the residents and visitors many places to visit. Sports are very popular in my hometown. There are too many sports facilities to count and some have said that there is close to 1,000 facilities where sports are played.My city hosted many great sports events, such as the 2005 European Volleyball Championship, the 2005 Eurobasket and the 2006 European Water polo Championship. In the year 2007, Belgrade Serbia will host the European Youth Olympic Festival and in the year, 2009, they will host the Summer Universaide, which was a huge honor since it was selected over other countries, like Poznan and Monterrey. We have two great football clubs which are Red Star Brigade and FK Partisan, along with other first league clubs. Belgrade houses the Marakana, or the Red Star Stadium, which is a major stadium in the city and we also have the Partizan Stadium.Belgrade is the home of the Belgrade Arena where basketball matches are held. You can also find the Pionir Hall and the Tasmajdan Sports Center, where water polo matches are played. We have two state universities in Belgrade and many private schools throughout our city. One of the oldest educational institutions in our city of Belgrade is the Teacher’s College which dates back to the year, 1689. The economy in Belgrade, Serbia has been getting better since the year, 2000. The internationally imposed Trade Embargo caused the economy to decline for a long period of time, in the 1990s.In Belgrade, you will discover many Serbs, Croats , Muslims, Roma, Yugoslavs and Montenegrins. Many of the residents of Belgrade, came from other countries who were seeking a better way of life for themselves and their families. Some of these people ran from their countries as refugees from war and ethnic cleansing. Belgrade is divided into subdivisions. There are 17 municipalities, 10 that have urban status and seven that have suburban status. You can find that most of the municipalities are located on the southern area of the rivers, which are the Danube and the Sava, located in the Sumadija area of Belgrade, Serbia.Most of these municipalities can be found on the south side of the Danube and Sava Rivers. There are three municipalities, which are the Novi Beograd, the Zemun and the Surcin which can be found on the north side of the Sava River, in the Syrmia area of Belgrade. The municipality of Palilula is located on both banks of the Danube River, which is located in the Sumadija and Banat areas, in Serbia. Belgrade has a modera te, continental climate. The hottest month in Belgrade is July and the second hottest month would be August.In these two months, the sun shines for an average of ten hours a day, unlike the months of December and January, which on receive two to three hours of sunshine per day. My hometown of Belgrade has received many prestigious honors, such as the French Legion of Honor, the Serbian Karadorde’s Star with Swords, the Czechoslovak War Cross and the former Yugoslavian Order of the National Hero. In the year, 2006, Belgrade was awarded the incredible title of â€Å"City of the Future of Southern Europe† by the Financial Times of London. This award was quite an honor for the entire city of Belgrade.

Email Intelligence Analysis Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Email Intelligence Analysis - Coursework Example Several articles have been found in the media which explain the problem of mail overloading or junk messages. The effectiveness of an email message to reach anyone at any given period from its central position in any modern firm has led to great volumes of messages received by one person (Li & Fu 2002). Since email is considered as a very crucial technique for communication, there are email logs which useful sources of research in analysis including link and textual analysis and social networking (Artz & Gil 2007). Due to the lack of enough and real life benchmarking, the field researches are made on synthesized facts and figures. The dataset is the same as the facts and figures collected for the detection of fraud and to counter the terrorists. This makes it an effective and efficient tool or technique used for stopping of terrorism and fraud detection (Li & Fu 2002). For one to start the analysis work or task, he or she has to consider the first high level requirements statements f or any email function. Pick or select an email for commercial products to give communication and facts and figures exchange. The effects shall be minimized what will lead to an almost accurate maintenance being available and the time allowed for retrieval is reduced to two days for an attack which was very serious. The messages from email will be useful and accessible to some specified staff members that are ranging from the sophisticated to the naive members (Li & Fu 2002). The first step is to critically analyze the services which are very helpful to the firm or individual. A selection of email products is made to provide information, communication and exchange of the facts and figures One of the requirement analysis tools for investigation is the dataset since it has a lot of integrity issues. It must be integrated with the database so as to catalyze the statistical analysis of the facts and figures. When some one is sent a message, the best indicator of an action is the receiver ’s relationship with the message and the sender. The reply predictor employs the relational characteristics which depend on the profile of the user, which is generated from the training facts and figures for every user. Every users profile contains a total number of sent and received messages to every user including the address book. The usability requirement provides that the chosen product is easy to use and that its security mechanism is accessible to the user as much as possible. The operational need where there are system administrative schedules that give the capability or possibility to manage a distributed user community by simply moving the users among servers and duplicating user profile processed facts and figures across all the servers in the network. In order to separate the spear phishing mails used in sophisticated and major targeted attacks, the email malware protection system is used to analyze the attachments using a signature, an engine that runs virtually which can safely and accurately find zero day attacks. This extends beyond signature and systems based on reputation through the disattaching every attachment against a cross matrix of operating systems and applications consisting various web browsers and plug ins such as the adobe readers and flash players. The

The impacts of EU Policy on Sustainable Energy Essay

The impacts of EU Policy on Sustainable Energy - Essay Example The European Union has recognised the citizens of the member countries need to be responsible and generate a reliable supply of sustainable energy which is also cheaper to afford so that the living standards are maintained. Furthermore the union also advocates for the reduction of the negative effects of the fossil fuels on the climate and the regional environment at large. The EU policies are designed to create a competitive internal energy market that would offer quality and cheaper services. This would mean that there would be enhanced development of renewable energy sources and cut down reliance on imported energy sources. The European Union has targeted to use features that address energy education, conservation of energy, environment resource protection, energy policies, renewable energy, and distribution of energy (Mcgowan & Mansell 1992), dissemination of useful information and maintainability of energy from producers to consumers. The sustainable energy addressed includes solar power, wind power, geothermal power, tidal power, bio-fuels and wave power. Nuclear fission is some times included but it usually presents the risk of disposal problems and peak uranium levels (Haughton & Counsell 2004). The EU has The EU has not been taking the energy conservation as a serious issue until the approval of the European Energy Policy in the year 2005 in London. EU had to come up with a strategy to fund the research to exploit sustainable energy. The seventh frame program (FP7) was formed to finance the research that is underway from 2007 to 2013. The FP7 fell short of the main intention of its formation and is currently also funding Fusion research which will not achieve results on the climate change until beyond the year 2050 (Lovegrove & Dennis 2006). Currently the strategic energy technology plan is in the lead and has put up plans for the EU technology procedure to develop and enhance the use of low carbon energy technologies. Some of the initiatives in the SET plan include the European Wind Initiative where turbine s will be used to generate energy. This is dependable on the daily whether variations though it can be used to provide base load electricity together with tidal wave energy. The European solar Initiative is also another type of energy that is dependent on whether and can be stored in water as heat, thermo-chemicals as ammonia and in rocks (Lovegrove & Dennis 2006). European also works under the carbon dioxide, transport and storage initiative to address the requirements of safe production of the energy implying that there should be zero emission, the sustainable nuclear fission is very important and has been put under way so that the generation of the type IV reactors are achieved. Energy Research The European Union has established an energy research alliance to facilitate the capabilities of the EU energy research which would achieve world class performance thorough sharing of the global facilities. This strategy will be the major driving force to achieve low carbon technologies and help reduce global warming. The research alliance is the chief player in development of the new energies to ensure that European Union achieves the low carbon

Chronology (history) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Chronology (history) - Assignment Example The Convention’s final report offered several amendments to American Constitution. These amendments were attempts to combat the ruling Republicans’ policies by several measures: The Compromise of 1850 was a complicated package of bills that had been passed in September 1850. The Compromised defused a long-lasted confrontation between the free Northern States and the slave states of the South concerning the status of territories that had been acquired during the Mexican American War (1846-1848). The Compromise spared US from civil war or secession at the time. Furthermore it reduced the conflict for the following four years. The Kansas –Nebraska Act established the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, voided 1820 Missouri Compromise and opened some new lands. Furthermore it permitted settlers in those lands to decide whether they would permit slavery within the boundaries of their states. The act’s initial purpose was to provide opportunities to construction of Midwestern Transcontinental railroad. Nevertheless it became rather problematic when the idea of Popular Sovereignty appeared. According to the Act the settlers were permitted to vote either for allowing slavery in the states, in the names of the popular sovereignty. Senator Stephen Douglas hoped that relations between the South and the North would be eased, because the South might expand slavery to newly acquired territories, though the North had still the right to abolish slavery within its states. Instead the opponents denounced the bill as a concession to the power of the South. Newly organized Republican Party that had been created in opposition to this act tried to stop the expansion of slavery and soon proved to be the dominant force in the North. Under the terms of Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Mexico ceded New Mexico and Upper California to the United States. The territories also known as Mexican Cession included

Explain the importance of strategic alliances in international Assignment

Explain the importance of strategic alliances in international business and the reasons why companies choose this growth strateg - Assignment Example This action of entering into foreign markets opens up the firm to benefits of economies of scale and increased opportunities for marketing and distribution. However, the cost linked with entering into foreign markets may far out-span the capabilities of a single firm (BLEEKE & ERNST 1993, 27). This then dictates the need to enter into a strategic alliance with another international firm. This has the effect of expediting the rate of entry into the foreign market albeit maintaining relative low costs (SHENKAR & REUER 2006, 71). Several logistical tussles are still to be encountered with entry into foreign markets. These tussles range from entrenched competition, unfriendly government regulation and irrelevant beauracracies (GIBBS & HUMPHRIES 2009, 45). There is a higher prospect of overcoming these obstacles when strategic alliances are employed, as contrasted to when the firm decides to venture into foreign markets on a solitary basis. There exist three core categories via which stra tegic alliance can be regarded. The first one of these is joint ventures. Joint ventures are formed when the respective companies combine to form an independent company. The respective companies decide to share the profit and loss of the new entity that will be created. One of the most notable cases where joint venture was created is that of Sony Ericson. Sony and Ericson decided to form a new entity known as Sony Ericson Mobile Communications. However, this new entity has just recently been fully owned by the Sony Corporation who renamed it Sony Mobile Communications. The next category of strategic alliances is equity strategic alliances. This entails the new partners having different percentages of equity in the new venture. Depending on the motive or goal of the strategic alliance, the partners can either opt to share equity in each other’s business on in one business. The determining factor is the reason for the strategic alliance. An example of such an alliance is that b etween Star-Bucks and Kraft. The last category of strategic alliance is non-equity strategic alliances. This is when a strategic alliance is carried out on the terms of a contract agreement rather than on the ownership basis. The relationship of this kind is usually referred to as a contractual relationship. A good example of a non-equity strategic alliance is the one between Vodafone and Telecom Malaysia. The deal was signed in 2006 whereby Vodafone was the leading partner. Strategic alliance requires a well though-out procedure to ensure the alliance is successful and realizes its intended goal(s). Prior to embarking on an alliance, firms should choose partners whose strategic goals and objectives are compatible to their own. The firm should take into consideration the extent to which synergy will be availed. Additionally, firms should endeavour to participate in strategic alliances that complement the firm. This translates to mean that, firms ought to engage in alliances that wil l complement their skills, their products and services in addition to its market share. Akin to all business agreements, rules and regulations must be incorporated into strategic alliances. These factors are divided into scope of operation and length of cooperation. The scope of operation entails partners agreeing on how to handle potentially competitively sensitive information. Secondly, it expounds on what will be shared and what will

Women in Male dominated jobs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Women in Male dominated jobs - Essay Example In the United States, job positions that are iconic representation of male-domination include positions of Secretary of State and directorship of federal institutions. Since US gained independence in 1776, 68 persons have occupied the Secretary of State’s office (Smith, 23). Expectedly, 3 out of the total 68 occupants were female, while the rest were male. In this context, a ration of 65:3 in terms of male and female office occupants respectively is a symbol of female underrepresentation in executive fields. Technically, underrepresentation of women in high positions is not without causes. Among the common causes of female underrepresentation include gender discrimination, and limited self affirmation within the female population. Traditionally, sex and power have an intricate relationship. Every society believes that women are emotionally weak, and lacks capability for objective judgments. This misconception explains why in the United States, women were not allowed to work and were expected to remain at home performing household chores. After the feminism period in the 1960s, the American society reluctantly invited women into the nation’s workforce (Lindsey and Martin, 90). Because of the structured gender discrimination, women lacked adequate education; hence could not be promoted into leadership positions. This element of inadequate education caused a corresponding limited self affirmation among women. In this regard, the synergistic effect of gender discrimination coupled wi th limited self affirmation propagated subordination of women in the labor force to date. Fortunately, liberation of women not only invited the female gender into workplaces but also laid the foundation for progressive transition of women in male dominated fields. Inasmuch as women are still underrepresented today, it emerges that the female gender has moved up the leadership ladder with time. Gradual entry of

GYPSY DANCE from spain Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

GYPSY DANCE from spain - Research Paper Example The dances also represent freedom - freedom of personal and spiritual expression, the only type of freedom possible for an oppressed people. (Background on Romani Dance) The culture of the Gypsies can be interpreted as being intellectually divine and intriguing which is successfully expressed through their music and dance. It is probably safe to assume that because of various pull factors and migratory patterns, the Gypsies who are Indians by native and not Egyptians travelled throughout Europe and beyond settling in different geographic locations such as Spain. What they brought with them, however, throughout this wary travel was their unique identity of culture. Between 800 and 900 A.D., a large exodus of people occurred from the Punjabi region of India. These people are believed to be members of the Untouchables, a group within the Indian caste system comprised of animal traders and trainers, acrobats, dancers, musicians, palmists and metalworkers. These nomadic groups, generally referred to as Roman and/or gypsies, divided into two major migratory routes, the most traceable moving west across Asia and the European continent, including Spain. The first recorded account of Spanish Gitanos "Beticos" dates from 1447 in Barcelona. It is also believed that a second migratory route took them down to and across North Africa (including Egypt) and up into Southern Spain "Andalusia" via the Gibraltar. This faction, known as Cale (black), has been far more difficult to verify and trace due to the great similarity of appearance and lifestyle to the indigenous peoples along the route. We should not forget that Southern Spain was part of the Islamic Empire for a period of 800 years. Although, the Northern Beticos immigrated to the more tolerant Islamic region of Andalusia, to this day, the gypsies themselves maintain a great distinction between the Beticos and ‘Cales’, with virtually no intermarriage between the groups. During the Inquisition of the ‘Re conquista’, even this tolerance ended while gypsies from all over Spain were herded into "gitanerias" or ghettos. However unjust and cruel, this persecution and isolation was the very influence that safeguarded the purity of their music and dance within the family group. Finally, in 1782, the Leniency Edict of Charles III restored some measure of freedom to the Spanish gypsy and allowed this music and dance to be presented to and adopted by the general population of Spain. This resulted in a period of great exploration and evolution within the art form, which continues to this day. Unlike the common gypsy language, gypsy music has great variety, varying from country to country, with strong local characteristics which, to a certain extent, are decided by their nomadic lifestyle. The gypsies picked up the music from their surroundings and the native people present, and adopted it with their own understanding. As a result, gypsy music has highly-flavored traits of region, which in turn has a significant impact on the development of the local music. For instance, a gypsy who migrated from Russia will add accordion or guitar into their music. The alternation of solo and chorus, and parallel thirds can frequently be

John Lennon and Yoko Ono's campaign for peace Essay

John Lennon and Yoko Ono's campaign for peace - Essay Example The essay "John Lennon and Yoko Ono's campaign for peace" discovers campaign for peace by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. The war was causing great suffering to the women and children. However, the US government was not ready to stop the war anytime soon. However, after the people stood against their own administrators, the political leaders who needed their votes during the next election had to bow down and listen to their concerns. Currently, it’s easier to mobilize people to the streets. This is because the media has advanced tremendously. In addition, there is freedom of expression. Moreover, the entry of the internet in the world has revolutionalized the communication sector. Many people have access to technological gadgets such as phones, tablets, and computers to enable them communicate with other people at ease. On the other hand, social media has increased the connectivity of the people. Therefore, people are able to interact and share ideas without have to move from one pl ace to the other. However, during those times, the media was less developed. As a result, it was hard to mobilize people towards common objectives. As a result, the fact that John Lennon and Yoko Ono were able to convince people towards their ideologies is a clear indication that their campaign was of great success. The military in Vietnam were being blamed for various atrocities. In addition, the war was characterized by torturing of women and violation of other human rights. However, the world was silent as all these acts continued.

Rationalism and Empiricism and Kants assessment of the problem of Essay

Rationalism and Empiricism and Kants assessment of the problem of knowledge - Essay Example ment, as an opinion is regarded to be analytic if the subject is influenced by the predicate and is synthetic if it is not shaped or linked with the predicate (15-17). An analytic opinion is not significant to the predicate in that it â€Å"leaves† the notion of the subject in its original status but simply divides it into those philosophical components that have inherently existed in it, although unclearly: conversely, the predicate that is linked to syntheticity is â€Å"irretrievable† from the theme by any evaluation of the form. This strategy of containment is heavily based on Kants philosophy, which depends on an array of guidelines (Kant 15-21). These are argued jointly. Conceptual containment stems from a situation in which a predicate relates to a â€Å"mark.† This implies it is the integrated network of concepts that impacts the connections vital for analytic opinions. In certain instances, the analytic nature of a judgment manifests clearly when it is analyzed through these criteria. Additionally, Kant argues that representations and philosophies either fall under a priori (pure) or posteriori (empirical) categories. A priori philosophy, which surpasses the likelihood of experience, according to Kant, is a â€Å"concept.† On the one hand, a concept of a priori judgment exceeds any empirical purpose (Kant 15-22). In light of this, a philosophy based on pure judgment may also be regarded as transcendational. According to Kant, all the aspects of a priori cognitions often witness the injection of objective realism, thanks to their exposure. On the other hand, all cognitions based on a posteriori judgments are treated with utmost objective realism regarding the issues related to experience. On the one hand, rationalists have suggested that the very basic beginning of knowledge is not the individual senses but rationale. Rationalism is based on the fact that without earlier classes, and principles reinforced by reason forms the basis of the organization and

Five-Year Career Development Paper Essay Example for Free

Five-Year Career Development Paper Essay Every year millions of college students worldwide graduate from college in hopes of obtaining a position in their career field of choice; however a lot of these students do not have a plan of action to actually help them find their career and achieve their goals. So much emphasis is put on college graduates going out and finding a job, but little focus is put on helping them find a career. A five year career plan is a road map that allows for progress tracking, and development of solutions or alternate courses of action (Crump, 2009). From personal experience I have realized that the chances of achieving my personal and career goals are increased of I actually write them out as a plan. In this paper I will discuss my career goals and objectives, my current knowledge and skills that I currently possess in my future career, the steps that I will take in order to meet my career goals, and any possible barriers that may present themselves in the path to me completing these goals. Currently I am a front desk clerk and personal trainer at Fitness Systems, a privately owned fitness center in South Sacramento. Since it is a small business and only consists of five employees, chances of promoting within the business are small. However I have used my experience from working the front counter and interacting with members of the gym, to help promote my presence of being a trainer. Also, working at Fitness Systems has allowed me to observe the procedures and responsibilities that it takes to run a successful business. Statistics show that most small businesses will fail in between 1-3 years from the initial startup time; therefore I am trying to absorb as much information as possible so that I dont fall into the same category. In order to manage a successful career it is important to develop an exceptional method of thinking strategically and exceptional execution skills. Building upon my skills in these areas will help me to achieve my long term goals. In all organizations, it is important that management sets goals for employees in accordance with the goals of the organization. When I open my fitness center, one of the main things that I want to stress among my employees (trainers), is strong communication skills. If management and staff arent on the same page, there will be an abundance of errors within  the organization. If certain skills are lacking within employees, it is the responsibility of management to identify these weaknesses and find a resolution such as training, to solve the issues. As a way to help kick start my five year career development plan, I have put together a list of some of my short term and long term career goals. My short term goals include improving upon my current skills as a personal trainer and gain experience in specific areas such as nutrition, so that I will be prepared to take on the role of being the owner of my own Personal Training Company. My personal short term goals include the following: increasing my knowledge in anatomy, improve upon my ability to map out an effective workout plan for clients, improve upon my communication skills, obtain my business degree in management, network with other local personal trainers, and gain more hands on personal training experience by recruiting more clients. My personal long term career goal is open a private fitness center that enables clients and their trainers to schedule one on one sessions in the center without having to worry about the crowds that usually plague commercial fitness centers. This goal will be achieved by the summer of 2012. My plan is to continue being a part time trainer for now, graduate with my BS in Business Management, enter and complete the MBA marketing program at the University of Phoenix, and then work on opening up my fitness center. Owning a successful business requires that you build strong relationships with your clients/customers, their families, and the surrounding communities. Maintaining a positive stance and reputation in the community that you serve, determines if youre company will be successful. In order to promote myself within the community, I have created business cards that describe the service that I provide and my contact information. I have also spoken to the founder and CEO (Plashette Robinson), of a local journal called the Sacramento Cultural Hub. Sacramento Cultural Hub is a Sacramento based journal that spotlights small businesses owned by minorities in Northern California. Ms. Robinson has agreed to post a small feature about  me in her journal. This feature will include a photo of me, current attributions to the community, my educational background, my career field of choice, and my opinion on different health/fitness related issues that are plaguing our society and communities. I feel that Sacramento Cultural Hub, along with my personal efforts, will help give me the exposure that I need to earn a good reputation within the community. As I mentioned earlier in this writing, actually mapping out a plan will help increase the chances of all objectives and goals being met. Below is a chart that displays my Five-Year Career Development plan on a year-to-year basis. Intermediate Steps Over the Next Five Years to Reach My GoalFor MeFor my supervisor/others who will support meYear OneFocus on school and earn my degree in Business Management by March 2010.Feedback from my peers and professors. Year TwoComplete the MBA Marketing program at UOP. Attend courses for first time business owners and begin looking for high traffic locations for my Fitness Center. Network with various promotional outlets.Feedback from my peers and professors. Seek advice from the owner of Fitness Systems in regards to opening a small business. Year ThreeActively recruit certified Personal Trainers in the Sacramento area. Open the Fitness Center in the summer of 2012. Network with other small business owners. Setup commercials spots with Sacramento area radio stations.Network with friends and family in order to assist me with finding local certified Personal Trainers. Year FourContinue to actively recruit Personal Trainers. Continue promotion via radio and other outlets. N/AYear FiveConsider possible methods of expanding services beyond Sacramento. N/A*Five-Year Career Plan Chart template retrieved from: mpiweb.orgRegardless of how well thought out a plan may be, there is always some kind of temporary barrier that may be encountered. In relation to my career plan, two potential barriers that I predict may take place are time management issues between my professional and personal life and a further downturn in our nations economy. Both of these issues can definitely cause a change in the objectives and goals for my business. However, the matter of time management can easily be tweaked if any issues shall arise and any issues in relation to the economy will have to be solved on a day to day basis. Both of the barriers mentioned above are vital, but they are issues that all small business ownerss struggle and deal with. In conclusion, I have shared my five-year career development plan. This plan will help assist me in achieving my career goals and at the same time help me in meeting some of my personal goals as well. Creating a development plan will assist in maximizing the potentials of an individual in the workplace. A career development plan not only helps to keep me motivated and focused; it also helps in providing the confident feeling that will in turn help me take charge of my career. References Crump, Jocelyn. (2009). Five-Year Career Plan. Retrieved July 30, 2009 from: http://www.stc.org/confproceed/1994/PDFs/PG163164.PDFFive-Year Career Plan Template. (2009) Retrieved August 1, 2009 from:http://www.mpiweb.org/CMS/uploadedFiles/Career_Development/Five-Year%20Plan.doc

Political Structure Of The Roman Empire Theology Essay

Political Structure Of The Roman Empire Theology Essay The public sphere of Rome, which included religious norms, social settings, as well as some other cultural divides, has been known to greatly affect the Roman political system throughout, from its inception to its fall. Our world has seen many great empires and perhaps the most popular one by name is the Roman Empire. A great number of books have been written on this subject, many movies have been made, and the Roman Empire remains rich in our minds to this date. The Roman history involves some great moments as it recounts such great leaders as Julius Caesar (see Picture 1), the birth of Christ and his exploits, and then the setting up of the Church and the Vatican by Constantine. Just like any other state or empire, the Roman Empire was also much affected by the people that were its subjects. These people had their own religion throughout the various epochs of the Empire, and these people had their own norms and practices. The Roman citizen was instantly recognized by his toga (See Illustration 1) and the Roman army by his uniform (See Picture 2) The political structure of the Roman Empire was affected by the way that its citizens had behaved during the various times, including their religion, their social structure, gender relations and economics. This paper shall follow the course of the Roman Empire through history, from its inception to its decline and fall and relate how the various factors were able to influence the Empire in different ways. It is also important to realize that the Roman public was able to influence the political structure of the Roman Empire. The culture of the Roman Empire was influenced by many factors. The Roman Senate declared Augustus (See Picture 3) as the Emperor of Rome in 27BC. This was the beginning of the Roman Empire that was destined to last for the next five hundred years, adding more and more territories to its name. The diversity in the Roman Empire came because of the number of regions that it was able to incorporate into its boundaries. The Roman Empire included ancient Britain, Arabia, and Romania. Augustus was a good ruler and he was able to stabilize Rome both politically as well as socially. A lot of development in the areas of art, literature, and philosophy took place in the Roman Empire, as it continuously borrowed from various civilizations and cultures. Among the most important of things that came out of the Roman Empire include the religious and ethical elements of Judaism, the teachings of Christianity, the study of astronomy and astrology, and so much more information from other Eastern count ries like Persia and Egypt. This spread of information gave power to the Roman politics since they were able to use this knowledge to introduce new reforms in their political structure, as well as add some mystery to it. The Romans left such a mark of their culture on the world that people and artists, centuries later, such as Michelangelo in the 16th century A.D, This is how the Roman culture was able to spread its architecture and literature all over Europe, and we can still find their elements in various Western traditions today. One of the areas where we see the most of Roman influence is that of mathematics. Many of the theories and principles that are employed in mathematics have been the product of Greek/Roman minds such as Archimedes and Pythagoras. Their ideas have formed the basis of what we call geometry. Many innovations and inventions have been made based on these ideas and hence we see a large influence of Roman mentality in things like weapons and architecture. Much of theoretical as well as practical science has also been laid down by the Romans. They established the field of botany and many of the early Roman scientists worked to collect a horde of information about many of the plants that existed in the region. Aristotle and his Theophrastus (often referred to as the father of botany) classified and named these plants. Although no apparent connection exists between the advancement in mathematics and the political structure, we find that as more and more mathematical concepts were introduced and adopted in Rome, the politicians also were able to adopt their versatility. One of the concepts that arose out of mathematics was economics and the Romans were able to carry out trade on a better level. This gave a boost to the Roman Empire and the politicians were able to use mathematics to their advantage. Many of the ideas of economics and politics that the Western world follows toady have also been derived from Ancient Romans. The Romans system of the senate is still employed by many Western countries today. In addition, the Romans were the first ones to introduce the ideas of interest in business and loans and we all know that the whole economic arena of the world today works on the principles of interest. Many of the Greek/Roman philosophers, such as Aristotle and Socrates, also played their role in Roman influence and we see that many Western countries have their contemporaries who are always building upon the original ideas and concepts. The Roman influence on art is phenomenal. We find that many of the artists of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment era used to follow the art techniques of the Romans. Many of the sculptures and murals painted by Michelangelo (See Illustration 2) are evidence of the fact that he was motivated and inspired by Roman art. These theories, aspiration s, and ideas were passed from the Greeks to the Romans and then to other nations in Western Europe. The most comprehensive aspect of the social life and the Empire that the Romans were able to develop and spread to the rest of Europe includes the details of the Roman Law. The Romans were able to take the basic framework provided by the Greeks and transform it into an extremely sophisticated and scientific legal system. The history of Roman law spans almost a thousand years from the law of the twelve tables (449 BC) to Justinians codes (aroung 530 BC). The twelve tables still reflect a relatively primitive and pre-scientific legal system. However, from the 2nd century B.C, the Romans began to apply the methods and categories of Greek philosophy to legal problems (which the Greeks themselves had never thought of). A legal profession began to emerge and the production of scholarly treaties on Roman law started. It was in the second century AD that the Roman legal science was able to reach its peak. This happened when the economic and political conditions of the principate became favor able to the scholarly activity of Roman jurists. However, this classical age of the Roman jurists ended in the 3rd century and no one has been adequately able to explain that. The following centuries saw a general decline of Roman legal culture, which was not stopped by the efforts of emperor Justinian to revive classical Roman law in the 6th century. Justinian did manage, however, to preserve a great part of the literary legacy of the classical jurists by incorporating their writings in his codes. The Digest, which is the most important part of the codification and was published in 533, is a gigantic collection of fragments from classical text books and commentaries. While it was unknown in Western Europe in the early middle ages, it was rediscovered around 1070 in Italy. From that time onward, Roman law and especially the teachings of the classical jurists preserved in the Digest became the basis of continental European. It has been said quite rightly, that the Digest is one of the most influential books in European . Perhaps the most important aspect of the Roman culture that was able to affect the political structure the most was religion. Rome had grown up to be a formidable empire by 120 AD (See Map). The history of Rome is embedded with wonder. Much of what Rome was to become in the later stages of its life was due to the ancient yet colorful religion, one that is now known as Roman mythology. The Romans had gods and goddesses for every element, and for every occasion. These gods were in a continuous state of tension, balancing the good and evil, while keeping the humans happy as well. It is in this religion that we find the basic impetus for the Roman Empire, its political structure, and its social environment. Perhaps Ovid was best able to present this relationship between the gods and humans in his Metamorphoses. The first story of a human involves a sinner, punished for his offence against the gods. Lycaons case represents one example of the wickedness of all humanity in the Iron Age. Lyc aon (wolf man in Greek) is the reason for the flood, Jupiter explains, but not the origin of evil (Ovid does not mention the famous story of Pandoras box). Lycaons metamorphosis into a beast reveals his true nature; the description translates literally, his mouth gathered savagery from the man himself. The reaction of the other gods to Jupiters punishment of Lycaon resembles a senate of yes-men; at first it sounds as if the gods feel pity for humanity, but soon their selfish motives are revealed: without men they will lose their sacrifices. Jupiter claims that he wants to make the world safe for lesser divinities, nymphs, fauns, satyrs, but as we will soon see in the stories to follow, the biggest threat to pretty young nymphs are the amorous gods themselves After the ancient religions in Rome, came the slightly modern ideas that pertain to cynicism and stoicism. One of the most famous of the Stoics was Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (See Picture 4). His whole political system was dictated by the Stoic way of life as he was in favor of the human being devoid of all emotions, where things like envy, fear, etc were all thought to have come out of false judgments of the human minds. The focus of much of Aureliuss philosophy had to do with the ethics that were involved in the Stoic way of life. These ethics involved the four basic virtues of wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance. Aurelius was also an advocate of going through continuous meditation and exercises in order to keep the mind and the body in a state of togetherness. In Meditations, Book II, part 1, Aurelius writes: Say to yourself in the early morning: I shall meet today ungrateful, violent, treacherous, envious, uncharitable men. All of these things have come upon them through ignorance of real good and ill I can neither be harmed by any of them, for no man will involve me in wrong, nor can I be angry with my kinsman or hate him; for we have come into the world to work together This is not just him making a statement; rather it is giving the reader a practical technique of reminding oneself every day, repeatedly, of the problems that the person might face, and how they can be solved. This is somewhat reminiscence of what later became to be known as the self-fulfilling prophecy. This Stoic way of life was greatly reflected in Aurelius political structuring of Rome. But perhaps the one religion that had the most impact on the Roman empire and its political structuring is Christianity. The fall of the Roman Empire brought about a rise of Christianity and the Christian Church and this affected many changes in the view of the world. Some of the rulers of Christianity, like Saint Augustine (354-430 AD), upheld that the Bible should be considered the only legitimate source of information about important questions and this led to a great devotion to the Bible as the main source of intellectual reserve for the Western civilization for many years to come. Many of the Christians fell into the dark ages right after the fall of the Roman empire as well and only a few found salvation in the religion. The evolution of the Christian church in terms of contributions by various rulers are discussed herein. Constantine I (See Picture 5) was one who helped contribute a lot to the rise of the Christian church as he was one of the most advantageous advocates of the Orthodox Church. He was a Roman emperor who legalized Christianity and founded Constantinople, and by doing so he single handedly laid the foundations of the Greco-Christian Empire of Byzantium. He adopted Christianity as the religion of his state and gave freedom to the priests and bishops to practice Christianity without bounds. Another emperor who was instrumental in the expansion and vital to the race of Christianity was Theodosios I (born 347 AD). In 380, he proclaimed Christianity as the official religion of the state. He also convened the second Ecumenical Council and finalized the Articles of Faith. As with these two aforementioned Emperors, there was many who ruled Byzantine and helped it progress in terms prospective growth as well as religious development of Christianity. By the 11th and 12th centuries, Christianity saw a divide into the East and the West sections due to the vast land distances that the religion covered. There was hardly even any contact between the Christians of the East and the Christians of the West because of the great geographical distances between them. They did, however, remain to be the same religion, and were only kept apart in their cultural and historical upbringing by imaginary lines of directions. Thus were born many different independent and self-governing churches that answered to either the Western or the Eastern Orthodox Church. All these churches were in contact with each other and were bind together by the canon law and followed the same traditions, literature, ecclesiastical calendar, and customs. The Roman Empire remained a powerful one for more than 300 years, but it also met its doom when it disintegrated into two parts, the Western and the Eastern empire. No one is quite sure exactly when the division occurred but everyone agrees that it was a gradual transformation. It all started because of power struggles between the rulers of the area. There were many times in the history of Rome when the rulers were undecided as to the determination of successors to their thrones. After 330 A.D, Rome was often engaged in civil wars between martials, all of whom wanted to be the rulers of Rome. The Roman economy aslo played a vital role in its division. Eastern Rome found better uses for its slaves and there was a change in the social and economical system of that region. The Eastern part of the empire developed a different political system, one that resembled the fuedal system of today, and this gave a boost to their economy. The Western part, however, stuck to conventional norms and soon their middle class disappeared in the wake of excessive taxing and the Western Roman Empire fell. Since Byzantine was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, the region came to be known as the Byzantine Empire. The Eastern Empire survived because it had a more developed urban culture and it was not invaded as much as the Western one was. Since the Byzantine Empire had been a part of the grander Roman Empire, it retained much of the Roman laws and its heritage, although the legal code was updated. The official langiage of the region remained as Latin in the beginning and was changed to Greek later on. Many new churches, including the famous Church of Agia Sofia (Holy Wisdom), were also contructed. Some of Byzantiums contribution to Western Europe include great works of literature and art, a framework for an extremely efficient and highly centralized administration, and trading norms and regulations. Perhaps the biggest contribution comes out of the setup of the Orthodox Church that defined the cultural, political, social, and religios life of the region and its people for many a years to come. The Orthodox Church originated with Christ himself and can be said to be as old as Christianity itself. The Orthodox Church is geographically considered to be an Eastern Church because it is basically a creation Middle Eastern, Hellenic, and Slavic history and culture. Most of the growth and progress of the Orthodox Church, whether it is historical or spiritual, has been done on its own, almost entirely with segregation from Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. The divide between the two parts, the East and the West, cannot be easily identified, but this divide occurred mostly in the 11th and 12th centuries. There was hardly even any contact between the Christians of the East and the Christians of the West before this and because of the far greater distances of those, these two, however same religions, were kept apart in their cultural and historical upbringing by imaginary lines of directions. There are many different independent and self-governing churches that answer to the Easter n Orthodox Church. All these churches are always in contact with each other and are bind together by the canon law The Orthodox Churchs administration was directed over managing the people around the land, people, which were known as a community. There were many such communities all over the ancient Russian and Greek regions of the land and each city of the era had a community that served the Orthodox Church. The highest rank amongst the governors of these communities was the bishop, who was assisted in his duties by priests (or presbyters) and deacons. The idea of martyrdom was common to the people of the Orthodox Church as it attracted much persecution from the other forms of governments that were in operation in those times. The administrative ideas about holding a council were always very important to the Orthodox Church and they believed that the council was the only able body to administer the laws and rules of the Church unto the people of the area. These councils were setup so that any problem that could not be solved by one person alone was put to the vote and many able heads were put together to work out the will of God on the problematic issue. The first council was converged in Jerusalem and it was convened so that the Apostles could come to a decision upon a serious issue. Many different types of council were setup, local ones and the famous Apostolic Council. It was only in the fourth century, when an Emperor of Constantine embraced Christianity that the Christian Empire was founded. Another important aspect of religion that greatly affected the Roman Empire were the Seven Ecumenical Councils. The Seven Ecumenical Councils were the most important councils of the Orthodox Church. The first one was convened in Nicea in 325 A.D. By Constantine the great and the last one again in Nicea in 787 A.D. The main topics that the Councils addressed were mostly on the nature of Jesus advent on Earth. The first Council was very sure in its decision and it described the nature of Christ as being the same as of God Himself. The Father and Son image of God Jesus was discussed in the second Ecumenical Council held in Constantinople in 381 A.D and it decreed the Trinitarian ideology that there were three states of God: Father, Son and Spirit. The Macedonians were condemned as heretics in this second Council. The third Ecumenical Council was held in Ephesus in 431 A.D. Nestorians were deemed as heretics and Jesus was proclaimed to be both complete God and complete man in one person and thus Mary became theotokos, or God Bearer because she gave birth to both God and Man. The Third Council also declared that both the parts of the Creed were final and complete. The Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Councils were all on the debate of whether the Christ was God or man and all of them declared him as being both occurring in the same form. There were some ideas by the Monophysites and the Monoethlites that Jesus humanity dissolved in the presence of his divinity. So Jesus was only divine. There was vehement condemnation of this theory and all the Councils announced that Jesus is complete God and complete man. There was an intermediate council between the Sixth and Seventh one and it was called the Qinisext Council (Trullo) and was held in Constantinople 692 A.D. This council was held for the completion of the fifth and sixth one and it was held for purely administrative reasons from where the canons were ratified. The seventh Ecumenical Council was held in Nicea in 787 A.D and is also called The Sunday of Orthodoxy. The main debate of this council was what to do with all the images of God and Jesus. So, we find that just like any other political regime is affected by the way that the people orient themselves in it, so was the Roman Empire affected by the various cultural and social aspects of its citizens. And as it is with most of the states, we also find that religion had the biggest part to play in determining the political structure of the Roman Empire. This religious intervention had been instilled in the Roman culture and politics ever since the prehistoric times, where the ancient religions governed the way that the emperors would rule the empire. These religious undertones were also responsible in setting up the social structure of Rome, as it differentiated between the men of different classes. The elites in Rome enjoyed a privileged class where they were free to engage in artistic and intellectual ways of life. Some of the Romans, those who could afford to, would import slaves from distant land and would flaunt them as being more talented than the average Roman slave. This sophistication of the Roman citizens allowed for many other innovations in the social, and hence, the political system of Rome. It was required to make special laws for the foreigner and the slaves, and the elites also enjoyed some special rights. No slaves were allowed to enter the government, while it was the elites birth right to be a Senator. Thus, the more sophisticated the Romans became, so did their political structure. The reason for the public sphere being so much effective in influencing the political realm in the Roman Empire is because it was a very sophisticated empire. We tend to think of those times as being the ancient ages, yet the Romans were very ahead of their time and they were able to live a life that was essentially very different from those people who lived all over the rest of the world. The Romans had confidence, they had ability, and they had their pride, all of which made them into a culturally and socially strong nation. This strength of their nation was also reflected in their political sphere as their citizens were very closely tied up to the government (the senate was elected democratically from the common citizens). Thus the public sphere was greatly able to affect the political structure of Rome, as discussed above in this paper. Picture 1 Julius Caesar, perhaps the most famous Roman of them all Illustration 1 The Roman toga: dress sharp to be a politician Picture 2 The gladiators suit, a soldiers uniform Picture 3 Augustus, the first Roman Emperor Illustration 2 Michelangelos Ceiling of the Sistine Vault Map The Romans had conquered most of Europe by 120 A.D. Picture 4 Marcus Aurelius, the Stoic Picture 5 Constantine I, the Christian Roman Work Cited Aurelius, Marcus, Meditations Book II, Part 1, London: Modern Library, 2003 Ovid, Allen Mandelbaum, The Metamorphoses of Ovid, New York: Harvest Books, 1995 MacMullen, Ramsay, Romanization in the Time of Augustus, Yale University Press, 2000. Veynw, Paul, editor, A History of Private Life: I From Pagan Rome to Byzantium Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1992 Wikipedia, Culture of Ancient Rome, Online, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_culture (Accessed November 28, 2005) Pictures and Maps Portrait Gallery, Online, http://www.roman-empire.net/republic/laterep-gallery-index.html (November 21, 2005) Reenactment Event at Corbridge, Online, http://www.cavazzi.com/roman-empire/diverse/reenactment-corbridge-2002.html (November 21, 2005) Rome: Map of the Empire, Online, http://intranet.dalton.org/groups/Rome/RMap.html (November 20, 2005) Wikipedia, Caesar Augustus, Online, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus (November 21, 2005) Wikipedia, Constantine I, Online, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_I_%28emperor%29 (November 22, 2005) Wikipedia, Marcus Aurelius, Online, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Aurelius (November 22, 2005) Wikipedia, Roman Culture, Online, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Toga1.png (November 21, 2005) Web Gallery of Art, Frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, Online, http://gallery.euroweb.hu/art/m/michelan/3sistina/1chapel.jpg (November 22, 2005)

Impact of FDI on the growth rates in agriculture in India

Impact of FDI on the growth rates in agriculture in India Abstract Foreign direct investment (FDI) is taken as one of the key factor of rapid economic growth and development. FDI, it is believed to stimulate domestic investment, human capital, and transfers technology. It is associated qualities which causes the faster economic development in the host countries. India, for instance was one of the poorest economies after the post independence era, but yet achieved economic growth with substantial amount of FDI inflows and become one of the fastest emerging economies in the world in a half century and witnessed unprecedented levels of economic expansion, along with countries like China, Russia, Mexico and Brazil. This paper evaluates the impact of FDI in Indias economic growth employing macro economic time series data from 2000-2010 on the growth of Agricultural, Manufacturing and Service sectors of the Indian economy as well as the economy as a whole. This study uses the endogenous growth model to explore the role of FDI in economic growth. The role of FDI in economic growth is not statistically significant; however, the interaction between FDI and human capital, export and domestic capital is of utmost importance. This study supports the findings of Laura Alfaro (2003) in the study of which shows that the benefits of FDI vary greatly across sectors by examining the effect of foreign direct investment on growth in the primary, manufacturing, and services sectors. Objective: The objective of this study is to compare the difference in growth rates among the Agricultural, Manufacturing and Service Sectors of the Indian Economy due to the uneven flow of Foreign Direct Investment in these sectors. The research work also aims at analysing the growth of Indian economy from 2000 to 2010 based the inflows of Foreign Direct Investment and the factors such as Government Spending, Inflation, GDP Per capita, Trade Openness and Human Capital Formation affecting it. Introduction: The United Nations 1999 World Investment Report defines FDI as an investment involving a long term relationship and reflecting a lasting interest and control of a resident entity in one economy (foreign direct investor or parent enterprise) in an enterprise resident in an economy other than that of the foreign direct investor ( FDI enterprise, affiliate enterprise or foreign affiliate). In the recent years, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policies have become one of the central economic policies for the developing countries, learned from the experiences of newly industrialised countries (NICs) like South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan which promoted FDI as the catalyst of rapid economic growth in the early stages of their economic development. Empirical studies on the impact of FDI on economic growth have shown positive impact in the host countries. Hence, it has become an area of great interest with empirical determinants of policy implications for enhanced FDI inflows and the mechanism through which it facilitates growth and structural change in recipient countries. The role of FDI in economic growth in the developing countries is that FDI generate more benefits to the recipient countries rather than just full filling the short-term capital deficiency problems. Transfer of technologies and its spill over effect to the local firms will make the local firms more competitive and high standards which is necessary to compete with the foreign products. Another, spill over effect of MNEs is that MNEs may provide training and labour management which may make them available to the economy in general. The training to local suppliers by MNEs may increase the high standard production and managerial standards. The relationship between foreign direct investment and economic growth is one of the well studied subjects in the field of development economics. Especially, after the advent of endogenous growth model (Borenzteins, et al, 1995, Balasubramanyam, et al, 1996) made this relationship more vital for long run economic growth. The research interest in this field has increased after 1990s wave of globalisation and massively increased FDI across the globe and economic growth of FDI receiving countries. According to UNCTAD (2009) foreign direct investment has potential to generate employment, raise productivity, transfer skills and technology, enhance export and continue to the long term economic development of the worlds developing countries. FDI is also the largest source of external financing for developing countries. Foreign Direct Investment is directly linked to the international trade of the country which provides the opportunities to integrate the local economy with the world economy. Enormous literatures on significance of FDI has shown positive role in the economic growth (Borenztein, et al 1995, De Mello, 1996 and Balasubramanyam, 1996). However, there are controversies as some academics argue that the relationship between FDI and growth is non-linear. This is a complex issue whether FDI cause growth or growth causes the increase of FDI. Multinational companies go across the world with the objectives maximizing profits. Hence, countries are providing most suitable investment environment to MNEs to attract the investment. Policy reforms, political stability, domestic growths, increased domestic entrepreneurial skills might cause to grow the FDI in host countries. Inflows of FDI can be important vehicle for technological change and human capital. Blomstrom et al (1994, 1996) emphasized FDI that induced human capital augmentation and economic growth by the help of the technology transfer, accumulation of human capital and knowledge spill over in the FDI receiving countries. There are two ways to deliver goods and services to foreign markets: international production and trade. This means that there should be some interrelationship between the two. This is confirmed by the positive correlation between world Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and world exports. Thus, economic growth and trade and investments are interconnected. Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Growth Foreign Direct Investment plays important role in economic growth as FDI not only increase the capital stock in the country but also brings the technology which increases the productivity of the resources. The massive increase in FDI in India from 1990 to 2010 raises important queries about the possible impact of FDI in economic growth. The studies of Borenzstein et al. (1995) and Balasubramaniyam, et al. (1996) demonstrate that FDI induces human capital and transfer technologies and this spillover effect of knowledge lead the economic growth in the host countries. They argue that the effect of FDI remains permanent in the host country because of the development in the infrastructures of the host country. Therefore, there exist the long rung relationship between level of GDP and foreign capital stock. Depicted below are the trends in FDI, GDP and Inflation in the post liberalisation period in India. Source: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/ Source: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/ Source: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/ The cumulative effect of FDI,GDP and Inflation factors determine the growth of an economy. The sectoral breakup of flow of FDI in India is as follows: Source: Adapted from the data given on http://www.indiaonestop.com/FDI/sectorwisefdiinflows%282000-2009%29.htm Hence it is clear that the major share of FDI flows into the Service Sector. The share of each of the sectors in GDP is as below: Source: Adapted from the data given on http://business.mapsofindia.com/india-gdp/sectorwise/ It is clear from the above two depictions that the service sector has majority share in GDP as well as FDI, followed by Manufacturing and then Agriculture. The research aims at comparing the difference in growth rates of these sectors due to the flow of FDI. Current state of the literature related to the proposed topic: Economic policymakers in most countries go out of their way to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). A high level of FDI inflows is an affirmation of the economic policies that the policymakers have been implementing as well as a stamp of approval of the future economic health of that particular country. There is clearly an intense global competition for FDI. India, for its part, has set up the India Brand Equity Foundation to try and attract that elusive FDI dollar. According to UNCTAD (2010), India has emerged as the second most attractive destination for FDI after China and ahead of the US, Russia and Brazil. While there is an intense global race for FDI, how important is FDI to a countrys economic growth? It is certainly a difficult ask to separate and quantify the complex package of resources that FDI confer to the host country. There have been a number of macro studies attempting to determine the nexus between FDI and growth. The massive literature on role of FDI on economic growth has shown various types of affects (positive, negative or insignificant) of FDI in various countries. This study aims to explore the impact of FDI on the growth rates of sectors in Indian economy. Berry and Kearney(2006) the most common character through which spillover are understood to operate include technology transfer, demonstration effects (through management skills and training to export) and greater competition(leading to productive efficiency). A significant presence of MNEs can bring about fundamental changes in industrial structure, particularly for smaller and medium sized countries. If foreign MNEs operate in sectors that are imperfectly correlated with those dominated by indigenous firms, FDI can help create a better diversified economy. Chung et al (2003) Technology transfer occurs when there is contact between foreign and local firms. Japanese auto transplants increased production process in North American significantly influenced the industrys productivity growth during this period (1982-1991). Caves (1974) argued that FDI also improves the allocative and technical efficiency through competitive pressure. Foreign entrants break down entry barriers, compete for factor inputs and customers and reduce the market power of entrenched firms. Zhang et al (2004) studied on impact of MNEs behavior through FDI on international trade and vice versa. They used Granger causality co integration approach to observe the direction of FDI and trade linkage of Chinese economy in 1980- 2003 period. They found that more imports lead higher level of FDI, more FDI leads to more exports and more exports FDI. This virtuous process reflects Chinas open door policy. Chakraborty and Basu (2002) study showed two-way link between foreign direct investment and growth for India using structural co integration model with victor error correction mechanism. They found strong evidence of GDP Granger causing FDI flows for India, there was not significant role in the short run adjustment process of GDP. Short-run increase in FDI flows for India is labor displacing in nature. The technology transfer brought in by FDI causes an excess supply of labour creating downward pressure on unit labor cost. Borenzstein et al (1995) introduced a new model showing the impact of FDI in economic growth using an endogenous model growth model. They analyzed FDI flows from industrialized countries to 69 developing countries during 1970-1989. They argued that due to the direct FDI there is increase in capital accumulation and in host countries and transfer of technology lead increases productivity which causes the economic growth of the host countries. Their result showed that FDI is an important vehicle of technology transfer, contributing more economic growth than domestic investment where they make a case of minimum threshold stock of human capital necessary to absorb foreign technologies and linkage between FDI and human capital and domestic investment are crucial to achieve the economic growth. Other subsequent studies by Subramanyam et al., (1996) within the growth theory frame work analyzed the role of FDI in growth process in the context of 46 developing countries with different trade p olicy regimes. From their cross-sectional panel data analysis, they found that countries that pursue all outwardly oriented trade policies are strongly benefited from FDI than those countries adopting an inward oriented policy. De Mello (1996) based on neoclassical approach argue that FDI affects only level of income and leaves long run growth unchanged. They argue that technological progression and other external factors main source of economic growth. Their argument is that long-run growth arises because of technological progress and population growths both were exogenous. Hence, according to neoclassical models of economic growth, FDI will only be growth advancing if it affects technology positively and permanently. Endogenous growth theorists believe that economic growth is generated from within a system as a direct result of internal process. Aghoin and Howitt(1998) the enhancement of nations human capital by investing more on human capital formation would lead to faster economic growth. The recent endogenous models show that FDI can affect growth endogenously growth models if it generates increasing returns in production via externalities and spillover effects Deme and Graddy (2006). In these models, FDI is considered to be an important source of human capital and technological diffusion. According to Romers (1990) endogenous growth model; growth is driven by technological change from intentional investment made by profit maximizing firms. He argues that stock of human capital determines the rate of growth. In his view, there is increasing returns scale (IRS) in aggregate level where as constant returns to scale (CRS) in the firm level and firms dont take account of spillover effect of externalities but economy as a whole experiences the increasing returns to scale which causes the endogenous growth. Endogenous growth theoreticians FDI and trade stimulate the technological diffusion and contribute economic growth. Barell and Pain (1996) studied the econometric model of foreign direct investment and examined the extent to which the model explain the level of outward direct investment by U.S companies over last two decades. Their analysis show that market size and factor cost, both labor and capital are important factors in the investment decision because MNEs are trying to maximize the value of the firm by allocating the resources in right place. Feder et al. (1983) analyzed export-led economic growth hypothesis. They argued that exports increase factor productivity because of the better utilization of resources and economies of scale. Some economists argue that open trade policies foster FDI because of the conducive economic climate for the MNEs. In this regard, Rodrizguez and Rodrik (1999) presented a skeptical view by linking between opentrade policies and economic growth. They argue that previous studies didnt consider the institutional differences among countries in an upwardly biased estimate of trade and other policy restrictions. Their analysis showed that the relationship between average tariff rates and economic growth is only slightly negative and nowhere near statistical significance. The issue whether FDI and trade trigger economic growth or economic development attracts FDI and trade is unsolved (Makki and Samwaru, 2004) since past studies were one sided i.e. analyzed the impact of FDI and trade on economic growth (Borensztein et al, 1995 and Balasubramanyam et al, 1996) or analyzed the effect of economic growth on FDI (Barrel et al, 1996). The recent study on role of FDI in economic by Kim and Hwang (2000) focused on spillover effects in different six sub sectors. They examine the effects by using random effects model employing the annual data for the period of 1970. They find that FDI played a negligible role through out Koreas economic development. Despite the quantitative insignificance of FDI, they accepted the qualitative role of FDI on Korean economy by knowledge spillover from foreign firms. Dhakal et al. (2007) conducted a research on relationship between FDI and economic growth using granger causality test for 9 Asian countries where they find there is no direct causal relationship in two countries, causality ran from growth to FDI in 5 countries including South Korea and causality ran from both sides in two countries. Kim and Seo (2003) analysed the dynamic relationship between FDI and economic growth and domestic investment in Korea for the period of 195-1999 using vector auto regression model. They found that there some positive effects of FDI on economic growth but insignificant. However, their findings show that domestic investments negatively affected by FDI shock, and FDI does not crowd out domestic investment in Korea. In a recent survey of the literature, Hanson (2001) argues that evidence that FDI generates positive spillovers for host countries is weak. In a review of micro data on spillovers from foreign-owned to domestically owned firms, Gorg and Greenwood (2002) conclude that the effects are mostly negative. Lipsey (2002) takes a more favorable view from reviewing the micro literature and argues that there is evidence of positive effects. Surveying the macro empirical research led Lipsey to conclude, however, that there is no consistent relation between the size of inward FDI stocks or flows relative to GDP and growth. He further argues that there is need for more consideration of the different circumstances that obstruct or promote spillovers. This study revisits the FDI and economic growth relationship by examining the role FDI inflows play in promoting growth in the main economic sectors, namely Agricultural, manufacturing, and services. Often-mentioned benefits, such as transfers of technology and management know-how, introduction of new processes, and employee training tend to relate to the manufacturing sector rather than the agriculture or mining sectors. For example, the theoretical work of Findlay (1978) and Wang and Bloomstrom (1992) that models the importance of FDI as a conduit for transferring technology, relates to the foreign investment inflows to manufacturing or service. He warned that in the absence of linkages, foreign investments could have limited effect in spurring growth in an economy. About the consequences in potential linkages effects differences in manufacturing and agriculture, Hirschman (1958:110) wrote, the absence of direct linkage effects of primary production lends these views (enclaves) a plausibility that they do no have in the case of foreign investment in manufacturing. More recently, the theoretical work on linkages, by Rodiguez-Clare (1996), shows that multinationals intensive use of intermediate goods enhances production efficiency in host economies. In this framework, increased demand for inputs leads to a positive externality to other producers owing to an increase in variety. Greater varieties of inputs, however, seem to be more relevant to the manufacturing than to the agricultural sector. In addition, FDIs potential to create linkages to domestic firms, as Albert Hirschman (1958) described in his seminal book on economic development, might also vary across sectors. Hirschman (1958:109) emphasized that not all sectors have the same potential to absorb foreign technology or to create linkages with the rest of the economy. He noted, for example, linkages are weak in agriculture and mining. However, seem to be more relevant to the manufacturing than to the agricultural sector. Markusen and Venables (1999) analyze the effect of foreign firms on the development of domestic firms in the industrial sector. In their model, foreign companies compete with domestic producers while creating additional demand for domestically produced intermediate goods through linkages with local suppliers. This can lead to domestic firms entering into the intermediate goods sector, which can result in lower costs that, reflected in lower final prices that increase demand, can benefit domestic firms producing final goods. Proposed Research Work: Statement of Problem Today, India stands as one of the fastest emerging economies in the world. The country has a land of 3,287,240 Sq Km with 1,188,859,000 populations. India enjoys a per capita income of US $757 (World Bank, 2009) as compared to US $ 318 in the pre liberalisation era. This study explores the role of FDI in this remarkable growth of India as well as the growth of every sector of the Indian economy. FDI has been seen one of the big resources for industrial development in India over the years. FDI stock increased to US $ 34.577 billions in 2009 from US $ 236.690 millions in 1990 (WIR, 2009) and has gained the name of The Asian Tiger. It is interesting to explore the impact of FDI on the rapid growth of Indian economy. Despite the natural resources availability in the country, economic policies and political environment also influence the inflow of foreign investments in the countries. The theoretical concept of impact of FDI is that FDI does not only bring capital but also it brings technology, knowledge and due to the spill over effect development of process remains for the long run. FDI works as the catalyst for the economic growth of a country, especially for the developing countries. FDI is not only a single factor determining the economic growth, rather foreign trade, domestic investment, employment level, government consumption are also major factors affecting growth. On the other hand, stock of human capital is factors determining the level of FDI inflow besides the resources available in the host countries. How the growth is affected by these variables? Does high level of FDI increase the higher level of economic growth? What would be the interaction between FDI and Trade, human capital an d domestic investment? The study examines the effect of this variable in economic growth. Purpose of this study At a theoretical level, FDI brings both capital and technology which makes the local firms more competitive and encourages the economic development in the faster way. The spill over effect of foreign companies will have a long-term effect in the host countries. In the practical level, this study explores the role of FDI in economic growth in India. This study explores, whether FDI plays a role in economic growth or not? Another reason for the study is to compare the rate of growth of the key sectors of the Indian economy. India is able to attract a significant amount of FDI among Asian countries. This study verifies the theoretical model of endogenous growth theory of economic growth by using the macro economic figures of India. The present study examines the empirical assessment of the impact of FDI in difference of growth rates of Agricultural, Manufacturing and Service sectors of India as well as the growth of the economy as a whole over the period of 2000-2010. Scope of the Study Foreign Direct Investment has emerged as a major macro economic indicator of the growth of an economy. In recent years, the Indian Economy has opened up to foreign flows at a tremendous rate. These foreign inflows have contributed to the overall development of the economy in areas like technology, innovations and human capital formation but are being hindered by high rates of inflation, low yields, lack of infrastructure, skilled labour as well as low per capita GDP in various sectors. The study is aimed at analyzing the impact of FDI on the growth in various sectors considering the control factors. The research will also provide insights into the lop-sided flow of FDI in some sectors as compared to others. The impact of flow of FDI on the growth of Indian economy will also be estimated over the period of 10 years from 2000-2010. The study tries to explore the question whether high level of FDI cause higher level of economic growth. Research Methodology This section describes the research methodology of the study which explains the conceptual framework, research design, data collection method and data analysis methods of the study. The main objective of the study is to compare the difference in growth rates among the Agricultural, Manufacturing and Service Sectors of the Indian Economy over the period of 2000 to 2010. India received a huge amount of FDI and achieved high economic growth rate with gradual liberal trade policy regimes. This study analyzes the linkage between FDI and economic growth in India. Conceptual Frame work Basically, the conceptual frame work of the study is derived from the works of Borensztein et al. (1998), Carkovic and Levine (2002), and Alfaro et al. (2003). They have shown the impact of FDI on economic growth in the following linkage. Source: Adapted from How does foreign direct investment affect economic growth? References and further reading may be available for this article. To view references and further reading you must purchase this article. E. Borensztein, J. De Gregorio and J-W. Lee According to their argument, Foreign Direct Investment accelerates capital accumulation in host country by increasing total investment and lowering the cost of innovation and indirectly by crowding in domestic investment and scarce resources of the economy and productivity is enhanced by technology transfer but it is constrained by human capital in the host economy. They argue that FDI develops stock of human capital. There should be a linkage between domestic investment and human capital to achieve the higher productivity. Research Methodology and Model The present study is focused on the compare the difference in growth rates among the Agricultural, Manufacturing and Service Sectors of the Indian Economy over the period of 2000 to 2010. Only secondary data are used for the analysis of the research objectives. The uneven inflow of foreign capital and growth of certain sectors in the economy in India has attracted the research interest on it. This study employs the endogenous growth theory as developed by Balasubramanyam, Salisu and Sapsford, 1996 and Borensztein, Gragorio and Lee 1998. This model assumes that FDI contributes to economic growth directly through new technologies and other inputs as well as indirectly through improving human capital, infrastructure and institutions and countrys level of productivity depends on FDI, trade and domestic investment. The impact of overall FDI inflows on economic growth can be based on the following equation: Growth= ÃŽÂ ²0 + ÃŽÂ ²1 Initial GDP + ÃŽÂ ²2 Controls + ÃŽÂ ²3 FDI + vi Here Growth is the dependent Variable which equals per capita GDP, FDI and the control factors. For most of the variables in the regression, the values represent the average of the period for which sector FDI is available. The variables are determined as follows: Output levels and growth: Output level and growth data reflect the growth of real per capita GDP (in constant 1995 US$). Source: World Bank Development Indicators (2001). Foreign Direct Investment: FDI inflows are generally defined as the measure of the net inflows of investment needed to acquire a lasting management interest (10 percent or more of voting stock) in an enterprise operating in an economy other than that of the investor. FDI by sector as a % of GDP was used in the regression analysis. Sources: For OECD countries, the International Direct Investment Statistics Year Book (2001); FDI by sector for other countries in the sample was calculated using UNCTADs World Investment Directory (7-volume series 1992-2000). Government Spending: Comprises general government final consumption expenditure as a percentage of GDP. Source: World Bank Development Indicators (2001). Inflation: Percentage changes in the GDP deflator. Source: World Bank Development Indicators (2001). Institutional Quality (INSTQUAL): Institutional Quality is measured as the average of the 12 sub-indices of Political Risk as measured by the International Country Risk Guide: Government Stability, Socio Economic Conditions, Investment Profile, Internal Conflict, External Conflict, Corruption, Military in Politics, Religion in Politics, Law and Order, Ethnic Tensions, Democratic Accountability, and Bureaucracy Quality. Source: International Country Risk Guide (ICRG). Inflation: Percentage changes in the GDP deflator. Source: World Bank Development Indicators (2001). Openness: Trade Openness is defined as the average of exports and imports as a percentage of GDP. Source: World Bank Development Indicators (2001). Private credit (PRCREDBANK): The value of credits by financial intermediaries to the private sector divided by GDP, this variable excludes credits issued by central and development banks and credit to the public sector as well as cross claims of one group of intermediaries on another. Source: Levine et al. (2000). Schooling: Average years of secondary schooling of the total population. Source: Barro and Lee (1996) and World Bank Development Indicators (2001). The same equation can be used to determine the economic growth in each of the sectors of the Indian economy. Based on the results obtained, relevant conclusions can be drawn about the growth rates in the Agricultural, Manufacturing and Service Sectors of the Economy and the difference between them. Analysis of the FDI over the period of 10 years can also be derived by employing the equation to each year. The stock of efficient human capital is required to absorb the technologies brought by FDI and it determines whether the potential spillover effect is realized. The host country requires sufficient number of human capital to utilize the technologies brought by FDI, meaning that higher the level of human capital in the host country, higher the effect of FDI in economic growth of the host country. The study assumes a positive relationship between FDI and GDP growth rate as well as a positive interaction between FDI and human capital in accelerating the economic growth. The issue relating to the interaction between FDI and domestic investment; it is assumed that there is positive interaction between FDI and domestic investment because FDI has is considered as an important medium for transferring capital, technologies and host countries that encourages the domestic investment level. This study uses the time series data for the period of 2000-2010 for the analysis of the objectives and uses the multivariate regression analysis (OLS) for the analysis of data. Data Collection Method and Sources The research is based on Secondary sources of Data Collection. Detailed information on FDI by sector for India is available in OECDs International Direct Investment Statistics Yearbook (2009). The OECD data can be complemented with information obtained from the World Investment Report seven volume series by UNCTAD, each volume of which contains FDI information for countries from different regions (e.g., Asia and the Pacific, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, etc.). The per capita growth rate of output is measured as the growth of real per capita GDP in constant dollars using data from the World Banks World Development Indicators (WDI) (2009). Inflation, measured as the percentage of change in the GDP deflator and used as a proxy for macroeconomic stability, is taken from WDI (2009) as well. In order to capture institutional quality and stability, data from the International Country Risk Guide (ICRG), a m

Formulation Of A Theory :: Papers

Formulation Of A Theory The certain factors that influence the accuracy of estimation is mainly: Age, the time of day it is processed, gender and the style of the survey. The reason age has an affect on the accuracy of estimation, is because if the person is too young or too old the survey may not be reliable enough in order for it to be processed into a data collection sheet the reason being that they may not be suited to the imperial or metric measurement used in modern days. The young may not have learnt the imperial measures and the elderly may not be used to the correct terms. The effect, time has to getting good reliability is that the survey should be taken out at a convenient time of the day where food has been consumed properly and the people's minds are focused. The times which may be irrelevant to practice a survey is early in the morning or late at night where people may be tired. The gender may have a certain effect on the outcome of results because the males may differ in technical skills to females or it is possible that perhaps females are more capable of handling academical situations rather than males. The style of a survey may affect the result because if badly constructed questions are used, people will not answer the survey properly and will try to avoid them. An example of a badly constructed question is 'What is your age?'-This is personal. Many people will not want to answer. An example of a well constructed question is 'Which age group are you in? 0-20 21-30 31-50 etc. A questionnaire is usually put together to test a hypothesis. The hypothesis that will be used in this questionnaire is: 'Children will be able to estimate better than adults'. Method The data will be collected through a simple questionnaire. A stratified sample will be used. This is because in a stratified sample, the population that will be asked will be divided into