Measure and Light Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Measure and Light - Essay Example This can be enjoyed at the simplest level by anyone, even birds are mentioned, but there are also those who understand the science of music – how it works , how it constructs links , how it can be composed. He quotes St Augustine of Hippo from the fourth century C.E. in ‘De musica’1 as saying that this is the science of music, a mathematical science. Music is described as an expression of relationships, a mathematical relationship. Augustine’s claim was that number was needed to prevent chaos within the universe. Because these are mathematical concepts the same principles can be applied in the field of the visual arts. In the mediaeval period it was believed that contemplation of geometry would lead on to thoughts of the divine, pointing to what lies outside our normal fields of vision. Augustine realised that both music and architecture have this aesthetic value. Augustine was aware that architecture uses this science of number, but was aware that not ever y architect was necessarily aware of the rules, even though he could apply them. He considered though that there could be no building of beauty unless the rules were both applied and could be seen to have done so. The whole creative process has to be placed within a framework of mathematical rules, of harmony and proportion. The contemplation of such things were believed to lead to a revelation of God. Mention is made of wave after wave of iconoclasm which aimed to limit this aim of medieval art, but which was never able to fully suppress it. Instead as time passed new styles emerged , ever more fitted to produce the religious experience aimed for . The Wisdom of Solomon is quoted , saying of God ‘Thou hast ordered all things in measure in number and weight ,’ ( Wisdom 11 v 21),2 with the complete creation being seen a heavenly composition, but also an artistic or architectural one. As part of this the buildings were seen as being right in the will of God as they produc e feelings of both awe and reverence of the divine. This, according to Curtius, was the world view of the time. They take the place in western Christianity, of the icon among Orthodox Christians, where ideas about the ultimate take the form of visual beauty. Two important strands of thought are described – the unusual version of Platonism based in Chartres, and from Clairvaux a more spiritual aspect. There was an emphasis upon mathematics and the consequences of such thinking. The word architect is discussed with its two early meanings: that of the simple mason and also the cleric in charge of a building. Then later came the idea of the architect not as a craftsman but as a scientist, a ‘theoreticus’ of his art, who quite deliberately uses scientific principles to achieve what is required. The author points how we must not impose modern ideas of what an architect is upon these medieval builders. We know value great craftsmanship, but such workers were little valu ed in that period, as compared with the theoreticus. Note that link with the word ‘theory ‘. These men were clerics. They did not actually create physical things, climb ladders or use building tools. That was the task of skilled craftspeople. Boethius is mentioned, with his idea that mere carrying out rules to create a work of art if akin to slavery , whereas knowledge of the science from which a work is created is like being a

Explain What Christians Believe About the Sanctity of Life and Especially Their Responsibility Essay Example for Free

Explain What Christians Believe About the Sanctity of Life and Especially Their Responsibility Essay All Christian beliefs, believe in the sanctity of life. This means that life is sacred as God has given us life. But many of the different Christian religions have different views on the way both Abortions and Euthanasia should be handled. Catholics believe that life begins at the moment of conception. But from a quote from Jeremiah 1:5 ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you’. This shows that God has already given the child there special personalities and talents even before they are born. This quote forms the base of the Vatican’s Stance on contraception. They completely disagree with condoms, ‘The Pill’ and any other forms of contraception. They are also totally against the idea of Abortion. This is shown in the Humane Vitae. Mother Teresa is totally against Abortion as from this quote we can tell that she thinks that it is a sin. ‘Any country that accepts Abortion, is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what it wants’. This shows that she backs up the views of the Roman Catholic that Abortion is a tragic sin. But the Church of England and many other religions such as Quakers and Lutheran believe that Abortion is acceptable to have an Abortion in certain circumstances, such as rape or when mental or physical damage cause be inflicted on the mother or/and child. They disagree with the beliefs of the Roman Catholic as we all have free will and having Abortion is in the rights of free will. Also there is no quote the bible that clearly states that Abortion is wrong. At the other end of the life scale Euthanasia is also another controversial issue. All Christians believe that we as human are all created by God. This is shown in Psalm 139:16 ‘You saw my unborn body’. This shows that when David sung the psalm he was telling the people that God knew you before you were born, showing that as our bodies an minds are unique we all must treat our minds with respect as otherwise we shall be committing a sin against God. Due to the fact that Jesus was human and he was the person who saved us from original sin then Euthanasia is a sin against God. Under no personal or social circumstances could ever, can now, or will ever, should Euthanasia ever render such an act lawful in itself. Pope John Paul II clearly states in this quote made in 1989 that he is totally against the idea of contraception. In the bible it states that God is the only person who can take a life. This shows that the Roman Catholics are all against the idea of Euthanasia, making it a mortal sin. Where as the Church of England and the Society of Friends would argue that if the person is likely to die very soon then using free will they should be allowed to use euthanasia as they no that they are going to die any way. Also they believe that someone should not be put to sleep immediately, but they can stop taking the medication that is keeping them alive to speed up the death. But this can cause the law trouble as they cannot tell completely what has happened. In the law it is illegal to have euthanasia performed on you. If you were found guilty you would have to face charges of man slaughter. In the it says that death is not the end of the road only the end of the first part.

Nestles Corporate Structure And Social Responsibility Management Essay

Nestles Corporate Structure And Social Responsibility Management Essay Henri Nestle in Switzerland established Nestle in 1966. Its initial stage was originally making baby food. After the Second World War, the government contracts dried up and consumers switched back to fresh milk(Gov Paper, 2012) .Therefore, through the Nestles managers quick response by streaming operations, then based on their strict management, underwent continuing exploration, it expended incessantly to be the biggest food manufacturers and one of the biggest transnational corporations in the world today. It has around 450 factories, 32 million staffs and operates in 86 countries, with the annual sales revenue reaching up to 910 billion franc per year (Wikipedia, 2012). It is famous for chocolate bars and instant coffee. Since the its beginning as a small firm, the company is well-known in almost every country in the world today. The successful management mode of Nestle is worth referencing for managers to control their own companies. This report will outline the Nestles Corporate Structure and Social Responsibility. Corporate structure Nestle, as the biggest food manufacturer and one of the biggest transnational corporations in the world, owns a strict management organizational structure, and has made strict rules in regards to production technology, brand, quality control and main raw materials (Carla, 2012). As Nestles corporate structure has become more global, complex and hierarchical, the leaders who are the administrators of branch companies have rights to decide the final form for each production, based on the different situations and demands of different countries. It means that the company not only should keep the method of decentralized management but also should pursue greater consistency. (Brabeck, 2011) 2.1 Board of Directors The Board of Directors is the utter governing body of the company. It is responsible for the ultimate supervision of the group. (Corporate Governance Report, 2011)Nestles board of directors consists of the Chairman (Peter Brabeck-Letmathe), the CEO (Paul Bulcke), the two Vice Chairman and other eleven members. All members of the Board of Directors are non-executive members, except Paul Bulcke,. Peter Brabeck-Letmathe is the active Chairman and has particular responsibilities for the orientation and control of the company including the Nestle Health Science Company and Nestles engagements. (Corporate Governance Report, 2011) 2.2 Committees of the Board of Directors The rights and responsibilities of every Committee are based on the current Committee Charter, which is authorized by the Board. Each Committee is qualified for outside affairs. (Corporate Governance Report, 2011) 2.3 Chairmans and Corporate Governance Committee It is made up of the Chairman, the two Vice Chairmen, the CEO and other members elected by the Board, and acts as a role of consultant between the Chairman and the full Board of Directors in order to promote the handling of the business when necessary. 2.4 Compensation Committee It determines the salaries of the members in the Board and submits them to the Board for approval, and supervises the remuneration for the whole company and the group. 2.5 Nomination Committee It establishes the criterions for the selection to the Board and selects candidates for election or re-election to the Board. It also gives some suggestions to the decision made by the Board. 2.6 Audit Committee It gives assistance to the Board of Directors in its supervision on financial controls through a direct link to KPMG (external auditors) and the Nestle Group Audit (corporate internal auditors). 2.7 Executive Board The Executive Board is in the charge of the CEO and its members have the necessary powers to carry out their responsibilities, with the limits ruled by the Executive Boards Regulations. 2.8 Divisions Nestle has three divisions as of 2012: Products, Functions and Zones. Among these, the Division of Functions includes four parts: Operations, Finance and Control, Strategic Business Units, Marketing and Sales and Innovation Technology. They work together to control strictly key process and points, in order to ensure normal operation of the company. Therefore, Nestles corporate structure is essentially the layout of the Board, various divisions, and committees that interact to direct the business of the company, and the success of Nestle is an example relying on a successful corporate structure to some extent. Social responsibility Nestle, as a worldwide company, plays a crucial role in the society shouldering the responsibility of social harmoniously development. Its social responsibilities are not only the charity but also the basic part of Nestle companys management principles. 3.1 World Cocoa Foundation In 2000, Nestle and other chocolate companies formed the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF), which was set up specifically to help farmers to deal with problems they are facing, including the ineffective farming techniques and poor environmental management. The WCF concerns about facilitating farmers income, encouraging sustainable development of farming techniques, and setting up environmental and social programmes (World Cocoa Foundation, 2012). 3.2 Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Nestle founded the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) with Danone and Unilever in 2002 to promote sustainable agriculture. The main purpose of SAI is to manage: 1) Quality and safety problems in the food supply chain which is really refer to security of consumers.2)With the growing income and expect for nutritious food, the demand for quality food is growing at the same time (Peter, 2011). 3.3 Creating Shared Value (CSV): The Cocoa Plan CSV encourages businesses to create economic and social value. In 2006, Nestle became one of the first organizations to adopt the CSV approach, which they insist was their original intention. The company has focused its Creating Shared Value efforts and investments on three areas nutrition, water and rural development, which are cores of their basic industrial principle (Creating Shared Value at Nestle, 2012). Their target is producing 1 million high quality, disease-resistant cocoa plantlets a year before 2012. The aim is to replace old, less productive trees with healthier new ones (Blas, Javier. 2012). In September 2011, Nestle introduced The Cocoa Plan in the Netherlands to improve the livelihoods of cocoa farmers. (The Cocoa Plan, 2012) Better quality cocoa plants, train farmers, chain management, improved social circumstances and cooperation with partners are the main aims. KitKat is the first product in the Netherlands, which carries the logo of The Cocoa Plan on pack, that m eans Nestle will product with meeting KitKats demand and it has certified by UTZ Certified (a certification program for agricultural products that claims to be the largest coffee certifier in the world) ( KitKat , 2011). 3.4 Expending Business in Health Care Nutrition In September 2010, Nestle claimed that they would invest more than $500millon to develop the health products to prevent the diseases like diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and Alzheimers (Saltmarsh, 2010). 3.5 Member of Fair Labor Association (FLA) In 2011, the Nestle Company started cooperating with FLA to improve the condition of the work. On 29 February 2012, Nestle become the first food company to join the FLA (Join, 2012). Conclusion Nestle is successful due to its perfect system, serious management, reasonable distribution and correct guidance. Therefore, it can survive adversity, able to develop rapidly and as a result, becomes a well-known enterprise. Nestle created a commercial miracle and made great contribution to the community. It gave much needed help for the people through charity and sponsorship (Sponsorship of Charity Organizations, 2012). It makes people taste outstanding delicacy, which is not only has positive psychological effects on people but also physical benefiits. In addition, Nestles spirit affect generation after generation, its management at the same time is worthy for people to emulate. Because of these advantages, Nestle will increase in a variety of product and further satisfy peoples needs.

Essay --

Happiness is arguably the most sought after goal of the human condition, and time and money are possibly two of the most valuable resources any individual possesses. The article â€Å"Time, money and happiness: How does putting a price on time affect out ability to smell the roses?† by Sanford E. DeVoe and Julian House (2012), sets out to answer the question; what is the connection between time, money, and happiness? The hypothesis that DeVoe and House (2012) proposed was that there is a frustration caused when the goal of maximizing the economic value of time is obstructed and that this frustration can lessen other benefits of experiences, especially pleasure. This hypothesis requires that the individual think about time in relation to its monetary value and therefore whether or not time can be better spent doing something that brings in money. The researchers tested their hypothesis through a few experiments. The first experiment that DeVoe and House (2012) conducted was to directly test their hypothesis. The procedure of this experiment was to take 53 undergraduate students (32 femal...

Basic Cash Management Process Essay

Every company can be viewed as a cash pool into which funds flow from various sources. Several techniques are used to speed the collection of such funds. Conversely, cash flows out of the pool for payables and other disbursement reasons. An important aspect of cash management is to control tightly both cash inflows and outflows. When cash inflows exceed cash outflows, surplus cash builds up. This surplus can be used to repay debts or for investment in marketable securities. Alternatively, when outgoing funds exceed the inflow, the firm must raise money by borrowing or by selling some marketable securities. THE CONCEPT OF FLOAT A cash manager’s job is to make payments to others as slowly as possible and to convert into cash – or clear – payments received from others as quickly as possible. The reason is float, the most important element of cash management. Float is the amount of uncollected funds moving through the financial transfer system. It shows up as the difference between the balance shown on a firm’s checking account and the balance on the bank’s books. For example, suppose a firm writes, on average, $100,000 of checks daily. If it takes four days for checks to clear and be deducted from the firm’s bank balance, the firm’s own books will show a cash balance that is $400,000 less than the bank’s records indicate. The firm has the use of these funds, called disbursement float, as long as this situation persists. On the other hand, the firm loses the use of check-clearing float – one component of collection float – on the checks that it has deposited in its account but that have not yet cleared. Suppose the firm deposits $90,000 in checks every day, and these checks clear in three days on average. The firm’s books then show cash balances that are $270,000 larger than the bank’s books indicate. Thus, the firm’s net float – the difference between its $400,000 disbursement float and its $270,000 check-clearing float – is $130,000. This means that the firm’s actual cash balance is $130,000 greater than its recorded cash balance. The firm can invest or otherwise spend these excess funds. The float on an individual item can be measured in dollar-days and is calculated as the amount of the check multiplied by the number of days of delay until that check clears: Alternatively, the average daily float can be calculated as the average daily receipts multiplied by the average delay in collecting each dollar.   The average delay in collecting a dollar equals the total dollar-days of float divided by the total amount received during the period or Average Delay The existence of float lies at the core of every system designed to accelerate, decelerate, or control corporate funds. By reducing collection float, the corporate treasurer can accelerate cash flow and enhance the return on current assets. Similarly, corporate cash flow may be improved by increasing disbursement float. The value of decreasing collection float or increasing disbursement float is tied to the opportunity cost of funds. It can be measured as   Value of Float = Dollar Amount of Float times Time times Interest Rate For example, suppose a firm can reduce the collection time on $5 million of receivables by three days. Assuming that it will invest this money at an annual interest rate of 10 percent, it will earn interest at a rate of .10/365 per day on the $5 million. Therefore, the value of a three-day reduction in collection float is $5,000,000 times 3 times 0.10/365 = $4,109.59 If collections ordinarily average $5 million daily and the company managed to reduce the float permanently by three days, it would then be able to free up $15 million in working capital. At 10 percent interest, this reduction in float is worth $1.5 million ($5,000,000 times 3 times .10) annually. Using a 10 percent discount rate, the present value of this permanent reduction in float is $15 million ($1,500,000/.10). Reworking this example with a different interest rate, say 6 percent, reveals that if the company can permanently free up $15 million in working capital, its shareholders will be $15 million richer ($900.000/.6), regardless of the interest rate. In other words, the value created by a permanent reduction in float is independent of the interest rate. Collection Float Collection float is the time that receivables spend in the process of being collected. It consists of the following four elements: 1.Invoicing float is the interval from the time a company creates an invoice and mails it to the customer until the customer places the payment in the mail. During this phase of the collection cycle, the cash manager has no control over the funds. 2.Mail float, the next phase in the cycle, is the time taken by the U.S. Postal Service to deliver the customer’s check. 3.Having received payment, the company experiences processing float, the flow of the check through the company’s accounting system on its way to be deposited. 4.Finally, there is check-clearing float. This is the time it takes to clear each check deposited. Invoicing float may be reduced only by changing the payment terms. The other three types of float are controllable. A.2 discusses the various means to accelerate the collection of funds. Exhibit A.1 illustrates the various types of collection float.

Humanities Today Paper Essay

Humanities are branches of knowledge that investigate human beings, their culture, and their self-expression. Distinguished from the physical and biological sciences and, sometimes, from the social sciences, the humanities include the study of languages and literatures, the arts, history, and philosophy. The modern conception of the humanities has roots in the classical Greek paideia, a course in general education dating from the fifth century BC that prepared young men for citizenship. Humanities also draw on Cicero’s humanitas, a program of training for orators set forth in 55 BC. The Renaissance humanists contrasted studia humanitatis (studies of humanity) with studies of the divine; by the 19th century the distinction was instead drawn between the humanities and the sciences (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2006). The humanities are a group of academic subjects united by a commitment to studying aspects of the human condition and a qualitative approach that generally prevents a single paradigm from coming to define any discipline. The humanities are usually distinguished from the social sciences and the natural sciences and include subjects such as the classics, languages, literature, music, philosophy, the performing arts, religion and the visual arts. Other subjects at times included as humanities in some parts of the world include archaeology, area studies, communications, cultural studies and history, although these are often regarded as social sciences elsewhere (Wikipedia, 2006). Humanity in general is the experience of being human. The experience can be visual, audible or by touch. The philosophy of being human is also the aim within the general perception of humanity, thus separating the commonality understanding humanity from the personal experience of being human. The difference between the visualization of humanity and the practical application of humanity is the understanding of the critical observation of what humanity should be versus what humanity is. The larger interpretation deals with the different disciplines of science, medical and even in psychology. I do not believe that anyone can understand that the present situation globally has anything to do with humanity. For example, I do not believe that killing and raping like in Darfur or in other areas like Iraq or Iran has anything or needs much explanation if that is also humanity and if it is not, what is it? ArtThe art of painting has been said that the painter’s soul speaks within the creation of the painting. For example, Leonardo DaVinci’s painting of Mona Lisa is not proven that Mona Lisa really smiled, yet in the eyes of the soul of Leonardo DaVinci he saw this smile which leads to the conclusion that humanity has a soul which one cannot assume in contrast to an animal. In the style of surrealism, one can make the statement that the soul is talking in a language that only the painter can understand. To finish this topic of art and humanity, it is possible to say that the soul in humanity has many different faces that is only understood by the creator. The harmony or the dis-harmony to be attracted to one or the other like Ruben’s painting versus Picasso’s abstracts indicates that the resonance of the viewer is enchanted or dismayed, thus this only shows the uniqueness of the soul. MusicMusic from the viewpoint of one’s understanding of humanity is the rhythm of life. One would find oneself during the day humming this or that tune. One may not know why but one would be expressing the humming as joy. Theoritically one could ask the question, is music also the expression of the soul and if the answer is yes then why does the symphony entice some people but not all? So often one is confronted with the social expression that many people are gathered to be stimulated by the melody rather than the words. Case and point, when men have get togethers they are singing 99 bottles of beer on the wall which has nothing to do with the harmony or the expression of the soul and yet they are happy. Then the men start to come up with all kinds of variations of the song. If music is the expression of humanity or if humanity is the expression of music, then joy is the same. An opera for someone that likes opera, can be very moving in emotions. An overture can also be very moving. There are many people that like overtures and a cello concert and there are many people that like Christina Aguilera, Leonard Cohen or Johnny Cash. One can see as diverse the music, so diverse is humanity’s perception of it. ArchitectureThe visualization of an architect to create a structure is based upon the landscape and the scenery that can entice the architect to think and then create. It would be interesting to understand a child that creates the architecture in the clouds and tells his or her mother to look at the castle in the sky versus an architect that see’s the scenery and skillfully builds the castle. That would be the different findings. Throughout history, one has seen different styles of architecture like Roman and Gothic. Roman architecture is round and gothic is more triangular. Looking at Baroque, we see straight lines. All those different architectural styles are the expression of humanity and humanity’s evolution. PhilosophyPhilosophy in one’s opinion is the most intriguing part of humanity. To ask a question and to not have an answer or not wanting an answer, that is philosophy. Philosophy is the purest of the interpretation of humanities which means that humanities in action is at it’s best. The progression of thinking. What does it mean when Socrates says, I know that I don’t know or Shakepeare in Hamlet who says to be or not to be. With other words, philosophy represents the capabilities of humanities. LiteratureHumanity and literature go hand-in-hand with the evolution of humans and the different societies. Ancient texts like the Bible and other writings represent the history of humankind as written words where more and more use for communication. As the Bible seems to be the representation of the history of a particular group of people like the Jews, other groups like in the Mesopotamian history became less and less a real representation of history by geographic means. Literature became more poetic. For example the Mesopotamian epic story of Gilgamesh. Throughout the evolution of humankind, technology has changed the socio-economic structure which means from hieroglyphs communicated in clay or stone tablets to the skillfull calligraphy in monasteries and the triumph of the printing press by Gutenberg. Today literature is different because reading a book in the time of internet is almost a sacrilege. In not reading books in the way that it was done in the past, society has almost no time to read complete sentences because literature has also fallen in a trap that unfortunately takes away the thinking which is the hallmark of humanity. Humanity is comprised of many different cultures. Each culture has their own set of rules for humanity. The uniqueness of literature is lost in the complexity of it’s many interpretations. Humanities are about being human. The idea is to draw connections between all the various creative movements and influences that exist in a culture at any given moment, as well as how these movements and influences have influenced what has come later and what we are experiencing now. ReferencesEncyclopedia Britannica Online (2006). Humanities. Retrieved November 2, 2006 fromhttp://www. britannica. com/ebc/article-9367537Fiero, G. (2006). The Humanistic Tradition: The European Renaissance. The Reformationand Global Encounter. Boston, Massachusetts: McGraw-Hill. Robinson, J. (2003). What is Humanities? Retrieved on November 5, 2006 fromhttp://fp. uni. edu/robinsoj/Humanities/WHAT%20IS%20HUMANITIES. htmWikipedia the free encyclopedia (n. d. ). Humanities. Retrieved November 1, 2006, fromhttp://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Humanities.

Separate America essays

Separate America essays Over the past hundred years, the United States has tried to evolve toward a country of accepted diversity. Yet throughout time it seems that whenever the United States takes a step forward toward universal acceptance of all races, they take two steps back toward racial profiling and discrimination. The tragic events after September 11 are proof of the ongoing balkanization within America, as many Arab Americans were forced to deal with the criminalization of their race as terrorists. The power-conflict theory, which emphasizes that power and value differences exist between dominant and subordinate groups and that social conflicts are normal consequences of these differences, clearly show that the united states does not follow the path of assimilation for everyone, but instead has different segments of society vying for dominance. In America, minorities are still struggling to find equality and peace, especially when a dominated Anglo America is still trying to oppress them. The b alkanization of America is progressing, and the so-called melting pot has cooled. Society generally prefers to associate with members of their own culture. They unite and divide on the basis of ethnic identity. The problems with assimilation and institutional discrimination are present obstacles that prevent minorities from integrating into the mainstream of American society. The United States is not alone; many nations around the world experience similar ethnic and racial tensions that mimic the balkanization of an already divided America. ...

Free Essays on Drunk Driving Exigent Solution

Drunk Driving as a Social Issue By: G Ahmed How much longer will we be forced to endure the pain and atrocities due to the carelessness of drunk driving? Drunk driving has been a problem in the United States since the introduction of automobiles; however, it did not become an important social issue until the 1980’s. At that time the political atmosphere defined crime in terms of personal choice and individual responsibility. Drunk driving was defined as a problem located within individuals. Drunk driving is illegal in every state. It is not only illegal, but unsafe to operate an automobile if you are under the influence of alcohol. When a person drinks, the alcohol is absorbed into the blood stream and various tests have been designed to measure the level of alcohol in a person’s blood. In most states, if a person has a blood alcohol level greater than .10%, that person is presumed to be too intoxicated to safely operate an automobile. Driving under the influence of alcohol is considered the nation’s most frequently committed violent crime, and in the 1980’s the public supported a wider range of non-criminal countermeasures, as well as stricter legal measures, to govern DUI’s. This movement against drunk driving was well reflected in the legislative arena. Between 1981 and 1987 some 934 new laws dealing with drunk driving were passed by state legislatures. Legal measures focus on deterring drunken drivers by providing stricter laws and punishment. Non-criminal countermeasures are concerned with reform and education and include treatment programs and educating citizens about the dangers of impaired driving. To prevent drunk driving, a combination of stricter laws with harsh punishments and non-criminal countermeasures must be implemented. Legal measures are said to protect citizens through deterrence. Deterrence is defined as discouraging a particular behavior. There are two types of deterrence: individual or specific dete... Free Essays on Drunk Driving Exigent Solution Free Essays on Drunk Driving Exigent Solution Drunk Driving as a Social Issue By: G Ahmed How much longer will we be forced to endure the pain and atrocities due to the carelessness of drunk driving? Drunk driving has been a problem in the United States since the introduction of automobiles; however, it did not become an important social issue until the 1980’s. At that time the political atmosphere defined crime in terms of personal choice and individual responsibility. Drunk driving was defined as a problem located within individuals. Drunk driving is illegal in every state. It is not only illegal, but unsafe to operate an automobile if you are under the influence of alcohol. When a person drinks, the alcohol is absorbed into the blood stream and various tests have been designed to measure the level of alcohol in a person’s blood. In most states, if a person has a blood alcohol level greater than .10%, that person is presumed to be too intoxicated to safely operate an automobile. Driving under the influence of alcohol is considered the nation’s most frequently committed violent crime, and in the 1980’s the public supported a wider range of non-criminal countermeasures, as well as stricter legal measures, to govern DUI’s. This movement against drunk driving was well reflected in the legislative arena. Between 1981 and 1987 some 934 new laws dealing with drunk driving were passed by state legislatures. Legal measures focus on deterring drunken drivers by providing stricter laws and punishment. Non-criminal countermeasures are concerned with reform and education and include treatment programs and educating citizens about the dangers of impaired driving. To prevent drunk driving, a combination of stricter laws with harsh punishments and non-criminal countermeasures must be implemented. Legal measures are said to protect citizens through deterrence. Deterrence is defined as discouraging a particular behavior. There are two types of deterrence: individual or specific dete...

Whats Complicating Bernankes Balancing Act Essay

Whats Complicating Bernankes Balancing Act - Essay Example products, but more about the market forces that are determined by overseas. The interdependency can be observed from the increasing trade volume between U.S. and Asia, which has doubled in 10 years. The complication increases the chances that the Fed could make a policy mistake by pushing rates too high or leaving them too low. It could cost the economy deadly if an error is to be corrected later on. (Cooper, 2006) Large countries, like the U.S., used to alter their monetary policies according to the situation of themselves. For example, in the past, the U.S. could keep her inflation rate under control easily and effectively through adjusting the interest rate to a right level. However, in the world of globalization, as the world economies are becoming more interdependent, as supported by the increasing trading volume in the passage, the level of interest rate would also affect the trade deficit issues between the U.S. and other countries as foreign capital is in need to finance the trade deficit.

MOD4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

MOD4 - Essay Example This results in confounded data since different people view the employee under assessment differently. If such feedback were to be classified, the peers would be classified differently, the bosses, and the other colleagues too. Under each group there people with similar ideas about the individual being assessed, there are those with different opinions, and there are those who may have nothing to say. These people may also be influenced by various factors. This is the source of confusion that is brought about by this method. Inaccuracy: Information is obtained from various people, some of whom do not have adequate opportunity to see an individual’s behaviour in all aspects. Accuracy of such kind of information is therefore, suspect. Difficulty in interpretation: it is indicated that with this kind of assessment, people find it difficult to transform information into proper action, or to interpret facts about their own performance. No, different circumstances face healthcare professionals and these cannot be used to judge their behaviour. There is the risk of complexity in the kind of data produced. Feedback providers may not provide accurate information depending on the situation they were in, for example emergency situations, and the feedback may be discouraging (Tosti & Addison, 2009). A skills gap is a situation where an organization’s capabilities demands skills that cannot be provided by its current employees. Skills gap exist because; the level of education does not match what the nations need, and more jobs are changing in terms of technology, knowledge, and teamwork requirements (Galagan, 2010). Reasons that account for skill gaps are; change in organizational strategies, effects of mergers and acquisitions, company leadership ranks’ lack of bench strength, and reduced investments allocated for training. The leading cause of skill gaps was lack of qualified

Violations of Securities Laws Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Violations of Securities Laws - Assignment Example with insider sales, potentially more opportunities for insiders to sell their shares, decreased burden on counsel or trading compliance officers who would have make subjective determinations on the availability of non- public information (Johnson 56). The ramification of those who violate this rule are judicially constructed. In addition, the Congress passed the PSLARA that would encourage the voluntary disclosure of information by corporate issues, empower the investors so that they may exercise primary control over their private securities litigation and encourage plaintiff to pursue valid claims and fight abuse claims. Under Rule 16b of the Exchange Act , with respect to any company whose securities are registered on a NSE, enforces certain restrictions and obligations on the company’s directors and every beneficial owner of more that 10 percent of any call of equity security as those presumed to have access of inside information. As a trader, this rule is beneficial as it helps to prevent the unfair use of information which may be gotten by the beneficial owner by reason of the relationship that is present with the issuer. The ramification for those who violate the rule allows allow a stakeholder to file a derivative suit that will help recover such profit (Federal Securities Law Reporter 66). If this is not implemented or they refuse to bring such suit within sixty days, there will be no requirement for the share holder to own any shares at the time of the insider trading. Federal Securities Law Reporter: Federal Regulation of Securities : Laws, Regulations, Forms, Rulings and Decisions, Currently Supplemented and Indexed. Chicago, Ill: Commerce Clearing House, 1964. Continually updated

Collective security as an approach to peace Essay

Collective security as an approach to peace - Essay Example Collective security movements, organizations, and agencies turn a deaf ear to the pain and plight of mass-murder and ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya Muslims in Burma. Collective security forces are not even doing anything to provide for the displaced Rohingya Muslims in any possible way, what to talk of taking measures to discourage or deter their displacement from the Buddhist majority in Myanmar. The author says that collective security does not recognize any inveterate enemies or traditional friendships. Collective security also does not allow for any alliances with or against any state. An alliance for collective security purpose proves superfluous as all states are committed to other states’ defense. The importance of confidence for success of collective security system cannot be overemphasized. â€Å"Collective security cannot work unless the policies of states are inspired by confidence in the system† (216). The satisfaction of basic conditions that the author has mentioned for the collective security namely the power, legal, and organizational situation cannot be achieved. First of all, it is not possible for all states to command nearly equal resources or for several great powers of nearly same strength to exist. Secondly, in the real world, it is not possible to have substantial universality of membership for collective security. The author argues that collective security is a plan for unprecedently organizing international police action rather than organizing coalition warfare like it was done in the 20th century. The purpose of collective security is to eliminate international brawls rather than sponsoring the winning team. â€Å"It purports to require of participating states not that they should consent to compulsory involvement in major wars, but that they should accept obligatory service in a system for preventing major wars† (218). The author establishes as an essential the existence of such a massive power of the police force for the

Business Entrepreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business Entrepreneurship - Essay Example Internet marketing in this phase after generating a feasible amount of donation request can again prove to be useful in many ways. For example, the website can also help to gain the support of professionals in this case without any extra cost. Precisely, the blogs creation can be useful to recognize the supportive donators and organize them ultimately. Another objective of the team was to establish a new gym in the local community. To attain this objective the team shall have to manage an adequate space within the building. The main supplies that the team should be focused on in this case are the equipments, one trainer at least, a changing and a resting room for the participants. In addition, the part of membership donations should also be considered. The advantages of website designing is quite remarkable in the case of New Wave Youth Club, therefore it demands a continuous development to sustain the position. To develop the website into a ‘Killer Website’ the team need to be focused on the attributes of speed, customer service and involvement of new up-graded technology as well. For instance, the team can organize awareness programs, or entertaining games which shall be effective to attract potential donators and other suppliers.

Body language (Dancing) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Body language (Dancing) - Essay Example Sometimes the performers also do the ‘splits’ in it. It is a kind of sensual dance where the performer is usually a female displaying her skills through various dance moves. It is usually performed with a typical reggae-styled beat playing in the back ground. This depicts bolder female attitude and it represents the 21st century. All in all, it is not a typical delicate feminine dance (Evans, 2006). Here in this picture below the female performer is doing a very bold move by swinging her hair. It could probably represent female liberty. In this pose, she is shown sitting on the floor on all fours. History tells us that women have never been this wild in their dances. As it can be seen from the picture, the performer is shaking her hair while on the floor, this represents very bold body language. Such kinds of dance moves aren’t expected of females, that is why it comes as a shock to new watchers and immediately grabs their attention. The dance moves are rough, wil d and flamboyant. It shows the opposite side of the female gender, opposite to the delicate and submissive side. There are many dances which go a long way back in the history, for instance the belly dance is quite famous in the Middle East and has become a symbol of the Arab culture. It is also typical to the females and represents cultural values. It is not as bold as ‘Dutty Wine’ but it expresses the attraction of a female body. Most famous dance steps require swift and vibrating hip motions and very delicate and synchronized movements of hands and wrists. The body language of this dance is very simple and elegant. Even though there are male belly dancers but it feels more natural when female dancers perform it, it is more natural to female muscle and bone structure. Here is a picture of a belly dancer expressing the elegance of a female body (belly-dance, 2011). The picture above shows a belly dancer posing a crane like stance

Collective security as an approach to peace Essay

Collective security as an approach to peace - Essay Example Collective security movements, organizations, and agencies turn a deaf ear to the pain and plight of mass-murder and ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya Muslims in Burma. Collective security forces are not even doing anything to provide for the displaced Rohingya Muslims in any possible way, what to talk of taking measures to discourage or deter their displacement from the Buddhist majority in Myanmar. The author says that collective security does not recognize any inveterate enemies or traditional friendships. Collective security also does not allow for any alliances with or against any state. An alliance for collective security purpose proves superfluous as all states are committed to other states’ defense. The importance of confidence for success of collective security system cannot be overemphasized. â€Å"Collective security cannot work unless the policies of states are inspired by confidence in the system† (216). The satisfaction of basic conditions that the author has mentioned for the collective security namely the power, legal, and organizational situation cannot be achieved. First of all, it is not possible for all states to command nearly equal resources or for several great powers of nearly same strength to exist. Secondly, in the real world, it is not possible to have substantial universality of membership for collective security. The author argues that collective security is a plan for unprecedently organizing international police action rather than organizing coalition warfare like it was done in the 20th century. The purpose of collective security is to eliminate international brawls rather than sponsoring the winning team. â€Å"It purports to require of participating states not that they should consent to compulsory involvement in major wars, but that they should accept obligatory service in a system for preventing major wars† (218). The author establishes as an essential the existence of such a massive power of the police force for the

Body language (Dancing) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Body language (Dancing) - Essay Example Sometimes the performers also do the ‘splits’ in it. It is a kind of sensual dance where the performer is usually a female displaying her skills through various dance moves. It is usually performed with a typical reggae-styled beat playing in the back ground. This depicts bolder female attitude and it represents the 21st century. All in all, it is not a typical delicate feminine dance (Evans, 2006). Here in this picture below the female performer is doing a very bold move by swinging her hair. It could probably represent female liberty. In this pose, she is shown sitting on the floor on all fours. History tells us that women have never been this wild in their dances. As it can be seen from the picture, the performer is shaking her hair while on the floor, this represents very bold body language. Such kinds of dance moves aren’t expected of females, that is why it comes as a shock to new watchers and immediately grabs their attention. The dance moves are rough, wil d and flamboyant. It shows the opposite side of the female gender, opposite to the delicate and submissive side. There are many dances which go a long way back in the history, for instance the belly dance is quite famous in the Middle East and has become a symbol of the Arab culture. It is also typical to the females and represents cultural values. It is not as bold as ‘Dutty Wine’ but it expresses the attraction of a female body. Most famous dance steps require swift and vibrating hip motions and very delicate and synchronized movements of hands and wrists. The body language of this dance is very simple and elegant. Even though there are male belly dancers but it feels more natural when female dancers perform it, it is more natural to female muscle and bone structure. Here is a picture of a belly dancer expressing the elegance of a female body (belly-dance, 2011). The picture above shows a belly dancer posing a crane like stance

Ethical issues Essay Example for Free

Ethical issues Essay 1. Environmental Hazards: The pollutants that business industry dumps into the environment are more than just ugly nuisance; they are killers. For example, air pollution has been found to be related to deaths from bronchitis, heart disease, as well as emphysema, and several types of cancers. Studies by the American lung Association have concluded that between 50 to 120,000 thousand deaths a year are linked to the air pollution that are disbursed by air from manufacturing companies. Ant there is little doubt that the depletion of the ozone is caused by atmospheric pollution. According to Coleman/ Cressey (2001), The contamination of our waters with poisonous waste, for example, lead, mercury and dumping radioactive materials at sea to include the sinking of certain types of vessel, has already taken many lives. Thus, alone the American industry creates 3000 new chemicals every year, and most of the hundreds of thousand of chemicals used by industry have never been thoroughly tested to find out how dangerous they really are. For example, Dell Computer has come increasing scrutiny for its failure to take a leading role in reducing the amount toxic materials in the production of computers. All so, Dell Computer is using prison inmates (cheap labor) to handle the recycling of computers component parts. Not only is Dell violating environmental laws and contributing to improper disposal of computers that contain high contents of mercury, but also is endangering the inmates health. (Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, 2005). The growth of our ecological problem actually started in the 1960s, which prompted groups and individuals to lobby congress to establish laws to protect the public and impose stiff penalties on those businesses that violated the laws. Out of this era came the Radiation Control for Health and safety act of 1968, Clean Water Act of 1972, and Toxic Substance Act of 1976. (Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, 2005). The responsibility of enforcing these laws is entrusted to (EPA), Environmental Protection Agency. Even businesses of today, continue to behave in total unethically manner when it come to pollution. Many large corporation dont have pollution control program and/or mechanism in place that places value on the environment, be it land, sea or air pollution. But, most violators of the Acts receive  just a slap on the wrist. Businesses are more concern about their own self-interest of profits. Thus, continue to show little regards to the fact they are destroying the environment as well as depleting precious resources. Furthermore, the present contemporaries are incline to affluent life style and their materialistic greed have made them careless about the environment. Just as the rules are written for ethical behavior and left open for ones own interpretation and compliance, the same could be said in reference to the pollution control Act, there is a right and wrong way to demonstrate environmental awareness, but organizations continue to ignore the fact that we are on a path of depleting our precious environment. 2. Equal pay for women. I believe that not only must the hierarchical nature of the division labor between the sexes be eliminated, but the very division of labor between the sexes itself must be eliminated if women are to attain equal social status with men and if women are to attain the full development of their human potential. (Hurst, 1998). Throughout history, women were directly involved in production. When the industrial revolution occurred, single women and children were recruited for example from New England to work in textile factories in Rhode Island. Supervisory positions were held by men. Female workers were paid only half of what men were paid, even though they made up approximately 75 percent of the workers (Eisler, 1977). Men were concerned about the entrance of women into the labor market because they felt that it would have a depressing effect on their wages. They fought to keep women out of the craft unions that later developed. Women held strikes in the 1830s and 1840s to protest reductions in wages, speed-ups in work pace, and working hours (Dublin, 1970). Wars change the face of a nation, to include the workforce. During the World War II, jobs held formerly by men were accessible to women. The influx of women into the labor force has continued in recent years. In general, women tend to concentrate in white-collar and service occupations, while men are  more spread out between white collar and blue-collar positions. A decline in occupational segregation has occurred in broad occupational categories, largely because of shifts in technology and organizational structures. But despite these general improvements, women still are found disproportionately in certain occupations such as nursing, teaching and hold only a small percentage of positions as computer specialists, scientist and engineers. Similarly, a man and woman may be both be in sales, but the woman is much more likely to be in clothing sales, while the mans is involved in selling of stocks and bonds. Craft occupations are another group of occupations in which women continue to be severely underrepresented (Herz, Wootton, 1996). According to a US Department of Labor (1996) report, in 1979, women who worked full time made about 63 percent of what men did, but in 1995, women earned about 75 percent as much as men. However, this decline may be due more to decreases in the earnings of men, in general, than it is to real improvement for women (Bernhardt et al., 1995). The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA) guarantee that women holding essentially the same jobs as men will be treated with respect and fairly compensated regarding all rewards of work: wages, salaries, commissions, overtime pay, bonuses, premium pay, and benefits. However, comparisons cannot be made across different companies. Interestingly, employers may pay workers of one gender more than another on the basis of merit, seniority, quality and quantity of production, or any other factor other than sex. Given that women are still reaching a glass ceiling, particularly when it comes to upper management, CEO positions, these allowed practices are still discriminatory practices. How is equality of position established? By determining and setting criteria for skill, effort, responsibility, and working condition. Ivancevic (2004) maintains that the difference in wages includes also any type of compensation such as vacations, holiday pay, leave of absence, overtime pay, lodging, food, reimbursement for clothing or other expenses. In order to close the remaining earning gap, the concept of equal pay for equal jobs to be expanded to include equal pay for comparable jobs has become more widely  accepted. 3. Women comparable worth in the job market: The concept of comparable worth maintains that since females are discriminated in the labor market we have to look at the worth and intrinsic value of the job, and although jobs may be dissimilar in content (i.e. nurse and plumber), both are important to society and the organization. My wife maintains that she thinks that the garbage man/woman has a much greater worth and value (what would happen if the garbage wouldnt be picked up?) than a doctor, for example, for she seldom goes to the doctor, at least not weekly. Even when men take womens work, they are on top of the pay scale. The solution to the erosion of inequality is, regardless whether viewed from the perspective of equal pay or comparable worth, that womens real wages have to rise faster than mens whose wages dont have to fall. Though laws now prohibit employers from paying a woman with the same qualification less than a man who does the same work. In support of women rights, I would like to see the law expanded to guarantee that the jobs in which most workers are mostly women are paid at roughly the same rate as comparable jobs in which most workers are men. My own personal experience of equal pay and comparable worth is linked to the military pay system. This particular pay system is a product of across the broad theory, that regardless of gender, the pay at this particular rank is the same for both male and female. There are four major factors that govern advancement for the sexes: education, time in service, training, and experience, though there are special incentives for those with critical skills. In other words, all jobs in this particular specialty are to be considered to be equal in pay for all. Therefore it is my belief regardless if you are male or female with identical qualification and capable of performing at the next level there should be no hesitation in advancement. It has been proven time and time again throughout ranks of military professionals, that women are just as capable and sometime more capable than men at performing the same job, but at a higher rate of success and enthusiasm. In closing, the net worth should be based on the value each job (not female or male) renders to the organization. Reference Bernhardt, Martina Morris, and Mark S. Handcock. 1995. Womens Gains or Mens Losses? A Closer Look at the Shrinking Gender Gap in Earnings. American Journal of Sociology 101:302-28. Dublin, Thomas. 1979. Women at Work. New York: Columbia University Press. Eisler, Benita, ed. 1977. The Lowell Offering. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott. Herz, Diane E., and Barbara H. Wooton. 1996. Women in the Workforce: An Overview. Pp 44-78 in The American Woman 1996-7, edited by C. Costellor and B.K Krimgold. New York: Norton. Hurst, Charles E. 1998. Social Inequality: Forms Causes and Consequences. Allen Beacon: Needham Heights, MA. Invancevich, J. M. 2004. Human Resource Management. (9th ed). New York: McGraw Hill/Irwin. U.S. Department of Labor, January 1996. Employment and Earnings. Washington, D.C: Government Printing Office.

The Industrial And Commercial Bank Of China

The Industrial And Commercial Bank Of China The main aspect which has been taken into account in this report addresses the understanding of various global business strategies and organisation form and structure of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) locally and globally to earn its competetive advantage. The relevant theories were taken into consideration and the in-depth analysis of global business strategy which were used by ICBC was undertaken. This report contains background informatin of the bank. The Chineses banking enviornment was taken into consideration as well as the internal enviornment of the company was analysed with the help of SWOT, PESTEL and Porter 5 forces frameworks. To illustrate the performance of the ICBC a resource audit, which includes assets, resources and core competencies was presented. This report is focuses on the identification of companys local and global corporate strategy . This report concludes with the strategic implementation of its policies, challenges which are being faced by ICBC and reccomendation to deal with those challenges. Introduction: ICBC offers its customers various financial services. ICBC operates all across the globe. According to Forbes (2011) ICBC is the seventh largest publich company. History of ICBC: ICBC started with registered capital of 20.8 billion Yuan and the capital and assets added up-to 333.3 billion Yuan. In the late eighties ICBC became the formal member of International Saving Banks Institute. In October 1989 ICBC introduced the Peony Quasi Credit Card for the first time. The ICBC network in 91 cities got connected with a nationwide computer network system in October 1990. In the early nineties the bank was according to the Euromoney Journal was ranked number 8 in terms of capital share. ICBC went global in March 1992 and its first overseas subsidiary was set up in Singapore. In November 1995 ICBC expanded out of Asia and their first office in Europe was in London. ICBC went online in December 1997 and their official website was launched. ICBC jointly with Hong Kong Bank of East Asia acquired ICBC-BEA Finance Shareholding Co. Ltd with a 75% of shareholding in February 1998. In September 1999 ICBC launched 95588 its telephone banking services nationwide and in February and August 2000 respectively, ICBC began its Corporate Internet Banking and Personal Internet Banking services. In May of 2002 Peony Card Centre was established and it became the first professional bankcard business organization in China Peony Card became a sought after brand. Furthermore, in 2003 ICBC signed Agreement with Microsoft (China) in Beijing for the co-operation of Personal Internet Bankings security. The same year on December 18, ICBC launched its new personal Internet banking product [emailprotected]. In February 2004 PricewaterhouseCoopers designed ICBCs 8 year plan for corporate governance system and over-all risk management reform system and ICBC put it in practice in April 2005 under the State Councils Approval. Moreover on October 27, 2009, with 236 billion restricted shares released to the market ICBC becomes the No.1 A-share quoted company and the largest bank in the world by market capitalization. In the last quarter of 2009 the ICBC has expanded itself as it h ad received the business licence to operate in ICBC Malaysia Company Limited from Bank Negara Malaysia and ICBC Hanoi Branch, the first license issued to a foreign bank this year. December 16, 2009, The Central Bank of United Arab Emirates (UAE) officially approved and issued a wholesale banking license to ICBC to set up a branch in Abu Dhabi, a new ICBC branch in the Middle East for ICBC to spread its wings in the region. Organisational structure of ICBC: Organisational structure can be considered as a pyramid shaped system that positions the relations between the entities within an organisation vertically. Authority, power and responsibility are focused at the top and the decisions are made here and are implemented by the rest of the organisation. (Daft, Murphy, Willmott, 2010) The structure of ICBC is a hybrid structure, a combination of characteristics of various approaches tailored to specific strategic needs (Daft,2007). Functional and divisional structures combined create the organisational strucutre of ICBC. The organisation structure of ICBC consists of series of supportive departments expert in functional duties, containing Comprehensive Administration Departments, supervisory Supporting Departments and Affiliated Institutions. In the functions economy of scale is encourged due to functional structure. A management model of centralized legal person authorization and controlling one level down and supervising two levels lower is implemented by ICBC. The banking system of ICBC is centeralised in one location. (ICBC, 2009) The strategic business unit refers to the divisional structure. ICBC contains a number of Business Development Departments: Corporate Banking, personal banking, investment banking and e-banking, etc. which can fullfil individual needs and satisfactions of clients. A hybrid structure proposes greater flexibility for organisation (Daft, 2007) that aligns with the current corporate aims and strategy with divisional goals, functional expertise and productivity. Source: ICBC Annual Report 2005 The latest chart of organisation is attached in the appendix. The distribution of power: The distribution of power has been more decentralised and flexible after ICBC turned into a public corporation as compare to early times when it was not listed. Now every hierarchical level has a decent chance to take their decision on their own. Hence, the working attitudes of its employees might increase. Now they will be more motivated as they are part of decision making process and will share the success as well as the losses of the company. The biggest drawback of this managemnt style will be communication network. With decentralising, it will be difficult to communicate with other hierachical levels because of their interest conflicts. (ICBC, 2009) Enviornmental Scanning: To analyse the strategic position of any company there are several frameworks, techniques, and methods such as SWOT analysis, PESTEL and Porters 5 forces available. SWOT-Analysis: SWOT is an abbreviation for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. SWOT analysis is used to identify the internal and external factors which can be used to achieve a certain goal or improve the performance of any business. Strengths and Weaknesses are the internal factors of an organisation and Opportunities and Threats are the external factors to that organisation. The internal factors relate to any company and the external factors relate to the external environment of the organisation. (What is SWOT Analysis, 2011) Strengths: With a market value of $239,5 billion, ICBC is worlds leading bank in the world by market capitalization and it is also one of the Big Four in the domestic Chinese banking industry and has a leading marketing share in China. Due to a strong distribution of network which consist of 18,000 domestic institutions, 203 overseas institutions and over 1,440 correspondent banks worldwide, as well as 7,085 self-service banking centres and 28,656 automated teller machines ICBC has been providing its financial services to (3.10 million corporate banking, 190 million personal banking ) customers. ICBC also developed further the cash management as it got the Best RMB Cash Management Services (China) Award by the magazines The Asset and FinanceAsia. in 2008 with the score of 96.23 ICBC topped the list of 50 Most Honoured Listed Companies of China as well as was awarded the best custodian bank by The Asset, Global Custodian, Global Finance and Securities Times. Source: own presentation With 240 million issued bank cards in 2008 ICBC was the largest credit card issuing bank in China, an increase of 28.20 million over the end of 2007. Therefore, Visa and MasterCard had awarded ICBC with Award for Leading Technology of Credit Card and Best Product Innovation of the Year respectively. ICBC is into investment banking, wealth management, insurance and asset management which lead it to the universal banking model alongside the traditional banking which helped them to diversify their revenue flow. In FY2008 and FY2009, the bank generated around 52% of total revenues from corporate banking, personal banking generates 32% of revenues, treasury and other operations contribute 16% of the total revenues. Diverse sources of revenue such as settlement, clearing and cash management, investment banking, corporate wealth management, asset fiduciary, guarantee and commitment were the main causes for non-interest income. Weaknesses: ICBCs allowance in financial year (FY) 2008 and FY2009 amounted to 130.15% and 164.41% of total non-performing loans which was higher than the impairment losses on loans in absolute terms of last two years. This increase in allowances was on account of both external and internal factors. Hence, the profitability of the bank was affected by the increased allowances for impairments. Opportunities: At the end of 2010, ICBC had 203 branches in 18 overseas countries and regions and established correspondent bank relationships with 1,358 overseas banks in 122 countries and regions all across the globe. According to Swiss Re, Total takaful premiums written in 2007 was about US$1.7 billion, and it is expected to propagate to US$7 billion by 2015. ICBC can secure the benefits of being the first Chinese player venturing into Islamic banking. Several products and new services has been introduced by the ICBC after the financial crisis as well as facilitating the foreign trade companies to conduct export and import business. Chinas insurance market is growing rapidly. . In 2013, the Chinese insurance market is forecast to have a gross premium income of $353.4 billion, an increase of over 100% since 2008. Threats: After enjoying the double digit growth for last several years, and the banking industry was benefited most of it but late Chinese economy is having a slight decline. In second quarter of 2010, Chinas economy grew by 10.3%, down from 11.9% in the first quarter of 2010 and it might remain the same for the last 2 quarters as well. With emerging China several foreign banks are interested in or already started to undertake a number of businesses, including custodian services investors, insurance agency business etc. Foreign banks in China are allowed to offer over 100 types of products and services under 12 broad categories of business activity. According to the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), within the five years since Chinas WTO accession in early 2002, operational entities opened by foreign banks increased from 190 to 312. Since foreign institutional investors were first allowed to invest in Chinese banks starting in 1996, 35 overseas banks have acquired stakes in 23 Chinese banks by 2008. As competition was continued to intensify in 2009. Hence, this could affect the revenues and profits of the bank. PESTEL Analysis: PESTEL is not just the internal environment but also the macro-economic factors affecting the external environment of a company affect the way it conducts business. These factors need to be kept in mind while formulating strategies and making decisions for the future. Demand and supply may fluctuate due to a number of vital variables that may not be in the control of the management. PEST-EL analysis is a framework used for categorizing Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal issues influencing the operating environment of the organization (Johnson and Scholes 2008). Political: In 1976 China made a huge breakthrough when it abandoned its old autocratic socialist system and turned into to modern Socialism which was more focused on Market-oriented economy. China has intensified its involvement to international organization since 1990s. After becoming the member of World Trade Organisation (WTO) China has opened the doors for the foreign banks to enter the Chinese banking industry. Economic: China besides India is one of the emerging giants and it has already occupied the second place as worlds biggest economy after USA. Therefore, China is a very attractive destination for all the foreign companies especially in the manufacturing sector. There is a slight decline in the Chinese Economy due to the financial crisis but the forecast for the coming years is much brighter. In comparison to planned economy before 1976, China is reforming its economy now for a more open market and free trade with other countries. Social: China ranks at the top in terms of population which is 1,331,460,000 till 2009. China lacks the high potential individuals and has the insufficient leadership which can follow the rapid economic growth. To control the population the policy of one child is not seen everywhere with the correct frame of mind. The biggest hurdle for all the foreign companies is the language. Chinese people are tied strongly with their culture therefore local language is the only way to conduct the business. Technological: Since the introduction and popularity of Internet online shopping is more into practice now in China According to CNNIC the number of online purchasers is 420 million. Internet Banking and Telebanking is becoming more common now. In 2006 China had approximately 400 million mobile phone users and 6.1 million of them are connected online. Environmental: The natural resources such as land water and air and the environment of China has been damaged seriously by its rapid economic progression. A large amount of usage of polluted energy such as Coal and oil. China is the third largest coal and oil consumer in the world. Human right Issue (500,000 individuals are in custody without any charge and trial and 1 million cannot access to Legal system. (Amnesty International) Legal: A set of policies has been established by the Bank of China to fight against white colour crimes. More than 200 administrative rules and regularity documents has been implemented by China Banking Regularity Commission to control the financial crimes. China offers a open market to the foreign banks. Porters 5 Forces Framework: According to Porter there are 5 main forces which can shape every market and industry. These five main forces assist to figure out the intensity of competition to the profitability and attractiveness of an industry. Porters 5 forces framework on banking industry in China will provide us a sutiable tool to depict ICBCs position in the chinese banking sector. Being a leader in the banking industry ICBC has to deal with all these forces to sustain its top ranked position. These five forces are: risk of new entrants, rivalry, bargaining powes of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers and threat of subtitute prodcut. Porters 5 forces framework for ICBC as follows: Risk of new entrants: The enty barrier for foreign banks has disappeared when China Joined the WTO in 2002. Many foreign banks consider China a profitable destination for banking industry. Several finanacial and non financial companies can easily come to China and start operating their business. Rivalry: Besides the Big Four banks in China several other foreign banks have started their operation in China which has intensified the rivalry which has been there forever. Now ICBC has to compete not only with the Big Four sondern with big foreign banks such as HSBC. Bargaining power of buyers: Banking industry is a high buyer concentration industry. China is the largest country in terms of its population. A significant number of people use bank service, such as deposit money, mortgage, loan, investment, insurance and currency exchange these days. Internet is changing everyones life customers can easily obtain the information via internet. In the banking industry interest rate and service charge are senestive indicators for customers. In recent years various subtitute products and services are available for example currency exchange, insurances and loans and they are provided normally by the other financial institutions. Bargaining power of supplier: Credit Card industry is a high concentration ratio industry and ICBC has been awarded with awards from the leading companies such as VISA and MasterCard Worldwide. Although few Aother companies also provide credit card system, such as JCB and American Express but theie market share in the world is much less than VISA and MAstercard. So switiching cost might be high for ICBC. Substitute products: Internet made a huge difference to many organisations when it comes to deal with money. Now they do not need to transfer huge ammouts through banks. They can do the same with other low charge service and it is also more convinient. The services such as Real-time money transfer (i.e. Western Union), real-time payment (i.e. Paypal), currency exchange (i.e. Xe.com) and insurance (i.e. InsWeb.com) through Internet provide a high quality but low service charge service. Resource audit: Opportunities can be created and exploit in the external environment in which a business usually operates. Besides these opportunities threats are also present which can impair any business. However, to deal with these threats and exploit the opportunities, a business requires the right resources and capabilities. The current holding resources of any company can be recognized by the resource audit. These resources can be either owned (e.g. plant, machinery) or acquired from other resources such as partnerships and joint ventures. Financial resources: Existing Finance: According to the first quarterly report (2011) of ICBC, the bank has continued to push forward to their growth and obtained a sustainable profit as compare to last year. The total assets have an increase of 6.92% from the last year and its value is now 14,389,996 (RMB in million). Besides the assets the liabilities have also increased simultaneously and its value is now 13,517,771(RMB in million) which are 6.97% more than last quarter. The equity attributable to equity holders has an increment of double digit (10.54%). Net profit for this period is 53,836 (RMB in million) which is 29.03% more than the first quarter of 2010. The result shows the successful implementation of their strategy local and globally. Human resources: ICBC is enjoying the services of 387,000 employees till December 2010 at its global and local centres. Physical resources: ICBC has till now around 18,000 outlets and 23,000 ATMs all over China. Intangible resources: As being the leading institute in the banking industry ICBC is enjoying their good brand image. ICBC has also obtained the partnerships with several banks all across the world especially in Africa. ICBC has also won the reputation for their Internet banking services. ICBC has one of the secure internet banking system in China. Current Strategy: In June 2009 ICBC had introduced its three year new Development Strategy Plan and Implementation Scheme of that plan to all its offices. In the last ten years of ICBCs strategic transformation this plan is the second three year plan and it was based on the implementation experience of the development strategy plan of years between 2006 and 2008. This plan was produced after a comprehensive analysis of the latest development of ICBC and the economic and financial trends at domestic level and global level. Implementation experience of old Plan (2006-2008): The base of this strategic plan was laid on the experience of achievements and failures which had been achieved by ICBC in last 20 years as well as on the direction of Chinas financial reforms. The aim was set to achieve this strategic transformation within next 10 years. The strategies such as adjustment of management structure, development by areas, innovation, service differentiation, cross-border management, comprehensive risk control, and emphasis on technology and human capital were executed successfully and ICBC got better results than it originally expected. Therefore, at the end of 2008 ICBC became the number one ranked bank in market value as well as it became the most profitable bank in the world. ICBC was mainly successful because it enhanced the capability of comprehensive profit-making, paid a close attention to risk control and decided to achieve transformation in self-development. ICBCc new three year Plan (2009-2011): The successful implementation of previous strategic plan gave ICBC the assurance to carry out transformation strategy further to sustain the progress in development. The new plan offers the guiding idea that Guided by scientific outlook on development, striving to enhance core competitiveness, continuing to promote management structural transformation, developing more innovations, and achieving fast, stable and sustainable development of ICBC to seize opportunities to strengthen and to brace its market position. To apply this strategy ICBC has decided to start from the reality and carry out the scientific outlook on development into every step of transition. The New Plan proposes ten strategic projects which attach emphasis to structure adjustment, finance innovation, service upgrading and etc., and a set of precise objectives and measures for various regions and for diverse services according to the general objective and task design of the ten strategic projects. For the successful execution of the strategies ICBC also introduced an implementation scheme to make thorough and specific arrangements of the tasks and responsibilities for different departments and branch offices. ICBC establishes coordination mechanisms to coordinate the New Plan to ensure the flexibility and adaptability. Furthermore, at the start of each year, required adjustments will be made to the evaluate indicators according to the actual changes in the business environment and the implementation effect of the new plan in the preceding year. The existing problems, implementation progress and the implementation situation would be strictly monitored through regular inspections and reported to the Board of directors. To accommodate their corporate social responsibilities ICBC has developed poverty alleviation project in Nanjiang County and Tongjiang County in Sichuan Province and Chengkou County in the city of Chongqing. Over 300 (RMB in millions) has ICBC invested already in this project. This amount includes loans as well as the donations which have been distributed by the bank to eight hope projects which includes schools and medical treatment centres. There are several other projects which ICBC is directly responsible or helping them to improve the social life of the people of China. According to the Annual Report Announcement 2010 ICBC has earned more profit in 2010 as compare to 2009. ICBC is getting those results because of their clear and good implementation of that strategy. Besides the increased profit overseas asset size had also increased in the last year as shown in the following diagram. That explains very clearly that ICBC is on the right path regarding their domestic and global strategy. The exceptional outcome of ICBC in 2010 especially at a time when it was concerned with a complex and changing operating environment was mainly a result of the Banks successful implementation of its strategy at home as well as overseas. 12 new branches had been established in 2010 and a global network encompassing 203 overseas subsidiaries placed in 28 countries, spreading over five continents worldwide. Every business company faces threats and challenges although the numbers depict the different picture. These challenges could be overcome by the company by bringing some minor changes in their business strategy. As many other companies ICBC also faces some challenges which needed to be addressed. Firstly, ICBC is growing very rapidly which can cause some problem as it may affect their quality of service. Secondly the bigger challenge which is coming in the way of ICBC is the competition with foreign banks. After several foreign banks entering China makes hard for the ICBC. Now ICBC has more competition and even small mistakes can lead to huge financial and customer losses. Reccomendations for improvement: ICBC is facing a few challenges during their successful stint. These challenges has been mentioned above. These are not huge challenges and does not need any drastic changes in their strategy doemstically and globally. First challenge which was mentioned is their rapid growth. To grow fast is not a challenge unless you start compromising on the quality of your services. To keep in check this problem they need more check and balance in their organsiational structuer. As I mentioned above in the organisational structure that the main problem of their structure is communication problem. When IC BC can sort out that problem then there will be no compromise in the quality. Secondly, the callenge which can cause ICBC more problem is the competition in the chinese banking sector with the foreign banks as well as with the chinese banks. These foreign banks are entering China with much more oncoming force. Now ICBC can not afford any mishandling with their customer. A small mistake can lead ICBC to huge financial and customer loses. ICBC needs to transform their strategy in a way that they deal with their competetors in a way that they do not lose any customers locally as well as globally.

Mother Courage Essay -- essays research papers

Mother Courage   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It’s always important to be touched. Writers know and understand this idea. Whether the audience feels good or bad about whom or what you present is not as important as the fact that they feel something. Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children is a perfect example of a work that doesn’t leave us in very high spirits but touches us in such a way that it becomes even more powerful than if it had.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the play the title character, Mother Courage, is presented to us in such a way that the reader is usually left not knowing how to feel. We have with two choices. On the one hand she can be a money grubbing, self concerned woman who only cares about herself and those directly related to her money. On the other hand she can be considerate and caring mother who only wants to protect her children. It’s an issue the reader wrestles with many times over the course of the play.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If you take everything at face value it seems that all Mother Courage is driven by is profit. But then one has to think . . . What’s is her motive? Is it her children? Are we completely misinterpreting Mother Courage’s intentions? Consider this: Mother Courage throughout the war does what she can to keep her daughter Kattrin â€Å"innocent.† Now as awful as it sounds prostitution is a pretty lucrative business. If Mother Courage was only driven by profit wouldn’t she decide that maybe selling Kattrin...

George Mason Essay -- essays research papers fc

George Mason's greatest accomplishment was being the founding father of the national Bill of Rights. He was a planter from Virginia, had grown up rich on one of the nicest and best plantations in Alexandria, Fairfax County, Virginia. He was an important member of the town's church, had all the best tutors growing up, and had been raised to be a Virginian aristocrat (Miers 39). Mason married 'well' and had a large family of nine kids. He raised them in Gunston Hall, a house which he had built himself (Miers 41). He was the type of guy who, if he believed strongly enough, did not abandon his beliefs. He strongly believed in the cause for the American Revolution (he had given his son a plantation named 'Lexington'), in citizen's rights, and a non-tyrannical central government (Miers 41). He was known as a great debater, the best that James Madison had ever seen. Mason spoke up many times during the constitutional convention, about different subjects he strongly believed in. During the convention, Mason was directly and strongly involved with the topics of the electoral college, slavery, the Bill of Rights, and a strong central government (Solberg 280). He was a bestfriend to George Washington, and around 1760, became involved in Virginia's politics. Six years later, he was called to Williamsburg to help with Virginia's Bill of Rights. He took the one that had been drafted before he got there. The thing was incredibly weak, and he took it in hand. Mason proceeded to reduce it to ten simple articles and declarations. It took only four weeks to be rewritten and to go through the system of ratification, with only six more articles added, and all of his big points left in (Miers 41-46). The Declaration was taken to Philadelphia, to Thomas Jefferson, where he was just about to finish up with the Declaration of Independence. Many of Mason's ideas were 'decorated' and went into the Declaration of Independence (Miers 42-46). George Mason's Virginia's Declaration of Rights was used as the base for almost every other states (Collier 250). George Mason went to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 with writing a new form of government in mind, though he did not believe in a strong central government. He agreed with the Virginia Plan. The Virginia Plan had two houses of our government, but the population of the state determined the number of repr... ... states are no security," (Leone 27). Later when George Washington took office, a committee was formed to add a Bill of Rights to the Declaration of Independence. It was the only way to get all the states to ratify the Constitution. They too, used Mason's ideas from Virginia's Declaration of Rights to draft the Bill of Rights and amend them into the Constitution (Miers 85). George Mason was an intelligent, outspoken person who stood up for what he believed in and would not back down. Being the base of the Bill of Rights, which gave America the reputation of freedom, he gave a backbone and a firm ground to stand upon to the United States of America. bibBibliography Christopher and James Collier, Decision in Philadelphia; The Constitutional Convention of 1787 (New York: Random House, 1986), 148, 250. Bruno Leone, ed., The Bill of Rights; Opposing Viewpoints (San Diego: Greenhaven Press Inc., 1994), 27, 41. Earl Schenck Miers, The Bill of Rights (New York: Grusset and Dunlap, 1968), 39, 41-46, 72, 78, 85. Winton U. Solberg, ed., The Constitutional Convention and the Formation of the Union (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1958, 1990), 280.

Inner city redevelopment and regeneration – London’s Dockland case study

* During nineteenth century, London was the busiest port of the world. But due to changes such as better technology, they became abandoned and derelict. * Larger ships could not reach the port and containerization did away with the need of large number of dockers. * By that time the area had very few jobs, the docks had closed and over half of the land was derelict, many of the houses needed urgent repair, transport was poor and there was a lack of basic services, leisure amenities and open space. * The London Dockland's Development Corporation (LDDC) tried to improve the economic, social and environmental conditions of the area. Changes ; Physical: derelict land reclaimed, trees planted, open space created and conservation areas created. ; Economic: improved transport systems means faster journey. Improvements in roads. Employment and businesses increased e.g. The Guardian and Daily Telegraph. High tech firms came due to the low rates of the enterprise zone. These were followed by firms wishing to relocate in new office blocks. ; Social: more than 20 000 homes created. Former docks converted into luxury flats. Large, modern shopping complexes built. Other activities such as marina for water sports and indoor sports centre built. Several areas cleared and converted into parks and area of open space. Almost 100 million pounds has also been spent of health, education, training and community programmes. Reasons for success You can read also Costco Case Study * Extremely high prices of land for new offices and residential development. * The potential of leisure activities and scenic views along the riverside. * Funding of some of the infrastructure by the government. * Initiatives taken by entrepreneurs like John Mowlem, whose company built the London City Airport. * The development of the Dockland Light Railway. * The setting up of the Isle of Dogs Enterprise zone to attract industry. * The development of the airport bringing easy journeys. Groups involved in this * Local housing societies helped by gaining home improving grants. * The local Newham council built affordable houses and improved local services. * The LDDC were responsible for planning and redeveloping dockland. * The national government created enterprise zone with its reduced rate. It encouraged private investment and improved transport systems. * Property developers were responsible for building large office blocks and converting derelict warehouses into luxury flats. * Conservation groups supported tree planting and other schemes. Opinions ? School leaver: happy because there are more new jobs available. ? Local shopkeepers: happy because they will have wealthier customers. ? Local retired people: bad, because the prices in the area rise sharply. ? Former docker: bad because no appropriate manual jobs created. ? Social worker: bad because local community is broken by newcomers. ? Elderly: bad because there is no sufficient services such as hospitals. ? Local people: bad, they wanted jobs and affordable houses. ? People living in Birmingham: happy as their houses were improved along with new facilities provided with them. Nupur Jain 5F Geography case study

Japanese Smes Going Global: Lessons from “German Mittelstand”

United International Business Schools Executive MBA, Brussels Campus â€Å"International Economics† Japanese SMEs going global: Lessons from â€Å"German Mittelstand† By Pascal Gudorf January 2013 Contents 1. Introduction 2. Japan’s SMEs and overseas business 2. 1 SMEs and their role in the export economy 2. 2 Challenges of starting overseas activities 3. Initiatives for the promotion of overseas business 3. 1 Public support system for globalizing SMEs 3. 2 Export promotion through trade fair participation 3. 3 Foreign direct investment and financial support 3. Human resources development for global activities 4. Conclusion References Figures 2 4 4 6 8 8 10 11 12 13 15 17 1 1. Introduction Japan and Germany share many similar economic characteristics. As the third and fourth largest economies in the world, both boast highly skilled labor forces and are leading manufacturers of industrial goods such as automobiles, machinery, chemicals, electronics and other high- tech products. But while Germany has been on a robust recovery track and relatively unaffected by the financial crisis, Japan’s economy has been suffering from deflation and sluggish domestic demand.Its growth prospects are further subdued because of its shrinking population. Exports have been the main driver of economic growth in recent years. In Germany, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are highly active in international trade and responsible for a large share of exports. Germany‘s midsized companies, known as ‘Mittelstand’, are the backbone of its economy. As the â€Å"German economy is doing well in comparison with many other countries, this is causing people all around the world to take a particularly keen look atGermany, and especially at the ‘German Mittelstand’ and its longstanding record of high employment and productivity. †, notes the Federal Ministry of Economic and Technology (BMWI, 2012). Coined â€Å"hidden champ ions† by Hermann Simon, the most successful and innovative of them are world-leaders in their field. Although many of them started from humble beginnings and are still family-owned today, they have globalized early on. According to Simon’s research more than 1,000 hidden champions exist in Germany, many more than in all other countries combined including Japan (Simon, 2012).He sees them as the main contributors to Germany’s international competitiveness. Some economists and policy-makers therefore recommend other countries to emulate them as a role model. The success of Germany’s midsized companies or â€Å"hidden champions† has not gone unnoticed. In its latest White Paper on International Economy and Trade, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI, 2012, p. 503) refers to Germany’s â€Å"excellent small and medium-sized companies† which have pursued a two-pillar strategy of high specialization in their fields of e xpertise combined with global marketing.With sales of up to 4 billion euro, many hidden champions have outgrown the size of a traditional SME. But even among German SMEs with less than 250 employees according to the definition of the European Commission, almost 20% of all companies are engaging in direct exports. In contrast to their German peers, most Japanese SMEs today still remain focused on the domestic market. While their numbers have been growing in recent years, less than 3% of all SMEs with less than 300 employees are export-oriented. The contrast is even more pronounced in the case of 2 oreign direct investment. While in Germany 17% of all SMEs have invested abroad, the percentage among Japanese SMEs is as low as 0. 3% (METI, 2012, p. 503). The smaller their size, the lower the proportion of companies engaged in exports and foreign direct investment. Although small and medium-sized companies dominate Japan’s industrial structure, few of them are involved in internat ional trade. Exports have traditionally been carried out by general trading companies or by large multinational manufacturers, for which SMEs work as subcontractors in vertical supplier networks.But as domestic demand is shrinking, many Japanese SMEs need to look beyond their home turf for business opportunities in new markets. Encouraging SMEs to expand their overseas business therefore is seen as an important step towards revitalizing the Japanese economy. The Japanese government has set up schemes to promote overseas business expansion. In July 2012, it included SMEs as one of the four main pillars in its â€Å"New Growth Strategy† besides healthcare, environment and agriculture. Still, many SMEs seem to lag their German peers in overseas activities. What are the factors that keep Japanese SMEs from going abroad?How can government initiatives effectively address these challenges? And what are their results? Based on company surveys and statistical data of exports and forei gn direct investment, this paper will first look into the recent trend of global activities by small and medium-sized businesses in Japan. It will then compare initiatives for the export and investment promotion of SMEs in both Germany and Japan and try to assess their results. By referring to available data and company surveys, the paper will try to show a positive linkage between overseas activities and job creation at home.It will also argue that government initiatives succeed in supporting a company’s first steps on a foreign market, but that they have to be accompanied by support activities by the parent company in order to secure long-term success. Finally, the paper will highlight fundamental differences in economic structure, management practices and the labor market between Germany and Japan, which need to be addressed in order to facilitate overseas business for Japanese SMEs. 3 2. Japan’s SMEs and overseas business 2. 1 SMEs and their role in the export econ omyOutside of Japan much of its postwar economic success has been credited to automotive and electronic giants such as Toyota, Nissan and Panasonic with their strong export machines and global manufacturing presence. SMEs have often been ignored despite the crucial role they play in the Japanese economy. Companies with less than 300 employees make up 99. 7% of all 4. 2 million companies. They employ 69% of the labor force and create 53% of value-added in the manufacturing sector. The reason for SMEs being so little known is that most of them are domestic companies with little or no international exposure.According to the 2012 White Paper on Small and Medium Enterprises, only 2. 7% of all SMEs in the manufacturing sector are â€Å"export-oriented† (SMEA, 2012). The majority of small businesses remain isolated from international markets and foreign competition. Japan therefore has been described as a â€Å"dual economy† consisting of relatively few large, highly advanced , multinational companies on the one hand and a huge number of traditional, domesticoriented, small businesses on the other. In his 1990 book The Competitive Advantage of Nations, Michael Porter already warned that unless Japan overcame this dualism, its future would be at stake.What he observed, was a lack of competition in sectors apart from machinery, automotive and electronics: â€Å"While domestic rivalry is intense in every industry in which Japan is internationally successful, however, it is all but absent in large sectors of the economy† (Katz, 1996). Porter’s warning statement seems to have fulfilled itself twenty years later, as Japan slides into its third decade of slow or no growth. Sectors such as construction, paper, food and agriculture are still characterized by a lack of international competition. Almost none of these industries have produced successful global players.Nevertheless, there is a rising tendency among small and medium-sized businesses to r each out for global markets. Although still small in number, SMEs with export activities have increased by two thirds from 3,568 to 5,937 between 2002 and 2009 (Figure 1). According to Bank of Japan figures, exports accounted for 4. 4% of SMEs’ sales in 2002, but this had risen to 7. 4% by 2008. Large enterprises saw their exports grow from 23. 7% of sales to 27. 8% over the same period. In sales volumes, SMEs’ exports doubled to 5 trillion yen (43 billion euro) while those for big companies grew a more modest 37% to 71. trillion yen (622 billion euro) (EIU, 2010, p. 14). 4 Foreign direct investment by SMEs is also on the rise: the number of small businesses in the manufacturing sector investing overseas increased from 2,013 to 2,869 between 2001 and 2009 surpassing that of large manufacturers by almost 20% (SMEA, 2012). In JETRO’s annual survey among 2,800 companies engaged overseas, 71% of SMEs responded they planned to actively expand their overseas business, while only 47% intended to expand their domestic operations (JETRO, 2012a, p. ). Comparing with earlier surveys, the proportion of companies looking into business opportunities abroad is one fourth higher than in 2008 showing a steady increase year by year. This recent surge in international activities is due to a number of factors: a shrinking domestic market, the relocation of clients’ manufacturing facilities overseas, the opening up of traditional supplier networks to foreign competition, cheap labor and new business opportunities in emerging markets such as China and Southeast Asia.It is often said that overseas investment will lead to a shift in production, a â€Å"hollowing-out† of the domestic industrial base, and job redundancies at home. Individual company data, however, suggest that the opposite is the case. According to figure 2, parent companies have grown after the beginning of overseas investment (JSBRI, 2012, p. 95). Comparing SMEs with foreign direct investment with those that have not been active in FDI at all, one can clearly show a positive correlation of overseas expansion and job creation at home.SMEs observe other financial and operational benefits of investment in overseas production bases as well, such as an increase in profits, a reduction in cost and a speedier response to requests in their host market (JSBRI, 2012, p. 94). When asked about their regional focus of expansion in the next three years, Japanese companies put China on top of the list in every category from sales operations to production to R&D. Among the firms operating in China, half of them have located their bases in Shanghai.Thailand, Indonesia and India also rank high and are considered as more attractive sales destinations than the USA and other developed markets such as Western Europe (JETRO, 2012a). Regarding industries, production machinery, chemicals, electrical machinery and fabricated metal account for 43% of all exporting companies in the manuf acturing sector. Looking in more detail at different industries, one can observe significant differences in export orientation. While 15% of all chemical manufacturers and 7% of electronics parts and device manufacturers are involved in exports, only 1. % of all textile manufacturers and just 0. 7% of food processing companies export their products (JSBRI, 2012, p. 250). This drastic gap highlights the dualism of globally competitive and non-productive, domestic industries. 5 For small and medium-sized wholesalers with up to 100 employees as well, exporters of machinery, equipment, and chemicals prevail, while those for apparel, agriculture and food remain in the minority (JSBRI, 2012, pp. 71-72). But the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO, 2012b) observes a rising number of companies in the food and non-manufacturing sectors such as retail, wholesale and services.In the fields of agricultural, forestry and marine products and foodstuff, â€Å"many SMEs, even in the face of e conomic headwinds such as appreciation of the yen, are continuing to make efforts to exploit overseas markets. † Small companies involved in overseas business, however, still are the exception in Japan, even in the relatively productive manufacturing sector. The proportion of companies with export activities decreases by size. According to the â€Å"White Paper on International Economy and Trade 2011†, one out of four manufacturing companies with 401 to 500 employees is involved in exports.For companies with 101 to 200 employees the proportion falls further to one out of eight. And when it comes to companies with 41 to 50 employees, only one out every 20 has export activities (METI, 2011, p. 12). The low number overall, and particularly among smaller companies, is striking when we think of Japan as one of the world’s major trading nations. From the figures above, we can conclude that a major part of the Japanese economy is not taking part in the international div ision of labor and leaving business opportunities untapped.The conspicuously low number hints at underlying obstacles and challenges hindering overseas market expansion. We will look at these in the next section. 2. 2 Challenges of starting overseas activities As shown above, the proportion of Japanese SMEs developing operations overseas is still rather limited and activity tends to be greater in larger companies and in certain industries. In order to succeed in overseas markets, SMEs face certain barriers and have to overcome many challenges.The Survey on the Enhancement of SMEs’ Competitiveness through Overseas Business Expansion commissioned by the SME Agency in November 2011, looked at requirements that have to be met for companies to go abroad. More than 50% of all companies with export activities regarded having customers and a reliable partner as vital requirements for starting to export, underlining the importance placed on securing customers first (JSBRI, 2012, p. 82 ). Comparatively high proportions of enterprises also cited knowledge of local legal systems, business practices and trends in export markets as well as in-house expertise in exports, suggesting the 6 mportance of building knowledge of export markets and export procedures. One third of the respondents considered financial issues such as financial reserves or the prospect of turning a profit as important, but they did regard them as determining factors. In the case of FDI, however, financial reserves were considered as crucial by three quarters of all companies with overseas sales or production bases. 60% cited the knowledge of the host market’s legal system and business practices as important requirement suggesting the need for research and consultation prior to investing overseas.Having customers and reliable partners were also cited by more than half of all respondents. Questioned about challenges and risks, almost 50% of all companies considered the identification and coll ection of information on local market needs as particularly difficult. Marketing in the local market, securing business partners and terms of the local market were also cited to be important issues by more than one third of all respondents, while financing or credit issues only worried 22%. The lack of adequate human resources with international experience is another, if not the most important factor hindering overseas activities.In a 2010 SMEA survey, the â€Å"failure to secure human resources at home† was cited by 37% of all manufacturers as the main reason for giving up plans to invest overseas. It was regarded as more important than finding the right business partner, information collection or financing (METI, 2012, p. 280). JETRO (2012b, p. 15) notes that â€Å"large Japanese corporations are able to secure and foster global human resources through regular fulltime employment of foreign workers, sending young workers still new to their respective fields abroad and cond ucting overseas executive training programs.SMEs, however, find it much harder to take such measures and are hesitant to launch business operations overseas without such personnel. † This statement hints at a deep-rooted dualism in Japan’s labor market. While in Germany small and medium-sized enterprises are regarded as popular employers as they provide 83% of vocational training opportunities and stable, long-term career opportunities (BMWI, 2012, p. 4), Japanese jobseekers have tended to favor the security of employment at large corporations over low-paid jobs at SMEs.Traditionally, new university graduates, especially from top-ranked academic institutions, have a strong preference for jobs in well-known corporations or in government entities. The 2013 ranking of the most popular employers conducted by Rakuten (2012) among more than 6,000 students is topped by Japan’s largest advertising agency Dentsu, general trading company Itochu and the operator of â€Å"T okyo Disney Resort† Oriental Land followed by cosmetics brand Shiseido, TokyoMitsubishi UFJ Bank and All Nippon Airways. Among the 100 top-rated companies, none falls into the category of small and medium-sized enterprises. Attracting experienced and skilled workers remains difficult for SMEs, but, as the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU, 2010, p. 4) notes, â€Å"tough economic times present an opportunity†. According to its 2010 report, â€Å"the cloud of the recent recession has brought two silver linings for SMEs: new entrants to the workforce are showing more interest in working for small companies, and larger businesses that are reluctant to fire workers can transfer the knowledge of experienced staff through employee loan programs. On a similar note, JETRO (2012b, p. 15) observes that â€Å"there are some SMEs making efforts to expand abroad by independently securing the necessary human resources such as by utilizing foreign students in Japan, former-trainees wh o completed special training courses for foreigners in Japan, Japanese with volunteer work experience overseas, or retirees. † Despite the recent growth in overseas activities, many challenges remain.In the following section, we will look at how these are being addressed by government initiatives. 3. . 3. 1 Initiatives for the promotion of overseas business Public support system for globalizing SMEs In Japan, many public and private institutions provide support functions for SMEs going abroad on a local and international level. On a global scale, JETRO, a government agency under the METI with 73 offices in 55 countries, plays an important role in promoting mutual trade and investment between Japan and the world.Originally established in 1958 to promote Japanese exports abroad, according to its website, â€Å"JETRO's core focus in the 21st century has shifted toward promoting foreign direct investment into Japan and helping small to medium size Japanese firms maximize their gl obal export potential†. On the local level, the Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation (SMRJ), established by METI in 2004, supports SMEs through nine regional offices across Japan, with the objective of â€Å"SME development and regional promotion. Although its main activities focus on regional development, it has stepped up its support measures for overseas business development by organizing seminars, establishing a support hotline and publishing a â€Å"Handbook for Supporting Overseas Business Development†. To facilitate assistance to SMEs expanding into overseas markets in a more systematic manner, METI has established the â€Å"Conference on Supporting SMEs in Overseas Business† in October 2010 by bringing together government officials and support institutions, such as JETRO, SME associations and 8 inancial institutions. Reflecting the results of interviews with approximately 5,000 SMEs, five key issues for supporting SMEs in o verseas business were identified: (1) Information ? Providing necessary information reflecting the needs of SMEs in detail ? Offering consistent support to SMEs by sharing support records by the conference members (2) Marketing ? Supporting product development, and participation in overseas trade fairs ? Supporting the effective use of the internet for overseas business (3) Human resources development and securing talent ?Helping to develop human resources for overseas expansion through seminars, training ? Helping to secure competent human resources for overseas expansion through matching (4) Financing ? Enhancing the financial consulting structure ? Facilitating financing for SMEs when doing overseas business (5) Improvement of the trade and investment environment ? Providing information on the establishment of overseas operations ? Assistance regarding tax, labor and intellectual property matters The conference also established concrete action plans for support measures on a glob al and local level.Actions include information gathering and dissemination through the sharing of best practices, overseas business missions, the invitation of international buyers to trade fairs in Japan, virtual marketplaces, advice on legal, technical and financial issues, and exchange programs for international trainees. The conference also planned to hold 2,500 overseas business and investment seminars by the end of fiscal year 2013 or some 700 a year throughout Japan, in cooperation with JETRO and SMRJ and other institutions.Despite the various services on offer, many companies do not make use of them due to bureaucratic procedures or are simply not aware of them. According to research commissioned by SMEA, only 39% of Japanese SMEs that are going overseas have used any globalisation assistance, including government and private-sector support (EIU, 2010, p. 16) For SMEs asking for assistance in their overseas expansion, JETRO is by far the most used contact point. 4% said they used JETRO services as compared to 13% for the chambers of commerce, 11% for banks and 10% for private consulting firms (METI, 2012, p. 280). JETRO provides information on foreign markets through its website and various publications, consulting services and seminars for 9 companies interested in overseas business. Below, we will focus on three fields in particular and try to assess their results. 3. 2 Export promotion through trade fair participation Finding the right business partner and collecting information of overseas markets are two of the challenges cited by many SMEs.Generally, trade fairs have been recognized as highly effective instruments in international market expansion. In recent years, JETRO has stepped up its efforts to promote Japanese companies abroad through trade fairs and trade missions. SMEs, especially firsttime exhibitors who qualify, can participate in these events at favorable conditions. These activities are similar to initiatives by other countries such as the Institute of the German Trade Fair Industry, which supports German companies’ international expansion at 274 exhibitions worldwide.For Japan, no information about the annual number of joint trade fair participations could be obtained, but â€Å"Japan Pavilions† at international trade fairs worldwide bring together more and more Japanese exhibitors, among which many SMEs, under a joint â€Å"Japan† brand. Examples include â€Å"Medica & Compamed† in Dusseldorf, â€Å"Maison et Objet† in Paris and â€Å"Bio International Convention† in Chicago. In order to tap into the demand of emerging nations, JETRO organizes joint pavilions at trade fairs in the BRICS nations, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, such as â€Å"Arab Health† in Dubai and â€Å"Asia Fruit Logistica† in Hong Kong.In November 2012, Japan even had a presence at the Baghdad International Trade Fair with 17 private companies and three governmental institutions. In comparison with other support measures such as seminars or business matching, exhibitors at trade fairs often report concrete results, as trade fairs offer the opportunity to gather the latest market trends, generate sales leads, and to find potential business partners. According to a 2010 survey, 40% of Japanese participants in JETRO-supported trade fairs reported direct results, another 30% said they felt indirect results (METI, 2012, p. 80). Surveys on the effects of â€Å"Japan Pavilions† are not yet available, but it can be assumed that relatively unknown SMEs, which are still newcomers to overseas markets, benefit from a joint presence under the â€Å"Japan† brand instead of exhibiting on their own. However, as countries such as Germany, France, the UK, the USA, China, Taiwan and others are aggressively promoting their own national brands, Japan needs to continue its marketing efforts in order to keep up the public’s recognition. The advanced technolog ical expertise cultivated by Japanese SMEs has often been well-recognized.New labels such as â€Å"Japan Style† for design products or â€Å"Cool Japan† for exporting its creative culture such as anime and manga will help to open up new sales channels for consumer goods as well. 10 3. 3 Foreign direct investment and financial support When companies set out to explore overseas business development, they find in many cases inadequate information regarding investment climates in foreign countries, and what funding is available to their ventures. Surveys cited above suggest that financial reserves are regarded as the number one requirement for overseas investment.In its â€Å"New Growth Strategy†, the government acknowledges that supporting underfunded SMEs which have proven resources and technologies through a new supporting system is a pressing issue. It refers to the SME financing act expiring in March 2013 and which, if not extended, threatens many ailing SMEs. The government also encourages a change of practice from a collateral and guaranteebased lending to business-based lending in order to diversify fund raising programs for SMEs. For companies with overseas investment plans, however, advisory and funding are readily available.Research into the financial institutions servicing SMEs, shows that Japan’s support infrastructure for overseas ventures is well developed. For instance, SMEs can apply for low-interest financing under the government’s fiscal and loan program through three government financial institutions: the National Life Finance Corporation, Japan Finance Corporation for Small Business, and the Shoko Chukin Bank. Furthermore, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) supports overseas business development not only for large corporations but for SMEs as well.According to a recent report by Nikkei (Nikkei Net Interactive, January 7, 2012), the government has decided to inject 70 billion yen into a new fu nd managed by JBIC that will support overseas investment and M by large Japanese companies and SMEs. JBIC’s â€Å"Advisory and Consulting Office† for SMEs (ACOSME) supports overseas business expansion of Japanese SMEs by providing the latest information on local conditions and the investment climate in individual countries. The ACOSME also offers consulting services for obtaining long-term financing.Its website (www. jbic. go. jp) introduces the case study of auto parts manufacturer Aikitec from Nagoya, which successfully built production facilities in Indonesia and China by using JBIC’s financial support. ACOSME also publishes investment guides for major ASEAN countries, and reports on the investment climate in China and Central and East European countries. In addition to responding to SME inquiries individually, ACOSME also sends speakers to meetings held in many Japanese cities for disseminating information on the foreign investment climate. 1 Looking at the companies which have successfully invested abroad, one might be surprised that 5,630 or 70% of the 7,977 enterprises in total with overseas subsidiaries in 2009 were SMEs (JSBRI, 2012, pp. 75-76). More and more automotive or electronics suppliers have set up manufacturing facilities in China, India and Southeast Asian countries. These successful cases, although still limited in relation to the huge potential, show that funding issues can be overcome.When it comes to financing, a 2009 Survey on SMEs’ International Business Expansion by the Shoko Chukin Bank and Shoko Research Institute shows that the parent company plays a crucial role in the relation with its overseas bases. â€Å"In order to make FDI more effective, close collaboration between a parent company and its overseas subsidiaries is crucial†, notes the Japan Small Business Research Institute (JSBRI, 2012, p. 96) in its SME White Paper. In the non-manufacturing sector, financing is regarded as the most import ant issue.Besides financing, common forms of support provided by parent companies in Japan to overseas subsidiaries include assistance with the launch of new products or services and technical supervision by permanent or visiting staff. 3. 4 Human resources development for global activities With the growing importance of overseas markets, SMEs expanding into other countries have to adapt to various local environments. As we have seen above, these SMEs, however, often lack the necessary global human resources.JETRO has identified three core competencies required of global human resources, in addition to foreign language abilities: 1) the ability to take decisive action, 2) the ability to effectively convey oneself, and 3) the ability to succeed in a multicultural environment (JETRO, 2012b, p. 15). Public and private institutions have set up several programs to facilitate the â€Å"securing and fostering global human resources†. The â€Å"METI Global Internship Program† implemented by the Overseas Human Resources and Industry Development Association (HIDA) is targeting young business people.It screens and selects 50 to 100 applicants per year for three to six months long internships in government agencies or Japanese subsidiaries in developing countries. According to a METI press release, the program’s purpose is â€Å"to develop global human resources which will play an active part in dramatically-expanding markets in rising countries, acquiring infrastructure business, promoting small- and medium-sized enterprises' global expansion and other actions†.Other initiatives such as the â€Å"Career Development Program for Foreign Students in Japan† tapped into the potential of â€Å"excellent students from Asia† at Japanese universities. Divided into nine 12 regional chapters, the program, which ran from 2009 to 2012, placed foreign trainees in companies throughout Japan in order to support local businesses. In the Osaka (Ki nki) area, its goal was to attract â€Å"human resources who can bridge Kinki with Asia in business and who can play a central role in the company's expansion of its business overseas, in the advancement of economic globalization†.Although large corporations such as Panasonic, Daikin, Omron or Murata were among the participating companies, the program aimed at â€Å"human resources who can play a key role in the enhancement of technologies and management innovations in medium and small-sized enterprises accounting for large part of companies in Kinki, particularly in manufacturing companies†. According to its Japanese website (www. ajinzai-sc. jp), several trainees decided to join local SMEs in the Kinki area. It brought about some change in the participating companies as well.Companies, which used to be hesitant to take in foreign students at the beginning, started to open up and take in trainees year after year. Although the program brought about some tangible result s, it was discontinued after four years at the end of 2012. Programs like these facilitate personal exchange and daily interaction between Japanese staff and foreign employees, but in many companies, especially SMEs, it is still very limited. In order to prepare for their ambitious globalization goals, some companies have taken drastic steps: Two f Japan’s fastest growing corporations, apparel brand Uniqlo and online shopping company Rakuten, have changed their official language to English. Others have started recruiting foreign students, train them and send them overseas. Foreign employees in SMEs, however, remain an exception and in many small companies English skills are still limited. For years, Japanese companies have focused their efforts on manufacturing excellent products and developing innovative technologies. Their international marketing efforts, however, have not followed the same world-class standards due to a lack of ideas and experience.For SMEs to develop busi ness closely involved with global markets, JETRO (2012b, p. 15) concludes, â€Å"they should focus their energy on ‘hito-zukuri (building people)’ in addition to ‘mono-zukuri (manufacturing products)’. † 4. . Conclusion In the course of the past decade, Japan’s small and medium enterprises have made significant progress in their international activities. More and more SMEs tap into business opportunities in overseas markets, especially in fast growing regions such as China and other emerging markets. In international comparison, however, Japan’s SMEs still remain laggards in terms of export orientation 13 nd foreign direct investment. As companies from Germany or other countries are expanding at an even higher pace, Japan’s SMEs risk to fall behind. SMEs that plan to expand overseas report many challenges and uncertainties, which the public support system tries to address. Barriers to entry have been lowered as assistance becomes readily available. Currently the Japanese government offers assistance to SMEs via several channels, including JETRO, SMRJ and the Japan Chambers of Commerce as well as through funding assistance for some overseas operations, for instance via loans by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.Yet, as the Economist Intelligence Unit has pointed out, â€Å"lack of awareness and complicated application procedures hinder the take-up of such programs. † (EIU, 2010, p. 16). Despite all efforts, the number of SMEs involved in overseas activities remains strikingly low. This globalization gap cannot be explained by barriers to overseas expansion alone, as larger Japanese corporations or companies from other countries face similar challenges. They rather hint at much more fundamental issues, such as a lack of management resources and personnel with language skills and international experience.Internship programs, seminars and other initiatives address the issue of fostering  "global human resources†. But with a few dozen or even several hundred participants a year these initiatives are nothing more than a drop in the ocean. Most SMEs still lack a global mindset. In order to prepare hundreds or thousands of SMEs for their globalization efforts, a nation-wide effort in English education and intercultural training would be needed. Government programs cannot address all the problems small companies have in recruiting welleducated personnel.It is up to the SMEs to be creative and improve their image in order to attract better local and international talent. By focusing on their core strengths of quality, technology, and innovation, Japan’s SMEs need to create a brand reputation that will make them employers of choice for highly skilled workers and lift their image overseas. Germany’s â€Å"Mittelstand† can serve them as a benchmark. The dualism in Japan’s economy, which Michael Porter observed more than twenty years ago, has not been overcome.It seems to have become even more entrenched as large manufacturers relocate their production overseas and many SMEs are left behind. If Japan wants to keep its competitive edge, it has to help more small and medium-sized companies jump on the bandwagon of globalization. Should it fail, its economy risks to stray even further off course. 14 References Abbreviations: BMWI Bundesministerium fur Wirtschaft und Technologie / Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology EIU Economist Intelligence Unit JETRO Japan External Trade Organization JSBRI METI Japan Small Business Research Institute Ministry of Economy, Trade and IndustrySMEA Small Medium Enterprise Agency Bibliographical Sources: BMWI (2012), German Mittelstand: Engine of the German Economy: Facts and figures about small and medium-sized German firms, (www. bmwi. de). EIU (2010), SMEs in Japan: A new growth driver? , (www. managementthinking. eiu. com). JETRO (2012a), FY2011 Survey on the International Operati ons of Japanese Firms: JETRO Overseas Business Survey (www. jetro. go. jp). JETRO (2012b), Global Trade and Investment Report 2012: Companies and People Move Forward Toward Globalization – Overview (www. jetro. go. jp).JSBRI (2012), 2012 White Paper on Small and Medium Enterprises in Japan: Small and Medium Enterprises Moving Forward through Adversity (http://www. chusho. meti. go. jp/). Katz, Richard (1996), Japan: The System that Soured: The Rise and Fall of the Japanese Economic Miracle, M. E. Sharpe 1996. METI (2011), White Paper on International Economy and Trade 2011 Summary. Overcoming the earthquake disaster, and restoring and strengthening global economic networks (www. meti. go. jp). METI (2012), White Paper on International Economy and Trade 2012: Extending the Frontiers of Growth through global linkages (www. eti. go. jp). 15 Rakuten (2012), 2013-nendo-sotsu: Shinsotsu shukatsu ninki kigyo rankingu (Ranking of most popular companies for new graduates 2013), (http: //www. nikki. ne. jp/event/20120210/). Simon, Hermann (2012), Hidden Champions: Aufbruch nach Globalia: Die Erfolgsstrategien unbekannter Weltmarktfuhrer, Campus. SMEA (2012), Key Points of the 2012 White Paper on Small and Medium Enterprises in Japan (www. chusho. meti. go. jp/). 16 Figure 1: Export-orientation of Japanese SMEs 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 Number of export-orientedSMEs Percentage among overall SMEs 4 3,5 3 2 1,5 1 0,5 Source: SMEA (2012), Key Points of the 2012 White Paper on Small and Medium Enterprises in Japan, p. 2 Figure 2: Number of workers in Japan at SMEs starting FDI in fiscal year 2002 (= Index 100) 114 112 110 108 106 104 102 100 98 96 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 Enterprises that started FDI in fiscal 2002 and continued through fiscal 2009 (n=53) Enterprises that did not engage in FDI at all between fiscal 1995 and 2009 (n=5103) Source: JSBRI (2012), White Paper on Small and Medium Enterprises in Japan, p. 95 17 in % 2,5