The True Face of Jordan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The True Face of Jordan - Essay Example When these factions have become dissatisfied with their economic situation, their expanded access to political participation has been designed to steer them away from a demand for regime change. Further complicating the regime's balancing act has been Jordan's relationship with the U.S., which has benefited the country from a global economic standpoint but has been domestically swept under the proverbial rug. The potential for close cooperation with the U.S. such as in the areas of trade and military cooperation to upset the populace within Jordan and cause political upheaval is substantial. Ultimately, the true face of Jordan has been that of a politically precarious regime that has been teetering on the brink of popular unrest due to economic and political policies of the government that have been necessary to ensure its survival. Jordan's emergence onto the ... The process, known as "managed liberalization," was geared toward creating "an environment amenable to economic reform" (Cunningham, para 21). These steps included a revival of Parliament and restoration of national elections. "Jordan's political liberalization process has included a variety of elements including: the holding of regular and generally free parliamentary elections in 1989, 1993, and 1997; the institutionalization of the National Charter in 1991 which was authored by a broad-based coalition of societal and official actors; and the elimination of martial law by the early 1990s and the legalization of political parties" (par. 22). Other measures included more freedom of the press, increased freedom of expression, and greater freedom for Jordanians to engage in political activities" (Greenwood, par. 21). The tumultuous atmosphere of popular dissent in the country, brought on by the poor economy and the end of government subsidies on certain staples such as bread and fuel, required the government to ease the unrest by making such a serious attempt at political reform (Brand 5). Thus, the decision to pursue a more liberal system in Jordan was driven by a shrewd political calculation that popular discontent with the state of affairs in the country would be channeled away from the regime by taking such steps. The evolution of this liberalization process, marked by periodic tightening and loosening of the monarchy's grip, would continue to be governed more by these calculations focused on how best to preserve the king's hold on power rather than on any real dedication to the merits of political reform and democracy. "The Jordanian government's

W8last Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

W8last - Essay Example In this stage, the organization’s management highlights any evidence that there is an interconnection between leadership development and performance of the organization, as well as the skills and competences needed to accomplish the organization’s leadership goals (Reynolds, 2000). If leadership development does not match the organizational goals, it may not be useful for the organization. The second step is usually awareness creation concerning the characteristics that the organization is likely to achieve through the application of various tools for diagnosis. The diagnostic tools are supposed to match the organization’s leadership needs. The tools are also supposed to be connected to a particular competency model or an approved structure that corresponds to the nature of a triumphant leader in the organization. The third step is to activate the leadership development in individuals through connecting the awareness of development needs to the personal career goals with the organization’s strategic goals. The result is a concise and intended development plan that matches the individual needs as well as the organization’s strategic objectives. It provides a basis for leadership development. It is also important to empower the leaders through training and development to increase their capacity to perform in leadership roles. The leaders are then gi ven the opportunity to apply the skills acquired, which according to Sosik (2000) allows value creation in the individual’s abilities. These criteria are important since they allow an effective cost benefit analysis that allows the evaluation of the need to invest in leadership development. The organization is able to identify some tangible benefits of the leadership development programs. 2- Take your organization as the example. What leadership model is the most appropriate for your organization, and what are some of the advantages and

Opportunities and Challenges of Having Access to a Broader Workforce Essay Example for Free

Opportunities and Challenges of Having Access to a Broader Workforce Essay Question: a) Discuss the opportunities and challenges of having access to a broader workforce. Answer: The Workforce is the total number of a countrys population employed in the armed forces and civilian jobs, plus those unemployed people who are actually seeking paying work. In other words, workforce also refers to Total number of employee (usually excluding the management) on an employers payroll. It may also mean all those that are available for work. Workers may be unionized, whereby the union conducts negotiations regarding pay and conditions of employment. In the event of industrial unrest, unions provide a coordinating role in organizing ballots of the workforce, and strike action. As the world becomes globalize, the workforce in industries/companies become diversifies. The broader workforce make up from employees that come from different age groups, race, beliefs, gender etc. Opportunities Provide training on core competencies Devise training is needed to address the needs of different levels of workers, including training directed at entry-level and less skilled staff, workers with degrees not directly relevant to afterschool, and workers pursuing credentials. We cannot afford to ignore the workers who stay only a short time or work part-time, because they make up too large a portion of our workforce. They need some minimum level of knowledge in the core competencies required to work in afterschool programs. Moreover, providing training and supporting pursuit of a credential is an excellent way to foster an attachment to the field. Expand Quality training and professional development opportunities Quality training and professional development opportunities are needed to be expanded for all workers, including encouraging programs to give workers paid time off to attend training. Another need is for approaches such as distance learning to increase access to training in rural areas. We also should establish a core group of high quality, recognized, and approved trainers and promote ways to share the knowledge of experienced afterschool staff, for example, through mentoring younger staff. Provide afterschool/youth work content in higher education curricula We need to work with institutions of higher education to provide more course work relevant to youth work and afterschool that could be accessed by workers and students pursuing credentials or a degree. We also need to work with these institutions to address the needs of the adult learners in our workforce who would be candidates for these courses. Advocate for funding for training and professional development Policymakers at all levels need to provide more funding specifically for training and professional development for afterschool staff through supports such as scholarships and loan forgiveness. In advocating for such funding, the afterschool field needs to highlight the connection between positive outcomes for children and youth in afterschool—a goal endorsed by policymakers—and the qualifications of the staff that provide afterschool services. Provide human resources staff with the training and resources they need to recruit and hire Although the focus of this project and resulting report is on the current afterschool workforce, it’s difficult not to consider the need for effective recruiting and hiring techniques in afterschool programs. A program’s workforce begins with, and its success reflects, the recruiting and hiring of employees who are adequately matched to a program’s core competencies and needs. Challenges Developing specific strategies for reaching the target populations There are people 18- 59 years old in the population who are all needed in the workplace and who need the education/training to take advantage of the opportunity it provides. The challenge is to develop marketing campaigns and services that focus on each of these groups, their specific education/training needs, and their need for user friendly access, delivery, and support systems. Further, there are significant shifts in the gender, ethnicity, and work experience within these populations. Studying these shifts identifies targeted opportunities for increased participation and support. The lack of clear, systemic, and complete information continues to be one of the major barriers to these populations. Several recent studies suggest the lack of useful labor market information contribute to the lack of participation. Developing a series of strategic alliances with business/industrial associations, professional associations, and assessment organizations Education curriculum and competency standards are no longer within the sole domain of the academy. Such areas as education content, achievement, and application are all reflections of constant evolutions in the world external to higher education. It is no longer possible for free standing independent education and training organizations to unilaterally maintain currency with the rapidly changing demands of the new economy. Curriculum is no longer fixed, singular, or limited in scope. Competency standards are evolving at increasing rates as are the related assessments. Further, the expansion of multiple employer related delivery options as well as the growth in industry recognized credentials suggest the need for formal alliances with external partners. Employer Associations Three fundamental shifts have shaken the employer world: 1) the rapid changes in technology and productivity and the resulting impact on workforce skills, 2)the dramatic shift in demographics with the loss of skilled workers and the lack of skilled entrants, and 3) the difficulty identifying effective educational ‘pipelines’ for skilled applicants. Both employers and educators are looking to industrial associations as partners in developing the definition of new skills and competencies, the related curriculum, the required assessments and, the resulting credentials. The move towards alignment (tuning) is increasingly dependent on association partnerships. Effective associations will have systems of continuous improvement that will ensure alignment between their education and training partners as well as their employer membership. This communication system opens up the pipeline for skilled workers and provides a communication system for internships, work based learning, and ultimate support for placement of graduates within the industry. The primary purpose of these alliances is to ensure both the continuous alignment and portability of academic content and outcomes with the constantly changing expectations of both the employer and academic world. Industry Recognized Certifications (IRC) Opportunities for more formal alliances occur with associations that sponsor formal industry certifications. These offer industry recognition of credentials and their accompanying competencies. They offer the individual portability of their recognized credentials and the institution a means of aligning curriculum, competencies, and assessments. An exceptional opportunity exists in providing academic credit to students enrolled in programs resulting in industry recognized certifications. Students engaged in technical training would be more inclined to stay in a program if they receive industry recognized credentials as well as specific credits toward academic or technical Associate degrees. This creates a unique prospect to engage students in seamless system of lifelong continuous learning. The prospects for long term strategic alliances with industry associations are enormous and offer great marketing benefits. Alliances with Professional and International Organizations Forming strategic alliances with professional organizations and accreditors ensures both alignment of curricula and outcome standards as well as ensuring the portability of the credits and credentials. These alliances are becoming increasingly recognized as significant pipelines for qualified professional applicants and they offer exceptional marketing opportunities to both student applicants and industry. Development of a ‘One Stop’ access to the new economy A ‘one stop centers’ is needed for individuals to: 1) get labor market information about high wage/high growth industries, 2) obtain available skill standards and/or IRC’s, 3) accredit their past training, education, and experience, 4) gain advice and counseling on entering post secondary education, 5) receive assistance with entrance to recognized academic and training programs, and, 6) get assistance with placement within the industry. The major problem with the labor market adjustment system in the United States is a completely bifurcated and user unfriendly information, counseling, advising, crediting, accessing, financing, and education/training system. Both the unemployed, re-entering adults and first time students are highly mobile learners who are looking for the access portal to the new economy. Stagnate outdated agencies, policies and systems are simply incapable of delivering such services. It is time to develop a new on-line system that would ensure all citizens ongoing and easy access to understandable and timely job matches, labor market information, and credentials needed for the new economy. All post secondary institutions have a unique opportunity to participate in the building of this broader set of services into a publically transparent system. Ability to offer, give a perception of and have the reputation of providing a ‘Guarantee’ This is the outgrowth of the need to close the loop between employers, students, and educators. The primary question is: does the institutions system of identified learning outcomes meet the academic and technical standards of the new economy and, then, does it ‘ensure’ that every graduate meets those standards? This means establishing standards, curriculum, and assessments that achieve these levels and ensuring that every graduate meets them. When substandard performance is recognized there is a system of remediation and ultimately the failure to graduate if the student simply cannot meet the institutional standards. Some would add that for any student hired which the employer believes does not meet the standard, the school would take them back and remediate them at no cost. While this would come with a cost, it is far more important to develop a reputation with employers for producing graduates that meet the industry standards for tomorrow’s economy. While this important for employers, it is imperative for students who want to be certain that the education/training they are engaged in will in fact prepare them for the new economy. Action on this challenge represents a fundamental shift away from the old system of ‘education opportunity’. For the future, it is about highly mobile students accessing a system that ‘ensures’ their achievement of the competencies required for the new economy. America’s exceptionally diverse post secondary education system has the capacity and commitment to implement this new relationship. (b) What extend Malaysia has benefited and also able to develop own Knowledge worker. The Malaysian labor force is generally educated. This is because youths who enter the labor market would have undergone at least 11 years of schooling. Furthermore, the proportion of labor force with secondary and tertiary education has risen over the years, making them easier to be trained and to learn new skills. Nonetheless, it has been argued that there is a shortage of skilled labor in Malaysia. This shortfall in skilled labor was believed to be one of the causes for the tightness in the Malaysian labor market during the 1980s and 1990s, alongside a mismatch between demand for and supply of labor. Malaysia’s response to this matter is one of the reasons for the nation’s focus on human capital development in recent years. Since the mid-1990s, Malaysia has entered into a phase where new emphasis and demand for high technology and knowledge-based industries were in place. A change in the Malaysian economic policies was, therefore, needed in order to maintain the nation’s competitiveness. Knowledge-based economy is defined as one that is â€Å"directly based on the production, distribution and use of knowledge and information†¦ towards growth in high technology investments, high-technology industries, more highly skilled labor and associated productivity gains†. Malaysia adopted this definition into its Knowledge-based Economy Master Plan, which defines a knowledge-based economy as â€Å"an economy where knowledge, creativity and innovation play an ever-increasing and important role in generating and sustaining growth†. The Master Plan was developed to provide a strategic framework outlining the required changes to the fundamentals of the Malaysian economy. Since the concept of a knowledge-based economy revolves around knowledge and information as the key contributors to economic growth and development, the move towards a knowledge-based economy is expected to provide Malaysia with the necessary competitiveness in order to achieve a developed nation status and meet the objectives of Vision 2020. Several reasons were given as to why Malaysia should move into the knowledge-based economy. First, the nation has lost its global competitiveness in attracting FDI when it fell from the 18th place in 1994 to the 29th spot in 2001, as reported the World Competitiveness Yearbook (IMD, various years). Related to this is the increasing competition for the country’s products from other developing countries, such as China, India, Vietnam and Indonesia that enjoy cheaper labor and more abundant resources. This is especially true in the case of China, where it has been reported that cheaper and equal quality goods from this new economic power, mainly in labor intensive textiles, would bring about stiff competition to Malaysia’s export goods in its domestic and international markets. Third, Malaysia’s economic policies have been affected by globalization and liberalization as barriers and protective walls that help sustain local industries are slowly removed and brought down. As a result, Malaysia, like all other developing economies will have to search for new products and services that are feasible in the emerging global market where the distinction between local and world markets is gradually disappearing. Such goods and services like aircraft, pharmaceuticals, ecommerce, tourism and educational services and ICT industries are common in the knowledge-based industries. Fourth, as Malaysia strives to become a developed nation by the year 2020, this would result in its current edge in producing goods and services for the global market, which hinges on low wages, to be eroded. This is because its cost levels would approach those of developed countries. To face this anticipated escalating labor cost, Malaysia needs to ensure higher value is added to its products in order for its industries to remain viable. Thus, for Malaysia to be competitive, it must produce goods and services to compete at comparable levels as those in developed countries. Again, such high value-added is generally provided by knowledge-based industries. Fifth, Malaysia needs to move into more profitable and wealth-generating stages of production. In other words, it has to make its manufacturing sector more profitable. To do so, Malaysian firms have little choice but to move into the pre- production stage (which includes product conceptualization, research and design, prototyping etc) and/or post-production stage (packaging, branding, marketing, retailing etc) of manufacturing, because there is less profit to be made from the core production process. These pre- and post-production stages also happen to be more knowledge-intensive compared to the existing core production process stage. Sixth, Malaysia needs to find new sources of growth in its economy as the old sources of growth have become less productive. A knowledge-based economy will provide some of these new sources of growth to enable Malaysia to sustain growth and dynamism. Finally, Malaysia needs to improve the contribution of the â€Å"total factor productivity† (TFP) in terms of improving the quality of workers, methods of doing things and other delivery activities (EPU, 2002: 5). To what extend do Malaysia able to develop own knowledge worker? Education: At the primary and secondary levels, some of the indicators for quality that tend to raise concerns have to do with the teaching profession, the curriculum, and the grading of schools. The most serious concern is that of teacher recruitment, salary, career path, work load and training. These concerns have discouraged many potentially good teachers from joining the profession. As regards the school curriculum, there are two sets of issues. The first has to do with content. The second set of issues deals with implementation of the curriculum, classroom size, expertise of teachers and courseware development. Overcrowding in urban schools can impede teaching and learning, including the effective delivery of the curriculum. At the tertiary level, concerns centre mainly on the issues of research, resources, faculty qualifications, and the quality of output. Some public institutions are not keen on being assessed and ranked by an external body. Consequently these institutions become less aw are of their weaknesses. This lack of awareness about their performance does not contribute to accountability. The public requires detailed information on the performance of various institutions in order to have confidence in them. In terms of the use of ICT, the largest provider for programmes in schools is the government, mainly the Ministry of Education (MOE). MIMOS, MDC and the private sector, including parent-teacher associations, are also involved. Some observations are made on the current trends and development of the ICT programmes in schools: ââ€" ª At this stage, ICT programmes at the school level are still heavily centered on infrastructure or procurement of hardware. Software (content development for courseware) and people ware (training) in the ICT programmes are more urgent. The hardware focus alone is inadequate to create the environment for e-education which can enhance teaching and learning and accommodate life-long learning. The software and people ware aspects that are necessary for e-education have to be considered and expanded. ââ€" ª There is a lack of co-ordination among the various agencies, namely MOE, MIMOS and MDC, in their supporting activities for the ICT programmes. Redundancy and wastage of resources can be avoided if there is better co-ordination. ââ€" ª In many schools, computers are often locked up in a special room or a lab, impeding their use for teaching and learning. The class time-table often does not include time for working or playing with computers. The costly equipment forces teachers in charge of the room to be cautious in allowing access, and this adds to the difficulty in utilizing the computers. ââ€" ª Most teachers have not had sufficient training to maximize the use of computers to enhance teaching and learning, and often merely impose traditional methods of drilling and rote learning using computers. This is mainly due to the emphasis on ICT literacy in teacher training programmes. ââ€" ª Due to the lack of a standard approach in the utilization of computers, student contact hours with computers cannot be established. ââ€" ª Teachers take charge of ICT centers in schools on a voluntary basis. Most of them do not have any formal training in ICT. There is often no technician who can assist the teachers with maintenance. Public higher education institutions, especially the universities, have been expanding their ICT programmes, especially over the past five years. Computer labs at the faculty level and computer centers for the university have been initiated and are in progress. ICT’s capacity to contribute to greater efficiency of work and resource management has not been fully exploited. E-mail facilities are not being maximized, and downloading lecture notes from the web or interacting with lecturers via e-mail or the web is still uncommon. The Internet is not being adequately accessed for lecture content. Another issue requiring attention is the need to develop quality private education. Private education in Malaysia is a relatively developed sector, particularly at the higher education level. As regards technical education, the system at the upper secondary level needs to address a number of issues: ââ€" ª Greater efforts should be made to improve hands-on skills among technical school students. The Technical Education Department has already introduced the contextual learning delivery system, which essentially recognizes that learning is a complex and multi-faceted process. Such learning goes far beyond theory, drill-oriented, stimulus and response teaching methodologies. It was introduced in Secondary Technical Schools in 1998 to help all students master higher-level academic and work skills. Instruction based on this strategy is being structured to help students apply their knowledge more effectively. ââ€" ª Greater efforts are required to improve the links between schools and industry. Currently the School Advisory Committees, established in all schools, comprise representatives from industries, higher education, Parent-Teacher Associations and Head Teachers who advise schools on curriculum and equipment. The Career Guidance, Industrial Liaison and Placement Unit in every school also provide career guidance and placement of students in industries. These should be further improved. B. Skills Training and Retraining Malaysia currently has several drawbacks with regards to the education and skills profile required for a K-based economy. It lacks an adequate pool of knowledge workers, sufficiently high enrolment in the sciences at tertiary levels, and a broad base of workers with minimum literacy, learning ability and skills. Educational reform takes time while the recruitment of foreign talent is merely a temporary measure. An effective response would be to train managers and workers to cope with the new demands of the K-based economy. Private and public sector managers need to be trained to reengineer their organizations into ‘learning organizations’ which can attract, retain and develop K-workers to make their organizations more competitive, service-oriented and efficient. To increase the quality and relevance of skills, greater autonomy and flexibility should be given to public sector training institutions to make them more responsive to the rapidly changing labor market requirements of a K-based economy. To minimize job dislocation resulting from the transition to the K-based economy, ‘bridging’ courses need to be organized for displaced workers, especially those who are old, uneducated, and un-trainable. The power of the Internet should also be harnessed to establish ‘net communities’ for citizens with special needs and interests to interact among them and with the government. For the economy as a whole, there is also a need for an efficient and speedy labor market information system to help ensure effective planning to meet the manpower demands of the K-based economy. This may require the establishment of a specialist study group, improved career counseling, and a directory of training institutions. In addition to providing basic education for all, in a K-based economy it is essential to stress Lifelong Learning and Education to help citizens cope with expanding knowledge and rapid change. The challenges of Lifelong Learning and Education in the context of the K-based economy include the following: 1. Producing a highly skilled, knowledge-rich workforce. 2. Reducing unemployment and re-skilling the workforce. 3. Addressing and adjusting to the needs of an aging society. C. Global Talent A world shortage of high level manpower is likely to increase the brain drain from Malaysia. While the high growth East Asian economies compete for Malaysian talent, particularly in ICT the more serious long-term competitors are the advanced K-based economies of the US and Europe which suffer serious shortages of ICT personnel. It is estimated that Europe and the US alone need two million more ICT workers by 2002. Recent changes to immigration laws enacted to attract foreign talent to the US have serious implications for Asia and for Malaysia’s efforts to retain domestic talent and attract foreign, particularly ICT talent. A Bill passed by US Congress in late 2000 allows US firms to recruit 600,000 foreigners, a third of them from India. The three-year programme takes effect from 2001. The US recruitment drive occurs in the context of a world-wide shortage of ICT talent, with Asian countries too unable to meet their domestic demand. Despite this the best and brightest Asians ( including Malaysians), are likely to be lured by better wages, work conditions, occupational mobility and the quality of life in the US and Europe. This ‘brain drain’ has already begun, with European and US recruiters scouring Asian universities for talent. This situation signals several dangers for Malaysia. Firstly, like the Asian countries, Malaysia too is likely to lose young graduates from local and foreign universities to firms in the US and Europe. Secondly, experienced Malaysians may also be recruited, with the Malaysian labor market serving as a ‘training ground’ for developed K-based economies. Thirdly, since the Asian shortage and US demand will deplete the international talent pool, Malaysia’s option of utilizing foreign talent will be limited. Foreigners who are recruited to work in Malaysia are also likely to treat Malaysia as a ‘training ground’ for eventual entry and settlement in the US and Europe. There are several ways Malaysia can cope with this situation: ââ€" ª One current advantage Malaysia has is that except for Singapore, other countries in the region including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, and China, all of which also have ambitious ICT plans, have not moved fast enough to recruit foreign talent. Moving quickly to simplify immigration rules and ease recruitment of foreign talent will give Malaysia a competitive edge in recruitment. ââ€" ª Secondly, of all countries in the region, Malaysia probably has the most balanced set of attractions in terms of wages, low costs, quality of life, stability and safety. This advantage should be exploited to the fullest. ââ€" ª Thirdly, Malaysia’s rich and tolerant multi-ethnic heritage makes it attractive to a wide spectrum of expatriates, whether Caucasians, Middle-Easterners, East Asians or South Asians. Unlike its competitors in the region, Malaysia can therefore alleviate the problem of the world-wide shortage by recr uiting from a wide variety of countries and labor markets. The government itself has made several clear efforts to recruit foreign talent. In 1995-98 the Returning Scientists Programme managed by the Ministry of Science attracted 93 overseas-based foreign and Malaysian scientists on short-term contracts to local institutions. But their high wages posed a financial strain and contributed to wage inequities vis-a-vis local scientists. Recognizing the need for talent, the Returning Scientists Programme was revived in early 2001, and the recent national Budget provided incentives to encourage Malaysian experts abroad ‘who have the required expertise’ to return and serve the nation. Income remitted within two years from the date of arrival will be exempted from income tax. Two cars registered in the country of origin for at least six months will also be exempted from import duty and sales tax, while the husbands/wives and children of Malaysian citizens will now be given PR status within six months of the date of arrival. Previously, husbands who were non-citizens were not entitled to PR status, while non-citizen wives could only apply for PR after five years residence in Malaysia. The programme took effect from 1 January 2001. Under this programme, six fields of expertise and skills have been identified, i.e. IT, Science and Technology, Industry, Finance and Accounting, Arts, and Medicine and Health.

The Regional Economic Integration

The Regional Economic Integration Introduction: Regional economic integration has existed in most geographical regions since the early days of the multilateral trade system. For example, the European Union was first established as the European Economic Community through the Treaty of Rome in 1957. Latin America and Central America followed soon after with the formation of the Latin American Free Trade Association and the Central American Common Market in 1960. By 1965, regional integration had also begun to take root in North America with the conclusion of the Automobile Products Trade Agreement between Canada and the United States. Regional economic integration is both a process and a state of affairs. Regional economic integration basically approaches a hierarchical model. Free trade area involves the elimination of tariffs and quotas on goods. This is followed by a customs union, in which members of a free trade area also adopt a common external tariff. A common market is the next step and involves creating a single market, with common policies on product regulation and the free movement of goods, services and factors of production. To benefit from regional integration, there are various conditions which has to be fulfilled, they are political commitment of all countries, to higher forms of integration; mutual economic dependence; disparities between countries of the region or narrow economic gaps; similarities at the policy level basically in human development and social policies; lastly, good governance and institutions in order to maximize the benefits of economic integration. Regional economic integration generally leads to greater foreign direct investment (FDI), financial and capital account liberalization, trade liberalization and migration of labour. A region made be regional integration mainly attracts foreign investment and it also reduce the rivalry between the neighbouring regions. Regional Economic Integration in East Asia: In the last two decades, the East Asian economies have achieved substantial liberalisation in Foreign Direct investment (FDI) under the frameworks of WTO and APEC. The result of the expansion of trade and FDI has become the main reason for development and economic growth in East Asia. Trade and FDI openness has also encouraged domestic institutional and governance reforms, which has further promoted trade and investment. Since early 1990s, emerging East Asia has also experienced increasing financial openness. Financial openness helps in rapid economic growth by attracting short term capital and long term capital with trade and FDI openness, with deepened market driven economic interdependence in East Asia. It has been applied as valuable comparative parameters due to a number of its significant characteristics: East Asia is the world largest regional market of 2 billion populations, which is much bigger than the 27 countries of European Union contributing 495 million and NAFTA contributing 405 million populations. After 1960 East Asia has been recorded as the fastest growing region of the world. The region has recorded average annual economic growth rates of around 7%, which is much higher than that of the average 5% growth in the rest of the world. East Asia contents almost half of the worlds foreign exchange reserves and in which China alone recorded a world largest foreign exchange reserve which passed $1.4 trillion in 2007. Along with the European Union and the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), East Asia is one of the worlds three largest economically integrated regions. East Asia has been characterized by extensive economic integration at both regional and global level. Commercial enterprises based in East Asian states particularly Japan, but increasingly also emerging industrial states such as Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan have been at the forefront of processes of regional economic integration, and are increasingly important contributors to global transnational research and development (RD) and production networks. China, a relative latecomer to transnational economic collaboration, is an increasingly prominent participant both regionally and global as well, as it undergoes a transition from a site for low value added assembly and production to advanced production. Regional economic integration in East Asia is notable not only for its extent, but also for the degree to which it transcends the economic and politico military rivalries of the states concerned. The pattern of East Asian economic integration reflects relatively little concern ove r economic objectives stemming from the perceived requirements of national security or intra regional economic competition. The most striking example of this is provided by China and Taiwan, which have managed to develop an extensive and mutually beneficial economic relationship, despite their long standing rivalry. Achievements of Regional Economic Integration in East Asia The prospect of regional economic integration plays a positive role in East Asia after initiating in United States and other western countries. Following are the some of the achievements of regional economic integration in East Asia which can be the proof that East Asia is gathering pace. (i) ASIAN Free Trade Area ASIAN is the important foundation for regional integration in East Asia. This was the first ever regional economic integration of East Asia. It does not affect the intra ASEAN trade and also the regions overall trade with world. The change came in 1992 when ASEAN achieved establish agreement on free trade area in order to help its neighbouring economies to achieve growth in trade. The main aim of ASEAN is to attract investors from foreign and regional as well. Multinational corporations locating in ASEAN would be able to exploit economies of scale and to rationalize production by allocating different segments of production processes among the ASEAN countries according to their respective competitive advantage. He tariff is reduced to 0 5% till 2008 for ASEAN. ASEAN also conduct various agreements focused on enhancing regional integration in transport and communications, trade facilitation, investment, e commerce and intellectual property rights. (ii) Free Trade Agreement Regional Economic Integration in the form of Free Trade Areas has come into existence in the Asia Pasic region. Growing number of bilateral and plurilateral FTAs involving such countries as Japan, China, Singapore, Korea, Canada, New Zealand, Mexico and Chile are currently being negotiated. Significantly, this trend is gathering momentum not much because of a change of sentiments in some of the countries in the region like Japan, China and Korea, which have been strongly opposed to preferential arrangements in the past. In the various Asian countries an important breakthrough was achieved when Japan and Singapore agreed in October 2000 to begin negotiations on a bilateral FTA with a view to concluding the talks by the end of 2001. These results to be gained a little by both countries which already have open investment region, minimum tariff and little trade in the area of agriculture. The important features of Japan and Singapore free Trade Area are establishing the harmonisation of legal frameworks, mutual recognisation of certification authorities for digital signature and coordinated corporate privacy standard. With the help of FTA many Japanese firms find it easier to run their operations in Singapore. This FTA will not only benefit these two signatories but will also have positive effect on various other countries of East Asia. Japan Singapore FTA is also important because it is the first institutionalized link between North East Asian economies and South East Asian economies. It is therefore has a potentially positive demonstration effect that could catalyse closer economic integration in East Asia as a whole. Many times the idea of East Asia FTA was failed few years back. But later East Asia Free Trade Area showed a great pace and attributed not only Japan Singapore FTA but also change the position of other East Asian countries like China. With the successful launch of Japan Singapore FTA, China also decided either creates a free trade zone between China and ASEAN to set up link with the ASEAN Free Trade Area. (iii) ASEAN plus three Unlike other more established regional groupings, cooperation among the ASEAN+3 (i.e. ASEAN plus China, Japan and Korea) thus far has been proceeding more rapidly on financial issues than on trade matters. So for this purpose it is decided to call for a summit on an annual basis which can be a kind of informal meeting. The aim of these summits is to set up the vision to explore ideas for cooperation and has also been holding regular meetings of its Finance Ministers. Trade agreements in East Asia are basically slow to organize as in other regions partly and politically difficult to reach because of the diversity in approaches to trade liberalization. Financial cooperation can proceed more quickly to some extent without discrimination against outsiders. For this purpose, the financial crisis in 1997 provided a strong impetus for East Asia to push ahead with financial cooperation. ASEAN+3 have also implemented a region wide system of currency swaps to help countries in the region which are dealing with possible future financial crises. This currency swap system will helps in the surveillance mechanism that ASEAN has created to anticipate and head off future crises through sophisticated early warning indicators. These achievements are the positive sign that shows the further growth in the region of East Asia after facing financial crisis in 1997. Impact of Regional Economic Integration: Case from China Since ancient China has the hegemonic power in the East Asian region with good relation with neighbouring countries. East Asian region was also influenced by Chinese traditional culture including language and philosophies. Till mid 9th century China has still the largest economy in the world but after mid 19th century till early 20th century China was overwhelmed by static decay, civil instability, famines, military defeats and foreign occupation. During the Cold War period, Chinas social experiments achieved some progresses but suffered serious setbacks due to the internal and external constraints. Since China started the economic reform in late 1970s, the world witnesses the return of Chinas emergence as a regional and global political and economic power. China attracted various large foreign firms when it adopted the open door policy and large amount of foreign currency inflows into China this was not enough after this many industries with latest technology and better infrastructure have established in China. Taking the example of Hong Kong, it has moved almost all of its manufacturing industries to China while. In recent years Taiwan and Mainland China are also came into economic relation after China open doors for foreign investments. Due to the shift of these firms the growth of country as well as firm are coming into existence. In terms of intra regional economic relations in East Asia, since the 1990s there has been a shift away from the previous Japan led flying geese model of vertical economic integration structured on the basis of the Japanese investment, technological transfer and supply of manufacturing parts in line with a hierarchical market exchange and regional division of labour and production networks to a new horizon tal intra regional economic integration. Economic integration helps China to grow in positive way in terms of economy and trade which makes Asia to make stand in the competition with developed nations of EU and NAFTA. The new engine of regional economic growth in China is basically by foreign direct investment which becomes the reason for the developments in the region. It generated networks between domestic firms and other firms in the other countries. This network based exchange of trade and capital has profound impact to East Asian economic integration. One of the key actors in generating dynamic intra regional industrial and economic integrations is the overseas Chinese business communities. Economic integration not only contributing Chinas economy to grow by the sources of foreign direct investment but also contributes to be a network connector which becomes link between Chinese market with rest of the region. With this link many of the developed economies in the region are usi ng China as low cost manufacturing and export base instead of directly exporting finished goods to the Western markets. For this purpose they moved there production in China which results in enhancing the Chinas integration in the regional economy in East Asia. Main factors of these firms in regards to regional integration with China because China act as a source of technology and expertise, Capital and it also brings close business relation between China and rest of the region. The rise of China has met different responses from different corners of the world. With the rapid economic growth due to the regional integration has transformed the Asia in many ways. Talking in economical and political terms Chinas energy and commercial ties with all major regions of the world are expanding. China is one of the main driving forces proliferating regional and bilateral trade agreements and politically, it is often interpreted that China seeks to shape the regions emerging political institutional contours and to encourage movement toward an East Asian community in order to balance the declining influence of the United States. Growth prospects and challenges of China Japan Business Alliance While Japan poses a formidable competitive threat, it also provides a vast opportunity. As the latter aspect of Chinas rise became increasingly apparent around 2002, Chinas perception of Japan became more realistic and balanced. Japans investment in China has been increasing rapidly in recent years: between 1999 and 2004 it grew by 3.5 times. And trade between the two countries has risen steadily over the last six years. Japan China business alliances have begun to cover broader aspects of business activities, from joint ventures and technology tie ups, to contracting aspects of production and consignment arrangements. Although there have been a limited number of examples, Japanese firms have even established comprehensive strategic partnerships with Chinese firms. With major and big Japanese firm small manufacturing firms are also looking towards China as locating their business and with better opportunities with future expansion. But for the successful business alliance between Chi na and Japan, these countries have to work together for several challenges which can become the issue in their alliances 1). There must a rule passed to secure the safety of Japanese firms operating in China and concluding a bilateral investment agreement. The large scale anti Japan demonstrations in China this past April damaged the facilities of some Japanese firms. And while the movement was promptly cooled by the Chinese government, a survey conducted in May following the April disturbances revealed that more than a third (or 36.5%) of respondent firms anticipate the negative impact on their business activities in this fiscal year. For further Japanese FDI in China in future, a bilateral investment agreement needs to be put in place. There is some cautious concern on the Chinese side about concluding such an agreement, but thinking of future technological cooperation between both countries should take a forward looking approach. 2). Another issue between both countries can be regarding the credit. Both China and Japan have to work together to build more credit based business culture. For urban economies to achieve healthy growth, the safety of business transactions must be guaranteed. Various business models can only be fostered in an economy where business transactions are secured and mutual trust is well established. A large number of foreign companies operating in China, however, face difficulties in collecting monies owed to them. This is also a looming issue for Chinese companies, because such problems can hinder future stable economic growth in urban areas, where many of these companies operate. China can resolve this problem by swiftly establishing an antitrust law and also enhancing law enforcement, clamping down on illegal transactions and improving corporate transparency. Japan also faced these issues during its high economic growth in the 1960s. 3). With getting the tough competition and being a rival for some years China and Japan are now understand the importance of come into alliance for the future growth, so for this purpose now Japanese and Chinese firms are coming into collaboration. Some local Chinese companies have recently begun to actively seek business partnerships with Japanese counterparts. In January 2002, Japans Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. (Sanyo) and Chinas Haier Group Company (Haier) agreed on a comprehensive collaboration deal some local Chinese companies have recently begun to actively seek business partnerships with Japanese counterparts. In January 2002, Japans Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. (Sanyo) and Chinas Haier Group Company (Haier) agreed on a comprehensive collaboration deal that included the sale of Sanyo products under either the Sanyo or the Haier brand names. In July 2003, a major Chinese pharmaceutical company announced an agreement with a medium sized Japanese manufacturer of Chinese medicines to purch ase the latter, the first case ever for a Chinese company to buy a Japanese one. These are the few example which shows that Chinese companies provides Japanese company with distribution channel to sell their products in Chinese market and grow their business. Conclusion East Asia will enter the second stage of economic integration by around 2008, when the whole region will aspire to become a free business zone, encompassing all regional FTAs and EPAs, including the FTA/EPA between China and Japan. However, in order to make talks for such an agreement go smoothly, China and Japan must build a firm mutual trust, both on political and private levels. Recent developments and achievements suggest that East Asia is finally coming around to giving more serious consideration to regional economic integration either as a complement or an alternative to the multilateral trading system. As discussed above, the economic grounds for closer economic integration among the East Asian countries have existed for many years. Rapid economic development over the past few decades, reinforced by changes in the global economic environment and an uncertain outlook for the international trading system, appears to have convinced the East Asian countries that potential benefits of closer regional economic cooperation outweigh the costs at least for now.

William Blakes Chimney Sweeper Essay -- William Blake Songs of Innoce

William Blake's Chimney Sweeper In this essay I am going to explore Blake's Chimney Sweeper poems from the Songs of Innocence and the Songs of Experience. During this essay I will cover Blake's life and times and the way chimney sweepers get treated around that time and what Blake attempts to do about it. Blake was born on November 28 in the year 1757. His parents where strict but understanding. Blake's parents realized early in his life that Blake was gifted. He had an extremely active imagination and he often got visions. At only four years old he claimed he had seen God in one of these visions. Another time when he was with one of his friends he envisaged angels filling a tree. He horridly told his family what he saw but the response he got from his father was quite negative. His father threatened to whip him because he believed it was time for him to grow up. However his mother took Blake's side and when she asked him about it he stated that the angels took the form of his thoughts. This vision was stuck with him and was extremely influential in his life. Blake obviously had a gift for seeing things with his eyes and in his imagination. He used his artwork to express his experiences. When Blake turned ten years of age his parents decided to enrol him into a drawing school. Later on in his life Blake used his talent as an artist to become a apprentice engraver. Throughout Blake's life he had a dislike for nasty, unfair people especially towards those that had power and money like those in the government, and those that where associated with the church. Blake also could not stand power abusers and bad unfair treatment to... ... final stanza Blake goes on the attack at the church and the government he does this by provoking anger towards them through the unfairness of it all. "And because I am happy & dance and sing, They think they have done me no injury, In these lines Blake is how the chimney sweeper feels after his ordeal, putting on the front everything is ok when it is not. Going deeper into what Blake is trying to bring across is representation that the chimney sweep is the poor people again. The final two lines Blake attacks the church and the government, the chimney sweep is wise and is experienced and realises that the church and government exploit the poor so that they can make their own heaven out of the money from the society. And we gone to praise God & his Priest and King, Who make up a heaven of our misery"

Blaise Pascal Essay -- Essays Papers

Blaise Pascal "We arrive at truth, not by reason only, but also by the heart"(1) said Blaise Pascal, one of the greatest minds of the 17th Century. The 17th Century was the time of the scientific revolution. During this period the main idea for everyone, was to question everything not to just listen to what is told. This caused a transformation in thought in both religious and scientific areas. Science allowed the questioning of the teachings of the old church. Scientists battled with ideas in math and physics, while philosophers battled with ideas of God. It was an intellectual revolution concerning the methods for determining humanity's place in the universe. Blaise Pascal was a physicist, a mathematician, and a man of God. He was a Renaissance man of the scientific revolution. On June 19, 1623, Pascal was born in the small town of Clermont-Ferrand, France, to Antoinette and Etienne Pascal. When Pascal was just three his mother passed away. After this, Etienne Pascal moved Blaise and his two sisters to Paris, France. Here his son would be able to learn. Etienne Pascal was very concerned about his son becoming an educated man. This is why he decided to teach his son on his own. He brought a young Blaise to lectures and other gatherings. He decided Blaise would not study math until age 15. When he made this decision he took all the math books out of the family home; however, this did not stop a curious Pascal. At age twelve, he started to work on geometry by himself. Blaise’s father finally started to take him to mathematical gatherings at "Academic Parisienne." At the age of 16, Pascal began to play an active role in "Academic Parisienne," as the principal disciple of Girard Desargues, one of the heads of "Academic Par... ... Pascal was such a brilliant man because he could do both of these. Pascal was one of the only men that wrote about his beliefs in God and was an accredited scientist and mathematician too. He was a true man of the scientific revolution. Endnotes: - Pascal, Blaise. 1910. Pascal's Pensà ©es. Translated by W. F. Trotter. New York: The Modern Library, 1941. - Rose, N. Mathematical Maxims and Minims. Raleigh NC: 1988. - Same as 1. - Gillispie, Charles Coulston. Dictionary of scientific biography. New York: Scribner, [1970-1990]. - Auden, W. H. and Kronenberger, Louis. The Viking Book of Aphorisms. New York: Viking Press, 1966. Work Cited Hazelton, Roger. Blaise Pascal The Genius of Thought. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1974. Eliot, Charles W. The Harvard Classics (Pascal). New York: P. F. Collier & Son Corporation, 1938. Blaise Pascal Essay -- Essays Papers Blaise Pascal "We arrive at truth, not by reason only, but also by the heart"(1) said Blaise Pascal, one of the greatest minds of the 17th Century. The 17th Century was the time of the scientific revolution. During this period the main idea for everyone, was to question everything not to just listen to what is told. This caused a transformation in thought in both religious and scientific areas. Science allowed the questioning of the teachings of the old church. Scientists battled with ideas in math and physics, while philosophers battled with ideas of God. It was an intellectual revolution concerning the methods for determining humanity's place in the universe. Blaise Pascal was a physicist, a mathematician, and a man of God. He was a Renaissance man of the scientific revolution. On June 19, 1623, Pascal was born in the small town of Clermont-Ferrand, France, to Antoinette and Etienne Pascal. When Pascal was just three his mother passed away. After this, Etienne Pascal moved Blaise and his two sisters to Paris, France. Here his son would be able to learn. Etienne Pascal was very concerned about his son becoming an educated man. This is why he decided to teach his son on his own. He brought a young Blaise to lectures and other gatherings. He decided Blaise would not study math until age 15. When he made this decision he took all the math books out of the family home; however, this did not stop a curious Pascal. At age twelve, he started to work on geometry by himself. Blaise’s father finally started to take him to mathematical gatherings at "Academic Parisienne." At the age of 16, Pascal began to play an active role in "Academic Parisienne," as the principal disciple of Girard Desargues, one of the heads of "Academic Par... ... Pascal was such a brilliant man because he could do both of these. Pascal was one of the only men that wrote about his beliefs in God and was an accredited scientist and mathematician too. He was a true man of the scientific revolution. Endnotes: - Pascal, Blaise. 1910. Pascal's Pensà ©es. Translated by W. F. Trotter. New York: The Modern Library, 1941. - Rose, N. Mathematical Maxims and Minims. Raleigh NC: 1988. - Same as 1. - Gillispie, Charles Coulston. Dictionary of scientific biography. New York: Scribner, [1970-1990]. - Auden, W. H. and Kronenberger, Louis. The Viking Book of Aphorisms. New York: Viking Press, 1966. Work Cited Hazelton, Roger. Blaise Pascal The Genius of Thought. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1974. Eliot, Charles W. The Harvard Classics (Pascal). New York: P. F. Collier & Son Corporation, 1938.

Writing Application Letters

Application Letter There are some mistakes and ambiguous expressions in the following application letter for a job as a salesperson. Rewrite it after making the corrections or amendment to it. |Human Resources Department | |Avon Products (Guangzhou) Ltd. | |3? f 420, E. Huanshi Road | |Guangzhou 510075 | | | |July 3, 2009-9-26 | |Dear Sir or Madam: | | | |Noticing the enclosed advertisement in today’s Yangcheng Evening Newspaper, I wish to apply a part-time job as a salesgirl for| |the direct selling of your beauty products. | | | |I am a junior student at Guangdong College of Commerce. My major is Marketing. I studied Marketing, Marketing Techniques, | |Psychology of Consumption, Psychology of Women, Business Law, Labor Law, Business Ethics, Communications, Public Relations, | |etc. | | |I have some experience in marketing in the last two years. During the summer vacation and winter vacation of 2008, I once | |stayed at the Beauty Products Counter in the Taibai Department Store as a salesgirl. Last year I worked as a part-time | |salesgirl on Sundays for Procter and Gamble (Guangzhou) Ltd. I come from house to house to sell Rejoice 2-in-1, and Head and | |Shoulders shampoos. | | | |I think my education and some experience in marketing w ill let me to offer services for your sales promotion. If you give me a| |trial, I would do my best to give you every satisfaction. I will await for your answer. | | |Sincerely yours, | | | |Kay Jin | Writing task Option #1: You have seen the following recruiting advertisement in the local press and would like to apply for the position. Read the advertisement carefully and write a letter of application within 100-120 words, giving details of previous experiences, salary, etc. |Welcome to Our Team – Top Salary | | | |ASSISTANT SALES MANAGER wanted by an international company manufacturing textile piece goods. The applicant must have had | |adequate experience in the sales division of a large company and be willing to accept responsibility. | Option #2: You write an application letter to apply for a position that you may be interested in doing after graduation. Use your own educational background and work experience. What is an application letter? It is normal to send a cover letter (letter of application) with your resume even if you are also sending a complete application form. There may be occasions when you want to send a letter of application, with which you enclose a resume. Tips for writing winning application letters ? Write the letter to a specific person – the person you think is the one who would hire you. Take the trouble to find out the name of the person who is in the likeliest position to hire you. You can always call the receptionist and ask for the company’s mailing address and then ask the name of the specific person you’re looking for. Asking for an address makes it more likely that you’ll get the information you want rather than asking only for the name of a person with a specific title. ? Do your research. The more â€Å"general† your cover letter, the less successful it is likely to be. You want to demonstrate that you know something about the reader’s company, something that you had to do some research to find out. Customizing your letter to a particular company is impressive and makes you stand out from the pack of the job seekers. Tell the reader what you can do for the company, not what you want the company to do for you. Begin by stating some specific way in which you can help the company or department accomplish a particular goal, pre ferably giving an outstanding example of a related accomplishment. E. g. â€Å"Having had direct responsibility for three successful mergers in the energy industry, I am an ideal candidate to assist you with making a smooth transition I your recent merger with Company X†. ? Be specific about the job you are seeking. Hirers do not want to serve as your employment counselor, they want you to have already done your homework and figured out exactly what job you want. The â€Å"I can fulfill so many roles, just put me where I’m needed most† approach will get your letter filed in the wastebasket. ? Quantify your accomplishments. After your initial attention-grabbing statement of how you can help the company and stating your greatest related accomplishment, list four or five additional accomplishments – bulleted and quantified. ? Mention only accomplishments that directly relate to the job you want to get. ? Keep it brief, succinct and simple. Your cover letter should be short and to the point. Rarely should it be longer than one page. Remember, you are trying to capture the reader’s interest in knowing more about you. Telling your life story is boring. ? Make it easy on the eyes. When you’ve finished writing your letter, print it up and take a â€Å"big picture† look at it. Is it visually appealing? Is there plenty of white space (using bullets increases the white space)? Is it filled with complicated sentences and jammed to the margins? Does it look like a letter you would want to read? ? Close with an invitation for the reader to act. Tell the reader you would like to talk or meet and include these words: â€Å"Please give me a call at such-and-such a phone number. † Don’t say â€Å"I’ll give you a call in a few days to follow up and see if you’re interested in meeting†.