The Monetarist Theory: Milton Friedman

Economic theories explore the relationships linking changes in the money supply to changes in economic activity and prices. With a mixture of theoretical ideas, philosophical beliefs, and policy prescriptions, these theories can help elaborate on both historic and current financial situations. For instance, the general understanding of the monetarist theory, founded by economist Milton Friedman, focuses on macroeconomic activities that examine the impact of changes in the money supply and central banking.This economic school of thought theoretically challenges Keynesian economics (OnlineTexts) to contend that variations in the money supply are the most significant determinants of the rate of economic growth, the behavior of the business cycle, the national output in the short run, and the price level over longer periods of time (Investopedia). Through the developments from other theories, more laissez-faire government approaches, and the use of the quantity theory of money, monetaris m has dramatically impacted and helped explain changes in monetary policy and the banking system for nearly one hundred years.To fully grasp this economic theory, the history behind it and what influenced its existence must be understood. Following the Great Depression, Keynesian economics mainly dominated the United States as well as countries globally. This economic theory focused on total spending in the economy and its effects on output and inflation (Blinder). Keynesians traditionally saw fiscal policy as the key tool for economic management, believed monetary policy should simply be used as a backup, and believed that the government’s role was to maintain the economy at full employment (Biz/Ed).This theory also emphasized interest rates as a target of monetary policy, raising rates to slow down the economy and reducing rates to speed things up (Allen 283). Although these views were the main focus for some time, many economists saw that the theory was leaving most of our economic problems unexplained. As Keynesian economics seemed unable to explain or cure the seemingly contradictory problems of rising unemployment and inflation (Allen 284) economits like Milton Friedman began making different, more accurate observations.Monetarism’s rise to intellectual prominence began with writings on basic monetary theory by Friedman and other economists during the 1950s (McCallum). These proposals were influential because of their devotion to fundamental neoclassical principles, particularly Friedman’s presidential address to the American Economic Association in 1967, published in 1968 as â€Å"The Role of Monetary Policy. † In this paper Friedman developed the natural-rate hypothesis and used it as a pillar in the argument for less government intervention and a constant-growth-rate rule for monetary policy (McCallum).From this point the monetarist theory drew its roots from two almost entirely opposing ideas, the hard money policies that dominated monetary thinking in the late 19th century, and the theories of Keynesian economics (Wikipedia). While Keynes had focused on total spending and the value stability of currency which resulted with problems based on an insufficient money supply, Friedman centered on price stability acting as the equilibrium between supply and demand for money (Wikipedia).Friedman and other monetarists began challenging Keynesian ideas and strongly started to suggest that â€Å"money does not matter† (Wikipedia). Monetarist’s goals involved seeking to explain present problems while also striving to interpret historical ones. Since monetarists strongly believe that the money supply is the primary determinant of nominal GDP in the short run and of the price level in the long run, they stress that the control of the money supply should not be left to the discretion of central bankers and that the focus should shift to a more laissez-faire approach for the banking system (OnlineText s).Monetarists do not believe that the government should intervene in economic and monetary decisions by trying to manage the level of aggregate demand or total spending (Biz/Ed). Friedman explains that if we are experiencing government deficits and must make a monetary decision, then the deficits should be financed by increasing the money supply instead of affecting aggregate demand, and vice versa for budget surpluses.Monetarists argue that interventionist policy regarding managing total spending will be destabilizing in the long run and should therefore be avoided. By trusting free markets rather than large governments, monetarists quickly and simultaneously agreed that government intervention will destabilize the economy more than it will help, since intervention typically interferes in the workings of free markets and can lead to bloated bureaucracies, unnecessary social programs, and large deficits (OnlineTexts).Markets will benefit by working on their own since market forces will cause inflation, unemployment and production to adjust themselves automatically and efficiently around a fixed amount of money (Milton Friedman and Monetarism). A key problem with discretionary demand management policies is the time lags, which monetarists believe make fiscal policy too difficult to use to manage the economy effectively (Biz/Ed). The best thing therefore, is to take a long-run view of price stability and use monetary policy to achieve this.Monetarists always say that where fiscal policy could be beneficial, monetary policy would do the job better. Government attempts to influence GDP and other economic measures through fiscal policy are at best ineffectual, mainly because expansionary fiscal policy only causes inflation (Monetarist Theory of Inflation). The monetarist theory believes that the Fed should not have discretion but rather be bound to fixed rules in conducting monetary policy.For example, monetarists prefer the money growth rule which states that the Fed should be required to target the growth rate of money so that it equals the growth rate of real GDP, leaving the price level unchanged (OnlineTexts). The relationship between inflation and money growth is virtually a one-to-one relationship, so if the economy is expected to grow at a certain percent in a given year, the Fed should allow the money supply to increase by the same percent. By following this rule there will be a tight control of money and credit allowing the economy to maintain price stability (Riley).Monetarist’s stress incorrect central bank policy is often the root of large fluctuations in inflation and price stability, showing that the key to success is to ensure that monetary policy is credible so that people’s expectations of inflation are controlled (Riley). Friedman states within his academic paper, â€Å"The Role of Monetary Policy† that â€Å"monetary authorities should guide themselves by magnitudes that they can control, not by ones that they cannot† (Friedman 14), which is why the quantity theory of money and other monetarist concepts are of huge importance and assistance.The quantity theory of money is a basic theoretical explanation for the link between money and the general price level. This theory helps describe how by controlling the growth of the money supply and leaving interest rates unchanged; the Fed can better control inflation and foster stable economic growth (Riley). This identity relates total aggregate demand to the total value of output, and holds that changes in nominal prices reflect changes in the money supply and the velocity of money (Monetarism). Monetarists assume that the velocity of money within the economy, or rather the average number of times a dollar is used to purchase final good or service is assumed constant or changes at a predictable rate (Wikipedia). The value of real output (GDP), or the total volume of production of goods and services, is not influenced by monetary variables (Riley) allowing monetarists to also treat GDP as a constant. Looking at the quantity of money theory equation, M*V = P*Y, where M is the rate of growth in the money supply, V is the velocity of money, P is the overall price level, and Y is the total output or GDP, one can determine that with V and Y as constants, changes in the rate of money supply will equal changes in the price level (Riley).By using this equation and theory, economists can determine and solve problems within the economy and we have seen this throughout history. The monetarist theory can effectively explain the deflationary waves of the late 19th Century, the Great Depression, and the stagflation period beginning in the early 1970’s (Wikipedia). Monetarists argue that there was no inflationary boom in the 1920’s, while Keynesians argue that there was significant asset inflation and unsustainable growth.Monetarists’ claim that the contraction of the M1 money supply during 1931-1933 i s to blame for the Great Depression and if the Fed had provided sufficient liquidity to make up for the insufficient money supply, then that financial crisis would have be avoided (Pettinger). In comparison, the increase in inflation rates throughout the 1970’s led many to consider monetarist policies to steady the money growth (Hafer 18). Even though the sudden rise in inflation in the 1970’s was related directly to oil price shocks, there was also a similar increase in the average rate of money growth.To combat this, the Fed began adopting a monetarist platform and monetary targets were effectively used in official policy analysis (Hafer 18). Later in the 1980’s President Reagan imposed strict monetarist policies of restricted money stock growth in an effort to stop the dramatic rise of inflation. At this time, the prime interest rate was at twenty percent and unemployment reached double digits. The monetarist policies Reagan proposed brought down inflation an d unemployment rates, suggesting that monetarist policies were succeeding (Allen 284).Most recently in the early 1990’s, John Taylor, an economics professor at Stanford, showed that U. S. monetary policy could be accurately described by relating movements in the federal funds rate to deviations in inflation from a target rate and deviations in real output growth from potential growth (Hafer 19). This Taylor rule dominates much of the research on monetary policy during the past decade, both as a model of Fed behavior and as a model to guide policy decisions (Hafer 19).While some disagreement remains, certain things are clear. Since 1990, the classical form of monetarism has been questioned because of events that have been interpreted as inexplicable in monetarist terms, primarily the unhinging of the money supply growth from inflation in the 1990’s and the failure of monetary policy to stimulate the economy in the early 2000’s (Wikipedia). Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, explains why the monetarist theory unfortunately had no success in combating early financial problems.He argued that the 1990’s economic decline had little to do with the monetarist view of the money supply and rather was â€Å"explained by a virtuous cycle of productivity and investment on one hand, and a certain degree of â€Å"irrational exuberance† in the investment sector† (Wikipedia). Along with Greenspan, economist Robert Solow of MIT suggested that the 2001-2003 failure of the expected economic recovery also was not attributed by monetary policy, but by the decreasing productivity growth in crucial sectors of the economy (Investopedia).Despite both the successes and failures of the monetarist theory, in 2005 most academic specialists in monetary economics described their orientation as new Keynesians (McCallum). However, even with that focus, most of the changes to Keynesian thinking that monetarists proposed are accepted today as part of standard macroeconomic and monetary analysis and most economists accept the proposition that monetary policy is more powerful and useful than fiscal policy for stabilizing the economy (McCallum).In addition, current thinking clearly favors policy rules in contrast to discretion of central banks and stresses the importance of maintaining inflation at low rates. With new Keynesian views prominent in today’s society, it can be determine that it is only in the emphasis on monetary aggregates that monetarism is not being widely practiced today. Economic theories, including monetarism, are constantly changing to provide outlets for research in all areas of economics based on theoretical reasoning and analysis of economic problems.Despite the drastic differences between the late 19th century and today’s economy, the same economic problems remain the same. We cannot put so much doubt and negativity onto monetarist views as we can be assured that new economic theories will continuously emerge as changes in the economy bring fresh insights and cause existing ideas to become obsolete.Throughout these changes, the same motivating force is present regarding the need to understand the economy in order to achieve society's goals. These economic theories are highly significant in finding the right monetary policy to bring about economic growth and financial stability in a country. The monetarist theory, as well as others more prominent today, will continue to be debated and tested in order to find answers to some of the most troubling economic questions throughout our history.

Marketing mix of a beer company Essay

Introduction It was in October 1992 when The Black Sheep Brewery beers first made an appearance in pubs in and around the Yorkshire Dales. The delivery of those first casks of beer over ten years ago began a new era for Paul Theakston, whose family has brewed in Masham for five generations. It also allowed him to put behind him the heartache left by the often acrimonious battles that culminated in the â€Å"old† family firm of T & R Theakston Ltd ending up as part of Scottish & Newcastle Breweries. The events that led to the loss of the Theakston brewery had rumbled on since the early 1970s, with Scottish & Newcastle finally seizing power in 1988. Although they offered him a position, Paul decided corporate life wasn’t for him. What’s more, it would have meant him leaving his beloved Masham. Determined to stay in Masham and being a long, long way from retirement (both age-wise and financially!! ) it didn’t take long for Paul to conclude that it was brewing that he was best at. The decision was made, create a â€Å"new† brewery in Masham. Now Black Sheep Brewery has invested ? 3 million in more production facilities and has boosted by 20 per cent. The company is on course for doubling by 2006 and a new distribution depot is being constructed for completion by the end of 2004. 1. 0 The Marketing Mix on The Black Sheep Brewery The marketing mix is looking at the right product, at the right price, what media to use and to use the right place. These are known as: Product Price Promotion Place Or the four P’s 1a Product Product is defined as a physical good, service, idea, person or place that is capable of offering tangible and intangible benefits that individuals or organisations regard as necessary or that they are prepared to exchange money or something of value for it. Peter, J. Paul, ‘Marketing management: knowledge and skills’ Boston; London: McGraw-Hill). If the product does not provide the services or covers the expected needs from the customer or does not deliver the expectations created by other elements of the marketing mix, then the whole project is not going to work. The name of Black Sheep Ale does not have a marketing reason, and named after thinking and having discussion for long time. A name was needed to reflect the area and history of the place. Sheep have always figured largely in the history of the area. Masham was once an important centre for sheep trading and famous for its sheep fair. However, Sheep Brewery seemed a bit tame. In a timely stroke of inspiration Sue, Paul’s wife, coined the name Black Sheep Brewery. Black Sheep has some different slogans, but has stuck mainly with the slogan of â€Å"Black Sheep Brewery is a modern day miracle†. This is saying to the target market that The Black Sheep Ale is the best, and that there is no bitter beer this good. Although, this has been on since 1992. Also there is a second slogan. The one is also their aim â€Å"a traditional country beer†, which could be linked with the first one, showing that The Black Sheep Ale truly is the one of the best bitter beer. The logo for Black Sheep goes with the name of black sheep and a traditional cottage house. The logo shows that they are focusing on a traditional country beer. Even the font on the bottle is Elizabethan type. It is written with old way, which shows that it is of class and is very traditional. Although the logos and slogans are giving off the appeal that the rich mainly drink Black Sheep Ale, the product (and most other ales, bitter) are mainly consumed by people in the lower classes. Black Sheep, in my opinion, is marketed to men, aged between 35 and about 65 in socio-economic groups not very high. I thought that it would be marketed in these groups because these are the most likely to go down to the pub and drink beers and bitter such as Black Sheep Ale. The packing of Black Sheep is really for marketing purpose. Because of this, there is something about the packing. Black Sheep is sold only in bottles and cash ale. It is not sold in cans. It shows that their quality and their marketing purpose about packing. The Black Sheep Brewery have been brewing since 1992 and now have five Ales on sale. I think that The Black Sheep Brewery has five different of product because of they want to keep always selling the product. In my opinion, they need to focus on younger people as well, with brewing a new beer to get young people attention. Like â€Å"Ice Beer â€Å"two companies named Tetley and Carlsberg formed a partnership in 1993 to make a new product for young people. It was â€Å"Ice Beer†. 1b Promotion Promotion is the direct way in which an organisation attempts to communicate with various target audience. Promotion consists of five main elements: Advertising, Personal selling, sales promotion, Public Relations and Direct Marketing. Sales Promotion As Black Sheep is sold in many different ways, they can have numerous different types of sales promotions. They can offer price reductions and Buy One Get One Free, such as at supermarkets, happy hours at pubs, and added value, e. g. extra free. They have also done charity promotions; see Public Relations, and competitions. They don’t actually do many sales promotions, but they sell lots of merchandising. With over 1,000 different items there is definitely something for everyone. They sell numerous items, such as caps, T-shirts, bottle openers. Most of the things that they do is to make more people buy their product over any other beer or ales. The merchandising is a bit different, because most people who choose to wear a caps with the logo of their favourite beer do not look cool, and end up looking stupid. (such as logo of black sheep). I think if they sell something like beer cooler to stock them in it. It will make the consumer feel as if they have the Black Sheep cooler and need to fill it with Black Sheep Ale, this makes them sell more Black Sheep Ale. It’s like they’ve caught them in a net, buy this, and so you can also buy all of these. Sponsorship The Black Sheep sponsors a number of different things. These mostly consist of local events. There are at the Black Sheep Brewery Visitor Centre and in around Masham area. The Black Sheep also sponsors of local drink and food festivals which shows that they are not trying to become popular around UK or the world. It is obvious that the things that The Black Sheep Brewery sponsors event, which are mainly viewed by local people and old people. This shows that The Black Sheep is clearly marketed to people who live in that area and old people. They should be sponsor of some events which known by everyone. As Budweiser does (they are sponsor of Manchester United, the BMW Williams F1 team. ). The events which are viewed, not only by people there, also by people watching at home. Advertising In the beer industry, the beer is bought by beer lovers which mean that advertisements in this case, should be targeted to the beer lovers and makes them understand the qualities of the beer. Normally this kind of product is advertised on TV or some times in undergrounds, sport events like football, rugby or car races. Short-term promotions could be placed in the package or even create brochures of discounts. 1c Place The Black Sheep is sold in different ways (bottle, cash ale). So it is difficult to say what type of distribution method is used. It can be sold in cans, multi-packs, kegs, bottles, from the tap at a pub, etc. The method that is sold by shops or supermarkets would be form the produce, to the shop/supermarket and then on to the retailer. It can also be sold via a wholesaler to a shop, which means that the price goes up 3 times. When sold in a pub, it could even be sent straight from the producer to the pub. The sale of the Black Sheep takes place in lots of different outlets, such as pubs, supermarkets, alcohol stores, off licences, and over the Internet. This means that it can cost a lot to supply it in all the ways that they do. But it also means that they may sell more, because some people are only able to buy it in one way, and if people can’t buy Black Sheep in a way that they would like to, the Black Sheep Brewery won’t make as much money as they could have. So they should try to be found even in a corner shop by customers. 1d Price As I have mentioned before, Black Sheep is sold in a number of ways, so for the Price part of this study, I will look only at the price of their best seller amount sold, which is the Black Sheep Ale 4. 4% of 500 ml. For a bottle of 500 ml, Black Sheep uses completive pricing, which involves giving a price similar to the competitors, psychological pricing, which is pricing to the nearest whole number e. g. ?1. 29. I think that they can also use promotional pricing, which is like free amounts such as 25% extra free or Buy One Get One Free. I think that these types of prices are used so that Black Sheep is bought more than the competitors. Even if the price of Black Sheep is only a few pence cheaper, people tend to buy it rather than another brand, and vice versa, this is because they are always after a bargain, and companies always have to make their prices cheaper than their other competitors to win the competition. Task2 2. 0 Logistic Facilities on Black Sheep Brewery. The Black Sheep Brewery Company should realise that they will need to improve their logistic facilities. Because of the company is on course for doubling production by 2006. In my opinion, they should describe that what mode of transport is appropriate for them and whether is the best for firms to operate their own warehouse and fleet of delivery vehicles or to sub contract all aspect of distribution to a specialist firm. Paul Theakston says that they will probably be working more with wholesalers and the pub companies who continue to buy up the independent pubs in the future. Brewers maintained a high level of control over the market by controlling distribution and routes to market. This was particularly true of draught beer, where brewers maintained a high-cost infrastructure operated on a dedicated basis to maintain control over the supply of The Black Sheep’s own beers from brewery to pub. This operated against the public interest. Brewers marginally-coasted such activities when pricing this service to direct customers, and recovered the costs in margin on beer sales. This excluded wholesalers and independent distributors from supplying beer to such outlets. Inefficiency and extra cost was built into the market with pubs receiving multiple deliveries from brewers with beer and from wholesale suppliers with wines, spirits and other products. Control of distribution provided brewers with the leverage to negotiate solus supply with direct customers restricting market access for other draught beer suppliers and limiting choice for the consumer. Place is trying to get the right level of distribution in the right types of outlets. This is one of the most difficult, yet important marketing activities. In simple terms physical distribution involves getting a product from A to B. Logistics has a very important role to play in the process of distribution. This is because they start off the process and plan it from beginning to end. If they don’t do their job probably then they could end up with no beers in the shops and pubs, which loses sales and therefore profit. Logistics monitor demand for goods and co-ordinate the process from ordering raw materials through to the timely delivery to the warehouse. Physical distribution must balance the need for customer service against the need to minimise costs. It is necessary to plan a physical distribution system carefully taking into account the need for warehouse space, stock, staff etc in order to maximise efficiency. On the other hand it is necessary to keep down costs and get the correct balance between these inputs and outputs and therefore provide an efficient but profitable service. The Black Sheep Brewery. This is the distribution channel that I would advise The Black Sheep Brewery to use: This is the distribution channel that The Black Sheep Brewery already uses, so I think they should also use it for the new products for the future. I think this because it is already set up and working well for their other products and is already in a good area, with experienced staff and known by their existing suppliers. They would need to incorporate this new product into their existing set-up, therefore keeping costs down as their will be no initial start up expense. Because it is already an up and running distribution channel the experienced staff should be able to get it up and running quickly, efficiently and cost effectively. If the Black Sheep Brewery becomes a big success then they might have to build an extension to their already existing warehouse, but if this is necessary it should finance itself. The only slight disadvantage to this type of distribution channel would be that the distribution centre is a middle stage and extra staff would be needed but I think that this is necessary in a large company. I would advise The Black Sheep Brewery to sell their products in a number of different retail outlets: Supermarkets Corner shops (news agencies) Petrol stations Hotels Stadium (e. g. Wembley) TASK 3 3. 0 International operation on Black Sheep Brewery There are over 200 countries around the globe; companies such as The Black Sheep Brewery should consider the key environmental factors before entering new country markets. These factors are known as the C and SLEPT factors, Social/ Cultural, Legal, Economic, Political, Technological, and Competitors. These are the uncontrollable factors that will affect the companies’ decisions, as well as the success of a company. 3a Social/ Cultural A single country may sometimes comprise several nations and independent cultures, and within each of these groups, there may be different religions, languages and attitudes. An example is Canada, where the main language is not just English, but as well as French. These factors affect the buying behaviour of a consumer. There are four categories in social/ cultural factor which marketers should consider before entering new country markets. Firstly, habits and conventions can influence the behaviour of a consumer. For an example, some individuals may not be interested in foreign goods/ products. Secondly, there is the attitudes which affected by religions/ culture. This is considered as an extrapolation of the past, which is a learned behaviour rather than innate behaviour. For an example, some people may only be interested in doing businesses within their own cultures/ groups. The next category is the naivety and ignorance of countries/ cultures. Languages are one of the main factors, some words may have different meanings in different languages, and some of their meanings may be incomprehensible or insulting. Lastly, demographic aspects within a country are to be aware of. The number of population and their growth trends, ethnicity and education level of a country can be used to determine one country’s lifestyle or buying behaviour. 3b Legal Since there is no actual body of law known as international law, there are various legal systems around the globe. Examples are common law and Islamic law. These legal systems concern the pricing of products, import/ export limitations, types of advertising and product safety. For an example, In United States, every state has its own laws. The Black Sheep Brewery should be aware of the laws where they are marketing. 3c Economic Paliwoda suggests that â€Å"Macro-environment is created when trade and transactions take place across, rather than within, national frontiers; but it is important to note that there may well be greater economic environmental differences between different parts of the same country than between countries belonging to the same geographical region. † in his book, â€Å"International Marketing†. This means a single country may have different economic level. For an example, in some rural part of China is suffering from poverty, whereas in some parts of China, such as Hong Kong is to be considered as one of the richest cities in East Asia. Other factors to be aware of are, currencies used, where some countries may have weak currencies due to inflation or recession, also the kind if payment, some countries such as Columbia may pay by coffee beans. Secondly, the general economy, which can be determine by the average income of the public. 3d Political Politics is a very important factor, it can either bring trading partners together or tear them apart. Government policies and attitudes towards imports are different around the globe. Some may set up trade barriers such as high tariffs, high import tax, in order to protect their own brands/ economy, or due to some tensions between countries. On the other hand, some may lower the import restrictions by setting up trade agreements between countries to minimise trade tariffs in bilateral trade exchanges, or to create job opportunities for their public. The Black Sheep Brewery should also be aware of the stability of the host country’s regimes, also the level of government control of company assets. 3e Technological This factor concerns the technological level of a country, such as the existing facilities and infrastructure; some countries may be more â€Å"high tech† than the others. Also the labour skills and training, some countries may have highly skilled labours, some may not. There may be a huge cost of new technology; also some government policies such as green issues may limit the use of some technologies. 3f Competitors Since The Black Sheep Brewery is not the only company around the globe that supply beer there are various alternatives for consumers to choose from. Competitors such as Budweiser and Stella may have taken at least 90% of the consumers in some countries. Marketers should consider whether it is worthwhile to enter such countries. In marketing audit, SWOT analysis suggests that companies should minimise their weaknesses/ threats, and turn them into companies’ strengths/ opportunities. When entering new country markets, there are weaknesses/ threats exist within and outside the company. These are the lacking of time, lacking of internal/ external knowledge and risks of competitors. By using methods of entry such as acquisition or merger can often minimise the weaknesses/ threats and turn them into possible strengths/ opportunities within and outside the company.

Motorola Inc. Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Motorola Inc. - Research Paper Example Of significance to the situation is considering the external opportunities and threats that Motorola Inc. has to take into account. Furthermore, Motorola Inc. also needs to be aware of its internal strengths and weaknesses. The SWOT analysis is a method that companies use to assess and analyze internal and external factors so that they can use them to make further judgments for the future. Internal and external factors are divided into a two by two matrix. The four quadrants are allocated to strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, hence the name SWOT. When assessing the strengths, the company may look at numerous factors including the company’s capabilities unique selling point and competitive advantage, its knowledge and experience base, innovative aspects and price and quality etcetera. For Motorola Inc. its strengths include the fact that it has a lot of knowledge and experience in the field, having dominated it for such a long time. It is also in the process of i nnovating, to keep pace with the modern times and is investing heavily in WiMax technology. The weakness part of this analysis usually includes aspects like disadvantages, gaps in capabilities and lack of competitive advantage, it also encompasses the company’s vulnerability and pressures and problems of reliability, predictability etcetera. Motorola Inc.’s weaknesses have cost the company dearly in terms of revenue, profits and market share. It has failed to keep its pace as fast as some of its competitors and has duly lost to them some of its market share and profit levels. Also, it has been having financial difficulty and hasn’t been able to streamline costs with a deflated economy and falling profits. The opportunities quadrant includes aspects like market developments, technological innovation, new or niche markets, new USPs or tactics, product or brand development, investment in research and any other external factors that might positively affect the busin ess. Opportunities for Motorola Inc. seem few in these economically and financially hard times. The market has developed into a much more technologically savvy one; Motorola Inc. has tried using this to its advantage by innovating using WiMax technology. With the help of this, it will develop and restructure its products to streamline them with market demand while keeping costs low. Threats include aspects like, adverse political, legislative or environmental effects; it also includes factors like competitors’ competitiveness, market demand, economy, and etcetera. Threats that are causing the most damage to Motorola Inc. over the recent years include the condition of the economy for one. The economy has been in a slump, which means that peoples’ consumption has gone down; this has lead to a significant drop in the demand of mobile technology. Consequently, this has caused Motorola Inc.’s profits to decrease and costs to increase, creating recent fiscal losses fo r the company. Moreover, competitors like Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Apple Inc. and RIM have really stepped up their game recently and in some cases found very profitable niche markets that they are quite comfortably exploiting. As a result they are enjoying a good profit level and growing market shares, even in these depressed economic conditions. Motorola Inc. is considering some strategic options to effectively combat the bad times. Their main aim is to cut down the losses and return the firm to

Database Architecture for GEMLCA Resource Availability Research Paper

Database Architecture for GEMLCA Resource Availability - Research Paper Example GEMLCA or Grid Execution Management for Legacy Code Architecture is a language independent solution used to deploy existing legacy code applications as a Grid service. Any application written in any language can be deployed as a grid service without the need of even legacy code i.e. binary codes and source code. It is a computing system consisting of PC clusters. Legacy applications are deployed on these servers as grid services. Compute servers are then accessed by various grid clients for required resources. Grid host environment is used to implement service-oriented grid layer which is based on Open Grid Services Architecture (OGSA) specifications e.g. GT3, GT4, g-Lite or the OMII middleware. This layer is required to connect computer server to OSGA built grid. The selected grid should allow the grid clients to access legacy applications available in computer servers like a grid or web services. Administrators should be able to deploy new legacy applications on computer server using different job managers like Condor, Fork, PBS, etc. GEMLCA resources are consists of legacy codes which are deployed as grid services. These resources are installed on the computer server. GEMLCA Resource layer manages the interaction between Grid services and Grid Host Environment. Resource Layer is used for the following purposes: Deploying legacy applications as Grid services Querying the GEMLCA resources and get the list of available legacy applications getting the list of legacy parameters with default values and allow the user to modify these submitting legacy jobs to a job manager querying the status of previously submitted legacy jobs retrieving results from legacy applications GEMLCA Resource layer has the following three services: GLCAdmin It deploys a legacy application as a Grid service. GLCList It searches for legacy applications available over a grid. GLC Process It manages the workflow processes over Grid such as submitting a legacy application using GEMLCA and getting job status and results back.

Three Levels of Local Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Three Levels of Local Culture - Essay Example When you study the artifacts level you find that in Bastrop volunteers usually interpret the parish history using local artifacts. The level of architecture of buildings is high. There are several building permits given in a year. In the job industry people use formal language. Newspaper and radio cover the news. Values and beliefs are explained in the sense that when IPC mill was closed the mayor predicted that a lot of people will be affected. This could be termed as his own view. In Bastrop there are various attraction sites which include Cairo museum, Tensas river national wildlife and others. The rate of crime is 75.79% than the national average. The government promises a great work force in order to make small businesses grow (Bastrop, 2015). Bastrop has hardworking people though the poverty line is high. For example multinational organizations operating beyond their own national culture, will still have influence of the deepest culture level. Underlying values reflect the way individuals evaluate the self and world. The decision to build a wood pellet in Bastrop will be observed to see if it will be successful or not hence forgotten. Culture exists as: the front line followed by middle management and lastly is corporate level (Nurdin,

Economic implications of the EU's single currency on German economy Literature review

Economic implications of the EU's single currency on German economy - Literature review Example In response to globalization, the initiative of the European Commission back in 1969 was put in place to coordinate the economic policies as well as to set a monetary integration among the European Union. On the 1st of January 1999, the ‘Euro’ (â‚ ¬) was launched in the world money markets. Since then, Euro has become the unit of exchange for the EU states except for the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Denmark (Central Intelligence Agency, 2011). The decision behind the European Union is to make the inter-regional and inter-state trading much easier (European Commission. The EU Single Market, 2011). Back in 2007, the goal European Commission has proven to be very successful. Implementing the ‘Euro’ (â‚ ¬) currency in 1999 was part of the strategy used by the European Union to achieve their purpose of making the inter-regional and inter-state trading much easier. Located in Frankfurt in Germany, the European Central Bank was made responsible for the impleme ntation of monetary policies and exchange rate policies throughout the European monetary union (Carbaugh, 2009, p. 280). Likewise, it is the European Central Bank that controls the supply of euros aside from setting its short-term euro interest rate or maintaining a fixed exchange rate for all members of the European Union (ibid). ... To give the readers a better understanding concerning the research topic, this report will first provide a brief overview concerning the economic condition of Germany before and after the country was required to use a single EU currency. As part of conducting a literature review with regards to the potential economic impact of centralizing the currency, this report will focus on discussing the advantages and disadvantages of using the Euro (â‚ ¬) currency in the economic performance of Germany. Finally, the economic consequences associated with using fixed exchange rate policy will be tackled based on the historical experiences of other countries. Brief Overview on German Economy Before and After the Use of EU (â‚ ¬) Currency Back in the 1950s, the economic situation in Germany was highly dependent on the exportation of agricultural and industrial products. In 1988, West Germany and East Germany were exporting a total of US$323 billion and US$30.7 billion worth of different agr icultural, mining, and industrial products respectively (Boyes, 2007). Since there was a high demand for food and non-food products manufactured in Germany, East Germany was able to maintain zero unemployment rate for quite some time (ibid). Despite the fact that the inter-regional and inter-state trading was made easier among the European Union (European Commission – The EU Single Market, 2011), Germany started to go through a series of economic problems. After the single currency was implemented in Germany, the country started to experience economic stagnation in the 2000s combined with a constantly increasing high unemployment rate (Merkel, 2009; Boyes, 2007). Since there were a lot of

Suicide and euthanasia Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Suicide and euthanasia - Term Paper Example This paper is going to focus on the cosmology or fundamental beliefs of each philosophy and the ethics developed, based on the cosmology and why and how the ethical basis are outlined to help a person to achieve his/her own personal perfection in the end. The paper will also deal with the first four philosophies because they form a fundamental part of the Asian religions; the Hindu, Buddhism, Shinto and Confucians. The Upanishads was written in India in 8th to 6th century BCE (Kupperman 58). It contained answers to radical questions. They try to answer questions surrounding personal identity. Questions like who are we, what are we expected to do. They are regarded as highly serious philosophy. They developed a sophisticated world picture, which generates an ethic, the way the world would tell one the best way to live. The Upanishads may be considered as religion and philosophy as well due to the fact that they offer the raw text of Hinduism especially on matters dealing with life and death (Kupperman 61). Indeed, they are seen as the foundation of some core traditional and value of India philosophies. Religiously, they tend to offer an escape to tedious round of reincarnation. They promise in Moksha (a Spiritual state where one enters a point of liberation). One has an endless spiritual fulfillment after demise. To qualify for this â€Å"Moksha† state one must follow after joy rather than pleasure. This is the place it start being a philosophy, a part from religion (Kupperman 64). The Upanishads teaches that, for one to determine the state of eternal life (either to live in the state of reincarnation or enter the state of liberation), one must observe the difference of life of joy or pleasure though certainly there are familiar words yet not easy to differentiate between the two. If any person would differentiate between the two words, that person will achieve personal identity and live a happy life pursuing joy rather than vaporous pleasures. The

Blogs about Fashion designer's news and their brand Essay

Blogs about Fashion designer's news and their brand - Essay Example The paper "Blogs about Fashion designer's news and their brand" provides information about blogs in the fashion industry. The editor rightly observed that Lee McQueen could successfully integrate technology with that of the design and it was the differentiating factor which made him so successful in his regime. Lee, born in the year of 1970 at East End had his schooling Central State Martins. He had his professional training at Savile Row where he received the rare exposure of writing messages in the suits of The Prince of Wales. This talented designer had the great achievement of winning the prestigious award of ‘British Designer of the Year in 1997 (though jointly with John Galliano), 2001 and 2003. Lee, born in the year of 1970 at East End had his schooling Central State Martins. He had his professional training at Savile Row where he received the rare exposure of writing messages in the suits of The Prince of Wales. This talented designer had the great achievement of winnin g the prestigious award of ‘British Designer of the Year in 1997 (though jointly with John Galliano), 2001 and 2003. French designer Jean Paul Gaultier’s latest fashion campaign was a major hit. The cast for the campaign is highlighted which involves casting of plus-size model Crystal Renn for the campaign and as the face of the winter/autumn 2010-11. It is reported in The New York Magazine that Chinese model Ping Hue and Kelly Moreira are supposed to join the campaign with Crystal Renn. Also, it reports that Renn is to be part.

Fast food Essay Example for Free

Fast food Essay Remember how simple it was to pull up to the drive through and tell the little speaker box what combo you wanted? You weren’t ashamed of asking for large fries and a chocolate milkshake because your stomach can handle anything you decide to digest. The salty golden arches crunched as you took a bite, the juicy double cheeseburger melted in your mouth or the sweet tea quenched your thirst and the hot fudge sundae sent you on a sugar rush. The teenage years were carefree because there was no distinction between healthy and life threatening when it came to choosing where to eat during lunch break. Unfortunately, your figure cannot handle careless food decisions anymore. Now you need to drive past that McDonald’s and find the nearest salad bar. Fast food is not your friend; it’s your enemy. Looking back you must wonder why you thought greasy cheeseburgers and fried chicken were the ideal meal; they certainly did not do any good for your body. Yes it was a quick and easy way to get food but that was during the years you stayed active. As a woman well over her thirties, you are smart enough to know that you don’t have the same metabolism as any eighteen-year-old girl. Face it, you are no longer that little girl who could devour her way through all you can eat buffets and midnight snacks. You are a mother who may have gained a few pounds here and there; nevertheless, you are not allowed to let yourself go. More importantly, do not feed yourself straight into a heart attack because you divert to fast food for dinner. A meat patty is made from the unhealthy parts of the beef. White bread will only make you want to eat again in a couple hours. The oil used to make your favorite value menu snack can eventually clog up your arteries if eaten excessively. Why risk your life for chicken nuggets that never look as good as the ones on the TV commercials? Don’t forget that you are no longer thinking of yourself, you have a husband and children. Are those deep fried onion rings really worth thousands of dollars toward hospital bills and the thought of your family losing its primary caretaker? Now you can pull up to the drive through teller and ask the little speaker box if it knows where the nearest Subway is because you have conquered your need for unhealthy fast food. Don’t let the golden arches confuse you, they are swords to the stomach and the milkshakes will only give you brain freezes. Stay away from that double cheeseburger because it is soaked in oil that leads to high cholesterol and heartburn. Don’t give in to the artificial sweeteners and chocolate because they satisfy you when you have them, but will only make you crash harder. You are stronger than any of the unhealthy products fast food throws your way. If you stay away from them all together, you will no longer have to worry about fast food taking you down. You will come out well figured, healthy, and victorious.

Video games and violence Essay Example for Free

Video games and violence Essay As of the month of March 2013, 208 children have been arrested for violence this year (â€Å"Each Day In America† 1). Could violent video games be to blame? Some say there is a correlation between the two and others say that violent video games are good for a child’s health and well-being. Based on true statistics on a correlation between violence in children and violent video games, all this controversy over violent video games and behavioral problems is wrong. The rise in the video game industry and violence statistics share no direct correlation (Lovell 1). That is because the video games are not the problem. Video games have been on the rise since the 1970’s and has been rising in popularity and size ever since. Violence on the other hand has been rising and falling way before video games started. Even now that video games have taken an enormous step in popularity, violence has been rising and falling way out of correlation with the video game industry. Violent video games have even been proven to hold real-world benefits for children and their developing brains (Trudeau 1). Video games have been tested and proven to improve hand-eye coordination and even attention span. Tests had been done on children who did not play video games and children who did, and the ones who performed the best when it came to tests on coordination, vision, speed, and attention where the children who played video games. Studies have even shown to improve different skills such as receiving and storing new information better and creative idea formation in the ones who play video games. Many people, though, say that violent video games lead to violence in children and adults since the rise of the video game industry. These people have been proven wrong on many accounts by many statistics. Violence has not steadily risen since the rise of the video game industry and video games have also not been formed around violence, but were developed for entertainment and video games also have a wide variety of themes. People have also said that violent people who have publically shown their violence play violent video games and the video games are the cause of that. If that is true then what about all the other people who play violent video games and show no signs of violence what so ever? The controversy over whether violent video games lead to violence or not should not be held at all and this topic should not be in question. Multiple studies have shown that violent video games can be good for you, and an enormous majority of people who play them never do something violent from influence by the games. Recent statistics have even shown that there is no correlation at all to violence and the rise of the video game industry. The cause could be in other things, but video games are being targeted and always have been targeted ever since their popularity grew. The love of video games and inspiration by them has been growing even more despite this blame. Violence is not inspired by video games, but many great things are. Works Cited Childrens Defense Fund. Each Day in America. N. p. , n. d. Web. 27 Mar. 2013. Lovell, Nicholas. If Video Games Cause Violence, There Should Be a Correlation between Game Sales and Violent Crime, Right? Games Brief. N. p. , n. d. 6 Aug. 2010 Web. 27 Mar. 2013 Trudeau, Michelle. Video Games Boost Brain Power, Multitasking Skills. NPR. NPR, 20 Dec. 2010. Web. 27 Mar. 2013.

Study About The Micros Opera Reservation System

Study About The Micros Opera Reservation System Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group is well known as an owner and operator of prestigious hotels in Asia and around the world. Mandarin Oriental Hotel Singapore is a global leader in terms of technology services provided as part of its first-class hospitality. Mandarin Oriental (1), it pays special attention to technologies because there guests demand the most advanced technology services at the hotel. The hotel is planning to introduce new functions in the future while keeping a close watch on the latest Information Technology trends. Mandarin oriental Singapore has the latest and the most advance information technology being used in the hotel industry. According to the study and the data gathered which was not an easy job and to clearly mention the proper information about the information technology being used by Mandarin Oriental hotel are Opera reservation system which helps Mandarin Oriental to have a competitive advantage because of its key features and help them to be a key player in the reservation system in the hotel and on the other hand Mandarin oriental is using Micros Point of sale which helps them to be very close to the customers as Point of sale offers a fully integrated solution for Restaurants, Bars, Clubs and Cafes with tools to help you focus more on customers and with technology, from table management through to fast cash transactions. The other information technology used by the hotel is Open Table Restaurant and Guest management software, Open Table lets us give customers the feeling that, these people know who I am and they care about what I want and what I like and dont like. The Open Table System really helps us because it allows us to track every customer that comes in. All these information technology used by Mandarin oriental helps them to have good competitive advantage and have a better customer oriented hotel and cater all the customers needs, using latest information technology. All the information gathered, the recommendation would be Micros Opera Reservation System as its the advance central reservation system and has lots of key features which make it to have a competitive advantage. 2. Introduction Mandarin Oriental Hotel is one of the leading five star brands well known for its prestigious hotel in Singapore and around the world. It offers personalized service which is based on two key features Legendary Service, and Sense of Place. Mandarin Oriental is also a technology leader in five star hospitality industries, with the latest information technologies to achieve a higher level of service. Mandarin Oriental (1). The goal of Mandarin oriental hotel is to completely delight and satisfy our guests, they are committed to making a difference every day; continually getting better and be the best. Mandarin Oriental (1), Keep the guest happy and satisfied by using the best information technology in the hotel service is the bars, restaurants, in room services, and check in and check out services, all to make guest feel at home, to provide a better deal of service and satisfaction by implementing latest information technology. Mandarin Oriental (1) Mandarin Oriental Hotel one of leaders in terms of information technology services. There are three kinds of information technology which we are focusing on which helps the hotel to have a competitive advantage. Opera reservation system used in checking in and checking out the guest even though this is advance system which helps to provide a better service to the guests, has its own key features which helps it to have competitive advantage. The restaurant (Dolce Vita) is using Micros Point of sale (POS) this technology helps the restaurant to run smooth and in an organized manner even helps them to focus more on customers and with technology. The other system which they are using is Open Table restaurant, this technology helps them to focus on the customers and their needs, demands. Its an Open Table restaurant and Guest management software. These kinds of technology helps to pay special attention towards the demands and needs, even though the guest may be from the financial or entertainment industry, as well as guests who are seeking leisure activities. What ever kind of guest all are looking for a better information technology service they can get. Micros Opera Reservation System (ORS) The Opera Reservation System (ORS) is one of the most advance reservation system which helps easy check in and check out of the guest. It is major technology used in front line of the hotel. ORS easily handles all types of reservations individual, group, party, company, travel agent, and waitlisted According to the research and study done these are the key features of Opera Reservation System. Opera (2) Global Perspective: Opera Reservation system supports all kinds of currency and different languages. Room rates and revenues can be easily converted from the local currency to any other currency to make it easy for the guest. ORS is able to support any language depends on the guest profile. All the information needed such as property, room rate can be displayed in different language. Automatic Rate and Inventory Controls: Opera reservation system lets you set up rate of an individual and for groups. Helps to control inventory and makes inventory management easy and this increases profit. Room rates can be generated on the percentage occupancy. Agents are allowed to use the hotel reservation system to access the best rates for the amount of length of stay order to increase property revenues. Full Reservation Functionality: When agents are making a booking on the Opera reservation system they can easily do multiple operations such as routing instruction, split charges, shared reservations, frequent flyer and loyalty program memberships, negotiated rates, and discounts. Deposit transactions are transferred to room. Efficient Searching: Opera reservation system helps to check for availability on other properties and other chain of hotel. ORS makes the search easier just with some criteria such as property name, location, package, attractions and attractions. Group and Block Features: Managing group and blocking reservations is easy in the Opera reservation system. Room blocking, rooming lists, room sharing, deposits, tour series are handled by Opera reservation system. Multi-Property Rate Display: Opera reservation system can show rates, room types, and packages for one property and for multiple properties at the same time agents can easily query for different dates when the requested dates are not available. Benefits: Easy to learn and user-friendly with a good search engine and helps to enhance revenue. Opera reservation system handles deposits and room blocking. Multi-Property itinerary reservations are handled easily. Global Distribution Interface: Opera reservation system can work together with GDS (Global Distribution System) interface that allows travel agencies to confirm bookings and send the information. These keys features help Opera reservation system to have competitive advantage and make it really advance software technology used in hotels. Disadvantages: Even though Opera Reservation System is one of the advance reservation system it still has its own draw back, while doing night audit ORS is bit slow. ORS can consume time doing the night audit on the other hand Fidelio is faster. Micros Point of Sale (POS) Point of sale is one of the best and better information technology solution which a restaurants, Bars, Clubs and Cafes can have and with tools to help you focus more on customers and with technology, from managing all the tables to fast transactions. Point of sale is helpful to your retail, bar, concierge and snack bars. Point of sale system software will help you to have a better level of control over your business operations, increasing efficiency, profits. Mandarin oriental restaurant are using the point of sale (Dolce Vita) POS (3) The most basic Point of sale system consists of: Computer Cash drawer Receipt printer Monitor Keyboard According to all the research and study done POS has its competitive advantage and key features which helps it to be a more efficient than cash register. POS (3) Requires little training time for the staff Full-colour touch screen provides fast and easy order entry and guest check features Built-in multi-language Personal IDs or magnetic cards, set to control access for people who can make changes quickly Restaurant managers can change menus and prices Add or edit employee information and perform other administrative functions. Quick and easy to install. Minimum disruption to your business flow. Reduces labor costs Prevents loss, Inaccurate orders, leading to waste and revenue loss, no order excepted until put in Micros POS. Eliminate manual errors and helps to see which person has done the mistake so next time he can fix the manual mistake. Serve guests effectively and therefore creates return customers. Allows you to make quick price changes and menu changes from any work station. Accepts major credit cards. Disadvantages: Micros Point of sale is one of the best information technology software, its really user friendly and easy to learn on the other hand it has its own drawbacks. Point of sale some time hangs the system so there is need to be restarting the system and takes time. Problem in reading damaged magnetic strips Some times not compatible to some debit cards even they are Visa or MasterCard, from different part of world. Micros Point of sale Open Table Restaurant and Guest management. Open Table give customers the feeling that, these people know who I am and they care about what I want and what I like and dont like. The Open Table System really helps us because it allows us to track every customer that comes. A customer may not have been in for eight months but we can still say, Hello, Mr. Johnson. Its so nice to see you again. It really helps to have personal service towards the guest and the guest feels obliged towards that kind of service rendered towards him, Open table software helps to do good service with the help of technology towards your customer. With Open Table you dont have to keep it in your head, its all there in front of you and makes your service smooth. Guests are always impressed that were able to recognize them. Open Table improves our guest reservation management process. No matter who takes the reservation, we can now quickly identify regulars. Mandarin Oriental is using Open table as it provides a customized service to its guest. According to the study done by open table the most booked open table restaurants are: Open table (4) Mortons The Steakhouse Singapore MELT ~ The World Cafà © Cherry Garden Dolce Vita These restaurants are operating in Mandarin oriental. Open table (5) The key features that makes Open table have a competitive advantage and makes them a better information technology are Reservation Management Easily enter or change reservations while viewing guest histories Phone numbers, email and mailing addresses Allow blocking and VIP (seat blocking) Reduce no-shows with customer tracking (by calling) Take reservations from your website or Open Table 24 hours a day Table Management Maximize capacity management in seating with walk-in and waitlist. Instantly track covers for more efficient kitchen and server management Increase table turn according to group sitting choice Store multiple reservation and special events Hold and combine tables for large parties Record and view shift notes for each day Guest Management Identify regulars and VIP guests Customer preferences to meet special requests View customer reservation histories Track special occasions such as guest birthdays and anniversaries Marketing Management Track and reward concierge business Accept parking coupons Disadvantages: Open Table restaurant and Guest Management has its key features but has its own drawbacks as well, Open table sometimes hangs the system, whenever there are large functions table assorting is to be done every time to allocate the correct tables to the guest. Changes have to be done before every function according to the covers in the Open Table software. 6. Recommendations According to all the research and study done about the information technology used in Mandarin Oriental, the most successful technology used by them is Micros Opera Reservation system as it gives them a competitive advantage and has major key features which help to be the most advance reservation software, OPERA Reservation System a true centrally managed central reservation system. Even tough it has some draw backs but in long run its a vital information technology used by the hotel. 7. Conclusions Micros plays a major role in the information technology today as it has the best and advance information technology and software which helps hotels to be better, be more advance, provide good service which the guest likes to have. Micros have competitive advantage gained through use of information technology and implementations of information technology system in the hospitality industry make them a market that caters all the different needs of every kind of customer, who needs to be taken care of his or her needs. The technology used by the hotel helps then to gain advantage over their competitors and make them a better place for leisure and business for every person who can relate themselves and their needs. Even though this information technology has draw backs but in long run they sustain and manage well and help them to get good customer response.

Bobber Barons :: Free Essays

The American work ethic is something our country should be proud of. Since the days of George Washington Americans have worked hard for what they believe in, what they need, and what they want. It is our right as Americans to be able to work for these ideals. Without out a strong work ethic our country would crumble. From businessmen to politicians a strong work ethic is necessary to keep our country financially and politically stable.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  People like Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and J.P. Morgan are men who possessed the intellect, the foresight, and most importantly the work ethic to become powerful industrialists. These men displayed their work ethic to the country by being ruthless and tireless. They started something so important that a hundred years later it is still making a huge contribution to our country (Maury Klein pg. 32). What they started was the industrial revolution. Today our country is the most powerful in the world because of our great wealth. This wealth comes from the strength of our industry. â€Å"If thou does not sow, thou does not reap†(Hofstadter Recon.-Present Day pg.79). Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Morgan are the epitome of this statement.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some of these industrialists’ methods may not have been fair. However, unfair acts are not always illegal acts. For the most part these men stayed within the boundaries of the law. In the cruel world we live in it is necessary to be ruthless in your work. There are several people who took their ruthlessness too far and contributed nothing to society but worked only for their own personal fortune. An example of this type of industrialist is Jay Gould (Maury Klein pg. 34). He is a robber baron in the truest sense of the word. However most of the powerful industrialists had financial goals for themselves as well as society. Had Rockefeller not been ruthless in building his railroad empire, our country would not have had as strong a railroad system.

Theodore Geisel :: essays research papers fc

Theodore Geisel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts on March 2, 1904. He graduated from Dartmouth in 1925, with a BA in English literature. He went to Europe after to study at Oxford. He then went to Sorbonne and then to the University of Vienna. He planned on getting a doctorate in literature, but the experience was less than ideal so he returned to the United States. (LeBeau 20)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1927 Geisel married Helen Palmer who was a classmate of his from Oxford. She was also a children’s author, until her death in 1967. (Diehl 169)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Theodore started working for a magazine, Judge, in 1927. He worked there doing cartoons and humorous ads for them. He was also submitting his work to other magazines such as Life, Vanity Fair, and Liberty. In his ads he made a reference to an insecticide called Flit, which were noticed and led to a tight contract to draw ads for Flit. The contract said he couldn’t do anything else. In his ad he used the saying â€Å"Quick Henry, The Flit!†. He did that for 17 years, which gained him national exposure. He only did that in the summer though, since insecticide is a seasonal thing. He went to an attorney and found that the only thing his contract didn’t forbid him to do was children’s books. (Diehl171)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Geisel’s first children’s book came about in 1936 when he was on vacation in Europe. He was listening to the rhythm of the ship’s engines, he came up with â€Å"And to think I saw it on Mulberry Street.† It was rejected by 43 publishers that he showed it to. Eventually a friend published it for him and it went on to at least moderate success. (Morgan 43)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During World War II he joined the army and was sent to Hollywood. Captain Geisel would write for Frank Capra’s Signal Corps Unit, which he won the Legion of Merit for. He also did documentaries such as Hitler Lives and Design for Death, which won him an Oscar. He worked on the 5,000 Fingers of Mr. T., which was something that he didn’t enjoy. Geisel also created General Mc-Boing Boing while he was in Hollywood, he sold it to UPA. John Hulbey designed and won an Academy award for it. Theodore won an Oscar for it, though he had little to no part in General Mc-Boing Boing. (Diehl 172)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In May 1954, Life magazine published an article about illiteracy among school

Marketing Management’s Ability to Develop Essay

Main Forces in the Organisation’s Macroenvironment Macroenvironment: The larger societal forces that affect the whole microenvironment. – The organisation and its microenvironment operate in a larg macroenvironment of forces that shape opportunities and pose threats to the organisation. The organisation must carefully watch and respond to these forces. The macro environment comprises of six main forces: 1. Demographic Forces: Demography is the study of human populations in terms size, density, location, age, sex, race, occupation and other statistics. The organisa my group discussed was McDonalds. The points we come up with involving demographic forces were:- As Australia has an aging population McDonalds co better tailor products this. – As Australia is and is becoming more ofa multi cult society McDonalds need to be aware of the ethnic diversity in each region. 2. Economic Forces: The economic environment consists of factors that affect consumer buying power and spending patterns. Markets require buying power a well as people. Total buying power depends on current income, prices, savings an credit. Marketers should be aware of major trends in income and changing consu spending patterns. A range of products to meet all levels of income would be advantageous especially considering the recent global financial crisis where consumer spending was dramatically reduced. 3. Natural Forces

Training and Development Paper

Training is an essential part of any field without which even a qualified person cannot contribute effectively to an organization. It is important to evaluate every kind of training in order to determine whether it is producing the desired goals or it needs to be improved. Evaluation mostly involves getting ongoing feedback from the learner, trainer and supervisor so that there is continuous improvement in the quality and quantity. The different ways through which training can be evaluated are as follows: · Effectiveness of training can be measured through employee performance evaluations which are carried out from time to time as a regular appraisal process. The impact of training can be known by evaluating employee’s performance and training can be altered if necessary. · Training also has impact on business performance therefore evaluating business performance through sales, production costs, output, absenteeism, and turnover. Business performance can also be evaluated through qualitative improvements like quality of products and services, customer satisfaction achieved through superior customer service and greater innovation. · The most useful way is through employee feedback. Employees should be asked directly that if the training was according to their expertise and expectations, what have they learnt and how will they put the training into action, can the training be improved so that it better work etc. Employees might hesitate to give responses face to face therefore, training assessment or evaluation forms can be used for this purpose. · Finally, observation can also be a useful technique for evaluation the effectiveness of the training. Observation should be according to the objective of the training. If the training’s purpose was to enhance the communication skills of the employees then it can be observed how employees communicate with each other and with their customers in order to determine the training effectiveness.Training should be treated as a necessity in the organizations and therefore, it should be continuously reinforced and sustained so that the employees can always show better performance than before. Training should be ongoing in order to sustain the performance of the learners. In order to accomplish this training should be never stopped instead it should be properly evaluated and improved from time to time.There will not come any time when employees don’t need training because the business environment is continuously changing which require different abilities and skills at different times. Therefore, continuous training is the right way to sustain and reinforce better performance. Another way is support from the top management. When the superiors support their subordinates in acquiring knowledge then training can be reinforced. Thus, providing training is not the end instead sustaining and reinforcing it is also critical to ensure its effectiveness.REFERENCESBramley, P. (1991). Evalu ating Training Effectiveness: Translating Theory into Practice. New York: McGraw-Hill.

The Traditional Costing Systems Accounting Essay

Activity-based costing emphasizes the demand to obtain a better apprehension of the behaviour of operating expense costs, and therefore ascertains what causes overhead costs and how they relate to merchandises. ABC recognizes that in long tally, most fabrication costs are non fixed, and it seeks to understand the forces that cause overhead costs to alter over clip. ( Colin Drury, 1995 p. 275 ) The definition of accounting supplied by Zlatkovich, et. Al. ( 1966 ) is the procedure of identifying, measurement, and pass oning economic information to license informed opinions and determinations by users of the information. ABC besides can be defined as a method of bing activities that are necessary for the production of merchandises or services ( i.e. activities being undertaken ) ( Dandago, 2003 ) . Whatever the definition of ABC, this method was originally developed by Cooper and Kaplan in 1988 as a solution to the insufficiency of traditional direction accounting techniques that used volume based methods to apportion operating expenses to merchandises. ABC is a method of apportioning overhead costs. Eventhough, it is similar to the direct method of overhead costs allotment found in traditional method, but there are two important different. In the traditional direct method, overhead costs are identified by service and production sections while in ABC operating expense costs are identified by activities which likely non the same as sections. In the traditional direct method, service section costs are allocated straight to production sections and so overhead allotment rates are prepared from these combined costs. Overhead costs are so assigned from the production section cost pool to the merchandises processed through this section. The different with ABC method this intermediate measure has been eliminated. Overhead costs are collected by activity and so straight allocated straight to the merchandise. In traditional method direct, the cost object is the terminal merchandise or service. And the premier costs and production costs are charged straight to merchandise or service whereas non-production costs will non bear down to merchandise or service. There are five ( 5 ) chief advantages of following ABC methods are:Accurate InformationABC offers more accurate estimations. Businesss typically have to compare an point ‘s monetary value and merchandising record to see if it is deserving bring forthing, and one of the benefits of ABC is better analysis of both profitable and non-profitable merchandises. Overhead costs can be a major job with some merchandises, but this method will place the costs and helps cut down operating expense. Directors frequently can work better under this costing method, because they have more accurate information.Accurate Product-Creation CostAnother benefit of ABC method is a more accurate product-creation cost. By following this bing method, analysts can calculate out the per-product cost and, therefore, more realistic prosodies are used for appraisal.Competitive PlacementABC is helpful in choosing which merchandises are profitable and which 1s should be eliminated. If a merchandise is identified a s non-profitable, the concerns seldom continuously sell a merchandise. This is because the ABC method enables the concerns to find more accurate merchandise pricing and therefore competitory placement of the merchandise in the market place.Better Decision MakingSince ABC provide accurate information on costs, more appropriate capital investing determinations can be made as a consequence of better burdening being determined on assorted facets.Future PlaningABC helps the concerns estimates the cost of all activities or processes that associated to future merchandise planning accurately determined before it is launched. This can so assist with finding pricing, and any associated outgo. By implementing ABC method, the concerns besides could place which production line is inefficiently. This enables the concerns to make up one's mind whether to go on the procedure or activity in-house or outsourcing the procedure or activity to 3rd party. Despite the advantages of implementing ABC, the method besides has disadvantages and restriction. The disadvantages of the method are elaborated in the following paragraph.ComplexityThe most obvious disadvantage of ABC is complexness in nature. It prevents the system to widespread into other companies. This ensuing the ABC methods normally remain hard to grok and dearly-won to run. ABC requires direction to non merely estimate the costs of each activities and identify and step the cost drivers for such activities, but besides update the same on a regular footing. This utilise much of the organisation ‘s resources such as direction clip and cost. slide 3 of 6PremisesABC while it institutes a complex methodological analysis to delegate costs to activities, the method remains far from perfect. The major defects include: Certain overhead costs remain impossible to split and apportion on a per-product usage footing. Not all productive activities will add value to merchandises. Most activity based bing methods assign such ‘business prolonging ‘ costs to merchandises on a proportionate footing or based on premises, and this makes the method far from perfect. slide 4 of 6The Big PictureABC places excessively much attending to detail and command on procedures. This causes a terrible restraint in that it obscures the bigger image by doing the organisation to lose sight of strategic long term aims in a pursuit for short term nest eggs. slide 5 of 6Confirmation to StandardsThis method, while supplying for better direction control over the concern procedure, does non conform to by and large recognized accounting rules ( GAAP ) . This means that for the companies that practising GAAP demand to duplicate their attempts by keeping two cost systems and separate accounting books for internal usage and external studies.Replacing ProcedureFinally, ABC method does non replace an bing occupation order or procedure cost system, but instead supplement the same. Indirectly, this will be seen as excess procedure. Eventhough the method has disadvantages ; it has proven that it still taking method to bring forth the most dependable, accurate bing information particularly for fabricating companies today. Although this method may non be easy to implement, since it utilizing activities to follow costs but it provides more accurate information ensuing in better scheme, better planning, and better prediction. However, the most influential facet of ABC is the ability to salvage cost. If company has a more accurate image of costs, so it is in a place to accomplish higher net incomes which straight maximize the stockholder wealth.Case StudiesThe following paragraph discussed on the execution of the ABC method in four ( 4 ) different states with different civilization and industries. The analysis was based on the research documents conducted in these states. The first research paper by Wen-Hsien Tsai and Jui-Ling Hsu. The survey was carried out to analyse the operational costs of a hot spring hostel in the Yang-Ming-Shan country of Taiwan. The ABC method was used to calculate housing, hot spring usage and repast helping costs per client. Based on the consequence of the research, it was reported that the cost of merchandises was lower than utilizing other methods eventhough during winter season. The research worker besides compares the ABC method with the traditional costing method and concludes that the ABC method is practical and appropriate for such a hot spring state hostel and outputs more accurate information for cost direction and pricing determinations. The following research paper was carried out by Ahmet Agca and Ali Cagri Buran in implementing ABC method in Third Party Logistics ( 3PL ) houses at Turkey. This survey was carried out for selected endeavors that are expertise in logistic activities at Turkey. The successful factors for these houses are the service they provide and accommodating their clients to their procedures in an optimum manner. The 3PL houses can plan their services in a two different manner to run into their clients ‘ outlooks i.e. service-oriented and customer-oriented. By following ABC, it shown that either service-oriented or customer-oriented, both theoretical accounts need to find the optimal cost degree for accurate pricing determinations to enable them to find the profitableness of clients or services. Therefore, the bing method they use need to be qualified adequate to run into the demand for accurate cost informations. The houses have found out that, ABC method has proved the optimum method in both state of affairss. As this method allocates costs by the activities ; so, it is the method supplying the most accurate cost informations both in bing logistic activities and finding the costs of clients and services/products. The 3rd research paper was carried out by Francesca Bartolacci for logistic procedure in Italy. In this instance survey, Francesca defined logistics as portion of the supply concatenation procedure that plans, implements and controls the effectual and efficient flow of goods, services and related information from the point of beginning to the point of ingestion. Nowadays, the market really competitory, the merchandises, monetary value and quality are easy imitated and the velocity of the physical and information flows plays a cardinal function for the accomplishment of the company objectives. Excellence client service can be the cardinal component for the company to be at the competitory border and one of the maps evidently plays a critical function in the success or failure of a company is logistic. Eventhough Francesca Bartolacci has identified some disadvantages and drawback in implementing the ABC method in logistic, nevertheless ABC method has references to work out the jobs refering the usage of traditional cost accounting system based on volume and the betterment of concern profitableness. The method provides directors with utile information about labor and other resources, including ingestion for merchandises, consumers and providing channels, taking to the direction and control of the operating expenses nowadays in the company. The analysis besides managed to place the factors that determine the operating expense consumed. By following this method it is possible to do the logistics activities more efficient by extinguishing redundant or unneeded undertakings, and optimizing resource allotments to activities adding more value to the merchandise or client. Other advantage of the method is, ABC permits the planning of more efficient collaborative relationships among the companies in the supply concatenation. Francesca concludes that â€Å" the designation of costs in return influenced allows for a pick of coactions as a method which is more convenient for the whole partnership. Correct information about the differential costs originating from possible change of the coaction relationships aid companies to do those appropriate strategic determinations with their logistics activities. This in bend helps them gain, with other companies, how best to modify the object of the cooperation in order to do the whole supply concatenation more competitory † . The concluding research paper was analysing the consequences of following of ABC methods in service sectors at United State of America by Ashford C. Chea. It was reported that the acceptance of ABC to efficaciously apportion resources and to find monetary values was the primary aim in the instance of a big regional bank. Previously, the bank had no clear manner to be services or find how resources were being consumed by different activities. In add-on, since some of the clients were related parties, the bank wished to demo that the charges being made to them were effort-and-use-based, i.e. , there was a direct correlativity between the nature of service provided and the charge for this service. ABC method assisted the bank to turn to both i.e. internal pricing and strategic pricing. For planetary insurance company, the determination to follow ABC method simply for revenue enhancement intents. The method was adopted to find its allotment methodological analysis for external transportation pricing intents. This is because the company wanted to guarantee that its charges to its abroad affiliates were accurate and defendable to revenue enhancement governments. By following ABC, the company ensured that the services provided to all abroad affiliates were tracked through the ABC systems, ensuing in charges straight related to the economic benefit received by the receiver. As a consequence, the company was able to take down its effectual revenue enhancement rate.DecisionABC was introduced in the 1920 ‘s and over period of clip the method continually bettering. As shown in four ( 4 ) instance surveies, ABC is non merely allow for usage in a fabrication environment ; it is besides reported to be most appropriate for service organisations such as fiscal establishmen ts, the health care industry, and authorities organisations. In fact, some banking and fiscal establishments have been using the construct for old ages under other names. One of them is unit costing, which is used to cipher the cost of banking services by finding the cost and ingestion of each unit of end product of maps required to present the service.

Erving Goffman The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life Essay

Erving Goffman has completed a wonderful presentation of human behaviour and face-to-face interactions, of a first meeting between two people, who may or may not have an audience. The use of a theatrical performance to explain the interaction was indeed an ingenious idea that kept me intrigued until the very end. This book was written in 1959 but its referencing to human behaviour is still very much relevant to today’s life style. Human behaviour patterns have been written about by many individuals over the years, why we do the things we do or how long we have been undertaking these behaviours. Is there any relevance to the patterns in our behaviour? It would seem there definitely appears to be. As a society, to influence how another person perceives who we are. We give appearances and refinements of someone we want people to see, yet not particularly who we truly are. Goffman describes this as a performance, a play that we put on to give a good first impression. This play could become a nightmare, if we do not keep it under control. It can be difficult to play the part of someone you are not, for the reason that it can rebound on you. It is better to persist with who you are, and not reveal all of yourself in the beginning, like a good story. To present who we are, we should start at the foundation, begin with presenting an opening act. This act should be near to true life, the person you would like to be known as. Currently a person of importance gives the impression that they know what they are doing, example your doctor. If they were a person who, on first meeting gave the impression that they were unsure, confused and unconfident, would you go back to them? No, perhaps not. Even when they are having a bad day your doctor will always appear to be in control, so that we feel more at ease. When we first meet new people we try to acquire information about them, it is then how the person delivers this information, that we base our assumptions. People give information verbally and non-verbally by expressions, movements, gestures and other presumably unintentional communications, like a slight smile. Our brain takes all this information into consideration then makes a personal judgment based on the material it collects. There is so much information for us to collect and make our decision on, that we sometimes need a second meeting to be able to make a correct judgement on a particular person we have meet. Goffman concludes that his own assumptions are made upon a face-to-face interaction and the result of an encounter, the performance that is given to each particular participant and their performance as a basic point of reference. In conclusion, Goffmans writings clearly represent how we present ourselves in everyday life today, and possibly well into the future. References Erving, Goffman (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, New York, Anchor Books, pp. 1-16.

Air Pollution in Malaysia

In the fourteenth and fifteenth century, British tax assessors used ownership or occupancy of property to estimate a taxpayer’s ability to pay. In time the tax came to be regarded as a tax on the property itself. In the United Kingdom the tax developed into a system of rates based on the annual (rental) value of property. The growth of the property tax in America was closely related to economic and political conditions on the frontier. In pre-commercial agricultural areas the property tax was a feasible source of local government revenue and equal taxation of wealth was consistent with the prevailing equalitarian ideology. When the Revolutionary War began, the colonies had well-developed tax systems that made a war against the world’s leading military power thinkable. The tax structure varied from colony to colony, but five kinds of taxes were widely used. Capitation (poll) taxes were levied at a fixed rate on all adult males and sometimes on slaves. Property taxes were usually specific taxes levied at fixed rates on enumerated items, but sometimes items were taxed according to value. Faculty taxes were levied on the faculty or earning capacity of persons following certain trades or having certain skills. Tariffs (imposts) were levied on goods imported or exported and excises were levied on consumption goods, especially liquor. -1- During the war colonial tax rates increased several fold and taxation became a matter of heated debate and some violence. Settlers far from markets complained that taxing land on a per-acre basis was unfair and demanded that property taxation be based on value. In the southern colonies light land taxes and heavy poll taxes favored wealthy landowners. In some cases, changes in the tax system caused the wealthy to complain. In New York wealthy leaders saw the excess profits tax, which had been levied on war profits, as a dangerous example of leveling tendencies. Owners of intangible property in New Jersey saw the tax on intangible property in a similar light. By the end of the war, it was obvious that the concept of equality so eloquently stated in the Declaration of Independence had far-reaching implications. Wealthy leaders and ordinary men pondered the meaning of equality and asked its implications for taxation. The leaders often saw little connection among independence, political equality, and the tax system, but many ordinary men saw an opportunity to demand changes. MALAYSIA TAXATION The property tax is a compulsory contribution to be paid by the taxpayer, where the taxpayer in return will receive benefits from the local authorities in the form of tangible and intangible services, community facilities, infrastructures and development projects for their enjoyment . In the context of property tax, enforcement of the tax is intended as a tool to drive the development of areas administered by local authorities. Property tax imposed on the taxpayer is given back by local authorities in the form of services in their respective administrative areas. The imposition of property tax is related to the role of local authorities in developing the area and providing the necessary services and facilities. According to Section 127 to section 163 of the Local Government Act 1976, local authorities are empowered to impose property tax on property owners to carry out the functions and roles of local authorities as an organization which has autonomy over the local populace. The local authorities should ensure that the management of tax collection can be implemented effectively in the development process and services provided appropriately . -2- Local authorities have important responsibilities in carrying out their functions and roles, especially in property tax management to ensure the welfare and amenity of residents can be realized. If the local authority is weak and incompetent in handling the management of the property tax it would certainly affect the results of tax collection which is to be used as financing development projects and services provided. In addition, the arrears in property taxes will increase due to poor management and will burden the local authorities. This will have an impact on the quality of work and services performed. The prevalent issue of lower tax revenue in local authorities throughout the country continues to pose a very serious predicament. Complete procedures which have been established in the provisions of the Act will guide local authorities in managing the property tax but the property tax collection performance is still under unsatisfactory level. For example, according to the Economic Report of the Ministry of Finance, revenue of the collection performance in local authorities throughout the country showed a worrying decline in the rate of decrease of 11. 7% recorded in 2007 and 0. 3% in 2008. The implications of the tax reduction has resulted in a deficit spending of RM75 million and RM1,179 million in 2007 and 2008 due to the higher prevailing costs. Collection of property tax revenue statistics generally show the majority of Malaysian local authorities collect property tax of less than 70% of the total taxable amount, while for the collection of property tax arrears show only within 30%-50%. As an example, local authorities in the state of Johor and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (Dewan Bandar Raya Kuala Lumpur, DBKL) showed that the amount of property tax arrears recorded amounted to about RM168 million and RM435 million in 2009 and this is certainly an issue of concern. This depicts the overall situation of property tax performance of local authorities in Malaysia which is in a poor condition and has not reach a satisfactory level, where the country’s agenda has set the target and vision to encompass about 70% of communities in Malaysia will be living in municipal areas in the year of 2020. -3- TYPES OF PROPERTY TAX IN MALAYSIA Tax on property was introduced in 1974 under the Land Speculation Tax Act. This was subsequently replaced with the Real Property Gains Tax Act in November 1975. Although in existence since the mid-70s, the Government pro-actively adjusted the rates of the RPGT through the years to cater to the property market conditions. It’s natural for most people to react to the reintroduction of RPGT, having enjoyed full exemption for a few years previously, however, compared to the original rates of RPGT which range up to 30%, the recent hike of up to 10% is actually quite mild. There are several types of property tax in Malaysia and they are as follows . A) Assessment tax B) Quit rent C) Capital gain tax D) Inheritance tax E) Others tax A) ASSESSMENT TAX : Assessment tax is a type of local tax which is only applicable on the residential property. Rate of assessment tax is based on the yearly rental amount of the property on rent. This tax is assessed by the local authorities. Rules and regulations of the assessment tax are as follows : Usually assessment tax has a flat value of 6%. This assessment tax is to be paid in two installments. The scope of taxation are for a resident individual is assessable on income derived from sources in Malaysia and income received in Malaysia from outside Malaysia. W. e. f. Y/A 2004 income remitted into Malaysia from overseas by a resident individual, a trust body, a cooperative and a Hindu Joint Family is exempted from income tax. Second, for non-resident individual is assessable only on income derived from sources in Malaysia. -4- Third, for a resident company is assessable on income derived from Malaysia and ncome remitted to Malaysia from sources outside Malaysia. Starting Year of Assessment 1995 onwards only income derived from Malaysia are taxable. Banking, insurance, shipping and air transport businesses are taxed on world income scope. The Imputation Systems is applicable. Fourth, for a non-resident company is liable to Malaysian tax when it carries on a business through a permanent establishment in Malaysia and is assessable on income derived only from sources within Malay sia. There have two types of resident status : ) First, the resident status of individuals : For tax purposes, the tax residence status is determined by the duration of stay in Malaysia, and is not bound by reference to the nationality or citizenship. If a person stays in Malaysia for at least 182 days (not necessarily consecutive) in a calendar year, he would be treated as a resident. However, there are other conditions where the individual can be treated as a resident even if he stays for less than 182 days. An individual is resident in Malaysia in the basis year of assessment if he: is in Malaysia for not less than 182 days in the relevant basis year, is in Malaysia for a period of less than 182 days in the basis year and that period is linked to another period where he is continuously in Malaysia for not less than 182 days immediately before or after the relevant basis year. Where temporary absence occur, the period of temporary absence can be taken to form part of such period, where he is in Malaysia, immediately prior to or after the temporary absence, -5- is in Malaysia for not less than 90 days (need not be consecutive) in the asis year and is resident or has been in Malaysia for 90 days or more in 3 out of the 4 preceding years of assessment; or has not been in Malaysia in the relevant basis year but he is deemed to be resident in Malaysia in the relevant basis year if he is resident in Malaysia in the following basis year and also in the each of the 3 basis year immediately preceding the relevant basis year . Example 1: Resident Status John arrived in Malaysia on 1. 4. 2003 and stayed on until 15. 11. 2003 (total 229 days). Hence, John is resident for the year of assessment 2003 since he stayed in Malaysia for more than 182 days in the year 2003. ) Second, the resident status of companies : A company is deemed to be resident if at any time during a basis year for a Year of Assessment, the management and control of its business is exercised in Mala ysia. -6- B) QUIT RENT : Quit rent is also a type of local tax. Quit rent tax in imposes on all types of landed properties. This tax is payable annually. The rate of quit tax is 0. 003 to 0. 006 US dollars per square foot. Liability of this quit rent tax is usually figures less than 31 US dollars . Stamp duty for the transfer of the real property of RM 250,000 value is now halved. This new benefit on stamp duties was allowed on the 2008 budget. Stamp duty tax is one of the important Malaysia property taxes applicable within the country. For comparison, the stamp duties within the year 2007 and 2008 are given bellow. PRICE STAMP RM 250,000 RM 150,000 RM 350,000 STAMP DUTY IN 2007 RM 4,500 RM 2,000 RM 6,000 STAMP DUTY IN 2008 RM 2,250 (-50%) RM 1,000 (-50%) RM 6,000 (UNCHANGED) C) CAPITAL GAIN TAX : Capital gains tax is not applicable any type of income. Capital Gains tax was abolished on first April 2007. This relaxation also includes Malaysia real estate capital gains tax on all types of properties. Previously Capital Gains Tax was called Real Property Gains Tax and was applicable on the foreigners only. These Capital Gains Taxes had a direct value of 30% on all the income gains due to disposal of the property during period of five years. In this way RPGT becomes 5% thereafter. The 2012 Budget unveiled on 7 October 2011 included a revision of the Real -7- Property Gains Tax (RPGT) rate from the 5% to 10% as part of the Government’s efforts to curb property speculation. The increase was recently gazetted and took effect from 1 January 2012 onwards. Jennifer Chang studies the impact of this move on property purchasers. The rate of 10% applies to gains on properties held and disposed within two years while gains on properties held and disposed between two and five years will be levied a 5% RPGT rate and disposals after five years continue to be exempted from RPGT. RPGT is a form of capital gains tax that is chargeable on gains arising from the disposal of real property, which is defined as: †¢ Any land situated in Malaysia and any interest, option or other right in or over such land; †¢ Shares in a real property company. Anyone disposing of real property in Malaysia whether a resident or non-resident will be charged RPGT on the gains. D) INHERITANCE TAX Inheritance Tax is not assigned in Malaysia. E) OTHER TAXES VAT tax is not charged in Malaysia. On the other hand, government sale tax is charged. The value of 5% GST is assigned on all the hotel and restaurant bills. GST is also charged on other professional bills including lawyer’s bills. -8- INCOME CHARGEABLE TO TAX : ? Gains or profits from a business for whatever period of time carried on. ? Gains or profits from an employment. ? Dividends, Interests or Discounts. Rents, Royalties or Premiums. ? Pensions, annuities or other periodical payments not falling under any of the foregoing paragraphs. ? Gains or profits not falling under any of the foregoing paragraphs. ? Special classes of income. TAX EXEMPTIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS 1. Leave passages within Malaysia not exceeding three times on a year and one leave passage outside Malaysia not excee ding RM3000 2. Medical and dental benefit. 3. Retirement gratuity The full amount of gratuity received by an employee on retirement from employment is exempt if: i. He retires due to ill health; ii. He is an employee in the public sector who has opted for optional retirement or on termination of a contract of employment; or iii. If he retires at the age of 55 or at the compulsory age of retirement under any written law provided that he has been in the service of the same employer or with companies in the same group, for at least 10 years -9- 4. Compensation For loss Of Employment Compensation payment received by an employee for the loss of employment is exempt from tax at a sum of RM6, 000 per completed year of service with the same employer or with companies in the same group. However, the compensation payment received by an employee will be fully exempted from tax if the loss of employment is due to ill health. The tax exemption of RM6,000 per completed year of service is not given in respect of the compensation received by a director (not being a service director) of a controlled company. 5. Pensions Pensions received by an individual are exempt under the following conditions: I. He retires at the age of 55 or at the compulsory age of retirement under any written law; or II. He retires due to ill health For an employee in the public sector who elects for optional retirement, his pension will be taxed until he attains the age of 55 or the compulsory age of retirement under any written law. Where an individual receives more than one pension, the exemption is restricted to the highest pension received by him 6. Death gratuities. 7. Scholarships. 8. Income of an individual resident in Malaysia in respect of his appearances in cultural performances approved by the Minister. 10 9. Interests An individual resident in Malaysia is exempt from tax in espect of the interest received from the following savings or investments:- i. Interest that accrues in respect of any savings deposited with Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN). ii. Interest or bonus which accrues in respect of money deposited with Bank Simpanan Nasional under the Save as You Earn scheme. iii. Interest which accrues on savings deposits of up to RM100, 000 with a registered cooperative society, Bank Pertan ian Malaysia, Malaysia Building Society Berhad, Borneo Housing Mortgage Finance Bhd, or with any other institution approved by the Minister of Finance. v. Bonus which accrues in respect of money deposits in any savings account with Lembaga Tabung Haji. v. Interest which accrues on savings deposits of up to RM100,000 with a bank or finance company licensed under the Banking and Financial Institutions Act 1989 (BAFIA 1989). vi. Interest which accrues in respect of any fixed deposits account (including negotiable certificates of deposits) of up to RM100,000 for a period not exceeding twelve months with Bank Pertanian Malaysia, Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia Bhg. Bank Simpanan Nasional, Borneo Housing Mortgage Finance Bhd. , Malaysia Building Society Bhd. , or a Bank of finance company licensed under BAFIA 1989. 11 vii. Interest which accrues in respect of any fixed deposit account (including negotiable certificates of deposits) for a period exceeding twelve months with Bank Pertanian Malaysia, Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia Bhd. , Bank Simpanan Nasional, Borneo Housing Mortgage Finance Bhd. , Malaysia Building Society Bhd. , or a bank or finance company licensed under BAFIA 1989. viii. Gains or profits which accrues on deposits of up to RM100,000 in respect of money deposited in any savings account under the interest-Free Banking Scheme (IFBS) with a bank or finance company licensed under BAFIA 1989 or the Islamic Banking Act 1983, Bank Kerjasama Rakyat and Bank Simpanan Nasional. ix. Gains or profits which accrues in respects of money deposited in any investment account of up to RM100,000 for a period not exceeding twelve months with a bank or finance company licensed under BAFIA 1989 or the Islamic Banking Act 1983, Bank Kerjasama Rakyat and Bank Simpanan Nasional. x. Gains or profits which accrue in respect of money deposited in any investment account for a period of twelve month of more under the interest Free Banking Scheme with a bank or finance company licensed under BAFIA 1989 or the Islamic Banking Act 1983. xi. Gains or profits which accrue in respect of money deposits in any investment account under the interest Free Banking Scheme of up to RM100,000for a period of twelve months or more with Bank Kerjasama Rakyat and Bank Simpanan Nasional. 12 xii. Interest from securities or bonds issued or guaranteed by the Malaysian Government. xiii. Interest from debenture (other than convertible loan stock) approved by the Securities Commission. xiv. Interest earned from Bon Simpanan Malaysia issued by the Bank Negara Malaysia. xv. Interest earned from the Merdeka Bonds issued by the Bank Negara Malaysia (effective year of assessment 2004). xvi. Interest earned from a unit trust which is derived from Malaysia and paid or credited by any bank or financial institution licensed under the Banking and Financial Institution Act 1989 (BAFIA 1989) or the Islamic Banking Act 1983. 10. Dividends The following dividends are exempt formed tax: I. Dividends received from exempt accounts of companies. II. Dividends received from cooperative societies. III. Dividends received from a unit trust approved by the Minister of Finance such as Amanah Saham Bumiputra. IV. Dividends received from a unit trust approved by the Minister of Finance where 90% or more of the investment is in government securities. 13 11. Royalties An individual resident in Malaysia is exempt from tax in respect of royalties are as follows: Types of Services/ Amount per annum art works payment for to be exempted (RM) i. Artistic work (other than original paintings) 6,000 ii. Recording discs or tapes 6,000 iii. Translation upon request by any agency a) of the Ministry of Education or Attomey b) General Chambers 12,000 iv. Literary work or original painting 20,000 v. Musical composition 20,000 vi. Cultural performances Approval by Minister However, the exemption does not apply to paragraph (iii), (v) and (vi), if the payment received forms part of his emoluments in the exercise of the individuals official duties. 12. Income Remitted from Outside Malaysia With effect from the year of assessment 2004, income derived from outside Malaysia and received in Malaysia by resident individual is exempted from tax. 3. Fees or Honorarium for Expert Services With effect from the year of assessment 2004, fees or honorarium received by an individual in respect of services provided for purposes of validation, moderation or accreditation of franchised education programs in higher educational institutions is exempted. The services provided by an individual concerned have to be verified and acknowledged by the Lembaga Akreditasi Negara (LAN). However, the exemption does not apply if the payment received forms part of his emoluments in the exercise of his official duties. 14 14. Income Derived from Research Findings With effect from the year of assessment 2004, income received by an individual from the commercialization of the scientific research finding is given tax exemption of 50% on the statutory income in the basis year for a year of assessment for 5 years from the date the payment is made. The individual scientist who received the said payment must be a citizen and a resident in Malaysia. The commercialized research findings must be verified by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment. NOTIFICATION OF CHARGEABILITY TO TAX If an individual is taxable and has never received any income tax return form before, he has a duty to notify chargeability to the nearest LHDNM office and request for an Income Tax Return Form. If an individual already has an income tax file but has not receive an income tax return form by 31st March, he must immediately request for the said form from the LHDNM office which issued his last income tax return form. A taxpayer could also download an income tax return form from the LHDNM website http://www. hasil. rg. my. He must then complete and submit the return to the LHDNM office using the address where his income tax file is situated. In the case of a foreigner employed in this country he must give notice of chargeability to the nearest LHDNM office within 2 months of arrival in Malaysia. 15 FILING OF TAX RETURN The completed and signed Income Tax Return is substituted to LHDNM office before or by the required date, and the completed tax retu rn should be sent to the address of LHDNM office indicated on the said form. NON-RESIDENT CITIZEN RELIEF 1. Non-Resident Citizen Relief shall be allowed to an individual who is a citizen but not resident for the basis year for a year of assessment by reason of his employment (in the public services or the services of a statutory authority) which is exercised outside Malaysia 2. An individual who is claiming relief under this provision, should make his claim in the prescribed form and should furnish such further particulars as may be required by the LHDNM. TEMPORARY VISITORS PROFESSIONAL VISIT PASS All non-residents entering Malaysia using professional visit passes (excluding public entertainers) are categorized as temporary visitors. A sponsor for a temporary visitor is required to submit a letter of notification from the LHDNM to the Immigration Department when applying for a professional visit pass. The sponsor should make a written application to the LHDNM providing personal details of the temporary visitor and also submit a copy of the contract / offer letter or other relevant documents. The application for the letter of notification has to be made to: Director, Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia, Non-Resident Branch, Unit 11 (NR/IV),10th 11th Floor, Block 11, Government Office Complex, Jalan Duta, 50600 Kuala Lumpur . 16 IMPUTATION SYSTEM The income tax chargeable on a resident company is credited into a tax account which can be utilized to frank payment of dividends to shareholders. Income tax paid by a company is imputed to the shareholders by means of imputation credits attached to dividends. Where the franking of payment of dividends exceeds the tax credit available in the tax account, the deficit become s a debt due which is payable by the company upon requisition. The imputation system does not apply to a non-resident company and such companies are not subject to dividend franking. WHY MALAYSIA’S GOVERNMENT IMPOSE PROPERTY TAX ? MALAYSIA’ We take RPGT as one of property tax that government imposed in Malaysia . There are many reasons why RPGT is imposed . One of the more significant reasons why the government imposes this tax is to curb property speculation to avoid property bubbles forming . From time to time, the government may decide to increase or decrease RPGT to suit their agenda e. g. they could reduce RPGT to encourage investments (this actually happened between 1 April 2007 – 31 December 2009 where property transactions during this period were exempted from RPGT to spur investments) . The other obvious reason is that RPGT is a source of revenue for the government to develop the nation . WHO PAY THE PROPERTY TAX 1) Resident in Malaysia 2) Non-Resident who live in Malaysia and have assets 3) Companies that operating in Malaysia 17 TREND OF PROPERTY TAX IN MALAYSIA Diagram below shows the trends of the property tax in Malaysia from 1974 up to 2012 . Due to amendment that are made in the budget 2013, there are changes that are happening in the RPGT rate where there is an increase in the amounts of tax eing imposed . This changes that are made are due to the facts to reduce the factor of speculation that are making the price of land and houses to increase rapidly . 18 IMPACTS OF RPGT According to property consultant and analysts, the hike increase of Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT) in the budget 2013 will have very little impact . The increase of RPGT from 10% to 15% will barely give any impacts on the speculation even though the reason for the increase of tax are f or the purpose of solving speculation on houses . Reason as to why there barely any impact or little impact from the increase on RPGT tax rate are due to the facts that, the time taken for houses to be completed upon buying are 2 to 3 years and when the house are finish and ready to be live in or sold, its already 4 or 5 years and the rate of RPGT tax are already little as the periods of RPGT tax covers are only up to 6 years maximize . Taking that into consideration plus the fact that the price of houses are keep on rising, the impact that RPGT are very little . CONCLUSION The property tax in Malaysia can be consider as in the testing period as it just currently being reimposed . Which means that, the current rate of RPGT will change in the near future due to the rising trends of property in Malaysia especially in the housing sectors . The RPGT tax rate can be consider as a tool to reduce speculation of property in the short run,where as, in the long run the impacts that it will have is going to be very little . 19 REFERENCE 1. http://www. ipbre. com/countryProfile/Malaysia/Taxes/ 2. https://docs. google. com/viewer? a=vq=cache:Dj8b9BrRMAIJ:www. harteredaccountants. com. my/resources_assessment. pdf+hl=engl=mypid=blsrci d=ADGEESh8gp__2jEbPCrYONnp3AqFbAij_CBwdwbrQy0Re1bdAGCyoE oeKD7wS88c5AVLJLyDrzOuoYBPANEFQ3XpK5lBTfXQpXTfuDkNuwpD i_r2aMZxYDY0cBbZfKHS5o15HuPCjosig=AHIEtbRFB6TA8WHt5oQfy w1Y-pQs3k0smw 3. http://www. iproperty. com. my/news/5061/real-property-gains-tax-rpgt-the-propertyowner 4. http://savemoney. my/real-property-gains-tax-in-malaysia/ 5. www. iproperty. com. my/news/4258/real-property-gains-tax-gradual-impact 6. thestar. com. my/news/story. asp? file=/2012/9/29/budget/12101379sec=budget 20 APPENDIX 21 22 23