The Change Analysis Google and Twitter

In the realm of the 21st century, economic expansion seems to have become the key to successful evolution of a company. The examples of Google and Twitter prove the necessity for a company to grow by adopting the strategy of mergers and acquisitions.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Change Analysis: Google and Twitter specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Despite the fact that both companies have a unique pattern of development, they still have a range of points of contact in terms of the images of managing change that they had to go through and, therefore, being pressured into change by similar factors. A closer look at the current strategy adopted by the Google, Inc. will reveal that the company is clearly putting a very strong emphasis onto the function of a Nurturer. To be more exact, the organization is obviously doing its best in facilitating the cooperation between different departments of the organization a nd therefore, making the performance of these departments more cohesive. The necessity to reconsider the course of the company’s processes and reinforce the communication processes between different departments is quite obvious. As an IT company, Google, Inc. must Twitter in its turn, seems to be focused on the process of nurturing to a much greater degree than Google, though the latter is also clearly searching for non-trivial ways of solving the problems that it encounters on a regular basis within the global market (Siganos, 2013). In the Twitter, Inc., however, the concept of nurturing seems to have been the basis for the company’s functioning since its very foundation. Indeed, if considering the vision and mission of the Twitter, Inc., one will be able to spot the fact that the organization is geared towards not only recognizing all stakeholders as equally valuable, but also to see information as the key value and the necessity to distribute the acquired data amon g all stakeholders fairly, therefore, preventing any possible conflicts from happening (Sprangler, 2013). When it comes to defining the rest of the images of managing change, one must admit that, in Google and Twitter, these are somehow downplayed. It would be wrong to claim that neither of the companies uses such a powerful tool as the image of a coach – quite on the contrary, recent researches show that both organizations are eager for enhancing the core values for the staff to comply with.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, in the world of global economy, common values are quite hard to retain, and both Google and Twitter understand it pretty well (Jansen, ‎2009). As a result, the companies seem to have shaken off their unique definitions of coaching, as well as making the role of the Director less obvious, in order to promote change through expansion i nto the world market. While such a decision might seem flawed, on a larger scale, it is very wise, since it allows for a maximum flexibility for the companies to operate in (Steiber Alà ¤nge, 2013). Although Google and Twitter represent entirely different approaches towards building relationships with customers and conquering the market, some of the images of managing change in both companies cross at some point, which creates the premises for developing similar pressures for change. As a close analysis of the acquisitions made by Google and twitter shows, both organizations are aiming at topping the list of the most influential IT companies of the era; more importantly, both firms are willing to navigate efficiently in the sea of the global market. Hence, such images of managing change as the Navigator and the Nurturer are emphasized greatly in both companies, whereas the roles of a caretaker and coach are downplayed. Reference List Jansen, ‎B. (2009). Twitter power: Tweets as electronic word of mouth. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 60(11), 2169–2220. Siganos, A. (2013). Google attention and target price run ups. International Review of Financial Analysis, 29(3), 219–226.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Change Analysis: Google and Twitter specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Sprangler, T. (2013). Twitter nets social-TV startup blue fin. Multichannel News, 34(6), 22. Steiber, A. Alà ¤nge, S. (2013). Do TQM principles need to change? Learning from a comparison to Google Inc. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 26(4), 473–486. This essay on The Change Analysis: Google and Twitter was written and submitted by user Gabriella Becker to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

BarnesBSKS7000 8 Assignment 7 Essay

BarnesBSKS7000 8 Assignment 7 Essay BarnesBSKS7000 8 Assignment 7 Essay NORTHCENTRAL UNIVERSITY ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET Student: Brad Barnes SKS7000-8 Willmore Kanyongo Doctoral Comprehensive Strategic Knowledge Studies Business Integration and Evaluation Faculty Use Only Faculty comments here Faculty Name Grade Earned Date Graded Barnes Consulting LLC ïÆ'ËœMarketing XYZ Construction for Success ïÆ'ËœWorkforce and Operational Management ïÆ'ËœOrganizational Structure ïÆ'Ëœ International Operations ïÆ'ËœFinancial and Accounting Management ïÆ'ËœCompliance and Legal Considerations ïÆ'ËœInternal Control and Evaluation ïÆ'ËœInformation Technology ïÆ'ËœLeadership ïÆ'ËœConclusion â€Å"Reputable companies are vital to homeowners and achieving high standards and positive feedback that can be shared with potential customers is a key element to making a decision in hiring a contractor for any service† (Jefferies, 2011) 1. Adding recognition to our company through active marketing that reaches the target audience adds more visibility in the market 2. Roll-out the marketing flyer 3. Focus on the residential customers – Adding emphasis on residential customers will add value to our marketing scheme 4. Marketing products that sell themselves 5. Creating a niche market that draws customers 6. Building a future through repeat customers 7. Framework for success through international marketing initiatives 8. Keeping employees â€Å"in the know† throughout the transition To continue on a positive trend of growth at XYZ Construction we must continue to focus on the needs of our employees. The best way to understand the needs of our employees is to keep accurate records on the overall value of each employee and how they can assist in keeping XYZ headed in the right direction. Be honest with employees through accurate feedback and remember the management team sets the standard of expectations. (PRO, January, 2007) The success at XYZ Construction is based on the continual growth of the organization. As the leaders of this organization we must make decisions that are based on the best interest of the company and not endeavor unethical decisions that could adversely affect every member of our organization. Strategic Management Journal, 2012  Building a reputation in international markets that is mission directed Focusing on the operations strategy in every country must be unique to the needs and demands of that country New product development is a key element to the outreach of international markets Sourcing the goods and building a sales team to infiltrate new territories internationally Finding ways to overcome the language barriers in international markets Fight or flight marketing and sales techniques in international markets International logistics â€Å"Working capital measures the ability to pay current liabilities with current assets † (Pearson, 2011 p.81) At XYZ Construction our financial future depends on our decisions that we make. If we are going to achieve the IPO status that we are all fighting to achieve we must stay within budget and operate efficiently. The better success that we have as a company will give us stronger roots in investor relations. No one wants to invest money into a sinking ship we must report all financials to shareholders of our organization quarterly. Financial reporting must be accurate with no errors. We have to make sure that we are reporting accurate data to our shareholders in the company. With our new international presence we have to keep a close eye on the ever changing exchange rates. At XYZ Construction it is every employees responsibility to operate both legally and ethically. Every member of management must convey the message that we want our employees to carry-on. Without excellent leaders performing with a high level of ethical standards XYZ Construction will fail. XYZ Construction will be challenged by a future of employee laws that must be abided by to the highest standard. We must obey all international, state and local laws that govern

James Baldwin Giovanni's Room Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

James Baldwin Giovanni's Room - Essay Example The former is an internal and personal issue, while the latter is an external and cultural issue. Actions speak louder than words is almost clich in the novel. Lack of self-acceptance and fear of his sexuality is explicitly demonstrated by David all throughout his life. His first encounter with discovering his sexual orientation started when he was a boy. He had an affair in Brooklyn with his friend named Joey; they kissed and made love to each other. The next day, he bullied him just to feel that he is dominant and is a real man. The action clearly states that he was not ready to accept that he likes boys, and maybe, he was also afraid that he might get teased by his friends. This action is common among children, because fatherly and motherly roles reinforce a clear distinction between manly and womanly roles. Furthermore, in a conservative culture like that of Brooklyn, such orientation is near to banned. But David's past does not end there, for it haunted him until his adult life. He started drinking and driving in order to forget. He moved from America to France to eliminate those painful memories and renew his life. Finally, he decided to commit his life to Hella, a woman, her girlfriend.

Effects of Outsourcing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Effects of Outsourcing - Essay Example (Hira, 2005) The process of outsourcing is continuous and does not have to be an all or nothing deal. It can occur in phases depending on current trends in the industry. The following are a list of the three main types of outsourcing: Partial Outsourcing- This is when certain activities are kept in house such as customer service while other more specialized activities are sourced out. Plants and telecom offices would typically engage in this type of outsourcing. No Outsourcing- The operations performed day to day are highly unique to an individual business and vital to marketing believability. An example would be a college or university. (Outsourcingsurvival, 2007) While outsourcing operations has its benefits, there are reasons why a business should carefully examine the disadvantages it may present. One is the loss of managerial authority. It is much easier to manage employees in house than it is to manage an outsourced service provider. Outsourcing does not eliminate management responsibilities; it simply changes the nature and level of responsibility. It is also possible to lose sight of day-to-day operations while focusing on coordinating contracts with an outsourced company. Add to that the legal fees that will be incurred for putting together these contracts. The main reason to outsource is to reduce overall costs and any hidden fees may affect a business' bottom line. Another disadvantage that should be taken into consideration are security and confidentiality concerns as they pertain to payroll, salary information, etcGenerally, the amount of money each employee earns is not widespread knowledge. If employee salaries are leaked that could cause some discord within the workplace. When a company insists on outsourcing the process of payroll, they must be very discriminating in their choice of providers. It must be handled only by people who are trustworthy in handling such privileged information. (Softwareprojects, 2007) When operations are handed over to an external party the likelihood of decreased employee morale becomes a greater possibility. Employee talent that has been generated within a business will tend to get discouraged if they are ignored in favor of someone outside of the company. Someone who has worked for a company for a long time can understand certain business issues and will be better equipped to handle them more so than an outsourced party. If they are not called upon to handle business matters that may arise, their growth is stunted and they may feel as if they are not an important entity. Their quality of work may suffer because of this notion or because they rebel against the organization. Either way, this could result in the loss of quality employees which could in turn end up costing the business more financially. (Brown, 2005) The sum total of all of the disadvantages listed above basically boils down to sheer loyalty to the organization. If operations are outsourced to an external group, their devotion is only to those who sign their paycheck. There simply is no familial environment culminated through years of work with a company. This is a very important factor as trust issues are involved and outsourcers must be

Networking Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Networking Plan - Essay Example A super connector is that person who makes vital connections or introductions that grow a network (Uzzi & Dunlap, 2005). Bill fits this definition well. He has made vital introductions as seen in the above table. Bill is a graduate from Sydney University and is currently a fashion and design professional that appreciates and shares the company’s vision as well as objective. I met Lucy Hassan in my search for quality art pieces that Dye & Dyer could use. In the process of our interaction, I introduced her to Bill whom I had met earlier on. Bill required someone of her expertise in printing some designs for his Art collections and Lucy Hassan was the perfect match. Bill had introduced me to Denis who was a fashion guru who run his own fashion blogs, and aided in the selection of fashion pieces for display. In turn I introduced Denis to another fashion guru: Patrick, who dealt in African art and fashion. Bill also introduced me to another fashion guru Martha, who just as Denis, r an her own fashion blogs, and aided in the selection of fashion pieces for display. Martha needed someone with fashion printing expertise. So, I introduced her to Lucy Hassan. ... Therefore, I introduced Dave to Bill. I needed expert opinion on my fashion pieces. Dave introduced me to Cynthia Carew to help me in this area. Cynthia is now a friend and she provides critique and objectivity to the fashion pieces that I select for Dye & Dyer. Indeed, her advice is invaluable in making fashion statements and presentations. It is her passion for fashion that made me introduce her to Martha, who in turn introduced her (Cynthia) into the world of blogs on high-end fashion and art. I needed help in filming as well as shoots. Bill introduced me to Robert. Robert is a film expert. This introduction enables me to access his innumerable knowledge on film and photography. I in turn introduced him to Phillip, who helped him branch his (Robert’s) company to neighboring counties. Morris is a financial consultant from my university who impressed me with his portfolio in management. Morris was a friend I had known from my university days. Bill, who enjoys risky investment s, needed expert advice on the issue of management. It is for this reason that I introduced him (Bill) to Morris. That is how my network grew within a short span of time with Bill acting as my super – connector. This network has exhibited tremendous growth in a short span of time and is expected to continue growing. Q 2 The networks we build determine the access and extent that our ideas will reach. Creating strong networks is therefore an essential part of the structure of any individual’s life, or the structure of any organization’s life (Sigmar et al. 2012). After reading Uzzi & Dunlop’s article (2005), I had to take a critical look at my network and its structure. Bill Nicholls introduced me to the fashion business and has since acted as my contact in matters concerning

Features of Intercultural Communication

Features of Intercultural Communication Intercultural communication is about how people from different cultures communicate. It is a face to face communication between people from different cultures and backgrounds (Lewis, Slade 2000). In University, the mixing of different cultures is a good example of intercultural communications. Every day, we learn different things about different cultures. This is important as it allows the world to grow and become closer allowing countries to have relations with each other and to learn and respect the different beliefs of other cultures. There will be problems faced along the way to achieving these goals nevertheless there are always ways to overcome these problems. Problems such as language barriers, traditionalbeliefs , Gender with regards religion are the main issues which present difficulties towards learning about different cultures. One of the problems that can affect the movement of intercultural communications is traditional beliefs. For example, Koreans traditionally as a sign of acknowledgement and respect, greet one another with a bow. If a westerner goes to Korea and greets a Korean with a wave, it may be disrespectful towards the Korean. This can be overcome by education and the acceptance of multiculturalism within each country. A country cannot expand if it does not except multiculturalism. Storey Douglas said in his article that international communications including the flow of popular culture and news, as well as educational, economic, and professional exchange, are shown to have profound influences on how people develop images of other nations and how perceptions and misperceptions affect interaction at the national level (Douglas 1988). Language is the key to a person’s self-identity. It enables the person to express emotions,  share feelings, tell stories, and convey complex messages and knowledge. Language is our  greatest mediator that allows us to relate and understand each other (Imberti, 2007). It can be defined as a system of conceptual symbols that allows us to communicate. It also provides us with a significant frame of reference and a relational context that sustains our identities (Imberti, 2007). An example of how language can be a barrier towards intercultural communication is when a Chinese man is unable to communicate to a Western man because of his lack of knowledge of the English language vice versa. Aki Uchida mentioned in her article about understanding the need to learn English, she saw it as an important means of relating to people of different cultures and constructing shared knowledge and understanding (Uchida 1997). Understanding the need to learn another language is important for overcoming the language barrier to enable communications between cultures helping us relate to different cultures and sharing our knowledge and understanding of our cultures to them. Some cultures believe that women are inferior to men. It is a barrier preventing us to achieve intercultural communication. For example if a successful Australian woman goes to the middle east where women are permitted to work and their job were to simply stay at home and look after the kids, Middle eastern men may find that very intimidating and offensive therefore avoiding any form of communication with the Australian woman. Aki Uchida suggested in her article that emphasizing the possibility that the beliefs and practices that constitute gender are salient cultural resources and attributes that participants may reject, accept, or integrate in the course of cultural building (Uchida 1997). To build obtain intercultural communications; people have to learn to accept and respect their dogmata of another culture for communication to transpire. In respects to the example I gave, Middle eastern men should accept and respect the culture of Australian society and not be afraid to approach the Australian woman with respect and benevolence. Like-wise the Australian woman should realize their culture and be more respectful towards the men not in an inferior way but a restrained manner (not coming across as too aggressive). These are ways that we can form bridges to further improve our drive towards obtaining intercultural communication with different cultures. However there are still people in the world who are ethnocentric. Ethnocentric is having the idea that your particular belief or culture is better than other cultures and beliefs. Having this mind set will only set us back in hopes of obtaining multiculturalism and cross cultural communication. Ethnocentrism is divided into three stages, denial, defence and minimization are the three ways to define an ethnocentric person (Chu 2014). The person is in denial which means he or she is completely not interested in dealing with people of different cultures (Chu 2014). They are comfortable in their culture and usually do not want to step out and accept a different culture. Some are in Defence and take action towards people of different cultures (Chu 2014). Their actions are usually caused by fear of an unknown belief or action and therefore in defence, they retaliate against the person in other words categorising them as â€Å"minorities†. Minimization is when they recognise a different culture but at a very superficial and minimal kind of level (Chu 2014). Our aim should be to try and help those who are ethnocentric to slowly move towards being ethnorelative. Naomi Ludemen Smith described in her article that to be ethnorelative is to adopt a position that dismantles any notion that there is a set of universal standards by which we can rightfully judge or confront the good and the bad of how a people group, religion, and society lives (Smith 2013). ethno relativism is divided into three stages, acceptance, adaptation and integration. Acceptance is to tolerate different cultures, Adaptation is to experience emphathy towards a different culture and integration is not regarding that there is a dominant culture (Chu 2014). To move from ethnocentrism to ethnorelativism, according to Deardorff, the attitudes move from top to bottom. Firstly, when dealing with another culture, the ethnocentric individual will have to show respect, openness and curiosity discovery (Chu 2014). This is the basic requirement before moving on to the next stage of gaining knowledge and skills to adaptation. Individual has to show cultural self-awareness which is acknowledging that his or her culture is not perfect. After realising this, you will accept another culture and gain an understanding of it and slowly being open o listen, observe and show respect to a different culture (Chu 2014). After which, a desired internal outcome will be obtained. The individual will gain an ethnorelative mindset and will be able to empathise with other cultures. Lastly, the individual will obtain the desired external outcome being able to behave and communicate affectively and appropriately to achieve his or her goals to some degree with another culture (Chu 2014). Our ultimate goal is to achieve intercultural competence in todays globalised society. All these technical tools on how to become more ethnorelative will be completely useless if the individual does not possess the correct ethics. we need to have ethics when it comes to competence of intercultural communication. In order to address ethics in communication, we must recognise them as an extension of personal convictions or we condemn ourselves to study them as idealistic, theoractical constructs (Casmir 2013). We have to gain these ethics ourselves, gaining knowledge of the norms within other cultures and show respect towards these norms, show hospitality to people from other cultures for others to display respect to our culture therefore displaying the awareness of different cultures ethical responses (Chu 2014). At the end of the day, it is people who communicate with each other and not cultures that communicate with each other. If we look at the differences between cultures from our perspective, there are many differences however if you look at it from a individual human to human perspective, There is not much difference in the way people react to things (Chu 2014). We have to put ourselves into unknown territory for us to change and appreciate different cultures and to display ethics. The learning process or acculturation which is the process of the meeting of cultures and the changes which result from such meetings (Chu 2014). How we acculturate is the same as how we learn about things in our daily lives such as university or our work place, we expose ourselves to unknown situations and learn from it by excepting it. Intercultural empathy is shown when we place ourselves in the shoes of someone from a different cultures perspective and try to understand what it is like from their eyes (Chu 2014). It is like setting a goal for ourselves in the future and working backwards from that goal that way guide us and sets a focus into attaining our goal. Intercultural competence is important to communications because it helps us bridge cultural differences within and among nations (Chu 2014). Multiculturalism is spreading around the world due to globali zation with counties helping each other expand through trades and multi national operations. Therefore, migration is high and individuals from different cultures are made to interact with one another which is why it is necessary for us to have an ethical response to the social reality of cultural tension. Why not get along to help make the world a better place to live in.

The Leonis Adobe :: essays research papers

The Leonis Adobe   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Leonis Adobe was built in stages; however, who and when the original portion of it was built is still under research. At first, there appears to have been a simple adobe farmhouse with whitewashed walls. This original portion of the house is believed to date back to 1844, and if this is so it is almost certain that Leonis did not build it. In any event, about 1880 he extensively enlarged and remodeled the house into the gracious Monterey style mansion you see today, and he and Espirtu moved into it and made it their home.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The building of this project was not an easy one. A great deal of research and studying along with skillful work went to the restoration of this mansion. But there is one or two exceptions. For instance, the present living room was originally two rooms, a parlor and living room, separated by a wall just to the right of the front door. The wall was removed around 1925 and has not bee replaced in order to provide a large room for group meetings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Leonis enlarged and remodeled the house, he sheathed the outside front of the house, and paneled the interior living room walls with wood. He walled-in the rear and northeast side porches, both upstairs and downstairs, to add more rooms. He added the Victorian fretwork balcony along the front of the house, and other enhancing details and features. The bright colors that highlight the house were discovered under many layers of paint, and presumably were the ones Leonis used. The paint used to repaint the house was carefully matched to achieve the exact feeling the Leonis Adobe brings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The present living room, the family portraits hang on the wall where they used to hang, but the mirror originally hung where the dining room door now is. This door was cut through in the 1920’s. Before that, as in many of the California houses, one walked along the porch to reach the dining room.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Both the kitchen and the dining room are board and batten construction added during Leonis’ remodeling. The adobe dirt floors were discovered under modern wood flooring that has been removed. The fireplace in the dining room and stove in the kitchen provided the only heat in the house. The stove, while not original to the house, carries a date of 1875.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Out side, at the northwest corner of the house, a large Mexican â€Å"beehive oven† with a shed over it for protection from the rain, was used to bake bread.

India After 20 Years

Draft January, 2007 INDIA’s GROWTH: PAST AND FUTURE by Shankar Acharya* * Honorary Professor and Member Board of Governors, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) Paper for presentation at the Eighth Annual Global Development Conference of the Global Development Network, January 14-16, Beijing. 0 India’s Growth: Past and Future By Shankar Acharya1 This paper is divided into five sections. Section I briefly reviews India’s growth performance since 1950 and indicates a few salient features and turning points.Section II discusses some of the major drivers of India’s current growth momentum (which has averaged 8 percent in the last 3 years) and raised widespread expectations (at least, in India) that 8 percent plus growth has become the new norm for the Indian economy. Section III points to some of the risks and vulnerabilities that could stall the current dynamism if corrective action is not taken. Section IV appraises the co untry’s medium term growth prospects. The final section assesses some implications of India’s rise for the world economy. I Review of Growth Performance, (1950-2006)Table 1 summarizes India’s growth experience since the middle of the twentieth century. For the first thirty years, economic growth averaged a modest 3. 6 percent, with per capita growth of a meager 1. 4 percent per year. Those were the heydays of state-led, import-substituting industrialization, especially after the 1957 foreign exchange crisis and the heavy industrialization bias of the Second Five Year Plan (1956-61). While the strategy achieved some success in raising the level of resource mobilization and investment in the economy, it turned out to be hugely costly in terms of economic efficiency.The inefficiencies stemmed not just from the adoption of a statist, inward1 The author is Member, Board of Governors and Honorary Professor at Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relat ions (ICRIER). He was Chief Economic Adviser to Government of India (1993-2000). This paper draws liberally on his recent paper, â€Å"India’s Growth: Past Performance and Future Prospects†, presented at the Tokyo Club Macro Economy Conference on â€Å"India and China Rising†, December 6-7, 2006, Tokyo. 1 ooking policy stance (at a time when world trade was expanding rapidly) but also from the extremely detailed, dysfunctional and corruption-breeding controls that were imposed on industry and trade (see, for example, the classic study by Bhagwati and Desai (1970)). Table 1: Growth of GDP and Major Sectors (% per year) Year 1951/521980/81 (1) 1981/821990/91 (2) 1992/931996/97 (3) 1997/982001/02 (4) 2002/032005/06 (5) 1992/932005/06 (6) 1981/822005/06 (7) Agriculture and Allied Industry 2. 5 3. 5 4. 7 2. 0 1. 9 3. 0 3. 0 5. 3 7. 1 7. 6 4. 4 8. 0 6. 6 6. 5 Services 4. 5 6. 7 7. 6 8. 2 8. 9 . 2 7. 4 GDP 3. 6 5. 6 6. 7 5. 5 7. 0 6. 4 5. 9 GDP per capita 1. 4 3. 4 4. 6 3. 6 5. 3 4. 4 3. 8 Source: CSO . Note: Industry includes Construction. At the same time, one should not forget that the GDP growth rate of 3. 6 percent was four times greater than the 0. 9 percent growth estimated for the previous half century of British colonial rule (Table 2). Moreover the growth was reasonably sustained, with no extended periods of decline. Nor were there inflationary bouts of the kind which racked many countries in Latin America. However, growth was far below potential and much less than he 7-8 percent rates being achieved in some countries of East Asia and Latin America. Worst of all, the proportion of the Indian population below a (minimalist) poverty line actually increased from 45 to 51 percent (Table 3). Table 2: Economic Growth: Pre -independence (% per year) Year 1900-46 1900-29 1930-46 GDP 0. 9 0. 9 0. 8 Population 0. 8 0. 5 1. 3 Per Capita GDP 0. 1 0. 4 -0. 5 Source: Sivasubramonian (2000) 2 Table 3: Percentage of People Below Poverty Line, 1951-52 t o 1999-00: Official Estimates Year Rural Urban All India 1951-52 47. 4 35. 5 45. 3 1977-78 3. 1 45. 2 51. 3 1983 45. 7 40. 8 44. 5 1993-94 37. 3 32. 4 36. 0 1999-2000 26. 8 24. 1 26. 1 Source: Planning Commission, Government of India G rowth accelerated significantly in the 1980s to 5. 6 percent, entailing a more than doubling of per capita growth to 3. 4 percent a year. This acceleration was due to a number of factors, including: the early efforts at industrial and trade liberalization and tax reform dur ing the 1980s, a step- up in public investment, better agricultural performance and an increasingly expansionist (almost profligate! ) fiscal policy.Fiscal controls weakened and deficits mounted and spilled over to the external sector, requiring growing recourse to external borrowing on commercial terms. Against a background of a low export/GDP ratio, rising trade and current account deficits and a deteriorating external debt profile, the 1990 Gulf War and consequent oil price spik e tipped India’s balance of payments into crisis in 1990/91. Although the policy reforms of the 1980s were modest in comparison to those undertaken in the ensuing decade, their productivity â€Å"bang for the buck† seems to have been high (see Table 4) 2 .Perhaps this 2 Several different factor productivity studies support this conclusion, including: Acharya-Ahluwalia Krishna-Patnaik (2003), Bosworth and Collins (2003) and Virmani (2004). 3 w as a case of modest improvements in a highly distorted policy environment yielding significant gains. Table 4: Growth of GDP, Total Factor Input and Total Factor Productivity (% per year) 1950/511966/67 3. 8 GDP 1967/68 – 1981/82– 1980/81 1990/91 3. 4 5. 3 1991/92 – 1999/2000 6. 5 Total Factor Input (TFI) 2. 4 2. 7 3. 3 3. 9 Total Factor Productivity (TFP) . 4 0. 7 2. 0 2. 6 Proportion of Growth Explained by TFP (%) 37. 6 20. 8 37. 7 39. 7 Source: Acharya, Ahluwalia, Krishna and Patnaik (2003). Note: For each sub-period, GDP, TFI and TFP are trend growth rates. The new Congress government of June 1991, with Manmohan Singh as finance minister, undertook emergency measures to restore external and domestic confidence in the economy and its management. 3 The rupee was devalued, the fiscal deficit was cut and special balance of payments financing mobilized from the IMF and the World Bank.Even more importantly, the government seized the opportunity offered by the crisis to launch an array of long overdue and wide-ranging economic reforms. They encompassed external sector liberalization, deregulation of industry, reforms of taxation and the financial sector and a more commercial approach to the public sector (see Table 5 for a summary of key reforms in 1991-93). 4 3 There has been a great deal written on India’s economic reforms and the consequent performance of the economy, including Acharya (2002a and 2004), Ahluwa lia (2002), Kelkar (2004), Kochhar et. l (2006), Panagariya ( 2004a and 2006) and Virmani (2004). There is a tendency to view the post-1991 economic performance as a single unified experience. I prefer the more nuanced and disaggregated view outlined here. 4 As I have pointed out elsewhere (Acharya, 2006a), these reforms are better characterized as â€Å"medium bang† than â€Å"gradualist† (as by Ahluwalia, 2002). 4 Table 5: Main Economic Reforms of 1991-93 Fiscal †¢ Reduction of the fiscal deficit. †¢ Launching of reform of major tax reforms. External Sector †¢ Devaluation and transition to a Market-determined Exchange Rate. Phased reduction of import licensing (qua ntitative restrictions). †¢ Phased reduction of peak custom duties. †¢ Policies to encourage direct and portfolio foreign investment. †¢ Monitoring and controls over external borrowing, especially short term. †¢ Build-up of foreign exchange reserves. †¢ Amendment of FERA to reduce restrictions on firms. Industry †¢ Virtual abolitio n of industrial licensing. †¢ Abolition of separate permission needed by â€Å"MRTP houses†. †¢ Sharp reduction of industries â€Å"reserved† for the public sector. †¢ Freer access to foreign technology.Agriculture †¢ More remunerative procurement prices for cereals. †¢ Reduction in protection to the manufacturing sector. Financial Sector †¢ Phasing in of Basle prudential norms. †¢ Reduction of reserve requirements for banks (CRR and SLR). †¢ Gradual freeing up of interest rates. †¢ Legislative empowerment of SEBI. †¢ Establishment of the National Stock Exchange. †¢ Abolition of government control over capital issues. Public Sector †¢ Disinvestment programme begun. †¢ Greater autonomy / accountability for public enterprises. 5The economy responded swiftly and positively to these reforms. After virtual stagnation in 1991/92, GDP growth surged in the next five years to clock a record 5-year average of 6. 7 percent. It is noteworthy that in this high growth Eighth Plan period all major sectors (agriculture, industry, services) grew noticeably faster than in the pre-crisis decade. The acceleration in the growth of agricultural value added is particularly interesting in the light of oft-repeated criticism that the economic reforms of the early nineties neglected the agricultural sector.The factors which explain this remarkable and broad-based growth surge in the period 1992-97 appear to include: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Productivity gains resulting from the deregulation of trade, industry and finance, especially in the sectors of industry and some services; The surge in export growth at about 20 percent per year (in dollar terms) for three successive years beginning 1993-94, attributable to the substantial devaluation in real effective terms in the early nineties and a freer policy regime for industry, foreign trade and payments;The investment boom of 1993- 96 which exerted expansionary effects on both supply and demand, especially in industry. The investment boom itself was probably driven by a combination of factors including the unleashing of ‘animal spirits’ by economic reforms, the swift loosening of the foreign exchange bottleneck, confidence in broadly consistent governmental policy signals and easier availability of investible funds (both through borrowing and new equity issues);The partial success in fiscal consolidation, which kept a check on government borrowings and facilitated expansion of aggregate savings and investments; Improvement in the terms of trade for agriculture resulting from a combination of higher procurement prices for important crops and reduction in trade protection for manufactures; Availability of capacity in key infrastructure sectors, notably power; A buoyant world economy which supported expansion of foreign trade and private capital inflows.The momentum of growth slowed noticeably in the Ninth Plan period, 1997-2002, to an average of 5. 5 percent, compared to the 6. 7 percent achieved in the previous five years. Among the factors which contributed to this deceleration were: the significant worsening of the fiscal deficits (mainly due to large public pay increases following the Fifth Pay Commission) and the associated decline in public savings, the slackening of economic reforms after 1995 as coalition governance became the norm, a significant slowdown in 6 gricultural growth for a variety of reasons, a marked downswing in the industrial cycle and an increasingly unsupportive international economic environment (including the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98, rising energy prices and the global recession of 2001). Indeed, India’s economic growth in 1997-2002 might have been even weaker but for the unexpected and somewhat inexplicable strength of services sector growth, which clocked an average of 8. 2 percent, despite industrial growth of only 4. 4 percent. T he services sector accounted for almost 70 percent of all growth in this period. Economic reforms picked up pace in 2000-04, fiscal deficits trended down after 2002 and the world economy rebounded strongly in 2002-06. These factors supported a broadbased upswing in Indian industrial output and investment from the second half of 2002. Growth of industrial valued added surged to 8 percent in 2002-06. With continued strong growth of services (at nearly 9 percent), GDP growth climbed to average 7 percent, despite continued sluggishness of agriculture.In the three years, 2003-06 overall economic growth has averaged over 8 percent and the outlook for 2006/7 is equally bright. This latest economic surge has raised the interesting issue of whether India’s trend growth rate has accelerated to 8 percent (or higher) from its previous level of around 6 percent. The ensuing sections of this paper explore this question. II. Main drivers of Recent Economic Growth What are some of the main i ngredients of the recent surge in economic growth? I would suggest the following seven major elements: ) The momentum of a quarter of a century of strong economic growth; 2) A much more open economy (to external trade and investment); 3) A growing â€Å"middle class† fuelling domestic consumption; 4) The â€Å"demographic dividends† of a young population; 5 Acharya (2002a and 2003) noted this unusual phenomenon and raised questions about both the quality of the data and the durability of such sharply divergent growth rates of industry and services. More recently, similar doubts have been expressed by Bosworth-Collins -Virmani (2006). 7 5) Strong companies in a modernized capital market; 6) Some recent economic reforms. ) A supportive international economic environment. Let me elaborate briefly on each of these factors. The Momentum of Growth The last thirty years’ experience suggests that very few developing countries have sustained decent per capita growth for two decades or more (Acharya, 2006b). Specifically, out of 117 developing countries with population over half a million, only 12 countries achieved per capita growth of more than 3 percent per year in 1980-2002, with at least 2 percent growth in each decade of the eighties and nineties. These twelve countries were: China (8. 2), Vietnam (4. 6), South Korea (6. 1), Chile (3. ), Mauritius (4. 4), Malaysia (3. 4), India (3. 6), Thailand (4. 6), Bhutan (4. 3), Sri Lanka (3. 1), Botswana (4. 7) and Indonesia (3. 5). (The number falls to 9 if we specify a minimum population of 3 million). Nine of these 12 countries are in Asia and, fortunately, they include the three most populous: China, India and Indonesia. (See Table 6). If we take the full 25 years (1981-2006), India’s per capita growth has averaged 3. 8 percent or almost 4 percent per year. 8 Table 6: Good Growth Performers of Recent Decades Average Annual Per Capita Growth (%) Country 1980-2002 1990s 1980s Population in 2000 (Millions) 1. China . 2 8. 6 7. 7 1262 2. Vietnam 4. 6 5. 7 1. 9 78 3. South Korea 6. 1 5. 0 7. 4 47 4. Chile 3. 3 4. 3 2. 1 15 5. Mauritius 4. 4 4. 1 4. 9 1 6. Malaysia 3. 4 3. 7 3. 1 23 7. India 3. 6 3. 6 3. 6 1016 8. Thailand 4. 6 3. 4 6. 0 61 9. Bhutan 4. 3 3. 4 5. 4 1 10. Sri Lanka 3. 1 3. 1 3. 1 18 11. Botswana 4. 7 2. 7 7. 2 2 12. Indonesia 3. 5 2. 6 4. 4 206 Source: World Bank (2005) Sustained improvements in standards of living of this order embody their own growthreinforcing elements. People come to think more positively about the future and base their savings, investment and production decisions on an expectation of continued growth.Electorates in India’s democracy come to expect development and hold government performance to higher standards, despite disappointments. Companies think big when they invest. And so on. A More Open Economy The Indian economy in 2006 is far more open to external trade, investment and technology than it was fifteen years ago. 6 Table 7 p resents some key comparative 6 The story of India’s external liberalization may be found in several places, including Acharya (2002b) and Panagariya ( 2004b). 9 indicators. Peak import duties on manufactures have come down from over 200% to 12. 5%, a remarkable reduction by any standards.The regime of tight, detailed and discretionary import controls has been almost completely dismantled. The exchange rate was devalued and made market-responsive (1991-3). The policies towards foreign portfolio and direct investment have been greatly liberalized. As a result, the ratio of traded goods to GDP has more than doubled from less than 15 percent to nearly 33 percent. Because of the sustained boom in software exports and worker remittances, the ratio of current receipts (goods exports plus gross invisibles) has more than tripled from 8 percent to over 24 percent of GDP.Foreign investment has risen from negligible levels to US $ 20 billion in 2005/6. Table 7: Towards A More Open Econom y 1990/91 2005/06 200% plus 12. 5% Tight, detailed Almost gone Trade (goods) / GDP Ratio (%) 14. 6 32. 7 Current Receipts / GDP (%) 8. 0 24. 5 Software Exports ($ billion) Nil 23. 6 Worker Remittances ($ billion) 2. 1 24. 6 Foreign Investment ($ billion) Negligible 20. 2 2. 2 145. 1 35. 3 10. 2 Peak Import Duties (manufacturers) I mport Controls Foreign Currency Reserves ($ billion, March 31) Debt Service Ratio (%) Source: RBI, Annual Report, 2005 /06, except for first two rows.After initial periods of sometimes painful adjustment in the 1990s, Indian industry has thrived in the more open and competitive environment. The explosion in software ITenabled service exports is well-known, having risen from nil in 1991 to $ 24 billion in 2005/6. Anecdotal evidence suggests that small-scale units have benefited greatly from 10 the much freer access to traded raw materials, components and designs. Perhaps most important, the old mindset of â€Å"foreign exchange scarcity† (and the wel ter of bad economic policies it spawned) has been effectively banished.Interestingly, the â€Å"opening up† has also strengthened the prudential yardsticks of foreign exchange reserves and debt service ratios. Rise of strong companies in a modernized capital market The 1990s ushered in far-reaching reforms in India’s capital markets. The Securities and Exchange Board of India was statutorily empowered in 1992 and quickly moved to improve standards of disclosure and transparency. The new electronic-tradebased National Stock Exchange was established in 1993 and set high technical and governance standards, which soon had to be emulated by the much older (and, sometimes scam-hit) Bombay Stock Exchange.Depositories legislation was enacted and soon paperless trading became the norm. Brokers were encouraged to corporatize. Futures markets were nurtured. These and other reforms transformed Indian capital markets into one of the best in the developing world. The combination of a modernizing capital market, an increasingly liberal and competitive environment for investment, trade and production, a wealth of entrepreneurial talent and sustained economic growth has helped the rise of strong new companies and supported the expansion of the more agile and aggressive among the established firms.By way of example, Airtel, the leading private telecom, went from nothing to a multi-billion dollar company in a decade. The same was true for the leading domestic airline, Jet and the IT icons like Infosys, Wipro, TCSand HCL. Old pharma companies, like Ranbaxy, transformed themselves. New media companies like Zee and NDTV bloomed. Established corporates houses restructured and flourished (such as some Tata companies, Reliance, Bajaj, Mahindra and Hero Honda) or saw their market shares decline.In recent years quite a few Indian companies have expanded through overseas investments and acquisitions, facilitated by direct investments abroad averaging $1. 5 to $ 2 billion in the past five years. The recent bid for Corus by Tata Steel is a well-publicized example. 11 Aggregate financial data also point to the strength and expansion of India’s corporate sector in recent years. The market capitalization of companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange rose nearly 14-fold from $ 50 billion in 1990/91 to $ 680 billion in 2005/6 (Table 8).In the last five years, the growth of profits has outpaced the growth of sales of private corporates, indicating rising profit margins. With falling interest rates and growing recourse to internal funding, the share of interest outgo in gross profits dropped sharply from above 50 percent in the late 1990s to 15 percent in 2005/6 (Reserve Bank, 2006, Box 1. 7). Unsurprisingly, data for the top 1000 listed companies showed net profits as percent of net sales rising from 4. 5 % in 2001/2 to 8. 9 % in 2004/5 (Business Standard, 2006). Table 8: Rising Middle Class 1990/91 Cars + UVs sold # Two Wheelers sold #Telephone [em ail  protected] (million) 15 million 100 million $50 billion $680 billion 205 thousand People in households with income (Rs. 2,00,000 – 10,00,000 OR PPP $20,000- $1,00,000 approximately)a Bombay Stock Exchange Market Capitalisation* 2005/06 1319 thousand 1800 thousand 7570 thousand 5 125$ a Based on data from NCAER (2005) * RBI, Handbook of Statistics on the Indian Economy, 2005-06 # Business Beacon, CMIE and Monthly Review of the Indian Economy, CMIE, October 2006 @ Business Beacon CMIE and Economic Survey, 2005-06 $ December 2005 A Growing Middle Class In the mid-1990s, shortly after the major economic reforms of 1991-4, there as premature exuberance about India’s rising middle class and their acquisitive aspirations. Today there is a much firmer basis for emphasizing the importance of the growing middle class in transforming consumption, production and investment in the Indian economy. Table 8 provides a few indicators. Based on surveys by the NCAER, about 100 mil lion people now live in households with annual incomes between Rs. 200,000 and Rs 1 12 million (approximately PPP$ 20,000 to 100,000), compared to about 15 million in 1990/91. With a lower defining threshold, the size of the middle class would be greater.For example, if the middle class cut-off is defined as the â€Å"non-poor† by standards of developed economies, then Bhalla (2007) estimates that 34 percent of India ’s population was â€Å"middle class† in 2005 compared to about 10 percent in 1990. Purchases of iconic middle class consumption items have certainly soared in the last 15 years (Table 8). Annual sales of cars (including multi- utility vehicles) have risen more than six times to 1. 3 million in 2005/6. Two wheeler sales have increased mo re than four times to 7. 6 million in 2005/6. In 1990/91 India had just 5 million telephone connections (all fixed).By the end of 2005 the number was 125 million (about two-thirds were mobile connections). Indeed, i n October 2006 the new mobile connections were close to 7 million, more than the total of phone connections fifteen years ago! The Demographic Dividend It has become commonplace to emphasize the growth potential of India’s young population and declining dependency ratio. According to most population projections the share of working age population in total population will continue to rise for the next 30 years or so, long after the decline has set in other major countries like China, USA, Western Europe and Japan (Table 9).These demographics point to a large potential for higher growth through augmented supply of labour and savings. Indeed, these trends have already been at work over the 15 years or so, helping to raise India’s household savings from around 15-16 percent of GDP in the late 1980s to 22-24 percent in recent years. 7 7 This could be an important part of the explanation to the puzzle: How does India sustain high growth despite aggregate fiscal deficits abov e 7 percent of GDP over the last twenty years? 13 Table 9: Share of Working Population (15-59 yrs) Country 1950 1975 2000 2025 2050 India 55. 5 54. 0 58. 9 64. 3 59. 7 China 59. 53. 6 65. 0 62. 1 53. 8 Japan 56. 9 64. 0 62. 1 52. 8 45. 2 US 60. 5 60. 0 62. 1 56. 6 54. 6 Western Europe 61. 7 58. 1 61. 3 54. 8 50. 4 Source: http://www. un. org/esa/population/publications/worldageing19502050/countriesorareas. htm Some Recent Policies As noted above economic reforms slowed after 1995 and then revived to some extent in the period 2000-04. Also, real interest rates declined worldwide and in India too. In India this may have been helped by renewed efforts to reduce burgeoning fiscal deficits, including through enactment of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (2003) at the central level.The fiscal position of the States also improved from the dire straits plumbed following the Fifth Pay Commission. The states too adopted fiscal responsibility laws following the recommendatio ns (and conditional debt write-offs) of the Twelfth Finance Commission (Government of India, 2004). Furthermore, tax revenues at both levels of government were buoyed by resurgent economic (especially industrial) growth after 2002/3. The net result was a decline in the gross fiscal deficit from almost 10 percent of GDP in 2001/2 to 7. percent in 2004/5 and an even larger decline in the revenue deficit from 7 to 3. 7 percent of GDP (Table 10). This was the single most important factor explaining the increase in aggregate savings from around 24 percent of GDP in 2001/2 to 29 percent in 2004/5, which, in turn, helped finance the current investment boom. 14 Table 10: Deficits, Savings and Investment (as % of GDP) Year 1995-96 Gross Fiscal Deficit 2001-02 2004-05 6. 5 9. 9 7. 5 3. 2 7. 0 3. 7 25. 1 (-2. 0) 26. 9 23. 6 (-6. 0) 23. 0 29. 1 (-2. 7) 30. 1 (Centre and States) Revenue Deficit (Centre and States)Gross Domestic Savings (of which Government) Gross Domestic Investment Source: RBI, Handbook of Statistics on the Indian Economy, 2005-06 and CSO website †¢ †¢ (http://mospi. nic. in/mospi_cso_rept_pubn. htm ) (http://mospi. nic. in/mospi_press_releases. htm ) International Economic Environment Despite the war in Iraq and the high oil prices of recent years the world economy has grown at almost 5 percent over the last four years, propelled by strong growth in US and China and some recovery in Japan and Europe. World trade in goods and services has expanded rapidly.This favorable environment has helped rapid growth of exports (of goods and services) from India, which, in turn, has been a significant driver of economic growth in this recent period. 8 III Risks to Future Strong Growth There are some well-known risks or constraints to the sustenance of the 8 percent growth enjoyed by India since 2003. These include: 1) Renewed fiscal stress from populist policies; 8 Panagariya (2006) emphasizes this point. 15 2) Infrastructure bottlenecks; 3) Labour market r igidities; 4) Weak performance of agriculture; 5) Pace of economic reforms; ) Weaknesses in human resource development programmes; 7) The international economic environment. Each of these merit brief elaboration. Populism and Renewed Fiscal Stress The recent progress in fiscal consolidation, noted above, is real but modest. The overall fiscal deficit remains high at 7. 5 percent of GDP in 2005/6, as does the government debt to GDP ratio at 80 percent (compared to about 60 percent in 1995/6). While the fiscal responsibility laws enacted by central and state governments (22 out of 28 states have passed such laws so far) are promising, they are not immune to populist pressures.Especially since the advent of the UPA government in 2004, populist expenditure programmes, such as the National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme, have gained fresh momentum. The Sixth Pay Commission has been constituted and is expected to submit its report by mid-2008, with governmental action likely before the next general election. The possibility of significant public pay increases is obviously high. On the revenue side, the state level VATs have contributed to revenue buoyancy. But the recent scheme for Special Economic Zones is fraught with unduly generous tax concessions.So the prospects for fiscal consolidation are mixed, at best. Infrastructure Bottlenecks India’s infrastructure problems are legendary and also reflect failures in public sector performance and governance. A recent appraisal (World Bank, 2006) points out that â€Å"the average manufacturer loses 8. 4 percent in sales annua lly on account of power 16 outages†, over 60 percent of Indian manufacturing firms own generator sets (compared to 27 percent in China and 17 percent in Brazil) and India’s combined real cost of power is almost 40 percent higher than China’s. The quantity and quality of roads is also a serious bottleneck.While there has been some progress in recent years with national h ighway development, the state and rural road networks are woefully inadequate, especially in poorer states (Figure 1). Urban infrastructure (especially water and sewerage) is another major constraint for rapid industrial development and urbanization (Figure 2). The successful example of rapid telecom development is very promising. But unlike telecom, the sectors of power, roads and urban infrastructure are burdened by long histories of a subsidy culture and dual (centre and states) constitutional responsibilities.Unless the various infrastructure constraints are addressed swiftly and effectively, it is difficult to see how 8 percent (or higher) economic growth can be sustained. Fig 1:Percentage of habitations not connected by roads, by Indian state Haryana Kerala Andhra Pradesh Punjab 0% 3% 4% 7% Karnataka 8% Tamil Nadu 8% Maharashtra Gujarat Uttar Pradesh Rajasthan 12% 23% 43% 51% Bihar 58% Orissa 58% Jharkhand Madhya Pradesh West Bengal 59% 62% 69% Chattisgarh 82% Source: Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, as cited in World Bank (2006). 17 Fig 2: Percentage of the population with access to sewerage facilities, by Indian stateRajasthan 8 Orissa 9 Chattisgarh 10 Madhya Pradesh 10 Andhra Pradesh 15 West Bengal 17 Tamil Nadu 29 Karnataka 33 Uttar Pradesh 37 Uttaranchal 37 Maharashtra 49 Gujarat 63 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Source: Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organization, 2000, as cited in World Bank (2006). Labour Market Rigidities According to official data, India’s non-agricultural employment in the private organized (units employing more than 10 workers) sector has stagnated below 9 million for over 20 years, although the labour force has grown to exceed 400 million!A major cause has been India’s complex and rigid labour laws, which hugely discourage fresh employment while protecting those with organized sector jobs. 9 Investment climate surveys by the World Bank indicate that India has some of the most res trictive labour laws in the world, which, in effect convert labour (in organized units) into a fixed factor of production (lay-offs are extremely difficult) and thereby discourage fresh employment in the organized sector while promoting more â€Å"casualization† and insecurity among the 9The skill and capital-intensive pattern of development of India’s modern industrial and services sectors (despite the endowment of abundant unskilled labour) has been noted by many analysts, including Kochhar et. al. (2006), Panagariya (2006) and World Bank (2006). All of them point to restrictive labour laws as a major culprit. 18 93 percent of workers in the unorganized sector. The laws are not just rigid but also numerous (â€Å"a typical firm in Maharashtra has to deal with 28 different acts pertaining to labor†, World Bank, 2006).Without significant reform of existing labour laws, India’s cheap labour advantages remain hugely underutilized. Looking to the future, the challenge will increase as the â€Å"demographic dividend† brings further large increases in the labour force. In fact, as I have pointed out elsewhere (Acharya, 2004), the economic and political challenge is far greater than normally appreciated because the bulk of the demographic bulge will occur (in the next few decades) in the poor, slow-growing and populous states of central and eastern India (notably, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh).Weak Agricultural Performance Since 1996/97 the growth of agriculture has dropped to barely 2 percent, compared to earlier trend rate ranging between 2. 5- 3. 0 percent. The reasons are many and include declining public investment by cash-strapped states, grossly inadequate maintenance of irrigation assets, f lling water tables, inadequate rural road networks, a unresponsive research and extension services, soil damage from excessive urea use (encouraged by high subsidies), weak credit delivery and a distorted incentive str ucture which impedes diversification away from food grains.Tackling these problems and revitalising agriculture will take time, money, understanding and political will. It will also require much greater investments in (and maintenance of) rural infrastructure of irrigation, roads, soil conservation, etc. and reinvigoration of the present systems of agricultural research and extension. While the central government can play a significant role in revamping systems, the main responsibility for strengthening rural infrastructure lies with the states. However, their financial and administrative capabilities have weakened over time. The share of agriculture in GDP has declined to hardly 20 percent.But agriculture is still the principal occupation of nearly 60 percent of the labour force. Thus better performance of this sector is essential for poverty alleviation and containment of rising regional and income inequalities. 19 Pace of Economic Reforms There is little doubt that economic refor ms have slowed since the UPA government assumed office in May 2004 10 . The privatization programme has been halted, although Government remains the dominant owner in banking, energy and transport and the usual ills of public ownership afflict the performance of many enterprises in these key sectors.The legislative proposals of the previous government to reduce government ownership in public sector banks to 33 percent have lapsed and not been renewed. There has been some revival of interest rate controls and directed credit. Follow-up action on the reformist new Electricity Act (2003) passed by the NDA government has been slow. The pricing of petroleum products has become more politically administered than before. Education policy has focused on introducing caste-based reservations in institutions of higher education. Introduction of such reservations in private sector employment are also being considered.Reform of labour laws remains stalled. There has been little forward progress in reform of agriculture policies. Indeed, the wonder is that the economy’s growth momentum has remained so strong despite the stalling of economic reforms. If the growth dividends of econo mic reforms occur with a lag, then the paucity of reforms in the period 2004-06 may take their toll in the years ahead. Weak Human Resource Policies The long-run performance of the Indian economy must surely depend on successful policies and programmes f r education, skill-development and health service o rovision. Yet the government- led programmes in these sectors suffer from very serious weaknesses and lack of reform impetus. For example, World Bank (2006) cites a number of surveys which show that less than half of government teachers and health workers are actually to be found in schools and clinics they are serving (the situation is typically worse in poorer states) . Even though school enrolment rates have climbed over time, the actual cognitive skill acquired in schools (even simple reading and arithmetic) is still very 10 For a recent review see Acharya (2006c). 0 low (Pratham, 2006). In health, a survey shows that medics in primary health clinics in Delhi had a greater than 50 percent chance of prescribing a harmful therapy for specified, common ailments (Das and Hammer, 2004a and 2004b). The competence of these medics was found to be less than comparably situated counterparts in Tanzania and substantially worse than counterparts in Indonesia. Even in higher education, an area of supposed competence, studies point to enormous problems of quality, quantity and relevance (see, for example, Aggarwal, 2006).Quite clearly, the current portfolio of policies and programmes in these critical sectors need urgent improvement if India is to retain her competitive edge in an increasingly globalized, knowledge-based, world economy. International Economic Environment The latter half of 2006 has witnessed a distinct slowing in the growth of the US economy, still the single most potent locomotive of global growth. The Doha Round of multilateral trade liberalization remains mired in limbo. Oil prices, though off their peaks, remain high with little prospect of falling below $50 a barrel.The chances of some slackening in the growth of world output and trade are clearly rising. Just as the Indian economy has benefited from strong global expansion in the last four years, so it may expect to bear some downside risks from slower world growth in the years ahead. IV Medium Term Growth Prospects Since 2003/4 there have been quite a few studies projecting sustained, high growth of the Indian economy in the long-run, including the Goldman Sachs â€Å"BRICs† report (Wilson-Purushothaman, 2003), Rodrik-Subramanian (2004) and Kelkar (2004).Their specific projections and time-periods differ: Goldman Sachs foresaw near 6 percent growth for 50 years; Rodrik-Subramanian projected a minimum of 7 percent for the next 20 years and Kelkar was even more optimistic wi th his growth expectation of 10 percent. 11 More recently, with a three-year 8 percent average already achieved and the 11 See Acharya (2004) for a critical assessment of these bullish growth expectations. 21 current year likely to register a similar rate, the Government’s Planning Commission (2006) has outlined GDP growth projections for 2007/8-2011/12 of 8 to 9 percent.Bhalla (2007, forthcoming) goes further and foresees 10 percent growth as almost inevitable. Most probably, the majority of serious economists in India would today expect economic growth in the medium term (say, 2007-12) to average at least 8 percent. Such optimism is not wholly misplaced. It is based on the continuing strength of the positive factors outlined in section II above, especially globalization and â€Å"catch-up†, the demographic dividends, the rising middle class, a vibrant entrepreneurial culture, positive expectations of future economic reforms and a generally benign international econom ic environment.The optimists are not blind to the risks and threats outlined in section III. They simply expect the growth-enhancing tendencies to prevail or, more subtly, for the dynamics of growth to generate solutions to constraints such as infrastructure and education. Figure 3 provides encouragement to the bullish outlook. 22 Figure 3: India's GDP Growth 8 7 Percentage 6 5 4 3 2 1 2006-07 2003-04 2000-01 1997-98 1994-95 1991-92 1988-89 1985-86 1982-83 1979-80 1976-77 1973-74 1970-71 1967-68 1964-65 1961-62 1958-59 1955-56 0 Year Rolling Average (5 year)In my view, the downside factors outlined in section III, should carry more weight in assessing India’s medium term growth prospects. There is a good chance that the currently bullish view of growth expectations is overly influenced by the recent past (2003 onwards), a period of strong cyclical upswing in both the global economy and Indian industry. The strength of the cycle could abate in the next couple of years and Indi a’s growth could revert to a trend rate in the range of 6 to 7 percent, perhaps closer to the higher figure.Even then, under this â€Å"pessimistic† scenario, annual per capita growth would be at a historical peak for India (Table 11). If this is â€Å"pessimism†, then I plead guilty to the charge (though it does place me among a small minority of Indian economists today)! 23 Table 11: Medium Term Growth Expectations 1992/3 –2005/6 2002/3 -2006/7 2007/8 – 2011 /12 â€Å"Optimist† â€Å"Pessimist† GDP % 6. 4 7. 2 * 8 – 10 6. 5 – 7. 0 GDP per capita (%) 4. 4 5. 5 6. 5 – 8. 5 5 – 5. 5 * Assuming Reserve Bank projection of 8. percent GDP growth for 2006/7 Perhaps the most noteworthy point is that medium- term growth expectations for India are so buoyant that the range between optimists and pessimists is placed so high, within a fairly narrow band of about 7 to 9 percent. Only time will tell who is closer to bei ng right. V Some Implications of India’s Rise India’s growth at an average rate of almost 6 percent a year over the past quarter of a century (with per capita growth of nearly 4 percent a year) is both remarkable and commendable.Certainly, back in 1980, there was almost no respectable scholar or institution predicting such sustained development of this poverty-ridden, populous country. At the same time, the prevailing fashion of bracketing India’s rise with China’s exceptionally dynamic development under rubrics like â€Å"China and India Rising† may mask more than it reveals. If India’s development in the last 25 years has been good, China’s has been extraordinary. Furthermore, while India has been a gradual â€Å"globalizer†, China’s surging development has been far more intensively based on global trade and capital flows.As a consequence, the global economic impact of China’s rise has been much more dramatic in terms of the usual metrics of international economic relations: trade, capital flows and energy. A glance at Table 12 illustrates this obvious point. The comparison of columns 5 and 6 of the table is especially instructive. It highlights both the 24 dramatic increase in China’s engagement with the world economy over the five years 2000 to 2005, as well as the much milder rise in Ind ia’s international economic integration. For example, China’s goods exports increased by an amount which was five times the level of India’s total goods exports in 2005.Similarly, the increase in oil consumption in China was almost equal to India’s total oil consumption in 2005. Table12: China and India: Global Impact China India Increment (2000-05) 2000 (1) 2005 (2) 2000 (3) 2005 (4) China (5) India (6) 249. 1 762. 4 45. 5* 104. 7* 513. 3 59. 2 Share of World Exports (%)e 3. 9 7. 3 0. 7 0. 9 3. 4 0. 2 Service Exports ($ billion) a,b 30. 4 74. 4 16. 2* 60. 6* 44 44. 4 Current Account Balance ($ billion) a,b 20. 5 160. 8 -2. 7* -10. 6* 140. 3 -7. 6 Foreign Exchange Reserves ($ billion) a 165. 6 818. 9 37. 2 131. 0 653. 3 93. 8FDI inflow ($ billion)c 30. 1# 72. 4 1. 7# 6. 6 42. 3 4. 9 FDI stock (Inward, $ billion) c 193. 3 317. 9 17. 5 45. 3 124. 6 27. 8 Oil Consumption (million tonnes)d 223. 6 327. 3 106. 1 115. 7 103. 7 9. 6 Primary Energy Consumption (million tonnes oil equivalent) d 966. 7 1554. 0 320. 4 387. 3 587. 3 66. 9 Merchandise Exports ($ billion) a,b Note: * Data for India refer to fiscal year 2000-01 and 2005-06 # 1990-2000 (Annual Average) Sources: a International Financial Statistics, December 2006 (http://ifs. apdi. net/imf/) b RBI, Handbook of Statistics on the Indian

Manipulation of the Socialization Aspect of Schools Essay Example

Manipulation of the Socialization Aspect of Schools Essay Example Manipulation of the Socialization Aspect of Schools Essay Manipulation of the Socialization Aspect of Schools Essay Manipulation of the Socialization Aspect of Schools Kierra Snyder Education tends to become a first priority in the lives of young people, and as it does it assumes some of the responsibilities of socialization previously held within the family unit. One major aspect of this is the development of respect for peers and their individual cultures and identities. In this day and age this form of socialization is becoming more important as it teaches children to accept those around them, elping to prepare these children for the cultural diversity they will undoubtedly be surrounded with in their adult lives. This socialization also assists in reaffirming morals that may have been taught at home, if not supplying a new set of guidelines for their new environment at school. In my opinion this socialization process can and should become the most direct teaching of general morality for our youth, and by creating an emphasis on appropriate social interaction we can improve childrens ense of conscience while subsequently teaching both self-love and freedom of expression. Socialization, in its most basic form, is the process of learning through social interaction and is the perfect vector for teaching morality. Most early socialization outside of the home occurs in a school setting. This can make it incredibly easy to standardize moral learning in the same ways we do instruction of math or history. Most of our morals are based on appropriate human social interactions; we shouldnt injure or kill other people, steal others things, or mistreat he people who are there to help us, and we should always respect our environment. All of these morals are important to maintaining a peaceful environment in schools, making them very easy to enforce in our childrens consciences. Once a punishment is observed for an action it becomes a deterrent and most children will have a natural aptitude for learning morality simply because they fear the repercussions of their words and actions. This can be easily modeled with properly supervised social interaction to teach how to respect those around us. If we focus in on the aspect of teaching respect for others as a moral within the school systems, the argument can be made that this is where there is a tendency for educators to slack off on moral teaching. It is generally accepted and even expected that people should have respect for others cultures and individuality in the adult world, but this is not well taught or explained to most children. They leave school assuming that the entire world operates with the same clique mentality that they witnessed for the past thirteen years. This is pretty destructive in most cases as it means that these children have higher tendencies toward bullying and hazing practices, and beyond that shun and shame those that express a sense of self or any outward signs of individuality. Teaching children that this is morally wrong at a younger age may even circumvent the cycle of abuse that leads to self-harm and suicidal tendencies for many teenagers. It must also be taught that self-harm is not an acceptable escape tactic for those feeling uncomfortable in their skin. The tendency for younger and younger hildren to pick up self-harm as a coping mechanism is alarming. This problem is composed primarily of young girls that are so desperate to be thin theyre willing to risk their lives. This is why we need appropriate moral learning in our schools; it could save thousands of lives to Just teach our children that they shouldnt mock others for any reason and that they should respect themselves and their own bodies. It would be beneficial to teach self-love to our children as another moral, this may be especially helpful in lowering teen suicide rates. It should certainly be kept in mind that the Bible is not the only source of morals to learn, and perhaps should not be emphasized in moral teachings. Altogether we need to teach children how to treat all people morally. There could be a major benefit in teaching children to regret disrespecting themselves and others. I agree with Immanuel Kants view of the human conscience as inevitable and that the more it is ignored the weaker it gets. I dont see how we can go on allowing the future generations to weaken their consciences by bullying. I dont want to see where the world would be in twenty years if all of the children in our schools were no longer taught the most basic rules of social interactions. Kant does not go so far as to say that the conscience can be taught to Judge certain actions or thoughts as wrong and requiring regret, but I believe it does, and should be used to help develop better social norms in American culture at least for positivity towards all other living things. Education systems should include the most basic of morals and ones that teach our children to love who they are.

Free Essays on Bertolt Brecht Bibliography

Bertolt Brecht was born on February 10, 1898 in the medieval city of Augsburg, part of the Bavarian section of the German Empire. He married in 1897, his father was a Catholic and his mother a Protestant. Brecht was their first child. His father worked as Chief Clerk in a paper factory, clearly fitting the definition of "bourgeois." His mother was ill with breast cancer most of his young life. Throughout his life Brecht was supported by his family, especially his father with whom he disagreed strongly concerning the bourgeois lifestyle. His father continued to provide financial support and a home for much of his life. Only one piece of correspondence between them survives: a letter where Brecht begs his father to raise his illegitimate children. Brecht was a sickly child, with a congenital heart condition and a facial tic. As a result he was sent to a sanatorium to relax. At age six he attended a Protestant elementary school and at age ten a private school. Like most students, he was educated in Latin and the humanities, and later exposed to thinkers such as Nietzsche. He suffered a heart attack at the age of twelve, but soon recovered and continued his education. While in school he began writing, and ended up co-founding and co-editing a school magazine called "The Harvest". By age sixteen he was writing for a local newspaper and had written his first play, The Bible, about a girl who must choose whether between living or dying and saving many others. He was later almost expelled at age eighteen for disagreeing on whether it was necessary to defend his country in time of war. By nineteen he had left school and started doing clerical work for the war, prevented from active duty due to health problems. In 1917 he resumed his education, this time attending Ludwig Maximilian Universitaet in Munich where he matriculated as a medical student. While there he attended Artur Kutscher's seminars on the theatre. He despised many of his fell... Free Essays on Bertolt Brecht Bibliography Free Essays on Bertolt Brecht Bibliography Bertolt Brecht was born on February 10, 1898 in the medieval city of Augsburg, part of the Bavarian section of the German Empire. He married in 1897, his father was a Catholic and his mother a Protestant. Brecht was their first child. His father worked as Chief Clerk in a paper factory, clearly fitting the definition of "bourgeois." His mother was ill with breast cancer most of his young life. Throughout his life Brecht was supported by his family, especially his father with whom he disagreed strongly concerning the bourgeois lifestyle. His father continued to provide financial support and a home for much of his life. Only one piece of correspondence between them survives: a letter where Brecht begs his father to raise his illegitimate children. Brecht was a sickly child, with a congenital heart condition and a facial tic. As a result he was sent to a sanatorium to relax. At age six he attended a Protestant elementary school and at age ten a private school. Like most students, he was educated in Latin and the humanities, and later exposed to thinkers such as Nietzsche. He suffered a heart attack at the age of twelve, but soon recovered and continued his education. While in school he began writing, and ended up co-founding and co-editing a school magazine called "The Harvest". By age sixteen he was writing for a local newspaper and had written his first play, The Bible, about a girl who must choose whether between living or dying and saving many others. He was later almost expelled at age eighteen for disagreeing on whether it was necessary to defend his country in time of war. By nineteen he had left school and started doing clerical work for the war, prevented from active duty due to health problems. In 1917 he resumed his education, this time attending Ludwig Maximilian Universitaet in Munich where he matriculated as a medical student. While there he attended Artur Kutscher's seminars on the theatre. He despised many of his fell...

The Concept of Human Relation Skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Concept of Human Relation Skills - Essay Example The school's management mentioned in the case studies were keen enough to ensure that the supervisors assigned to each school were able to illustrate effective human relation skills aspects (Wiles & Bondi, 2004). Concerning the case studies within our textbook, supervisors play an important role in the organization. This is because they are responsible for making sure that the duties, which are assigned to them by the higher-level managers, are carried out effectively with no delay. The responsibilities of the supervisors include giving the managers accurate and timely information that is required for planning as well as informing them of the performance of each department. The role of the supervisors is also to act as a form of bridge for passing information between the management and the employees (Wiles & Bondi, 2004). Therefore, the responsibilities of a supervisor in an organization need to be emphasized for better operational results. Being a supervisor is not an easy task because of the changes that are incorporated into the role. Based on the case studies, a supervisor is meant to carry out responsibilities that ensure the operations that are conducted in the organization are in line with the organizational goals. New supervisors are expected to apply more human relations as well as conceptual skills. They are also expected to look at the activities within the departments and devote a significant amount of time in planning. Another change that is quite evident is that once an individual becomes a supervisor the relationship that existed with the other employees’ changes based on the fact that he/she will be addressed as a member of the management.  

Question is below Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Question is below - Essay Example Still, we wonder at the real enormity of freedom granted to the people that have been tempered by the government’s implementation of rules and regulations which effectively shrank the people’s rights. A closer look on lobbying for the public’s freedom has on the other hand, generated so much confusion. This is probably because the people do not really have a cohesive stand on issues concerning rights, privileges, limitations and violations. So now, after lapping in the comforts of the information age for years, we come at another crucial but definitely interesting point of contention. What limits should be set by law on the freedom of expression of communication and publication via the internet? We need to highlight on censorship not only of indecent materials via the internet but also of other forms of psychological abuse towards humanity. This is due to the fact that news reports have illustrated examples of alarming crimes directly or vicariously connected from having accessed materials published virtually. If it has spawned criminal behavior, of that we need empirical evidence but the truth remains that misbehaviors have been learned and continuously so, through the web. We draw the line at child and explicit adult pornography. We draw the line at extreme graphic violence and psychologically damaging elements. We draw the line at unlimited access particularly for children of sites that are too exploitative or too destructive to the over-all well-being and dignity of each person. Restrictions are primordially important since we have struggled to espouse special protection for women and children from the laws that have been enacted. Yet, from the sites available on the internet alone, we see horrendous and crippling images of the marginalized members of the society that we have sworn to protect. Furthermore, numerous libelous statements have genuinely defamed entities because of lack or inconsistent interpretation of statutes concerning