A Cultural Event I Ever Witnessed Essay

Kenyatta University is known beyond African continent for its annual culture week, an event during which activities that reflect diverse African culture are performed. The much awaited cultural week is characterized by songs, drama, poems, drama among other topical activities. I was privileged to attend the cultural week organized during the month of September, 2007 and held both at the universities cultural village and the finals held at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Kenya. The most interesting was a traditional song presented in one of the native languages reflecting the manner with which the interest of others present and could not understand the local languages were catered for. Most of the songs were presented by groups composed of members from different communities, a clear indication of the cooperation and sharing within the communities at that time. A great artistic skill was depicted in the manner in which the singing group combined the different sounds to produce an enjoyable song, with coming in at different times and parts. It was accompanied by both traditional and modern instruments, stringed, drums, the piano and projected by the loud speakers for many to be able to hear. The performing group wrapped a lesso on their bodies. However, most of the traditional costumes were missing, enough to predict that the communities were moving away from the traditional dressing codes. The song was introduced by two of the performers, who played different parts in turn, the dance was in pairs and the group also left the stage in pairs. Through out the song though at different points, tonal variation was employed and this caught interest of the audience. All these reflected a great style. The lead singer who happened to be a lady demonstrated a great ability in tonal variation and dancing more than others in the team. Others could be heard whispering that â€Å"she is genius†, and actually she was and in all her performances, none matched her. It was a fact that the song described above had a lot in common with other forms of cultural expression at that time. Other forms as well included more than one performer, and involved the use of sound to communicate. Many forms of expression adhere to a specific style during performance and involve some degree of individual inherent exceptional ability, even though training also efficiently enhance success of such forms. They are performed during a cultural event and need audience. However, in contrast, most of the forms of cultural expression at that time were in a common language (that is English language) and did not involve cultural accompamyments neither was dance a common characteristic even though some element of demonstration were evidenced. REFERENCES Cook, N (1990) music imagination and culture. New York: Oxford University Press. Bratton, J. S (Ed. ) (1986) music Hall: Performance and Style. Philadelphia: Open University Press. Sloboda, J. A (1985) The Musical Mind: The cognitive Psychology of Music. New York: Clarendom Press.

Evaluation of Maladaptive Behavior Essay

Maladaptive behavior is commonly observed in children who have troubled family lives or low self esteem (Maladaptive Behavior, 2003). In this case, there could be several reasons that the child is exhibiting and engaging in maladaptive behavior related to his environment at home. Using a variety of theories of moral development as well as a question-answer evaluation of the parenting styles of the child’s parents, the maladaptive behavior seen in the child as well as a solution will try to be understood. Different types of maladaptive behavior are attributed to different problems. While most parents simply believe that their child is misbehaving, maladaptive behavior is usually classified in groupings such as attention-seeking or revengeful, behavior inappropriateness (Maladaptive Behavior, 2003). The child being observed exhibits both types of maladaptive behavior, which can most likely be explained by moral development theories and poor parenting. For the behaviors such as repeating swear words, throwing food on the floor, drawing on the walls, and screaming in public, it is most likely a result of a self esteem or attention-seeking issue. The child is trying to get in trouble to get attention from the parents (Maladaptive Behavior, 2003). The child knows these behaviors are bad as Kohlberg states, â€Å"younger school-aged children tend to think either in terms of concrete, unvarying rules†¦or in terms of the rules of society†(Feldman, 2011; p. 311). However, the child also knows that participating in these behaviors will result in attention from the parents. The child is obviously aware that these actions are not societally accepted because it is likely that they have not observed them in their teachers, parents or other powerful authority figures (Feldman, 2011). In this area of maladaptive behavior, it would seem that the parents might have an uninvolved parenting style. To determine if this is true, the parents should be asked questions about their involvement with the child and how concerned they are with aspects of his development other than their role as a provider. The following questions would suffice: Do you believe that your only job is to feed, clothe, and shelter your child? (Feldman, 2011) Is there any child abuse or neglect in the family? (Feldman, 2011) How involved with your child would you say you are on a day-to-day basic, specifically related to disciplining their behavior? (Feldman, 2011) These would all be important to ask because if their answers indicate that they are neglectful, uninvolved in disciplinary as well as other areas of development, or confused on their role as a parent, they may be uninvolved parents. According to the textbook, â€Å"Children whose parents show uninvolved parenting styles are the worst off†¦their parents’ lack of involvement disrupts their emotional development, leading them to feel unloved†(Feldman, 2011; p. 317). This could make them act out in an attempt to get the attention of their indifferent or detached parents. The reasons behind the child’s behavior of hitting other children in daycare and ignoring direct commands from parents may be more along the lines of revengeful maladaptive behavior as it is intentional causation of harm to another student or person (Maladaptive Behavior, 2003). According to Piaget, children in the heteronomous stage, which happens in the early years of childhood, believe in immanent justice, â€Å"the notion that rules that are broken earn immediate punishment†(Feldman, 2011; p. 309). For this child, it is possible that he does not understand that his behavior is unacceptable even if he is mad at another student. This is probably the result of permissive parenting by the parents. The student most likely has never known that his behavior is bad because permissive parents such as his â€Å"provide lax and inconsistent feedback†¦and place little or no limits or control on their childrens behavior† (Feldman, 2011; p.316). To determine if this is true of the parents’ style of discipline the following questions could be asked: Do you expect a lot from your child in the areas of behavior? Would you ever be punitive or clear and consistent in your limits with your child? It they answer that they have few expectations, would rarely limit their children, or are inconsistent with their discipline it is possible that their permissiveness is causing the child to act badly in school and disregard their correction when it is given. Based on the observation of the parenting styles the child sees at home as well as the information from the moral development theories, it is clear that the parents are most likely at fault for their child’s maladaptive behavior. If they want their child to correct his behavior, they should engage in more authoritative parenting as children raised in this parenting style â€Å"fare best†¦are independent, friendly with peers, and cooperative† (Feldman, 2011; p.317). The parent should, as a part of this parenting style, be firm and set clear and consistent limits on their children. Additionally, induction, or discipline paired with explanation, can also be used so the child knows what they did and why it was wrong and can correct it in the future (Lee, 2013). References Feldman, R.S. (2011). Life span development: A topical approach. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Lee, M. (2013, April 1). Class #28: Prosocial Behavior, Values, and Spirituality. GPSYCH 160: Life Span Human Development – Section 8. Lecture conducted from James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA. Maladaptive Behavior. (2003). Retrieved April 8, 2013, from http://disease.disease.com/Therapy/Behavior/maladaptive-behavior.html

Schools & Society Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Schools & Society - Research Paper Example Family is universally accepted as the basic unit of society. Hence in understanding culture, studying family life is important. Specifically, the study centres on family structure, roles, and ideals. Similarly, studying their holidays and festivals is also important, because this manifests their beliefs and values. In fact, holidays which could be religious, political, or cultural in nature are observed because people find some things important, memorable, or sacred on them. The primary interest of the study here is to understand the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ in order to know their beliefs. Lastly, studying their language is also important because this manifests the diversity of the culture and the origin of the people. Here, the study generally centres on the questions of ‘what’, ‘who’, and ‘from where’. B. Two Cultures Studied 1. South Asian Indian Culture India, as described in India’s official government portal, M y India My Pride (2012)– a secondary source for the study of the Indian culture – is among the world’s oldest civilizations with rich culture and heritage it has gained from its more than 4000 years of existence. Comprised of 28 states and seven territories, India, according to a secondary source for the study of the Indian culture, Zimmerman (2013), is unsurprisingly South Asia’s largest single nation. Its society is sharply hierarchical, known for its caste system. Hierarchy, as explained by Jacobson (2004) – the primary source for the study of the Indian culture, is determined mainly by gender and age. Hence, the male is higher than the female and the older male is higher than the younger male. Hierarchy is very evident not only in caste groups but even in family and kinship groups. It is based on this hierarchy that family members are accorded with respect. The high regard of Indian family in hierarchy makes family in India more fascinating. Fa mily life. Traditional Indian family structure is best described as closely knitted, extended, and patriarchal. Indians regard the family to mean not only the father, mother, and siblings as commonly understood, but also their grandparents with all of them living under the same roof, working, sharing common income, eating, celebrating, and worshipping together. As the family further expands they divide into smaller units and become joint families continuing the same patterns of family life. (Jacobson, 2004) The father heads the family. This does not simply mean that the father is the bread-winner of the family. Rather to Indians, this also means that the male family member sustains the extended family. Hence, a married Indian male brings home his wife to be part of his natal household. Thus, the wife has to live with her in-laws together with her children. This also means that the transition of leadership goes from the father to the eldest son, and not to the mother. While the eldes t male heads the family, his wife is in-charged to supervise their daughters-in-law and younger children. Thus, the older generation takes good care of the younger generation, which the latter repays in return. Such family roles put boys at higher esteem than girls. Besides, marriage in Indians is traditionally decided by the socio-economic status of the girl. (Jacobson,

Microfinance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Microfinance - Essay Example regular banks, in most cases because they are unable to offer sufficient collateral.† (Gert van Maanen, 2) There are two schools of thought regarding the entire industry of Microfinance: the first advocates non-profit lending, while the other takes the opposite view- that for-profit. In this regard, this essay is written to present arguments that profit microfinance institutions (MFIs) are better off by pursuing profits making them more sustainable than non-profit MFIs. This paper will argue that by microfinance institutions (MFIs) pursuing their own interest (profits) this is the only way to be sustainable & will lead to more outreach & more the greater good for all impoverished people despite the fact MFIs are for-profit. Years of research indicate that for-profit MFIs are more sustainable than non-profit microfinance institutions because they have higher growth rates, access to a larger pool of funding and are much more profitable. According to Global Microfinance Forum (1), â€Å"profit-maximizing MFIs run just as normal businesses do, making enough profit to fund themselves and benefit owners and investors.† For-profit MFI’s pursue profits because they are market driven. They could rely on donor funds in their initial stages, but unlike non-profit MFI’s, they specifically stipulate that their goal is to be financially self-sufficient—the ability to rely on themselves financially from within the institution. Hence, by gaining profits they want to grow, expand the number of institutions; lower all possible costs and ultimately reach the most amounts of people possible. By relying on themselves, for-profit MFIs are sustainable. The opportunities for profit MFIs are greater in terms of availability and accessibility for investor capital. In addition, with their own sources of funds, potentials for expanding their target market are vast. Supporters for nonprofit MFIs stipulate that these institutions solicit funds from donors, grants, government

Note making portfolio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Note making portfolio - Essay Example Manufacturers would tie different price tags to their products depending on these indicators The potential for small market segments to order and acquire the applications using online approach makes it possible to run the technology on small productions hence applicable to many areas of economy. Accessibility during this time when most of the transactions can be done online is an important phenomenon especially for the small businesses. The purchase of 3D printing model is possible using the online hence giving the small businesses easy accessibility to the technology The 3D printing technology has superiority over most alternative technologies because it is friendly to small businesses. In fact, such businesses can make their purchases for the 3D printing technology using online resources. The use of 3D printing technology give value of money to both the consumer and the customer because the product manufacturers would be able to satisfy their customers and build the confidence on their

Performance Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Performance Management - Essay Example Performance management is a process that came into the scene during the period of 1980s and continues to impact the business environment (Armstrong, 1998, p.47). This research paper will focus on the topic of performance management while focusing specifically on the subjects of its definitions, purpose, benefits as well as methods used to conduct this process. Definition of Performance Management Researchers have provided the world of business with several definitions of performance management. For example: Samsonowa defines performance management as a process that is conducted on continuous basis in order to attain the objective of improving individual’s performance of tasks while involving activities including setting of goals, providing feedback along with reinforcing behavior as well as training of employees (Samsonowa, 2011,p.33). According to this definition the process of performance management is conducted with the sole aim of enhancing individual task performances by providing certain aims and targets to employees for achievement and ensuring that these targets are met by providing training and development to employees and if employees fail to attain those targets, they are provided with further training and development in order to decrease their performance gaps. The definition even pays emphasis to involvement of feedback, rewards as well as punishments in order to reinforce behavior. This means that with the assistance of performance management, employers first identify how well employees have performed and if they perform according to set targets and standards, they are provided with rewards to ensure that similar behavior occurs again in future and if they fail to attain targets they are punished in order to ensure that certain behaviors are not repeated. Purpose of Performance Management The process of performance management and creation of performance management systems is done on the basis of either one or of the two purposes or for both the purposes including administrative/decision making purposes and developmental purposes (Smither, 2009). When performance management is conducted for the purpose of decision making/administrative purposes the aim of the organization is to use the process to document the performance of individual employees and to make decision regarding the rewards and punishments to be offered to employees. The rewards and punishments that might be offered to employees on the basis of the process of performance management may include promotion or downgrade of an employee from one position to another increasing or decreasing compensation and benefits of the employees in order to either reinforce their performance or encourage them to perform better in future. On the other hand when the purpose of conducting performance management is developmental in nature, current performance of individuals is compared to either historical performance or set targets and if a difference between current and budgete d performance is figured out, employees are provided training and development in order to close the gap in performance levels. Both purposes have their own strengths and the purposes cannot be rated in order to figure out which purpose is more effective and efficient. Advantage of the Process of Performance Management One of the main benefits of performance m

Essays Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Essays - Essay Example He is able indeed, as Aristotle claimed, to show that â€Å"causes were abstract essences that could be found through logical deduction† (Blair Bolles, 1997: p88). Crito blames himself for not doing more to save his friend, but he is motivated more by what others will think because he has not spent enough money to keep his friend safe. His appeals to Socrates are emotive, and suggest that Socrates should consider his own life as greater than reason and logic. Socrates losing his children and his seeming cowardice are raised by Crito in this attempt at persuasion, while the possibility of leaving, facilitated by Crito’s connections, is highlighted to tempt Socrates. Throughout, the power of the majority to do harm is emphasized, and Crito expects Socrates to be very aware of their power over his own life. As his opening point against this persuasion, Socrates presents the contention that the opinions of the majority in the society are at least secondary to the opinions of the reasonable. Despite Crito’s claim that the majority needs to be considered, since it has most power over the life of Socrates at that moment, Socrates continues to believe that the value of a reasoned and logical decision is greater than the value of a popularly held opinion. He contends that the majority cannot always hold sway as good sense is not determined by the number of the people following a particular way of thinking but rather by the value of the thinking itself: it needs to be reasoned and logical. Socrates then develops this line of reasoning to argue that it is valid to recognize that some opinions have more worth than others. Opinions which favor the good are superior to those that favor the bad. When wise people have opinions, they are necessarily good – foolish people will thus have opinions favoring the bad. He then uses an analogy to strengthen this logic. The

Critical thinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Critical thinking - Essay Example g or valid reasoning is also widely used in reporting events that is happening around us, tell jokes to our friends and colleagues, extending an invitation to a special someone, making promises to other people, telling stories, giving orders or instructions to our subordinates or co-workers, describing something, entertaining other people, the act of evoking emotions, and a lot more (Fischer a, pp. 15 - 16). To have a good critical thinking, having a good logic is never enough in enabling us to solve problems. It is equally important for us to have positive attitude and the necessary skills and knowledge in terms of solving problems. With regards to the importance of critical thinking, the definition of critical thinking as mentioned by Alec Fisher and Friedrich Nietzsche will be discussed followed by comparing and contrasting the two traditions of critical thinking. As part of going through the main discussion, specific examples coming from its respective texts will be provided accordingly. As part of the conclusion, my personal reflection will be expressed in details explaining how I view the two traditions of critical thinking as explained by Fisher and Nietzsche. Alec Fisher acknowledges the different definitions of critical thinking as provided by the famous contributors behind the development of critical thinking which includes John Dewey, Edward Glaser, Robert Ennis, Richard Paul, and Michael Scriven. According to Fischer, John Dewey – known as the ‘father’ of the modern critical thinking tradition defined critical thinking or ‘critico-creative thinking as â€Å"active, persistent, and careful consideration of a belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds which support it and the further conclusions to which it tends† (Fisher b, p. 2). Upon analyzing the definition of critical thinking as provided by Dewey, it simply means that critical thinking is an ‘active’ process or the process wherein the receiver of information or

Education and Freedom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Education and Freedom - Essay Example De-monopolizing public educational institutions would ensure that standards are raised, students and teachers are better motivated, greater innovation would be allowed, costs would be brought down and specific needs of children would be met (Ayse, 2012). Public education is not consistent with responsibility and freedom. Public education in fact wears away personal freedom and that is why it should be replaced with market solutions, competition, and parental choice. Since parents are charged with their children’s education, then it means families would be best suited in a free market to decide which educational institutions are best suited for their children. Education being an economic commodity should be bought in the marketplace dictated by valuation and preferences of consumers. Thus in an education market that is free, students and parents would be at liberty to make a decision on the basis of perceived benefits and costs of each available option. Essentially, education procurement does not vary from acquiring any other private commodity. Schools that are market-based have got incentives that provide quality education at a price that is competitive. Thus the separation of education and state would reinstate academic inte grity, intellectual freedom as well as individual accomplishment. The free market can best furnish the public with high quality education services. The finest school choice plan therefore is the one based on free market (Harry, 2013). Colleges should prepare people to be good citizens. The purpose of education has been debated world over by teachers, scholars, statesmen and several considerate men and women. There has always been one predictable answer; knowledge acquisition. Even more complete is the utterance made by the Archbishop of York that â€Å"the true purpose of education is to produce citizens.† This statement sounds true not only the day it was uttered but also today. However in the modern day society, it’s a main

The Constitution Theory Essay Example for Free

The Constitution Theory Essay INTRODUCTION: Main purpose of this article is to review the European Union Constitution and to find out how it will allocate power within the EU member states. The present debate about the EU’s constitution is about its balance of power. Under the new expanded market, how the common market is going to be managed. How the government social policy is to be determined? Under common constitution, how the defense and foreign affairs is going to be accomplished? Is integration is necessary and if so, by how much? As regards to EU and member States, where the institutional power is going to be housed? If and when the EU constitution is approved by its Citizens and successive ratification of the respective Member governments, the EU Constitution will simplify and speed up the matters relating to home affairs and justice as these are all going to be dealt with at European level itself but also fostering more democratic accountability and transparency into decision making. EVALUTION OF EUROPEAN UNION CONSTITUTION: The EU constitution is divided into four parts. Part 1 deals with the definition of Union, its institution’s competences. Part II deals with the fundamental rights of the Union. Part III explains EC treaty and TEU with broad details on social, economical, detail on internal market, external action, monetary policy and the activities of the EU institutions. Part IV consists of various declarations and protocols. Under the present EU constitution, how the relationships between Union and its member states are going to be maintained is the main focal point of this essay. The uniqueness of EU like its state –like characteristic and the mandate and independence of its various institutions are evaluated. Further the declared objectives and values of the Union are briefly explained with critical attention to safeguard of human rights. The substantial authority enshrined to EU based on a number of stated or implied principles underlying union action. This analysis also evaluates the five exceptional articles in EU constitution that underscore the Union’s continuing commitment to Member State sovereignty. The constitution stipulates that most of its decisions at EU level will be approved only by the unanimous vote or common accord or consensus. Thus it confers to the State the right to block the decision and veto and this symbolizes a unique reservation of power to the Member states. EU has the autonomy as a governmental entity and it resembles those of modern nation-states and EU is composed of official bodies of national government. But in reality, there exists certain limitation on the Union and its institutions. EU is a distinct authority and its existence is separated by its Member States. It is established as a constitutional authority and posse’s legal personality.   EU is enjoying certain constitutional rights and protection for the execution of its tasks. Since the EU is a juristic person, it has the privileges of owning property and to be a party to legal proceedings. The EU constitution accords EU with symbols like a national anthem, a flag, an annual holiday, a motto and Union common currency ‘Euro’. EU comprises of specific set of institutions and of ‘institutional framework’ and these institutions is authorized to constitute law for the Union and its majority of its regulative activities are to be carried out at the central, EU level. Thus the activities of these institutions are subject to oversee by independent ombudsman of the European Parliament. Thus the EU has been established on permanent basis with its own constitution. There is also room for the further expansion of the EU and is open ‘to all â€Å"European States† willing to promote the Union’s values. Constitution of the EU stipulates that EU has the duty to ‘respect the equality of Members States, to honour their national identities and to recognise their essential state functions. In the eyes of the constitution, the Union and its Member States are alike and each of them is necessitated to follow to ‘the code of sincere cooperation’. The constitution requires the Union and Member States to exhibit mutual respect, help each other in accomplishing tasks which originates from the constitution. The Article 1-60 grants exit power to the Member States and authorizes a State to unilaterally withdraw from the EU. The Member State can grant certain rights to EU under its law like ownership of property. This right underscores the EU constitution the strength of the Member State as well as the legal personality of the EU. Further the EU is subject to the contract law and tort law of individual Member States. The EU constitution will become effective only after the approval of the each Member States at its national level as per its own constitutional requirements and it should be ratified by all States. Any proposed amendment to constitution is required the unanimous consent of the Member States who are awarded with right of veto and can exercise this right even on minor change that may affect them . Further any new accession to EU is to be approved by the existing members of EU through their national procedure. Certain sensitive issues like official use of languages within the institution and location of the institutions are subject to unanimous approval of the Member States. EU constitution stipulates that ‘European framework laws’ will be binding ‘as to the results to be accomplished’ but leaving to the Member States ‘the Choice of form and methods.’ Further certain European regulations may stipulate that the States will select how to apply the desired policy.   Further under certain veiled circumstances, States may be authorised to initiate the EU legislative process. 2.1 FINANCE: EU has the financial independence. It does not depend upon the contribution from its members. EU raises its finances through taxation and also adopts its annual budget .Further EU is expected not to exceed its annual budgets. Thus the financial conduct of the EU is to be approved by the Member States and also unanimous approval by the council. In addition to this, each multi annual financial framework must be unanimously approved by the Council. It is pertinent to note that the lion’s share of EU’s finance is again diverted to as a financial support for agricultural and other programs of the Member States. 2.2 EXTERNAL RELATIONS: EU has to draft its own external relation policy. It’s relation with wider world and to contribute to security ,peace , sustainable development , mutual respect among subjects , poverty eradication, free and fair trade , human rights protection , observance of institutional law and respects for the principles of the United Nations Charter. It is worthwhile to mention that the authority of the EU to act in external affairs matters is cautiously limited. Member states are regarded as the Citizen of the EU. Thus the Member States as citizen of the EU has been granted with wide rights such as ‘right to move and reside freely in any member state ‘the right to vote and stand as a candidate in municipal and European parliament elections, the right to deal with the EU institutions in any official EU language and certain rights to diplomatic and consular assistance from any member state. Further EU has the obligation to serve to the interest of its citizens and to grant them ‘an area of security, freedom, justice without internal borders ‘along with the strong single market. EU has the obligation to treat all of its citizens impartially. The EU commitment to the principles of ‘participatory democracy ‘and ‘representative democracy ‘are of critical in nature and these articles offers citizens the right of representation in the EU parliament, the right to participate in the democratic life of the Union and the right to act through the EU-level political parties. Citizens can raise their voice through public forum, access for their representative association, can have consultation with the officials of EU and right of initiative. Further citizens have further rights like Union institutions should conduct open meetings, right of personal data protection, access to its important documents and respect for the national status of churches. EU offers dual citizenship to its members. Thus right to stand in the election is restricted to municipal and European parliament election.   No mention about the National and provincial election has been made and there is no explanation to what Municipal means. As such, the EU constitution has to be amended to include these provisions which requires the unanimous approval of its Members State This may provide derogation where warranted by problems specific to a Member State. The prerequisite of unanimity and possibilities for derogation exhibits limited power of the EU to delineate the rights of its citizens. One another outstanding aspect is that the tort claims may be initiated by the injured persons against EU ‘in accordance with the general laws of the Member States. Further Part 1 of the constitution of EU deals with the EU’s institutions like European Parliament, European Council, and Court of Justice .Significant activity of the institution is the creation of the EU’s legislation. The national parliaments of States must be informed all proposed EU legislation.   The States may object the any legislative part that violates the principles of its interest. One of the noteworthy is that EU Parliament is denied the right to introduce legislation as this power is vested with the Commission. Currently the decisions are taken by the qualified majority vote (QMV). But from 2009 onwards, QMV will to be approved by at least 55% of the members of the Council consisting of at least fifteen of them and representing member states comprising at least 65% of the population of the Union. Due to this policy, a small group of the largest state can able to prevent a successful vote although the Constitution stipulates at least four states to form a ‘blocking minority’. But under QMV, no single member is having the power to block EU legislation. Even though there exists QMV, the EU contains many provisions requiring the Council to act unanimously. 2.3 EUROPEAN COMMISSION: It acts as chief administrative body and permanent executive of the EU. EU acts as a guardian of the constitution and manager of the EU budget and programs. It has to remain as an independent body. Commission’s decision is taken by the majority of votes. The European Court of Justice (ECJ), European Central Bank (ECB) and Court of Auditors are bodies that are affiliated to EU and independent of other Union institutions. Both ECJ and ECB are vested with power over the Member States. ECJ will deal with the complaints from EU States on one another and will attempt to resolve the same. EU constitution contains the most of the values and objectives of EC Treaty and TEU. The preamble of the EU constitution includes ‘reunited Europe. The EU also wishes to remain as a continent open to learning, culture and social progress. To lead a democratic government, to strive for justice, peace and solidarity. It speaks about the protection of fundamental rights. The members are requested to help the EU to attain its objects and to refrain from any activity that would hamper the attainment of EU’s objectives. The EU constitution authorizes ‘improved cooperation’ among group of Member States an activity that undermines the cohesions of the EU. As per the provisions of the Article I-3, the Union is authorised to protect the well-being of it’s ‘peoples’ rather than its ‘People’. Further EU is authorised to exercise its conferred competences ‘in the community ways’ instead of federal basis as it was mentioned earlier. 2.4 PROTECTION OF INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS. Part II of the constitution describes the Fundamental Rights of the Union into the European Union Law. Some argue that EU must extend its objectives beyond the economic sphere and insertion of human rights charter in the constitution. The preamble concludes as follows: The Union therefore recognises the freedom, rights and principles set out hereafter. Thus the EU constitution structure has established institutions and explains its areas of activity, all are subject to the restriction on the EU and reservation in favour of the Member States. The following five provisions of the constitution deserve attention as it offers powerful statement on the status of the Member States within the Union. Article 1-5. Respect – The Union must respect the territorial integrity of the state thereby safeguarding the national security. These instructions may be intended to prohibit a hegemonic relationship. Article 1.44 – Enhanced Cooperation- Enhanced cooperation is aberrant of a true federal system in which powers are segregated vertically between the States and the central government. Article 1-59- Suspension of Rights: If any of the Member States has committed a ‘serious and persistent breach ‘of EU core values, the council has the power to suspend the membership of such states and despite of such suspension, the State is still bound by its obligations under the Constitution Article 1-60- Amending the constitution-   Any amendment of constitution   requires ratification by all the Member States and in Part III , unanimous voting can be changed to QMV . Further European Council must unanimously approve such amendments and must be referred to national parliaments and disagreement by any parliament may obstruct the amendment. CONCLUSION: The one question that arises is whether the creation of European Union is going to dominate its Creators. One has to remember that EU is a striking force not only in Europe but also in the rest of the world. As such, the Member States need not slide into stupor or inappropriateness. Thus EU Constitution will make the EU as an amalgam system. Most of the central features allocated to the Union under the Constitution will be carryover from the treaties. The EU Constitution has the following striking characteristics. EU citizenship will afford the nationals of EU the freedom to reside, vote, work anywhere in the EU.   The EU levies its own taxes and collects thereby revenues and meets its budget requirement on its own and is not depend on any contribution to from its member states. The EU has its own currency managed by its own central bank. It has its own Parliament, Council of ministers, commissions. The Union legislation is to be adopted by majority voting in the Council and European Parliament. Further EU law is having supremacy over the laws of its all Member States. EU has to act only within the restrictions of the power conferred on it by the Member States. Competences are still remaining with the Member States. Certain policy decisions have to be taken only on unanimous voting by all the Member States. Further without the consensus, the Council can not proceed in certain key decisions. Thus a single member has the ability to block any resolution and has the bargaining power and can demand concessions as the price for its voting. Another striking factor of EU is that foreign policy and defense are untouched and left with the respective Member States. EU constitution stipulates that it has to respect the integrity of the Member State as sovereign nation. EU has the right to suspension of rights of Member States and offers the Member States withdrawal rights from the EU. EU constitution can not be amended with out approval of each Member of the State. Last but not the least, as the world is facing constant shifting winds of international affairs, it is arduous to foresee whether the EU Constitution after its ratification will take the EU to success path? The balance of power as suggested by the EU Constitution is workable or not?   Whether its political concession can be sustained? Is the tremendous power among the Member States to transfer power to Brussels is going to succeed or not? Are some core group of states is going to be unwind for an enhanced co-operation between themselves? Only time has to answer all these questions. EU Constitution is aimed to maintain the Union’ current system of duality of Authority thereby facilitating the members to retain their position as sovereign nation in the EU with significant central features. Thus the EU constitution aims to bring all the Europeans under one umbrella and it provides more effective and simpler legal base for EU activities to promote security, freedom and justice and exactly explaining the responsibilities and aims already provided in successive EU treaties and thus assisting Europeans to be aware of them. REFERENCES: Dale, R. European Union, Properly Construed. Policy Review, (122), 2003 39+. European Union at Crossroads; Referendum on Constitution Set to Begin; French Vote Critical. The Washington Times, p. A08 February 6, 2005. The European Union Constitution on Border Checks, Asylum and Immigration. Population and Development Review, 30(4), 2004. 789+. Muller, K. Problems of European Union Citizenship Rights at the Periphery. The Australian Journal of Politics and History, 45(1), 1999, 35. Sieberson, S. C. How the New European Union Constitution Will Allocate Power between the EU and Its Member States a Textual Analysis. Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, 37(4), 2004. 993+. Steunenberg, B. (Ed.). Widening the European Union: The Politics of Institutional Change and Reform. New York: Routledge, 2002. Van Gerven, W. The European Union: a Polity of States and Peoples. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. 2005. Wallace, H. Wallace, W. (Eds.). Policy-Making in the European Union (4th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2000.

Asian Currency Crisis Causes and Effects

Asian Currency Crisis Causes and Effects Introduction One of the key characteristics of money is stability, however a currency crisis is said to occur when the value of a countrys currency becomes unstable and changes rapidly thereby undermining its ability to effectively serve as a medium of exchange. The Asian currency crisis was a period of financial meltdown which began in July 1997 and gripped the major proportion of East Asia. It remains one of the most talked about region-wide crisis in the 1990s, the sharpest to hit the developing countries, which resulted in a massive downward spiral of Asian economies hitherto seen as miracle economies and prompted the largest financial bailouts in history.(Radelet and Sachs 1998) This paper will examine the origin of the crisis, its impact on the economies of the countries involved and the measures that have been adopted to avoid a recurrence of a similar crisis. ORIGIN OF THE CRISIS Upon mutual agreement, based on the plaza accord (1985) between the US, Germany and Japan, the US dollar was devalued by about 60% to the Yen in real terms in order to alleviate the increasing US current account deficit. Japanese firms facing export competitiveness due to the appreciation of the Yen began to move production to south East Asian countries whose currencies were pegged to the dollar. This provided an ideal location for the Japanese firms in terms of international price competiveness. This inflow of investment from Japan to the South East Asian countries accelerated a pattern that led to large inflow of capital from other Asian and foreign countries into the East Asian countries. The fixed exchange rate system gave the south East Asian economies strong exports, low import prices and expected financial stability. For years, East Asian Countries were held up as economic icons. Their typical blend of high savings and investment rates, autocratic political systems, export-oriented businesses, restricted domestic markets, government capital allocation, and controlled financial systems were hailed as the ideal recipe for strong economic growth of developing countries (Shapiro 1999). Asian economies like Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Thailand enjoyed overall average growth rates of 5.6 percent, 6.6 percent, 7 percent, 6.9 percent and 4.6 percent respectively for several decades. Indonesia and Malaysia too enjoyed good economic performance during most of the 1970s and 1980s. (Rao, 1998) However, these miracle economies were brought down in July 1997 when a brewing currency crisis started from Thailand. This seed of the Asian currency crisis of 1997 were actually sown during the previous decades when these countries were experiencing unprecedented economic growth. For long, exports had long been the engine of economic growth in these countries and as such many Asian states were regarded as Export Power Houses. The increased foreign capital inflow into these economies also propelled capital expenditure which led to an investment boom in commercial and residential properties, industrial assets and infrastructure. These capital expenditures were financed by heavy borrowings from banks which had excess liquidity but no strong regulatory frameworks. Thus, by the mid 1990s, South East Asia was experiencing an unprecedented investment boom, much of it financed with foreign investments and borrowings. The case was made worse as much of the foreign borrowings had been in US d ollars as opposed to local currencies. At the time, this had seemed like a smart move (i.e. regional local currencies were pegged to the dollar and interest rates on dollar borrowings were generally lower than rates on borrowings in domestic currency, and it made economic sense to borrow in dollars if the option was available); but, many of the investments made with these funds were on the basis of projections about future demand conditions that were unrealistic. Soon, there were indications of macroeconomic imbalances in the Thai economy; the real exchange rate had risen to an apparently unsustainable level and the current account was also in constant huge deficit. Rao (1998). Also, Asian Countries started to see their ballooned volume of investments during the 1990s declining significantly. Paul krugman (1999) stated the Asian countries attracted so much foreign capital that their economic growth was fuelled more by sheer volume of investment rather than by the productivity of those individual investments. Therefore the governments in the region could not maintain their dollar peg and their currencies started to depreciate against the dollar, this increased the size of the debt burden that needed to be serviced when measured in local currency. This started the debt boom. A final complicating factor was that by 1996, there became a slackening of export growth which was much noticeable in Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan, while in Thailand there became a decline in the dollar value of exports. This decline in export did not stop growing import and this disparity saw many south Asian countries shifting strongly into the red during the mid 1990s. By 1995, Indonesia was running a current account deficit that was equivalent to 3.5% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Malaysias was 5.9% and Thailands was 8.1%. With deficits like these starting to pile up, it was becoming increasingly difficult for the governments of these countries to maintain the peg of their currencies against the U.S dollar. Thus by 1997, the first obvious indication of the crisis started with the Thai economy. Thailand could no longer defend their currency and therefore floated the baht on the 2nd of July 1997. (Rao, 1998). Prompted by these developments in Thailand, investors saw basically the same issues facing Thailand surfacing in other neighbouring countries. As a result, investors panicked; their fears were not allayed especially because of lack of transparency regarding issues such as the extent of government and private debt, the health of the financial sectors and no trust in the government to take pre-emptive corrective actions. This led to massive capital flight. The withdrawal of foreign currency led to dramatic depreciation in exchange rate and higher interest rates. This led to an increase in the number of non-performing loans, causing an erosion of the market value capital of most of the countries. Thus, the scene was now set for a potential rapid economic breakdown. There is no consensus on the exact origin of the currency crisis in East Asia; while some schools of thought believe that the crisis was caused by the initial financial turmoil in some Asian countries, followed by regional contagion (Radelet and Sachs, 1998; Marshall, 1998; and Chang and Velasco, 1999), others believe it occurred as a result of policy and structural distortions (Corsetti, Pensetti and Roubini; 1998). However, most of the East Asian economies were interdependent, hence it was only logical that a crisis in one would have a domino-effect and inadvertently cause a crisis in other East Asian Economies that were linked to it. Warning Signals during the 24 Months prior to the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, Months of Lead Time, and Performance Measures. Number of Warning Signals and Months of Lead Time (in parenthesis) Optimal threshold percentile Indonesia Korea Malaysia Philippine Thailand Singapore Noise to signal ratio Conditional crisis probability (%) Share of crisis predicted (%) Overall Composite Index 88 7(11) 9(10) 13(13) 10(11) 10(10) 0(10) 0.137 77 83 Current Account 90 7(11) 11(16 13(13) 11(11) 16(16) 0(0) 0.136 77 83 Capital Account 90 1(23) 0(0) 2(3) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0.288 62 63 Financial Sector 90 0(0) 0(0) 2(3) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0.313 60 67 Real Sector 90 2(2) 9(14) 0(0) 2(10) 4(13) 0(0) 0.322 53 31 Global Economy 80 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0.540 46 75 Fiscal Sector 87 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0.540 46 46 Source: ERD Working Paper No.26 Using a Signalling approach based EWS model, it shows that persistent warning signals prior to the 1997 crisis was not just in a few but all of the five countries most affected by the crisis. The findings of this model supports the fact weaknesses in economic and financial fundamentals in these countries triggered the crisis. The Impact of the crisis on the Economics of the countries involved. As Thailand floated the baht on July 2 and allowed the currency to fall, wave after wave of speculation hit other Asian currencies, a de-facto devaluation of the Philippine Peso followed on July 11. Korean Won too lost. Malaysia let its currency, the ringgit float on July 14th 1997, as foreign exchange reserves had gone down to $ 28 billion. Singapore followed on July 17th and the Singapore dollar (S $) quickly dropped in value from $1 = S $ 1.495 prior to the devaluation to $1 = 2.68 a few days later. A month later on August 14, Indonesia floated the rupiah. This was the beginning of a precipitous decline in the value of the Indonesian currency as a fall was seen from $1 = 2,400 Rupiah in August 1997 to $1 = 10,000 Rupiah on January 6th, 1998, a loss of 75% (Rao, 1998). Source: DataStream The Chart (above) shows the monthly evolution of the currencies of the eight South-East Asian countries during the crisis from July 1997 to April 1998. The Five countries where the crisis where particularly serious (Figure 1A) saw more decline in their currencies than countries in Figure 1B even though all countries shown were affected.ÂÂ   The economy of Thailand where the crisis started from suffered a real sharp decline. Total export earnings declined and a trade deficit rose to $ 16 billion. With the deficit standing at over 8 percent of GDP and its financing largely coming from short term funds; the external debt of Thailand rose to $68.1 billion. The non-performing loans of banks and finance companies in Thailand were estimated to be around 12 percent of total loans in mid 1997. The Thailand economy was also plagued by a deteriorating external sector, a stock market decline (the stock market index fell from 1683 in 1993 to below 500 in1997) and most importantly dwindling forex reserves. A decline in investment saw the closure of investment houses which resulted in immediate unemployment rates of between 6 and 10 percent (Rao, 1998). The Indonesian economy also suffered a set-back which included growing current account deficits due to lack-luster export growth and mounting debt service. Loss of confidence in Indonesia led to a series of attacks on the currency. In the second half of 1997, the rupiah fell by 72 percent against the dollar which had an adverse effect on the Japanese, European and US banks that lent billions of dollars to Indonesian companies. According to Witcher (1998), the Indonesias financial system started to stagger under escalating bad loans. Indonesia sought help from the IMF, they agreed to provide them with loans estimated at $40billion and in return demanded that Indonesia keeps interest rates high and immediately close 16 banks. The news of bank closures led to panicked withdrawals by depositors and investors. As Stiglitz(1998) and Yellen(1998) discussed; due to limited information, investors were unable to distinguish which banks were healthy or not so they shied away from them all; this caused more havoc to the economy. The crisis quickly spread to the real sector. The real gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 13% in 1998 and remained stagnant in 1999. Real output declined by approximately 14% in 1998. The Indonesian economy thus went into a recession with falling GDP in 1998. It also had a weak economy that was composed of falling domestic demand and company closures which meant rising poverty and unemployment. . Unemployment which was historically no more than 3 to 4 percent hit a 10 percent level in 1998 with around 8.7 million people jobless. The impact of the crisis on welfare and the economy as a whole was mostly reflected in the poverty rate which rose from 15% in 1997 to 33% in 1998. The contagion effect soon caught up with South Korea, a country whose economic performance was spectacular compared to other Asian countries. However, the won began to depreciate from late August 1997 and gathered momentum by October. From about 900 won to the dollar in early August, the exchange rate plummeted to about 1200 by the end of November. The ratio of debt reserves rose during 1992 1997 (Rao, 1998). In January 1997, Hanbo Steel collapsed under a $6 billion debt. This was the first Korean Chaebol to go bankrupt in 10 years (Chang,1998). In the wake of this, the Korean shares declined in value by 25.2% at the end of 1997. Balance in trade declined from a surplus of $7.6billion in 1987 to a deficit of $20.6billion in 1998. GDP per capita fell and Unemployment rate naturally rose to 5.9 percent in February 1998 and started to climb up from there (Rao, 1998). The Philippines Economy faced a significant currency crisis, the peso fell significantly from 26/US $ to even 55/US $. The GDP growth rate dropped from 5.1% in 1997 to -0.5% in 1998. GNP hovered at 0.1% in 1998 compared to 7.2% in 1996 and by the fourth quarter of 1998, growth of investments had declined to -23.9%. In Hong Kong, the economy saw the collapse of the Hong Kongs stock market (with a 40 percent loss in October). On October 27 1997, the market rout on Wall Street was preceded by a 5.8 percent plunge in the Hong Kong stock market which snowballed through the worlds developed and emerging stock markets. Most markets in the Asia-Pacific region tumbled in sympathy, with Australia down 3.4 percent and Tokyo down 1.9 percent. Below is a graph showing the evolution of the Asian stock markets during the financial crisis of 1997- 1998. Source: Morgan Stanley International Capital (MSCI). Figures 2A and 2B (above) show the monthly evolution of national stock price indices (expressed in US dollars) for these same eight countries and during the same period of time. The finding shows a consistent close relationship between exchange rate depreciations and stock returns during the crisis. (Bailey, Chan and Chung (2001).) Japan was also affected because its economy is prominent in the region. Asian countries usually run a trade deficit with Japan because the latters economy was more than twice the size of the rest of Asia together; about 40 percent of Japans export go to Asia. However, even with this, the Japanese was finally shaken as their yen fell to 147 when mass selling began; Also, with the collapse in the value of the Japanese stock market, the value of assets also plummeted, leaving the institutions with a diminished asset base and an increased portfolio of non-performing loans. The GDP real growth rate slowed dramatically in 1997, from 5% to 1.6% and even sank into recession in 1998. In a relatively short period of time, the crisis currency crisis shock was spread even beyond Asia. The USA market (the Dow Jones industrial) plunged 554 points or 7.2%. The New York Stock Exchange briefly suspended trading; this was accompanied by plunges of 15 percent in Brazil, 13.7 percent in Argentina and 13.3 percent in Mexico. Europe also had the impact of contagion effects, Markets like London fell 2.6 percent, while Germany, France and Italy all shed 2.8 percent. Smaller markets like Finland plunged 5.7 percent, while Spain skidded 4.1 percent. Russia became the major non-Asian victim of the financial contagion. By mid 1998, investors began to perceive systematic weaknesses of the Russian economy which was similar to Asia; therefore they began a steady withdrawal of their capital from the economy. By midsummer 1998, it became apparent that Russia was struggling to maintain an exchange of roughly 6 rubles to 1 dollar at the time. Their central bank reserves began to dwindle. Despite the loan package and the pro-market administration, the international investment community lost faith in Russia and rushed for the exits. On August 15th 1998, the rubble was allowed to float and the Russian stock market lost 25% of its value. The Measures that have since been adopted to avoid recurrence of a similar crisis. After the slow down of the Asian Currency Crisis of 1997, the regions former economic tigers had to mete out some conditions and policies towards a sustainable Asian economy that would be able to withstand any financial turmoil and consequently avoid the recurrence of a similar crisis. These regionss heavy weight also had to accept the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditions in order to stay afloat although the IMF had never dealt with a crisis of this magnitude and was met with stiff hostilities; the IMF prescribed tough conditions and measures that contributed immensely to considerable long term gains for the Asian Economics (Lakhan, 2007) One of these conditions were policies involving the Macro-economy. The tightening of monetary policy (at different stages in different countries) was necessary to stem exchange fluctuation, to prevent currency depreciation from leading into a spiral of inflation and into the eventual collapse of the exchange rate. Some countries like Thailand, South Korea, Philippines and Indonesia switched to improved credible policies that involved their exchange rate system. These countries adopted the inflation targeting policy which implied greater transparency and accountability instead of exchange rate as an anchor for monetary policy. Inflation targeting also allowed for the attainment of stable development of their economy through the establishment of credible and reputable central bank; as these central banks set inflation targets and implemented monetary policies committed to the achievement of targets. They also made monetary policy decisions based on overall judgement of the economy by k eeping constant watch not only on immediate price movements but also on trends of demand and supply factors in the domestic economy, exchange rate movements and overall movement of the international economy. The effects from this policy adopted inflation targeting contributed largely to stabilizing the monetary and economic environment after the currency crisis (Tomoko, 2002). A typical example could be seen in South Korea. After the Crisis, South Korea revised the Bank of Korea act to introduce inflation targeting in 1998. Since its introduction, South Koreas inflation targeting has played an appreciable role in stabilizing the countrys economy. In particular, the introduction of inflation targeting has secured the independence of the Bank of Korea in monetary policy and drastically enhanced the transparency of monetary policy. Affected countries of the crisis also embarked on their financial system stabilization to avoid any similar recurrence of the debilitating financial crisis. These measures ventured into the areas of liquidity support for troubled banks in question, deposit protection measures through a deposit insurance co-operation to prevent systemic risk arising from the spread of credit uneasiness, boosting capital base through capital injections from public funds and prompt disposal of non-performing loans by a third party organization (Resolution and Collection Company in the case of Japan and asset management companies (AMC) in the case of Asian countries). The four countries where the financial crisis was particularly serious (Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia) injected public funds into financial institutions often with government assistance. They also went into the act of promoting the consolidation of financial institutions by closing or suspending operations of banks with do ubtful chances of survival, temporarily nationalizing them or merging them. They established an asset management company to purchase non-performing loans Thai Asset Management Corporation (TAMC) in Thailand, Danaharta in Malaysia, Korea Asset Management Company (KAMCO) in South Korea, and Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) in Indonesia (Lindgren et al, 2000) Although the system of the companies or organizations varied from one country to another, they all similarly purchased non-performing loans at about market prices and disposed the assets selling by tender or by means of securitization. At present, they have disposed of about 50~70% of the assets. Thailand for example, had finance companies (non-banks) that had been suffering from business difficulties even before the currency crisis and the Thai government had been providing liquidity support to them. After the crisis, the government improved its classification standard for non-performing loans to conform to the international standard and strengthened write-off standards. It also nationalized commercial banks, injected capital and reorganized them. As a result, the number of commercial banks decreased. Thai commercial banks non-performing loan also later decreased dramatically due to agreements on debt restructuring as well as transfer of non-performing loans to the TAMC and write-of fs. As a result, the non-performing loan ratio dropped to 19.2% as of the end of March 2001 and capital adequacy ratio stood at 12.01% as of December 2000 (A ratio higher than the BIS standard) (Montes, 1998). Structural reforms were also adopted in the areas of banking supervision and regulation in order to forestall the kind of financial system instability caused by the crisis and to minimize the effect. These reforms were also necessary to address the weaknesses in the financial and corporate sector as these features had become impediments to growth such as monopolies, trade barriers and non transparent corporate practices. Based on this recognition, the IMF and the World Bank jointly began monitoring the international standardization and observance of standards to maintain the soundness of financial systems by introducing the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) in 1999. Under FSAP, the IMF and the World Bank assess the observance of banking supervision and regulations implemented by each countrys financial supervisory authorities, promote observance of international standards, and recommend the best practices. These acts which have been entrenched in continue to globalize the A sian economy (Lindgren et al, 2000). Rehabilitative measures were also extended to private corporations and financial institutions in the Asian countries as these institutions were also hit by the currency crisis largely because they had a superficial understanding of the need for exchange risk hedge, as their currencies were virtually pegged to the dollar. It was for this reason that the debt burdens caused by the mismatch of currencies increased during the crisis, bringing a serious impact on the economy as a whole. Thus after the currency crisis, there was a shift to a floating exchange rate system and this pushed private corporations into recognizing the importance of hedging against exchange risks. In South Korea, the government conducted a campaign appealing for the need for exchange risk hedges. Some other countries established a financial supervision system to check if foreign currency-denominated debts are hedged against exchange risks. Thanks to these policy efforts, the number of private corporations hedging against exchange risks increased drastically and the response capabilities of the economy as a whole to exchange fluctuations have been strengthened (Lindgren et al, 2000). A stronger and unified Regional Financial and Multilateral Co-operation in East Asia was also adopted and this has proven to be an effective buffering against the occurrence of future crisis Although regional financial cooperation in East Asia did exist even before the crisis, such as Executives Meeting of East-Asia Pacific Central Banks(EMEAP), a forum of central banks and monetary authorities in the East Asia and Pacific region established in 1991; the event of the Asian currency crisis proved more glaring that the countries in East Asia had a much more economic interdependency than was previously realized. This forced a fostering of a much stronger regional financial and multilateral cooperation. This co-operation in Asia was promoted in various forms, such as the New Miyazawa Initiative incorporating a comprehensive support measures, including a 30 billion dollar financial support scheme, announced in October 1998; the Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI), a swap arrangement mechanism to support those countries in potential danger of a currency crisis and the Asian Bond Market Initiative (ABMI) to avoid high dependence on the external financial market and use regional resources more efficiently (Naoyuki Yoshino et al, 2000) In addition to the development of a regional crisis-prevention mechanism, Asian countries started to co-operate especially in trade relations. This inadvertently resulted in a much more stable policy for exchange rates between the Asian currencies. With the increased unification that came as a result of the push for a stronger and unified regional financial and multilateral co-operation in East Asia, there became a rising sense of Asian identity culminating into the speculation of an introduction of a regional common currency in the future (Naoyuki Yoshino et al, 2000). The finance ministers of China, Japan, and Korea agreed at the ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers Meeting in 2006 to conduct joint research on monetary integration in East Asia. The motion put forward in 2006 helped to create grounds for the much talked about Chinas global strategy approach which started making head way in 2010. Now, China is beginning to emerge as the new and dominant world power, buttressing this, is the recent widespread awareness and circulation of the Chinese currency (renminbi). These co-operation measures adopted in Asia also extended as a forum for economic co-operation (such economic co-operation was seen to be displayed in the widely acceptance of the Chinese currency renminbi by the other Asian countries). This economic co-operation by these Asian countries arguably challenges the American hegemony. It also proves a strong force towards the elimination of any future financial crisis that might occur as the initiatives and discussions on intensifying monetary and fi nancial cooperation has reached a far end spectrum (Naoyuki Yoshino et al, 2000). From 1996 2000, there have been a resurgence of economic growth across the Asian region. Countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea and the Philippines have averaged almost 5%. CHARTS SHOWING THE EFFECT ON THE AFFECTED COUNTRIES AFTER THE MEASURES HAVE BEEN ADOPTED. From the chart above, it can been seen that after the rehabilitative measures were meted out, corporate balance sheets in Asia improved as debt-to-equity ratios have been reduced sharply and foreign currency borrowing is no longer a large component of the corporate sources of funding. From the chart above, it can be seen that low loan-to-deposit ratios together with little off-balance-sheet financing, have helped banks avoid liquidity and funding stress in the current credit turmoil. Thus, Banks are stronger with current account surpluses and large foreign reserves. Compared to United States and many European countries, Asian economies have relative modest property price appreciation (see Chart 5). Asian countries have taken measures to cool property markets in recent years whenever prices threatened to become a bubble. As a result, property price crashes in the wake of slowing economic growth and financial market turmoil have been less of a risk. Conclusion: Although, the Asian currency crisis was fuelled by sheer weak economic and financial fundamentals including macro- economic imbalances, which created a contagion effect for the other countries involved. However, with the measures now adopted, it is obvious that the Asian economies have now been strengthened and would continue on that path.

The Human Need for Love in Mary Shelleys Frankenstein Essay -- Franke

The Human Need for Love Exposed in Frankenstein    Written in 1817 by Mary Shelley, Frankenstein is a novel about the "modern Prometheus", the Roman Titian who stole fire from the gods and gave it to man. The story takes place in several European countries during the late 1700's. It is the recollection of Victor Frankenstein to a ship captain about his life. Victor is a student of science and medicine who discovers a way to reanimate dead flesh. In a desire to create the perfect race he constructs a man more powerful than any normal human, but the creation is so deformed and hideous that Victor shuns it. The creation then spends a year wandering searching for companionship, but everywhere he goes he is shunned and feared. Hating life the creature turns its misery on its creator, killing off Victors family. Frankenstein chases the monster to the North Pole, in an attempt to kill it. Weakened by the cold and long chase, a dying Victor is taken aboard a ship, where he relates his tale to the captain and dies soon after. The next night the monster visits the ship and looks upon Victor's body, ashamed by all of the killing he has done the monster flees into the Arctic Ocean, never to be seen again. Frankenstein appears to be a novel about the evil ways of man, but it is truly about the human soul and how it needs friendship and love to survive. This theme is apparent from the opening letters from the ship captain to his sister in which the captain writes, "I have but one want which I have never yet been able to satisfy ... I have no friend" (Shelley 7). The captain is about to embark on his life's dream of sailing to the North Pole; he has a good crew and a fine ship but still wants a friend to share the excitement with. ... ...nd misery, because he killed all that he loved. It is at this moment that he realizes that he doesn't hate Frankenstein but actually loved him like a father, but was so consumed by self loathing and hate that he killed all he loved. With this passing thought the monster leaps from the ship into the ice filled sea, and is never seen again. At first it is seen as a story about man and the evils he can do, yet Frankenstein is actually about the friendship of the soul. Without this basic need the body either withers away and dies or turns to another source, like murder or drink, to fill the hole. Both fatalities can be seen in the story, with Victor's friendship and the monster's anger. Neither one fills the gap in their soul, but eventually consumes them until they die. Work Cited Shelley, Mary W. Frankenstein. Great Britain: J.M Dent & Sons LTD. 1959.

Ralph Waldo Emerson and Transcendentalism Essay -- Biography Biographi

Ralph Waldo Emerson and Transcendentalism      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ralph Waldo Emerson believed in the potential within every individual to achieve a heightened state of being and awareness through a close observation of the world and an introspective look at himself. Infused in his work are the influences of transcendentalism and his life as a Unitarian pastor. James D. Hart, when discussing the spirit of transcendentalism, states, "Man may fulfill his divine potentialities either through a rapt mystical state, in which the divine is infused into the human, or through coming into contact with the truth, beauty, and goodness embodied in nature and originating in the Over-Soul. Thus occurs the doctrine of correspondence between the tangible world and the human mind, and the identity of moral and physical laws" (Hart 674). This concept is the embodiment of Emerson's sermons and essays, and any one of his works fulfills or inspires a divine potential.    "Self Reliance," published in 1841, is one of Emerson's most influential essays, and its title addresses a central concept of American Transcendentalism. The essay promotes self trust and independence of the individual, and this idea is expressed in the final lines, "Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of the principal" (Lauter 1638). The principal he refers to is a moral truth that can only be developed in one's own mind. As man lives in search of this truth, he achieves human divinity. "There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take... ... and divine because nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind" (Lauter 1624).    Works Cited    Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Young Emerson Speaks. New York: Kennikat Press Inc., 1938.    Hart, James D., The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 6th ed. New York: OxfordUniversity Press, 1995.    Howe, Daniel Walker. The Unitarian Conscience. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1970.    Lauter, Paul, ed. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. 3rd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998.    Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Self Reliance."Lauter 1622    Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Nature."Lauter 1582    Whitman, Walt. "Song of Myself."Lauter 2743    Wilbur, Earl Morse. A History of Unitarianism In Transylvania, England, and America. Boston: Beacon Press, 1945.

then who do we believe? Essays -- essays research papers fc

The Ultimate Dilema   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are several safety precautions that we as humans take to ensure our safety. Humans most commonly test things before selling or using them. This can avoid liability and make sure products are safe. Cosmetics are among the many types of products that are being tested such as fragrances, toiletries, and cosmetics that are tested on millions of animals each year. This has created several controversies between animal rights activists and cosmetic manufacturers. Especially in the European Union Council of Ministers where they want to ban animal testing as soon as they can develop enough alternatives (Milmo, 6). This is because several animals are used in experimentations to test if products are safe for us to use. Tests like the Draize Irritancy and Skin Tests, where products are put in the eyes of rabbits to test irritations, and the LD50, where several animals are exposed to a chemical are considered ways of torture. But luckily several corporations are discover ing new and reliable ways to replace animals with science and technology to help reduce the amount of animals used. So because testing on animals are absolutely necessary for our safety, as consumers, we do not have the right to use animals in this type of manner, but we should reduce the amount of tests by replacing many with alternatives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although this seems wrong, it is the ultimate necessity for human safety in cosmetic use. Animals have been used in cosmetic safety testing primarily because they share similarities to humans. They are quick and easy to use because they live short lives and are easily accessible. Most animals are raised only for testing, and experimentation is really all that they know. So they really are not taken out of their natural habitat for testing. Testing has been so important to corporations because they are trying to avoid being branded as unsafe. Testing also has been so important that they help avoid liability lawsuits and bad publicity from unsafe products (Hunter, 30).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It all started in 1933 when a woman wanted to thicken her eyelashes. But after applying the dye to her lashes and accidentally to her eyes, she suffered for about three months. This woman, that the Federal Drug Administration calls â€Å"Mrs. Brown†, eventually went blind. Congress then passe... ...re are so many alternatives available now there really should not be a reason why a corporation would not reduce the amount of animals used. The newer techniques offer chances to obtain data faster, less expensively, and more humanely (Hunter, 26).  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Works Cited Anthes, Gary H. â€Å"P&G Uses Data Mining to Cut Animal Testing.† Computer World 33 (1999): 44-45. Finsen, Lawrence, Susan Finsen. The Animal Movement in America: From Compassion to Respect. New York: Twayne, 1994. Fox, Michael Allen. The Case For Animal Experimentation: An Evolutionary and Ethical Perspective. London: University of California Press Ltd., 1986. Hunter, Beatrice Trum. â€Å"New Alternatives in Safety Testing.† Consumer Research Magazine 83  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  (2002): 26- 30. McCoy, J.J. Animals in Research: Issues and Conflicts. New York: Franklin Watts, Inc., 1993. Milmo, Sean. â€Å"Ultimate Showdown Looms For Animal Tested Cosmetics.† Chemical Market Reporter 261 (2001): 6, 28. Planet for the Taking Series: Ultimate Slavery: Dir. Nancy Archibald. Film Incorporated. .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Blue Nile and Diamond Retailing Essay

1.What are some key success factors in diamond retailing? How do Blue Nile, Zales, and Tiffany compare on those dimensions? Key drivers of customer purchases in diamond retailing include quality and range of products offered, reputation, professional advice offered, and customer perception and emotional bonds, including a positive buying experience and customer service. Success is also dependent upon obtaining economies of scale through such avenues as preferential access to resources, an effective supply chain and marketing strategy, as well as an ability to control facilities and operating costs and manage inventory effectively. Blue Nile’s, Zales’, and Tiffany’s key success factors in dealing with customers are related to the characteristics of their individual target markets. Blue Nile, for example, offers high quality diamonds and fine jewelry online that are comparable to Tiffany’s but with markups that are lower than Tiffany’s and Zales’. Blue Nile, which was founded in 1999, focuses on customers who want good value and who prefer to shop conveniently from home and without incurring high pressure sales tactics. They also provide customers with easy-to-understand jewelry education, as well as the ability to design custom jewelry. However, its customers must forego a hands-on purchasing experience as well as the instant delivery offered by Tiffany’s and Zales’ retail locations. Tiffany, which opened in 1834, is an independent, specialty jeweler that offers premium-priced diamond rings, gemstone and fine jewelry, watches, and crystal and sterling silver serving pieces. Tiffany’s exclusivity and prestigious brand image, extensive service, and fashionable locations allow it to maintain and gain luxury market share domestically and globally. In contrast, Zales, a specialty retailer of diamond fashion jewelry and diamond rings in the U.S. since 1924, has high name-brand recognition and appeal to value-conscious shoppers. Zales’ chain of retail venues for its middle-class target customers includes Zales Jewelers, Gordon’s, and Piercing Pagoda’s mall-based kiosks that appeal to teenagers. Zales offers more moderately priced and promotion-driven products compared to Blue Nile and Tiffany. It also competes with discounters such as Costco. Economies of scale and sourcing are achieved differently by each company. Blue Nile has the most cost-effective business model because of exclusive supplier relationships that allow the online retailer to offer a manufacturer’s diamond inventory without purchasing it until needed. In addition to low warehouse and inventory costs, Blue Nile avoids the facilities investment expense and operating costs of the bricks-and-mortar retailers. U.S. retailer Zales is able to obtain economies of scale because of its large number of stores, but high inventory costs due to extreme changes in product offerings and marketing strategy in 2006-2007 confused its traditional customers and severely hurt its bottom line. Tiffany sustains high profit margins through its globally dispersed locations and online presence, established third- party sourcing as well as in-house manufacturing which provided 60 percent of its products, and by utilizing centralized inventory management to maintain tight con trol over its supply chain and reduce operational risk. 2.What do you think of the fact that Blue Nile carries over 30,000 stones priced at $2,500 or higher while almost 60 percent of the products sold from the Tiffany Website are priced at around $200? Which of the two product categories is better suited to the strengths of the online channel? Blue Nile is able to successfully offer diamonds priced up to $1 million or more online by emphasizing the large variety of certified high-quality stones available and a markup that is significantly lower than that of its store-front competitors. The main source of Blue Nile’s competitive advantage over traditional, store-based retail jewelers is that it has lower facilities cost and inventory expense. Only one central warehouse is needed to stock its entire inventory although outbound transportation costs are high because it provides customers free overnight shipping. Additionally, through exclusive supply relationships, the firm is allowed to display for sale the inventory of some of the world’s largest diamond manufacturers/wholesalers. Selling high-priced diamonds online works for Blue Nile because its competitive strategy is based on the priorities of its target market customers. These online customers want high-quality diamonds, but place strong emphasis on receiv ing good value for the cost and on product variety, are willing to wait for their jewelry, and often prefer to customize their purchases. In comparison, Tiffany successfully uses a combination of over 180 exclusive worldwide retail stores and an online channel to benefit from the strengths of both channels. Approximately 48 percent of the company’s net sales come from products containing diamonds, with more than half of retail sales coming from high-end jewelry with an average sale price of over $3,000. Its online offerings, however, focus on non-gemstone, sterling silver jewelry with an average price of $200. The company offers a wide variety of these low demand items with high demand uncertainty, and they account for more than half of its online sales. Online sales are facilitated by Tiffany’s already-in-place centralized inventory management system, in-house manufacturing, and strong supply chain and information infrastructure. These lower-priced products increase the firm’s potential customer base and improve margins by reducing operating costs. Tiffany’s sales of sterling silver jewelry priced around $200 are more suited for the strengths of the online channel than are Blue Nile’s thousands of stones priced at $2,500 and above. With the growing popularity of e-business, competition with Blue Nile’s sole business model is increasing. In addition, with its well-to-do but price-conscious customer base, the company is more affected by the effects on difficult economic times on purchasing behavior than is Tiffany with its less price-sensitive global customers who demand luxury goods at any price. Blue Nile is also more susceptible to the rising costs of diamonds and of labor because it does not purchase the majority of its diamonds until a customer decides on a purchase. 3.Given that Tiffany stores have thrived with their focus on selling high-end jewelry, what do you think of the failure of Zales with its upscale strategy in 2006? Tiffany’s upscale strategy, affluent customer base, and business model evolved over a period of more than 100 years, and changes such as adding an online distribution channel were made gradually and as an extension of Tiffany’s current business practices. Zales, on the other hand, handled a strategic shift to upscale retailing within a time period of one year and failed drastically as shown by the following chain of events. Feeling the pressure from discounters Wal-Mart and Costco, Zales decided to give up its long-time strategy of selling promotion-driven diamond fashion jewelry and diamond rings in order to pursue high-end customers. In this 2005 ambitious move to become more upscale, Zales invested heavily in higher-priced diamond and gold jewelry with higher margins and dumped its inventory of lower-value pieces. Led by an ambitious CEO, this new strategy initially sounded as if it would work. However, trying abruptly to undo an 81-year-old strategy and brand reputation for selling moderately-priced items was doomed to fail. The company lost many of its traditional customers who were put off by the suddenly higher prices, and it did not win the new ones it had targeted. As a result, Zales abandoned its new strategy in 2006, hired a new CEO, and began transitioning a return to its traditional strategy of attracting the value-oriented customer. This change involved selling off nearly $50 million in discontinued upscale inventory and spending nearly $120 million on new moderately-priced inventory. The actions severely affected Zales’ bottom line for at least the next two years, not to mention alienating its middle-class customer base. The situation was further compounded by rising fuel prices and falling home prices in 2007 which caused a decrease in consumer discretionary spending. 4.What do you think of Tiffany’s decision to open smaller retail outlets, focusing on high-end products, to reach smaller affluent areas in the United States? Opening small, fashionable retail outlets in smaller affluent cities is a good move for Tiffany. Doing so provides the company a quicker, more cost-effective way to expand its store base and its target-market reach in the United States. A smaller store format offers lower operating costs and a shorter payback period on capital investment, both of which help increase margins and returns. With it strong brand equity attracting well-to-do customers and with efficiencies in terms of a high ¬Ã‚ ¬-margin product mix, lower inventories are required, faster turnover results, sales per square foot are higher, and overall store productivity is increased. 5.Which of the three companies do you think was best structured to deal with the downturn in 2009? Zales was most affected by the 2009 economic downturn in the U.S. which severely damaged the country’s retail jewelry industry. The Texas-based company, with retail stores located only in North America, was more vulnerable to adverse U.S. market conditions than the geographically-dispersed Tiffany and Blue Nile. The company was still trying to regain market share among its middle-class customers and handle merchandising issues in light of its failed strategy begun several years earlier to go upscale. Additionally, a new CEO in 2006 who began the company’s return to its traditional strategy based on diamond fashion jewelry and moderately-priced diamond rings, had not been able to restore the company to profitability. Blue Nile, with its already low operating costs and small inventory holdings, was in a better position than Zales to weather the economic downtown. Because Blue Nile does not purchase the majority of its diamonds until a customer places an order, its bottom line was not as severely impacted by customers who began purchasing less expensive jewelry and by those who stopped buying completely because of strong price-sensitivity. Before the downturn, the company had already increased its international Web site presence by launching sites in Canada and the United Kingdom and opened an office in Dublin. The Dublin office offered free shipping to several western European nations, while the U.S. office handled shipping to Asian-Pacific countries. In spite of the above, Blue Nile saw its first decline in sales in the third quarter of 2008. Tiffany, as a jeweler and specialty retailer, was the best structured of the three companies to deal with the 2009 U.S. economic downtown. There is not as strong a correlation between its sales and consumer confidence levels as there is with Blue Nile’s customers. With over 100 stores in international markets, Tiffany’s operations are much more globally diversified than Blue Nile’s. In addition to its extensive global and domestic retail outlets, Tiffany also has the benefit of its e-business distribution channel and of catalog sales. With its strong business model and high margins on a broad range of offerings, tightly controlled supply chain, and the exceptional power of its brand image, Tiffany fared better than Zales and Blue Nile during the economic downturn. 6.What advice would you give to each of the three companies regarding their strategy and structure? In light of the previous answers, I would recommend the following: 1) Zales needs to expand to markets in other than North America to lessen the severity of the effects of future economic downturns in the U.S. With its longstanding presence in the U.S. retail jewelry industry, it should also focus on reinforcing the value of its brand with consumers in its target market. Zales should increase its marketing efforts and continue to expand its e-commerce business. This will generate revenue and improve its margins by lowering operating costs. 2) Blue Nile should continue focusing on its low price for high-quality diamonds and on its unique online customer experience to further differentiate itself from Tiffany’s and other retail jewelry competitors. It definitely needs to expand its international presence by launching more country-specific Web sites, as well as continue enhancing its current Web site. Just as importantly, it needs to diversify its marketing efforts to online communities and to the public in general to increase its brand name recognition and appeal. 3) Tiffany should continue to increase its small-store formats in the U.S. and develop a stronger presence in its direct selling channel. It needs to grow its sizable international operations, particularly the fast-growing Asian luxury market, in addition to entering untapped emerging markets. With the increasing cost of diamonds and gold, it might assess the advisability of participating in sales promotions which it has never before done. Most importantly, Tiffany should continue increasing its supply chain efficiency and protecting its brand equity at call costs.

Member of the wedding notes Essay

Stuck between being to young for adolescence and to old to be a child, the protagonist Frankie Addams, has the desire to be the child and the adult. Within herself she’s confused and lost, her body is to big, yet her mind is broken. Through the journey of Carson McCullers novel The Member of the Wedding, Frankie clenches on to the ridiculous idea of belonging to the wedding and even going off with the honeymooners after. This concept developed by her, is what she believes is a way in which she can develop a sense of belonging. Although this idea preposterous and highly immature it highlights that Frankie wants an adult dream at her young age. Her confused desires between child and adulthood are depicted again, when she almost experiences her first sexual encounter with a solider. Although being inquisitive and interested in what would go on between the two of them and although Frankie enjoyed being treated like an adult, it was all to much for her to handle and she fled from the solider. It is difficult to posses a sense of belonging when we are unsure of our own identity. Why? In having a sense of belonging, one must always have a clear understanding of their identity. This is because the groups we attach ourselves with throughout the journey of life resemble features of our own personality. So when one lacks the knowledge of their own self, in finding somewhere or something to belong to which suites and allows them to be comfortable, it is almost impossible. Evidence Through Carson McCullers novel The Member of the Wedding (1946 ) the confused protagonist Frankie Addams reflects how her own frail understanding of her identity impacts and makes it difficult for Frankie to develop a sense of belonging. This â€Å" unjoined â€Å" from society feeling that the protagonist feels is partly formed from different experiences she endures. From growing too old for sharing a bed with her father to being rejected from the club house for being â€Å" too young â€Å". Frankie’s self perception of her physical aspect also adds to this unsettled identity, as she is entering the stages of puberty and feels as if she is a â€Å" freak â€Å" due to her tall height. With both her experiences and her appearance shattering her identity in to an unsettled state, Frankie finds it difficult to belong to something more then the people she lives with. Leaving the protagonist to clench on to the ridiculous idea of being a member of her brothers wedding. Although this concept that Frankie desires so much, of belonging to a wedding, is preposterous it proves how much of an impact having a weak identity can play it finding a sense of belonging.

The fires of jubilee by Stephen Oates

This is a book seeks to explain the rebellion of black slaves in the Southampton city in Virginia. Before this rebellion, the slaves had been subjected to poverty and were being treated with a lot of cruelty by their masters. The author brings to light all the sufferings which the blacks were subjected to by their masters and as a result of these sufferings, there rose a feeling of hopelessness among the blacks and this led to the rise of a rebellion . In fighting for the rights that had been denied, the blacks took the law into their hands and the writer tries to make acceptable the disgust and desperation that led to these rash measures. In all this, the author intends to justify the course of action that was taken by the slaves in fighting for their rights. It brings into light the bloody results of the rebellion and death which came afterwards. From the first paragraph, the historian Stephen B. Oates  Ã‚   tries to bring into light the sufferings which the black slaves were subjected to by their white masters in the Southampton county of Virginia. He clearly gives a detailed description of the object poverty experienced by the slaves as well as cruelty of their and also the feelings of hopelessness felt by the slaves. He clearly sets the stage for the introduction of the main character of the book; Nat Turner becomes the root or the leader of the rebellion of the slaves. He is able to show clearly or demonstrate the level of oppression suffered by the blacks and goes on to show how they develop the feeling that they had no other option left for them other than to take the law into their own hands. All these resulted into the rise of a revolt and its clear that the writer succeeds in laying the foundation as well as making the readers understand the kind of sufferings that the slaves suffered and hence the need for the rash measures taken by the slaves. References 1. William Styron   (1966) , The Confessions of Nat Turner , (New York: Random House)

Top Reasons for Choosing a Degree in Medical

Top Reasons For Choosing A Degree In Medical Office Management Aletha McTigrit Kaplan 2012 ? Medical office management jobs are one of the fastest growing professions in the health industry in 2012 predicted to grow as much as 22% in the next 8 years. If you have a desire to work in the medical field but like myself don’t want to work with patients directly, medical office management is a profession you should consider. What is a medical office manager? How much can they earn? What type of person would be a good candidate for a medical office manager position? What would be their responsibilities?How can a person become a medical office manager, and what are some the current issues affecting medical office managers today are just some of the questions I am prepared to answer. Medical office managers are responsible for the non-clinical day to day operations designed to improve and maintain productivity in practices that provide healthcare services. Medical office managerâ€⠄¢s salaries vary state by state depending on the area where you intend to work although according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the median salary for a medical office manager in 2010 holding a bachelor’s degree or higher in a large city was about 86,300 a year.Medical office managers need to be proficient communicator with good human resource abilities who are able to communicate with people from all areas of life; He or she must also be honest, fair, and dependable(Hicks, 2012). Working as an administrator or manager in any type of office has its challenges. Office managers have a large array of duties for which they are responsible that must be accomplished on a daily basis and depending on the size of the organization in which they are employed, some of these duties may include selecting, hiring and training other employees, managing inventory and being solely responsible for bookkeeping,. ut working as an office manager in a medical facility can also include other du ties such as managing the schedules of all the doctor’s that work in the office, addressing complaints made by doctors, staff, patients or insurance companies, supervising patient scheduling, sending out appointment reminders, maintaining confidentiality with patient records as well as staying informed of new laws and regulations that affect the facility to insure the facility is in compliance so being able to multitask without becoming overwhelmed is a plus.Courses needed to obtain a degree in medical office management often include medical terminology, medical office accounting, medical law and bioethics, as well as those in anatomy and physiology Although earning a bachelor’s degree or higher in health science is customary when seeking employment as a medical office manager one can also gain on the job experience and work their way up from a related career such as a medical receptionist, or a medical administrative assistant by taking on larger and more responsible positions as stated in an audio segment on medical office management.After earning a degree in medical office management most professionals will seek to earn their CMM (certified medical manager) credential offered by the PAHCOM (Professional Association of Health Care Office Management) which attest to a person’s professionalism as a healthcare manager nationwide.Being a medical office manager is a challenging profession and one must always be prepared for change whether it be in technology or to stay in compliance with an additional laws or regulations such as HIPAA(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) other current issues include infection control, internal control to prevent employee misconduct and dealing with unresolved claims.My desire to become a medical office manager was kindled by a desire to expand my education and be the first one in my family to have earned a college degree, and to have a positive impact on my daughter who did not finish high sch ool in hopes she would return and someday in the future hold a degree in her own chosen field. My goal is not to enter the work force immediately although I know I need to complete an externship and clinical requirements in order to obtain my degree.I intend to earn my bachelor’s degree and work part-time in order to qualify for my CMM credentials and possibly move on to earn a master’s degree in Medical office management. I see myself as already having waited 20 years to return to school and continue my education so I am not in any hurry to reach my maximum potential, but instead continue to stay at home and see that my children receive the utmost care and support that I am able to give to them.In 5 years with an estimated graduation date of November 2014. I see myself working as a medical secretary in a doctor’s office in Kokomo near my home town of Peru, IN, holding my CPS (Certified Professional Secretary) and CAP (Certified Administrative Professional) cred entials while working on my bachelor’s degree in medical office management.Based on the assumption that I do not have any more children in the near future my youngest child will be of school age and I will be able to work while finishing my bachelor’s degree and earning my CMM credential and finally begin seeking to earn my master’s degree in medical office management, fortunately for me when people my age are thinking about retiring I will be beginning a career in a profession that I have wanted to work in for as long as I can remember.Taking the steps required to becoming a medical office manager is something that requires a lot of time patience and dedication but will ultimately lead to a rewarding career should you choose to accept the challenge? References A day in the life of a medical office manager (n. d. ) Retrieved from http://extmedia. kaplan. edu/healthSci/HS100/AAMedicalOfficeManagement. mp3 Bureau of Labor Statistics, U. S. Department of Labor, Occ upational Outlook Handbook, 2012-13 Edition, Medical, and Health Services Managers, on the Internet at http://www. bls. gov/ooh/management/medical-and-health-services-managers. tm (visited November 12, 2012). Hicks, J. , (2012 February 6). 6 current issues for medical office managers Retrieved from http://medicaloffice. about. com/b/2012/02/10/6-current-issues-for-medical-office-managers. htm Hicks, J. , (2012 June 29). Several traits for successful managers Retrieved From http://medicaloffice. about. com/b/2012/06/30/several-traits-for-successful-managers. htmm PAHCOM Certified medical manager overview Professional Association of Health Care Office Management (no date) Retrieved From http://www. pahcom. com/cmm/overview. html