Comparison of Us Ceos and Ceos in Other Industrial Countries Essay Example for Free

Comparison of Us Ceos and Ceos in Other Industrial Countries Essay Nowadays, more and more people question whether US CEOs are overpaid compared to CEOs in other industrial countries or if they are paid fairly and deserve a larger share of the wealth they helped their companies earn. With the development of a global capitalist economy, laborers pay in the free market is increasing continuously. However, CEO pay increase is not in alignment with the average US worker’s pay increase, as Garofalo pointed out, â€Å"In 2011, US CEOs in the Fortune 500 made an average of $12 million, about 380 times what the average worker makes. This number increased from 343 times in 2010† (Garofalo, â€Å"Average Fortune†). When we compare the U.S CEO-to-worker ratio with other countries, the result is more shocking: In Japan, the CEO-to-worker ratio is 11:1; in Germany, 12:1; in Canada, 20:1, respectively. However, the U.S ratio approaches to 475:1 (Tampa bay Times). Are U.S CEOs really paid based on their actual performance? The answer is no. For example, from the article named â€Å"Introduction of GM†, the whole sale of GM decreased by 23% in 2008. However, GM’s CEO pay was as much as 200 times what a common worker would have; while at Toyota, it was only about a twentieth of what a worker earned (Yglesias, â€Å"Comparative CEO Salaries†). In 2008, GM’s CEO had $14.4 million in compensation, but the pay of Toyota’s CEO was under $1 million in the same period (Joules, â€Å"News vine†). Another example is William Weldon, the CEO of Johnson Johnson. In 2011, â€Å"JJ has been battered by 22 product recalls in 19 months because of the quality issues† (McIntyre, â€Å"American’s most overpaid†). The net earnings of JJ went down from 13.3 million in 2010 to 9.7 million in 2011. However, William Weldon still earned approximately 26 million in 2011, almost the same amount as his previous year (â€Å"JNJ| Income statement†). Some people believe that U.S CEOs are not overpaid, especially the good CEOs such as Steve Jobs. When Jobs returned to Apple as an interim CEO in 199 8, the stock price was only $2. However, because of his innovation, the products that he promoted such as iPhone and the whole i-series had brought Apple from near bankruptcy to extreme profitability. During the past 15 years, the growth rate of Apple’s stock price increased 235 times. Moreover, Apple’s annual revenue in 2012 reached $156.51 billion compared to $6.2 million in 2003 (Apple Inc.). Although Jobs only earned $1 annually, he held $5.43 million Apple shares worth $2.1 billion. Forbes estimated his net wealth at $8.3 billion in 2010 (â€Å"Steve Jobs†). Since Jobs had brought huge profits to Apple, he was considered worth the annual shares given to him by Apple as the company’s earnings were heavily based on his contribution and performance. To resolve the problem that US CEOs are overpaid, audit by independent board members is an important measure to ensure proper executive pay policies. Human Resource needs to play a key role in the distribution of fair wages. As author Crisp suggested, â€Å"When recruiting a CEO, HR can build a track record of taking action on the performance and contribution† (Crisp, â€Å"Is HR living up†). While setting up the salary of a CEO, HR can take the records of the CEO’s previous performance and pay as a reference. This also requires HR to do a solid research and then develop realistic compensation plans. Promoting this approach is a big challenge for an HR executive, yet it is a good opportunity to compensate fairly relative to earnings and in the long run, corporate survival may depend on it!

Global Macroeconomic Imbalances And The Financial Crisis

Global Macroeconomic Imbalances And The Financial Crisis The world experienced the global financial crisis between 2007 and 2008. This crisis led to the threat of collapse of mane large financial institutions, down turns of major financial market in the world and bailouts of banks by difference governments in the world. One of the areas that suffered most from the effects of the global financial crisis was the real estate sector, which most argue that it must have also contributed to the crisis. This crisis also played a significant role in the failure of many key businesses around the world. One of the consequences of these business failures was the rise of high rate of unemployment around the globe. It also contributed to the decline in consumers wealth and the down turn in economic activities around the globe, which eventually led to the global recession between 2008 and 2012. Other negative effects of the global financial crisis include the rise of the European sovereign debt crisis and liquidity challenges experienced from 2007 (Obstf eld and Rogoff 2009). Many reasons have been suggested as the main contributors to the global financial crisis. Some of these reasons include the existence of easy credit conditions in the global financial markets, growth of the housing bubble in the United States of America, predatory lending, over leverage, and incorrect pricing of risks among others (Ferguson and Schularick 2009). Although many controversies remain about the role of the global imbalances on global financial crisis, it is clear that there exists a connection between the two. Those who are against the idea of the role that global imbalances played towards global financial meltdown argue that external pressure could not have played any role in the crisis. The reason they give as the main cause of the financial crisis was the failure of financial regulators to effectively control financial institutions and markets in the United States of America and globally. They also argue that policy errors could also have played a significant role in t he crisis. However, those who support the view that global financial imbalances could have played a role in the global financial crisis suggest various mechanisms through which global imbalances could have had a significant role in causing the collapse of the financial system in the world. Some of these mechanisms include the high savings of china, oil exporters and other surplus countries, which depressed real interest rates globally. The depressed global real interest rate is thought to have led investors to scramble for yield and to under price the risk. The connection between the global imbalance and the global financial crisis may also have originated from economic policies employed in a number of countries globally before the crisis. There was also the existence of distortions that played a role in the transmission of these economic policies through the United States of America and finally through the global financial markets (Ferguson and Schularick 2009). United state of America policies contributed immensely to the crisis. This country had the ability to finance her macroeconomic imbalances from easy foreign borrowing. As a result of this, the country failed to come up with tough policy measures that could have prevented the crisis. This was also the same case with other major countries that experienced deficit before the crisis. One of the alternatives source sought by the United States of America to finance her deficit was foreign banks, which provided a ready source of external funding. The main source of motivation for these foreign banks was their high appetite for assets. Prior to this period, the United States of America employed loose monetary policies, which allowed the country to borrow in dollars at low nominal interest rates. These policies also created an environment in which the asset-price movement and the exchange rate kept United States of America foreign liabilities growing at a rate that was far below its cumulative current account deficit. The case of the United States of America was similar to what was experienced in many other countries around the globe, which had current account deficit prior to the global financial crisis (Ferguson and Schularick 2009). Countries with current account surpluses on the other hand, faced minimal pressures to adjust. For instance, China was able to maintain an undervalued currency and therefore, defer to rebalance its own economy due to its ability to sterilize the immense reserve purchases,which it placed in the United States of Americas markets. Therefore, complementary policy distortions kept United States of America artificially far from her higher autarky interest rates and China artificially far from her lower autarky interest rates. It was possible therefore, to either contain or mitigate the global financial crises had low-cost postponement options not been available. The action of china to undervalue her currency may have also played a significant role in the global financial crisis that followed in between 2007 and 2008. This together with the undervaluation of the exchange rate contributed to the global imbalances (Obstfeld and Rogoff 2009). Therefore, it is clear that external imbalance were a reflection of internal imbalances in many countries. The connection between the global imbalances and the exchange rate undervaluation means that the problem could not be resolved automatically without involvement of significant exchange rate adjustments. The labor rate in china prior to the global financial crisis was far below the countrys Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Cheap relative production costs in China supported the profitability and investment in manufacturing industry. The loss of competitiveness in this country was avoided through the availability of excess labor or organized wage restraint (Ferguson and Schularick 2009). China employed policies that were aimed at promoting export-led industrialization. The policy of real exchange rate undervaluation and reserve accumulation in China could not automatically be collected by inflation due to the pervasive role of the state in the countrys financial sector, large supply o f surplus labor and the effectiveness of capital control. All this created an environment that enabled china to accumulate massive reserves of foreign currency as well as create current account surplus. This action of the Chinese country may have contributed to the global financial crisis experienced in 2008. According to Ben Bernanke, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, a saving glut in the Asian economy as well as other exporting countries is primarily responsible for the current pattern of global macroeconomic imbalances. In providing support for his argument, Ben argues that the Asian turbulence of 1996 formed the genesis of the global imbalance. He points at Thailand which had for a long time maintained a fixed exchange rate of her currency against the United States of Americas dollar. However, there was a rapid credit expansion in the Asian countries, which fuelled bubble in stocks and real estates (Obstfeld and Rogoff 2009). This credit expansion took place within the liberalized financial system. In Thailand, the current account deficit reached about 8 percent of the countrys GDP as the rising prices of assets reversed the course. The country also experienced a fierce speculation of currency which led to the breaking up of the countrys currency peg against the dollar. This crisis was contagiously transmitted to other countries in Asia, many of which seemed healthier fundamentally than Thailand. Under this pressure, the Asian banking system faced financial crisis. To avoid eventual collapse of the banking system, most of those countries that faced the crisis turned to the international monetary fund for assistance. The conditions placed by the international monetary fund as the requirement for financial assistance left bitter memories in these countries (Ferguson and Schularick 2009). Afterwards, the developing countries as well as the newly developed countries in the Asian world went into surplus although most of them had weaker currencies than before the crisis. The dissipation of the recessionary effects in the Asian countries and the boom of dot com led to the rise of commodity prices globally. This further helped to generate surpluses for the oil producing countries in the Middle East and the commonwealth of independent countries. The case was different in the advanced countries which operated on the current account deficit. For instance, the United States of America ran on a deficit of about 4.3 percent in 2000. There was persistent growth of surpluses in the Asian countries and the oil producing countries. However, in this newly industrialized Asia, the gross savings did not change substantially after the crisis although there was a considerable decline in the investment. In contrast, the savings in the developing Asian countries initially returned to the same level as before the crisis. This was followed by rapid growth in savings which peaked at about 47 percent of the GDP (Obstfeld and Rogoff 2009). The case was the same as far as gr oss investment was concerned. The investment returned to the pre-crisis level and then rose significantly thereafter. These current account surpluses were supported by the exchange rate policies, which tended to maintain rates at competitive levels different from what was the case in the pre-crisis period. Foreign exchange intervention policy in Asian countries was motivated by the need to pursue export-led strategies for maintenance of high economic growth rates. There was also the need to accumulate substantial stock of international reserves as a buffer against future financial crises. This was considered to be necessary in order to avoid a possible future dependence on International Monetary Fund. Therefore, some countries such as Saudi Arabia maintained pegs to the United States of Americas dollar. This further helped in the growth of the global imbalance that finally was responsible for the global financial crisis in 2008 (Ferguson and Schularick 2009). Further, these countries devalued their currencies against the United State of Americas dollar. Therefore, these countries remained at depreciated levels compare to the period prior to the crisis. The intervention policies by the Asian countries were responsible for the rapid growth of international reserves in these countries (Obstfeld and Rogoff 2009). Another factor that may have contributed to the global imbalance and eventually the global financial crisis was the speculation against the overvaluation of the dollar during the closing years of Bretton Wood System. This speculation led to the growth in international reserves and the high global inflation that followed thereafter. The reserve growth in the United States of America also led to the increase in the prices of commodities, housing and other assets in the country and other countries. The Chinese reserve accumulation outstripped even the growing current account surplus. The balance of payment surpluses was further augmented by the strong inward of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Therefore, economic policies and market developments played a significant role in the generation of current account surpluses (Ferguson and Schularick 2009). This in turn led to rapid accumulation of private and public claims on industrial countries especially the United States of America. According to Bernanke, the outward shift of emerging market saving schedules was the principle cause of expansion of the United States of Americas deficit starting in the 1990s. This global saving glut led to the worldwide asset price adjustments, which induced a number of advanced economies such as the United States of America to borrow m ore heavily from foreign sources. Other economic factors that contributed to the global financial crisis include equity prices. United States of America experienced heavy capital inflow from emerging market savers. This led to a large appreciation of the stock prices and the value of the dollar. This implied wealth and international competitiveness effects and a large deficit in the United States of Americas current account. Saving in the United States of America was further discouraged by the expectations of the rapid future productivity growth. These expectations encouraged investment. Another factor behind the global financial crisis was the falling real interest rates in the United States of America and other advanced economies (Ferguson and Schularick 2009). This low rate of interest contributed to the decline in savings. There was also the fall of long-term interest rates which brought down the mortgage rates in the United States of America and other countries in the world. Allan Taylor in his article The Financial Rebalancing Act argues that even without any government intervention, these global imbalances are likely to stop increasing at the same pace and may even decease. He further argues that the economists and the policy makers risk fighting the last battle even as a new post crisis economy emerges with its own set of challenges. According to him, this will happen as a result of emphasizing the importance of these imbalances. For the long-term solution to the imbalances, the view of Taylor is correct. Imbalances will create counterparts conditions in different countries which will eventually bring this countries current accounts into equilibrium(Taylor 2011). For instance, one factor that has led to the global imbalance is the devaluation of currencies by some countries. This policy has enabled countries that follow such policies to create current account surpluses. It has also contributed to huge capital investment in countries with current account deficit. In the long term, the interest rate in the deficit countries will cease to be attractive and therefore, discourage further foreign investment. The low demand for dollar as a result of this will lead to the depreciation of the dollar relative to the currencies used by the surplus countries(Taylor 2011). This will lead to the reduction in the level of surplus and the deficit in respective countries. Some of the policies that countries can employ to correct global deficit include reorientation and coordination of fiscal policies, addressing financial markets instabilities, alignment of macroeconomic and structural policies for sustainable development and dealing with job crises through g lobal rebalancing. The EURO Crisis Economic crisis has on numerous occasions hit the world and the factors that have contributed to the crisis either directly or indirectly. It is worth noting that financial crisis is as a result of a combination of complex factors which include internal trade imbalances, high risk lending as well as borrowing among others. However, one of the financial crisis that shocked the EUROZONE and has had profound impact is the EUROZONE crisis; various scholars as such have come forth with different schools of thoughts concerning the crisis. One such scholar is Martin Feldstein argues that the current crisis of the European single currency was an accident waiting to happen. To him he argued that the development of such economic structure was a ruthless, politically motivated experiment. Similarly the present problems facing member countries as a result of leaving country-specific economic policies and individual exchange rates were predictable by economists politicians chose to ignore them (Feldstein, 2010). The paper will give the views of the researcher whether he agrees or not with Martin Feldstein argument. In doing so, the researcher will critically look into arguments for and against adopting a single currency economy. Additionally the major factors deemed to be responsible for the crisis of confidence in the EURZONE. Martin Feldstein argument and my views With regards to EUROZONE crisis Martin Feldstein strongly believed that indeed the adoption of a single currency was an accident waiting to happen. The unpleasant cost of adopting a single currency on a incongruent group of countries were at first concealed by the short-run advantages that the weakest countries enjoyed when they adopted the euro in 1999 and by the favorable global economic conditions that prevailed until 2008 (Feldstein, 2010). In order to support or refute the claim, it is important to first examine the pros and cons of adopting a single currency economic structure. However it is important to understand the beginning of the crisis. The crisis in the zone started immediately the financial markets lost confidence in the creditworthiness of Greece and other periphery countries; this resulted in interest rates on government bonds going higher to levels that compelled the affected governments to ask for bailouts from international community, the European Community and th e IMF. EUROZONE adopted single currency back in 1999 with the aim of empowering the member countries economically as well as politically. This is after the region tracked greater financial integration since 1957. There are two main categories of the advantages that come with the adoption of a single currency in the EUROZONE both leading to gains in economic efficiency. One important importance of such a concept is that the transaction cost will be eliminated. Usually transaction costs are manifested in several ways for instance fixed commission as well as the spread between the buying and selling prices of any given currencies. It is worth noting that for the member countries which operate business with others in the same region, then the currency conversion cost is done away with for the member countries which are vital for both individuals as well as firms doing business with foreign partners (Rose Wincoop, 2001). On the same note a single currency ensures that there is a ground to compare prices, making price differences more noticeable as well as equalization across the borders. Scholars in the field of economy have held that the absence of transaction costs as well as transparency in prices creates a deep and more integrated financial market. This type of integration makes it possible for member countries to have various channels used to share risks. For instance when a member country is hit by negative shock, firms definitely make losses which result in lowered stock prices, on the other hand when there is an economic boom in a another country, the stocks of firms in that country will go up contributing to profit making investors from the country hit by negative shock a new lease of life. Thus single currency allows country to share the risks of negative shocks. It has been argued that the justification for adopting single currency in EUROZONE is to avert the negative effects of exchanges rates. There is no doubt that uncertainty in changes in exchange rates hinders the flow of trade as well as investments. Thus in situations where business people are faced with trade opportunities or investment, they will be more attracted to countries where the risks of currency and interest rate changes are minimal(Artis, Hennessy Weber, 2000). However Feldstein, 2010 argued that a common currency means that every EUROZONE country has the same exchange rate, stopping the natural rate of adjustments that maintain national competitiveness when there are different trends in productivity and demand. As such he posits that this denies some countries the opportunity to raise the real incomes of her employees. In fact this is what EUROZONE is trying to discourage a scenario where some countries are extremely richer than others. Despite the advantages mentioned above, single currency has a number of disadvantages. First the system brings costs to firms, individuals and other institutions to adjust to the new currency. Usually these parties have to incur huge costs in changing the invoices, price lists, office forms, payrolls, databases, bank accounts, and meters for postage as well as parking among other things (Rose Wincoop, 2001). For countries which had weaker financially, they have to engage in excessive borrowing in order to carter for these expenditures. This as explained by economists is a recipe for economic crisis (Artis, Hennessy Weber, 2000). Secondly single currency economy means that there is no national monetary policy which has been a vital tool for states to adjust the economic equilibrium in situations where it faces economic shock. Usually economic shocks are unpredictable and unexpected and it characterized with disparity in production, consumption, investment as well as government expenditure (Feldstein, 2010). Factors responsible for the current crisis of confidence in the EURO zone There are a number of factors that played substantial role leading to the present crisis of confidence in the EUROZONE. Top on the list the inability of the government to service their debts. The debts resulted in heavy government spending and the desire to help those countries in problem to get out of the economic crisis. A typical example is Greece who received numerous loans for the purposes of bailing itself out of the economic crisis. However it emerged that the country was unable to service their debts (Rose Wincoop, 2001). Similarly other countries such as Italy and Portugal accrued debts at very high levels making them unable to successfully service their loans. Additionally member countries such as Spain found it difficult to roll-over maturity debt, this coupled with the fact that it was not possible for EUROZONE member countries to raise enough financial resource to rescue member countries such as Italy and Spain was too large contributed to the confident crisis in the reg ion (Yifu, L. Treichel, 2012). More importantly financial deregulation and liberalization contributed to the confident crisis. These two concepts enhanced the creation of new financial instruments as well as derivatives which made banks in member countries to raise leverage and to boost funds to be loaned. This in the end spurred a real estate as well as expenditure explosion (YifuTreichel, 2012). Similarly another contributor to the consumption bang is the single currency which eliminated currency risk by allowing the interest rates to be lower. The two concepts as well as the decline in interest rates led to increased inflows of money from core fall in interest rates contributed to large inflows of capital from core countries into periphery countries resulting in housing bubbles and surplus consumption. Conclusion From the review the paper has critically looked into the assumption that the adoption of a single currency is to blame for the recent EUROZONE crisis. However, looking at the advantages and disadvantages of the economic structure I beg to disagree with Martin Feldstein views that the current crisis of the European single currency was an accident waiting to happen. To my understanding, a host of factors contribute to financial crisis and it is wrong to lay blame on a single currency economy as the sole reason for the crisis. Similarly the major causes of confident crisis in the region include failure of government to service their debts, high level of unemployment as well as financial deregulation and liberalization. The Asian Curreny/Financial crisis The East Asia Currency/financial crisis were mainly caused by sudden shifts in market confidence and expectations. Since the macroeconomic in some countries had worsened in 1990s, the depth of the 1997-1998 crisis are not attributed to deterioration in fundamentals, but to panic on the international domestic investors, reinforced by the international financial community and response of the International Monetary fund faulty policy (Poser, 2008). The financial turmoil reflected policy and structural distortions in the countries of that region. The currency and financial crisis in 1997 was triggered by fundamental imbalances. Once the crisis started, herding and market overreaction caused the plunge of exchange rates, economic activity and asset prices to be more severe than the one which was warranted by the weak economic conditions. The macroeconomic imbalances in East Asia countries are accessed within structural factors: foreign indebtedness and current account deficits, savings and investment ratios, real exchange rates, growth inflation rates, budget deficits, and foreign reserves, measures of debt and profitability and political instability (Roubini, Pesenti, Corsetti, 1999). Principal factors responsible for the Asia currency/financial crisis The roots of the Asian crisis are evident on the structure of incentives under which financial sectors and corporate operated in the region, in reference to regulatory inadequacies and close relationship between private and public institutions. The Asia moral hazard magnified the financial vulnerability of the countries in the process of financial market liberalization in 1990s, showing its fragility in the financial and macroeconomic shocks that occurred in 1995-1997 period. This problem lead to the exhibition of three different yet strictly related dimensions at the financial, corporate and international level (Mengkni, 2009). For the corporate level, political pressures for maintaining high economic growth rates led to long public guarantee to private projects, where some of them were undertaken under control of the government, subsidized directly, or supported policies of credit to favor industries and firms. In the absence of explicit promises of bail out, the strategies and plans of production of the corporate sector overlooked riskiness and costs of the underlying investment projects. Having the industrial and financial policy enmeshed within a business sector network o political and personal favoritism, and with the government being ready to intervene for the troubled firms, markets were operated with the impression that to be back to the investment was some how insured against adverse shocks (Poser, 2009). This beliefs and pressures represented the underpinnings of a sustained process of accumulation of capital, hence resulting into sizable and persistent current account deficits. As we all know, borrowing from a broad to finance investments domestically should not lead to concerns about external solvency, but it can be the optimal course of action for economies which are undercapitalized with good investment opportunities. According to the evidence for the countries, in 1990s, it highlights that the profitability of the projects which were new was low. The capital inflows and investment rate in Asia remained high even after the negative signals which were sent by profitability indicators. This result was due to the interest rate which fall in industrial countries lowered the capital cost for inflows and motivated financial flows in these East Asian countries. The crucial factor which underlined the sustained investment was the moral hazard problems in the countries, hence leading the banks to borrow excess finances from abroad and lending excessively at home. The financial intimidation also played a crucial role in channeling the funds to projects which were marginally if not outright unprofitable (Roubini, Pesenti, Corsetti, 1999). In the Asian pre crisis, there is a long list of structural distortions in the banking and financial sectors. these are: low capital adequacy ratios, weak regulation and lax supervision, insufficient expertise in the regulatory institutions, lack of compatible-incentive deposit insurance schemes, distorted incentives for monitoring and project selection, non market criteria of credit allocation, outright corrupt lending practices, according to the model of relationship of banking that practiced semi monopolistic relations between firms and banks while down playing price signals. The stated factors lead to the creation of severe weaknesses in the undercapitalized financial system, with a growing share of non performing loans (Poser, 2008). The distortion consequences were magnified by the financial market deregulation and rapid process of capital account liberation in the region during the 1990s, which leads to the increase of elastic supply of funds from abroad. The liberalization of capital markets was consistent with low supply of funds to the domestic corporate and national financial institutions sector. This goal motivated policies of exchange rate aimed at reducing the domestic currency in terms of the US dollar; hence the risk of premium on dollar denomination debt is reduced (Mengkni, 2009). International dimension of the moral hazard problem was affected by the international banks behavior, which lead to crisis over a period had lent large funds to domestic intermediaries, with the neglect of standards for risk assessment. This over lending syndrome may have lead to short term interbank be effectively guaranteed by a direct government intervention in financial debtors favor, or by indirect bail out through IMF support programs. Again, large amount of foreign debt accumulation was in the form of unhedged, bank related short term, and foreign currency denominated liabilities. In the year 1996, a short term liability in the form of total liabilities above 50 percent was the norm in the countries. Also, the ratio of foreign reserves to external liabilities, which is an indicator of financial fragility, was above 100 percent in Thailand, Indonesia and Korea (Roubini, Pesenti, Corsetti, 1999). The implication of moral hazard is the adverse shock to profitability which does not induce financial intermediaries to be more cautious in lending and following the financial strategies hence reducing the riskiness of their portfolios. To be opposite, the negative implications of a future bail out gives a strong incentive to act on more risk. On this regard, several countries, specific and global shocks lead to severely deteriorate that the outlook of the overall economy in the Asian region. This exacerbated the distortions in place (Poser, 2008). Inevitability of the Asia Crisis The Asian financial crisis was inevitable because before the crisis, the Asia countries currencies were already depreciating and the growth was very slow. There was also a drop of stock markets and real estate, and speculative trends were fueled by foreign capital inflows. This led to outright defaults and wide losses in the financial and corporate sectors. Again, policy uncertainty which was stemming due lack of commitment to structural reforms by the domestic authorities made things worse. The rapid reversals of financial capital inflows on the summer of 1997 lead to regional currencies collapse hence the international and domestic investors panic (Mengkni, 2009). The timing of the crisis The timing of the crisis was in line with financial challenges of the East Asia countries. The economy of the countries was stagnant before the crisis began. Before the crisis, there was fundamental imbalance which was triggered by financial and currency crisis. Therefore, the timing of the crisis was in relation with the weak economic conditions experienced (Roubini, Pesenti, Corsetti, 1999).

The United States Vs. The European Union: An Ethical Analysis of Software Patents :: Patents Compare Contrast Essays

The United States Vs. The European Union: An Ethical Analysis of Software Patents Introduction Patents have become a major part of technology in our society. The overall purpose of patents is to promote the disclosure of innovations so that others may make improvements based on those new technologies, while at the same time rewarding those who came up with the invention. They give the inventor of an innovation a monopoly of their innovation for a limited amount of time. After the time period has expired, anyone is free to use the innovation as they wish. Patents have worked well over the past century, enabling innovators to make technological improvements that would have been impossible without the help of prior inventions. Software Engineering is an engineering field that is very new relative to the other areas of science and engineering. Software Engineering is very different from any other kind of engineering. Ethically it is unreasonable to be able to apply the old patent laws to this new field of Software Engineering, without making any modifications to the laws. Software patents are not wrong entirely, in that it is still good to provide rewards to those who innovate. According the United States patent system, ideas are not patentable, while innovations are patentable. Software engineering blurs the line between ideas and innovation, in that software can be viewed as both an idea in the sense that it is a series of mathematical expressions, or it can be viewed as an innovation in that it can be delivered as an executable product. If patents are to be issued for software, a different system of laws governing software innovations needs to be established. The discrepancy on how to treat patents in software is illustrated by the opposing stances of the United States (who issues software patents) and the European Union (who does not issue software patents). History of Patents The main idea behind patents is to promote technological innovations. For there to be technological innovation for society as a whole, two things must happen. First, people must be able to study other people's innovations in order to further technology in society, because they can use the ideas of others to make even greater innovations. Second, people must have incentive to innovate. The most obvious solution to the first idea would be to make all innovations public, so that as soon as someone invents something, others are free to build off of it to further technology.

Measuring Rate of Rater Uptake by a Leafy Shoot :: Papers

Measuring Rate of Rater Uptake by a Leafy Shoot The water uptake can be measured easily and because very high proportion of the water taken up by a stem is lost in transpiration, it enables the rate of transpiration to be measured. Key Factors to be kept Constant: - ================================== v Temperature - room temperature (approximately 25Â ºC) v Wind speed - No artificial wind was produced to affect results v Light intensity - Extra light was not used v Humidity - it was not humid on the day experiments were conducted The water uptake for the control Experiment. Time (minutes) Initial meniscus position of the air bubble (cm) Final meniscus positionof the air bubble (cm) Water uptake (Distance moved) (cm) Total water uptake (cm) 1 10.0 10.7 0.7 0.7 2 10.7 11.5 0.8 1.5 3 11.5 12.3 0.8 2.3 4 12.3 13.0 0.7 3.0 5 13.0 14.0 1.0 4.0 6 14.0 14.8 0.8 4.8 The water uptake when Vaseline is applied on the top surface of the leaves. Time (minutes) Initial meniscus position of the air bubble (cm) Final meniscus positionof the air bubble (cm) Water uptake (Distance moved) (cm) Total water uptake (cm) 1 6.0 6.6 0.6 0.6 2 6.6 7.2 0.6 1.2 3 7.2 7.9 0.7 1.9 4 7.9 8.5 0.6 2.5 5 8.5 9.2 0.7 3.2 6 9.2 9.7 0.5 3.7 Time (minutes) Initial meniscus position of the air bubble (cm)

barn burning :: essays research papers

Barn Burning As "Barn Burning" opens, an adolescent boy named Sartoris Snopes is in court, hoping he will not have to testify in the arson case against his father -- a charge of which Sarty knows Mr. Snopes is absolutely guilty. The judge, whom Sarty perceives as kindly, is nonetheless Sarty’s enemy because he is his father’s enemy, and Sarty has not yet separated himself from his father. Sarty’s family are itinerant farmers, but they move around even more often than is typical because of his father’s habit of burning something down every time he gets angry. Sarty realizes that there is something deeply psychologically wrong with his father, but he underestimates his father’s danger. When they arrive at the beautiful plantation of Major de Spain, therefore, Sarty feels the de Spains are safe: "People whose lives are a part of this peace and dignity are behind his touch, he no more to them than a buzzing wasp: capable of stinging for a little moment but that’s all; the spell of this peace and dignity rendering even the barns and stable and cribs which belong to it impervious to the puny flames he might contrive." Sarty does not know that his father can just as easily bring down a big plantation as a cow barn. It would be easy to say that Sartoris, in the end, must make a choice between right and wrong, between the "peace and dignity" represented by the de Spains with the squalor and misery of the Snopes family, but it is more than that. At the story’s beginning, when Sarty was ready to testify that his father did not burn down that barn, he would have done it because a son’s job is to stick to his father. At the story’s end, he warns Major de Spain that his father is about to burn down his beautiful plantation, even though he knows that this will bring his family down once and for all, even though he knows that this means he will never be able to go

Causes of increasing alimentation prices

The divertive utilization of rice alignments to biofuels production is considered a result of the soaring food prices of our recent age. The resultant utilization of alimentations, more so rice hulls in many countries is highly preferred for use in biofuels production. Bio-extraction of ethanol from plants is considered as environmentally friendly as some analysts say it contributes to curbing the issue of global warming by reducing the concentrations of green house gases in the atmosphere. Because the waste product of rice becomes commercialized, it makes rice of any type or species to be valuable and consequently makes its price increase.(Saha et al, 2004) Unfair trade agreements imposed by rich nations that try to undermine poor nations making them unable to determine their policies of food production have also contributed to a higher localized supply in rice. A good example can be cited by Shah (2008) where she reveals that the Doha World Trade Organization meeting intended to as certain poor nations’ profitability in global trade did not materialize due to the developed nations view that the undeveloped nations would not ensure the end part of their bargain in the talks.The technology of genetic modification has also fuelled the high prices in foods in comparison of organic foods and genetically modified ones due to the cheap prices of the later in terms of competition. However, research by environmentalists has shown that the genetically modified (GM) foods have negative attributes to the ecological set up and consequently the human health system.The prevalence of the GM foods in the developed nations has seen demand of the higher priced organic foods increase in time due to the health effects associated with the former. The increasing population has seen the demand of food increase causing its consequential higher production. Rice being a staple meal in Asia has seen its exports being restricted to ensure that people specifically in the Asian natio ns of India and Chain can sustain their people with enough food. China with a population of about 1.3 billion people is the highest populated nation in the world followed by India. The government’s priority to feed the people comes first and thus has seen the exportation control of agricultural produce to other nations causing a shortage of food in the global market which by laws of economics dictates increase in commodity prices when supply is low. The exorbitant costs of inorganic fertilizer and other farm inputs for agricultural practices have also contributed to the increasing food prices.This is because the costs of production are also reflected in the end price of the agricultural produce, therefore if the price of one input increases, it will inevitable cause a rise in the end product as the farmer can not take up that cost for the benefit of the consumers since it will be tantamount to losses in business. In the UK, farmers are facing a 15% hike in fertilizer prices t hat is hurting the agricultural sector. This surge in prices is cited to have arisen from anti dumping taxes on nitrogenous fertilizers in the UK from some nations since 2000 that has seen a monopoly in the supply of fertilizer.(Walker, 2007) From the beginning of 2003 when the Iranian invasion began, oil prices have been going up exponentially that indirectly instituted high price of food. This was and is being attributed to low production levels of crude oil, thus diminishing supply due to the increasing preference of biofuels. The link between the soaring food prices and the high energy prices is that food needs to be transported to one part of land to another more specifically in relation to our globalized world that increases distances of destination.The modes of transportation used are mostly powered by by-products of fossil fuels that are expensive as could be seen by the highest recorded price of over a hundred dollars per barrel at the beginning of 2008. (Shenk 2008) As a c onsequence, the cost of energy is passed down to the end user making the commodity price higher than usual. This is a global problem since the crude oil prices are the same all over because of their sole control by the Oil Producing and Exporting Countries (OPEC) arrangements.The new problem of climate change is also predicted to cause further increases in food prices. The variations in climate across nations that solely depend of agriculture for their growth is expected to fall drastically as unpredictable weather patterns take charge causing situations of extreme drought and floods in different places. These alterations in climate will reduce agricultural productivity and food shortage will become imminent across the affected nations. It is now being observed that Australia, one of the largest wheat producing countries is in its third year of drought.Its respect as the world producer of wheat is now in jeopardy as its silos are becoming empty will the wheat prices are increasing. (Stancich, 2009) The problem of attacks from crop pests and weeds is also associated in the ever increasing food prices. In Central as well as the Southern parts of the Vietnam nation, according to a recent study Zeigler (2009), rice crops have been attacked by the tungro crop virus originating from the brown plant hopper insect. And furthermore, its spread is being predicted into China together with Thailand and Columbia.Pricing of rice is obviously expected to increase as the supply would have been greatly diminished while demand keeps growing. The continuing undervaluation of the US dollar which is used as a bench mark for trading in many nations is also attributed to the increasing food prices. Globalized nations are feeling the pinch of the current economic crisis of the US and business has gone down meaning that many sectors of the economy are being hurt more specifically in the agricultural sector.Farmers in the developed nations have cope better with the high prices of this global recession compared to their counterparts in the developing nations where production has reduced. A low supply with a high demand implies that food prices would increase in the developing nations unlike in developed nations where it would remain relatively stable. In India -one of the major rice producers- the effect of the global financial crunch in many sectors of the economy such as the agricultural industry has seen its 2008 GDP drop to 7% while further reduction is expected for 2009 at 5%. (World Bank Group, 2009: 2)Sporadic economic growth in different nations all over the world has been identified as a contributor to the increase in commodity prices. As the economy of a nation increases so as the living standards of the citizens. This makes purchasing power go a notch higher due to demand for better goods and services. This causes incompatibilities between demand and supply arising that sees the increase in prices. This is exhibited in the case with China that has been marked by speedy economic development that has exacerbated this global crisis that is catalyzed by its enormous population.(Zu H. & Khan, 1997) Effects of alimentation price increases As an effect, the high food prices could be succeeded by civil unrest especially among the poor nations which can be exemplified by the riots emanating from exorbitantly high food prices in Burkina Faso as well as Cameroon where its was compounded by the expensive fuel costs. The country of Indonesia has also been characterized by such frustrations when there was recent scarcity in Soya beans. Rise in inflation is a notable effect of increased food prices more especially in developing nations.Most developing nations operate on deficits and a down turn from increased food prices puts strains on the government’s functionality due to limited financial resources. This sees the issue of relief coming in from developed nations to help the affected. Increase in poverty becomes evident due to high food prices as people reduce their consumption so as to sustain themselves in future days. On an optimistic view, the soaring food prices have also the effect of causing governments to intervene by pushing for increased production of food in their countries to cushion the poor from hunger.(FAO, 2009) Conclusion Though there has been tremendous growth in food production all over the world, the predictions of the future are still pessimistic as demand continues growing high. This is in reference to the stagnated supply that can not reach equilibrium with the demand; hence the future is determined by new sources of supply to cope with the vacuum in supply that would ensure price stability. Therefore, foreign alimentations such as bananas, mangoes, pineapples, and exotic fish among others will not fetch the same price as today due to these imbalances in supply and demand.To mitigate this, an in depth intervention through social protection for the short and long period requirements in conjunc tion with initiatives on alimentations for the poor should be implemented. Research into new agricultural opportunities should be intensified so as to achieve equilibrium in supply and demand of alimentations. This will go far in guarantying steady prices of food in the global market. And resultantly, agricultural trade regulations that burr efficient production in the developing nations should be renegotiated with rich nations that discourage them so that a healthy and productive world can be achieved.(OECD, 2007) References: FAO, (2009). Bumper rice harvest could bring down consumer prices. Planete Urgence. Retrieved on April 20th 2009. From http://www. infosdelaplanete. org/5123/bumper-rice-harvest-could-bring-down-consumer-prices. html? L=EN Hu Z. & Mohsin S. Khan (1997). Why Is China Growing So Fast? ECONOMIC ISSUES NO. 8 International Monitoring Fund (IMF). Washington D. C. Yan Z. (2008). China seeks a balance between food security and the urbanization. Retrieved on April 20th 2009. From http://www. china-embassy. org/eng/zt/t516240. htm Walker D. (2007).Fuel and Fertilizer Situation. John Wiley and Sons, Inc Stancich R. (2009). Climate change and food prices. Climatechangecorp. Retrieved on April 20th 2009. From http://www. climatechangecorp. com/content. asp? ContentID=5252 OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) (2007). Agricultural Policies in OECD Countries: Monitoring and Evaluation. Paris: OECD. Saha, B. C. , Iten, L. B. , Cotta, M. A. , Wu, Y. (2004). Fuel ethanol production from rice hull [abstract]. American Chemical Society. Paper No. BI0T 101. Retrieved on 20th April 2009. Fromhttp://www. ars. usda. gov/research/publications/Publications. htm? seq_no_115=156041 Shenk M. (2008) . Oil Climbs Above $126 to Record as Dollar Weakens Against Euro. EU News, Havensworks. com http://www. havenworks. com/world/eu/ World Bank Group, (2009). Impact of Global Financial Crisis on South Asia. Retrieved on April 20th 2009. From http://7 4. 125. 47. 132/search? q=cache:y57oApfcEXgJ:siteresources. worldbank. org/SOUTHASIAEXT/Resources/223546-1171488994713/3455847-1232124140958/gfcsouthasiafeb172009. pdf+global+financial+crisis%2Bfood+prices&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk

Marvin Bower

The late Marvin Bower, who alter McKinsey & Co. into one of the outdo manage actionforcet consulting firms in the world, said that the ability to inspire and overlook plyers to be their best is the greatest election of any business, and that the recompenses for doing so include reaping for the business itself, and educateth in private-enterprise(a) scene, size, and profits (Edersheim, 2004, p. 65). Much literature approximately theories of want and reverse relate to the put forward of inspiring employees to do their best (Gagne and Deci, 2005 Ambrose and Kulik, 1999). This musical composition explores how jitneys post intention theories of cause employees to re be the build better, more profitable, and efficient.A managers job is to thump things through through their employees, so knowing how to act employees is al rooms a challenge that has never been easy. Many changes driven by ecumenical companionable and economic forces ar hap at the workplace. The end of the Cold warf be in the early 1990s and the globalisation of businesses are transforming corporations public and private, large and dispirited in a radical way (Stiglitz, 2002). Global competition and the rise of republic are pressuring companies to be more competitive, agile, and lean, ever-changing the nature of organizational structures and the relationships mingled with managers and workers (Micklethwait & Wooldridge, 2000). some other change agent is the progress of tuition and communications technology, peculiarly the Internet and sprightly computing, which has altered the nature of communication indoors the organization and the bore of the workforce. Workers are more educated and knowledgeable, able to gain supple access to development and perform knowledge- found tasks in an atmosphere of teamwork and collaboration (Heerwagen, Kelly, & Kampshroer, 2005). As the workplace structure and the workers themselves change, management faces the conundrum represe nt by Gerstner (2002) after a prospered ten-year move to bring IBM Corporation come on of a crisis-How do you curl up the levers of motivating to change the attitudes, behavior, and mentation of a community? Of course, dissentent slew are prompt by different things. Some by money. Some by advancement. Some by recognition. For some, the or so effective penury is tending or anger. For others, that doesnt (sic) work its learning, or the opportunity to give away an impact, to recognise their efforts produce concrete results. Most people can be rouse by the bane of extinction. And most can be elysian by a compelling fantasy of the future. Over the past ten years, Ive pulled most of those levers (p. 203).Effectively changing the attitudes, behavior, and recollecting of workers demands that a manager knows what levers of motivating to pull in the first place.Much inquiry has been done to identify empirically-proven theories and methods that managers can use to trigger off their employees (Gagne and Deci, 2005, p. 333).Maslow proposed that a person is incite by satisfying five levels of valet de chambre postulate (1) physiological (hunger and thirst) (2) safety (bodily) (3) social (friendship and affiliation) (4) esteem (for oneself and others) and (5) self-actualization (growth and realization of potential) (Chapman, 2004a).Herzberg secernd that work satis particularion results from the presence of hygiene factors wish well salary, status, working conditions, supervisor and management, security, relationship with subordinates, and policies, and motivational factors the like achievement, recognition, work itself, responsibility, advancement, and face-to-faceised growth. A worker will be well-to-do if the motivation factors are met (Chapman, 2004c).According to Adamss Equity Theory, what workers put into their work (inputs) is more or less balanced with what they expect to get prohibited(a) of it (outputs). Motivation will get the mos t out of employee inputs like personal effort and hard work by fashioning the employee see it balanced by outputs (salary, benefits, and in veridicals like praise and achievement) (Chapman, 2004b). roars hope Theory states that three factors should be present for motivation to take place valence (value placed on the expected reward), prediction (belief that efforts are linked to operation), and instrumentality (belief that performance is related to rewards). Knowing all(prenominal) employees valence and expectancy, and showing the instrumentality between the two, will help the manager instigate the motivation of the employee.Porter and Lawler built on Vrooms theory by proposing a model of intrinsic/ adventitious motivation, which states that people are intrinsically motivated if they do something they find interesting and from which they follow satisfaction, and that people are extrinsically motivated if they do the activity because they are satisfied with the glaring or ve rbal rewards attached (Gagne and Deci, 2005, p. 331). Schwab (1985) equates this with Herzbergs motivation (intrinsic) and hygiene (extrinsic) factors but modern authors claim that it is closer to Vrooms Expectancy Theory (Ambrose and Kulik, 1999, p. 257).All these theories whitethorn be said to be based on Skinners living theory, which states that behavior can be shaped, changed or maintained through the use of confirmatory and banish reinforcement, implying that a person can behave in a received way through the use of motivational levers.Motivation can be used to purify employee performance and productivity. As Bruce and Pepitone (1999, pp. 38-42) confidential information out, employees can be motivated to do their work better, that is, improve their work performance, and to work more efficiently and more effectively, that is, improve their productivity. One way is to share information (like profit and loss or quality of service) on how your department is doing in compare with others in or outside the company. enquire employees to help you solve a problem appeals to their need for self-actualization (Maslow) and helps them set high personal standards of growth and potential. You may motivate them with bonuses (Vrooms rewards or Adamss outputs) they will get if performance improves. Use the tools depending on what you think your employees need. This first step can make your employees want to improve their performance and be more productive.Getting employees warmed up is good, but it is not enough. After get them initially motivated, the manager has to help each one establish and achieve high(prenominal) goals. Motivation can be a useful tool in goal-setting by pointing out targets that will bring employees out of their comfort zones to attain personal growth. Hiam (1999, pp. 213-216), precedent us against conf using goal-setting sessions with employee manipulation, states that the motivational secern is to make employee realize that aiming for a higher goal is good for different reasons, presenting twain tangible (pay raise and bonus) and intangible (self-esteem and personal growth) rewards.Some employees are motivated by financial rewards, but many are equally motivated by visual perception that their work is meaningful (Hiam, 1999, p. 222). In discussing the rewards of work, Bruce and Pepitone (1999, p.53) state that if employees are properly motivated and helped by their managers to aim for higher goals and succeed in achieving it, employees will feel that the work they do is fun and enjoyable, making it part of the reward itself that they are willing to share with the organization. In effect, work becomes its own reward.Heller (1998, p.43) adds that motivation is a useful tool not only when setting higher work performance goals but in assessing the advantage or failure of employee efforts. Employee evaluation and judicial decision can be a meeting place for further motivation in two areas to encourage the employee t o build on strengths and accomplishments, leash the way for higher levels of future performance, or for helping the employee overcome personal weaknesses that restrain job performance.Through the use of appointed reinforcement (praise and encouragement for success and achievement) and negative reinforcement (suggestions for improvement or behavioural change), managers can sustain organizational esprit de corps and help employees overcome falling frenzy or a lack of personal ambition. Hiam (1999, p. 122) notes that affirmatory feedback (You can do it because youre good enough ) is more motivating than negative feedback (Why cant you do something that others can?) and encourages managers to use positive reinforcement to build up employee motivation and morale, although negative reinforcement (not the same as negative feedback) may be stabilizing for disciplining or correcting employees.Boosting self-confidence is one of the best ways to maintain high levels of motivation in empl oyees (Bruce & Pepitone, 1999, p. 114). The reason is that people grow in confidence when they see that someone, especially one in a position of authority, believes in them. This creates expectations that, as we learn from Vroom and Porter, motivate people. Therefore, a manager who believes in his employees can sustain high levels of motivation. Doing the adversary (showing lack of confidence and blaspheme) can be fatal for the organization and the career of a manager whose task is to motivate and, therefore, trust and believe in his employees.It is a scientifically-proven fact that men and women are different (Ridley, 1999). They differ also in their motivation styles. several(prenominal) studies (Su and Bradberry, 2004 Marano, 2003 Sachs, 1995) show how women and men differ (for example, women are more intuitive and perceptive, while men are more systematic and rules-based) in their communication and social skills, vital for the serve up of motivation. While men find it easier to motivate using the basic needs and tangible rewards, and women may be better at using higher level needs and intangible factors, all good managers, no matter of gender, should combine the ability to motivate using all the tools available (Gerstner, 2002 Sachs, 1995).ReferencesAmbrose, M. L. & Kulik, C. T. (1999). Old friends, spic-and-span faces motivation research in the 1990s. daybook of Management. 25, 231-292.Bruce, A. and Pepitone, J. (1999). Motivating Employees. New York McGraw-Hill.Chapman, A. (2004a). Abraham Maslows power structure of Needs. Retrieved November 11, 2005, from http//www.businessballs.com/maslow.htmChapman, A. (2004b). Adams Equity Theory. Retrieved November 11, 2005, from http//www.businessballs.com/adamsequitytheory.htmChapman, A. (2004c). Frederick Herzbergs Motivational Theory. Retrieved November 11, 2005, from http//www.businessballs.com/herzberg.htmEdersheim, E. H. (2004). McKinseys Marvin Bower. Vision, Leadership, and the Creation of Management Consulting. (pp. 41-65). New tee shirt John Wiley.Gagne, M. and Deci, E.L. (2005). Self-determination theory and work motivation. Journal of Organizational Behavior. 26, 331-362. Retrieved NovemberGerstner, L. V. Jr. (2002). Who Says Elephants cant Dance? (p. 203). New York HarperCollins.Heerwagen, J., Kelly, K., and Kampshroer, K. (2005). The ever-changing Nature of Organizations, Work, and Workplace. National Institute of building Sciences. Retrieved November 12, 2005, from http//www.wbdg.org/design/chngorgwork.phpHeller, R. (1998). Essential Managers Motivating People. (1st American ed.) D. Tombesi-Walton (Ed.). New York DK.Hiam, A. (1999). Streetwise Motivating and honour Employees. Holbrook, MA Adams.Marano, H. E. (July-August 2003). The New Sex Scorecard. psychology Today. Retrieved November 15, 2005, from http//www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-2832.htmlMicklethwait, J. and Wooldridge, A. (2000). A Future Perfect. The Challenge and hush-hush Promise of globalization. (pp. 122-139). New York Crown.Ridley, M. (1999). Genome, The autobiography of a species in 23 chapters. (pp. 216-218). New York HarperCollins.Sachs, M. (1995). men and women communication styles. Retrieved November 14, 2005, from http//ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/5280.htmlSchwab, D. P. (1985). Motivation in Organizations. In L. R. Bittel and J. E. Ramsey (Eds.), Handbook for Professional Managers. (p. 585). New York McGraw-Hill.Stiglitz, J. E. (2002). Globalization and its Discontents. (pp. 21-22). London Penguin.Su, L. D. and Bradberry, T. (2004). EQ and Gender Women sense of smell Smarter. Retrieved November 15, 2005, from https//www.talentsmart.com/media/uploads/EQ_and_Gender.pdfWikipedia (2005). Retrieved November 12, 2005, from http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/