Saturday, August 31, 2019

International Business Essay

In present time and age globalisation has gained much more importance then what it had about thirty years ago. No doubt globalisation started ever since human being existed on this planet, but it is observed that in this era geographical boundaries has a very little part to play, when it comes to trade, culture, travelling and communication. Effects of this integration of different economies will have its outcomes and many of them can be seen already. In most countries however due to Globalization one can see the growing concern regarding employment and income distribution (Lee & Vivarelli 2006, p. 168). Based on qualative and quantative analysis this paper would come with the conclusion to suggest wether globalisation is beneficial for everybody or the complete opposite. Globalisation means increasing flows of trade, finance and factors of production across the border, with the help of faster transportation and effective communications set up. It is globalisation which is compeletly responsible for making this world a global village. With globalisation, international bonds develop not just amongst specific groups of countries but across a wide global network in which factors of production or finished goods can move freely. The second era of globalisation that we are now living has come as a outcome of a numerous factors, not only because of of internet (which has allowed the speedy flows of massive volumes of information) but also because of intense changes in institutional environments. The economic ideas of the 1970s promoted moves towards financial liberalisation and deregulation within a large number of OECD countries during the 1980s and 1990s, the policy approaches of the Bretton Woods institutions were also modified with the Washington Consensus being built upon the promotion of economic severity, privatisation and liberalisation Stiglitz and Gualerzi (cited in Baddeley 2006, p 392). Furthermore, Baddeley claims that this deregulation has made the movement of capital and factors of production across national boundaries, contributing to the globalisation process In most countries, however, the current wave of â€Å"globalization† has been accompanied by increasing concern about its impact in terms of employment and income distribution (Lee & Vivarelli 2006). Evidence has been provided from group studies to explain that globalisation does promotes growth by Dreher (cited in Baddeley 2006, p 393). However, it has been argued that the benefits do not essentially help to alleviate poverty. Krugman and Venables( cited in (cited in Baddeley 2006, p 393) emphasize that globalisation has the potential to benefit less-developed nations but at the start globalisation will worsen world inequality but then it will reduce it down. For example—as transport costs fall below a threshold, developing nations suffer real income declines. Falling transport costs allow core nations to exploit greater economies of scale in manufacturing to the loss of manufacturing sectors in developing economies. Labour demand will fall in peripheral nations and rise in core nations as a consequence. Milanovic (cited in Baddeley 2006, p. 394) completely discards the view of globalisation as something that would benefit any economy, he also provides evidence that, since 1870, globalisation has worsen international inequality with particularly prominent increases in inequality during the 1978–1998 globalisation era. He argues that the blow on less developed countries have been severe which means per capita GDP has not increased in Africa and a number of less developed countries are in a financial crisis and many transition economies are facing extraordinary levels of debt. The point worth mentioning here is that globalisation has increased the level of business activity all around the world but to be honest for many developing countries this is of very little use rather it is to the their detriment. Now when the host country provides its labour and resources, it is just like other economies eating away host countries resources. Plus all the profits are gone somewhere else. And the story does not end here, on the other side developing countries have always been forcing all the countries to reduce the amount of tariff and import duties and talking about how good free trade is. Now the rich countries enjoy economies of scale therefore the imported goods in some poor countries are cheaper than their own home base industry products. This discourages the economy of developing countries and does not allow it to become self sufficient. (Kaplinsky 2001, p. 60) When we look at the labour market outcomes, (Wood 1998, p. 1463) explains that there have been gaps between skilled and unskilled labour both in terms of wages and in terms of unemployment rates and claims that globalisation is the most likely cause for this rising inequality. Feenstra 1998, p. 37) adds outsourcing into the reasearch to prove that the outcomes of globalisation on employment and wages will be comparable to the outcomes of skills-biased technological innovation. Which means demand for skilled labour in less developed countries will rise but the demand for unskilled labour will fall contributing to wage inequality. Even though globalisation has encouraged factor price equalisation, it has been at the expense of lower incomes for low-skilled workers. (Williamson 1997, p. 5) explains that factor-price convergence in the earlier stages of globalisation improved conditions for unskilled workers in Europe but made the situation worse for poor unskilled workers in the new global village. As per the concept of comparative advantage, trade and FDI both should take advantage of the cheap and readily available amount of labour in developing countries and so generate a movement of specialization in domestic labour intensive Activities and, ultimately, an expansion in local employment (Lee & Vivarelli 2006, p. 170) On the contrary Heckscher-Ohlin recent research leads to the conclusion that the employment impact of increasing trade is not necessarily positive for a developing country. In a developing country, the final employment impact of increasing trade depends on the interaction between productivity growth and output growth both in traded-goods sectors and in non-traded sectors. The final outcome cannot be assessed for different reasons. On the one hand, export may involve demand-led economic and employment growth, but – on the other hand – imports may displace previously protected domestic firms, inducing labour redundancy. Moreover, in the presence of supply constraints (lack of infrastructure, scarcity of skilled labour, under-investment, labour market inefficiencies), productivity growth may exceed output growth even in the exporting sectors, to the detriment of job creation Fosu and Reddy (Lee & Vivarelli 2006, p. 171). Finally, lucky sectors of the domestic economy e. g. agriculture, public administration, construction, non-traded services may act as labour sinks, often implying hidden unemployment and underemployment in the informal labour market . Shifting the center of attention from trade to FDI inflows, when a developing country opens its borders to foreign capital, FDIs generate positive employment effects directly and indirectly through job creation by suppliers and retailers. They also produce a tertiary employment effect by generating extra incomes and in that way increasing total demand (Sanjaya 2004, p. 91). By comparing the labour intensities of exported, imported and non-traded goods, it is sorted out that in 21 out of 39 sampled developing country which is an increase in the level of trade resulted in an increase in employment. In the remaining group of 18 countries, however, increased integration in the global economy produced a reduction in employment which is the opposite of (Heckscher-Ohlin theorem). In reality inequality comes from a bunch of other sources: corruption, the overextended power of states, technological change, demographic change and diseases, the spread of AIDS in Africa etc. Globalisation, engagement with the wider changes in the world, is as crucial for the less developed countries as it is for the more developed ones. No country which has cut itself off from the wider world has prospered. Take a look at North Korea or Burma to see what happens to a country which tries to simply isolate itself from the world economy. Future is not in regionalism or dull protectionism. That does not mean you should simply accept free trade. Industries should only be opened up to markets when certain favourable conditions prevail. Nonetheless, you do need to tackle with the wider global economy. â€Å"The main challenge for poorer countries is to find what circumstances of that engagement are† (Giddens 2000) People on both sides of this debate have been very swift to draw conclusions about the Impacts of â€Å"globalization† from their measured poverty numbers. The title of a book published recently by the International Forum of Globalization asks: â€Å"Does globalization help the poor? † and the book confidently answers the question with a big â€Å"no. † The back cover of Bhalla (2002) asks: â€Å"Who has gained from globalization? † and answers with equal confidence: the poor. However, readers of neither book will become any wiser about the answer to these questions than when they started. Actually neither book contains the sort of analysis that would be needed to convincingly allow acknowledgment of the claimed changes in poverty and inequality to â€Å"globalization. † I am not given any evidence that would allow me to identify the role played by greater openness to external trade in the distributional changes observed, against other factors such as rising agricultural productivity, demographic factors, changes in the distribution and returns to education and internal policy reforms (Ravallion, p. 15). Globalisation is like a fire, a form of force which is bad if not controlled but useful if channelled responsibly.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Administrative Reform in Bd

[pic] ASSIGNMENT ON ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM SUBMITTED TO SHAMIMA AKHTER [pic] (JKKNIU) SUBMITTED BY SAIFUDDIN AHAMMED MONNNA Dept. of Public Administration and Governance (JKKNIU) Roll no-11123144, Session-2010-2011 Course code PA-122 {1th Batch (1st year) 2nd Semester B. S. S. Honours} Submission date-01. 22. 2012 Table of Contents Serial no | Subject |Pages | |1 |ABSTRACT |2 | |2 |INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND |31 | |3 |Brief Review of Administrative Reforms in Bangladesh |6 | |4 |Major Issues of Administrative Reform in Bangladesh |8 | |5 |List of Major Committees and Commission for Administrative Reform |20 | |6 | 25 | | |DISCUSSION ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS ELABORATELY IN THE FOLLOWING | | |7 |CONCLUSION: |36 | |8 |REFERENCES |37 | ABSTRACT This assignment explores the interplay politics and administrative reform in Bangladesh by drawing some perspectives from other developing countries. It covers the period both before and after democratization of the country, hinging around the even ts of 1991, and thus provides the opportunity for comparisons. It has sought to draw out the relative importance of political will (including the intentions and authority) of governments, and to critically assess their capacity, the degree of co-operation they gained from civil service actors, and to assess the relevance and appropriateness of international donor interventions. INTRODUCTION All countries strive to reform their administrative system in response to the challenge posed by socioeconomic posed, political, and technical environment. Bangladesh is no exception. Since its emergence as a nation- state, Bangladesh has been trying hard to reshape its administrative system. However, despite their perceived importance, administrative reform in Bangladesh has encountered serious hurdles over the last thirty years. Since 1971 after a civil war 17 reforms have been taken from which some reforms are very crucial. The major administrative reforms and their fate are discussed elaborately in the following†¦ BACKGROUND: Bangladesh bears a colonial legacy in its entire public administration system. Presentday Bangladesh was part of the British Empire for almost two hundred years. In 1947 Pakistani rulers replaced the British and dominated the area then known as East Pakistan until a bitter war in 1971 brought about an independent Bangladesh. A colonial imprint persists in Bangladesh especially in political and administrative Arrangements . The British tradition helped the bureaucracy to become an essential tool of governance. At the same time, it is accused of following the â€Å"Pakistani tradition of involvement in power politics† (Hague, 1995). The political system of Bangladesh has survived a series of transitions. A few years of democracy were followed by nearly fifteen years of military rule. In 1990, for the first time, Bangladesh achieved a fully functioning democratic structure. Ironically, the nature and role of bureaucracy in both the pre and post-democratic period remained almost the same except for an increase in number of ministries, divisions, departments and statutory bodies (Ahmed, 2002: 323-26). The role of government has changed in the course of Bangladesh’s development. After independence its focus was the attainment of development in all spheres of life by intervention and the use of administration in a constructive way. Government and administration were seen not merely as a regulator but as a facilitator. However, it can be argued that development, when considered as a multi-dimensional concept, cannot be attained and sustained without good governance. The term â€Å"good governance† has Acquired tremendous importance in the contemporary world, especially in the context of the developing countries. For example, many developing countries have prepared . Essential component in implementing the plans and strategies to achieve the targets set forth by PRSP; but good governance is a component that most developing countries seriously lack. Merilee S. Grindle points out that when determining their priorities and taking steps to ensure good governance, most developing countries go too far: they chalk out a plan or strategy far beyond the limited capacity of the institutions charged with implementation responsibilities. Grindle suggests redefining â€Å"Good Governance† as â€Å"Good Enough Governance†, that is, â€Å"a condition of minimally acceptable government erformance and civil society engagement that does not significantly hinder economic and political development and that permits poverty reduction initiatives to go forward† (Grindle, 2004: 526). In Bangladesh, a second-generation development challenge is to achieve â€Å"good enough governance†. No matter how much a government tries, success will not be attained if it lacks competent institutions to implement policies. Public administration is the key institution for policy implementation. If it is not functioning well, then PRSP targets are unlikely to be met. The state has to make sure that its administrative apparatus is functioning well, so that it can innovate and implement solutions and that it can ensure that the poor will not be excluded from the process and benefits of development. From the beginning of the 1990s, the role of government has changed from an intervener to a referee; instead of playing the game, its main duty is to make sure that a fair game is being played. This reinvented role of the government necessitates redefining the role of the bureaucracy. Bureaucracy can be considered as an â€Å"open† system that interacts with or is affected by the environment in which it operates. Traditionally, this environment consisted of only the â€Å"domestic economic, political and social context within which the organization is located. † Now, however, â€Å"public organizations are more often faced with global threats and opportunities that affect their operations and perspectives† (Welch and Wong, 2001: 372-73). The performance of a public organization depends largely on how the domestic political institution handles global pressures as well as how it interacts with the bureaucracy. In a country like Bangladesh, where global pressure is eminent and the domestic political institutions are ill structured, the colonial legacy places the bureaucracy in a difficult position. As globalization or market liberalization changes both the domestic context and the functioning of the bureaucracy, it is possible—but not necessarily desirable—that the two primary state institutions, politics and bureaucracy, forge an alliance. All countries strive to reform their administrative system in response to the challenge posed by socioeconomic posed, political, and technical environment. Bangladesh is no exception. Since its emergence as a nation- state, Bangladesh has been trying hard to reshape its administrative system. However, despite their perceived importance, administrative reform in Bangladesh has encountered serious hurdles over the last thirty years. Since 1971 after a civil war 17 reforms have been taken from which some reforms are very crucial. The major administrative reforms and their fate are discussed elaborately in the following Brief Review of Administrative Reforms in Bangladesh: Since the emergence of the country, a number of commissions and committees (for details, please see Annex-A) were constituted by different governments for administrative reform and reorganization to suit the needs of their respective policy declarations. The development partners also prepared several reports toward that end. A review of the major efforts is summarized below. The first political government in Bangladesh felt it necessary to rationalize and transform the provincial administrative system it had inherited into a national system which would be able to shoulder the responsibilities of a new born sovereign nation. Accordingly, the government constituted a Committee known as the Administrative and Services Reorganization Committee. The committee reviewed the administrative system thoroughly and proposed a comprehensive structure to enable it to undertake increasing development responsibilities. The recommendations were not, however, implemented due to resistance from different quarters. The subsequent military government in 1976 constituted a commission called as the Pay and Services Commission for recommending measures for administrative reform. The recommendations of the Commission were partially implemented. The Commission recommended for the introduction of an open structure system in the secretariat administration and creation of 28 cadres in the civil service. While the cadre principle was implemented, there was, in essence, a failure to introduce open structure system in the secretarial administration. The martial law government of General Ershad appointed a Committee for examining the organizational set up of the ministries/divisions, departments, directorates and other organizations. The Committee recommended reduction of the number of ministries/divisions, and of staff at the lower levels of secretarial administration, reduction in the layers of the decision making and fixing the supervisory ratio, formalizing and regularizing recruitment processes, emphasizing the principle of merit in promotion, delegation of financial and administrative powers down the hierarchy and providing training for officials. But major recommendations of the Committee were not implemented (Khan, 1991). Later, the martial law government appointed another committee, known as Committee for Administrative Reforms/Reorganization (CARR). The Committee recommended for renaming of Thanas as Upazilas (sub-districts), upgrading the Sub-divisions into districts and installation of elected local governments at district, Upazilla and union levels for the transfer of development functions to these elected local bodies. This time, the government implemented most of the recommendations of the Committee. It upgraded Thanas into Upazilas and sub-divisions into districts. It introduced democratic governance though limited in scope at the Upazila level. In 1987, a Cabinet Sub-committee was formed to recommend policy measures for implementing recommendations of the Secretaries Special Committee on the Structural Organization of the Senior Services Pool (SSP) and the Secretarial Committee relating to the problem of unequal prospects of promotion of officers of different cadre services. The Committee recommended the abolition of the SSP and certain other measures to improve prospects of promotion of officers of various cadre services. The government accepted the recommendations of the Committee and abolished the SSP in 1989. In the same year, another committee was constituted to reexamine the administrative structure and the man power position. The Committee found that 7000 officers and employees were surplus in 37 departments and offices. On the basis of its findings, the Committee recommended the abolition of 27 departments (Khan, 1991; USAID, 1989; Ali, 1993). During the tenure of the last government, an empirical study was conducted and two committees were constituted to look into problems of public administration and recommend measures for reforms. The Public Administration Sector Study was sponsored by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) with a view to suggesting an open, transparent, accountable and performance oriented administrative system to support parliamentary democracy. The Four Secretaries Committee and Committee for Restructuring Ministries/Department were constituted by the government. The areas of investigation of these committees and study included secretarial administration and work procedures, ministry-department relationship, ministry-corporation relationship, project cycle, organization and structure of government, decision making, accountability, human resources development, financial management and corruption. Recommendations made by them were of multifarious nature corresponding to the nature of the problems. The present government constituted the Public Administration Reform Commission in 1997 with the mandate to recommend policies, programs and activities to improve the level of efficiency, effectiveness, accountability and transparency in public organizations and to enable them to fulfil the government’s commitment to ensure socio-economic development and reach out its benefits to the people. The Commission made three types of recommendations, interim, short term and long term for administrative reforms in areas such as, defining of mission and functions of the public offices; affirming professionalism in the civil service; performance monitoring and result oriented performance, audit of government agencies; delegation of powers to subordinate and field offices; open and free access to government documents and reports for the sake of transparency and accountability; separation of judiciary from the executive; separation of audit from accounts; simplification of outdated laws, rules, regulations and forms (GOB, 2000). The Government has implemented some of the interim recommendations of the commission. The cabinet in a recent meeting accepted in principle the other recommendations of the commission. Major Issues of Administrative Reform in Bangladesh: The importance and significance of various reform efforts can not be denied as these have addressed to a large number of is sues relating to public administration in Bangladesh. But it is believed that the following issues should be taken into consideration while attempting for any comprehensive eform effort in the future. 1Role of Government The role of government in terms of dimension and nature of involvement in various activities has direct bearing on any reform effort. With respect to size and functional involvement, the Government of Bangladesh has assumed an all pervasive character. The lack of private initiative, which is a historical phenomenon, as well as government’s compulsions, especially just after the emergence of the country, provided the basis for the extended role and functions of the government. As a result, the role and functions of the government in Bangladesh has become all encompassing from the centre to the grassroots level. Its traditional functions also termed as regulatory functions (maintenance of law and order, collection of revenue and administration of justice) now constitute only a small segment, though their importance has not been reduced at all; rather increased manifold, of the voluminous functions of public administration. But by the nineties of the last century, some major and qualitative changes have taken place both in the internal and external environment of the country. The thrust for the reduced and limited role of the government is recognized nationally and internationally. In the economic sector, local private, and international and multinational initiatives are quite successful in various ventures while the government is found unsuccessful in managing and running public enterprises. On the other hand, a large number of Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), national and international, are shouldering some service and development responsibilities and also demonstrating better performance in their own spheres (CDRB and DPC, 1995). All these realities are now considered as the reflection of the freedom of individual belief and rights-two lofty ideals of modern day democracy. Thus there are both objective and subjective reasons to review the role and functions of the government. 2Public Policy Commitments Public policy commitments generally reflect the hopes and aspirations of the people and the demands of the time. These commitments are made in a democratic polity by the political parties both in power and aspiring to go to power. Public policy commitments are later translated into administrative actions. In Bangladesh, it has been observed that the public policy commitments made by the government are not pursued wholeheartedly. The institutional mechanisms, both internal and external, are also weak to monitor the translation of these into concrete administrative actions. Internal mechanisms include, administrative and political will of the government and effective administrative monitoring system. On the other hand, external mechanisms are specific parliamentary standing committees and effective role of the political parties in parliament and constructive role of the press and media. Moreover, public policy commitments lack consensus especially of the opposition political parties. As a result, public policy commitments made by one government are, in many cases, scraped or set aside by the next government that comes to power. 3Neutral Governance Currently neutral governance has become a common concern of politicians, administrators, academics and common people as every body are beneficiaries of it. Neutral governance is essential for the sustenance, growth and development of democratic polity. Modern day parliamentary democracies are based on multi party system. Under the system, a number of political parties with varying ideologies and agenda compete for assuming the state power or forming the government through the electoral process. Political parties stay in power so long as they enjoy the support and confidence of the people. The public administrative system that symbolizes permanency and continuity has to function under and at the direction of different political parties at different points of time. Under the above reality, the administration must ensure neutral governance. The concept of neutral governance with respect to a developing country like Bangladesh could be viewed from the perspective of Maintenance of Law and Order/Enforcement; Administration of and Access to Justice; and Planning and Execution of Development Programs. 3. 1Maintenance of Law and Order/Enforcement Maintenance of law and order is essential for ensuring neutral governance. Broadly speaking, maintenance of law and order has two aspects viz. maintenance of public peace, investigation and trial of criminal cases (GOP, 1960). The above involves both executive and judicial functions. Three elements are involved in it, the police, the magistracy and the judiciary (Ali, et. al. , 1983). The maintenance of public peace does not mean pre vention and control of any special type of crime. This deals with general law and order situations that may even be disturbed by non-criminal activities. Though crime may be committed, the real nature of the emergency here may be political or economic or communal. On the other hand, the investigation and trial of criminal cases may be described as prevention; investigation and detection; and prosecution of crime. It is believed that first of all crime should be prevented. If not prevented then the crime is committed. Once a crime is committed it must then be investigated and detected. The successful investigation leads to prosecution. Besides these, the police perform many other functions that have direct or indirect bearing on the maintenance of law and order/enforcement. Some of these are: execution of processes of criminal courts, regulation of crowds and traffic and other duties to meet emergency situations. To ensure neutral governance with respect to the maintenance of law and order/enforcement, the police administration should enjoy freedom from interference from any quarters. If interference are made Police administration can not function or discharge its duties and responsibilities without fear or favour. But in recent years, it has been alleged that the law enforcing agencies have been subjected to influences of various kinds to meet the political ends of the parties in power. Such practices seriously erode the confidence of the people and directly violate the principle of neutral governance, above all, they encourage the police particularly at the lower echelons, to take advantage of such biased position of the authorities to convert the opportunity for unrestrained personal gains. And this is what has happened in Bangladesh. 3. 2Administration of and Access to Justice-Rule of Law Administration and access to justice is a primary requirement for establishing the rule of law in the country. Again, the rule of law must be considered as an important dimension for sustainable democracy, accountable administration and equitable development. In the area of administration of justice in Bangladesh, the judicial system is subjected to some fundamental and procedural problems. Although there is constitutional provision for the separation of judiciary from the executive, concrete steps are yet be taken to separate the two especially at the lower level. It has been reported that now a bill proposing the separation of the judiciary and the executive is pending in the parliament for enactment. The combination of the executive/police and authority of criminal justice in the hands of the executive government was the innovation of the colonial power and it was specifically designed to meet the colonial purposes. However, non-action to separate the judiciary from administration helped accentuate bureaucratic authoritarianism and interference in the judicial process especially at the lower levels. Moreover, certain constitutional provisions require collaborative efforts of the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and the Supreme Court in the area of personnel management of the judges. Interference of the executive branch in the personnel management of the judiciary hampers judicial independence. In Bangladesh, successive governments meddled with the affairs of the judiciary to serve their narrow political ends. This state of affairs has seriously eroded the confidence of the people in the impartiality of the judicial process. Access to justice is another precondition for establishing rule of law in the country. Easy and timely access to judicial redress is essential for limiting or arresting the high handedness of the executive organ of the government. Repressive and sweeping laws also limit the private citizens’ access to the judiciary. Moreover, the structural and institutional inefficiency of the judicial system has created manifold problems which fails to check the excesses of the executive arm and the bureaucratic authority and to safeguard the civil rights of the people at large. 3. Planning and Execution of Development Program Another dimension of the concept of neutral governance is the neutral or impartial planning and execution of development programs. In developing countries like Bangladesh, initiatives for balanced development of the different parts of the country should come from the government. Moreover, for obvious reasons, the government has to shoulder the major responsibility with respect to economic and social sector development. But it has been observed that, in many cases, development programs are undertaken and executed to serve the narrow party interest of the political party in power at the expense of the national interest. The other phenomenon that is very much in existence in Bangladesh is that the people who are associated with the ruling party are awarded with various contracts relating to the execution of the development programs. Such practices breed corruption and the quality of the execution of the development programs also suffers. Sometimes, a nexus is developed between the political parties, government executing agencies and the implementers/contractors that results in waste and unnecessary cost escalation of development projects. But the concept of neutral governance with respect to planning and execution of the development programs suggests that national, not narrow party and or other interests, should come into prominence in the planning and execution of the development programs. The legitimate policy bias should not pervade the concept of neutral governance with respect to planning and execution of specific development plans and projects. It is natural that different political parties will have different policies and programs but this does not mean that their implementation should any way suffer from any partisan application. .4. Provider of Services Government’s role has changed with the passage of time. In the beginning, the basic purpose was to maintain the steady state. As such, the role was basically regulatory in nature. The concentration was on revenue collection, maintenance of law and order and administration of justice. The administrative system that Bangladesh inherited from the British in 1947 was developed for assuming the above stated roles. Then the government for the first time was called upon to shoulder new responsibilities in addition to its earlier role in traditional/regulatory administration. In the sphere of traditional administration, the emphasis was on maintaining steady state so that the nation can strive for better life both at the individual citizen’s level and also at the national level (Hussain, 1986). With the changed scenario, a new dimension was added to the role of the government, i. e. , development administration. The assumption of this new role was necessitated with the rising expectations of the people. Government at this stage, in the absence of any other alternative choice, had to intervene in different sectors (broadly, economic and service) of the national life to ensure all round national development. The situation in 1947 was such that there was virtually no private sector and entrepreneurial capacity of the private citizens was almost non-existent. Under compulsion, the government had to intervene in all sectors. This phenomenon continued through out the Pakistani period. Another point should be noted here that during this period whatever capacity developed in the private sector was confined mostly to the erstwhile West Pakistani (now Pakistani) nationals (Ahmed, 1980; Jahan, 1977) After the emergence of Bangladesh the situation was even worse. The institutional business enterprises and industries were mostly owned by the Pakistanis and these were left behind by them. The government had no choice but to nationalize those. On the other hand, government of the time also opted for a mixed economy. Consequently, the government’s roles and functions increased manifold. Besides, this period also witnessed the creation of a number of public enterprises especially in the economic sector (Sobhan and Ahmed (1980). In the service sector the government’s role and functions also increased considerably. The government ultimately became the main provider of services to the people. After the change of government in 1975, Government’s policies regarding its role underwent fundamental changes. Emphasis was put on the development of private initiatives in all sectors of national life. In the economic sector, thrust was given for the development of private entrepreneurial class (Ahmed, 1980). At the same time, the government went for the denationalization of different state owned enterprises. This period also saw the rise of a large number of Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs). These organizations started to take active part in development and service sectors especially at the grassroots level. In spite of all these developments, the government in Bangladesh still remains the primary providers of services in all sectors. The all encompassing role of the government resulted in mismanagement and overburdening of the administrative system. Now the time has come to redefine and delimit the role of the government as provider of services and also to look for alternative strategies for providing these to suit the demand of time. 5Civil Service An efficient and effective role of civil service in a developing democratic polity is of vital importance. The efficiency of public servants is a sine qua non for managing the affairs of the state. On the other hand, the involvement of the public servants must not transcend the boundary of the democratic framework. However, bureaucratic efficiency depends on conducive political and bureaucratic environment and culture suiting the needs of the hour; existence of the democratic values in the administrative system; and existence of mechanisms to have checks on bureaucratic excesses. 5. 1Bureaucratic Norms In multi-party democracy, public servants have to perform functions, such as, to inform the ministers and parliament with complete and accurate data presented objectively and in time; to advise ministers by analysis of data and appraisal of options in which they can have confidence; to implement ministerial decisions and to administer resultant decision; and to be responsible to minister and parliament for their actions (or inaction) with particular reference to the safeguarding of public funds and ensuring effective value for money (Stowes, 1992). With respect to the bureaucratic norms of the civil service in Bangladesh experience reveals that these are adhered to a very limited scale. A number of socio-economic and political factors, including historical peculiarities have impeded the growth of accountable structure of administration in Bangladesh. As a result, the ‘high office arrogance’, unethical behaviour, gross inefficiency, failure to respect legislative intent a nd failure to show initiatives have become apparent in the civil service of Bangladesh (Hussain and Sarker, 1995). 5. 2Decision Making Process Efficient decision making procedures are part of the professional and result-oriented administration. The organization and structure of the government and public service and administrative culture have bearing on the decision making system. In Bangladesh, the Rules of Business outline the basic provisions relating to the distribution of responsibilities among different units of government. Under the existing arrangement of the governmental administration, the ministry is responsible for formulating policies. The directorates/departments/statutory bodies and field offices implement policies. In fact, the existing arrangement implies a policy formulation-implementation dichotomy. Interestingly, such a dichotomy has a corresponding relationship to the structural arrangement of the system, resulting in the conflicting relationship between generalists and specialists. There is also confusion about the nature of decisions. It is difficult to draw a demarcation line between the policy decisions and the operational decisions. This confusion complicates the disposal of cases. This, along with centralized tendency in administration causes delay in decision making. Jurisdictional infringement, buck passing, distortion of priorities, employee disorientation and misallocation of resources are many of the factors responsible for such a state of affairs (Huda and Rahman, 1989). The other important aspect that may be noted here is that the discourse on decision making is confined only to the bureaucratic structure. For instance, there is no indication in the Rules of Business regarding the role of parliament members in decision making particularly at various administrative levels, without violating the separation of power policy. 5. 3Corruption Corruption has been and continues to be an unfortunate integral part of administrative culture in Bangladesh. But in recent times, it has taken an all pervasive form. A recent donor sponsored study reflecting on the harmful effect of bribery, corruption, kickbacks and under the table payments for various administrative decisions and actions noted that the per capita income in corruption free Bangladesh could have nearly doubled to US$ 700 (currently it is estimated to be US$350) (Transparency International, Bangladesh, 2000). Government officials especially, involved in development projects, service delivery, enforcement and regulatory agencies at all levels are reported to be colluding with private bidders and contractors and service seekers and consequently amassing vast illegal incomes in the bargain. The reasons for such corruption can be summed up: Firstly, because of institutional weaknesses, civil servants involved in corrupt practices, in most of the cases, are not taken to task and they indulge in corruption with impunity. Moreover, even if found guilty, they have never been adequately punished nor compelled to return to the state their ill-gotten wealth. Secondly, for quick service delivery, citizens in general, now do not mind to pay bribes and kickbacks. Thirdly, there is now social acceptance of corruption. Fourthly, barring occasional public procurements, the representatives of the people, i. e. politicians especially those who are in power, are not very enthusiastic to take effective measures to curb corrupt practices in public dealings. Rather in many cases, it is alleged that they have become party to various dubious deals. 6. Administrative Accountability Government policy decisions are implemented through bureaucratic mechanisms; as such, administrative accountability is essential for good government. In developing polity, there is a tendency on the part of the public bureaucracy to exercise power in an authoritarian manner. Bangladesh bureaucracy is also no exception to that. Authoritarian organization culture still persists. Democratic values are still lacking in the bureaucracy. This is due to the colonial legacy that the administration inherited and lack of experience of the bureaucratic system to function under broader democratic political environment. There is a marked lack of clarity and in deed there is an imbalance between the role of bureaucracy and the role of public representatives and political leaders in the policy making and overall governance system. No systematic measures have been taken so far to streamline the institutional integration of popular interests and technical expertise at all levels of government. As a result, efficiency and accountability suffer under democratic political leadership. The arrogance of high office, unethical behaviour, failure to respect legislative intent and apathy towards work have been rampant (UNDP, 1993). However, elaborate measures should be undertaken to curtail bureaucratic excess. Its role should not go beyond the limits that may thwart democratic ideals and practices. Some of the measures could be through the effective roles of the parliament, media and the civil society. . 1Role of Parliament Bangladesh has again gone back to the parliamentary form of government after amending the constitution (GOB, 1998). Under the present system, the executive branch is responsible to the parliament and that the peoples’ representatives must have sufficient voice in the design and formulation of public policy. In Bangladesh, the parliament is primarily concerned with enacting legislation and ratifying decisions that the executive has already taken. Thus, it is clearly observed that peoples’ representatives have no substantive role in policy formulation. The role of parliamentary committees is very significant in this regard. These statutory committees are expected to scrutinize various aspects of government actions. Moreover, they should function in such a manner so as to ensure transparency of vital government businesses. However, in Bangladesh, the parliamentary committees so far have failed to play the vital role in making the administration accountable. Some important committees such as, Public Accounts Committee, Committee on Estimates, Committee on Public Undertaking and other standing committees on various ministries are not performing well enough to ensure accountability of executive government. Committee meetings are not held regularly and ministers in many cases do not attend the meetings. More importantly, the decisions of the committees are not followed by actions. The other feature of Bangladesh politics is the excessive reliance on exercising executive authority by keeping the parliament in the dark. In most cases, policy issues are not discussed in the parliament. This weakens parliament’s authority to hold the executive accountable to it. Another interesting feature of Bangladesh politics is that the opposition political parties oppose the ruling party for the sake of opposition only. Moreover, boycotting/non-participation in the sessions of the parliament has also become a regular practice of the opposition political parties. But to have healthy political environment and to hold the party in power responsible for the actions/inaction, opposition political parties should play a positive role both within and outside the parliament. 6. 2Role of Media Role of media is very important in ensuring administrative accountability. Information about government actions are largely reported through the media both electronic and print. By ensuring free flow of information, the media also ensures transparency of administrative actions. Currently, the print media is enjoying considerable freedom in Bangladesh. They bring lapses and excesses of the executive to the notice of the public and thereby making them accountable. But exclusive government control over state run mass media like radio and television run contrary to the concept of free flow of information and transparency. Such exclusive control has negative bearing on ensuring administrative accountability. In Bangladesh, both radio and television are solely owned and controlled by the government. As a result, these two media are acting as the spokesmen of the government or rather the party in power. Impartial information and views, in most of the cases, are not usually broadcast. Moreover, views of the opposition political parties and groups do not receive proper and adequate attention of the state run radio and television. As we know, the role of media by facilitating the free flow of information of all government actions is very essential for ensuring executive and administrative accountability. The reforms which, according to the press reports, are on the anvil appear to fall short of expectations of the nation in as much as the government control on the state run electronic media remains virtually overlooked. 6. 3Role of Civil Society From a functional perspective, there is a general tendency to treat civil society as one of the three sections that constitute a nation – the other two being the public sector or the government and the private sector or the profit-seeking enterprises. Very broadly, civil society can be defined as those organizations that exist between the level of the family and the state and enjoy a degree of autonomy from the state and the market, and provide a counter-balance to the power of the state and the market. Civil society may also be viewed as organized activities by groups or individuals either performing certain services or trying to influence and improve the society as a whole, but are not part of government or business (Jorgensen, 1996). In Bangladesh, civil society includes indigenous community groups, mass organizations, cooperatives, religious societies, trade unions, and professional bodies. Given the dynamics of the political process, it is indeed difficult to set a prescribed role for the civil society in Bangladesh. The role of civil society, in fact, depends on the nature of the demand and prevailing conditions of a polity. However, areas of involvement of the civil society in the context of Bangladesh are policy advocacy, mobilization of public opinion, demand creation, active participation in policy formulation process, bridging the gap between citizens and government, pressurizing the government with the help of the media, supporting the popular movement in favour of a given policy issue, lobbying with the donor groups/development partners, playing the role of mediator/ arbitrator between citizens and government, and policy analysis, etc. Civil society, by its actions, performs as pressure group in the polity in attaining administrative accountability. In the true sense of the term, the civil society is only emerging in Bangladesh. In recent years, the civil society has made some limited but positive contributions towards ensuring executive and administrative accountability. But it has been observed that some groups of the civil society movement are politicized and divided on political lines. Though there has been a steady and random growth of the civil society organizations, there is virtually no active network of them to look after collective interests of the people. More concerted efforts are needed to organize and further develop the civil society institutions so that they can play an appropriate role in making the executive and the administration accountable to people. MAJOR ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS The major administrative reforms and their fate are discussed elaborately in the following List of Major Committees and Commission for Administrative Reform |S. n. |Name of the Committee/Commission |Focus Areas |Major Recommendations |Observation | |1 |Civil Administration Restoration |Organizational set up for the |Establishment of 20 Ministries, 3 other secretariat organizations and|Secretariat administration was reorganized with 20 ministries. | |Committee, 1971 |Government after the emergence of |7 constitutional bodies |Constitutional bodies like Supreme Court, the High Court, the Public | | | |Bangladesh |Detailed specification of functions of civil servants at the |Service Commission, the Election Commission and the Office of the | | | | |Div ision, District, Sub-division levels |Comptroller and Auditor General were established | | | | |Providing appropriate status and respect to the officers and staff of| | | | | |civil administration as lawful organs of the Government | | |2 |Administrative and Services Structure |Civil Service Structure |Unified civil service structure with a continuous grading system |The report of the Committee was not published | | |Reorganization Committee, 1972 | |from top to the bottom. Division of all posts into two broad | | | | | |categories: Functional and Area Group Posts. Top 3 grades, i,e. I, | | | | | |II and III to be designated as Senior Policy and Management Posts | | |3 |National Pay Commission, 1972 |Pay Issues |10 scales of pay in line with the recommendation of the ASRC |New national pay scale with 10 grades was introduced | |4 |Pay and Services Commission, 1977 |Civil Service Structure and Pay Issues |52 scales of pay and equal initial scales of pay and equitable |The New Na tional Grades and Scales of Pay was introduces with 21 | | | | |opportunities for advancement to the top for all |scales of pay | | | | |Introduction of Superior Policy Pool at the top of the civil service |28 services under 14 main cadres were created within the civil service| | | | |Establishment of Civil Service Ministry by abolishing Establishment |A Senior Services Pool was constituted | | | | |Ministry | | |5 |Martial Law Committee for Examining |Reorganization and Rationalization of |Reduction in the number of ministries/divisions/directorates and |Number of ministries were reduced from 36 to 19 | | |Organizational Set up of |Manpower in Public Sector Organizations|sun-ordinate offices |Number of other offices were reduced from 243 to 181 | | |Ministries/Divisions/Directorates and | | |Number of constitutional bodies were reduced from 12 to 9. Number of | | |other organizations, 1982 | |Reduction of layers for decision making |officials and employees mostly working at the lower levels was reduced| | | | | |from 9,440 to 3,222 | | | | |Delegation of administrative and financial powers down the hierarchy | | |6 |Committee for Administrative Reform and |Reorganization of Field Level |Up gradation of Thanas with Thana Parishads as the focal point of |The new system of administration and local government was introduced | | |Reorganization, 1982 |Administration |local administration |in 460 Thana’s (Thanas were later renamed as Upazilas) | |7 |National Pay Commission, 1984 |Pay Issues |New National Pay Scale with 20 grades |The New National Scales of Pay was introduces with 20 scales of pay | | |Secretaries Committee on Administrative |Promotion Aspects |Maintenance of status quo for 10 cadre services as promotion prospect| | | |Development, 1985 | |had been satisfactory | | |8 |Special Committee to Review the Structu re |Structure of Senior Services Pool (SSP)|Continuation of SSP as a cadre |Recommendations were referred to the Cabinet Sub-committee for | | |of Senior Services Pool, 1985 | |Entry into the SSP only through examination to be conducted by the |examination | | | | Public Service Commission | | | | | |Tenure of Secretaries be limited to 8 years | | |9 |Cabinet Sub-committee, 1987 |Review of SSP and Promotion Aspects |Creation of 50% of posts of Deputy Secretaries within the pay scales |Recommendations were referred to the Council Committee for | | | |Rules of Business |of Taka 4200-5200 for making SSP more attractive |examination. The recommendations of the Council Committee were not | | | | |Tenure of Secretaries should not be limited |approved by the President | |10 | 1996Committee to Re-examine the necessity|Necessity or otherwise of keeping | | | | |of keeping certain Government Offices in |certain Government Offices | | | | |the light of changed circumstances, 1989 | | | | |11 |National Pay Commission,1989 |Pay Issues |Revised National Scales of Pay |20 revised Nation Scales of Pay was introduced | |12 |Administrative Reorganization Committee, |Administrative structure and staffing |Reduction of the number of ministries from 35 to 22 and the number of|The report of the Committee was not made public | | |1993 |patterns |administrative organization from 257 to 224 | | | | | |Provisional structure for the Office of Ombudsman | | | | |Creation of a Secretariat for the Supreme Court | | |12 |National Pay Commission, |Pay Issues |Revised National Scales of Pay |20 revised Nation Scales of Pay was introduce d | | | |Structure and reorganization of | | | | | |manpower across | | | | | |Ministries/Departments/Directorates, | | | | | |etc. | | |13 |Administrative Reorganization Committee, |Administrative structure for improving | | | | |1996 |the quality and standard of service, | | | | | |achieve transparency and efficiency | | | |14 |Public Administration Reform Commission, | |Determination of Missions and functions of the public offices |Some of the interim recommendations have been implemented | | |1997 | |Formation of a professional policy making group â€Å"Senior Management |The recommendations of the Commission have been accepted by the | | | | |Pool† Lateral entry into the civil service |government in a recently held cabinet meeting | | | | |Reduction of the number of ministries from 36 to 25 and the abolition| | | | | |of 6 organizations. Establishment of the Supreme Court Secretarial. | | | | |Establishment of the Office of the Ombudsman | | | | | |The local co uncils/Parishads at the district, Upazila and Union | | | | | |should have overall authority of coordination of development | | | | | |activities . Establishment of an Independent Commission Against | | | | | |Corruption, Establishment of a Criminal Justice Commission | | | | | |Magnetization of public service benefits; Establishment of a Public | | | | | |Administration Reform monitoring Commission | | DISCUSSION ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS ELABORATELY IN THE FOLLOWING†¦. Administrative and service structure reorganization committee(ASRC): On 15 March 1972 a four members administrative and service reorganization committee (ASRC) was appointed and submitted its report in two phases in April 1973 and in May 1974. Mission of ASRC: The ASRC was asked – To consider the present structure of various service†¦.. And determine the future structure keeping in the view fundamental needs. To consider the amalgamation of all civil services †¦.. Into one unified service. To determine the principle of integration of the personnel of various service in the new structure and to determine inter seniority of personnel in different service. To determine the future recruitment policy in the government service and various levels. To prepare and recommend a comprehensive scheme for administrative reorganization. Significant recommendation: The ASRC have done some important recommendations. As like- The committee felt that division between former all Pakistan and other central superior services and the former provincial service as well division between higher and lower classes be abolished and a continuous grading system from top to bottom should be substituted in each occupational group. The committee suggested that reservation of posts for various groups within the public service should be discontinued. All public servants, the ASRC recommended, should be organized in a single classes unified grading structure (UGS) covering the whole public service. To inculcate professionalism in the public service, the committee suggested, division of all posts within it into two broad categories to be designated as functional posts and area group posts. The ASRC called for designating posts in top three grades, i. e. I. II and III as senior policy and management posts and tightening selection procedure for entrance into senior management positions. The committee also suggested a detail plan as to how its proposal for UGS be implemented throughout the public service. The ASRC felt that individuals should be recruited to various grads as in the public service on the basis of merit as tested by their performance in competitive public examination. The ASRC also made a number of specific recommendations to democratize the governance and reduce the powers. As like- Increasing devolution of power and authority to elected local governments at different levels district, Thana, and union was forcefully argued to enable locally elected officials to provide leadership in developmental activities without interference from central government officials placed in the field. Different local levels field tiers had to be rationalized with upgrading of subdivisions into districts and abolition of division. Separation of the judiciary from the executive had to be ensured for successful functioning of a democratic policy. At the central levels the role o the secretariat needed to be restricted to policy formulation, planning and evaluation of the executed plans and programs. Fate of ASRC The ASRC submitted its recommendations to the government in two phases. But there was no official response to the committee’s work till the end of the Mujib government. It is difficult to understand why far- reaching recommendations of ASRC was shelved in spite of the fact that accepting the members. All members including the chairman were close to Mujib both politically and personally. It is on record that Mujib was unhappy with the poor performance on lack of commitment of many senior civil servants. He knew the problems but did not want to go all the way to solve the malices. That created the paradox and consequently Mujib’s lack of action. National pay commission(NPC): A nation pay commission (NPC-1) was appointed on 21July 1972 under the chairmanship of a retired secretary to the government. Besides the chairman, there were nine members. The membership of the commission included full –time and five part-time members. Mission: The national pay commission (NPC-1) was assigned with a number of tasks. These included: Reviewing the pay structure of all employees in the public sector keeping in view the government’s policy of socialism. Recommending rationalization and standardization of pay scales of those who served under erstwhile central and provincial governments. Significant recommendations: The guiding principles followed by NPC-1 in recommending a rational pay structure were a livable wage, social acceptability, functionally distinguishable levels of responsibility matched with standardized pay levels and motivation based on patriotic grounds. The NPC-1 felt that a nine tiers administrative structure with corresponding pay scales could meet the requirements of a rational structure in Bangladesh during next five years 1973-1978 of the nine scales for would be normal direct entry tiers, three promotion tiers and two conversion ties but the commission’s plan had to be modified to bring it in line with ASRC recommendation. Fate of NPC Some of the recommendations f the commission were partially implemented however, majority of the recommendations of the NPC-1 were not implemented. Reasons can be offered as to why the commission’s recommendations suffered such a fact: Compression of 2200 scales into 10 scales was very difficult task and it proved to be at the implementation stage. No major segment within the civil service supported the recommendations. Rather almost everybody who mattered opposed it. Pay and service commission(P&SC): The pay and service commission (P&SC) was appointed on 20 February 1976 consisted of thirteen member including the chairman, headed by retired secretary who was changed in mid-way and replaced by another senior civil servant. Mission: The P&SC was asked to examine the existing pay and service structure of public sector except defense service and university’s teaching posts, recommend suitable service structure and pay structure including fringe benefits for civil service. In marking its recommendation, the commission had to consider some factors such as: Functional needs and requirements of the government, job requirement or various service and posts, cost of living, resources of the government and public sector enterprises, reduction of disparity between the highest and the lowest salary levels, demand and supply of various profession and occupation. It had another main business to examine both service and pay matters of all employees in the traditional public sector and this had to be accomplished within a given set of constraints. Fate of P&SC: The government slowly and implemented some of the recommendations in modified form and it took two years. Creation of twenty eight services under fourteen main cadres within the civil service. The government in 1977 provided for twenty –one scales of pay through the introduction of new national grades and scales of pay (NNGSP). In the process the government drastically scales down the number, that is fifty scales of pay which P&SC recommended but the NNGSP satisfied very few people. Constitution of senior service pool (SSP) by the government. The (SSP) was modeled in light of the P&SC call for creation of a superior policy pool (SSP), but the SSP order was formulated and implemented in such a manner that the objective behind SSP was willfully ignored. Martial Law Committee -1(MLC-1): A five – member martial law committee for examining organization set up of ministries /divisions , departments , directorates and other organization under them (MLC) was appointed on April 18,1982 under the chairmanship of a Brigadier . The other members of the committee were two lieutenant colonels, one major and one mid ranking civil servant. The latter was made secretary to the committee. Mission of MLC-1: The committee’s responsibility included: To review and recommend charter of duties of various sectors, branches, wings, divisions and departments. To scrutinize existing and

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Basic Beliefs of Judaism and its Relationship to Christianity Essay

Judaism is one of the oldest religions that still exist up to the present times. It is an establish covenant between the Jews and God. Jews ors followers of Judaism comprised only of 0. 2 percent of the world’s population. However, its influence on the world and society is far beyond the numbers indicated. Judaism and Christianity are two religions with some similar beliefs. First, the main belief of Judaism is that there is only one God who created and rule everything. Judaism is a monotheistic religion following only one Supreme Being (About. com, 2009). Christians also believe on a Supreme Being and Father of all who created and rules the world. Judaism also believes that the people are created in the image of God and all people are created equal (About. com, 2009). God created people with its intellectual ability to comprehend and understand which sets us apart from the animals. Therefore, we have freewill and responsible for our choices and decisions. Judaism is a religion of ethics that strongly adheres to the code of ethics and divine law as a way of life. Christianity also believes that people are created in the image of the Almighty God. Christians also follow the divine laws and make it as their moral standards. The Jews believes on the messiah that will come to bring the world to salvation. The person will come from the family of King David who will lead the world to peace and unity (About. com, 2009). The Christians also believes in the messiah in the persona of Jesus Christ who saves the sins of humanity. The Jews, however, do not believe that Jesus is the messiah. The main holy scripture of the Jews is the Tanakh which is equivalent to the Old Testament of the Holy Bible of Christianity. It is divided into three parts which include Torah, Nevi’im and Ketuvim. Another holy scripture is the Talmud which is composed of stories, laws and medical knowledge. Judaism does not have the version of the New Testament. In both religions, the Bible and the Tanakh serve as the main guidebook to the religious life of a person. In these scriptures are the written moral standards that should be followed to lead a righteous path. Judaism also has the version of the Ten Commandments which is considered as the most important commandments out of the 613 written in the Torah (About. com, 2009). The Ten Commandments are revealed to Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai. They strongly believe that God has a plan for human behavior and the Commandments are the ways of how humans should live their lives. Judaism has been a very influential religion in the aspect of culture and traditions. Today, more and more people are identifying themselves as Jewish. However, the contemporary Judaism is a more complex religion that associates both nation and faith. Oftentimes, Judaism follow strict adherence on the ritual laws and a more liberal attitude towards the religion. Judaism has been an influential religion in many nations. Many conflicts and feuds have started because of faith which involves Judaism. One of the famous conflicts is the battle over the land of Israel which is battled over by many religions like Islam and Christianity. The conflict originated during the early years. Judaism has also been influential in changing the lives of many people. Many people significantly altered their lives for the greater good and towards the right path. Reference About. com. (2009). Basic Beliefs of Judaism. Retrieved April 15, 2009, from http://judaism. about. com/od/abcsofjudaism/a/beliefsbasic. htm.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Problem question in the law of tort Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Problem question in the law of tort - Essay Example Cantrell is the teacher of these boys. His actions are likely to have a foreseeable effect on them. As such it is very likely that the Courts will find that he owed a duty to Jamie and Scott. However, was this duty breached? There is no mention in the scenario of any specific action that Cantrell did that caused the injuries. Perhaps he did not supervise the students sufficiently or did not give them specific instructions or ensure they had safety gear on. Alternatively, it can be argued that Cantrell’s offending actions occurred after the injuries, in failing to get the boys immediate medical help. It says in the scenario that it was only after the commotion that resulted on Scott’s mishap that he sent Kenny to call the receptionist. Perhaps it can be argued that he should have called the ambulance himself or sought professional help immediately instead of sending a student off to get colleague with just first-aid training. Whatever Cantrell’s actions were, he will be judged according to the standards of a reasonable P.E. teacher, as he was acting in this capacity when the mishaps occurred. It is true that he is a newly qualified P.E. teacher but it is unlikely that the Courts will lower the due standard of care because of this. This is apparent from Wilsher v Essex AHA2 where the Court of Appeal rejected the argument that a junior inexperienced doctor owed a lesser standard of care than a more experienced doctor. The Courts pointed out that what mattered was not the standard of care owed by a particular doctor but the standard of care required for the act which he performed. This would apply to Cantrell as well. The question that the Courts would ask is whether a reasonable P.E. teacher would have acted like Cantrell did in that situation. Even if the duty was breached Cantrell may argue that his actions or omissions did not cause the boys’ damage. The test applied by the Courts in assessing causation is the â€Å"but for† test

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

History of ESPN and Sportcenter and how it has been able to leverage Essay

History of ESPN and Sportcenter and how it has been able to leverage the media - Essay Example Through instituting a fluid business model that has incorporated a diverse range of sport and market goals. Since the company’s origin, it has expanded from coverage of traditional sports such as baseball, football, and basketball, to exist at the forefront of the country’s interest in sporting, with such diverse coverage including the X-Games, Lacrosse, and high school and regional events. In addition to the expanding sports coverage, ESPN has expanded the medium of its expression through the incorporation of the sports reporting vehicle SportsCenter, as well as a ESPN the Magazine, and the ESPN.com website which has become a leader in online sports reporting. This research essay considers the means that ESPN has been able to leverage the cable media market through an examination of its historical trajectory and expanding business model. It considers both its internal and external means of change and expansion as well as how its business model has fundamentally changed since its 1970s inception. It also examines the means by which it can continue to expand and leverage the market into the 21st century. Bill Rasmussen, at the time an unemployed sportscaster, was the individual responsible for first envisioning the ESPN Network. In 1978 Rasmussen was fired by the World Hockey Association where had had worked as a sportscaster and director of operations. His initial business interest was to develop a means of broadcasting University of Connecticut basketball through cable companies throughout the state of Connecticut. During this period satellite technology had recently emerged as a viable means of connecting signals to cable broadcasters throughout the region. The RCA Company had a number of underutilized satellites with which Rasmussen was able to broker a deal and lease time. Indeed, RCA had 6 transponder sites non-operational, making

Marketing Campaign for a Successful Product Launch Essay

Marketing Campaign for a Successful Product Launch - Essay Example In particular, this report focuses on the four promotional tools that were used that are public relation, direct marketing, promotions and advertising. The report seeks to inform the team about the appropriateness of the selected promotional tools in bringing about a successful marketing campaign. It also demonstrates how the selected promotional tools will be fully utilized in devising a creative mix of marketing activities suitable for a successful marketing campaign. 2.0 Introduction The marketing department of Nokia Company was tasked with devising the marketing campaign plan that would be used in ensuring that the two new Nokia brands sell well in South Africa and they proposed that the company utilize advertisements, sales promotion, direct marketing, and public relation as promotional tools (Awad 2004). Promotion is one of the elements in the marketing mix, and just like all the other elements, it deserves a lot of evaluation before being approved by the senior management team of a company (Armstrong & Kotler, 2012). ... The research aimed at establishing and identifying the characteristics of the target audience. This was done through observation and interviews. 4.0 Main Findings The team found out that i. Both Nokia Luminia 920 and 820 will appeal most to young customers who are particularly tech-savvy. ii. The company needs to come out with strategies that will make the prospective customers aware of the new Nokia phone models on the market: Nokia Luminia920 and 820. iii. The company needs to come up with promotional tools that can create interest in prospective customers. iv. The company needs to have promotional tools that will sustain client’s satisfaction during and after sales. It is out of this finding that the team settled on public relation, advertising, direct marketing, and sales promotion as appropriate promotional tool to be used. Armstrong and Kotler (2012) describe advertisement as a promotion technique whereby words, signs, or songs are used to create awareness among the audi ences about the product, service, or an upcoming event. In this case the two Nokia models would be advertised via popular South African radio and television stations, billboard and posters, internet, via popular sites such as face book and twitter. This is guide necessary because the target audience is the youth who are tech survy. Advertisement in this case, would also be appropriate because it will be able to create awareness amongst the mass audience by positioning a product in the mind of the audience and inform them about the advantages of Nokia Lumia 920 and 820 (ibid) . Wood (2010) support the use of advertisement as a promotional tool when he states that advertisements help in boosting consumer’s confidence

Monday, August 26, 2019

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

Confucianism - Essay Example In China where Confucianism was a way of life, it was a patriarchal society where the home was considered to be the center of social relations. Here women were never considered equal to the man and were expected above all to be obedient to their fathers or husbands and in later life to their grown sons. Confucianism takes a very practical view of matters regarding sexuality and hence homosexuality too was considered a normal facet of life. However today things have changed and although women have more freedom than ever before, the country is still deeply rooted in tradition and hence women are torn between personal freedom and traditional values. Gender and sexuality in modern societies is being increasingly studied in relation to the past, in order to understand how these societies have either progressed in their thinking on these subjects or have remained static on such issues. An understanding of past and present societies is possible only through a study and analysis of sexuality in past societies, and the way they are viewed today in those societies. China today an economic and industrial giant is the subject of much controversy and misunderstanding since Chinese society in the past has not been very open to the outside world. Today however, questions on sexuality and the roles of men and women in society are being looked at differently by the new generation due to western influences on Chinese society. The new generation of Chinese youth is going through a very rapid process of social change and is driven by consumerism as is the youth in most parts of the world today. This generation therefore looks at sexuality and g ender through a different prism and is more open. Therefore one may conclude that China is going through a social and sexual revolution. Historically women were treated as second class citizens with no legal rights and very little education. During the time of the imperial government, there

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Future of healthcare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Future of healthcare - Essay Example The government should make the health care system a single pay and nationalize all medical insurance services as well as investing extra in the system to reduce the cost of recurrent spending. The increasing stratification in health care access and provision are other daring challenges facing the U.S health care system. For example, the approach to ask individuals to pay more for their health care will result in stratification in medicare provision. Hooper (2009) predicts that those paying higher insurance premiums will get access to a wider variety of health care services than the struggling middle class and lower class who cannot afford such high premiums. Therefore, the government should adopt a policy that dictates health care provision to all irrespective of the ability to pay. In other words, as Pasdirtz (2007) presents it, the state should reduce privatization of the health care provision. Lastly, the number of the uninsured population in U.S is surprisingly growing with an estimated 45 million people currently being in the uninsured group. The implication is that those uninsured will miss out on better health care provision ad Medicare hence painting a denting image on the government as having failed to give its subjects sufficient health care. The government should bridge the gap between the disadvantaged and the high-income

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Networking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Networking - Essay Example This study also encompassed the fastest net providers in every country. In the United States, Verizon and the FiOS network was ranked as the fastest net provider with an average speed of 1,056Kbps (Tsukayama 1). The FCC has a leading priority of providing faster access to broadband networks and faster download speeds. This access has been influenced by the partnership with Microsoft, Comcast among other non-governmental organization like the Clinton Global Initiative. According to Bill Clinton who is the former president in the United States, South Korea provides the fastest internet speeds (Tsukayama 1). This factor is influenced by the governmental policy which encourages partnerships with other organizations. Nowadays, the South Korean citizens enjoy an average internet speed of up to 16.63 megabits per second. Therefore, the access to internet services in South Korea is cheaper. In the United States, the residents pay an average of $46 monthly while the South Korean citizens pay a monthly fee of $38. This asserts that the United States should aim in providing better internet services because; the South Korean government has already initialized their improvement project in the internet provision sector. In conclusion, the current president of the United States is committed to setting up a plan whereby 98% of the Americans will receive better broadband services. The slower internet services are attributed by the fact that most citizens do not have the appropriate internet speeds to stream videos and load web pages. Therefore, the United States should implement a plan to increase their internet speeds through partnering with other companies (Smith 1). Smith, Catharine. South Koreas internet to be 200 times faster than in U.S. The Huffington Post 23 Feb. 2011. Web. Tsukayama, Hayley. S. Korea leads the

Friday, August 23, 2019

Rice Crisis in Nepal (Focusing on Degrading Nature) Research Paper

Rice Crisis in Nepal (Focusing on Degrading Nature) - Research Paper Example Historical and modern information relating to people’s living standards, food production as well as nutritional status clearly implies that the rice crisis in Nepal is increasing in effect in Karnali (Latham, 1998). For instance Karnali, where rice grows, has been experiencing underdevelopment hence the beginning of the rice crisis. The rice crisis in Karnali is associated with the hegemonic and imbalanced relationship between Kathmandu, the power center, over Karnali which is a minor region treated as a colony of Nepal. This has led to the feeling among the Karnali people that they are living under unfavorable conditions where rice is the best food. The reliance on bureaucracy in the development of the region as imposed by the ruling class is meant to favor their economic and political interest. However the ruling class share similar social group with the most Karnali people in as far as caste and ethnicity are concerned. Therefore class relations are deemed important in unde rstanding the rice crisis and generally the food crisis within the Nepal. The increased dependency on rice among the people living in the western impoverished part of Nepal has been due to the increased food scarcity as suggested by Blaikie and Brookfield (1987). Historically people in this area used to grow a range of grains. However, the situation changed due to declining land productivity, lack of improved farming skills as well as knowledge and varying dietary habits. The low productivity of these grains such as millet, barley, rice and buckwheat has led o people depending totally on the Nepal Food Corporation which is run by the state. However, this comes at a price that the local people are unable to afford. For instance exporting a quintal of rice to Humla might cost around 160 US dollars and it usually takes almost a year to transport about three hundred quintals to Humla according to Kshetry (n.d). The rice crisis has developed due to increasing cases of workers’ strikes and the degradation of nature as evident in the bad weather. However the situation is probably bound to worsen as the government lacks a plan and initiative to handle the rice crisis in remote areas which depends on the conditions of the roads since air supply is too expensive. Similarly even with enough supply of rice and other grains in those remote areas, the people would lack the money to purchase the grains. For instance the press has released reports of people in local areas selling their utensils to purchase rice from the Nepal Food Corporation depots. The Nepal government has generally been facing a food crisis every year between June and September, with people in the rural areas having poor or no access to rice ad other grains. The hasty depletion of forest resources because of unique population growth has led to a grave environmental degradation. Population growth has led to increasing demands for pastures and forestry hence degradation of natural land according to Uprety (n.d). In Nepal there appears to exist an association between forest clearing and the population growth. This is because people need land for cultivation, timber for house building, firewood and fodder. The increased demand of these forest resources have led d egrading nature which in return has led to poor land productivity hence food crisis. Nepal has been the only country with deteriorating environment in the mountains hence leading to soil

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Human Impacts on the Ecosystem Essay Example for Free

Human Impacts on the Ecosystem Essay The three cycling matters of the ecosystem and the key elements are Carbon, Phosphorus, and Nitrogen. Humans have impacted each and every-one of these cycles in different ways throughout time and keep increasing as time goes on. All living things are made of carbon. Carbon is also in the air, water and rocks. The humans have impacted the Carbon Cycle by releasing a large amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This is caused by the burning of oil, natural gases and coal. All these release carbon dioxide and other types of water molecules into the air. Phosphorus is a chemical compound found in many different forms like, soil, water and sediments. This is also a nutrient that animals and plants need to be able to grow and produce faster. When it comes to phosphorus, these types of fertilizers are then used to grow crops, feed their animals and many more. As time has passed humans have increased the amount of phosphorus which has been reaching the ocean. This has caused water pollution problems that have caused fishes to die, the overgrowth of algae and so much bacteria. When we take a deep breathe most of the air that we inhale is nitrogen. Most plants need nitrogen to survive. We normally get our nitrogen from soil. Many agricultural crops like; peas, beans, alfalfa, etc. grab a lot of nitrogen from the air that can cause fixation on land. There’s other agricultural crops that use mostly fertilizers instead of nitrogen like; corn, wheat, potatoes, cotton, etc. Humans have impacted and altered the amount of nitrogen from making fertilizers and burning fossil fuels and keep increasing as time goes on. These activities have increased the amount of nitrogen between the living world and the soil, water and atmosphere.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Restaurant Review Essay Example for Free

Restaurant Review Essay Toronto, with a population of 5.5 million people, is the largest, modern and culturally diverse city in Canada. As it is one of the most multicultural cities on earth, no other city has this unique international atmosphere than the Greater Toronto Area. There are presently over 140 languages and dialects spoken in Toronto and because of these reasons, many immigrants choose to live in this beautiful city. It is certain that the increase in immigrants will definitely bring a positive impact to the local food industry. There are many different kinds of restaurants that are located in the city of Toronto; such as family style, country style, Western, Chinese, Korean, and etc. One of the most astonishing restaurants I have visited is called Kinton Ramen. Kinton Ramen is located in the city of Toronto, at 51 Baldwin Street. Kinton Ramen is an authentic Japanese noodle bar restaurant that specializes in traditional Japanese alcoholic drinks and Ramen. The traditional flavour of the restaurant can be seen beyond the vast array of menu items into its atmosphere and decors. This 46 seats restaurant was opened in May 2012 and has become a landmark on Baldwin Street for those customers who are looking for traditional Japanese Ramen. Kinton Ramen was established by the owners of the â€Å"Guu† Japanese bar restaurant chain and is being operated independently by the Kinton Ramen group. Read more: Restaurant Review Essay Kinton Ramen utilizes online mediums and word of mouth as their marketing strategies. Through using online mediums such as online blog and Facebook, it has enabled the restaurant to connect and interact with new customers from the internet, and has also allowed the restaurant to build relationships with existing customers. For example: After you have finished a bowl of Ramen, the sever may invite you to take a photo that would be posted on Facebook; in which you would be identified as a Kinton Bowler (optional). Additional reasons that contribute to Kinton Ramen’s success would be word of mouth from customers. I came to know about this unique Japanese noodle bar located on Baldwin Street from my friends. After visiting to Kinton Ramen, I found there are three elements that lead Kinton Ramen’s success are consistency, efficiency, and excellent customer service. I have visited the restaurant for more than five times, and the food items have been consistent and delicious. As mentioned before, Kinton Ramen is a 46 seats restaurant, consequently seats are very limited. Hence, the Kinton Ramen group takes the time control very seriously. Orders are usually prepared within 5 to 10 minutes after being placed by customer. In addition to the restaurant’s efficient service, Kinton Ramen offers excellent hospitality services. Kinton Ramen staff members will enthusiastically greet all customers and because of their team spirit and all warm-hearted service attitudes, they have created an enjoyable surrounding for their customers. As a final point, Kinton Ramen is an excellent Japanese noodle bar restaurant. They are not only selling delicious food and beverage items, but also offer enthusiastic customer service. These reasons undeniably are making me to go their restaurant more often.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Analysis of Consumption Patterns of Different Socioeconomic Groups

Analysis of Consumption Patterns of Different Socioeconomic Groups The research reported in this thesis was on Analysis of Consumption Patterns of Different Socio Economic Groups. The purpose of research was to study the socio-economic impact of consumption of the households and how they spend their income. The secondary data was collected by consultation of literature in the libraries and Internet and also from the material printed by different academic journals. The primary data was gathered by floating questionnaires and conducting several different interviews. Stat graphic software was applied to analyze data for multiple regression analysis and the results were interpreted by usual principles of statistics. The findings suggested that the consumption was a very crucial function of income but there were other factors apart from income that affected the level of consumption of household and their preferences. This would have an effect on the economic level as well, hence marketers should know and understand the needs of the household to target th ere product and services to households for betterment of the society as well as profitability of the firm. INTRODUCTION Overview of the topic under consideration Consumption is a topic on which a lot of research has been carried out by the economists and psychologists to know what leads to different levels of satisfaction from consumption what factors lead to variation in consumption patterns of households with same income levels. This research paper intends to find out important factors that influence the consumption levels of various households, whether the individual preference has impacts or not while making consumption decisions on a household level. What boundaries restrict the consumption levels? The consumption pattern in Pakistan has improved over the years for various reasons such as increase in incomes and more availability of different kinds of goods and services but there always have been class conflicts present hence leading to disparities among rich and the poor classes. So the growth in consumption has been in different amounts among the different socio economics groups this leads to an immense increase in the social stratification. Apart from factors such as size of the family, occupation, structure of the family, standard of living and location one of the factors that has direct relation with the consumption is population. If the population increases the consumption level changes drastically. Similarly if the population consists of elderly or has baby boomers the pattern of consumption is affected greatly by the type of goods and services produced in the economy is affected moreover consumption patterns influence the dispersion of income and at times leads to motivation for earning a higher wage and this thesis would provide us with the deeper understanding of consumers and their household consumption pattern and their motivation behind earning and spending in a particular manner. Background of the topic Consumption function in economics is the relationship between consumer spending and the various factors that are determining it the consumption function comes into formation due to accumulated spending of all the households in the economy hence at the Economic level the uniqueness of consumption functions are imperative for many questions in both macroeconomics and microeconomics. At the smaller level that is the household or family level, these factors may comprise of income, wealth, expectations about the level and riskiness of future income or wealth, interest rates, age, education, and family size. Individual level the consumption function is also inclined by the consumers preferences that are behavioral in nature such as patience, or the willingness to delay gratification, by the consumers approach towards risk, and by whether the consumer wishes to leave a inheritance to their family members. Theories and hypothesis were developed by Keynes on consumption patterns these were evolved from the early studies that supported the fact the short run marginal propensity to consume was much more stable when compared with average propensity to consume. Economists further more refined the original work of Keynes and came up with theories of permanent income hypothesis, theory of life cycle hypothesis and demonstration effect hence they were able to establish the fact that consumption was extremely responsive to income changes on which Duesenberry tried to refute it with demonstration effect hypothesis. These theories still could be found in various economic text books Economists developed Engel curves these curve showed consumption levels and patterns graphically they even derived budget constraints curves with the help of indifference curves providing a lot of evidence as how and what effects the consumption that in turn shows the status and the lifestyles of an individual household in the economy. Importance of the study with respect to the world Consumption level helps in identifying the level of demand of goods and services in the economy and the type of goods and services that are demanded in a particular economy and indicate what sort lifestyle a particular society is enjoining example Americans are famous for not saving and they consume a lot of consumer non durable items when compared with rest of the world .Hence saving hampers consumption and can greatly affect overall demand in the economy if there is a lot of saving in the economy marginal propensity to consume goes down showing that saving and consumption has a negative relationship. This could lead to greater problems at a macroeconomic level such as reduction in aggregate demand and unemployment of resources in the economy here government also needs to intervene and to improve the economy this would be achieved by increasing demand by increasing the government spending. These days consumption patterns are highly influenced by multinational or transnational companies this phenomena is known as mass consumption or consumerism. Consumption of goods produced by MNCS or TNCs has lead to the adoption of different cultures and consumption patterns in a local household a common example of this would of Mc Donalds today you might be in any part of the world but you would always find a branch of Mc Donalds due to globalization in the economy would lead to greater choices that an individual would face while making consumption decisions hence changing consumption patterns of a very traditional economy like Pakistan. Other factor that could potentially change the consumption pattern would be technology as traditional goods and services would become redundant and no longer will be demanded hence this would lead to fluctuation in consumption levels as well as the patterns of consumption. There is high inequality in consumption patterns among different countries due to differentiation in social classes differentiation and difference in per capita income, population and various other factors there are market biases on the bases of luxury or mass consumption of goods. Importance of study with respect to Pakistan Since Pakistan is a developing country it has a lot of different classes and a lot of population mostly consisting of children and teenagers with such a diverse society there is a lot of difference in consumption level and patterns they are influenced by income, religion, locality in which a particular household resides and the occupation of the head of the household is since Pakistan has a strong culture of saving and transferring bequest to future generation hence how does a particular household decides what to consume and how to consume? We consume a lot differently when compared with the western society as they focus on more luxury items and consumer durable goods on the other in our society households focuses on basic necessities of life. More over there is a lack of studies that have been carried out on the consumption pattern of socio economic groups that are prevalent in Lahore. Reference groups play an important role in determining the consumption patterns of various households and demonstration effect has the strongest effect on the consumption of the households in Lahore among the various different classes. This research paper would help to unravel the preference of the households and the types of goods that they consume and how do they decide and come to common grounds while they consume as in single unit of family since we have a very strong culture of living together in extended families. As many generations are living and consuming together the basket of goods and services that they consume would be highly differentiated. But these days trends are changing and people are moving towards nucleus family system and Pakistan is enjoying a lot of female participation in work force hence will this new trend affect the way a family consumes as a household? Secondly Lahories as consumer have a lot of choice and since at this day and age a lot trend is shifting toward mass customization this research paper would allow to analysis such trends in Lahore. Research question Consumption patterns of different socio-economic groups take into consideration the three main social classes the elite class, the middle income group and the lower income group that resides in three different localities of Lahore namely interior Lahore or the old Lahore, Allama Iqbal Town and Defence housing authority. Households with different casts and religion would be targeted to cover the maximum number of the different socio economic group. There is a lot of diversity in terms of socio economic groups in Lahore hence their consumption patterns also varies drastically they have income that ranges from 3000 rupees monthly to more than 80,000 rupees. A developing country like Pakistan faces a lot of discrimination in terms of income disparities, low income per capita income and a growing population that effect consumption as a whole. The research question for my thesis is a combination of macroeconomics and consumer behavior. It would provide us with the deeper understanding of consumers and their household consumption patterns. This would further allow producers to target and position their products in such a way that they become an integral of household consumption and as a result the economy can flourish. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Ying (2003) conducted a research explaining the fact how children influenced the spending patterns of family and in about 27.8% of families, childrens consumption uses one third of the familys total income. In 35.6% of families, childrens consumption uses 40% of the familys total income. In 19.4% of families, childrens consumption takes one half of the familys income. And in 7.4% of families, childrens consumption takes over one half of the familys income. Thus in most families, the childs consumption level is higher than the average per capita consumption of the family. He highlighted various factors such as higher education levels for children including extra amounts paid for private education and tutors moreover more recreational activities and high end gadgets like mobiles phone, laptops and increased expense towards health care of the children. Krueger and Perri (2005) found out in a research paper that increase in income inequality in U.S.A was prevailing but there was no inequality consumption. This was because of different trends within-group inequality which was faced an increase in income and a little less increase consumption. They developed a simple framework to identify analytically that how income inequality could result in consumption inequality with respect to standard incomplete market model thus they wanted to document this consumption inequality facts from the U.S data. They have used data from the Consumer Expenditure (CE) Survey for the years 1980-2003. Cutler (2005) tries to identify implied marginal propensity to consume out of a given income level in Hong Kong for doing this he develops a proxy measure for labor income then tries to estimate consumption function with respect to life cycle model. The author develops a reliable relation between proxy measure of labor income and long run propensity to consume the estimate calculated comes out to be 0.87 for Hong Kong depicting the fact the marginal propensity to consume is in line with other industrial countries of the world. Carroll, Fuhrer and Wilcox (1994) conducted a research paper which talks about habit formation that is the consumption done when a household is not enjoying same level of income as it did previously but the consumption patterns of the household remains the same. Secondly they tried to analyze the impact of consumer sentiments on the consumption patterns taking into considerations the various economic variables into account. They ruled out permanent income and pure life cycle hypothesis and stated consumer spending is an unclear measure of uncertainty when uncertainty increases the level of consumption falls hence leading to precautionary savings. Chow, Fung and Ngo (2001) did a research about the Chinese economy and Chinese entrepreneurs who have grown along with the Chinese economy this consumer group is the most influential in consuming expensive goods and services. This research paper compares and contrasts the consumption habits of low income business with that of entrepreneurs coming to conclusion that small businesses incomes are transitory and more volatile hence their consumption is less and they tend to save more on the other hand entrepreneurs earn more and spend more lavishly on meals, traveling, private education and luxury items. Geographic locations and socio-demographics of household have significant effects on the tastes and preferences. Similarly socializing activities that are carried out by the entrepreneurs are the second largest expense in their budgets as they need a lot of networking to carry out the business. But on the other hand low income groups tend to spend a large proportion of expenditure on act ivities such as medical care, socializing and education of their children. The authors have run a regression model using various factors such socio demographics and other factors to find out strongest affecting variable. Aydin (2006) talks about the consumption patterns in turkeys different socio economic classes and finds out that globalization has led to transformation, reconfiguration and reformulations of class structure and this is leading to social shifts from class based politics to identity politics, ideology to lifestyles and mass production to consumption these forces have fuelled the social change hence leading to emergences of new middle class living a new leisure lifestyle. The research reapproved the fact that social class variables had a significant on consumption income had the strongest positive effect of all at the consumption level simultaneously income did not alter the influence of class difference. Education had effected the class differentiation the group with higher education had better living standards thus making education important mediating factor. The analysis in this research paper depicted the class structuration results due to interaction income, education levels, and residential location. Phipps and Burton (1998) did a research where they assume that the household consumer behavior is equal to household utility function and this function is maximized with respect to single budget constrain and incomes from both the partners are pooled. But both the partners have different utility functions; the households comprising of teenagers with incomes add more complication to analysis hence they preferred to avoid it. They found household income, education levels of husband and wife, region, level of urbanization, age and number of children is of great importance to household utility curve. Income earned by the wife is more likely to be used for restaurant food, her clothes and kids clothes. Whereas husbands income is allocated towards transportation, they considered clothing as personal private good and it increased with the levels of income of each individual. Thomas (1993) this paper tries to find out whether all household members share same preferences or they are dictated by any one member of the household. Data taken into consideration is from a survey carried out by Instituto Brasilleri De Geografia they came to a conclusion that when income is in hands of females shares of expenditure increases towards housing, education, health, household services and recreation when males are given the budget they tend to spend excess on health, household service and recreation. Education is considered intervening variable for earning hence increase in consumption, so they exclude education from demand function and include it as a valid instrument for total income. The researchers have come to these conclusions by conducting linear and quadratic models on the complied data. Bonney (1988) previously sociological analyst of British class structure consider males as the only major determinant of the social class position of the household along with time the trends have changed today there is greater involvement of married females in paid work. This phenomenon is making wives extremely important in family budgets and the socio class location of the household, a husbands increase in wage would negatively affect females participation in paid work but on the other hand the increase in wives earning would have smaller but negative effect on their counterparts income. This increases their say in consumption as they are now more economically active. Sommer (2003) discuses that under habit formation it is difficult for the households to adjust to their new income levels this happens gradually if a tax cut is implemented they respond to such policy slowly. But some consumers save a specific amount of income as a precautionary measure to maintain a similar standard of living. Megir (2004) talks about the theory of consumption function that played a vital role in explaining Keynesian demand management. Transitory tax policy or transitory income could have insignificant effect on real consumption though income is more volatile than consumption but the long run marginal propensity to consume out of the income is higher than the short run. Dorlando(2010) carried out a research to investigate the importance of behavioral principals in micro-foundation of Keynes consumption theory. It was concluded that behavioral instead of maximizing principals can be rightfully considered as possible for micro foundation for Keyness work. He said there are chances of cross fertilization of Keynesian approach and behavioral sciences in reference to theory consumption function. This research showed that utility maximization is not the major focus Keynes representation of individuals behavior and many subjective factors are included in the consumption theory lastly the traditional aggregate consumption function is immensely based on maximizing agents. Khan and Dhar (2004) carried out a research on behavioral decision theoretic perspective on hedonic and utilitarian choices and they found out that difference between purchase and consumption of goods and service found out that there is a very thin line which consumer does not even realize and decision making of consumption is merely affected by income, preference and lifestyle of the consumer. Tai and Tam (1997) discussed the lifestyle of females that was changing due to the different socio economic factors such as delayed marriage, smaller family size and single parents have lead to changing dynamics of consumer market as a result the consumer preference are changing and consumption pattern of the families. All these research papers have added a new dimensions to the topic under consideration emphasis on the fact consumption is a vital function of income but there are many other factors that influence the consumption pattern there are incidence when two households with sane income level may have different consumption pattern due to lifestyle, preference and the stage of lifecycle they are in as a household greatly affects the consumption patterns. All these researches try to explore the behavior patterns that are crucial for molding the consumption pattern all these researches have added different key reasons and not a single research as been able to come up with any common behavior traits in the different societies of the world this phenomena indicate that the consumption patterns changing according to society the house hold resides in. CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY Research type The research undertaken would be quantitative research a lot of facts and figures would be included they would help to support the arguments that will be established after critically analyzing the results obtained by this research Data type and research period The research would be primary and secondary as a lot of previous research papers have been consulted for reference and further data would be collected regarding the Pakistani economy and how does an average Pakistan person consumes this research would be carried out in 2011 the data under consideration is cross sectional since its both secondary and primary . Sources of data The data would be collected through tailor made questionnaire that would help us to support our arguments and allow us come to a sound conclusion and recommendation at the end of the thesis. Secondly interviews the different retailers of the locality would be conducted to reduce the biases in the questionnaire as people hesitate to provide fair information. Thirdly I would take into consideration my own observation that would facilitate better understanding of the topic as well as its evaluation. The questionnaire was floated in among three various locations where many different socioeconomics groups were prevalent According to the questionnaire analysis the percentage of male and female is in the ratio of 42% and 58% respectively. Almost twenty different casts were targeted they showed that on average a household spends 50% of their income on food and 20% of income is spend on clothing and 10% of income is spend on housing, schooling and about 20 different casts were targeted through the questionnaires that floated among the three different localities respectively (see appendix A) The left over income is utilized by directed it towards saving and entertainment expenditure the ratio of income directed towards savings and entertainment expenditure is about 20% see appendix. In the various interviews that I have conducted, I found out that there is significant difference in the way the different socio economic groups spend their income and their consumption varies accordingly see appendix. The population of Pakistan is mostly humongous with a very s small numbers of minorities that are prevalent in Lahore basically the population trends majorly consists young population. Theoretical framework and variables under consideration Operational definitions Standard of living: It would include income spent on consumer durables, non- durables, health, recreation and entertainment, social services and luxuries goods by the households, larger the amount of the income spent on these goods would indicate that the household enjoys a higher level of standard of living and would be consuming a larger proportion of disposable income. Size of the family: The number of the people living together under one roof and consuming the pooled income i.e. An identical source of income despite the fact whether they are related or not would be considered as a family. Structure of the family: type of household taken into consideration would be nuclear family structure or the extended family structure apart from the two parents or the single parent households, all of these types of households are very common in Pakistan though the recent trends are shifting to nuclear family structure. Location: This would take into consideration the area in which a particular household resides there are three localities under considerations in this research paper, each of these localities would be depicting different socio economics classes in terms of income, standard of living, occupation and sizes and structure of the families living there. Occupation: The means from where the households generates income for consumption purposes this would even account for income generated from assets that a particular household maintains e.g. rent on assets or return on capital and things like credit cards would also be included as they tend to increase the disposable income for the household thus allowing them to attain a higher consumption level. The life-cycle model: it states that save when people are young for their old age they do this to dis-save in their old age as they have no other income sources to support their consumption. Hence this would lead to fluctuations in consumption patterns. They can finance their old age either by selling off the assets that they have accumulated in their young or by saving income. Discussion Economic model of the income spent on consumption was developed by John Maynard Keynes he mastered this area of economics by developing various theories such as absolute income hypothesis, which supports and states that consumption is solely a function of disposable income earned in that period of time in that. Difference between predictions of Keyness and other economists leads to various empirical data sets, in the long run, this led to a number of other theories related to consumption that emerged after Keynes work-most prominently, these were based on relative income (Duesenberry), permanent income ( Milton Friedman ), and life-cycle income (Modigliani and Brumberg). Keynes stated that a change in income will result in a relatively smaller change in consumption; the marginal propensity to consume will be less than one. Keynes also argued that the marginal propensity to consume will be less than the average propensity consumed, which in return stated that consumption declines as a percentage of income as income rises or we can say antagonistically as income increases the consumption decreases. Short-run studies broadly depict the consumption function of this sort, but long-run data showed that the marginal propensities and the average are roughly equivalent. The relative income hypothesis supports consumption related to other households and their past income. Firstly it implies that the proportion of income consumed by the household remains same, assuming that the position of a household remains constant in the long run on the distribution curve. This provides us with the long-run evidence. If the household is placed on the higher side, propensity to consume stays on the lower average. Secondly household is easier adjusted with the rising incomes as compared to the falling incomes this is known as ratchet effect which handles the consumption when there is a decline in the income this is mainly due to habit formation of consumption by the households. The measurement of life time income is an issue of key importance to measure consumption as a function. Permanent income hypothesis states that consumption pattern is directly dependent on the total income and the total wealth which an individual expects to earn over their lifetime. The life-cycle hypothesis on the other hand assumes that individuals that consume a steady proportion of their income and that the present value of their life time income as a measure in a number of financially various areas of life where an individual earns different amount of income at various ages such as, childhood, adolescence , and old age CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND ANALYSIS Result generated through software stat graphic Multiple Regression equation y = 0.747966 + 0.152745*location + 0.11217*occupation + 0.100276*size of the family + 0.142338*standard of living + 0.267032*structure of the family The results of the multiple linear regression model to the raw that was collected by the questionnaire, describes the relationship between y and 5 independent variables. The equation of the model that is mentioned below is showing how strong relation each independent variable has with the dependent variable y. y = 0.747966 + 0.152745*location + 0.11217*occupation + 0.100276*size of the family + 0.142338*standard of living + 0.267032*structure of the family In view of the fact that the P-value in the ANOVA table is less than 0.01, there is a statistically there is a strong relationship between the variables at the 99% confidence level. The R-Squared statistic shows that the model as fitted explains 99.0259% of the variability in y. The adjusted R-squared statistic, which is more appropriate for comparing models with different numbers of independent variables, is 23.2334%. The standard error of the estimate demonstrates the standard deviation of the residuals to be at the figure of 0.51929. The mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.373951 is the average value of the residuals. Hence this statistical information ensures that the statistical model that is developed is statistically strong and could be accepted as good model for the research paper. In determining whether the model can be cut down or not, notice that the highest P-value on the independent variables is the figure of 0.2039, belonging to size of the family Since the P-value is greater or equal to 0.10, that term is not statistically significant at the 90% or higher confidence level. Consequently, I could even remove size of the family from the model as this variable has p- value greater than 0.10. Research hypothesis Size of the family affects the consumption pattern of socio-economic groups H0: significant H1: insignificant Occupation affects the consumption pattern of socio-economic groups H0: significant H1: insignificant Structure of the family affects the consumption pattern of socio-economic groups H0: significant H1: insignificant Standard of living affects the consumption pattern of socio-economic groups H0: significant H1: insignificant Location of households affects the consumption pattern of socio-economic groups H0: significant H1: insignificant Discussion of hypothesis Now these research hypotheses would now be discussed in detail so that we now as to what could be the possible reason of these hypotheses to be rejected. Stat graphic was used to generate the multiple regression analysis. Size of the family affects the consumption pattern of socio-economic groups H0: significant H1: insignificant Reject H0 because P value is more than 0.01% The p-value of this particular hypothesis turned out to be 0.2039 which shows that this value is greater than 0.01 hence, Size of family hypothesis gets rejected because of the fact major respondents think and strongly believes on the fact the responsibility of every soul is on Allah hence many respondents said they dont consider the size of their family when they spend their income and many Pakistani head of the families said that they earn for their families to provide them with comfortable life hence they dont even bother with the size of their family this fact is one of the main reasons of Pakistanis high population . This phenomenon is highly prevalent in low income groups. But middle income and high income groups try to spend strategically. Occupation affects the consumption pattern of socio-economic groups H0: significant