What Makes Sammy Run?

What Makes Sammy Run? by Budd Schulberg portrays the life of Sammy Glick – a young and ambitious copy boy who rises to fame as a screenwriter in Hollywood. The name of the novel is significant in itself, for it underlines an age-old question: What makes an individual run? Is it the craving for success? Written in 1941 when the world was relatively quieter in terms of competitive edges, the novel seeks to find an answer to this question. The author does not temper the unethical means Sammy, the protagonist of the novel, resorts to in his run. (Schulberg, p.3)Budd Schulberg completely exposes his main character’s inability to care for others, especially his friends and associates whom he needed during the days of his struggle. Sammy is shown as a person who can go to any extent to fulfill his ambition of attaining the pinnacle of success in Hollywood. He does not mind backstabbing others, even his girlfriend, to reach his long cherished goal, and in the process, make hims elf a victim of self-inflicted loneliness and frustration. This book report is going to present a brief summary of the novel before examining Sammy’s relationship with the narrator Al Manheim.It is also going to make a comparative character analysis of the two, thereby tracing changes in their relation if there is any. The report will also focus emphatically on the end of the novel to investigate Sammy’s situation. Summary What Makes Sammy Run? begins with Al Manheim’s recollection of how he met a teenage Sammy, full of vigor and energy, when the boy was working under him as a copy boy to deliver newspapers. Immediately after he comes to know Sammy personally, he develops a strange attachment for him, partially out of his curiosity to explore the boy’s nature and partially out of his own business interests.However, Sammy regards Al as his best friend and mentor. The story of Sammy’s rise and eventual fall begins when one day he impersonates Manheim and rewrites one of his newspaper columns to impress the managing editor. Thus, Sammy manages to gain a column of his own. Later on, he steals a piece of writing by an aspirant named Julian Blumberg who wishes to make a career in screenwriting profession in Hollywood. This event turns the fortune for Sammy as he is credited for original screenplay of the movie Girl Steals Boy when it hits the theater.The next few years witnesses Sammy climbing the ladder of success and popularity in the most prized seat of stardom in the world. As fate would have it, he hires Blumberg as his ghost writer for a minimal payment. Meanwhile, Manheim comes to know that Catherine ‘Kit’ Sargent, one of the most promising novelists and screenwriters, has developed a crush for Sammy. Although Manheim is emotionally attached to this lady, he is openly told by her that she prefers Sammy to him. In the process tracing Sammy’s frenzied run for success and recognition, Manheim also observes t he power game and corruption that run rampant behind the scene at Hollywood.This is evident from the fact that Sidney Fineman, one of the revered producers around, gets victimized by Sammy, loses his job and dies, apparently of a broken heart. Moreover, Sammy goes about his mindless business of securing his career and personal life in the indignant manner imaginable when he decides to dump his girlfriend to marry Laurette, the daughter of a wealthy Wall Street banker Harrington. This marriage proves to be a disaster for Sammy as Laurette sees it no better than a business affair. Eventually Sammy finds his heart empty – as empty as the big mansion he owes, and orders for getting him a prostitute.Sammy’s relationship with Manheim – Comparison between Two Characters As mentioned earlier, Sammy and Manheim share a relationship of friendship and mentorship. However, reversal of roles and values is one of the major themes in the novel as the mutual dependency between Sammy and Manheim changes in the course of it. It is Sammy who is employed under Manheim in the beginning, but later on Manheim finds himself writing screenplays for Sammy. Again, Manheim is of moderate disposition in comparison with Sammy’s aggressive demeanor.He is portrayed as an observer whereas Sammy is the go-getter in modern corporate terminology. Sammy in the End The ending of What Makes Sammy Run? renders an incisive thrust to the very conscience of its readers. Schulberg gives his protagonist the life he truly deserves after fiddling around with other people’s careers and emotions. So it can be said that the author, with somewhat ironic affection, puts a brake to Sammy Glick’s running wheels of fortune by making him suffer for his actions. References Schulberg, Budd. (1993). What Makes Sammy Run?. New York: Vintage.

Burberry history Essay

Barberry was founded in 1856; originally focusing on producing ‘innovative functional outwear. ‘ over the years Barberry has adapted to changing trends and tastes to suit the consumers wants and needs. Additionally the extension of their product portfolio, for example their perfume and accessories range, Is a response to competition from leading brands such as Ralph Lauren and others. Barberry set out to create a luxury, premium brand image, however in recent years in Britain especially, the public perception of Barberry products have been labeled as ‘chap kook’ because of their distinctive tartan pattern on clothing. In September 201 2 the high brand luxury clothing company Barberry issued a profit warning taking El ban off Buyers market value resulting with a share fall of 19%. We are currently In an economic recession which has resulted In less consumer confidence and a trend of reduced spending habits. However the types of consumers that purchase brands like Barberry would usually not be effected by the economic recession. They are likely to have much more disposable income and secure well- paid Jobs. Retail analyst Joana Satyrs stated that â€Å"The global economic crawls Is dragging on and the longer It drags on the less confident even wealthier Individuals become†. Meaning that even those with more disposable Income to spend on luxury goods such as Barberry, are less confident which Is a major factor resulting In reduced spending habits. If consumers are spending less the company is likely to result in profit losses. If the problem deteriorates it can result in closing of stores and making staff redundant; adding to the already high unemployment figures Barberry s a luxury brand is not immune from the economic instability which has seen weaker sales not only in the UK but globally. From researching Buyers share decrease we can see that the 2012 London Olympics has played a major factor in profit loss. The types of customers buying Barberry products are likely to live in expensive locations such as London; Barberry state that the London Olympics pulled tourists away from shopping and pushed them more towards visiting the Olympic park and stadium and spending their money on souvenirs. However due to the economic recession and the trend of reduced pending habits, Buyers luxury high priced goods were Increasingly likely to see reduced sales. Although wealthier Individuals are likely to be unaffected by the economic recession, the Auk’s high unemployment rate has made Buyers customer base even more restricted than before. In contrast to Buyers view that the Olympics contributed to their profit loss, we believe that the Olympics helped the Auk’s unemployment rate hugely giving more individuals and potential customers more disposable income. However now that the Olympics are over, it can shift focus onto spending more on brands such as Barberry. In comparison; lower priced stores such as Tops and H & M are receiving higher likely to buy from stores that have fashionable styles and a wider variety of clothing at much lower prices. BBC business news (twitter) stated that â€Å"UK retail sales rise as shoppers buy winter clothing† and that â€Å"sales volumes were up 0. 6% in the last month†. Individuals are much more likely to spend EYE – OHIO on a coat rather than an IEEE one; especially during the economic recession. Taking the above into account, there are a number of ways in which Barberry could improve their economic position in the retail market. While Barberry are not in a state of danger as it stands, if their profit and share prices were to decrease further they may have to cut their costs. This could see a decrease in quality of their products resulting to a decline in brand loyalty and a future reduction in sales. One way Barberry could improve their situation is by re-marketing their product range to appeal to a different target audience, that of the middle and working class. Evidence suggests that lower priced stores (Tops and H&M) have been benefiting as a result of their lower prices. If Barberry were to adjust their position in the market, closer to that of H&M they may wreak the rewards. However, we think that Barberry may tarnish their entire business reputation if they do so. It takes many years to achieve a high brand reputation like that of Barberry and it would be a massive risk to put it all on the line. Also the lower priced retailers market is dominated by a few big players and is extremely competitive, making it harder for Barberry to establish itself in the lower priced category. We think that Barberry should ‘ride out the storm’ for the time being. If anything is to be done it should be investing more into marketing and branding to appeal to the upper middle-class. Although this would be costly initially, sales should pick up over time; improving Buyers share price and profits. Furthermore, in the meantime it would be easy for Barberry to take advantage of the current state of ‘national pride’ (following the Olympics) and go back to basics promoting the ‘Brutishness’ of their brand. Another way in which Barberry can improve their current situation is by taking a similar approach to Versa by launching a more economical clothing range with gig street brands such as H&M. For Barberry to differentiate themselves they can instead launch their clothing range with Ezra rather than H&M. Reason being that they types of clothes they offer are very similar in terms of sophistication and quality. This method was very successful with Versa as their line with H&M sold out within 30 minutes. By introducing a more affordable clothing line, Barberry will advantage from an increase in sales and profits as demand from consumers will increase. The cheaper they market their new clothing range the more people would want to buy it s they will be purchasing Barberry clothing for a faction of the cost.

Letter to school Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Letter to school - Essay Example We plan to remain in London for the next decade and thought that this would be an excellent opportunity to provide high quality education for our children. Our daughter Ekaterina will turn seven on June 3, 2013 and our son Mikhail will turn four on January 5, 2013. They are now attending the IB school in Kiev, Ukraine, with English as the medium of learning. Ekaterina has been studying in the English medium for the past three and a half years. She has taken up ballet and gymnastics. She is also learning to play the piano and has enrolled for artistic gymnastics at the school of a Ukrainian Olympic and World Champion in gymnastics. She also has a good aptitude for mathematics and science and she is interested in chess. Our son, Mikhail, has just started his IB program this September. He shows a high level of independence, adaptation and learning progress. My husband and I are both well educated and we believe that a good education helps a child more than anything else does. My husband and I have graduated from leading schools and universities in Moscow, Russia. We have also both acquired MBA degrees from INSEAD, one of the world’s top business schools. We completed the MBA degree from the campus in France and Singapore followed by an internship in Switzerland. My husband has worked with international advisory firms such as Price Waterhouse Coopers and McKinsey & Company. I have worked for Fleming Family & Partners private equity fund and I have served as a Director of Investments in one of the largest real estate investment and development companies in Ukraine. My husband holds positions on the boards of many large Ukrainian firms belonging to Mr. Rinat Akhmetov, one of the biggest entrepreneurs in Eastern Europe. We are eagerly waiting to settle down in London and enrol our children in a top educational institution like Eaton House Group of Schools. We give an assurance that all

Governmental Structure of Canada. Is the Canadian Prime Minister Too Research Paper

Governmental Structure of Canada. Is the Canadian Prime Minister Too Powerful - Research Paper Example Majority of the evidences sighted in various literary works point towards the fact that the Canadian prime minister has a lot of power and can influence the decisions of the government and the country of Canada. The fact that cannot be ignored is that the Canadian prime minister exercises a great deal of power especially when in the parliament his party enjoys the majority (Dickerson, Flanaganand O’Neill, 2009). There are obvious evidences of the Canadian prime minister not being too powerful but the majority facts are in the favor of him being powerful and dictating the rules and regulations governing the state resulting in the favor of prime-ministerial power. Governmental Structure of Canada Canada’s parliament is divided into three levels. The main governing body is the Queen of Elizabeth II and the Governor General (David Johnston currently) who acts on the behalf of the Queen to perform official functions as the Queen is not physically present in Canada. The secon d level is of the senate that is appointed on the prime minister’s recommendation and the third being the House of Commons consisting of the government members and the Opposition members. Queen Elizabeth II performs the ceremonial functions in Canada. All the political, executive and legislative powers are directed from the Queen .The Governor in General acts on behalf of Queen Elizabeth, he performs functions such as General elections declaration, closing and opening the Parliament and reads speeches from The Throne. The role of the Prime Minister who is the first amongst the parliament members and is the head of the government is to make and implement decisions pertaining to the policy of the government. He is designated to choose cabinet and its members for carrying out the various tasks of the country. No one person can handle all the tasks therefore cabinets are formed but the supreme authority is the prime minister himself. He can shuffle the cabinet members from one po rtfolio to another, can delete the cabinets and can add cabinets for whatever reason he thinks is right. This statement is strong evidence in favor of the Canadian President being a powerful governing body. The Cabinet and the Canadian prime minister speaks as one voice because conflicts amongst them can result in Cabinet members being demoted or dropped from the Parliament (Mallory, 1984). The legislature is a part of the government and has the duty of making the laws. It consists of the appointed as well as elected members, the Senate is appointed and the House of Commons is elected. Drawn from the House of Commons, the executive (the prime minister and the cabinet members) control the agenda in the House of Commons and they have the right to vote in order to turn the legislative that is proposed into practice (Malcolmson and Myers, 2009). Concluding the structure it could be said that there are three levels and the prime minister is the part of the second level and governs the th ird level that is the legislature. He is an important figure and works under the supervision of the Governor General who is acting figure in lieu of the Queen. Power in the Hands of the Canadian Prime Minister The Canadian Prime minister is the central figure in the Canadian politics and the law governing the state of Canada. He is behind all the progress that is currently under process

Music Culture - The Four Components Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Music Culture - The Four Components - Essay Example The second component of the music culture includes the activities which employ music. Today music is used in almost all the spheres of human activity, and music itself has become a separate activity practiced both by amateurs and by professionals. It is also remarkable that music itself has become a very lucrative business, and it is not normal that sometimes its quality may suffer so that more income could be gained from its mass production. Filmmaking is the first activity mentioned when the music-employing activities are in question. In this sphere of activity, music is one of the key components of the proper product making, as it often conveys such emotions and information which is impossible to be transferred otherwise. Music is also employed by ritual events. This means that such events from one’s life as marriage, child’s birth, college entering etc. are in most cases accompanied by music, and its kind and mood depends on the nature of the event, that is, if the event is positive and gives happiness, then the music is also major and pompous, and, on the contrary, negative events imply involvement of sad music. This means that music has relation to the norms of the society. It helps people honor their colleagues or relatives and mourn the loss of someone or something very dear, that is, expressing one’s feelings and emotions, maintenance of interpersonal communication.RepertoireThe next, the third, component of the music culture is the music repertoire.

Titus Andronicus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Titus Andronicus - Essay Example The two sons are beheaded. Unsatisfied, she goes ahead and persuades her sons Demetrius and Chiron to rape Lavinia the only daughter of Titus. After raping her, they go ahead and chop off her tongue and hands so that she could not give them away to their crime. Eventually, Lucius, the only surviving son of Titus is prohibited from Rome. Nevertheless, he (Lucius) goes ahead and forms an alliance with Goths the enemy of Rome for purposes of attacking Rome. The new misfortune hits the tired, aged Titus with a great impact. Consequently, he starts acting awkwardly and everyone thinks that he has gone crazy. Given Titus awkward behavior, Tamora tries to capitalize on it via pretending to be the revenge figure, coming to offer him the needed justice on condition that he convinces Lucius, his only surviving son, to cease the Rome attack. Titus having faked his madness, lures her, captures her sons, murders them and creates a pie out of them. The pie is fed to their mother, after which Titus kills both Lavinia, his daughter, and Tamora. The main reason for Titus killing her daughter is to put an end to her suffering and shame over her rape. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to characterize the existing relationship between Titus and his only daughter Lavinia in Shakespeares Early Blood Titus Andronicus. In addition to that, I will give my own opinion about her killing (Shakespeare Sc i-iv). Play Analysis Titus Andronicus is the play tragic hero and the general of the Rome Empire. He is the father of Lucius and Lavinia. He spent his ten years fighting the enemies of Rome and winning reputation for his country. On the contrary, his heroic deeds have drained much out of him making him feel incompetent enough to lead his country despite the country’s desire to crown him the new emperor. First, he is held up by his countrymen as model of piety because of his staunch adherence to traditions. However, it is this strict reverence to tradition that inspires his enemies to stem up revenge against him. Being the play hero, he pursues his revenge to the end. Unfortunately, he dies in the process of seeking revenge. Lavinia is Titus Andronicus’ only daughter. She refuses to be made an empress by Saturninus because she had fallen in love with Bassianus. Chiron and Demetrius brutally rape and disfigure her in the forest. Eventually, she becomes mute and her presence on stage is quite horrifying. Robbed and deprived of her every means of communication, and her precious chastity, the play portrays her as one of the most incapacitated heroines. From the character analysis of Lavinia and Titus, it is evident that the two are very united as they seek revenge against those who have harmed them. Lavinia being unable to talk leads young Lucius, Marcus and Titus to a book giving description of rape, prompting his father and brothers to confirm that she was raped. To get the whole information regarding her rape, they hand her a stick so that she can identi fy who did the harm to her. Lavinia writes â€Å"Rape. Chiron. Demetrius.† This makes Titus seek revenge for their deed. Titus sends his young son Lucius to Demetrius and Chiron with a scroll and weapon describing the act (rape) in riddles. Titus revenge is engineered by his urge to bring justice to Rome. In doing so, he tells Demetrius and Chiron to their face that he knows what they did to her daughter

Toxicology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Toxicology - Essay Example This paper declares that pleasure can be described as a â€Å"state or feeling of happiness and satisfaction resulting from an experience that one enjoys.†. Pleasure can serve to promote addiction. The process is a complex neurobiological one, which relies on the reward circuitry or limbic activity. These processes involve dopaminergic signalling. Endorphins and endogenous morphinergic mechanisms may also play a role. Addictive drugs are able to act directly on the reward pathways. Reward pathways are linked to the brain’s limbic system. The euphoria induced by drugs enhances the activity of the brain’s pleasure and reward systems. This discussion stresses that various species show differences in the rate of development of tolerance and physical dependence. Even in the same animal, tolerance develops to drugs at different rates, which rules out the possibility of an alteration in drug absorption, metabolism, excretion, etc., as a basis for the tolerance. Although tolerance develops to many of the effects of the opiates, miosis appears to be resistant to tolerance development. The pupil may be always sensitive to opiates because of the existence of different types of opiate receptors whereas the drug receptors on the cells of different tissues become less sensitive to the drug at different rates. â€Å"The most important point is that tolerance and dependence develop to different effects of drugs at different rates†.

Electromagnetic radiation (EMR) Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Electromagnetic radiation (EMR) - Term Paper Example Mostly, Electromagnetic Radiation is in the forms of waves. These waves include: Radio Waves, Microwaves, Infrared, X- rays and Gamma-rays (Mattson). The magnetic and electric fields resulting in the electromagnetic waves interact by coming together at right angles to each other and these combined waves move perpendicular to both electric and magnetic oscillating fields and as a result, the disturbance is caused (Nikita , Kevin and Mateo). The resulting electron radiation is released in bundles of light energy which travel at a speed of 299 792 458 m / s, equivalent to the speed of light, as quantized harmonic waves. This electromagnetic waves are grouped according to their wavelength and the this results in the electromagnetic spectrum. The resultant magnetic and electric waves move perpendicularly to each other having certain characteristics which are Amplitude, frequency and wavelength. Features of Electromagnetic Radiation Wavelength The movement of the electromagnetic waves is in form of patterns. The distance that exists between two peaks is the wavelength of the wave. The wavelength of a waveform is measured in meters. This is illustrated in the figure below. Frequency Frequency can be defined as the number of oscillations of the wave per unit time. The frequency of waves is not constant, it varies and the variation greatly depends on the type and nature of the electromagnetic radiation. The frequency of a wave is measured in Hertz. The wave can have high frequency or low frequency as indicated in the diagram below. The frequency is related to the wavelength by the dispersion relation is given by: Where  the wavelength and c is the propagation speed Amplitude Amplitude refers to the characteristic height of the wave. Amplitude is a measure of the intensity of the wave and is measured in meters. The amplitude of an electromagnetic radiation is given by Where  Refers to the electrical amplitude,  is the wavelength and c is the propagation speed. Characteristics of electromagnetic Radiation Interference This is the process in which two waves superposes to form one resultant wave. For interferenc e to occur, the source of the waves must be coherent. If two electromagnetic waves having the same frequency get together i.e. they superpose, it results into a wave which has the resultant magnetic and electric field strength equal to the sum of fields of the two waves. When two strong waves moving that have their fields moving in one direction, i.e. same direction in time and space, the resulting waveform is twice that of each individual waveform (Encyclop?dia Britannica Online). This results in constructive interference. However, the superposition of a wave having an electric field in one direction in space and with another electromagnetic radiation wave which has the same frequency but with an electric field in the opposite direction in space and time results in cancellation and a result, there is no formation of a waveform (Encyclop?dia Britannica Online). This implies that the two waves are not in phase. The resultant effect is termed as destructive interference. In summary, s uperposition of waves results in destructive, constructive or partial interference considering the magnitude of the waves being superposed. If two monochromatic waves described by And Then The value is responsible for the interference process. If then the resultant interference is constructive If Then  If Then the interference is a destructive interference. Diffraction When electromagnetic waves come onto obstacles, they are diffracted. Diffraction is the process by which the waves bend around obstacles. This can be illustrated as in the diagram be

Untouchability Practice Essay Example for Free

Untouchability Practice Essay Untouchability is a form of discrimination, the social-religious practice of ostracizing a minority group by segregating them from the mainstream by social custom or legal mandate. It is a menace and social evil associated with traditional Hindu society. The term is used in India to talk about the public treatment of especially the Dalit communities, who face work and descent-based discrimination at the hands of the dominant Hindu castes. . It is being practiced since times immemorial and despite various efforts made by social reformers such as Dr. B. R. Ambedkar; and despite there being provision on abolition of untouchability in our Constitution under Article 17, the evil is still in practice in our country. Although untouchability has been made illegal in post-independence India, prejudice against them are seen in the society, especially in rural areas. Definition of Untouchability Untouchablity in simple terms can be understood as a practice whereby a particular class or caste of persons are discriminated with on the ground of their being born in that particular caste or on the ground of their being members of those social groups involved in menial jobs. The discrimination can be in the form of physical or social boycott from the society. For instance: the members of so-called higher castes such as Brahmin, Kshatriyas etc would not dine or sit with a person of Bhangi class. It was believed that people of higher castes could become impure even if a shadow of an untouchable person touches him and to re-gain his purity he had to take a dip into holy waters of the Ganga. Who Are Untouchables? According to traditional Hindu ‘Varna System’, a person is born into one of the four castes based on karma and ‘purity’. Those born as Brahmans are priests and teachers; Kshatriyas are rulers and soldiers; Vaisyas are merchants and traders; and Sudras are laborers. Untouchables are literally outcastes. They do not directly figure into any of the traditional ‘Varna System’ of Hindus. According to Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, untouchables form an entirely new class i.e. the fifth varna apart from the existing four varnas. Thus, untouchables are not even recognized under the caste system of Hindus. However, historically persons born in lowest castes and classes of persons  doing menial jobs, criminals, persons suffering from contagious diseases and tribals living outside the so-called civilized world were considered as unto uchables. Their exclusion from the mainstream society was based on the belief that they are impure and harmful and it was necessary to ostracized them for the overall benefit of the society. Untouchability was also practiced as a form of punishment to the law-breakers and criminals; they were socially boycotted for their misdeeds. Who Are Dalits? Untouchables are also known as depressed classes, harijans etc; but today they are more frequently referred to as ‘Dalits’. In modern times, ‘Dalit’ refers to one’s caste rather than class; it applies to members of those so-called menial castes which are born with the stigma of â€Å"untouchability† because of the extreme impurity and pollution connected with their traditional occupations. They are considered impure and polluting and are therefore physically and socially excluded and isolated from the rest of society. Today members of Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes (SC/ST) are considered as ‘Dalits’ and they are subjected to various forms of discrimination in the society. Especially, Schedule Castes such as Chamars, Passi, Bhangis and Doms etc are known as ‘Dalits’; these people are generally associated with menial jobs such as tanning, skinning of hides, works on leather goods, sweeping, scavenging etc. Forms of Discrimination against Untochables or Dalits According to National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), there are various forms of discriminations being practiced against Dalits in India, these are: Prohibited from eating with other caste members, Prohibited from marrying with other caste members, Separate glasses for Dalits in village tea stalls, Discriminatory seating arrangements and separate utensils in restaurants, Segregation in seating and food arrangements in village functions and festivals, Prohibited from entering into village temples, Prohibited from wearing sandals or holding umbrellas in front of dominant caste members, Prohibited from using common village pat, Separate burial grounds, No access to village’s common/public properties and resources (wells, ponds, temples, etc.), Segregation (separate seating area) of Dalit children in schools, Bonded Labor, Face social boycotts by dominant castes for refusing to perform their â€Å"duties† Abolition of Untochability under Indian Constitution India got Independence on 15th of August, 1947 after long and painful struggle of more than one hundred years. The struggle was not only against the foreign rule of British but it was also against the social evils such as untouchability prevailing from centuries. After Independence when great leaders of freedom struggle agreed to make our own Constitution, it was decided that there must be provisions under the Constitution regarding the abolition of social evils and upliftment of down-trodden castes and social groups etc. In view of this objective Article 17 was added to the Constitution; Article 17 reads as follows: â€Å"Untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden. The enforcement of any disability arising out of â€Å"Untouchability† shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law.† Thus, Article 17 abolishes and forbids untouchability in any form. At the same time, it also makes it an offence punishable as per the law made by the Parliament. In order to fulfill the mandate of Article 17 of the Constitution, the Parliament enacted the Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955. It made several discriminatioray practices punishable as offences, although the punishment provided were rather mild and in their actual application even milder. Several lacunae and loopholes were found in the working of the Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955 which compelled the Government to bring about a drastic amendment in the Act in 1976. The Act was revamped as the Protection of Civil Rights Act. However, the menace of untouchability continued and ‘dalits’ were still being treated in a discriminatory way, their socio-economic conditions remained vulnerable, they are denied a number of civil rights and were subjected to various offences, indignities and humiliations. Therefore, to counter theses atrocities meted out to so-called ‘Dalits’ section of society, the Parliament passed ‘Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Attrocities) Act, 1989. The Act provided more comprehensive and punitive measures to deal with and to prevent discrimination and atrocities against  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœdalits’. The ultimate objective of the Act was to help the social inclusion of Untouchables/Dalits into the mainstream Indian society. These above mentioned Acts were made with good intention and with positive objective of removing discriminatory practices against untouchables/dalits but in actual practice, these Acts have failed to live upto their expectations. Untouchability: Present Scenario In our society there still exist feeling of superiority of caste and birth. We can experience the practice of untouchability in everyday life around us, especially in rural and semi-urban areas of the country. Also, in big metro cities, the inhuman practice of manual scavenging is still there. According to a news report of Press Trust of India (PTI), on January 3, 2014, four tea shop vendors were arrested by the Police in Karnataka for practicing untouchability while selling tea- they were serving tea in different types of cups to caste Hindus and SC/STs. The incidence shows that the evil practice is so deep rooted in Hindu society that even after 67 years of Independence is continuing in one form or other. However, it can be said that things are slowly changing; the mind set of modern generation is also changing. Today’s youth with modern education and globalized outlook are viewing the social order from different perspective of equality and impartiality and not from the religious or traditional point of view. Hopefully, the wicked practice of untouchability would be removed from the society sooner rather than later and our country would usher into a new era of social equality and brotherhood which will be the true India of Gandhi and Ambedkar. What is â€Å"Untouchability†? India’s Constitution abolished â€Å"untouchability,† meaning that the dominant castes could no longer legally force Dalits to perform any â€Å"polluting† occupation. Yet sweeping, scavenging, and leatherwork are still the monopoly of the scheduled castes, whose members are threatened with physical abuse and social boycotts for refusing to perform demeaning tasks. Migration and the anonymity of the urban environment have in some cases resulted in upward occupational mobility among Dalits, but the majority continue to perform their traditional functions. A lack of training and education, as well as  discrimination in seeking other forms of employment, has kept these traditions and their hereditary nature alive. Prevalence of Untouchability Practices Discrimination These statistics are taken from a survey of practices of untouchability undertaken in 565 villages in 11 major states of India. They clearly demonstrate that the inhumane and illegal practice of untouchability is still commonplace in contemporary India: In as many as 38% of government schools, Dalit children are made to sit separately while eating. In 20 percent schools, Dalits children are not even permitted to drink water from the same source. A shocking 27.6% of Dalits were prevented from entering police stations and 25.7% from entering ration shops. 33% of public health workers refused to visit Dalit homes, and 23.5% of Dalits still do not get letters delivered in their homes. Segregated seating for Dalits was found in 30.8% of self-help groups and cooperatives, and 29.6% of panchayat offices. In 14.4% of villages, Dalits were not permitted even to enter the panchayat building. In 12% of villages surveyed, Dalits were denied access to polling booths, or forced to form a separate line. In 48.4% of surveyed villages, Dalits were denied access to common water sources. In 35.8%, Dalits were denied entry into village shops. They had to wait at some distance from the shop, the shopkeepers kept the goods they bought on the ground, and accepted their money similarly without direct contact. In teashops, again in about one-third of the villages, Dalits were denied seating and had to use separate cups. In as many as 73% of the villages, Dalits were not permitted to enter non-Dalit homes, and in 70% of villages non-Dalits would not eat together with Dalits. In more than 47% villages, bans operated on wedding processions on public (arrogated as upper-caste) roads. In 10 to 20% of villages, Dalits were not allowed even to wear clean, bright or fashionable clothes or sunglasses. They could not ride their bicycles, unfurl their umbrellas, wear sandals on public roads, smoke or even stand without head bowed. Restrictions on temple entry by Dalits average as high as 64%, ranging from 47 % in UP to 94% in Karnataka. In 48.9% of the surveyed villages, Dalits were barred from access to cremation grounds. In 25% of the villages, Dalits were paid lower wages than other workers. They were also subjected to much longer working hours,  delayed wages, verbal and even physical abuse, not just in ‘feudal’ states like Bihar but also notably in Punjab. In 37% of the villages, Dalit workers were paid wages from a distance, to avoid physical contact. In 35% of villages, Dalit producers were barred from selling their produce in local markets. Instead they were forced to sell in the anonymity of distant urban markets where caste identities blur, imposing additional burdens of costs and time, and reducing their profit margin and competitiveness.

Letter to Editor Essay Example for Free

Letter to Editor Essay I have been looking over the results from the Nation Grade Six assessment which was written on the 25th and 26th of March by 16,811 students. Congratulations to all students who entered this exam, especially the students who have been able to gain a position one of Guyana’s five (5) top schools. However, it is very noticeable that most of Guyana’s top graduates are from a private school/institution. That brings along the thought of what really is going on in the public schools in Guyana? Are they treated to less? I am not bringing along the thought that all public school students did badly in this primary examination, but why aren’t more of our governmental institutions doing as well as students of a private school? Is it because of the poverty struck we live in? Is it because the students are not having the adequate material like textbooks to get work finished? Is it the unskilled teachers being employed to teach these students? All of these things are readily available with high quality to students of private institutions. Back in the good old days, no private school could compare to a public school, citizens generally preferred to send their children to a public school to ensure they have a proper ground. Today, that is very unsure. Not only the standard to public primary schools are dropping, but also the behavior in the students today that go to public school is treacherous. Are they having no discipline? Government, parents and teachers need to work together to rebuild the good foundation and name of primary public schools in Guyana.

Other Personality Traits That Affect Managerial Behaviour Sociology Essay

Other Personality Traits That Affect Managerial Behaviour Sociology Essay Leadership is the action of leading a group of people or an organization, or the ability to do this Oxford Dictionary. A person exerts influence over other people, which inspires, motivates and directs their activities to help achieve common performance goals (Yukl, 1989 as cited in George Jones, 2006). The person who exerts such influence is a leader. With the influence they exert, effective leaders help groups and organisations to achieve a goal. Effective leadership also increases an organisations ability to meet all the contemporary challenges such as obtain a competitive advantage, the need to promote acceptable ethical behaviour and is essential to manage a diverse workforce fairly and impartially. As a result, this will raise the organisations chances of success (George Jones, 2006). Nowadays due to the exceptionally challenging era, leadership can be very demanding because of the pace of change, the illusion of control and the high expectations of followers (Arnold Rendall, 2010).A leader can adopt his own personal qualities, behaviours styles and decisions to develop his own leadership style (Arnold Rendall, 2010). Early leader-focused approaches to leadership have 2 main features: a description of the leader in terms of their characteristics and/or behaviour and the investigation and analysis and of the characteristics and or behaviours of what makes a good leaders regardless of what they lead (Arnold Rendall, 2010). Early leadership was more focused on finding the best characteristics that makes a person a leader or effective leader. Early work such as the work of House and Baetz (1979) came up with what characteristics that leaders tend to have at a higher degree than non-leaders. These characteristics include intelligence, dominance/need for power, self-confidence and knowledge of the task. (House Baetz , 1979). Bass (1990) also included other personality traits such as good adjustment, emotional balance and high integrity which were found to be common traits amongst leaders. (Bass, 1990) This early research did yield some interesting results but researchers did not find a constant profile of characteristics which are common to all leaders however personality and intelligence seem to be fundamental for persons to emerge as leaders and ultimately be effective leaders (Arnold Rendall, 2010). The Big Five Personality Traits People have certain characteristics which are constant to them throughout their life which can influence how they think, feel and behave both on and off the job (George Jones, 2006). These characteristic are called personality traits. These traits make you act, feel and think in certain ways which makes every individual unique. It is very important that these traits are understood since every persons personality influences their behaviour and their approach to managing people and resources (George Jones, 2006). An individuals personality is composed of five general traits or characteristics, these being extraversion, negative affectivity, agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness to experience (Digman, 1990). Each personality trait is viewed as a continuum along which every individual falls. A person can fall on the high end part or on the low end part or else somewhere in between. A persons approach to management can be described in how people are like at the high and low ends of each continuum which is an easy way to understand how these trait affect a persons approach (George Jones, 2006). The effectiveness of each trait is determined by a complex interaction between the nature of the job or organisation in which they are working and the characteristics of the person. Furthermore, some personality traits might be effective in one situation but can decrease the effectiveness in another situation. (George Jones, 2006) There are other personality traits in addition to the big five that describe peoples personalities. These are specifically important for understanding managerial effectiveness. Some examples are self-esteem, locus of control and need for achievement. Research by Fred E. Fiedler acknowledged that effective leadership depends on the characteristics of the leader and of the situation. Fiedler came up with the Contingency theory of leadership. He explains why a manager or leader may be capable in one situation and incapable in another. It also suggests which kinds of managers or leaders are more effective in different situations (George Jones, 2006). He argued that leaders have rather stable personal characteristic, leading to a characteristic behavioural style. In his theory, Fiedler assumed that how much a leader is person-oriented depends on the leaders perception of their least preferred co-worker. He concluded that task-oriented leaders are best in very favourable and unfavourable situations and those person-oriented leaders are best in moderately favourable or moderately unfavourable situations (Arnold Rendall, 2010). Desired and acceptable leadership characteristics may vary across organisational context. Sociability, need for power and need for achievement are considerably relevant characteristics which are consistent across different organisations and organisational cultures. (House Baetz , 1979). House and Baetz (1979) came up with two insights which are generally accepted by persons studying leadership: if certain characteristics are to have an impact on others and their performance, these personal characteristics need to be observable in the leader and that leader characteristics and behaviours depend on the different type of task (House Baetz , 1979). Recent studies have pointed out the effects of personal and situational factors on the development of an individual as a leader. Amongst these personal factors are personality traits and gender (Jacobowitz Pratch, 1996).One of the most distinct and difficult to change characteristics is gender. Leadership roles are typically described in stereotypically masculine terms. This could mean that women have a slight disadvantage over men in being selected for leadership roles and when selected it is difficult for them to be seen as good leaders. Leadership roles are typically predominated by men but in recent years women in leadership positions have increased considerably (Corrigall, Konrad, Lieb, Ritchie JR, 2000). This has prompted a lot of researchers to explore the relationship between gender and leadership. While the number of women in management positions has increased, there are still very few women who hold high level executive positions (Corrigall, Konrad, Lieb, Ritchie JR, 2000). It is believed that women tend to prefer jobs who offer a reward rather than high pay and advancement, which might be the explanation of their failure to attain more jobs at the top level positions (George Jones, 2006). The styles of male and female leaders may influenced by the gender-based expectations. Individuals establish certain expectations for their own and others behaviour which is based on their own beliefs about what the appropriate behaviour of male and females should be like. (Eagly, 1987) Women are stereotypically described as nurturing, supportive and concerned with interpersonal relations whilst men are viewed as being directive and focused on task accomplishment (George Jones, 2006) These stereotypes suggest that women can be more relationship oriented as managers and are more considerable in their behaviour. Men are seen as more directed towards task-orientation and engage in more initiating-structure behaviours (George Jones, 2006). People have become accustomed to the styles that men have since men have long held these roles. As a result, there is more focus on women in the discussion of the impact of gender on leadership (Eagly Johannesen-Schmidt, 2001). There is little agreement about how women actually lead even though there is this greater focus on women in research. Feminists writings have given great importance to differences and similarities between leadership styles in males and females. (Eagly Johannesen-Schmidt, 2001). A number of researchers state that there is a difference between women and men having a leadership position, whilst others say that there is no difference. Eagly and Johnson (1990) state that male and female managers having a leadership position, tend to behave in similar ways. Men do not engage in more initiating structure than women and women do not engage in more consideration than men (Eagly Johnson, 1990). Writers of trade books, have argued that thre is a difference in leadership behaviour between males and females. They tend to see women as being less hierarchical, more cooperative and ollaborative and more oriented to enhancing others self worth (Book, 2000). On the contrary, social scientists say that there is no or minimal difference iin female and male organizational leaders. (Eagly Johannesen-Schmidt, 2001). Job Attribute Preference Research has show that job attribute preference may direct a male or female manager to a different set of jobs, career paths and emplyers due to the existence of sex difference (Beutell Brenner, 1986). Job attributes have been divided into two categories: intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Job aspects that fulfil material or social needs are termed intrinsic factors and job aspects that fullfil higher needs such as growth, esteem and self expression are termed intrinsic factors. (Pinder, 1998) Research on sex differences and similarities in job attribute preferences has been enriched by two distinct theoretical persecpetives: the gender ideology perspective and the structuralist persepective. Different personality characteristics and different sets of ativities for women and man are dictated by gendered societal norms in existence is the view of the gender ideology perspective. The structuralist perspectives argues that women have poorer quality jobs than men on average because of the segregation and discrimination in the labor market. (Corrigall, Konrad, Lieb, Ritchie JR, 2000). Both of the perspectives conclude that job attribute preferences for men and women are different by they assign casualty to different underlying mecchanisms. They both predict that there will be a change in the pattern of sex differnces in job attribute preferences over time, however they conclude that the patterns of change will be somewhat different. Gender Ideology Gender ideology may be described as socially-constructed script that prescribes different characteristics, values, attitudes, behaviors and activities for women and men (West Zimmerman , 1991)Gender ideology is composed of gender roles and gender stereotypes. Gender roles are sets of norms presribing the behaiors and activities appropriate for each sex (Best Williams, 1990). Gender roles differ by cultures but in Western industrialised societies attribute the role of income provider for the family to the men and the role of homemaker to the women. Gender stereotypes are different personality characateristics which are expected from men and women. Characterisitcs such as nurturing, affiliation and passivity were associated with the females whilst characteristics such as autonomy, aggression, dominance and achievement were ascribed more to males (Best Williams, 1990).People tend to conform to gender expectations to avoid the disapproval from others. If peoples choice ofwork would reflect gender ideology, then men should consider responsibility, autonomy earnings, advancement, prestige, recognition and challenge to be more important than women do. Whilst women should value more job security, good coworkers, a good supervisor, physical work environment, helping others, growth/development opportunities, opportunities to use ones abillities, variety, task significance a feeling of accomplishment and good hours to be more important than men do. In this study conducted by Corrigall, Konrad, Lieb and Ritchie, it was found that men attached more importance to earnings and responsibility than women did. This reflects the idea that men take on the role of provider and that they need to demonstrate success and status reflecting the ideas of gender roles and stereotypes towards men. On the other hand women attached greater importance to all mentioned attributes which show that women take the role of homemaker and to demonstarte nuturing and expressiveness. The findings relate to the gender roles typically attributed to women. (Corrigall, Konrad, Lieb, Ritchie JR, 2000) Leadership styles of males and females The styles of males and females can be described in terms of the stereotypes of masculinity and femminity. Studies of peoples stereotypes about men and women show that the popular beliefs about male and female behaviour can be compiled, following Bakan (1966), in terms of two dimensions, the agentic and the communal attributes. (Jacobowitz Pratch, 1996) Agentic characteristics define primarily an assertive, controlling and confident tendency. These characteristics are typically ascribed to more strongly to men than to women. Agentic behaviours, in employment settings might include speaking assertively, competing for attention, influencing others, initiating activity directed to assigned taks and making problem-focused suggestions (Eagly Johannesen-Schmidt, 2001). Women are more ascribed to communal characteristics. This is because communal characteristics describe primarily a concern with the welfare of other people. Examples of communal characteristics in employment settings are speaking tentatively, not drawing attention to oneself, accepting others direction, supporting others and contributing to the solution of relational and interpersonal problems (Eagly Johannesen-Schmidt, 2001). Leader roles and gender roles Female leaders can adopt leadership styles that differe from those of men because they need to accommodate their behaviour to the occasioanlly conflicting demands of the female gender role and their role as a leader. There are different implications for the behaviour of male and female leaders due to gender roles. This is not only because male and female roles have different content but there is a discrepancy perceivers associate with women as having communal qualties and successful leaders are perceived as having agentic qualities. Since agentic properties are more associated to men, people tend to believe that men are better at being leaders than females. (Eagly Johannesen-Schmidt, 2001) Eagly and Karau(2001) argued that apparent difference between the typical leader roles and the female gender tends to ccreate prejudice towards female leaders. It takes two forms: (a)less favorable evaluation of womens (than mens) potential leadership because leadership ability is more stereotypic of men than women and (b)less favorable evaluation of the actual leadership behavior of women than men because agentic behaviour is perceived as less desirable in women than men. In the first prejudice, womens characteristics and the resulting female-stereotypic qualities are different from what is expected and desired in leaders. This is a result from the descriptive norms of gender roles. The second prejudice arises from prescriptive norms of gender roles namely the beliefs of how women ough to behave. Women leaders can be negatively assessed for fullfilling the agentic requirements of leader roles and thus failing to comply with the communal characteristics, even though they may be praised for their fulfillment of the leader role. (Eagly Karau, 2001) On the other hand, Sherpe (2000) states that after years of analyzing what makes leaders more effective, management gurus now know how to maximise the chances of getting a great executive. Their answer is to hire a women. The idea was first introduce by the writers feminist trade books on management and is now making tis way into the popular culture. (Carli Eagly, 2003) However in Malta, women have the highest rate of female inactivity 65.2% compared to other E.U. countries 35.7%. (Spiteri, 2012). Nevertheless, there was an increase in the rate of employement for woman which now stands at 62%,which has gone up from 55% in 1997 (Almunia, Andor, Barnier , Reding, Rehn, Tajani, 2012). Many women continue to face a glass ceiling, holding them backe in achieving a higher level in their work place. Men dominate company boards: 86.3% of board members and 96.8% of the boardroom chairs, whilst women make up 13.7% and 3.2% respectively. (Almunia, Andor, Barnier , Reding, Rehn, Tajani, 2012). Women in Malta represent only 3% of board members which is well below the EU average of 13.7% (Spiteri, 2012). On the other hand, there is a higher pecentage (22.7%) of Maltese women who are achieving higher levels of tertiary education than men(14.6%), even though when compared to other E.U. countries it is still very low (37.2% women and 30% men) (Spiteri, 2012). The National Statistics Office in collaboration with the National Council of women in Malta carried out a survey on the Perceived Obstacles to the participation of women in Decision-making Positions (2007). The rsult of this survey states that many women in malta are not advancing in their work to obtain top post because of 3 main difficulties: difficulties in reconciling long hours of work and family responsabilities, very little use of childcare facilities and lack of spouse/partner suport (National Statistics Office, 2007). Maltese Governments have always put measures in place to promote gender equality through various legislations and regulations. The constitution of Malta guarantees equaltiy between women and men. It gives protection against discrimination on various grounds including sex. Additionally, there is Article 45(11) swhich provides for special measures aimed at accelerating de facto equality between males and females (Spiteri, 2012). In 1991 Malta also approved the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Even though these measures have been in place for a few years now, there is still a general idea that men are seen as being more siutable at having a decision-making job. There are also a number of structural and cultural barriers which are preventing Maltese women from achieving further in their job. Such barriers include jobs without opportunities of promotion or training, practices that favour men for promotions, lack of employment laws and lack of sharing of household/childcare responsibilities by fathers. There is also a considerably big barrier being the attitudes and perceptions towards gendered roles in Malta. (Spiteri, 2012). In this study, I am going to focus on the perceptions that University students have towards leaders. Whether they tend to prefer male or female leaders and on what is their decision based on. Also, I am going to study what University Students think about the effectiveness of males and females in different work settings and what is the reasoning behind the idea.

Choice and Individual Freedom in The Stranger (The Outsider) :: Camus Stranger Essays

Choice and Individual Freedom in The Stranger Camus's The Stranger is a grim profession that choice and individual freedom are integral components of human nature, and the commitment and responsibility that accompany these elements are ultimately the deciding factors of the morality of one's existence. Meursault is placed in an indifferent world, a world that embraces absurdity and persecutes reason; such is the nature of existentialist belief, that rationalization and logic are ultimately the essence of humanity, and that societal premonitions and an irrelevant status quo serve only to perpetuate a false sense of truth. Meursault's virtue, as well as his undoing, lies in his unique tendency to choose, and thereby exist, without computing objective standards or universal sentiment. His stoic, de facto existentialism is a catalyst for endless conflict between his rationalization- and logic-based existence and that of others, which focuses on an objective subscription to "the norm" ; such is evident in heated discussions with the magistrate and prison minister, who are seen as paragons of invalid logic and the quixotic, quasi-passionate pursuit of hackneyed conformity. No windmills are slain1 in this simulated existence; absurdity of a different ilk dominates the popular mentality, one which would alienate a man based on his perceived indifference towards the mundane, and try, convict, and execute a man based on his lack of purported empathy towards the irrelevant. Attention to the trial sequence will reveal that the key elements of the conviction had little to do with the actual crime Meursault had committed, but rather the "unspeakable atrocities" he had committed while in mourning of his mother's death, which consisted of smoking a cigarette, drinking a cup of coffee, and failing to cry or appear sufficiently distraught. Indeed, the deformed misconception of moral truth which the jury [society] seeks is based on a detached, objective observation of right or wrong, thereby misrepresenting the ideals of justice by failing to recognize that personal freedom and choice are "...the essence of individual existence and the deciding factor of one's morality.2" The execution of Meursault at the close of the novel symbolically brings

On the Quantum Mechanics of the Human Intellect and the Stories It Crea

On the Quantum Mechanics of the Human Intellect and the Stories It Creates If human beings are to explore those distant and wished for lands, we must first come to grips with some of the perplexing conceptual issues that have dogged quantum physics since its inception. These riddles dance around the enigma of quantum observership. Its contemplation brings us back from the realm of the multiverse to the intimate confines of our own skin, where we ask what it means to say that â€Å"we† â€Å"observe† â€Å"nature.† - Timothy Ferris, The Whole Shebang: A State-of-the-Universe(s) Report During the crisis of modern science in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the postulates of early scientific discoveries had been refuted. In one of science’s most defining moments, an undisturbed photon of light was found to exhibit both wave-like and particulate qualities. The relationship between these two qualities would later be termed complementarity by Niels Bohr, one of the scientists at the forefront of this discovery. As Thomas S. Kuhn notes in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, â€Å"Before [the theory of quantum mechanics] was developed by Plank, Einstein, and others early in [the twentieth] century, physics texts taught that light was transverse wave motion† (12). So staggering was this discovery that in his autobiography, Albert Einstein recounts, â€Å"All my attempts to adapt the theoretical foundations of physics [to the new quantum knowns] failed completely. It was as if the ground had been pulled out from under one, with no firm foundation to be seen anywhere upon which one could have been built.† Not surprisingly, this arrest of the fundamental postulates of classical physics sparked a reevaluation of the â€Å"world view† by the ... ...e and the nature of things to help us to connect ourselves to stories of the past and present while trying to do exactly what Petrus Camper and the scholars of the eighteenth-century were so capable of—the same privilege the wave-particle theory gave to the pioneers of quantum mechanics: to understand the multiverse of intellectual disciplines together. Works Cited Ehrlich, Gretel. Islands, the Universe, Home.New York: Penguin, 1991. Ferris, Timothy. The Whole Shebang: A State-of-the-Universe(s) Report. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997. Gould, Stephen Jay. Bully for Brontosaurus.New York: W.W. Norton, 1991. I Have Landed: The End of a Beginning in Natural History.New York: Harmony, 2002. Kuhn, Thomas S. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.Chicago:Chicago U, 1996. Tarnas, Richard. The Passion of the Western Mind.New York: Ballantine, 1991.

Five Forces Framework in Personal Computer Industry (DELL) Essay

Introduction: Five Forces Framework in Personal Computer Industry Porter’s Five Forces Model is a model that analyzes an industry to help develop a business strategy. The model uses five forces that have been identified to categorize an industry as intensely competitive or not competitive at all and this will then determine the attractiveness of the market. For the purpose of this assignment, I will use the company that I work with before which is DELL as a case study. Dell Inc. (formerly known as Dell Computer) is an American multinational computer technology corporation based in Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells, repairs and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest technological corporations in the world, employing more than 103,300 people worldwide.  Dell opened its plants in Penang, Malaysia in 1995. They have two plants located in Bayan Lepas (AP 1) and Seberang Perai (AP 2). AP 1 is their main office while AP 2 is Dell Factory and office. In 2006, Dell opened its office in Cyberjaya. Most of the team located in here is for IT Support and Development. Currently they have about 900 people working in Dell Cyberjaya Office. According to Grant (2005), there are many features of an industry in which a company competes that determines the level of competition it will face and the profits it will get. The most famous classification was done by Michael Porter, known as Porters Five Forces framework which can help a company determine its potential profits by looking at five sources of competitive pressure. The five sources of competition are: 1. Competition from entrants 2. Competition from substitutes 3. Competition from established rivals 4. Bargaining power of suppliers 5. Bargaining power of buyers. Taking Dell as an example, I will perform the Porter’s Five Forces analysis on the personal computer industry to identify the state of this market. Porter’s Five Forces – Personal Computer Industry Threat of New Entrants The threat of new entrants in the personal computer industry is very weak. Currently the market is dominated by five major competitors who have nearly the entire market share; this will likely discourage any potential new companies from entering the market. A huge barrier to entry is also that the market requires significant investments to be made in research and development to continually develop innovative products as well as large fixed start-up costs for manufacturing and employees and customer service. Large firms have the capabilities of manufacturing at lower prices because of the advantage of economies of scale, where the will have fewer per unit costs as a result of their large scale production. Companies trying to enter the market will initially have smaller production and will consequently have higher prices. In the personal computer industry there is currently much  emphasis put on price because consumers have become more price sensitive as personal computers have become more or less a commodity. New entrants will not only have higher prices but they will likely have a less innovative product as well because they do not have equal funding for research and development as other established brands and they will also have to deal with the brand loyal customers that have trusted the existing players in the industry for years. By attempting to join the market without any market share it will also be important for a new entrant to focus its investments more heavily on advertising and marketing then existing brands. A new entrant to the personal computer market will likely not fare well and is almost guaranteed to always be a second mover as the larger companies will develop more innovative products more rapidly because of their many competitive advantages. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Suppliers in the personal computer industry can be categorized into three groups, including hardware suppliers, software suppliers and service suppliers. The core of their products are generally standardized and they compete by focusing on creating better, more advanced products at a better price and not through their attempts to differentiate them. As a result, firms within the industry are able to switch between their suppliers relatively easily. It is really in the hands of the firm and which strategy they are committed to that will determine whether or not they will utilize a high or low end supplier. With the quality of a computer being largely determined by their microprocessors and application system installed within them, suppliers of hardware and software within the industry play a critical role in the pricing of products. If a firm is following a high quality strategy then it can be expected that their prices will generally be higher to reflect the higher prices they are paying their suppliers In terms of service suppliers, the service that can be offered within the personal PC industry include internet, tech support and repair services. These suppliers focus highly on operational performance and relational performance in order to increase customer satisfaction. They also offer a variety of customer loyalty programs in attempts to lock in and expand their customer base while trying to gain the competitive edge over competitors within the service  industry of personal computers. While the PC industry changes regularly, it can be observed that only the central processing unit (CPU) is a key input. All other items are commodity in nature and so don’t command a bargaining power. Intel has a significant market power as it is a single major supplier of microprocessor and has an 80% of market share. Thus, Dell as computer manufacturer holds a power over the suppliers as opposed to the suppliers holding a power over the manufacturers. It is the suppliers that are in direct competition with each other. The suppliers are often forced to slash prices or merge with larger companies in order to survive. Hence, the bargaining power of suppliers is moderate. Bargaining Power of Buyers The personal computer industry is somewhat vulnerable against the bargaining power of buyers. In recent years customers have more and more alternative options to the personal computer. Smartphones, tablet computers, and other handheld devices like Ipods have most of the same capabilities as a personal computer. Because of the availability, sleekness, and trendiness of these alternatives, they have become increasingly popular making personal computers more and more obsolete. In order for the personal computer to compete with these newer alternative options, it must differentiate itself in order to regain market share. Large businesses, governments and schools which buy computers in large volumes have the power to bargain on price, quality and service. Personal computer buyers are price-sensitive. PC manufacturers can reduce a threat of buyer power by differentiating their product. DELL is the only PC manufacturer that applied direct model concept where buyers can directly buy computers with DELL without a so called middle man. By using this concept, computers cost per unit can be reduced. Furthermore, buyers are able to customize the PC based on their needs. The basis of the direct model concept is to improve efficiency by effectively eliminating the intermediaries thereby allowing the company to speak directly to the customer. Dealing directly with customers allows Dell to customize their orders according to the customers’ needs. But, despite  several ways in which manufacturers have differentiated their products and found ways to increase switching costs, customers still see units as very similar and thus choose primarily on price. Hence the bargaining power of buyers can be concluded to be strong. Rivalry among Existing Firms There is fierce competition between the top manufacturers in the personal computer industry. All of which are fighting to produce a low cost, powerful machine with the most efficient operating system. Firms specialize in different areas in order to compete amongst their rivals. Some focus on innovation and attempt to bring the newest technology to their customers first. Nevertheless, others may focus on their distribution channel and services throughout their firm. However, one of the fiercest areas is the price competition throughout the industry. As the PC has increasingly become a commodity in a household, the fight to keep costs low while bringing the best product to the market has become a never ending battle. One major factor in determining the quality of a personal computer is the microprocessor and application systems installed. As a result, there is a direct correlation between the firm’s profitability and the profitability of the firm’s suppliers. Main manufacturers namely DELL, IBM, HP, Acer and Apple are in competition to produce the least expensive and most efficient machine. Japanese companies such as Fujitsu, Toshiba, Sony and NEC also have large market shares. DELL is focusing on distribution channel and high quality service while others such IBM and Apple focus more on innovation. All these create differentiation to some extent. Low-cost production at DELL contributes its positive growth rate, while other major manufacturers are experiencing negative growth rates. Another important of competitive advantage is globalization. Many PC makers in the US now earn around 40% of their revenues in international markets. Although PC markets in the US, Europe and Japan have matured and the demand has slowed down, on the other hand demand in Asia Pacific is expected to grow. The effects of intense competition are beginning to be felt as companies exit via selling to other companies or simply exiting the industry altogether. For example, Compact Computers was acquired by Hewlett-Packet in 2002 while Xerox exited the computer business and concentrate on printers. Regardless of the number of  companies present, the computer industry will continue to expand and remain competitive for a number of years to come. Hence the threat to industry rivalry can be concluded to be strong. Threat of Substitutes and Complements Although it is very unlikely for a new entrant to join the personal computer industry there are currently other growing industries such as the smartphone and tablet industries which are predicted to affect the sales of personal computers. The smartphone and tablet industry have different major players, but their product offers similar benefits to consumers that a personal computer also has. As smartphones and tablets continue to increase in popularity and in performance the sales of personal computers will likely decline, as some consumers see these products as alternatives for one another. The internet can now be accessed through phones and tablets and they are more portable than a laptop. Currently laptops and personal computers offer many unique applications and are compatible with much more software than smartphones and tablets. If smartphones and tablets can attain greater memory space, processing speeds, and compatibility with similar software, smartphones and tablets may be an all-in-one alternative to personal computers. As technology continues to increase these separate industries may merge into one, or at least drastically affect each other. According to the guardian.com, Dell revenues slump by 11% year-on-year to $13.7 b as tablets and smartphones enter into market. In digitaltrends.com, PC shipments in 2013 show a decline over the previous year while tablet sales forecast to grow by a hefty 67.9 percent with 202 million sales. Moreover, in ctvnews.ca, it stated that PC sales continue to fall nearly 8 % as smartphones and tablets cut the demand. But, according to Michael Dell himself, the impact of smartphones and tablets will be limited to DELL, as it focused on the entire IT ecosystem. They have leading capabilities to manage customer information seamlessly and securely in multiple-device and BYOD environments, including virtualized desktop that you can access from any device. It is forecasted that 87% of connected devices sales by 2017 will be tablets and smartphones. Hence threat from substitutes is strong in the PC industry. Recommendation for DELL The following are the recommendations on how DELL can turn its existing product advantage to a competitive advantage: Dell’s origin is in U.S. It is important for DELL to launch its products in US first before branch out to Europe and Asia. What is happening now is the reverse tactics that will jeopardize the threats of Power of Buyers. Consumers are moving from PC to smartphones and tablets nowadays. Even though Dell launched its smartphone named Dell Streak in 2010, seems like this substitute for PC was failed to gain the market share. Dell streak is no longer available in the market not even after one year of its launch. Even though Dell streak was the first of its kind with 5-inch Android phones, the failure to continue the R&D makes Dell left far behind in smartphone and tablet industry compares to Samsung and Apple. DELL is focusing on distribution channel and high quality service for many years. Other rivalry such as Apple and IBM focus more on innovation. With the fast growing technology movement, it is time for Dell to focus more on innovation and R&D. Otherwise, it will left behind and face hard time to sustain in the PC makers market share.. Conclusion It can be conclude that the PC industry is fairly attractive for well-established, global and leading companies but not for new firms. Although cost of assembling a PC is low, the barrier to entry is fairly high because of the economics of scale and brand-loyalty. Providentially, the high barrier to entry provides strong competitive advantages to existing large companies like DELL. Nevertheless, PC manufacturer like Dell should especially focus on buyers, industry competitors and also substitutes for PC like smartphones and tablets to gain the market growth and sustainability of their profits.

Cheesecake Factory Research Proposal Essay

People eating habits have changed over years triggered by changes in lifestyles. Snacks have become typical food for majority of the working people first because little time is spent to eat them and peoples tendency to like sweet things. Social occasions have also increased and nice food has been adopted as the food to serve. Cheesecake factory is a U. S company dealing with restaurant services. The company currently operates about 200 dinner units and it intends to double this. The company has registered increased sales since its establishment indicating good business. Market information is important for any company intending to enter new markets. Such information would reveal competitors’ information and other products in the market. The information would help establish customers’ preferences, the economic well being of people customer royalties and rate with which this can change. This data informs the entrant company to strategize on their marketing so that they would draw customers to themselves and retain them. Market research involves an organized process of gathering relevant market information and coming up with results that would inform decision-making. Market research has successfully contributed to new business and the existing ones in a move to expand their business (James, 2002). For Cheesecake factory to manage to penetrate in the markets they intend to enter, they need to carry out a market research survey to gather data on several products and customer preferences. The main objectives of the study are to identify peoples’ economic well being, to find out peoples eating habits, the preferred eating junctions. The study would the decision to enter the new markets or otherwise. Differences in preferences by gender and age would also be determined and help the company know what products to produce for which groups. These are the hypothesis of the survey. First null hypothesis is that the population of the market under consideration comprises mainly of youth, people less than 25 years and the older people above 54 years. Hypothesis two is that majority in the population under survey have an income of less than $75000 per month. Hypothesis three is that people do not participate much in social occasions like family get tog ethers and in other festive celebrations. The other hypothesis is that people avoid prefer sweet foods. Hypothesis five is that people have no preferred eating junction. The alterative hypotheses are indicted below: one, majority of the population is aged 25 –54 years. Two, most household incomes are at least $75000 per month. Three that people in these populations are favorites of participating in social ceremonies. Four, majority of people prefer sweet foods availed at restaurants. Fifth, that people prefer restaurants and other fast food junctions. This last hypothesis would provide date on specific junctions within the areas under study that would also indicate preferred competitors. The reasons for such preference would also be outlived In order to obtain data from all the age groups, quota sampling would be used. The study would require certain numbers of people from certain age groups to be defined by gender so that we obtain representative sample sizes for both sexes. Stratified sampling procedure would be employed to define the locations from which certain numbers of respondents are required. The population in this methodology is divided into strata each stratum representing a people with common characteristics. Such characteristics could be by income levels, which determine where a person chooses to stay. There are some areas for high-income people, middle-income people and low-income people, all of whose data we need. These methodologies will enable the study gather information from all groups. It also helps in avoiding bias that would result from collecting data from only one group. The various in the study will be classified with regard to whether they are demographic, economic, opinions or otherwise. Some economic variables are household income levels per month, occupation of the respondent, amount spent on food products per month. The occupation of the respondent would in this case be an independent variable while income levels would be dependent variable. Other variables are the frequency of a respondent to participate in social gatherings such as friends’ parties. These variables could partly be related with income levels and the classification with whether they are independent or not would depend on the test being performed. Other variables of interests, demographic are sex, age or the respondent marital status all of which are independents variables. The area of residence is also important. The family size of the respondent is also an important variable on independent one. Other important variables are preferred types of foods, eating junctions, reasons for preference of certain eating. Another important variable will be people’s choice of T. V channels and radio stations. Other media habits that should be studied are newspaper and magazines reading habits. These variables, independent, would help the company know in which media to post advertisement to effectively reach the potential customers. The analysis of the data would be aimed at identifying media habits. The analysis should show associations between various variables that interact and the strength of such association. The analysis should answer such questions as: do more ladies than gentlemen prefer certain food types? Is there association between one’s income level and frequency of participating in social gatherings? Does marital status influence one’s choice for place to live? The analysis should also indicate the preferences of the population within certain age groups. The proportion of the population outside the one targeted should be known. Several statistical tools would be used to these tests such as chi square test, T- test, and Wilcoxon test among others (Birn, 2004). The purpose of any research is to obtain data that will help in decision-making. The results obtained from the analysis would help the company determine whether to enter the market under study of not. If the results indicate that a population has higher percentage of the very young and the very old, such a market should be avoided. A market whose population has a higher number of low-income earners should also be avoided. If a company is to establish business in these markets, it should be advised to locate its business in areas where people of high income reside. The company should also be advised to engage in products that are most preferred people especially during functions. Associations between variables would help establish the factors that influence the decisions at the customer. If association is found to exist between gender and preferred food types the company would market different products to the different sexes. Upon finding the reasons why certain food junctions or restaurants are preferred, the company should aim to offer better services than the competitors. By finding out how much people spend on food, the company would know the prices it would fix to their products to enable them to get customers as well as estimate the duration within which it should expect returns on its investment. A lot more information can be fetched from the analysis of the data. This means that the Cheesecake Company would reap more benefits by carrying out a survey as above explained. The secondary sources would help establish the other costs that would be incurred like licensing fees and government regulations. Other factors that may affect the business are security and the ease of getting space. Research is therefore necessary for the success of the company in all markets under consideration.

Musharraf Era: Pakistan Flourishes

Compiled By: Mirza Rohail B  ©Our leader – Musharraf http://presidentmusharraf. wordpress. com/ All this is all the more amazing when one considers that just six years ago, Pakistan was on the verge of bankruptcy, with only a little more than $1bn in foreign exchange reserves and its stock market teetering at 1,000 points (worth $5 billion only) and foreign debt servicing at 65% of GDP. Our exports were at a pitiful $7. 5 billion. The once ever-declining rupee stood stable at around 60-61 to a dollar since Musharraf took over. Of the 184 member countries of the IMF, Pakistan’s rate of economic growth 7% is one of the best in the world. The Karachi stock market is now above 13,000 points and worth around $65 billion. Now foreign debt servicing has lowered to become 28%. Our exports increased to become $18 billion. 1. Pakistan economy is among the fastest growing economies in the world as its economy has reached the size of $170 billion from a mere $70 billion in 1999. Pakistan attracted a record FDI of $8. 6 billion in 2007-08. 2. 2007: National revenues had swelled from Rs 308 billion during 1988-99 to around Rs 800bn in 2007; and FBR estimates now 2. 8 million Income Tax payers. Year Total CBR Direct Indirect Custom Sales Central excise 1998-99 308. 5bn 110. 4bn 198. 1bn 65. 3bn 72bn 60. 8bn 2005-06 712. 5bn 224. 6bn 487. 9bn 138. 2bn 294. 6bn 55bn 2008-09 810. 3bn 305bn – 105. 3bn 319. 3bn 80. 5bn (2008-09 Progressive) 3. Public sector development program (PSDP) has also grown from Rs 80 billion in 1999; to Rs 520 billion in 2007 and increased further to Rs 549. 7 billion in 2008. 4. FACT: The rate of growth in Pakistan Large Scale Manufacturing (LSM) is at a 30-year high. Construction activity is at a 17-year high. LSM: 1999-00 was 1. 5% and 2004-05 was 19. 9% and 2006-07 was 8. 6% and 2007-8 is 5%. 5. FACT: The Infrastructure Industries Index, which measures the performance of Seven industries, i. e. Electricity generation, Natural gas, Crude oil, Petroleum products, Basic metal, Cement and coal, has recorded a 26. 2 percent growth in Industrial sector of Pakistan. 6. FACT: Jan 14: Pakistan now has a total of 245,682 Educational institutions in all categories, including 164,579 (i. . 67 per cent) in the public sector and 81,103 (i. e. 100 per cent) in the private sector, reports the National Education Census (NEC-2005). The census — jointly conducted by the Ministry of Education, the Academy of Educational Planning and Management (AEPAM) and the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) — reveals that the number of private-sector institutions has increas ed from 36,096 in 1999-2000 to 81,103 in 2005, i. e. by 100 per cent. 45,007 Educational Institutions have increased in Musharraf Era. 7. FACT: Pakistan is 3rd in world in Banking profitability, a report of IMF said. On the IMF chart, Pakistan’s banking profitability is on third position after Colombia and Venezuela. On the IMF chart India is on 36th position and China is on 40th position. Pakistan’s Banking sector turned profitable in 2002. Their profits continued to rise for the next five years and peaked to Rs 84. 1 ($1. 1 billion) billion in 2006 8. 11 May 2009: By producing 7. 746 tonnes of gold during the last five years – 2004 to 2008 – Pakistan joins the ranks of gold producing countries. According to the data with the Saindak Metal Limited – during the last five years – Pakistan has produced 86,013 tonnes of copper, 7. 46 tonne gold and 11. 046 tonne silver, besides the production of 14,482 tonnes of magnetite concentrate (iron), bringing in a total of $633. 573 million. 9. In 1999 what we earned as GDP: we used to give away 64. 1 % as foreign debt and liabilities. Now in 2006, what we earn as GDP: we give ONLY 28. 3 % as foreign debt and liabili ties. Now we are SAVING 35 % of Our GDP for economic growth. According to Department of Finance, External debt & liabilities (EDL) and DAWN: 1988 – $ 18 bn —–> 1990 – $ 20. 5 bn —–> 1999 – $ 38. 9 bn —–> 2000 – $ 35. 48 bn —–> 2001 – $ 37. 2 bn —–> 2002 – $ 34. bn —–> 2003 – $ 35. 4 bn —–> 2004 – $ 35. 3 bn —–> 2005 – $ 35. 8 bn —–> 2006 – $ 37. 6 bn —–> 2007 – $ 40. 5 bn —–> 2008 – $ 45. 9 bn —–> 2009 – $ 50 bn 10. According to Economic Survey 2005. Poverty in Pakistan in 2001 was 34. 46%. And, now after 7 years of Musharraf; Poverty in 2005 was 23. 9%. Poverty DECREASED by 10. 56%. Overall, 12 million people have been pushed out of Poverty in 2001 -2005! 11. Literacy rate in Pakistan has increased from 45% (in 2002) to 53% (in 2005). And, Education now receives 4% of GDP and English has been introduced as compulsory subject from grade 1. 2. 12-4-07: The IT industry, which was virtually non-existent seven years ago, has grown to be worth $2 billion of which $1 billion is export related. It rregistered a 50% growth. 55 foreign IT companies have already entered the market. Now the sector employed 90,000 professionals. 13. 30-1-08: The government has decided to set up a modern hospital cum Medical University in collaboration with the Harvard Medical International, USA, at a cost of Rs 18 billion. The university will be built at the Defence Housing Authority (DHA), Islamabad. A total of 2,500 students will be taught at the graduate level, while additional 600 seats will be available for postgraduate research courses. 14. Nov 2006: President Musharraf says that Pakistan will set up Nine Engineering World Class Science and Technology Federal Universities by 2008 with foreign assistance. He said the institutions of higher learning would be established in collaboration with Italy, South Korea, Japan, France, Sweden, Netherlands, Germany, Austria and China. The Cost of building these Foreign Universities will be above Rs 96. 5 billion. The Vice Chancellors, Heads of department, Professors and Faculty of the planned university will be from these Foreign Universities; while the Examination system, Quality assurance followed and the Degree awarded will also be from these Foreign Universities. 15. Government has approved to give at least 4% of GDP to Education in 2007 budget. 16. In 1999-2000 there were 31 Public Universities. Now 2005-2006 there are 49 Public Universities. HEC setup 47 Universities. a) Air University (established 2002) b) Institute of Space technology, ISB (established 2002) c) Sardar Bahadur Khan Women University, Quetta (established 2004) ) University of Science & Technology, Bannu (established 2005) e) University of Hazara (founded 2002) f) Malakand university, Chakdara (established 2002) g) Karakurum International university, Gilgit (established 2002) h) University of Gujrat (established 2004) i) Virtual University of Pak, Lahore (established 2002) j) Sarhad University of IT, Peshawar (established 2001) k) National Law University, ISB (2007) l) Media University, ISB (2007) m) University of Education, Lahore (2002) n) Lasbella University of Marine Sciences, Baluchistan (2005) o) Baluchistan University of IT & Management, Quetta (2002), etc. 7. 6-member delegation of Australian Department of Education, Science & Technology and AusAID, is visited Pakistan on the request of PM Shaukat Aziz to help Pakistan in its efforts to realign its TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) according to the market needs. Chairman NAVTEC Altaf Saleem informed the delegation about NAVTEC plans to increase the capacity to train one million people annually by 2010 from the present annual capacity of 320,000. 18. Defense Exports of Pakistan have crossed the $200 million mark as the country’s robust Defense manufacturing industry continues to expand. This was disclosed by Major General Syed Absar Hussain, Director General, Defense Export Promotion Organization; after IDEAS 2006 Karachi . 19. President Musharraf inaugurated an over Rs. 1. 36 billion 18 Mega Watt Naltar hydro power project. The project, completed in four years at Naltar near Gilgit. 20. Pakistan is now in Large-scale Nuclear expansion. The reactor under construction†¦ could produce over 200kg of weapons-grade plutonium per year, assuming it operates at full power for a modest 220 days per year. At 4 to 5 kilograms of plutonium per weapon, this stock would allow the production of 40-50 Nuclear weapons a year,† the report said. 21. The Karachi Port Trust (KPT) and Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) of Hong Kong will sign a concession agreement tomorrow for setting up a US$1 billion Deep-water container port, the first in Pakistan. KPT will invest $450 million for infrastructure development for the project. HPH will invest $557 million. In the first phase, a 1,500m quay wall will be built with a designed dept of 18m. 22. GILGIT: President Musharraf inaugurated the dry port in the border town of Sust, 200km north of Gilgit. The Dry port, a Pakistan-China joint venture, was built in 2004 at a cost of Rs90 million. It is 10,000-foot high Sust Dry Port. 23. Dec 2006: President Musharraf said many canals, including the Thal and Raini canals, were being constructed for better utilization of the water available. He said Rs66 billion was being spent on brick-lining of 87,000 canals in the country, adding that 6,000 new canals would be brick-lined next year. 24. The Private Power Infrastructure Board (PPIB) has approved expansion of Tarbela dam power project that would generate 960 MW costing $500 million. 25. President Musharraf Thursday inaugurated the Mirani Dam. Mirani Dam in Kech area of Mekran district with a catchment area of 12,000 square kilometre has been built in four years at a cost of Rs6 billion that includes Rs1. 5 billion in compensation to the affected people. It will have a storage capacity of over 300,000 million acre feet of water. 26. Gomal Zam Dam: This project started Aug 2002 and is expected to be completed early 2008. It is located in the Damaan in NWFP. It is 437 feet high and will irrigate about 163,000 acres of land. The total costs amounts to Rs. 12 billion. Having a gross storage of 1. 14 MAF. It will produce 17. 4 MW of electricity. 27. Mushrraf says the government is constructing the Rs40 billion Katchi Canal and Punjab had been gracious to provide land for its 350 kilometre stretch that will pass through the province. 28. The Economic Coordination Committee decided to set up a $2-billion mega Oil refinery at Khalifa Point in district Hub, Balochistan. The refinery, commissioned by 2010, would have a maximum refining capacity of 13 million tons of petroleum products – higher than the country’s total existing capacity of 12. million tons. 29. Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation (PSMC) during the quarter July-Sept 2007 recorded the highest ever-sales figure of Rs 9. 3012 billion. 30. The Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) sector of Pakistan has attracted over Rs 70 billion investments during the last five years as a result of liberal and encouraging policies of the government. Presently, some 1,765 CNG stations are operating in the country, in 85 cities and towns, and 1000 more would be setup in the next three years. It has provided employment to 30,000 people in the country. 31. The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has registered 1,135 companies during the first quarter (July-September 2007). With the new registrations the total number of registered companies with SECP as on September 30 has reached 50,125. 32. Telecom sector has attracted an investment of $ 9 billion in last three years. It created of 80,000 jobs directly and 500,000 jobs indirectly. 33. Corrupt & Incompetent Nawaz Sharif made one motorway M2 (Lahore – Islamabad). Under Musharraf 6 Motorways completed or under construction: M1 (Islamabad to Peshawar) – (Rs. 3 bn) – [155 km] – (started 2003 – Completed Oct 2007) M3 (Pindi to Faisalabad) – (Rs. 5. 6 bn) – [53 km] – (started 2002 – Completed 2004) M8 (Gwadar to Ratodero) – [1072 km] – (started 2004 – will complete 2009) M9 (Karachi to Hyderabad) – (Rs. 6. 3 bn) – [136 km] – ( M10 (Karachi Northern bypass) – (Rs 3 . 5 bn) – [56 km] – (completed 2007) M11 (Lahore to Sialkot) – (Rs. 23 bn) -[101 km] – (started 2006 – under construction) 34. Under Musharraf various Highways under construction throughout the country. Including N5, N-25, N-35, N-45, N-50, N-55, N-65, N-70, N-75, N-80, S-1, etc. 35. General Pervez Musharraf inaugurated the Makran Coastal Highway (N-10) project in August 2001, consisting of Karachi-Gwadar, Pasni-Gwadar, and Ormara-Liari (Balochistan) Highways. The Liari-Ormara Highway costed Rs3. 9 billion and Pasni-Gwadar Highway Rs2. 8 billion respectively. The total length of Makran Coastal Highway is 533 kilometers. † 36. 2-12-07: Sialkot International Airport Limited (SIAL) completed. The 1,002-acre airport is 13 km west of Sialkot and is linked by a road to Gujranwala, Wazirabad, Gujrat, Narowal, the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) and the Sialkot Dry Port Trust. 7. Ghandara International Airport (Islamabad) the first-ever green-field airport being built at a cost of $400 million; with a renowned international consultant, Louis Berger Group of USA. President Musharraf laid the foundation stone of the project on April 7, 2007 and will be completed by Dec 2010. Its total area is 3700 acres (15 km? ). 38. Major Industrial estates are being developed under M usharraf’s vision: M3 Industrial estate, Sundar Industrial estate, Chakri Industrial, Port Qasim Industrial estate, etc. 39. Oct 2007: In the current fiscal year the Mining and Quarrying sector has registered a growth rate of 5. 6 percent. Increased growth was propelled by strong growths recorded in magnetite (30 percent), dolomite (26. 1 percent), Limestone (25. 2 percent) and chromites. 40. The government has already started various initiatives, to discover and develop world-class copper-gold deposits in Chagai Baluchistan; by Australian Firms that would fetch $500 million to $600 million per year. 41. Major reserves of COPPER & GOLD in Baluchistan’s Rekodiq area have been discovered in early 2006. It has ranked Rekodiq among the world’s top seven copper reserves. The Rekodiq mining area has proven estimated reserves of 2 billion tons of copper and 20 million ounces of gold. According to the current market price, the value of the deposits has been estimated at about $65 billion, which would generate thousands of jobs. 42. Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Wednesday approved 45 developmental projects in its meeting, including six revised projects with a total cost of Rs 154. 1 billion with a foreign exchange component (FEC) of Rs 36. billion. 43. Rs 9. 8 billion have been allocated for 91 different mega projects at Public Sector Universities across the province, said Sindh Governor Dr Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan. 44. Oct 2007: A fully functional TMS (Tax Management System), including profiling, withholding, return/payment filing, rectification, refunds, audit, and legal tracking is scheduled to be operational by 2007 in Pakistan, to process the tax year 2007 returns, according to World Bank. 45. The government is providing Sui Gas facility to areas of South Punjab at a cost of Rs 1. 311 billion. A total of 1,138 kilometre gas pipeline is being laid. The districts benefiting from these schemes mainly include Multan, Khanewal, Bahawalnagar, Rajanpur, DG Khan, Vehari and Muzaffargarh. 46. The KHI city government’s rehabilitation of Industrial zones and improvement plan for all those four industrial zones, of the city needs to be completed in 7-8 months. Projects worth Rs 2. 5 billion and beautification Rs 4. 5 billion. 47. 27-11-07: Pakistan Navy Ship Zarrar, the first of Multi-Role Tactical Platform (MRTP-33), was commissioned into Pakistan Navy at a ceremony at PN Dockyard. 48. 9-12-07: City Nazim Mustafa Kamal said the construction work of 47-storey IT Tower in the vicinity of Civic Center at a cost of $200m would start soon. Around 40,000 youth would get employment in the IT Tower. It will have 10,000 call centers of which 6,000 have been booked so far. 49. The President approved the project of laying of 940-kilometre-long â€Å"standard gauge† Railway track b etween Gwadar and Quetta that would cost Rs 75 billion. A German firm won the contract. 50. To increase the income of Farmers, the Government is investing Rs7. 80 billion under which a Food Security Program will be launched. Initially it will be launched in 1,000 villages. He said Rs 3. 60 billion would be invested in live-stocks and dairy sectors. About 1,200 model dairy farms and 2,950 cattle breeding farms will be established under this investment. 51. Pakistan will launch a Self-controlled Remote Sensing Satellite System (RSSS) at a cost of Rs19. 3 billion to ensure strategic and unconditional supply of satellite remote sensing data for any part of the globe over the year. SUPARCO will implement it over a period of six years. President Musharraf has approved the project in principle. 52. Governor inaugurated the DUHS Medical Research City with Dow Diagnostic Reference and Research Laboratories and Jinnah Genome Centre as its important components. He also laid the foundation stone for a library and sports complex which houses different constituent institutions of the university. 53. President Musharraf also inaugurated a 50-bed state-of-the-art Workers Welfare Fund Kidney Center. The first-ever kidney center in Baluchistan, constructed on 7. 5 acres at a cost of Rs385 million and having the diagnostic, dialysis, surgical and lab facilities will help the people of this area. 4. Karachi: The building of the 50-bed Kidney Centre in Landhi has been completed. Minister Muhammad Adil Siddiqui . He said that the building of this centre had been built at a cost of Rs70 million. 55. CM Pervaiz Elahi inaugurated Pakistan’s first Software technology park (STP) on Ferozpur Road to be implemented by Punjab IT Board (PITB). The Rs 1. 5 billion project is set over area of 32 kanals; will be completed in 12 months and is expected to create direct 10,000 jobs and generate economic activity of Rs 9 billion per year. 56. In what is considered a major leap for Pakistan, a Polytechnic Institute is being established to produce skilled workforce that will rescue the manufacturing industry from the clutches of foreign dependence. Being built in Korangi at a cost of Rs450 million, this government-funded institute will start operating in January 2007 and prepare 500 workers by the end of first year, besides producing 22 different types of dies and moulds for aviation, telecom, pharmaceutical and other industries. Experts from Germany, Japan and Thailand assisted in developing curriculum. 57. Police Act 1861 replaced by Police Order 2002 after 141 years. Police force divided into three separate wings: Watch and ward, Investigation and Prosecution. 58. Federal Minister for Commerce in order to modernize tobacco farming in the country; is setting up a state-of-the-art Tobacco Research Center in Bunner. Annually 8 million kilograms of Virginia tobacco (fine quality), worth Rs 9. 2 billion is cultivated in Bunner. Under construction. 59. The government has formed â€Å"Pakistan Gems and Jewellery Development Company (PGJDC)† with a cost of Rs 1. 4 billion, to increase the export of gem and Jewellery from $25 million to $1. 5 billion by 2017. 60. In 1999, Pakistanis could only afford to buy a total of 32,461 locally assembled Cars. The latest annual figure stands at 115,000. Currently, there are 1. 3 million cars on Pakistani roads as opposed to 815,000 cars some five years ago; a 60 percent jump in car ownership. 61. In 1999, a total of 94,881 new Motorcycles were sold in Pakistan. In 2005, Pakistanis bought or leased some 500,000 new motorcycles. 62. ISB: To convert the Karachi Fisheries Harbour Authority (KFHA) in a style of Sydney Fish Market, the government proposes an action plan worth $10 million so as to make the KFHA a profitable authority. Estimated, Pakistan has a fish and seafood industry worth $1. 2 billion. Exports alone are worth nearly $200 million per annum. More than 0. 8 million people rely directly or indirectly on the industry for their livelihood. 63. FACT: Pakistan globally ranks 10th among the countries which were among the most active in perusing pro-business policies. A report â€Å"Doing Business in 2006? co-sponsored by World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC). (c) ECONOMIC PAKISTAN and PRESIDENT MUSHARRAF http://economicpakistan. wordpress. com/2008/01/09/pakistan-flourishes/ http://presidentmusharraf. wordpress. com/