Saturday, August 31, 2019

Wyatt Earp

MBA 660 Production and Quality Management IKEA Case Sonal Gadre 05/04/10 1. What are IKEA’s competitive priorities? IKEA’s competitive priorities are price and design. They want to develop products that are cheap in price, and yet good in quality. They apply logic from the way they develop their products, to the way it is presented to the customers. 2. Describe IKEA’s process for developing a new product. IKEA’s process for developing a new product is to produce cost effective products that are good in quality and the information about the way the Trofe mug was developed conveys that. A team consisting of designers, product developers and purchasers get together to discuss ways to manufacture the product at the lowest cost possible. 3. What are additional features of the IKEA concept (beyond their design process) that contribute to creating exceptional value for the customer? Additional features of the IKEA concept that contributes to adding value to the customer includes its relationship with suppliers, distribution and logistics, and customer service in their stores. IKEA keeps costs low and offers good quality products. IKEA tries to reduce their prices every year. Going green is the mantra adopted by the company along with ethics which believe in no child labor. The logistics and the way their products are packed to the way they are stored is remarkable. Providing an on-site day care and a cafe makes the shopping experience good for children and their parents, to the way they display their products. The products are packed in such a way that customers can load them in the cars or u-hauls and transport them to their homes or offices. A customer is satisfied after viewing the product they have assembled. 4. What would be important criteria for selecting a site for an IKEA store? The important criteria for selecting a site for an IKEA store would be easy access to the store not just for the customers, but also for suppliers and transporters. The close proximity to ports, roads and rail transport could also be important criteria.

Friday, August 30, 2019

How Students Can Improve Their Self-Discipline and Time Management Skills

IntroductionTime management, although its term may be a misnomer, is about managing your time with a focus on achievement: of doing and completing those things which you want to do and which need doing. (Adair, J., Thomas, N. 2004, p.4). A good time management strategy can be accompanied by a range of techniques in managing time when accomplishing a certain task or goals within a due date. There are many types of students around the world ranging from preschooler to full time studies to working adults, including myself, studying part time courses. Students tend to procrastinate and get distracted from focusing their work. Therefore, it is important for students to manage their time well and train their self-discipline since young to stay focus in their studies. In this essay, we will be focusing and applying suggestions outlined by Adair, John (1987) and Masterton, Alisa (1997) to discuss more on how students can improve their self-discipline and time management skills. John Adair â €“ Time ManagementOther than being organized or efficient, John Adair believes that time management should be goal-driven and results-oriented. There are ten principles of time management as outlined by John Adair as follows; Develop a sense of personal timeIt is important for us as a student to understand and analyses how to spend and improve the time available to us as the first step to change. Students can keep a record of their time spent such as daily time log and then review it after a few days. By doing this, it will help the students to understand how they have responded to various tasks at different times of the day and may adjust or improve accordingly to their needs. In fact, students will get a much better feeling such as the feeling of satisfaction for the way they spend their time.As mentioned in Adair, J., Thomas, N. (2004, p.9), students are to ensure the followings in order for them to improve the use of time:Your time is spent according to a clear idea of your priorities and main responsibilities.You isolate the unimportant and ruthlessly prune out unnecessary or unproductive activities.You combine any ‘free’ time (i.e. free from meetings or other people’s demands) to create meaningful and usable time of your own.Tasks are simplified where others would not be  adversely affected.You are not doing tasks which could be performed by others.An example of time log:Source: Adair, J., Thomas, N. (2004, p.8) Identifying long-term goalsIt may be worth for students to ponder and identifying their long-term goals as it provides them with a sense of purpose and direction to achieve. Any potential conflicts can also be recognized during this process. For instance: †¢What do we want to be in 3 or 5 years’ time?What strengths and weaknesses do we have?How can we improve?Walt Goodridge provides 5-steps approach which can be put into use for students to set up their goals:Step 1: Find your ‘Why’It is crucial to understand the reason when doing certain things.Step 2: Write your goals downThis motivates students to work for their goals.Step 3: Quantify your goalsStudents should avoid doubts or creating fuzzy goals. They should bespecific when setting out goals.Step 4: Break them downIt will be much easier and manageable for students, especially those who love to procrastinate, to accomplish their goals by breaking down them into smaller parts.Step 5: Develop a strategyStudents should prioritize their task by working out a plan to accomplish their desire goals.Make middle-term plansMiddle-term plans can be seen as operational plan which may help students to achieve their long term-goals by setting out: who? What? When? Where? How? And Why? Adair, J. has set out an acronym to set targets which are known as S.M.A.R.T.Specific – the target must be clear and unambiguousMeasurable – a concrete criteria is needed for measuring the progress in achieving the target Attainable  œ it emphasizes the importance of targets that are realistic and attainable Relevant – the target must be in alignment with other targets whether it is worthwhile or right time etc. Time bound – the target to be set within a time frame, for instance, a target date, to help students to focus their efforts in completing their task before the due date. Planning the dayAdair, J (2004) also emphasizes that the golden rule is to shape the plan an outline for each day by listing the various components. This can help students to categorize and prioritize in relation to the urgency and importance task accordingly. Students need to understand and distinguish ‘important’ and ‘urgent’ term accordingly. Important activities have a result which leads to the achievement of students goals while urgent activities require immediate attention which often associated with the achievement of someone else’s goals. Student may use below Time Management Matrix which is a useful tool to set their priorities.Time Management MatrixSource: Adair, J., Thomas, N. (2004, p.14) Students may face difficulties in juggling with so many responsibilities. Therefore, students should also include in their systems for identifying what must be done today, should be done today and what might be done today (Adair, J., Thomas, N. 2004, p.15) Make best use of your timeThere are certain times where students are more productive than other times. Therefore, it is a must to know which of the quality times students are mentally alert and consistent in performing their task. Breaks in between will also help students to work in concentrated burst. However, students should not take this opportunity to procrastinate in between. Organize office workStudents will need a convenient place to study that is free from distractions in order to be able to focus better. It is also prudent for students to avoid on spending so much time reading which can be easily forgotten.There fore, it is encouraged for students to follow the following steps:Step 1: Shape your environmentAs mentioned earlier, it is important to have a convenient environment to study. There are many things which can distract students from doing their work diligently. Therefore, students have to find ways to overcome these challenges and manage their self-discipline.Step 2: Establishing a daily routineIt would be much easier once the students have created a routine to manage their plans. This may thus help to avoid procrastination and improve self-discipline. Manage meetings effectivelyIt is encouraged for students to prepare well in advance before attending to any workshops or classes to enable them to have a clearer idea on the concepts that are relevant to that particular workshop and thus being able to contribute to the discussion. Delegate effectivelyIn students’ context, it may be a principle which is indirectly in relation to getting others to take some of their workload to en able them to have more time to study. For instance, a working student may request the boss to delegate some of the work responsibilities to someone else so that he/she can leave work at reasonable time to study at home. This may increase the opportunity for students to have more free time to study. Make use of committed timeStudents can make use of their available time more effectively to increase their achievement level. This can be done by doing productive activities to schedule alongside which have to be committed to other activities in their daily routines or during waiting time and travel time. For instance, student may use the opportunity of the long lunch break by reading through some of the lectures or articles. Manage your healthIt is vital for students to look after their energy and stamina levels as time management is about ensuring that they maximize their available time wisely. This is to ensure that students do not suffer any time deprivation through illness of mind or body. In other words, it is important for students to have a well-balanced life.Bad management in both time and stress can push either of them out of control. Students are therefore encouraged to keep themselves healthy and stress-free during their break times by doing certain activities which will helps to clear their mind.Alisa Masterton – Time ManagementOther than Adair’s (1987) list of ten principles for better time management, Alisa Masterton (1997) also outlines a similar list which may assist students as follows: PlanningPlanning helps student to have an overview of the needs to be done with given due date in order for them to accomplish or achieve certain task.PriortisingStudents tend to start prioritizing on tasks that appear urgent however are actually which are not the most important ones. Therefore, it is prudent for them to do things that are of equally important. No time wastingStudents should avoid doing things that are not important to prevent themselv es from wasting any unnecessary time.Learning to say no  Students must avoid from doing task or taking on tasks which does not fit them in. For instance, when they became too pre-occupied and stressed with their own workload, they may not be able to do things effectively.Controlling paperworkIt is important to be organized to avoid missing datelines, losing important things which may lead to waste of time in searching for missing items.The diary as a toolHaving a diary may help students to keep track of what needs to be done with the given due date in relation to the plan and priorities which has been set out.ConclusionFrom time to time, students may face problems in doing their task efficiently and effectively. The main challenges are procrastination and distraction or even having trapped of perfectionism which may hinder the chances to success and thus results in failure. Students who practice good time management skills is often that they are more productive, having more energy to achieve  their task or goals, feeling less stress, having the ability in getting more things done. Both Adair’s (1987) and Masterton’s (1997) time management techniques are helpful for students to manage their time well. Students can balance their time management strategy that works best to be more effectively, productive and thus improve their self-discipline.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

SLP 3 - Time Warp Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

SLP 3 - Time Warp - Essay Example The pricing allocation thus tabulated as follows. The table above is a clear indication of Sally’s pricing and R&D product growth decision for the years 2012 to 2015; it shows the progress in its products X5, X6 and X7. Starting with product X5: setting the product price at $272, R&D total budget will be $22, 000,000, we can thus allocate 30% to the R&D, set the fixed cost at $4,400,000, target profit at $5,000,000, and variable cost per unit at $134. This will give a R&D costs at $6,600,000. From our profit expectation of $5,000,000 with the indicated price, we need to sell 115,942 units, which will give us sales revenue of $31,536,231.88, and ROS stands at 15.85%. Profit allocation $1,000,000 For the second year, which is 2013, our target profit will be $7,000,000. The fixed costs will be $5,000,000, while the variable cost per unit stands at $140. If prices are maintained at $272, then we have to sell 140,909 units to achieve that profit. For this year, the sales revenue wi ll be $38,327,327.73. While the ROS will stand at 18.26%, which is an indication of a positive change and growth from the first year by growth rate of 2.41 %, this shows a progress in the company’s development. ... This implies that the sales team needs to triple their efforts because this will mean an increase of almost 150% in sales: a rise from 140,909 units to 542,902 units. However, this is because the plans are combined for the two final years as the economy is expected to be stable during this period thus the need to stabilize the sales (Duffie & Singleton, 2003). An analysis of the second product that is X6 indicates that, plans are expected to be carried out in the same way as X5 because all these products are the one driving the growth of the company. However, Product X6 is of higher demand, and it is scarce in production. Therefore, its price will be more than the one of product X5. For this case, year one (2012), the selling price is set to be $410. Since the expected profit for this year was $5,000,000, the fixed cost was $4,400,000, and the cost unit/price will be $160. Using this information, from the CVP calculator, it implies that we need to sale 64,000 units of this product to achieve that expected profit. The sales revenue from this will stand at $26,240,000.00, while the ROS is 19.05%. With these results, the company does not need to discontinue any product because there are positive returns up to this point. For the year 2013, the firm expects a profit from this product to be $12,000,000, and its fixed cost stands at $35,000,000. Calculations from the CVP calculator indicate that the firm has to sell about 224,960 units of the product, and the sales revenue will be $92,233,600.00. While ROS for this year amounts to 13.01%, this shows a decline on the ROS from the previous 19.05% to 13.01%. Profits expectations for each product through the four years 2012 2013 2014 2015 X5 $5,000,000 $7,000,000 $10,000,000 $12,000,000 X6 $5,000,000 $10,000,000

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Hispanic Diversity Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Hispanic Diversity - Research Paper Example Cuban Americans represent one of the most prominent Hispanic ethnic groups residing within the United States. In terms of social aspects, the Cuban American family structure is notable as for Hispanic Americans they have the lowest percentage of families with five people or more; conversely, they have the highest percentage among Hispanic Americans with two-person families (Ramirez 2006). As Cuba was under Spanish rule for a considerable period of time, Cuban culture is today recognized as being heavily influenced by this Spanish period. Still, perhaps the most politically notable element of Cuban Americans is the affiliation with the Castro-regime. A long-time political enemy of the United States, most Cuban Americans resent Fidel Castro for the political rule he instituted on Cuba. Cubans Americans as such have immigrated to the United States in a number of waves beginning most prominently in the 1960s. In the 1970s, Castro himself released a great number of Cubans to the United St ates in what would be deemed the Muriel Boatlift. Unique among Hispanic groups residing in America, Cuban Americans are generally conservative. This is attributed both as a rejection of Cuban authoritarian regimes and out of a general distaste for the Democratic Party dating back to the Kennedy administration. Cuban Americans are recognized as economically disenfranchised within the United States. Their average salary is indicated to be below $32,000 a year (Ramirez 2006). In terms of religion Cuban Americans generally, practice Catholicism. Linguistically Cuban Americans speak a combination of English and Spanish. While the majority of Cuban Americans speak English, their level of English proficiency is understood to vary in accordance with their level of acculturation. Another major recognized Hispanic group residing in the United States are Columbian Americans. Columbian immigration to the United States began as early as World War I, as many professionals moved to New York City. This number increased well into the 1980s (Bryan 2007). While initially, Columbian Americans resided in metropolitan areas, their social movements have changed in the last twenty years, with increased movements to suburban areas. Also similar to social and economic trends among other Hispanic groups, Columbian Americans were recognized for taking work in jobs and industries that had been abandoned by other ethnic groups. With the increasing technological advances of the late 20th century, Columbian Americans increasingly found themselves at economic disadvantages with respect to more established and educated ethnic groups in the United States (Bryan 2007). Politically Columbians are generally liberal. Religiously Columbians generally practice Catholicism. Linguistically Columbian Americans are similar to most other Hispanic ethnic groups in that they speak Spanish and English. Also similar to other Hispanic groups their level of English proficiency is greatly contingent on their lev el of acculturation. Indeed, a great amount of Columbians residing in America lack citizenship status. In terms of family dynamics, Columbians are recognized as attempting to preserve the dynamics that they constructed in Columbia, with the male as the primary wage earner and the female as the head of the household. Children are expected to follow strict family authority as taught by their parents.  Ã‚  

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Analysis of Visual Text (Film) Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Analysis of Visual Text (Film) - Thesis Example In addition, these early childhood attachments significantly influence the relational development of their internal representations of the self and other relationships between the parents and children as well (Craissati, McClurg, & Browne, 2002, pp.910). With this close understanding, parents become in a position to fulfill their parental obligations in a more appropriate way throughout the different stages of childhood and adolescence and till the point where children reaching to age where they become self sufficient to take their personal decisions more appropriately and responsibly. However, before reaching to the more mature stage, which is normally considered as the mark depicting 18 years, the road to that mark brings a considerable number of challenges not only for parents towards the nourishment of their children but also to the children and adolescence. As a result, parents are required not only to fulfill their developmental needs but also they are required to understand th eir emotional tendency and protecting them in case if they are emotionally misused by others (thesis statement). This movie is based on a story of a teen girl who becomes victim to an online sexual predator. This movie was released on April 1, 2011 and is directed by David Schwimmer. It has four basic characters- Annie (Liana Liberato), Charlie (Chris Henry Coffey), Will (Clive Owen) and Lynn (Catherine Keener). Annie is a 14-year-old girl and Will and Lynn have played the role of father and mother respectively in the film and, Charlie who plays a role of online sexual predator. Annie is a school going shy girl. Having less friendship in the school, she meets Charlie through a social networking website. Initially, Charlie convinces Annie that he is 16. Later he admits that being in his mid- 20s. Charlie uses different emotional tricks and tries to win

Monday, August 26, 2019

Complexity Theory Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Complexity Theory - Article Example The chaos approach involves consideration of an overall state of being within the organization, with the state of chaos facilitating the need for change in the business environment or becoming the desired state of an organization to bring about much needed change. Both approaches are considered within the healthcare setting, as well as in the global business expansion realm. Examples of the types of change required for each situation apply the different approaches of chaos and the continuum. Defining Complexity Theory Complexity theory is based on the principle that various processes within a business production unit are comprised of tasks, with varying levels or degrees of difficulty. Complex systems are fractal in nature, comprised of complex patterns with similarities, though they may possess varying degrees of complexity (Lindberg et al, 1998). Though Lindberg applies the theory to the healthcare industry, it can easily be adapted to nearly industry or organization with outputs o r processes of production. A comparison of patient management and organizational management is used to explain the theory’s application to healthcare. The complication of treating interacting health care issues is compared to the challenge of administering healthcare in a cost effective manner. Views on Complexity Theory Early supporters of complexity theory explain the phenomenon as a mechanical process that follows a specific cause and effect pattern, such as in disease processes. However, opposing perspectives suggest that the processes are made up of a combination of complex activities and the combination of various facets is what makes a system complex. In such a view, healthcare is a complex system in itself, made up of challenges in addressing patient health issues, challenges in the administration of healthcare and challenges in preparing healthcare providers to care for an increasingly diverse population. It is the degree of challenge or difficulty in addressing each of these areas of the industry that drives innovation, or new ways of delivery within the system. The Continuum Approach Complexity is explained as existing on a continuum between chaos and stability. All complex systems go through change, which, at times, pushes those systems toward the brink of chaos and away from stability. This explanation is applicable to many industries and types of businesses struggling to find their way in a global environment. To do so often requires change, or adapting new ways of looking at the business environment. Often change disrupts the methods and current strategies used by an organization. However, when an organization faces change or develops a change strategy, a means of greater contribution from each member of the organization is created. In the more stable environment, there is less contribution, as everyone exists in more of a state of complacency. Complexity and Change If complexity theory relates to change, then it makes sense to assume tha t the more change is needed within the organization, the more complex the system becomes. Greater contributions from a variety of sources make the change process inherently more complex. In the health care setting, just as in any other business environment, some problems or issues do not require complexity. A patient having a mole removed expects little, in terms of the unknown. The procedure and results

Sunday, August 25, 2019

What does gender or race have to do with it Freedom Writers and the Essay

What does gender or race have to do with it Freedom Writers and the American Education System - Essay Example More often not, these films feature an inspiring teacher, which may or may not be relevant to reality depending on which school you attended. Films that illustrate education also often combat issues of race and gender, which come into play in many schoolyards across the world, with problems of language and communication at the forefront of this fight. The film Freedom Writers, released in 2007, illustrates the American school system by being based on a true story, whilst employing a number of stereotypes and Hollywood norms to make the film appeal to the intended audience. Freedom Writers is a tale of a young teacher who comes to work at a school which has just recently brought in a integration plan on the back of the Los Angeles Riots in 1992. This teacher, Erin Gruwell, struggles initially to cope with the racial segregation at the school, as well as the violence between the groups. One day, Gruwell finds a racist drawing by one of the students and uses this to illustrate the probl ems of the Holocaust, which opens the eyes of the students and allows them to see that racism and other discrimination can lead to destructive acts. Gruwell continues on in this path, by inviting Holocaust survivors to the class, as well as encouraging her class to raise the funds to bring the woman that sheltered Anne Frank in the war to their school. Gruwell encourages the class to write their own diaries, like Anne Frank, and complies them into book form, eventually having the success that she desired by preparing a number of her students for attending college. Although some of the information here may be fictional or using Hollywood hyperbole, some interesting points about the American education system were raised. The purpose of this essay is to explore the stereotyping and struggles of the racial groups portrayed in Freedom Writers, and how the film highlights racial discrimination issues and how these affect schools across the United States. The American education system is p ortrayed as place that should inspire students in their learning, encouraging them to make the right decisions and go to college, despite the initial fears and anxieties of the classroom. The inspiration may not be accurate for many, but the difficulties are, which are what makes Freedom Writers such a useful learning tool for exploring both discrimination and American educational philosophies. Intended Audience It is difficult to identify a specific intended audience for this film, although it is useful for any analysis to do so. Using mainstream actors such as Hilary Swank and Patrick Dempsey, as well as the large Hollywood budget, show that the film was intended for mainstream audiences who may have been unfamiliar with Erin Gruwell and her work as a teacher. The idea came from a documentary about Gruwell (The Freedom Writers & Gruwell, 2006), which did not hit mainstream audiences and therefore the film aimed to illustrate her story but with a number of Hollywood-style attribute s to further bolster the decision to release the story to mainstream audiences as a release. Freedom Writers promotional poster (LaGravenese, 2007) As with any education-based transformation Bildungsroman film, part of the intended audience includes young adults from the demographic of the film. This is particularly evident in Freedom Writers, as there are a number of slang terms used throughout the film that are used for comedic effect in one particularly memorable scene. Swank apologises for her â€Å"badness† (LaGravenese, 2007), which the students find hilarious because it has a completely different meaning in their language. Obviously, this scene (and other

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Automobile Industry and Information Technology Essay

Automobile Industry and Information Technology - Essay Example Technology has been a part of automobiles, in one form or another, for quite some time now. In the 1960s and 1970s the typical 'backyard mechanic' could invariably be found tinkering on his pride and joy - his car. Whether it has brand new, or a collector's item, the fact was that just about anyone with any mechanical aptitude at all and a set of wrenches could do any number of standard repair jobs on a vehicle back then. But, times have certainly changed - and it happened before we even knew it. Where once, you could open a car hood and identify just about everything under there, today, you might just as well be looking at components of the space shuttle. It started small enough - a computer brain to control some of the car's basic functions. However, to even attempt to perform any repairs on a modern vehicle, practically requires a degree from MIT. Of course, technology has surpassed merely the practical applications to improve performance. The sagging automobile industry has also been turning to the field of information technology to find ways to improve sales. ... With so much competition, foreign and domestic, the consumer has more choices today than ever before - and they know it. A customer will not simply purchase the first thing they see, but will compare and contrast makes and models - as well as features and accessories. Not only do consumers want options on their vehicle, they are also demanding options in ways to make the purchase. Enter information technology. 1.1.2 Entering the auto industry's second century, there are clearly powerful signs of change that could foretell the next dominant production standard. At the core of many of these changes is the Internet, which is already transforming how information is used and how coordination is managed in this most complex of industries. According to Holweg and Pil, in a book published by MIT Press in 2004, E-business offers tremendous potential for reducing waste and inefficiency, redistributing activities along the value chain, and providing new means for collaboration. These benefits will become evident in product development, procurement, manufacturing, and distribution separately, but the greatest impact will result from end-to-end integration of the value chain, from the final customer back to initial product planning. Consumer desires for customization will challenge the industry's long-established push approach to distribution and sales. As expectations are raised by information technol ogy experiences in other parts of their lives, e-powered consumers will be drawn towards build-to-order models where they play a co-design role and production is pulled by real-time information about their preferences (MIT Press 2004). 1.1.3 For both the manufacturer and the dealer, this opportunity is substantial. By better

Walgreens Company Analysis and Recommendations Assignment

Walgreens Company Analysis and Recommendations - Assignment Example The main focus of the retail giant drug chain store over the years has been expanding the retail footprint. Over the years they have concentrated more on opening stores than focusing on the needs of the customers as well as the employees. They have in the past used command and control approach in executing their business strategy. Therefore, they have set out clear roles and instructions for the employees which are closely monitored and evaluated. This needs to change as employees work better when they feel valued and that they can contribute to decision making. Leadership at Walgreens entails command from the top on duties and orders that should be followed by the employee. They are made to feel like cogs in a machine. This trend should change as employees should be made to engage more in decision making and giving suggestions. The top to down approach on leadership should be minimised. Better communication and relationship between the top management and entry level employees should be encouraged as team work will ultimately make for a happy work environment and therefore better service delivery. It is also important to keep training employees on better management and work ethic practices. It is of paramount importance to engage employees in better personnel management techniques rather than using the command approach (Kotler & Armstrong, 2014). Once the employees feel valued, they will be happy and satisfied with their work. This will eventually trickle down to becoming more productive at the work place, rather than feeling pressured to deliver all the time. Other than employees, customers’ needs should always be a priority. It is good for the business to connect with the customers on an emotional level (Shalowitz, Stevens & Kotler, 2013).Walgreens can differentiate itself from the competition by better service delivery. It is necessary to engage with the customers one a one on one level. As such, Walgreens

Friday, August 23, 2019

Analysis of Alcan case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Analysis of Alcan - Case Study Example There was a wide spread of perception that it was hard to implement changes and that communication was poor. The management wanted to impose change in the organization. They thought about three options for change but only implemented two of them. Team working was introduced and later on, there were structural changes. The senior managers and the workers said that team working produced results in terms of staff satisfaction; effectiveness of the work organization and productivity but the middle level and technical staff disagreed with this. They felt that there was a lot of dissatisfaction in team working change can be an expensive and difficult process and fewer problems will be experience in less drastic change program, but even then it is not something to be contemplated without care. Lynemouth production began its production in 1972. Work organization was fairly conventional with each group of workers being responsible to a supervisor who dealt with all day-to-day production matters such as the allocation of tasks, granting of holiday and shifts. Majority of workers were production operatives and craft workers who belonged to trade union. The Management wanted to impose change by insisting on the application of parts of existing agreement rather than involving the unions. The employees reported lack of consultation by management and this contributed to a growing sense of worker dissatisfaction. This in turn adversely affected the quality of production. According to Fredrick Taylor, he thought by scientifically analysing work, the "One Best Way" to do it would be found. He is most remembered for his time and motion study. He would break a job into its component parts and measure each to the second. Taylor believed that contemporary management was amateurish and should be studied as a discipline, that workers should cooperate with management and hence would not need Trade Unions. He believed that the best results would come from the partnership between a trained and qualified management and a cooperative and innovative workforce. Each side needed the other. This approach would have been an awkward one because, the unio n is the workers representative and they should be consulted to contribute ideas toward the change. According to Buchanan and Bobby (1992), he recommends two negotiation clusters. Selling plans and ideas to others; creating a desirable vision of the future and negotiating with key players for resources or changes in procedures, or to resolve conflict. Due to the facts that the employees are the key players, then they should have been consulted through the trade union. According to Elton Mayo, he said that workers are motivated by such things is that individuals have a deep psychological need to believe that their organization cares about them, is open, concerned, and willing to listen. In organisations, which have cultures in which individuals make their own decisions a change agent who attempts to manage process by telling people what to do is likely to encounter resistance. In this type of environment, the change agent perhaps needs to have a more laid back style, paying attention to altering, important symbols such as reward systems, or persuading his

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Challenges in HRM Essay Example for Free

Challenges in HRM Essay The main purpose of this article is to define the five major challenges in HRM. With the constant employee demands and constant negative consequences for employees, there has always been a need to satisfy them and provide them with benefits. HRM or human resource management is what looks into these types of issues and it focus on managing them efficiently and appropriately. The goal of this process addresses the most beneficial way to support employees while achieving results. Due to that reason, specific things need to be thought about thoroughly and plans must be made to asses those things. With this always comes challenges and in an article posted on Forbes, five of these challenges are put into perspective and they are explained with an enough detail to understand the reasons for focusing on theses specific issues. The key question that the author (s) is addressing is What it takes to be a good Leader and what are the top challenges for HRM to develop those leaders. Leadership skills are very important in today’s society and in every business. Being a leader is in itself a challenge. The most important information in this article is: Developing and retaining the best leaders is going to be one of the most important roles for Human Resources. The HR department has a clear role in this process and what it takes to determine the success of the organization. The main point(s) of view presented in this article are the challenges in HRM. The first two challenges are the investment in leadership development and to create a culture of collaboration. The reason for investing in leadership development is because it helps the best employees attain those necessary attributes to become a good leader. Some of these training includes something like a worthy education program through universities. Although this type of training might end up being expensive, the results of this investment are more beneficial than anything else. Helping the employees achieve their potential has a leader creates more leaders with improved skills and capabilities. Next challenge that is addressed is the need for a culture within the workplace that is based on collaboration. Individual improvement is not sufficient enough to have a successful group of employees. Building a need for collaboration will help  those leaders work with other employees in a more efficient man ner. Collaboration can help a group of workers to do things as a unit and preferably reap better results. These are just two of the challenges in human resource managing that should be focused on in a business that will eventually lead to a better functioning staff. Managing these matters in the best way for the company is necessary and a significant part of HRM. The next two challenges presented in HRM are developing communicating skills and accountability. Having leaders and employees with good communication skills is a must and training should be given to those who lack in the skill. Without proper communication a team bond is harder to form and trust will also be hard to achieve. Leaders that have good communicating skills are able to build this type of unity in a group of workers which may help improve productivity from everyone. It is also a good thing to make sure that the standard for this type of skill is high. Employees, especially leaders, should always be looking for constant ways to improve how they communicate with other co-workers. The key concept we need to understand in this article is that: Leadership constantly presents challenges both to the leaders abilities and to a person. Things change, change brings challenge, and no matter how good a leader, they cant stop that from happening. How leaders handles those challenges will define them as a leader and have a great deal to do with how effective they can be. Some challenges come in the form of people or problems that present obstacles to reaching a goal. Far more come from within the leader itself, or from the situation of simply being a leader. Every leader must face many of those challenges and learn to deal with them in some way. The main conclusion in the article is: Leaders and HRM personnel need to raise awareness of the challenges that they are facing and the responsibilities that they have to develop the future leaders. References 5 Great Challenges Ahead For HR And Leaders Forbes. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanbiro/2012/11/11/5-greatest-challenges-ahead

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Slow And Filters And Rapid Sand Environmental Sciences Essay

Slow And Filters And Rapid Sand Environmental Sciences Essay Water Purification is a process in which the unhealthy water that is contaminated, unclean, adulterated, and poisoned is converted into safe drinking water through various stage processes rendering it safe for drinking and everyday use. Water Purification is done almost every day in every part of this world. The increasing population and industrialization is generating more and more threat to the drinking water sources as a lot of harmful chemicals are being released either intentionally or unintentionally into the sources. In most of the cases we cannot see these hazardous chemicals, but they pose a great threat to our health and lives. To treat water before being brought to use, various purification methods have been developed. They vary in their design, method of filtration, equipment used, efficiency, location and various other factors. http://www.waterpurificationmethods.com/ Natural water is available from various sources like ground water, lakes, rivers and pond. It is very hard to find a pure water source in nature. Making the need to treat water and purify it before consumptions makes important. One of the objectives of water treatment and purification is to treat water from the best possible source to improve its various physical qualities, improving its taste and odour and eliminating all of the harmful contaminants. Various impurities can be classified as suspended impurities(remain in suspension), dissolved impurities(dissolved impurities and responsible for taste and odour) and colloidal impurities( electrically charged and never settle). Table 1 shows the various constituents of the impurities present in water and there effects. Ss+Tech+guide. Water for domestic use should be : Colorless and have no suspended solids; Odour free and must taste good; Free from disease causing organisms; Free of halmful salts and objectionable minerals; Free from dissolved gases which can he harm full; Should be non-corrosive in nature; Ss+Tech+guide. Table 1: Suspended and dissolved impurities in water ss+tech+guide One of the most important parts of the treatment process is Filtration. Filtration is a process in which solids particles in suspension in liquid medium are passed through porous media through which only liquid can pass away. It is required in conjugation with some kinds of chemical treatments to disinfect water of biological disease causing pathogens. [2] Crittenden, J. C. (2005).  Water treatment: Principles and design (2nd ed., p. 868). New Jersey: John Wiley Sons, Inc. The various types of filters used are Gravity Filters Vacuum Filters Pressure Filters Centrifugals and Centrifuges PROCESS OVERVIEW Suspended matter present in water makes the appearance of water cloudy; this physical characteristic is known as turbidity. This suspended mater may consist of floc, microorganisms, algae, iron, silt and manganese precipitates and also some precipitates which remain after the various earlier stages. These suspended materials are filtered by passing water through granular beds, mostly composed of layers of sand, gravel, coal. As the process goes on and on and when the head lost is more than the permissible value the filter bed is backwashed or top soil is scrapped off and brought back into operation. But there need to be a second tank which will be operation as the first one is being backwashed or top soil is scraped off. The various other important processes in the water purification process are: Screening Aeration Coagulation Floculation Sedimentation Disinfection Stabilisation Water requirements of a city/town can be divided into five categories: domestic or residential use institutional use public or civic use industrial use water system losses DESCRIPTION A sand filter is very simple in its opertion and design. It is merely a bed of sand with support of layer of gravel, in a big box like structure. Provided with various fitting for inlet and outlet of water. A set of valves to control head during various situations. Below the gravel layer are underdrains required to remove the filtered water. Before dissipaion into the sand bed the energy of the water is to be reduced so that it doesnot erode the sand bed, also reffered to as short circuiting. There is headloss during the fileration process, it occours mainly due to accumulation of particles at top surface or due to microbial growth at he surface. The filters are backwashed when stage is reached below which any head loss cannot be tolerated. For backwash the outlet valves are closed and water is made to move in opposite direction. Manual of slow sand filters Chapter 2: COMPARISON Thogh both slows sand filters and rapid sand filters function under the action of gravity and mostlly have same constituent parts yet they differ in various factors which are explaind in Table 2 below. Slow Sand Filters Rapid Sand Filters 1. Rate of Filtration 1-3-10 m/day 100-125-300 m/day 2. Depth of Bed 0.30m of gravel 1.0m of sand 0.45m of gravel 0.75m of sand 3. Size of Sand 0.25 to 0.35 mm Uniformity Coeff: 2 to 3 0.45mm and higher Uniformity Coeff: 1.5 and Lower 4. Length of run 20 to 30 to 60 days 12 to 24 to 48 hours 5. Penetration of Suspended Matter Superficial Deep 6. Preperatory treatment of Water Generally aeration Flocullation and Sedimentation 7. Method of Cleaning Scraping Back washing 8. Cost of Construction Operation Depreciation of plants Higher Lower Lower Lower Higher Higher 9. Amount of Wash Water 0.2 to 0.6% of water filtered 1-4-6% of water filtered Table 2: Comparison between Slow and Rapid Sand Filters. Class notes Chapter 3 : SLOW SAND FILTERS 3.1: Introduction Slow Sand Filters are the original form of Filtration. The history date backs to 1804 when John Gibb of Scotland used the technique of filtration to treat water for his bleachery. He used to sell the surplus water to the public. The first large scale use of sand filters was in London to treat water of River Thames in 1820. Slow Sand filters are a viable water treatment solution. Though there are some difficulties faced involved in implementation and working of the system. It possess high initial cost and its use has seen a declining phase due to few resasons but is again gaining importance after the outbreak of Cryptosporidium in Milwaukee(1993) as they are superior to Rapid Sand Filters in removing pathogenic microorganisms. The various advantages of slow sand filters over Rapid sand filters are that it is highly efficient in removal of bacteria and viruses responsible for transmitting water related diseases. Also there is no usage of chemicals involved neither do we need any highly skilled and continuous supervision. Undeniably slow filteration is best suited for rural areas as there are low running costs. Slow sand filters What happens in Slow Sand Filters is that influent water seeps through the sand bed under the action of gravity. The sand used is less uniform as compared to that used in the Rapid Sand Filters. The most of the filtration is performed in the top few centimetres of the sand bed. The process involves two stages, one being the filtration stage and the other being the regeneration stage. Slow sand filters are not backwashed as Rapid Sand Filters, in place the filter is drained off and the top few centimetres of sand media are scraped off and the filter is placed back to work. 4 prelimi 3.2 Advantages The various advantages which slow sand filters posses are that theyare really very simple in design and operation. They also require minimum chemical and power requirements thereby making it an appropriate technique for removal of suspended organic and inorganic matter. They are also very effective in removal of pathogenic organisms from water source. Because of this reason they are gaining back importance as compared to Rapid sand filters. It also helps in reduction of bacteria and various organic levels, thus helping to reduce the amount of disinfectans to be used and thereby reducing the disinfection byproducts in treated water. Other advantages which they posses are that ther are minimal sludge handling problems, no expert supervison is required and also local labor and materials can be brought to use. http://www.nesc.wvu.edu/pdf/dw/publications/ontap/2009_tb/slow_sand_filtration_dwfsom40.pdf 3.3 Disadvantages On the other hand it possess few limitations such as they require a large land area using large quantities of filter media. It also requires more of manual labour for cleaning. The sand filter can get easily clogged if turbudity levels are high in source water. Even if the nutrient content is low it may hinder in the turbudity removal action as some nutrient are needed for promotion of biological ecosystem growth. They do not completely remove all organic chemicals and dissolved inorganic sustances. Also very fine clay particles are not easily removed using slow sand filters. As the water temperature drops the biological activity drops and similar is the case in slow sand filters that if the influent water temperature is low it will decrease the biological activity within the filter making it less effective. http://www.nesc.wvu.edu/pdf/dw/publications/ontap/2009_tb/slow_sand_filtration_dwfsom40.pdf 3.4 Factors influencing Efficiency: The removal of microbes and organism is slow sand filters are performed by biological processes. And the various factors affecting the growth and functionality of bacterial growth also affect eh efficiency of slow sand filters. The various factors can as stated as below Time: the minimum and bed depth should not be less than 0.7m and flow rate around 0.1 and 0.3 m per hour, as higher the time for reaction on the filter bed higher would be the efficiency attained. Oxygen: Oxygen is important for bacteria as it uses it for its activity. If the amount of oxygen in incoming water is low or there is high organic content it would cause the filter to be less effective. Temperature: temperature is not an issue in hot countries but in countries with cold conditions they affect the efficiency as lower the temperature lower will be the biological activity in the filter bed. Maturation: Sufficient time should be provided for the biological activities to take place. Also the filter should not be cleaned too frequently. Ss tech guide for slow sand filters http://ebookbrowse.com/ss-tech-guide-slow-sand-filters-pdf-d108621291 CHAPTER 4- DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS 4.1 Design Principles 4.1.1Sizing the Filter Bed The very first step in the design is to size the bed. The depth and base area are two parameters which help to drive the rest of the design. Bed area is determined by the Hydraulic Loading Rate (HLR) selected. Hlr should be so selected such that it considers both the cariation over daily cycle and the increase each year. Pilot plant studies performed can help in determining performance characteristics. 4.1.1.1 Area The bed area is calculated using the following equation. In which HLR= hydraulic loading rate (m3/m2/hr or mgad) Q = flow (mil L/d or mgd) A = bed area (m2 or acres) 4.1.1.2 Depth of Sand The depth of sand bed is determined using the number of years the filter is to be designed before there is any need for resanding. Year of operation is determined as follows Where Y = years of operation Di = depth of initial sand bed Df = Depth of final sand bed before rebuilding is required R = depth of removal F = frequency 4.1.2 HYDRAULICS The various functions for which hydraulic analysis are required are to distribute raw water on the sand bed, collection of water, drainage of headwater, control of flow through the filter, and measurement of the headloss. 4.1.2.1 DISTRIBUTION The influent water needs to be distributed throughout the surfaceare uniformly as if entire influent water is delivered at same point, short circuiting of flow would occour. To control this kinetic energy of flow must be either distributed or dissipated. It is a matter of judgment to choose exit velocity and pipe size as there is not much of flow criteria in existence. Figure below shows a system of pipes for how distribution of water may be done. Fig : showing an approach for distributin of water over sand bed. 4.1.2.2 Collection A system of underdrains need to designed for the collection of filtered water. 4.1.2.3 Drainage For the need to scrap the sand bed, the headwater must be drained off to a level below the the sand bed surface. The figure below explains how the drainage occours in two stages. One being done at the top surface removing the top portion of headwater and the second being at the bottom removing the rest of remaining water. Fig: Shows drainage points 4.1.2.4 BACKFILLING After the drainage has been done and the scrapinf of the sand bed has been done there is need to backfill. Fot this we may use the filtered water from other sand filters operating in parallel. The filtered water is fed back to the recenlty scraped filter system using a system of valves as shown in the following figure. The Part a shows the filters working in normal condition with all valves closed. Part b shows the backfilling of filter 1 from filter 2 nad the filter 3 continues with its operations. The backfilling is done till the depth of water reaches around 1 ft above the sand saurface. It should be boted that amount of water in storage tanks should be sufficient to satisfy the demand as filter 1 and 2 are not in operation. fig. showing the various stages of backfilling. 4.1.2.4 FLOW MEASUREMENT There is a need to monitor the influent and effluent flow throughout the operation so as to maintain a constant supply and hydraulic head to satisfy the demand. For this various flow measuring devices are installed at various points like at inlet to the pland and at oultel. Also they are applied at the various inlets and outlets to individual filters. Also these meters help in keeping a record for the water demands of the community. Fot it various euipments are used such as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. 4.1.2.5 Flow Control There is a 24 need to control the flow of water. There is a need to keep a check on the influent amount of water so that a constant supply is maintained. Also there is need to control flow at the effluent end of the plant to adjust according to the daily nad hourly variations in water demand. 4.1.2.6 Headloss Measurement Headloss measurement is important for the continous operation of the filter and to maintain a constant head throughout the supply. When the loss of head if below the required value is reached the scraping of filter is done followed by backfilling. To measure the headloss Piezometers need to be installed. One of it needs to be connected above the sand bed and the other to the tailwater basin. 4.1.2.7 3.5.1 Design Capacity Slow sand filtration is best suited and cost effective for population range between 30,000 to 40,000 as compared to rapid sand filtration. It shoul not be used for population higher this range because for it we need to build more number of filteraton units, and for that larger area would be required. Also if there is need for additional pre-treatment facilities like sedimentation, as always is the case, more area would be required. 3.5.2 Quality considerations of influent water The limit for turbudity of influent water should not be higher than 20 Nephelometric Turbidity Units  (NTU). But for ideal conditions it should be less than 10 NTU. If the turbudity for influent water is higher than 20 NTU, the water need to be pretreated with facilities such as grit chamber, settlink tank or a combination of various other pre-filtration systems as shown in figure below. Ss tech guide Figure 2: Schematic sequence of water treatment facilities when using slow sand filter ss tech guide 3.5.2.1 Pretreatment Facilities Fot the pretreatment of the water we may make use of Grit chambers, sedimentation tanks or roughing filters. Each of these is explained as follows. 3.5.2.1.1 Grit Chambers: These are also called as coarse sedimentation tanks. The maximum speed of water flow is around 0.75m/s. In case of the retention time it need not be very long, just a few minutes would be sufficient. In this coarse particles are removed before water goes to the settling tanks. 3.5.2.1.2 Sedimentation tank: Settling of fine suspended particles is done in the sedimentation tanks. The detention time is around 2 hours. These are further of various types like type I, II, III and IV. 3.5.6 Design criteria For the design of slow sand filters various design criteria shown in Table 3 can be used. Also to make sure there is adequate water supply and slow sand filter function properly, the flow rate should be maintained between 0.1 to 0.3 cubic meter of water per hour per square metre area of filter media. Table 3: General design criteria ss tech guide 3.5.6 Determination of size and number of slow sand filters: From the point of effluent quality, the weakest part is the edge of the filter bed. As the raw water may leak and pass the sand filter if attention is not taken while the design and operation of the filter. The way to minimise this is that the filters should not be made too small. The recommended size is around 5 m2, a workable size is around 100 m 2 , with a maximum of 200 m2. The system needs to have a minimum of 2 filters, to make sure one is in operation while the other is being cleaned. But a recommended value of 4 is good to ensure an increased and sufficient amount of treated water supply. The following empirical formula can be used to calculate an approximate number of filters required. n =  ½(A) (1/3), or n =  ¼ (Q) (1/2) Where, n Number of filter units A Total required area in m2 Q Average daily water demand expressed in m3/hr 3.5.7 Filter bed and filtration sand size of slow sand filter: There are various alteranatives to sand in sand filter bed like crushed coral or burnt rice husk. But the use of sand remains the most efficient and effective. The sand to be used is expressed in its effective size (D10) and its uniformity Coefficient. Where D10 is defined as the sieve opening that permits passage of 10% of sand by weight. And Uniformity coefficient is defined as the ratio between D60 and D10. UC = D60 / D10. The values of effective size and uniformity coefficient can be determined by performing sieve analysis as follows. Also the value of D10 for a continually operated filter is around 0.15 to 0.30mm. A mixture of 4 or 5 smaples is taken randomly to form a representative sample for the sieve analysis. It is washed to remove any impurities. Take 500 gm of the sample and using a mechanical sieving shaker, sieve it for 15 minutes. Sand retained on each sieve is weighed and added to the previous one. The grain shape for the sand filter should be perfectly round. It should be free from any clay, soil or organic matter. If the influent water is expected to be high in carbon dioxide, then there should be less than 2% of calcium and magnesium carbonates. Three important considerations should be kept in mind before deciding on the thickness of the filter bed: Immidetialtely below the top surface lies a zone in which purifying bacteria thrive. The thickness of this zone is around 0.3 and 0.4 m(in case of high filtration rate) Under this zone chemical reactions take place. It may be described as mineral oxidation zone, in which organic materials released in zone 1 are chemically degrade. Thickness of this zone is around 0.4 and 0.5 m(when water has high organic content). In total the thickness of zone 1 and 2 should not be less than 0.7m in any case. With Continuous operation for one to three months the filter starts to get clogged and the top 1-2 cm of sand bed is scrapped off including the filter skin. This layer is not replaced immediately, but done after some time. So provisions should be made for successive cleaning throughout the period. 3.5.8 Under-drains Under drains helps in efficient operation of filter. It assists in both providing support to the filter medium and to drain of the treated water to escape from the underside of the filter. Since it is laid below the sand bed, the under drainage system cannot be cleaned or repaired without any major disturbance to the sand bed. So care should be taken while designing that it doesnt get choked by granular material. One of the simplest designs consists of the main and lateral drains. Lateral drains consists of perforated PVC pipes or glazed pipes laid with open joints covered with gravel with successively increasing grain size to prevent intrusion to filter medium. In large filters it is mostly constructed of concrete as compared to PVC pipes in small filters. Figure à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ shows various arrangements for construction of under drain. Special considerations need to be taken care of while designing under drain system for perforated pipes as explained in tableà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Figure: Arrangements for main drain Figure: various types of filter bottoms Table: Criteria for dimensioning under drain using perforated pipes Factors to be considered for the gravel layer supported by the under drains. The gravel layer is built of number of layers, with fine at top to coarse at the bottom with gradually graded grains not differing by a factor of not more than 1.41. The bottom layer of gravel should have a grain diameter of at least double the size of the openings into the drainage system. Each successive layer should be graded such that the its smaller dia (D10) particle diameter are not less than four times than those of layer immediately below. If the joints are 8mm or less wide, the following values for D10 and D90 would be sufficient with three layers. D10(mm) D90(mm) Top Layer 1 1.4 Second Layer 4 5.6 Third Layer 16 23 In slow sand filters the gravel should conform to specifications similar to filtering medium, like it also should be hard, rounded, free from sand, clay, dirt and with specific gravity of at least 2.5. Also after immersion in concentrated hydrochloric acid for 24 hrs. The weight lost should not be more than 5% by weight. For the thickness of the layer, it should be at least 3 times the diameter of the largest stone. The gravel layer should be placed with care as any movement may disturb the filter sand above or may choke the under drain. 3.5.6 Factors influencing slow sand filtration efficiency Since the process of removal of microbes and organisms in filter is completely biological, the efficiency depends on various factors such as time, temperature, oxygen and the beneficial microbes. They are explained as follows Time: For biological processes to take place time plays a critical role. So sufficient amount of time should be provided for the reactions to take place. Time is determined by the depth of sand bed provided and the flow rate. The sand depth should not be less than 0.7m and flow in between 0.1 and 0.3 m per hour. Oxygen: Oxygen I required for the activity of bacteria in the filter bed. So sufficient amount of oxygen level should be maintained in incoming water as low amount would affect the efficiency of the slow sand filter. Temperature: Hot temperature is best for the bacterial activity. Its not a problem in hot countries, but in cold countries attention need to be given to the temperature conditions. Maturation: Bacterial growth is not that fast during the initial stages of the filter and also after every time it is cleaned. So it is suggested not to clean the filter bed too often. 3.5.7 Effluent Quality The performance of slow sand filter in terms of various factors like colour, turbudity, organic matter, etc. are given in tableà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Table.. Performance of slow sand filter

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Rmb Appreciation On Chinas Import And Export Economics Essay

Rmb Appreciation On Chinas Import And Export Economics Essay Introduction Money is an important factor in peoples life. Similarly, the currency also plays a significant role for the countries economy , particularly for the import and export trade among the countries. The exchange rate is an important factor for economic balance adjustment in an open economy,the exchange rate policy not only can be used to adjust trade flow and trade balance,but also can be used to adjust the trade structure.Historically,the developing country normally use the depreciation currency as the competitive advangtage in the early stages of development.However, the exchange rate adjustment on the import and export trade is conditional,whether the change of exchange rate can affect trade or not which depend on rate transmission mechanism.China has been focusing on the role of the exchange since its reform and opening up,after several major exchange rate adjustments, exchange rate movements has been an important role to reverse the trade deficit and change the unfavorable situation of trade in china. In recent years,most of the countries were carrying on the exchange rate reform, adjusting the domestic currency on the foreign exchange rate, seeking some more development opportunities for the countrys economy and the import-export trade. As we know,Chinas currency-RMB plays a significant role in the worlds economy. On July 21, 2005, the Chinese government announced on the exchange rate system will be reformed, abolishes the exchange rate system which fixed on u.s. dollar, and implements the management floating exchange rate system. From October 31, 2007, the RMB changed exchange rate tagainst US dollar revalued from 8.1100 to 7.4692 at the same day which announcement of the reformation of exchange rate, until to the record low 6.7899 recently, RMB has experienced many transformations in the several years. At the same time, the RMB appreciation has also had many influences to chinese peoples normal life. For several years, people always discuss the advantages and disadvantages of exchange rate reformation, especially for the potential influence of the chinas import and export trade.,for example:textile,clothing,toys which is labor-intensive and meager profit. So far, exchange reform had been through more than two years, there was a lot of influence for each aspect of chinese economy caused by exchange reformation. This article will studies the reasons for the RMB appreciation and the development of chinas import and export trade, and discuss the influence and solution of RMB appreciation on chinas import and export trade. Chapter 1 The overview and relationship with the RMB appreciation and import and export trade The RMB appreciation,it means the Yuans exchange rate against foreign currencies has been decreased.In recent years,china has been through continuous adjustment of RMB exchange rate policy to stimulate the RMB appreciation.Meanwhile,on the whole world situation,the exchange rate of dollar against euro is also increase continuously,and other countries currency rate have also been adjusted during these years. Import and export trade is a business which different countries (and/or region)exchange different goods and services with each other.Import and export trade is the international transfer of goods and services.Import and export trade is composed by two parts of the import trade and exports trade.Import and export trade is a countrys trade method of external sales of domestic products and buy or exchange goods from and other countries.It is a necessary trade means between the different countries.The country can export the goods which have their own countries advantage,and import the goods from other countries that they do not have the production advantages,thus to achieve a equal supply and demand relationship When a countrys currency appreciate,this currencys position will be changed in the world market at same time.If one currency exchange rate has benn changed against with other countries currency, directly affects the trend of import and export trade between the two countries.then the export and import trade trends would be changed between the two countries,which making a direct change in the value of imports and exports between the two countries. When the currency appreciate,if the price of N unit commodity is N before,then the pirce is N+ or N- after the appreciation.Meanwhile, the number of import or export goods quantity is M in the past,corresponding to become M+ or M- now.It can be seen intuitively:the currency appreciation has caused the amount of currency and goods changed in a direct way during the import and export trade.As a price ratio between one currency and another currency,the influence of exchange rate appreciation or depreciation will be directly transmitted to the import and export of goods service and price,which will affect the size and growth rate of imports and exports. In general, the currency appreciation is conducive to expand import,inhibit the export;and the currency depreciation is conducive to increase exports,decrease imports. Because there are many factors can affect the volume and price on a countries import and export trade,for example,the major trade partners economic outlook,market demand and supply,financial and price situation,the national trade and investment policies(such as export tax rebates,interest rates,quota and license management, etc.)changes,and other supply or demand elasticity factors,therefore, short-term fluctuations of the exchange rates impact on exports and imports are usually not large.But if the exchange rate has changed to one direction in a long period, hen the impact on the export and import growth will be significantly demonstrated. The exchange rate are free floating in many countries.However,the most mature economies are ofter try to maintain their exchange rate stablely.If the exchange rate fluctuate too much,then it is difficult to control the costs in the transaction for importers and exporters,which is not good for import and export trade. In the past 20 years,Chinas RMB exchange rate have had a few adjustments,but has maintained stable generally,which has provided a good condition for the import and exports steady growth.In 1994,the first exchange rate reform has made RMB exchange rate back to a reasonable level.Since then,the government has implement a managed floating policy for RMB exchange rate,and floating direction is upward basically.In the middle of 1995, the RMB against the U.S. dollar has appreciated nearly 4.5 percentage, and Chinas imports and exports trade has grew rapidly during these period,exports began to appear large surplus.After the Asian financial crisis 1997,because the Chinese government promised RMB would not depreciate,the RMB has appreciated at least 15% against a basket of currencies.By the influence of financial crisis and the real exchange rate appreciation,Chinas export growth rate has decreased a lot,and trade surplus reduce at the same period.Since then,the RMB began to lock on U.S doll ar for a long term.After 2002, Chinas imports and exports began to grow again.Throughout these 20 years,we can find that whenever there was a substantial change in the exchange rate,import and export growth rate will appear a significant growth or slow down in this period.However, Chinas import and export has grew rapidly,especially in the last six years,and the growth are mainly depend on some factors such as the internal and external markets demand and supply,industrial transfer and progress, the competitiveness promotion and foreign trade policy and institutional.Some Chinese and other countries scholars have used several mathematical models to analysis the influence of RMB appreciation on Chinas import and export of,although they obtained different data results,but most think that there is a certain relevance between RMB real exchange rate fluctuations and import and export trade.When the appreciation and depreciation rate is lower than 5%,the impact of the exchange rate on expo rts and imports is not significant.But appreciation or depreciation arte of RMB is large,the effect will be large relatively.Impact range is generally 1:0.5-0.8.[1] In other words, the RMB revaluate 10 percent,export growth rate should slow down 5-8 percent by this appreciation effect,and imports growth rate should speed up 5-8 percentage points in general. According to the experience of several changes in the nominal exchange rate and real exchange in the past years in china,and consider the effects of supply and demands elasticity is very low for Chinas import and export commodities,a greater proportion of processing trade,the obvious advantage of industry concentration degree,the level of productivity and management continued to improve,the export advantage product still have much price space to negotiate and other factors,the write estimates the actual impact of RMB appreciation levels (factor) on export and import might be lower, should be in the range 1:0.3-0.4,which means if RMB appreciate every 10 percent,and export growth rate will be slow down by 3-4 percentage points by this effect,the growth rate of imports in should speed up 3-4% in general. Chapter 2 The influence of RMB Appreciation on Chinas Import and Export Growth The influence of exchange rate movements on export trade is mainly through the price adjustment mechanism conduction, but there are the many factors can effect this mechanism transmission.In china,the processing trade is always after imports raw material and machinery equipment,which produced in China again and then re-export, therefore, there is a large proportion of import raw materials in the processing trade, and this is also because the current stage of economic development caused in china.But with the upgrading of industrial structure in China and the rapid development of basic industries, the needs of raw materials in export products,components and semi-finished products will be produced by more chinese domestic manufacturers, and the adjustment of the exchange rate will also have some expansion effect on the export trade.The impact of currency appreciation on exports are: When the production of export goods are produced by their own countrys raw materials and the situation of the currency is devaluating in domestic country, the currency exchange rate appreciation would significantly increase the price of export commodities, resulting in reduced export;if the value of currency is stable in domestic country, the currency appreciation would lead to increasing the price of the foreign currency of export commodities, resulting in reduced the amount of the exports goods;but if the value of domestic currency appreciate,wthether the export price of foreign currency rise or not,and the scope size of rise are caused by both of the rate of domestic currency appreciation which make the local price of exports goods decrease, and the range of rising of foreign currency import prices as the appreciation domestic currency,.If the former is larger than the latter, then the exports will increase; if the former is equal to the latter, then there is no affect on export; if the former is lower than the latter, the amount of export good will be reduced.However,When the raw m aterials of production come from overseas, the relationship between the impact of currency appreciation on exports and the proportion of imports raw materials in export production is inversely,if the proportion is large, then the effect of reducing export caused by exchange rate appreciation will be small,vice versa. Since chinas exchange rate mechanism has reformed on 21 July 2005, the exchange rate of RMB has appreciated cumulatively 11.4% to U.S. dollar, 8.2% to the euro, 9.7% against the Japanese Yen,and appreciated 11.5% to the Hong Kong dollar until 15 November 2007. If according to the weighted average of the amount of Chinas foreign trade, then the appreciation of weighted RMB exchange rate is probably 6.1%,and the annual appreciation rate is less than 3%. So far, under the situation which RMB has not appreciated too much,there is no big fluctuation for Chinas import and export.The author has collected the quarter of import and export data form 2005 to 2007,(see table below). In 2006, Chinas total exports grew 27.2% than the previous year, and the rate of growth has dropped 1.2% against 2005; the amount of import grew 20.0%,and rate of growth increased 2.4 than previous year,respectively.From January to October in 2007,Chinas export grew 26.5%, almost the same as last year; and the imports grew 19.8% which dropped 1.1% compared to the same period last year. The main reason of recession of export speed-up against the previous two years is that the Chinese government has increased the resource tax for the part of resources export commodities, adjusted tax reimbursement for export and policy of processing trade,.as both of the Chinese domestic investment demand and the prices of resource imports products has improved, so there was a sligh t increase in the import growth rate. Quarterly growth of import and export since RMB appreciation Unit:100 million U.S. dollars Month Export Import Amount Compared to the same period last year Amount Compared to the same period last year Third Quarter 2007 2040.5 29.1 1753.1 19.6 Fourth Quarter 2007 2156.4 21.7 1821.2 22.2 First Quarter 2008 1972.7 26.6 1739.4 24.8 Second Quarter 2008 2313.5 24.1 1933.9 18.4 Third Quarter 2008 2627.5 28.8 2140.2 22.1 Fourth Quarter 2008 2780.8 29.0 2103.3 15.5 First Quarter 2009 2520.1 27.7 2056.4 18.2 Second Quarter 2009 2946.6 27.4 2285.6 18.2 Third Quarter 2009 3315.6 26.2 2583.4 20.7 Fourth Quarter 2009 3612.3 29.2 2681.7 27.5 Data source: Customs statistics According to the different countrys which do international trade with china,except the growth rate of export to Japan has been sluggish in recent years, the exports trade from China to European Union United States, Hong Kong and other staple market grows strongly,and imports trade grows steady. According to the customs statistics from January to September in 2009,the export growth rate from China to EU and ASEAN grows fast which is more than 30% in the top 5 largest trading partners, and is 10%,15% and 20% higher than to Hong Kong, the United States and Japan,respectively, In addition to strong economic growth in the EU and the ASEAN,it is also because RMB appreciated not too much against the EURO,obviously. Meanwhile,there is no big difference of imports growth rate for the countries which import production from china these years, shows that the impact for import of these countries from china is limited caused by RMB appreciation.Overall, if we can take out other factors, the influe nce of small RMB appreciation on the import and export can be ignored. From January to September 2009, the trade between China and other main countries Unit:100 million U.S. dollars National or Regional Export Growth ¼Ã‹â€ % ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ° Import Growth ¼Ã‹â€ % ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ° European Union 1755.2 30.8 806.2 21.7 United States 1699.9 15.8 513.7 15.1 Japan 739.8 11.1 979.6 16.3 ASEAN 674.8 31.7 790.5 21.5 Hong Kong,China 1322.2 21.6 92.3 15.6 Data source: Customs statistics According to the report from import and export enterprises,although they may feel some pressure from small appreciation of RMB, but generally the customer would consider a certain of RMB appreciation factors when they sign for the export contracts.They still concerned more about market trends and export tax rebates, and other policy changes.However,the import enterprises feel that there is not too much stimulation for imports on the small RMB appreciation,which is so small influence compared to the change of real price of imported goods. If the RMB exchange rate continued to appreciate slowly,the total impact on Chinas export and import growth will be still limited. First of all,the world economy continues to grow steadily,the investment and consumption are still hot in China,both of the domestic demand and external demand of china are quite strong which influence Chinese economy much more than the changes of RMB exchange rate; Secondly,the processing occupies nearly half proportion of Import and Export, and this part of imports and exports does not effected by the exchange rate changes; Third, enterprise and market has prepared to take the pressure from RMB appreciation;Fourth, the improve of industrial technology and labor productivity could be offset some influence on the RMB appreciation, making the export cost do not rise quickly;Fifth, China has the comprehensive competitiveness which could make the processing export industry can not be replaced easily by other countries in the short period, and making china al so has the pricing power in some kind s of the export products. Under some market pressures,if exchange rate of RMB against the U.S. dollar appreciate more than 10% in the end of 2010,and trade-weighted exchange rate increased over 15% at the same time,then there will be a significant impact on chinas exports and imports,and it will be difficult for Chinese company to export some low value-added goods or some exports products which depend on low-cost competition,but the competitiveness of imported goods would be increased.In this regard, every import and export company concern about exchange rate. According to the data(coefficient) of change of RMB exchange rate which has been calculated above, the growth rate of import may be 3% to 5% higher than in 2008 and 2009,but the growth rate of exports may be 4% to 6% lower than in 2008 and 2009.Foreign trade on GDP growth,and the pulling effect of foreign trade on GDP growth from will be under a certain influence,but this effect will be still under an affordable range.Unless the major turmoil or crisis occurs again,or there will not appear the situation which the amount of export decrease sharply like in 1998s Asian financial crisis . In the long run,through the transmission and regulation of prices,RMB appreciation will cause different influence on the growth rate of import and export, commodity structure,trade patterns and the trade-related investment in China. 2.1 The beneficial effect of of RMB appreciation on foreign trade growth Firstly,The RMB appreciation can improve the trade conditions. With the trade surplus increase rapidly, Chinas terms of trade are deteriorating in recent years. A survey report from Commerce Department shows that from 1998 to 2008 the overall terms of trade index of china has decreased by 13% as the 2003 is base period. Which terms of trade of manufacture fell by 14%, primary products decreased by 2%.The export price index and imported goods price index are 104.7 ,109.7 in 2008,respectively.Terms of trade index is 95.4% in 2008 which is lower than 98.8% in 2007.This means that the rate of Chinas export prices of import prices is falling, so china must export more goods as to exchange for the same amount of imported goods,and loss national welfare during the foreign trade.In recent years, Chinese government leads the investment in fixed assets always staying at a high level. The proportion of Imported energy and raw materials, primary products,high-tech chemical products, machinery an d transport equipment, manufactured goods increased sharply.Recent years, the unit dollar price of most of the primary products,capital,and technology-intensive products have increased a lot.From 1998 to 2008, the import price index rose by 19%, which manufactures increased by 20%, primary products increased by 16% in China. Meanwhile,the rapidl development of Chinese economy has led import demand increase fast,and caused the price of international material and technology-intensive products rise,further caused the term of trade worse. RMB appreciation will lower prices of imported goods,especially lower the price of raw materials and high-tech equipment,then companies will introduce the technology faster,improve production efficiency, carry on more product replacement and achieve products upgrade quicker than before.At the same time, because most imports will used to be re-exported,and with the improve of enterprise productivity and export product quality,it is helpful for extending the Chinese enterprises from low-end products chain to high-end chain,improving the terms of trade simultaneously. This will help chinas enterprise using world resource better and increase the national welfare.Overall,it will enhance the international competitiveness of Chinese products. Secondly,the RMB appreciation can optimize the commodity structure of foreign trade. At present, Chinas trade structure is very irrational, most of enterprises are labor-intensive and with low technology, the only port of high-tech and deep processed export products are still have some short processing and low value-added problems, and real high-tech equipment and intermediate inputs are still imported from other countries, and nearly 80% of profit not belong to the chinas re-produced enterprise.However,The RMB appreciation would reduce the cost of enterprises independent development,promote the technological upgrading indirectly,enhance their core competitiveness, thus accelerate the pace of industrial upgrading, promote export structure adjustment. Thirdly,RMB appreciation will increase the wages of worker,which will make it easier for attracting high-tech employee.under the independent innovation and technological promotion in China,the foreign entrepreneur will choose to invest high tech industry first, so that Chinas industrial structure and export commodity structure will be optimized.The next point is that the RMB appreciation will help Chinese enterprises for promoting the oversea investment.As the enterprise must use the local currency so that they can invest in other countries,so RMB appreciation reduces the cost of oversea investment significantly, and enhance the enterprises international purchasing power and foreign investment capacity, create the condition for those enterprises who wants to develop their business. Finally,RMB appreciation will make service industry and service trade develop better,then the low value-added,poor management,and low efficiency enterprise would be kicked out effectively.It also change the situation which industry (mainly the second industry) aggregate most of the resources, , thus contributing to change Chinas industrial structure to service industry easily and promote service industry develop rapidly,then make coordinated development of service trade and merchandise trade come to ture,and improve the competitiveness of whole country in the end.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2.2 The adverse effects of of RMB appreciation on foreign trade growth RMB appreciation, it means the amount of Yuan exchanged form U.S. dollar will be less and less, then for the exporter,it is the same theory that the amount of Yuan exchanged from one U.S. dollar goods is less than before because of RMB appreciation.Therefore, there will be a certaion influence on the profits of exporter. If from importers angle,the amount of Yuan to purchase one U.S. dollar goods is decreasing,so the cost of imports drop, and profits rise. However,because industry and cost structure are different,we need to distinguish the adverse impacts of RMB appreciation on different export enterprises.The growth of resource commodities, part of the staple agricultural products and low value-added manufactured exports slow down or even fall,there would be some adverse effects on the income for export agricultural farmers and part of low-skilled workers.Some large-scale complete sets of equipment needs 5-10 years from contract to delivery,and the payment time may be longer.If the RMB maintain appreciation trend in a long-term,it is difficult for enterprise to predict the long-term exchange rate,however the financial institution only provide foreign exchange hedging instrument in one year generally,so the enterprise has to undertake more exchange rate risks and avoid risks. There is a fundamental negative impact of RMB appreciation on textile export. Textile products have been the number one of Chinas exports for a long time.Until 2005, textile trade surplus is still higher than the entire foreign trade surplus.The textile industry has always been the backbone of chinas export trade,industry export dependence up to 50%.However,most of the textile exports are based on low labor cost and price advantage,the profit margins is not high. According to the calculations from Chinas first textile website, if RMB appreciate 1%, the then the amount of textile industry sales would fall 2% to 6%.From January to October 2006,the overall profit margin of Chinas textile exports is 3.9%, if the speculation was right, then 5% of appreciation of RMB,and the textile industry profit margins will drop 10% at least. Therefore, if RMB appreciate more than 10%, it will cause an obviously impact on textile industry.However, some low-tech enterprises will quit this industry under this low profit export siutation, forcing the textile companies to enhance the added value of products,construct brand concept, improve their core competitiveness.In the long run, in order to improve Chinas textile industrys competitiveness in the international market,Chinese government must catching this good opportunity of good economy development trend in china,using the large amount of international surplus,and start the structural adjustment in the textile industry. The growth of most raw material products export will be slowed.The majority of chinas raw materials export products have less competitive in price,and has strong dependence on the exchange rate.For example, paper, cotton, ferrous metal(steel, crude steel, manganese,etc.), aluminum,lignin ornament and so on.RMB appreciation will make these primary products, raw materials products exports growth to slow down,also have a negative impact on economic growth in the short-term.RMB appreciation will also reduce the amount of export of crude oil, refined oil, timber, copper, gold and other resource-based goods,then it will cause the rate of unemployment and the banks bad debts increase,and other related effect. [5] Because china do not have too much resource which normally used in high energy and high-polluting industries. The excessive export of resource products will increase intense contradictions in using coal and gas in a short time.It will increase the pressure of environment and resour ce, which is not good for the sustainable development of economy in the long-term. The electrical appliance industry will suffer lots of loss for export.Chinas electrical appliances has the Comparative advantage due to the relatively low-cost,so that China has become an important production base for the home appliances giants.Sales of appliances industry is mainly depend on the international market,and export has become a major demand source for household appliances industry.The RMB appreciation a tremendous negative impact on the electrical appliances products export,cause its low profit margins drops further. If the exchange rate of the Yuan appreciate rapidly,then the impact on export and import growth may not be so mild. First, the export growth rate may result in significant downturn,then there will be big shock not only for the resource,low price and the low value-added goods, but also for the whole export processing industry.Secon,it possible to stimulates the large quantities of goods imported, impact the chinas domestic markets and cause a certain deflation. Finally,it will be the psychological effect on people from the impact of trade.The production cost will transfer to the price on the international market,so the exchange rate appreciation will not affect too much for this kind of products profits.The appreciation of the RMB increase the international enterprises cost in china,but these enterprises have relative cost advantage in the international market,which has the minimal impact on the international traders profit. However,the normal people will think that the price of made in china has increased a lot as the appreciation of RMB,and the business people will think that they could not earn much money from china imported products,thus it will cause real adverse effects for Chinese exports. Chapter 3 The marco countermeasure of RMB Appreciation on Import and Export 3.1 The adjustment of marco financial policy about RMB appreciation Firstly,Chinese government should expand the government expenditure and promote pull effect of chinas domestic demand on economic development.In recent years,due to the investment scale on iron and steel, electrolytic aluminum, cement, real estate has grew fast,and has caused the price of upstream products and raw materials rose too high,for instance,the price of electricity, oil and transportation has became extremely high. Although the investment is better than the consume for economic growth,but in the composition of chinas domestic demand that investment must be under control.Therefore,the stimulating domestic demand policy should be focus on consumption.But the income gap between the rich people and poor people in china which make many people can not afford some consumption even they want to consume. Since that it is difficult for the common people to consume more in short run, therefore,the important task of expanding domestic demand should be taken by Government.Since a long t ime, why the Chinas consumption is always weak,not only because government consumption expenditure is not high,but also because social security system does not work very well for the consumers.Therefore,china must reform their public finance expenditure patterns,under the situation which the whole social investment is overheat,the financial expenditure should be changed from investment to consumption,and the financial expenditure should withdraw from the competitive field of investment as soon as possible,then put more financial resource on the public goods.Therefore,the writer think the public expenditure should be invested in the following key areas:First,the manufacturing industry which can support development of the economy for a long time;Second, increase the government financial expenditure on health systerm,old-age pension and social security welfare,in order to reduce the peoples long-term financial budget and saving,then they can expand their consumption;Third,the governmen t should decrease the farmers burdens and handle the problem of agriculture,farmer and rural area well. Secondly,china must adjust the consumption tax,reduce the export tax rebate rate and the trade surplus.At present,China is still in economic transition,there is still a large gap between china and other developed countries,and social security level is still very low.Meanwhile, because the economic opening time is short which is only more than 30 years,the influence of traditional culture on enterprise and consumer is still large,and the relationship between investment and consumption is quite conservative,an

Monday, August 19, 2019

Economic Development of Hawaii :: Economics Business Essays

Economic Development of Hawaii Hawaii, with an area of 28,313 sq. km (10,932 sq. mi.), is the 43rd largest state in the U.S.; 6.9% of the land is owned by the federal government. It consists mainly of the Hawaiian Islands, eight main islands and 124 islets, reefs, and shoals. The major islands in order of size are Hawaii, Maui, Oahu, Kauai, Molokai, Lanai, Nihau, and Kahoolawe. Population growth has increased by 80,000 persons over the past five years. Demographics show a large number of Hispanic origin: Asian Hispanics are the most populated with white Hispanic and Asian non-Hispanic following. Hawaii's economy has been long dominated by plantation agriculture and military spending. As agriculture has declined in importance, the economy has diversified to encompass a large tourist business and a growing manufacturing industry. Hawaii's economy has changed drastically since statehood. In 1958, defense, sugar, and pineapple were the primary economic activities, accounting for 40% of Gross State Product (GSP). In contrast, visitor-related expenditures stood at just over 4% of Hawaii's GSP prior to statehood. Today the positions are reversed; sugar and pineapple constitute about 1% of GSP, defense accounts for just under 11%, while visitor-related spending comes close to 24% of Hawaii's GSP. The movement toward a service- and trade-based economy becomes even more apparent when considering the distribution of Hawaii's jobs across sectors. The share of the economy's jobs accounted for by manufacturing and agriculture have declined steadily since 1959 and each currently makes up less than 4% of total jobs in the economy. At the same time, the shares of jobs in wholesale and retail trade and in services have risen, standing at about 23% and 28%, respectively. Since 1991, Hawaii's economy has suffered from rising rates of unemployment. This stands in marked contrast to the period 1980 to 1993, when the state enjoyed very low unemployment rates relative to the nation as a whole. But by 1994 the recession had raised Hawaii's unemployment rate to the national average (6.1%) for the first time in 15 years. In 1995, the state's unemployment rate improved slightly in the first eleven months of the year to 5.4 percent, a 0.6 percentage point decline from the first eleven months of 1994. Despite the lower unemployment rate, the total number of wage and salary jobs declined by 0.6 percent during the first eleven months of 1995. This was due in part

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Conflicts of Interest between Auditors and Clients Essay -- Business E

The complete destruction of companies including Arthur Andersen, HealthSouth, and Enron, revealed a significant weakness in the United States audit system. The significant weakness is the failure to deliver true independence between the auditors and their clients. In each of these companies there was deviation from professional rules of conduct resulting from the pressures of clients placed upon their auditors (Goldman, and Barlev 857-859). Over the years, client and auditor relationships were intertwined tightly putting aside the unbiased function of auditors. Auditor careers depended on the success of their client (Kaplan 363-383). Auditors found themselves in situations that put their profession in a questionable time driving them to compromise their ethics, professionalism, objectivity, and their independence from the company. A vital trust relationship role for independent auditors has been woven in society and this role is essential for the effective functioning of the finan cial economic system (Guiral, Rogers, Ruiz, and Gonzalo 155-166). However, the financial world has lost confidence in the trustworthiness of auditor firms. There are three potential threats to auditor independence: executives hiring and firing auditors, auditors taking positions the client instead of the unbiased place, and auditors providing non audit services to clients (Moore, Tetlock, Tanlu, and Bazerman 10-29). According to the Institute of Internal Auditors, â€Å"conflict of interest is a situation in which an internal auditor, who is in a position of trust, has a competing professional or personal interest (Institute of Internal Auditors)†. Competing interests can make it difficult to fulfill his or her duties impartially as an auditor. "A perso... ...tion Law 29 (2):363-383. 365-partners and clients Threats to Auditor Independence: The Impact of Relationship and Economic Bonds. By: Ping Ye; Carson, Elizabeth; Simnett, Roger. Auditing, Feb2011, Vol. 30 Issue 1, p121-148, 28p, 1 Diagram, 6 Charts; DOI: 10.2308/aud.2011.30.1.121 Exploring Trust and the Auditor-Client Relationship: Factors Influencing the Auditor's Trust of a Client Representative. By: Rennie, Morina D.; Kopp, Lori S.; Lemon, W. Morley. Auditing, May2010, Vol. 29 Issue 1, p279-293, 15p, 1 Diagram, 3 Charts; DOI: 10.2308/aud.2010.29.1.279 The Auditor-Firm Conflict of Interests: Its Implications for Independence: A Reply. By: Goldman, Arieh; Barlev, Benzion. Accounting Review, Oct75, Vol. 50 Issue 4, p857-859, 3p Are Auditors Becoming Too Cozy With Their Clients? By: Briloff, Abraham J.. Business & Society Review (00453609), Summer85, Issue 54