Linking benefit and pay and to competitive advantage

For companies to be able to give their best and produce high quality goods and services they require to have a work force which is of high productive, their productivity is mostly based on some few aspect such a pay and benefit and competitive advantages. As companies/firm face still competition to control the market some management of these companies are coming up with ideas to please their employee and accommodate them in their firm. All firms require these three things. Some have attractive benefits others are reassessing their offers some package are fund education, elderly care , health care for employee family, offer transport for their employee, rewarding the most productive employee and providing houses for their employees. Fund education Some companies encourage their employee to further their studies and climb up the ladder in the company. This is done in order to increase employee experience in what he/she handle in the company. It’s also done in order to increase the productiveness of a employee. Elderly care As most companies face stiff competition service and good, some firms are starting a package to cater for their employee who have since retired and are in their late ages. This is done in order for an employee to be bale to concentrate on his duties and give their best in that company. Company which offer these services tends mostly to out d other s who do not have such kind of services in their operation. Health care for their immediate family Where an employee is required to leave his place of work and go to take his immediate member of family to a hospital, some companies are cutting this wastage of time by introducing health care services to their employee not only saves time the service will also save the employee money as he/she does not need to spend anything in the hospital as his company will settle the bills. Offer transport for their employee Firm will buy buses which are used to ferry their employee from their residence to their place of work this is done in order to be bale to save to time which they could have used to go and look for other means of transport and thus reporting to work late or already exhausted and thus been unable to produce more for the company. In some firm every employee is dropped at his/her door and thus save companies and also employee time. Rewarding the most productive employee In most firms an employee who produces more in the firm is mostly rewarded by the management this is done in such away that the productiveness of employee is perused, where by a firm provide a questioner where every employee fills the questioner with the guidance of the management. Providing houses to employee In area where the employee comes from a far distance the firm provide houses for their employee where the employer do not want their employee to waste time they are provided with a house where they resides together with their family. It’s also done in order for a company to be able to know that their employees are safe. Results Companies which have the above described services to their employee tend to have high production and do better than other who does not have any benefit /competitive advantage. Messer. M (2006) Benefits: Gian a competitive edge with offerings employers want strategic finance 88.no5, 8, and 10 Competition for experienced accounting and finance professional increase organization are looking for ways to give themselves an edge way top help, a worker achieve a better work life balance this is by making the worker comfortableness in his work and also in his life among the benefits is over time work and companies that offer facilities such as health care or similar effort demonstrate commitment to personal to their employees. They use various ways such as sharpening the skills of the employee, Sharpening of skill This is done by the company sending employee to school to increase their skill in the company. This effect is felt by the company in their production. Incase where an employee is kept comfortable by the company he tends to produce more in turn of return. A company input can determine the employee out put this is determined oh how committed is the company to its employees. Company and employee vary widely. In order for a company to perform effectively its must know who to hire, retain nature and develop its employees. The trouble is the employee effective studies show that the best and the academically brightest are more likely to leave a firm. This is the best are mostly not comfortable either by the working condition or the workers pay and benefits and thus they are poached by other companies which have better conditio0n and benefits. A company may use the benefits to increase its employee morale and retaining and attracting employees it can also use benefits to keep employee attitude and increase their performance. Such benefit includes career growth or a mentor in a firm. Career growth This is whereby the company can take its employee to school in order for them to acquire new skill for the company. This makes the employee to feel that the company owns them and thus give all the best to the company. What is important in any company is the employee and their status a important factor any company to keep its clients and its business knowing its attached into it .its capability to recruit, retain and develop its employees. In most countries in the third world many workforces will join many companies with a view of giving their best into the company will be determined by company interest in strengthening and restructuring the employee profession. Those different employees will look different in most companies, some will be challenged by the rumination given by the company and advance their career with the aim of crimping the ladder and also for a better pay. Some will not work with the referenced company for long due to been unable to adapt to the company, other will go to better paying companies, provide better working condition have good package. Many employee do not take a company as a place to work for over five years they gauge their stray on some aspect its understood that many employee in the country are more likely to leave seeking better working condition and other rumination. In some companies they have developed ways of tapping the promising employee by promoting him over the ladder, they also encourage them to go to school and advance their career in order for them to climb the ladder of promotion and get better pay thus encouraging them to work with the said company. Companies should at least look into employees policies under which they work. Schwartz B,R,Wurtzel J, Olson L ; attracting and retaining teachers organization for a economic cooperation and development. The OECD Observer no261.27-28 In each and every company all workers rigorous requires some readiness. In order for them to be able to produce for the company this means they have to asses the work of the company what is expected of them and their aims/goals. Introduction For example some company creates a week in the company calendar for rigorous training and also introduction. This enables the employee to be able to produce what is expected of him. It also expects to minimize time loss in the company. To develop a company to be able to produce more and have effective employees a company is supposed to match the productiveness of an employee. In some company they provide a questioner which every new and old employee fills, it offer each week this is aimed at direct correspondence between the directors and employee. In order one to known the weakness and strong ness of an employee. Its coordinated in such a way that the directors reads the questionnaire and when they note there is laxness in one employee a special team is there to assist him. Some firm share workshop with other firm this is to ensure that an employee can learn from the other employee of another firm other organization organize for departmental workshop this sharpens an employee and also he /she get to understand what he does not understand . This is aimed at putting them with the high performing employee and low performing employee to effective knowledge. One common thing is that good employee is an advantage to the company in which a company can be able to produce more and employee can learn from one another. Supporting and retaining employee’s makes them feel that they are part of that company thus they work with all their strength knowing that they will be in that company for a long period. In each and every form when making a policies one should address pay and potential for company /sector growth. In many countries most in third world country worker5 policies are becoming a bit tough to the worker and many people are resulting for self- employment a company should come up with way to reward the employee i.e. by paying more for one who produce more. This is linking pay and benefit to competitive advantage. T. H Koen,Wang C,J.2005 Benefits   offer an advantage a firm productivity ?an empirical examination personnel review 34:no4.,393,512 Summary This is explaining or suggesting that employee benefits have a moderate effect on firm productivity, irrespective of industry or firm size.                                    

What Is True Love

Charles Argument Essay Many people have wondered can true love last forever. I agree and disagree that true love can last forever because true love is how you feel and feelings can always change. True love is described in three words – infatuation, lust, and friendship/companionship. True love can be disproved by infatuation. Infatuation is temporary euphoric state of that is the research on blood chemistry when someone says they’ve â€Å"fallen in love† as stated by Bill Ferguson in his research â€Å"Studying the Science of Falling in Love. He says that love is a temporary state that people go through but it can at any point. Infatuation proves that true love can’t last forever because it’s a temporary state that express how a person feel for example when a person sayâ€Å"I’ve fallen in love† which can change at any point in a relationship. However, true love can last forever is expressed by friendship, or companionship. Friendship , or companionship if you will, is the one element of a love relationship that can, potentially, go on indefinitely as stated by Ferguson in â€Å"Studying the Science of Falling in Love. What Ferguson may have meant was that a truly in love couple is like a relationship that they enjoy being in company with so it has the potential to last forever. Friendship and companionship proves that true love can last forever because it is possible/capable to last forever Cofer’s essay â€Å"I feel in love, or my hormones awakened† supports Ferguson’s claim of infatuation and lust. For example, in her essay she says â€Å"Week after week I wandered up and down the aisles taking furtive glances at the stock room in the back, breathlessly hoping to see my prince. What this mean is that she was in love with a rich senior that every week she just hoped to see him in the stock room. Cofer’s essay proves that true love can’t last forever because she admired him a nd it can last forever because she wants to be with him but she holds it as a secret love.Cofer’s essay â€Å"I feel in love, or my hormones awakened† and Ferguson’s research â€Å"Studying the Science of Falling in Love† both states that true love can and can’t last orever by relating it to three words – infatuation, lust, and friendship. Both Cofer and Ferguson described that true love can last forever with lust and it can’t last forever with infatuation. Ferguson described that true love can last forever with friendship/companionship. These three words helped both Cofer and Ferguson decide if true love can last forever or not. Both stated that true love can and can’t last forever.

Writing two responses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Writing two responses - Essay Example The fact that the blog has focused on informing the people on solutions to modern problems attracted me to the blog. This is because it can help both the teachers and students who have been hard hit by the entry of social media and the internet which is making the students to waste a lot of their time. The current generation of young people needs to be introduced into the online platform at a very tender age. Initially, the learning process was monotonous because there were no creative ways of ensuring that the students remained motivated. The future of the current generation lies on the internet. It will dictate how people communicate, interact, transact, etc. Therefore, introducing new ways of learning through enabling the students to blog at a very tender age motivates them to learn more. However, a lot of care must be taken when taking up such interventions in order to avoid exposing the students to contents that might divert their attention from the studies. Nevertheless, if appropriate measures are taken to protect the young minds, internet can be used as a very effective tool for teaching the

Anaysis of the Impact of LGBT Market Dissertation

Anaysis of the Impact of LGBT Market - Dissertation Example Impact of LGBT Market 19 3.11. Pink Money and Valuation 22 Topic Page No. 4. Research Methodology 23 4.1. Collection of Data 23 4.2. Limitations of the research 23 5. Finding and Analysis 24 5.1. Answer to the research question 1 38 5.2. Answer to the research question: 2 39 5.3. Answer to the research question: 3 40 6. Conclusion 41 7. Bibliography 42 8. Research Questioners 45 9. Appendix 48 1. Introduction: Decades after invisibility and reaching critical mass, a breakthrough was achieved on July 1991 article in the conservative Wall Street Journal, when they termed the lesbian and gay community "a dream market."At present, the American market is anticipated to be valued at $835 billion in 2011 -- based primarily on U.S. population growth and with a steady 7% representation of gays and lesbians within the overall population. (Comercialcloset; 1) In 2004, Commercial Closet reported that around 36% of Fortune 100 companies endorse their products and services as well as advertised di rectly to the lesbian and gay market. Today, American corporations use up about $307 million annually in gay print media. According to the report published in the Gay Press 2011 from Rivendell Marketing and Prime Access, which tracks 109 U.S. gay press publications. Apart from that, it has to be noted that much more is spent on sponsorships and online advertising. The amount spent in online advertising is not calculated while the report of Gay press is published. If we consider that amount, then the overall amount will increase many fold. (Comercialcloset) Approximately, another $27 million is spent in online gay media, an estimated $20 million on Viacom-owned LOGO gay network, and over $6 million more spent annually on sponsorships in the gay community, as per 2006 and 2007 Commercial Closet reports. Very few numbers of advertisers, for example, companies like IBM and American Express, have sought the business-to-business market, targeting around 800,000 to 1.2 million gay and lesb ian-owned businesses. It is very important that one should remember that the so called "gay community" or "gay market" is not monolithic -- it is more like a union of individuals with identities and presence as diverse as the general population of any country. (Comercialcloset) Gay men may live in different countries, in different cities all across the world, they may be traveling truckers, own a home in the suburbs with a partner and child, they may be in a retirement home, or they could be struggling in any particular part of the locality or the society. Lesbians may own a vegetarian restaurant in Northampton, they may run a major media company, own a home in the suburbs with a partner and child, or they could be working at a discount store. But the bottom line is for any organization they are also a target audience and the increasing number making them more and more relevant for the world business community to think upon and look upon. Like everyone else, they face issues of race , class, ethnicity, sing always, be certain whom you want to speak to with your message, do good research, select your media outlets with care, and spend enough money to do your brand justice. One has to remember that "brand loyalty" is earned over time, not overnight. If this huge population could have been tapped then the potential of earning a huge market share is absolutely evident for all the organizations. (Comercialcloset) 2. Research Question: Our main objective of this paper to find out how the increasing purchasing power

Personal Statment Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Statment - Personal Statement Example This served as the turning point of my career path. After finishing my military services, I started working at Paldo advertisement firm with a view to learn fundamental company systems and organization. During my off-work hours, I did home trading in the stock market, and I rapidly became attracted to the stock market. This was primarily because the stock market showed me how people think, move and how the economy performs on a daily basis. The stock market has an intricate relationship with the sale of products and services, and this further appealed to me and sparked my interest (Arco 56). However, I encountered immense difficulties in chart reading exercises, which pushed me to study it in the US. My greatest strength lies in my ability to decipher information on the stock market reports, as well as think rationally in light of such information. I am also pleased with my academic achievements, as well as my professional work experiences. Between May and December 2006, I attended Samyook University in Seoul, South Korea where I studied leisure sports and physical education. This education proved worthwhile during my stint at the military. I served in the military service as an ai r force between January of 2007 and March 2009. During this time, I worked under the specialty Military Police and VIP escort security where I served dignitaries such as the Korean president, former US president George W. Bush and prime ministers from many countries. After completing my military services, I joined Paldo advertising firm where I obtained immense experience in business operations and behavior. My interest in business grew while working at Paldo advertising. In order to enhance by business understanding, I decided to travel to the US for further studies. Therefore, between March 2010 and November 2010, I studied English through the English as a

The Effect of Body Language on Oneself Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

The Effect of Body Language on Oneself - Essay Example According to the report  nonverbal communication in the simplest of terms can be defined as the process of sending a message without the use of words. It involves the use of expression of the face, the gestures we make, the postures we take, the tone of our voices and the emotions attached to it, the kind of grooming we do, the clothing we dress in, and so on.   It is important to note that the nonverbal cues one employs at times contains a message that is direct while at times the message is hidden, but all in all, these cues end up influencing the outcome of the verbal communication that we are making. It is possible to be saying one thing while our body language could be saying exactly the opposite of what we are saying.This paper declares that  it is a fact that cannot be disputed that our body language says a lot about ourselves. As human beings, we are interested in what the other persons’ body language says about them because it will basically determine how we are going to interact with them in both the short and the long run. While our nonverbal affect other peoples; how we judge them, and the outcome of the judgment, it is imperative to note that as humans, we are very much influenced by our own nonverbal especially the power dynamics aspect.  Human beings have this inbuilt tendency to display their accomplishment; that is, pride. We all express pride in one way or another.  

Dessertation proposal (Impact of Strategic HR Management on Business Essay

Dessertation proposal (Impact of Strategic HR Management on Business Performance) - Essay Example This is in recognition of the fact that different countries have different national cultures and physical and socio-cultural environments. Much research has been conducted on the effectiveness of strategic human resource management in the United States, Britain and other European countries while very little has been done to establish its effectiveness in companies that are based in the Middle East. This research study seeks to fill this gap and will use xxxx Company that is based in Saudi Arabia as a case study. Since the Middle East is so wide, this research will use one company (xxxx Company) as a case study. This is also done in consideration of the huge resources that may be needed to conduct the research in several organizations. Strategic human resource management (SHRM) is concerned with the establishment and development of collection of policies and programs that are consistent with an aim of facilitating the achievement of a company’s strategic objectives according to Armstrong and Baron (2002). SHRM is designed to help organizations meet best the needs of their workers or employees while at the same time promoting the company’s strategic goals. According to Boxall and Purcell (2003), human resource management practices are those actions and decisions that are concerned with the management of employees and that are related to the strategic implementation of measures that are aimed at sustaining the business’ competitive advantage. These practices cut across all levels and play a great role in the development of a working culture. SHRM practices include staff appraisal systems, recruitment and firing practices, work flexibility arrangements, training, and remuneration systems. Other experts have defined SHRM as the practice of proactively managing people. This therefore means that it involves thinking ahead and making plans that will enable the company to meet in a better

Philosophical problems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Philosophical problems - Essay Example Therefore, this could be expected to be equal and living in unity, it is often the case that most of them are in broken relationships. Human beings are in constant confrontations, a factor that derails the very need for the existence. Camus symbolizes this with a lack of optimism, repeated denial, and a conscious displeasure. Living in a state of hopelessness negates the very essence of human existence hence the connotation of absurdity (Camus 79). Human reality also attests to absurdity from the social believed process. As Camus says, the level of human intellect is one of those which adds to the absurdity in the human existence. He says while the mind is driven by â€Å"nostalgia for unity† and the ultimate desire to understand why things happen as they do; there is no way of confirming the same (Camus 107). As such, living in a world where we can only believe in our perceptions and thoughts rather than having believes based on facts suggests human existence is indeed absurd. Equally absurd is the fact that human beings try so much to have an in-dept understanding of the world’s irrationality. Camus asserts that the bid to understand the world by humans only brings forth a confrontation of thoughts and is often futile. Also the fact that humans, although living on earth lack the ability to predict the future and can only for the moment adds to the absurdity of human existence. Another element that makes human existence absurd is the feeling of independence, rebellion, and passion. Human beings live in a world where the notion of freedom seems quite high, for example; human beings believe they can make own decisions at will. The twist in this, however, is that wrong decisions often lead to condemnation. In addition, nature somehow has a way of interfering with this freedom (Taylor 7). While philosophy tries to question the very essence of human existence, it is a fact

Democracy and Capitalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Democracy and Capitalism - Essay Example Great Britain had slowly emerged as a country that was dominated by classical liberalism as it evolved during the seventeenth and the eighteenth century. Capitalism was inadvertently further developed by two events of the late fifteenth century and the early years of the sixteenth century, namely the discovery of the New World and the Protestant Reformation. The Portuguese and Spanish colonisation and economic exploitation of their New World empires in Asia, Central America, and South America were responsible for greatly expanding global trading links. New World silver and gold alongside the Atlantic slave trade boosted economic development greatly. The wealth exported to Portugal and Spain prompted competition from the Dutch, the English, and the French for colonies and trade England and later Britain was the state most responsible for developing the global capitalist economy. Capitalism, liberalism, and the Royal Navy were a virtually unstoppable combination.1 When Britains economic and military power declined after the Second World War its position of the global promoter of capitalism and democracy was taken over by the United States. In 1945 the United States was the worlds only nuclear power as well as having the largest economy. During the Cold War period the United States certainly promoted capitalism and anti-communism even if it did always further democracy. During the Cold War era capitalism and democracy became even more closely linked together than before. Capitalism whether in its traditional liberal form, or the Keynesian version with its mixed economies dominated Western Europe, North America, Latin America, and Japan. The Americans were not averse to interfering in other countries if their democratic choices threatened capitalism, for example in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, and Iran. Unlike Russia in

Strategic Leadership in a Changing World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Strategic Leadership in a Changing World - Essay Example Henry Ford recognized the fact that the company can use the right technology to avail quality cars to the public at an affordable price. With an efficient production line, Ford manufactured many cars at lower costs. The company relied on innovation to become the most successful car-producer in the U.S (Niemann 2013, p. 2). Today, the company aims at delivering the world’s best cars, utilities, and trucks, including a lineup of vehicles that are more sustainable in how they make them and how they operate (Niemann 2013, p. 4). The company depends on its employees to deliver its mission that includes building great products that contribute to a better world (Niemann 2013, p. 4). The company abhors sustainability by adopting strategies and goals that minimize environmental impacts, including reducing contribution to climate change (Niemann 2012, p. 5). Moreover, the company plays a role in developing and implementing solutions to the global water challenge (Niemann 2012, p. 5). The company enhances vehicle safety by giving customers peace of mind and making the world safer by developing advanced safety technologies and making them available across a wide range of vehicles (Niemann 2013, p. 6). As such, the company continues to gain competitive market advantage by reducing the environmental impact of our products and facilities, supporting positive social change, and ensuring economic viability for long-term growth (Niemann 2013, p. 7). Indeed, Ford Motor Company manufactured the best-selling brand in Americ a where it sold more than 2 million cars in 2012 (Niemann 2013, p. 4). Moreover, the company introduced six new choices of electrified vehicles and by March 2013, the company was the second leading seller of these vehicles in America with a 15 percent of the hybrid sales. However, it is quite notable that Ford Motor Company faces strategic issues and options in the global market and in the motor vehicle

Coming unstuck Essay Example for Free

Coming unstuck Essay below. Anyone reading your response should have a clear idea of where your research will take place and what questions interest you. Here’s where you’ll identify-and plan to surmount-any potential obstacles. 1) Exactly which fieldsite did you select? Why? What is your prior experience with this site? Are you studying up, down or across? Explain. I selected the coffee shop as the field site of my planned study since the social interactions and behavior of the patrons and the coffee shop staff are interesting and so much can be learned from them especially in their relationships, the daily exchanges of pleasantries and information and for most, coming to the coffee shop is a habit that they do on a daily basis. I am interested at how a coffee shop can take on different meanings to those who frequent it and how they coactively share the space in the coffee shop as their own. I have been to this coffee shop a number of times, enough to become familiar with the waitresses and I had seen two or more people at the same seat whenever I visit the shop. I also had some friends come to the shop but take their orders on the go and they have regular orders which the waitresses seem to have memorized. I know that there has been a clamor for studying up (Priyadharshini, 2003), but since it involves the issue of power and authority which in a coffee shop is not so much evident, I would rather do a study across the relationships of the customers and the coffee shop staff as well as across customers. This would enable me to observe and understand the social rules, interactions, and codes in the shop which may or may not be evident to the customers and staff alike. 2) What preconceived ideas do you have about this space and the people that inhabit it? What are the obstacles an anthropologist might face in studying this place from an emic perspective? How do you plan to overcome these obstacles? I have always liked going to this coffee shop, the waitresses are friendly, they have a pretty good idea of what is happening to people, they are also quick to notice changes in their patrons and they have excellent food. The coffee is also very good and whenever I need a quick fix or when I am bored I like going to this coffee shop. This coffee shop is not like the modern al fresco types or like the ones frequented by young professionals and students. This coffee shop is more of the community diner which serves breakfast and coffee. This place has a comfortable atmosphere and everyone seems to know each other, some people drop by the shop on their way home or even have brunch here. However, since the place is homey and likely to be frequented by regulars, being accepted as a new customer is difficult. For example, a new customer may be noticed by everybody and the people there might not behave as they usually do in the presence of a stranger. I might face this difficulty if I start to frequent the coffee shop to conduct my observation because even if they are familiar with me, they know that I only go there twice a week, if I go there everyday, they might think it odd. The emic perspective focuses on the intrinsic cultural distinctions that are meaningful to the members of a given society or group (Haviland, Prins, Walrath McBride, 2008). An anthropologist might have difficulty in using this perspective because the coffee shop is a transitory, that is, people come to the place voluntarily and although some regulars do so on a daily basis, there are those who do so only when they can, but it does not mean that they are not part of the group or that they have no membership to this group. An anthropologist has to be able to penetrate the group to be able to learn the culture and social relationships of those in the coffee shop. I plan to overcome this obstacle by changing the pattern at which I visit the coffee shop and by indicating that I like being in the place prior to the start of my field observation. In this way, the people in the coffee shop would not become suspicious and they would not be always conscious of my presence. Since the goal of the study is to determine the inner cultural codes of the people in the coffee shop, I should not interpret any exchanges or interactions based on my own biases since the coffee shop members assign their own meaning and interpretations. 3) Generate at least five qualitative, ethnographic research questions that interest you about this site. Explain how these questions relate to what you have already observed. 1. How does the group define and assign membership to the coffee shop regulars? 2. Why do regulars frequent the coffee shop? 3. What is the quality of the relationship between the coffee shop customers and the waitresses? 4. How does the group resolve conflict within customers and waitresses? 5. How do the customers value the coffee shop and its services? I have noticed that there is clearly a sense of group membership in the coffee shop and I would like to find out how the group assign membership does and how meanings they attach to becoming a member. Since being a regular is predefined as frequenting the establishment, I would also want to find out the reasons for frequenting the shop. The relationship between the customers and the waitresses are evident, but I want to know what kind of relationship it is and how do both parties define their relationship and whether it extends to their lives outside of the shop. Conflict is a reality for most groups or when two or more people are involved, I am curious as to how the members respond to conflict and how they resolve it. Lastly, it is observed that the coffee shop is more than just the coffee and the food to the customers; I would want to find out how the customer values the coffee shop. References Priyadharshini, E. (2003). Coming unstuck: Thinking otherwise about Studying Up. Anthropology Education Quarterly, 34; 4, 420-437. Haviland, W. , Prins, H. , Walrath, D. McBride, B. (2008). Anthropology: The Human Challenge 12th ed. California: Wadsworth/Thomson.

Lift of a Flat Surface in Wind

Lift of a Flat Surface in Wind When working with lift, there are several concepts[AR2]that need to be considered, most prominently Bernoullis Principle. This principle, named for its creator Daniel Bernoulli, states that when an incompressible, smoothly flowing fluid gains speed, internal pressure in the fluid decreases, and vice versa. (Hewitt, 2004) Put simply in terms of aerodynamics, Bernoulli states that when a fluids speed increases, the pressure perpendicular to the flow of the fluid is decreased. For example, the Bernoulli Effect can be clearly observed in terms of a plane in flight. Planes are able to fly [ar3]because their wings are designed to cause air to flow faster over the top than the bottom. This creates lower are pressure above the wing, and the greater pressure below the wing pushes the plane up. This upward pressure is referred to as lift force, or simply lift. (Actforlibraries.org, 2017) [ar4]      Lift is generated by deflecting airflow. By taking Newtons second law of motion (), it can be stated that the aerodynamic forces on a body with 0 drag [ar5]relate directly to the change in momentum of the fluid, which is equal to mass velocity of the fluid. (Hall, 2015) An objects lift capabilities can be measured using the equation: Where =density, =velocity, =surface area and =Coefficient of Lift. (Hodanbosi, 1996) Lift is dependent on velocity, air density, air viscosity/compressibility, the shape of the body and the bodys inclination in relation to the airflow. The velocity variable in the equation is, therefore doubling the velocity will quadruple the lift etc. Additionally, dependence on shape, viscosity/compressibility and inclination is complex; to deal with these they are characterized as a single variable, known as the coefficient of lift. (Hall, 2015) The lift coefficient, used to model the complex dependencies on lift, can be obtained using the equation: Where lift, the dynamic pressure () and surface area. Therefor, expresses the ratio of lift force to dynamic pressure times surface area. (Hall, 2015) It is most often found experimentally, however the values for this experiment have been taken from Aerospaceweb.com. (Jeff, 2003) Also, by using an International Standard Atmosphere (ISA) table, the air density variable for this experiment shall be assumed to be 0.9337kgm3, based on an assumed altitude of approx. 691m above sea level. (Cavcar, N/A) Lift is dependent of several variables, including inclination. The angle between a surface and the airflow is referred to as the angle of attack. The angle of attack has a strong effect on the lift being produced. In terms of an airplane: when an airplane is preparing to take off, it accelerates swiftly to reach the required velocity. However, just before lifting off, the pilot tilts the wings, creating a greater angle of attack and giving the airplane the required lift to leave the ground. In terms of surfaces such as thin aerofoils and roofs, the coefficient of lift is directly proportional to the angle of attack, when the angle is within +/- 10 °. For larger angles, the dependence becomes quite complex and is therefore defined by a coefficient of lift. (Hall, 2015) By using the above lift equation, theoretical equations can be created to assist in the analysis of the outcome of the experiment, for example: Where 3.61ms-1 (calculated using the iOS app Wind Meter), the area of one of the roof pieces and the corresponding coefficient of lift[AR6]. Below are the full results of the theoretical calculations performed for this experiment: Lift Applied to Roofs of Different Areas and Inclinations 0.0025m2 0.01 m2 0.015265 m2 0.0225 m2 0 ° 0.015N 0.061N 0.093N 0.137N 15 ° 0.011N 0.043N 0.065N 0.096N 30 ° 0.013N 0.052N 0.079N 0.116N 45 ° 0.016N 0.064N 0.098N 0.144N 60 ° 0.013N 0.052N 0.079N 0.116N Table 1 (created using[JB7] MS Excel)   Ã‚   Graph 1 (created using MS Excel) Based on these calculations, it can be assumed that the lift force will always peak at around 45 °, reach the minimum around 15 ° and follow an identical pattern for each roof size[AR8]. Based on the above background research, a hypothesis can be formulated regarding the factors affecting lift force. It can be hypothesized that: The lift applied to a surface in wind is dependent on its surface area and angle relative to the airflow. This relationship peaks towards larger angles and surface areas.[AR9] An electronic balance was set up on a workbench and turned on, ensuring the units were set to grams. An electronic balanced was utilised for this experiment because lift, as a force, can be recorded by measuring how much mass is being lifted away from the balance (in negatives) and converting this into Newtons. The fan was placed approximately 0.3m away from the electronic balance, adjusted to direct the airflow directly above the balance. The base piece of cardboard, measuring 0.1m by 0.15m (10cm2 by 15cm2), was attached to the balance with electrical tape, ensuring the edge (not the flat side) was directed at the fan. The first roof piece (measuring 0.0025m2, or 25cm2) was attached to the base piece, then the balance was TARED. The fan was turned on, set at speed 1. Three results were recorded from the balance[AR10] before the fan was turned off. The roof piece was removed, the first angled piece (at 15 °) attached the roof piece re-fixed. The balance was again TARED and the fan was then turned back on, three results recorded and turned off again. This process was repeated for every roof piece (measuring 0.0025m2/25cm2, 0.01m2/100cm2, 0.015265m2/156.25cm2 and 0.0225m2[AR11]/225cm2) fixed to every angled piece (at 15 °, 30 °, 45 °, 60 ° and 0 °). An average was later taken of each group of results, and these averages were graphed in Excel for further in-depth analysis. There were several variables involved with this experiment. The independent variables were the wind speed (which was controlled by using of the same fan), the roof area and the roof angle, and the dependent variable was the lift. The controlled variables included the use of the same[AR12] electronic balance, roof, angle and base pieces and the same speed setting on the fan, the position of the fan/airflow, the position of the scales and the position of the base piece and, by extension the roof structures.[AR13] These variables were controlled to ensure that all results are viable and in agreement. In order to maintain safety in this experiment, the following procedures were implemented: Safety glasses were worn, the electronic equipment was kept away from water, the guard around the blades was not touched while the fan was running, the cardboard was handled carefully so as not to cause paper cuts and, likewise, when the cardboard pieces were cut out the scissors were handled with care.[AR14] Lift Applied to Roofs of Different Areas and Inclinations 0.0025 m2 0.01 m2 0.015265 m2 0.0225 m2 0 ° 0.056N 0.175N 0.250N 0.287N 15 ° 0.075N 0.186N 0.259N 0.242N 30 ° 0.103N 0.159N 0.159N -0.640N 45 ° 0.111N -0.556N -0.620N -0.770N 60 ° 0.056N -0.631N -0.715N -0.787N Table 2 (created using MS Excel) Overall, the results of this experiment are plausible [AR16]at best. When comparing the empirical data to the theoretical data listed above, there are very few similarities and patterns. However, on close examination of the results there are several small connections. For example, even though each set of points has a different pattern, most of these patterns are similar in shape, and each set peaks at or before 45 °. However, from here the theoretical and empirical are completely different. A likely reason for the dramatic differences between the two sets of results is the conditions under which the experiment was performed. Despite the actions taken, there were still a number of uncontrollable variables that may have affected the outcomes recorded. For example, the air-conditioning unit operating on the roof may have disrupted the airflow, resulting in a less continuous stream and thus a more unpredictable amount of lift. Similarly, the fan used in the experiment may not have provided a strong enough direct flow of air to the structure, also causing anomalous results[AR17]. However, despite the obvious anomalies in results, the experiment still manages to examine the relationship between angle of attack, surface area and lift force. For three of the four data sets (excluding 0.0025m2) the graphs follow a very similar pattern, indicating that the results are accurate in terms of the relationship, not the actual data observed. In addition, all data sets drop off after they reach 45 °, showing that, just as observed in the theoretical results, lift force reaches its peak at around 45 ° inclination into the wind. The most likely reason for this is that past this inclination the structure presents a greater amount of its surface into the wind, allowing it to be pushed down. This phenomenon creates the positive mass results seen in the table above. This was not accounted for in the theoretical equations, which may have caused some of the anomalous results stated above[AR18]. Another prominent difference between empirical and theoretical results is the distinct differences between lift values in the theoretical data. These data sets remain at a fixed distance apart for the entire graph, directly opposed to the empirical data points which for the most part are plotted very close together. This illustrates a lower difference in lift force between different surface areas, however these results are likely due to the unstable nature of the structure used in the experiment. [AR19]Particularly in terms of the larger roof pieces, the structure became more unsteady, possibly resulting in the lower lift force recorded above. In terms of the patterns observed in the empirical data, the larger roof sizes do produce more lift, however past their peak they also create more downward force. While the smallest size does generate the greatest lift, the three larger sizes do produce an increasing amount of lift, in comparison with each other. As mentioned previously, the structure used in the experiment, particularly with the larger roof piece attached, was very unstable. [AR20]This is a likely reason for the outlying point for the area of 0.0225m2 at an inclination of 30 °. This surface area is the largest used, and it was very unstable atop the base piece, often sliding to the side and not remaining square with the base. Most likely, this instability is what has caused such an obvious anomaly, as the roof piece sliding may have exposed a larger surface area to the airflow, thus created more downward force and less upward lift. Therefore, with the above considerations it mind, and despite the severe anomalies between theoretical and empirical data, the hypothesis of: The lift applied to a surface in wind is dependent on its surface area and angle relative to the airflow. This relationship peaks towards larger angles and surface areas. Is supported by this experiment.[AR21] When performing an experiment, there are always a multitude of variables that affect the outcome, and a variety of ways in which the processes can be improved upon to achieve a better result. For example, in this experiment an ordinary household fan was used to generate the required airflow. Such a device is designed to provide air to an entire room, not to provide a direct flow of air such as is required to make this experiment a success. To make the experiment more successful, a more direct airflow should be utilised, possibly by making use of a wind tunnel, or even a hair dryer[AR22]. Similarly, the electronic balance used to take measurements was only a small, relatively simple piece of equipment. Also, as previously mentioned, the air-conditioning unit in the room was likely disrupting the already-unsteady airflow. This, along with the experiments position next to the doorway and the other people in the room, may have been the cause of the discrepant results, which often differed by up to 0.0015kg. To solve this, the experiment could be re-conducted in a controlled environment with nothing affecting the more direct airflow. Additionally, a more accurate electronic balance could be used[AR23]. A more accurate balance would a piece of equipment connected to a computer that records all results for each set of tests and identifies an accurate average. The most prominent issue with the experiment was the results created by the electronic balance. The results were greatly varied, as stated above, suggesting that there were several uncontrolled variables at play, affecting the data. There are several methods that could be employed to rectify this, including those already mentioned. Performing the experiment in an isolated area where all variables can be controlled so nothing can interfere with the results is the most likely way to generate more accurate results. This, coupled with the use of a more stable structure (i.e. made from a sturdier material and fixed for effectively), a more accurate airflow and more sophisticated measuring technologies, is the best course to re-perform the experiment and give more viable results. References   Actforlibraries.org, 2017. Bernoullis Principle of Lift. [Online] Available at: http://www.actforlibraries.org/bernoullis-principle-of-lift-4/[Accessed 04 March 2017]. Aerodynamics for Students, 2016. Lift and Lift Coefficient. [Online] Available at: http://s6.aeromech.usyd.edu.au/aerodynamics/index.php/sample-page/aircraft-performance/lift-and-lift-coefficient/[Accessed 04 March 2017]. Benson, T., 2014. Lift Formula. [Online] Available at: https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/WindTunnel/Activities/lift_formula.html[Accessed 09 March 2017]. Cavcar, M., N/A. The International Standard Atmosphere. [Online] Available at: http://home.anadolu.edu.tr/~mcavcar/common/ISAweb.pdf[Accessed 04 March 2017]. Hall, N., 2015. Inclination Effects on Lift. [Online] Available at: https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/incline.html[Accessed 19 March 2017]. Hall, N., 2015. Lift Equation. [Online] Available at: https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/vel.html[Accessed 02 March 2017]. Hall, N., 2015. The Lift Coefficient. [Online] Available at: https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/liftco.html[Accessed 04 March 2017]. Hall, N., 2015. Velocity Effects on Aerodynamic Forces. [Online] Available at: https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/vel.html[Accessed 02 March 2017]. Hewitt, P. G., 2004. Bernoullis Principle. [Online] Available at: http://www.nsta.org/publications/news/story.aspx?id=49598[Accessed 02 March 2017]. Hodanbosi, C., 1996. Lift Formula. [Online] Available at: https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/WindTunnel/Activities/lift_formula.html[Accessed 02 March 2017]. HyperPhysics, N/A. Bernoulli Equation. [Online] Available at: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/pber.html[Accessed 02 March 2017]. Jeff, S., 2003. Airfoils at High Angles of Attack. [Online] Available at: http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/airfoils/q0150b.shtml[Accessed 04 March 2017]. Physics Forum, 2011. Fluid mechanics; Lift Force on a Roof; Bernoullis Equation. [Online] Available at: https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/fluid-mechanics-lift-force-on-a-roof-bernoullis-equation.533145/[Accessed 02 March 2017]. Scott, J., 2003. Airfoils at High Angle of Attack. [Online] Available at: http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/airfoils/q0150b.shtml[Accessed 04 March 2017]. Scott, J., 2003. Lift Coefficient Thin Airfoil Theory. [Online] Available at: http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/aerodynamics/q0136.shtml[Accessed 04 March 2017].   

Determinants of the Aggregate Inward FDI Flow to Pakistan

Determinants of the Aggregate Inward FDI Flow to Pakistan CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Overview Globalization which gave birth to the concept of interdependence of countries and their economies has been defined as the process through which regional economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated with the assistance of global network of trade, communication and transportation. This allowed the investors to invest or transfer their capital where ever they wanted which introduced the concept of Foreign Direct Investment. Since the recent financial crisis in Asia and Latin America developing as well as newly industrialized countries have been advised to rely mainly on FDI for economic development and supplement national savings by capital inflows. Developing countries in particular are in need of investment for their development and the investment amount in majority of cases is greater than the capital internally available. Therefore, FDI has emerged as most important source of generating capital required for development of emerging countries. Currently Foreign Direct Inv estment has become one of the major sources of economic development, modernization, employment, income growth, capital generation and a channel for the transfer and access to advance technologies as well as organizational and managerial skills.Recognizing this fact, developing countries try their level best to attract as much as of FDI as they can. But attracting FDI is not that much simple, it requires huge efforts on the part of policy makers and government.Variety of factors is considered by an investor before making investment in a particular foreign country. Those were labeled as determinants of FDI, and may vary from country to country. Pakistan is currently facing a huge shortfall of capital to finance its major development projects and to run the government operations smoothly.The country requires capital to fulfill the growing needs in defense, infrastructure, education and variety of other aspects of serioussignificance to progress. Since 1990s there has been noteworthy increase in flow of capital investments to developing countries, which motivateddiscussions in literature concerning determinants of such investment flows.This trend was result of liberal trade policies, variations in economics related fundamentals of emergent countries, development of capital markets and transformations in economic conditions around the globe.This research paper tries to investigate the role of economic fundamentals in driving investment flows.Past research on the economic fundamentals as determinants of foreign direct investment divided economic fundamentals into two broad categories of pull factors and push factors. Push factors were considered as those economic fundamentals that relateto industrial or developed countries and motivate capital flows,in contrast pull factors consist of economic fundamentals of recipient countries that attract capital flows.One of the major push factors as cited in the past research was hold back of the economies of the developed countries (Calvo, 1992; Fernandez-Arias, 1996; Haque, 1997; Montiel and Reinhart, 1999).Pull factors consist of Supply of money and local productivity of the recipient country (Calvoet al., 1992; Lensink and White, 1998). Calvoet al. (1992)argued that push factors contribute more than pull factors ingrowth of capital transfer.Vita and Kyaw (2008) suggested that variations in domestic yield and productivity of the foreign country were main determinants of portfolio and FDI flows.Dunning (1993) by combining previous research on the determinants of FDI came up with à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“OLIà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? model that stated global manufacturing as function of ownership, localization and internationalization.Variety of theories have been developed regarding the determinants of FDI such as industrial organization theory, the pure trade theory, classical theory relating international investment flows, and locational factor theories.Classical theory relating the in ternational investment flow states that when return on investment crossways countries under autarchy change the investments will shift from lower to higher return providing country. Therefore, this theory assumes foreign direct investment as function of dissimilarity of return on investment.Wilhborg (1978)argued that volatility in the exchange rate would decrease the amount of portfolio investment and that had also been valid for FDI(Black, 1977). According to Kohlhagen (1977) the firms that expect devaluation in the currency of foreign country would defer its investment till the time when exporting becomes profitable. Study also concluded that the higher the exchange rate, the lower the amount of FDI because this phenomena would make exporting relatively less profitable. 1.2 Problem statement To identify the best determinants of the aggregate inward FDI flow to Pakistan. 1.3 Hypothesis This particular research primarily focused on testing the following hypothesis: H1: GDP has positive impact on FDI. H2: Infrastructure expenditure has positive impact on FDI. H3: Taxes has negative impact on FDI. H4: Inflation has negative impact on FDI. H5: GDP per capita growth has positive impact on FDI. H6: Exchange rate has positive impact on FDI. H7: Interest rate has negative impact on FDI. 1.4 Outline of the Study The first chapter of the research focuses on giving basic view of the research and provides information on the overview, issues, purpose and basic theories on the determinants of FDI. In the chapter existing work done by various researchers and past empirical studies have been discussed. The third chapter provides details regarding practical carrying out of the research and describes data collection and analysis procedures. Finally, the last chapter gives details regarding the results of the research. 1.5 Definitions All the chosenfor predicting FDI were variables that had been used in prior researchand theories relatingFDI. 1.5.1 Net Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) The net amount of foreign direct investment received by Pakistan measured in current US dollars. 1.5.2 Inflation (I) The variable represents annual change (%) in the commodities that fall in the category of CPI. 1.5.3 Interest rate (IR) The variable represents the annual rateof interest (%) offered by banks operating in Pakistan on the deposits by customers. 1.5.4 Exchange rate (ER) Measured as the rateof converting 1 US $ into Pakistani rupees (1 US $ = Rs.). 1.5.5 Infrastructure expenditure (IE) Represents the annual amount spent by government on Pakistan on the development of infrastructure in the country. The variable is measured by annual amount of Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) fund and unit of measurement was rupees in million. 1.5.6 Taxes (T) The variable represents the annual rate of tax (%) applicable on the profits of corporate companies operating in Pakistan. 1.5.7 Gross domestic product (GDP) Represents the total value of goods and services (at factor cost) produced in Pakistan measured in Rs. Million. 1.5.8 GDP per capita growth rate (GDPG) The variable represents the annual rate of growth (%) in the gross domestic product per capita, of Pakistan. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW A lot of research has already been conducted in the field of identifying the best determinants of Foreign Direct Investment by various researchers. Most of the research work conducted implies that the determinants of Foreign Direct Investment vary from country to country and from location to location. The purpose of this research is to find out the impact of Labor cost (Wage), Inflation (I),Interest rate (IR), Exchange rate (ER), Infrastructure expenditure (IE), Taxes (T), GDP and GDP per capita growth (GDPG) on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow in Pakistan. The study hypothesizes positive relationship between GDP, GDP per capita growth, Infrastructure expenditure and Exchange rate with FDI whereas Wage, inflation, Taxes and Interest rate relate negatively with FDI. Pursuing the same objectives Kok and Ersoy (2009) conducted study that made attempt to investigatethe best determinants of FDI in developing countries. Study hypothesized and concluded that GDP, inflation, Trade, GDP per capita growth,Gross fixed capital formation and communication (telephone) are positively related with FDI whereas inflation and total debt/ GDP had negative relationship. Barrel and Pain (1996) in their empirical studies found that FDI and both the acceleration and level of GNP were positively related. In addition unit labor cost and relative capital cost also had positive relationship with outward direct investment. Research suggested that in short run funds availability affects investment timing. Research of Barrel and Pain et al.related to this particular thesis because it tried to identify probable impact of factor prices and demand across countries, as well as exchange rate expectations in determining the total level of foreign direct investment (FDI) by United States companies. According to Janeba (2002) investment costs and government credibility has significant impact on the level of inward foreign direct investment, suggesting that MNCs would prefer to invest in politically stable countries. The research also concluded that when any politically unstable country has cost advantage over other countries MNC will invest efficient amount in that particular country and will hold excess capacity elsewhere. According to the conventional wisdom lack of commitment from the government discouraged foreign direct investment in emerging countries.The research work done by Harvey (1990) focused on the macroeconomic determinants of FDI in addition to variables relating to different industry groups and tried to identify the impact of these variables on the inward FDI flow of the recipient country. Research suggested that Exchange rate and Sales had significant impact on the foreign direct investment, whereas taxes did not have any significant role in e xplaining foreign direct investment. Following bit different framework research conducted by Rolfe, Ricks, Pointer and McCarthy (1993) made an attempt to check investorsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ investment decision on the basis of various investment incentives provided by countries in the Caribbean region. The study demonstrated that all inducements do not evenly plea to all investors. The investment characteristics would determine which incentives firm manager will prefer. According to the study incentives chosen by firms exporting their productsvary from those firms that sale product in local markets, companiesopening operations in a new state had different inducement preferences than firms involved in growing or purchasingprevailing operations, incentive choicesoccasionally differ by state of investment, incentives varyreliant upon the products made, large financiersselect different motivations than those preferred by smaller companies and incentive inclinations can fluctuate on yearly basis. In short the research concluded that incentive preferences can be represented as a function of the investment type, countries involved, the market positioning of the investing companies, type of products produced by the investing company, amount of the capital invested, and investment time. Terpstra and Yu (1988) tried to examine the impact of firm-specific advantages and locational factors on the foreign investment made by advertising agencies of U.S. Study focused ondetermining role of market size of recipient country, geographic nearness of recipient country, size of the investing firm, experience of investing firm in international operations, oligopolistic response and existence of homemade country clientelesoverseason FDI. The research depicted that U.S. advertising agencies prefer to invest in those foreign countries having large market size, did not discriminated countries on the basis of their geographic location, inclined to enter foreign market with bigger firm size, tended international expansion with increasing understanding of international operations, reacted oligopolistically while making foreign investment and followed client firms belonging to home country while going abroad. Additionally research found that oligopolistic reaction had stronger impact in 1984 compared to 1972, intensity of competition had significant impact on oligopolistic reaction and top agencies witnessed stronger impact of oligopolistic reaction. Another study tried to examine determinants of FDI by using macroeconomic variables but more emphasis was given to various ratios relating to capital and labor, it also used à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The Heckscher-Ohlin Theoryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? which stated that a country exports those commodities that intensively use the countrys relatively abundant factors and imports those goods using its scarce factors intensively. Results indicated that countries like U.S. imported goods whose production required higher capital to labor ratio than the goods exported and when the endowment ratio of capital/labor increased the ratio of capital for each worker in import-competing production to capital for each worker in export production declined.Gopinath and Echeverria (2004) studied the association between foreign investment (FDI) and trade in mutualframework, that is, source or investing countrys exports and foreign investment toinvestment recipient country wereexaminedthrough gravity-model methodology. Results suggested that physical distance had negative impact on trade-FDI ratio, this caused nations to switch from export to FDI based manufacturing. Research also found GDP per capita to affect trade-FDI ratio positively and institutional quality strongly encouraged FDI, additionally FDI was also encouraged by regional trading agreements. The empirical study conducted by Goldberg and Kolstad (1995) stated that exchange rate instability contributed to production internationalization without depressing economic activity in the home country. Furthermore, exchange rate instability motivated the portion of investment activity situatedin foreign state. Research also suggested that exchange rate instability did not have statistically dissimilar effects on capital investment shares when distinguished between varieties of periods where real or financialvariations dictated exchange rate movement.Yin (1999) made an attempt to study the impact of tax inducements on the arrangement of a localbusinesswith respect to price, productivity, revenue, and entrance/exit, by taking into consideration technology relocation through FDI. The study concluded that if thehost countryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢sà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ government providedhigher tax relief to foreign companies, this will result in rise in total yield and decrease price index whi ch will encourage more foreign businesses to move in the industry while certain present host businesses will need to departure. Research also suggested that government should be cautious in decreasing rate of taxes to attract FDI. Vita and Kyaw (2008) used empirically controllable structural VAR model for identifyingdetermining factors of investment flows and variance decomposition and impulse response analyses to examine the time-based dynamic effects of variations in both pull andpushmotivators on FDI and portfolio investments. Study suggested that variation in real variables representing economic activity for example domestic productivity and foreign output possess more power in explaining variability in investment flows to developing nations. This research developed structural VAR model to test relative importance of the determinants of disaggregated investment flows to developing countries. The study investigated the degree to which deviations in FDI and portfolio investmentswere caused by variety of pull andpush factors throughvariousperiod horizons. Studying the impact of FDI on variousfacets of local economies, containingglobal trade, employment, gross fixed capital formation, output, balance of payments(BoP) and overall welfareHejazi and Pauly (2003) found that FDI was encouraged by market access and factor price differences, and on the role of intra-firm trade. According to the research prediction of whether growth in outward FDI will increase or decrease domestic GFCF is not possible. Therefore, comparisons of such growth relative to growth in inward FDI can be a misleading indicator for policy makers. Since the impact of FDI on domestic GFCF depends on the underlying motivation for investment, and not simply on the growth in outward relative to inward FDI, the results are of interest to all countries. The implication of results stated that quickprogress in outward foreign direct investment, comparative to inward progress, should not be taken as a negative growth, butmightbe source of success. Chen (1996) suggested that capacity of the market share to expand affected inward flow ofFDI but labor cost (WAGE) does not affect FDI. Similarly foreign investing companies had utilized the natural and energy resources of Western regiondespite of low allocative efficiency in this area.Interregionalrailwaynetworksweresignificant in location preference of foreign investorsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. Besides that, foreign investors were reluctant in locating near state-of-the-artlocal Chinese businesses in the eastern as well as middle provinces. These results were significant because the choice of FDI location appeared to have been motivated by the presence of good transportconnections, high-tech filtering and, to some level by the capacity of the market share to expand. The choice of FDI location did not appear to have been persuaded by taking into accountlabor cost variances. According to the neoclassical model of growth, growth rate of labor as well as technological developmentwere considered as exogenous and inward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) will lead to increase in the investment rate and which will ultimately lead to increase in the growth of per capita income but the growth effect will not last in the long run (Hsiao and Hsiao, 2006). Papanek (1973) indicatedstatistically significant negative effect of varioussorts of investment on domestic savings. Grounded on a sample of 85emerging countries, researchconcluded that foreign investment displaced national savings. Precisely, the research exhibited all types of foreign investment either in shape of aid or individual investment compressed the domestic savings. As a result the economy of the FDI recipient country went into state ofhigher dependency on foreign investment for development. The empirical studies of Cushman (1985) based U.S. bilateral FDI outflow and inflow data concluded that exchange rate variability had positive relation with set of flows.Connor (1983) conducted research which focused on inward as well as outward flow of FDI. The study divided country specific advantages into three categories FDI Probability, FDI Propensity and FDI Penetration and their impact on FDI.Larudeeand Koechlin (1999) research focused on the wages or labor costs and productivity in terms of production costs as the determinants of FDI. This research usedsweatshop labor argument that relied indirectly on assumption of simplistic trade model that assumed all of the national firms to have access to similar technology. But in contrary MNE and abundant theory acquire higher labor efficiency due to the firm related advantages MNE possess. Thediscrepancy between investing and recipient country in average manufacturing wage should therefore be an independent determinant of FDI flows. CHAPTER 3: PROPOSED METHODOLOGY 3.1 Method of Data Collection The secondary data necessarily required to perform the research was gathered from the official sites of The World Bank and The State Bank of Pakistan. Additionally, some of the required data was abstracted from the book Statistical Supplement and Yearly Book both being published under the supervision of State Bank of Pakistan. 3.2 Sample Size The data used for the purpose of research consisted of 30 years annual data of the variables used in research. Data of all the variables belonged to period starting from fiscal year 1980 to fiscal year 2010. 3.4 Research Model developed In order to test the hypothesis of the research multiple regression model was developed. The model established is similar to the research model used by Kyrkilis and Pantelidis (2003). FDI= ÃŽÂ ± + ÃŽÂ ²0GDP + ÃŽÂ ²1GDPG à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" ÃŽÂ ²2Wage- ÃŽÂ ²3I + ÃŽÂ ²4ER + ÃŽÂ ²5IE à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" ÃŽÂ ²6T à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" ÃŽÂ ²7IR +  µ Where FDI = Net amount of Foreign Direct Investment received by Pakistan Wage = Annual wages paid to a worker (Labor cost) I = Inflation,IR = Interest rate, ER = Exchange rate, IE = Infrastructure expenditure,T = Taxes, GDP = Gross domestic product,GDPG = GDP per capita growth rate. 3.3 Statistical Technique In order to test the hypothesis developed of the research the statistical technique of multiple regressionanalysis was applied. This technique was applied because both the dependent variable and independent variables were scale and under this situation the prediction power of regression analysis is stronger as compared with the other statistical techniques available. CHAPTER 4: RESULTS 4.1 Findings and Interpretation of the results The results drawn by applying Multiple Regression analysis were as follows: Table: 4.1 Model Summary Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std.Errorof the Estimate Durbin-Watson 1 .998a .996 .995 6.65146E17 2.744 The model summary table explains what amount of variance in the dependent variable is explained by the independent variables. The value of R-square is .996 which means that approximately 99.6 % of the variance of SQFDI is accounted for by the model and only .04 % of the variance remains unexplained. Independent variables were square of Infrastructure Expenditure (PSDP Fund), Interest Rate (IR), Inflation (I) and Exchange Rate (ER) and the dependent variablewas Square of Net Foreign Direct Investment (SQFDI). Table: 4.2 ANOVA Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. 1 Regression 2.524E39 4 6.310E38 1426.142 .000a Residual 1.106E37 25 4.424E35 Total 2.535E39 29 The Anova table explains the model fit, sig. value of .000 suggests F-test to be significant, and therefore the model is statistically significant. When the sig. value in the Anova table is less than .05 the model fit is good and regression can be applied on the data. Table: 4.3 Coefficients Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t Sig. Collinearity Statistics B Std. Error Beta Tolerance VIF 1 (Constant) -9.595E17 7.703E17 -1.246 .224 Inflation -8.806E16 3.960E16 -.037 -2.224 .035 .640 1.562 Interest Rate 2.047E17 6.261E16 .045 3.270 .003 .920 1.086 Exchange rate -5.646E16 9.021E15 -.125 -6.259 .000 .440 2.273 IE 1.654E8 3349513.619 1.094 49.392 .000 .356 2.809 The co-efficients table shows the significance of individual independent variable in explaining the dependent variable. In the final model square of Infrastructure Expenditure (PSDP Fund), Interest Rate (IR), Inflation (I) and Exchange Rate (ER) were the statistically significant variables.The effect of Inflation (Standardized B= -.037, P =.035) is statistically significant havingnegative coefficientdemonstrating that largerthe value of inflation rate, the lower the Foreign Direct Investment. The value of beta indicates that 1 unit increase in inflation will decrease FDI by .037units. Similarly, the effect of Interest Rate (Standardized B= .045, P =.003) is significant and its coefficient is positive indicating that the greater the value of interest rate, the higher the amount of FDI received. The value of beta indicates that 1 unit increase in interest rate will increase FDI by .045units. Next, the effect of Exchange Rate (Standardized B= -.125, P =.000) is statistically significant havingnegative coefficientdemonstrating that larger the value of exchange rate, the lower the amount of FDI. The value of beta indicates that 1 unit increase in exchange rate will decrease FDI by .125units. Finally, the effect of Infrastructure Expenditure (Standardized B= 1.094, P =.000) is also statisticallysignificant having positive coefficient indicating that the greater the amount spent by government as infrastructure expenditure, the higher the amount of FDIreceived. The value of beta indicates that 1 unit increase in amount of infrastructure expenditure will lead to an increase of 1.094 units in FDI. Empirical Model Developed FDI = 1.094 InfrastructureExpenditure + .045 Interest Rate .125 Exchange Rate .037 Inflation 4.2 Hypothesis Assessment Summary Hypothesis ÃŽÂ ² Sig. E.C H1: GDP has positive impact on FDI .089 .560 Reject H2: Infrastructure expenditure has positive impact on FDI 1.094 .000 Accept H3: Taxes has negative impact on FDI Reject H4: Inflation has negative impact on FDI -.037 .035 Accept H5:GDP per capita growth has positive impact on FDI .001 .962 Reject H6: Exchange rate has positive impact on FDI -.125 .000 Reject H7: Interest rate has negative impact on FDI .045 .003 Reject CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION, IMPLICATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH 5.1 Conclusion Foreign direct invest being the most important factor in the development of developing countries likewise Pakistan. From recent years there has been great fight going on among LDCà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s from all over the world to attract higher amount of FDI to fuel their economic growth. This research was intended to find out the impact of macroeconomic variables including GDP, GDP per capita growth rate, Interest rate, Inflation rate, Wage rate, Exchange rate, Tax rate and Infrastructure expenditure (PSDP fund) on the inflow of Foreign Direct Investment in Pakistan.The relationship between labor cost (Wage) and FDI could not be established because insufficient data was available on the annual wage rate in the country. GDP, GDP per capita growth rate and Tax rate were statistically insignificant in contributing in the final model.The most significant variables in the model were Inflation rate and Exchange rate; both had negative relation with FDI inflow having beta of -8.806 and-5.646 r espectively.Interest rate and Infrastructure expenditure (PSDP fund) were positively related with FDI inflow having beta of 2.047 and 1.654 respectively. 5.2 Discussion Accordingto results derived from the research inflation had negative impact on FDI as found by (Kok and Erosy, 2003). Contradictory to the studies of Kok and Erosyet al. andAsiedu (2002) that found positive impact of GDP per capita growth rate on inward flow of FDI but in case of Pakistan GDP per capita growth rate proved insignificant.Results regarding the impact ofinfrastructure on FDI were similar to those established by Asiedu (2002)but the impact of tax rate was conflicting. The results regarding the impact of exchange rate on FDI were consistent with those found by (Cushman,1985).Terpstra and Yu (1988) and Weinstein (1977) found positiveimpact of GDP on FDI but according to the results of this study GDP was statistically insignificant in explaining variation in FDI.Finally, the results regarding the impact of interest rate on FDI were consistent with those found by (Fernandez-Arias, 1996). 5.3 Implications and Recommendations Pakistan belongs to category of countries those currently face huge deficit of resources to finance its major growth projects and to manage the government operations smoothly.This research paper made attempt to explore those factors that in particular have direct impact on the inward FDI flow of the country.Results of the research show that exchange rate and inflation were negatively related with FDI and had statistically significant impact on the FDI received by the country. Therefore, the government of Pakistan should try to control the rate of inflation and fluctuations in the exchange rate and keep it at minimum possible level inorder to assist the increase in inflow flow of FDI.Similarly, infrastructure expenditure and interest rate were found to be positively related with inflow of FDI, keeping this in mind government should increase its spending on the development of infrastructure within the country. Following these strategies the government would be able to attract higher am ount of FDI. 5.4 Future Research Generally speaking determinants of foreign direct investment could consist of variety of factors other than some macroeconomic variables discussed in this particular research paper. The most common of those that previously have been studied were political factors including political stability, level of corruption, structure of the industry, market openness and variety of other factors impact the foreign direct investment received by any specific country. But talking in the Asian scenario cheap labor has been one of the major determinants of the inward FDI flow but unfortunately data regarding labor cost (wage) could not be collected and the impact of labor cost on FDI in case of Pakistan remained unidentified. Therefore, great deal of research could be done in order to identify those variables that have an impact on FDI.

Computer Storage: Are memory sticks and disks likely to be obsolete by

In the first quarter of 2012, a German business software firm (SAP) recorded a 10 per cent increase in profits from the previous year of  £478 million from cloud, a method of computer storage (SAP sounds upbeat note as profits continue to rise, 2012). It is clear that methods of storing data on computers have developed rapidly in the past 60 years, from the earliest type of data storage on cylinders to data storage in cloud. The purpose of this essay is to describe this development and show that individual physical memory such as memory sticks and disks are rapidly becoming a thing of the past. By way of background, before the invention of computers, various methods had been used to store and retrieve data. For example, 1725 saw the invention of the ‘punch card’ widely used in looms and in primitive calculating machines. Although this was a significant development in storage, these cards were not made â€Å"general purpose† until 1928. The need to store and retrieve data as one continuous stream and not individual cards brought about the invention of the punch tape in 1846. In 1877, Thomas Edison invented a device known as the ‘Phonograph’. This device recorded sound vibrations on a metal cylinder with a recording needle and played the recordings back when needed. These storage developments served as a background for the development of computer storage. Professor Federick C. Williams and colleague Tom Kilburn developed the first random access computer memory in 1948 known as the ‘Williams-Kilburn tube’. This device allowed for storage of 1024 bits but was later upgraded to 2048 bits. In 1951 the ‘Delay line memory’ was invented. This form of memory consisted of a column of mercury with piezo crystal to aid in the transfer of data. W... ...owstuffworks.com/cloud-computing/cloud-storage.htm on 8 May 2012. - Paul Lilly. (3 February 2009). Computer Data Storage Through the Ages – From Punch Cards to Blu-Ray. Retrieved from http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/computer_data_storage_through_ages on 8 May 2012. - Pingdom. (8 April 2008). Retrieved from http://royal.pingdom.com/2008/04/08/the-history-of-computer-data-storage-in-pictures/ on 8 May 2012. - Retrieved from http://cs-exhibitions.uni-klu.ac.at/index.php?id=187 on 8 May 2012. - Ryan Nichols (31 August 2010). Cloud computing by the numbers: What do all the statistics mean? Retrieved from http://blogs.computerworld.com/16863/cloud_computing_by_the_numbers_what_do_all_the_statistics_mean on 24 May 2012. - SAP sounds upbeat note as profits continue to rise. (25 April 2012). Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17836653 on 8 May 2012. Computer Storage: Are memory sticks and disks likely to be obsolete by In the first quarter of 2012, a German business software firm (SAP) recorded a 10 per cent increase in profits from the previous year of  £478 million from cloud, a method of computer storage (SAP sounds upbeat note as profits continue to rise, 2012). It is clear that methods of storing data on computers have developed rapidly in the past 60 years, from the earliest type of data storage on cylinders to data storage in cloud. The purpose of this essay is to describe this development and show that individual physical memory such as memory sticks and disks are rapidly becoming a thing of the past. By way of background, before the invention of computers, various methods had been used to store and retrieve data. For example, 1725 saw the invention of the ‘punch card’ widely used in looms and in primitive calculating machines. Although this was a significant development in storage, these cards were not made â€Å"general purpose† until 1928. The need to store and retrieve data as one continuous stream and not individual cards brought about the invention of the punch tape in 1846. In 1877, Thomas Edison invented a device known as the ‘Phonograph’. This device recorded sound vibrations on a metal cylinder with a recording needle and played the recordings back when needed. These storage developments served as a background for the development of computer storage. Professor Federick C. Williams and colleague Tom Kilburn developed the first random access computer memory in 1948 known as the ‘Williams-Kilburn tube’. This device allowed for storage of 1024 bits but was later upgraded to 2048 bits. In 1951 the ‘Delay line memory’ was invented. This form of memory consisted of a column of mercury with piezo crystal to aid in the transfer of data. W... ...owstuffworks.com/cloud-computing/cloud-storage.htm on 8 May 2012. - Paul Lilly. (3 February 2009). Computer Data Storage Through the Ages – From Punch Cards to Blu-Ray. Retrieved from http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/computer_data_storage_through_ages on 8 May 2012. - Pingdom. (8 April 2008). Retrieved from http://royal.pingdom.com/2008/04/08/the-history-of-computer-data-storage-in-pictures/ on 8 May 2012. - Retrieved from http://cs-exhibitions.uni-klu.ac.at/index.php?id=187 on 8 May 2012. - Ryan Nichols (31 August 2010). Cloud computing by the numbers: What do all the statistics mean? Retrieved from http://blogs.computerworld.com/16863/cloud_computing_by_the_numbers_what_do_all_the_statistics_mean on 24 May 2012. - SAP sounds upbeat note as profits continue to rise. (25 April 2012). Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17836653 on 8 May 2012.

Andrew Carnegie :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   5162000   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Over the last hundred years many great people have come and gone. Only a few of these people have etched a legacy in history that puts them in a category of being influential through out the entire century. To achieve this state of supreme centennial importance ones impact must benefit not only the people living in the present but must also positively affect the men and women of the near and distant future. Anyone who accomplishes this task should be named the most influential person of the Twentieth Century. Because of Andrew Carnegie’s stand against harsh labor, expansion of the steel industry, and extreme generosity with ongoing philanthropic work, history will record him as the most influential person of the Twentieth Century.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Carnegie is most widely known for his monopolization of the steel industry. He developed numerous companies to support the need for steel in the developing United States. He foresaw that following the Civil War steel was going to be an important part of American life. He decided that it would be a smart idea to invest in the developing industry and that decision paid off enormously. (Amer. Exp.) He worked to modernize the United States through the building of bridges, railroads, and other vital roadways, which in turn brought the country together. By 1900, Carnegie Steel Juggernaut produced more steel, than all of Great Britain. In the early part of the Twentieth century large monopolies ruled the industrial world bringing about long hours, low wages, and harsh working conditions. This was also the time when the thought or the attempt to unionize was completely out of the question as far as most leaders of industry were concerned. Andrew Carnegie was the one of the so-called robber barons that took a stand against the unfair working conditions. Carnegie preached the rights of laborers and felt they should unionize to protect their jobs. (Amer Exp 2) As a result of Carnegie’s strong reputation his stand for unionization sent a message to the world that unions can and should be allowed. He persevered to shorten the average workday, and saw industry as a corporation between the worker and the employer. Carnegie felt that work and money were a means to an end. His goal in industry wasn’t to become the richest man but instead to improve himself to benefit the greater good of mankind. He felt that the best way to accomplish this goal was through communication.

The Most Important Decision of My Life

The Most Important Decision of My Life. During the course of our lifetimes we make many  significant and difficult choices that affect us. These  choices affect our personal and professional lives. Therefore, we make these choices with much thought and  care. One of the most difficult and important decisions I  have made was deciding whether to keep studying Engineer or definitely change to English Teaching, a career that always caught my attention.The question was brought up by my dad, he knew that I wasn’t completely happy studying Engineering and after a delicate period of my life he wanted me to be content and fulfilled. Thus, I chose to become a  teacher. It is important to have a career that is satisfying,  and that would allow for helping others achieve their goals. Luckily for me, it’s panned out. I feel much more comfortable now and even though there was a lot of pressure on me I could cope well with it.Besides, entering this career gave me the chan ce to meet new people that have played an important role in my life in the last 3 years. I wonder if my life would be any different now had I made a different choice. I suppose I would be graduated and working in a factory surrounded by machines and boring people and that’s definitely what I don’t want for my future life. If you ask me to make the decision once again, my answer would still remain the same, because I am happy with my present conditions!

Covey 7 Habits Analysis

I have always been a firm believer that there are many different types of leaders. To be a leader you must have natural ability, and have the ability to listen and grow. Being in many leadership roles and positions has helped me to become the best person that I can be. Looking at leadership and management however opened my eyes to a new concept. I had never before realized how much the two go hand in hand. I feel the two words are synonymous in some aspects. My Leadership and Management style helped me to realize what kind of natural skills I have as a leader, and what kind of defined skills I have as a manager.My â€Å"Lamp† chart really was split between the two entities. I always thought that I was much more of a leader than a manager. Come to find out I have skills in both sides that compliment one another. My Leadership style consists of many components, but the main two are my creating abilities and my empowering abilities. I feel that these two are the natural traits th at I have, and they are things that I have expanded on the more I learn about others, and myself. I have always been a creative person, the one with the ideas and new concepts.This has allowed me to be an effective leader in my positions to find other ways to do things, and to be successful at implementing new ideas. I also have the ability to empower those around me. What this means is to get people excited and willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish the goal or task we may face. I do this by believing in those around me and giving others the tools they need to lead themselves. My management style however is a bit different. I believe management skills are learned unlike leadership traits.Through the positions I have held on campus, in high school, an in the work place I have learned to become more responsible and in turn some vital managerial skills. Through my â€Å"LAMP† I have come to realize my top two managerial skills are organization, and I am very job centered . I have not always been an organized person, and still believe that there is much room for improvement. With that being said my organizational skills have vastly improved while in college and it is due to the roles I have had within clubs and organizations, and most importantly my fraternity.Organization didn’t come easy for me, but I realized to become an effective manager I needed to be organized, this directly translates to being an effective leader as well. Poor organization can lead to loss of credibility and that is something I try to stay away from. I am also very job centered. This means I like to know what needs to be done, by whom, and with a set date. If I have all of that I am able to delegate and get jobs finished in a timely manner. Being job centered really means I like to have defined roles.Who’s doing what is a big deal for me, especially in managerial and leadership positions. Now the question is are Leadership and Management the same? I think not. T here is a reason that the two are separated on the test. Both Leadership and Management skills are vital when taking any role or position of power. The differences lie in how you take charge and take control. Leadership skills I feel are things you are born with. Leaders also are people who are highly revered, someone who you look up to or want to be.While Managerial skills can be taught if enough hard work and effort is put in. Yet managers sometimes are not revered as a role model because for the most part they tend to be your boss and make less of a personnel connection. This is why I feel having defined skills in both areas can make you the most effective person you can be. Being a great leader allows you to connect with people, excite people, and build credibility. While being a good manager means you delegate well, you stay organized and on task, and you oversee/stay on top of those whom you are managing.According to Kotter in the article What Leaders Do â€Å"Management is a bout coping with complexity. Leadership, by contrast, is about coping with change. † Good management is what keeps chaos from occurring. Kotter talks about how management is a major component in consistency and profitability if we look at it from a business aspect. This article describes how management is all about the complexities and how to good managers cope. â€Å"More change always demands more leadership. † (pg.. 86 Kotter. ) Things are ever changing today. This is why leadership as a practice has now become so important.Kotter talks about the abilities of leaders to run with the change and make things work with little room for discrepancy or chaos. A good leader is someone who can roll with the punches, figure out a new plan of action, and take charge all at once. Leadership is something that takes courage to make the tough decisions when something arises. The two styles although different do go hand in hand. When looking at Leadership and Management in relation to the Greek community we see how vital it is to have students who exemplify both qualities.When obtaining a Leadership role within a Fraternity or a Sorority you are taking a lot of responsibility. To run a Greek house you must have the support and respect from all members, otherwise you can accomplish nothing. Fraternities and Sororities were built on the basis that we share the same goals and aspirations, it is the Leaders job to remind everyone that so they are able to carry on together. Leadership skills also come in handy when relating to your members. If you approach them as a manager instead of their leader they may lose that connection with you.With that being said the Managerial side of running a Chapter also is very important. I like to think of this as the work side. When managing a Greek house you must always be on top of the logistical or behind the scenes work that many members never really get a chance to see, whether it be connecting with nationals, working with hou sing corp. , or going to IFC meetings. This is where being a manager plays a big role because with all of this work organizational skills, delegation, and planning all must take place otherwise mayhem could occur.Once things get out of hand it is hard to pull them back, that is why staying on top of everything as a manager is just as important as being the leader that everyone wants to follow. Another way to look at leadership and management in daily life is Stephen Covey’s book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. The book looks at how to be the most effective person you can be. The steps you need to take to do so is also a major component in the book. The 7 Habits prepares you to change your outlook on what it really means to be effective, and in turn what it takes to be a leader.Habit one is Be Proactive. Sounds pretty self-explanatory but when you look more in depth you can really learn a lot from this habit. Being proactive is the root to being effective. It is t he first step away from dependence towards independence. Being proactive means taking initiative, getting things done, and overall taking control of your life. When you become proactive you take responsibility for your choices. You learn what it means to really take accountability and get things done. Being proactive really is all about getting yourself to do what needs to be done and being accountable for that.I have personally seen myself start to be more proactive the older I get. I was a huge procrastinator when I was younger and was always rushing to get things done. Now by being more proactive I have found time to do others things and take on more responsibilities as a leader. Habit two is, begin with an end in mind. This boils down to setting goals. Whenever starting a project or taking something over know what you want to achieve when you begin. This is very important in measuring success. If you have a goal you have a target you are trying to reach.The more solidified the g oal the more prepared you can become while trying to achieve it. To begin with an end in mind is like setting a personal goal or mission statement that can be applied to everything that you do, thus knowing what you can and want to achieve. I find habit two extremely insightful. I have always been an activator, someone who loves to start things and get them off the ground, my problem sometimes is once I start I don’t know where to go. This habit is really on that I connected with because I feel it can help me solidify what I want to do and where I want to go when starting any project in my life.Habit three is put first things first. In other words it is to prioritize by importance rather than urgency. Many times people get caught up and procrastinate, leaving them behind and always rushing to catch up on due dates. In the book there is a chart called the time management matrix, which shows four quadrants. The ideal quadrant is two, if you are living in this quadrant you have your priorities in check and have some free time to enjoy life. Most people however live in quadrant one, which is crisis management and never having free time because of poor pre planning.I find this habit to be one of the more difficult ones to live by. In my â€Å"LAMP† planning was my lowest strength on the management side. I struggle with putting first things first because sometimes I literally do not put first things first. This is something since reading the seven habits that I know I need to work on for my own leadership and management needs. Habit four is think win-win. This chapter explains all the different types of people that are out there. It explains that some people are out there only working for the good of themselves and do not care if they push anyone down to get where they want.This chapter focuses on looking at life from the perspective of win-win. Therefore everyone is no worse off than before. If we always went into a deal looking for the best option fo r both parties then things would run a lot smoother. This habit teaches us that making the right call and doing the right thing will propel you further than if you are only looking out for your own self interest and nothing else. I feel that I am pretty acclimated with this habit. I have always been the type to seek mutual agreements on deals or trades.I feel that by both parties becoming better off there is more room for working together or trading again in the future. Someone who only looks out for themselves will end up burning many bridges and will have no one to rely on soon enough. Habit Five is seek first to understand, then to be understood. This means to listen to someone, really listen to someone. Habit five is all about understanding someone, fully listening and caring about what they say. In turn they will do the same for you. Empathetic listening is key when connecting and seeing where someone is coming from. This is a great characteristic to have as a leader.When someo ne feels like they are really being heard, then they will make a conscious effort to hear you out. This will in turn create an environment of complete unity and will make it that much easier to get things done when you can see from others points of views and they can see from yours. I feel that I have been getting better at understanding first then seeking to be understood. Many times during the beginning of my Presidency I would try to be heard first, what I noticed is that nobody listens when all you want is to be heard. Everybody has a voice and those voices need to have the opportunity to share.Once I learned this many people who I had never even connected with much before my term started coming to me for daily advice because I would actually listen to them. In turn I found myself with a mass support system within the house. Habit Six, Synergize. To combine the strengths of everyone in the group for cohesive and effective teamwork is what synergy is all about. You can also use s ynergy to bring all seven habits together as well. Once you can figure out a way to make them all work then the habits almost condense into one proactive effective lifestyle. To truly understand synergism you must understand and trust the process.The whole is greater than the sum of its parts is a great way to think about synergism. Working to combine the best attributes of people into one is very hard to do but with synergy you must trust others and trust yourself. Synergy can even be related to work, using synergistic energy to bring new ideas and methods is vital to keep things moving and to renew. I feel that because of my Leadership studies minor I have been able to see strengths in people and work together with them implementing my strengths to maximize the potential of the group and do the best job that we can.I also noticed that working as a team and feeding off of others ideas really gets the engines going, creating a better work environment and creating healthy competition . Habit 7, Sharpen the Saw. This is taking a step back, viewing where you are, your goals, and life and really taking the time to meditate and think of how you are effective, and more importantly how you can become even more effective. When you â€Å"Sharpen the Saw† you are taking the time to focus on you. This can even be things like working on your physical health and mental well being.This is very important because if you feel tired, overworked, or stressed it is time to re-evaluate everything and have a plan to better yourself. I like to think of sharpening the saw as if I am looking at my effectiveness and goals from an outsiders view and how I can grow to become a better leader. I feel that I do not take enough time to do this. , partially because I do not manage my time as well as I would like to, to really evaluate myself and how I am doing. I do find it is really difficult to revisit my strengths and weaknesses and how to improve them because I am too worried about how everyone else is doing.When looking at the seven habits and the move from dependence, to independence, and ultimately interdependence I see how the seven habits can really be effective. I found that the seven habits, if utilized correctly can really change your life. The book however in my opinion goes too in-depth about how to use the habits. I feel that it could be condensed, giving more information about the habit itself, and less about how to live your life. The habits should be interpreted by each person from their own standpoint because everyone will use them differently.The part of the book I connected with most was the circle of concern and the circle of influence. This really hit the nail on the head for me. I find myself worried about too much instead of figuring out ways to use my influence to change them. If I was less concerned, and more influential the problems I face would not be there in the first place. This is something I have tried to work on ever since readin g Covey’s book. I also have become more aware of myself. Habit 7 opened my eyes to the fact that I really do need to take care of myself more. By doing this I can effectively use the other six habits to my advantage.Overall I found the habits to be a guide for how to not only be a leader, but how to live life. The habits themselves are great tools to use in a leadership position or to just become a better person. The habits paired with my strengths and my management styles really all coincide. Now I just need to take what I know, take a step back and see how I can apply it to my everyday routine. I want to live like my favorite quote says, â€Å"Don’t count the days, make the days count. † Muhammad Ali. The only way to make the days count is hard work, effort, and the application of my strengths and the seven habits.