Thursday, October 31, 2019

Archplot in the film Die Hard Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Archplot in the film Die Hard - Movie Review Example These struggles must represent the protagonist's particular desire to achieve his objectives against the antagonistic force. There is a linear time frame which characterises the temporal features of the story. This linear time frame is produced as a result of discrete and causally related events. The final feature of the Archplot is the nature of the story's ending. The ending leaves no room for doubt as to the fate of the characters. The ending, in short, is characterised by a finality which cannot be altered. This essay will argue that, in nearly all respects, the Die Hard screenplay conforms closely to the main features of the Archplot. This screenplay pursues the fundamental features noted by McKee, and a textual analysis of the screenplay will be employed to analyse each of these features of the Archplot, respectively. There is a preliminary question as to whether the main protagonist is active or passive. The protagonist in Die Hard is John McClane, a New York City police officer. The script introduces him as "mid-thirties, good-looking, athletic and tired from his trip" (Die Hard: 3). He has a Beretta pistol visible through his open jacket and, in an early attempt to establish the protagonist as an active character, the script contrasts him with a fellow airline passenger when "McClane turns, looks at the Babbit clone next to him. Caught, he tenses, holds his armrests in exaggerated fear" (Die Hard: 3). The Babbit reference is to a famous American literary work which bemoans the passivity and the helplessness of the working man. The physical description of the protagonist, the gun, and the explicit literary reference seek to immediately establish McClane as the anti-Babbit, or the opposite of passive and helpless. McKee establishes various guidelines, or commandments if you will, for creating an active protagonist within the Archplot framework. First, the action must always be within the control of the protagonist. This does not require that the protagonist drive the action forward, indeed the protagonist may be placed in a reactionary role, but that the protagonist is always connected in some way to the plot as it unfolds. Second, the plot must pose challenges and obstacles for the protagonist; in this way, an active protagonist is one whom is presented with barriers to the achievement of certain goals and objectives. Finally, the active protagonist is characterised by an event or a situation which throws his life out of balance or in some other way renders him vulnerable to an antagonistic force. The John McClane character conforms extraordinarily close to McKee's notion of an active protagonist. Die Hard begins and ends with the protagonist. John McClane comes to Los Angeles, becomes embroiled in an adversarial conflict, reigns supreme in the conflict, disposes of the adversary, and then continues to enjoy the original purpose of his visit. As an initial matter, McClane is perfectly tailored for the conflict which he encounters, describing himself as "a New York cop who used to be a New York kid, and I got six months backlog of New York scumbags I'm still trying to put behind bars. I don't just get up

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Cultural Protectionism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Cultural Protectionism - Essay Example Conversely, other countries’ cultures are portrayed as backward, oppressive and at times, barbaric. Recently, many countries have tried to protect various cultures especially through the film industry. As expected, this has drawn varied reactions with some criticising this move while others in support of the same. This paper will analyse if movies are just like any other goods. Furthermore, it will dig out the various ways countries ought to shield respective film industries. The critics of the cultural protectionism often argue that movies are like any other commodity hence, there is no point to emphasize on the same. According to Sanson (2014), movies are just used as a form of entertainment just like other commodities that are bought by people from different countries. Baughn and Buchanan (2011) made an argument that cultural protectionism especially in the movies is unrealistic. To solidify the argument, a case of France was cited where the government tried to reduce the importation of movies but the local consumers still failed to buy the local content. As a result, it is argued that cultural protectionism is unrelated to movies. Often, in order to ensure cultural protectionism is done, governments employ the tactic of high tax for imported movies. Additionally, local film industry is funded in a bid to enable it produce more of the content the government would prefer. It is here that critics argue that this step does not guarantee protectionism because the industry would then be subjected to manipulation (Heinemann, 2012). Instead of using movies as a way of cultural protectionism, the government is urged to employ other methods. In short, these critics are arguing that the film industry has nothing to do with the issue of culture. Notwithstanding these assertions and examples provided by the critics, the proponents

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Durkheims Approach to Sociological Analysis

Durkheims Approach to Sociological Analysis Outline the main features of Durkheims approach to sociological analysis, and discuss how this may be used to understand suicide rate. Durkheim was a French positivist, with an emphasis on functionalism, which revolves around a biological analogy where in society, is seen as an organic whole with each component working to maintain the others, similar to the human body. Its main interest is seeing how these parts create a stable whole. One of the main areas of Durkheims approach is the focus on social facts, these are social phenomena and ways of thinking and behaving that restrain individuals in some manner or other and can include institutions such as the state and education. They appear from collectively formed rules and practices, be they religious or secular and are beyond our control as individuals. Because of these social facts individuals have littler or no control over their own actions, rather than constructing their own world they are directed by the system as society needs certain social behaviours and phenomena to survive. These social facts are passed on from generation to generation and shared among the individuals. From this perspective it is not individual will that drives behaviours but rather the common norms and values of society that shape ones consciousness. Not only are these types of behaviour and thinking external to the individual, but they are endued with a compelling and coercive power b y virtue of which, whether he wishes it or not, they impose themselves upon him (Durkheim, 1895 pp50). These social facts form the basis of a collective consciousness, which Durkheim sees as the body of beliefs and sentiments common to the average members of a society (Durkheim, 1893). This collective consciousness promotes solidarity, forging a common bond between individuals in a society, creating a form of order and stability. Without a form of moral consensus there would be conflict and disorder From where interest is the only ruling for each individual finds himself in a state of was with every other (Durkheim, 1973, p89) Since the collective consciousness is a social fact it too constrains individuals to act in terms of the greater good and for the good of the society and is deeply imprinted on the individual as without it there would be no society as we know it. These social facts can have problems if they regulate too much or not enough, without enough control the individual would give in to their own wants and desires, with too much they would feel repressed, inevitably both will lead to deviance, that being going against the norms and values of society. From a collective consciousness come two forms of solidarity, organic and mechanical. Organic solidarity is based upon a dependence that individuals in an advanced society place on each other. It is common among societies where the division of labor is high. Though individuals perform different tasks and often have different values and interests, the order and survival of society depends on their reliance on each other to perform their specific tasks. Mechanical solidarity on the other hand is based upon the similarities among individuals in a society, within it people feel connected through similar work, education and religious practices. It primarily exists in societies that possess a low division of labour where this is little interdependence between individuals and where there is a basic or lack of organisation and compared to societies with organic solidarity there is more value placed on religion, society and its interests and there is a greater collective consciousness and les s emphasise placed on individualism, that being where you count yourself as an individual rather than part of a group, putting yourself first etc (Haralambos 2004 pp). From organic solidarity and individualism can come anomie, this is a sense of normlessness, where norms themselves are unclear, broken down or unregulated If the rules of the conjugal morality lose their authority, and the mutual obligations of husband and wife become less respected, the emotions and appetites ruled by this sector of morality will become unrestricted and uncontained, and accentuated by this very release; powerless to fulfil themselves because they have been freed from all limitations, these emotions will produce a disillusionment which manifests itself visibly(Durkheim, 1972, p. 173) He noted that it was common in societies that possessed a less defined collective consciousness and a higher amount of individualismThe state of anomie is impossible whenever interdependent organs are sufficiently in cont act and sufficiently extensive. If they are close to each other, they are readily aware, in every situation, of the need which they have of one-another, and consequently they have an active and permanent feeling of mutual dependence.(Durkheim, 1895, p184) Imbalances in the amount of regulation caused by social facts and the amount of integration from solidarity are one of the main factors within suicide, less advanced societies having too much integration and regulation and industrial societies have too littler of either. Durkheim said that suicide was a social act, not entirely an individual one revolving around the relationships between the individual and society. He found that there was a correlation between the suicide rate and various social facts. For example he found that suicide rates were higher in protestant countries than catholic ones, he also found that there was a low rate during times of social and political upheaval due to the amount of solidarity that such events creates (Durkheim in Marsh, pp66-69). He laid out four types of suicide, depending on the degree that individuals were involved in society and on the degree that their behaviour was regulated. The four types being egoistic, anomic, altruistic and fatalistic. Egoistic suicide is common in industrial societies with high amounts of division of labour and comes from a high amount of individualism, which stems from a low amount of integration due to a weak collective consciousness from the social groups from which they originally belonged; in effect society allows the individual to escape it In this case the bond attaching man to life relaxes because that attaching himself to society is itself slack (Durkheim in Marsh pp67). This sort of suicide Durkheim said accounted for the differences of suicide rates between Protestants and Catholics, with Catholicisms demanding a higher amount of conformity, in comparison to the Protestant church that encouraged the individual to interpret the religious texts in their own way without stigma. Another type of suicide common in industrial societies is anomic which results from a low amount of regulation. It occurs when norms and values are disrupted by social change, procuring feelings of uncertainty with in the individual. Whenever serious readjustments take place in the social order, whether or not due to a sudden growth or to an unexpected catastrophe, men are more inclined to self destruction (Durkheim in K. Thompson, 1971, pp109) Durkheim found that suicide rates rose during positive as well as negative directions of social change. He noted that there was a rise after the crash of the Paris stock exchange in 1882 and the conquest of Rome in 1870 by Victor-Emmanuel which resulted in rising salaries and living standards but also a rise in the suicide rate. On the opposite side of the spectrum is altruistic suicide that comes from a high amount of integration and strong feeling of society and solid collective consciousness. This form of suicide is mostly present in pre-industrial societies who possess mechanical solidarity. This was seen as a self sacrifice for the good of the group This sacrifice then is imposed by society for social ends (Durkheim in Marsh, pp68). It is not done because it seen as the best option but more out of a sense of duty to said group. For someone to do such an act out of duty then they must have little self worth, the individual being fully submerged into a group and feeling like just a part of a greater thing, thus highly integrated. For society to be able to compel some of its members to kill themselves, the individual personality can have little value. For as soon as the latter begins to form, the right to existence is the first conceded (Ibid, pp68) Various examples of this can be seen throughout history, Vikings considers it dishonourable to die of old age or sickness and so ended their own lives to avoid social disgrace. Durkheim placed no importance on fatalistic suicide, saying that it had more place in history than in modern societies. It occurred when society restricted an individual so much that they were repressed, feeling that they had no futures or dreams. One of the major criticisms of Durkheims analysis is his concepts of integration and regulation. Durkheim gives no hint as to how one would measure integration or regulation for example he simply asks us to assume that such underlying concepts are significant in relation to the explanation of suicide. He assumes that suicidal behavior results from a deviation from normal levels of integration and regulation. We are given no idea what exactly is a normal level, so we cannot say what amount of regulation and integration is normal or abnormal (Web ref 1). However with some work, it could be possible to come up with various test relating to theses concepts, so that we could measure them among different groups in society. A second criticism is that his work on suicide is based upon official statistics from the 19th century He gives us little idea about the reliability of the source of the statistics and the methods used in recording them could not be up to scratch, some could be wrong, s ince they were hand written things could be misread and so on. Another factor is that the determination of suicide involves is process of interpretation by numerous people such as policemen, doctors, coroners etc (Ibid). In this respect, we have no real way of determining either the reliability or validity of suicide statistics. The coroner is the one who decides whether death was due to suicide or not and various factors can sway his judgment towards it not being so. The individuals verdict depends on their outlook on their work and on their outlook on suicide. Some would be thorough in the investigation whilst others would be concerned about not intruding upon the rights and feelings of the surviving relatives. For example if the victim was Catholic, since traditionally the Catholic Church view suicide as a sin, the coroner may well make his decision based on the effect that the stigma that a suicide verdict carries may have on the relatives. It is known that coroners in Catholic countries such as Italy and Mexico are more-reluctant to classify a suspicious death as suicide than coroners in non-Catholic countries. Another fact is that some countries suicide is classified as a crime, in such countries, coroners tend to be more-reluctant to classify a death as suicide than in countries where such a law does not apply, for example when suicide was illegal in Britain the punishment was that deceased property would be ceased by the state, so it would be justifiable to deem a suicide as something else to avert any more tragedy. Also where the victim was insured against death, coroners tend to be less likely to classify death as suicide than in instances where there is none, as such an act can void the coverage. One final criticism is that he does not take into look into individual action as a cause; however he does briefly acknowledge it but claims that it has no part in sociology (Ibid) Bibliography Durkheim, E (1973). Moral Education. Macmillan USA Durkheim, E (1975). On Morality and Society. revised ed. Chicago: Chicago University Press Durkheim, E (1982). The Rules of the Sociological Method. revised ed. London: The Free Press. Durkheim, E (1997). The Division of Labour in Society. revised ed. London: The Free Press Haralambos and Holborn (2004). Sociology themes and perspectives. 6th ed. London: Collin Marsh.I (1998). Classic and Contemporary Readings in Sociology. London: Pretince Hall. Thompson.K and Tunstall.J (1983). Sociological Perspectives. 9th ed. London: Penguin Books

Friday, October 25, 2019

The Current Status of the Australian Economy :: AustralianEconomics Trade Cycle Essays

The Current Status of the Australian Economy Assignment 3 A Collect, organize, present and analyse a range of data which describes the current state of the Australian economy(with respect to the trade cycle). B Describe and analyse the monetary policy stance which has been adopted by the RBA over the past 2 years. How effective is monetary policy in achieving the policy objectives of the government? Introduction Part A =================== This report contains an informed and balanced analysis of a range of data which assists in depicting the current state of the Australian economy in relation to the trade cycle. Relevant Data For various reasons, economic activity fluctuates from year to year. Periods of rising activity, output and income are called booms and periods of slower activity are called a trough. Generally when real GDP is above 4 per cent p.a. it would be considered a boom year and when there are technically, two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth it would be considered a trough or a recession. In the short term the level of economic activity fluctuates. In some years, growth is fast and business conditions are booming. In other years, the level of activity is slow, so growth in output, income and employment is also less than average. These fluctuations are called the trade cycle. There are a number of economic indicators which are useful for determining what stage of the trade cycle the Australian economy is currently in, such as Gross domestic product, unemployment, inflation, interest rates, building approvals and home loan approval, just to name a few. Changes in Aggregate Demand Changes in the level of Aggregate Demand (AD) are critical determinants of trade cycle fluctuations. GDP is the sum of consumption, investment, government purchases and net exports. Y = C + I + G + NX The following table outlines these elements and influencing factors. Elements of GDP Major factors affecting this component Consumption (C) Disposable income (Yd); interest rates (r); expectations about the future; stock of wealth. Investment (I) Past levels of profit; expectations about the futre business conditions; interest rates (r) Government expenditure Determined in accordance with government policy Net exports Determined by the interplay of C & I conditions in other countries and Australia. Output and Unemployment As Gans, King and Stonecash state, â€Å"Changes in the economy’s output of goods and services are strongly correlated with changes in the economy’s utilization of its labour forces†. Generally as Gross Domestic Product declines then the rate of unemployment rises, basically as companies produce less goods and services, they require less staff or are not employing new members, thus the number of people

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Operating Cycle

OPERATING CYCLE The way working capital moves around the business is modeled by the working capital cycle. This shows the cash coming into the business,what happens to it while the business has it and then where it goes. the term operating cycle otherwise known as â€Å"cash cycle†. In order to earn sufficient profits,a firm has to depend on its sales activities apart from others. The continuing flow from cash to suppliers,to investors,to debtors and back in cash. The time gap is technically termed as operating cycle. In other words,the duration of the time required to complete the following sequence of events,in case of a manufacturing firm,Is called operating cycle. 1)Conversion of cash into raw materials 2)Conversion of raw materials into work-in-progress 3)conversion of work-in-progress into finished goods 4)conversion of finished goods in debtors 5)conversion of debtors to cash Bewteen each stage of this working capital cycle there is time delay. For some business this will be very long where it takes them a long time to make and sell the product. They will need a substantial amount of working capital to survive. Others though may receive their cash very quickly after paying out for raw materials etc. They will need less working capital. For all businesses though they need to plan how much cash they are going to have. The best way of doing this is a CASH FLOW FORECAST. WORKING CAPITAL CYCLE From the above chart,it can be observed that the firm’s liquidity of a minifacturing firm depends an operating cycle involved in the conversion process from raw materials into finished goods and then sales into cash. In case of non-maifacturing firms,the operating cycle will include the length of the time required to convert: )Cash into inventories b)Inventories into debtors c)debtors nto cash To determine the operating cycle period,time lag associated with all the individual activities of working cycle are to be determined first. Then summing up all the individual time lags working capital cycle is to be ascertained. Determine of individual time lags are shown as follows Raw Materials Conversion Pe riod The RMCP denotes the period for which the raw materials are generally are kept in stores before it is issued to the production department. It is calculated as : RMCP= Average inventory of raw materials and stores †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Averahe daily consumption of raw materials Work-In-Progress conversion period(WPCP) It refers to the period for which the raw materials remain in the production process before it is taken out as finished products. WPCP being done in the following ways : WPCP= Average work-in-progress †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Average daily factory cost of production Finished Goods Conversion Period(FGCP) It refers to the period for which finished goods remain in stores before being sld to the customers. It is measured as : F GCP= Average stock of finished goods †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Average cost of goods sold per days Receiveable Collection Period(RCP) It is the time required to convert the credit sales into cash realizations,i. e. , the time allowed to debtors after credit sales for making the payment. RCP= Average debtors †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Average daily credit sales Payment Deferral Period(PDP) The firm may get sum credit facilities from the suppliers of raw materials,wage earners etc. As the firm enjoys credit,this period has the effect of the reducing money lock period in the operating cycle. CPP= Average creditors †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Average daily credit purchase COMPUTATION OF WORKING CAPITAL IN BIRLA CORPORATION LIMITED (Rs. In lakh) As on 31. 3. 08 As at 31. 3. 07 As at 31. 3. 06 CURRENT ASSET Inventories 20044. 82 14258. 83 10572. 33 Sundry debtors 3171. 25 2722. 47 2248. 22 Cash and Bank 3135. 65 3439. 42 5922. 59 Balances Other Current 28. 38 Assets Loans and 47311. 7 30525. 34 12442. 01 Advances †¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ TOTAL 73662. 99 50946. 06 31213. 53 LESS-CURRENT LIABILITIES AND PROVISIONS Current Liabilities 30109. 32 24092. 95 25753. 21 Provision 73662. 99 19215. 28 4489. 21 NET WORKING CAPITAL 8246. 75 7637. 83 971. 11 [pic][pic][pic]PLEASE DO THIS†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Importance of Working Capital Ratios Ratio analysis can be used by financial executives to check upon the efficiency with which working capital is being used in the enterprise. The following are the important ratios to measure the efficiency of working capital. The following, easily calculated, ratios are important measures of working capital utilization. |RATIO |FORMULAE |RESULT |INTERPRETATION | |Stock Turnover |Average Stock * |= x days |On average, you turn over the value of your entire stock | |(in days) 365/ | |every x days. You may need to break this down into | | |Cost of Goods Sold | |product groups for effective stock management. | | | | |Obsolete stock, slow moving lines will extend overall stock | | | | |turnover days. Faster production, fewer product lines, just | | | | |in time ordering will reduce average days. | |Receivables |Debtors * 365/ |= x days |It takes you on average x days to collect monies due to | |Ratio |Sales | |you. If your official credit terms are 45 day and it takes | |(in days) | | |you 65 days. | | | |One or more large or slow debts can drag out the average | | | | |days. Effective debtor management will minimize the | | | | |days. | |Payables Ratio |Creditors * 365/ |= x days |On average, you pay your suppliers every x days. If you | |(in days) |Cost of Sales (or | |negotiate better credit terms this will increase. If you pay | | |Purchases) | |earlier, say, to get a discount this will decline. If you simply | | | | |defer paying your suppliers (without agreement) this will | | | | |also increase – but your reputation, the quality of service | | | | |and any flexibility provided by your suppliers may suffer. |Current Ratio |Total Current |= x times |Current Assets are assets that you can readily turn in to | | |Assets/ | |cash or will do so within 12 months in the course of | | |Total Current | |business. Current Liabilities are mount you are due to | | |Liabilities | |pay within the coming 12 months. For example, 1. 5 times | | | | |means that you should be able to lay your hands on $1. 50 | | | | |for every $1. 00 you owe. Less than 1 times e. g. 0. 5 | | | | |means that you could have liquidity problems and be | | | | |under pressure to generate sufficient cash to meet | | | | |oncoming demands. | |Quick Ratio |(Total Current |= x times |Similar to the Current Ratio but takes account of the fact | | |Assets – Inventory)/ | |that it may take time to convert inventory into cash. | |Total Current | | | | |Liabilities | | | |Working |(Inventory + |As % |A high percentage means that working capital needs are | |Capital Ratio |Receivables – |Sales |high relative to your sales. | |Payables)/ | | | | |Sales | | | A measure of both company’s efficiency and its short-term financial health. The working capital ratio. The working capital ratio is calculated as: Positive working capital means that the company is able to pay off its short-term liabilities. Negative working capital means that a company currently is unable to meet its short term liabilities with its current assets(cash,accounts receiveable,inventory). If a company’s current asset do not exceed its current liabilities,then it may run into trouble paying back creditors in the short term. The worst case scenario is bankruptcy. A dceclining working capital ratio over a longer time period could be that the companys sale volumes are decreasing,and as a result,its accounts receiveables number continues to get smaller and smaller. Working capital also gives investors an idea of the company’s underlying operational efficiency . Money that is tied up in inventory or moey that customers still owe to the company cannot be used to pay off any of the company’s obligations. So if a company is not operating in the most efficient manner(slow collection),it will show up as an increase in the working capital. athis can be seen by comparing the wotking captal from one period to another;skow collection may signalan underlying problem in the company’s operations. FOR LIQUIDITY POSITION As on 31. 03. 08 As on 31. 03. 07 As on 31. 03. 07 Current ratio 1. 13 1. 18 1. 3 [pic] INTERPRETATION This ratio reflects the financial stability of the enterprise. The standard of the normal ratio is 2:1 but in most of companies standard is taken according to Tandon Committee which is taken as 1. 33:1. Now if we analyze the three years data it can be predicted that it holds a stable position all through out period but it is seen that it holds a low position than the standard one and the company is required to improve its p osition. As on 31. 03. 08 As on 31. 03. 07 As on 31. 03. 07 Quick ratio 0. 82 0. 84 0. 68 [pic] INTERPRETATION It is the ratio between quick liquid assets and quick liabilities. The normal value for such ratio is taken to be 1:1. It is used as an assessment tool for testing the liquidity position of the firm. It indicates the relationship between strictly liquid assets whose realizable value is almost certain on one hand and strictly liquid liabilities on the other hand. Liquid assets comprise all current assets minus stock. By analyzing the three years data it can be said that its position was weak in the year 2006 but itimproved significantly in the next two years and was stable during that year. But it is to be said thatit does not meet with the standard but in the year 2007 & 2008 it was very close to the standardand it can be said that its liquidity position on an average is stable. As on 31. 03. 08 As on 31. 03. 07 As on 31. 03. 07 Working capital ratio 0. 06 0. 07 0. 01 [pic] INTERPRETATION This ratio indicates whether the investments in current assets or net current assets ( i. e. , working capital ) have been properly utilized. In order words it shows the relationship between sales and working capital. Higher the ratio lower is the investment in working capital and higher is the profitability. But too high ratio indicates over trading. This ratio is an important indicator about the working capital position. Now if we analyze the three years data, we find that it follows an increasing trend which means that its investment in working capital is lower and the company is utilizing more of its profit. But we find that ratio is increasing at a very fast rate which is not a good sign for the company and the company is required to look into these matters closely. FOR PRFITABILITY POSITION As on 31. 03. 8 As on 31. 03. 07 As on 31. 03. 07 Gross profit ratio 34. 36% 31. 40% 14. 67% [pic] INTERPRETATION The gross profit margin reflects the efficiency with which management produces each unit of the product. This ratio of the gross profit to net sales of the business. This ratio gives information about the movement of stock and earning capacity of the business. A high gross profit margin ratio is a sign of good management. it increases higher sale price. As on 31. 03. 08 As on 31. 03. 07 As on 31. 03. 07 Net profit ratio 22. 2% 20. 82% 10. 35% [pic] INTERPRETATION A net profit ratio establishes a relationship between net profit and sales and indicates management efficiency in manufacturing,administrating and selling the products. The ratio is very helpful for measuring the profitability of the business. If the net froit margin is inadequate,the firm will fail to achieve satisfactory return on shareholders fund. As on 31. 03. 08 As on 31. 03. 07 As on 31. 03. 07 Oprating profit ratio 19% 16. 27% 3.. 50% [pic] INTERPRETATION The ratio shows the relation between the entire operating cost and net sales. It indicates the efficiency of the management in operating the business. FOR MANAGEMENT EFFICIENCY As on 31. 03. 08 As on 31. 03. 07 As on 31. 03. 07 Debtors turnover ratio 5. 72 days 5. 53 days 5. 79days [pic] Debtors turnover indicates the number of times of debtors turnover each year. generally the higher value of debtors turnover,the more efficiency in management credit. the shorter the average collection period,the better the quality of debtors. A short collection period implies the prompt payments by debtors. As on 31. 03. 08 As on 31. 03. 07 As on 31. 03. 07 CREDITORS TURNOVER 3. 96 days 4. 54 days 7. 72 days RATIO [pic] The ratio reveals the number of days the business or the company enjoys as credit period from its sundry creditors. A very largr credit period in this case indicates over-trading by the company. CALCULATION F MAXIMUM PERMISSABLE BANK FINANCE (MPBP) IN THE YEAR 2008 CURRENT ASSET,LOANS AND ADVANCES Inventories 20044. 82 Sundry debtors 3171. 5 Cash and bank 3135. 65 Loans and advances 47311. 27 Total 73662. 99 CURRENT LIABILITIES AND PROVISION Current liabilities 30109. 32 Provision 35306. 92 Total 65416. 24 Working capital=current assets – current liabilities = 73662. 99 – 65416. 24 = 8246. 75 Own contribution= 25% of working capital = 25% of 8246. 75 = 2061. 68 MPBF = 8246. 75 – 2061. 68 = 6185. 07

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Unit 5 Quiz

Student Gradebook Exam https://takeexam. next. ecollege. com/(NEXT(3d4570aa34))/Main/Cours†¦ Grading Summary These are the automatically computed Date and Time Started: results of your exam. Grades for essay Time Spent: questions, and comments from your instructor, are in the â€Å"Details† section below. Points Received: Question Type: Multiple Choice # Of Questions: 10 10/31/2012 8:58:27 AM 38 min , 14 secs 10 / 20 (50%) # Correct: 5 Grade Details – All Questions 1. Question : Carlton Company sold equipment for $3,700 that originally cost $22,000. The balance of the Accumulated Depreciation account related to this equipment was $19,000.The entry to record the disposal of this equipment would include a debit to Loss on Sale of Equipment of $700. credit to Gain on Sale of Equipment of $700. credit to Equipment of $3,000. debit to Gain on Sale of Equipment of $700. 0 of 2 Student Answer: Points Received: Comments: 2. Question : The premium on a two-year insurance po licy expiring on June 30, 2015, was paid in total on July 1, 2013. The original payment was debited to the insurance expense account. The appropriate journal entry has been recorded on December 31, 2013. The balance in the prepaid asset account on December 31, 2013, should be the same as the original payment. igher than if the original payment had been initially debited to an asset account. lower than if the original payment had been initially debited to an asset account. the same as it would have been if the original payment had been initially debited to an asset account. 2 of 2 Student Answer: Points Received: Comments: 3. Question : Student Answer: Failure to record the expired amount of prepaid rent expense would not understate expense. overstate net income. overstate owners' equity. understate liabilities. 2 of 2 Points Received: 1 of 3 11/7/2012 2:52 PM Student Gradebook Exam https://takeexam. next. ecollege. om/(NEXT(3d4570aa34))/Main/Cours†¦ Comments: 4. Question : The Supplies on Hand account balance at the beginning of the period was $6,600. Supplies totaling $12,825 were purchased during the period and debited to Supplies on Hand. A physical count shows $3,825 of Supplies on Hand at the end of the period. The proper journal entry at the end of the period debits Supplies on Hand and credits Supplies Expense for $9,000. debits Supplies Expense and credits Supplies on Hand for $12,825. debits Supplies on Hand and credits Supplies Expense for $15,600. debits Supplies Expense and credits Supplies on Hand for $15,600. of 2 Student Answer: Points Received: Comments: 5. Question : Student Answer: An accrued expense can be described as an amount paid and matched with earnings for the current period. paid and not matched with earnings for the current period. not paid and not matched with earnings for the current period. not paid and matched with earnings for the current period. 2 of 2 Points Received: Comments: 6. Question : How would proceeds received i n advance from the sale of nonrefundable tickets for the Super Bowl be reported in the seller’s financial statements published before the Super Bowl? Revenue for the entire proceeds. Read also Quiz Week 4Revenue less related costs. Unearned revenue less related costs. Unearned revenue for the entire proceeds. 2 of 2 Student Answer: Points Received: Comments: 7. Question : On June 30, a company paid $3,600 for insurance premiums for the current year and debited the amount to Prepaid Insurance. At December 31, the bookkeeper forgot to record the amount expired. The omission has the following effect on the financial statements prepared December 31: overstates owners' equity. overstates assets. understates net income. overstates both owners’ equity and assets. Student Answer: 2 of 3 11/7/2012 2:52 PM Student Gradebook Exam ttps://takeexam. next. ecollege. com/(NEXT(3d4570aa34))/Main/Cours†¦ Points Received: Comments: 2 of 2 8. Question : Student Answer: Total net income over the life of an enterprise is higher under the cash basis than under the accrual basis. lower under the cash basis than under the accrual basis. the same under the cash basis as under the accrual basis. not susceptible to measurement. 0 of 2 Points Received: Comments: 9. Question : Sky Company collected $12,350 in interest during 2013. Sky showed $1,850 in interest receivable on its December 31, 2013, balance sheet and $5,300 on December 31, 2012.The interest revenue on the income statement for 2013 was $3,450. $8,900. $12,350. $14,200. 0 of 2 Student Answer: Points Received: Comments: 10. Question : Student Answer: If an expense has been incurred but not yet recorded, then the end-of-period adjusting entry would involve a liability account and an asset account. a liability account and a revenue account. a liability and an expense account. a receivable account and a revenue account. 0 of 2 Points Received: Comments: * Times are displayed in (GMT-07:00) Mountain Time (US & Canada) 3 of 3 11/7/2012 2:52 PM

Monday, October 21, 2019

Tender at the bone Ruth and her Mother essays

Tender at the bone Ruth and her Mother essays Ruth Reichl makes it obvious from the beginning of Tender at the Bone, that she grew up in a far from ordinary family, her mother being the cause of much of this weirdness. Her mother plays the central role in her family and thus has a powerful impact on Ruth. This impact is vast and cannot be defined as entirely positive or negative, but it can be said that Ruths mother has had such an intense influence on Ruth that many of her choices and actions later in her life are determined by those early years spent with her mother. One of the first things Ruth mentions about her mother is her love for everything exotic. From her choice in food, to her choice in home dcor, Ruths mother is the extreme experimentalist. She doesnt conform to the standards of society, be it by way of her everything stew, which is admittedly made from 2-week-old turkey, or by her entirely gold gilded bathroom. While some would say this is merely quirky, it goes beyond that, to Ruths mother, her peculiarities and strange behaviors are a source of pride. She is not ashamed of her ways, and openly shares her latest recipes, even if they do cause a minor outbreak of food poisoning. This attitude affects Ruth greatly; She adopts an ability to look past the boundaries of the ordinary, and is thus introduced to a life of people and experiences that is truly unique. This is first really seen when she befriends Serafina. Serafina should have been off limits in terms of friendship to Ruth, social barriers should have held her back f rom developing a close relationship with her, yet Ruth does not let the fact that Serafina is black, and eventually a black activist, stand in the way of her being Serafinas closest companion. When Serafina comes up with the spur of the moment idea of visiting her homeland of Algeria, Ruth quickly packs her bag and runs off, never questioning the sanity of the...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Popular English Phrases and Idioms

Popular English Phrases and Idioms English phrases are part of everyday speech. They add the necessary zing to our communication. Here are some of the most popular English phrases and idioms. Use them to make an impact on your readers or listeners. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.Your guess is as good as mine.Rome was not built in a day.The ball is in your court.Let bygones be bygones.Hit the nail on the head.It takes two to tango.Hold your horses.Idle hands are the devils tools.Wear your heart on your sleeve.Dont put all your eggs in one basket.A fool and his money are easily parted.Dont look a gift horse in the mouth.Variety is the spice of life.Curiosity killed the cat.A leopard cant change his spots.Every cloud has a silver lining.Go down like a lead balloon.A picture paints a thousand words.Haste makes waste.Dont count your chickens before they hatch.A house divided against itself cannot stand.Go the extra mile.Blood is thicker than water.You cant take it with you.The bigger they are, the harder they fall.When it rains, it pours.A penny saved is a penny earned.He lost his head.Its a small world.Great minds think alike.If its not one thing, its another.Elvis has left the building.Actions speak louder than words. Its anyones call.Keep your chin up.Let sleeping dogs lie.Never bite the hand that feeds you.You cant judge a book by its cover.Drastic times call for drastic measures.Lend me your ear.Practice makes perfect.Rise and shine.You are what you eat.Let the cat out of the bag.Mums the word.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Audience Analysis and Reception Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Audience Analysis and Reception - Essay Example Also, since the audience is the management of the workplace, I must also keep in mind that my report should be concise and to-the-point, since the management would not have enough to time to spare and read a lengthy report with more hanky-panky and less real content. The report should reflect the overall impression of the organization. The most important things to consider while writing a formal report are its tone, structure, and length. However, other audience needs include their age and educational level. I must not present complex, technical information to non-technical audience. To go into some more detail, a formal report must contain some or all of these structural components, keeping in view that the management is going to judge me on the basis of the report I present to them. I must give proper consideration to the front matter, the body of the report, and the back matter. The front matter includes a little information about the addressee, the executive summary of the report, the title page, table of contents, and lists of figures and tables. The body of the report should include introduction to the report, the discussion of findings and results, and the conclusion. The back matter must contain the appendix, references, and glossary. This is how I should format my report when I have to present it to the management, keeping in view the needs of the audience. It is also important to discuss here the risks of not considering the audience’s needs. The main risk is that the management will consider me as an irresponsible individual, with no sense of how to deal with seniors. Although the management already knows my educational and professional background, yet they will expect me to prove myself after I have become an employee with their organization. My overall impression as an employee will get destroyed in case I present a report that is void of audience awareness. My chances of getting

Friday, October 18, 2019

Training need analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Training need analysis - Essay Example The individual performance is then ranked against those of other employees and then linked to some form of reward. This has now been found to be ineffective and redundant primarily because the validity of such evaluation rests on the appraiser. There are various flaws in this system of determining the training needs. While it could reflect the personal bias of the appraiser, the employee too may over-emphasize where goals are known to be monitored, or de-emphasize where goals have not been set. The philosophy of the founder of Marriott was "Take care of Marriott people and they will take care of Marriott guests" (Cannon, 2002). They believe that "Hands-on managers" are absolutely vital to continuing the Marriott culture. The managers need to possess the people skills in being able to support, inspire, encourage, lead and listen to associates. Employees leave the organization or form unions when they are dissatisfied with the management. With the changed business environment, emphasis is now on soft skills like conflict resolution and stress management instead of technicalities. It is essential that managers should be well trained so that retaining employees is easier as retention is a critical issue in most organizations today. Human capital is the key to gaining competitive advantage in the ever-changing international environment. According to Das (2001) there has been a shift in the management styles and administrative practices to survive and prosper against competition. A cohesive framework is essential to maximize organizational effectiveness. Vermeulen and Crous (2000) believe that the best way to institute quality into an organization, is to train the people to do their jobs better. Training and development includes skills which are job-related and also that are not related. This helps in motivating and enhancing self-esteem as the employees feel the organization cares for them. Motivation is essential for retention and succession planning in today's scenario. Before undertaking the training of any department or a group of people, it is essential to undertake a training need analysis, which is helpful in developing the training program. Training need analysis Training need analysis at the organization, person and task level should be integrated to provide an effective strategy according to McGehee and Thayer (cited by Leat & Lovell, 1997). At the organization level the training needs should be best directed to match the organizational objectives. Organizational effectiveness would be evident from increased resourcefulness, customer satisfaction and internal process improvement. The changes required in performance standards would reveal the changes necessary in training. Therefore the need analysis has to explore the organizational climate in addition to the skill resources. At the task level need analysis is essential to assess the demands of the respective job roles and the manner in which they may be enhanced. Job specification would help identify the skills and attributes essential to accomplish these tasks. Discussions with the job holder may also reveal certain inherent difficulties which may not be readily apparent. At the person le vel, need analysis reveals how well an individual fulfills the activities comprising his or her task role and identifying training interventions essential to improve performance and enhance employee development. A definitive behaviorally anchored instrument can be

Research Method in Management Science Assignment - 1

Research Method in Management Science - Assignment Example Basially, content analysis is utilized as a statistical exercise that supports the tagging of different types of behaviors in the cultures that are studied. The method of content analysis has different benefits for researchers who employ it. In the first place, it is a cost-effective method that is also unobstrusive. This method also allows the researcher to learn much about an organization’s financial status, objectives, and customer body in cases where management research is taking place (Siyaranamual, 2009). When used in concert with other research methods such as archival records and interviews, content analysis becomes even more powerful beause this method can easily be used to keep a record of any cultural adjustments that may take place over time. Content analysis also offers or supplies an objective account of incidents, themes, issues, or documented events which may not be visibly apparent to the researcher or viewer (West, 2009). Content analysis also makes it possible for researchers to use more efficient surveys which may have open-ended questions which encourage respondents to volunteer more information. Content analysis has in the past been used by researchers to conduct studies in different disciplines such as education, history, anthropology, and psychology. It is also often used to conduct studies on management concerns. In regards to management research, content analysis functions as an effective device for carrying out literature reviews in a transparent and systematic manner. In conducting organizational research using content analysis, researchers are also able to recover and scrutinize the nuances of stakeholder perceptions, corporate culture, and societal trends (Judge, Filatotchev, & Aguilera, 2010). In management research, the use of content analysis permits researchers to be able to examine aspects such as perceptual and social constructs that may be hard to evaluate

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Nonverbal behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Nonverbal behavior - Essay Example According to the taxonomy of different types of touching, Heslin and Alper (1983) have provided individuals with explanations as to what touch behavior entails. Based on the taxonomy, the messages communicated carry different meanings, which extend from less personal touch to touch that is more personal (Knapp and Horgan 238). In this case, I will emphasize on the warmth/friendship type of touch behavior. From my experience with this type of touch behavior, I have understand the need to extend my closeness to other people. Nonetheless, other people may misunderstand this type of touch behavior increasing discomfort. Understanding the different kinds of touch behavior has the potential of boosting an individual’s knowledge to interpret the messages portrayed. The taxonomy by Heslin and Alper (1983) explains how touch behavior is understood based on personal interactions. For instance, as Arabs living in the U.S., we practice our own unique touch behavior. When we meet with our colleagues, we fancy handshakes and chest kissing. On the contrary, non-Arabs misunderstand this practice by considering it as inappropriate and aggressive when practiced towards them. Furthermore, it may indicate intimate relationship, which is annoying for the Arabs. In my case, I have started feeling uncomfortable with this practice, as I do not want my non-Arab colleagues to misunderstand me based on the relationship I have developed with people of my

Statistical Reasoning Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Statistical Reasoning - Assignment Example In strategic communication, statistics is also vital in formulation of policies and plans that require knowhow of further trends. For example, a business entity with a strategic intent of launching a new product and increasing production by 80% within the next 5 years needs statistics to achieve this. Using statistics, the business can plan concerning clients’ needs and likes. Checks on the quality of the product are more effective when using statistical methods. Decisions on new markets, site locations and profit estimation of the new products become easier with statistics. The government also relies heavily on statistical data and methods in laying down its economic strategies and budgets. Statistical data is most accurate information available when they are estimating expected revenues and expenditures (Sridhar, 2011). Statistics therefore, is vital in strategic communication as it provides facts to support the communicated concepts, statements and processes that are intended for an organization’s strategic goal by providing grounds for advanced planning (Sridhar, 2011). It facilitates forecasting based on current data and expected changes in the environment. A sample is taken from the population. A population is the sum of all individuals carries certain characteristics and to whom a researcher has interest in. A population can be a community of students in a college, teachers or even care racers. A sample refers to a subject of the population that is used to draw inferences regarding the entire population under study, considering some conditions. A sample constitutes different values from those of the population, and it is important for a researcher to minimize sampling error as much as possible (Hayes, 2009). A sample is important because, it is impossible to study the entire population. This would cost

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

News Paper Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 8

News Paper Summary - Essay Example Most of these investors have placed bets that are not essentially feasible. Argentina has defaulted on its $29 billion debt triggering a stock-market panic and finger pointing between the government and creditors. But investors are optimistic about a resolution to the crisis. Their source of the optimism is the efforts by Argentinean and U.S banks. The Argentinas bonds due in 2033 fell from 96 cents to about 90 cents on Thursday. Little Argentine debt was transacted on Thursday; many investors prefer to watch what happens next. Analysts and investors view a deal between creditors and banks as the best optimism to solve the crisis. Large asset managers have won a battle against tight financial regulations after months of lobbying. The financial regulators decided to overhaul their evaluation of asset-management firms to concentrate on conceivably risky products and activities instead of individual firms. The shift in evaluation lessens the possibility individual asset managers will be labeled "systemically important." The council made the move after concluding that a focus on industrywide activities would be better in managing potential risks coupled with the asset-management industry. The FSOCs new strategy could hand more responsibility to the Securities and Exchange Commission in regulating specific risky activities. Global markets started the year braced for cuts in the bond purchases for the Federal Reserve. The markets were right, but the impact of the cuts on the benchmark treasury yields dropped instead of rising. However, economists and strategists are convinced that the rise in bond yields will be faster and more disruptive than the current market anticipation. Markets were braced for rising yields at the beginning of the year, but that may not happen today, a fact that could worsen a bond-market rout. On Thursday, investors avoided risky corporate debt, heightening fears of an end to junk bonds. The U.S. junk-bond finances recorded their third

Statistical Reasoning Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Statistical Reasoning - Assignment Example In strategic communication, statistics is also vital in formulation of policies and plans that require knowhow of further trends. For example, a business entity with a strategic intent of launching a new product and increasing production by 80% within the next 5 years needs statistics to achieve this. Using statistics, the business can plan concerning clients’ needs and likes. Checks on the quality of the product are more effective when using statistical methods. Decisions on new markets, site locations and profit estimation of the new products become easier with statistics. The government also relies heavily on statistical data and methods in laying down its economic strategies and budgets. Statistical data is most accurate information available when they are estimating expected revenues and expenditures (Sridhar, 2011). Statistics therefore, is vital in strategic communication as it provides facts to support the communicated concepts, statements and processes that are intended for an organization’s strategic goal by providing grounds for advanced planning (Sridhar, 2011). It facilitates forecasting based on current data and expected changes in the environment. A sample is taken from the population. A population is the sum of all individuals carries certain characteristics and to whom a researcher has interest in. A population can be a community of students in a college, teachers or even care racers. A sample refers to a subject of the population that is used to draw inferences regarding the entire population under study, considering some conditions. A sample constitutes different values from those of the population, and it is important for a researcher to minimize sampling error as much as possible (Hayes, 2009). A sample is important because, it is impossible to study the entire population. This would cost

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Living with Strangers Essay Example for Free

Living with Strangers Essay To top the essence of discomfort off, Hustvedt states that On the subway, I found myself in intimate contact with people I didnt know, my body pressed so tightly against hem, I could smell their hair oils, perfumes and sweat. (p. 1, l. 4-16) This closeness is something that most of us, Hustvedt as well, saves exclusively to boyfriends and close family This exclusiveness only survives because of the Pretend it isnt happening-rule. Throughout the essay Hustvedt takes us down her memory-lane of New York, where she tell us the things that can describe exactly why her view on urban living is how it is. The Pretend it isnt happening-rule seems to be the most visible theme in the essay. To an outsider taking a stance against something that is clearly wrong seems logical, if not almost necessary. Whereas Hustvedt says that in New York that is uncommon and almost illogical behavior, because of the possible outcomes when someone is asked to stop whatever they felt they had the right to do. This is allowed because of the aforementioned rule. To explain her point further Siri Hustvedt exemplifies it for us. Hustvedts husband had witnessed a man stepping on the subway with a lit cigarette, another man confronted him politely by stating that its illegal to smoke on he subway, the smoker had then replied Do you wanna die? To much luck the smoker had to get off the subway at the next stop, which resulted in a quick ending to the affairs, but Hustvedt points out that this couldVe ended much, much worse. Siri Hustvedt almost attempts to Justify the pretend it isnt happening-rule, by showing the dangers ot not pretending. Hustvedt points out that New Yorkers barely even notice that theyre doing it, its such a custom reaction to these situations that in the urban cities youre raised with them Just as youre raised with table manners. To exemplify this Siri Hustvedt mentions her daughter, Sophie, who has adapted to the behavioral pattern already as she feigns deafness when the inevitable stray character comes along and tries a pickup. (p. 2, l. 80-81) and that her daughter has been refining the frozen, blank expression that accompanies the Pretend law. (p. 2, 1. 76-77) In the same example Hustvedt explains that her daughter often gets hit on and some of these admirers are more stray than others. One day Sophie had experienced a man who had been shamelessly staring at her, but when he stepped ff the train and the daughter didnt, the man had thrown himself against the window and yelled l love you at her. Sophie had felt embarrassed and frightened, but the man next to her had commented It looks like you have an admirer. To this Siri Hustvedt explains that His understatement not only defined the comedy inherent in the scene; it lifted my daughter out of the solitary misery that comes from being the object of unwanted attention among strangers. (p. 3, l. 92-94). This example turns the essay towards a new point-of-view, whereas the reader started out ith having a sense of displeasure and discomfort towards urban living, Hustvedt turns the entire essay around in the end where she enlightens us that urban living is not all that bad: Nevertheless, compliments, insults, banter, smiles, and genuine conversations among strangers are part of the citys noise, its stimulus, its charm. (p. 3, l. 102-104) in this quote, Hustvedt points out to us that isnt not only incredibly dull, if urban life only revolved around pretending its not happening, but that is it almost down-right impossible. She also states that because of this rule, those who break it make a turning point to everyday life and its those people who make urban living all the more charming. Siri Hustvedt mentions that Sometimes a brief exchange with an unknown person marks you forever, not because it is profound but because it is uncommonly vivid. (p. 3, l. 112-113) and to end the essay she mentions a moment 20 years earlier in her life, where a homeless man had called her beautiful and asked her to dinner, and when she politely said no, he then had grinned and aid Lunch? This example not only supports her statement that it has indeed marked her forever, but it almost seems like what then wouldVe seemed rather creepy now is a little comical and it probably even lifts her spirit when thinking about it. l, for one, believe that the statement is as true as anything can be. Its not always the deep conversations you have with your family and closest friends that mark you, its the sudden situations; because the yre not forced and that makes them all the more real and therefore deep. I may not live in a true urban city like Copenhagen or New York, but the pretend-rule is everywhere and because of that all of the times that its broken may seem a little odd or even scary at first can make the rest of ones day all the more interesting. A sudden compliment, a smile to a stranger or even a short conversation with someone about why the train is delayed yet again. It gives one time to reflect over the minor things in life and sometimes it may even remind you Just how little you actually are in a good way, of course.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Progress and Prospects of Indian Engineering Goods Exports

Progress and Prospects of Indian Engineering Goods Exports INTRODUCTION The importance of exports to economic development has been well documented in empirical as well as theoretical literature. A number of studies have examined how exports are beneficial for economic development of an economy. A common point among them is that, exports may lead to greater capacity utilization, economies of scale, incentive for technological improvement and efficient management due to competitive pressure abroad. The interest in the relationship between exports and economic growth has led to emergence of two schools of thought, namely export led growth (higher export leads to higher economic growth). Although India has been following an import substitution strategy for long, exports promotion has always got the attention of the policy-makers and planners. Export promotion strategy became more pronounced in India particularly after the new economic policy (NEP) of 1991. It is a fact that although Indias share in world exports is less than 1 per cent today, its share in total GDP of the country is more than 11 per cent which is a substantial percentage that can play an important role in ushering faster economic development to the country. Exports from India constitute agricultural and allied commodities (10.10%), ores and minerals (5.29%), manufactured goods (73.40%) (Such as engineering goods, gems jewellery, chemical products and so on), crude oil and petroleum products (8.5%) and others (2.64%). Engineering industry has significance to the economic development of the country. Engineering goods industry constitutes the prime mover of industrial growth in Indian economy as it has played a pivotal role in industrial resurgence of India since the advent of independence, especially after the adoption of the Mahalanobis capital goods oriented strategy from the second plan onwards. The following facts highlight the very significance of the Indian engineering industry in Indian economy. The engineering goods industry enjoys 30.5 per cent weight in the index of industrial production, 29.9 per cent share of total investment in all industry, 33.5 per cent share in the value of output of all industry, 37.1 per cent share in valued added by all industry. 30.6 per cent share in employment of all industry, and 62.8 per cent share in number of foreign collaborations (EEPC). Further more, recently it has emerged as a major exporting sector and also provides technical know-how and consultancy services to a number of African and Arabian states. As per the data available for the year 2004-05, engineering industry has emerged as the single largest item of total Indian exports pushing aside gems jewellery export which had been dominating Indian export basket as the single largest item for some time now. Thus engineering industry is reckoned as an engine of economic development and one of the dynamic sectors of the Indian economy. DISTINCTIVE CONTRIBUTION TO THE EXPORT EFFORT Indian engineering exports have shown phenomenal growth over many years and are making a distinctive contribution to the overall export effort. The up trend in the export of engineering goods during half a century of our independent existence is a reflection of the progress achieved by the engineering industry over the years. Engineering industry is now exporting an increasingly wide variety of light, medium and heavy engineering goods. Engineering goods exports have grown by leaps and bounds from a mere Rs 5.16 crore in 1956-57 to an impressive and all time high of Rs. 73,800.39 crore in 2004-05. Thus they have grown over many hundred folds in Rupee terms. They have been among the most dynamic elements of Indias exports, and have accounted for the largest increment (in constant prices) of Indias exports during 1960-61 2004-05. Besides, there has been a marked shift in the commodity composition as well as direction of engineering exports over the years. Developed market of the west now accounts for about 40 per cent of the total engineering exports in 2004-05 as against the 9 per cent in 1960-61. The progress of export of engineering goods vis-a-vis total exports from the country for select years can be better judged from Table 1 Table 1 ENGINEERING EXPORTS VIS-À-VIS TOTAL EXPORTS (in Crores) Rs. Crore Year Total Exports Engg Exports % share of Engg Exports to Total Exports 1956-57 977 5.16 0.5 1960-61 1,011.65 10.31 1.0 1970-71 1,535.16 115.76 7.5 1980-81 6,710.70 874.17 13.0 1990-91 32,552.00 4,245.00 13.0 1996-97 118,817.32 17,481.75 14.7 1997-98 130,100.65 19,580.14 15.04 1998-99 141,603.53 18,444.47 13.10 1999-00 159,288.92 22,154.23 13.91 2000-01 201,684.93 30,887.95 15.31 2001-02 209,729.06 33,193.99 15.83 2002-03 255,799.55 43,625.94 17.05 2003-04 294,143.23 56,802.83 19.31 2004-05 356,795.46 73,800.39 20.68 2007-08 133926.23 2008-09 173801.7 Increase in 2008-09 by 29.77% (Source: Ministry of commerce and industry) DGCIS, KOLKATTA. The figures in Table 1 indicate that engineering goods exports have shown commendable performance on the export front over the years and it is steadily increasing over time. The percentage share of engineering exports in total exports increased from a mere 0.5 per cent in 1956-57 to a respectable 15.3 per cent in 1992-93 and again to 20.68 per cent in 2004-05, emerging as an important and single largest item of export basket in India. All these are a reflection of increased acceptability of Indian engineering products in developed countries market, aggressive marketing strategy, entry into new markets and promotional role of engineering export promotion council and more liberal policies of the Government especially after 1991. Average Annual Growth Rate Engineering exports have been registering a much higher annual average growth rate than total exports during the decades of 1960s, 70s and 90s. The average annual growth rate of engineering as well as all Indias exports is depicted in Table 2. TABLE 2 AVERAGE ANNUAL GROWTH RATE Period Total Exports Engg. Exports 1956-57 to 1960-61 1.15 19.3 1961-62 to 1970-71 4.64 29.71 1971-72 to 1980-81 16.36 23.99 1981-82 to 1990-91 17.10 16.8 1991-92 to 2000-01 20.083 29.35 2001-02 to 2004.05 17.00 25.59 From Table 2 it is clear that engineering exports had registered an impressive growth rate of 29.71 per cent during 1961-61 to 1971 to 72 which marginally declined during 1971-72 to 1981 to 82. However, engineering exports sharply declined to 16.8 per cent during 1981-82 to 1990-91. This slowdown in engineering exports is accounted for by stagnation of engineering exports during the early 1980s, especially the negative growth rate of -4.78% in the year 1985-86, which was an offshoot of industrial recession on developed countries and near completion of construction activities in Middle East. However, the position improved since 1985-86. Then onwards, engineering exports have grown at a faster rate. Economic liberalization of 1991 was a major boost to the engineering exports. It has opened new vistas, opportunities as well as challenges. A few factors that gave fillip to the development of Indian engineering exports under new regime are: adoption of export policy resolution, conferring priority to exports, recognition and concession to export houses and EPZ, liberalization of imports, relaxation of investment and licensing policies, priority to software and hardware technology parks and so on. It is to be remembered that although there has been a quantum jump in the all India exports after liberalization of 1991, there has been a large slowdown in all India exports since 1995-96. After reaching peak annual growth of 20 per cent in 1995-96, it had slipped to low growth rate in 1997-98 and 1998-99. This slowdown in total exports has in fact affected engineering exports also evident from the figures for 1996-97 and 1998-99. This slow down can be explained by slow growth rate of world export demand, South East Asian financial crisis and consequent overvaluation of Indian Rupee, reducing exports to these countries which account for nearly 15 per cent of the total Indian engineering exports and also reducing the competitive edge of Indian engineering exports in the world market, since some of these countries are major competitors of Indian engineering exports. However, total exports exhibited a sharp turn around since 1999-2000. Bulk of the rise was contributed by a volume increase in exports. This acceleration in exports reflected buoyant global demand coupled with improvement in world commodity prices in 2000 and the revival of world trade following the Asian crisis. Besides various export facilitating measures announced by the Government, significant gains in selected sectors like textiles, engineering goods, electronics goods, chemicals, leather leather manufactures, ores minerals and petroleum products also contributed to this strengthening of exports. The exchange rate of Rupee remained relatively stable in real effective terms during 2000-01 suggesting a broad retention of the competitiveness of Indias exports in global market. ITEMWISE DISTRUBITON OF COMPOSITION Engineering exports now consist of a wide variety of items such as iron steel, machine tools, machinery instruments, manufacture of metals, project goods, Ferro alloys, aluminium products, transport equipment, residual engineering items, management technical services. During the initial period, Indias engineering exports consisted mainly of steel, pig iron based items, consumer products like casting, buckets, drum, tubes, trunks, hand tools, builders hardware, lock, pad lock, steel furniture, aluminium, brass copper utensils, electric fans and batteries. However, over the years there has been substantial diversification in the export of engineering products, especially after the mid seventies. A close look at the change in composition of engineering exports during 1960-61 to 1996-97 highlights the forward march of engineering industry exports. Table 3.a and Graph 1 depict the changing composition of Indian engineering exports during 1960-61 to 1996-97. TABLE 3.a CHANGE IN COMPOSITION OF ENGINEERING EXPORTS (1960-61 TO 1996-97) (US$ Million) Items Year (1960-61) % Share Year (2007-08) % Share Capital Goods 2.70 12.46 1,370.83 32.69 Primary Metals 6.69 30.85 1,406.56 33.54 Non-ferrous Metals 2.89 13.33 309.53 7.38 Consumer Durables 9.40 43.35 928.03 22.13 Management Consultancy Services 0 0 177.54 4.23 Total 21.68 100 4,192.49 100 GRAPH 1 Table 3.b exhibits the percentage of share of major engineering goods, as per the latest data available for 2004-05 TABLE 3.b SHARE OF ENGINEERING GOODS Sr. No. Engineering Goods % Share 01 Machinery and Instrument 21.30 02 Manufacture of Metals 20.00 03 Transport Equipments 17.2 04 Iron Steel bar and primary and semi finished iron steel 22.14 05 Electronics 10.7 06 Non-ferrous metals 4.6 07 Aluminium products 1.10 08 Ferro Alloys 1.11 09 Project Goods 0.29 10 ‘Machine tools 0.98 11 Residual engineering goods 0.42 From table 3 it is understood that there has been marked shift and significant changes in the composition of the engineering exports in last four decades. The most significant change has been in the export of capital goods whose share in total engineering exports increased from 12.46 per cent in 1960-61 to 32.69 per cent in 1996-97, which is a symptom of the marked progress by engineering industry. Thus, capital goods sector presently occupies a pride position. The primary steel which accounted for 30.85 per cent in 1960-61 has marginally increased to 33.54 per cent in 1996-97. On the other hand, the share of non ferrous metals has come down from 13.33 per cent to 7.38 per cent. More significantly, the share of consumer durables has declined from 43.35 per cent in 1960-61 to 22.13 per cent in 1996-97. Lastly, the management and consultancy services that account for zero percentage in 1960-61 has started making its presence felt by contributing around 4.23 per cent in the year 1996-97 . All these show the increasing significance of capital goods exports as well as management and consultancy services, while the significance of non ferrous metals and consumer durables have been reduced. DESTINATION OF INDIAN ENGINEERING EXPORTS Indian engineering products are exported to a large number of developed and developing countries of the world. A close look at the destination of Indian engineering exports shows that there has been substantial diversification in the destination of exports. Up to 1980s, the major destinations of Indias emerging exports were Asia and Africa. However, in the early eighties, the trend has changed substantially with share of Europe, Australia and North America increasing substantially. During the eighties, East European countries emerged as a big market for Indian engineering products, whose share has declined after the disintegration of erstwhile Soviet Union. Fortunately, this shortfall has been compensated by larger exports to developed countries. Region wise / Country wise export of Indian engineering goods between 1956-57 and 2004-2005 is shown in Table 4 and Graph 2. TABLE 4 DESTINATION OF ENGINEERING EXPORTS : REGIONWISE (1956-57 TO 2004-2005) (Rupees Crore) Region 1956-57 1990-91 1998-99 2004-05 Asia 3.76 (73.9) 975 (27.9) 5681 (30.8) 22041.68 (29.87) Africa 1.2 (23.3) 351 (10.0) 1410 (7.64) 3195.21 (4.33) Europe Zero 1410 (40.3) 4017.07 (21.7) 16680.99 (22.60) N. America Zero 40.00 308.34 (1.67) 834.82 (1.13) Total (incl. Others) 5.16 (100) 3500 (100) 18444.14 (100) 73800.39 (100) Note:- Figures in the brackets show percentage shares Table 4 reveals that there is a steady decline of Indian engineering exports to Asia and Africa from 96.2 per cent in 1956-57 to 34.20 per cent in 2004-05. At the same time, engineering exports to Europe and North America which were less than once per cent in the mid fifties now account for 39 per cent. This is a pointer to the diversification of market for Indian engineering products and growing acceptability of our products in he developed world. The important countries that account for the major chunk of our engineering exports in 2004-05 are: USA (16.4%), UAE (6.60%), UK (5.23%), China (4.80%), Singapore (4.52%), Germany (4.2%), Italy (3.76%), Sri Lanka (2.67%) and Belgium (2.65%). These countries account form more than 50 per cent of Indian engineering exports. Estimate of Indias Exports of Thrust Products in Thrust Markets (Unit: US$ Mn.) Thrust Markets 2004-05 2009-10 Country Imports India Exports Indias Est. Share % India Exports Indias Est. Share % Key Thrust Markets North America USA 313.703 990 0.32% 2.359 0.36% Canada 54.333 25 0.05% 56 0.07% Mexico 12.955 30 0.23% 65 0.36% Europe Germany 116.342 261 0.22% 619 0.27% France 69.292 71 0.10% 172 0.14% UK 84.428 418 0.5% 934 0.61% Italy 48.551 134 0.28% 277 0.32% Asia China 49.345 446 0.90% 1.836 0.80% Japan 24.49 93 0.38% 261 0.58% Thailand 10.173 133 1.30% 278 1.45% UAE 9.313 321 3.45% 1.155 4.43% Singapore 5.016 114 2.27% 322 2.71% Sub-total: Key Thrust Markets 797.941 3.037 8.330 Other Thrust Markets 95.477 326 0.34% 880 0.46% Grand Total: Thrust Product Exports to Thrust Markets 893.418 3.362 0.38% 9.210 0.49% Indias Exports of Thrust Products in other non-thrust markets 1.460 3.809 Indias Exports of Thrust Products to the World (Thrust + non-thrust markets) 4.822 13.019 Est. Total Exports of Engg. Products from India 13.296 27.415 Share of Thrust Product Exports to Thrust Markets in Indias Engg. Exports 25.29% 33.59% ENGINEERING SERVICES THE EYE OF OPPORTUNITY Indian IT industry was evolving -from a low-cost, back office, destination into a preferred supplier of high-end engineering services. And firing the imagination of the Indian IT industry is the huge market opportunity that makes a compelling business case for companies to seriously evaluate the engineering services domain. With the market potential for outsourced engineering services estimated at between $ 7 and 12 billion, Indian vendors have barely scratched the surface. The value of work currently undertaken by these players is estimated to be a mere $ 400-500 million, according to Nasscom. Demystifying engineering services In simple terms, engineering services augment or manage processes associated with the creation of a product or service, as well as those associated with a product or asset. This not only includes design elements of the product or services itself, but also infrastructure, equipment and processes engaged in manufacturing or delivering them. Engineering services outsourcing is the practice of sourcing some or all of a engineering services find applications in verticals such as automative, aerospace, minerals and metals, FB, plastics and paper. â€Å"Newer verticals are likely to emerge strongly in near future. These include utilities, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment. Showing the way Four categories of stakeholders are seeking to exploit the opportunities thrown up by the engineering services market. Engineering services is not just design. Engineering services offers end-to-end services, including conversion, drafting, modelling for product definition, modelling for analysis, product design, analysis, prototyping, testing and validation, tooling and even limited manufacturing of prototypes. PLM refers to the entire product life cycle management after production to see if there are bugs or errors. The errors are then removed. Industry estimates peg the market potential for process engineering, asset management and industrial embedded systems at over $5 billion, taking the total outsourced / offshore market potential to a whopping $ 12 billion. Automative design accounts for a bulk 65-70 per cent of the market, followed by aerospace at 15 16 per cent, and electric/electronic machinery design at 10-12 per cent. Other key vertical segments considered good targets for outsourced engineering services include utilities and pharmaceutical companies. The biggest opportunity within engineering services is the automative segment where the potential offshore outsourceable components close to $ 4. 8 billion. This is followed by aerospace segment with a market potential of $1 billion, construction and heavy machinery space where the potential stands at $ 800 million. The opportunity in the medical segment is about $ 300 million. India leads the outsourcing market when it comes to auto-sourcing with 24 per cent of auto manufacturing giving it the thumbs up for outsourcing. Bigger automotive markets such as China and Mexico lag behind at 15 per cent and 13 per cent respectively, while other locations such as Brazil, Thailand and Philippines corner less than 10 per cent, of the actual outsourcing markets. Opportunities and challenges India is a significant player in the overall offshorable outsourcing market for engineering services in the Asia-Pacific region today, China and Taiwan could emerge as formidable rivals in coming years. Indias advantage lies in its reputation and ability to deliver technology services to global customers at great value and high speed. India also has a tremendous pool of engineering and scientific talent, which can be tapped for the sector. Access to cutting -edge technology through global alliances with product companies, availability of prototyping and testing facilities, and sourcing domain skills through collaboration with the domestic industry are some of the advantages Indian vendors will have. Engineering services involves significant investments in software and design tools, making more investment intensive than vanilla IT services Some areas of application Product Engineering The services offered extend from the early stages of idea generation, through engineering analysis and design, virtual simulation, documentation and conversion, prototyping and production, testing, knowledge based engineering and PLM solutions. Process Engineering Process engineering entails the use of computational tools and techniques at the plant design stage to optimise expenditures Capital or Operational and achieve efficient production of products and services. Plant automation Plant automation broadly comprises engineering design and development of automation systems that facilitate the management and execution of day-to-day production activities and their associated information to be shared across the organisation in real-time for analysis and decision purposes. Specific services offered include Control System Integration; Process and Production Optimisation; Manufacturing Execution Systems. Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) Traditionally asset management services have been restricted to managing the life-cycle cost of assets. However, technology now enables integration of maintenance activities and functions with plant control systems, MES, CAD/CAM, ERP and SCM. Today, EAM services comprise product implementation, monitoring and maintenance, process assessment and re-engineering, interface development and system integration. EAM helps companies manage physical assets production plants, capital equipment, vehicle fleets, and facilities complexes over the complete asset life cycle. In conjunction with powerful reporting and analysis, EAM capabilities enable you to reduce operating costs, better manage capital expenditure, and improve asset utilisation. PROBLEMS OF ENGINERING EXPORTS So far as the paper has dealt with a general scenario of the engineering goods exports that does not mean that engineering goods exports are free of problems. Like any other item of export, engineering goods are also facing a number of problems, prominent among them are discussed below. Stiff Competition Indian engineering exports have been facing stiff competition from other countries. China, Mexico, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Korea which have emerged as the fastest growing engineering export countries provide formidable challenges and fierce competition to Indian engineering exports. And recently, the South East Asian financial crisis which was under way since mid 1997 had put our exports at receiving end due to overvaluation of Indian Rupees, curtailment of Indian import by these countries (this is because 15% of total engineering exports is accounted for by these countries). Therefore, it has reduced the competitive edge of Indian exports in the world market. However, recently there has been tremendous improvement in export performance. This may be attributed to the revival of South East Asian economies, increase in the world export demand, etc. Technological problems Technological competitiveness of Indian engineering goods sector is low. Some of the Indian exporters are still at disadvantage in International market vis-a-vis their counterparts in terms of product design, finish, specific features, performance and raw materials substitutes. India can be product of having the second larges scientific and technical manpower in the world. But his advantage due to high availability of quality engineers and scientists is lost partly due to brain drain and partly due to stagnation of skill sets of scientists and engineers within India. Although Indian firms are capable of achieving high levels of precision, they are unable to provide high quality products due to lack of supporting process, technologies such as precision measuring, material engineering and process control. High cost of Industrial Inputs The engineering industry mainly uses raw materials of domestic origin. The raw materials price index has risen faster than the machinery price index. It is difficult of engineering manufacturers to pass on the rise in prices to the consumers thereby impacting their profitability. Similarly the quality of raw materials is also not up to the international standards and it in turn affects the quality of final products. Barriers Another major problem is protectionism by developed countries. Developed countries have always tried to block the products from developing countries through barriers both tariff and non tariff. Recent hike in the tariff of Indian steel by the US is a case in point. This will definitely affect the steel exports from India. Infrastructural Bottlenecks A recent study by CII and World Bank has found that although India has the advantage of cheap labour, this advantage is nullified by infrastructural bottlenecks. Infrastructural bottlenecks are the major problem hindering both domestic and exports production. The quality of infrastructure (transport, communication, and power) is poor, thus affecting competitive delivery schedule and increasing operating costs. The delivery time of locally made engineering goods in many cases is 1.5 to 2 times longer than in industrialized countries. Companies tend to lose orders on delivery schedule. The inland transport is slow although the rail road density is the highest in the world. The cost of electric power is comparable to that in other nations, but reliability is poor. Overall infrastructure inadequacies are estimated to translate into 5 per cent cost disadvantage of Indian engineering manufacturers vis-à  -vis foreign manufacturers. High Transaction Cost The export transaction costs for Indian engineering goods industry are among the highest in the world. Heavy transactions costs not only increase the prices of the final export products, but also result in inordinate delay in export fulfilment, thus affecting export competitiveness. According to available studies, total cost of transaction of engineering goods in India works out to be around 10 per cent of total export earnings. STRATEGY FOR EXPORT PROMOTION In the light of the discussion of numerous problems faced by engineering exports, it is necessary to evolve a scientific strategy, which should aim not only at consolidating the gains achieved so far but also in promoting higher exports of engineering products. Formulation of such strategy will enable engineering industry to sustain the extreme competition in international market. Various measures envisaged under this strategy are listed below: Engineering EPZs and SEZs There is strong need for establishing separate engineering exports processing zones and export oriented units. A few engineering items with highest potential have to be selected for development in these special processing zones. The locations of the export processing zones are to be identified where there is a large concentration of these items. We have already established general export processing zones as well as agricultural export processing zones. Establishment of separate zones for engineering products will enable them to overcome the problems of infrastructure and raw material shortage. In addition it can attract more foreign direct investment into the production and export of engineering products. Technological Up gradation Up gradation of technology and modernization of plant and equipment are prime requirement for export oriented units. New industrial policy (1991) and various announcements there after as well as export import policy provide a number of incentives such as automatic permission for foreign technology agreements in high priority industries, no permission needed for hiring of foreign technicians, foreign testing of indigenously developed technologies, liberal import of capital goods, raw materials and components, liberal import of second hand capital goods with a minimum life of 5 years without license etc. Further, a number of other steps like offering these units a deferred payment facility for purchase of capital goods and machinery (as this would reduce much of the burden of modernization), partnership with technical institutions like IITs for product adaptation and technological up gradation, accreditation of testing laboratories in India by overseas agencies to enable them to offer test inspection certificate / marking of products etc. can be thought of. Selectivity approach While most of our competitors export a few selected products, we have concentrated on too much products. For instance, China, Mexico, Korea, Hungary, Czechoslovakia which have emerged as fastest growing engineering export countries, it is observed that 85 per cent of engineering export were contributed by fewer product categories as compared to that of India. In 2002, the number of categories contributing to 85 per cent of engineering export for these countries was Mexico 10, Hungary 13, Korea 18 and China 20 while that of India was 26. Facing numerous problems due to lack of raw material and infrastructural deficiencies, most of engineering units can hardly match overseas requirement in terms of technology, quality and cost. In the light of the above, we must concentrate on selected or thrust products and give them a full policy package and incentives and other contemporary inputs required for exports production. The Engineering Export Promotion Council Strategy Paper for growth to engineering exports from 2005-06 to 2009-2010 prepared by A. F. Ferguson Co. had identified 19 engineering products as thrust products for export development. These include : commercial vehicles (luxury buse

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Texting and Cell Phone Essays -- young poeple, homework, communication

The question of young people and cell phone use and texting causing young people to be less able to concentrate and focus has always been a difficult one to answer. Technology gives teenagers so much but includes many drawbacks. Cell phone use and texting has it’s advantages such as teachers embracing tech,uses for educational purposes, and easy to use;however,some drawbacks are as socializing,time away from homework,and bad communication skills. The first advantage would be teachers embracing tech in the classroom.Teachers embrace tech as a teaching tool in a way the students will understand.According to Eric board when students took an assignment of translating passages of Othello into other dialects,some students used the texting dialect,†resulting in some very interesting dialogue between lago and othello.The kind of technology teachers are embracing on are high tech calculators,Ipads,smartboards,and a variety of sites.Today’s high tech calculators don’t just calculate certain equations but also graph equations,how to find the greatest common factor,and even get a larger view or smaller view of the graph.The use of ipads in the classroom is useful for both the teacher and the student. For the students the ipad can give them some hints on the problem their solving and maybe even keep a record of their grades that certain student has so they can easily check up on them at any time. While for the teachers they can easily set up tests and quizzes and even grade assignments quickly and effecently.Although some teachers still use regular boards,most teachers use smart boards to teach. These boards are like ordinary boards except these are controlled by remote control pen.By just clicking on the board questions can be written... ...d to spell the word â€Å"love†and spelled it â€Å"l-u-v† the person who asked is shocked that he knows how to spell a word in text form rather than the way it’s supposed to be spelled correctly. Causes are a major concerns especially when it comes to cell phone use and texting although they can go both ways for good things or bad things.In the future,maybe there will be safety regulations for cellphones and texting so young people can concentrate more on their future but for know the Younger Generation has it’s own say in the tech world then the Older Generations. Works Cited Alice G. Walton,Science Proves that Cellphones are Annoying and Distracting,3/13/13,1-6.print. Russell A.Sabella,Cell Phones,texting,and Cell Phone distractions,4/29/2010,Education.com,1/10/14. Greg Graham,Cell phones in classroom?No! Students need to pay attention,9/21/10,pbs.com,1/9/14

Saturday, October 12, 2019

The Writer and The Thought-Fox :: Comparative, Wilbur, Hughes

The metaphorical voyage found in Richard Wilbur’s â€Å"The Writer† and the experience described in Ted Hughes’s â€Å"The Thought-Fox† show events in which a journey of discovery is made. Though their theme and metaphors are vastly different, many parallels exist between their use of animals and their creation of sensorial imagery. In this way, the reader finds how the voyage of life and the flight of a bird are akin to the adventures of a fox; one can hope to direct fate, but we must let it run its natural course. â€Å"The Writer† begins with the speaker informing the audience that his daughter is â€Å"at the prow of the house† (1) where his â€Å"daughter is writing a story† (3) as â€Å"the windows are tossed with linden† (2). From the beginning of the poem, the speaker begins to deliver an extended metaphor of life’s voyage with the phrase â€Å"prow of the house† (1). Moreover, the speaker continues it throughout the poem with phrases such as, â€Å"Like a chain hauled over a gunwale† (6) or â€Å"I wish her a lucky passage† (Line 9) or â€Å"Beating a smooth course† (29). In addition to the metaphor, the Wilbur depicts precise imagery and a symbol for the audience to experience. One example of imagery is found in the line, â€Å"Where light breaks, and the windows are tossed with linden† (2). Not only does this line create a sense of confined—yet open—space, but the audience can easily imagine the sound and wave-like movements coming from the swaying linden trees. Another image created is two people anticipating the â€Å"starling† (19) to fly smoothly into the outside world as they watch the â€Å"sleek, wild, dark / and iridescent creature† (22-23) â€Å"helplessly from . . . through the crack of a door† (20). Lastly, Wilbur utilizes the form of a small fragile bird trying—repeatedly—to fly out of an unfamiliar room into the world. As the speaker’s daughter will have struggles during her life because situations are unfamiliar to her. Similarly, â€Å"The Thought Fox† establishes the physical setting very quick; the speaker is a room in which â€Å"something else is alive / besides the clock’s loneliness† (2-3) and where there is a â€Å"blank page† (4) where the speaker is imagining a forest at midnight. In doing so, Ted Hughes begins to create a metaphor of darkness with the phrase â€Å"midnight moment’s forest.† The darkness found in this forest represents the unknown bounds of the human imagination because the deeper one goes into darkness the further one â€Å"is entering [into] loneliness† (8). The Writer and The Thought-Fox :: Comparative, Wilbur, Hughes The metaphorical voyage found in Richard Wilbur’s â€Å"The Writer† and the experience described in Ted Hughes’s â€Å"The Thought-Fox† show events in which a journey of discovery is made. Though their theme and metaphors are vastly different, many parallels exist between their use of animals and their creation of sensorial imagery. In this way, the reader finds how the voyage of life and the flight of a bird are akin to the adventures of a fox; one can hope to direct fate, but we must let it run its natural course. â€Å"The Writer† begins with the speaker informing the audience that his daughter is â€Å"at the prow of the house† (1) where his â€Å"daughter is writing a story† (3) as â€Å"the windows are tossed with linden† (2). From the beginning of the poem, the speaker begins to deliver an extended metaphor of life’s voyage with the phrase â€Å"prow of the house† (1). Moreover, the speaker continues it throughout the poem with phrases such as, â€Å"Like a chain hauled over a gunwale† (6) or â€Å"I wish her a lucky passage† (Line 9) or â€Å"Beating a smooth course† (29). In addition to the metaphor, the Wilbur depicts precise imagery and a symbol for the audience to experience. One example of imagery is found in the line, â€Å"Where light breaks, and the windows are tossed with linden† (2). Not only does this line create a sense of confined—yet open—space, but the audience can easily imagine the sound and wave-like movements coming from the swaying linden trees. Another image created is two people anticipating the â€Å"starling† (19) to fly smoothly into the outside world as they watch the â€Å"sleek, wild, dark / and iridescent creature† (22-23) â€Å"helplessly from . . . through the crack of a door† (20). Lastly, Wilbur utilizes the form of a small fragile bird trying—repeatedly—to fly out of an unfamiliar room into the world. As the speaker’s daughter will have struggles during her life because situations are unfamiliar to her. Similarly, â€Å"The Thought Fox† establishes the physical setting very quick; the speaker is a room in which â€Å"something else is alive / besides the clock’s loneliness† (2-3) and where there is a â€Å"blank page† (4) where the speaker is imagining a forest at midnight. In doing so, Ted Hughes begins to create a metaphor of darkness with the phrase â€Å"midnight moment’s forest.† The darkness found in this forest represents the unknown bounds of the human imagination because the deeper one goes into darkness the further one â€Å"is entering [into] loneliness† (8).