Human Resources Management Human Resource Management

Human Resources Management Hilti continues to grasp on success and expand globally, but their path weren’t always well defined. The company began in 1941 and historically they’ve kept to traditional strategies when it came to recognizing human resource requirements. In the early 2000’s, the company established a new set initiatives, aimed at doubling revenue and operating profits. Hilti also recognized that this type of growth would require invigorating ideas to employ human resourcing requirements throughout company. In 2006 Hilti launched an aggressive growth strategy, Vision 2015. The company acknowledged its need to develop the expertise of existing staff, attract and integrate new, highly skilled employees and enhance its leadership qualities. Eivind Slaaen, Senior Vice-President of Human Resources stated, â€Å"We believe that our business will grow if we invest in growing our people. We therefore coach and support every team member to achieve outstand ing results (Hilti | SuccessFactors, n.d.). Although the company stuck to its more customary core values the past 60 years, integrity, courage, teamwork and commitment; fell short when carried or paralleled with a centralized and more focused human resource balance. Hilti identified several challenges and shortfalls with their traditional style and recognized a need for assistance. So in 2008, Hilti employed SuccessFactors, software solution company that offered global reach, speed and the ease Hilti desired.Show MoreRelatedHuman Resources Management : Human Resource Management1140 Words   |  5 Pagesa business efficiently? Human Resource Management (HRM). Human Resources is the solid foundation that practically oversees the entire organization, whether its managing employees to surveilling the progress of every single department. There are six principle functions that Human Resource take into account: employee relations, recruitment, compliance, compensation and benefits, training and development, and safety (policies/regulations). Over time Human Resource Management has taken a new role intoRead MoreHuman Resources Management And Human Resource Management2123 Words   |  9 PagesIntroduction The study of human resource management becomes a major topic of the science of management at the beginning of 20th century and keeps attracting researchers’ attention (Merkle, 1980). The new models of human resource management derive from the advance of management theories and the accumulation of practices and experiences. With the development of global economy, the economic situation of each country deeply affects the world and becomes closely connected. In addition, the needs of customersRead MoreHuman Resource Management And Human Resources Management941 Words   |  4 PagesHuman Resources Management is one of the most important aspects of any organization, whether it be non-profit, not for profit, or profit. Human Resources Management is what makes it possible for a manager to be able to focus on their work and tasks at hand and not have to deal with lots of unneeded interpersonal activities. They are in charge of correctly evaluating the candidates that the managers will have to work with for the duration of the candidate’s stay. They are responsible for makingRead MoreHuman Resources Management : Human Resource Management835 Words   |  4 PagesHuman Resource Management â€Å"They humanize the brand and help workforce communities thrive† (Who). A human resource management position may be the job for you. Every business and enterprise has a human resource manager, including Starbucks, Disney and even Apple. This job includes planning and coordination, organization, consulting employees and to oversee the work and employees. All the schooling and stress that comes along with this occupation pays off in the end with an enjoyable job. HumanRead MoreHuman Resources Management : Human Resource Management2534 Words   |  11 PagesIn most cases managers look at human resource management as an expense to a company rather than a source of benefit to the company however, research has proved that human resource management practices can be of greater value. Valuable decisions such as whom to recruit, what package to offer, the training necessary for the new recruits and how to assess employee performance directly affects the employee motivation and as such do affect the ability of the employee to provide products which the consumersRead MoreHuman Resources Management : Human Resource Management1398 Words   |  6 Pages Human Resource Management Overview Tanya Phillips Dr. Andrea Scott, PhD HSA 320, Strayer University October 31, 2016 Human Resources Management Overview Human resources (HR) is the different kinds of clinical and nonclinical responsibilities for public and individual health involvement. The benefits and performance the system can deliver depends upon the knowledge, skills and motivation of those responsible for providing health services. Human resource managers don’t directlyRead MoreHuman Resources Management : Human Resource Management958 Words   |  4 PagesHuman Resource Management Overview As we all know when it comes to every business and organization that is out there, they all need help from Human Resources to continue to help the company grow. What is human resource management? Well Human Resource Management is the overall process that deals with how Human Resources manages their employees as well as different issues that can come across within the organization. Human Resource Management are in charge of different tasks including recruiting asRead MoreHuman Resources Management : Human Resource Management820 Words   |  4 PagesHuman Resources Management Proper Planning is one of the most important aspects of human resource management. Without proper execution of plans, the particular needs of an organization that are the responsibility of human resources will not be reached, and therefore, will fall short of what is necessary for meeting the goals of an organization (DeCenzo, Robbins Verhulst 2013).There are many facets a human resource manager must be familiar with in order to run an organization. The functions of humanRead MoreHuman Resource Management : Human Resources Management1264 Words   |  6 Pagesand research with my family, I decided to go into human resource management, specifically in a hospital. Many people questioned and often said â€Å"Why human resource management?† My answer, I chose human resource managers because I believe they are a vital part of a hospitals success. They make the plans, they direct the staff and they coordinate how people work together and where they need to be. Throughout this paper , I will describe human resource managers- what they do, what are the requirementsRead MoreHuman Resource Management : Human Resources Management Essay1010 Words   |  5 Pageshave chosen to study this semester is Human Resources. The position I hope to have in this field in the future is in Human Resources management. Human resources is the division of a company that focuses on activities relating to employees. Human Resources staff search for new recruits, use their knowledge and work to find the best person for the job. Human Resources management are a vital link to the overall structure of a company. Human Resources management dates back as early as the 1920’s where

Compare and contrast Hofstedes cultural dimensions of...

Mismanaging cultural differences can render otherwise successful managers and organisations ineffective when working across cultures. As stated byOsland (1990, p. 4) ``The single greatest barrier to business success is the one erected by culture. Hofstede (1983) defines culture as the mental programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another (Hofstede 1983 p. 25). Through the comparison of Chinese culture and Australian culture using Hofstedes five cross-cultural dimensions: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, individualism, and long-term orientation an insightful view into the differences and similarities of the cultures can be obtained (Chong Park 2003). Human Resource Management†¦show more content†¦Performance appraisals generally involve two-way communications which is not embraced by Chinese culture as the large power distance found in China indicated that to challenge authority of superiors is not considered approp riate for subordinates (Huo 1995). Therefore when conducting a performance appraisal in China it is expected that the evaluated will be more subjective. A straight forward form of appraisal would be better received and employee participation should not be forced. Of significant interest is Australias high individualism ranking of 90 (ITIM International 2003) . High Individualism implies a society believes that people should largely remain independent from groups, and that people should have a self-concept of being an independent individual rather than a dependent member of a group(Harrison 1995). In comparison China ranked extremely low with a score of 20 in the individualism ranking (ITIM International 2003). This is as a result of the society fosters strong relationships where everyone takes responsibility for fellow members of their group with an emphasis on a Collectivist society as a result of the Communist rule (Hofstede 1980). As a result of the different stance of each culture on individualism human resource activities such as compensations and benefits will need to be approached in a different way. In Australian rewards are geared towards pay for performance which motivates the individual to stand outShow MoreRelatedCultural Framewor ks Of Culture Differences1648 Words   |  7 Pagesanother’. Therefore, it implies that people from different cultural backgrounds could have distinct behaviours and reactions even in the same situation. Thus, understanding the culture differences may be critical for conducting effective and efficient communications in multinational business management. Investigating into the potential influences of culture differences, this essay will discuss Hofstede’s cultural frameworks, with contrasts and comparisons with other frameworks; analysing the scoresRead MoreA Research Carried Out By Geert Hofstede And His Colleagues, Identifying Study Procedures And Overall Outcomes1758 Words   |  8 Pageswill also examine each of the seven dimensions individually and clearly detect primary comparisons and contrasts of this model. Key implications of each dimension will also be studied in relation to management of Multinational enterprises, introducing appropriate examples throughou t. Geert Hofstede defines national culture as ‘the collective programming of the mind distinguishing the members of one group or category of people from others’ (Hofstede, 2012). Hofstede’s findings were influenced by his formerRead MoreAboriginal vs Chinese Culture - Reflection990 Words   |  4 PagesPersonal Reflection – Chinese and Aboriginal CALD cultures. 16137396 – Posted 19/08/2013 @ 00:05. To best compare and contrast my chosen CALD groups, the cultures of the Aboriginal and Chinese people, I focused my research and analysis on the dimensions of individualism vs collectivism and communitarianism. Traditionally, the kinship system by which aboriginal society follows is one based highly on collectivism. Geert Hofstede defines a collectivist society as one that prefers a â€Å"tightlyRead MoreDifferent Sources Of Finance And Different Legal Systems2002 Words   |  9 Pagesfactors of China and Australia. It seems that the key issue facing global financial markets and international investors is worldwide accounting diversity as considerable differences exist across countries which inevitably leads to chaos in global capital markets as different amounts are being reported on balance sheets and income statements (Doupnik Perera, 2012, p. 23). This type of environment can create extensive opportunities for corruption and poor performance and it is hard to compare globalRead MoreImplication of Internalization on Hr Strategy and Policy2795 Words   |  12 Pageshas more complexity than domestic HRM. Besides, cultural environment, industry in which a multinational company is involved, dependence of the multinational on its home-country, and the approaches of senior management also be part of the factors that make differences between domestic and international HRM. According to Morley and Collins (2004), companies operating in different national environments are faced with a complex variety of cultural and institutional specificities that make organizationRead MoreCultural Diversity : Cultural Values, Globe, Huntington Model And Hall s Cultural Framework2148 Words   |  9 Pagesacross organizational, functional and cross cultural boundaries (Evans, Pucik Barsoux, 2011). The need of those global leaders indicates the urgency of understanding cross cultural diversity. However, the complexity in cultural diversity can be overwhelming. Some studies have been conducted in this area including Hofstede’s cultural values, GLOBE, Huntington model and Hall’s cultural framework. This literature review is aimed to compare and contrast the studies above and which study is the mostRead MoreCulture of Malaysia3713 Words   |  15 Pages1.0 INTRODUCTION Malaysia is a one of the multi cultural country. Cultures have been meeting and mixing in Malaysia since the very beginning of its history. More than fifteen hundred years ago a Malay kingdom in Bujang Valley welcomed traders from China and India. Malaysias cultural mosaic is marked by many different cultures, but several in particular have had especially lasting influence on the country. Chief among these is the ancient Malay culture, and the cultures of Malaysias two mostRead MoreDefinition Of Leadership And Leadership2173 Words   |  9 Pagesresponsibilities cannot be outsourced! They must come from leaders within the system. The lack of precise thinking and the â€Å"retreat† of able-bodied leaders to punditry and research robs us, society, of the capacity to tackle the challenges facing us. Cultural Dimensions After establishing the definition and characteristic of a leader and leadership, let us now examine the culture dynamic of leadership. This question had application for diverse workforces in the United States, but also for multi-national organizationRead MoreDoing Business in Australia and New Zealand Compared to Indonesia2510 Words   |  11 Pagesexplore the cultural differences between their local culture and the Indonesian culture, so they have to be open to learn on how to operate in the Indonesian cultural settings. Indonesia is a relationship driven market. If a party is not known to them, companies may not illustrate quick response to emails, and patience is one essential element in doing business successfully in Indonesia. There is a need to develop a long term relationship in Indonesia to produce a prophet compared to Australia or NewRead MoreImplications of Cultural Communication in Business13955 Words   |  56 PagesImplications of cross-cultural communication in business: A study of Swedish small enterprise â€Å"ImseVimse† and its international distributors and retailers Master in International Management Gotland University Supervisors: Fredrik Sjà ¶strand Per Lind Authors: Maka Kvantaliani Olga Klimina Spring 2011 Visby In times of rapid economic development and internationalization of business, effective cross-cultural communication among managers remains a challenge. This thesis aims to research and analyze

Turning Strategy into Great Performance Free Essays

First, let me start by explaining that a lot of times executives, and some HR leadership fail to recognize that performance and potential are two completely different dynamics that get often confused when companies are trying to hire new talent or possibly promote their current talent for new roles within their organizations. In fact, today’s leaders cannot assume that their current top performers are the next potential talent in the industry for future purposes. Certainly, high performers may master their specific job task at the moment, but the â€Å"potential† challenge is going to be how well they will adapt to future role changes, and the ambiguity that may follow with that new role and their current skills capability. We will write a custom essay sample on Turning Strategy into Great Performance or any similar topic only for you Order Now Unlike performance, individuals showing potential are identified by how well they adapt at accomplishing new tasks quickly and effectively while learning new roles quicker than their peers. After all, performance keeps businesses running optimally at the moment, but it’s potential that helps run the future state of the business and that’s what’s needed to bring companies to the next level. Besides, employees who have potential have the ability to grow and take on more responsibilities in the future. In short, performance keeps the business moving, while potential makes the business prosper, grow, and mature.In fact, this is where the dynamic changes to potential rather than performance. In his book on Strategy-Driven Talent Management, Silzer and Dowell, (2009) explains that Executives and human resource personnel need to be better trained at accurately assessing talent to identify both potential and behavior rather than just judging by past performance because they will need to predict and envision whether a person will be successful in the long-term or not in future new roles. In the same way, they will need to take into consideration the fact that before moving existing talent into future positions that assessment measures must be taken whether these individuals will continue to be able to perform and grow in their new roles as they did in their past roles. In particular, consider how likely they are to develop and be successful in rapidly learning, adapting, and growing into these future roles (Silzer, Dowell, 2009). In the same way, Church and Rotolo, (2013) explain in their benchmark survey of large corporations that multi-source assessment tools are a great way for organizations to make decisions about their potential talent and performance identification within their talent pools; help aid in succession planning; and drive behavior change for those selected individuals. In addition, they emphasized that not one specific tool is perfect, but that in using many feedback assessment tools the common end result should point to the same conclusion. In fact, they found specifically that the constant feedback from executives and their peers using 360-degree feedback surveys were successful in almost 70% of the organizations researched. The 360-degree feedback survey helped executives make important decisions regarding their talents potential and performance measurements towards predicting future behavior. Similarly, they also discussed the importance of making these surveys specific to their own needs, challenges, and business strategies (Church, Rotolo, 2013).Likewise, Dries, Vantilborgh, Pepermans, (2012) explain the role of learning agility and career variety in the identification and development of high potential employees. Their research found that in order to help identify talent in high potential individuals those individuals needed to succeed in a variety of other roles while being subjected to tough or difficult conditions other than their current limited job tasks and their past performance alone. In fact, those select employees needed to have a high agility for continuous learning they had to be willing and able to learn new competencies. Nevertheless, they emphasized that management in the past have always depended on current job performance to identify high potentials, but have failed because not all high performers are high potential individuals. In brief, they emphasized the need for a learning agility assessment in their development and identification of high potential individuals, in order for organizations to sustain their competitive advantage (Dries, Vantilborgh, Pepermans, 2012). Equally important, is Campbell Smith’s, (2010) article on High-potential talent: A view from inside the leadership pipeline. These two researchers found that an overwhelmingly 96% of survey participants said that both engagement and commitment were very high on their list for developing potential employees to be motivated to perform above and beyond their specific job duties. More importantly, they explained the vital role that their employee’s experiences and perspectives play in identifying potential talent from within the companies talent pipeline. In fact, they believe that when companies invest in talent management to include both career pathways and support for their high potential employee developments that those processes help identify the next steps needed to advance leadership potential and performance within the organization. All the while, building employee engagement, commitment and loyalty to their organization that results in an overall business advantage (Campbell, Smith, 2010). Nevertheless, because it’s such a financial challenge to attract, develop, and support talent management policies for companies today, I believe it’s vital for organizations to have in place retention initiatives, tools, and resources to help avoid any such loss of their high potential employees intellectual knowledge, skills, and abilities. Besides, there is a high cost of turnover for companies when employees leave for career advancement elsewhere. Surprisingly, Frey, Stechstor, (2007) found in their double round of survey interviews of twelve senior human resource experts from large and medium multinational companies that in the first round of the survey, most companies had no real retention management policies or initiatives in place and that their attitudes towards retention management strategies varied greatly from some who thought it was critical to the success of the company, to some who didn’t think retention tools were necessarily important at all (Frey, ; Stechstor, 2007). Subsequently, in the second round of survey questionnaires, collected from those same HR experts who were asked to then rate three specific categories of retention management tools that were deemed to be most important to them when possibly implementing them in their own retention policy strategies. The categories for the initiatives for retention were labeled as:1. ‘Must-have’, 2. ‘Optional’, or3. ‘Trend-setting’ As a result of the data collected, in the first group of ‘must have’ employee retention tools HR management of those twelve organizations thought that performance related pay, constant feedback, culture and developmental career opportunities were the highest priority for retention of high potential talent. Next, they thought that the second most important tools for retention that should be in the ‘optional’ group were listed as job rotation, retirement benefits, coaching, and mentoring. Finally, in the third ‘trend setting’ category the tools that they thought were good for future retention strategies were stock options, working from home, and specific job tailoring (Frey, ; Stechstor, 2007). In sum, the value of investing in employee training and development can help an organization in many ways. Namely, by having the ability to run a business leaner and more importantly, by helping to diversify the talent and potential that already exists within the organization. Certainly, when companies invest in their employee development and talent management policies it motivates employees to perform at their best, while at the same time offsetting costs associated with high employee turnover, and retention of skilled labor. All in all, in these difficult economic times when businesses are cutting costs and headcount, identifying and assessing high potential employees can help management move workers around to different areas of the business and run a leaner and cost efficient process. Finally, a company with good employee development also attracts loyal and motivated individuals. Simply put, businesses must have employees who are knowledgeable in more than one skillset to remain competitive. Altogether, training, assessments, and education help ensure that employees have the skills needed to perform their business needs. Therefore, when you invest in your employee’s aspirations and abilities, it improves your business performance, efficiency, loyalty, and profit. In other words, the ROI on employee talent development is one of the best long-term investments that a company can make. How to cite Turning Strategy into Great Performance, Papers

Comment on Hamlets madness Essay Example For Students

Comment on Hamlets madness Essay Comment on Hamlet s madness. Do you think it was altogether assumed or can you offer evidence to suggest that Hamlet was not always in complete control of his action? Shakespeare s tragic hero, Hamlet, and his sanity can arguably be discussed. Many portions of the play supports his loss of control in his actions, while other parts uphold his ability of dramatic art. The issue can be discussed both ways and altogether provide significant support to either theory. There are indications from Hamlet throughout the play of his mind s well being. Hamlet s antic disposition may have caused him in certain times that he is in a roleplay. Hamlet has mood swings as his mood changes abruptly throughout the play. Hamlet appears to act mad when he hears of his father s murder. At the time he speaks wild and whirling words:Why, right; you are I the right; And so, without more circumstance at all, I hold it fit that we shake hands and part . It seems as if there are two Hamlets in the play, one that is sensitive and an ideal prince, and the insane barbaric Hamlet who from an outburst of passion and rage slays Polonius with no feeling of remorse, Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell! / I took thee for thy better. Take thy fortune;/ Thou find st to be too busy is some danger.- and then talks about lugging his guts into another room. After Hamlet kills Polonius he will not tell anyone where the body is. Instead he assumes his ironic matter which others take it as madness. Not where he eats, but where he is eaten. / A certain convocation of political worms a e en at him. If your messenger find him not there, seek him I th other place yourself. But, indeed, if you find him not within this month, you shall nose him as you go up the stairs into the lobby. Hamlet s behavior throughout the play, especially towards Ophelia is inconsistent. He jumps into Ophelia s grave, and fights with Laertes in her grave. He professes I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers/Could not, with all their quantity of love,/ Make up my sum , during the fight with Laertes in Ophelia s grave, but he tells her that he never loved her, when she returns his letters and gifts, while she was still alive. Hamlet subtly hints his awareness of his dissolving sanity as he tells Laertes that he killed Polonius in a fit of madness Hamlet has violent outbursts towards his mother. His outburst seems to be out of jealousy, as a victim to the Oedipus complex. He alone sees his father s ghost in his mother s chambers. Every other time the ghost appeared someone else has seen it. During this scene he finally shows his madness, because his mother does not see the ghost. On him, on him! Look you how pale he glares!/ his form and cause conjoined, preaching to stones / Would make them capable. . Throughout the play, there are also supporting factors to argue Hamlet s sanity, as these details compromise his madness, to balance out his mental state. Hamlet tells Horatio that he is going to feign madness, and that if Horatio notices any strange behavior from Hamlet, it is because he is putting on an act. . Hamlet s madness in no way reflects Ophelia s true madness, his actions contrast them. Hamlet s madness is only apparent when he is in the presence of certain characters. When Hamlet is around Polonius, Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, he behaves unreasonably. When Hamlet in the presence of Horatio, Bernado, Francisco, The Players, and Gravediggers, his actions are sensible. .u2cb2374fb384ea3123e11d7e1b792c35 , .u2cb2374fb384ea3123e11d7e1b792c35 .postImageUrl , .u2cb2374fb384ea3123e11d7e1b792c35 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u2cb2374fb384ea3123e11d7e1b792c35 , .u2cb2374fb384ea3123e11d7e1b792c35:hover , .u2cb2374fb384ea3123e11d7e1b792c35:visited , .u2cb2374fb384ea3123e11d7e1b792c35:active { border:0!important; } .u2cb2374fb384ea3123e11d7e1b792c35 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u2cb2374fb384ea3123e11d7e1b792c35 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u2cb2374fb384ea3123e11d7e1b792c35:active , .u2cb2374fb384ea3123e11d7e1b792c35:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u2cb2374fb384ea3123e11d7e1b792c35 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u2cb2374fb384ea3123e11d7e1b792c35 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u2cb2374fb384ea3123e11d7e1b792c35 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u2cb2374fb384ea3123e11d7e1b792c35 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u2cb2374fb384ea3123e11d7e1b792c35:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u2cb2374fb384ea3123e11d7e1b792c35 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u2cb2374fb384ea3123e11d7e1b792c35 .u2cb2374fb384ea3123e11d7e1b792c35-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u2cb2374fb384ea3123e11d7e1b792c35:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Romeo and Juliet Coursework Assignment EssayOther characters confess that Hamlet s actions are still unsure whether Hamlet s insanity is authentic or not. Claudius confesses that Hamlet s actions although strange, do not appear to stem from madness. And I do doubt the hatch and the disclose/ Will be some danger; which for to prevent,/ I have in quick determination . Polonius admits that Hamlet s actions and words have a method to them; there appears to be a reason behind them, they are logical in nature. Though this be madness, yet there is method in t. Hamlet tells his mother That I essentially am not in madness,/ But mad in craft. . Hamlet believes in his sanity at all times, He never doubts his control over his sanity. He realizes his flaw as a man of thoughts and not actions. His cold act of Polonius murder is out of rage and furious temper. He is sorry for it has no great compassion towards Polonius, for he already has enough grief over his father s death. Hamlet, a tragic hero, meets his tragic end not because he was sane or insane. He ends tragically because of his own tragic flaw, procrastination and grief. Whether he sane or had lost control of his actions, both theories has it own support. The support makes each theory a sensible decision either way. Hamlet as seen from the beginning to end, a prince that was grieve stricken, until a prince of rage and passion, has developed through the stages by his own sanity and madness. Even if the madness was true or false, as Hamlet portrayed the role of a mad man, he took it upon himself to be lost in his control of actions.

Labour Market Issues in Saudi Arabia

In today’s business environment, globalisation has created many challenges in the hospitality industry particularly how to manage the increasing culturally diverse workforce.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Labour Market Issues in Saudi Arabia specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Diversity has become a significant factor in the human resource management of the tourism industry as tourist organisations across the globe have become more diverse as a result of differences in race, culture, ethnicity, national origin as well as dispositions and personal characteristics in the workforce (Baum, Devine Hearns 2009, 1). Managing diversity in a workplace requires that the workforce comprise of diverse population which includes both the visible as well as the non-visible differences so as to harness such differences to create a productive working environment where each individual feels valued and free to engage their t alents in contributing towards the organisational goal (UNESCO 1999, 23). The cultural diversity in Saudi Arabia has had a huge impact on the country’s labor market. The essay is therefore an attempt to assess labour market issues in Saudi Arabia. In particular, the essay examines how cultural diversity in Saudi Arabia has impacted on its workforce. The benefits attained by the labour market and organisations in Saudi Arabia due to cultural diversity are addressed, in addition to an examination of the challenges facing the success of cultural diversity in the workplace. Finally, the essay suggests various solutions that could help improve cultural diversity in the workplace in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabian culture is built around strict Islamic religion as well as ancient social customs which often clash with modern technical realities (Needle 2004, 76). The country has increasingly relied on the foreign workforce particularly in the private sector such that about 60% of its wo rkforce is foreign (Al-Dosary, Shahid Rahman 2005, 1).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Most of their foreign workforce is from Pakistan, India, Philippines, Kuwait, Sri Lanka and the East European countries like the UK, Germany and France (Guirdham 2005, p.5). Diversity in the workforce within the hospitality industry in Saudi Arabia enables the hospitality organizations effectively provide for customers from a wide social as well as economic spectrum. The country’s tourism industry has majorly depended on pilgrimage season (Gatrell Kreiner 2006, 765). Diversity within the hospitality organizations in Saudi Arabia has significantly changed the behavior of the native Saudis. Generally, Arabs undertake their tasks in less hurry and are not very active during the day in the month of Ramadan; this has sometimes affected their service delivery. Inclusion of employees fro m other countries especially the Christian countries enable them achieve continuous functioning and speed in service delivery in the hospitality industry. Foreign workers in the industry have made it possible and easier for tourism organizations to provide for religious tourism especially for the large number of Muslims who travel for the Hajj. They provide the workforce needed during the month of Ramadan as well as for the leisure tourists (Gatrell Kreiner 2006, 769). Diversity in the workforce within the hospitality industry in Saudi Arabia enhances quality service to customers as it gives them the capacity to understand the cultural diversity among customers (UNESCO 1999, 37). Managers are therefore better placed to identify the uniqueness of customers from different countries or regions in terms of styles, practices, expectations as well as processes. With this knowledge, they can adapt complex ways of dealing with the various visitors that tour Saudi Arabia including the domes tic tourists.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Labour Market Issues in Saudi Arabia specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More They are also able to avoid stereotyping of cultures. According to Henderson Sadi (n.d, 95) the international tourists have been increasing at the rate of 4.3% and the trend is predicted to increase. This has been attributed by many factors and among them being workforce diversity in the tourism industry (Mustafa 2010, 46). Cultural diversity enhances marketing research for the tourist organizations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Managers also use the cultural framework to manage the workforce. It is used to enhance cross-cultural training in the workforce to develop skills and provide experience which can enable them better meet the expectations of the culturally diverse customers. The training has been used in most hospitality organizations in Saudi Arabia to develop culturally-sensitive workfo rce that is able to effectively deliver services to the culturally diverse customers that they meet everyday. Diversity in the workforce has enabled the hospitality industry to adopt flexible labour strategies particularly in the tourism industry. The foreign workers provide the necessary public relations needed to neutralise the fears expressed by the international communities especially towards the Arab countries concerning security matters (Saudi Commission for Tourism Antiquities 2010, 5). According to Henderson and Sadi (n.d, 98) selling to non-Muslims internationally has become quite challenging mainly because of cultural sensitivity (Henderson Sadi n.d. 98) In terms of social composition, the main ethnic group in Saudi Arabia is the Arabs, who constitute 90 percent of the population. The remaining 10percent is made up of the Afro-Asians (Al-Dosary, Shahid Rahman 2005, p. 2). The county is 100 percent Islam.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More All the citizens of Saudi Arabia speak Arabic, as well as about half of all the immigrants in the country. The Koranic, modern standard and high literary classical Arabic finds use in religious rituals, prayers, lectures, poetry, broadcasts, speeches, and written communication (Al-Dosary, Shahid Rahman 2005, p. 2). With regard to architecture, in 1950, approximately 40 percent of Saudi’s population led a nomadic life. As such, tents were the main residence, in otherwise highly dispersed patterns. The population led a nomadic form of life, moving from one place to another in search of pasture and water for their animals. The other 40 percent of the Saudis led an agricultural life, in the rural areas. Only 20 percent of the population lived in the old cite of Medina, Mecca, Taif, Jeddah, and Riyadh. However, by 1992, two thirds of the Saudi population lived in the urban areas. This was as a result of major changes that were taking place in the Saudi Arabia, buoyed by rapid exp ansion of the oil industry (Guirdham 2005, 56). Older cities expanded very rapidly, and new ones sprung up very fast. The new cities in Saudi Arabia are a sharp contrast of the old cities. The local citizens and guest workers in Saudi Arabia are characterized by a key social division. Temporary immigrants form the largest part of the working class. This is the same group that occupies few positions in the Saudi’s upper class, with the rest occupying the middle-class positions (Guirdham 2005, 57). The different social classes in Saudi Arabia experiences diversity in terms of wealth accumulation. Individuals across diverse social divides share common beliefs, practices, and attitudes. This common sharing is further strengthened by the strong religious and kinship ties in society. The nature of employment relationship in Saudi Arabia is unique. As the number of foreign workers increase in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the private sector including the tourism industry have been ab le to diversify their operations and nature of jobs as organizations hire workforce from different regions and societies who come from different backgrounds and with different attitudes (Pizam 1978, 10). The tourist organizations as well as other organizations respect the diverse cultures and have put in place policies and strategies which ensure that employees from different backgrounds work hand in hand no matter their cultural beliefs. In an attempts to effectively handle cultural diversity in employment, the government mostly employs local managers to run public organizations including parks and to manage the locals and the firms in an efficient manner. In private organizations, foreign workers are employed on the accounting approach so that they can deal with performance management, systems as well as control of individual’s activities to enhance efficiency of the organizations (Guirdham 2005, 57). The mission statement of most tourist organizations in Saudi Arabia artic ulates their commitment to diversity in the workforce as well as the customers they serve. Individuals are designed roles which enable them utilise their cultural expertise to achieve the organisational goals. The co-workers are aware of the cultural diversity that exist in the workplace and are therefore respectful of that (Gee 1997, 32). Cultural diversity has enhanced social cultural exchange as well as understanding among employees and different committees during their meetings (Gee 1997, 32). This has helped in preserving the cultural identity of the Saudis. There are a number of challenges that face the issue of cultural diversity in Saudi Arabia. Human resource management practices in Saudi Arabia are heavily influenced by religion as well as tribal and family relationships. This limits the ability of foreign workers to provide their all to the organizations particularly in decision making. The Saudi cultures also limit women’s participation in workplaces or even in ac quiring employment opportunities. Tribal and family’s influence in the workplace create authoritarianism to foreign workers as well as to other tribes which are not members of the tribe or clan. The tribal culture of Islam also limits their tolerance to new ideas or initiatives in the workplace. Exploitation of oil in Saudi Arabia has led to increasing influx of foreign workers in the country seeking to get employment opportunities. According to Al-Dosary, Shahid Rahman (2005, 1) about 60% of Saudi Arabia’s workforce is foreign, but at the same time, Saudi Arabia experiences unemployment rate of about 30%. This has made the government rethink its strategy on employing foreign workforce. The government announced in 2003 that it will have had a significant cut on foreign workers by 2013. This has started limiting the number of foreign employees in organizations and thus reducing the level of cultural diversity in the workforce. The influx of foreign workers has also aff ected the salaries and wages paid to workers in Saudi Arabia. Foreign workers provide cheap labour as compared to the salaries demanded by the Saudis themselves. Foreign workers who have come from countries of lower economies easily accept these salaries; however, managers from Saudi Arabia and Oman demand higher salaries. Besides, the government has increased the cost of work visas as a strategy for limiting the number of foreign workers. This has raised the cost of maintaining foreign workers thereby impacting on the advantages which come with cultural diversity in the workplace. In addition to that, the increasing high cost of living also affects foreign workers stay in the country thereby reducing the level of cultural diversity in the workplaces (Pizam 1978, 12). (Pizam 1978, 12). On the basis of the foregoing arguments of the essay, a number of recommendations have been arrived at. First, there is need to educate the Saudis on the importance of national integration and respect for different cultures in order to achieve cultural diversity which is able to drive business organisations to greater levels. The awareness should be aimed at helping them overcome tribal and clan/family considerations in workplaces. Saudis have to learn to separate some aspects of their religion in the workforce so that they can effectively deal with gender diversity in the workforce and also be more receptive to creative ideas that employees contribute in the running of organisations. It is also important that the government develops mechanisms for dealing with the disparity that exists in the workforce in terms of the ratio of foreign workers to local workers. The locals have to be given more employment opportunities to help combat the increasing poverty levels in the nation. In conclusion, cultural diversity has significantly improved the tourism industry in Saudi Arabia. It has provided the necessary expertise needed to drive the industry into the global economy. The private sector has achieved efficiency that the government has also borrowed in public organizations. However, tribal and family relationships pose negative challenges that the country needs to overcome in order to realize greater cultural diversity in the workforce. Reference List Al-Dosary, A. S., Shahid, M., Rahman, S. M., 2005, An integrated approach to combat unemployment in the Saudi labor market. Journal of Societal Social Policy, 4(2): 1-18. New York: Casa Verde Publishing Baum, T., Devine, F. Hearns, N., 2009. Resource guide: Cultural awareness for hospitality and tourism. Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Network. Cincinnati, OH: South Western College Publishing. P. 1 Gatrell, J. Kreiner, N. 2006. Negotiated space: Tourists, pilgrims, and the Bahà ¡Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ãƒ ­ Terraced Gardens in Haifa, Geoforum, 37(5), 765-778. Los Angeles: Kalimat Press. Gee, C. Y., 1997, International tourism: A global prospective; World Tourism Organization. New York: Guilford Publishers. P. 32. Gu irdham, M., 2005, Communicating across cultures at work, 2nd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. P. 57. Henderson, J. c., Sadi, M. A., n.d, Tourism in Saudi Arabia and its future development. Dharam: King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals. pp. 95-98. Mustafa, M. H., 2010, Tourism and globalization in the Arab world. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 1(1): 37-48. Dubai: Department of Sustainable Tourism. Needle, D. (2004) Business in context. London: Thomson. P. 76. Pizam, A. 1978. Tourist impacts: The social costs to the destination community as perceived by its Residents. Journal of Travel Research, 16(4), 8-12. Chicago: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers Saudi Commission for Tourism Antiquities, 2010, Tourism investment in Saudi Arabia. Riyadh: SCTA. P. 5. UNESCO., 1999, Tourism and culture: Rethinking the mix. The UNESCO Courier, (July-August issue): 21-56. Florida: Harcourt Brace College Publishers This essay on Labour Market Issues in Saudi Arabia was written and submitted by user Shania S. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

The holocaust essays

The holocaust essays The holocaust was a terrible time period where millions of Jewish people were man slaughtered. Economic and political conditions in Germany between 1918 and 1933 played a major role in the creation of a climate that made Nazism appeal to the German population. There was widespread unemployment. The German people turned towards nationalism. The Nazi party captured the nationalistic favor of the country. The spiritualism and doctrines of Nazism struck the heart of Germanys traditions and cultural life. The Nazi party set the Jews up as enemies and blamed them for all of Germany's troubles. The Jews became the scapegoat of the movement. They were held responsible for anything and everything that worked counter to the Nazi ideal. Support for the Nazi party increased between 1928 and 1933, when the party first started showing signs of popularity. Over the next few years the party's support expanded. As the party's following increased, Germany started becoming a totalitarian state. Until November 1938 the repression had been mainly political, but the Nazi party took the hatred of Jews to new depths. The persecution of the Jews continued as many Jews were forced to flee to other countries. By the outbreak of the war in 1939, only 285,000 out of the 690,000 Jews in Austria and Germany were left. The rest had immigrated to other countries. The Jews that remained, the majority, old or married to non-Jews, soon became part of the mass extermination that followed. On the 10th of January 1942, a meeting took place known as the Wannsee conference. At this meeting it was decided by Hitler, the leader the party, that the result of the war will be the complete annihilation of the Jews.This genocide changed the world for ever. Even though the world has this event to learn from, these types of things are still occurring today. Many people are being killed because of their race or religion. My grandfathers and his brothers were altered because of...

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Foreign Direct Investment In Nigeria

Foreign Direct Investment In Nigeria The Nigeria economy has attained the middle income status according to the World Bank, with its ample stock of natural resources and institutional development and growth in the country. The Stock Exchange market in Nigeria is the second largest in Africa. The GDP Purchasing Power Parity was ranked 31st in the World as at the end of 2011. The balance of payment showed a trade surplus with the United States which is her largest foreign investor and a recipient of the largest export market for U.S. goods. During the  oil boom  of the 1970s, Nigeria accumulated a weighty foreign debt to finance key infrastructural investments. In October 2005, Nigerian authorities had a negotiation with its Paris Club  creditors and concluded on an agreement in which Nigeria debt was discounted by approximately 60%. 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The telecommunication market in Nigeria is one of the World fastest growing fastest growing markets with major emerging market operators (like MTN, Etisalat, Zain and Globacom) who based their largest and most profitable centers in the country.  The government has recently begun expanding this infrastructure to  space based communications with a space satellite which is monitored at the Nigerian National Space Research and Development Agency Headquarters in Abuja. The financial service sector has developed as a result of the combination of international and local banks, brokerage houses, insurance companies and brokers, asset management companies, private equity funds and investment banks. Rampant inflation has occurred on the Naira and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been trying to control the rate to remai n below 10%, in 2011, CBN increased interest rate, rising from 6.25% to 12%. On 31 January 2012, CBN decided to maintain the key interest rate at 12%, in order to reduce the impact of inflation due to reduction in fuel subsidies. Though the, the inflation rate in Nigeria was recorded at 12.80 percent in July of 2012. The unemployment situation in Nigeria is currently high just like how it has affected the global world due to the economic crisis as it was last reported at 23.9 percent in 2011. 2.2 Foreign Direct Investment in Nigeria A definition contained in the Balance of Payment Manual (Washington, D.C. International Monetary Fund, 1997 and 1993) defined Foreign direct investment as investment completed through a long lasting management interest of an organization, enterprise or professional body operating in a country other than that of the investor in question. And must have at least 10% ownership of the organization considered as FDI (Patterson et al 2004). Usually FDI are made by large multinational (MNEs) through acquisition or merger or the development of a new facility. The broad spectrum of all the MNEs is that they play a dominant role in Research and Development by bringing new technologies into such country and also they have great influence on the economy they invest in (Balaam and Veseth, 2008). The debate of FDI has increased as a result of the large flow of FDI into both developed and developing country and its importance on the growth in such economies and global economy at large. The component s of FDI should not be mistaken; this includes equity capital, reinvested earnings and intra-company loans. Equity capital is the foreign direct investors net purchase of the shares and loans of an enterprise in the country of investment other than its own. Re invested earnings is part of an affiliates earning accruing to the foreign investor that is reinvested in that enterprise. And intra-company loans are short or long term loans from parent firms to affiliate enterprise or vice-versa. 2.2.1Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment The economic determinants of inward FDI can be grouped for conveniences sake into three categories each reflecting the motivation for investing in foreign countries in specific Nigeria. This includes resource seeking, market seeking and efficiency seeking. Resource seeking is a principal determinant because the availability of natural resources in the host country determines if such country is well endowed and if investment is possible. In previous years the agriculture sector in Nigeria was booming and served as a great form of investment venture in the economy as the earnings accruing from it boosted the economic growth of the country. However in recent years, the oil and gas industry has overshadowed the agriculture sector and therefore neglected as resources and funds have been used to improve the oil and gas sector. Petroleum oil since then has served as a huge avenue for foreign investors because of the abundance in the country the inflow to that sector has been high and theref ore contributing about 40% to Gross domestic product, 90% of exports and 80% of government revenue. The relevance of economic determinant for attracting market seeking FDI is the market size in absolute terms. Large market can accommodate domestic and foreign thereby helping to boost firms production to operate on scale and scope economies and Nigeria has a wide market base. Efficiency seeking determinants can be other forms that reflect the motivation to invest such as that availability of low-cost unskilled labor in Nigeria. 2.2.2 Challenges of the Operating Environment for FDI Some of the major limitations to attracting investment in Nigeria include unfriendly investment environment, inconsistency in government policies, others are social vices such as insecurity corruption, financial and economic crimes as well as conflicting policies. The challenge therefore is to reverse these: (i) The Capital market The Nigerian capital market was also not secured in the tumults of the global economic crisis, in April 2008; the market experienced a downturn in the history of capital market operations in the country. This unprecedented sinking of the stocks forced both foreign and local investors who had opted for the advantage of the optimal return on investments on the stock exchange began to scoot elsewhere in extreme anxiety. (ii) Energy As a result of the global economic crisis the demand for oil decreased, resulting in oil prices dipping from $140 per barrel in the third quarter of the year to $44, and being the principal source of the countrys revenue earner. The foreign reserves dwindled from $65billion to $45billion within six months from the third to last the quarter of the year. Apart from the above, Nigerias high propensity for imports was also part of the reasons for the fast diminished foreign reserves. In 2006, 2.5millions barrels per day were produced and grew to about 3millions barrels per day. Unfortunately the Niger River Delta violence during this period cut off 600,000 barrels per day. Furthermore, the lack of qualified technical staff was a constraint, kidnapping in the Delta also made recruiting expatriate staff difficult, especially for the oil services companies (iii) Power: Numerous ways of improving infrastructural development have been embarked upon by government but still to no avail. Development of infrastructure particularly electric energy has been and still remains a major concern of investors even despite the Power Reform Program, no productive result has been achieved (Bello 2011). The inadequate infrastructure has imposed high transaction cost for business and thereby militating against growth of the private sector 2.3 Foreign Direct Investment Flows This section discusses and explains the pattern of Foreign Direct Investment flow in the World and in Nigeria. 2.3.1Trends and Pattern of FDI in the World The world economy has gone global due to the liberalization of trade, the breaking of business barriers, technological advancements, capital markets and the growth of international goods and services or ideas over the past decades. Ayanwale (2007), many developing countries see FDI as an important element in their strategy for economic development and this has led to the speedy growth of FDI around the world. In developing countries, Mergers and acquisitions including private- to-private transactions as well as acquisitions through privatization became an important vehicle for FDI (Kyaw, 2003). Therefore, developing countries have made impact on the global economy as a result of large domestic market, cheap and skilled labor, low labor costs and high returns on investment especially in the economics of industrialized states. This has led to many countries improving their business climate to attract more FDI. In fact, one of the pillars for launching the new partnership for Africas de velopment (NEPAD) was to accelerate FDI inflows to the region (Funke and Nsouli, 2003). The trend of FDI depicts in the diagram below of the inflow of FDI in the past twenty years as there has been an upward movement from 1990 and a decrease in1999 then rose again in 2003 and continued to rise until the decrease again from 2007 and has remained very low due to the world economic crises that has been ongoing. Figure 2.1: World Foreign Direct Investment Inflow Source: World Development Indicators 2008 Fifty-seven new measures affecting FDI were introduced by forty African countries of which forty-nine among these measures encouraged inward FDI (UNCTAD, 2007). The increase in FDI inflows largely reflected strong performance and relatively high economic growth (UNCTAD, 2008). 30% of total FDI inflows were accounted for as reinvested earnings as a result of increased profits of foreign affiliates, notably in developing countries. In Africa, FDI inflows increased from $18 billion in 2004 to $36 billion in 2006. This was due to improved prospects for corporate profits, increased interest in natural resources and a more favorable business climate. As regards this, many studies have been conducted to ascertain these; however, the results do not give accurate evidence of the impact of FDI on the economy of developing countries. For example, Lumbila (2005), Sylwester (2005) and Ndikumana and Verick (2008) show that there is a positive effect of FDI on economic growth, while others such as (Fry, 1993, Dutt, 1997; Hermes and Lensink, 2003) gave contrary conclusions. Further, other studies suggest that the effect of FDI on economic growth may depend on whether the country has minimal level of absorptive capacity that is a prevailing environment that can attract FDI such as educated workforce, institutional infrastructure and liberalized markets (Borenztein et al., 1998; Carkovic and Levine, 2002; Le Vu and Suruga, 2005). 2.3.2Trends and Pattern of FDI in Nigeria Nigeria a country well-endowed with natural resources and a very large market sizes qualifies to be a major recipient of FDI in West Africa and indeed one of the top leading West African Countries that has consistently received FDI in years past as we see in the figure below: Figure 2.2: Nigeria Foreign Direct Investment stock Source: UNCTAD 2012 However the level of FDI attracted by FDI has shown no specific significant value in the growth of the economy and is been seen as mediocre (Asiedu 2003) compared with the resources of the country. Furthermore, the empirical relationship between FDI and economic growth has remained unclear despite numerous studies that have examined the subject of interest. However, recent evidence supports that the relationship between FDI and growth may be country and period specific. Asiedu (2001) submits that the determinants of FDI in one region may not be the same for other regions. Although it has been generally acknowledged that FDI is an important aspect of the recent wave of globalization across countries. FDI inflow to diverse regions of the world has been increasing dramatically. The total world FDI as at 1990 stood at US$204443370862.543 and grew dramatically to US$815219446619.453 (World Bank 2012). Only few countries have been successful in attracting significant FDI flows. But West Af rica as a whole has not benefitted particularly from the FDI boom. In West Africa, FDI amounted to 14012.54758974US dollars in 1990 and has been increasing gradually and currently stands at 110394 US dollars (UNCTAD 2012). Although UNCTADs World Investment Report 2004 reported that Africas outlook for FDI is promising, the expected surge is yet to be manifest. Nigeria is one of the few countries that have consistently benefited from the FDI inflow to West Africa and has turned out to be one of the most attractive countries in West Africa in terms of FDI inflows with a value of $69242million in 2011 amongst others such as Ghana with $12320miilion, Liberia with $546smillions, Cote d Ivoire with $6408millions and Niger with $3123millions. Nigeria share of FDI inflow to West Africa in 2011 covers about 63%. As percentage of GDP, foreign direct investment has increased substantially since 1990 till 2001 but began to drop since 2002 and currently stand at 29.16%. Although the value of FDI inflow into Nigeria has been on the increase. This is attributable to the economic reforms and the resulting of macroeconomic stability, which have instilled great credibility in the Nigerian economy. However the FDI contribution as a percentage to Gross domestic Product has fallen but the Nigerian economy has experienced strong growth in recent years. Real GDP growth averaged 7.8 percent from 2004 to 2007, and growth of 6.4 percent in 2007. Sectorally, there was a surge of FDI flows in the primary sector, mainly oil and gas. In 2008 Nigeria was at the top of the ten Africa FDI recipient nations with over US$20billion. The ethnic conflicts and youth restlessness in the Niger delta affected the level of the crude Oil production. The election tension and these socio-political conflicts aggravated the problems of insecurity and hence the improbability in the domestic business environment which in turn impacted negatively on the inflow of FDI. Towards this the Federal Government has improved the security in that region and the youths in that region are being empowered to participate in productive ventures. In addition, the services sector particularly, transport, storage and communications continued to attract FDI since 2006. Oil accounts for nearly 40 per cent of GDP, but from 2001 to 2006-except in 2003-real growth in other sectors outpaced growth in the oil sector. For example the telecommunication sector experienced strong growth after its privatization. In spite of the surplus of studies on FDI and economic growth in Nigeria, the existing empirical evidence on the causal relationship between foreign direct investment and economic growth and the associated benefits is very inconclusive. In spite of a seemingly positive association between FDI and economic growth, the empirical literature has not reached a consensus on the direction of this impact, however, suggesting that foreign direct investment can be either beneficial or harmful to economic growth. The principal driving force for this work is that for developing economies, and for Nigeria in particular, the issue of economic growth is an important one. 2.4Sources and sectorial distribution of Foreign Direct Investment in Nigeria Nigeria sources of FDI over the years have been increasing. There are more countries investing in Nigeria than in previous years. Some countries include USA, UK, China, and Netherlands amongst others.   Nigerias most important sources of FDI have traditionally been the home countries of the oil majors. The USA, present in Nigerias oil sector through Chevron Texaco and Exxon Mobil, had investment stock of USD3.4 billion in Nigeria in 2008, the latest figures available. The UK, one of the host countries of Shell, is another key FDI partner UK FDI into Nigeria accounts for about 20% of Nigerias total foreign investment. As China is striving to expand its trade relationships with Africa, it is becoming one of Nigerias most important sources of FDI; Nigeria is Chinas second largest trading partner in Africa, next to South Africa. From US$3 billion in 2003, Chinas direct investment in Nigeria is reported to be now worthwhile. Different sectors have received different amount of FDI in Nigeria. The total volume of FDI captured through the Central Bank of Nigeria is US$7,750billion. This represented about 11% increase over 2007 figure of US$6,935billion. The non-oil sector attracted US$7,109billion which represents about 91% of the inflow with the services sector being the major beneficiary with about 82% of the total inflow into the economy. The banking and finance sector accounted for about 9%. The country remains the highest destination of investment within the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) region by attracting about 50% of the total volume into the region. It is evident to note that when compared to other countries in Africa in terms of total stock of FDI attracted over the last ten years. Nigeria is ranked second to South Africa as we see in the figure below: Figure 2.3: Selected African Countries FDI inflow in comparison with Nigeria Source: UNCTAD 2008 2.5Foreign Direct Investment policies Framework 2.5.1Investment Framework and Bodies The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission Act laid out the framework for Nigerias investment policy in 1995. Under the Act, foreign ownership of 100% is allowed in other industries apart from Oil and Gas industry where investment is constrained to existing joint ventures or new production-sharing agreements. The essence is to promote and facilitate investment in Nigeria. In 2006, a One Stop Investment Centre (OSIC) was set up to bring together agencies with mandate as regards investment and streamline the process of investing in the country. Furthermore, the Commission is required to encourage, promote and co-ordinate investment in the Nigeria Economy. The law allows the Commission to grant approvals on fiscal concessions on industry interrelated incentives such as: Export oriented industry, Local raw material utilization, and Pioneer industries, Implant training, Research and development, Investment on infrastructural facilities, Investment in economically disadvantaged areas; pr ovided that the fiscal incentives for which approvals are given shall be for tax concessions (NIPC 2006-2008 Report). Other Stakeholders that were represented within the One Stop Investment Centre (OSIC) are: Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC): who will be responsible for name search and company incorporation registration. Nigerian Immigration Services (NIS): will be in charge of Expatriate Quota Positions, Regularization of Permanent Work Permits, and other immigration facilities. Nigeria Customs Service (NCS): has the role of issuance of import and export guidelines procedure for citing excise factories goods clearance facilitation and generation information on fiscal policy issues. Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS): is responsible for tax registration, payments of stamp duties, issuance of tax clearance certificate and issuance of tax forms National Agency for Food and Drug administration and Control (NAFDAC): has the function of registration of regulated products, issuance of export certificate, authorization to import of unregistered products Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON): is responsible for facilitating all aspect of standardization activities, approvals or permit for use of standards and provide guidelines for investors. Amongst others. 2.5.2 Other Policy incentives Investment incentives are commonly intended to provide tariff, fiscal and other concessions to enterprises that meet certain criteria such as choice of sector, size, location and employment creation etc. This applies both to foreign and domestic investors. Thus, for the main aim of attracting identified strategic investments, the NIPC by its mandate is expected to execute full authority in the administration of the numerous incentives to encourage investment activities. However, this has not been the case as some Federal Ministries and agencies are also performing this function and leading to misplaced obligation. This requires coordination and streamlining for effectiveness and efficiency. The recent Presidential Committee on Problems of Investors is doing its best in overcoming most of the constraints and attempt are being made to review the incentive regime and make them responsive to the yearnings of investors. Other investment promotional activities include: Sensitization programme aimed at educating the Public on its activities and to seek public support for its programmes. Hosting business and investment forums like successfully organized the 1st Nigeria-Brazil Business and investment Forum which held in Sao Paulo, African Petroleum, Energy and Mining Forum in Beijing, Nigerian Argentine Business Investment Forums and other conferences being organized to promote investment like International Business Leaders Conference (NIPC 2006-2008 Report). 2.6 Linking Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Growth The link between Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Growth has been a subject of debate for many decades and has been subject to empirical scrutiny. There have been new found facts about this link due to the emergence of the globalized world in recent times. This is due to the acknowledgement of Multinational Corporation, capital accumulation and large investment in trade in developing countries. Foreign direct investment is bundle of capital stock and technology, and can augment the existing stock of knowledge in the host economy through skill acquisition and diffusion, labor training and the introduction of new managerial practices and organizational arrangements (De Mello 1997). Three literatures have added to the subject of FDI-led growth. First, previous studies based on the assumption that there is only one causality from FDI to GDP growth and have been criticized in more recent studies (for example Kholdy 1995). In other words not only can FDI cause negative or positive ef fect on growth but growth can affect the flow of FDI. Secondly, the new-growth model has resulted in some reappraisal of determinant of growth in modeling the role played by FDI in growth process. Thirdly, the new development in econometrics theory such as time series concept of integration and causality testing has further expanded the ongoing contest of the relationship between FDI and economic growth. Foreign direct investment can impact growth directly and indirectly. The impact of FDI can be seen to directly impact growth through capital accumulation, and the incorporation of new inputs and foreign technologies in the production function of the host country. Neoclassical and endogenous growth models have used empirical test to check the theoretical benefits of FDI. In the neoclassical growth models FDI promotes economic growth by increasing the volume of investment but FDI affects growth only in the short run because of diminishing returns to capital in the long run. Longà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ run growth in the neoclassical models arises from exogenous growth of the labor force and exogenous technological progress. In the endogenous growth models FDI raises growth through technological diffusion from the developed countries to the developing. This permanent knowledge transfer from FDI accounts for the diminishing returns that result in long run growth. The endogenous growth literature has identified country conditions that must be present for FDI to have a positive impact on growth such as the complementarity between domestic and foreign investment, adequate leve ls of human capital, open trade regimes, and wellà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ developed financial markets. Some of the most important endogenous growth empirical research has been discussed in the literature review section. It is now necessary to look at the impact of FDI on growth in the economy and the analysis on whether FDI has an effect on economic growth; this will be discussed in the next chapter.

Great Barrier Reef Essay -- Wonders of the World, Australia

The Great Barrier Reef is known as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It is believed to be one of the most incredible places on this earth. This reef is the largest living organism on this planet and the only living thing on earth visible from space (2011). The warm waters of the southwest Pacific Ocean are the perfect environments to create the world's largest system of coral reefs. The Great Barrier Reef is in such pristine condition that it was listed by the World Heritage Trust as a protected site and is therefore, managed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority to ensure that its beauty is maintained for many travelers and sightseers (Edgar 2010). Due to the complexity of this natural phenomenon, human practices have led to ecological problems for the reef, but preservation efforts can provide future generations the ability to learn from and experience one of the largest oceanic coral ecosystems in the world. The Great Barrier Reef is located just off the coast of Australia. This marine park stretches over 1800 miles and is almost parallel to the Queensland coast (2011). The reef spans a distance of 65 km wide and reaches 15 to 150 km off shore (2011). At just 500,000 years old, the Great Barrier Reef is a relatively young structure. Yet even younger is the current reef's structure at less than 8,000 years old (Edgar 2010). The formation of the Great Barrier Reef is very complex. Coral reefs began to form in the region at about 58 to 48 million years ago when the Coral Sea Basin formed (Briney 2010). However, once the Australian continent moved to its present location, sea levels began to change, and coral reefs started to grow fairly quickly, changing climate and sea levels. This consequently caused them to... ...populations, some countries have invested into fish farming or aquaculture, but some controversy has followed from this practice. Studies have shown that fish farms are not helpful in sustaining the native fish, and have actually harmed them instead. There are two main types of aquaculture: onshore and offshore. These farms, often times due to overcrowded tanks, result in outbreaks of deadly diseases. An example is pop eye, an eye infection that causes swelling of the eye. On offshore farms, domesticated fish often escape through faulty and inferior netting, infecting native fish populations. Alternatively, offshore farms pose a different problem. Management of these facilities has been known to filter pure excess waste products of the fish into the ocean. The contaminated water, also full of nutrients, creates algae blooms and starves sea floor of sunlight.