Reebok Pursuing Generation X

Reebok: Pursuing Generation X Reebok is a global, American inspired brand, in a highly competitive athletic and sportswear industry, committed to creating products and marketing programs that reflect the brand’s unlimited creative potential (Reebok). The 2003 rankings place Reebok in third place of U. S. athletic shoe market share with 13%; Nike dominates at 36% while other athletic brands make up 26% of the U. S. market (Sporting Goods Intelligence). In 1982, Reebok was a main component in introducing a women’s athletic shoe designed specifically for the latest trend in exercise known as aerobic dance.This, as we all know, was not a trend but rather an athletic revolution towards women’s fitness and increase entrance into sports, which expanded the target market for the athletic and the sportswear industry. The acceptance of sneakers as an adult casual wear evolved in the 1980’s as well as a market prediction that was a catalyst to the early success of Re ebok as an athletic brand leader. Since the 1980’s, the market environment has changed dramatically and has proven to be a complex and highly competitive advertising arena. Print and TV ads of the past are no longer the premier marketing platforms as they once were.The athletic and sporting goods companies of today must bring to the consumers a compelling and gripping advertising campaign to earn the attention and revenue of today’s technology driven consumer. Target markets are evolving from the baby boomer era to the Gen Xers and with that shift, comes a new consumer ideology and therefore new marketing strategies. The advertising mediums that companies utilize are challenged to reach an elusive target audience guarded by TiVo technology, mobile internet as well as personal philosophies seeking purpose and added value, even in product selection.This case outlined advertising challenges, as well as opportunities Reebok faced in an expanding digital media world and its players; Generation X. Question 1: How would the team explain viral marketing to the class? Viral marketing wasn’t made up out of thin air; it started before the birth of the Internet under another name known as word-of-mouth. There are many differences between the two strategies but the principle is identical: exchange information about an event, place, person or idea from one outlet to another. So, to understand how viral marketing works one must understand word-of-mouth.Word-of mouth marketing is when a company provides consumers, a reason to bring up their company in normal conversation. This could be from an ad on the television, a flyer that you saw downtown in a deli, or maybe an advertisement that you heard on a radio station that caught your attention while you were driving. That sounds a lot like viral marketing, but a person only has so many hours in the day; so why would they ever think of calling all of their friends/family up to tell them about something they s aw, previous to their conversation?Unless it was a catastrophic event or something that was deeply related to them personally, that’s just not likely to happen. With viral marketing, there are two main components that are needed: a large audience, and a way to spread information exponentially, also known as the Internet. The first traces of Internet viral marketing were, according to â€Å"The Virus of Marketing†, in 1997 when Hotmail attached ads to outgoing messages. It was rather astonishing the reaction that the public had after forwarding the ads to other email addresses, allowing users to reach thousands of potential clients in the matter of a few easy clicks.These were only the primitive years of viral marketing, and it has become one of the most valued marketing strategies of the 21st century. The term ‘viral marketing’ is one that is used, both, on a regular and large scale. This is mostly due to the highly populated areas, such as YouTube and oth er social media outlets where video, music, photographs, ideas and other forms of entertainment, can be passed from one individual to another easily. Social media sources and YouTube allow users to be interconnected with millions of people in the matter of seconds.Over 500 million people around the world, have an account with Facebook, which not only makes marketing researchers drool, but also makes up a huge population of word-of-mouth users that are able to upload and send information to their ‘friends’. Within the past decade, viral marketing has taken exponential leaps thanks to the increased use of the Internet. A successful viral marketing campaign works when an individual views information online and passes it on to another; the individuals whom were showed the information to will also share it to their list of friends via the Internet.This creates a snowball effect and the subject in discussion becomes extremely popular in an impressive amount of time through ma ss word-of-mouth aka viral marketing. Question 2: How did Mickey Pant introduce viral-marketing to Reebok’s promotional strategy? To what extent does viral-marketing replace traditional media such as TV, radio, direct mail, etc.? Mickey Pant, the chief marketing officer at Reebok, understood the increasingly changing culture of consumers today.Gone are the days where TV advertisements and radio spots were enough to capture the mass audience of target consumers, waiting idly by to be swayed into purchasing the latest and greatest products. Evolved, is a new generation of consumers, known as Generation X; not easily penetrated by brand loyalty and logo suaveness, but are rather driven by a sense of worthiness and greater purpose. Gen Xers are characterized as skeptical of advertising and are active users of digital media, especially the Internet and are compelled to lead a life filled with meaning rather than monetary gains alone.According to OnPoint Marketing, Gen Xers make up 17% of the population and spend $125 billion annually on consumer goods in the U. S. With a growing target audience that thrives on digital media, Mickey Pant understood that Reebok would have to pursue a new direction in advertising that would resonate with the Gen Xers. This concept would have to connect and appeal to what drives the consumers and outshine the competition in an already saturated market dominated by Nike and Adidas.Pant chose the 2003 Super Bowl XXXVII as the platform, launching â€Å"one of the most popular viral marketing campaigns ever to be aired in history: the infamous Terry Tate Office Linebacker ad. † The commercial was a largely successful campaign that reached a market of consumers that were heavy users of the Internet and TiVo, which earned Reebok. com the ninth largest content provider on the internet. The Tate commercial became an instant hit with its office humor of politically correct antics and depiction of cubicle mishaps, which appealed to the undervalued Gen Xers and caused the ad to go viral across the Internet.After the Tate commercial aired, the Reebok website underwent 20 commercial downloads per second and the Reebok online store traffic increased seven-fold, creating a viral phenomenon. Ultimately, Mickey Pant understood the cultural changes that characterized the life of Gen Xers and relied upon the Internet to carry the campaign. Even though the ads weren’t aired on TV again, they will forever live on, on the Internet. With the undoubtedly increasing digital age, a shift from the more traditional media platforms such as newspaper and TV, to online and mobile advertising is inevitable. 003 was the year Reebok launched the first digital media campaign, and since then, numerous digital campaigns have followed. The growing need for companies to create a more interactive and transactional experience with its customers is expansive, allowing for such outlets as the Internet and mobile advertising to become more attractive. In the case, Reebok notes a shift in investments away from magazines and newspapers, to online and mobile platforms. The advertising breakdowns, according to an outside source, the Yankee Group, reports that TV advertising dropped 21. % during 2008-2009 and fell an additional 12% in 2010. The trend fairs similar for the newspaper industry, reporting that in 2005 the industry had revenue around $47 billion while today it is only half that amount. The report lists the 2009 statistics for U. S. consumer’s average time spent watching TV as three hours 17 minutes, while the average time spent online is four hours and 13 minutes and mobile phone usage average per day is one hour and 18 minutes. Due to consumers spending less time viewing television and extended time on the internet, online advertisements revenues grew 8. % between 2008 and 2009. While traditional TV advertising still has a large role in sportswear marketing strategies, viral marketing, digital adve rtising and mobile marketing are the platforms to focus in on to reach the largest consumer base. Question 3: What’s the Team’s assessment of the Terry Tate campaign? Did it increase Reebok’s brand equity? Was the central message effective? Memorable? In 2003, Terry Tate and Reebok teamed up to produce a series of 60 second T. V. ads, at a cost of $4 million, which aired during the Super Bowl; these commercials were an instant hit.Reeboks website, soon after the ad’s aired, was clocking 20 downloads per second. While the ads were an instant classic, having more than 20 million views to date, they did not produce an increase in sales or market share. How could an ad so popular and funny not create the brand equity Reebok was hoping for? Our team, after reviewing the Terry Tate spots, decided that was because the ads did not tie Reebok sufficiently into the ads. During the videos, Terry Tate wore a gold Reebok chain and the Reebok logo was shown at the end of the spot; this was not enough.One of the consequences of Reebok not showing its brand enough in the commercial was that people would not be able to tie Terry Tate to Reebok. The commercials were memorable, yes, but in order to have brand equity, the viewer needs to remember Reebok and Terry Tate, not just Terry Tate. Reebok’s marketing team believed that the Tate commercial brought a â€Å"new cool dimension† to the brand, even though Reebok’s brand perception and awareness had not changed. Overall, we think the central message was not entirely effective. While the ads were memorable and funny, they were not memorable and funny in a way that helped Reebok’s Brand Equity.Even though there main goal with the ads were not met, Reebok did create something that generated a massive â€Å"buzz† and hype around Terry Tate. Question 4: To what extent should traditional advertising effectiveness measures be relied upon in the Terry—Tate/Reebok case ? In this Reebok case, the traditional advertising method was the â€Å"Terry Tate Office Linebacker† television advertisements. The campaign was extremely successful on television and the Internet. The Gen Xers and the public related to the commercials because they were office based and because a large linebacker would tackle employees that everyone hates.We believed that Reebok understood that their target markets would see the commercial on television, like it, and then seek other ways to view or learn more about the commercials and the brand. Because Gen Xers were technology savvy and used the Internet on a regular basis, even after the commercials had stopped airing on television, the public would watch the commercials and advertisements on Reebok. com. Reebok decided to make longer Terry Tate films, and after that marketing move, Reebok’s website became the ninth largest content provider on the Internet, streaming 1 terabyte of data per day and using 16 servers.R eebok. com was averaging 20 downloads per second and 20 million downloads to date. The Reebok online store increased and even began to sell Terry Tate bobble head dolls and shirts. We believe that traditional advertising was relied on heavily to launch the Terry Tate advertisements, but once the commercials became popular, the Internet was the predominant method of exposure. The Internet gave Reebok more freedom and versatility to really push the limits and make their audiences fall in love with the brand. Mickey Pant was able to air longer films of Terry Tate and sell Terry Tate merchandise from the online Reebok store.Not only did the Internet help Reebok develop the Terry Tate character, it also increased Reebok sales and brand awareness to the world. Question 5: Is this type of campaign capable of capturing the attention of the Gen. X consumer? Why, why not? We felt like this type of campaign was very capable of gaining the attention and respect from members of Generation X, bec ause of one general thought: it was something that they could easily identify with. This series of commercials showed instances that Gen Xers were familiar with and had some sort of emotional connection to.In many office cultures, it is considered very rude to do such things as, drink the last pot of coffee and not refill the coffee pot, or to fart when in a small elevator when there are other people in there; those were the norms that the Reebok ads sought to use. According to Rawson Thurber, the man who played Terry Tate, â€Å"(the popularity) has very little to do with football and a lot to do with how much people hate office culture† (Thurber, 10). To us, that meant that Gen Xers enjoyed the commercials so much, not because they were dedicated to the Reebok band, but because the commercials depicted things that they could easily identify with.Even though there were so many different things that could have gone wrong with this campaign, it went off without a hitch. Gen Xe rs were drawn into this series of commercials because they enjoyed Terry Tate so much: he was the person who punished those who didn’t obey the unspoken etiquette rules that office life comes with. When looking back on this campaign and its success, Mickey Pant, the chief marketing officer of Reebok, mused that the success of the campaign was, â€Å"that the campaign was hysterically funny and immediately generated a massive â€Å"buzz† and hype around Terry Tate and, by extension, Reebok† (Pant, 10).In essence, the campaign worked because Gen Xers loved the spokesperson of Reebok, and not because they had some sort of brand loyalty to Reebok as a whole. Overall, we believe that the digital revolution played a major role in getting Reebok’s name out there. Even though the ads never really had any major ties to Reebok, as a brand, it still helped generate revenue to Reebok, through their website.As a team, we feel like the Terry Tate ads wouldn’t ha ve been as successful if they were just present in print or even if they were destined to remain on TV. TV ads are vastly different than Internet ads because of the simple fact that TV ads cost a lot more to produce. As mentioned before, Reebok spent $4 million to show the Terry Tate commercials on TV; having commercials on the Internet cost much less. The digital revolution has made cheaper, more widespread advertising possible and more available to everyone.

Physical activity for children Essay

Physical Activity for Children This essay will explore the areas of children’s development. The age groups which will be discussed within it are children from the ages of two too six years of age and children from the age of six too eleven years of age. The areas of development which will be covered are physical, intellectual, skill and psychological. The author will then conclude by making reference to the effect on physical activity for children and why it can influence them for the rest of their lives. Physical development Children between two and six years have slow and steady gains in height and weight, especially in the legs which account for 66% of their total increase in height. Females tend to have growth spurts two years before males, but when males have spurts they have them for a longer period of time developing heavier bones and stringier muscles as well. Between the ages of six and eleven the average children’s legs continue to grow very quickly while the head will be disproportionately large, the bones also tend to increase in length and density, gradually as they grow towards adolescence. Intellectual development Children between the ages of two and six years tend to be egocentric and selfish and don’t consider other people’s feelings. They also tend to do something quickly even if it involves hurting another child’s feelings, they will not consider the consequences until after they have done it. At this age children also find it difficult to learn from experience so they could make the same mistakes over and over again. Time and place could also be a confusion at this age and not having a complete understanding of your surroundings. From the ages of six to eleven the child can start to learn from experience although, they still have a tendency to do something without thinking about it. When the child reaches about seven or eight years they will start to understand that time goes by at a uniform speed and can perhaps arrange plans from day to day, but the past and the future still remain a mystery to them. Skill development Skill development in a child between the age of two and six is very basic, the early on stage of the physical development, This is when they will be learning skills like running, jumping, balancing and throwing. Girls tend to have more skill when it comes to co-ordination, things like hopping and skipping but boys are usually better when it comes to running, jumping or throwing, which is why boys mostly play sports like football and rugby and girls are mostly into gymnastics and dancing. From the ages of six to eleven years children’s ball skills can also be developed, this could involve dribbling the ball using their feet or catching it with their hands. It is in this age group that the child will play different kinds of sports and will eventually decide what sport they are suited to. Psychological development The psychological development in a child between two and six years old includes them imitating other children, if another child does something they will feel that they have to do it as well. Other children also start to become more important to them as they will form groups, they will also compare each mostly to see who the best is. They also still have to be told what to do at this age. From the age of six to eleven friends start to become a lot more important and can play a crucial role within their lives influencing their attitudes, beliefs and behaviour, they may also want to take part in a certain sport or activity just because their friend does it. In this age group they will also start listening to other people’s points of view and decide whether they agree with it or not. They will also start to understand working as part of a team and how it is important when difficult situations may occur within their life. Douglas P (2013) states that â€Å"exercise is paramount in the development of today’s children† This true statement emphasises that children can use physical activity to develop each of the areas, physical, intellectual, physiological and skill level, giving them a better way of life. This will also keep them fit and healthy decreasing the risk of things like illnesses or obesity.

Sailing to Byzantium

Poetry means many things to people all over the world. Poetry is an outlet or artistic and creative way of telling a story or expressing your emotions. It is something that does not require a lot of skill, but imagination and feeling. â€Å"Sailing to Byzantium† written by William Butler Yeats is a poem that speaks of the craving for something one cannot have and the immortality of people, art and intellect, and greatness. â€Å"Sailing to Byzantium† is a poem based on the theme longing for something one cannot have. In this case the old man in the poem is yearning to be young and live on forever even when his time is up. To escape death and old age the man sails to Byzantium. Byzantium is the opposite of the old man. â€Å"The young in one another’s arms, birds in the trees† and â€Å"The salmon falls, the mackerel crowded seas† are lines from the poem that illustrate the youth and vibrance of Byzantium, the youth and viberance the old man desires. Throughout the poem there are lines that hint about the immortality of people and life. One can continue to live on forever spiritually or by being remembered for having a great achievement or a great impact. In the second stanza Yeats writes, â€Å"An aged man is but a paltry thing. The old man sees age as just a number. His body may be growing older, but his insides are youthful. In the third stanza Yeats writes â€Å"Into the artifice of eternity†. This line can translate into on the illusion of immortality. Finally, in the last stanza Yeats writes, â€Å"Once out of nature I shall never take my bodily form from any natural thing. † Yeats writes that once the old man has passed he will be remembered by a symbol or sculpture much like a royal emperor. He will be represented by any natural thing. In this poem it is important to the old man that he lives on forever in the magnificent paradise of Byzantium. In addition to the immortality of people, the continuous life of art and intellect were written about. In stanza one Yeats writes, â€Å"Caught in that sensual music all neglect, moments of unaging intellect. † These two lines illustrate the immortality of art and intellect. Though some may neglect the elders because the elderly seem to lose their intellect as they age, the older generations were basically bards of education and intellect. Intellect is something that is passed down from generation to generation, it is something that will live forever. â€Å"Sailing to Byzantium† is a poem largely associated with greatness. Byzantium was a paradise. It consisted of salmon-falls, mackerel-crowded seas, gold mosaic walls, Grecian goldsmiths, and a royal emperor. Byzantium was magnificent, just like the idea of immortality. I think Yeats wrote about Byzantium and immortality together because they go hand in hand. William Butler Yeat’s poem â€Å"Sailing to Byzantium† is a poem about greatness and all of its elements. Byzantium was a lively place where it seemed like anything was possible. It was a paradise to escape to. To me â€Å"Sailing to Byzantium† is a poem of inspiration. The poem seemed to make the idea of dying meager because one can live on forever, even past their time.

Revolutionary Era Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Revolutionary Era Paper - Essay Example Thirteen colonies in North America joined and broke free from the British Empire, merged, then became the United States of America. They deterred the rules and regulations of Great Britain Parliament that governed them from overseas with no representation. A number of ideas sparked this revolutionary era. During this period, the idea of liberty fueled Americans into actions that sparked revolution in their country2. What the eighteenth-century politicians and other people meant by liberty was, first, a wake up call for individual human rights. This idea was so radical because even the most enlightened and revised monarchs believed customarily that it was their task to keep an eye on what people wrote or believed. Liberals of this revolutionary era protested those particular controls that enslaved their conscious. According to Americans, liberty was of overriding importance to them since they believed it would be through liberty, they would get to choose and define the outcome of thei r censorship. They demanded freedom from arbitrary laws and judges who commonly and easily obeyed rules from the government that did not carry the rule of law to the letter. Their feelings towards freedom of worship with regard to their consciences acted as a morale booster towards revolution. This eventually led to freedom of worship amongst other things. ... However, many eighteenth century men were actually individuals of some kind. They generally shared with other men the belief that it was neither practical nor desirable for women to be their equals. Therefore, they curtailed their political rights. They could not vie for office or participate in the governing of the state. Again, liberals despised the belief that everyone should be equal economically. They based this on the belief that, not everyone could succeed equally in pursuit of acquiring property during American conquest for independence. Hence, great rift in terms of wealth or material possession and income generation between the rich and the poor was highly encouraged and perfectly acceptable by liberals. British administrators taxed Virginia citizens. In 1765, after North America restored peace, the British government decided to push via parliament the Stamp Act that sought to levy taxes on a longer list of legal documents and commercial articles like pamphlets, diplomas, a nd newspapers. Effort to end taxation started as Americans claimed taxation without representation was tyranny. This idea rose questions as to who should make laws for American people. Colonial experience formed people who felt that they were separate and distinct to their very own country. The taxation controversies made these feelings separation and distinctiveness more intense thus bringing them to the fore. These extreme attempts led to expanded governor’s power. As fighting spread and the colonialists moved slowly, East Virginia inhabitants developed ideas of being independent. They inevitably opened up towards open rebellion and boldly shown urge to declare their independence. Some American icons arranged civilized and

Philip Kotler's experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Philip Kotler's experience - Essay Example Depending on the market and product characteristics, the competition takes place at one of the product levels. Six levels of product hierarchy with relation to certain other products are described and few possible classifications of the products listed. A notion of product mix, or assortment, is introduced and defined as a combination of all the products offered by a particular market player to its customers. It is characterized by the width, length, and consistency. Product line decisions are important for the product strategy and should be based on product-line and market analysis, considering optimal product-line length and issues of modernization, featuring and pruning. The second part of the chapter is devoted to the brand and brand decisions. Brand is a complex symbol; it identifies certain products and distinguishes them from the competition in the mind of the customer and in the marketplace. Building brand identity is extremely important as it allows the company to increase the differentiation of its products and receive price premiums. Building brand identity requires decisions on the brand's name, logo, colors, tagline, and symbol. Brand strategy decision includes choice between functional, image and experiential brand, and brand development and repositioning. Packaging and labeling are also important parts of the overall product strategy. This chapter is devoted to the marketing and management of services. ... Services can be classified as equipment-based or people-based; requiring client's presence or not; targeting personal or business need; based on the type of the service provider. Four main characteristics of the services are intangibility, inseparability, variability, and perishability. They influence significantly the development and implementation of the marketing strategies for the service firms and pose certain challenges. Marketing strategy elements for the services, besides traditional four Ps, include also people, physical evidence and process. Three main tasks the marketing of services should fulfill are differentiation of the offer from the competition, effective management of the service quality, and improving the employees' productivity. For goods-producing companies marketing of services is important while they sell not only the physical products but the product support services as well. The company should manage its product's life-cycle cost, and meet or exceed the customers' expectations. The offered services may be of several types: facilitating services (e.g. installation, financing, training), value-augmenting services (e.g. product warranties, trade-in allowances), postsale services (maintenance, repair etc.). The recent trends in the product support service include "service unbundling", accumulation of the maintenance services and outsourcing them to the third parties, increasing role of call centers and customer service representatives, and extended warranties. Chapter 16: Developing price strategies and programs This chapter looks in deep into price element of the marketing mix. It is of high importance

Employee Motivation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Employee Motivation - Essay Example Besides, Taylor was the first to identify other than material the needs of the employees and tried to include them into motivational process. Among the other, he hired doctors, nurses and psychologists to his company (Miner, 2005). 4 Maslow's theory of motivation: a revolution in organizational science. During 1950s the diverse approaches to human nature were united into a broad organizational approach. This period was the heyday of organizational science as during that time major concepts that motivation were developed. The most important of such theories is obviously Abraham Maslow's (1954) theory of motivation. Maslow's "hierarchy of needs" provided a framework for analysis why people work and how they may be motivated in the best way (McShane and Von Glinow, 2001). 6 Goal-setting theory, developed by Edwin Locke and Gary Latham, implies that the goals are the most important factors affecting the motivation and behaviour of employees. This theory emphasizes the importance of specific and challenging goals in achieving motivated behaviour. Specific goals, observing Locke and Latham, usually imply quantitative targets that motivate people to work more effectively. These goals are usually rather achievable, though not easy to achieve. Challenging goals, in their turn, are difficult but not impossible to attain. Empirical research supports the proposition that goals that are both specific and challenging are more motivational than vague goals or goals that are relatively easy to achieve (Miner, 2005; McShane and Von Glinow, 2001). 9 Several factors moderate the relationship between specific and challenging goals as well as with high levels of motivation, i.e.: 10 Goal commitment, which means that the more dedicated an individual is to achieve the goal, the more he/she will be motivated to exert effort toward goal accomplishment. 10 Self-efficacy that is an employee's belief that he/she can successfully complete a particular task. If individuals have a high degree of self-efficacy, they are likely to respond more positively to specific and challenging goals than if they have a low degree of self-efficacy (Miner, 2005; McShane and Von Glinow, 2001). 10 Conclusions 10 FACTORS AND PROCESSES THAT AFFECT EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION IN ORGANIZATION Introduction Effective motivation is a corner stone of organizational functioning, development, competitiveness and, yet, effectiveness. Over the past decades, the way in which people are managed, promoted and stimulated at workplaces has become a primary key to assess and improve organizational efficiency and marketability and became a part of a general organizational strategy. In terms of globalization and rapidly changing business environment, as well as growing competitiveness on the market modern companies increasingly need to rely rather of skilled and motivated employees then on pure technologies and products. As Steve Jobs, CEO of legendary Apple Computers states, "in terms when technologies may be

Chemical and physical properties of carbon-fibre reinforced composites Coursework

Chemical and physical properties of carbon-fibre reinforced composites - Coursework Example These composites are more resistant to fatigue and strain from repeated use in various devices such as aircrafts or car bodies, therefore, reducing maintenance costs and increase lifespan of vehicles (Price, 1997). Examples of composite materials include fibre-reinforced polymer, carbon-fibre-reinforced composites, and ceramic composites among others. Carbon-fibre reinforced composite is the common form of composite used today. These type of composite is made by heating rayon or other types of fibre to extremely high temperatures usually above 2000 degree Celsius in an oxygen deprived environment such as an oven (NASA, 2010). The tremendous heat in combination to lack of oxygen ensures that there is no combustion and that the strands are converted into pure carbon atoms. These strands produced are then spun into a thread and woven into appropriate sheets. The sheets are then hardened by addition of resins to produce a material that is not only strong, but also stiff. Composite materi als consist of materials of stronger materials usually called reinforcement and a weaker material commonly known as a matrix. The reinforcement material provides the rigidity and strength required to support the whole structure while the matrix assists in maintaining orientation and position of the reinforcement (Brent, 2008). Figure 1 shows a simple diagram showing how composition of composites is done. Composite materials are continuously replacing traditional materials like aluminium in construction of vehicle body structural applications.

Only for Expert in Public Administration (Texas), (comprehinsive exam) Assignment - 1

Only for Expert in Public Administration (Texas), (comprehinsive exam) II part - Assignment Example The local governments on both secured and unsecured property on the other hand levy property taxes. Other taxes for local governments come from franchise fees, business license tax, parimutual taxes and many others. The third main source is from licenses, permits, fees, and receipts. These rates are charged from all manner of contractors within the locality (Aronson & Schwartz, 2007). Local governments also source their finances from both external and internal loans to finance projects. The external loans are sourced from banks or financial institutions while the internal loans are sourced from their own internal savings such as the capital development funds or the Consolidated Loan Fund that form part of the internal loans for a local government. While the internal loans are quite cheap hence can be afforded to finance the budgets, the external loans are expensive since they attract high interest rates hence not a wise way of financing a capital budget. The local governments also get fund from the contributions from revenues which results as a result of purchasing a capital item, it pays from the operating income from the year of purchase and it is used to pay for small capital items in most localities given that it does not attract any interest payments (Aronson & Schwartz, 2007). National governments may also extend grants to local governments on application w hich if combined with donor funds form a substantial source of revenue to help in incurring developmental and capital expenditure. The sources of funding a local government can therefore be categorized into two major categories namely, government transfers and the revenue instruments that the government controls hence its empowered to raise its own revenue as discussed above. As indicated above some municipal services are paid for by the individuals or the public who use them. The charges by the municipalities on the services are called† tariffs† and the tariffs should be affordable both

Divorce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Divorce - Essay Example But it is only a background: each divorce has own main and accompanying reasons and motives. Divorce doesnt happen unexpectedly. As a rule it is preceded by the period of the conflict relations in a family. The thoughts about the divorce reflect the degree of satisfaction with the relationships in a family (Simons, 1996). Till 1980s sociologists believed that women suffer from divorce more than men (material difficulties, looking for a job, taking care of children, limited opportunities to get a new family, etc.). Since 1980s psychologists came to the conclusion that the men need marriage even more, than women. â€Å"Nearly all people enter marriage with the hope and expectation that their marriage will be a lifelong, mutually rewarding relationship. So it’s not surprising that divorce is a painful experience for almost everyone† (What are the possible consequences of divorce for adults?) .Their dissatisfaction with loneliness is sharper and longer. Men have more opportunities to find a new partner, but many of divorced men stay alone. After divorce the budget of a man is reduced. Moral damage is connected with the restriction of opportunities to see the children. Divorced women strongly suffer from the feeling that they are not needed any more. They perceive emotional difficulties of divorce more intensively, but come to psychological balance rather quickly (Bianchi, Subaiya, & Kahn, 1999). The strength of suffering of the divorced spouses depends on the unexpectedness of divorce. The one who was offered to divorce suffers more. Aged people get a bigger trauma, than young, because for them it is more difficult to adapt to new life. Among newly divorced men and women the level of alcoholism, physical diseases and depressions is higher that often is a direct result of change of life after divorce. However, for some people divorce is a desired relief, which brings freedom from restrictions, duties and sincere

Personal Identity & Immortality Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Personal Identity & Immortality - Research Paper Example Millers main line of argument is that there is a correlation between body and soul and that even if the body dies, the soul may continue to live. Weiroib disputed this by asserting that there is no evidence that the soul exist and therefore we should not easily assume that something we know not of its existence will help us survive after we are dead (Perry 397). Here, miller tries to ask his friend if he can prove that he is the same person he ate lunch with last week to enable him see the sense of his claims of life after death. This is based from the fact that the other week they were at lunch siting opposite each other on the table and communicating with each other. This example brings in an important fact that miller was not aware of that soul if immaterial and therefore one should not conclude that the soul you met last time is the same soul you are meeting today. When Miller claims that he is the same person he saw last week, he gives Weirob a chance to prove to him that what h e saw was just the body and therefore, the claim that the soul exist cannot easily be substantiated. The caramel example is used to by Miller in his desperate attempts to show that there is a link between body and soul of a person. This view of however criticized by when Weirob asserts that there is no link between the body and the soul of human beings. In the Blue River analogy, is used by Weirob to show that a river contains different water every time in his attempt to disqualify his assertion that souls and body are the same. The issue of same body same soul is thus an issue that can only be discussed on earth in human context. Our personal identity is sometimes unknown since we are not sure whether there is a relationship between body and soul. The topic of the Blue river example is used to prove the concept that same characteristics do not necessarily require same substance and therefore, human soul and body may be different. Weirob tries to challenge her friend miller to comfo rt her on her death bead days before she passed away if there is a possibility of her surviving after her death. Miller claims that survival is possible after death for a person is identical to his soul and not his body as most people think. Miller highly believes in this and he thus asserts that survival after her death is possible because her personal identity is tied to her soul. Weirob on the other hand challenges this view by asserting that soul is something immaterial and cannot be seen or felt unlike our bodies that are physical and can be seen and felt. This disqualified millers claim that people are identical to their souls and thus can have a life after their death. Miller further claims there is a correlation between bodies and soul but his argument is also criticized by Weirob who argues that such a claim is baseless since there is no evidence that the soul is exist in the first place. Miller is never tired of her claims that soul exists and its correlated with the body by asserting that body exhibit certain behaviors that are in unison with certain psychological characteristics. Weirob criticizes this line of argument by asserting that similarity between psychological characteristic with the body since its not physical like most of the things we see around like rivers. He further states that human beings are not certain of how souls work and thus we can easily assume that there is a correl

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

Market - Research Paper Example Other characteristics of free market economy are free trade fairs without subsidies or tariffs from the government. One of the most outstanding free market economies is that the government has very limited powers in a free market economy because marker powers regarding price control are set by buyers and sellers. Since the government lacks direct control of business operations regarding prices, sellers are likely to exhaust buyers through high prices (Chai 24). The government powers are restricted to providing law and order in the market operations and ensuring that only fair competition is charged. The government does not have control over participants’ entry to the market. This means that the government does not stipulate any rules regarding tariffs and subsides. Therefore, it is an economic system whereby only the fittest survive. In such economy, the government does not play any role that may favour or discourage business partners as only the involved parties regulate the transactions and prices. The government is restricted to making possible flow and functioning of the business environment through implementing policies and laws that guarantee people rights and freedoms to property. Therefore, the government is not a competitor or a market player but enhances business operations by creating a suitable business environment (Friedman 19). China is a mixed economy since the government and the private sector have an influence in the economy thus having both characteristics of both free market economies and controlled economy. Majority of mixed economies have strong government regulations as the government provides public goods and government run enterprises. In mixed economies like china, production of goods and services are mainly conducted by the private sector whereby markets are the major controllers and coordinators of economy. The driving forces within mixed markets are profit seeking enterprises and capital accumulation. Unlike pure free market e conomy in china, the government has larger indirect control over the economy by implementing monetary and fiscal policies and regulations. These policies counteract economic challenges and capitalisms’ influence towards financial crisis and challenges towards unemployment. The government has a central place in providing social welfare and making sure that public goods are available to the public (Chai 52). In general, the degree of freedom in a mixed economy against government regulations varies. The government is often responsible for providing environmental protection, maintaining unemployment standards, and controlling competition. China may not fit to be a free market economy since the government has strong control over inflation and rural spending (Friedman 35). China has been successful since its government is vibrant ion deficit funding programs since 1998 as well as endorsement of exports by tax rebates. When public demand is low due to anti-inflation, export promotio ns and monetary policies chip in to create a difference. When public demand is strong, the promotion of external export by government relaxes. Statistics show that the stock market activities are high because households and other enterprises prefer their funds in more liquid forms. Due to inflation surge, the government sets policies and regulations to correct the economic situation. Government policies in

Data-collection in Qualitative Research Essay Example for Free

Data-collection in Qualitative Research Essay This Chapter is about methods and techniques in data-collection during a qualitative research. We mentioned earlier that qualitative research is eclectic. That is, the choice of techniques is dependent on the needs of the research. Although this should be true for almost all social research, it is particularly so with qualitative research in that the appropriate method or techniques is often identified and adopted during the research. Qualitative research is also multi-modal. The researcher may adopt a variety of research techniques, or a combination of such, as long as they are justified by the needs. The discussion below is therefore not to identify a set of techniques unique to qualitative research, but rather, to introduce the methods and techniques most commonly used in qualitative research, and the issues related to such use. We shall introduce the methods and techniques in three broad categories: observations, interviews and study of documents. These are also the basic methods used in cultural anthropology (Bernard, 1988:62). Indeed, the discussions about qualitative research in education can be viewed as a particular case in cultural anthropology. Observations Observation usually means the researchers act to find out what people do (Bernard, 1988:62). It is different from other methods in that data occur not necessarily in response to the researchers stimulus. Observation may be obtrusive or unobtrusive. A researcher may simply sit in the corner of a school playground and observe how students behave during breaks. He may also stand by the school gate and observe how students behave at the school gate. Such cases of observation may be seen as unobtrusive. In other cases, the researchers may not apply any stimuli, but their presence per se may have some influence on the scene. The most common example in this category is classroom observation. Although the researcher may just sit quietly at the corner of a classroom, the presence of the researcher may  change the classroom climate. It is, nonetheless, still observation. Observation is a basic technique used in almost all qualitative research. Even if other methods or techniques are used, the researcher remains the most essential sensor or instrument and hence observation always counts (McCracken, 1988:18-20). For example, when interviewing is used, a qualitative researcher also takes into account the tonic or facial expressions of the informant, because they help interpret the verbal responses. Such expressions are only sensed by observation. If the interview is done in the field, then the surroundings of the interview site also provide meaningful data for the research. The surroundings can only be depicted through observation. Hence observation is indispensable in almost all occasions of qualitative research. However, the term observation may sometimes go beyond what is seen. It also pertains to what is heard, and even sometimes what is smelled. Case 4.1 provides one of such examples. Case 4.1: Classroom Observation Scheme In the IIEP project on basic education, Leung designed for the Chinese research a scheme for classroom observation. Classroom was taken as one of the environmental factors affecting students learning. The scheme was designed after Leung stayed in local schools for two days. The scheme did not confine itself to the performance of the teacher, although that was a part. The figure on the next page shows one of the six sections of the scheme. Different writers have different ways of classifying observations. Without running into juggling of definitions, we shall briefly introduce observations as participant observations and non-participant observations. More detailed classification of observations can be found in Bernard (1988), Goetz and LeCompte (1984) and Patton (1990). Participant Observation Participant observation is perhaps the most typical of qualitative research.  Some authors even use participant observation as a synonym for ethnographic research. Different writers may have slightly different definitions of participant observation. The following description by Fetterman is perhaps the most agreeable to most researchers. Participant observation is immersion in a culture. Ideally, the ethnographer lives and works in the community for six months to a year or more, learning the language and seeing patterns of behaviour over time. Long-term residence helps the researcher internalize the basic beliefs, fears, hopes and expectations of the people under study. (1989:45) Immersion of the participant can either be continuous or noncontinuous. The three classical cases we quoted in Chapter 1 all include participation in the continuous mode. Lis study of classroom sociology (Cases 3.8 and 3.9) involved one years continuous residence. In the second and third year she went to the school three days a week. She combined continuous with noncontinuous participant observations. Fetterman used noncontinuous participation when he was doing qualitative evaluation of educational programmes. Case 4.2: Noncontinuous Visits In two ethnographic studies, of dropouts and of gifted children, Fetterman visited the programmes for only a few weeks every couple of months over a three-year period. The visits were intensive. They included classroom observation, informal interviews, occasional substitute teaching,interaction with community members, and the use of various other research techniques, including long-distance phone-calls, dinner with students families, and time spent hanging out in the hallways and parking lot with students cutting classes. (Fetterman, 1989:46-7) II. Environment of the classroom 1. The classroom is on the _____ floor of the school building. 2. The classroom is near ( ) residential area ( ) factories ( ) road(s) ( ) field ( ) marketplace ( ) others _______________________________________ 3. The number of windows which provide lighting and ventilation to the classroom: ( ) satisfies the required standard ( ) is below the required standard 4. The main artificial lighting facility in the classroom is: ( ) florescent tubes total no.__________________ ( ) light bulbs total no.__________________ 5. Condition of lighting during the lesson : ( ) bright ( ) dim ( ) dark 6. Ventilation in the classroom: ( ) well ventilated ( ) stuffy ( ) suffocating 7. Quality of air in the classroom: ( ) refreshing ( ) a bit smelly ( ) stingy 8. Environments for listening: ( ) very quiet ( ) occasional noise ( ) noisy 9. Classrooms floor structure: ( ) concrete ( ) log ( ) mud ( ) carpet 10. Classrooms floor condition: ( ) clean ( ) some litter ( ) full of rubbish 11. Classrooms wall conditions: ( ) smooth clean ( ) some stains ( ) dirty damaged 12. Classrooms area: _____________m2; area/person: _____ m2. 13. Space use in classroom: ( ) looks spatial ( ) fairly crowded ( ) very crowded 14. Furniture and other article arrangements in the classroom: ( ) orderly and tidy ( ) messy 1Figure 1 Classroom Observation Scheme (Designed by Leung Yat-ming) Whytes experience in the Italian slum (Case 2) is perhaps the nearest to ideal in participant observation. He stayed in the community for two years. He experienced the life of a member of the Italian slum. In Whytes case, native membership allows the researcher the highest level of participant observation. Most researchers are denied such an opportunity, often because of constraints in time and resources, as we have discussed at length in Chapter 3. Under all sorts of constraints, at best the researcher lives as much as possible with and in the same manner as the individuals under investigation (Goetz and LeCompte, 1984: 109). In these circumstances, the researchers may not claim that they was doing ethnography, but it is legitimate to apply ethnographic approach and techniques to the study (Fetterman, 1989:47). Participant observation in its broad sense therefore tolerates different lengths of time and different degrees of depth. There is a full range of possible modes of participant observation, what Wolcott calls ethnographer sans[1] ethnography (Wolcott, 1984: 177). The most frequent case in education is that a researcher may stay in a school and become a teacher in that school. The researcher identity may or may not be disguised. The researcher may then, as a participant, observe teachers behaviours in teaching, in meetings, in conversations, and so forth. Sometimes, the researcher is readily a member of the community (say, a school) and may still carry out research as a participant observer. However, in this case, the researcher should be aware of his/her knowledge of the community and should be cautious that such knowledge would not lead to preoccupations about the school under research. In cases where the researchers have successfully gained membership (as Whyte did in the Italian  slum), the distinction between a native member and the researcher-as-participant begins to blur. This insider-outsider dialectics will be further discussed later. Nonparticipant Observation Strictly speaking, nonparticipant observation involves merely watching what is happening and recording events on the spot. In the qualitative orientation, because of the non-intervention principle, strict nonparticipant observation should involve no interaction between the observer and the observed. Goetz and LeCompte assert that in the strict sense nonparticipant observation exists only where interactions are viewed through hidden camera and recorder or through one-way mirror (1984: 143). Dabbs (1982:41), for example, used hidden camera in Atlanta at a plaza in Georgia State University, and studied an informal group that frequently gathered during the morning break. There are examples of using hidden video-cameras in school toilets to study drug problem among students, or to use unnoticed audio recording device to study student interactions. The use of audio or video recording device often invites concern in ethnical considerations. Such problems are similar to those arising in using one-way mirrors in interviews or psychological experiments. Such cases are rare in policy-related research. Another case of nonparticipant observation with ethical problem is disguised observation, or covert observation. A typical example is Humphreys (1975) study on homosexual activities. He did not participate in such activities, but offered to act as watch queen, warning his informants when someone approached the toilet. Another famous example is Van Maanens covert study of police. He became practically a police recruit. Over more than a decade, he slipped in and out of the police in various research roles (Van Maanen, 1982). Covert observations are again rare in research which is related to educational decision-making. Hidden camera or recorder and covert observation occur only exceptionally.  Most author would accept the watching of audience behaviour during a basketball game (Fetterman, 1989:47) or the watching of pedestrian behaviour over a street as acceptable examples of nonparticipant observations. Interaction between the researcher and the social community under study is often unavoidable. We have again discussed this at length in Chapter 3 under the notion of researcher intervention. If we perceive the problem of intervention as a matter of degrees, then the distinction between participant observation and nonparticipant observation begins to blur. The general principle across the board is that the researchers should minimize their interactions with the informants and focus attention unobtrusively on the stream of events (Goetz and LeCompte, 1984:143). Wolcotts study of school principal (Case 3) was perhaps the most intensive type of nonparticipant observation that one could find in the realm of education. (He also used other supplementary methods as mentioned in Case 3). He did live with the school for two years, but he did not participate as a school principal which was his subject of study. He saw his role as one of participant-as-observer (Wolcott, 1984:7). So was Lis study (Case 3.8) of classroom sociology in her first year. She did stay with the school as a teacher but she never became a student which was her subject of study. The following two years of her study, however, was not nonparticipant observation because she applied experimental measures. During the UNICEF research in Liaoning, the basic method I used was interviewing and not nonparticipant observation, but I did have, at times, nonparticipant observation when debates occurred between the local planners and the provincial planners (Case 3.7), or when planners chat among themselves about their past experience in the field. The most frequently employed nonparticipant observation which is relevant to educational decision-making is perhaps observation at meetings. Typically, the researcher attends a meeting as an observer. The researcher tries to be as unobtrusive as possible and records everything that happens during the meeting. When Wolcott did his study on the school principal, he was present at all meetings unless he was told otherwise (Wolcott, 1984:4). The following was my experience of a non-participant observation in China. Case 4.3: A Validation Seminar I realized during the UNICEF research in Liaoning (Case 4) that one essential step in the planning for basic education in China was validation. When drafting of an education plan was complete, the draft plan had to undergo scrutiny in what is known as a validation seminar. In essence, all those related to the plan, including leaders at all levels, representatives of all relevant government departments, experts from all areas are invited to discuss. Relevant documents are sent to the participants well in advance. They are then asked to comment on the plan during the validation exercise. Only validated plans are submitted to relevant machinery for legislation. The validation seminar for Liaoning was unfortunately held before the UNICEF research. I got an opportunity, however, a year after in 1988, when the Shanghai educational plan was to undergo validation. The host of the meeting agreed to send me an invitation. I attended the meeting in the name of an external expert, although I made clear to the host that my major task was not to contribute. They agreed. During the meeting, I was able to observe the roles of the various actors during the meeting. I was also able to talk to individual participants during tea breaks and meals to understand their background and their general views about educational planning. I was able to do a number of things over the two-day meeting: (a) to classify the over 40 participants into technocrats, bureaucrats, policy-makers and academics; (b) to understand the different extents in which the participants contributed to the modification of the plan; (c) the disparity in capacity among participants in terms of information and expertise; (d) the inter-relations between the different categories of actors and (e) the function of the validation exercise. In the end, I concluded that validation was a way of legitim ation, which employed both technical (expert judgement) and political (participation) means to increase the acceptability of the plan before it went for legal endorsement. The political aspect came to me as a surprise. It indicated a change in the notion of rationality among Chinese planners and policy-makers. Interviewing Interviewing is widely used in qualitative research. Compared with observation, it is more economical in time, but may achieve less in understanding the culture. The economy in time, however, makes ethnographic interviewing almost the most widely used technique in policy-related research. Interviewing is trying to understand what people think through their speech. There are different types of interviews, often classified by the degrees of control over the interview. Along this line, we shall briefly introduce three types of interviewing: informal interviewing, unstructured interviewing, semi-structured interviewing, and formally structured interviewing. We shall also briefly introduce key-informant interviewing and focus groups which are specific types of ethnographic interviewing. Qualitative research of course has no monopoly over interviewing. Interviewing is also frequently used in research of other traditions. The difference between ethnographic interviewing and interviewing in other traditions lies mainly in two areas: the interviewer-interviewee relationship and the aims of interviews. Ethnographic interviewees, or informants, are teachers rather than subjects to the researcher, they are leaders rather than followers in the interview. The major aim of the interview should not be seeking responses to specific questions, but initiating the informant to unfold data. Readers may find more detailed discussions about ethnographic interviewing in Spradley (1979) who provides perhaps the most insightful account of the subject. In-depth discussions about ethnographic interviewing can also be found in Bernard (1988), Patton (1990), Fetterman (1989) and Powney and Watts (1987). Informal Interviewing Informal interviewing entails no control. It is usually conversations that the researcher recall after staying in the field. It is different from  observation in that it is interactive. That is, the informant speaks to the researcher. By its own nature, informal interviewing is the most ethnographic in the sense that it is not responding to any formal question. It is part of the self-unfolding process.

Role of Neutral States on CFSP Development

Role of Neutral States on CFSP Development Introduction The topic of my master essay is The role of the EU neutral states (Austria and Finland) in the development of CFSP, their impact on the elaboration of the European Union. Even today, it is a very actual issue for the Union, because it is connected with the integration process, security and defense problems of this organization. The main object of my research is to identify the impact of the neutral states (in my case, Austria and Finland) to the common security of the European Community, whether its pacifist or â€Å"neutral†. It should be noted that the issue of security and defense of the EU, its ability not only to protect its member states, but also to resolve the conflict situations is very significant. I decided to write about such representatives of the neutral states like Austria and Finland. First of all, these countries have more similarities than differences, which I will try to describe and characterize during the writing of my thesis. The aim of my work is: Describe the foreign policy of Austria and Finland and identify their similarities and differences; Identify the contribution of the neutral states towards a resolution of the international crises; Describe the opportunities of the CFSP to be a full-fledged superpower during the international crises and its effect on the policy of neutrals; The research question of my master thesis is If the European second pillar CFSP has had any effect on the development of the neutral states (Austria and Finland) and whether emerging these neutrals has had an effect on the Common Foreign and Security Policy? Hypothesis: a) The admission of the neutrals in 1995 did not significantly affect the trajectory of the development of the CFSP by making it more pacifist or neutral. b) The CFSP had a significant impact on the development of its neutral Member States (Austria and Finland). What I am proposing is basically in line with Alex George and Andrew Bennets method of a focused structured comparison. So, I will write two country-case study chapters asking the same questions and using the same set of CFSPrelated events or documents to answer them and then sum up your findings in the concluding chapter. So, the master thesis consists of 5 chapters. I. Foreign Policy of Finland The first country which I will touch upon in my research paper is Finland. I will illustrate and represent the foreign policy of this state from 1970, i.e. 2-3 decades before becoming the European Union member and will describe the foreign policy of this state. But first, it is necessary to note that for the long period of time Finland was under the yoke of the Soviet Union, this period covers from 1809 to 1917 and declared its independence only since 1917. If we compare with Austria, Finland due to its geographical position has always had a close relationship with Russia and could remain unoccupied during the Second World War because of this fact. In 1948 Finland had signed the Treaty of Friendship[1], Cooperation and Mutual Assistance with the Soviet Union. On the basis of this agreement both countries had agreed not to participate in any military actions against each other, and Finland, in turn, couldn’t be involved in the allied relations with the opposingsides of the Sovi et Union. Finlands neutrality was not implemented on the basis of the international law. In 1955 the state became a member of the Nordic Council and the United Nations. And after 4 years it was successfully signed an Association Agreement, and also an agreement with EFTA, which could guarantee the economic priorities for Finland (export of forest products). Later in 1971-1972, Finland, as a member of EFTA started the trade negotiations with the European community, but as a result Finland had to delay the ratification process because the Soviet Union showed their doubts and fears about such cooperation. It could be achieved only in year. The Soviet Union actively involved not only in the developing of the foreign policy of Finland, but in the internal as well. The proof of this is the reelection of the Finnish president in 1973, as Urho Kekkonen was a faithful ally of the USSR. I should also add that Finland had signed free trade agreements with the East European States. Finland economy was dependanton theSoviet Union, which was it’s the main oil supplier and then the finished products were exported to the Eastern European countries. From all of this I can conclude that economic development and influence has always been a valuable factor of the development of foreign policy. These all explain the reason of such a close cooperation with the Soviet Union. From the middle of the 1980 Finland began rapprochement process with the European Community, and in 1988 Finland submitted the White Paper to the European Parliament, EFTA must play the role of direct intermediary between Finland and the European Community. The White Paper contained the willingness and readiness of Finland of joining the European Community and also the economy compatibility of the state (four freedoms). Till 1990, Finland was entirely dependent on the Soviet Union, but after the destruction of the Berlin Wall, the situation began to change drastically. The West was used as the benchmark for Finland, the proof of this was the EEA negotiations. The neutral state began the preparation for the new report to the Parliament, in this time it covered not only the economic relations, but also the foreign affairs and considered the international aspects, namely, the issue of safety and concluded that the decision-making process should be based on a national basis, without prejudice to the rights of the state†. Since 1991, Finland started talking about the entering EU, it was first mentioned by Petti Paasio, the Chairman of the Social Democrat Party. This politician declared that the country needed to begin the process of accession to this Union, also noted that the country should not be involved in any military action. The Finnish Center Party was ready to consider Finlands membership if the security issue of the country would be accepted based on the national decisions of neutral country. In November 1991, Finland began the negotiations with the Soviet Union about a signing of new treaty the Treaty of Good Neighborliness and Cooperation, but which was interrupted due to the prevailing circumstances, such as the collapse of the Soviet Union and the formation of an independent communist country. Further Finland continued the negotiations with the newly formed Russian Federation. It recognized the Russian state as a successor to the Soviet Union. In December 22, 1991 Finland and the Soviet Union issued a new agreement The Agreement on the Foundations of Relations, which did not contain the military obligations like in the Treaty of 1948, it certified non-aggression and nor allowing third countries to entry into its territory and use the military force. In March 18, 1992, the Finnish Parliament on the basis of the choice of the majority vote, decided to join the European Community. Similarities and Differences between Austria and Finland During the WWII Finland and Austria were the proponents of Germany, and Austria was under its full control. Major role in their abstention from further participation in military blocs played the USSR, which withdraw Finland from the war, defeating it. Austria was also occupied by the USSR army. These countries paid for their freedom by receiving the neutrality status. Austrias neutrality was prescribed by the international law. These two states do not use a term such as neutrality, they always mentioned about the non-alignment. That is, the non-participation in military alliances and the opportunity to participate in military conflicts. This ambiguous phrasing had ceased to have meaning in 1995, after the three countries joined the European Union. By the laws of all countries of the Union are obliged to help other members of the EU in the event of any military conflicts and operations. These countries outside the EU, but wishing it different from other members were special. They belong to the Alliance, but remain neutral. Finland and Austria are in invariable cooperation with NATO; participate in the joint exercises and programs. However, the states considered the opinion of the population which is crushingly against of joining NATO. Austria and Finland are observers of the WEU. 2. Security Policy and the Military capability of Finland From a military aspect, Finland was out of the superpowers’ interest; the state doesn’t have the rich natural resources, has the harsh climatic conditions, and belongs to the northern Europe. In 1947 Finland signed a Peace Treaty and tried to hold on to the policy of neutrality before the Second World War. Because of its geographical and strategic position Finland had a close relationship with the Soviet Union, which helped to protect the integrity of Finland and escaped from the occupation. The neutral state was able to return Porkkala, the territory which had been in the possession of the Soviet Union for 40 years. According to the Treaty of Friendship, Assistance and Mutual Cooperation, the two countries agreed on mutual assistance in case of danger, so this treaty can be regarded as a Mutual Pact. According to this pact Finland was prohibited from using its territory as a transit pass, in other words it provided the protection for the USSR from invading its territory with the armed force of the warring parties. Therefore Mutual Pact was the guarantee for contribution peace in the northern Europe. Finland had a close relationship with other Northern European countries, Sweden like its neighbor is a neutral country, and Norway and Denmark are relatively political weak countries of the Northern Europe. Finland tried to keep the discharge between the states; thereby it joined the CSCE, in the final act of which is mentioned about the country’s right in choosing a neutral policy. Country with a small population (4.7 million people) could not protect its own territory and keep sovereignty. Finnish Defense Forces have been gradually developing; it was emphases the role of naval air weapons, which because of extreme domestic shortages had to be imported from abroad. Finland since 1956 began to take part in the UN peacekeeping operations and its officers were the military observers in the two organizations of the United Nations. Finland is the only EU Nordic country, which did not become a member of NATO. During the Cold War, the Finnish Government adopted a decision of increasing the countrys defense. These led to the commissioning of several new weapon systems and strengthen the defense of Finland, while establishing new garrisons. And in 1968, the Finnish government has adopted the doctrine of territorial resistance, which covering the large territories in case of extreme military emergency. If we assume approximately 16,000 Finnish soldiers were participating in the various military operations of the United Nations, whose purpose was to maintain peace in regions. I will discuss latter about the valuable Finnish peacekeeping operations. According to statistics, in 2003 the Finnish army consisted of 27,000 soldiers, 435,000 reservists who participated in annual military exercises, weapons were presented by battle tanks (235), a marine fleet force consisted of patrol vessel and coastal battalion, landing craft. 3. Populations opinion As in the case of Austria, the population of Finland endorsed the EU membership. Such positive attitude connected with the difficulties in the Balkan, especially the Yugoslavian crisis, which broke out in 1994, the Finnish population began to think about the security and defense issues and becoming the member of the EU. What were the main benefits for the country’s joining this organization, first, it became a part of the EEA, i.e. obtained the corresponding advantages as a member (the four freedoms), and the second and the most important, became a part of a unified decision-making process. But the main Finnish opponents of the EU membership were the Finnish Central Union of Agricultural Producers, and among the political parties Left-Wing Alliance and Christian Union. In January 1994, due to the presidential elections, the population had changed the viewpoint and increased the number of voting in favor (almost 50%), both leaders of the presidential candidates (Paavo Vayrynen and Martti Ahtisaari), were the pro-European orientation. In the same year, it was designed a  «national package » for the Finnish farmers. And so, according to the referendum, which was celebrated in October 16, 1994 , 56.9 % of the population voted in favor , 43.1% voted against. If we compare with Austria Finnish youth was set up much skeptical about membership. Increasing number of the private sector workers voted in favor, while the public sector workers â€Å"against†. Social Democrats endorsed the pro-European orientation. National Coalition Party strongly sustained the EU membership. Center Party – voted â€Å"in favor† by 40%. Greens voted voted â€Å"in favor† by 20%. South votes in favor, in contrast to the North. Internationalists voted in favor, in contrast to the nationalists. 18 % of people worried about the future of the Finnish language. Among the main issues disturbing the population were the future economic development of Finland, the reduction of unemployment rate, security problem, and resolving all these issues according to the status of â€Å"nor war involvement†. 4. Peace-keeping operations Finland, as well as Austria, in order to conducting the anti crisis struggle became an active member of the UN, participated in the peace settlement in Lebanon, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Yugoslavia. Latter, I will describe the most significant of them. Lebanon crisis was one of the severe crisis of the 1990-s, during which two neighboring countries, Israel and Lebanon. The conflict described a series of military clashes, when the states weren’t able to share their borders. Since 1978, Finland became interested in this conflict situation. Finland endorsed Lebanon’s position and its purpose was restoring peace and security in the Southern Lebanon, assist the Lebanese government for creation the fair and democratic government. In this context, Finland actively required from Israel to withdrawing its military forces from the occupied territory. [1] 1400

Impact Of Globalisation On Emerging Market Economies

Impact Of Globalisation On Emerging Market Economies The concept of globalisation is a phenomenon that has been spoken about all over the world. As described in essay one, globalisation is the increase in the interconnectedness of the different countries of the world, economically, socially, politically and technologically to resemble a village, largely facilitated by the increase in information and communication technology. Again as mentioned in essay one, Globalisation is not a new phenomenon, for centurys individuals and later companies, institutions and corporations have been trading with each other in locations that are tremendously far from their point of origin. The Asians for example used the monsoon winds that occurred after a space of six months to move from their countries and reach Africa to trade i.e. buy and sell products to the Africans. China and Europe were also connected during the middle ages through the famed Silk Road across Central Asia. This allowed the two parties to invest to one another which are an aspect of globalisation. This depicts the fact that for a long time globalisation was in existence but not recognised as today as globalisation (Jagdish, 2004). Globalisation attempts to depict the steps by which the networks in the world in terms of communication, transportation and trading cause the linking (integration) of the regional economies, societies, cultures, as well as technologies. At this point in time most of the world is considering the aspect of economic globalisation as one of the single most significant aspect of globalisation. With this in mind economic globalisation has been separately defined as the linking of economies of different nations to create an international economy via trade, FDIs, Investment cash flows, and the disperse of technology. Globalisation is usually recognised as being driven by the union of the economic, technological, socio-cultural, political, environmental and biological factors. The effect of globalisation have widely been reported which have been viewed as positive and negative. Different countries have viewed globalisation differently. To some countries such as the less developed countries (LDCs) they view it as a means of destroying the indigenous culture and the imposition of the western cultures such as the way of dressing, the way of talking, the mode of economic activity undertakings, the social events etc. while other nations view it as a means of modernizing and providing civil cultures to the uncivilized, it is introducing new technology for the betterment of the countries that lack technology, the creation of new opportunities ion terms of businesses etc. An interest however has evolved on to why this phenomenon is now widely embraced by the emerging economies and to what extent are these economies benefiting and not loosing from this phenomenon. This essay will focus on critically assessing the impact of globalisation on a specific emerging economy which is China. The aspects that will be focused upon include the analysis of the issues discussed in essay one. Which include: The rise of globalisation in China, the impacts of globalization socially, economically, environmentally and technologically on China and finally make a conclusion and recommendations. 2.0 The rise of globalisation in China The term globalisation did not enter into the Chinese official system till the 1996, nevertheless, the leaders had already acknowledged the aspect way before that date. Some references to globalisation appeared in academic writings in the early 1990s, but the dominant concepts in scholarly and policymaking circles were interdependence, integration, and internationalisation. The first time that globalisation entered into one of Chinas biggest city Beijing, the officials thought of it as a trend which is being propagated or driven by the advancements in the scientific and technological world which had lead to the increased cross national movement of investment income, goods and services, and the movement of the so called knowledge i.e. know how. At first there was an emphasis on simply the aspect of technological drivers to globalization hence restricting globalisation to the economic realm in the official Chinese analyses. However, the term was later understood that it included social , cultural, political and even security dimensions. The Chinese put early attentions on the opportunity for economic development and overlooked the concerns of the US hegemony, issue of westernisation, national sovereignty and other controversial issues in the political realm. Long before the 1990s when globalisation became a known world phenomenon, the Chinese participation to the world economy was undeniably increasing. When Deng Xiaoping officially took power in the year 1978, the cross border flow of investment cash flows, goods and services, information and technology had increased tremendously. This was further accelerated in the 1990s. By the mid of the 1990s the economic ties of China with the rest of the world seemed critical to the robust economic growth that made China the envy of industrialising countries everywhere. For example, by 1992 China stood as the worlds leading recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) among developing countries. Indeed, FDI accounted for sizable (and growing) percentages of Chinas domestic investment, industrial output, exports, tax revenues, and job growth before globalisation became a catchphrase. A series of events in the late 1990s tested Chinas initial, somewhat romantic, notions of globalisation quickly and severely (Croucher, 2004). 2.1 Reasons for China going global China decided to globalise as it has learnt from her past history that isolation has made her to backwardness. However, in order to achieve durable economic growth and prosperity in todays world of rapid change in technology and dynamic business environment, the right way is to integrate with the worlds economies through trade liberalisation which in turn might enable her to increase sales, acquisition of resources and minimise risks. China has changed itself from being the worlds greatest opponent of globalisation, and greatest disrupter of the global facilitators into a committed member of those facilitators and advocate of globalisation. Currently, China has decided to transform itself from a closed economy (communist with a strictly trade barriers) to a more open (liberalised) economy than other Asian countries in particular Japan. However, the acceptances of using some of the foreign rules and laws, the use of foreign languages like English in their institutions as well as education and commitment to global competition are not just modernising Chinese institutions but altering Chinese civilisation. The economic successes of China are indeed associated with trade liberalisation, corporation and other key aspects of globalisation (Overholt HW, 2005). Contrary to the early fears, Chinas economic growth has stimulated majority of her neighbours trade and even foreign investment rather than frightening them. Indeed, the recent growth of China has enabled Japan to revitalise its economy and even saved her neighbours from global economic downturn and become recession proof. The success of China has become one of the remarkable things among the most important and leading economies in the modern history. However, its economy faces the world history of the most severe combination of banking, urbanisation as well as employment challenges, on which by 2020 a demographic squeeze will have possibly few workers supporting many dependents (Overholt HW, 2005). 3.0 Impact of globalisation on emerging economies the case of China Globalisation has brought tremendously positive and negative impacts on the national economy. Though it has raised competition as well as interdependence among economies in the global market in particular emerging market economies, it also enables emerging and developing economies to contribute in the growth of the global GDP, the following figure from IMF estimates, illustrates as estimated from the year 2005 up to 2010. Soucce:http://www.dwc-emergingmarkets.com. However, there are many effects that globalisation has had on developing and emerging countries such as China. Some of the effects have been viewed as positive and others as negative. Below is an analysis of the effects of globalisation that were described in essay one which is specific to the Chinese country. The aspects that will be focused on therefore include the economical, social, environmental, political and technological impacts of globalisation on China. Economic impact As discussed earlier, economists have linked a lot of global events to globalisation and integration. Globalisation in terms of economics is the process of increasing integration among different countries, resulting into the establishment of a single world market. Globalisation encourages foreign trade, reduction or removal of trade barriers, therefore economic growth and development http://www.bukisa.com and (Croucher, 2004). The aspect of the economy that has been impacted by globalisation in China include; the issues of trade, finances, investments etc. 3.1.1 Trade As mentioned in the previous sentence above, globalisation has an effect on trade. Globalisation encourages trans-national trading which eventually leads to economic growth. China has benefited from this tremendously. For the past 30 years Chinas export level has increased by 17% a year. The Chinas international trade levels have also increased dramatically due to globalisation. In the mid 2000s, China was accepted in the world trade organisation (WTO) in response to the trend in globalisation and the reduction in the trade barriers, the opening-up to foreign investments (in particular manufacturing) as well as international trade. This enabled the country as a whole to enjoy the globalisation benefits because it provides opportunities if exploited and sustained will eventually contribute in the countrys economic growth through international trade and foreign investments in both direct and portfolios. Moreover, China has witnessed a significant growth for the past ten years in tradin g with other nations around the global as a result of trade liberalisation and the process of globalisation. There has been a tremendous increase in the investment flow due to globalisation. The diagram below shows the trend of Chinas trade which means export, import, and trade balance. The data from National Bureau of Statistics of China in the year 2006 illustrates that the export trade exceeds import trade. Source; http://www.japanfocus.org/_Ming_WAN/2576. According to Croucher (2004), the data show that from the year 2001 to 2007 then Chinese has had an increase in the growth of economics at an average of 8.5% per year. All material and non-material indicators show a rise in income, life expectancy and standard of living. Also there has been an increase in overall education level and overall reduction in poverty. 3.1.2 Finance When looking at the aspect of finances, one can view before and after globalisation in China. Before, the united republic of China had loosened the policies it had on foreign affairs; it had a banking system that was very inefficient, a system that was very weak in terms of its structure. Globalisation has improved this aspect in a way that is unimaginable because it has provided a fierce competition to the rest of the world. In globalisation era, in order for the financial institutions like banks to match with the rapid change in technology as well as unpredictable business environment, these financial institutions in particular banks must be more creative and innovative in improving its standards to match with the standards of the world economy in order to attract and protect foreign investors. Because of this, the banks of the united republic of China have improved efficiency and competitiveness. (Croucher, 2004). 3.1.3 Income inequality The aspect of globalisation has introduced a more capitalist system in China where instead of communal ownership; the aspect of ownership has become more of individualistic nature. This being the case, there is no longer equal distribution of income among the people of China. This has benefited some of the members who believed that they deserve more for the more work they did, this has created a gap among the rich and the poor people that was not there in the past. However, the wealth obtain in this era of globalisation are still concentrated in few developed countries as well as few powerful individuals while leaving emerging economies with an empty hands even though are generated from them. 3.1.4 Investment Globalisation has increased trading in China as a result it increases the amount of overall income and therefore increase in the savings amount. This increase of savings actually caused the people to inject more and more money into their local banks. The injection of this money eventually increases the overall capital in the banks and the amount of money for investment in the Chinese economy. The issues of lending has now moved to a whole new level, companies from one country ask for loans from banks in a different country as well as banks of one country can now put branches in other counties which automatically affects the economies. Governments of one nation go and obtain loans from other nations. A typical and yet most amazing scenario is the fact that the American government being in millions of debt to China which is an emerging economy. (Croucher, 2004). As mentioned in essay one, the economy of a nation relies a lot on the business environment that exists. Whether there is high domestic trading or there is a wider range of investments from international companies. Globalisation has enabled the economies of different countries become integrated. The GDP of China has benefited a lot as a result of globalisation. As mentioned earlier Chinas GDP has been growing at a rate of 10%, one of the fastest growing rates in the world. No doubt globalisation has increased the foreign direct investments in different nations. At this point in time the Mc Donalds company of the United States of America had made a record entry to Chinese economy when the policies of these countries had allowed room for the free market economy. The impact of globalisation on Chinas economic growth is far-reaching. During the past 20 years, Chinas international trade expanded 16 times, with its ranking in the world to seventh place from the original position of 32nd. Trade dependence rate lifted from 10 to 36%. In terms of the amount of FDI, China is now the largest economy amongst emerging economies as regarded as the faster growing economy supported by its favourable business environments, which favour foreign investors as they can achieve location economies as well as cheap skilled labour to work in their manufacturing companies. According to a modular study on the synergy of FDI conducted by the Development Research Centre of the State Council, Chinas GDP recorded an average annual growth rate of 9.7% over the past 20 years, of which 2.7% was attributed to FDI. (Owens 2008). Though Chinas GDP has shown a smooth growth and an increase in FDI, but different wage standards for Chinese and other emerging economies where skil led people in technology sector for example become discrimination as they are less paid while the same level in the same professional are highly paid in developed countries compared to them. Socio-cultural Impact Another notable impact of globalisation has been on the culture of the Chinese people. The simplest way of defining culture is by acknowledging that it is the way of living of people in a certain community. This also means that it is the way in which people of a certain population and ultimately country tends to carry out their daily activities. Globalisation has been in the aspect of spreading multiculturalism due to availability of more opportunities to settle in far countries. People of various cultural heritages are attracted to live and study the economic heartbeat on the global. These people go with their cultures in these places and this result into multicultural societies: However, there is a real danger of these diverse cultures to disappear because of assimilation in these new societies and spread of pop culture. There have been different effects of globalisation on the cultures of different societies including both negative and positive. Below is the brief explanation on t he positive and negative impacts of globalization on the Chinese culture. The Chinese culture has been affected by globalisation. One of the things that can be considered to be positive effects is the introduction of the social networking in the country. Due to globalisation people of China are now able to use the face book, twitter, my space etc which allow them to interact with the outside world through technology. Good things that are being practiced in other cultures are easily adopted by China people. Globalisation has been seen as a catalyst for change in the cultures by the imposition of the pop culture (western culture). For example the way in which people talk, act, dress etc has changed over the last few decades. The type of music that people listen to globally has changed; even the morals of certain societies have changed. The issues of education, different interests on social events etc are now exposed to the Chinese people who previously have been guarded in their own culture. Furthermore, there are now different beliefs such as Christianity, Islam which have been introduced to China that was initially blocked by the communist country. Their negative impact has included the issue of increased exposure to indecent culture. For example issues move from simple as people wearing revealing clothes such as mini skirts, skin jeans, and watching unethical video which are very dangerous to children. For example pornography has now eluded most of the cultures of different people including those in China. It is completely true that many people are forgoing their heritage for the new living styles which are believed to be more modernised. Now people believe that if you speak your native language and do not know how to speak English, then you are not really educated. All these are a result of globalization. The way in which people communicate has now also changed. People have conversations via the phone and have reduced the more traditional way of communication which was to visit and see each other physically. No longer are people playing sports outside, they rather play video games, watch movies in the house, all these are a result of globalization. Furthermore there is a change in the type of ownership in the emerging economies. Other effects include the fact that now access to television grew from a lower percentage of the urban population (1991) to more than 75% of the urban population (1999). Cable television and foreign movies became widely available for the first time and have acted as a catalyst in bulldozing the cultural boundaries. All these technologies have changed perceptions and dreams of ordinary people. Unmarried boys and girls are sharing same apartment and staying away from their parents. Scientific and technological innovations have made life quite comfortable, fast and enjoyable. There is more availability of cheap and filthy material (CDs or DVDs of Hollywood movies, porn movies, sex toys, foreign channels like MTV) in the name of liberalisation. Few years back, in China and even in other developing and communist countries, basic phones or land-line was a prestige symbol but now possibility of finding people riding a bicycle while holding a mobile phone (cellular phone) in hand listening to music using ear phones, internet browsing, talking or even clicking cameras of their phones is a normal issue. In reality, globalisation has highly affected the dot-com generation or society than the earlier generation known as conservative. The introduction of cable network has increased exposure and imitation of foreign cultures such as western where youth have build a culture of celebrating different occasions like birthdays, valentine days but to the contrary, these celebrations has increased the number of friendship between girls and boys whose end-up to sexual relationship and hence result into sexual transmitted diseases. The aspect of globalisation has introduced a more capitalist system in many nations that were primarily involved in communal ownership; the aspect of ownership has become more of individualistic nature. There is no longer the culture of equal distribution of income among the people of china. Environmental Impact The environment has been effected by globalisation in a very unique way. Globalisation presents a mixed blessing for the environment. It creates new opportunities for cooperation but also gives rise to new issues and tensions. For example, liberalised trade may generate economic growth, which in turn, may translate into increased pollution, including trans-boundary spillovers of harm (super externalities) and unsustainable consumption of natural resources (Dua and Esty 1997). Likewise, economic integration strengthens competitive pressures across national borders that may help consumers by lowering prices, improving service, and increasing choice (Bhagwati 1993, 2000). But these same pressures constrain national government capacities to regulate and necessitate intergovernmental coordination of domestic policies as well as cooperation in the management of the global commons. Without effective international-scale governance, globalisation may intensify environmental harms wherever reg ulatory structures are inadequate (Nordstrom and Vaughan 1999). As mentioned earlier the environment basically refers to every thing that surrounds us. In the globalised world more and more business opportunities have emerged for the different businesses in the world as a consequence of the businesses that are engaged in manufacturing and involve in the emission of harmful substances that have increased and eventually have caused destruction in the ozone layer in different parts of the world. The Chinese is highly affected because of being a centre for manufacturing companies from developed countries such as USA that source cheap resources like raw materials and labour. This is one of the causes or ways that led China to become very environmental destructive as it has been industrialising using harmful substances as source of energy. This has caused the LDCs people to suffer from diseases like cancer etc. There has been also an aspect of selling less efficient or low quality products to LDCs hence China in one way or another is continuing dumping harmful products to LDCs who cannot be able to pay for the highly quality products. The Chinese companies are selling their products to developing countries like Tanzania which are harmful at reduced costs, but in reality, many of their products are imitated and also being of low quality, however, they do this as a way of dumping their waste products since the majority of customers from developing countries can not afford to buy the same products of better quality exported to developed countries. On the other hand, through globalisation there are now campaigns all over the world that relate to environmental protection. International treaties e.g. the Kyoto Protocols, debates and policies on environmental friendly productions have been signed and made by different nations. The reduction in green house emission treaties have been signed by many nations in the world and this has tremendously affected China because China is one of the largest polluters in the world. (Owens 2008). Technological The Chinese are now the ones who imitate all the existing technologies anywhere in the globe, as they reveal that they can copy everything except your mother (Daniels et al 2009). The arena of globalisation has made the latest technologies to exist in every part of the world. Ranging from the latest mobile phones, laptops, video games and all other gadgets, globalisation in one way or the other has ensured that no one is left behind. Globalisation has lead to the increase in the spread of technology all over the world and China has capitalised on this. China is now becoming the largest provider of cheap products that resemble the modern technology in the African market. Every product that is produced or sold in the developed countries, the Chinese produces them and sells them at cheaper prices in the less developed countries. At this point in time, practically all parts of the world are aware of the existing technologies every where. The technology that is used in Europe is also used in China and at times even found in Africa. Globalisation has enabled the world to create, modify different technological devices that were founded by someone else in the different part of the global. (Owens 2008). Political-legal Globalisation has impacted on the issue of political and legal environment. As described in essay one, globalisation has been at the centre acting as intermediary or facilitator in the increased international laws that are in existence, the existence on the global organisations that provide principles across the world. The United Nations (UN) has had a significant part in the way in which it wanted the politics of the Chinese people to be put. Some have seen that the presences of globalisation in the affairs in China are causing the Country to lose its sovereignty. The latter is because China is always being scrutinised by the international countries. For example all countries are now looking at the policies of China and try to challenge some of the things that it is doing. The issues of communism, the issue of not allowing the foreign religions, the issue of suppressing capitalism are all being challenged by the world bodies in relation to China. (Croucher, 2004). 4.0 Conclusion and Recommendations Globalisation is an ever increasing phenomenon that is not passing-by but staying. Globalisation is inevitable especially in todays competitive business environment where customers and fierce competition force businesses to go global. Through reform and opening-up (trade liberalisation) over the past 20 years in the Chinese environment, it has been evident that China has accumulated valuable experiences as well as sound material strengths. Today China is in the best position to face the global competition as a result of globalisation; the emerging economy like China has seen super exponential growth which is the benefit of properly assessing the global environment today. There are many detrimental aspects of globalisation in many countries but the benefits are far reaching. With the concerted efforts of the Chinese people, the strategic goal of building a well-off society in an all-round way will be achieved. By learning swimming through practice, China will master the art of riding the tide of globalisation and in the process we will surely achieve the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Knowing the fact that the issue of the benefits depends on the country and the context that the benefits are viewed from, then China has been good in assessing this situation and now becoming one of the largest beneficiaries from globalisation. The issues that are related to the loss of a countrys freedom and sovereignty that play a key part on whether to embrace or reject globalisation, nevertheless, globalisation will happen. In a brief overview though one can see that there are many economically related benefits that have been associated with China being part of globalisation with an annual 10% growth in the gross domestic product. Again economically China has expanding sales as a result of diversification to other markets globally as a means of widening their markets; this has enabled them to build their customers base. The Chinese now have the African market which is highly being targeted by the western nations. The increase in the market is because of the acceptance of globalisation and its conditions. At the moment, China has transformed itself from the worlds greatest opponent of globalisation, and greatest disrupter of the global institutions created, into a committed member of those institutions and advocate of globalisation. It is now a far more open economy than Japan and it is globalising its institutions to a degree not seen in a big country since Meiji Japan. Adoption of the rule of law, of commitment to competition, of widespread use of English, of foreign education, and of many foreign laws and institutions are not just updating Chinese institutions but transforming Chinese civilisation. All of Chinas economic successes are associated with liberalisation and globalisation as well as other aspect of globalisation that has brought China further successes. Never in the world history have so many workers improved their standards of living so rapidly. China has effectively become an ally of U.S. and Southeast Asian promotion of free trade and investment than it is acceptable to Japan, India and Brazil. Globalisation has also influenced the establishment of Chinas national and cultural identity. Although cultural globalisation might easily blur the cultural identity of an individual national culture, it could also bring about something positive. It has actually brought people of the Third World with both positive and negative effects: If we face the challenge in a critical way and make full use of the opportunities to develop the national culture in a broad international context, this will most probably highlight the Chinese national and cultural identity and make the essence of Chinese culture and literature known to the world. All in all the above was the discussion of the impact of globalisation on China.