Marks & Spencer Retailing Strategy Essay

1. Introduction In this essay, in scope of the subject Organizational Management I, we will study the case of one of UK’s leading retailers that is Marks & Spencer. We are proposed to answer 3 given questions regarding the firm, specifically its strategy. Not only will we answer these given questions, we intend to further develop the concept of corporate strategy taught in class and relate it to M&S case in order to better understand it. During this case study we will also explore the history of this company, explaining the firm’s organization problem, the crisis that happened within the firm and also it’s strategies to overcome this crisis. We are also going to focus on the brand and in the ranges that M&S has available in the clothing market. There will be presented in this report aspects such as the market segments that M&S products ranges serve, the order winners and qualifiers for them and, finally, the different logistics performance objectives for the different ranges. Operations Management I 2. Development 2.1. History Marks & Spencer (M&S) is one of UK’s leading retailers with over 21 million people visiting their stores per week. M&S offer stylish, high-quality, great value clothing and home products, as well as outstanding quality food and financial services. The company was started in 1884, when Michael Marks (a Russian-born Police refugee) opened a stall at Leeds Kirkgate Market. M&S have over 700 UK stores and currently the firm finds itself in the process of expanding its business internationally: the company is already present in over 43 countries. Marks & Spencer employees over 78,000 people in the UK and abroad (as M&S site has published). 2.2. Marks & Spencer pre reorganization Focusing in clothing segment, M&S presented severe problems in their strategy department and, consequently, in their development and survival, due to massive mistakes. Seeing that M&S is a retailer type of firm, meaning that they only sell products, they don’t produce them: one of their main problems was the supply chain from the source to the consumer. This route was very expensive because they had a lot of suppliers, mostly at the UK. Overall, the company had several problems about the supply chain, like: All these problems made their supply chain really slow and time-consuming, not evaluating the suppliers nicely, not having a good balance between quantity and mix. Meanwhile, the marketing section had some issues too. They weren’t able to predict sales, they only made two sales seasons (while the others made four) and their product development was very slow and expensive. This enterprise only had one brand – St. Michaels – leaving few options of choice to the customer, being the only target women between 35 to 55 years old. This brand was focused on classic style clothes and some times out of fashion. Operations Management I In short, the notorious problems in the company were: 2.2.1. Crisis All these problems triggered the 1998 crisis, where Luc Vandevelde came as 4th CEO and responsible to change the company with some strategic measures. 2.3. Marks & Spencer after reorganization 2.3.1. Strategy changes To create, choose and implement their strategy, all the companies should have in consideration external and internal factors, social responsibility and the values of the company. On one hand, the internal factors explain the strengths and weaknesses of the company. On the other Operations Management I hand, the external factor relates the opportunities and the threats of the company, showing how that it influences the activity. These two are important in strategy creation, only if they are aligned with social responsible and company values. Marks & Spencer relied on its strong points (e.g. quality), trying to improve their weaknesses (e.g. slow response system). As stated above, the company also had high regard for social responsibility, as well as the company’s values. To implement strategy changes, we need to considerate these five philosophies: M&S ï‚ · The Total Quality Management is, as the name implies, oriented to increase the quality in the processes of the organization, by creating quality consistency; ï‚ · Just in time is a production management system that determines that nothing should be produced, transported or purchased before the exact time; ï‚ · Simultaneous Engineering acts on the development of products and is based on the use of engineering processes, manufactures, among other ones; ï‚ · The Compression Management is about to reduce processes time cycles; ï‚ · Reengineering helps manage through the increased efficiency and effectiveness. M&S based their strategy mainly on the first four points above. 2.3.2. Brand Nowadays, market segmentation is an absolute requirement for the market realities. Market Segmentation is related with a marketing concept and its objective is to enhance a company’s ability to understand and know its core customers as well as whom its core customers will be in the future. Most segments are formed by looking at certain characteristics such as demographic, geographic, and physiological, amongst others. These segments help the marketer identify very important consumption patterns. Therefore, the customers are treated accordingly to the firms view regarding what the customers wants or needs and its (the firms) ability to reach those needs in a profitable way. In Mark & Spencer specific case, it uses mostly a demographic segmentation to select its targets market for its products, targeting the customers by age, income, social class and lifestyle. There are 3 different ranges of M&S for Autumn 2001, including The Perfect and Classic Collection, The Autograph and pe r una. 2.3.2.1 The Perfect and Classic Collection Marketers are progressively more concerned in the outcome of the consumers lifestyle on demand. The market segments serve at this range, targets of those consumers who have busy lifestyles, therefore intend to save time and feel opportune when buying. This segment is for those customers that find themselves on a more price-orientated basis where they look for value at the lowest price. This is why, this range is targeted more on the middle social class and it’s a timeless collection (and not just the latest fashion) on any body size of both female and male customers. 2.3.2.2. The Autograph This range is a more specific, fashion-orientated designed for more mature upper class consumers who seek the â€Å"good life†. The collection in this range is designed by some of the best designers in the business, names such as Julien Macdonald, Philip Treacy and Sonja Nuttall. They have the capability to acquire it with a high street prices which are sold only in luxurious department stores. This range will normally target on those customers who prefer quality and the best design rather than the actual cost of the product. This range is targeted on female customers who have a keen sense of fashion, therefore it isn’t design for all ages nor all types of women. Per Una has concentrated its costumers to an age group between 25 and 35 with sizes from 8 to 18 (UK sizes) since the women that find themselves within these criteria nowadays do not want to be behind the latest fashion trends. They seek out fresh/new fashion and dress smartly and more importantly differently from another, therefore existing the Limited Edition, with that exact purpose. per una offers a better design and price to target young and middle-class women. 2.4. Order winners and qualifiers The different ranges that Marks & Spencer have available in the market presents competitive characteristics that make a costumer feel interested to buy a specific product. There are order qualifiers and order winners for these different ranges: The Perfect and Classic Collection (that we assumed that serve essentially the same range segment), The Autograph and the per una. The first order that we mentioned makes reference to the competitive aspects of a product that allows it to be considered by the costumers. On the other hand, order winners relates to the competitive characteristics that makes a product be chose by the interested in a specific product. Therefore, for the three ranges that M&S has available in the market and by the document we were presented to, we found some order qualifiers and winners for them. To The Perfect and Classic Collection we realized that size availability is a very important aspect to the costumers, which means that this factor is an order qualifier. In fact, there is a costumer that answered (to the questions that were made to her) that when â€Å"larger sizes have sold out† she gets â€Å"annoyed†. Thereby, some customers will have to go look in other stores to find what they need. About the order winners, in this range, costumers identify quality, price and variety of colors are three important aspects as they get interested in a product. Briefly, the item must be value for money and cannot require specialist washing as it has to wash well. In reference to The Autograph range, as it is defined to bring â€Å"cutting-edge design†, it is easy to understand that the most important order qualifier is the exclusive design of a certain item: the costumers want to buy a cloth that is â€Å"one of a kind†. Quality is the order winners in this range. When clients are looking for this products, they do not give so much importance to the price. Finally, the per una, a high-quality range, the attractive competitive aspect is the same as in The Autograph range: exclusity of design. The order qualifier is the rarity of a product and is difference . However, the segment of the market that looks for per una has a more concern about the price and, consequently, gives more importance to the value of a certain product. Even they care about the quality (as it must be well made and expected to last), the order winner in this range is the price that they are up to pay for the item. 2.5. Logistics performance objectives The planning and control of the organization will allow it to coordinate all the different operations that the organization has. It will grantee that all the materials are in the right place at the right time (just-in-time). Managers must control the operations to make sure that all runs like planned and finds the consumer needs. M&S changed the way to work with their suppliers and it provided a new approach to the market, principally the segment of clothes where they have done massive adjustments to get better performances. They created new divisions, and we will talk about those changes. Logistical department intends the enterprise to adapt itself to the market, so they created a new distribution of products by store and category. In other words, The Perfect and Classic ranges are located in almost all M&S stores because it is a product for the middle class, â€Å"for core customers†, with a low and viable price. The Autograph range, is into selected stores for the reason that its high prices can’t beat the most competitive brands in the common market and, finally, the per una collection is also in selected stores – despite its competitive price it’s a series that is very uncommon to find because the production has no repeats and so there is no piece like the other. This decision , to enter in the fashion business with a bigger offer then before, led the company to improve and presented a more efficient distribution of their products to the customers. In an organized way, each one of these brands according to their objective went to a shop strategically placed near to the right target. Like this they would have a faster response to the market resulting in the increase of the competitiveness of M&S. 3. Conclusion Marks & Spencer had several problems with the development of their company, having a huge crisis in 1998. To overcome this crisis, the company made some changes in their strategy in order to return to success. Changes in the supply chain, the marketing department and the increase of sub-brands, for example, led to: the increasing of quality, transparency, flexibility and the response of production cycle, elimination of duplication and gaining of more costumers. Nowadays, the company has a faster supply line, a more efficient marketing department and a huge variety of products, covering a larger number of customers which led to, generally, a better performance of the company. 4. Bibliography 1. CHASE, Richard B.; JACOBS, F. Robert; AQUILANO, Nicholas J.; Operations Management for Competitive Advantage; McGraw-Hill Irwin, 11th edition. 2. http://corporate.marksandspencer.com/aboutus/company_overview

Adam Air Case

MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION National Transportation Safety Committee Gedung Karya Lt. 7 Departemen Perhubungan Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat No. 8 JKT 10110 INDONESIA Phone : (6221) 3517606, (6221) 3811308 Ext. 1497 TOKA : 19811 Fax : (6221) 3847601 Website : www. dephub. go. id/knkt Email : [email  protected] go. id PUBLIC RELEASE OF FINAL REPORT – PK-KKW – FL DHI 574 Today the National Transportation Safety Committee is releasing its final report into the accident involving AdamAir PK-KKW Flight DHI 574 on 1 January 2007. We extend our prayers and condolences to the families of the passengers and crew. The NTSC has reviewed the comments on the draft final report from the related parties in accordance with ICAO Annex 13. Now I am able to report to you that as of today, strong and appropriate safety action had been taken during the course of the investigation by the DGCA and AdamAir and Angkasa Pura I, on eight of the eleven recommendations in the report. The last three recommendations are only being issued today. The Boeing 737, registered PK-KKW, departed from Djuanda Airport, Surabaya at 05:59 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) under the instrument flight rules (IFR), with an estimated time of arrival (ETA) at Sam Ratulangi Airport, Manado of 08:14. There were 102 people on board; two pilots, 4 cabin crew, and 96 passengers comprised of 85 adults, 7 children and 4 infants. The aircraft disappeared from radar while cruising at 35,000 feet. Following an extensive land, air, and sea search, wreckage was found in the water and on the shore along the coast near Pare-Pare, Sulawesi 9 days after the aircraft disappeared. Locator beacon signals from the flight recorders were heard on 21 January 2007 and their positions logged. The search was suspended when it was determined that the wreckage was located in the ocean at a depth of about 2,000 meters, requiring specialized recovery equipment not available in the Region. The salvage operation to recover the flight recorders commenced on 24 August 2007 and the Digital Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder were recovered on 27 and 28 August 2007 respectively. The CVR revealed that both pilots were concerned about navigation problems and subsequently became engrossed with trouble shooting Inertial Reference System (IRS) anomalies for at least the last 13 minutes of the flight, with minimal regard to other flight requirements. This included identification and attempts at corrective actions. The DFDR analysis showed that the aircraft was in cruise at FL 350 with the autopilot engaged. The autopilot was holding 5 degrees left aileron wheel in order to maintain wings-level. Following the crew’s selection of the number-2 (right) IRS Mode Selector Unit to ATT (Attitude) mode, the autopilot disengaged. The control wheel (aileron) then centered and the aircraft began a slow roll to the right. The aural alert, BANK ANGLE, sounded as the aircraft passed 35 degrees right bank. The DFDR data showed that even after the aircraft had reached a bank angle of 100 degrees, with the pitch attitude approaching 60 degrees aircraft nose down, the pilot did not roll the aircraft wings level before attempting pitch recovery in accordance with standard procedures. The aircraft reached 3. g, as the speed reached Mach 0. 926 during sustained noseup elevator control input while still in a right bank. The recorded airspeed exceeded Vdive (400 kcas), and reached a maximum of approximately 490 kcas just prior to the end of recording. Flight recorder data indicated that a significant structural failure occurred when the aircraft was at a speed of Mach 0. 926 and the flight load suddenly and rapidly reversed from 3. 5g to negative 2. 8 g. This g force and airspeed are beyond the design limitations of the aircraft. The aircraft was in a critically uncontrollable state at that time. There was no evidence that the pilots were appropriately controlling the aircraft, even after the BANK ANGLE alert sounded as the aircraft’s roll exceeded 35 degrees right bank. This accident resulted from a combination of factors including the failure of the pilots to adequately monitor the flight instruments, particularly during the final 2 minutes of the flight. Preoccupation with a malfunction of the Inertial Reference System (IRS) diverted both pilots’ attention from the flight instruments and allowed the increasing descent and bank angle to go unnoticed. The pilots did not detect and appropriately arrest the descent soon enough to prevent loss of control. Technical log (pilot reports) and maintenance records showed that between October and December 2006, there were 154 recurring defects, directly and indirectly related to the aircraft’s Inertial Reference System (IRS), mostly the left (number-1) system. There was no evidence that AdamAir included component reliability in their Reliability Control Program (RCP) to ensure the effectiveness of the airworthiness of the aircraft components for the fleet at the time of the accident. During the investigation the NTSC issued a number of recommendations to the Directorate General Civil Aviation (DGCA) and AdamAir relating to IRS maintenance and training of flight crews in IRS and aircraft upset recovery. I am pleased to announce the following strong positive safety actions. AdamAir advised the NTSC and DGCA that it has taken safety action to address the IRS defect troubleshooting procedures and maintenance oversight supervision. It issued Engineering Orders with instructions and procedures for the evaluation and rectification of repetitive IRS problems, and from November 2007 has had extensive liaison with the IRU manufacturer. The safety action taken to date by AdamAir includes ground school and aircraft simulator training for pilots to ensure proficiency in upset recovery from 14 January 2008. The DGCA advised the NTSC that on 23 November 2007 it issued a Safety Circular, to all airline operators, requiring specific action to address deficiencies noted by the NTSC, in particular the IRS maintenance and pilot training deficiencies. The DGCA requires operators to conduct continuing analysis and surveillance of repetitive defects and ensure immediate follow up corrective action. The DGCA has also informed operators that it is actively monitoring aircraft defects, in particular repetitive defects, and when the on-condition basis of maintenance is deemed to be insufficient to eliminate repetitive defects, DGCA will require component replacement on a hard-time basis. On 10 March 2008, the DGCA informed the NTSC that in addition to requiring upset recovery training from 8 January 2008, the DGCA requires operators to include spatial disorientation and its effects in their syllabus of initial and recurrency training. The DGCA plans to ensure, through routine flying operations inspections, that operators and flying schools are complying with this requirement. The report will be available on the NTSC web site after the media conference: http://www. dephub. go. id/knkt/ntsc_aviation/aaic. htm JAKARTA, 25 MARCH 2008

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Child vaccines should be optional (this is a PERSUASIVE PAPER) Essay

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Infrastructure Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

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Why Psychology Is Important Essay Example for Free

Why Psychology Is Important Essay Psychology is the study of the human mind and any of its functions. It also includes the behavior resulting from any changes in our environment. Psychology is very important to mankind in that it is important in understanding the world we live in. Psychology helps us and allows us to better understand the emotional and behavioral effects of our surroundings. According to Taylor (1988), many prominent researchers believe a healthy mental outlook on the world and what we perceive it to be is very important. Psychology is a mandatory course for so many programs of study because it is so widely used in occupations across the world. Using any number of research methods, a psychologist can apply research to the field of Public Relations in order to predict how a demographic will respond to certain things that occur. Not only is psychology widely used in many professions, but basic elements of psychology affect us as individuals each day. The research that psychologists glean from their subjects benefits all of us through better understanding of how our minds work. This is possible through testing of subject groups and adjusting environmental conditions. With the resulting data, psychologists can improve our lives. While most can speculate about behavior and emotion, psychologists us the scientific method to more legitimately predict describe and even explain human behavior. The simple fact that psychology contains so many sub-fields makes it unique. This allows specialized psychologist to concentrate on a more specific aspect of the human mind, such as, developmental psychology where researchers observe human mental growth from birth to death (Feldman 2009). A cross-cultural psychologist could be of help in the conflict affecting Syria. A researcher in cross-cultural psychology could shed light on how people in the region react to the violence and horror that has been occurring over the past couple of years. Through this, mankind can benefit by improving conditions to ease the locals mentally and emotionally. Through experimental psychology, researchers can get a better idea of how people see, and react to the world. This is immensely important as an improved view of the world would increase productivity and overall stress reduction. According to a rigorous survey conducted by the Center for Disease Control, in 2004, 1 in 4 people reported having a mental illness. This means that in any family of four, statistically, on person has a mental illness. Because of this statistic, psychological study is important. With psychological specialists, these people can be evaluated and treated giving them a better quality of life. Studies included in an APA press release in 2005 suggest that people are not made as happy by success as previously thought. Studies show that it is really happiness that is beginning to engender success, suggesting that employees respond well to positive feedback from their work. With this knowledge we can shape society by putting in place emotional and mental buffers in our everyday environment. Psychology is such a widely applied field of the sciences, that many students are required to take a course covering the subject. This is highly effective in making our society more prepared to both deal with everyday stresses and even become capable of making society better through psychological research. There are many fields that directly require a degree in psychology. There are seemingly more degrees that lie outside the social services field that require a grasp of psychology as well. Take, for example, Public Relations specialists. A PR agent is going to take an event that a company or organization is involved in and try to use demographic studies and delicate wording to spin the situation in a positive sounding way. Through test subject research, a psychologist can determine in what fashion to deliver a message or piece of info to the media to achieve a desired result with the public. Edward Bernays, the nephew of Sigmund Freud, did some work in PR (HM Publishers 1986). Bernays believed that all people in PR should understand psychology. He felt that if you understand how and for what reason people did things, you could change their behavior. Also, to be a good communicator, you must understand how people behave. With the huge variety of applications, psychology is crucial to many professional fields. Psychology affects all of our lives on an individual level as well as a society. During daily life, an individual may use methods used in psychology. A leader can reward his followers for creativity. An individual can use methods to motivate oneself. One can improve communication skills by noticing non-verbal signals and using tone to reinforce a message. Through attention to personal behavior under low stress situations, a person can determine how they may react under those regular conditions. All of these are simple ideas of psychology applied to make one more productive and effective in society. This makes psychology even more crucial to how people live from day to day. The study of our minds and behavior will continue to be an integral part of everyday life as well as professional endeavors. It is important because, through research, improvements can be made in quality of life as well as productivity. Since it is so applicable to one’s life it is very important to have a greater understanding of psychology. This way, people will have a better understanding of themselves and each other. A large number of social services require experience in psychology. Just as many professions outside the social services do as well, like public relations. An insight into psychological studies may also render a greater understanding of oneself, making society stronger as a whole. It is for these reasons and more that psychological research will always be important.

Bisexual And Transgender LGBT

Bisexual And Transgender LGBT Homosexual identity is abstracted as a life-spanning development process. This process eventually leads a person to personal acceptance of a positive gay self-image and a clear personal identity (Minton McDonald, 2012). According to Habermas theory of ego development, it is utilized to provide a synthesis and understanding of the literature on the construction and maintenance of the homosexual identity. It is concluded that the homosexual identity generally emerges in a three-stage process, in which the person progresses from (1) an egocentric interpretation of homoerotic feelings to (2) an internalization of the normative, conventional assumptions about homosexuality to (3) a post-conventional phase in which societal norms are critically evaluated and the positive gay identity is achieved and managed. In short, homosexual develops in three stages. The first stage is the homoerotic feelings in a self-centered way. The second stage is the internalization of the normative, assuming ho mosexuality in a convention way. The final stage is a post-conventional phase where the critical evaluation of societal norms happens and the positive gay identity is achieved and managed. However, no one knows how exactly homosexuality entered into human history. According to Samhsa, the terms lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) describe distinct groups within the gay culture. The early initiatives for people who were gay focused mostly on men. So, in an attempt to draw attention to issues specific to gay women, lesbian is often listed first. People who are bisexual or transgender have been traditionally left out of, or underrepresented in, research studies and health initiatives. Other than that, a study from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy revealed that the term homosexuality was coined in the late 19th century by German psychologist, Karoly Maria Benkert. Although the term is new, discussions about sexuality and same-sex attraction have occasioned philosophical discussion ranging from Platos Symposium to contemporary queer theory (Pickett, Brent, 2011). However, the gay group is different from sissies and tomboy. According to Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United State, the dictionary itself documents the distinction between tomboy and sissy with gay, while tomboy refers to romping, boisterous, boyish young girl, sissy an effeminate boy or man, a timid or cowardly person (Siecus Report, 2003). Thus for a boy been called sissy can be devastating, as it pierces his self-image at its most vulnerable point. By contrast, tomboy is said with approving tones, and does not detract from a girls sense of worth (Green, 1979). By this definition, it could be understood that a gay individual is more likely to have same sex attraction, but a sissy person may only behave like a girl while having a normal sexuality as other heterosexual males. According to National Academic Advising Association (NACADA), LGBT refers to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender. The term gay refers to both men and women who are attracted to persons of the same sex. Lesbian is the term used specifically for women who are romantically and sexually attracted to other women. Bisexual is used to indicate that a person is attracted to both men and women. Some describe bisexuality as an attraction to the qualities a person possesses rather than the gender of the person who possesses the qualities. Bisexual persons often experience a lack of acceptance in both heterosexual and GL communities because of misconceptions and stereotypes associated with bisexuality. Finally, transgender is an umbrella term used to describe someone who experiences his/her gender in a way that varies along a continuum from masculine to feminine (Brown Rounsley, 1996; Perez, DeBord Bieschke, 2000; Cunningham, 2003; Smith 2006). Hall (1996) coined the term of under erasure to refer to the LGBT individuals who happen to occupy outside the field. Within the gay and lesbian community, the subjective voices of transgender people are often marginalized or ignored (Minter, 2000) It indicates that the social status of the LGBT persons often insignificant and lower in rank. Social networking sites are spots where youth are easily influence by sexual text, photos and videos and also creates such materials by own (Rebecca, 2001). New media helps in addressing issues such as sexual health and their important role of youth at risk depends on media which is in use (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2010). To see the ever present queerness in the most prosaic straightness is important to be sure, as it has been for every oppressed minority. Visibility is much important to gays and lesbian because change of social acceptance. 1.1 Problem Statement This study addresses the issue of the portrayal of the marginalized group, known to be LGBT, by the new media and to what extent it influences the perceptions of the young individuals towards this group. A study performed by Free Malaysia Today stated that the Centre for Independent Journalism reprimanded the Malaysian print media for their lop-sided reporting on the Azwan Ismail video that was first made by a group called Seksualiti Merdeka. Azwan, an engineer, shot to fame after he stated his sexual preference in a video entitled, I am Gay, I am Okay. The video was first aired in an event organized by Seksualiti Merdeka. His open statement, however, did not go down well with other media. The Malay dailies newspaper and the community made their displeasure known via various cyber platforms. Some even went to the extent of issuing death threats against Azwan. One prominent Muslim blogger took the government to task for its failure in curbing the spread of gay and lesbian activities ( Free Malaysia Today, 2011). Other than that, Youth Pride Inc also stated that 36.5 % of GLB youth grades 9-12 have attempted suicide and 20.5% of those attempts resulting in medical care (Robin, 2002). In 2005, Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) survey of LGBT youth, 90% reported experiencing verbal or physical harassment or verbal assault in the past year (Harris Interactive GLSEN, 2005). All these findings share one conclusion namely LGBT people are greatly discriminated in the society. This study thus chooses to highlight on homosexuality and Seksualiti Merdeka with aims to create awareness among todays generation about the need to respect every persons right, including the rights to be homosexuals. 1.2 Research Objectives To discover the new medias portrayal of the LGBT community in Malaysia. To examine the Malaysian youths perceptions towards the LGBT community in general and specifically towards Seksualiti Merdeka. To create awareness about the issue of homosexuality among Malaysian youths. 1.3 Research Questions How are new medias portrayals of the LGBT community in Malaysia? What are the Malaysian youths perceptions towards the LGBT community and Seksualiti Merdeka? How far Malaysian youths are aware about the issue of homosexuality? 1.4 Research Hypothesis This research has one hypothesis, which is if the new media portrays the LGBT community negatively; the perceptions of youth towards LGBT community will be negative. This means, if the new media portrays the LGBT community positively, the perceptions of youth towards LGBT community will be positive. 1.5 Research Significance This study examines the influence of new media on the youths perception towards LGBT community. The researchers highlight youth perceptions on this issue because in the modern era today, youths are expected to be more open minded apart of being daring to voice out their opinions about any arising issues. A research by Pew Internet America Life Project (2007) revealed that 94 percent of internet users are young people with age range between 18 to 29 years old. This finding indicated that youths today are the active users of new media such as social networks, forums, blogs etc. With new media, the youths can easily get information about LGBT issues that occured in the country or abroad. Therefore, the youths may have more awareness towards LGBT groups. New media is becoming a platform for the youth to express their opinions and to discuss about any issues. Therefore, the researchers think that, there is a need to study more about the influence of new media on youths perceptions towards LGBT community. This study will help to instil awareness and provide a better perspective about the issues of LGBT and Seksualiti Merdeka to upcoming generation. It can also be useful and functional as reference for future researchers who are interested to expand the discussion on similar topics and areas. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Media Portrayal of LGBT Society has always had a general fear or disdain for homosexuality. That is why the media tended to support the already common perceptions, instead of challenging them (Montgomery, 1981). According to Kanter (2012), since the start of television programming, the forms of LGBT characters in entertainment or popular culture have both been limited. If they did exist, they were either exaggeratingly stereotypical, or associated with criminality or deviance. All the way through the 1980s, gay characters were seen on television as cameo roles with particular problems that hold almost non-existent lives, absent of desire or relationships. With the spread of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) epidemic, starting in the 1980s and into the 1990s, homosexuals were portrayed in more substantial, reoccurring roles (Netzley, 2010). Jackson Gilbertson (2009) explained that versions of the media lesbian that preceded her contemporary incarnation as hot typically cast her in stereotypical and undesirable ways, for example as masculine and unattractive (Wilton, 1995; Ciasullo, 2001). Dow (2001) notes how the lesbian on television historically occupied a fleeting space as an object of humor or as a villain. In her contemporary guise, the media lesbian can most often be seen as constituted within post-feminist discourses that produce women as sexually desiring, sexually plural, and self-pleasing (McRobbie, 1996). Gamson (1995) encouraged the homosexuals to tell their views in the talk shows. Talk show is the place where they get the attention they want and rise out their views which they cannot get in other ways. He is also the only spot in mainstream media culture where it is possible for non-heterosexuals to speak for themselves. A study shows the changes in attitudes towards homosexuality in the United State through fashion in public opinion polls. The results were considered by issues connected to homosexuality which integrated legal status, morality, acceptability, causes, familiarity with self-identified homosexuals, as well as views on both military and nonmilitary occupations, civil rights, marriage and adoption rights, and AIDS. This also concluded that community behavior have shifted in a free-thinking path (Yang, 1997). 2.2 LGBT Youngsters Engagement with New Media Past research had supported the idea that the Internet is frequently a lifeline in the development of sexual health among LGBT young people (Hillier Harrison, 2007). Many of them first come out online, and report learning about sexual behaviours, pursuing friendships with other LGBT young people, and exploring same-sex attraction online (Harper, Bruce, Serrano, Jamil, 2009; Hillier Harrison, 2007). Social networking tools had been widely used among youngsters in getting sexual health information. Importantly, social networking tools do not only allow researchers and practitioners to receive and provide information, but also allow the LGBT young people to exchange information and experiences with LGBT peers, engendering broader development of their sexual health (Bargh McKenna, 2004). This opportunity allows for a greater chance for LGBT young people to test out identities and gather information in a more controlled, private environment than is typical among general Internet resources or large social networking sites (Joshua, Louisa, Samantha Brian, 2011). According to Wilkerson (1994), there several types of homophobic attitudes like the treatment of people with human immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) about ways in which HIV is transmitted, media representation of AIDS and the way the medicines purpose reinforces a positive view inimical to lesbians and bisexuals. African-American news websites are growing in influence in terms of the number and loyalty of the unique visitors they attract. Homophobia and discrimination are the top storylines on the African-American news websites we analyzed, followed by culture, religion, and same-sex marriage in equal measure (Siegel, 2012). 2.3 Health Issues among LGBT Community By the 1990s, lesbian, the LGBT youth have appeared only as a separate cultural group. There are quite few youth identified themself or turn as LGBT since social sanctions and stigma contributed to severe repercussions and isolation, limiting access to supportive communities and awareness of sexual and gender identities in the earlier periods. However, only a handful addressed the needs of youths although a range of lesbian and gay service organizations developed in large cities during the 1970s and 1980s. According to Makadon (2008), elimination of health disparities among LGBT individuals, also collectively called sexual minorities, is a critical need for focus on their health. LGBT populations are disproportionately at risk for violent hate crimes, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV/ AIDS, a variety of mental health conditions, substance abuse and certain cancers. However, LGBT patients frequently encounter problems with access to quality health services, experiences disparities in screening for chronic conditions, and report a lack of counseling pertinent to actual lifestyle behaviors. Historically, homosexuality has been judged quite harshly due to cultural and religious taboos. The Pew Research Centres 2003 Global Attitudes Survey found that the majority of people in Western European and major Latin American countries (Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil) believe that homosexuality should be accepted by society, while most Russians, Poles and Ukrainians disagreed, and people in Africa and the Middle East objected strongly. Meanwhile, majority of Americans believe that homosexuality should be accepted (Makadon, 2008). Stigma, prejudice and discrimination create a stressful social environment that can lead to a variety of health problems among LGBT group. In LGBT group, minority stress is caused by (a) an external, objective traumatic event, such as being assaulted or being fired from a job; (b) the expectation of rejection and development of vigilance in interactions with others; (c) the internalization of negative societal attitudes (also known as internalized homophobia, transphobia, or biphobia); and (d) the concealment of gender identity or sexual orientation out of shame and guilt or to protect oneself from real harm. In addition, research shows a relationship between internalized homophobia/biphobia and various forms of self-harm, including eating disorders, high-risk sexual activity, substance abuse and suicide (Makadon, 2008). According to Rosan (1978), homophobia is a shortened form of homophilephobia, which means the fear of person neither of ones own sex, clearly not the connotation giv en to these terms in common parlance nor in professional literature. Garner (2008; as cited in Mulick Wright Jr., 2003) describes biphobia as psychological construct of negative attitudes towards bisexual individuals and bisexuality in general. In Malaysia, the rising trend of sexual transmission from 5.3% in 1990 to 22.15% in 2005 (Ministry of Health AIDS/STD Section) indicates that the situation could expand into a general epidemic. Furthermore, the proportion of women infected has risen from 1.4% in 1990 to 14.5% in 2005 (Ministry of Health AIDS/STD Section). Indeed, the female to male ratio of new infections has narrowed substantially. In sharp contrast to men, 64% of HIV infections in women were sexually transmitted. The result of HIV situation has an emergency need to go for gender-sensitive national respond by Malaysia government (Zulkifli, Lee, Yun, Lin, 2007). To do better in lend a hand to LGBT group for their healthcare, people should spend more time and attention to learn about LGBT health and obtain support in making educational improvements. Explanation focus on the clinician-patient relationship and address all threes domains of learning which comprised of attitudes, knowledge and skills would help clinicians to provide better care to LGBT patients. Attitudes have a major effect on health outcomes. Attention to attitudes requires growth in the affective arena. For clinicians, this involves developing awareness of and respect for a patients differences and willingness to listen empathically to that persons experience (Makadon, 2008). 2.4 LGBT involvement in international human rights Under international human rights law, all persons who including LGBT community are entitled to equal rights, including the rights to life, security of person and privacy, freedom from torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, and the right to be free from discrimination (The Road To Safety, 2012). There are more than 80 countries still maintaining the laws that make same-sex consensual relations between adults a criminal offence. In year 2008, such laws were used in Morocco to convict six men, after allegations that a private party they had attended was a gay marriage. On 19 July 2007, six men were arrested after a young man who had been arrested on theft charges was coerced by police into naming associates who were presumed to be homosexual (OFlaherty Fisher, 2008). According to journal The Road to Safety (2012), LGBT refugees in Uganda and Kenya are among the most vulnerable of refugee populations. Due to their sexual orientation or gender identity, they can be targeted for violence by other refugees and some members of the host populations, harassed and extorted by police officers, and marginalized from accessing services from government institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), or the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). According to Julie (2006), LGBT advocates have engaged in two very different kinds of activities on the international human rights stage. First, they have engaged in traditional human rights activism, using the traditional human rights techniques of monitoring and reporting to apply existing human rights norms to LGBT lives. These rights included the right to privacy in the criminal law context; the right to equality; the right to family; the right to non-discrimination; the right to freedom from torture (applicable in cases of forcible cures for homosexuality and psychiatric mistreatment generally); and the right of transsexuals to recognition of their new gender. Second, they have tapped into both traditional monitoring techniques and human rights culture-building efforts to promote new international human rights that are important to LGBT lives, including the right to sexuality. Until the mid- to late-1990s, most of LGBT advocates that involved in the international work on gay rights were also working with LGBT-specific organizations, such as the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA). This organization was found in 1978 in Brussels as a world federation organization, and today it is joined by more than 500 gay and lesbian organizations from ninety countries on all inhabited continents. From its inception, ILGA has focused on presenting discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation as a global issue. Another prominent group during this era was the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), founded originally in 1990 by Russian and US activists and now a US-based organization with offices in San Francisco, New York, and Buenos Aires (Julie, 2006). 2.5 Seksualiti Merdeka in Malaysia The rejection of homosexuality by Malaysian law and culture leads to the rise of human rights to the LGBT people. An increasing integration of Islamic political thinking and practice that builds on literal interpretations of Islamic textual sources is the main reason for why LGBT rights are neglected. Muslims who are under group of LGBT facing politically charged from conservative of normative Islamic discourses on sexuality and gender. To fight for their rights, LGBT community in Malaysia had formed Seksualiti Merdeka or Sexuality Independence in the year 2008, founded by Pang Khee Teik and Jerome Kugan. Seksualiti Merdeka is an annual sexuality rights festival held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and represents a coalition of Malaysian Non-Government Organizations which included Malaysian Bar Council, Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), Empower, Pink Triangle Foundation (PT Foundation), United Nations, Amnesty International and general public. The term used to highlight the fact that even after Malaysia independence, not all Malaysians are free to be who they are. The organization believes that everyone in Malaysia deserves to be free from discrimination, harassment and violence for their sexual orientations and their gender identities. They believe it is our right to be responsible for our own body and believe everyone is entitled to the freedom to love and the freedom to be, whether gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, i ntersexes, straight, asexual, pansexual, or simply fabulous (Sexualiti Merdeka, n.d.). Being a Muslim-majority country, Malaysia would have to reiterate its strong objections to a policy that clearly contradicts the principles enshrined in the religion of Islam. On November 3, 2011, police banned Seksualiti Merdeka as the festival was deemed a threat to national security and a threat to public order. Co-founder of Seksualiti Merdeka Pang Khee Teik said that they are not trying to promote homosexuality. This festival is actually the chance for Malaysians to listen to their story, why after all these years of trying to be somebody else, some of them have found peace with themselves and to accept who they are (Chun, 2011). According to Mosbergen (2012), on September 2012, Malaysias Education Ministry has endorsed guidelines to help parents identify gay and lesbian symptoms in their children. The guidelines are as below:- Symptoms of gays: Likes having a fit body and likes to show off by wearing V-neck and sleeveless clothes; A preference for tight and bright-colored clothes; Attraction to men; and A preference for carrying big handbags, similar to those used by women. Symptoms of lesbians: Attraction to women; Besides their female companions, they tend to distance themselves from other women; A preference for going out, having meals etc. with women and a preference for sleeping in the company of women; Not attracted to men Pang Khee Teik, however disagreed with the guidelines and he advised the ministry to rely on sound research instead of endorsing pseudo-experts as this could be damaging to children. Pang said education is an important tool to address inequality but the ministry had instead sought to use it for teaching hate, promoting inequality and playing politics. Besides that, the ministry should teach all children to be confident and to respect one another, no matter who they are. Seksualiti Merdeka thus was prepared to brief the Education Ministry if its officers were willing to listen to reliable research on the LGBT community (Asia One, 2012). 2.6 Online discussion of sexuality According to Mckee (2004), in one of the  ¬Ã‚ rst published articles addressing online discussions of sexuality, the homophobic comments made by composition students using the synchronous chat program interchange to brainstorm possible topics for a research essay (as cited in Regan, 1993). When a student raised homosexuality as a possible topic, a number of students posted homophobic comments: Were taught that homosexuality is a sin; A homosexual once made a move on me. I really didnt like it. I mean I really didnt like it! and To whoever was thinking about the topics of death and homosexuality, heres a thought, why not join together and do a project on the death of homosexuals? Not by AIDS. At the time of the exchange, the researcher Regan was unsure what to do when confronted with these comments, but she did try to redirect the conversation by interjecting, Has anyone thought about writing about homophobia? but it does not seem that her efforts were successful at redirecting what she called socially sanctioned classroom terrorism (McKee, 2004). Regan was distressed that the online environment enabled students to articulate their fear and hatred of homosexuals in a way that would not have happened in the traditional classroom, and she concluded that online spaces are not egalitarian, as was frequently claimed at the time. 2.7 Discrimination towards LGBT group in Malaysian Context Malaysia is one of the countries that illegalized homosexuality. Among the reasons for the country`s disapproval of homosexuality is its status as an Islamic nation, where everything that goes against the Islamic law and teaching is strictly prohibited and thus, condemned. According to Goh (2012), the rejection of same-sex behavior is not one that has emerged from a socio-political vacuum. Sexuality is considered taboo (Goh, 2012; as cited in Jerome, 2008) and appears to have a prominent place in the psyche of many Malaysians, notably institutional quadrants of Islam. Islamic civil and religious authorities closely observed on Muslims in Malaysia, ravaging the sexual lives of Muslims that are as private as khalwat (illicit close proximity) and zina (illicit sex or adultery) (Lee, 2010:31). In the Malaysian legal context, male homosexuality or gayness as a globally-recognized cultural trope has no direct equivalence to sexual identitiesà £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ Section 377A, 377B and 377C of the Malaysian Penal Code make provisions against acts of sodomy or liwat without being gender-specific, although it is in section 2 of the Syariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territory) Act 1997 that one discovers a clearly-defined morphology of liwat as sexual relations be tween male persons (Goh, 2012). Uproars over male homosexuality in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries came into prominence with two major events. First is the sodomy charges of the former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and second is the festival celebrating the human rights of sexually-diverse persons, Seksualiti Merdeka. Raging debates on homosexuality in relation to Anwar (Kanaraju, 2007) and the banning of Seksualiti Merdeka in 2011 (Shazwan, 2011) caused innumerable forums on men`s masculinities population to mushroom among the Malaysian. Back in the year 1992, the Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad made the statement that democracy would lead to homosexuality (Offord, 1999). Dr Mahathir used the conflation of homosexuality with democracy to consolidate Malaysias cultural borders (and its postcolonial status), so that Malaysian people can maintain the pureness and uniqueness. Dr Mahathir is drawn on cultural specificity in this context to explain the indigenous from the foreign, and homosexuality is conceived of as alien and other. It is in this sense that Anwar Ibrahim is bothered by the use of the accusation that he is homosexual. Anwar has been notable for his liberal views about democracy and transparent government (The Asian Renaissance, 1996). To simply do away with opposition and perceived threats to his authoritarian rule, Dr. Mahathir can inscribe upon his enemy the descriptor of homosexual (Offord, 1999). Prior to the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) leaders summit in Kuala Lumpur in late 1998, amid the controversial jailing of Anwar and civil unrest and demonstrations, the role of homosexuality as a political and cultural tool of difference was propounded strongly by the Malaysian Foreign Minister, Dr Abdullah Badawi. It was his contention that sodomy was a serious offence in Malaysia; it was against the countrys religious and social values (The Weekend Australian, 1998). Dr Badawi maintained that in certain places in Europe, and perhaps Australia and America, they do not treat it as something big but to Malaysia, it is bad consider as a scandal. Following Dr Mahathirs accusations against Anwar, a Peoples Anti-Homosexual Voluntary Movement was formed to combat the dangers of homosexuality. In one blow Dr Mahathir succeeded in undermining Anwars credibility and deployed homosexuality as the number one impossibility. Anwar, also a Muslim, entrenched the perceived, corrupting value of homosexuality by asserting in the Time interview that his character was assassinated by this descriptor (Offord, 1999). Therefore in Southeast Asia today, this is one sense of where homosexuality is located, something that is demonized, and deeply disturbed. It is conflated at once with democracy, corruption, and foreignness. It does seem clear that when the nation state perceives a threat to its existence, that danger is frequently translated into sexualized terms. Same sex sexuality is deployed as the alien other, linked to conspiracy, recruitment, opposition to the nation, and ultimately a threat to civilization (Offord, 1999). 2.8 Theory applies between relationship of Media and LGBT Community Media plays a very important role in human life, where people get more of information they need from it. Therefore, to be more understand the influence of media on youths perceptions and opinions about homosexuality, the study chooses to employ framing theory. The concept of framing has been variously attributed to sociologist Erving Goffman and anthropologist Gregory Bateson. Frames allow journalists or media in general cover and package issue. The choice of journalists who shelter a story can influence the way issues are framed. The theory describe that the message framer has the choice of what is to be emphasized in the message, as the view through a window is emphasized by where the carpenter frames, or places, the window. If the window had been placed, or framed, on a different wall, the view would be different (Botan Hazleton, 2006). According to Muthudotin (2010), this theory suggests how media influences the thinking of people. The model of framing is related to the agenda-setting tradition like media telling the youth what to think, but not what to think about. However, it is more focused and expands the research by focusing on the nature of the issues and then places it within a field of meaning which can easily effects the audiences. Framing is an important topic since it can have a great influence. If we look at dissimilar context in Malaysia, sexually explicit content on media will be associated with values and eastern culture which hold norms of decency and morality. Eastern society, which is very different from western society, has an unusual mindset of perceiving sexual content. Everything which is related to sexuality is perceived as taboo and people would refuse to discuss the matter openly. In addition, as a Muslim country, Malaysia struggles to bind the whole thing linked with sexually oriented content (Mariesta, 2012). According to The Star online (2011), Pahang and Malacca are the states that practicing Islamic laws in punish Muslims engaging in homosexuality. Once the state amends and g

Financial Systems of Ghana and Nigeria

Financial Systems of Ghana and Nigeria Since the idea of Adam Smiths invincible hands also known as invincible hand of the market, the allocative power of the market has been generally recognised. These ideas have been reinforced by the apparent failure of Keynesian theories of government intervention to stand the test of time. As a result of the adoption of SAP (Structural Adjustment programme) by most developing countries including Ghana and Nigerian which are my main concentration, the debate of liberalization versus intervention has been rekindled. The major area of concentration is if these developing countries (Ghana and Nigeria) with imperfect markets have benefitted from recent liberalization efforts in the structural adjustment programme. Financial liberalization is usually an important component of a countrys strategy for economic growth. In an old fashion way, financial liberalization, has come to be most universally linked with freeing of interest rates, but now financial liberalization is seen as a process involving a much broader set of measures geared toward the elimination of various restrictions on the financial sector, such as the removal of portfolio restrictions on the banking sector, the reform of the external sector, and also changes in the workings of the monetary policy THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM OF GHANA AND NIGERIA. A key stylised fact about financial systems in developing countries is that they are dominated by commercial banks (Fry, I995, pp. 4-5; Rojas-Suairez and Weisbrod, I995, pp. 4) Ghana and Nigerias financial system consists of a large fragmented informal sector and formal sector. The formal sector is made up of central bank(Bank of Ghana and Central Bank of Nigeria) at the apex, with 42 commercial banks for both countries; Nigeria (26) and Ghana (16), development banks (Nigeria, (5), Ghana (3) , and merchant banks (30) Nigeria), (Ghana, (10), insurance companies, stock exchange, building society, community banks. The structure of Nigerias financial system will be explained below: Regulatory Authorities: they regulate the Nigerian financial system, and they include Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Federal Ministry of Finance (FMF), Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),), and the National Board for Community Banks (NBCB, National Insurance Commission (NIC). These regulatory authorities will be explained in detail below. 1. Federal Ministry of Finance: the role of this regulatory authority is to advise the Federal Government on its fiscal operation and make sure it follows whatever the central bank of Nigeria says concerning the monetary matters of the country. 2. FEDERAL MORTGAGE BANK OF NIGERIA (FMBN) The role of the is to provide banking and advisory services, and also to undertake research activities pertaining to housing. After the adoption of the National Housing Policy in 1990, The FMBN is empowered to licence and control main mortgage institutions in Nigeria and act as the peak regulatory body for the mortgage finance industry. 3. The central bank of Nigeria The central bank of Nigeria has the same responsibilities as the bank of Ghana. It was established by the central bank of Nigeria act of 1958 and commenced operation on July 1, 1959. Their major regulatory objective is to issue legal tender to the economy, banker of last resort, financial adviser to the government, enhance monetary stability and a good financial environment which will be of benefit to the country in the short and long run. the central bank of Nigerias success is partly as a result of the rise in crude oil prices. 4. The Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation: Its role is to complement the supervisory and regulatory role of central bank of Nigeria (CBN). It has the right to examine the books and affairs of the insured banks in Nigeria and other deposit taking financial institutions. ORIGIN OF FINANCIAL LIBERALIZATION IN NIGERIA Nigerias economy has always been dependent on oil prices since the early 1960s. As a result of the collapse of world oil prices and the reduction in the production of petroleum in the early 1980s, the nature of the countrys economic and financial position became very weak and vulnerable. This led to recession and economic deterioration. The economy was characterised by shortages in its foreign exchange, debt crises, negative economic growth and high rates of unemployment, Indeed, beginning from 1982, and through 1984, the country had become saddled with negative trends in economic growth as indicated by the decline in the gross domestic product (GDP) (0.35% in 1982; -5.37% in 1983; and -5.18% in 1984), persistent current account and budget deficits, a huge number of uncpmleted projects in the public sector, factory closures, large-scale retrenchment, acute shortages of essential commodities and galloping inflation, (Odusola,2001,p4). The government decided to carry out some short run stabilization measures, one of which was to foster employment through the creation of public sector jobs, this exerted more pressure on the budget, not withstanding that, public sector employment grew by a further 18 per cent between 1981and 1984. This policy promoted migration into cities, as the increases in government salaries during this period compared to that of the rural areas was more favourably. Urban migration and its attendant unemployment problems became even more pronounced in 1981 when the Government increased the minimum wage rate to the entry level salary of public sector employees. Urban unemployment increased significantly, from 2 ½ per cent in 1980 to 10 per cent in 1985, while rural unemployment rose from 4 per cent to 6 per cent over the same period. Real per capital income fell significantly as well, from US$1,010 in 1981 to US$850 in 1985 (Odusola, 2001, Pp4). Nigeria financial sector was characterised by rigid exchange and interest rate controls, sart orial allocation of bank credit (Okpara, 2010, P54), the naira was overvalued, all of which made the economy more exposed to risk of default and practically led to distortions that resulted into low direct investment, which in turn led to financial repression. it will be discussed more in-depth below. Financial repression discouraged investment in information capital; it also discouraged savings mobilization, in the sense that it was not vigorously pursued. The financial system incurred a lot of cost in financial intermediation, and it was as a result of inactive liquidity and liability management and incentives to increase efficiency. Not only was Nigeria the only country going through this problem of financial repression, much of the twentieth century saw intensified financial repression (Caprio et al, 2001 p5), for example, Ecuador, Uruguay, Mexico, Ghana, Malawi, Tanzania etc, all had the problem of financial repression in their economy. As a result of the financial repression i n the economy, the government decided to adopt a financial sector reform to help increase the countries economy. The programme they adopted was called Structural adjustment programme (SAP). STRCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMME IN GHANA AND NIGERIA. The Ghanaian economy also went through the same problems as the Nigerian economy during the early 1980s. They had similar problems as the Nigerian economy; which include, high default rates, high rates of inflation, weakened confidence in the financial system. These affected the ability of the banks to perform their intermediation function properly (Acquaye and Sowa, 1999, p395). The major objectives of this SAP were, among others, to: Restructure the economy in a way to reduce its dependence on oil as its main source of income. Revitalise the financial sector by creating new institutions Reduce fisal balance of payment problems Promote non-inflationary economic growth. The key policies designed to achieve these objective were: The liberalization of the external trade and payments system-dismantling of price, trade and exchange controls; Implementation of methods to encourage domestic production and expand the supply base of the economy; The setting up of a Second-Tier Foreign Exchange Market (SFEM) as a mechanism of realistic exchange rate. The rationalization and restructuring of public sector enterprises and overhauling of the public sector administrative structure. Reinforcement of important and strong demand management policies; More rationalisation and restructuring of tariffs in order to aid industrial diversification; The elimination of price controls and commodity boards; The key reforms that have already been implemented as part of the financial liberalization policies include; Changing of the concept of a credit ceiling with OMO(Open market operation) Promoting competition and efficiency in the financial system Liberalizing interest rate, exchange rate, but in general the financial sector. The financial sector reforms were thrown into crisis by the sequencing of reform measures and the lack of the necessary prerequisites for liberalization. Particularly, the deregulation of interest rate and the requirements for market entry led to the instability of the financial system. A series of corrective measures had to be adopted, raising questions of policy credibility (Aiyeetey et al, 1997, P196). THE STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMME: THEORETICAL BASIS Virtually every sub Saharan African country including Nigeria and Ghana experienced major changes in the overall direction of the national economic policy in the early 1980s. These policy reforms were implemented as an integral part of the structural adjustment programmes (SAP) prescribed by the World Bank and the stabilization programme of the international monetary fund (IMF) (Olasupo, 2005, p 7). The structural adjustment programme had a lot of objectives, but the major objective of this reform programme was to correct the alleged distortions which made sustained economic growth and recovery in the economies difficult. Notwithstanding the general decision of the countries to undertake the adjustment programme, there has since the start of the 1990 decade, been wide ranging argument surrounding the theoretical paradigm underlying the SAP and their suitability to African countries. The first which is the unrequited orthodoxy; it emphasizes how well the adjusters have done in compari son to non adjusters. According to this perspective, the regime of restricted inward looking policies resulted in over protected industrial structure, balance of payment problems (Olasupo 2005, p10). They also contend that development problems will be solved by more adjustment not less, with this they concluded that sub- Saharan African countries experienced poor macroeconomic growth and performance relative to their South East Asian counterparts, because economies in the former were exposed to long term government intervention and restrictive macroeconomic and sectorial polices. The modified orthodoxy sees adjustment programmes in an economy as a necessary but not sufficient condition for development, because adjustment is only capable of stabilizing economies in the short term. This orthodoxy believes that other measures must be put in place for African development to occur in the medium and long term. A strong proponent of this approach puts it, the most significant shortcoming o f current structural adjustment programs is the lack of logical linkage between the short-term objectives of attaining balance-of-payments equilibrium and improving allocative efficiency and the long-term objective of sustainable development Nguyuru Lipumba, (p. 9) FINANCIAL LIBERALIZATION AND REPRESSION. Financial liberalization is the process of breaking away from a state of financial repression. Financial repression has been most commonly associated with government fixing of interest rates and its adverse consequences on the financial sector as well as on the economy. The term financial repression was originally coined by economists interested in less developed countries (LDCs) Gupta, 2004, Pp2. It originated in the works of Ronald I. McKinnon and Edward S. Shaw in the early 1970s, to describe a developing countrys environment, defining it as the set of government legal restrictions preventing the financial intermediaries in the economy from functioning at their full capacity level. The most common forms that this intervention takes are interest rate regulations, directed credit schemes, and high reserve ratios. The literature on financial repression stresses that because savings levels are sensitive to real interest rate, nominal interest rate controls; cumulative inflation reduces the amount of the national income. The benefits of financial repression, as opposed to financial liberalization, are debated on several points Ozdemir Erbil, (2008). In theory, it is believed that financial repression can make it better to control money supply in an economy and also control over interest rate which will induce investment. Another argument in favour of financial repression is that government controls on financial markets are needed for developing countries. In practice, financial repression appears to have yielded government revenue in the order of 2 % of GDP on average in samples of developing countries (Giovannini and de Melo, I 993; Fry et al. I 996, p. 36). The main conviction of the advocates for financial repression is that the government knows better than the market. The repression mechanism works through the interest rate and the exchange rates. Therefore moving from financial repression to financial liberalization would require extra budgetary measures and could create budgetary problems, Like in the case of Nigeria in the early 1980s when the government seeked to reduce unemployment in the urban areas and the outcome of this decision exerted more pressure on the budget. Financial liberalization may increase the fiscal deficit and the cost to finance, as the government loses revenues and is forced to pay more market-based interest rates on its existing debt. On the other hand, the most popular argument which favours financial liberalization is the rising growth effect by motivating savings and investment. Financial liberalization may increase the level of savings and improve the allocation of savings among potential investors. This will lead to the creation of more available funds and hence economic growth. Financial liberalization may decrease the cost of capital, but on the other hand, movements which cause the crises and macroeconomic instability may have a negative impact on economic growth Ozdemir and Erbil (2008). This debate highlights the need for further sound empirical evidence on the benefits of financial liberalization on economic growth, especially for small open economies of developing countries. FINANCIAL LIBERALIZATION AND SAVINGS The advocates of financial liberalization do not seek to induce savings, but to promote and increase the volume and efficiency of capital formation. While financial reform can affect saving through various potential channels, on the whole its net effect is ambiguous.( Schmidt- Hebbel and Serven,2002, p2). Moreover saving is often considered beneficial for its financial dimensions. In open economies, raising national saving is a way to reduce the dependence on foreign saving, protecting the economy from external shocks. This is an important policy concern in a world of increasing financial integration. Together with a strong and well-capitalized financial system, saving represents a form of self -insurance to reduce the economys vulnerability to unexpected reversals of international capital flows. In this manner, saving can help reduce macroeconomic volatility, which empirically has been shown to hamper growth (Ramey and Ramey 1995; Fatà ¡s 2000). Various researchers have shown some empirical evidence that although financial liberalization results in higher interest rate and financial deepening , it does not really lead to higher savings. In majority of countries, financial reforms are followed by declines in savings (Okereke,2009). Bandiera et al (2000) estimated an econometric relationship Showing the private saving ratio as a function of the real interest rate and degree of openness as an index for financial liberalization, along with income, inflation and public savings. analyze the experience of eight countries that underwent significant reforms in their financial systems, namely Chile, Ghana, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Turkey and Zimbabwe. Foe this countries they measured the effect of liberalization on the volume of aggregate savings, their results Their results do not provide a clear answer on the impact of reforms on saving, as the effect appears significantly negative in some cases (Korea and Mexico), positive in some others (Greece and Turkey) and insignificant in the Indonesia, Malaysia, Zimbabwe, and Ghana. In a study similar to theirs i.e.(Bandiera et al), Loayza and Shanka(2000), used India as their country of observation, and the savings rate from India and found out that financial reform has not changed the savings rate, but moved the composition of savings in India towards a higher share of durable goods. Ostry and levey(1995), in their findings maintained that financial development as a result of liberalization reduced savings. Bennett et al(2001), in their work, also found a negative significant effect on savings. CONSEQUENCES OF FINANCIAL LIBERALIZATION Policies that make an economy open to the rest of the world and they are needed for sustained economic growth. No country has achieved economic success, in terms of substantial increases in living standards for its people, without being open to rest of the world. Trade opening has been an important element in the economic success of East Asia, where the average import tariff has fallen from 30 percent to 10% over the past 20 years. Opening up economies to global economy has been essential in enabling many developing countries to develop competitive advantages in different sectors of their economy. Countries that have opened their economies in recent years, foe example India in 1991, have experienced faster growth rate and more poverty reduction, a proof is that following the economic reforms, the country began to develop a fast paced economic growth. India is the eleventh largest economy in the world There are some negative effects experienced by countries or the world in general in terms of their reform policies that has outweighs the benefits of such reforms, this statement can be applied to the effects of financial liberalization despite its benefits in terms of access to more capital inflows. Financial liberalization creates exposure to various kinds of risk and they include; a propensity to lead to financial internal and external financial crises, inadequate access to funds for small scale producers etc. Many researchers have carried out empirical studies on financial liberalization on financial fragility of the economy, and their conclusion is that liberalization increases the fragility of the financial system. According to (Demirguc-kunt detragiache), one of the reason why financial liberalization may lead to increased financial sector fragility is that the removal of interest rate ceilings and also the reduction of barriers to entry reduces bark franchise values, thus exacerbating moral hazards problems. The moral hazards problem is a special case of information asymmetry, a situation in which one party in a transaction has more information than another. Normally banks try to protect their franchise, and the risk of losing their franchise, but during a period of policy reform such as financial liberalization, where there is free entry in to the market or financial sector, so as a result of that there is more competition, this erodes franchise values. If the effort of reform does not incorporate adequate strengthening of the prudential regulations and supervision to realign incentives, lower franchise values are likely to lead to increased fragility (Stiglitz et al (2001) Tornell et al (2003), in their studies, they said that financial liberalization is bad for growth because it leads to crises. Their empirical analysis shows that in countries with harsh credit market imperfections, financial liberalization leads to a more rapid growth but also a more higher incidence of crises. They also argued that liberalization leads to faster growth because it eases financial constraints, but on one condition that this occurs if agents which are the government, investors and creditors take on credit risk which makes the economy fragile and prone to crisis.

Influential Softball Coach Essay -- College Admissions Essays

Influential Softball Coach I met a life changing individual in middle school. We referred to him as â€Å"Mr. D†. He was my seventh and eighth grade English teacher. I sat in his class and dozed off during his grammar lectures. He often sparked my attention with jokes, sports scores, stories from literature books. However, the majority of Mr. D’s classes were not overly exciting or stellar in anyway. In the spring of my seventh eighth grade year I decided to branch out and try a new sport. I signed up for our school’s softball team. A new coach was going to be taking on the difficult task of teaching the love of the game to a group of girls. The coach was going to be my English teacher. Mr. D taught the team to play softball well. He also taught us that softball was a lot like life. I le...

The Perversion of Dorians Soul in Oscar Wildes The Picture of Dorian

The Perversion of Dorian's Soul in Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The soul is thought to be an immaterial entity coexisting with our bodies which is credited with the faculties of thought, action, and emotion.   It is the part of our body which is believed to live on after the body dies.   In Oscar Wilde's, The Picture of Dorian Gray, the main character, Dorian Gray, destroys the innocence of his soul and becomes corrupt. He becomes corrupt by failing to live a life of virtue.   The main reason for his transformation can be attributed to a portrait painted of him that captured the true essence of his innocence.   This portrait is the personification of his soul.   At the beginning of the book Dorian makes a wish that inevitably changes his life forever.   His wish is that, "If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old!   For that - for that - I would give everything!   Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give!   I would give my soul for that!" (Wilde, 40)   As Dorian's wish of staying young and beautiful forever come true so does the fact that he has given his soul away to the devil.   Another contributing factor to the perversion of Dorian's soul comes from his supposed friend, Lord Henry Wotton.   Lord Henry fills Dorian's head with his outrageous philosophies such as, "....youth is the one thing worth having. .... You have only a few years in which to live really, perfectly, and fully.   When your youth goes, your beauty will go with it..." (34) and "The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.   Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous ... ... that Dorian has become a dissolute and perverse man who cannot understand that vanity and the thrill of "new sensations" are not what run the world.    Works Cited    Cohen, Ed.   Talk on the Wilde Side.   Great Britain: Routledge, 1993. Freidman, Jonathan (edited).   Oscar Wilde: A Collection of Critical Essays.   New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1996. Pearson, Hesketh (edited).   Essays By Oscar Wilde.   New York: Books For Libraries Press, 1972. Ransome, Arthur.   Oscar Wilde: A Critical Study.   London: Mr. Martin Secker, 1913. Weintraub, Stanley (edited).   Literary Criticism of Oscar Wilde.   Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1968. Woodcock, George.   The Paradox of Oscar Wilde.   London-New York: T.V. Boardman and Co., Ltd., 1950. Wilde, Oscar.   The Picture of Dorian Gray.   Denmark: Wordsworth Editions Limited, Reprinted V