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Study of economic growth and development China The WritePass Journal

Study of economic growth and development China Introduction: Study of economic growth and development China Introduction:National High-Tech RD (863) Programme in BriefPolicy Context and ImplementationFunding and ImpactConclusionReferencesRelated Introduction: Economists have during recent time associated economic growth to research and development ability of a country. One of such economic models is called the endogenous growth model. According to the endogenous growth model, research and development is a key driver of technological innovations using human resources capital and the existing knowledge (Romer, 1986). This theory goes on to state that innovation is then used to produce goods which will contribute to the permanent increase in the growth rate of output. Innovations that are endogenously created are essential to a sustainable economic growth.   Research Development therefore can be regarded as an engine for the creation new technology and goods. China has a long history of research and development. The ancient China is celebrated for having invented paper, printing, compass and gun powder. China has also made great invention in the agricultural sector as well as in the astronomy (Sevin 1982). From 1946 to 1970, China pursued a socialist agenda with government playing the central role of coordinating all state affairs. Even though China was considered as a low income country during this period, it invested a lot into Research and Development motivated in order to become a world military power. Elite research institutes such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences were created to support the research and development and China rapid progress in nuclear technology, space technology, and genetic engineering in the 1960s and 1970 testifies to the partial success of this system. However as the Soviet Union was suddenly divided in the 1960, this advancement could not be sustained because China was then dependent on the importation of Tec hnology from its main ally the Soviet Union.   Beginning from the period of Chinese economic reform in 1979, Research and Development in China experienced two transitions:   first, from plan to market economy as it moves away from a centrally directed innovation system, secondly, from low income developing country toward Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) industrialised country status as it intensifies its innovation effort and more effectively deploys the ensuing technological gains. According to the comparative measures of RD intensity among countries of OEC from 1991 to 2003, China’s RD intensity rose to 1.4 percent. Beginning from 1980 to 1990, the central government of China in its bid to catch up with other developed countries decided to formulate and finances science and technology programme throughout the countries. Programmes such as the 863 project and the 973 project were designed to promote science and technology capabilities and to catch up with the growing technological and innovation gap between China and the West. Other programmes such as the Torch programme were designed to support local high –tech industries by providing direct government grant and tax incentives to industries. This essay focuses on the Chinese National RD (863) programme. The objective there is to critically examine the programme, evaluate its output and impact and provide recommendation for its future directions (Naughton,2007). National High-Tech RD (863) Programme in Brief The National High-Tech Research and Development Programme also known as the 863 programme came into being on the 3rd March 1986, when four top China scientists addressed a private letter to Deng Xiaoping, the then Leader of the China calling for the establishment of an Elite project devoted to technology that would make china the â€Å"xin jinshu geming† the new technological revolution. Deng Xiaoping agreed and approved the proposal and directed that action must be taking immediately to implement the programme.   The project was then codenamed 863 programme for the year and the month of its birth. The 863 Programme has set as objective to provide funding for technological research and innovation which were of a strategic importance to the economic and social development of China. It was expected that the programme will enable China achieve a technological â€Å"leap frog† especially in areas were China already enjoys a relative advantages and support the implementation of the third phase of china modernisation process. In recent years, the programme has been extended to include the development of key technologies, in agriculture, biology, environmental protection, renewable energy and information technology. Policy Context and Implementation The programme 863 can be described as part of the general reform efforts that begun in 1979. It was important to move the country away from the socialist approach which was more focused in investing in military research which did help improve the Chinese people wellbeing. The Chinese government also believed that a reform of the economy was important as it will enable a rapid economic growth, improvement on technological innovation and fast infrastructure development that will improve the quality of life of Chinese people. The 863 programme was constituted of an emerging China’s high-technology sector, which includes a number of high level government agencies, state-run research institutes, public and a growing private RD investment funds. The programme could be described as an attempt of the government’s openness policy adopted toward international trade and foreign investment by providing investment attraction to foreign investors through tax incentives and co-investment in research.   The project came to being at a time the government needed to find a lasting solution to its energy needs which became high as the volume of industries and the number of imported cars have increase dramatically. According to the New Yorker, by 2001, more than two thousand new cars were bought in China everyday and millions of barrels were imported from outside and depended of its coals to generate more eighty percent of its energy. This phenomenon was rendering China very polluted and the impact of clima te change could undermine China’s future stability. It was therefore for China to develop new technology to find new solution to its energy and pollution management. The central government wanted to focus on the development renewable energy and as a result made available direct significant public funding to research, product development and application of technologies in the renewable sector. The Ministry of Science and Technology is the lead body in charge of developing science and technology strategy, policy and coordinating other government agencies that were involved in the implementation of the project. Other institutions such as the Chinese Academy of science, the Natural foundation Committee and the Academy of Engineering were also playing important roles in the allocation of funding to research institutes. Funding and Impact Data from the Ministry of Science and Technology reveals a continuing growth in the Chinese Expenditure on Research and Development. In 1996 the gross domestic expenditure on RD was 404 million Yuan and by 2006 the figure has increased to 3003 million Yuan.   China currently spends almost 1.5 percent of it of its GDP on research and Development. China’s expenditure on RD can be regarded as high considering the fact that the living standard of living is still low. By comparison the level of expenditure among OECD countries ranges between 2-3 percent. China is the only low and middle country that depicts such intensity on Research and Development expenditure (UNDP 2001). The government of China is the principal provider of funds for the realisation of the programme. Data from figure 2 shows that government funding is around seventy percent of the total fund that the programme attracted in 2006. Other sectors such the Businesses and Foreign Direct Investment also contribute to funding RD. Figure 1. Gross Domestic Expenditure on RD, 1996-2006 Source: Ministry of Science and Technology 2007 Figure 2: GERD by source of funds and sector performance Source:   MOST 2007 Even though it is believed that the 863 programme has immensely contributed to the China’s recent technological and industrial development an examination of the impact is required to justify the large amount of fund pumped in to the programme.   The 863 programme is heavily dependent on government fund. At the beginning of every year the commission in charge of award of grant set it objectives and calls for bid. The government intention is just to fulfil its catch up agenda with the west. Researchers and research institutes that are involved in the programme are therefore under indirect pressure to deliver the set objectives. As a result Research and Development is often riddled with plagiarism, falsification of data and conflict of interest. In 2004, the popular Chinese researcher from Shanghai Jiao tang University, Chen Jin was involved in a fakery scandal after having received more than ten million dollar in grant to produce a Chinese microchip to rival the American Intel . The situation is a rampant one among Chinese academics and researchers and the reason is that because it is public fund that is involved many researchers are afraid of taking risk since failure may be expensive to them and to the government as this may mean waste of fund among public opinions. According to information from the Ministry of Science and Technology, the 863 programme was a successful project as it helps China invent new technology such as the world First man –loading HTS Maglev, the Third Generation Intelligent Robot that can move freely and avoid barriers and able to talk with human within a certain distance and the Atmosphere and Environmental Monitoring Laser just to mention few. Considering the amount of money the Chinese government spend on Research and Development it is not encouraging to say that China high tech export is highly dominated by foreign investment. According to report from OECD, in 2006, China surpassed the European Union, the US and Japan to become the world largest exporter of high-tech. This is mainly due to the relocation of production capacities of multinational enterprises into China. The China technological advancement has little to do with the indigenous High Tech market. Most of the firms producing High Tech goods in China a re mostly foreign companies; China only contributes in labour term (Xing, 2010). The 863 programme in its conception cannot be said to be a programme which has been designed to promote RD in China. The central government plan was to improve the image of China and it is purely the continuity of the socialist agenda. The only change is that, instead of developing military capabilities, the Deng Xiaoping administration decided to focus on economic catch up. All the projects that were executed under the programme cannot be described as things that will contribute to long term economic growth of China. In the infrastructural and construction area, it is a fact that that the programme has helped China to achieve a historical record in road, railways and airline development. Between 2000 and 2005, the road length in China has increased from 250.700 km to about 1, 930,500 km. Also the Railways have experienced a rapid development. China now has double tracked rails of 25, 000km and electrified rail of 20,000 km. The civil airline has also been developed and today China h as become world second largest air transporter after the United States (Liang Chuan, 2008). Some may argue that China needs all these infrastructural development to elevate its status to a developed country. There is even a Chinese old saying which says that â€Å"If you want to be rich, you must first build road†. But the problem is all these constructions are heavily dependent on public fund and no other country spend so much on infrastructure as China does. According to one study it is estimated that China will need to spend around $132 billion ever year from 2006 to 2010 to maintain these constructions. Moreover the central government does not take into account the social cost of all these development projects for the common Chinese people in terms of lost of land and environmental problems.   The speed at which these projects are executed also poses a problem of quality and standard in the construction and engineering process.   In October 1999, the $52 million 0ne h alf mile-long   Zhaona Mountain bridge   which was built over the young river in Ningbo started to has sways and shack a month before its opening date and inspectors discovered cracks caused by engineering and design flaws. So also in the month January of same year 1999, two bridges collapsed in two different places killing 47 people and injuring more than 30 others (Hays 2008). Another core problem with the 863 programme was the incentive packages the central government made available to motivate researchers and RD firms. It is believed that the central government support to RD through the 863 programme has contributed to the rapid rise of China in the patent applications. Data for figure 3 from the Ministry of Science and Technology shows that the total domestic patent applications increased from 383.157 to 470,342 between 2005 and 2006. The design applications increased from 151,587 to 188,027 within the same year. This tremendous achievement can on the one side be attributed to the zeal and hard work of Chinese researchers but on the hand it can be attributed to the incentives made available by the central government. Figure 3 Patent application filed and patents granted by SIPO Source: Ministry of Science and Technology, 2007 The 863 programme put in place incentive packages ranging from tax reduction to several concessions. In a paper published the Economist title â€Å"Innovation in China: Patents yes ideas maybe† it was stated that â€Å"Professors who do are more likely to win tenure. Workers and students who file patents are more likely to earn a hukou (resident permit) to live in a desirable city. For some patents government pays cash bonuses for others it covers the substantial cost of filling. Corporate income tax can be cut down from 25% to 15% for firms that file many patents. They are also more likely to win lucrative government contracts. One could say the patents applications filed did not mean so much to the applicants compared to the gains and interest the application may yield for them. Therefore the quality and originality, patents designs, and inventions were questionable. Closely link to this argument is that fact the 863 programme did not promote the culture of innovation among Chinese researchers and enterprises. The Ministry of Science and Technology which is the principal government agency coordinating the 863 programme stated that one of the key objectives of the programme was to strengthen the innovation capabilities of Chinese researchers and enterprises so that they can become technical bodies that will support the national aspiration of China to achieve socio-economic development. The programme supported some innovative ideas such as the development of an Intelligent Robot, the Coal-fired MHD Power Generation and the Experimental Fast Reactor. Otherwise, most realisations under the 863 programme were heavily dependent on importation of technologies. The programme was following the international high technological development but did not focus on the development of local indigenous technology (Chunliang, 2008). Conclusion The 863 programme has enabled the Chinese government to achieve a considerable economic and industrial advancement. In order to consolidate all these achievement is important that the 863 programme be reformed to rather focus its attentions on promoting indigenous innovative research and development activities which can turn China into technological advanced country. Incentives and motivational elements in the programme for researchers and private investors should also be reviewed as this may put local investors at a competitive advantage over foreign investors and deter them from investing into RD in China. Finally Chinese Government has to enforce the weak intellectual property right regime in existence at the moment. References ROMER, P. (2005) â€Å"Increasing Returns and Long-run Growth† Journal of Political Economy, 94 (5):1002-1037 SAMINI, J. A ALERASOUL, S. M. (2009) â€Å"RD and Economic Growth: New Evidence from Some Developing Countries† Australian Journal of Basic Applied Sciences, 3(4):3464-3469 HU. A G. Jefferson, G. H. (2008) â€Å"Science and Technology in China† China’s Great Economic Transformation. Ed. L . Brandt   and T. Rawski, New York   City, Cambridge University Press NAUGHTON, B. (2007) â€Å"The Chinese   Economic: Transition and Growth, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press PENTAS, P. (2005) â€Å"Natioanl High-Tech Research and Development Program 863: Introduction, Objective and Organisation [Online] ppentas.com/thesis/National_RD_Programm_863.pdf, Accessed on the 17/05/2011 ONOS, E. (2009) â€Å"Green Giant: Beijing’s Crash Program for Clean Energy† The New Yorker [Online] newyorker.com/reporting/2009/12/21/091221fa_fact_osnos, Accessed on the 17/05/2011 XING, Y. (2010) â€Å"Chinas High-Tech Exports Myth and Reality† EAI Background Brief N. 506 [Online] eai.nus.edu.sg/BB506.pdf, Accessed on the17/05/2011

Journal Review.Describing Trends & Reading Closely Essay

Journal Review.Describing Trends & Reading Closely - Essay Example Also, economic concepts can be explained in a much simpler way to others by creating similarities or analogies to things which may be expected to be well-known to most audiences. Thus, I have gained a wider perspective on the range of applicability, the importance of an accumulation of experiences for better understanding of theories and ideas found in books, and the possible uses of most theoretical concepts that I have learned so far and will still learn in my chosen field. Compared with other popular publications such as magazines, newspapers, books, and other kinds of printed media that are most often freely published without much scrutiny and are available to a wide variety of audiences, academic or scholarly journals are more often than not the product of numerous and rigorous screenings and editing of it wholly, from grammar to soundness and validity of the content (Olson 52). Due to a much more focused or narrow-ranged audiences that are mostly within specific lines of work, research, or subjects, academic or scholarly journals are the kinds of publications which are not readily available to common folk, and even among most academicians or learned folk the information contained in these publications are not necessary applicable for them in their everyday lives since most of these journals and their individual articles have more or less specificities in their intended audiences. In addition, there is a higher rejection rate among these kinds of articles, mainly due to the possible stance of the information that if disseminated, could change the course of different disciplines. The need to scrutinize is rather a daunting task since not all members of the discourse community are easily swayed by the content, and oftentimes have their own counterarguments based on their own knowledge, experiences, and if possible, theories. The discourse community that reviews or screens the content of such journals can be said to be rough and rather unforgiving, while at t he same time dynamic since â€Å"over time, certain issues are put to rest and new issues are explored† (53). In a way, the information being assimilated and gathered in most academic or scholarly journals can either become pioneering or disposable, depending on the speed in updating or affirming certain ideas or concepts released in these kinds of publications. For explaining the contents and the scopes of scholarly or academic journals, the Journal of Economic Essays published by Wiley-Blackwell, a part of the John Wiley & Sons group is the journal chosen for this project. As an aspirant coming from the field of economics, I have chosen this journal since I am confident that with the knowledge that I have learned in my studies on my field of specialization, I may be able to translate the concepts embedded in some articles from the journal to inform others outside of my field not just about this journal’s visions and objectives, but of the idea of economics as a whole . Also, this publication is a rather inclusive one, as it is indicated in the author guidelines that most of the articles acceptable for publication were written in a way that more people can appreciate the content due to lesser economic jargons and more colloquial terms that many readers can understand (John Wiley & Sons). Also, in my opinion using a journal that has lesser technical jargon can be an inviting way to make people or readers from other fields to become relieved from being overwhelmed or

Health care law Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Health care law - Coursework Example In addition, Dr. Maxx could be accused of misrepresentation. Dr. Maxx stated that her arm would be good as new. She can argue that statement was the basis for hiring Dr. Maxx and that was the determining factor. Connie arrived at Smallville General hospital ER via the local police. They took her in because she was disheveled, urinating and defecating on herself. She was calling out to passersby â€Å"You are the devil and I am going to stick my knife in your chest.† The SBH doctor refused to treat her stating that his hospital did not accept involuntary psychiatric patients. He advised the police to take her to Metropolis Psychiatric without given proper cause. Under the law, hospitals can deny admission if they are not properly staffed or equipped for psychiatric patients. To me there could be a liability issue for SBH. However, SBH can argue that it was acting with the patient’s best interest at heart. It was beneficial for het to go the other hospital. Doctor could use that defense that upon the brief contact with the patient he evaluated her and there were no sign of an emergency that would prevent her from taking the 75 miles drive to the other hospital. Connie was admitted to MPC and was forcibly administered medication. She was released after a week to the streets of Metropolis. MPC had the right to admit her and treatment, because she was a danger to her self and others. Based on her condition when she was picked up she clearly could not provide the bare necessities for herself. They kept her against her will for 1 week. MPC could be potentially held liable because state statutes typically allow for involuntary detention of psychiatric patients for a limited period ranging from 48-72 hours. Furthermore, they can be liable too for abandonment claim. Connie’s condition will be aggravated by the discharge because she requires further medical help. But MPC can say that they acted in

Operations Management and Loreal Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Operations Management and Loreal - Case Study Example The analysis of the report shows the absolute advantage of L'Oreal in terms of its sale and market share in the industry. To emphasise the competitiveness, the report presents a comparative study of L'Oreal with some of its rival companies. To a major extent the profit of a company depends how aptly the aforementioned tasks are carried out. If the effectiveness of the company in managing these operations is more then it will cost less and consequently it will reap a larger profit. And this entire mechanism once done helps a company to achieve a distinct competitive advantage with lower costs and better quality. This study is confined within the cosmetic industry since it is one of the burgeoning industries in today's world. The cosmetic industry today is a $29 billion business whose aggressive marketing and advertising efforts have forged a powerful trajectory of continued growth. According to the manufacturing census data on toilet items, "sales of cosmetics in 1900 stood at about $100,000." Thereafter, the cosmetic industry emerged and rapidly expanded, as "women's growing interest in beauty products coincided with their new sense of identity as consumers." Around mid-1920s, retail cosmetics sales were estimated at about $125,000,000 per year and about $150,000,000 in 1940. (Daum C.M.L., May 2006) The target company taken for analysis is the world's largest cosmetic company L'Oreal. With top cosmetic brands like Garnier, Maybelline, Lancme, Ralph Lauren, Cacharel and Matrix in its portfolio, L'Oreal stands as a notable brand. Its only hurdle was to penetrate in the Indian market where Lakme enjoyed a monopoly, but has managed to cross that hurdle with ease. Literature Review Operations management plays a key role in making an organisation's potential to grow evident in any industry. It is the area that is concerned with the efficiency and effectiveness of the core operations of an organisation to support strategic goals of its business. Operations management also forms an important area in the academic field of business management. This field of study has been gaining tremendous attention and development for the last couple of decades. Supply chain management decisions constitute a crucial part of a company's. long run planning. Understanding of the domain and carrying out an analysis of a company, demands a brief literature review on supply chain management. Theories of Halldorsson, Ketchen and Lavassani on SCM provide a base for further research

Influences of Organisational Culture on Social Care

Influences of Organisational Culture on Social Care Explain How Different Aspects of Organisational Culture, Including Communication and Leadership, Influence Service Provision in Social Care Organisational culture, a theoretical model of business practice, may also used to understand the systems and behaviour of other organisations, in particular the application of organisational culture theory to the understanding of social work practice. This model of business attempts to understand the positive and negative development of an organisation, through conscious and unconscious processes, and how these elements assist or limit the people within the organisation. Applying the principles of organisational culture theory to an environment which is essentially client-focussed is not straightforward, but provides social care theorists with both a way to understand barriers and limitations within the system, and the way that the principles of the organisation is applied to service provision; it may also offer a key to implementing practice reforms and changing the structure of social service organisation from within. By interpreting the social care system through this business mo del, it is possible to avoid the limitations which hinder better practice within social work. As this essay is based upon the terminology of Organisational Culture Theory, it is necessary to begin with a brief introduction to the theory, highlighting its concerns, and considering how this term relates to current understanding of organisational models. After this explanation, the essay will then consider each of the most important terms within organisational culture theory, including leadership, communication, and motivation. These terms will then be used to describe the aspects of organisational culture as they affect the provision of services within social care. A conclusion will discuss the relevance of organisational culture theory to social work, finishing with the consideration of how this business model is being used to alter the way in which social services are practiced, and the values which are utilised by social care. Organisational culture, the â€Å"set of beliefs, values and meanings that are shared by members of an organization† (Austin and Claassen, 2008, 349), is most often understood to refer to the practices and behaviours of a business organization. The term â€Å"Organisational culture† is not easily defined, despite its frequent usage, and theorists have therefore tended to outline the term according to their own interests. Attempts to clarify the meaning of ‘organisational culture† began in 1954: â€Å"The culture of industrial groupsfrom class origins, occupational and technical sources, the atmosphere of the factory which forms their background and finally from the specific experiences of the small informal group† (J. Brown, quoted in Anderson-Wallace and Blantern, page 3). This term highlights the importance of social bonding in creation of an organisational culture, which serves to unite a company around a common world view. Andrew Brown is one of m any authors who have noted that the same organisation can have different organisational cultures in different countries, reflecting a difference in the social cultures of those companies: â€Å"These differences are most striking when they were detected in the subsidiary companies of the same multinational organisation, because they seemed to suggest that national cultural differences may help shape organisational design and behaviour at a local level† (Brown, 1995, page 2). Later, organisational culture would be more extensively defined by both Brown and Edgar Schein: these two works will be the basis of the remainder of this essay. It is important to note the essential elements of organisational culture theory: that this culture consists of social and localised beliefs about the operation of the business; these beliefs, or mythology, may bind a company together to the extent that it becomes isolated from outside ‘reality’: Brown uses the example of Philips Elec tronics: â€Å"Philips’ cultural inclination to define truth and reality according to its technological bias has led critics to charge that it is complacent, lethargic, inward-looking and risk adverse† (Brown, page 29). He also notes that critics considered the internal culture a definite factor in the economic failure of the business. Brown’s work is a general guide to organisational culture, and offers three main sources of culture within a business: â€Å"The societal or national culture within which an organisation is physically situated† – which might be one reason why multinationals operating in many countries often have a number of organisational cultures; â€Å"The vision, management style and personality of an organisation’s founder or other dominant leader† – leadership and the mythology of prominent leaders being an important influence on the culture of a business; and â€Å"the type of business an organisation conducts and the nature of its business environment† – one would not expect social care to develop the same organisational culture as a company such as Shell or Cadburys (two businesses mentioned by Brown). Schein’s work describes similar factors in a rather more abstract manner. He uses the terms ‘artifacts’, ‘expressed values’, and ‘basic assumptions’ to describe organisational culture. Schein sees artifacts as including all the tangible aspects of a culture – language, surroundings, technology and â€Å"The visible behavior of the group and the organizational processes into which such behavior is made routine† (Schein, 1992, page 17). These are the aspects most observable to outside researcher, although Schein notes that â€Å"It is especially dangerous to try to infer the deeper assumptions from artifacts alone because one’s interpretations will inevitably be projections of one’s own feelings and reactions† (Schein, page 18). Espoused values may help the researcher to better understand the culture; some of these values later become assumptions: â€Å"Only values that are susceptible to physical or soci al validation and that continue to work reliablywill become transferred into assumptions† (Schein, page 20). Consciously espoused values may provide a clue to the basic assumptions of a group; alternatively, they may not: â€Å"One must discriminate carefully between those that are congruent with underlying assumptions and those that are, in effect, either rationalizations or only aspirations† (Schein, page 21). Basic Assumptions are, in essence, what lies beneath; these assumptions are those held subconsciously by an organisation: â€Å"If a basic assumption is strongly held in a group, members will find behavior based on any other premise inconceivable[they] actually guide behaviortell group members how to perceive, think about, and feel about things† (Schein, page 22). With this understanding of basic organisational culture theory, it is now possible to consider in greater detail a number of subjects which are influenced by this culture: motivation, leadership, and communication. Motivation: Business theory is greatly concerned with the motivation of employees, and a strong organisational culture is considered essential to this. â€Å"Most organisations make strenuous attempts to motivate their employeesan appropriate and cohesive culture can offer employees a focus of identification and loyalty† (Brown, page 90). A positive organisational culture has a beneficial effect upon the motivation of the workforce, encouraging staff retention, high performance, and the intake of recent graduates; employees may also experience a better quality of life, or at least working life, avoiding stress-related illness. By contrast, a negative culture may result in loss of motivation, high staff turnaround, workers entering employment with fewer skills or qualifications, and low performance. Leadership: Leadership, particularly charismatic leaders and company founders, have a profound impact upon the organisational culture of a business. Founders, of course, by creating the business, â€Å"usually have a major impact on how the group initially defines and solves its external adaptation and internal integration problemsFounderstypically have strong assumptions about the nature of the world, the role that organizations play in that world, the nature of human nature and relationships [and] how truth is arrived at† (Schein, page 213). The creation of the company is usually the beginning of its organisational culture and basic assumptions; and while the espoused values may change, the unconscious basic assumptions may extend back to the foundation of the business. Founders and later leaders are often charismatic, and their decisions may not be challenged directly: â€Å"The emerging culture will then reflect not only the leader’s assumptions but the complex int ernal accommodations created by subordinates† (Schein, 230). The charismatic leader’s personal style will also lead to the development of a mythology. These stories are vitally important in the maintenance of an organisational culture. Communication: The effective communication of ideas is essential in organisations, and often progress can be hampered through poor communication; Schein describes the development of production engineering: â€Å"Without it, engineering often designs things that cannot be built or are too expensiveEngineering is likely to perceive production as lazy and unimaginative, while production perceives engineering to be unrealistic† (Schein, 258). Organisational culture can affect communication, for example in hospitals, where â€Å"Most were discovered to suffer from a dearth of worthwhile formal communication channels† (Brown, 281). An organisational culture which avoids communicating new ideas will undoubtedly make profound mistakes and fail to co-operate. It is possible to see these aspects in the influence of organisational culture upon social care, and particularly how the provision of care is directly affected by leadership, communication, and motivational ideas. As Anderson-Wallace and Blantern explain, the perception of the recipient of care has a basic assumption (unchallenged), as its base: â€Å"One cultural artefact is an emphasis on an assessment of the individual client within their wider social environment. This is underpinned by the espoused value of the importance of a dialogue between practitioner and client. The underlying assumption is of the independent nature of the client in active negotiation with the practitioner.† (Anderson-Wallace and Blantern, page 8.) The basic assumption also reveals that the emphasis is upon the client, rather than upon the care worker. In such circumstances, it would not be surprising to see care workers being de-motivated; active participation is limited to the client, lessening th e need for effective communication, and also the possibility of blaming the client for errors; against this latter lays the practice of holding social services responsible for all errors in service provision. Motivation is a major problem in social service, revealed through high turnover, poor quality of working life, and work-related illnesses such as stress: â€Å"stress is more common amongst social workers than either the general population or health care workers, due to the sensitivity and responsiveness to the difficult problems presented by clients which their work requires† (Ramon and Morris, 2004, page 7). As noted above, lack of motivation provision within organisational culture not only results in all the complications described here, but is also connected to low job performance. Here, the organisational culture influences service provision in a negative manner, by creating a culture of de-motivation, where the care worker feels impotent: â€Å"The statements indicate the relationships between experiencing stress, level of control, autonomy and flexibility within their job or role† (Ramon and Morris, page 8). There are also conflicting social cultures within the w ider environment which contribute to this absence of motivation: the western world generally emphasises self-help and chastises those who are dependent upon government assistance: â€Å"A further layer was poor morale, associated with an inquiry on child protection (a feature shared with a number of similar departments), and the experience of a culture which tended to view stress as reflecting individual weakness† (Ramon and Morris, 7, but also visible in the wider media). There is in fact very little evidence for leadership as part of organisational culture within the social services, although some research has suggested that leadership culture within social care may be negative: â€Å"This vindication of the pessimistic view of the team leaders group highlights the defensiveness of some senior managers of social services departments who view constructive criticism as an affront† (Ramon and Morris, 19). The account of leadership culture within the social care department suggests an organisation that emphasises leadership above productivity and worker satisfaction – other parts of the essay note staff complaining about impolite and inconsiderate leadership styles. Despite an espoused value of worker importance, the basic assumption appears to be that leadership is most valued, and criticism by lower staff members is not acceptable. Poor communication culture lies at the heart of social care training. Ramon and Morris note â€Å"Improved communication between management and staff† as one of the goals of their research (Ramon and Morris, page 10), suggesting at the very least that the organisation culture of the social services is one of negligence towards communications, other sections of their essay suggest that communication is exceedingly poor â€Å"Poor communication and consultation within the organisational culture was identified as the major cause for stress,. As noted above, this can seriously affect performance, in this instance service provision† (Ramon and Morris, 19). In the following example, the necessary NVQ was preceded by a questionnaire upon the values of the workers involved; these reveal quite different values from those of the NVQ modules – an emphasis upon personal quality of life offered by the workers is altered to education on health care and understanding of residen t’s social issues. â€Å"Almost without exception, role development was identified as impor ­tant; most viewed this to be within the care sector at a higher grade or entering nurse training. Significantly, male staff perceived their role pro ­gression to be to that of care home manager or owner† (Winter and Meehan, 2004, page 6) While most of the workers described personal lives as more important or as important as work, and valued honesty and equal opportunities for staff, instead, emphasis was placed upon NVQs with modules such as â€Å"Fostering people’s equality, diversity and rights†, where the focus was upon the residents’ needs rather than staff equality. Training within the NVQ did not cater for male staff’s ambitions, or for personal quality of life. Here we can see Social Care with a series Espoused Values (care and motivation of staff; better staff retention; valuing employees) which contradict the actions of the area, with it s emphasis upon residential equality and the gaining of IT skills, suggesting that the Basic Assumptions do not match – the basic assumptions might be â€Å"care of the residents is more important than staff satisfaction† and â€Å"IT training will improve motivation and help retention†, or even â€Å"training will improve the care given†. It is worth noting that, while 92% of staff thought the NVQ training would improve motivation, only 50% thought it would improve staff retention – one of the stated aims of the training. Emphasis upon training therefore appears to bear little correlation to workers’ performance; it also does not appear to have improved the motivation or turnover of care staff. The purpose of this essay has been to consider how organisational culture influences the provision of services within social care. One thing that has become clear from this research is that the organisational culture of social services relies heavily upon charismatic leadership to develop the stated values of the department. However, the culture also places limitations upon staff criticisms of leaders, meaning that desirable change may be limited or even prevented: for instance, Michelle Johnson and Michael Austin have suggested that the organization culture of local social services contained barriers to the creation of evidence-based practice, including the fact that there was â€Å"Little history, culture or expectation that evidence is routinely and systematically used to underpin practice† (Austin and Johnson, 87). This problem is undoubtedly one of leadership culture preventing better evidence-based practice from being developed. A secondary problem is that of communicati ons – as Ramon and Morris noted, official communication was resented, being seen as an imposition from above (page 19), and there was limited value placed within the culture for cross-company consultation. These details may seem to relate only to staff members, but clearly they have a role in the outcome of service provision to clients or residents. The lack of motivation experienced by staff members, including stress and feelings of impotence, impact the service they offer to clients, particularly when the unconscious assumption is that these clients are both ‘independent’ of the care provider, and under the control of that same provider. Leadership issues prevent the adequate solving of problems – the basic assumptions of the group meaning that challenges to senior management are dismissed, or regarded as an affront to the leadership. This assumption has prevented the adoption of beneficial policies within the workplace, and has probably limited schemes which would also have aided service provision. Communication between departments within the social services has been justly criticised in the past, and it is clear that a problematic relationship with senior manage ment is also indicative of problems in communication, data being rejected by staff members if it appears to come from management. All of these actions reveal the unconscious assumptions of social workers, both towards colleagues and towards their clients. The application of organisational culture theory to social care offers an opportunity to better understand the role that basic assumptions and values take in the provision of services to clients. Attempts to create a more evidence-based practice have emphasised the importance of a corresponding change in the culture of social work, offering an alternative to the problematic assumptions which can be found in the current organisation’s culture and practice. Works Cited Anderson-Wallace, Murray, and Chris Blantern (2005) â€Å"Working with Culture† in Organisational Development in Healthcare Peck, Edward (ed) Radcliffe Publishing, 2005. Austin, Michael J, and Jennette Claassen (2008) â€Å"Impact of organizational culture: implications for introducing evidence-based practice† Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work Volume 5 no 1-2 (2008) pp. 321-359 Austin, Michael J, and Michelle Johnson (2006) â€Å"Evidence-based practice in the Social Services: Implications for Organizational Change† Administration in Social Work Volume 30, no 3 (2006) pp 75-104 Brown, Andrew (1998) Organisational Culture Essex, Pearson Education Ltd Schein, Edgar H (1992) Organisational Culture and Leadership San Francisco, Jossey-Bass Publishers. Ramon, Shulamit and Lana Morris (2004) â€Å"Responding to perceived stress in a social services department: applying a participative strategy† retrieved 13/09/2008 from http://www.britsoc.co.uk/user_doc/Morris.pdf Winter, Jane, and Lyn Meehan (2004) â€Å"The value of integrated workforce planning across the local health and social care economy: a case study† Clinical Governance Bulletin Volume 5, no. 2 Jul 2004 pp 6-8

Mongols Essay example -- History, The Indian Ocean Trade

Introduction Between 1200 AD to present, there have been many changes in the world economy. The most important change is how integrated the world economy has become. When countries have a demand for something the first question is where is that supply going to come from. In the end, the way that all nations and places were able to meet their demands was by going internationally and getting it that way. The whole world found a way by sea and land to get the items that they needed and, in the process, connected the whole world through trade. First Question The first types of societies were agricultural and pastoral. Pastoral societies has less productive economies because they were nomadic and needed large grazing areas and supported smaller populations. They usually organized themselves by family and common ancestry (Strayer 334). The main pastoral group was the Mongols as they conquered from the Pacific coast of Asia to Eastern Europe (Strayer 342). Part of their large success was their vast network of trade. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, a large and interconnect trading system was put in place. (Marks 33) The Mongols did not so much participate in the trade as they did tax it. They provided a secure route for merchants to take the long journey across Central Asia between Europe and China (Strayer 354). This trade route relied on mostly on middlemen, as it was a series of circuits that were all connected. An item can make it from Asia to Europe and cross through many hands with the price increasing each time. This trade gave way to the Indian Ocean Trade as well as the Silk Roads in the fifteenth century. The Silk Roads connected China, Siberia, Central Asia, India, The Middle East, and The Mediterranean B... ...ations. The French and the English created slave-based sugar plantations on the Caribbean Islands (Marks 83). The slaves also became a central part of the economies in colonial America as it kept plantation agriculture going (Class Notes 12/6/10). The Mongols were the first pastoral group to basically become an empire. Then when China and Europe started to build themselves back up and start voyaging out into the sea, Trade became a worldwide idea. China started to use silver as their currency, which meant that they needed the bulk of the world’s silver in Asia. The rest of the world benefited from trading their silver into Asia. Silver was the first thing that really connected the whole world and specifically incorporated the Americas into their trading network. Then there was the fur and slave trade, which further brought together the world economy as a whole.