Discuss the Major Outcomes of Financial Intermediation Essay

Financial Intermediation is referred to as an institution that acts as a ‘middleman’ per say between investors and firms raising funds (also known as financial institutions). These are firms such as chartered banks, insurance companies, investment dealers and pension funds. Matthews and Thompson (2008) pp.35–36 show that financial intermediaries can be established by four qualities: †¢ Their main category of liabilities (deposits) are specified for a fixed sum which is not related to the performance of a portfolio †¢ The deposits are typically short-term and of a much shorter term than their assets †¢ A high proportion of their liabilities are chequeable (can be withdrawn on demand) †¢ Their liabilities and assets are largely not transferable. There are exceptions such as certificates of deposit and securitisation (see Chapter 6 of this subject guide). Financial Intermediaries have a huge effect on the economy. Without such institutions firms may be unable to fund their day-to-day business activities which will put a lot of pressure on these said activities and may reduce production as a whole. If this happens it will have negative effects on the economy and may lead to a recession (depending on how big the firm is). An example of this can be taken from the beginning of the recession we have recently experienced which began in roughly 2007 ‘Credit Crunch’. The financial intermediaries in this case banks, were accepting most mortgage applications without thoroughly checking that the consumer could re-pay the funds. This act led to a huge negative outcome. It is important to distinguish between banks as financial intermediaries (who accept deposits and make loans directly to borrowers) and non-bank financial intermediaries who lend via the purchase of securities. The latter category includes insurance companies, pension funds and investment trusts who purchase securities, thus providing capital indirectly rather than making loans The passing of bad loans to individuals that are unable to pay will lead to damaging outcomes for the economy. If there is a substantial loan an individual has to pay off and their interest rate is ridiculously high, it will cause them to stop spending, leading to falls in other aspects of the market. On the other hand, financial intermediaries provide loans more freely than any other direct finance and they also provide a means to fund large operations of which a potential upcoming firm cannot fund from its personal capital. The dominance over direct finance is due to transaction costs (Benston and Smith, 1976), liquidity insurance (Diamond and Dybvig, 1983)and information sharing. As the transaction costs are likely to be less via such intermediaries they are a preffered financing method. Actions of financial intermediaries can have both positive and negative outcomes on the economy as they play a major role in the funding of all businesses. Without such intermediations the GDP of, say, the United Kingdom would decrease significantly as production would be reduced due to the lack of finances. References Financial Intermediation: NewYorkFed (Unknown) Hedge Funds, Financial Intermediation, and Systemic Ris, [Online] newyorkfed Available http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/epr/07v13n3/0712kamb.pdf Bhattacharya, S. and A.V. Thakor ‘Contemporary banking theory’, Journal of Financial Intermediation, 3(1) 1993, pp.2–50; Sections 1, 2, and 7 Diamond, D.W. ‘Financial intermediation as delegated monitoring: A simple example’, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Economic Quarterly, 82(3) 1996, pp.51–66 Saunders and Cornett (2006) Chapter 1, pp.2–10, 15–21 Matthews and Thompson (2008) Chapter 3

Improve Own Practice in Learning and Development Essay

Why L&D practitioners must engage in reflective practice and continue CPD. Analyse own values, beliefs and attitudes and the impact on their practice. Engaging in Reflective practice is associated with the improvement of the quality of care, stimulating personal, professional growth and the closing gap between theory between theory and practice. J Dewey was among the first to consider the questions of psychology and the theory of knowledge, I liked Brookfield (1998) as his concept explained discussing and talking and contemplating through the learner’s eyes. The appeal of the use of reflective practice is that as teaching and learning are complex, and there is not one right approach, reflecting on different versions of teaching, and reshaping past and current experiences will lead to improvement. Schà ¶n’s (1983) reflection–in-action assists practitioners in making the professional knowledge that they will gain from their experience in the classroom an explicit part of their decision-making. Research base practices strongly supports the importance of the teacher/ facilitator being a highly trained, reflective professional. The importance of reflecting on what you are doing, as part of the learning process, has also been empathised by many investigators, for example the second stage of Kolb’s (1984) learning cycle, reflective observation. Reflective observation can be an important tool in practice based professional learning settings where individuals learning from their own professional experiences, rather than from formal teaching or knowledge transfer, maybe the most important source of personal professional development and improvement. Another way to look at it is through Lewin/Kolb’s single-loop learning, and the Argyris and Schà ¶n concept double-loop learning which were mapped from the works of Ashby (1960) while working on cybernetics. Single-loop learning is like a thermostat that learns when it is too hot or too cold and turns the heat on or off. The thermostat can perform this task because it can receive information (the temperature of the room) and take  corrective action. Double-loop learning occurs when an error is detected and corrected in ways that involve the modification of an organization’s underlying norms, policies and objectives. Double loop learning uses feedback from past actions to question assumptions underlying current views. Davies (2012) explained the benefits to reflective practice Increased learning from an experience for situation Promotion of deep learning Identification of personal and professional strengths and areas for improvement Identification of educational needs Acquisition of new knowledge and skills Further understanding of own beliefs, attitudes and values Encouragement of self-motivation and self-directed learning Could act as a source of feedback Possible improvements of personal and clinical confidence . There are a number of ways to monitor your performance regularly, capturing incidental/experienced learning by keeping a self-reflective journal, by reading it over and over again I can begin to analyse achievements however small they seem and develop a greater level of self-awareness. This is where I try to recognise the needs to enhance my own learning so that a bigger benefit for the learner to progress and achieve something in their future. Firstly I identified my own preferred learning style as everyone learns in different ways. There are many ways to establish your preferred way of learning and as supported by Reece and Walker (2009), â€Å"All students are individuals and no two students learn the same way†. To move forward in life, we all need to improve our ideas, broaden relevant knowledge and skills. Getting constructive feedback (for example, learners, peers, mentors and colleagues) are important aspects of reflection. Performance indicators of the organisation are identified, it shows whether I am current with the ways of facilitating and is it having an impact on learners. It will also show how I am performing, what is going well and where I need training or guidance i.e.  learning Microsoft office at college, enabling me to have computing vocational skills. Utilising the S.W.O.T analysis where I am able to identify my strengths: Supportive Judicious Communication skills Imaginative and observant I am able to identify my weaknesses: Inability to refrain from helping Being too talkative Too altruistic This ensures me I am performing to the best that I can and that I am meeting all the standards and expectations within the organisations policies and procedures. The guidance of a mentor is an advantage for they have had similar experiences and understanding of their issues with self-development. There will be times when I will need support and advice to move my career forward and achieve life goals, so it is best to have an effective relationship. Some factors that help to build an effective relationship; Mutual respect Honesty and direct communication Acceptance and flexibility Commitment Trust Some shared values Willingness, to work through obstacles â€Å"Mentoring is to support and encourage people to manage their own learning in order that they may maximise their potential, develop their skills,  improve their performance and become the person they want to be† (E Parsole, The oxford school of coaching & mentoring) I believe that all individuals are created equally, thus all have the ability to learn equally. Resisting from a classroom culture of control, with the correct amount of care and tutoring, learners would be able to participate in classes with simplified understanding. Providing adequate feedback is an important aspect, I always try to rephrase a question with learners so not only do they understand and try to answer correctly, they feel great when they receive feedback which motivates them to learn. When I provide learners with time and space to be aware of their own knowledge and their own thinking, student ownership increases. Research shows that metacognition can be taught (Visible Learning, 2009). Using reflective practice I am able to instil values that the learner can use in their life and work.

Creative Thinking Techniques

IRM Training – White Paper Creative Thinking Techniques Creative Thinking Techniques Derrick Brown, Director Jan Kusiak, General Manager IRM Training Pty Ltd ABN 56 007 219 589 Suite 209, 620 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne, Vic. 3004, Australia 03 9533 2300 [email  protected] com. au jan. [email  protected] com. au Introduction This extract from IRM’s training material looks at how systematic, creative thinking techniques can be used to design practical solutions to business problems. Successful designs don’t just happen.Whilst we can sometimes get ‘flashes of brilliance’, successful designs are more likely to occur as part of a systematic process. Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together. Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) The first step in developing a solution is to identify and define the problem – see the IRM paper Problem Analysis Techniques. Using the problem definition as a starting point we can appl y a number of creative thinking techniques to identify potential solutions, then further analyse and refine these to give us an optimum solution for the problem at hand.This paper discusses some of the successful creative thinking techniques used by business analysts and describes a generic model which can be used to guide the process. ________________________________________________________________________ Table of Contents 1. 0 2. 0 2. 1 2. 2 3. 0 3. 1 3. 2 4. 0 4. 1 4. 2 4. 3 4. 4 5. 0 6. 0 7. 0 Successful design strategies†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 2 Design methods †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Vertical thinking †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 Creative thinking †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4 The brain †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 4 Left and right brain functions †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Blocks to creativity †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 6 Creative thinking techniques †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 7 Brainstorming †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 7 A bridge – process flow analogy †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ The six thinking hats †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â ‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 8 Business process re-engineering: 20 questions †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 9 Validation †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 10 Creative thinking – generic process model †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 1 Balance †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 12  © 2005-2007 IRM Training Pty Ltd www. irm. com. au 1 IRM Training – White Paper Creative Thinking Techniques 1. 0 Successful design strategies The design strategies that we choose are crucial to a project’s success – a strategy that initially looks good but that proves to be difficult to implement is not a good strategy. Many projects fail because the strategy proves to be too ambitious and breeches the agreed constraints.Consider the 80/20 rule – often we can solve 80% of the problem with only 20% of the resources, the other 80% of the resources being needed to cater for what may be considered inconsequential factors. This initial consideration may influence all subsequent thinking. Characteristics of succe ssful designs†¦ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ meet the agreed objective(s) solve the defined problem(s) are technically feasible are developed (and operate) within constraints are capable of implementation can absorb medium term business growth are acceptable to the user community Great system. Well done! Thanks†¦ 2. 0Design methods Design is an iterative process and first designs are often thrown away. An outline design is required first, then the details should emerge progressively. Any system design method must: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ force partitioning of the problem progress from the most abstract to the more detailed concentrate on logical design first and physical design last produce a specification that can be understood by its readers There’s nothing wrong in copying ideas that are in general circulation from other businesses. Quite often an idea can be transferred across industry boundaries with great results.People make the difference. The best design teams usually have mixed backgrounds – they bring different experiences and different approaches to the problem. A team of people with IT backgrounds are likely to tackle a problem in the same way, whilst say a customer service representative may have an entirely different outlook – and this is what we need. Don’t rush through problem analysis – good problem analysis will give you a clear understanding and definition of the problem. This definition is critical when communicating potential solutions to stakeholders.  © 2005-2007 IRM Training Pty Ltd www. rm. com. au 2 IRM Training – White Paper Creative Thinking Techniques Danger !! IT staff (and others) frequently get swamped far to quickly in the detail of technical design. Much time is then wasted when the outline changes, rendering the details irrelevant. It is an important principle to focus on the major issues first. Leave the detail until later – get t he outline design (the concepts) approved first. A good example of this is found with screen and report designs. Many analysts, designers and users can be quickly sucked into endless discussion on the best-looking, most appropriate design.Much of this discussion will focus on the physical aspects – which are irrelevant to the major issue. This is all detail and is best left to the technical design phase. If system output is the focus of the design discussion then agreement should be sought only on the output data itself, not on the method or format of output. 2. 1 Vertical thinking This tends to be easier for many of us – it is more detailed and physical. It is where many of us feel most comfortable. Vertical thinking†¦ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ is logical results in unique or few solutions is convergent is more natural for ost of us Many of our clients will also be happiest at this level – discussing the screen or report details, for example. However , be aware that we should not get into these details until we have decided in principle what design strategy to adopt. Otherwise much time and effort will be wasted in detailed discussions – only to find out later that none of it is relevant. JAD (Joint Application Development) groups often get focussed on these details – and can soak up much time in doing so. P R O B L E M S SOLUTION Vertical thinking – applicable to detailed, technical design 2005-2007 IRM Training Pty Ltd www. irm. com. au 3 IRM Training – White Paper Creative Thinking Techniques 2. 2 Creative thinking Most of us are not natural creative thinkers. Telling oneself and the team ‘to be creative’ does not usually yield results. Some special techniques are required to help us use our brains in a different way – to change our usual thinking process. The issue with creative thinking is that almost by definition any idea that has not already been examined is going to sound crazy. But a good solution will probably sound crazy – at first.Unfortunately, that’s why we often won’t put it forward. Creative thinking†¦ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ is imaginative generates many possible solutions is divergent is lateral S O L U T I O N S Applicable to – major company problems – business systems design – overall flow of information 3. 0 The brain In order to find ways of being consciously creative, we must first understand how the brain works. Experimentation on the brain has proved to be very difficult and it is only in the last few years, with advanced scanning technology, that science has discovered much of what we now know.Put simply, the brain consists of two hemispheres joined by a bridge of nervous tissue called the Corpus Callosum. In unusual cases, some people have been born with a split corpus callosum where the two halves of the brain are not connected. Split brain patients are excellent subjects for studying how functions are localised and in which part of the brain they are performed. This has shown that anatomical features in one half of the body are controlled by the opposite half of the brain – the brain is crossed.  © 2005-2007 IRM Training Pty Ltd www. irm. com. au 4 IRM Training – White PaperCreative Thinking Techniques In one experiment, a split brain subject is shown the words ‘Hat Band’. Each eye sees the whole visual field. The right visual field is processed by the left side of the brain, and the left visual field is processed by the right side of the brain. When the subject is asked what has been read, they reply ‘band’. When asked what sort of band, the subject must guess – Rubber band? Jazz band? The subject has no idea what kind of band. The conclusion is that the left side of the brain is the word processing side and of course, it is this side which reads the word ‘Band’.The right side has received t he impression of the word ‘Hat’, but, because of the cut corpus callosum, this is not transmitted to the left brain. Since the subject cannot say that they have received the impression of the word ‘Hat’, we can deduce that the right brain is not capable of word processing. This and similar experiments allow a model of the brain to be drawn showing the localisation of functions between the two halves. This model is true for right-handed people. There is less specialisation of the two halves when the subject is lefthanded. 3. Left and right brain functions It is found that in right-handed people, the left brain deals with the senses and movement of the right of the body, together with speech, reading, mathematics and analytical (logical) thinking. The right brain deals with the senses and movement of the left side of the body together with creativity, the interpretation of shape and the relationship of objects in space. This is, of course, an oversimplificati on. For example, when a person is brain damaged and loses say movement of one side of the body, the other side of the brain can often be trained to take over the missing brain functions.We can see that the left brain is the text processor and the right brain is the picture processor. Further research tells us that the logical left brain analyses new ideas generated by the creative right brain – and turns these ideas into words. Unfortunately, the left brain is found to be dominant and tends to filter out many ideas because they appear to be crazy. The reason behind this dominance of the left brain is probably rooted in our evolutionary past. Primitive man had few left brain functions and relied on right brain functions for survival.An intruder’s intentions were judged as hostile or friendly by stance and facial expression. When the left brain functions evolved, the left brain suppressed the ‘suspicious’ mistrusting right. Modern man needs to find a way of suppressing left brain activity to allow the right to express itself via the generation of ideas – even, and most importantly, the ‘crazy’ ones.  © 2005-2007 IRM Training Pty Ltd www. irm. com. au 5 IRM Training – White Paper Creative Thinking Techniques 3. 2 Blocks to creativityWe may fear†¦ †¢ making mistakes †¢ looking foolish †¢ being criticised †¢ being alone †¢ being outcast †¢ disturbing tradition †¢ being associated with taboos We may also suffer from†¦ †¢ left brain dominance †¢ incompatible objectives †¢ hostility For these reasons we find that subconsciously we are hindered from coming up with new ideas. If asked at a meeting for ideas to solve a particular problem, most of us are unlikely to do so. We are simply afraid of looking foolish. And our logical left brains prevent the examination of the ideas, seemingly rejecting them before we consciously recognise them!We must take specia l steps to try to prevent this from happening. One way to inhibit the left brain from its dominance is to give it something to do. A right body physical movement will do nicely – like playing with a piece of blu-tack, or doodling. Perhaps you’ve found yourself doodling while listening – it may be something that you’ve found helps you to focus on ideas. Test this for yourself – read a passage from a book aloud, with an observer. Now repeat the exercise, but this time do something with your right hand, say, toss a coin repeatedly. Your reading will suffer!Your left brain has to multi-task and the word-flow is more disjointed.  © 2005-2007 IRM Training Pty Ltd www. irm. com. au 6 IRM Training – White Paper Creative Thinking Techniques 4. 0 Creative thinking techniques Many techniques exists to stimulate creative thinking and whilst the following list is not exhaustive, the examples below can work well when solving business problems. No specia l tools are needed. 4. 1 Brainstorming The process†¦ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Organise the team, materials and scribe Appoint a chairperson State the problems we are trying to solve Restate the problem a number of times: – How to reduce time to †¦ How to speed up †¦ Inhibit the left brain Have a warm up session e. g. – Other uses for: – A gumboot – A torch – A paper clip Brainstorm the restated problems and record the ideas When the session slows down, invite the ‘wildest idea’ At the end of the session, classify all ideas then evaluate do not eliminate ideas too quickly Request assistance from management on matters of policy, don’t speculate †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ To be successful, brainstorming sessions need a good chairperson.It is vital that no discussions are allowed on any idea during the session, the idea is just recorded. The chairperson’s role is to keep the ideas coming, often fast and furious, with people striking sparks off each other. The evaluation is the hard part, but don’t strike out the crazy ones too quickly – they might just be the key to a good solution. Evaluate ideas against a checklist such as the one below: Idea 1 Does it meet the objectives Does it solve the problem Does it introduce new problems Will it fit in with current systems Can it accommodate growth Idea 2 Idea 3 Idea†¦nTry not to make the checklist too comprehensive at this stage. We want to eliminate the ideas that are clearly unworkable but retain all that are worth further consideration.  © 2005-2007 IRM Training Pty Ltd www. irm. com. au 7 IRM Training – White Paper Creative Thinking Techniques 4. 2 A bridge – process flow analogy Solutions to bottleneck or flow problems.. A congested road bridge makes a good theme for a brainstorming session. There are many conceptual similarities between traffic and process flows.Many so lutions fall into one of the following classes: †¢ Speed up the flow †¢ Reduce the flow †¢ Divert the flow These generic solutions apply to many systems, whether traffic, production lines or information flows. We are mainly concerned with information flows and the bridge analogy often helps. Thinking about road traffic problems should also remind us to consider social, political, environmental and economic factors when creating our solutions. 4. 3 The six thinking hats Design options can generate much discussion during the evaluation process. This needs to be controlled if we are to make good use of our time.It is easy to take sides, to defend our own ideas and to attack what we may see as opposing ideas. This may not be constructive. An approach that helps to avoid confrontation and which channels our critical analysis is the ‘Six Thinking Hats’ approach (Dr Edward de Bono). Using this technique a group can evaluate an idea and can argue both the pros an d cons whilst remaining as objective as possible. A chairperson should formally facilitate the process. An individual may ‘wear’ a hat to produce a comment without any possible attached stigma – ‘wearing the black hat for a moment I don’t think that this will work†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢.The person who is always critical without being constructive has to become constructive (or lose face) when asked by the chair – ‘now let us wear the yellow hat and see what good things may result from this idea’. Caution!!! The process does need to be facilitated. Like any of these methods, it may not be useful and may even be counter-productive unless managed correctly. The hats†¦ 1. White hat – neutral – (think of white paper) Information – What do we know? What information do we want? What do we need? 2. Red hat – fire, warmth Feelings, emotion, intuition, hunches 3. Black hat – caution Legality, judgement, moral ity 4.Yellow hat – sunshine Positive, optimism, benefits 5. Green hat – growth New ideas, new slants, options, opportunities 6. Blue hat – sky Overview, control of the process, agenda, next step, action plans, conclusions  © 2005-2007 IRM Training Pty Ltd www. irm. com. au 8 IRM Training – White Paper Creative Thinking Techniques 4. 4 Business process re-engineering: 20 questions This process works well as a design tool (and also as a problem analysis tool – see the IRM paper: Problem Analysis Techniques). The last question of each group (†¦should†¦? ) makes us consider the broader design options. The last group of questions (How†¦? encourages us to focus on the method. It’s important that the What group of questions is asked first, and the How group of questions is asked last. 1. What? †¢ †¢ †¢ What is being done? (what is being achieved) Why is it necessary? What else could be done? What else should be done? Where is it being done? Why there? Where else could it be done? Where else should it be done? When is it done? Why then? When else could it be done? When else should it be done? Who does it? Why this person/group? Who else could do it? Who else should do it? How is it done? Why this way? How else could it be done? How else should it be done? 2.Where? †¢ †¢ †¢ 3. When? †¢ †¢ †¢ 4. Who? †¢ †¢ †¢ 5. How? †¢ †¢ †¢ Use the ideas generated from the brainstorming sessions, apply the BPR 20 questions technique and re-visit the most promising.  © 2005-2007 IRM Training Pty Ltd www. irm. com. au 9 IRM Training – White Paper Creative Thinking Techniques 5. 0 Validation Prior to commencing detailed specification, the analyst should appraise the outline design using the following checklist: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ have the objectives been met? have the problems been solved? what new problems have been introduce d? (there are always some) is the design vulnerable to change in the working environment? ill the design cater for reasonable growth? Characteristics of good ideas.. †¢ †¢ †¢ solve, or partially solve, more than one identified problem can be implemented quickly. Your client will often be attracted to a partial solution that relieves the problem, while you continue to work on the complete solution can be implemented independently. In IT we often put forward complex solutions that depend upon the successful implementation of other systems. When a problem occurs with one system there is often a domino effect of delays mesh well with overall business strategies. These will always find favour with management. an be implemented step-by-step, incremental implementation. Implement a basic solution, then implement more sophistication. In this way you offer a faster solution delivery – albeit not a complete solution – at first. Management may well be willing to wa it for the full solution, especially if the business concepts are new †¢ †¢  © 2005-2007 IRM Training Pty Ltd www. irm. com. au 10 IRM Training – White Paper Creative Thinking Techniques 6. 0 Creative thinking – generic process model Problem Identification Problem Analysis Problem Definition Brainstorm Bridge Six Hats BPR Solution DesignsValidation Solution Hints and tips†¦ †¢ †¢ Modelling the current system (logical & physical) can aid problem understanding Chose creative techniques applicable to the problem and your team. Not all problems lend themselves to all techniques. Be flexible and willing to try a different technique or a combination of some or all of them Be open to new information – for example, facts uncovered during a brainstorming session may require you to revisit your understanding of the problem Essential modelling techniques help give an uncluttered view of the proposed solution Don’t disregard a solution just ecause it doesn’t solve the whole problem. Your final solution may be built from several ideas, each relevant to a different part of the problem †¢ †¢ †¢  © 2005-2007 IRM Training Pty Ltd www. irm. com. au 11 IRM Training – White Paper Creative Thinking Techniques 7. 0 Balance Time Time Budget All solutions are compromises. We may need to balance how many functions we automate against the time and money required to achieve this. We may weigh the merits of automating a process against the frequency (and therefore inconvenience) of doing it manually.Before these decisions can be made, we must establish the basic facts as far as is reasonable (estimating where necessary). Wherever a system design option exists, weigh up the facts, consult the client or your colleagues as appropriate and recommend or make a decision. Never be afraid to think outside the square and to seek alternative solutions, or to re-define the problem. There’s always another wa y of doing it. The important thing is not to stop questioning. Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955)

Iraqi arrest perpetrators of saydet al najat church Assignment

Iraqi arrest perpetrators of saydet al najat church - Assignment Example The church building is easy to track as it is one of the two in the Muslim neighborhood located in Baghdad, Iraq. in the At the church grounds, everything appeared normal. The church compound was silent; an individual could hear a pin drop. We proceeded to get a seat in the church as the Sunday proceeding had got underway and the preacher was giving the sermon. Approximately ten minutes into the sermon, a commotion got heard from outside the church. A car screeched into the compound, and there was hesitation by the preacher in his speech. The sound of boots hitting the ground outside the got heard from within the church building. Everyone in the building got visibly terrified from the facial expressions. Shouting from outside the church could now get heard too. The shouting together with the sounds of the boots neared the church building entrance (Pope, 2002). The preacher had by now stopped preaching. He asked the ushers to head outside and check on what was taking place. No sooner had the first usher got to the entrance, that gun sounds got heard. Everyone in the church started running helter skelter looking for a hiding place and heading out of the building via other church exits. Everything was happening so fast while time appeared to halt. My husband had meanwhile taken the child and lay under a church bench. I quickly followed suit! The shooting got rampant as cries got louder. Bullets were flying all over the building as evidenced by a shell that fell just besides me under the seat. My husband held our daughter’s mouth to prevent her from wailing. As the gunmen ceased to fire, they quickly ran out of the building shouting to each other in jubilant mood. Ten minutes passed, and not a soul moved about in the church. Police sirens got heard from outside the compound. Within seconds, police got in the building asking those still hiding to come out. There was hesitation at first, but slowly people crept out of their hiding places. The devastation was c lear, dead bodies got left scattered in the church. Bullet shells lay all over the building (Pope, 2002). Blood marks were everywhere. The police led the survivors into waiting police cars as they continued with their investigation. News crews had gathered outside as survivors got received by counselors. My family and I got taken for a check up in a nearby ambulance. This experience could get described as twenty minutes in hell. Fast forward a month later and hundreds of Iraqi Muslims and Christians in Baghdad's Karrada neighborhood take to the streets in celebration. This followed the announcement that the perpetrators of the attacks on the Sayedat al-Najat Church got arrested. Residents of the neighborhood that saw the October 31st attacks launched fireworks and played patriotic songs in cafes, shops and residences. Al-Qaeda leader arrested The Iraqi Ministry of Interior announced the arrest of the terrorist cell that gets believed to be responsible for the attack that targeted th e church in central Baghdad late last month. Scores of people got killed and wounded. Security forces made the arrests during a raid on November 24th at dawn targeting a residential building in the al-Dawoodi neighborhood in central Baghdad. The building got used by the suspects as headquarters, Maj. Gen. Ragheef, director of internal affairs, Ministry of Interior, said in a press conference held Saturday evening in Baghdad (Pope, 2002). Ragheef said the group consisted of 12 suspected terrorists,

Systems and Operations Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Systems and Operations Management - Assignment Example If we define this question the answer that we will get goes something like this: managing the activities, decisions and responsibilities of the resources so that it can produce and deliver the quality products or services in a stipulated span of time is called as Operations Management. Mainly, Operations Management about managing resources to create goods and services (Slack et al., 2010). In today’s competitive world, every organization has the operations management team that oversees the smooth functioning of the operations in terms of production and delivery of products and services. As Hayes et al. (2005) claims, effective operations strategy should be consistent and contribute to give competitive advantage. The person who manages this particular team is called as Operations Manager and it is his/her responsibility to see the operation is going smooth. Strategic Importance of the Digital Economy A decade before the Civil War, which was in 1850, the economy of the United St ates was not very big. It was even smaller than that of Italy. But after 40 years of the war United States was world’s largest economy. The reason behind this enormous progress is the railroads. What they did was connect the east and the west along with the interior parts with both the sides. With this move the industrial goods of the eastern part of the country gained access for the rest of the country; they scaled the economy with stimulation of the steel and manufacturing industries (Arthur, 2011). And this had made the economy to prosper many folds making it the largest economy. These types of changes are not unusual. Since 60 years or so there has been a great transformation in the economy of the country and most of the reforms are being done by the technology that has entered the country almost unnoticing. The entry of the technology has brought new social classes with them and also creates different classes of business. In today’s fast paced world is it possible to think such silent and slow yet deep economic transformation? If we look at the genetic or nano technology we can see the same, however, the time for them has not yet come in full force (Arthur, 2011). But it is arguable that there is something deep that is going as far as the information technology is concerned, which is way beyond the computers or the social media or e-commerce. The business processes that were completely human effort are now being executed electronically without losing time. These processes are executed in an unseen strictly digital domain (Katz and Koutroumpis, 2012). Let us take a look at an example. If you think about 20 years back, when you had to go somewhere in flight you would have a paper ticket that you would produce to a human being in the airport counter. After that the person would register your ticket, check your luggage in and help you know if the flight has arrived or not. All these activities were to be done manually by human interventions (Art hur, 2011). However, today, in the time of information technology, when you go to the airport you just need to swipe your frequent flyer card or credit card in the kiosk and you will get all the necessary stuffs – boarding pass, luggage tag, receipt etc. in just few seconds, without any human intervention. Once you swipe your card, an enormous conversation is being initiated among the

Humanistic Era Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Humanistic Era - Essay Example National Labor Relations Act, also called the Wagner Act was introduced in 1935. This act gained existence in the period of Great Depression. Due to Great Depression, the employers have to minimize their functionalities, due to which, employees faced career uncertainty. Unions got active in order to support employees to get their rights. According to Jackson and Mathis (2007), collective bargaining was promoted by the US government under the Wagner act. The employees were not required to be a part of labor union to get their rights as they had the right.According to Bohlander and Snell (2009), the Wagner Act highlighted certain unjust labor actions such as persecution of employees in terms of using their rights, keeping bias against the workers and rejection of the notion of collective bargain for opting for the workers’ spokespersons.TheoristsMary Parker Follett informed in her theory that management should be authoritative with employees or not over them. Employees and emplo yers should form a relationship in which, they share authority and make decisions likewise. In this manner, processing and business functions will be eased out. She introduced the term participative management in her essay, â€Å"The Giving of Orders†.  Ã‚   Huston and Marquis (2008), inform about the theorist, Elton Mayo and his Harvard acquaintances who introduced Hawthorne effect. Like McGregor and Elton Mayo, Chris Argyris also claimed that authoritative behavior from the management’s side disheartens the employees and affect their performance.

Reporting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Reporting - Essay Example k Theory (ANT) purification process with its findings based on themes such as, human and non-human actors, events and technological and regulatory initiatives (Law 1-21). The main agenda of implementing this process is to understand mobilization activities, chain of relations, conflicts and resistance, which determined integrating reporting journey of Australia. The research was undertaken with the objective to determine impact of events and manifestations on sustainability reporting and emergence of integrated reporting. The author has collected necessary data through documentation review, semi-structured reflective interviews and participant observation method (Patricia). Another qualitative approach has been included by the author that is the netnographical approach. In this research, qualitative data analysis was undertaken using Nvivo 9 research software by uploading all interview transcription in the software. The report findings present four key factors that influenced evolution of integrated reporting, namely, critical events, actors, technologies and regulatory initiatives (Richards 16). The introductory section briefly discusses factors that influenced emergence of integrated reporting in Australia. It discusses advances in reporting field because of purification processes, before introduction of International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC). The factor that motivated the author to commit to this research was to understand the shift from sustainability reporting to integrated reporting. The author demonstrated that sustainability reporting method has been in practice for quite some time and an important fact about it is that is a catalyst of Actor Network theory that has influenced evolution of integrated reporting. The social environment accounting study by Mathews (1997), along with contribution of other sustainability researchers such as, Buhr (2007), Gray (2001) and Milne and Gray (2007), show developments made in sustainability accounting

Lafarge Financial Statements Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Lafarge Financial Statements - Case Study Example The trend analysis of Lafarge's P&L statement shows that the increase in company's sales has been stable over the years with a hike in sales by about 17% in 2005. The cost of sales has also been rising with the increase in sales and they have finally mounted by about 17% during the last financial year. It reflects that the percentage change in sales is almost same as the percentage change in cost of sales, however a reduction in depreciation account by 4.1% has magnified the company's gross profit by 22% in 2005. The SG&A have expanded drastically during the year 2005 i.e., by 13% (1.2% in 2004). However, due to a substantial increase in gross profit, the company managed to display a rise in the operating income by about 32%. The company has had a substantial decline in the interest payable for two years, however it seems to have rebuilt during 2005. The company's pre-tax income had declined by almost 3% in 2004, which recovered surprisingly with an increase of 36% in 2005 as compare d to the year 2003. With a 50% increase in net income, the company's retained earnings has flourished by 54% while the dividend distributed have increased by 41%. Thus, an analysis of profit and loss suggests that the company has risen up from the decline that took place in its financial performance in 2004. Three-Year Earning Per Share Analysis EPS 2005 2004 2003 Earning Per Share 6.39 5.16 4.92 "Common shareholders and potential investors in common stock first look at a company's earning record" (Meigs & Meigs, p934, 1993). The EPS analysis of Lafarge's financial statements reflects that the company has had an increasing trend in the earnings per share for the last three years. The company's EPS increased by 4.8% in the year 2004, which further rose by almost 24% in 2005. This sudden enhancement of the company's earnings has also been evident in its P&L statement, which highlights a pleasant reform in the company's financial performance in the year 2005 owing to a drastic increase in sales revenue. EBITDA Analysis EBITDA 2005 2004 2003 Lafarge Group 14.8% 14.7% 14.2% Cement 23.3% 23.0% 23.0% Aggregates & Concrete 7.4% 7.1% 6.3% Gypsum Products 10.3% 9.6% 7.0% Roofing 6.5% 10.0% 9.4% Speciality products -285.7% -128.3% -38.7% EBITDA refers to the Earnings Before Interest, Taxation, Depreciation and Amortization. Therefore this analysis takes into account all the major costs and expenses other than the items mentioned above. The EBITDA margins presented in the above graph reflect a segregated view of the company's earnings in terms of the group as a whole and its subsidiaries (on the basis of products). The group's EBITDA margin represents a stable and subtle rise in the company's earnings, which is a sum up of its subsidiaries. Cement and A&C are also having a stable uplift in earnings, while Gypsum products section is showing a remarkable growth in terms of EBITDA. Roofing's earnings have declined in the year 2005 whereas the specialty products section has had a substantial increase in the declining state of earnings, which

Business and transport Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business and transport - Essay Example The second part of the paper will deal with modes and types of transport and travel around the world where examples of sole traders may be found. The paper will also suggest potential remedies to overcome the inherent issues that a sole trader operating in transport sector would face. Part I Sole Trading When a person individually initiates and operates his/her own business, it is called sole trading. This form of business may have one or more employees. It generally involves fewer amounts toward capital investment as compared to other modes of business ventures. It is best fitted to people with innovative business ideas and sufficient capital for running their business. The main benefit of this system is that the businessman owns everything what he acquires from the business. Moreover, with the feasibility of self guidance, the individual can grow without restrictions. In addition to this, as Tonkin (2006) states, sole trader can start the business with minimum set up cost and can c ontinue operations without a tax file number. He is also exempted from many other legal charges and superannuation. The most competitive strengths of a sole trader is that he can easily offer specialist services to customers and cater the needs of local people. On the other hand, sole trader is not free from risks as he is the only person responsible for any loss incurred in the business. A series of legal obligations may also drag him out of the line; sometimes he needs to pay provisional taxes and hence his annual tax returns may become more complicated. It has been identified that sole proprietorship is the most common form of ownership in the UK. In UK, sole traders are legally required to keep proper business accounts and records for assisting Inland Revenue to collect the tax on profits. Public limited company In UK, a public limited company is ‘legally abbreviated to plc with or without full stops’ and it may either be ‘an unlisted or listed company on stoc k exchanges’ (Company formation). However, some exceptional public limited companies, mainly nationalised concerns, which have incorporated under special legislation, do not need to bear any of the identifying suffixes. When a new company plans to commence its operations in England, Wales, or in Scotland, it has to register with Companies House. Although a public limited company is not compulsorily required to offer its shares to the public, many such companies do so and these shares are generally traded either at the London Stock Exchange or at the Alternative Investments Market. In UK, a minimum of two directors is essential for the formation of public limited company. Under this system, many persons jointly invest their capital for the formation of company at the time of its registration. Before a public limited company commences its operation, it should issue its shares to the value of at least ?50,000 and out of which ?12,500 must be paid up. Similarly, a company may inc rease or decrease its authorised share capital by passing an ordinary resolution. The public limited company may issue different types of shares like bearer share, cumulative preference shares, ordinary shares, preference shares, and redeemable shares. Nowadays, most of the UK companies are formed electronically with the help of Company Formation Agents. During the company formation, documents such as Memorandum of Association, Articles of

Decline in Trade Unionism and Strike Activity Coursework

Decline in Trade Unionism and Strike Activity - Coursework Example For decades, trade unions have played an important role in Europe as organizations that work to provide common goals for workers, offering traditional functions to its members such as collective bargaining, organized strikes, and support for unfair dismissal. In the UK, for example, the â€Å"Trade Union Congress† (TUC), which is an organization of British trade unions, was founded in 1868, and has since then, become a powerful institution in industrial relations.Trade unions have been commonly associated with strike-related activities since the 11900s but the instances of trade unions and strikes has evolved and changed dramatically since this period (Aligisakis, 1997). Participation in trade unions and strike activity are considered to be two important aspects of industrial relations in any country.   In the majority of European countries, trade unionism and the level of strike activities has experienced a continuous decline since the 1980s. Over the last three decades, a series of global changes have weakened the power of trade unions. These changes are responsible for the decline in trade unionism and fall in strikes, and the reasons for these changes will be explored in this paper. Attempts will also be made to examine whether any relation exists between the decline in trade union membership and strikes. Before embarking on discussing the issues mentioned above, one should look at the trend in trade unionism as well as strikes in European countries, particularly in Germany, France, Great Britain, and Sweden, as this is essential in finding out the relationship between the decline in trade union membership and strikes. These countries have been chosen as they represent the widest spectrum of industrial relations.

English as a national language of America Essay

English as a national language of America - Essay Example Noah Webster is regarded as the founding father of the American English who realized the need for standardization of the language and worth of linguistic identity (Language Translation Inc., 2006). According to surveys, English is considered as the official language in fifty-one countries and in twenty-seven states of America. Statistics show that it is the mother language of 82% of the population and almost 96% can actually speak it fluently, therefore we can conclude that English is in effect the national language of the American people. In spite of this, it is not recognized as the official language at the federal level and the states have adopted miscellaneous policies with some embracing English as the official language, others implementing no official language and still others mirroring the culture of bilingualism. Even 71% of the Hispanics voted in favor of English as the national language since this will escalate their chances of a achieving a first-class education, enhancing their earning capability, ensuing in better career prospects as well as empowerment. Although, there is plenty of desire and determination for migrants to learn English yet 5% of the population still fails to comprehend it so implementing it officially will give a boost to this particular segment of population. A report published in the Monthly Labor Review America affirms that migrants don’t learn English quickly when excessive linguistic welfare is made available to them. As a consequence, immigrants are demoted to lesser rewarding jobs and are hindered in achieving the American dream. United States is composed of people from diverse cultural backgrounds but the federal laws provide no right to non-native speaker to receive foreign-language services or information (King, 1997). Thereby, it can be deduced that knowing English is a prerequisite to become a citizen since it is the de facto national language that binds all American citizens into a nation. It is worth noting th at states which implemented English as the official language have not proscribed the use of a foreign language in case of any public interest issue, for instance: tourism, medical, public safety, imparting foreign languages and other genuine needs. The government can afford to provide such services in the face of a compelling public interest but not as right for every citizen. Presently, more than three hundred languages are spoken in America and non-native speakers constitute around 5% of the total population (Maschi, 2012). Consequently, a redundant stratum of bureaucracy and costs will be inevitable if the right to receive services in various foreign languages is granted. Ultimately this burden would have to be borne by taxpayers. Although, many perceive learning English as racism but the argument does not hold weight since discrimination is based upon inherent characteristics like religion, color, race which are unalterable. On the other hand, every individual has the choice of learning English to communicate and blend in the American culture. But, advocating that learning English is extremely difficult for a specific race is biased. An official language does not inhibit free speech but only serves as a pre-condition of intellectual capacity for civic involvement. Similarly, educational system would profit from statutory encouragement to promote competency in English and discouraging linguistic preferences which would enable the students to make a successful ingress into the social and political system (Pullum, 1987). None of the

African-Americans on a fighti for equality and freedom Essay Example for Free

African-Americans on a fighti for equality and freedom Essay African-Americans were taken from Africa as slaves, and have been fighting for equality and freedom ever since that day. The slaves were mistreated as nothing, they had no self-esteem, beaten, disparage, and were separated from their family. African-Americans still fight every day for different types of recognitions and fairness, even though many things changed over the centuries. The African-Americans played major roles during the Civil Rights Movement. African-Americans have struggle hard to end separation, prejudice, and seclude to be treat in a fair way and civil rights. Racial Separation, also known as Racial Segregation was a system taken from the results of white Americans to keep African Americans subservient status by controvert then equal admittance to public facilities and ensuring that black people lived separate from white people. Slaves lived far away from the wealth people houses on the plantation, only those who are special people lived in those houses. Northern whites had precluded blacks from seats on public transportation and blocked their entry exclude servants, from most hotels and restaurants, by the time the Supreme Court ruled in Dred Scott versus. Sandford in 1857. According to the article in 1896, \The most common instance of this is connected with the establishment of separate schools for white and colored children, which has been held to be a valid exercise of the legislative power even by courts of States where the political rights of the colored race have been longest and most earnestly enforce.\(Plessy v. Ferguson 1). In another word, segregation it is not only in schools, but it is in churches, auditorium, and theaters. For example, Rosa Parks was famous for her courage to stand for her rights, and to set wherever she wanted on the bus; however, she was not the first or only one to make this chose. In addition, when Rosa Parks was approached by the bus driver to sit somewhere else, there were other African-American people sitting to her. Therefore, Rosa Parks was noticed by Dr. Martin Luther King for spoke up first history gives her credit. People were brave enough to fight for their equal rights. The bus Boycott that introduced the civil rights movement that convert apartheid of America\s southern states from a local individuality to international scandal, which started when Parks arrested stunned a chain reaction. Rosa Parks individual courage that led to the collective displayed of insubordination that transformed a previously unknown 26-year-old clergyman, Martin Luther King, into a household name. The name of Dr. MLK was recorded in history as the most well-known extremist through the years. MLK was also known as a non-violent extremist, and for modifying the philosophy from Gandhi, which was reverence not only by black race but also by all other races. What became African-American\s live by for centuries to come was the speech of MLK, \ I Have a Dream.\ Furthermore, there was the \We Shall Overcome\ speech by King in 1963. The Civil Rights Movement was defining moment at the capital by MLK. Until the day MLK was killed, he fought for the Civil Rights Movement. MLK petition to all not to discriminate. African-American men and women

Economic Governance for Crisis Prevention

Economic Governance for Crisis Prevention 1.0 INTRODUCTION The proposed research attempts to identify the critical components of economic governance in four Asian countries namely Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia. The study by employing in-depth case study analysis seeks to analyze the economic governance practices in these countries and its relationship to their economic growths. The study then attempts to investigate the links between economic governance and the Asian financial crisis in 1997, and the roles the economic governance could have played in the recovery process since the above countries had somehow recovered at somewhat different speed. Based on the identified components of economic governance considered imperative for sustainable and resilient economy, the study will develop an index namely Economic Governance Quality Index capturing the score of governance parameters by the countries during the booms and slumps of their economies throughout the period under study. Finally, the components of economic governance wil l be employed in panel data analysis to empirically determine their significance towards economic growth. Its findings then will be of significance in crisis prediction and prevention methods in which the identified key governance parameters are the core ingredients. 2.0 BACKGROUND Good governance is perhaps the single most important factor in eradicating poverty and promoting development. Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations. The concept of governance has assumed a more central focus and been given key attention not only by the officials from the United Nations Development Program, the World Bank and the International Monetary Funds, but also from the policymakers in especially developing countries, aids donors, and regional organizations of economic cooperation as well as academics fraternity. Since the beginning of 1990s, there is a strong indication of growing emphasis that good governance, together with democracy and protection of basic human rights, is indispensable for sustainable economic growth. Economic development cannot be achieved without the development of good governance, which is composed of competence and honesty, public accountability, and broader participation in discussion and decision making on central issues. In addition to traditional view of governance which is on the public governance, there is also a notable increase in the endeavors to grasp the concept of governance in a multi-d imensional perspective which includes economic governance. The relationship between governance and development is thus studied from diverse angles, especially in the vein of economic transformation, macroeconomic management and prevention of crisis as well as structural reforms. The Asian financial crisis in 1997 had somehow exposed the vulnerability of the once high-performing countries in the region, whose lack of governance practices was said as the main cause of the severe affects. 3.0 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The Asian economies success was once dubbed the Asian Miracle, and a model to be emulated by other developing countries seeking higher growth. The success had introduced a growth model with emphasis on policies of setting the prices right, liberalizing the economy and the private sector as the engine of growth. When financial crisis struck the Asian countries in 1997, and looking at the devastating effects the countries in the region had experienced following the malaise, many however started to raise questions whether the quality of governance practices in these countries had somehow contributed to the crisis. Furthermore, the fact that South Korea and Malaysia had somehow recovered rapidly from the crisis compared to Indonesia and Thailand has sparked off interests on what roles good governance could have played in the recovery process. Hence, good governance has become a topic widely studied in the aftermath of the crisis. The discussions center on two main perspectives; firstly, the absence of good governance has been perceived as a MAJOR CAUSE of the crisis, and secondly, an inference is made that good governance is IMPERATIVE for durable and resilient economy. This study hence sets out to empirically identify and ascertain the governance parameters and their significance towards crisis prevention. Since the study focuses on economic governance, and to avoid constant repetition, the word governance used in this proposal should be taken in the context of economic point of view, unless explicit reference to other perspective of governance is relevant. 4.0 RESEARCH QUESTIONS This study will attempt to answer the following questions: What are the economic governance parameters presumed as crucially importance for sustainable and resilient economy? How to capture the score of economic governance practices in the East Asian countries during the period under study? How would the significance of governance parameters be empirically ascertained for the purpose of crisis prediction and prevention? 5.0 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The study hypothesized that good governance is imperative for sustainable and resilient economy, and the absence of such would result in increased vulnerability of the economy towards declining into crisis. Therefore, the objectives of the study are: To identify the parameters of economic governance crucial for resilient and sustainable economy. To develop an index of Economic Governance Quality capturing the score of economic governance practices by the East Asian countries during the period under study. To empirically ascertain the significance of economic governance parameters towards growth via a dynamic estimation model whose findings then would be of importance for crisis prediction and prevention. 6.0 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY It would be interesting to investigate what makes good governance and how do they link to economic growth in the four selected Asian countries. Furthermore, it would be crucially important to examine, from the governance perspective, how could the countries once considered by many as the fastest growing economies in the region were severely affected by the Asian crisis in 1997. Notwithstanding that, the fact that South Korea and Malaysia had made a more swift recovery than the other affected countries, it would therefore be interesting to analyze how the governance practices in the different countries facilitated the recovery process. The findings from this study are expected to provide a significant contribution to the existing governance literatures especially from the economic perspective since it attempts to discover the critical components of economic governance that are imperative for sustainable and resilient economy. Policy makers not only from the countries under study but also from other developing countries may utilize the findings of the study to evaluate their economic governance practices and be able therefore to make necessary adjustments and required changes with the objectives of registering better growth and strengthening the economy against any possibility of future crisis. The researchers from world organizations and academic community may also be interested with the findings since the study attempts to develop a new feasible dynamic estimation model to analyze the relationship between the components of economic governance and growth, of which they could use as a basis for their future research undertaking in the similar field. In addition, the findings could also stimulate and facilitate them to search for additional approaches to counter or justify the results of this study. 7.0 LITERATURE REVIEW Good governance has become a topic widely debated by academicians and economic communities especially in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis in 1997. The discussions in this context center on two main perspectives; first, the absence of good governance has been perceived as a major cause of the crisis, and the second prognosis is drawn by inference, namely, that good governance is imperative for durable development (Lam, 2003). Therefore, to have a better understanding of the governance, this section discusses definitions and indicators of the governance, its relationship with the economic growth, how it links to the crisis and its roles in the recovery process, and finally how could these governance factors be used for crisis prevention. 7.1 Definitions and indicators of governance Definitions and indicators of governance can be found in numerous literatures. A top-down approach is best used to understand the concept of governance, where a general or broad definition of governance will be firstly explored before moving on to a more specific definition. The World Bank continuously updates key governance indicators in its regular publication of Governance Matters, a governance study encompassing many aspects like political, social, economic, legal and moral. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Funds (IMF) has been doing a great deal of works in an effort to promote governance in the financial sector management through Financial Sector Assessment Programs (FSAPs) which include regulatory, risk management and aid management. 7.1.1 Broad definition of governance From the viewpoint of United Nations Development Program (1997), the definition of governance is the exercise of economic, political administrative authority to manage a countrys affairs at all levels. It comprises mechanisms, processes and institutions, through which citizens and groups articulate their interests, exercise their legal rights, meet their obligation and mediate their differences. Good governance is, among other things, participatory, transparent and accountable, effective and equitable, and it promotes the rule of law. It ensures that political, social and economic priorities are based on broad consensus in society and that the voices of the poorest and the most vulnerable are heard in decision-making over the allocation of development resources (Abdellatif, 2003). In its report, Governance and Sustainable Human Development in 1997, the UNDP acknowledges the following as core characteristics of good governance, i.e. participation, rule of law, transparency, responsiveness, consensus orientation, equity, effectiveness and efficiency, accountability, and strategic vision. A report by the World Bank (2006) entitled Governance Matters V covering 213 countries and territories since 1996 until 2005, presented the latest version of the worldwide governance indicators, namely voice and accountability, political stability and absence of violence, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law, and control of corruption. Meanwhile, Inada (2003) discussed the governance in Indonesia where the word governance is translated as Tata Pemerintahan. It however has different meanings covering different agendas from political systems to corporate governance. They includes political democratization, reorganization of police and the military, curing the problems of corruption, collusion, and nepotism (KKN), justice reform system, decentralization, financial management, corporate governance, and state-owned enterprise reforms. Shimomura (2003) in his case study of governance in Thailand adopted pluralist democracy, accountability, transparency, predictability, and openness in the manner of exercising power, rule of law, effective and efficient public sector management, prevention of corruption, and prevention of excessive military expenditures as the standard definition of good governance. 7.1.2 Governance from economic perspective According to Dixit (2006), economic governance consists of the processes that support economic activities and economic transactions by protecting property rights, enforcing contracts, and taking collective actions to provide appropriate physical and organizational infrastructure. These processes are carried out within institutions, formal and informal. He described that the field of economic governance studies and compares the performance of different institutions under different conditions, the evolution of these institutions, and the transitions from one set of institution to another. Meanwhile, Huther Shah (1998), Gonzalez Mendoza (2001) and Mahani (2003) defined governance as a multi-faceted concept, encompassing all aspects of the exercise of authority through both formal and informal institutions in the management of resources. In other words, governance is: An exercise of economic power in the management of resource endowment of a country done through mechanisms, processes, and institutions through which citizens and groups can articulate their interest, exercise legal rights, meet their obligations and mediate their differences. According to Mahani (2003), indicators of economic governance are: Macroeconomic management à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" fiscal management, level of government debt, unemployment and inflation. Investment à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" size and trend of foreign and domestic investments, capital flows and allocation of resources. Trade regime à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" trade orientation, export and import performance and balance of payment position. Financial sector management à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" the banking sector and capital market. Exchange rate regime. Private sector participation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" privatization and corporate governance. Social development à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" income distribution and level of poverty. Lanyi Lee (1999) studied on various aspects of economic governance, that is, the way in which economic life is governed and regulated à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" which does not mean solely governance by the government. They first discussed the political basis of economic governance which is in their view crucial for the way in which different aspects of economic governance operate. The other aspects include the governance of macroeconomic policy making, and the interrelated issues of financial and corporate governance. From political perspective, they argued that economic governance in a market economy consists partly of direct control or indirect influence exerted by the government and of governance exercised within markets themselves on the other part; but even self-governance by markets operates within the legal, judicial and regulatory framework that has been erected and is supported by the government. The optimum role of government in this context is market-augmenting government. Furthermore, they defined macroeconomic governance as the political and administrative processes by which macroeconomic policies are formulated, implemented, and evaluated. They argued that technically the same policies can be carried out with equal effectiveness by either an autocratic or a democratic government. An autocratic government, if supported by well-trained technocrats, is likely to come up with first-class macroeconomic governance. Nevertheless, there may be factors that over time lead to deterioration in the quality of these policies in an autocratic government, as well as problems in the ability of such governments to adjust policies in response to changes in economic circumstances. The working definition of governance used for financial and corporate governance depends on the key distinction between principals and agents. In this context, they defined governance as the legal and institutional arrangements governing the behavior of an economic entity, by which owners, creditors, markets and the government compel or induce agents to behave according to the interests of the principals, or those of the broader society. In this regard, two key elements of governance are discussed. First, there is the structure of incentives and rules facing agents with regard to such matters as granting and terminating lending, bankruptcy, the rights of boards of directors, compensation structure, and the termination of employment. Second, there is the structure of the information flow from agents to principals, that is, the rules and incentives affecting accountability, transparency and disclosure of information. In both cases, the government plays a key role in setting the rules by which private actors operate. Meanwhile, Das Quintyn (2002) in their study on the role of regulatory governance in crisis prevention and crisis management have identified four main components of the regulatory governance practices, namely independence, accountability, transparency and integrity. The study explored the quality of regulatory governance based on the financial system evaluations under the Financial Sector Assessment Programs (FSAPs). Introduced in May 1999, FSAPs is a joint effort by the IMF and World Bank aims to increase the effectiveness of efforts to promote the soundness of financial systems in member countries. Supported by experts from a range of national agencies and standard-setting bodies, works under the program seek to identify the strengths and vulnerabilities of a countrys financial system; to determine how key sources of risk are being managed; to ascertain the sectors developmental and technical assistance needs; and to help prioritize policy responses (IMF the World Bank, 2005). Regulatory governance applies to those institutions that possess legal powers to regulate, supervise and/or intervene in the financial sector, which include agencies like central bank, sectoral regulators and supervisors, deposit insurance agencies, and in systemic crisis situations, restructuring agencies and asset management companies. Regulatory agencies need a fair degree of independence from the political sphere and from the supervised entities to achieve good regulatory governance. Agency independence increases the possibility of making credible policy commitments and improves transparency and stability of the output. Independence goes hand in hand with accountability. Accountability is essential for the agency to justify its action against the background of the mandate given to it. Independent agents should be accountable not only to those who delegated the responsibility à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" the government or legislature à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" but also to the public who fall under their functional realm. Transparency in monetary and financial policies refers to an environment in which objectives, frameworks, decisions, and their rationale, data and other information, as well as terms of accountability, are provided to the public in a comprehensive, accessible, and timely manner. Global integration of financial markets and products require greater degree of transparency in monetary and financial policies, and in regulatory regimes and processes, as a means of containing market uncertainty. Increased transparency supports accountability, protect the independence and eventually increase commitment to prudent behavior and risk control in the financial business. The final component of regulatory governance is integrity which reflects the mechanisms that ensure that staff of the agencies can pursue institutional goals of good regulatory governance without compromising them due to their own behavior, or self-interest. Independence, accountability, transparency and integrity interact and reinforce each other. Independence and accountability represent two sides of the same coin, while transparency is a vehicle for safeguarding independence and key instrument to make accountability work. Transparency also helps to establish and safeguard integrity. 7.2 Governance relationship with development and growth Economic governance is often studied through its role in the promotion of growth. This is done by setting policies, incentives and institutions that create an environment conducive to sustained stable growth through efficient management of a countrys resources. It means managing a countrys resources in a way that is accountable to, and representative of, the community; transparent, that is, open and predictable; and efficient and equitable in terms of the use, and distribution of, resources. Hence, good and effective governance requires government policies that encourage and efficiently manage investment and economic growth, support a fair and efficient public sector, strengthen the rule of law, protect human rights, and foster public participation and representation in decision making. Among the many studies that have examined the economic governance and growth nexus is such as that of Barro (1997). He studied the concept of growth based on the conditional convergence hypothesis which centers on the speed of economic growth in a country towards its steady-state level. He had empirically identified that more schooling, better health, lower fertility rate, less government consumption relative to GDP, greater adherence to uncorrupted rule of law, improvements in terms of trade changes, and lower inflation all go hand-in-hand with faster economic growth. Furthermore, he also explored on the interplay between economic and political development, and found that there is nonlinear relationship between democracy and growth. According to his findings, in countries with low levels of political freedom, a marginal increase in political freedom is associated with an acceleration in growth. However, at high levels of political freedom, a marginal increase in political freedom is associated with a slowing in growth. Huther Shah (1998) also studied the relationship between governance and growth and found that countries that practiced good governance have also enjoyed high growth. They developed a governance index featuring four sub-indices, i.e. citizen participation index (CP), government orientation index (GO), social development index (SD) and economic management index (EM) and each of the sub-indices has several components. For the Economic Management index, its components are outward orientation, central bank interdependence, and debt-to-GDP ratio which were used to assess trade policy, monetary policy and fiscal policy respectively. Gonzalez Mendoza (2001) argued that Southeast Asia provides ample evidence that there is a remarkable connection between administrative guidance and economic upturn. They compared the average growth rate of national output during the last decade against the quality of country governance and found that the high-performing economies à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Singapore and Malaysia à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" have the edge in public management. Those left behind, such as the Philippines and Indonesia, have poor management structures. A study by Inada (2003) on Indonesia governance showed the importance of political stability and effective economic management as key elements for sustainable economic development among many governance factors. Bordo (2007) provides a good qualitative analysis on the possible determinant of emerging market crises from the perspective of balance sheet approach, which then put at center stage the importance of financial development. Though he never mention the word governance itself, he outlines the deep institutional determinants of financial development à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" including the governance parameters such as the rule of law, protection of property rights, political stability, and representative democracy à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" towards achieving financial stability. He further conjectures about the ways countries learn from their financial crises to improve their institutions and grow up to financial stability. 7.3 Governance link to crisis and roles in recovery process Lanyi Lee (1999) presented a strong case that governance issues were important in the East Asian crisis. They hypothesized that transparency and accountability in macroeconomic policymaking, in the operation of the financial system, and in corporate governance do serve to lessen a countrys vulnerability to financial crises and to strengthen the ability to deal with crises when they occur. They also hypothesized that a democratic political system, in which leaders are held accountable to their electorate by both direct election of the executive and an elected legislature à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" as well as by an independent judiciary and a free press and civil society à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" is less likely to collapse in the face of economic and financial difficulties than is a country run by an autocratic government, which imposes severe restraints on the public expression of opinion and dissemination of information. On the political basis of economic governance, they have suggested a hypothesis regarding the kind of political regimes likely to produce an effective, growth-enhancing, market-augmenting government. It is the type of political regime that is especially effective in the early stages of economic development may be less suited to fostering the creation of a full-fledged, sophisticated market economy at a later stage. They argued that there certainly seems to be some indications of this in the Asian experience, where authoritarian regimes fostered rapid growth when these economies were at relatively low income levels, but seems to be evolving toward more democratic models to deal with demands for greater market autonomy. They however suggested that even if a case can be made for the desirability of democratization as a market economy becomes more sophisticated, the varied historical examples warrant the need to find out more about the conditions under which either an autocratic or a democratic government can be market-augmenting, or not. They further highlighted that it would be useful to find historical examples of, and develop plausible scenarios for, the transition from discretionary (an autocratic government) to arms-length (a democratic government) approaches to state economic governance, and to define the most effective ways in which the international community might assist with this transition. Furthermore, they believed that empirical work on macroeconomic governance would need to tap into the huge literature on macroeconomic policies and their effect, and link existing work with variables that reveal the quality of governance. Unfortunately, such variables are hard to quantify; but perhaps a classification of regimes together with a classification of the way macroeconomic policy is organized, could yield ways of exploring the relationships between the political and administrative variables, on the one hand, and the more familiar economic variables on the other. In other words, it would be interesting to look how the macroeconomic policies are formulated, implemented and evaluated through the governance perspective, to understand whether adherence to, or lack of, the governance practices could influence the outcome of the macroeconomic policies, as well as to determine conditions that would lead to good quality policies which would eventually identify the appropriate type of market-augmenting government as the market economy progresses. Besides, they also made preliminary attempts to trace the relationship between empirical indicators of financial and corporate governance with some governance variables that have been developed by others. They however suggested that one needs to look more carefully, perhaps through case studies, at the realities of financial and corporate governance in particular cases and the linkage between indicators of these types of financial and corporate governance with the more carefully articulated classification of political regimes. Specifically with regard to the adjustment of most severely affected countries to the Asian crisis, they suggested that it would be interesting to examine the reasons why recovery in Korea has been more rapid than in the Indonesia and Thailand. Similarly, it would also be interesting to investigate Malaysias speedy recovery from the crisis even though the country did not subscribe to the IMF recovery prescriptions. Mahani (2003) highlighted that after the rapid recovery of the Asian economies in 1999, discussion of the causes of the crisis has been centered on the quality of economic governance in these economies. The East Asian economies success was at one time a model to be emulated by other developing countries, but after the 1997 financial turbulence, doubts were raised about the quality of economic governance in these Asian countries. Questions were raised whether the governance in these economies contributed to the crisis when countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and South Korea experienced sharp economic contraction during the crisis. She further highlighted that questions on the quality of governance centered on the issue whether or not the same economic governance that produced high growth also weakens the economies and makes them vulnerable to external shocks, whether the economic governance fails to avoid market failures in pursuing its high growth strategy, whether the conditions for good governance always the same irrespective of the stage of economic development, and whether the crony capitalism a result of the governance failure since it was among the widely acknowledged factors contributing to the crisis. To know whether economic governance had made the economy vulnerable to a crisis, it is crucially important to examine the causes of the crisis and to link them with the economic weak points. Was the crisis due to the imprudent economic management or due to external factors? Although external factors have been recognized as the key cause for the crisis, domestic shortcomings were also responsible for deepening or aggravating the impact of the crisis. Furthermore, Malaysias own crisis remedies and the rejection of the IMFs standard crisis solutions open the debate on what is good economic governance. She argued that the 1997 Asian experience showed the economic governance framework by the IMF and the World Bank has some weaknesses, namely unfettered short term capital flows, lack of long-term and broader macroeconomic objectives when growth is driven by the private sector, and minimal attention given to socioeconomic issues such as income distribution. The rapid recovery by Malaysia and Korea, which adopted different strategies shows that there are alternative ways to respond to a crisis, implying that there is also no single definition of economic governance. Policy flexibility arising from good economic governance before the crisis made it possible to Malaysia to take response measures specially tailored to its need and situation, and rejecting one-size-fits-all prescriptions by the IMF. 7.4 Governance roles in crisis prevention The rapid pace and spread of globalization pose stiff challenges to economic governance as new criteria and developments may impose a heavier governance burden on the government and economy. One of the biggest challenges is the increasingly volatile international flow of capital that makes economic governance much more difficult as economic fundamentals are not the only factors that determine performance. Global integration also limits the choice of measures that are available to a country in making its response. Yet good governance is essential for sustained economic growth. The challenge is to determine what good governance consists of under these changing conditions. Ever better economic management is called for, to preserve economic resilience and prevent external shocks from turning into crises. Thus, a close and critical evaluation of the new economic governance parameters and institutions is essential. 8.0 OVERVIEW ON THE STUDY OF GOVERNANCE 8.1 Development of the study of governance Inada (2003) outlined the development in the study of governance over the last 10 years which can be categorized into several types: Identifying factors of governance: what factors are the governance factors that affect the performance of the economies of developing countries? Example à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" World Bank (1992) documented such factors as accountability, transparency, predictable legal framework, efficiency of the public sector, etc. Categori Economic Governance for Crisis Prevention Economic Governance for Crisis Prevention 1.0 INTRODUCTION The proposed research attempts to identify the critical components of economic governance in four Asian countries namely Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia. The study by employing in-depth case study analysis seeks to analyze the economic governance practices in these countries and its relationship to their economic growths. The study then attempts to investigate the links between economic governance and the Asian financial crisis in 1997, and the roles the economic governance could have played in the recovery process since the above countries had somehow recovered at somewhat different speed. Based on the identified components of economic governance considered imperative for sustainable and resilient economy, the study will develop an index namely Economic Governance Quality Index capturing the score of governance parameters by the countries during the booms and slumps of their economies throughout the period under study. Finally, the components of economic governance wil l be employed in panel data analysis to empirically determine their significance towards economic growth. Its findings then will be of significance in crisis prediction and prevention methods in which the identified key governance parameters are the core ingredients. 2.0 BACKGROUND Good governance is perhaps the single most important factor in eradicating poverty and promoting development. Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations. The concept of governance has assumed a more central focus and been given key attention not only by the officials from the United Nations Development Program, the World Bank and the International Monetary Funds, but also from the policymakers in especially developing countries, aids donors, and regional organizations of economic cooperation as well as academics fraternity. Since the beginning of 1990s, there is a strong indication of growing emphasis that good governance, together with democracy and protection of basic human rights, is indispensable for sustainable economic growth. Economic development cannot be achieved without the development of good governance, which is composed of competence and honesty, public accountability, and broader participation in discussion and decision making on central issues. In addition to traditional view of governance which is on the public governance, there is also a notable increase in the endeavors to grasp the concept of governance in a multi-d imensional perspective which includes economic governance. The relationship between governance and development is thus studied from diverse angles, especially in the vein of economic transformation, macroeconomic management and prevention of crisis as well as structural reforms. The Asian financial crisis in 1997 had somehow exposed the vulnerability of the once high-performing countries in the region, whose lack of governance practices was said as the main cause of the severe affects. 3.0 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The Asian economies success was once dubbed the Asian Miracle, and a model to be emulated by other developing countries seeking higher growth. The success had introduced a growth model with emphasis on policies of setting the prices right, liberalizing the economy and the private sector as the engine of growth. When financial crisis struck the Asian countries in 1997, and looking at the devastating effects the countries in the region had experienced following the malaise, many however started to raise questions whether the quality of governance practices in these countries had somehow contributed to the crisis. Furthermore, the fact that South Korea and Malaysia had somehow recovered rapidly from the crisis compared to Indonesia and Thailand has sparked off interests on what roles good governance could have played in the recovery process. Hence, good governance has become a topic widely studied in the aftermath of the crisis. The discussions center on two main perspectives; firstly, the absence of good governance has been perceived as a MAJOR CAUSE of the crisis, and secondly, an inference is made that good governance is IMPERATIVE for durable and resilient economy. This study hence sets out to empirically identify and ascertain the governance parameters and their significance towards crisis prevention. Since the study focuses on economic governance, and to avoid constant repetition, the word governance used in this proposal should be taken in the context of economic point of view, unless explicit reference to other perspective of governance is relevant. 4.0 RESEARCH QUESTIONS This study will attempt to answer the following questions: What are the economic governance parameters presumed as crucially importance for sustainable and resilient economy? How to capture the score of economic governance practices in the East Asian countries during the period under study? How would the significance of governance parameters be empirically ascertained for the purpose of crisis prediction and prevention? 5.0 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The study hypothesized that good governance is imperative for sustainable and resilient economy, and the absence of such would result in increased vulnerability of the economy towards declining into crisis. Therefore, the objectives of the study are: To identify the parameters of economic governance crucial for resilient and sustainable economy. To develop an index of Economic Governance Quality capturing the score of economic governance practices by the East Asian countries during the period under study. To empirically ascertain the significance of economic governance parameters towards growth via a dynamic estimation model whose findings then would be of importance for crisis prediction and prevention. 6.0 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY It would be interesting to investigate what makes good governance and how do they link to economic growth in the four selected Asian countries. Furthermore, it would be crucially important to examine, from the governance perspective, how could the countries once considered by many as the fastest growing economies in the region were severely affected by the Asian crisis in 1997. Notwithstanding that, the fact that South Korea and Malaysia had made a more swift recovery than the other affected countries, it would therefore be interesting to analyze how the governance practices in the different countries facilitated the recovery process. The findings from this study are expected to provide a significant contribution to the existing governance literatures especially from the economic perspective since it attempts to discover the critical components of economic governance that are imperative for sustainable and resilient economy. Policy makers not only from the countries under study but also from other developing countries may utilize the findings of the study to evaluate their economic governance practices and be able therefore to make necessary adjustments and required changes with the objectives of registering better growth and strengthening the economy against any possibility of future crisis. The researchers from world organizations and academic community may also be interested with the findings since the study attempts to develop a new feasible dynamic estimation model to analyze the relationship between the components of economic governance and growth, of which they could use as a basis for their future research undertaking in the similar field. In addition, the findings could also stimulate and facilitate them to search for additional approaches to counter or justify the results of this study. 7.0 LITERATURE REVIEW Good governance has become a topic widely debated by academicians and economic communities especially in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis in 1997. The discussions in this context center on two main perspectives; first, the absence of good governance has been perceived as a major cause of the crisis, and the second prognosis is drawn by inference, namely, that good governance is imperative for durable development (Lam, 2003). Therefore, to have a better understanding of the governance, this section discusses definitions and indicators of the governance, its relationship with the economic growth, how it links to the crisis and its roles in the recovery process, and finally how could these governance factors be used for crisis prevention. 7.1 Definitions and indicators of governance Definitions and indicators of governance can be found in numerous literatures. A top-down approach is best used to understand the concept of governance, where a general or broad definition of governance will be firstly explored before moving on to a more specific definition. The World Bank continuously updates key governance indicators in its regular publication of Governance Matters, a governance study encompassing many aspects like political, social, economic, legal and moral. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Funds (IMF) has been doing a great deal of works in an effort to promote governance in the financial sector management through Financial Sector Assessment Programs (FSAPs) which include regulatory, risk management and aid management. 7.1.1 Broad definition of governance From the viewpoint of United Nations Development Program (1997), the definition of governance is the exercise of economic, political administrative authority to manage a countrys affairs at all levels. It comprises mechanisms, processes and institutions, through which citizens and groups articulate their interests, exercise their legal rights, meet their obligation and mediate their differences. Good governance is, among other things, participatory, transparent and accountable, effective and equitable, and it promotes the rule of law. It ensures that political, social and economic priorities are based on broad consensus in society and that the voices of the poorest and the most vulnerable are heard in decision-making over the allocation of development resources (Abdellatif, 2003). In its report, Governance and Sustainable Human Development in 1997, the UNDP acknowledges the following as core characteristics of good governance, i.e. participation, rule of law, transparency, responsiveness, consensus orientation, equity, effectiveness and efficiency, accountability, and strategic vision. A report by the World Bank (2006) entitled Governance Matters V covering 213 countries and territories since 1996 until 2005, presented the latest version of the worldwide governance indicators, namely voice and accountability, political stability and absence of violence, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law, and control of corruption. Meanwhile, Inada (2003) discussed the governance in Indonesia where the word governance is translated as Tata Pemerintahan. It however has different meanings covering different agendas from political systems to corporate governance. They includes political democratization, reorganization of police and the military, curing the problems of corruption, collusion, and nepotism (KKN), justice reform system, decentralization, financial management, corporate governance, and state-owned enterprise reforms. Shimomura (2003) in his case study of governance in Thailand adopted pluralist democracy, accountability, transparency, predictability, and openness in the manner of exercising power, rule of law, effective and efficient public sector management, prevention of corruption, and prevention of excessive military expenditures as the standard definition of good governance. 7.1.2 Governance from economic perspective According to Dixit (2006), economic governance consists of the processes that support economic activities and economic transactions by protecting property rights, enforcing contracts, and taking collective actions to provide appropriate physical and organizational infrastructure. These processes are carried out within institutions, formal and informal. He described that the field of economic governance studies and compares the performance of different institutions under different conditions, the evolution of these institutions, and the transitions from one set of institution to another. Meanwhile, Huther Shah (1998), Gonzalez Mendoza (2001) and Mahani (2003) defined governance as a multi-faceted concept, encompassing all aspects of the exercise of authority through both formal and informal institutions in the management of resources. In other words, governance is: An exercise of economic power in the management of resource endowment of a country done through mechanisms, processes, and institutions through which citizens and groups can articulate their interest, exercise legal rights, meet their obligations and mediate their differences. According to Mahani (2003), indicators of economic governance are: Macroeconomic management à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" fiscal management, level of government debt, unemployment and inflation. Investment à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" size and trend of foreign and domestic investments, capital flows and allocation of resources. Trade regime à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" trade orientation, export and import performance and balance of payment position. Financial sector management à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" the banking sector and capital market. Exchange rate regime. Private sector participation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" privatization and corporate governance. Social development à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" income distribution and level of poverty. Lanyi Lee (1999) studied on various aspects of economic governance, that is, the way in which economic life is governed and regulated à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" which does not mean solely governance by the government. They first discussed the political basis of economic governance which is in their view crucial for the way in which different aspects of economic governance operate. The other aspects include the governance of macroeconomic policy making, and the interrelated issues of financial and corporate governance. From political perspective, they argued that economic governance in a market economy consists partly of direct control or indirect influence exerted by the government and of governance exercised within markets themselves on the other part; but even self-governance by markets operates within the legal, judicial and regulatory framework that has been erected and is supported by the government. The optimum role of government in this context is market-augmenting government. Furthermore, they defined macroeconomic governance as the political and administrative processes by which macroeconomic policies are formulated, implemented, and evaluated. They argued that technically the same policies can be carried out with equal effectiveness by either an autocratic or a democratic government. An autocratic government, if supported by well-trained technocrats, is likely to come up with first-class macroeconomic governance. Nevertheless, there may be factors that over time lead to deterioration in the quality of these policies in an autocratic government, as well as problems in the ability of such governments to adjust policies in response to changes in economic circumstances. The working definition of governance used for financial and corporate governance depends on the key distinction between principals and agents. In this context, they defined governance as the legal and institutional arrangements governing the behavior of an economic entity, by which owners, creditors, markets and the government compel or induce agents to behave according to the interests of the principals, or those of the broader society. In this regard, two key elements of governance are discussed. First, there is the structure of incentives and rules facing agents with regard to such matters as granting and terminating lending, bankruptcy, the rights of boards of directors, compensation structure, and the termination of employment. Second, there is the structure of the information flow from agents to principals, that is, the rules and incentives affecting accountability, transparency and disclosure of information. In both cases, the government plays a key role in setting the rules by which private actors operate. Meanwhile, Das Quintyn (2002) in their study on the role of regulatory governance in crisis prevention and crisis management have identified four main components of the regulatory governance practices, namely independence, accountability, transparency and integrity. The study explored the quality of regulatory governance based on the financial system evaluations under the Financial Sector Assessment Programs (FSAPs). Introduced in May 1999, FSAPs is a joint effort by the IMF and World Bank aims to increase the effectiveness of efforts to promote the soundness of financial systems in member countries. Supported by experts from a range of national agencies and standard-setting bodies, works under the program seek to identify the strengths and vulnerabilities of a countrys financial system; to determine how key sources of risk are being managed; to ascertain the sectors developmental and technical assistance needs; and to help prioritize policy responses (IMF the World Bank, 2005). Regulatory governance applies to those institutions that possess legal powers to regulate, supervise and/or intervene in the financial sector, which include agencies like central bank, sectoral regulators and supervisors, deposit insurance agencies, and in systemic crisis situations, restructuring agencies and asset management companies. Regulatory agencies need a fair degree of independence from the political sphere and from the supervised entities to achieve good regulatory governance. Agency independence increases the possibility of making credible policy commitments and improves transparency and stability of the output. Independence goes hand in hand with accountability. Accountability is essential for the agency to justify its action against the background of the mandate given to it. Independent agents should be accountable not only to those who delegated the responsibility à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" the government or legislature à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" but also to the public who fall under their functional realm. Transparency in monetary and financial policies refers to an environment in which objectives, frameworks, decisions, and their rationale, data and other information, as well as terms of accountability, are provided to the public in a comprehensive, accessible, and timely manner. Global integration of financial markets and products require greater degree of transparency in monetary and financial policies, and in regulatory regimes and processes, as a means of containing market uncertainty. Increased transparency supports accountability, protect the independence and eventually increase commitment to prudent behavior and risk control in the financial business. The final component of regulatory governance is integrity which reflects the mechanisms that ensure that staff of the agencies can pursue institutional goals of good regulatory governance without compromising them due to their own behavior, or self-interest. Independence, accountability, transparency and integrity interact and reinforce each other. Independence and accountability represent two sides of the same coin, while transparency is a vehicle for safeguarding independence and key instrument to make accountability work. Transparency also helps to establish and safeguard integrity. 7.2 Governance relationship with development and growth Economic governance is often studied through its role in the promotion of growth. This is done by setting policies, incentives and institutions that create an environment conducive to sustained stable growth through efficient management of a countrys resources. It means managing a countrys resources in a way that is accountable to, and representative of, the community; transparent, that is, open and predictable; and efficient and equitable in terms of the use, and distribution of, resources. Hence, good and effective governance requires government policies that encourage and efficiently manage investment and economic growth, support a fair and efficient public sector, strengthen the rule of law, protect human rights, and foster public participation and representation in decision making. Among the many studies that have examined the economic governance and growth nexus is such as that of Barro (1997). He studied the concept of growth based on the conditional convergence hypothesis which centers on the speed of economic growth in a country towards its steady-state level. He had empirically identified that more schooling, better health, lower fertility rate, less government consumption relative to GDP, greater adherence to uncorrupted rule of law, improvements in terms of trade changes, and lower inflation all go hand-in-hand with faster economic growth. Furthermore, he also explored on the interplay between economic and political development, and found that there is nonlinear relationship between democracy and growth. According to his findings, in countries with low levels of political freedom, a marginal increase in political freedom is associated with an acceleration in growth. However, at high levels of political freedom, a marginal increase in political freedom is associated with a slowing in growth. Huther Shah (1998) also studied the relationship between governance and growth and found that countries that practiced good governance have also enjoyed high growth. They developed a governance index featuring four sub-indices, i.e. citizen participation index (CP), government orientation index (GO), social development index (SD) and economic management index (EM) and each of the sub-indices has several components. For the Economic Management index, its components are outward orientation, central bank interdependence, and debt-to-GDP ratio which were used to assess trade policy, monetary policy and fiscal policy respectively. Gonzalez Mendoza (2001) argued that Southeast Asia provides ample evidence that there is a remarkable connection between administrative guidance and economic upturn. They compared the average growth rate of national output during the last decade against the quality of country governance and found that the high-performing economies à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Singapore and Malaysia à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" have the edge in public management. Those left behind, such as the Philippines and Indonesia, have poor management structures. A study by Inada (2003) on Indonesia governance showed the importance of political stability and effective economic management as key elements for sustainable economic development among many governance factors. Bordo (2007) provides a good qualitative analysis on the possible determinant of emerging market crises from the perspective of balance sheet approach, which then put at center stage the importance of financial development. Though he never mention the word governance itself, he outlines the deep institutional determinants of financial development à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" including the governance parameters such as the rule of law, protection of property rights, political stability, and representative democracy à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" towards achieving financial stability. He further conjectures about the ways countries learn from their financial crises to improve their institutions and grow up to financial stability. 7.3 Governance link to crisis and roles in recovery process Lanyi Lee (1999) presented a strong case that governance issues were important in the East Asian crisis. They hypothesized that transparency and accountability in macroeconomic policymaking, in the operation of the financial system, and in corporate governance do serve to lessen a countrys vulnerability to financial crises and to strengthen the ability to deal with crises when they occur. They also hypothesized that a democratic political system, in which leaders are held accountable to their electorate by both direct election of the executive and an elected legislature à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" as well as by an independent judiciary and a free press and civil society à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" is less likely to collapse in the face of economic and financial difficulties than is a country run by an autocratic government, which imposes severe restraints on the public expression of opinion and dissemination of information. On the political basis of economic governance, they have suggested a hypothesis regarding the kind of political regimes likely to produce an effective, growth-enhancing, market-augmenting government. It is the type of political regime that is especially effective in the early stages of economic development may be less suited to fostering the creation of a full-fledged, sophisticated market economy at a later stage. They argued that there certainly seems to be some indications of this in the Asian experience, where authoritarian regimes fostered rapid growth when these economies were at relatively low income levels, but seems to be evolving toward more democratic models to deal with demands for greater market autonomy. They however suggested that even if a case can be made for the desirability of democratization as a market economy becomes more sophisticated, the varied historical examples warrant the need to find out more about the conditions under which either an autocratic or a democratic government can be market-augmenting, or not. They further highlighted that it would be useful to find historical examples of, and develop plausible scenarios for, the transition from discretionary (an autocratic government) to arms-length (a democratic government) approaches to state economic governance, and to define the most effective ways in which the international community might assist with this transition. Furthermore, they believed that empirical work on macroeconomic governance would need to tap into the huge literature on macroeconomic policies and their effect, and link existing work with variables that reveal the quality of governance. Unfortunately, such variables are hard to quantify; but perhaps a classification of regimes together with a classification of the way macroeconomic policy is organized, could yield ways of exploring the relationships between the political and administrative variables, on the one hand, and the more familiar economic variables on the other. In other words, it would be interesting to look how the macroeconomic policies are formulated, implemented and evaluated through the governance perspective, to understand whether adherence to, or lack of, the governance practices could influence the outcome of the macroeconomic policies, as well as to determine conditions that would lead to good quality policies which would eventually identify the appropriate type of market-augmenting government as the market economy progresses. Besides, they also made preliminary attempts to trace the relationship between empirical indicators of financial and corporate governance with some governance variables that have been developed by others. They however suggested that one needs to look more carefully, perhaps through case studies, at the realities of financial and corporate governance in particular cases and the linkage between indicators of these types of financial and corporate governance with the more carefully articulated classification of political regimes. Specifically with regard to the adjustment of most severely affected countries to the Asian crisis, they suggested that it would be interesting to examine the reasons why recovery in Korea has been more rapid than in the Indonesia and Thailand. Similarly, it would also be interesting to investigate Malaysias speedy recovery from the crisis even though the country did not subscribe to the IMF recovery prescriptions. Mahani (2003) highlighted that after the rapid recovery of the Asian economies in 1999, discussion of the causes of the crisis has been centered on the quality of economic governance in these economies. The East Asian economies success was at one time a model to be emulated by other developing countries, but after the 1997 financial turbulence, doubts were raised about the quality of economic governance in these Asian countries. Questions were raised whether the governance in these economies contributed to the crisis when countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and South Korea experienced sharp economic contraction during the crisis. She further highlighted that questions on the quality of governance centered on the issue whether or not the same economic governance that produced high growth also weakens the economies and makes them vulnerable to external shocks, whether the economic governance fails to avoid market failures in pursuing its high growth strategy, whether the conditions for good governance always the same irrespective of the stage of economic development, and whether the crony capitalism a result of the governance failure since it was among the widely acknowledged factors contributing to the crisis. To know whether economic governance had made the economy vulnerable to a crisis, it is crucially important to examine the causes of the crisis and to link them with the economic weak points. Was the crisis due to the imprudent economic management or due to external factors? Although external factors have been recognized as the key cause for the crisis, domestic shortcomings were also responsible for deepening or aggravating the impact of the crisis. Furthermore, Malaysias own crisis remedies and the rejection of the IMFs standard crisis solutions open the debate on what is good economic governance. She argued that the 1997 Asian experience showed the economic governance framework by the IMF and the World Bank has some weaknesses, namely unfettered short term capital flows, lack of long-term and broader macroeconomic objectives when growth is driven by the private sector, and minimal attention given to socioeconomic issues such as income distribution. The rapid recovery by Malaysia and Korea, which adopted different strategies shows that there are alternative ways to respond to a crisis, implying that there is also no single definition of economic governance. Policy flexibility arising from good economic governance before the crisis made it possible to Malaysia to take response measures specially tailored to its need and situation, and rejecting one-size-fits-all prescriptions by the IMF. 7.4 Governance roles in crisis prevention The rapid pace and spread of globalization pose stiff challenges to economic governance as new criteria and developments may impose a heavier governance burden on the government and economy. One of the biggest challenges is the increasingly volatile international flow of capital that makes economic governance much more difficult as economic fundamentals are not the only factors that determine performance. Global integration also limits the choice of measures that are available to a country in making its response. Yet good governance is essential for sustained economic growth. The challenge is to determine what good governance consists of under these changing conditions. Ever better economic management is called for, to preserve economic resilience and prevent external shocks from turning into crises. Thus, a close and critical evaluation of the new economic governance parameters and institutions is essential. 8.0 OVERVIEW ON THE STUDY OF GOVERNANCE 8.1 Development of the study of governance Inada (2003) outlined the development in the study of governance over the last 10 years which can be categorized into several types: Identifying factors of governance: what factors are the governance factors that affect the performance of the economies of developing countries? Example à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" World Bank (1992) documented such factors as accountability, transparency, predictable legal framework, efficiency of the public sector, etc. Categori