Outsourcings Benefits in Management

Table of Contents Introduction Overview of Outsourcing Reasons for Outsourcing Levels of Outsourcing The Benefits of Outsourcing Conclusion Reference List Introduction Outsourcing is the act of transferring some of an organization’s recurring internal activities and decision rights to outside providers, as set forth in a contract. Because the activities are recurring and a contract is used, outsourcing goes beyond the use of consultants. In other words, outsourcing can be defined as the process of shifting tasks and services previously performed in-house to outside vendors. As a matter of practice, not only are the activities transferred, but the factors of production and decision rights often are, too.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Outsourcing’s Benefits in Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Factors of production are the resources that make the activities occur and include p eople, facilities, equipment, technology, and other assets. On the other hand, decision rights are the responsibilities for making decisions over certain elements of the activities transferred. This paper looks at the reasons why most organizations outsource and the growth of outsourcing from the tradition to modern organizations. It also looks at the different levels of outsourcing and concludes by giving some of the benefits of outsourcing. Overview of Outsourcing Outsourcing is a management practice that has been going on for many centuries. However, it has gained popularity in the recent past and organizations are attempting to think about it as a new practice. It has certainly changed in shape and has taken a different form, although the concept remains the same. Although primitive prehistoric villagers would not have understood some terms like core competencies, outsourcing, and increase in productivity, the benefits were real and it is these that lie at the heart of many of t he modern arguments referring to outsourcing. Modern organizations are nurtured by the outgrowth in division of labor meaning that organizations employ different individuals with different skills, competencies, and attributes. These individuals are hired to perform specific functions in the organization (Manning et al 2008). In the last century, few organizations had attempted to do everything themselves. There were always some products and services that came from outside suppliers and were never made in-house, and the boundaries between the two were flexible. Many diverse firms engage in intensive outsourcing. As outsourcing continues to grow in importance, its nature and focus is evolving. In the past, it is only the manufacturing industries that engaged in outsourcing but it has now been accepted in almost all industries including the service industry. It has also become a cross-national and global concept; for instance, it is estimated that about 40% of the entire automobile pro duced in North America came from the US, and much of this offshore supply is outsourced (Brown Wilson, 2005). The nature of outsourcing is diverse. Some firms now outsource core production activities so extensively that they no longer engage in production, as traditionally understood.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Inbound and outbound logistics are being extensively outsourced also. Some firms are extensively outsourcing secondary value-chain activities such as information technology, accounting systems, distribution, and aspects of human resources. Despite its increasing importance, many firms do not have a clear understanding of the benefits and costs part of its destiny in the hands of other firms that are seeking to maximize their profits. Thus, while outsourcing is often described as an alliance, the contracting parties inevitably have conflicting interests. The strategic objectives of outsourcing that decision makers should seek are to maximize the net benefits of outsourcing relative to the in-house provision of value-chain activities. In practice, this can often be simplified to minimizing the total costs of any given quantity and quality of outsourced good or activity. However, costs must be viewed comprehensively. Costs consist of expenditures for the good itself and the costs associated with governing the outsourced transaction. This raises a number of fundamental questions relating to governance costs (Noreen et al 2011). Reasons for Outsourcing There are many reasons why organizations choose to outsource other than rely on the resources available within them. One of such reasons is to enhance effectiveness by focusing on what one can do best. Other organizations outsource in order to increase flexibility so as to meet changing business conditions, demand for products or services, and advanced technologies. Other reasons include but are not limited to the following: Transform the organization Customer satisfaction and increasing the value of products as well as of the shareholders Improve management and control (Barrar Gervais, 2006). Acquire innovative ideas Improvement of operations Reduce investments in assets Gain market access and business opportunities through the provider’s network Expand production capacity and sales volume Reduce costs and increase benefits (Noreen et al 2011). Employee career development Increase commitment and energy in non-core areas Levels of Outsourcing There are different levels of outsourcing which occurs in different levels of activities. Most of the common levels are individual, functional, and process. Individual outsourcing involves moving specific positions out of the organization. This could be the management position of a poorly performing function or a technical position, such as, an intelligent analyst or an auditor. These positions are difficult to fill when turnover occurs and therefore it is advisable to outsource before an organization is able to find the appropriate person to fill such as a post. Individual outsourcing occurs when a person fails to perform the activities assigned to him at the desired performance level, or according to the organization’s expectation (Manning et al 2008). Almost all organizations are structured on a basis of functional cost with specialized knowledge and key responsibilities. Processes can be defined as the flow of products or services within an organization. A single process is generated by linking similar activities to create an output that satisfies a customer’s needs.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Outsourcing’s Benefits in Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Processes defer from one organization to the other and it is upon each organization to determine its own processes. There are many contractors in the world who earn their income through outsourcing. IBM is one of these contractors that have been doing well in the business of outsourcing. In 2003 IBM decided to outsource its expertise to Visteon an auto parts manufacturer. This contract was estimated to earn the company over two billion dollars in a period of ten years (Hechlinger, 2003). The Benefits of Outsourcing Some of the benefits expected from outsourcing by investors include the following: 1. Creation of value for shareholders 2. Reduction of production costs by taking advantage of external supplier’s lower costs 3. Improvement of the quality of input by purchasing some superior capability from external supplier If a firm could easily imitate the cost or capability advantage of outside suppliers, it could produce the activity in-house. The acquisition of superior capabilities can also be thought of in cost-saving terms. However, it is usual in the business strategy literature to analyze each activity on the value chain in terms of the firm’s ability to lower cost or to improve quality. The contractor or supplier also benefits from outsourcing in terms of increased revenue, which he can use to diversify his activities. For instance, in the case of IBM and Visteon contract, IBM was expected to make large sums of money and also become a widely known contractor (Hechlinger, 2003).Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More To ensure that outsourcing is a cost-effective strategy, the costs of outsourcing must be compared to the costs of internal production of the activity. Production costs are those directly generated by the opportunity costs of the resources used to produce the good. There are a number of production cost rationales for outsourcing. The most basic is that internal production of the activity entails production at levels that are too low to be efficient, that is, to achieve minimum efficient scale. Many goods and services for which the organization has low unit demand exhibit significant cost lumpiness (Barrar Gervais, 2006). Just as a supplier can bring services to a locale within ones country, it can also bring one to new markets on other continents because of its global locations. The more places in the world a company can provide such presence the more opportunities one has to grow his global customer base. When considering a potential outsourcing in hopes of advancing into new mark ets, one has to make to determine the cost benefits of such endeavors. An estimate of potential revenue that would be received in the new capabilities has to be made and such estimate has to be reasonable. The estimated revenue has to be compared to the prices from suppliers in order to determine whether the new capabilities are cost effective. If a particular company is interested in going global, it has to look for suppliers who have the capabilities to take the company there. In order for the company to compete in the global market, it has to be available globally. Some facility labor relations conditions permit the use of in-house mechanics that are not bound by trade or craft union jurisdictional lines in performing operations and maintenance work. Contractors by and large, follow trade and craft union jurisdictional lines, hired by contractors are not better than those recruited for the facility’s in-house workforce. They lack the specific experience that the regular em ployees acquire in time at the facility, but they often compensate for this by bringing a greater breadth of experience to the job (Noreen et al 2011). Conclusion This paper has given a brief overview of outsourcing; what is meant by the term outsourcing, its growth, and how modern organizations are relying on outsourcing for most of their operations. It has also looked at the different levels of outsourcing and the good about this process to both the organization and the contractor. Outsourcing can deliver significant economies of scale by using standardized procedures and leading edge technology. Suppliers can perform finance and administration functions far more cheaply and efficiently than companies working on their own. This could include reduction in working capital, improvements in tax efficiency, and avoidance of capital expenditure. The services are also provided at an agreed cost which should also lead to a more accurate prediction of costs, and therefore more accurate bud getary control. A specialist provider can bring best practice and new investment in resources. Outsourcing financial operations can encourage business to be more innovative and focused on value creation. Reference List Barrar, P. Gervais, R. (2006). Global Outsourcing Strategies: An International Reference on Effective Outsourcing Relationships. Burlington: Gower Publishing Ltd. Brown D. Wilson S. (2005). The Black Book of Outsourcing: How to Manage The Changes, Challenges, And Opportunities. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons Hechlinger, J. (2003, February 12). IBM Gets $2 Billion Outsourcing Job — Most Computer Operations Of Visteon To Be Taken Over As It Diversifies From Ford. The Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition), B3. Manning et al. (2008). A Dynamic Perspective on Next-Generation Off shoring: The Global Sourcing of Science and Engineering Talent Academy of Management Perspectives 22.3: 35-54. Noreen, E. W., Brewer, P. B., Garrison R. H. (2011). Managerial Accounting f or Managers (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill. This research paper on Outsourcing’s Benefits in Management was written and submitted by user Artur0 to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Free Essays on Why Is He So Good

. Some of his lines have double meanings. One of Hamlets quotes in scene two is â€Å"Not so my lord. I am too much in the sun.† â€Å"I am too much in the sun.† What does this really mean? In this situation, Hamlet is replying back to his Uncle that he is in the spotlight right now, and also that he is the ex-kings son and is mourning for him. This is a fine example of how Shakespeare is artistic in his writing. Another example of Shakespeare’s fine writing is that in many of his playwrights, he includes corruption of some kind. In Hamlet, the King is murdered by his brother, so that he can be the new King. The ghost of King Hamlet comes back to tell Hamlet to get revenge. Hamlet hasn’t decided what to do until, the quote, â€Å"To be, or not to be, that is the question.† In this quote he is asking himself what he shall do. Should he forget about the revenge and be miserable for the rest of his time, or should he take an act of revenge and avenge his fathers’ death? The quote, â€Å"To be, or not to be, that is the question,† is one of Shakespeare’s most famous quotes. That is a prime example of how a short quote can say so much. William Shakespeare’s Hamlet has a scene where a play is done in front of the King and Queen. Hamlet designed the play to reconstruct how King Hamlet died. He did this to see King Claudius’s reaction. When asked what the play was called, Hamlet replied, â€Å"The Mouse Trap†¦This play is in the image of... Free Essays on Why Is He So Good Free Essays on Why Is He So Good I have always been curious as to how some of William Shakespeare’ s playwrights such as Hamlet have stood the test of time. Clearly there must be a reason for this. Hamlet is a story of appearance versus reality. Why is it one of the best pieces of literature today? Why and how has it stood the test of time? It must be his way of writing. The most likely reason Shakespeare’s Hamlet has stood the test of time is because of its great artistic writing. In Shakespeare’s writing, he twists his words. Some of his lines have double meanings. One of Hamlets quotes in scene two is â€Å"Not so my lord. I am too much in the sun.† â€Å"I am too much in the sun.† What does this really mean? In this situation, Hamlet is replying back to his Uncle that he is in the spotlight right now, and also that he is the ex-kings son and is mourning for him. This is a fine example of how Shakespeare is artistic in his writing. Another example of Shakespeare’s fine writing is that in many of his playwrights, he includes corruption of some kind. In Hamlet, the King is murdered by his brother, so that he can be the new King. The ghost of King Hamlet comes back to tell Hamlet to get revenge. Hamlet hasn’t decided what to do until, the quote, â€Å"To be, or not to be, that is the question.† In this quote he is asking himself what he shall do. Should he forget about the revenge and be miserable for the rest of his time, or should he take an act of revenge and avenge his fathers’ death? The quote, â€Å"To be, or not to be, that is the question,† is one of Shakespeare’s most famous quotes. That is a prime example of how a short quote can say so much. William Shakespeare’s Hamlet has a scene where a play is done in front of the King and Queen. Hamlet designed the play to reconstruct how King Hamlet died. He did this to see King Claudius’s reaction. When asked what the play was called, Hamlet replied, â€Å"The Mouse Trap†¦This play is in the image of...

Market Analysis for Skating Service Park Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Market Analysis for Skating Service Park - Essay Example The first problem is to conduct the research so that we can get as much of information as we could, we should do park intercepts and we can ask people numerous of questions regarding their outing, we can also find young boys and girls and also men aging from 10 to 35 in so many places such as markets, malls, and also the other skate board parks in Houston which are nearly thirty, we can provide them with questionnaires and ask their advice on their level of liking or disliking the idea of a new park. The research should be conducted through a proper questionnaire and the target audience or the respondents should be majority of males looking young and energetic and also people who are quite fit because the service would be used mostly by people who are fit, for the purpose of conducing research the best possible solution is to look for people in the near by parks such as parks in Bellaire and other areas, the other places would be malls and entertainment places such as game zones, and also the people on road skating can be questioned, the service is having few qualities and strengths that should be clearly mentioned in the questionnaire and also the questionnaire should not be prepared in a way that can give the audience a hint for the desired answer, there are also few things that should be noted without questioning them in the question paper such as the gender and area where the research is conducted or park name can also be used to identify the responses from people of that pa rticular park, it has been said by Bassett in 1992, "Service must be found at or near the customer. Decentralization is indispensable. Corner grocery stores, once a feature of every city, are returning in the form of "convenience" stores. Personal Service from hairdressers or barbers has always been dispersed into local neighborhoods"(p. 28). and also the ratio of research from male to female should be 70 to 30 respectively, because we have more to find out in the male users which are far more than female in the service offered. Questionnaire What's your age group a. 8 - 14 b. 15 - 21 c. 22 - 28 d. 29 - 35 Do you like skating a. Yes b. No (proceed if Yes) Where do you like to skate a. Parks b. Roads c. other Which is your current park for skating _____________ Which area can you reach easily for skating ____________ What do you think about the services the park (for skating) is providing you a. Excellent

Network Security and Its Business Impact Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Network Security and Its Business Impact - Essay Example Securing and stabilizing the network ensures the confidentiality of data and effects positively towards the productivity and functionality of a business. Providing secure information technology (IT) services to colleges and universities is a special and unique challenge. Unfettered and timely access to all enormous quanti ­ties of information is higher education’s life ­blood and is a key to its success in educating its students and generating new ideas and know-how. The situation becomes more challenging when a new technology is added and integrated into the existing setup and same or advanced level of accessibility and protection is expected. Thus, the need of the hour is to identify the security loopholes and develop security policies especially for environments where the wired and wireless networks co-exist. 3 Situation Overview: The research is set in MajanCollege in the context of improvising the security of the college network after adding the wireless network (Wire less LAN) with the existing wired network (Local LAN). 4 Presenting the Problem Definition: The problem for the Network administrators is focused on understanding that the security needs to be strengthened when a wireless network is added to the wired network. 5 Real World Target: The major benefit in the real world if the problem is resolved or partially resolved is that the network administrators would confidently revise the security policies every time a wireless network is added to their network rather than continuing with the existing policies for the wired network and not being susceptible to security breaches saving the confidentiality of the data which is an asset to business. 6 What is Security? Computer security is a complex of actions and activities aimed at creating... This study declares that providing secure information technology (IT) services to colleges and universities is a special and unique challenge. Unfettered and timely access to all enormous quanti ­ties of information is higher education’s life ­blood and is a key to its success in educating its students and generating new ideas and know-how. The situation becomes more challenging when a new technology is added and integrated into the existing setup and same or advanced level of accessibility and protection is expected.   Thus, the need of the hour is to identify the security loopholes and develop security policies especially for environments where the wired and wireless networks co-exist.  As the discussion stresses the major benefit in the real world if the problem is resolved or partially resolved is that the network administrators would confidently revise the security policies every time a wireless network is added to their network rather than continuing with the exi sting policies for the wired network and not being susceptible to security breaches saving the confidentiality of the data which is an asset to business.  The importance strategically of this work is that the integrated network security for wired and wireless network will help the college in securing valuable data, improving network systems performance, protecting networks from internal and external threats, to enable higher availability and accessibility to the network.

Illegal Pay Discrimination, Bad Pay Policy, or Both Essay

Illegal Pay Discrimination, Bad Pay Policy, or Both - Essay Example However, his salary was $10,000 more than the female associate. Moreover, the other two counselors that were hired had no experience in counseling, and their salary is similar to the female associate. In my opinion, Charles M. Cummings is correct in believing that employees do enjoy having their achievements acknowledged by others, especially their supervisors and peers. Employees gain a sense of accomplishment and belonging when their achievements and successes are acknowledged. They are more successfully driven and motivated when they feel that they are contributing to the company or organization as a whole. Alfie Kohn believes that incentives do not motivate employees to perform their best for the long-term, only short-term. He believes that, when employees feel they will gain incentives for their performance, they will only improve their performance for a short while. Their performance will, eventually, drift back to its same, previous status. On the other hand, there are situations in which Kohn's theory of employees' performance does prove to be true. For example, working in a call center, the job is customer-service, whether the calls are in-bound or out-bound. In this particular situation, the calls are in-bound, meaning that customers call into the call center for help. Answering theAnswering the calls and helping customers with their problems, repeatedly, can become very tiresome. As a result, call centers usually offer their employees incentives for performing their job well, though the boost in the employees' performance will, most of the time, only last long enough to gain the incentive. Call centers also offer their employees incentives to find other people to come and be employees as well, and, more often than not, the performance cycle repeats itself. In conclusion, Charles M. Cummings believes that employees are encouraged when others acknowledge their successes, and this is true. However, there are instances when the theory of Alfie Kohn will be acceptable such as the situation with the call centers. Incentives can motivate employees to be more successful at their job, but the boost in performance will only be short-term. 13.1 - Unionizing FedEx FedEx should be unionized, and there are several reasons for this action. The policies and economic standpoint of FedEx seems to change frequently, these days, as with other companies in the workforce. The information that weighed heaviest on my decision was the fact that, when the employees at the Antigua location of FedEx engaged in a strike, the company terminated all of its employees and closed the office.Employees should have a right to have secure employment at their place of employment. Should FedEx unionized, the employees would, at least, know that their job will not be eliminated. However, if the employees' jobs are eliminated, FedEx would be liable for compensation for their ex-employees, depending on the

The History Of Goodmorning Vietnam Film Studies Essay

The History Of Goodmorning Vietnam Film Studies Essay Goooooooodmorning Vietnam! Ive seen the movie Good Morning Vietnam for my movie review. Good Morning Vietnam is a 1987 American comedy-drama. The film is written by Mitch Markowitz and directed by Barry Levinson. The film is set in Saigon during the Vietnam War. The movie is about a disc jockey, Adrian Cronauer (Robin Williams), who works at Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS). This radio station appears hugely popular by the soldiers serving in South Vietnam. Adrians outrageous parodies and his rock music makes him popular, but hated by his immediate superiors. I think its a very nice film to see. and Ive seen the movie with a lot of pleasure. The movie Goodmorning Vietnam is filmed during the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War took place during the Cold War. The movie is set during the Vietnam war. We speak of the Cold War in the period from the second half of the 20th century. The Vietnam War occurred in the countries Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, from November 1 1955 to the fall of Saigon that took place on April 30 1975. This war was the First Indochina war. It was the North Vietnam, who were supported by the communist against the government South Vietnam, who were supported by the United States and other anti-communist nations. The Viet Cong were the army of the Communist, who were placed in South Vietnam. The Vietnam war was largely a guerrilla war. Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. He is born at July 21, 1951. With his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy and later with his stand-up comedy work, he became a famous actor. Williams has performed in al lot of films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film Good Will Hunting. Good morning Vietnam was a very important film in his career, because the most of his outrageous parodies were improvised by himself on the spot. In 1965, Airman Cronauer arrives in Saigon, during the Vietnam War, to work as a DJ for the Armed Forces Radio Service. Cronauers disrespectful behaviour contrasts with a lot off staff members and by his behaviour and other means of presentation, has he soon a conflict with his superiors. These superiors are Second Lieutenant Steven Hauk and Sergeant Major Dickerson. Hauk complies with rigorous Army guidelines in the field of sense of humor and music programming, while Dickerson is irritated by the behavior of Cronauers, but there are people who like Cronauers behaviour like Brigadier General Taylor and all the other DJs like the new man and his kind of humour more and more. Cronauers show consist of unpredictable humour mixed with news updates and rock and roll music that are hated by his superiors. Cronauer meets Trinh a Vietnamese girl. He followed her to her English class. The teacher let him take over the class. When the class ended, Cronauer tries to make contact with Trinh, but her older brother Taun stopped him, who tells Cronauer to leave her alone. Instead, Cronauer befriends with Taun and takes him to Jimmy Wahs, the local bar. Two older soldiers started a fight with the group that escalates into a big scenario. Dickerson states Cronauer responsible for this accident. Tuan is impressed of the DJs behaviour, so he arranged a date with Trinh, with the rest of the family, who chaperoning them. The news in Saigon is censored, but Cronauer locked the door of the studio and broadcasted it anyway. Dickerson ended the radio signal. Hauk replaces Cronauer, but his bad attempts at comedy and plays polka music rather than rock and roll, induce to a lot of letters and phone calls from soldiers who demand that Hauk must be removed and that Cronauer must be put back on the air. Cronauer can come back on the air, but he refuses to go back to work. During a traffic jam, Garlick and Cronauer are by a convey of soldiers. The soldiers persuade him to do an improvisation for them and he gives them a good laugh before they go off to fight in the field. It reminds Cronauer why his job is so important during the war and he is going back to work. Dickerson made up a conspiracy to blow up Cronauer by sending him to interview soldiers in the field, while Dickerson knows that the only road into this specific area is controlled by the Viet Cong. Cronauer doesnt show up by his English class and Tuan steals a car and drives off after them. Tuan finds them, but the car breaks down and they must stopped an Army helicopter that take them back to Saigon. At the station Dickerson tells Cronauer that his friend Tuan actually Phan Duc To is, a Viet Cong operative responsible for several bombing. He will be killed by the Army when they catch him. US Armed Forces members being friend with a Vietcong could be a serious problem for the United States Army. When Cronauer the next day on his way is to the airport, he sets up a softball game with the students from his English class. Garlick, who takes Cronauers place as DJ, plays a tape on the air the next morning after Cronauer is gone. The tape begins with a yell of Gooooooooooooodbye, Vietnam!. What spoken to me about the movie is that its based on a true story. There actually has been an Adrian Cronauer that broadcasted a radio show during the Vietnam War. His popularity and sense of humour werent exaggerated in the movie. I can imagine how important this show must have been for the American soldiers. Cronauer was their form of relaxation and amusement in the Vietnam War. I was also very impressed about the way Adrian (Robbin Williams) broadcasted his radio show. His sense of humour and quick reactions to the situation were amazing! This makes me appreciate Robbin Williams as an actor because of the fact that most of the radio scenes of the movie were totally improvised on the spot. I think the movie was also good because there was a deeper meaning in their description, in my opinion. This deeper meaning was in my opinion that Adrian found out that he was very important for the soldiers. I think that the radio during the Vietnam war very important was for the soldiers in t hat time, because it was the only thing were a bit of happiness took places.

government-controlled investment :: essays research papers

Some argue that personal retirement accounts would be a mistake and that the government instead should set up its own investment fund to help finance future benefit payments. The good news is that this indicates a growing awareness that  ¡Ã‚ °pre-funding ¡Ã‚ ± (i.e., accumulating assets) is a necessary component of Social Security reform. The bad news, however, is that government-controlled investment is the wrong answer to the wrong question. It assumes that policymakers should focus solely on balancing the program ¡Ã‚ ¯s revenues and expenditures. This ignores the other Social Security crisis ¡Ã‚ ªthe fact that the tax burden on today ¡Ã‚ ¯s workers is extraordinarily high compared to the benefits received (often referred to as the rate-of-return crisis). But even if balancing Social Security ¡Ã‚ ¯s long-term finances were the only goal, government-controlled investment would be the wrong answer. This is because a government-controlled pension fund would not face the competitive pressure and legal obligation to make investments solely for the economic benefit of future retirees. As one expert has explained: Giving the federal government that power and control would create large risks for the economy and for the retirement security of today ¡Ã‚ ¯s workers. The Congressional Budget Office, for instance, has warned: For example, evidence at the state and local levels with public employee pension funds ¡Ã‚ ªas well as evidence from similar arrangements in other nations ¡Ã‚ ªdemonstrates that politicians and their appointees often are tempted to steer the government-controlled pot of money toward special interests, political allies, or corporate contributors. In addition, even well-intentioned policymakers are not qualified to invest funds and manage money. Simply stated, they do not face the bottom-line pressures that force private businesses and investors to allocate resources wisely. Yet poor investment decisions have serious consequences. Most important, workers would earn lower returns on their money, and even small differences in rates of return translate into less retirement income.

Country Analysis Report China

A Country Analysis report on â€Å"CHINA† Subject: International Business (IB) Prepared By: Devang M Dhedhi. (Enrollment No: 117040592010) M. B. A. -Semester-||| Submitted To: Mr. Amit Shah (Assistant Professor) BHAGWAN MAHAVIR COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT, SURAT MBA PROGRAMME Affiliated to Gujarat Technological University, Ahmedabad 2011-2013 INDEX SR. NO| CONTENT| PAGE NO. | 1| COUNTRY PROFILE| 1| 2| HISTORICAL BACKGROUND| 4| 3| GEOGRAPHY| 6| 4| SOCIETY| 11| 5| GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS| 18| 6| ECONOMY| 25| 7| INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS| 38| 8| TRANSPORTATION AND TELECOMMUNICATION| 41| 9| SUMMARY| 49| 1. COUNTRYFormal Name: People’s Republic of China (Zhonghua Renmin Gonghe Guo — ). Short Form: China (Zhongguo — ). Term for Citizen(s): Chinese (singular and plural) (Huaren — ). Capital: Beijing (Northern Capital — ). Area: 9,956,960 sq km (3. 7m sq miles) Population: 1. 3 bn People: Han Chinese make up around 92% of the population. The remaining 8% i s comprised of  five minority ethnic groups. Official Language: Mandarin (Putonghua) with many local dialects. Religion(s): China is officially atheistic, but there are  five State-Registered religions: Daoism, Buddhism, Islam, Catholic and Protestant Christianity.Currency: Yuan or Renminbi (RMB) Major political parties: Chinese Communist Party Government: There are  major hierarchies in China: the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the National People's Congress (China's legislature), the government and the military. The supreme decision-making body in China is the CCP Politburo and its 9-member Standing Committee, which acts as a kind of ‘inner cabinet', and is headed by the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party. The National People's Congress (NPC) is China's legislative body. It has a 5-year membership and meets once a year in plenary session.However, in practice it is the CCP who takes all key decisions. Head of State and General Secretary of the CCP: Preside nt Hu Jintao Chairman of the Standing Committee of the NPC: Wu Bangguo Premier of the State Council: Wen Jiabao State Councillor (Foreign Affairs): Dai Bingguo Foreign Minister: Yang Jiechi Membership of international groups/organisations: United Nations (including permanent membership of the UN Security Council), ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF); Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC); Asian Development Bank (ADB); Shanghai Cooperation Organisation; World Trade Organisation (WTO).Major Cities: Based on 2000 census data, the largest cities are the four centrally administered municipalities, which include dense urban areas, suburbs, and large rural areas: Chongqing (30. 5 million), Shanghai (16. 4 million), Beijing (13. 5 million), and Tianjin (9. 8 million). Other major cities are Wuhan (5. 1 million), Shenyang (4. 8 million), Guangzhou (3. 8 million), Chengdu (3. 2 million), Xi’an (3. 1 million), and Changchun (3 million). China has 12 other cities with populations of betw een 2 million and 2. 9 million and 20 or more other cities with populations of more than 1 million persons.Independence: The outbreak of revolution on October 10, 1911, signaled the collapse of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911), which was formally replaced by the government of the Republic of China on February 12, 1912. The People’s Republic of China was officially established on October 1, 1949, replacing the Republic of China government on mainland China. Public Holidays: The official national holidays are New Year’s Day (January 1); Spring Festival or Lunar New Year (movable dates—three days—in January and February), Labor Day (May 1), and National Day (two-day observance on October 1–2).Also commemorated are International Women’s Day (March 8), Youth Day (May 4), Children’s Day (June 1), Chinese Communist Party Founding Day (July 1), Army Day (August 1), and Teachers’ Day (September 10). Flag: The flag of China is red wit h a large yellow five-pointed star and four smaller yellow five-pointed stars (arranged in a vertical arc toward the middle of the flag) in the upper hoist-side corner. The color red symbolizes the spirit of the revolution, and the five stars signify the unity of the people of China under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party.The flag was officially unveiled in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on October 1, 1949, the formal announcement of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. 2. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The Chinese imperial system came to an end in 1911. The Qing (Manchu) dynasty was overthrown and China was proclaimed a republic, partly through the efforts of revolutionaries such as Sun Yat-sen. The country then entered a period of warlordism. In 1927 the Nationalist Party or ‘Kuomintang' (KMT), under its leader Chiang Kai-shek, established a central government in Nanjing. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was founded in 1921.It broke with the KMT and was forced to flee into the interior in the Long March in 1934/35. Both KMT and CCP forces opposed Japan during World War Two but a civil war broke out from 1945-1949. CCP forces under Mao Zedong routed their KMT opponents. In 1949 Mao announced the establishment of the People's Republic of China. The government of the then Republic of China under President Chiang Kai-shek fled to Taiwan, together with approximately 2 million supporters. The period between 1949 and Mao's death in 1976 was characterised by an ambitious political and economic restructuring programme.This involved the collectivisation of industry, the establishment of communes and the redistribution of land. The Cultural Revolution from 1966-1976 brought enormous upheaval in the political system. Mao had to rely on the armed forces to maintain order and exercise control. Recent History In December 1978 the CCP, inspired by Deng Xiaoping, launched a wide-ranging programme of economic and social reform. This sought to mo dernise the economy, develop China's external relations (the ‘open door policy') – especially with the West, and implement a gradual and limited liberalisation of Chinese society.This period of ‘reform and opening up' since 1978 is expected to be widely commemorated in China this autumn as the basis of its current economic success and these commemorations may also be used as the platform for further policy reforms. There are no details at this point, but there is much speculation that rural land ownership reform may be prominent. Political opposition to the more liberal reforms forced periods of retrenchment. In June 1989, following the brutal suppression of pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing, political control swung firmly into the hands of conservative elements within the CCP.The Chinese government labelled the demonstrations a ‘counter-revolutionary rebellion' and clamped down on dissent. Prominent dissidents fled the country or went into hiding. Many activists were arrested. Party General Secretary Zhao Ziyang was replaced by Jiang Zemin, former Mayor and Party Secretary of Shanghai. Jiang was appointed to the additional post of State President in March 1993. Jiang continued the policies of Deng Xiaoping, prioritising economic growth, particularly in China's coastal provinces. Jiang retired as President in March 2003.Hu Jintao was named President and Wen Jiabao became Premier. Wu Bangguo replaced Li Peng as NPC Chairman. The leadership transition was completed in September 2004 with Jiang retiring from the Chairmanship of the Central Military Commission (CMC). Hu assumed the post of CMC Chairman to add to his roles as State President and Party General Secretary. 3. GEOGRAPHY Location: Usually described as part of East Asia, China is south of Mongolia and the Siberian land mass, west of the Korean Peninsula and insular Japan, north of Southeast Asia, and east of Central and South Asia.Size: China has a total area of nearly 9,596 ,960 square kilometers. Included in this total are 9,326,410 square kilometers of land and 270,550 square kilometers of inland lakes and rivers. From east to west, the distance is about 5,000 kilometers from the Heilong Jiang (Amur River) to the Pamir Mountains in Central Asia; from north to south, the distance is approximately 4,050 kilometers from Heilongjiang Province to Hainan Province in the south and another 1,450 kilometers farther south to Zengmu Shoal, a territorial claim off the north coast of Malaysia.Land Boundaries: China has a total of 22,117 kilometers of land boundaries with 14 other nations. These borders include: Afghanistan (76 kilometers), Bhutan (470 kilometers), Burma (2,185 kilometers), India (3,380 kilometers), Kazakhstan (1,533 kilometers), North Korea (1,416 kilometers), Kyrgyzstan (858 kilometers), Laos (423 kilometers), Mongolia (4,677 kilometers), Nepal (1,236 kilometers), Pakistan (523 kilometers), Russia (4,300 kilometers), Tajikistan (414 kilometers), and Vietnam (1,281 kilometers). Length of Coastline:China’s coastline extends 14,500 kilometers from the border with North Korea in the north to Vietnam in the south. China’s coasts are on the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea. Maritime Claims: China claims a 12-nautical-mile territorial sea, a 24-nautical-mile contiguous zone, a 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, and a 200-nautical-mile continental shelf or the distance to the edge of the continental shelf. Boundary Disputes: China is involved in a complex dispute with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei over the Spratly (Nansha) Islands in the South China Sea.The 2002 â€Å"Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea† eased tensions but fell short of a legally binding code of conduct desired by several of the disputants. China also occupies the Paracel (Xisha) Islands, which are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan, and asserts a claim to the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Tai) in the Pacific Ocean. Most of the mountainous and militarized boundary with India is in dispute, but Beijing and New Delhi have committed to begin resolution with discussions on the least disputed middle sector.China’s de facto administration of the Aksai Chin section of Kashmir (which is disputed by India and Pakistan) is the subject of a dispute between China and India. India does not recognize Pakistan’s ceding lands to China in a 1964 boundary agreement. In October 2004, China signed an agreement with Russia on the delimitation of their entire 4,300-kilometer-long border, which had long been in dispute. Topography: Mountains cover 33 percent of China’s landmass, plateaus 26 percent, basins 19 percent, plains 12 percent, and hills 10 percent.Thus, 69 percent of China’s land is mountains, hills, and highlands. China has five main mountain ranges, and seven of its mountain peaks are higher than 8,00 0 meters above sea level. The main topographic features include the Qingzang (Qinghai-Tibet) Plateau at 4,000 meters above sea level and the Kunlun, Qin Ling, and Greater Hinggan ranges. In the Himalaya Mountains, the world’s highest, are Mount Everest (known in China as Qomolangma) at 8,844. 4 meters (based on new official measurements) and K–2 at 8,611 meters, shared with Nepal and Pakistan, respectively.The lowest inland point in China—the second lowest place in the world after the Dead Sea—is at Turpan Pendi, 140 kilometers southeast of Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, at 154 meters below sea level. With temperatures that have reached 49. 6 C, it also ranks as one the hottest places in China. Principal Rivers: China has 50,000 rivers totaling some 420,000 kilometers in length and each having a catchment area of more than 100 square kilometers. Some 1,500 of these rivers each have catchment areas exceeding 1,000 square kilometer s. Most rivers flow from west to east and empty into the Pacific Ocean.The Yangzi (Changjiang or Yangzte River), which rises in Tibet, flows through Central China, and, having traveled 6,300 kilometers, enters the Yellow Sea near Shanghai. The Yangzi has a catchment area of 1. 8 million square kilometers and is the third longest river in the world after the Amazon and the Nile. The second longest river in China is the Huanghe (Yellow River), which also rises in Tibet and travels circuitously for 5,464 kilometers through North China before reaching the Bo Hai Gulf on the north coast of Shangdong Province. It has a catchment area of 752,000 square kilometers.The Heilongjiang (Heilong or Black Dragon River) flows for 3,101 kilometers in Northeast China and an additional 1,249 in Russia, where it is known as the Amur. The longest river in South China is the Zhujiang (Pearl River), which is 2,214 kilometers long. Along with its three tributaries, the Xi, Dong, and Bei—West, East, and North—rivers, it forms the rich Zhujiang Delta near Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Macau, and Hong Kong. Other major rivers are the Liaohe in the northeast, Haihe in the north, Qiantang in the east, and Lancang in the southwest. Climate: Most of the country is in the northern temperate zone.There are complex climatic patterns ranging from the cold-temperate north to the tropical south, with subarctic-like temperatures in the Himalaya Mountains, resulting in a temperature difference of some 400 C from north to south. Temperatures range from –300 C in the north in January to 280 C in the south in July. Annual precipitation varies significantly from region to region, with a high of 1,500 millimeters annually along the southeastern coast and a low of fewer than 50 millimeters in the northwest. There is an alternating wet monsoon in the summer and a dry monsoon in winter.North China and southward are affected by the seasonal cold, dry winds from Siberia and the Mongolia Plateau bet ween September/October and March/April. Summer monsoon winds bring warm and wet currents into South China and northward. Natural Resources: China has substantial mineral reserves and is the world’s largest producer of antimony, natural graphite, tungsten, and zinc. Other major minerals are bauxite, coal, crude petroleum, diamonds, gold, iron ore, lead, magnetite, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, natural gas, phosphate rock, tin, uranium, and vanadium.With its vast mountain ranges, China’s hydropower potential is the largest in the world. Land Use: Based on 2005 estimates, 14. 86 percent (about 1. 4 million square kilometers) of China’s land is arable. About 1. 3 percent (some 116,580 square kilometers) is planted to permanent crops. With comparatively little land planted to permanent crops, intensive agricultural techniques are used to reap harvests that are sufficient to feed the world’s largest population and still have surplus for export.An estimated 54 4,784 square kilometers of land were irrigated in 2004. Environmental Factors: The major current environmental issues in China are air pollution (greenhouse gases and sulfur dioxide particulates) from overreliance on coal, which produces acid rain; water shortages, particularly in the north; water pollution from untreated wastes; deforestation; an estimated loss of 20 percent of agricultural land since 1949 to soil erosion and economic development; desertification; and illegal trade in endangered species.Deforestation has been a major contributor to China’s most significant natural disaster: flooding. In 1998 some 3,656 people died and 230 million people were affected by flooding. China’s national carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are among the highest in the world and increasing annually. The CO2 emissions in 1991 were estimated at 2. 4 billion tons; by 2000 that level, according to United Nations (UN) statistics, had increased by 16 percent to nearly 2. 8 billion tons. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), between 1990 and 2002 the increase was closer to 45 percent.These amounts cited by the UN are more than double those of India and Japan but still less than half those of the United States (comparable figures for Russia are unavailable but estimated at probably half the level of China’s). China’s ozone depleting potential also is high but was decreasing in the early twenty-first century. The CO2 emissions are mostly produced by coal-burning energy plants and other coal-burning operations. Better pollution control and billion-dollar cleanup programs have helped reduced the growth rate of industrial pollution. Time Zone:Although China crosses all or part of five international time zones, it operates on a single uniform time, China Standard Time (CST; Greenwich Mean Time plus eight hours), using Beijing as the base. China does not employ a daylight savings time system. 4. SOCIETY Population: China officially recognized th e birth of its 1. 3 billionth citizen (not counting Hong Kong, Macau, or Taiwan) on January 5, 2005. U. S. Government sources put the population at an estimated 1,313,973,713 in July 2006. The annual population growth rate was estimated at 0. 59 percent (2006 estimate).The nation’s overall population density was 135 persons per square kilometer in 2003. The most densely populated provinces are in the east: Jiangsu (712 persons per square kilometer), Shangdong (587 persons per square kilometer), and Henan (546 persons per square kilometer). Shanghai was the most densely populated municipality at 2,646 persons per square kilometer. The least densely populated areas are in the west, with Tibet having the lowest density at only 2 persons per square kilometer. Sixty-two percent of the population lived in rural areas in 2004, while 38 percent lived in urban settings.About 94 percent of population lives on approximately 46 percent of land. Based on 2000 census data, the provinces wi th the largest populations were Henan (91. 2 million), Shandong (89. 9 million), Sichuan (82. 3 million, not including Chongqing municipality, which was formerly part of Sichuan Province), and Guangdong (85. 2 million). The smallest were Qinghai (4. 8 million) and Tibet (2. 6 million). In the long term, China faces increasing urbanization; according to predictions, nearly 70 percent of the population will live in urban areas by 2035. Demography:China has been the world’s most populous nation for many centuries. When China took its first post-1949 census in 1953, the population stood at 582 million; by the fifth census in 2000, the population had almost doubled, reaching 1. 2 billion. China’s fast-growing population was a major policy matter for its leaders in the mid-twentieth century, so that in the early 1970s, the government implemented a stringent one-child birth-control policy. As a result of that policy, China successfully achieved its goal of a more stable and m uch-reduced fertility rate; in 1971 women had an average of 5. children versus an estimated 1. 7 children in 2004. Nevertheless, the population continues to grow, and people want more children. There is also a serious gender imbalance. Census data obtained in 2000 revealed that 119 boys were born for every 100 girls, and among China’s â€Å"floating population† (see Migration below) the ratio was as high as 128:100. These situations led Beijing in July 2004 to ban selective abortions of female fetuses. Additionally, life expectancy has soared, and China now has an increasingly aging population; it is projected that 11. percent of the population in 2020 will be 65 years of age and older. Based on 2006 estimates, China’s age structure is 0–14 years of age—20. 8 percent; 15–64 years—71. 4 percent, and 65 years and older—7. 7 percent. Estimates made in 2006 indicate a birthrate of nearly 13. 3 births per 1,000 and a death rate of 6 . 9 per 1,000. In 2006 life expectancy at birth was estimated at 74. 5 years for women and 70. 9 for men, or 72. 6 years overall. The infant mortality rate was estimated at 23. 1 per 1,000 live births overall (25. 9 per 1,000 for females and 20. for males). Migration: In 2006 it was estimated that China was experiencing a –0. 39 per 1,000 population net migration rate. Of major concern in China is its growing â€Å"floating population† (liudong renkou ), a large number of people moving from the countryside to the city, from developed economic areas to underdeveloped areas, and from the central and western regions to the eastern coastal region, as a result of fast-paced reform-era economic development and modern agricultural practices that have reduced the need for a large agricultural labor force.Although residency requirements have been relaxed to a degree, the floating population is not officially permitted to reside permanently in the receiving towns and cities. As early as 1994, it was estimated that China had a surplus of approximately 200 million agricultural workers, and the number was expected to increase to 300 million in the early twenty-first century and to expand even further into the long-term future. It was reported in 2005 that the floating population had increased from 70 million in 1993 to 140 million in 2003, thus exceeding 10 percent of the national population and accounting for 30 percent of all rural laborers.According to the 2000 national census, population flow inside a province accounted for 65 percent of the total while that crossing provincial boundaries accounted for 35 percent. Young and middle-aged people account for the vast majority of this floating population; those between 15 and 35 years of age account for more than 70 percent. Other migration issues include the more than 2,000 Tibetans who cross into Nepal annually, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).The government tries to pr event this out-migration from occurring and has pressured Nepalese authorities to repatriate illegal border-crossing Tibetans. Another activity viewed as illegal is the influx of North Koreans into northeastern China. Some 1,850 North Koreans fled their country in 2004, but China views them as illegal economic migrants rather than refugees and sends many of them back. Some of those who succeed in reaching sanctuary in foreign diplomatic compounds or international schools have been allowed to depart for South Korea. Ethnic Groups:Besides the majority Han Chinese, China recognizes 55 other nationality or ethnic groups, numbering about 105 million persons, mostly concentrated in the northwest, north, northeast, south, and southwest but with some in central interior areas. Based on the 2000 census, some 91. 5 percent of the population was classified as Han Chinese (1. 1 billion). The other major minority ethnic groups were Zhuang (16. 1 million), Manchu (10. 6 million), Hui (9. 8 millio n), Miao (8. 9 million), Uygur (8. 3 million), Tujia (8 million), Yi (7. 7 million), Mongol (5. 8 million), Tibetan (5. million), Bouyei (2. 9 million), Dong (2. 9 million), Yao (2. 6 million), Korean (1. 9 million), Bai (1. 8 million), Hani (1. 4 million), Kazakh (1. 2 million), Li (1. 2 million), and Dai (1. 1 million). Classifications are often based on self-identification, and it is sometimes and in some locations advantageous for political or economic reasons to identify with one group over another. All nationalities in China are equal according to the law. Official sources maintain that the state protects their lawful rights and interests and promotes equality, unity, and mutual help among them.Languages: The official language of China is standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, which means standard speech, based on the Beijing dialect). Other major dialects are Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, and Hakka (Kejia). Becau se of the many ethnic groups in China, numerous minority languages also are spoken. All of the Chinese dialects share a common written form that has evolved and been standardized during two millennia and serves as a unifying bond amongst the Han Chinese.The government has aggressively developed both shorthand Chinese and Pinyin (phonetic spelling) as ways to increase literacy and transliterate Chinese names. The Pinyin system was introduced in 1958 and was approved by the State Council in 1978 as the standard system for the romanization of Chinese personal and geographic names. In 2000 the Hanyu (Han language) Pinyin phonetic alphabet was written into law as the unified standard for spelling and phonetic notation of the national language. Religion: The traditional religions of China are Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism.Confucianism is not a religion, although some have tried to imbue it with rituals and religious qualities, but rather a philosophy and system of ethical conduct tha t since the fifth century B. C. has guided China’s society. Kong Fuzi (Confucius in Latinized form) is honored in China as a great sage of antiquity whose writings promoted peace and harmony and good morals in family life and society in general. Ritualized reverence for one’s ancestors, sometimes referred to as ancestor worship, has been a tradition in China since at least the Shang Dynasty (1750–1040 B. C. ).Estimates of the number of adherents to various beliefs are difficult to establish; as a percentage of the population, institutionalized religions, such as Christianity and Islam, represent only about 4 percent and 2 percent of the population, respectively. In 2005 the Chinese government acknowledged that there were an estimated 100 million adherents to various sects of Buddhism and some 9,500 and 16,000 temples and monasteries, many maintained as cultural landmarks and tourist attractions. The Buddhist Association of China was established in 1953 to overse e officially sanctioned Buddhist activities.In 1998 there reportedly were 600 Daoist temples and an unknown number of adherents in China. According to the U. S. Department of State in 2005, approximately 8 percent of the population is Buddhist, approximately 1. 5 percent is Muslim, an estimated 0. 4 percent belongs to the government-sponsored â€Å"patriotic† Catholic Church, an estimated 0. 4 to 0. 6 percent belongs to the unofficial Vatican-affiliated Roman Catholic Church, and an estimated 1. 2 to 1. 5 percent is registered as Protestant. However, both Protestants and Catholics also have large underground communities, possibly numbering as many as 90 million.Chinese government figures from 2004 estimate 20 million adherents of Islam in China, but unofficial estimates suggest a much higher total. Most adherents of Islam are members of the Uygur and Hui nationality people. The Falun Dafa (Wheel of Law, also called Falun Gong) quasi-religious movement based on traditional Chi nese qigong (deep-breathing exercises) and Daoist and Buddhist practices and beliefs was established in 1992 and claimed 70 million to 100 million practitioners in China in the late 1990s.Because of its perceived antigovernment activities, Falun Gong was outlawed in China in April 1999, and reportedly tens of thousands of its practitioners were arrested and sentenced to â€Å"reeducation through labor† or incarcerated in mental hospitals. The constitution grants citizens of the People’s Republic of China the freedom of religious belief and maintains that the state â€Å"protects normal religious activities,† but that no one â€Å"may make use of religion to engage in activities that disrupt public order, impair the health of citizens or interfere with the educational system of the state. † Education and Literacy:Education in China is the responsibility of the Ministry of Education. The population has had on average only 6. 2 years of schooling, but in 198 6 the goal of nine years of compulsory education by 2000 was established. The education system provides free primary education for five years, starting at age seven, followed by five years of secondary education for ages 12 to 17. At this level, there are three years of middle school and two years of high school. The Ministry of Education reports a 99 percent attendance rate for primary school and an 80 percent rate for both primary and middle schools.Since free higher education was abolished in 1985, applicants to colleges and universities compete for scholarships based on academic ability. Private schools have been allowed since the early 1980s. The United Nations Development Program reported that in 2003 China had 116,390 kindergartens with 613,000 teachers and 20 million students. At that time, there were 425,846 primary schools with 5. 7 million teachers and 116. 8 million students. General secondary education had 79,490 institutions, 4. 5 million teachers, and 85. 8 million st udents. There also were 3,065 specialized secondary schools with 199,000 teachers and 5 million students.Among these specialized institutions were 6,843 agricultural and vocational schools with 289,000 teachers and 5. 2 million students and 1,551 special schools with 30,000 teachers and 365,000 students. In 2003 China supported 1,552 institutions of higher learning (colleges and universities) and their 725,000 professors and 11 million students. While there is intense competition for admission to China’s colleges and universities among college entrants, Beijing and Qinghua universities and more than 100 other key universities are the most sought after.The literacy rate in China is 90. 9 percent, based on 2002 estimates. Health: Indicators of the status of China’s health sector can be found in the nation’s fertility rate of 1. 8 children per woman (a 2005 estimate) and an under-five-years-of-age mortality rate of 37 per 1,000 live births (a 2003 estimate). In 200 2 China had nearly 1. 7 physicians per 1,000 persons and about 2. 4 beds per 1,000 persons in 2000. Health expenditures on a purchasing parity power (PPP) basis were US$224 per capita in 2001, or 5. 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Some 37. percent of public expenditures were devoted to health care in China in 2001. However, about 80 percent of the health and medical care services are concentrated in cities, and timely medical care is not available to more than 100 million people in rural areas. To offset this imbalance, in 2005 China set out a five-year plan to invest 20 billion renminbi (RMB; US$2. 4 billion) to rebuild the rural medical service system composed of village clinics and township- and county-level hospitals. In 2004 health officials announced that China had some 120 million hepatitis B virus carriers.Although not identified until later, China’s first case of a new, highly contagious disease, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), occurred in Guangd ong in November 2002, and within three months the Ministry of Health reported 300 SARS cases and five deaths in the province. By May 2003, some 8,000 cases of SARS had been reported worldwide; about 66 percent of the cases and 349 deaths occurred in China alone. By early summer 2003, the SARS epidemic had ceased. A vaccine was developed and first-round testing on human volunteers completed in 2004.China, similar to other nations with migrant and socially mobile populations, has experienced increased incidences of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). Based on 2003 estimates, China is believed to have a 0. 1 percent adult prevalence rate for HIV/AIDS, one of the lowest rates in the world and especially in Asia. However, because of China’s large population, this figure converted in 2003 to some 840,000 cases (more than Russia but fewer than the United States and second in Asia to India), of whom 44,000 died. About 80 percent of those infec ted live in rural areas.In November 2004, the head of the United Nations AIDS program (UNAIDS) cited China, along with India and Russia, as being on the â€Å"tipping point† of having small, localized AIDS epidemics that could turn into major ones capable of hindering the world’s efforts to stop the spread of the disease. In 2004 the Ministry of Health reported that its annual AIDS prevention funding had increased from US$1. 8 million in 2001 to US$47. 1 by 2003 and that, whereas treatment had been restricted to a few hospitals in major cities, treatment was becoming more widely available.According to the study by the World Health Organization, China’s Ministry of Health, and UNAIDS, China had an estimated 650,000 people who were infected with HIV by the end of 2005. In the 2000–2002 period, China had one of the highest per capita caloric intakes in Asia, second only to South Korea and higher than countries such as Japan, Malaysia, and Indonesia. By 2002, 92 percent of the urban population and 68 percent of the rural population had access to an improved water supply, and 69 percent of the urban population and 29 percent of the rural population had access to improved sanitation facilities.Welfare: In pre-reform China, the socialist state fulfilled the needs of society from cradle tograve. Child care, education, job placement, housing, subsistence, health care, and elder care were largely the responsibility of the work unit as administered through state-owned enterprises and agricultural communes and collectives. As those systems disappeared or were reformed, the â€Å"iron rice bowl† approach to social security changed. Article 14 of the constitution stipulates that the state â€Å"builds and improves a social security system that corresponds with the level of economic development. In 2004 China experienced the greatest decrease in its poorest population since 1999. People with a per capita income of less than 668 renminbi (R MB;US$80. 71) decreased 2. 9 million or 10 percent; those with a per capita income of no more than 924 RMB (US$111. 64) decreased by 6. 4 million or 11. 4 percent, according to statistics from the State Council’s Poverty Reduction Office. Social security reforms since the late 1990s have included unemployment insurance, medical insurance, workers’ compensation insurance, maternity benefits, communal pension funds, and individual pension accounts. . GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS Recent Political Developments President Hu's first term was spent consolidating his position and proceeding with economic reform. But he recognised the potential for instability caused by the previous strong focus on promoting high growth as the overriding policy priority. Examples of the imbalances this has caused in society include: * wide income imbalances between rich, eastern coastal cities, and poorer inland cities * income differences between urban and rural dwellers – the average urban resident of Beijing earns around RMB 2000 a month (around ? 30), but 135 million people in China still live below the international poverty line of US$ 1 a day, and up to 500 million on US$ 2 a day * a collapse of the health insurance scheme, which means that 80% of all healthcare costs have to be paid in cash at the time of consumption * Inequalities between urban residents and migrant labourers who have moved to the cities.Unable to transfer their official place of residence, they cannot access public services, including education for their children * rampant corruption by those in public office * 87,000 incidents of mass violence which took place in 2005, often provoked by land expropriations or lay-offs from state-owned enterprises. Under the slogan of a â€Å"harmonious society†, he is therefore promoting a range of policies in the health, education, environment and other fields which will address social inequality.But these policies will not be allowed to compromise eco nomic growth and reform. The 17th Party Congress of October 2007 provided President Hu with an opportunity to put his own stamp on the ideological agenda, advance his preferred candidates to senior positions and secure a political succession consistent with that programme. Whilst the â€Å"harmonious society† remained pre-eminent, Hu's singular success was in having his theory of â€Å"scientific development† written into the Party Constitution.This means that although economic development will remain the key goal, growth will be balanced and sustainable in order to address imbalances in society between the prosperous cities and the impoverished rural hinterland. Although this will require innovation in methodology, it will also be gradual and measured, not radical. This is indicative of Hu's consensus building style, following neither those advocating continued economic reform at all costs, nor the so-called ‘new Left' who have called for more focus on social is sues.Although â€Å"democracy† was mentioned over 50 times in President Hu's speech, this was very much qualified as â€Å"democracy with Chinese characteristics† or â€Å"socialist democracy†. He alluded to novel methods to increase popular participation in politics to effect electoral reforms at grass roots levels, and even allow direct elections of Party officials in limited circumstances at local levels. Yet the driving purpose is to ensure the long term stability of one-party rule under the CCP.The senior Party hierarchy after the 17th Congress may similarly represent consensus rather than a definitive Hu Jintao ‘stamp'. We have little doubt that the President has prevailed in placing his successor(s) at the peak of the Party to assume power in 2012, although this has been done in such a way to co-opt competing interests behind his overall programme. Political Structure China has all the structures a modern democratic state would expect to have, with in theory a separation of powers between the different functions of state similar to most western democracies.But all structures are subordinate to the leadership of the CCP. * The Legislature: Key laws are passed by the National People's Congress (NPC) and its Standing Committee. The NPC has around two thousand members, and only meets in full session for a fortnight every March. Outside that time, a Standing Committee of around three hundred members carries out business. The Chairman is Wu Bangguo. Members are â€Å"elected† from Provincial and Municipal People's Congresses, who are in turn â€Å"elected† from People's Congresses below them.Only at the lowest level are members â€Å"elected† by the public, but from a very narrow slate of approved candidates. (NB see â€Å"Village elections† below). A handful of independents manage to get elected. The NPC also votes the executive into office. * The Executive: The Government is headed by Wen Jiabao, who is Premier. There are 4 Vice Premiers, 5 State Councillors, 28 Ministers, and 50 Offices, Institutions or Bureaux under the State Council or other Ministries. Between them they carry out all the functions of government, from health policy to water resources, to meteorology.Two bodies many would not expect to be part of government are Xinhua, the news agency, and the State Administration of Religious Affairs, which are directly under the State Council. * The Judiciary: there are several levels of People's Courts which hear both criminal and civil cases (though the majority of criminal cases are actually dealt with by the police as administrative cases). The People's Procuratorate acts as an investigator and public prosecutor. Officially, the courts continue to be instruments of the ‘dictatorship of the proletariat', and there is provision for political involvement in their judgements.In the next layer down from central government, China has 22 provinces; 4 municipalities directly under the central government (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing); 5 autonomous regions (Tibet, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia and Guangxi); and 2 Special Administrative Regions (Hong Kong and Macao). The full hierarchy of government is: * central government * province, municipality or autonomous region * prefecture or city * county or district * township * village (though see below). A province may contain within it autonomous counties or towns where there is a large ethnic minority population.Each layer of government will have departments similar to those of central government; a Communist Party Committee; a People's Congress; and a Political Consultative Committee. The head of government in each province is the Governor, but in practice the provincial Party Secretary is more powerful. Villages are now officially regarded as self-governing (and therefore not part of the formal government hierarchy). There are direct popular elections to village committees. They are respo nsible for providing some public services, and receive a budget from higher authorities to do so.They have no revenue-raising powers of their own. The quality of the elections varies, but they are more or less free and fair. The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (and its provincial and local off-shoots) brings together all permitted strands of political opinion and activity in China. It is not the legislature, but its main annual meeting comes just ahead of the NPC, and its views are officially fed into the NPC. Its Chairman is Jia Qinglin.Its main components are: * China's 8 political parties other than the Chinese Communist Party (known collectively as the ‘United Front'). They include the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Guomindang; the China Democratic League; and the China Democratic National Construction Association. They are small, and all accept in their constitutions the dominant pos ition of the Communist Party. * Representatives of China's â€Å"mass organisations†: the Communist Youth League, The All-China Federation of Trade Unions; the All China Women's Federation; and 50 other organisations covering everything from film artists to religious organisations.In the next layer down from central government, China claims  23 provinces (as it includes Taiwan);  4 municipalities directly under the central government (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing);  5 autonomous regions (Tibet, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia and Guangxi Zhuang); and  2 Special Administrative Regions (Hong Kong and Macao). The full hierarchy of government is: * central government * province, municipality or autonomous region * prefecture or city * county or district * township * village (though see below).A province may contain within it autonomous counties or towns where there is a large ethnic minority population. Each layer of government will have departments similar to those of central government; a People's Congress; a Political Consultative Committee (and a Communist Party Committee). The head of government in each province is the Governor, but in practice the provincial Party Secretary is more powerful. Villages are now officially regarded as theoretically self-governing (and therefore not part of the formal government hierarchy).There are direct popular elections to village committees. They are responsible for providing some public services, and receive a budget from higher authorities to do so. They have no revenue-raising powers of their own. The quality of the elections varies, but they are more or less free and fair. The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (and its provincial and local off-shoots) brings together all permitted strands of political opinion and activity in China.It is not the legislature, but its main annual meeting comes just ahead of the NPC, and its views are officially fed into the NPC. Its Chairman is Jia Qinglin. Its main components are: * China's  8 political parties other than the Chinese Communist Party (known collectively as the ‘United Front'). They include the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Guomindang; the China Democratic League; and the China Democratic National Construction Association. They are small, and all accept in their constitutions the dominant position of the Communist Party. Representatives of China's â€Å"mass organisations†: the Communist Youth League, The All-China Federation of Trade Unions; the All China Women's Federation; and  50 other organisations covering everything from film artists to religious organisations. The Party The real power in the land is the Chinese Communist Party. Founded in 1921 and now with around 70 million members, it has ruled China exclusively since 1949. Party structures Hu Jintao is General Secretary of the Communist Party. He heads the Pol itburo, which has 24 full and 1 alternate members.Nine members of the Politburo form a Politburo Standing Committee. They are the real government of China, and agree all major policies of the Party and government in the Standing Committee, using their positions elsewhere in government to implement them. Each member of the Politburo has a particular portfolio or government position, as follows (in order of precedence): Hu Jintao – President of China, Chair of the Central Military Commission Wu Bangguo – Chairman of the National People's CongressWen Jiabao – Premier Jia Qinglin – Chair of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Xi Jinping – Vice President of China Li Keqiang, Hui Liangyu, Zhang Dejiang, Wang Qishan – Vice Premiers He Guoqiang – in charge of Party discipline Li Changchun – propaganda Zhou Yongkang – law and order The Party has a number of Departments, Committees and Leading Groups to formulat e policy which often mirror government Ministries.Notable ones are: * Party Central Committee: the national Party committee, which meets once a year in the autumn, and has around 300 members   * The Central Military Commission: which is in effect the same thing as the state Central Military Commission, and therefore runs the armed forces   * The Commission for Discipline Inspection: responsible for fighting corruption among Party members   *   General Office and Central Bodyguards Bureau: which control access to the President   *   Organisation Department: in charge of personnel policy and appointments   *   Propaganda (or Publicity) Department   United Front Work Department: manages relations with other political parties, religious organisations and other non-Party organisations   *   International Liaison Department: manages relations with political parties in other countries. Leadership At the lowest levels there is a limited amount of democracy within the P arty. Branch committees are elected from their members. At the highest level, the Party is effectively a self-perpetuating oligarchy. The outgoing Politburo Standing Committee selects its successor and members of the Politburo. Officially the Politburo and its Standing Committee are appointed at theParty Congress every  five years. The next Party Congress will take place in Autumn 2012. 6. ECONOMY GDP: US $6. 9trn (est. ) (2011) GDP per capita: Int’l $8,394 per capita (2011 – source: IMF) Annual Growth: 9. 2% (est. ) (2011) Consumer prices: 4. 8% (est. ) (2011) Exchange rate: 10. 4 Renminbi = ? 1 (2011 average exchange rate) China has been one of the world's economic success stories since reforms began in 1978. China is the world's second biggest economy. Official figures show that GDP has grown on average by 10% a year over the past 30 years with an estimate of 9. 2% recorded for 2011.The current growth model, and policy underlying it, remains heavily skewed towards exports and investment, with little emphasis on private consumption. China has started to adjust its economic policies to better promote sustainable growth. The Government has highlighted its intention to: * undertake more banking reform (and encourage banks to provide finance to rural areas and smaller firms)   * develop the capital markets (so firms can more easily raise finance) * further reform of the insurance sector to expand the options available to consumers and   * provide a sounder regulatory structure aimed at promoting financial integration.A growing share of China's economic growth has been generated in the private sector as the government has opened up industries to domestic and foreign competition, though the role of the state in ownership and planning remains extensive. China's entry into the World Trade Organisation in December 2001 is further integrating China into the global economy. Gross Domestic Product (GDP)/Purchasing Power Parity (PPP): In 2005 China ha d a GDP of US$2. 2 trillion. China’s PPP was estimated for 2005 at nearly US$8. 9 trillion. PPP per capita in 2005 was estimated at US$6,800.Based on official Chinese data, the estimated GDP growth rate for 2005 was 9. 9 percent. Government Budget: The state budget for 2004 was US$330. 6 billion in revenue and US$356. 8 billion in expenditures. In the revenue column, 95. 5 percent was from taxes and tariffs, 54. 9 percent of which was collected by the central government and 45 percent by local authorities. The expenditures were for culture, education, science, and health care (18 percent); capital construction (12 percent); administration (14 percent); national defense (7. percent); agriculture, forestry, and water conservancy (5. 9 percent); subsidies to compensate for price increases (2. 7 percent); pensions and social welfare (1. 9 percent); promotion of innovation, science, and technology (4. 3 percent); operating expenses of industry, transport, and commerce (1. 2 percen t); geological prospecting (0. 4 percent), and other (31. 9 percent). The overall budget deficit in 2004 was approximately US$26 billion, an amount equivalent to about 1. 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Inflation:China’s annual rate of inflation averaged 6 percent per year during the 1990–2002 period. Although consumer prices declined by 0. 8 percent in 2002, they increased by 1. 2 percent in 2003. China’s estimated inflation rate in 2005 was 1. 8 percent. Special and Open Economic Zones: As part of its economic reforms and policy of opening to the world, between 1980 and 1984 China established special economic zones (SEZs) in Shantou, Shenzhen, and Zhuhai in Guangdong Province and Xiamen in Fujian Province and designated the entire island province of Hainan a special economic zone.In 1984 China opened 14 other coastal cities to overseas investment (listed north to south): Dalian, Qinhuangdao, Tianjin, Yantai, Qingdao, Lianyungang, Nantong, Shanghai, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Zhanjiang, and Beihai. Then, beginning in 1985, the central government expanded the coastal area by establishing the following open economic zones (listed north to south): Liaodong Peninsula, Hebei Province (which surrounds Beijing and Tianjin), Shandong Peninsula, Yangzi River Delta, Xiamen-Zhangzhou-Quanzhou Triangle in southern Fujian Province, Zhujiang (Pearl River) Delta, and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.In 1990 the Chinese government decided to open the Pudong New Zone in Shanghai to overseas investment, as well as more cities in the Yangzi River Valley. Since 1992 the State Council has opened a number of border cities and all the capital cities of inland provinces and autonomous regions. In addition, 15 free-trade zones, 32 state-level economic and technological development zones, and 53 new- and high-tech industrial development zones have been established in large and medium-sized cities.As a result, a multilevel diversified pattern of opening and integrating coastal areas with river, border, and inland areas has been formed in China. Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing: China traditionally has struggled to feed its large population. Even in the twentieth century, famines periodically ravaged China’s population. Great emphasis has always been put on agricultural production, but weather, wars, and politics often mitigated good intentions. With the onset of reforms in the late 1970s, the relative share of agriculture in the gross domestic product (GDP) began to increase annually.Driven by sharp rises in prices paid for crops and a trend toward privatization in agriculture, agricultural output increased from 30 percent of GDP in 1980 to 33 percent of GDP by 1983. Since then, however, agriculture has decreased its share in the economy at the same time that the services sector has increased. By 2004 agriculture (including forestry and fishing) produced only 15. 2 percent of China’s GDP but still is huge b y any measure. Some 46. 9 percent of the total national workforce was engaged in agriculture, forestry, and fishing in 2004.According to United Nations statistics, China’s cereal production is the largest in the world. In 2003 China produced 377 million tons, or 18. 1 percent of total world production. Its plant oil crops—at 15 million tons in 2003—are a close second to those of the United States and amounted to 12. 6 percent of total world production. More specifically, China’s principal crops in 2004 were rice (176 million tons), corn (132 million tons), sweet potatoes (105 million tons), wheat (91 million tons), sugarcane (89 million tons), and potatoes (70 million tons).Other grains, such as barley, buckwheat, millet, oats, rye, sorghum, and tritcale (a wheat-rye hybrid), added substantially to overall grain production. Crops of peanuts, rapeseed, soybeans, and sugar beets also were significant, as was vegetable production in 2004. Among the highest l evels of production were cabbages, tomatoes, cucumbers, and dry onions. In 2004 fruit production also became a significant aspect of the agricultural market. China produced large crops of watermelons, cantaloupes, and other melons that year. Other significant orchard products were apples, citrus fruits, bananas, and mangoes.China, a nation of numerous cigarette smokers, also produced 2. 4 million tons of tobacco leaves. Fertilizer use was a major contributor to these abundant harvests. In 2002 China consumed 25. 4 million tons of nitrogenous fertilizers, or 30 percent of total world consumption and more than double the consumption of other major users such as India and the United States in the same period. Among the less used fertilizers, China also was a leader. It consumed 9. 9 million tons of phosphate fertilizers (29. 5 percent of the world total) and 4. 2 million tons of potash fertilizers (18. percent of the world total). With China’s accession to the World Trade Organi zation (WTO) in 2001, food export opportunities have developed that have brought about still more efficient farming techniques. As a result, traditional areas such as grain production have decreased in favor of cash crops of vegetables and fruit for domestic and export trade. China’s livestock herds are the largest in the world, far outstripping all of Europe combined and about comparable in size to all African nations combined. For example, in 2003 China had 49. 1 percent of the world’s pigs, 22. percent of the world’s goats, and 7. 5 percent of the world’s cattle. Converted into food production, China’s major livestock products in 2004 were pork (47. 2 million tons), poultry eggs (28. 0 million tons), cow’s milk (18. 5 million tons), poultry meat (13. 4 million tons), and beef and veal (6. 4 million tons). Other meats of significant amounts were mutton, lamb, and goat. Major by-products were cattle hides (1. 6 million tons), sheepskins (32 1,000 tons), and goatskins (375,000 tons). Honey (300,000 tons) and raw silk (95,000 tons) also were major products destined for the commercial market.Forestry products, measured in annual roundwood production, also abound. In 2004 China produced an estimated 284 million cubic meters of roundwood, the world’s third largest supplier after the United States and India, or about 8. 5 percent of total world production. From the roundwood, some 11. 3 million cubic meters of sawnwood are produced annually. China also leads the world in fish production. In 2003 it caught 16. 7 million tons of fish, far out catching the second-ranked nation, the United States, with its 4. 9 million tons.Aquaculture also was substantial in world terms. In the same year, China harvested 28. 8 million tons of fish, an amount more than 10 times that of the second-ranked nation, India, which produced 2. 2 million tons. The total fish production in 2003 was 45. 6 million tons. Of this total, 63. 2 percent w as from aquaculture, an increasing sector, and 36. 7 percent from fish caught in rivers, lakes, and the sea. Mining and Minerals: Mineral resources include large reserves of coal and iron ore, plus adequate to abundant supplies of nearly all other industrial minerals.Besides being a major coal producer, China is the world’s fifth largest producer of gold and in the early twenty-first century became an important producer and exporter of rare metals needed in high-technology industries. The rare earth reserves at the Bayan Obi mine in Inner Mongolia are thought to be the largest in any single location in the world. Outdated mining and ore-processing technologies are being replaced with modern techniques, but China’s rapid industrialization requires imports of minerals from abroad.In particular, iron ore imports from Australia and the United States have soared in the early 2000s as steel production rapidly outstripped domestic iron ore production. The major areas of produ ction in 2004 were coal (nearly 2 billion tons), iron ore (310 million tons), crude petroleum (175 million tons), natural gas (41 million cubic meters), antimony ore (110,000 tons), tin concentrates (110,000 tons), nickel ore (64,000 tons), tungsten oncentrates (67,000 tons), unrefined salt (37 million tons), vanadium (40,000 tons), and molybdenum ore (29,000 tons).In order of magnitude, bauxite, gypsum, barite, magnesite, talc and related minerals, manganese ore, fluorspar, and zinc also were important. In addition, China produced 2,450 tons of silver and 215 tons of gold in 2004. The mining sector accounted for less than 0. 9 percent of total employment in 2002 but produced about 5. 3 percent of total industrial production. Industry and Manufacturing: Industry and construction produced 53. 1 percent of China’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2005. Industry (including mining, manufacturing, construction, and power) contributed 52. percent of GDP in 2004 and occupied 22. 5 pe rcent of the workforce. The manufacturing sector produced 44. 1 percent of GDP in 2004 and accounted for 11. 3 percent of total employment in 2002. China is the world’s leading manufacturer of chemical fertilizers, cement, and steel. Prior to 1978, most output was produced by state-owned enterprises. As a result of the economic reforms that followed, there was a significant increase in production by enterprises sponsored by local governments, especially townships and villages, and, increasingly, by private entrepreneurs and foreign investors.By 2002 the share in gross industrial output by state-owned and state-holding industries had decreased to 41 percent, and the state-owned companies themselves contributed only 16 percent of China’s industrial output. An example of an emerging heavy industry is automobile manufacture, which has soared during the reform period. In 1975 only 139,800 automobiles were produced annually, but by 1985 production had reached 443,377, then j umped to nearly 1. 1 million by 1992 and increased fairly evenly each year up until 2001, when it reached 2. 3 million.In 2002 production rose to nearly 3. 3 million and then jumped again the next year to 4. 4 million. Domestic sales have kept pace with production. After respectable annual increases in the mid- and late 1990s, sales soared in the early 2000s, reaching 3 million automobiles sold in 2003. With some governmental controls in place, sales dipped to 2. 4 million sold in 2004. Some forecasters expect sales to reach 6. 9 million by 2015. By 2010 China’s automobile production is projected to reach 9. 4 million, and the country could become the number-one automaker in the world by 2020.So successful has China’s automotive industry been that it began exporting car parts in 1999. China began to plan major moves into the automobile and components export business starting in 2005. A new Honda factory in Guangzhou was being built in 2004 solely for the export market and was expected to ship 30,000 passenger vehicles to Europe in 2005. By 2004, 12 major foreign automotive manufacturers had joint-venture plants in China. They produced a wide range of automobiles, minivans, sport utility vehicles, buses, and trucks. In 2003 China exported US$4. billion worth of vehicles and components, an increase of 34. 4 percent over 2002. By 2004 China had become the world’s fourth largest automotive vehicle manufacturer. Concomitant with automotive production and other steel-consuming industries, China has been rapidly increasing its steel production. Iron ore production kept pace with steel production in the early 1990s but was soon outpaced by imported iron ore and other metals in the early 2000s. Steel production, an estimated 140 million tons in 2000, was expected to reach more than 350 million tons a year by 2010.Energy: As with other economic categories, China is a major producer and consumer of energy resources. In 2002, the most recent year avai lable for United Nations statistics, China produced 934. 2 million tons of oil equivalents and consumed 889. 6 million tons. Per capita consumption was 687 kilograms, only a quarter of North Korea’s estimated consumption, a third of that in Hong Kong, and well below the average for Asia. China’s energy consumption has risen dramatically since the inception of its economic reform program in the late 1970s.Electric power generation—mostly by coal-burning plants—has been in particular demand; China’s electricity use in the 1990s increased by between 3 percent and 7 percent per year. In 2003 electricity use increased by 15 percent over the previous year, and supplies could not keep up with demand, thus slowing economic development. Government statistics indicate that the overall demand for electric power for 2004 was projected to be around 2 trillion kilowatt-hours, but by June of that year a 60-b

buy custom Hamlets Hesitation essay

buy custom Hamlets Hesitation essay Shakespeare wrote an interesting tragedy, Hamlet. The tragic action in the play originates from a flaw of shame and horror which results to the protagonist suffering intensely. In the play, Hamlet that plays the role of the protagonist has a tragic trait in his character and behavior of uncertainty and delay in action. The protagonist faces two kinds of conflicts. First, he has an inner conflict in the mind and his soul and secondly, he has a physical conflict as he collides with his enemies and opponents. However, the sense of the tragic impression lies in the fact of waste. At the end of the play, a wasted talent and an unnecessary suffering comes out clearly. Why did Hamlet hesitate to act after he promised the ghost of his father that he would avenge his murder on his behalf? In the tragic play, the character of Hamlet stands out as different from that of other characters. His character has a characteristic of strength, will, and passion that has a combination of sentiment and thought. He indulges his imagination and thought to reflect upon terrible nature of crime and refining the schemes that he would use in his revenge mission that to put it into immediate action. His passion reflects a will to think carefully instead of acting in an immediate manner. The son of a murdered noble, Hamlet has an obligation to avenge the death of his father with any chance that comes his way. However, he decides to wait and performs the act at the end of the play. Hamlet does not avenge the death of his father immediately because of certain reasons. Hamlet hesitates to kill King Claudius because he suffered from a form of Oedipus complex and for the fact that he had sanity and practical too perform an act of murder. The basic sanity that Hamlet possessed, kept him from committing an immediate act of murder. In society, people grow to believe that those who commit acts of murder have insanity or some form of sickness. The society where Hamlet lives has no exception from that norm. However, his society believes that the son of a murdered noble has the responsibility of finding those who killed his father and his death. Therefore, Hamlet has an obligation to avenge the death of his father. When the ghost of king Hamlet appeared to Hamlet and told him that Claudius killed him by pouring poison in to his ear, he did not act on the word of the specter immediately. Hamlet does not go to kill King Claudius immediately but instead takes time what the ghost had told him. Hamlet contemplates whether the ghost was good or bad judging by the fact that what the ghost had told him had a serious undertaking that could lead to the death of a person. Hamlet does not want to act stupidly just because a ghost told him that Claudius killed his father. This makes him to try to find out whether the ghost told himthe truth. Hamlet engages himself in plans and carries out analyses of situations. When actors came to town, Hamlet implored one of them to perform a play called the murder of Gonzaga that would happen the next day. Hamlet uses the play as a scheme to find out whether his uncle, King Claudius killed his father. The play that Hamlet requested has similarity to the murder that the ghost described, to him. Hamlet wants to capture the conscience of King Claudius through the play. Hamlet considers that if the manor of King Claudius would change with the play then he would know that he killed his father. This clearly shows that Hamlet did not hesitate to fulfill his commandment because of indecision but rather he wanted to ascertain that the ghost had told him the truth and that if he would carry out the revenge then it would have been on the right person. Hamlet had been plagued by self-doubts. This comes out clearly in the second soliloquy where the essence of the true conflict that Hamlet experienced comes out. He has a commitment to avenging the death of his father, but he cannot act on behalf of his father because he had revulsion towards performing the revenge. The self-condemnation that Hamlet has takes several forms. Hamlet engages in a series of imaginary and demeaning insults that highlights him as cowardly. He feels he has not done anything to King Claudius to avenge the death of his father. This makes him feel as if he has no ability to revenge the death of his father. Hamlet failed to suppress his apprehensions of committing murder. This makes him try to focus on a plan that would ensure that King Claudius admits that he killed his father. Hamlet could not find a way that he could use to confront King Claudius and make him agree that he killed king Hamlet. The only way he could do that required him to formulate a plan that would force King Claudius to confess his actions. Hamlet figures out that because he had no way of confronting king Hamlet, he would make him confess his actions by making King Claudius have a guilty conscience. The hesitation that Hamlet had in avenging for the death of his father has a relation with the Oedipus complex that he had. Hamlet loved his mother in a certain manner. This fact presents itself clearly towards the end of the play. Towards the end of the tragic play, Queen Gertrude drank poison and died. Hamlet responded to that by killing Laertes. The mother of Hamlet had died, and it happened that he decided to kill King Claudius at the same time. Hamlet delayed killing King Claudius because he understood why King Claudius wanted his father out of the way. When his mother died, Hamlet decided to kill King Claudius because without his mother he had nothing much to live for because his life had bed ruined. Without his mother, he had no passion to live. Hamlet hesitated to carry out the revenge because he feared that if King Claudius knew that Hamlet wanted to kill him, he would have made plans to make Hamlet appear bad and would instead kill him. Therefore, he had to delay and look for a proper way that he could use to avenge the death of his father once he knew that king Claudius had murdered his father. Committing a murder was a serious crime in the society that Hamlet lived. Hamlet did not want to kill without purpose because that would have led to his own death. Hamlet has intelligence and has a sense of social duty. He wanted to have the support of the society once he avenged the death of his father. The only way that he could have the support of the society and prevent his own death, he had to display a sense of moral integrity. He decided to use the play to have King Claudius show people that he murdered king Hamlet. Once he proved that, the society would support his revenge mission and he would appear the hero, in his society. This showed that Hamlet delayed the revenge because of a sense of social and moral obligation. Hamlet hesitated to perform his revenge because he relied on morals and had a sense of nobility. As a noble man, he had the responsibility to confirm that his uncle had indeed murdered his father, as an action of proving to the society of his actions and more so, as an action of nobility. Nobility, in the sense that he could not just believe words that came from a ghost. In his third soliloquy, to be or not to be, Hamlet questions whether one should live or not, but it happens as a question of whether he should act or not based on the responsibility he has towards the revenge mission. This has governance from reason, as opposed to frenzied motion. Hamlet faces a state of divide between morality, responsibility and societal nobility. His morals do not allow him to kill, yet as a son, he has the responsibility of avenging the death of his father. At the same time, he has to display a sense of nobility to the society judging by the fact that he is the prince. All these facts make him he sitate because he cannot decide the proper action that he can take in the situation he finds himself. This makes Hamlet spent most of his time thinking instead of acting. He wanted his revenge to display him as a hero in every perspective and display King Claudius as an evil man. In conclusion, Hamlet delayed his revenge against King Claudius mainly because of indecision and self-doubts. He wanted to perform a revenge that would be right in every aspect. Despite the fact that Hamlet hesitated, it did not make him a coward. Rather, his hesitation helped display him as honest, moral and noble because he proved that his uncle killed his father. The death of his mother also quickened his action because of his love for her. 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