Strategic Planning and Using Market Information systems

Explain the Importance of Strategy Planning Strategic planning can be defined as an acceptable systematic process in which an organization takes in deciding important matters. Strategy planning is basically having a master plan for all the other plans in the organization.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Strategic Planning and Using Market Information systems specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Strategy planning is therefore a very important process in any organization. This is because it helps predict the future. This means that an organization can be able to foresee the problems that can negatively impact the organization and thus avoiding them. It gives overall direction that is taken by an organizational management. In other words, it outlines strategies to be used by each department in an organization. These include marketing, finance and human resource. The departmental strategies developed; aim at achieving o rganizational success at large. It is however important to note that strategic planning do not dwell much on product panning ,the process of production or even the cash flow but they are just parts that contribute to whole organization. It is thus planning as a corporate whole (Burkhart and Reuss, 1993). Describe the Five Main Steps That Have To Be Taken To Build a Strategic Plan for a Health Care Organization Health care organizations today are forced to make proper decisions that will improve their image. This is only achieved through sound strategic planning. A strategic plan in this case is the document that outlines the reason for their existence, rationale and the direction they intend to take in order to achieve their goals. In addition, the plan shows the actions to be taken and how the performance is measured. To build a strategic plan for a health care organization, one should first start by executive summary section. This is basically the plan. It includes background info rmation and its goals. This section is considered the most crucial because it is the only section read by people in charge of decision making. It should thus be written in a convincing manner. The second step is the overview. This is information on the operating environment. It entails the characteristics and the challenge that may be encountered as well as the means to solve them. External assessment is the third stage while building a health care strategic plan. This is a synopsis of this particular field. It entails trends in the industry in the region where the organization is situated as well as outside. It is thus external factors that influence the organization. In the internal assessment step, the operations of an organization are discussed. In other words, it gives details on management and the way goals are to be accomplished. Moreover it explains the viability and sustainability of the project. The last step is the appendices which show the supporting documents. Examples of these documents are research literature and other key data (Kovner and Neuhauser, 1990).Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Describe What Goes Into the Use of an Environmental Analysis; Include How the Use of SWOT Analysis and Five Forces Analysis Enrich the Strategic Planning Process Environmental analysis in a health care organization is done using SWOT and Five Force Analysis. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) is applicable in that, an organization can identify its strengths and weaknesses by analyzing its resources and capabilities. Opportunities are identified as a result of engaging in environmental activities and threats are detected from current and projected actions. Both the SWOT Analysis and Five Force Analysis are used to enrich the strategic planning process in that, SWOT evaluates the organizational environment while Five Force Analysis d irects on strategic implementation. Organizations can therefore identify changing forces, their position and the existing gap in relation to the needs. Describe the Three Main Components of a Health Care Marketing Information System (MIS) A health care marketing information system (MIS) is a set of actions established in order to analyze and plan for the anticipated marketing decision information. This is done on regular basis to ensure continuity. It is applicable in various aspects of marketing among them being in management, operations and in strategizing. A health care MIS should be composed of internal company information. These include the services they offer, their clients or patients, customer service reports among others. In addition, it should contain marketing intelligence. This is information acquired through research from the patients, community and other organizations. This information is acquired with an aim of understanding the market and being able to adjust in it. Lastly it is composed of market research. This is where the health care undertakes studies in relation to their marketing strategy. This is to get more information on top of internal and market intelligence information (Swayne, Duncan and Ginter, 2009). Describe At Least Three Methods That Can Be Used By a Health Care Organization to Gather and Respond to Marketing Intelligence on Opportunities and Threats Health care organizations need to regularly gather and respond to marketing intelligence for them to survive in the market. They can do so by market research. This entails primary data collection. The data could be about the patients, a certain disease or their competitors. Documents and records can also be used to provide information that can be used in a health care organization. For example from records and documents, an organization can study their clients in terms of numbers, regularity and their needs. Moreover, health care organizations can gather and respond to marketing i ntelligence through other major sources such government offices and libraries. This is because they are responsible of publishing and storing information on various fields among them being health care organizations.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Strategic Planning and Using Market Information systems specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More References Burkhart, P. Reuss, S. (1993). Successful Strategic Planning. Sage Publications. Kovner, A. Neuhauser, D. (1990). Health Services Management. NY: Health Administration Press. Swayne, L. Duncan, J. Ginter, P. (2009). Strategic Management of Healthcare Organizations (6th ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. This report on Strategic Planning and Using Market Information systems was written and submitted by user Destinee Nichols 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.

Forced Migration in Rwanda essays

Forced Migration in Rwanda essays Forced migration is a situation in which the liberty or life of individuals is taken away or threaten at the hands of another. The reasons behind forced migration are beyond the control of those being forced out of an area. Those who are displaced do so because it is the only possible way in which to survive. Often the conditions which cause forced migration include oppressive political regimes, war zones, and areas of famine. There are many recent examples of such forced migration throughout the modern world, specifically the example of mass movement from Rwanda in the mid 1990s. Between 1993 and 1994 over 900 000 were displaced by the war and living in refugee camps (Olsen 1995, 219). The Rwanda case tells us important things about the complexity of links between many different factors. In other words, there is no one reason behind migration of such magnitude. To understand the complex conflicts like the Rwandan genocide, one must be aware of the issues motivating the confl ict. What people do and what physical environment they do it in, but also why they do it must be examined. The forced migration in the African nation was initiated by many sources of insecurities ranging from ethnic insecurities of both distant past and more recent past origins, developmental and resource insecurities as well as geopolitical insecurities. Not only does a sense of threatened security result in involuntary migration, it also has broader implications for the future. Rwanda has been a nation plagued with ethnic insecurities reaching as far back as 1500 A.D. The two main ethnic groups in Rwanda, the Tutsi and Hutu, all spoke the same language, believed in the same god, shared the same culture and lived side by side throughout the country(Uvin 1996), but could agree on very little. Inequality between the Tutsi and Hutu was evident in the sixteenth century in which Tutsi and Hutu relations were dominated by the ...

Define what is meant by industrialization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Define what is meant by industrialization - Essay Example This could be denoted as sustained economic expansion based on division of labor, factory production, deliberation of industries and people in certain geographical regions, and urbanization. For example, industrialization is at a time when a nation produces infrastructure that can assist industry (Kiely 4). This is wide and can be the construction of rails, roads, airports or industries/factories. Historically, the industrialization procedure involves the development of the secondary subdivision in an economy at first dominated by primary-sector practices (Kiely 4). Industrialization has a huge influence on several aspects of a certain nation and/ or urban (Kiely 4). It generally gives jobs for population and therefore augments the economy, but with the fresh technology of current universe industrialization also refers to new technology which substitutes the people that used to be in charge for a given occupation (Sutton 1-2). The policies of periphery and core have converged about industry for overseas export got from the Caribbean. All the way through the CBI (Caribbean Basin Initiative), America has tried to stimulate manufacturing venture in and exports from Caribbean region (Sutton 1-2). To accomplish this, the US has provided manufacturers situated in Caribbean Basin nations special entrance to its markets. Development is normally acknowledged as a complex multifaceted procedure of political, social, environmental, economic and cultural transformation that results in boosts in the well-being of citizens and widens their rights and options in the current without compromising the capacities of future populations to enjoy these advantages (Sutton 1-2). In the Caribbean the social, economic, and political entities of growth have held centre phase in the previous fifty years. Characteristically they have been and are provided in

Business ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Business ethics - Essay Example In such context, it is crucial for management to realize the importance of business ethics in maintaining the sustainability of business operation. Hence the study has decided to look back at importance business ethics in context to modern organizational settings. The study has selected HSBC, which is a renowned bank, for understanding the importance of business ethics in the organization. Analyzing the impact of business ethics on internal and external stakeholders of HSBC will also be the part of the analysis. In the last section the study will provide recommendation to the bank for improving their current business ethics approach. Business Ethics- Theoretical View According to research scholars such as Geraint (2003), Moberg (2003) and Kidd (2003), business ethics play significant role in those cases where the organization is suffering from asymmetric turbulence in terms of business operation, controlling activities of agents or managers, fraudulent activities to achieve undue adv antage and disregard of interest of shareholders and stakeholders. From academic viewpoint, business ethics can be subdivided into three parts such as, Descriptive Business Ethics- moral values of the business owner to run the business in transparent manner without hurting the interest of shareholders and stakeholders and Normative Business Ethics- supporting activities required to control and discourage unfair business practices by organizations (Brenkert, 2004). However, very few research scholars have actually tried to create demarcation between organizational structures driven business ethics from process driven business ethics. In this paper the study will try to identify the role of business ethics in context to organizational structure, organizational process and organizational performances. The proposed model can be viewed in the following manner. (Source: Svensson and Wood, 2011) There is no doubt that the concept of business ethics is multifaceted and number of research to pics can synchronized in implicit or explicit manner with the ethical perspective of business operation. For example, maintaining business ethics in terms offering high value to external stakeholders such as customers (Svensson, 2009), performing corporate social responsibility (CSR) in order to become responsible corporate citizen who is ready to put serious effort to improve quality of life of unprivileged section of the society (Young and Kielkiewicz-Young, 2001), improve the sustainability by forcing the supply chain partners to follow human rights while treating with workers (Lippman,1999), following green purchasing policy to ensure environmental sustainability (Zsidisin and Siferd, 2001), sustainable supply chain management (Svensson, 2007), following corporate governance codes in order to ensure better governance and decrease the scope for the organization to commit financial fraud which can not only hurt the interest of shareholders but also affect the interest of stakehold ers (La Porta et al, 1997 & Shleifer and Vishny, 1997). Ethical Structure Factors like

Into Another Reality Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Into Another Reality - Assignment Example After several rejections and no call-backs, just when they were about to give up, a talent-scout advised Millie to let her son audition for a talent audition to be broadcasted on a major television network the very next day. Things actually went well for Derrick, and his singing had him chosen to compete for the finals, making Millie plump up her feathers after many years of efforts. However, after hearing several groups of people comment negatively on her son’s abilities which, in turn, affected his motivation and singing during practice, as well as his attitude towards her, Millie comes to the realisation that she now has to face even more things than just failure, and that she has to make a final decision: choosing between her dreams and her son’s happiness. Story Outline I. Inciting incident A. Millie Ross pushes her son, Derrick into numerous talent searches and auditions, but failed in all of them. She was about to give up after their last audition. B. Mr. Isaac, a shady-looking talent scout notices the child’s potential and tells her to audition to a talent-search in the next studio the next day, giving Millie more hopes for her son. II. Rising action A. Derrick wins a spot for the succeeding episodes of the talent search, delighting Millie in their newfound fortune. But several weeks into their new â€Å"reality†, Millie sees the dark side of stardom as tiring and unrewarding. Still, she deems everything fine as long as Derrick sings and wins. B. Numerous rumors about Derrick and his mother starts circulating the internet, affecting Derrick’s performances and nearly losing the top three spot. His mother was not immune to the effects of the gossips either, but instead of talking it out with him, she takes out her frustrations on her son, causing their relationship to grow distant. C. Just when Millie was about to scold her son’s shortcomings in his last performance, Derrick starts sobbing and telling her that he wanted to go home, back to his school, and just stay in one place, after all, â€Å"This is your dream, not ours, and not mine really.† Millie shuts him out completely, calling him selfish and ungrateful. D. Derrick sings beautifully in front of audiences, but she knew then that he was not singing for her anymore. Millie feels the loss but still remains distant. E. A confused Millie consults Mr. Isaac about Derrick’s well-being and future. He just reminds her that he may be her own flesh and blood, but his self and choices are â€Å"completely his own.† III. Climax A. Derrick fails to win the top spot in the competition. But Millie apologizes and asks about his happiness. Derrick simply wants to sing and make people happy, and Millie agrees to it after he completes the contract requirements of the show. Though doubtful, Derrick complies. IV. Falling action A. After several months on the road and after finishing the contract agreements, Millie starts getting offe rs from various recording companies to take in Derrick and develop his skills. But she politely declines, saying that her son’s reality is elsewhere, and she supports his choices and happiness as well. B. Millie tells Mr. Isaac about her plans, with a bit of regret. But seeing her son smile happily made her feel like the choice was worth it. Mr. Isaac thought Derrick’s talents would go to waste, but in the end, he just let the kid off without any other unkind words to prevent the past mistakes he did with former talents.     

Economic effects of globalisation in singapore

Economic effects of globalisation in singapore Globalization is defined as the free movements of goods, services and capital across borders. It is a contentious process by which the western market economies have effectively spread across the globe. Although it does not constitute a new phenomenon, it is viewed as an inexorable integration of markets, nations and technologies to a degree never witnessed before in a way that is enabling individuals, and corporations to reach around the world further, faster, deeper and more economically than ever before (Heshmati, 2003). Today, globalisation is evident in every aspect of our life and society. Globalisation has impacted us in many ways, most evidently in communication and interaction between different people. Globalisation has brought about the Internet and advanced technology. This has allowed for ease in facilitation of which many aspects of the world are run and work. People are able to use the Internet to communicate with people from the other side of the world and interact and discuss about issues in the market etc. Through globalisation, people are able to communicate and interact easily, in doing so causing the ease of disseminating information and even in the way that facilitated trade. Especially with regards to trade, globalisation has enabled many countries around the world to take advantage of the aspect of globalisation which improves communication and interaction between people. Many countries used this aspect to help expand and advance their economies and trade markets. The year 2007 to 2008 witnessed a movement of goods and services worth $132 trillion from the Peoples Republic of China across the globe. This led to a 5.4% increase or rise in the Chinese economy as compared from the previous economic growth of a rate of 3.4% (Moore Lewis, 2009). Economic globalization is defined as the rise in economic interdependence of different nations economies of the world and it entails a dramatic rise in movement of goods, technology, capital and service across nations borders (Justin, 2001). Economic globalization has also provided opportunities for developing countries in that it expands the size of their markets for export and attracts foreign capital, which aids development. Foreign investment is conducive to a transfer of technologies and knowhow, which increases productivity (Bertucci and Alberti, 2010). In the same way, Singapore has also used the aspect of globalisation which increases communication in her own advantage to improve the economy and trade. One of the industries affected positively from globalisation in Singapore is the tourism industry. With globalisation, people are able to move from one place to another easily and quickly, through the use of aeroplanes etc. This allows people to travel regularly to Singapore, from places as far as Africa and United States of America. With easier traveling, more people can come to Singapore to tour and enjoy the attractions such as the Marina Bay Sands, Sentosa, etc. With more people in Singapore, the tourism industry is able to earn more money through the expenditure of these tourists, from food and beverages to entrance fees of attractions. Thus, through globalisation, Singapores tourist industry is able to expand and advance. This table of statistics shows the number of visitor arrivals by region/country of residence from the year 1999 and 2004 to 2009. Through this table, it can be seen that a large amount of people from the United States of America come to visit Singapore every year, in 2009 totalling to 370.7 thousand. This shows how globalisation has affected the tourism industry. People from countries like the United States of America which is in the other side of the world is able to come over to Singapore in such large numbers. This can also be seen in Europe, where 1,307.4 thousand people arrived to Singapore in 2009. It can be seen that globalisation has improved the tourism industry through the increase of tourist arrivals over the years. Take the Commonwealth of Independent States and Eastern Europe for example. The number of people who have visited Singapore have risen from 42.8 thousand in 1999 to 114.3 thousand in 2008. This shows the influence of globalisation has on the tourism industry in Singapore. With a greater influence, globalisation makes the tourist industry to have more and more tourists every year due to the easier transportation and movement from one country to another. With globalisation helping the countrys economy to become wealthier, this in turn would affect the people positively, allowing them to have a better standard of living. There are many benefits that citizens will have through a booming economy. One positive effect is that globalization causes rapid changes in trade relations, financial flows, and mobility of labour across the world. The development has brought the economies of developed countries closer together and more strongly interrelated. Trade is more common across countries and people are able to move from one place to another more conveniently and frequently than before. With globalization, companies have forayed into the developing countries and hence generated employment for them. But it is one of the positive and negative effects of globalization, depending on the point of view you wish to see it from. It has given an opportunity to invest in the emerging markets and tap up the talent which is available there. In developing countries, there is often a lack of capital which hinders the growth of domestic companies and hence, employment. In such cases, due to global nature of the businesses, people of developing countries too can obtain gainful employment opportunities. But the developed countries have lost jobs on account of this movement of jobs to the developing world and hence it is a pinch felt by people in the First World. One of the most visible positive effects of globalization in India is the flow of foreign capital. A lot of companies have directly invested in India, by starting production units in India, but what we also need to see is the amount of FII that flows into the developing countries. Indian companies which have been performing well, both in India and off the shores, will attract a lot of foreign investment, and thus pushes up the reserve of foreign exchange available in India. This is also one of the positive effects of globalization in US and other developed countries as developing countries give them a good investment proposition. The last effect is the impact of foreign trade on an economy. Comparative advantage has always been a factor even in the old times. While trade originated in the times of early kingdoms, it has been institutionalized due to globalization. Previously, people had to resort to unfair means and destruction of kingdoms and countries to get what they wanted. Today, it is done in a more humane way, with mutual cooperation. People who operate in uncivilized ways, now have to face the WTO and other world organizations that have been established with a view to control and regulate the trade activities of the countries. With all these benefits, the incomes of Singaporeans have increased over the last few years. In Singapore, the household income from work in 2010 increased due to strong economic growth. Median monthly household income from work in 2010 recovered to above the level before the economic downturn in 2009. Among resident households, median monthly income from work increased by 3.1 per cent from $4,850 in 2009 to $5,000 in 2010 (Table 1); in real terms, the increase was 0.3 per cent (Department of Statistics Singapore, 2010). Table 1 Monthly Household Income from Work Among Resident Households Year Median Household Income Average Household Income Dollar Nominal Change (%) Real Change (%) Dollar Nominal Change (%) 2000 3,638 3.9 2.6 4,988 5.7 2001 3,860 6.1 5.0 5,338 7.0 2002 3,628 -6.0 -5.6 5,069 -5.0 2003 3,601 -0.7 -1.2 5,075 0.1 2004 3,689 2.4 0.8 5,194 2.3 2005 3,860 4.6 4.1 5,447 4.9 2006 4,000 3.6 2.6 5,715 4.9 2007 4,375 9.4 7.1 6,295 10.1 2008 4,946 13.1 6.0 7,086 12.6 2009 4,850 -1.9 -2.5 6,826 -3.7 2010 5,000 3.1 0.3 7,214 5.7 Source: Department of Statistics Singapore (2011) Key Household Income Trends, 2010 Among employed household, with at least one working person, median monthly income from work increased by 5.7 per cent in nominal terms (from $5,400 in 2009 to $5,700 in 2010) and 2.8 per cent in real terms (Table 2). Table 2 Monthly Household Income from Work Among Employed Households Year Median Household Income Average Household Income Dollar Nominal Change (%) Real Change (%) Dollar Nominal Change (%) 2000 4,000 5.3 3.9 5,456 7.0 2001 4,141 3.5 2.5 5,736 5.1 2002 4,038 -2.5 -2.1 5,572 -2.9 2003 4,050 0.3 -0.2 5,618 0.8 2004 4,106 1.4 -0.3 5,761 2.5 2005 4,345 5.8 5.3 6,052 5.1 2006 4,495 3.5 2.5 6,280 3.8 2007 4,883 8.6 6.4 6,889 9.7 2008 5,475 12.1 5.2 7,752 12.5 2009 5,398 -1.4 -2.0 7,549 -2.6 2010 5,704 5.7 2.8 8,058 6.7 Source: Department of Statistics Singapore (2011) Key Household Income Trends, 2010 Even though the income levels have risen among employed Singaporeans, we have found through our research that not every Singaporean enjoys these perks of having higher income through globalisation. This is the one effect of globalisation in Singapore that we would like to discuss in this paper. The phenomenon of widening income gap in Singapore, between the period of 2000 2010. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Sources of Information In this research paper, we used mainly secondary sources of information. The sources of information that we used are: Newspaper Articles The newspaper articles we used were from The Straits Times. We decided to use articles from our local newspaper as it leans more towards our country and hence, the articles would be more apt especially since our research is about the effects of globalisation in Singapore. The Straits Times is also a acclaimed worldwide as one of the best newspapers, hence, it would be more reliable. Research papers The research papers that we used, such as the article Reducing Singapores Income Disparity: Looking Forward is by professors from Singapore. Hence, it is more reliable as they have lived in Singapore and studied the trends over the years. It would also be more appropriate for them to comment on the findings that they have collated Magazines We used The Economist because our topic focused mainly on the economy, hence, since The Economist looks at the global market, it would be a good judge of the economy in the various parts of the world. One issue that we looked at was Volume 398, Number 8717 of The Economist, which had a special report called The rich and the rest. This was relevant because it talks about the issue of widening income gap and the income discrepancies in the world today, which is one of our main focuses in our research paper. Statistics Our statistics were taken from research papers (results were collected by the author of the research paper) and studies conducted by the government. Since the statistics were taken from reliable sources, it would be more accurate in showing trends over the years. Rationale of using the sources of Information In our research paper, we only used secondary sources. This is because our topic is mainly on the effects of globalisation, hence it would be more appropriate to analyse the trends and research instead of conducting an interview. It was also quite hard to find an interviewee because globalisation is a wide topic and many people might have their different opinions on it. Through conducting extensive research using newspaper articles, research papers, et cetera, we could generally find the trends and information that we needed for our paper. Hence, we found that it was not necessary to conduct interviews or surveys as information that we needed could be found. Limitations of Research The limitation of using solely secondary sources is that we are unable to get first-hand opinions of the globalisation trends that we see in Singapore. Even though the opinions might be subjective, it would be a helpful source in knowing more about globalisation through the interviewees. Limitation of Newspaper Articles: The newspaper articles had only touched lightly on either the topic of widening income gap or globalisation, hence we had to conduct more research in order to find more information about the topic. Limitation of Research Papers: Research papers were useful in providing us with extensive information, however, each research paper was very focused on the particular topic that the professor was working on, and hence, we had to combine various research papers in order to find the trends and information that we required for our own research paper. Limitation of Magazines: The Economist was mainly on general statistics in the world, and hence, many of the information were not pertaining to Singapore and we could not use it for our information. The magazines were only a good guide in showing us the effects of globalisation to the world in general. Limitation of Statistics: The statistics given were mainly not interpreted; hence, even though we had the statistics by the government and research papers, we had to interpret and tweak the information in the way that it suits our topic and supports our points in our research paper. FINDINGS: HOW GLOBALIZATION LED TO THE WIDENING INCOME GAP IN SINGAPORE Globalisation has caused many changes in the world that we live in today. There are many effects of globalisation in our society, both good and bad. Globalisation is the continuous tendency towards the free flow of business and monetary infusions across nations which help in the formation of international financial system (mapsofindia, 2011). Higher living standards Through globalisation, the standard of living around the world has improved considerably. This is due to the want for financial independence and thus, people are triggered to become competitive, elevating the living standard of people in the nations that offer themselves to the world trade (mapsofindia, 2011). With increased economic stability, countries are able to have faster economic growth, which will also improve the standard of living in the country and reduce poverty. India has cut its poverty rate in half in the past two decades. China has reduced the number of rural poor from 250 million in 1978 to 34 million in 1999. Cheaper imports also make a wider range of products accessible to more people and, through competition, can help promote efficiency and productivity (global education, 2011). The rich are also able to splurge on their extravagant lifestyle, hence heightening the income discrepancies, as while people on the higher end of the income ladder are living a luxurious lifestyle, the lower-skilled workers are worried about keeping their jobs. This increased standard of living is thus clearly unbeneficial to some pockets of the population, especially the lower-skilled and lower-income people. Development of technology Over the years, technology has advanced in many ways that were thought impossible. The development of technology is rapid, persistent and ever-changing. With the introduction of technology to global markets, the demand for commodities has increased. Products and services are also increasing constantly. This has led to increase in usage around the world. Through the introduction of technology, technological gadgets are more easily available and affordable, allowing people to use technology to look into the investment and financial sector. With the help of computers, more and more people can be connected to the events happening in the financial sector. As per statistics, everyday more than $1.5 trillion is now swapped in the worlds currency markets and around one-fifth of products and services are generated per year are bought and sold. Technological advancement and productivity expansion are the other benefits of globalization because since 1970s growing international rivalry has trig gered the industries to improvise increasingly (mapsofindia, 2011). Increased inter-communication With globalisation, it is now easier for people all around the world to move from place to place. People have the ability to move from country to country in a short amount of time as compared to before when there was no globalisation. For the purpose of commerce and pleasure, more and more people are crossing national borders. Globally, on average nations in 1950 witnessed just one overseas visitor for every 100 citizens. By the mid-1980s it increased to six and ever since the number has doubled to 12. Commerce as a percentage of gross world product has increased in 1986 from 15% to nearly 27% in recent years. Worldwide telephone traffic has tripled since 1991. The number of mobile subscribers has elevated from almost zero to 1.8 billion indicating around 30% of the world population. Internet users will quickly touch 1 billion. With improved telecommunications, information and goods are available easily across countries. Costs are lowered and information is more reliable and accurate than ever. With such changes to the global market, workers are not just dependant on their own countrys economy anymore. Old jobs and skills are outsourced to meet the increasing demands of the global economy, thus many lower-skilled workers get lower income or get laid-off. Effects of Globalisation Influx of immigrants Globalization has made the world very close and small because of the ease of transport and lower cost of travel, and thus also increases the immigration in Singapore. Based on the study of Singapore Population Overview (Table 1), it can be seen that the number of immigrants and PRs in Singapore was 31.7% in 2007 whereas in 2008, the number has risen to 34.6%. This means that the number of immigrants and PRs is growing at a faster rate than the citizen population. The foreign workforce in Singapore is 30% (in 2010) not counting those who are newly converted citizens and PRs.( Diary of A Singaporean Mind, Monday, August 30, 2010) The government has offered scholarships, jobs and assistance for people in many other countries to settle in Singapore. Table 1. Singapore Population Overview (source: SingStat) Singapore Population Statistics Currently, there are 4.8 million people residing in Singapore, and about 478,000 are PRs. (On April 1, 2009, in Life in Singapore) Among them, the students, professionals entrepreneurs want to stay in Singapore after finishing their studies or own businesses , and establishing their careers. Table 2. Persons Granted PR (source: SingStat) Persons Granted PR post Singapore Immigration Table 3. Persons Granted Citizenship (source: SingStat)Persons Granted Citizenship post Singapore Immigration The tables show that each year, there are about 60,000 foreigners granted as PR. In contrast, only 15-17,000 citizenship status was approved yearly. Despise Singapores economic advantages; foreigners main motivators are citing tax incentives as well as health and education benefits which come from being a citizen or PR. Singapore is a very small island and has limited land and housing. Singaporeans have always welcomed immigrants in the past from Malaysia or Indonesia but nowadays the influx immigrants in the recent waves strains our infrastructure and leads to income inequality. Singapores economy now depends heavily on foreign labour which took up 58,300 new jobs, and over half of the 112,500 new jobs which are created in the year. Assuming one third or half of the locals are PRs, the proportion of new jobs which belong to foreigners is likely to be as high as two thirds or three quarters. (Tan Jee Say, Creating Jobs and Enterprisein a New Singapore Economy) These immigrants are taking jobs away from the locals and hence living some jobless. The Unemployment Rate (SA) in Singapore was 1.9% in Mar 2011. (Statistics Singapore)On top of that, they are driving down the income levels for the low-skilled jobs and hence even if locals were to work in it, they will be paid only a small amount. This would not be sufficient for the citizens especially since the standard of living in Singapore is high  ¼Ã‹â€ refer to the Higher Living Standard ¼Ã¢â‚¬ °and thus they might not be able to afford to pay for some needs. Ultimately, income gap will grow wider. In the past, the workers economic fate was only relevant to the national economic fate. However, globalization and improvements in communication, as well as influx immigrants changed the case. Now workers have to compete in a global market, and their wages are not so dependent on the individual economies success or failure of. The mind workers such as engineers, scientists, executives can compete successfully in the global market and receive high wages. However, the production and service works industrialized countries are not able to compete with those from third world countries. The workflow changes, thus poor countries get the low-value-added element of work which is formerly done in rich countries; however, higher-value work is maintained. (Economics focus: Cash machines. 2011-04-16.) This is a main effect on widening income gap. The population has increased to 5.5 million; a big part of it is made up of immigrants. Seventy-eight percent of Channel News Asia/Gallup polled felt that Singapore should limit the number of foreign workers when the population increases. (Journal of Alternative Perspectives in the Social Sciences ( 2009) Vol 1, No 3, 982-1002982)The management of the consequences of attracting more talented immigrants has become a challenge both in political and economic aspect. Globalization results in more acute income inequalities and meanwhile places a high premium on talent. Those people who stand at both ends of the skills spectrum are worried about their future.((Journal of Alternative Perspectives in the Social Sciences ( 2009) Vol 1, No 3, 982-1002982)) The cheaper labour from neighboring countries has forced the lower end to improve skills more efficiently. At the other end, Singapores industries has also storm skills deficit which has been pushed into higher value-added. Those Singaporean s who are better educated now have become being placed at a disadvantage in a more and more competitive job market. There is growing concern on the influence of fairly large immigration on the establishment of Singapores cultural and national identity, and on the states management of racial diversity as well. (Koh, 2003: 230-256). Effect of Globalization: Opening of New Economy and its effect on the unskilled, leading to widening income gap Globalization has become crucial for economic growth and prosperity in Singapore in recent decades, though the gains main spread unequally. Its magnitude and speed increase the free mobility of the products, services, as well as the factors of production across national borders. Globalization has made it possible for the transition form heavy industry or manufacturing-based economy to a new technology based one, thus leads to the opening of new economies. However, like most by-products of globalization, it has been a double-edged sword. The high growth, low inflation and high employment of this period led to overly optimistic predictions and many flawed business plans. (Newsweek article (January 2001) on the false claims of the new economy) Business in developed countries process outsourcing enables cheaper labour and services, however, meanwhile, displaces some of the service-sector jobs. One the one hand, accessing to the global market by attracting Direct Foreign Investment (FDI) and foreign investments has promoted Singapores economic development. On the other hand, the blue-collars jobs in the city-state were forced to run away to low-costs countries such as China and India. Thus it has a main effect on the widening income gap. Figure 1 QQà ¦Ã‹â€ Ã‚ ªÃƒ ¥Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¾Ãƒ ¦Ã…“ ªÃƒ ¥Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ‚ ½Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ Ã‚  Figure 2. Wage inequality between Skilled Professionals and Unskilled ones. Source: Ministry of Manpower Singapore (2007). Report on Wages in Singapore 2006 Figure 1 indicates about 52.0% of Singaporeans are skilled workers in 2010. Figure2 shows the ratio of the skilled occupations wages to the unskilled ones wages. Regarding the income inequality between occupations, the collectively defined skilled workers continue to earn more than unskilled workers such as the cleaners, labourers and related workers. And the income gap has widened further since 1996.Therefore, the wage growths relative stagnation among the unskilled workers would unquestionably have influence on the widening income gap between the two ends of the occupational spectrum as indicated in Figure 2. Due to globalization, with the internet and airplanes, the distance between countries is getting shorter. The international communication on technologies and science has been more interactive and immediate. Therefore, companies nowadays set different parts of their plants in different countries and locations, saving the delivery time but not sacrificing the quality of the products and. The outsourcing of old jobs makes the companies greater profit due to low exchange rates of the countries and lower costs. However, meanwhile, the new technologies will make the old skills obsolete and increase the rate of unemployment in Singapore. The new economy is not only the high technology and the Internet, but also the work is now being supported by technology and evolving with technology. The new economy consists of new organizational models as well, emphasizing teamwork which means the decision making is no longer dominated by a single boss. The old economy just focused on local, state or national markets, but the new economy focused towards global market. The new economy showed a change in how the nation tried to draw business and industry. In the old economy, the industry was attracted to the nation because of low priced labor, cheap land, low tax, convenient transportation and other physical infrastructures. In the new economy, outsourcing is becoming more and more popular. Such phenomenon is due to a period of transition to the new economies which is knowledge or idea-based from the old ones. The key of the new economy is the utilized technology and high quality of production, as well as new ideas and innovation which can be embedded in all aspects of the economy. In 1950, 60% of the jobs needed unskilled workers; however, today only about 15% of jobs require them. The need for professionals has been around 20%. (Dr. Jacquelyn P. Robinson, A L A B A M A C O O P E R A T I V E E X T E N S I O N S Y S T EM, Volume 1, Issue 4 September 22, 2000)The requirement of skilled jobs which needs education and training has grown. Real wages for high school graduated without technical training decreased 18% over the last 18 years and those without high school diploma dropped 40%.((Dr. Jacquelyn P. Robinson). Therefore, the well-off march towards the global market and make more profit while the poor and uneducated become obsolete and unemployment, leading to the widening income diversity. CONCLUSION In this paper, we have discussed more about globalization: its role and the effects it has on Singapore, more specifically, the widening income gap. As can be seen, globalization has affected the way things work and old skills and jobs are gradually being outsourced. Although we cannot do anything to prevent it, it is important than we are aware of the consequences and try to improve Singapores current situation. Hence, Singaporeans should jump at the chance to improve their skills, so as to have a better future in exchange. Indeed, the Singapore government faces a tough challenge in trying to achieve this trinity of social goals income equality, economic growth and fiscal discipline (Yeoh 2007/2008). Even though this is hard to put into practice, the Singapore government has to adopt specific actions and measures to address the spiraling income inequality. This will help to prevent social discontentment and continue the wealth and prosperity that Singapore has been achieving over the years. However, the Singapore government has the responsibility to pay close attention to the needs of the people, especially those falling through the cracks with the rising cost of living. It is important that the government continues to care for the needs of the people and ensure that effective measures are carried out to ease their burdens. Unhappiness among the people leading to widespread discontentment can cause policies to fail; hence, political leaders must be capable of directing these emotions towards productive uses that benefit the economy, rather than allowing these emotions to develop into civil strife. Besides the economic policies to reverse income disparity, most importantly, the government needs to demonstrate empathetic leadership and win the hearts of Singaporeans so that the future will continue with a better Singapore.

An Opportunity Like None Other :: Teaching Teachers Education Essays

An Opportunity Like None Other The opportunity to touch someone’s life is given to everyone; however, what one chooses to do with this opportunity sets people apart. Teachers are people who are given this opportunity each day. This power of opportunity is both surreal and intriguing and is my reason for wishing to become an educator. As a future teacher, I believe our society’s paramount initiative should be to educate our youth. To shape the minds of the future will be a daunting task, but one I except with great enthusiasm. I came to teaching not because of a sudden epiphany or because a certain teacher touched my life. It was an intrinsic feeling that developed in my heart and showed me the beauty of sharing love and knowledge with the children of this world. I want the fulfillment that teaching has to offer, because I believe there is no greater joy than touching the hearts and minds of youth. The truly curious individual is the one who continues their education and never stops learning, and I believe my curiosity will drive me to be the best teacher I can be. Every aspect of our lives has a beginning, an establishment, or a foundation. As a teacher in today’s society, I believe it is important that educators start with a solid foundation of knowledge. With the launch of sputnik in the 1950’s, our society turned to its educators to insure our nation was producing quality students, especially in the sciences. It was then that our nation realized we needed to improve our education with a â€Å"back to basics† approach. William Bagley, an essentialist, established a foundation for America with the intent to instill students with the â€Å"essentials† of academic knowledge and character development. It is here I find my philosophy. The â€Å"back to basics† approach has brought about an application of knowledge needed for the real world. An approach that provides people with the knowledge they need to be able to survive in society. Leaders such as William Bennett, former US Secretary of Education, believed strongly in the essentialist approach to education.