Organizational Process Recommendation Paper

RUNNING HEADING: Organizational Process Recommendation Organizational Process Recommendation Paper University of Phoenix MGT 449 Mrs. Rebecca McHatton December 7, 2009 Quality International Textile Group is a diverse, innovative provider of global textile solutions and distinguished fabric brands to automotive, apparel, interior furnishing and industrial markets worldwide. While excellence is the common thread that weaves throughout Quality International Textile, it is the uniquely combined threads of a global manufacturing platform, innovative products, state-of-the-art systems, and a dynamic team of forward-thinking professionals that create unparalleled opportunities and competitive advantages for our customer partners. Quality improvement involves identifying discrepancies within organizational processes that may not run as effectively as possible. Many organizations find that a process is adequate for a time, but could function more effectively with some tweaking. An organization that strives for quality helps create an atmosphere based on teamwork and ensures that the entire organization will contribute to meeting the company’s ultimate goals. An effective evaluation process helps manage employees, offer suggestions, and a chance to set their career goals. The evaluation of an employee should have a positive influence on each individual employee regardless of the outcome. A major determinant of service quality centers on the people providing the service. Employee selection, training, motivation, supervision, and reward-all process relating to employees have a significant impact on quality. Burrill, 1999) Currently, there is no particular standardization for the process. Each manager evaluation process differs from another. Below is a â€Å"as is† flow chart of the current evaluation process that need to be analyzed. The description of the process is extremely limited because currently there is no strategic plan in place within t he entire process. Form the period that the self- evaluation is initiated until the time the management evaluates the employee can range any where from 1 month until one year. There is also no set timeframe when management discuses the employee evaluation until the time a pay increase is initiated. All raised vary from one manager to another, and there is no particular percentage set for pay increases regardless of the evaluation outcome. Therefore, there is no relation of the process to the organization’s strategic plan. This process of improvement would benefit the employee; it would also benefit customers, and the company as a whole. Effective quality management for an evaluation process would lead to higher productivity because employees would know and understand that their yearly salary increase would depend on their performance therefore, timely and systematic resolution of evaluations/ appraisals is important. An effective performance appraisal process would help the quality culture within the organization because employees would feel that their performance is significant to the company and its goals. Customers within the organization that are affected are office and field employees, suppliers, and customer. Initially a customer does not know if the service provided is good or bad, but an inefficient process for serving the customer can create a dad impression. The Fabric industry experiences the same business malfunctions as other companies. Therefore, the fabric industry should adapt the methods and ideas as other companies but many still have not adopted the Total Quality Management process. Those are the companies that will most likely experience increasing competition, rising legal cost related to cost overruns and schedule delays, and decreasing profit margins. (Cotinas, 1999). Several steps can be taken to ensure that metrics motivate process behaviors that increase customer value. The first is to identify and prioritize the customers served by the process. (Burrill, 1999). Although the process of employee evaluations does not directly involve customer service, it does have an effect on customers receiving services from the company’s employees. To hire an HR manager to perform create and perform appraisals to better adhere to each employees qualifications would be a great way to implement a change. The cause-and-effect diagram is a method for analyzing a process. The diagram’s purpose is to relate causes and effects. The cause and effect diagram can become complex and make it difficult to identify the problem, but it would be well worth it. If other all employees are allowed to help identify problems relating to the situation and provide a chronological view, that would be just what the company needed for restructuring of the company’s quality culture. Improvement process can vary and there are many tools to help organizations implement change. Seeking ideas and opinions from employees is one of the best techniques to identify whether or not any changes are necessary. References Achieving Quality through continual improvement . From University of Phoenix eBook library web site: https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/content/ebooklibrary/content/eReader. hCortinas, D 1999

To Kill a Mockingbird Speech

â€Å"Some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negroes are not to be trusted around women – black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men†. That was a quote by Atticus Finch. Atticus Finch is a man who always tries to do what is right. In the novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ a major theme is racism. An innocent black man is unfairly charged for raping a white girl. Throughout the book we learn about Atticus’ views on racism as well as racism being present in the novel. I feel very strongly about this topic and my views about it are very similar to Atticus’, rather than most of the Maycomb community’s. In ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ racism has a big impact in the novel. Since the book was based in the 1930’s, the issue of racism was not only present in the book but was relevant at the time in the Southern States of America. In 1930 Negroes had only been free from slavery for 65 years. After these 65 years of being free citizens, most whites still believed they are below them. This isn’t so different in Australia. The Aboriginal Australians were only granted the right to vote, after a referendum was held in 1967. That was around 45 years ago and still some aboriginals still fall victims to racism. The town of Maycomb County is a good example of a community whom a majority of its citizens stereotype people by their skin colour. The difference from Atticus’s views on racism compared to a person like Bob Ewell is completely opposite. Atticus lives in a racist society and doesn’t share these prejudice views. Atticus once said â€Å"You never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them†. He teaches his children, Jem and Scout to treat everyone with respect, including their black housekeeper, Calpurnia. He respects people of colour and believes it is his duty to defend Tom Robinson to the best of his ability. Bob Ewell and a majority of Maycomb County do not agree with Atticus’s views. They don’t see Tom as â€Å"Tom†, they see him as a negro. Atticus quotes: â€Å"what was one negro, more or less, among two hundred of ‘em? Read also  How Powerful Do You Find Atticus Finch’s Closing Speech? He wasn’t Tom to them†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . Due to the jury racially discriminating against Negroes, Tom Robinson was pronounced guilty. No matter how much evidence Atticus justified to the court that Tom Robinson was not guilty, the jury would still pick a white person over a Negro. Tom truly believed he had no chance for an appeal and decided to attempt to escape, taking his own chances and being shot. Tom believed that he would fall victim to racial prejudice again and not be judged fairly despite his innocence. Racism caused an innocent man’s death. In my opinion, I don’t see how anyone benefits from being racist and I am so against it. We are all human beings and that doesn’t change because of the colour of your skin. No race is better than the other and it is ignorant to believe that you are above someone else by judging their skin colour. Racism is so unnecessary and I stand with Atticus’s views when It comes to this topic. Atticus’s lack of racial prejudice shows how fair and genuinely good of a person he is. Atticus made an impression on the Maycomb community, a community that in the 1930’s were very racially discriminating against coloured people. Atticus influences the reader to have not judge someone based on their skin colour. The Tom Robinson case was a step towards stopping racism. ‘Atticus finch won’t win, he can’t win, but he’s the only man in these parts who can keep a jury out so long in a case like that. ’, Miss Maudie quotes ‘well, we’re making a step – it’s just a baby step, but it’s a step’. To Kill a Mockingbird Speech English Speech The bildungsroman genre comprises social and psychological maturity of its protagonist. Harper lee's To Kill a Mockingbird and Gwen Harwood's Father and Child poem both are written in bildungsroman genre. The two texts surround the themes of childhood innocence and maturing to reflect upon universal human experiences. Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird focuses on the protagonist, Scout, and how moves from a state of innocence to one of maturity. At the start of the book, Scout is like any other girl; her ideas are simple and childish.Scouts loss of innocence is portrayed in the Tom Robinson's trial. Most adults of the community insist scout is too young to hear about a trial about rape, however scout replies, â€Å"I most certainly am not, I know every word you're saying. † This shows the loss of innocence in Scout and reflects on the universal human experiences surrounding this theme. Similarly, Gwenn Harwood's Father and Child also uses the bildungsroman genre to depict universal human experiences.Harwood utilizes violent and visual imagery in portraying the child murdering the owl to emphasise the loss of innocence. Also the phrase, â€Å"for what I have begun† suggests that the child has lost their innocence and father's trust. The loss of innocence most certainly represents universal human experiences. Furthermore, Harper Lee displays the maturation in Scout from the beginning of the book to the end. At the beginning of the novel, scout is immature and rude.This is shown as scout fights Walter Cunningham for the reason of â€Å"not having his lunch†. When Scout says, â€Å"Who in this town did anything to help Tom Robinson, just who? † she shows signs of maturation in her ability to understand the issue of racism. Towards the end of the novel, though Scout is still a child, her perspectives on life develop onto a near grown up and this replicates the experiences faced by all humans. Gwen Harwood's Father and Child also shows maturation of the persona through the changes in relationships with her father.With many allusions of nature, Harwood constructs a dynamic backdrop which allow you to realise the subtle shifts in the child's personality. The theme of maturation is one which is presented in the bildungsroman genre to reflect on universal human experiences. As we can gather from the texts; To kill a Mockingbird and Father and Child, the use of bildungsroman genre appeals in its ability to capture universal human experiences. The themes of loss of innocence and maturation depict the universal human experiences in the two texts and reflect on this statement.

Analysis Of Mobile Communication Communications Essay

Analysis Of Mobile Communication Communications Essay Wireless communication has become a ubiquitous part of modern life, from global cellular telephone systems to local and even personal-area networks. This book provides a tutorial introduction to digital mobile wireless networks, illustrating theoretical underpinnings with a wide range of real-world examples. The book begins with a review of propagation phenomena, and goes on to examine channel allocation, modulation techniques, multiple access schemes, and coding techniques. GSM and IS-95 systems are reviewed and 2.5G and 3G packet-switched systems are discussed in detail. Performance analysis and accessing and scheduling techniques are covered, and the book closes with a chapter on wireless LANs and personal-area networks. Many worked examples and homework exercises are provided and a solutions manual is available for instructors. The book is an ideal text for electrical engineering and computer science students taking courses in wireless communications. It will also be an invaluab le reference for practicing engineers. Wireless communication technology is diffusing around the planet faster than any other communication technology to date. Because communication is at the heart of human activity in all domains, the advent of this technology, allowing multimodal communication from anywhere to anywhere where there is the appropriate infrastructure, is supposed to have profound social effects. Yet, which kind of effects, under which conditions, for whom and for what is an open question. Indeed, we know from the history of technology, including the history of the Internet, that people and organizations end up using the technology for purposes very different of those initially sought or conceived by the designers of the technology. Furthermore, the more a technology is interactive, and the more it is likely that the users become the producers of the technology in its actual practice. Therefore, rather than projecting dreams and fears on the kind of society that will result in the future from the widespread use of wireless communication, we must root ourselves in the observation of the present using the traditional, standard tools of scholarly research. People, institutions, and business have suffered enough from the unwarranted prophecies of futurologists and visionaries that project and promise whatever comes to their minds on the basis of anecdotal observation and ill understood developments. Thus, our aim in this report is to ground an informed discussion of the social uses and social effects of wireless communication technology on what we know currently (2004) in different areas of the world. We would have like to consider exclusively information and analyses produced within the rigorous standards of academic research. This constitutes a good proportion of the material examined here. The rise of mobile communication Mobile communication has diffused into society at a rate that is unprecedented. On a world basis, the number of mobile phone s rose 24% between 2000 and 2005. According to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), there was about one telephone subscription for every third person in the world (2005).2 At the same time there were about half as many who had access to the intent (ITU 2005). The highest adoption rates are found in Europe where there are approximately 82 subscriptions per 100 persons. In Oceania (Australia, New Zealand, etc.) there are 69, and in the Americas there are 52 subscriptions per 100 persons. Following this Asia had 22 subscriptions per 100 and Africa had 11. While the adoption rate in Europe has levelled off, there is an almost Klondike like atmosphere in many other countries. The growth rates in India and China are far above 50% per year. In addition, growth in sub-Saharan Africa often tops 100% and sometimes even 200% per year.3 Thus, in the last decade; we have seen the widespread adoption of a new form of communication.

The Moral Instinct Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Moral Instinct - Essay Example However, the author points out that there are no clear avenues of reasoning and rationalization of the moral behaviors as different societies have different views concerning behavior, as much as people know that some behaviors are wrong and does not meet the standards of morality in the society, others don’t understand and can not justify them in this case. The article further elaborated on the different genealogy which also influences our moral behavior in the society as they were ranked depending on the perceived consequences that are likely to be displayed. The above concepts will be the key focusing point in this essay. Concepts/Claims The author argues that morality is universal having experienced a number of situations for its justification. He states that people are born with universal grammar, which makes them understand the speech structures without any conscious awareness about the rules in the play. He further states that by analogy, human beings are born with unive rsal grammar of morality which helps in analyzing the human actions in-terms of morality with little awareness (Compley et al 433). In this aspect, the author admits that human beings are born with morality part with them, and it can not be distinguished from them. Anyone who does not want to exercise morality does so because of his or her personal conscious. The author asserts that the moral sense is instinct in the design of the human brain, and it is very difficult to distinguish the morality in us from our everyday behavior. To justify the above concept, the author collected a list of universally accepted moral concepts and emotions. The collected moral concepts included distinctions between right and wrong, empathy, fairness, prosecution of murder, rape, admiration of generosity, shame taboos and sanction from wronging the community. The findings reveal that people are emotionally attached to the moral behaviors. The morality concepts start in early childhood as toddlers help t heir fellow by giving them toys and also comforting distressed persons. A four year old school going knows very well the dressing codes required in school and the dangers of hitting a fellow for whatever reason. The interviewed school children had the same response in regards to morality from the asked questions. From the above result from research conducted, morality is instinct and people are born with it making it universal phenomenon that everyone has to practice. Similarly, children are nurtured with morality when it is reinforced in them since it will stick and be part of them despite the external factors which might influence them. The second concept that the author puts forward is that morality is a psychological state of mind that can be put on and off. He argues that when the state is put on, the mind controls our thinking, which latter influences our actions in deciding what is wrong and right. The conscious mind, which is put on brings different hallmarks which are assoc iated with morality as being perceived to be universal. Rape and murder are universally immoral which are accepted in different societies hence universally warranted. Similarly, people feel that those who do wrong or exhibit immoral behaviors should be punished. This is not only to inflict pain on the offenders but also as a show that it is not allowed in the society (Comley et al

Individual versus group decision-making processes Essay

Individual versus group decision-making processes - Essay Example In group decision making, all team members have a right to express their sentiments. If any group member is denied the chance to participate in the decision making, the decision can be disputed. In the individual decision making, only one individual does the analysis of the work involved and makes the undisputable decision. This is the only effective in certain business types such as sole proprietor businesses. Group decisions consume more time than individual decision makings. In the individual case, the decision can be made at any instant, and in urgent situations. Decision making in a group must follow certain guiding principles including deadlines, regulatory compliance frameworks and bureaucracy. Business ethics provides the acceptable ethical guiding principles and behaviors of employees acceptable to the organization. It consumes more time to pass strong decision in line with business ethics, which again change with time. Individual decision making has no specific standard as the individual is in full control of the business (Kahneman & Tversky 2000, p. 53). Because each member of the team has a level of ethical, the operations of the individual changes once he or she begins working in the organization. Companies make use of the mission statements to establish and enforce the framework. Individual decision making does not apply any mission standard ethical decisions of the group. Both individual and group decision making are guided by standard a level of procedural and structural regulations (Batley & Daly 2006, p. 59). Businesses use standard operational procedures in daily decision making, though a decision matrix. There are decisions that have to be made at specific levels depending on the discretion of a leader. In the same way, an individual applies work place rules by deciding on the management of responsibilities in various business situations. None of the two decision methods is perfect. Errors can occur at any time since the

Issues of Faculty Training for Online Courses Research Paper - 1

Issues of Faculty Training for Online Courses - Research Paper Example Second, the approach provides a window of opportunity for innovation (Noor, 2008). Third, the method can be perfectly suited for studying novel and rare phenomenon (Seidman, 2013).  Finally this method is good for challenge (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007). The disadvantages include the following; first, the approach is difficult to derive a definite cause effect inference (Lichtman, 2006). Second, the method is hard to generalize from a single a case and finally it is possible to get biases in data collection and interpretation (Merriam & Merriam, 2009).   The study shall employ semi structured interviews during th process of data collection as they are characterized by topical guidance that contain main questions that are used in a similar manner in every interview. Further, the sequence of the questions is intended to be also following a similar pattern. The choice of semi structured interview had been arrived at due to the fact that there were certain elements within the topic in relation to the sample to be chosen that this researcher might have grasped. Nonetheless, since this is a novel inquiry, the study shall be allowed to take its own course and the questions shall not be imposed upon the participants as a way of imposing the meaning as consequence. Interviews are also comparatively cheaper if done on a relatively small

Target Corporation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Target Corporation - Essay Example The full name of the retail store known as Target is Target Corporation. This name came to be known in 1962. Target Corporation has a main headquarters located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The main headquarters is located right downtown. Other smaller offices are also located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The state of Arizona is home to the financial headquarters for Target Corporation. Target Corporation also has two banks that are located in Sioux Falls, North Dakota and Salt Lake City, Utah (Target2011). These many different headquarters allow for target to provide appropriate customer service and financing. Target Corporation was not always known as the Target that is today. The first Target store was opened in the 1900’s and named Good fellows. Good fellows produced dry goods. The store was located in downtown Minneapolis. It wasn’t long before the company became known as the Dayton Company. Later in the 1960’s the first Target store was opened. The store was loc ated in Roseville, Minnesota. The store quickly became popular and expanded to the now known Target Corporation. This rapid growth came from a strong founder. The founder of Target Corporation is George Dayton. George Dayton was born in 1857. George was born in New York. Throughout his career he stumbled upon a retail store that his bank had foreclosed on (Soylent Communications 2011). This business venture was the start of many other additions. George acquired more popular retail stores such as Mervyns, Hudson’s and Marshall Fields. These many retail mergers led to the current Target Corporation. These mergers also proved the strength that Target Corporation has. George’s determination allowed him to become a successful business man and build Target Corporation to what it is today. The original business of Target Corporation was a Dry Goods retail store. It wasn’t long before the Good Fellow Dry Good’s Company became known as one of the number one suppli ers of retail goods. Products originally sold were retail items like other department stores. Target Corporation sells various products. Products range from children’s clothing, canned goods, jewelry and electronics. Target Corporation is a one stop shop for popular products. Target Corporations owns a majority of manufacturing facilities that help keep the price of goods low. The Target Corporation has a history as many different companies. Target Corporation is responsible for the Merger of many popular retail chains. In 1956, Target Corporation was responsible for the very first shopping center that had two different shopping levels. This new shopping center became the new face of shopping centers in America. Soon after Target Corporations two story shopping center, many similar shopping centers such as malls were spreading throughout the country. The target store was the first of its kind. The Target store of 1962 was able to offer discounted retail items. Offering discou nted items made Target a popular retail chain. The 1960’s and 1970’s were huge decades for Target Corporation. During this time, there were large mergers and the announcement of Target Corporations entering into the stock market. Another merger with Marshall Field’s later took place in the 1990’s. This final merger allowed Target Corporation to become huge generating over $30 billion dollars (Target2011). The success of Target stores led to the sale of Marshall Field’

Ideological Racism vs Prejudice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ideological Racism vs Prejudice - Essay Example In the case of the United States, for much of the countrys history, the important institutions were dominated by the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) community. As a result, all other immigrant groups were disadvantaged from the outset. Even among whites, Eastern European ethnic groups and South European communities (the most prominent of which are the Italian Americans) were discriminated against. The challenges were all the more steep for immigrant groups of other races. This includes the Hispanics, African Americans and Asian Americans. A typical example of the potency of ideological racism is the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which barred Chinese immigrants from attaining citizenship. This legislation was prompted by the ideology of the dominant group, the WASPs, who believed in modelling American society on the basis of their traditional values and beliefs. Prejudice, when compared with ideological racism, is relatively unstructured. Prejudice is largely an expression at the individual level, as opposed to ideological racism which is clearly defined and recognized by the entire society. Since prejudice can differ from one individual to the other, and since it does not lend itself to easy definitions, it is tough to study it sociologically. Ideological racism, by virtue of being part of mainstream discourse, as well as being well-documented, gives the sociologist a lot of factual and statistical material to conduct his/her analysis. Seen in this way, ideological racism can be said to be more sociological. Similar logic can be applied in differentiating between institutional discrimination and other forms of discrimination. Institutional discrimination is the blatant expression of prejudiced attitudes and beliefs, which is often backed by legislation. For example, before 1960s, black children were not allowed to register in schools exclusively meant for white children. This policy of segregation was backed by law, which

Factors Affecting Global Demand and Supply Research Paper

Factors Affecting Global Demand and Supply - Research Paper Example A research conducted by Ronaldo (2010) indicates that a significant loss of shareholder value emerges from gaps in demand and supply management. Mostly, these shortages in supply are caused by monopolized supply, poor forecasting, poor planning, low inventory levels, long delivery processes and poor communications. With a delay in one of the above elements of demand or supply, a big impact is evident in the business operations especially financially. When a company ignores the importance of advanced and innovative technology, it stands a big chance of losing its competitive edge. Demand can be either independent or dependent. A dependent demand is whereby the demand for a certain product depends on the availability of and demand for another product (Aswathappa, 2004). For example, the demand for mobile batteries will depend on the availability of mobile phones. On the other hand, independent demand means that each product demand does not rely on demand or supply of any other product or service. Factors Affecting Demand and Supply Demand for commodities and services are mainly influenced by commodity price change as customers can easily shift to the same product offered by a competitor. If there is a change in customers’ income, the customer can either purchase more or less with respect to the income change. Tastes and preferences constantly change among customers due to change of fashion trend or other influencers such health and change of status. Demand is also affected by a change in the price of competitive goods; if the prices of such goods increase, the demand for supplementary goods go high and vice versa (Nezih & Lewia, 2011). Government policies may also increase or reduce demand when they pose a control bill and supply restrictions. Further, when certain goods are taxed and levied heavily, producers limit production. Thus, prices are high due to the cost involved in the production, hence high price tags per unit product. Natural calamities and s easons play a big role in changing goods and services demand and supply. For instance, during winter, the demand for warm clothing is high, but during summer, the demand is very low. Commercial advertisements, when communicated effectively, increase demand of the particular product or service since a large volume of customers is exposed to the information and is willing to try out the product due to curiosity and as a result, the demanded goods flood the market (Collins, 2012). Demographic factors such as age, the total available population and a change of growth rate have a very big impact on demand and supply. A certain age group will show demand high of a specific commodity than that of another age group. For example, kids will demand more of toys than any other age group and a population with a big number of babies means that the total demand and supply of toys is high. Sociological factors such as level of education, marital status and sex will also influence demand. The quanti ty of competition in the market affects demand in the sense that if competitors are many, there is a lot of supply. Therefore, the customer has a wide variety to choose from, and this inversely affects demand and price stability. Cost of inputs has a major influence on supply. If labor and capital charges are high, the supply is limited since the producers have a limited production capability.  

Issues in Financial Reporting & Analysis Semester Essay Example for Free

Issues in Financial Reporting Analysis Semester Essay Word length Maximum word limit: 1,000 (Typed, double-spaced, minimum 12 point Times New Roman font, all margins 2.5cm minimum). The word limit includes tables, appendices and footnotes (if any), but excludes references. Do not use endnote. State the word count at the beginning of the essay. All material over 1,000 words will be disregarded. References must follow the Harvard style referencing. Submission Instructions Students must lodge the essay by 5pm Friday 20 September 2013 electronically to Turn-It-in software through Blackboard and submit a copy in Blackboard through the â€Å"Essay† tab. Turn-It-In will be made available closer to the due date. Your electronic copy should be in Microsoft Word format and named using your SID (e.g., z1234567.doc). The â€Å"Individual Assignment Cover Sheet† on the course Blackboard site must be attached to both submissions. Please ensure that you know how to submit this assessment correctly by reviewing these instructions. Penalties apply for non-compliance. Penalties ï‚ · Presentation and organisation of the essay: students should write up their answers in an essay format which must consist of an introduction, body of discussion and conclusion. Headings must be used when answering the questions. The introduction and conclusion should be directly related to the findings students identified in the body. 3 marks penalty applies to essays that fail to follow this structure. ï‚ · Plagiarism: Refer to the University policy for possible penalties; http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/plagiarism/index.html ï‚ · Late submissions will be penalised at the rate of 5% (1 mark) per day or part thereof. The penalty applies to Saturday and Sunday as well as weekdays. No essay will be accepted for submission after 10 October 2013. ï‚ · Submissions that do not follow the â€Å"Submission Instructions† will attract a penalty of 3 marks. ï‚ · Small or incorrect font: Penalty of 2 marks will be deducted for a font below 12 or the use of a font other than Times New Roman. ï‚ · Inappropriate margins: Penalty of 2 marks will be deduced if any margin is less than 2.5cm. ï‚ · An essay presented in handwriting: Hand-written essays will not be marked; late penalties apply to re-submission in WORD. Feedback and marking of the essay will be done by the online marking and feedback system called ReView. Self-assessment of performance for your own essay can also be conducted using ReView. Further details about access ReView (including a link to access ReView) are available on Blackboard. 2 MARKING CRITERIA Ethical Analysis Criteria (7 marks): Criteria 1. Identify key ethical issues or implications of business decisions / practice (2 MARKS) Analyse and assess ethical impacts / implications (2 MARKS) ï‚ · ï‚ · Proposes a feasible ï‚ · strategy / recommendation to address issues / impacts. Provides some justification for ï‚ · recommendation, based on analysis and relevant ethical frameworks / principles. 3 Cultural Analysis Criteria (7 marks): Criteria 1. Identify cultural dimensions / characteristics of a business situation (2 MARKS) 3. Evaluate the extent to which the HofstedeGray framework explains the problems and propose a strategy to address cultural implications (3 MARKS) ï‚ · Does not make feasible culturally appropriate recommendations in light of relevant theory or frameworks. ï‚ · Identifies and analyses key cultural impacts (intended and unintended) or implications of business choices or practice, using appropriate theory or frameworks. ï‚ · Makes feasible culturally appropriate recommendations which are aligned with appropriate frameworks and principles. ï‚ · Convincingly justifies recommendations and considers their impact and implications (and evaluates alternative responses if appropriate). 4 Written communication criteria (6 marks): Criteria 1. Communicates clearly and concisely (2 MARKS) as possible). ï‚ · Uses fluent, accurate ï‚ · Uses generally accurate expression / grammar (or expression / grammar, but with negligible errors meaning occasionally which do not interfere needs to be clearer. with clarity). 2. Structures text logically and coherently (2 MARKS) ï‚ · Generally presents main ï‚ · Presents all ideas / ï‚ · Does not present main argument, ideas and arguments / information argument, ideas and information logically and logically and information logically or structures text coherently persuasively, and structure text coherently to achieve aim e.g.,: structures text coherently to achieve aim, e.g.,: ï‚ § Text has a generally and effectively to achieve ï‚ § Text has an unclear clear focus, with little aim: focus and possibly or no irrelevant ï‚ § Text has a clear focus, irrelevant or repetitive material; ideas are with no irrelevant or material; ideas are not generally developed repetitive material, and sequentially or sequentially and a logical development logically developed logically, but this could and sequence of main ï‚ § Text is not structured be more consistent ideas and supporting to effectively achieve ï‚ § Text has an adequate material aim structure ï‚ § Text has a clear, coherent structure ï‚ · Presents document at a ï‚ · Presents document very ï‚ · Does not present professional standard, professionally, e.g.,: document at a e.g.,: ï‚ § Evidence of thorough professional standard, ï‚ § Some evidence of editing (e.g., no / e.g., editing (only minor negligible spelling / ï‚ § Little evidence of spelling / punctuation punctuation errors) editing (frequent errors) ï‚ § Accurately and spelling / punctuation ï‚ § Uses appropriate effectively uses errors) format (e.g., essay) and appropriate format ï‚ § Does not accurately use follows formatting (e.g., essay) and meets appropriate format requirements requirements (e.g., essay) or follow ï‚ § Style and presentation ï‚ § Style and presentation requirements are appropriate and are highly appropriate ï‚ § Style and presentation sufficiently formal for for the specific business are not appropriate for the specific business / / academic context the specific business / academic context academic con text ï‚ · References sources ï‚ · References sources in-text accurately (in Harvard ï‚ · Does not reference and  in reference list style) in-text and in sources appropriately / mainly accurately and in reference list. accurately in-text, or in correct style (e.g., reference list. ï‚ · Integrates sources Harvard). effectively into text. 3. Presents text professionally and references sources accurately (2 MARKS) 5

Economy Of The Kingdom Of Thailand

Economy Of The Kingdom Of Thailand Chapter 1: Introduction. The Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia. Thailand is the worlds 50th largest country in terms of total area with a surface area of approximately 513,000 km2 (198,000 sq miters), and the 21st most-populous country, with approximately 64 million people. About 75% of the population is ethnically Thai, 14% is of Chinese origin, and 3% is ethnically Malay; the rest belong to minority groups including Mons, Khmers and various hill tribes. There are approximately 2.2 million legal and illegal migrants in Thailand. Thailand has also attracted a small number of expatriates from developed countries. The countrys official language is Thai. As for the Thai economy, it is export-dependent, with exports of goods and services equivalent to over 70% of GDP in 2008. Thailands recovery from the 1997-1998 Asian financial crises (which brought a double-digit drop in GDP) relied largely on external demand from the United States and other foreign markets. From 2001-2006, the administration of former Prime Minister Thaksin embraced a dual track economic policy that combined domestic stimulus programs with Thailands traditional promotion of open markets and foreign investment. Real GDP growth strengthened sharply from 2.2% in 2001 to 7.1% in 2003 and 6.3% in 2004. In 2005-2007, economic expansion moderated, averaging 4.5% to 5.0% real GDP growth, due to domestic political uncertainty, rising violence in Thailands four southernmost provinces, and repercussions from the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004. Thailands economy in 2007 relied heavily on resilient export growth (at a 17.3% annual rate), particularly in the automobile , petrochemicals, and electronics sectors. Persistent political uncertainty and the global financial crisis in 2008 weakened Thailands economic growth by reducing domestic and international demand for both its goods and services (including tourism). Due to minimum exposure to toxic assets, Thai banks have limited direct impact from the global financial crisis. Nonetheless, Thai economic growth slowed to 2.6% in 2008, with fourth quarter growth dropping below zero. In 2009, the contraction continued. First quarter GDP was down by 7.1% year-on-year. To offset weak external demand and to shore up confidence, the Abhisit administration introduced two stimulus packages worth $43.4 billion. The government projected that the Thai economy would be down 3.5% for the year but would see positive growth of 2.5% in 2010. Roughly 40% of Thailands labor force is employed in agriculture (data based on Bank of Thailand.) Rice is the countrys most important crop; Thailand is the largest exporter in the world rice market. Other agricultural commodities produced in significant amounts include fish and fishery products, tapioca, rubber, corn, and sugar. Exports of processed foods such as canned tuna, canned pineapples, and frozen shrimp are also significant. As for the old and familiar neighboring country of Thailand, China is the second largest export market and third-largest supplier after Japan. These two neighboring countries had never been encroached to each other; the very well relationship remained in peace and stable. Two developing countries are rising with the same pace, but also compete economically. China has one of the worlds oldest civilizations and has the oldest continuous civilization. It has archaeological evidence dating back over 5,000 years. China was the largest and most advanced civilization for much of recorded history and is viewed as the source of many major inventions. It has also one of the worlds oldest written language systems. Historically, Chinas cultural sphere has extended across East Asia as a whole, with Chinese religion, customs, and writing systems being adapted to varying degrees by neighbors such as Japan, Korea and Vietnam. The Peoples Republic of China has a land area of about 9.6 million sq km with approximately 1.5 billion population size, and is the third-largest country in the world, next only to Russia and Canada. Because of Chinas unstable situation in the 70s of last century, since then a lot of Chinese population was flowing to some other countries for a better shelter; and definitely Thailand was a very sweet one. At that time over 30,000 populations crossed the border of Thailand. They are now part of 14% of Chinese origin. At the beginning of 80s, the reform and open-up policy were implemented. Since then, a huge amount of cheap Chinese products were exported to oversea countries. Nowadays, therere still over half of the daily products were made in China. Not only the products were exported, but also labor migrants have left China and settled throughout Southeast Asia, seeking better opportunities in difficult times and creating burgeoning and long-standing communities. Now, China is one of the largest producers and consumers of agricultural products. Over 40% of Chinas labor force is engaged in agriculture, even though only 10% of the land is suitable for cultivation and agriculture contributes only 13% of Chinas GDP. Chinas cropland area is only 75% of the U.S. total, but China still produces about 30% more crops and livestock than the United States because of intensive cultivation, China is among the worlds largest producers of rice, corn, wheat, soybeans, vegetables, tea, and pork. Major non-food crops include cotton, other fibers, and oilseeds. China hopes to further increase agricultural production through improved plant stocks, fertilizers, and technology. Incomes for Chinese farmers are stagnating, leading to an increasing wealth gap between the cities and countryside. Government policies that continue to emphasize grain self-sufficiency and the fact that farmers do not ownand cannot buy or sellthe land they work have contributed to this sit uation. In addition, inadequate port facilities and lack of warehousing and cold storage facilities impede both domestic and international agricultural trade. China is now one of the most important markets for U.S. exports: in 2008, U.S. exports to China totaled $71.5 billion, a 9.5% increase of $16.2 billion from 2007. U.S. agricultural exports have increased dramatically, totaling $12.2 billion in 2009 and thus making China our fourth-largest agricultural export market. Leading categories include: soybeans ($7.3 billion), cotton ($1.6 billion), and hides and skins ($859 million). Export growth continues to be a major driver of Chinas rapid economic growth. Here comes our conflict: As the neighbor of supper sized China, Thailand faced double challenge. First of all, by import cheap but quality Chinese products the lessened GPD is shown and China is recently steadily replacing Thailands first place on exporting rice. Secondly more and more skilled Chinese labor forces are into Thailand, the local unemployment is facing the challenge. What is going to be the aftermath and what we can do about these becomes the very serious problem for Thailand. Chapter 2: Situation of the problem. As we know, Thailand is a very popular country, not only by tourism but also by the minds. Thai people are very conscientious and friendly, may that be the reason why so many western populations would like to move to Thailand for the rest of their lives. Under the capitalism system, Thailand has a GDP worth 8.5 trillion Baht (on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis), or USD 627 billion (PPP). This classifies Thailand as the 2nd largest economy in Southeast Asia after Indonesia. Despite this, Thailand ranks midway in the wealth spread in Southeast Asia as it is the 4th richest nation according to GDP per capita, after Singapore, Brunei and Malaysia. Most of Thailands labor force is working in agriculture. However, the relative contribution of agriculture to GDP has declined while exports of goods and services have increased. Tourism revenues are on the rise. With the instability surrounding the recent coup and the military rule, however, the GDP growth of Thailand has settled at arou nd 4-5% from previous highs of 5-7% under the previous civilian administration, as investor and consumer confidence has been degraded somewhat due to political uncertainty. Chinese economic history is quite fancy and interesting. This strong nation had gone through a lot. Even for the modern Chinese economy is still a long story to tell. The economic history of modern China began with the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1911. Following the Qing, China underwent a period of instability and disrupted economic activity. Under the Nanjing decade (1927-1937), China advanced several industries, in particular those related to the military, in an effort to catch up with the west and prepare for war with Japan. The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) and the following Chinese civil war caused the collapse of the Republic of China and formation of the Peoples Republic of China. The new ruler of China, Mao Zedong, initially promised to develop a socialist alliance with Petit Bourgeois, workers, and nationalist Bourgeois, but enacted collectivization upon consolidation of this regime. Collectivization resulted in the success of the first five-year plan, but Maos second five-year plan, which included the Great Leap forward, did not meet with the same success. A new party faction who supported private plots eventually challenged Maos economic policy. Unwilling to give up power, Mao launched the Cultural Revolution, which led to the collapse of the Chinese economy. Following Maos death, one of the most senior officials who had advocated private plots in the early 1960s, Deng Xiaoping initiated gradual market reforms that abolished the communes and collectivized industries of Mao, replacing them with the free-market system. Dengs reforms vastly improved the standard of living of the Chinese people, the competitiveness of the Chinese economy, and caused China to become one of the fastest growing and most important economies in the world. It also led to one of the most rapid industrializations in world history. For this achievement he is sometimes known as The Venerated Deng. As a result of Dengs reforms, China is widely regarded as a returning superpower. 1992 Deng Xiaopings Southern Tour at the beginning of the year massively boosted foreign direct investment inflows into coastal areas and started a wave of government investment in Shanghai. Record trade and GDP growth and inflation followed. 1993 Zhu Rongji appointed to rein in the overheating economy, this time more selectively than in 1989-91. Growth rates subsided gradually in subsequent years, producing a so-called soft landing. During the 1990s, living standards continued to rise, as evidenced by the proliferation of consumer durables, especially among the urban population. Continuing FDI inflows helped boost foreign exchange reserves to record heights in the late 1990s. Especially after the publication of the 1998 GDP figures, economists, both in China and abroad, have raised serious doubts about the quality of Chinas national accounts, which appeared in the late 1990s to overstate economic growth and are now suspected of understating growth. This may be because the statistical system tends to overestimate output at the trough of the cycle and underestimate output at the peak. However, the countrys first production census discovered at the end of 2005 that GDP has recently been grossly underestimated as a result of a failure to take into account the rapid growth of the services sector. As a result, growth rates for 2003-2005 are now recorded at around 10% per year in real terms. Despite efforts to cool the overheating economy, the officially recorded GDP growth rate was 11.4% in 2007. In 2008 the global economic crisis began to reduce Chinas growth rate. In the face of forecasts that this might drop below the rate at which school leavers can be absorbed by the growing economy (7%-8%) the government decided to pump RMB 4 trillion into the economy in the form of an economic stimulus package consisting largely of investment in fixed infrastructure and human capital. In 2009 Chinas GDP growth rate, though lower than the double-digit average of recent years, has held up well, rising from 6.1% year-on-year in the first quarter to 7.7% in the first three quarters of the year. This means that year-on-year GDP growth was around 9% in the second quarter. A similar rate of growth (9%) is expected in the final quarter, ensuring a rate of over 8% for 2009 as a whole. In Chinese GDP, more than 40% are expected from the export of products; there are over 50% daily products all over the world are MADE IN CHINA. The reason why Chinese products are so competitive is because they are very cheap and quality. How come the Chinese products are so cheap? Compare with the GDP chinas API (annual premium income) is very low, because 1/5 worlds population is in China, and this is also the reason why the Chinese products are so cheap; labor force are paid only a little bit of money. In the contrast, Thailand may not have an impressive GDP, but the API is much higher than China. In the structure of Thailands GDP over 70% are exporting, but its not only products also services; which means tourism is still the major income for Thailand. However the amount of products exporting in Thailand is steadily deteriorated. Former merit of Thai export; Rubber and Rice is now slowly losing its first place. As for human resource exporting; in China therere more than two million graduates will be unemployed every year. Most of them are staying home and doing job hunting, some may find-out a better way by crossing the border to oversea countries. These graduates are fully skilled and they are eager for job, so they may take some unwanted jobs in oversea countries. Nonetheless, potentially they are increasing the unemployment rate in Thailand as well. Chapter 3: Thailand Economical Crises. Thailand is a member of AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Area), which is purpose of Increase ASEANs competitive edge as a production base in the world market through the elimination, within ASEAN, of tariffs and non-tariff barriers. Unlike the EU, AFTA does not apply a common external tariff on imported goods. Each ASEAN member may impose tariffs on goods entering from outside ASEAN based on its national schedules. However, for goods originating within ASEAN, ASEAN members are to apply a tariff rate of 0 to 5 percent (the more recent members of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, aka. CMLV countries, were given additional time to implement the reduced tariff rates). This is known as the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) scheme. ASEAN members have the option of excluding products from the CEPT in three cases: 1.) Temporary exclusions; 2.) Sensitive agricultural products; 3.) General exceptions. Temporary exclusions refer to products for which tariffs will ultimately be lowered to 0-5%, but which are being protected temporarily by a delay in tariff reductions. Sensitive agricultural products include commodities such as rice. ASEAN members have until 2010 to reduce the tariff levels to 0-5%. The AFTA was formed in 1992, after that Thailand economy was increasing rapidly, but in 1997 Thailand suffered the Dom Yam Goon crisis. It was beginning in July 1997, and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. The crisis started in Thailand with the financial collapse of the Thai baht caused by the decision of the Thai government to float the baht, cutting its peg to the USD, after exhaustive efforts to support it in the face of a severe financial overextension that was in part real estate driven. At the time, Thailand had acquired a burden of foreign debt that made the country effectively bankrupt even before the collapse of its currency. As the crisis spread, most of Southeast Asia and Japan saw slumping currencies, devalued stock markets and other asset prices, and a precipitous rise in private debt. Such was the scope and the severity of the collapses involved that outside intervention, considered by many as a new kind of colonialism, and became urgently needed. Since the countries melting down were among not only the richest in their region, but in the world, and since hundreds of billions of dollars were at stake, any response to the crisis had to be cooperative and international, in this case through the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF created a series of bailouts (rescue packages) for the most affected economies to enable affected nations to avoid default, tying the packages to reforms that were intended to make the restored Asian currency, banking, and financial systems as much like those of the United States and Europe as possible. In other words, the IMFs support was conditional on a series of drastic economic reforms influenced by neoliberal economic principles called a structural adjustment package (SAP). The SAPs called on crisis-struck nations to cut back o n government spending to reduce deficits, allow insolvent banks and financial institutions to fail, and aggressively raise interest rates. The reasoning was that these steps would restore confidence in the nations fiscal solvency, penalize insolvent companies, and protect currency values. Above all, it was stipulated that IMF-funded capital had to be administered rationally in the future, with no favored parties receiving funds by preference. There were to be adequate government controls set up to supervise all financial activities, ones that were to be independent, in theory, of private interest. Insolvent institutions had to be closed, and insolvency itself had to be clearly defined. In short, exactly the same kinds of financial institutions found in the United States and Europe had to be created in Asia, as a condition for IMF support. In addition, financial systems had to become transparent, that is, provide the kind of reliable financial information used in the West to make sou nd financial decisions. However, the greatest criticism of the IMFs role in the crisis was targeted towards its response. As country after country fell into crisis, many local businesses and governments that had taken out loans in US dollars, which suddenly became much more expensive relative to the local currency which formed their earned income, found themselves unable to pay their creditors. The dynamics of the situation were closely similar to that of the Latin American debt crisis. The effects of the SAPs were mixed and their impact controversial. Critics, however, noted the contractionary nature of these policies, arguing that in a recession, the traditional Keynesian response was to increase government spending, prop up major companies, and lower interest rates. The reasoning was that by stimulating the economy and staving off recession, governments could restore confidence while preventing economic loss. They pointed out that the U.S. government had pursued expansionary policies, such as lowering in terest rates, increasing government spending, and cutting taxes, when the United States itself entered a recession in 2001, and arguably the same in the fiscal and monetary policies during the 2008-2009 Global Financial Crisis. Although such reforms were, in most cases, long needed, the countries most involved ended up undergoing an almost complete political and financial restructuring. They suffered permanent currency devaluations, massive numbers of bankruptcies, and collapses of whole sectors of once-booming economies, real estate busts, high unemployment, and social unrest. For most of the countries involved, IMF intervention has been roundly criticized. The role of the International Monetary Fund was so controversial during the crisis that many locals called the financial crisis the IMF crisis. Many commentators in retrospect criticized the IMF for encouraging the developing economies of Asia down the path of fast track capitalism, meaning liberalization of the financial sector (elimination of restrictions on capital flows); maintenance of high domestic interest rates to attract portfolio investment and bank capital; and pegging of the national currency to the dollar to reassure foreign investors again st currency risk. Unfortunately, 2008 is another hard year, but its not only for Thailand or Asia, its the global economic crisis. The Global Financial Crisis has been called by leading economists the worst financial crisis since the one related to the Great Depression of the 1930s. It contributed to the failure of key businesses, declines in consumer wealth estimated in the trillions of U.S. dollars, substantial financial commitments incurred by governments, and a significant decline in economic activity. Many causes have been proposed, with varying weight assigned by experts. Both market-based and regulatory solutions have been implemented or are under consideration, while significant risks remain for the world economy. The collapse of a global housing bubble, which peaked in the U.S. in 2006, caused the values of securities tied to housing prices to plummet thereafter, damaging financial institutions globally. Questions regarding bank solvency, declines in credit availability, and damaged investor confidence had an impact on global stock markets, which suffered large losses during 2008. Economies worldwide slowed in late 2008 and early 2009 as credit tightened and international trade declined. Critics argued that credit rating agencies and investors failed to accurately price the risk involved with mortgage-related financial products, and that governments did not adjust their regulatory practices to address 21st century financial markets. Governments and central banks responded with unprecedented fiscal stimulus, monetary policy expansion, and institutional bailouts. 2008 is a very tough year for Thailand. Not only is the Global Economic Crisis threatening Thai economy, but also the 2008 flu. The flu directly affected Thai tourism, which is the backbone of Thai economy. However, even the crises are monsters; Thailand is still standing in a very firm place of exporting rice, rubber and tourism. Not only today, but also after decades. Chapter 4: Compete from China. Not only Chinese daily products the only stuff competitive from China, but also foods, heavy industry, mineral materials and so on. In Thailand, Chinese food is one kind of high class treat. Its quite expensive and health. The most famous one could be the Chinese vegetarian. Vegetarianism is only practiced by a relatively small fraction of the population. Most Chinese vegetarians are Buddhists, following the Buddhist teachings about minimizing suffering. This is also one major reason why the Chinese vegetarian food is quite popular in Thailand. Chinese vegetarian dishes often contain large varieties of vegetables (e.g. Bok Choy, shiitake mushroom, sprouts, corn) and some imitation meat. Such imitation meat is created mostly with soy protein and/or wheat gluten to imitate the texture, taste, and appearance of duck, chicken, or pork. Imitation seafood items, made from other vegetable substances such as konjac, are also available. As for the Chinese industry export, Chinas machinery manufacturing industry can provide complete sets of large advanced equipment, including large gas turbines, large pump storage groups, and nuclear power sets, ultra-high voltage direct-current transmission and transformer equipment, complete sets of large metallurgical, fertilizer and petro-chemical equipment, urban light rail transport equipment, and new papermaking and textile machinery. Machinery and transportation equipment have been the mainstay products of Chinese exports, as Chinas leading export sector for successive 11 years from 1996 to 2006. In 2006, the export value of machinery and transportation equipments reached 425 billion US dollars, 28.3 percent more than 2005. Thermal, hydro and nuclear power industries are the fastest growing of all industrial sectors. At the end of 2004, the installed capacity of generators totaled 440 million kW, and the total generated electricity came to 2,187 billion kwh, ranking second in the world. Power grid construction has entered its fastest ever development; main power grids now cover all the cities and most rural areas, with 501-kv grids beginning to replace 220-kv grids for inter-province and inter-region transmission and exchange operations. An international advanced control automation system with computers as the mainstay has been universally adopted, and has proved practical. Now Chinas power industry has entered a new era featuring large generating units, large power plants, large power grids, ultra-high voltage and automation. There are several countries such as Thailand requesting Chinas help and investment for the industrial sector. China is the third largest country all over the world, and so as the Chinese mineral resource. China is rich in mineral resources, and all the worlds known minerals can be found here. To date, geologists have confirmed reserves of 153 different minerals, putting China third in the world in total reserves. The reserves of the major mineral resources, such as coal, iron, copper, aluminum, stibium, molybdenum, managese, tin, lead, zinc and mercury, are in the worlds front rank. Chinas coal reserves total 1,007.1 billion tons, mainly distributed in north China, with Shanxi Province and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region taking the lead. Chinas 46.35 billion tons of iron ore are mainly distributed in northeast, north and southwest China. The country also abounds in petroleum, natural gas, oil shale, phosphorus and sulphur. Petroleum reserves are mainly found in the northwest, northeast and north China, as well as in the continental shelves of east China. The national reserves of rare ea rth metals far exceed the combined total for the rest of the world. Rubber and rice used to be Thailands advantaged exports. However for the last 10 years, China is chasing Thailands heel. Rubber is an important industry for economy all around the world. Its price is usually influenced by the worlds oil price which is feature in changing in rubber price. China, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia (rubber garden about 200 hectares, output about 3 million tons) are the most importance producer and exporter for rubber market of the world. The amount of rubber they have produced account for 70%-80% of total world amount on average. Because the rubber is an important industrial crop in these countries, the rubber price has been going up due to increasing in demand for the rubber. These result in an expansion in production area which produces effect on the higher level of rubber output. The information released by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture, the output of crude rubber is about 3.2 to 3.3 million tons in 2007 more than previous year and the annual growth is about 5%. This satisfying outcome was caused by the assistance of Chinese government in giving the better breed to the farmer. Most of rubber outputs are profuse in the second and the third quarter in each year, particularly in the southern part of China which is the largest source of domestic rubber production, because that period is humid season in Southern China. There might be a little decreasing in rubber price in that period because of the increasing in supply of rubber. Since the Chinese currency continued appreciation and the demand for rubber was increase, the export price was going up to 2.10 U.S. dollar per kilogram in March on 2007. Why does the price increase in international rubber market? There are two possible reasons. The first one is because some of the primary countries (Thailand and Indonesia) in producing rubber were affected by unfavorable weather, so the output was negatively affected. The second explanation is derived from the increasing demand for rubber in American and China itself, because the price of rubber was going up for a while, so the price was not expected to increase so much in the near future. On October 2008, the domestic price of rubber was going down so rapidly. It decreased to 8 RMB per kilogram in 20 days time. However before that, the purchasing price of fresh rubber is around 15RMB per kilogram and the cost of production is about 5 RMB per kilogram. The loss of the rubber profit is about 100% at that time. The cooperative of Chinese rubber farmers express that Thailand is the foremast partner of commerce in China because of the economic crisis from the U.S, so the exporter was very careful in it. Chinese Ministry of Agriculture adopts the countermeasures which analyze the tendency of international market in the future and establish the solving measures. It has made a commitment with financial institutions to extend the loan repayment period for rubber farmers. This hopefully enables the farmers could reduce their burden associated with rubber production. In addition, the Rubber Association of Asia wants to resolve the problem of lower the price of rubber. They decid ed to stop the production for six month so as to reduce the amount of rubber output and this enhanced the price level. They also suggested Chinese government to add the financial aid but dont interpose the price of rubber. If the price continue going down, the farmer may choose chopping the rubber trees to replant other crops and many farmers had already started to chop the rubber tree and sealing it. Furthermore, the farmers confronted with immense pressure from synthetic rubber, many rubber gardens change to replant other crops. Many other Chinese resources and products are also very much competitive, especially for Thailand. Thailand doesnt have many resources to use, thus if Thailand still want to improve the GDP they will have to import goods from China. Why China? The reason is not only the cheap price, but also the very convenient geographical location. Chapter 5: Solution of Thai-na Intersect. There are several solutions for avoid the incoming challenge and further crises. One of the most important progresses for the Thai-na trading is the China-Thailand FTA. The China-Thailand FTA was signed in June 2003 and came into effect four months later in October 2003. It is an early harvest agreement on farm trade alone, whereby both countries opened their agricultural markets before the broader China-ASEAN FTA comes into force in 2010. Under the deal, tariffs for 188 types of fruits and vegetables were cut to zero overnight. The China-Thailand FTA has had very strong impacts in Thailand, amply documented by NGOs, farmers groups, academics and the press. Many Thai garlic, longan and other fruit and vegetable producers, especially in the North, lost their livelihoods because they could not compete against the cheap flood of Chinese imports. In fact, despite government reassurances, only Thai cassava exports went up. Investigations showed that Thai produce entering China was left to rot at point of entry, by local warehouse operators, so that it could not actually be commercialized. Cheap Chinese fruits and vegetables, in the meanwhile, were criticized by Thai people for their high pesticide residue levels. But this actually led the two governments to adopt joint private food safety standards (Thai-China GAP), providing yet another boost to corporate farming and further concentration. In all, the China-Thailand FTA has not benefited small farmers on either side of the border. It has only been favorable for businessmen who control the trade and are able to use it to expand their contract farming operations, such as Thailands (ethnic Chinese-owned) Charoen Pokphand Group. After the formation of the FTA, Thailands exports to China are likely to continue to grow over the remainder as massive stimulus spending by Beijing is showing clear signs of