Monday, September 30, 2019

Nationalism After the War of 1812 Essay

After the war of 1812, a surge of nationalism spread everywhere throughout America. Having unofficially won the war without even an official army, the people of America became very proud of themselves and how their great country established such a feat. The nationalism grew until John Marshall, an aggressive Chief Justice, further strengthened and expanded it. He was a devout Federalist appointed by John Adams years before his most famous case of Marbury vs. Madison in 1803. Being a Federalist he was a great rival to Thomas Jefferson. He served until 1835 and was the forth Supreme Court Justice. His only legal schooling was six weeks attending lectures at the College of William and Mary, however when he took the bench in 1801, he changed the Judicial Branch as we know it. In fact, he made the branch the most powerful section of the government at that time. Read more: How do checks and balances guard against tyranny essay His most significant early case was the famous Marbury v. Madison in 1803, which established the right of the court to declare the actions of local, state or federal governments invalid if they violate the Constitution. This process of declaring actions void was called Judicial Review and it made the Court equally as powerful as the legislative and executive branches of government. Another important case was Martin vs. Hunter’s Lessee in 1816. The ruling by Marshall declared that the power of the Supreme Court extended to the State Courts. The court now had the right to directly review other courts decisions. Yet another case, Cohens vs. Virginia strengthened this right and extended the reach of the court all the way to the citizens of the U.S. and states. Marshall’s court became more and more powerful until it got the right to review almost all lower court decisions. The famous Fletcher vs. Peck case ruled (in 1810) that the Supreme Court had the right to void State laws. The details behind the case were as follows: The Georgia legislature had issued extensive land grants in a deal with the Yazoo Land Company. It seemed suspicious so the company was taken to court. A subsequent legislative session repealed the grants because of the  corruption that had accompanied the original grant. The Supreme Court, with Marshall presiding, decided that the original action by the Georgia Assembly had constituted a valid contract, which could not be broken regardless of the corruption. This was the very first time that a State law was voided because it went against the Constitution. Then, after the war of 1812 Marshall issued more decisions that strengthened the federal government and Federalist ideas. In the McCulloch vs. Maryland case, Marshall ruled that the state did not have the right to tax or regulate banks. This also encouraged economic expansion and development. In the Dartmouth vs. Woodward case it was declared that the states had no right to alter or impair contracts unilaterally. It also promoted business development. The last important case was Gibbons vs. Ogden, which further strengthened federal power by ruling that the Constitution had specifically given Congress the power to regulate commerce. Under John Marshall, the Supreme Court gained enough power to surpass the power of the other branches of the government. He also declared many laws and rulings that America still follows and lives under even today. Either way, he changed the Judicial branch forever, especially at that time and the world has never seen a more intelligent man presiding.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Curriculum packages,proposals or prescriptions? Advantages and Disadvantages Essay

This exposition will explore some of the major benefits of an adaptive approach to curriculum implementation in Zimbabwe, as a pose to an adoptive approach, namely increased professional autonomy and creative freedom for teachers, relevance to learner demographics and a wholesome learning experience. Considerations will also be made of the constraints of such an approach, chiefly the issue of resource intensity, accountability and control. It will also outline the applicability of an adoptive approach, in Zimbabwe’s examination oriented educational system, where homogeneity of delivery at the peripheral level is of essence. A curriculum provides the framework for how and when to teach what. McKimm (2007) suggests, the curriculum defines learning outcomes, timetables, content, appropriate teaching methods and assessment instruments. Materials such as teacher’s guides, recommended text books and syllabi for each subject all form part of the curriculum package. In the Zimbabwean context, the curriculum package is arranged by the centre, called the Central Curriculum Development Unit (CDU). The CDU prepares and distributes the curriculum package to the various provinces via the district office to the schools. Taking the curriculum as a proposal is like using it as a prop on the stage, it’s a mere accessory, and it accentuates the core theme of the story. It gives the setting while the actual script is in the hands of the director and cast who are the teacher and the learners respectively. In this case, modifications can be made to suit the geographical and social location of the learners. While a prescriptive approach implies the curriculum package is a script which is to be aped word for word and gesture by gesture, mimicking the demands of the examination. A prescription enforces rules about how a subject should be taught as such the teacher is like a drill sergeant implementing objectives in finite timeframes. To begin with, Ndawi and Maravanyika (2011), â€Å"argue that education and human experiences are too wide and too complex to be reduced down to specifiable and measurable objectives.† From this tenet, one can contend that when a curriculum package is used as a recommendation rather than dogma the teacher can regard every exchange as an opportunity for learning to occur, even when tacitly expressed in the curriculum package. Using this approach, the teacher is limited neither by explicit goals nor by resources, which are sometimes in short supply in resettlement schools, but rather empowered to incorporate innovative tactics, rich creativity and a wholesome range of experiences into his instruction. The product is a well-rounded and adaptable member of the wider society. By contrast having a prescribed curriculum, with exacted and measurable goals, unambiguous methods, specified teaching aids and finite timeframes, is a motivating factor for teachers in the Zimbabwean context where incentives inspire those whose pupils attain a certain level of academic prowess, measured strictly through structured examinations. Thus, it can be said that the system rewards homogeneity more than heterogeneity. What Lawton (1980) terms ‘†¦teacher’s legitimate desire for professional autonomy†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ has been motivated by the pronouncement by the Zimbabwean ministry of education to develop the standard of the teaching fraternity by awarding degreed teachers with job security and a disparate pay scale from that of their diploma holder counterparts. This trend of empowerment and upward mobility can sustain a proposal based approach, which requires highly trained and resourceful teachers. To this end, it is advantageous to approach the curriculum package as a suggested plan of action or recommendation, as it fulfills the teacher’s need to express his ingenuity and self actualise. On the contrary, this adaptive approach can be resource intensive. It takes expertise to enforce variations in curriculum delivery, and training this highly skilled manpower may not be financially feasible for the ministry of education. Where teachers are minimally trained or untrained as in the case of temporary teachers in Zimbabwe, the prescriptive slant tends to be enormously helpful as it defines exactly what to teach, when to teach it and how it should be taught. Textbooks and teacher’s guide explicitly state procedure. The Indian National Council of Educational Research and Training (2006) asserts, â€Å"†¦diversity of languages, social customs, manners, mores and uneven economic development, the needs and demands of individuals and society will have differential pulls on the school curriculum, varying from one region to the other.† Similarly, in Zimbabwe an adaptive approach can cater for the range of abilities, tribal nuances and economic strata found in any school community or classroom. In this light, the teacher is given room to improvise using locally available material, from the community’s culture and landscape, to suit learner demographics, thus the learning experience becomes socially relevant, meaningful and learners gain a sense of ownership of their education. Adversely, Lawton (1980), in this statement, â€Å"†¦secondary-modern-school curricula, often lacked structure and purpose†, alludes to the unconstructiveness, that can be generated by a laissez-faire approach to curriculum interpretation, where teachers have extensive flexibility to manipulate their instruction to suit the demographics of their community rather than the universal values which may be tested at Grade 7, O’ Level and A’ Level examinations. The prescriptive approach to curriculum implementation satisfies theâ€Å"†¦political need for some kind of system of accountability†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Lawton (1980), as in the Zimbabwean case where there are considerably more state funded rural day schools than there are independent ones. When the prescriptive approach is unequivocally applied, teachers can account for their time and the resources the state has invested in the system by way of mid and end of term and final examinations, whereas, hybrid varieties of curriculum are more complex to control, monitor and assess. Delivery problems can be easily diagnosed and corrected. Again, variations may tend to be too localized, producing a breed of learners with limited regional or international marketability in this era of globalization and the information boom. In a subject like science and mathematics there is not much scope for local variations and the adoption of common textbooks in all parts of the country is feasible. Eunitah et al (2013) imply that, in developing socialist educational contexts like Zimbabwe, it is premature to do away with centrally prescribed curricula in order to accomplish uniformity in the provision of education. This uniformity means, all students in Zimbabwe use standardized learning material and receive a standard educational experience. When a student transfers from a rural to an urban school, as is the trend in developing countries, he has the assurance of continuity. Thus, the prescriptive approach to curriculum implementation achieves meritocracy and functionality. Moreover, the Zimbabwean curriculum pays more attention to acquired skills that can be measured; it is largely objectives oriented, in that learning outcomes are evaluated through summative examinations, from time to time. To this end, a prescriptive approach is more effective, as it provides exact standards and expectations of the learner while limiting deviations which may otherwise be of no relevance to the learner, come examination time. Lawton (1980) points out the love-hate relationship teachers may have with the examination system, though meritocratic and fair it can extend so far into the classroom that it stifles independent thinking, self-discovery, curiosity and creativity, which form part of wholesome learning. It can be concluded that while taking the curriculum package as a proposal, encourages a broader range of experiences and an expansive exercise of potentialities in learners due to its adaptability to various geographical and economic circumstances as is found in Zimbabwe. The prescriptive approach is equally beneficial and perhaps more applicable to Zimbabwe because of the nature of the education system which is examination oriented.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Protecting Victims’ Rights

The criminal justice system is designed to prevent crime from occurring, as well as administering justice after a crime is committed. One important aspect of this side of the law is to ensure that victims of crime are well protected and receive fair treatment throughout the process. That is why government and local agencies are required to ensure victims’ rights, from making sure that the accused stays away to notification for every important date concerning the crime. And no single segment of crime victims receives as much protection as female victims of sexual crimes. More than any other group of crime victims, female victims of sexual assault, harassment, and other sexual crimes are the main focus of many local, state, and federal law enforcement measures to ensure the protection of victims’ crime. As the federal level of the justice system offers a vast amount of information regarding the protection of victims’ rights, it serves as the perfect starting point to understanding victims’ rights. The most comprehensive bill that covering victims’ rights is 18 United States Code, Section 3771, which includes eight measures designed to protect victim’s rights. One point of the Bill of Victim’s Rights is that the victim has the right to be reasonably protected from the accused (United States House of Representatives, 2006). This includes every measure that local and government authorities can take to make sure the accused does not cause any further hardship or threaten the victim in any way. Another important part of the victims’ bill of rights is making sure that victims are able to state their case in full, and have the right to be reasonably heard at any public proceeding in the district court involving release, plea, sentencing, or any parole proceeding (United States House of Representatives, 2006). Making sure that victims utilize their right to be heard begins initially with the law enforcement agent taking their statement. The purpose of the victim impact statement is to give the victim of the crime the chance to express, in writing, the impact of the crime, including all economic losses, physical or psychological injuries, and significant changes to the victim’s quality of life (Commonwealth of Virginia, 2000). Whatever the victim tells the law enforcement agents about the impact of the crime on his or her life helps determine the types of assistance that a victim may need. For sexual assault victims this aspect of the process is very important, as the crime is often committed with few or no other witnesses. Victims of sexual assault illustrate many of the reasons that victims require such strong protection of their rights. Because of the violent nature of rape and sexual assault, victims are often traumatized far more than other crime victims. Victims of sexual assault and rape are often left frightened and unwilling or unable to pursue the necessary course of justice against their perpetrators. This fear might encourage them to withhold information that may also be embarrassing or painful to bring up, leading to the perpetrator getting away with the crime. As serious crimes, the charges that result from sexual assault and rape are significant and can result in severe penalties for the perpetrator, including long prison sentences. However, despite the seriousness of sexual crimes, most victims fail to report them to authorities for a variety of reasons, including the fear that their rights may not be fully protected. The fact that many of these victims do not report the crime leads to the criminals not being convicted. As for all sexual crimes against females, rape remains the least reported of them all, which also includes having the least number of indictments and least number of convictions of all violent crimes in America; the segment of the population that experiences the highest amounts of rape and lowest amounts of reporting them is among college students, where the reporting rate is around 5%. (Fisher, et. al, 2000). This low instance of reporting of sexual assault and rape illustrates an important deficiency in the criminal justice system’s ability to convince female sexual crime victims of their rights. Many of the reasons that females cite for not reporting the crimes inflicted against them include fear of blame from society, desire to quickly move on with their lives, their desire to avoid a long investigation and subsequent trial, and finally out of concerns for their privacy. It is the job of police, the district attorney’s office, and federal branches to make sure that none of these reasons prevent a victim from reporting a crime. Because of this there are many programs designed to provide crime victims with accurate information about the criminal justice system and the many rights that victims possess. At the federal level, the Department of Justice offers many programs and initiatives to ensure that victims are made fully aware of their rights. The Office of Justice Programs has an Office for Victims of Crime that works throughout the year on programs designed to assist victims of crime through grants. The amount of help that the Office for Victims of Crime gives to victims is considerable. In Fiscal Year 2007, Office of Victims of Crime distributed more than $370 million to the states through Victims of Crime Act, which was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 30, 2004 and contains four major sections related to crime victims and the criminal justice process, which include protecting crime victims' rights, eliminating the substantial backlog of DNA samples collected from crime scenes and convicted offenders, and improving and expanding the DNA testing capacity of federal, state, and local crime laboratories (U. S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime [OVC], 2008). The Office for Victims of Crime has also given assistance grants and more than $165 million to the states through Victims of Crime Act compensation grants, with both the victim assistance grants and the victim compensation awards funded by the Crime Victims Fund, which is culled from fines, penalties, and bail forfeitures collected from convicted federal criminals (OVC, 2008). Other compensation measures taken on behalf of victims include providing reimbursement to crime victims for crime-related expenses such as medical costs, mental health counseling, funeral and burial costs, and lost wages or loss of support. hile state victim assistance programs fund local victim assistance services such as crisis intervention, counseling, emergency shelter, and criminal justice system advocacy (OVC, 2008). And, while the Office for Victims of Crime provides monetary compensation to many victims, it also heads up several programs designed to create a stronger conglomeration of criminal justice d epartments to ensure the protection and assistance of crime victims. The Office trains criminal justice professionals about the needs and rights of victims of crime and provides them with the latest in ideas and practices in victim protection through such networks as the Office’s Help Exchange Lessons and Practices in Victim Services message board, and finally the Office sponsors the National Victim Assistance Academy, an annual training conference for those who assist victims and survivors of crime (OVC, 2008). While there remain many programs set up by the Department of Justice to ensure victims’ rights, most of the inspiration for the programs continues to come from the basic tenets of the Victims’ Bill of Rights. Another important aspect of the Victims’ Bill of Rights is that the victim is made aware of everything that occurs in the case as it progresses. This also means that the victim has the right to any and all information concerning the case of the prosecution. According to the U. S. code victims have: â€Å"The right to reasonable, accurate, and timely notice of any public court proceeding, or any parole proceeding, involving the crime or of any release or escape of the accused† (United States House of Representatives, 2006). This means that victims should not be made to wait for the latest information that arises in the case, including any revelations about the accused or any changes in his or her status. Providing accurate and timely information to victims about their rights is one of the main ways of protecting their rights, and the Nationwide Automated Victim Information and Notification System has been established to make sure that they receive information pertaining to their case as soon as it becomes available. Began with funding by the Office for Victims of Crime, the Victim Information and Notification System is a computer-automated system that notifies crime victims of key events in their cases, including an offender’s release before trial or from prison; as of September 2007, VNS was serving more than 1,300,000 crime victims nationwide with information on federal criminal justice cases provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the United States Attorneys' Offices, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (OVC, 2008). By keeping crime victims informed of the status of their case and of the perpetrator, criminal justice professionals are able to provide victims with a piece of mind that allows them to retain a semblance of a normal life after crime. The Victims’ Bill of Rights continue with: â€Å"The right not to be excluded from any such public court proceeding, unless the court, after receiving clear and convincing evidence, determines that testimony by the victim would be materially altered if the victim heard other testimony at that proceeding; the reasonable right to confer with the attorney for the Government in the case† (2006). By giving the victim the right to access the court information, as well as hear the case made against the accused in detail, the federal and local governments are ensuring that victims have significant influence on the outcome of the case. They are able to revise and mistakes made in the case of the prosecution, and they are also able to participate as much as possible in the proceedings. Not only does this help the victim put some of the trauma from the crime behind him or her, but it also significantly affects the ability of the Government to prosecute the accused. Additional rights ensured by the Victims’ Bill of Rights are loyal to the basic ideals of the American Bill of Rights and deal mainly with the right to a speedy trial. According to the bill, victims have: â€Å"The right to full and timely restitution as provided in law; the right to proceedings free from unreasonable delay† (United States House of Representatives, 2006). This not only ensures that the law will pursue the case against the accused to prevent further crime, but it also reinforces the role of the law as efficient protector. Also, by ensuring that the proceedings move in a timely manner, the victim is not required to endure a long and painful process. These measures go along well with the final right guaranteed by the victims’ bill of rights, and that is the right to be treated with fairness and with respect for dignity and privacy (2006). In the end, this is most important of all the rights, and perhaps a culmination as well, as all of the rights assured victims are to treat them with the utmost respect, fairness, and dignity. The duty of the U. S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice is to ensure victims of crime that their rights will be protected, and their results have been mixed at best. While there remain many important programs to educate victims on their rights, the case of sexual assault and rape victims and their low rate of reporting crimes against them speak of a general failure in assuring victims of their rights’ protection. Organizations like the Office for Victims of Crime must work harder to ensure that the victims of crime requiring the most assurance and protection receive what they need, and not just monetary compensation for financial losses or medical bills. While some rights vary from state to state, with some states guaranteeing even more rights to victims than others, the general protections afforded by the Victims’ Bill of Rights should be known by all victims. In the end, educating victims on their rights is the biggest protection that any government or local authority can offer victims of crime.

Friday, September 27, 2019

The various types of pollution, their causes, effects and solutions Essay

The various types of pollution, their causes, effects and solutions - Essay Example The paper tells that the modern world has witnessed an increasing rate of pollution touching all aspects of the environment; for instance, there is air pollution, water pollution, noise pollution, and land pollution. Pollution can be defined as the introduction of a contaminant into the environment, caused by human activities; however, pollution can yield disastrous results on vegetation, human beings, and animals (Degobert 21). All kinds of pollution have serious repercussions to the universe, health, and economy. According to the guardian, Kyoto Protocol plays a huge role in reducing pollutions by countries; here, the member countries agree to reduce gas emissions with an aim of protecting the environment. The guardian also adds that the United States has reduced its emission for the past 2 years, while India is ranked the third as the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide, and China continues to emit more carbon dioxide. In the United States, 3million tones of harmful chemicals are re leased in the air, land, and water; such waste leads to the loss of 15million acres of land annually. Health-wise, pollution interferes with the human respiratory system, causing complications. The lakes and rivers become too polluted and as a result, not benefiting human beings at all. However, industries are not solely responsible for pollution, instead, agricultural activities and other human activities such as driving contribute to pollution as well. This paper will discuss the various types of pollution, their causes, effects and solutions. Forms of Pollution The common types of pollution are air pollution, water pollution, land pollution and noise pollution. Air Pollution Causes Air pollution is mainly caused by carbon emissions from industrial activities, cars’ fumes, electric generation, domestic heating, and construction among others (Stankovic, Campbell, & Harries 19). Carbon dioxide emissions contribute to global warming, as it is one of the largest among the green house gasses. The process of

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Elasticity of Demand Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Elasticity of Demand - Assignment Example Coffee, tea, and cocoa are substitute products under the beverages category, which causes cross price elasticity to be positive. This means a rise in the price of coffee causes the demand for tea to rise (Nicholson and Snyder, 2014). A coffee processor will always record increased total income after it lowers the price of its coffee products because of cross elasticity. Cross elasticity occurs mostly because of two opposing forces on overall sales returns when coffee products decrease in price. The first force originates from the processing company imposing a reduced price on every unit on sale (Nicholson and Snyder, 2014). The first force lowers total income. Nevertheless, the law of demand compels the amount of products customers are ready to buy to increase after a reduction in price. This law comes to play in the cross elasticity of demand for coffee. The other force of a reduction in coffee price is inclined to raise income since the amount of units sold rise too (Nicholson and Snyder,

Siddartha Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Siddartha - Essay Example According to the four noble truths, suffering is an inherent part of existence, the source of suffering is ignorance, the main symptoms of ignorance are attached and craving and that this can ceased and lastly the noble eightfold path will cease the attachment and suffering. Wisdom cannot be achieved through following an enlightened one; this is evident from the book where Siddhartha and his friend part in search for enlightment, it cannot be achieved through words and teachings and the reason is because they may talk the truth but being concepts they trap you. To reach Nirvana one has to destroy the self in order to attain knowledge of the unknown innermost. When one reaches this state you experience peace and you lack desire and passion, this is illustrated in the book where the enlightened one is described as "Every finger of his hand spoke of peace, spoke of completeness, sought nothing, imitated nothing, reflected a continuous quiet, an unfading light, an invulnerable peace". To be wise you have to love the world and other people not because of their teaching but because of their deeds and their life, this is also in the book where Siddhartha explains to his friend that "It is only important to love the world, not to despise it, not for us to hate each other, but to be bale to regard the world and ourselves and all being with love, admiration and respect". (Hermann (1971) Siddhartha page 147) Above all you must learn to listen with a still heart, without passion, without desire and without judgment, you must listen with a waiting and an open soul, in the book Siddhartha learnt to listen from the river where he spent most of the time listening, this is also evident in the noble eightfold path where in order to achieve nirvana one has to have the right concentration. "Siddhartha learnt from the river how to listen, listen with a still heart, with a waiting, open soul, without passion, without desire, without judgment and without opinion". (Hermann (1971) Siddhartha page 106) To be wise you have to learn how to make sacrifices, Siddhartha learnt how to pray, fast and to think, this he got from the teachings of samana, and you must have self control and must not be destructed by earthly desires, for they will mislead you to what you are looking for. Siddhartha is a good example to illustrate this, he went to the city and forgot how to pray, think and fast. The world gave him much experience but did not give him the answer. Wisdom can be achieved only to those who sort it, it cannot be achieved through words and it needs action, Siddhartha left his home in search for knowledge, if he had not left home he wouldn't have reached nirvana. You must be ready to make sacrifices and not be led by desires, Siddhartha left his lover, wealth and the city to go live with the ferry man, this shows a lot of sacrifice and this is what one deserves to do in order to be wise. The decisions one makes must be right decisions, you should evaluate the options of anything that you do before

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Jurisprudence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Jurisprudence - Essay Example These higher powers could be a father, a husband, an employer, a principal, a leader etc. This submission is in total support of Thomas Hobbes’ belief that emphasizes on the danger of solitude, poverty and loneliness that usually accompany human short life. . The purpose of expecting some support from these higher powers is to enjoy a sense of security and protection from whatever circumstances that may come their ways. This singular characteristic of men would then put them under authorities. The authorities include but not restricted to monarchical, democratic, aristocratic, theocratic and autocratic leadership. The adverse effect of this human submission to a higher power is that they would be forced to accept the rules and orders issued by these authorities. The power of sovereignty, on most occasions, is unquestionable. Even though the processes of transferring of sovereign power may be through descendancy, hereditary and by force, the subjects have little or no power to reject whoever has received the sovereign power. This condition makes men to be under constant control of a higher power whose actions may be good or bad. Understandably, it takes a group of men to form a state or a nation. And when a group of people who are submi ssive to the sovereign power in charge of their nations, there is every possibility that they would seek a power higher than the current one protecting their lives and property. This is evident in nations coming together to operate under a single umbrella as seen in the formation of the United Nations, European Union, African Union and, of course, Commonwealths. This attitude to follow all rules and regulations laid down by these international bodies demonstrate to a greater degree the willingness of men to unite for a common good, for an assurance of protection by these

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Field Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Field - Assignment Example It is also worth noting that most of the values and beliefs are shared amongst all Christian denominations such as the belief that Jesus Christ is a son of God and the savior of the whole world from the sin of mankind. The following writing is part of the findings I got after interviewing my neighbor who is a strong protestant and Christ follower. He says he is born again and Jesus Christ is his savior. According to the Interviewee, Jesus Christ is a son of God He is believed to be from the David‘s descendants. He is believed by Christians as the messiah who came to establish God’s kingdom in the world. Jesus teachings and ministry is very unique and it emphasizes on preaching compassion, forgiveness and love. Jesus is also known as a miracle worker and a healer who resurrected a few dead bodies during his times and many Christians still believe that His powers are still with them and that they can also perform same miracles. Christians believe that Jesus died and resurr ected in order to save Christians from their sins. Christians worldwide believe that their prayers can only be heard by God if they pray in Jesus name. Christians further believe that whenever they pray or ask anything in the name of Jesus then their prayers are answered instantly. Unanswered prayers are thought to be held by the devil who does not want to see God’s people prospering. Christians are all over the world especially in Europe, Africa, South and North America and the religion rapidly spread to several parts of the world because of the need to spread gospel and show people around the world the truth. Christians believe that spreading the gospel is part of their responsibility and that God rewards whoever spreads the gospel and win many souls in the name of Jesus Christ. Nevertheless Salvation from sin and hell is by God's grace, based on the work of Jesus Christ alone and that salvation can only be received by faith apart from any human performance or merit. Accord ing to Christians, Eternal life is a gift of God and nothing can separate the believer from the love of God and that as unbelievers face eternal punishment, believers face eternal life. Jesus being the center of the Christian faith His teachings are taken seriously and he even set out two big commandments (Love God and love your neighbor) which is considered very vital amongst Christians. The Christian believe that Jesus also told his followers to spread the gospel to all the nations by sharing their faith in Christ Jesus. According to the Christian, Christians believe in giving and assisting the less fortunate people in the society as a way of receiving blessings from God. Christians are encouraged to donate food and any other material thing to the others as a way of sharing as per Jesus teachings. They even think that caring for the less privileged people and even the sick and aged is very important and it is a way of showing love to the victims. Christians believe in the Word of God which is purely written in the Bible and they claim that Bible is the manual of life and that every issue pertaining life is found in the Bible. They believe that the Bible authors of the Bible were inspired by the spirit of God and that everything written in it is the truth which sets them free from every hook of life. Reading Bible or scriptures is very important amongst the Christians since it gives them revelation

Monday, September 23, 2019

Criminology Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Criminology - Assignment Example It is indicated that personality and genetics of a person have link with social influences like family and peer environment. The impact of parental role is also explained by psychological theories that state neglect or abuse from parents can also lead to criminal tendencies. Therefore, where biological theories stress upon genetic and brain compositions, other theories look at external factors like social and environmental impact (Theories of the Causes of Crime, 2009). 2. It was during the 19th century that physical appearance was given importance regarding studying criminal aggressiveness in individuals. Collins (1999) has explored the core subject of physiognomy which states that unaltered body structures can reflect the characteristic of a person. In the field of physiognomy it is considered that physical features like distance between two eyes or structure of the forehead can tell about a person’s strengths like intelligence and honesty (Collins, 1999, p.251). It was the 19th century Italian criminologist, Cesare Lombroso who had observed resemblance between the skulls of a notorious criminal and those belonging to lower races. He coined the term â€Å"born criminals† and attributed their criminology to physical features like â€Å"drooping eyes, large ears, protruding jaw, flat nose† (Valla et al., 2011, p.70). 3. During the 1970s and 1980s, various studies have demonstrated that children born from parents who have been imprisoned carry greater potential of becoming criminals during adult years even if they are brought up by law-abiding foster parents. From these adoptive studies, it has been concluded that genetic impact on criminal behavior is significant irrespective of gender although females are more subjected to individual genetic risk than the males. Moreover, it has been observed that parents with records of petty

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Best Practices and Strategies Essay Example for Free

Best Practices and Strategies Essay Ex: functional, conglomerate, and divisional. For this list of practices we will use the divisional design. a. Divisional Design aka M form (the M stands for multidivisional): Is made up of separate, semi autonomous units or divisions and each division has its own goals to accomplish. 6) Culture: Refers to the set of values that helps its members understand what the organization stands for how it wants to accomplish what it wants to accomplish, and what it considers important. 7) Human Resource Strategy Implementation: Requires an understanding of undamental individual and interpersonal behavioral process. b. Individual Process: Psychological Contracts; Personality; Motivation; and Stress. c. Organizational system and Process: Understanding of the causes of stress, the process by which stress affects individuals can cope better with stress in organizational settings. d. Interpersonal Group Process: Group Behavior; Leadership; and Communication. Select one (1) the corporate strategies discussed in Chapter 4 and formulate a human resource strategy that will support the corporate strategy. Cost leadership strategy is one that focuses on minimizing the cost as much as possible. This strategy allows the firm to charge the lowest possible prices for its products, thereby presumably generating an overall level of revenue. A human resource strategy that will support this corporate strategy would be: a. Efficiency Ratio: keeping expenses low with earnings being high. b. Learning Curve: maintaining training and continues training of employee’s. c. Good Purchasing approach: acquiring goods or services to accomplish the goals of the firm. . Maintaining latest technology: helps maintain inventory control, which in return helps ensure products to customers. e. Strategic marketing mix to help ensure market leadership f. Superior customer service: series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction. Competitive or above average pay, employee advancement, and employee incentivizes. g. Product leadership: concept which describes delivering state of the art products in the market. Discuss the Fruit Guys business strategy. Identify three (3) other businesses that could use the five (5) questions the Fruit Guys used to determine effectiveness and identify three (3) businesses in which the business strategy would not work well. Provide a rationale for your answer. The business strategy that the Fruit Guys uses is the defender strategy. Defender strategy: works best when a business operates in an environment with relatively little uncertainty and risk and high degree of stability. The goal of the defender is to identify for itself a relatively narrow niche in the market and then to direct a limited set of products or services at he niche. After reviewing the website of the Fruit Guys, their niche is to provide fresh â€Å"healthy brain food† as the fruit guys refer to it as such to the premises of the workplace. As healthy foods to the office â€Å"can boost productivity, improve wellness and help companies improve their bottom line†. The Fruit Guys fills thousands of business of businesses in America with seasonal fresh fruit varying from small family businesses, to major Fortune 500 companies. With their customers sharing their idea on health, and the environment, this helps bring stability to the company, while their employees bring in pride, giving high productivity levels. The five questions that the Fruit Guys have based their strategy on is: I. Have we been respectful to the people we work with employees, coworkers, and customers? II. Have we been responsible to their needs? III. Have we been realistic with them about what we can or cannot do? IV. Can we take personal responsibility for the situation? V. Are we going to be remembered positively? Three companies that could use the five questions to work for their businesses are: a) Car Dealerships (especially Used Car dealerships) b) Construction Companies c) Cleaning Company Three Companies that would not benefit from the use of the five questions are: a) Jc Penny’s b) Walmart c) BJ’S Wholesale Club (ex: Costco) My reasoning behind my choices for the use of the five questions are these companies are more hand’s on with their companies, and actually rely on word of mouth business and repeat business. Without these referrals and repeat business these companies would have to rely a lot on marketing and advertising strategies. My reasoning behind my choices for these businesses that would not benefit from the five questions is because these companies are very well expanded. With many stores in many different locations of one state and through-out many states these companies do not rely on word of mouth or repeat business. As their marketing strategies, advertising strategies, and sales are what continuously brings in repeat customer, and new customers.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Lean Six Sigma

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Lean Six Sigma 1. Introduction While businesses seek for ways to survive and also to remain competitive in a changing global environment, they either choose adopting business excellence models or continuous improvement philosophies to guide them in the journey of organisational excellence. Lean Six Sigma is a new breadth in the area of continuous improvement, which constitutes strengths and key focuses of Lean and Six Sigma approaches. The rest of the paper is organized as follows: section 2 provides an insight on the concepts Lean,Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma. Then relevant examples of Lean Six Sigma in manufacturing and service sector will be presented in section 3.The advantages and disadvantages of Lean Six Sigma will be discussed in section 4. Lastly, an overall recap on the subject is done. 2. Literature review The objective of this section is to provide an insight of the Lean Six Sigma by briefly outlining the concepts behind Lean and Six Sigma, the two ingredients of this blend, along with their strengths and criticisms. 2.1 Lean Approach Lean manufacturing, developed by Toyota Motor Corporation in 1950s, has been adopted and adapted by many companies (Finch,2006). It then extended into a concept of Lean thinking that was introduced by Womack and Jones.The current state of Lean is called Lean enterprise that reaches beyond the shop floor and encompasses various departments within the organisation as a whole (Papadopoulou and Ozbayrak,2005). Dale (2007) defines Lean as a way of thinking, consisting of a set of methods and operating principles to identify and eliminate waste in business processes (Dale,2007,p.565). While for Ferguson (2007) Lean is a change that takes an organisation from where it currently stands and move to a desired state. Briefly, the objective of Lean is to eliminate all types of unnecessary waste by managing resources depending on customers needs and at the lowest possible costs (Andersson et al. 2006). In other words, doing more with less (Thomas,2009). Principles There are 5 principles of Lean; providing right product or service for the right price and time to customer,identification of value stream,smooth flow of processes,only customers demand trigger the action and lastly continuously improve to value stream in pursuit of perfection (Dale,2007). The first step when implementing Lean is to identify value-added and non-value added processes (Pepper and Spedding, 2009) by Value stream mapping(VMS) which is a qualitative analysis tool. Other tools and techniques from the Lean Toolkit such as Single Minute Exchange of Die, 5S, TPM etc. are used in order to achieve above-mentioned principles. Whereas, it should be noted that using these tools and techniques only, does not guarantee a Lean organisation (Bendell,2006). Criticism In the literature, there are many criticism topics on Lean where the most popular ones are about its universality and social aspects. It has long been argued that Lean is not flexible (Andersson et al.,2006) and not applicable to all environments but only to high volume-low variety (HVLV) operations. Authors like Arnheiter and Maleyeff (2005) define this view as one of the key misconceptions whereas Pepper and Spedding (2010) refer it as a limited success of Lean in their work. There is a common misconception caused by the misunderstanding of the concept that Lean means laying-off people (Arnheiter and Maleyeff,2005). However, Flinchbaugh (2001), Arnheiter and Maleyeff (2005) stress that Lean does not mean less people but using people in a smarter way. David Meier (2001) who is a Senior Lean Manufacturing Consultant, argues that Lean creates a stressful, uncomfortable environment due to sense of urgency while ensuring an immediate response to customers. On the other hand, Papadopoulou and Ozbayrak (2005), and Williams et al. (1992) take the opposite view. 2.2 Six Sigma Approach Six Sigma,which is developed by Motorola and popularised after the adoption of General Electric (Finch,2006) aims at value creation and improving the process through variation reduction (Dale et al,2007).Six Sigma inherits principles from TQM (Arnheiter and Maleyeff, 2005) while setting focus on customer satisfaction. In statistical terms, the goal is to achieve a defect rate of 3.4 per million (Pepper and Spedding,2010). This structured,top-down approach has a positive impact on business in monetary terms since it reduces risk and costs (Slack et al., 2006) especially related with scrap and rework. Due to realised benefits, many organisations have adopted Six Sigma today. Principles DMAIC(Design,Measure,Analysis,Improve and Control) is the most commonly used 5-stage methodology which is employed to achieve minimum defects and to reduce the variation throughout the processes in an organisation (Bhuiyan and Baghel,2005). The approach is on project basis and these projects are carried out by trained supervisors called Black belts and Green belts (Bendell,2006). Criticism Six Sigma has long been seen as a statistics-heavy, technical approach to process control (Pepper,Spedding, 2009, p.145). Bendell(2006) supports this view and criticises Six Sigma due to its tendency towards being a complex approach. The training of Black Belts and Green Belts is required in order to be able to use statistical tools and handle the projects effectively. Senapati (2004) mentions that these trainings and solutions to problems can be costly for many businesses. Bendell (2006) states that there is no formal link to policy deployment in Six Sigma. Since Six Sigma projects are chosen depending on their cost-effectiveness, it is possible for this cost-down approach dominates the primary customer driven focus. and may shift it to cost-down possible to be dominated by immediate cost down driver (Bendell,2006). 2.3 Similarities and Differences between Lean and Six Sigma: The point of intersection -overlapping areas(kà ¼me Ã…Å ¸ekli) The intersection point:Similarities-The area of convergence Both approaches have related operating philosophies,performance objectives,work focus,team approach and improvement focus (Watson,2003). Lean Six Sigma Since Lean Sigma or Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is a relatively new management trend, there is not much literature available comparing to the information and facts found about Lean and Six Sigma alone. Recently, many companies have started to combine continuous improvement programs together by utilising the best of each initiative to get an extensive and more effective program than individual programs (Bhuiyan and Baghel, 2005). Thus, Lean Six Sigma is evolved as a hybrid methodology that encompasses benefits from both Lean and Six Sigma (Bhuiyan and Baghel, 2005). Watson (2003) defines the merge between Lean and Six Sigma as a marriage of necessity. The objective of this integrated approach is boosting quality and reducing costs through elimination of waste and variation reduction (Kamensky,2008). The origins of Lean and Six Sigma come from different roots however they both have an aim of improving the processes of a business. It has been shown that the benefits achieved with LSS cannot be achieved when applying Lean or Six Sigma solely (Bhuiyan and Baghel, 2005). This data-driven approach enables sustainable competitive advantage if properly applied (Burgess,2009). In the report of John Maleyeff (2007) to IBM Business of Government, LSS is defined as: Lean Six Sigma encompasses many common features of Lean and Six Sigma such as an emphasis on customer satisfaction,a culture of continuous improvement,the search for root causes,and comprehensive employee involvement.In each case,a high degree of training and education takes place,from upper management to shop floor. It is now being realised by many businesses that Lean is more powerful and meaningful when combined with Six Sigma and vice versa (Watson,2003). Many businesses in both manufacturing and service sector including GlaxoSmithKline,Xerox and Dell turned to Lean Six Sigma and achieved significant benefits (Neuhaus and Guarraia,2007). There has to be a careful blend of Lean and Six Sigma that brings two extremes into equilibrium. One end is becoming too Lean thus being very responsive to the market whereas the other end is too much focus on reducing variation beyond the expectations of customers resulting in unnecessary resources being wasted to achieve zero variation (Pepper and Spedding 2010). The optimum point is where market share is maintained by creating sufficient value in the eyes of a customer and the process variation is kept inside acceptable levels to achieve lower costs without over-engineering (Pepper and Spedding 2010). Principles George (2002) states the principles of LSS as the activities that cause the customers critical-to-quality issues and create the longest time delays in any process offer the greatest opportunity for improvement in cost,quality,capital,and lead time. Focus is on customer needs as in Six Sigma and also on speed as in Lean, in order to be responsive to market by shortening lead times. It should be noted that there is no standard framework of LSS that businesses can take it and apply step by step for a specific problem. In other words, there is no one fit for all since it depends on the situation and also the environment within a company. Nevertheless, there have been some attempts regarding different ways of implementing LSS in the literature and industry. Some authors argue that it would be more effective when Lean is used as a first step smoothen the process by eliminating waste and then run the DMAIC cycle. Another view is to implement Lean tools within DMAIC cycle as it can be seen in the work of Kumar et al (2006). Thomas et al. (2009) also proposed a similar framework where basic Lean principles are integrated in each phase of DMAIC method. Criticism Since it is a new breadth in the area of management, LSS has become the target of criticism in the literature. Bendell (2006) suggests a single approach that effectively combines the two philosophies rather than an alleged combination (Pepper and Spedding,2010). Another criticism is about the compatibility of these two approaches. Mika (2006) argues that Six Sigma cannot be embraced by the workers in the shop floor since it requires an effective use of statistical tools and techniques unlike Lean. In contrast, George (2003) outlines several points that Lean compliments Six Sigma and vice versa. Furthermore, since LSS is an integration of two different approaches there is a possibility that one dominates other throughout implementation. Some authors and practitioners see this new continuous improvement initiative as the latest management fad. However, Westwood and Silvester (2007) argue that these approaches such as Six Sigma, Lean or Lean Six Sigma are not fads but they are vital for improving and sustaining competitive advantage. As opposed to views about the negative social aspects of LSS, Burgess (2009) strongly disagrees that it does not support creativity and turns people into robots mainly due to increased workload. It has been argued that the continuous improvement initiatives including LSS are not working well in small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SME) due to lack of critical success factors such as commitment from top management, lack of understanding of tools and techniques and lack of financial capability (Thomas et al. 2009). 3. Findings In this section, an attempt is made to present examples regarding the application of Lean Six Sigma in both manufacturing and service sectors. Manufacturing firms were the early adopters of LSS. Then, it was embraced by the service sector in the 1990s (Kamensky,2008). Halliburton, which is one of the worlds largest oilfield providers, began to implement Lean Six Sigma in 2004, in response to the growth in demand with the purpose of being able to respond customer needs by increasing efficiency and improving customer service (Atkinson,2009). The amount that they used to produce in the manufacturing plants is tripled as a result of reduced cycle times and high utilisation of their equipments. Halliburton also encouraged its supply base to adopt the same strategy so that a synchronisation can be achieved in terms of being more responsive to the market (Atkinson,2009). The main reason to implement LSS approach in Caterpillar Inc. was to gain competitive advantage by breakthrough improvements. As a result of innovative products, their revenues had grown by 80 percent (Byrne et al.2007). Another notable example would be Xerox Corp., which was having problems with its long filing time for patents so first of all the root causes of delays were identified. To eliminate these non-value added steps, Xerox Lean Six Sigma team carried out DMAIC, and came up with a solution which reduced the cycle time of 64 days and saved $400,000 in overall time (Xerox Corp. Brochure,2009). National Grid, who is a client of GE Fleet Services in the UK listened to the voice of its customers and applied Lean Six Sigma to reduce the time spent running (issuing and managing) order prompts (Fraser and Fraser,2008).This project is an example of a well-applied Lean Six Sigma method in a service sector in terms of achieving expected results in a timely fashion (Fraser and Fraser,2008). In the work of Kumar et al. (2006), the implementation of LSS in a die casting manufacturer is resulted in a significant decrease in the number of defects occurred in the final product and an overall savings of around $140 000 per year. Apart from the success stories, National Health Service Modernisation Agency (MA) in UK, is a well-known failure case of LSS. In 2004, Six Sigma together with Lean implemented in NHS to improve processes and quality (Proudlove and Moxham et al., 2008). Whereas, due to lack of well-designed processes, lack of support and unclear link between business strategy, it resulted in failure (Montero,2010). 4. Discussion In light of the findings and review of literature, the advantages and disadvantages of LSS will be discussed in this section. It is believed that this integrated approach will bring better results when the structured and systematic approach of Six Sigma came together with the agility of Lean with a focus of customer in the centre (Antony et al,2003). Despite some views arguing its effectiveness, in theory, by integrating the best of Lean and Six Sigma, the outcome would be satisfactory or even delightful both from the organisations and the customers point of view that creates a win-win situation. According to Arnheiter and Maleyeff (2005), if Lean firms adopt Six Sigma principles, costs incurred by defective products such as rework or scrap costs and the related overhead costs can be reduced. Likewise, when Six Sigma companies adopt Lean principles, faster lead times and deliveries can be achieved. Antony et al. (2003) outlines four major benefits of implementing LSS as; becoming faster and more responsive to customers, striving for Six Sigma capability level, operating at lowest costs of poor quality, achieving greater flexibility throughout the business (Antony et al.,2003,p.41). Companies that have successfully implemented Lean Six Sigma have gained considerable benefits in terms of increased shareholder value and market share. Based on the examples of several companies given in the Findings section, these benefits are provided in dollars. On the other hand, a recent BainCo.survey of 184 companies, shows that 80 percent is dissatisfied with the results they got from their LSS efforts because they have not achieved their goals in both monetary terms and level of improvement (Neuhaus and Guarraia,2007). Because it brought many advantages to leading firms, it does not imply that every attempt will be success or that every firm is ready for this initiative. Basu (2001) outlines the difficulty of sustaining a process improvement program even it may be successful in the beginning. Thus, this situation causes employee layoffs and a decrease in employee morale (Basu,2001). Despite being a powerful engine for businesses, the necessity of high skills to be able to use relevant tools and techniques is seen as one of the weaknesses of LSS (Montero,2010). This factor is seen as a critical prerequisite for the successful implementation of LSS. Though,the training and necessary investment can be costly to some companies. Therefore, this situation may limit its applicability. Unless a necessary change within the business is done including cultural aspects, mindset of employees together with the full commitment of top management, the result will be a failure. 5. Conclusion Many businesses in various sectors have recently started to adopt LSS either as a result of an external pressure or due to inadequate results achieved with their current methodology applied (internal need). Benchmarking plays a significant role in creating a trendy environment in the market where companies follow the giants and trying to adopt the best practice in order not to be obsolete. Although, this integration is seen as a fad by some authors and practitioners The concept was emerged as a response to market requirement. This merge between initiatives Regardless of the continuous improvement strategy that is chosen to follow, there is a common ground that no positive results can be gained without an adequate support, and attention across the business. There are still some uncovered areas of LSS for further research or no one knows what is next.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Theories of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

Theories of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) This assignment tries to discuss various theories concerning foreign direct investment and give the statement as to whether the theories provide a successful explanation of the main determinants of such activity In real sense the main theories of FDI does not provide successful explanation of the main determinants for such activity, as explained by Dunning and Lundan (2008:81) Multinational Enterprises and Global Economy 2nd Edition. Definition of foreign direct investment According to Graham and Spaulding (website information) direct foreign investment in its classical definition is defined as the company from one country making physical investment into building a factory to another country. Foreign direct investment (FDI) plays an extraordinary and growing role in global business. It can provides a firm with new markets and marketing channels, cheaper production facilities, access to knew technology, products, skills and financing. For a host country or the foreign firm which receives the investment, it can provide a strong impetus to economic development. The direct investment in building, machinery and equipment is in contrast with making a portfolio investment, which is considered an indirect investment. In recent years, given rapid growth and change in global investment patterns, the definition has been broadened to include the acquisition of lasting management interest in a company or enterprise outside the investing firms home country. As such, it may take many forms, such as a direct acquisition of a foreign firm, construction of a facility, or investment in a joint venture or strategy alliance with a local firm with attendant input of technology, growing, licensing of Ewe-Ghee Lim (web information) The paper tells about two aspects of direct foreign investment (FDI): its correlation with economic growth and its determinants. The first part focuses on positive spillovers from FDI while the second deals with the determinants of FDI. The paper finds that while substantial support exists for positive spillovers from FDI, there is no consensus on causality. On determinants, the paper finds that market size, infrastructure quality, political/economic stability, and free trade zones are important for FDI, while results are mixed regarding the importance of fiscal incentives, the business/investment climate, labour costs, and openness. Dunning (1993:3), explain that there is less disagreement about FDI THEORIES globalisation as a process of towards the widening of the extent and form of cross-border transactions; and the deepening of the economic interdependence between the actions of globalising entities located in other countries. The FDI theories explain the reason why FDI occurs and the determinants of FDI. The theories have traditionally emphasises market imperfection (Hymer, 1960; Kindlebeger, 1969) and firm specific advantages or ownership advantages derived from the ownership of intangible assets such as technologies, management skills, and organisational capabilities (Caves, 1971). Hymers market imperfections theories suggested that a firm may have certain advantage that may be generated from the fields of technology, management or marketing A. L Calvet (1981:43-59) Journal of International Business Study (hhtp://teaching.ust.hk/ Accessed on 07.11.2009. He assert that Kindleberger provided the first comprehensive survey of the various theories of foreign direct investment along with the lines expressed by Hymer. He approached the question of direct investment from the standpoint of the perfectly competitive model of neoclassical economics by asserting that in a world of pure competition direct investment could not exist. Kindleberger (1969, p13) Indeed, when all markets operate efficiently, when there are no external economies of production or marketing, when information is costless and there are no barriers to trade or competition, International trade is the only possible form of international involvement. Logically, it follows that is the departures from the model of perfect competition that must provide the rationale for foreign direct investment. The first deviation had been noted by Hymer (1960/1976), who postulated that local firms have better information about the economic environment in their country than do foreign companies. According to his argument, two conditions have to be fulfilled to explain the existence of direct investment: (1) foreign firms must possess a countervailing advantage over the local firms to make such investment viable, and (2) the market for the sale of this advantage must be imperfect. It was, thus, a natural step for Kindleberger later to suggest that market imperfections were the reason for the existence of foreign direct investment. Specifically, he came up with the following taxonomy: Imperfections in goods markets, imperfections in factors market, scale economies and government imposed disruptions. This classification may be called the market paradigm; To encompass new developments in the field of determinants of foreign investment, a somewhat different taxonomy from that of Kindleberger was proposed to distinguish among four classes: (1) market disequilibrium hypotheses, (2) government-impose distortions, (3) market structure imperfections, and (4) market failure imperfections. The common feature found in all the hypotheses in group (1) will be the transitory nature of foreign direct investment. FDI is an equilibrating force among segmented markets which eventually comes to an end when equilibrium is re-established; that is when rates of return are equalized among countries. The unifying characteristic in group (2) will be the role played by either host or home governments in providing the incentive to invest abroad. Group (3) will include theories in which the behaviour of firms deviates from that assumed under perfect competition, through their ability to influence market prices. Finally, in group (4) will be classified theories which depart from the technical assumptions behind the model of perfect markets; that is, the assumptions about production techniques and commodity properties. This last category will deal basically with those phenomena which lead to market failure or, cases where the decentralizing efficiency of that regime of signals, rules and build in sanctions which defines a price market system will fail. (Bator 1958, p. 352) Market disequilibrium hypotheses: The notion of a perfect economy and perfect competition requires the assumption that prices everywhere are adjusted to bring supply and demand into equilibrium. It may well be that because of segmentation in world markets rates of return are not equalized internationally. In a disequilibrium context flows of FDI would take place until markets return to stability. Instances of disequilibrium conditions that provide incentives to invest abroad are those which apply to factor markets and foreign exchange markets. Ragazzi (1973:491) State that Currency overvaluation is perhaps the most salient example of these disequilibrium hypotheses. A currency may be defined as overvalued when at the prevailing rate of exchange production costs for tradable goods in the country are, on the average, higher than in other countries. Such an occurrence creates opportunities for profit-making by holding assets in undervalued currencies with the expectation that, once the equilibrium in the foreign exchange market is re-established, capital gains will be realized. In meantime, there is an incentive to locate production of internationally traded commodities in countries with undervalued currencies and to purchase income producing assets with overvalued money. The important point is that, once exchange rates return to equilibrium, the flow of FDI should stop. Even more foreign investors should sell their foreign assets, pocket the capital gains, and return to domestic operations. Foreign direct investment may be attracted toward areas where the average rates of profit are higher. This is basically the capital markets disequilibrium hypotheses. It implies that, for a given level of risk, rates of return on assets are not equalized internationally by portfolio capital flows, due to inefficiencies in securities markets-such as, thinness or luck of disclosure. According to Piggott and Cook (1999:260-261) International Business Economics: A European Perspective 2nd Edition It is difficult to fit into one neat theory because of the problem of definition; secondly any theory of FDI is almost inevitably a theory of MNCs. as well, and thus inseparable from the theory of the firm. Thirdly, the nature of FDI makes it a multidimensional subject within the sphere of economics as well as an interdisciplinary one. It involves the theory of the firm, distribution theory, capital theory, trade theory and international finance as well as the discipline of sociology and politics. It is therefore not possible to identify any single theory of FDI due to many explanations of FDI. Also not easy to classify these explanations into distinct and neat groups, due to substantial overlapping between some of the explanations. They grouped the theories into three categories. 1).Traditional theories 2).Modern theories and 3).Radical theories Traditional theories are based on neo-classical economic and explain FDI in terms of location-specific advantages. Morden theories emphasise the fact that product and factor markets are imperfect both domestically and internationally and that considerable transactional costs are involved in market solutions. Also they acknowledge that managerial and organisational functions play an important role in undertaking FDI. The radical theories, these take a more critical view of Multinational National Corporation (MNCs). Let 1st examine the ownership, Location and Internalisation advantages, sometimes referred as paradigm of OLI. To explain the activity of MNCs there is three different types of advantages which is important. 1).Ownership-specific advantages (OSA) These refer to certain types of knowledge and privileges which a firm possesses and are not available to its competitor. These arise due to the imperfections in commodity and factor market. Imperfections in commodity markets include product differentiation, collusion, and special marketing skills, and in factor markets appear in the form of special managerial skills, differences in access to capital market, and technology protected by patents. Imperfect market may also arise from the existence of internal or external economies of scale or from government policies regarding taxes, interest rates and exchange rates. The market imperfection gives rise to certain ownership-specific advantages, grouped under the following headings: Technical advantages-include holding production secrets such as patents, or unavailable technology or management-organisational techniques. Industrial organisation-relates to the advantages arising from operating in an oligopolistic market such as those associated with joint RD and economies of scale. Financial and monetary advantages-includes preferential access to capital markets so as to obtain cheaper capital. Access to raw materials-if a firm gains privileged access to raw materials or minerals then this becomes an ownership-specific advantage 2).Location-specific advantages (LSA)-This refer to certain advantages which the firm has because it locates its production activities in a particular area: a) .Access to raw materials or minerals this normally represents an LSA. This advantage, however, applies to all the firms established in the locality and is not sufficient to explain FDI in itself pg 261 b). Imperfections in international labour markets-these create real wage-cost differentials which provide an incentive for the MNC to shift production to locations where labour costs are low. Example electronics component firms using South East Asian locations for assembly production. c). Trade barriers-These provide an incentive for MNCs to set up production in Europe to avoid CET. Similarly, high Canadian tariff barriers have been used in the past to attract US direct investment. c). Government policies-such as taxation and interest rate policies can influence the location of FDI. Internalisation-specific advantages (ISA) occur when international market imperfections make market solution too costly. This means the market is too costly or inefficient to undertake certain types of transactions, so whenever transactions can be organised and carried out more cheaply within the firm than thorough the market they will be internalised and undertaken by the firm itself. The benefits of internalisation are as follows:- a). the advantages of vertical integration cover such things as exploitation of market power through price discrimination and avoidance of government intervention by devices such as transfer pricing. b). the importance of intermediate products for research-intensive activity: the firm appropriates the returns on its investment in the production of new technology by internalising technology. c). the internalisation is not entirely costless. It creates communication, co-ordination and control problems. There is also the cost of acquiring local knowledge. FDI theories 1). Traditional theory Capital arbitrage theory The theory states that. Direct investment flows from countries where profitability is low to countries where profitability is high. It means therefore that capital is mobile both nationally and internationally. But sometimes implication is that countries with abundant capital should export and countries with less capital should import. If there was a link between the long-term interest rate and return on capital, portfolio investment and FDI should be moving in the same direction. International trade theory-the country will specialise in production of, and export those commodities which make intensive use of the countrys relatively abundant factor. 2). Modern theory Product-cycle theory New products appear first in the most advanced economy in respond to demand conditions. The maturing product stage is described by standardisation of the product, increased economies of scale, high demand and low price The standardised product stage is reached when the commodity is sold entirely on price basis. The internalisation theories of FDI The theory explain that why the cross-border transactions of intermediate products are organised by hierarchies rather than determined by market forces. The theory of appropriability. The theory explains why there is a strong presence of high-technology industries among MNCs 3).The electric theory of FDI The theory tries to offer a general framework for determining the extent and pattern of both foreign-owned production undertaken by a countrys own enterprises, and that of domestic production owned or controlled by foreign firm. Dunning and Lundan(2008) Robock and Simmonds (1989:48) International Business and Multinational Enterprises 4th Ed Assert that, the electric theory of international production enlarges the theoretical framework by including both home-country and host-country characteristics as international explanatory factors. It argues that the extent, form, and patterns of international production are determined by the configuration of three sets of advantages as perceived by the enterprises. First Ownership (O) advantage 2nd Location (L) and 3rd Internalization (I) advantage in order for the firm to transfer its ownership advantages across national boundary Diamond Porter Theory Daniels, Radebaugh and Sullivan (2009:287) 12th Edition. International Business: Environment and Operations: Pearson International Edition This is the theory which shows four conditions which is important for competitive superiority: demand conditions; factor conditions; related and supporting conditions and the firm strategy, structure and rivalry. Demand conditions whereby the company start up production at near the observed market for example an Italian ceramic tile industry after World War II: At that time there were post-war housing boom and consumers wanted cool floors because the climate was hot. Another factor is factor conditions which recall natural advantage within absolute advantage theory and the factor-proportions theory Conclusion Theories of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Theories of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) This report has discussed different theoretical framework of FDI that takes place. These theories briefly explain why firms go to trouble when establishing or acquiring abroad. Theories that use on this report are Hymers contributions, product life-cycle theory, caves theory, internalisation theory, the eclectic paradigm, strategic motivations of foreign direct investment and investment path development (IDP) theory. This report also evaluates Honda automotive as an example on how they survive and compete in the competitive international markets nowadays with using FDI models, statistics and theories. Based on these analyses, I feel that FDI takes an important role to both foreign and host countries and also impact firm behaviour or effects on host economies. Introduction This report will discuss Foreign Direct Investment theories and evaluate the FDI of a leading player industry that chosen, Toyota, Japan. Foreign direct investment (FDI) is the name given to process where a firm from a country provides capital to an existing or newly-created firm in another country (Jones, 2006 #1). For example, a foreign firm may decide to set-up production in the UK and by so doing will engaging in the process known as FDI. Firms locating production in more than one country are often referred to as multinational enterprises (MNEs). Dunning (1981) notes there are two main problems with viewing FDI. First, FDI is more than just the transfer of capital, since just as importantly it involves the transfer of technology, management and organizational skills. Second, the resources are transferred within the firm rather than between two independent parties in the market place, as is the case with capital (Jones, 2006 #1). These factors give FDI own a unique key theories an d often cited as Hymer (1960) international operations of national firms; Vernons (1966) product life-cycle theory; Caves (1971) horizontal and vertical theories; Buckley and Casson (1976) Internalization theory; Dunning (1977) eclectic theory; Graham (1978) strategic behavior of firms and John Dunning (1981) investment development path (IDP) theory. This report will begin by examining the Hymer (1960) theory. (Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment, FDI, theory, Japan FDI, Honda) Literature Review 1.1 Hymer (1960) international operations of national firms Hymers (1960), who saw flaws in the prevailing view that direct investments and portfolio were synonymous with one another. Hymer noted that direct investment was mainly performed by firms in manufacturing, whereas there was a predominance of financial organisations involved in portfolio investment (Jones, 2006 #1). Hymer was also explained why direct investments across various countries (Kogut, 1998 #2). Hymer (1960) expressed his dissatisfaction with the theory of indirect (or portfolio) capital transfers to explain the foreign value-added activities of firms (Dunning, 2008 #3). In particular, he identified three reasons for his discontent. The first was that once uncertainty and risk, the cost of acquiring information and volatile exchange rates and making transactions were incorporated into classical portfolio theory, many predictions, for example, with respect to the cross-border movements of money capital in response to interest rate changes, became invalidated. This was becaus e such market imperfections modified the behavioural parameters affecting performance of firms and the conduct and, in particular, strategy in servicing foreign markets (Dunning, 2008 #3). Second, Hymer stated that FDI involved the transfer of a package of resource (i.e technology, entrepreneurship, management skills, and so on), and not just finance capital which portfolio theories such as Iversen (1935) had sought to explain. The third and perhaps most fundamental characteristic of FDI was that it involved no change in the ownership of resources or rights transferred, whereas indirect investment, which was transacted through the market, did necessitate such a change. In consequences, the organisational modality of both the transaction of the resources, for example, intermediate products, and the value-added activities linked by these transactions was different. Moreover, Hymers theory of FDI draws its influence from Bains (1956) barriers to entry model of industrial economics (Tee ce, 1985). Hymer begins by noting that there are barriers to entry for a firm wanting to set-up production abroad. These are in the form of uncertainty, risk, and host-country nationalism (Kogut, 1998 #2). Uncertainty gives rise to costs in overcoming informational disadvantages associated with unfamiliarity with local customs. Each country has its own languages, legal system, economy and government, which place firms from outside of the country at a disadvantage compared to firms that are naturally resident to the country. The second barrier is nationalistic discrimination by host countries, which may occur by the government with a protectionist agenda, or by consumers of the host country who prefer to purchase goods from own national firms for reasons of patriotic or loyalty tendencies. The final barrier manifests itself as an exchange rate risk (Kogut, 1998 #2). As the firm has to pay a dividend to its shareholders in the home country it has to repatriate the profits back to its own currency. Given these barriers to international productions, why do firms engage in foreign direct investment? According to Hymer there are two reasons, whether of which could apply, and both of which are expected to increase its profits (Kogut, 1998 #2). First, the firm removes competition from within the industry, by taking-over or by merging with firms in other countries. Second, the firm has advantages over other firms operating in a foreign country. Examples of the latter are the ability of the firm to acquire factors of production at a lower cost, the use of better distributional facilities, the ownership of knowledge not known to its rivals or a differentiated product that is now known in the other country. Both reasons stress the importance of market imperfections (Dunning and Rugman, 1985), and underlying these the investor has direct control of the investment. Overall, these reasons are not sufficient for a firm to engage in direct foreign investment, as what is necessary is that it must enter the foreign market in order to fully appropriate the profits, for example, a firm could license its product to a firm in the foreign country, so that it need not directly invest in the market. However, there are problems with licensing the product. These include the failure to reach an agreement with the licensing firm over the levels of output or prices, or the costs involved in the monitoring an agreement made between the firms. 1.2 Product Life-Cycle Theory Vernon (1966), argued that the decision to locate production is not made by standard factor-cost or labour-cost analysis, but by a more complicated process (Kogut, 1998 #2, p.29). The product cycle model was introduced in the 1960s to explain market-seeking production by firms of a particular ownership or nationality (Dunning, 2008 #3). On the other hand, the product cycle was the first dynamic interpretation of the determinants of, and relationship between, international trade and foreign production (Dunning, 1996 #5). It also introduced some novel hypotheses regarding demand stimuli, technology leads and lags, and information and communication costs, which have subsequently proved useful tools in the study of foreign production and exchange (Dunning, 1996 #5). According to Vernon, a product has a life cycle that has three main stages. These stages are important as they have implications for the international location of a product as follows. Stage One: Product development process. In other words, the nature of the product that the firm is making is not standardised (Kogut, 1998 #2). Stage Two: Maturing product. This means that the need for the product to be situated near to its market declines, which allows for economies of scale. These impact on the locational decision of the firm, especially as the demand for the product is likely to grow in other countries, and the firm will have to decide whether it is worth setting up production abroad. Furthermore, this could even mean that the home country experiences exports back to it from the foreign plant. Stage Three: Standardised product. This is an extension to the maturing product stage, where the standardisation of the product has reached its zenith, and a final framework of the product has been found (Kogut, 1998 #2). 1.3 Caves Theory Caves (1971), expanded upon Hymers theory of direct investment, and placed it firmly in the context of industrial organisation theory (Jones, 2006 #1). The importance of Caves work is that this theory will linked Hymers theory of international production to the then current theories of industrial organisation on horizontal and vertical integration. Caves identify between firms that engage in horizontal FDI and those that undertake vertical FDI (Dunning, 2008 #3). Horizontal FDI takes place when a firm enters into its own product market within a foreign country, whereas vertical FDI happens when a firm enters into the product market at a different stage of production (Jones, 2006 #1). 1.4 Internalisation Theory Coase (1937), examines the role that transaction costs play in the formation of organisations known as internalisation theory (Jones, 2006 #1). In brief, Coase was concerned with why firms exist and why not all transactions in a n economy occur in the market. Coase also answered this in terms of the transactions costs involved in using the market, where this is the cost of searching and determining the market price, or, once the price is found, the cost of negotiation, signing and enforcement of contracts between the parties involved in the transaction. The process of internalisation is developed to explain international production and FDI, and one of the leading proponents is Buckley and Casson (1976). They present the MNE as essentially an extension of the multi-plant firm (Dunning, 2008 #3). Bucley and Casson note that the operations of firm, especially large firms, take the form not only of producing services and goods, but activities such as marketing, training, development and research, management techniques and involvement with financial markets. These activities are interdependent and are connected by intermediate products, taking the form of either knowledge or material products, and expertise. A key intermediate product in the internalisation theory of FDI is knowledge. One reason is that knowledge takes a considerable period of time to generate, for example through development and research, but is highly risky, so that futures markets do not exist. Sellers of markets may be unwilling to disclose information, which has uncertain value to the buyer, causing market fail. Further, sellers and buyers of knowledge can often hold a degree of market power, which leads to a bilateral concentration of power (Williamson, 1979), and uncertain outcomes (Dunning, 2008 #3). These problems indicate the severe difficulties in licensing and contracting where information is crucial. In regards to internationalisation, the public good property of knowledge means it is easily transmitted within the firm, regardless of whether it is inside or across national boundaries. This creates internal markets across national boundaries, and as Buckley and Casson state, as firms search for and exploit knowledge to their maximum potential they do so in numerous locations, with this taking place on an international scale, leading to a network of plants on a world-wide basis (Jones, 2006 #1, p.45). The internalisation theories of FDI played an important role in advancing and developing the theory of FDI in the 1970s and have remained popular since that time (Dunning, 2008 #3). 1.5 The Eclectic Paradigm (Please refer to table 2.1 and 2.2 in reading this section) Reflecting upon the history of the theory of FDI, Dunning (1977) noted that it was very much couched in terms of either the structural market failure hypothesis of Hymer and Caves or the internalisation approach of Buckley and Casson (Dunning, 1996 #5). Dunning provided an eclectic response to these by bringing the competing theories together to form a single theory, or paradigm as it is more often referred. The basic premise of Dunnings paradigm is that it links together Hymers ownership advantages with the internalisation school, and at the same time adds a locational dimension to the theory, which at the time had not been fully explored (Jones, 2006 #1). Further, Dunning does manage to introduce some new considerations, such as the impact that different country and industry characteristics have on each of the ownership, locational and internalisation advantages of FD (Jones, 2006 #1). The eclectic paradigm of FDI states that a firm will directly invest in a foreign country only if it fulfils three conditions. First, the firm must possess an ownership-specific asset, which gives it an advantage over other firms and which are exclusive to the firm. Second, it must internalise these assets within the firm rather than through contracting or licensing. Third, there must be an advantage in setting-up production in a particular foreign country rather than relying on exports (Blomstrom, 2000 #8). Different types of ownership (O), locational (L) and internalisation (I) factors are given in Table 1 (collectively known as OLI) (Jones, 2006 #1). Internalisation advantages are the ways that a firm maximises the gains from their ownership advantages to avoid or overcome market imperfections (Dunning, 1996 #5). Internalisation-specific advantages results in the process of production becoming internal to the firm. Reasons for internalisation include the avoidance of transaction costs, the protection of the good, market and finance, avoidance of tariffs and the ability to capture economies of scale from production (Dunning, 2008 #3). Moreover, not all of the OLI conditions for FDI will be evenly spread across countries, and therefore each condition will be determined by the factors that are specific to individual countries (Dunning, 1996 #5). Links between the OLI advantages and the country-specific characteristics are summarised in Table 2. For example, the ownership-specific advantage of firm size is likely to be influenced by market size in the firms home country (Dunning, 1996 #5). This is because the larger the market is, the more likely will a firm be able to gain ownership-specific advantages in the form of economies of scale. In terms of location-specific factors, labour costs will vary across developed and developing countries, while transport costs are determined by the distance between the host and home countries. Finally, country-specific factors are likely to affect the degree to which firms internalise their advantages. 1.6 Strategic Motivations of Foreign Direct Investment Despite the advances made by the eclectic approach to FDI, the theory has been criticised for ignoring another aspect of FDI theory. Knickerbocker (1973), and then advanced by Graham (1978, 1998). The distinguished feature of the strategic approach to FDI is that is believes that an initial inflow of FDI into a country will produce a reaction form the local producers in that country, so that FDI is a dynamic process. The process from the domestic producers can either be aggressive or defensive in nature. An aggressive response would be a price war or entry into the foreign firms home market while a defensive response would be an acquisition or merger of other domestic producers to reinforce market power (Dunning, 1996 #5). 1.7 Investment Development Path Theory John Dunnings investment development path (IDP) theory (1981) and its latest version (Dunning an Narula 1994) are implicitly built on the notion that the global economy is necessarily hierarchical in terms of the various stages of economic development in which its diverse constituent nations are situated. The IDP essentially traces out the net cross-border flows of industrial knowledge, the flows that are internalised in foreign direct investment (FDI) and that restructure and upgrade the global economy, although there is also the non-equity type of knowledge transfer such as licensing, turn-key operations, and the like. In this way, the IDP can thus be view as a cross-border learning curve exhibited by a nation that successfully move up the stages of development by acquiring industrial knowledge from its more advanced neighbours. A move from the U-shaped (i.e negative NOI) portion to the wiggle section of the IDP indicates an equilibration in knowledge dissemination (Dunning, 1996 # 5, p.143) and that is, a narrowing of the industrial technology gap between the advanced and the catching-up countries. Thus, IDP curve conceptualised by Dunning is an idealised pattern based on free-market exchanged of knowledge among countries (Dunning, 1996 #5). Japan Automotive Industry 2.1 Components-intensive assembly-based manufacturing and FDI (first, trade-conflict-skirting, but later rationalising type) Automobiles and auto-parts had long been targeted by the Japanese government as one of the most promising industries in which both higher technological progress and productivity were possible and whose products were highly income elastic. In addition to automobiles, another components-intensive, assembly-based industry that successfully emerged in Japan in the 1970s was consumer electronics (Dunning, 1996 #5). Both automobiles and consumer electronics came to capitalise very adroitly on Japans dual industrial structure in which numerous small and medium-sized enterprise coexisted alongside a limited number of large-scale firms; the former specialised at the relatively labour-intensive end, while the latter operated at the relatively capital-intensive, scale-based end of vertically integrated manufacturing (Dunning, 2008 #3). Furthermore, it was also in Japans auto industry (at Toyota Motor Co., to be exact) that a new manufacturing paradigm, lean or flexible production, originated as a superior alternative to Fordist mass production (Womack, Jones and Roos, 1990). This technological progress came to be reflected in rising technology exports in the transport equipment (mostly, automobile) industry. But the very success of building up the efficient, large-scale (hence exploitative of scale/scope economies) hierarchies of assembly operations in highly differentiated automobiles and electronics goods, along with increased RD and technological accumulation (which is reflected in increasing technology exports), resulted in Japans export drive and expanding trade surplus. These situations in turn quickly led to trade issues and the sharp appreciation of the yen (Dunning, 2008 #3). To circumvent protectionism, Japanese producers of automobiles and electronics goods began to replace their exports with local assembly operations in the Western markets, mainly in North America and Europe. Meanwhile, they also started to produce fairly standardised (ie. Relatively low value added) parts and components, or those that can be cost-effectively produced, locally, both in low-wage developing countries, especially in Asia, and in high-wage Western countries- in the latter, with the installation of labour-cost-reducing and labour-quality-augmenting automation equipment mostly shipped from Japan. Therefore, a network of Japanese overseas ventures began to straddle the advanced host countries and the developing host countries at the same time (Dunning, 2008 #3). Recently, these assembly-based FDIs are going beyond the trade-conflict-skirting phase to reach a new phase of rationalised cross-border production and marketing. More and more components are produced at supplied home to the overseas manufacturing outposts. Also, low-end products (models) are assigned to production and marketing in the developing host countries, especially in Asia; some are imported back into Japan. Thus, we can discern a more refined or more sharply delineated and specialised form of trade within an industry (i.e intra industry) or more appropriately within a firm (i.e intra- firm trade) and within a production process (i.e inter-process trade), a new form of trade made possible by rationalisation-seeking type of FDI (Dunning, 1996 #5). 2.2 Toyota (Please refer to appendix 1 2 in reading this section) The Japanese market is the most consolidated of all triad markets. Toyota, is a transnational Japanese international car manufacturer where headquartered in Aichi, Japan (Dunning, 2008 #3). According to appendix 1, in 2011, Toyota was the fifth biggest transnational companies with foreign sale as 60.8 percent of total. Also, it has 38% of its 326,000 workers abroad (Economist, 2012 #7). In 2009, Toyota alone has 36.88 percent of the passenger car market, 18.29 percent of the truck market and 79.72 percent of the bus market (M.Rugman, 2012 #6). Excluding Japan, Toyota is the market leader in two of the six largest countries in Asia Pacific which are Malaysia and Thailand (M.Rugman, 2012 #6). Furthermore, in 2009, two regional markets accounted for 78 percent of Toyotas revenue Asia (with Japan at 48.3 percent of revenues) and North America (at 29.70 percent of revenues); Europe was only at 14.1 percent of revenues and rest of the world 7.9 percent, and hence, it is a bi-region-focused company. According to appendix 2, In term of units sold, the geographic distribution is similar where Asia and Oceania account for 14 percent, North America 32 percent and Europe 14 percent. Therefore, in terms of revenue and units sold, Toyota is a bi-regional company (Dunning, 1996 #5) . Over 10 years, Toyotas intra-regional percentage of sales has decreased from 57.1 percent to 46.2 percent. One major reason for this is the Japanese market itself, where sales decreased for 48.4 percent of total revenues in 1993 to 38.3 percent in 2002. As comparison, North American, European, and non-triad sales have steadily increased in importance. Toyota manufactures locally over two thirds of the car sells in United States. Local responsiveness is important for Toyota. Toyota introduced its luxury models to accommodate the wealthier and aging North American baby boomers in the 1990s. Today, the company is introducing cars to target the young American customer, the demographic echo of the baby boomers. Since 60 percent of US car buyers remain loyal to the brand of first car, it is thus imperative to service this young market (M.Rugman, 2012 #6). Furthermore, american consumers, have been responsive to the companys reputation for lower price and quality at which Toyotas cars are sold (M.Rugman, 2012 #6). Also, the resale value is also higher for Toyota cars. One major advantage for Toyota is that is has some of the best manufacturing facilities in the world, and it combined this with excellent relationships with its suppliers. Until recently, Toyota was one of the most efficient companies at outsourcing production to suppliers with whom it enjoys amicable long-term, sometimes keiretsu-style, relationship (Dunning, 2008 #3). If the auto industry is to become more like the electronics industry, vehicle brand owner (VBOs), such as GM, and VW, will be the equivalent of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the electronics industry, such as Nokia, and will concentrate on designing, engineering, and marketing vehicles to be sold under their brand while others take care of manufacturing (Dunning, 1996 #5). Toyota is probably fu rther along this outsourcing route than other triad auto makers. Overall, although Toyota has much intra-regional trade and FDI, this does not mean that trade or FDI between them has declined (M.Rugman, 2012 #6). As discussed, all of them have invested large amounts of money in each other. For example, in 2008, the EU country has $1,622.911 billion of FDI in the United States and $86.915 billion in Japan. The United States imports $377 billion from the EU and $143.4 billion from Japan. So they are closely linked in terms of both trade and FDI (M.Rugman, 2012 #6). 3. Conclusions Overall, this report has reviewed the theoretical literature on foreign direct investment and Honda automotive in the FDI international markets. Since Hymer, there have been attempts to address a number of issues, such as why FDI occurs and where it locates. This report has also take on board developments in Dunnings eclectic paradigm of FDI, which not only encompasses ownership and internalisation advantages of multinational enterprise, but the role that location plays in a firms decision to invest abroad. Since the time of the eclectic paradigm, other theories have emerged that have stressed the importance of the role of strategy in FDI in the face of globalisation and a corresponding growth in competition between firms. In this, the role of the traditional barriers to entry across countries, such as the differences in the legal, economic environments and linguistic, have become less important, and FDI is now be viewed as competition between a few firms on an international stage (D unning, 1996 #5). Dunnings IDP paradigm provides a thought-provoking framework to examine the Japanese industry experience, because the case of Japan seems so deviant from the norm set forth in the macro-IDP pattern. The Asian NIEs and the new NIEs (ASEAN-4) and now new new NIEs (China, Vietnam and India) have moulded their developmental strategies along the line of MNE- facilitated development in order to swing up. Indeed, Japan automotive seems to have been a role model for other East and South East Asian countries to match in their drive to economic modernisation. In addition, to the high level of international business conducted across the triad, companies in the triad are constantly looking for new ideas from other regions that will make them more competitive. In the United States, for example, the head of the Federal Reserve System has expressed the belief that US antitrust practices are out of date and that competitors should be allowed to acquire and merge with each other in order to protect themselves from world competition (Dunning, 2008 #3). This idea has long been popular in Japan where Keiretsus, or business groups, which consist of a host of companies that are linked together through ownership and/or joint ventures, dominate the local environment and are able to use their combined connections and wealth to dominate world markets. (2000 words) Table 1 The Three Conditions of the Eclectic Theory Ownership-specific advantages (internal to enterprises of one nationality) Size of firm Technology and trade marks Management and organisational systems Access to spare capacity Economies of joint supply Greater access to markets and knowledge International opportunities such as diversifying risk Location-specific advantage (determining the location of production) Distribution of inputs and markets Cost of labour, transport and materials costs between countries Government intervention and policies Commercial and legal infrastructure Language, culture and customs (ie psychic distance) Internalisation-specific advantages (overcoming market imperfections) Reduction in search, negotiation and monitoring costs Avoidance of property right enforcement costs Engage in price discrimination Protection of product Avoidance of tariffs Source: Dunning (1981) Table 2 Characteristics of Countries and OLI-specific Advantages Owbnership-specific advantages Country characteristics Size of firm Large markets Liberal attitudes to mergers Technology and trade marks Government support of innovation Skilled workforce Management and organisational systems Supply of trained managers. Educational facilities Product differentiation High income countries Levels of advertising and marketing Location-specific advantages Country characteristics Costs of labour and materials Developed or developing country Transport costs between countries Distance between countries Government intervention and policies Attitudes of government to FDI Economies of scale Size of markets Psychic distance Similarities of countries languages and cultures. Internalisation-specific advantages Country characteristics Searching negotiating monitoring costs. Greater levels of education and larger markets make knowledge type ownership-specific advantages more likely to occur. Avoid costs of enforcing property rights. Protection of products. Source: Dunning (1981) Appendix 1 C:UsersuserDesktop20120714_woc582_5.png