India After 20 Years

Draft January, 2007 INDIA’s GROWTH: PAST AND FUTURE by Shankar Acharya* * Honorary Professor and Member Board of Governors, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) Paper for presentation at the Eighth Annual Global Development Conference of the Global Development Network, January 14-16, Beijing. 0 India’s Growth: Past and Future By Shankar Acharya1 This paper is divided into five sections. Section I briefly reviews India’s growth performance since 1950 and indicates a few salient features and turning points.Section II discusses some of the major drivers of India’s current growth momentum (which has averaged 8 percent in the last 3 years) and raised widespread expectations (at least, in India) that 8 percent plus growth has become the new norm for the Indian economy. Section III points to some of the risks and vulnerabilities that could stall the current dynamism if corrective action is not taken. Section IV appraises the co untry’s medium term growth prospects. The final section assesses some implications of India’s rise for the world economy. I Review of Growth Performance, (1950-2006)Table 1 summarizes India’s growth experience since the middle of the twentieth century. For the first thirty years, economic growth averaged a modest 3. 6 percent, with per capita growth of a meager 1. 4 percent per year. Those were the heydays of state-led, import-substituting industrialization, especially after the 1957 foreign exchange crisis and the heavy industrialization bias of the Second Five Year Plan (1956-61). While the strategy achieved some success in raising the level of resource mobilization and investment in the economy, it turned out to be hugely costly in terms of economic efficiency.The inefficiencies stemmed not just from the adoption of a statist, inward1 The author is Member, Board of Governors and Honorary Professor at Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relat ions (ICRIER). He was Chief Economic Adviser to Government of India (1993-2000). This paper draws liberally on his recent paper, â€Å"India’s Growth: Past Performance and Future Prospects†, presented at the Tokyo Club Macro Economy Conference on â€Å"India and China Rising†, December 6-7, 2006, Tokyo. 1 ooking policy stance (at a time when world trade was expanding rapidly) but also from the extremely detailed, dysfunctional and corruption-breeding controls that were imposed on industry and trade (see, for example, the classic study by Bhagwati and Desai (1970)). Table 1: Growth of GDP and Major Sectors (% per year) Year 1951/521980/81 (1) 1981/821990/91 (2) 1992/931996/97 (3) 1997/982001/02 (4) 2002/032005/06 (5) 1992/932005/06 (6) 1981/822005/06 (7) Agriculture and Allied Industry 2. 5 3. 5 4. 7 2. 0 1. 9 3. 0 3. 0 5. 3 7. 1 7. 6 4. 4 8. 0 6. 6 6. 5 Services 4. 5 6. 7 7. 6 8. 2 8. 9 . 2 7. 4 GDP 3. 6 5. 6 6. 7 5. 5 7. 0 6. 4 5. 9 GDP per capita 1. 4 3. 4 4. 6 3. 6 5. 3 4. 4 3. 8 Source: CSO . Note: Industry includes Construction. At the same time, one should not forget that the GDP growth rate of 3. 6 percent was four times greater than the 0. 9 percent growth estimated for the previous half century of British colonial rule (Table 2). Moreover the growth was reasonably sustained, with no extended periods of decline. Nor were there inflationary bouts of the kind which racked many countries in Latin America. However, growth was far below potential and much less than he 7-8 percent rates being achieved in some countries of East Asia and Latin America. Worst of all, the proportion of the Indian population below a (minimalist) poverty line actually increased from 45 to 51 percent (Table 3). Table 2: Economic Growth: Pre -independence (% per year) Year 1900-46 1900-29 1930-46 GDP 0. 9 0. 9 0. 8 Population 0. 8 0. 5 1. 3 Per Capita GDP 0. 1 0. 4 -0. 5 Source: Sivasubramonian (2000) 2 Table 3: Percentage of People Below Poverty Line, 1951-52 t o 1999-00: Official Estimates Year Rural Urban All India 1951-52 47. 4 35. 5 45. 3 1977-78 3. 1 45. 2 51. 3 1983 45. 7 40. 8 44. 5 1993-94 37. 3 32. 4 36. 0 1999-2000 26. 8 24. 1 26. 1 Source: Planning Commission, Government of India G rowth accelerated significantly in the 1980s to 5. 6 percent, entailing a more than doubling of per capita growth to 3. 4 percent a year. This acceleration was due to a number of factors, including: the early efforts at industrial and trade liberalization and tax reform dur ing the 1980s, a step- up in public investment, better agricultural performance and an increasingly expansionist (almost profligate! ) fiscal policy.Fiscal controls weakened and deficits mounted and spilled over to the external sector, requiring growing recourse to external borrowing on commercial terms. Against a background of a low export/GDP ratio, rising trade and current account deficits and a deteriorating external debt profile, the 1990 Gulf War and consequent oil price spik e tipped India’s balance of payments into crisis in 1990/91. Although the policy reforms of the 1980s were modest in comparison to those undertaken in the ensuing decade, their productivity â€Å"bang for the buck† seems to have been high (see Table 4) 2 .Perhaps this 2 Several different factor productivity studies support this conclusion, including: Acharya-Ahluwalia Krishna-Patnaik (2003), Bosworth and Collins (2003) and Virmani (2004). 3 w as a case of modest improvements in a highly distorted policy environment yielding significant gains. Table 4: Growth of GDP, Total Factor Input and Total Factor Productivity (% per year) 1950/511966/67 3. 8 GDP 1967/68 – 1981/82– 1980/81 1990/91 3. 4 5. 3 1991/92 – 1999/2000 6. 5 Total Factor Input (TFI) 2. 4 2. 7 3. 3 3. 9 Total Factor Productivity (TFP) . 4 0. 7 2. 0 2. 6 Proportion of Growth Explained by TFP (%) 37. 6 20. 8 37. 7 39. 7 Source: Acharya, Ahluwalia, Krishna and Patnaik (2003). Note: For each sub-period, GDP, TFI and TFP are trend growth rates. The new Congress government of June 1991, with Manmohan Singh as finance minister, undertook emergency measures to restore external and domestic confidence in the economy and its management. 3 The rupee was devalued, the fiscal deficit was cut and special balance of payments financing mobilized from the IMF and the World Bank.Even more importantly, the government seized the opportunity offered by the crisis to launch an array of long overdue and wide-ranging economic reforms. They encompassed external sector liberalization, deregulation of industry, reforms of taxation and the financial sector and a more commercial approach to the public sector (see Table 5 for a summary of key reforms in 1991-93). 4 3 There has been a great deal written on India’s economic reforms and the consequent performance of the economy, including Acharya (2002a and 2004), Ahluwa lia (2002), Kelkar (2004), Kochhar et. l (2006), Panagariya ( 2004a and 2006) and Virmani (2004). There is a tendency to view the post-1991 economic performance as a single unified experience. I prefer the more nuanced and disaggregated view outlined here. 4 As I have pointed out elsewhere (Acharya, 2006a), these reforms are better characterized as â€Å"medium bang† than â€Å"gradualist† (as by Ahluwalia, 2002). 4 Table 5: Main Economic Reforms of 1991-93 Fiscal †¢ Reduction of the fiscal deficit. †¢ Launching of reform of major tax reforms. External Sector †¢ Devaluation and transition to a Market-determined Exchange Rate. Phased reduction of import licensing (qua ntitative restrictions). †¢ Phased reduction of peak custom duties. †¢ Policies to encourage direct and portfolio foreign investment. †¢ Monitoring and controls over external borrowing, especially short term. †¢ Build-up of foreign exchange reserves. †¢ Amendment of FERA to reduce restrictions on firms. Industry †¢ Virtual abolitio n of industrial licensing. †¢ Abolition of separate permission needed by â€Å"MRTP houses†. †¢ Sharp reduction of industries â€Å"reserved† for the public sector. †¢ Freer access to foreign technology.Agriculture †¢ More remunerative procurement prices for cereals. †¢ Reduction in protection to the manufacturing sector. Financial Sector †¢ Phasing in of Basle prudential norms. †¢ Reduction of reserve requirements for banks (CRR and SLR). †¢ Gradual freeing up of interest rates. †¢ Legislative empowerment of SEBI. †¢ Establishment of the National Stock Exchange. †¢ Abolition of government control over capital issues. Public Sector †¢ Disinvestment programme begun. †¢ Greater autonomy / accountability for public enterprises. 5The economy responded swiftly and positively to these reforms. After virtual stagnation in 1991/92, GDP growth surged in the next five years to clock a record 5-year average of 6. 7 percent. It is noteworthy that in this high growth Eighth Plan period all major sectors (agriculture, industry, services) grew noticeably faster than in the pre-crisis decade. The acceleration in the growth of agricultural value added is particularly interesting in the light of oft-repeated criticism that the economic reforms of the early nineties neglected the agricultural sector.The factors which explain this remarkable and broad-based growth surge in the period 1992-97 appear to include: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Productivity gains resulting from the deregulation of trade, industry and finance, especially in the sectors of industry and some services; The surge in export growth at about 20 percent per year (in dollar terms) for three successive years beginning 1993-94, attributable to the substantial devaluation in real effective terms in the early nineties and a freer policy regime for industry, foreign trade and payments;The investment boom of 1993- 96 which exerted expansionary effects on both supply and demand, especially in industry. The investment boom itself was probably driven by a combination of factors including the unleashing of ‘animal spirits’ by economic reforms, the swift loosening of the foreign exchange bottleneck, confidence in broadly consistent governmental policy signals and easier availability of investible funds (both through borrowing and new equity issues);The partial success in fiscal consolidation, which kept a check on government borrowings and facilitated expansion of aggregate savings and investments; Improvement in the terms of trade for agriculture resulting from a combination of higher procurement prices for important crops and reduction in trade protection for manufactures; Availability of capacity in key infrastructure sectors, notably power; A buoyant world economy which supported expansion of foreign trade and private capital inflows.The momentum of growth slowed noticeably in the Ninth Plan period, 1997-2002, to an average of 5. 5 percent, compared to the 6. 7 percent achieved in the previous five years. Among the factors which contributed to this deceleration were: the significant worsening of the fiscal deficits (mainly due to large public pay increases following the Fifth Pay Commission) and the associated decline in public savings, the slackening of economic reforms after 1995 as coalition governance became the norm, a significant slowdown in 6 gricultural growth for a variety of reasons, a marked downswing in the industrial cycle and an increasingly unsupportive international economic environment (including the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98, rising energy prices and the global recession of 2001). Indeed, India’s economic growth in 1997-2002 might have been even weaker but for the unexpected and somewhat inexplicable strength of services sector growth, which clocked an average of 8. 2 percent, despite industrial growth of only 4. 4 percent. T he services sector accounted for almost 70 percent of all growth in this period. Economic reforms picked up pace in 2000-04, fiscal deficits trended down after 2002 and the world economy rebounded strongly in 2002-06. These factors supported a broadbased upswing in Indian industrial output and investment from the second half of 2002. Growth of industrial valued added surged to 8 percent in 2002-06. With continued strong growth of services (at nearly 9 percent), GDP growth climbed to average 7 percent, despite continued sluggishness of agriculture.In the three years, 2003-06 overall economic growth has averaged over 8 percent and the outlook for 2006/7 is equally bright. This latest economic surge has raised the interesting issue of whether India’s trend growth rate has accelerated to 8 percent (or higher) from its previous level of around 6 percent. The ensuing sections of this paper explore this question. II. Main drivers of Recent Economic Growth What are some of the main i ngredients of the recent surge in economic growth? I would suggest the following seven major elements: ) The momentum of a quarter of a century of strong economic growth; 2) A much more open economy (to external trade and investment); 3) A growing â€Å"middle class† fuelling domestic consumption; 4) The â€Å"demographic dividends† of a young population; 5 Acharya (2002a and 2003) noted this unusual phenomenon and raised questions about both the quality of the data and the durability of such sharply divergent growth rates of industry and services. More recently, similar doubts have been expressed by Bosworth-Collins -Virmani (2006). 7 5) Strong companies in a modernized capital market; 6) Some recent economic reforms. ) A supportive international economic environment. Let me elaborate briefly on each of these factors. The Momentum of Growth The last thirty years’ experience suggests that very few developing countries have sustained decent per capita growth for two decades or more (Acharya, 2006b). Specifically, out of 117 developing countries with population over half a million, only 12 countries achieved per capita growth of more than 3 percent per year in 1980-2002, with at least 2 percent growth in each decade of the eighties and nineties. These twelve countries were: China (8. 2), Vietnam (4. 6), South Korea (6. 1), Chile (3. ), Mauritius (4. 4), Malaysia (3. 4), India (3. 6), Thailand (4. 6), Bhutan (4. 3), Sri Lanka (3. 1), Botswana (4. 7) and Indonesia (3. 5). (The number falls to 9 if we specify a minimum population of 3 million). Nine of these 12 countries are in Asia and, fortunately, they include the three most populous: China, India and Indonesia. (See Table 6). If we take the full 25 years (1981-2006), India’s per capita growth has averaged 3. 8 percent or almost 4 percent per year. 8 Table 6: Good Growth Performers of Recent Decades Average Annual Per Capita Growth (%) Country 1980-2002 1990s 1980s Population in 2000 (Millions) 1. China . 2 8. 6 7. 7 1262 2. Vietnam 4. 6 5. 7 1. 9 78 3. South Korea 6. 1 5. 0 7. 4 47 4. Chile 3. 3 4. 3 2. 1 15 5. Mauritius 4. 4 4. 1 4. 9 1 6. Malaysia 3. 4 3. 7 3. 1 23 7. India 3. 6 3. 6 3. 6 1016 8. Thailand 4. 6 3. 4 6. 0 61 9. Bhutan 4. 3 3. 4 5. 4 1 10. Sri Lanka 3. 1 3. 1 3. 1 18 11. Botswana 4. 7 2. 7 7. 2 2 12. Indonesia 3. 5 2. 6 4. 4 206 Source: World Bank (2005) Sustained improvements in standards of living of this order embody their own growthreinforcing elements. People come to think more positively about the future and base their savings, investment and production decisions on an expectation of continued growth.Electorates in India’s democracy come to expect development and hold government performance to higher standards, despite disappointments. Companies think big when they invest. And so on. A More Open Economy The Indian economy in 2006 is far more open to external trade, investment and technology than it was fifteen years ago. 6 Table 7 p resents some key comparative 6 The story of India’s external liberalization may be found in several places, including Acharya (2002b) and Panagariya ( 2004b). 9 indicators. Peak import duties on manufactures have come down from over 200% to 12. 5%, a remarkable reduction by any standards.The regime of tight, detailed and discretionary import controls has been almost completely dismantled. The exchange rate was devalued and made market-responsive (1991-3). The policies towards foreign portfolio and direct investment have been greatly liberalized. As a result, the ratio of traded goods to GDP has more than doubled from less than 15 percent to nearly 33 percent. Because of the sustained boom in software exports and worker remittances, the ratio of current receipts (goods exports plus gross invisibles) has more than tripled from 8 percent to over 24 percent of GDP.Foreign investment has risen from negligible levels to US $ 20 billion in 2005/6. Table 7: Towards A More Open Econom y 1990/91 2005/06 200% plus 12. 5% Tight, detailed Almost gone Trade (goods) / GDP Ratio (%) 14. 6 32. 7 Current Receipts / GDP (%) 8. 0 24. 5 Software Exports ($ billion) Nil 23. 6 Worker Remittances ($ billion) 2. 1 24. 6 Foreign Investment ($ billion) Negligible 20. 2 2. 2 145. 1 35. 3 10. 2 Peak Import Duties (manufacturers) I mport Controls Foreign Currency Reserves ($ billion, March 31) Debt Service Ratio (%) Source: RBI, Annual Report, 2005 /06, except for first two rows.After initial periods of sometimes painful adjustment in the 1990s, Indian industry has thrived in the more open and competitive environment. The explosion in software ITenabled service exports is well-known, having risen from nil in 1991 to $ 24 billion in 2005/6. Anecdotal evidence suggests that small-scale units have benefited greatly from 10 the much freer access to traded raw materials, components and designs. Perhaps most important, the old mindset of â€Å"foreign exchange scarcity† (and the wel ter of bad economic policies it spawned) has been effectively banished.Interestingly, the â€Å"opening up† has also strengthened the prudential yardsticks of foreign exchange reserves and debt service ratios. Rise of strong companies in a modernized capital market The 1990s ushered in far-reaching reforms in India’s capital markets. The Securities and Exchange Board of India was statutorily empowered in 1992 and quickly moved to improve standards of disclosure and transparency. The new electronic-tradebased National Stock Exchange was established in 1993 and set high technical and governance standards, which soon had to be emulated by the much older (and, sometimes scam-hit) Bombay Stock Exchange.Depositories legislation was enacted and soon paperless trading became the norm. Brokers were encouraged to corporatize. Futures markets were nurtured. These and other reforms transformed Indian capital markets into one of the best in the developing world. The combination of a modernizing capital market, an increasingly liberal and competitive environment for investment, trade and production, a wealth of entrepreneurial talent and sustained economic growth has helped the rise of strong new companies and supported the expansion of the more agile and aggressive among the established firms.By way of example, Airtel, the leading private telecom, went from nothing to a multi-billion dollar company in a decade. The same was true for the leading domestic airline, Jet and the IT icons like Infosys, Wipro, TCSand HCL. Old pharma companies, like Ranbaxy, transformed themselves. New media companies like Zee and NDTV bloomed. Established corporates houses restructured and flourished (such as some Tata companies, Reliance, Bajaj, Mahindra and Hero Honda) or saw their market shares decline.In recent years quite a few Indian companies have expanded through overseas investments and acquisitions, facilitated by direct investments abroad averaging $1. 5 to $ 2 billion in the past five years. The recent bid for Corus by Tata Steel is a well-publicized example. 11 Aggregate financial data also point to the strength and expansion of India’s corporate sector in recent years. The market capitalization of companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange rose nearly 14-fold from $ 50 billion in 1990/91 to $ 680 billion in 2005/6 (Table 8).In the last five years, the growth of profits has outpaced the growth of sales of private corporates, indicating rising profit margins. With falling interest rates and growing recourse to internal funding, the share of interest outgo in gross profits dropped sharply from above 50 percent in the late 1990s to 15 percent in 2005/6 (Reserve Bank, 2006, Box 1. 7). Unsurprisingly, data for the top 1000 listed companies showed net profits as percent of net sales rising from 4. 5 % in 2001/2 to 8. 9 % in 2004/5 (Business Standard, 2006). Table 8: Rising Middle Class 1990/91 Cars + UVs sold # Two Wheelers sold #Telephone [em ail  protected] (million) 15 million 100 million $50 billion $680 billion 205 thousand People in households with income (Rs. 2,00,000 – 10,00,000 OR PPP $20,000- $1,00,000 approximately)a Bombay Stock Exchange Market Capitalisation* 2005/06 1319 thousand 1800 thousand 7570 thousand 5 125$ a Based on data from NCAER (2005) * RBI, Handbook of Statistics on the Indian Economy, 2005-06 # Business Beacon, CMIE and Monthly Review of the Indian Economy, CMIE, October 2006 @ Business Beacon CMIE and Economic Survey, 2005-06 $ December 2005 A Growing Middle Class In the mid-1990s, shortly after the major economic reforms of 1991-4, there as premature exuberance about India’s rising middle class and their acquisitive aspirations. Today there is a much firmer basis for emphasizing the importance of the growing middle class in transforming consumption, production and investment in the Indian economy. Table 8 provides a few indicators. Based on surveys by the NCAER, about 100 mil lion people now live in households with annual incomes between Rs. 200,000 and Rs 1 12 million (approximately PPP$ 20,000 to 100,000), compared to about 15 million in 1990/91. With a lower defining threshold, the size of the middle class would be greater.For example, if the middle class cut-off is defined as the â€Å"non-poor† by standards of developed economies, then Bhalla (2007) estimates that 34 percent of India ’s population was â€Å"middle class† in 2005 compared to about 10 percent in 1990. Purchases of iconic middle class consumption items have certainly soared in the last 15 years (Table 8). Annual sales of cars (including multi- utility vehicles) have risen more than six times to 1. 3 million in 2005/6. Two wheeler sales have increased mo re than four times to 7. 6 million in 2005/6. In 1990/91 India had just 5 million telephone connections (all fixed).By the end of 2005 the number was 125 million (about two-thirds were mobile connections). Indeed, i n October 2006 the new mobile connections were close to 7 million, more than the total of phone connections fifteen years ago! The Demographic Dividend It has become commonplace to emphasize the growth potential of India’s young population and declining dependency ratio. According to most population projections the share of working age population in total population will continue to rise for the next 30 years or so, long after the decline has set in other major countries like China, USA, Western Europe and Japan (Table 9).These demographics point to a large potential for higher growth through augmented supply of labour and savings. Indeed, these trends have already been at work over the 15 years or so, helping to raise India’s household savings from around 15-16 percent of GDP in the late 1980s to 22-24 percent in recent years. 7 7 This could be an important part of the explanation to the puzzle: How does India sustain high growth despite aggregate fiscal deficits abov e 7 percent of GDP over the last twenty years? 13 Table 9: Share of Working Population (15-59 yrs) Country 1950 1975 2000 2025 2050 India 55. 5 54. 0 58. 9 64. 3 59. 7 China 59. 53. 6 65. 0 62. 1 53. 8 Japan 56. 9 64. 0 62. 1 52. 8 45. 2 US 60. 5 60. 0 62. 1 56. 6 54. 6 Western Europe 61. 7 58. 1 61. 3 54. 8 50. 4 Source: http://www. un. org/esa/population/publications/worldageing19502050/countriesorareas. htm Some Recent Policies As noted above economic reforms slowed after 1995 and then revived to some extent in the period 2000-04. Also, real interest rates declined worldwide and in India too. In India this may have been helped by renewed efforts to reduce burgeoning fiscal deficits, including through enactment of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (2003) at the central level.The fiscal position of the States also improved from the dire straits plumbed following the Fifth Pay Commission. The states too adopted fiscal responsibility laws following the recommendatio ns (and conditional debt write-offs) of the Twelfth Finance Commission (Government of India, 2004). Furthermore, tax revenues at both levels of government were buoyed by resurgent economic (especially industrial) growth after 2002/3. The net result was a decline in the gross fiscal deficit from almost 10 percent of GDP in 2001/2 to 7. percent in 2004/5 and an even larger decline in the revenue deficit from 7 to 3. 7 percent of GDP (Table 10). This was the single most important factor explaining the increase in aggregate savings from around 24 percent of GDP in 2001/2 to 29 percent in 2004/5, which, in turn, helped finance the current investment boom. 14 Table 10: Deficits, Savings and Investment (as % of GDP) Year 1995-96 Gross Fiscal Deficit 2001-02 2004-05 6. 5 9. 9 7. 5 3. 2 7. 0 3. 7 25. 1 (-2. 0) 26. 9 23. 6 (-6. 0) 23. 0 29. 1 (-2. 7) 30. 1 (Centre and States) Revenue Deficit (Centre and States)Gross Domestic Savings (of which Government) Gross Domestic Investment Source: RBI, Handbook of Statistics on the Indian Economy, 2005-06 and CSO website †¢ †¢ (http://mospi. nic. in/mospi_cso_rept_pubn. htm ) (http://mospi. nic. in/mospi_press_releases. htm ) International Economic Environment Despite the war in Iraq and the high oil prices of recent years the world economy has grown at almost 5 percent over the last four years, propelled by strong growth in US and China and some recovery in Japan and Europe. World trade in goods and services has expanded rapidly.This favorable environment has helped rapid growth of exports (of goods and services) from India, which, in turn, has been a significant driver of economic growth in this recent period. 8 III Risks to Future Strong Growth There are some well-known risks or constraints to the sustenance of the 8 percent growth enjoyed by India since 2003. These include: 1) Renewed fiscal stress from populist policies; 8 Panagariya (2006) emphasizes this point. 15 2) Infrastructure bottlenecks; 3) Labour market r igidities; 4) Weak performance of agriculture; 5) Pace of economic reforms; ) Weaknesses in human resource development programmes; 7) The international economic environment. Each of these merit brief elaboration. Populism and Renewed Fiscal Stress The recent progress in fiscal consolidation, noted above, is real but modest. The overall fiscal deficit remains high at 7. 5 percent of GDP in 2005/6, as does the government debt to GDP ratio at 80 percent (compared to about 60 percent in 1995/6). While the fiscal responsibility laws enacted by central and state governments (22 out of 28 states have passed such laws so far) are promising, they are not immune to populist pressures.Especially since the advent of the UPA government in 2004, populist expenditure programmes, such as the National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme, have gained fresh momentum. The Sixth Pay Commission has been constituted and is expected to submit its report by mid-2008, with governmental action likely before the next general election. The possibility of significant public pay increases is obviously high. On the revenue side, the state level VATs have contributed to revenue buoyancy. But the recent scheme for Special Economic Zones is fraught with unduly generous tax concessions.So the prospects for fiscal consolidation are mixed, at best. Infrastructure Bottlenecks India’s infrastructure problems are legendary and also reflect failures in public sector performance and governance. A recent appraisal (World Bank, 2006) points out that â€Å"the average manufacturer loses 8. 4 percent in sales annua lly on account of power 16 outages†, over 60 percent of Indian manufacturing firms own generator sets (compared to 27 percent in China and 17 percent in Brazil) and India’s combined real cost of power is almost 40 percent higher than China’s. The quantity and quality of roads is also a serious bottleneck.While there has been some progress in recent years with national h ighway development, the state and rural road networks are woefully inadequate, especially in poorer states (Figure 1). Urban infrastructure (especially water and sewerage) is another major constraint for rapid industrial development and urbanization (Figure 2). The successful example of rapid telecom development is very promising. But unlike telecom, the sectors of power, roads and urban infrastructure are burdened by long histories of a subsidy culture and dual (centre and states) constitutional responsibilities.Unless the various infrastructure constraints are addressed swiftly and effectively, it is difficult to see how 8 percent (or higher) economic growth can be sustained. Fig 1:Percentage of habitations not connected by roads, by Indian state Haryana Kerala Andhra Pradesh Punjab 0% 3% 4% 7% Karnataka 8% Tamil Nadu 8% Maharashtra Gujarat Uttar Pradesh Rajasthan 12% 23% 43% 51% Bihar 58% Orissa 58% Jharkhand Madhya Pradesh West Bengal 59% 62% 69% Chattisgarh 82% Source: Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, as cited in World Bank (2006). 17 Fig 2: Percentage of the population with access to sewerage facilities, by Indian stateRajasthan 8 Orissa 9 Chattisgarh 10 Madhya Pradesh 10 Andhra Pradesh 15 West Bengal 17 Tamil Nadu 29 Karnataka 33 Uttar Pradesh 37 Uttaranchal 37 Maharashtra 49 Gujarat 63 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Source: Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organization, 2000, as cited in World Bank (2006). Labour Market Rigidities According to official data, India’s non-agricultural employment in the private organized (units employing more than 10 workers) sector has stagnated below 9 million for over 20 years, although the labour force has grown to exceed 400 million!A major cause has been India’s complex and rigid labour laws, which hugely discourage fresh employment while protecting those with organized sector jobs. 9 Investment climate surveys by the World Bank indicate that India has some of the most res trictive labour laws in the world, which, in effect convert labour (in organized units) into a fixed factor of production (lay-offs are extremely difficult) and thereby discourage fresh employment in the organized sector while promoting more â€Å"casualization† and insecurity among the 9The skill and capital-intensive pattern of development of India’s modern industrial and services sectors (despite the endowment of abundant unskilled labour) has been noted by many analysts, including Kochhar et. al. (2006), Panagariya (2006) and World Bank (2006). All of them point to restrictive labour laws as a major culprit. 18 93 percent of workers in the unorganized sector. The laws are not just rigid but also numerous (â€Å"a typical firm in Maharashtra has to deal with 28 different acts pertaining to labor†, World Bank, 2006).Without significant reform of existing labour laws, India’s cheap labour advantages remain hugely underutilized. Looking to the future, the challenge will increase as the â€Å"demographic dividend† brings further large increases in the labour force. In fact, as I have pointed out elsewhere (Acharya, 2004), the economic and political challenge is far greater than normally appreciated because the bulk of the demographic bulge will occur (in the next few decades) in the poor, slow-growing and populous states of central and eastern India (notably, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh).Weak Agricultural Performance Since 1996/97 the growth of agriculture has dropped to barely 2 percent, compared to earlier trend rate ranging between 2. 5- 3. 0 percent. The reasons are many and include declining public investment by cash-strapped states, grossly inadequate maintenance of irrigation assets, f lling water tables, inadequate rural road networks, a unresponsive research and extension services, soil damage from excessive urea use (encouraged by high subsidies), weak credit delivery and a distorted incentive str ucture which impedes diversification away from food grains.Tackling these problems and revitalising agriculture will take time, money, understanding and political will. It will also require much greater investments in (and maintenance of) rural infrastructure of irrigation, roads, soil conservation, etc. and reinvigoration of the present systems of agricultural research and extension. While the central government can play a significant role in revamping systems, the main responsibility for strengthening rural infrastructure lies with the states. However, their financial and administrative capabilities have weakened over time. The share of agriculture in GDP has declined to hardly 20 percent.But agriculture is still the principal occupation of nearly 60 percent of the labour force. Thus better performance of this sector is essential for poverty alleviation and containment of rising regional and income inequalities. 19 Pace of Economic Reforms There is little doubt that economic refor ms have slowed since the UPA government assumed office in May 2004 10 . The privatization programme has been halted, although Government remains the dominant owner in banking, energy and transport and the usual ills of public ownership afflict the performance of many enterprises in these key sectors.The legislative proposals of the previous government to reduce government ownership in public sector banks to 33 percent have lapsed and not been renewed. There has been some revival of interest rate controls and directed credit. Follow-up action on the reformist new Electricity Act (2003) passed by the NDA government has been slow. The pricing of petroleum products has become more politically administered than before. Education policy has focused on introducing caste-based reservations in institutions of higher education. Introduction of such reservations in private sector employment are also being considered.Reform of labour laws remains stalled. There has been little forward progress in reform of agriculture policies. Indeed, the wonder is that the economy’s growth momentum has remained so strong despite the stalling of economic reforms. If the growth dividends of econo mic reforms occur with a lag, then the paucity of reforms in the period 2004-06 may take their toll in the years ahead. Weak Human Resource Policies The long-run performance of the Indian economy must surely depend on successful policies and programmes f r education, skill-development and health service o rovision. Yet the government- led programmes in these sectors suffer from very serious weaknesses and lack of reform impetus. For example, World Bank (2006) cites a number of surveys which show that less than half of government teachers and health workers are actually to be found in schools and clinics they are serving (the situation is typically worse in poorer states) . Even though school enrolment rates have climbed over time, the actual cognitive skill acquired in schools (even simple reading and arithmetic) is still very 10 For a recent review see Acharya (2006c). 0 low (Pratham, 2006). In health, a survey shows that medics in primary health clinics in Delhi had a greater than 50 percent chance of prescribing a harmful therapy for specified, common ailments (Das and Hammer, 2004a and 2004b). The competence of these medics was found to be less than comparably situated counterparts in Tanzania and substantially worse than counterparts in Indonesia. Even in higher education, an area of supposed competence, studies point to enormous problems of quality, quantity and relevance (see, for example, Aggarwal, 2006).Quite clearly, the current portfolio of policies and programmes in these critical sectors need urgent improvement if India is to retain her competitive edge in an increasingly globalized, knowledge-based, world economy. International Economic Environment The latter half of 2006 has witnessed a distinct slowing in the growth of the US economy, still the single most potent locomotive of global growth. The Doha Round of multilateral trade liberalization remains mired in limbo. Oil prices, though off their peaks, remain high with little prospect of falling below $50 a barrel.The chances of some slackening in the growth of world output and trade are clearly rising. Just as the Indian economy has benefited from strong global expansion in the last four years, so it may expect to bear some downside risks from slower world growth in the years ahead. IV Medium Term Growth Prospects Since 2003/4 there have been quite a few studies projecting sustained, high growth of the Indian economy in the long-run, including the Goldman Sachs â€Å"BRICs† report (Wilson-Purushothaman, 2003), Rodrik-Subramanian (2004) and Kelkar (2004).Their specific projections and time-periods differ: Goldman Sachs foresaw near 6 percent growth for 50 years; Rodrik-Subramanian projected a minimum of 7 percent for the next 20 years and Kelkar was even more optimistic wi th his growth expectation of 10 percent. 11 More recently, with a three-year 8 percent average already achieved and the 11 See Acharya (2004) for a critical assessment of these bullish growth expectations. 21 current year likely to register a similar rate, the Government’s Planning Commission (2006) has outlined GDP growth projections for 2007/8-2011/12 of 8 to 9 percent.Bhalla (2007, forthcoming) goes further and foresees 10 percent growth as almost inevitable. Most probably, the majority of serious economists in India would today expect economic growth in the medium term (say, 2007-12) to average at least 8 percent. Such optimism is not wholly misplaced. It is based on the continuing strength of the positive factors outlined in section II above, especially globalization and â€Å"catch-up†, the demographic dividends, the rising middle class, a vibrant entrepreneurial culture, positive expectations of future economic reforms and a generally benign international econom ic environment.The optimists are not blind to the risks and threats outlined in section III. They simply expect the growth-enhancing tendencies to prevail or, more subtly, for the dynamics of growth to generate solutions to constraints such as infrastructure and education. Figure 3 provides encouragement to the bullish outlook. 22 Figure 3: India's GDP Growth 8 7 Percentage 6 5 4 3 2 1 2006-07 2003-04 2000-01 1997-98 1994-95 1991-92 1988-89 1985-86 1982-83 1979-80 1976-77 1973-74 1970-71 1967-68 1964-65 1961-62 1958-59 1955-56 0 Year Rolling Average (5 year)In my view, the downside factors outlined in section III, should carry more weight in assessing India’s medium term growth prospects. There is a good chance that the currently bullish view of growth expectations is overly influenced by the recent past (2003 onwards), a period of strong cyclical upswing in both the global economy and Indian industry. The strength of the cycle could abate in the next couple of years and Indi a’s growth could revert to a trend rate in the range of 6 to 7 percent, perhaps closer to the higher figure.Even then, under this â€Å"pessimistic† scenario, annual per capita growth would be at a historical peak for India (Table 11). If this is â€Å"pessimism†, then I plead guilty to the charge (though it does place me among a small minority of Indian economists today)! 23 Table 11: Medium Term Growth Expectations 1992/3 –2005/6 2002/3 -2006/7 2007/8 – 2011 /12 â€Å"Optimist† â€Å"Pessimist† GDP % 6. 4 7. 2 * 8 – 10 6. 5 – 7. 0 GDP per capita (%) 4. 4 5. 5 6. 5 – 8. 5 5 – 5. 5 * Assuming Reserve Bank projection of 8. percent GDP growth for 2006/7 Perhaps the most noteworthy point is that medium- term growth expectations for India are so buoyant that the range between optimists and pessimists is placed so high, within a fairly narrow band of about 7 to 9 percent. Only time will tell who is closer to bei ng right. V Some Implications of India’s Rise India’s growth at an average rate of almost 6 percent a year over the past quarter of a century (with per capita growth of nearly 4 percent a year) is both remarkable and commendable.Certainly, back in 1980, there was almost no respectable scholar or institution predicting such sustained development of this poverty-ridden, populous country. At the same time, the prevailing fashion of bracketing India’s rise with China’s exceptionally dynamic development under rubrics like â€Å"China and India Rising† may mask more than it reveals. If India’s development in the last 25 years has been good, China’s has been extraordinary. Furthermore, while India has been a gradual â€Å"globalizer†, China’s surging development has been far more intensively based on global trade and capital flows.As a consequence, the global economic impact of China’s rise has been much more dramatic in terms of the usual metrics of international economic relations: trade, capital flows and energy. A glance at Table 12 illustrates this obvious point. The comparison of columns 5 and 6 of the table is especially instructive. It highlights both the 24 dramatic increase in China’s engagement with the world economy over the five years 2000 to 2005, as well as the much milder rise in Ind ia’s international economic integration. For example, China’s goods exports increased by an amount which was five times the level of India’s total goods exports in 2005.Similarly, the increase in oil consumption in China was almost equal to India’s total oil consumption in 2005. Table12: China and India: Global Impact China India Increment (2000-05) 2000 (1) 2005 (2) 2000 (3) 2005 (4) China (5) India (6) 249. 1 762. 4 45. 5* 104. 7* 513. 3 59. 2 Share of World Exports (%)e 3. 9 7. 3 0. 7 0. 9 3. 4 0. 2 Service Exports ($ billion) a,b 30. 4 74. 4 16. 2* 60. 6* 44 44. 4 Current Account Balance ($ billion) a,b 20. 5 160. 8 -2. 7* -10. 6* 140. 3 -7. 6 Foreign Exchange Reserves ($ billion) a 165. 6 818. 9 37. 2 131. 0 653. 3 93. 8FDI inflow ($ billion)c 30. 1# 72. 4 1. 7# 6. 6 42. 3 4. 9 FDI stock (Inward, $ billion) c 193. 3 317. 9 17. 5 45. 3 124. 6 27. 8 Oil Consumption (million tonnes)d 223. 6 327. 3 106. 1 115. 7 103. 7 9. 6 Primary Energy Consumption (million tonnes oil equivalent) d 966. 7 1554. 0 320. 4 387. 3 587. 3 66. 9 Merchandise Exports ($ billion) a,b Note: * Data for India refer to fiscal year 2000-01 and 2005-06 # 1990-2000 (Annual Average) Sources: a International Financial Statistics, December 2006 (http://ifs. apdi. net/imf/) b RBI, Handbook of Statistics on the Indian

Baltimore City Department of Social Services v Bouknight and Tarasoff v. Regents of University of California

The fields of social sciences and the legal system have become inextricably linked in response to the development of system processes to aid in problem solving. Each of the fields informs the other, utilizing their respective extensive expertise and knowledge-based literature to address the prevailing challenges in the society. In the desire to address the complex criminality and societal problems that beset the nation, the legal system and the practitioners of social sciences are inevitably linked so that the knowledge base and expertise of one can collaborate with the other and vice versa.The development of therapeutic jurisprudence became an imperative, each field having an impact on the other towards the creation of systemic processes to solve society’s problems. The civil liberties accorded under the Bill of Rights are safeguards against the vast powers of government. Their existence and observance ensure individuals from the undue governmental interference and interventi on. One of these privileges is the right against self-incrimination. In the cases of U. S. v. Doe, (465 U. S. 605) and Doe v. U. S. [487 U. S.201, 209 (1988)], the Court enumerated the three (3) requisites that should be present for the Fifth Amendment to apply, namely: a) â€Å"that the statement be testimonial; b) incriminating; and, c) compelled. † However, in the case of Baltimore City Department of Social Services v Bouknight, the defendant was ordered incarcerated for refusing to disclose the whereabouts of her child who was believed to be abused. The Court ruled that the privilege is inapplicable considering that what was demanded of Bouknight was not testimonial in character.Moreover, assuming that it was, the Court ruled that as between the individual right and public interest; the latter should prevail. The safety and well being of a child is a matter of public interest and therefore Bouknight can be compelled to disclose the necessary information. In the case of Ta rasoff v. Regents of University of California, the Court ruled that a therapist/physician can breach his duty of confidentiality with respect to matters disclosed by his patient in the course of treatment by warning the readily identifiable person of the peril or harm to his life.This duty to warn is countenanced by law or by the code of ethics of physicians. This ruling also serves as an exception to American negligence cases where special relationship of parties must be held to exist. Baltimore City Department of Social Services v Bouknight, 488 U. S. 1301 (1988) A three month old infant was admitted for treatment in a hospital. It became apparent that the mother, Jackie Bouknight may have maltreated the infant.Consequently, the Department of Social Services (DSS) petitioned the Court to declare the child as a â€Å"child in need of assistance† and grant it the power to put the child under foster care (Baltimore City Department of Social Services v Bouknight, 488 U. S. 1301 (1988). The Court granted relief and it was agreed upon by the parties that Bouknight shall have the custody of the child subject to the conditions of supervised parenting and an undertaking of non-infliction of bodily harm and punishment on the child. At first, Bouknight complied with the conditions but later on she became uncooperative and refused to produce her son to the DSS.The DSS in fear for the safety and well being of the child filed a case before the Court to compel Bouknight to produce her son. She failed to appear before the Court but was later on arrested. On her refusal to disclose the whereabouts of her son, she was found guilty of contempt and was ordered to be incarcerated until compliance with the order [In re Maurice, No. 50 (Dec. 19, 1988). 314 Md. 391, 550 A. 2d 1135]. On certiorari, the Court of Appeals of Maryland ruled that the incarceration of Bouknight was an infringement of her Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination.According to the Court, the p roduction of the son is testimonial in nature because by doing so, it only proves Bouknight’s â€Å"continuing control† over her son which may be utilized in a criminal proceeding. It ruled that there are acts of production deemed to have testimonial value citing the case of U. S. vs. Doe (Baltimore City Department of Social Services v Bouknight, 488 U. S. 1301 (1988). The U. S. Supreme Court granted the stay of DSS pending the filing of the requisite petition for certiorari.The grant of stay was based on the fact that even assuming that the act of production of the child is testimonial in character, many line of decisions of the Court are clear that as between the public need vis-a-vis a single claim of an individual on constitutional privilege, the former is upheld. In this particular case, the safety and interests of the abused child must be upheld over Bouknight’s assertion considering that, in the hierarchy of values, the safety and welfare of the child tak es precedence over other concerns (Baltimore City Department of Social Services v Bouknight, 488 U.S. 1301 (1988). Moreover, the information sought which is the whereabouts of the child is for the contempt charge and therefore civil in nature (Baltimore City Department of Social Services v Bouknight, 488 U. S. 1301 (1988). The Fifth Amendment: Right against Self-Incrimination The Fifth Amendment originated from England and derived from the Latin maxim â€Å"nemo tenetur seipsum accusare† meaning â€Å"no man is bound to accuse himself† (Levy, 1968). It was used in both the accusatorial and inquisitorial legal systems of England (Levy, 1968). In the U.S. , after the revolution the states ratified the Constitution with the inclusion of the privilege in the bill of rights. The original version of Madison was amended by the House to include â€Å"in any criminal case† (Schwartz, 1971). Thus, as it now stands, the Fifth Amendment provides, â€Å". . . nor shall be c ompelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself . . . † (U. S. Constitution, Bill of Rights). The primary purpose of its inclusion in the Bill of Rights is â€Å"to protect the innocent and to further the search for truth† [Ullmann v.United States, 350 U. S. 422 (1956)]. However, in subsequent line of decisions, the Court ruled that other privileges stated in the bill of Rights are more in the nature of adjuncts to the determination of truth such as the right to counsel or the safeguards afforded by the Fourth Amendment while the privilege against self-incrimination is primarily for â€Å"the preservation of the accusatorial system of criminal justice. † This maintains the integrity of the judicial system and protects the privacy of the individuals from government intrusion [Miranda v.Arizona, 384 U. S. 436, 460 (1966); Schmerber v. California, 384 U. S. 757, 760–765 (1966); California v. Byers, 402 U. S. 424, 448–58 (1971)]. The privi lege is a guarantee against compulsion for testimonial evidence which consequently will result in the imposition of criminal penalty on such person making testimony. The Court laid down the requirements necessary before a party can successfully invoke the protection of the privilege against self-incrimination. In the cases of U. S. v. Doe, (465 U. S. 605) and Doe v. U. S. [487 U. S.201, 209 (1988)], the Court enumerated the three (3) requisites that should be present for the Fifth Amendment to apply, namely: a) â€Å"that the statement be testimonial; b) incriminating; and, c) compelled. † According to the court, ‘testimonial’ refers to all communications whether express or implied which â€Å"relate to a factual assertion or disclose information† (Ashby, J. , 2006 citing Doe v. U. S. , 487 U. S. 201). The statements or communications made whether verbally or in writing fall within the privilege (Ashby, J. , 2006) and is not limited by the forum where it w as elicited, i. e.before the court, administrative proceedings or before the law enforcement office [Lefkowitz v. Turley, 414 U. S. 70 (1973)]. The second requirement, ‘incriminating’ refers to statements that can be used as a basis for a finding of criminal liability under a penal law or â€Å"provides a link to the chain of evidence for prosecution under a criminal statute† [United States v. Hubbell, 530 U. S. 27 (2000)]. The third requisite is the compulsion to give a statement. The Court explained that this requisite refers to â€Å"circumstances that deny the individual a free choice to admit, to deny, or to refuse to answer† (Ashby, J., 2006). Additionally, the Court ruled in the case of Fisher v. United States that these three requisites should all concur and be present so that the privilege can be successfully invoked [425 U. S. 391(1976)]. Legal and Ethical Issues and their Impact on Social Work Practice The main legal issue in the case of Baltimo re is whether the circumstances surrounding it would fall within the ambit of the privilege against self incrimination and consequently, Bouknight may successfully invoke it and prevent her from being compelled to produce or furnish the whereabouts of her son lest be incarcerated for contempt.The Supreme Court allowed the stay of the decision of the appellate court for overturning the ruling of the juvenile court and in finding that the compulsion for Bouknight to produce her son squarely fell within the privilege and therefore ordered her release (Alderman and Kennedy, 1992). The appellate court found that the act of production is testimonial and therefore its compulsion, is a violation of the privilege. Furthermore, the interest of the government in the safety of the son cannot outweigh the observance and respect for the privilege against self incrimination as provided in the Bill of Rights (Alderman and Kennedy, 1992).In other words, the three requisites concurred, i. e. the act of production or of furnishing information as to the whereabouts of her son are incriminating and testimonial in character; and, there was also compulsion because if she failed to disclose information sought she would be incarcerated for contempt as what had happened. The Supreme Court through Chief Justice Rehnquist predicated his discussion on three major points, namely: a) The Court of Appeals passed upon a controversy concerning the federal Constitution which logically can be properly resolved by the U. S.Supreme Court (California v. Riegler, 449 U. S. 1319); b) The act of production does not fall within the ambit of the privilege citing the cases of U. S. v. Doe, Fisher v. U. S. and Schmerber v. California. In these cases, the court ruled that the act of production of the documents is not ‘testimonial’ and therefore does not infringe upon the privilege considering that their existence and location are already known to the Government. In fact, responding to a subpoe na have been considered legal and acceptable even if compulsion is present [Fisher v. United States, 425 U.S. 391 (1976)]. Moreover, when an accused is required to furnish his handwriting sample, this had been held not to violate the privilege because it is not ‘testimonial’ but merely evidentiary United States v. Flanagan, 34 F. 3d 949 [10th Cir. 1994]). The third point c) is by using the balancing of interests test or balancing the public need vis-a-vis ensuring the individual’s constitutional civil liberties, public need prevailed considering that the disclosure of information was non-criminal and not directed at a particular group as was held in the case of California v.Byers, 402 U. S. 424 (1971) where the validity of a law requiring disclosure of the name and address at the scene of a vehicular accident. Similarly in the case of New York v. Quarles where the Fifth Amendment rights have to give way to a public safety exception and therefore in the case of Bo uknight, â€Å"the public safety exception to the Fifth Amendment was justified because its interest was in protecting children like Maurice, not in prosecuting† (Alderman and Kennedy, 1992).In sum, the privilege against self-incrimination is not an absolute right. Albeit the civil liberties accorded under the Bill of Rights safeguards undue government intervention and restraint to its power, there are instances when these rights would have to give way to compelling interests of the society that would warrant Government intervention and intrusion such in the case of protecting and ensuring the safety of infants or children from physical abuse.Once it has been established that a child is abused, it becomes the duty of the State to take over and protect. The judicial pronouncement in the case of Bouknight has a pervading and far reaching implication on social work practice. This gives the social workers a great burden and responsibility to follow up sharply abused children in f oster care or those released under an order of protective supervision. Admittedly, there is an apparent lack of strict protocols in the present system of child welfare agencies (Parks, 2005).A set of guidelines must be crafted to govern exigencies of missing children from foster care like supervised visits and court orders in cases of abduction like what have occurred in Maryland with â€Å"Ariel† who had been abducted by his mother Teresa B (Parks, 2005). Guidelines should also be drawn to address the coordinated efforts both with the law enforcement and child welfare personnel. Tarasoff v. Regents of University of California, 17 Cal. 3d 425 A graduate student from India, Prosenjit Poddar went to the University of California Berkeley to study naval architecture.It was there that he met Tatiana Tarasoff. A few kisses made him believe that they have a special relationship until Tarasoff bragged about her many relationships with other men. Poddar suffered depression until he so ught professional help from Dr. Moore, a psychologist of the University Health Service. He confided to the doctor that he intended to secure a gun and to kill Tarasoff. On the strength of a letter request of Dr. Moore, Poddar was taken by the campus police, however upon assurance that Poddar was reasonable he was released.Upon the return of the University Health psychiatrist from his vacation, he ordered the destruction of Dr. Moore’s letter and did not recommend any further action on Poddar’s case. When Tarasoff returned from her vacation, she was stabbed and killed by Poddar who at that time moved in with her brother already. The parents of Tarasoff sued the Regents of the University, its health personnel namely, Gold, Moore, Powelson, Yandell and the campus police namely, Atkinson, Beall, Brownrigg, Hallernan, and Teel for â€Å"failing to warn their daughter of an impending danger† (Tarasoff v.Regents of University of California, 17 Cal. 3d 425). At the lowe r court, the complaint was dismissed because there was no cause of action. According to the lower court, the defendants only had the duty to the patient and not to a third party. The dismissal was appealed to the Appeals Court but which only sustained the dismissal. Thus, it was elevated to the Supreme Court of California. The appealed decision in so far as the university police officers, Atkinson, Beall, Brownrigg, Hallernan, and Teel finding them not liable to the plaintiffs was affirmed.However, in so far as the therapists and the Regents of the university, the appealed decision was overturned for reception of evidence in accordance with the pronouncements of the Supreme Court (Tarasoff v. Regents of University of California, 17 Cal. 3d 425). In fine, the complainants averred four (4) causes of action, namely: a) â€Å"Failure to detain a dangerous patient; b) failure to warn on a dangerous patient; c) abandonment of a dangerous patient; and, d) breach of primary duty to patient and the public† (Tarasoff v.Regents of University of California, 17 Cal. 3d 425). Anent the first and fourth causes of action, the Supreme Court ruled that the defendants cannot be held liable because of a specific provision of the Government Code or Section 856 thereof which grants immunity to public employees from any resultant damage or injury from deciding whether or not to confine a person with mental ailment. This provision is also applicable to the therapists because the law also refers to those who are capable of recommending confinement.As regards the third cause of action, the government immunity includes the â€Å"award of exemplary damages resulting from a wrongful death† and therefore, defendants cannot be held liable (Tarasoff v. Regents of University of California, 17 Cal. 3d 425). Anent the second cause of action, the Supreme Court found defendants therapists and Regents of the University to have failed to comply with their duty to warn Tarasoff of the peril to her life.Albeit, the therapists had no direct relations with Tarasoff, they could have reasonably foreseen the danger and threat to her life as confided by their patient, Poddar. This is the point where the law establishes the duty of care on their part to warn Tarasoff. Their failure to warn her may reasonably concluded as a proximate cause of her death. The duty of confidentiality between patient and psychotherapist and the right to privacy of the patient cannot prevail over public interest or public safety. Moreover, there are clear provisions of laws, i.e. Section 1024 of the Evidence Code and Section 9 of the Principles of Medical Ethics of the American Medical Association which allows the physician to divulge matters confided to him in confidence when it is necessary for public welfare (Tarasoff v. Regents of University of California, 17 Cal. 3d 425). Confidentiality The effective therapeutic relationship between physician/psychiatrist and patient rests largely on tru st that matters confided by the patient during the treatment are kept in strictest confidence by the physician/psychiatrist.It is the ethical duty of the physician to observe privacy and confidentiality of his patients (Corbin, 2007). While it is also of public interest to ensure that treatment of those who are mentally ill by maintaining an atmosphere whereby they can have an open dialogue with their therapist and of safeguarding its confidential character; the same public interest calls for an imperative recognition of instances whereby disclosure of the confidential communications be revealed and be made to safeguard public safety and avert the threatened peril.In the instances, where the public safety is at risk, the therapist must disclose confidential information discreetly with due regard to protecting the privacy of his patient (Tarasoff v. Regents of University of California, 17 Cal. 3d 425). The parameters of confidentiality are defined by law and by the ethical code of co nduct for practitioners in the territorial jurisdiction. In the case of Tarasoff, the Evidence Code and the Principles of Medical Ethics of the American Medical Association provided specific and limited exceptions under which the confidentiality privilege can be breached, i.e. â€Å"if the psychotherapist has reasonable cause to believe that the patient is in such mental or emotional condition as to be dangerous to himself or to the person or property of another and that disclosure of the communication is necessary to prevent the threatened danger; unless he is required to do so by law or unless it becomes necessary in order to protect the welfare of the individual or of the community† (Tarasoff v. Regents of University of California, 17 Cal. 3d 425).It would be wise for the practitioners to familiarize themselves of the limits of confidentiality as provided under the laws considering that it may differ from state to state. The Tarasoff case provided a basis to guide a practi tioner in his professional dealings relative to the duty to warn others in cases of a specific threat of harm by his patient against others/another. Subsequent cases followed the consistent pattern of the jurisprudence laid down by the Supreme Court. In the case of David v.Lhim (1983), the plaintiff-administrator of the estate sued the psychiatrist who treated the son who killed his mother after he was released from the hospital. There was failure on the part of the psychiatrist who treated the son to warn the mother of the potential danger after her son confided his intentions of killing her (Corbin, 2007). In another case, Chrite v. U. S. (2003), the Veterans Administration was held liable for having failed to warn the intended victim of a patient of a threatened harm.Subsequent rulings of the court clarified and defined what constituted ‘threat’ as â€Å"imminent threat of serious danger to a readily identifiable victim† and â€Å"specific† (Corbin, 200 7). When there are no specific provisions of the law, Dickson (1998) proposes that the therapist/practitioner may be protected against lawsuits if he would consult and keenly document the case of the patient or comply with the â€Å"mandated reporting guidelines† required by some states.Reamer (2003) on the other hand, suggests that the therapist must have evidence that the patient is a threat to the safety of another; evidence of that the threat can be foreseen; threat is imminent and that the potential victim is identifiable. Legal and Ethical Implications and their Impact on Social Work Practice The duty of reasonable care to assist others in danger is a legal duty as well as a moral duty. However, American negligence law only recognizes it as a moral duty except when there exists a relationship between parties.In the case of Tarasoff, no special relationship existed between the therapist and Tarasoff; however the court has made an exception to this general rule (Bickel, 2 001). It declared that the therapist has the duty to care and to warn Tarasoff of the imminent harm on her life. This also includes the duty to control the conduct of his patient, Poddar. In the same breath, a doctor has the duty to warn his patient if he has a contagious disease (Saltzman and Furman, 1999).There is an affirmative duty for the therapist to advise and warn Tarasoff of the threat to her life although this meant breach of confidentiality with his patient Poddar. This finds basis both legally and ethically considering that the law and the code of ethics for doctors have recognized and provided specifically that doctors are bound to disclose relevant facts to others even if this violates confidentiality with their patients provided they are required by law or if it is required for public safety (Saltzman and Furman, 1999).This legal duty to warn applies when the threat is specific and imminent and where the victim is â€Å"readily identifiable† (Bickel, 2001). The courts also have recognized the difficulty in assessing and predicting circumstances that may lead to harm or violence and consequently, adhered to the ‘professional judgment rule’ whereby the therapist is not held liable for errors of judgments. Liability attaches only upon showing that the conduct of the therapist was not in accordance with the â€Å"accepted professional standards† (Bickel, 2001).There is an ambivalence that was created by the Tarasoff protective disclosure ruling with the practitioners (Kachigian and Felthous, 2004). Analogous cases and protective disclosure statutes in the different states were analyzed and it was discovered that there are no clear defined parameters of these duties. The therapist is required to a certain way betray his patient by disclosing matters which are protected by confidentiality.Considering the uncertainty brought about by the legal doctrine and court decisions, the undesirable consequence of which was deterrence f or therapists to accept â€Å"treatment potentially violent patients† (Merton, 1982). Moreover, therapists are more inclined to have their patients committed in an institution so that threats to the safety of potential victims can be averted. The Tarasoff protective disclosure was even extended recently to include even â€Å"communications made from a patient’s family member† as pronounced by the Court in the case of Ewing v. Goldstein (May and Ohlschlager, 2008).The dubious jurisprudential precedents by the courts in interpreting the protective disclosure statutes or its resort to common law instead of interpreting the statute left a vacuum in the definition of the duty to protect (Kachigian and Felthous, 2004). As a result, â€Å"clinicians must continue to rely on their clinical and ethical judgment, rather than statutory guidance, when considering potential protective disclosures or future drafts of protective disclosure statutes† (Kachigian and Felth ous, 2004). References Alderman, E. and Kennedy, C. (1992). In our defense: the bill of rights in action.First Avon Books edition. Ashby, J. (February 2006). Note declining to state a name in consideration of the fifth amendment’s self-incrimination clause and law enforcement databases after Hiibel. Michigan Law Review, No. 4, Vol. 104:779. Baltimore City Department of Social Services v Bouknight, 488 U. S. 1301 (1988). Bickel, R. Revisiting Tarasoff v. Regents of University of California: the scope of the psychotherapist’s duty to control dangerous students. Presented before the 22nd Annual Law and higher Education conference in Clearwater, Florida on 18-20 February 2001.California v. Byers, 402 U. S. 424, 448–58 (1971). Corbin, J. (Fall 2007). Confidentiality and the duty to warn: Ethical and legal implications for the therapeutic relationship. The New Social Worker, Vol. 14, No. 4. Dickson, D. T. (1998). Confidentiality and privacy in social work. New York: T he Free Press Doe v. U. S. , 487 U. S. 201, 209 (1988). Fisher v. United States, 425 U. S. 391 (1976). Kachigian, C. and Felthous, A. (September 2004). Court responses to Tarasoff statutes. Journal of American Academy of Psychiatry and Law Online, Vol. 23:263-273.Levy, L. (1968). Origins of the fifth amendment: The right against self-incrimination. May, S. and Ohlschlager, J. (2008). California alert! Tarasoff ruling expanded for clients who ‘go off. ’ ECounseling. American Association of Christian Counselors. Merton, V. (1982). Confidentiality and the dangerous patient: Implications of Tarasoff for Psychiatrists and lawyers. Emory Law Journal, Vol. 31:265. New York v. Quarles, 476 U. S. 649 (1984). Parks, A. (2008). Unless the Court of Appeals decision is reversed, MD children may not be. Daily Record The Baltimore.Reamer, F. (2003). Social work malpractice and liability. New York: Columbia University Press, 2nd ed. Saltzman, A. and Furman, D. (1999). Law in social wor k practice. Brooks Cole, 2nd edition. Schmerber v. California, 384 U. S. 757 (1966). Schwartz, B (December 1971). The bill of rights: A documentary history. Chelsea House Publishers with McGraw-Hill Education. Tarasoff v. Regents of University of California, 17 Cal. 3d 425. Ullmann v. United States, 350 U. S. 422 (1956). U. S. v. Doe, 465 U. S. 605. United States v. Hubbell, 530 U. S. 27 (2000).

Descriptive Speech Essay

Well i choose to save one of the most important things to me as a tattoo. As you may now i have a huge passion for dancing and i love to have this passion in me forever. I have a tattoo of a music note that represents dancing because music is very essential to dance. I choose this topic because i like to share with you my own method of remembering moments forever and because this tattoo is very unique. Body: The tattoo i am talking about is my second tattoo, localized in my left foot very near to my ankle. It has the size of a quater, so it can be consider small. The tattoo is the musical note â€Å"sol† and has two loops: the superior one which is thinner than the second loop that is below. I choose the musical note â€Å"sol† because dance is the light that brightens my days just like the sun give us light everyday. Inside the lower loop, which is the thick one, it has a black small outlined heart.This heart has the size of a tictac and represents my love and passion to music and to dance. Below the second loop with the heart there is the continuation of the musical note which is a black small and round curve that forms a filled black circle. Now i will show you a picture of my actual tattoo. (Picture of the tattoo) Conclusion: Well like i said, my tattoo is the musical note sol, that has two loops one thin and the other one thick. Also it has a heart inside the thick loop and is all black. I did this tattoo represents my love and passion to dance. I would like to finish reading you this great quotes.

Business report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business report - Essay Example As for printing, the companys range of activities range from printing of flyers and insert; catalogues, books, financials; its printing plant in North America, as well as key accounts such as SFC, the New York Times, G&M, Metro and others (Transcontinental, Inc 2008). Transcontinental, Inc. offers marketing products and services that range from direct marketing, website development, database analytics, and fulfillment mailing (Transcontinental, Inc 2008). II. Describe its domestic and global operations, including sales or revenue generated in each geographic area and the corresponding percentage generated in each geographic area (e.g., by country, region, economic community, etc.) In 2008, Transcontinental, Inc. has a reported revenues amounting to $2,429.3 million (Transcontinental, Inc 2008). Of this, $2051.8 million or 84.86% represents the companys operations in Canada. 75.61% of this sales, or $1,836.8 million are sales within Canada, while 8.85% represents exports. The remaining 15.54% represents sales in the United States and Mexico (Transcontinental, Inc 2008). Transcontinental, Inc. has three strategic business units—marketing services, publishing and printing. According to the companys annual report, in 2008, the companys marketing services has reaped an amount of $1,252.2 million in sales; the publishing has $647.5 million ; and $624 million for printing (Transcontinental, Inc 2008). In 2007, the companys sales from its marketing services strategic business unit amounts to $1150.1 million, with $634.7 million in printing and $633.5 million in publishing (Transcontinental, Inc 2008). Transcontinental, Inc. has posted $2,282.3 million in its revenues in 2006; where its marketing services amount to $1082.2 million, its printing has earned $714.7 million, and its publishing business unit has reaped $579.8 million. In 2006, the company has earned a net

Encumbrances, Easement and Licenses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Encumbrances, Easement and Licenses - Essay Example WHEREAS, the parties desire to create a reciprocal driveway easement for automobiles, for their use in common. â€Å" Mrs Acre† shall have the right to use the (easterly, westerly, northerly, southerly – choose one) feet of premises belonging to â€Å" Mr. Land†. â€Å" Mrs. Acre for valuable consideration of $2000† shall have the right to use the (easterly, westerly, northerly, southerly – choose one) feet of premises belonging to â€Å" Mr. Land†. Said strips of land will constitute a fifty foot reciprocal driveway easement for vehicular ingress and egress. â€Å"Mr. Land † and â€Å"Mrs. Acre † represent and covenant to and with each other as follows: 1. The strip of property fifty feet lying and being on one-half of â€Å" † side of the boundary line, and the strip of feet lying and being on one-half of â€Å" † side of the boundary line shall be continuously and forever a driveway easement. 4. The Grantor agrees to keep the premises free of materials, equipment, vehicles, trees, shrubbery, and any other obstructions which would interfere with Grantees’ access to or maintenance of water mains and appurtenances. Grantor further agrees to make no alterations to the premises Grantor, for itself and its heirs, hereby covenants with Grantee, its heirs, and assigns, that Grantor is lawfully seized in fee simple of the above-described premises; that it has a good right to convey; that the premises are free from all encumbrances; that Grantor and its heirs, and all persons acquiring any interest in the property granted, through or for Grantor, will, on demand of Grantee, or its heirs or assigns, and at the expense of Grantee, its heirs or assigns, execute and instrument necessary for the further assurance of the title to the premises that may be reasonably required; and that Grantor and its heirs will forever warrant and defend all of the property so granted to Grantee, its heirs, against every

Principles of Building Structure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Principles of Building Structure - Essay Example When the beam has sufficient supported against any form of buckling, a failure of the beam is experienced. This results in the generation of the maximum material yield at one point of the maximum moment (Brett 1989). Hence, the applied loads have the potential of ensuring that the beam reaches its plastic moment capacity. This beam is regarded as laterally supported beam and the yield stress governs the design strength. When beams bend on a major axis, they tend to develop a stronger stiffness and strength. Thus, such beams become vulnerable to failure that results from lateral torsional buckling before they acquire their in-plane capacity of the plastic moment, which will brace them against lateral twisting and deflection. These types of beams are regarded as laterally supported beams. Beams bending strength design is governed by yielding and supported against buckling. A laterally braced section of a beam has a bending strength, which is the plastic moment Mp. Inelastic deformation is expected at the service load when the shape factor of the beam is large. However, for shape factors that exceed 1.5, 1.5My limit is applied at the factor load in order to control the inelastic deformation of the various sections of the beam. Such a provision is not expected to limit the plastic moment for the hybrid section when the yield stress is considered to be less than the expected flange yield stress. However, web yielding is not associated with any significant inelastic deformations. When the inertia moment about the axis of bending is less or equal to the out of plane inertia moment, lateral-torsional buckling never develops. Therefore, for shapes, which are bent within the minor axis and those that have lz = ly, lateral-torsional buckling limit state does not apply. Such shapes include circles and squares. Lateral buckling of a beam does not occur when the compression of the flange is adequate and the flexural

EDU 636 IP5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

EDU 636 IP5 - Essay Example What is even more pivotal is how the online learning environment will foster growth and productivity for the people who are bringing out this environment as well as for the ones who are the recipients of the same. Hence, interaction is the buzzword within such a setting as it grows over a period of time. The online learning environment is termed as a conducive one when there are efforts to ease the navigation in an out and out fashion. What this means is how the users would be able to make their way through the different tasks that are being offered to them through the online learning environment. The user-friendliness therefore is deemed as a very significant entity within the incorporation of the online learning environment which shall foster growth and development across the board. This would mean that there are giant efforts to set things right and that too within the correct perspectives – the viewpoints that take into consideration the already conducted research into the online learning environments of the past, and of today. ... This will set the ball rolling as far as understanding the nuances of the online learning environment are concerned, as the users will feel that they are not only doing their own work within this environment but also being given a thing or two in terms of the aesthetics which remains a point to ponder in this day and age (Laughton, 2011). Since the times of today bank a great deal on the aesthetical angle, it is only natural to have its due incorporation within the thick of things. The usage of audio and video elements has also been seen as some of the more significant pointers within the comprehension of the online learning environments that have been developed in this day and age. What this has meant is the fact that these online learning environments become the tutorials for the audio and video modes and therefore represent success in the long term if the users connect with them in the most basic sense. Any other shortcoming that comes about in the wake of the technical glitches i s something that one must get rid of because these can seriously hinder the smooth working domains of the online learning environments that have been developed today. Thus what one must take into perspective is how these online learning environments are designed and what kind of instructional quality elements are being incorporated so as to receive the best possible interaction that is the sole purpose of having the online learning environments in the first place. There is a dire need to set things right and this is something that poses as a huge problem which must be corrected so as to have proper linkage mechanisms in place. In essence, the principles of design are seen as being quintessential

ASEAN a vision of economic integration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

ASEAN a vision of economic integration - Essay Example In as much as ASEAN is a regional economic powerhouse, the organization has a number of challenges, and these challenges include disputes amongst its members concerning the South China Sea maritime region. Experts in international relations claim that ASEAN lacks the necessary diplomatic coherence, and its member countries have different strategic priorities, and this makes it difficult for the alliance to make any meaningful negotiation with China, which is responsible for creating animosity in the region, with its claim of various territories. This has resulted in the creation of diplomatic tensions within the region (Jones, 2012). In as much as this territorial tension arises, ASEAN is a useful ally of United States. The United States on most occasions uses the alliance to expand its influence into the region, and to limit the influence of China into the region. Cooperation between United States and ASEAN has been strengthened, through the treaty referred to as Amity and Cooperation. This treaty allows the United States to attend any summit sponsored by ASEAN, and creates an annual U.S-ASEAN summit (Blizkovsky, 2013). This paper argues that ASEAN plays a great role in promoting economic integration within the region. In defending this thesis, the researcher will use the three levels of analysis that are used to analyze relations amongst the states in International relations (Blizkovsky, 2013). The three levels of analysis are individual, domestic, and systematic levels of analysis (Dunne, Kurki and Smith, 2010). The individual level of analysis involves the analysis of the character traits of individual leaders, and those responsible for making policies within a given state (Dunne, Kurki and Smith, 2010). This level focuses on the human actors in the international relations, and their process of making decisions. For example, the World War 1 is attributed to the personal character of Kaiser Wilhelm II (Dunne, Kurki and Smith, 2010).

Martin Luther's Reforms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Martin Luther's Reforms - Essay Example However, during the time, the Protestant Reformation created confusion and a sense of chaos among European Christians. Immediate effects of the Protestant Reformation included a division among European Christians. â€Å"The protestant reformation also generated resistance and hostility, not least from the institutions of the traditional church and its defenders† (Greengrass, 1). Prior to the Reformation, European Christians lived in a more conformed society; religion was a very large aspect of their lives and with their religion they had an understanding of their place within their communities and their world. When Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of a church in 1517, he sparked not only a reaction from the Catholic Church but a reaction from monarchs and citizens across Europe. Some monarchies, such as in Germany, Holland, and England, eventually embraced the idea of reforming the Catholic Church and allowing for the progressive views of Protestantism to reorganize their churches and religious practices (McKay, Hill, and Buckler, 12). Other monarchies were not as accepting. Fra nce and Italy, for example, clung tightly to the history and roots of the Roman Catholic Church (McKay, Hill, and Buckler, 12). Reformists faced multiple hurdles as both the Roman Catholic Church and sympathizing monarchs worked to extinguish the Lutheran movement. Citizens were often accused of heresy or witchcraft, and they were sometimes burned or tortured for their refusal to once again accept the Papal authority of the Pope and the Catholic Church: In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, a frenzy spread through Europe that witches in allegiance with the Devil were combining forces to destroy the Christian faith†¦The panic of the masses, from those of the elite to the humble peasantry working together, resulted in thousands of men and women undergoing

Decision questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Decision questions - Assignment Example A  fall  in sales volume may be because of poor advertising, competition, or reduced  production. Therefore, a  manager  who  is not committed  may be slow in identifying any  possible  problem that is causing the change in sales volume compared to a committed manager. Also, managers who are unable to combine analytical and creative thinking may not be able to handle complex, ambiguous operations, which require sophisticated techniques to identify any arising problems. The fundamental differences between Delphi process and nominal group are as listed below. In nominal group technique, members of the group form a list of ideas privately, then one member of the group present one item from the list and they are recorded publicly. Conversely, Delphi process is a process of decision-making which depends on a panel of experts who make decisions while in different locations. In nominal, decisions are made by a group which has a group leader who will present the ideas while in Delphi, every group member give ideas independently. In nominal, the ideas are exchanged verbally while in Delphi, the ideas are conveyed via electronic bulletin board, fax or in online discussion rooms (Whetten & Cameron, 1998). Finally, in nominal criticism of the presented ideas is not allowed while in Delphi it is allowed. Delphi would be better situated than nominal in the cases whereby the ideas needs expertise, while nominal would be better situated over Delphi in the situations exchange of the ideas verbally for convenience (Whetten & Cameron, 1998). The two processes would be controlled by consistent appraisals so as to get fruitful outcomes and get the best

Personal Training Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Personal Training - Research Paper Example People lack time to prepare meals and therefore consume junk food. The food is associated with health problems when consumed over time. Any individual who aims to correct the bad behavior has to train his or her mind to accept the changes in meals and have the determination (Baechle, 2004). Based on personal understanding a personal trainer is helpful in the achievement of future goals. The initial step in the training program is the creation of a future that one intends to achieve. It involves setting future goals by the trainee, and the trainer can understand what the trainee wants to achieve. The key issue in goal setting is having the right kind of goals â€Å"fitness encompasses more than achieving the perfect body† (McClaran, 2003). It is about having a body that is fit and healthy. Trainers play an important role in assisting trainees to set good goals such as being healthy rather than being thin (Earle et al, 2004) Research indicates that the second step is the formulation of a compelling future; it is considered as a requirement towards winning the â€Å"inner game† in the training. The creation of a compelling future includes the visualization of the goals desired and the beneficial outcomes of the training. The images obtained help the trainee to get inspired and moved towards the realization of the dreams. Visualization of the desired goals also helps the trainee develop an inner source of motivation. The diet of the trainee is also another issue considered by the trainer (McClaran, 2003). On personal understanding the trainer helps the student to understand that there is a difference between food and their body. The purpose of the food needs to be understood by the trainee and also how they are programmed towards food consumption. For example, some people live to eat instead of eating to live therefore they take food so as to enjoy themselves. From the sources, upon identifying

Procter and Gamble Europe Essay Example for Free

Procter and Gamble Europe Essay I. Introduction Since the end of World War II, business organizations in the United States are becoming closer together with businesses in the European region. There are several reasons of this business behavior. First is the geographical location. Geographically speaking, Europe is the next logical step for foreign expansion after the North American continent has been fully explored. Second is the cultural and technological situation in Europe. Reports indicated that some nations in Europe has became more Americanized in technology and more importantly, culture (Hilger, 2006). Procter and Gamble, one of the most acknowledged companies in the United States have also had a significant presence in the European market today, particularly in Germany. In this paper, we will discuss Procter and Gamble’s decision to expand their business into the European continent and how the decision relates to Procter and Gamble’s corporate strategy. II. P G Corporate Culture In the company’s annual report and reports from external observers, there are actually various traits in Procter and Gamble’s operations that define their uniqueness in the global market. However, some of those corporate cultures are more in line with the European expansion strategy, compare to the others. Some of them are:  · Diversity In the company’s official website, it is mentioned that people at Procter and Gamble are united by the commonality and of corporate values and goals. Diversity is considered as the uniqueness of each of them that will help fulfilling corporate goals. The company has a human resource system that is designed to ensure that everything works for everyone and as the company became more diverse, the company encourage collaboration even more and stresses the importance of fully utilize individualities of people at Procter and Gamble. This culture should work well to support Procter and Gamble’s decisions to perform international expansion.  · Innovation The group also relies heavily on its capability to innovate and create new things from merely ideas. The group applies about a dozen core technologies to amplify this particular competitive advantage. Furthermore, the group has connected its internal innovation capability to vast external network of scientists, technology problem solvers and corporate inventors. Procter and Gamble treat innovation as a process that can be refined continuously to produce more robust and reliable results. This particular capability to inn ovate has also been a contributive factor to Procter and Gamble’s decision to expand abroad. By tapping into this capability, the company can adapt to local environments and create new and innovative products.  · Market Leadership Spokesperson of the company has once said in the middle of a launching campaign that Procter and Gamble put forth many competitive advantages like consumer oriented strategy and innovation, but most importantly, the company also stresses heavily on market leadership. In its annual report, it is repeatedly stated that the company is designed to win in various aspects of the global business competition. The company spends huge percentages of their earnings each financial period on marketing campaigns because they believe in being a winner in every market they get themselves into. Analysts believed that this value also makes it more appealing for Procter and Gamble to expand their business into Europe, especially after the war was over and created a more positive atmosphere for international expansions.  · Focus on Growth Procter and Gamble also stated in its annual report that the company as a whole, is designed for growth. In other words, corporate management is always looking for growth opportunity whether internally or externally. Thus, a chance to develop business into a new market will obviously be perceived as another way to secure growth. III. Strategy by PG III.1.  Ã‚   Human Resource Management Investments Despite the cultures of the company that supported corporate expansion into Europe, the group must still adapt to the changes between American business culture and European. One of the greatest changes in Procter and Gamble is within the human resource department. As the company entered the new market, management has formed a project team to compare between the current employee services and the expectations of Procter and Gamble. In the case of Europe expansion, Procter and Gamble has also developed a strategic alliance with IBM and transferred this value into corporate competitive advantage.   Procter and Gamble also uses their HR account managers to organized how the business is performed within the company. Across the whole Europe, management have organized the HR business accounts to mirror the way the business is organized, and the HR account manager is responsible for ensuring that the team delivers business results in a way that generates growth. Overall, Procter and Gamble has made huge investments in its Europe HP structure, but the new model has now become a significant source of operational and strategic competitive advantages within the continent (Mandiese, 2006). III.2.  Ã‚   Communication strategy changes Along with the European expansion, Procter and Gamble has also invested heavily in changing its information technology. One of the changes Procter and Gamble has made is shifting from media planning to communication planning. This was as much as an industry effort as it is an internal initiative. Procter and Gamble might not be the only company embracing the consumer-centric approach to the media, but Procter and Gamble did it in quite a high-profile fashion that the marketing world surrounding the company must pay attention to the new philosophy. The company maintained a consistent focus on media creativity and also pushed to develop a broadband video upfront marketplace. IV. The Vizir Launch (no data) V. Change Management Model The change management model that can be suggested to Procter and Gamble is the three step change model. This change model basically contains three steps, which are: unfreezing, moving and re-freezing. These steps however, can be modified according to the extent of change that must be performed. For small projects, companies generally go for the light model. The Medium-Sized Model on the other hand is created for the majority of project. For complicated projects, people generally use the Complex Model. When the element of time is crucial, then the suitable modification is the quick model. The last variation is the one designed for a slow type of change, which is the Day-by-day model (Baekdal, 2006). For Procter and Gamble on the other hand, which contains various products for various customer segment, the Complex model is the most suitable. In the Complex model, the unfreezing step contains phases like: analyzing the problem to understand what is really going on and the reason of it, and then understanding the cost and benefits of a change. Afterwards, the company should explain the situation to members of the company and listen to their comments. The next phase includes invalidating the present rules and policies and defines new visions, new goals and finally generate a plan. The move step in the Complex model includes explaining the logics of the new vision, mission and goals and getting everyone on board. Afterwards, the team should listen to everyone’s comment, evaluate the plan and adjust the plan based on the feedbacks. In the re-freezing step, management should define new rules and policies and define the new way of living for the company. This step includes constantly renewing the energy and evaluating the results (Baekdal, 2006).

The King And The Once And Future King Religion Essay

The King And The Once And Future King Religion Essay This is Jesus, King of the Jews. (Matthew 27:37b) Yes, Wart, said Merlyn. Or rather, as I should say (or is it have said?), Yes, King Arthur.' (White 161) Jesus was King of the Jews; Arthur was King of the Britons. Many people would not see much of a comparison between these two great kings. However, upon further analysis, one would find that the similarities between Jesus and T.H. Whites depiction of King Arthur are plentiful. These similarities include: a destiny of greatness, a humble background, a pursuit of great change throughout the world, and a betrayal. Although there are some factors that hurt the comparison, there is far more evidence showing how similar these two kings truly are. There are some definite differences between Jesus and Whites Arthur that would cause many connoisseurs of literature to rebuke the idea that they shared any similarities at all. Although many of their differences are minor, there is one that is profound. This extremely noticeable and important contrast is the difference in maturity and wisdom between King Arthur and Jesus. From a young age, Jesus was noted as being very wise and showed much maturity. In the Gospel according to Luke, one reads And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. (Luke 2:40) Luke goes on to tell us that when Jesus was still only twelve years old, he stayed at the temple in Jerusalem instead of returning home with his parents. (Luke 2:41-47) When he was eventually found, his parents asked him why he had stayed behind; he replied Why were you searching for me? he asked. Didnt you know I had to be in my Fathers house?' (Luke 2:49) Even at such a young age, Je sus showed wisdom that rivaled the religious leaders. He also had the maturity at that age to realize who his true Father was, and showed signs that he was aware of his ultimate destiny. As Jesus grew older, he continuously showed off his wisdom and maturity in almost everything that was thrown his way. He never had to ask another person advice on what he should do, nor did he ever need to be told that what he was doing was wrong. Jesus truly did have the maturity necessary to become the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He knew it was his destiny to save mankind, and readily accepted his fate. Whereas Jesus was far more wise and mature than even the leaders of his time, T. H. White depicts an Arthur with the maturity and wisdom of a small child. There were many instances in which Arthur almost could not think for himself and relied on his tutor Merlyn to correct his faults. This can be seen after one battle when Arthur did not know how many men he had lost and was prideful of his victory. Merlyn was enraged but Arthur could not (or would not) figure out for himself what was wrong and was forced to ask Merlyn what was wrong. To this Merlyn replied, Tell you! he exclaimed. And what is going to happen when there is nobody to tell you? Are you never going to think for yourself?' (White 169) Here we can see that Merlyn was aware of King Arthurs fatal flaw. Even when Arthur is warned about Guenever, he ignores the warning and decides to marry her anyways. (White 252) Even though there is not one particular act that led to Arthurs demise, a combination of stupid mistakes led to h is ultimate downfall. Once that primary difference in maturity and wisdom is peeled away, one can begin to look at the similarities between Jesus and Arthur. The first of these comparisons is the fact that both of the two men were destined to be great. Throughout the Old Testament, there are many predictions and prophecies of the coming of Christ. One such account is in Isaiah, Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14) The coming of Christ was not a random occurrence of chance; rather, it was foretold long before the day would come for an innocent man to die upon a tree. It was Jesuss destiny to become King of the Jews. It was Arthurs destiny to become King of the Britons. Although he was unaware of it, his father was Uther Pendragon, the former King of England. (White 160) This meant that Arthur was the rightful King of England after the death of his father. Though he was not raised as a future king, it was inevitable that he would become one. As he grew up, his tutor, Merlyn, taught him important lessons that were essential for Arthur to develop into a great king. Merlyn knew that Arthur was destined to be a great king because he lived backwards in time. (White 24) However, Merlyn was the only person who knew this. Arthur lived his life thinking that he would become the squire of his foster brother. He had a very humble beginning, but that all changed when he pulled a sword from a stone. Every story has a beginning, and for Jesus and Arthur, it was a humble one. When most people think of the birth of a future king, they think of the child in an extravagant crib within castle walls, especially for the King of Kings. Jesus, on the other hand, was first laid in a manger because there was no room in the inn. (Luke 2:7) This is vastly different from the picture that is normally painted within ones mind. He did not lie in a bed, he was not in a castle, and there was nothing extravagant about his birth. Other than the prophecies and predictions, there was no other indication that this baby boy was the Son of God. Even the environment in which he would grow up was normal. His father was not a king, soldier, or scholar. His father was just a carpenter that lived a simple life. As far as anyone else was concerned, Jesus was just a normal human being. The Wart was called the Wart because it more or less rhymed with Art, which was short for his real name. (White 5) Though he would come to be King of England, he was not raised as such. Before it was revealed that he should rule over the British Isles, Arthur was to be the squire of his foster brother, Kay. Wart looked up to Kay and could always be found at his side. Besides, he admired Kay and was a born follower. He was a hero-worshipper. (White 9) This shows the vast contrast between the early personality of Wart and the king that he would have to become. Fortunately for the sake of England, Wart did mature, and due to his humble beginning, King Arthur sought to bring about a lot of needed change. You must be the change you want to see in the world. (Gandhi) There have been many people throughout the history of mankind that wished to save the world from itself. They saw the fatal flaws of the human condition and tried to correct the flaws before they became detrimental to society. One such person was Jesus of Nazareth. However, he did not simply wish to change the world; he actually did it. In fact, Jesus was sent to Earth just for that reason. Everywhere he went, Jesus taught new ideas and concepts in order to change the way people thought, acted and felt. He would challenge everyone to always take things one step further. For instance, instead of telling people to not commit adultery, Jesus tells a crowd of people that they should not even look at a woman with lust. (Matthew 5:27-28) Jesus told people to love their enemies instead of hating them. (Matthew 5:44) Instead of warning the multitudes to not murder, He taught them to not even become angry with someone. (Matthew 5:2 1-22) Jesus was determined to bring about the change that he so desperately sought, even if it meant he had to die in the worst way imaginable. Before the rule of King Arthur, knights did as they pleased without consequence. (White ch. 6)They believed that the person who is the strongest is right and this led to a lot of chaos and violence. With the consult of Merlyn, Arthur saw how destructive this idea was and wanted to change knighthood into an institute that promoted good deeds. It was this pursuit of change in which the Knights of the Round Table were founded. Why cant you harness Might so that it works for Right? (White 189) Arthur reasoned that he could use the Knights to do good in England instead of causing chaos. He finally decided to instill a code of chivalry and formed the Knights of the Round Table. Then you should have died! Died, rather than betray your friends, as we would have done for you! (Rowling ) Sometimes our friends turn out to be enemies. For both King Arthur and Jesus Christ, this statement could not be any truer. Throughout his ministry, Jesus acquired many disciples who followed him, but only twelve of these disciples were known as the Apostles. The Apostles were always with Jesus and were meant to continue his ministry after his crucifixion. Unfortunately, one of these twelve Apostles was not as noble as everyone believed. Judas Iscariot agreed to betray his teacher (which would result in Jesuss arrest and execution) in exchange for thirty silver coins. (Matthew 25:38) Interestingly enough, betrayal has its way of exacting justice on the betrayer. After the crucifixion, Judas returned the money and hanged himself. This one act of betrayal had not only destroyed one life, but his betrayer was ruined as well. Arthur was a person that was quite familiar with the idea of betrayal. Throughout England, there was not a greater knight than Lancelot. (White 252) It was not long before Lancelot joined the Knights of the Round Table and would become Arthurs close ally. Unfortunately, Lancelot was not immune to human emotion and fell in love with Arthurs queen, Guenever. In turn, Guenever fell in love with Lancelot because he was such a great knight. The two eventually start a romantic relationship, thus betraying King Arthur. This would also lead to the demise of Arthur, because his enemy (and son) used Arthurs love of both Guenever and Lancelot against him. Interestingly, like Judas, Lancelot almost destroyed himself because of the guilt of his betrayal. He eventually went mad and it was many years before he would return to normalcy. Though King Arthur and Jesus Christ were to completely different people from completely different times, the two characters have many striking resemblances. They both had a very humble beginning and early life but were destined for greatness. Both men wished to bring about change that would make the world a better place. Finally, each of them was betrayed in a way that led to their demise. One was King of the Britons; the other was King of the Jews, but they both were great kings nonetheless.