Friday, December 27, 2019

Cultural Background Of Hispanic Ethnicity - 1313 Words

People of Hispanic origin have already made their presence felt in various fields of human endeavor in the United States. Whether it is their involvement in politics, corporate management or even sports, Hispanics have showed that they have what it takes to perform at par with any other racial group. When it comes to the involvement of a particular minority in any activity there are bound to be certain issues. This paper will explore the themes of sporting identities to analyze the experiences of Latino males in sport. An attempt will be made to understand the barriers and prejudices that Latino males have had to encounter in the field of sports in the United States of America. Latinos have managed to make a profound impact in the field of American sports. Their interest in sports helped them assimilate themselves into American mainstream culture. They were also able to maintain their entire families’ ethnic identity at the same time. Since they had limited economic opportunities and had to face racial discrimination they were able to use sports as a refuge from the grim realities of the society. They used the field of sports to negotiate race relations, nationalism and citizenship. Sport was an arena that they could use to learn how to behave according to societal gender norms. Even for female athletes sports arenas provided the space to achieve gender equality, something that could never be achieved outside the field of sports (Alamillo, n.d). Every sportsperson has anShow MoreRelatedWho Is Hispanic? : An Individual Of Cuban928 Words   |  4 PagesWho is Hispanic? The conceptual definition for the word Hispanic used in this paper is: an individual of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish-speaking country, culture or origin. This conception of the word Hispanic is board because it includes all people with ties to a Latin American country or country with Spanish culture, while remaining specific by maintaining that that these connections are through origin or culture. Every ten years the U.S. government issuesRead MoreEthnic Variability Of Hispanic Latino936 Words   |  4 PagesAn Analysis of the Ethnic Variability of the Latino/Hispanic Group in the United States Census (112) The historical development of ethnic categorization as a distinct concept from race in the U.S. Census was defined through the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in October 1997. This criterion was meant to discern between biological/genetic factors and the ethnic aspects of Latino/Hispanic identity as part of this governmental decree: â€Å"The racial and ethnic categories set forth in the standardsRead MoreMinority Teacher Shortage And Minority Students1743 Words   |  7 PagesIn the United States, each and every day, more minority children are born than white children. Fewer and fewer white parents are giving birth to multiple children, while many minority parents from African-American cultures to Hispanic cultures are continuing to have the same number of children, and possibly more. With all these minority children entering the U.S. education system, there is a problem current minority students are facing; there is a shortage of minority teachers. While there are min orityRead MoreUnited States Census Bureau Population Projection1497 Words   |  6 Pagesconsistent diversification. By 2024, the non-Hispanic white population will show a decrease in numbers. Minorities including Hispanics, African Americans and Asians will double, and other groups will increase by at least half. Eventually, non-Hispanic whites will not be seen as a majority, but as an equally represented group among its ethnic counterparts (U.S. Bureau, 2014). This projection can not be transposed to the country’s nursing population. Non-Hispanic white nurses often vastly outnumber otherRead MoreRace Is Not Biological And Unimportant Factor Essay1095 Words   |  5 PagesIn order to study ethnicity, one must know what it isn’t. Ethnicity is not race, nationality, locality, or religious denomination. Ethnicity is when people share the same cultural heritage. However, in society individuals are often categorized by race. Many believe that race is genetic, meaning th at different races are genetically different. This idea has been in practiced since the early 18th century. With the development of technology, specifically DNA testing, scientists studied whether racialRead MoreHispanic And Non Hispanic Americans951 Words   |  4 PagesLatinos/ Hispanics are one of the races that have a background with the higher risk to get diabetes type 2, but in what way does being Latino affect the course of the illness and what roll does culture takes in this problematic? There is a considerable difference between Hispanic and Non-Hispanics. Many factors can be the reasons for this difference in numbers, but the most influential factors are culture, acculturation and, the medical cultural competence. First, for Latinos, studies have foundRead MoreTranscultural Nursing : An Essential Aspect Of Healthcare Today1174 Words   |  5 Pagesmulticultural population in the United States poses a significant challenge to nurses providing individualized and holistic care to their patients. This requires nurses to recognize and appreciate cultural differences in healthcare values, beliefs, and customs. Nurses must acquire the necessary knowledge and skills in cultural competency. Culturally competent nursing care helps ensure patient satisfaction and positive outcomes. This article discusses changes that are important to transcultural nursing. It identifiesRead MoreThe Latino/Hispanic Class Is The Only Racial Grouping Calculated1128 Words   |  5 PagesThe Latino/Hispanic class is the only racial grouping calculated individually by the United States Census. According to the U.S. Census, a Latino/Hispanic individual can be of several nationalities. There is an extreme amount of variables in the cultural class, which may puzzle some individuals on what is considered to be a Hispanic person or something different. The census classification of Hispanic became approved about the late 20th century. The term has produced a lot of misunderstanding. InRead MoreThe Reform Of The United States1549 Words   |  7 Pages and train current employees to be understanding of cultural transformations within the company. We should increase the ethnic group, specifically African American and Hispanic, by educating Facebook s Human Resources Department. Currently there are only 1 percent African Americans and 4 percent Hispanic that are working for Facebook. It is critical that more minority groups are hired, because bringing in individuals from different backgrounds and experiences could potentially make a business moreRead MoreCreating A School Of Diverse Learners. Texas Schools Are1646 Words   |  7 PagesDiverse Learners Texas schools are becoming more diverse every year. The Texas Tribune (2015) released an article stating well over half of the 5.2 million students in the Texas schools were Hispanic. This number has increased from 15 years ago, when the number was around 40 percent. Not only has the Hispanic numbers increased, but the number of Asian students have doubled as well. Even more surprising is the percentage of the white student population. The number of white students in Texas has

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Charles Darwin Naturalist and Leader in Science - 1414 Words

Over the course of this analysis, I will use information from Gardner’s Changing Minds (Gardner, 2006) and Uzzi and Dunlap’s How to Build Your Network (Uzzi, 2005) to assess Charles Darwin’s influence as a non-positional leader. I will also show a historical analysis, including my reasons for choosing Darwin as my subject, his background, the success and failures of his influence, as well as his legacy. Finally, I will submit my vision of non-positional leadership and mechanisms for leaders to explore their non-positional roles. Charles Darwin’s influence uses some of Gardner’s â€Å"levers† or factors that are at work in the case of Darwin’s scientific theories changing minds (Gardner, 2006), and so there is a good level of measure for†¦show more content†¦His initial audience was made up of people with common ground and specialized knowledge, allowing him more leeway to use scientific and research specific terms and information than the general population at that time may have understood. Part of influence in a non-positional role involves the network of individuals you know. Darwin’s ideas would not have spread so quickly, if at all, if Alfred Russell Wallace had not written him. Because of that letter, Lyell and Hooker had their work added to the agenda of the Linnean Society Meeting, and Darwin went forward with publishing On the Origin of Species. Darwin’s relationships weave a tangled picture of the influences of the 1800’s and beyond. (See Figure 1, based on Uzzi Dunlap (Uzzi, 2005) Julian Huxley, grandson of Thomas Henry Huxley, â€Å"proposed that the Darwinian model, which had been relatively neglected by biologists (although popular with social scientists), could now be rescued by linking it with Mendelian genetics.† (Hewlett, 2005) This brought Darwin’s theory of evolution, which had begun to fade in resonance back to the forefront of science, leading us to the legacy of Charles Darwin’s influence. Figure 1: Charles Darwins Network The legacy Charles Darwin left behind is one of continued evolution of thought. His ideas were merged with that of Gregor Mendel’s ideas on genetics and eventually the modern science of DNA toShow MoreRelatedEssay On Villain Or Victim?2223 Words   |  9 PagesPayton Linder Vickery English 101 12 Dec 2014 Darwin: Villain or Victim All through history, especially the past two hundred years, different theories have tried to determine our existence and they continually have changed depending on the group creating it or researching it. The one thing that has changed is the Holy Bible, God’s written word with our complete history in it. Reading it we come to understand our existence and purpose. With that we also become aware of our gift we receive from GodRead MoreSocial Darwinism Is An Ideology Of Society1566 Words   |  7 Pageswould have to turn to the famous man himself, Charles Darwin. At first glance, Charles Darwin seems an unlikely revolutionary. Born in 1809, Charles grew up a shy and unassuming member of a wealthy British family. He appeared, at least to his father, to be lazy and directionless. But even as a child, Darwin expressed an interest in nature. Later in 1831, while studying botany at Cambridge University, he was offered a chance to work as an unpaid naturalist on the HMS Beagle, a naval vessel embarkingRead MoreLord of the Flies by William Golding1866 Words   |  7 Pagesby the boys’ society. Although, he is worldlier than the other boys and knows more science and survival techniques, he does not show physical strength. He shows that he is smart and can be useful. He is the only one with foresight. The other boys are portrayed as being physically fit and are more likely to live and yet Piggy is the only character with asthma and the lesser chance of surviving. This relates to Charles Darwin’s claim on Darwinism. He coined the phrase â€Å"survival of the fittest†, whichRead MoreThe Doctrine Of Scientific Knowledge Essay1112 Words   |  5 Pagesprescribed it to us in every domain of our life. Governments of almost every country were constituted of religious leaders that exercised their authority through god-given right. But in the last 500 years, science began to challenge these religious principles by bringing a new way to look at the world. Sciences evolutes over time with the contribution of some genies like Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein or Isaac Newton. I think that scientific knowledge is superior to any other type of knowledge suchRead More Alfred Tennyson, Charles Darwin, Charles Lyell, and Essay3238 Words   |  13 PagesAlfred Tennyson, Charles Darwin, Charles Lyell, and In Memoriam Alfred Lord Tennyson was born August 6, 1809, at Somersby, Lincolnshire. He was the fourth of twelve children. As a boy he led a very miserable and unhappy life. In 1828 Tennyson entered Trinity college, Cambridge. The most important part of his experience there was his friendship with Arthur Henry Hallam, who was the son of a well known historian. Hallam encouraged and inspired Tennyson to write. Hallam died in 1833. TennysonRead More Allusions to the Brave New World Essays1308 Words   |  6 PagesAmerican Anthropologist who founded the science of kinship systems. He was famous for his theory of social evolution, which was the belief that people pass through three stages of development: 1. Savagery, 2. Barbarism, 3. Civilization. The different people in the book were also split up into separate stages, two to be in fact: savagery and civilization. The ‘civilized’ were in the BNW and everyone else was a savage. 7. Trotsky Leon Trotsky (1879-1940) was the leader of the Bolshevik Revolution in RussiaRead MoreEssay on Brave New World-Allusions1337 Words   |  6 PagesAmerican Anthropologist who founded the science of kinship systems. He was famous for his theory of social evolution, which was the belief that people pass through three stages of development: 1. Savagery, 2. Barbarism, 3. Civilization. The different people in the book were also split up into separate stages, two to be in fact: savagery and civilization. The ‘civilized were in the BNW and everyone else was a savage. 7. Trotsky Leon Trotsky (1879-1940) was the leader of the Bolshevik Revolution in RussiaRead MoreDr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: A View Into Societal Changes in the 19th Century1398 Words   |  6 Pages[2] Through the use of these characters and newly founded theoretical ideas of this time; Stevenson reflects the modern â€Å"societal† challenges that were occurring in this century. In Britain during the mid eighteen hundreds, the Conservative Party leader Benjamin Disreali, argued that that traditional aristocratic policy of the privileged caring for those below them, made the Conservatives the natural party of social reform.[3] And subsequently, the Europeans begin to take a more conservative approachRead MoreEssay about Intelligent Design of the Universe2128 Words   |  9 PagesThe search for knowledge about the origin of humanity is as old as its inhabitants. Since the early 1800s mankind has narrowed the debate to creation by a Supreme Being and the theory of evolution. Ever since then, science has been at odds against religion. Now it appears that science is returning to religion. Scientists are finding proof that the universe was created by a Supreme Being. The word evolution refers to the change of something over a period of time(Websters 634). In biology, theRead MoreHuman Genetic Engineering And Eugenics1582 Words   |  7 PagesHuman genetic engineering and eugenics have been a largely controversial topic over the past decades. Eugenics can be popularly defined as the science of improving and enhancing a human population or person through manipulating the human genes, selective breeding, and sterilization. The end goal and desired result of eugenics is to basically create a human race or people with more desirable biological, physical, or psychological traits. Eugenics and genetic modification is a current, pressing subject;

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Contract and Procurement Management for Mitigation- myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theContract and Procurement Management for Mitigation. Answer: The absence of an effective contract management framework has been observed during the project. The contract management framework which means the execution and monitoring of contract in order to maximize the financial gain from the project as well as maximizing the operational performance during the project were not present during the running of project (Kerzner Kerzner, 2017). Impact: The absence of the effective framework of contract management increased the maverick buying and supply risk. At the same time, it decreased the spend leverage. Spend visibility was unclear because of lack of effective contract management framework. Mitigation: The issues can be mitigated by implementing a proper framework of contract management which will maximize the operational performance. Possible learning: An effective contract management framework is thus an integral part of contract and procurement management. The delay in completion of the project was observed as one of the key issue. Compared to the planned schedule of completing the project which led to the dismissal Judith Carr, who was the Project director of RAH and Deputy Simon Morony replaced his position (Harri McCaffer, 2013). Impact: The effects of the project delay were highly significant. Due to the delay of the project, cost of the project was overruned. At the same time more time was consumed unnecessarily. Moreover, several disputes have been reported. Mitigation: The project delay could have been avoided by an effective strategic plan, extensive use of technology and appropriate cost estimation primarily. Possible learning: in order to mitigate the issues that cause the delay of project, the major causes behind the delay need to be studied. Change governance had a crucial influence on the project management. As the management structure changed completely, the overall management restructured again, which created difficulties in the middle of the project. However the changed governance assured quality of the deliverables (Kerzner Kerzner, 2017). Impact: one of the major impacts of the change of the governance was it assured quality of the deliverables during the project. At the same time, it also had negative impact on the contract and procurement management as it created difficulties cope with the changed governance. Mitigation: the negative effect of the governance change could have been mitigated by making the members of management aware of the changes before changing the governance structure. Possible learning: in order to avoid the negative impacts of the governance change, the members of the management should be aware of the new structure of the governance, before it changes. References Harris, F., McCaffer, R. (2013).Modern construction management. John Wiley Sons. Kerzner, H., Kerzner, H. R. (2017).Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley Sons.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

What is Supply Chain Management Essay Example

What is Supply Chain Management? Paper TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 3 WHAT IS SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 4 Three flows of supply chain management†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦4 FIVE COMPONENTS OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 We will write a custom essay sample on What is Supply Chain Management? specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on What is Supply Chain Management? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on What is Supply Chain Management? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer VALUE CREATION THROUGH SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 6 Three sources of data integration†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE CATEGORIES†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦. 8 TYPES OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦8 RFID TECHNOLGY†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 9 Components of RFID†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ AN IMPORTANT QUESTION TO ASK BEFORE INSTALLING A SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT SYTEM†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 10 POTENTIAL PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH IMPLEMENTING A SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT SYSTEM†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦. 11 SOLLUTIONS OFFERED BY SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 12 SUPPLY CHAIN ALLIGNMENT†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦12 ALIGNING SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGIES WITH PRODUCT UNCERTAINTY†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 13 Matched Strategies†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 14 THE TRIPLE-A SUPPLY CHAIN†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦14 Building the Triple-A Supply Chain†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 15 STRATEGIC ALLIANCE THAT DELIVERS SUPPLY CHAIN AGILITY†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 6 SUMMARY†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦17 REFERENCES†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 18 Introduction Supply chain management is a topic that has been widely studied; more so since the 1980’s when companies realized that they needed to create competitive advantage, create value and stay ahead of the competition. In using and utilizing supply chain management not only were companies able to sustain competitive advantage by being responsive to customers’ needs, they also streamlined their processes, and were able to drastically cut cost and increase efficiency in areas such as collaboration using just-in–time ystems to deliver products when they are needed instead of holding inventory on hand, and paying the cost of doing so. Although the just-in-time system of inventory management is not new, it has been fine-tuned over the years with the help of information technology. With information technology being more widespread and easily accessible, it is almost impossible for businesses to stay ahead of the game if their technological system has not been created in such a way that creates value for the company. An article written by Hau L. Lee states that, â€Å"the best supply chains aren’t just fast and cost-effective. They are also agile and adaptable, and ensure that all their companies’ interests stay aligned† (October 2004). When the supply chain of a company is agile, it will be able to respond to sudden changes in supply and demand. Being adaptable is the ability of the supply chain to evolve overtime with economic increase or decline, political changes, demographic trends and technological trends. As with the information systems strategy triangle, the supply chain needs to be aligned with the interests of all the participants in the supply chain so that maximum efficiency can be realized. When all parts of the supply chain are working in harmony then the supply chain is functioning efficiently and will as a result optimize the chain’s performance. In this paper, I will highlight supply chain integration and take an in-depth look at how Wal-Mart and Proctor Gamble have effectively utilized this process to their advantage and have created value for customers in the process. This research will also look at some trade-offs that this practice presents, practices in supply chain management and supply chain management software that is used in the supply chain integration process. What is supply chain management? Supply chain management can be defined as a sequence of processes that goes into improving the way that a company coordinates its activities to obtain the raw materials needed to meet the needs of its customers. This process involves coordinating and integrating processes between and among manufacturers, suppliers, transporters, warehouses, retailers and customers. With so many variables involved in the supply chain, no wonder the ultimate goal of a supply chain management system is to reduce inventory. Supply chain management includes, but is not limited to, new product development, marketing, operations, distribution, finance, and customer service† (Chopra and Meindl, 2001). The flow of supply chain management can be divided into three main flows; I have outlined it in the diagram below to show how each flow is interconnected to the other. Figure 1. The three flows of supply chain management. As outlined by the diagram above, the supply chain management process contains different flows that work in accordance with each other so that effectiveness can be optimized and maintained. The product flow includes the movement of goods from suppliers and ends up in the hands of the customer. The information flow involves transmitting orders and updating delivery status. The financial flow involves credit terms, payment schedules, consignment and title ownership arrangements. Although the just-in-time system had been around for a while; it was not until the early 1980’s when most companies in the United States started to adopt the concept (Mawhinney Presutti Jr. , 2007). Business executives started to recognize the overwhelming potential that effective supply chain management had to offer. Business executives have come to realize that supply chain management can help achieve the businesses objectives on four dimensions – costs, quality, response time and flexibility. Five Components of Supply Chain Management Before the supply chain management can be implemented on any level, there needs to be a series of steps that are taken to ensure that the process is seamless and the end result is not only effective but is a form of value creation for the firm. As with any business process, there are basic components that first need to be addressed. In an article written by Ben Worthen in 2006, entitled ABC: An Introduction to Supply Chain Management: The basics of supply chain management (SCM), he stated that â€Å"there are five basic components of supply chain management†. The components are listed below: 1. Plan – This is the strategic portion of SCM. You need a strategy for managing all the resources that go toward meeting customer demand for your product or service. A set of metrics needs to be developed needs to be developed to monitor the supply chain to make sure it is functioning as it should. 2. Source – Choose the suppliers that will deliver the goods and services you need to create your product. This is the part of the component where prices are set and delivery schedules and payment processes are created. Processes for managing inventory are also created at this stage. 3. Make – This is the manufacturing step. Schedule the activities necessary for production, testing, packaging and preparation for delivery. This stage of the process is the most metric-intensive portion of the supply chain, quality levels are to be measured at this level, production output and worker productivity. . Deliver – This is the stage most times referred to as logistics. The receipt of orders from customers is coordinated, a network of warehouses is developed, carriers are chosen to deliver the product to customers and the invoicing system is set up to receive payments. 5. Return – Usually referred to as the problem part of the supply chain. A network for receiving defective and excess products back from customers and supporting customers who have problems with delivered products. Planning, sourcing, manufacturing, delivery and product return are all the business processes within the supply chain that helps to deliver superior customer value to the supply chain as whole whilst meeting the needs of all stakeholders within the supply chain. The term ‘value-added activity’ originates from Porter’ value chain framework and characterizes the value created by an activity in relation to the cost of executing it (George Jones, pg. 311). Value Creation through Supply Chain Management Supply chain collaboration has created tremendous amount of value for supply chain participants. Some of the immediate values that the chain experiences are: better delivery performance, increased information availability and a reduction of the time it takes to get the products to the consumer. With better deliver performance the reliability of deliveries are ensured; a participant of the supply chain will not have to worry that a particular item will not arrive in time to meet a customers’ need because that has already been taken into consideration and provisions have been made to make sure that fewer stock outs occur. Since information is readily available and is shared by members of the supply chain, they are better able to predict customers demand; this could be made possible by using statistical data of sales patterns to predict order cycles accurately and in real time. Other than non-profit organization, the majority of companies go into business to make a profit. Supply chain integration reduces costs and accelerates sales. A cost reduction strategy is one that has been adopted by most companies and implementing supply chain integration into a company’s business strategy can help them achieve this goal. With the world being a global economy, companies have to be proactive in the way they do business. They need to create strategies that help them obtain competitive advantage over their rivals but that will also show an increase in their bottom line. In the global economy, managing a supply chain can be a complex task. For the process to function smoothly there needs to be business-to business connectivity were supply chain integration enables manufacturers and suppliers to engage in collaborative planning, electronic transactions, and online reporting. The values created by this type of integration are reductions in the cost of processing orders and more speedy transaction times. Having an effective supply chain where partners within the chain are able to collaborate and share data makes it much easier to increase sales. One prime example of how this process has been effective has been evident with the collaboration of two well respected companies, both of which can be considered as giants in their industry. They have been the subject of many case studies and have shown other companies how this type of integration is done. Procter and Gamble is a major player in the manufacturing industry and Wal-Mart the world’s largest retailer, have found a way to leverage their competencies and share data with the use of information technology. Michael Green and Michael J. Shaw in their case study on the Chanel Partnership of Wal-Mart and Procter and Gamble, have outlined three sources that allows companies to answer key questions when implementing a supply chain (Green Shaw). I have combined these three sources into the following flow chart. Figure 2. The three sources of data integration. The result of this type of collaboration has resulted in the acceleration of sales for both companies. When supplies run low at Wal-Mart they do not need to reorder it is all done automatically and this helps to not only speed up the sales process but creates customer satisfaction as well because, Wal-mart is better able to focus on selling what customers really want. With this type of collaboration, all steps have been taken into consideration, even invoicing and payments. With such a dynamic integration in sharing data between the two companies, Procter and Gamble is able to pass on lower prices to Wal-Mart which creates value for the customer while helping Wal-mart maintain its low cost strategy. For companies to collaborate in the manner that Wal-Mart and Procter and Gamble have done, they need to make sure they acquire the right type of supply chain management software and the technology necessary to get the job done. Supply Chain Management Software Categories Supply chain management software is a computer based application that enables companies to automate their processes. These software packages facilitate business in planning and executing their supply chain steps to ensure efficiency. Software can be placed into two categories. 1. Supply Chain Planning (SCP) – The goal of supply chain planning software is to help businesses improve flow and efficiency of the supply chain and reduce inventory stocks. The accuracy of the planning application is heavily dependent upon the information that is imputed; whether the data is up-to-date will have a critical impact on the effectiveness of the program. 2. Supply Chain Execution (SCE) – The goal of this software is to automate business processes with little or no human intervention. This is typically used by business-to-business (B2B), business-to-customers (B2C) and internally within the company to avoid human error and improve business efficiency. Types of Supply Chain Management Software 1. Application Service Provider (ASP) – Houses business applications for an organization. The applications are then distributed through network for participants of Supply Chain Management Systems to complete the necessary transaction and interactions within the supply chain. 2. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) – A software package which integrates all departments and functions across an organization into a single computer system that can serve all those department’s particular needs. Enterprise resource planning combines different department systems into one single database, so different departments can easily share information and communicate with each other. Since all departments are able to communicate with each other in real-time, this ensures the accuracy of the information being feed into the supply chain management system and as a result guarantees accurate supply chain planning. Extranet – Used to facilitate information sharing and web communication for participants in a supply chain management system. It is a password authenticated website which resides outside the internal network of users (companies). The security and contact detail are managed by a member administration system and allows administrators to assign full or partial access to different members according to their business requirements. 4. Extensible Markup Language (XML) – A content-based markup language created for structured documents, which can be described, exposed, shared and modified on the web. XML data content is independent of any document style and format; it can facilitate data exchange data exchange between businesses or among different departments with different systems. The supply chain management software listed above provides significant value to businesses within a supply chain. As I mentioned earlier, one of the most obvious values that a supply chain management system provides is cost reduction. The aim of supply chain execution is business automation by minimizing the amount of manual work used in business processes. Author Helen Johnson wrote in an article, â€Å"Wal-mart Stores, Inc. built an inventory and supply chain management system that changed the face of business. By investing early and heavily in cutting edge technology to identify and track sales on the individual item level †¦ its IT infrastructure is a key competitive advantage that has been studied and copied by many companies around the world†. In order to achieve superior competitive advantage it is critical to thoroughly research and invest in the appropriate technology that will be able to achieve that kind of streamlining that is needed for the supply chain. One such technology that Wal-Mart has implemented into its business process is RFID. RFID Technology RFID technology imbeds a chip inside the packaging of an item and is able to be read by a reader when the product is within an appropriate range. A basic RFID system consists of three components. These components are illustrated in the diagram below. Figure 3. Components of RFID The chips that are placed inside the packaging are passive and take energy from the reader and use it to transmit their signal (McGeoch, 2005). The frequency levels of these chips vary some of them can be read through metal, water and practically any surface. Much more data can be store in each chip compared to the data stored in a bar code. The technology allows for multiple RFID tags to be read at once by a single reader; this makes it easier for measuring inventories at all levels within the supply chain. The fact that RFID tags are able to transmit information throughout the supply chain in almost real-time is a definite advantage that RFID technology brings to the supply chain. Having the RFID technology in place will also decrease inventory build-up throughout the supply chain and will in turn increase sales because store would be able to forecast inventory needs. Since the RFID technology has the capability of scanning multiple items at the same time, then companies would not need to hire additional staff to check the accuracy of a load coming in but would rather utilize the technology to take care of it. Wal-mart is known worldwide for its bargaining power. Being the largest retailer in the United States, the company is able to use this status to influence its suppliers and have them implement this technology. Wal-mart has currently mandated the use of RFID technology into their system and as a result suppliers who do not comply with this mandate may not only lose one of their biggest customer but may also run the risk of having their business suffer or even being eliminated from the supply chain. An important question to ask before installing a supply chain management system Supply chain management systems are not by themselves stand-alone systems; after all they are highly dependent on the type of information technology system that is used by the company or companies that are a part of the supply chain. As I mentioned earlier, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a type of supply chain management software that has the ability to integrate all departments and functions across an organization into a centralized database to serve all those department’s particular needs. A small to medium size company who may not yet have this type of software installed would need to seriously consider whether or not they are able to withstand the investment cost of having the system installed. In the event that the cost prohibits the installation of the ERP, then for the purposes of supply chain management that company may want to consider feeding information from software such as excel. There are trade-offs that will no doubt occur by going this route, one such trade-off is the loss of fast flowing information on a reliable basis which could result in inadequate resource planning and inventory levels. Supply chain execution software and supply chain planning software are the two types of software used in the supply chain management process. While ERP is falls into the category of supply chain planning software, other software that are used are for execution purposes; meaning they automate business process with little or no human input. Supply chain execution applications are less dependent upon information gathering from different departments within the company and especially if the company size is already small, data may not need to be integrated for all departments. With this in mind, a financial evaluation between the supply chain execution software and the cost of implementing and maintaining the enterprise resource planning software must be done. Potential Problems Associated with Implementing Supply Chain Management System As with the implementation of any new process, roadblocks may be experienced. The goals of supply chain management are business process automation, return on investment, efficient inventory management processes and customer satisfaction. Although these are the intended goals of supply chain management, the software packages cannot change problems with management nor is it able to negotiate collaboration between members of the supply chain. With the implementation of a supply chain management system come hindrances to its use. The three key issues that are prevalent are: 1. Resistant to change – â€Å"Organizational change is the movement of an organization away from its present state and toward some desired future state to increase its efficiency and effectiveness (George Jones, p. 456). Whenever an organization is accustomed to doing business a certain way then members of the organization may not readily accept the changes even though the benefits will far out weight the cost overtime. From a suppliers standpoint, the supplier may not be willing to assume more responsibility for inventory management In order to avoid unnecessary resistant to change it is important to maintain open communication, participants of the chain must be willing to compromise and training and assistance must be provided in order for all participants to understand the full benefits and potential of the supply chain management system. . Gaining trust partners within the chain – Our text defines trust as â€Å"the willingness of one person or group to have faith or confidence in the goodwill of another person, even though this puts them at risk† (George Jones, p. 144). Gaining the trust of all participants of the chain is paramount if the chain is to function efficiently and effectively. The difficulty of supply chain management occurs because no one stakeholder has total control over the process unless that stakeholder is as big as Wal-mart. The power of Wal-mart is evident in its collaboration with manufacturing giant Procter and Gamble. â€Å"Wal-mart’s collaboration with PG meant that PG would assume more responsibility for inventory management, something retailers have traditionally done on their own. Wal-mart had the clout to demand this from PG, but it also gave PG something in return – better information about Wal-mart’s product demand, which helped PG manufacture its products more efficiently† (Worthen, 2006). Although it is difficult to trust beyond the walls of your own company, we see how Wal-mart and Procter Gamble have compromised and leveraged information between them and this has resulted in one of the best supply chain management collaboration from which other companies have copied and numerous case studies have been done. 3. Mistakes – For the first few months after the implementation of the supply chain management system it should be expected that there will be errors in the process and flaws that need to be worked out before the system will be functioning as it should. The fact that flaws are found in the beginning of using the new system does not in itself suggest that future data generated by the system will be useless or inaccurate. Users of the system need to be aware of these initial problems, be patient and accept the fact that although they have a new system there will be times when they the users will have to still work manually, until they are able to fully merge their expertise with that of the system and the accuracy can be completely trusted then and only then will users begin to have faith in the potential of the technology. Solutions offered by supply chain management There are a number of companies who are in the business of helping companies reach their goal and achieve effectiveness in their implementation and use of a supply chain management system. The following solutions to problems faced by supply chain participants are as follows: 1. Increased supply chain visibility and control 2. Increased supply chain accountability 3. Accelerated time-to-market through better supply chain project management. Supply Chain Alignment To align means to support or bring in line with. When supply chain strategy is aligned with business strategy then the company is setting itself up to achieving its up to reap overall success. Before a company decides to become part of a supply chain they need to be clear as to what they are trying to achieve in such venture. Not having a clear vision or goals could lead to undesirable results such as loss of customers, too much inventory and lack of participation by other members of the supply chain. Throughout this paper I have been examining how Wal-mart uses supply chain management to its advantage. The company prides itself of being the low cost leader and building customer loyalty by attracting them with some of the lowest prices in the retail industry. Wal-mart became proactive and creating a supply chain management system that is at the center of this competitive strategy. â€Å"Wal-mart’s business strategy demonstrates that effective business strategy requires the achievement of a dynamic balance between the functional details and a broader competitive position (Gattorna, p. 22). Supply chain management plays an integral part in the creation of this balance as it links together stakeholders of the supply chain. Aligning Supply Chain Strategies with Product Uncertainties Life in itself is uncertain; so there is no surprise that characteristics within a supply chain may give rise to uncertainty which in turn causes some degree of risk or even anxiety. Participants of the supply chain will need to have strategies in place to mitigate these risks and respond to uncertainties in a way that provides each chain participant with a competitive edge. The strategies can be classified in four types: 1. Efficient Supply Chain – supply chains that utilize strategies aimed at providing the highest cost efficiencies for the supply chain. In this type of supply chain, anything that does not add value to the chain should be eliminated and replaced with value-added activities. Some value added activities that would need to be pursued includes, economies of scale, optimization techniques and information linkage. 2. Risk-Hedging Supply Chain – In this type of supply chain, risk is pooled and shared among the chain’s participants so that risk associated with supply chain disruptions can be shared. This type of risk hedging strategy reduces the vulnerability of any one party to the chain. 3. Responsive supply chains – Being flexible is the ultimate goal of this type of supply chain strategy. By being responsive companies need to be aware that their customer base is diverse and as a result tailor their products to meet the changing needs of their customers. 4. Agile supply chains- This supply chain strategy is a combination of the risk-hedging and responsive supply chains. Within this chain, customer’s needs are being satisfied as they change while simultaneously, the risks of supply chain disruption are being minimized. The following diagram was adopted from an article written by Hau L. Lee and shows how each strategy matches up to mitigate uncertainties. Figure 4. Matched Strategies The supply chain strategy chosen by a company may be largely determined by their supply and demand. Supply chain adaptability is critical as the life cycle of products become shorter; companies must have the ability to meet the changing demands of customers’ needs. While agility within a supply chain is an important factor the alignment of the supply chain with the interest of all participants within the chain is a definite must. The Triple-A Supply Chain Hau L. Lee wrote an article which he cleverly titled, â€Å"The Triple-A Supply Chain†. In this article he outlined how a supply chain that fosters agility, adaptability and alignment, has the ability to achieve and sustain competitive advantage (Lee, 2004). He went on to say, â€Å"the best supply chains identify structural shifts, sometimes before they occur, by capturing the latest data, filtering out noise, and tracking key patterns†. In his article Mr. Lee demonstrated how companies can achieve and sustain competitive advantage using the ‘Triple-A’ approach. Mr. Lee’s article was brilliantly written and I give him full credit for the following: Figure 5. Building the Triple-A Supply Chain (Hau L. Lee, 2004) Strategic Alliance that Delivers Supply Chain Agility Supply chain management is about collaboration and data integration that creates a platform of trust among supply chain participants whose collective efforts are directed towards the goal of achieving superior competitive advantage that must be sustained in order for the chain to function efficiently and effectively. Companies that are part of a supply chain are indeed allies; they leverage their competencies for the good of the chain and create competitive advantage over rivals within the marketplace. There are numerous companies that are in the business of providing other companies with solutions to their supply chain management challenges, questions and software. Two such companies are i2 Technologies, Inc. and Microsoft Corp. One could argue that both companies are competitors, after all they both assist companies with software issues that are used to maximize efficiency. Just like Wal-mart and Procter and Gamble, Microsoft Corp. and i2 Technologies Inc. are well respected companies. Microsoft Corp. was founded in 1975 and is the world’s leader in software; services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. I2 Technologies Inc. is a leading provider of demand-driven supply chain solutions designed to enable business agility. On may 11, 2005 both companies announced their strategic alliance aimed at providing companies with more flexibility, greater ease of use and a lower total cost of ownership of supply chain management solutions for customers. The alliance allows i2 to deliver its own solutions using the Microsoft platform, allowing businesses to customize and use Microsoft Office products as interface for i2 applications. This type of collaboration has brought about a tremendous amount of flexibility by developing i2 solutions using Microsoft. Most people in the business world are already familiar with Microsoft’s software environment which helps to streamline efficiencies. Summary Alliances such as that of i2 Technologies Inc and Microsoft Corp. re helping to shape the mountains of possibilities that can be achieved when companies collaborate to create value for themselves and their counterparts who are a part of the supply chain. The very first thing that companies need to be aware of is what exactly supply chain management is. Being able to define the term will bring about a better understanding of what is expected. The way information flows through the chain to create value for the chain’s participants is a critical component in determining the sources from which the data will be integrated whether it be from the manufacturer, retailer or a third party. As collaboration takes place all participants will need to be knowledgeable of the different types of supply chain software that are available and make a decision as to which one creates more value for what the chain is trying to achieve. Emergent technology has the potential to create value for the supply chain; one such technology is the RFID technology which Wal-mart has utilized in its business process. When a company decides to implement a supply chain management system, the company’s management will need to ask certain questions to help them decide what the exact needs of the company are. Once the decision has been made to use a system things just does not automatically work the way they are supposed to but will instead take some time before it functions efficient and effectively. Three major problems are usually experienced when a supply chain management system is new, they are: resistant to change, gaining trust from partners within the change and mistakes. The chain’s participants will need to exercise patience and slowly take advantage of the different solutions that are offered from having a supply chain management system. For maximum effectiveness then, the supply chain’s strategies must be aligned with the overall business strategy. When strategies are aligned then the chain’s participants will have a better opportunity of mitigating the risks that are associated with uncertainties. By employing these four strategies this can be accomplished; the four strategies are: 1. having an efficient supply chain, 2. engaging in a supply chain that has risk-hedging capabilities, 3. creating a supply chain that is responsive, and 4. making sure that the supply chain is agile. As author Hau L. Lee puts it, â€Å"the best supply chains aren’t just fast and cost-effective. They are also agile and adaptable, and they ensure that all their companies’ interests stay aligned†. By keeping all these strategies in mind when designing a supply chain management system, companies are well on their way to achieving and sustaining the kind of competitive advantage that Wal-mart has so long experienced and enjoyed and who knows we may even see a company in the future who is able to out-smart Wal-mart at its own game and take over the lead as it relates to supply chain management. Anything is possible! References (Anonymous, 2008). Strategy: Framing supply chain complexity. Supply Chain Standard. Retrieved June 10, 2008, from PROQUEST Complete database. (Document ID: 1491708931). Gattorna, John L. (1998). Strategic Supply Chain Alignment: Best Practice in Supply Chain Management. Burlington: Gower. George, Jennifer M. Jones, Gareth R. (2008). Contemporary Management (5th ed. ). New York: McGraw-Hill. Green, Michael Shaw, Michael, J. Supply Chain Integration through Information Sharing: Channel Partnership between Wal-mart and Procter Gamble. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL. Johnson, Amy Helen. (2002). A new Supply Chain Forged. Computerworld 36 No40 38-9. Retrieved May 29, 2008, from Wilson Web. Lee L. Hau. (2002). Aligning Supply chain Strategies with product Uncertainties. California Management Review, Vol. 44, No3. Lee L. Hau. (2004). The Triple-A Supply Chain. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved May 29, 2008, from http://images. ed4. net/images/htdocs/hbsp/050117/ AAA_SupplyChain. pdf McGeoch, Jonathan. (2005). The Impact of RFID Technology on the Supply Chain Management. Unpublished Thesis proposal Sabyasachi Mitra, Vinod Singhal. (2008). Supply chain integration and shareholder value: Evidence from consortium based industry exchanges. Journal of Operations Management, 26(1), 96. Retrieved June 10, 2008, from ABI/INFORM Complete database. (Document ID: 1405148991). Vost, van der Jack G. A. J. (2004) Supply Chain Management: theory and practices. Retrieved May 29, 2008, from http://www. orl. wur. nl/NR/rdonlyres/FD1FCC16-C84B-4C93-9211-BE419B6563B0/26752/SupplyChainManagementbijdrageJackvanderVorstv10. pdf Worthen, Ben. (2007). ABC: An Introduction to Supply Chain Management. The basics of Supply Chain Management (SCM). Retrieved May 29, 2008, from http://www. cio. com/article/40940/ABC_An_Introduction_to_Supply_Chain_Management/5

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

A Brief History of the Doomsday Clock

A Brief History of the Doomsday Clock In June 1947, almost two years after the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by atomic bombs, the first issue of the magazine Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was printed, featuring a stylized clock on its cover. The clock displayed the time seven minutes to midnight, a symbolic representation of how close humanity was to destroying itself in a nuclear war, at least according to the judgment of the Bulletins editors. Since then, the Doomsday Clock has been an ever-present fixture on the world stage, set back when nations behave reasonably, set forward when international tensions wax, a constant reminder of how close we are to catastrophe. As you can probably infer from its title, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was created by, well, atomic scientists: this magazine started as a mimeographed newsletter circulated among the scientists working on the Manhattan Project, an intensive, four-year effort that culminated in the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. (The Bulletin is still published today, no longer in print form, since 2009, but on the web.) In the 70 years since its appearance, the mission of the Doomsday Clock has been slightly tweaked: it no longer refers specifically to the threat of nuclear war, but now signifies the likelihood of other doomsday scenarios as well, including climate change, global epidemics, and the unforeseen dangers posed by new technologies. The Ups and Downs of the Doomsday Clock One common misapprehension about the Doomsday Clock is that its updated in real time, like a stock-market ticker. In fact, the clock is only changed after meetings of the Bulletins advisory board, which happen twice a year (and even then, the decision is often  taken to keep the time as it is). In fact, the Doomsday Clock has only been set forward or back 22 times since 1947. Here are some of the most notable occasions when this has happened: 1949: Moved up to three minutes to midnight after the Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb. 1953: Moved up to two minutes to midnight (the closest the Doomsday Clock has ever reached this mark) after the U.S. tests its first hydrogen bomb. 1963: Moved back to 12 minutes to midnight after the U.S. and the Soviet Union sign the Partial Test Ban Treaty. (One interesting side note: the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 started, and was resolved, in between meetings of the Bulletins advisory board. One imagines that if the clock had been reset during these seven tense days, it would have displayed a time of 30 or even 15 seconds to midnight.) 1984: Moved up to three minutes to midnight  as the Soviet Union is mired in war in Afghanistan and the U.S., under Ronald Reagan, deploys nuclear-tipped Pershing II missiles in western Europe. The international social fabric is further weakened by the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games and the Soviet boycott of the 1984 Olympic Games. 1991: Moved back to 17 minutes to midnight (the farthest away the clocks minute hand has ever been) after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. 2007: Moved up to five minutes to midnight after North Korea tests its first atomic bomb; for the first time, the Bulletin also recognizes global warming (and the lack of firm action to counter it) as an imminent threat to civilization. 2017: Moved up to two  and one-half minutes to midnight (the closest the clock has been since 1953) following Donald Trumps tweets touting the U.S. nuclear arsenal  and the prospect of decreased legislative action to slow global warming. How Useful is the Doomsday Clock? As arresting an image as it is, its unclear just how much of an effect the Doomsday Clock has had on public opinion and international policy. Clearly, the clock had more of an impact in, say, 1953, when the prospect of a Soviet Union armed with hydrogen bombs conjured up images of World War III. Over the ensuing decades, though, one can argue that the Doomsday Clock has had more of a numbing than an inspiring effect: when the world is constantly a few minutes from global catastrophe, and the apocalypse never quite happens, most people will choose to ignore current events and focus on their daily lives. In the end, your faith in the Doomsday Clock will depend on your faith in the Bulletins high-powered advisory board and its network of professional experts. If you accept the evidence in favor of global warming and are alarmed by nuclear proliferation, youre likely to take the clock more seriously than those who dismiss these as relatively minor issues. But whatever your views, the Doomsday Clock at least serves as a reminder that  these problems need to be addressed, and hopefully soon.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Hamlet - Appearance Vs. Reality Essays - Characters In Hamlet

Hamlet - Appearance Vs. Reality Essays - Characters In Hamlet Hamlet - Appearance vs. Reality Hamlet one of Shakespeare's greatest plays, where the young prince of Denmark must uncover the truth about his fathers death. Hamlet a play that tells the story of a young prince who's father recently died. Hamlets uncle Claudius marries his mother the queen and takes the throne. As the play is told Hamlet finds out his father was murdered by the recently crowned king. The theme that remains conezt throughout the play is appearance versus reality. Things within the play appear to be true and honest but in reality are infested with evil. Many of the characters within the play hide behind a mask of falseness. Four of the main characters that hid behind this mask are Polonius, Rosencrantz (Guildenstern), the king Cluadius. From behind this mask they give the impression of a person who is sincere and genuine, in reality they are plagued with lies and evil. There appearance will make it very difficult for Hamlet to uncover the truth, the characters hide behind. Polonius the kings royal assiezt has a preoccupation with appearance. He always wants to keep up the appearance of loving and caring person. Polonius appears like a man who loves and cares about his son, Laertes. Polonius speaks to his son with advice that sounds sincere but in reality it is rehearsed, hollow and without feeling. Polonius gives his advice only to appear to be the loving caring father. The reality is he only speaks to appear sincere as a politician, to look good rather then actually be good: "And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. Farewell; my blessing season this in thee!" Act 1 Polonius gives his son Laertes his blessing to go away, he sends a spy to follow him and keep an eye on him. This shows his lack of trust for anyone, he gives the appearance of a confident father who trusts his son to go off on his own. In reality he lies about his trust for his son by sending a spy to watch him. His advice he gives his son is rehearsed and only said to give the appearance of a loving father. Polonius further adds to the theme appearance verses reality by ordering Ophelia to stop seeing Hamlet. He lies to her telling her that Hamlet does not love her, he only lusts for her, in truth he does love her: Ay, springes to catch woodcocks. I do know, When the blood burns , how prodigal the soul Through the play Polonius hids behind his mask appearing to be honest loving parent. In reality Polonius lies, manipulates people and eavesdrops on peoples conversation. Polonius helps contribute to the theme appearance verses reality by showing how his appearance is not his true nature, behind the mask there lies someone totally different. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are two of Hamlets childhood friends who when asked by the king, try to find out what is troubling the young prince. Both help to contribute to the theme by showing there appearance of being Hamlets friends. The pair go to Hamlet pretending to be his friends when in truth they are only there because the king asked them to find the truth. There is some irony within the twins, they are asked by the king to find out the truth by hiding within a lie, by pretending to be his friend: A dream is but a shadow Act II. Hamlet knows there purpose for their visit is to dig into his soul to find the real reason for his actions as of late. As the play continues the twins are asked again by the king to go to Hamlet and try again to find the real reason for Hamlets behavior. Hamlet insults them at every chance knowing they are lying to him about there purpose of the visit: Tis as easy as lying; govern these ventages with you finger and thumb, give it breath with your mouth...Act III As the melodrama continues Hamlet goes with the twins to reclaim money that another state owes Denmark.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

BUSINESS MODEL INTERROGATION & DEVELOPMENT Essay - 1

BUSINESS MODEL INTERROGATION & DEVELOPMENT - Essay Example Therefore it is extremely important for managers to develop a sound business model as failing to do so would severely disrupt business operations (Hedman and Kalling, 2003). It is with regards to this fact that the researcher will be attempting to evaluate the business model of Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC). Emphasis will be given the manner in which the managers in this company have integrated and developed the business model. The researcher will explain the company’s performance and strategies in the dimensions of product and capital market. Besides that focus will be laid on the organization’s product portfolio. This will allow the researcher to comment on the advantages and drawbacks of the business model implemented by Toyota Motor Corporation and what extent the internal organizational structure contributed to the business model. In that way the researcher will be able to make recommendations regarding any changes that need to be brought within the business model and the organizational structure. TMC is a Multinational Corporation based in Japan which is mainly engaged in manufacturing and distribution of automobiles. The organization operates in three business segments which are automobile production, house design and financial services (Toyota, 2015a). Toyota is presently the market leader in the automobile industry. The company has achieved this stature by selling cars, minivans and trucks as a part of its business in the automobile segment (Thomson Reuters, 2015). Toyota’s business model is based on two fundamental strong frameworks: Kaizen and the lean production system (also referred to as the Toyota Production system). Kaizen means incessant improvements that are to be bought in the quality of products. The managers of Toyota believe in working their way towards innovation in order to develop processes that are aimed towards continuous product development and improvement. Kaizen is an integrated strategy which

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Transcending Neoliberalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Transcending Neoliberalism - Essay Example Popular and state mandated huge wage increase resulted to inflation compounded by unchecked inflation in the 1980s. These economic policies also resulted in huge foreign debts amounting to three fourths of its national output. It worsened when the state forced the peso to be equal to the dollar. The country bottomed out and defaulted on its debt in 2001 causing its President Adolfo Rodriguez to resign. Various economic policies were then adopted to resuscitate the economy from debt restructuring to expansionary monetary and fiscal policies to checking inflation. To check inflation government held back exports. In 2012, Argentina restricted its import and adopted a tighten foreign currency control. Brazil’s economic policy on the other hand adopted an inward-oriented economy that boosted its global competitiveness. It adopted policies of sustainability and economic liberalization that further boosted its national competitiveness. It maintained a controlled inflationary rate, adopted a floating exchange rate and disciplined fiscal spending that further boosted its economy. Hall, Patrick and Hall, John. Argentina’s Economic Policy: Failing to Learn from History. Web. April 21, 2014

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Science and technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Science and technology - Essay Example However, even through the years of all the research, the AI project remains a failure (Kassan 1). Despite of this, Hawkins is certain that humans are capable of producing artificial intelligence (qtd. in Kassan 1). Honda, a Japanese mobile company, proved that Hawkins’s statement is rather accurate by creating ASIMO (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility). The robot is said to be the most human-like creation Honda has ever made. By 2005, ASIMO is â€Å"better, stronger, and faster.† ASIMO â€Å"can do things like turn on light switches, open doors, carry objects, and push carts† (Orbinger and Strickland). Robots pretty much do the things that humans cannot do or simply do not want to do. This is a good deal for people who are too busy to do the chores at home or for someone who does not want additional burden when he comes from work. Yet, the question still remains: â€Å"Do we really need robots to do all these things?† In a brighter perspective, robots ca n do things more efficiently, â€Å"and without the continuous cost and social upheaval† (â€Å"Ethical Issues†). Is this not an insult to the capacity of humans to these jobs? It seems like the term â€Å"more efficiently† degrades the value of human work. Robotics, though a proof of humans’ intelligence, should not be taken as â€Å"slave machines† and made them do all the humans are capable of doing because first, it will affect human resources and job displacements, it would alter the natural, and it would forcibly pass through human limitation and eventually leading to the realization of the concept of â€Å"Singularity.† Necessity is the mother of invention; the seed of all production, or is it? The concept of necessity seems to have changed through the course of dynamic technological revolution. In the different kinds of industry, cutting the production costs without risking quality

Friday, November 15, 2019

Relationship between Inflation Rates and Employment

Relationship between Inflation Rates and Employment CHAPTER 1 Gross Domestic Product as an indicator of wealth and therefore quality of life has long been criticized (Mederly, P. and et al. 2003). Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the value of total production of goods and services in a country over a specified period, typically a year. The gross domestic product (GDP) or gross domestic income (GDI) is a measure of a countrys overall economic output GDP can be determined in three ways, all of which should in principle give the same result. The most direct of the three is the product approach, which sums the outputs of every class of enterprise to arrive at the total. The expenditure approach works on the principle that all of the product must be bought by somebody, therefore the value of the total product must be equal to peoples total expenditures in buying things. The income approach works on the principle that the incomes of the productive factor must be equal to the value of their product, and determines GDP by finding the sum of all producer s incomes (Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S Department of Commerce, 2007). The most common approach to measure GDP is the expenditure method: GDP= private consumption + gross investment + government spending + (exports à ¢Ã‹â€ imports) GDP = C + I + G + (X-M) (Equation 1.1) An event in 1975 that remind us the current GDP in our country where the Malaysian economy slumped into its great recession, with a GDP growth rate of only 0.8 percent, compared to 8.3 percent in 1974. This is one of the effects of increase in oil prices and then substantial price increase in 1973 were bought about mainly shortage of food and raw materials arising from bad weather and increased aggregate demand (Cheng, M.Y. and Tan,.H.B. 2002). According to the above circumstances occurred in 1975, the researcher has choosing one of variables that may relate with fluctuation of GDP which is inflation rate. Inflation means either an increase in the money supply or an increase in price levels. Generally, when we hear about inflation, we are hearing about a rise in prices compared to some benchmark. The study of the effects of inflation on economic growth continues to be an important and complex topic in economics. If inflation has real economic effects, then governments can influence economic performance through monetary policy (Risso, W.A and Carrera, E.J.S, 2009). Therefore, investigating how inflation affects economic growth pertains directly to the optimal design of monetary policy. Results from such studies are particularly important for economies. Besides the inflation, the researcher has considered total employment as one of the variable in the model since economic growth and employment are correlated between each others. The relationship between unemployment and GDP is called Okuns law. It is the association of a higher national economic output with the decrease in national unemployment. This is because in order to increase the economic output of a country, people will need to go back to work, thus lowering unemployment. In order to support the relationship exist between GDP and employment, the researcher has found out the issue supporting the theory that GDP and employment has a positive relationship between each others. According to Hassan, M.K.H. and et al. (2010), in the period of 1996 -1997, the manufacturing sector experienced a rapid growth producing the employment rate in the sector to grow at 7.7 percent per annum but later declining to negative 3.6 percent in 1998 due to the economic recession. In addition, in year 2000, the Malaysian manufacturing sector contributed 33.4% to gross domestic product (GDP), 85.2% to total export and 27.6% to total employment. 1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT Inflation is a major source of economic instability because it weakens incentives for work and production, distorts the allocate efficiency of the market mechanism, erodes international competitiveness of the domestic industry, and reduces growth potential. According to study by Fischer and Modigliani (1980) suggested a negative and nonlinear relationship between the rate of inflation and economic growth through the new growth theory mechanism. Furthermore, inflation also damages economic growth by lowering domestic and foreign savings, reducing efficiency of resource allocation, and deteriorating the balance-of payments (Risso, W.A. and Carrera, E.J.S., 2009). According to Cheng, M.Y. and Tan, H.B. (2002), the economy has experienced episode of high (1973-1974, 1980-1981) and low (1985-1987) regimes of inflation, and was able to contain low and stable inflation during the high economy growth period of 1988-1996. The second problem statement that should be concerns since the employment can affect the economic growth and it is important variable to determine the quality of production for national output and next will influence the GDP of our country. For example, in the early 1990s, the unemployment rate increased for about a year following the end of the previous recession. Coming out of a recession, companies are thought to be reluctant to hire many more workers until they are convinced about the sustainability of a new economic recovery while people who had left the labor force during the recession return to seek to find jobs (Seyfried, W.). Therefore, the researcher conducts this research in order to examine the correlation exists between inflation rate and employment with GDP so that we can help the country to mitigate the problem occurs by supporting the governments policies to increase the countrys GDP. In addition, this research also useful since the results of the studies can be used in policys decision for resource allocation in order to accelerate economic growth. 1.3 OBJECTIVES The objectives of the study are to: 1.3.1 Analyze the relationship between Inflation Rate and Gross Domestic Product in terms of magnitude and direction. 1.3.2 Analyze the relationship between Total Employment and Gross Domestic Product in terms of magnitude and direction. 1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The significances of this study are as follow: 1.4.1 Researcher This study will help the researcher to complete their course requirement and will be as guidelines for their field of work in the future. The researcher can gain many experiences in order to complete this research. There are lot of weaknesses may be obtained and this will encourage the researcher to provide the better research in the future. Future researcher will know and more understanding about gross domestic product when conduct this research. It will give the knowledge to the researcher to identify the correlation exist between inflation rate and employment and it always make the researcher briefing to know deeply and applied the study. 1.4.2 Organization This study might help the organization in analyzing the countrys economic condition in order to prevent and reduce the risk during the inflation and know the effects of the crisis occurs to them. This study also may give some guidance to them to protect their company and industry itself. 1.4.3 Public This study can inform and gives some knowledge to the public the relationship between economic growth, inflation rate and employment. They also can make preparation to face the increasing in inflation rate and able to survive in that situation. 1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY The researcher chooses to conduct the research about GDP in Malaysia from 2000 until 2010 In this study, the researcher wants to determine the correlation exist between inflation rate and employment with GDP in Malaysia. It is important because as economic planners and forecasters used the GDP per capita in monitoring economic growth trend for time series. The collection of data of GDP, inflation rate and total employment were collected from Department Of Statistics Malaysia in quarterly basis. 1.6 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Figure 1.1: Theoretical Framework INFLATION RATE GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT EMPLOYMENT RATE RATE Independent variables Dependent Variable Figure 1.1 represents the dependent variable and independent variables in this study. The function of theoretical framework has been clarified by Sekaran, U. (2003) which is a conceptual model of how one theorizes or makes logical sense of the relationship among the several factors that have been identified as important to the problem. Figure above clearly discuss the correlation between Gross Domestic Product which is variable primary to the researcher while Inflation Rate and Employment act as independent variable which is influences the dependent variable. 1.7 HYPOTHESIS In classical test of significant, two kind of hypothesis are used. They are Null Hypothesis and Alternate Hypothesis. Hypothesis is a conjectural statement that describes the relationship among variable even negative or positive. Null hypothesis which is represent by H0 symbol to show that the relationship between independent and dependent variable is not exist. However alternate hypothesis is representing by H1 symbol to show that the relationship is existing between both dependent and independent variable. According to Sakaran (2004), a hypothesis defines as a logically conjectured relationship between two or more variables expressed in the form of testable statement. Relationship a conjectured on the basis on the network of associations established in the theoretical framework formulated for the research study. There are two hypotheses that can describes the correlation exists between dependent variable and independent variables. Therefore the hypothesis that can be tested as follows: Inflation and GDP H0: there is no significant relationship between inflation and GDP. H1: there is a significant relationship between inflation and GDP. Employment and GDP H0: there is no significant relationship between employment and GDP. H1: there is a significant relationship between employment and GDP. 1.8 LIMITATION / CONSTRAINTS The limitations / constraints are: 1.8.1 Time constraint The length of time is limited since the researcher does not have much time to make detailed research. The time provided only three months and the researcher need to divide time properly to complete the research because the process of collecting data is quite difficult. 1.8.2 Cost constraint The cost involves is quite high since as a student, the researcher only depend on the loan applied. Examples of cost involve in order completing this research such as cost of printing, cost of maintaining the laptop, cost of surfing the internet and etc. 1.8.3 Data constraint Since the researcher use the secondary data, the collection of data that have been publish are so limited and the related material are not very supporting the topic of research. 1.8.4 Lack of experience The researcher is less of experience in conducting the research therefore needs to refer the researchers advisor to process the data and learning the skill that needed as a good researcher. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 DEPENDENT VARIABLE 2.1.1 GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP) Generally, according to Chan, W.W. and Lam, J.C. (2000), gross domestic product is a common measure of the economic well-being of a society. When government officials plan for the future, they consider the various economics sectors contributed to the gross domestic products. In the other study by Ivanov, S. and Webster, C. (2007), they use the growth of real GDP per capita gr as a measure of economic growth in line with other publications in the field (see Ivanov and Webster, 2007; Lopes et al., 2002; Plosser, 1992). The function of GDP also has been explained by Kosmidou, K. (2008) where gross domestic product (GDP) is among the most commonly used macroeconomic indicators, as it is a measure of total economic activity within an economy. The gross domestic product growth (GDPGR), calculated as the annual change of the GDP, is used as a measure of the macroeconomic conditions. The significance between GDP, foreign trade and foreign direct investment has been discussed by Liu Ying and Cui Riming (2008) where the economy is highlighted by the significant performance of both its economic growth and its foreign trade and foreign direct investment. Under this background, the correlation of foreign trade, foreign direct investments and economic growth in has become an important issue for academic research. Previous studies support that foreign trade and foreign direct investment have positive impacts on gross domestic product (GDP). In the study by Malul, M. and et al. (2008), the GDPpc is used mainly to compare the standard of living in different countries. It means that the higher of cost of living in a country, the higher earning of gross domestic product of the country. According to Wong, K.Y.(2008),economic growth of an economy refers to the expansion of its production possibility set, as a result of accumulation of primary factors such as labor and capital (physical and human), or improvement of production technologies. However, because the production possibility frontier (PPF) of an economy is not observable, economic growth is usually measured in terms of the growth rate of some observable variables such as real GDP or real per capita GDP. Besides that GDP also one of the result of the countrys economic activities based on the statement of Daly and Cobb (1989), GDP expresses the content of physical flows of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“capital, industrial production, services, resources and agricultural productà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. The scientific research has been conducted by Ligon and Sadoulet (2007) using a sample of 42 countries show that GDP growth, which comes from agriculture is at least twice as effective in reducing poverty compared to GDP growth coming from nonagricultural areas. In order to know the correlation between inflation and growth, Gokal, V. and Hanif, S. (2004), stated that the tests revealed that a weak negative correlation exists between inflation and growth, while the change in output gap bears significant bearing. The causality between the two variables ran one-way from GDP growth to inflation. While, according to some consensus exists, suggesting that macroeconomic stability, specifically defined as low inflation, is positively related to economic growth. 2.2 INDEPENDENT VARIABLES 2.2.1 INFLATION RATE (INF) Inflation on economic growth continues to be an important and complex topic in economics. If inflation has real economic effects, then governments can influence economic performance through monetary policy. Therefore, investigating how inflation affects economic growth pertains directly to the optimal design of monetary policy. According to Andres and Hernando (1999), for example, reducing inflation by one percentage point when the rate is 20 percent which results in an increase in the growth rate of 0.5 percent, compared to reducing inflation by one percentage point when the inflation rate is around 5 percent, which results in a decrease in the growth rate by 1 percent. Furthermore, a study by Mallik and Chowdhury (2001), the structuralisms argue that inflation is necessary for economic growth, whereas the monetarists argue the opposite, that is, inflation is detrimental to economic growth such debate started in the 1950s, focused on developing countries, which had long suffered fro m low-growth rates with high rates of inflation and larger deficits in the balance of payments. In order of inflation, the monetarists argue that price stability promotes economic growth and protects the balance of payments. They argue that inflation is major sources of economic instability because it weakens incentives for work and production, distorts the allocative efficiency of the market mechanism, erodes international competitiveness of the domestic industry, and reduces growth potential. They also argued that inflation damages economic growth by lowering domestic and foreign savings, reducing efficiency of resource allocation, and deteriorating the balance-of-payments. To monetarists, stable prices are the starting point in the process of economic development. The policy choice of a country would be stabilization with growth, or stabilization without growth. Several papers are typical of the monetarist tradition. To argue that, according to Fischer and Modigliani (1980) suggested a negative and nonlinear relationship between the rate of inflation and economic growth through the new growth theory mechanism proposed a model where the agents decide the level of labor output, and an increase in inflation reduces labor supply, and producing a decrease in economic production. On the other hand, a study by Mundell and Tobin (1965), the structuralizes argue that inflation normally accompanies economic growth in developing countries because structural rigidities and bottlenecks in supply sectors prevent the elastic supply of some basic commodities such as food, housing, energy, and transportation. Increased income as a result of growth would expand demand for such basic commodities, and prices would rise. The structuralize position is that economic difficulties in developing countries have roots deeper than just the results of inflation. Thus, structuralizes thought that inflationary pressures and det erioration in the balance of payments inevitably are attendant matters of economic growth. In developing countries, there thus would be a trade-off relationship between economic growth and inflation and an attendant deterioration in balance of payments. If a developing country wants stabilization of prices and balance of payments, it must reduce the speed of economic growth, including a sacrifice of employment. Among scholars who support the structuralize position on a positive relationship between inflation and economic performance, predict a positive relationship between the rate of inflation and the rate of capital accumulation, which in turn implies a positive relationship to the rate of economic growth. But, DeGregorio (1996) and Fischer (1926) pointed out, since money and capital are substitutable, an increase in the rate of inflation increases capital accumulation by shifts in portfolios from money to capital and thereby stimulate a higher rate of economic growth was the first to establish a negative correlation between inflation and unemployment. According to Grier and Grier (2006), it presents evidence on the real effects of inflation and inflation uncertainty on output growth. Their main findings are as follows: Inflation uncertainty has a negative and significant effect on growth Once the effect of inflation uncertainty is accounted for, lagged inflation does not have a direct negative effect on output growth; and As predicted higher average inflation raises inflation uncertainty, and the overall net effect of average inflation on output growth. Differ with theory of Bortis, H. (2004), he argues that inflation is a macroeconomic phenomenon represented by a gap between global supply and global demand. Inflation affects the money-output relationship, as does deflation; both phenomena modify the purchasing power of money over domestic output. In this view, price indices cannot come to grips with the inflation phenomenon. While Cheng and Tan (2002) in their study inflation in Malaysia, suggested that main factors affecting Malaysian inflation were external (foreign trade, foreign direct investment and technology transfer). Malaysia has been comparatively successful in balancing strong economic growth with moderate levels of inflation in the periods preceding and following the Asian Financial crisis. Actually, empirical results related to low and medium inflation are of a mixed nature; some papers (mainly these analysing the developed economies) argues that moderate inflation negatively affects growth (e.g. Alexander, 1997, Gillm an et al. 2002; Gillman and Harris 2009; Gillman et al. 2001; Fischer 1993; De Gregorio 1992 and 1993) while other argues that moderate inflation is actually stimulating growth. On the theory side Friedman (1977) in his Nobel lecture argues that a positive relationship between the level of inflation and inflation uncertainty. Friedman points out higher inflation leading to greater uncertainty, which lowers welfare and efficiency of output growth. On the other hand, Ball (1992) formalizes Friedmans hypothesis using an asymmetric information game where public faces uncertainty regarding the type of policymaker in the office. One of the policymaker is willing to tolerate a recession to reduce inflation and the other is not. During the low inflation time, both type of policymakers will attempt and try to keep it low. But, when inflation is high, only the tough type or anti-inflation policymaker will bear the economic costs of disinflation. The argument that central banks should emphasize holding down inflation comes from the beliefs that inflation has an adverse effect on macroeconomic variables, such as output and productivity growth. According to Clark (1982), inflation causes misperception of the relative price levels and leads to inefficient investment plans and therefore affects productivity inversely. Furthermore, inflation erodes tax reductions for depreciation and raises the rental price of capital, which in turn causes a reduction in capital accumulation and therefore in labour productivity. In addition, according to Feldstein (1982) inflation disrupts investment plans by imposing a higher tax rate on corporate profits and through higher effective tax rates on corporate income and accordingly affects productivity (Gilson, 1984; Boskin et al., 1980). Finally, inflation distorts price signals and reduces the ability of economic agents to operate efficiently (Smyth, 1995). According to Chen and et al. (1991), it has documented a significant relationship between the US stock returns and real economic variables such as industrial production, real GNP, interest rates, inflation and money supply. Besides that, there are also otherwise arguments that there is no relation between inflation rate and gross domestic product in the long run. For instance, Faria and Carneiro (2001) investigate the relationship between inflation and output in the context of an economy facing persistent high inflation and they find that inflation does not affect real output in the long run, but that in the short-run inflation negatively affects output. In addition, scholars such as Sidrauski (1967) suggest that there is no relationship between inflation and economic growth, supporting the hypothesis of super neutrality of money. On the other hand, Sarel (1995) asserts that there is a nonlinear relationship between inflation and economic growth. Using 87 countries, he finds the existence of an inflation threshold of 8 percent. Above the threshold there is a negative relationship between inflation and economic growth, whereas under the threshold there is a positive but not significant relationship. The others studies in order to prove Sarels result, Judson and Orphanides (1996) divide Sarels sample of countries into three groups, and they find similar results to Sarel, finding a threshold of 10 percent. Ghosh and Phillips (1998a, b) study 145 countries in the period 1960-1990 again finding similar results. Paul et al. (1997) study 70 countries (of which 48 are developing economies) for the period 1960-1989. They find no causal relationship between inflation and economic growth in 40 percent of the countries, bidirectional causality among 20 percent of the countries, and unidirectional causality for the rest (either inflation to growth or vice versa). Lastly, Mendoza (1998) finds that inflation has had no effect on Mexicos long-run economic growth since he conducted the study of inflation in Mexico. 2.2.2 EMPLOYMENT Some of studies have been conducted to examine the relationship between gross domestic product and employment. For instance, according to Okun (1962) and Philips (1958), they found different relationship both of these. Okun found a negative correlation between unemployment and economic growth, then from both propositions it can be deduced a positive relationship between economic growth and inflation while Phillips proposed a positive relationship between inflation and unemployment implying the same type of relationship. In addition, Boltho and Glyn (1995) found elasticities of employment with respect to output growth in the order of 0.5 to 0.6 for a set of OECD countries. While according to Evangelista and Perani (1996) discovered evidence suggesting that restructuring of major economic sectors reduce the relationship between economic growth and employment. A specific research conducted by Seyfried, W., among the G7 countries (Canada was excluded), a positive and significant relationship between growth in value added and employment was found only in Germany and the US. In addition, according to Verdoon (1949) and Kaldor (1966), an increase in output growth of 1 percent leads to an increase in productivity and employment growth of half a percentage point each. It should be noted that the higher the productivity effects of growth, the more difficult it will be to keep unemployment from rising. According to Okuns Law an increase of the economic growth rate by 3 percent (above the normal rate) was expected to reduce the unemployment rate by 161 percentage point. Or, to put it the other way round: The gain of real GDP associated with a reduction in unemployment of one percentage point was estimated to be 3 percent. Several studies also have been conducted to examine the correlation exists between employment and inflation rate. One of the studies by Spithoven, A.H.G.M. (1995), by the end of the 1960s evidently there was no fixed relationship between unemployment and inflation. Empirical research revealed that the relationship was not consistent over time and varied sharply between countries. This was explained as follows: in the short run higher nominal wages attract more labour and engender a fall in the rates of unemployment. As soon as the workers recognize the wage rise to be purely nominal they abstain from work, and unemployment is restored to the pre-wage-rise level, but with a level of prices higher than before. Secondly, according to Brenner (1991), confronted with a combination of unemployment and inflation (stagflation), many governments abandoned efforts to regulate the economy by the Keynesian instruments. They declared fiscal policies ineffective and sought refuge in a mixture of m onetary measures with supply-side economics. According to Keynes (1946), the volume of employment is given by the point of intersection between the aggregate demand function and the aggregate supply function. This was naively interpreted and construed to imply that a rise in costs à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" and with this was meant a rise in costs owing to increasing government expenditure à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" will result in an upward shift of the supply curve and will cause greater unemployment and inflation. CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND DESIGN 3.1 MODEL SPECIFICATION This study is to examine the correlation exists between inflation rate and total employment with gross domestic product. It uses secondary data which is based on time series data. The collection of time series data from 1982 to 2006 and the scope is in Malaysia. The researcher applied STATA software to process the data and log-log model in this study. The model applied a log transformation, since log transformations help, at least partially, to eliminate the strong asymmetry in the distribution of inflation (Sarel, 1995) and (Ghosh and Phillips, 1998a, b). The logarithm equation is written in the Equation 3.1. GDP = ÃŽÂ ± + ÃŽÂ ²1In(INF) + ÃŽÂ ²2ln(EMP) + ÃŽÂ µ (Equation 3.1) Where, GDP = Gross Domestic Product ÃŽÂ ± = Constant ÃŽÂ ²1 = Inflation ÃŽÂ ²2 = Employment ÃŽÂ µ = Error term In above equation, it shows clearly dependent variable that has been applied in this study is gross domestic product, besides that, the researcher also used two independent variables which are quantitative variables, they are inflation rate and total employment. 3.1.1 DEPENDENT VARIABLE The dependent variable is the variable of primary interest to the researcher. The researchers goal is to understand and describe the dependent variable, and to explain its variability, or predict it (Sekaran, 2006). Dependent variable of this study is factor contributed to the gross domestic product. According to Zikmund (2000), independent variable is a criterion that predicted or explained. It show that the component contributed to improving of gross domestic product depend on the listed independent variables. 3.1.2 INDEPENDENT VARIABLES According to Zikmund (2000), independent variables that expected to influence the dependent variable. Refer to (Burn and Bush, 2000), independent variables are those variables over which the researcher has some control and wishes to manipulate. In this study, two independent variables will influence the dependent variables. They are inflation rate and employment. 3.2 DATA SET AND METHODOLOGY The collections of data in this research only gain from secondary data and based on time series data which are from 2000 to 2010. The researcher has considered annual data of real GDP, inflation rate and employment. All the data on the growth rate of real GDP, Inflation and total employment were obtained from Department of Statistics Malaysia database. GDP is considered per capita. In addition, according to Aigenger (2005) per capita real GDP is also used as an alternative measure of productivity, as some theoretical models do. Moreover, according to OECD (2001), living standards as represented by per capita income reflects productivity since the former is determined, to a significant extent, by the latter. CPI consider in weight 100 while employment in number of labor. The variables were selected based on relevant economic theories that allow for the interaction among inflation rate and total employment in addition to response to GDP. 3.3 TECHNIQUE ANALYSIS DATA In this research, the researcher has applied unit SPSS in order to determine time series data is stationary or non stationary about the correlation between inflation rate and employment with gross domestic product. The researcher examines the existence of a long-run relationship between inflation and employment with GDP using a vector error-correction model (VECM) after applying Johansens (1988, 1990, and 1995) cointegration technique. We conduct a test for weak exogeneity in order to do inference. Then, the researcher conduct stability test by using Jarque Bera test in order to test normality distribution between the variables selected. Finally, a modified version of the Granger causality test is applied in order to analyze causality between the variables. 3.4.1.1 Multiple Regression Analysis Multiple Linear regression analysis is an analysis of the relationship between one variable (dependent variable) and set of variable (independent variables). It is used by the researcher to test the hypothesis. As in all hypothesis tests, the goal is to reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis. This technique will identify how much of the variance in the dependent variables can be explained by independent variables. This analysis is used primarily for the purpose of prediction. The regression model can be used to predict the value of the proposed model in the study is: GDP = f (INF, EMP) GDP = ÃŽÂ ± + ÃŽÂ ²1 Inflation+ ÃŽÂ ²2 Employment + ÃŽÂ µ Where, GDP = Gross Domestic Pr Relationship between Inflation Rates and Employment Relationship between Inflation Rates and Employment CHAPTER 1 Gross Domestic Product as an indicator of wealth and therefore quality of life has long been criticized (Mederly, P. and et al. 2003). Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the value of total production of goods and services in a country over a specified period, typically a year. The gross domestic product (GDP) or gross domestic income (GDI) is a measure of a countrys overall economic output GDP can be determined in three ways, all of which should in principle give the same result. The most direct of the three is the product approach, which sums the outputs of every class of enterprise to arrive at the total. The expenditure approach works on the principle that all of the product must be bought by somebody, therefore the value of the total product must be equal to peoples total expenditures in buying things. The income approach works on the principle that the incomes of the productive factor must be equal to the value of their product, and determines GDP by finding the sum of all producer s incomes (Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S Department of Commerce, 2007). The most common approach to measure GDP is the expenditure method: GDP= private consumption + gross investment + government spending + (exports à ¢Ã‹â€ imports) GDP = C + I + G + (X-M) (Equation 1.1) An event in 1975 that remind us the current GDP in our country where the Malaysian economy slumped into its great recession, with a GDP growth rate of only 0.8 percent, compared to 8.3 percent in 1974. This is one of the effects of increase in oil prices and then substantial price increase in 1973 were bought about mainly shortage of food and raw materials arising from bad weather and increased aggregate demand (Cheng, M.Y. and Tan,.H.B. 2002). According to the above circumstances occurred in 1975, the researcher has choosing one of variables that may relate with fluctuation of GDP which is inflation rate. Inflation means either an increase in the money supply or an increase in price levels. Generally, when we hear about inflation, we are hearing about a rise in prices compared to some benchmark. The study of the effects of inflation on economic growth continues to be an important and complex topic in economics. If inflation has real economic effects, then governments can influence economic performance through monetary policy (Risso, W.A and Carrera, E.J.S, 2009). Therefore, investigating how inflation affects economic growth pertains directly to the optimal design of monetary policy. Results from such studies are particularly important for economies. Besides the inflation, the researcher has considered total employment as one of the variable in the model since economic growth and employment are correlated between each others. The relationship between unemployment and GDP is called Okuns law. It is the association of a higher national economic output with the decrease in national unemployment. This is because in order to increase the economic output of a country, people will need to go back to work, thus lowering unemployment. In order to support the relationship exist between GDP and employment, the researcher has found out the issue supporting the theory that GDP and employment has a positive relationship between each others. According to Hassan, M.K.H. and et al. (2010), in the period of 1996 -1997, the manufacturing sector experienced a rapid growth producing the employment rate in the sector to grow at 7.7 percent per annum but later declining to negative 3.6 percent in 1998 due to the economic recession. In addition, in year 2000, the Malaysian manufacturing sector contributed 33.4% to gross domestic product (GDP), 85.2% to total export and 27.6% to total employment. 1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT Inflation is a major source of economic instability because it weakens incentives for work and production, distorts the allocate efficiency of the market mechanism, erodes international competitiveness of the domestic industry, and reduces growth potential. According to study by Fischer and Modigliani (1980) suggested a negative and nonlinear relationship between the rate of inflation and economic growth through the new growth theory mechanism. Furthermore, inflation also damages economic growth by lowering domestic and foreign savings, reducing efficiency of resource allocation, and deteriorating the balance-of payments (Risso, W.A. and Carrera, E.J.S., 2009). According to Cheng, M.Y. and Tan, H.B. (2002), the economy has experienced episode of high (1973-1974, 1980-1981) and low (1985-1987) regimes of inflation, and was able to contain low and stable inflation during the high economy growth period of 1988-1996. The second problem statement that should be concerns since the employment can affect the economic growth and it is important variable to determine the quality of production for national output and next will influence the GDP of our country. For example, in the early 1990s, the unemployment rate increased for about a year following the end of the previous recession. Coming out of a recession, companies are thought to be reluctant to hire many more workers until they are convinced about the sustainability of a new economic recovery while people who had left the labor force during the recession return to seek to find jobs (Seyfried, W.). Therefore, the researcher conducts this research in order to examine the correlation exists between inflation rate and employment with GDP so that we can help the country to mitigate the problem occurs by supporting the governments policies to increase the countrys GDP. In addition, this research also useful since the results of the studies can be used in policys decision for resource allocation in order to accelerate economic growth. 1.3 OBJECTIVES The objectives of the study are to: 1.3.1 Analyze the relationship between Inflation Rate and Gross Domestic Product in terms of magnitude and direction. 1.3.2 Analyze the relationship between Total Employment and Gross Domestic Product in terms of magnitude and direction. 1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The significances of this study are as follow: 1.4.1 Researcher This study will help the researcher to complete their course requirement and will be as guidelines for their field of work in the future. The researcher can gain many experiences in order to complete this research. There are lot of weaknesses may be obtained and this will encourage the researcher to provide the better research in the future. Future researcher will know and more understanding about gross domestic product when conduct this research. It will give the knowledge to the researcher to identify the correlation exist between inflation rate and employment and it always make the researcher briefing to know deeply and applied the study. 1.4.2 Organization This study might help the organization in analyzing the countrys economic condition in order to prevent and reduce the risk during the inflation and know the effects of the crisis occurs to them. This study also may give some guidance to them to protect their company and industry itself. 1.4.3 Public This study can inform and gives some knowledge to the public the relationship between economic growth, inflation rate and employment. They also can make preparation to face the increasing in inflation rate and able to survive in that situation. 1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY The researcher chooses to conduct the research about GDP in Malaysia from 2000 until 2010 In this study, the researcher wants to determine the correlation exist between inflation rate and employment with GDP in Malaysia. It is important because as economic planners and forecasters used the GDP per capita in monitoring economic growth trend for time series. The collection of data of GDP, inflation rate and total employment were collected from Department Of Statistics Malaysia in quarterly basis. 1.6 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Figure 1.1: Theoretical Framework INFLATION RATE GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT EMPLOYMENT RATE RATE Independent variables Dependent Variable Figure 1.1 represents the dependent variable and independent variables in this study. The function of theoretical framework has been clarified by Sekaran, U. (2003) which is a conceptual model of how one theorizes or makes logical sense of the relationship among the several factors that have been identified as important to the problem. Figure above clearly discuss the correlation between Gross Domestic Product which is variable primary to the researcher while Inflation Rate and Employment act as independent variable which is influences the dependent variable. 1.7 HYPOTHESIS In classical test of significant, two kind of hypothesis are used. They are Null Hypothesis and Alternate Hypothesis. Hypothesis is a conjectural statement that describes the relationship among variable even negative or positive. Null hypothesis which is represent by H0 symbol to show that the relationship between independent and dependent variable is not exist. However alternate hypothesis is representing by H1 symbol to show that the relationship is existing between both dependent and independent variable. According to Sakaran (2004), a hypothesis defines as a logically conjectured relationship between two or more variables expressed in the form of testable statement. Relationship a conjectured on the basis on the network of associations established in the theoretical framework formulated for the research study. There are two hypotheses that can describes the correlation exists between dependent variable and independent variables. Therefore the hypothesis that can be tested as follows: Inflation and GDP H0: there is no significant relationship between inflation and GDP. H1: there is a significant relationship between inflation and GDP. Employment and GDP H0: there is no significant relationship between employment and GDP. H1: there is a significant relationship between employment and GDP. 1.8 LIMITATION / CONSTRAINTS The limitations / constraints are: 1.8.1 Time constraint The length of time is limited since the researcher does not have much time to make detailed research. The time provided only three months and the researcher need to divide time properly to complete the research because the process of collecting data is quite difficult. 1.8.2 Cost constraint The cost involves is quite high since as a student, the researcher only depend on the loan applied. Examples of cost involve in order completing this research such as cost of printing, cost of maintaining the laptop, cost of surfing the internet and etc. 1.8.3 Data constraint Since the researcher use the secondary data, the collection of data that have been publish are so limited and the related material are not very supporting the topic of research. 1.8.4 Lack of experience The researcher is less of experience in conducting the research therefore needs to refer the researchers advisor to process the data and learning the skill that needed as a good researcher. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 DEPENDENT VARIABLE 2.1.1 GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP) Generally, according to Chan, W.W. and Lam, J.C. (2000), gross domestic product is a common measure of the economic well-being of a society. When government officials plan for the future, they consider the various economics sectors contributed to the gross domestic products. In the other study by Ivanov, S. and Webster, C. (2007), they use the growth of real GDP per capita gr as a measure of economic growth in line with other publications in the field (see Ivanov and Webster, 2007; Lopes et al., 2002; Plosser, 1992). The function of GDP also has been explained by Kosmidou, K. (2008) where gross domestic product (GDP) is among the most commonly used macroeconomic indicators, as it is a measure of total economic activity within an economy. The gross domestic product growth (GDPGR), calculated as the annual change of the GDP, is used as a measure of the macroeconomic conditions. The significance between GDP, foreign trade and foreign direct investment has been discussed by Liu Ying and Cui Riming (2008) where the economy is highlighted by the significant performance of both its economic growth and its foreign trade and foreign direct investment. Under this background, the correlation of foreign trade, foreign direct investments and economic growth in has become an important issue for academic research. Previous studies support that foreign trade and foreign direct investment have positive impacts on gross domestic product (GDP). In the study by Malul, M. and et al. (2008), the GDPpc is used mainly to compare the standard of living in different countries. It means that the higher of cost of living in a country, the higher earning of gross domestic product of the country. According to Wong, K.Y.(2008),economic growth of an economy refers to the expansion of its production possibility set, as a result of accumulation of primary factors such as labor and capital (physical and human), or improvement of production technologies. However, because the production possibility frontier (PPF) of an economy is not observable, economic growth is usually measured in terms of the growth rate of some observable variables such as real GDP or real per capita GDP. Besides that GDP also one of the result of the countrys economic activities based on the statement of Daly and Cobb (1989), GDP expresses the content of physical flows of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“capital, industrial production, services, resources and agricultural productà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. The scientific research has been conducted by Ligon and Sadoulet (2007) using a sample of 42 countries show that GDP growth, which comes from agriculture is at least twice as effective in reducing poverty compared to GDP growth coming from nonagricultural areas. In order to know the correlation between inflation and growth, Gokal, V. and Hanif, S. (2004), stated that the tests revealed that a weak negative correlation exists between inflation and growth, while the change in output gap bears significant bearing. The causality between the two variables ran one-way from GDP growth to inflation. While, according to some consensus exists, suggesting that macroeconomic stability, specifically defined as low inflation, is positively related to economic growth. 2.2 INDEPENDENT VARIABLES 2.2.1 INFLATION RATE (INF) Inflation on economic growth continues to be an important and complex topic in economics. If inflation has real economic effects, then governments can influence economic performance through monetary policy. Therefore, investigating how inflation affects economic growth pertains directly to the optimal design of monetary policy. According to Andres and Hernando (1999), for example, reducing inflation by one percentage point when the rate is 20 percent which results in an increase in the growth rate of 0.5 percent, compared to reducing inflation by one percentage point when the inflation rate is around 5 percent, which results in a decrease in the growth rate by 1 percent. Furthermore, a study by Mallik and Chowdhury (2001), the structuralisms argue that inflation is necessary for economic growth, whereas the monetarists argue the opposite, that is, inflation is detrimental to economic growth such debate started in the 1950s, focused on developing countries, which had long suffered fro m low-growth rates with high rates of inflation and larger deficits in the balance of payments. In order of inflation, the monetarists argue that price stability promotes economic growth and protects the balance of payments. They argue that inflation is major sources of economic instability because it weakens incentives for work and production, distorts the allocative efficiency of the market mechanism, erodes international competitiveness of the domestic industry, and reduces growth potential. They also argued that inflation damages economic growth by lowering domestic and foreign savings, reducing efficiency of resource allocation, and deteriorating the balance-of-payments. To monetarists, stable prices are the starting point in the process of economic development. The policy choice of a country would be stabilization with growth, or stabilization without growth. Several papers are typical of the monetarist tradition. To argue that, according to Fischer and Modigliani (1980) suggested a negative and nonlinear relationship between the rate of inflation and economic growth through the new growth theory mechanism proposed a model where the agents decide the level of labor output, and an increase in inflation reduces labor supply, and producing a decrease in economic production. On the other hand, a study by Mundell and Tobin (1965), the structuralizes argue that inflation normally accompanies economic growth in developing countries because structural rigidities and bottlenecks in supply sectors prevent the elastic supply of some basic commodities such as food, housing, energy, and transportation. Increased income as a result of growth would expand demand for such basic commodities, and prices would rise. The structuralize position is that economic difficulties in developing countries have roots deeper than just the results of inflation. Thus, structuralizes thought that inflationary pressures and det erioration in the balance of payments inevitably are attendant matters of economic growth. In developing countries, there thus would be a trade-off relationship between economic growth and inflation and an attendant deterioration in balance of payments. If a developing country wants stabilization of prices and balance of payments, it must reduce the speed of economic growth, including a sacrifice of employment. Among scholars who support the structuralize position on a positive relationship between inflation and economic performance, predict a positive relationship between the rate of inflation and the rate of capital accumulation, which in turn implies a positive relationship to the rate of economic growth. But, DeGregorio (1996) and Fischer (1926) pointed out, since money and capital are substitutable, an increase in the rate of inflation increases capital accumulation by shifts in portfolios from money to capital and thereby stimulate a higher rate of economic growth was the first to establish a negative correlation between inflation and unemployment. According to Grier and Grier (2006), it presents evidence on the real effects of inflation and inflation uncertainty on output growth. Their main findings are as follows: Inflation uncertainty has a negative and significant effect on growth Once the effect of inflation uncertainty is accounted for, lagged inflation does not have a direct negative effect on output growth; and As predicted higher average inflation raises inflation uncertainty, and the overall net effect of average inflation on output growth. Differ with theory of Bortis, H. (2004), he argues that inflation is a macroeconomic phenomenon represented by a gap between global supply and global demand. Inflation affects the money-output relationship, as does deflation; both phenomena modify the purchasing power of money over domestic output. In this view, price indices cannot come to grips with the inflation phenomenon. While Cheng and Tan (2002) in their study inflation in Malaysia, suggested that main factors affecting Malaysian inflation were external (foreign trade, foreign direct investment and technology transfer). Malaysia has been comparatively successful in balancing strong economic growth with moderate levels of inflation in the periods preceding and following the Asian Financial crisis. Actually, empirical results related to low and medium inflation are of a mixed nature; some papers (mainly these analysing the developed economies) argues that moderate inflation negatively affects growth (e.g. Alexander, 1997, Gillm an et al. 2002; Gillman and Harris 2009; Gillman et al. 2001; Fischer 1993; De Gregorio 1992 and 1993) while other argues that moderate inflation is actually stimulating growth. On the theory side Friedman (1977) in his Nobel lecture argues that a positive relationship between the level of inflation and inflation uncertainty. Friedman points out higher inflation leading to greater uncertainty, which lowers welfare and efficiency of output growth. On the other hand, Ball (1992) formalizes Friedmans hypothesis using an asymmetric information game where public faces uncertainty regarding the type of policymaker in the office. One of the policymaker is willing to tolerate a recession to reduce inflation and the other is not. During the low inflation time, both type of policymakers will attempt and try to keep it low. But, when inflation is high, only the tough type or anti-inflation policymaker will bear the economic costs of disinflation. The argument that central banks should emphasize holding down inflation comes from the beliefs that inflation has an adverse effect on macroeconomic variables, such as output and productivity growth. According to Clark (1982), inflation causes misperception of the relative price levels and leads to inefficient investment plans and therefore affects productivity inversely. Furthermore, inflation erodes tax reductions for depreciation and raises the rental price of capital, which in turn causes a reduction in capital accumulation and therefore in labour productivity. In addition, according to Feldstein (1982) inflation disrupts investment plans by imposing a higher tax rate on corporate profits and through higher effective tax rates on corporate income and accordingly affects productivity (Gilson, 1984; Boskin et al., 1980). Finally, inflation distorts price signals and reduces the ability of economic agents to operate efficiently (Smyth, 1995). According to Chen and et al. (1991), it has documented a significant relationship between the US stock returns and real economic variables such as industrial production, real GNP, interest rates, inflation and money supply. Besides that, there are also otherwise arguments that there is no relation between inflation rate and gross domestic product in the long run. For instance, Faria and Carneiro (2001) investigate the relationship between inflation and output in the context of an economy facing persistent high inflation and they find that inflation does not affect real output in the long run, but that in the short-run inflation negatively affects output. In addition, scholars such as Sidrauski (1967) suggest that there is no relationship between inflation and economic growth, supporting the hypothesis of super neutrality of money. On the other hand, Sarel (1995) asserts that there is a nonlinear relationship between inflation and economic growth. Using 87 countries, he finds the existence of an inflation threshold of 8 percent. Above the threshold there is a negative relationship between inflation and economic growth, whereas under the threshold there is a positive but not significant relationship. The others studies in order to prove Sarels result, Judson and Orphanides (1996) divide Sarels sample of countries into three groups, and they find similar results to Sarel, finding a threshold of 10 percent. Ghosh and Phillips (1998a, b) study 145 countries in the period 1960-1990 again finding similar results. Paul et al. (1997) study 70 countries (of which 48 are developing economies) for the period 1960-1989. They find no causal relationship between inflation and economic growth in 40 percent of the countries, bidirectional causality among 20 percent of the countries, and unidirectional causality for the rest (either inflation to growth or vice versa). Lastly, Mendoza (1998) finds that inflation has had no effect on Mexicos long-run economic growth since he conducted the study of inflation in Mexico. 2.2.2 EMPLOYMENT Some of studies have been conducted to examine the relationship between gross domestic product and employment. For instance, according to Okun (1962) and Philips (1958), they found different relationship both of these. Okun found a negative correlation between unemployment and economic growth, then from both propositions it can be deduced a positive relationship between economic growth and inflation while Phillips proposed a positive relationship between inflation and unemployment implying the same type of relationship. In addition, Boltho and Glyn (1995) found elasticities of employment with respect to output growth in the order of 0.5 to 0.6 for a set of OECD countries. While according to Evangelista and Perani (1996) discovered evidence suggesting that restructuring of major economic sectors reduce the relationship between economic growth and employment. A specific research conducted by Seyfried, W., among the G7 countries (Canada was excluded), a positive and significant relationship between growth in value added and employment was found only in Germany and the US. In addition, according to Verdoon (1949) and Kaldor (1966), an increase in output growth of 1 percent leads to an increase in productivity and employment growth of half a percentage point each. It should be noted that the higher the productivity effects of growth, the more difficult it will be to keep unemployment from rising. According to Okuns Law an increase of the economic growth rate by 3 percent (above the normal rate) was expected to reduce the unemployment rate by 161 percentage point. Or, to put it the other way round: The gain of real GDP associated with a reduction in unemployment of one percentage point was estimated to be 3 percent. Several studies also have been conducted to examine the correlation exists between employment and inflation rate. One of the studies by Spithoven, A.H.G.M. (1995), by the end of the 1960s evidently there was no fixed relationship between unemployment and inflation. Empirical research revealed that the relationship was not consistent over time and varied sharply between countries. This was explained as follows: in the short run higher nominal wages attract more labour and engender a fall in the rates of unemployment. As soon as the workers recognize the wage rise to be purely nominal they abstain from work, and unemployment is restored to the pre-wage-rise level, but with a level of prices higher than before. Secondly, according to Brenner (1991), confronted with a combination of unemployment and inflation (stagflation), many governments abandoned efforts to regulate the economy by the Keynesian instruments. They declared fiscal policies ineffective and sought refuge in a mixture of m onetary measures with supply-side economics. According to Keynes (1946), the volume of employment is given by the point of intersection between the aggregate demand function and the aggregate supply function. This was naively interpreted and construed to imply that a rise in costs à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" and with this was meant a rise in costs owing to increasing government expenditure à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" will result in an upward shift of the supply curve and will cause greater unemployment and inflation. CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND DESIGN 3.1 MODEL SPECIFICATION This study is to examine the correlation exists between inflation rate and total employment with gross domestic product. It uses secondary data which is based on time series data. The collection of time series data from 1982 to 2006 and the scope is in Malaysia. The researcher applied STATA software to process the data and log-log model in this study. The model applied a log transformation, since log transformations help, at least partially, to eliminate the strong asymmetry in the distribution of inflation (Sarel, 1995) and (Ghosh and Phillips, 1998a, b). The logarithm equation is written in the Equation 3.1. GDP = ÃŽÂ ± + ÃŽÂ ²1In(INF) + ÃŽÂ ²2ln(EMP) + ÃŽÂ µ (Equation 3.1) Where, GDP = Gross Domestic Product ÃŽÂ ± = Constant ÃŽÂ ²1 = Inflation ÃŽÂ ²2 = Employment ÃŽÂ µ = Error term In above equation, it shows clearly dependent variable that has been applied in this study is gross domestic product, besides that, the researcher also used two independent variables which are quantitative variables, they are inflation rate and total employment. 3.1.1 DEPENDENT VARIABLE The dependent variable is the variable of primary interest to the researcher. The researchers goal is to understand and describe the dependent variable, and to explain its variability, or predict it (Sekaran, 2006). Dependent variable of this study is factor contributed to the gross domestic product. According to Zikmund (2000), independent variable is a criterion that predicted or explained. It show that the component contributed to improving of gross domestic product depend on the listed independent variables. 3.1.2 INDEPENDENT VARIABLES According to Zikmund (2000), independent variables that expected to influence the dependent variable. Refer to (Burn and Bush, 2000), independent variables are those variables over which the researcher has some control and wishes to manipulate. In this study, two independent variables will influence the dependent variables. They are inflation rate and employment. 3.2 DATA SET AND METHODOLOGY The collections of data in this research only gain from secondary data and based on time series data which are from 2000 to 2010. The researcher has considered annual data of real GDP, inflation rate and employment. All the data on the growth rate of real GDP, Inflation and total employment were obtained from Department of Statistics Malaysia database. GDP is considered per capita. In addition, according to Aigenger (2005) per capita real GDP is also used as an alternative measure of productivity, as some theoretical models do. Moreover, according to OECD (2001), living standards as represented by per capita income reflects productivity since the former is determined, to a significant extent, by the latter. CPI consider in weight 100 while employment in number of labor. The variables were selected based on relevant economic theories that allow for the interaction among inflation rate and total employment in addition to response to GDP. 3.3 TECHNIQUE ANALYSIS DATA In this research, the researcher has applied unit SPSS in order to determine time series data is stationary or non stationary about the correlation between inflation rate and employment with gross domestic product. The researcher examines the existence of a long-run relationship between inflation and employment with GDP using a vector error-correction model (VECM) after applying Johansens (1988, 1990, and 1995) cointegration technique. We conduct a test for weak exogeneity in order to do inference. Then, the researcher conduct stability test by using Jarque Bera test in order to test normality distribution between the variables selected. Finally, a modified version of the Granger causality test is applied in order to analyze causality between the variables. 3.4.1.1 Multiple Regression Analysis Multiple Linear regression analysis is an analysis of the relationship between one variable (dependent variable) and set of variable (independent variables). It is used by the researcher to test the hypothesis. As in all hypothesis tests, the goal is to reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis. This technique will identify how much of the variance in the dependent variables can be explained by independent variables. This analysis is used primarily for the purpose of prediction. The regression model can be used to predict the value of the proposed model in the study is: GDP = f (INF, EMP) GDP = ÃŽÂ ± + ÃŽÂ ²1 Inflation+ ÃŽÂ ²2 Employment + ÃŽÂ µ Where, GDP = Gross Domestic Pr