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Australia Most Australians are governed by three levels of government - local, state and federal. For instance, a family living in Sydney would have the Sydney City Council (local) looking after such things as garbage collection, park maintenance and dog controls. Australians pay their local government by paying "rates" - paid according to the area and position of any land that you own. They would then be governed by the New South Wales Government, which would look after such things as roads, and the police force. Finally, they are governed by the Australian (Federal) Government, which is involved with trade, foreign affairs and the national treasury. Both the State and Federal Governments are paid through income tax. Australian governments at a State and Federal level are run according to the Westminster System, used in England. This means that there are two houses of Parliament, a lower house (The House Of Representatives) and an upper house (The Senate). Decisions put forward and approved in the House of Representatives must then be approved a second time by the Senate. The only exception to this is the Queensland Government, which has only a House of Representatives. Local governments are stationed in centre of the town or city that they provide to. State governments are run from the state capitals, while the Federal Government sits in Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory. There are six states, and two major territories in Australia. The states are: Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia. The two territories are the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory. Australia also has a number of areas run by the Federal Government (dependent areas). These include the Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, the Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island, the McDonald Islands and Norfolk Island. Britain originally ruled Australia as a penal colony after it was discovery in 1788. However, on January 1st, 1901, Australia's six states were unified ("federated") into one nation, formally known (and still known) as the

Opportunity Advantage and main challenge for a foreign company that wishes to establish business in China Essay

Economic growth of countries is largely contributed by the competitive advantage that it poses and which puts it ahead in terms of resources over the other economies. Michael Porter describes competitive advantage under factors such as the demand conditions, related industries, factors of production and corporate strategy under his famous competitive â€Å"diamond† model. In this model he establishes the strengths of nations basing on their industries. The factors of production are essential for an industry in the production processes and they include logistics, skilled labor among others. These are the specialized factors of production which are created and not inherited. He also notes that other factors which can be termed as general factors include unskilled labor and raw materials and can easily be obtained by any company at any one time hence they do not lead to any competitive advantage of an economy whereas the specialized factors require sustained and heavy investment. These specialized factors lead to an economy’s competitive advantage because they can not be duplicated as they are valuable. Demand conditions on the other hand apply to the nature and the extent of demand that exists within nations which is concerned with the services or products. The higher the demand of products in a nation, the higher the pressure that is exerted on them to produce more through innovative practices in order to enhance their competitiveness in the market by producing high quality products. Related industries apply to the extent, international, and the existence of the competitive strength of the other industries in an economy. These industries enable the exchange of information hence resulting in a continuous exchange of innovations and ideas. Lastly corporate strategy, structure and rivalry refers to the conditions that exist in the domestic market which end up affecting the way corporations are created, grown and managed. Porter puts forward the idea that the home markets have to fight and work hard to increase the chances of surviving and succeeding in the international markets. This is because today’s markets are dynamic and firms have to work hard in order to increase its innovation and productivity and this can only be done through direct competition from these cor-operate organizations. In this â€Å"diamond† model, Porter states that the main role of the government is to act as a catalyst and at the same time a challenger by encouraging as well as pushing companies to increase their performance, stimulating demand that should be made early enough especially for advanced product, pay attention to the creation of specialized factors and stimulating the existence of local rivalry through the limitation of direct cooperation and also enforcing regulations concerning anti-trust (Porter, 24-30). In other words, Porter emphasizes on globalization by nations concerning their abilities to innovate and process a head of their competitors as the only means that nations can be able to increase their productivity gains hence gaining a competitive advantage. He also argues that in order to be able to gain this, competitive advantage, countries need to have the technological know how in order to enable them to capture greater value in the world market place by establishing areas that they would like to compete and it is the companies which have posed the ability to continuously innovate and improve that have been able to remain competitive (Harrison & Hargrove, 2005, 14). Porter also established five forces that are helpful in the analysis of competitive positions of nations. These forces are also helpful in the analysis of strategic plans as well as in the establishment of investment decisions that concerns organizations. The five forces include the existence of competitive rivalry between suppliers, threat of new market entrants, power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers as well as the threat of substitute products that includes the technological change. The new market entrants include ease and barriers on entry, geographical factors, new entrant strategy, and routes to market as well as the incumbents’ resistance. Supplier power applies to brand reputation, product/service level quality, and geographical coverage, bidding processes / capabilities and relationships with customers. Buyer power on the other hand refers to buyer choice, change cost or frequency, the buyer size, volumes and product/service importance. In addition, product and technology development includes the alternative price/quality, fashion and trends, market distribution changes and the legislative effects. Lastly, the competitive rivalry refers to the number and size of firms, fixed variable costs bases, the industry size and trends, differentiation and strategy as well as product / service ranges (Harrison & Hargroves, 2005, 14). According to Montgomery and Porter, the creation of a competitive advantage only exists through the creation of a process that is highly localized. They further argue that the factors that contribute to competitive success include the differences in culture, national values, institutions and histories and the economic structures (Porter & Montgomery, 135 – 136). This paper will focus on the opportunities, advantages and the main challenges for a foreign company that wishes to establish its business in China in some industry. China boasts of a good and stable economic growth which has mainly been linked to its domestic demand, foreign trade and investment that include foreign direct investment. This economic growth that China experiences has also been as a result of its emphasis on education and the constant monitoring by the government in order to enhance success at the local level. The Peoples Republic of China can also be described as one of the rapidly growing economies in history. It is also the world’s largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and China is currently focusing on the establishment of a free market economy. China’s Foreign Direct Investment is different compared with other economies. Its Foreign Direct Investment falls under the category of labor-sourcing which is mostly greenfield and it is mainly accompanied or stimulated by the low costs in production through the availability of the local labor which is cheap (Chung-Tong Wu, 122). This type of Foreign Direct Investment mainly comes fro a high-income economy and is eventually invested in an economy with a low income and not to those countries that poses similar income models. This is because during the process of development in an economy accompanied by high levels of economic development, the local currently of a country tends to generally appreciate and the production costs as well as labor costs also increase. The Foreign Direct Investment that exists in China which consists of the labor-sourcing is intended to effectively make use of the available cheap labor as well as performing some processes that are more labour-intensive or production activities. The products from this type of investment are mostly exported to third world countries or are sold in the domestic market belonging to this Foreign Direct Investment. The inflow of FDI results in a demonstration effect that identifies suitable market conditions necessary for fixed assets investment and this therefore causes an impact on the location of industries. This has also affected the regional income and export growth in Central West and East China since the 1990s. Moreover, the increases in the FDI – GDP ration has resulted in the increased industrial value added nationally in East China hence contributing to the positive growth in the regional income. However, this flow weakens the regional income. However, this flow weakens the regional income growth in central China (Chung-Tong Wu, 122). Domestic demand is also another factor that has contributed to China’s success in the global market, hence its future economic growth is highly dependent on this domestic demand and not the growth in its exports. The rise in incomes means that people will spend more and the state-owned enterprises, joint ventures, town-village enterprises and private enterprises are in a positive to increase their sales hence growth in domestic demand. The growth in domestic demand in China has enabled the country to attract foreign direct investment and the virtuous cycle of demand growth has been as a result of foreign direct investment growth and the growth in capital spending that is practiced by most Chinese firms (Huijiong, 36-38). The international trade that exists in China is also different from those that exist in other countries. 50% has been the share that involves the processing of export trade in China since 1995. In addition, the share of Foreign – Funded Enterprises has also been more than 50% since 2001. Moreover, the international trade in China can be linked to the inward Foreign Direct Investment. The labor-sourcing Foreign Direct Investment in China is export-oriented hence resulting in a direct and proportional relationship between the exports and Foreign Direct Investment. The higher the level of Foreign Direct Investment, the higher the level of exports in China. Therefore, China’s economic growth has been as a result of inward Foreign Direct Investment. China has been able to develop as a global location option for production by many economies because of the combination of its heavy and large investment accompanied by the existing hand working; inexpensive easily trained labor that is literate (Huijiong, 36-38). China has a lot of opportunities that favor anyone or any foreign investors who would like to establish their businesses in China. The country is also considered to be the third largest nation in the manufacturing industry specifically the semiconductor industry. Therefore China presents the best opportunity in the manufacturing sector and an integrated circuit market which is accelerating in which demand exceeds supply. China also has a market in PC that is the second largest in the world together with the largest market in handset. This therefore means that China has become one of the highest consumers of electronic products worldwide. The electronic growth in China is staggering hence emerging to be among the top leading nations in computing. Communications as well as consumer electronics. As a result, China has been able to be forecasted to be having the second largest market in semiconductor worldwide by the year 2010 (Huijiong, 36-38). China also has technological advances which have been able to attract foreign investment. This is as a result of the development of strict technological standards which have competed well with the more open standards around the world. The other opportunity and advantage is that China has been able to dominate mass manufacturing which has resulted into the provision of a low – cost base for manufacturing for foreign companies as well as for United States. The country is also considered to be a growing base for intellectual capital which is essential for scientific research work and development and provides a lot of opportunities in marketing for firm globally. China also boasts of having competitive advantage in areas of banking, insurance, retail and variety of services. Another opportunity is that the government of China has offered on-going government regulations which have lifted several restrictions on trade and this has made it easier for foreign companies and businesses to succeed. Moreover, several companies are now moving to China to establish their production processes since the country offers generous tax incentives, cheap labor as well as high productivity taxes. China also agrees to greater investment levels from multinational companies. Therefore, China offers both irresistible attractions to foreign investors and challenges as regards its cultural, legal and social differences (Huijiong, 36-38). In addition, the recent announcement made concerning local incorporation has led to the growth of foreign banks in markets in China. The factors that have led to the growth in investments in banks include a strong economy and a growing middle class, and the China’s terms on the World Trade Organization accession which has resulted in the opening up of China’s banking sector. The business climate in China is favourable hence providing the opportunities to open up markets and foreign investment. The country has also adopted a status position in the world Trade Organization. China is also increasingly developing to become a major supplier of various industrial products namely power transmission, machinery, telcom equipment, pipelines, distribution equipment, oil and gas industry equipment and automotive products. The existence of a favourable geographic location is also another opportunity that China presents. The country has unique geographic features including a climate that as favourable in the establishment of businesses, China also has a favourable cultural advantage since its culture forms the major source of Japanese and Asian cultures hence connecting East Asia and South economies. The majority of overseas Chinese worldwide have been able to control huge resources in the world hence aggressively investing in China. The local market available in China is attractive consistency of a large population of Chinese hence increasing the purchasing power of the Chinese. Therefore in terms of opportunities, China presents the opportunity for technology, investment, import, export, manufacturing among others which could be classified under social, economic, political and religious opportunities that are friendly to any one person or company that wishes to establish itself in China and succeeding in business (Huijiong, 36-38). China however has its challenges that affect the establishment of foreign companies. It is important to note that challenges are a part and parcel of the daily life that we undertake. These challenges also affect the way businesses are run and confronting them will require perseverance, knowledge and commitment. The challenges that are commonly experienced by today’s managers include risk management, changes that could be on-going in the business environment, management of the needs of the business people as well as fighting fraud. These challenges can be classified as under convergence, corporate reporting, fraud, corporate governance, intellectual property, managing change, improving business performance, managers and acquisitions, risk management, managing people, operating globally, sustainability, security and privacy. Shareholder value as well as job creation. These categories of challenges affect business operations as well as the opportunities for foreign investment in an economy. One of the main challenges that China poses to foreign investors is the cultural challenge as well as the political differences. This takes the form of language barriers and bureaucracy. People in China are not used to signing contracts which also includes the details concerning the joint venture and this takes a lot of time for them to be able to sign any contract for any business whatsoever. The business leaders in China are the ones who mostly study the behaviour of these people. They regard the written contract as secondary to the existing verbal agreement made. The challenge in Chinese culture can be best described by using coca-cola company as an example. This company came across this challenge in 1984 when it had tried to establish its business in China. Having signed a contract with the central government trading company in 1978, coke believed that it was in a better position and all the exclusive rights in the selling of their beverages in China (Harris and Robert, 120). Coke company encountered a rude shock since the government of China informed them that their exclusive rights were limited and not for the entire of China and they should sell their products in those places that they were initially allocated. In addition, since China is rapidly under the transformation from an agricultural economy to that of an urban society and also from a commanding economy to the more elaborate market economy, the government plays a huge role in the country’s planning activities and the entire economy more than any other western countries. This has resulted into the way the Chinese think which is bureaucratic. Therefore establishing a new business in China requires the knowledge of regulatory, monetary and legal issues that exist in China hence the need for respecting and understanding the culture of the Chinese people. The development of human resources and staffing a local team into management in China is also a challenge especially when it involves finding the right group of people to be in corpoorated into the business (Kirpalani, 1990, 186 – 188) As a challenge, there is lack of predictability in China’s business environment because of inexistence of a body of regulations and laws.

We Need a Constitutional Amendment to Protect the...

We Must Fight for the Constitutional Amendment to Protect the American Flag Free speech and the First Amendment rights do not give people lisence to desecrate a symbol of pride and freedom. It is not all right to protect those who let it burn, lighting up the sky with their hatred. It definitely is not acceptable to insult the men and women who fight every day to protect this nation by burning the symbol of their labors. Therefore, it is crucial that the Supreme Court pass the amendment to the Constitution to protect the flag of the US. When people see â€Å"Old Glory† flying, the experience should take their breath away. From the Omaha beaches in Normandy, where over three million soldiers stormed the German Nazis, to Iwo Jima, where†¦show more content†¦The flag of the United States has carried the same pride and symbolism for almost two-hundred and thirty years. Millions of American men and women have died to protect what it symbolizes: the freedom and rights of everyone who claims that flag. Moreover, it stands for the people who gave up their lives to defend this country. Yet some disrespectful people still defame that symbol with impunity. In outbursts all over the world, people burn, spit upon, or defile the American flag. This is the same as going to Arlington National Cemetery and spitting on the graves of our war heroes. It is tantamount to telling a soldiers mother that her son who fought to protect others died in vain. When a soldier, a policemen, a firemen or other officer dies, his or h er family is given a flag to console and honor them. When people defame it, they are insinuating that it is worthless. Flag desecration has been occurring for many decades. Finally in 1989, the Supreme Court ruled that the burning of an American flag was a protected form of free speech. How can the burning of the national symbol be protected by the constitution, when the forefathers who forged it were so devoted to that flag? If George Washington or Thomas Jefferson saw his flag desecrated as a form of free speech, he would be outraged over the audacity and disrespect of the offender. Although many people believeShow MoreRelatedThe Supreme Court Of The United States1140 Words   |  5 Pagessacred. As a nation, we must pick our fights and the hills we die on. It will not and never should be considered treason to burn the flag, however there is, like with most things a catch twenty-two. Publicly and privately the burning of the flag is accepted as freedom of speech, but once this simple gesture turns into a hazard we must act. President Trump and conservatives may view it as weak, but a system of penalties or citations would be the correct form of punishment. We should follow the leadRead MoreFlag Burning In America Persuasive Essa Essay example1314 Words   |  6 Pages 2014 Instructor Benjamin Perlin The American Flag can be seen in many public places. You see it in schools, government building, stores and hanging in our homes. Those stars and strips are a symbol of freedom to many people across the nation. But is also represents civil liberties that became the pillars this country was founded upon. Flag Burning should be legalized because it allows those who feel disenfranchised the freedom of speech, the Constitutional right to protest and in many importantRead MoreFlag Burning - a Persuasive Essay1044 Words   |  5 PagesFreedom of Speech: Flag Burning Flag burning has been one of the most controversial forms of nonviolent protests. It is often linked with the Middle East and Hezbollah with depictions of Arabs against President Bush burning the American flag. Americans are intimidated and threatened by this action, but that does not make it illegal. Supreme Court rulings have upheld that peaceful flag desecration is a form of political speech that should be protected by our Constitution (Flag Burning Myths). Read MoreFlag Desecration Essay5209 Words   |  21 PagesFlag Desecration The issue of flag desecration has been and continues to be a highly controversial issue; on the one side there are those who believe that the flag is a unique symbol for our nation which should be preserved at all costs, while on the other are those who believe that flag burning is a form of free speech and that any legislation designed to prevent this form of expression is contrary to the ideals of the First Amendment to our Constitution. Shawn Eichman, as well as the majorityRead MoreGregory Lee Johnson950 Words   |  4 PagesLee Johnson lit the American Flag on fire. Why would a man disrespect a symbol such as the American flag, that represents freedom, liberty and democracy? Was he protected by the constitutions first amendment? The Supreme Court answered all these questions we had by voting in favor of Johnson. Johnsons intentions were only political, and he as the freedom of speech. The Supreme Court was correct on this decision on letting Johnson go, since he was protected b y his amendments, and no matter whatRead More The Flag-burning Debate Continues Essay examples1186 Words   |  5 PagesThe Flag-burning Debate Continues      Ã‚   Nazis captured Jim Rogers. He was routinely beaten and given barely enough food to survive. During the time he spent in a World War II prisoner of war camp, he managed to keep his sanity by scraping together bits and pieces of colored cloth in order to make an American flag. As his fellow prisoners began to die, it was his American flag which provided him with a sense of identity and gave him the inspiration to keep living.    It is no wonder, thenRead MoreThe American Flag: More Than Just a Piece of Cloth3674 Words   |  15 PagesThe American Flag is the most widespread symbol Americans have. It took a disaster to make me realize how important it is. I would always wave the flag in a parade or on the Fourth of July, but I never really stopped to think about what I was doing. The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 are what changed my view. They caused me to reflect about our country and the value of saying, â€Å"I am an American.† After September 11th, there was an explosion of patriotism. Flags were bought and hung everywhereRead MoreDesecration Of The United States Flag1821 Words   |  8 Pagesprotestors to burn or disrespect the flag, than to allow the government to repress our birth rights by banning desecration of the flag. Deemed offensive by many citizens, and a form of symbolic speech by others, the constitutionality of flag desecration has been in question since the late 1800s. D esecration of the United States flag is constitutional, as a form of symbolic speech and protected under the First Amendment, even though many citizens do find it offensive. The flag has been a symbol for the UnitedRead More Flag Burning and the First Amendment2123 Words   |  9 Pages   Ã‚   Your First Amendment rights are extremely close to being violated by none other than the United States Congress. I refer to the Flag Desecration Bill that, if passed, would do irreparable damage to our right to free speech and undermine the very priniciples for which the American flag stands. Fortunately, West Virginians have an ally in Sen. Robert C. Byrd. Sen. Byrd, who previously favored the bill, now fights to protect our rights by stopping the passage of this bill. I applaud his standRead MoreEssay on Proclaim Your Freedom of Speech – Burn a Flag!2195 Words   |  9 PagesProclaim Your Freedom of Speech – Burn a Flag!      Ã‚  Ã‚   This flag, which we honor and under which we serve, is the emblem of our unity, our power, our thought and purpose as a nation. It has no other character than that which we give it from generation to generation. The choices are ours (quoted in Smith 87). This statement by Woodrow Wilson summarizes the debate over a proposed amendment to outlaw burning of the American flag. Is this symbol of our nation too powerful to be defiled in our collective