Business Law and Ethics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Business Law and Ethics - Assignment Example The implementation of professional boards in Kuwait has already started, and will not be a hard task, as Kuwait-based companies have already worked on realizing compliance with the standards required from professional boards. These standards include that the boards should only have seven members. One example of a compliant company’s professional board is that of Kuwait Finance & Investment Company which has implemented the seven-member professional board standard (Kuwait Finance & Investment Company 1). The company has also met the standard that the board members should be highly experienced in the business areas of the company. For instance, from the case of KF & IC, the different members were selected on the basis of their knowledge of the Kuwait business environs, and their experience in the financial and investment business (KF & IC 1). Compliance with the professional board standards is also demonstrated from the case of Kuwait and Middle East Financial Investment Company (KMEFIC), which has implemented the seven board member system (KMEFIC 1). Further, the board members were selected on the basis of their experience in the finance and investment business environment of Kuwait and the Middle East. The new system has been working in Kuwait, mainly because the Kuwait-based companies share in the needs to downsize the number of board members, as well as to prioritize the capacity of the members, towards contributing to the effective oversight of the company.  ... Compliance to the professional board standards is also demonstrated from the case of Kuwait and Middle East Financial Investment Company (KMEFIC), which has implemented the seven board member system (KMEFIC 1). Further, the board members were selected on the basis of their experience in the finance and investment business environment of Kuwait and the Middle East. The new system has been working in Kuwait, mainly because the Kuwait-based companies share in the needs to down-size the number of board members, as well as to prioritize the capacity of the members, towards contributing to the effective oversight of the company. Qn. 2. The gatekeepers are economic players affiliated to senior regime leaders and players (Hertog 290). The gatekeepers are the brokers that are best studied and documented in popular writings and western press, as actors that played a critical role around the senior figures in the regimes – ordinarily sheikhs and prices. The gatekeepers control the access of the VIPs of the region to high-level individuals, and also to the resources that the senior regime members could dispose (Hertog 291). Gatekeepers already existed during the pre-oil time, at Kuwait and other nations like Arabia, although their relevance increased with increase in the administrative complexity, the centralization and the riches of the gulf nations. Among the famous gatekeepers of the 1970s, which was an oil-boom time include Ghaith Pharaoh of Saudi Arabia (Hertog 291). They acted as the mediators between royal personalities like King Fadh, who was a Prince before, and Sultan, who was a prince in charge of the defense ministry. The gatekeepers addressed the finer details of national contracts, and scooped a very large share – allowing Western contractors to engage the

Basic law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Basic law - Essay Example A substitution might be necessary if the court decided a litigation guardian did not act in the best interests of the minor (Queen’s Bench Rules 2008). 5. The burden of proof in this case is carried by Gina Shez Maria Sobello, Jai Desmond Sorbello and Andre Giovani Sorbello. 6. The test of intention leads the court to the statement that it is permissible to have regard to the subsequent conduct of the parties for the purpose of ascertaining whether the intention to be attributed to them was to make a binding agreement or otherwise. 7. The common law presumptions the courts rely upon in deciding if the parties intended to be legally bound is that in social or domestic situations legal relations are not intended. In a business context, however, the courts will presume that the agreement was indented to be legally bounding. In relation to social cases such presumptions can be rebutted in an attempt to show that there was an attempt for legal relations (Online Legal Coach 2008). 8 . The English case mentioned in the process is Balfour v Balfour[1919] 2 KB 571; 35 T.L.R. 609 , King's Bench: a husband who worked abroad promised his wife who in England to sent 30 pounds monthly. Then they divorced and she brought that action for the money he promised to her but didn’t pay (Balfour v Balfour [1919] 2 KB 571; 35 T.L.R. 609). 9. The Queensland case cited in the judgment is Riches v Hogben [1986] 1 Qd R 315: a man agreed that his mother would give him a house in Australia if he moved there to take care of her. The family gave up his rent-free house, sold a car and other belongings to depart to Australia on time. The mother bought a house, however, did not put it in his name, but on hers, and made the man’s family leave her house. The son then sued in order to enforce the contract with the mother. The Full Court, however, found the contract unenforceable (Heffey, Paterson and Hocker 1998). Mullins J refers to Riches v Hogben stating that â€Å"It is pe rmissible to have regard to the subsequent conduct of the parties for the purpose of ascertaining whether the intention to be attributed to them was to make a binding agreement or otherwise† (Sorbello & Ors v. Sorbello & Anor [2005] QSC 219) 10. Mullins J concluded that the first defendant (John Sorbello) was an honest witness. As a result, John’s evidence evidence on the events was preferred to that of Mrs Anderson or Gina. 11. The order of the court was that the proceeding be dismissed. 12. Regarding the costs of the case, it was decided that Mrs Anderson, as his litigation guardian, was ordered responsible for any costs ordered against Andre. However, the issue of whether she should be ordered to pay all the costs of both defendants was questioned by the judge who promised to hear submissions from both parties regarding the costs. 13. I believe the decision was fair. There was no formal (written) contract. Part B 1. Considering that Harry, who was willing to sell the bar, is representing a business entity, here a contract between Monty and Harry according to the common presumption that in business situations legal relations are intended. Furthermore, the court would assume that the agreement was indented to be legally bounding. In addition, since option is a contract that signifies one party’s intention to acquire a legal right to buy something (Farlex, Inc.

How To Make Your Car Shine Essay Example for Free

How To Make Your Car Shine Essay Detailing a car is like art. You start off with a filthy car. Put some hard work and sweat into it. You, the artist, can turn it into a masterpiece! When I was a young boy, I would help my Dad detail his car every weekend. When I was fifteen, I got my driver’s permit and started detailing cars. I made a simple flyer with colored wording and flashy pictures of exotic sports cars and posted it in my neighborhood. At sixteen with my driver’s license and a car, my business took off. I have quite a bit of experience detailing cars and would like to share with you how to do it step by step. To detail a car properly, you must first start by doing a thorough cleaning of the interior, exterior, and finally by clay barring and waxing it. The first thing to do is to make sure you have a shaded area to work in, so your car won’t water spot while drying it. Having a garage is ideal. Remember to keep hydrated if it’s hot. Open all the doors and trunk. Remove any floor mats and give the carpet and upholstery a good vacuuming. While vacuuming use a skinny nozzle on the tube of the vacuum, so you can get in the hard to reach places, for instance in between the seat and center console and the under the seats and in between the seat crevasses. A lot of times when you vacuum sand is the most difficult to get out because it’s so small. There is also a lot of pebbles and dirt that get stuck in between the crevasses. It just requires diligence and patience with the vacuum to get this pesky filth out. Next wash the floor mats. If theyre rubber, use a brush and soap. Move the front seats full fore and aft to get to all the accumulated dirt and loose change. If the carpets are clean, except for a minor stain or two, use a foaming cleaner to get the stains out. Saturate the stain with cleaner, working it in with a damp sponge. Let it sit awhile and then blot it out with paper towels or a dry cotton cloth. When you remove the stains from the carpet a lot of times the cloth will turn brown or whatever the color of the stain is. That is a good indication to know if the stain is coming out. Repeat if necessary, and then go over the area with a damp sponge before final blotting. Dont over saturate the carpet and risk getting mildew. Next move onto the seats of the car. If the seats are made of cloth, just do a thorough vacuuming. If there are stains you wish to remove, I recommend using a foam carpet and upholstery cleaner. Some good brands for that product are Armor All and Meguiars. If the car seats are leather, use a leather cleaner/ conditioner. I recommend using Ice Total Interior Care. It is great for all interior surfaces including leather, vinyl, and even carpet stains. It cleans and conditions and doesn’t leave a slippery residue or smell. Apply the cleaner to a microfiber cloth or cotton cloth. But microfiber is the best. Then do circular motions on the seats. Leather seats tend to accumulate elbow grease, which makes lighter colored seats brown and gives it that greasy feeling. So it is good to be thorough and use generous amounts of leather cleaner/ conditioner. The color will be the same when it comes off on to the cloth. You may need to do a lot of rubbing and circular motions, to remove the grease/ dirt. Also it is good to fold over the cloth and use the clean side because you don’t want to rub off the dirt on the dirty side back on to the seat. Make sure you cover all the seats surfaces thoroughly to achieve maximum cleanliness. Frequently add more interior cleaner to the cloth and check the color of the cloth, as it will turn to a brown or black color depending on how dirty the seat is. It is good to fold the cloth to the other side so that you don’t wipe dirt back on to the seats from the dirty side. In worst case scenarios you may have to use more than one cloth. Also wipe down the dashboard real good because those tend to get dusty. In some instances some leather seats are really old and can be dry and cracked. I recommend using a leather conditioner and apply generously. Next move on to the windows. Use two clean microfiber cloths. I recommend using a product called Invisible Glass, because it is clean and easy to use and leaves hardly any residue. Spray the glass cleaner onto the cloth and wipe the windows thoroughly. Then use the second cloth to wipe off the excess film residue. Windows are tricky because you can’t always see film residue. You have to go back and check them and wipe again. My recommendation is work in good lighting. The last step in detailing the interior is to get q-tips. Dip them in water and get in between the air vents and all the small corners and crevasses because there will probably be dust in there. You will be surprised how black the q-tips turn if your air vents haven’t been cleaned in awhile. The next step is to clean the exterior of the car. To do this you will need a bucket, car wash soap (don’t use dishwasher soap as it will strip the car of wax), a sponge, brush and a lug nut brush. Start off by spraying down the rims. Sometimes rims have a lot of break dust that gives it a black color. This is especially common on European sports cars like BMWs, which are notorious for this. If your rims are really dirty and have a lot of brake dust, that’s hard to remove. I recommend using a tire and rim cleaner, which is a foam or spray that you put on the rims that helps to loosen the dirt. Use the sponge to clean the rims. Make sure you get the corners double-check them because rims with complex designs make it easy to miss a spot. Use the brush for the tires and lug nut brush to get in between the lug nuts. When removing brake dust using a sponge from the kitchen is the best because it’s small and easy to get into the small crevasses. Brake dust gets baked into the rims from the sun and heat. Which makes it annoyingly hard to get out. I like to use a sponge where half of it is rough, and the other half is smooth. Lightly use the rough side of the sponge and make light small circular motions on the stubborn brake dust to remove it, and that usually doest the trick. Then spray down the car and wash the car with the carwash soap and sponge. Make sure to frequently spray down the car, as you don’t want the water to dry on the car and cause water spots. Then move the car inside and dry with a good-quality chamois or a soft thick-nap terry cloth towel. Open all the doors and the trunk and use the cloth to wipe off the water inside the spaces and corners. Then you can spray tire shine on to the tires to make it look jet-black. Finally its time to clay bar and wax. This is the most tiring part of the process, but is also the most rewarding, because it makes the biggest difference in your car’s finish. Clay barring removes all the contaminants from your paint that are stuck onto the clear coat. These contaminants make your paint feel rough. These contaminants include deposits from acid rain, bird poop, dust, and tree sap. Clay barring makes the paint as smooth as glass and makes it shiny. The kit you need for doing this is called Meguiars Clay Barring Kit. First start by spraying the quick detail bottle evenly onto the paint surface. Use the bar of clay with back and forth motions until the bar starts to move freely across the paint. Frequently check the clay, as it will get dirty from picking up all the contaminants. Fold the clay over to a clean side and pinch off the real dirty pieces. When the car feels smooth, use a microfiber cloth to buff the paint. It should feel smooth as glass. Lastly use wax to protect your paint and give it the ultimate finish. I highly recommend using Turtle Wax Ice Liquid Polish because it goes on clear and doesn’t leave white dust. Use an applicator pad to apply the wax evenly on parts of the car. I like to wax half the car at a time. Then let it dry for a few minutes and then wipe it off with a microfiber cloth. Detailing a car is not an easy job and that is why many people pay someone to do it for them. The reason I detail cars is, because people pay well for car detailing services. If you follow the steps above, you will probably put in two to three hours or more and your car should be smooth and sparkling. When I return it to a customer and see the smile on their face and receive great compliments I receive great satisfaction knowing that the job was well done. Plus I am greatly rewarded with hard cash! I hope these instructions help you to achieve great car detailing!

Corporate Performance of Malaysian Public Companies

Corporate Performance of Malaysian Public Companies 1.0 Introduction and motivation of study The issues of ownership and corporate governance have been discussed broadly in the prior literature especially in developed markets. However, in emerging economies like Malaysia, the issues received a vigorous impetus when the Asian Financial Crisis (AFC) hit Malaysia with severity in 1997/98. The AFC had depressed the economy to negative 7.5% in 1998, around 84,000 people lost their job and Malaysian capital market lost estimated USD200 billion in term of market capitalization during the crisis (Series of Malaysia Economic Reports). At the same time, the value of Malaysian currency had been decrease dramatically from 2.52 ringgit to the US dollar in June, 1997 to a lowest of 4.50 ringgit to the US dollar in January, 1998 (Tourres, 2003), plunging the country into its first recession for many years. Weak financial systems, excessive foreign borrowing and lack of transparency were among factors that contributed to the crisis (Fischer, 1998). Following the AFC, the Malaysian government introduced several reform measures to enhance transparency and accountability to restoring market confidence and encourage more stable and long term international investment. Example of these are the establishment of the Malaysian Institute of Corporate Governance (MICG) in 1998, the introduction of Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance (MCCG) in March 2000  [1]  which codified the principles and best practices of good governance and the launched of Malaysias Capital Market Master Plan in 2002 as a comprehensive plan that identifies the strategic positioning and future of the Malaysian capital market. The Minority Shareholders Watchdog GROUP (MSWG) was also setup in 2001 as respond to the AFC. This study focuses on Malaysias capital market mainly because of the confidence shown by the international business community concerning investments in Malaysia especially after the economy has fully recovered from the AFC. Based on The Productivity and Investment Climate Survey, World Bank 2009, which reports firms perceptions of the business environment, suggests that Malaysia is a relatively attractive place for investors. Meanwhile, Report on Doing Business 2010 ranked Malaysia 23rd out of 183 economies for ease of doing business and recently the World Competitiveness Scoreboard 2010 placed Malaysia 10th of the most competitive economy in the world, up from 18th place in the previous year. The achievement of Malaysia economy to date partly contributing through the active roles plays by the government-linked companies (GLCs) that form the backbone of the structure of the Malaysian economy. GLCs and their controlling shareholders, government-linked investment companies (GLICs), constitute a significant part of the economic structure of Malaysia. GLCs employ an estimated 5% of the national workforce, account for approximately 49% of market capitalization (Ringgit Malaysia 235.5 billion) of Bursa Malaysia Securities, contributes about 17 percent of the nations gross fixed capital formation and account for almost 10 percent of Gross Domestic Product (Malaysia Economic Report, 2009/2010). More than that, GLCs also plays an important role in executing government policies and initiatives especially in key sectors and new growth sectors. Even with active divestment and privatization, GLCs remained as the main service providers to the nations key strategic utilities and services including electricity, telecommunications, airlines, airports, public transportations, banking and financial services. On top of that, GLCs also on forefront in implementing recommendations of the best practices affirmed in Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance for Malaysian Public Listed Companies (Corporate Governance Survey Report, 2008). In the meantime, Corporate Governance Watch 2007, an annual collaborative study of corporate governance landscape of Asian market undertaken by independent stockbroker CLSA Asia Pacific Markets and the Asian Corporate Governance Association noted general improvement at the GLCs, a function of GLCs reforms and greater openness. Finally, the research on GLCs performance in Malaysia is also very important in order to investigate the real achievement of GLCs Transformation Program, the special program that was launched in May 2004 by Malaysian government to improve the performance of GLCs. Recently, the total shareholder return of a selection of top 20 GLCs, has outperformed the benchmark index of Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) by a compounded annual growth rat e of 2.4 percent since the launch of the program (Business Times, 2009). Motivate by the above reason, part of this study attempts to examine whether or not government ownership lead to better company performance by focusing on the unique characteristics of government ownership in GLCs. The research is an attempt to extend the literature in this field and to provide new insight and understanding on the roles of state in emerging market considering the limited number of research in this area. Hence, the first part of this study attempts to answer the following primary research question: Is there any significant relationship between ownership structure of government- linked companies in Malaysia and firm value? 2.0 Theoretical Foundations of the Study There are number of different theoretical frameworks to explain and analyze corporate governance. Difference frameworks approaches corporate governance in different way, for example; the agency theory arises from the fields of finance and economics and the stakeholder theory arises from social-orientated perspective on corporate governance. According to Mallin (2010, p.14), the main theories that have affected the development of corporate governance are agency theory, transaction cost economics, stakeholder theory and stewardship theory. All these theory from difference disciplines have contributed to the development of theoretical aspects of corporate governance and its frameworks. However, the main theory that generally associated with ownership of the firm is agency theory that widely used in previous researches around the world. Theoretical and empirical researches on the relationship between ownership and firm value was originally motivated by the separation of ownership from control (Berle Means, 1932) and more recently, by agency theory (Jensen Meckling, 1976; Fama Jensen, 1983). In this theory, the basic assumption is that the goals and objectives of the principals (owners) and managers (agents) conflict. The central problem in corporate governance is to construct rules and incentive to effectively align the behavior of managers with the desires of principals (Hawley and Williams, 1996). The problem of agents being responsible to principals is that it compounds the agency costs identified by Jensen and Meckling (1976) with the basic assumption is that managers will act opportunistically to further their own interests before shareholders and one of the main reasons that the desired actions of principal and agent diverge is their different attitude towards risk (Shankman, 1999). Under the circumstances, in Malaysia where there is a high concentration of government ownership in firms (Tam and Tan, 2007) and high percentage of firms affiliated to government (La Porta et al., 1999), the government ownership actually has capacity to provide a control mechanisms to align management personal objectives with firm objectives and eventually increase the firm value. Parts of GLCs in Malaysia are privatized firms during Malaysian Privatization Policy in 1990s. Hence, the firms always related to political variables and in that stance the political view of GLCs conceive that the high level of government interferences resulted of inefficiency to the firm rather than facilitate the operation. 3.0 Literature Review and Research Gaps In Malaysia context, GLCs are defined as companies that have a primary commercial objective and in which the Malaysian government has a direct controlling stake via the GLICs. The GLICs are investment arms of the government that allocate government funds to the GLCs (Putrajaya Committee on GLC High Performance, 2004; Lau and Tong, 2008). Meanwhile, the controlling stake here refers to the governments ability (not just percentage ownership) to appoint board members, senior management and/or make major decisions. The Ministry of Finance (1993) classify GLCs as one in which the Malaysian government had an effective ownership interest of at least 20 percent of equity shares. Twenty percent voting rights in one particular company is considered to be sufficient for effective control and is employed in previous studies on ownership (La Porta et al.,1999; Faccio et.al., 2001 and Setia-Atmaja, 2009). Majority of GLCs under the federal government are under Khazanah Nasional Berhad, one of the most active GLICs in Malaysia  [2]  . Empirical studies on the relationship between government ownership and firm performance on the whole produced inconclusive results. Study by Ang and Ding (2005) on the relationship between ownership structure of Singaporean GLCs and performance found that GLCs exhibit higher valuations than those of the non-GLCs. In a related study, Ke and Issac (2007) report that governments shareholding is positively related to corporate performance of Chinas listed property companies, suggested that the economy sector is matter in the country. The findings however inconsistent with other empirical studies on the government ownership in China where in overall found the negative relationship between these two variables. For example, Sun and Tong (2003); McGuiness and Ferguson (2005); Gunasekarage, Xu and Wang (1999) and Li, Sun and Zou (2009) find that on average, the firms performance is negatively influenced by the governments ownership. Research in Malaysia on the relationship between government ownership and performance is lacking and also show mixed findings. Recently, Lau and Tong (2008) conducted a research on the impact of government intervention on firm value by employed 15 listed GLCs under Khazanah Nasional Berhad from year 2000 to 2005 (90 firm-year observations). They reveal a significant positive relationship between the degree of government ownership and firm value. However, this study has shortcomings as the selected data sets of 15 GLCs a year under Khazanah Nasional Berhad are too small and not robust enough to represent the overall GLCs performance. In fact, there are many more listed GLCs under the controlled of federal government GLICs  [3]  as well as GLCs under the state government jurisdiction. This research aims to address this issue by providing in-depth examinations and comprehensive study on all GLCs both at federal and state level. In a related study in Malaysia, Tam and Tan (2007) find that the performance of firms associated to government ownership is poor compared to others ownership types namely; individual-owned firms, foreign-owned firms and trust fund-owned firms. The study involved the top 150 listed companies on Bursa Malaysia Securities based on their ranking according to their market capitalization in 2000. The similar results also found in research by Ming and Gee (2008); and Chu and Cheah (2006) that show the negative relationship between government ownership and firms corporate performance. However, those studies also have limitations as they fail to properly identify the unique characteristics of GLCs ownership in Malaysia. In their studies, they group together all types of GLCs in one group in an attempt to find its relationship to performance without addressing issues of (i) the different type of GLCs controlled by federal government and GLCs controlled by states government and (ii) the differe nt type of shares in GLCs. With regard to the first issue, distinctions should be made between GLCs controlled by federal government (GLCFGs) and those controlled by state governments (GLCSGs) predominantly because they are difference in aspects of monitoring by federal government machineries and GLICs. GLCFGs subjected to strict supervision and monitoring not only by its GLICs but by ministries concerned under federal government. For example, Tenaga Nasional Berhad, a GLCFG is the largest electric utility company in Malaysia with one governments special share and majority of it ordinary shares owned by Khazanah Nasional Berhad . The Ministry of Finance responsible to the issues pertaining to the corporate matters of the company such as the approval entity for appointment of CEO/board of directors, their contract extension or termination, company performance etc. The selection of company chairman or CEO is carefully chosen based on their capability and suitability to head the organization. In the meantime, matters pertaining to policy such as approval for electric tariff increment and monitoring of company obeying to energy policy of Malaysia are under the responsibility of Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water as a guardian ministry. In addition, National Audit Department also conducting an annual auditing or special auditing to this company to be reported in Auditors General Report that eventually to be presented in Parliament. Furthermore, Public Accounts Committee, a committee under Parliament also have right to investigate whatever issues surrounding the company such as mismanagement or issues highlighted in Auditors General Report. With all these stringent monitoring systems, the GLCFGs are more cautious in their actions and eventually lead to good corporate performance in the long run. On the other hand, the extent of monitoring and supervision of GLCSGs by respective state governments is weaker. All issues pertaining GLCSGs are to be monitor and solve by State Economic Development Corporation (SEDC), a controlling agency cum main shareholder of GLCSGs. As contended in Agency Theory, lack of monitoring efforts will increase the agency costs that eventually lead to poor firm performance. Furthermore, GLICs at federal government have more systematically systems and incentives in monitoring and improve its GLCs performance compared to its counterpart in state government. For example is the establishment of a special program aims to transform GLCs to high performers entity called GLCs Transformation Program (GTP) that was launched in May 2004. Under this program, 20 larger GLCs (G-20) that controlled by different federal government GLICs has been selected to be transformed into high performance entity and become regional or global champions. Since the launch the programme, G-20 have made significant improvement especially on their financial aspects with operating cash flow for non-financial G-20 firms grew by 42% from RM14 billion in 2004 to RM20 billion in 2008. At the same time, aggregate earnings for 2008 also 53% higher compared to performance in 2004 and total shareholder returns has outperformed the benchmark index of Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) by a compo unded annual growth rate of 4.8% since the launch of the program (GTP Mid-Term Progress Review, 2009). With regard to this issue, based on above motivations the current study argue that the performance of listed GLCs controlled by federal government are better than it counterparts under the controlled of state government. On the second issue, previous studies with concerned to government ownership and performance have ignored the very important characteristic of GLCs in Malaysia which is GLCs with governments one special share or golden share. As a background, to stimulate economic growth and reduce Government financial burden, privatization policy was introduced in 1983 and a lot of government entities as well as hundreds of government projects had been implemented by private sector. From 1983 until 2003, 474 projects and 457 government entities had been privatized from 1983 until 2005 involving assets sale of RM1.54 billion and equity sales of RM4.94 billion (Economic Planning Unit, Prime Minister Department). Various type of privatization such as sale, leased, management contract and build-lease-transfer have been used. However, in some strategic entities such as ports, main utilities provider (e.g. Tenaga Nasional Berhad) and national carrier (Malaysian Airlines Systems Berhad), Malaysian governme nt directly retained one special share or well known as golden share on top of ordinary shares that possess by GLICs on behalf of the government. In this type of GLCs, the degree of Government interference is excessively. The golden share grant government not only right to control companys direction including the appointment/dismissal of Chairman, Board member, CEO and senior management but also make major decisions such as restructuring exercise, mergers and acquisition, assets disposal and even cancel whatever decision make by the firms for the interest of government  [5]  by the government in 2001 with cost closed to Ringgit Malaysia one billion (Jalleh M., 2005) was a good example of how this type of GLCs being protected by the government. Another prominent case was the bailout of national car company Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional or Proton by state-owned oil company, Petroliam Nasional Berhad (known as Petronas) during the AFC through cash injected by instruction of the gove rnment (Restall, 2000). Based on the arguments, the present study believed that, this type of firms should be treated separately from other normal GLCs to moderate the impact of government interventions. By group them together into one group of GLCs as carried out by previous studies in Malaysia is inappropriate and may have distorted their studies result. This research basically will address both of these issue by differentiate all GLCs in Malaysia into groups according to their controlling agency at federal or state level and also based on their type of shares to observe their impact to firms corporate performance. This study expected to form a distinctive contribution to the knowledge and provide new facts on some elements of the government ownership in emerging economies by providing in-depth analysis on the issue. To the best of my knowledge, no particular researcher so far focuses on examining government ownership and firm value by make use of these proposed approaches. In addition to that, others variable that related to government ownership such as the role of politicians, government official and ex- government officials as board members in GLCs and also the influence of degree of government ownership in GLCs will also be tested. 4.0 Hypotheses development This present study ultimately intended to test for any association between ownership structures of GLCs and firm value. A total of seven aspects have been identified and the hypotheses developed as to their probable effect and firm performance. 4.1 GLCs under federal and state government and firm performance There were not studies specifically relate this variable with performance in Malaysia, but study by Chen, Firth and Xu (2009) on Chinas listed company revealed that the performance of State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) affiliated to central government or in Malaysian context is federal government is outperformed their counterpart which are related to state and local government. They also argued that different form of government ownership have different motivation and objectives on investment and it lead to different performance outcomes for the companies they have invested in. According to Loh (2008), the Malaysias constitutional design clearly favors the federal over the state governments, both in term of legislative jurisdictions as well as in terms of revenue assignments. Based on this argument and motivations on the effectiveness of monitoring systems by federal government as discussed in 3.0, the proposed hypothesis is: H1: The impact of GLCs controlled by federal government on firm performance is stronger than GLCs controlled by states government 4.2 GLCs with governments special share and firm performance As explained in Section 3.0 above, governments golden share providing the government will unlimited power to control company directions and sometimes lead to misallocation of resources by the companies itself or by the government in order to assist them. The holding agency of this share is Ministry of Finance Incorporated, the entity under Ministry of Finance, Malaysia.  Although there is no empirical study so far that investigate the relationship between governments special share and performance in Malaysia, but study by Sun, Tong H.S, and Tong (2002) from Chinas privatization experience shows that too much government interference and control of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) was among the reasons of SOEs poor performance. Another argument is that, as of the perspective of minority shareholders, too much intervention from government will jeopardize the companys development and resulted poor performance in the long run. Hence, this type of company is not attractive for investo rs. Therefore, it is hypothesized that: H2: The impact of GLCs without governments golden share on firm performance is stronger than GLCs with governments golden share 4.3 Degree of government ownership and firm performance Like many others East Asian countries, Malaysias corporate sector also experiencing a high level of ownership concentration (Liew, 2007; La Porta et al., 1998). Gunasekarage et. al (2006) in their study on influence of the degree of state ownership on the performance of listed Chinese companies conclude that firms performance is significant at high levels of government ownership and a balanced ownership structure enhances the firm performance. Study by Ke and D.Isaac (2007) in China listed property companies from 2000 to 2002 also reveals that the government shareholding is positively related to corporate performance. In Malaysia context, Lau and Tong (2008) in their study of 15 listed GLCs in Bursa Malaysia for the period of 2000 to 2005 find a significant positive relationship between the degree of government ownership  [6]  and firm value. However, this study has limitation in term of selected data sets as laid out in Section 3.0. Therefore the variable will be re-testing with more comprehensive data sets in order to have more concrete and robust evidence on the influence of this variable to firm performance. In line with agency theory that concentrated ownership in more effective in reducing managerial agency cost, the proposed hypotheses are: H3: There is a significant relationship between governments ownership degree in GLCs and firm performance 4.4 Politicians as director and firm performance GLCs traditionally has some of its boards of directors that had affiliations with the ruling party especially those GLCs that previously under government control and later on involved in privatization. Johnson and Mitton (2003) noted that as of October 1999, 15.8% or 67 out of 424 firms listed on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia Securities are politically connected to the ruling party. Empirical evidence on the association between politicians as director and its impact to firm value is inconclusive. Study by Xu, Zhu and Lin (2005) on state owned enterprises in China revealed that politicians have incentives to control the firms to achieve economically inefficient objectives for political purposes. In a related study, Shleifer and Vishny (1994) exposed that excess employment and wages are common in public enterprise that control by politicians. This unhealthy phenomenon could lead to wrong managerial investment decisions and result in misallocation of companys resources that eventuall y reduce the firm value. Boubakri, Cosset and Saffar (2008) investigate the association between political connections of newly privatized firms and the impact to performance. The study involved 245 privatized firms in 27 developing and 14 industrialized countries and the existence of political connections is based on whether the particular firms have a politician or an ex-politician on their boards. They find that the politically-connected firms exhibit a poor performance compared to their non-connected counterparts. The similar result also found in Fan et. al (2007). Meanwhile, Fisman (2001) in his study in Indonesia and Faccio (2006) in analysis of 47 countries find a significant relationship between these two variables. In the context of Malaysia where business and politics are inter-related (Gomez and Jomo, 1997) indicated that, participation of politicians in GLCs might have effects on firm value as they act as a link between the governments and companys management. Therefore, it is hypothesized that, H4: There is a significant relationship between politician as director and firm performance 4.5 Government officials as board member in GLCs and firm performance GLCs are created partly to implement government policy objectives especially those established as a result of privatization exercises in the early eighties. Hence, most of their board of directors are civil servants either still in-service or formal government officials that act as eyes and ear of government as well as communication bridge between the management and the government. Agrawal and Knoeber (2001) in their study found that the politically experience directors that comprises former government officials benefits the company they served and noted that they are more prevalent in firms compare to others outside directors. In a related study in Singapore that involved 25 GLCs and 204 non-GLCs for the period from 1990 to 2000, Ang and Ding (2006) found that GLCs exhibit higher valuations than those of the non-GLCs in the area of profitability, efficiency and firms financial performance. Like Malaysian GLCs, Singapore GLCs also comprises government officials in their board. At suc h, it is hypothesized that, H5: There is a significant relationship between in service government official as director and firm performance H6: There is a significant relationship between former government official as director and firm performance 5.0 Research design and methodology 5.1 Data and sample design The first model in this research is designed to examine the impact of ownership structure on corporate performance of all GLCs listed on the main board of Bursa Malaysia Securities for the period of five years (2004 until 2008). To ensure that the sample clearly represented the population intended for the research and to harmonious the selected sample to the GLCs definition, the sample selection is based on the following criteria: At any time, one specific GLICs either at federal or states government level must be the single largest shareholder with at least 20% share ownership in one particular company on Main Board of KLSE and; The financial and unit trust companies are excluded as they are governed by different set of rules and acts that could affect the end findings of this study. In addition, all required financial data for the study period are to be available in databases (Datastream or Thomson Research) and information on ownership and corporate governance structure from companies respective audited annual report. The study constructs an unbalanced panel data of all GLCs during the study period. This approach has the advantage of attrition biases in correlation (Hu and Izumida, 2008). The observations period of 2004 to 2008 is chosen mainly because the period was the phase of economic stability in Malaysia when the countrys economy and capitals market activities fully recovered after the Asian Financial Crisis. The performance chart in Figure 2 below reveals that prior to AFC, the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) in average has been trading in an upward trend. However, the AFC push down the KLCI to below 600 during the peak of the crisis. The post-crisis period has seen steady increase in the value of the KLCI even though until 2006 Bursa Malaysia Securities still has some 200 companies trading at more than 50 percent discount to their book values (James, 2006). Another reason for the chosen period is to evaluate the impact of GLCs Transformation Program that launch in May 2004 by Malaysian government to improve performance of GLCs. 5.2 Methodology 5.2.1 The proposed model The following base model will be used to test the hypotheses that have been defined in the previous section: PERFORM = ÃŽÂ ± + ÃŽÂ ²1FG_GLC + ÃŽÂ ²2SG_GLC + ÃŽÂ ²3GOLD + ÃŽÂ ²4GOV_OWN + ÃŽÂ ²5POL + ÃŽÂ ²6GO_BOD + ÃŽÂ ²7EX-GO_BOD + ÃŽÂ ²8LOG_SIZE + ÃŽÂ ²9LEV + ÃŽÂ ²10BOD_SIZE + ÃŽÂ ²11BOD_MEET + ÃŽÂ ²12BOD_IND + ÃŽÂ µi Where; PERFORM = the dependent variables: proxy by ROA, ROE and Tobins Q; Independent variables: FG_GLC = GLCs under federal government (equal to 1 if a firm is under federal government, and 0 otherwise) SG_GLC = GLCs under state government (equal to 1 if a firm is under states government, and 0 otherwise) GOLD = GLCs which government owned one golden share (equal to 1 if a firm has governments golden share, and 0 otherwise) GOV_OWN = captures the percentage of government ownership in a GLC POL = captures the percentage of politician on the board GO_BOD = captures the percentage of government official in-service on the board EX-GO_BOD = captures the percentage of ex-government official on the board Control variables: LOG_SIZE = natural log of total assets as proxy of firm size LEV = firm leverage (total liabilities to total assets) BOD_SIZE = number of board of directors during the year BOD_MEET = number of board of directors meetings during the year BOD_IND = captures the percentage of independent directors on the board ÃŽÂ µi = error term 5.2.2 Operationalization of variable selection 5.2.2.1 The dependent variable The dependent variable in this study is firm performance that comprises accounting and market based performance namely return on assets (ROA)  [8]  and Tobins Q. They are to be employed in this study to measure the impact of ownership structure on corporate performance. The accounting-based performance is the most common types of performance measurement in assessing business performance. In this approach, annual report, which comprises income statements, balance sheets and statements of changes in financial position are the source of information to analyze companys financial performance for one particular financial year. This approach is very important for companys stakeholders such as potential investors since the indicator can help them in making investment decisions. It also vital in helping the companys shareholders to assess how well the company performed in market place in order to make decisions on management and employees rewards, setting suitable plans to sustain the goo d momentum or even take drastic approaches for company to remain in business. The accounting-based performance also helps manager to effectively plan and control in order to achieve the objectives of the company. For example, according to Thompson Yeung (2001), return on equity as one of the accounting-based measurements can accommodate the effect of different accounting procedures across industries and can minimize the multi-linearity between companys specific characteristics such as size, age and profitability. Both ROA and ROE are the most common measurement used in analyzing financial performance of companies and have been used widely in previous studies (Vafeas,1999; Abdullah,2004; Bhagat Black, 2002; Rahman Haniffa 2006; Ang Ding, 2006; Bhagat Bolton; 2008 and Chu, 2009). Since accounting-based performance measures the past and current performance of the firm, m Corporate Performance of Malaysian Public Companies Corporate Performance of Malaysian Public Companies 1.0 Introduction and motivation of study The issues of ownership and corporate governance have been discussed broadly in the prior literature especially in developed markets. However, in emerging economies like Malaysia, the issues received a vigorous impetus when the Asian Financial Crisis (AFC) hit Malaysia with severity in 1997/98. The AFC had depressed the economy to negative 7.5% in 1998, around 84,000 people lost their job and Malaysian capital market lost estimated USD200 billion in term of market capitalization during the crisis (Series of Malaysia Economic Reports). At the same time, the value of Malaysian currency had been decrease dramatically from 2.52 ringgit to the US dollar in June, 1997 to a lowest of 4.50 ringgit to the US dollar in January, 1998 (Tourres, 2003), plunging the country into its first recession for many years. Weak financial systems, excessive foreign borrowing and lack of transparency were among factors that contributed to the crisis (Fischer, 1998). Following the AFC, the Malaysian government introduced several reform measures to enhance transparency and accountability to restoring market confidence and encourage more stable and long term international investment. Example of these are the establishment of the Malaysian Institute of Corporate Governance (MICG) in 1998, the introduction of Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance (MCCG) in March 2000  [1]  which codified the principles and best practices of good governance and the launched of Malaysias Capital Market Master Plan in 2002 as a comprehensive plan that identifies the strategic positioning and future of the Malaysian capital market. The Minority Shareholders Watchdog GROUP (MSWG) was also setup in 2001 as respond to the AFC. This study focuses on Malaysias capital market mainly because of the confidence shown by the international business community concerning investments in Malaysia especially after the economy has fully recovered from the AFC. Based on The Productivity and Investment Climate Survey, World Bank 2009, which reports firms perceptions of the business environment, suggests that Malaysia is a relatively attractive place for investors. Meanwhile, Report on Doing Business 2010 ranked Malaysia 23rd out of 183 economies for ease of doing business and recently the World Competitiveness Scoreboard 2010 placed Malaysia 10th of the most competitive economy in the world, up from 18th place in the previous year. The achievement of Malaysia economy to date partly contributing through the active roles plays by the government-linked companies (GLCs) that form the backbone of the structure of the Malaysian economy. GLCs and their controlling shareholders, government-linked investment companies (GLICs), constitute a significant part of the economic structure of Malaysia. GLCs employ an estimated 5% of the national workforce, account for approximately 49% of market capitalization (Ringgit Malaysia 235.5 billion) of Bursa Malaysia Securities, contributes about 17 percent of the nations gross fixed capital formation and account for almost 10 percent of Gross Domestic Product (Malaysia Economic Report, 2009/2010). More than that, GLCs also plays an important role in executing government policies and initiatives especially in key sectors and new growth sectors. Even with active divestment and privatization, GLCs remained as the main service providers to the nations key strategic utilities and services including electricity, telecommunications, airlines, airports, public transportations, banking and financial services. On top of that, GLCs also on forefront in implementing recommendations of the best practices affirmed in Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance for Malaysian Public Listed Companies (Corporate Governance Survey Report, 2008). In the meantime, Corporate Governance Watch 2007, an annual collaborative study of corporate governance landscape of Asian market undertaken by independent stockbroker CLSA Asia Pacific Markets and the Asian Corporate Governance Association noted general improvement at the GLCs, a function of GLCs reforms and greater openness. Finally, the research on GLCs performance in Malaysia is also very important in order to investigate the real achievement of GLCs Transformation Program, the special program that was launched in May 2004 by Malaysian government to improve the performance of GLCs. Recently, the total shareholder return of a selection of top 20 GLCs, has outperformed the benchmark index of Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) by a compounded annual growth rat e of 2.4 percent since the launch of the program (Business Times, 2009). Motivate by the above reason, part of this study attempts to examine whether or not government ownership lead to better company performance by focusing on the unique characteristics of government ownership in GLCs. The research is an attempt to extend the literature in this field and to provide new insight and understanding on the roles of state in emerging market considering the limited number of research in this area. Hence, the first part of this study attempts to answer the following primary research question: Is there any significant relationship between ownership structure of government- linked companies in Malaysia and firm value? 2.0 Theoretical Foundations of the Study There are number of different theoretical frameworks to explain and analyze corporate governance. Difference frameworks approaches corporate governance in different way, for example; the agency theory arises from the fields of finance and economics and the stakeholder theory arises from social-orientated perspective on corporate governance. According to Mallin (2010, p.14), the main theories that have affected the development of corporate governance are agency theory, transaction cost economics, stakeholder theory and stewardship theory. All these theory from difference disciplines have contributed to the development of theoretical aspects of corporate governance and its frameworks. However, the main theory that generally associated with ownership of the firm is agency theory that widely used in previous researches around the world. Theoretical and empirical researches on the relationship between ownership and firm value was originally motivated by the separation of ownership from control (Berle Means, 1932) and more recently, by agency theory (Jensen Meckling, 1976; Fama Jensen, 1983). In this theory, the basic assumption is that the goals and objectives of the principals (owners) and managers (agents) conflict. The central problem in corporate governance is to construct rules and incentive to effectively align the behavior of managers with the desires of principals (Hawley and Williams, 1996). The problem of agents being responsible to principals is that it compounds the agency costs identified by Jensen and Meckling (1976) with the basic assumption is that managers will act opportunistically to further their own interests before shareholders and one of the main reasons that the desired actions of principal and agent diverge is their different attitude towards risk (Shankman, 1999). Under the circumstances, in Malaysia where there is a high concentration of government ownership in firms (Tam and Tan, 2007) and high percentage of firms affiliated to government (La Porta et al., 1999), the government ownership actually has capacity to provide a control mechanisms to align management personal objectives with firm objectives and eventually increase the firm value. Parts of GLCs in Malaysia are privatized firms during Malaysian Privatization Policy in 1990s. Hence, the firms always related to political variables and in that stance the political view of GLCs conceive that the high level of government interferences resulted of inefficiency to the firm rather than facilitate the operation. 3.0 Literature Review and Research Gaps In Malaysia context, GLCs are defined as companies that have a primary commercial objective and in which the Malaysian government has a direct controlling stake via the GLICs. The GLICs are investment arms of the government that allocate government funds to the GLCs (Putrajaya Committee on GLC High Performance, 2004; Lau and Tong, 2008). Meanwhile, the controlling stake here refers to the governments ability (not just percentage ownership) to appoint board members, senior management and/or make major decisions. The Ministry of Finance (1993) classify GLCs as one in which the Malaysian government had an effective ownership interest of at least 20 percent of equity shares. Twenty percent voting rights in one particular company is considered to be sufficient for effective control and is employed in previous studies on ownership (La Porta et al.,1999; Faccio et.al., 2001 and Setia-Atmaja, 2009). Majority of GLCs under the federal government are under Khazanah Nasional Berhad, one of the most active GLICs in Malaysia  [2]  . Empirical studies on the relationship between government ownership and firm performance on the whole produced inconclusive results. Study by Ang and Ding (2005) on the relationship between ownership structure of Singaporean GLCs and performance found that GLCs exhibit higher valuations than those of the non-GLCs. In a related study, Ke and Issac (2007) report that governments shareholding is positively related to corporate performance of Chinas listed property companies, suggested that the economy sector is matter in the country. The findings however inconsistent with other empirical studies on the government ownership in China where in overall found the negative relationship between these two variables. For example, Sun and Tong (2003); McGuiness and Ferguson (2005); Gunasekarage, Xu and Wang (1999) and Li, Sun and Zou (2009) find that on average, the firms performance is negatively influenced by the governments ownership. Research in Malaysia on the relationship between government ownership and performance is lacking and also show mixed findings. Recently, Lau and Tong (2008) conducted a research on the impact of government intervention on firm value by employed 15 listed GLCs under Khazanah Nasional Berhad from year 2000 to 2005 (90 firm-year observations). They reveal a significant positive relationship between the degree of government ownership and firm value. However, this study has shortcomings as the selected data sets of 15 GLCs a year under Khazanah Nasional Berhad are too small and not robust enough to represent the overall GLCs performance. In fact, there are many more listed GLCs under the controlled of federal government GLICs  [3]  as well as GLCs under the state government jurisdiction. This research aims to address this issue by providing in-depth examinations and comprehensive study on all GLCs both at federal and state level. In a related study in Malaysia, Tam and Tan (2007) find that the performance of firms associated to government ownership is poor compared to others ownership types namely; individual-owned firms, foreign-owned firms and trust fund-owned firms. The study involved the top 150 listed companies on Bursa Malaysia Securities based on their ranking according to their market capitalization in 2000. The similar results also found in research by Ming and Gee (2008); and Chu and Cheah (2006) that show the negative relationship between government ownership and firms corporate performance. However, those studies also have limitations as they fail to properly identify the unique characteristics of GLCs ownership in Malaysia. In their studies, they group together all types of GLCs in one group in an attempt to find its relationship to performance without addressing issues of (i) the different type of GLCs controlled by federal government and GLCs controlled by states government and (ii) the differe nt type of shares in GLCs. With regard to the first issue, distinctions should be made between GLCs controlled by federal government (GLCFGs) and those controlled by state governments (GLCSGs) predominantly because they are difference in aspects of monitoring by federal government machineries and GLICs. GLCFGs subjected to strict supervision and monitoring not only by its GLICs but by ministries concerned under federal government. For example, Tenaga Nasional Berhad, a GLCFG is the largest electric utility company in Malaysia with one governments special share and majority of it ordinary shares owned by Khazanah Nasional Berhad . The Ministry of Finance responsible to the issues pertaining to the corporate matters of the company such as the approval entity for appointment of CEO/board of directors, their contract extension or termination, company performance etc. The selection of company chairman or CEO is carefully chosen based on their capability and suitability to head the organization. In the meantime, matters pertaining to policy such as approval for electric tariff increment and monitoring of company obeying to energy policy of Malaysia are under the responsibility of Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water as a guardian ministry. In addition, National Audit Department also conducting an annual auditing or special auditing to this company to be reported in Auditors General Report that eventually to be presented in Parliament. Furthermore, Public Accounts Committee, a committee under Parliament also have right to investigate whatever issues surrounding the company such as mismanagement or issues highlighted in Auditors General Report. With all these stringent monitoring systems, the GLCFGs are more cautious in their actions and eventually lead to good corporate performance in the long run. On the other hand, the extent of monitoring and supervision of GLCSGs by respective state governments is weaker. All issues pertaining GLCSGs are to be monitor and solve by State Economic Development Corporation (SEDC), a controlling agency cum main shareholder of GLCSGs. As contended in Agency Theory, lack of monitoring efforts will increase the agency costs that eventually lead to poor firm performance. Furthermore, GLICs at federal government have more systematically systems and incentives in monitoring and improve its GLCs performance compared to its counterpart in state government. For example is the establishment of a special program aims to transform GLCs to high performers entity called GLCs Transformation Program (GTP) that was launched in May 2004. Under this program, 20 larger GLCs (G-20) that controlled by different federal government GLICs has been selected to be transformed into high performance entity and become regional or global champions. Since the launch the programme, G-20 have made significant improvement especially on their financial aspects with operating cash flow for non-financial G-20 firms grew by 42% from RM14 billion in 2004 to RM20 billion in 2008. At the same time, aggregate earnings for 2008 also 53% higher compared to performance in 2004 and total shareholder returns has outperformed the benchmark index of Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) by a compo unded annual growth rate of 4.8% since the launch of the program (GTP Mid-Term Progress Review, 2009). With regard to this issue, based on above motivations the current study argue that the performance of listed GLCs controlled by federal government are better than it counterparts under the controlled of state government. On the second issue, previous studies with concerned to government ownership and performance have ignored the very important characteristic of GLCs in Malaysia which is GLCs with governments one special share or golden share. As a background, to stimulate economic growth and reduce Government financial burden, privatization policy was introduced in 1983 and a lot of government entities as well as hundreds of government projects had been implemented by private sector. From 1983 until 2003, 474 projects and 457 government entities had been privatized from 1983 until 2005 involving assets sale of RM1.54 billion and equity sales of RM4.94 billion (Economic Planning Unit, Prime Minister Department). Various type of privatization such as sale, leased, management contract and build-lease-transfer have been used. However, in some strategic entities such as ports, main utilities provider (e.g. Tenaga Nasional Berhad) and national carrier (Malaysian Airlines Systems Berhad), Malaysian governme nt directly retained one special share or well known as golden share on top of ordinary shares that possess by GLICs on behalf of the government. In this type of GLCs, the degree of Government interference is excessively. The golden share grant government not only right to control companys direction including the appointment/dismissal of Chairman, Board member, CEO and senior management but also make major decisions such as restructuring exercise, mergers and acquisition, assets disposal and even cancel whatever decision make by the firms for the interest of government  [5]  by the government in 2001 with cost closed to Ringgit Malaysia one billion (Jalleh M., 2005) was a good example of how this type of GLCs being protected by the government. Another prominent case was the bailout of national car company Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional or Proton by state-owned oil company, Petroliam Nasional Berhad (known as Petronas) during the AFC through cash injected by instruction of the gove rnment (Restall, 2000). Based on the arguments, the present study believed that, this type of firms should be treated separately from other normal GLCs to moderate the impact of government interventions. By group them together into one group of GLCs as carried out by previous studies in Malaysia is inappropriate and may have distorted their studies result. This research basically will address both of these issue by differentiate all GLCs in Malaysia into groups according to their controlling agency at federal or state level and also based on their type of shares to observe their impact to firms corporate performance. This study expected to form a distinctive contribution to the knowledge and provide new facts on some elements of the government ownership in emerging economies by providing in-depth analysis on the issue. To the best of my knowledge, no particular researcher so far focuses on examining government ownership and firm value by make use of these proposed approaches. In addition to that, others variable that related to government ownership such as the role of politicians, government official and ex- government officials as board members in GLCs and also the influence of degree of government ownership in GLCs will also be tested. 4.0 Hypotheses development This present study ultimately intended to test for any association between ownership structures of GLCs and firm value. A total of seven aspects have been identified and the hypotheses developed as to their probable effect and firm performance. 4.1 GLCs under federal and state government and firm performance There were not studies specifically relate this variable with performance in Malaysia, but study by Chen, Firth and Xu (2009) on Chinas listed company revealed that the performance of State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) affiliated to central government or in Malaysian context is federal government is outperformed their counterpart which are related to state and local government. They also argued that different form of government ownership have different motivation and objectives on investment and it lead to different performance outcomes for the companies they have invested in. According to Loh (2008), the Malaysias constitutional design clearly favors the federal over the state governments, both in term of legislative jurisdictions as well as in terms of revenue assignments. Based on this argument and motivations on the effectiveness of monitoring systems by federal government as discussed in 3.0, the proposed hypothesis is: H1: The impact of GLCs controlled by federal government on firm performance is stronger than GLCs controlled by states government 4.2 GLCs with governments special share and firm performance As explained in Section 3.0 above, governments golden share providing the government will unlimited power to control company directions and sometimes lead to misallocation of resources by the companies itself or by the government in order to assist them. The holding agency of this share is Ministry of Finance Incorporated, the entity under Ministry of Finance, Malaysia.  Although there is no empirical study so far that investigate the relationship between governments special share and performance in Malaysia, but study by Sun, Tong H.S, and Tong (2002) from Chinas privatization experience shows that too much government interference and control of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) was among the reasons of SOEs poor performance. Another argument is that, as of the perspective of minority shareholders, too much intervention from government will jeopardize the companys development and resulted poor performance in the long run. Hence, this type of company is not attractive for investo rs. Therefore, it is hypothesized that: H2: The impact of GLCs without governments golden share on firm performance is stronger than GLCs with governments golden share 4.3 Degree of government ownership and firm performance Like many others East Asian countries, Malaysias corporate sector also experiencing a high level of ownership concentration (Liew, 2007; La Porta et al., 1998). Gunasekarage et. al (2006) in their study on influence of the degree of state ownership on the performance of listed Chinese companies conclude that firms performance is significant at high levels of government ownership and a balanced ownership structure enhances the firm performance. Study by Ke and D.Isaac (2007) in China listed property companies from 2000 to 2002 also reveals that the government shareholding is positively related to corporate performance. In Malaysia context, Lau and Tong (2008) in their study of 15 listed GLCs in Bursa Malaysia for the period of 2000 to 2005 find a significant positive relationship between the degree of government ownership  [6]  and firm value. However, this study has limitation in term of selected data sets as laid out in Section 3.0. Therefore the variable will be re-testing with more comprehensive data sets in order to have more concrete and robust evidence on the influence of this variable to firm performance. In line with agency theory that concentrated ownership in more effective in reducing managerial agency cost, the proposed hypotheses are: H3: There is a significant relationship between governments ownership degree in GLCs and firm performance 4.4 Politicians as director and firm performance GLCs traditionally has some of its boards of directors that had affiliations with the ruling party especially those GLCs that previously under government control and later on involved in privatization. Johnson and Mitton (2003) noted that as of October 1999, 15.8% or 67 out of 424 firms listed on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia Securities are politically connected to the ruling party. Empirical evidence on the association between politicians as director and its impact to firm value is inconclusive. Study by Xu, Zhu and Lin (2005) on state owned enterprises in China revealed that politicians have incentives to control the firms to achieve economically inefficient objectives for political purposes. In a related study, Shleifer and Vishny (1994) exposed that excess employment and wages are common in public enterprise that control by politicians. This unhealthy phenomenon could lead to wrong managerial investment decisions and result in misallocation of companys resources that eventuall y reduce the firm value. Boubakri, Cosset and Saffar (2008) investigate the association between political connections of newly privatized firms and the impact to performance. The study involved 245 privatized firms in 27 developing and 14 industrialized countries and the existence of political connections is based on whether the particular firms have a politician or an ex-politician on their boards. They find that the politically-connected firms exhibit a poor performance compared to their non-connected counterparts. The similar result also found in Fan et. al (2007). Meanwhile, Fisman (2001) in his study in Indonesia and Faccio (2006) in analysis of 47 countries find a significant relationship between these two variables. In the context of Malaysia where business and politics are inter-related (Gomez and Jomo, 1997) indicated that, participation of politicians in GLCs might have effects on firm value as they act as a link between the governments and companys management. Therefore, it is hypothesized that, H4: There is a significant relationship between politician as director and firm performance 4.5 Government officials as board member in GLCs and firm performance GLCs are created partly to implement government policy objectives especially those established as a result of privatization exercises in the early eighties. Hence, most of their board of directors are civil servants either still in-service or formal government officials that act as eyes and ear of government as well as communication bridge between the management and the government. Agrawal and Knoeber (2001) in their study found that the politically experience directors that comprises former government officials benefits the company they served and noted that they are more prevalent in firms compare to others outside directors. In a related study in Singapore that involved 25 GLCs and 204 non-GLCs for the period from 1990 to 2000, Ang and Ding (2006) found that GLCs exhibit higher valuations than those of the non-GLCs in the area of profitability, efficiency and firms financial performance. Like Malaysian GLCs, Singapore GLCs also comprises government officials in their board. At suc h, it is hypothesized that, H5: There is a significant relationship between in service government official as director and firm performance H6: There is a significant relationship between former government official as director and firm performance 5.0 Research design and methodology 5.1 Data and sample design The first model in this research is designed to examine the impact of ownership structure on corporate performance of all GLCs listed on the main board of Bursa Malaysia Securities for the period of five years (2004 until 2008). To ensure that the sample clearly represented the population intended for the research and to harmonious the selected sample to the GLCs definition, the sample selection is based on the following criteria: At any time, one specific GLICs either at federal or states government level must be the single largest shareholder with at least 20% share ownership in one particular company on Main Board of KLSE and; The financial and unit trust companies are excluded as they are governed by different set of rules and acts that could affect the end findings of this study. In addition, all required financial data for the study period are to be available in databases (Datastream or Thomson Research) and information on ownership and corporate governance structure from companies respective audited annual report. The study constructs an unbalanced panel data of all GLCs during the study period. This approach has the advantage of attrition biases in correlation (Hu and Izumida, 2008). The observations period of 2004 to 2008 is chosen mainly because the period was the phase of economic stability in Malaysia when the countrys economy and capitals market activities fully recovered after the Asian Financial Crisis. The performance chart in Figure 2 below reveals that prior to AFC, the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) in average has been trading in an upward trend. However, the AFC push down the KLCI to below 600 during the peak of the crisis. The post-crisis period has seen steady increase in the value of the KLCI even though until 2006 Bursa Malaysia Securities still has some 200 companies trading at more than 50 percent discount to their book values (James, 2006). Another reason for the chosen period is to evaluate the impact of GLCs Transformation Program that launch in May 2004 by Malaysian government to improve performance of GLCs. 5.2 Methodology 5.2.1 The proposed model The following base model will be used to test the hypotheses that have been defined in the previous section: PERFORM = ÃŽÂ ± + ÃŽÂ ²1FG_GLC + ÃŽÂ ²2SG_GLC + ÃŽÂ ²3GOLD + ÃŽÂ ²4GOV_OWN + ÃŽÂ ²5POL + ÃŽÂ ²6GO_BOD + ÃŽÂ ²7EX-GO_BOD + ÃŽÂ ²8LOG_SIZE + ÃŽÂ ²9LEV + ÃŽÂ ²10BOD_SIZE + ÃŽÂ ²11BOD_MEET + ÃŽÂ ²12BOD_IND + ÃŽÂ µi Where; PERFORM = the dependent variables: proxy by ROA, ROE and Tobins Q; Independent variables: FG_GLC = GLCs under federal government (equal to 1 if a firm is under federal government, and 0 otherwise) SG_GLC = GLCs under state government (equal to 1 if a firm is under states government, and 0 otherwise) GOLD = GLCs which government owned one golden share (equal to 1 if a firm has governments golden share, and 0 otherwise) GOV_OWN = captures the percentage of government ownership in a GLC POL = captures the percentage of politician on the board GO_BOD = captures the percentage of government official in-service on the board EX-GO_BOD = captures the percentage of ex-government official on the board Control variables: LOG_SIZE = natural log of total assets as proxy of firm size LEV = firm leverage (total liabilities to total assets) BOD_SIZE = number of board of directors during the year BOD_MEET = number of board of directors meetings during the year BOD_IND = captures the percentage of independent directors on the board ÃŽÂ µi = error term 5.2.2 Operationalization of variable selection 5.2.2.1 The dependent variable The dependent variable in this study is firm performance that comprises accounting and market based performance namely return on assets (ROA)  [8]  and Tobins Q. They are to be employed in this study to measure the impact of ownership structure on corporate performance. The accounting-based performance is the most common types of performance measurement in assessing business performance. In this approach, annual report, which comprises income statements, balance sheets and statements of changes in financial position are the source of information to analyze companys financial performance for one particular financial year. This approach is very important for companys stakeholders such as potential investors since the indicator can help them in making investment decisions. It also vital in helping the companys shareholders to assess how well the company performed in market place in order to make decisions on management and employees rewards, setting suitable plans to sustain the goo d momentum or even take drastic approaches for company to remain in business. The accounting-based performance also helps manager to effectively plan and control in order to achieve the objectives of the company. For example, according to Thompson Yeung (2001), return on equity as one of the accounting-based measurements can accommodate the effect of different accounting procedures across industries and can minimize the multi-linearity between companys specific characteristics such as size, age and profitability. Both ROA and ROE are the most common measurement used in analyzing financial performance of companies and have been used widely in previous studies (Vafeas,1999; Abdullah,2004; Bhagat Black, 2002; Rahman Haniffa 2006; Ang Ding, 2006; Bhagat Bolton; 2008 and Chu, 2009). Since accounting-based performance measures the past and current performance of the firm, m

Developing an Opacity Sensor :: Opacity Sensors Technology Essays

Developing an Opacity Sensor There is a huge range of different sensors in this world, designed to detect changes in temperature, size, distance and many other important factors. Their ability to do this makes them valuable for use in industry, in particular, production processes. I have chosen to develop a sensor which measures the concentration of solution, suitable for the factory production of pre-diluted fruit squashes. The sensor can control the machinery via a servo-mechanism, indicating whether more squash needs to be added. The context in which my sensor is to be used is an important consideration as it determines a suitable sensitivity and resolution. Factors to consider when designing a sensor: Sensitivity The ratio of change of output to change of input. A very sensitive sensor will give a big change of output for a small change of input. A sensor which detects very small changes of input will need to be very sensitive so these changes can be observed. Resolution The smallest change the sensor can detect in the quantity it is measuring. If you had a quantity which was displayed as 0.0076, this sensor would have quite a high resolution (depending on what it was measuring). If the last digit were fluctuating this would be the maximum resolution of the sensor as it can only just resolve a change of that magnitude – 10,000th. A cooks oven may only need a resolution of 5 ºC whereas a baby monitoring system requires a resolution of 0.5 – 1 ºC. Response time The time a sensor takes to respond to a change in input. If changes occur more rapidly than this then they will usually be averaged out. The response time should be suitable to detect important changes as they occur. Systematic Most sensors are affected by changes in temperature, even those that aren’t designed to detect them. Some sensors may also be affected by other environmental changes depending on their methods of detection, for example a LDR might produce different readings on a sunny day if the whole system isn’t enclosed. Such influences will produce readings that display the correct trend but each reading is erroneous by the same amount. For this reason systematic errors are difficult to detect and an only by making another more accurate measurement. Today â€Å"smart systems† process information to compensate for disturbing influences. Noise, random error, fluctuations The input signal may fluctuate or the sensor itself may generate noise. Unsystematic variations are present in all experimental data and their size determines the reliability of the data and limits the precision with which a measurement can be made. Taking an average over repeated measurements can improve the final result

MDMA aka Ecstasy Essay -- Research Drugs Medicine Essays

MDMA aka Ecstasy Adam, Ecstasy, XTC, hug, beans, love drug, X and E are all street names for the drug that is known as MDMA in the medical and scientific world. MDMA is most commonly referred to as Ecstasy and is a "synthetic, psychoactive drug with both stimulant (amphetamine-like) and hallucinogenic (LSD-like) properties". MDMA is also a neurotoxin, which in high doses can raise body temperature and cause muscle and kidney breakdown that eventually leads to failure of the cardiovascular system. This said, the drug is still one of the most popular on the market, and demand is rising. (1) MDMA is made up of a chemical structure consisting of 3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine. It depletes serotonin-producing neurons after prompting "nerve cells to release a flood of serotonin". MDA, a parent drug of MDMA, destroys neurons that contain the neurotransmitter dopamine whose destruction is an underlying cause in the lack of coordination, tremors, and paralysis that come with Parkinson's disease. (1) Dopamine is also thought to be a chemical messenger to learning. (10) The use of MDMA not only reduces the presence of these two very important neurotransmitters, but can have serious side effects as well. Psychological side effects consist of confusion, depression, sleep problems, drug craving, severe anxiety and paranoia. Physical effects and signs of Ecstasy users are muscle tension, involuntary teeth clenching, nausea, blurred vision, rapid eye movement, faintness, chills or sweating, as well as increased heart rate and blood pressure. Long-term use of this drug is evident by an acne-like rash that develops all over the body and ca n lead to liver damage. This gives the drug many risks similar to those of cocaine. (1) ... ... http://www.dancesafe.org/slideshow/ 5) Ecstasy http://www.geocities.com/sunsetstrip/Limo/4325/ecstasy.html 6) Ecstasy's Legacy http://www.sciam.com/missing.cfm 7) Scientists Study Serotonin Markers for Suicide Prevention http://www.mhsource.com/pt/p950907.jhtml?_requestid=374901 8) Serotonin and Judgment http://web.sfn.org/briefings/serotonin.html 9) Suicide Facts http://www.nimh.nih.gov/research/suifact.htm 10) Breakthrough? Study finds Dopamine cannot be source of Pleasure in Brain http://www.sciencedaily.com/realeases/1999/03/990304052313.htm 11)Dextromethorphan http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/dextromethorphansystemic202187.html 12) Mixing Ecstasy with Other Drugs http://www.seeq.com/popupwrapper.jsp?referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fserendip.brynmawr.edu%2Fbiology%2Fb103%2Ff01%2Fweb3%2Fsterling.html&domain=wakeywakey.com

NIKE and Child Labor Essay examples -- Business Management

NIKE and Child Labor Nike Company started in 1984, in Portland Oregon by Tinker Hatfield, a former pole-vaulter and architect. Hatfield worked his way into the shoe industry. He got his idea from Converse’s in the early 1970’s slogan, Limousines for the Feet. In Hatfield believe our culture have a lot of interest in shoes, just as much as our culture back in the 1950’s were interested in owning cars. They began introducing their Nike shoes and products to the society by images of people and things like the production of the Nike Air Jordan. This product was named after Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan is the best basketball player and biggest star at that time. In advertisement, Michael Jordan would show us a quick lay up to the goal or a fast break away from an opponent while wearing the Air Jordan. This high top basketball shoe gave an image of speed and quick moves to a younger group of viewers. With this in mind, Hatfield and associates learned that a product had to be able to have implied performance. Know Nike is doing well in the United States. The minute the market accepted their products they started looking for alternative to minimize their cost and to increase their profit. A lot of reason caused that to happen, one of them the labor cost over here in the U.S, is higher than it is in the other countries like (China, Indonesia, Vietnam†¦etc). An estimated 200 million Children around the world go to work every day. Their ages ranges between 5 and 17 years. According to the International Labor Organization, nearly 171 million children are engaged in unsafe work environment, of which 111 million are younger than 15. Some 8.4 million children are trapped in the worst forms of child labor, including slavery, t... ...ause of the cheep labor and the benefit that heir companies gain in term of profit for example the shoes cost them in labor about $1.90 a day to produce, but on the other hand it will cost them about $6.35 an hour in the US. Therefore children are trapped going to work because governments and international agencies do not put enough priority into education and because globalization without a social dimension allows crooked employers to profit from exploiting children. In my opinion I think that the International Labor Organization, OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration), and WTO (World Trade Organization) should work hand to hand to create and in force soon kind of rules to protect these kids from this kind of iron grip. References: 1. http://www.aflcio.org/issuespolitics/globaleconomy/children.cfm 2. http://www.american.edu/TED/nike.htm.

Globalisation of Indian Economy Essay

Economic Reforms in India UNIT 27 GLOBALISATION OF INDIAN ECONOMY Structure 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 27.4 27.5 27.6 27.7 27.8 27.9 27.10 27.11 27.12 Objectives Introduction Globalisation and Economy Benefits of Globalisation Globalisation and Indian Industries Policy Changes Since 1991 Globalisation of Financial Markets Problems of Globalisation Efforts Required for Globalisation Let Us Sum Up Key Words Some Useful Books Answers/Hints to Check Your Progress Exercises 27.0 OBJECTIVES As you go through this unit, you will come to understand and appreciate the implications involved in globalisation of Indian economy. This unit is expected to help you answer the following: l l l l l l Is globalisation a reality and has India been able to adopt this; Examine the implications involved in the process of globalisation; Analyse the impact of globalisation on Indian economy; How do different sectors prepare to face the challenge of globalisation; What policy measures need to be followed for globalisation of Indian economy; and What conditions are required to have the best possible results? 27.1 INTRODUCTION In recent years there is no special phenomenon that attracts more attention in mass media and in the scientific public than globalisation. For nearly a decade the nation’s preoccupation has been with economic reforms. The enthusiasm and the excitement over ‘deregulation’, ‘liberalisation’ and ‘globalisation’ remain undiminished since the time the three buzzwords entered the scene. These terms are frequently used in any general discussion.The common person seldom understands the exact import of these terms but (s) he knows that they imply radical changes in life. The literate population surmises that liberalisation indicates a reduction of rigors in laws and procedures to permit more efficient conduct of business while globalisation stands for removal of protective barriers against free flow of trade, technology and investments among countries. It is also recognised  that the insularity and sheltered culture of industry and trade have to give place to a competitive environment, which would demand basic adjustments by the population, be they manufacturers, traders, workers or consumers. How this change is to be managed with the least pain and with maximum benefit is the major concern. There have been innumerable seminars and workshops on the three related terms in general and globalisation in particular. However, the ideas and the basic vision behind the dominant policy choices made since 1991 have not been 28 explained in simple terms by those professing to understand the policy choices. Policy makers and seminar speakers often assume that the objectives of globalization are understood by all. They, therefore, dwell on the ways and means to achieve globalization. Globalisation of Indian Economy 27.2 GLOBALISATION AND ECONOMY Globalisation has some very clear features (K.L. Chugh, 1992). Globalisation puts an emphasis on consumer concern and encourages competition. It is co-operative venture, where organisations and people complement and supplement each other in the service of the consumer. It is for this reason, that one now sees the international trend to source raw material from one country, process it in another country and then market it worldwide. As a result, globalisation helps to synergies the roles of each country. Globalisation leads to quality assurance and it is as a guarantee of their quality that manufacturers brand their products. It means a borderless world where there is a free exchange of money, ideas and expertise, fostering partnerships and alliances to serve the consumer best. Globalisation relies on the quality of people. No initiatives, no innovation, no solutions are possible without outstanding people. The quality and training of people, their vision and their commitment, is the very foundation of globalisation. Globalisation is the reversal of business from a macro to a micro point of view. What matters is the contact and collaboration between individuals and  firms in various countries. Globalisation is complete decentralization of location. It will internationalise human resources and remove geographical boundaries. The policy of globalisation emphasises that export sector should form an important ingredient of the national macro-economic aggregates. When exports form an important economic aggregate, the industrial growth to a substantial extent becomes dependent upon the export sector. When industrial production is attached to the export sector, indirectly the other sectors of the economy specially banking and services sector are also integrated with the export sector. Finally, since exports are dependent on the GDP growth of the major trading partners, the domestic economy c annot grow at a rate much different from that in the world economies. 27.3 BENEFITS OF GLOBALISATION What are the benefits of globalisation? Some of the benefits are as follows: i) Improved resource allocation due to the presence of a competitive environment ii) Exposure to international economies would lead to the availability of better technology, inputs and intermediate goods iii) Transfer of know-how and economies of scale Thus, globalisation implies a regime of perfectly competitive markets with no entry or exist barriers. However, the onset of such an environment is not without fulfillment of certain preconditions on the part of the corporates – global vision and global capability. Global vision implies that the corporate should have the ability to analyse the dynamic competitive environment and should be able to develop superior strategies in a way, which is relevant to the new global opportunities, i.e., should have the vision of analysis and leadership.Global capability attributes, on the other hand, are reflected in the ability to amass and deploy productive human, technological and financial resources at the right time and at the right place. 27.4 GLOBALISATION AND INDIAN INDUSTRIES The road to globalised markets has only fast tracks. There is no lane earmarked 29 Economic Reforms in India for leisurely traffic. This is a primary factor to be understood. When the country opens up its markets and invites new investors and new technologies from abroad, proven suppliers can come in with their quality goods, technologies and services at competitive prices. There is thus an anxiety that globalisation would become a one-way traffic, with imports flooding the local market, and throwing the indigenous industry and workers into misery. However, given the fact that Indian industries have absorbed modern technologies and some quality standards over the past five decades, they have the requisite strength and resilience to face the immediate challenges of globalisation. What is needed is strategic planning to fully tap the existing strengths and meet the initial pressures. In any case, the question today is not whether globalisation is inevitable, but how to tailor the method to fit each business when it embarks on globalization. One must turn the spotlight on the information imper atives for global competitiveness. Indian industry and business need to be on top of the corpus of information on a whole range of subjects such as product preferences, technology choices, price trends, rivals’ strengths and weaknesses, and investment sources. Without such mastery, no business enterprise can successfully aspire to a razorsharp competitive edge, which alone can assure it a recognizable market presence, let alone an unshakable market dominance. Inevitably, companies have to spruce up all aspects of operations, in terms of technology and design, material procurement, manufacturing processes, quality levels, finance techniques and dynamics of marketing for export promotion taking fair advantage of the liberalised environment provided by the government. Effective managerial information and control systems are essential for improving in house efficiencies and for quick assessment of the external market opportunities. Timely decisions and responses from delivery dates, assured quality norms, pro-customer policies and above all, a goal orientation, are needed to succeed in global pursuits. Productivity has to improve in all areas of management and the entire work force should wake up to the new realities through meaningful counsel ling and HRD techniques. A new sense of urgency to scale higher targets needs to be created in each employee and executive. Reduction in prices based on cost  control and waste elimination could bring in more orders and larger profits on enhanced turnovers. This is how countries like Japan emerged world market leaders. Competition has been the driving force for progress. A thorough reshaping of attitudes and redesign of work methods is imperative to bring in a totally new culture of activity and achievement. Each manager and supervisor has to lead by example, rather than by precepts, to prove that every new target can be achieved. Recognitions and rewards for meritorious performance in all cadres should serve as an incentive for better productivity. Policies of trade and investment liberalisation have a crucial role to play in providing an outward orientation, which will impose external audit on the domestic cost structure. Marketing strategies will have to be evolved which should take account of the global economic restructuring that is going on in the world today. Marketing strategies suited to every target country relative to its tradition and culture should be evolved and modified from time to time for achieving results. Flexibility and effective local liaison should form the core of the strategies. It is in this context the following three points are important: i) Making India the premier production centre of the world. In several sectors, particularly in agro-based industries, India has the skills and the investments, which make it the lowest cost producer in the world. These investments can easily obtain a share of the world market and all that is required is to develop alliances with partners overseas and support it with a national policy for each sector. 30 ii) Indian corporations to go into world markets and to become India’s â€Å"multi-nationals abroad, with markets, and later, production centres spread across the globe. Here again, India has a natural advantage in certain sectors such as the knowledge-led services and wide range of agricultural, industrial and fashion products. iii) Attracting foreign investments to make India their home base for their world markets. India has amongst the world’s largest trained manpower, including farmer and scientists, engineers and professionals, entrepreneurs and skilled workers. The cost of people is much lower in India than in the developed world and provides a significant competitive advantage to India. The introduction of full convertibility of  rupee on current account will greatly accelerate not just foreign investments in India, but also the export-import trade. If India succeeds in attracting foreign investment, particularly in the area of infrastructure, then it would be possible for the government to re-invest into the rural sector. This will have its own beneficial impact on the total economy, as India’s prosperity is entirely dependent on the rural, farm economy. This will help to usher in a second green revolution in the country. To successfully participate in the world economy, India needs to build strategic alliances – not just between trading blocks, but between corporations; and not just between foreign partners and India but partnership within Indian industry itself. Check Your Progress 1 1) What do you mean by globalisation? †¦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‚¬ ¦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‚¬ ¦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‚¬ ¦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‚¬ ¦.. 2) What is the implication of globalisation for an economy? †¦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‚¬ ¦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‚¬ ¦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‚¬ ¦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) Highlight the implications of globalization for Indian industry? †¦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‚¬ ¦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‚¬ ¦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‚¬ ¦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‚¬ ¦.. Globalisation of Indian Economy 27.5 POLICY CHANGES SINCE JULY 1991 Globalisation presupposes two things — political will at the macro level which is reflected in various policies pursued by the government and corporate will at the micro level which is established by the existence of a global vision and capability. The government has moulded its policies. In this regard, one can take a look at the following policy changes: 31 Economic Reforms in India i) A two stage devaluation of the rupee by about twenty percent in July, 1991 in an attempt to align the exchange rates with the world exchange rates and provide additional incentives to the exporters to offset some of the disincentives arising out of the import barriers. ii) Introduction of a system of partial convertibility of the rupee under the liberalised exchange rate management system (LERMS) and then allowing full convertibility of rupee on current account. iii) Foreign direct investment (FDI) has been liberalised and now the foreign investors are allowed to participate upto 51 per cent, 74 per cent, and even 100 per cent of the equity of select industrial sectors. iv) The list of products requiring import license has been pruned which shows that physical controls are given way to fiscal controls (all quantitative restrictions are removed by April 1, 2001) v) Import duties have been reduced. vi) Import of capital goods has been allowed without any specific licence if the payment for the imported capital goods is made out of foreign exchange received for the purpose of equity participation. vii) Decentralization of several items has taken place and those items, which were initially under the purview of government agencies, are now being opened to private companies. viii) Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) are given permission to invest in the Indian capital market. In fact, SEBI has already recognised several FIIs for this purpose and they have started making investments also. ix) Guidelines have  been issued for the floating of Euro issues by the Indian companies. x) A major step towards globalisation has been to amend the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973 (FERA), which substantially dilutes its regulatory provisions to bring it in line with the new liberalised industrial, trade and exchange rate policies. The Act has removed a large number of restrictions on companies with more than 40 per cent non-resident equity and removed FERA controls on Indian firms setting up joint ventures abroad. The amendment also incorporates into law all the changes, which have so far been made by issue of notification by the RBI or the central government. These changes pertain to facilities extended to FERA companies on the appointment of technical and management advisors, opening of branches, acquisition of immovable property by FERA companies in India, borrowing of money or acceptance of deposits by them etc. Also, in an effort to rationalise the Act, about a dozen sections of FERA, 1973 were deleted as these had lost relevance over time. (As a matter of fact FERA 1973 itself is repealed and in its place a new liberalised legislation has been enacted which is known as â€Å"Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA†). xi) Guidelines have been specified for setting up of Indian Joint Ventures Abroad (IJVA), which would enable 90 per cent of the proposals to be covered through the automatic approval route. The main objective here is to liberalize Indian equity investment in joint ventures and wholly owned subsidiaries abroad as well as to simplify the procedures for investment abroad by the Indian parties. xii) Automatic permission is given for foreign technology agreements upto certain ceilings covering the high priority industries. 32 xiii) Foreign technicians can now be hired by Indian companies without prior approval of RBI if certain conditions are met. xiv) The foreign investment promotion board (FIPB) has been instituted to facilitate and promote foreign investment. These measures establish the fact that the government is indeed serious to help the industry globalize. The industry, on its part, is becoming more and more receptive to these structural reforms. The industry has responded by opting for industrial tieup as a threshold to building a global strategic presence. Thus, there is a wave of multinational  corporations (Macs) entering the Indian market and Indian businessmen too are fast setting up shop on the foreign shores. To survive the threat of global competition, Indian companies have no choice other than to restructure their business. The way to tackle this would be to understand the need for change (the way?), the paradigm shift required (the what?), the implementation process (the how?), and prioritisation of the problems awaiting solutions (what is next?). Globalisation of Indian Economy 27.6 GLOBALISATION OF FINANCIAL MARKETS India has been making use of the international financial markets. Exchange rate and interest rate movements now constitute the key variables. The volatility of exchange rates has turned out to be both a proximate cause and effect of capital movements. This in turn has made them autonomous variables not directly related to movements in the real sectors of the economies concerned. Another aspect of the vulnerability results from the quick transmission of impulses generated in one leading market to others. Today, financial markets are global in scope; where the distinction between money and other financial assets is not so clear cut and indeed there is continuum of liquidity; where the line of distinction between financial intermediation by the banking system and other non-bank intermediation is also getting blurred; and as a corollary of this where financial institutions themselves are losing their specialist character. Their wide geographical coverage is matched by wide functional activity against the background of increasingly intense competition.This has meant better opportunities both for the players in the international financial markets and those that transact business with them. Never have the world financial markets been so integrated and offered so wide a variety of services. India is affected by trends in capital movements, exchange rates and interest rates. A more liberal domestic financial sector would be better able to interact with international financial markets. India has only been reacting to events abroad, i.e., India remains ‘events takers’ rather than ‘events makers’, but even so, there is need for providing for a measure of structured rather than ad hoc response to external events. This is also a matter of determining the  rational sequencing pattern of increasing its markets’ linkages with the international markets. A cautious and step-by-step approach in terms of a well thought out framework of such linkages is called for. While Indian financial institutions and business should gradually and in a structured way get into the operations of the international financial markets, globalisation of the Indian financial sector is indispensable if it has to become efficient, vibrant and truly competitive in the years to come. The process of globalisation involves two distinct challenges: (i) technological upgradation through computeriation, and (ii) establishing and forging links with international financial markets. The Indian financial sector has been a late starter in mechanizing and computerising its operations. Regrettably, introduction of new technology is rather slow. What is even worse, the installed hardware does not 33 Economic Reforms in India seem to have been utilised to its full potential. This unfortunate state of affairs must end. The Narasimham Committee has endorsed the view of the Rangarajan Committee on computerisation. At the economic policy level, the issue of forging links with the international financial markets is closely intertwined with interest rate deregulation and convertibility of the Indian rupee. 27.7 PROBLEMS OF GLOBALISATION An outward looking or globalisation policy carries a price, as it demands certain constraints on the formulation of national policies. These constraints are: i) The international economic environment has qualitatively changed. When the industrialised countries are subjected to economic fluctuations, the dependent developing countries will have to bear these economic shocks. ii) There is a relationship on the one hand between investment made for exportoutput and income generated via the multiplier, and on the other hand  between income generated and imports via propensity to import. This problem stems from the fact that income multiplier effect in a developing economy is higher than in a developed economy due to a higher marginal propensity to consume. Consequently, demand generated is also relatively higher in the developing economies than in the developed economies. This rise in demand, under certain given conditions, will push up the domestic price level and if marginal propensity to import does not recede, it will further lead to higher imports to the extent that proportionate rise in imports may exceed proportionate rise in exports and thus the trade balance is shaken. iii) The formation of a trade block in North America that has given rise to free trade between the US and Canada has created a new situation. With this, cartel like conditions will prevail on the demand side in these markets whereas competition amongst the suppliers, intra-country and inter-country, will continue. It is in these changed market conditions that India has to adjust itself. Thus, not to speak of pushing up its share, even survival will prove a gigantic task for India. In view of this, a better course for India will be not to rely too much on an export-led growth under the existing world scenario. In this market oriented world there is no godfather who may come to India’s rescue without asking for its pound for flesh.Globalisation is perhaps irreversible. Success comes to those who learn to live dangerously. At best one can moderate the pace of globalisation. But globaliation is a conditional boon. One must put one’s own house in order or at least mismanage it much less to get the boon working. India’s options are limited. One of them is to let the rupee fall freely. If the rupee depreciates, then the expectations of capping prices through imports would also be punctured. The existing framework of global governance is weak, ad hoc and unpredictable, with international economic decision-making dispersed over numerous institutions, which are mostly dominated by the rich countries. Continued inhospitable international economic environment will frustrate the developing countries’ determined efforts to end stagnation through liberalisation, market-oriented reforms and outward-looking policies. Denial of access to markets, debt burden, inequities in global monetary, financial and trade systems, barriers to transfer of technology, dwindling flows of concessional resources, reluctance of foreign direct investment to flow to developing countries are  making quantum jump from stagnation to sustained growth almost impossible. 34 Domestically, there are several problems and issues, which act as hurdle towards global integration. These are : (i) gross inequalities in income, (ii) poor infrastructure, (iii) lack of research facilities, and (iv) the problem of bureaucratic set up. According to Professor, P.R. Brahmananda (1993) the economies are being asked to perform functions assigned to market systems without the requisite infrastructures in storage houses, communication framework, trading establishments, organised stock exchanges, future markets, banking and financial institutions with branches, employment exchanges, commercial news-papers, advertisement media etc. Thus, the transformation of the market has been sought to be achieved in a vacuum. Private property in land, capital and financial assets etc., has yet to be established universally. The information basis for a market economy is virtually absent. The state is simply divesting itself of its functions without compensating new institutional arrangements. Capitalism cannot be established without capitalist institutions and a legal framework. Consequently, the transaction costs in the transitional processes have risen enormously, and great profits are being made by informal financial trading and information intermediaries. Consequently, the underlying basis for elastic supply schedules in various relative production lines has not come to exist. The institutions such as IMF, World Bank and WTO are emerging as the watchdogs and monitors of developing countries on behalf of the developed. The loans are sources of additional demand for the products of the developed. The pressures on the movin g down of exchange rates of the borrowing countries will be stronger. Further, there will be strong pressures to make the developing countries bring down the import duties and to free domestic markets. Internationally, the point of worry is that major economies of the world are going through a major recessionary phase and are increasingly turning inwards in an effort to balance their domestic and international priorities. Thus, even they continue to preach the articles of globalisation and opening up to the world, they themselves are forming closed trading blocs, NAFTA, Paciffic Basic Trade Bloc, being a few such examples. Thus, there are both, opportunities and hurdles in the entire process. Whereas the domestic ones can be overcome by the necessary reforms,  the trade policies and structural movements towards opening up may be slowed down by the protectionist polices of the industrial countries. According to Uncial’s Trade and Development Report (TDR) 1997, the invisible hand (market) now operates globally and with fewer countervailing press ures. It has sounded out a wake-up warning to countries that their faith in markets and economic openness could be overwhelmed by political events, since evidence is mounting that slow growth and rising inequalities are becoming more permanent features of the global economy. The policy efforts of developing world should be accompanied by an accommodating global milieu. But, among the asymmetrie of globalisation is the fact that liberalization of the world economy has proceeded so far in a lop-sided way that tends to prejudice the growth prospects of developing countries by discriminating against areas in which they could achieve comparative advantage. Thus, liberalisation of trade in goods has proceeded more slowly in those sectors where developing countries are more competitive. Major trading blocs continue to protect their agricultural sector. New forms of protection against exports of manufactures from the South are being sought as a remedy for labour market problems in the North. While many curbs have been lifted on the freedom of capital and skilled labour to move where it is Globalisation of Indian Economy 35 Economic Reforms in India best rewarded, no attention has been paid to abolishing many restrictions on the freedom of movement of unskilled labour. Ultimately global efforts to help developing countries could still come to nothing if the slowdown in economic growth in the North is not reversed. For a return to faster growth, the policy of full employment is not only a pre-requisite for resolving the twin evils of high unemployment and increasing wage inequality in the North, but is also essential for defusing the threat of a population backlash against globalisation, which might put the gains of global economic integration at risk. Check Your Progress 2 1) Highlight the implications of globalisations for Indian financial markets. †¦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‚¬ ¦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‚¬ ¦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‚¬ ¦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‚¬ ¦.. 2) Mention three problems associated with globalisation. †¦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‚¬ ¦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‚¬ ¦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‚¬ ¦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‚¬ ¦.. 27.8 EFFORTS REQUIRED FOR GLOBALISATION While globalisation has arrived in the world, most organisations are still not ready for it. Yet, there is little doubt that to be viable during the next century, all organisations whether domestic or international, will need to become more global in their outlook, if not in their operations. The global organisation is a consequence to several new and sophisticated forces that have come to shape the world economy over the last decade. These are: (i) aggressive and massive financial accumulation and relatively free-flowing resource turner; (ii) well-defined and efficient communication channels; (iii) information transfer and control systems; (iv) technology development and application that seek both leading edge and low-cost product creation and production and clear recognition of the potential for mass markets, mass customisation, and (v) global trends. A joint industry-government working group set up by the Ministry of Commerce has recommended that the country should undertake corporate sector type advertising campaign in major international markets in order to improve the international image of Indian industry and goods and services. It suggested a two-step promotional strategy, beginning with a focus on image building for the country as a whole to combat its adverse image, followed by specific campaigns aimed at generating trade and investment flows. The expansion of  international trade and the rapid growth of products and services out of India will be enormously assisted if the image of India is improved by a special, sustained and co-ordinated effort by government and industry working together. Many developing countries like India do not have strong reputations. It is therefore imperative to build credibility among a targeted group of buyers and investors. 36 In this context, twelve different promotional techniques used by other countries have been advocated by the working group. These are: (i) advertising in the general economic media, (ii) participation in trade fairs and exhibitions, (iii) advertising in sector specific media, (iv) trade missions to select countries, (v) general information seminars on trade and investment opportunities, (vi) direct mail campaigns, (vii) industry or sector-specific missions to select countries, (viii) sector-specific seminars, (ix) firm-specific research followed by sales presentations, (x) provision of trade and investment counselling services, (xi) speeding up the processing of applications, and (xii) provision of post-investment and post-trade services. Moreover, while a host of bodies such as the Ministries of commerce, external affairs and finance, and several chambers of commerce are involved, there are no national coordinated efforts. Therefore, promotional work should be entrusted to an agency owned and funded jointly by the government and industry. However, it should function outside the purview of normal civil service rules and practices, should perhaps be a registered society, and â€Å"should be run as a non-governmental, private sector organisation with a work culture different from government†. It may be emphasised that the organisation must be staffed by multi-disciplinary professionals, drawn not from the government but from the private sector. â€Å"Essentially, a small, compact, fast moving group of people, led by a dynamic leader with task of promoting India internationally. As the international orientation of the Indian economy and Indian industry increase, it becomes essential for Indian industry to take ca re of details. Sustained efforts over a period, therefore, become necessary to build credibility. With this as the objective Confederation of Indian Industries  (CII) has drawn up a list of â€Å"Do’s and Don’t† for Indian industry to assist companies to deal effectively in international trade. In justifying the structural reforms that are being introduced in the Indian economy, the advocates of these reforms have brought the question of competitiveness to the centre of the discussion. Their argument runs as follows: The Indian economy needs to be integrated to the world economy. Globalisation requires that the Indian producers be competitive in the global market. It is only through these reforms that they can acquire the competitiveness and, therefore, the reforms are essential prerequisites for successful globalisation. Globalisation has of late become an objective in itself. This is both dangerous and ludicrous. Globalisation should not be considered a goal in itself and that it was merely a means to the ultimate aim of improvement of the economy. This s imple objective needs reinforcement among the experts if the avoidable pitfalls of an economy in transition are to be avoided. Transition is a word that triggers both unease and heightened expectations. It is very important for us to cope with the unease if we are to satisfy the heightened expectations of nearly a billion people. The strengthening of the internal economy was a pre-requisite for a globalising economy. Given the ultimate aim of globlisation and given the pre-requisite for a globalising economy, the ultimate aim of improving the economy appears to be both the means and the end. This simplification without the use of expensive-sugarcoated words is the right approach to addressing the unease and the positive expectations. The theoretical elegance of globalisation has its own attraction. It may help India to find some partial explanations for success and failure by systematically analysing the ability of a small set of firms to manage change. But India needs practical and profitable applications that would be relevant to the large set of firms and individuals. It needs consistent policies that can help to upgrade India’s position in international competition in a s ubstantial and enduring way. Towards this, India needs to find out what it is good at so that it can better achieve the best possible. The process of finding out what India and its firms are good at is yet to Globalisation of Indian Economy 37 Economic Reforms in India be put into motion at the national level and all the talk about globlisation is at best wishful and premature. Globalisation requires both static efficiency and dynamic efficiency, more of the latter than the former, and India is at a stage when it is unsure of economy’s static efficiency. A nation that is unsure of static efficiency is least equipped to pay for the dynamic extra options that are essential to guarantee success. The power blackouts in the states are an example of unsure, unreliable static efficiencies. Check Your Progress 3 1) Mention five new forces that shape the world economy. †¦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‚¬ ¦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‚¬ ¦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‚¬ ¦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‚¬ ¦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‚¬ ¦.. 2) Mention a few promotional techniques that need be adopted by India. †¦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‚¬ ¦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‚¬ ¦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‚¬ ¦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‚¬ ¦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‚¬ ¦.. 27.9 LET US SUM UP India ought to know what it is good at before embarking on what it needs to be good at in order to reduce the unease and sustain the expectations of a prosperous future. A prosperous future is predicted on the competitive  advantage of firms in all sectors of the economy. The basis of competitive advantage in many sectors and industries, each seemingly distinct, depends on a set of critical elements common to a range of sectors. The set would obviously include transportation facilities, trained labour, energy, education and health. This set is indisputably at the heart of the economy. Its static efficiency needs to be improved. This is a prerequisite for sustaining and expanding the technical possibility set. Globalization would then be a clinch. â€Å"Behind the cost of production of every commodity, there is a story. It may be a story of innovation, technical progress and modern labour process, or it may be one of sweated labour, primitive labour process and pollution. By putting a price sticker on all commodities, the market suppresses these stories, and thus hides more than it reveals. It is like one of those dark nights in which all horses appear gray. No country today can live behind closed doors. Third world countries therefore must globalise. But while attuning the economy to the needs of the global market, it should be kept in mind that globalization does not generate the process of development, it is the latter that leads to, and in turn is reinforced by, successful globalisation. Unless the process of development which is basically a highly localised process – successfully triggered off, globalisation may lead to the classification of the structure of underdevelopment, instead of causing its dissolution† (Kalyan K. Sanyal, 1993). 38 It is interesting to note that the Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen support  removal of government control over industry and commerce and even endorses globalisation provided welfare is not ignored. He admits unhesitatingly that with the initiation of the right kind of policies, globalisation would secure more prosperity. Globalisation of Indian Economy 27.10 KEY WORDS Backwash Effects: These operate where the economic growth in one region of an  economy has adverse effects on the growth of other regions. Common Market: An area, usually combining a number of countries, in which all can trade on equal terms. Exchange Rate: The rate at which one currency may be exchanged for another. Financial Capital: The liquid as opposed to physical assets of a company. Public Utility: Essential good or service like power, gas, transport etc. A company or enterprise, which is the sole supplier of some of these essential goods or services and is, in consequence, subject to some form of government control. Trade Blocs: Association of group of countries for safeguarding their interest visà  -vis other non-member countries, like European Union (EU) and North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), ASEAN, APEC etc., are some of the example of such trading blocs. Members of these trading blocs have eliminated all barriers to trade amongst member countries. The 15 members of EU have created a single internal market. 27.11 SOME USEFUL BOOKS Bhalla, G.S. (1995): Globalisation and Farm Policy (Presidential Address delivered at the 54th Annual Conference of the Indian Association of Agricultural Economics at Kolhapur) Business Line, January 12-27. Brahmananda, P.R. (1993): Global Economy, Plea for Realistic Scenario, Financial Express, December 30 & 31, January 1, 1993. Chandra, Nirmal Kumar (1995): China’s Tryst with Globalisation, Economic & Political Weekly Jan.28. Chugh K.L. (1992): The Role of Corporation in the New India, speech at the 81st Annual General Body Meeting of ITC Ltd., Observer of Business and Politics, August 10. Dhingra, I.C. (2000): The Indian Economy : Environment and Policy, Sultan Chand & Sons, New Delhi. Kumar, T. Krishna (1996): Management of Development in the Newly Emerging Global Economic Environment, Economic and Political Weekly, June 22. Malhotra, R.N. (1989): Globalisation of the International Economy and its Implications for Developing Countries in Asia, Reserve Bank of India Bullet in, October. Narasimham. M. (1989): Globalisation of Financial Markets in India, Exim Bank Commencement Day Annual Lecture 1989, Mumbai. 39 Palkhiwala, Nani A (1995): Making Indian Industry Globally Competitive, Forum of Free Enterprise, Mumbai, May-June.