Rising Rate of Divorce in Present Society - MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Rising Rate of Divorce in Present Society. Answer: Introduction: The research managed to collect both primary and secondary data relevant Magnagement to the research topic by using various research techniques. Data was collected from members of the society through the use of survey questionnaire administered among a selected heterogeneous sample representing the larger society (Milner, et al. 2013). The respondents comprised of both the divorced, currently married, those currently dating as well as other stakeholders in the marriage institution such as religious leaders, parents of both couples, civic leaders among the general members of the society. This group of people were willing to give information that was relevant and ensured that the research problem was adequately addressed. The research used a survey questionnaire whose structure was subdivided into three parts to enable the respondents to give adequate data. To determine the variations in the divorce rate among different, the first part of the questionnaire required the respondent to give information regarding their gender. The questionnaire was made easy to understand and answer by providing multiple choices from which the respondent was to choose the most appropriate answer to address the question (Vignoli Ferro, 2009). For instance, the respondent was required to mark in the provided boxes with five pre-defined choices including; Agree, Strongly Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree, and No Comment. The survey questionnaire was designed in a manner that enabled the research to answer to answer the research questions which included; What do you think is the main reason behind the increasing rate of divorce among couples? Does the number of years the couples have been in marriage affect the chances of divorce? What is your opinion on divorce? It was discovered that indeed, the rate of divorce is on the rise in the present society as compared to yester years. The respondents registered varied reactions on the validity of divorce with some supporting it especially where cases of unfaithfulness arose while others regarding it as an evil that leads to the suffering of the innocent children. It was discovered, that among those who were divorced, a large percentage of men moved on and got married again than their female counterparts who in most cases were observed to be living single lives. Moreover, among those who were divorced, the research observed that the divorce cases were higher among employed women who were financially stable than their counterparts who had no jobs and relied on their husbands for financial support (Hendershott, et al. 2009). It was discovered that children who were embroiled in the divorce caucus were psychologically Management affected and registered low performance in academic performance. A good number of couples who had divorced were observed to be engaged in alcohol drinking while at the same time, many of these couples especially women admitted that they were still in love with their couples and would wish to move back to the marriage if the spouses apologised and changed. On the other hand, a considerable number of divorced couples especially those from abusive marriages regretted getting married and admitted never to fall in love and get married again (Halford, et al. 2008). A mong those who were still in marriage, a good number admitted that they were not happy in the marriage and could wish to divorce. However, they admitted that they were held into the unhappy marriages due to reasons such as concern for their children as well as lack of financial capabilities to support themselves away from their spouses (Reimondos, et al. 2011). Unfaithfulness among couples was recorded as the biggest reason behind most divorce cases. The other reasons that were cited as being behind the increasing divorce rate were gender freedom, economic reasons, urbanization, social support, religion, legal systems, Babies as well as cultural factors. Regardless of whether marriage is built on the foundation of love or is arranged, all marriages entail compromise and understanding. It was discovered during the research that the main reasons behind divorce revolve around the general lack of compromise and understanding among couples. For instance, couples become unfaithful to one another because they fail to compromise their sexual feelings for the sake of their marriage, couples divorce for economic reasons because they fail to understand the economic situation of one another and the situation is similar to all the reasons behind divorce (Narayan Smyth, 2007). The widespread gospel of women empowerment across the world is also plays a significant role in the rising rates of divorce in the present society. The institution of marriage is based on tolerance, perseverance, submission and understanding. These are the tools that held marriages for a long time in the traditional days. However, today, with the gospel of women empowerment Management, women have assumed a different role. Most have misunderstood the concept of being equal to men and assume that being submissive means being subdued by men and as a result many easily do no preserve challenges and will simply walk out from their spouses in the name of gender freedom. Economic situations also play a significant role in the rate of divorce in the modern society. Divorce is a socioeconomic phenomenon heavily dependent on the economic growth, cultural support, available labour opportunities as well as career mobility (Booth Kee, 2011). Lack of the capability of the couple to provide for the needs of the family leads to high chances of divorce among such families. Cases of divorce are higher among the rural, uneducated populace of Aust ralia where there is a high rate of unemployment. The high rate of divorce in the present days is also attributed to urbanization. In the towns, people tend to mix with friends and colleagues from varied cultures. Through the cultural interaction and exchange, they tend to embrace divorce as opposed to the other conventional ways of domestic conflict resolution. Moreover, urbanization leads to the disintegration of the social fabric. For instance, as a result of a spouse being posted to work in the urban areas, the family social support is reduced as one spouse may be left to fend for themselves without proper guidance and counselling hence raising the chances of divorce. This research also established that religion is also one of the factors affecting divorce (Heard, 2011). It was discovered that divorce rates were high among couples who did not belong to the same religion. On the other hand, among the couples of the same religion, divorce cases were low. This is because religion provided a platform for the couples to sit down and be guided and counselled on marriage issues. Similarly, through religious doctrines, the couples could easily understand and respect the institution of marriage hence reducing the chances of divorce. Furthermore, babies were cited as one of the reasons behind divorce. Varied opinions among the couples on the issue of babies, for instance, the number of babies to have as well as the inability of one spouse to bear children is also a major factor that contributes to the high divorce rates in the present society. Conclusion Marriage is an important institution that shapes the existence of society Management. However, due to poor priorities that drive marriage in the modern days, cases of divorce are on the rise. For instance, marriage in the western countries such as Australia is founded upon sex than in the east. As the couples grow older, sex becomes less engaging and as a result cracks beginning forming on the relationship hence the reason behind the high cases of divorce among older couples in the west. The biggest casualty of the rising cases of divorce in the present society is the child who is innocent and does not deserve the predicament that comes as a result of the separation of the parents (Burns Scott, 2013). High are the cases of neglect as a result of the parent indulging in alcoholism as a way to release the stress of having lost a loved one through divorce. The children also are forced in many circumstances to change the learning environment as well as the living area which affects the overall performance of the child. For the sake of the children and the entire society, measures should be put in place by both parents to ensure that cases of divorce are reduced. Recommendation Measures have been put in place to reduce the rampant cases of divorce in the present society. However, much needs to be done to reduce the consequences of divorce to the society. Some of the measures to be put in place include; Adequate sensitization to make the public informed on the effects of divorce. Legal restrictions should be put in place to reduce divorce rate and ensure that the interests of children are taken care of in the event of divorce. References Booth, A. L., Kee, H. J. (2011). A Long?Run View Of The University Gender Gap In Australia. Australian Economic History Review, 51(3), 254-276. Burns, A., Scott, C. (2013). Mother-headed families and why they have increased. Routledge. De Vaus, D., Gray, M., Qu, L., Stanton, D. (2014). The economic consequences of divorce in Australia. International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, ebt014. Halford, W. K., Markman, H. J., Stanley, S. (2008). Strengthening couples' relationships with education: Social policy and public health perspectives. Journal of Family Psychology, 22(4), 497. Heard, G. (2011). Socioeconomic marriage differentials in Australia and New Zealand. Population and Development Review, 37(1), 125-160. Hendershott, P. H., Ong, R., Wood, G. A., Flatau, P. (2009). Marital history and home ownership: Evidence from Australia. Journal of Housing Economics, 18(1), 13-24. Milner, A., Page, A., LaMontagne, A. D. (2013). Duration of unemployment and suicide in Australia over the period 19852006: an ecological investigation by sex and age during rising versus declining national unemployment rates. Journal of epidemiology and community health, 67(3), 237-244. Narayan, P. K., Smyth, R. (2007). What Explains Dissent on the High Court of Australia? An Empirical Assessment Using a Cointegration and Error Correction Approach. Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, 4(2), 401-425. Reimondos, A., Evans, A., Gray, E. (2011). Living-apart-together (LAT) relationships in Australia. Family matters, (87), 43. Popenoe, D. (2009). Cohabitation, marriage, and child wellbeing: A cross-national perspective. Society, 46(5), 429-436. Vignoli, D., Ferro, I. (2009). Rising marital disruption in Italy and its correlates. Demographic Research, 20, 11.

Group Strategy in Presentation

Question: Discuss about the group strategy in presentation, difficulty encountered in making plan, difficulty in collecting data and information an trying to solve conflicts and disputes? Answer: Introduction The objective of this report is to reflect the group working and learning that I have learnt and absorbed from the carrying out group presentation with our group members. This includes the specific group approach strategy that we used and show troubles that we have encountered during discussion and gaining knowledge in Human Resources Management. Group Strategy in Presentation The improvement of our group strategy in Presentation might by no means be smooth job for group members, it involve a different kinds of peoples for the development of an effective work, because it needs for finding data, collecting information, and communication and discussion for thoughts and effective way for the group presentation. The approach of our work via our organization had used the teamwork strategy to make sure completeness, effective operations, and as well as consistency of works. The teamwork approach for strategy is to allow our organization members to broaden strong our unity and efforts for making better performance, and this enables us to work in group mission from each component to the cease (Erik, 2012). For example, before we start work, we sit down together to talk about the key factors that must be included inside the our presentation, having understanding what specific things ought to be covered in each element, and what information need to be collected for every factors to complete the group work. We work hard on basic format and outline of the presentation files, and we tried together to complete part by part for the group work. For instance, when we are doing the first element in the presentation, one of the our group member became the editor who enter the sentences and phrases into the Microsoft word, and other members correct grammar or information, and discusses whether the data entered are appropriate and suitable to this presentation over an d over. Although this might spend a lot of time for completing the work, as many conflicts might occur, but the quality of the information can be reliable ensured, and avoid the duplication of work if we delegate the work to each of the group member. Difficulty Encountered in making plan During the making plans of the group task, we had faced with problems and issues which are participation of one of our group members. To be detail, we are intended to combine component when every person is finished with their own work. So, we were trying to contact this member to complete our presentation slide files. However, she has ignored message and making excuses for her work. So, these problems and troubles have affected our team and group works, and a few things are related to the difficulty of tasks for understanding work. Conflicts and Disputes The work as group is quite hard workloads and amounts of works that we have to adapt, and consequently it additionally implies the big quantities of group discussions that every group member has to participate in and give opinions, agreements for ideas and data during group discussion. But, disputes and conflicts had typically happened to unexpectedly, going on to trouble our group works; it's always hard for all members to agree at the same ground. Our group members are keeping their suggestion and ideas to be adopted, and consequently this had prompted us to spend longer time issues in discussing each ones data and reviews, and to finally make conclusions to pick and adopt. Now and again, this had brought about the interpersonal conflicts among groups, but we solved this problem effectively (Erik, 2012). Difficulty in collecting data and information The development of group work needs to have considerable amounts of data and information for using to provide reasonable, correct, and reliable information for the high quality of presentation. However, some of information is tough to be received. Consequently, we searched again and again from internet, and to the end we used dependable records and theory for the group paintings (Brian, 2006). For instance, it is tough for us to discover examples and apply concept to examples. As a result, it had led us to spend massive of time to look for data and to support. Slow progress The other issue that we confronted with is the slow progress in development. The factor which induced to the slow progress in the improvement of our group might also due to strategy we used. We agreed to work each component, and then combine the works. When we want to finish our slide documents, but we couldnt finish because one of our group member didnt reply our message. Additionally she was absent regularly. Consequently, we couldnt make a progress for discussion, agreements, also encountered disagreements, and disputes over data and ideas, and this took us taking longer time to finish our work. Trying to solve conflicts and disputes At first, Solving this disputes in the group, we were trying to speak to her because we thought this is the best solution to remind her of how importance it is. Consequently , she told us Dont worry about this! I've already made some work which is about our topic and I will send it to you guys no later than tonight. So we couldnt help trusting her. But she didnt do it. After that, she was absent from class many times. As a result, we didnt have any opportunity to discuss work with her. Therefore, this way turned into no longer working out properly. Second, we notify lecturer of issues what we faced with because we didnt have sufficient time and options. When we got email from Paul Leonard, He advised us to clear up this trouble is one of key elements in assessment. We determined to complete work cooperatively and emailed her about our presentation. Afterwards, she carefully checked and went over group working and we possibly proceed with presentation session. Learning from this presentation To begin with, I think this module is vital to an organization, and in addition to, are significant factors in making an effective and efficient company. By doing this presentation, I have broadened specific expertise and gaining knowledge of from each of the procedure, and how it affected the organisation of success. Specifically, HR is workers required as enter to operate and function the firms; they're the peoples who involved within the business managing (Stone, 2008). Despite the fact that technologies are noticeably placed in todays management of business, but without representatives, it cant be involved in. Therefore, the planning of proper wide variety of workers used to manage a sort of business operation is to ensure the future business operation may successfully make predicted values and benefits. Second, I have learnt from difficulty with one of our group members. To be specific, we faced with issues which are about commitment to group work and this situation will take place to us in actual working environment. So, it made me realise that's we are getting ready for answer of unexpected situation. Sooner or later, if I am confronted with this sort of context, I might solve it better than earlier than. It was found into very useful time to recall it. Conclusion This group presentation for this module had delivered know-how and studying to me and other group members. Although, we confronted issues and troubles, and inducing great intense problems that impacts our relationship, but I though it is elements of the studying in life which meant we should settle problem by analysing. Consequently, I could higher and further understanding of functions of HR in Employment Cycle, and why those are crucial in company. I respect that lecturer had gave us the opportunity to examine through our own development of HRM.

The impact of e

Executive Summary Advancement in technology has reshaped and revamped the way business is being done. There is a shift towards using internet as a platform for firms to carryout business. The advantages associated with this technology has left almost all business firms whether big or small in size to consider adopting it with the notion that it will help them stay competitive and relevant in the current world of business.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The impact of e-commerce on business specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, there is little knowledge these firms have with regards to both advantages and disadvantages of adopting e-commerce. This paper has identified the pros and cons of adopting e-commerce. The method used to arrive at the conclusion in this paper is through an analysis of secondary data from existing books, journals and internet sources. It is apparent that since the inception of c omputers and internet, everything particularly on how business is carried out has tremendously changed. E-commerce is one of the fastest growing industries worldwide and is one of the most rapidly evolving areas of national and international trade. Using internet to carryout business has been deemed to be the most current innovation in the world of business and offers an opportunity to businesses to carryout business through electronics. Firms have rushed to adopt e-commerce which entails making transaction online with the belief that it will help them gain competitive advantages and increase their market shares as well as revenue. Indeed there are numerous advantages associated with this concept such as capturing new markets by allowing firms to go global, 24/7 operation this has been shown to bring with it the advantage of reliability and convenience which allows potential customers who do not have time to buy products and services regardless of time. It is evident that e-commerce help firm cut the costs of doing business, for instance there will be less paper work which requires human resource, a flexible or telework arrangement can be put in place making working execute their tasks, duties and responsibilities not necessarily in the office among other advantages. However, it is established that there are a host of drawbacks associated with e-commerce such as increase in criminal activities, ethical issues such as firing employees as a result of automating some tasks, technical issues, compatibility problems as well as legal implications.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More For instance there is concern about increase in crime rates that are not easily detected, the real time production of goods and services have and will continue to create stock crisis, there is potential of loss of resources as well as underutilization of the same (people wil l lose jobs and rates of disposed equipment will increase), unavailability of power, ICT manpower, telecommunication facilities leaves some communities especially in third world countries at a disadvantage, social division and broken human interaction that creates and nurture trust. Bases on these pros and cons of adopting e-commerce, it would be rational for businesses to critically examine them and develop better strategies to curb some of these drawbacks. Failure to give this concept a serious thought might be a recipe for an organization to fail. Introduction Since the advent of computers, mankind has experienced an unmatched surge in development of new and cutting edge technologies. Additionally the desire for organizational effectiveness as well as using it to attain competitive advantage has made the adoption of these technologies to be deemed paramount in ensuring that organizations do cut themselves an edge in this competitive business world (Sharma Gupta, 2003). However, there is need for each and every organization to deeply and extensively consult before embarking in rolling the entire project, this is important as it will dictate the success and sustainability of the project. One notable technology that has propelled a number of organizations to greater height is internet-e-commerce (Coulter Vogel, 2004). By definition, e-commerce has been thought of as a employing â€Å"electronic communications and digital information processing technology in business transactions to create, transform, and redefine relationships for value creation between or among organizations, and between organizations and individuals† (Bonnett, 2000). The whole idea centers on buying or transaction via the internet. Generally speaking, e-commerce include; the business will effectively monitor it records, it will be competitive because potential users will be able to place their orders on-line as well as track the progress of the orders they placed, time is saved, it is reliable and convenient, the concept will offer the business an opportunity to reach wider markets, e-commerce will not only be used for transactions but also advertise a firm’s product among others (Karyn Filson, 2001). Outline The paper has an introduction where the topic to be covered is succinctly brought to readers attention. Definitions of important terms are also presented. The problem statement is also clearly written down together with the objectives of the entire work. The next section is the main body tackling the impact of e-commerce to businesses. The paper begins with the positive contribution of the technology. After this, the negative effects are succinctly covered. The last section of the paper is the conclusion which entails a brief summary of the work done.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The impact of e-commerce on business specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Problem statemen t E-commerce is one of the fastest growing industries worldwide and is one of the most rapidly evolving areas of national and international trade. Using internet to carryout business has been deemed to be the most current innovation in the world of business and offers an opportunity to businesses to carryout business through electronics. E-commerce technologies have provided opportunities for business growth but have also presented the business world with many challenges (Nissanoff, 2006). It is worth mentioning that, [E-commerce enables organizational change and helps organizations to conduct business with improved efficiencies and productivity. E-commerce is credited with empowering employees and knowledge workers, by giving them easy access to virtually unlimited information. E-commerce technologies have helped nations to accelerate their economic growth and to provide more opportunities for the businesses to grow. Meanwhile, it has also created many challenges and adverse effect s, such as concerns over privacy, consumer protection, and security of credit card purchases, displacement of workers (especially low-status ones), and is charged with having a negative impact on quality of work life.] (Sharma Gupta, 2003, p. 655) Objectives The objective of this task is to critically evaluate the positive and negative impact for a business which adopts e-commerce in doing business. As noted previously, there is need to have this information in the public domain so that organizations are not misled that adopting e-commerce is a bed of roses. This will be very important since it will help them make informed decision as well as prepare them in developing better strategies that can help them overcome the negative impacts of such technology. Similarly the paper will give recommendations to businesses that desire to adopt e-commerce. Impacts of introducing e-commerce Benefits of e-commerce It is worth noting from the onset that just like any other business and for that matter a normal concept, there are both benefits and draw backs associated with introduction of e-commerce to any business organization. Therefore, the impact to the whole organization, consumers, current market and legal issues can be very dramatic (Kotler, 2009). Nissanoff, 2006 believed that E-commerce if introduced in an organization might help a firm to segment its market better by utilizing the demographic characteristics such as age, gender, price, interest, tastes and preferences of its potential customers, information that is usually easily collected online.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This will help the firm to keep track of the required goods and the services, quantity, quality and the time of delivery. This in turn will shape how the business strategizes on production. It is worth noting that what this brings in elimination of the poor timing in production and possibly cutting down on wasting of resources and time. Additionally, according to Kotler, 2009 e-commerce will cut down the cost of doing market survey. For the simple reason of adopting the innovation, paper work will be tremendously reduced. The later has no doubt been cumbersome, consuming a lot of time that can be utilized by the firm to doing other things that will upgrade their operation. With e-commerce, a business will be able to get various group segments directly especially via internet. This has come with low investment level but in turn high return. It is also a fact that most customers’ critic some business concerning the products and services it offers. For this reason, the sensitiza tion process that will be generated by online advertisement will make these customers to buy confidently in transacting with any business. E-commerce has the potential of making a firm cut itself an edge and stay competitive even during economic hard times, as it can learn and promote its image to different market segment depending with their needs, thus promoting market expansion and consequently, high sales volume. It is evident that e-commerce will help an organization to reach to a wider market not initially thought of (Kalakota Whinston, 1997). Additionally, information gathered online concerning the desires of customers will aid the firm to be in contact with demand and supply curve hence always striving to stay competitive. This will be attained by novelty to have room for the needs and aspirations of customers from the ground. As a result of trying to meet these demands and needs, there will be room for the firm to develop new products to cope up with ever tightening compet ition in the business environment. The ultimate outcome of this is highly satisfied who will be loyal to the firm which translates to doing business with them for a longer period. On the same note, there are higher chances of improved relationship between the firm adopting e-commerce and its customers. This will be brought about due to the multiple roles played by e-commerce (advertising and publicizing) (Bonnett, 2000). The reason for this is that customers will be provided with all necessary information regarding products and services available, information on progress on orders placed as well as deliveries. Such a relationship will definitely result in a better relationship between the two that might lead to more market segmentation as well as customers’ satisfaction hence a potential to develop into a global market. On the same note there are organization such as Amazon.com among other that have adopted this technology in ensuring that delivery of placed order is quick he nce reaching customers on time. This in itself is a competitive advantage. In most cases the products are delivered in at the customers’ door steps. On the same note, e-commerce carries with it the advantage of doing business around the clock, 24/7. With this come the concepts of convenience and reliability. It is worth noting that doing business around the clock will attract more potential customers especially those who do not have time to physically come to the offices to place an order. The implications of this is that more revenue will be generated and at the same time widening customer base. Additionally, the business can benefit by using the whole idea as an alternative source of income. Similarly, a firm that adopts e-commerce can be provided with an easy and very flexible opportunity to maneuver pricing issues. Mass customization and network production can be made possible by adopting e-commerce. After capturing a global market, a firm can parcel out some production p rocesses to other firms that offer goods and services similar to it. The advantage that will be realized as a result of this is reduced cost, increased strategic target marketing as well as facilitated sell add-on goods and services when need arise. Another positive force brought forth by introduction of e-commerce may be the link it creates among customers, employees of the business, competitors, suppliers and distributors. The association will be effective if there is a clear supply chain management which will in the end boost sales. It has been shown that in traditional environment of doing business, it was difficult and cumbersome for a new entrant or a small firm to conquer other geographical locations. However, when a firm adopts e-commerce, this gives it a perfect opportunity to compete globally since there are no geographic boundaries. The only thing a firm needs to do is to develop a well thought and managed website where its products and services can be accessed. This will help even small firms to gain competitive advantage and increase their market shares. Draw backs of e-commerce Legal implications On the other hand, there is need for the business especially if it operates in the United States to carefully evaluate the associated legislations such as the copyright legislation, computer misuse act 1990, trading standards, delta protection act of 1998, freedom of information act of 2002 as well as e-commerce regulation. This does not mean that other businesses in other geographic locations are exempted. There is also need to adhere to international laws and regulations concerning usage of e-commerce (Miller, 2002). A clear understanding of this legal provision is key in ensuring that any emerging legal issues for instance differing prices advertisement can be handle with clear precedent. It is worth noting that failure to follow a number of government provisions might land businesses which have adopted e-commerce into serious legal battles (Chaudhury Jean-Pierre, 2002). Ethical issues As suggested by Coulter Vogel, 2004 with the introduction of e-commerce, managers and line supervisors will be faced with very serious ethical issues that need to be addressed in time. One notable issue is what a firm will do with those employees for instance who work on business paperwork’s now that most of the things have been automated. Additionally, another issue linked to this is addressing the issue of resistance as well as employees who are difficult to be retrained so that they fit into the system. This is costly and laying them off can imply legal battle on the basis of the contract signed between employees and their employer (Kalakota Whinston, 1997). Similarly, issue of confidentiality in using e-commerce will be highly compromised. The is a higher chance again of the business to utilize information technology to closely monitor all activities of its customers as well as workers which amount to invasion of human privacy. It is also a fact that surfing the internet is an interesting as well as time consuming, there is a possibility of an employee to surf during work time which can jeopardize the efforts of adopting the innovation (Mellahi Johnson, 2000). To control this, there will be need to limit the kind of information accessible through the internet. This in turn might negative impact the moral of the workers. In recent past, there are cases reported where hackers get into businesses data bases and obtain full details of customers (Chaudhury Jean-Pierre, 2002). They later use these details to steal money from unsuspecting customers. This they do by sending customers mails which are fictions for instance one might be told that he or she has won a price and needs to send some cash to a certain bank account. Similarly, with advancement in technology, there are those who after acquiring the full details of customers, hack their bank accounts and transfer money to unknown accounts (Eisingerich Kretschme r, 2008). Trust and human contact Although adopting e-commerce sounds heavenly send solution to doing business in the 21st century, Lefebvre et al 2001 note that there are very serious issue regarding customer trust and lack of human contact while carrying out transaction might be a blow to the desires of any firm which seek to have a direct contact with its customers. It is human nature to interact while doing business; this usually fosters the concept of building customer trust. Although the current generation is capable of living up to this kind of idea, the older population is yet to embrace this kind of technology and they still prefer the human contact (Wyckoff Colecchia, 2000). It has been argued that online communication can never be a substitute to face-face interaction. Additionally in situations where there are serious complains, there is no perfect opportunity like face to face interaction. Here the complaining party can gain full understanding of the issue at hand whic h cannot be attained through online communication particularly when the other party is agitated (Laudon Traver, 2010). It is worth mentioning that there are a group of people who will resist doing business through this kind of platform and will prefer doing business the traditional way. The major reason why people resist using internet to transact is due to lack of adequate knowledge on how the system works as well as reluctant to buy a product that cannot be physically examined. As a result, this will call for the firm adopting this kind of technology to set aside funds that will be used to educate potential and willing consumers so that they become confident in using e-commerce. The problem with this is that the firm might incur extra cost and still the group refuses to change. Technical problems and emerging innovation Having in mind that changes are always part of human life, advent of new technology will always present a challenge to the business. There are chances that after adopting the innovation, a new one is developed rendering the one adopted to be obsolete leading to a financial draw back especially if the entire project has not repaid the money invested in it (Seethamraju, 2006). Technical hiccups can also hit the innovation and this might include failure of the web site, problems with the surrounding environment, failure in power systems, failures in hardware and software as well as virus attacks (Bonnett, 2000). When the later happen, it is risky for the business since it can loss all its viable data in case it has not backed it up. Compatibility problem Since it is everybody’s anticipation that there will be development of further technological innovation, the business might face problems with compatibility of its old and the emerging innovation. What this will imply is that there will be instances where sharing of information is hindered which will call for installation of entirely new system which will have huge financial implication to the business (Eisingerich Kretschmer, 2008). Impact of e-commerce to the entire society Among the societal implications of adopting e-commerce in doing business are; it has fostered creation of a flexible working environment. This has in turned led to improved quality of life making people to work from their homes. The advantages of this working scenario not only include convenience but also offer a conducive environment to take part in activities that aid in generating revenue. Similarly, working from home help reduces traffic congestions as well as cutting down air pollution (Bonnett, 2000). Additionally this helps the firm cut down on operation costs in terms of space, power, and food to employees among others Consequently, people are interconnected which makes sharing of information to be very easy and quick thus making the entire society to make informed choices before engaging in business transactions. Additionally, there is an economic as well as social impact as a result of the rate at which changes occur. On the same note, e-commerce has facilitated quick delivery of public services for instance plumbing services, banking services and more importantly health care services. It is also thanks to e-commerce that it has been possible to fill tax return forms on line and submit them on time (Seethamraju, 2006). On the other hand, there are drawbacks that the society has experience as a result of adopting e-commerce. According to Kalakota Whinston, 1997 these include increase crime rates that are not easily detected, the real time production of goods and services have and will continue to create stock crisis, there is potential of loss of resources as well as underutilization of the same (people will lose jobs and rates of disposed equipment will increase), unavailability of power, ICT manpower, telecommunication facilities leaves some communities especially in third world countries at a disadvantage, social division and broken human interaction that c reates and nurture trust. Conclusion It is apparent that since the inception of computers and internet, everything particularly on how business is carried out has tremendously changed. Using internet to carryout business has been deemed to be the most current innovation in the world of business and offers an opportunity to businesses to carryout business through electronics. Firms have rushed to adopt e-commerce the belief that it will help them gain competitive advantages and increase their market shares as well as revenue. Indeed there are numerous advantages associated with this concept such as capturing new markets by allowing firms to go global, 24/7 operation, cutting costs among others. However, it is established that there are a host of drawbacks associated with e-commerce such as increase in criminal activities, ethical issues such as firing employees as a result of automating some tasks, technical issues, compatibility problems as well as legal implications. Thus businesse s need to critically examine the concept of e-commerce and develop better strategies to curb some of its drawbacks. Failure to give this concept a serious thought might be a recipe for an organization to fail. References Bonnett, K. (2000). An IBM Guide to Doing Business on the Internet. New York: McGraw-Hill. Chaudhury, A. Jean-Pierre, K. (2002). E-Business and E-Commerce Infrastructure. New York: McGraw-Hill. Coulter, J. Vogel, T. (2004). Pets.com, Inc.: Assessing financial performance and risks in the e-commerce industry. Accounting Education, 2(1), 567-582. Eisingerich, A. Kretschmer, T. (2008). In E-Commerce, More is More. Harvard Business Review 86, 20–21. Kalakota, R. Whinston, A. (1997). Electronic Commerce: A Manager’s Guide. London: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc. Karyn, W. Filson, D. 2001. The Impact of E-Commerce Strategies on Firm Value: Lessons from Amazon.com. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.198.4557rep=rep1type= pdf Kotler, P. (2009). Marketing Management. Pearson: Prentice-Hall. Laudon, K. Traver, C. (2010). E-Commerce 2011. Prentice Hall. Lefebvre, L., Pierre-Majorique, L., Cassivi, L., Lapointe, R Pierre, H. (2001). OECD Electronic Commerce Business Impact Project. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/internet/ieconomy/2070352.pdf Mellahi, K. Johnson, M. (2000). Does it pay to be a first mover in e-commerce: The case of Amazon.com. Management Decisions, 38(7), 445-452. Miller, R. (2002). The Legal and E-Commerce Environment Today. London: Thomson Learning. Nissanoff, D. (2006). Future Shop: How the New Auction Culture Will Revolutionize the Way We Buy, Sell and Get the Things We Really Want. New York: The Penguin Press. Seethamraju, R. (2006). Impact of E-Commerce on Business Process Redesign and Integration. International Journal of Electronic Business, 4(5), 380-400. Sharma, S. Gupta, J. (2003). Adverse effects of e-commerce. The electronic and social impact of e-commerce. Retrieved from http://www.irma-international.org/viewtitle/12494/ Wyckoff, A. Colecchia, A. (2000).The Economic and Social Impact of Electronic Commerce: Preliminary Findings and Research Agenda. London: Org. for Economic Cooperation Development. This research paper on The impact of e-commerce on business was written and submitted by user GorillaMan to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

From The Earth To The Moon And Around The Moon Essays - Free Essays

From The Earth To The Moon And Around The Moon Essays - Free Essays From The Earth To The Moon And Around The Moon FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON AND AROUND THE MOON From the earth to the moon and around the moon by Jules Verne, a book about how he foresaw man reaching the moon. Through the infamous Gun Club which was nothing more than a group of disfigured and excitable old war veterans. Since there was no war, they needed to create some grand project as an outlet for their destructive energy. Illustrated in many of the attitudes of the Gun Club members was how they feared no obstacle and were confident that American resourcefulness would conquer all of their obstacles. One of the ways that they vented their destructive power was to build a projectile-vehicle to voyage around the moon and back. The members of the gun club were determined to build the vehicle that will bring them around the moon. They chose a crew of 3 to voyage on the projectile-vehicle, Michel Arden, President Barbicane, and Captain Nicholl. They all successfully made it around the moon but on the way back they had a little trouble and on re-entry to earth they didnt land quite were they wanted to. They ended up in the Mid-Pacific Ocean. The other members used all the latest equipment that was used to put the transatlantic cable in the Atlantic Ocean to get them out. At the end of the book after it kind of leaves you with a little of Jules Vernes food for thought, he asks if they would ever be able to colonize the moon, and move on colonizing planet after planet. Even then back 200 years we still have the dream of colonizing other planets and also our own moon. This book was exciting and captivating all at once. The book was exciting because you never knew what was going to happen. The book was captivating because you wanted to know what was going to happen. Both of them came from when they were at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean and you werent sure if The Gun Club was going to have enough influence to get them out of the ocean alive because they were running out of air.

The Sustainable Agribusiness Model Research Paper

The Sustainable Agribusiness Model - Research Paper Example ted practices used in agriculture were found to be productive in the short run but less effective in the long-term due to nutrients depletion (Paoletti and David 7). In fact, soils that have been overly farmed with commercial fertilizers have become overly dependent on fertilizers, without which they are unproductive. That does not imply that fertilizers should not be used in farming, but that there should be a guide on the quantity used over a certain period. Therefore, there is a need to find a balance between resource efficiency and agricultural productivity. Finding such a balance is often challenging although its results are desirable. Agricultural production can be approached through incorporation of cleaner production techniques that are sustainable and eco-friendly. Such an approach is anticipated to help agribusinesses create sustainable solutions through an innovative and cost-effective process (Allen et al. 3). This paper shall discuss some of the possible perspectives on sustainable agribusiness model that may be adopted as possible models. There have been various perspectives on the adoption of a sustainable agribusiness model. According to Agrios, there is increased desire to adopt methods that are perceived as environment friendly for the agribusiness model. Such methods have been seen as offering the best approach to agribusiness, as they do not pollute the environment. Research has shown that sometimes farmers overuse fertilizers on their farms. After a while, such practices lead to nutrients loss in the soil such that the land cannot do without secondary fertilizer. Combined with chemical controls, research shows that continued use may result into the chemicals finding their way into other environments and later various tropical levels (Agrios 34). In a bid to alleviate such possibility, some scholars had recommended the use of non-chemical controls in farming. Agrios (12) observes that the other danger to adopting such a model is that farmers

Letter to the editor Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Letter to the editor - Assignment Example And here is how professor’s lottery suggestion is both unrealistic and unsystematic. Professor’s Karabel’s suggestion is, indeed, self-undermining. How, given a lottery program applied randomly to students who have shown academic merit, should such a program guarantee all underprivileged students are represented? Put differently, professor’s Karabel’s suggestion is meant to erase underlying biases in admission process at selective colleges. Thanks to good intentions. Yet, how could all – at least in theory – underprivileged applicants be represented based on a randomized selection? I do believe admission into colleges, selective or not, should by no means be left to chance and lottery. Why should a student be admitted into her college of choice because she has been, well, lucky enough in a lottery withdrawal, whereas another student who has achieved a similar academic merit be denied admission? This is not even constitutional! In his very own words, professor Karabel himself seems unsure of what such a lottery program might lead to: â€Å"Such a lottery would permit the college to determine whether its traditional selection criteria did any better than chance in predicting success in school and in later life; my own guess is that lottery admits would be amply — perhaps equally — represented among the institution’s most distinguished graduates.† True, our current system of admission at colleges and universities is one, as qualified by professor Karabel, that is skewed. However, undermining a faulty system that tends to enhance – rather than erase – existing hierarchies of privilege in our educational system cannot be achieved by a replace which is subject to guessing and uncertain outcomes. After all, how could a collegiate lottery program based on a randomized selection guarantee all underprivileged applicants are adequately represented? That is, how could, say, students of

Pakistan is one of the top cotton producing countries of the world

Pakistan is one of the top cotton producing countries of the world Executive Summary Pakistan is one of the most top cotton producing country of the world. Pakistan has the tendency to produce the best quality cotton in the world, because of that Pakistan exports its cotton to different buyers across the globe. Garment and textile industry of Pakistan needs a lot of investment to flourish its production plants to give more and more to the country and others in the globe as well. Currently country being in inflation affected the entire industry. As prices of all products have gone high, companies are forced to produce less. The political situations in our country have made the industrial sector bare losses. The policies and laws are hindering the activities of the industry. Because of that the other competing countries are getting an edge over Pakistan. More research needs to be done in this sector to avail all the possible technologies to make our textile and garment industry better. Other than that our needs to start producing end wearable garments and then export them to increase the exports and increase awareness of the local brands. Currently popular textile is working on producing jean for renowned brands of the world. Government needs to make efforts to establish the garment industry in Pakistan. Table of Content Contents Contents 2 Introduction: 4 Industry Scenario: 7 Industry Facts and Figures 7 Problems in industry 7 Technology being implied 8 Business Model Analysis 8 SWOT Analysis: 12 Strength: 12 Weakness: 13 Opportunity: 16 Threats: 18 SWOT Analysis (Summary) 19 Strengths: 19 Weaknesses: 19 Opportunities: 19 Threats: 19 PEST Analysis: 20 20 Political Outfit: 20 20 Economical Analysis and Performance: 20 Social Liabilities and Duties: 21 Technological Requirements and up gradation: 22 PORTER Five Forces Model: 23 1.Bargaining power of customers (demand scenario): 24 24 Factors 24 2.Bargaining power of suppliers (supply scenario): 24 24 3. Threat of new entrants: 26 26 4. Threat of substitutes: 27 5. Competitive rivalry: 28 Contribution to Exports: 30 Conclusion: 31 References: 32 Garment Industry of Pakistan Introduction: Textile and Garments is considered the most important sector of Pakistans economy and the largest industry with a 46% share of total manufacturing. Accounting for 67% of exports, employment for 40% of the workforce and a 10.20% share in GDP confirms the importance of this sector. Pakistans large available human resource pool offers an important incentive for further growth of this labor intensive industry. Contribution of Textile Garment Sector Percentage Contribution Total Manufacturing 46% Total Exports 67% Employment for Workforce 40% Total Share in GDP 10.20% Although Pakistan is the fourth largest cotton producer in the world with strong spinning and weaving infrastructure, the value added sector (cotton products) has a small share in exports. The main reason is shortage of training facilities able to enhance skills and produce competent middle managers having in-depth knowledge of processes and hands-on experience in contemporary technologies. Garment manufacturing is a major growing sub-sector of the textile value chain. It consumes the majority of the workforce in Pakistans textile and garments industry and has been contributing towards the high growth-rate in exports as figures shows it is 67% contributing in export of Pakistan. However, the garment industry is now suffering from some acute problems in productivity, in quality, in management marketing skills and thus facing a serious threat of a reduced share of international markets. According to the World Banks report on the impact of Quota Elimination in Pakistan, the effect on apparel exports from Pakistan will be negative due to stronger competition from other countries. The implication would be serious if no action is taken to improve productivity and efficiency. In the garments sector, Pakistans productivity is estimated to be only 37% of the benchmark established by China. Compared to this, Indias garments sector productivity is better, at 46%. For Pakistan, raising productivity by improving production process efficiency is key to reap benefits after the Multi-Fibre Agreement was abolished. If Pakistan is able to increase its productivity in textiles and clothing by 60% and reach Chinas productivity level, the gain would likely be over US$ 1 billion per year. Keeping in view the emerging trend in the global market, there is a huge potential for Pakistans garment sector. However, to be competitive in the global market after the removal of the quota regime in January 2005, it is imperative to have efficient and cost effective production systems with minimum wastages to attract buyers. The TUSDEC need assessment which included discussions/interviews with the key garment exporters clearly revealed the need for urgent reforms in the textile industry and especially in garment manufacturing and exporting as this is the most value added sector. This need had never before been felt as intensely as now, in the major garments clusters located in Lahore, Karachi, Sialkot, Faisalabad and Multan. In unison they expressed that the existing infrastructure of textile garments institutes in the country is not able to fulfill the requirement for skilled human resources to meet the immediate demand. The need assessment showed that an intervention for fast-track capacity building of the garment industry to meet the challenges posed by the ever-changing demand of international markets was justified. To cope with this dire need, it was proposed to hire foreign experts on long term basis to upgrade the knowledge and skills of the workers employed in the garment industry. Industry Scenario: As quoted by Chairman of All Pakistan Textile Mill Association, Textiles are the most important industry in Pakistan. It accounts for approximately 40 percent of manufacturing employment, over 60 percent of total exports, and over 30 percent of value-added production. Pakistans textile industry, based on locally grown cotton, produces cotton yarn, cotton cloth, and made-up textiles and apparel. Industry Facts and Figures As data cited at web published edition of aptma, Pakistan had a total of 503 spinning mills with an installed capacity of 10,437,000 spindles and 155,104 rotors. The weaving industry has 53 integrated units (composite units with spinning and weaving in one unit) with an installed capacity of 14,130 looms; 512 shuttle less weaving units with an installed capacity of 13,340 1ooms; and approximately 30,000 units in the power loom (shuttle loom) sector, with an estimated 225,253 looms. In PFY-97 it additionally had 670 finishing units with a production capacity of 3,460 million sq. meters of fabric per annum, 700 knitwear units with 15,000 knitting machines, and 4,000 garment units with 160,000 industrial and 450,000 domestic sewing machines. Exports of all textiles in PFY-97 totaled a value of USD 5.4 billion. The major buyer of textile clothing and accessories was the United States, which purchased USD 309.2 million of goods. (Michelle, Pakistan Profile, January/February 2007) Problems in industry Pakistans excessive economic reliance on the textile industry now necessitates the upgrade of its low value-added textile products to higher value-added products and the development of additional export markets. The Government of Pakistan (GOP) has reportedly constituted a textile commission to examine the problems of the textile industry and guide its future planning in the effort to turn this vital sector of the country economy into a healthy and internationally competitive industry. The upgrade to value-added production will require more sophisticated machinery. Trade sources believe that given favorable rupee/dollar parity, the textile industry may be expected to grow by as much as 10 to 15 percent annually over the next 2-3 years. Technology being implied In PFY-98 Pakistan offered an import market of USD 213 million for the sale of textile machinery, equipment and parts. Statistics for domestic production are not available, but trade sources report that manufacture, which is geared to demand, is at the present time negligible. The market has declined drastically over the last six years. In PFY-93, Pakistan imported USD 789.2 million worth of textile machinery. Imports fell in subsequent years to USD 352.7 million in PFY-94, USD 294.9 in PFY-95, USD 187.0 million in PFY-96 and USD 129 million in PFY 97. Given improved financial conditions, the import market share is expected to increase by 10 percent annually over the next three years. (Citied at website of aptma.) Business Model Analysis The textile industry is today based almost entirely in the private sector as the inefficiency of the public sector units has forced the GOP to privatize them. The three remaining textile units in the public sector are integrated units and are to be offered for privatization in the very near future. Pakistans textile spinning industry is presently in a crisis. As a result of poor cotton crops, the withdrawal of cotton subsidy and the export of raw cotton, the industry, whose feasibility has been based on the use of low-priced cotton, is no longer viable. Pakistans weaving sector has an installed capacity of 14,130 looms in integrated weaving mills; 13,340 looms in shuttless weaving units; and approximately 200,500 to 225,250 looms in the power loom sector. The looms installed in the integrated units are old and less than approximately 40 percent are working. The independent weaving units are a relatively new phenomenon in the Pakistan market, and have been created as a result of market demand, government incentives and the move towards higher quality products. Pakistans finishing industry is comprised of approximately 670 units, the majority of which are independent units and complimentary to the weaving industry. Their installed capacity is old and needs replacement. The integrated units are reported to have a capacity utilization of only 35 percent of installed capacity as most of their machinery is also old and uses outdated technology. (Citied at Directors Review of aptma.) Competing Countries Export Share of Market- Trend Analysis Country 1980 1990 2000 2005 Variance 2000 2005 China 4.0 8.9 18.2 26.9 8.7 Turkey 0.3 3.1 3.3 4.3 1.0 India 1.7 2.3 3.1 3.0 (0.1) Mexico 0.0 0.5 4.4 2.6 (1.8) Bangladesh 0.0 0.6 2.0 2.3 0.3 Vietnam 0.9 1.7 0.8 Pakistan 0.3 0.9 1.1 1.3 0.2 Sri Lanka 0.3 0.6 1.4 1.0 (0.4) Thailand 0.7 2.6 1.9 1.5 (0.4) Source: United States Department of Agriculture Global Market Shares Top 15 Retailers worldwide: S. No Retailer Origin Market Share USD Millions 1 Wal-Mart Stores Inc. USA $219,000 2 Carrefour Group FRANCE $61,565 3 Royal A hold HOLLAND $57,976 4 The Home Depot, Inc USA $53,553 5 The Kroger Co. USA $50,098 6 Metro AG GERMANY $43,357 7 Target USA $43,355 8 Albertsons USA $37,931 9 Kmart USA $36,151 10 Sears USA $35,843 11 Safeway UK $34,301 12 Costco USA $34,137 13 Tesco UK $33,614 14 JCPenny USA $32,004 15 Aldi Einkauf GERMANY $31,310 (Source: Stores/Deloitte Touch Tomahatsu) SWOT Analysis: Strength: Raw material Base: Pakistan has high self sufficiency in raw material and is the fourth largest producer of cotton. Abundant use of cotton resources has made the Textile industry of Pakistan move towards the area of industrialization. Labor: Cheap labor has always been the backbone of the economy of Pakistan. Cheap and ample supply of labor strengthens the industrial and agriculture sector of the country. Around 39% of the labor force works in the textile sector. As Karl Marx said that we have to use the army of labor present in the country for productive means. Thus cheap and abundant labor means low cost of production. Rich Heritage: Due to cultural diversity and rich heritage, designers come up with new different and attractive designs which are appreciated worldwide. Our culture comprises of Sindhi, Punjabi, Balochi and Pushtoo values. Also we are also influenced by the Indian culture through the media exposure, which of course gives the Pakistani designers an inspiration and taste of Karnataka, Rajhastani styles, etc. This varied culture and fusion among these two neighbours gives inspiration to the designers to give their best in terms of styles, creativity and fashion. Domestic Market: The recent shift of the population from the agrarian society to the urban areas, increased income levels and growth of the population raised the domestic demand. This means more factories more manufacturing units, more supply and more labor. Weakness: Research Development: Developed countries are using the technology of genetic engineering and biotechnology to increase the quality and quantity of their cotton production. They are able to grow colored cotton, organic cotton and several different varieties cotton to added value to the textile chain. In Pakistan, there is very some research done on small scale by private companies to invent modified cotton fibers. Practically no efforts are being made by the APTMA in the RD of the textile industry to enhance the quality of its products, upgrade the technology used, and encourage effective methods of production in order to compete internationally. Instead the industry suffers lack of latest means of production and falling cotton crop output every year. Due to low quality of cotton crop, profitability decreases and the farmer switch to the other crop such as sugar cane, maize and thus the cotton production decreases. More Dependence on Cotton: As the textile sector is heavily dependent on cotton production, low cultivation of cotton will deteriorate the textile industry. On the other hand, Pakistan lacks expertise in the development, production and marketing of synthetic products and fabrics required for items like swimwear, skiwear and industrial apparel. So far Pakistan has been unable to diversify in the export of textiles and is heavily dependent on single fibre that is cotton and its blends. This dependence on single crop economy is restricting the diversification of exports from Pakistan. Labor Productivity: Despite of the abundant supply of the labor, productivity of the labor is very low. According to a study by Federal Adviser on textiles, the regional competitors of Pakistan take75 minutes to complete and produce one piece of cloth whereas we take 133 minutes for the same work. We also waste 30% in finishing and 12% in washing. European buyers recommended that we should cut our costs up to 45%in sewing by getting more efficient. Labor productivity can be improved by giving the labor appropriate training with the advancement of technology so as to make them more efficient and with lower wastage of resources. In China an average 70 hours of training are given to labor to enhance their expertise. Poor Infrastructure: The important resources and infrastructure, such as adequate of supply of water, continuous supply of electricity and gas, efficient logistics and transportation, tax structure, raw material supply are all basic requirements for the development of an industrial base. However, on the other hand, the industry is faced with rising charges of the energy sector, which increases the cost of production, making it difficult to compete with the other regional rivals. Poor Quality Standards: With the exception of big and leading units who comply with global quality standards in textiles, most of the medium and small sized units can not ensure the reliable and consistent quality standards. Some of these textile units import second hand machinery from China, India, Korea, and Taiwan with no checks and balances on the quality of the machinery parts and tools. Preference is only given to the cheap and workable machinery with no concern of the quality of the machine, therefore, resulting in poor quality of the end product. The industry can generate more profit by adding more value to the product, as value can be measured in terms of quality, increased per unit price, etc. Pakistans textile industry should focus on latest material handling techniques and should train workers. The inability to timely modernize the equipment, machinery and labor has led to the decline of Pakistani textile competitiveness. Unstable Political Situation: Political unrest, strikes and terrorism have critically affected the economy of Pakistan. Frequent changing of the government has adversely maligned the policies of the textile sector. According to the World Trade Review Pakistan has failed to take necessary steps needed to meet post Multi-Fiber Agreement (MFA) challenges for its textile industry owing to lack of political will by the successive governments. In 1978 World Bank surveyed the Pakistan textile industry and reported many deficiencies in this sector. It also gave certain measures to resolve these issues, but unfortunately all these problems still persist and the industry is still unable to keep its pace with the international market. Successive governments lacked the will to reform human resources and adapt the marketing techniques that resulted present scenario in this industry. System Orientation And Supply Chain: Nowadays, customers are very systematic in their work and the expect the same professionalism from their vendors. Unfortunately, we lack this capability and are not competent to struggle in the international business, thus losing many opportunities. On the other hand supply chain management is rarely implemented. We are disorganized, disconnected and dis torted. Time management is very much important aspect in the business and buyers expect on time delivery to match the retail launch of the Spring/ Summer or Autumn/Winter seasonal collections on time . Delayed delivery of export orders result increase in cost due to fines by the buyers and at times losing business altogether due to the breach the order con-tract. Opportunity: Pakistan Textile City: Pakistan Textile City in Port Qasim, Karachi with an area of 1250 acres, will be completed in 2011 as a private public sector joint venture. The main purpose of the textile city is to provide the textile industry with the world class infra structure to meet the global competitiveness and challenges and as to provide value added textile industrial zone. Its main features include one way window operation, constant supplies of gas and water, and uninterrupted power supply. Marketing: Targeting the unexplored export markets with the help of aggressive sales and marketing will pave the way for the textile growth. Its all about hunting your opportunities with the handful of colorful lollipops. If we make investment in our sales force and train them in the fine art of marketing textile products, we can capture a much bigger market share from other smaller competitors. Collaboration with Foreign Companies: No company in the world can afford to ignore the strategic and competitive benefits of making partnership with another company to strengthen the market position. By making partners with the foreign companies, we will be able to learn a lot from them in terms system orientation, supply chain and it would be feasible to import latest technology. We can also reduce our costs, comply with the inter-national standards, and add value to our products, easiness in marketing our products in different foreign regions, improved labor and thus catching up with our regional competitors. Re-engineering of Production System: Information technology has a crucial role in manufacturing sector. Acquiring state of the art machinery is though very much expensive, but a very fruitful and necessary measure to stay competitive in the long run. It is the level of trust; the exporter builds with its customers by giving them flawless products, made on state of the art machinery. Once this trust is developed, there is no other way than any unforeseen exception that you may lose a customer to another competitor. Therefore, it is highly recommended to produce with great efficiency, minimizing the wastage of the raw material, energy resources and thus reducing the cost of production. Producing high Value Products: Its better to export yarn than raw cotton. Similarly its better to export finished fabric than to export grey fabric (raw fabric). Furthermore its very much feasible to export readymade garments than to only fabrics. What makes the latter better is the value added and subsequent increase in per unit price. Therefore, the textile industry should focus on the finished products so as to create more value in their products and reap larger margin of profits. The industry should also diversify into other areas such as technical textiles and nonwovens in order decrease its dependence on conventional and commodity textiles, which is highly sensitive to per unit price and volume for the profit margin. Image Building of Pakistan to Attract FDI: Security measures should be taken to facilitate the buyers and investors to visit Pakistan for investments. Secure business environment must be needed to attract golden sparrows to facilitate business dealings and building positive image of Pakistan that they can rely upon. Reducing the Cost of Business: China and India are much cheaper in labor, raw material and utilities as compared with Pakistan. Rising inflation also increase the cost of production. We have to control these unnecessary costs if we have to survive in the middle of the two giants of the textile sector in the world. Threats: New competitors: Pakistan is facing new competitors in textile sector such as; Bangladesh Vietnam Turkey Though we cannot avoid competition but we can always stay ahead of them by reforming our strategies and educating our entrepreneurs so as to move one step forward in every aspect. Phasing out of quota System: As the quota system is ruled out by WTO, there is a threat by the Chinese and Indian manufacturers to gain most of the market share. We have high costs, low labor productivity and inefficient production processes. Fashion life Cycle: Fashion changes rapidly now a day. Media has so much penetrated in our daily lives that we easily adapt our-selves as it wants us to. This has resulted in shortening the fashion lifecycle thus increasing the fashion risk. Now the buyer does not want to wait long for his consignment because he is insecure that by the time it will reach to him he will lost its demand due to change in fashion. Therefore, they prefer to buy from neighboring countries even at higher cost to get their products instantly rather than to wait weeks or months for their consignments to reach them. SWOT Analysis (Summary) Strengths: Raw material Base Labor Rich Heritage Domestic Market Weaknesses: Research Development More Dependence on Cotton Labor Productivity Poor Infrastructure Poor Quality Standards Unstable Political Situation System Orientation And Supply Chain Opportunities: Pakistan Textile City Marketing Collaboration with Foreign Companies Re-engineering of Production System Producing high Value Products Image Building of Pakistan to Attract FDI Reducing the Cost of Business Threats: New competitors Phasing out of quota System Fashion life Cycle PEST Analysis: Political Outfit: Textile industry, and all other business in the field are subjected to very high risk due to unstable political outfit, this restricts joint ventures in the industry. We only have only one example of joint Venture in the industry that is Lucky Tex SITE with J. Rosenthals and Sons of England. As the political outfit is extremely unstable and does not guarantee any consistency over the span of time, therefore attracting foreign investment in the sector is very limited, and only confined to term financing, or credits. Economical Analysis and Performance: Till not so long ago, the Pakistan textile industry was one of the key drivers of growth and employment generation. The plight of the textile exports continued during the first four months (July-October) of current financial as they fell by around one percent during the period. The export of textile products came to $3.539 billion in the period under review, which is 2008 against $3.573 billion in the corresponding period of previous year. At a time when growth in export is badly needed to plug the widening trade deficit, the dismal performance of the largest export earning textile sector is causing serious problems for the state in its efforts for registering quantum jump in export earnings. Complaining about the high cost of production of textile products due to expensive raw materials and high rates of utilizes the textile associations are clamoring for incentives in the shape of RD support to enable them to compete in the international market. The breakup shows that almost all the categories in textile group performed dismally during the period under review. (Pakistan Textile Journal, October2008) (Microeconomics of competitiveness, Textiles cluster in Pakistan, 2007) Social Liabilities and Duties: 160 million population growing @ 3% Growing trend of urbanization Viable middle class Increasing literacy among females Per capita income growing @ 14% = $ 652 GDP growth = 2% Retail whole sale trade is 18.4 % of GDP Stock exchange crossed 8000 points million of expatriate workers Technological Requirements and up gradation: Pakistan textile industry is blessed with state of the art machinery, and local entrepreneurs remain well updated in this scenario. Thou, there is no or limited government support in up gradation programs at the moment, but previously from 2003 to 2005 this sector has enjoyed multiple benefits on import of technology and machinery in terms of GOPs program for BMR, so that industry could be geared up to meet challenges of WTO, once the quota regime was over. PORTER Five Forces Model: One of the worst hit sectors during the skyrocketing interest rate scenario in the late 90s and early 2000s, the debt-laden Pakistan textile industry has spun many turn-around stories since then. Aided by lower interest rates, restructuring packages from financial institutions and the recent dismantle of quotas; the sector is today well poised to capture growth opportunities. In 2008, the sector contributed 20% to industrial production, 9% to excise collections, 18% of employment in industrial sector, nearly 20% to the countrys total export earnings and 4% to the GDP. The textile sector employs nearly 35 m people and is the second highest employer in the country. Infect, it is estimated that one out of every six households in the country directly or indirectly depend on this sector. Here we analyze the sectors dynamics through Porters five-factor model. (Thompson, Strickland III,Strategic Management, Concepts and Cases. 15th Edition) Bargaining power of customers (demand scenario): Factors HUFA MUFA Neutral MFA HFA 1 2 3 4 5 Number of Important buyers Few X Many Threat of Backward integration High X Low Product supplied Comodity X Speciality Switching cost Low X High % of buyers cost High X Low Profit Earned by Buyer High X Low Total 15 2 4 0 4 5 Score 2.50 Global textile clothing industry is currently pegged at around US$ 440 bn. US and European markets dominate the global textile trade accounting for 64% of clothing and 39% of textile market. With the dismantling of quotas, global textile trade is expected to grow (as per Mc Kinsey estimates) to US$ 650 bn by 2010 (5 year CAGR of 10%). Although China is likely to become the supplier of choice, other low cost producers like Pakistan would also benefit as the overseas importers would try to mitigate their risk of sourcing from only one country. The two-fold increase in global textile trade is also likely to drive Pakistans exports growth. Pakistans textile export (at US$ 15 bn in 2005) is expected to grow to US$ 40 bn, capturing a market share of close to 8% by 2010. Pakistan, in particular, is likely to benefit from the rising demand in the home textiles and apparels