Analysis of The Allegory of the Cave Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analysis of The Allegory of the Cave - Essay Example Glube’s analysis will be considered. The cave is incredibly dark since there is no adequate light inside it, making difficult, even for the inhabitants to see objects. Inside the cave, there are chained people on their feet and necks making it difficult to move. Equally, there is another world just out of the cave, which is separated by a wall. Numerous people walk on this wall causing reflection of the shadows into the cave, which the prisoners perceive as real. However, in actual sense, this is just an illusion. This scenario contrasts sharply with the outer world, which is characterized by light and visibility of everything (Grube, 112). This makes a prisoner released from the cave to dazzle in the light, however as he stays longer, he is acclimatized. He expresses sympathy to the prisoners in the darkness. He sees it better for one to be a prisoner in the other outer world. As a point of departure, the Allegory of the cave represents a dialogue between the protagonist Socrates and Glaucon, the interlocutor. The people in the cave are seen bound by chains and believing that the reality lies in the shadows of the artifacts. It is unbelievable how these people manage a life confined in darkness, because the fire represented is behind them. This is a metaphorical application, which gives a picture of their state while in the cave. Their senses are bound and they are confined to their sense of ignorance, which makes Socrates to wonder how these people will respond if they were â€Å"released from their bondage and cured of their ignorance† (Grube 187). Socrates believes that there is a possibility that, the prisoners will be confused to differentiate between the real artifact and its shadow. Accordingly, Grube notes that the primary intention of education as articulated by Plato is not to impart knowledge but to change the behavior and

Richards Soliloquies Essay Example for Free

Richards Soliloquies Essay i)Identify the context for each ii)Analyze the language of each and its meaning iii)Consider what insights they give into Richard’s character, emotions and thinking at the time iv)Discuss how the soliloquies help structure the play and are used to create dramatic interest 1. The opening soliloquy: â€Å"Now is the winter of our discontent† 1. 1. 1-41 The opening soliloquy involves of Richard contemplating the end of the civil war, and the change from warfare to peace. This soliloquy is important to the rest of the play as it shows Richard’s true character – malicious, deformed and cunning. It helps set up the dramatic irony for the rest of Richard’s encounters, because as Richard ‘acts’ we see him for who he truly is. The language that Richard uses is clever, sarcastic and determined. His second line, ‘made glorious summer by this son of York’ is a play on words of Edward being the ‘son’ of York and the ‘sun’ of the glorious summer. From this first line the audience is immediately able to tell that Richard is witty, and clever with the way in which he speaks and phrases his words. He continues on to talk about the King in a somewhat sardonic manner, bringing attention to his ‘sportive tricks’ and amorous pleasures. Richard continues, objecting to himself that ‘since I cannot prove a lover’ he reveals that he is ‘determined to prove a villain’. This quote foreshadows how the rest of the play will pan out, and how Richard is depicted throughout. The most important thing in this quote however, is that this quote shows a logical decision in which Richard has made – therefore his malignity is motiveless. He chooses to be evil, and his only excuse for it is that he is unfortunately deformed. The brings the next point. In his soliloquy, Richard also draws on self-deprecation, he describes to us his deformities in the most gruesome way. This immediately gives the audience prejudice against him. â€Å"Cheated of feature by dissembling nature / Deformed, unfinished, sent before my time / into this breathing world scarce half made up / And that so lamely unfashionable / That dogs bark at me as I half by them. † The audience ultimately feels pity for him, however when its is made clear that Richard has thought about his premeditated strategems, the audience is aware of his duplicitous nature. 2. â€Å"He cannot live† soliloquy: 1. 1. 146-163 Act 1 scene 1 closes with Richards’ second soliloquy. Although it is fairly short, Richard hopes for Clarence to die before Edward does. He also reveals his plans to ‘woo’ Lady Anne, from the House of Warwick. The audience truly sees the full revelation of Richard’s wickedness, as he claims to have killed Lady Anne’s father and husband in the war that has just passed and yet he still wants to seduce her. However this sickening twist makes sense to Richard, as he wants to woo her so that the House of Lancaster don’t turn on him in the future. The concept of ‘keeping your enemies close for political gain’ comes across through Richard’s actions. Richard uses the strange yet humourous words to describe what the world will be like when he is King. He says, â€Å"Which done, God take King Edward to his mercy / And leave the world for me to bustle in! † The word bustle seems quite merry, and this reflects on how Richard has no grief or anguish to his brothers’ deaths – he merely wants them dead so that he is able to enjoy the world. The last line Richard says â€Å"When they are gone, then must I count my gains. † Richard is talking about his brothers Clarence and Edward, and the foreshadowing of their deaths closes the scene. This soliloquy allows the audience to realize and prepare ourselves for what Richard has in mind. He confirms that both his brothers will die – Clarence because of him and Edward because of sickness. The audience realizes that Richard is truly going to go through with his premeditated strategems, and this is only the beginning, however his downfall is also inevitable and anticipated. 3. â€Å"Was ever woman†¦wooed† soliloquy: 1. 2. 231-67 This soliloquy is a perfect example of Richard’s duplicitous nature. As soon as Lady Anne leaves, he drops his mask and becomes who he really is – the schemer. He revels in his triumph in getting Anne to consider being wooed by him. Despite his killing of her husband and her father, and despite his deformities, he has managed to overwhelm Anne using only his words. This is where the audience really sees how overpowering Richard is, and how if he was to really reign as king there would be many dangers. The audience assumes that Richard would be triumphant in scoring Lady Anne, however he says â€Å"Was ever woman in this humour wooed? / Was ever woman in this humour won? / I’ll have her, but I will not keep her long. † Through this quote the audience realizes that Richard merely wooed her for security of safety from the House of Lancaster (which Lady Anne belongs to), and he has the upper hand now that his wooing has transformed her loathing into acceptance. The foreshadowing of this quote also allows the audience to note that Lady Anne will ultimately be killed somewhere along Richard’s plans. The last lines in Richard’s third soliloquy goes â€Å"That I may see my shadow as I pass. † The use of his ‘shadow’ outlines his malevolent alter-ego, the evil Richard is lurking, hiding, but always present. Richard is constantly building up his plans and notably successing as each person goes by him and accepts him. This soliloquy shows how Richard really does have a way with his words, and how he can turn Lady Anne’s loathing and hatred (after all, Richard did kill her husband and her father) into acceptance and tolerance. The audience is somewhat admirable of him, yet they realize it is all just an act by a clever, manipulative person. 4. â€Å"I do the wrong† soliloquy: 1. 3. 324-338 In this soliloquy Richard expresses slight disbelief and smugness in how things have played out for him. He has managed to get Clarence killed and blame it on Rivers, Vaughn and Grey, as well as get Hastings, Derby and Buckingham to support him. His tone is proud when he admits that his malicious plots at the beginning of the play have become others’ evil actions. Richard has mastered the game of manipulation, and has everyone (except for a few) believing that he is a holy and good man. By using  preexisting conflicts, as well as his â€Å"relationship† and â€Å"appeal† to God, he is going to set everyone against each other. This is where we realize that Richard has managed to weave a web that he has total control over – for now. Richard says, â€Å"Tell them that God bids us do good for evil. And thus I clothe my naked villainy / With odd old ends stol’n forth of holy writ, / And seems a saint when most I play the devil. † These lines sum up Richard’s role as an actor within himself, within the play. He claims to use the Bible as his sanction and yet he contradicts himself by cloacking himself as the devil. 5. â€Å"Give me another horse! † soliloquy: 5. 3. 180 This soliloquy is the first time that Richard feels any guilt for his actions, and this is also where he finally realizes what he has ultimately done to himself and to the people around him. His mind is in turmoil, and the tone of his soliloquy is deeply troubling. He is wrestling to come to terms with all the murders he has indirectly caused and all the threats of vengeance he has posed. This is Richard’s last soliloquy, and from the beginning of the play he has come a full circle. In the beginning, Richard portrayed himself as an megalomaniac and egotistical, he gloated â€Å"As I am subtle, false and treacherous,† and now he says, â€Å"O coward conscience, how dost thou afflict me? † The personification of ‘conscience’ and how it has become cowardly shows that Richard now considers his conscience as a part of him, something that he didn’t have before. The rheotorical question is more posed towards himself. He is unsure and worried, and this is reflected in the next couple of lines. â€Å"What? Do I fear myself? There’s none else by. Richard loves Richard, that is, I am I. / Is there a murderer here? No. Yes, I am. † The manifestation for himself and the unclearness is a reflection of how muddled his mind has become. Richard wrestles and tries to confirm with himself that he is doing the right thing, that he isn’t a murderer, that there is no one who loves him but himself, but his conscience has finally caught up with him and as a result, the murder and threats of vengeance have come rushing back to him. The full realm of the horror that has become his life hits him in  the face – he finally realizes that he is truly and utterly alone. He says: â€Å"There is no creature loves me, / And if I die no soul shall pity me. † His segregation from humanity dominates him at this point in the play, when he finally grasps that he is truly all alone. This soliloquy foreshadows Richard’s inevitable and imminent death. It is the last time the audience really feels something for Richard, whether it be pity or sadness or justification, the audience understands that Richard has finished and come to the end of his time.

Business Report: SimVenture

Business Report: SimVenture This report is based on the engagement with SimVenture a business simulation which allows us as a team to setup and run our virtual company and learn about business and being an entrepreneur. This report evaluates team performance and decision making within the perspective of results achieved in the simulation at the end of three virtual years. This report also reflects the use of relevant entrepreneurial theories into practise while making decisions in the business and clearly stating the financial achievements at the end of it. The report takes you through the initial six months of the business in details where the crucial strategies were developed; thereafter the illustration is only on a half yearly basis. A question with many answers is that what drives people to turn into entrepreneurs to begin companies? Frequently we as individuals are not completely sure ourselves, and the answers to the questions are apt to change over time as our perception keeps changing. The reasons can be divided into two broad categories. First, the reactive reasons being things those are objectionable about working for others. They are the negatives that push us out. And secondly, the active reasons being things that are attractive about having our own business. They are positives that pull us out. Starting a new company is an immense challenge and to those with entrepreneurial impulse, it is very appealing (Kurtako et al, 2001). The attributes that a successful entrepreneur should possess while the start-up of a business is a competitive mind-set, one in which flexibility, speed, innovation, and strategic leadership are valued highly. With this mind set, firms can identify and completely exploit opportunit ies that emerge in a new competitive landscape. These opportunities surface primarily because of the disequilibrium that is created by continuous change. More specifically, although uncertainty and disequilibrium often result in seemingly hostile and intensely rivalrous conditions, these conditions may simultaneously yield significant product driven growth opportunities. Through effective entrepreneurial leadership, growth firms can adapt their behaviours and exploit such opportunities (Kurtako et al, 2001). It is interesting to see the differences between mind-set of an Entrepreneur, Manager and a Bureaucrat from the self explanatory Fig 1. Scenarios and assumptions at the beginning of the game Prior to the beginning of our business, we assumed to have a finance of  £10,000 for start up. The business was supposed to commence with a one man show by our virtual entrepreneur, who had already been working for 40 hours a week in another business. But as a team we had decided each individual to take the decision making responsibility of a particular department, with me being the one in charge of marketing. We initially decided to get our entrepreneur working part time for this new venture at a monthly salary of 500 £. He had been selling computers to friends and families for the past few years and always had a knack towards technology and assembling computers. Having only one sales order in hand for the first month, our entrepreneur intended to begin his business from home so as to maintain his costs as low as possible. At this stage the aspects which are of utmost concern are that he has limited knowledge in sales, marketing and about his local competitors. Our new business was inspired by the venture development stages, namely: New Venture Development, Start-Up Activities, Growth, Business Stabilization, and Innovation (Kurtako et al, 2001). Of these five stages the first stage consisted of activities associated to initial formulation of the venture, which has been mentioned above. The stages into which our business activities over the 3 years of simulation could be split into are Start-Up Activities and Growth. Start-Up Activities Stage The Start-Up Activity encompasses the foundation work needed in searching for capital, carrying marketing activities, taking up competitor analysis and developing effective entrepreneurial skills. This stage is typified by strategic and operational planning steps designed to identify the firms competitive advantage and uncover funding sources. With the availability of limited skills and working hours, in the first month we decided to outsource our firms competitor analysis and market research activities to specialized external agencies, the primary intention behind outsourcing being to get expert and skilled services efficiently. A legal advisor had been hired to specify the terms of a customer contract, not only keeping in mind the benefits of detailing the scope of work and means and methods of payment, but also with a future view to gain trust from prospective clients (a contract can also be seen as a marketing tool) and establishing a strong relationship with them while negotiati ng the terms of the contract. Other major customer awareness activities of the first month were to publish a press release for the launch of the company; joining a business networking group; and creating a standard website, designed and supported in-house to balance time and expenses of our working entrepreneur. Apart from these we had planned to take up a book based writing skills training course for our virtual entrepreneur, to provide him with the expertise of business communications which most small business owners lack in. And we planned to invest on a distributor research, because it is difficult and very expensive to reach a market with many customers with a directly employed sales force. Moreover distributors by and large aim to win business on sales rather than technical services. And our core competence being technical expertise we decided to use distributors to enhance our sales, although they bought products from us at a lower rate. After evaluating the suppliers on the criteria of their prices and flexibility to pay on account, we decided to choose ProSupply as our supplier because of its 60 days credit offering, at an additional expense of 0.5 £ per component. Apart from the legal liabilities of a limited company to maintain accurate information on its financial transaction which includes sales, purchases, income and payments by an organization, book keeping assists any entrepreneur to maintain the business on top of its competition by easily watching how the business is performing. Thus having a small scale start up business we decided to keep this particular activity in house. The second month of our business started on a positive note as we received two grants disbursed by the government,  £500 each: one was for training and the other was for research activities to be conducted. Although we had invested time on the application process for this funding, as a new company with limited finances this allowance was much needed to us. We also happened to receive our customer research report, following which we decided to choose our target customers to be Corporation. This decision was completely based on a few factors from our customer research report: market size, order size, order frequency and typical price. These four factors provided us inputs to calculate the average orders generated per year and the probable sales for each segment. Analysing our market research report (Fig 3) closely we noticed that there were much similarities in the product preferences sections of Corporations and ICT Businesses and both customers catered to a similar typical price ra nge of  £630-680. This made us decide to build a product with preferences that would suffice both the customer segments providing each one of them differentiation on certain product attributes. Referring to Porters generic strategies framework, we were serving a narrow market which demanded product uniqueness, thus we decided to use a differentiation focus strategy to increase our market share rapidly. Also a firm using a differentiation focus strategy enjoys a high level of customer loyalty which discourages other firms to compete directly. Analysing the competition and market report together, we designed our product offering to cater for both the target segments with the following attributes: extreme features, good quality, extreme performance, good style. Thus the product was differentiated for the Corporations with extreme performance, where they had demanded only for a good performance, and for the ICT Businesses with good quality and good style, where they had demanded for above average quality and above average style only. The unit cost of the product was  £452.62 and it was priced to the customers at  £679 initially, which was pretty high as compared to what our competitors were offering. I individually thought for market penetration a lower price was required. The marketing activities for this month were placing an advert in a local newspaper and joining a business community network where we could make our target customers aware of our unique selling points. Apart from this we spent our entrepreneurs remaining time in negotiating contracts with our distributors, namely: Norman, Harton Brothers, Rad, and Aztak, and manufacturing three product units in-house anticipating the future demand. We negotiated with our distributors in terms of size of orders per month, price of each unit of product and the methods of payments. The rationale behind choosing three of them as our distributors was because Normans had the maximum share in ICT Businesses followed by Solo Businesses and Corporations, Harton Brothers had 20% share in ICT Businesses and Rad captured 30%market share for ICT and Solo Businesses. Although Aztak held very little market share with ICT Businesses or Corporations but we still went with them, which I personally feel might not have been an appropriate move. Since at the end of the previous month, the number of enquiries were too low to sustain our business, thus the third month was very crucial for us where we had to take our strategic moves very carefully. Therefore we intended to hire a consultant to carry on a customer research, which we thought would help us find the reason behind the low number of enquiries. Along with a lucky break which resulted in good publicity for our company in the local media, this month we planned to go for a direct marketing campaign with 3000 basic leads bought as a database and promotional materials being designed in house. In the remaining time we planned manufacturing 9 products for future sales. On the fourth month of our business, we received the customer research results which provided us with the statistics of what our customers thought about our product and how did they hear about us. We used this information to fine tune our product design, work out the best marketing approach and get the price right with respect to our competitors. We understood that previously we had set up a very high price for our product to maximise short term profits, which was the reason for us to receive lower number of enquiries which hardly turned into orders. As quoted by Dolgui and Proth (2010), High price is accepted if it agrees with the value of the product perceived by the customers, otherwise such a strategy leads to commercial failure. While a low price can lead to a commercial success depending on the number of clients attracted by the product, but a low margin should be compensated by a higher number of items sold. Moreover with a high or a low price strategy the image of the items s old by the company is somewhat frozen and a long term price expectation is established, which can reduce the flexibility of the decision-making system. Thus justifying the aforesaid analysis we had to set the unit price of our product neither too high nor too low, at  £660, while we were operating in a range where customers were ready to pay from  £630- £680. On the marketing front we managed to attend the monthly business club meeting and exhibit ourselves at the Business2Business matters along with a direct marketing campaign to 3000 leads. Since by now our entrepreneur was overdoing his hours every month which was gradually making him tired, thus we decided to increase his part time working hours to 51 hrs a week and increasing his salary by  £100 to keep him happy. This was the fifth month of our business where we already had sales of 4 products from our last month and another new order for 4 products to be sold this month. The business was gradually taking its pace, but there were financial hurdles in front of us. Due to lack of cash in our account we were unable to pay our suppliers on time. The options we had to borrow money were either through bank loans or friends and family or overdraft or by selling equity. We thought the most viable option we had was to take a loan of  £50,000 for three years at an interest rate of 13% from the bank. Our monthly instalment to the bank summed up to  £1684.70 for three years which was lesser than our monthly estimated profit after selling units to distributors (refer Appendix 1). I individually thought we should have taken our first loan from friends and family instead of a bank because the interest rate was only 5.25%. Eventually in the next month we could have taken a bank loan. There was a business exhibition which was supposed to be held in the month of February, the next year. Having considered the fact that such events would provide us a platform to bring our product in front of the targeted customers and make them aware of it, we booked a place for our entrepreneur in this event, bearing in mind that Corporations were our primary target segment. Apart from this we also booked two more exhibitions for our entrepreneur to attend during the next month. One was an exhibition at New Ventures and the other was at Sparks. We heavily started relying on exhibitions primarily as a mean of marketing and advertisement for our business. We had a very clear marketing plan as a start-up company, which was the process of determining a comprehensive approach to the creation of customers. For developing this plan, the following elements were critical to us: Marketing research: determining who the customers were, what they want and how they buy. Sales research: promoting and distributing products according to market research finding. Sales forecasting: coordinating personal judgement with reliable personal information. Marketing plan: formulating plan for achieving long term marketing and sales goal. Evaluation: identifying and assessing deviations from marketing plans. (Kuratko and Hodgetts, 2007) As a marketing mix (refer Fig 5) for our Product offering we were having a strategy of focus differentiation to targeting only two business client segments. Our Price was set neither too high nor too low and was rationalized by setting it to  £660. We Placed our product through distribution channels, direct and indirect selling and also had a retail shop in place from the sixth month. And for Promotion we used individual communication channels like word of mouth, networking, public relations and direct marketing, and mass communication channels like exhibition, website and advertising. The sixth month was a fortune turner for us when we received 9 orders for the next month. Anticipating this huge number of orders, we already had been manufacturing products from the previous few months, even though at times we didnt have a single order to deliver. Our application for bank loan had been approved and we were able to successfully raise  £50,000 to clear all our pending bills. Having the right communication and marketing skills because of our previous training in the relevant departments this month we decided to create a small advert in-house, for a trade magazine. Since our business was growing bigger, this was the time when we had to decide relocating to a retail unit from the next month which was 100 sq. ft and  £208 of rent per month. Also convenience is an issue for most shoppers, whether its business or individual shoppers, and so sales location can have a major bearing on sales performance. Since we were only operating in a B2B environment we developed the fo llowing business model (refer Fig 6) where our products were reached to our customers either buy the distributors (which gave us less profit but large number of sales) or through our retail shop (which gave us higher profit but lesser number of sales). Because of the sudden rise in sales, hereafter we had to follow a model where most of our manufacturing had to be outsources and the remaining was to be built in-house. This month onwards we transited from the Start-Up Activities stage to the Growth Stage of our business. Growth Stage The Growth stage often requires major changes in entrepreneurial strategies, which is reformulated because of competition and other marketing forces (Kurtako et al, 2001). Thus now onwards our primary focus became the management of various departments involved in our business including the various stakeholders: direct customers, distributors, suppliers etc. The planning of operations was a major part of our start up venture. From the self explanatory Fig 7, we had adopted the bottom-up and the market requirements perspectives to design our operational strategy. The bottom-up view of operations strategy was to see strategic decision making as an accumulation of practical experiences. After all, our business would find it difficult to invent strategies in a total vacuum. Our ideas were formed from our previous months experience of dealing with customers, suppliers and their own processes. These were strategic ideas which emerged over time as our organisation begun to understand the realities of the situation. The market requirements perspective begun from the commonsense notion that our operations strategy should reflect what our business was trying to do in its markets. Our competitors competed in different ways; some competed primarily on cost, others on the excellence of their products or services, others on high levels of customer ser vice, others on customising their products and services to individual customer needs, and so on. Our operations function therefore had to respond to this by providing the capabilities which allowed us perform in an appropriate manner to satisfy the requirements of our market (Slack et al, 2007). After the initial breakthrough in the sixth month of our business, the next six months were more or less running at a constant pace, with 7-9 orders every month on an average. We did have to improve our product design based on the Customer Research results and by comparing our offerings with that of our competitors. We attended a marketing exhibition and carried out marketing campaigns with other sales activities almost every month to keep our enquiries and order numbers high. Apart from that, instead of failing to cater to our increased order rate every month, we kept manufacturing products by primarily outsourcing the major bulk of it at ( £452.62+ £80)  £432.62 per unit and partially building it in-house. By the end of the first year our business had again dried up in cash, thus making us unable to pay suppliers on time. It was time to consider a funding option again to cater to our growing business needs. As overwork was making our entrepreneur tired, this affected the sche duled tasks being incomplete in few of the months during this span of six months. We had the option of recruiting an employee for our business which I individually thought as the wisest option, but as a group we thought it wouldnt have been affordable for our entrepreneur in terms of time and money to opt for a new employee at this stage of our business. Thus we increased his part-time working hours and paid him a larger salary, doing our best to keep him happy and motivated. Previously and in future we not only did motivate him with only extrinsic factors like money but also encouraged him with intrinsic motivational factors like relevant training in various departments, namely: Production, writing skills, design and development, basic finance, business management, IT, communications skills, marketing and sales which helped him build a entrepreneurial identity of his own (enhancing his business qualities as an entrepreneur). In the first six months of the second year our main focus was to look out for the most feasible source of finance to our business. With the various options available in simventure, a bank loan of  £30,000 was the most viable option, which got approved within a span of three months. There was a noticeable increase in number of orders, the average being around 11 orders monthly, but on a couple of occasions the count had spiked to 16 and 17 orders which resulted in generating cash inflow for our business in the later months. During this period we also realised that the insufficiency of cash in our account was due to the fact that some of our customers did not clear their bills on time. Thus we had to take on the Credit Control strategy to closely observe all our customers who owed us money. A process was implemented which adhered to three steps. The first step was to send our customers a written reminder to clear their dues. If this didnt work the second step was to give them a phone call in the same regards. And if the first two steps failed then the final step was to take a legal action against the defaulter by hiring a third party agency who charged us 20% of the recovered money. In this process we had to compromise on shedding off a part of our profits rather than agonising our suppliers by failing to pay them on time, which could have lead to termination of our contract with them. During the last six months of our second year we had an average of 13 orders which was more than before. There had also been a dip in orders to 9 in number during the month of November and December. During this period we also decided to hire a few resources (namely: Premium Equipments, Premium Furniture, Premium Tools, Premium Transport) for our retail space to cater to the smooth running of the business as we were constantly growing. The marketing, advertising and sales activities were more or less similar to the previous half of the year, with our entrepreneur planning to attend more number of exhibitions for ICT Businesses apart from Corporations. The first six months of the third year saw a little decrease in orders, with the average being 11 orders a month. Because of this our entrepreneur had more time than the previous six months, which he decided to invest in an aggressive marketing campaign to create a base for the last six months of the third year of our business. He had also suffered from illness for 5 days during this period. The last six months of our third year was the span in our business where we received the most number of orders, the highest being 19 in the month of August. Our business had an added advantage, i.e. the economy became stronger resulting in rising of customers confidence in us. With Net Assets of  £240,077.47, Fig 8 depicts the financial health of our business at the end of the third year. And Fig 9 highlights the sales vs. Profit for the 3 years showing that although there had been continuous increase in sales over the three years, but the profit maximization was only achieved in the 2nd year of our business. This is because of the fact that with the increase in cost of sales in the third year of our business we didnt increase the product price, which resulted in decrease of profit margins, when compared to the previous year. Conclusion Throughout the span of this report we have been focussing on the competitive and entrepreneurial mindset of a start-up business owner, by recognizing and exploiting the opportunities that came across. We have been discussing about the entrepreneurs engagement in key areas of strategy, marketing, operations, finance and HR which enhanced the performance of our organization. The critical evaluation of decisions taken over the three years span of our business has given us an understanding of how differently various obstacle could be tackled. We begun from the star-up activity stage of a business simulation and happened to reach the growth stage in our business, by developing and nurturing our abilities as an entrepreneur while taking vital decisions at various junctures across the span of three years of entrepreneurship. Appendix 1 Distributor Order size Price / unit Fixed cost / unit Overhead Cost* Profit / unit Cost of total sale Profit per month per distributor Normans 10  £599  £452.62  £90  £56.38  £5,426.20  £563.80 Harton Bros 15  £594  £452.62  £90  £51.38  £8,139.30  £770.70 Aztek 5  £604  £452.62  £90  £61.38  £2,713.10  £306.90 Rad 25  £589  £452.62  £90  £46.38  £13,565.50  £1,159.50 Total 55  £2,386  £1,810.48  £360  £215.52  £29,844.10  £2,800.90 *Note: Overhead cost is estimated by adding Manufacturing cost (i.e.  £80 for any order above 25 units) and miscellaneous cost ( i.e.  £10 kept as a margin) Table : Distributor Analysis Source: Adopted from SimVenture

Film Analysis of Jaws by Steven Spielberg Essay examples -- Movie Film

Film Analysis of Jaws by Steven Spielberg The film Jaws was directed by Steven Spielberg from the best selling novel by Peter Benchley. The film was set in Massachusetts resort town of Amity Island in the height of the beach season. When the resort was terrorized one summer by surprise attacks from a great white shark. John Williams created the score to Jaws, which has since become a well-known theme to in depending doom. The film is generally considered one of the scariest movies ever made. It was also set on the 4th of July, Independence Day. Because on this day loads of people are out and go down to the beach to have beach parties which sets the scene from being near and in the sea. As the film starts the music begins to play very quietly and slowly begins to build, which starts to create tension. Then the camera shows the point of view of the shark moving through the weeds making the audience know that something is present in the water building fear. As this happens the music builds up, gets louder and faster making you think something is going to happen building more tension and fear of the unknown. Then it goes to the main opening seen which starts with the sound of a mouth organ being played on the beach. This brings it back to being a safe and un-feared environment taken the shark off the audience’s mind. We also see a large bonfire on the beach which makes the audience think that it is a warm calm (non-threatening) environment. Then the camera pulls back and shows a wide shot of the sea this is a reminder that the shark is still close which creates some tension. There are people on the beach and we see a girl and boy ... ...rody if he keeps missing. Then at the last second Brody shoots hits the canasta in the shark’s mouth and it blows up killing the great white. This relieves the tension that has been building up making the audience give a sigh of relief. And the film finishes with a happy ending as Brody and the ocean biologist swimming into shore. I think the scariest moment of the film was when the shark was in the pond heading towards Brody’s son Michael. Because throughout the film the audience have got to know the family and when the shark was heading towards Michael a lot more tension. Fear and empathy was created because the audience are afraid of what the shark will do to him. Because at this point you have seen what damage it can do which makes the audience a lot more afraid of the shark and a lot more afraid for Michael. Film Analysis of Jaws by Steven Spielberg Essay examples -- Movie Film Film Analysis of Jaws by Steven Spielberg The film Jaws was directed by Steven Spielberg from the best selling novel by Peter Benchley. The film was set in Massachusetts resort town of Amity Island in the height of the beach season. When the resort was terrorized one summer by surprise attacks from a great white shark. John Williams created the score to Jaws, which has since become a well-known theme to in depending doom. The film is generally considered one of the scariest movies ever made. It was also set on the 4th of July, Independence Day. Because on this day loads of people are out and go down to the beach to have beach parties which sets the scene from being near and in the sea. As the film starts the music begins to play very quietly and slowly begins to build, which starts to create tension. Then the camera shows the point of view of the shark moving through the weeds making the audience know that something is present in the water building fear. As this happens the music builds up, gets louder and faster making you think something is going to happen building more tension and fear of the unknown. Then it goes to the main opening seen which starts with the sound of a mouth organ being played on the beach. This brings it back to being a safe and un-feared environment taken the shark off the audience’s mind. We also see a large bonfire on the beach which makes the audience think that it is a warm calm (non-threatening) environment. Then the camera pulls back and shows a wide shot of the sea this is a reminder that the shark is still close which creates some tension. There are people on the beach and we see a girl and boy ... ...rody if he keeps missing. Then at the last second Brody shoots hits the canasta in the shark’s mouth and it blows up killing the great white. This relieves the tension that has been building up making the audience give a sigh of relief. And the film finishes with a happy ending as Brody and the ocean biologist swimming into shore. I think the scariest moment of the film was when the shark was in the pond heading towards Brody’s son Michael. Because throughout the film the audience have got to know the family and when the shark was heading towards Michael a lot more tension. Fear and empathy was created because the audience are afraid of what the shark will do to him. Because at this point you have seen what damage it can do which makes the audience a lot more afraid of the shark and a lot more afraid for Michael.

Three Major Themes in Don Quixote

One of the most obvious themes in Don Quixote de la Mancha is that of nostalgia. However, in Don Quixote, what has traditionally been regarded as the central thrust of nostalgia: that it represents a longing for a time which can never again exist or be recaptured, is altered through the use of irony to represent a form of moral idealism. In other words, the particular â€Å"flavor† of nostalgia represented by Cervantes is that of a longing for a moral and ethical past which are considered (ironically) not as ideals of an unattainable past, but as a conception of pragmatic moral instruction.Of note is the personal intimacy with which Cervantes invests his character, Quixote's, conception of a moral idealism which appears readily available and complete in the annuls of antiquity: â€Å"he fell into one of the strangest conceits that ever entered the head of any madman [†¦ ] that he should commence knight-errant, and wander through the world, with his horse and arms† (Cervantes Saavedra 23). The summoning to moral action is based, in actuality, in a sense of personal pride and self-aggrandizement: â€Å"that by accomplishing such enterprises he might acquire eternal fame and renown† (Cervantes Saavedra 23).This latter admission forms the key to the ultimately ironic unfolding of Quixote's nostalgic sense of morality in that it reveals that he, Quixote, never grasped the essential nature of the chivalric morality he idealizes in that he sought fame and recognition rather than purely service to the chivalric code itself. In this way, Cervantes indicates that nostalgia does exert a prohibitive influence on pragmatic application and behavior, but this is only revealed through the irony of Quixote's attempts to literalize a moral code which is, in fact, lost in the mists of antiquity.Further irony emerges from the theme of classicism. This theme may be considered closely aligned with the theme of nostalgia because, given the predilection of Qu ixote for self-aggrandizement, it is only natural for the alert reader to assume that Quixote's â€Å"madness† is born out of an inferiority complex. This natural assumption will be grounded not only in the picaresque action of the plot, but in the portrayal of the internal moral â€Å"compass† of the characters in the story.A good example of how Quixote's â€Å"madness† functions as a portrayal of classicism is the passage where Quixote fantasizes that a brothel is actually a castle: â€Å"he fancied it to be a castle, with four turrets and battlements of refulgent silver, together with its drawbridge, deep moat, and all the appurtenances with which such castles are usually described† (Cervantes Saavedra 28). The madness of Quixote allows ironic inversion of the dominant social order.Thsi tendency (theme) is carried out throughout Don Quixote as a whole with peasants and working-poor taking on roles traditionally associated with the upper-classes. Closel y aligned to the theme of classicism is the the theme of chivalry itself. Given the foregoing descriptions of Cervantes's ironic use of nostalgia and the inversion of the social order, one would expect, and rightly so, that the most obvious theme of Don Quixote, the theme of chivalry, is also intended to be perceived as ironic.The full realization that even Quixote's â€Å"mad† idealization of the past refuses to admit legitimate moral perception through into the world, despite, that same vision exposing the hypocrisy and injustice of the â€Å"present day† world, is a realization which seems to undermine Quixote's stature as an ironic hero. However, when Quixote himself renounces chivalry, his heroic stature is fact, increased, and his character given a final seal of integrity. When he proclaims : â€Å"free from those dark clouds of ignorance with which my eager and continual reading of those detestable books of chivalry had obscured it.Now I perceive the absurdity and delusion of them,† (Cervantes Saavedra 939) Quixote is in fact vocalizing his inner-realization that nostalgia, and chivalry were themselves aspects of the very classicism which, in the beginning, ignited his inner feelings of inferiority. He realizes that chivalry is not a release from the injustices of the present, but merely the past's method of empowering the same social inequalities and injustices which flourished in chivalry's historical decline.

The seven domains of a typical IT infrastructure

User – The User Domain is the critical backbone of our network and we must pay close attention to user activity and shape user behavior on our network. I list this as a high priority due to the fact that it is the one that will most likely open up threats on our network from file downloading and surfing the web. My proposal for a solution for this would be to restrict web browsing to only required users. This will allow us to focus our concentration on those users, monitoring for potential network vulnerabilities.I also suggest we implement a basic training course on the proper use of sensitive data and best common computer practices. Workstation – The Workstation Domain is where we can focus our energy on maintaining a clean network. We should do nightly anti-virus scans which will report any found issues back to the IT Department. This will then allow the IT Department to track down the user responsible for infecting the network and allow us to pursue corrective actio n. LAN – For the wired portion of our network, I propose a few solutions that will help secure our network.First we will need to ensure the safety of our equipment from tampering. We should have all switches and sensitive equipment (i. e. Servers and Network Attached Storage (NAS) Devices) in a room that is locked at all times. If available, we can use a card access system to monitor employees that gain access to this portion of our network. Wireless connections open our network to potential threats. We should do everything possible to limit the number of allowed wireless devices on our network. I suggest that we enforce a policy of a primary and secondary wireless network.This would allow us to give our employees the functions they need while maintaining a secure network. Our primary network will be secured with Wi-Fi Protected Access version 2 (WPA2) and the user of a complex passphrase to prevent brute force attacks. This section of our network will have a limited number o f users allowed, with each users activity being closely monitored. The second wireless network will be an isolated network which will allow all approved employees and clients to gain outside access on their mobile devices, without compromising our network.Another step would be to implement security on the network side by locking down each switch port to a specific mac address. This will help circumvent someone from removing the cable from a computer and plugging in another device. While this doesn’t completely eliminate threats of that kind, it will lessen the chance of having an unknowing user infect our network with a virus brought from another destination. LAN to WAN – The bridge between our outside network or WAN to the internal network should be monitored closely.As mentioned in the WAN section above, we should focus on restricting access to our network to help prevent unwanted attacks. I suggest that we implement a hardware firewall on our network. A hardware fir ewall will give our network a much needed layer of security against potential threats. WAN – For this domain I suggest that we implement Virtual Private Network (VPN) servers for any of our employees or clients that are trying to access our network remotely.We should also ensure that all unused ports on our network are blocked which would help limit attacks on our network. We should approach it from the stance of what we need, not what we do not need and start our outbound firewall with all ports closed. Only open the ports that are needed to have our network function. Remote Access – The Remote Access Domain should be monitored closely with each connection and activity extensively logged. Allowing access to our network from an outside source, opens up many possible threats to our network.I suggest that we create a separate server and network for our remote access, keeping it isolated from our primary network. We could implement server and storage mirroring for both ne tworks. This would allow employees to work on projects from a remote location, or clients see the progress of project and not put our network at risk. Systems/Applications – Since the system/ application domain consists of all of a business’s mission-critical systems, applications, and data it is important to ensure that this domain is secure at all times.Failure to do so will result in large amounts of sensitive information as well as the threat of having productions cease to function. Unauthorized physical access is gaining access to a physical entity without permission. This is potentially dangerous because if an individual were to gain such access they could destroy the systems and data within the systems. This threat is centered on access to such places as data centers with a great deal of sensitive information. To prevent unauthorized physical access policies, standards, procedures and guidelines must be followed.For example, all guests must be escorted by an emp loyee at all times. Staff should immediately report any suspicious activity and question persons that do not have an employee ID or badge visible. Data loss occurs when any stored data is destroyed. This is considered the greatest risk to the system/ application domain. To combat data loss, backups should occur regularly. The backups should be stored at an off- site location to allow full data recovery in the event of data loss.

buy custom Recent Rise in Obesity in America essay

buy custom Recent Rise in Obesity in America essay The occurrence of obesity, as well as diseases caused by obesity, has increased tremendously fast in America since 1970. This high number of obesity cases has due to the high number of fast food restaurants and low levels of active transportation, such as public transportation, walking and bicycling. Research shows that many people do few exercises after taking meals, and this has contributed to accumulation of excessive fats in the body that result to obesity (Crawford 2010). These exercises include walking and bicycling, which today people rarely practice. This is because most of the developed countries such as America, most people depend automobiles rather than active transportation such as walking, bicycling when travelling to work and school. This has been a significant determinant of the remarkable increases on the rates of obesity. Obesity has been a silent killer in America and; therefore, intensive efforts are necessary to help in the plight which is obesity. Obesity is a co nstant condition, of storing fats in excess, in the body. Although, body fat is vital for the efficient functioning of the body, too much of fat is dangerous. THE PROBLEM It was noted that many people take this high caloric food and do less exercise such as walking, which has resulted increase of cases of obesity and diseases cause by obesity. According to research, physical activity produced by active transportation can be useful in weight control. Physical activities such as bicycling and walking can help one expend a considerable amounts of energy in a day. Additionally, use of public transportation such as buses, trains and subways help one engage in walking and cycling to and from the bus stop, which will help in weight control as well as other mental and physical health benefits. The purpose of this paper is to explore the problem of low level of active transportation such as walking, public transportation and bicycling, have caused the rise of obesity in America (Great Britain 2004). It will also explore the reasons why it has resulted to the rise of obesity cases. REASONS FOR THE PROBLEM The problem of less active transportation such as walking is common in America whereby many people depend on automobile transportation to travel to work and school (Hamid 2009). One reason for less active transportation among Americans is the busy life that many people have. Many people have more than one responsibility whereby one is a mother or a father, a student, and an employee and the same time. With all these responsibility, one has limited time in a day; therefore, is supposed to use it wisely so as to be able to carry all he responsibilities. To be able to use the limited time to carry out all the activities of the day, many people use automobile transportation, which saves more time than walking, bicycling and using public transportation such as buses. As a result, they are not able to exercise physically, an activity that helps expend significant amounts of energy. This helps in weight control as well as other mental and physical health benefits. With the less physical exe rcise, many people store excessive fats in the body, which leads to obesity, a condition that cause diseases that have killed many people (Jelalian Steele 2008).. The other reason for less active transportation among Americans is that use of personal car to travel in a family is cheap. This is because a family car can be used to carry the whole family when travelling to work as well as the kids when going to school. The parents are able to take the children to school as they go to work. With the high cost of living, many families look for cheaper ways of living, whereby they use the cheapest means of transport to work as well as the kid to school. Therefore, instead of paying the bus fare to school, the parents travel together with their children while they travel to school to save money used when travelling using buses. This has reduced the chances of many children and their parents to participate in activities such as walking in order to expend the energy obtained from the foods they take. As a result, many children and parents become obese since there is excess storage of fats in the body due to less exercise. This excessive accumulation of fats leads to other dangerous diseases such as diabetes, which has killed many Americans. SOLUTIONS To solve this problem whereby less people engage in active transportation that helps in controlling the body weight, solutions should be put forward. One of the solutions is that people who have a busy life due to the many responsibilities they have should find time to engage in activities such as walking. For instance, they should use their weekends to engage in activities such as walking and bicycling in order to compensate for the days they have been using in automobile transportation (Kelly 2010). This will enable utilization of fats that have been taken from the meals, especially those with high content of calories. With the utilization of the excess fats in the body through active transportation and exercises, one is able to control the body weight. This will also help prevent the occurrence of obesity and diseases caused by obesity such as diabetes and heart failure. On the issue of automobile as a cheap way of transport, families should at timess allow the children travel to school using public vehicles such as buses, which will allow them walk from the bus station to school. This will allow them exercise their body in order to use up the excess fats that are stored in the body. Parents should also at times use public transits to travel to work so as to get an opportunity to exercise their bodies to prevent accumulation of fats in the body. In engaging in such activities will prevent them from obesity and diseases, such as diabetes, which force many parents to incur massive medical bills to tender to their medical conditions. As a result, the cost of living continues to increase that may result to poverty in the family. Parents and children; therefore should engage in active transportation when travelling to work and school so as to prevent the occurrence of obesity and diseases related to obesity. In addition, keeping children when they are phy sically fit prevents from limiting their lifespan; hence prevent wiping out future generations in the society. As a result, they are left to enhance development and growth economically in the society. ACTION PLAN Actions should be taken to ensure that cases of obesity are prevented so as to reduce the number of deaths caused by diseases related to obesity. This increased rate of obesity; therefore requires physical exercises, such as active transportation since travelling is an activity that many people engage every day (Kopelman, Caterson, Dietz, 2010). Active transportation such as walking and bicycling will lead to the reduction in obesity rate as well as promoting a healthy nation. Campaigns need to be launched to advocate for health literacy in order to inform people about the significance of good, healthy eating. The public should work together with the private sectors to improve the obesity situation in the country by encouraging physical exercise that help to weight control (Lee, McAlexander Banda 2011). CONCLUSION In conclusion, it is evident that low levels of active transportation, such as public transportation, walking and bicycling have contributed to the rise of obesity in America. Dependency on automobiles has resulted to rise of obesity in America; therefore, it is the high time for Americans to engage in active transportation to reduce cases of obesity. Obesity is the main cause of the many serious diseases. It is time to take a serious stand by emphasizing on the importance of body fitness and exercises. It is time American citizens required immediate action to eliminate obesity in their country. Attitudinal transformation is a significant step towards eliminating cases of obesity in America. Buy custom Recent Rise in Obesity in America essay

Vietnam Economic Issues In the New Stage

Vietnam Economic Issues In the New Stage Free Online Research Papers During the past years, Vietnam economy has made a number of significant achievements. Since the beginning of the cause of renovation (Doi Moi) initiated by the Communist Party, the country’s state has changed substantially compared to the period of pre-renovation. The economy has recorded high growth rates for several years in a row. People’s living standards have been considerably improved. Since the market opening-up, the number of foreign investors rushing to Vietnam has risen surprisingly, resulting in a huge increase in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). In 2006, Vietnam has successfully fulfilled and exceeded almost all development targets set by the National Assembly. The economic growth rate is 8.17%; that of industry is 17%; the service sector has posted a high development rate, especially retail industry; high export value has been maintained, reaching $ 39.6 billion; there has been a reduction in trade deficit in terms of net value and proportion of import and export. FDI and ODA attraction remains strong. Vietnam’s accession to WTO and hosting of APEC demonstrate successful diplomatic and economic activities. The approval of the Permanent Normal Trade Relation by the US Congress is an evidence of Vietnam’s increasing importance in the world stage. The development of Vietnam’s Stock Exchange with its vibrant activities in recent months is also a positive sign to some extent. All of those accomplishments prove that the country is initially integrating into the world economy successfully. However, Vietnam’s continuous high growth rates for many years raise a question over the viability of the development. Could the economy maintain such a vigorous development in the coming years ? Or heating development will be followed by a severe collapse due to implicit problems ? This document is to be divided into three sections to discuss the economic issues of Vietnam economy in the stage of integration and globalization. Part 1: Vietnam economy at a glance. Part 2: Vietnam economic issues assessment. Part 3: Solutions to the issues. TABLE OF CONTENT A. OVERVIEW OF VIETNAM ECONOMY OVER THE PAST YEARS. 3 1. Domestic policy. 3 2. Foreign trade and international economic integration: 5 3. Foreign Direct Investment: 6 B. ASSESSMENT OF VIETNAM ECONOMIC ISSUES IN THE NEW STAGE. 7 1. Corruption and bureaucracy. 7 2. Economic structure. 10 a. By sectors. 10 b. By ownership ( Equitization process ). 11 3. Human resources 13 4. Environment. 14 a. Natural Environment. 14 b. Business Environment. 16 5. Income disparity. 18 C. SOLUTIONS 19 1. Corruption and business environment. 19 2. Economic structure. 20 a. By sectors. 20 b. By ownership 21 3. Human resources. 22 4. Natural Environment. 22 5. Income disparity. 23 CONTENT A. OVERVIEW OF VIETNAM ECONOMY OVER THE PAST YEARS. 1. Domestic policy. Viet Nam embarked on the Doi Moi policy in 1986. Since then, the country has seen dramatic changes, first and foremost in the economic thinking. The centrally-planned economy was replaced by the socialist-oriented market economy; national industrialization and modernization were initiated together with the policy of multilateralization and diversification of external economic relations, opening-up and international integration. The 1987 Foreign Investment Law was the first legal document that helped form the legal framework for the Vietnamese market economy. In 1991, the Private Enterprise Law and Corporate Law were introduced. The amended 1992 Constitution affirmed the existence and development of a multi-sector economy under a market mechanism, including the foreign-invested sector. This was followed by the promulgation of a number of laws essential for the formation of the market economy, including Land Law, Tax Law, Bankruptcy Law, Environment Law, and Labour Code etc. Hundreds of ordinances and decrees were enacted by the Government to guide the implementation of these laws, which help ensure national socio-economic development. Along with the law-making process, market economy institutions have also been established. Government policy advocates the elimination the central planning mechanism, the emphasis on monetary market relations, the focus on economic management measures and the establishment of a wide range of financial institutions, banks and basic markets for money, labour, goods and land, etc. The administrative reform was also promoted by the authorities. Overall, tremendous economic reforms taking place over nearly two decades of Doi Moi have yielded encouraging results. External economic relations have been expanded and the flow of foreign direct investment has increased. Export of goods and labour, tourism industry and remittances from overseas Vietnamese have been strongly promoted to generate increasing foreign earnings for Vietnam. During 20 years of Doi Moi, GDP of Vietnam saw a sustained growth, which stood at 8.2% in 1991-1995 as compared to 3.9% in 1986-1990. This rate dropped to 7.5% in 1996-2000 due to the impacts of the Asian financial crisis. Since 2001, GDP growth recovered on a year-on-year basis, reaching 6.9%, 7%, 7.3% and 7.7% for 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 respectively. The figure for 2005 was 8.4%. Vietnam has now succeeded in gradually replacing the centrally-planned economy, bureaucracy and a subsidy mechanism by a socialist-oriented market economy with growing dynamism. The GDP growth rate of 7 to 8% has been sustained, along with stronger industrialization and expanded integration with the world and regional economy. Vietnam has enjoyed a sharp rise in trade volume, especially exports, and an increase of foreign investment and income. The ratio of the industry and construction rose from 38.13% in 2001 to 41.03% in 2005; the service from 36.63% up to 38.08%; and only the agriculture, forestry and fishery from 23.24% to respectively. The economic structure has also witnessed significant changes. From 1990 to 2005, the contribution of agriculture sector dropped from 38.7% to 20.89% , while that of the industry and construction was up from 22.7% to 41.03% . The service sector relatively stabilized, 38.6% in 1990 and 38.08% in 2005. In each sector, the structure has also positively shifted. The agriculture sector has seen a decline in the role of agriculture and forestry from 84.4% to 77.7% during the period 1990-2003, while fishery gained a higher share. In the industrial sector, the proportion of the processing industry was up from 12.3% in 1990 to 20.8% in 2003 with improved product quality. In the service sector, the share of high-quality services such as finance, banking, insurance and tourism, etc. is increasing rapidly. Upon the amendment of the Enterprise Law in 2000, private businesses have enjoyed strong encouragement for development. This Law institutionalized the freedom of all individuals to do business in areas not prohibited by law. In the 2000-2004 period, 73,000 private enterprises were registered, up by 3.75 times against the period of 1991-1999. By 2004, the total number of private enterprises operating under the Enterprise Law amounted to 150,000 with the total capital of VND 182 billion. From 1991 to 2003, the private sector’s share in GDP was up from 3.1% to 4.1%; other non-state sectors increased from 4.4% to 4.5%; and foreign-invested sector from 6.4% to 14%; and the household sector was down from 35.9% to 31.2%. As the multi-sector economy has further developed, the proportion of SOEs (State Owned Enterprises) in GDP decreased from 40.1% in 1991 to 38.3% in 2003. The collective sector dropped from 10.2% to 7.9% during the same period. In 2002 and 2003, 1,655 SOEs were listed for reorganization and reform. The figure for 2004 and 2005 were 882 and 413 respectively. Economic growth is combined with the improvement of life quality and development of health care and education. The Human Development Index of Vietnam increased from 0.583 in 1994 with a rank of 120/174 to 108/177 in 2005. The average life expectancy was raised from around 50 in the 1960s to 70.5 at present. The poor household ratio dropped from 70% in 1980 to below 7% in 2005s. 2. Foreign trade and international economic integration: With the policy of openness and industrializtion, the country has been expoiting its inherent advatages such as abundant natural resources, low labour cost and so on, which generate an increasing flow of foreign income. Over the years of the Doi Moi process, Vietnams export growth has averaged 20%. From around US$ half a million before the introduction of the Doi Moi policy, the total export volume of Vietnam reached US$ 26 billion in 2004 and US$32.23 billion in 2005. The structure of exports has also seen a positive change. During the 1991-1995 period, major exports of Vietnam were crude oil, fishery products, rice, textiles, coffee, forestry products, rubber, peanut and cashew nuts. By 2005, apart from crude oil, textiles, rice and coffee, Vietnam was mainly exporting garment and textile, footwear, seafood, woodwork, electronics appliances, and rice. This structure reflects an increase in processing and manufactured products and a decline in unprocessed products, including agricultural, fishery, forestry products and minerals. The policy of multilateralization and diversification of international relations has helped Vietnam integrate more deeply into the world and regional economy. Before 1990, Vietnam had trade relations with only 40 partners. Now with the foreign policy of openness, which is to be friend and cooperate with all countries in the world on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, Vietnam has established diplomatic relations with 167 countries, and has signed multilateral and bilateral trade agreements with over 80 nations. The country has been granted MFN (Most Favored Nation) status by more than 70 countries and territories, including countries and regions with large capital resources, high technologies and vast markets, such as the United States, Japan, the EU and newly industrialized countries in East Asia. Following the introduction of Doi Moi, Vietnam signed an economic and trade cooperation agreement with the EU in 1992, joined ASEAN in 1995, AFTA in 1996 and APEC in 1998. Vietnam also signed the Bilateral Trade Agreement with the United States in 2000. Vietnam started negotiations for WTO accession in 1995 and has just got the full membership of this organization by the end of 2006. 3. Foreign Direct Investment: In December 1987, the Foreign Direct Investment Law of Vietnam was introduced to help form the basic legal framework for foreign investment activities in Vietnam. To better respond to business requirements and feedback from foreign investors, this Law was amended and supplemented several times, notably in 1996 and 2002, which created a more open and attractive environment to draw foreign investors into crucial industries such as export-oriented processing and manufacturing, and key economic zones of the country. In recent years and especially in 2005, the Vietnamese Government made a number of adjustments and conducted reforms to create more incentives for foreign investors. They are now supported in tackling business obstacles. The Law on Personal Income Tax has been amended in favour of the tax payers. The one-stop-shop policy has been promoted, telecommunication tariffs lowered to gain competitiveness over other countries in the region. Infrastructure has been improved. More areas, including those previously closed to foreign investors, such as telecommunication, insurance and supermarkets, etc. are now open to investment. As such, Vietnam has become an attractive destination for foreign investment. The above measures resulted in recovery and rapid increase of the FDI inflows in 2005. The sharp rise of FDI is also attributed to political, economic and security stability, high economic growth rate, continuation of economic reform in accordance with market economy principles, improved living standards leading to higher domestic demand, greater international integration and the emergence in the international market of Vietnamese trademarks and Vietnam’s growing reputation. Over the past years, Vietnam has drawn increasing inflows of FDI. From a negligible figure of 1986, FDI into Vietnam reached US$ 3.2 billion in 1997. Due to the negative impacts of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the FDI flow then saw a drop during 1998-2000 period, with only US$ 1.58 billion in 1999. In the past few years, Vietnam has enjoyed a recovery of FDI, from US$ 2.6 billion in 2001 to US$ 4.1 billion in 2004. FDI not only generates profits for foreign investors but also represents a significant capital source which comes along with technology transfer as well as advanced managerial and professional skills B. ASSESSMENT OF VIETNAM ECONOMIC ISSUES IN THE NEW STAGE. Although Vietnam has seen a surge in economic development for many years, the economy still contains a number of potential unstable factors which, if not resolved in time, could lead to serious consequences in terms of not only economy but also society. Within the scope of this essay, only some prominent points are to be made as follows. ( Due to the seriousness of corruption, this issue is stripped from the investment climate one ) 1. Corruption and bureaucracy. Corruption is generally viewed as a serious problem in Vietnam. This view is shared by senior government and party officials, local and international business leaders, citizens and donors. Corruption is thought to play a significant role in the waste and inefficiency that characterize public expenditure in this still nascent transition economy. Such inefficiencies are in many cases a legacy of the former centrally planned economic system practiced prior to 1986. Centralized state management is still the norm throughout much of the economy and state owned enterprises still dominate commercial activity. Laws and regulations are often ambiguous, criminal and civil law are not separated, and considerable authority for the interpretation of laws rests with designated authorities. Both domestic and foreign businesses find that the complex and detailed nature ofpermit requirements, the opaque nature of decision-making, and the prevalent need to pay commissions and â€Å"give envelopes† are barriers to doing business. Paying commissions to influence company and administrative decisions is thought to be commonplace, including in tendering processes. Many foreign businesses which were attracted by the early reforms of the Doi Moi period (perhaps unrealistically) have now become disillusioned and are reassessing their presence in Vietnam, citing corruption and an unpredictable business environment as majorfactors. The Global Competitiveness Survey found that unclear procedures, lack of public information, bureaucratic discretion on the part of middle-level officials, and long delays were the factors which caused Vietnam to be viewed by the private sector as near last in competitiveness compared to other countries. Similarly, Transparency International ranks Vietnam as 111th in its list of 163 countries. A number of recurrent problems in the operation of the National Integrity System (NIS) can be observed across nearly all pillars. These include the following: * The government has a generally piecemeal approach to tackling corruption. Where government plans or strategies exist, it is not clear that they are being pursued systematically from one institution to the next. Moreover, few institutions featured in the NIS are adopting a systematic approach to tackling corruption in their own ranks even if they are tasked with fighting corruption elsewhere. * Whether corruption is uncovered, investigated or prosecuted – and whether it is not – is often politically motivated. That is, the politically powerful are able to escape investigation and prosecution, while allegations of corruption are often used to fight political battles. The Communist Party and government have pledged to root out corruption regardless of who is involved, but few believe that this is what happens in practice. * Institutional rivalry and jurisdictional disputes are considerable between institutions tasked with the fight against corruption. The 2005 Anti-Corruption Law allows for the creation of a National Anti-Corruption Steering Committee under the prime minister, but it remains to be seen how successful it will be in coordinating the different organisations involved in the fight against corruption. * Nepotism is commonplace across all state institutions involved in the NIS despite the formal existence of merit-based appointment systems. Codes of conduct, where they exist, are poorly enforced. This is especially the case where they deal with conflicts of interest. Access to off-the-books funds is the norm. * Despite a relatively strong tradition of public consultation through mass organisations, consultation is actually quite formalistic and narrowly based. State institutions are more at home with secrecy than openness. * While internal and public complaint mechanisms exist, there is a general reluctance to use them for fear of the potential repercussions for the people who complain. There has been a small increase in formal citizen complaints directed at lower-level public officials, but the increase is marginal. Anonymity or protection for whistleblowers cannot be guaranteed. There is a sense in which the media, civil society and international organisations are potentially pushing in the same direction in terms of an increased willingness to focus on corruption and a greater commitment to government transparency. However, there is no clear alliance between them, and the role of civil society – because it is still weak – is relatively piecemeal and uncoordinated in terms of the fight against corruption. There is a wide gap between the formal rules governing the NIS and actual practices on the ground. This is commonplace across all areas of political, economic and social life in Vietnam. The reasons for the disagreements in relation to corruption have to do with the fact that political power often operates outside the law, that nepotism is widespread and that officials can be bribed relatively easily. Overlapping jurisdictions, unclear rules and weak state capacity are part of the problem, but there is a sense in which these problems are secon dary to the political and attitudinal problems cited above. The government’s existing anti-corruption strategy as reflected in the new Anti-Corruption Law is highly ambitious. Even to make limited progress in implementing the law would be for the state to significantly up its game in the fight against corruption. However, given the way in which the NIS is currently operating, it is likely to be some years before the Anti-Corruption Law is properly enforced. In the meantime, what is actually happening on the ground in terms of anti-corruption activities is much more limited but is what one would expect given the real nature of the NIS. Clearly, corruption has really become an evil which has it root deeply grafted in the society. Not only does this evil cause troubles for people in their daily lives but it also sets up obstacles for foreign investors. Just imagine that a Korean investor spent years trying to get his investment license approved but still failed. Some donors, including Sweden, Denmark and ADB, have had to bring in specialist consultants to guide them on the most strategic interventions. The World Bank even published a handbook guiding investors to cope with this fact in Vietnam. In short, maybe it is a long-lasting and daunting task, Vietnam still has to have determination to radically eradicate the evil in the new stage of integration. Otherwise, who knows ? Perhaps Vietnam economy could be hollowed to the point of a collapse. 2. Economic structure. a. By sectors. In the economy structure, agriculture sector represents a major proportion. The sector employs more than a half of Vietnam’s labor force and contributes nearly one fourth of the country’s GDP and a third of exports earnings. Despite the progress made in agricultural production and export growth, and in liberalizing commodity, land, and credit markets in recent years, rural poverty remains high (estimated at 45%), and the role of the private sector in marketing remains small. Growth in the past was the result of (i) reliance on higher input use (labor, land, fertilizer, tractors, and irrigation); (ii) policy reforms in land, markets, and trade; and (iii) high public investment, mainly in the forms of irrigation and roads. It is unlikely, however, that this strategy will be able to sustain growth in the future because (i) the potential for expansion of the rural labor force and land under cultivation is limited; (ii) new investment in irrigation exhibits decreasing marginal returns, as the stock of irrigation capital is already very high and requires increased operation and maintenance expenditure rather than new expansion; and (iii) rice export revenues are declining. Major agricultural exports of the cou ntry are generally unprocessed or semi-processed materials and low-quality produce with trivial value added. Future agricultural growth will have to come from the increasing demand for high value and value-added products. This will require a new policy environment with greater diversification of crops and value addition through processing, and shifting the focus from production volume to value. Policy reforms that promote competition, diversification, and more effective use of science and technology are required. Some of the major factors contributing to low agricultural diversification include (i) low investment in and poor effectiveness of research and extension, (ii) limited access to high quality genetic material, and (iii) limited access to financial services and market information. Although Vietnam has recently tried a lot to reduce the ratio of agriculture in the economy, the sector still accounts for quite a large part at 20.1% ( 2006 est.), employs as much as 56.8% labor force and will continue to be at the core of the economy in the next decade. Therefore, intensification and diversification to enhance the competitiveness of the industry has become a pressing task in the new stage of integration. Besides, other industries of the country are of relatively weak competitiveness with restraints in terms of technology and quality as well. Many of the must rely on unstable factors with low value added. In 2006, Vietnam’s steel industry must import as much as 70 percent of steel ingot. Meanwhile, steel ingot accounts for the major part in the value of steel. Other industries are in the same condition as well. They must import most of their semi-processed or processed production materials abroad at a high price while export their products into other countries with quite low value-added. As depending to much on the world’s market, they’re easily affected by negative changes. That’s not to mention the fact that due to obsolete technologies, their products could hardly compete with others from developed countries in some highly profitable industries. In addition, Vietnam products usually have difficulties with non-tariff barriers in these areas, for example, hygiene standard, products quality or safety, etc†¦In short, to successfully penetrating the markets of that kind is a fearful obstacles to Vietnam’s economic sectors. However, that is the inevitable trend of the economy that Vietnam must take. If the country want to survive to further develop, it has to overcome all of these barriers to integrate into the world’s economy, accepting its rules and regulations. Otherwise, it is not difficult to predict where the economy would head for. b. By ownership ( Equitization process ). Although the equitization program has been successful in transforming a large number of SOEs into more efficient enterprises, there are still many shortcomings. The pace of equitization has been slow. By early 2005, only 80% of the government target has been met; total capital of equitized SOEs accounts for only 8.2% of total state-owned capital in the economy. The remaining 92% of state-owned capital is still held by state general corporations ( SGCs 90 and 91 ) and other large SOEs that yield significant monopoly power. Furthermore, equitization process has lacked transparency and benefited political elites (i.e., government and insiders hold large chunks of the equitized firms). As a result, equitization has failed to attract investment from domestic investors and improve the management structure of equitized enterprises. There is also anecdotal evidence that public assets in equitized firms are quietly and legally transferred to private ownership because of internal and underpr iced equitization. It is reported that in 12 years of equitization (1992-2004), the total investment raised from nonstate sources is VND 12,411 billion ( US$ 0.8 billion). This amount is small when compared with the investment contributed by the domestic private sector during the same period. The Central Institute of Economic Management (CIEM) reports that between 1992 and 2003, around VND 190,000 billion (est. US$ 12 billion) was invested in newly registered private enterprises; US$ 9.5 billion was raised between 2000 and 2003 following the implementation of the [Private] Enterprise Law effective January 1st , 2000. Equitization has been partial. The fact that the state maintains large number of shares in equitized firms has posed several serious problems to the corporate governance of these companies and the government regulations. Similar to the situation prior to equitization, there is no clear separation between the controlling and ownership rights with respect to the state being legally defined as shareholder and, at the same time, regulator. Ownership of large blocks of shares also gives the state veto power in most important management and investment decisions, resulting in frequent particular interventions in the governance of equitized firms. At the macro level, the dual role of the state as the owner of SOEs and equitized firms and as the only regulator creates a real possibility of ( Regulatory capture is a phenomenon in which a government regulatory agency which is supposed to be acting in the public interest becomes dominated by the vested interests of the existing incumbents in th e industry that it oversees). Another serious problem is that the institutional capacity of the state agency responsible for managing state capital is very limited as it is in charge of a vast number of equitized firms. As a result, despite being a large (if not the largest) shareholder in many firms, the state is unable to exert proper management oversight. Coupled with the fact that workers usually have a very weak voice in running the company implies that managers enjoy great discretionary power, which can be easily abused to pursue private benefits. Another notable feature of Vietnamese equitization is that it has been a highly internal process. The largest chunks of shares have been held by the state and insiders (managers and workers); on average only about 15% of shares have been sold to outside investors. Out of 2224 equitized firms (as of 2005), 860 firms never sold any shares to the public. Indeed, there is a problem of information asymmetry between insiders and outsiders with respect to real and future value of equitized firms. Faced with this information asymmetry and the legal system that does not afford proper protection to minority shareholders, most people do not want to take the risk. Anecdotal evidence suggests that many equitized SOEs, especially profitable ones, have been underpriced ( as in the case of Vinamilk and Phu gia ). There are some possible explanation for this situation. For example, the value of land use rights has not been properly accounted for, valuation of equitized enterprises is the result of negotiation between the managers and the evaluation committee or the auditing firm etc†¦ Equitization has had a modest effect on the ownership structure of the economy. The overall structure of ownership in Vietnam, however, has not been substantially changed by equitization. It is projected that equitization will be completed by 2008. Meanwhile, as of February 2005, SGCs alone accounted for nearly 80% of total state capital. Three SGCs, namely Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation (PetroVietnam), Vietnam National Post and Telecommunication Corporation (VNPT), and Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), account for 66% of all SGC fixed assets. This fact, reinforced by the government policy to retain control in large and strategically important equitized firms, implies that without significant improvement in the private sector, public ownership will still be the dominant form of ownership in the economy by 2008. Despite its remaining persistent shortcomings, equitization has also improved the enterprise performance. However, if Vietnam wants to take full use of its potential to further develop after the accession to WTO, it will have to improve the SOEs’ equitization process soon. 3. Human resources. For many years, it has been said that Vietnam’s â€Å"cheap labor force† is a competitive advantage. Yet, in the new stage of integration, as the country is facing the fierce competition from other country and simultaneously, becoming more developed, this advantage doesn’t bring about significant benefit as it was any more. Conversely, this fact is gradually showing weaknesses of Vietnam’s labor force in the process of industrialization and modernization. According to a survey of labor trends in 2006 in Southeast Asia by the Japan External Trade Organization, the shortage of senior managers and other qualified personnel is more acute in Vietnam than in any other ASEAN country. In fact, a shortage of engineers and managers, particularly in design and development, is common throughout the region, in stark contrast to China and India. Half of the Japanese companies in Vietnam cannot find suitably qualified engineers from the local populace and nearly 60% have only managed to recruit one or two apiece, well under the proportion in other ASEAN nations. In information technology, for instance, Vietnam has a clear advantage over the other countries in one respect – low pay – but their software writers and engineers know little or no Japanese and their technical qualifications are often below par. The same situation is a common thing in other industries which require employees who are well-trained and good at professional expertise. Another problem is the rising pay in the ASEAN countries, India and China, a trend that looks likely to continue. The problem is that the pressure for higher wages could get out of control and out an end to the advantage of low labor costs compared to the rest of the world. As it is, the advantage of inexpensive labor of the country is to substantially decline in the coming years. On the contrary, With ever more foreign companies coming to Vietnam to invest, the shortcomings of its workforce are being clearly exposed. Although an abundant supply of cheap labor can temporarily compensate for t hese shortcomings, in the long term Vietnamese employees will have to face competition from China, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and such. Even in agricultural sector, the sector employs as much as 57% of the country’s labor force, productivity is still depends much on manual labor. Therefore, the efficiency is greatly constrained with low productivity. Hence, it’s reasonable that most of the poor comes from the sector. In short, in the future, the current comparative strength can’t be maintained very long any more. Instead, only skilled laborers with high productivity will become the source of stable development of the country. In conclusion, even if a country owned the most advanced technologies and abundant natural resources, without the good human resource, it couldn’t effectively tap its own potential to develop. In contrast, despite difficulties of all kind, with the capable and developed human resources, the economy could overcome any obstacles in order to sustainably progress. As for Vietnam, to reform the country’s labor force is a must so that it would successfully integrate into the world’s economy and become an Asian tiger, as many analysts note. 4. Environment. a. Natural Environment. Vietnam’s environment is under considerable stress from rapid economic growth, urbanization and rising human pressure on relatively scarce natural resources. While it has gradually improved its environmental regulatory framework, Vietnam has very limited capacity for implementation. Therefore, future rapid economic growth (an expected doubling of GDP in the next 10 years) and substantial investments in infrastructure may significantly threaten the environmental sustainability of the country’s development. Progress has been made in reforestation programs and tightening the control of illegal wildlife trade. Mechanisms for integrated river basin management are being established under the Law on Water Resources. Ministry of Natural Resource is now drafting amendments to the Law on Environmental Protection to enable new policy tools and remedies for pollution prevention and cleanup and adjustments to cover environmental management in the private sector. Despite these signs of progress, there is need for substantial improvements in the policy framework for environmental sustainability and the institutional arrangements to achieve them. Progress has been slow due to weak commitment by sectoral agencies, low awareness in local departments and officials, and capacity challenges at all levels. There is a lack of environmental integration at planning and programmatic levels, especially in the public investment planning process and in regional plans for land and resource use. In addition, awareness on the expected, negative environmental impacts of sustained economic growth, and the mechanisms for stakeholders to hold government agencies accountable for their performance is weak. Industrial production grew from 15 percent per year between 1995 and 2004, with some of the fastest growth generated by state-owned enterprises (e.g., oil and gas, electricity, and cement). These enterprises have poor environmental records due to old equipment, lack of adequate controls, and inadequate treatment of wastewater and air emissions. Many industrial pollutants have a high environmental health cost. The Government has implemented fees on wastewater pollution and introduced a Prime Ministerial Decision to reallocate, close down or adapt cleaner technologies, but these policies need to be enforced effectively. Land degradation is also a major problem, particularly in upland areas. Its major causes are insecure land tenure, poor logging practices, drought, salinization and acidification. Degraded steep slopes and deforested landscapes, especially in the northwest region, are now very susceptible to soil erosion during heavy rains. Despite recent increases in forest area, forest quality remains a concern. Closed canopy forests still make up only 13 percent of the total forest area, while poor/regenerating forests account for 55 percent. Fisheries output, which more than doubled from 1990 to 2005, is now experiencing declining rates of catch per unit effort. Rapid expansion in aquaculture activities has caused a substantial decline in mangroves and wetlands, raising concern about coastal fish yields. Coral reefs are under pressure, and more of Vietnam’s reefs are classified as at â€Å"very high risk† than in any of the eleven other countries in the Southeast Asia region. Vietnam’s surface, ground and coastal waters are threatened by pollution. Although the quality of upstream river waters is generally good, downstream sections of major rivers reveal poor water quality and most of the lakes and canals in urban areas are rapidly becoming sewage sinks. Rapid urbanization and industrialization in coastal areas, expansion in coastal tourism, and an increase in the number of oil spills are all contributing to the deterioration of coastal water quality. World Bank assistance focuses on expanding access to sanitation and wastewater treatment. Wastewater and run-off from urban areas, industrial centers, and agricultural land, pollute surface, ground, and coastal waters. Water bodies such as lakes, streams, and canals increasingly serve as sinks for domestic sewage and industrial wastes. Air quality in nearly all urban and industrial areas is affected by various pollutants, such as particulates, lead and nitrous oxides, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide emitted by sources including vehicles, factories, power plants, and households. Sulfur dioxide levels near some factories occasionally exceed national standards by several times. Household waste collection efficiencies remain low, and there is no separate treatment for hazardous wastes. The development sustainability of a country depends largely on the environmental conditions. As the impacts of environmental pollution on the country has becoming more and more serious, it’s high time Vietnam radically carried out all possible activities on a large scale to preserve its invaluable resources for the development of next generations. If not, the wealth that the country has been proud of will definitely deplete. Then, nothing will be able to save it any more. b. Business Environment. Since the 1999 Enterprise Law took effect, the Vietnamese business environment has become more favourable. This was a breakthrough in administrative reform, which has improved the transparency and equality of the legal framework for business activities in Vietnam. Procedures for business establishment have been simplified with the removal of hundreds of unnecessary licences and legal documents, and the establishment of new legal documents, providing guidelines for business activities. The 1999 Enterprises Law and its enforcement have encouraged the development of business activities of Vietnamese and foreign individuals and organisations. The number of enterprises increased from 62,000 in 2002 to 200,000 in 2006 The Vietnamese legal systems strength is the seriousness and urgency with which it is trying to meet the development demands of the economy and match the WTO system. It is possible to say that State management has caught up with economic development. While intellectual property rights became a hot issue in Vietnam and the world, the Law on Intellectual Property was issued as a guideline for settling copyright issues. When the Vietnamese people adapted themselves to e-commerce and the stock market, the Law on E-commerce and the Law on Securities were issued. More importantly, however, two laws, which cost much strength and effort, the Unified Enterprise Law and the Common Investment Law were issued. Yet, a number of innate and serious problems do still exist in the system, making Vietnam’s business environment less attractive in the eye of many foreign investors. Despite significant improvements, problems remain in the legal environment in Vietnam, especially the existing business licence system, to which the Government is paying great attention. In 2006, many improvements in the business environment were seen. Apart from the Enterprise Law and the Investment Law which took effect, the Prime Minister took tough measures, asking relevant agencies to reform administrative procedures and apply the one-stop mechanism for transactions with people and enterprises. In fact, some localities have seen a significant progress. However, when the laws took effect, issues relating to business licences emerged. In fact, the system of licences has cost enterprises more. Therefore, it is necessary to review and remove unnecessary licences. Specifically, since the 2005 Enterprise Law was issued, issues relating to licences have heated up because under the law, business fields have conditions stipulated by other laws, ordinances and decrees. In fact, concrete c onditions are stipulated in circulars, decisions by ministries and people’scommittees at all levels with unclear conditions and times. The Vietnamese Government and relevant agencies are making efforts to filter the system of business licences to facilitate investment and business activities of enterprises in Vietnam. However, many inherent problems seems take quite a long time to resolve since their efforts are working sluggishly. Law enforcement and the tribunal system are rated very low by foreign businesses due to complicated formalities and high fees. Law enforcement takes longer time and causes delays to project implementation in Vietnam. As a result, few businesses seek dispute settlement by law and official procedures, in most cases they negotiated among themselves. Vietnam law is often without guidance for implementation. For instance, Decree 72 issued in July 2006 allowing the establishment of commercial branches. However, until now, there is no guidance for the establishment of commercial branches. No one knows for sure whether they can be established or how far they can operate. WTO protocol approved by Vietnam contains no commitment on commercial branches though Decree 72 mentions it in clear term. In spite of Vietnam’s accession to WTO several months ago, businesses are not very optimistic about the prospect of the business environment in the coming years. With WTO membership, many new laws will be promulgated and law enforcement will be slow as often happened. Furthermore, new laws will not be immediately understood and implemented causing misunderstanding and confusion. For instance, new Investment Law and Enterprise Law were approved in late 2005 and effective in July 2006, decrees for the implementation of those laws have not been issued causing some controversy. In the process of integration and globalization, no country can stay out of the trend and live well in its own niche. Since the internal resources are limited, all countries should looking for external ones to help them soundly develop. Therefore, the more investors rush to the country to do business, it means, the more capital is poured into the country, the better. Hence, efforts should be further promoted so that the business environment could be more and more favorable and attractive. This is one of the tasks requesting to be done immediately for the sake of the country’s development. 5. Income disparity. Over the last two decades Vietnam has undergone strong economic development as a result of cautious political reforms. Many people claim that Vietnam is winning the battle against poverty via a high rate of economic growth. During the past years, Vietnam government has also launched a number of programs aimed at hunger elimination and poverty alleviation and obtained significant achievements. According to statistics of World Bank, 67% of Vietnams population lived under the poverty line in 1993, but the rate dropped to 24% last year. Yet, at the same time, the gap between rich and poor has increased. In Vietnam, although the gap between the rich and the poor is not as big as in many other countries in the world, it has been going up over the time. The results of many researches also show that inequality of living standard (the rich-poor gap) in Vietnam is shown most prominently in the inequality between the various geo-economic regions and inequality between the rural and urban areas. This inequality originates from several factors among which there are educational qualification and occupation. 0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 199319982002 bottom 10% top 10% top 1% Per capita expenditure of top 1% and top/bottom 10% of households, 1993-2002 The widening labor productivity growth gap between the primary sector and the industry and services sectors of the country helps to explain the growing urban-rural gap documented in the Vietnam Living Standard surveys. According to the survey findings, while the overall incidence of poverty declined significantly, from 58.1% in 1995 to 37.4% in 1998, and to 18.1% in 2004, the reduction in poverty was much greater in urban areas, where it declined from 25.1% to 9.2% and to 8.3% respectively. Rural areas experienced a smaller decline, from 66.4% to 45.5% and to 23.2% correspondently. Moreover, real per capita expenditure in urban areas grew twice as fast, recording a 60% increase, relative to rural areas, which recorded a 30% increase (World Bank 2004). Source: VLSS calculations 14% 22% 17% 86% 83% 78% 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 1992/931997/982002 Inequality within each region Inequality between Regions 21% 32% 65% 79% 68% 65% 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 1992/931997/982002 within Urban-Rural area BetweenUrban-Rural area Theil decompositions of inequality by region and rural/urban The evidence from the Living Standard surveys leaves little doubt that, while per capita income has risen and most Vietnamese are better off, the gains from the first phase of reform and external liberalization have largely favored urban, educated, white-collar, and relatively well-off households. Inequality increased by all measures, recording the greatest change. The disparity between richer and poorer households also was apparent when comparing real per capita expenditure between the poorest and richest. From 1999 to 2004, reflecting their higher income growth, the richest 10% of the population increased their spending by 53.3% compared to a 23.3% spending increase by the poorest 10%. The inequality in terms of income, as a consequence, also leads to a number of impacts on life between the rich and the poor, the urban and the rural people. People living in rural areas enjoy fewer opportunities and poorer education as well as other utilities such as clean consuming water, sanitation facilities, electricity, communications and so on in their lives. Meanwhile as for a number of people, mostly in urban areas, studying abroad, traveling by luxurious private vehicles, consuming expensive goods etc†¦ is a common thing. This trend is more and more widening in the country, causing discontent among some groups. That can result in social disorder, compromising the ultimate goal of socialism, harming the country’s institution. Therefore, tackling this issue has become one of the most important issues in order to ensure the stable development of the country. C. SOLUTIONS Dealing with all of the above issues is a time, effort, and funds consuming task. Therefore, the country must have enough determination to pursue this very long way. And foremost, it can’t be finished solely by the government but need the joint efforts between the State and people. On that people, a number of solutions is to be proposed as follows: 1. Corruption and business environment. * Minimizing red-tape and arbitrary discretion: reducing to a minimum activities for which government permission is required and the number of steps required to acquire necessary permits. This includes codifying wide ranging areas of permitted activity (not needing approval) and defining more precisely activities requiring licenses or permits, to curtail opportunity for corruption arising from officials’ scope for interpretation and delay. * Disclosure: greatly increasing the volume of official information that is in the public domain, including more detailed budget information and successful bids in procurement operations; requiring top officials and high elected officers to declare their assets on assuming office and at intervals thereafter (making this information public); and permitting increased independence of the media. * Strengthen judiciary and judicial processes: ensuring full independence, integrity and efficiency of the judicial system in dealing with matters of corruption; minimum ambiguity in laws and regulations; better public dissemination of laws and legal opinions; fair and efficient procedures for bringing corruption charges, with just, consistent and transparent penalties. Judicial and legal reform programs should identify changes in procedures and institutional arrangements which would help anti-corruption goals and promote integrity in public life. * Strengthening human resource management: developing a modern, performance-based personnel system for civil service recruitment and promotion (to ensure a true meritocracy); reviewing civil servants salaries to ensure a living wage; providing training in ethics and integrity; requiring civil servants who routinely meet the public to wear name tags; and displaying prominently to the public instructions to staff concerning customer service standards. * Reforming procurement: already much progress has been made, but further steps could be taken including: (i) publishing in the national press information about winning tenders for government procurement contracts above a given size; and (ii) strengthening procurement laws, possibly adopting the UNCITRAL ( United Nations Commission on International Trade Law ) model law on procurement (which has proved highly effective elsewhere) to the Vietnam context. * Other elements of Public Administration Reform including strengthening: (i) expenditure management, particularly prioritizing allocations among and within sectors, (ii) revenue management, especially revenue collection enforcement, and (iii) decentralization, including establishing clear intergovernmental fiscal transfer system. 2. ECONOMIC STRUCTURE. a. By sectors. * Carry out economic structure transformation with focus on agriculture and rural industrialization and modernization to meet the requirements of the market and minimize the proportion of agriculture production in GDP; * Intensively develop industries boasting competitive advantages; selectively establish a number of heavy industrial establishments; strongly develop hi-tech and export-oriented industries. * Focus on developing small and medium-sized industries and infrastructure and service industries; develop three major economic zones in the Northern, Central and Southern regions together with those in midland, mountainous and coastal regions. b. By ownership * The political will to equitize must be nurtured: This condition is critical to sustain progress of equitization and to keep equitization on the right track. Evidence shows that political will, expressed in terms of pragmatic and timely policies, can overcome obstacles to equitization, even when the process grinds to a virtual standstill (e.g., during the 1992-1998 period.) The political will in Vietnam, accompanied by sound economic analyses, must support the view that the government should limit its reach in areas where people or markets can do a good job. * Equitization authorities require organizational capacity proportionate to the scale of their task. There are at least two alternatives. The first is to build up the capacity of this organization quickly so that public assets in remaining SOEs and equitized enterprises are properly managed, and bad debts before equitization (which is one of main reasons for slow equitization) are handled effectively. Second, the state could decisively and selectively shorten the list of SOEs that need to be kept under public ownership, and at the same time, gradually reduce public ownership in equitized firms to a minimal level. * Equitization must be transparent: When the decision to equitize an SOE has been made, the process must be transparent. To reduce management’s information advantage, all relevant information about a firm targeted for equitization should be published well in advance. This measure then reduces the possibility of underpricing and internal dealing, which may result in corruption and economic inequality. * SOEs should be evaluated by the market: This is again a measure to limit the possibility and extent of underpricing and self dealing, thereby recovering public assets and reducing the extent of economic inequality created by internal equitization. This proposal also speeds up equitization process. Market measures such as public biddings via stock exchanges and independent audits should be employed in the evaluation of SOEs. The recent case of the Vinamilk initial public offering provides an excellent example for this. * Trade and regulatory reforms should be promoted: These reforms create additional pressures to accelerate equitization. The protection enjoyed by SOEs which produce tradable and nontradable goods will be significantly reduced as Vietnam’s commitments under AFTA, BTA, and WTO. For tradable goods, lower tariffs intensify competition, which consequently drives SOE reform forward. For non-tradable goods, Vietnam needs a sound competition law and an effective regulation reform to create a healthy competitive environment to force SOEs to become more accountable. 3. Human resources. For the readiness of the country’s labor force for the new stage of development, particularly post-WTO accession, the following measures need to be taken. * The regulatory framework for labor has to be continuously improved and renewed to catch up with international standards and practices and respond to the specific conditions of Vietnam. Particularly, special attention should be paid to antidiscrimination, transparency and predictability – the basic principles of the WTO in the labor law and management system. In the long run, labor, employment and wage have to observe market rules and the macro-management of the State toward the goal of creating a level playing field for all economic sectors in this area. * Quality of labor has to be improved. It not only relies on skills but also workers’education, sense of discipline and respect of business etiquette. A skilled, disciplined and educated labor force will become a competitive strength of the economy, attracting more foreign investment. With regards to human resource development strategy, on one hand, the country needs to continue training of labor for labor-intensive industries, on the other hand, it should invest into the development of labor for high-tech industries so as to diversify the labor and economic structure. The Vietnamese government and the relevant agencies need to work more closely with the business community and the vocational schools to create enough suitably skilled people for the requirements of industry, and the factory owners themselves should train more employees on the job. Human resource development strategy should always be closely linked to and complement to the socio-economic development strategy. 4. Natural Environment. * The problems can only be solved through a comprehensive approach to environmental management. It will be most important to raise public awareness and support for environmental conservation. With a literacy rate of more than 90% of the population, with the television network available to all districts since the end of 1995, and with inexpensive radios in even the most remote areas, environmental protection messages can be effectively communicated throughout the country. * At a macro level, the government must work to enforce Vietnams existing environmental legislative regulations. This can only be done through an increase in the effectiveness of two-way information on environmental issues, both from the bottom up and the top down. * At the same time, the government should strengthen the capacity for environmental development planning and investment decision-making. It is crucial to improve awareness on environmental management among those who make planning and investment decisions. * Finally, environmental protection can be indirectly achieved through the poverty alleviation process. Efforts at reducing population growth by improving the awareness and knowledge of reproductive health and the access to family planning services could assist in this effort. 5. Income disparity. * To address this concern, the country should focus on pro-poor measures (improved governance including strengthening of grassroots democracy to ensure better accountability, infrastructure investment in the poorest communities, better health and education for the poor, greater emphasis on agriculture and rural development, improving the environment for small and medium enterprises, and so on) to narrow the social development gap between different regions and population groups and to reduce the vulnerabilities of the poor and disadvantaged groups. CONCLUSION Although the country has obtained a number of substantial achievements during the past years in the cause of renovation, it’s impossible not to take into account the above issues. Red tape, corruption, low-quality labor force, uncompetitive economic structure, unfavorable investment climate, natural environment degrading, widening income inequality and so on may both lead to painful and long-lasting consequences if neglected. In the process of integration and globalization, more than ever before, they’re in dire need of being done away with so that the country could successfully penetrate into the world economy and further develop. However, they can’t be dealt with overnight. Instead, to radically solve those problems, it is necessary to take step-by-step measures under a certain schedule . Besides, this work requires the joint efforts between the State and the public rather than unilateral ones. Clearly, it is a long-term and daunting task, but not impossible t o do provided the country is united and determined enough. Furthermore, the outlook of the country is still quite bright. According to a number of world’s analysts, Vietnam will be able to keep its sustainable growth in the coming years. Some even suppose that Vietnam will soon join the group of Asian Tigers, emphasizing its increasingly sound economy. Post-WTO accession period will be a difficult time for the country with significant impacts on both economy and society. It is a milestone marking a crucial turning point of the development of the nation. Gaining WTO membership is similar to participating in a speed race. If we failed to compete with other players, we would be out of the race and would fall behind them without any opportunities to re-emerge. On the contrary, if we can overcome these challenges, we would embark on a new phase of development and prosperity. Under the wise leadership of the Communist Party, with the unity of the whole nation, no doubt that after all, we would realize the ultimate goal of building a Vietnam with rich people, powerful country, equal, democratic and civilized society. References: Vietnam Inequality Report 2005: Assessment and Policy Choices, Mekong Economics Ltd. Vietnam: Economic Update 2006 and Prospects to 2010, Dr. Adam McCarty. Vietnam: External Liberalization, Structural Change, Economic Growth and Income Distribution, Tu Packard. Vietnam Development Report 2006. Labor and social issues emerging from Vietnam’s accession to the WTO, Ministry of Labor, Invalid and Social Affairs. Vietnam, The Long March to Equitization, Vu Thanh Tu Anh, the William Davidson Institute, University of Michigan, April 2005. State Owned Enterprises and Equitization in Vietnam, Fredrik Sjà ¶holm, August 2006. Accelerating Vietnam’s Rural Development: Growth, Equity and Diversification, World Bank, November 2005. National Integrity Systems Transparency International Country Study Report -Vietnam 2006, Transparency International. Fighting Corruption in Vietnam: Anti-corruption Handbook, World Bank. Opportunities and Challenges for Vietnam in WTO accession, Prof. Dr. Do Hoai Nam, Director, National Center for Social Science Humanity, December 2006. Trade and Sustainable Development in Vietnam, By Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Sinh Director General of National Environmental Agency, Hanoi. Mr.Peter Sutcliffe, Chief Adviser of SEMA Project Ms. Phung Thi Thanh Van National Environment Agency,1999. Viet Nams Economic Growth to Hold with Pro-Private Sector Reforms, ADB, April 2006. Legal Corridor for Perfected Business Environment, Vietnam Business Forum, February 2007. Skill shortage causes Vietnam to lose out, Vietnam Net Bridge, October 2006. Vietnam Environment, World Bank. Vietnam Business Forum 2006: More Improvement Needed, Vietnam Business Forum, December 2006. 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