International Employment Relations Collective Bargaining

Question: Describe about the Report for International Employment Relations of Collective Bargaining. Answer: Introduction The current report focuses on international employment relations. It is evident that an employment relation is certain to be amended. The organizations and the countries form the employment relations based on certain policies. Thus, in order to understand the basic principles and purpose of employment relation, the context of China has been selected in the current report. The paper provides the evidences that indicate the transformation that Chinese employment relations are presently undergoing from individual to collectivized relationship. The report also highlights the necessity of changes in Chinas labour policy. It is been identified that improvement Chinas employment Contract law has achieved the legal framework for the settlement to individual employee relation as well as accelerated the evolution of collective employee relation. Nevertheless, it is observed that the developed framework of individual labour relations is not effective and sufficient by itself to deal with the co nflict between employees as well as the capital. The current report focuses on the above-mentioned factors and includes an intensive analysis of the issues related to labour relations in China. As mentioned by Chang and Brown (2013), the transition towards a market economy as well as the integration of Chinas economy into the international market system leads to severe change in the employment relations environment in China. Conversely, it is also identified that the market-oriented reconstruction of the employment in the country takes place during a significant crucial period of transition from personal labour relation to collective labour relation. The report carries forward with focussing on these segments and providing a critical discussion. Issues related to the employment relations in China The changes in the economy play a crucial role in amending the labour relation in China. Changes in the economy in China are one of the major issues that have broad impact on the labour relations. As mentioned by Cooke (2016), the Chinas economy is transforming itself within the last thirty years in as growing speed; nevertheless, the social tissue as well as the employment relation is getting affected to a large extent. The scenario indicates that not only some 250 million of labour are affected, most other labour are also affected. Also, the rest part of the world is anxiously looking forward to China. However, on the contrary, Chang and Cooke (2015,) commented that China has been the winner of globalization for long time. In addition, in past few years, the country China economically was adopting itself with the growing economic power. The impact of this particular action leads to the development of global relations (Hui Chan, 2015). In this context, Friedman (2012) added that in 2009, China has the record of overtaking Germany as the country with third biggest GDP. It has now been the subject of time when China will leave behind Japan and United State. Furthermore, it is observed that employment as well as the industrial relations in China undergone radical transformation along with the journey towards a market economy. Within a limited time, the country has become the world of factory (Lee, Brown Wen 2016). However, some significant issues related to the labour relations have been found in the industrial operation and the global operation of the country. Although, China has previously been one of the largest equal societies but in the last twenty years, the country has become most unequal societies than any other Asian countries. According to the data provided by Asian Development Bank, the inequality has been increasing rapidly in China than any other developing countries. The inequality has severely growing among regions, industries and occupations. With larger disparity undermining sustainable economic development, China has experienced a massive growth in social conflicts and in labour disputes especially in last two decades (King-Chi Chan Sio-leng Hui, 2012). As put forward by Liu and Li (2014), the incidence of collective protest of different nature increased to 60,000 in 2003 from 10,000 in 1993. Hence, the major fact is that labour-related protests reached 46.9% of the collective protest in 2004. This scenario clearly indicates that labours issues in China has become one of the largest sources of social tension as well as the conflicts in China. Furthermore, it is also observed that incidents of labour disputes implied to local attribution councils throughout China have demonstrated a significant growth. As mentioned by Li and Freeman (2015), the increasing rate of labour disputes was seen between 20% and 50% each year in the last decade. However, no trusted source on strike found, but is generally believed that actions of strikes were also in the rise. Figure: Increase of labour dispute in China (Source: Lyddon, Cao, Meng Lu, 2015) Impact of regulations on employment relations in China It has been identified that Chinas resurgence as an international and political power is depended on its success in becoming the large sector global manufacturing. The country continues to record the negative attention for poor employment standard. As mentioned by McDermott, Jinyue Sun and Obar (2010), since the early 90s, trade unions as well as the consumer group in the Western region have significantly drawn on the corporate social responsibility context arguments to apply pressure on transitional corporation to develop the working conditions in China. As the increasing economic development as well as the urbanization transformed the Chinese labour landscape and ended long-term jobs in the corporate sector, thousands of workers, as the core of the political system were kept unprotected for long. It is observed that irregular payment of wages was spreading around, the workers without support and contracts lack lacked the confirmation of fundamental right in the workplace. Thus, to control and resolve the issues, the Chinese authorities made put a huge effort to protect the workers with the principles of regulation Labour Law of the peoples Republic of China, 1995. This has enforced a significant change in Chinese labour policy. According to the opinion provided by Anheier (2014), the last few decades of the last century experienced the most significant change in Chinas employment policy. This includes the replacement of permanent employment with the contract-based employment as well as the replacement of government posts allocations with the labour market. Such as changes in the policy indicate the pragmatics shifts in the labour policy. Another three regulations issued in 2007 and made that affective in 2008; the regulation focuses on addressing the shortcomings and drawbacks of the previous laws of labour relation. The Labour Contract Law, 2007 promoted the governments vision of Social Harmony and defended the core rights of workers. Furthermore, it has also been identified that instead of replacing the earlier regulations, the Labour Contract Law tries to fulfil the present gap. The law indicates that any labour relation needs to have a written contract. Government enforcing these laws In addition to all these, it has been identified that recent financial changes and the crisis in the economy has increased the pressure on Chinese government to protect as well as maintain the employment. Thousands of Chinese workers have lost their jobs. Thus, the government of China have responded to this situation with the technique of maintaining a low labour cost and stimulating local demand as well as the production. However, it has also been observed that these strategies have not always been consistent with the WTO obligations of China. The government of China claims that the laws are helping and supporting the labours in improving the work conditions and environment. According to the report, many large organizations have signed the long-term contract with the labours. According to the report published in Wall street Journal, the new law leads to some 70,000 labour arbitrations in 2009 (Chan Hui 2014). These particular arbitrations in 2009 focus on the contract violationsas well as the lost wages, Nevertheless, it is observed that no reliable data with statistics have been found on the enforcement of the lawsthus, it is necessary to rely on the NGO and government impression. In this context, Tomba (2014) mentioned that new laws have changed the scenario of China by making it easier for the labours to litigate in their interest as well as putting the obligations to the organizations to pay full attention to the worker demands. Nevertheless, Gallagher, Gile, Park and Wang (2014) argued that the law is incapable to alter the behaviour of the organizations since it is not enforced and the official union is not seen to be protesting the interest of the labours. In addition, Chan and Hui (2014) have mentioned that legal framework is mainly undermined by a profusion of imprecise and contradictory legal regulations. In this context, Anheier (2014) added that culture of non-compliance impeded effective compliance with the regulations. Furthermore, with the enhancement of laws, the government has mandated a 40 hours standard workweek. However, Chan and Hui, (2014) argued that standards were violated on a regular basis. Inappropriate and poorly enforced health and safety standards have put the workers wellbeing and life at risk. The government of China has till now done little to declare governmental as well as managerial obligations to make people aware of their rights. For instance, once it is observed that Europe an Business in China, a business enterprise, the industrial authorities and courts across the country enforced the law differently. However, in the evaluation of Chinas labour policy, it is identified that the legislation broadened up the gap between the regulations and the reality. Government policy with respect to the employment laws in China It has been observed that provincial governments of China have barely been rigorous in the implementation of labour regulations, especially when it is in conflict with the domestic economic interests. It is further identified that amended laws have done little to form the culture of compliance among the organizations in China. Conversely, the scenario of economic crisis stands as the barriers in the enforcement of the amended laws. In order to resolve the issues, the government of the country has done some amendments in the policy on employment laws. As mentioned by Hui and Chan (2015), China is considered as the most popular country with the record of boasting tremendous workforce in the world.The government of China focuses on the great importance of employment and considers employment as the first priority and top approach providing the stability of the community. The government of China proceeding with national condition has implemented the global experiences in its practices and developed the legal framework. In addition, with the help of new policies, the government has formed and applied a set of pro-active employment policies. Furthermore, the government of China is determined to promote the employment system with the help of national economy, aligning with the industrial framework, prolonging with the reform in countrys legal and political system. The government has also applied the technique of harmonizing the economic development between the rural and urban areas and enhancing the social security system. The Chinese government has applied multiple policies to develop employment opportunities and increased the range of employment. Lastly, through effective employment policies, the country has maintained the rate of unemployment under a socially tolerable range. As per the statistic of National Bureau, in 2005 the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in China met 18.2321 trillion with the increase of 9.3 in 2010 (King-Chi Chan Sio-leng Hui, 2012). In this context, Lee, Brown and Wen (2016,) added that in the previous decade, the rate of increase of GDP in China has been 8.6% in a stable manner. Moreover, the dat a reveals that total urban employed population reach 750 million. Proactive employment policy- The government of China has promoted Constitution of the Peoples Republic of China and Labour Law of the Peoples Republic of China and other significant regulations to protect the right of the labour to employment. With the help of above-mentioned framework, the government of China has formed the employment principles of labours finding their jobs, employment through market regulation as well as the employment facilitated by the government. The government of China has also developed and implemented some proactive employment policies such as micro-economic policies, fiscal, tax and financial policies. Micro-economic policy- The government bodies in China has always considered promoting employment as the strategic activity for socio-economic development. With the help of micro-economic policies, the country could take the control over the unemployment rate and increase job opportunities. The fundamental of the policy is to develop the principles of expanding domestic demand and implementing a stable fiscal as well as monetary policy. Changes in the policy From the year 2008, the labour policies as well as the legislation have let people know a new chapter of their history. The country has developed a series of new labour policies as well as the legislation. This includes the Labour Contact law, the Employment Promotion Lawand the Law on Mediation and Arbitration of Labour Dispute.These laws effectively influence the development of Chinese labour relations. For example, in 2007, Chinese arbitration institutions at each level dealt with 50,000 labour dispute cases. Nevertheless, in 2008 the scenario has been changed; in 2008 when the labour contact law was made affective almost 964,000 labour dispute cases were effective dealt with (Cooke, 2016). Thus, it can be added that new labour law is relevant and useful to increase and support the right of the workers. Why has it changed? There have been issues that put the labour market in a catastrophic situation. In the 1987, the Provisional regulation on Labour dispute in states enterprise were seen as the major issues as because of this labour dispute arbitration resumed. Likewise, there are many significant issues were found in the last decade such as unhealthy work condition, high unemployment rate, poor wages, irregular payment, collective labour protests and others. Due to the increasing number of issues, the government of the country has brought changes in the policy. Agreeing or disagreeing with Governments employment relations policy Changes in the employment policy made by Chinese government have been effective to deal with the increasing issues related to employment. As the economy of China transformed within last thirty years; thereby, due to the uncertainty in the economy labour relation suffered a lot. At the time of implementing the initiative creating Special Economic Zone 30 years back, the existing regional disparities increased. This initiative led to more catastrophic situation. For example, the quality of life went down and the situation of migrated workers became more problematic in the entire process of modernization as well as industrialization. In addition, the despite the legal initiatives, the legal framework of China especially for industrial relations remains as problematic since it does not identify the right to strike and need of association. Moreover, the lack of support or the absence of government bodies on labours right to put strike on social inequality made the situation worsen (Friedman, 2012). Therefore, it was necessary for the government of China to respond to such situation. The government of China was lagging behind other developing countries to build up a public statistical system to demonstrate the causes as well as the consequences of labours collective incidents. Also, the labour issues such as delaying wage payment or getting the lower than the standard wages, employment in private and foreign occupied delayed the pay check. Thus, it was necessary for the country to amend the employment policy to promote the right of labours. Strength and weakness of this policy As discussed above, the government policy on labour relations have been effective to resolve the issues caused by several factors such as economic crisis. The labours in China were affected and the rate of unemployment was increasingly rapidly based on the growing population. Strength of the policy The policy strengthens workers right and removes barriers of employment It decrease the rate of labour disputes across China The labours get the economic compensations when they are fired and this change in the policy helps to resolve labour disputes Enhancing competitive ability of the big organization Weakness of the weakness The standards of some articles is too high to relate with the reality The major intension of these articles of the laws to avoid the illegal employment practices in some enterprise to resolve the conflict between labours and organizations. This indicates that Chinas present industrial status depends low labour cost can be enhanced. However, industrial structure judgement is a long-term process; there are many labour-intensive organizations in China such as food and beverage industry, constructions and other industries of which developments depends on demographic dividend formed by employment costs as well as flexible working hours. Conclusion On the completion of the report, it can be mentioned that the amendments in the employment policy done Chinese government have been effective for millions of workers. Thus, recommendation to strengthen the role of labour union is establishing the harmonious labour relationship will be effective, if they are implemented appropriately. By following and maintaining the principles of Labour Contract Law, Labour Law, the labour need to perform their duties and responsibilities positively to help and support the labours. Through the new legal system, the labour unions could obligate the employers to make fair as well as legal labour contract under the special conditions that all labours are clear of their legal rights. References Anheier, H. K. (2014).Nonprofit organizations: Theory, management, policy. Routledge. Chan, C. K. C., Hui, E. S. I. (2014). The development of collective bargaining in China: from collective bargaining by riot to party state-led wage bargaining.The China Quarterly,217, 221-242. Chan, C. K. C., Hui, E. S. I. (2014). The dynamics and dilemma of workplace trade union reform in China: the case of Honda workers strike. InStrategies of Multinational Corporations and Social Regulations(pp. 203-217). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Chang, K Brown, W 2013, The transition from individual to collective labour relations in China, Industrial Relations Journal, vol. 44, no. 2, pp. 102-121. Chang, K Cooke, FL (2015), Legislating the right to strike in China: Historical development and prospects, Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 57, no. 3, pp. 440-455. Cooke, FL (2016), Employment relations in China, in GJ Bamber, RD Lansbury, N Wailes CF Wright (eds), International and comparative employment relations: National regulation, global changes, 6th edn, Allen Unwin, Crows Nest. Friedman, E (2012), Getting through the hard times together? Chinese workers and unions respond to the economic crisis, Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 54, no. 4, pp. 459-475. Hui, S-IE, Chan, K-CC (2015), Beyond the union-centred approach: a critical evaluation of recent trade union elections in China, British Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 53, no. 3, pp. 601-627. King-Chi Chan, C Sio-leng Hui, E (2012), The dynamics and dilemma of workplace trade union reform in China: The case of the Honda workers strike, Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 54, no. 5, pp. 653-668. Lee, C-H, Brown, W Wen, X (2016), What sort of collective bargaining is emerging in China?, British Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 54, no. 1, pp. 214236. Li, X Freeman, RB 2015, How does Chinas new labour contract law affect floating workers?, British Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 53, no. 4, pp. 711735. Liu, M Li, C (2014), Environmental pressures, managerial industrial relations ideologies and unionization in Chinese enterprises, British Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 52, no. 1, pp. 82111. Lyddon, D, Cao, X, Meng, Q Lu, J (2015), A strike of unorganised workers in a Chinese car factory: the Nanhai Honda events of 2010, Industrial Relations Journal, vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 134152. McDermott, EP, Jinyue Sun Obar, R (2010), Chinese labour contract arbitration: No union, no problem, Labour and Industry, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 410-437. Gallagher, M., Giles, J., Park, A., Wang, M. (2014). Chinas 2008 Labor Contract Law: Implementation and implications for Chinas workers.Human Relations, 0018726713509418. Tomba, L. (2014).Paradoxes of labour reform: Chinese labour theory and practice from socialism to market. Routledge.

Japans Aging Population a Descriptive Study free essay sample

Many developed countries are facing the problem of an increasing aging population. Japan, being one, is not exempted from this continuously growing crisis. Peterson (1999), from the cover of his book Gray Dawn: How the Coming Age Wave Will Transform America and the World, already expressed his clamor for global awareness regarding this issue when he stated that, â€Å"There’s an iceberg dead ahead. It’s called global aging, and it threatens to bankrupt the great powers Now is the time to ring the alarm bell. In Europe, the aging population was brought about by a combination of low fertility rates and high life expectancies. Japan has been experiencing the same. This is brought about by a number of factors, including high and excellent education (considering that they are well-off countries), late marriage, and small living spaces (considering that Japan is a small country and is largely surrounded by water). â€Å"From the 1700s till the 1850s, the population of Japan remained steady at about 30 million. We will write a custom essay sample on Japans Aging Population: a Descriptive Study or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It just started to grow when Japan pursued modernization during the Meiji Restoration in 1868. In more recent years, the annual pace of population growth slowed down averaging about one percent from the 1960s till the 70s. In 2009 population estimate was 127. 51 million, down by 183,000 from the year before† (Statistics Bureau, 2010). From this short data, it can be seen how Japan’s population has drastically declined. What is worse is that, this problem is seen to progress further at a serious pace.This paper is significant in present-day study, because (a) solving the problem of the aging population may be a key solution for Japan to regain its status as the world’s second largest economy, (b) awareness in this problem may save the race of the Japanese from possible extinction in the next two millennia, and (c) advancing this kind of research problem and presenting possible solutions may also pave way for countries, including Japan, that are experiencing similar problems to open their eyes to accepting and reconsidering policy resolutions that they do not currently approve of.Having these in mind, this paper wishes to contend the following points: first, to present how the grayin g of the population of Japan poses a huge threat to the economic and social stability of Japan as a mono-national state; second, to examine the effectiveness of the policies of the government of Japan on the problem of an aging population beginning from the 1980s, as this issue began to be mportant in the first half of this decade, till present; lastly, to present possible solutions that are plausible enough to address this problem. The author theorizes in this paper that â€Å"if Japan will not welcome new and possibly more effective policies, the Japanese race is likely to be extinct in the next 1, 500 to 2,000 years, and Japan, as a nation, would just vanish in thin air. Facing the problem of an aging population is one of the greatest challenges that confront Japan in the contemporary era. Many authors have tried to discuss how this aging society, if not to be solved soon, may lead to Japan’s downfall. However, I would like to emphasize some of the insufficiencies in their study, so that this paper will be able to serve the purpose of having it made and possibly contribute to the needs of the Japanese society. According to a study by Gavrilov and Heuveline (2003), A direct consequence of the ongoing global  fertility transition  (decline) and of  mortality decline  at older ages, population aging is expected to be among the most prominent global demographic trends of the 21stcentury. Population aging is progressing rapidly in many industrialized countries, but those developing countries whose fertility declines began relatively early also are experiencing rapid increases in their proportion of elderly people.This pattern is expected t o continue over the next few decades, eventually affecting the entire world. † Indeed, the world is starting to feel the onset of global aging, but since I am focusing on a smaller scale, i. e. , the Japanese society, rather than on a global level, I would emphasize Japan in this paper, since next to China, it is the second largest economy in Asia and the world, and a decline in its economic performance will affect not only itself as an economic power, but the international market as well.Focusing on Japan, Atsushi (2006) discussed in his article, â€Å"Readying Society for an Old-Aged Workforce†, how the demographic shift toward fewer young people, and more elderly to the Japanese population is bound to transform employment radically. He used a comparison among young and old people in the Japanese population through the following graph: Fig. 1: Population Statistics of Japan 2001/2002 He discussed how this factor is bound to affect the economy at a great scale.Furthermore, he stated that â€Å"workers from the ages 20 to 59 will bear the burden of supporting the whole population, if the conventional retirement age of 60 continues to be applied†. He furthe red by saying: â€Å"If today’s workers are in their mid-fifties or younger, it will be natural for them to work until at least their mid-sixties. † This will not be a big deal for Japanese since they are naturally workaholic, but I cannot deny the fact that a younger workforce will be able to contribute more to let the economy grow and progress.However, even if this is going to be advanced, â€Å"the period companies can guarantee jobs for can only grow shorter, and the chances of landing a position that offers lifetime employment are becoming slimmer† (Atsushi, 2006). More negative outcome of this graying of Japan is stated in the opening line of an article from Manila Bulletin entitled â€Å"Japan Tackles Aging Society† (2011): â€Å"Japans Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Monday said the nation faces inevitable tax increases to help offset the cost of a rapidly ageing society and its impact on the levels of public debt. In relation to this, Makino (2009) stated earlier that â€Å"No less than recently elected Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has expressed concern about the social and economic consequences of the trend: a growing pension and health care costs, lower saving and investment rates, and a shrinking work force. † A number of negative consequences can be squeezed out of this inevitable event, and Japan has to welcome better and more effective policies. Some authors have discussed some policies already implemented by the government.Cardiosk (2008) discussed about the Angel Plan: â€Å"In 1994, Japan’s attempt to increase the national birth rate was the â€Å"Basic Direction of Measures in Support of Future Child Rearing† plan, more commonly known as the Angel Plan. Its main aspects were to lessen the stresses associated with raising a child by creating an infrastructure that supports working parents, offering counselling services, and changing the attitude of a fixed male and female role to one of dual parenting and shared responsibilities over the course of ten years. †    This is just one of the quite numerous policies that Japan had imposed to promote higher birth rates.Not every policy was successful, that the government had to revise or even stop implementing them. More of these policies will be discussed in the next part of this paper. TO MAKE OR TO BREAK: WHAT WILL JAPAN DO? (Main Body) As was stated above, this paper has three primary objectives. Before I properly proceed to the discussion of my objectives, I would like to define a primary factor that has led to the aging population of Japan, a growing average life expectancy and lower mortality rate. In 2006, Japan ranked fifth among countries with the highest life expectancy (82. 17%) next to Monaco, Macau, San Marino, and Andorra (CIA, USA).Fig. 2: Life Expectancies of Countries Around the World (2006) â€Å"Life expectancy is the increase in the number of elderly within a nation’s population and the socioeconomic changes that comes with such growth† (Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan, 1983). In Japan, this high rate of life expectancy can be contributed to a number of factors which include peace and stability inside the country (having no wars at all), an improved diet, and advances in medical treatments and drugs (Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia I, 1986). Japanese really like to eat fresh food, and ensure that they get the best quality of food to take in.They also drink green tea which is a good antioxidant and body cleanser. It is impossible for Japan, being an advanced country, to stop improving, to stop enhancing its food, and to halt advancing in the field of medical achievements. However, this improvement goes hand in hand with educational attainment, which usually leads to late marriage, and fuels the tendency of having a growing aging population. It is important for Japan to enhance and improve the intellectual production capacity of each of its citizen to maintain the vitality of the country.Below is a graph showing how the society is hugely composed of elders, in this case comprising 21% of the total population are people 60 and above. The ratio of people 15 or younger in the total population was the worlds lowest, at 13. 6 percent, surpassing Bulgarias 13. 8 percent. Fig. 3: Japan’s Population Based on Age Group Elders are considered â€Å"dependents† to the society, adding up to kids 14 and below, because they cannot be employed by companies and firms anymore, therefore making them unable to sustain themselves (since these businesses would want to hire younger and more able workers).Moreover, they do not contribute to giving and providing profit to the country, since they do not participate in economic activities anymore. By 2025 the dependency ratio (the ratio of people under age  15 plus those 65 and older to those age  15–65, indicating in a general way the ratio of the dependent population to the working population) was expected to be two dependents for every three workers. Because of this, several negative effects can be extracted from this phenomenon. First would be the â€Å"forced† extension of the mandatory retirement age.As the rate of the aging population goes up, companies would have no choice but to exten d the mandatory retirement age. During post-World War II, workers had to retire at the age of 55. However, this has been raised to 60 by many companies, due to employee shortage. In 2004, the government required the companies to, again, gradually raise the retirement age by 2013 (A Look at Pension Plans Worldwide, 2005). Second would be the necessity of revising welfare programs aimed at the elderly. However, as Japan is currently facing a huge debt, increases in these programs are not practical and applicable.One example would be the healthcare expenses for the aged. As the elderly increase, healthcare expenses will increase as well. Because of this, the Diet had to draft a bill that would require elderly patients to bear a part of the expenses for their own healthcare. To be able to provide more funds for the elderly, the government must cut its expenditures. This may not be easy since the politicians need to please their constituencies with jobs and money. However, if it is already the welfare of the country and its citizens that we are talking about, then personal interests might as well be set aside first.Third would be quite related to the second one which is the changes in the pension system. This takes up a lot of Japan’s funds, since they would have to support more and more pension recipients as the number of the aged increases. This would be an addition to the government spending. In 2007, the government planned on increasing its pension contribution from 37% to 50% by last year. This would quite burden the other members of the populace since the Ministry of Finance may just put an increase in the sales tax. Furthermore, this means that here would be an additional cost to the government, but this quite leaves it with no choice since it is the aging society that is predominant in the society. Other effects would include limitation of economic growth due to workforce reduction and decrease in consumption. Japan may also incur more international debts since the rate of savings would diminish. Indirect effects would include deterioration of educational environment and deterioration of economic infrastructure, since more funds will be provided for the social security expenditure.The government has already implemented several policies which were both effective and ineffective. The Angel Plan was already discussed in the second part of this paper. This plan was unsuccessful, since it was not able to improve the fertility rate. Even after it was revised and renamed â€Å"The New Angel Plan†, it did nothing to slow down the declining birth rate. It was not able to meet its goal which was to encourage the Japanese population to have more children. Fig. 4: Births and Total Fertility Rate, Japan, 1947-2002One reason as to why the Angel Plan failed was due to the simultaneous implementation of another policy, this time a policy caring for the elderly, in 1994 called The Gold Plan. This policy had actually started in 1990, but it was during 1994 when it reached its peak. The Gold Plan, or the Ten-Year Strategy on Health and Welfare for the Aged, was to be a major shift from long-term institutionalized care in hospitals and nursing homes to home programs and community-based rehabilitation facilities (Ihara, n. d. ).This plan was supported since it gave and provided more benefits to the elderly to be achieved within a particular period. Another policy implemented by the government was the New-New Angel Plan. This focused on (1) Independence of youths, (2) Support for work and family, (3) Importance of life and family, and (4) Further support for child rearing. â€Å"The New-New Angel Plan has shifted to a policy  of placing greater emphasis on community and corporate activities,  and cites specific numerical targets even for corporate programs.The aim is to raise the rate of corporate workers acquisition of  annual pay leave to at least 55% (the rate for FY2003 was 47%), and  to increase the percentage of corporations that include childcare  leave systems in their employment regulations to 100% (the share for  FY2002 was 61%)†¦ †¦ Moreover, to encourage middle and high school students to perceive  childcare as an enjoyable, fun-filled experience, the Plan will offe r  opportunities for these young people to come into contact with infants  and toddlers at daycare and other facilities. New ideas are also being  incorporated, such as setting up bases for community childcare support/assistance† (2005). I think that this plan reflected the crisis of the Ministry in implementing plans, since the Ministry quite relied on the past policies, which could just not put an end to the decline of the younger population. They are now calling on society as a whole to carry out more measures. Based on the present situation, this new policy still seems unsuccessful. Japan’s population does not seem so â€Å"improved† until now. Minor policies were also implemented.There had been medical and financial support for infertility, reform in education system (to mold the youth regarding the importance of child bearing), a cut in the waste in long-term public investment by local government, support for mothers staying at home, and even affordable dating services. The policies thought of by Japan are just too simple for them to deal with that no effects, whether it be long-term or immediate, are being felt. Maybe, drastic ones should be taken into consideration by the Japanese, regardless of their norms, if they still want to continue growing economically.The downside is they would have to â€Å"sacrifice† many of their social traditions, which would be quite difficult. But as what I have always believed in, â€Å"Desperate times call for desperate measures. † They would not want to be extinct, would they? First would be to provide an equal treatment for children born out of wedlock. Japanese are such perfectionists and idealists that they tend to discriminate. Women would not want to risk seeing their children totally discriminated against if they are not legally married to their man. Since they are known for being risk-averse, in any aspect, they would just not marry and have kids AT ALL.Countries, like Scandinavia and France, have adopted this approach and were able to improve their fertility rates (Noboru, 1999). For Japan, it is still a huge question mark. Second would be that Japan legalize that abortion be not permitted. Many Japanese women just abort their fetuses. This may not be against their religious beliefs, but this would at least help restrain the population decline. Third, Japan may try opening its doors to other nationalities for migration and eventually let them join the workforce. The Japanese are not against interracial marriage.However, they do not approve of it as well. They have deeply-rooted love for homogeneity. If Japan would not even accept and try these methods, it is highly likely that the Japanese population continue to decline (esp. if its decreasing rate would remain as it is now or even grow). According to Noboru (1999), it is possible that in 800 years, a baseball stadium would be enough to contain the remaining 50,000 Japanese. I agree with him. Given the very discriminating society that Japan has, there is no doubt that if they do not apply any of these, they would be extinct in a millennium or two.CONCLUSION The aging population is one of the most important social issues being faced by Japan from the 1980s until the present time. This has several negative effects that might lead to the downfall of the Japanese society. Because of this, the Diet had to devise policies that would raise the fertility rates of the people. However, I conclude that not even a single policy had been effective enough to encourage people to have more children. For if even one policy was, the Japanese would have somehow felt a sigh of relief from this crisis.So I suggest that Japan resort to â€Å"desperate† measures if they still want their race to witness and experience the offers of the future. Due to the limited time frame and the limited resources available, the data and information gathered and analyzed by the author in this paper are relatively not enough. Hence, the author recommends future studies to discover how possible it is for the Japanese come up with more effective policies to fight the aging population.

Tips to Keep You Ahead in the Competition Essay

Tips to Keep You Ahead in the Competition EssaySample Competitive Analysis Essay is the key to successfully competing in the competitive essay competitions. It takes a unique approach in the competition scenario and only a few can perform it, but this is the best approach to give you the edge in the game. It is a step by step process where all the topics are discussed and evaluated with a paper.The marketer or the coach needs to have a precise idea about the competitive essay competition. The business owner needs to look at the possible venues for their contest. Once you get all the important inputs from the various quarters, it is easy to draw out a precise plan about your competitive analysis essay.A successful competitive analysis essay requires putting into perspective, the details of the market strategy, the competitive benefits and the competitive restraints of the companies. It is all based on the assessment of the strategies and plans of the business owners and the business c oaches.The good business analysis can be done with the help of competitive analysis essays which does not necessarily lead to winning. But if done well, it can even help you improve the results and the competitors can be made more aware about the true game plan of the competitor.The success of the competition depends largely on the competition analysis essay and the strategy that you adopt for the analytical process. If the competition analysis is carefully planned and executed, the coach or the marketer can easily see the critical path to success of his company. The analysis should also include a competition-related detail that is required for the coaching process. It also includes a clear picture of the competitiveness and the background of the team members.If the coach is familiar with the business trends, he/she can easily trace out the competitive situation of the competitors and in turn will make a rough judgment on your competition analysis. One must always bear in mind that all this is dependent on the performance of the competition analysis. If the coach is willing to take the initiative and study the competition properly, it is much better than trying to study it yourself.It is a win-win situation and is in favor of the coach who is able to analyze the competitors and makes them aware of the techniques and strategies that they have been using during the competition. This also helps the business owner to find out the weaknesses and loopholes of the competitors so that the coach can guide the company in the right direction. The objective of the competition analysis essay is to create a balance between the coach and the business owner and this is where the coach has the major role.

Inspirational New Years Quotes

Inspirational New Years Quotes Many choose New Years as the time to turn over a new leaf. Smokers vow to kick the foul habit. Some decide to change to a new and improved lifestyle. Habitual spendthrifts decide to mend their ways. And most people who enjoy eating unhealthy food  latch on to the latest dieting fad. New Years symbolizes the birth of hope and the renewal of life. Below are New Years quotes from famous people- and others not quite so famous- that are inspirational enough to help you find your calling. Youll find many of the quotes to be uplifting, with a few tongue-in-cheek thoughts included in the mix. Making a New Start If you are supercharged about making a glorious new beginning this New Years Eve or New Years Day, its a good time to consider creating your New Years resolutions. Pick your favorite peeve and resolve to get rid of the bad stuff. Give up whining and take charge of your life. Thats what the folks in this section recommend through their pithy sayings. Jay Leno: New Years Eve, where auld acquaintance be forgot. Unless, of course, those tests come back positive. Hal Borland: Years end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. Edward Payson Powell: The Old Year has gone. Let the dead past bury its own dead. The New Year has taken possession of the clock of time. All hail the duties and possibilities of the coming 12months! Ringing in the New Year Each new year is like a rebirth, a chance to begin again, or as Oprah Winfrey said, a chance to get it right. Read these quotes and let yourself be inspired to be let go of the old and, essentially, start fresh, and begin a new life. George William Curtis: The new year begins in a snow-storm of white vows. Hartley Coleridge: The merry year is born like the bright berry from the naked thorn. Oprah Winfrey: Cheers to a New Year and another chance for us to get it right. John Burroughs: One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this: To rise above the little things. Looking Ahead As the new year begins, dont just look backward: Look ahead. Imagine what your life will be like 20 years from now, as the famous writer Mark Twain said. The choices you make in the new year may affect and direct the course of your life for years, or decades, to come. Mark Twain: Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. G. K. Chesterton: The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul. Benjamin Franklin: Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. Edith Lovejoy Pierce: We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called opportunity and its first chapter is New Years Day. Ellen Goodman: We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives...not looking for flaws, but for potential.

Anne Frank Goes Into Hiding, 1942

Anne Frank Goes Into Hiding, 1942 Anne Frank Goes Into Hiding (1942): Thirteen-year-old Anne Frank had been writing in her red-and-white-checkered diary for less than a month when her sister, Margot, received a call-up notice around 3 p.m. on July 5, 1942. Although the Frank family had planned to go into hiding on July 16, 1942, they decided to leave immediately so that Margot would not have to be deported to a work camp. Many final arrangements needed to be made and a few extra bundles of supplies and clothes needed to be taken to the Secret Annex ahead of their arrival. They spent the afternoon packing but then had to remain quiet and seem normal around their upstairs renter until he finally went to bed. Around 11 p.m., Miep and Jan Gies arrived to take some of the packed supplies to the Secret Annex. At 5:30 a.m. on July 6, 1942, Anne Frank awoke for the last time in her bed at their apartment. The Frank family dressed in numerous layers so as to take a few extra garments with them without having to cause suspicion on the streets by carrying a suitcase. They left food on the counter, stripped the beds, and left a note giving instructions about who would take care of their cat. Margot was the first to leave the apartment; she left on her bike. The rest of the Frank family left on foot at 7:30 a.m. Anne had been told that there was a hiding place but not its location until the day of the actual move. The Frank family arrived safely at the Secret Annex, located in Otto Franks business at 263 Prinsengracht in Amsterdam. Seven days later (July 13, 1942), the van Pels family (the van Daans in the published diary) arrived at the Secret Annex. On November 16, 1942, Friedrich Fritz Pfeffer (called Albert Dussel in the diary) became the last one to arrive. The eight people hiding in the Secret Annex in Amsterdam never left their hiding place until the fateful day of August 4, 1944 when they were discovered and arrested. See full article: Anne Frank

Class Contribution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Class Contribution - Essay Example As cost incessantly drives business, labor unions and/or trade unions are but one mechanism through which the labor market is able to leverage their own interests and work together in order to derive a better salary and result from the multinational company interested in doing business within the borders of a given state (Kanter et al 1998). Accordingly, if the other factors that the multinational firm is specifically interested in have positive associations and work to attract the interest of key economic development authorities and key decision makers, the level of trade unionism is likely to have little impact upon the final decision. 2-why might the internationalization process of Chinese companies, such as CFS differ from those of other companies? Discuss. Whereas most companies greet the process of internationalization from a more or less equal footing as a corporate citizen of a domestic entity that has a full level of integration with the world’s economy, the case of C FS was quite different than most due to the fact that it had been under Chinese state ownership for a period of around 40 years prior to the first movements towards privatization and the subsequent internationalization that developed as a result of the firm attempting to integrate with the remainder of the world’s economy (Zhenquan et al 2009). Accordingly this disintegration with the remainder of the world’s economy for such a long period of time effected many issues within CFS as it began to re-organize and rely heavily on layers of middle and lower management to affect the key goals and strategies that the firm needed in order to maintain its vision (Barnes 1994). Furthermore, key levels of retraining and re-engagement by the firm with regards to its workforce were necessitated as shareholders were unfamiliar with the management practices and implied intent of other leadership around the globe. As a means of rapidly acquainting them with these differentials, a serie s of seminars and trainers needed to be rapidly engaged with the shareholders to reorient their approach to key issues. As a means to accomplish this end and as a means to rapidly aquire the skills that they did not possess, CFS invested heavily in their European headquarters in London as a means to rapidly bring their staff up to speed with respect to the latter’s prowess in the field of HR management. 3-What lesson(s) may be drawn from the Gillette Singapore experience? Mergers and acquisitions of international firms oftentimes become synonymous with a breakdown of integration and months, quarters, or even years of non-aligned business goals and strategies. As a function of this, the case of Gillette in Singapore is unique. When Gillette acquired Parker Pen, the approach that was followed was one of full local integration from the very beginning (Rowley 2007). Although many firms tout such a desire, few are able to achieve it. Yet, Gillette and Parker Pen mapped out a very basic local integration scheme whereby the local norms and cultural differences between the other markets that Gillette currently leveraged and that of Parker Pen’s subsidiaries and market niche were considered. As a function of

Violent Acts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Violent Acts - Essay Example act of violence and torture on the peasant women of his hacienda, and sometimes on his wife, Clara reflects the greater violence afflicted on the people by the military regime after the election. There is a kind of ‘poetic justice’ that Allende seems to have maintained in the depiction of violence in her novel. Colonel Esteban Garcia’s raping and torturing of Alba somehow completes the circle of injustice that Alba’s grandfather had done on Garcia’s grandmother and father. In the first half of the story, Clara’s sister Rosa accidentally dies of poison that was meant for her father. In both the cases, Rosa and Alba suffer for no crime of theirs. They were innocent, just like the hundreds of men, women and children of Chile who were victims of violence and bloodshed in the 70s for no sin of theirs. Though Allende nowhere directly mentions the ‘capital city’ in the novel to be Chile, it is quite understandable from the depiction of f acts and events. Her attitude to violence and its long term consequences is explicit in the writings of Alba, "The day my grandfather tumbled Pancha Garci ­a among the rushes of the riverbank, he added another link to the chain of events that had to complete itself. Afterward the grandson of the woman who was raped repeats the gesture with the granddaughter of the rapist, and perhaps forty years from now my grandson will knock Garci ­as granddaughter down among the rushes, and so on down through the centuries in an unending tale of sorrow, blood, and love." (Allende, 432). Allende’s fear of never-ending violence grapping mankind in the coming years surfaces when she addresses crime as a ‘chain of events’ that will keep on growing bigger and bigger through revenge and retribution. More revenge will lead to more violence which will ultimately bring doom to the entire mankind. So Allende looks to the future with hopes for a violence-free peaceful world when Alba feels like forgiving her torturer at the end. Other