Fahrenheit 451 Essay Censorship Example For Students

Poisonous Weeds Essay -- Plants Poison Nature Essays Papers

Noxious Weeds From the book Common Poisonous Plants and Mushroom of North America by Nancy J. Turner and Adam F. Szczawinski comes an exceptionally fascinating story. â€Å"In April 1980, a five-year-old kid was lethally harmed in Victoria, British Columbia from eating Poison Hemlock while at play with her sisters. Her sitter was not by any means mindful that she had eaten the plant. The young lady felt wiped out and would not eat. She set down, and inside an hour fell into a profound extreme lethargies. It was distinctly now that her sisters reviewed that prior she had eaten a plant. She was raced to the emergency clinic, yet regardless of all endeavors to spare her life, she passed on six days later† (Szczawinski, Turner, xi). Toxic substance Hemlock is only one of the a large number of plants that are harmful to people just as creatures. Moreover, the plants Jimsonweed and Deadly Nightshade can likewise have very unsafe consequences for people. Every one of the three of these harmful pla nts can divert up anyplace from climbing trails to lawns to fields, so subsequently it is imperative to have the option to recognize them and see how fatal they conceivably can be. So as to forestall what occurred in the story toward the start, let’s look all the more carefully at Poison Hemlock (Conium Maculatum). At the point when full grown, this carrot-like plant can get up to six feet or more prominent in tallness with triangular, greenery like leaves (Szczawinski, Turner, 129). The plant has white blossoms, which are assembled in various umbrella-like bunches. Little, grayish earthy colored, and level with five breathtaking edges running the long way depict the product of Poison Hemlock. In any case, be careful with ever squashing or in any event, contacting this plant in light of the fact that a solid mouse scent will be transmitted. Initially from Europe, Poison Hemlock is presently an obnoxiou... ...ipedia.org/wiki/Datura_stramonium http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadly_Nightshade http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poison_Hemlock Normal Resources Conservation Service-http://plants.usda.gov Research and Extension Center: Virtual Herbarium-http://uvalde.tamu.edu/herbarium/dain.htm National Capital Poison Center-http://www.poison.org/forestall/plants.asp Ophthalmic Kew Garden-http://www.mrcophth.com/plants/minipicturesofplantsforeyes.html Division of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, Montana State University-Bozeman and MSU Extension Services Noxious Weed Specialist, individually http://www.montana.edu/wwwpb/bars/mt200013.html Toxin Hemlock Site-http://museum.gov.ns.ca/poison/hemlock.htm

The Sensorimotor Stage of Cognitive Development

The Sensorimotor Stage of Cognitive Development Theories Developmental Psychology Print The Sensorimotor Stage of Cognitive Development By Kendra Cherry facebook twitter Kendra Cherry, MS, is an author, educational consultant, and speaker focused on helping students learn about psychology. Learn about our editorial policy Kendra Cherry Reviewed by Reviewed by Amy Morin, LCSW on October 29, 2019 facebook twitter instagram Amy Morin, LCSW, is a psychotherapist, author of the bestselling book 13 Things Mentally Strong People Dont Do, and a highly sought-after speaker. Learn about our Wellness Board Amy Morin, LCSW on October 29, 2019 Stages of Cognitive Development Piaget's Theory Sensorimotor Stage Preoperational Stage Concrete Operational Stage Formal Operational Stage Support and Criticism In This Article Table of Contents Expand Overview Substages Object Permanence View All Piagets theory suggests that children progress through a series of four different stages of cognitive development. These stages encompass numerous aspects of mental development including that of reasoning, language, morals, and memory. Piaget believed that kids take an active role in this cognitive development, building knowledge as they interact with the world. The sensorimotor stage is the earliest in Piagets theory of cognitive development. He described this period as a time of tremendous growth and change. Overview During this initial phase of development, children utilize skills and abilities they were born with (such as looking, sucking, grasping, and listening) to learn more about the environment. In other words, they experience the world and gain knowledge through their senses and motor movements. Through trial-and-error, children discover more about the world around them. Piaget chose to call this stage the sensorimotor stage because it is through the senses and motor abilities that infants gain a basic understanding of the world around them. The abilities that an infant is born withâ€"sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touchâ€"combined with physical capabilities that continue to developâ€"including touching, grasping, and tastingâ€"allow infants to interact and build awareness of themselves and what is around them.   As children interact with their environments, they go through an astonishing amount of cognitive growth in a relatively short period of timeâ€"the sensorimotor stage lasts from birth to approximately age 2. Illustration by Hugo Lin. © Verywell, 2018. Substages As any parent or caregiver can attest, a great deal of learning and development happens during the first two years of a childs life. The sensorimotor stage can be divided into six separate sub-stages that are characterized by the development of a new skill:?? Reflexes (0-1 month) During this substage, the child understands the environment purely through inborn reflexes such as sucking and looking. Primary Circular Reactions (1-4 months) This substage involves coordinating sensation and new schemas. For example, a child may suck his or her thumb by accident and then later intentionally repeat the action. These actions are repeated because the infant finds them pleasurable. Secondary Circular Reactions (4-8 months) During this substage, the child becomes more focused on the world and begins to intentionally repeat an action in order to trigger a response in the environment. For example, a child will purposefully pick up a toy in order to put it in his or her mouth. Coordination of Reactions (8-12 months) During this substage, the child starts to show clearly intentional actions. The child may also combine schemas in order to achieve a desired effect. Children begin exploring the environment around them and will often imitate the observed behavior of others. The understanding of objects also begins during this time and children begin to recognize certain objects as having specific qualities. For example, a child might realize that a rattle will make a sound when shaken. Tertiary Circular Reactions (12-18 months) Children begin a period of trial-and-error experimentation during the fifth substage. For example, a child may try out different sounds or actions as a way of getting attention from a caregiver. Early Representational Thought (18-24 months) ?Children begin to develop symbols to represent events or objects in the world in the final sensorimotor substage. During this time, children begin to move towards understanding the world through mental operations rather than purely through actions. Object Permanence According to Piaget, developing  object permanence  is one of the most important accomplishments at the sensorimotor stage of development. Object permanence is a childs understanding that objects continue to exist even though they cannot be seen or heard.?? Imagine a game of peek-a-boo, for example. A very young infant will believe that the other person or object has actually vanished and will act shocked or startled when the object reappears. Older infants who understand object permanence will realize that the person or object continues to exist even when unseen. This is a classic example of how, during this stage, an infants knowledge of the world is limited to his or her sensory perceptions and motor activities and how behaviors are limited to simple motor responses caused by sensory stimuli. A Word From Verywell The sensorimotor stage serves as an important base in development and gives children the abilities they need as they progress into the next stage of development. As children enter the next stage starting at around age two, they begin developing symbolic thought allowing them to improve language, imagination, and memory skills. What Happens In the Preoperational Stage?

Analysis Of Henrik Ibsen s A Doll House - 1154 Words

What might sacrifice mean? Is it important? Sacrifice can be defined as an act of immolating someone or something. Will one might think it depends on the person to decide on the importance of the sacrifice? In light of this play, â€Å"A Doll House† written realistically by Henrik Ibsen, he has portrayed many symbols throughout the play. One of the many symbols that stood out was sacrifice. Clothing also symbolized some importance in the play and the Tarantella dance as well. However, what exactly is a symbol? A symbol can be â€Å"a concrete object or a person/image that represents an abstract concept such as life, death, salvation, or hope.† For example, the dollhouse stated in the preface of the play symbolized â€Å"the dependent and dehumanized role of the wife within traditional middle-class marriages† (Ibsen, pg.1486). Including another example, stated by Nwabueze, â€Å"believed that Ibsen used the term ‘a doll’s house’ to re present Nora’s home† (Nwabueze, pg. 22). Additionally, anyone can â€Å"argue that Ibsen used Nora as a symbol for human rights† uniquely throughout the play too (Metzger, 1879). So again, symbolism can be seen vastly throughout the play. Regarding sacrifice as a symbol in the play, Nora sacrifices her identity as a mature woman to play-pretend as a perfect doll for her husband. She even hid eating macaroons from her husband like she was a child. However, the most important sacrifice she made was giving up her rights to save her husband’s life. At theShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Henrik Ibsen s A Doll House 1823 Words   |  8 PagesA Doll House is a play that was written by Henrik Ibsen in 1879. Nora Helmer is a wife and mother who secretly loaned money to save her husband’s, Torvald, life. Torvald views and treats Nora has a doll and she goes along with it. As conflict comes and goes Nora decides that her current life is not what she wants for herself. She no longer wants to be anyone’s â€Å"doll† and decides to leave her family in search of independence. This play was controversial during the time it was written becauseRead MoreAnalysis Of Henrik Ibsen s A Doll House 1152 Words   |  5 PagesHenrik Ibsen’s play â€Å"A Doll House† addresses the importance of the roles women play throughout this time period. Women are thought to be like â€Å"dolls† to their husbands, by obeying their commands and keeping a good image. We see the main character, Nora Helmer struggle to keep her perfect image of a great wife as troubles start to arise. Throughout the play we begin to see Nora push through her troubles and find her true identity, Nora shifts from being the loving, perfect wife, to being a strongRead MoreAnalysis Of Henrik Ibsen s A Doll House884 Words   |  4 Pagestransform minor lies such as white lies into something more dangerous. When one works to conceal a lie, a cloud o f deception hangs over those involved and can lead to the destruction of friendships, relationships, and even marriages. In Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House, he uses the motif of lies and deception to illustrate the fragileness of the Helmer’s marriage, which ultimately leads to its demise. Nora Helmer, a naà ¯ve woman who has never been given the chance to mature into an independent womanRead MoreAnalysis Of Henrik Ibsen s A Doll House995 Words   |  4 Pagesimagining and guiding the integration of all these elements belongs to the director. One of the toughest tasks of a director is to reinvigorate a socially important and renowned production while maintaining its original message and composition. Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House is a socially important realistic play that portrays the gender dynamics that plagued the nineteenth century and questions the expectations held for women in a household and society. The play is still incredibly influential because the issuesRead MoreAnalysis Of Henrik Ibsen s A Doll House 851 Words   |  4 PagesHenrik Ibsens’s, A Doll House, details the lives of the Helmers, a seemingly perfect couple. As the story progresses from act to act, it becomes quite obvious that their relationship is everything but perfect. Complic ations arise quickly when a forged loan by Nora Helmer is brought to her husband Torvald’s attention. The prejudices women experience, particularly, Nora is a definite tone in this play. Henrick Ibsen does a great job at showing both sides of the oppression of women, particularly withinRead MoreAnalysis Of Henrik Ibsen s A Doll House 1472 Words   |  6 Pages â€Å"A Doll House† Playing many different characters is what Henrik Ibsen’s meant to do in A Doll House. The main characters fool people into believing they are someone other than their true selves. Nora plays her role flawlessly as she pretends to be living two different lives. Nora is Torvalds devoted and self-indulgent wife, but naively enough, she doesn’t realize she is a courageous, self-sufficient women. As the character’s progress so does Nora’s personality, she goesRead MoreAnalysis Of Henrik Ibsen s A Doll House 924 Words   |  4 PagesHenrik Ibsen once wrote a play called â€Å"A Doll House.† Back in 1879 when the play was written there was lots of controversy on whether are not they play should have been showed. It created lots of arguments because of the time that they play was done (Hemmer). In the time frame that Ibsen wrote his play it was a time where women really had no say. Women would listen to their husbands and do as they say. At the end of the original play Nora, the main character, left her husband and her kids. IbsenRead MoreAn Analysis Of Henrik Ibsen s A Doll House1460 Words   |  6 Pagesopposition to the idea of a female president. Traditionalist opposition has women body shamed into the fixed standard of beauty being the skinny Caucasian blonde. People still look down on women in troubled relationships as being their fault. Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House puts into criticism the problems brought by traditionalism though the story between Torvald and Nora. Where Nora has to keep a secret how she saved her husband’s life to save her marriage, because she fears a woman helping a man would shameRead MoreAnalysis Of Henrik Ibsen s A Doll House Essay1971 Words   |  8 PagesIn Hendrik Ibsen play â€Å"A Doll House† Nora is a women who had typical women gender role in the 19th century to take care of the children and the home so that she can please her husband while her husband handles all the outs ide business and money as the primary care taker. Nora has always lived with a man that took care of her and told her what to do. Nora completely accepted her expectations and â€Å"conditions of the world in which she live† as Torvald put it, because she never had the opportunity toRead MoreAnalysis Of Henrik Ibsen s A Doll House Essay981 Words   |  4 Pagestraditional stereotypes, men are strong and dominant, while women are weak and submissive. There are moments in the person’s life when men do not appreciate their wives and go across their limits. This view sounds a lot like what Henrik Ibsen wrote about in his play, A Doll House. Ibsen presented gender roles through social roles, identity and marriage. This factors affect how the characters in the play are viewed by society. Althouth gender roles have changed over time and males and females have become more

Child Abuse and Social Work - 1024 Words

Lauren Szymanski Socialwork 200 November 28, 2010 Child Abuse Child abuse is horrible and it affects everyone in one way or another. Before 1963, there were no laws to protect the kids from abuse but thanks to social workers and other judicial people, there were laws passed (Pfohl). This paper is going to explain why it is so important for social workers to protect kids by talking about this history of abuse and why social workers need to be around. It will also discuss what social workers do today to prevent kids from being hurt. Social workers are useful in just about every aspect of life but in my opinion this is one of the more important jobs of a social worker because your protecting those of the future. Abuse isn’t just†¦show more content†¦The last thing social workers do is to provide parents looking to adopt with kids. Social workers work with future adoptive parents and after they are adopted to see if they would fit in the home or if they are transitioning correctly and to make sure these parents are fit to raise kids . These are just a few things social workers are doing to help kids. I think that we are doing a great job at protecting kids to the best of our abilities. The only thing I would change is making it more aware to everyone the effects of abuse and why they should report abuse the minute they suspect it. There are some who suspect abuse and don’t say anything and that can be very detrimental to a child. We need to as a society step up and do as much as humanly possible to tackle child abuse. We need to stop the cycle of abuse so hopefully it will cycle its way out of our society. Which if it cycles its way out then we will hopefully see a future with minimal to no abuse. I mean I cant honestly say that we can get rid of abuse all together but we can try to get it down to such a small percentage that people will talk about it like it never happens anymore. At the same time we need to make sure that the parents of these abused children are not allowed to abuse them anymore. This is child abuse in nut shell. The abuse is horrible and it is so detrimentalShow MoreRelatedChild Abuse And It s Connection With Social Work2060 Words   |  9 Pages Child Abuse and It’s Connection with Social Work Amanda Miller SWK 3301-01 Child Abuse and It’s Connection with Social Work â€Å"Childhood should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul† (Pelzer, 1995, p. 166). Various discussions, studies, and ethical problems are formed around the topic of child abuse. Child abuse, defined by the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), is â€Å"any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parentRead MoreChild Abuse Prevention Community Project Essay1590 Words   |  7 PagesChild Abuse Prevention Community Project Child abuse continues to be a significant problem in the United States including Mississippi and Lee County. Child abuse is defined as â€Å"Any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker that results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation; or an act or failure to act, which presents an imminent risk of serious harm† (Henderson, 2013, p.297). In the following paragraphs we will discuss current child abuseRead MoreThe Problem Of Child Abuse1134 Words   |  5 Pagesfollowing paper is about Child Abuse. This paper will look into the description of the problem, the policies that has helped solved the problem, involvement in resolving the problem, and person recommendations on changing the approach of the problem. Description of the Problem/History Child abuse is a form of any sexual activity that a child doesn’t give consent to. Whether it may be sexually or physically if the child is not mentally ready it is still a form of abuse. Child abuse also can lead to differentRead MoreA Study On Child Abuse935 Words   |  4 Pagesprospective titled â€Å"Study finds more child abuse in homes of returning vets†. The article examined a study conducted by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia that looked at 112,000 soldiers and their families between the years of 2001 and 2007. Since life-threatening child abuse occurs most often in infants, the children in the study were two years old or younger. The study found that elevated stress of a soldier returning home increased the risk of child abuse in the home, especially for the soldiersRead MoreEssay on Ban Religion from Social Work 979 Words   |  4 PagesOver the past decades, social workers have encountered and helped children who have experienced unimaginab le types of abuse. In most cases the abuse is done by someone who the child is already familiar with. Usually, the child will become close to the person and put their faith in them only to receive harm and betrayal of trust. And in what kinds of abusive situations does a child tend to end up more mentally distraught? The answer is during religious abuse. Social workers know about the childrenRead MoreThe Child Abuse Prevention And Treatment Act1136 Words   |  5 Pagesdefine child neglect and abuse is both criminal and civil. The civil definitions that determine the grounds for intervention by State child protective agencies, at the Federal level, by the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) January 31, 1974.By the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America and Congress assembled this act may be cited as, â€Å"the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. Section 3 of the Law said† For purposes of this Act the term child abuse andRead M oreThe Effects Of Sexual Abuse On Children Essay1626 Words   |  7 Pagesthere are individuals who act on horrible inexplicable instincts such as molesting a child or even to the point of sexually abusing a child. We as a society are constantly bombarded with reports of extreme sexual abuse cases of children and even infants. When we read or see a report of sexual abuse in the news the first thing that comes to mind is, what sick individual would think to do that to such an innocent child. More often than not the culprit ends up being an individual that fits the profileRead MoreThe Connection between Child Abuse and Crime Essay1055 Words   |  5 PagesEvery year, child abuse and neglect affect more than one million children nation-wide (Currie and Tekin 1). Along with this, child abuse is the source of severe injury to more than 500,000 children and the death of over 1,500 children (Currie and Tekin 1). These outrageously large numbers reveal the extent to which child abuse and neglect impact society; however, they do not acknowledge the effect abuse can have on a child’s life and the repercussions that may occur in both the individual’s childhoodRead MoreChild Abuse And Its Effects On Children Essay1354 Words   |  6 PagesTo begin with, child abuse in general is horrible. No child should ever be treated this way. Today I would like to talk about how extreme child abuse forever marked Susan Wiley, best known as â€Å"Genie.† In addition to that I would like to talk about the different types of child abuse and how children are affected by this. Last but not least, I would also like to talk about how we can prevent and stop child abuse. I believe that children are the most innocent people in this world, and that they areRead More Investigating the Long-Term Effects of Physical Child Abuse Essay1057 Words   |  5 Pagesestimated 905,000 children were victims of child abuse or neglect in 2006(Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2008). In 1996, more than three million victims of suspected abuse were reported to child protective services agencies in the United States (Baker, 2002). The numbers have changed and still many cases of abuse go unreported. The number of incidences of child abuse rises when the family is under stress, such as being in our economy. The effects of physical abuse can last a lifetime and are measured

Leadership Styles Followed By The Director â€Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Leadership Styles Being Followed By The Director? Answer: Introduction In the present business scenario, leadership roles hold an important part in the contemporary business organizations. Contemporary business organizations have to maintain various diversified aspects to drive their competitiveness in the present business state of affairs. One of these key aspects is effective leadership (Northouse 2015). In the contemporary business organizations, leadership roles help in motivating the employees in increase their productivity and competitiveness. Moreover, it is the responsibility of the leaders to equip the employees in facing the business challenges and made them aware about the organizational vision and objectives (Chen and Yang 2012). Apart from this role of human resource management, the responsibilities of the leaders also involve organizing the various aspects of the organizations and driving the organizations in to profitable venture and to stay ahead in the competition (Armstrong and Taylor 2014). Leadership roles constitute of various types of styles which are being applicable based on the situation and the organizational cultures. Vision Autowork Pte Ltd is being situated in Singapore. It is one of the leading and renowned car servicing centers in Singapore. It is being operating for last 2 years in Singapore. This organization is known for their effective customer service being provided and their positive organizational culture. They mainly service and repair the accident vehicle (Jahanshani et al. 2014). The director of this organization is known for his effective leadership styles which are proved to be beneficial in maintaining the effective working environment in the organization. The workshop is small consisting of 15 employees. However, the leadership of their director is driving the organization to being a renowned one in Singapore. This report will discuss about the leadership styles being followed by the director of Vision Autowork Pte Ltd. In addition, various theories related to the leadership will be used for critical discussion of the leadership styles. The critical analysis will involve the traits and behaviors of the leader along with his style of managing the employees. A short interview will be taken to identify various aspects of the director of Vision Autowork Pte Ltd. Accordingly; a reflective opinion will be presented regarding the ideal leadership style. Effectiveness of leadership style in Vision Autowork Pte Ltd The leadership style being followed in Vision Autowork Pte Ltd is more of transformational style of leadership. It is due to the reason that, it is been observed that the role of the director or leader in this organization is the key motivating factor for the employees (Lazaroiu 2015). The observation is being continued for two months. In these two months, various organizational practices related to the leadership roles are being noted. The director has a unique visionary characteristic which is being effectively communicated to the employees. In addition, the employees also feel more engaged in their workplace due to the implementation of effective working environment in the organization. The director maintains the involvement of the all the employees in every aspects of the business. One of the key features for transformational leadership is maintaining the level of motivation for the employees in order to enhance the productivity of the organization (Lazaroiu 2015). In the case of Vision Autowork Pte Ltd, various employee welfare schemes are being initiated by the director in order to motivate the employees in their workplace. It is also been seen that a special effort being given in determining the work life balance of the employees (Wiese 2015). This further helps the employees in having favorable motivation and satisfaction with their respective job roles. In the process of decision making in the organization, it is been observed that all the employees are being involved in the process by the director (Mone and London 2014). Moreover, the opinions from the employees are being gathered by him in order to implement an effective decision. Thus, majority of the employees are being satisfied with the decisions being taken by the director. It is also been seen that the director has the ability to maintain the stability in the organization in case of any challenges or issues. He has the ability to drive his employees through the organizational challenges by leading from the front. Moreover, the director is much optimistic and positive which also influence the employees in maintaining the effective working envi ronment in the organization (Korzynski 2013). In this case, it is been observed that, the leadership style being followed by the director is also have the characteristic similar with the laissez-faire style of leadership. According to this style of leadership, the leaders delegate the decision making process to the employees (Chaudhry and Javed 2012). It enables the employees in having the freedom in taking decisions. Thus, the engagement with the employees is more in this style of leadership. In the case of Vision Autowork Pte Ltd, the director delegates roles such as providing customer feedback and management to the employees. It enabled the employees in taking decision accounting to the situation. The job responsibilities of the employees are being well organized and specifically defined. As he do not follow the authoritarian style of leadership, the use of power or dictation is not required in the organization (Schuh, Zhang and Tian 2013). The vision of the leader is being well communicated among the employees and the job de signs are being initiated accordingly. Thus, employees are well aware about the job to be accomplished. Situational leadership theory is also applicable for this organization. It is due to the reason that the director in this organization is always adjusting the organizational culture and practices accordingly to the market requirement (McCleskey 2014). According to the situational theory being given by Kenneth Blanchard and Paul Hersey, it is the style of leadership which tends to change with the change in the situation. It helps to enhance the flexibility of the organizations. In the case of Vision Autowork Pte Ltd, the director follows the situational style of leadership. It enables him in driving his organization according to the external environment of business. Hence, the organization remains updated to stay ahead in the competition. Analysis of the interview The questionnaire is being created according to the observation being made in two months in the organization. The leadership roles in the organization are being closely observed which gave rise to various questions which are being stated in the interview process with the CEO of the organization. The director of the Vision Autowork Pte Ltd is being interviewed about his leadership styles and its effectiveness on the organizational practices. He is asked about his opinion about the effective style of leadership. According to him, there is nothing like most effective style of leadership (Sethuraman and Suresh 2014). Leadership styles can be only be termed as effective if they can fulfill the aspirations of the all the stakeholders in the organizations (Fassin 2012). He also stated that the leadership roles should be flexible enough in order to cope up with changing business environment. Thus, from his opinion it can be stated that situational leadership theory is most applicable with hi s approach. According to this concept, the leadership roles are being changed according to the change in the business environment. It helps the organizations to be updated and stay ahead in the competition. The director is also being asked to state about the reason behind the favorable performance of the employees in his organization. According to him, the employees are being provided safe and secured working environment which helps the employees in enhancing their productivity. In addition, the employee involvement is being given much consideration in the organization (Andries and Czarnitzki 2014). According to him, the more involvement of the employees in the organizational activities and in the decision making process helps them to get adhere with the activities being allocated to them. Thus, it helps them to have the clear idea about the job responsibilities to be accomplished by them. He is asked about the key characteristics of an effective leader. In addition, he is being asked how an ideal leader should act. According to him, an effective leader should have the visionary capabilities about his organization. He should foresee the future trend in the market and accordingly should act (Taylor, Cornelius and Colvin 2014). An ideal leader should have the capabilities to motivate all the stakeholders associated with the organization. Moreover, according to him, an effective leader is not only supervising his subordinates but also create examples to follow. Engaging the employees in the workplace should also be seen by the leaders. Thus, from his reply, it can be concluded that transformational style leadership are being considered by him as an effective style of leadership (Garcia-Morales, Jimenez-Barrionuevo and Gutierrez-Gutierrez 2012). This is due to the reason that, the criteria that he has stated for being an effective leader is mostly matches with the transfor mational style of leadership. Being analyzed his response, it can be concluded that he is the staunch follower of transformational leadership style. His response is more of employee oriented than the task oriented. Thus, employee oriented style of leadership can be also be applied with his response. According to this type of leadership, leaders are more concentrated with the welfare of the employees than the accomplishment of the task. It helps in maintaining the satisfaction level of the employees which further helps in enhancing their productivity (Abraham 2012). Another question being asked to him is about the measures that have been implemented in his organization in order to motivate his employees. According to him, employees are being effectively engaged in the organizational practices in order to increase their level of involvement in the organization. Moreover, employees are being involved in the decision making process, which further helps to enhance the level of importance of the employees in the organization (Pettigrew 2014). According to him, the more involved will be the employees in their workplace, the more comfortable they will be in accomplishing their job responsibilities. Thus, the motivation level of the employees will be increased. In addition, various welfare policies regarding the retirement and injuries of the employees are being implemented in the organization in order to safeguard their interest in their workplace (Waller and Moten 2012). It helps the organization in creating a positive image of the management in the m ind of the employees. They feel more involved in the organization. He also stated that, other options such as incentives, rewards and appraisals are being promoted in the organization in order to maintain and enhance the motivational level of the employees. The appraisals are being given to the employees once in a year (Daoanis 2012). Rewards are being awarded to the best performers. This enables the employees to have the motivation to work more effectively in their workplace. Thus, eventually it helps the employees to increase their productivity. He also stated that, the increase in the level of the motivation is further helping his organization to maintain the positive retention rate (Terera and Ngirande 2014). It proves as competitive advantage to them and also reducing the cost involved in recruitment and selecting new employees. Training is also being given accordingly in order to equip and motivate the employees. The next question being asked to the director is about the measures being used by him in order to empower the employees in facing the organizational challenges. He told that, new employees are being given proper training and skill development schemes in order to increase their level of expertise in the organization. Existing employees are also being given training periodically in order to empower them in coping up with the changing market scenario (Jehanzeb and Bashir 2013). For instance, he told that few months ago, employees are being given the training regarding a new machine being purchased in the organization for automatic cleaning process of the cars. Thus, due to the training process, employees are now equipped to use the machine effectively. The next question being asked to the director is about his opinion regarding the situational style of leadership. According to him, situational style of leadership is not a specific style to be followed. He stated that, every leadership styles can be changed based on the situation (McCleskey 2014). According to him, leadership styles should be changed or modified according to the change in the industry and market. Without changing, no style of leadership will be able to survive. Giving his own examples, he stated that he change his style of leadership based on the situation. In few cases, he applied the style of authoritarian leadership to dictate the employees in the time of any hardships (Schuh, Zhang and Tian 2013). It helped him to convey his requirement more clearly to the employees. Moreover, in many cases, transformational leadership is being followed by him to motivate the employees and maintain the effective working environment. Another question being asked to him is regarding his approach towards the employees and the customers. According to him, employee should be more preferred than the customers. He told that if the employees can be effectively taken care of, then automatically the customer service will be effective provided by the employees. He also told that he believe in delegation of the task among the employees. Thus, the employee oriented approach of him is being noted. According to him, delegation of the task helps in engaging the employees in their workplace along with generating more ideas from them. According to him, leadership roles can act as the competitive advantage for the organization if properly implemented. He stated that, if the motivational ne engagement level of the employees can be maintained by the leadership and the working environment can be maintained, then it will prove as competitive advantage by having motivated employees along with generating off new and innovative ideas fro m them. Regarding customer satisfaction, he told that it is the most important factor for the survival of an organization. The more will be the customer satisfaction, the more will be the revenue being generated from the market. Thus, he tries to keep the motivational level of the employees high to enable them to provide effective customer service. Thus, from the interview process of the director, it can be concluded that he is not applying the transformational style of leadership in his organization, rather than he is implementing the situational leadership based on the situation. However, it is being noted that, task oriented style of leadership is being neglected to a large extent (Donate and de Pablo 2015). According to this style of leadership, accomplishment of the task is given most importance than other. In few cases, it is important to have this style of leadership due to the reason that it will help in effective accomplishment of the job. Employee oriented leadership is as important for the organization, however over implementation of this theory will further reduce the productivity of the employees (Choudhary, Akhtar and Zaheer 2013). This is due to the reason that the employees will not feel the pressure or zeal to perform in their workplace. Hence, it is an important gap being identified in the leadership style of this organization. Moreover, the leadership style being followed by him is a mixed of various leadership theories. It is previously being observed that, only the transformational style of leadership is being followed in the organization, however, the response from the director conveyed that a mixed style is being followed. Another difference identified between the responses of the director and the observation is regarding the involvement of the employees in the decision making process (Chaudhry and Javed 2012). It is being observed that the employees are being involved in determining the decision making process. However, the response from the director is portraying that the opinions of the employees are being gathered and accordingly the decision are being taken. Thus, the approach in both the cases is different. Self reflection about the leadership styles Having critically analyzed the leadership role in Vision Autowork Pte Ltd, I believe that there are still many areas are present for improvement. One of the key areas for improvement is the implementation of the task oriented leadership style. I as a leader will implement the task oriented leadership style in order to improve the rate of accomplishment of task in the organization. Moreover, it is being found that transformational leadership is asking for welfare of all the stakeholders in the organization. Thus, all stakeholders include customers also. However, in this organization, it is been seen that customers are being less preferred compared to the employees in implementing the decision making process. I will prefer more of the customer aspect in my leadership style due to the reason that if the customer are being effectively served, then only the organization will grow in the market. Moreover the path goal theory can be applied in this organization in order to further enhance the motivational level of the employees. Following of path goal theory will help to design the job responsibilities of the employees according to the situation being faced by the organization. I being a leader will train my employees to provide effective customer service. In addition, the employee benefit and welfare will also be considered. According to me, an effective leader should consider the interest of all the stakeholders along with achieving the organizational goals and objectives. It is also being identified from the above sections that, there is no particular style of leadership being followed in this organization. Rather than it is mixing up the several strategies or styles in designing their leadership roles. However, according to me, a particular style of leadership should be followed in the organization. I believe that it will help to drive the organizational culture and pract ices in a single direction. Thus, employees will be more comfortable and have clear idea about the organizational role of leadership. I being a leader will first select a particular style of leadership based on the situation in the organization. Afterwards, I will modify it according to the requirement in the market. According to me, it will be more beneficial to the organization. According to me, this organization can be termed as a small organization with having only 15 employees. Thu, it does not having any strict and diversified hierarchy level. Thus, it will not take a long time in reaching out to the director position. Effective implementation of the leadership styles according to the situation in the organization will only take maximum 1 year to reach to the desired position. In this 1 year, it should be shown that the leadership style being followed by me is more effective than the existing leadership roles. Recommendations A fixed style of leadership should be followed rather than mixing up the various strategies. Customers should be considered as a key stakeholder. The interest of customers should be considered during the decision making process. Other than the human resource management, leadership role should also covers other business aspects such as marketing effectively in order to increase the organizational profits. Leadership in this organization should have the knowledge about the effectiveness of various leadership styles being followed in other organizations. It will help them in modifying their strategies in more effective manner. Majority of the transformational leadership style are being accepted by this organization. However, it should be noted that this style of leadership is also having few drawbacks. Thus, it should be considered before implementing the leadership styles. Having implemented any styles of leadership, communication process should be well initiated in the organization. It will help in gathering the feedback from the employees and customers. On the other hand, the vision of the director will be well communicated to the employees. Conclusion Having analyzed the various aspects of leadership in the organizations, it can be concluded that every styles of leadership are having their own merits and demerits. Thus, it is important for the organizations to effectively determine the utility of the leadership styles comparing with their business situation before initiating for the change. Vision Autowork Pte Ltd is being considered here in this report in order to evaluate the effectiveness of their leadership roles. It is been seen that, they are following mostly the features of transformational and situational styles of leadership. However, the styles of leadership of them are being variable and it changes with the change in the external environment. Employees in this organization are being considered as the most important stakeholders and accordingly, majority of the leadership roles in the organization is concentrated towards their welfare. Due to this reason, the working environment in this organization is much effective tha n others. Moreover, the employees are well motivated and engaged in their workplace. However, it is also be stated in this report that, considering only the employee benefits and welfare in the leadership roles will cause negative implications in the organization. Accordingly, a reflective writing is being produced in this report to present the areas of improvement in this organization. In addition, several recommendations are being given here in this report. Following these recommendations will further enhance the productivity of the organization. Reference Abraham, S., 2012. Job Satisfaction as an Antecedent to Employee Engagement. SIES Journal of Management, 8(2). Andries, P. and Czarnitzki, D., 2014. Small firm innovation performance and employee involvement. Small Business Economics, 43(1), pp.21-38. Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S., 2014. Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers. Chaudhry, A.Q. and Javed, H., 2012. Impact of transactional and laissez faire leadership style on motivation. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(7). Chen, C.Y. and Yang, C.F., 2012. The impact of spiritual leadership on organizational citizenship behavior: A multi-sample analysis. Journal of Business Ethics, 105(1), pp.107-114. Choudhary, A.I., Akhtar, S.A. and Zaheer, A., 2013. Impact of transformational and servant leadership on organizational performance: A comparative analysis. Journal of Business Ethics, 116(2), pp.433-440. Daoanis, L.E., 2012. Performance Appraisal System: Its Implication to Employee Performance. International Journal of Economics and Management Sciences, 2(3), pp.55-62. Donate, M.J. and de Pablo, J.D.S., 2015. The role of knowledge-oriented leadership in knowledge management practices and innovation. Journal of Business Research, 68(2), pp.360-370. Fassin, Y., 2012. Stakeholder management, reciprocity and stakeholder responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 109(1), pp.83-96. Garca-Morales, V.J., Jimnez-Barrionuevo, M.M. and Gutirrez-Gutirrez, L., 2012. Transformational leadership influence on organizational performance through organizational learning and innovation. Journal of business research, 65(7), pp.1040-1050. Jahanshani, A.A., Hajizadeh, G.M.A., Mirdhamadi, S.A., Nawaser, K. and Khaksar, S.M.S., 2014. Study the effects of customer service and product quality on customer satisfaction and loyalty. Jehanzeb, K. and Bashir, N.A., 2013. Training and development program and its benefits to employee and organization: A conceptual study. European Journal of business and management, 5(2). Korzynski, P., 2013. EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION IN NEW WORKING ENVIRONMENT. International journal of academic research, 5(5). Lazaroiu, G., 2015. Employee Motivation and Job Performance. Linguistic and Philosophical Investigations, 14, p.97. Taylor, C., J. Cornelius, C. and Colvin, K., 2014. Visionary leadership and its relationship to organizational effectiveness. Leadership Organization Development Journal, 35(6), pp.566-583. McCleskey, J.A., 2014. Situational, transformational, and transactional leadership and leadership development. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 5(4), p.117. Mone, E.M. and London, M., 2014. Employee engagement through effective performance management: A practical guide for managers. Routledge. Northouse, P.G., 2015. Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications. Pettigrew, A.M., 2014. The politics of organizational decision-making. Routledge. Schuh, S.C., Zhang, X.A. and Tian, P., 2013. For the good or the bad? Interactive effects of transformational leadership with moral and authoritarian leadership behaviors. Journal of Business Ethics, 116(3), pp.629-640. Sethuraman, K. and Suresh, J., 2014. Effective leadership styles. International Business Research, 7(9), p.165. Terera, S.R. and Ngirande, H., 2014. The impact of rewards on job satisfaction and employee retention. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(1), p.481.

Point of sale system documentation free essay sample

A Point of Sale (POS) system is commonly found today at most retail store registers. Store merchandise, identified by a price code (UPC), is checked out by a cashier who then accepts payment for the item(s). A UPC is either read by a bar code scanner or manually entered by the cashier. At the completion of a sale, a receipt is created for the customer and sales information is collected for the generation of reports at a later time. The system also provides for processing the return of purchased items and reimbursement to the customer. While many POS systems support multiple terminals that are networked together and interface with external systems (such as inventory control) the primary goal of this system is to develop a self-contained sales terminal application that supports the purchase and return of store merchandise. System Functions Sales Terminal Management – Sales Terminals are administered by the store manager. We will write a custom essay sample on Point of sale system documentation or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The administrator has the ability to add and remove cashiers from the sales terminal. Cashiers sign in to a sales terminal using an authentication mechanism. Only one cashier may be signed in to a terminal at a time. The store manager has access to administrator functions at any time which are accessible with proper authentication. Process Sale – Items brought to the checkout are identified by a UPC that is used to obtain the price of the item. The cashier enters the UPC either by scanning the item or manually entering the UPC. Optionally, the cashier may enter a quantity for the number of items being checked out with the same UPC. After the last item has been processed a sales total is calculated and payment is made by the customer. Cash Payment – At the conclusion of a sale the cashier accepts cash payment from the customer and enters the amount collected as cash tendered. The system computes the change, which is returned to the customer. Both amounts are included in the final sales receipt. Returned Items – Valid items returned to a cashier are accepted by UPC identification. If the item(s) were purchased within the last thirty (30) days a refund is made to the customer. Items purchased past 30 days receive a slip for store credit. Items purchased beyond 90 days cannot be returned. Terminal Reports – A store manager may request sales terminal reports that show the activity of terminal over a period of time or based on cashier.

A Rose For Emily Essays (383 words) - To Kill A Mockingbird

A Rose For Emily Essays (383 words) - To Kill A Mockingbird A Rose For Emily Reading To Kill A Mockingbird and A Rose For Emily I noticed several differences and likenesses. I would like to convey my thoughts to you. Females in "A Rose For Emily" are depicted as reclusive, crazy, and nosy. Females in "To Kill A Mockingbird" are depicted as smart, outgoing, and full of pride. For example, Emily and Aunt Alexandra are both full of pride. Emily is so full of pride that when she finds out that Homer Barron is not going to marry her and that he is gay that she kills him. She lets the town think that they are married. When in fact she kills him. Emily is afraid of what the town will say about her. Aunt Alexandra is full of a different kind of pride. She is full of family pride. She always tell Jem and Scout about their family tree and history. She also cares about what the town says about them. Aunt Alexandra doesn't want the town to think badly about the Finch family. Emily is a sad figure. She doesn't let anybody befriend her. She barely even talks to her servant. Even when people come to talk to her she either meets them at the door to tell them to go away or she gets her servant to tell them to go away. She is also a recluse. She hardly if ever goes out. Her servant is occasionally seen at the market buying food, but other than that nobody ever goes out from the household. Calpurnia from "To Kill A Mockingbird" is also a sad figure. She has to compromise with the white society that discriminates against blacks. She has to compromise with Aunt Alexandra. She has to do what Aunt Alexandra says even though she does not agree with her. Calpurnia is though, admirable because she has made the best of her opportunities. She is like a member of the Finch family. She has been with them since Mrs. Finch died. In conclusion, Emily has not done the best with her opportunities. She has given up on the world and so she withdrew into her own little world. Emilyis a sad and lonely lady and will die sad and alone. She could have so much more if she only tries, though.

Instagram Influencer Marketing How to Get it Right in 6 Steps

Instagram Influencer Marketing How to Get it Right in 6 Steps Why tell the world how wonderful you are when you can get someone else to do it and make 1000 times the impact? Big name department stores have fashion bloggers on their payroll because their target market is influenced by the say-so of the people they engage with daily. They’ve recognized that people’s purchasing behaviour has changed. A  Nielsen survey  found that only 33 percent of people trust advertisements while 90 percent trust peer recommendations. And Instagram is where peer recommendations are happening more than ever. Instagram influencer marketing  may just be the golden ticket that provides your business with access to a huge pool of potential customers. If you follow the right strategy†¦ Instagram Influencer Marketing: How to Get it Right in 6 Steps by @acquireconvert via @ Table of Contents: Whats In This Post? What Exactly is an Instagram Influencer? How Powerful is Instagram Influencer Marketing? STEP 1: Define What Success Looks Like to You STEP 2: Identify the Right Influencers to Partner With STEP 3: Refine Your Pitch to Influencers and Increase the Chances of a Response STEP 4: Design and Optimize Your Influencer Campaigns STEP 5: Follow Best Practices and Maintain Transparency STEP 6: Track the Success of Your Strategy How Much Does It Cost? Who Should Be Using Influencer Marketing? A Problem With Instagram Influencers (And a Solution) What You’re About to Discover†¦ When the retailer Lord Taylor  enlisted the help of 50 influential names in fashion on Instagram, its strategy involved all influencers wearing the same dress which promptly sold out by the end of the weekend. How can you start getting a piece of the action? Instagram influencer marketing is more challenging than most marketing strategies on the platform especially if you’re just starting out. Everyone  wants a ‘piece’ of the influencers that’s why they’re influencers! Your efforts will fall flat on their face without a strong guiding strategy. But the potential rewards are huge. You’re probably not ready just yet to ask Prince Harry and Meghan to endorse your brand.  But that’s OK. Any size business can use influencer marketing. The main question is: how do you get the right influencers sitting up and taking notice? That’s what I’ll take you through here. As well as clearing up a myth or two about influencers, you’ll learn why Instagram influencer marketing is so powerful, what it costs, and what types of businesses it’s for. Most importantly, I’ll take you through a series of six practical steps covering: How to create an influencer marketing strategy that can be measured Who you should be trying to partner with How to approach influencers and actually get a response The types of influencer campaign you can run: Best practices transparency and disclosure Tracking how your campaigns are going Before we get into the practicalities of your strategy, let’s understand a little more about Instagram influencer marketing and why it’s so powerful†¦ Make @instagram influencer marketing easier with these free templates What Exactly is an Instagram Influencer? When you think ‘influencer’, do you think ‘celebrity’? If so, you’re only partly  right; celebrities ARE often influencers but not all influencers are A-listers. In fact, most aren’t like this chap: So let’s not restrict ourselves to Ronaldo, Beyoncà ©, Taylor Swift, and Jay-Z. As well as celebrity A-listers or ‘top tier’ Instagram influencers, you have: ‘Macro’ influencers  - those who have built up a very large Instagram following in their specialist area (generally 10,000 plus) ‘Micro’ influencers  - those who have built up a smaller but highly engaged Instagram following (generally 1000 - 10,000 or more) For our purposes, we’ll focus less on the celebrities and more on the two other types of influencers - because we want results, not pipe dreams. Only 3 percent of buyers are influenced by celebrity endorsements in their purchase decisions, according to a 2016 Collective Bias survey. And, according to Google, The Top 25 YouTube stars attract 12 times more comments than traditional celebrities. We’ll get into who exactly who you should be targeting in STEP TWO  below. For now, it’s enough to recognize that Instagram influencers have significant networks of followers and enough ‘pull’ to be able to sway opinion amongst followers. By engaging these influencers in marketing initiatives, we tap into their ability to build favorable sentiment towards us and our products. Curious to know what #Instagram influencer marketing is all about? Check out this guide from... How Powerful is Instagram Influencer Marketing? Ever since brands started hiring celebrities to wear their trainers, carry their designer bags, or endorse their sports gear, the power of influencer marketing has been no secret. It’s why you see David Beckham collections in HM stores. That it has come to Instagram should be no surprise. Everyone from YouTubers to Tweeters, Facebookers and Snapchatters have been dabbling in it in recent years. In 2016 for instance, Twitter reported  that: Nearly 40% of users claim to have made a purchase as a direct result of a tweet from an influencer Elsewhere, the Collective Bias survey mentioned earlier reported that: 70% of millennial consumers are influenced by recommendations from their peers in buying decisions Instagram as a marketing vehicle has been on a sharp upward trajectory over the past few years. As a result, Hashoff reports  that 91.9 percent of 150,000 influencers chose Instagram as their number one platform. With 800 million active users, the potential is obvious. But standing out from the crowd has become ever-more challenging when all the smartest kids on the block are marketing the hell out of Instagram. Instagram influencer marketing can set you apart. Let’s go†¦ Recommended Reading: The Best Guide on How to Use Instagram For Business STEP 1: Define What Success Looks Like to You All the best marketing strategies are measurable. Set out with some expectations, goals, and KPIs in mind. This will help you decide not only which influencers you partner with (STEP 2) but what type of campaigns you run (STEP 4) and what you will end up tracking (STEP 6). Here are a few of the most important questions to consider when working out your goals: Do you want to increase brand awareness in general? Do you want to simply gain more followers and more engagement? Do you hope to expand your reach? By how much? Are you hoping to increase click-throughs (store traffic)? Is the main aim to increase sales of a particular product (like the Lord Taylor dresses)? Do you hope to raise revenue in general? If so, by how much? Are you looking to increase conversion rates? Do you want to raise awareness about a particular event? Do you need help making a splash with a startup launch? Is the main aim to find brand reps to work with on an ongoing basis? If there's a way to add a fun illustration to represent each goal, that'd be cool if time allows. Identify precisely what you want to achieve and then how you’re going to measure success. This will help decide the types of engagement levels, reach, and traffic you need from your partner influencers, as well as how much you’re willing to spend. Here's how to decide the engagement levels, reach, and traffic you need from your Instagram... . STEP 2: Identify the Right Influencers to Partner With If there’s one golden rule for Instagram influencer marketing it would be this: make sure you find the right influencers. It’s easier said than done: two-thirds of marketers consider finding relevant influencers their biggest challenge, according to a joint study  by Tapinfluence and Altimeter. It’s made easier by a wide range of tools  specifically designed to identify influencers that suit you. Find out more about these tools here  but let’s assume that you’re trying to work it out without their help. Where do you start? What should you be looking for in an influencer? Firstly, let’s return to the three basic types of Influencers: Celebrity influencers ‘Macro’ influencers ‘Micro’ influencersHere are three different types of Instagram influencers to knowWhy Focus on Micro-Influencers? The vast majority of small businesses should focus on micro influencers and perhaps a few macro influencers. Most can forget about celebrities. If you’re a food brand, you might think ‘Jamie Oliver’ at first but you need to get more realistic. Besides, there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that aiming smaller is more effective. The Collective Bias survey referred to above found that 30 percent of consumers were more likely to buy a product recommended by a non-celebrity blogger  whereas only 3 percent were influenced by celebrity endorsements. (Note: this applies to influencer marketing in general rather than just Instagram.) People often find it hard to relate to celebrities. While they may dream to be like Beyoncà © or LeBron James, it’s a fantasy world. And always at the back of the mind is the question: â€Å"Are they just saying that because they’re getting paid for it?† The opinions of people a little closer to home are more trusted  and believable. The best Instagram influencers may be experts in their field; they are influencers because they’ve earned it and risen through their niche; but they’re mainly people like you and me rather than big-name actresses, singers, or sports personalities (i.e. from another niche or even another planet!) There are exceptions but the general rule is to find influencers who are prominent in the specific niche that you play in. Their audience is the same as yours so it helps you get really targeted and in front of the right people. For instance, if you sell women’s shoes, it makes sense to target micro-influencers in ‘women’s shoes’ rather than ‘women’s accessories’ or ‘women’s fashion’. Some micro-influencers may not even consider themselves as an ‘influencer’ until you approach them - even better! They’re more likely to be authentic and won’t have an Instagram feed full of product endorsements; so their support of you will seem more selective. Ten posts from well-selected micro influencers will normally be less of a risk and may be more effective than one from a celebrity. Ten posts from well-selected micro influencers will normally be less of a risk and may be more...Their recommendations appear like authentic recommendations from friends. This encourages more engagement between the influencer and the audience - which is better for you. With limited budgets, multiple posts from micro-influencers are also good for increasing the amount of content out there about you and your brand - especially if content is simultaneously published by several influencers. Suddenly this has the effect of making your brand look ‘bigger’ and more ‘buzzy’. Recommended Reading: Everything You Need to Know About Instagram Analytics to Smash Your Goal The all-important metrics to look out for OK, so you’ve decided on targeting micro influencers. What metrics should you be looking at? The wrong influencers can be expensive mistakes, remember. So invest time into the prep work. Here are the most common metrics to pay attention to: Industry niche - usually there must be an intersection between their niche and yours. If you specialize in yellow hats, make sure they have a strong connection to yellow hats too. Engagement levels of posts - are followers deeply engaged with posts - liking, commenting and sharing? (At least 2-4% and ideally higher). Use tools like Iconosquare,  Tapinfluence  or  Sprout Social  to help calculate engagement levels. Follower numbers - this has become less important than engagement as Instagram’s algorithm has changed. Follower quality -  does the influencer’s audience reflect the quality of potential customer you’re looking for? A good example of follower makeup/quality trumping everything was when HP Australia  partnered with 20 Instagram fashion influencers  to promote the HP Spectre laptop. While they play in very different niches, HP wanted to reach a young audience that was well-aligned to the fashion influencers. The results? 62,943 direct engagements with campaign content and almost a million consumers reached. Traffic - how much web traffic does the influencer generate? Post costs - how much do they charge for posts? Does it realistically fit within your budget? You probably can’t afford what Kim Kardashian West charged for this one†¦ Location - is the influencer’s location important to you and your followers or for marketing your products/services? Are you going global or hoping for more of a local uptake? In general, go for balance. Raw follower numbers are a poor yardstick to use on their own because the temptation to go for huge follower numbers may ignore a lack of engagement. Celebrities may have hundreds of thousands or even millions of followers but low engagement levels.  A survey by Markerley  of over 800,000 Instagram accounts with over 1000 followers found that: Influencers with 10-100,000 followers were most effective at providing a balance of engagement and reach; Influencers with fewer than 1000 followers get their audiences to like their posts 8% of the time and comment 0.5% of the time Instagram influencers with 10 million+ followers get their audiences to like their posts 1.6% of the time and comment 0.04% of the time. In most cases, target micro influencers who already have a strong affinity with your niche and who, preferably, are experts in the field. And while lower follower numbers may limit your potential audience initially, it may help your case for building a strong influencer partnership. You should also tailor this advice towards your target market. According to Twitter, youngsters 13-25 lean heavily towards social media influencers while people over 45 tend to prefer established, household names. Beware!   It’s not unknown for some unscrupulous influencers to buy followers to boost their appeal to businesses. Some may even artificially boost engagement rates with automated comments. Do your homework on influencers and avoid those with questionable followings or repetitive or bland comments. If something seems fishy, it probably is! Final tip:   Don’t limit yourself to human influencers! Get creative: pet care companies often partner with ‘influencer animals’: cute dogs, cats (or raccoons) with large followings (1.5 million) for instance: STEP 3: Refine Your Pitch to Influencers and Increase the Chances of a Response So you’ve boiled it down to a shortlist of influencers you want to target. What next? Before we look at how you contact them, let’s get into the mind of an influencer a little. Why are they doing what they do and how can you demonstrate the right approach to working with them? Are there any approaches that will increase the likelihood of successful outcomes? Influencers won’t necessarily agree to work with you just because you pay them. In fact, you want your influencer to be choosy because it means they’re authentic and interested in alignment and quality, above all. So here are some basic ground-rules to follow: Ensure that you make it easy for your influencer to understand how your brand aligns with their own values: Crowdtap found  that influencers value work that is aligned to their own; create an easy-to-read one-page overview of what your brand represents. Here’s how Fast Company does it on their website: Show respect to influencers you approach - as you would any potential publisher of your content: this was considered vital to influencers interviewed by Crowdtap in their survey. Guarantee the freedom for influencers to express themselves creatively - don’t try to dictate terms to them; it’s their audience and they know their followers better than you. If you’ve selected the right influencer and are well-aligned, trust them to talk to their target audience in a way that will get your own message across and produce win-wins. Keep it authentic - trying to fake it with influencers won’t work. They’ll see through you - and they won’t jeopardize their relationship with their followers for you! â€Å"...when working with influencers, brands have to let go and allow influencers control of the narrative to preserve the authenticity of what is being communicated.† Priyanka Dayal, content marketing manager at Centaur Media PLC. Work directly with the influencer rather than going through a marketing agency- they just prefer it  that way. Tracking Down Your Influencers Now- how do you actually find and get in contact with your influencers?   Fortunately, the Instagram search engine makes it relatively easy to search for influencers. Here’s what you do: Search for hashtags that relate to your industry. For a men’s shoe store you might look for #mensleathershoes: Identify more hashtags by clicking on posts in the search results and exploring what other hashtags they use. Try each of these hashtags - they needn’t all contain the word â€Å"shoes†. They can be closely related to shoes. The posts with the most engagement are listed at the top - these are usually from influential Instagrammers: Examine the accounts of leading posts with these hashtags. Check for content, frequency of posting, engagement levels, follower quality, etc. Really do your homework before identifying them as candidates. Have you found a potential influencer? Beyond this, there are several tools that you can use to make life easier with finding and contacting influencers. These are covered in some detail here. Recommended Reading: Instagram Marketing Strategy: How to Build One the Best Way Outreach to Your Influencers Understand that you’ll be most effective if you look to build a relationship  with your influencer. One direct message is not going to cut it. Use your communication and relationship-building skills rather than treating it as a single ‘transaction’. Assuming you don’t use one of the influencer search engines included in the tools mentioned above, expect to contact your influencers multiple times by direct messaging (DM) or email. For DM-ing: tap  Ã‚  in the top right of FEED. From there, you can  send messages and manage received messages. For email, you can ask for an email address, if it is not listed on their bio. Note that DM is not available on the browser versions of Instagram. You’ll need to download the desktop app to use on a PC; it is however included in the mobile versions of the app. You’re ready to start your outreach to your influencers: 1. A very brief initial introduction message  to test the water and to pop your head up on their radar. Make sure you’re knowledgeable about your influencer and sincere. You don’t want it to sound like spam! Something like this: â€Å"Hi Melanie! This is Jon from XYZ here. Your Instagram content is pretty inspiring and aligns closely with what we’re trying to do. I see quite a few similarities with your values and ours - particularly your XXXX and your XXXX. We’d love to work with you. If you’re interested in making that possible, let me know and I’ll call at your convenience.† 2. Follow up according to their response: if NO - thank them and point out that the door is always open. If YES - email or call to discuss details (what you’re trying to achieve, what your budget is, etc.) 3. Even after you have run the campaign, stay in in contact with your influencer  and share their content if it’s of use to your followers. Who knows when you can hook up again? STEP 4: Design and Optimize Your Influencer Campaigns There are many creative ways to set up campaigns once influencers agree to work with you. Start to collaborate to create more brand awareness, promote certain products or services, or achieve other goals defined in STEP ONE. Before you get going, you might like to create and share a mood board  with your influencer, as a guideline for the content of posts. This can help the creative direction of posts - though typically, remember, influencers like their own freedom of expression. So play this one by ear. Some of the most common types of influencer campaigns are: Sponsored Posts This is when influencers provide exposure for particular products or services by creating a post that you pay them for. Contests Give your Instagram contest a boost by getting an influencer to either run it on their account or to promote it to their followers: Branded Content Work with your influencer to weave your brand name or products into their content in informative or entertaining ways that engage their followers- and get your message across: Reviews A thorough review of your product or service can educate and inform your target audience, building trust through a peer recommendation from an influencer. Brand Rep Programs Brand reps are influencers that you send free products to; enthusiasts in your field who may appreciate the quality of your products and communicate it to their followers†¦ Influencer Takeovers Some influencers will agree to take over your Instagram account for a day. This will be appreciated by your existing followers and should attract the influencer’s followers to your account, expanding your potential following: Campaign Optimization Tips Create branded hashtags:  For each campaign, decide on a hashtag that suits your products or brand. Then all influencers can use this hashtag, helping to build identity and consistency for your brand. Get promoting yourself:  Just because you have an influencer in charge of posting content for a while doesn’t mean you can sit back and watch the sales roll in. Do your own promotional stuff too.

See the details Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

See the details - Essay Example Musical Revolution: During his times, Elvis was very passionate about listening to different kind of music. As a result, he became an influencing icon who directly influenced the pop ballads and other varied array of music including, country music, gospel, and African American R&B which he grew listening to on the streets during his times (Cantor, 2005). This aspiration led him to create and develop his own kind of music. He brought a major change to the music industry and the society through his efforts and ambition. He mixed different musical influences into a network of diversity which was never experimented or created by anyone before Elvis. This led him to hold the position of the country’s first Rock and Roll idol that provided the new generation with a diversified musical creation of his own. Elvis career was faced with many highs and lows but he made a remarkable history in the world of music during two most prominent times- from 1955 to 1956 when he was credited for h is musical compositions throughout the nation and around the world. This not only gained him nationwide recognition but it also helped him to gain the international fame (Cantor, 2005). And the second period, dates back to 1970, when he finally settled himself as an icon for producing music in different genres and running successfully his tours and performances at both national and international levels (Brown and Broeske, 1997). Even today after 26 years of his death, Elvis Presley still holds an eminent position in the world of music and he can still be credited as an undisputed â€Å"diva† of Rock& Roll. Elvis never rocked the music industry with his Rock & Roll identity. He was failed to impress Sam Phillips during his recordings at Sun Records in the year 1954. He sang ballads after ballads but he failed to meet the expectations of Sam Phillips who thought of him a young talent who badly failed to compete with the stars like Johnny Ray, Eddie Fisher and many more. However , accidently during the breaks, Elvis fell on singing the unrehearsed version of â€Å"That’s All Right† by the one and only Arthur Crudups. The song is a beautiful composition which projects that how a white man sings the black-influenced tune. It highlights a unique combination of cultures and a very different kind of music that attracted Phillips. This tune as sung by Elvis held his attention. Coining His Influence on Youth and Shaping a New Pop Culture: His musical composition of the song created in 1945 to 1955 revolutionized the national musical industry. During his earliest performances, Elvis started mixing different genres with each other. For example, he added R&B to the country music and vice versa. This helped Elvis to discover a new array of musical compositions and he adapted a new style. He was also criticized for giving rise to a new genre â€Å"Rock& Roll† and eliminating the traditional yet so called pop music. By 1956, Elvis gained the fame as a national star and he was very much known for initiating the rock and roll movement (Cantor, 2005). He set himself as an example of bringing in the change for the youth of his times. Elvis was a new icon for a new generation. He provided the youth of 1950’s with new highly rich musical melodies which were very different from the traditional music or the music of their parents. He coined his own style and sound. He was often called as rebellious, lewd or a revolutionist in a negative

Security Threats and Defenses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Security Threats and Defenses - Essay Example It is therefore the responsibility of any success oriented organization to enlighten its employees on the underlying security threat. An ethical, well goal oriented team is always desired. Information security is a major concern to all organizations. It ought to be part of every organization’s internal controls and operations. These controls ought to be internalized in a way that the employees are made to realize that violation of security puts them at a greater risk. These services to make employees feel their loyalty is crucial to the success of the business. In addition, information security need be given priority and adopted as a distinct value in any institutional culture governing staff behavior. It is therefore necessary to review security policies by offering training forums to employees. Another way of promoting security is by way of regularly reviewing security guidelines to ensure they are relevant an in line with the expected performance. Communication between the management and the employees ought to be health for security purposes. This aids in that employees can report underlying identified security threats before they occur. Healthy communication patterns not only boost security, but also save the company from incurring unnecessary costs arising from security compromises. Fraudsters have devised many forms of interfering with the security systems of organizations. For instance, there has been intensive use of ignorance of controls by employees. This occurs in organizations where employees think some process are long and bureaucratic and hence, want a quick way out of it. Ignorance is no defense as it compromises the security of an organization (Hadnagy, 2011). It also occurs where employees are not well briefed on internal controls and information security patterns of an organization. Proper security training need to be impacted on the employees to avoid embarrassment when sensitive and confidential information is

Synesthesia and the Nature of Perception Essay example -- Biology Essa

Synesthesia and the Nature of Perception Although scientists do not fully understand the workings of the brain and perception, the basic concept seems fairly simple on an intuitive level. The brain interprets one set of stimuli in a specific way. Certain people with synesthesia, however, can experience a single stimulus in different ways. Are they naturally predisposed to hear red? Do these people have extra neural connections allowing them to taste green? Some scientists claim that all humans begin their lives as synaesthetes until they learn to differentiate their senses. It brings into question the nature of perception, and how the brain perceives reality. Synaesthetes experience "cross-modal" associations involuntarily, so that the feeling of one sense stimulates the sensations of another (1). Five features for clinical synesthesia exist (1): People with the rare condition of synesthesia experience it passively, but it requires a certain stimulus to elicit a response. The individual projects the sensations into his peri-personal space. The sensations do not change over time, and are generic, unelaborated sensory perceptions. In addition, the experiences are very memorable; one subject said that "he was merely a passive observer as the reminiscence unfolded itself" (1). Experiments with a single synesthetic subject show perfect consistency for colour descriptions of words, compared to a 17% consistency rate of a control subject with similar intelligence and memory levels (3). Not only did the subject seem genuine, based on her high level of consistency, but she gave far more detailed and vivid descriptions of the associated colours than the control subject. In a larger group of nine subjects, the consistency rate fo... ...until the brain learns to separate sensations. The source of the connections, the limbic brain, still serves as an emotional guide to the rational objective world, giving reality different perspective for each individual. Internet Sources 1)http://psyche.cs.monash.edu.au/v2/psyche-2-10-cytowic.html, in Psyche 2)http://www.psychiatry.cam.ac.uk/isa/whatis.html, Overview on the ISA homepage 3)http://www.psychiatry.cam.ac.uk/isa/expinv.html, Experiments on the ISA website 4) http://www.ozemail.com.au/~ddiamond/synth.html,paper on Synesthesia 5)http://psyche.cs.monash.edu.au/v2/psyche-2-27-baron_cohen.html, in Psyche 6)http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9511/synesthesia/, article on CNN 7)http://www.ad-i.com/viral/what/synes2.html, paper by Kamel 8)http://www.healthlink.usa/synesthesia.html,health information about synesthesia from Healthlink

The Doha Round and Financial Services Negotiations

The Doha Round and Financial Services Negotiations AEI STUDIES ON SERVICES TRADE NEGOTIATIONS Claude Barfield, series editor THE DOHA ROUND AND FINANCIAL SERVICES NEGOTIATIONS Sydney J. Key INSURANCE IN THE GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TRADE IN SERVICES Harold D. Skipper Jr. LIBERALIZING GLOBAL TRADE IN ENERGY SERVICES Peter C. Evans REDUCING THE BARRIERS TO INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN ACCOUNTING SERVICES Lawrence J. White The Doha Round and Financial Services Negotiations Sydney J. Key The AEI Press Publisher for the American Enterprise Institute WA S H I N G T O N , D . C . 2003Available in the United States from the AEI Press, c/o Client Distribution Services, 193 Edwards Drive, Jackson, TN 38301. To order, call toll free: 1-800-343-4499. Distributed outside the United States by arrangement with Eurospan, 3 Henrietta Street, London WC2E 8LU, England. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Key, Sydney J. The Doha round and financial services negotiations / Sydney J. Key. p. cm. Incl udes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8447-4182-5 (pbk. ) 1. Financial services industry—Law and legislation 2. Foreign trade regulation. I. Title K1066.K49 2003 343†². 087—dc 22 2003063553 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 Printed in 2003 by the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, Washington, D. C. The views expressed in publications of the American Enterprise Institute are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff, advisory panels, officers, or trustees of AEI. The views expressed by the author in this publication should not be interpreted as representing the views of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or anyone else on its staff. Printed in the United States of America Contents QFOREWORD, Claude Barfield ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 1 2 INTRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN FINANCIAL SERVICES E-Finance 6 Modes of Supply 7 Services Provided across Borders 8 Foreign Direct Investment 9 Presence of Natural Per sons 9 LIBERALIZATION AND REGULATION Three Pillars of Liberalization 12 National Treatment and Market Access 13 Nondiscriminatory Structural Barriers 15 Freedom of Capital Movements 18 Strengthening Domestic Financial Systems 20 Minimum Standards and Codes of Good Practices 22 â€Å"Surveillance† 23 The Prudential Carve-Out in the GATS 24 NATIONAL TREATMENT AND MARKET ACCESS â€Å"Binding† Existing and Ongoing Liberalization 28 IMF Conditionality 30 Permanence of GATS Commitments 31 Foreign Direct Investment 32 Remaining Barriers to Entry and Operation 33 MFN Exemptions 34 Barriers within the Scope of the Prudential Carve-Out 35 Cross-Border Services 37 Binding Gaps versus Remaining Barriers 38 Uncertainty about WTO Jurisprudence 39 v vii xiii 1 4 3 11 4 27 vi CONTENTSMore Liberal Approaches for Wholesale Services 39 Evolving Regulatory Responses to Retail Cross-Border Services 40 Negotiating Goals 41 5 NONDISCRIMINATORY STRUCTURAL BARRIERS Regulatory Transparency 44 R ules about Developing and Applying Rules 44 Sound Financial Systems 46 â€Å"Effective Market Access† 47 General Anticompetitive Measures 49 â€Å"Necessity† and Domestic Regulation 50 Recognition of Prudential Measures 51 Harmonization 52 Facilitating Access 52 The Intra-EU Approach 53 Remaining Second-Pillar Barriers 54 Applicability of the Intra-EU Approach 55 CONCLUSION 43 6 57 61 87 101 107 NOTES REFERENCES INDEX ABOUT THE AUTHOR Foreword Q In advanced industrial economies, the services sector accounts for a substantial portion of each nation’s gross domestic product.Despite the increasing importance of trade in services, the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), which was negotiated during the 1986–94 Uruguay Round and entered into force in January 1995, marked the first time that rules for opening markets in services were included in the multilateral trading system. The GATS called for periodic negotiating rounds, beginning no later than 2 000, to achieve further liberalization of trade in services. Serious individual sector negotiations, however, did not shift into high gear until a comprehensive new round of multilateral trade negotiations was launched at the November 2001 ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Doha, Qatar. The American Enterprise Institute is engaged in a research project to focus on the latest round of trade negotiations on services.Mounted in conjunction with the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, the Brookings Institution, and the Coalition of Service Industries Research and Education Foundation, the project entails analysis of individual economic sectors: financial services; accounting; insurance; electronic commerce; energy; air freight and air cargo; airline passenger services; and entertainment and culture. Each study identifies major barriers to trade liberalization in the sector under scrutiny and assesses policy options for trade negotiators and inte rested private sector participants. AEI would like to acknowledge the following donors for their generous support of the trade-in-services project: American Express Company; American International Group; CIGNA Corporation; FedEx Corporation; Mastercard International; the Motion Picture Association of America; and the Mark Twain Institute. I emphasize, however, that the vii viii FOREWORD conclusions and recommendations of the individual studies are solely those of authors.Issues for the Financial Services Negotiations In this study, Sydney J. Key analyzes the role of the GATS and the WTO in the liberalization and regulation of the financial services sector and identifies six broad goals for the financial services negotiations in the Doha round. What makes her analysis unique is that she integrates the two very different perspectives of trade policy and financial regulatory policy. Throughout the study, Key emphasizes the complementary and mutually reinforcing relationship between eff orts to open markets under the GATS and the intensive ongoing international work on strengthening domestic financial systems, including prudential regulation and supervision.The study examines the role of the GATS and the WTO in relation to what Key characterizes as the three pillars of liberalization necessary to achieve â€Å"international contestability of markets†: (1) opening markets to foreign services and service suppliers through GATS commitments to provide â€Å"national treatment† and â€Å"market access†; (2) implementing domestic structural reforms that would eliminate nondiscriminatory structural barriers to trade in financial services; and (3) liberalizing capital movements. Key explains that the GATS deals with third-pillar liberalization only insofar as it affects countries’ specific commitments to liberalize trade in services; in general, liberalization of capital movements is a matter of concern for the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Key emphasizes the importance of focusing on fundamental first-pillar liberalization in the Doha round financial services negotiations and sets forth four first-pillar goals: first, binding in the GATS existing and ongoing liberalization that provides market access and national treatment; second, removing remaining barriers to national treatment and market access and binding the resulting liberalization; third, narrowing or withdrawing the broad exemptions that some countries have taken from the most favored nation (MFN) obligation of the GATS; and, fourth, using an incremental approach for cross-border services that combines strengthening GATS commitments and achieving greater liberalization in practice. CLAUDE BARFIELD ix How far should the Doha round financial services negotiations extend into the realm of second-pillar liberalization?Like other authors in this series, Key grapples with the role of the GATS with regard to the domestic structural reform needed to reduce or elimina te nondiscriminatory structural barriers to trade in services. Key believes that the Doha round financial services negotiations should proceed selectively by concentrating on the areas in which the GATS and the WTO have a comparative advantage. She singles out two particularly important second-pillar goals for the Doha round financial services negotiations: developing stronger GATS disciplines on regulatory transparency; and removing barriers to â€Å"effective market access† and binding the resulting liberalization.Key argues that GATS rules on transparency in developing and applying regulations, together with the closely related principle of procedural â€Å"fairness† in applying regulations, would not only help eliminate barriers created by opaque and unfair regulatory procedures but also help ensure that a country does not use its regulatory process to undermine its commitments to national treatment and market access. Key explains how GATS rules on transparency in financial services regulation could both complement and build upon the work on transparency that is part of international efforts to strengthen domestic financial systems. The other second-pillar goal set forth by Key involves anticompetitive domestic regulatory measures that cannot be justified on prudential grounds and serve primarily to keep foreign financial firms from competing in host-country markets by making entry impractical or too costly—thereby denying them â€Å"effective market access. Key explains that identifying barriers to effective market access that could be negotiated in the Doha round requires a country’s trading partners to determine whether, in practice, a host country’s measures keep foreign firms from competing in its markets and whether a â€Å"critical mass† of regulators believes that the measures are inappropriate for prudential purposes. She points out, however, that even if the prevalent regulatory view is that the measures cannot be justified on prudential grounds, host-country regulators must be persuaded to accept it. What about barriers to trade in financial services that are created by legitimate prudential measures? Key explains the importance of the â€Å"prudential carve-out† for domestic regulation in the GATS Annex on Financial x FOREWORDServices: it ensures the GATS will not interfere with the ability of national authorities to exercise their responsibilities for prudential regulation and supervision to protect consumers of financial services and to promote the integrity and stability of the financial system. She notes that while prudential measures sometimes impose additional requirements on foreign firms, they may also create barriers simply because they differ among countries— that is, financial firms operating on a global basis may often find it burdensome to comply with a multitude of different national rules. Key identifies two approaches for dealing with barriers create d by prudential measures.One would have home-country regulatory authorities convince host-country authorities that their prudential concerns can be addressed with less sweeping requirements. These efforts could take place bilaterally or in various international fora, including the financial services negotiations under the auspices of the WTO, where finance ministries play a major role. A second approach would have home- and hostcountry authorities negotiate a recognition arrangement. Although the GATS Annex on Financial Services facilitates unilateral or mutual recognition of prudential measures by permitting a departure from the MFN obligation of the GATS for such arrangements, Key explains why the WTO is not the appropriate forum for their negotiation.In conclusion, Key summarizes the forces affecting the outcome of the Doha round financial services negotiations and the importance of that outcome to the process of financial sector liberalization: Success in achieving the financial services goals discussed in this study depends significantly on factors beyond the scope of the negotiations. As the GATS explicitly recognizes, liberalization of trade in financial and other services is an ongoing process. For financial services, this process is being driven in large part by market forces and new technologies. It is also being driven by the growing recognition among policymakers that market opening can benefit host-country consumers of financial services and, at the same time, contribute to the resiliency of domestic financial systems.The development of international minimum standards and codes of good practices for sound financial systems and their implementation by individual CLAUDE BARFIELD xi countries provide a strong foundation for moving ahead with further liberalization of trade in financial services. The negotiations in the Doha round can play an important role in helping to accelerate the process of liberalization as well as solidifying its results in th e form of binding commitments subject to the WTO dispute settlement mechanism. CLAUDE BARFIELD American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research Acknowledgments Q The author greatly appreciates the assistance of the many individuals who read all or part of the manuscript and provided valuable comments and suggestions in their areas of expertise.She would like to thank Alistair Abercrombie, Claude Barfield, Nicholas Bayne, Stijn Claessens, Steven Fabry, Bernard M. Hoekman, Cecilia Klein, Masamichi Kono, Robert D. Kramer, Patrick Macrory, Ann Main, Marilyn L. Muench, Kathleen M. O’Day, Patrick Pearson, Mary S. Podesta, Amelia Porges, Peter E. W. Russell, Hal S. Scott, Richard E. Self, Jonathan D. Stoloff, and T. Whittier Warthin for reading the manuscript in its entirety. She would also like to thank Peter Berz, Barbara J. Bouchard, James M. Boughton, David T. Coe, Kenneth Freiberg, Ralph Kozlow, Ross B. Leckow, Michael D. Mann, Juan A. Marchetti, Peter K. Morrison, Will iam A. Ryback, David Strongin, Mark W. Swinburne, Andrew Velthaus, and Obie G.Whichard for reading drafts, and often redrafts, of particular sections. Finally, the author would like to thank Juyne Linger for her work in editing the manuscript. xiii 1 Introduction Q The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), the first global trade agreement to cover financial and other services, is an important new element in the international framework for liberalization and regulation of the financial sector. Participation in the GATS, however, does not necessarily mean that a country has made strong commitments to open its markets to foreign services and service providers. Indeed, the strength of commitments varies substantially among countries.The GATS therefore requires periodic negotiating rounds on financial and other services to improve commitments and thus achieve â€Å"a progressively higher level of liberalization. †1 The GATS was negotiated in the Uruguay Round, which was l aunched in 1986 and formally concluded in April 1994. 2 Financial services, however, was one of several sectors for which negotiations on specific commitments were extended, and final agreement was not reached until December 1997. 3 In 2000, in accordance with the deadline established by the GATS for initiating a new round of services negotiations, work began again on financial and other services. This occurred despite the failure of the Seattle ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in December 1999 to launch a comprehensive new round of trade negotiations.Subsequently, at the Doha ministerial meeting in November 2001, WTO members reached agreement on an agenda for comprehensive multilateral trade negotiations that incorporated the so-called â€Å"built-in† agenda for financial and other services. 4 The ministerial declaration set January 1, 2005, as the deadline for completing the Doha round; the declaration called for the next ministerial meeting, subseq uently scheduled for September 2003 in Cancun, to assess progress and provide any necessary political guidance. 5 1 2 THE DOHA ROUND AND FINANCIAL SERVICES NEGOTIATIONS For financial services liberalization, four aspects of the GATS and the WTO are particularly significant: First, the WTO is a multilateral forum in which the primary goal is reducing or eliminating trade barriers to promote competitive markets and thereby support economic growth and development.The new prominence of this goal at the multilateral level complements the intensive work on strengthening domestic financial systems in a variety of other international fora, ranging from institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to specialized bodies such as the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. 6 Indeed, the efforts to liberalize trade in financial services and the efforts to strengthen domestic financial systems, including prudential regulation and supervision, are mutually reinforcing. In addition, t he WTO is a forum in which all members have the opportunity to participate on an equal basis. Multilateral trade agreements are negotiated in the WTO without the â€Å"conditionality† that links IMF or World Bank financial assistance to the implementation of specific policy measures by a borrowing country. In principle, therefore, GATS commitments to liberalization have â€Å"domestic ownership†Ã¢â‚¬â€that is, they reflect a country’s recognition of the need for policy reform—a quality that the IMF has found to be a crucial determinant of the success of its programs. 8 Second, the GATS provides a mechanism for parties to undertake legally binding commitments subject to enforcement under the WTO dispute settlement mechanism. A GATS commitment is permanent in that it cannot be withdrawn without compensation of trading partners. Failure to honor a commitment could open a country to a dispute settlement proceeding and, ultimately, WTO-sanctioned retaliatory measures by its trading partners. Thus, backsliding in the face of protectionist domestic political pressures could be extremely costly. As a result, binding even the status quo is extremely important.Moreover, for negotiations that stretch over many years, the â€Å"status quo† in the final phase is often different from that at the outset of the negotiations, in part as a result of the negotiating process itself. Third, the GATS is based on the most-favored-nation (MFN) principle, which precludes discrimination among foreign countries. Under the MFN obligation of the GATS, a WTO member must accord to services and INTRODUCTION 3 service suppliers of any other member treatment â€Å"no less favorable† than the treatment it provides to â€Å"like† services and service suppliers of the most favored foreign nation. 9 The reach of the MFN obligation is very broad ecause it applies to all measures affecting trade in services that are covered by the GATS, not just thos e for which a member has made specific commitments to liberalization. 10 Although the GATS does allow members to enter into economic integration agreements—such as the Treaty establishing the European Community (EC Treaty)11 and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)—without extending the benefits of the agreements to all WTO members, it establishes stringent criteria for an agreement to qualify for this exception. 12 If a WTO member undertakes liberalizing measures in connection with services obligations in an agreement that does not meet the criteria, it must apply the measures to all WTO members on an MFN basis. 3 Fourth, the GATS negotiating process can itself have a positive impact on domestic policymaking, particularly in emerging market economies and other developing countries. Governments that participate in the negotiations are forced to account to their trading partners for the barriers they impose and to explore the possibility of overcoming domesti c political constraints to reduce or eliminate those barriers. A continuing challenge for the trading partners is to use the GATS negotiating process to provide support for and to harness political and market forces that are creating pressures for liberalization within a host country. In this regard, a country’s â€Å"readiness† for reform is critical. Thus, the outcome of the GATS process depends heavily on factors beyond its purview.The next chapter of this study presents a brief discussion of the international provision of financial services and their coverage by the GATS. The third chapter provides a framework for analyzing the role of the GATS and the WTO in liberalization and regulation of the financial sector. The fourth chapter focuses on the barriers to national treatment and market access that need to be addressed in the financial services negotiations in the Doha round. The fifth chapter examines nondiscriminatory structural barriers and identifies certain a reas of domestic structural reform that could usefully be dealt with in the GATS negotiations. The final chapter presents the conclusions of this study. 2 International Trade in Financial Services QThe financial sector is a critical component of a nation’s economy: It not only contributes directly to output and employment but also provides an essential infrastructure for the functioning of the entire economy. The financial system serves as a channel through which savings can be mobilized and used to finance investment and, at the same time, facilitates transactions necessary for internal and external trade. It also helps to manage risks and reduce so-called information asymmetries between providers and users of funds. 1 For these reasons, a sound and efficient financial system is imperative for economic growth and development. A sound financial system also increases the resiliency of a nation’s economy, thereby helping it to withstand external shocks such as movements in exchange rates or a major increase in global interest rates.International trade in financial services—together with enhanced prudential regulation and supervision and other basic structural reforms—can play an important role in helping countries build financial systems that are more competitive and efficient, and therefore more stable. Financial services trade can enhance capital market efficiency; improve the quality, availability, and pricing of financial services; stimulate innovation through the dissemination of new technologies, know-how, and skills; and promote the use of international good practices in areas such as accounting, risk management, and disclosure of financial information. 2 The rapid growth of trade in financial services in recent years reflects a combination of economic, technological, and regulatory factors. These include new and expanding markets in developing and transition economies, technological advances, and progress in reducing or elimin ating a variety of host-country barriers (see chapter 3). 4 INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN FINANCIAL SERVICES 5 Trade in services, as defined in the GATS, includes services provided across borders and through foreign direct investment. The cross-border provision of services—for example, the provision of financial services from an office located in one country to residents of another country— is broadly analogous to trade in goods. 4 By contrast, foreign direct investment involves the establishment of a commercial presence, such as a branch or subsidiary, within a host country. 5 The GATS approach of defining international trade to nclude services provided to host-country customers through the establishment and operation of a commercial presence differs from the approach used for balance-of-payments purposes, in which once a local branch or subsidiary has been established, the services it provides to host-country customers are treated as domestic. 6 In this study, the term â₠¬Å"financial services† refers to financial services other than insurance, which is the subject of another study in this series. 7 Although the GATS definition of financial services encompasses both â€Å"insurance and insurance-related services† and â€Å"banking and other financial services (excluding insurance),†8 they have been negotiated and listed in the financial services schedules as separate subsectors. 9 These subsectors are, however, closely linked.Many of the major commercial and investment banks operating internationally are part of financial conglomerates that also include firms engaged in insurance underwriting, and banks often engage directly in insurance brokerage activities. Moreover, the development of new types of products and instruments is blurring the distinctions between financial subsectors. Major financial firms now provide a wide range of financial services to customers in other countries. These include commercial banking activities such as lending and deposit-taking; investment banking activities, such as underwriting securities and advising on mergers and acquisitions; trading activities, that is, brokering and dealing in securities and other financial instruments; and asset-management activities, including management of mutual funds and pension funds.Other financial services provided internationally include financial information and data processing services; investment advisory services; payment and money transmission services, including credit cards; settlement and clearing for financial assets; and financial leasing. 6 THE DOHA ROUND AND FINANCIAL SERVICES NEGOTIATIONS Many financial services provided internationally are wholesale in nature; that is, they are provided to â€Å"sophisticated† customers such as corporations and institutions, other financial services firms, and wealthy individuals. 10 Both foreign direct investment and cross-border supply are important means of providing wholesale financia l services.In the banking sector, when wholesale services are provided through establishment of a commercial presence, direct branches of the foreign bank—if permitted by host-country regulation—are usually a more efficient form of organization than subsidiaries. Unlike subsidiaries, branches are not separately incorporated in the host country and operate using the firm’s consolidated worldwide capital (but see chapter 4 regarding lending limits based on branch capital-equivalency requirements). E-Finance Technological advances have long had a major impact on the conduct of wholesale financial activities. Business-to-business electronic transactions within the financial sector have been used for more than two decades, both domestically and internationally.Financial firms have also provided online services to nonfinancial firms over closed proprietary networks for a number of years. Widespread access to the open network technology of the Internet, however, offers a whole new range of possibilities to provide services to a much broader base of customers at substantially lower costs. As a result, online services provided to wholesale customers—both within and across national borders—are growing rapidly. This growth includes not only traditional financial services but also new types of services designed to facilitate business-to-business e-commerce activities. 11 The same technological and cost-saving possibilities exist for the provision of electronic banking and other financial services to retail customers.Within some countries, the provision of some types of financial services over the Internet and through web-enabled technologies, such as mobile telephony, is expanding dramatically. Prominent examples include discount brokerage and mutual funds in the United States, and banking services in Finland, Norway, and Sweden. 12 The cross-border provision of INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN FINANCIAL SERVICES 7 financial services to retail cus tomers over the Internet, however, is still in its infancy. In general, the international provision of retail financial services still takes place primarily through locally incorporated subsidiaries. 13 Indeed, a number of banks are now using their host-country subsidiaries as a base from which to provide electronic banking services to host-country retail customers.The lack of widespread development of cross-border retail banking and other financial services—through the Internet or more traditional methods—reflects host-country regulatory requirements aimed at ensuring adequate consumer protection, consumer preferences, and tax considerations. Some countries actually require the establishment of a commercial presence to provide retail financial services. Even when regulatory requirements for cross-border services involve nondiscriminatory application of host-country prudential standards, firms operating on a global basis may have difficulty meeting a multitude of diffe rent national requirements. Perhaps even more important, consumers may prefer dealing with a local commercial presence, particularly because redress against a local establishment is usually readily available through the domestic legal system.In addition, in a number of countries, consumers receive more favorable tax treatment on financial products that are provided through locally incorporated entities. 14 Modes of Supply In an effort to include all of the ways in which services are provided internationally, the GATS defines â€Å"trade in services† in terms of four so-called modes of supply. Mode 1 and mode 2 cover services provided across borders; for financial services, the distinction between these two modes is not always clear. Mode 3 covers services provided through establishment of a commercial presence—that is, through foreign direct investment, a term that is not used in the GATS.Mode 4 covers services provided through the temporary presence of â€Å"natural persons,† which includes nonlocal employees of a foreign service provider. The GATS uses modes of supply not only to define the scope of its coverage but also as the basis for specific commitments to liberalization that WTO members undertake. 8 THE DOHA ROUND AND FINANCIAL SERVICES NEGOTIATIONS Services Provided across Borders. In this study, the term â€Å"cross-border services† is used broadly without attempting to assign a geographic location to the transaction. Thus, this study does not attempt to determine whether a transaction â€Å"takes place† in the country of the service provider or in the country of the customer.For example, a cross-border financial services transaction could be carried out in a number of different ways: (a) a representative of, say, a foreign bank might visit the country of the customer to arrange a loan; (b) the customer might travel abroad to visit the office of the foreign bank; or (c) the transaction might take place via telephone , fax , or, increasingly, the Internet, which, in this context, is simply another technological means of delivering the service. 15 The GATS, however, distinguishes between services provided to nonresidents â€Å"from† the country of the service supplier (mode 1 or crossborder supply) and services provided â€Å"in† the country of the service supplier (mode 2 or consumption abroad). Usually—but as currently defined by the GATS, not necessarily—mode 2 involves physical movement of the consumer, such as the movement that occurs in tourism. 6 For financial services, however, the line dividing these two modes of supply is not always clear, especially in the case of example (c) in the previous paragraph. Indeed, because financial services are intangible, assigning a geographic site to their provision across borders is difficult and often arbitrary and will become more so as the importance of e-finance increases. From a regulatory perspective, a major issue is whether, and to what extent, the rules of the host country—that is, the country of the customer—are applied to the cross-border transaction. 17 Suppose, for example, that employees of a foreign bank visit the host country to arrange cross-border loans.Even when the host country does not have a regulatory framework in place for cross-border banking services, host-country bank regulators sometimes look at factors, such as the frequency and duration of visits and the permanence of the host-country infrastructure for the visiting employees, to determine whether, for regulatory purposes, the cross-border activity rises to the level of a host-country office. 18 Or suppose that a foreign broker-dealer solicits host-country customers to purchase securities. Securities regulators often use solicitation— in addition to the actual conduct of business with domestic residents—as INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN FINANCIAL SERVICES 9 criterion for determining whether the foreign firm is subject to hostcountry broker-dealer registration requirements. 19 In response to the increasing use of the Internet by the securities industry, a number of regulators also examine factors such as whether a web site is being used to target host-country customers (see chapter 4). 20 Besides regulatory jurisdiction, another important jurisdictional issue arises in the event of a dispute; here the question is which country’s courts have jurisdiction to try the case and which country’s laws apply. 21 Foreign Direct Investment. The inclusion of foreign direct investment in the GATS reflects its importance as a way of providing services internationally. 2 By contrast, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) does not cover foreign direct investment; for goods, there is only a relatively narrow agreement, negotiated in the Uruguay Round, on trade-related investment measures (TRIMs). 23 Although the GATS includes establishment of a commercial presence as a mod e of supply, it does not have a separate framework for investment like that of the NAFTA or the widely used bilateral investment treaties (BITs). 24 These agreements cover portfolio investment as well as direct investment in both goods and services. Moreover, unlike the GATS, they include provisions to ensure the protection of investments—specific rules governing expropriation and compensation, for example—and also provide for arbitration of disputes between private investors and host-country governments. Presence of Natural Persons.The fourth mode of supply in the GATS, the temporary presence of natural persons, includes the temporary presence in the host country of employees of firms providing services across borders or through a commercial presence. For example, for financial services, this mode of supply covers the presence of nonlocal staff of a host-country branch or subsidiary of a foreign financial firm as well as agents of the firm visiting the host country to facilitate the provision of cross-border services. 25 Although the presence of natural persons is listed as a mode of supply in the GATS, and members can negotiate sectorspecific commitments, countries usually make commitments for the temporary presence of natural persons as â€Å"horizontal commitments† that 10 THE DOHA ROUND AND FINANCIAL SERVICES NEGOTIATIONS apply to all services sectors. 6 For the financial services sector, however, most countries that belong to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have incorporated into their schedules a set of commitments allowing the temporary entry of senior managerial personnel and certain types of specialists in association with the establishment of a commercial presence. 27 3 Liberalization and Regulation Q Policymakers, particularly in emerging market economies, are increasingly recognizing that opening markets to foreign financial firms can benefit both consumers of financial services and the domesti c economy as a whole. As noted in chapter 2, the presence of foreign firms can create more competitive and efficient markets for financial services, thereby supporting economic growth and development and contributing to a more resilient domestic financial system.At the same time, however, ensuring adequate prudential regulation and supervision of financial firms and markets, together with other fundamental domestic structural reforms, is essential to obtain the maximum benefits of liberalization while minimizing the risks. Basic structural reforms include increasing transparency and accountability in both the private and public sectors; introducing effective risk management techniques; and developing the institutional infrastructure, such as insolvency laws and appropriate judicial procedures. Because measures to promote competitive markets and to strengthen domestic financial systems are complementary and mutually reinforcing, the relationship between financial sector liberalizatio n and regulation has two distinct dimensions. On the one hand, liberalization requires reducing or removing anticompetitive regulations that pose unnecessary barriers to trade in services. On the other hand, liberalization requires increasing the strength and quality of certain regulations and, in some areas, introducing new regulations. Thus the process of liberalization involves, inter alia, reaching a consensus on where to draw the line between regulations that are simply anticompetitive barriers to trade—and should therefore be eliminated—and regulations that serve legitimate purposes. For financial services, the GATS contains a â€Å"prudential carve-out† for domestic regulation. 2 In the GATS, the term â€Å"prudential† is used broadly 11 12 THE DOHA ROUND AND FINANCIAL SERVICES NEGOTIATIONS o encompass not only measures to promote the integrity and stability of the financial system (as the term has traditionally been used in banking regulation) but also measures designed to protect consumers of financial services. The prudential carve-out, discussed later in this chapter, is designed to ensure that any obligations undertaken or commitments made in the GATS will not interfere with the ability of national authorities to exercise their responsibilities for prudential regulation and supervision. Whether a particular measure is prudential or simply being used to avoid a country’s obligations and commitments under the GATS is, however, an issue that could be brought before a WTO dispute settlement panel. All countries impose certain rules that are clearly prudential.Even if a measure is prudential, however, it may create a barrier to trade in financial services. This could occur because a host country imposes additional prudential requirements on foreign financial firms vis-a-vis their domestic counterparts. Such barriers could also be created simply because prudential rules differ among countries—that is, even if eac h host country applies the same rules to foreign and domestic firms, financial services firms operating on a global basis often find it burdensome to comply with a multitude of different national prudential rules. A critical question is whether such barriers could be addressed without jeopardizing prudential goals.Specifically, in what areas and under what conditions might financial services regulators be able and willing to recognize each other’s regulations and supervisory practices as being as effective as their own? The GATS is permissive with respect to such recognition arrangements. However, as will be explained in chapters 4 and 5, the WTO is not the appropriate forum for financial services regulators to negotiate recognition of prudential measures. Three Pillars of Liberalization â€Å"International contestability of markets† refers to the creation of markets that are competitive and efficient on a global basis—a goal that can be achieved by removing all types of barriers to foreign participation in hostcountry markets. International contestability is, in effect, based on three pillars of liberalization: (1) national treatment and market access; (2) the LIBERALIZATION AND REGULATION 13 removal of nondiscriminatory structural barriers, that is, domestic structural reform; and (3) freedom of capital movements. For financial services, the GATS has so far dealt mainly with the first pillar. An important question for the Doha round is how far the negotiations should extend into the second pillar. The GATS deals with the third pillar only insofar as it affects countries’ specific commitments to liberalize trade in services; in general, liberalization of capital movements is a matter of concern for the IMF 4 . National Treatment and Market Access. The first pillar of international contestability of markets is liberalization aimed at opening markets to foreign services and service suppliers and ensuring that they enjoy substantially the same treatment as their domestic counterparts. Such liberalization requires reducing or removing barriers that discriminate against foreign services and service suppliers with regard to entry and operation in a host-country market. A host country might, for example, discriminate against foreign financial firms by refusing to grant licenses for their branches or subsidiaries; imposing limitations on their ownership position in domestic firms or on their aggregate market share; or prohibiting them from engaging in certain activities that are permissible for their domestic counterparts.First-pillar liberalization also requires removing various quantitative limitations on the overall provision of services in a host-country market. Although these barriers may not, on their face, be overtly discriminatory, they are typically used to block entry by foreign services and service suppliers. A country might, for example, limit the number of service suppliers in a particular market by rest ricting the number of new licenses that may be issued or by relying on an economic needs test, which involves an assessment of â€Å"needs† in the market by host-country authorities. 6 Because these measures have the effect of imposing some type of quantitative limitation on foreign entry, they are similar to the more overtly discriminatory barriers.To deal with these first-pillar barriers, the GATS uses the principles of â€Å"national treatment† and â€Å"market access. † Article XVII (National Treatment) relies on a generally accepted definition of national treatment—that is, it 14 THE DOHA ROUND AND FINANCIAL SERVICES NEGOTIATIONS requires a host country to treat foreign services and service suppliers no less favorably than â€Å"like† domestic services and service suppliers. 7 Barriers to entry or operation that discriminate against foreign services or service suppliers vis-a-vis their domestic counterparts would therefore be inconsistent with national treatment. The GATS does not attempt to define market access.Instead, Article XVI (Market Access) provides a list of restrictive measures, primarily quantitative, that are typically used by host countries to deny entry to foreign services or service suppliers. A country that does not maintain any of these measures is regarded as providing full market access. 8 The list includes seemingly nondiscriminatory quantitative barriers to entry that apply to both domestic and foreign firms, such as limitations—in the form of numerical quotas or economic needs tests—on the number of service suppliers or their total assets. It also includes quantitative barriers to entry that are clearly discriminatory and thus are also inconsistent with national treatment, such as limitations on foreign ownership interests in domestic firms.As a result, some overlap exists in the national treatment and market access provisions of the GATS—that is, certain measures may be inconsi stent with both national treatment and market access. 9 The list of measures in Article XVI also includes restrictions on the type of legal entity through which services may be supplied—for example, requiring establishment of a subsidiary as opposed to a branch. In the GATS, national treatment and market access are â€Å"specific commitments† as opposed to general obligations. 10 As a result, national treatment and market access do not apply across-the-board to all services sectors; instead, they apply only to sectors, subsectors, or activities that a WTO member specifically lists in its schedule of commitments. 1 If a member is making only a partial commitment to national treatment or market access within a listed sector, subsector, or activity, any limitations must be listed in its schedule. 12 The use of specific commitments for national treatment and market access instead of obligations applicable to all services sectors is in some respects a structural weakness of the GATS. 13 Under a more ambitious approach, such as that used in the NAFTA’s services and investment provisions, national treatment and market access would apply in each sector unless an exception was specifically listed in a country’s schedule of LIBERALIZATION AND REGULATION 15 commitments or one of the public policy exceptions, such as the national security exception, applied. 14 Nondiscriminatory Structural Barriers.The second pillar of liberalization required for international contestability of markets is aimed at removing nonquantitative and nondiscriminatory structural barriers. Such barriers are associated with national measures that do not discriminate between domestic and foreign services and service suppliers. A secondpillar barrier could arise because a national measure is primarily anticompetitive or fosters anticompetitive behavior by private parties. In some cases, the barrier could be associated with the inadequacy or absence of domestic regulationâ €”for example, the lack of an adequate domestic legal framework for insolvency. A second-pillar barrier could also arise because of differences in national rules, including prudential rules, that make it difficult to conduct operations on a global basis.Removing second-pillar barriers goes far beyond achieving national treatment and market access. Those principles ensure that foreign services and service suppliers can enter a host-country market as currently structured and enjoy equality of competitive opportunities vis-a-vis their domestic counterparts. By contrast, second-pillar liberalization represents an effort to create maximum potential competitive opportunities in a host-country market. Achieving this could require major domestic structural reform. This would necessarily involve some degree of convergence of national regulatory systems, either de facto or through negotiated harmonization. A longstanding U. S. rohibition on affiliations between banks and insurance compani es in the United States, which was repealed in 1999, created a major second-pillar barrier for many years. 15 Indeed, the European Union had found it difficult to accept that a European financial conglomerate that included both a bank and an insurance company could engage in only one of these businesses in the United States. Regardless of whether this nondiscriminatory restriction was primarily anticompetitive or could have been justified as a prudential measure, it nonetheless constituted a barrier to trade in financial services. Significant second-pillar barriers are often associated with national regulatory regimes for asset-management services. 16 These include 6 THE DOHA ROUND AND FINANCIAL SERVICES NEGOTIATIONS across-the-board prohibitions on delegation of functions, such as portfolio management and administrative operations, by the host-country office to a foreign affiliate; extremely strict asset-allocation requirements for a domestic mutual fund or pension fund; and rules that prohibit such funds from investing in foreign securities. 17 While asset management activities raise legitimate prudential concerns about ensuring adequate protection of hostcountry customers, these types of measures often serve primarily to restrict competition, particularly competition from foreign firms (see chapter 5).Nondiscriminatory structural barriers to trade in financial services are not limited to financial sector regulation. Barriers in other areas that are particularly important for the effective functioning of the financial services sector, such as lack of adequate frameworks for corporate governance or insolvency, are part of the international work on strengthening domestic financial systems, which is discussed later in this chapter. Ineffective or nonexistent competition policy regimes, which could foster anticompetitive behavior by private parties, can also create major second-pillar barriers. Differences in national tax systems are yet another source of second -pillar barriers.Discriminatory treatment of foreign firms under national tax or competition rules, however, would be a first-pillar barrier. 18 Second-pillar barriers can also arise from a country’s administrative procedures—in particular, a lack of regulatory transparency and procedural â€Å"fairness. † For example, a country might fail to publish all of its laws, regulations, and administrative decisions; administer them in an impartial manner; establish a meaningful procedure for interested parties to comment on proposed regulations; act on applications for licenses within a reasonable period of time; or provide a mechanism for independent review of administrative decisions.Because regulatory transparency and procedural fairness can be extremely effective in ensuring that commitments to market access and national treatment are fully implemented, they constitute an important underpinning of first-pillar liberalization. The European Union’s single-mark et program represents the most far-reaching effort to date to remove nondiscriminatory structural barriers among a group of nations. Predicated on political agreement on goals for economic liberalization, that effort is being carried out in the context of LIBERALIZATION AND REGULATION 17 the unique supranational legislative, judicial, and administrative structure of the European Community. 9 Even within the European Union, however, important nondiscriminatory structural barriers to trade in financial services among the member states are still in place (see chapter 5). The GATS addresses certain types of second-pillar barriers. Article III (Transparency) imposes a general transparency obligation on WTO members to publish all measures â€Å"of general application† that are relevant to trade in services. 20 Article VI (Domestic Regulation) addresses, in fairly general terms, barriers created by domestic regulations. It requires countries to apply such regulations in a â€Å"rea sonable, objective and impartial manner† to avoid undermining commitments to market access and national treatment. 1 Moreover, countries must have appropriate legal procedures to review administrative decisions affecting trade in services. 22 Article VI also mandates further work to develop disciplines to ensure that licensing requirements or technical standards do not constitute unnecessary barriers to trade in services. Pending the completion of this work, countries must refrain from adopting licensing rules or technical standards that are so burdensome, restrictive of trade, or lacking in transparency that they undermine the benefits that could reasonably be expected from their commitments to national treatment and market access. 23 The GATS deals with additional second-pillar barriers for individual sectors in members’ schedules of commitments.The most far-reaching example is in basic telecommunications, where a substantial majority of the countries that have made c ommitments to national treatment and market access in that sector have incorporated into their schedules— using the â€Å"additional commitments† column—a reference paper setting forth â€Å"procompetitive† regulatory principles. 24 Designed for a sector where dominant suppliers often control essential host-country facilities, these principles seek to ensure that a country’s national treatment and market access commitments will not be undermined. Countries committing to the principles undertake, among other things, to maintain measures to ensure network interconnection on nondiscriminatory terms and to prevent certain anticompetitive practices. 25 In the financial services sector, most OECD countries addressed nondiscriminatory structural barriers in their 1997 schedules of commitments 18 THE DOHA ROUND AND FINANCIAL SERVICES NEGOTIATIONS imply by making a general â€Å"best efforts† commitment to remove or eliminate any significant adverse effects of such barriers. 26 In addition, the United States and the European Union used the additional commitments column of their schedules to make â€Å"best efforts† commitments to remove specified nondiscriminatory barriers. For example, the U. S. administration committed to try to work with the Congress to remove Glass-Steagall Act restrictions, a goal that was subsequently accomplished, while the European Union pledged that its member states would try to process applications for licenses for banking and insurance subsidiaries within specified periods of time.Japan, under great pressure from its trading partners, went further and made binding commitments regarding removal of certain second-pillar barriers—including restrictions on asset-management services and lack of regulatory transparency and limitations on lines of business in insurance—that were covered in its bilateral financial services agreements with the United States (see chapters 4 and 5). Freedo m of Capital Movements. The third pillar of liberalization involves achieving freedom of capital movements across national borders. Such movements comprise international capital transactions—that is, the creation, transfer of ownership, or liquidation of capital assets, including financial assets—and the payments and transfers associated with such transactions. 27 Restrictions on international capital movements are usually imposed on the underlying transactions as opposed to the related payments and transfers. 8 For example, if a country wished to restrict foreign direct investment in the banking sector, it could prohibit foreign financial firms from acquiring significant ownership interests in host-country banks: it would be unusual to try to achieve this result by permitting the acquisition of the ownership interests while using exchange controls to block payment for them. 29 Although the free movement of capital plays a critical role in allowing efficient allocation of resources on a global basis, the Asian financial crisis of 1997–98 revived a long-standing debate over the appropriateness and effectiveness of capital controls, particularly on short-term flows. 0 Nevertheless, all parties to the debate agree that capital controls can never be a substitute for sound macroeconomic policies and fundamental reforms of domestic financial and legal structures. Indeed, the Asian crisis itself emphasized that weaknesses in domestic financial systems can create significant vulnerabilities LIBERALIZATION AND REGULATION 19 as capital movements are liberalized. At present, conventional wisdom holds that, although imposition of new capital controls should, in general, be avoided, the imposition of limited, temporary capital controls to deal with massive temporary inflows or outflows of short-term debt might be useful in some cases. 1 Moreover, it is now widely recognized that removal of existing controls must be carried out with great care. Of parti cular importance are the pace and appropriate â€Å"sequencing† of liberalization of different types of capital flows and of liberalization of capital movements vis-a-vis structural reforms to strengthen domestic financial systems. 32 Freedom of capital movements per se is not within the purview of the GATS; international capital movements and international trade in financial services are, however, closely related. Establishment of a commercial presence in a host country by a foreign service supplier involves both trade in services under the GATS and international capital transactions.For example, a commitment in the GATS to liberalize financial services trade by allowing foreign financial firms to establish wholly owned subsidiaries is essentially a commitment to allow foreign direct investment that involves the acquisition of 100 percent of the shares of existing or de novo hostcountry financial firms. 33 In theory it is possible that, once established, the subsidiary could conduct its ongoing activities without engaging in additional international capital transactions; however, its activities would need to be limited to transactions with host-country residents involving domestic financial assets. 34 Establishment and operation of branches, which are not separately incorporated in the host country, virtually always involve international capital transactions between the bank’s head office and the branch. 5 These transactions include both foreign direct investment and portfolio investment. 36 For branches conducting a wholesale business, ongoing activities would typically also involve international capital transactions with unaffiliated parties. For cross-border financial services, international capital transactions are typically either integral to, or closely associated with, the provision of the service. For example, international capital transactions are an integral part of accepting deposits from or making loans to nonresidents. In addition, international capital transactions are usually, although not necessarily, associated 20 THE DOHA ROUND AND FINANCIAL SERVICES NEGOTIATIONS ith financial services such as securities trading or asset management on behalf of a customer residing in another country. 37 By contrast, certain crossborder financial services, such as investment advisory services and financial information services, can be provided without an associated international capital transaction. The usefulness of investment advice might be limited, however, if the customer were prohibited from investing in foreign assets. In general, it is difficult to realize fully the benefits of liberalization of trade in financial services without freedom of capital movements. Financial services trade absolutely requires, however, the liberalization of only those capital movements that are necessary for the trade transaction to occur.In recognition of this relationship, Article XI of the GATS (Payments and Transfers) prohibits WTO members from imposing restrictions on capital transactions or associated payments and transfers that would be inconsistent with their specific commitments to liberalization of trade in services. 38 A footnote to Article XVI (Market Access) provides greater detail—namely, a country that has made a specific commitment to market access must allow (a) capital movements that are â€Å"essential† for the provision of a service in mode 1 (cross-border supply); and (b) inward capital movements that are â€Å"related† to a service supplied through establishment of a commercial presence. 39 The bottom line is that if a country makes a commitment to liberalize trade with respect to a particular financial service in the GATS, it is also making a commitment to liberalize most capital movements associated with the trade liberalization commitment.The country is not, however, making an across-the-board commitment to freedom of capital movements. The GATS provisions dealing with capital movements, like GATS specific commitments to liberalize trade in services, are subject to a balance-of-payments safeguard. 40 Both the capital movements and balance-of-payments safeguard provisions of the GATS refer to and are consistent with the IMF’s responsibilities in these areas. 41 Strengthening Domestic Financial Systems The financial services sector has an elaborate and intensively used framework of international fora that are used, both separately and in combination, LIBERALIZATION AND REGULATION 21 o address overall financial and regulatory policy issues; to promote cooperation and coordination among supervisors; to set voluntary but widely accepted international minimum standards and codes of good practices; and, most recently, to provide â€Å"surveillance† of domestic financial systems. This surveillance includes monitoring and helping to build institutional capacity for implementation of the international standards and codes. The international fo ra dealing with these issues include the Group of Seven (G-7), the Group of Ten (G-10), the Group of Twenty (G-20), the Financial Stability Forum, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (Basel Committee), and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), as well as the IMF and the World Bank. 2 The international framework for the financial services sector, which has been constructed over the past quarter century and is still evolving, is a response to two major factors: the internationalization of banking and other financial activities; and the special characteristics of the financial sector, especially the phenomenon of â€Å"systemic risk. † Because of systemic risk, problems with one financial firm can be transmitted to unrelated financial firms, both within and beyond a single country. For example, a chain reaction of problems could be triggered through imitative runs on banks as depositors lose confidence in a banking system, through default on do mestic or international interbank obligations, or through domestic or international payment systems.Problems in a country’s financial sector can also affect the real economy, both domestically and internationally, through declines in output and shifts in trade flows. In addition, the existence of global financial firms, with activities falling within many different national jurisdictions, requires cooperation and coordination among home- and host-country authorities to prevent gaps in supervision. Increasingly, these global firms are financial conglomerates, which means that supervisory cooperation and coordination are necessary across financial subsectors as well as national borders. For these reasons, countries have a stake in the quality of each other’s regulation and supervision of the financial sector and also in ensuring cooperation and coordination among supervisors.In this regard it is useful to distinguish between prudential regulation, which includes, for exa mple, capital and other requirements designed to ensure the safety and 22 THE DOHA ROUND AND FINANCIAL SERVICES NEGOTIATIONS soundness of financial institutions, and supervision, which is aimed at making certain that financial firms adhere to such requirements. The importance of strong, effective supervision cannot be overemphasized; without it, the best prudential rules can be meaningless in practice. The extent to which both experience and good judgment are required for such supervision also needs to be emphasized. Indeed, the role and nature of supervision make it particularly difficult for supervisory authorities to reach recognition agreements based on the harmonization of prudential rules (see chapter 5).While regulation and supervision must be strong and effective, a further complication is that a poorly designed regulatory system—for example, an excessively generous deposit-insurance scheme—can create an unacceptable degree of moral hazard; that is, it may enco urage excessive risk-taking by regulated firms. Accordingly, national regulatory and supervisory systems must be designed to complement and support, but not to substitute for, market discipline. Thus, achieving widespread transparency in both the public and private sectors, including accurate and timely disclosure of financial information, is critical