Amul

Thereafter, it plans to target Canada along with other European countries in future. Maul prompted the White Revolution in India, which eventually made the country the largest producer of milk in the world. Maul, which is also a world leader in producing milk products, is soon to begin manufacturing clarified butter (ghee) and cottage cheese (pander) at a New Jersey plant starting from February 2014. Maul has Joined hands with a local plant in order to manufacture milk products in the city. It has also revealed plans that it may buy milk from local farmers directly in future.Combining defense and offense, it has set forth on a multi-pronged strategy. Step 1: Increase daily milk processing capacity by 11-12 percent by 2018 to meet future demand. For this, Maul is building 9 Greenfield plants across India, and expanding capacity at some of its 245-odd plants, running up a bill of RSI 3,000 core in the process. Step 2: Innovation, so new products, improved packaging, and cost-effective solutions. For instance, Mall's flavored milk, milkshakes and yoghurt drinks will now roll out in 00 ml pet bottles costing RSI 2 less than the glass bottle.With 600,000 bottles a day, Maul wants to double revenues from a category that's growing 30 percent annually. Step 3: Better reach. Stood says, â€Å"We are also increasing our stock points or depots. We had 46 stock points across India. This year we are adding 8 stock points so that including 200 new super distributors to service 2,000 new small towns and cities. † Maul is also confident that its established brand will serve as a strong defense, as will the advantage that building a backward-integrated model like Mall's will take any competitor decades.

Ingvar Kamprad Leadership Essay

Business Leader Profile Ingvar Kamprad Founder of Ikea Retail Stores Why Ingvar Kamprad? Does the name Ingvar Kamprad mean anything to you? To most people it doesn’t and it's a testament to the fact that he built up a brand that is so powerful people recognize it immediately, while not tying it into, or even knowing, the genius behind it. The brand? IKEA! The reason why we chose this business leader is simple, Ingvar Kamprad is a businessman and the founder of IKEA with an estimated worth of $22. 5 billion dollars.Kamprad was born in the south of Sweden in 1926 and raised on a farm called Elmtaryd, near the small village of Agunnaryd. He is a great leader and one amazing thing about him is that he went into business early in life, selling matches as a schoolboy and also, very wisely for his age (or any age for that matter) Kamprad took his profits and used them to expand his operations, adding to his small line of goods with decorations of Christmas trees, fish, and seeds. He was learning the operational side of retailing, and he was learning it quickly and profitably.When Kamprad did well in school, his dad rewarded his with some money, and that was the seed to launch a company he named IKEA. He got the name from his initials I. K. , and then added the EA from the name of the farm and the town he was raised in – Elmtaryd and Agunnaryd. Don't think the idea of a furniture company was brewing in the mind of Kamprad with his new company, he still focused on smaller items, and for the most part look to the business of securing contracts of supplying pencils. Like in his younger years, Kamprad soon began to expand into all sorts of other areas, including everything from jewelry to male and female ccessories. He soon outgrew individual visits to customers and went into the mail order business on the local level, having the milk trucks deliver his products to his customers. When Kamprad first included furniture as part of the product line of IKEA, his i dea was to use local manufacturers to keep costs low and under control. That was in 1947. By 1951, furniture sales were so successful, he decided to drop all other products and focus on the furniture line alone. The first furniture showroom opened in 1953, and the rest is history.Almost immediately a price war started between IKEA and its chief competitor, and the inclusion of the showroom helped sway potential customers who were able to see and touch the quality before making their purchases. Like many great retailers, Kamprad was obsessed with controlling costs, and dedicated to finding new ways to do things at a less expensive level. That has been one of the major reasons behind the ongoing success of IKEA furniture sales and profits. Some people attempt to point out the fact that Kamprad has several properties he owns and so the frugal image is contrived.I have to disagree with that, because the reason he can afford some of these things is because he remained frugal within the c onstruct of his company, and so because he was able to put of instantaneous gratification, could then do whatever he wanted once he became wealthy. While there is some truth to the image part, it was also very much practiced by Kamprad. Many people think being frugal is being cheap in a negative way, and yet those best at it are the ones that serve their customers and employees at the highest level by giving customers the best deals possible, while at the same time offering longevity to employees.The best definition that reflects the idea of leadership for Kamprad is â€Å"Leadership is a kind of activity meant to influence behavior, beliefs and feelings of the group members in a certain direction. † (Wright, Peter L. and Taylor, David S. Improving Leadership Performance. Great Britain: Prentice-Hall International Ltd; 1984. p. 2). As Peter F. Drucker said â€Å"The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say â€Å"I. † And that’s not because t hey have trained themselves not to say â€Å"I. † They don’t think â€Å"I. They think â€Å"we†; they think â€Å"team. † This idea is mostly based on a simple word, and that word is â€Å"team†. Every leader who has this trait is surely to have great success simply because they don’t work and take decisions just on their own, they seek and welcome the help of employees, one of those leaders being Kampard of course. If we go back to Niccolo Machiavelli, we can see that he once said that â€Å"The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him. and it a really smart and correct thesis, because in order for a leader to successfully empower his organization he needs employees, but not just any employee, they have to be creative, loyal and intelligent in order to really be useful to their organisation. So while cost control is a major part of the IKEA success story, the empowerment of its custo mers is as well, which is brought about from a highly committed and talented design team. Leader’s position in organizational structure „In an hierarchical system, participants take for granted what the participants with the higher position defines† (Becker, 1998).In other words, social actors in the labor market believe what the professionals (leaders, professors, mass-media) define as leadership, considering that the privilege formal position brings privilege information and ethics. This is not a valid statement if we look into the organizational structure at IKEA. Anecdotes about Kamprad abound. When his father complained that Ingvar slept late in the morning, Ingvar got himself an alarm clock, set it for six o’clock, and yanked away the off button. According to Kamprad, we should all divide our lives â€Å"into 10-minute units, and sacrifice as few of them as possible in meaningless activity. Though past 80, Kamprad still travels the world to visit new IKEA stores. He flies economy class, calls his employees â€Å"co-workers,† encourages everyone to dress informally, stays in cheap hotels and even replaces bottles from the hotel room mini-bar with cheap bottles bought in local supermarkets. He gives no interviews. As far as setting an example through his actions, Kamprad flies only economy class, drives a 15-year-old vehicle, and focuses on little things for his workers like writing on both sides of the paper, and other frugal practices. That has helped IKEA remain on the top of a highly competitive market.Critics of these stories say they seem intended to reinforce the company’s no-nonsense brand and encourage cost-awareness among company staff. They point out that Kamprad may be the world’s richest man, that owns several lavish houses around the world, and that it would be ludicrous to assume a man of such wealth would not use any of it for private purposes. If you've ever read IKEA literature, catalogs or advertising, they reinforce their and Ingvar Kamprad's motto of not only existing to make improvements in the lives of people, but to improve people themselves.With that in mind, the way the stores themselves are set up and the design of the furniture built with the idea of being very simple to assemble, it generates the healthy idea of self-sufficiency, which helps empower people and make them feel good about themselves. Leader or non-leader; manager or leader If we would be to make a list with leader and non-leader and manager traits we would easily see that Ingvar Kampard is a leader, not only that, he is a good example for hundreds of people out there who thrive to become leaders themselves. If we look closely at Kampard we can see that he is a proactive an, he believes in people following examples, he motivates and inspires top results and has great strategic orientation. If a leader is not like this, then as Abraham Maslow said †If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail. †. Based on interviews with employees at IKEA, Ingvar Kamprad is a good example of leadership because he strongly expresses the organisational value of IKEA through his behaviours. Thereby, all the IKEA employees (from top management to co-workers) follow this organisational value as a framework.In addition, the leadership style of management position also was influenced through strong organisational value. Employees have used descriptives such as „role model† and „father† when speaking about Ingvar Kamprad thereby denoting the familial nature of IKEA corporate culture. If we apply the model of leader vs. Manager described by Abraham Zaleznik – Ingvar Kamprad is the epitome of business leader. All of this is based on his empathic relationship with his co-workers and employees. By setting examples and inspiring, he also sets the company’s overall direction by altering the direction of its employees.One of his subordinates characterises his leadership style as a „teacher†. Senge (1990) and Max de Pree(1990)’s theory states that a leader should be a teacher in the organization „ †¦ much of the leverage leaders can actually exert lies in helping people achieve more accurate , more insightful and more empowering views of reality, when the leaders carrying out stewardship (Senge, 1990: 353)†, according to Senge (1990). The roles that leaders should play is exactly how Kamprad has been doing for so long. Creativity As Teresa M. Amabile once said „Keep doing what you are doing†.Or if you want to spark innovation, rethink how you motivate, reward, and assign work to people. † What is business creativity? We tend to associate creativity with the arts and to think of it as the expression of higly original ideas. Think of Pablo Picasso reinvented the conventions of painting or how William Faulkner redefined fiction. In business, originali ty isn’t enough. To be creative, an idea must also be appropriate, useful and actionable. Within every individual, creativity is a function of three components : expertise, creative-thinking skills and motivation.Expertise is, in a word knowledge – technical, procedual and intellectual. Creative-thinking skills determine how flexibly and imaginatively people approach problems. Do their solutions apend the status quo? Do they persevere through dry spells? Not all motivation is created equal. An inner passion to solve the problem at hand leads to solutions far more creative than do external rewards, such as money. This compenent – called intrinsic motivation is the one that can be most immediately influenced by the work environment.Senior manager at IKEA strongly believes that IKEA is a creative organisation based upon home-furnishing company; IKEA has to be creative within value â€Å"efficiency and cost conscious†. This reason makes IKEA differ from other companies because it is not easy to produce a good product at low price. Furthermore, IKEA has a strong organisational value that every employee should concern as follows: †¢ Togetherness †¢ Cost consciousness †¢ Respect †¢ Simplicity IKEA follows a model of „family business† because at its inception, Ingvar Kamprad was developing it as a family business which eventually grew to outstanding proportions.Due to this, most of his own ideeas like the simplicity and togetherness have actually become some of the company’s most important organizational aspects. IKEA is an extremely creative organisation because IKEA allows employees to work in freedom and are open for trying new ideas. To demonstrate clearly, when employees have concepts, it is important to express their concepts to the manager in order to consider whether it is possible to develop and make this concept concrete. The respondent emphasises that â€Å"It does not take a long time, if you have a really good idea.This creative idea will be developed and spread out to use at every store of IKEA in the world Moreover, the organisation also encourages employees to continually learn from their own experience and also other’s experiences such as co-workers. As a result, employees are able to complete their own tasks as well as generate new ideas that make IKEA different from other companies. Leadership styles Leadership style is the manner and approach of providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating people. Kurt Lewin (1939) led a group of researchers to identify different styles of leadership.After a complete analisys of all three styles(autocratic, democratic and delegative) we have reached the conclusion that Ingvar Kampard is most of the times a Participative(democratic) leader. This style involves the leader including one or more employees in the decision making process (determining what to do and how to do it). However, the leader maintains the final decision making authority. Using this style is not a sign of weakness, rather it is a sign of strength that your employees will respect. But of course, he is not always using this style, since every problem requires a different style.Besides the fact that Kamprad is one of the wealthiest living people, he is also an impressive leader. The leadership style he embodies is one of personal example. Though he has billions of dollars, Ingvar is reluctant to a life in luxury. People confess seeing him haggling in the market and dining together with his wife in cheap, dirty places. His image makes up for billion words. Black worn out shoes, cheap glasses and a grey faded coat dress up the billionaire in most of his rendezvous. Taxis are substituted with public transportation like busses and subways and, luxurious jets with low-cost airlines.By his daily routine and his habits of living in an artificial poverty, Ingvar Kamprad embodies the average IKEA customer. â€Å"I look at the mo ney I'm about to spend on myself and ask if IKEA customers could afford it. † â€Å"If I start to acquire luxurious things then this will only incite others to follow suit†¦ †. Ingvar considers himself to be an example for all others and tries to appear as a normal individual. In â€Å"A Furniture Dealer’s Testament,† Kamprad suggests that â€Å"IKEA people do not drive flashy cars or stay at luxury hotels. †, â€Å"How the hell can I ask people who work for me to travel cheaply if I am traveling in luxury? he asks. â€Å"It’s a question of good leadership. † From a young age, Ingvar learned what working hard meant and what a strong bound truly is. He is a preacher of the religion of simplicity and during over half a century, along the constant growth of his company, numerous others joined in. According to Plato, the mob is a â€Å"big and dangerous animal† which must not be underestimated. What kind of strategy could work with masses rather than a leader of their status? Governments have fallen and people died along time only to protect the need of having a representative leader which could alike them.Ingvar Kamprad succeeded in building up a truly simple and productive leadership style only by regarding himself as equal as and never more important than the commoner. Nicolo Machiavelli stated: â€Å"Religion is not important because of the truth it holds but because of its efficiency in maintaining control over masses†. In our case we have little to do with angry mobs but with the angry way in which money are wasted by a company or individual in matter of costs. Kamprad understood this fact and built a distinctive corporate culture which comprehended his true nature.In contrast, the famous RJR enjoyed the expense of private planes and luxury and unlike our billionaire, success was only passing by. Warren Buffet’s mentality resembles the one IKEA’s Founder and together with the m indset, the income is comparable. Coming again to Plato, the philosopher once said „Those who rule must provetheir leadership abilities. A person can be trained to be a good ruler, but we have to distinguish between superficial competencies (oratory) and profound competencies (developed with the help of philosophy). The ruler has to guard not only the peaceon the ship but also to know which wayto sail and ow. † Ingvar’s thinking is flexible and innovative. Mistakes are praised and considered as the most important link to success. He is without regard a transformational leader. His style motivates people and defines a new way of thinking. Ingvar also connects with his followers and is a source of inspiration for younger generations. Bernard M. Bass, after decades of research and experimentation, regards transformational leaders as the leaders who recognize the needs of the followers and in addition tends to go further and satisfy higher needs of the follower.All of these actions are aimed to propel the follower on a higher tier in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Whereas common leadership or transactional leadership seeks only to maintain the satisfaction of the individual, transformational leadership looks into enchanting the well-being of the followers in order to achieve a higher outcome alongside with their happiness and devotion. This gap between the leadership styles is what I believe to be the main reason for the existence of excellent, world-changing people, in contrast with the unsuccessful ones.Their view of the world is their most precious asset and how they regard to others is the main secret of conquering unreached heights. Due to the fact that Ingvar Kamprad has a unique way to behave with the employees of IKEA and tries to enrich them with traits so important for the success of both the corporation and the employee’s leadership skills, I believe that Kamprad is a brilliant representative of Bass’s beliefs. Kamp rad could also be considered to be a Level 5 leader according to Jim Collins’s â€Å"Good to Great†. Ingvar greets the uncommon and is on a constant quest for taking apart obstacles which lie between failure and success.His constant struggle for reaching excellence in everything he does could be clearly seen in the process which I would like to call â€Å"building the empire of self†. His focus on the main purpose, the one of bringing innovative furniture in each and every household and changing the lives of many by simplifying their existence, assured his success and the status of one of the greatest business managers and leaders to have ever existed. A Napoleon of the furniture industry, Kamprad was. Close to followers, talented and emotionally involved were some principles he used during his reign.Thus many would say he received divine help, he started as a common man. Only his devotion and hard work made the difference. Garry Gemmill and Judith Oakley refer to a leader as a Messiah or a savior and hardly agree with the concept of a leader as a creator. Moreover, they state that â€Å"Leadership is nothing else but a myth propagated in order to keep everybody else quiet and nice. † . They might be right but in my consideration, this words do not apply to the hero we analyze in this project. Ingvar strongly encourages creative discussions within the company and his actual position is one of a leant and a symbol of excellence.David Goleman on the other hand expresses, in his work â€Å"What makes a Leader? † some traits which could help us identify other traits of the IKEA Giant. Goleman places a great emphasis on emotional intelligence and connects the status of a leader according to it. The main skills David puts behind a glorious leader are Self-awareness, Self-regulation, Motivation and the abilities to relate to others – Empathy, and Social Skill. Ingvar seems gifted with emotional intelligence when managing peop le and events. Happiness is in his opinion the greatest asset an IKEA worker should possess.An excellent business man and an excellent time manager he proved to be during many occasions and time only knows when the world could inherit another great leader such as Ingvar Kamprad, the Swedish Scotsman. Conflict management style â€Å"The Ikean culture, which was directly linked to Scandinavian culture, valued simplicity and informality, frugality, humbleness, responsibility, and the constant will to renew. † The company initially sold furniture provided by numerous suppliers. As time passed, competition started to corrupt the suppliers and as a result, Ingvar decided never to trust others than himself.It was a turning point in the history of IKEA which now started to produce its own furniture. A moment of conflict and lack of trust turned into a brilliant idea and started to place the organization on the path to success. Another turning point in Ikean history was by the time an employee decided to disassemble the furniture in order to transport it by car. Kamprad saw this particularly insignificant moment of conflict as a possibly gorgeous opportunity for the future. From that point onward, the furniture company started to differentiate and build up not just furniture but a light, innovative, easy to use and cheap type of furniture.The most significant property Ingvar’s furniture has is its ability to be assembled by the customer and offer him the joy of putting the puzzle pieces together. Price was amazing. IKEA furniture was 50% cheaper than the competition and besides this important factor; it was more than friendly and practical. Ingvar once was accused of being a Nazi supporter due to the fact that he attended to their meetings on numerous occasions. The conflict took a serious impact on Ingvar’s personality and started to shift its public perception in a truly negative way.However, the conflict was in some manner consumed when Kamprad composed letters of apology to all his employees and people whom he disappointed. He recognized that he made a mistake and that it was a dark chapter in his existence which shouldn’t have happened. Questioning the status quo is Ingvar’s best way in dealing with everyday problems and through his successful career they were many. To begin with, the more IKEA grew, the more Ingvar’s problems developed. Alcohol, Nazi support and deaths at the opening of a store were only the biggest of them.Despite the severity of the problem, the modesty, humanity and determination always brought Ingvar on the right track. For the IKEA founder, conflict never ceased to be functional. It helped both him and the employees remain focused and constructive. It generated growth, activated learning, maintained excellent interpersonal skills and gave a different perspective over issues. The main conflict management style of his was collaborating. In almost every occasion he and the employe es formed a team and everyone is expected to contribute with anything they can.Departments are structured on the philosophy of sharing ideas and support. Also, there is a win-win situation between IKEA and its customers. On the one side, IKEA has tremendous profit margins (about 16% – almost two times higher than other furniture retailers) and sells for tens of billions annually and on the other side, the customer benefits from exceptional quality and practicability for the given money. Ingvar’s mentality (comprehended by the Business Harvard Review: How Management Teams Can Have a Good Fight) is one of creating common goals. The company and he was an impeccably motivated and determined group of people.Creative and interpersonal relations are also highly praised within a company and IKEA makes no exception. In his work, Kenneth W. Thomas, refers more and more to the importance of conflict in an organization. Throughout a sustained study of the great players in the corp orate world, the mesmerizing power of a poorly managed conflict is revealed. Too many companies suffer great reductions in income and performance due to this mostly overlooked default. Using a bi-dimensional representation, Thomas expressed the whole conflict issue using 5 elements – Avoiding, Accommodating, Compromising, Competitive and Collaborative.The IKEA model works entirely based on the Collaborative model due to the fact that it is mostly a win-win situation in which both the company and the employee reach a high level of fulfillment. Conflict can also be managed using a system of rewards resembling the one parents use for their children. It might be unexpected but I believe this is an awesome way to educate outsiders and to make them behave according to a reward. Despite the fact that it might be a bit manipulative, the rewards system is a good way to achieve a prosperous work environment.However, if good is not enough for a company, this system could be substituted by one composed of amazing people, highly talented and qualified personnel which requires little training and can propel the company to new heights. The ideal way in which I believe conflict could be turned into a powerful creative force is through the use of Virtuoso Teams. Despite the fact these kinds of teams require a constant action and an important continuous goal. Jeff Weiss and Jonathan Hughes express in their â€Å"Accept-And Actively Manage Conflict† the necessity of conflict in a prosperous working environment.After and during the Industrial Revolution, people and mostly employees were kept under and oppressive working regime which limited their creativity and power to change their condition. Riots were common and worker unions started to prosper. However, the work was dull and no sane man could cope with it more than a few years. Now, a century later, conflict is comprehended as a powerful tool. Just thinking about the Olympiads or a race between two close friends is more than enough in order to have an insight into the invisible motivation a challenge releases.The same principle applies in the development of Ikean furniture. People have a â€Å"Vojna Idej† (War of the Ideas) and as a result breakthroughs occur. However, due to the fact this war of ideas is hardly sustainable in time, there must be a boundary composed of the corporate vision and goal. I believe that none of the amazing commercials and ways of presenting the company could have emerged without a nearly balanced conflict management system. Weather we think of the cleverly designed buss stations or the exquisite TV commercials, IKEA is a sign of greatness. EthicsBusiness ethics (also corporate ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and entire organizations. Busin ess ethics reflects the philosophy of business, one of whose aims is to determine the fundamental purposes of a company. If a company's purpose is to maximize shareholder returns, then sacrificing profits to other concerns is a violation of its fiduciary responsibility.Kamprad began to develop a business as a young boy, selling matches to neighbors from his bicycle. He found that he could buy matches in bulk very cheaply from Stockholm, sell them individually at a low price, and still make a good profit. From matches, he expanded to selling fish, Christmas tree decorations, seeds, and later ballpoint pens and pencils. When Kamprad was 17, his father gave him a cash reward for succeeding in his studies. IKEA was founded in 1943 at his uncle Ernst's kitchen table. In 1948, Kamprad diversified his portfolio, adding furniture.His business was mostly-mail order. The acronym IKEA is made up of the initials of his name (Ingvar Kamprad) plus those of Elmtaryd, the family farm where he was b orn, and the nearby village Agunnaryd. Kamprad has lived in Epalinges, Switzerland since 1976. According to an interview with TSR, the French language Swiss TV broadcaster, Kamprad drives a 15-year-old Volvo 240, flies only economy class, and encourages IKEA employees always to write on both sides of a paper. He reportedly recycles tea bags and is known to pocket the salt and pepper packets at restaurants. In addition, Kamprad has been known to visit IKEA for a â€Å"cheap meal. † He is also known to buy Christmas paper and presents in post-Christmas sales. The firm he created is still known for the attention it gives to cost control, operational details and continuous product development, allowing it to lower its prices by an of average 2-3% over the decade to 2010, while continuing its global expansion. Kamprad explains his social philosophy thusly in his â€Å"A Furniture Dealer's Testament,† â€Å"It is not only for cost reasons that we avoid the luxury hotels.We don't need flashy cars, impressive titles, uniforms or other status symbols. We rely on our strength and our will! † Despite this, Kamprad allows himself some luxuries; he owns a villa in an upmarket part of Switzerland, a large country estate in Sweden, and a vineyard in Provence, France; he also drove a Porsche for several years. Ingvar Kamprad had made two „big mistakes†. From 16 to 25, Kamprad was a friend and follower of Per Engdahl, the leader of the quasi-fascist, pro-Nazi Neo-Swedish movement. Engdahl attended Kamprad's first wedding in 1950.Kamprad only terminated his involvement in 1951. When the scandal broke in the early 1990s, Kamprad wrote to his employees: â€Å"You have been young yourself. And perhaps you find something in your youth you now, so long afterwards, think was ridiculous and stupid. In that case, you will understand me better. † He also apologized in a television interview and said he had not fully understood what the Neo-Swedish movement was about. And the second happened while working with furniture manufacturers in Poland earlier in his career, Kamprad became an alcoholic.He has, however, stated that his drinking is now under control. In 1947, Kamprad introduced furniture into the IKEA product line. The use of local manufacturers allowed him to keep his costs down. The furniture was a hit, and in 1951, Kamprad decided to discontinue all other product lines and focus on furniture. In 1953, the first IKEA showroom opened. It came about because of competitive pressures. IKEA was in a price war with its main competitor. The showroom allowed people to see it, touch it, feel it, and be sure of the quality before buying.Kamprad's vision has been the driving force behind IKEA's succcess. IKEA hires its own designers, who have received numerous awards over the years. Kamprad believes that the company exists not just to improve people's lives, but to improve the people themselves. The self-service store design and ease of assembly of their furniture are not merely cost controls, but an opportunity for self-sufficiency. This vision is reinforced in their advertising and catalog, as well. Kamprad has been extremely shrewd in creating IKEA's organizational structure.It is owned ultimately by a Dutch trust controlled by the Kamprad family, with various holding companies handling different aspects of IKEA's operations, such as franchising, manufacturing, and distribution. IKEA even has an investment banking arm. Kamprad has repeatedly resisted pressure to take the company public, feeling that it would slow their decision-making processes that have allowed their phenomenal growth. On a final note This leader and founder of IKEA is an Old – School Business man that made mistakes in his teens. His mistakes were that of an average teen that dreamed at glory and power or of that of an overworked man.He weakes up at 5am in the morning, every day and sometimes arrives at the IKEA store before the first truck. Ingvar Kamprad treats all his employees with respect and calls them co-workers, he recycles and he tries to persuade his employees not to buy expensive cars and big villas in countries that are reprezented as dots on the World map. Ingvar Kamprad built IKEA from scratch and he worked very hard so that the comapany became what it is today. Finally, he is a man that was interested in being a business man since he was a child.He is a much respected man and a wonderful example for future leaders and it was a pleasure for our team to work out together in order to realize this portfolio about Ingvar Kampard. I hope you enjoyed reading our essay as much as we enjoyed writing it. ( Questions Are there strong parallels between theory and organizational environment, reflecting your understanding of reality? -Based on our understandings the reason for that is most experiences in organizations have autonomous processes which are self-replicating and form themselves randomly by gro up decision.Theory is embedded only when it is actually considered firsthand Did you use various perspectives to analyze the leader? -We have extended our search into various perspectives about Ingvar Kampard, such as private life, workplace and even his â€Å"fun† time. How many problems or â€Å"bugs† did you identify in the theory or practice of leadership? -As far as we’ve gone into research, we were not able to find many bugs in the practice or the theory of our leader, only minor mistakes that are now â€Å"buried† underneath the ground. Do you have a critical approach to leadership? Our approach towards leadership is pretty much critical but not to a higher extent Did you use tables, logical schemes or graphics to illustrate your ideas? -At our meetings we needed to put up our ideas somewhere so we used logical schemes that we followed and established by ourselves and after that we transferred the info onto paper. Are your ideas backed-up by eviden ce? – The evidence is provided in the form of surveys and results conducted by people with authority to perform such research. Some evidence may be anecdotal, lacking any form of statistical analysis.However most of the data is falsifiable (both in theory and practice) hence observable in different ways, so that reality can speak for itself instead of giving evidence or proving points. Did you use relevant and important papers/authors? -We have used relevant and also important papers/authors/articles. Did you use both academic and professional sources? -Yes we did. One of our most important sources were the Harvard Business Reviews Reference: fondatorul-ikea/ ———————– [pic]

Preventing Juvenile Delinquency Essay

Introduction A major problem in modern day society, of course, is criminals. It is believed by some that some people are born criminals, that they just have a genetic make up to do ‘bad things’, but for those who know better, we know this is nowhere near true. Criminals are formed by their environment, life experiences, and other situational factors. You can have the exact same two individuals and raise them in separate places and although they are genetically and physically the same, they will grow up and mature into totally different individuals because, let’s face it, our environment and society rounds us into the type of people we are. So what needs to be done? It goes without saying that criminals and delinquency needs to be stopped, it ends in thousands of pointless deaths state wide and property damages can reach into the millions. The goal is to specifically find out what breeds a criminal, or a delinquent, and try to alter or deter them from the life they are inevitab ly going to have; A life of crime. ​ Methodology If delinquency is really a rational choice and a routine activity, then delinquency prevention is a matter of three strategies: prevention by convincing potential delinquents that they will severely punished for committing delinquent acts, then they must be punished so severely, that they never want to commit crimes again, or make it so difficult to commit crimes that the potential gain is not worth the risk. The first of these strategies is called general deterrence; the second is specific deterrence, and the third, situational crime prevention. ​General deterrence concept holds that the choice to commit delinquent acts is structured by the threat of punishment. If it believed that kids are going to get away with a crime, they are more likely to commit one. On the other hand, if they believe that their illegal behavior would result in apprehension and severe punishment, then only the truly irrational would commit a crime, the rest would be deterred. The main principle to the general deterrence theory is that the more severe, certain, and swift the punishment is, the greater the  deterrence effect will be. Even though particular crimes have certain punishment, there will be relatively no deterrent if they individuals feel as if they will not get caught. Conversely, even a mild sanction may deter crime if people believe punishment is certain. So if the justice system can convince would-be delinquents that they will get caught for the commission of a crime, they may decide that the risk is not greater than the reward and avoid the illegal act a together. ​One might argue that kids are not deterred by the fear of punishment because juvenile justice is based on the parens patriae philosophy, which mandates that children be treated and not punished. This greatly limits the power of the law to deter juvenile crime. In recent years, the increase in teenage violence, gang activity, and drug abuse promoted a reevaluation of deterrence strategies. Police wisely began to focus on particular problems in their jurisdiction rather than merely reacting after a crime has occurred. In result, po lice are now more willing to use aggressive tactics called drug-busting units. The result of this would be to deter membership in drug trafficking gangs. Juvenile courts also initiated a deterrence strategy. Juvenile court judges have been willing to waive youths to adult courts; prior record may outweigh an offender’s need for services in making this decision. Legislators seem willing to pass more restrictive juvenile codes featuring mandatory incarceration sentences in juvenile facilities, and the number of incarcerated juveniles continues to increase. Adolescents are not even spared capital punishment: the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the use of the death penalty for youths over 16. ​The effectiveness of general deterrence strategies is a topic of considerable debate. A number of studies have contributed data supporting deterrence concepts. Evidence indicates that the threat of police arrest can deter property crimes. Areas of the country in which punishment is more certain seem to have lower delinquent occurrences; the more likely people are to anticipate punishment, the less likely they are to commit crimes. Although the findings are persuasive, there is actually little conclusive evidence that the threat of apprehension and punishment alone can deter crime. More evidence exists that fear of social disapproval and informal pena lties, criticisms, and punishments from parents and friends may actually be the greater deterrent to crime than legal punishments. Because deterrence strategies are based on the idea of a rational, calculating offender, they  may not be effective when applied to immature young people. Minors tend to be less capable of making mature judgments about their behavior choices. It is also possible that for the highest risk group of young offenders, the deterrent threat of formal sanctions may be irrelevant. In sum, deterring delinquency through the fear of punishment may be of limited value because children may neither fully comprehend the seriousness of their acts nor the consequences they may face. Though in the surface deterrence appears to have benefit as a delinquency control device, there is also reason to believe that is has limited demonstrable effectiveness. ​The theory of specific deterrence holds that if offenders are punished severely, the experience will convince them not to repeat their illegal acts. Although general deterrence focuses on potential offenders, specific deterrence targets offenders who have already been convicted. Juveniles are sent to secure incarceration facilities with the understanding that their ordeal will deter future misbehavior. Specific deterrence is a popular approach to crime control today. Unfortunately, relying on punitive measures may expend rather than reduce future delinquency. ​Institutions have quickly become overcrowded and chronic violent offenders are packed into swollen facilities with juveniles who have committed non-serious and nonviolent crimes. The use of mandatory sentences for some crimes means that kids who are found to have committed those crimes must be institutionalized; first time offenders may be treated the same as chronic recidivists. Literature Review Some research studies show that arrest and conviction may under certain circumstances lower the frequency of re-offending, a finding which supports specific deterrence. However, other studies suggest that punishment has little real effect on reoffending and in some instances may in fact increase the likelihood that first time offenders will commit new crimes. Why does punishment encourage rather than reduce delinquency? According to some experts, institutionalization cuts youth off from prosocial supports in the community, making them more reliant on deviant peers. Incarceration may also diminish chances for successful future employment, reducing access to legitimate opportunities. Punishment strategies may stigmatize kids and help lock offenders into a delinquent career, putting emphasis on the expression â€Å"prison breeds better criminals†. ​Rather than deterring or punishing  individuals in order to reduce delinquency rates, situational crime prevention strategie s aim to reduce the opportunities people have to commit particular crimes. The idea is to make it so difficult to commit specific criminal acts that would-be delinquent offenders will be convinced that the risks of crime are greater than the rewards. Controlling the situation of crime can be accomplished by increasing the effort, increasing the risk, and/ or reducing the rewards attached to delinquent acts. ​Increasing the effort to commit crime can involve target hardening techniques such as placing steering locks on cars and putting unbreakable glass on storefronts. Some successful target hardening efforts include installing a locking device on cars that prevents drunken drivers from starting the vehicle. Access control can be maintained by locking gates and fencing yards. The facilitators of crime can be controlled by such measures as banning the sale of spray paint to adolescents in an effort to cut down on graffiti, or having photos put on credit cards to reduce their value if stolen. Increasing the risks of crime might involve such measures as improving surveillance lighting, creating neighborhood watch programs, controlling building entrances and exits, installing burglar alarms and security systems, and increasing the number of private security officers and police patrols. The installation of street lights may convince burglars that their entries will be seen and reported. ​Reducing the rewards of crime could include strategies such as making car radios removable so they can be kept at home at night, marking property so that it is more difficult to sell when stolen, and having gender neutral phone listings to discourage obscene phone calls. ​Although there is really no way to completely predict which children will behave in delinquent and criminal ways in the future, there are a multitude of risk factors that have been shown to correlate with these behaviors. Fetal substance exposure, prenatal difficulties, an abusive and violent family are all risk factors related to poorer executive functioning. This weakness is then shown to lead to violent behavior (Zagar, Busch, and Hughes 281). Other precursors to later frequent offending include poor child-rearing practices, poor parental supervision, criminal parents and siblings, low family incom e, large family size, poor housing, low intelligence, and low educational attainment (Zigler and Taussig 998). Physical and/or sexual abuse are specifically risk factors for homicidal  behavior (Zagar, Busch, and Hughes 288). It has also been shown that early-onset antisocial behavior is associated with more severe outcomes compared with antisocial behavior that occurs later, and it is more likely to persist into adulthood (Olds et al. 66). In short, delinquent behaviors are said to be controlled by three factors: General deterrence which suggests a practical solution to crime: increase the certainty and severity of punishment. Punishment can be made proportionate to the seriousness of the crime, and increasing the severity of punishment will reduce delinquency. The specific deterrence concept provides a simple solution to the delinquency problem: punishing more delinquents will reduce their involvement in criminal activity. Lastly is situational crime prevention which shows the importance of situational factors in delinquent act. It can be aimed at reducing or eliminating a specific type of delinquency, rather than eliminating all delinquency through social change. ​These strategies are certainly arguable, because I stand strongly on the premise that every crime does not deserve institutionalization because prison/ jail just breeds better criminals. For example, if a kid was to shoplift video games from a store, the practical, common, and fast thing to do would be arrest, conviction, and late jail, but for what? So he or she can be institutionalized then pick up on other crimes and be released from prison a better criminal. All the prisons I have seen and or visited are loosely called â€Å"correctional institutions†; I do not think there is any type of correcting going on behind those walls. Conclusion Our justice system really needs to focus on better ways of rehabilitating our youth, or so I feel. On the other hand, I do like that some crimes have very harsh punishments because those are the ones that I see are committed less often. We also have to keep in mind that it is not society’s responsibility to raise our children, real teaching starts at home with proper parenting. In some parents’ defense, some kids are hard to maintain, but that’s when further measures should be taken, for example jail visits and the scared straight program. To reinstate, in the future there should be better prevention techniques for delinquents, a way to make them regret their actions, but in the same way, not turn them into hardened criminals or ruin their lives based on one mistake. References: Saminsky, A. (2010). Preventing juvenile delinquency: Early intervention and comprehensiveness as critical factors. (02 ed., Vol. 02, p. 3). WEB Siegel, L. (2006). Juvenile delinquency . (9 ed., p. 587). Canada: Thomson Wadsworth.

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Causal Argument Paper - Essay Example The deaths have dropped by 1.8 percent in men and 1.6 percent in women each year. Several causes are attributed to the decrease in the rate of cancer in the United States of America. In this paper, I discuss three causes that have led to the decrease of cancer rates in U.S., which include life changes, change in diagnostic and treatment related aspects and sensitization and awareness programs. The most notable cause of decrease in the number of cancer related illnesses in the U.S is the change in lifestyle of Americans. Today, cancer has been attributed to unhealthy eating habits, lack of exercise, more consumption of alcohol and smoking. The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) asserts that about 300 people out of 100,000 people in America develop cancer each year. (American Cancer Society 3) This means that the U.S ranks as the seventh country with the highest number of cancer diseases in the whole world. These numbers were compiled using the World Health Organization†™s estimates. AICR also indicates that the U.S is the tenth country in terms of cancers in men and eighth in terms of cancers in women. Because of the realization of the fact that cancers occur because of the lifestyle people lead, many have decided to change their lifestyles. MedicineNet states, â€Å"Behavioral, lifestyle, and environmental factors contribute to cancer. Cancer prevention involves modifying these factors to decrease cancer risk† (MedicineNet). Many people in the U.S check into fitness facilities or have fitness equipment in their houses that they use to exercise in the morning or evening, or at their appropriate time. Others choose to run distances in order to keep fit. In addition, it has been reported that the smoking rate among Americans has dropped significantly. In addition to this, most people have started eating healthily for instance by consuming less red meat and more whole grains and vegetables that are high in fiber content that helps in keeping a healthy weight. Consuming more fruits and nuts as well as fish and moderation of alcohol consumption has contributed to the reduction in the rates of cancer in the U.S. All these issues are considered as a manifestation of lifestyle change by Americans and have helped in the decrease of cancer cases. However, this is not to say that all people have changed their lifestyles, but the majority who have, experience less risks (MedicineNet). The second cause of the reduction in the rate of cancer cases in the U.S is the change in diagnostic and treatment related issues. This cause is especially tied to certain types of cancers such as breast cancer. It is noteworthy to indicate that breast cancer has been the leading cause of deaths in women, in the United States, in terms of the deaths caused by cancer. The high cases of breast cancer especially in European countries have been attributed to the high prevalence of reproductive factors that are linked to early menarche, late child bear ing, and use of menopausal hormone therapy, fewer pregnancies and increased screening through mammography. However, DeSantis states, â€Å"Breast cancer incidence rates in the United States have decreased since the early 2000s largely due to reduction in the use of menopausal hormone therapy† (Jemal and DeSantis. 1896). Other factors include reduction in the use of mammography and the decrease in the number of preclinical cases found

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Cause & Effect of Sept. 11th - Essay Example The social effect is captured by the way the catastrophe altered the American people’s perception, behavior and interaction towards Muslims living within and outside the country. The political effect is manifested by the labeling of certain states as the axis of evil and the American-led invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. The economic effect can be seen from the increased use of resources to secure production, distribution, finance, and communication at the expense of national productivity. What caused the September 11 attacks? In retrospect the big question still is: what led to 9/11 in the first place? There is no clear answer to this question; however, numerous conjectures have been raised. Even the US government’s 9/11 commission failed to provide clarity on the real causes of September 11. The commission only gave an unqualified response on who was responsible for the heinous act. There is not a single event in modern times that has elicited as many explanations as this tragedy. According to Bergen (2006) the theories on the causes of the September 11 attacks could be categorized into three: (1) the outright absurd, which state that the attacks were orchestrated by the US government; (2) the believable but flawed that argue that the attacks were done as a response to foreign occupation in the Arab lands; and (3) the credible, which postulates that September 11 was simply a collateral damage resulting from a clash within Islam. The al Qaeda angle In its findings, the US 9/11 commission concluded that the al Qaeda was solely responsible for the terrorist attacks. Osama Bin Laden was at war unambiguously with the United States. Levingston (2010) argued that this was the case because Osama was irked by the multiple engagements of the US in the Arab lands and its unequivocal support for Israel. This theory fits the second categorization of Bergen (2006); the-believable-but-flawed argument. At this juncture, it is important to note that Osama ’s critique towards America had never been cultural. Osama was not fighting Western culture; his was a personal war against the US. Bergen (2006) stated that Bin Laden was astute enough to know that he could not wage an all-out battle against the world’s sole superpower. He therefore craftily embodied his vision inside al Qaeda and attracted similar disgruntled Islamists whom he managed to convince that America was the enemy. Osama saw terrorism as the only achievable mode of operation to wage war against the US. This argument is believable but flawed because it fails to provide sufficient reasons as to why an individual in the Middle East would be so obsessed with waging a war against the US. Western interference The second plausible root cause of al Qaeda’s attack was perpetual Western interference in the oil-rich Persian Gulf. This interference can be traced back to colonization of Arab states by France and Britain, the creation and unequivocal support for the Jewish state – Israel, and currently American hegemony that is exemplified by acts such as the Gulf War in 1990. Western interference is a broader cause than Osama’s war in that it does not merely point the finger at one Western state – America – but at the entire Western world. The heart of this argument on Western interference is that the West has slowly and steadily been eroding the Arab culture by permeating Western ideologies in the Persian

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How should the set be constructed and designed in order to reflect traditional Expressionist Theatre in a production of The Silver Tassie by Sean OCassey - Research Paper Example This thus makes second language acquisition difficult and slow. But a scientific factor as to why children learn second languages easier and quicker than adults is that children’s brains are flexible until they reach their teenage years in a process known as lateralization. Here the brain loses its flexibility by assigning specific roles to each side of the brain making learning hard and slow (VanPatten et al, 2004). This is also true in the learning of subjects as children catch up quickly and memorize unlike adults. This essay is going to review recent research findings related to how age affects the second language acquisition process mostly for English language learners that are new comers into the US. The language acquisition process is process where language is observed, grasped and produced by a child, which is the first language (Clark, 2001). The same process is used in the second language acquisition. The second language acquisition process has steps that it follows to learn. That is the child must learn the word, retain them, recall them and apply them constantly to be perfect (Birdsong, 2006). This steps cannot happen on their own since the child needs to first learn the language and this the child does by following some set of steps. These steps include Imitation, repetition, memorization, drilling and reinforcement. When a child is at this stage reinforcement is very productive and rewarding the child when they make good sentences or the correct words will enhance quick learning process of language acquisition. When this achieved it means that the child can now talk. The acquisition of the second language now comes into play and a theory is that a child’s learning of the first language is an insight to his learning the second language. This term was developed by a philosopher Noam Chomsky and it is abbreviated as UG. Chomsky in his theory suggests that human beings in general do not have to be taught language to acquire it but rather

Social Isolation and the Female, Live in Domestic Worker in South Africa Essay Example for Free

Social Isolation and the Female, Live in Domestic Worker in South Africa Essay In a world which tends to discriminate against race, gender and class, many black, female, lower class women face an uphill battle in day to day life. Those who manage to find employment often work as domestic workers in the homes of the more elite. These women often serve many roles within a household such as nanny, cook and cleaner. Many of these women become live in maids for the convenience of their employers. This study takes a qualitative approach in examining why these women are prepared to leave their families and face such social isolation. Using one women’s story of life as a live in domestic worker this study delves into the reality of day to day life in post apartheid South Africa. This allows one a unique opportunity into a personal perspective of those previously disadvantaged and even though the sample is not big enough to generalize with the study is relevant in that it provides a framework and the motivation to pursue further studies in this area. One must also take into account that even though one person’s experiences may be narrow, their perspectives may reflect those of a greater population and therefore must always be considered relevant in some way. Literature Review Many female South African domestic workers live in the houses of their employers. This may be isolating and lonely for some. This qualitative study seeks to observe the effect this has on ladies who are particularly far from their families. Many domestic workers in South Africa are migrants from upper Africa who are already culturally isolated, by becoming live in they may experience social and class isolation. This interview tells the story of a female live in domestic worker who, although South African, has followed her job more than ten hours away from her family and support network. The key issue here is social isolation. For one to be socially isolated one is living without companionship, social support and connectedness. One has no one to turn to for day to crisis and it is not surprising that the stress of such a situation is associated with poorer health. It is also associated with things like poor life meaning, levels of satisfaction and well being. The socially isolated even have a higher consumption of health care resources and unfortunately fare badly in acute interventions such as cardiovascular surgery. The socially isolated are far more highly linked to mental illness, distress, dementia, suicide and premature death (Hawthorne, 2006). Social isolation is therefore a grave matter and with findings like this the western ritual of paying domestic workers to live in and possibly in turn become socially isolated should seek ethical approval. Social Isolation In Graeme Hawthorne’s study he points out that social isolation is most connected to personal relationships, or rather lack thereof. He points out that within this things like neighbourhood friendliness, social initiation, geographic location and ethnicity play a large role in determining isolation. Ethnicity plays a large role in the social isolation of a domestic worker because although interacting with others they are not around those of their own ethnicity. Hawthorne’s study investigates the validity of a psychometric scale to measure social isolation and therefore defines the concept well, giving one a well rounded perception of this sort of isolation. His study found that the ‘friendship scale’ was a reliable tool when measuring social isolation and would therefore prove to be an interesting second measure when looking at social isolation of female domestic workers in South Africa (Hawthorne, 2006). To follow up this quantitative research with a reliable psychometric scale may yield fuller results. This together with a larger sample of domestic workers would make this study far more reliable and conclusive. In interviewing one participant many gaps are left, for instance this case shows a very positive employer-employee relationship however this cannot simply be generalized to the rest of the South African population and therefore cannot be used for much in the line of determining where change is needed. Race, gender, class post apartheid changes. Race, gender and class come up in any study such as this, especially when the country has a history a rife of that of South Africa. Although these discriminatory themes are still a serious issue in South Africa, past studies do show that things may have improved vastly since even the late apartheid era. A study by Hickson and Strous (1993) depicts a far worse picture than the results of this interview, with complete lack of care for the humanity of the worker, poor live in living conditions and low, often non-monetory salaries (Hickson Strous, 1993). This study shows a problem which has to a large extent lessened with many domestic workers well supported by the families for which they work. Shireen Ally goes as far as to say that post apartheid South Africa has launched one of the most extensive efforts to protect domestic workers. These efforts have surely paid off in many ways as pay in itself has improved on a great scale. Just the fact that domestic workers are politically recognized and are able to form unions was a big step out of the apartheid days (Ally, 2008). A later study by Jennifer Fish shows that although social change on a public level has dramatically revolutionised, the micro scale of everyday interactions still has a long way to go. Therefore although things have changed in certain areas many domestic workers are still being subjected to very discriminatory treatment as a result of their race, class or gender (Fish, 2006). Due to these present and past discriminations there remains an air of elitism among employers. This air may serve as a barrier to connectedness between employer and employee. This lack of connectedness to those around the live in employee leads to social isolation with grave consequences. The live in dometic worker A study by Hondagneu-Sotelo shows some benefits of domestic workers who do not live in. It provides an interesting alternate perspective. This study followed immigrant Mexican women in California. These women are isolated from their culture, country and often family. However the fact that they are not live in provides them with networking opportunities. They mostly work numorous jobs a week and in doing so interact with many other women who, although not always even similar in ethnicity, provide a support structure for each other. This structure helps the women to learn skills like negotiating fair pay and more importantly provides them with connectedness and social interaction (Hondagneu-Sotelo, 1994). This study when compared to studies on live in domestic workers may yield a more healthy and ethical alternative and therefore is very relevant to this topic. Method This studied used a qualitative approach to research. Such an approach allows for great depth of research rather than great breadth. Qualitative research allows for more understanding into why people behave in certain ways or how they think rather than focussing simply on what they do or believe (Ambert, Adler, Adler Detzner, 1995). This makes it suitable for research on the attitudes and perspectives of the less heard groups of people, like domestic workers. It allows for true feelings and attitudes to be revealed and therefore gives far greater insight into the life and trials of a domestic worker. The method used to obtain information was that of a semi structured interview. This is an interview guided by questions but not strictly so. It is a highly beneficial means in many ways. It obtains macu relevant information, the audience is specifically targeted, it is structured to allow comparisons, can be used on sensitive topics, and allows for new areas of interest to emerge as one is able to diverge from the topic if necessary. The disadvantages however are that interviewing skills are required and that it is a time consuming and resource intensive process. There is also always a risk of interviewer bias as the interviewer is a just a human being interacting with another human being (Cozby, 2005). The participant in this study was a 53 year old black lady from originally Vryburg. She is the domestic worker of my father’s girlfriend and therefore has had much contact with me prior to the interview. Although she was a very willing participant this may have affected the way in which she answered questions. She was promised complete confidentiality which should have helped her to feel comfortable to say what she wants, however there is still the possibility she may have held back especially in regard to her feelings about her employer, you may notice she only said positive things about this which leaves room for the unsaid negative. However she seemed comfortable and relaxed throughout the interview. Being from a higher class to that of the participant may have limited the interview somewhat. The interviewee may have felt I cannot relate to her and therefore shared less of her experiences. Perhaps in further research of this kind it would be beneficial to train ex-domestic workers to conduct interviews. By doing so the participant would stand on common ground with the interviewer. Although the participants English was extremely good it is not her first language and perhaps if I were able to conduct the interview in her first language it ould have been more welcoming and she might have expressed herself far better. Results The interview shed light on five major themes. These themes may not all be entirely relevant to the question posed, however that’s the beauty of qualitative research, one often finds far more than one was looking for and this opens up new areas to be researched. Gender, class race effects It became apparent that the participant views of herself and capabilities were constructed closely around what would be expected of a black, lower class women. She aspired to nursing and then as a second resort chose domestic work. Passive acceptance Throughout the interview the participant never once shows a strong desire to change her situation even though she does not seem entirely satisfied with it. She accepts the situation and does not seem to see a way out of it. Isolation The participant admits to wanting to be around her family. She very rarely socializes with someone she calls a friend and this lack of companionship must be very lonely. Self sacrifice The participant seems to feel that even though she is not satisfied the fact that she is able to support her family is enough for her. This may link up to the theme of gender in that as a women she may feel her happiness is less important than serving her husband and family. Money Money is a large theme that appeared in this study. The participant mentions it numerous times and it seems highly relevant in her job satisfaction. Being able to support her family financially appears more important than being there with them. This theme also fits in with that of self sacrifice. Discussion Some of these themes that arose relate closely to the literature reviewed. Race, class and gender tie in closely with the literature on domestic work during apartheid and the after effects thereof. Having constructed her hopes around what a person of her position should expect to hope for she has left no room for disappointment and is possibly protecting herself. This is perhaps a coping method. The participant seems to identify the positive in most situation, thereby holding onto the all the dignity and satisfaction possible. This study however broke away from any literature which depicted the new South Africa as still lacking change on a micro level. The participant seems well looked after by her employee and seems to like this aspect of her career, ‘ miss X has helped my family alot over the years’. Social isolation becomes clear throughout the interview. As Hawthorne says social isolation occurs as a result of a lack of personal relationships, and this is very apparent in the life of the participant (Hawthorne, 2006). She seems to long for her family, ‘if I could live with my family that would be better ’. This could be having serious effects on her health as she ages. Although the participant seems to think being a live in domestic is beneficial in her case, Hondagneu-Sotelo argues that the social networks developed amongst part time workers are highly beneficial and supportive to women who are otherwise isolated. Money and benefits seem to stand out almost the most in this study. In asking questions unrelated to money the participant answers saying that the pay is good, showing the great emphasis she puts on it. This theme is the most probable answer to the research question posed. The participant’s main reason for being willing to isolate herself from her family, culture and class is money. She wants nothing more than to support her family and make sure her children are educated. The fact that her employer is generous and she has been able to do this leaves her at terms with her social isolation. Further research into her stress and isolation levels at a quantitative or psychometric level my yield clearer results, this study however demonstrates that there is a ground for such research and that it may be beneficial. Physical health tests of live in as opposed to live out domestic workers may also lead to interesting literature on this matter. Conclusion This study has therefore provided an in depth account of a problem which possibly demands more consideration, showing that some women are prepared to sacrifice almost their whole life in order to support their loved ones inancially. Although the situation shown here is somewhat undesirable this study has also depicted many positive changes of the post 1994 South Africa with the participant saying she is looked after well by her employee. This study therefore not only met its aim of finding out why women are prepared to live in, but also uncovered other interesting research areas. Hopefully in the future these other topics will be covered more extensively.

Grey Country, Ontario: Impact of Geography on Humans

Grey Country, Ontario: Impact of Geography on Humans Located in southern Ontario on the south-most shores of Georgian Bay, Grey  County has often been identified as a popular tourist destination because of its endless geological landmarks, ideal climate and ample bodies of water. The area encompassed by Grey County (as seen in Figure 1.1) has been found to have a population of 92,568 and covered 4513.21 km2 of land in 2011 (#### statscan). The county was established in 1852 with its headquarters at Owen Sound (Marsh, 1931), and quicly became a major trade hub due to its plentiful natural resources which included forests, fish, fur, and minerals, leading to the establishment of sawmills, furniture factories, quarry’s and apple orchards (grey web####). In recent years, the physical-geographic landmarks have had a great influence on tourism in Grey County. In 2008 the County hosted over 1.779 million visitors, brought in over 331 million dollars in expenditures, supported over 3200 jobs and contributed 9.9 million dollars to muni cipal taxes (Action plan, ####). The study was aimed to analyze, understand and provide evidence of the relationship between the physical geography and human activity within Grey County. An analysis of how geomorphology, hydrology and climatology impacted human activity in the County was completed and an understanding of their importance was established. Due to the specificity of the topic researched throughout this study, the difficulty of acquiring credible and peer-reviewed resources was of high magnitude. The main method of research was using the key word approach on websites to maximize efficiency when searching for scholarly documents. Terms such as â€Å"Formation, Niagara Escarpment† were used on scholarly databases to yield specific details about the origins of the Niagara Escarpment. Other terms such as â€Å"Grey County, Tourism†, â€Å"Grey County, Climate, Hydrology, Geomorphology† and â€Å"Grey County, Conservation Areas† yielded sufficient information and reports on the geographical and anthropological aspects of Grey County. Lastly, the use of Statistics Canada, The Niagara Escarpment Commission and County of Grey websites provided statistical, political and historical data about the topic researched. Based on the information compiled by the key word approach it was possible to establish a relationship between the physical geography of the area and its human activity. The unique geological landscapes of Grey County, which are explained through the science of geomorphology, have been a crucial factor in attracting human activity to the area. Christopherson and Byrne have defined geomorphology as â€Å"the science that analyzes and describes the origin, evolution, form, classification, and spatial distribution of landforms† (Christopherson Byrne, 2009, G.6). The County was found to be located atop a portion of the Niagara Escarpment; recognized by UNESCO as a World Biosphere Reserve, with its origins dating back 430 million years and found to span over 725 km throughout Ontario (NEC, n.d). This particular landscape formation can be associated with an age-old sea that once covered the area and overtime eroded adjacent mountains depositing sediments onto the sea floor (Kreuger, n.d). As a result of lithification, these sediments were transformed into shale, slate, sandstone, dolostone and other sedimentary rocks over millions of years which we re then warped and bent by the earths forces, forming the Niagara Escarpment along the rim of the Michigan basin (Kreuger, n.d). The Niagara Escarpment was further shaped through differential erosion by a process called sapping (see Figure 1.2), where the sub-lying soft rock eroded much faster then the dolostone cap rock, leading to mass wasting and the formation of cliff slopes (talus slopes) such as the Blue Mountains (Kreuger, n.d). These mountainous regions of Grey County have promoted the establishment of recreational businesses attracting millions of tourists due to its diversified landscape and limitless year-round recreational activities. Although the steep slopes of the Niagara Escarpment within Grey County have been found unsuitable for agricultural purposes, they have attracted humans who for decades have been using them for their recreational abilities. The geography of Grey County has allowed for summer activities ranging from rock climbing, caving, camping, golfing, fi shing, biking, as well as hiking parts of the Bruce trail to winter attractions including skiing, skating, snow shoeing, dog sledding, horse back riding and snowmobiling (Grey County Tourism, n.d a). These human interactions with the geographic landscape have helped establish the importance and understanding of how geomorphology promotes the interaction of humans with their surrounding landscapes. Grey County has often been associated with mild winters and warm summers which have influenced both recreational activity and the apple growing industry in the area. As defined by Christopherson and Byrne, climatology â€Å"is the scientific study of climate and climate patterns and the consistent behavior of weather, including its variability and extremes, over time in one place or region† (Christopherson Byrne, 2009, G.3). Located in proximity to both Lake Ontario and Lake Huron, the area has been found to experience a humid continental climate with moderate temperatures, cold dry air from the Arctic, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and dry winds from the Pacific (Brown McKay, 1974). The area of study was found to have an average temperature and snowfall during winter months of -4.50  °C and 49.7 cm respectively (see Figure 1.3 1.5), an average temperature of 18.40 °C during the summer months (see Figure 1.3) and a yearly precipitation average of 62.8 mm (see Figure 1.4) (The Weather Network, n.d). The geographic location of Grey County and its climate influenced the apple growing industry during the 1840’s when farmers realized that the large bodies of water; Lake Huron and Lake Ontario, reduced the chances of late spring and early autumn frosts while the surrounding Niagara Escarpment and Beaver Valley acted as a barrier confining warm lake air, creating a climate suitable for apple growing and making it one of the biggest industries in the area (Almond, 1985). The ideal winter and summer climates as well as the geographical landscapes of Grey County have not only attracted apple farmers, but also tourists and new residents because of the vast amount of recreational activities offered during all four seasons of the year. During the winter, residents and tourists have been able to enjoy activities such as skiing, snowshoeing, skating, ice fishing, snowmobiling and hiking due to the cold climates and mass snowfalls combined with the rol ling landscapes of the Niagara Escarpment and Beaver Valley. People have also been able to partake in various recreational activities during the spring, summer and fall seasons which included biking, fishing, camping, cave exploring, hunting, swimming and rock climbing (Grey County Tourism, n.d a). The climate within the area of study has promoted settlement for several decades and continues to be a strong factor, in parallel with the geographic landscape, in attracting the human population to Grey County. The hydrologic activity within the County has been a critical resource in providing clean drinking water and promoting recreational activity but has also been known to cause flood damage during extreme runoff events. Christopherson and Byrne have defined hydrology as â€Å"the science of water, its global circulation, distribution, and properties, specifically water at and below the earths surface† (Christopherson Byrne, 2009, G.7). The area of study has been found to contain a large amount of lakes and rivers, which in conjunction with the hills and valleys have formed the areas three major watersheds: Grey Sauble, Nottawasaga and Saugeen Valley Conservation Areas (see Figure 1.6) (Grey County Tourism, n.d b). As a result, the surrounding lands have provided valuable resources in the form of underground aquifers, which have been used as a main source of clean drinking water for the people of Grey County (Waterloo Hydrogeologic, 2003). The area of Grey County has also been kn ow to experience flooding in the spring months due to the large volume of runoff from winter snowmelt. In late April of 2013, it was found that the combined event of snowmelt and precipitation in the Grey County area was larger then a 100 year summer storm of duration greater than 14 hours, leading to large armounts of flooding, damage and road closures due to unsafe driving conditions (Greenland International Consulting Ltd., 2014). Despite the previously stated risks, humans are still attracted to Grey County because of its vast amounts of lakefront properties, plentiful supply of self sustaining groundwater and hydrology influenced recreational activities. Tourists and residents have been able to take part in various activities such as canoeing the rivers of the County, boating on the Nottawasaga Bay, and fishing both during winter and summer months. This research has proved that humans will seek areas of natural beauty and plentiful resources despite it being prone to substantia l flooding, further solidifying how the physical-geographic environment has influenced human population in Grey County. Grey County has been found to attract human activity do to its geological landmarks, ideal climate and ample bodies of water. Its wide range of hills and valleys shaped by geomorphology, moderate continental climate with cool winters and warm summers as well as the abundance of hydrologic related resources have made Grey County a popular tourist destination for millions of humans annually due the various recreational businesses promoted by these qualities. It is evident by the information provided within this study that human activity within Grey County has been heavily influenced by the presence of its unique physical-geographic phenomena. Figure 1.1: County Of Grey Unknown (n.d), County of Grey, Municipalities and Townships, Retrieved November 14, 2014, from http://www.grey.ca/services/local-municipalities/?i=7365 Figure 1.2: Differential Erosion, Sapping Process Walter Tovell (1955), The Sapping Process, [Diagram], Retrieved November 14, 2014, Niagara Escarpment Commission http://www.escarpment.org/about/geology/weathering/index.php Figure 1.3: Average Annual Temperature Data for Owen Sound, Ontario. The Weather Network (n.d), Temperature Data, Retrieved November 16, 2014, from http://www.theweathernetwork.com/forecasts/statistics/summary/cl6116132/caon0515 Figure 1.4: Average Monthly Rainfall for Owen Sound, Ontario. The Weather Network (n.d), Monthly Rainfall, Retrieved November 16, 2014, from http://www.theweathernetwork.com/forecasts/statistics/summary/cl6116132/caon0515 Figure 1.5: Average Monthly Snowfall for Owen Sound, Ontario. The Weather Network (n.d), Monthly Snowfall, Retrieved November 16, 2014, from http://www.theweathernetwork.com/forecasts/statistics/summary/cl6116132/caon0515 Figure 1.6: Watersheds of Southern Ontario. Conservation Ontario (2014), Conservation Authority Watersheds, Retrieved November 17, 2014, from http://www.conservation-ontario.on.ca/what-we-do/watershed-stewardship/aquatic-species-at-risk Almond, B. (1985) History of the Meaford and Area Apple Industry. Unpublished history available at the Meaford Museum and Meaford Public Library. Brown, D., McKay, G. (1974). The Climate of Southern Ontario (2nd ed.). Toronto: Environment Canada, Atmospheric Environment. Christopherson, R., Byrne, M. (2009). Geosystems: An introduction to Physical Geography (2nd Canadian ed.). Toronto: Pearson Prentice Hall. Conservation Ontario (2014), Conservation Authority Watersheds, Retrieved November 17, 2014, from http://www.conservation-ontario.on.ca/what-we-do/watershed-stewardship/aquatic-species-at-risk Greenland International Consulting Ltd. (2014). Climate Change Adaptation A Four Season Approach to Drainage Infrastructure Guidelines. Study, Blue Mountains. Grey County Tourism. (n.d a). Travel Experiences, Retrieved November 16, 2014, from http://www.visitgrey.ca/travel-experiences/ Grey County Tourism. (n.d b). Conservation Areas, Retrieved November 17, 2014, from http://www.visitgrey.ca/travel-experiences/beautiful-naturally/conservation-areas/ Krueger, R. (n.d.). The Blue Mountains. Retrieved November 14, 2014, from http://www.watershedtrust.ca/index.php/home/a-brief-natural-history Marsh, E. (1931). A history of the County of Grey, (p. 217). Owen Sound, Ontario: Fleming Pub. Niagara Escarpment Commission (NEC), (n.d.). Geological Timeline, Retrieved November 14, 2014, from http://www.escarpment.org/about/geology/timeline/index.php The Weather Network (n.d), Temperature Data, Monthly Rainfall, Monthly Snowfall, Retrieved November 16, 2014, from http://www.theweathernetwork.com/forecasts/statistics/summary/cl6116132/caon0515 Unknown (n.d), County of Grey, Municipalities and Townships, Retrieved November 14, 2014, from http://www.grey.ca/services/local-municipalities/?i=7365 Waterloo Hydrogeologic . (2003). Grey and Bruce Counties Groundwater Study. Company Study, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Walter Tovell (1955), The Sapping Process, [Diagram], Retrieved November 14, 2014, Niagara Escarpment Commission http://www.escarpment.org/about/geology/weathering/index.php

Effects of Price Changes in Customers

Effects of Price Changes in Customers Demand and supply are two very basic and important terms in economics to study and determine the market equilibrium. A market is the process of buyers and sellers exchanging goods and services. Buyers, as a group, determine the demand side of the market, whether it is consumers purchasing goods or firms purchasing inputs. On the other hand, sellers, as a group, determine the supply side of the market, whether it is firms selling their goods or resource owners selling their inputs. It is the interaction of buyers and sellers that determines market prices and output through the forces of supply and demand. Demand simply means the ability and willingness of consumer to buy certain amount of goods and services at a particular price. According to the law of demand, the quantity of a good or service demanded varies inversely with its price, other things equal. A demand curve is a downward sloping curve and it shows negative or inverse relationship between price and quantity demanded. When the price increases, the quantity demanded by consumer decreases, conversely, when the price decreases, the quantity demanded by consumer increases. A change in quantity demanded is a movement along the demand curve, when price increases, point A moves to point B, and point A moves to point C when there is a price drops as figure 1 shown. Movement along the curve occurs only when there is a price change. There are several reasons why the relationship between price and quantity demanded is negative or inverse. Observed behavior tells us that consumers will buy more goods and services at lower prices than higher prices, ceteris paribus. Diminishing marginal utility is also one of the reasons, it means in a given time period, a buyer will receive less satisfaction from each successive unit consumed, therefore, consumers will only buy added units if the price were reduced. Whereas, a change in demand is a shift of the demand curve, demand curve shift rightward when demand increases and shift leftward when there is a drop in demand. A shift on the curve is caused by the other factors than the price of the good such as government regulations and technology change. When there is a price change, there will be two effects on consumers. First, the substitution effect is an effect caused by a rise in price that induces a consumer (whose income has remained the same) to buy more of a relatively lower-priced good and less of a higher-priced one. For instance, when the price of coffee increases, there are many close substitute goods as options to replace coffee, and consumer can replace coffee by tea with the same amount of income that they are holding and the same price of tea. In this case, it brings a result that the quantity demanded for coffee decreases and the demand for tea increases. Generally, the consumption of goods and services is vastly related to the income available to consumers. Income effect suggests that at a lower price, one can afford more of the good without giving up any alternative goods. In other words, a drop in price will increase the purchasing power of an individual, thus, they are able to buy more of the product than before. For instance, initially, the price of a product is RM200 per unit, and the constant income of an individual is RM1200, this individual is able to purchase 6 units. However, when the price of the product increases to RM220 per unit, he or she can only purchase 5 units. Apart from that, the other important term is supply. Supply means the ability and willingness of producer to produce and supply certain amount of goods and services at a particular price. A supply curve is an upward sloping curve and it shows a positive or direct relationship between price and quantity supplied. When price increases, the quantity supplied increases as well, vice versa, the quantity supplied drops when there is a decrease in price. Changes in prices of a good lead to changes in quantity supplied, which are shown as movement along the supply curve in figure 2 from point A to point B to point C. Changes in supply occur for other reasons than changes in the price of the product itself. For instance, natural disaster, expected future price and many more. A change in any other factor can affect supplier behavior results in a shift of the entire supply curve. A leftward shift is a decrease in supply, and a rightward shift is an increase in supply. Market equilibrium is a situation where quantity demanded equals to quantity supplied at a particular price. The market equilibrium is found at the point E at which the market supply and market demand curve intersect as shown in figure 3. The price at the intersection of the market demand curve and market supply curve is called the equilibrium price, P* and the quantity at the intersection of the market demand curve and the market supply curve is called the equilibrium quantity Q*. A shortage exists at when the quantity demanded exceeds the quantity supplied, whereas, a surplus exists at when the quantity supplied exceeds the quantity demanded. For example, when the market equilibrium price is at RM10 and it increased to RM15, then there will be a surplus of 20 units in figure 4. The quantity demanded dropped to 10 units. Hence, the solution is to decrease the price to market equilibrium price, RM10, to achieve market equilibrium. In figure 5, there is a shortage of 20 units. Suppose the market equilibrium price is also RM10 and the price is decreased to RM5, the quantity demanded increased to 30 units. Thus, it brings a result that quantity demanded exceed quantity supplied which means shortage. To resolve this problem, the price has to be increased to the market equilibrium price, RM10. There are various types of government policies to change the market equilibrium. In an open-market, government intervenes to control the market prices to make improvements on the development and economy of the country as well as social well-fare in view of a conflict that consumer always wants lower prices and supplier wants higher prices. Besides, government intervention in the market also with aims to correct the market failure and minimize the income inequality. The motivations for price controls vary with the market under considerations. Government sets a price ceiling for goods deemed important to low-income households such as flour. A price ceiling is a legal maximum on the price at which a good can be sold. Conversely, a price floor is a legal minimum on the price at which a good can be sold, it is often set by government for wages, since wages are the main source of income for households. When government imposes a price ceiling on a product, there are two possibilities, either a binding or a non-binding price ceiling. However, for a price ceiling to be effective it should be a binding price ceiling and the price ceiling must be set below equilibrium. A price ceiling set above the equilibrium is a non-binding price ceiling, and the price will go back to the equilibrium price eventually by the demand and supply forces. In Malaysia, during the festive season, The Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-Operatives and Consumerism will impose price ceilings on the essential goods for various festivals. In a recent year, 2013, the Controlled Price Goods Scheme have imposed price ceilings for 20 essential goods including standard chicken, super chicken, local beef, imported beef and so on. For instance, as figure 6 shown, the market price of chicken per kg was initially RM8.50 and the government fixed the price ceiling at RM7.70 per kg which is 70sen lower than the market price. This price ceiling was in force for 17 days only, from 26th July to 11th August 2013 for the festival, Hari Raya Aidilfitri (Themalaysianinsider.com, 2013). The objective of setting the maximum price for the essential goods is to avoid the sellers raising the prices of the essential goods for Hari Raya Aidilfitri. When a price ceiling is imposed, the quantity demanded will exceed the quantity supplied, and a shortage will occur (Thesundaily.my, 2013). Price ceiling is often applied on rent controls, the objective of controlling the prices of rent is usually to counteract the inequality of bargaining power between landlords and tenant, as part of a minimum set of rights to make the market fair. It is very well-known that there has always been housing shortage in New York City, therefore, to avoid rent hikes caused by housing shortage, New York State legislators defend the War Emergency Tenant Protection Act to protect the tenants from rent hikes. For instance, the equilibrium rent is $1000 per unit per month, and the government imposes a price ceiling below the equilibrium rent at $800 per unit per month as shown in figure 7, thus, the price of rent cannot go any higher when it hits the price ceiling and the maximum price of rent will be $800 per unit per month. Rent ceiling is imposed to protect the low-income households in the short run but the long run impact is to avoid abandon of property out of the reason that the investors a re not willing to purchase or construct new housing with low rents, because it is unprofitable to the investors. Beside the benefit of low rent for tenants, there is also a bad impact on tenants. When the rents are low, the landlords tend to provide improper maintenances, poor repairs and painting in order to minimize the cost of renting to make more profit (Block, 2008). As it was mentioned before, price floor is the same as price ceiling but the opposite, it is a legal minimum on the price at which a good can be sold. The best example would be wages as it is the primary resource of most households’ incomes. For example, the New York government has fixed a minimum wage at $8.75 which is above the equilibrium wage ($8.00) in 2014 as figure 8 shown, the wages cannot go any lower than $8.75 as it hits the price floor. This price floor is effective and is called binding price floor. Therefore, the minimum wage is now fixed at $8.75, and the market wage is equals to the price floor (Labor.ny.gov, 2013). Thus, for a price floor to be effective, it must be fixed above the equilibrium wage which is called a binding price floor, a price floor that is set below equilibrium is a non-binding price floor. When a price floor is imposed, there will be a surplus of low-skilled workers, because it would produce willing workers who will be unable to find jobs, an increase in the minimum wage would create additional unemployment for low-skilled workers. The unemployment impact of the minimum wage falls vastly on the least experienced, least skilled persons, often teenage labour, holding the lowest paying jobs. In the most recent case, the Malaysian government has increased the price floor for the acquisition of property for foreign buyers from RM500000 (2010) to RM1million in Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan, according to a circular issued by Economic Planning Unit (EPU) of the Prime Minister’s Department on 1st March (Thestar.com.my, 2014). The main reason for this implementation is aim to control the ownerships of properties by foreign interests. Refer to figure 9. Beside imposing price floor and price ceiling, the government also intervenes to change market equilibrium through taxes and subsidies. There are two forms of taxes, direct and indirect tax. Direct tax is a fee levied by government on income, whereas, indirect tax is a fee levied by government on the price of goods and services, and indirect tax is the tax that able to make changes on market equilibrium. The objective of collecting taxes is to finance government expenditure, and the government uses the collected taxes for public infrastructure such as streetlamp and so on. Another reason is to discourage of production and consumption. The changes in demand and supply curve vary from the tax levied on sellers or buyers. When government levies taxes on buyers, the consumers tend to buy less. On the other hand, when tax is levied on suppliers, the cost of production will be increased and the suppliers tend to produce less. Just like many other countries do, Malaysian government is imposing Goods and Services Tax (GST) organized by Royal Malaysia Customs Department starting on 1st April 2015 in response to the fiscal deficit that Malaysia is experiencing. GST is an indirect tax based on consumption that applied on all goods and services and it is set at 6%. GST is imposed to provide more revenues to government besides income tax, it is also said to offer a more comprehensive, efficient, transparent and effective tax system (Khoo et al, 2013). As shown in figure 9, when GST is imposed, the supply of goods and services will decrease from SS to SS1 and causes prices rise from P to P1, and the equilibrium quantity will decrease from Q to Q1, thus, the new equilibrium is at E1. Apart from GST, imported motor vehicle tax in Malaysia is very high and it can be taxed up to 100 percent or even more. According to Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA), the excised duty imposed on vehicle ranges from 65 percent to 105 percent on top of the 10 percent sales tax. A Japan-made 2013 Toyota Prius, the price after tax is around RM140000 but a similarly equipped Prius sells for only around RM80,000 in the US and Japan (Hans, 2013). The objective is to reduce the loss of Ringgit Malaysia outflow to foreign country and protect local vehicle manufacturing industry. The local vehicle manufacturers, Proton and Perodua are heavily supported by the Malaysian government through the National Automotive Policy (NAP) (Lee, 2013). This is the reason why the price of vehicle in Malaysia is very expensive as shown in figure 10. Lastly, subsidy can also change the market equilibrium and it may be regarded as a negative tax. Subsidy is a benefit given by the government to groups or individuals usually in the form of a cash payment or tax reduction. The subsidy is usually given to remove some type of burden and is often considered to be in the interest of the public. A subsidy might be given to assist the poor, to help producer and to encourage consumption of goods and services. The Malaysia government has been subsidizing cooking oil since 1992, and more than RM1billion will be given out to stabilize the price of cooking oil every year. Without subsidy, the price of cooking oil was RM3.50 per kg, and the subsidized price is RM2.50. Refer to figure 11, when the cooking oil is subsidized, the supply will shift rightward which is an increase in supply from SS to SS1, then the price of cooking oil drops and the quantity increases from Q to Q1. The government provides subsidy for cooking oil is targeted for household consumers, unfortunately, 30 to 35 percent of subsidized cooking oil are flow to the restaurant operators, hawkers and small-scale food-based industry, it is also said that even 10 percent of them has flowed to foreign countries (Adnan, 2012). On 2nd October 2014, there was a decrease of 20sen on fuel subsidy and the price has increased from RM2.10 per liter to RM2.30 per liter. As shown in figure 12, the supply for fuel decreases from SS to SS1 and the quantity decreases from Q to Q1. The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Najib Razak who is also the finance minister stated that the reduction in fuel subsidy is due to the reduced revenue for national expenditure. The fuel subsidy was also reduced for other assistance such as education aid and many more (Ahmad and Singh, 2014). Reference List Adnan, H. (2012).  Archives | The Star Online.. [online] Thestar.com.my. Available at: http://www.thestar.com.my/story/?file=/2012/10/2/business/12110226 [Accessed 25 Nov. 2014]. Ahmad, S. and Singh, N. (2014).Najib talks about further subsidy cuts. [online] Free Malaysia Today. Available at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/10/22/najib-talks-about-further-subsidy-cuts/ [Accessed 25 Nov. 2014]. Block, W. (2008).Rent Control: The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics | Library of Economics and Liberty. [online] Econlib.org. Available at: http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/RentControl.html [Accessed 22 Nov. 2014]. Hans, (2013).Explaining The Mystery Behind High Car Prices in Malaysia Part 1. [online] Livelifedrive.com. Available at: http://www.livelifedrive.com/malaysia/news/view/3802/explaining-the-mystery-behind-high-car-prices-in-malaysiapart-1 [Accessed 23 Nov. 2014]. Khoo, C. (2013).GST in Malaysia. 1st ed. [ebook] Malaysia: KPMG tax Services Sdn Bhd, p.2. Available at: http://www.kpmg.com/MY/en/services/Tax/gst/Documents/tl-gst-malaysia.pdf [Accessed 23 Nov. 2014]. Labor.ny.gov, (2013).Minimum Wages New York State Department of Labor. [online] Available at: http://www.labor.ny.gov/workerprotection/laborstandards/workprot/minwage.shtm [Accessed 22 Nov. 2014]. Lee, I. (2013).What Causes High Car Prices In Malaysia?. [online] iMoney.my. Available at: https://www.imoney.my/articles/high-car-prices-in-malaysia [Accessed 24 Nov. 2014]. Themalaysianinsider.com, (2013).New ceiling price for chicken from July 26 – RM7.70 per kg The Malaysian Insider. [online] Available at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/new-ceiling-price-for-chicken-from-july-26-rm7.70-per-kg [Accessed 20 Nov. 2014]. Thestar.com.my, (2014).Foreigners can only buy properties costing RM1m and above from March 1 Business News | The Star Online. [online] Available at: http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/Business-News/2014/02/28/Foreigners-can-only-buy-properties-costing-RM1m-and-above-from-March-1/?style=biz [Accessed 22 Nov. 2014]. Thesundaily.my, (2013).Ceiling price for chicken fixed at RM7.70 | theSundaily. [online] Available at: http://www.thesundaily.my/news/775160 [Accessed 20 Nov. 2014].