Guitarist Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Guitarist - Essay Example Three years later, King relocated to West Memphis where he hoped to make several performances. In 1948, he got the chance to perform on Sonny Boy’s radio show and began to get audience. His popularity expanded during his ten-minute stint at Memphis radio station. The radio spot later changed to Sepia Swing Club (BBKING). His music career officially started in 1949 when he started recording with RPM records based in Los Angeles. Shortly before then, he had made his debut with a single titled â€Å"Miss Martha King† but is reception was poor. He assembled his named as the B.B King Review that toured across the U.S. while performing in major theaters (Morris). His name became one of the most prominent in R&B music in 1950s after his 3 O’clock Blues hit ranked number one on the Rhythm and Blues chart. After several releases, his earnings rose to the excess of $2500. In 1956, he founded his record label named as Blue Boys Kingdom. He engaged in rock music in the 1960s, and the Grammy Award in 1970 saw his song, The Thrill is Gone, list among the 500 greatest songs in history. Since 1980 till his death, he made several appearances on television shows, as well as, live performances (BBKING). King focused much on blues and led him to writing his autobiography titled â€Å"blues all around me.† His delta blues style is characterized by an emphasis on instrumentation and rhythm. His wailing guitar and world-weary voice brought to the global scene and at the top of American blues. He had a voice that groaned with love and lust and was recognizable to millions of people. During performances, he wrung notes with the guitar resting on his neck. Most of his songs, including the thrill is gone, were of pain and perseverance in love (Morris). King was simplistic in terms of the equipment he used. He played guitars and people associated him with the Lucille model. He also used amplifiers such as the Lab Series L5 2x12. The combo amplifier was the work of Norlin

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 27

Marketing - Essay Example Products have a several levels which allow the companies to reach out to meet the needs of the customers (Jobber, 2004). Considering the three main levels and using the example of an automobile industry to gain a better understanding of the products: a) Core Product: The core product is the actual product or service that the customer is actually buying. In the case of an automobile industry the core product that the customers buy is the ‘transportation’. b) Tangible Product or Actual Product: This is the basic requirements that the sellers will need to provide the customers with the core product. Hence in this case the actual product is the car / bike by itself. c) Augmented Product: The augmented product is what is provided by the company to exceed the expectations of the customers. In the case of the automobile industry, this will include aspects like the brand image, brand positioning and after sales services. This however is based on the expected product level. XXXX’s Target market based on demographic bases is mainly people between the ages of 20 and 40. This is simply because these people fall into a category where they look for the cheapest and best options available. In terms of the psychographics, the company offers low cost flights with the obvious levels of safety and security. Hence the main options for the target market will include, individuals that travel a lot for business and need a cheaper solution, families travelling for holidays, people looking for cheaper options to fly. The company will also need to deal with people in terms of their behavioural factors which include the decision roles of individuals like the initiators, influencers, deciders, buyers and also users (Davis, 2002). The other groups that need to also be targeted include the behavioural variables like the benefits, user status, the usage rate, and also occasions. One other aspect that needs to be considered is the buyer readiness

Demand and Issues of Urban Infrastructure

Demand and Issues of Urban Infrastructure Case Study of The Financial Model For Water Supply Project 1 Introduction 1.1 Rationale/Background According to the RICS recent survey only 4% of the people want to live in Urban Area. This shows the reverse in standard of living requirement which was dream of living in the urban area. What has gone wrong? We know that gypsies used to settle were they could find water. It can be said that water is such an important element for development of any place irrespective of urban or rural area. In India 30% of the total population live in Urban Area and contribute to 60% of the total GDP (Gross Domestic Product). 31% is the increase in the population in last decade compared to 18% in the rural area. So it is necessary to boost urban infrastructure by public as well as private intervention institution. Creativity is the service of the age that generate Ideas that become product and service. The downturn of the economies has advantage of new invention which is also true in case of maximization profit. With increase in the demographic of ages, climate, cultures and immigration it is difficult to take the risk of demand of the urban area. The risk of controlling the demand must be taken by government agency to encourage the private parties for excellence service in Infrastructure. 1.2 Research Aim and Objective 1.2.1 Aim To develop financial model for water supply projects using â€Å"JNNURM toolkit†. This can be used to analyze the relationship between performance and sustainability in PPP method of procurement. 1.2.2 Objective To study the preparation of Urban Infrastructure and Investment plan for the city. To evaluate the feasibility of water supply service in particular. Role of PPP in Urban Infrastructure. 1.2.3 Main Hypothesis Need for Urban Infrastructure and their implementation under governance of JNNURM scheme. To promote sustainable investment and innovative PPP method of procurement increase in the efficiency at municipality level by vigilance. Freedom should be given to private parties to make them comfortable. 1.3 Outline Methodology of Study We will first try to figure out what is the need of the curbing population of that particular city. The cities are in a desperate need of finance for carrying out the reviving projects. But the previous schemes and projects by the municipalities and state governments have failed miserably on the grounds of implementation (ie, time management) and utilization of funds. So there is a need to gather finance for the reviving project for the curbing infrastructure .The story does not end here, there is also a need to govern the utilization of fund. There is a new scheme which is growing popularity by the Government of India along with State government and the municipalities. The buzz word in this scheme is the governance of the project because there is a proper channel how to control the funds issued by the government. Also the government of India will regularly monitor the implementation of the project. Along with this there is a unique proposal of submitting the CDP (City Development Plan) for approval. So our approach would be to find a method of relating the increase in population and need of the same in coming 20 years as well as to arranging and managing finance considering all the factors like inflation, operation and maintenance cost. For this we would study CDPs of various cities and also study their approach in solving the future infrastructure problems. Also we would compare various CDPs and comment on their efficiency. Since we are talking of CDPs preparation and involvement of private parties we will try some case study and prepare the financial appraisal of the same. We would critically analyze whether the project is financially feasible under JNNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission) scheme 1.3.1 Literature review and the pilot study This literature review the following subject of India City Development plan Finance scheme for city development plan PPP procurement JNNURM Scheme Pilot Study consists of Theoretical approach. Study of a practical approach to prepare CPD for water supply project under guidelines of JNNURM scheme toolkit. 1.3.2 Main Study Case study:- Feasibility of water supply project under JNNURM scheme using Financial appraisal calculation and role of PPP in such project. The name of the city under case study has been changed due to sensibility of the case as it is live project. The name of the city will not effect on research subject of development of financial appraisal model because scenario is well detailed. The approach of this study by Quantitative and Analytical Comparison of CPD between different states: selected 4nos of states for comparison. The approach is Quantitative by reading the CPD’s of different states and comparing them. 1.3.3 Writing Up Chapter-1 :-Introduction Chapter-2:-City Development Plan Chapter-3:-Private Partner Chapter-4:- JNNURM Scheme Chapter-5:- Case Study Chapter-6:- Comparison of CPD between different states Chapter-7:-Conclusion 2 City Development Plan 2.1 Geographical Information 29 states and 6 union territories* Andaman and Nicobar Islands* Lakshadweep* Andhra Pradesh Madhya Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Maharashtra Assam Manipur Bihar Meghalaya Chandigarh* Mizoram Chhattisgarh Nagaland Dadra and Nagar Haveli* Orissa Daman and Diu* Pondicherry* Delhi Punjab Goa Rajasthan Gujarat Sikkim Haryana Tamil Nadu Himachal Pradesh Tripura Jammu and Kashmir Uttaranchal Jharkhand Uttar Pradesh Karnataka West Bengal Kerala * Union territory 2.2 Demography Table 1 India: Development Indicator â€Å"According to a United Nations study (1995), by the year 2015, ten of the worlds fifteen largest cities will be in Asia (excluding Japan); three of these will be in India. In 1950, this same region claimed only three of the worlds fifteen largest cities, whilst India claimed only one. These projections suggest that demographic growth in Indias large cities will be high, partly due to national population growth and partly due to immigration. The logistic model used by the United Nations, the World Bank, and other international agencies for the projection of urban population world-wide suggests that India is poised for rapid urbanisation, along with several other countries in south and East Asia. â€Å" SIZE: As per Census 2001, only 28% of the 1.1 billion Indians live in urban areas. Expected to increase to 40% by 2021. About 60% of the country’s GDP originates from urban areas. Allocation of US$12 billion by the Government of India under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) for a period of 7 years for improving urban infrastructure across 63 cities. Key metro cities Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad allocated 47.5% percent of these funds. STRUCTURE:JNNURM functions under the overall guidance of a National Steering Group (NSG) which comes under the purview of Ministry of Urban Development JNNURM is aimed at fast-track planned development of identified cities. Key highlights Integrated development of urban infrastructure projects Renewal and redevelopment of inner city areas Provision of basic services to urban poor Funds to be channelised through Urban Local Bodies who will be responsible for implementation Implementing agencies to leverage sanctioned funds to attract private sector investments through PPP contracts Outlook Investments of more than US$50 billion would be required in the next 5 years to improve and build urban infrastructure JNNURM is the single largest initiative of Government of India for planned development of cities Opportunity for private players to partner with Urban Local Bodies (ULB) in development of urban infrastructure such as Water supply and sanitation Slum redevelopment Urban transportation including roads, highways, expressways, Mass Rapid Transport Systems (MRTS) and metro projects Solid waste management POTENTIAL: A large component of development work will be through public-private partnership. Water supply and sanitation in urban areas to attract investments over US$30 billion. POLICY 100% FDI under the automatic route permitted for townships, housing, built-up infrastructure and construction-development based projects subject to minimum scale norms JNNURM will provide grants/viability gap funding for projects 2.3 Problems â€Å"Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) of India are the constitutionally provided administrative units that provide basic infrastructure and services in cities and towns. According to Census of India 1991, there are 3255 ULBs in the country classified into four major categories: Nagar Nigams Nagar Palikaa Nagar Panchayats Large urban areas are governed by Nagar Nigams, often simply called corporations. The area under a corporation is further divided up into wards. Individual wards or collections of wards within a corporation sometimes have their own administrative body known as ward committees. Smaller urban areas are governed by Nagar Palika, which are often referred to simply as municipalities. Municipalities are also divided into wards, which may be grouped together into ward councils. One or more representatives are elected to represent each ward.† â€Å"What is worse, many ULBs have accumulated ‘large’ debts and face serious problems in servicing them. Besides the restriction to a small resource base poor planning process, lack of periodical revision of municipal tax rates / user charges, and poor information system and records management are some of the basic weaknesses in the present municipal administration.† The â€Å"Infrastructure Problem  : In spite of its prominent role in Indian economy, urban India faces serious problems due to population pressure, deterioration in the physical environment and quality of life. According to estimates nearly one third of the urban India lives below poverty line. About 15 percent of the urbanites do not have access to safe drinking water and about 50 percent are not covered by sanitary facilities. There is a huge and widening gap between demand and supply of essential services and infrastructure. â€Å" 2.4 Schemes for development of urban development The ongoing schemes of Urban Infrastructure Development in the mega cities, and Integrated Development of Small and Medium Towns (IDSMT) do not meet the requirement of infrastructure development of all cities/towns in the country. There is, therefore, need to have a comprehensive scheme for infrastructure development of all cities/towns in the country. Other scheme like Urban Reforms Incentive Fund (URIF) also needs to be subsumed in the said comprehensive scheme. Funding is linked to reforms which are classified into â€Å"mandatory† and â€Å"optional† as detailed below: Mandatory Reforms—State level: Repeal of Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act Reform of Rent Control Laws so as to stimulate private investment in rental housing schemes. Rationalisation of Stamp Duty to bring it down to no more than 5 per cent within the next five years. Introduction of independent regulators for urban services. Mandatory Reforms –Core (at ULBs level): Double entry system of accounting for Urban Local Bodies Adoption of public disclosure law – disclosure of medium-term fiscal plan and quarterly performance reports. Passage of community participation law. All special agencies currently involved in delivering urban civic services to be brought under the supervision of ULBs, thus creating a uniform accountability platform. A Bangalore Action Task Force (BATF) kind of citizen’s technical advisory group should be constituted for each city to guide the process of urban reforms. Urban development authorities discharging city Planning functions and the new city development function should associate the ULBs more closely. Introduction of e-governance, Global Information System (GIS) and Monitoring Information System ( MIS) Reform of Property Tax laws. Levy of reasonable user charges. Optional Reforms: Revision of byelaws to streamline the approval process. Simplification of legal and procedural frameworks for conversion of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes Introduction of Property Title Certification System in ULBs. Earmarking at least 20-25 per cent of developed land in all housing projects for the poor. Introduction of computerized process of registration of land and property Revision of bye-laws to make rain water harvesting mandatory Bye-laws for reuse of reclaimed water Administrative reforms, i.e. right sizing of the ULBs. It is important to note that the contribution of urban sector to GDP is currently expected to be in the range of 60 percent. In this context, enhancing the productivity of urban areas is now central to the policy pronouncements of the Ministry of Urban Development. Cities hold tremendous potential as engines of economic and social development, creating jobs and generating wealth through economies of scale. They need to be sustained and augmented through the high urban productivity for countrys economic growth. National economic growth and poverty reduction efforts will be increasingly determined by the productivity of these cities and towns. For Indian cities to become growth oriented and productive, it is essential to achieve a world class urban system. This in turn depends on attaining efficiency and equity in the delivery and financing of urban infrastructure. Resource Gap: The India Infrastructure, Report, 1996, assessed the total annual investment needs of water supply, sanitation and roads sectors at Rs. 28,036 crores per year on an average during 1996-2006. Where as funds to that extent are not available. To overcome these constraints and challenges, the Ministry of Urban Development has initiated institutional, fiscal and financial reforms. First generation urban sector reform known as the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992, recognizes the principles of local self governments and empowers urban local bodies with financial resources through Central Finance Commission and State Finance Commissions. Subsequently, in order to strengthen these local bodies, second generation reform have also been started. In the last decade, enormous progress has been made in removing impediments to efficient investment. Resource Mobilization Effort: In August, 1996, the Central Government guidelines entitled Urban Development Plans Formulation and Implementation were circulated to all State Governments for adoption. These guidelines, apart from other issues, suggest innovative approaches for fiscal resource mobilization. In the backdrop of the New Economic Policy, it was suggested that the traditional system of funding based on Plan and budgetary allocations be reduced and ultimately withdrawn due to fiscal deficit. Subsidies need to be rationalized and urban development plans and projects need to be placed on a commercial format by designing commercially viable urban infrastructure services and area development projects. This can be achieved by restoring a proper match between functions and source of revenue by giving additional tax measures. Other innovative resource mobilization measures include using land as resource, increase in the non-property taxes and using public private partnership in service delivery. 2.4.1 Second Generation Reforms Regulatory Framework: The participation of the private sector in financing and the delivery of infrastructure at the municipal level, especially in the water and sanitation sector, require a regulatory framework to protect consumers, apply environmental standards and support the delivery to the poor. As there are a variety of models of regulation from centralized to decentralized systems, guidelines will be developed at the National level to ensure consistency across the country. Appropriate training programme and capacity support to regulators will also be developed in partnership with the private sector and urban research institutions. Model legislation: The Central Government is in the process of preparing model legislation for facilitating private sector participation in urban infrastructure. This is necessary as the present legislative scenario does not encourage private sector participation in this field. A model Municipal Act which will be recommended to the State Governments would include modification and simplification of Municipal bylaws, provision for enhanced borrowing, allowing the entry of private sector and authorizing concessionaires to penalize users for non payment of tariffs. Municipal Accounting System: The Task Force constituted by the O/o CAG of India had recommended for introduction of accrual basis of accounting system for the urban local bodies (ULBs) and suggested model budgeting and accounting formats for that purpose. The Task Force Report was circulated to all States/UTs for adoption of accrual basis of accounting system as well as the budget and accounting formats. Further to provide a simplified tool kit to the ULBs for recording the accounting entries, Ministry of Urban Development in cooperation with the Office of CAG of India has prepared a National Municipal Accounting Manual (NMAM) and circulated to all States/UTs in January, 2005. The Manual comprehensively details the accounting policies, procedures, guidelines designed to ensure correct, complete and timely recording of municipal transactions and produce accurate and relevant financial reports. The NMAM would help the States prepare their state-level accounting manuals in accordance with their own requirements for use by the ULBs. This initiative is expected not only to enhance the capacities of ULBs in municipal accounting leading to increased transparency and accountability of utilization of public funds for the development of urban sector but also will help in creating an environment in which urban local bodies can play their role more effectively and ensure better service delivery. Public private partnership guidelines: Central Government will develop guidelines for involvement of the private sector in infrastructure, which will ensure competitive biding process in a transparent manner. These guidelines will not only protect the consumers but also ensure integrity of the process. This would support municipalities in designing the PPP process on the lines of the BOT Centre in Philippines or the PPP in the Ministry of Finance in South Africa. Chapter4 included the issues related to PPP. 2.4.2 Fiscal incentives Foreign direct investment (FDI): Hitherto Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) allowed direct investment in providing urban services on a case to case basis. This scenario has changed with the decision of the Central Government removing restrictions on FDI in urban infrastructure facilities which are now open both under FIPB and the automatic route as per sector specific guidelines. Guidelines have since even issued for FDI in development of integrating township including housing and building material. External assistance: Since independence, externally assisted urban sector projects have accounted for US$ 2300 million. A review of these projects indicated a need to adopt a programme approach rather than a project approach for availing external assistance. It also indicated the need to encourage a multiple donor scenario and tapping low cost funds for urban infrastructure. Tax free municipal bond: Municipal bonds were successfully issued by several Municipal Corporations like, Bangalore, Ahmadabad, Ludhiana, Nagpur, Nasik, and Madurai for raising resources for urban infrastructure. The Central Government had announced tax exemption in case of bonds issued by Municipal / Local Governments. Guidelines were issued by this Ministry on 8.2.2001 for regulating issue of tax free municipal bonds. Under the guidelines, such bonds will be issued for raising resources for capital investment in creation of new infrastructure as well as augmentation of existing systems. Tax free bonds worth Rs. 100 crore by Ahmadabad Municipal Corporation have been permitted for improving infrastructure. Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has also been permitted to issue tax free municipal bonds for Rs. 82.5 crore. Pooled financing for municipal infrastructure: Traditionally, municipal corporations and urban local bodies have relied on subsidized funds for providing urban services which constraints the constraints the introduction of user charges and efficient project operation and maintenance. In view of the huge resource gap, direct access to capital market would now be an accepted viable option. However, access to capital market requires financial discipline and enhanced credit rating. It has been the experience that only bigger municipal corporations are in a position to take the advantage of the resources available in capital market. Medium and smaller municipalities are unable to do so due to weak financial position and lack of capacity to prepare viable project proposals. A State level pooled financing mechanism is being proposed for smaller and medium municipalities. The objective of a State level pooled finance mechanism is to provide a cost effective and efficient approach for smaller and medium sized ULBs to access the domestic capital markets for urban infrastructure and to introduce new institutional arrangements for mobilising Urban Infrastructure Finance. City Restructuring: Government of India is also encouraging citywide reforms and restructuring so as to ensure that cities are managed efficiently and become creditworthy (to attract private finance ) which will enable them to prepare long term plans for infrastructure investments and implement poverty alleviation programmes. Citywide reforms and restructuring will, however, result in significant transaction costs during the period of transition. Leaving cities to finance these costs by themselves will delay and make it difficult to implement these reforms. It is to partly offset this disadvantage that the Ministry of Urban Development is proposing to set up a performance based City Challenge Fund for catalyzing city level economic reform programmes. The resources from the Fund would be given as grants but should ideally be matched by equal allocations either from the cities themselves or from the respective State governments. Access to the fund would be on a competitive basis. Establishment of an urban academy: The proposed Urban Academy is visualized as a centre of excellence in Urban Matters such as urban water supply, sanitation, urban transport, urban governance, municipal finance, etc. It will be a n ideal town-planning habitat, wherein experts from India and abroad can experiment with new layouts, building materials, landscaping, heritage preservation etc., and it will have Synergic links with all other institutions specializing in urban matters. This will coordinate all Training and Capacity Building Initiatives and effort of change management forums. Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that the New Economic Policy launched in India in 1991-92, did see several important initiatives in the urban sector designed to encourage private sector participation in urban infrastructure projects. These initiatives would need to be taken to their logical conclusion. A series of new Reform Measures are being put together for implementation during 10th Plan Period. Through these, we hope to reverse the declining standards of urban infrastructure in the country. Public Private Partnership Procurement addresses how the industry organizes itself to deliver construction projects. Contracts define the rules governing the relationships between the many organizations involved in each project. Construction industry clients are faced with a perplexing array of skills and resources which must be combined effectively to develop a building (or other constructed facility) that will fulfill their needs. All but the simplest of buildings involve the management, design, assembly and commissioning of large amounts of raw materials using appropriately-skilled labor provided by multiple organizations over a long period of time. The flow of money between Organizations must be formally organized, as must the distribution of responsibility and risk among them. While the technical complexities of the design solution itself are addressed by the specialized skills of construction industry members, the interaction of these organizations must be structured by the selection of an appropriate procurement route and the effective administration (i.e. day to day running) of the associated form of construction contract. At the project outset, clients will usually seek advice on the selection of a procurement route to bring the required organizations together. Figure 1 Example of a cost and Time Overruns in Public Sector Projects. In response to these problems, two key joint industry and government reports were published to stimulate innovation in construction industry practice: the Latham Report in 1994 and the Egan Report in 1998. In the first report – â€Å"Constructing the Team† – Sir Michael Latham commented: â€Å"Implementation begins with clients. Clients are at the core of the Process and their needs must be met by industry† â€Å"Rethinking Construction† proposed five drivers for change in the construction industry: 1. Committed leadership 2. A focus on the customer 3. Integrated processes and teams 4. A quality driven agenda 5. Commitment to people In the public sector, HM Treasury launched the â€Å"Achieving Excellence in Construction† initiative in 1999 to improve the performance of Government in its client role by publishing â€Å"Achieving Excellence in Construction Procurement Guides† [11] which addresses the following issues: 1. Initiating action 2. Project organization 3. Project procurement lifecycle 4. Risk and value management 5. The integrated project team 6. Procurement and contract strategies 7. Whole-life costing 8. Improving performance 9. Design quality 10. Health and safety 11. Sustainability Public sector clients are generally concerned with certainty of budget and quality and, above all else, ensuring public accountability as they are spending public money. Clients who build regularly – perhaps continuously –can be considered experienced Construction projects can be structured in a variety of ways as â€Å"No single procurement route† is suited to all situations and so is required to link the Client’s business requirements before an appropriate project structure can be recommended. The Office of Government Commerce defines these terms as follows [1]: â€Å"Procurement strategy: The procurement strategy identifies the best way of achieving the objectives of the project and value for money, taking account of the risks and constraints, leading to decision about the funding mechanism and asset ownership for the project. The aim of a procurement strategy is to achieve the optimum balance of risk, control and funding for a particular project.† â€Å"Procurement route: The procurement route delivers the procurement strategy. It included the contract strategy that will best meet the Client’s needs. An integrated procurement route ensures that design, construction, operations and maintenance are considered as a whole; it also ensures that the delivery team work together as an integrated project team.† Figure 2 The relationship of procurement strategy to procurement route â€Å"A Public Private Partnership (PPP) is an umbrella term for arrangements agreed – often with legal force – between public and private sector organisations to their mutual benefit. The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is one form of PPP developed by the Government in which the public and private sectors join to design, build or refurbish, finance and operate new or improved facilities and services to the general public. PFI schemes generally involve a consortium of private sector companies, who collaborate to form a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) which then contracts with the public sector to provide services such as hospitals, schools and roads to specifications provided by public sector bodies.† 3.1 Procurement method issues Construction industry has complex analysis mere by dual component of land and building. It has fuzz boundaries. The fragmentation of the industry between contractor, consultant, project management etc creates the industry highly volatile. It can also be argued the reduction of professionalism if it is at only contractor. So it is expected to carry multitude of negative aspects of Investment which is derived from present consumption. In Economics term Investment is the process of trading present consumption for new capital. Present trading can be alternative to investment in other than the construction industry. Individual participant have significant approach to price and quantity. â€Å"This definition illustrates several key characteristics of PFI schemes: A service, rather than capital assets, is purchased. PFI schemes run for a long time. The public sector typically requires procures the provision of a service over a 25 to 35 year period. Buildings or other infrastructure is usually constructed by the private sector as a consequence of the need to provide the agreed service. The PFI agreement will define the level of service required (such as providing a maintained, lit, warm, clean and catered hospital, for example) and the private sector will finance the design and construction of new or adapted facilitates as necessary to accommodate that service. Because the public sector is purchasing a service, rather than assets, it will not own those assets unless the transfer of their ownership is agreed when setting up the scheme (see Section 6.6.5). Subject to any specification imposed by the public sector client, the private sector is free to use whatever means it considers appropriate when constructing the assets. This can lead to design quality and performance shortcomings (see Section 6.6.4). The private sector puts itself at risk when securing the finance required to construct any capital assets required by the scheme. In return, it will expect to be paid for managing this risk. This raises the overall cost of PFI schemes above that of non-PFI procurement where financing risks are minimal as they are borne by the public sector with funding traditionally provided and underwritten by the Treasury.† 3.2 Role of PPP in Infrastructures â€Å"In the projects from the Public Private Partnership (PPP) and Private Finance Initative (PFI) programmes, the public sector contracts to purchase services – rather than any particular building – from the private sector in the long term. The delivery Demand and Issues of Urban Infrastructure Demand and Issues of Urban Infrastructure Case Study of The Financial Model For Water Supply Project 1 Introduction 1.1 Rationale/Background According to the RICS recent survey only 4% of the people want to live in Urban Area. This shows the reverse in standard of living requirement which was dream of living in the urban area. What has gone wrong? We know that gypsies used to settle were they could find water. It can be said that water is such an important element for development of any place irrespective of urban or rural area. In India 30% of the total population live in Urban Area and contribute to 60% of the total GDP (Gross Domestic Product). 31% is the increase in the population in last decade compared to 18% in the rural area. So it is necessary to boost urban infrastructure by public as well as private intervention institution. Creativity is the service of the age that generate Ideas that become product and service. The downturn of the economies has advantage of new invention which is also true in case of maximization profit. With increase in the demographic of ages, climate, cultures and immigration it is difficult to take the risk of demand of the urban area. The risk of controlling the demand must be taken by government agency to encourage the private parties for excellence service in Infrastructure. 1.2 Research Aim and Objective 1.2.1 Aim To develop financial model for water supply projects using â€Å"JNNURM toolkit†. This can be used to analyze the relationship between performance and sustainability in PPP method of procurement. 1.2.2 Objective To study the preparation of Urban Infrastructure and Investment plan for the city. To evaluate the feasibility of water supply service in particular. Role of PPP in Urban Infrastructure. 1.2.3 Main Hypothesis Need for Urban Infrastructure and their implementation under governance of JNNURM scheme. To promote sustainable investment and innovative PPP method of procurement increase in the efficiency at municipality level by vigilance. Freedom should be given to private parties to make them comfortable. 1.3 Outline Methodology of Study We will first try to figure out what is the need of the curbing population of that particular city. The cities are in a desperate need of finance for carrying out the reviving projects. But the previous schemes and projects by the municipalities and state governments have failed miserably on the grounds of implementation (ie, time management) and utilization of funds. So there is a need to gather finance for the reviving project for the curbing infrastructure .The story does not end here, there is also a need to govern the utilization of fund. There is a new scheme which is growing popularity by the Government of India along with State government and the municipalities. The buzz word in this scheme is the governance of the project because there is a proper channel how to control the funds issued by the government. Also the government of India will regularly monitor the implementation of the project. Along with this there is a unique proposal of submitting the CDP (City Development Plan) for approval. So our approach would be to find a method of relating the increase in population and need of the same in coming 20 years as well as to arranging and managing finance considering all the factors like inflation, operation and maintenance cost. For this we would study CDPs of various cities and also study their approach in solving the future infrastructure problems. Also we would compare various CDPs and comment on their efficiency. Since we are talking of CDPs preparation and involvement of private parties we will try some case study and prepare the financial appraisal of the same. We would critically analyze whether the project is financially feasible under JNNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission) scheme 1.3.1 Literature review and the pilot study This literature review the following subject of India City Development plan Finance scheme for city development plan PPP procurement JNNURM Scheme Pilot Study consists of Theoretical approach. Study of a practical approach to prepare CPD for water supply project under guidelines of JNNURM scheme toolkit. 1.3.2 Main Study Case study:- Feasibility of water supply project under JNNURM scheme using Financial appraisal calculation and role of PPP in such project. The name of the city under case study has been changed due to sensibility of the case as it is live project. The name of the city will not effect on research subject of development of financial appraisal model because scenario is well detailed. The approach of this study by Quantitative and Analytical Comparison of CPD between different states: selected 4nos of states for comparison. The approach is Quantitative by reading the CPD’s of different states and comparing them. 1.3.3 Writing Up Chapter-1 :-Introduction Chapter-2:-City Development Plan Chapter-3:-Private Partner Chapter-4:- JNNURM Scheme Chapter-5:- Case Study Chapter-6:- Comparison of CPD between different states Chapter-7:-Conclusion 2 City Development Plan 2.1 Geographical Information 29 states and 6 union territories* Andaman and Nicobar Islands* Lakshadweep* Andhra Pradesh Madhya Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Maharashtra Assam Manipur Bihar Meghalaya Chandigarh* Mizoram Chhattisgarh Nagaland Dadra and Nagar Haveli* Orissa Daman and Diu* Pondicherry* Delhi Punjab Goa Rajasthan Gujarat Sikkim Haryana Tamil Nadu Himachal Pradesh Tripura Jammu and Kashmir Uttaranchal Jharkhand Uttar Pradesh Karnataka West Bengal Kerala * Union territory 2.2 Demography Table 1 India: Development Indicator â€Å"According to a United Nations study (1995), by the year 2015, ten of the worlds fifteen largest cities will be in Asia (excluding Japan); three of these will be in India. In 1950, this same region claimed only three of the worlds fifteen largest cities, whilst India claimed only one. These projections suggest that demographic growth in Indias large cities will be high, partly due to national population growth and partly due to immigration. The logistic model used by the United Nations, the World Bank, and other international agencies for the projection of urban population world-wide suggests that India is poised for rapid urbanisation, along with several other countries in south and East Asia. â€Å" SIZE: As per Census 2001, only 28% of the 1.1 billion Indians live in urban areas. Expected to increase to 40% by 2021. About 60% of the country’s GDP originates from urban areas. Allocation of US$12 billion by the Government of India under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) for a period of 7 years for improving urban infrastructure across 63 cities. Key metro cities Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad allocated 47.5% percent of these funds. STRUCTURE:JNNURM functions under the overall guidance of a National Steering Group (NSG) which comes under the purview of Ministry of Urban Development JNNURM is aimed at fast-track planned development of identified cities. Key highlights Integrated development of urban infrastructure projects Renewal and redevelopment of inner city areas Provision of basic services to urban poor Funds to be channelised through Urban Local Bodies who will be responsible for implementation Implementing agencies to leverage sanctioned funds to attract private sector investments through PPP contracts Outlook Investments of more than US$50 billion would be required in the next 5 years to improve and build urban infrastructure JNNURM is the single largest initiative of Government of India for planned development of cities Opportunity for private players to partner with Urban Local Bodies (ULB) in development of urban infrastructure such as Water supply and sanitation Slum redevelopment Urban transportation including roads, highways, expressways, Mass Rapid Transport Systems (MRTS) and metro projects Solid waste management POTENTIAL: A large component of development work will be through public-private partnership. Water supply and sanitation in urban areas to attract investments over US$30 billion. POLICY 100% FDI under the automatic route permitted for townships, housing, built-up infrastructure and construction-development based projects subject to minimum scale norms JNNURM will provide grants/viability gap funding for projects 2.3 Problems â€Å"Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) of India are the constitutionally provided administrative units that provide basic infrastructure and services in cities and towns. According to Census of India 1991, there are 3255 ULBs in the country classified into four major categories: Nagar Nigams Nagar Palikaa Nagar Panchayats Large urban areas are governed by Nagar Nigams, often simply called corporations. The area under a corporation is further divided up into wards. Individual wards or collections of wards within a corporation sometimes have their own administrative body known as ward committees. Smaller urban areas are governed by Nagar Palika, which are often referred to simply as municipalities. Municipalities are also divided into wards, which may be grouped together into ward councils. One or more representatives are elected to represent each ward.† â€Å"What is worse, many ULBs have accumulated ‘large’ debts and face serious problems in servicing them. Besides the restriction to a small resource base poor planning process, lack of periodical revision of municipal tax rates / user charges, and poor information system and records management are some of the basic weaknesses in the present municipal administration.† The â€Å"Infrastructure Problem  : In spite of its prominent role in Indian economy, urban India faces serious problems due to population pressure, deterioration in the physical environment and quality of life. According to estimates nearly one third of the urban India lives below poverty line. About 15 percent of the urbanites do not have access to safe drinking water and about 50 percent are not covered by sanitary facilities. There is a huge and widening gap between demand and supply of essential services and infrastructure. â€Å" 2.4 Schemes for development of urban development The ongoing schemes of Urban Infrastructure Development in the mega cities, and Integrated Development of Small and Medium Towns (IDSMT) do not meet the requirement of infrastructure development of all cities/towns in the country. There is, therefore, need to have a comprehensive scheme for infrastructure development of all cities/towns in the country. Other scheme like Urban Reforms Incentive Fund (URIF) also needs to be subsumed in the said comprehensive scheme. Funding is linked to reforms which are classified into â€Å"mandatory† and â€Å"optional† as detailed below: Mandatory Reforms—State level: Repeal of Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act Reform of Rent Control Laws so as to stimulate private investment in rental housing schemes. Rationalisation of Stamp Duty to bring it down to no more than 5 per cent within the next five years. Introduction of independent regulators for urban services. Mandatory Reforms –Core (at ULBs level): Double entry system of accounting for Urban Local Bodies Adoption of public disclosure law – disclosure of medium-term fiscal plan and quarterly performance reports. Passage of community participation law. All special agencies currently involved in delivering urban civic services to be brought under the supervision of ULBs, thus creating a uniform accountability platform. A Bangalore Action Task Force (BATF) kind of citizen’s technical advisory group should be constituted for each city to guide the process of urban reforms. Urban development authorities discharging city Planning functions and the new city development function should associate the ULBs more closely. Introduction of e-governance, Global Information System (GIS) and Monitoring Information System ( MIS) Reform of Property Tax laws. Levy of reasonable user charges. Optional Reforms: Revision of byelaws to streamline the approval process. Simplification of legal and procedural frameworks for conversion of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes Introduction of Property Title Certification System in ULBs. Earmarking at least 20-25 per cent of developed land in all housing projects for the poor. Introduction of computerized process of registration of land and property Revision of bye-laws to make rain water harvesting mandatory Bye-laws for reuse of reclaimed water Administrative reforms, i.e. right sizing of the ULBs. It is important to note that the contribution of urban sector to GDP is currently expected to be in the range of 60 percent. In this context, enhancing the productivity of urban areas is now central to the policy pronouncements of the Ministry of Urban Development. Cities hold tremendous potential as engines of economic and social development, creating jobs and generating wealth through economies of scale. They need to be sustained and augmented through the high urban productivity for countrys economic growth. National economic growth and poverty reduction efforts will be increasingly determined by the productivity of these cities and towns. For Indian cities to become growth oriented and productive, it is essential to achieve a world class urban system. This in turn depends on attaining efficiency and equity in the delivery and financing of urban infrastructure. Resource Gap: The India Infrastructure, Report, 1996, assessed the total annual investment needs of water supply, sanitation and roads sectors at Rs. 28,036 crores per year on an average during 1996-2006. Where as funds to that extent are not available. To overcome these constraints and challenges, the Ministry of Urban Development has initiated institutional, fiscal and financial reforms. First generation urban sector reform known as the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992, recognizes the principles of local self governments and empowers urban local bodies with financial resources through Central Finance Commission and State Finance Commissions. Subsequently, in order to strengthen these local bodies, second generation reform have also been started. In the last decade, enormous progress has been made in removing impediments to efficient investment. Resource Mobilization Effort: In August, 1996, the Central Government guidelines entitled Urban Development Plans Formulation and Implementation were circulated to all State Governments for adoption. These guidelines, apart from other issues, suggest innovative approaches for fiscal resource mobilization. In the backdrop of the New Economic Policy, it was suggested that the traditional system of funding based on Plan and budgetary allocations be reduced and ultimately withdrawn due to fiscal deficit. Subsidies need to be rationalized and urban development plans and projects need to be placed on a commercial format by designing commercially viable urban infrastructure services and area development projects. This can be achieved by restoring a proper match between functions and source of revenue by giving additional tax measures. Other innovative resource mobilization measures include using land as resource, increase in the non-property taxes and using public private partnership in service delivery. 2.4.1 Second Generation Reforms Regulatory Framework: The participation of the private sector in financing and the delivery of infrastructure at the municipal level, especially in the water and sanitation sector, require a regulatory framework to protect consumers, apply environmental standards and support the delivery to the poor. As there are a variety of models of regulation from centralized to decentralized systems, guidelines will be developed at the National level to ensure consistency across the country. Appropriate training programme and capacity support to regulators will also be developed in partnership with the private sector and urban research institutions. Model legislation: The Central Government is in the process of preparing model legislation for facilitating private sector participation in urban infrastructure. This is necessary as the present legislative scenario does not encourage private sector participation in this field. A model Municipal Act which will be recommended to the State Governments would include modification and simplification of Municipal bylaws, provision for enhanced borrowing, allowing the entry of private sector and authorizing concessionaires to penalize users for non payment of tariffs. Municipal Accounting System: The Task Force constituted by the O/o CAG of India had recommended for introduction of accrual basis of accounting system for the urban local bodies (ULBs) and suggested model budgeting and accounting formats for that purpose. The Task Force Report was circulated to all States/UTs for adoption of accrual basis of accounting system as well as the budget and accounting formats. Further to provide a simplified tool kit to the ULBs for recording the accounting entries, Ministry of Urban Development in cooperation with the Office of CAG of India has prepared a National Municipal Accounting Manual (NMAM) and circulated to all States/UTs in January, 2005. The Manual comprehensively details the accounting policies, procedures, guidelines designed to ensure correct, complete and timely recording of municipal transactions and produce accurate and relevant financial reports. The NMAM would help the States prepare their state-level accounting manuals in accordance with their own requirements for use by the ULBs. This initiative is expected not only to enhance the capacities of ULBs in municipal accounting leading to increased transparency and accountability of utilization of public funds for the development of urban sector but also will help in creating an environment in which urban local bodies can play their role more effectively and ensure better service delivery. Public private partnership guidelines: Central Government will develop guidelines for involvement of the private sector in infrastructure, which will ensure competitive biding process in a transparent manner. These guidelines will not only protect the consumers but also ensure integrity of the process. This would support municipalities in designing the PPP process on the lines of the BOT Centre in Philippines or the PPP in the Ministry of Finance in South Africa. Chapter4 included the issues related to PPP. 2.4.2 Fiscal incentives Foreign direct investment (FDI): Hitherto Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) allowed direct investment in providing urban services on a case to case basis. This scenario has changed with the decision of the Central Government removing restrictions on FDI in urban infrastructure facilities which are now open both under FIPB and the automatic route as per sector specific guidelines. Guidelines have since even issued for FDI in development of integrating township including housing and building material. External assistance: Since independence, externally assisted urban sector projects have accounted for US$ 2300 million. A review of these projects indicated a need to adopt a programme approach rather than a project approach for availing external assistance. It also indicated the need to encourage a multiple donor scenario and tapping low cost funds for urban infrastructure. Tax free municipal bond: Municipal bonds were successfully issued by several Municipal Corporations like, Bangalore, Ahmadabad, Ludhiana, Nagpur, Nasik, and Madurai for raising resources for urban infrastructure. The Central Government had announced tax exemption in case of bonds issued by Municipal / Local Governments. Guidelines were issued by this Ministry on 8.2.2001 for regulating issue of tax free municipal bonds. Under the guidelines, such bonds will be issued for raising resources for capital investment in creation of new infrastructure as well as augmentation of existing systems. Tax free bonds worth Rs. 100 crore by Ahmadabad Municipal Corporation have been permitted for improving infrastructure. Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has also been permitted to issue tax free municipal bonds for Rs. 82.5 crore. Pooled financing for municipal infrastructure: Traditionally, municipal corporations and urban local bodies have relied on subsidized funds for providing urban services which constraints the constraints the introduction of user charges and efficient project operation and maintenance. In view of the huge resource gap, direct access to capital market would now be an accepted viable option. However, access to capital market requires financial discipline and enhanced credit rating. It has been the experience that only bigger municipal corporations are in a position to take the advantage of the resources available in capital market. Medium and smaller municipalities are unable to do so due to weak financial position and lack of capacity to prepare viable project proposals. A State level pooled financing mechanism is being proposed for smaller and medium municipalities. The objective of a State level pooled finance mechanism is to provide a cost effective and efficient approach for smaller and medium sized ULBs to access the domestic capital markets for urban infrastructure and to introduce new institutional arrangements for mobilising Urban Infrastructure Finance. City Restructuring: Government of India is also encouraging citywide reforms and restructuring so as to ensure that cities are managed efficiently and become creditworthy (to attract private finance ) which will enable them to prepare long term plans for infrastructure investments and implement poverty alleviation programmes. Citywide reforms and restructuring will, however, result in significant transaction costs during the period of transition. Leaving cities to finance these costs by themselves will delay and make it difficult to implement these reforms. It is to partly offset this disadvantage that the Ministry of Urban Development is proposing to set up a performance based City Challenge Fund for catalyzing city level economic reform programmes. The resources from the Fund would be given as grants but should ideally be matched by equal allocations either from the cities themselves or from the respective State governments. Access to the fund would be on a competitive basis. Establishment of an urban academy: The proposed Urban Academy is visualized as a centre of excellence in Urban Matters such as urban water supply, sanitation, urban transport, urban governance, municipal finance, etc. It will be a n ideal town-planning habitat, wherein experts from India and abroad can experiment with new layouts, building materials, landscaping, heritage preservation etc., and it will have Synergic links with all other institutions specializing in urban matters. This will coordinate all Training and Capacity Building Initiatives and effort of change management forums. Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that the New Economic Policy launched in India in 1991-92, did see several important initiatives in the urban sector designed to encourage private sector participation in urban infrastructure projects. These initiatives would need to be taken to their logical conclusion. A series of new Reform Measures are being put together for implementation during 10th Plan Period. Through these, we hope to reverse the declining standards of urban infrastructure in the country. Public Private Partnership Procurement addresses how the industry organizes itself to deliver construction projects. Contracts define the rules governing the relationships between the many organizations involved in each project. Construction industry clients are faced with a perplexing array of skills and resources which must be combined effectively to develop a building (or other constructed facility) that will fulfill their needs. All but the simplest of buildings involve the management, design, assembly and commissioning of large amounts of raw materials using appropriately-skilled labor provided by multiple organizations over a long period of time. The flow of money between Organizations must be formally organized, as must the distribution of responsibility and risk among them. While the technical complexities of the design solution itself are addressed by the specialized skills of construction industry members, the interaction of these organizations must be structured by the selection of an appropriate procurement route and the effective administration (i.e. day to day running) of the associated form of construction contract. At the project outset, clients will usually seek advice on the selection of a procurement route to bring the required organizations together. Figure 1 Example of a cost and Time Overruns in Public Sector Projects. In response to these problems, two key joint industry and government reports were published to stimulate innovation in construction industry practice: the Latham Report in 1994 and the Egan Report in 1998. In the first report – â€Å"Constructing the Team† – Sir Michael Latham commented: â€Å"Implementation begins with clients. Clients are at the core of the Process and their needs must be met by industry† â€Å"Rethinking Construction† proposed five drivers for change in the construction industry: 1. Committed leadership 2. A focus on the customer 3. Integrated processes and teams 4. A quality driven agenda 5. Commitment to people In the public sector, HM Treasury launched the â€Å"Achieving Excellence in Construction† initiative in 1999 to improve the performance of Government in its client role by publishing â€Å"Achieving Excellence in Construction Procurement Guides† [11] which addresses the following issues: 1. Initiating action 2. Project organization 3. Project procurement lifecycle 4. Risk and value management 5. The integrated project team 6. Procurement and contract strategies 7. Whole-life costing 8. Improving performance 9. Design quality 10. Health and safety 11. Sustainability Public sector clients are generally concerned with certainty of budget and quality and, above all else, ensuring public accountability as they are spending public money. Clients who build regularly – perhaps continuously –can be considered experienced Construction projects can be structured in a variety of ways as â€Å"No single procurement route† is suited to all situations and so is required to link the Client’s business requirements before an appropriate project structure can be recommended. The Office of Government Commerce defines these terms as follows [1]: â€Å"Procurement strategy: The procurement strategy identifies the best way of achieving the objectives of the project and value for money, taking account of the risks and constraints, leading to decision about the funding mechanism and asset ownership for the project. The aim of a procurement strategy is to achieve the optimum balance of risk, control and funding for a particular project.† â€Å"Procurement route: The procurement route delivers the procurement strategy. It included the contract strategy that will best meet the Client’s needs. An integrated procurement route ensures that design, construction, operations and maintenance are considered as a whole; it also ensures that the delivery team work together as an integrated project team.† Figure 2 The relationship of procurement strategy to procurement route â€Å"A Public Private Partnership (PPP) is an umbrella term for arrangements agreed – often with legal force – between public and private sector organisations to their mutual benefit. The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is one form of PPP developed by the Government in which the public and private sectors join to design, build or refurbish, finance and operate new or improved facilities and services to the general public. PFI schemes generally involve a consortium of private sector companies, who collaborate to form a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) which then contracts with the public sector to provide services such as hospitals, schools and roads to specifications provided by public sector bodies.† 3.1 Procurement method issues Construction industry has complex analysis mere by dual component of land and building. It has fuzz boundaries. The fragmentation of the industry between contractor, consultant, project management etc creates the industry highly volatile. It can also be argued the reduction of professionalism if it is at only contractor. So it is expected to carry multitude of negative aspects of Investment which is derived from present consumption. In Economics term Investment is the process of trading present consumption for new capital. Present trading can be alternative to investment in other than the construction industry. Individual participant have significant approach to price and quantity. â€Å"This definition illustrates several key characteristics of PFI schemes: A service, rather than capital assets, is purchased. PFI schemes run for a long time. The public sector typically requires procures the provision of a service over a 25 to 35 year period. Buildings or other infrastructure is usually constructed by the private sector as a consequence of the need to provide the agreed service. The PFI agreement will define the level of service required (such as providing a maintained, lit, warm, clean and catered hospital, for example) and the private sector will finance the design and construction of new or adapted facilitates as necessary to accommodate that service. Because the public sector is purchasing a service, rather than assets, it will not own those assets unless the transfer of their ownership is agreed when setting up the scheme (see Section 6.6.5). Subject to any specification imposed by the public sector client, the private sector is free to use whatever means it considers appropriate when constructing the assets. This can lead to design quality and performance shortcomings (see Section 6.6.4). The private sector puts itself at risk when securing the finance required to construct any capital assets required by the scheme. In return, it will expect to be paid for managing this risk. This raises the overall cost of PFI schemes above that of non-PFI procurement where financing risks are minimal as they are borne by the public sector with funding traditionally provided and underwritten by the Treasury.† 3.2 Role of PPP in Infrastructures â€Å"In the projects from the Public Private Partnership (PPP) and Private Finance Initative (PFI) programmes, the public sector contracts to purchase services – rather than any particular building – from the private sector in the long term. The delivery

Violence and Rock & Roll: Hand in Hand? :: essays research papers fc

Violence and Rock & Roll: Hand in Hand? People that have been to concerts know what kind of damage goes on, and how many innocent people are hurt by the violence that goes on at these shows. This is something that needs to end. Many people have been punched, kicked, shoved, thrown, hit by flying objects, fallen, trampled, crushed and, sadly in many cases, sexually assaulted. Concert-goers have suffered from concussions, wounds, rape, and death. All this violence can be ended, but it’s getting worse and worse by the day. The more the fans get out of hand, the more injuries people will undergo. Many people don’t want to go to concerts any more, because of the fact that there is too much hostility.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Concerts nowadays are too brutal. This violence needs to end. Even the artists that play at these shows are outraged by this aggression. Even they want to make this end. â€Å"Concerts get such a band name, because of all the [violence] and everything like that,† said Limp Bizkit (a ‘flavor-of-the-month’ band) guitarist Wes Borland. Sprains and broken bones resulting from moshing (a violent form of â€Å"dance† in which fans careen off one another) and crowd surfing (a practice in which fans are passed over head by the members of the crowd) have been common at concerts for many years. As many people remember at Woodstock ’99 the destruction at the festival was at its peak. This shows how degraded popular culture has become. â€Å"The thing that I felt was unfair, in the follow-up in the press, was the demonization of a generation,† said guitarist Tom Morello of, a popular band, Rage Against the Machine, â€Å"There was jus t this vilification of a whole generation and the bands that they like, based on this concert. I think it’s ridiculous.† (Arizona Republic, 10-3-99) But who’s to say that this violent behavior doesn’t go on at other concerts? Well, in fact it does.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One trend that has occurred at concerts, are the numbers of sexual assaults. Many girls have been groped, sexually harassed, beat, and even in many cases raped. Just at Woodstock ’99 alone there were 8 sex offences, which included an alleged mosh pit rape, which police were aware of. Tom Morello also added that, â€Å"The one thing that is absolutely unforgivable or unpardonable are the reported sexual assaults.†(Arizona Republic; Phoenix; Oct. 3, 1999) The mosh pit scene at a recent Vans Warped Tour show in Asbury Park, N.

Hofstede Comparison of Germany and China Essay

Hofstede’s five dimensions are a useful tool to give someone an insight of different cultures. These elements give a country’s behaviour tendencies rather than an exact prescription. There are weaknesses to Hofstede’s Five Dimension theory as it may too easily encourage stereotyping. Even in countries as small as the UK, not all citizens are alike – e.g. it is argued that the culture in the North of England is quite different to the South. Hofstede has also been criticized for being too simplistic; however Hofstede’s theory does give us a general base to work from. 74 countries are listed on Hofstede’s website from which information can be drawn to make comparisons not only between countries but against the world average to give a broader picture. The following graph gives a comparison between Germany and China. It also allows for assessment against the Asian average and World average and our own British culture as benchmarks. Hofstede Comparison: UK, Germany, China Asian Average and World Average Comparison of Germany and China Power Distance Index          Germany 35 LOW             China 80 HIGH Individualism                               Germany 67 HIGH            China 66 LOW Masculinity                                     Germany 66 HIGH            China 66 HIGH Uncertainty Avoidance       Germany 65 HIGH            China 30 LOW Long Term Orientation      Germany 31LOW                  China 118 HIGH Power Distance Index – PDI Power Distance measures equality of power in society and how much people are willing to allow or give in to superiority. Countries with high scores tend to operate with power being given to the top few, with little room for lower rank intervention. Low scoring countries either spread power through delegation or encourage input from more levels of society. Germany 35         China 80         World Average 55 LOW POWER DISTANCE CULTURES HIGH POWER DISTANCE CULTURES Democratic management Autocratic management Management and subordinates treat one another as equals. Mutual respect is given. Managers expect subordinates to obey them. Subordinates automatic respect with expecting it to be earned. Power is de-centralised Power is centralised Subordinates expect to offer their ideas and take initiative Managers take the initiative and subordinates obey given instructions. Subordinates expect to be consulted Subordinates expect to be told what to do. Status is disapproved Status and privileges for managers is expected and respected Social interactions are informal Social interactions are formal Narrow range of salaries Wider range of salaries Despite a large difference in PDI scores, Germany and China share some similarities with how workers accept authority and power. The above table shows typical examples of low power distance cultures however, Germany does not necessarily follow these traits despite having a low PDI score. Germans like order and regulations and in a both business and society people tend to know what is allowed and what is forbidden. Power Distance is a low 35 in Germany. It is the same as in the UK yet significantly below the World average of 55. This score suggests German society, work and families treat people with equality, encouraging collaboration and a fair cultural environment. German managers and employees are often close, (reflected in the medium to low power distance (PD) in German culture) because they believe that they are working together to create a good product. Germany has  a democratic political system and is de-centralised. Business organisations tend to have flat structures with relatively small numbers of supervisors, however it also is known to be departmentalised and centralised (Dereksy, 2011). In business, Germans are known to be assertive, though not aggressive. Decisions are centralised although on occasion consensus is sometimes sought if the situation warrants it. Employees do not question the authority of their managers and are very loyal to their companies. Before most business deals are done, there has been considerable detailed analysis before commitment. Once a project or deal is committed to, staff have high trust in the order and China has a high ranking of 80 than both Germany and the World Average which means that the power distance remains high in business and in society in general. This means that people are less willing to challenge authority which is likely due to old communism beliefs which still have a strong influence on people’s behaviour. China continues to receive cri ticism for not taking human rights seriously. When doing business in China one must be aware of this large hierarchy gap. It is often hard to move up on their corporate ladder compared to other cultures. PDI Suggestions for manager coming from Germany to China In China, greetings are always done in age order, so ensure the eldest in the room is greeted first. Status is very important in China so do not call someone by their Christian name until they invite you to do so. Instead, always address them by using their full title, eg Dr or Professor. Ensure your business cards have your full qualifications on. If any large announcements to general staff are needed, request a senior member of management do it. Do not expect senior management to accept your ideas. Whilst they most likely will have no intention of accepting any ideas you may offer, they may politely say they will consider them to save â€Å"face†. â€Å"Let us think about it† is the Chinese way of saying â€Å"no† Use power to exercise authority Tell subordinates what to do – do not expect them to work it out themselves. Individualism Individualism refers to how independent people are. Countries with high scores indicate people are self- motivated, more self-reliant and self-concerned whereas countries with lower scores suggest citizens conform to society’s norms and consider group needs as more important than their own. Germany 67China 20World Average 43 Germany scored 67 points on individualism, the tendency of people to look after themselves and their immediate family only. That score is 56% higher than the world average score for individualism. Therefore, Germany has a highly individualistic society. In such cultures individuality, independence, and self-determination are valued. Trompenaar agrees that Germans place high priority on looking after themselves and their immediate family. At work, however, Germans jointly assume responsibilities and achieve goals in groups. Negotiating decisions is often referred to committees. Hofstede found that wealthier countries tended to have higher scores in Individualism (Hodgetts et al, 2006) however, given that China is now the second largest economy in the World and their IND score is only 20 Hofstede’s theory can be disputed. The Chinese rank lower than any other Asian country in the Individualism (IDV) ranking, at 20 compared to an average of 25. This may be attributed, in part, to the high level of emphasis on a Collectivist society by the Communist rule, as compared to one of Individualism. Confucianism also plays a large part as Chinese place value on long term satisfaction than short-term greed. Harmony is achieved by giving â€Å"face† to others and avoiding losing your own â€Å"face.† In collectivist cultures such as China, people work together in groups and often put the needs of that group ahead of their own personal wants. They embrace shared responsibility. Chinese business habits tend to stay with the same partners or suppliers to keep loyalty and not deteriorate relationships. So when doing business with others it is a good idea to select a good strong partnership that has potential to last a long time. It is looked down upon if you frequently change business partners. IDV Suggestions for manager coming from Germany to China Focus on how change is good for the group (appeal to the common interest). Allow the group to formulate and ask questions. Allow the group to consult with each other and spend time working out their responses, questions, and concerns Aim to build lasting relationships Try working through an individual or an organization who introduces you formally–Chinese like to work with people they know Avoid asking pointed questions Do not expect decisions made at meetings as meetings are merely forums for exchange of information Allow time in meetings for team members to consent and consult Standing out from the crowd can be viewed as very negative and result in personal difficulties, therefore try to blend in with the group and put their needs first. Masculinity Masculinity looks at how people react to one another. Countries with high masculine scores tend to have a society which respects stereotypical male behaviour: hedonistic, materialistic, dominant, aggressive and competitive, viewing feminine behaviour as weak. Countries with low masculinity scores tend to have strong welfare support and more equality between the sexes. Germany   66          China 66         World Average 50 Germany scored 66 points on masculinity, a cultural characteristic in which success, money and material possessions form the dominant values in society. That score is 32% higher than the world average score for masculinity yet equal to that of the UK and China. According to Hofstede’s model, Germans place greater importance on earnings, recognition, advancement and challenge. Germany is a male-dominated society; few married women work outside the home However, this is slowly changing in the younger generations of Germany. Women are becoming more accepted in higher positions. Officially, women in China have the same rights as men in the workplace and the party has promoted this sense of equality over the past thirty years or so. However, traditional Confucian thinking does not sit easily with this notion of gender equality and it is somewhat ironic that the liberalisation policies of the last decade might have reversed many of the advances made by women in Chinese society under the previous hard-line regimes. In China, the strong preference of boys is due to the traditional values. Men hold most of the responsibility and power positions although there is a high level of  consensus between genders in China. However, the responsibility for finding childcare still tends to fall with women which may be a contributor to the low numbers of women in senior management positions. The value placed on work is similar in Germany and China, according to Hofstede, yet both countries have few women in senior management. MAS Suggestions for manager coming from Germany to China Foreign businesswomen will be treated with great respect and courtesy. They may find that, within a delegation, the Chinese defer to male colleagues regardless of the actual seniority of the western party – the Chinese assumption being that the male will naturally be the decision-maker. Therefore a German woman manager must anticipate this and not be offended by this reaction so she â€Å"saves face† Gradually over time, this apparent sexism will fade if she takes the time and gentle grace to build relationships slowly. Uncertainty Avoidance Index Uncertainty avoidance, as the name suggests, focuses on how and by whom risk is managed. Countries with low levels of uncertainty indicate strong governmental control to maintain as much stability and order as possible for risk elimination. Countries with lower scores tend to allow individuals to manage their own risks, which provide environments with more innovation. Germany 65       China 30       World average 64 Germany scored 65 points on Hofstede’s uncertainty avoidance index. That score is only 1% above the world average score for uncertainty avoidance. Thanks to their need for security, Germans insist on written rules and detailed codes of conduct. Germans are not keen on uncertainty, by planning everything carefully they try to avoid the uncertainty. In Germany there is a society that relies on rules, laws and regulations. Germany wants to reduce its risks to the minimum and proceed with changes step by step. China presents a high degree of acceptance of uncertainty, which is a characteristic of a society that does not try to take control of the future, and that is not afraid of unforeseen situations. Contrary to Germany, Chinese society does not feel such an urge to establish strict rules to  overcome uncertainty or ambiguity. It is also characteristic of a society that is more tolerant towards opinions, behaviours that are different from its own, and changes. And it is a more meditative society which does not feel the need of controlling its environment. UAI Suggestions for manager coming from Germany to China Present a bottom line and an objective, then build your case around questions Expect frequent rescheduling of meetings. It is a good idea to set up appointments a few weeks in advance and reconfirm 1-2 days before the scheduled meeting Long-term Orientation Long-term Orientation concerns how cultures view time and perseverance, whether business and relationships are nurtured over a period of time or if more emphasis is placed on short-term reward. Long-Term Orientation is the fifth dimension of Hofstede which was added after the original four to try to distinguish the difference in thinking between the East and West. From the original IBM studies, this difference was something that could not be deduced. Therefore, Hofstede created a Chinese value survey which was distributed across 23 countries Germany 31       China 118      World Average 45 . Short-term Orientation Long-term Orientation Immediate gratification required Deferred gratification Traditions are sacred and upheld Traditions adapt to change Consumption values are taught Frugality and perseverance is taught Spend Save or invest Quick profits Building a lasting business income Analytical thinking Synthetic thinking Germany is typical of Westernised cultures with regards to having short-term orientation. Germany is renowned for its appreciation of efficiency. People from cultures where managers are expected to develop a closer, more intimate ambience can see the German manager-subordinate relationship as distant and cold. Germans put truth and directness before diplomacy, believing that the fact is the important issue and that personal emotions should not deflect the truth from being spoken. This directness can be interpreted by certain cultures such as China, as rude. China slow and steady wins the race for business deals. Building strong, reliable, lasting relationships is key for the Chinese. A certain amount of trust must be gained before any decision is met. It may take three to four times the length of time to finish the business deal compared to your cultural standards. So if you do not come to a fast agreement, don’t be discouraged, make the client feel comfortable and show your p atience. The Chinese never like to rush into things. Geert Hofstede analysis for China has Long-term Orientation (LTO) the highest-ranking factor of all countries. China has such a high LTO score, it is even 30% higher than the Asian average score which is already nearly twice the World average. This shows how much emphasis China places on this dimension, indicating a society’s time perspective and an attitude of persevering; that is, overcoming obstacles with time, if not with will and strength. This means that perseverance and economy are the basic values in China, these values being taught by Confucianism, which is widely established in China. Also, Chinese culture is neutral, contrary to the French culture which is affective. Which means that in China feelings are not readily expressed and physical contact avoided, while in France like in all other Mediterranean cultures the behaviour is expressive and gestured, and people like to express their feelings and physical contact. Chines e culture is marked by respect and loyalty, which makes them reliable partners. They favour the interest of the group and in particular are extremely perseverant and formidable business people. LTO Suggestions for manager coming from Germany to China This is arguably the area requiring the most attention from a German manager. Meetings are about building relationships and exchanging information – it is rare for a decision to be made within the meeting. Therefore a German manager must not show impatience. Use less direct language Hold back on the truth, to help others save â€Å"face† Build relationships slowly. Try â€Å"gift giving†, as a thank you is often not considered enough, and at worst rude. Allow the group to consult with each other and spend time working out their responses, questions, and concerns Bing., J.,W., 2011. Hofstede’s consequences: The impact of his work on consulting and business practices, An Executive Summary. ITAP International Inc . Available from: http://www.itapintl.com/facultyandresources/articlelibrarymain/hofstedes-consequences-the-impact-of-his-work-on-consulting-and-business-practices.html [Accessed 17 March 2011]. Burke, R., J., Cultural Values and Women’s Work and Career Experiences. Deresky, H., 2011. International Management Managing Across Borders and Cultures. 7th ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Hodgetts, R., M., and Luthans, F., and Doh, J. P., 2006. International Management. 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill WorldBusinessCulture.com, 2011. For both China and Germanyhttp://www.worldbusinessculture.com/Women-in-Business-in-China.html

Answers Pressure Ulcer

There are two main layers which make up the anatomy of the skin, the epidermis and the dermis. When pressure is applied to the skin the blood supply is cut off and the tissue becomes damaged. 2. There are three main types of force that cause damage to the skin through pressure. These are: . Direct Pressure 2. Shear or shearing force Friction or friction force 3. 3. How long does it take for pressure ulcers to start forming? It is different for each person, some are more susceptible than others.Previously people thought that pressure ulcers started forming after two hours, but this is now known to be inaccurate. 4. What risk factors make service users more susceptible to pressure ulcers? Give 4 examples. 1 . Age 2. Being under or overweight Moisture on the skin 4. Reduced mobility 5. Circulatory problems Lack of sensation 6. 7. Previous history of pressure damage 5. What areas on the body are common sites for pressure ulcer development? Give 5 examples. 1. Scalp 2. Shoulder blades 3. Elbows 4. Sacrum 5. Heels 6. Ears 7. Hips 8. An keels Answers (6-10) 6.Describe the method you would use to check skin for pressure damage. First look at all the areas which are common sites for pressure ulcer development for redness. If you find redness on the skin, feel the area with your hands to check for heat and press the area with your fingers to check for damage of the blood vessels. 7. How would you tell the difference between simple reddening of the skin and actual pressure damage? When you press the reddened areas, healthy skin will go white under your fingers and then return to its normal color, but damaged skin will stay red, which shows that the blood vessels are damaged. . In some cases people have had to have amputations and even died as a consequence of their pressure ulcer. True or false? True 9. What can you do to help prevent pressure ulcer development in service users? Give 3 examples.