Case of Dell in Australia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Case of Dell in Australia - Essay Example B2B and B2C become the main models used by companies to reach their target audiences nod meet customers demands (Bearden et al 2004). It seems likely that direct selling from the manufacturer will grow exponentially. Indeed, it is this very transferability of information which virtually guarantees the demise of traditional industry boundaries. Companies are increasingly finding that, if they combine their information assets with those of other companies, the combined information resource is considerably more useful to all sides: two and two, in this instance, can make a lot more than four. Put together a social security or tax database with another database of people who owe debts and you have a means of tracking individual debtors over long periods of time and collecting the debt from them when they finally have the money to repay it (a process is known as debt surveillance and already being offered by some companies) (Dedrick and Kraemer 2001). The corporate objectives of Dell are to make self-help more useful and easier to use, improve customer support and direct customer relationships. The clear and effective strategy allows a company to redefine itself — at all levels, from strategy to the operation of individual processes (Drejer, 2002). Dell, a company that is comparatively unconstrained by physical geography (a seller of services across the Internet, for example) can reconfigure its distribution to take advantage of the variances in domestic tax regimes at virtually no cost: it does not have any physical assets of any consequence that need to be relocated. For dell, its value chain can be seen as a series of interrelated functions within any organization that link its inputs (raw materials to a factory, inbound logistics to a retail outlet) to its outputs (outbound logistics, the sale of goods to customers), the virtual value chain refers to the value that can be generated by exploiting the information generat ed by any stage of this  process.

Summarizing Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Summarizing - Article Example The article also deals with the idea of government subsidies in funding research projects and comes up with the finding that government subsidies often harm the poor and the middle classes more than they help them. The practice of providing subsidies is more often than not, according to the writer, justified using the rhetoric of unemployment and the need to provide more work to American companies. This is not however, what the character Dave argues for. He looks at the negligible difference that a fall in demand in the American market would create in the world market and puts into perspective the influence that tariffs imposed by the government could have on producing more jobs. He looks at the problems with introducing a tariff against foreign-produced goods as Ed says (Protection). The idea of free trade that Dave argues for is more often than not refuted by proponents of government intervention citing the reason of ‘fair trade’. This implies the ability of firms with in a country to be protected against the onslaught of foreign companies that may have more money and power (Edge). However, providing subsidies may not push down the price of goods in the local economy. They would not benefit the local consumer. Apart from this, there is also no data available to substantiate the argument that local businesses would be at an advantage as their cost of production may still be higher than that of the foreign company. To increase the tariff to an extent where the foreign firms would not be able to compete would take jobs away from the American market rather than boost the economy. The difference in price would be transferred on to the local consumers. Dave also warns about the possibility of other countries imposing equally large taxes on American firms. This would lead to greater problems in the long run for the American economy and its people. There is also the possibility of there being lobbies that affect the government’s decisions. Much of the tariffs that are imposed on products are based on the political power and influence that local firms have rather than the economic wisdom of the decision. The people who suffer amidst all of this are the taxpayers. The idea of free trade involves the assumption that what is required by a particular consumer would be provided by the market according to the laws of demand and supply (Rothbard â€Å"Free Market†). The idea of free trade is then in direct conflict with the ideas of protectionism which let certain elements have an advantage based on the support of the government. This is unsustainable in a free market in a globalized setup as it would lead to the kind of problems that are detailed above. The existence of two systems in conflict with each other can only prove to be disastrous in the long run. The adverse impact of such a policy can be seen in the economic slump that is experienced by Japan at this point of time (Rothbard â€Å"Protectionism and the Destruction of Prosperity†). The policies that are created according to such ideologies more often than not end up harming large sections of the taxpaying population in the country. The article illustrates the problems with the kind of funding that is provided by the government to private concerns. The essay suggests that they end up benefitting certain individuals while causing greater harm to the middle classes. The money that they pay is used for such funding; however, the benefits are reaped by the richest sections of

School Life Essay Example for Free

School Life Essay Then BOOM my alarm clock goes off to wake my brother and I up to get ready for school, but this was all put to the side by our mother coming in to the room telling us that she would have to work a few extra hours. Wake your but up! Is what I yelled to my brother as I had always did he consistently showed himself to be the lazy one who would just breeze through life without a care in the world. He replied back with the bad morning breath, â€Å"Leave, me, alone its only 6:30 school doesn’t start until 7:30. Me as usual I got up pulled him out of bed until he hit the floor then started my routine to get ready for the day’s events. Oh yeah my name is Gerard by the way. I carried myself across the dimly lit hall towards the bathroom. As I flicked on the light switch, I first noticed this hair pick still stuck in the side of my head. I immediately grabbed it and started to fix my hair. As I stand in front of the mirror looking back at my own reflection, wondering why, does school start this early in the morning, I grabbed the toothbrush and toothpaste and began to a make it happen. My brother’s name is Joel, and he could care less of his appearance, because he always thought that he was God’s gift to the ladies. Most of his attire consisted of whatever he felt like grabbing out of the closet or the first thing he could get his hands on. He didn’t care if he was all wrinkled, his excuse was that they’ll be gone throughout the day plus now one would notice them anyway because that’s how he rolled. You would have thought that he just came from summer camp playing rugby with a few of his friends before school started. As he came into the bathroom besides me to wash up and get ready, I could always here him saying thanks for getting me up too, knowing that being the older sibling I couldn’t just let him be late for school besides our mother would have killed me. As I look at the clock I notice that we are right on schedule, its 7:00 and time to wake my sister Latoya, she’s in middle school and does not experience the rush that my brother and I go thru being that the two of us share a room and sometimes wrestle to get around to what we need to be done. The time is now 7:10, and it’s time for us to leave the house headed for school since we live only a quarter of a mile away from the school we can pretty much toss a couple of rocks a few times and we’re there. The only downside is that sometimes we get too complacent living so close to the school that we end up thinking there’s more time and end up cutting it close to getting to class on time or worse being late and end up with detention. As we get to school they are still selling breakfast its usually something simple like garlic cheesy bread or the cinnamon sugar rolls that are so delicious. But we cannot stand in line and enjoy them today because the first school bell rings and that signifies things need to get closed out and you need to put your thinking caps on. As we exited the cafeteria it was 7:25 and the start of the school day and the final bell rings at 1:50. Joel and I always knew that we would see each other at our lunch period odd as it seems I was a senior and he was a sophomore, but hey, that’s how the schedules came out. We couldn’t control the outcomes of what we wanted to do we could always find some sort of time to throw a wise crack at one another.

Analysis Of Foreign Direct Investment In Malaysia Economics Essay

Analysis Of Foreign Direct Investment In Malaysia Economics Essay Foreign direct investment (FDI) is an activity in which an investor resident in one country has a lasting interest in, and a large influence on the management of an entity resident in another country (OECD, 2003). It involves either greenfield investment or merger and acquisitions (MAs). The former represents generating a wholely new enterprise and it exerts more positive effects, while the latter represents amending the ownership of existing enterprises and it has a lower positive effect or even a negative externalities. FDI can also be defined as other kinds of financial transactions among enterprises, such as reinvestment of the earnings of the FDI enterprise or other transfer of capital. There are various forms of FDI, in which one of them is the ownership of the full penalty of the shares of the national firm or possession of the project before the acquisition of the foreign investor. Joint venture is another form of FDI, in which a company is being set up in the host country with the collaboration of local partners. Due to the partnership and the experience of the local market, this form is generally preferred. Another reason that makes it less risky is that foreign partner is not given the right to fully intervene over the operation of the project. In addition, FDI could be in the form of setting up new subsidiaries or branches of foreign parent companies, as well as marketing goods in the host country (Madura, 2006). FDI consists of the establishment of mobile and huge equipments like aircraft and oil; construction activity, exploration or extraction of natural minerals; acquisition of real property by foreign investors; retained profits, which accelerate capital accumulation; investment property rights, which are the funded projects and the setting up of companies and factories in which investor is a direct partner with shares atleast 10% of the total property rights (Abdel Ghaffar, 2002). There are determinants of FDI in the recipient country, despite its benefits. First of all, the economic determinants are separated into three components: (i) the economic determinant related to investments that seek to market along with abundance and growth of per capita income and size of the market as well as the free areas. (ii) the economic determinants related to those investment that are making production efficient, and (iii) involving those investments that seek the resources and assets, having plenty of primary natural resources, infrastructure, and most of the investment involve horizontal integration in seeking investment in the market. In addition, there is also a factor called policy framework that determines FDI in the host countries. It consists of institutional framework and economic policies that have an impact on investment in the host countrys political stability, law and legislation, exchange rate and others. Another determinant is related to business facilitation , i.e. the particular facilities to assist management of investors, the promotion of investment, building reputation, investment incentives, administrative and bureaucratic practices, as well as the provision of social services (Chung et al, 1999). According to Choong and Lim (2009), the choice of models for economic development determines the channels through which FDI influence economic growth. For example, a great impact of FDI on economic growth which can be observed via the production function is theorized by the endogenous growth models. In particular, foreign capital inflows (FCIs) have a significant impact on domestic capital formation or accumulation, in which it either has a crowding-out or a crowding-in effect on local investment. If foreign capital complements domestic capital, FDI will have greater influence on output growth. On the other hand, if FDI expand the variety of intermediate and capital goods, then the productivity level of the recipient country can be enhanced. Moreover, FDI reduces unemployment by creating job opportunities (Borensztein et al., 1998). FDI is important in the sense that it provides investible funds and foreign exchange earnings, in which foreign exchange can be used to import raw materials (Wong Jomo, 2005). Both elements enlarge the resource availability of a country, thus enhance savings and investment, and in turn promote economic growth. Therefore, it will help developing countries to eventually achieve self-sustained growth. This is because higher investment and growth rate with foreign capital supplement, are in turn also increase the domestic saving rate. Most developing countries do not have enough capital goods to meet the desired investment level and required inputs have to be imported by using foreign exchange. FDI makes up for any foreign exchange shortage by bringing in foreign exchange to pay for the necessary imports of capital and intermediate goods. Besides, it brings in new technology, technical assistance and expertise, scarce managerial skill, international marketing connection, marketing know- how etc. Foreign direct investment played a crucial role in Malaysian economy since last few decades. Through both micro and macro levels, FDI can affect a recipient country (Choong Lim, 2009). In micro level, via labor training, technological transfer, and positive spillover effects, multinational corporations (MNCs) can bring in technical and management efficiency to local firms. While for the latter case, FDI may affect both the financial variables (like balance of payment (BOP), inflation, interest rate, and foreign exchange rate) and real variables such as import, export, employment, economic growth and domestic investment (Levine, 1997). According to Choong and Lim (2009), it cannot be denied that the significancy of FDI is greater in diffusing or transferring technology know-how embodied in human capital such as organizational arrangements, new management practices, skill acquisition, and training. All of these will promote greater economic growth through higher level of efficiency and productivity in labor. On the other hand, by raising the technological level in the recipient country, FDI can bring technological change equally to both labor and capital. In this case, via a learning-by-doing process, economic performance can be influenced by FDI. In particular, expertise in fully occupied factor endowments of the recipient country, new managerial and organizational techniques, international marketing connections, product design and production methods can be diffused by FDI (Dunning, 1995). Imitation is therefore important. FDI is also favorable to the productivity of local research and development (RD) activities. In contrast, FDI may harm domestic economy. First of all, FDI may have a substitutive effect on domestic savings. Any negative effect of FDI on the domestic saving rate will have negative side effects on the investment rate. In addition, liberal regulations on income repatriation, which is often considered necessary as an investment incentive, may also adversely affect the balance of payment (BOP). If the private capital inflows are not large enough to fully offset net dividend outflows, meaning that the net financial contribution of FDI will be negative. The huge outflows of interest payments also will contribute significantly to the service account deficits, which will in turn have negative implications for macroeconomic stability. The danger of high import content may also deteriorate the domestic economy. Specifically, large influx of FDI into a country may lead to huge imports of investment and intermediate goods, which will in turn contribute significantly to growing import bil l, declining merchandise account surplus and large current account deficit. High import content also implies low domestic value-added and limited domestic linkages. In short, FDI may cause import propensities to increase. Furthermore, FDI may also result in an increased industry concentration, which is equivalent to high degree of market power for a few large firms, resulting in high barriers to entry for other small firms. To the extent that large firm is MNCs, a crowding out of local firms can be assumed to have taken place (Wong Jomo, 2005). FDI is also conventionally seen as a critical source of capital accumulation of a country from the perspectives of standard neoclassical growth models (Solow-type) (Choong Lim, 2009). Specifically, there is no disparity between oversea and local capital in stimulating output growth. It is also suggested that FDI significantly affect growth only in the short term, but not in the medium or long term, given the assumption of diminishing return to capital (Barro Sala-I-Martin, 1992). In short, there are various forms of FDI and it (FDI) consists of the establishment of mobile and huge equipments. FDI is benefical to a countrys economic performance as well as welfare. However, there are also disadvantages that bring harm to a nations economy. 1.2) Historical Background of Malaysia According to World Bank (1993), Malaysia was designated as one of the East Asian Miracles due to the rapid growth of its economy during the period of 1960-1990. The steady growth rate (long lasting) attained drew a lot of attention around the world. In the 1960s, the economy grew annually in an average of 6%, followed by 7.3% per annum in the first half of the 1970s, which indicated an improvement in the growth rate. After that, it performed better by achieving higher growth rate (GDP) at 8.6% per annum until 1980. However, in 1981-1985, the growth rate slowed down to 5.1% annually, followed by a pick up again to 6.7% annually in 1986-1990. From 1996 to 2000, the economy grew at a slower rate of 4.6% per annum, following a relatively faster growth of 8.7% annually in 1991-1995 (Jajri, 2009). Based on the report, it was shown that FDI generally plays a critical role in the economy of Malaysia (Wong, 2006). FDI has been carrying a heavy weightage in Malaysias GDP. For example, it carried 23.7% in 1985, 24.1% in 1990, and even 65.3% in 1999. Over time, there was also a rise in the stock of FDI. For instance, it was 7.4 billion U.S dollar($) in 1985, raised to $10.3 billion in 1990, and even increased by $44 billion from 1990 to 2000. Furthermore, in terms of gross fixed capital formation, FDI has been carrying a high portion, that is, it carried 15.1% in 1997, 13.9% in 1998, and even 20.1% in 1999. Since manufacturing industry has been attracting the largest amount of FDI in Malaysia compared to other industries, we will specifically concentrate on it. According to Yusop and Ghaffar (1994), in the development of manufacturing industry in Malaysia, FDI plays an important role. By enhancing product quality, the competitiveness of the manufacturing export (Malaysian) has been improving globally. In addition, business experiences and technology know-how has been spilled over to Malaysia when various multinational corporations (MNCs) invest directly in the manufacturing sector in Malaysia. One of the major strategies of the policy makers is to open foreign investment projects which can enlarge the countrys resource availability and potentiality, diversify investments or activities and promote economic development through contribution of capital, skilled jobs creation, and technological transfer (Jajri, 2009). Attracting FDI was one of the Malaysian governments key approaches to stimulate growth. The country always favored a welcome policy on investment and trade since the 1980s. Obviously, FDI has a crucial role in the formation of capital and thus, the economic development. In the 1980s and 1990s, Malaysia was very participative in deregulating its investment regime in the manufacturing sector compared to other countries under the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). We can observe a significant progress when Mahathir Mohamad, our former prime minister, launched the new joint venture projects (especially with Korea and Japan) with the state-owned enterpris e (SOEs). For instance, Malaysia received large inflows of FDI accompanied by better expertise and technology due to the promotion of the Investment Act in 1986. In particular, various incentives like the establishment of Free Trade Zones (FTZs), export promotion by having tax deduction, tax allowances for projects expansion, investment expansion, tax holidays, pioneer status and other kinds of incentives to attract FDI were being provided. In the late 1980s, Malaysia continued to pursue trade liberalization by deregulating the barriers over capital ownership of MNCs, which in turn raised its FDI inflows. Over the years, the rates of tariff in Malaysia have gradually decline because FDI is needed to take entrepreneurial risks in order to make profits, at the same time to enhance the host countrys productivity. Despite the importance of other determinants, the strategic location of Malaysia is the main factor that attracted foreign investors to invest in the domestic markets (Jajri, 2009). As a result, Malaysia has been receiving vast amount of FDI during 1980s and 1990s. However, since the early 1990s, total foreign investments had been slowed down in several periods, though it has generally been increasing over the years. Specifically, a decrease in investments from Taiwan and Japan, the major source of investments led to a substantial decrease in FDI in 1993. The drop in investment can be attributed to the lacking of competitiveness in terms of labor cost as compared to other South East Asian countries like Indonesia and Vietnam. On the other hand, investments that are not much affected by the rising labor cost (relatively) in the manufacturing sector such as investments in petroleum and petroleum related products sector by US were relatively stable. Asian Financial Crisis in 1997-1998 which affected most of the South East Asian countries is another key reason to the decrease in investment to Malaysia. Nonetheless, the substantial depreciation in ringgit Malaysia (RM) against US dollar led to an increase in the value of investments by General Electric, Boeing and other US-based huge MNCs. Therefore, local consumers were benefited from a positive effect of the influx of the US investors in terms of after-sales service and follow-up services, which are highly valued by Malaysians (Jajri, 2009). In short, due to the successfulness in the adoption of economic policies, programs and strategies, Malaysias economic performance has been spectacular from the late 1980s (Karim Ahmad, 2009). Nevertheless, its distribution gap of economic growth among states has to be filled. As a consequence, the government continues to prioritize the distributional affairs in its national development plans. In order to decrease the imbalances of social welfare between states (less and more developed), a poverty alleviation program was adopted in its regional development plan. During the Third Outline Perspective Plan (OPP3) period (2001-2010) which was under the National Vision Policy, agricultural, services, and manufacturing sectors are being determined to facilitate a more rapid economic growth under the program. Specifically, in the manufacturing sector, foreign and domestic firms were given incentives to diversify their activities across all states. In this case, liberal equity policies, tax incentives, and different types of investment options were provided in order to attract FDI inflows into Malaysia. Figure 1: Malaysias foreign direct investment (FDI), net inflows from 1970 to 2008. Source: World Bank. Figure 1 illustrates the trend of Malaysia FDI inflows from 1970 to 2008, where the X-axis represents time period in year while the Y-axis measures FDI net inflows in thousand of US dollar. From the period of 1970 to 1982, although Malaysias FDI inflows shown an increasing trend (gradual), it was quite inactive due to the lack of knowledge, unpopularity in this area, as well as restrictive government policies which in turn will result in less mobility of capital between countries. In 1982 to 1987, there was a slight decrease in Malaysias FDI inflows before it raised dramatically in 1987 from approximately US$0.5 million to about US$5 million in 1992. This was due to the Japans currency appreciation, Japans and Asian newly industrialized economies (NIEs) trade friction with the US and European Union (EU) countries, as well as Japans and NIEs rising wage rates in the mid-1980s (Wong, 2006). In addition, the equipped necessary infrastructures for investment need and incentives (monetary and fiscal) provided by the government led to the increment of Malaysias FDI inflows. Another reason that causes the increase of Malaysias FDI inflows is the pool of disciplined and well-trained workers with relatively low wage. To further encourage investment activities in manufacturing industries, the Investment Act 1986 was introduced. The introduction of this act reflected Malaysian governments active efforts in stimulating private sector investment since the mid-eighties, that was when the country facing its worst recession. As a result, there were more foreign investors, especially from China switching their capital (investing) into the country. After that, the trend of FDI inflows was decreasing from 1992 to 2001, followed by an increasing trend from 2001 to 2007, before it decreased in 2008. In conclusion, Malaysias FDI inflows were fluctuated from 1970 to 2008. 1.3) Problem Statement Although Malaysia received FDI from China, it has to contend with China (one of the emerging economies) for oversea funds and facing domestic constraints and structural weaknesses simultaneously. Specifically, these limitations include high cost of doing business, inappropriate public delivery system and lack of skilled labors. In addition, Malaysia was relatively low in terms of production cost competitiveness compared to other countries, and Malaysias capital outflows trend has generated a few issues. One of them is the chances that deteriorating FDI will lower the countrys potential output, given falling private investment. Another concern is about a loss in domestic investors confidence in the country which is resulted from capital outflows. In short, Malaysia is still lag behind in ease of doing business. For a developing country like Malaysia, the issue of job creation is very important. According to Abor and Harvey (2008), although FDI is related to technological unemployment, it does play a critical role in job creation. FDI inflows from China are associated with large-scale and mass production and thus there is a need for large amount of domestic labor force to maintain the high production. In short, Chinas FDI serves as an alternative engine of growth to Malaysia. Besides increasing domestic investments, it improves the ability of foreign technology absorption, contributing to technology transfers and helping in innovation, promotes international trade integration, and thus brings our country to a competitive situation (Ghosh Wang, 2009). Figure 2: Chinas FDI outflows to Malaysia from 1987 to 2009 Source: Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) Figure 2 depicts the trend of FDI outflows from China into Malaysia over 1987-2009 through annual flows and its share in total Chinas FDI outflows to Malaysia in ringgit Malaysia (RM). Since the late 1980s, it shows a small fluctuation in trend of Malaysias inward FDI from China with a relatively stable and low amount (amount not deviate too much). During the 1990s and early 2000s, the stable trend showed that China has opened up its economy to international trade and this in turn lead the amount of Malaysias FDI receipts from China increased. In 2006, we can see that there is a dramatical increase in trend due to Chinas heavy investment in Malaysias big steel project in Terengganu in producing flat irons, slabs, billets, hot rolled coils, and the former also involved in the mega project of Penangs second bridge. However, after the peak in 2007, there was a sharp decline in amount of Chinese investment which was mainly attributed to 2007/08 global financial crisis. China played a major role in the expansion of intra-regional trade and vertical specialization which are becoming increasingly important. According to Zebregs (2004), China carried 32 % proportion of Asians total export growth. The rising intra-regional trade among the Asian high-performing countries was significantly affected by spectacular outward-oriented growth performance of the Chinese economy. The vertical specialization in the case means China imports raw materials or intermediate goods from Malaysia and to produce final products which will be exported back to Malaysia. In recent years, Chinas trade has became more vertically specialized and Chinas exports contain a large proportion of imported goods from other Asian countries including Malaysia (Rumbaug and Blancher, 2004). Besides that, China is guaranteed to be continuously affect the growth trends of Malaysian economy due to the formers rapid economic growth, openness and size of economy. China became an example of autonomous liberalization as it became the biggest liberalizer of the local economy. China and other Asian high performing countries pursued free trade among themselves to the World trade organization. Furthermore, an increasing number of Malaysias capital goods and investment, components and sub-assemblies, parts, as well as primary products have been absorbed by China. In this short time period, a wholely new investment and trade pattern has occurred. Malaysian economy has been influenced both directly and indirectly by Chinas investment and trade, in which the indirect influences came from the method in which Chinas investment and trade manipulate Malaysias economic condition; while the direct effects came from Chinas bilateral trade and investment relationships with Malaysia. In short, it is clear that a major economic change in Malaysia has been caused by China. In addition, China also becomes increasingly crucial to Malaysia because of upgrading technology base reasons. According to Das (2008), China managed to absorb a wide range of industrial technologies, and was proven to be superior to other emerging market economies in doing so over the previous two decades, which were also the period when China was gradually becoming the worlds number 1 manufacturer of high-volumed industrial products. The trend was due to its extra focus on science and technology education, the admittance of the private sector into the provision of tertiary education, wide-based education adjustments, and the low-wage, but acceptable skilled and flexible workers. Because of huge and increasing investment, the life span of equipment and plant was reduced to seven years (Das, 2008). In a nutshell, since Chinas outwards FDI is extremely important to our nations economy (and even important to the rest of the world), it is worthwhile and beneficial for us to study its impact on our countrys economic growth. Furthermore, the factors that determine Chinas FDI are crucial in the field of economics, and thus this motivates us to shed some light on them. 1.4) General Objective of the Study The research question and problem statement give us an insight and motivation to analyze the relationship between Chinas FDI and Malaysias economic growth, in which Chinas outwards FDI and Malaysias GDP serve as the respective proxies. Our research will be able to serve as a significant contributor to the efforts in stimulating Malaysias economic growth as well as the field of development economics. 1.5) Specific Objectives of the Study To examine the effect of Chinas FDI on Malaysias economic growth from 1987-2009. To examine the determinants of Chinas FDI outflows in Malaysia. To investigate the short-run dynamic linkage between FDI outflows (China) and economic growth (Malaysia). 1.6) Significance of the Study Most of the empirical literatures in examining the relationship between FDI and economic growth were too general. The rapidly emerging economies in China who is able to provide huge investment funds, provided the recipient country is fundamentally strong in terms of macroeconomics and financial system have not been studied specifically. Thus, through our research, we may able to solve the problem by filling the gap resulted from past researchers. It is a very important study as it may suggest the rationality and suitability of further employing FDI (especially from China) as an engine of growth for Malaysia. As such, it might prevent waste of resources as the government can certainly allocate funds to appropriate areas for economic development and economic growth. In addition, the study on the determinants of Chinas FDI (outward) might suggests some appropriate factors in attracting Chinas outward FDI, which will in turn enhance the efficiency and effectiveness in the efforts or process of attracting Chinas FDI into Malaysia. Therefore, the study may assists policy makers in their decisions to enlarge or enhance certain promising areas, for example market size and human capital development in order to attract Chinas FDI into Malaysia, and thus stimulate economic growth. In short, by conducting this study, we will be able to provide more robust results on the impact of Malaysias trade openness, financial development, and most significantly Chinas FDI on Malaysias economic growth. The relationship was seldom being analyzed by previous researchers. Note that FDI is important to stimulate private investment as well as to create job opportunities. In addition, after the study, we can clarify the determinants of Chinas FDI outflows, specifically the relationship between Malaysias market size, exchange rate, human capital development (all are independent variables), and Chinas FDI outflows (the dependent variable). Lastly, the causal relationship between Chinas FDI and Malaysias economic growth can also be justified after the study. All three aspects being mentioned above are crucial in assisting policy makers to implement sound and wise policies, strategies as well as programs. Therefore, we hope that our research could contribute to the society as well a s the nation as a whole in the expansion and development of our country in order to achieve 2020 Vision and become a developed nation. 1.7) Organization of the Paper The remaining sections are organized as the followings: section 2 represents literature review, followed by section 3 which illustrates the data description and methodology being employed. Our empirical results and interpretation are in section 4 before we conclude in section 5.

History of Samurai Essay -- Samurai Japanese Warriors Essays

History of Samurai The Japanese warrior, known as the samurai, has played a significant role in Japan's history and culture throughout the centuries. Their ancestors can be traced back to as far as can be remembered. Some stories have become mysterious legends handed down over the centuries. In this report you will learn who the samurai were, their origins as we know them, how they lived and fought and their evolution to today. It will be clear why the samurai stand out as one of the most famous group of warriors of all times. Looking back in time, the first Japanese battles recorded are in the first few centuries AD. At this time Japanese warriors went across the sea to Korea to help one kingdom battling two rival kingdoms. Four hundred men set out and fought on foot carrying their bows, spears and swords. They were quickly beaten by warriors attacking on horseback. They probably had never seen an attack like that before, with horses being ridden. Even though there were horses in Japan they had not been used for riding or fighting, but to help in carrying and pulling goods. In the next century, however, there is evidence that horses were being ridden and used in warfare by warriors who would later be called samurai (History Channel). The term samurai was first used in the 10th century and means â€Å"those who serve†. In the beginning it stood for men who guarded the capital for the Emperor, some where used as tax collectors. Later the word grew to include any military man who served a powerful landlord, almost like a police force for that time. They would go around the countryside on horseback collecting taxes from the peasants, often this was in the form of rice. This money helped the Emperor pay for his lavish life style. The word, samurai, quickly spread and was respected (and maybe feared a little) for the men it represented. The noblemen depended on the strength of the samurai. Since their power and wealth was directly related to how much land they owned, the noblemen kept small armies of samurai to protect their property from thieves and invaders. Eventually many noble families joined together to form clans that became more powerful than the emperor, who was the traditional head of the Japanese government (How Samurai Work 11). In the 12th century the two most powerful clans were the Minomoto and the Taira. The two came to battle in 1160 w... ... in body and mind, to governing of the Emperors, to the study of the martial arts. Their code of honor and loyalty are traditions that all Japanese respect and try to live up to even today. The self sacrifice of ones own life for a common cause was even seen in World War II when Japanese pilots deliberately crashed their planes into United States ships anchored at Pearl Harbor. This was a devastating attack and can show the horror caused by revenge and their belief in sacrifice and honor. They were even called kamikaze pilots after the famous samurai battle of long ago. The influence of the samurai continues to be seen in Japan today in a positive way with the stories and legends of heroic samurai and the bushido as their guide. Works Cited Gaskin, Carol. and Hawkins, Vince. The Ways of the Samurai. New York: Byron Preiss Visual Publications, 2003 â€Å"History of the Samurai.† http://home.online.no/~p-loeand/samurai/hist-eng.htm â€Å"How Samurai Work.† http://science.howstuffworks.com/samurai.htm The History Channel: The Samurai. Videocassette. A&E Television Networks, 2003. 100 min. Turnbull, Stephen. Samurai, The World of the Warrior. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2003

The Grifters :: English Literature Essays

The Grifters Symbolism in The Grifters The Novel and Film of The Grifters had many uses of symbolism, supporting the theme of sexual corruption, and the fall of the three main characters’ craft of the grift. In the novel, symbolism was tougher to pick out. However, the descriptions of the characters created symbolic visualizations of their personalities and human nature. The film had more obvious uses of symbolism through the choice of women’s clothes, the character’s actions, and their language. In the film, symbolism was everywhere. In the beginning of the film, the pictures of the city were in black and white and dull shades, giving the city a gloomy look. The camera angles made the cars in the city appear tiny, and the buildings appear very large to symbolize how small everything was amongst the city. The interiors of the office buildings and the panic symbolized that there was no way out. The soundtrack of the film was symbolic to the tension of the film. The darkness of visual composition of the lighting in the film, symbolized the darkness of the human nature in the story. Roy’s character as a conman is revealed early in the story when he was puking after the blow to his stomach due to an unsuccessful con job. In the novel, he told the cop that he was just sick; symbolizing that he was a manipulator, and was used to lying. In the beginning of the film, Roy answered to the cop with, â€Å"some bad shrimp†¦,† which was extremely ironic to me because it symbolized that something was a bit fishy about Roy’s character. In the film, Roy hid his money behind clown paintings, which symbolized the joke of his grift. The irony was that he took his grift so seriously. In establishing Lilly’s character, the author of the novel used the line, â€Å"Roy danced around her in helpless rage,† which to me symbolizes her dominance. Moira was compared to a â€Å"kitty† early on in the novel, which symbolized her feistiness. The film showed the hotel elevator descending to symbolize Moira going to Hell. At the close of the story in both the novel and the film, Lily wore Moira’s red dress after killing her; symbolizing the blood of both their deaths. The women themselves were symbols of excitement empowered by their sexuality. A minor character in the film and a more prominent character in the novel was Nurse Carol.

“Blackberries in June” by Ron Rash Essay

â€Å"Blackberries in June† by Ron Rash is a short story about a young couple that takes place in Seneca, South Carolina. Matt and Jamie are a couple who have been together since high school and they live in a house on the lake. Matt and Jamie’s lake house is something that they have worked hard for to get, and bought it all on their own. During the course of their teenage years, they had to make many sacrifices and hard decisions to get to the point they are now. Some issues have been occurring with their family life for the past few years and now more than ever, they have to decide whether to keep pursuing their dreams or help the family out. In the story there are several values brought up and each character presents a new topic. A value Linda thinks is important is not quite important to Matt. Each character thinks something different is of most importance in their lives. Matt and Jamie are the couple in the story who have worked hard to be successful. Their house on the lake was bought a few years ago while they were still young. This house however needed a lot of fixing up. These two characters value their house, money and most importantly each other. Matt and Jamie constantly are working on their lake house; some members of their family are not supportive but some others are. Matt and Jamie have been planning their life together as a couple ever since they were in high school and made goals for themselves to make their dreams happen. Matt reminds Jamie after bad visit to her grandmother’s house that this is what they have always dreamed of.