Strategic Planning in a Turbulent Environment Essay Example

Strategic Planning in a Turbulent Environment Paper His analysis identifies the fundamental changes in the nature and role of strategic planning over the past two decades. In response to the difficulties faced in tumultuous and unpredictable environments, he notes that strategic planning processes have become more informal, less staff driven, and more decentralized and strategic plans have become less specific, more goal focused, and shorter term. According to Grant, the role of strategic planning systems within company management has changed too as it has become less about detailed planning and more a method for organization and performance managing. Through interviews with company personnel, he came up with three trends common to all eight companies: shortening time horizons, a shift from detailed planning to strategic direction, and increased emphasis on performance planning (Grant 2003, p. 508). Despite the successful change of strategic planning systems to unstable environments, the study shows the effectiveness of companies strategic planning may also have deteriorated. Evidence of this includes the limited impacts of strategic planning processes on the quality of strategic decisions and little proof that the systems were actually beneficial to strategic innovation. Critical Article Review The company have chosen for my critical article review is Royal Dutch Shell. Using Grants data on Shells strategic planning practices during the late asss, will examine how the key points of the paper relate to the company and reflect upon the companys strategy implementation since then. Royal Dutch Shell, commonly known as Shell, is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas corporation founded in 1907 (Shell, 2013). Shell was the largest oil and gas corporation in 1996 with sales revenue topping SSL 2. 8 billion and approximately 101 ,OHO employees (Grant 2003, p. 497). We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Planning in a Turbulent Environment specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Planning in a Turbulent Environment specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Planning in a Turbulent Environment specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer While Shell has since Allen to the second largest company in the world in terms of revenue (after Complexion), it continues to rank as one of the worlds most valuable companies. The Emergence Of a New Strategic planning process While the planning systems of the 1 sass and asss were highly formalized, these systems had become far more informal by 1996-97 as there was less emphasis on written documentation and formal presentations, and more emphasis on open discussion (Grant 2003, p. 507). At the same time, strategic plans became less concerned with detailed planning and placed greater emphasis on more broadly defined goals. To communicate and guide their strategies, companies created mission and vision statements that helped establish long-term strategic objectives. In addition, increased emphasis was placed on performance planning as strategic plans shifted their focus away from forecasts and more towards financial and operational performance targets. As companies became more concerned with performance goals, the role of short and medium planning in the strategic planning process grew as well. Because Shell is a multinational and multitudinous operation, the company has chosen to use a strategy statement instead of a mission statement. Taken directly from the companys website, Shells strategy is listed below: Our strategy to generate profitable growth remains to drive forward with our investment programmer, to deliver sustainable growth and provide competitive returns to shareholders, while helping to meet global energy demand in a responsible way (Shell, 2013). As noted in Grants paper, this statement is indicative of strategic plannings shift to broad strategic direction. Rather than focus on lengthy programs of action, resource deployments, and commitments to specific projects, Shells strategy concentrates on financial and operational performance targets. One of the biggest challenges Shell faces is integrating shorter performance targets with longer-term performance goals. With this in mind, the company developed short-term profit targets that were consistent with building a longer-term competitive advantage. In its upstream strategy, the company focuses on finding new oil and gas reserves and developing major value- adding projects. For 2013, Shell summarizes its upstream strategy in three main points: 1) profitable growth and price upside, 2) greater than 80% Of total capital spending, and 3) sustained exploration investment (Shell, 2013). With its downstream strategy, its focus is on sustaining cash generation from its current assets and investments in growth markets. Shell lists stable capital employed, fewer refineries, and more concentrated marketing positions as its downstream goals for 2013 (Shell, 2013). Today, the common strategic planning objectives referred to in Grants paper-?financial targets, operating targets, safety and environment objectives, strategic mileposts, and capital expenditure limits-?are still relevant, as highlighted in Shells strategic plan (Grant 2003, p. 509). While Grant listed financial targets as being the top rarity for oil companies at the time, their priorities are starting to change. As climate change continues to cast a shadow on the global energy industry, companies like Shell are promising to meet global energy demand in a socially responsible and environmentally friendly way. Shell is committed to improving energy efficiency in its own operations, helping customers manage their own energy demands, and continuing to invest in new technologies that increase efficiency and reduce emissions in oil and gas production (Shell, 2013). The Shift to Scenario Planning As the accuracy of macroeconomic and arrest forecasts declined abruptly during the asss, the dangers of using medium-term forecasts as the foundation for corporate plans were exposed. During this time, companies reduced their forecasting efforts and downsized or even eliminated their economist staff in an attempt to better deal with changing market circumstances. In place of forecasts, many external analysts began using scenario planning. With scenario planning companies were able to replace single-point forecasts with alternative scenarios of the future which allowed decision-makers to be more aware of and responsive to changing market circumstances. Scenario planning has been at the heart of Shells business for over four decades. Since work began on the first Shell Scenarios document in 1972, scenario planning has helped Shell prepare for many eventualities and maintain business stability through even the most chaotic of times (Shell, 2013). Of the eight companies surveyed, Grant found Shell to be the only one to base its entire strategic planning process on scenario analyses. Shell is so keen on scenario planning that its analysts list this planning process as the main reason for the companys success over the past few decades. Considered by many to be the most important innovator with geared to scenario planning, the Shell Scenarios methodology has been adopted by many different companies and organizations worldwide. With Shells support, the Singapore Government starting implementing scenario planning in 1991 (Shell, 2013). Today, scenario planning is a central part of the Governments annual strategic planning process. Shells latest scenarios, Shell Energy Scenarios to 2050, help us think about the future of energy. Using two scenarios to look at the different ways it may develop, Shell will be better equipped to fulfill its goal of providing energy in responsible ways and helping TTS customers and investors as best it can. In the first scenario, called Scramble, little thought is given to more efficient energy use until supplies are scarce. Similarly, greenhouse gas emissions are not genuinely addressed until there is drastic climate change. In the second scenario, known as Blueprints, local communities start to tackle the challenges of environmental pollution, economic development, and energy security. Using techniques such as a carbon tax, a price is given to a critical mass of emissions which spawns a huge economic stimulus to the development of clean energy technologies. This scenario old result in lower carbon dioxide emissions.

The 14 ACT Grammar Rules You Must Know

The 14 ACT Grammar Rules You Must Know SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The ACT English section consists of questions that test your knowledge of grammar and writing style. By learning and understanding the grammar rules tested on the ACT, you'll be well on your way to getting an excellent ACT English score. In this article, I'll explain the most important ACT English grammar rules and provide sample questions from real ACTs. How to Use This Guide to ACT Grammar Rules The ACT English section tests numerous grammatical concepts, with many appearing consistently on every test.In this guide, I’ll give you explanations and examples for the most commonly tested ACT grammar rules.Keep in mind that there are also style and organization questions on ACT English that are unrelated to specific grammar rules. This article is a great study tool if you are trying to get a middle score, just starting your ACT English studying, or reviewing the most importantACT grammar rules.If your target score is above 30, you should also study the grammar rules that are only rarely tested on the ACT. For more examples or explanations of the rules I discuss below, or if you want to learn more about ACT grammar rules,read our other articles onACT English. The 14 Most Commonly Tested ACT Grammar Rules These rules are by far the most important for you to learn and understand in order to conquer the ACT English section. I've linked each rule to the article in which it's explained more thoroughly. You can also find in these articles explanations for related grammar rules that are less important but still tested on the ACT. #1: Surround Non-Restrictive Clauses and Appositives With Commas Comma rules are extremely important to know for the ACT, and these comma rules are repeatedly tested on ACT English. Relative Clauses: Restrictive vs Non-Restrictive Relative clauses are dependent clauses that describe a noun and start with a relative pronoun or adverb such as "who," "that," "which," or "where." The basic rule is that non-restrictive clauses should be surrounded by commas, whereas restrictive clauses should not be. On the ACT, clauses that start with "which" are always non-restrictive, and clauses that start with â€Å"that† are always restrictive.Therefore, clauses that start with â€Å"which† should always be surrounded by commas, whilethose that start with â€Å"that† should never be. What's a Restrictive Clause? Restrictive clauses are essential to the meaning of the sentence. You can’t take a restrictive clause out of a sentence without significantly changing the meaning of the sentence. Here’s an example: People who wear sunglasses indoors aren’t invited to the party. If you remove the clause "who wear sunglasses indoors," you substantially change the meaning of the sentence. You wouldn't know which people aren't invited, and you’d be left with "People aren’t invited to the party."Because you can’t remove this clause without changing the meaning of the sentence, the clause should not be surrounded by commas. This kid can't come to the party. (Court Kizer/Flickr) What's a Non-Restrictive Clause? A non-restrictive clause is not essential to the meaning of the sentence. If you got rid of the clause, the sentence would still make sense, and its meaning wouldn’t change.Here’s an example sentence with the non-restrictive clause underlined: My day, which consisted of eating and studying calculus, was incredibly boring. The clause "which consisted of eating and studying calculus" adds more information about my day, but if it were removed, the overall meaning of the sentence would be unchanged. This is what the sentence looks like if we remove the non-restrictive clause: My day was incredibly boring. As you can see, the overall meaning of the sentence is the same. The sentence is still describing my day as boring; we just have less information detailing why it was boring. Actual ACT Example The clause "who had gathered essential material critical to writing his best-selling novel Roots from a griot in Gambia" is a non-restrictive clause which adds more information about Alex Haley. Since a non-restrictive clause must be surrounded by commas, the correct answer is D. What Is an Appositive? An appositive is a descriptive phrase that doesn’t include a verb. Like a non-restrictive clause, an appositive can be removed without changing the meaning of the sentence. Here’s an example sentence with the appositive underlined: Lily, my niece, is the most exceptional child in the world. If we get rid of the appositive, the sentence still has the same meaning: Lily is the most exceptional child in the world. This isn't my niece. Actual ACT Example The phrase "known as the Navajo code talkers" is an appositive and thereforemust be surrounded by commas. Because the original sentence is correct,the correct answer is F.Answer choices G and J are both wrong because there is no comma after "group." Also, answer choice H is incorrect because it creates a run-on sentence. #2: Don't Put a Comma Before or After a Preposition On the ACT, it’s always incorrect to put a comma after a preposition and very rarely correct to place one before.Here are some example sentences that include commas incorrectly placed before or after prepositions: Ana enjoys traveling, to Hawaii for fun. Lucy was petrified to look under, the bed. The commas before "to" and after "under" should be removed. Here are the corrected versions of the sentences: Ana enjoys traveling to Hawaii for fun. Lucy was petrified to look under the bed. brownpau/Flickr The one exception to this rule is when a preposition introduces a non-restrictive clause. Here’s an example of this: Cade, with whom I went to college, is an extremely skilled physician. The clause "with whom I went to college" is a non-restrictive clause that provides more information about Cade. Because non-restrictive clauses must be surrounded by commas, the comma before the preposition "with" is correct. Keep in mind that this situation rarely comes up on the ACT. Generally, commas shouldn’t be put before or after a preposition on the test. Actual ACT Example The comma before the preposition "of" is wrong; there also shouldn’t be any comma after "rights." Therefore, the correct answer is C. On the ACT, if you’re unsure whether or not there should be a comma, it's best toerr on the side of leaving the comma out. #3: Don't Separate Two Independent Clauses With a Comma Separating two complete thoughts with a comma is a grammar error known as a comma splice, and it's the most common type of run-on sentence that appears on the ACT. Here's an example of a comma splice: I’m going to my friend’s house, it’s really far away. As you can see, the clauses before and after the comma are complete thoughts that could stand alone as sentences. There are a few ways to correct a comma splice. One is to place a conjunction after the comma: I’m going to my friend’s house, but it’s really far away. Alternatively, you can put a relative pronoun after the comma: I’m going to my friend’s house, which is really far away. Finally, you can use a semicolon to correctly separate two complete thoughts: I’m going to my friend’s house; it’s really far away. I'm not sure what this means. (Laura Olin/Flickr) Actual ACT Example Both clauses before and after the comma are independent and could stand alone as sentences; therefore, this sentence is a comma splice. Since adding a conjunction after the comma corrects the comma splice, the correct answer is B.While answer choice C also adds a conjunction, this choice doesn’t work since the word "so" doesn’t make sense in the context of the sentence. ("So" implies a cause-effect relationship, whereas "and" connects two related thoughts.) #4: Use the Fewest Words Possible When it comes to the ACT, the shortest, grammatically correct answer choice that expresses the same information as the original sentence will be the right answer.Sentences that are more concise are easier to comprehend. Wordiness On ACT English, wordiness is a grammatical error in which words or phrases are added to a sentence unnecessarily. Here's an example of a wordy sentence: Melissa enjoys having fun by way of shooting at the gun range. And here is the corrected version of the sentence: Melissa enjoys shooting at the gun range. Clearly, the second sentence is more concise, and it stillcontains all the relevant information that’s in the first sentence. That looks like a fancy gun- but, then again, I don't know anything about guns. Actual ACT Example The phrase "as time goes by" is unnecessary- it doesn’t add any information that can’t be inferred without it. Answer choices B and C are incorrect because the sentence already implies that her collection grows "gradually" and "with the passing of time." Thus, the correct answer is D. Redundancy Wordiness and redundancy are similar errors. Ifa word or phrase is redundant, this means it can be eliminated without altering the meaning of the sentence. Here is an example of a sentence with a redundancy error (the underlined part): I quickly finished the test in a rapid manner. The phrase "in a rapid manner" is redundant because the word "quickly" already implies that I finished the test rapidly. This sentence can therefore be corrected by simply getting rid of the redundant phrase: I quickly finished the test. Actual ACT Example The word "peril" means danger; therefore, the phrase "dangerous peril" is redundant- that is, the word "dangerous" can be eliminated without changing the meaning of the sentence. This means thecorrect answer is J. Jumping out of an airplane can put your life in peril. (Morgan Sherwood/Flickr) #5: Modifiers Must Be Next to What They're Modifying The general rule regarding modifiers is that they must be placed next to whatever it is they're modifying. On ACT English, there are two types of modifier errors, which we introduce below. Misplaced Modifiers Generally, adjectives and adverbs go before the word they’re modifying, and prepositional phrases go after the word they’re modifying. Here's an example of a misplaced modifier: George broke the plate inthe kitchen that his mom bought on their vacation. The way the sentence is written makes it seem as though George’s mom bought the kitchen(instead of the plate) on their vacation. Here is a corrected version of the sentence: In the kitchen, George broke the plate that his mom bought on their vacation. Now, it’s evident that George's mom bought the plate- not a kitchen!- on their vacation. Actual ACT Example The phrase "in pink-tinted glasses" should come after the word it’s modifying. From the sentence, we can safely assume that it was the woman who was in pink-tinted glasses. Answer choice G is the most logical, grammatically correct answer. Dangling Modifiers When a sentence begins with a modifying phrase, the introductory phrase must be immediately followed by a comma and the noun being described. Here’s an example of a dangling modifier, with the incorrect part underlined: While walking through the grocery store, Jane’s shopping cart knocked three bags of Doritos onto the floor. The way the sentence is written makes it seem as though Jane’s shopping cart- instead of Jane- was walking through the grocery store. There are a couple of ways to fix the sentence. One is to place the noun that's being modified right after the comma: While walking through the grocery story, Jane knocked three bags of Doritos onto the floor with her shopping cart. Alternatively, you can place the subject in the introductory phrase: While Jane was walking through the grocery story, her shopping cart knocked three bags of Doritos onto the floor. Be careful with the Doritos. (theimpulsivebuy/Flickr) Actual ACT Example The original sentence implies that "she" died down; however, this doesn’t make much sense. From this sentence, we can infer that a fire dies down- not "she."Answer choice J is clear and concise, and it corrects the dangling modifier. #6: Keep Verb Tenses Consistent The basic verb consistency rule is that verbs should remain consistent in both tense and form throughout a sentence.Here’s an example of a consistency error, with the incorrect part underlined: Twenty-five years ago, Josh bought Cross Colours clothing and learns how to rap. The verb "learns" should be in the past tense. Not only should "learns" be consistent with the past tense "bought," but also the phrase "twenty-five years ago" indicates that this was something that happened in the past. Here's the corrected version of the sentence: Twenty-five years ago, Josh bought Cross Colours clothing and learned how to rap. Furthermore, the verb tenses of surrounding sentences can provide context clues for the proper tense to use in a given sentence to maintain consistency. Here's another example of a consistency error: Natalie works in fashion. She liked keeping up with the latest style trends. The shift from the present tense "works" to the past tense "liked" doesn’t make sense in context, and the verb tenses should remain consistent. Here's a corrected version of the sentence: Natalie works in fashion. She likes keeping up with the latest style trends. Actual ACT Example The verbs "continue" in the first sentence and "score" in the second sentence are in the present tense; as a result,the shift to the past tense with the word "were" doesn’t make sense given the context. To fix this error, we must change "were" to the present tense. The correct answer is C. (Answer choice D unnecessarily adds the infinitive "to be.") #7: Choose the Right Word Based on Context Word choice is a common topic on the ACT English section. Word choice refers to knowing which specific word to use in the context of a given sentence. There are two common types of word choice questions that often appear on the ACT. Homophones Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings.Here are some homophones that have appeared on the ACT: its - it's their - they're whose - who's would've - would of All the words with apostrophes are contractions (it's = it is, they're = they are, who's = who is, and would've = would have). By contrast, "its," "their," and "whose" show possession. Finally,"would of" is always wrong and should be corrected to either "would have" or "would've." You might also come across the word "its'," which is not a real word and will thus always be incorrect. Here is an example of a word choice error: The committee chose not to defend it’s decision. In this sentence, the use of the contraction "it's" is incorrect. Instead, we should use the possessive word "its" to indicate thatthe decision belongs tothe committee: The committee chose not to defend its decision. Related Words The second type of word choice error on the ACT involves synonyms or related words. With this type of question, a word will be underlined and the answer choices will be related words. However, only one word will be correct given the context of the sentence. Actual ACT Example The context of this sentence indicates that the underlined word should signify that the celebration is made bigger or more important. Even though "heightened," "raised," and "lifted" can all mean making something higher, only the word "heighten" can mean to deepen or intensify. Therefore, the correctanswer is A.The celebration isn’t literally lifted up but rather made more important. These types of questions can be difficult becausethey require a deep knowledge of vocabulary. They’re hard to prepare for since you don’t know which words will appear on the ACT. However, if you are able to recognize a word choice question, hopefully you’ll be able to select the right word using the context of the sentence. Also, you can keep track of word choice questions from previous ACTs. #8: Use the Correct Idiomatic Expression Idiom questions don’t conform to specific rules. You have to rely on your intuitive grasp of English and your knowledge of specific phrases to choose the right idiomatic expression. On most idiom questions on the ACT, you’ll be asked either to determine which preposition to use in a given sentence, or whether to use a gerund or an infinitive. Prepositional Idioms For prepositional idioms, you need to know which preposition to use based on the context of the sentence. Here’s an example sentence with a prepositional idiom error underlined: Because Alexis was three hours late, I was worried of her. The correct expression is "worried about." There's no specific rule you can learn to identify this error; you just have to be familiar with the phrase. Idiom questions are the only types on ACT English for which it's in your best interest to rely on what sounds right. Idioms With Gerunds or Infinitives Gerunds are verbs that act as nouns and end in "ing."Examples of gerunds include "running," "talking," and "singing."Infinitives are verbs used as nouns; they are constructed by putting the word "to" before a verb.Examples of infinitives are "to run," "to talk," and "to sing." While gerunds and infinitives can be interchangeable in some sentences, other sentences require the use of one or the other.Here’s an example of an idiom error: You decided reading this article. In the sentence, the gerund "reading" should be changed to an infinitive: You decided to read this article. Unfortunately, there is no specific rule you can rely on to know when to use a gerund or infinitive in an expression. Try to use your knowledge of idioms and keep track of idiom questions on previous ACTs. Actual ACT Example The correct expression is "right to wear clothing," sothe correct answer is C. Enokson/Flickr #9: A Pronoun Must Agree With Its Antecedent This rule means that a pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number. A plural pronoun must refer to a plural noun, and a singular pronoun must refer to a singular noun.Here's an example of a pronoun number agreement error: Marshall forgot their homework. The pronoun "their" is referring to the homework of Marshall. Because Marshall is one person and "their" is a plural pronoun, this sentence has a pronoun agreement error. Here is the corrected version of this sentence: Marshall forgot his homework. Real ACT Example In this sentence, the plural pronoun "them" refers to the Navajo language, which is singular. The pronoun "it" at the end of the sentence also indicates that the underlined pronoun should be in the singular form. The correct answer is C.Answer choice B is wrong because it has a subject-verb agreement error. #10: Use Apostrophes Correctly to Form Possessives There are almost always a couple of apostrophe questions on the ACT. If you know apostrophe rules, these questions should be relatively simple. If a word is singular or plural and does not end in "s," you add an "s" after the apostrophe to make it possessive.Here are a couple of examples: I am the people’s champion. Joe’s career isn’t going very well. To create a possessive for a plural word that ends in "s," just add an apostrophe after the "s." Here is an example of this: The traditionalist thought that all of the basketball players’ shorts were too long. Actual ACT Example This sentence is referring to the age of one person; therefore, the correct version of the possessive pronoun is "person’s."The correct answer is A.Answer choice D is wrong because a comma can’t come between a subject and a verb. #11: Colons Must Come After a Complete Sentence Colons are usually used to introduce lists or explanations.The key rule for colons is that they must come after a complete sentence. So if you were to end the sentence where the colon is placed, the sentence should make sense and be a complete thought.Here is an example: Incorrect: Sabrina needs to purchase a few items for her project like: construction paper, paint, and glitter. Correct: Sabrina needs to purchase a few items for her project: construction paper, paint, and glitter. The first sentence is incorrect because the part of the sentence that comes before the colon isn’t a complete thought. Actual ACT Example In this sentence, the colon is unnecessary and improperly placed. The part before the colon isn’t a complete thought. In answer choices H and J, the commas are unnecessary. The correct answer is therefore answer choice G. #12: Semicolons Separate Two Complete Thoughts Semicolons are like periods; they separate two independent clauses.As a result, you should be able to replace any semicolon with a period. On ACT English, you might find a randomly placed semicolon or need to replace a comma with a semicolon in order to fix a comma splice.Here are two example sentences with semicolons used both correctly and incorrectly: Incorrect: Because Dave wanted an adrenaline rush; he decided to go skydiving. Correct: Dave wanted an adrenaline rush; he decided to go skydiving. The second sentence is correct because the clauses on both sides of the semicolon are independent and could stand alone as sentences. Actual ACT Example Here, the semicolon is just randomly placed after the verb "are"; there is no independent clause on either side of the semicolon. Since no punctuation is necessary after "are," the correct answer is answer choice C. #13: Use the Correct Relative Pronoun The ACT likes to test your knowledge of relative pronouns. There are two specific relative pronoun rules that are important to know for ACT English. Relative Pronouns Must Agree With Their Antecedents Here are what different relative pronouns can be used to refer to: who and whom - people only when - specific times or time periods only where - places only which- any noun other than a person that- any noun whose- possessive that can be used for people or things In many situations, more than one relative pronoun can work. However, in other situations, only one will be acceptable. Here's an example of a relative pronoun error: Incorrect: I love going to restaurants in whichI can get unlimited breadsticks. Correct: I love going to restaurants where I can get unlimited breadsticks. The relative pronoun here is referring to "restaurants"- a location- so "where" is more concise and appropriate. Breadsticks! (apasciuto/Flickr) Here is another example: Incorrect: Johnny enjoys books where he gets to choose his own adventure. Correct: Johnny enjoys books in which he gets to choose his own adventure. A book isn’t a location; therefore, "where" is the incorrect relative pronoun. Media, including books, movies, and articles, should be modified with "in which." Who vs Whom You might have no idea when to use "who" or "whom," but the rule isn’t actually that complicated. Basically, "who" is used as a subject and "whom" is used as an object.A subject does an action or is being described, whereas an object has something done to it. An object can be an object of a verb or preposition. Take a look at our article on pronoun case for more information about subject case vs object case. Now, let's take a look at a couple of examples. First, here is an example sentence using the relative pronoun "who": James, who is my friend, lives in Oklahoma City. In this sentence, "who" is being used correctly. The word "who" is modifying James, and he is my friend. Next, here's an example sentence that uses the relative pronoun "whom": My aunt, from whom I got this jacket, is a very interesting woman. In this sentence, "whom" is also being used correctly. The word "whom" modifies my aunt; I got the jacket from her. You should be able to substitute he/she/they for "who" and him/her/them for "whom." Also, always use "who" before a verb and "whom" after a preposition. Actual ACT Example Remember that "where" can only be used to modify a location. Because storytellers are people, "where" is incorrect.Now, let’s find the right answer. Answer choice D is wrong because the "they" after "that" is unnecessary. Additionally, since the relative pronoun comes before a verb, you can’t use "whom." This means thatthe correct answer is B.The word "who" modifies the storytellers who are doing the action. #14: Subjects and Verbs Must Agree Subjects and verbs must agree, meaning that you must use the singular form of a verb with a singular subject and the plural form of a verb with a plural subject.Take a look at these example sentences: Incorrect: Rock stars likes to entertain adoring fans. Correct: Rock stars like to entertain adoring fans. The King! If the verb is in the present tense and the subject is in the third person (he/she/it/they), the verb usually ends in "s" in the singular form and does not in the plural form.In the example above, the subject is "rock stars," which is plural; therefore, the verb "like" should also be in the plural form ("like" instead of "likes"). On the ACT, subject-verb agreement questions can be even more difficult if there is a phrase that separates the subject from the verb. Here's an example of this: Incorrect: The clothes in my bedroom is in my closet. Correct: The clothes in my bedroom are in my closet. The subject of the sentence is "clothes," which is plural, so the verb should be in the plural form. However, the prepositional phrase "in my bedroom" separates the subject from the verb. If a verb is underlined, make sure you identify the subject that corresponds with the verb to ensure that the subject and verb agree with each other. Also, keep in mind that a subject can never be contained in a prepositional phrase. Actual ACT Example This is a relatively basic subject-verb agreement question. Looking atthe previous sentence, we know that the verb should be in the present tense, so G and H are wrong. The subject of this sentence is "molecules," which is plural. Therefore, we should use the plural form of the verb "bump." The correct answer is J. Other Grammar Rules on ACT English While the rules I explained above are the most often tested on ACT English, there are some other grammar rules that will be tested as well. Here are the links to our other articles that explain the remaining grammatical rules you'll need to know for the ACT: Parallelism Run-on Sentences and Fragments Adjectives vs Adverbs Punctuation Commas The Complete Guide to ACT Grammar Rules What's Next? Now that you're comfortable with the grammar rules on ACT English, make sure you know about style and organization questions. These include questions dealing withadd and delete options, author's main goals, transitions, and macro logic. In addition, we recommend masteringthe five critical concepts you must understand to be able to ace ACT English. Finally, to excel on the ACT English section, you'll need to determine the best approach for reading passages. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep classes. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our classes are entirely online, and they're taught by ACT experts. If you liked this article, you'll love our classes. Along with expert-led classes, you'll get personalized homework with thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step, custom program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Try it risk-free today:

Deprecate vs. Depreciate

Deprecate vs. Depreciate Deprecate vs. Depreciate Deprecate vs. Depreciate By Sharon Only one letter separates these two words, but theres considerable difference in meaning. The word deprecate means to express disapproval of something. A synonym for deprecate in this context is to deplore. Example: He deprecated his sisters actions. This means that he did not approve of his sisters actions. The word depreciate means to belittle or play down. Example: He depreciated his sisters achievements. This means that he behaved as if his sisters achievements were insignificant. Depreciate also means to decrease in value. If youve ever owned a car, then youll know that every year it is worth less than the previous year. In other words, it has depreciated. The noun is depreciation, which is very common business and financial term. Quotations from the press: For most used-car buyers it would be a dream come true: Your car actually gains in value, instead of depreciating. When Kelley Blue Book looked at depreciation of used cars from May 24 to the same day last year, it found 23 examples of used cars that had gained in value during that time. (USA Today) It is easy enough to deprecate Mahlers Third. It is inordinately longclose to two hours. It repeats ideas endlessly; much of the music could easily be exchanged with that of other Mahler symphonies; the idiom is pure Mahler with little variation from previous compositions; long stretches are unrelievedly banal. LA Times Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Great Similes from Literature to Inspire You7 Tips for Writing a Film Review50 Synonyms for â€Å"Villain†

Early college high school for African American males Dissertation

Early college high school for African American males - Dissertation Example In 1954 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that public schools that segregated Whites from Blacks were unconstitutional, and that schools that included different races helped to promote educational equality. Kozol (1991), however, found that even forty years later, racial segregation continued largely unchanged in various urban schools acrosst the country. The nation’s largest school districts remained 95-99% non-White, and Black students in poor families still recorded significantly lower scores on tests of academic performance than Whites in middle and high-income families (Knaus, 2007). Thus, despite the Supreme Court’s ruling and the federal government’s assistance of hundreds of millions of dollars to improve academic performance among Black students in public schools, school achievement remained unchanged (Noguera, 2008). Thus, achievement was unaffected by programs funded by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), Title 1 programs of the United States Department of Education, Head Start, Success for All, and Accelerated Schools. African Americans’s schools were often inadequate as compared to schools for exclusively White students (Knaus, 2007). Researchers (Bell, 2009; Ladson-Billings, 2004) who have studied and made recommendations about education among African Americans and school segregation have also described how segregated schools continue to lack academically rigorous curricula to promote cognitive growth and development that Black students require to succeed in school. Other researchers have presented the difficulties Black students have faced when transitioning from segregated public schools into an integrated environment and the subsequent performance gap that has existed since the mid-1900s (Valien, Taeuber, Glick et al., 1970). There is an increasing gender difference in graduation rates across the United States. â€Å"The difference exists across racial subgroups and is widest between African American girls and boys† (Chadwell, 2009, p.9). In the entire United States, as compared to any other group in American society, Black males are the most likely to be punished, most frequently through some form of exclusion, are labeled, categorized for special education even when there is absence of disability, and are the most liable to experience academic failure. Gender Differences in the Ways Males and Females Learn According to physician and psychologist, Leonard Sax (2007), the gender issue is relevant to classroom learning in several ways. In the United States there is increasing prevalence of boys expressing their disdain for school â€Å"saying that school is stupid and they do not like to read† (Sax, 2007, p.40). This approach is found to cut across all demographic groups, affecting both affluent white boys in the suburbs and black boys in low-income neighborhoods. Sax

Persuasive presentation Speech Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Persuasive presentation Speech - Essay Example generates 160 million tons of trash, in particular, the legally dumped garbage. This amount of garbage constitutes adequate metal that may be used to fabricate two million automobiles; paper that can publish America’s daily newspapers; wood that can build a million homes; and bulk aluminum sufficient for rebuilding American air fleet a couple of times. It is apparent that the American population is drowning in Trash. Americans have a responsibility to counter the current trends by recycling the trash; otherwise, there will be no tomorrow for us. As such, recycling is the most appropriate method for tackling the problem. A. Recycling concept fits appropriately in the current waste situation in U.S. as well as other parts of the world. The perceived recycling attempts are yet to achieve the requisite standards. People’s misconceptions about the process such as recycling being time consuming as well as a bother are some of the reasons why Americans lag behind in recycling their wastes (Saddleback Educational Publishing 5). C. The negative effects of landfills to the environment are attributable not only to their closure but also to implementation of recycling as an appropriate alternative. It is apparent that landfills result in serious water and air pollution (Griff 2). E. Recycling contributes to reduction of pollution, and saves energy. Several countries, including Japan are enjoying substantial benefits relating to cost-effectiveness and reduced energy consumption, by recycling their waste. It appears that recycling is turning out to be the next big thing internationally. Different institutions and the public are increasingly adopting recycling as an alternative method of disposing waste or trash. Recycling household commodities is considerably easy and requires little time. It is the responsibility for all to promote environment sustainability. As noted, disposal of waste in landfills is detrimental to the environment; therefore, it is important to

Operating Theatre Practice Reflective Assessment

Operating Theatre Practice Reflective Assessment Activity 1 Register nurses who work in the operation theatre where they are trained to care patient before, during and after surgery. There they gain both classroom learning and hands on experience. Strengths: â€Å"Strengths-based learning is the process of acquiring knowledge or skills by applying what makes you strong. Put simply, it is new learning that builds on past success.† (Dunedin, 1960) There is strength that is available in my private hospital such as the library, it is to provide better understanding example as Berry and Khons books. The staff or student to get will be able to get information regarding the surgical field. Question and answer are also given by the nurse instructor regarding what procedure is done by the student or staff. Each week every staff has their own date given by the nurse manager to do presentation. Presentation can be done any topic regarding the surgical field. Internet access is also available to acknowledge staff or student to find out information. Staffs are also been sent for fire safety program and advance cardiovascular life support to be able to perform during emergency. Challengers: In every job there are challengers that will give us experience to procedure further. Moreover, in my department as well there is a popular reason of staff shortage. It will be difficult for the any staff to go for training due to no replacement. Too many new learners will also increase the stress level to the mentor because she or he could not handle by observing each student and more mistakes will be done by the student example during the surgical field even though the student or staff are been though to perform swab count but due to lack of supervision mistake may occur. Working long hours in the operation will lead to stress and tiredness to the staff due to dragging of cases. Next day the particular staff couldn’t perform well and more error will occur example medication error during general anaesthesia. There are also some of the surgeon will complain about the staff performance to the nurse manager this will prevent the staff to be assign with the particular surgeon aga in by the nurse manage end up the staff finally couldn’t learn the way of the surgeon operate. During the school holidays there will be increase number of cases in this period most of the staff and student will have though time to perform their theory session only rushing to finish the cases, end up no improvement in knowledge. Opportunities: The main opportunities working in the operation theatre is the willingness for the staff and surgeon to except the particular person with the way she or he perform their duties. There are the learning methods that are available such as the internet and library. Log books are provided for the new staffs to make sure they are able to learnt each skill during the probation period. By practicing they will learn faster other than only memorizing, and observing but this actually also depending individually. Barrier: There are the barrier between the staff and the working environment, depending on the staff. Some person will encounter difficult in communication in understanding their task given due to different language. If proper orientation is not given to the new staff they will be lack of confident in performing their duties. Teamwork can also lead to barrier example how the person getting along with each other to achieve goal to improve the quality of life and the outcome. Mentor is also a very important person in the practice area to organize and coordinate student learning, supervising student and providing feedback if they are lack of knowledge the junior staff will not be guided in a proper way to provide good service to the patient. Activity 2 My main strengths As a professional in practice: I have been working the private hospital since year 2008.I has completed my operation theatre practice and diploma in nursing sponsor by the private hospital. I have also done my fire safety program, advance cardiovascular life support and standard people practice course. I am also trained in the central sterile supply department, catheterization lab, general anaesthesia, circulating and also scrubbing. Area for improvement and action plan: I would like to improve in my scrubbing area to do better in the orthopaedic cases and neurologic cases because usually for this cases special instrument and machine are required. For the orthopaedic case mostly screws, plating and on loan instruments will be use from other company such as Johnson and Johnson or Stryker depending on type of surgery. Moreover, for the neurologic cases different machine are use example selector which is to suck the tumour from intracranial. The instruments that are used are tumour forceps, brain retractor or dora retractor. Action plan: I have to scrub neurologic and orthopaedic cases more often. I also must do note book and prepare presentation to be presented with other staffs to exchange idea and knowledge.I can also ask for the instrument broacher from each company so I will be more familiar with the instrument and able to handle in future. As a learner: As a learner there have been dreams for me to increase my knowledge and experience. I would strictly love to continue my degree in nursing because education is the most useful thing to the people, especially as a result of complex nature of the day. After completing degree I will happily go forward to continue my master in nursing. I also would like to go for the AO trauma course to be more familiar with the types of fracture. Areas for development and action plan: I would like to increase my education level because education is important to national development in that it allows to further progress in the nation. Education promotes better ideas for management and experience. I would also like to more into the management site. The AO trauma is important to make sure I am able to manage fracture and also will be trained in the techniques for management of common fracture .In my action plan I must first apply degree in a university which the program has been approved by the Ministry of Health and Malaysia Nursing Board and also an affordable price. Which currently I am studying and happy with it, I would also like to continue my master here. For the trauma course that I wanted to attend I must apply though internet and inform my nurse manager about it once the application is open I can go it is only for 3 days course. As a mentor or educator in practice: As a mentor having a interpersonal and professional working relationship to support the learning environment. Organizing and coordinating the learning activities by supervising the student or new comers. Assessing the student’s skill, attitudes and behaviour enable me to provide the evidence of achievement. Areas of development and action plan: Coaching involves regular discussion between the mentor and mentee to improve their performance example develop a plan to improve the employee skill and knowledge. Counselling is a discussion to help the mentee to sort out problems. Teaching with revolves soft skills which can be build such as focus on communication skills, interpersonal skills ,problem solving and professionalism. Show them why they should develop a career plan and help them see their future role in the organization Activity 3 I am working in one of the private hospital more than 2 years, I am trained in the operation theatre and also completed my certificate as a trained theatre technician. My hospital is a place to learn and practice all the facilities of learning are available and practical there is superb but there are also areas of improvement .When I was a junior I had an experience that I learn from it. It was a spine endoscopic surgery which was done by a new surgeon, assisted by a junior staff nurse, this surgery was a new procedure in our place using scope for disectomy. The junior staff did very well , the surgery went smooth and at the end when the skin already stitch then the scrub nurse noticed that one of the patties is missing when the patient was already on the trolley extubated, on the way to recovery. The junior nurse got scared and immediately she informed the surgeon. Once again the patient was push back in to the operation room, incubated the patient and he reopen the surgery site, th ere was patties retain in the patient. This was a major mistake because final count was not done before closing and this is considered as a medical error. From the experience above, I would like to reflect upon three areas for improvement using the Gibbs Model of Reflection. At that time, I felt that the induction program was not done properly because the scrub nurse didn’t count the patties. It was a bad experience for the staff because it was her first time doing Endoscopic Disectomy. On the other hand, this experience also though her about the important of proper patties count. At the situation the scrub nurse was so nervous and anxious because was her first time scrubbing with a new surgeon. In my view, I decently think that the induction program that usually done only for 2 months should be increase to at less 4 months to make sure the new comers absorb the input and also know the important of counting the swab or patties before, during and before closing the skin to prevent retain of foreign body. The scrub nurse was also new staffs who were left all alone with no supervision. It was very unfair for the nurse manager to do such an assignment with no any senior staff. From the positive site, the staff is trained to be alone to build her confident level and the negative site without supervision error happens which is also unfair to the patient. To prevent any error in future the nurse manager must assign senior staffs who are able to bring a new staffs and guide in a proper manner. Furthermore, I also suggested the nurse manager to prepare a competency checklist because the staff was not given any chance but immediately inform to scrub for the case. She was also new staff afraid the nurse manager would get angry if she refused it. From this experience, everyone and even I realized that if the staff was done a competency checklist by her mentor or senior staff, we can identify which area she is weak and does she knows the important of patties count. In future I hope this incident will never occur again, during the investigation was done towards the junior nurse no senior or even the nurse manager stood by her. Everyone was just blaming the junior staff from that situation I did the analysis where the mistake happened. I even suggested to the nurse manager for improvement of these three areas before we could blame the junior staff but finally she was sent to the recovery area and no more scrubbing again. am I.I also felt that the nurse manager was so unfair to us for not giving us any senior staff. I also felt miserable because i didn’t remind her about the count and even didn’t perform the patties checklist.There was also no

Fdi Inindia Ananalysis on Theimpact of Fdi in Indias Retail Sector-

FDI in India: An analysis on the impact of FDI in India’s Retail sector Submitted By: Subhajit Ray Department of Humanities and Social Sciences IIT Kharagpur Kharagpur-721302 1 Introduction: Initially the Indian policy makers were quite apprehensive about the flow of foreign capital into the economy. This can be attributed to the colonial past which saw large investments being made by their colonial rulers in the form of major infrastructure instruments like railways but only to make huge gains for themselves and sucking the host country of its resources.But currently the global economy has been witnessing an incessant form of economic growth characterized by the flow of capital from the developed world to the developing countries. During the 1990s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) became the single largest source of external finance for the developing countries. When faced with an economic crisis during the same period the Indian policy makers had to open up the Indian market a nd accordingly India has been seeing a consistent increase in FDI inflows.Indian economy has been showing high growth rates in the post liberalization era. In the last fiscal year according to the Planning commission’s data the Indian economy recorded a growth rate of 8. 6% and 8% in the year before. This is reason enough to call it a high performing economy. All Multi National Enterprises (MNEs) have been eyeing the Indian market ever since they have opened up. The policy makers have been vigorously pursuing the reforms program as they believe that high growth has been the resultant of economic liberalization.FDI has been seen as a dominant determinant to achieve high rate of economic growth because of the ease with which it can bring in scarce capital, triggers technology transfer and enhances the efficiency by increasing the competitiveness of the market. Also FDI as a form of policy instrument to raise capital is usually preferred over other forms of external finance beca use they are non-debt creating, non-volatile and their returns depend on the performance of the projects financed by the investors.FDI is successful in human capital formation, increases total factor productivity and efficiency of resource use. But such benefits are highly dependent on the policies of the host government. It is furthermore described as a source of economic development, modernization, and employment generation. Several factors both political and apolitical have led to a greater acceptance of FDI. The envisioned role of FDI has evolved from that of a tool to solve the crisis under the license raj system to that of a modernizing force of the Indian economy.In support of their endeavor the policy makers have often cited the example of the Chinese experience of achieving high growth rate through foreign direct investment. India has opened up its economy and allowed MNEs in the core sectors such as Power and Fuels, Electrical Equipments, Transport, Chemicals, Food Process ing, 2 Metallurgical, Drugs and Pharmaceuticals, Textiles, and Industrial Machinery as a part of reform process started in the beginning of 1990s. Currently FDI is also permissible in the Telecommunications, Banking, Insurance and IT sector. Currently there is huge debate going on about allowing FDI in retail.This paper aims to discuss the critical aspects of FDI in India, present a case study on the success of reforms in the telecommunications sector, analyze both sides of the arguments currently going on regarding FDI in retail and conclude with suggestive measures on the part of the government which can eliminate the negative effects of allowing FDI in India’s retail sector. Assessing the impact of FDI on host economy- a review of various economic literatures: FDI inflow into the core sectors is assumed to play a vital role as a source of capital management and technology in countries of transition economies.It implies that FDI can have positive effects on a host economyâ €™s development effort (Caves, 1974; Kokko, 1994; Markusen, 1995; Carves, 1996; Sahoo, Mathiyazhagan and Parida 2001). It has been argued that FDI can bring the technological diffusion to the sectors through knowledge spillover and enhances a faster rate of growth of output via increased labour productivity. There have been a lot of empirical studies to assess the impact of FDI in developing economies and the results to this date have been found to be mixed.Many reports have questioned the positive effects of the FDI inflow in the host country. Some studies done earlier had found that FDI has a negative impact on the growth of the developing countries (Singer,1950; Griffin, 1970; Weisskof, 1972). Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) in the name of FDI may drive out the local firms because of their oligopolistic power, and also, the repatriation of profit may drain out the capital of the host country. The main argument in this regard was that the main component of FDI in less develop ing countries was in the primary sector.Then these primary products were exported to the developed nations and processed for import back to the developing nations and thus resulted in the host nations receiving a lesser value for their resources. Hanson (2001) argues that evidence that FDI generates positive spillovers for host countries is weak. In a review of micro data on spillovers from foreign-owned to domestically owned firms Gorg and Greenwood (2002) conclude that the effects are mostly negative. Lipsey (2002) takes a more favorable view from reviewing the micro literature which argues that there is evidence of positive effect.He also argues that there is need for more consideration of the different circumstances that obstruct or promote positive spillovers. Rodan (1961), Chenery and Strout (1966) in the early 1960s argued that foreign capital inflows have a favorable effect on the economic efficiency and growth towards the developing countries. It has been explained that FDI could have a favorable short-term effect on growth as it expands the economic activity. However, in the long run it reduces the growth rate due to dependency, particularly due to â€Å"decapitalization† (Bornschier, 1980).This is due to the reason that the foreign investors repatriate their investment by contracting the economic activities in the long run. FDI is an important vehicle for the 3 transfer of technology and knowledge and it demonstrates that it can have a long run effect on growth by generating increasing return in production via positive externalities and productive spillovers. Thus, FDI can lead to a higher growth by incorporating new inputs and techniques (Feenstra and Markusen, 1994). Aitken, et al. 1997) showed the external effect of FDI on export with example of Bangladesh, where the entry of a single Korean Multinational in garment exports led to the establishment of a number of domestic export firms, creating the country’s largest export industry. Hu and Khan (1997) attribute the spectacular growth rate of Chinese economy during 1952 to 1994 to the productivity gains largely due to market oriented reforms, especially the expansion of the non-state sector, as well as China’s â€Å"open-door† policy, which brought about a dramatic expansion in foreign trade and FDI.A study by Xu (2000) found a strong evidence of technology diffusion from U. S. MNEs affiliated in developed countries (DCs) but weak evidence of such diffusion in the less developed countries (LDCs). It concluded that in order to benefit from the technology transfer by the MNEs a country needs to achieve a basic minimum human capital threshold. A recent study by Banga (2005) demonstrates that FDI, trade and technological progress have differential impact on wages and employment.While higher extent of FDI in an industry leads to higher wage rate in the industry, it has no impact on its employment. On the other hand, higher export intensity of an indust ry increases employment in the industry but has no effect on its wage rate. Technological progress is found to be labor saving but does not influence the wage rate. Further, the results show that domestic innovation in terms of research and development intensity has been labor utilizing in nature but import of technology has unfavorably affected employment in India.The study by Sharma (2000) concluded that FDI does not have a statistically significant role in the export promotion in Indian Economy. This result is also confirmed by the study of Pailwar (2001) and the study also argues that the foreign firms are more interested in the large Indian market rather than aiming for the global market. The study by Sahoo and Mathiyazhagan (2003) also support the view that FDI in India is not able to enhance the growth of the economy.Though there is a common consensus among all the studies in the Indian context that FDI is not growth stimulant rather it is growth resultant. A study by Dr Maat hai K. Mathiyazhagan(2005) demonstrate that the flow of FDI into the sectors has helped to raise the output, labour productivity and export in some sectors but a better role of FDI at the sectoral level is still expected. Results also reveal that there is no significant co-integrating relationship among the variables like FDI, Growth rate of output, Export and Labour Productivity in core sectors of the economy.This implies that when there is an increase in the output, export or labour productivity of the sectors it is not due to the advent of FDI. Thus, it could be concluded that the advent of FDI has not helped to wield a positive impact on the Indian economy at the sectoral level. Thus, in the eve of India's plan for further opening up of the economy, it is advisable to open up the export oriented sectors so that a higher growth of the economy could be achieved through the growth of these sectors. 4 Foreign Direct Investment policy of India:Foreign direct investment policy of the government of India has been gradually liberalized. As early as in the year 1948 and 1956 (two industrial policy resolutions) government policy clearly reflected the need to supplement foreign capital and technology for rapid economic growth. The core objective of the foreign capital policy was that the control of industrial undertaking should remain in the Indian hands. However, the government had granted permission in certain cases for allowing establishment of exclusive foreign enterprises.Foreign capital was preferred in specific areas which bring in new technology and establish joint ventures with Indian partners. Government also granted tax concessions to foreign enterprises and streamlined industrial licensing procedures to accord early approvals for foreign collaborations. In the case of 100 per cent export of output, foreigners were allowed to establish industrial units. It needs to be noted here that under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) 1974 only upto 40 per ce nt of the equity holding of the foreign firms were permitted.Foreign investment was permitted under designated industries along with restrictions in terms of local content clauses, export obligations, promotion of R and prohibition by law the use of foreign brands (Hybrid domestic brands were promoted such as Ford Escort and Hero Honda). It needs to be pointed out here that the restrictions have been flouted frequently and relaxations were also granted. This process has culminated into gradual liberalization of government policy towards foreign capital.It is reflected in continuous increase in the number of approvals granted. During the period 19611971, the number of foreign collaborations approved was 2475 which were increased to 3041 during the period 1971-1980. There was dramatic increase in the foreign collaboration approvals during the period 1981-1990 (7436 collaborations were approved). This policy enabled to build domestic technological capability in many branches of industr y but generally considered very restrictive.It has been widely accepted that protection of domestic industry for a longer period of time resulted into high cost production structure along with poor quality. Foreign direct investment policy announced by the government of India in July 1991 was regarded as a dramatic departure from the earlier restrictive and discretionary policy towards foreign capital. The FDI policy of 1991 proposed to achieve objective of efficient and competitive world class Indian industry. Foreign investment was seen as a source of scarce resource, technology and managerial and marketing skills.The major feature of policy regarding foreign investment up to 51 per cent of equity holding was permitted too. Automatic approvals were also allowed to foreign investment up to 51 per cent equity in 34 industries as well as to foreign technology agreements in high 5 priority industries. The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) was set up to speedily process applica tions for approvals of the cases which were not covered under the automatic route. Laws were amended to provide foreign firms the equivalent status as the domestic ones.Government of India, however, put in place the regulatory mechanism to repatriate payments of dividends through Reserve Bank of India so that outflows are balanced through export earnings during stipulated period of time. Further liberalization measures with regard to foreign investment were taken during 1992-93. The dividend balance conditions were revoked except in the case of consumer goods industries. Non Resident Indian (NRI) and Overseas Corporate Bodies (OCB) were permitted in high priority industries to invest up to 100 per cent equity along with repatriation of capital and income.Apart from expansion of the area of operation for FDI in many new economic activities, the existing companies were also allowed to increase equity participation up to 51 per cent along with disinvestment of equity. Foreign direct in vestment policy has been changed frequently since 1991 to make it more transparent and attractive to the foreign investors. FDI up to 100 per cent is allowed under automatic route for all sectors/activities except activities that attract industrial licensing, proposals where foreign investors had an xisting joint venture in same field, proposals for acquisition of shares in an existing Indian company in the financial sector and those activities where automatic route is not available. The only sectors/activities where FDI is not permitted are agriculture and plantations excluding tea plantations, real estate business (excluding development of townships, housing, built up infrastructure and construction development projects-NRI/OCB investment is allowed for the real estate business), retail trade, lottery, security services and atomic energy.Government has simplified procedure, rules and regulations on a regular basis since 1991 to make Indian economic environment foreign investor fri endly. Attempt has been made through FDI policy to make India the hub of global foreign direct investment as well as in economic activities. Trend and Dimension of FDI inflow in India: The dimensions of the FDI flows into India could be explained in terms of its growth and size, sources and sectoral compositions. The growth of FDI inflows in India was not significant until 1991 due to the regulatory policy framework.It could be observed that there has been a steady build up in the actual FDI inflows in the post-liberalization period (Figures 1. 1 and 1. 2). Actual inflows have steadily increased from US $ 143. 6 million in 1991 to US $ 37763 million in 2010. This results in an annual average growth rate close to 6 per cent. However, the pace of FDI inflows to India has definitely been slower than some of the smaller developing countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.In fact, India had registered a declining trend of FDI inflows and the FDI- GDP ratio especially in 1 998 and 2003 could be attributed to many factors, including the US sanctions imposed in the aftermath of the nuclear tests, the East Asian meltdown and the perceived Swadeshi image different political parties, which was 6 ruling government during this period in India. It is also important to note that the financial collaboration has out numbered the technical collaboration over the years. But since 2006 India has seen a remarkably higher growth of FDI in accordance with the general trends of the global conomy with a slight dip in the year 2009-2010. This can be attributed to the recessionary situation in the global economy. In recent years, India’s share in the global FDI inflows has increased substantially. Year wise FDI inflow in the post reforms era (1990-2001) 1999-2000 2439 1998-1999 1997-1998 1996-1997 FDI 1995-1996 1994-1995 1993-1994 1992-1993 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 US $ MILLIONS Figure 1. 1 Year 1992-93 1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 FDI 393 6 54 1374 2141 2770 3682 3083 2439 7 However, China receives a greater percent of global FDI inflows.India’s effort have not yet realized in comparison to the changes which has been made in the FDI policy. Year wise revised FDI inflow since 2000-2001 with expended coverage to approach International Best Practices. 2009-2010 2008-2009 2007-2008 2006-2007 2005-2006 FDI 2004-2005 2003-2004 2002-2003 2001-2002 2000-2001 0 10000 20000 30000 40000 US $ MILLIONS Table 1. 2 Year 200001 200102 200203 200304 200405 200506 200607 200708 200809 200910 FDI 4029 6130 5035 4322 6051 8961 22826 34835 37838 37763 Capital goods sector has more or less been bypassed by FDI.This clearly points out the tendency of foreign investment to exploit the pent up domestic demand 8 for consumer durable goods. Further more, there is a gradual increase in the mergers and acquisitions during the 1990s which show a tendency of FDI inflows to acquire existing industrial assets and managerial control without actu ally engaging in new productive activities (Nagraj, 2006). India’s large size of domestic market seems to have been the major attraction for foreign firms. SHARE OF TOP INVESTING COUNTRIES FDI EQUITY INFLOWS Others France Germany Cyprus Country Japan Netherlands U. K U. S. A. Singapore Mauritius 0 10 2 2 4 4 9 % 4 5 7 9 42 20 30 40 50 %age to total Inflows (in terms of US $) The analyses of the origin of FDI inflows to India show that the new policy has broadened the source of FDI into India. There were 86 countries in 2000 which increased to 106 countries in 2003 as compared to 29 countries in 1991 whose FDI was approved by the Indian Government. The country-wise analysis of the FDI inflows shows that Mauritius, which was not in the picture till 1992, is the highest contributor of FDI to India. A major share of such investment is represented by the holding companies of Mauritius set up by the US firms.It means that the investment flowing from the tax havens is mainly the inv estment of the multinational corporations headquartered in other countries. Now an 9 important question arises as to why the US companies have routed their investment through Mauritius. It is because, firstly, the US companies have positioned their funds in Mauritius, which they like to invest elsewhere. Secondly, because the tax treaty between Mauritius and India stipulates a dividend tax of five per cent, while the treaty between Indian and the US stipulated a dividend tax of 15 per cent (World Bank, 1999).Telecommunications Sector- A success story: Further narrowing of FDI in sub-sectors reveals the success story of the telecommunications sector. Research into Telecommunications furthers the haphazard nature of FDI investment and policy making. The current process for FDI in telecommunications can be attributed to two policies that were undertaken by the government: National Telecom Policy of 1994 and New Telecom Policy of 1999. Before the economic reforms ‘teledensity†™ was low, infrastructure growth was slow, and the lack of reforms restricted investments and adoption of new technologies.The existing legislative and regulatory environment needed major changes to facilitate growth in the sector. It was 1991 when the programme was undertaken to expand and upgrade India’s vast telecom network. The programme included: complete freedom of telecom equipment manufacturing, privatisation of services, liberal foreign investment and new regulation in technology imports. Simultaneously, the government-managed Department of Telecommunications (DoT) was restructured to remove its monopoly status as the service provider.The government programme was formalised on a telecom policy statement called National Telecom Policy 1994 on 12 May 1994. However the 1994 policy was not sufficient to make the India’s telecommunications sector fully open and liberalised. The incumbent monopoly (DoT) was indifferent in implementing the national telecom policy e ffectively due to its lack of commitment. This paved the way for designing a new policy framework for telecommunications which was called the New Telecom Policy 1999. The New Telecom Policy 1999 (NTP99) was developed after the reform process began in 1991.The interest of the government led to the new policy. As a result in addition to the sectoral caps, the government policy played a major role in the liberalization of the telecom sector. As a result a large number of private operators started operating in the basic/mobile telephony and Internet domains. Teledensity has increased, mobile telephony has established a large base, the number of Internet users has seen a steep growth, and large bandwidth has been made available for software exports and IT-enabled services, and the tariffs for international and domestic links have seen significant reductions.Total FDI in Telecommunications sector is over US $ 15 billion. The takeover of Hutch by Vodafone is one of the largest FDI deals fo r an amount of US $ 11 billion. Tariff 10 rates are the lowest in the whole world and there are more than 250 million users. The Retail sector in India: The retail industry in India is one of the fastest growing. Even without FDI driving it, the corporate owned retail sector is expanding at a furious rate. AT Kearney, the well-known international management consultancy, recently identified India as the ‘second most attractive retail destination’ globally from among thirty emergent markets.It has made India the cause of a good deal of excitement and the cynosure of many foreign eyes. With a contribution of 14% to the national GDP and employing 7% of the total workforce (only agriculture employs more) in the country, the retail industry is definitely one of the pillars of the Indian economy. . Trade or retailing is the single largest component of the services sector in terms of contribution to GDP. Its massive share of 14% is double the figure of the next largest broad ec onomic activity in the sector.The retail industry is divided into organised and unorganised sectors. Organised retailing refers to trading activities undertaken by licensed retailers, that is, those who are registered for sales tax, income tax, etc. These include the corporate-backed hypermarkets and retail chains, and also the privately owned large retail businesses. Unorganised retailing, on the other hand, refers to the traditional formats of low-cost retailing, for example, the local kirana shops, owner manned general stores, paan/beedi shops, convenience stores, hand cart and pavement vendors, etc.A simple glance at the employment numbers is enough to paint a good picture of the relative sizes of these two forms of trade in India – organised trade employs roughly 5 lakh people whereas the unorganized retail trade employs nearly 3. 95 crores. Given the recent numbers indicated by other studies, this is only indicative of the magnitude of expansion the retail trade is expe riencing, both due to economic expansion as well as the ‘jobless growth’ that we have seen in the past decade.It must be noted that even within the organised sector, the number of individually-owned retail outlets far outnumber the corporate-backed institutions. Though these numbers translate to approximately 8% of the workforce in the country (half the normal share in developed countries) there are far more retailers in India than other countries in absolute numbers, because of the demographic profile and the preponderance of youth, India’s workforce is proportionately much larger. That about 4% of India’s population is in the retail trade says a lot about how vital this business is to the socio-economic equilibrium in India. 1 Arguments against adoption of FDI in India’s Retail sector: FDI driven modern retailing is labour displacing to the extent that it can only expand by destroying the traditional retail sector. Till such time we are in a posit ion to create jobs on a large scale in manufacturing, it would make eminent sense that any policy that results in the elimination of jobs in the unorganised retail sector should be kept on hold. Studies suggest that about 5 crore jobs will be lost and only 20 lakhs new jobs will be created.With their incredibly high capital FDI driven retailing units such as Wal-Mart will be able to sustain losses for many years till its immediate competition is wiped out. This is a normal predatory strategy used by large players to drive out small and dispersed competition. This entails job losses by the millions. Even the organised retail sector may face serious problems and may eventually be wiped out. The FDI driven retail units will typically sell everything, from vegetables to the latest electronic gadgets, at extremely low prices that will most likely undercut those in nearby local stores selling similar goods.They would be more likely to source their raw materials from abroad, and procure go ods like vegetables and fruits directly from farmers at pre-ordained quantities and specifications. This means a foreign company will buy big from India and abroad and be able to sell low – severely undercutting the small retailers. Once a monopoly situation is created this will then turn into buying low and selling high. Such re-orientation of sourcing of materials will completely disintegrate the already established supply chain.In time, the neighbouring traditional outlets are also likely to fold and perish, given the ‘predatory’ pricing power that a foreign player is able to exert. As Nick Robbins wrote in the context of the East India Company, â€Å"By controlling both ends of the chain, the company could buy cheap and sell dear† It is true that it is in the consumer’s best interest to obtain his goods and services at the lowest possible price. But this is a privilege for the individual consumer and it cannot, in any circumstance, override the responsibility of any society to provide economic security for its population.Clearly collective well-being must take precedence over individual benefits. The primary task of government in India is still to provide livelihoods and not create so called efficiencies of scale by creating redundancies. 12 Arguments in favour of adoption of FDI in India’s Retail sector: The main driver for adoption of Retail in India seems to be the recognition that the Indian economy faces serious supply-side constraints, particularly in the food-related retail chains. The government would like to improve back-end infrastructure, and ultimately reduce post-harvest losses and other wastage.There is also a general concern, highlighted by the persistence of food inflation, that intermediaries obtain a disproportionate share of value in this chain and farmers receive only 15% of the end consumer price. Now the farmers will be able to get a better price for their products. With easy credit availabilit y through foreign direct investment the situation of farmer suicides in India will improve. With foreign capital flowing into the economy the current inflationary situation will be tamed.One key point is that we must differentiate between the interests of consumers, who constitute our population of nearly 115 crore, from the interests of retailers, who may number near five crore. The larger supermarkets, which tend to become regional and national chains, can negotiate prices more aggressively with manufacturers of consumer goods and pass on the benefit to consumers. Undoubtedly, lower prices psychologically propel buyers to spend more than they otherwise would. The resulting growth in private consumption creates jobs. The tax collection of the government will improve as it is mpossible to tax the unorganised retail sector. The revenue collected by the government can be used for infrastructure development. Also India has had several retailers with deep pockets and access to skills. T hat they have not been able to swamp the domestic small retailer says something about consumer behaviour and small retail’s resilience. The argument that the advent of FDI and supermarkets will displace a large number of kirana shops is similar to the argument used during the era of industrial licensing, which was meant to protect small-scale industries.But eventually the inefficiencies and quality standards of the protected small-scale companies become apparent even to socialist politicians and licensing was abolished. Even a modest chain of 200 supermarkets, to be set up all over India in selected towns and cities in the next three years, will require an investment of about Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion), at the rate of Rs 10 crore (Rs 100 million) per supermarket to cover the infrastructure and working capital. Each supermarket may take 2 or 3 years before it becomes profitable.There is a risk that a few of them may even fail. No Indian entrepreneur will be willing and abl e to commit this level of investment and undertake the risks involved. That is where the 13 international experience and skills that may come with FDI would provide the confidence and capital. Apart from this, by allowing FDI in retail trade, India will become more integrated with regional and global economies in terms of quality standards and consumer expectations. Supermarkets could source several consumer goods from India for wider international markets.India certainly has an advantage of being able to produce several categories of consumer goods, viz. fruits and vegetables, beverages, textiles and garments, gems and jewellery, and leather goods. The advent of FDI in retail sector is bound to pull up the quality standards and costcompetitiveness of Indian producers in all these segments. That will benefit not only the Indian consumer but also open the door for Indian products to enter the wider global market. Suggestive measures to eliminate the negative effects of FDI in Indiaâ €™sRetail sector: FDI in the retail sector should be accompanied by policy formulations that encourage the growth of manufacturing sector in India. A growing manufacturing sector can accommodate the people who will loose their jobs due to the adoption of retail in India. FDI should be aggressively promoted in case of relatively less sensitive sectors like entertainment, R etc. Moreover import duty should be imposed to protect domestic production units. Strict labour laws should be imposed to ensure that no management jobs are outsourced.The government should also ensure the local population gets competitive wages and the working environment is proper. Jobs should be reserved for the poor people. If the language of operation is English then it will act as a hindrance for job creation for the underprivileged people. Hence Hindi and local languages as a mode of operation should be encouraged. Cooperative societies should be formed for the farmers and other agricultural suppliers to take care of their rights and to ensure that they are getting a fair price from the FDI driven big retail units.Strict corporate governance should be ensured to prevent the acquisition of local business units by foreign firms and to promote investor friendly trade practices. The foreign retail units should be made to divest a certain percentage of their equity in the Indian financial markets. Only strict governance can ensure that the foreign firms adhere to competitive trade practices. Social infrastructure like schools, colleges and hospitals should be developed to promote human capital formation as several studies suggest that such initiatives could enhance the spillover effects of FDI.Furthermore it will help in creating 14 jobs in the high technology sectors and will put India in the global technology scenario. Social security should be ensured through different policy measures like pension plans, employment guarantee programmes and free health care. Strict environmental laws should be enforced to ensure that the foreign firms do not indulge in unsustainable trade practices. Conclusion: The growth rate of the Indian economy has been very high in the post reforms era.And hence India has become the cynosure of investment by foreign multinational enterprises. The relationship between FDI and other macro economic variables like growth rate, export, employment and productivity has been found to vary. It has been found that to gain a positive impact of technology spillovers via FDI the host country should achieve a basic minimum human capital threshold. Studies exist both in support and against the positive impact of FDI in the Indian economy. It is self conclusive that the growth of FDI in India is growth resultant and not growth stimulant.The positive impact of FDI has been felt in the high technology sectors like telecommunication and IT. The success story of the telecom sector is a real confidence booster in this regard. It is clearly visible that the MNEs are more interested in exploiting the Indian markets rather than investing in capital goods. The retail sector is one of the fastest growing sectors of India. It also employs a huge proportion of the population. Hence any measure regarding this sector such as approval of FDI in the Indian retail sector will have a gigantic impact on Indian economy.FDI in the Indian retail sector will work wonders in terms of controlling inflation, creating new jobs and increasing the efficiency and productivity of the Indian economy. But many believe that it may lead to wide scale unemployment, drainage of capital from the Indian economy and social inequity. Hence FDI in India’s retail sector should be accompanied by stringent policy measures on the part of the government so that the majority of the population can benefit from the positive spillover effects of FDI.Government should encourage FDI in the manufacturing sector along with the retail sector to compensate for the loss of jobs that will be created due to the advent of FDI in retail. Government should also build social infrastructure to enhance the human capital formation so that the positive spillover effects of FDI are greatly felt. 15 References †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ FDI in India’s Retail Sector More Bad than Good? By Mohan Guruswamy Kamal Sharma Jeevan Prakash Mohanty Thomas J.Korah Rethinking the linkages between foreign direct investment and development: a third world perspective By: Shashank P. Kumar India’s Economic Growth and the Role of Foreign Direct Investment: By Lakhwinder Singh 2006. India’s FDI inflows Trends and Concepts By K. S. Chalapati Rao & Biswajit Dhar Impact of liberalization on FDI structure in India. By Dr. Gulshan Kumar. Impact of foreign direct investment on Indian economy: A sectoral level analysis. By Dr Maathai K. Mathiyazhagan.Foreign Direct Investment in Post-R eform India: Likely to Work Wonders for Regional Development? By Peter Nunnenkamp and Rudi Stracke. FDI in India in the 1990s. Trends and issues. By R Nagaraj. Economic Reforms, Foreign Direct Investment and its Economic Effects in India by Chandana Chakraborty Peter Nunnenkamp. March 2006. China and India: Any difference in their FDI performances? By Wenhui Wei. June 2005 Fact sheet on FDI in India by the Planning Commission. Data on GDP growth rate from the Planning Commisiion. Wikipedia. com Planningcommission. nic. in 16