3/18/2020 0 Comments Economic Growth Rate of MalaysiaEconomic Growth Rate of Malaysia After world recession the rates of growth were changed from last years the same as Malaysia (graphs bellow). Malaysia has been feeling the result of global economic decline, principally in the last quarter of 2008. Exports and investment had focused during the time that consequently caused real GDP growth to decelerate sharply to a marginal 0.1%.In the face of increasing global economic complexities, the Government had reported the second Stimulus package of RM60 billion in March 2009 in order to prevent the domestic economy from reducing and fall into a deep recession. Over 2009 and 2010, the package implemented that also help employment, private division investment and consumption as well as providing social safety net. In November 2008, the Government had announced the first stimulus package amounting to RM7.0 billion. The fiscal stimulus packages are to compliment expansionary monetary policy to help support domestic spending and overall economic growth. The Government recently revised downward the countrys GDP predict for 2009 to between minus 5.0% and minus 4.0% from its earlier projection of minus 1.0% to 1.0%. The revision was made after first quarter 2009 GDP shrank a worse than expected 6.2%. This is the first decline since third quarter of 2001 (-0.4%). Whole the world was found a bad circumstances in recession and inflation, and this data demonstrated the responsibilities of Malaysia government for prevent its country in against of inflation and its affection on lifes quality. In short, The Malaysian economy recorded a moderation in 2008 affected by the sharp deterioration in global economy as the US sub-prime mortgage problems evolved into a full-blown global financial crisis. The deterioration in external demand had adversely affected the countrys export and investment performance, while slowing down spending on consumption. As an open economy, Malaysia is experiencing the stronger impact of global economic crisis this year and the countrys real GDP could also slip into recession after posting a moderate 4.6% growth last year. A number of monetary and fiscal policy measures have also been announced by the Government to help support the economy. While the fiscal stimulus involves high budgetary cost to the Government, and the fiscal deficit will significantly expand, the expansionary policy responses are necessary to help prevent the economy from sliding into a deeper downturn. However, the positive effects of these policy measures can only be achieved following their quick and effective implementation. Economic growth take places whenever people take resources and reorganize them in ways that are more valuable. A useful metaphor for production in an economy comes from the kitchen. To create valuable final products, we mix low-cost ingredients together according to a recipe. The cooking one can do is limited by the supply of ingredients, and most cooking in the economy produces undesirable side effects. If economic growth could be achieved only by doing more and more of the same kind of cooking, we would eventually run out of raw materials and suffer from unacceptable levels of pollution and nuisance. We learn from human history that, however, economic growth springs from better recipes, not just from more cooking. New recipes usually produce less unpleasant side effects and produce more economic value per unit of raw material. Every generation has perceived the limits to growth that limited resources and undesirable side effects would pose if no new recipes or ideas were discovered. Moreover, every generation has underestimated the potential for finding new recipes and ideas. We constantly fail to grasp how many ideas remain to be discovered. The difficulty is the same one we have with compounding: possibilities do not merely add up. In 1997, Malaysia suffered from a harsh blow by the Southeast Asian financial crisis, the exchange rate of Malaysian currency ringgit against the U.S. dollar has decreased 46%, the composite index of stock market fell more than half. In 1998, Malaysias economy first, started the negative growth (-7.5%) since last 13 years, after that unemployment and inflation rates increased. In September 1998, Malaysian Government adopted the expansionary monetary policy, then the introduction of selective capital and currency control calculates came out. The major content concentrated on the regulation of short-term foreign investment, the Ringgit Malaysia against the U.S. dollar exchange rate will be fixed at the level of 1:3.8, and then government announced the prohibition of offshore ringgit transactions. After that, Malaysia financial situation was being stabilized, the stock market had also been gradually recovered, and an annual economic average growth rate has remained above 8% since that year. In recent years, Malaysian saw the stable exchange rate of currency, restructuring of bank corporate debt, expanding demand of domestic and new export policies, the economy of Malaysia has maintained a rapid growth. Government had stressed some important implementations to fiscal deficit, for example, the abolition of a number of costly image projects, especially focusing on the construction and other basic industries such as agriculture. Government recommends the consuming and investing behaviours, so now the private sectors are as the countrys new economic growth pillars. At the same time, government encourages the development of tourism, education and achieves economic diversification. To increase the economic growth rate, first, must minimize the costs and absorb more investment. Now we can see there are many countries are competing with each other, they fight just because they want more investment, but this behavior may lower the standard, as well as reducing the variety of requirements. So, all of these are losses to us. Malaysia can do something to avoid this situation. For example, help Malaysian tourism to be revitalized. In addition, Malaysia government also does not want to lower the standards. Otherwise, they must further maintain a high standards and own brand. Malaysia government needs to have some of their own methods and measures, not just to say that they refuse all the recommendations from west, but in fact, they just need to achieve a balance. We may feel that the west measures depend on the transparency and accountability. However, the fact in Asian countries, this has been a weakness, they always say that there would be many stimulus packages, and the unnoticed part is not fully utilized or the part of measures we want from west for focusing on the accountability, which was mentioned above, while strengthening auditing the standards. By this way, Malaysia government can help the people, not by a number of external affairs of the harm and impact, these things are already not aware by them, and no longer their responsibility. If Malaysia attempts to achieve a faster economic growth rate according to the current global situation, I think, compare with the advantages obtained already, Malaysia citizens will burden more disadvantages once government makes this decision. For example, unemployment and economic growth are negative correlation, that is, economic growth rate rises, unemployment rate declines; on the contrary, economic growth rate declines, unemployment rate rises. On the other hand, inflation and economic growth is related so closely, it means that the high economic growth rate has generally been accompanied by a high rate of inflation. First, the rapid economic growth, will further stimulate the growth of investment, but also increase a substantial demand in aggregate, thus contributing to a increase in prices which leads to the inflation; if Malaysia government lower the speed too fast, although the prices may be stabilized for a while, but also will bring problemssupplies are reduced, and many companies will be in cut-off, semi cut-off state, even some workers will lose their livelihood security which also causes the social instability(this is already happened on Malaysia export industries a few years ago). Nevertheless, if the economy is growing too fast, obviously exceeded the scope of resources, which will cause a serious inflation. About the rising prices, especially the sharp rise in prices will affect the economy continues to grow rapidly. Because prices rise sharply is so harmful, the state will adopt austerity measures to curb inflation. The contraction speed will lead a sharp declining in economic growth rate or even sustaining a slow economic growth rate. Therefore, during the economic restructuring process of Malaysia, although her economy runs its own complexity and uncertainty, the relevant departments in government must implement the tasks, which are assigned by the citizens to maintain the economic stability of Malaysia.
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The growth of McDonald's company in the European market - Case Study Example The main competitors include Tex-Mex, Nando’s, and Southern Fried Spicy Chicken Restaurant. In addition, research indicates that the demand is drifting away from the plain hamburgers offered at McDonald’s. As such, lack of product diversity has been a barrier to successful expansion into the European market (Han, 2009). McDonald’s company has to establish products that go beyond its identity (Toivanen, & Waterson, 2011). As such, it should go beyond the conventional hamburger place and offer a variety of products. In addition, the foods offered ought to be unique from those from the competitors. It is worth noting that McDonald’s Company is focusing on hamburgers and fries with low fat content. With the increasing lifestyle concerns related to nutrition, the European market is in dire need of products that are healthy. McDonald’s should focus on producing products that meet the nutritional demands of consumers, taking note of the increased demand to healthy eating habits. McDonald’s ought to recognize that consumers are the source of revenue. To maximize on its expansion in the European market, McDonald’s should embrace customer service as a complementary to offering foods. Customer satisfaction forms the foundation to customer loyalty. As such, the company should place customer service as a primary product. In addition, the company may practice target marketing as a promotional mechanism. Advertising its products to the right market would ensure that the company adopts an efficient marketing approach. It is notable that the visual impression is significant to consumer preference. Therefore, the company should focus on aspects such as packaging that go beyond marketing to create an appeal for its products. McDonald’s business strategy involves product differentiation and diversification to have an edge over its competitors. As such, the company ought to focus on new products such as McCafé, its coffee brand, to diversify
Causes of the Fall of the Roman Republic
This paper discusses the statement, “The Roman Republic was brought down not by luxury or corruption but by fundamental flaws in the structure of its political systemâ€. As will be argued, a statement such as this can only be discussed in relative, not absolute, terms, as no one cause for the demise of the Roman Republic can ever, realistically, be said to have been the factor that caused it’s fall. Under this framework, then, the first section of the paper discusses the various theories that have been posited to explain the fall of the Roman Republic, with the second section looking, in detail, at the political structure of the Roman Republic and how this could potentially have contributed to its ultimate demise. Gibbon’s great tome The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire essentially concludes that the Roman Empire was brought down through moral decadence. Other authors have argued for different reasons behind the fall of the Roman Republic, with recent scholars (for example Hunt et al., 2001) arguing that the Republic did not fall, rather that it was subject to a highly complex transformation, with additional confusion amongst scholars as to when the Republic actually fell: some argue that the Republic fell in 476 with the deposition of Romulus Augustus; others argue that the Republic continued until as late as 1453, and that it fell only when Constantinople was lost. This next section will present some of the most prevalent theories about the fall of the Roman Republic. Ferrill (1998) has argued that the Roman Republic fell due to it’s barbarization, that the influx of German mercenaries in to the Roman military led to lack of loyalty and complacency amongst the Roman ranks, leading to a surge in decadence amongst the Roman soldiers and citizenry. This somewhat supports Gibbon’s (1983) assertion that decadence was responsible for the fall of the Roman Republic. Gibbon’s The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire essentially concludes that the Roman Empire was brought down through moral decadence, as he argues, through the loss of what he terms ‘the loss of civic virtue’. The influx of barbarian mercenaries, coupled with the rising popularity of Christianity, Gibbon argues, led the Roman populace to come to believe more in the afterlife, leading to the loss of social structures, and, ultimately, leading to the fall of the Roman Republic. Other historians contradict this theory of Gibbons (1983) and Ferrill (1998), arguing that the Roman Republic continued to be strong right up until the Muslim conquests in the seventh century, at which point these conquests, amongst other things, disrupted trade routes, leading to a general economic downturn in Western Europe. It is argued that this economic downturn led, ultimately, to the disbandment of the Roman way of life, leading to the ultimate fall of the Roman Republic. This theory has, however, been recently rebutted by a number of historians who have argued that trade routes would not have been so badly affected, that trade must have entered Western Europe by some other route as the discovery, and therefore existence, of Islamic currency in Roman areas is suggestive of a two-way trade. Economic explanation for the fall of the Roman Republic are popular, however, and will be looked at in further detail later in the paper. Bury’s 1923 History of the Later Roman Empire presents in-depth research in to the issue of the fall of the Roman Republic and concludes with a complex theory to explain it’s fall. Essentially, Bury (1923) argues that the Roman Republic fell due to many simultaneously occurring factors, such as a general economic decline in the region, the influence of German (Barbarian) troops on Roman soldiers, and the dependence of Roman military leaders on Barbarian manpower, the depopulation of Italy[1], various murders and treasons that occurred within the top ranks of Roman politics, and the absence of any convincing leader following the murder of Aetius. As Bury clearly states in his concluding sections, Roman power gradually collapsed, and “….was the consequence of a series of contingent events.â€. As he argues, no general causes can be assigned, and nothing suggested to him, through his research, that the fall of the Roman republic was by any means inevitable. Bark (1958) argues that it was the massive effort that was involved in keeping the Roman Republic together that, ultimately, led to its fall. Around this time, feudalism was developing, yet the Roman ruling classes were not well organized in terms of having a system in place to collect taxes from their people, such that it became the responsibility of the middle classes to undertake the massive task of collecting grain taxes. As such, only a small proportion of these taxes actually arrived back to the Imperial government, leading to massive losses in revenues for the Roman rulers, having massive side-effects, such as decreased investment in the Roman military, for example. In addition, currency inflation, through a reduced supply of gold in to the Republic (see Jones, 1974) led to the government leaking money, with their stock of cash being reduced, leading, ultimately, to massive cash flow problems for the Republic, with obvious implications, in terms of funding the military and funding public building projects, for example. These two factors, occurring in conjunction, argues Bark (1958) led to the ultimate demise of the Roman Republic. Toynbee (1939) preceded Bark’s (1958) logic that the Roman Republic was an economically poor force, with his detailed research showing that Roman leaders had no budgeting system in place, leading to obvious problems with controlling cash flow, leading, ultimately, to a dwindling of whatever cash resources were available and to a lack of cash availability for providing for military expenditure, or public works, for example. This method of budgeting had proved successful as long as the Romans continued to expand into other areas, from which they could loot existing resources, but as soon as the Roman Republic stopped expanding, this source of revenue also stopped. At this point, the Romans, without an adequate budgeting system, coupled with loss of tax money through an inadequate collection system, coupled with currency inflation (see, also, Jones, 1974), faced massive economic problems, causing, it is argued, the ultimate demise of the Roman Republic (Toynbee, 1939). Building on this theory, Tainter (1990) argues that the fall of the Republic was due to marginal returns on investments, again contributing to cash flow problems for the Republic as a whole, ultimately contributing to its decline; unlike many authors who study the collapse of the Roman Republic, Tainter (1990) argues strongly that the fall of the Roman Republic may have been a good thing for many Roman subjects, in terms of benefits arising from not having to invest in maintaining such a complex society (i.e., no taxes to pay etc.) and indeed, archeological evidence, through studies of human bones pre- and immediately post- the fall of the Roman Republic, post-fall, humans were better nourished. Rostovtzeff (1957) also subscribes to this economic theory of the fall of the Roman Republic, arguing that the free trade market economy developed by the Roman Republic worked up until the debasement of the currency in the third century, at which point inflation began to hurt citizens, who then began to move away from urban areas, to move to the country in order to undertake subsistence farming as a way of surviving i.e., they could grow their own crops for food, and in this way not have to rely on failing monetary sources to keep them alive. Bartlett (1994) continues the work of Toynbee (1939) arguing that by the third century monetary taxation had been replaced with direct requisitioning, where food and cattle, instead of money, were collected directly from farmers. This pathway, argues Bartlett (1994) led directly to the development of feudalism, with estates formed around the cultivation of crops and cattle, and not, as such, dependent on any form of trade whatsoever. This, on a grand scale, Republic-wide, is then argued to have led to a massive downturn in the economic fortune of the Republic, and to a decrease in its military capability, for example, with, again, obvious consequences for maintaining control over the entire Roman territory. The research of Heather (2005) leads to conclusions about the fall of the Roman Republic which differ from previous theories: he argues that the emergence of the Persian Empire led to the Roman Republic stripping tax collection from its Eastern edge, leading to a decline in economic revenues, a decline in governance in these areas, and a mass influx of peoples to the empire, for example, by the Barbarians, leading to massive levels of immigration to the Roman Republic, leading to obvious social problems. Through his exhaustive research, Heather explicitly rejects Gibbon’s ‘moral decadence’ theory for the decline of the Roman Republic. Neither does he see any validity in the arguments of those who support political infighting as the major reason for the fall of the Roman Republic. Heather supports the arguments of Bury (1923) who argues that the fall of the Roman Republic was not inevitable but that it occurred as a result of a series of events which, unfortunately, came together at the same time, and which, ultimately, led to the fall of the Republic. Heather’s viewpoint is argued against by Ward-Perkins in his 2005 book The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilisation which argues, in a similar manner to previous historians assessments of the situation, that the fall of the Republic occurred as a result of political instability, foreign invasions and economic instability due to reduced tax revenues. The massive, and sustained, immigrations of foreigners, such as the barbarians, Ward-Perkins (2005) argues, led to a weakening of the tax base, leading to an inability to equip the Roman army, with obvious deleterious consequences. Ward-Perkins, ultimately, however, argues, as do Bury (1923) and Heather (2005) that the fall of the Roman Republic was due to a complex mixture of processes and events which came together at the same time to lead to a definite fall in the Roman Republic. Levick (1982) looks at the morals and political system of the Roman Republic, and their relation to its fall. She argues that ‘ambitio’ – ambition – led to major political difficulties during the last century of the Roman Republic, with a thirst for ultimate power leading to in-fighting and political problems. As Levick (1982) argues, however, it is difficult to infer the Roman political structure from contemporary documentation, as much is contradictory, but it can be inferred that the Roman constitution and community was a self-regulating device, kept in perpetuity and in check by a series of checks and balances that prevented disintegration from within and also made the community better able to cope with threats from outside. To Romans, however, as Levick (1982) argues, this political system was seen explicitly as a moral obligation, with anything that upset the political balances being seen as something undesirable and immoral. Levick argues that, ultimately, the political system had a built-in tension between the group and the individual, and that, ultimately it was this in-built tension that led to the death of the Roman Republic, through squabbles for individual power which led to the breakdown of Roman society. As we have seen in this paper, therefore, there are many different explanations for the fall of the Roman Republic, with the main theories being economic demise, immigration and overtaking by Barbarians and other groups, and political infighting which, it is argued, led to the ultimate demise of the Roman Republic through a disintergration of the moral fibre of Roman society. As to which theory of the fall of the Roman Republic one subscribes to, this depends on the literature that has been studied, and the quality of the sources used within that literature. Heather (2005) and Gibbons (1983), for example, both use quality primary sources, and yet arrive at different conclusions for the reasons behind the fall of the Roman Republic. It is perhaps most prudent, at this stage, therefore, to argue that a statement such as “The Roman Republic was brought down not by luxury or corruption but by fundamental flaws in the structure of its political system†can only be discussed in relative, not absolute, terms, as no one cause for the demise of the Roman Republic can ever, realistically, be said to have been the factor that caused it’s fall. The present paper has thus presented the various theories for the fall of the Roman Republic in this framework, in terms of offering a holistic view of the situation on the ground around the time of the fall; fundamental flaws in the Roman political system were, as we have seen, just one part of a complex situation which, together, led to the fall of the Roman Republic. References Bark, W.C., 1958. Origins of the Medieval World. Bartlett, B., 1994. How Excessive Government Killed Ancient Rome. The Cato Journal 14(2), pp. Available online from http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cjv14n2-7.html. Accessed on 23rd April 2007. Bury, J.B., 1923. History of the Later Roman Empire from the Death of Theodesius I to the Death of Justinian. Ferrill, A., 1998. The Fall of the Roman Empire: The Military Explanation. Gibbon, E., 1983 (Reprint edition). The decline and fall of the Roman Empire. London: Penguin Classics. Gunderson, G., 1976. Economic Change and the demise of the Roman Empire. Explorations in Economic History 13(1), pp.43-68. Heather, P.J., 2005. The Fall of the Roman Empire. Hunt, L. et al., 2001. The Making of the West, Peoples and Cultures, Volume A: To 1500. Bedford: St. Martins Press. Jones, A.H.M., 1974. Inflation under the Roman Empire. Economic History Review 5(3), pp.293-318. Kagan, D., 1992. The End of the Roman Empire: Decline or Transformation? (Problems in European Civilisation). Houghton Mifflin. Levick, B., 1982. Morals, politics and the fall of the Roman Republic. Greece Rome 29(1), pp.53-62. Rostovtzeff, M., 1957. The social and economic history of the Roman empire. London: Oxford University Press. McNeill, W.H., 1976. Plagues and Peoples. Millar, F., 1984. The political character of the Classical Roman Republic. The Journal of Roman Studies 74, pp.1-19. Tainter, J.A., 1990. The collapse of complex societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Toynbee, A.J., 1939. A study of history: Volume IV. The breakdown of civilisations. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ward-Perkins, B., 2005. The Fall of Rome: and the End of Civilisation. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Footnotes [1] McNeill (1976) argued in his book Plagues and Peoples that a plague swept through the Roman Republic, leading to a massive population decline in Western Europe. 12/5/2019 0 Comments Macbeth: Imagery Of Animal Behavior And Class Status Advances :: essays research papers Macbeth: Imagery of Animal Behavior and Class Status Advances
In Macbeth, the imagery of animals behavior and class status advances the theme of animals in relation to human characteristics. The examples discussed in my paper will make it quite clear that this imagery is evident, throughout the play.      In Act 1 sc. 3 line 8, the first witch chants and says that the sailor is the master of the Tiger. The witch is comparing the man to a Tiger. The tiger is a very good animal and is near the top of the Elizabethan World Picture. Hence the man is good. Furthermore the witch say's that she herself is like a rat without a tail. Thus she is missing something important. The witch is incomplete, just like the rat. Furthermore I believe she is hiding something because when you are missing something you are apt to be very self conscious and hide it. In addition the rat is veer low on the chain of being.      The next passage is Act 1 sc. 7 line 49. In this passage Lady Macbeth is quoted saying “like the poor cat I ‘th' adage†(1, vii., 49). That means “ the cat who eats fish but will not get his feet wet †(Folgers, p 40). Lady Macbeth is telling Macbeth that he is like the cat because he wants to become king but he won't get his hands bloody. However Lady Macbeth would find someone else to get their feet wet, someone to do her dirty work.      In act 2 scene 4 line 15, the old man and Ross talk about the recent murder. The old man says that the killer, an owl made sure no one was looking and attacked the falcon and killed it. The owl, lower then the falcon on the chain of being usually eats mice, which is low on the hierarchy. But this time the owl eats the falcon whom is usually on the top of the hierarchy.      Later in the play during act 3 Macbeth talks bout the list of dogs and the list of men. On line 140 in sc.1 Macbeth compares the murders with the lowliest of dogs. In the next act, Act 4 three witches use very lowly animals to describe Macbeths kingship. In sc. 1 lines 1-30 the witches say that |