International Relations: Philippines and China on the Spratly Islands Issue Essay

For decades, the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, now called as the Philippine Western Sea in the Philippines, has long been debated by its claimants: Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Taiwan, Vietnam, China, and the Philippines (Baker, 2004). Among all these states, the most active and significant actors are the Republic of the Philippines and the People’s Republic of China. There are several reasons for the dispute: (1) the presence of natural gas and oil in some parts of the territories, (2) potential profit for commercial fishing1, (3) potential profit for commercial shipping2, and (4) extension of continental shelf claims – expansion of territory and a boost in the country’s sovereignty3 (Joyner, n.d.). The Spratly’s issue has always been crucial since it directly affects the different state’s national interests on profit and security. For one, the Philippines and China have each asserted their power on claiming the islands by installing their own flags over their claimed areas. The Philippines, following the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Seas’ – which empowers the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea – laws on the 200 nautical miles zone, claimed a number of Spratly islands since these islands are within the 200nm distance from Palawan. On the other hand, China claimed most of the Spratly Islands, using historical background as its basis (BBC, 2013). Also, both countries resorted to upgrading their military capabilities in the sense that they both deploy ships to take turns on guarding their claimed areas. These actions caused to increase the tensions and strains in the two countries’ relationship (Encomienda, 2011). Both the International Court of Justice and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea are under the United Nation’s efforts of bringing peace and unity among different nations or countries (ITLOS, 2013). Acknowledging the principles introduced by the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Seas4, both China and the Philippines have participated in ratifying it. However, both also have chosen not to follow the UNCLOS’ guide on settling boundary disputes closely (Yeneza, 2012). Even with the efforts of the Philippines on taking the conflict to the ITLOS and the ICJ and promote diplomacy, it has still been forced to resort to upgrading its military capacity in order to increase security over their claimed areas and to respond to China’s actions on asserting their claim over the Spratly’s. With this, it can be concluded that the international organizations involved as mediators to the issue are insufficient. The guide presented by the UNCLOS is too limited for the varying arguments that both the Philippines and China present in order to fully claim the Spratly Islands. However, these institutions should not be blamed fully for the failure of the conflict resolution. The governments of China and the Philippines have a big role in the conflict; none of the states wants to either compromise or interpret the UNCLOS in the same way (Jinming and Dexia, 2003). These international issues can be better comprehended by the realist theoretical framework. Realism denotes that the state aims to achieve national interest through acquiring more power; it gives more priority to the national interest rather than its ideology. If its national interest could not be gained because of other states, it has the right to go against them in order to assert its power and achieve its national interest (Morgenthau, 2006). Thomas Hobbes (1651), an author on realism, discussed that realism has three core assumptions: (1) the equality of men or states, (2) the interaction of states in anarchy, and (3) the actions taken by the different states are motivated by competition, hesitancy, and progress. In the case of the Philippines and China on the Spratly’s issue, the first assumption of Hobbes can be applied in the sense that neither China nor the Philippines will contend the islands in the basis of which state is more developed or has more alliances. For this territorial issue, using the state’s development or its capacity to enhance its development through the acquisition of the islands does not guarantee the resolution of the issue. China and the Philippines both have equal footing on their claims on the islands (Joyner, n.d.) On the second assumption, Hobbes mentioned of interaction among states. China and the Philippines have their own governments, however, in the Spratly Islands, there are mediators: the International Court of Justice and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. These mediators, as much as they try to pacify the conflicts, were not able to control the conflict; since, states are free of doing what they please to do to assert their power and sovereignty – thus, serving their own national interests (Furtado, 1991). For once, one of the proposed resolutions of China to resolve the conflict – to have the governments of each state deal with the conflict directly instead of having mediators – seem more compatible with the issue. Lastly, it is innate for states to compete with each other to get to the top. Even though every state wants to have good relations with others, one cannot deny even a hint of competition. Being critical and cautious, these states will not go against randomly; they will be vigilant enough to choose who to compete with. Succeeding in the particular competition, the state achieves progress (Hobbes, 1651). In the case of China and the Philippines, one of the main reasons for the fight over the Spratly Islands is profit. Aside from the presence of natural gas and oil, the islands are a good spot for commercial fishing and commercial shipping. Hence, investing in this area can give high returns of investment to the country who owns it. Plus, the prestige of being the first East Asian country to possess oil boosts its international image, let alone lessens its relying on the Middle East for oil and natural gas supply (Yeneza, 2012). Hans J. Morgenthau (2006) and his six principles on political realism can also be related to the case of the Philippines and China on the Spratly’s issue. First of all, the society is ruled by laws that are created based on the nature of man. The UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Seas) was created to solve and/or prevent conflicts such as the Spratly Islands issue. Therefore, it can be considered that the UNCLOS itself can be the solution to the problem only if that law was considered. However, even though such law – that brought about the existence of the UNCLOS – is implemented and expected to serve for the benefit of men, the men involved in the conflict, or the states rather, chose not to adhere with the UNCLOS (Yeneza, 2012). Secondly, realism is directed towards the use of power5. The Philippines and China demonstrated their power as they both valiantly expressed their claims on the disputed areas and how much they spent for them. As China asserted its claim on the Spratly Islands, the Philippines resorted to securing the areas it claimed (Encomienda, 2011). The third principle, according to Morgenthau (2006), power is not fixed. In the case of the Philippines and China, they controlled each other’s exercise of power on the claimed areas as they both measure and depend on each others’ actions in order to formulate and plan what to do next (Yeneza, 2012). The fourth principle of realism is related to the moral importance of the actions done by the two states – Philippines and China. At times, morality and success do not go together; some states tend to go down the path of impiety in order to achieve its national interests. In realism, states are innate of being mindful of the actions they are about to execute because of other factors that can be affected by its desired course of action. Thus, the Philippines and China can opt to wage war in order to acquire the disputed territories. Conversely, both countries have chosen the path of diplomacy rather than war, knowing full well that morally speaking, waging a war is not right since many civilians will be affected, as well as the fact that the costs brought by the war exceed the benefits that they will acquire from the Spratly Islands. Then, another principle Morgenthau (2006) explained is that states fail to recognize moral aspirations in relation to the moral laws that rule the universe. The state is self-centered; it only sees its own reasons and interests as the valid ones. Being self-centered, it does not give importance to the reasons and interests of other states. If only states can understand and compromise for others’ interests, the Spratly’s issue would have been solved decades ago. As each country present their claims on the areas, it is clear that no one wants to give up (Yeneza, 2012). Lastly, the sixth principle is that political realism is different with other schools of thought that states may adopt (Morgenthau, 2006). The conflict of China and the Philippines on the Spratly’s are grounded for the pursuant of their national interests (Yenez, 2012). Aside from the profit the Spratly’s may offer, another reason it is being fought over is that it affects the matters of security to both countries. Both the Philippines and China believe that in order to pursue security, they must secure their territories; thus, they each lay claim on the Spratly’s (De Castro, 2011). In summary, China and the Philippines have both resorted to upgrading their military capabilities in order to enhance security over their claimed areas. Through the years, China spent so much on military expenditure whereas the Philippines created more military capability programs. In the realist approach, as long as China and the Philippines hold on to their own claims on the Spratly’s, neither the International Court of Justice nor the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea will be able to calmly resolve the conflict between the two countries. With the Philippines maintaining a good relationship with the other ASEAN members, it garnered the support of other Southeast Asian countries in laying claim to the Spratly’s; thus, giving it more strength on its hold on the islands (Yeneza, 2012). Unless one of them give up on its claim, the conflict will not be resolved easily and without causing further strains among the countries’ relationship (Morgenthau, 2006). There are two possible solutions that can be taken to resolve the conflict: (1) share the claimed areas, whenever it is feasible, and (2) undergo a diversion process. For the first solution to work, the Philippines and China must be allowed to gather the resources and share them equally – e.g. fish and seafood, oil, natural gas, sites for commercial shipping. Bilateral talks should always be done; therefore, the countries must interact directly rather than use a mediator and then promote diplomacy. The second one will be that rather than focusing on the conflict itself, both the Philippines and China should focus on repairing and enhancing their diplomatic ties and cooperation. They may opt to engage in mutually beneficial bilateral agreements and allow their relationship to pacify or stabilize (Yeneza, 2012). In the realist approach, it can be seen that the different international institutions have delayed the resolution of the Spratly’s issue rather than fixing it quickly. The issue requires the states to interact and discuss the matter directly, rather than using a mediator, in which the clauses provided in the guidelines for settling territorial disputes are too limited and can be interpreted in varying ways depending on the ideology adopted by a certain state. REFERENCES: Baker, C. 2004. China-Philippine relations: cautious cooperation. Pacific Center for Security Studies. October 5, 2013. Accessed from: http://apcss.org BBC. 2013. Q&A: South China sea dispute. October 5, 2013. Accessed from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13748349 De Castro, R.C. 2011. Maritime security Asia. October 5, 2013. Accessed from: http://maritimesecurity.asia Encomienda, A.A. 2011. The south China sea: Back to the future through cooperation. October 6, 2013. Accessed from: http://www.southchinaseastudies.org Furtado, X.1991. International Law and the Dispute over the Spratly Islands:Whither UNCLOS? October 5, 2013. Accessed from: http://www.findarticles.com Jinming, L. and Dexia, L. 2003. The dotted line on the Chinese map of the south China sea: A note. October 4, 2013. Accessed from: https://circle.ubc.ca/handle/2429/6494 Joyner, C.C. n.d. The Spratly Islands dispute in the south China sea: Problems, policies and prospects for diplomatic accommodation. South China Sea Virtual Library. October 4, 2013. Accessed from: http://www.southchinasea.org Morgentau, H.J. 2006. Politics among nations: The struggle for power and peace. 7th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Yeneza, Christine. 2012. The spratly’s conflict: Foreign policy implications to the people’s republic of china and the republic of the Philippines. Cebu City, Philippines: University of San-Jose Recolectos

How to Become a Nuclear Medicine Technologist

How to Become a Nuclear Medicine Technologist When you hear the word â€Å"nuclear,† it might conjure up images of power plants and/or Homer Simpson hard at work. But did you also know that nuclear medicine is a cutting-edge Allied Health specialty that uses trace amounts of radioactive material to diagnose and treat patients?The Day-to-DayNuclear medicine technologists are highly skilled professionals who prepare radioactive drugs for patients, then use imaging equipment like computerized tomography (CT) scanners and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners to see how those radioactive elements respond in the patient’s organs and tissues, and diagnose diseases like cancer. The radioactive drugs, known as radionuclides, are administered safely, and the technologist is responsible for walking patients through every step of the process. Technologists also help explain test results to patients, and work with doctors to analyze the images and determine an official diagnosis.Nuclear medicine technologists typically wor k in hospitals, clinics, diagnostic laboratories, or physicians’ offices. The work week is a standard 40-hour one, although technologists (especially ones who work in hospitals) may be on call during off-hours.For more on nuclear medicine and what it’s like to be a technologist, check out these videos:Nuclear Medicine TWhat is Nuclear Medicine? An Illustrated IntroductionBecoming a Nuclear Medicine TechnologistThe RequirementsNuclear medicine technologists typically have an associate’s or bachelor’s degree, particularly from an accredited nuclear medicine program. And in fact, the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists only recognizes programs at an associate level or higher, as of 2015. About half of U.S. states require additional licensing for nuclear medical technologists, so be sure to check your own state’s regulations.The SkillsThe respiratory therapy field calls for a number of special skills and knowledge bases, including:Attention t o detailMath and science (particularly chemistry, physics, and biology)Critical thinkingPatient evaluationAnatomy and physiologyDisease managementMedical technologyThe PayPer the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median salary for nuclear medicine technologists is $72,100, or $34.66 per hour. In addition, the field offers a lot of fulfillment for its members. According to a survey conducted by PayScale, the average nuclear medicine technologist gives extremely high marks for job satisfaction.The OutlookThis is a highly specialized field, and doesn’t necessary experience the same growth as some Allied Health careers, but the BLS predicts that the nuclear medicine technologist field will expand by at least 2% in the coming years.Interested? APPLY HERE

Rajasthan Essay Example

Rajasthan Essay Example Rajasthan Essay Rajasthan Essay When we talk about Rajasthan at first come in our mind is its proud culture. Our discussion is incomplete without paying some words for its culture. Rajasthan is globally known for its rich and proud culture. In fact, one of the most prime reasons why Rajasthan is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world is no doubt its rich and proud culture. The desert state of Rajasthan is best known for its exotic and rich culture that still remains intact. Its strict devotion to the tradition and culture is really noteworthy. Rajasthani people are very fond of colourful costumes. Rajasthani men’s love for colourful turbans and Rajasthani women’s love for ornaments like colourful bangles, anklet, armlet, rings and earrings as well as full Ghaghra (Skirt) are well-known. Everything of Rajasthan like interesting paintings, soulful music, colourful handicrafts, folk dance music, religion, resplendent fairs festivals and breathtaking art architecture show the rich culture of Rajasthan. Music and Dance are the important part of Rajasthani culture. For the Rajasthani people celebration is a way of life. Every region of Rajasthan has its own music and dance. The Kalbeliya dance from Jaisalmer and Ghoomer dance from Udaipur are well-known around the world and have universally fame. Folk music and folk dance are the vital part of Rajasthani culture. Folk music and folk dance show the past glory, legends, chivalry and history of the region. Hindi is widely spoken in all over in Rajasthan but there are also local dialects in Rajasthan. These are Jaipuri, Marwari, Mewati, Malwi and Rajasthani. There are also English speaking people in the cities of Rajasthan. Hindi is the official language of Rajasthan. Fairs and festivals of Rajasthan are the best way to experience the exotic culture of Rajasthan. Fairs and festivals of Rajasthan such as Desert Festival, Pushkar Festival, etc, add more colours and liveliness to the lives of Rajasthani people. Most of the festivals in Rajasthan include exotic activities like camel elephant processions, camel elephant races, folk performance and many more. Apart from fairs and festivals of Rajasthan, forts and palaces of Rajasthan also show the exotic culture of Rajasthan and narrate the saga of bygone era. Really the desert land of Rajasthan is a perfect place for culture vultures. The Rajasthanis are energetic people who have tendency to enjoy every moment of life. They know how to enjoy their life better. Their life is full of happiness which is filled by the enchanting fairs and festivals that they celebrate with full zeal cheerfulness. Generally Rajasthanis are simple. They are untouched with the fast pace of modern times. These factors make Rajasthan one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Rajasthani women are famous for their gorgeousness and beauty. The beauty of legendary Maharani Padmini Devi of Chittaurgarh and Maharai Gayatri Devi, present day Rajmata of Jaipur is famous all over the world. History says that Alauddin Khilji, the Sultan of Delhi, was so obsessed with the beauty of Maharani Padmini Devi that he attacked over the Chittaurgarh for her hand but he did not succeed. Maharani Gayatri Devi was considered to be amongst the ten most beautiful women in the world in her heydays. And her beauty has not reduced one bit till today. Rajasthani women are symbol of truth, dignity and beauty. Rajasthani women are very fond of colourful clothes and jewellery. Like women Rajasthani men are also very fond of colourful costumes and jewellery. Each category of Rajasthani people either they are village folks or Rajas Ranis; they love to put on colourful costumes and wear jewellery. Rajasthan men folk are very fond of Turban tying. They wear colourful Turban on their head. Turban tying is a unique practice of Rajasthan. There are about more than 1000 different styles and types of Turbans in Rajasthan. It is said that at every 1 km the style and type of turban becomes changed. People use specific turbans on specific occasions. In past years, the profession of the people decided the caste of the people. Rajasthan is a land where people of various castes and sub-castes reside. Rajputs are the major residents of Rajasthan. The other castes of Rajputs are Brahmins and Vaishyas. We are mentioning below about some broad categories in which the people of Rajasthan can be classPopularity of Rajasthani handicrafts is not only in India but also all over the world. The handicrafts of Rajasthan are famous for its variety, the use of lively colours, exception artistic work which all show the tradition and culture of Rajasthan. Some of important Rajasthani Handicrafts are followingified. he climate of Rajasthan varies with the seasons of the year. There are fours seasons in Rajasthan – summer, monsoon, post-monsoon and winter. In summer the weather of Rajasthan is very hot and in winter very chilly.

Moral and learning development in children Essay

Moral and learning development in children - Essay Example According to Piaget, the moral makeup of a child is a product of his/her own conception and understanding of the world. This view is contrary to the conventional view that children are taught what is right and wrong by parents and teachers. While moral preaching inevitably goes on, children made moral judgments based on their own observations of their environment. Further, morality is a product of interaction with peers and authority figures do not influence it much. Key moral concepts like fairness, equality, justice and mutual reciprocity were all largely constructed through their interactions with other children. Moreover, as per Piaget’s definition of morality, contemporaneous social norms do not matter much to children, but instead morality comprises of universal, generic principles. Of course, while these tendencies are evident during early childhood, the nature of moral development matures and becomes more sophisticated as they grow up. Lawrence Kohlberg’s work m odifies and refines several of Piaget’s theses. Kohlberg noted that the moral evolution of children is a lot more gradual and complex than what Piaget had proposed. Kohlberg identified a total of six stages of moral development, grouped under three major levels. Each of these levels represents a fundamental shift in the social-moral understanding of the individual.

Older Population as a Vulnerable Group Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Older Population as a Vulnerable Group - Essay Example The research paper â€Å"Older Population as a Vulnerable Group† investigates the difficulties faced by older adults, who belong to the vulnerable group mainly because of their limited physical mobility, cognitive impairment, and weakened social networks. The explosive technological developments in the field of medicine over the last few decades have significantly improved health status of people, particularly in economically developed countries like the U.S and the UK. Those developments and innovations were capable of increasing the life expectancy of people, and this situation in turn resulted in a phenomenon called population ageing. The older population is a vulnerable group, and this group’s vulnerability is a combination of three factors like health status, cognitive ability, and social support. Older people are likely to be affected by issues like loneliness, stress, and depression. Therefore, they are increasingly exposed to deception and fraud. Population agei ng is a process where a country’s median age rises due to increasing life expectancy and/or decreasing birth rates. In economically developed countries like the UK and the U.S, rising life expectancy is the major cause leading to population ageing. Recently, even less economically developed countries have also improved their life expectancy and significantly contribute population ageing. Growing life expectancy is the prime cause of population ageing in the world except in 18 countries which are ‘demographic outliers’ according to the United Nations.... The Department of Health indicates that an individual over 85 is approximately three times more expensive to health care as compared to a person between the ages of 65 and 75 ("More than 10 million people..†). Although the UK government has framed extensive mechanisms to ensure rapid and quality care for the older population, the needs of a notable percent of aging people still go unnoticed. Causes of vulnerability The fast growth of the older population raises great challenges to the wellbeing of the old age people because they are exposed to various vulnerabilities. It is identified that older population is increasingly prone to vulnerabilities like exploitation, abuse, and negligence by others. Referring to the words of Kim and Geistfeld, older population constitutes a vulnerable group and they are â€Å"more susceptible to unscrupulous business practices than younger groups† ("What makes older adults vulnerable...). The authors continue that the older population ofte n becomes the target group for fraud because one can easily convince them. Scholars indicate that older individuals’ loneliness increases their vulnerability to fraudulent business transactions to a considerable extent. Psychological practitioners suggest that old age people are greatly in need of social interactions, and this is the reason why older consumers could be easily convinced by telemarketers. Majority of the older people have little market knowledge, and this weakness increases their susceptibility to fraud. It is awful to see that many of the old age people are not aware of the risk of losing ownership once payments are not made in time. Furthermore, they do not know whom they should contact in case

Networking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Networking - Essay Example This study also encompassed the fastest net providers in every country. In the United States, Verizon and the FiOS network was ranked as the fastest net provider with an average speed of 1,056Kbps (Tsukayama 1). The FCC has a leading priority of providing faster access to broadband networks and faster download speeds. This access has been influenced by the partnership with Microsoft, Comcast among other non-governmental organization like the Clinton Global Initiative. According to Bill Clinton who is the former president in the United States, South Korea provides the fastest internet speeds (Tsukayama 1). This factor is influenced by the governmental policy which encourages partnerships with other organizations. Nowadays, the South Korean citizens enjoy an average internet speed of up to 16.63 megabits per second. Therefore, the access to internet services in South Korea is cheaper. In the United States, the residents pay an average of $46 monthly while the South Korean citizens pay a monthly fee of $38. This asserts that the United States should aim in providing better internet services because; the South Korean government has already initialized their improvement project in the internet provision sector. In conclusion, the current president of the United States is committed to setting up a plan whereby 98% of the Americans will receive better broadband services. The slower internet services are attributed by the fact that most citizens do not have the appropriate internet speeds to stream videos and load web pages. Therefore, the United States should implement a plan to increase their internet speeds through partnering with other companies (Smith 1). Smith, Catharine. South Koreas internet to be 200 times faster than in U.S. The Huffington Post 23 Feb. 2011. Web. Tsukayama, Hayley. S. Korea leads the

Geely Automobile Essay Example for Free

Geely Automobile Essay In the first part, the ECLIPTER factors including econography, culture, legal system, income profile, political risk, tax regime, exchange rate and restrictions, together with the multilateral institutions such as WTO, EU and ASEAN will be examined by using UK and Malaysia as examples. Then based on this analysis, it will provide an assessment of the company‘s overall international expansion strategy and process. In the second part, legal system and income profile, the two most important ECLIPTER factors on Geely‘ overseas operations, will be evaluated. Furthermore, the scheme which Geely used to deal with the impact of these two factors and leverage the multilateral institutions will be shown. Finally, this report will analyze whether the company‘s international adaptation of the business function is effective, and then give some recommendations and lessons. 2. ECLIPTER Factors Analysis 2. 1 Econography Econography refers to physical and human assets including distance from major markets, and natural resources of nations that affect industry performance. In the first, the close distance between parent company and foreign subsidiary can help the company to reduce the transport costs and overhead expenses; it also can improve the connection between them. If the parent company is in China, it is better to build a subsidiary in Asia such as Malaysia. Secondly, the natural resources used for making cars mainly include steel, copper, and aluminum. If the country owns rich mineral resources, it can greatly provide benefit in the production of automobiles. One of the major purposes for many multinational corporations establishing overseas subsidiaries is to exploit the foreign natural resources. This is good for companies to 5 International Business Environment II reduce production costs and get competitive advantages. As World Steel Association reported in 2009 that the crude steel production of United Kingdom is 13. 5 in 2008, whereas the crude steel production of Malaysia is 6. 1 in 2008. 2. 2 Culture This paragraph will analyze the effects of culture on auto industry through power distance index and saving rate. Firstly, power distance index measures the degree of inequality exists in a society (Hofstede, 1997). The power distance index is 80 in Malaysia whereas it is only 35 in UK (Hofstede, 2008). The unequal distribution of wealth makes most Malaysian citizens prefer to hold a commercial auto. So the inexpensive Geely auto could be a good option for them. Secondly, saving rate could be a standard to show the attitude of citizens. The saving rate of Malaysia was 47 per cent in the year 1998 which ranks second in Asia (Azia, 2004). In contrast, the saving rate in UK was significantly low, which was less than 10 percent in the past ten years. For instance, the saving rate of UK household in 2008 was only 1. 7 percent (chart 1)(Presser, 2008). So UK citizens are apt to consume a relatively high price car. Chart 1 Resource from Posser (2008) 6 International Business Environment II 2. 3 Legal system The auto industry has been affected by laws and government regulations since the 1960s. The first safety act passed in 1966 by Congress and was called the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (Highfill, 2004). This act forced manufacturers to improve the safety for the passengers, the driver visibility, and the braking of the car. Not only safety, but also environment is being growingly concerned even before the oil crisis. The Vehicle Air Pollution and Control Act passed in 1965 was the first act to set standards for automobile pollution. Then in the 1970s, Congress passed the Clean Air Act that led to a 90% decrease in automobile emission within the next six years (ibid). In the 1970s the oil crisis led to the approval of The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 which stated that all automobiles must meet a certain mileage per gallon. The act required that all automobiles had to meet a standard of 20mpg by the 1980 model and then 27. 5 mpg for the 1985 model (ibid). EU 2020 growth strategy also emphasizes the importance of low carbon automobile (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, 2010). There are also many special laws for auto industry in different countries, such as Malaysia, which has built a free trade area for production and assembly of products for export-oriented enterprises. Companies can enjoy the minimum tariffs, raw materials and simplified mechanical equipment import formalities. Nevertheless, the Malaysia government regulates that more than 80% products should export to other countries (Daily News, 2006). Furthermore, the UK Byers Acts Measures to cut the average price of a car by ? 1,100 and save private car buyers around ? 1 billion a year. Although it may lower the profitability of auto industry, the number of consumers will increase gradually (DTI, 2000). 2. 4 Income profile Since automobile is not inferior goods, the demand of automobile would rise when income increases. In the economic aspect, income could be an indicator of the purchasing power of individuals and nations. Data from UK national statistics office (2010) demonstrated that despite the contracted 4. 9 percent of GDP in the whole year, the GDP increased 0. 4 percent in 7 International Business Environment II the fourth quarter of 2009. Furthermore, Household expenditure also rose 0. 4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009 in UK (chart2). For Malaysia, the GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2009 was 4. 5 though the figure was negative in the whole year (chart 3) (Malaysia statistics, 2010). It can be observed that the economy of both UK and Malaysia seem to recover from the global financial crisis. This positive signal predicts the growing demand and distensible market for Geely in both countries. Chart 2 Resource from UK statistics 2010 Chart3 Resource from Malaysia statistics 2010 8 International Business Environment II The core competitiveness of Geely automobile relies on its high performance-price ratio. Per capital GNI (Gross national income) in Malaysia was 25784 RM in 2008. By analyzing the 2004 United Nations Human Development (UNHDP) report, except the 20% population of richest and poorest class, Geely will be a better choice for the rest citizens in Malaysia(chart 4) (Lumpur, 2004). In comparison, the young people account for a great amount of population in UK. A source from HMRC shows the average income of under 20 years is ? 9,570 and 20-24 years is ? 13,200 which is below the average (chart 5). It implies that when young generation decide to buy a car, price is the first consideration factor. For medium quality car manufacture companies, young population in UK could be a potential group of customers. Chart 4 9 International Business Environment II Chart5 Median Age Band Under 20 years 20 – 24 ? 11,800 years 25 – 29 ? 17,000 years 30 -34 ? 19,500 years 35 – 39 ? 20,100 years 40-44 ? 20,200 years 45 – 49 ? 20,300 years Resource from Lumpur (2004) ? 28,600 ? 24,800 ? 35,400 ? 15,200 ? 20,100 ? 28,100 ? 24,600 ? 34,600 ? 14,900 ? 19,800 ? 26,800 ? 23,600 ? 31,700 ? 15,500 ? 20,100 ? 23,900 ? 21,600 ? 26,700 ? 16,400 ? 20,100 ? 19,300 ? 17,800 ? 20,600 ? 15,900 ? 17,800 ? 13,200 ? 12,400 ? 13,800 ? 11,200 ? 12,300 ? 8,130 ? 9,570 ? 8,490 ? 9,810 ? 7,990 ? 9,250 Median Income Mean Income Income (Men) (Men) (Women) (Women) Income Income Income Mean Median Mean 2. 5 Political risk According to Guinger (2001), political risk describes the stability of government institutions. It can be measured in a variety of ways such as likelihood of foreign aggression and civil insurrection. The Transparency International (2009) showed that UK and Malaysia both face some problems of political corruption, which adversely affects the efficiency of economic operation. World Bank estimates that corruption could cost Malaysia as much as RM10 10 International Business Environment II billion a year – an amount equivalent to 1 or 2 per cent of GDP. The corruption in the UK is lighter than Malaysia, which ranked 17, whereas Malaysia ranked 56 in world in 2009 based on Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. But the corruption in UK is not unheard. Surveys by Control Risks and Simmons Simmons show that the awareness of UK laws against foreign bribery may be decreasing over time. In 2002, after the act came into force, 68 percent of respondents said they were familiar with its main points. But in 2006, 48 percent people said that they have totally ignored it (Global Corruption Report, 2009). 2. 6 Tax Regime Tax regime refers to the tax instruments that governments use to raise revenues from multinational firms, such as corporate taxes. The tax of Malaysia is transparent, the multinational corporate must be taxed 30% of the corporate income which is just the same as Malaysia companies Marketing directory, 2005) According to the tax incentive treaties, auto ( . industry may be eligible for pioneer status which is given by the way of an abatement of 70% of the profits for five years (ibid). The remaining 30% of the profits will be taxed at the prevailing corporate income tax rate. The profits abated are exempt from tax and will be available for distribution as tax-free dividends. In UK the resident corporate tax is the lowest in Europe, even the tax is zero for the small companies in 2002(Lawandtax-news, 2010). According to the tax treaties, multinational corporate which set up, purchase or control the companies in UK can follow the resident tax (Navstar, 2009). In the ordinary course of events, foreign companies cannot follow the low corporate tax, but with regard to double taxation and the agreement between UK and China, Chinese multinational corporates in UK now pay the low tax (ibid). 2. 7 Exchange rate Stable trade policies are extremely important for both the economic welfare of the countries and the multilateral trading system. Unfortunately, the liberalization measures were adopted by many countries. As Dornbusch‘s 1976 analysis has pointed out that when the exchange rate is used to provide protection for domestic firms, it is through undervaluation. An undervalued 11 International Business Environment II exchange rate protects domestic firms from imports and gives domestic firms greater incentives to export. For example, the Balance of Payments Committee of the WTO has received 39 requests from member countries for derogations from their international obligations and for a temporary increase in temporary protection. Moreover, several developing countries, such as Malaysia, have recently increased tariffs in response to financial crises even though the higher rates remain below the rates these countries bounded in the WTO. Moreover the analysis said China has become a great auto exporter, as a result of the huge subsidies, an undervalued exchange rate and dirt-cheap credit (Swaminathan, 2009). 2. 8 Restrictions Restrictions refer to the taxes and limitations that host governments place on foreign products and services or on foreign firms themselves when they enter or leave the host economy. Because of the policy of protecting their national automobile industry, the import tax of automobile is relatively high in Malaysia. Since 2004, Malaysia began to reduce the automobile import tax: for the import components the tax is reduce from 25% to 10%, and for the whole automobile the import tax is drop from 130% to 30% for the companies outside of Southeast Asia (MEI, 2009). In 2010, according to the agreement of ASEAN, the automobile import tax will be zero to all the regions of ASEAN. UK is a member of EU, it followed the economic agreement of EU which sets no import or export tax between members of EU and they must charge the same tax when they have business with the third country (European competitiveness, 2009). 12. International Business Environment II Scoring Analysis of UK and Malaysia Country Score Econography Culture Legal System Income Profile Political Risk Tax Regime Exchange Rate Restrictions Total (10) (10) (20) (20) (10) (10) (10) (10) (100) 8 7 18 8 8 8 7 7 71 7 6 16 15 5 9 8 9 75 UK Malaysia 3. Institutions 3. 1 WTO The major objectives of WTO‘s roles are ? the creation of a common automobile market through the elimination of barriers to intra-Community trade; the maintenance and expansion of a competitive world automobile industry; the use of voluntary import restrictions to prevent cheap imports and to maintain competitiveness? (European Commission, 2006). For example, in 2006, WTO announced the establishment of a panel to examine whether Chinas tariffs on imported auto parts violate WTO trade rules, following a joint complaint made by the United States, the European Union and Canada, who accused China for its discriminatory charges on imported auto parts. After examining China‘s related regulations, WTO panel declared that Chinas regulations are inconsistent with Chinas WTO obligations. China has agreed to make the necessary regulatory changes by September 2009 (Herd, 2006). 13 International Business Environment II. WTO facilitates Geely‘s international expansion since the elimination of trade barriers has cleared its path to world market and made it integrated to the world economy. In 2002, after China joined into WTO, 100 automobiles of Geely exported to Syria (Luo, 2005). 3. 2 EU EU functions as a rule-imposer. It sets strict requirements and institute rules and regulations to improve vehicle safety. Besides the vehicle crash tests executed by Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Program backed by European Commission), there are also some regulations set to protect the environment. First, in order to respond to the gradual aggravation of greenhouse effect, the European commission developed a mandatory emission standard to limit the emission of one major kind of greenhouse gas, CO2. The regulation set a fleet-average CO2 emission target for passenger cars, which is 120 g/km to be reached by 2015 (European Commission, 2010). The vehicle manufacturers must reach the CO2 emission target of 130g/km, with an additional reduction of 10 g/km to be provided by supplementary measures, such as the use of hydrogen fuel. A long-term target of 95 g/km to be reached by 2020 is also established by the regulation (ibid). This regulation will take effect in 2012. From 2012 onwards, vehicle manufacturers who do not meet this target will have to pay penalty for their excess emissions. According to DieselNet (2010), from 2012 to 2018, the penalties are â‚ ¬5 per vehicle for the first g/km of CO2; â‚ ¬15 for the second gram; â‚ ¬25 for the third gram; â‚ ¬95 from the fourth gram onwards. From 2019, manufacturers will pay â‚ ¬95 for each g/km exceeding the target. Another congressional mandate imposed by European Commission requires tire pressure monitoring systems on all new cars in 2012. According to Europe‘s Information Society (2010), many road accidents resulting in fatalities and physical injuries are linked to tire defects. Furthermore, under-inflated tires can result in severely inefficient use of fuel and cause an extra two million tons of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere per year. So this mandate enhances vehicle safety and protects the environment. 14 International Business Environment II These regulations have incurred a rise in car prices since vehicle manufacturers are forced to increase price to offset the cost of upgrading. These regulations put Geely in an unfavorable position. Since Geely is better known for making low-tech and cheap cars, making eco-friendly cars is not included in the competencies of the company and huge RD spending is inevitable for nurturing this competence. They set a high bar for the competition and limit Geely‘s ability to expand market in Europe. 3. 3 ASEAN ASEAN – Association of South East Asia Nations is a geo-political and economic organization of 10 countries located in Southeast Asia. China and ASEAN are both newly-emerged, rapidly-developing auto markets. Cooperation in auto industry between China and ASEAN will bring a win-win situation for the two sides and make their cars more competitive in a global competition. For instance, according to Xinhua News Agency (2006), a report released by the Ministry of Commerce Indonesia has announced that compared to the expensive Japanese sedans, the China-made ones gradually gain popularity for more favourable price-performance ratio. ASEAN country also needs investment from Chinese carmakers to expand local employment and for more price-favourable cars, said a Germany auto expert at the China-ASEAN Expo, 2006. Consequently, in general, ASEAN opens its gate to Chinese car companies including Geely to achieve a win-win situation. 4. Assessment of Geely’s overall international expansion strategy Geely‘s current international strategy is to produce affordable automobile, so the market size and consume power of a foreign market are highly valued by Geely. Malaysia automobile market resembles China more than UK, in the aspects such as the people‘s income, the similar culture, and the similar geographical position, etc. As by now most cars have been exported to some developing countries like South-East Asia, Ukraine, Russia, and Mexico, Malaysia will be good choice. Meanwhile, although UK does not represent a neighboring or ? home‘ market, 15 International Business Environment II as markets in South-East Asia do, UK could be seen as an interesting market with a potential for higher margins, higher price levels and a more mature market for branding, technology, etc, as the UK‘s income per capita, and the automobile sales volume are higher than that of Malaysia. Considering the future international development, Geely should focus on UK. Therefore, at first, it is better for Geely to develop its ? producing automobile which most of people can buy‘ strategy in Malaysia, and when Geely is able to enter high-end automobile market, UK will be a better choice. In terms of multilateral institution, after evaluating the influence of international organizations, we suggest that Malaysia is a better choice for Chinese car companies to exploit new markets. Firstly, a win-win situation guarantees a favourably corporate relationship between Geely and ASEAN (Eichengreen, 2006). Secondly, there are various quality-related requirements and constraints in EU and probably NAFTA, which puts up a strong challenge for those Asian auto makers. Moreover, by far, there is no evidence to prove the acquisition of Manganese Bronze and Volvo have considerably increased Geely‘s sale in developed nations. Thus considering the opportunities and threats faced by Geely, it is recommended that the company emphasizes on developing nations‘ markets, rather than the developed markets. 5. Marketing analysis 5. 1 Legal system According to Alistair Darling‘s pre-budget report, UK will bring new opportunities for the low-carbon industries. Through the Innovation Investment Fund and the Carbon Trusts Venture Capital scheme, UK will invest at least ? 160m in low carbon projects (Guardian, 2009). They will also invest ? 90m in the European Investment Banks new 2020 fund, which will put 6. 5 billion Euros of finance in green infrastructure projects. In this report, there are alterations to the climate change levy, company car tax, and fuel benefit charge (ibid). This is good news for Geely because now it dedicates itself to produce high-tech and eco-friendly automobile. In 16 International Business Environment II UK the amount of car tax depends on the price and the discharge amount for carbon, which is from 9% for electric motor car to 10%-35% for petrochemical car. UK also has a successful car scrappage scheme, which gives consumers a ? 2,000 discount off. If they scrap their old vehicle, it will help up to 125,000 families replace their inefficient boilers with new models (Julia, 2009). Through the government‘s support of low-carbon industry, Geely has more opportunities to innovate high-tech and eco-friendly automobile. Furthermore, because of the low tax and car scrappage scheme, customer is inclined to buy or change an electric motor car,. In 22nd March 2006, Malaysia published the new automobile policy (MEI, 2009). Since that day, the import taxes of CBU (Complete Built Unit) are reduced from 20% to 5% for the ASEAN members and 50% to 30% for other countries. The import taxes of CKD (Completely Knock Down) are 10%. In 28th October 2009, Mustafa Mohamed announced many new policies for auto industry which will give much more preferences and subsidies for the new energy automobile companies (ibid). 5. 2 Income profile It is known that the success of Geely relies mostly on keeping low cost and offering the affordable cars. For instance, Geelys best-selling four-door sedan, the King Kong, has been sold 6127 in April 2010 and the retail price is between 47,800RMB 58,800RMB (Jiang, 2010). Geely sold 329,014 passenger cars in 2009, making it is the third largest domestic car producer (Zheng, 2010). However, Geelys winning formula is under pressure in china because Chinese consumers are becoming wealthier; the higher-end models will gradually be affordable for them. Meanwhile, brands such as the Chery QQ, Ford Fiesta, and Honda Civic are threatening Geely‘s current market position. Geeky‘s winning formula is also challenged at the oversea markets like UK and Malaysia. Date from HMRC (HM Revenue Customs) indicates that nearly 50% of the population in UK earns ? 16400 annually which is much higher than the middle class income of Malaysia. This group of population could be a dominant power in the automobile market in UK. It is not a wise choice to sell its inexpensive cars in UK considering that low price would not be 17 International Business Environment II attractive for these relatively rich citizens. The similar situation also happened in Malaysia which made Geely‘s low price cars less competitive. This is because that the predicted real GDP growth in 2010, 2011 and 2015 are 4. 7%, 5. 0% and 5. 0%, Malaysian people are becoming richer than before(IMF, 2010). Their increasing incomes will directly affect their car buying choice. People nowadays prefer the higher-end models and the market share of Geely‘s lower-end models are estimated to reduce gradually. 6. Geely’s reacts to the impact of the ECLIPTER First, since the middle of 2009, the sales of car exports decreased from 37940 in 2008 to 6297. Furthermore, although Geely exports to more than 50 countries, most of them are developing countries which are not so effective in the promotion of the brand image. In order to get rid of low-end image, Geely changed its strategy from ?produce automobile which most of people can buy‘ to ? do not produce cars which price is below 40000 Yuan‘ (Fang, 2009). Besides, Geely take over Volvo which also expressed its desire to promote the brand image. Geely‘s strategy changes starts in May 2007, which is focus on transforming its competitive advantage from price to technology. In 2007, Geely used three new motorcycle type—Yuan Jing, King Kong and Zi You Jian, which have relatively higher value added to substitute the Haoqing, Meiri and You Liou. For doing that, Geely scraped its old molds, jigs and production line which worth up to 8 billion Yuan. In 2008, the sales of these three new auto types grew 12% without discount marketing strategy (Geely annual report, 2009). Furthermore, in 2010, Geely will market 21 new auto types, and some of them were designed by Fabrizio Giugiaro, the Italy‘s famous auto manufacturer. Moreover, the new energy auto will also be produced in 2010, which will include Panda and DiHao (Wenqing, 2010). These new energy auto types have been showed in the Beijing car exhibition 2010 (Phoenix auto, 2010). In order to deal with these two factors, Geely also has a complementary strategy: cooperate or takeover other well-known international auto manufacturers. It will not only help Geely to promote its auto manufacture technology, but also improve its brand image. Geely has already cooperated with 18 International Business Environment II Britain‘s Manganese Bronze to produce luxurious brand-named taxi (China car Times, 2010) and assembled cars with Information Gateway Corp Sdn Bhd (IGC) in Malaysia, 2006 (Tan, 2006). 7. Leverage the multilateral institutions 7. 1 ASEAN One of the stunning news in 2005 was the political barriers Geely met in Malaysia, which was considered as the biggest challenge for its overseas expansion so far. Geely‘s President Li Shufu described Malaysia as ? an unexpected trap? because of Malaysia government‘s rejection on fulfilling the contract. After examining the ECLIPTER factors of Malaysia market, Li Shufu and his team regarded Malaysia as the first pillbox and cornerstone of its expansion to ASEAN countries. He believed the learning in Malaysia could be helpful. Therefore, in May 2005, Geely has made a joint contract with Malaysia IGC group for building CKD factory in Malaysia. However, Malaysia government denied the contract after a new document on automobile being published. According to the document, all cars made by foreign automobile manufacturers were prohibited to sell in Malaysia. Then the situation in Malaysia went against its expection of getting a huge sale. However, according to Geely officials, to some extent, ASEAN agreements have made Geely to reconsider the importance of Malaysia (Harwit). In South East Asia nations, there are some strict tariff-related regulations for automobile industry. Contrarily, tariff among ASEAN countries is in a minimum rate. According to an inner-ASEAN agreement, from 2003 to 2009, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippine, Singapore and Vietnam exempted auto import tariff for each other. From 2010, all ASEAN countries will implement zero auto import tariff for each other. At the same time, Indonesia, Thailand and some other ASEAN nations‘ demand of cars is increasing considerably (JAMA, 2008). Especially after an impressive increase in 2007, the car-sale in Indonesia becomes significantly dazzle. Therefore Geely 19 International Business Environment II planed to only manufacture cars in Malaysia and then export cars to other ASEAN countries, which seems like a forward-looking plan in a long-term development. Finally, Geely decided to move its Malaysia CKD manufacture center to Indonesia. However, its vision of leveraging ASEAN to pursue a sale performance in all ASEAN nations has not changed. 7. 2 EU In terms of EU regulations, since Geely has acquired 100% ownership of Volvo, the Sweden‘s company, Geely is no longer an outsider of European market. According to the EU Single market concept (European Commission, 2010), a free circulation of capital, labor, goods and services between EU members is granted. Geely now have got over tariff barriers and competes as an insider. 8. Implications and Recommendations One of the strategies of Geely is to promote new energy automobile, there are two advantages for this strategy: Firstly, Geely can get powerful support from government since the development of new energy is encouraged by the government. Secondly, since new energy automobile is environmental friendly goods, it not only reduces the carbon emissions, but also decreases the expenses on routine maintenance (Bond newspaper, 2010). However, there are also drawbacks, such as the inadequate facilities. Acquiring other world famous bands is the other strategy of Geely, which facilitates the company‘s global expansion. For instance, Volvo is well-known by its safety, which could provide Geely with a competitive advantage on its brand trust. It also provides a valuable, more upscale user image. Therefore, through merger or acquisition of international well-known brands, Geely can get greater international fame and advanced technology, integrate into the world market and attract more consumers. However, certain risks should be considered when Geely acquires Volvo. The first risk is that the culture conflicts between two countries. It has been reported that one of the hindering factors is that the union of Volvo in Sweden disagrees the acquisition for their reduced 20 International Business Environment II welfare and unemployment (Gasgoo, 2009). The second risk is that the value of acquired equity. It has been said that Volvo‘s vaunted reputation for safety has been challenged by other manufacturers which can also provide automobiles with same safety standard. In this case Volvo‘s ? safe? advantage may not be as competitive as before. 9. Conclusion To sum up, this essay has analyzed the ECLIPTER factors of Geely‘s two overseas markets, Britain and Malaysia, and examined influence of the related multilateral institutions. According to this matrix analysis, legal system and income profile have the most important impact on the auto industry. For multilateral institutions, ASEAN and WTO generally promote the Geely‘s international expansion strategy, while EU regulations are less favored in its expansion. Considering both ECLIPTER factors and related multilateral institutions, it is suitable for Geely to enter developing nations to acquire market share at its initial development. But for long-term development, Geely need to pay attention to research and develop higher-end models. With the development of Geely Company and the overall auto industry, Geely‘s focus will shift from developing countries to developed countries. Currently, Geely‘s low price strategy is challenged by the legal system and income profile of developed countries. Therefore, Geely is increasing its efforts in releasing new model cars and tapping into developed countries through merger or acquisition. Geely intends to promote its brand image and enlarge its market share through these strategic moves, although it has to face the risk of culture conflicts and the uncertainty of acquisition value. 21 International Business Environment II 10. References: Azia, A. Z. (2004) Malaysia-Encouraging Saving in a Dynamic Economy [Online]. Available at: h.