Manufacturing Industry and Fair Trade in Australia

The question that is being studied here is of unemployment, and this is clearly not being lost because of imports. The calculations have been made by the Australian Center for Industrial Relations Research and Teaching, and they say facts about the net changes in the rate of employment between 1988 and 1998 in a number of industrial sectors. It can be seen that there is a clear decline in employment in eight sectors of industry during this decade. There was a net loss of about 250,000 jobs and more than sixty percent of the loss was in areas where there was no competition. This concerned employers like Commonwealth Bank, SECV, State Rail NSW, AMP, and the federal public services. (Do imports cost jobs: What's wrong with fair trade? ) Compared to this, the total number of people employed in sector of textiles, clothing and footwear manufacture in Australia has been 80. 2 thousand as per the figures available for 1998. (Manufacturing employment) The important areas of job loss have been in the manufacture of different products with low import threats, and where the imports come from high wage countries. The exception is in the case of textile, clothing and footwear — TCF. In the case of these products, the imports are from medium wage countries and that import is 36. 0 percent of the total market for these goods in Australia. The largest import is from China, and they are now selling 20 percent of all TCF goods in Australia. (Do imports cost jobs: What's wrong with fair trade? ) This has been confirmed at meetings of the productivity commission regarding the future of industry in the city of Melbourne and the state of Victoria. In the public hearing, they have also confirmed that if the recommendations of the commission are implemented then there would be another loss of 30,000 jobs. An industrialist, Brian Rush had this to say about the textile industry – â€Å"Commodity sewing, as such, in Australia has a real struggle in front of it. Our all-up labor rates in Bendigo, with all the add-ons, are about $28 an hour. You go to China and it's less than 50 cents an hour†. (Textile jobs under threat. 2003) It is not that the government is not aware of the situation in the country and has already allocated $575 million for the textile, clothing and footwear sector under the Strategic Investment Program as stated by the minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources. His statement said â€Å"Australia's $9 billion textile, clothing and footwear manufacturing industries can now apply for investment and R&D assistance under the package which has been closely and extensively negotiated with industry players†. (Australia: Textile, clothing & footwear sector investments worth AU $575mn approved, 2005) But this does not seem to have helped the workers as in one case, the workers sacked by National Textiles on January 21st are still on a 24 hour picket outside their factory and that is located about 170 kilometers north of Sydney. There are 342 workers and the claimed dues are on account of entitlements which are not paid consisting of leave on a yearly basis, sick leave, long service, redundancy payments and superannuation. (Sacked Australian textile workers picket for $11 million in unpaid entitlements) Regarding TCF, the economists at Reserve Bank have stated that about one third of the jobs lost in clothing are due to low wages and that is a total of 28,000 jobs. For footwear this amounts to 6,000 jobs lost. Well this seems to support that fair trade is the main reason for the lost jobs but they have also stated â€Å"Despite this large import effect, productivity improvements accounted for about two-thirds of the fall in employment in this sector† (Do imports cost jobs: What's wrong with fair trade? ) This can be seen from a comparison of the figures of 1994 and 1999 where in the case of machinery and equipment the productivity has risen by 23. 2 percent and the job losses have been only 3. 9 percent reduction. In the TCF sector, the increase in productivity has been 15. 1 percent and the job losses are 15. 3 percent. (Do imports cost jobs: What's wrong with fair trade? ) When one looks at the total employment figures the picture becomes even clearer with a reduction between 1974 and 1999 with a total reduction in textiles clothing and footwear by 53 percent, whereas in transport equipment and machinery the reduction was by 39 percent and in metallic products by 29 percent. Thus it is clear that employment is on the way down with a total reduction by 22 percent. This is hurting the workers as 24 percent of the total workers were employed in manufacturing in 1974, but this came down to just 12 percent in 1999. This does not mean that this section of industry has started producing less, and the production has increased, but the gains have not been passed on in terms of additional workers. This is reflected in the fact that the major portion of Australia's workers is now engaged in the service sector – 82 percent of them. (Productivity Commission: Move to scrap tariffs sooner rather than later) To some extent the mismatching of the Australian government timing of cutting the protection of the textile, clothing and footwear sector with the change of the global TCF industry to get into a new form of organization, the commodity chain is also responsible. Due to this change, some Australian TCF manufacturers could not continue business any longer, while the others followed a number of strategies to remain in business, and these including a change of the labor required. This has led to losses in jobs determined by age, gender and ethnicity in the skilled and semi-skilled levels of production. This has been replaced by jobs in design, marketing and management. The jobs in the factories of Australia have to the Pacific Rim. (Trade and inequality: Australia's textile, clothing, and footwear industries, 1986-1996) As an example one can see that in December, there was a reduction by the Sara Lee clothing factory of 200 workers in the factories of Sydney, Wollongong and Kempsey. The number was half of the total employees of workers in the organization. This company now plans to get most of the production for the company done at Fiji, where the labor is cheaper. A similar decision was also taken by Levi Strauss, the famous jeans manufacturer. They are now planning to cut down about 60 percent of the workers in Elizabeth, near Adelaide. They amount to 100 workers. (Australian Job Losses) For many of the workers this means social changes and increases unemployment rates in many areas leading to losses in consumer demand for products. For the people there are long term effects on health due to the loss of jobs and finding a job when one is over 50 is not easy. For the company also it is a loss of manufacturing capacity. Productivity Commission: Move to scrap tariffs sooner rather than later) In the meantime, a new breed of employers has come up and these are the employment agencies. They offer high efficiency when placing the employees in a firm. They claim to offer economies of scale due to their being a specialist third party managing the aspects of personnel management like recruitment. This is normally the function of the personnel department. They also lead to lower transaction costs and thus increase efficiencies due to the matching involved. Yet it is not very popular as in 2003 a survey showed that organizations are using hired employees for the purpose of getting workers for immediate requirements. Yet, a survey showed that 42 percent of the firms believe that there are good benefits for the firms using hired employees. The perceived benefits are the reduction of administrative costs, being able to go through a thorough process of recruitment and getting skilled workers. A very small portion of the firms gave their reason as reduction of employee cost due to lower payments. Temporary employment agencies as labor market intermediaries – new ways of working in an open economy) According to a study done by ABS in June 2002, there were 290, 000 employees hired through the employment agencies at that time. This is a 3. 1 percent share of the total employment market. According to them the organizations which had a union with a closed shop had the least chance of using a labor hire agency. This is thus a limiting factor on labor hire agencies. The positive factor for a labor hire agency is an organization with an employee relations manager. These managers are knowledgeable about the different sources from where they can get labor, as also the different types of labor with them. They are more likely to use the agencies when appropriate. Yet organizations hire labor sparingly and along with other flexible forms of labor like part-time labor and casual labor. (The Growth of Labor Hire Employment in Australia) It is wrong to expect the free traders or the fair traders to really have the interests of the workers at heart. One has to realize that the problem in part arises from the present chase for productivity and international competition.

First day in college Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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Executive Summary (Benchmark Assessment) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Executive Summary (Benchmark Assessment) - Essay Example The project will engage public health agencies and the public towards the achievement of the national goals for preventing and treating heart diseases and stroke through the next two decades (Velu & Lip, 2011). Heart diseases and stroke are among the leading causes of death in America today. They are also among the leading causes of disability meaning that they cost the country so much in terms of treatment and control and could cost more in the future if steps are not taken to address the problem. Therefore, this project will be a step and a vision towards contributing to the steps to combat the dangers of heart diseases and stroke in the country (Velu & Lip, 2011). The project targets both the adult and teenage populations. Adults are more affected by heart diseases and stroke. It has been estimated that every 37 seconds, an adult person in the US dies because of a heart related condition. This is a high rate of death caused by heart diseases. Today, the lifestyles adopted by teenagers in the US has also put them at risk of developing heart conditions and stroke early in their lives. For example, teenagers smoke, do not exercise, take alcohol and eat foods with high calories. This has seen more teenagers develop heart conditions over the years on top of the fact that some of them are at risk because of their genetic makeup (Heidenreich, et.al. 2011). Therefore, the project will target adults and teenagers to ensure that the two groups receive information and the care needed to ensure that their risk of developing heart diseases and stroke is significantly reduced and that they have a prolonged life and also can lead healthy lives (Ustrell & Pe llisà ©, 2010). The focus in the two groups has been informed by the rate of heart diseases and stoke recorded in them, which calls for immediate attention to ensure that the problem does not get worse than it is. The

Second Balkan War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Second Balkan War - Essay Example It is always possible to look at past conflicts in detached and scientific spirit to arrive at objective lessens. The warning given by Toynbee (1948), civilizations die from suicide, not by murder is alarmingly relevant today. The Second Balkan War, which erupted in 1913, has been massive in its destruction, not only when the actual war took place, but also in the later conflicts triggered by the fragile nature of the peace treaties. The present day world torn between conflicting interests is on the brink of war all the time. The study of the strength and weakness of the strategies of Conflict Management of the Second Balkan war would aid our understanding of the present day conflict zones and might satisfactory solutions for managing conflict across the globe. Conflict management is as old as man. However, the false ideals of patriotism, unhealthy way of releasing it in war with other countries and pernicious theories of superiority of races helped only to whip up sentiments against the enemy and there was no attempt in scholarly circles to study the psychological springs of conflict. However, it is only recently that it has become a branch of academic discipline, which attracted serious scholarly pursuit across the globe. The early attempts in the 1960s were to explore the psychological aspects of conflict. The pioneering work some psychologists in fact offered a critique to the American theory of deterrence against the Soviet Union (Russell, 1961). The attention of the psychologists was shifting from rousing the feelings of people for war to raising their mind to explore the possibility for peace. As Morawski and Goldstein (1985) observed, these Cold War writings contrasted sharply with earlier publications on war and peace in several w ays: psychologists began to emphasize the prevention of war rather than preparations for war whereas previous research had attempted to document or generate public consensus with government policy, the new work was critical of U.S. foreign policies (p. 280). In the past there was a tendency to eulogize war even though it was negative in its destructive nature. More and more psychologists started exploring the possibility of peace. This resulted in the study of promotion of peace (Wagner, de Rivera, & Watkins, 1988). Peace was defined as an active construct, characterized by the co-operation between peoples and nations springing from the desire to satisfy the needs of the entire humanity. There is increasing number of different types of conflict like, ethnic (Sri Lanka), religious (Northern Ireland), and territory linked (India-Pakistan, Arab-Israeli) and political (Nepal). International conflicts have different dimensions and varying degrees of amiability to conflict management. Some conflicts are protracted (Azar, 1986). One of the unique features of these conflicts is the difficulty of managing them peacefully. The Second Balkan Wars The Second Balkan War was fought in 1913 between Bulgaria and its former allies in the First Balkan war, Greece and Serbia. Romania and the Ottoman Empire intervened against Bulgaria. The outcome of the war made Serbia, an ally of the Russian Empire, an important

Portfolio Management Statistics Project Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Portfolio Management - Statistics Project Example The stock returns values experience wide variance due to the fluctuation in portfolio weights across the period. From the set of 28 stocks, the time series was filtered on the criteria of performance to retain the 11 stocks shown in the time series as the most efficient portfolio. The process of refining the investment involved ignoring the portfolio with low weights and retaining the high weight portfolio. The selection aimed at picking 3 stocks with the best returns to represent the high efficiency required in the pool decision. The high efficiency stocks were found to be IBM and MMM. The decision was made on the values based on the original currency returns. The time series for the refined investment pool carries the following stock: The major reason for reducing the number of stocks in the refined investment is that many assets have caused a wide variation of the portfolio weights and return on investment (Tobin 1958, p. 65). The analysis sets up individual each of the assets independently to as to classify them as either risky assets or risk free assets using the correlation projections. The refinement judges the investment by their return, hence; it operates with the few selected manageable stocks to reduce the portfolio size by ignoring the low return stocks. The tangent portfolio was constructed using the Matlab program. The program uses the data entries from the covariance matrix with the new weights of portfolios. The mean return values and the optimal portfolio variances are shown with the least variance portfolio return averaging approximately 14.6%. After making the entry of the matrix, the exercise is repeated for the reduction of the variance to show the restricted efficient frontier as shown in figure 6 below. The assumption made in the construction of the frontier is that investment can run on negative portfolio weights, even though the current weights are positive. The

Power in leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Power in leadership - Essay Example Throughout her career in the military, Johnson was a prime example for her colleagues as she would assists her students with surgical procedures as she was part of the U.S Army Medical Research and Development command. Furthermore, her valiant display of leadership enabled her to break the color and the gender barrier, a sensitive issue that haunted the nation and the army at that era. Without a doubt, Hazel Johnson-Brown has contributed a lot to the field of nursing. I would implement several of her techniques that can become the centric point of my career. First, I would embed her work ethic in my career. In addition, I would try to act as a facilitator for my colleagues and not be selfish about education or experience I possess. Furthermore, her ambitions would allow me to take charge in critical situations that can not only give me a confidence boost but enable me to harness my learning curve as I transition from a student to a professional. Power and influence are two vital aspects that come with integrity, responsibility, and leadership. Embedding the core principle of responsibility in my opinion is one of the most vital aspects of attaining power and influence. In any given profession, it is essential that one â€Å"delivers on time† and fully delivers in critical situations. In addition, responsibility can be a channel for being a leader in the team. Incorporating a hard work ethic and giving dedication in this career allows the hospital staff to appreciate your hard work. Hence, it gives them confidence in you to allow you to give leadership roles in vital situations. If one can implement all these vital aspects, power and influence can be achievable at a higher

Amsterdam Company Essay Example for Free

Amsterdam Company Essay Question 2 Presented below is information related to Rembrandt Inc.s inventory. (per unit)SkisBootsParkas Historical Cost273.79152.7576.37 Selling Price312.70208.95106.27 Cost to distribute27.3811.533.60 Current replacement cost292.52151.3173.49 Normal profit margin46.1141.7930.62 Determine the following: Question 3 Matlock Company uses a perpetual inventory system. Its beginning inventory consists of 67 units that cost $40 each. During June, the company purchased 202 units at $40 each, returned 8 units for credit, and sold 168 units at $67 each. Journalize the June transactions. Question 4 Amsterdam Company uses a periodic inventory system. For April, when the company sold 700 units, the following information is available. Compute the April 30 inventory and the April cost of goods sold using the average cost method. Question 5 Amsterdam Company uses a periodic inventory system. For April, when the company sold 600 units, the following information is available. Compute the April 30 inventory and the April cost of goods sold using the FIFO method. Question 6 (FIFO, LIFO, Average Cost Inventory) Esplanade Company was formed on December 1, 2011. The following information is available from Esplanades inventory records for Product BAP. PurchasesUnitsUnit Cost January 1, 2012(beginning inventory)7628.00 January 5, 20121,5249.00 January 25, 20121,65110.00 February 16, 20121,06111.00 March 26, 201276212.00 A physical inventory on March 31, 2012, shows 2,032 units on hand. Prepare schedules to compute the ending inventory at March 31, 2012, under each of the following inventory methods. Assume Esplanade Company uses the periodic inventory method. Question 7 Floyd Corporation has the following four items in its ending inventory. Determine the final lower of cost or market inventory value for each item. Question 8 Kumar Inc. uses a perpetual inventory system. At January 1, 2013, inventory was $320,786 at both cost and market value. At December 31, 2013, the inventory was $428,714 at cost and $403,231 at market value. Prepare the necessary December 31 entry under: Question 9 Boyne Inc. had beginning inventory of $15,000 at cost and $25,000 at retail. Net purchases were $150,000 at cost and $212,500 at retail. Net markups were $12,500; net markdowns were $8,750; and sales were $196,250. Compute ending inventory at cost using the conventional retail method. Question 10 (Gross Profit Method) Astaire Company uses the gross profit method to estimate inventory for monthly reporting purposes. Presented below is information for the month of  May. Question 11 Previn Brothers Inc. purchased land at a price of $30,400. Closing costs were $1,820. An old building was removed at a cost of $14,850. What amount should be recorded as the cost of the land? Question 12 Garcia Corporation purchased a truck by issuing an $108,000, 4-year, zero-interest-bearing note to Equinox Inc. The market rate of interest for obligations of this nature is 10%. Prepare the journal entry to record the purchase of this truck. Question 13 Mohave Inc. purchased land, building, and equipment from Laguna Corporation for a cash payment of $352,800. The estimated fair values of the assets are land $67,200, building $246,400, and equipment $89,600. At what amounts should each of the three assets be recorded? Question 14 Fielder Company obtained land by issuing 2,000 shares of its $12 par value common stock. The land was recently appraised at $103,700. The common stock is actively traded at $50 per share. Prepare the journal entry to record the acquisition of the land. Question 15 Navajo Corporation traded a used truck (cost $23,600, accumulated depreciation $21,240) for a small computer worth $4,366. Navajo also paid $1,180 in the transaction. Prepare the journal entry to record the exchange. Question 16 Mehta Company traded a used welding machine (cost $10,080, accumulated depreciation $3,360) for office equipment with an estimated fair value of $5,600. Mehta also paid $3,360 cash in the transaction. Prepare the journal entry to record the exchange. Question 17 Depreciation is normally computed on the basis of the nearest A). full month and to the nearest dollar. B). day and to the nearest cent. C). day and to the nearest dollar. D). full month and to the nearest cent. Question 18 Fernandez Corporation purchased a truck at the beginning of 2012 for $54,180. The truck is estimated to have a salvage value of $2,580 and a useful life of 206,400 miles. It was driven 29,670 miles in 2012 and 39,990 miles in 2013. Compute depreciation expense for 2012 and 2013. Question 19 Lockhard Company purchased machinery on January 1, 2012, for $79,200. The machinery is estimated to have a salvage value of $7,920 after a useful life of 8 years. (a) Compute 2012 depreciation expense using the double-declining balance method. (b) Compute 2012 depreciation expense using the double-declining balance method assuming the machinery was purchased on October 1, 2012. Question 20 Jurassic Company owns machinery that cost $1,145,700 and has accumulated depreciation of $458,280. The expected future net cash flows from the use of the asset are expected to be $636,500. The fair value of the equipment is $509,200. Prepare the journal entry, if any, to record the impairment loss. Question 21 Everly Corporation acquires a coal mine at a cost of $501,600. Intangible development costs total $125,400. After extraction has occurred, Everly must restore the property (estimated fair value of the obligation is $100,320), after which it can be sold for $200,640. Everly estimates that 5,016 tons of coal can be extracted. If 878 tons are extracted the first year, prepare the journal entry to record depletion. Question 22 Francis Corporation purchased an asset at a cost of $58,200 on March 1, 2012. The asset has a useful life of 8 years and a salvage value of $5,820. For tax purposes, the MACRS class life is 5 years. Compute tax depreciation for each year 2012–2017. Question 23 Celine Dion Corporation purchases a patent from Salmon Company on January 1, 2012, for $50,820. The patent has a remaining legal life of 16 years. Celine Dion feels the patent will be useful for 10 years. Prepare Celine Dions journal entries to record the purchase of the patent and 2012 amortization. Question 24 Karen Austin Corporation has capitalized software costs of $768,500, and sales of this product the first year totaled $390,630. Karen Austin anticipates earning $911,470 in additional future revenues from this product, which is estimated to have an economic life of 4 years. Compute the amount of software cost amortization for the first year. (a) Compute the amount of software cost amortization for the first year using the percent of revenue approach. (b) Compute the amount of software cost amortization for the first year using the straight-line approach. Question 25 Jeff Beck is a farmer who owns land which borders on the right-of-way of the Northern Railroad. On August 10, 2012, due to the admitted negligence of the Railroad, hay on the farm was set on fire and burned. Beck had had a dispute with the Railroad for several years concerning the ownership of a small parcel of land. The representative of the Railroad has offered to assign any rights which the Railroad may have in the land to Beck in exchange for a release of his right to reimbursement for the loss he has sustained from the fire. Beck appears inclined to accept the Railroads offer. The Railroads 2012 financial statements should include the following related to the incident: A). recognition of a loss only. B). creation of a liability only. C). disclosure in note form only. D). recognition of a loss and creation of a liability for the value of the land. Question 26 Roley Corporation uses a periodic inventory system and the gross method of accounting for purchase discounts. On July 1, Roley purchased $66,000 of inventory, terms 2/10, n/30, FOB shipping point. Roley paid freight costs of $1,210. On July 3, Roley returned damaged goods and received credit of $6,600. On July 10, Roley paid for the goods. Prepare all necessary journal entries for Roley. Question 27 Takemoto Corporation borrowed $93,000 on November 1, 2012, by signing a $95,093, 3-month, zero-interest-bearing note. Prepare Takemotos November 1, 2012, entry; the December 31, 2012, annual adjusting entry; and the February 1, 2013, entry. (For multiple debit/credit en tries, list amounts from largest to smallest, e.g. 10, 8, 6. Round all answers to 0 decimal places, e.g. 11,150.) Question 28 Whiteside Corporation issues $629,000 of 9% bonds, due in 14 years, with interest payable semiannually. At the time of issue, the annual market rate for such bonds is 10%. Compute the issue price of the bonds.(Use the present value tables in the text. Question 29 Indiana Jones Company enters into a 6-year lease of equipment on January 1, 2012, which requires 6 annual payments of $37,560 each, beginning January 1, 2012. In addition, the lessee guarantees a residual value of $20,870 at lease-end. The equipment has a useful life of 6 years. Assume that for Lost Ark Company, the lessor, collectibility is reasonably predictable, there are no important uncertainties concerning costs, and the carrying amount of the machinery is $191,722. Prepare Lost Arks January 1, 2012, journal entries. Question 30 On January 1, 2012, Irwin Animation sold a truck to Peete Finance for $26,050 and immediately leased it back. The truck was carried on Irwins books at $20,800. The term of the lease is 5 years, and title transfers to Irwin at lease-end. The lease requires five equal rental payments of $7,048 at the end of each year. The appropriate rate of interest is 11%, and the truck has a useful life of 5 years with no salvage value. Prepare Irwins 2012 journal entries.