China

Map the proposed sequence of evolution of the economy of the BRICs. what indicates might companies monitor to guide their investments and organize their local market operations? Answer: China and India will be the dominant global suppliers of manufactured goods and services,respectively, while Brazil and Russia will become the principal suppliers of row materials. Collectively, on almost every scale, they will become the largest entity on the global stage.

The unfolding influence of the BRICs as engines of new growth and spending power leads some to argue that these transitions may happen even sooner, especially given the aging working populations and falling productivity rates in richer nations. Experts’ forecasts that the most dramatic transition will take place over the next 20 to 30 years, BRICs will show higher returns, increased demand for capital, and stronger national currencies. Companies should monitor the, political, legal, and cultural factors and changes.

The BRIC’s economies are on the verge of the rapid growth of their consumer markets. (Experience indicates that consumer demand takes off when GNI per capita reaches levels between $3,000 and $10,000 per year. ) In Russia there is already significant evidence of the growth of consumerism during the past decade. There are also early signs of similar trends in China and India, where the growth of their middle classes is very rapid. It is expected that within a decade or so, each of the BRICs will show higher returns, increased demand for capital, and stronger national currencies.

Thus, foreign firms will want to monitor major economic indicators such as GNI, PPP, and the Human Development Index, as well as developments in the cultural, political, and legal environments of those nations. The indicator that companies might monitor to guide their investments and actions is the futures of widespread poverty and distorted income distributions. With the exception of Russia, hundreds of millions of people in the BRICs will be poorer and each BRICs struggles with it particular problems.

Managers should assess economic environments and forecast market trends to make better investment choices, operating decisions, and competitive strategies. Managers use several indicators to assess an economic environment; meaningful indicators include growth rates, income distribution, inflation, unemployment, wages, productivity, debt, and the balance of payments. Managers improve economic analysis by identifying meaningful indicators and then understanding how they interact with each other.

Question-2: What are the implications of the emergence of the BRICs for careers and companies in your country? Answer: The emergence of the BRICs effect on our country has some advantages and disadvantages, because it may create new career opportunities, more product options, and better price and/or quality for products because of competition. The emergence of the BRICs will challenge the well-being and sustainability of the global environment. Responses will vary according to the level of economic development and the economic basis of a student’s home country.

Those students from industrialized nations may feel challenged and express the fear of a decline in their standards of living due to increased pressures in the labor market and the declining cost competitiveness of their countries’ firms. On the other hand, students from developing countries may be hopeful that their countries will be able to successfully generate and/or compete for the investment capital and those business activities that lead to significant economic growth and the increasing global competitiveness of their countries’ firms.

How-ever, there is ample room for exceptions to these feelings, given the present and future comparative advantages of particular nations But on the other hand it may affect negatively the domestic firms more over it may cause some kind of monopoly as the BRICs taking the lead. The markets are constantly changing and growing rapidly. Between 2005 and 2015 over millions of people in the BRICs will cross the annual income threshold of U. S. Sometimes it is a global warming, diminishing raw materials, and escalating pollution suggest there is a finite limit to how much the BRICs can develop before exceeding the capacity of the global economy to supply them and of the environment support them. More worrisome is the world watch institute report that if China and India, to say nothing about Russia and brazil, were to consume resources and produce pollution at the current U. S. per capita level, it would require two planet earths just to sustain their two economics.

Question-3: Do you think recency bias has led to overestimating the potential of the BRICs? how would you,as a manager for a company assessing these markets,try to control this bias? Answer: Yes, I think, bias may come from skepticism and dubious expectation that the current trend will continue into the future. repeatedly,companies,executives,investors,and officials extrapolating the present into the future have made mistakes. there are also several practical threats.

Despite high octane economic growth, the BRICs face futures of widespread poverty and distorted income distributions. Someone less obsessed with recent performance with recent performance and more familiar with the lessons of history might have recollected that behind every strong market is an even stronger market growing. As a manager it is important to minimize the negative effects of receny bias. Keep a track record that includes every trade, how much won or lost and total equity.

This will make it easier to think about results on a long term basis. Keep a trade checklist with my trading criteria to make sure that all of the rules are being followed and make sure that I am very knowledgeable of receny bias. Question-4: How might managers interpret the potential for their product in a market that is, in absolute economic terms, large but, on a per capita basis, characterized by a majority of poor to very poor consumers?

Answer: We focus o five things that an international business and its manager can do to make sure ethical issues are considered in business decisions. These are: 1) Favour hiring and promoting people with a well-grounded sense of personal ethics 2) Build an organizational culture that places a high value on ethical behaviour 3) Make sure that leaders within the business not only the rhetoric of ethical behaviour but also act consistent in a manner that is consistent with that rhetoric. ) Put decision-making processes in place that require people to consider the ethical dimension of business decisions 5) Develop moral courage. Managers estimate the economic environments and forecast market trends to make better investment choices, operating decision, and completive strategies to improve economic analysis by identifying meaningful indicators and then understanding how they interact with each other. Income per capita in the U. S is projected to reach $80000 by 2050 while china will likely be ust over $31000,brazil about $26600, and India just $17400. with the possible exception of Russia,hundreds of millions of people in the BRICs will be far poorer on average than individuals in germany,france,japan,Italy,Canada, and the united states. Consequently, for the first time in history the largest economies in the world will no longer be the richest when measured by GNI per capita. Inevitably, many ask if the BRICs could turn into bricks in their march to miracle economics.

Governments in each country have developed economically sensible policies, opened trade and domestic markets. and begun building institutions that support free markets. still, there is more than a passing chance that conditions in one economy, if not all, will fall out of sync for the simple fact the tradition from command-controlled economies to freer markets rests on a difficult set of accomplishments,basically four instrumental conditions must occur, more or less concurrently, for a market economy to grow consistently:

1. Sound macroeconomic policies and a solid macroeconomic background, as seen in low inflation, prudent public finances, and supportive government policy. 2. Strong political institutions that endorse transparency,fairness,the rule of law 3. Openness to trade, capital flows, and foreign direct investment 4. High levels of education at both the primary and secondary levels. Question-5: . in the event that one BRIC country, if not all, fails to meet its projected performance, what would be some of the implications for the economic environment of international business?

Answer: In the event that BRICs fail to meet projected performance make many very skeptical because of history showing great mistakes made by companies, executives, investors and official who estimated the present into the future. The BRICs face futures of widespread poverty and distorted income distribution and the income per capita in today’s richer countries will exceed US $35,000. Political uncertainties and social assumptions in each country limit their economic potential.

Brazil’s economic potential has been anticipated for decades, but it has struggled to achieve expectations due to problems in income equality, productivity, and education. The population count of Russia is declining, and the country’s uncertain government, environmental degradation, and crumbling infrastructure confound growth projections. India in addition to other pressing economic and political challenges has many poor people. China’s particular interpretation of the rule of law, rights of citizens, environmental sustainability and principles of democracy poses problems.

Too, China faces a closing window of opportunity; by 2020 china will have the largest number of both old and very old people on earth. Question-6: Compare and contrast the merits of GNI per capita versus the idea of purchasing power and human development as indicators of economic potential in Brazil, Russia, China, and India. Answer: Gross national income per capita (GNI per capita) represents the market value of all final goods and services newly produced in an economy by a country’s domestically-owned firms in a given year divided by its population.

Thus, GNI per capita serves as a very useful indicator of current individual wealth and consumption patterns; those countries with high populations as well as high per capita GNI are most desirable in terms of total market potential. Purchasing power parity (PPP) represents the number of units of a country’s currency required to buy the same amount of goods and services in the domestic market that one unit of income would buy in another country.

PPP is estimated by calculating the value of a universal “basket of goods” that can be purchased with one unit of a country’s currency and thus serves as a useful indicator of international differences in prices that are not reflected by nominal exchange rates. The Human Development Index measures life expectancy, education (primarily the adult literacy rate), and income per person and is designed to capture long-term progress rather than short-term changes.

Thus, by combining indicators of real purchasing power, education, and health, the index provides a comprehensive measure of a country’s standard of living that incorporates both economic and social variables. Recommendation: The emergence of the BRICs suggests that the next generation of economic development of the global economy will be a fascinating yet bumpy ride. No matter what, coming anywhere close to reaching their apparent potential will redefine the structure of economic environment, patterns of growth and dynamics of economic activity worldwide.

Facebook Inc. has quietly developed a censorship tool that could persuade China to allow the world’s biggest social media network to re-enter the world’s second largest economy after a seven-year ban, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

Facebook developed the software, which suppresses posts from appearing in people’s news feeds in specific geographies, with the support of Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, the newspaper said, citing unnamed current and former employees.

Zuckerberg in March met China’s propaganda chief Liu Yunshan who said he hoped Facebook could strengthen exchanges and improve mutual understanding with China’s internet companies, according to state news agency Xinhua.

“We have long said that we are interested in China, and are spending time understanding and learning more about the country,” Facebook spokeswoman Arielle Aryah said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

“However, we have not made any decision on our approach to China. Our focus right now is on helping Chinese businesses and developers expand to new markets outside China by using our ad platform.”

The Cybersecurity Administration of China, the country’s internet regulator, did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment. China’s foreign ministry declined to comment.

Foreign companies in China, especially in media, face political pressure from a range of regulations. The country’s military newspaper calls the internet the most important front in an ideological battle against “Western anti-China forces”.

China, which has the world’s largest population of internet users, banned the website following the Urumqi riots in July 2009 in an effort to stem the flow of information about ethnic unrest which left 140 people dead.

Though Facebook has developed the new tool, it does not intend to suppress the posts itself, NYT said.

Facebook would instead offer the software to enable a third party to monitor popular stories and topics that gain visibility as users share them across the network, according to the Times. The third-party partner would have full control to decide whether those posts should show up in users’ feeds.

There is no indication Facebook has offered the software to the authorities in China, the Times said. It is one of many ideas Facebook has discussed with respect to entering China and it may never see the light of day, it added.

Facebook, which has struggled in recent months to combat allegations that it unfairly removes certain content on its service, aims to continue to grow in developing nations where it currently has smaller penetration rates.

(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Hay and Muralikumar Anantharaman)

1. Introduction

Management information systems (MIS) is an area of study which is more popularly referred to as information technology (IT) management.  It involves the study of information systems for commerce and business administration purposes.  It integrates software engineering into its discipline, but also concentrates on the integration of computer systems with the goals and objectives of an enterprise or organization (Wikipedia, 2006).

MIS is used as the general term for computer systems which provides information about the business operations of an organization (Whatis.com, 2005).  The term MIS has been expanded to include decision support systems, resource and people management applications, project management, and database retrieval applications.

 MIS has been used not only for business enterprises but in providing key functional support, communication decision support system, decision support, and performance monitoring role for government organizations and government structures in general.  This research paper will examine MIS has been used as a tool in assisting the development not of a business enterprise, but of an entire country.  The country selected for this study is China.  The paper will study the role of MIS in the development of China for the 21^st century.

1. Brief Background on China

China was a leading civilization for many centuries, but in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries, the country suffered civil unrest, major famines, military defeats and foreign occupation.   After World War II, the Communists under Mao Zedong established an autocratic social system.  This system was meant to ensure China’s sovereignty, and as a result thereof, the government laid down strict controls and regulations that affected the daily life of its citizens.

Tens of millions of people died as a result of such autocratic control.  Mao Zedong’s successor, Deng Xiaoping, other leaders, sought to turn around the situation beginning in 1978.   The government started to focus on market-oriented economic development.   By 2000, output in China had quadrupled, and this has improved living standards dramatically for most of the population in the country.

Although political controls remain tight, the strict controls laid down during Mao Zedong’s reign no longer existed.  Reforms which pned from the 1980s are still being pushed in China, with the Eleventh Five-Year Plan, proposed by the Chinese Communist Party in October 2005, was given final approval in March 2006.   The Eleventh Five-Year Plan calls for a 20% reduction in energy consumption per unit of GDP by 2010, and an estimated increase of 45% in China’s GDP by 2010.  The plan’s basic goals are to conserve resources and protect the environment (CIA – The World Factbook, 2006).

In sum, the Eleventh Five-Year Plan for China was drawn to clarify national strategic intention, identify government work emphasis, and guide market behaviour in the country (NEWSGD.com, 2006).  It is slated to affect key industries not only related to manufacturing and retail, but even agriculture, environment, and land management as well, particularly as to how the latter is affected by urbanization and industrialization (China Internet Information Center, 2004).

Included in the projects slated under the Eleventh Five-Year Plan are several MIS initiatives which were structured to assist in the reform development efforts of China for the 21^st century.  These MIS initiatives will be examined in this paper, focusing especially on the comprehensive RFID plan slated for the nation under the Eleventh Five-Year Plan.

2. Objectives and Significance of the Study

The research paper will seek to examine the impact of management information systems (MIS) on the development of China for the 21^st century.  It will examine how MIS initiatives particularly under the Eleventh Five-Year Plan in place in China can assist and even hinder the social and economic development for the nation.  In particular, one of the objectives of the paper is to review the comprehensive RFID plan, which is one of the six major IT initiatives set forth under the Eleventh Five-Year Plan.

The study is relevant in that the comprehensive RFID plan, and MIS in general, is expected to have significant impact in key industries in China such as manufacturing and retail.  The comprehensive MIS based on RFID is expected to improve trade and commerce, and to reduce costs for enterprises, as well as improve supply chain management in the country.  It is also expected to improve support and project monitoring systems in areas such as health care, education, agriculture, environment, and land management.

1. The Eleventh Five-Year Plan in China
2. Six Major Information Technology Projects under the Eleventh Five-Year Plan

In the National Information Technology Application Work Conference 2005, held in Chongqing, the Ministry of Information Industry (MII) of China announced their decision to promote six major information technology (IT) projects during the subsistence of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan.  Pursuant to the Eleventh Five-Year Plan, these six projects are aimed at helping to improve China’s economic development for the years 2006 through.

These projects will cover sectors such as agriculture, industry, online security, household information construction, emergency service systems in cities, and comprehensive management information systems based on radio frequency distribution (RFID).   An example of one of the six projects is the digital home entertainment project which involves the integration of electronic home appliances (such as television sets, computers and mobiles phones) with water, gas, and power supply agencies in order to provide pre-warning systems.

  The project also includes the development of an anti-fatigue software system that will monitor young people and prevent them from spending too much time playing games online (ChinaTechNews.com, 2005; openspectrum.info, 2005).

One of the projects under the Eleventh Five-Year Plan is the development of China’s high-tech industrial structure, which involves the extension of high-tech industries from processing and assembling to independent research and development (R & D).  The project aims to form leading industries with core competence, a group of industrial bases with concentration effect, and to establish a batch of transnational high-tech companies.

  The R & D approach will be scientific in order to enhance innovation in high-tech features.  Innovation in fact will be the central feature for Beijing’s new industrial policy under the Eleventh Five-Year Plan.  In the past, China’s approach to economic development was based on exports and labor-intensive production with a low value-added.   Now, the country aims to become a world leader in scientific research and high-tech production (Bordonaro, 2006).

Focusing now on strategic high technology is for the purpose of ensuring national security, among other benefits to development expected from this endeavour.   Strategic high technology, which is technology with key strategic significance, would reflect China’s innovative capabilities.   The medium and long term plan will ultimately use IT to boost industrialization, foster a new growth point in the areas of sustainable development including strategic energy and high-technology areas such as biotechnology, and speed up development of innovative capabilities in fields which involve national security (such as aerospace and lasers, for instance).

Prior to the Eleventh Five-Year Plan, China launched Program 863 in 1986, which was the nation’s key national high technology research and development program.   As part of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan, China has begun implementing a series of policies meant to encourage the industrialization of high technology enterprises (Asia Times Online, 2006).

The six IT projects were developed in line with adjusting China’s development mode and to ultimately aid in better addressing the expanding wealth gap in the country.   They are meant to help on improving social services, and economic growth.  Pursuant to the Eleventh Five-Year Plan, these IT projects will contribute in providing for a more balance and high-efficiency development in China (People’s Daily Online, 2005).

2. Comprehensive MIS based on RFID

Much of the growth in the RFID systems revenues for the global market is expected to come from China.  Its comprehensive management information system based on RFID, part and parcel of the country’s Eleventh Five-Year Plan.  By way of background, RFID systems consist of four components: 1) a transponder or tag; 2) a reader; 3) a database; and 4) a software program.   Tags, which can be passive or active, are attached or embedded in an object requiring identification, such as a payment instrument used in stores.

RFID technology is known to help improve handling efficiencies, traceability, and immediacy of data capture.  It helps businesses to maximize operating income through reducing capital costs.  RFID tags allows for reduced order cycle times, manual inventory counts, and maximizes shipping and receiving efficiencies.   Overall, the strengths of this technology is that it optimizes assets by reducing inventory and improving forecast accuracy, in addition to enhancing safety and quality control (Stakelbeck, “RFID: New markets”, 2006).

China has taken major steps in making use of this technology through its comprehensive MIS project under the Eleventh Five-Year Plan.  In February 2006, Analysis International, a Beijing-based information services provider, reported that China’s RFID market grew 8.6% in the fourth quarter of the year 2005.  The report indicated that most of the growth focused in the identification card and public transportation sectors (Stakelbeck, “RFID: New markets”, 2006).

The country’s RFID market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 33% with sufficient government support and promotion of RFID technology (Stakelbeck, “South Asian spying”, 2005).  As it turns out, the Chinese government has not been negligent in capitalizing on the growth and benefits of RFID technology.

In 1993, prior to the Eleventh Five-Year Plan, the Chinese government launched the “Golden Card” project, which promoted the use of credit cards through individual identification cards with embedded RFID chips.  Following up on this project, more than 900 million RFID-enabled identification cards are expected to be issued by the end of the year 2008 (Stakelbeck, “RFID: New markets”, 2006).  Now, the Eleventh Five-Year Plan includes a comprehensive RFID project as one of China’s six major IT projects, as earlier mentioned in this paper.

In the country, RFID China has been the first conference providing comprehensive RFID technology information from leading technology suppliers, and in showcasing a comprehensive suite of RFID technologies and applications in the country  (Texas Instruments, 2004).

In December 2005, during the Global RFID Summit held in Beijing, China, the China RFID Alliance was announced to an estimated of 300 global IT enterprises.  This new alliance is closely connected to several government departments in China, including the Goods Management Division of the Ministry of Information Industry and the China Information Industry Business Operation.  To support this announcement, China included the comprehensive RFID plan as one of its six major IT initiatives under its Eleventh Five-Year Plan (Stakelbeck, “South Asian spying”, 2005).

This year, in furtherance of its comprehensive RFID plan, much of the emphasis for development has been in the improvement of supply chain management for China’s manufacturing sector.   Manhattan Associates Inc., a U.S.-based supply chain solutions provided, worked with Proview International Holdings Ltd. to deploy RFID applications at its Shenzhen, China manufacturing plant.

Manhattan Associates will embed RFID labels on products manufactured by Proview before these products are shipped to retail distribution centers.  Manhattan Associates installed the software platforms called EPC Manager and Integration Manager, and were integrated with Proview’s legacy distribution applications.  RFID readers would then collect the data read from the tags, with the information flowing from the readers into Manhattan Associates’ EPC Manager wherein the data is stored.

The data is then integrated back to Proview’s legacy systems to generate reports for internal use for the retailer.  As such, Proview is the first RFID solution rolled out in China by Manhattan Associates, and the first of its kind under the Eleventh Five-Year Plan.   Other companies such as Oracle, SAP AG, and Microsoft are still negotiation with customers in China in order to deploy RFID-based applications in the country since RFID in China is a developing market for manufacturing.

According to a recent study by Markets and Research, RFID use in China’s consumer market will be at an estimated $ 627 million (or 5.059 billion Yuan) by the year 2009.  As of 2004, RFID use stood at only $ 150 million or 1.2 billion Yuan (Sullivan, “Supply Chain Solutions”, 2006).  This increase in revenue is expected to help boost China’s manufacturing and retail sector.

1. Benefits of RFID to China’s Economy

Currently, the ports in Hong Kong and Shenzhen in China use RFID systems to manage cargo shipments.  In 2006, Beijing Capital International Airport announced its plans to use an RFID system for outbound luggage transport and security checks.   The technology has also been considered used widely in China’s retail sector, with an estimate of 5 trillions tags to be used annually within the next several years, according to a study by Research and Markets, an international market research firm (Stakelbeck, “RFID: New markets”, 2006).

Another benefit on the use of RFID would be in improving supply chain management for China’s vast manufacturing sector.  Costs associated with tags, equipment and services are expected to decrease, thereby making the technology more affordable for small businesses in the country (Stakelbeck, “RFID: New markets”, 2006).  Thus, the significant benefit of RFID technology to China’s manufacturing industry is that moving processes to manufacturing facilities is more cost effective when tags are used in the production line, instead of shipping the products to the United States or other countries and then tagging them there.

Instead of tagging them elsewhere, the tags are then applied in the nation’s own manufacturing plants, made possibly through the reduction of prices of these tags (Sullivan, “Supply Chain Solutions”, 2006).  Edward Zeng, founder of SparkiceLab, a business-to-business global commerce provider, predicts that half of all RFID tags will be sold in East Asia by 2010, and points out why this initiative is especially beneficial and apt for China since the country “is the world’s manufacturing hub.  It is ‘ground zero’ for innovations and applications in the development of manufacturing infrastructure and capabilities.  China is a starting point for a huge chunk of global supply-chain” (Stakelbeck, “RFID: New markets”, quoting Zeng, 2006).

The comprehensive RFID plan is expected to assist in the development of education in the country as well.   Jimei University Library in Xiamen, China, plans to install RFID in its main library on campus with the help of Shanghai RFID System Technology Co. Ltd. And UPM Raflatac.   The two providers will initially deliver 300,000 RFID tags which are expected to: a) reduce theft while allowing patrons to check out books and other media; and b) speed up the sorting process for library items, so that books and other items are returned to the shelves quicker, with less time spent in taking inventory by the personnel at Jimei University Library (Sullivan, “China University”, 2006).

1. Issues in Implementation

Although the introduction of RFID technology in China promises positive results for many of the sectors targeted in the comprehensive RFID project, significantly for the manufacturing sectors, several obstacles are also apparent.   Technical difficulties involving the placement of tags, transponder read-rate accuracy, patent-infringement lawsuits, large numbers of trial applications, and market trends caused by over-hyping of the RFID technology, all contributed to some difficulties during the early implementation stages of the RFID plan (Stakelbeck, “RFID: New markets”, 2006)

Another issue involves China’s continued effort to introduce its own RFID national standard.   The government has decided to reject the widely accepted Electronic Product Code (EPC) standard, which is a tag serial-numbering system promoted by EPCGlobal for international use, in order to avoid payment of expensive royalties. This is viewed as a major hindrance to global standardization.  The primary hindrance to developing a national standard has been disagreements among concerned parties within the country and the ability of China’s national standard to operate with the three other international standards, which are ISO/IEC 18000, EPCGlobal and Ubiquitous ID.

One potential problem in developing its own RFID national standard is that China’s may be in conflict with supply chain mandates of foreign companies such as Wal-Mart, Target and Tesco.  This will result in serious interoperability issues for these giants in China.  Wal-Mart, especially, has already endorsed the existing EPC standard, and this may cause problems if China pushes with its own RFID national standard since Wal-Mart has already purchased approximately $ 20 billion of Chinese products as of 2005 (Stakelbeck, “RFID: New markets”, 2006).

Significant issues related to RFID technology in China would be from the legal, ethical and privacy aspects.  It is not clear which government agency in China will be responsible for the collection and maintenance of RFID-related data.  This would make it difficult for a Chinese citizen to pursue legal action if he or she feels that their privacy has been violated (Stakelbeck, “RFID: New markets”, 2006).

According to Dr. “Rocky” Shih, a Chinese government representative in the 2005 RFID World Conference, China is expected to issue more than 1 billion active RFID identifications cards – one for each Chinese citizen.  An estimated 3 million hand-held RFID readers will also be issued by the government – one for each police officer in China.

This raises issues on the possibility of government-sanctioned abuses, particularly in relation to how the government will use RFID technology to monitor the activities of political dissidents, religious figures, scientists, university professors, and military personnel.   This threat continues to overshadow RFID technology development in China simply because the country continues to be Communist-controlled (Stakelbeck, “South Asian spying”, 2005).

1. Conclusion

MIS is expected to have a significant impact to the development of China in the 21^st century.  The Chinese government has realized the importance of this field when it included six major IT projects within its Eleventh Five-Year Plan.   One of the most relevant of the six projects, in relation to management information systems, is the comprehensive MIS plan based on RFID, or the comprehensive RFID plan, under the Eleventh Five-Year Plan.  The comprehensive RFID plan is expected to primarily help improve the development of China’s manufacturing and retail sector.

The RFID plan is expected to reduce costs and increase profits, as well as improve supply chain management particularly for manufacturing.  It strengthens China’s participation in efficient supply-chain management, visibility and adaptability in the global market. The main issues involved in RFID technology are standardization and privacy.

Thee Chinese government’s intention of developing its own RFID national standard, which may not be consistent with standards already used by major foreign companies already doing business with China, may prove to be a hindrance to global supply chain efficiencies.  Likewise, privacy concerns among Chinese citizens continue with the fear of government officials monitoring their private conversations and activities through the personal ID tracking system implemented not only on ordinary citizens but police officers in the country as well.  This is an issue that China has yet to address, since RFID technology promises huge rewards for its social and economic development.

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In 2008, P&G has become a company with the 6th biggest market value, and has a sale of approximately $45 billion. In 1988, P&G entered the market in the Great China Area due to the potential customers and profits hidden behind it. Up to this date, P&G has established 0 joint ventures and proprietorship in major cities like Guanos, Beijing, Tannin, Shanghai, etc. In this dissertation, we will carefully analyze its international operations in the Great China Area and examine the factors that made its success. We will first analyze the reasons why it entered China in the first place by looking into different aspects of China’s overall image.

Then, we are going to look further into the operational strategy it uses to keep itself functioning. We will also examine the procedure of how it manages its staffing across the sea and hires local employees. Besides, we will talk about TTS marketing strategies in the Great China Area market by looking into the ops (Products, Price, Promotion and Place) of P China and P Hong Kong. Reasons to enter the Great China Area It is reasonable and necessary for international corporations such as P to enter the Great China Area market. Reasons as following: Increase the sale; Decrease the cost; Increase the popularity; Meanwhile, it is also really important to analyze the risks for entering the market.

Here is the risk assessment for entering the great China market. The risk assessment based on following six elements: political stability–the stability of politics and overspent, the more stable the better; market chances–the number of customers and the purchase power of customers, the higher the better; economic development and achievement–the growth of economic and the expectation for the future, the higher the better; legal impediment-?the restriction from the law, the less the better; physical impediment–the restriction from resources, the less the better; differences in terms of culture- -to what extent is the domestic culture different from foreign cultures.

The political stability in China: China is a socialist country and always controlled by en regime–the communist party of China. The government has high control in the country and do not need to worry about other regime within the country. Therefore, the political stability in China is good for investing. The market chances in China: China owns the biggest population in the world. The potential market in China is huge, especially when the need for imported goods grows so fast in recent years in China. The economic development and achievement in China: China keep growing fast in recent year and the growth rate keeps rising. In 2007, the GAP growth rate was 1 1. 4, and the GAP as 24. 6619 trillion dollars.

In 2008, the GAP rise to 30 trillion dollars. According to the data in terms of GAP and the growth rate, the economic environment in China is appropriate. The legal impediment in China: China’s legal system is new in the world after the reform. There are some bugs on laws exist in China and some people or company utilize it, and there are some unreasonable laws exist. However, the Chinese legality system keeps improving and the relative laws to foreign company are always good for investors. In terms of legality system of China, it is good for entering and investing. The physical impediment in China: the land area in China is 960 million square kilometers which ranks 4th in the world.

China is also a main energy import and export country in the world, with the north temperate zone having the most. Overall, China owned lots of resources and has potential. The difference in terms of cultures: There are many differences between the eastern culture and the western culture. China is a socialist country and most western countries are capitalist country. The language is also a problem, Chinese is one of the most difficult languages in the world ND the Chinese culture is the oldest culture olives in the world. Nowadays Chinese are willing to touch new culture and lean new technologies. The culture difference could be a problem meeting in China.

Overall, China as a stable-politics country with high growth rate is a talented market and the risk for entering is acceptable. Operational strategies of P&G China Procter & Gamble (P&G) entered Chinese market in 1988, P&G and Hutchison Hampton LTD. Had a joint venture together and invested Procter & Gamble China LTD. Company with 70% and 30% company share respectively. P&G takes advantages from the joint venture P&G china Ltd. The company has more stable financial resources and larger economies of scale. More importantly, could share risk with its partner initially in an unfamiliar international market. P&G China set its headquarter in Guanos. It cooperated with its first partner for operation—–the Guanos soap factory Ltd.

P&G China kept the factory core product, Joshua brand shampoo, and bought out its rest products and stop the production. This local partner is very helpful to P&G. Guanos soap factory has its own production factory, mature supply networks, good local brand reputation, some profitable reduces and local distribution and sale networks. Moreover, Guanos soap factory has connection with Guanos government which helps receive supports and benefits from government. From the current point, this is one successful case for international cooperation. P&G China did adequate marketing research for Chinese market. The company firstly chooses some product categories which has lower entry restrictions such as hair care products, skin care products.

Meanwhile these product categories are very profitable and have huge growth space with perspective of market development and product development. This is one of the important reasons why China could continue growing in a fast speed after it entered China. In order to save cost, increase profit and better control operation, P&G was looking for more local partners to produce its products. So far, P&G owns or controls more than 1 0 subsidiary corporations around China area especially in big cities such as Beijing, shanghai, Changed etc. P&G learnt a lot from its first partner—- Guanos soap factory, the company selects its partners with requirements.

That is the partner company should be in small size but could fill gaps in P&G’s value chain. In this way, first of all, P could use its size and brand reputation easily control or take the major part in the corporation to keep its operating stability. Then, P could use partners resources for local production, distribution or even social networks and more. Two companies could arrange a co-specialization situation. However, P also had problems from its partners especially in the area of washing powder. For example, the cooperation with Beijing second daily chemical factory. The factory used to have its panda brand washing powder products.

After the factory joined P and became P panda washing powder factory, the reduce and brand were kept. During the operation, the factory campaniles that P smaller its brand logo image on the product which may affect its brand reputation and consumer reputation. On the other hand, some employees left the factory and set up their own Company to produce similar products as panda brand washing powder product which involves within copyright issues. Similar problems happened when P China cooperate with Changed oil chemical factory. P china should do more research about the culture of Chinese companies. They are very protective about their own brand and reputation.

They are afraid of losing control, and lots of facts show that they may use illegal methods to “protect” their profits. The lessons P learnt from failure cooperation will help them gain experience and better collaborate with Chinese companies. China could not be successful without its efficient and effective distribution and sale strategies. We mentioned, P has many local partners around China and the company used its size and big brands take over the control in the corporation. In this way, P can fully use local partners distribution network resources without influence. P has different progress and use different methods for underside market and urban market.

The marketing teams are better specialized and tasks are more specific. The operation will be more efficient and effective for different markets. Work with distribution partners. The company has both whole sale partners and retailer partners. P formulates concrete policy to benefit both types of partners. And the company is currently seeking corporation with big franchisee retailers such as Walter. P has a complete and mature system to manage its distribution network. Logistics Management P has a chosen a reliable third party logistics service provider to be in hare of almost all of its products’ distribution-?Bagging Logistics Group.

With the special “door-to -door” service and the principle Of “Customer comes first”, Bagging has built a big logistics operating network throughout China for P&G, and by having thousands of well-trained workers performing the “door-to-door” service to consumers, it saves P&G 6 million every year of cost on logistics. Inventory Management Fist of all, having a good sale on its products implies that it has to control every kind of its goods at an acceptable quantity, for example, P&G cannot increase the production of Durable intensively just because it is earning none, because it has a high externally cost to the environment, which government will raise the price of it. If P&G is having too much inventory of Durable batteries while the price of it is increasing at the same time, the sale will see an instant drop, and this gap between production and consumers’ will to purchase it would even lead to diminishing of the brand.

Therefore, P has to conduct very serious speculation and forecast before it decides how much inventory it is going to have. Vendor-Managed Inventory is the strategy P prefers to use when it comes to dealing with inventories in Great China Area, a market with tens of thousands of suppliers. The vendors has an agreed inventory of P’s products kept in their through the communication with the provider through a information system, EDI (Electronic Data Interchange). In this information system, effective and useful information is exchanged between the producers(I. E. , P&G) and the vendors, so P&G will know when a vendor needs more inventory in his store and can make quick adjustment to it.

In this process, a third party logistics providers can also be involved and adjust and demand and supply to ensure the vendors has the squired level of inventory, which greatly reduce the cost of the transferring of the inventory. Human resource management of China Richard Duper, the former CEO of P&G, once said: ” If you leave our warehouses, money and our brand here, but take away our men, we will be nothing; however, if you take away all our warehouses, money and our brand but leave our men, we will rise again. ” P&G has entered Chinese market since 1988, more than 25 years. It currently has more than 7000 employees around great China area.

Effective human resource management is one of the keys that made P&G China’s success. But how exactly does P manage its staffs exactly? Systematic Advantage Localize its team: back in 1 988, P China has more foreign employees than Chinese, but now 98% of P China’ employees are local people. Local teams could help better fit into local market and save labor costs. However, P&G still keeps its core positions for foreign employees. For example, the research and develop department, most positions in top management. In this way, P&G ensure it fully control the company and make strategy decisions. Efficient training system: P&G has standard and complete training system for its employees globally.

The training helps every local employee understand the job itself and the company. Therefore, employee could better understand how could they contribute the company and have better career opportunities. Nice working environment and transparent rewards and punishment system: P&G try to build nice working environment for its employees. The company set standard for employee treatment and try to build friendly and fair company culture to raise its employ satisfaction. Therefore, employees are more motivated and they have higher loyalty for the company. Meanwhile, has a transparent rewards and punishment system in order to keep employees’ motivation.

Selection system: P has very complete employee selecting system and the company is willing to train inexperienced youths. It has connections with various education institutions around great China area. International Staffing Local hiring P owns more than 50 branches in China, and every branch is open for the first round of employment. P does not need the person to have the matching experience for the job position that he is applying for, however, basic concept and professional skills is required. After filtering the original applicants, the remaining applicants will be sent to P’s headquarter in Guanos for the second round, and also the last round of the interview.

In order to make sure that the interview is unbiased and legitimate, at least 3 managers from headquarter in China are required for every interview. Also, given the fact that all the applicants need to spend a considerable amount of money, not matter living near or far from Guanos, all the expenses for every applicant are covered by China. The interview can be broken into four parts: Icebreakers, Questioning, Information Exchange and Final Appraisal. The Questioning stage is when the famous P&G’s Eight Questions re asked. The questions are made by Human Resource Department in P’s headquarter in US, however, the way they are tested is different in the Great Chain Area.

According to our interview in P&G Hong Kong, the facial expression and the logics behind an applicant’s answer are what matter the most while in the IIS the completion and structure of the answer are major considerations, as P is trying to make its employees match to standard for even surpass the standard P set for its employees around the world.. In the Great China Area, the hiring of staff also follows the same principle that he company is always trying to emphasize: The quality and moral of the person comes first. Fresh graduates from a first-class university in China, due to their flexibility and competitiveness, are the type of applicants that P China adores the most. The data has shown that 90% of the new employees are university graduates from all over China.

Expatriate Once an applicant is officially an employee of P China, a series of complicated and motivating training await for them. Due to the flexibility of college students, it is usually very easy for them to absorb the management mode and thinking model quickly. As a result, spends an average Of $30 million on over 1 00 expatriated staffs every year from US in order to better instill the values of the company into employees’ mind. For the expatriated employees, most of them are native American workers at managerial level, they are transferred to China mainly to train the “new born” employees, give managers at positions suggestions and be in charge of the interviews of applicants. Due to the great staff welfare policy P&G has, managers from U.

S are given a big increase on their salary for “compensation”, as they have to be exposed to a completely different culture ND pay more tax give that they are working in two places. However, because of the increasing caliber and standard of Chinese managers, a lot of them are actually being sent to headquarter in Ohio, U. S for further development. Data has shown that an average of 100 Chinese managers and 10 managers from Hong Kong are sent to U. S every year. Marketing strategies of P&G China Products The products of household care category that P&G offered in the Great China Area vary according to different regions. For example, in the mainland market and Hong Kong market, the following items are available as shown: China Hong Kong

Detergent Ariel, Tide FAA Battery Durable Diaper pampers Pampers Indoor Fragrance Iambi Purr As can be seen from the data given, the types of household care products are quite different be;en China and Hong Kong. After our analysis, the following factors can give rise to this situation. Demographical Difference As a country With a huge population, China generates a great demand for basic household care product, I. E. , detergent. As a result, more kinds of detergent are expected in the Chinese market. Also, with more people from rural areas entering the city nowadays, detergents with a lower price (Tide, Ariel) compared to FAA are more accepted. Beside this, the increasing variety of people in China mainland indicates a more diverse demand when it comes to daily-use products.

Hong Kong, on the other hand, tends to have a much smaller and less diverse population, therefore the need generated for many kinds of detergent is not very intensive. Also, Hong Kong has launched some of its own local brands ( e. G. , FUD(Axe), Lagoon) for batteries and detergent that already established great trust among consumers, making it harder for P&G to have many brands to compete with them. Psychological Difference As said before, with the increasing variety of Chinese population, people are starting to have different demands and options on the kind of detergent they purchase as a result of the different kinds of fabrics and clothing materials they have. The increase of the demand implies that there need to be a more complex system of commodities, especially in detergent.

However, when it comes to Hong Kong, as said before, the small population has somehow unified people’s need for multiple brands; besides, it is worth-mentioning that as a city that represents the modern culture and financial business activities, Hong Kong folks tend to care more about their personal image appearing to others, and this is mainly why there exists the demand for an indoor fragrance product (Iambi Purr) in Hong Kong. Price Price is an extremely important and most uncertain factor in the market. A setting of a price is to increase a product’s sale and generate profits for it. A good pricing strategy combines both the consideration of its own cost and consumers’ affordability, and is a reflection of the variable market as well. Being a company known for its reasonable prices, P has unique pricing strategies for its household care products.

First of all, having segmented the market, P launched different sizes of detergent and charge them with different price to cater needs for detergent and batteries from different levels. For Tide 360, three kinds of package are being introduced to the market: 2. 9 for egg(an average of Y 0. 97 /keg) ; YE. 9 for egg (Y 10. 5 /keg) and 15. 9 for 1. Keg (Y 9. 6 /keg). To capture the market in less developed areas, P has produced an “economical package” of 34. 8 for 5 keg ( 6. 96 / keg). What is more, due to the wider spread of thriftiness, P uses odd-even pricing more intensively in the Great China Area than it does the North America. In a supermarket, prices like Y 2. 9 , *11. 9 can often be seen when we look at some of the batteries and detergents sells, in order to make consumers consciously think that the price is collaboratively set after a series of considerations, and thus view the items as cheaper and a lot more worth- buying. Also, for products like Pampers, aims to use skimming pricing strategy to maintain its market place. Targeting at groups with higher income, this strategy makes Pampers more expensive than the rest, thus creating the feeling among consumers that Pampers are better than other reduces in terms of quality standards, effects and values. It is also worth- mentioning that with this strategy applied to shampoos such as Heads , Swanson, P has made an instant success, gathered larger group of consumers and increased the customers’ loyalty by a great deal.

Last but not least, P&G sets its price by paying a great deal of attention to the moving direction of its competitors, mostly from Milliner, to say in other words: is constantly adjusting its price according to the movement from Milliner in order to remain competitive in the field. In 2013, due to the economic downturn in the Great China Area, Milliner has been forced to lower its price in order to keep the original consumers they have. The price of a egg package Mom, a leading brand in detergent owned by Milliner, has decreased from YE to Y 33. 4 , half as expensive as it used to be. As a result of this practice, P&G decreases the price of Tide of the same package from 38 to Y 32 , a little bit less than Milliner, just to keep getting hold of the market.

As we can see from above, low price strategy is also an important strategy that helps P&G to stay firmly in the business. Note: American Dollar 1 = Y 6. 206; Canadian Dollar $ 1= *5. 780 Promotion As one of the strongest and most competitive commodity company in the world, what sort of promotion techniques should P&G have in order to generate new demand and face the challenges from the variable Chinese market? Increasing the number of its brands. Up to this date, P&G has over 300 brands covering fashion industry, health, household care products, cosmetics, perfume and food, etc. With a large coverage in the market, P&G does a great job in bringing in everyone’s attention.

Also, Sometimes, the brands in competition with each other are tooth from P, making profit for What is more, due to the trust built in customers in Chinese market, it is very easy for P to sweep out other local brands and develop at a steady pace. Advertisement For large companies aiming for the whole market, advertising is without a doubt a very useful “weapon” for the company’s growth In long stand. A good advertisement cannot only bring the company massive profits, but can also build a good brand image for the company as a whole. Large amount Of investment In 2011, P&G spent Y 33. 26 billion in the Great China Area, over six times than what it had spent ten years ago.

Besides, it is worth-mentioning that the total expenditure on advertisement in 2011 was *55. 89 billion , indicating that views the Great China Area as a very important market. It is shown that among ten brands with the most advertising expenditure in 2005, half of them are P&G’s brands. Appropriate and effective content The common technique it uses is by comparison: the person in the clip will usually show the difference between P and other brands. Tide and Durable are typical examples for this; Also, P will have a professional presenting the daily problems, and then provide the solution by introducing a ewe product. Oral-B in the health category is an example of this technique.

Both techniques successfully capture consumers’ needs and make them want P&G’s products even more. Good choice of people Having a person everyone loves in the advertisement certainly means more people will start thinking about the products, and P is always wisely choosing the person in the advertisement to make sure it generates a great effect in its potential market. Philanthropy as another advocating method In 2007, donated *7. 5 million to China Education Development Foundation, initiating the “Quantifications]ahoy” (National Healthy Education Plan); In 2010, spent another million on aiding China Social Welfare Foundation, mainly for letting children from less developed area have a better Children’s Day (Novo. 10th); From 2007 to 2009, P&G has donated 4 million three times consecutively to Project Hope in order to help kids who cannot finish school in China; In total, P&G has donated to build 131 elementary schools in China from 1 991 to 2008, and it has been planning to build 200 by the end of 2010. Etc. Place On Gag 18th1988, entered China as a join venture with two soap companies and a foreign trade corporation in Guanos. After two months, Head& Shoulders, the first brand P&G has in the Great China Area, was launched, and in only two months, more than 95% Of the population in Guanos has known the brand. After twenty years of development, P&G has now become the biggest commodities company with a sale of almost 18 billion every year in the Great China Area, making China the second largest market throughout P&G’s global operation.

When P first entered China, China was still going through the stage of reformation and opening up. Gudgeon Province, where Guanos is at, was one of the few regions that darted trading with other countries, which provided a great deal of opportunity for foreign companies like and Milliner. Studies have shown that an estimated value of 26. 2 billion dollar per year is created solely from foreign direct investment during the period between 1979 and 2007, while in 2007 the FED was even increased to 74. 8 billion dollar. Also, it cannot be denied that the caring policies towards the infrastructures and resource allocation are another major reason why P chose Guanos.

With the construction of industrial areas and the introduction of less tax to companies, P saved a great amount of money on the start up cost, and thus was able to develop at a faster and steadier pace. Besides these, Guanos, as a terminal in the Peking- Guanos Railway, Guanos can provide P with a convenient distribution system and provide guarantee to the allocation of P’s products throughout coastal areas in China. Summary P&G chooses enter China, an emerging market and place of resources. P&G keeps the growth of its economies of scale, increases revenue and decreases cost.

Globalization, which is the process of enabling financial and investment markets to be operated widely and internationally, usually refers to the increasing global relationships of culture, people, and economic activities (Simon. J, 2002). It is generally used to represent economic globalization including the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as export fees, and import quotas.

Globalization has become one of the most talked about debates of the past 10 years and as been the subject of numerous books and videos and the cause of many global demonstrations in most of the major cities all over the world” (Simon. J, 2002). This essay will first describe the background and situation of China with the effect of globalization. Then it will evaluate the positive and negative effects of globalization in China. Finally, there will be a conclusion about the globalization in China. China has shocked the world over the last two decades with a rapid growth and globalization has played an key role during the period.

Dauderstadt M, (2005) commented that China had become the world’s economic power-house but still needed years to become the world’s largest economy even though it already ranked second after the USA by being measured in purchasing power parity(PPP). However, before reform, China was a world’s well-known opponent of globalization. At that time, it opposed both global economic and political orders. Furthermore, it refused to cooperate with the major global institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank. Till 1966 when the Cultural Revolution happened, China started setting foot on the way to globalization.

After carrying out the policy of reformation and opening under the guidance of Deng Xiaoping, China realised the necessity of globalization. Globalization has made a significant positive effect on China’s economy so that people have a totally different life in modern cities today. China is a developing country. And with the process of reformation and opening and in-depth socialistic modernisation, China is becoming increasingly closer to the world’s whole economy. To be sure, globalization has three main positive effects on China. First of all, globalization ontributes to attracting foreign investment for the opening to the whole world. For western countries, China’s development has provided a huge market for them.

At present, China has become one of the world’s biggest investment countries via foreign trade, and basically it is a country with complete inflow of capital. Second, globalization helps with the expansion of external trade. With more than 20 years’ efforts, external trade has become an important increasing point of China’s domestic economy. Overholt (2005) commented that about a quarter of economic growth every year depends on the external trade with China.

Third, globalization is helpful with absorbing rural surplus labour force (Dauderstadt M, 2005). So far, China is still a less-developed country with a large population. In the process of industrialisation, large rural population and surplus labour force are a serious problem to solve all the time. However, in recent years, the success of a great many township enterprises and the development of joint ventures have brought a chance to transfer rural labour force. Compared with creating opportunities, globalization inevitably brings some challenges as well. Some of them are already evident, and some have not yet fully exposed.

Based on our understanding, there are four main aspects. First, globalization has created sections and spaces for developed countries to seek higher profits. With huge differences in economy, globalization has widened the gap of national income between developed countries and developing countries, which we are unlikely to lessen effectively during a period of time. Second, globalization can help developed countries to build the basis of international economy and trade with the centre of themselves. China will be put in a passive position in industrial development with their powerful economy and technology.

Zha (2003) demonstrated that although foreign capital can drive developments of some domains in China, it cannot drive the development of China’s whole industry. Third, globalization has strengthened economic transfer and synchronisation (Overholt, 2005). Large amount of idle fund from Western countries is likely to shock China’s financial market, and even trigger a financial crisis. Fourth, economic globalization helps Western developed countries to promote political globalization, and use political methods to control global economy. It becomes a big threat to China, which is a developing socialistic country.

In conclusion, globalization has made significant contributions to China’s economy, although it has several negative effects which might result in serious problems in some areas such as economy and environment. With the influence of world’s development, generally globalization is inevitable as a historic process (Simon J. , 2002). For developing China, in my point of view, participating in globalization is a means of development, rather than a purpose. China just needs to achieve the goals of developing productivity, developing economy and developing socialistic system by means of globalization.

Impact of Economic Development and regional security on International relations and Regionalism in the Asia Pacific

Introduction

            The Asia-Pacific region covers countries found in Southeast Asia, East Asia, Oceania and Australasia .Sometimes Russia which is on the eastern coast of the Pacific Ocean in considered to be part of the region. This area has managed to achieve great economic development, which has made the East Asian countries’ rapid economic growth to be referred as the “Asian Miracle”. In addition, security has become a very critical issue for economic development of the region which has won the admiration of other countries.  As countries in the region continue to experience economic growth, the issue of security is considered to be very important for regional stability and economic growth (Brzezinski, 2004). East and South East Asian countries have a very significant role to play in economic development and security in Asia Pacific and other parts of the world. As a result, efforts by Asian Pacific nations to promote security, regional stability and to increase economic development have affected international relations in Asia Pacific as well as regionalism.  Since the 1980s, the economics of the heterogeneous region have prospered and this has increased economic and political interactions, trade and capital flow at a regional and global level. In this paper, how economic development and security concerns have affected international relations and Asia Pacific regionalism will be discussed.

Discussion

How economic development has affected international relations and regionalism in the Asia Pacific

            In Asia Pacific, most governments consider economic development a priority.  This has had great influence on how the countries relate with others at a regional and international level.  The efforts by the countries to seek economic interdependence and growth  in trade has played a major role in economic  growth of the region (Axline,1994).As a result, economic cooperation  and trade relations between the  United States and some countries in the region especially the East Asian nations has promoted good  relations.  The United States has been a source commodities as well as a market for exports from some Asia Pacific countries. For instance, the good relations between the US and East Asian countries has been promoted by the fact that the US offers a principal market for exports from these nations. Furthermore, the US can be viewed to be the cornerstone of international relations that affect economy at a global level hence the Asian Pacific countries enjoy the security and economic cooperation provided by the US.  By adopting a more market oriented economy, Asia Pacific countries have managed to establish economic cooperation and trade relations between them and with other countries in Asia, Europe and America.  Due to the some Asia Pacific economies that now competes with other developed countries in America and Europe, countries such as China has become very significant in international politics and global economy.  As a result, it has become active in various multilateral discussions and settings.  Due to China’s great influence in the international system, it influences the relations between Asia Pacific nations and the rest of the world.

            Asian Pacific countries have realized that developing good relations with other countries while maintaining peace and stability in the region is very important for economic development and security (Dutta, 1999). Therefore, these countries have continued to develop friendly relations with their neighbors and with the other great powers within and outside the region.  For instance, China has been involved in efforts to improve state relations with India, Japan and Russia. This aims at achieving a peaceful rise in the region by accommodating and accepting its neighbors. Economic prosperity in nations such as Russia, Japan and China compliment military strength. The growth of Asia Pacific economies has reduced the great influence of superpowers such as the US in the region. China and Japan have been enjoying the benefits of burgeoning economic ties.  However, there are some resolved tensions between these two great East Asian countries that are considered to threaten the stability of the region if they remain unresolved.  As China’s military strength increases and the presence of a threatening North Korea in the region becomes evident, the United States alliance with Japan has promoted strategic stability in the region and Sino-Japanese relations.

            The recognition that a peaceful international environment is necessary for economic development has continued to encourage Asia Pacific nations to cultivate good relations with their neighbors and other countries in America and Europe (Gilpin, 2001).  For instance, since the late 1990s, India has become an important participant of the political and economic affairs of the region. In 2000, a break through of India’s relations with the US was witnessed when the two became strategic partners, an issue that has continued to promote cooperation between the two.  In addition, regionalism in Asia Pacific was affected by improved relations between China and India.  When the two embraced CBMS along the border that has been disputed and made efforts to promote the growth of bilateral trade between them, cooperation between them has supported economic regionalism.  The countries have also been compelled to develop good international relations in efforts to ensure there is regional stability and economic prosperity. This has given rise to a pattern of governance that emphasizes on economic cooperation at a regional and international level. Economic cooperation between Asia Pacific and European nations has resulted to good relations between Asia and Europe under the ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) frame work which was launched in 1996.The cooperation has also boosted peace and stability in Asia and Europe and this has created good relations.

                        Some long standing conflict ridden relationships have been put aside in favor of cooperation. The Asia Pacific economic regionalism affects the global trading system hence the regional economic arrangements that have been witnessed among Asia Pacific countries are promoted by the desire to achieve economic prosperity in the region (Brzezinski, 2004).  In East Asia, the market is driven by “open regionalism” which allows countries to export and import commodities to and from other countries.  Regionalism in Asia Pacific is closely linked to economic development of the region and therefore industrialization has played a very significant role in Asian Pacific economic regionalism.  Based on multilateralism and liberalization, most countries in the region have managed to have influence on the GATT/WTO system due to their rapid economic development and relevance in global economy. Due to the export oriented strategy of development, regionalism in Asia Pacific emanates from economic cooperation between the countries.

            Regionalism can have economic and geopolitical benefits to countries that are involved (Rivano and Hosono, 2001).However, regionalism is sometimes seen to be a mechanism for consolidating state power and a resistance to globalization. In cases where economic cooperation is the motive for regionalism, it can facilitate globalization. The Asia Pacific regionalism was initially encouraged by the creation of Japan’s Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere (GEACPS) in 1940.The creation of Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (ASEAN) in 1967 together with the Pacific Basic Economic Council (PBEC) in 1968 also contributed to the formation of regionalism in Asia Pacific. The regional cooperation that aimed at promoting economic development has led to the working together of Asia Pacific countries and because the Asia Pacific regionalism was expected to facilitate high economic growth for the member states,intra-regional interaction has reduced the possibility of conflicts among the states in future.The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation(APEC)has  encouraged regionalism in Asia Pacific( Aggarwal and  Morrison,1998).The launching of APEC in Seoul in 1989 paved way for good international relations between states.Currently,APEC has adopted a more economic role and aims at broadening regional cooperation. For example, APEC has strengthened ties between East Asia and North America. In addition, closer economic relations between Australia, New Zealand and the ASEAN have been witnessed

            For countries close to each other such as those in Asia Pacific, the need to make economic development diverse has made regionalism a good way of developing close economic interests and exchanges.  The regionalism has encouraged domestic reforms that improve economic growth.  Together with multilateralism, regionalism is the two major components of international economic order.  The 1997 currency crisis in Asia paved way for close financial and monetary cooperation after the countries in Asia Pacific realized that there was need for strong economic cooperation to prevent financial crisis.  Efforts by Asian Pacific countries to promote economic cooperation by pursuing free trade Agreements (FTAs) with each other encourage economic regionalism and good relations with the trade partners.  Under the ASEAN +3 framework, countries such as China, Korea and Japan have shown their interest in free trade agreements.

            Asian Pacific regionalism has been considered to be important in global liberalization and economic policies that ensure there is increased economic growth (Svetlicic and   Singer, 1996).  International efforts to have economic cooperation have been witnessed.  Through market integration, countries in the region need to realize economic benefits and to have their world wide trade opportunities increased hence the political governance of the countries have shown political will in strengthening policies  that relate to economic prosperity.  Since developing solutions to the various problems that relate to national development and human survival requires regional cooperation, regionalism in Asia-Pacific has played a role in providing solutions to the problems those countries in this region experience.

Impact of regional security on international relations and regionalism in the Asia Pacific

            Security concerns in Asia Pacific have affected regionalism and international relations in the region. The rise of China and the presence of other great powers in the region has led to competition for power and control.  For a long time, the United States has been a major force in the regions’ politics. The US is concerned about the regional security in Asia Pacific due to its significance to international politics and America’s security. The increasing military strength of China has seen many countries in the region acknowledge the impact that the rise of China has on the political economy and security of the region and the world.  The strategic alliance between the United States and other resident states in the region promotes peace, security and stability in the region. For instance, Japan’s need to maintain good Sino-Japanese relations has led to the development of an alliance with the United States which still remains as one of the world’s super powers. The deep seated and unresolved tensions between countries in the region are viewed to be potential threats to the stability and security of the region and as a result, the countries have made efforts to ensure that conflicts that may lead to insecurity in the region are dealt with (Camilleri, 2005).

            Due to the threat that terrorism poses to security at an international and regional level, Asian Pacific countries are now actively engaged the efforts to achieve peace and stability.  By working together with other foreign countries such as the US and European nations to fight terrorism, the countries have developed diplomatic ties with America and European countries. Promising cooperation and prosperous relations between Asia Pacific and Europe have been established to ensure there is peace and security in the region. For instance, under the United Nations, the two work together to maintain peace and stability at a regional and global level. Korean Peninsula and Taiwan which have been points of conflict in this region are encouraged to seek resolutions to the conflicts (Yahuda, 2004). The American led war against terrorism has provided countries such as China and Russia with an opportunity to work together. These countries to have put a side some of the long standing disagreements to forge cooperation that will end conflicts and fight terrorism.

            After the cold war, countries in this region have been involved in nuclear tests.  This issue has raised concern about security and stability in the region (Holton, 1998).  For instance, India and Pakistan have in the past been involved in nuclear tests while the international community has criticized North Korea’s possession of nuclear weapons.  As the Asian Pacific countries try to deal with possession of nuclear weapons which is a threat to security, stability and economic development of the region, the US and the European community has raised concern about the Korean nuclear question.  In addition, America and the EU have shown interest in working together with Asia Pacific countries to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.  The possibility of these weapons ending up in the hands of terrorist groups has made it necessary for nations to work together to oppose and prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons. China has become a great influence in the region and this has freed it from the military threat of the Soviet Union.  Through Deng Xiaoping emphasis on transformation of China through economic reforms, rapid economic growth and opening up of China to the world, China’s deepened integration within the international community has paved way for good international relations and economic cooperation with the neighbors.

             The creation of ASEAN in 1967 has played a primary role in ensuring there is security and economic cooperation between Asia Pacific countries.  In addition, the formation of the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) was meant to facilitate economic growth and to reduce any prospect of conflicts in the region.  Through strong intra-regional economic, political and social linkages, regionalism and good foreign relations have been achieved. Regional security in Asia Pacific has made it possible for countries to achieve a market driven and outward looking economic / trade strategy.  Although the region has diverse political systems, the ability of the countries to achieve regional cooperation can be attributed to the interests of the countries to maintain peace & security.  Due to the market that Asian Pacific region offers to commodities from developed countries such as the US and Europe, security in the region has encouraged foreign investment and cooperation which has in turn paved way for good international relations.  Because APEC has made it possible for first order states that are outside of Europe to become members, the US which enjoys an economic leverage for being APEC and NAFTA member can develop good relations with Asia Pacific countries.

            Western military alliances such as ANZUS, Five Powers Defecnce Agreement (FPDA) and the US-Japan alliance play an important role in managing potential regional conflicts in Asia-Pacific. The ANZUS has involved the US, Australia and New Zealand in security matters of the region.Furthermore, the need to promote security in the region had the FPDA allow Britain, New Zealand and Australia to maintain military presence in Singapore and Malaysia. ASEAN is a regional forum that encourages Asia Pacific countries to maintain peace and cooperate. This has boosted regionalism in Asia Pacific.Furthermore, ASEAN is considered to be an instrument that facilitates multipolarity in the region. The enlargement of East Asian regionalism occurred in December 2005 in Kuala Lumpur so as to include Australia, India and New Zealand(ASEAN+3).Recommendations have being made that such forums should be used to handle regional issues such as security and conflicts due to the spread of nuclear weapons (Wesley, 2003).

            Some countries in Asian Pacific have become members of organizations whose mandate is to make sure that issues that threaten regional security are dealt with.  For example, the Shanghai cooperation organization (SCO) was formed to counter terrorism, separatism and extremism which threaten security in the Asia Pacific and the world. The organization which was founded in 2001 is an intergovernmental mutual-security organization. China which is very significant in Asian Pacific economy and security is a member. As a result, China has established good relations with other nations that are members of the organization or those that share principles and goals similar to those of the organization. For instance, China has managed to develop good relations and cooperation with other members (Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhastan and Tajikistan).Due to the efforts by the organization to fight terrorism, relations with other nations at a global level have improved. For example, the current observers of the organization include India, Iran, Pakistan, Mongolia and Pakistan. The working together of the countries to promote security has encouraged stability and economic cooperation.Furthermore, the organization has welcomed states that share similar principles and goals with it to establish mutually beneficial partnerships.

Conclusion

            The creation of regionalism in Asia Pacific is considered to be beneficial to the people and countries in the region due to the geopolitical counterweight it offers to the European Union and NAFTA. The need to improve economic growth and promote regional security in Asia Pacific has promoted good international and regional relations between countries as well as economic cooperation through regionalism. All over the world, states seek to develop good relations with others in efforts to attain economic and political benefits. Some countries in the Asia Pacific region such as China and Japan currently play a major role in international politics and global economy. Security in the region is a critical issue because it promotes stability and an environment that is favorable for economic development. As a result, economic development and security have great impact on international relations and regionalism in Asia Pacific.

References

Aggarwal, V., and Morrison, C.1998.Asia-Pacific Crossroads: Regime Creation and the Future             of Apec.Palgrave Macmillan

Axline, A.1994.Political Economy of Regional Cooperation. Continuum International Publishing          Group – Pinter Publishers

Brzezinski, Z. 2004.The Choice: Global Domination or Global Leadership, New York: Basic     Books

Camilleri, A.2005. Regionalism in the New Asia-Pacific Order, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar

Dutta, M. 1999. Economic Regionalization in the Asia-Pacific: Challenges to Economic Cooperation, Northampton: Edward Elgar

Gilpin, R. 2001. Global Political Economy: Understanding the International Economic Order,   Princeton University Press

Holton, R.1998. Globalization and the Nation-State, Palgrave Macmillan

Rivano, N., and Hosono, A.2001. Regional Integration and Economic Development????      Palgrave Macmillan Publishers

Svetlicic, M., and   Singer, H.1996. The World Economy: Challenges of Globalization and             Regionalization, Palgrave Macmillan Publishers

Wesley, M.2003. The Regional Organizations of the Asia-Pacific: Exploring Institutional            Change, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Yahuda, M.2004.The International Politics of the Asia-Pacific, Routledge, London

Sakija Wilkinson HST 140 WA/4 WA2 Geography Influenced Civilization Geography influenced civilization that arose in china, in so many ways. One way was the yellow river in which ancient china basically grew out of. All of the earliest civilizations arose on flood plains of major rivers because these lands provided the fertile land required to support their civilization. The yellow river was used to contribute to china’s civilization by also being as a highway to unify and control.

There was also the warring states period which came about when the steppe cavalries became a serious threat to china in northern region, which ended when Qin Kingdom conquered the rest. During this period though, there were fights among seven major kingdoms that were independent and they were fighting to gain power and to become superior to all other in authority.

Geography comes in with the help of the mountains and hills that contributed toward the sturdy walls that were built by the three northern states to keep raids from happening with the nomads and also to defend their villages. Lui, pp. 22-23, Unit 4 Module; Politics in State Power in Great River Valley Societies). The Land, soil and river provide resources for the farming and contributed toward the ranking and freedom of certain people. “Those who devoted themselves to the fundamental enterprise and through their farming and weaving contributed much grain and cloth would be freed from tax and corvee. ” (Rielly, 2010, p. 129). Also farmers served as soldiers, and because of this the portion of agriculture provided the lifeblood of the state.

Food was also produced and any of the farmer-soldiers that did not produce such food for everyone in the state this would lead to them playing less of a role inside the society. It is also bee allegedly stated that with the help of agricultural land, the Qin removed the grid paths, footpaths were opened up and boundaries were set. This also led to the thought of historians which thought that these changes that were made contributed to the sale of land and made it able to be done. Rielly 4/1). There are some differences among China and Mesopotamia and there were also some similarities when it came to the civilization and geography. As it is true that the early societies and states including Mesopotamia and China all arouse along large rivers, and they were also the earliest states to become established on the earth. Many people in both civilizations, China and Mesopotamia were farmers providing crops and food for others.

Since they both were river civilizations they each had its own advantages of trade routes, transportation, food, and plenty of water for drinking and also for crops at one point. China was located in eastern Asia where mountains helps a lot of their civilization and was common. These mountains cause china to be protected due to the walls that were built, and also helped out with trade which provide an upper hand for china. As for Mesopotamia its locations was in western Asia where the lands were flat and them not being able to have much protection.

Mesopotamia was big in armies and military because of their flat open land which caused them to be more advanced in military defense than china. They also had similarities in problems which seem to be something like a global pattern when it came to war, rituals and oracles being gamblers means of power. Geography played much part in civilization of the passed also when it came to similarities and differences of certain regions, and it will continue to play a part in the future as well. (Armesto pp. 89-90. Unit 4 module; The Influence of Geography on the Development of Societies and States)