George Washington Presidential Outline

George Washington I. Background- Birth-February 22, 1723 Death- December 14, 1799 II. Quote- â€Å"The time is now near at hand which must probably determine whether Americans are to be freemen or slaves. . . . The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us no choice but a brave resistance or the most abject submission. We have therefore to resolve to conquer or die. † (General orders, July 2, 1776) III. Prior occupations- Captain and Colonel in Virginia militia Plantation owner/Farmer Service in the Virginia House of Burgesses Delegate to the First Continental Congress General of the American Army IV. Dates in Office- 1789-1792 1793-1797 V. Prominent issues of elections- Washington was elected unanimously and did not host a campaign VI. Opponents of terms- N/A VII. Vice President- John Adams VIII. Political Parties- President- N/A Congress- IX. Foreign Policy- * Washington’s Proclamation of Neutrality (1793) says that the United States will remain neutral in the series of wars between the French and English as a result of the French Revolution. This proclamation was not viewed favorably by the American people who despised the British and thought that the United States should help the French in hopes of prolonging the Franco-American Alliance. Washington issued this proclamation in spite of these arguments because he saw that remaining neutral in European conflicts as the only way to insure the continuance of the United States. * The Genet Affair (1793) was a series of problems that the French emissary Edmund Charles Genet caused while in the United States. Genet immediately started to drum up support for the French from among the American people, especially here the Republican-Democrats were influential. Genet even went as far as to outfit privateers to attack Spanish Florida. When Washington tried to deport the emissary, he realized that Genets political party had fallen from power and would be killed on his return. Washington allowed Genet to remain in the United States. * Jay’s Treaty with England (1794) was an at tempt by the United States and Britain to settle the problems remaining between them after the War of Independence by representatives of both countries with Chief Justice John Jay acting for the United States. It was almost not supported by the United States because Jay was a Federalist and the Jeffersonians believed that he had forfeited American rights during the treaty in order to appease Britain. The treaty was successful in solving many of America’s grievances but also heightened tensions between the two political parties. * The Pinckney Treaty (1795) was a treaty with Spain carried out by Thomas Pinckney to determine a definite border between Spanish Florida and the southern boundary of the United States, free navigation of the Mississippi by American traders and established trading relations between the United States and Spain. Washington’s Farewell Address (1796) was an urge from him to the American people and the next President to keep the fledgling country from involving itself in foreign affairs so that the United States could develop more economically and militarily. This leads to the American isolationist mentality for most of its existence. X. Domestic Policy * Washington elected unanimously to be the first president of the United States (1789) * The Judiciary Act (1789) created a three tiered national court system that upheld the principle of the Federal government’s supremacy while also compromising with the States rights. Bill of Rights (1791) added to the constitution to appease anti-federalists who believed that the Federal Government would squash the states and the people. These amendments helped to help people see the good in a central government. * First Bank of the United States charted (1791) by Congress as a response to Hamilton’s financial plan. This congressional decision lead to creation of the Hamilton-lead Federalists and the Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans along with controversy over the central governments jurisdiction for years. * Vermont is first admitted to the union after the original 13 colonies (1791) Washington begins second term as president (1793) * The Fugitive Slave Act (1793) was passed by co ngress to prohibit the freeing of persons â€Å"held to Service and Labour. † It made freeing slaves illegal and forced States to return and/or help locate any fugitive slaves in the boundaries, regardless of whether they were a slave-free state or not. To do so, the act recognized the roles of â€Å"agents† in recovering these fugitives, authorized judges and magistrates to oversee transfers of slaves, and imposed a fine on any person helping runaway slaves. This was the start of the real slavery issue in the United States. The Battle of Fallen Timbers (1794) was battle between the Miami Indian tribes lead by Little Turtle and the American Army lead by General Anthony Wayne. Wayne was more prepared than his predecessors and successfully crushed the Miami tribes in Ohio. * Treaty of Greenville (1795) was signed between the Miami Confederacy and the United States to stop aggressions between the two groups. The United States benefitted from this treaty more because the C onfederacy seceded approximately 25,000 square miles of territory in the Ohio are, more than half of present day Ohio. Naturalization Act (1795) was passed by congress to allow â€Å"†¦ any alien, being a free white person, may be admitted to become a citizen of the United States. † This was the first law to define restrictions on who may or may not become a citizen of the United States. XI. Economic Policy- * Samuel Slater sets up first American factory (1790) * Alexander Hamilton’s Financial plan (1790) helps to unite the United States through a common problem of debt XII. Supreme Court- None XIII. Social Events- * Whiskey Rebellion (1794) was a revolt by Western Pennsylvanian farmers protesting the new taxes on whiskey. Disbanded by Washington-lead militia without blood-shed. XIV. New Technologies- * Cotton Gin invented (1793) which leads to an increase in cotton growth and the Southern economy XV. Presidential Evaluation- George Washington was a president of the highest measures. He set up the office of the president almost single-handedly and had to settle disgruntled farmers in western Pennsylvania that were specters of the original Revolutionaries. He also had to juggle both the British and French harassments and also choose to not support the new French government in their war against Britain. That choice was unpopular among many of the American people but he kept to his decision because he wanted to make sure that his new nation would continue to exist and hold its own against any foreign power in the future. To rate George Washington is an extremely difficult thing to do. The man set the guidelines of the presidency and was always looking out for the good of the government and the people. I will rate him 10/10 because he is the guideline for all the other presidents to compare to. XVI. Themes- War and Diplomacy- * George Washington Presidential Outline I. George Washington (1732-1799) II. â€Å"I have no other view than to promote the public good, and am unambitious of honors not founded in the approbation of my Country. † III. He was a surveyor, planter, and general of the Army of the United Colonies. IV. His term was from 1789-1797. V. There were no prominent issues in his first or scone term and ran unopposed. VI. He didn't have any opponents, it was only a matter of who would become vice president. VII. John Adams was his vice president for both of his terms. VIII. Washington had no political party, and there was no congressional majority yet. IX. Foreign policy decisions Proclamation of Neutrality: prevented Americans from supplying either side with weapons or help, stated that the U. S would not offer protection to Americans who violated neutrality laws, and that the United States would prosecute anyone in its jurisdiction that violated international neutrality. Genet Affair: Citizen Edmond-Charles Genet violated the neutrality laws by planning to use American ports to stop British commerce and support France, which disgraced French supporters in the U. S. Jay Treaty with England: withdrawal of British soldiers in the west of U. S. , commission to settle border issues with U. S. and Canada, commission to resolve American losses in British ship seizures and loyalist losses from Revolutionary War Battle of Fallen Timbers: famous for the decisive victory of the United States over a confederacy of Indian tribes, took place between the two at Fallen Timbers, which was an area full of trees toppled by a tornado, Americans wanted to settle the west but were afraid of the natives Treaty of Greenville: between Indians and Americans, natives give up land in southwest part of northwestern territory and other defined areas, U. S. pays tribe $20,000 and $9,500 a year to split among tribes, tribes can still hunt there Naturalization Act: raised the period of residence from two years to five years before a person could be a citizen Pinckney Treaty with Spain: Spain recognized U. S. borders at Mississippi River and 31st parallel, granted Americans the right to deposit goods for transshipment at New Orleans X. Political Affairs George Washington is Elected: Only president unanimously elected Judiciary Act: established a court of one chief justice and five associate justices, court met for the first time in 1790 Alexander Hamilton's Financial Plan: proposed that the federal government take on debts contracted by the states during the revolution, at the national government borrow money to be repaid over a long period, national bank runs it and have taxes to help pay for it, pay off all debts and high tariffs kept out foreign competition Bill of Rights added to the Constitution: added to make all states ratify the Constitution and ensure rights of the people First Bank of US chartered: created by Hamilton to tackle war debt and make one currency Vermont admitted to the Union Second Term: unanimously elected again Whiskey Rebellion: protest on tax of 25% of liquor's value, showed government not afraid to enforce it's laws with it's militia, farmers who sold corn as whiskey hit the hardest and western frontiersmen were main prostestors Farewell Address: country scared that it would tear apart without Washington as president, but he said that whatever changes happened were because of their efforts and success, and he wasn't qualified for being president anyways XI. Economic Decisions Alexander Hamilton's Financial Plan: (see above) XII. Major Supreme Court Cases N/A XIII. Major Social Events Fugitive Slave Law: Slave hunters were allowed to capture an escapee in any territory or state and only had to say in front of a state or federal judge that the person was a runaway, captive was not entitled to a trial by jury and the judge's decision was terminal, people hiding an escaped slave could be fined $500 XIV. Major Inventions Cotton Gin Invented: took seeds out of cotton quickly, created widespread cash crop of cotton and revived slavery Samuel Slater builds first American factory: used stolen ideas from Britain to create first American textile factory, hired entire families, including children, to work in his mills; workers lived in company-owned housing, shopped at company-owned stores, and studied in company-run schools XV. Presidential Evaluation President Washington was kind of overrated in my opinion. We glorify him today as if he was perfect and god-like, but most of â€Å"his† achievements are actually a result of his colleagues' ideas. Alexander Hamilton had many of the attainments during Washington's presidency, and really ensured that the country would continue to prosper and pay off all debts. George Washington's best decision was actually surrounding himself with intelligent people to rely on in times of crisis that the new country would go through. His major foreign successes would have to be the Proclamation of Neutrality and his treaties with Europe. The proclamation helped keep the country out of wars and trouble in general at a time of weakness. Any fighting could have destroyed the nation if they lost and it would be back under the command of a European power. His treaties wit Europe gained the U. S. land and respect, helping in the long run. His major domestic successes would be the Bill of Rights and Hamilton's Financial Program. The Bill of Rights made sure that the rights that we still have today would be granted to citizens of the nation, though there were qualifications based on gender and race. Without the financial plan, the U. S. ight never have fully payed off it's debts to Europe and caused further conflict, and it made it easier to pay off with it's extended period that wouldn't require high taxes all at once. He and his cabinet handled the issues of building a nation and having rights for the people while avoiding the tyranny like they had in Britain very well, though he played an almost minimal role in the handling of it. Overall, I rate him 7 out of 10. XVI. Major Themes Slavery: Negative Impact -Passing of t he Fugitive Slave Law -Slaves and black men and women had no rights in the Bill of Rights Invention of the cotton gin revived slavery because of cheap labor and massive production of cotton -Slaves treated like second class citizens with no trial by jury, freedom, or credibility in matters of importance -Status: Slavery is running rampant in the South with large plantations of cotton and cheap easy labor. Though the North opposes it, there are no movements as of yet to abolish it. During the presidency, nothing is being done to free slaves, give black people more freedoms and rights,or find an alternative work force. The status of slavery right now is bleak with no signs of improvement. Social and Political Movements and Reforms: Positive impact for some, negative for others – Bill of Rights gives freedoms to some Americans and gives an overall better quality of life than under Britain – Slavery was an important social issue that wasn't only ignored, but perpetuated by the cotton industry – More jobs in factories, leading to better education with in-company schools and better quality of life – Complete political change from the tyranny of Britain o a representative democracy in it's very early stages – Status: The country is doing well for being brand new and handling tough situations with good long term solutions. There are some massive improvements over the original government of England, such as education and the rights of the people of the United States, or at least a select few. Major issues like slavery are not being addressed, and are actually being furth ered by the lack of help in finding alternative work forces and advances in the rights of every citizen, not just the landowning white males.

How Attitudes to Marriage Have Changed Essay

In the past people married at a much younger age on average than they do today. Marrying in your late teens or early twenties was normal. Most people got married as this is what was expected of you, and people rarely considered not doing so. Many fewer decide to marry these days. Many make the conscious decisions not to as they prefer to remain more independent. This can be the case for both genders. Some would argue that people wait to meet the right person now, whereas before they would marry the first person who came along. Living Together while not Married In the past it was not socially acceptable for unmarried couples to live together. It was seen as wrong and was therefore extremely rare. It is possible that this contributed to early marriage. Unmarried couples living together has almost become the norm now. Many decide to see how they get along living together before they decide to marry. It is also common for couples to live together, and possibly have children, without ever getting married. They live the same way as a married couple without ever making it official. Children It used to be rare for people not to have children. Most people would conform to a very specific lifestyle, marrying young and having children soon after. Hardly anyone had children before marriage, and it was even rarer for people to do this by choice. Nowadays it is not uncommon at all for people to have children without being married and this is not seen as a big issue by most. Sometimes parents live together as a family with their children without being married, while others are single parents. Not everyone decides to have children either. It is no longer seen as something you must do so it has become more of a choice. The Role of Women A hundred years ago, the role of women was very specific. They were expected to marry, have children, and not work. Their role was to look after the home and their children while men went out to work. Women’s role in family life, and life in general, now depends on the individual person and her circumstances. Many still crave the traditional lifestyle of marriage and children, but many make other choices. There are many more career women; some are working parents while others don’t have children at all. The role of men is also less rigid, and it is much more common than it used to be for Mothers to go to work while Fathers stay at home. Divorce Divorce was once illegal so wasn’t an option at all. Even once it did become legal it was rarely considered and was deemed a sin by many. Now it is much more common for a variety of reasons. Attitudes have completely changed and divorce is seen as perfectly acceptable for those in an unhappy marriage and there is no longer the same stigma attached to it. Although some think of the increase in divorce as a negative, it could be argued that it is better than remaining unhappy. It is also practically easier with family law having changed to make it easier for those seeking a divorce.

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Adult development - Essay Example t limited to; not being able to acquire a job because of lack of knowledge of a particular software, not being able to converse confidently with the peers at the workplace because of lack of knowledge of the subject of discussion, and not being able to apply the theoretical knowledge to practical situations in the workplace. As an adult, an individual needs to be more responsible in order to excel in the profession. It becomes more than just cramming things up to pass the exams, which is the approach towards learning adopted by a vast majority of the juveniles. One gets to realize the importance and significance of learning once one is required to exhibit the skills acquired through learning, and one’s professional growth, privileges, benefits, and the whole standard of living is associated with that. â€Å"As unemployment rises, along with employer concerns about worker skills, adult learners are returning to higher education in droves† (Cordes, 2009). As a result of t his realization, adults become more serious about learning. While they may have skipped classes in the schools to hang out with friends as juveniles, the same people tend to look for opportunities of learning, training, and skill development once they enter the professional life. An individual who was not serious about learning a software when the parents were paying the fee becomes so conscious and serious about learning that he/she wills to personally pay an institution to teach him/her that software. Tough life experiences make adults realize the importance of learning and thus, they approach learning as a ladder towards professional growth and success. IT can help adult learners in many ways. Firstly, learning through IT is a way that is best attuned to the learning style of the adults. A vast majority of adults spend considerable time using the Internet in the present age. Adults choose to use the Internet in the contemporary age in order to build contacts, and interact with friends and

Explanations of Phyletic Gradualism and Punctuated Equilibrium Assignment

Explanations of Phyletic Gradualism and Punctuated Equilibrium - Assignment Example (A Dictionary of Ecology, 2004) According to this theory, new species crop up by the conversion of an inherited populace into its customized descendants. This transformation is steady and slow and engrosses huge numbers typically the whole ancestral inhabitants and their geographical series (Eldredge and Gould, 1972). Punctuated equilibrium In 1972, a new theory was anticipated by Eldredge and Gould to explicate the development of species. According to this hypothesis, evolution takes place in small rapid speciation disintegrations and the new species initiate in geological instants and persevere in stasis for extended period. There exists dissimilarity between phyletic gradualism and punctuated equilibrium because the former one states that uniformity prevails in the evolutionary process through slow and gradual transformation of large of complete pedigree. Sporadic record of fossil was the main issue discussed by this theory. The time interval for which specie subsists in a distinc tive appearance is long as compared to the time period in which transition occur from parent specie to its descendents. When a part of populace is segregated from the remaining population, then the smaller part of population undergoes particular deviations which are much slighter then the variations in the population left behind. The environmental factors like climate, the geological location and the reserves when combine with these variations, result in rapid evolution process. Moreover, rapid dispersion and evolution of descendent species from parent species can be resulted from considerable alteration in the daughter species. Few descendent species may be generated by the ancestral specie during its whole time span of life. Genetic homeostasis and gene stream from distant range are responsible for the periods of relative stasis because due to it large populations do not alter much (Elsberry, 1996). Several studies and researches have illustrated that concept of punctuated equilib rium supports long history of life on the planet. Prediction about fossil record by Punctuated equilibrium Punctuated equilibrium composes following predictions about fossil record: The geographic speciation of ancestral population along with environmental and biological diffusion would result in geographically unexpected emergence of the descendant species ubiquitously apart from the area where the evolutionary process took place. Due to this reason, it takes a long time to find the species which go through the splitting process. The pattern of fossil record consists of geographic and stratigraphic components. The intermediary fossils between ancestral species and its descendants for the peripatric speciation will be restricted in the geographic section. As the species transformation time period is petite therefore the geographic existence of fossil record will be concise (Elsberry, 1996). Evidences supporting the two theories The exposure of gradual evolution of taxa from one cate gory to a further one in fossil record supports phyletic gradualism theory which states that evolution occurs by gradual change. But this evidence of gradual evolution is restricted to limited number of taxa therefore, most of the studies and evidences support punctuated equilibrium hypothesis. Long periods of stasis along with rapid and small durations of morphological

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Critical theories of bodies, sexualities and identities - Research Paper Example The new identity created a new binary heterosexual-homosexual relation and as result communities over the world polarized. The new homosexual identity thus developed has become an international standard now. Today becoming gay is to adapt a particular set of life style, standard, and behavior. The Western gay identity has become almost a de facto identity of this post modern world (Fortier). Judith Butler on the regulatory system of sex/gender: â€Å"The construction of coherence conceals the gender discontinuities that run rampant within heterosexual, bisexual and gay and lesbian contexts in which gender does not necessarily follow from sex, and desire, or sexuality generally, does not seem to follow from gender – indeed, where none of these dimensions of significant corporeality express or reflect one another. When the disorganization and disaggregation of the field of bodies disrupt the regulatory fiction of heterosexual coherence, it seems that the expressive model loses its descriptive force† (Butler 131). The highlight here is that, Homosexuality is not a social menace, it is an identity as well an indispensible part of our society. Sexuality theory The recent decades have encountered proliferation of scholarship on sexuality which has given development of the sexuality theory. Apart from these researchers also stresses focus on the aspects that often permeate our culture and living, seeking answers the things which will come under the classification of sexuality and which do not come under the purview of sexuality. The sexuality theories also help to have a clear view on the ways in which it is understood as a concept, an identity, and as attraction and behavior (Sexuality theory).Sexuality as a concept was not introduced into language until the 19th century. The identification of the word was coined by Health especially in relation with sex as a reproductive function in both plants and animals. In 1889, it was first publicly used by a surg eon who used this term in reference to the surgical removal of a woman’s ovaries. Since then, the term has appeared both in the medical and the other settings and its meaning has become highly complex. Soon newly emerging sciences of psychology and sexology have designed to classify the human sexual behavior in order to describe and quantify it. The cataloguing of sexuality resulted in a shift away from sexual relations being seen only to the people’s behavior and to their identities and the object of desire started to define the individual’s sexuality. The study of sexuality adapted the sexual behavior with a system of heterosexual marriage as the standard any deviation from the heterosexual behavior or attraction outside was regarded and seen as deviant. This deviant conjecture was explored by the sexologists of the nineteenth century with the evolution of the concept of homosexuality which is an age old human sexual behavior. The concept of sexual orientation emerged as a concept describing the human beings emotional, romantic or the sexual attraction towards each other. Sexual orientation is different from the sexual behavior because it signifies that a person may or may not behave according to their sexual orientation. A common notion of the sexual orientation is that a person’s sexual orientation is either heterosexual or homosexual. However the sexual orientation is much more complex and unpredictable phenomena which several

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Read each article, and answer the questions in your own words Essay

Read each article, and answer the questions in your own words - Essay Example The intention behind these festivals is to celebrate their own cultural values without disturbing their daily routine or without making those values a serious part of their lives. Hence, the mild and fun way to celebrate the ethnic festivals and cultural customs by immigrants, to symbolize their cultural and ethnic values, is known as symbolic ethnicity. St. Patrick’s Day is a religious holiday celebrated in Ireland to pay homage to St. Patrick who died on March 17, 460 AD, and who is known to have introduced Christianity to Ireland. Hence, St. Patrick’s Day is considered as a part of their religious values and is practiced by Irish people by going to Church and paying respect to St. Patrick. However, Irish people who have immigrated to America celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in a different way and without giving it a serious touch of religiousness. In the US, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated by Irish-Americans in celebratory form by holding a parade consisting of banners, colorful costumes, bands and celebrations. New York hosts the largest St. Patrick’s Day parade with more than 150,000 Irish soldiers and 3 million spectators participating in it. For Irish-Americans, there are no obligations to attend the church or to follow any serious religious rituals on this day. This celebratory method of St. Patrick’s Day has become so famous that St. Patrick’s Day parades are celebrated in different cities throughout the world now. Irish-Americans practice St. Patrick’s Day to symbolize their ethnic roots and feeling of belonging to their homeland. Hence, Irish-Americans celebrate the St. Patrick’s Day lightly as a symbolic ethnicity and not as a religiously important day. 2.According to the article, why is symbolic ethnicity appealing to white ethnics? In today’s fast paced world, time and speed has become an important aspect of life. People’s choice depends on speed and time. Preference for fast things has also affected the religious aspects of people’s lives. According to the article, White etnics have adopted those practices which allow them choice and freedom to celebrate the religious aspects in their lives. Symbolic ethnicity does not demand much of their time and energy. It is a fun method of celebrating important religious festivals. Moreover, symbolic ethnicity is free from any restrictions, strict behavior codes, obligations or rituals. Hence, it makes people feel that they are free to practice festivals in their own way without any pressure from ‘religious authority’. Symbolic ethnicity offers choice and freedom to people and they feel that they can express their feelings for religious festivals in individual way. Moreover, White ethnics not only enjoy their individuality but also the feeling of belongingness to their community by practicing ethnic practices in symbolic way. Symbolic ethnicity does not affect their daily lives in any way but in fact, gives them a fun break and relaxation from their work. They achieve both, the personal and social identity, by practicing symbolic ethnicity. Hence, symbolic ethnicity has become appealing to White ethnics in America. 3.Why do you think so many people with no Irish heritage celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? ‘Old’ traditional and religious customs were difficult to follow as they needed a person to know the religious asp

Magic Bullet Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Magic Bullet Theory - Essay Example The paper will also assist in showing how the magic bullet theory suffers shortcomings after the assassination of President John Kennedy. According to the magic bullet theory, people in the society live an isolated lifestyle because of diverse origins, beliefs, and norms. Likewise, media messages act as symbolic bullets that strike their ears and brains resulting in certain effects on their behavior. The effect of media messages on the passive audience is powerful and direct. An example of this theory was demonstrated by Orson Wells when Mercury Theater Group after starting the broadcasting of â€Å"War of the Worlds†. About 12 million Americans heard the ‘one the eve of Halloween’ and a section of the population started believing that a dangerous alien invasion was underway. Such misleading news led to household hysteria and caused traffic jams. People also fled from their City houses to settle in rural areas and many groceries started limiting the food reserves. Accordingly, media practitioners have argued that the â€Å"War of Worlds† is an example of how propaganda can be utilized in the magic bullet theory to manipulate the emotions and beliefs of a gullible public (Gupta & Aggarwal, 2001). On the contrary, the magic bullet theory does not really work since no two individuals can react similarly to media misleading broadcasts. It can be said the pre-deposition, attitudes, prejudices, and moods of an individual influence his reaction towards misleading information from the media.... Research questions I. Can the mass media succeed in issuing misleading information? II. Does the magic bullet theory work? III. Does the media audience respond the propagandas passively? IV. What are the main shortcomings of the magic bullet theory? Literature review According to the magic bullet theory, people in the society live an isolated lifestyle because of diverse origins, beliefs and norms. Likewise, media messages act as symbolic bullets that strike their ears and brains resulting to certain effects on their behavior. The effect of media messages on the passive audience is powerful and direct. An example of this theory was demonstrated by Orson Wells when Mercury Theater Group after starting the broadcasting of â€Å"War of the Worlds†. About 12 million Americans heard the ‘one the eve of Halloween’ and a section of the population started believing that a dangerous alien invasion was underway. Such misleading news led to household hysteria, and caused tra ffic jams. People also fled from their City houses to settle in rural areas and many groceries started limiting the food reserves. Accordingly, media practitioners have argued that the â€Å"War of Worlds† is an example of how propaganda can be utilized in the magic bullet theory to manipulate the emotions and beliefs of a gullible public (Gupta & Aggarwal, 2001). On the contrary, the magic bullet theory does not really work since no two individuals can react similarly to media misleading broadcasts. It can be said the pre-depositions, attitudes, prejudices and moods of an individual influence his reaction towards misleading information from the media (Davis & Baron, 1981). Media propaganda is a communication message that is intended to

Questions and Applications Essay Example for Free

Questions and Applications Essay The current financial crisis has many parallels with what happened to Enron in the early part of the decade. Although the hazards associated with overpaid executives, unethical practices and lack of accountability were clearly illustrated by the Enron Crisis; little was done to prevent the repetition of such behaviors. As a result, similar malfeasance, hubris and incompetence, coupled with the lack of political will for regulation has resulted in yet another financial crisis. The U. S. and overseas stock markets were still adjusting to the psychological and economic impact of the terrorist attacks in New York City in the two months prior to the announcement of the bankruptcy of Enron. (Weller, Miller, Zhang, 2001) The markets had just stabilized, and reassumed their moderate growth owing, in large part, to the assurances by Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan that the underpinnings of the economy were strong, and large economic entities, such as Enron, were economically stable and fundamentally secure. (Weller, Miller, Zhang, 2001) These assurances came despite the consistent deregulation of trade practices in both federal financial markets, and California energy markets. (Weller, Miller, Zhang, 2001) Such deregulation was the bailiwick of not only Greenspan, but the Republican congress and White House. (Weller, Miller, Zhang, 2001) The assumption on the part of those who supported deregulation and limited scrutiny of practices, was that enlightened self-interest of the heads of corporations would prevent destabilizing acts of stock manipulation and other actions that would serve to destroy the underlying equity in the corporation. (Weller, Miller, Zhang, 2001) Clearly, this was not the case, as a small number of executives pillaged the assets of Enron without regard to the economic fallout of their actions. These people reaped their individual fortunes, largely by dumping corporate stock, valued in billions of dollars, just prior to affecting the economic ruin of the company. (Weller, Miller, Zhang, 2001) Had this episode had a salutatory effect on the perceived need for closer oversight and regulation of economic practices, it may have been worth the cost, but the lessons of Enron went unlearned, and the same behavior of corporate executives derailed the economy once again by destabilizing financial institutions and undermining economic development. Congressional hearings regarding the current collapses of financial institution are ongoing at the time of this writing, but it is unclear at this point whether any laws were actually broken. As the lengthy prison sentences handed out to Enron executives illustrate, the actions of this group outpaced ethical considerations and proceeded to securities fraud, concealing evidence and other illegal acts. As of now, none of the executives involved in the collapse of the financial institutions are yet facing criminal charges. This fact illustrates a key point regarding these activities. If executives can run decades-old financial institutions into the ground, bankrupt them, destroy their lending capabilities (which paralyzes corporate growth) and leave with multi-million dollar compensation packages without having broke the law, then clearly the law as it stands is inadequate. In the case of Enron, the executives knowingly engaged in fraudulent activities to the detriment to the company and its shareholders. The drive to maximize profits cannot outstrip ethical obligations of full and correct disclosure and fair trade practices. These standards are not only ethical in nature, but legal as well. The law sets reasonable guidelines for practices that compel executives to act in the interest of their shareholders to the best of their ability, and in the case of Enron, they did not do so. The fact that these executives were knowingly breaking the law was illustrated clearly by their destruction of relevant records. This clearly illustrated the mindset of guilt that the people responsible had, and proved the likelihood of a significant cover-up effort. It is unclear at this point whether the same holds true for the authors of the current financial debacle. However, there are some key differences in the situations. For one, unlike the Enron executives, the bank executives were inflating values of securities in a manner that benefitted their shareholders and borrowers as well as themselves. The second key difference is that these banks gained SEC exemptions that made what they were doing technically legal, if not particularly smart. The regulations governing energy sale in California contributed significantly in Enron’s ability to commits fraud and force a false energy crisis upon the state. (Griffin, 2006) Once prices were deregulated for energy in 1996, Enron determined a market plan that was predicated on short-term contract bidding for energy. (Griffin, 2006) Essentially, Enron was maximizing profits by selling their commodity to the highest bidder. (Griffin, 2006) The problem with this system is it is not regulated, and executives at Enron decided to take advantage of the lack. (Griffin, 2006) Enron took advantage of the rules in three significant ways. (Griffin, 2006) First, they would shut down plants in certain areas forcing energy to come from marginal plants located nearby, and charged premium prices, that were additionally padded so that executives could skim off of the income. (Griffin, 2006) Enron also conducted â€Å"wash trades†. (Griffin, 2006) These recorded sales and purchases of energy that never occurred. These trades are revenue-neutral for both parties, but the activity drives up index prices by creating a false demand for the energy. (Griffin, 2006) Finally, Enron itself place bids to occupy energy on the grid, creating artificial shortages, which they, in turn, would alleviate at premium prices. (Griffin, 2006) These practices, combined with an increase in demand coupled with a stable, but not increasing reserve volume of natural gas, helped cause the California Energy Crisis. (Griffin, 2006) Then-Governor Grey Davis absorbed a significant amount of blame for the perceived energy crunch in California that followed from these practices, but he was in no way to blame. (Griffin, 2006) The policies that were manipulated were enacted by the legislature, not the Governor. (Griffin, 2006) Davis was also fighting the public perception that not only was he complicit in the crisis, but he was in contact with Kenneth Lay of Enron over the issue. (Griffin, 2006) Davis never denied this, but claimed it was a prerequisite to asking the federal government for aid. When the Bush administration declined to offer aid, Davis, a Democrat, was recalled and replaced by Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Griffin, 2006) The Stanly Milgrim experiments were invoked in the film, â€Å"The Smartest Guys in the Room† to explain why energy traders for Enron, who were aware of the damage caused by their activities, continued to act in the manner that they did. Milgram set up an experimental circumstance where subjects believed that they were causing bodily harm to another participant (actually, a confederate of the experimentor). The variable being measured was how much pain (measured by voltage of electrical shock) would a subject be willing to administer under no compulsion other than being told by a person in a lab coat that they â€Å"must continue†. It was demonstrated through this experiment that up to 50% of subjects would give what they believed would be fatal shocks to others under virtually no duress, and with no promise of reward. It was suggested that Milgrim’s experiments proved that individuals would do things (such as shock a person to death) with nothing more than a verbal instruction from a perceived authority figure to prompt them. From this, Milgrim concluded that unquestioned obedience to authority is a reaction that is very strong in most individuals. It should be noted that this argument had earlier failed to sway judges of the Nazis at Nuremburg, and later those who judged Callay guilty for the Mi Lay massacre. While this experiment does illustrate some insights regarding human nature and obedience, it does not explain, or really relate significantly to the situation regarding the energy traders at Enron. For one thing, the Energy Traders, as evinced by their own recorded conversations, stood to gain significantly from their activity themselves. Their motivations clearly went well beyond â€Å"following orders† as they expected to be â€Å"able to retire at 30. † The common element between the two circumstances (Milgrim’s Experiment and the Enron Traders) appears to be a perceived locus of responsibility. That is, the subjects/traders felt that whatever the consequences of their actions, blame and responsibility would fall solely upon the persons who issued the orders.In the case of the Enron Traders, this turned out to be true to a great extent. ? References Griffin, L. (2006) â€Å"California Energy Crisis Meets Enrons Ethical Catastrophe†. Retrieved December 8th, 2008 from McCombs School of Business Website: http://www. mccombs. utexas. edu/news/pressreleases/spence06. asp Weller, M. Miller, P. Zhang L. (2001) â€Å"Moral Hazard and the US Stock Market: Analysing the ‘Greenspan put’† The Center for the Study of Globalization and Regionalization Working paper No. 83/01, November, 2001.

Piagets Theory: Observation and Reflection

Piagets Theory: Observation and Reflection Piagetian Task For this task, I used blue play-dough and shaped it into 2 balls of the same size. I conducted this task with a boy who is 7 years old and in first grade. I asked him if he would help me with something and he said, Sure, but seemed nervous. I presented him with the two balls of play-dough and he got excited, as if we were about to do something fun. I began by asking him if the two balls of play dough were the same size. He looked at them closely and then picked up each ball before stating that they were not the same size. I asked him to make them the same size and let him know he could use the extra play-dough I had set aside if needed. He added the extra play-dough to one of the balls, melding it into the ball, and then looked at both balls again. He took some of the dough from the now larger ball and added it to the other, looked at the balls again, then added a little more, making sure both balls were smooth and round again. This entire time, he was very focused on what he was doing. Once he finished, one of the balls was clearly a still a little larger than the other, but he was satisfied that they were now the same. To be fair, the difference was very small. I then smashed the larger ball down so that it was flat and round. I asked him if one of them had more play-dough than the other or if they had the same amount. He replied with, Of course theyre the same!, with what seemed to be a bit of an exasperated tone. I asked him to tell me how he knew they had the same amount. He said that he knew this because he himself had made sure each ball had the same amount before. He kind of rolled his eyes and let me know that just because one was squished down doesnt change the amount of play-dough it had. I was quite impressed with his abilities in response to my questions during this task. I dont know what to make of the fact that he felt the balls were not equal to begin with. However, during the process of adding and removing play-dough from the balls to make them even, he exhibited great focus and concentration. Holding the balls, eyeing one and then the other, he made changes until he felt satisfied that they were the same. I had expected just a quick answer either way, so this was surprising to me. I believe that this did confirm Piagets observations, at least in regard to the characteristics of the Concrete Operations stage, which this 7 year old boy clearly fell into. After he finished modifying the balls until he saw them as being equal, he recognized that nothing had changed when I smashed one of them down. Seeing one large round ball, and one seemingly smaller flat disc did not cause him to hesitate when asked if they contained the same amount of play-dough. If anything, he seemed to think it was absurd to even ask that question. I happen to know that this particular boy loves to build things. His favorite thing is taking boxes of different sizes and cutting them into various shapes to make whatever hes imagining at the time.houses, furniture, rockets, etc. His parents have always made sure that he has plenty of random material he can use for his building activities, including a mud pit in the back yard, similar to a small sandbox. I believe that his prior background in utilizing a variety of materials helped to enable him in this task as well. He has learned, on his own, how things fit together and how to form materials like mud into various shapes for different uses. While I dont believe he spent time thinking about the way his brain and eyes processed the information in front of him, he did spend time thinking about the task at hand through the lens of the information processes he had gained through prior experience. He was able to evaluate the balls, and then spend time modifying them to complete the task of making them be the same size. He then had no doubts about the different shapes containing the same amount of play-dough and reasoned that since he had made them the same, they continued to be the same no matter what shape they took on. I believe that all of these factors contributed to his reasoning and performance in carrying out this task. OSHA 1994: Problems in Implimentation OSHA 1994: Problems in Implimentation Problem Statement Malaysia construction industry is the higher fatalities compared with among all the industry in Malaysia table 1 Occupational accident by sector for the category of death from 2009 April to 2011 April shown at below. (Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), 2009-2011). Implementing safety and health requirement should be part of Contractors responsible. (Dongping.F, et al., 2006, p: 434) Contractors comply with Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 and Factories and Machinery Act 1967 to implementing safety and health requirement for the construction site to make the act effectively minimize the accident rate and fatalities. (Omran, et al., 2008) Aim A study into the effectiveness Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 and Factories and Machinery Act 1967 in reducing fatalities and injury rates in Malaysia construction site. Objectives To study of Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 and Factories and Machinery Act 1967 the effectiveness by contractors to implement at construction site. To identify the barrier facing by contractor of implementing Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 and Factories and Machinery Act 1967 on construction site. To identify the implement of Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 and Factories and Machinery Act 1967 on actual construction site. Background The OSHA Malaysia is effective on 24 February 1994(Act 514). An act is to ensure safety, health and welfare of persons who are at work and to protect other person against safety risk or health in connection with the activities of persons at work. (Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (OSHA), s.1) OSHA 1994 actually is quoted Occupational Safety and Health Act. The objects of OSHA 1994 have written and are under section 4. An object of OSHA1994 is to secure the safety, health and welfare of persons who are at work and to protect persons at a place of work other than persons at work against hazards. Not only for that had the act also had to promote an occupational environment for persons at work which is fit to worker physiological and psychological needs. The last object of the act is to provide way or method according related to the occupational safety and health legislations can be gradually replaced by an institution of regulations and permitted the industry codes of practice operating in combination with the provisions of the statute, designed to maintain or improve the safety and health standards. (OSHA, s.4 (a-d)) FMA 1967 (Act 139) is to provide for the control of factories with respect to matters relating to safety , health and welfare of person therein, the registration and inspection of machinery and for matters connected therewith. Those machinery which is high risk for operate such as mobile cranes, tower cranes and etc must be certified and inspected by DOSH. (Factories and Machinery Act 1967 (FMA), s.1) According to DOSH government website mentioned that, all factories and general machinery must be registered with DOSH before they can be installed and operated. Factories or any companies require to use machinery their must require to obtain a permission to install machinery by submitting relevant documents to their nearest DOSH offices. The permission to install machinery is for each time certificated machinery or new auxiliaries installed. Methodologies Data collections methodologies categorized as two main ways there are secondary source and primary sources. Secondary source is get information from documents such as personal records, service record, books, journals, newspaper and etc. Primary source are few methods such as questionnaire, interview, case study and etc. (Kumar, 2005, p: 118) For this research title is relative with safety and health requirement therefore the secondary data source will obtain a lot of information which is collected from book, relevant title of articles and relevant record publish from the departments of occupational safety and health. The objective one and two of this research paper which is to study of Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 and Factories and Machinery Act 1967 the effectiveness by contractors to implement at construction site and to identify the barrier facing by contractor of implementing those two acts at construction site. The first objective can be achieved by reading those two acts to understand which should implement by the contractors. The second objective can be achieved by reading more books to find out the effectiveness and barrier that contractors may be facing when they implement the two acts at construction site. In addition, questionnaire is appropriate primary data source to get information for this research paper. Because of the research is time-limited and questionnaire is the easiest and quick methodology. Open question is the respondent could be answer in their own words. This open question can be generated mainly qualitative data. The advantages for open question are providing depth and valuable information provided by respondent able to expressing their own opinions. Respondents have the opportunity to express themselves freely, resulting in a wider variety of information. (Kumar, 2005, p: 132) According to Kumar (2005) stated that questionnaires restricted two basic types of question there are closed-ended which called as closed question and open-ended or called as open question. Closed question is researcher set out the answer such as yes or no and let the respondent to answers. Although there is a disadvantages of closed question which is not enough of depth and variety of the information obtained, sometime the answer provided are not truly reflect respondent their own view or opinion. Through the closed question for questionnaire is to ensure that literature view the view and ideas that is appropriate for respond from the respondents. For this research paper will be total 100 sets of questionnaires given to respondents regarding objective two and three will be set for the question. The respondents could be contractors, site staff, site agent, project manager and other parties which experience and knowledge for safety and health at construction site. Guides to Research Chapter In this research paper will be content total five chapters. Chapter 1 is the introduction and problem statement of the research title. Then is the aim and objective of the research paper. The aim is achieved by through implemented the objective that have be set out. Chapter 2 is the literature review is through reading more articles and books or other resources which are concern to the research title and obtain the similar idea for those sources and write out the literature review base on the objective stated. Chapter 3 is research methodology for this research paper will carry out the questionnaire. The target of the respondents will be contractor and persons who are related to construction site. Those questionnaires will be set out 100 sets and data will be collected base on this stage which mean in this chapter. Chapters 4 are analysis the data and carry out the result of the analysis in chapter. After the result had been analysis the issues can be identified from the findings. Those data will be presented by using bar chart and etc. Chapter 5 will be the last part of the research paper. This chapter will be conclusions and recommendations after those progresses had been gone through. This chapter also is to ensure that the research aim has achieved through implementing those three objective and the recommendations will be suggested in this chapter. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEWS Introduction Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994(OSHA) and Factories and Machinery Act 1967(FMA) is a legislative framework in Malaysia construction industry to give promote to the construction industry, advance and assist to have better or high standards of safe and healthy working culture. The legislations are enforcement by Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH). The DOSH are under Ministry of Human Resources Malaysia. The department is agency of government to enforce those legislations to promote and enhancing Malaysia construction site quality of working life. (Mudrikah, 2010) In this research paper, the method to reducing the accident rate in construction industry is Contractors have to implementing with the strict safety and health regulatory frameworks for preventing, monitoring and reporting adverse events for the construction site. Contractors should comply with those effective safeties and health requirement to effectively minimize the accident happen on construction worksite. (Dorji et al, 2009) Problems and barrier to implement of OSHA 1994 Table 1 showing that construction industry is among the highest accident rate and fatalities industry in Malaysia occupational rankings. The highest accident rate and fatalities happen in construction site one of the reason may because the act is not effective and there have a legal loophole. Before amend the OSHA 1994 section 29 safety and health officer there is no penalty. But after amended become the OSH (Safety and Health Officer) Regulations 1997 and OSH (Safety and Health Officer) Orders 1997 have a penalty if the contractors do not comply to employ competent person as safety and health officer and other duties in ensuring such personnel could perform his duties effectively and define class of industry to appoint competent safety and health officer both are penalty same condition which is maximum RM5000.00 or maximum six months imprisonment or both. Section 29 has been amended by the Minister to OSH (Safety and Health Office) Regulation 1997 after amended stated that any building operation and any work of engineering construction when the total contract price of the construction project which is exceeding twenty million of ringgit Malaysia the contractors should employ a safety and health officer or other duties in ensuring such personnel could perform his duties effectively. (Safety and Health Officer) Order1997. (Occupational Safety and Health Regulation 1997, s.29) Some of the construction project the total contract sum may not exceeding twenty million according to OSHA section 29 mentioned that means contractors is not necessary to comply and appoint the safety and health officer on their workplace. If unfortunate accident happened cause site workers injury or death at construction site is that whether should be the negligence of the contractors because his has full comply with the OSHA 1994 or the legal is indeed imperfect because only the project exceeding twenty million of ringgit Malaysia contractors should to appoint a safety and health officer. According to OSHA 1994 section 18 duties of safety and health officer his had a important duties at the construction site one of it is to advise contractors measure of the site workers their interests of the safety and health and their responsibilities also included to inspect the workplace determine whether any machinery or equipments or process of work may have the chances liable site worker injuries or harmful their body. If accident is happen safety and health officer have to submit report informs on the number and types of accidents which had occurred in the workplace to the DOSH according to OSHA 1994 section 19 stated. Since section 29 of OSHA had mentioned that only total contract sum exceeding twenty million construction projects is required to appoint a safety and health officer. Moreover, the workplace is happen any accident, dangerous occurrence, occupational poisoning or occupational disease which has occurred or may have chance occur on the worksite according OSHA section 32 to inform the nearest DOSH office. If accident had occurred which is construction project not exceeding twenty million total contract sum who are going to take safety and health officer his duties to report to DOSH is that means small project is not an accident happen. The purpose of reporting of accident incidences to DOSH is to ascertain the root causes and enable to take remedial actions for prevention future occurrences similar condition. The report incidence is important database for DOSH the database is to analyze strategic planning, management and law enforcement. The data recorded by the safety and health officer is required in order to analyze the results of unification and to ensure statistical validity. (DOSH, 2004, p: 4) Safety and health organization shall be implementing by the Contractors those person are profession and get training for safety and health programme. Those safety and health officer with qualified their role are provide appropriate advice to the site workers their responsibility for the safety in the site and to promote and encourage the planning and implementation of the necessary and effective measures in minimizing the risk and to reduce the accidents rate. (Construction Confederation, 2008) The problem may be arise if contractors they do not appoint safe and health officer or site safety supervisor there is no professional person at worksite to train for new site workers or instrumental promote a safe and healthy working environment on workplace. Furthermore, most of the site workers are foreigners like Indonesia, Pakistan, Myanmar, Bangladesh or etc. Those foreigner workers they may be lack of knowledge to protect themselves. They might never been exposure with the construction not to mention that they have experience to cope with the huge construction projects. Therefore, the bad attitude and behavior is belonging to the construction it will then rapid increasing the accidents rates. (Wee Lee, 2010, p: 22) According to Wee Lee (2010) there may have another legal loophole in Malaysia. Malaysia safety and health officer they do not have autonomy power therefore they cannot strictly implement the regulation. Moreover, the safety and health officer is employed by the contractor. The contractors may tend to hiding the accident occurrence on site and do not comply with reporting accident happen on their site or even threatened their safety management staff do not report to DOSH that is because the accident of worker may make lost productive time for DOSH officer come over to inspection the accident areas. The construction site accident rate has been increasing simply because of these unhealthy practices in Malaysia. (Wee Lee, 2010, p: 15) Although appoint a safety and health officer of construction site have effective reduce the risk of accident rate. But according to Rabani (2010) mentioned that many contractors they are not aware the important role for appoint a safety and health officer at construction site. Therefore, many contractors they neglect to appoint a safety and health officer. (Rabani, 2010, p: 3) According to Kit Keng (2004) mentioned that when the accident happen at site it may cause contractors suffer losses in term of the productivity and affected their profit. Accident happen may lower down the productivity this may simply because of site worker may because their co-worker happen accident cause injury or death which may affect their physical and psychological fear they were worry to become the next victims. Therefore, may occur a shortage of workers on site because they may do not want to work in an accident workplace. Because of that cause the construction work delay and cannot be completed on time. Contractor suffers losses affect his profit paid site worker to work over-time to speed up the works and completed at schedule time. In fact, poor safety background actually will cause high insurance premium according to Kit Keng mentioned contractors there are always think that as long as he had buy a insurance to protect themselves from the direct losses caused by the accident happen at construction site, but actually some of the contractors they do not know how much had his to pay the insurance premium. Lastly, some of the contractors think that safety and health officer is not necessary for employ at his workplace. But as a matter of fact the contactors should employ a qualified persons act as safety and health officer. (OSHA, s.6 (1)) In addition, according to OSHA 1994 Section 16 have been revised to OSH (Employers Safety and Health General Policy Statements) (Exception) Regulation 1995 by the Minister. The section 16 been amend that, if the organization has more than five employees than the employer and self-employed person has their duty to formulate the safety and health policy. (Occupational Safety and Health Regulation 1995, s.16) However, the OSHA 1994 section 16 had been modified become better and detail for the need of safety and health policy. But after amend the act from pervious penalty maximum RM5000.00 or maximum two years imprisonment or both become not penalty required for the Regulation 1995 which mean the safety and health policy is not an important for the construction site and site workers. In case, the contractors did not provide the safety and health policy to their workers is without any penalty. (CIDB, 2010, pp: 20-21) According to Kit Keng (2004) mentioned that, the barrier to the implement safety and health requirement at construction site is because the contractors seen the safety and health requirements required a big visible cost to implement. Therefore, they often do not comply with the legislation requirement in their workplace as provide the safety and health organizations. Conclusion given the above problem is the OSHA 1994 it still contains a little bit of problems and the contractors have the excuse to bypass some of the responsibilities that he should comply with and implementing at his workplace to reduce the accident occurred at the site. Effective to implementing OSHA 1994 Construction industry is highest hazard among all industry therefore to effective minimize the accident rate and fatalities the construction project should through a good planning and co-ordination before the construction project start. Therefore, the contractor plays an important role to implement safety and health responsibility from the concept to the construction completion. One of the effective ways to bring in safety and health in early stages is incorporate safety and health into tendering stage. Therefore, contractors are required to demonstrate that they have an appropriate safety and health management system and to verify its implementation in practice and his required to comply with contract specific occupational safety and health requirement. (CIDB, 2010, pp: 4-5) Select those potential contractors which are appropriate evaluate the safety and health for the project. Implement safety and health included in contract like PAM Contract 2006. According to PAM 2006 contractors his received letter award his is entitles to starts construction works at site his is required to procure and submit contractors all risks insurance, workman compensation and performance bond to the architect or quantity surveyor before the contractors only allowed commencing the construction works. Although OSHA 1994 and FMA 1967 is able to take legal action but bound the safety and health include in contract will be more effective. Because of contract is binding that able enhance strict to implementing safety and health through taking legal action. Profit is the goal of most business is actually the construction industry is also had the same goal. The way to effective reducing the accident for the construction site may through using approach prevention of injuries and death with implementing occupational safety and health management system. (CIDB, 2010, p: 42) According to Kit Keng (2004) mentioned that contractors seen the visible larger amount for implementing the occupational safety and health management system in his construction project but implementing the safety and health management systems is effectively reducing of injury and death at construction site and benefits to contractors his are achieved through avoidance of delay to his construction project in order to increase his profit as early as completion of the construction project. According to CIDB (2010) stated that, the principles of an occupational safety and health management system contain plan, do, check and act (PDCA). Inside the plan there are mentioned the safety and health policy had to provide at the construction site to introduction the safety and health program. The safety and health policy should be always up-to-date and get aware to the site workers which mean the safety and health policy is very important. Therefore, if the contractors are not complying with OSHA regulation 1995 at his workplace his is be get penalty. Besides, implementing and establish a safety and health committee if the situation is build a condominiums it may have forty or more than forty workers including those staffs hired by employer or workers supply by the sub contractors in this cases the management chain will lead to more than forty worker being hiring or work on the construction project. (Wee Lee, 2010, p: 13) Contractors should implement to form a safety and health committee because there are a lot of workers at the construction site. Otherwise, the Contractors get instructed by the Director General of DOSH that the workplace is required that to form the safety and health committee. Both employee and management are represented for the safety and health committee this is to keep on reviews the construction site conditions. Because of lack of reviews conditions on worksite there may affect worker on site or public surrounding their safety and health. (OSHA, s.30) According to OSHA section 29 and 30 actually contractors should employ a full time competent person act as safety and health officer and then establish a safety and health committee at construction. Safety and health committee must be keeping on reviews the construction site condition. Therefore, at least once every three months the safety and health committee shall conduct periodical inspection and audit on site and provide essential advice on safety issues besides drafting and improving the companys OSH guidelines and procedure. (Rabani, 2010, p: 47) (OSHA, s.29, s.30) Introduction of FMA 1967 Contractors not only had the responsibilities to comply with the OSHA 1994 but Contractors had the obligation need to comply with the FMA 1967 too. FMA 1967 mainly is applying by factories and construction site. The Contractors should understand more about the Factories and Machinery Act 1967, which will help the contractors able to implementing the act on the construction site. This is responsibility of the contractors to maintain all their machinery which is appropriate and safe to operating condition and provide with implement safety measures in construction site operations.(Rabani, 2010, p: 52) Besides, the FMA 1967 section 36 and regulation 7 of FMA (Notification, certificate of fitness and inspection) Regulation 1970 stated that any of the machinery should get permission to install the machinery on construction site is required certificate of fitness. According to FMA 1967 section 35 stated that, any construction project should involve using machinery or plant to carry out the construction work. Only in the case that the construction project is able completed in a period less than six week and does not need or involve using any machinery for their construction project then the contractor is does not require to notify to DOSH. FMA 1967 Section 56 have been revised to FMA (Building Operations and Works of Engineering Construction) (Safety) Regulation 1986 by the Minister. (FMA, s.56) Part I regulation 3 Application stated that these regulations are applied by the building operations and to works of engineering construction. Section 56 Regulations have total 17 parts divided showed in arrangement of regulation. (Factories and Machinery Regulation 1986, r.3) In this research paper was discussing about the construction project which contractors should implementing to minimize the machinery hazard cause site workers injury and death at construction. Therefore, in this research papers will be focus on Part II General Provisions. Statutory of FMA 1967 Since table 1 showing that construction industry is the highest accident of fatalities rates. Therefore, machinery at construction shall also to consider and comply with FMA 1967. According FMA regulation 1986 regulation 25 appoint a site safety supervisors to inspecting and rectifying any unsafe place of work and correcting any unsafe practice on construction site this is to ensure the safety , health and welfare of site workers. Appoint a site safety supervisor will be same requirement with safety and health officer which is person who is qualification. Site safety supervisor there must have at least minimum of two years site foremen experience. Their also have the duty to check the sub-contractor work which is to ensure sub-contractor have comply with the Malaysia legislation. If the contractor appoint a part time site safety supervisor and the particular part time site safety supervisor shall spend at least fifteen hours per week and promoting safe conduct of work at construction site. (Factories and Machinery Regulation 1986, r.25) Otherwise appoint a part time site safety supervisor if the construction site employed more than twenty site workers on a workplace contractor shall appoint a contractors safety supervisor. The contractors safety supervisor shall spend at least five hours per week and promoting a safe conduct to his site workers. Contractors safety supervisor requirement will be same with site safety supervisor with at least two years site foreman experience and qualification. (Factories and Machinery Regulation 1986, r.26) The construction work site which is employed fifty persons or more than it shall establish a safety committee. The safety committee members will be both employee which mean including sub-contractors and contractors and also management members to be represented. Purpose for safety committee is to keep and review safety and health condition in workplace. (Factories and Machinery Regulation 1986, r.27) The safety committee shall appoint senior member of contractors staff at construction site and the safety committee shall consist the site safety supervisor, the entire contractors safety supervisors and others site worker. The safety committee should meeting at least once a month. (Factories and Machinery Regulation 1986, r.27) Furthermore, contractors should implement strict on machinery installed rules on FMA Regulation 1986 regulation 6 just like machinery installed on any floor above the ground floor there have a regulation to control over like any floors above the ground of any building or structures are not allowed to use machinery. Only if the floor or structure has been designed or constructed there are able to support the loading of the machinery or additional strengthen purpose then contractors is allow to use or operate the machinery on the particular building or structures. Contractor should maintain their machinery which is always in good and safe condition his is require to ensure around the machinery surrounding meaning that the passenger walk way is free from any loose material or non-slippery condition. This is to prevent those site workers would not fall down towards to the machines and caused injury or death. According to this regulation 6 if the contractors are not comply with it his will be fines not exceeding RM2000.00. Besides, slipping is easy to happen on construction site. Therefore, Contractors should make sure the surfaces of the passageway sanded or covered or removed. If any passageway such as platform, scaffold or otherwise of elevated working surface is slippery and causing the workers fall down found out is the negligence of the contractor they do not provide slip-safe footing to minimize the slipping hazards on the construction safe according to the FMA Regulation 1986 regulation 8 the contractors would be penalty not exceeding RM2000.00. Contractors have the obligation to keep or remain the worksite passageways with do not have any dirt and debris or other obstruction object may cause site workers tripping. Contractor should minimize those accumulations of dirt and debris on worksite by instructed his site agent to maintain for it and site agent is Contractors representative on construction site. In addition, the debris shall be handled and disposed-off by a method which will not harmful to person and the debris is not allow to accumulate is may constitute a hazard to the worker on site.( Factories and Machinery Regulation 1986, r.22) Moreover, contractors should also have to ensure at worksite there is do not have any projection may or could cut site workers if any, contractor or his representative should removed it or made safe to prevent site workers injury or death. (Factories and Machinery Regulation 1986, r.9) Construction site the most important is provide workers a safe access to workplace. Firstly, Contractors must ensure the construction site provided proper stairways; ramps or runways. (Factories and Machinery Regulation 1986, r.10) According to FMA Regulation 1986 regulation 15 stated that, some of the worker who are work in wet concrete may wet their foot contractors shall provide suitable waterproof boots to protect site workers foots get injuries. Malaysia weather is always raining and it cannot be predicted therefore sometime site worker inevitably work on raining day. Contractor shall provided worker waterproof coat and hat when site workers work on raining day at construction site. The penalty to those contractors they are do not provide is fines not exceeding RM2000.00. Besides, site workers should get protective apparel just like if worker their do not wear a safety helmet access to construction site when the construction project is construct more than two storey high building the workers may get higher risk to get serious head injury or may cause death and all people who are performing any work or services in worksite they should wear safety helmets. (Factories and Machinery Regulation 1986, r.24) Barrier that contractors tend to do not comply to provide all safety helmets and safety boots is because the cost of buying standard helmet and safety boots are very costly generally the construction site are employ many site workers. Moreover, contractors provide safety helmets and safety boots to his site worker simultaneously the contractors shall employ a site safety supervisor or a contractors safety supervisor to ensure the site worker wear proper equipments. According to Kit Keng (2004) mentioned that, good safety records may attract lower insurance premium. Provides safety helmet and safety boots can be effectively reducing the injury and death rates. Therefore, way to implementation is to ensure all the site workers wear the safety equipments properly the employer or architect they representative which mean project manager and site staff should have the responsibility to control by using fines the site workers they own salary to punish them to ensure they comply with the safety and health regulation to protect themselves safer. The electrical hazards is serious if the contractors did not check any part of an electric power circuit which is exposed or hidden by using instruments to find out the electric power circuit location and performance. The purpose to do so is because of the site worker they may use the jackhammers or other hand tools working as drill through the ground. Hence, the Contractors shall post and maintain proper the warning signs which is using national language where is such circuit exists. Contractors have the responsibilities advice his site worker

The Increasing Trend In Marriage Halls

The Increasing Trend In Marriage Halls The increasing trend in marriage halls over the years mainly from 2007-2012 is contributed by a number of reasons. The main aim of this thesis is to find out the reasons to the rising trend in marriage halls from 2007-2012 and to gather in depth knowledge of the marriage halls business and industry in Lahore Pakistan. The areas of research are Gulberg and Garden Town Lahore. Marriage is a basic necessary process every human being passes through during their life time. It not only is necessary but a social custom as it is a religious practice that every individual is likely to follow. Marriage halls aim at organizing marriage and wedding functions providing all the services for the convenience of the people under one roof. Marriage halls provide all services including food, cutlery, sitting arrangements, decor, music system, safety, security and parking. The mission of a marriage hall is to sustain customers and increase repeat clientele as there is high competition in the marriage hall industry. Marriage halls aims at providing customers with the best quality and best arrangements in arranging their marriage function and allowing them to be satisfied as much as possible. Marriage halls business has been a glooming business in the past couple of years and has proven to be profitable. There are 20 marriage halls located in Gulberg and Garden Town both registered and un-registered. As a result with the changes in the government regulations, awareness of customers and economical changes in the economy of Pakistan has affected the industry tremendously and has also given way to increase in competition by introducing outdoor catering services, marquees and other catering service providers to meet customer needs. In this paper I will be discussing the trend of marriage halls from 2007-2012 and the reasons as to why they have increased or decreased supported by facts and figures and using both qualitative and quantitative data. I will be focusing on only Gulberg and Garden Town area in Lahore as my target market and sample size. 1.1 Background Increase in the number of marriage halls and the increasing trend over the years have increased in all over Pakistan from 2001-2012. Pakistan having a large population allows a large number of people getting married every now and then. The marriage halls business is increasing day by day and therefore it is of my interest to find out the reasons to the increasing number of marriage halls in Lahore from year 2007-2012. The increase in the number of marriage halls is due to the convenience it provides to the hosts and allows package budgeting and are easily available according to the requirement. Indoor marriage halls provide protection against bad weather conditions and also allow more traditional outlook for marriages the ambiance, the decor as compared to the outdoor marriage events. According to the Punjab Government laws the halls have to be closed by 10pm rather than events held outside. The owners of marriage halls are more pressure and tension to shut down by 10pm if not they are penalized but in case of outdoor marriage events the organizer and host are in less pressure and tension as they have more time to vacating the area. The marriage hall industry is the only industry booming in the past 5 years as it requires converting residential area to commercial marriage halls. I am motivated to research on the rising trend of marriage halls as this research has not been done previously as it requires first hand information. Therefore it allows me to conduct different research methods to find out the increase in the number of marriage halls. The purpose of this research is to gain all the knowledge about the industry and to have in depth knowledge of the industry. 1.2 Industry Overview Marriage halls industry has been glooming in Pakistan from 2007-2012. A rising trend is seen in the increase of number of marriage halls in Pakistan. Investors foresee it as a profitable investment irrespective of the economical challenges, fluctuations in the prices and changing policies of the government. The changes in the government policies have affected the overall industry in Pakistan; therefore investors have made big investments in marriage halls business. Marriage halls are and have been facing different challenges that affect the business including the rules and regulations of wrapping up the function by 10pm, allowing a one-dish policy in food which as a result squeezes the profit margins for the investors but allows them to earn profits. The high rate of inflation strongly contributes to the increase in the number of marriage halls as the purchasing power of customers have reduced and they prefer to arrange their functions as economically as possible. The challenge of load shedding is another major problem faced by the marriage halls which as a result has increased their expenses and decreased their profits. The overall industry in Pakistan has been facing a business slum by the changes in the government frequently over the years with fluctuations of prices therefore marriage halls have been a safe resort for investors to invest and earn profits. As marriage is a necessary process every individual goes through investors foresee marriage halls business as a profitable business in spite of the challenges being faced by them. Recently from 2010, the competition for marriage halls has been increased by different competitors including marquees and outdoor catering which has increased competition for marriage halls to compete with. Though the target market for marriage halls is particularly the upper-middle, middle-middle and lower-middle class therefore it allows marriage halls business to sustain the business as the middle class income group is high in Pakistan. 1.3 SWOT Analysis Strengths Security Marriage halls provide security to the customers as compared to the other competitors. They provide security in situations of danger, fire and secure the properties of the guests in the function. Economical Prices Marriage halls target the middle class and therefore allow middle class income groups to arrange their function with the best facilities in the most economical prices possible. Due to the high inflation rate in Pakistan marriage halls are booming as the purchasing power of consumers have decreased and marriage halls provide the best economical prices to arrange function compares to competitors. Weaknesses Customization A major weakness of marriage halls is that they provide standard format to arrange marriage functions and lack in providing customization the customers according to their needs. Capacity Marriage halls do not have enough capacity to accommodate people more then 500-700. Whereas marquees can accommodate large number of people from 700-1000 number of guests. Opportunities Increase usage and capacity Marriage halls have an opportunity to increase their usage by conducting other functions including seminars, exams, business meetings, lunches to increase their revenue. Marriage halls also have an opportunity to increase their capacity by building halls to accommodate more people. Threats Government Regulations Government regulations pose a serious threat to marriage halls as they can only offer one dish to be served in the main course and the time restrictions that the functions have to be wrapped up by 10pm. The government regulations are a limitation for marriage halls to earn more profit and to offer customers more satisfaction. Increasing Competition The increasing competition in the industry is also a serious threat that the marriage halls have to face a number of challenges and meet different ways of conducting business. 1.4. Research Objectives:- To find out the percentage increase of the marriage halls from 2007-2012 in Lahore. To find out the number of marriage halls in Gulberg and Garden Town Lahore from 2007-2012. To find out the reasons as to why the trend has increased in marriage halls over the years. To conduct primary research and gain knowledge on marriage halls business in Pakistan. To find out the prospects of marriage halls in Lahore Pakistan. To compare the trend of rise in marriage halls in Pakistan with India and China. 2 Theory 2.1 Literature Review:- Marriages take place in every society, community and country. A number of reasons have been highlighted over the years as to the rise of marriage halls. Wedding expenses have increased by 20 to 30 percent this season and are likely to increase in the coming months. Catering and poultry prices are high and wedding hall rates have been raised considerably. This has added to the consumers financial burden but traders in wedding-related businesses are making the best of it. Wedding halls in Gulberg, Garden Town, Johar Town and Faisal Town have increased their rates and blamed the move on inflation.2Inflation plays an important role in decreasing purchasing power of consumers to spend on wedding activities. Increase in prices has increased expenses and therefore there has been a 30 percent increase in the prices of wedding expenses and wedding halls rates. Due to the high inflation rate consumers find places with economical prices to arrange their functions. Marriage halls therefore provide the only means to arrange a wedding function economically that can be easily afforded by the consumers targeting the middle income groups. The trend of conducting marriage ceremonies at banquet halls has decreased in the city in recent days, as people are scared to leave their houses in the prevailing security situation, owners of various banquet halls told Daily Times on Saturday. In addition to a reduction in the total number of reservations, the numbers of guests attending weddings has also decreased, they said, adding this was very bad for business. They said their business was already under tremendous pressure due to rising prices and limited budgets and the recent wave of terror attacks had only added fuel to the decline. Inflation has squeezed the purchasing power of the people, said Mahboob Ahmed, the owner of a private marriage hall.3 In 2009 with the increase of terrorism in the country marriage hall business has been affected tremendously. People instead arranging their functions outdoor or in marriage halls preferred to stay at home and arrange it at their home. Lack of security caused a lot of people to think whether to arrange wedding functions in house or in marriage halls. Terrorism along with inflation posed a serious threat to the marriage halls and increased intense amount of security concerns in order to survive their business. The industry in 2009 faced a number of challenges allowing the business slope to move downwards effecting marriage halls adversely. The LDA concerned is responsible for providing basic facilities to residents, but it seems that the authority has adopted a liberal policy for issuance of NOCs for conversion of residential plots into commercial plots. It is because of this liberal policy businessmen take advantage and are building marriage halls without considering the prerequisites of the by-laws. The residents are suffering from this mushroom growth of marriage halls which are more than from any other scheme in Lahore. 5 The liberal policy of LDA to issue NOC to the marriage halls in one of the major reasons in the rise of marriage halls in the past couple of years. Lahore Development Authority has been converting residential plots into commercial areas providing businessmen to invest in opening marriage halls and serve as a source of generating revenue for the government as well as the marriage hall owners. Marriage halls surrounded everywhere in the residential area cause inconvenience to the residents causing traffic jams and noise disturbance to the residents living in the surroundings. By issuing NOC creates a high opportunity for businessman to open marriage halls and earn revenue more easily as compared to other industry in Pakistan District Coordination Officer (DCO) Noorul Amin Mengal has warned the owners of marriage halls and said they should be closed on the given time and in case of negligence they would have to face consequences as per law. Chairing a meeting at Town Hall on Wednesday, the DCO said in future no case would be lodged against bride and groom and their relatives while the entire responsibility of late closing of marriage halls would be on the shoulder of halls owners and case would be registered against them.6 Government regulations have immensely affected the running of marriage halls business. All marriage halls are strictly advised to adhere to wrapping up of a wedding by 10pm. In providing food items government has also limited the availability of food items to one-dish only which effects the marriage halls reducing their profits. The DCO stated to charge fines to any marriage hall violating the law and the fine solely being paid by the marriage hall owners. Government regulations have limited the profits of marriage halls but on the other hand the government regulations have been made in the favor of the public security and protection. Therefore these laws allow marriage halls to be profitable as the customers pay the full price of a function allowing marriage halls to provide less and earn more money per head. As Pakistani society has grown more overtly conservative, weddings remain one of the few culturally acceptable venues for men and women to meet without restriction and even dance with each other. In other words, a mehndi is simply a substitute for a nightclub. The phrases used to justify the extravagance ranged from people will talk if you dont have an elaborate wedding, to I just want a traditional wedding and there is social capital being built at weddings.7Marriages in Pakistan from the very start have been a source of entertainment and over the years the ritual has become more of a status symbol of having a prestigious marriage. People in Pakistan spend big amount of money on marriages and is known to be one of the biggest expenses in lifetime for every family in Pakistan. Marriages in Pakistan are costly due to the different events taking place in a marriage including dholki, mehndi, barat and walima. Pakistan facing severe economic challenges the higher spending on wedding functions has not declined as marriages in Pakistan is known to be a big event and spending more money is a status symbol to have a status in the society. But Indias burgeoning middle class now 300 million strong are turning weddings into showcases of their growing disposable incomes and newfound appetites for the goodies of the global marketplace. The largesse has spawned an $11 billion wedding industry, growing at 25 percent annually and beginning to rival the US industry valued at $50 billion. Top global luxury brands and local entrepreneurs are learning that the way into the pocketbooks of Indias new consumers is through their nuptials. 8India has a big wedding industry which is overcoming the US industry. Indian weddings are now a show of wealth in the society and wedding service providers are earning large amounts of money by customizing services. The Indian wedding industry is growing with 25% annually which is more than the growth of the US industry. India is an emerging country with people witnessing rise in disposable income. Increasing disposable income renders people to mark this grand event with luxurious celebrations. Wedding at exotic locations, far from the maddening crowd of the city has become a rage and is considered to be a significant driver. Destination weddings continue to increase as it allows the wedding to be unique. In this format of the event, a planner becomes imperative due to the lack of knowledge of the place at which the wedding will take place as well as towards streamlining the entire process. An Indian wedding needs a lot of time and effort towards planning and implementation.9 India has a big wedding industry growing with a high rate every year. Different factors contribute to the increase in the spending on the marriages in India as well as the number of marriages taking place every year. Weddings for higher class in India are an opportunity to show their wealth, for middle class it is an event for which they have to go beyond limits to make it luxurious and for the lower class it is as simple as a normal event. Spending on luxurious locations, places, have given way to wedding planners as wedding in India require a lot of time to plan. Demographic Profile, In 2011, India had a population of 1.21 billion, and with average family size of five members, there are around 242 million families in India. Considering one marriage per family every 20 years, on average India has around 10 million marriages per year. Also,the estimated median age in India as of 2011 in 26.2 years, signifying a large proportion of population in marriage age group.10 India has a large population of 1.21 billion with average families accounting around 242 families. Almost 10 million marriages take place every year in India with the increasing population the number of marriage increases proportionally. In 2011, it was seen that majority of Indias population lies with the marriage age bracket. Availability of wedding loan and wedding insurance, Many banks and financial institutions have started lending marriages loan to ensure hassle free wedding experience. Also, increase in disposable income has encouraged newlywed to opt for wedding loan and make wedding a grand event. This attitude to make the wedding event grand increases the total wedding cost. With high financial stakes, the couples or their families opt to buy marriage insurance that take care of contingencies during marriage like cancellation/ postponement due to fire or natural disaster, accident of bride groom or burglary.11 Another important factor contributing to the increase in the number of weddings and increase on wedding expenditures is the accessibility of marriage loans and insurance provided by the Indian government. Now its easier for people to spend more as they have access to loans and can pay off later. These all facilities provided by the Indian government are provided to enhance the wedding industry in India and to strengthen it. Wedding Insurance is also popular among people as due to natural disasters during wedding functions people have an option of being compensated by the insurance companies in case of different problems including natural disaster. Official figures suggest that 10 million people wed annually and that the industry as whole turns over more than 250 billion yuan (US$30.2 billion) each year. Big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou have established well developed wedding celebration markets. Beijing, for example, leads the country with 1,000 wedding related firms. About 50,000 couples get married each year in the capital, a diamond mine for the wedding businesses.12 China wedding industry is rising with an increasing number of marriages taking place each year. The main cities of China including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou contribute to the higher revenues generated from weddings on a larger scale. All cities in China have related business to the wedding business which help generate higher profits and develop its wedding industry. While parents use weddings to cement their status and display their wealth, the bridal couple are experimenting with ways to personalize the experience, drawing not only from the U.S. but also from South Korea and Japan, and usually involving vast sums of money. Whereas Chinese weddings used to be about a dinner banquet and honoring parents, todays weddings feature more exotic fare like fire-dancing, elaborate video presentations and motorcades of luxury cars with nameplates like Bentley, Lamborghini and Ferrari.13 Wedding in old times were entirely different from what they are now in the 21st century. People now focus more on showing of their wealth and status by having a lavish wedding of their children and is more considered as a symbol of honour. Chinese weddings are now arranged more exotically with having large amount of budgets for each step in a wedding arrangement from wedding planners to make up to photography and honeymoon. People in china display their status in a wedding by the prestigious cars they have and the different presentations of showing of their wealth in the society. Excess is in order in all departments of the Indian wedding industry, estimated to be a staggering US$ 25.5 billion (Rs.1,42,596 crore) the economy of a small country and growing at the explosive rate of 20 to 25 per cent a year. The speed of economic growth in India, which is responsible for the creation of overnight fortunes, is also creating a conspicuous, yet almost desperate type of consumption at weddings. The average budget for an Indian wedding ceremony in the middle class is estimated to be US$ 34,000 (around Rs.19.01 lakh). The upper-middle and rich classes are estimated to spend upward of US$ 1 million (Rs.5.59 crore). This doesnt include cash and valuables given as part of a dowry. Companies like GE Money India have introduced an auspicious personal loan, exclusively for weddings. Giant malls like the Wedding Souk in Pitampura, Delhi, spread over one acre and with over 100 shops dedicated to weddings, have emerged14 Indian wedding industry is rising day by day and the Indian government provides loans to provide access to cash for weddings. The average wedding costs around 6 crore. People in India spend large amount of money on weddings therefore wedding in a flourishing business in India and contributes a large chunk to the growing economy. Marriage rates have tumbled over the past few decades, falling from about 10 marriages per 1,000 people in the mid-1980s to 6.8 marriages in 2009. This decline is a result of social influences (fewer couples looking to commit) and attitudinal changes, as consumers hold off for financial and lifestyle reasons. However, the fall in the marriage rate has not resulted in a complete disaster for the industry. In fact, the decline has led to a higher-than-average wedding spend, meaning even greater profits for those involved Coming off of 2005 and 2006, two of the most prosperous years in the wedding industry, the sector plummeted as the economy entered recession. Revenues fell from a high of $67.5 billion in 2005 to $42.9 billion in 2009. Industry performance is expected to improve in 2010, expanding an estimated 10% to $47.2 billion, but still far below the years, so businesses need to put in place appropriate strategies to capture that increasing demand.15 As mentioned above the decline in marriage rate in China has led to increase in spending and earn higher profits. The decline is mainly caused by social influence on people, lack of commitment and difference in lifestyles. The decline has not caused damaged but allows the Chinese government to implement strategies that help to capture the increasing demand and develop wedding related business to enhance the industry and provide more services in order to generate more revenues from the wedding industry. 2.2. Competitor Analysis The competitor analysis focuses on two main competitors including Marquees and Outdoor Catering services that cause a serious threat to the marriage halls. Over the past few years the competition in the industry has increased by the increasing awareness among the consumers and consumer needs and wants. Consumers now like everything their way which imposes a pressure on the service providers to be more efficient and provide customized services to cater to their needs. 2.2.1. Marquees Marquee is a tent used for outdoor functions. Different investors have introduced a new concept of marquee which is basically taken from Saudia Arabia Hajj performance in Mina where there are small marquees for people to reside in for 5 days as a necessary process to perform Hajj. The concept has been introduced in Pakistan to arrange marriage and other functions in the outdoor. This has increased the competition for marriage halls as marquees allow customized services meeting the consumer needs and wants and providing value added facilities that include changing the theme of the set, colors, lighting, sitting arrangements to customize the marriage function to the consumer needs. Though marquees lack in providing few facilities including no kitchen, re-heating food facilities and as everything in a marquee is outsourced by other service providers they cause a threat to the quality of food and food diseases as to being stored for longer hours before it is served. Marquees pose a serious threat to the marriage halls indoor services as consumers are more aware and require more customized services and facilities then the traditional marriages concept in the marriage halls. 2.2.2. Outdoor Catering Services Outdoor catering services are an emerging business that has been posing a serious threat to the marriage halls from past many years. The Pioneers of the outdoor catering services are Nadeem Caterers, Hanif Rajput, Zafar Caterers, Dynasty and many other that have changed the way marriage take place now. They provide a complete package from providing a tent to the food, sitting arrangements, generators, lights, music system and all other facilities according to the customer requirements leaving them satisfied. Outdoor caterers pose a threat to marriage halls as it allows consumers to arrange the function with outsourcing different materials from different people and arranging their function according to their needs and budget. 2.3 Comparative Analysis 2.3.1. Industry Overview of Marriage Halls in India India being rich in its culture, history rituals and customs in all aspects surpasses all countries and is known to have the best lavish wedding ceremonies all over the world. All industries in India have been affected tremendously with the financial slum being faced by India, but somehow the marriage hall industry has been able to survive and people spend more money on marriages and perceive to have a life time experience spending as much as they can. The demand for weddings in India has increased and the numbers show that weddings have increased every year. The Wedding season in India takes place in October and all the marriage halls in New Delhi are booked a month before. Indias wedding industry is flourishing as not just the halls but the wedding planners, designers, jewellers, beauty parlours now cash on the wedding season by providing different ways of organizing weddings. Weddings in India are more taken as a an event t spend large amount not by the upper class but the middle class to project their wealth having a status symbol. Wedding Planners in India provide all services from marriage halls to arranging the whole event within the consumers budget making it a customized service for people to pay high fees. People are now more aware of the changing trends in arranging marriages they do not want a simple five-star hotel wedding but a customized wedding. With the increase in purchasing power of the consumers in India people now have more income and spend more on weddings. Indias wedding industry is growing faster and bigger day by day, with people trying to overdo each other as to whose wedding arrangement is better. According to experts its been stated that a single wedding now normally takes 1.5 crore without jewellery. Indias wedding business is flourishing as now new designers are capitalizing on the opportunities in India. Indias wedding business is the best business to invest as it has large profit margins and because of people increased income, and increase in purchasing power they spend more on weddings allowing wedding related services to earn more. Fewer auspicious days, as marriages are arranged only on auspicious days as Hindus place a lot of emphasis on astrology, the industry faces seasonal revenue. In case of unfavourable planetary combination as per astrology marriages are postponed. This act as a barrier for the growth of wedding planner. Furthermore as large number of marriages across country takes place on few selected dates this give rise to the possibility that wedding planner may not be able to capture additional market share.22Marriages in India take place seasonally as majority of the Hindus believe in astrology. This restricts wedding planners on capturing the market share apart from the seasonal dates. This is a restriction for the wedding planners to earn high revenues and is a challenged faced by them. 2.3.2. Industry Overview of Marriage Halls in China Chinese wedding industry has been glooming from past 5 years with a rise in number of marriages each year. The increase in the spending on weddings in China is attributed mainly because of economic, increase in disposable income and cultural change. Wedding expenditures have increased mainly in the urban areas of China accounting to 70% wedding day expenses. The cultural change has a strong impact on the increase on the wedding expenses due to the different government policies including one child policy. Parents want to spend large amounts of money of their childs wedding as they just have one child and desire to have a dream wedding for their child. Other factors contributing to the increase in the wedding expenses is the traditional arrangements and economic factors. Having a new house, household accessories after wedding has become a necessity as before wedding children live with parents and after marriage live separately. The spending habit of chinese people and the increase in disposable income increase the spending on weddings. 30% of savings are spend on weddings of every person in China. With the rise in the number of marriages each year and the increase in wedding expenditures businesses in China have taken it as an advantage and strengthened the wedding industry by providing specialized wedding services and increasing revenue. 2.4 Research Question Rising trend in marriage halls in Gulberg and Garden Town from 2007-2012 in Lahore Pakistan 3 Methodology:- The methodology I will be using to research and analyze the rising trend in marriage halls in Pakistan is by conducting Interviews Survey Study Questionnaires Examination of Secondary Data To gain in depth knowledge of the marriage halls in Lahore I conducted a survey study following the steps mentioned by Campbell and Katrina (1953) in the book Essentials of research design and methodology. Campbell and Katona (1953) delineated nine general steps for conducting a survey. Although this list is more than 50 years old, it is as useful now as it was then in providing a clear overview of survey procedures. The nine steps are as follows: 1. General objectives: This step involves de ¬Ã‚ ning the general purpose and goal of the survey. 2. Speci ¬Ã‚ c objectives: This step involves developing more speci ¬Ã‚ city regarding the types of data that will be collected, and specifying the hypothesis to be tested. 3. Sample: The major foci of this step are to determine the speci ¬Ã‚ c population that will be surveyed, to decide on an appropriate sample, and to determine the criteria that will be use