Automobile and South Africa Essay Example for Free

Automobile and South Africa Essay 1.) Cultural differences have a great effect on how Renault-Nissan operates in South Africa. South Africa is known for its ethnic and cultural diversity. Therefore, in my opinion they would need managers that know the country and how its people do business. Though some of South Africa is a lot like Western Europe, there are eight different languages spoke in South Africa, so having a person from Rosslyn managing the plant would be beneficial. South Africa has been referred to as the â€Å"rainbow† nation, I believe that in order for Renault-Nissan to be successful they will have to do their homework and find a person that knows the country’s customs and traditions to lead them into an emerging market in South Africa. 2.) Culture is a huge factor in Auto sales. For example, in Europe gas is around $8.00 a gallon, if Ford took their F-250 (which gets around 12mpg) into the European market it would fail miserably. It is not because the Ford F-250 is not a quality truck, it is because this truck does not fit into what is now part of the European culture. Also Europeans do not have the same tastes in cars that Americans do so, car companies do research to find out what Europeans look for when they are buying a car. This is how culture affects the auto industry. 3.) I do not believe that it is possible for a car company to transcend national culture and produce a global automobile that is accepted by people in every culture. Though car companies can get away for making a regional automobile for a specific region of the world, there are too many cultural differences that that affect each market to make a â€Å"worldwide† vehicle. Like I said before Europeans have different tastes in automobiles than Americans, Africans, Chinese, Japanese, Indians, and the rest of the world.

Business Essays Corporate Governance

Business Essays Corporate Governance Corporate Governance Executive Summary The main goal of the report is to evaluate the current corporate governance of a certain organization. In this report, the company that has given emphasis is a food retailing company which operates in UK. This company has been able to have effective corporate governance. However, there are still issues that should be given attention in order to ensure that the company is implementing effective corporate governance. The report includes the analysis of the corporate governance structure of the company as well as the issues concerning the board of the organisation. Furthermore, this report also analyses the positive and the negative aspects of the corporate governance implemented in the organisation.All in all it can be concluded that the company has been able to have as strong and systematic corporate governance to ensure quality output. Late in the 1980s, it became apparent that a fundamental shift in the power relationship between a firm’s shareholders and its professional managers was taking place. Shareholders increased their control over the firm’s professional managers, demanding that managers respond more quickly to poor financial performance and to changes in the competitive environment. Stockholders were becoming increasingly dissatisfied with management’s slowness and the ineffectiveness of their actions in trying to adapt to new environmental conditions. Many stockholders became convinced that management did not keep the shareholders’ interests in mind while developing and implementing new strategies. Numerous stories have appeared in the business press chronicling the efforts of shareholders to exert control over corporate management. Fortune magazine’s January 11, 1993, issue featured a cover story by T. Stewart titled â€Å"The King Is Dead,† proclaiming the death of the imperial corporate presidency (Chaganti Sherman, 1998). An increasing number of chief executive officers have been forced to relinquish control of their organizations to others who will more quickly implement massive corporate change. According to Stapledon (1996), corporate governance can be defined as a system that is used in order to direct and control companies. As a matter of fact, this idea applies to all business sectors all throughout the world such as the banking institutions, financial corporations and other types of businesses such as the retailing industry. In particular, corporate governance refers to the examination of the control of a company as utilized by its directors. In accordance to theory, the directors of public companies are held responsible for their action by their shareholders (Davies, 1999). On the other hand, the authority of the shareholders to influence the behavior of the company directors is limited in practice and is rarely exercised. This then provides directors of considerable power to take action as they see fit. However, this is not always the case as it appears to be relatively different form that of the government in which the action of the officials is slightly restrained b y certain actions of the people it governs. Corporate governance, as a term, has come to imply good, in the non-moral as well as the moral sense. Its non-moral applications include efficient decision making, appropriate resource allocation, strategic planning, and so on (Monks Minow, 2001). Nonetheless, in its moral sense good corporate governance has come to be seen as promoting an ethical climate that is both morally appropriate in itself, and consequentially appropriate in that ethical behavior in business is reflected in desirable commercial outcomes (Francis, 2000). Thus, the links here are with due diligence, directors duties, and the general tightening of corporate responsibility. Corporate governance should set a proper example of good intent, and provide for those lower in corporate hierarchies the clear message that it is â€Å"do as I do† as well as â€Å"do as I say† (Francis, 2000). Middle and lower management find it hard to be ethical when it seems that the top of the corporate hierarchy have no commitment. The message of sincerity will always filter down, and no amount of deception will foster the view that a board is ethical when it plainly is not. Additionally, the commitment to ethical corporate governance by a board will enhance the prospects of an ethical infrastructure within the organization. That ethical infrastructure is a manifestation of the commitment, a means of preventing and resolving ethical problems, and an impressive demonstration of sincerity. Primarily, the objective of this paper is to analyse the corporate governance implemented in the company. Herein, the company that will be given emphasis is a food retailing company. Overview of the Company Kay (1995) stated that food retailing in Britain is dominated by six chains and that the oldest and largest is the company that will be analysed in this report. The founder started the company by establishing its first grocery store in south London over a century ago, and the family tradition and the philosophy of good quality products at competitive prices have remained central to the firm ever since. Conservatively managed, the company came to the stock market only in 1973 and since then has expanded steadily from its loyal, and mostly southern, customer base. Founded in the year 1869 in London, John and his wife established their first shop, a dairy business in an area called Drury Lane. Because of the fact that Drury Lane was considered as one of the underdeveloped areas in the city back then, the shop managed to gain recognition in the area as it had products that were inexpensive despite the fact that they were of high-quality. Due to the business’ resounding success, two more shops later on opened at other streets. In the year 1882, the firm already had four shops that were in operation. But this didn’t stop the owner from further expanding his business. Hence, he unveiled his plans to have a storehouse in a town in northwest London in order to accommodate his growing number of supplies. At the same time, it was in this place that the first brand product of the company, namely bacon kilns, was made. Consequently, it was in the same year that the company opened its first branch in a town called Croydon. Unlike the other towns, Croydon was prosperous. And so, the shop here sold superior quality products. Not to mention, it looked much better than the previous shops that had opened. From here on, Sainsbury would continue to grow. At present, this food retailing has been able to hold on to the lead in the market. As a matter of fact, the company is pretty much advanced in many aspects, especially with regards to technology and of course, its fresh products. The company was the first to be able to use scanning and computerized stock control technology. In addition, it had implemented certain techniques such as sales-based ordering. All-in-all, these factors contributed greatly to the company’s competitive advantage that it is currently enjoying. Not to mention, its computerized energy management has helped bring down the consumption of energy. Moving on, the firm has a wide range of products. In fact, during the year 1994, its number of products multiplied more than twice its original number. And as of the moment, the business continues to pride itself with its specialty in fresh foods such as fruits, breads and low-fat milks. Even up to now, their customers continue to demand for even better products which the company efficiently responds to. The corporation is now mainly concentrated on their business in the UK (United Kingdom). This includes the supermarkets, the bank and its recently acquired stores which sells bells. Moreover, the company now has other products which are not food-associated such as home equipment, beauty products, clothing apparel and other general merchandise. As of March 2004, figures indicate that the firm is operating at least 583 supermarkets and it also has 50 banking centers which are housed in the stores themselves and as a result, the workforce has ballooned to about 153,000 people. Nature and Style of Governance It can be said that the company has a very good framework that has been established in order to deal with different corporate matters. In fact, there is usually a properly structured program that is further reinforced by company policies and other procedures for the proper guidance of the directors in their daily duties. Consequently, the company has a clear reference guide to its business operations and corporate governance. The Board of Directors which oversee the businesses and the decision-making routines as well as the financial aspect of things, keeps watch. In addition, this includes the maintenance of the standards with regards to corporate governance in the corporation’s different sectors. The Board is made up of ten directors; two are executive while six are non-executive. Because of this, there is a fair division of responsibilities and other tasks among them. And while the non-executive directors are independent from the others, they are still able to contribute their experience and knowledge during Board discussions. Without a doubt, The Board is in-charge of caring for the company’s operations, assets, and its shareholders. All-in-all, the board aims to work with these factors in the hopes of maximizing performance. Because of this, it is The Board that is responsible for the finalization of budgets and strategic plans. And in order to ensure the firm’s competent operations, The Board conducts a monthly review of the company’s businesses in relation to its financial movements. Furthermore, there is a company law that obliges The Board of Directors to carefully prepare each year, a financial report that would have to be accurate and reliable reflecting the true state of the company. All things considered, The Board of Directors is the one that is responsible for the proper safekeeping of accounting statements and to ensure that these records are precise and truthful. In addition, the board is in-charge of guarding the company’s other assets as well as making the necessary steps in order to prevent complications such as fraud and other types of risks. Aside from the board of directors, the company also has other committees as part of their corporate governance. Just like the board, other committees have a well-established reference guide which also discusses their duties and their scope of authority within the corporation.Composed typically of independent directors who are non-executive, the remuneration committee handles the outline for the company’s remuneration policy which would eventually be reviewed by the board. Moreover, this group is also responsible for the various remuneration packages that are given to executive directors. On the other hand, there is also a nomination committee which is also made up of mostly non-executive directors. The responsibility of this group is to recommend to The Board on which people should be appointed as directors. Finally, there is also a group known as the audit committee. Compared to the other two, the members of this committee is purely composed of non-executive directors. This group’s duty is to make proper recommendations with regards to the company’s accounting policies as well as overseeing financial control within the corporation (Sternberg, 1998) . For this reason, the committee usually receives and reviews financial reports and other statements delivered to them. Then, they make a comprehensive report before they submit it to The Board. Of course, there is also the group’s evaluation of the risks involved which has always been done to assist with the company’s next business move, and have further control of the corporation’s different operations. Issues Concerning the Board The board of directors is responsible for ensuring that the organization always has the best business performance and corporate governance. However, there are several issues that concern the board. One of which is in terms of the level of skill and care expected of the directors, specifically the non-executive directors. All non-executives should take note of the following comments in the Report, which could well foreshadow the approach of a court: â€Å"It must be recognised that non-executive directors may bring different skills to a board, some quite specialised, and that such persons may have limited accounting experience. However, accounting is not so complicated that such directors should be excused responsibility for the accounts. Accounting issues can be clearly explained so as to be understood by sensible laymen. If accounts are gone through carefully, explaining significant items in them, laymen should be able to ask pertinent questions and make informed judgments thereon. If, after all this, the layman cannot understand the companys accounts, then he ought not to be a director of that company. Often it is the director with little accounting experience whose common sense may lead him to question what those with accountancy experience may let pass. The accountings issues in respect of which some make criticisms were nearly all ones which involved no accounting complexity and what was acceptable and what was not should have been obvious to any reasonable director possessed of the facts who sensibly applied his mind to the issue. In most instances, those directors who decided to adopt the accounting were in a better position than the auditors to determine whether the treatment applied was acceptable or not. Those directors were thus not entitled to suspend their own independent judgment and rely upon the fact that the auditors failed to prevent them from adopting an unacceptable course. Another issue that concerns the Board is in terms of inadequate financial information. There are time that some of the members of the board, never prepared or presented to the Board any consolidated budgets or managements accounts which brought together the budgets and results of all the divisions in the Group. The absence of consolidated management accounts facilitated the practice of unacceptable year end adjustments being made by the accountant directors, unbeknown to most of the other directors, to create extra reported profits. In the last few years, the first the board as a whole knew of the results to be published was when the preliminary or interim announcement was circulated for information at the close of the board meeting that invariably occurred the day prior to announcement. In effect, the board as a whole never discussed the details of the results or what lay behind them. The main boards lack of understanding of the composition of the reported results was an extraordinary state of affairs which no director should ever have tolerated. Positive Aspects of Governance The Board has been able to attain complete control of all matters regarding the company. Their self-perseverance and obligation to their duties and finally, their obedience to the company laws all contribute to the development of the corporation. As such, The Board constantly believes that all the data pertaining to financial information and other facts regarding to their operations that are currently being used is reliable. The Board’s authority is clearly recognized within the company. And because of this, it is able to have a solid grip on the corporation’s actual operations, stakeholders and its financial concerns. Needless to say, because of the corporation’s proper structure and its commitment to the stakeholders and to the community as well, the board of directors has proven that it can efficiently handle both its ethical and legal responsibilities. Furthermore, the company is currently maintaining good relations and open communications with its investors. As a matter of fact, shareholders are regularly invited by the corporation whenever there are gatherings to discuss trade updates. Moreover, whenever there is an annual general meeting, investors get the chance to meet The Board members themselves. And of course, for private investors, they can also access the company’s website for various shareholder services. Undoubtedly, the company has good consideration for all of its stakeholders; past, present and future. There definitely seems to be a very well planned framework in the firm’s corporate division. It has good policies and procedures with regards to financial matters and operational concerns. Its procedure of assessing the different kinds of situations that come up is certainly a good move on their part. Not to mention, they have maintained good relations with their stakeholders. And finally, The Boardâ€⠄¢s authority is unsurpassed. Clearly, these facts prove the strength of the company’s corporate governance structure. Negative Aspects The weakness on this case however, is the fact that it cannot always be assured that there are no losses or other errors which may result from mistakes and inconsistencies by one of the committees or employees involved. In addition, having diverse populations, there can be a possibility of having internal problems between members who have different culture and beliefs. In addition, some problems occur in terms of giving value to the companies’ shareholders. There are times that the shareholder is not given the enough information about the status of the company, specifically that shareholder which have a small part in the business. This happens when the board of directors does not give value to their shareholders. Other negative aspects include the imperfection of financial reporting procedures which may definitely result in ineffective corporate governance. Recommendation Corporate governance is said to be one of the most important aspects to be considered in an industry. Hence, it is recommended that the company should be able to determine the most appropriate and effective corporate governance structure and approach so as to ensure that the business will adhere to all social responsibilities, legal and ethical aspects. In addition it is also recommended that this food retailing industry should give value not only to its customers and employees but most especially to the shareholders who have trusted the company and its capabilities. The company must be able to align carefully their corporate governance approach with its organizational objectives. Conclusion Corporate governance is a process which is concerned about how corporations are managed, how managers are governed, what questions face by boards of directors and the accountability a corporation has to shareholders. In this case, it can be seen that the food retailing industry has been able to implement effective corporate governance which guides the organization to become more competitive in the marketplace. Accordingly the issues concerning the board include the level of skill and care expected of the directors and inadequate financial information. In order for the organization to address the issue, the members of the board are trying to create a resolution for these issues. In terms of positive aspects, the members of the company have been able to contribute well in ensuring competitive performance of the company. The board of directors of this organization ensures that all their actions are legal and adheres to business ethics. In addition, they also ensure that their social responsibility is also incorporated with their accountabilities. Although the company has positive aspects, it also has its negative aspects. One of which adheres to the notion that, because of the mistakes and inconsistencies of the individual involved, it cannot always be assured that there will be no losses or errors that will occur. In ability to handle diversities and differences is also a negative aspect that can be attached with the company’s corporate governance practice. Lastly, inability to ensure shareholder value is another negative aspect of the company. It is said that the shareholder is regarded as the central stakeholder of each industry. It can be concluded that in order for the company to have a competitive business performance, the company must start from within, from its corporate governance. Reference Chaganti, R., Sherman, H. (1998). Corporate Governance and the Timeliness of Change: Reorientation in 100 American Firms. Westport, CT: Quorum Books. Davies, A. (1999). A strategic approach to corporate governance. London: Gower Publishing Limited. Francis, R. (2000). Ethics and Corporate Governance: An Australian Handbook. Sydney, N.S.W.: University of New South Wales Press. Kay, J. (1995). Foundations of Corporate Success: How Business Strategies Add Value. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Monks, R.A.G. and Minow, N. (2001). Corporate governance. 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell Publishes Ltd. Stapledon, G. (1996). Institutional Shareholders and Corporate Governance. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Sternberg, E. (1998). Corporate governance: accountability in the marketplace. London: The Institute of Economic Affairs.

Changing Marketing Strategies of Pharmaceutical Companies

Changing Marketing Strategies of Pharmaceutical Companies Abstract Pharmaceutical companies spend large sums of money in the time-consuming research and development of new drugs and the new classes of drugs. Each company marketing in the US seeks the possible payoff of staggering high profits which is possible on their patented medicines. Because of the lack of price regulation in the marketing environment in the United States, the United States has become a premium sales market targeted by all pharmaceutical companies. This explains the continued willingness of each pharmaceutical company to persist through the entire long process of idea, creation, development, testing, approval, marketing and distribution despite the high possibility of product failure. The pharmaceutical companies have had to additionally contend with more US federal FDA rules, regulation and oversight in the United States for the entire process before receiving clearance to start marketing their drug product. Other influences like HMOs and Social Security cap limits affect prof itability structure. Over the last fifty years newer marketing strategies by pharmaceutical companies on prescription drugs include a directive appeal to the end consumer to increase the odds of making corporate profits and a marketing focus on social and internet interaction. Introduction Pharmaceutical companies produce specialized medical drug material designed to fill a need. These pharmaceutical companies are usually multinational operations located in key countries around the globe. Many have grown to become complete facilities that attempt to do the entire spectrum of research, develop, test and finally market the subject drug in order to reap the whole benefits possible from the entire cycle (Kaitin, 2010). The pharmaceutical industry has shown over time that they have the capability to increase consumer perceived value with their unique drug products using their own successful plans for timely marketing. But because of these old and new factors causing cumulative hurtles, a new trend in marketing in the pharmaceutical industry is now to additionally market direct to the customer, for example: TV advertising spots showing a new superior drug product which has special features making it directly appealing to a consumer. Changes in basic marketing structure tacti cs will be evaluated for the key levels of pressure from these internal and external factors as these pharmaceutical companies seek to address continuing ongoing product failure rates, increasing US regulation and the ever present potential competition from others inside their own industry. This trend has been a natural development over the last hundred years or so. This is reasonable because the same research that produces one drug may produce an entire class of drugs for market. Confidentiality, control, patents and oversight give these pharmaceutical companies the oversight. It also allows each pharmaceutical company to keep maximum control of all their connected environments. And by controlling these the final marketing each company achieve continues the cycle of giving the most control over the drug for the marketing campaign. The drug industry often competes worldwide and on different economic levels but in some specific territorial markets like the United States, pricing structures are not preset by the government and therefore the free market sets its own competitive standards for pricing giving the possibility and most often the probability of higher drug prices with the resultant bigger profit level opportunities. However these are offset by rigorous structural standard guidelines set by the FDA that must be complied with for any drug sold or marketed to the US public. In the past, drug companies in United States, marketed to doctors, hospitals, nursing homes and sometimes middleman companies as transitional handlers of the newest product. Marketing drugs in the United states has now changed as developers are now targeting consumers directly through television spots, online advertising and in print ads. The direct appeal is to make the end point consumer aware of the name of the drug and its benefits. The object is to have the consumer become familiar with the trade name, ask for the drug directly from their doctor thus boosting the initial sales of the new product and creating a ready market. Industry History Marchetti Schellens (2007) outline the structures of development showing it to be complex and expensive. Not only does the potential class or specific drug have to be discovered or created, it has to show promise for certain illness or disease, then pharmaceutical research can proceed through certain phases. Pharmaceutical companies have a history of costly product failures. Generally theres three clinical phrases and all this can take upwards of 15 years to complete. Additionally the FDA has trended over the last decade to creating higher pressures against drug companies by not approving as many new drugs for marketing. The probability odds are that any specific drug in early clinical phase has only 8% chance or less of ever becoming public (Food and Drug Administration, 2006) (Kummar, 2007). In the United States the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sought to control the drugs available to Americans because of the number of tragedies that have resulted in birth defects o r deaths. The most highly publicized incident was in the mid-1960s and the drug was called thalidomide which for pregnant women often resulted in severe birth defects. As an end result of public outrage creating governmental pressures, the pharmaceutical companies are overseen at all levels and must now successful clinical trials. Lamb(1998) writes that testing protocols have been standardized and once clinical trials are completed there is a analysis period with the end result being an application to the FDA called an NDA ( new drug application) which contains all the technical information. Over the last forty years (1970s -2010) and now in 2011 differential forces are in opposition to the ends of pharmaceutical companies. Environmental and safety issues, new technologies, mergers and the rise of managed care and health maintenance organizations (HMOs) have all effectively changed the environment thats pharmaceutical companies operate in. additionally in 1997 the FDA changed regulations relating to the presentation of risk level. This action in the United States opened the door for pharmaceutical companies to directly market to the public .This freedom for the pharmaceutical companies is offset by the FDA still having oversight surveillance of the specific phases and clinical approval. The FDA must approve the drug. After the drug is marketed there is oversight for continued compliance by the pharmaceutical companies to ensure a low-level of side effects during marketing. Post approval by the FDA comes solely after this period (Silverman, 2011). Pharmaceutical company spending on marketing exceeds that spent on research.[3][22] In 2004 in Canada $1.7 billion a year was spent marketing drugs to physicians and in the United States $21 billion were spent in 2002.[4] In 2005 money spent on pharmaceutical marketing in the US was estimated at $29.9 billion with one estimate as high as $57 billion.[3] When the US number are broken down 56% was free samples, 25% was detailing of physicians, 12.5% was direct to consumer advertising, 4% on hospital detailing, and 2% on journal ads.[4] In the United States approximately $20 billion could be saved if generics were used instead of equivalent brand name products.[3] Although pharmaceutical companies have made large investments in marketing their products, overall promotional spending has been decreasing over the last few years, and declined by 10 percent from 2009 to 2010. Pharmaceutical companies are cutting back mostly in detailing and sampling, while spending in mailings and print advertising grew since last year.[23] Historical Marketing Pharmaceutical companies have employed various methods of marketing their products and this idea can be understood by the phrase â€Å"How would you like to be in an industry where your buyers are uninformed about your product and almost 100 per cent insensitive to its price?† (The Business Edge Consortium, 2010). For many decades this was true. Around the mid 80s this started to change â€Å"The result of these industry conditions was impressive profit growth through the middle of the 1980s. With significant barriers to entry, docile suppliers, powerless buyers, almost no threat of substitutes, and little rivalry, the pharmaceutical industry in the 1980s was just about as perfect an industry as one could imagine. Given its attractiveness, the industry attracted the attention of genetic and molecular biology scientists and the venture capital community, who saw its appeal and thought their revolutionary approaches to drug therapy could attract enough money to overcome the for midable entry barriers the industry enjoyed. Thus, as scientific advances in biotechnology took hold, numerous entrepreneurial companies like Genentech and Amgen were founded to commercialize new scientific breakthroughs. Genentech, the first biotech firm having commercial success, developed a protein that broke up blood clots. Amgens famous molecular biology used recombinant DNA to produce erythropoietin, a hormone that increases the supply of red blood cells in anaemic patients under treatment for cancer and other diseases. By 2000, erythropoietin was generating $2 billion in sales and another $3 billion in licensing revenue for Amgen. Both of these new entrants fared very well in this attractive industry:Genentech went public in 1980, and by 2001 its shares had appreciated 2700 per cent since its IPO. Amgen shares, first offered in 1983, soared more than 16,000 per cent. Starting in the mid-1980s, the barriers to enter the pharmaceutical industry began to show cracks. New legislation made it easier for generic drug companies to enter the market. In the USA, the 1984 Waxman-Hatch Act, which changed the rules for generic drug manufacturers, reduced the barriers to generic entry. Instead of having to prove the generic drugs safety and efficacy, the act required companies only to prove their formulas were equivalent to that of the brandname drug. The subsequent growth in generic drugs was profound. By 1996, generic drugs accounted for more than 40 per cent of pharmaceutical prescriptions. Aside from the influx of generics, the pharmaceutical companies also saw a wave of biotechnology competitors enter their industry Genentech, Amgen and many others suggesting that economies of scale meant less than they used to, and that barriers to entry, while still high in absolute terms, were dropping, thanks in part to the availability of venture capital. Further, the biotech companies new science-focused research model, known as rational drug design, stood the traditional approach to drug discovery on its head. These drug companies worked backwards from known disease biochemistry to identify or design chemical ‘keys to fit the biochemical ‘locks of that disease.† Traditionally they employed very effective strategies that includes educational sponsorship to cover the costs of continuing instruction for top medical personnel, sponsorship of articles in well-respected journal publications, providing free drugs samples to doctors and promotional gifts that include a corporate logo or specifics about a drug the idea behind the promotional marketing is to simply connect the new drug with an old medical symptom and encourage the writers of the prescription to fulfill the marketing cycle. Promantally pharmaceutical samples are still given out to doctors as a promotion and marketing tactic and it works (Alexander, Zhang Basu, 2008). A few generations ago these forms of marketing worked well for the pharmaceutical companies. However circumstances have changed. The FDA seeks to discourage the intimate connection between pharmaceutical companies and their pharmaceutical representatives is the connection to the doctors prescribing medicines, these days d octors see more patients and fewer pharmacy drug representatives, additionally there is a continuing trend by hospitals, doctors and pharmacies towards being conservative in their recommendations and prescriptions because of lawsuits of all kinds (Pharmaceutical Industry History, 2007). Medical drug malpractice suits in the US are rising. Fiscus (2008) writes that â€Å" In the United States, the growing use of DTC advertising has raised challenges to one of the strongest defenses available to drug manufacturers against failure to warn allegations in product liability suits for prescription drugs and medical devices: the learned intermediary doctrine. Under this doctrine, a manufacturer fulfills its duty to warn by adequately informing a learned intermediary, typically a physician.† Current Marketing .In 2010 the global pharmaceutical market is worth over 825 million with a large percentage of this comes from newer and mature drug products and there are over 100,000 health-related websites (The Business Edge Consortium, 2010). The statistics show that marketing by pharmaceutical companies is changing because of external pressures. There has been a dramatic rise in U.S. physicians routinely using d the web to check or research information making the relevance of digital promotion all the more important Pharmaceutical companies have risen to the changing challenge of Internet marketing and now promote and advertise doctor friendly physician and customer service online portals like PubMed, the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National, and Physicians Interactive (Kaitin, 2010). Pharmaceutical marketers are relying more on connecting digital medical information to their target audience through focused marketing, interactive social media campaigns, and cell and mobile linked advertising all targeted to connect to the 145 million + U.S. adults who go online for health answers . The old saying â€Å" time is money† is accurate in the case of pharmaceutical companies as it takes upwards of 15 years to develop a potential drug which only has a 8% probability of getting out of trials and going to market. Therefore it is a necessity to carefully control costs and expenses where possible. One major area of expense has been having marketing representatives which were costing out as high as15 to 20% of a pharmaceutical companies annual drug product revenues. As pharmaceutical company overall expenses and costs have additionally escalated over the last few generations there is a need to reduce expenses down where possible. So the switch from costly pharmaceutical representatives to cheaper graphic marketing is easily understood. Finkelstein (1997) wrote that Competitive and technological changes in the pharmaceutical industry-from powerful new drug chemistries to innovative RD partnerships and marketing plans-are reshaping the business strategies of many phar maceutical and biotechnology companies Given these cost pressures it is understandable that the pharmaceutical companies are looking for better ways to market their drugs. The newest strategy is now to promote what is known as marketing blockbuster medical drugs directly to the consumer public. The idea was to empower the consumer. Right now only the United States and New Zealand allow pharmaceutical products promoted by DTC (Pharmaceutical Drug Manufacturers, 2011). When an individual consumer requests information and the medicine by name by their Doctor some of the responsibility while also applying pressure on the doctor to prescribe the new medicine. Additionally both the small and large pharmaceutical companies are now using digital media to promote their products. From TV and cable to Internet ads consumers are constantly being made aware of the virtues and minor drawbacks of a number specific pharmaceutical drugs. The reasoning behind this strategy by the pharmaceutical companies is relatively simple, if they can promote their products and make its trade name and cure synonymous with the ongoing medical complaint in the publics mind, then they can create momentum utilizing the end customer. Another reason for doing this is to get any of their major blockbuster drugs to pay for the company costs for their other company made drugs sold in smaller volumes Another reason for marketing these blockbuster drugs as to make a success of these drugs synonymous with the company name creating consumer goodwill towards the next product. The latest trend is for reduction in the number of blockbuster drugs and pharmaceutical companies delvin g back into their former research to find potential missing new specialized drugs, .this can be seen clearly by the reduction in applications to the FDA showing ever reducing numbers of new drugs. Another complication that pharmaceutical companies must contend with is the ever-growing number of over-the-counter substitutes (OTCs) that the consumers choose to purchase as an alternative. Over a period of 20 years Naprosyn was widely prescribed as an arthritis remedy but now is available as an over-the-counter drug. A whole spectrum of drugs from arthritis to antihistamines are now available without prescription providing relief to customers but adding little to the economic bottom line of pharmaceutical companies that originally developed these drugs. Another complication in drug marketing is the force exerted by HMOs on doctors and what doctors prescribe .Generally the majority of HMOs are not big on covering high prescription costs for new medicines recently brought to market. The economics are easily understandable because it is not about a single client which needs a single drug but the numbers are multiplied by the potential hundreds of thousands. Therefore HMOs seek to be conservative. And because of that they create a potential customer roadblock for pharmaceutical companies with the new drug on the market at a very high price. Because of the HMO will not cove r the price then the customer must, which generally means the consumer settles for less than the newest product. managed care organizations (MCO), compared with 5 per cent of the US population covered in 1980. These MCOs typically provided full coverage for prescription drugs. But, because of their sheer mass, these institutions had considerable bargaining power with drug companies If present industry overview is taken into consideration then the global pharmaceutical market in 2010 is projected to grow 4 6% exceeding $825 billion. The global pharmaceutical market sales is expected to grow at a 4 7% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2013. This industry growth is driven by stronger near-term growth in the US market and is based on the global macroeconomy, the changing combination of innovative and mature products apart from the rising influence of healthcare access and funding on market demand. Global pharmaceutical market value is expected to expand to $975+ billion by 2013. Different regions of the world will influence the pharmaceutical industry trends in different ways. http://www.da-group.co.uk/index.php?option=com_contentview=articleid=31%3Amicro-and-macro-environmentscatid=2%3Amarketing-lecturesItemid=3 CURRENT CHALLENGES FOR THE RESEARCH-BASED INDUSTRY To understand why â€Å"business as usual† is no longer an option for the research-based drug industry, it is worth considering some of the myriad challenges that drug companies currently face. At the top of the list is the upcoming onslaught of patent expirations of many highrevenue- generating branded medicines. Between 2009 and 2012, worldwide sales for these products will exceed $112 billion (Table 1). Included in this list are 36 blockbusters (drugs with annual sales of $1 billion or more). Some important examples include Singulair (montelukast), with more than $4 billion in annual sales (patent expiration in 2012); Plavix (clopidogrel), with more than $8 billion in annual sales (patent expiration in 2011); and Lipitor (atorvastatin), with an industry-leading $13.7 billion in annual sales (patent expiration in 2010). Given that only 3 in 10 new products, on average, generate revenues equal to or greater than average industry RD costs,1 the loss of patent protection on the se blockbusters represents a very real threat to the industrys ability to sustain its own growth. Without question, many of the large pharma mergers and acquisitions announced in 2009 reflect the industrys desire to avoid the imminent danger of the patent cliff, rather than an interest in enhancing RD capabilities or scope. The current environment for innovation presents formidable economic, regulatory, and political challenges for the research-based pharmaceutical industry. In particular, the growing time, cost, and risk related to drug development are stubborn obstacles to filling industry pipelines and boosting the output of new pharmaceutical and biological products. Presented here is a model of an innovation network. Although structures may vary, the innovation network offers the best mechanism to ensure viability and economic success for all sectors of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, as well as the uninterrupted flow of innovative lifesaving and life-improving medicines for waiting patients. The Rise of Contract Research Organizations Clinical trials are administered by investigators at hospitals, academic institutions or managed sites. The investigators find and enroll healthy and symptomatic volunteers, each of whom is required to sign an informed consent acknowledging acceptance of the drug and its potential side effects. The testing protocol and informed consent form are monitored by Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) in the sites where the trials are conducted. In essence, the IRB acts as an ethics committee to ensure the safety of patients and volunteers. Once clinical trials are completed, the data are subjected to biostatistical analysis over a 6 to 12 month period.3 If the data yield promising results, the sponsor seeks final approval though a New Drug Application (NDA). The NDA must contain all scientific information the sponsor has gathered and typically fills 100,000 pages or more.4 During the review period, the FDA assesses the safety and effectiveness of th e drug, the manufacturing process, and the risk-benefit calculus.5 By law, the FDA has 180 days to either approve the application or notify the sponsor of the opportunity to request a hearing on the merits of the application.6 In practice, however, the FDA review process takes more than two years; in 1996, for example, the mean approval time for NDAs was 17.8 months, down from over 30 months during the late 1980s.7 Following approval, the FDA may require additional post-market research. Post-market surveillance regulations require the sponsor to collect and periodically report additional safety and efficacy data.8 In addition, the FDA may request further clinical research (Phase IV) to find new uses for the drug, test dosage formulations, compare the drug to competitors treatments, and assess long-term effects.9 Finally, pharmaceutical Conclusions A continuous call for ethical standards by pharmaceutical companies that market in the United States is often put aside because company marketing and business model of making profits matter more.(Pharmaceutical Drug Manufacturer, 2011). Brezis (2008) writes that the US public will lose out in the long run because the pharmaceutical companies are more focused on marketing and profits than about public health. Drug trial deaths still happen and have been described as a trade secret. It is not just one of the big pharmaceutical companies by Johnson Johnson, Merick and others whose own safety documents raise concerns that are buried in stacks of papers while marketing continues (Brezis, 2008). But this is offset by the ability of both the doctor and patient to use the Internet to search out the detailed information and become truly informed. Each of them can then make an informed decision about the benefits and potential drawbacks of using pharmaceuticals.

Back In My Day :: essays research papers

Back in My Day…   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  “Back in my day, people just didn’t do stuff like that.'; In addition to hearing about how bread used to cost a nickel, that quote is what you hear it from the elders of most generations when talking about violence, especially on television in the present time; they say that the violence seen just did not seem to exist back then. However, when one thinks about it, violence that extreme has existed throughout the ages, whether it was as early as the Iliad and the Odyssey during the Greek era, the Aeneid in the Roman era, or even in Christian stories in the Bible.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first example of historic extreme violence is back in the time of the Iliad and the Odyssey during the Greek era, which happened during the eighth or ninth centuries BCE. These two epics, which are considered by many scholars to be very fine works of art, are filled with gratuitous acts of violence and other such acts of immoral behavior. In the Iliad, especially in Book 5, where Homer tells of Diomedes’ aristea, a detailed account of how a man battles and injures both man and gods is given. In lines 72-75, for example, Homer gives us a terrifyingly graphic description of the battle scene: “Now the son of Phyleus, the spear-famed, closing upon him struck him with the sharp spear behind the head at the tendon, and straight on through the teeth and under the tongue cut the bronze blade, and he dropped in the dust gripping in his teeth the cold bronze.'; Examples of aggression and viciousness are also given in the Odyssey. In this, most say that Odysseus was justified in doing what he did, but it is still brutal fighting. The best example of viciousness is given when Odysseus finally returns home and has to defeat the suitors: “Odysseus’ arrow hit him [Antinoos] under the chin and punched up to the feathers through the throat. Backward and down he went, letting the winecup fall from his shocked hand. Like pipes his nostrils jetted crimson runnels, a river of mortal red, and one last kick upset his table knocking the bread and meat to soak in dusty blood.'; These two examples might not be the same as a gang war or a drive-by in the middle of the streets in New York, but they are still brutal and gory nonetheless.

Environmental Destruction in Southeast Asia due to Golf Course Developm

Environmental Destruction in Southeast Asia due to Golf Course Development The sport of golf has come a long way since it was first played on the wind blown pasture lands of Scotland over 600 years ago. Today, golf courses around the world are in a way their own small ecosystem, where only pieces of the natural environment are a part of these artificial landscapes. Courses are meticulously groomed for both championship and tourist play. The game is taking front stage all over the world and new courses are being constructed everyday. This may be great for the game of golf and the wealthy investor who is making millions off of these luscious green fairways, but what about the drawbacks to environmental degradation that it is causing? The main environmental effects of golf courses in Southeast Asia are similar to those all over the world, but lack government regulation like in the United States. These countries do not have a strict Environmental Protection Agency or other NGOs to keep these issues under control. The main problems between the environment and golf course development that will be discussed in this paper include water usage and contamination, deforestation, the use of toxic chemicals and fertilizers, and the importation of non native grasses. The governments of these countries will also be examined, as to how they are dealing with these problems and how, if at all, they are helping their native people. After discussing the problems of Southeast Asia’s golf boom, this synthesis will go into detail about what can be done to help slow down or eliminate many of these problems.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The world’s golf craze and Japan’s current obsession over the game has swept through the countries of Southeast Asia since the early 1990’s and currently there are over 500 new courses in the region. This compares to a total of only 45 golf courses in these same countries in the early 1970’s. Currently, Malaysia has 155 courses, Indonesia has approximately 90, the Philippines have 80, and Thailand has close to 200 golf courses spread throughout their landscape.(ASIAGOLF) Along with these newly developed golf courses come all of the negative environmental impacts. In many of these countries, the government is either too corrupt, poor or they are focusing their energies on a multitude of other issues. Negative environmental effects are often times low on their pri... ...ts of Golf Course Development." Clubbing Southeast Asia. 12 Apr. 2005 . "Japan Golf Courses and Deforestation (JPGOLFCase)." Japan's Golf Courses and the Environment. 1 Nov 1997. 12 Apr. 2005 . Cassady, Jeff (Bayer Crop Science). Personal interview. 12 Apr 2005. Contact Information: (336) 255-1164 "TED Case Study." Asia Golf and Environment. 1 Nov 1997. 12 Apr. 2005 . Fahn, James David. A Land On Fire. Bolder: Westview, 2003. (Fahn 53-59) Chris, Reuther. "Towards a Greener Game." A New Environmental Awareness is Slowly Taking Hold of the U.S. Golf Industry. Aug 1999. The Academy of Natural Sciences. 14 Apr. 2005 . "Sport and Environment: Thailand's Golf Boom." Forces Behind Thailand's Golf Rush. 12 Apr. 2005 . (Sport and Environment: Thailand's Golf Boom) Morita, Gen . "Global Antigo." The Global Anit-Golf Movement - Manifesto. 4 1993. The Global Anti-Golf Movement. 14 Apr. 2005 . "Impact of golf courses: social, environmental, and economic." Impact of Golf Courses. Barcelona Field Studies Centre SL. 12 Apr. 2005 . Hildebrant, Timothy . "Environmentalists cry 'fore!' in China." csmonitor.com. 16 Jul 2003. the Christian Science Monitor. 12 Apr. 2005 .

Putting service users at the heart of provision Essay

Anti-discriminatory practice is promoted in health and social care settings through putting service users at the heart of provision, ‘this means to focus on what the person needs and provide is, giving them control and power over their lives, rather than just telling them what services are available.’ (Health and Social Care, Hodder, Rasheed et al, page 27, 2010) The individual is put at the heart of service provision, the health and social care sector needs to, empower individuals, provide active support consistent with the beliefs, culture and preferences of the individual, promote individuals’ rights, choices and well-being and support individuals to express their needs and preferences. All care is centred around the individual’s needs. This means that in a health care setting a care plan will be done with the resident so that the resident feels they have control over their care and the staff would be able to care for that service user according the their preferences, sometimes it not possible for the service user themselves to tell the staff their preferences, this could be because of a disability, such as learning difficulties or someone who has a hearing impairment, then the service user could have a family member or an advocate can speak on behalf of them because if the care worker doesn’t do the care plan with them then this will not empower the service user and their care will not be to their preferences which could be very distressing for the resident. Empowering individuals Empowerment is one of the fundamental principles of care work, empowerment is about enabling people to take control of their lives through choices and be as independent as possible. It is important in a health and social care setting that they make service users feel like they are still in control, giving them choices about their care, even just little things like where does the individual want to sit, will make them feel more empowered and feel less like their life has been taken control of. In these settings staff members will do care plans with the service users to make them feel involved  and like they have control over their care. Even if the care workers don’t totally agree with the service users decisions they can only advise against it and will have to accept and support whatever decision is made by the individual. Service users will feel more valued when they are being empowered. It is also important that staff allow the service user to be as independent as possible and only helping them where it’s needed so that the individual doesn’t feel like there independence has been taken. A difficulty with this could be if a service user lacks mental capacity, and did not have any immediate family around them, then it would be down to the professionals to make decisions about their care, and would choose the best options for that individual concerning their care, so this would mean that the service user might not feel empowered as they are unable to make their own choices. Balancing individuals rights with the rights of others Balancing individual’s rights with the rights of others requires very good organisation, negotiating and communication skills it will also require the support of a network of services with everyone in that service working towards a solution for individual rights. It’s about allowing residents to have a choice, because they have individual rights. an example of this could be if some residents wanted to watch a specific television programme but a couple other residents wanted to watch something else, the staff member would then have to negotiate with the residents and organise a room where the other residents can watch what they wish so that everyone possible is happy with what they are watching. A problem with this could be if the staff member did not have very good communication skills and was not able to negotiate effectively with the service users, because they have a lack of training in this area, to overcome this difficulty employees need to ensure all staff members have up to date and appropriate training so that the staff member is prepared for everything and knows how to balance individuals rights with the rights of others and how to deal with the conflict. Culture and preferences of the individual This means understanding and helping promote the service users culture, religion and preferences, and taking this into account when making decisions in the health and social care setting. An example of this could be if a resident in a care home was a Muslim then the staff members would have to ensure they are able to meet the needs of this faith like that halal meat is available for the resident and there is an area available where the resident can pray if they wish to do so. Also staff members have to support anyone who comes into the service by ensuring they are listened to and receive any support they need with their reading, socialising or personal care and that it is met with sensitivity, some service users may need the support of an advocate if they have communication issues or learning difficulties. The main forms of support may be advice and guidelines, physical support, mental health support, medical and care planning information and social support. A difficulty with this could be that staff members have not been trained in this area, and do not know about how religions and cultures and what their specific needs are. To overcome this difficulty, staff members should have training in diversity, and learn about other cultures so that they are able to meet the needs of individuals. Another difficulty with this could be that the care home may not have a spare room for residents to pray in, if so then care homes can provide a space in the resident’s room, or clear out a room that isn’t necessarily needed so that a praying area is there, also staff members could take residents out of the care home to a mosque, church, or religious setting of their choice, when it is convenient to do so. Supporting individuals to express their needs and preferences This means supporting a service user, who may not be able to communicate effectively, in expressing their needs and preferences so that the service user is happy with the care they are receiving and it meets their likes and dislikes. An example of this could be supporting someone who is deaf, by helping them express their needs and preferences it could mean they would have to use British sign language signers or lip speakers. It is important to keep the individual informed about what is happening to them and what will happen in the future concerning their care, and also services have to make sure the individual can express their needs and preferences. An  interpreter can be used for someone who doesn’t speak the local language of the health and social care setting; this could be a professional or could be a family member or friend. A problem with this could be that if someone who does not speak the local language is a new resident in a care home and has no immediate family, so staff members would struggle to meet the needs and demands of this new service user. To overcome this problem, staff members would have to use an interpreter who spoke both the local language and the resident’s main language. An interpreter can be quite expensive, which is another difficulty the health and social care setting will face, but in some circumstances interpreters are paid for by the NHS, if done privately it can cost a lot of money. Another way to overcome this difficulty if is staff members do small training courses in sign language so they will know the basics for when a service user with a hearing impairment uses that service. If a resident does not speak the local language then a few members of staff could learn the basics in that language so they are able to communicate more effectively with that service user. Identifying and challenging discrimination Within health and social care settings it is important that if any discrimination is identified it has to be challenged immediately, this is so the victim of the discrimination does not suffer anymore and this can be achieved by staff training and development, so that staff have an awareness of what to do if they see any discrimination and gives them a sense of awareness on the subject, telling a high authority like a manager when any rules concerning discrimination are broken by an individual, challenging inappropriate language, challenging any work colleagues who are demonstrating discriminatory behaviour towards another individual or a group of people and also implementations of government policies and guidelines on discrimination. An example of identifying and challenging discrimination would be if a care worker in a care home saw a fellow care worker treating one individual a lot different to the rest in a negative manner, calling them rude names and shouting at them just because they are of different race, then the care worker could either speak to their colleague about this informing them to stop or go to their manager who can then investigate and  take the right measures to ensure the discrimination stops. A difficulty with this could be that a staff member doesn’t have much confidence and feels too scared to speak to their manager about an incident they have witnessed, to overcome this difficulty staff members can use the ‘whistle blowing policy’ Every health and social care setting has a whistle blowing policy which is when a worker reports suspected wrongdoing at work. Officially this is called ‘making a disclosure in the public interest’. A worker can report things that aren’t right, are illegal or if anyone at work is neglecting their duty, this is all done anonymously. Promoting individuals’ rights, choices and wellbeing Active promotion of individuals’ rights, choices and wellbeing can be demonstrated in the way care workers in a health and social care setting work one to one with service users. By offering people a choice related to their care can make a big difference to how that service user feels and responds to the service, as they will feel more in control of their care and treatment, which will empower the individual. Choices from food to personal care are all vital and key to the services offered by health and social care workers, these choices are central to the wellbeing of the individual, such like what clothes to wear that day or what to eat that day, all of this promotes the individuals rights and wellbeing. â€Å"In health and social care, choice is being taken into much wider avenues through the way we access and use the public services available to us† (BTEC National Health and Social Care Book 1, Stretch, page 93, 2007). A problem with this could be that a staff member is not aware of the fact they should offer all service users a choice to make them feel empowered, to overcome this the employee (manager) should ensure that all staff members are appropriately trained in the area, and any new staff members are aware of this, so that all service users can be offered a choice. Another difficulty is that staff members may be aware they have to offer a choice to service users, but may have a bad attitude towards this and purposely not give services users a choice and therefore not empowering them, to overcome this all settings need to keep updating training, and ensure that all staff members are following the rules and regulations of such policies and if they are not to take appropriate  actions. Also to help overcome this difficulty the settings should have copies of some policies on the wall in an office, and the rest available to view by staff members at any time, this will ensure that any queries about policies or Acts, such as the disability discriminatory Act, can be sorted by checking the policy itself or asking a higher member of staff like a manager. All policies must be kept up to date. Policies and procedures Policies and procedures are designed determine all key choices and actions, and all activities take place within the limitations set by them. Procedures are the precise methods that are set in place to express policies in action in day-to-day operations of the health and social care setting. Together, policies and procedures ensure that a point of view held by the higher authority such as a manager of the health and social care setting is turned into steps that result in an outcome compatible with that view. An example of a policy in a health and social care setting would be the ‘anti-harassment policy’, ‘organisations and work places must have a policy in place, by law, which deals with issues of harassment or bullying, whether it is on the grounds of sexuality, race, ethnicity, gender, beliefs, sexuality orientation, marital status or disability’ (health and social care, book 1, stretch, 2012, page 76) this supports anti- discriminatory practice because wh en someone is harassed or bullied it is often on the grounds of discrimination, so this policy is against this happening which will help protect service users when they are in health and social care settings. Another example of a policy or procedure is the ‘Complaint procedures’, all health and social care organisations must have this procedure by law, the procedure states that if somebody complains, they have the right to, have their complaint dealt with efficiently, have their complaint properly investigated, know the outcome of any investigation into their complaint, take their complaint to higher authority and receive compensation if they have been harmed, this will support the anti-discriminatory practice because if someone puts in a complaint about discrimination, or anti-discriminatory practice, then the organisation will have to follow the rules of the complaints procedure so the complaint will  be dealt with properly and hopefully improve the anti-discriminatory practice in that health and social care setting. Also another example for a policy that supports the anti-discriminatory practice would be the ‘Confidentiality’ policy. The guidelines on this are clearly stated in the data protection act. Every health and social care professional will have to make sure they keep information about their service users confidential. The only time that confidentiality needs to be broken is when there is a risk of the individual harming themselves, hides abusive or potentially abusive situations or threatens the life of an individual. This helps support anti-discriminatory because service users will feel like they can trust their care workers and not feel like that care worker will abuse that trust and humiliate the service user by not keeping their information confidential, so the service user will feel no matter who they are the care workers have to keep their information confidential, so they cannot be discriminated against and have their information leaked by care workers.

Corruption and Neoliberalism in the Philippines Essay

Despite this year’s onslaught of devastating earthquakes, factional rebel sieges, and most recently, record breaking typhoons, the Philippines is doing surprisingly well for itself. In fact, The Economist Intelligence Unit reports that though the wreckage caused by last weeks Supertyphoon Haiyan will likely slow GDP somewhat, economic damage will not be significant, the Eastern Visayas region accounting for only two per cent of the countrys GDP. Economically, at least, the Philippines has had good year: the first half of 2013 saw GDP growth at 7. 3 percent, the highest growth rate in Asia; it saw seen record foreign direct investment levels; moved itself from low-income to middle-income country in the World Bank country database; and for the first time, became a creditor rather than debtor to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) (Desierto, The Economist). Nevertheless, the poverty rate remains at 27. percent with little movement in the past five years, unemployment is at seven percent, and underemployment continues to hover around twenty percent (The Economist Intelligence Unit). Despite record growth levels in the Philippines, large numbers of Filipinos still struggle to find employment and meet their basic needs. Foreign Policy and Fund for Peace have named the Philippines as one of their top 60 failed states in the 2013 Failed States Report. Ranking 59 out of 178 countries, the Philippines scored a slightly improved but critical 82. 8 (â€Å"Failed States†). Five of its worst scores occurred in: security apparatus, including issues like riots and fatalities from rebel activity; factionalized elites, including power struggles and flawed elections; group grievance, including iolence between groups; state legitimacy, including corruption, level of government effectiveness, and illicit economies; and demographic pressures, including population growth, natural disasters, and disease (â€Å"The Indicators†). The aftermath of recent disasters and rebel conflict are likely to raise these rates for the coming report, bringing the Philippines closer to the brink of failure. Why, in the midst of unprecedented economic growth, is the country faring so poorly in terms of development indicators like poverty and political stability? Mainstream development discourse assures that rapid economic growth leads to evelopment and poverty reduction, but this has yet to be the case for Filipinos. In a previous paper I discuss the issue of the accuracy, reliability, and focus of poverty measurements and the development discourse itself, but there are larger factors at play as well. In this paper, I discuss how the history of corruption and neoliberalism, two contested but highly influential issues, have negatively impacted development as a whole in the Philippines and perpetuated the poverty of its population. According to a recent poll by the online periodical The Philippine Star, an verwhelming majority of the Filipino online public viewed corruption as the single largest cause of poverty in the Philippines. Revisiting Transparency International’s statistics in the Corruption Perceptions Index, Filipinos scored their country a 34 on a scale of 0-100, with O being highly corrupt and 100 being very clean (2012). Personal experience recalls an overt general mistrust in government officials having the people’s interests at heart, and a series of news reports detailing impeachments and scandals related to graft and corruption within both government and ongovernmental organizations from 2010 to 2012. Despite being an independent democracy since the late 1940s (the Marcos regime’s dictatorial break notwithstanding), the Philippines has suffered corrupt government officials in almost every presidency, most notably those of Marcos, Estrada and Arroyo (The Economist Intelligence Unit). According to Dr. Diane Desierto in an op-ed calling out to current President Benigno Aquino, corruption has strained the Philippine economy for decades, and the unrecoverable public funds lost to corruption at the cost of national investment is a national outrage. Most recently in the news is the Pork Barrel Scandal, where President Aquino and the ombudsmen have charged 3 senators, 2 former lawmakers, and a businesswoman for misusing over $200 million in state funds (Hookway). Pork Barrel is a state allocation of funds set aside for senators to use on development projects of their choice, of which the president says the accused used for fabricated project proposals to take personal kickbacks. Public protests against the scandal have been massive, and the people are calling for not only the eradication of the Pork Barrel fund itself, but of the president’s own spending fund as well. President Aquino faces the dilemma of upholding his strict anticorruption agenda, appealing to the public, and maintaining support of powerful lawmakers and congressmen (Hookway). James Hookway argues that Aquinds decision on the scandal will heavily determine foreign investor confidence in the Philippines, influencing the path of the countrys development. Indeed most development professionals agree that corruption and bad governance are inversely related to the development of a country. The worst indicators in the Philippine Failed States Report outwardly suggest governance issues re a threat to the state and a major cause of internal violence and conflict. Good governance has been the recent focus of many World Bank projects, the group stating that, â€Å"a capable and accountable state creates opportunities for poor people, provides better services, and improves development outcomes† (qtd. in Bello, â€Å"Is Corruption the Cause? â€Å"). Jeffrey Sachs names governance failures as a top factor in a countrys economic stagnation and decline; and William Easterly argues that bad governments, not a poverty trap, are sole culprits in the economic decline of a country (Sachs 57; Easterly 43). Easterlys stance on corruption is tough: continuing to provide aid to countries with corrupt governments is inefficient, as most countries with bad governments fare significantly worse even with aid than do countries with good governments (42). In the Philippines, all signs in mainstream discourse point to corruption as the major reason for continuing poverty despite high economic growth. Yet there is a small but growing number of people arguing otherwise. According to activists like Walden Bello, while corruption is detrimental to the trust and moral bonds of a democracy, it is not the principal cause of poverty. Between 1990 and 000, he argues, the Philippines and China reported the same levels of corruption; yet China grew by 10. 3 percent, while the Philippines grew by only 3. 3 percent (â€Å"Is Corruption the Cause? â€Å"). It is not corruption, he says, but the negative effects of neoliberal adjustment policies that have maintained poverty levels at the rate they are today (Bello). As Peet and Hartwick explain, neoliberalism was the economic response to Keynesian economics and the failures of Import Substitution Industrialization (IS’) that took hold of development discourse in the 1970s with the rise of the Reagan and Thatcher administrations. Influenced by Hayek’s theories, neoliberalism favored free markets and minimal government involvement outside of controlling interest rates and money supply (Peet 78-83). In response to the economic crises brought on by ISI in the 70s and 80s, developed nations and international organizations (10s) came up with the Washington Consensus, a list of policy reforms and conditions for debtor countries to the IMF to follow in order to receive loans. Reforms included fiscal discipline, decreased public expenditures, tax reform, low interest rates, trade liberalization and deregulation, privatization of public goods, and an increase in oreign direct investment (FDI) (Peet 84). According to Walden Bello, neoliberalism has become a hegemony of economic paradigm, especially in the Philippines. After the forced exile of Ferdinand Marcos and Corazon Aquinds rise to power, Bello says the country was more than primed for neoliberal structural adjustment policies when it turned to the World Bank during an economic crisis in the 80s (â€Å"Neoliberalism†). A number of factors led the Philippines to strongly adhere to neoliberal policies. One, technocrats close to former President Aquino were highly influenced by Reagan, Thatcher, and the free-market economic paradigm. Two, the University of the Philippines School of Economics published its anti-Marcos White Paper on the Philippine Economy, capturing the popular mood of the time that Marcos was proof that the state had become subject to ‘crony capitalism’ and was an inefficient source of development progress. Three, international events like the collapse of European socialism, the successful revitalization of U. S. and British economies, and the rise of newly industrialized Asian countries (though Bello argues these countries’ successes bore more from protectionism than neoliberalism) inspired the Philippine elites and middle class, who had the most influence over olicy discourse (â€Å"Neoliberalism†). With ISI and Keynesian economics shrouded by bad memories of the Marcos regime, and the Communist partys preoccupation with the anti-fascist struggle, Bello states there were no credible alternatives for the country but neoliberalism. In the 90s the Ramos administration kicked structural adjustment into high gear, being one of the few administrations in the region to fully adhere to IMF conditions. Focal to Philippine adjustment was massive tariff liberalization and deregulation to increase FDI and speculative investment, as well as a furious signing of multilateral ariff agreements with the WTO, ASEAN, the IMF, and the United Nations (Bello). The economy grew 4 percent during Ramos’ presidency, until the Asian Crisis hit the Philippines in 1997. Suddenly, $4 6 billion in speculative investments tlew out ot the country, triggering a downward slide into economic recession and stagnation. With the WTO Agreement in Agriculture, the Philippines went from a food net exporter to a net importer (particularly in rice, a main staple of the local agriculture sector), sparking a crisis of food insecurity and a loss of Job security in the agricultural industry. The Philippines also saw its local textile and manufacturing industries fail: â€Å"by the early years of this decade, the countrys textile industry had shrunk from 200 to less than 10 firms† (Bello, â€Å"Neoliberalism†). Loss of local industry was supposed to be bolstered by consumer welfare and increased spending as foreign investment brought diverse and stable employment; but this has not been the case for the Philippines; rather unemployment and underemployment rates have remained at a consistent high. Despite this and recent protests against globalization in the country, neoliberalism emains the central focus of economic policy in the Philippines (Bello). Ligaya Lindio McGovern also feels neoliberal policies and unequal globalization have been detrimental to the welfare of the Philippines, not only from a macroeconomic standpoint, but from a micropolitical level as well. According to McGovern, neoliberal policies implemented in the Philippines have only proven to benefit foreign actors and investors, perpetuating poverty in the country and detrimentally affecting the welfare of women and youth in particular (2). Food insecurity due to restricted agricultural access in world markets and an increased ependency on imports (coupled with fixed high prices to maximize profits) hurts women as they are mainly responsible for the nutritional welfare of the family. Privatization of water and social services puts foreign control over formerly local businesses, limiting the poor’s access to health care and clean water. Foreign influence over industry has led to the contractualization of labor, meaning short- term, low pay work that puts workers in a weak bargaining position. This has led to a massive loss of Jobs, setting preconditions for migration as Filipinos (mostly female domestic workers) go abroad to find work. This has subsequently led to an increased vulnerability in Filipino women for exploitation, downward mobility, and loneliness, and has been a root cause of the rise of human trafficking that has plagued the Philippines in recent years (McGovern 5-14). Ligaya argues that it is neoliberalism and the one-sided distribution of globalization-not corruption-that has led to a rise in militant groups such as GABRIELA, Migrante International, and the New People’s Army, all of whom fght against foreign and American imperialism through economic policy (McGovern 21). In recent years, the ideas of Bello and McGovern have taken hold, particularly hrough development economists like Easterly. While lamenting bad governments as a source of gross inefficiency in foreign aid appropriation, Easterly also speaks strongly against the macroeconomic, universally applicable solutions to poverty offered up by neoliberal policies. He argues such policies are too big and too utopian; with too much distance between principals at the top and implementers at the bottom to provide proper feedback and accountability, too much collective responsibility to create incentive, and too many large, nonspecific tasks bogging down change agents on the field to be effective (14-18). What, then, in light of both arguments as either corruption or neoliberalism as the major source ot poverty and inequali i the Philippines to do to resolve its gap between economic and social development? For Bello, the administration must rid itself of the neoliberal hegemonic stronghold and adopt alternative economic policies that focus on local empowerment of the people and permanent national employment. â€Å"Getting over neoliberalism,† he says, involves â€Å"†¦ getting beyond the worship of numbers that often acts as a shroud to the real, beyond the scientism that masks itself as a science† (Bello, â€Å"Neoliberalism†). McGovern advocates a similar, though more drastic route: a new Philippine state altogether that creates national alternatives to the neoliberal agenda (21). Like Stiglitz argues in his book, McGovern feels that true globalization has never been experienced, as powerful, industrialized countries controlling the flow of goods maintain protectionist policies in their own states while pushing for liberalization that benefits them in poorer countries (3; Stiglitz 62-101). In order for globalization to function, protectionist policies must also be advocated in industrializing countries, if not to the extent that ISI brought them in other regions. Proponents of free trade and economic development, on the other hand, argue that the Philippines must maintain its rapid GDP growth, continue to improve speculative investment climate, implement a broader tax base, and increase foreign ownership of its economic sectors (Elkan). In other words, institutions like the IMF continue to push neoliberal policy as an effective means for development. Increasing speculative investment and foreign direct investment means combatting corruption and bad governance for most proponents of the dominant discourse; the corruption scandals that have haunted the Philippines for decades have been a indrance to a thriving economy and led to increased political violence, and must be dealt with in order to see a reduction of poverty in the country. Ultimately, though, it is difficult to see how focusing on either one factor will lead to any real improvement in social welfare without also addressing the other; the two are both too entrenched in Philippine government. These are not dichotomous factors, rather they are deeply intertwined and coexistent in influencing poverty and social instability. Personal experience lends insight into instances where both corruption and neoliberal effects on society were clear. With a stipend affording me middle-class status in my neighborhood, I still could not afford to buy rice from the local farmers, and could barely afford the only slightly cheaper imported rice. During election time, the Congresswoman led a mass campaign to expand the main highway, only to abandon the project post-elections, leaving the road broken and difficult to traverse. Viewing development as a multifaceted and interconnected process comprising both macro and micropolitical elements, resolutions to development issues must also be viewed as such (Sen). Poverty reduction and development in the Philippines must nvolve both the eradication of rampant corruption and alternative options for neoliberal policies, which have largely failed the country outside of real GDP. Additionally, the government must focus its efforts on the needs of its people, rather than its own personal agenda, according to Desierto. In light of the recent typhoon and previous natural disasters, she says, â€Å"not a single administration has ever committed to making an integrated natural disaster prevention, remediation, and reconstruction system our countrys highest national security priority’ (â€Å"Corruption, Climate, and Congress†). Every administration nas promised he eradication ot corruption, though. Thus, it seems that the administration has allowed foreign institutions and its own political agenda to distract itself from the true needs of its people, which lie at the core of development. The key to poverty reduction then, in the context of the Philippines, is the increased and direct participation of Filipinos in decision-making for future economic and social policies.