Teens Go Gaga over Vampires

Teens Go Gaga Over Vampires: Its Causes and Effects Abstract This article will identify and discuss the reasons why teenagers are obsessed with vampires and what effects does it have on them. Study shows that this obsession has a great impact on both the teenager as an individual and to the people who surround her. The researcher studied and investigated the topic by finding different articles, essays, data and surveys from different sources in the Internet, as well as reading some vampire novels herself.The survey conducted by the researcher was among teenagers aged 14 to 16 who are Filipinos. All the research done about what cause this obsession came to one particular conclusion. Teens are obsessed and are addicted with vampires because they happen to fall in love with the vampire’s characteristics, some value the vampire’s physical appearance, while others take notice of the vampire’s romantic actions. This obsession has a lot of effects to our society today, both positive and negative.Teens Go Gaga Over Vampires: Its Causes and Effects Vampire, the word itself says it all. Even though the term vampires was not made known to people before the 18th century, most people agree that vampires originated long ago during the prehistoric times in many different cultures that are related to vampires (Betonio, 2011). Many choose to believe that vampires are just myths that only exists in people’s minds and imagination.Many also believe in the existence of vampires in our world, that they are not just myths and stories, but are real. People even classified vampires according to their kind. According to Agnes Embile Jimenez (2008), there is the Danag, which is a Filipino vampire known originally as a harmless vampire who helps the humans in their livelihood until one day when the Danag sucked all the blood out from a woman whose finger was wounded.There is the Romanian Varacolaci, who is described as a powerful undead being who has the abilit y to morph into a beautiful human. There is the very fast vampire from Slovakia who is called as the Nelapsi. Last but not the least, there is the Italian vampire, the Stregonibenefici, who is said to belong to the good side and is an enemy to all other vampires who do not side with the good.Some additional kinds of vampires from Sarah Todd (2008) are the Lilith, a Hebrew demon, who drinks the blood of a baby; the African vampire, the Adze, who drinks coconut milk, palm oil and blood and who appears as a firefly but turns human-like once captured; the Impundulu or the Lightning Bird, who is a giant bird who has the ability to turn into a handsome man to lure women whose blood they will consume; the Asanboam who lives in trees and flies down whenever they see a possible prey; the Ramanga who were originally human but evolved eventually due to the nail parings they eat and the sucking of their master’s lost blood; Jiang Shi, the Chinese vampire, who is made when the soul dead c annot escape its body; and the Caribbean vampire Loogaroo, a female vampire. In literature, the first major work about vampires is the short German poem, The Vampire, which was written by Heinrich August Ossenfelde in 1748. The first example of a vampire who has no choice to be one and loathes himself is Varney from the epic book, Varney the Vampire, which was written by James Malcolm Rymer in 1845. Carmilla, written by Sheridan le Fanu in 1872, was the first book with an erotic vampire. The story was about a heroine seduced by a female vampire whose blood was later drunk by the vampire. In 1897, the famous Dracula by Bram Stoker was published.Bram Stoker mixed death, blood, and sex with medieval vampire myths and vampire stories that are present during his days. After almost half of a century, Richard Mattheson wrote the book I am Legend where the story revolves around a post-apocalyptic age where vampirism is a disease. This was often called as the first modern vampire novel. In 1 975, Salem’s Lot by Stephen King was introduced to the world. King made the 20th century Maine as the setting of the story. After a year, the most famous Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice changed the whole concept of vampires. Vampire Chronicles featured vampires who are romantic and are the opposite of how they were first introduced (Laming, n. . ). In the year 2005, Stephenie Meyer published the phenomenal Twilight, the first book to the epic series that gave birth to billions of vampire-addicted teens and tweens in the 21st century. It all started when Meyer dreamt of a scene in 2003 wherein a handsome young vampire was talking to an ordinary human girl. After having this dream, she decided to make a story out of it. After many sleepless nights and countless instances where she wanted to give up, she still continued on working. And all that work finally paid off when that dream finally became Twilight. Twilight is about a story of two individuals who fell in love with each o ther.The difference it makes from other love stories is that Twilight is a love story between a human and a vampire, specifically Edward Cullen and Bella Swan. Bella Swan was just an ordinary girl, but to Edward Cullen, she was the most exquisite thing he has ever seen in his 104 years of existence. He treated her better than how he treated anyone else, even himself. He loved her like there is nothing else to love. He made her his reason for living. All these were perfectly described in the book. As someone who was able to read about their love story, who would not fall in love with this mythical being. Edward Cullen was the reason why teenage girls are obsessed with vampires today. Edward Cullen was the cause for this century’s cult-like vampire fans.This obsession has great effects to the lives of those teenagers who are addicted to these vampires. Because vampires in novels, movies and television show nowadays tend to have better qualities than humans that attract teens, s pecifically girls, causing them to be obsessed and to be addicted to the vampires. Teenage girls say that they like these vampires because of their characteristics. Discussion Vampires is novels, movies and television are already given a brand new image by authors these days which is based on the 19th century European Vampires (Rhoads, 2007). These authors do not describe them as how vampires were originally introduced.The word vampire itself is also associated with the word vamp, which means a woman who uses her charms or wiles to seduce and exploit men as a noun, and to practice seductive wiles on as a verb (Merriam-Webster, 1999). Instead of giving them a horrifying image, they gave them an image that everyone would want for themselves. Before the year 2000, most people still refer to vampires as monsters who seduce their prey who drain their prey’s blood afterwards even though the image of vampires in literature started to change as early as the 19th century. They also de scribe vampires as creatures who are scared of any kind of light because light may hurt them and may make them vanish into nothing. This description also came to the theory that vampires only attack during night, sleep in coffins and live in very dark places.Physically, they were described as creatures who have fangs as their teeth, powder-white skin and who wears black robes, which make them look like they are black and white. It is also said that vampires are cold-skinned because they are already considered as lifeless beings who continue to live despite the fact they do not have blood flowing inside of them. In 2005, when Twilight was published, vampires were described differently altogether. In almost all books published after 2005, proceeding Twilight, vampires are described as â€Å"beautiful people†. Vampires are described as more human-like, without fangs for their teeth, and even vary in skin color. They do not die nor do they age.Though they still drink blood, becau se this is what makes them a vampire, authors like Stephenie Meyer described her main characters, the Cullens to be exact, as â€Å"vegetarian vampires† or vampires who do not drink human blood but drinks animal blood as a substitute. While Twilight features vegetarian vampires, Blue Bloods still have vampires who drink human blood, but in a different manner. Even though they drink human blood, they do not drain the humans, they just drink a bit of the human’s blood to sustain their lives; they are prohibited to drink all the blood a human has. They even have a name for this event, â€Å"Caerimonia Oscular† or more popularly known as the â€Å"sacred kiss†.The humans from whom they drink blood are called their â€Å"human familiars†, and once they drink from a human, that human will be physically attached to the vampire. In other words, that human will fall in love with the vampire who drank from them. Most of these characteristics are found in alm ost all vampires today, some are even found in novels that involve fallen angels. Some of these famous vampires are Schuyler van Alen and Jack Force from the Blue Bloods series by Melissa de la Cruz, Zoey from P. C. Cast’s House of Night Series, Elena Gilbert from Vampire Diaries by L. J. Smith and of course, Edward Cullen from Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga.Besides the characteristics of these vampires, they make a great impact to the people who surround them. Another factor that attracts teenagers to them is how they treat those that they love and care for, and how those they love feel about them as well. Presently, many authors continue to write love stories about vampires, even though they were thought as heartless monsters who do not have the ability to love before. In books, vampires love differently from humans, which is why humans fall in love with them. Vampires treat the one that they love like he or she is the last being in the whole world. They will do any thing for the one that they love, even though it is the hardest thing that they will ever do.They would want to die if they found out that the one that they love is now dead. They will want everything that is the best for the person they love. They will respond very quickly and would want to answer â€Å"yes† all the time. They will sacrifice anything just to keep the one they love safe from danger. Most importantly, they will never look at or be interested in someone else other than the person that they love; they will always remain faithful and would love unconditionally. Though the way that a vampire loves is incomparable, no one should belittle how a human loves the vampire who loves him or her as well. Since they are just humans, they sometimes get confused about who they really love.But even so, they will still realize that the one that they truly love is the vampire who loves them. They become obsessed about their vampire â€Å"boyfriend† or â€Å"girlfriendâ⠂¬ . They want to spend every minute with the one that they love. They become attached to these vampires. Some would even agree to let the vampire drink their blood. Of course, they would also want to die for the safety of the person that they love. Since humans in novels, books, movies and television shows are already obsessed and addicted to these vampires, teenage girls who gets a chance to read these books or watch these shows and movies also get obsessed with the vampires featured in each.They say that they like these vampires because of their supernatural abilities, their physical appearance, which they describe as â€Å"hot†, their immortality, the forbidden love that the vampire and human has, and the butterflies that these vampires send to their stomachs. The attitude that humans in novels and movies have toward these vampires is still acceptable since they exist in the same world. The unhealthy thing for these teenage girls is that they become obsessed with these v ampires even though they already know that they are just fictional characters and that they do not exist in real life. Because of everything about these vampires, teenagers become addicted to them.Some even say or admit that they have already fallen in love with these vampires. As they are addicted to these vampires, most do not even have the slightest idea of what effects this obsession has on them. Some say that it affects them positively, but they fail to admit that those positive effects cannot be compared to the negative effects it has on them. Some positive effects or benefits this obsession can cause them to love reading books. If they loved reading the first book, they will continue on reading the following books in the series; and if they already read the whole series, they will continue to read other series that have the same qualities they loved in the first series that they read.Reading these novels will help them broaden their vocabulary and enhance their skills in Engl ish. It will also develop their patience and concentration. With benefits, there will always be side effects. The negative effects that this obsession has on teens are greater than the benefits it has. Firstly, because of their addiction, they forget to prioritize. They do not set their priorities straight and tend to give importance to those things that do not really need importance then forgetting about the things that really matter. They also forget about the real issues in their lives. They get stuck up on this â€Å"vampire world† of theirs. They never think of anything else besides these vampires.There are also those who think that it is good to be obsessed with your boyfriend or girlfriend just like what Twilight tells them (McCarthy, 2009). Some also become insecure of themselves because of the way the vampires are described. They also never get contented of what they have and would wait for a better one, a perfect one, just like how the vampires are stated in books. As Wyck Godfrey (n. d. ), director of Twilight, accidentally said, â€Å"There’s a huge amount of danger in this movie [Twilight]. There’s also just the excitement of a teenager doing things that are verboten. These are things that people connect to. And not just girls; I think that guys will discover it’s dangerous, there’s action, there’s a thriller element to it, and then, ultimately, that it’s cool to be a vampire. Another negative effect this obsession has on teens is that they bite, cut and suck blood from themselves. Though this is far from being true, it really does happen. This problem was even included in an article from consumer reports entitled â€Å"10 Troubling Teen Trends† by Dr. Orly Avitzur(n. d. ). These are just some of the common effects of this addiction to the teenagers as individuals, and most of them do not even realize it. But this obsession does not only affect these teenagers, but also all the people who su rround him or her. If they do not realize what effects this obsession has on them, how more can they realize the effects it has to their society, community or family.Parents, siblings, other family members, teachers, classmates, friends and others admit that they are also affected by obsession that teenagers have on vampires. Parents say that their children who get addicted to theses vampires bring nothing but trouble to them, especially to Christian families. First, because of this obsession, teenagers waste their time reading these nonsense books and watching these nonsense movies, leaving no amount of time for them to study or do their home works or projects. Before reading these books, they would buy them, and when these books are adapted into movies, they will surely watch them, wasting a lot of money.Some parents also admit that their children tend to follow these vampires. To Christian families, it has greater effects since the Bible stated that those who drinks blood and cla ims to be vampires are committing a sin against God (Goodwyn, n. d. ). You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meat of strangles animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell. Acts 15:29  (Zondervan, 1983) Siblings and friends are also influenced by this obsession. If the teenager who is obsessed with vampires is older than his or her siblings, the younger siblings would follow the older sibling and would end up addicted to vampires as well.The same principle goes with the individual’s friends; they also follow what their friend does. There are also individuals who get addicted to vampires as well because of wanting to fit in. Some individuals who do not know anything about these vampires moreover are fascinated by them, say that they are bothered by the obsession teenagers have on these supernatural beings. They say that they do not like going to malls whenever a new vampire movie comes out, like Twilight, b ecause the mall gets too crowded. Consumers, like the teenagers, take these productions positively because they do not know what they are in for. Because the consumers continuously accept these offers, producers keep on producing them.The only positive outcome of this obsession is to the producers. This obsession is the source of their income. Due to this obsession, they get huge amounts of profits in producing vampire-affiliated shows, books, films or even products that feature the pictures of these vampires. Almost all are aware of the continuing growth of the population of teenagers who are addicted or obsessed with this kind of literature. Some may benefit from it but most just suffer from it. Some say that this obsession is almost like a mental illness wherein everyone, from children to adults, rich or poor, is a candidate. The teenager’s obsession on vampires is becoming a severe case in our society today.They even have terms like OCD, which stands for Obsessive Cullen Disorder or OVD, which means Obsessive Vampire Disorder If drug addiction, alcoholism, casino addiction and cigarette smoking can be cured through therapy in rehabilitation centers, vampire obsession most certainly can be cured. It’s all in the matter of the mind. If you are obsessed with something, you can’t help but spending almost all of your time doing things related to your obsession. You should start taking small steps towards your goal. Try to do some other stuff that does not have anything to do with vampires. Think of other things or do things which will occupy your mind so that you will forget about the vampires first.Slowly do these things until you know that you are already â€Å"cured† from your disorder (Patrick, n. d. ). Parents and other people who surround the individual should also show their support. They should also be with the individual every step of the way. This will help in boosting the individual’s confidence that he or she can d o it. Parents and friends should also comfort the individual whenever he or she is having a breakdown. If it can be cured, then it surely can be prevented. If you realize or happen to observe that you are beginning to have a different view, a better one, about these vampires, you might be starting to become obsessed or addicted to them. You should stop as early as you realize this.If you continue on reading books about them or watching movies where they are portrayed, you will get addicted to them in no time. Once you become addicted, it will take a long process before you will be able to totally get rid of your addiction. Preventing this addiction will also need your concentration. You should concentrate about your goal. You should stop yourself from anything that tempts you to read those books or watch those films and shows again. Of course, just like in curing this addiction, parents should always be there for the individual and should be very supportive. Parents should say that they are proud that their child knows how to stop his or her self. The obsession teens have on these ictional vampires found in literature has a lot of different effects both to them and to the society. Even though some may benefit from this obsession, those benefits cannot be compared to the numerous negative effects it has to the individual and to his or her surroundings, especially to the individual’s parents, siblings and friends. It is encouraged that teenagers should start dealing with their obsession as it may lead to a condition which is much more worse than what they have now. People who are surrounding the individual should know how to give their support and encouragement, especially parents. References Avitzur, O. (n. d. ). 10 troubling teen trends.Retrieved August 12, 2011 from http://www. consumerreports. org/health/healthy-living/health-safety/10-troublesome-trends-to-talk-to-your-teen-about/overview/index. htm Betonio, D. (2011). 20 spectacular must read vampir e books. Retrieved July 25, 2011, from http://www. tripwiremagazine. com/2011/07/vampire-books. html Godfrey, W. (n. d. ). A christian response to vampire obsession. Retrieved July 25, 2011, from http://www. cbn. com/entertainment/screen/goodwyn-vampires-twilight-obsession. aspx Goodwyn, H. (n. d. ). A christian response to vampire obsession. Retrieved July 25, 2011, from http://www. cbn. com/entertainment/screen/goodwyn-vampires-twilight-obsession. spx Holy Bible, New International Version. (1983). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House. Jimenez, A. E. (2008). Kinds of vampires. Retrieved July 25, 2011, from http://www. empressofdrac. com/2008/09/29/kinds-of-vampires/ Laming, S. (n. d. ). A brief history of vampires in literature. Retrieved July 25, 2011, from http://www. abebooks. com/books/dracula-twilight-sookie-stackhouse/history-vampires-literature. shtml Patrick. (n. d. ). Learn more about reading addiction. Retrieved July 25, 2011, from http://www. readingaddicti on. com/20/beating-addiction/learn-more-about-reading-addiction McCarthy, C. (2009). Obsession and risk talking: What new moon

Iron and Silk: Mark Salzman`s Cultural Learning in China Essay

Iron and Silk is an autobiographical book by Mark Salzman, where he describes his two-year experience of living and working in China. During the period from 1982 to 1984 Salzman worked as an English language teacher at Hunan Medical College in Changsha and this experience became the basis for his novel. The main character of the novel is fond of Chinese lifestyle and culture. After graduating from the Chinese language department of Yale University he decides to leave for China in order to improve his language skills and get acquainted with Oriental life and culture. Spending much time leaning Chinese language and culture and traditions of this country Mark is sure that he is familiar with this country but reality comes to be quite different from his expectations. The book is a perfect insight into the life of China and its people and this experience is so valuable because we get the perspective of this life from the foreigner, a European man who gets into different world and has to find his ways there. Mark is fond of martial arts and calligraphy and this opens a lot of doors for him. He meets a lot of interesting people and they teach him their culture, traditions and way of thinking. When coming to China, Mark is aware about his future role as an English language teacher but he is not ready to find himself in the role of the pupil again. Luckily, he is optimistic and open to new experience and quickly adapts to his new role. He learns new things and uses every opportunity to broaden his outlook. Every person we meet in our life path can become our teacher if we are attentive to the lessons of the destine and Mark follows this principle and learns everywhere and from every person he meets. His students teach him rules of educational system adopted in China. Their shyness and politeness becomes a great surprise for Mark, who got used to Western freedom and liberalism in education. This is one of the aspects of striking differences between Eastern and Western cultures. Right after arrival Saltzman is stuck with poor conditions of life in the area where he arrives. Poverty, bureaucracy and bad conditions of life make Europeans think about the situation in Europe in the Middle Ages. Communist regime and political system of China becomes a great surprise for Mark, who grew up in a democratic country. The way Chinese people perceive Second World War is also very interesting and it will be very interesting for Western readers. The first thing he learns is dealing with closed system and government control, which exists in China. And despite Changsha has a reputation of place, â€Å"there is nothing to do, nothing to buy, the people have no manners, the food is terrible and their dialect sounds awful†, people find positive moments and enjoy their life. Another surprise comes to be much more pleasant (Salzman, 15). People in China show much politeness and respect to strangers. Attitude to children becomes another great surprise for Salzman. Polite and full of respect to strangers, Chinese people are very strict and demanding to their children. It takes time for Salzman to get used to such an attitude but his new friends explain him that such a treatment is usual and even more, â€Å"that is the Chinese way. † ( Saltzman) Saltzman uses this peculiarity of national character in order to get new experience and penetrate deeper into Chinese culture. He knows two popular Chinese dialects – Mandarin and Cantonese and this even increases respect to him. Salzman uses every opportunity to learn something new and destiny helps him to meet a lot of teachers, or masters on his way. He is lucky to get lessons of Wushu, or martial art, from one of the most popular kung fu masters of the modern time. Mark has learned martial art for nine years before he got to China but only there he uncoveres the true essence of this notion. Under the guidance of Teacher Pan he discovers that learning martial arts can be a kind of spiritual search and way to discover true inner self. â€Å"Do every move as if it were your last,† teaches him Master Pan and with these words expresses not only the essence of Wushu but the very essence of Oriental philosophy. (Salzman, 85) Little episodes and events, which happen to the author, show the readers how ordinary things can have deep meaning and influence the entire life if the person is open to new possibilities and new experiences. That is exactly what happens with Mark, for whom every meeting and every conversation becomes the sources of new information and useful lessons. He learns even from fishermen, who quickly recognize him as their friend and ask him to stay and fish with them. Learning Chinese calligraphy becomes another new experience, which opens new perspective for the author. Very soon he finds out that Chinese people have completely different attitude to writing that Westerners do. These people can turn everything into mastery, and calligraphy for them is much more than a way to put down words into paper. Salzman finds out that calligraphy is an art, where one hieroglyph can mean more than hundred words. It takes him some time to understand the words of his teacher, who told him that â€Å"No matter what the quality of brush or paper one should always treat them as if they were priceless. † (Salzman, 156) The art to enjoy every moment of life and ability to dedicate yourself to the thing you are doing at the moment is the main message his calligraphy teacher wants to pass to his European student. Written with great sense of humor, Silk and Iron is a very personal account of life of a Western person in strange surrounding. The book gives a glimpse of Chinese politics, culture, history, way of life and philosophy. The book can be interesting for people interested in marital arts, Oriental philosophy and Chinese culture. Sources Salzman, Mark. Iron and Silk, Vintage, 1987.

Atheistic Existentialism - Life Domains Essay Example for Free (#2)

Atheistic Existentialism – Life Domains Essay Directions: Complete the â€Å"Atheistic Existentialism† column in the table below by filling in the cells from information provided in the textbook. Atheistic Existentialism / REALITY The only reality for an AE is the one they create for themselves†¦everything is matter – everything is connected as some form of matter or energy and in a cause and effect relationship Atheistic Existentialism / KNOWLEDGE The only knowledge comes from our own senses. Atheistic Existentialism / HUMAN NATURE To an AE – humans are allowed free-will, personalities and consciences – but don’t have any reason to do anything with it Atheistic Existentialism / HUMAN PROBLEMS Their problem is that they can’t deal with the fact that they have human personalities and tendencies – but don’t know why, or what to do with it Atheistic Existentialism / SOLUTIONS TO HUMAN PROBLEMS Humans alone have the only solution to their problem and the more they evolve the better they’ll be at fixing them, so live as if your inner desires do have some meaning and try to make an impact on the world. Atheistic Existentialism / HUMAN VALUE Truly there is no ultimate value of a human life, but Humans can have value because they create their own reality by making their own choices – good or bad. Atheistic Existentialism / HUMAN PURPOSE Our only purpose – according to an AE is that of making yourself into who or what you wish to be, otherwise there is no purpose. Atheistic Existentialism / ETHICS Ethics – Schmethics†¦As long as you make a conscience choice to do something – good or bad – you are determining what your ethics are. not living by the laws of man, or any other guide. Atheistic Existentialism / SUFFERING Nothing good comes of it – there is no purpose for it – so don’t do it. Atheistic Existentialism / MEANING OF LIFE. There is no real meaning – each individual is able to determine what life means to them by their choices to be or not to be, do or not do, etc. Atheistic Existentialism / HUMAN DESIRE Kill it! Don’t be led by your inner needs, wants, voices, it is absurd to follow these â€Å"accidental causes† of evolution – because you don’t need anything more than the basics to survive. Personal Reflection Directions: Briefly summarize your personal reflection on the information that you have entered into Tables 1 and 2 in this assignment. It is interesting to see the â€Å"evolution† of these 3 worldviews. From the Naturalist who views everything as natural in it’s existence – you exist based on your senses and experiences alone to the Secular Humanist with their realization that humans are wonderful – great creatures with personalities and determinations, but it doesn’t matter†¦to the Atheistic Existentialist (AE) – who finally realizes that the innermost feelings and desires we have as humans do exist, but would be better off â€Å"killed† or cut out than to be nurtured and followed. To me – It is just man’s way of not wanting to give credit where credit is do! So many people feel they have to â€Å"give up† so much to follow God. The only way Satan can â€Å"win† is to have more souls in his army than God. He finds our weaknesses and zeroes in on them to keep us from realizing the truth. Man’s ego and sense of self is historically his ruination. It’s easy to see how in these days, these 3 views – all making humans the only thing that matter and by crossing out God, satan is able to lead many astray. Atheistic Existentialism – Life Domains. (2016, Nov 25).

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PUBLIC POLICY 3000 - Essay Example The time taken for a new policy to be put in place and be fully operational may take a short time as one week, and as long as years. Public policy draws people, institutions, markets and government into familiar patterns of decision making (Althaus, Bridgman & Davis, 2013). This essentially implies that setting and administering policy are intricate as many stakeholders and players influences decisions and choices made. Preparation of a public policy is a daunting task, which calls for intense activity and coordination with other administrative and government decisions to ensure consistency. The process may take a long time as decision makers have to incorporate expert evidence, bureaucratic and political counsel, and competing interests of people affected by the policy proposal (O'Sullivan & Gibb, 2008). This discussion seeks to explore public policy on social housing in England, as well as health policy in Australia Universal health policy in Australia Australia attains universal c overage through Medicare, which is a tax financed public insurance program that covers most medical care. The universal health care also includes physician and hospital services and prescription drugs. Majority of Australian health services are funded and regulated by the central government, but territories and states have obligations for public hospital care (The commonwealth fund, 2013). In addition to Medicare, the government subsidizes private insurance, which is used by half of the Australian citizens to cover dental care costs and private hospitals (Australia Policy Online, 2013). Issues surrounding universal health policy coordination Universal health policy in Australia has been a subject of debate in the commonwealth since 1940s. The focal point of concern is the diverging interests of major stakeholders who have conflicting interests. Healthcare givers want huge profits and earnings; the government wants to maintain a tight and strict control over the money they use, where as consumers want to have quality healthcare facilities at affordable prices (Armstrong, 2007). In verity, these objectives cannot be accomplished at the same time, which heightens conflicts among stakeholders. In addition to the above controversy, Australia experiences ideological differences among its top organs of government. The liberal party in coalition with the national party takes on a liberal individualist approach. This favors least government intervention in the health policy, leaving private insurance and private medicine to take the largest role. On the other hand, the Australian labor party takes a social liberal stand, holding that health ought to be financed by the government in a bid to attain access and equity goals. Perspectives on policy implementation Australian government is faced by major challenges in implementing universal healthcare. Although Australian health system is globally ranked among the best; much needs to be done to address the concerns on a varie ty of issues. These are the health of aboriginal Australians, quality of health offered, access, equity and affordability, increase in preventable diseases, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS and complexity of health services. In addition, the strides made in the health sector that place Australia are under pressure as a result of the ageing population, the rising burden of chronic ailments

An Indefensible Punishment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

An Indefensible Punishment - Essay Example The above-mentioned article has been primarily based on for the study. Death Penalty: An Indefensible form of Punishment: According to the opinions of different theorists in the past, the death penalty could in earlier times be considered as a significant measure that could prevent crimes from taking place within a society. This is primarily because individuals committing dreadful crimes like murder, rape, homicides, or any other form of the act that is against the rule of law or justice if punished with the death penalty could act as an intimidation for other individuals who might have plans to take any such measure. However, over time people have realized that the punishment of death is a harsh and cruel form of penalty and that to live is the right of every individual (An Indefensible Punishment). It can be understood that a person who murders another person or attempts similar crimes need to be punished. The need for the punishment can be realized, since, if the criminal is allow ed to let go then he might repeat his activity again. However, all of these might not make it necessary for an individual to get a punishment of death. Several causes and reasons might be considered in this context that would reject the death penalty as a correct form of punishment. As a most important factor, it may be discussed here that often it is the case that a judgment is wrongly conducted against an innocent person (An Indefensible Punishment). This is possible owing to several wrong witnesses at times getting wrong support. In such situations, an innocent person may be suffered and given the penalty of death, which would then be a highly wrong measure to have been against the individual. Also, many times biases for or against certain individuals may impact the judgment and lead to the death penalty without having a proper assessment of the crime that has taken place in actual (An Indefensible Punishment). Capital punishment can be understood to be a very harsh method of tre ating an individual that also reflects the outrageous feeling of the world as a whole. When an individual kills another individual, his activity is considered as a crime. It can then be realized that when the society decides to punish the murderer by that same measure the society also is committing the same crime. In cases where crimes are committed by small children, there is a need to realize that these small children cannot intend to do the same; rather some kind of mental disorder or psychological issues could compel the small children or young people to attempt such harsh crimes (Textbook_death_penalty, 232). Thus it can be understood that the need to understand the real cause of a person attempting a crime is also necessary, ignoring which a wrong judgment might take the lives of the innocent or an ill person. Several different forms of death penalty like hanging, lethal injection and others are now prevalent that reflect the ruthless measures that society is prepared with to give the criminals penalty with.

Case study#1 Julia Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

#1 Julia - Case Study Example She then receives negative comments the following year on issues of being unfriendly and absenteeism in some faculty meetings. She is even interrupted in her conversations or ignored completely (Szybinski & Jordan, 2010, p. 4-6 & L. 1-99). Julia’s situation has to do with her positive attitude towards her new job, something that is not tradition in the department. Most of the faculty members are not motivated to apply for grants or get involved in research with students but Julia wants to make a difference. This is in accordance with the academic duty of a professor. This makes her colleagues feel like she is trying too hard to make an impression. The senior faculty then decides to put her down by ignoring her and giving negative feedback during review. They see her as unfriendly because she doesn’t exchange pleasantries with colleagues. She looks like she is alienating herself from the rest of the faculty members by no attending some meetings. Her situation is made worse when she does not involve herself with office gossip. This makes the seniors feel like she is being intimidating and rebellious (Cariaga-Lo, et al, 2010, P.19-22 & L. 1-98). Julia’s colleagues refuse to vote for her tenure because as they stated, she does not relate well with her colleagues. This however is much deeper than that. Considering that she has the best skills in research and worked for the benefit of the department, the seniors did not take this positively. The faculty feels that they are being undermined by a junior staff. They alienate her and use it against her during evaluation. Julia makes the situation worse when she decides to take matters in her own hands. She ignores her colleagues completely by closing her office door and only opening it during office hours. She makes it even worse when she decides to discuss her colleagues with other faculty members from other departments instead of taking her concerns to the department chair. This is

Marketing plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words - 2

Marketing plan - Essay Example prehensive understanding of the wider market periphery surrounding the business environment of IKEA, the present market position of the company is recognized. The discussion also entails an assessment of the potential competitors of the company whom it has to override in order to place its product as a unique entity in the market. The plan further illustrates the mode of promotion and distribution that the company would implement in order to ensure high performance from the product. At the outset of the planning stage, a crucial factor which can be recognized is that the strong brand name of the company would certainly help it to establish its one of the invaluable offerings i.e. coffee tables in the market. Contextually, an action program with regard to the marketing plan has been substantiated in the paper which would enable to guide the various activities of the entire process. The present day market scenario is changing rapidly on a global basis. It has been noticed that the preferences and the choices of the customers have also been altering simultaneously. There are many companies which offer similar kinds of product. For this reason, the companies now-a-days are quite concerned about making their products or services distinct from their competitors. In this regard, the concept of marketing has become quite crucial. It is the process through which the value of the product would be communicated to the customers. In other words, it can also be regarded as the art of selling goods. In context of today’s business scenario, it is not enough for companies, just to make a good or better quality product. They should also market the product effectively and communicate the quality or the benefits of the products or the services to the customers. There are various aspects of marketing that companies need to follow. The company should understand that custome rs will only prefer a product that is widely available in the market at a cheaper cost. A product or service

Pick a topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Pick a topic - Essay Example While there are different cultures and thoughts all over the world, similarly, the law is not the same as well everywhere. In the article â€Å"Muslim Women†, the author portrays various Islamic cultures and laws. In the extreme Islamic nations, women are not allowed to study or go out for work like men; and are not even allowed to step out of their homes without covering their bodies completely including their faces. They are often the victims of physical torture by their husbands just because they are weaker in physical strength. However, in the less strict parts of the world, women are treated in a much better condition. The new researchers of the religion Islam, also prove that oppression or any sort of persecution and agony on anyone, especially the women is strictly prohibited. They claim that a woman is allowed to live her life according to her wish and is not allowed to be forced for anything by anyone. The article depicts a few successful Muslim women who dared to rai se the voice in public for the rights of women in the cases described above and eventually, now in the 21st century, women are allowed to study, work and move step by step along with men in the world. Another purpose was also to show the concepts of the Sharia law in different parts of the world and how it is misinterpreted and considered wrong, resulting in wrong activities tolerated by the women in some parts of the world. The author portrays another fact, i.e., â€Å"education†, which solves many problems. As presented in the article, the women who were the victims of torture and oppression by the male were those who were never given the opportunity to visit schools or other educational institutions, so as to make themselves aware of their rights and enlighten their minds to differentiate between right and wrong. Eventually, the women who were well-educated realized the importance of women

Boundary Location Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Boundary Location - Assignment Example This boundary allocation was considered very important. This is because it was meant to give a clear direction on different boundaries of regions (Keen 1995). This was meant to create peace in those regions. It is important to note that lots 12 and 13 were bordering each other. These lots were supposed to be differentiated properly to avoid conflicts between the neighbors. It must be noted that these two lots were put in to place by professionals who understood how to divide boundaries. It must be noted that lot 12 and 13 were divided in accordance to legal requirements that regulates issues that pertain to land (Conrow 2003). Boundary location between lots 12 and 13 was done in a better way. These boundaries were put in place by legal experts. Let me also note that location of these boundaries is in tandem with laws that regulate land in the country. It is important to note that the allocation of the two boundaries took long time. This was contributed by the complications and complexity of the whole process. It is also important to note that boundary location between lot 12 and 13 put in to account the interests of the residents in those regions. It is therefore important to highlight this will result in to creation of peaceful coexistence between the two neighbors. According to me, allocation of lot 12 and 13 was legal and proper (Wilson 2010). The part shown in figure 3 is not part of my client’s property. This is because this part has been demarcated clearly. According to the picture, my client does not deserve this region because it is within another person’s land. Let me highlight that clear demarcations, as fences should be used to differentiate different regions. This will ensure that there is no conflict between residents in those regions (Anderson 2011). The owner of cottage has to realize that it is located in another person’s land. According to the figure, demarcations show clearly that it within another

The Minister and his Gem Essay Example for Free

The Minister and his Gem Essay The father-daughter relationship has typically represented one of the strongest bonds of humanity. Generally, this familial bond is so strong that it can outlast even the most daunting of obstacles. However, sometimes strange circumstances can affect this relationship. Such is the case of Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale and his daughter Pearl in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter. Even though Dimmesdale refuses to acknowledge Pearl as his daughter, the pair is emotionally bound nonetheless. The first moment of bonding occurs as Hester is forced to stand on the scaffold and endure the public humiliation of bearing a child out of wedlock. Ironically, it is Dimmesdale to whom â€Å"the responsibility of this woman’s soul lies†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Hawthorne, 1991, p. 66). After all, she is there because of him. When Pearl hears her father’s voices, she is immediately attracted to its sound. As Dimmesdale attempts to evoke a confession from her mother, the infant Pearl â€Å"directed it’s hitherto vacant gaze towards Mr. Dimmesdale, with a half-pleased, half-plaintive murmer† (p. 67). This movement indicates the instinctive recognition of the infant for her father. Dimmesdale clearly recognizes it, and this moment marks the beginning of his descent into guilt. His refusal seems to prompt the infant to â€Å"pierce the air with its wailings and screams† (p. 68) as she appears to react sadly or angrily to this denial. The second defining moment occurs years later. Dimmesdale must intervene to make sure that Pearl is not taken from Hester. Hester has implored him to do so, adding that it is his responsibility in more ways than one: â€Å"†¦thou knowest me better than these men can! Speak for me! † (p. 98) Understanding her undertones, Dimmesdale complies. After he has convinced the Governor that Pearl should remain with Hester, Pearl shows to him and uncharacteristic touch of tenderness. She â€Å"stole softly towards him, and, taking his hand in the grasp of her own, laid her cheek against it,†¦Ã¢â‚¬  which prompted him to lay ‘his hand on the child’s head† and then â€Å"kissed her brow† (pp. 99-100). Even Hester is amazed at the display of affection from her daughter, prompting her to ask â€Å"Is that my Pearl? † (p. 100). She is unused to this tenderness from her child, and in this unusual display, it becomes apparent to the reader that both Pearl and Dimmesdale are feeling more than the mere relationship between a minister and a parishioner. Later yet, Dimmesdale and his Pearl bring their relationship to words albeit under the cover of night. As he is silently atoning for his sin upon the scaffold, he invites Hester and Pearl to join him. Holding her hand, Dimmesdale is overcome with at â€Å"strange joy† (Hawthorne, 1991, p. 125). However, he is not yet able to agree to her demand to publicly acknowledge their relationship the next day at noon. Although Pearl is asking him to appear with them as a family, his guilt forces him to refuse. Even though she is too young to understand his denial then, when Pearl is seven, she is old enough to understand Dimmesdale’s refusals. At their forest meeting, her petulant and obstinate behavior underscores the hurt she feels because of this. She wipes off his kiss after he once again refuses to â€Å"†¦go back with us, hand in hand, we three together, into the town† (p. 166). As is usually the case, the mother must comfort the child by reminding her that one day â€Å"We shall have a home and a fireside of our own; and thou shalt sit upon his knee; and he will teach thee many things, and love thee dearly† (p. 66). However, as if not believing her mother, Pearl refuses to admit her love for him at this point. It appears that Pearl is waiting for Dimmesdale to admit to everyone that she is his daughter. Their relationship is finally made public, as he calls her to him during the holiday parade, and she â€Å"†¦flew to him, and clasp her arms around his knees† (Hawthorne, 1991, p. 193). He finally is able to speak to his daughter as every father should. He says, â€Å"dear little Pearl, wilt thou kiss me now? † (p. 196). Of course she complies, overjoyed at the admission of her father. The beautiful scene is played out as â€Å"her tears fell upon her father’s cheeks†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 196). Unfortunately, the physical bonding occurs too late; Dimmesdale perishes, leaving Hester and Pearl to continue alone. Even if the physical bond is denied, an emotional bond will always exist between a father and a daughter. As Dimmesdale and Pearl demonstrate in The Scarlet Letter, this relationship is ultimately undeniable by either party. By refusing to acknowledge this bond, Pearl and Dimmesdale are not able to continue their relationship.

Logistics management and international logistics management

Logistics management and international logistics management The literature overview relates to the problem area occur when the penetration to foreign market presented in chapter one. Firstly, I will describe definition of logistics management and international logistics management. Second, I will thrash out the reason of a logistics management start international operations. Further, I will talk about theories regarding the market selection. Next, I will present the different types of channels of distribution and the process for choose a representative in the foreign market. Lastly, I will end this chapter with environmental of logistics. 2.1 LITERATURE OF INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT Definition of logistics management and international logistics management Generally logistics refers to the inbound and outbound flow and storage of goods , services, and information within and between organisations (Gundlach et al, 2006). The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), which is the pre-eminent professional organisation for academics and practitioners in the logistics field, formed in 1963, defined logistics management as that part of supply chain management that plans, implements and controls the efficient, effective forward and reverse flow and storage of goods ,services, and related information between the point of origin and the the pont of consumption in order to meet customers requirements (see www.cscmp.org) This definition has resulted from numerous changes in the process to understand logistics (see Table 1). Table 1: The Development of Logistics Management (source) Period Development Prior to the 1980s Logistics was primarily concerned with the outbound flow of finished goods and services, with an emphasis on physical distribution and warehouse management. As a managerial activity, logistics focused on its role to support an organisations business strategy and to provide time and place utility. During the 1980s The industry globalisation and transportation deregulation led to the expansion of logistics beyond outbound flows to include recognition of materials management and physical distribution as important elements. In 1986, CLM (now CSCMP) defined logistics as the process of planning, implementing, and controlling the efficient, cost-effective flow and storage of raw materials, in-process inventory, finished goods, and related information flow from point of origin to point of consumption for the purpose of conforming to customer requirements (see www.clm1.org). During the 1990s Logistics was defined as the process of strategically managing the procurement, movement and storage of materials, parts and finished inventory and related information flow through the organisation and its marketing channels. The definition was changed as a result of accelerated market changes due to shrinking product lifecycles, demand for customisation, responsiveness to demand, and increased reliance on information (Christopher, 1998). During the 2000s These years experienced further changes as to how logistics is defined. Development in international trade, supply chain management, technology and business process re-engineering generated a need to re-evaluate the logistics concept. As a result, in 2001, it was defined as that part of supply chain process that plans, implements, and controls the efficient, effective flow and storage of goods, services and related information from the point of origin to the point of consumption in order to meet customer requirements. * Adapted from Gundlach, G.T.; Bolumole, Y.A.; Eltantawy, R.A. and Frankel, R., (2006), The Changing Landscape of Supply Chain Management, Marketing Channels of Distribution, Logistics and Purchasing, Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, Vol.21/7, pp 428-438. The internationalization process of logistics is the best way that a supplier in one country are transferred procurement, transportation, storage, processing, collating, distribution, marketing and information are tied in and commodities to a demander in another country with the lowest cost and minimum risk, keeping goods quality, quantity and timely. The essence of Internationalization of logistics is the principle of collaboration with the international division of labors in accordance with international practice, the use of international logistics networks, logistics facilities and logistics technology and achieve global flows and exchange of goods and services to promote regional economic development and the optimal allocation of resources in the world (YANG 2003). 2.2 CHANGE AGENT A change agent is an event, organization, material thing or, more usually, a person that acts as a catalyst for change. In business terms, a change agent is a person chosen to bring about organizational change. Corporations often hire senior managers or even chief executives because of their ability to effect change. An internal change agent is usually a staff person who has expertise in the behavioral sciences and in the intervention technology of OD. 2.2.1Internal Change Agents Internal change agents will affect the organization from within. These are  individuals working for the organization who know something about its problems and has experience of improving situation in the same organization .The entry of new employee can view as the possibilities of prolonging the life cycle for a goods via internationalization. 2.2.2External Change Agents External change agents are those that have influence on the organizational from the outside. These are outside consultants who are temporary employed in the organization to remain engaged only for the duration of the change process. External change agents usually do not implement plans or take responsibility for decision making. Supporting change leaders and programming and project teams in negotiating the transition between the current state and the desired future state is the preoccupation of external change agent. External change agents facilitating, through coaching, mentoring and knowledge transfer, the development of new skills and behaviour in others. 2.3 Motives for foreign expansion There are many reasons for a company going expand to foreign country. Most of them are market related. The market related motivations to expand their business divided to proactive and reactive motivations. Proactive motives are motives that stimuli organizations to attempt strategy change, based on the firms interest in exploiting unique competences or market possibilities. Reactive motives are motives which the organization not influence over the threat or pressures and adjust passively to them by changing its activities over time. Czinkota Ronkainen indicate that proactive organizational go international because they want to, however, reactive organizational because they have to. Several disadvantages will occur when an organization operation in a foreign market compared to the domestic competitors. As a result, an organization must build some advantages to get established in the new market compared to the domestic market. 2.3.1 PROACTIVE MOTIVATIONS FOR LOGISTIC MANAGEMENTS Accordingly to Ross,1995, proactive motivations occurs when the enterprise make a decision to expand their operations into foreign markets. The proactive motivation are defined as Profit advantage Products Exclusive information Managerial urge Tax benefits Economies of scale Usually, an enterprise perceive that internationalization will provides a great opportunity of increasing profits, which also the most well-known reason for internationalization . An enterprise will produce a product or service ,which is not readily existing in foreign markets. The product or service may be very attractive on foreign market, due to technological advantages of the production process, which gives the enterprise gain a competitive advantage over the domestic enterprises.(Czinkota Ronkainen,1995) The next reason for export is that numerous enterprises realized the home market is too small and cannot afford to extend product at domestic market. Besides that, an enterprise may also acquired knowledge about the foreign market than other competitor which do not have. Thus, enterprise will initiate steps towards the internationalization process. Further, when an enterprise start to export, the domestic government may exploit the tax benefit to the enterprise. Lastly, an enter prise can obtain economies of scales as their advantage through export activities. The economies of scales means produce larger volumes then will diminish the cost per unit produced. 2.3.2 REACTIVE MOTIVATIONS FOR LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT When the domestic industry outlook is not attractive, the enterprise will try to penetrate foreign market, to decreased their resource commitments at domestic country. The reactive motivation are defined as: Competitive pressures Overproduction Declining domestic sales Saturated domestic market Excess capacity Relationships Unsolicited order The high competition on the domestic industry or overproduction during the economic decline, might affect the enterprises profitability. Thus, the enterprise try to seek new markets abroad. Declining domestic sales occur when a product reaching the declining stage of the product life cycle and a saturated domestic market will lead an enterprise to export their product to foreign market, in order to prolong the lifetime of a certain product. Additional, if the enterprise has excess capacity ,internationalization may aid the enterprise in reaching the desired production level in order to reduce the fix cost per unit produced.(CzinkotaRonkainen, 1995) .On top of that, some enterprise want to maintain or defend its position in a particular business network, therefore, they may be enforced to face internationalization process..Last but no least, the enterprise may fit into exporting sector because of the unsolicited order. 2.4 FOREIGN MARKET MODE OF ENTRY A foreign market mode of entry is a channel which enables the enterprises product, human skills, management, technology or other resources, to enter into a foreign country. The choice of market entry mode is a vital strategic decision for firms intending to carry out business overseas. A number of definitions of different modes of entry exist. Hedman (1993) classifies the modes of entry as indirect , direct and alternatives to export. However, Hedmans model does not assume joint venture as entry mode ,which other authors such as Jeannet Hennessey,1988;Root 1994b;Ross,1995 identify as an entry mode.Joint ventures will be presented under heading 2.4.3.4. Most models of foreign market mode of entry is due to limited resources , therefore ,enterprises initially penetrate a foreign market through indirect export methods. Indirect paths to internationalization are those whereby small firms are involved in exporting, sourcing or distribution agreements with intermediary companies who manage, on their behalf, the transaction, sale or service with overseas companies (Fletcher, 2004). Export intermediaries play an important middleman role in international trade, linking individuals and organizations that would otherwise not have been connected (Peng and York, 2001, 328). Small and new ventures use intermediaries toovercome knowledge gaps, find customers and reduce uncertainties and risks associated with operating in foreign markets (Terjesen et al., 2008) The mode of entry will switches to direct export such as agents, distributors, and sales branches, when the enterprise becomes more dynamic in international business. Direct export known as the producer will conduct the distribution activities to a foreign agent or importer or to the end customer directly Selecting the channel of distribution is a long-term strategic decision and need to build long-term relationships and the necessity of stimulating cooperation among distribution alliance partnersMehta et al., 2001 R. Mehta, T. Larsen, B. Rosenbloom, J. Mazur and P. Polsa, Leadership and cooperation in marketing channels: a comparative empirical analysis of the United States, Finland, and Poland, Int Mark Rev 18 (2001), pp. 633-666. View Record in Scopus | Cited By in S. Distribution channels defined as the external contractual groups that firms cooperation to accomplish their distribution objectives (Rosenbloom, 2004 B. Rosenbloom, Marketing channels: a management view, South-Western, Mason (OH) (2004).Rosenbloom 2004). The chosen channel will affect the enterprises effectiveness and efficiency for as long as it is operating (Doyle, 1994). As a result, the enterprise should plan a long-term strategy and evaluate the own enterprisess future economical abilities, before select distribu tion channel. 2.4.1 INDIRECT EXPORT Indirect export is a chain that connect with the exporting enterprise with a domestic middleman in the target foreign country and link to the end customer as a final point(Akhter,1996). Export intermediaries often help their clients to identify customers, financing and distribution infrastructure providers (Balabanis, 2000). Intermediaries also help firms in overcoming knowledge gaps of the local market , reduce uncertainties and risks associated with operating in foreign markets. Firms may hire export intermediaries because they perform certain functions related to exporting without large investments, with low start up costs and few risks better than the firm itself could. Firms may hire export intermediaries because they perform certain functions related to exporting better or at lower costs than the firm itself could, for example because they possess country-specific knowledge that the firm lacks (Li, 2004) . For this reason Peng and Ilinitch (1998) argue that manufacturers may be more likely to use intermediaries when entering foreign markets. Export intermediaries can also help firms to save costs associated with searching new customers and monitoring the enforcement of contracts (Peng and York, 2001) as well as to help access intermediaries contacts, experience and knowledge of foreign markets (Terjesen et al., 2008). According to Hedman (1993), indirect export may work in three ways: through a trading firm ,an export merchant and an export agent. 2.4.1.1 Trading firm An export trading firm is an alliance among a few local small and medium enterprise (SME) to export their product to a target country. They will do export as teamwork to developing and penetrating a target country rather than do it single-handedly. Those firms cooperate to reduce export costs and risks while can develop market research to find new export business opportunities Firms that team-up for exporting can negotiate favorable rates on transportation, insurance and other export services .However ,a trading firm is independent when it operate in a foreign market(Hoagland,1996) 2.4.1.2 Export through an export agent Export agent is buyers in foreign countries who will buy products from enterprise and sell it abroad in their country. The agent usually awards the lowest bidder with the order and sell it with receives commission as compensation for their effort. Normally, the payment for export agent is received almost immediately plus there is very little effort required to complete the sale. Therefore, the manufacturer can get access to a larger market with minimum cost and risk . The manufacturers reputation is the largest risk when the manufacturer choosing export agent in foreign market. The manufacturer absolutely looses their control of the export activities after they select an export agent to help them sell their product in foreign market. 2.4.1.3 Export through an export merchant An export merchant acts as a kind of international wholesaler (Ross,1995). An export merchant seeks out needs in foreign markets and negotiates with a manufacturer. After makes purchases from manufacturers, the goods are exported to the waiting buyer. After having the merchandise packed and marked to specifications, the export merchant resells the goods in its own name. The export merchant normally specializes in a particular line of products or in a particular geographical market area where they have been operating during a longer a longer period. Sometime it sells the goods with the original suppliers labels or puts its own label. 2.4.2 Direct export Direct export may be conducted in three ways: (1) directly to the final customer,(2) with the help of a representative or (3) through the exporting enterprises own establishment (Hedman, 1993). The enterprise will confront with higher investment risks when they conduct export their product through direct link to foreign country. On the other hand, the enterprise may gain potential profit margin and the cost for transaction between home country n host country will drop. 2.4.2.1 Export directly to the final customer When conduct direct export without going through an intermediary in the home country to develops an overseas channel so that it deals directly with a foreign party, the exporting enterprise takes hold of all exporting activities. Therefore, they have to conduct their marketing research, investigations, transportation and documentation (Young et al .,1989 ). The advantages of directly to final customers is active market exploitation and greater control to the transaction in the host country. On top of that, the channel also improves communication and consistency. However, it is a difficult channel to handle if the manufacturer is unfamiliar with the foreign market and causing time consuming and expensive. 2.4.2.2 Export through a representative Export through a representative have played a crucial role in the development of the internationalization process. A representative is an intermediaries in the foreign market which have their own market organization that separated from the exporting enterprise . The company can determine to adapt the quantity of the home-based sales representative travel abroad at certain times to take orders or find business. Those enterprise want to penetrate the foreign market but afraid of the risk can find an experienced intermediaries to help them start their operation in foreign country. This is because those intermediaries obtain the knowledge about the country and may efficiently locate the product to the final customer. Agent An export agent, is an intermediary or trading company that acts on behalf of a company to open up or develop a market in a foreign country. However, the agent does not take title to the products and gives the exporter to take part in the planning and monitoring of the marketing activities. Export agents usually paid a commission on all sales and may have exclusive rights in a particular geographic area. A good agent will know or get to know local market conditions, which the exporting enterprises lack. An agent just carrying out part of the operations on behalf of the exporter, the exporter owns the product until it is sold to the final customer. The exporter has responsible for the customers risks because of the agent does not do not handle the products .The role of the export agent is to evaluate the export potential of the local manufacturers products, advertise them abroad, look for foreign buyers, place orders with the manufacturer, or arrange for, the documentation, take care of shipments and insurance once a sale has been made. Distributor Distributor is a firm located in the foreign market that purchase goods, re-label them with their own name, brand or trademark and then sell them as their own products. Foreign distributors are the backbone for many export manufacturerBello, D.C. and Lohtia, R., 1995. Export channel design: the use of foreign distributors and agents. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 23 2, pp. 83-93 Full Text via CrossRef | View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus. These export intermediaries possess crucial contacts with foreign buyers, strong local-market knowledge, and the ability to provide sophisticated marketing services. Distributors usually has a close relationship with the exporter and given the exclusive right to sell the product. They typically provide complementary services to their buyers, such as maintenance, parts sales, and technical assistance. On top of that, the distributor will assist the export enterprise by running processing orders, stock foreign inventories, grant buyer credit n delivery. Entering foreign market with using distributors is less risky and payment will get directly after transaction. This methods allow SMEs with limited resources to operate in major markets and companies with significant resources to offer their products and services in smaller markets. 2.4.2.3 Export through an own establishment Export through an own establishment usually is a company-owned export department for a enterprise sells their product directly to companies or final customers in the foreign market.The enterprise has full control over export activities such as the marketing and distribution of its goods and services, and coordinates research, distribution, sales, marketing, pricing, and legal. This department usually consists of an export sales manager with some clerical assistants. Export through an own establishment is an expensive way but very effective for enterprise to conduct their business in foreign market. Sales office An enterprise starting a sales office in a foreign market have to be establish new relationships in the foreign business network .Enter a foreign market with sales office is very costly n time consuming. This is because establish a sales office in foreign market required a high level of resources n effort into the market. , however, it is the best way to enterprise to obtain the knowledge of the local market. Branch A branch office established facilitate sales in the foreign market . They is an intermediary who selling products and providing support services to the manufacturers sales force .A sales branch allows the manufacturer to achieve greater presence and programme control in the foreign market. The role of sales branch handle sales is distribute product and managing warehouse and promotion. It often serves as a display centre and customer service centre in the foreign market. However, there are no manufacturing is done at this location. Subsidiary An export sales subsidiary basically removes the export function from the parent company and places the function in a separate wholly owned subsidiary. The export subsidiary purchases goods from the parent company, then resells it on their country. Export subsidiaries is able to add products from outside the parent company in order to round out its product line, and is able to separate out costs and expenses more efficiently than an internal department. On top of that, export subsidiaries can also develop into centre of excellence, controlling critical resources that other parts of the MNE depend upon Holm and Pedersen, 2000 U. Holm and T. Pedersen, The emergence and impact of MNC centres of excellence, A subsidiary perspective, Macmillan Press Ltd, Houndsmills (2000).. 2.4.3 Alternatives to export A lot enterprise realized the importance of expanding their business internationally. However, there are several obstacles to internationalization for firms in the developing world. One of these is a lack of information and knowledge about foreign markets. In such case, licensing or franchising might be the right choice (CzinkotaRonkainen, 1995). 2.4.3.1 License manufacturing Licensing is another easy way to for a manufacturer to involve in international marketing with a limited degree of risk. Licensing occurs when an enterprise within the foreign market, the licensee, make an agreement with the licensor who offering the right to use a manufacturing process, trademark rights, patent rights, or trade secret of value for a fee or royalty. The licensee will produce the licensors products and market these products in his assigned territory. After that, the licensee will pay the licensor royalties related to the sales volume of the products. The producing enterprise hereby escapes expensive toll and other trade barriers, exchange fluctuations, high transportation costs and political risks(Root,1987). The disadvantage of licensing is the firm has less control over the licensee than if it had set up its own production facilities. After few years, once the know-how is transferred, the foreign firm may begin to act on its own and the international firm may theref ore lose that market. Therefore, the licensor must establish a mutual advantage in working together, and a key to doing this is to remain innovative so that the licensee continues to depend on the licensor. 2.4.3.2 Franchising Franchising is an entrepreneurial activity that plays a crucial role in the creation of new jobs and economic developmentFalbe et al., 1998 C. Falbe, T. Dandridge and A. Kumar, The effect of organizational context on entrepreneurial strategies in franchising, Journal of Business Venturing 14 (1998), pp. 125-140.. In franchising, an exporting enterprise collaborates with a franchisee-entrepreneur to create economic value in a prescribed manner. The franchisee obtains the right to use franchisers, brand name, and marketing techniques to market goods or services. In return, the franchisee pays an up-front fee and ongoing royalties to the franchiser. Franchisees usually operate in local markets and communities, therefore, they can provide local knowledge to penetrate the foreign market. Thus, franchisees bring to the franchise system not just financial capital, but also a knowledge of geographic locations and labour markets, and their own managerial labour; that is they represent an effi cient bundled source of financial, managerial and information capital Dant, R.P. and Kaufmann, P.J., 2003. Structural and strategic dynamics in franchising. Journal of Retailing 79, pp. 63-75. Article | PDF (157 K) | View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus (24) ( Dant, R.P. and Kaufmann, P.J., 2003. Structural and strategic dynamics in franchising. Journal of Retailing 79, pp. 63-75. Article | PDF (157 K) | View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus (24)Dant and Kaufmann, 2003). The franchising tends to be more directly involved in the development and control of the marketing program. The main disadvantage of franchising is the level of the standardization of the product and service. Without a standardization there might be a risk of losing transferred know-how. (Hackett,1979) 2.4.3.3 Foreign direct investment(manufacture) Foreign market investment is the direct ownership of facilities in the foreign market. There are two ways for enterprise to enter foreign market through investment. The first option is make a direct acquisition or merger in the host market. The second option is develop its own facilities from the ground up. The reason that the firm invest in the foreign market may be the production in the foreign market is much cheaper . On top of that, the firm develops a deeper relationship with government , customers and local suppliers, so that make a better adaptation of its products to the local marketing environment.Glass and Saggi, 2002b A. Glass and K. Saggi, Licensing versus direct investment: implications for economic growth, Journal of International Economics 56 (2002), pp. 131-153. 2.4.3.4 Joint venture Joint venture is a contractual agreement between an international enterprise and foreign enterprise to execute a particular business. According to Fletcher and Brown (2004), joint venture is a second broad method of entering a foreign market to set up production and marketing facilities. in common with licensing. In joint ventures, the international firm has an equity position and a management voice in the foreign firm. Therefore, international firm better control over operations and also access to local market knowledge. The international firm has access to the network of relationships of the franchisee and is less exposed to the risk expropriation thanks to the partnership with the local firm. Previous studies (e.g., Blodgett (1992) L.L. Blodgett,Factors in the instability of international joint ventures: An event history analysis, Strategic Management Journal 13 (1992) (6), pp. 475-481. Full Text via CrossRefBlodgett, 1992; Geringer Hebert,1989; Merchant Schendel, 2000) have show n that equity ownership in a joint venture is an important determinant of its performance. This is because if the partner has different strategy than the international enterprise, it may lead to conflicting interests.

Application Of Islamic Microfinance In Poverty Alleviation Economics Essay

Application Of Islamic Microfinance In Poverty Alleviation Economics Essay Poverty is one of the fundamental problems in developing countries. It is estimated that around 80 percent of the worlds population is living in countries where income distribution gap is widening. Poverty rate is quite high in all Muslim countries except a few countries in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Poverty levels have also been associated with high inequality alongside low productivity. Half of the Indonesia population (about 129 million) is living below the poverty line of $2 a day. While in South Asia two largest Muslim states Bangladesh and Pakistan alone account for 122 million each living below the poverty line where as 100 million Muslims of India is also living below the poverty line. (Source: Islamic Microfinance Development: Challenges and Initiatives, IRTI website, 2007) Microfinance is a part of financial services which includes not only credit facility but also savings, insurance, and fund transfers to facilitate low-income people. The World Bank estimates that there are over 7,000 microfinance institutions; serving some 16 million poor people in developing countries. The total cash turnover of MFIs world-wide is estimated at $2.5 billion and the potential for new growth is outstanding. (Source: Micro facts: Data Snapshots of Microcredit, Global Development Research Centre website, 2008-2009) The Microcredit Summit estimates that $21.6 billion is needed to provide microfinance to 100 million of the worlds poorest families. The Summit planners said it should be possible to raise US$2 billion from borrowers savings alone and the final figure may be even higher. (Source: Micro facts: Data Snapshots of Microcredit, Global Development Research Centre website, 2008-2009) Fewer than 10 million out of the 500 million people who run micro and small enterprises have access to financial support for their business and fewer than 2% of the poor people have access to financial services (credit and savings) from sources other than lenders. (Source: MICROFACTS: Data Snapshots of Microcredit, Global Development Research Centre website, 2008-2009) The supporters of microfinance believed that it will help in reducing poverty and the concept became more popular in 1974 when famine struck Bangladesh. At the time, Dr. Muhammad Yunus was a professor of economics at the University of Chittagong. He subsequently started Grameen Bank which has been a wonderful success with more than 90 percent recovery rate. (Source: Short history of Grameen Bank, Grameen Bank website, 2010) Studies have also shown that during an eight year period, among the poorest Bangladesh with no credit service of any type, only 4 % pulled themselves above. But with only individuals and families with credit from Grameen Bank, more than 48% rose above the poverty line. (Source: MICROFACTS: Data Snapshots of Microcredit, Global Development Research Centre website, 2008-2009) In Pakistan there are 25 Microfinance institutions with the total deposit of $52.3 million which covers 1.83 million of population out of total population of 174 million (Fehmeen, 2010). Pakistan is ranked 6th in terms of population with the labor force of 53.78 million as estimated for 2009. (Source: CIA world Fact book, Central Intelligence Agency website, no date) Figure 1: Unmet Demand for Microfinance in Pakistan from 2008-2009 Source: Microfinance Hub Website From the statistical figures of 2008-2009; it can be said that the population below the poverty line is 29,928,000 million which represents 17.2 % of the total population and the unemployed population is 26,448,000 which means 15.2% of the total population; that sums up to 32.4% out of the total population of Pakistan. These people need microfinance support to improve their living standard because the people living below the poverty line are not even able to get basic necessities of life (Fehmeen, 2010). In this regard, the Financial Inclusion Program (FIP) has been implemented by SBP with support of the UK Department for International Development (DFID), which aims to transform the financial market with a clear objective to provide equitable and efficient market-based financial services to the otherwise excluded poor and marginalized population including women and young people. FIP has developed an evidence based policy and a realistic target of reaching out to three million microfinance users by the end of 2010. (Source: Financial Inclusion Program, SBP, no date) Some facts about the outreach of Islamic Microfinance in different countries are mentioned in the Table 1. Region No. of Included Institutions % of Female clients (Avg.) Total no. of Clients Total Outstanding Loan Portfolio (US$) Avg. Loan Balance (US$) Afghanistan 4 22 53,011 10,347,029 162 Bahrain 1 N/A 323 96,565 299 Bangladesh 2 90 111,837 34,490,490 280 Indonesia 105 60 74,698 122,480,000 1,640 Jordon 1 80 1,481 1,619,909 1,094 Lebanon 1 50 26,000 22,500,000 865 Pakistan 1 40 6,069 746,904 123 West Bank and Gaza 1 100 132 145,485 1102 Saudi Arabia 1 86 7,000 586,667 84 Sudan 3 65 9,561 1,891,819 171 Syria 1 45 2,298 1,838,047 800 Yemen 3 58 7,031 840,240 146 Total 63 299,441 197,583,155 564Table 1: Outreach of Islamic Micro Finance by Country Source: CGAP Survey, 2007 Islamic finance is still in its introductory phase, but it has achieved double digit growth both in Pakistan and around the world. Some of the well known Islamic finance instruments are Murabaha (Sale Contract), Musharakah (Equity Participation), Mudarabah (Partnership), Ijarah (Lease Financing), Bay Muajjal (sale on Credit or deferred payment sale), Bay Salam (Deferred Delivery Sale) etc. 1.2 Problem Statement Interest based micro lending carries high interest rates and is impermissible in Islam; hence, this study strives to analyze how the mix of debt and equity based Islamic finance contracts be used in providing Islamic micro financial services in Pakistan which has more than one quarter people living below the poverty line and huge rural population. 1.3 Objectives of the study It will identify and analyze various instruments of Islamic microfinance that can eliminate poverty effectively than conventional micro financing. It will recognize and analyze the mix of debt and equity based Islamic finance contract; used in providing Islamic micro financial services in Pakistan. It will explore the scope of opportunities for Islamic microfinance in Pakistan. It will discover the challenges that Islamic microfinance could face in Pakistan. 1.4 Importance of the study This  study  highlights the importance of Islamic microfinance to help reduce poverty in Pakistan. As the poor are becoming poorer in Pakistan due to rising inflation and very limited sources of employment, this research will discuss how the Islamic microfinance could help in poverty alleviation, equitable redistribution and employment creation. 1.5 Research Methodology This research study will inquire that how far Islamic microfinance would be helpful in reducing poverty in Pakistan. To substantiate the case for microfinance; the study will analyze five major countries where microfinance is prevalent. Panel data on four variables which include per capita income, education which will be measured through literacy rate, poverty measured through percentage of population living below the poverty line and inequality measured through gini co-efficient will be taken from the selected five countries. The period of study will be different for each country starting from when microfinance started in particular countries to the current period. Secondly, the research will identify and analyze the mix of debt and equity based Islamic finance contract which could be used in providing Islamic micro financial services in Pakistan. For this purpose, specific entrepreneurial activities with investment requirements will be identified and then the ideal Islamic mode to be used in specific entrepreneurial activities with particular investment would be recommended. 1.6 Plan of the study This study consists of five phases. Work in each phase would be reported as a separate chapter. The first chapter of study will cover the introduction which includes the background of the study, Problem statement, Objectives of the study, importance of the study and scope of research. The second chapter will cover the literature review of will the academic and practical progress in Microfinance. The third chapter will discuss the research methodology i.e. the various tools and techniques that will be used to conduct research. The fourth chapter will include the data collection and findings obtained from the analysis of the data collected. The fifth chapter will comprise the research conclusion based on the findings. 1.7 Limits of the study This study on application of Islamic microfinance in poverty alleviation would be useful and provide experiential support to future studies on Islamic microfinance in Pakistan. There exist no full fledge Islamic microfinance bank in Pakistan. Hence, the models and instruments discussed have not been put into practice and empirical analysis of performance will be hard to make. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 What is Microfinance? According to Abedelhamid 1991 (p. 57-64). Microfinance is a set of financial services which provides loans to clients who are excluded from the traditional financial system on account of no or little collateral. In the third world countries, microfinance has become very popular because inflation tends to be high and volatile; government is often incompetent; and the necessary legal framework for financial services is often missing Microfinance is the provision of a broad range of financial services such as deposits, loans, payment services, money transfers, and insurance to poor and low-income households and, their microenterprises. Microfinance services are provided by three types of sources: Formal institutions, such as rural banks and cooperatives; Semiformal institutions, such as nongovernment organizations; and Informal sources such as money lenders and shopkeepers. Institutional microfinance is defined to include microfinance services provided by both formal and semiformal institutions. Microfinance institutions are defined as institutions whose major business is the provision of microfinance services. (Source: Finance for Poor: Microfinance development Strategy, ADB website, 2000) 2.2 History of Microfinance Microfinance history dates back to the mid of the 18th century when the philosopher Lysander Spooner was doing research on the advantages from small loans to entrepreneurs and farmers as a way to get people out of poverty. The economist Timothy Guinnane at Yale had been doing some research on Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen ´s village bank movement which started in 1864 in Germany and by the start of the year 1901 the bank reached 2 million rural farmers. As per Timothy Guinnane explanation it was proved that microcredit could pass the two tests concerning peoples payback moral and the possibility to provide the financial service to poor people. Today, the expression Microfinance has its roots in the 1970s when the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh was established. At that time a new span of microfinance initiatives introduced many new procedures into the sector. Pioneering enterprises started doing experiments with providing credits to the poor people. Increasingly, it was thought that people could be relied on for repayment of their borrowings and it is feasible to provide financial services to underserved people through market based enterprises without subsidy. In 1974, Shore bank was the first microfinance and community development bank founded in Chicago for the first time in USA. (Source: History of micro finance, Global envision website, 2006) Today the World Bank estimates that more than 16 million people are served by some 7000 microfinance institutions all over the world. CGAP experts suggested that about 500 million families benefits from these small loans making new business possible. (Source: Micro facts: Data Snapshots of Microcredit, Global Development Research Centre website, 2008-2009) 2.3 Present Situation and Growth of Microfinance The year 2008 is considered as the beginning of a challenging period for microfinance in a number of countries. The economic and financial crises that reached MFIs and their clients turned calm waters into rough shores for many institutions in the industry. The year 2009 MIX Global 100 Composite Ranking captures the effects of this changing environment, where global growth rates slowed for the first time in years, and many MFIs faced stagnant or rising costs, and in some in ­stances a slow rise in credit risk. Figure: 3 Growth Pattern of Microfinance in all continents Source: MIX Global website, 2009 The 2009 edition of the MIX Global 100, surveyed 955 institutions from nearly 100 countries as illustrated in Table 2. As a group, surveyed institutions represented nearly 85 percent of the known pool of microfinance borrow ­ers, serving 72 million borrowers with 37 billion USD in loans and holding 22 billion USD in deposits from 67 million microfinance clients (Source: MIX Global website, 2009). Table 2:2009 MIX Global 100 Composite Ranking Countries with Most MFIs in Top 100 Country MFIs in Top 100 All Ranked MFIs India 20 51 Ecuador 9 44 Egypt 6 12 Philippines 6 34 Bangladesh 5 9 Cambodia 5 13 Bolivia 4 22 Bosnia and Herzegovina 4 13 Armenia 3 7 Mexico 3 27 Morocco 3 5 Dominican Republic 2 2 Jordan 2 6 Mongolia 2 4 Nepal 2 16 Peru 2 54 Serbia 2 4 Vietnam 2 5 Source: MIX Global website, 2009 Microfinance is assured as one of the tools that can decrease as well as eradicate poverty. According to Saefullah (2010) numbers of research have been conducted in order to measure the success of microfinance. The stories of Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Indonesian People Bank) in Indonesia, Self-Help Group in India show the extent to which microfinance can eliminate poverty. Obaidullah (2008) has also done research that attempts to identify the glory of microfinance. Table: 3 Poverty Level and Financial Access in Bangladesh, Indonesia and Turkey Source: Islamic Microfinance Development: Challenges and Initiatives, 2008, IRTI, IDB Name of Member Counrty Human Poverty index Rank Income poverty Index Population Below Population in millions No. of poor in millions Financial access percentage (2007) $ 1 a day (%) $ 2 a day (%) Poverty Line Peoples republic of Bangladesh 85 36 82.8 45 147.37 122 32 Republic of Indonesia 41 7.5 52.4 17.8 245.45 128.6 40 Republic of Turkey 21 3.4 18.7 20 70.41 13.2 49 Impact of microfinance in household and community level components According to study of Chowdhury Bhuiya (2004) the wider impacts of BRAC (Bangladesh Rural and Advancement Committee) poverty alleviation program found that there was a positive impact on living standard as the survival rate and schooling of children improved. The Impact of microcredit on borrowers of Grameen Bank by Khandker (2003) illustrate that there was a positive impact on the households poverty reduction that availed the microfinance facility. Latif (2001) in his study on the effects of microcredit on the household saving of Bangladeshi borrowers concluded that saving-income ratio was significantly higher for the customers of microfinance as compared to poor who were not participants of microfinance institutes. Another research conducted by Zaman (2001) on the Impact of microcredit on poverty and vulnerability found that there is positive impact on income and decision making capability of poor using microfinance. Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (2001) researched on the Impact of microcredit on savings and informal borrowings discussed that microcredit increased savings and this was more prominent in women than men. Hakim (2000) in the study Impact of microfinance program highlighted the higher social relations and mobility among women clients and the positive impact of microfinance on asset-ownership. Mosley and Hulme (1998) studied the possible conflict between growth and poverty alleviation. Their main finding is that the income and assets of the borrowers had increased due microcredit. Halder (1998) in the research identification of the poorest and the impact of credit on them asserted that the members of BRAC (Bangladesh Rural and Advancement Committee) consumed high calories as compared to non-members. Pitt and Khandaker (1996) explained in their study the Impact of microcredit on borrowers of BRAC, BRDB (Bangladesh Rural Development Board) and Grameen Bank that there was positive impact in women employment, total per capita weekly expenditure and womens non-land assets. Villagers attitude and other behaviors can be changed through credit programs. (The Challenge of Poverty and Mapping out Solutions: Requisite Paradigm Shift from a Problem-Solving and Islamic Perspective Dr. Mohammad Omar Farooq) M.A.Hamid (no date) found in his research that from 200 customers of Grameen Bank 46 were willing to join the Islamic bank of Bangladesh limited and one of the three main reasons was that this Islamic bank will provide services of microfinance within the limits of Islamic Shariah and Grameen Bank will not. Microfinance has a very essential role to play in development according to proponents of microfinance. As per UNCDF (2004) studies microfinance plays three vital roles in improvement. First of all it helps needy people to fulfill their basic needs and protect against hazards and is also related with up gradation of household economic welfare and lastly it motivates women by their participation in economy and also encourage equality. Results of a research on monitoring and evaluation of PKSF (Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation) (2005) sponsored microfinance programs shows that absolute poverty decreased by 9% and moderate poverty reduced by 5% through 1997 to 2000. Amin et al. (2003) in his study the Impact of microcredit on clients of Grameen Bank, BRAC and ASA concluded that Microcredit program was successful in reaching poor Objective of microfinance according to Otero (1999) is not just about providing capital to the poor or fight against poverty on an individual level but it also has a responsibility on an institutional level. It seeks to create organizations that can provide their financial services to the poor, who are continuously ignored by the formal sector. According to Littlefield and Rosenberg (2004) study people that are below poverty line are not part of financial services sector of the economy so thats why microfinance institutions have established to provide solution to these issues. MFIs become a major part of financial sector of country by providing these services to poor people and hence it can also access capital markets for the funding of their lending portfolios. (Otero, 1999) The overall collision of microfinance can be analyzed on three things including level, type and its variable. Level defines its depth that on which level it has affected the target market whereas type of impact examines how it has benefited the people along with the impact variables as mentioned in fig. 2. Impact of microfinance on household can be accessed on two levels household and community through its types by considering its different variables. It can be scrutinize through income, education, empowerment and other social things as well. Level s of Impact Types of Impact Impact Variable Economic Variables: Income Household Assets Housing Access to food Human Capital: Education Health Confidence Skills Empowerment Social Capital: Social Networks Social Mobility Household Community Social Economic Figure: 2 Impact of Microfinance in House hold and community level Source: Eoin Wrenn, 2005 2.4 Challenges for Microfinance The achievement in microfinance in the world has been impressive relative to the status in the 1970s. However, a number of major problems remain. 2.4.1Policy development environment for financial sectors programs The policy environment for microfinance in many countries still remains unfavorable for sustainable growth in microfinance operations. For example, in countries such as Peoples Republic of China, Thailand, and Viet Nam, the ceilings on interest rates limit the ability of MFIs to provide increased and continuing access to an increasing segment of the excluded households. 2.4.2Inadequate financial infrastructure It is another major problem in the world. Financial infrastructure includes legal, information, and regulatory and supervisory systems for financial institutions and markets. Most governments have not focused to build financial infrastructure that supports, strengthens, and ensures the sustainability of such institutions or programs and promotes participation of private sector institutions in microfinance. The other major financial infrastructure-related problems include lack of: A legal framework conducive for emergence and sustainable growth of small-scale financial institutions, Regulatory and supervisory systems for microfinance in countries where the microfinance subsector is approaching a level of maturity, and Emphasis on development of accounting and auditing practices and professions 2.4.3Limitation of retail level institutional capacity Most retail level institutions do not have adequate capacity to expand the scope and outreach of services on a sustainable basis to most of the potential clients. Lack capacity to leverage funds, Are unable to provide a range of products and services compatible with the potential clients characteristics. Do not have an adequate network. (Source: Finance for Poor: Microfinance development Strategy, ADB website, 2000) 2.5 Islamic Microfinance According to Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani( no date) , from years Muslims are trying to frame their style of living according to Islam thats why they restrict themselves within the limits of Shariah which on the basis of Islam prohibits the practice of Riba or interest in any of the financial or trade activities. According to Dr. Abbas Mirakhor, Executive Director of the IMF as referred by Chaudhri (2006) An important function of Islamic finance that is seldom noted à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ is the ability of Islamic finance to provide the vehicle for financial and economic empowerment à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ to convert dead capital into income generating assets to financially and economically empower the poor Islamic Microfinance is the way of financing to the underserved population without using the concept of interest. Microfinance is already more structurally aligned to applying Islamic equity financing structures. As microfinance programs are based on group sharing of risk and personal guarantee while maintenance of trust and honesty is tied to the availability of future funds. 2.5.1 Importance of Islamic Microfinance In his famous book Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith argued that participation in religious sects could potentially convey two economic advantages to adherents. The first could be seen as a reputational signal while the poor might look alike to potential employers, lenders, and customers, membership in a specific group could convey a reduction in risk associated with the particular individual and ultimately improve the efficient allocation of resources. Second, religious groups could also provide for extra-legal means of establishing trust and sanctioning miscreants in intra group transactions, again reducing uncertainty and improving efficiency, especially where civil remedies for failure to uphold contracts were weak. (Case study: Islamic microfinance and socially responsible investment Anderson and Noland, 1988). Islamic finance techniques could give thousands of entrepreneurial poor the access to microfinance an option they might not consider if traditional, interest-based commercial loans were offered. More experimentation and practice in the field should contribute to more knowledge and a better understanding of effective loan delivery mechanisms using Islamic banking principles (Muhammad Ramzan, 1996). 2.5.2 Islamic approach to poverty alleviation All principles or laws in Islam owe their origin to its holy book the Quran and the sayings and deeds of its Prophet (peace be upon him) encapsulated in books of Hadith. A saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him) forcefully drives home the central message of Islam regarding poverty: Poverty is almost like disbelief in God.. On another occasion, the Prophet (peace be upon him) is reported to have said Allah! I seek refuge with you from the affliction of poverty (Soruce: Sahih Bukhari: read, study, search online Volume 8, Book 75, Number 379). Islam views poverty to be a curse to be eradicated through productive efforts. Poverty is in conflict with enrichment of self (nafs), which is one of the primary objectives (maqasid) of Shariah. Islamic jurists have unanimously held the view that it is the collective obligation (fardkifayah) of a Muslim society to take care of the basic needs of the poor. (Obaidullah, Muhammed (2008) 2.5.2.1Charity Charity occupies a central position in the Islamic scheme of poverty alleviation. The broad term for charity in Islam is Sadaqa. When compulsorily mandated on an eligible Muslim, Sadaqa is called Zakah. When Sadaqa results in flow of benefits that are expected to be stable and permanent (such as, through endowment of a physical property), it is called Sadaq-e-jariya or Waqf. Establish Prayer and dispense the Purifying Alms (Zakat) and bow in worship with those who bow (Al-Quran, (2:43)) The research paper by Professor Habib Ahmed (no date) asserts that Zakah play an important role in eliminating poverty and a significant impact of Zakah can be seen if the macroeconomic policies are in the alignment with poverty reduction objective. Zakah is the third among five pillars of Islam and payment of zakah is an obligation on the wealth and production of every Muslim. The primary issue with a zakah or sadaqa-based solution to the challenge of poverty is the issue of sustainability. Funds mobilized through these tools tend to fluctuate from time to time and may not lend themselves to careful planning and implementation. Further, these funds are meant mostly for the extremely poor and function as a safety net for meeting their immediate and basic needs. Benefits from waqf, assets are of course, meant to flow to the community at large and also on a sustainable basis (M U Chapra, 2008).It has been In FY 2009, approximately Rupees 150 billion were paid by people in Pakistan in charity, of which 90 percent was for the purpose of paying Zakat. (Dawn, September, 7, 2009) According to Dr Mohammad Omar Farooq people when pay Zakah should be concerned with its impact on the society in the long or short term to get the solutions for poverty alleviation. In another research conducted by Nafis Alam (no date) states in his study Islamic venture philanthropy: a tool for community development that Islamic charities are significant influential tool for sustainable community development. 2.5.3 Islamic Microfinance Products Islamic approach to poverty alleviation is a composite of a mission based and market-based interventions. Islamic Microfinance need not be restricted to not-for-profit modes alone. Islam permits for-profit trade and creation of wealth. It depends on the customer that what he/she wants to do with the money either needs just security of the money against which he/she may not claim the profit or wants to invest the money and share both profit and loss. The poor need a range of microfinance services, such as, micro-savings, micro-credit, micro-equity, micro-Takaful and micro-remittance. In the context of mainstream Islamic finance, people come across a host of for-profit modes through which such services may be provided to the poor. These could be used for microfinance with minor modifications wherever needed (Obaidullah, 2008). Micro-Savings Micro-savings is a critical financial service for poor and excluded households. Poor people want secure, convenient deposit services that allow for small balances and transactions and offer easy access to their funds. However, microfinance institutions across the globe tend to neglect this product while giving undue importance to micro-credit. The contract underlying a savings product must be free from elements of Riba and Gharar. This constitutes one of the most well known Islamic products, consisting in a cost-plus profit financing transaction in which a tangible asset is purchased by an Islamic institution at the request of its customer from a supplier. The Islamic institution then sells the asset to its customer on a deferred sale basis with a markup reflecting the institutions profit Various contractual options for designing savings products are: wadia, qard hasan and Mudarabah (Obaidullah, 2008). Micro-Credit The Islamic alternative to interest-based conventional loan is trade based or lease-based credit that permits the ownership and/or use of commodities or physical assets needed for productive ente