GOAL SETTING AND MCCLELLAND'S THEORY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

GOAL SETTING AND MCCLELLAND'S THEORY - Essay Example Goal setting can be a powerful method for motivating members in an organization under right conditions. Researchers have shown that the best performance that an organization can ever have is when goals are specific and challenging, and when they are used in performance evaluation. Additionally, goals can be linked to feedback on results an aspect that help to create commitment and acceptance at the workplace It is very important for managers to focus on satisfying employee needs since; this is significantly associated with academic achievement, criminal convictions, drug abuse, marital satisfaction, and performance at the work place. Managers are advised to motivate their employees by formulating programs that target at meeting emerging needs among workers. Researchers have proved that individuals provided with specific goals which are difficult but attainable mostly perform better than those allocated easy, nonspecific, or no goals at all. The need for power in an individual reflects their desire to influence, coach, teach, or encourage others to achieve. This kind of people with a high need for power, tend to work very hard and uphold high standards of discipline and self-respect. This need has both its advantages or the positive side and the negative side which can be referred as the shortcomings. The negative entails the â€Å"if I win, you lose† mentality which is a bad mentality among human beings in a community (Kreitner & Kanicki, 2012). On the other hand, people with a positive mentality on power usually concentrate on achieving group goals and helping other employees in an organization. Therefore, McClelland in his theory proposes that top managers in an organization should possess a high need for power coupled with a low need for affiliation. The theory indicates that people with a high need for achievement tend to

Ethnic Groups and Discrimination Essay Example for Free

Ethnic Groups and Discrimination Essay As a Caucasian American, I did not miss wondering how I became the person who I am or how I even got here. Of course, there is history to tell us the whole tale of battles and cries. But only a few can truly admit that tracing their past became their passion. Today, history is retold and reshaped, depending on the many historic discoveries. One of the many concerns evolved in these escapades is finding the root of discrimination when man is still man despite his many colors. With that, I read along articles and observed many things to find where my white skin came from, and why this seemingly superior color gets to be discriminated against as well. History declares white people to be colonizers from Europe. In search for their spices, land, and money, they came to rest on American soil that was truly promising. There were red-skinned natives at that time when the foreigners began building their forts. They imposed their culture and nature to the simple lives of the natives. From their point of view, they were superior and the Indians were savages. On the other hand, from the perspective of the natives, these foreigners should not act as if they own the world. Simply saying, they also had thoughts against the migrants. They were simply bending to the changes, as long as they were fair. It seems that the white people were not forced to be segregated from the natives, but they were still treated differently, as they were. There was also racism. Little did the natives know how the white people think, and simply based this on their actions. One could say that the entire dilemma rooted from little misunderstanding that went out of hand. A lot of people then were closed minded against everything else that was not like their own. As a white individual in this multinational environment, I could say and believe that people of my color likewise experience a combination of all three forms of discrimination despite all arguments. Caucasian people have also experienced Affirmative Action, Reverse Discrimination and Double Jeopardy. Affirmative Action is, according to Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2005), a set of positive procedures in assisting minorities in fields of education, employment, and business. One might wonder how we, as Caucasians, can be inflicted upon by this positive reinforcement. The answer is rather simple. Since the minorities, which includes women and other ethnic groups, are given priority in the different fields, there are white people who are not given the just treatment that is due them. For example, in schools, minorities and ethnic groups are given priorities as given to them by law. However, categorizes as such does not mean they are more qualified. They are just given more attention. This may inevitably end by having qualified white individuals denied of education. Such is also the case in the workplace. Since minorities will be given priority by law, despite their qualifications they will have more chances of employment. With that, one could say that there is imminent Reverse Discrimination. An online dictionary defined the case as the exclusion of an individual who belongs to a majority class in compensation for the idea of traditional discrimination. Although early history might paint the white man to be violent and inhumane, it does not mean that the time today declares to have tables turned. White people today should not be punished for what their ancestors have done and failed to understand. In this age of knowledge, technology, and globalization people are expected to be more understanding. Unfortunately, there are people who took advantage of these changing times into their accounts and tried to rise above the other people, including the whites. It is sad that there are still individuals who fail to realize that it is better to rise with other people. There is also the form of Double Jeopardy. According to Lectric Law Library, this simply states being tried more than once for the same offense. In line to discrimination, this offense means being a white individual in the community. Being a white individual does not only call being approached differently, but likewise have the same treatment again and again. It is not a person’s fault on having that color of skin. However, they are still seen color first before the inner being. White Man is construed with different stereotypes. There are also other cases in line to Double Jeopardy. Jennifer Berdhal and Celia Moore (2006) mentioned that Double Jeopardy also exists in the work place. On behalf of the women in the workplace, they are being tried for being women, and for being women of minority groups. Simultaneously, white men are being discriminated against because they are white men. Likewise, they are being discriminated against because they are white men in the work place. They are assumed to have a common personality and perspective across their people. This hinders other people from realizing that in every race, there will also be a bad apple. In conclusion, Caucasian people might be considered as a majority ethnic group in the United States, but in their very own country, they are also being discriminated against. Seemingly superior, there are also cases wherein they are victims of Affirmative Action, Reverse Discrimination and Double Jeopardy. Despite these times of positive change and reinforcement of globalization, it is often still a sad reality that there are more things that change too slowly. Although literature, politics, and other events in the lives of human race, the battle cry to have all men equal and strong is still a whisper. It is not heard, much less practiced, regardless of what a lot of people have long been campaigning. There will always be a striking difference across different races. But the question relies on where the similarities would overpower their differences and finally live harmoniously. References Fullinwider, R. (2005 March 4). Affirmative action.Retrieved January 15, 2009 from http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/affirmative-action/. (2008). Reverse discrimination. Retrieved January 15, 2009 from http://www. yourdictionary. com/reverse-discrimination. (n. d. ). Double jeopardy. Retrieved January 15, 2009 from http://www. lectlaw. com/def/d075. htm. Berdahl, J. Moore, C. (2006). Workplace harassment: Double jeopardy for minority women. Retrieved January 15, 2009 from http://www. rotman. utoronto. ca/facBios/file/Berdahl%20%20Moore%202006. pdf.

Internet Vs Newspapers Will Newspapers Disappear Media Essay

Internet Vs Newspapers Will Newspapers Disappear Media Essay Nowadays Internet became a very important part of peoples lives. Gathering news is not the only thing you can do online, todays Internet-services include selling technical devices, clothes and even food, earning and controlling the money, communicating with people all over the world, and many other important things. In modern society you can even find new acquaintances and make friends on the Internet! According to Jonathan Dube [Dube, J. (2010 July, 28). New report: Internet is more important than newspapers, but still not trustworthy. Cyberjournalist.net.], 82% of American population is using the Internet in their daily life. Some people even in AUBG are becoming complete Internet-maniacs; they are sitting in front of their computers all day long. Lots of movies are made on this topic, from Social Network ( the film about the creation of one of the most popular online social network Facebook.) to, I, Robot (this movie is telling us a story about robots which by 2050would have beco me common human assistants.) . New technologies have a great effect on all spheres of peoples life, and the Internet influences all kinds of media. However, newspapers are affected more than magazines, books and other printed issues, because the main purpose of a newspaper is to inform the people about worldwide and local events. If half of century ago newspapers were the only and most convenient source of gathering news, with invasion of the Internet it becomes easier to receive tidings online. I believe that if newspapers dont disappear in the future, they will probably change their format and reduce the number of printed copies. The formats of media are changing not for the first time. According to George Rodman (2009), first newspapers appeared about 1200 years ago. In 1690 the first American newspaper was published in Boston. Later, with the adventure of radio and television, newspapers production gradually started to decline, because it became more efficient and prompt to get breaking news via these new kinds of media. However, TV still didnt have a chance to compete with papers, because papers were providing deeper information. Much bigger stress newspapers felt during 1990s after the appearance of the Internet. About 67 million Americans now read blogs, and 21 million write blogs, creating an explosion of new writers and new forms of customer feedback that did not exist five years ago (pew, 2008). Social networking sites like MySpace or Facebook attact over 70 and 30 million visitors a month, respectively, and businesses are starting to use social networking tools to connect their employees, and managers worldwide, says (Laudon K.C., Laudon J. P. (2010). It seems that recently the whole world is turning online. Nowadays a lot of popular public editions are reducing the number of printed material. The  Detroit Free Press  and  The Detroit News  have cut their home delivery to three days a week and advised readers to find the rest of the news online. (Lieberman, D. 2010, August 11). According the article Will your newspaper be around in five years by Jeremy Porter (2009, June 22) there are 4 main aspects which still keep newspapers alive: content, readers, advertisers and format. At the same time the author disproves all these features and argues that newspapers wont be still published in 5 years. First of all, newspapers dont differ a lot one from another. You can find the same information in the Internet, because most of periodicals, including very popular editions, such as The Wall Street Journal, New York Times or Washington Post, are not only printed, but also published online. Moreover, you can read the overwhelming majority of information online for free, that makes the Internet even more attractive. A reader is the most important concern for a newspaper. Newspapers will have no success without readers. However, more and more people agree that It is nice to have (printed editions), but they can live without (them). Lots of people are becoming Internet-users, and most of Internet users read news online. For example, I myself get new information about events that happen in the world and particularly in me home country by reading short messages on Twitter. As far as I know students in our university dont read newspapers at all, despite rare cases, when we need to find a particular piece of information only in a particular newspaper and nowhere else. One can argue that older generations should be accustomed to the papers and do not want to change anything, but statistics proves the opposite. According to the survey made by Pew Internet and American Life Project the number of Internet users in age group 70-75 increased from 26% to 45% within 4 years. This fact sounds strange, but 4% of Internet users are 73+ years old. Where do newspapers get their revenue? The most logical answer is advertisers. But will advertisers sponsor printed newspapers if they are not that successful? Nowadays, large newspapers in big cities are more in danger than local editions are. It is rather expensive to put your ad in a newspaper, especially when you have a lot of other opportunities: radio, magazines, websites and billboards. Advertisers dont have such a large range of possibilities in a small town, that is why they have to put their promotion to the newspapers in order to reach the audience. This gives local newspapers better chances to survive. (Lieberman, D. 2010, August 11). Newspapers revenue can be made also by online advertisements. It is even more comfortable for both sides, because it is easier to track, how many clicks were made on this link, than to find out how many people actually read a newspaper and paid any attention to advertisements. The last argument is newspapers are not environmentally friendly. It takes tones of wood material, lots of electricity and many delivery tracks to produce and transport the papers. At the same time the Internet is rather ecologically safe, so producing printed periodicals doesnt make any sense from the environmental point of view. Of course, the Internet requires a lot of technical products, such as computers, notebooks, iPads, and others, but producing of these electronic devices will grow despite turning newspapers production online. There is an opinion that good online papers will make you pay for the information, because it takes a lot of efforts and quite a lot of money to get news, create an article according to them and make this article readable. Moreover, some information is really worth paying. Also many generations were paying for news during the papers era, and why do reporters and journalists have to provide the same information for free? However, it might be too late to charge for online content. People have already got used to receiving news for free, and it is rather hard to turn the current situation vice versa. (Porter, J. 2009, June 29). The first reason why some people assume that newspapers will stay alive for a long time is rather low Internet availability in developing countries, and in some of them the situation is not going to be changed in coming decades. According to Internet usage statistics (Internet World Stats) in Middle East, Africa and Oceania/Australia the availability of the Internet is very low, comparing to Asia, Europe and North America. This is the first reason why some people assume that newspapers will stay alive for a long time. Also in local areas printed issues seem to be more convenient. Lets imagine that there is an online resource Blagoevgradonline.bg, which covers latest news of this town. If this site has a success, audience will ask to make this resource printed, because it will be more comfortable for the overwhelming majority of towns population. Another example is our universitys newspaper DeFacto. It was started in 2003 with the website, but the printed version was neglected only in 2007. This shows that the process is reversible; it is not only about turning papers to the web. Phelps Hawkins, Assistant Professor of JMC (Journalism and Mass Communications) Department in AUBG, suppose that humankind will need newspapers anyway, because sometimes we are becoming tired of the Internet. For example, when one is going to the restaurant or goes on a plane, places where it is not convenient or even forbidden to turn notebooks on, waiters or stewards are suggesting some papers to read in order to become familiar with latest news. This kind of service is not going to be changed a lot, thats why newspapers have to exist at least in small amounts. According to Google executive Santiago de la Mora (2010, January 28), Internet will not displace newspapers just as VHS, and later DVD, didnt kill cinema. In his opinion, newspapers have to provide us something that will make people want to read them; and it should be something more than just printing the material. De la Mora is sure that Internet companies dont want to steal newspapers revenue, because first of all, it is publishers material that goes online. Using Googles webmaster tools, publishers can prevent Google from indexing their sites entirely, or they can prevent specific Google services, like Google News, from indexing their content. Yesterday I was talking to my Mom about my research paper, and asked her opinion on the topic. She was hardly urging me that newspapers would not die, because reading a newspaper is sort of ritual, but at the end of our conversation she added: However, newspapers are terribly inconvenient. They are big and smell like a paint. Almost nobody now is listening to music on tape recorders, and very small amount of people is watching movies on VHS. The world is changing very fast; humankind invents newer and newer devices and technologies. However, some people are still listening to music on vinyl. Maybe someday newspapers will become something that reminds people of the past, and collectors will search for old New York Times editions.

Essay --

This book honestly kind of is kind of weird. The reason behind this is the fact that the novel is really instable and its theme and setting, because at one point where one point in time in a certain setting, and it literally the blink of an eye you are another in time and in another setting. Basically the first part of the novel is talking about how fond good got the idea of writing this book that we are about to read. And it talks about his education and his time in Dresden as a prisoner of war. We realize that it's taken him long time to come up with this book because of all of the imagery that he can't seem to portray his writing. Spurts I missed of the story is Billy Pilgrim, here is an optometrist who was later drafted into world war two. Before Billy shipped overseas, his dad dies in a hunting accident. He begins his war career in the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium, where he is immediately taken prisoner behind German lines. Just before he is captured, he experiences what he calls â€Å"time shifting† and he sees his entire life from beginning to end, all in one big sweep. The lead is then sent through aware railway car to a prisoner of war camp in Germany. Billy has a breakdown and is sent into his time shifting again. He and the other prisoners of war are sent to the city of Dresden, and their Presentment is one of the former slaughterhouses. Then the firestorm of Dresden begins when the allies carpet bomb the city of Dresden with incendiary bombs. This caused most buildings to be caught on fire and all of the oxygen sucked out into the fire's that were blazing. This caused about 130,000 people to be suffocated to death. The only way that Billy and the other prisoners of war survived is by hiding in an airtight meat locker i... ...p of what I was reading. He is a very different kind of author and it's hard to explain but I just really feel like I wouldn't want to read another one of his books. 19. As I stressed throughout these multiple questions I feel like the most important phrase that he has said in the book is â€Å"so it goes†. The reason why I feel as if it is most important is because it explains his life out of how dying is a fact of life and we can't do anything to stop it. This really asked the entire gloominess of the novel because we realize his indifference to death. If I had to make a T-shirt slogan for this book I think you have to be 99 problems but, so it goes. My reason behind this is that there is a popular song out there were talks about he has 99 problems but a cheating girlfriend is not one of them, I added the fact that even if you have 99 problems that's just the way life Essay -- This book honestly kind of is kind of weird. The reason behind this is the fact that the novel is really instable and its theme and setting, because at one point where one point in time in a certain setting, and it literally the blink of an eye you are another in time and in another setting. Basically the first part of the novel is talking about how fond good got the idea of writing this book that we are about to read. And it talks about his education and his time in Dresden as a prisoner of war. We realize that it's taken him long time to come up with this book because of all of the imagery that he can't seem to portray his writing. Spurts I missed of the story is Billy Pilgrim, here is an optometrist who was later drafted into world war two. Before Billy shipped overseas, his dad dies in a hunting accident. He begins his war career in the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium, where he is immediately taken prisoner behind German lines. Just before he is captured, he experiences what he calls â€Å"time shifting† and he sees his entire life from beginning to end, all in one big sweep. The lead is then sent through aware railway car to a prisoner of war camp in Germany. Billy has a breakdown and is sent into his time shifting again. He and the other prisoners of war are sent to the city of Dresden, and their Presentment is one of the former slaughterhouses. Then the firestorm of Dresden begins when the allies carpet bomb the city of Dresden with incendiary bombs. This caused most buildings to be caught on fire and all of the oxygen sucked out into the fire's that were blazing. This caused about 130,000 people to be suffocated to death. The only way that Billy and the other prisoners of war survived is by hiding in an airtight meat locker i... ...p of what I was reading. He is a very different kind of author and it's hard to explain but I just really feel like I wouldn't want to read another one of his books. 19. As I stressed throughout these multiple questions I feel like the most important phrase that he has said in the book is â€Å"so it goes†. The reason why I feel as if it is most important is because it explains his life out of how dying is a fact of life and we can't do anything to stop it. This really asked the entire gloominess of the novel because we realize his indifference to death. If I had to make a T-shirt slogan for this book I think you have to be 99 problems but, so it goes. My reason behind this is that there is a popular song out there were talks about he has 99 problems but a cheating girlfriend is not one of them, I added the fact that even if you have 99 problems that's just the way life

Economic and environmental costs Essay

Technology is the development of physical equipment, their processes, skills and knowledge to make effective use these advancements. However the innovation of new technology comes with its disadvantages. Externalities are the costs or benefits that a use of a technology creates for a third party. Consequently, due to the mix of costs and benefits, the philanthropist- Kranzberg famously said: â€Å"Technology is neither good nor bad, nor it is neutral. † The externalities that I will pay the most emphasis on, are the negative unforeseen consequences of technological innovation. With the exponential growth of the population and the demand for technology becoming greater by the day, we are now dependent on technology. However social factors such as health issues, economic factors such as the costs of fuel alternatives and environmental costs of a decrease in biodiversity make technological innovation a controversial subject. Technological innovation was sparked by the industrial revolution, and we are still reliant on the same fossil fuels today. Due to incomplete combustion of the fuel, carbon particulates are released into the air. This is seen in not only the production of technology, but in transport too. Despite more cars becoming more fuel efficient, 99. 99% of all cars (1. 2bn worldwide) run on fossil fuels. Although some cars have catalytic converters, carbon particulates are released in the older cars. When consumed these particles can cause serious health issues such as asthma and in some cases lung disease. Serious health problems that can sometimes lead to fatalities. The automotive industry is worth over $1. 6 trillion, and provides 7. 25 million jobs. It has few economic costs, but due to the rise of TNC’s leakage occurs at an astonishing rate. With Audi, Germany, Ford and Mercedes outsourcing in Mexico. Mexico receives on average 0. 67% of profits from those 4 companies. The leakage benefits the economy of the source country, damages the environment of the host country and its economy. Due to the fact that fossil fuels are a finite resource companies have started to find different fuel alternatives. However these are very expensive therefore damaging the company’s economic state, whereas its aim is to increase its shareholder value. Due to almost 100% of cars using fossil fuels, they release 4. 4bn tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere each year accelerating the enhanced greenhouse effect. As not only does this push us closer to the tipping point, but it also is absorbed by water, making it acidic threatening marine life. Overall the development of technology in the automotive industry generally benefits the economy, and with more and more cars implementing tech to produce less particulates there will be less breathing problems. However the environmental cost is huge, with the vast amounts of C02 emitted each year, the worlds climate is becoming unstable. The Gene Revolution has lead to the development of genetically modified (GM) crops. This has increased yields of the crop, makes them more resistant to tough climates and can make them more nutritious. Making the crops more resistant to extreme conditions makes people dependent on these plants. However as they are more expensive to source, there has been the socio-economic impact of social polarisation- this is where the divide between the rich and the poor becomes more apparent. This is because the poorer farmers get less business, as they don’t have the GM crop to sell on, furthermore the lack of money creates the secondary impact of not being able to afford healthcare or education for example. Monsanto is the one of the largest TNCs in the GM crop industry, and is now worth $15bn. Like the other automotive TNC’s mentioned in this assignment leakage occurs as they have a 45% premium on their employees, so most money goes back to the host country. The green revolution spreads technology that hasn’t been implemented outside industrialised nations. Using fertilisers and pesticides on crops has transformed the agriculture industry, it most of the work done is to introduce modern irrigation systems and add chemicals to improve crop varieties and improve yields. This has led to less famine and has also contributed to the population growth (Increased from 4bn in 1930s when it was first introduced to 7. 125bn now). It has also caused many issues. The main social consequence is again health related as the consumption of these chemicals has lead to 1mn cases of pesticide poisonings in 2015 with 20,000 of these cases turning out to be fatal. Due to the world grain production increasing by 230% between 1950 and 2015, clearing out 2 million acres of rainforests for grain. This in turn has decreased biodiversity in those areas by on average 2. 45% consequently unbalancing the local food web. In addition to this, biodiversity decreases, as only one type of crop is grown-Monoculture, as this is the crop with the highest yield. This limits the amount of animals that can situate themselves in that area. The use of agrochemicals has led to eutrophication, while over use of irrigation has created salinization of soils and droughts. However for crops such as HYV rice, yields are low without these chemicals creating a dependency. The green revolution has shown the economical benefits of using chemicals, however, it has lead to many health related issues and threatens the life in the area due to bioaccumulation. Nevertheless due to its success farmers are dependent on these agrochemicals to provide for their family. Speaking of something we are dependent on, here s something some teenagers can’t live without: Mobile phones. The mobile phone industry is the fastest growing industry worldwide, with its worth in 2013 being $200bn, this year it has surpassed $410bn. In the last 44 years we have gone from no mobiles being available to 5bn phones sold since. With the introduction of the smartphone, communication with business, friend and family has never been quicker and easier. Due to mobiles using microwave radiation to send and receive messages, they slightly warm areas of your body that they are in contact with, which could cause mutations. Although it is not proven, there are correlations with phone usage with brain tumours and low sperm counts. My generation will be the first generation that has had mobile phones throughout their whole lives, and therefore the data collected about these health issues will be unprecedented. The externalities from the rise of mobile phones go under the radar. With the introduction of the smart phone, which can now do almost anything, many businesses have seen a decrease in sales as the phone has zoned them out. An example of this is the toy company Mattel, which has seen a $20 decrease in share price from 2013 to 2016 which correlates with the development of mobile gaming. Another example of this knock on effect is the 70% decrease in digital camera sales since 2009, due to phone cameras becoming better and better. With the amount of mobile devices set to exceed the human population in the next 5 years, production is going to be faster than ever. In 2015 it was estimated that mobile production released 36mn tonnes of C02 into the atmosphere, due to the requirement of fossil fuels to work and make the machines for production. The versatility of the smartphone has changed our lives, and business’ across the globe. However with its built in obsolescence, and the materials being hard to recycle, many mobiles are finding themselves on landfill sites harming the environment. Overall the economic impact of technological innovation is the greater than the other unforeseen consequences. The externalities it caused by the genetic, and the green revolution led to the secondary impacts of having a lack of money for healthcare and education. By damaging the potential of the future these technological innovations cannot be seen as sustainable. As this development creates the social polarisation, between the rich and the poor, it also further increases the difference between the North South divide, as the money from the TNC’s such as Audi sees 99% of their money go back to Germany, and 1 % stays in Mexico. The environmental concerns are the second largest in my opinion due to the huge amounts of carbon dioxide emitted, and how close we are to the global temperatures tipping point and the further consequences this has. Finally I put social concerns last as they are mainly short term, and should be solved by new technology in the next decade or two.

Economic Problems of the Philippines Essay

Economic problems of the Philippines are very similar to those being battled by other underdeveloped and developing nations. After a long tryst with colonization, the nation is now grappling with increased imports and a mixed economy that is still to stabilize. The Republic of the Philippines is located in Southeast Asia and Manila is its capital city. The country comprises 7,107 islands and ranks as the 12th most populous country in the world. Like most other southeast Asian regions, the Philippines too has a history of European colonization. It was a colony of Spain and the USA. The country is now home to multiple cultures and traditional ethnicity. It is also looked upon as a perfect example of a ‘mixed economy’. Industrialization is a new development in the Philippines. Traditionally, the economy stabilized on the agrarian contributions and the manufacture of garments, pharmaceutical products and semiconductors. In the last decade, electronic exports added to the exports, including various products obtained by mining. The economy of the nation also largely depends on the remittances from Filipinos residing overseas and investing in the homeland. However, exports are not evenly balanced by the imports that include heavy electronics, garments, various raw materials, intermediate goods and fuel. The influence of the Manila galleon on the nation’s economy during the Spanish period, and bilateral trade when the country was a colony of the United States has resulted in the preference of a mixed economy over a centrally planned or market based one. It is very important to understand the shift during the Ferdinand Marcos leadership, from a market economy to a centrally planned economy, to relate to the economic recession that the country is now facing. With adverse global trends and the world economy entering a protracted depression, in 2011, the Philippines faced another economic downturn. The country’s lack of internal economic strength due to the absence of core manufacturing sector and an absence of firm and bold domestic policy initiatives have led the economy to be dependent on the state of the global economy. Thereby making it vulnerable to external shocks. Here we try to look at three possible challenges posed to growth and real development of the economy in 2012, based upon the insights provided by the economic policy-making and decisions by the Aquino administration in 2011. Major Financial Problems of the Philippines Over-dependence on Global Economy The growth of the Philippines economy drastically slowed to just 3.6% in the first three quarters of 2011, which is significantly less than the 7%-8% growth targeted by administration’s Philippine Development Plan (PDP). Though the slowdown may have been due to the ongoing global crisis, it was markedly slower in comparison to other South-East Asian neighbors. Economic performance figures indicated a contraction in exports and a drop in FDI. Though the remittances from overseas Filipinos to the country grew in the first ten months of 2011, however the compensation that overseas Filipinos received actually fell, in peso terms, due to an appreciating peso. In 2011 the Aquino administration sought a FTA (Free Trade Agreement) with the EU and join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The administration further allowed the US to even more directly influence Philippine economic policy making in its self-interest, by entering in a Partnership for Growth (PfG). These partnerships will consequently further the dependence of the economy on the global economy, whereas a regional arrangement between less unequal Southeast Asian countries is potentially useful. Greater attention has to be paid to addressing to the internal problems of the economy and enhancing domestic-oriented growth. A policy of removing structural impediments to growth has to be adopted with lesser focus on foreign investors and exporters. Unemployment The official unemployment figures for the Philippines in 2011 are among the worst in Asia, higher than its South-East Asian neighbors and according to the International Labor Organization the country is among the worst one-fourth in the world in terms of unemployment rates. Without a strong manufacturing industry or real Filipino industry, the economy will be unable to create enough decent paying jobs. Till then manufacturing or services will remain substandard, or of low value-addition. According to employment figures, jobs in the Philippines manufacturing sector increased by just 8% of the total employment. Nearly three out of every ten people in the labor force are looking for work or are jobless. The mining sub-sector said to be one of the fastest growing industry in 2011 failed to generate new jobs (just 0.6 % of total employment). Steadily rising inflation has contributed to the erosion of the value of the minimum wage. Though the Aquino administration increased the minimum wage and announced cash dole-outs but lack of quality decent paying jobs and higher real wages continue to be a problem. The government’s policy to encourage foreign capital, even if in just low value-added assembly operations will continue to hinder real growth and development of the manufacturing sector. The Aquino administration needs to plan over the long-term, and prepare an industrialization program that encourages value-addition manufacturing or services and builds Filipino-owned industries. Misplaced Fiscal Austerity Practicing fiscal austerity just to get favorable credit ratings can be counterproductive. The Aquino administration, in 2011, pursued fiscal austerity and spent 2.1% less in the first 11 months than it did in the same period last year. This along with increased revenues brought down the fiscal deficit and subsequently international credit rating agencies Standard and Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch upgraded the country’s credit ratings and outlooks. In 2011 the government cut spending on economic services, including infrastructure, in the same vein did not fill in for shortfalls in education, health and housing sectors. As a result, over the first three quarters of 2011, income from public construction contracted by about 46% whereas government consumption reduced by a mere 1.7% in comparison to the same period last year. Misplaced austerity measures and an exaggerated concern about credit ratings contracts the economy, reduces demand and undermines future growth. The proposed public private partnerships (PPPs) are a poor substitute to real investment and public expenditure, because the former are majorly driven by short-term profit while the latter play a vital role to create development. These are just some of the economic challenges looming large over the Philippines. The country is facing significant decline in industrial production, gross domestic product, income and employment and sales. The Aquino presidency supposedly is getting the support of the people, as indicated by its high approval ratings, for the necessary economic measures that are in the general public interest. In 2011, the Aquino administration’s policy choices to give greater weight to narrow foreign and domestic elite interests, unfortunately, underscores the challenge of pushing for real reform in 2012.