China?s challenges to future sustainable economic growth and the implications for the United States

The ?stunning comeback? of China after almost two centuries is one of the most significant trends affecting Western economies, particularly the United States (US). None of the key drives that have promoted China?s growth are really at risk if the Chinese government does not deviate from its present economic policy and keeps up gradual refinement of its unique and effective social-capitalist model. The real risks to China?s future growth are remaining poverty, the unbalanced and unsustainable growth model, bureaucracy, and the corruption of government officials. China?s government is taking determined steps to solve these challenges. The great challenge for the US is its large accumulated debt with China, and the need for additional borrowing to finance its massive economic stimulus plan. There is little doubt that US will (after solving the financial crisis of 2008 with China?s help) continue to be one of the most powerful nations in the world. Nevertheless, it will have to learn to share the world leadership with other countries, particularly with China, Europe and other fast growing developing countries. Gone is the absolute dominance of the US (in terms of ideas and money), and its use of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank as vehicles to spread its influence and market economy model over the developing world.China?s economic transformation, China?s social-capitalism, China?s challenges to economic growth, China?s remaining poverty, China?s corruption, China?s unsustainable growth model, US accumulated debt, inflation and devaluation of the dollar

The confrontational management-labor negotiations that led to the failure of the United States motor vehicle companies and why the Japanese and Germans prevailed

The success of the US motor vehicle companies up to 1955 and their subsequent decline is directly related to the management-labor negotiations in the 1930s and the acceptance by both management and the mass union movement of the inherent nature of work in an assembly-line factory. Because the conditions of employment on the assembly line became less and less bearable over time, the negotiations became confrontational ones in which each side tried to get as much as possible from the other in a ?win-lose? setting. This ongoing confrontation let to the continuously escalating labor costs within the US motor vehicle companies that ultimately led to their decline. Unlike the case of Japanese or European companies, the US companies never had a ?win-win? proposal on the table. To understand how this happened, we will first describe how, on three occasions, the motor vehicle industry has changed the most fundamental ideas on how to manufacture things and, what is more important, how humans work together to create value.US motor vehicle companies decline, mass production system, lean production system, reflective production system, confrontational management-labor negotiations

Open entrepreneurship centers in Brazil: To promote sustainable development and poverty reduction

Degen introduced the teaching of entrepreneurship in Brazil in 1980 and wrote the first Portuguese language textbook on entrepreneurship in 1989. The purpose was to raise awareness of the country?s poverty among students, motivate them to become entrepreneurs, and promote the sustainable development necessary to eliminate the country?s extreme poverty. After almost 30 years extreme poverty continues to be the greatest challenge for the sustainable development of Brazil. Without solving this problem there will be no preservation of the country?s natural resources, no personal safety for its citizens, and no political stability. Degen demonstrates that the teaching of entrepreneurship in Brazilian business schools has not in fact been effective in promoting entrepreneurship and sustainable development. In this paper he proposes a new approach for Brazilian universities in which they create open entrepreneurship centers and enhance their role so as to act as social agents promoting sustainable development and poverty reduction. Their new role will be to better motivate students to become entrepreneurs with social responsibility, to assist them in finding business opportunities that preserve the country?s natural resources and reduce poverty, and to help them find investors for sustainable development projects in Brazil.open entrepreneurship centers, teaching entrepreneurship in Brazil, entrepreneurship to promote sustainable development, entrepreneurship to reduce extreme poverty, universities as social agents

China?s challenge: The opportunities and risks that China?s booming economy provides

The capability of designing to very low cost, and to compete successfully in the tough Chinese market can be transformed into a competitive advantage in other markets. On the other hand, MNCs that are not successfully in China will probably not acquire these capabilities. They will be in a cost disadvantage to compete against Chinese companies in their own markets. They run the risk of becoming secondary players to Chinese companies in the world market, as those competing in the microwave-ovens market against Galanz found out the hard way. MNCs have no choice; they have to accept ?China?s challenge? to continue world players. They have to win in China or lose everywhere.China?s challenge, win in China or lose everywhere, risks to China?s future growth, China?s entrepreneurs, China?s disruptive innovation

Moral hazard and the financial crisis of 2007-9: An Explanation for why the subprime mortgage defaults and the housing market collapse produced a financial crisis that was more severe than any previous crashes (with exception of the Great Depression of 1929)

This paper examines the financial crisis in 2007-9 that was more severe than previous crashes, including the dot-com crash of 2001 and the market crash of 1987 (with the exception of the Great Depression of 1929). This severity was due to excessively risky speculative bets taken by the executives of financial institutions. When the ?housing bubble? burst, these speculative bets, which were based on the U.S. housing market and the subprime mortgages, triggered the financial systemic failures of the U.S. in June 2007 (the subprime mortgage crisis) and September 2008 (the shadow-banking crisis). The systemic financial failure of September 2008 (the shadow-banking crisis) was greatly amplified by excessively risky speculations and this led to a rapid deterioration of the entire global economy. This paper examines the potential for moral hazard in the financial system leading up to this crisis, and attempts to determine if this was a motivating factor in these risky bets.moral hazard, financial crisis of 2007-9, burst of the housing bubble, subprime mortgages crisis, shadow-banking crisis

Brain-Based Learning: The Neurological Findings About the Human Brain that Every Teacher Should Know to be Effective

The purpose of this paper is to present the main neurological findings about the human brain that provide the basis for brain-based learning, and that represent a narrow field of cognitive science as a whole. The findings that are described were made primarily by neuroscientists who studied the structure and functions of the nervous system with the purpose of correcting abnormalities. Only recently have neuroscientists begun studying the brain-based learning processes of normal students in detail (Fenker, et al., 2008; Jonides, et al., 2008; Kellman, & Massey, 2010; and Swanbrow, 2011). The neurological findings about the human brain were used by researchers such as Hart (1975, 1983), Caine & Caine (1990, 1991), Cain et al. (2009), Jensen (2008), and Medina (2008) to develop brain-based learning strategies that promote learning in accordance with the way the brain is naturally designed to learn.brain-based learning, learning process, declarative memory, flow, optimal learning, guided-experience learning

Designing Modern Equity Portfolios

This aim of this paper is to describe possible ways of investing in equity; choosing the right stocks(among small-cap, large-cap, value, growth, and foreign) using fundamental analysis, defining their appropriate mix in the portfolios according to the desired return-risk profiles based on Markowitz?s modern portfolio theory, and using technical analysis to buy and sell them.Modern portfolio theory, capital asset pricing model, choosing stocks, technical analysis

The success of luxury brands in Japan and their uncertain future

The Japanese are the world?s largest individual consumers of luxury brands and form the second largest market for luxury goods after the US. The Japanese were the driving force behind the exponential growth of the European luxury industry and the resulting ?democratization of luxury?. This concept of giving everyone access to luxury branded goods is a paradox because it abandons the exclusivity that was the original basis of the European luxury industry in the hands of skilled designers and craftsmen. By making luxury branded goods widely accessible to most consumers they run a major risk of becoming simply too ?common?. The 2007-8 economic crisis adversely affected the luxury market, producing a general backlash against ?conspicuous consumption?. In Japan, as in most countries in the world, the crisis reduced consumers? discretionary spending, but in addition it also accelerated the fundamental shift in the attitude and behavior of Japanese luxury consumers.Japanese consumers of luxury brands, Japan the largest luxury market in the world, conspicuous consumption, democratization of luxury, luxury brands as status symbols, luxury brands as badges of economic success, parasite singles

Teaching entrepreneurship students to become knowledge-agents for innovation

Drucker (1985) has postulated that entrepreneurship is the ?practice of innovation?. As such, he has outlined that it is knowledge-based, and that like any other practice (such as medicine or engineering) it can be learned. He wrote that we cannot develop a theory of innovation. But and that it is sufficient to say when, where, and how to look for innovation opportunities. As a consequence of the lack of a theoretical base for innovation, Drucker (and most other authors) simply ignore how entrepreneurs ?practice innovation? and how this practice can be learned; and have concentrated instead on how to systematically look for innovation opportunities. The constant demand by entrepreneurship students for information about how to learn the ?practice of innovation? forced me (Degen 1989, 2009) to develop some rudimentary approaches to learning the practice. This paper builds on these approaches, and tries to shed some additional light on the way entrepreneurs learn the ?practice of innovation? in such a way that they become ?knowledge agents for innovation?. This paper also explores how this practice can be taught to entrepreneurship students.entrepreneurs as innovators, practice of innovation, knowledge-agents for innovation, creative process, teaching entrepreneurship

Fordism and Taylorism are responsible for the early success and recent decline of the U.S. motor vehicle industry

This paper identifies the ways in which the ideas of Fordism and Taylorism have been responsible for the success of the U.S. motor vehicle companies until 1955, and for their subsequent decline. On three occasions, the motor vehicle industry has changed the fundamental ideas on the process of manufacturing, and, perhaps more significantly, on how humans work together to create value. Under Fordism and Taylorism, the conditions of employment at the assembly lines became less and less bearable for the workers, and this resulted in an ongoing confrontation between management and the workforce, led by United Auto Workers (UAW). This confrontation resulted in escalating labor costs for the U.S. motor vehicle companies, and undermined their capacity to compete with the Japanese motor vehicle companies, who had developed a lean production system and a more humanistic management style.Fordism, Taylorism, decline of the U.S. motor vehicle companies, mass production system, lean production system, reflective production system, confrontational management-labor-relations