Monday, April 27, 2020

Reasons for the Increment in Housing Prices in Malaysia free essay sample

Introduction In recent years, certain parties have pointed out that housing prices have increased tremendously. While it is contentious whether or not such a trend exists, the general consensus is that the prices of properties in general have indeed increased, to a certain extent (as seen in the table below). Various parties have come to argue that such an increase in property prices is due to widespread speculation practised by a majority of the buyers. Other parties however argue that it is purely due to inflationary forces. In the sections that follow, we shall investigate what exactly drives the appreciation of property prices. One widely-accepted model in economics pertaining to the question at hand, would be the â€Å"supply and demand† model. This model dictates that in a competitive market, the price of a certain good (in this case, houses) will vary until it settles at price such that the quantity demanded by the buyers equals the quantity supplied by the producers. We will write a custom essay sample on Reasons for the Increment in Housing Prices in Malaysia or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This price is known as the equilibrium price, and the corresponding quantity, the equilibrium quantity. [pic] Using the model, it can be seen that any shift upwards of the demand would cause a corresponding increase of both the equilibrium price and equilibrium quantity. Among the catalysts that dictate such a shift in the demand curve would be the healthy liquidity in the Malaysian banking system. As suggested by SM Sabri (2005), Malaysian banks have shown remarkable discipline and commitment in liquidity management through satisfying the minimum requirements set by the â€Å"New Liquidity Framework† (NLF) with their own methods such as the â€Å"Maximum Cash Outflow† (MCO) as well as early warning systems. This ample amount of liquidity even after the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 has enabled financial institutions to ease on the mortgage requirements. Source: Malaysia Base Lending Rate Local citizens and foreigners are able to ask for bank loan when they are buying or investing in house property in Malaysia. The table above shows the Malaysia base lending rate that is authorised by the Bank Negara Malaysia which determine the lowest rate that a bank can offers to the applicants and all banks in Malaysia are required to follow the rate when they deal with house loans. It can be seen that in 1998 where Malaysia was hit by economical crisis, the bank lending rate was the highest in history which is 12. 27%. The rate was decreased gradually to 6. 0% in year 2011 and this attracts more investments in house property in Malaysia. Investors and citizens are able to enjoy the lower mortgage rate when they buy a house and it causes the demand of property to increase. The government does promote the ownership of houses with the introduction of the My First House Scheme to the citizens with household income less than RM 3000. A 100% loan will be given to the buyers and Cagamas Bhd will pay the 10% down payment for the houses. This attracts the new buyers in the market and it will add to the demand of the number of buyers. Apart from that, the relative political stability in the country and good governance has given buyers confidence in the local economy. For instance, Malaysia was ranked the safest nation in South East Asia, fourth safest in the Asia Pacific and 19th safest and peaceful out of 153 countries in the world (Source Global Peace Index 2011). This data is a testament to the various positive polices introduced by the government to promote peace and overall economic well-being. As a result, the expectations for property investors local and foreign, remains bright.

Thursday, March 19, 2020

Free Essays on Personal Development Reflections

REFLECTIONS Being involved in a professional accountancy firm, gave me the opportunity to prepare, interpret and audit financial data of various clients’ in the organisation. These duties developed my analytical skills, due to the habit of critically examining information before accepting. Secondly, the ability to present complex financial information to clients’ both verbally and in written reports enhanced my communication skills. Though my job involved interacting with different clients, most of the time we worked independently which allowed me to use my own initiative. However contemporary theory favours co-ordinated joint efforts that result in more than the sum of the individual’s effort, or synergy (Hunsaker 2001) and management style from power relationships to empowerment of others. (Chowdhury et al, 2002) My Belbin team role was surmised as a team worker, though it was possible for me to play different roles according to the circumstances and the demands of the task. Hence, our project team was made up of nine people who had different preferences, values, beliefs and team roles. The odd number was to prevent impasse (Williams, 2002) and the sufficient number was to develop common purpose, goals approach and mutual accountability of a real team (Hunsaker, 2001) We underwent a lot of challenges in the process of selecting and preparing the business project. In the beginning the environment was affable, communication was respectful, careful and predictable. Our first meeting was characterised by a brainstorming session whereby each of us came with their own business idea, which were analysed and the best one selected. Afterwards roles were allocated according to each teammate’s strength and weaknesses (Hunsacker, 2001) in order for us to achieve our mission. Then we had an open discussion and developed what we will do independently and what we will do together. Things flowed very well but we started experiencing ... Free Essays on Personal Development Reflections Free Essays on Personal Development Reflections REFLECTIONS Being involved in a professional accountancy firm, gave me the opportunity to prepare, interpret and audit financial data of various clients’ in the organisation. These duties developed my analytical skills, due to the habit of critically examining information before accepting. Secondly, the ability to present complex financial information to clients’ both verbally and in written reports enhanced my communication skills. Though my job involved interacting with different clients, most of the time we worked independently which allowed me to use my own initiative. However contemporary theory favours co-ordinated joint efforts that result in more than the sum of the individual’s effort, or synergy (Hunsaker 2001) and management style from power relationships to empowerment of others. (Chowdhury et al, 2002) My Belbin team role was surmised as a team worker, though it was possible for me to play different roles according to the circumstances and the demands of the task. Hence, our project team was made up of nine people who had different preferences, values, beliefs and team roles. The odd number was to prevent impasse (Williams, 2002) and the sufficient number was to develop common purpose, goals approach and mutual accountability of a real team (Hunsaker, 2001) We underwent a lot of challenges in the process of selecting and preparing the business project. In the beginning the environment was affable, communication was respectful, careful and predictable. Our first meeting was characterised by a brainstorming session whereby each of us came with their own business idea, which were analysed and the best one selected. Afterwards roles were allocated according to each teammate’s strength and weaknesses (Hunsacker, 2001) in order for us to achieve our mission. Then we had an open discussion and developed what we will do independently and what we will do together. Things flowed very well but we started experiencing ...

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

6 Words and Phrases to Banish from Your Vocabulary

6 Words and Phrases to Banish from Your Vocabulary It was my mother who first outlawed certain words from my vocabulary. The ones I remember are â€Å"but,† â€Å"have to† and â€Å"should.† Later in life, I took some courses that added â€Å"try† and â€Å"can’t† to the list (Yoda would approve). Most recently, â€Å"just† joined the ranks of words to avoid. I may have been in the minority ten years ago as someone with hyper-awareness of how certain small words affect our messaging. But more recently, I’ve encountered more people who pay attention to the implications that subtle turns of phrase have on our meaning. Let’s take a look at the impact of each of these words- and at alternative ways to express ourselves. 1. But (Say â€Å"and† or â€Å"while† instead!) If you start paying attention to how often you use the word â€Å"but,† you might be surprised. Often the word is completely unnecessary and what you really mean is â€Å"and†! For instance, one of my writers wrote the following: I wanted to make sure that the client’s profile was succinct but clearly revealed his differentiating qualities. I notice that people frequently default to â€Å"but† in situations like this, where they want to say something was â€Å"short but sweet† or something along those lines. Why say â€Å"but†? Who says that being short implies â€Å"not sweet†? Who says that a profile’s being â€Å"succinct† implies that it doesn’t reveal a client’s differentiating qualities? Instead, how about this: I wanted to make sure that the client’s profile was succinct while clearly revealing his differentiating qualities. In this second sentence, the challenge of creating a profile that includes the client’s differentiating qualities is laid out in a positive light and does not imply a succinct profile could not reveal those qualities. It’s a subtle difference, and a significant one. I was pleased to discover that a Stanford University professor, Bernard Roth, has taken up the cause to substitute â€Å"but† with â€Å"and.† See A Stanford professor says eliminating 2 phrases from you vocabulary can make you more successful. As he explains, When you use the word but, you create a conflict (and sometimes a reason) for yourself that does not really exist. †¦ whereas when you use the word and, your brain gets to consider how it can deal with both parts of the sentence.† Take the following sentence: I want to go to the movies, but I have to study. vs this one: I want to go to the movies, and I have studying to do. Changing â€Å"but† to â€Å"and† trains the brain to come up with win-win solutions, rather than creating a state of victimhood. 2. Have to (Say â€Å"going to† or â€Å"want to† instead) The movie vs. studying example above highlights another phrase that does not serve us: â€Å"Have to.† Professor Roth suggests substituting â€Å"want to.† I like substituting â€Å"going to.† Let’s take a look at the sentence above again, with the word â€Å"and† substituted for â€Å"but†: I want to go to the movies, and I have to study. (This still sounds fairly catastrophic.) What about these options: I want to go to the movies, and nevertheless I am going to study. (Suddenly this person has choice in the matter!) It would probably be pushing it to say â€Å"I want to go to the movies, and I want to study.† That might not be completely honest. But it’s a sentiment to try on. 3. Try (There is no â€Å"try†) There’s a difference between trying something as an experiment (see my above suggestion to try something on or try something out) and saying you’ll try to do something when what you really mean is you don’t think you’ll succeed. Trying is lying. Trying is not doing. I can try all I want to write a blog article every Sunday. That doesn’t get me to writing a blog article every week. It gets me going out with friends on Sunday nights while Im busy â€Å"trying†- and while my blog remains blank. We use the â€Å"try† word when we want to weasel out of things, whether they are commitments to ourselves or others. Saying you’ll â€Å"try† is pretending to say â€Å"yes† when you mean â€Å"probably not.† Stop it. Instead, choose the actions you are willing to take. Say â€Å"I will do x, y and z.† Or say you aren’t going to do it. There is no â€Å"try.† 4. Should (Don’t â€Å"should† on yourself or on others) â€Å"Should† is a close relative to â€Å"have to.† It’s a moral judgment that often leads to a whole lot of trying. Do you think you â€Å"should† go to the doctor? â€Å"Should† go to the gym? â€Å"Should† apologize to someone you love? Or do you think someone in your life â€Å"should† do something and are you telling them so? How’s that working for you? Take this example: You should stop eating so much sugar, honey. You’ll make yourself sick! vs. I want you to eat less sugar, honey. I’m so scared you’ll get sick. (The â€Å"you† in this sentence could be yourself or someone else.) To me, the second version is much more vulnerable and scary to say. It’s less judgmental. If I’m saying it to myself, it’s actually sweet and caring. And although it could produce defensiveness, it’s less likely to do so than the version that takes a moral high ground and tries to control someone’s behavior. Some of us â€Å"should† on ourselves even more than we â€Å"should† on others. Take a look at how you’re putting yourself down with that sentiment, and how you use â€Å"should† to let yourself off the hook instead of committing to something. 5. Can’t (I think I can!) This one is basic. â€Å"Can’t† is a disempowering word that leads to a lot of inaction. Instead of â€Å"can’t,† be curious about how you can. Look for other options than the one or two you are considering. Get coaching. Read The Little Engine That Could for inspiration. Get creative! As a friend and I often say to each other, the only 100% reliable way to reach a goal is not to stop until you accomplish it! And if you choose a different goal along the way, that’s okay too. 6. Just (I called to say â€Å"I love you.†) The word â€Å"just† diminishes what we say after it. Calling to say â€Å"I love you† is a big deal right? Why make it smaller, as the famous song does, with â€Å"just†? I was unaware until about a year ago of how much I qualify my sentences with the word â€Å"just.† Common usages could be â€Å"I just wanted you to know that†¦Ã¢â‚¬  or â€Å"I just feel like†¦Ã¢â‚¬  or â€Å"I just thought†¦Ã¢â‚¬  If you start paying attention, you might be surprised at the frequency of the word â€Å"just† in your vocabulary. See what happens if you delete it. Your communications might become more truthful and riskier. You might start to claim your feelings, opinions and choices in a new way. Did you learn something from this article about your language? Did you try eliminating any of the recommended words? Are there more words that you recommend banishing from our vocabularies? Please share!

Saturday, February 15, 2020

Nonwestern Art and Western Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nonwestern Art and Western Art - Essay Example Art can also be categorized based on different cultures that were found in different countries. This means that each country has its own identity based on the artwork. For example, the art of China is very different to art from Africa. Each culture has its own type of art. A painting would be drawn from different countries but differ in some elements due to culture. The artwork has roots in various indigenous cultures that affected America. The indigenous cultures of each sophisticated artistic art discipline but has been highly affected by the religious and social activities. Artwork ranges from one society to another due to the various cultural activities practiced in the society. For example, some societies are influenced by the love the wildlife activities, agricultural activities, art of war and social activities. In the present day, artistic work, non-western culture has adopted the Western culture. This has been a result of social integration and integration. It has been made possible by improved transport and communication networks globally. Modern day art students have a variety of artistic work to choose from during their course work. Most art institutions offer different type of arts. They include the Western art, Non-western art and a combination of the two types of art. According to researchers and the opinion, fro the artists the artwork has many challenges revolving around. The history of artwork from the traditional era, modern, pre-modern, and postmodern artwork has been affected. by a series of problems in the chain of the artwork. The chain of artwork ranges from artist to the buyer. An artist’s work passes through before reaching the customer this channel. However, in the artwork we have the presence of the brokers whom their main aim is to find the market for the artist items. The sculptures, paintings, and photography are the items in the artwork that have a high market demand in the history of the artwork. The increased crave for a rt has shifted from the pre-modern state to the post-modern state. According to the researchers, its shifts and crave have also brought about various problems that have affected the artwork globally. Artwork being a vital factor affecting the underdeveloped and developed countries economy is being faced by a series of challenges. These challenges have affected the

Sunday, February 2, 2020

Managing and Leading change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managing and Leading change - Essay Example Changes in an organization may lead to development of new rules and methods of working. In order to implement change within an organization, managers may be required to impart training so that employees can easily adapt with the factors of the external environment. Managing change is highly systematic process and requires specific on behalf of the management and the employees (Jones, 2010). Business environment is highly fast paced and for long term survival it becomes necessary that organizations adhere to changes. Technology is one of the strongest aspects that have induced changes in the way organizations operate. Technological innovations have caused organizations to utilize resource in new and innovate ways (Pettigrew, Woodman and Cameron, 2001). Adapting to technological changes increases efficiency as well as provides scope for the management to operate in new ways. Organizations are also required to change when the requirements of customers change (Fernandez and Rainey, 2006). Evolution induces changes in the needs of consumers. Changes in consumer needs create demand for new products and services. Organizations are required to perceive such developments and change so as to be able to meet the newly created demand (Tsoukas and Chia, 2002). The current case study aims to understand the issues which Capitol Academy is faced with in respect of change management. In order to increase operational efficiency and earn more revenue, Capitol Academy had adopted certain changes. However, due to lack of planning and inadequate resource allocation, the company’s operations were turned upside down causing a number of management issues. The organization was also observed to concentrate more upon the development of its professional programs, ignoring other departments where change management was not implemented properly. The mismanagement has also

Saturday, January 25, 2020

Prosthetics :: essays research papers

Introduction Prosthetics is the branch of surgery dealing with mechanical devices used to reproduce the form and function of missing body parts. Prosthetics is the replacement of faulty or amputated body parts with artificial body parts. Artificial limbs have been in use since at least 300 BC. In AD 1509 German knight, GÃ ¶tz von Berlichingen, called GÃ ¶tz of the Iron Hand, wore an artificial hand with jointed fingers. Early in the 19th century a German prosthesist built a hand with fingers that could be flexed or extended and that could hold light objects, such as a pen or a hat. Before World War I (1914-1918), wood was considered the best substance for making artificial legs, but later an aluminum alloy called Duraluminum, and more recently fiber materials, have made artificial limbs both lightweight and strong. In recent years, the manufacture of prosthetic devices has developed into a science. Artificial limbs with functioning joints can simulate natural motion. Hip joint prostheses can pr ovide virtually normal mobility for people with damaged hip joints. History Artificial limbs, in one form or other, have been in use from ancient times. In 1885, a specimen was discovered in a tomb at Capua, Italy, along with other relics dating from 300BC. The celebrated artificial hand built in 1509 for the German knight Gotz von Berlichingen, who was called Gotz of the Iron Hand, weighed about 1.4 kg (3 lb.) and had articulated fingers so constructed as to be able to grasp a sword or lance. The hand is in the NÃ ¼rnberg Museum and is still in working order. Early in the 19th century a German prosthesist built a hand with fingers that could be flexed or extended without assistance and yet could still close to hold light objects, such as a pen, a handkerchief, or a hat. In 1851, a French prosthesist invented an artificial arm fitted with a wooden hand and attached to a leather socket that fitted the stump firmly. The fingers were half-closed, the thumb pivoted on a pin and could press firmly against the fingertips by a concealed, strong rubber band; the gr asp of the thumb could be operated by a mechanism attached to the opposite shoulder. The same inventor devised a leg that reproduced a natural gait and lengthened the stride. Technology Before World War I, wood was universally considered the best substance for making artificial legs. Prosthetic devices made of leather reinforced with metal bands tended to lose their shape and were therefore unsatisfactory.

Friday, January 17, 2020

How far was the failure of the general strike due to the actions of the conservative government? Essay

The general strike of May 1926 was not a success for those attempting to force the government to act to prevent wage reductions and worsening conditions for coal miners. Had the TUC been more prepared to strike and followed through with what the miners wanted them to do, the government would have been faced with a much tougher challenge. Despite this, even if the conservative government were faced with a tougher challenge, the preparations and subsequence actions taken by them were more than enough and the main reason for the failure of the strike. Firstly the failure of the strike was due to the conservatives because Baldwin and his government holding emergency powers under the ‘Emergency Powers Act’, which enabled them to set up the Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies. This organised 100,000 volunteers to be drafted in to help troops by moving essential supplies such as coal from place to place in Britain. Transport services were also kept going by the volunteers meaning that for most people, life was as it was before the strike started. As a result of this, the impact of the strike was not felt with the devastating effect to Britain that it could well have had but more importantly it kept people happy, which ensured that the government always had the sense of being in control. Baldwin and his government were able to appease the miners by offering them a subsidy in their wages for nine months. These nine months gave the government time to set up the Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies and prepare for the strike which Baldwin was anticipating. The subsidy also created time for situation on wages to slightly calm down Generally it can be said that the conservative government had prepared well for the strike and thus as a result had full control over the situation. They had stockpiled resources, 250,000 special constables were put on hold to be used against strikers and local authorities were told to not give poor relief to strikers. Law and order was maintained almost all the time throughout the strike and violence was kept to a minimum and was well contained when it did break out. Baldwin and his government seemed patriotic which appealed more than the militancy of the strikers, and resisted the more extreme measures proposed by Churchill by turning down the need of the army to control. By doing this, he put faith in the British public, angered few people and thus had control of the situation. Indeed, the Prime Minister Baldwin spoke regularly on radio, and brought up the notion that the strike was a threat to the British constitution and challenged the government. Especially with the unrest that was being seen around Europe, most people in Britain did not want to see the constitution to be threatened. Vitally, several members of the TUC became worried about this and therefore there was a lack in confidence in the strike and it was not carried through with as much courage that it might otherwise have. As well as this the government referred to the strike as a ‘General Strike’ to create a sense the unions trying to undermine the democratically elected government. They presented the strike as the majority of the population of Britain being undermined by 4,000,000 union members. This didn’t appeal to most people and so they decided to not take part in the strike meaning it wasn’t effective and thus it failed because of the government acting to gain the population on their side by using the idea that the countries democracy was under threat. Despite the actions that the conservative government took, played the main part in ensuring the strike was a failure, there were also other reasons to why it did not succeed. Most importantly the TUC were not well prepared to strike and when they did, the 90 unions that took part were not fully committed to it. This made life for the government a lot easier than it could well have been if the strike had been that had they all wanted to strike. From the beginning of the strike there was a distinct lack of communication between the TUC and the local striking committees. On occasion such as at Swansea, the messages were so vague and contradictory that the strikers thought that the government were intervening with the messages. There was a lot of confusion during the 9 days and as it wore on the TUC knew that there was a strong chance that they would lose all control. As a result it was almost inevitable that with all the confusion, the strike would fail. The lack of unions that actually took part in the strike also contributed to its failure to both have an impact and to live up to its name as being a ‘General Strike’. The printers, gas and electricity, transport and railway workers were only some of a limited number of unions that went on strike. This meant that the strike could not have its effect that it was meant to. The fact that the general public didn’t give their support to the strike meant that there was a feeling around the country that what the strikers were doing was pointless. Indeed the way in which the TUC didn’t want to be seen in a violent way also meant that they did not want to be seen as revolutionaries so went into the strike half heartedly and thus it failed. The labour party and the trade unions had a very close relationship with each other. The trade unions had helped to fund the party. However during the lead up to the strike, the Labour party, led by Ramsey MacDonald, made it clear that they were not supportive of the strike. The relationship between the unions and Labour was especially important to the TUC and they did not want to break the relationship by striking. This meant that they reluctantly went in to strike and therefore the strike did not have the effect that the TUC would have otherwise wanted it to. The blame can also be put on the daily mail workers who went on strike. Despite the TUC not doing it, they were blamed for it and the negotiations with the government were brought to an end. As well as making it an uphill battle for the TUC. From then on the TUC knew that the longer the strike went on, the worse chance they had of winning and thus it failed In conclusion whilst the fact that the TUC were very badly prepared for the strike and were caught off guard by the Daily Mail workers, the government played the main part in ensuring that the strike didn’t spiral out of control by being well prepared. Even if the TUC had been more radical with the strike, it is clear that the government were more than well prepared to deal with violence because of the special constables that they had and the Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies that was ready to step in as volunteers. As a result of the thorough preparation done by Baldwin and his conservative government, the strike was a failure. The TUC didn’t want to be seen in a violent manner so therefore View as multi-pages Topics in this document General strike, Labour Party, Lockout, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom,